LawyerLow Diaries

Boom! Day done and a Wednesday to boot. Sometimes I don’t know what the fuss is all about. We’ve started to feel like things are returning to normal a little even if we are still #RemoteWorking and not really leaving the house much. 
I’ve said before that I rely on the kids on these weekdays to provide some entertainment and they normally step up to the mark. You’ll not be surprised to hear they feature heavily in today top 5. Read on…

1. Mammy’s points system continued in full swing for the second day but with a great deal less enthusiasm from E than yesterday. That fairy garden feels like a long way away! She did get herself ready and tidied her bedroom and also headed out to water the plants but it wasn’t exactly a day buzzing with challenging activities to rack up the points. In fact, she even tried to gain some points for putting her own seatbelt on in the car even though she does that as a matter of course. Indeed she gets very upset if I start reversing before everyone has their seatbelts on as she doesn’t want me “being locked in jail”. That is, of course, why I would never do such a thing. I’m hoping tomorrow might be a more point productive day! 💺 
2. The one big points gain today was for an open ended challenge “teach something new to someone younger than you”. There’s 150 points up for grabs so it’s certainly worth her while! M was the obvious candidate so she spent absolutely ages trying to teach him to say her name. Now, she’s tried this before with very little success so you can imagine my surprise when tonight he started calling out her name as clear as a bell, and repeatedly so we knew it wasn’t a fluke. She was pleased as punch but I suspect she might live to regret it given that he’s her brother and therefore his main mission in life is to annoy her! Well, at least that’s what I always understood my relationship with my sisters was meant to be (and was confirmed when I met my brother-in-law!) 😈
3. Today’s matinee performance was Cinderella and unbeknownst to me it was a dress up special. The first I knew was when M wandered in during the middle of a work call wearing his Prince Charming outfit (minus any trousers as he loves to show off his legs!) I later discovered E in her full blown costume and the pair of them looked like they were off to the royal ball. I felt I had no choice but to join in and slipped into my princess dress but sadly for you, dear reader, no photographs were taken from that point onwards! 👸🏼 
4. I had to pop to the bank and the shop today for some essentials. Steph decided to drive me so I could quickly run in but I managed to sneak some chocolate cookies into the shopping bag without her seeing. Now I’ve had chocolate cookies before, and I’ve also had double chocolate cookies. I’ve even had triple chocolate cookies when I’ve been in a particularly decadent mood. But I’ve never bought quadruple chocolate cookies before!! So when I spied them I thought I had to pick up a pack to surprise my wife with. Extra brownie points for me! So I snuck them into the house and hid them away at the back of a cupboard ready to surprise her once the kids had gone to bed. Sure enough she “happened to find them” shortly after that in the same way she accidentally discovers birthday and Christmas presents I hide away. She’s a complete nightmare! 🍪 
5. M has returned to his old ways and started stealing and hiding things. Today was all about remote controllers as they kept appearing in our bedroom throughout the day. That was all very good and well but when Steph and I sat down tonight the TV smart remote is missing and we can’t find it anywhere. Upstairs, downstairs, even in the back bedroom toilet. We’ve searched all over but just can’t work out where the little monkey has hidden it. And since Steph was streaming to the TV earlier, we have no way of changing it back to Sky and so have ended up watching Ant Man off her Disney Plus instead. He’s such a pain sometimes and we’ll need to try and convince him to lead us to it in the morning! 📺

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Well, another week is finally over and boy was that a slog! I’m really looking forward to the weekend and some time away from the computer. Oh wait. What do you mean it’s not Friday? I’ve definitely done 5 days of work this week, haven’t I? Tuesday? Not even half way?!? No you’re having a laugh!
Well whilst I was busy #RemoteWorking I could hear Steph busy with the kids so have asked her to choose the top 5 from her day and boy did she step up to the mark!
Big breath and dive in:

1. As we are now into the summer holidays and #HomeSchooling is on the back burner, we have had to come up with new and interesting activities for the kids. Steph inevitably has stepped up to the mark and created a points based system for E which came into force this morning. She gets some points for being a good 5 year old (making her bed, getting herself dressed, brushing her teeth etc) but big points for completing daily challenges. To add a bit of jeopardy there is also the risk of points being deducted for poor behaviour such as talking back or being rude. Hopefully we won’t need to pull out the negative points very often over the next 6 weeks! Points of course make prizes and we’ve explained to E that her points will be converted into money for her to spend on creating a fairy garden. I really hope this works!! 😇 
2. Whilst I was working this morning Steph decided to take the kids out for a short walk. Of course she’d offered E points for every mile walked so they ended up being gone for ages. They knocked out a 5k and I ended up running a similar distance for my 16th GNR leg. Fortunately I managed it a little quicker but I guess my legs are longer than M’s! I’ll be interested to see if E pushes to go for a walk tomorrow! 🚶‍♀️ 
3. During the walk, E wanted to play eye spy with Mammy. We love a classic! Today’s version required a colour and an adjective so “brown and round” ended up being horse poo (of course!) and “green and wavey” was leaves. Steph’s next one was “brown and old”. E started looking around and then stared at Steph and asked “Who am I looking at?” I think it was pretty brave of her to guess that Steph was talking about herself, and I did point out that she has purple hair, not brown! For those wondering, apparently the correct answer was the wooden bridge! 👁 
4. The first of the big challenges today was for E to recite the alphabet backwards. M was desperate to help so build his floor jigsaw to give her a little prompt. It then took her 5 attempts to actually recite it and I think having it written out in rows was actually more confusing for her. At attempt 4 she got all the way to C and then went in a strop as M tried to hold her hand. She finally mastered it so we chalked up 150 points. That just about took her above 0 for the day! 🤓
5. The second big challenge involved her climbing up and down the equivalent number of stairs as in the Eiffel Tower. Weirdly I didn’t even hear this going on but apparently she completed the challenge. When she started climbing she announced she needed a drink so Steph took it to top of stairs so she could have a drink every time she went up. At the end she celebrated by coming down with her new flamingo towel wrapped around her. She’s a funny ‘un but we love her to bits! I wonder what the challenges will be tomorrow… 🇫🇷

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A wet and windy Monday to kick off the last week in July. How quintessentially British! I suppose at least our new plants have been well watered in now. It also felt very much like a return to our old routine as the kids were dropped off at Grandma Dawn’s and we both headed into the office. No #RemoteWorking for us today.
When I arrived home this evening the kids were both shattered so goodness know what they have been up to. No good I suspect. You can always tell how tired they are by how quickly they drop off at night and it has been weirdly quiet upstairs this evening. Even M’s daily trashing of his room in protest of being asked to go to bed seems to have been eased. His toys will be relieved!
Somehow I managed to find a top 5 for your delectation so feel free to read on:

1. I woke up after a really good, long and undisturbed sleep. It really makes a difference when the kids sleep through. When I woke up Steph was already up and in the shower and I just chilled out in the bed trying to remember what my dreams were about (failing miserably). I knew something was wrong as soon as she came out, just by the dirty look shot in my direction. I was completed confused. We hadn’t even spoken yet so how could I possibly be in the bad books already?! I then found out that apparently I fell asleep last night as soon as my head hit the pillow and started snoring really loudly so Steph decided to go and sleep in the spare room and then was annoyed I hadn’t even realised. What can I say? Clearly our busy weekend caught up with me and a man needs his sleep, surely? 😴
2. As well as bringing E down at the weekend, Grandma also brought a huge meat delivery from our favourite Scottish butcher. We have more meat than we know what to do with and packed most of it into the freezer. There were some sausages and bacon left in the fridge and so I thought I’d make up for the snoring complaint by rustling up a cooked breakfast sandwich for Steph. The bacon had some kind of coating which confused me and I thought it was a hot and spicy flavouring. I didn’t risk giving it to Steph so offered it to E instead. She wolfed it down and said it was delicious. “Just put some ketchup on it Daddy and that will cool it down!” I’ve been told tonight that apparently it was maple cured bacon so I’m now worried I’ve lost my sense of taste and smell. Isn’t that a symptom of something? 🥓 
3. We’ve decided that the main problem with our kids is that they don’t let us finish what we’re saying before losing their minds! E just demands all the time, particularly when it comes to pudding and didn’t take too kindly to us saying that she couldn’t have anything chocolate based but could have yoghurt. “I hate yoghurt” came the reply as she stormed out of the kitchen. Steph coaxed her back and showed her what we were talking about, “oooooooh, that. I like that!” It just makes it very difficult to do anything that doesn’t involve giving her what she wants first time. Now that I think of it, she’s playing a very clever game!!! 😏
4. It was lovely to see the kids tonight and I was back in charge of the bedtime routine. Off I went to run the bath and eventually managed to throw them both in but not before having a word with E about the fact that once again I found an unflushed toilet. She tells me that sometimes she is “too busy” to flush but I think I got my message across. There then followed a strange series of questions starting with “why do you have a hairy bum Daddy?” Now, I don’t. But that’s not really the point. She says she doesn’t want to grow hair on her body so we had a bit of a chat. I think I handled it well. I asked her if she had any other questions and my heart sank when she said yes. I was about to call for her mother when she said “where do letters come from?” And just like that we were back to less challenging topics! 👨‍👧
5. Monday night of course means Yoga night and I do think I’m slowly beginning to get the hang of it. Anyone who says yoga is just stretching is a complete liar. It was a proper workout today. I’m still getting my head around the differences between the Angry Cat, the Cow, the Eagle and the Sphinx all of which were on show tonight. My favourite was the Crocodile which just involves lying on the mat face down (well, looking to the side). I really appreciated the support of my wife tonight as you can see from the photo below – she was very busy flexing her drinking muscles rather than her pelvic floor. 🧘‍♂️

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Today started with a bit of deja vu as M joined us just after 1am. I think my wife took the brunt of it as I just woke up with morning to find him sleeping across my feet, like a badly behaved dog who insists on climbing on the bed!
Today also saw the big farewell to Grandma so tonight will be the first night E has slept in a different house for over 2 weeks. Sad times! She has been brilliant however and loved every minute of her extra special holiday. 
We are on the cusp of yet another new week so let’s head straight into the top 5:

1. After an unfortunate early start, and buoyed by my decent run yesterday, I decided to head out again. I have no idea why but I wanted to double up and try a 10k in the early morning sunshine. During my challenge earlier in lockdown I got my 10k time down to just over an hour but have never managed to break that barrier. So that was what was in the back of my mind when I started and I deliberately chose a flat run. I was pleasantly surprised to smash my PB and go more than 2 minutes under the hour. My legs definitely felt it after my run yesterday but I feel that it was a real step forward when I consider where I was at the start of lockdown! 🏃‍♂️ 
2. The big planting experience took place and our flower bed border now looks so much better. My green fingered mother can take all the credit but it’s now over to us to try and keep it looking good. We couldn’t find a single ant after yesterday’s extermination attempt so I think we can chalk that up as a victory. Steph is also very pleased and inevitably now has grand plans for the next set of plants she wants me to buy. All we need now is for M to start sniffing the lavender. And then eat it (his usual party trick!) 🌷 
3. M found the play doh today and insisted on getting it out. We are not big fans – it gets everywhere and is an absolute pain to clean up. In fact I don’t remember the last time it was out. But of course Grandma was happy to supervise and the grandkids duly obliged by sitting very nicely and playing together. They even cleaned up after themselves at the end. I don’t know what this mysterious power that grandparents have is but I wouldn’t mind just 1% of it. My kids are just really well behaved for others but let their inner devils out when they are “just” with their parents. 😈 
4. After Grandma left the house became very quiet very quickly. E went for a lie down (read, she snuck a screen up to her bedroom and no doubt watched the blasted Sarah & Duck), M played his favourite game (read, he had a nice nap) and Mammy and Daddy chilled with a bit of Pirates of the Caribbean. There’s definitely something to be said about lazy Sunday afternoons. Sadly that didn’t last long as the kids went just a tad hyper afterwards and insisted on playing a number of very inventive games. We played bridges, doctors and patients and hairdressers, to name just 3. I’ve noticed I always end up being the submissive character in these games and usually just have to sit still and be told when to move, and how. Such is the love a father has for his children that I feel obliged to always comply! 💇‍♂️ 
5. Tonight was a never ending story time. The kids were ready earlier than usual so I offered three bedtime stories in the hope I could get ahead of the game. That worked well until we actually took them upstairs and they both then insisted on more stories from their beds. Steph ended up reading another 4 for M and he then got out of bed to pick a 5th. She drew the line there and left him very upset that we weren’t satisfying his appetite for stories! I do love that they are both turning into bookworms but it does make the bedtime routine somewhat extended! 📚

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So, half way through yet another weekend and boy did we pack in a bit today. I blame Grandma, as we didn’t want to waste the one full day we had with her. Perhaps that should be me thanking her!
It will surprise no one that M decided that a 1am wake up call was in order and so I slept walked through and brought him back to our bed. He dutifully kicked us both in the heads for the rest of the night before wandering through to wake up his sister at 6am. She must be so glad she’s back! And so our day began…
I’ve managed to pick a top 5 for today so read on for more:

1. Top of the to do list was going on a bike ride with E so she could show off her new wheels. We headed off this morning and knocked out a good 8k as Grandma took M for a walk and Steph stayed at home to finish tidying the kitchen! I must say that I was right that I couldn’t run as fast as E’s bike riding now and she took off like a bat out of hell! She is super confident and even taught me her bike riding song, to the tune of Baby Shark. It went something like “just keep riding, riding, riding; just keep riding, riding, riding; you can do it, do it, do it; you can do it, do it, do it; avoid the poo, the poo, the poo; the horsey poo, the poo, the poo.” It was quite catchy I thought! Bless, she even told me I could sing it when I have to go riding by myself in future as apparently she has plans to leave home so she can’t come with me. 🤨
2. Having “warmed” my legs up I then convinced myself that going out for a quick 5k was a good idea. Of course I chose the time that perfectly fitted in with the one very heavy rain shower of the day. I got pretty much drenched but perhaps that was what spurred me on to run a little faster. Or perhaps it was the Stornaway black pudding I had for breakfast. Either way apparently I set a 5k PB which was certainly unexpected. I’m sure it was not a coincidence that during the last mile I was thinking back to why I started running in the first place and how much I’ve come in 18 months. #StillRunningForSharky 🦈 
3. After a “party food lunch” (which I personally think is what lunch should comprise of every day of the week!) we headed to the garden centre on the basis it was a part indoor and part outdoor shopping experience and we needed a couple of plants for the garden. The kids were absolutely knackered from all the recent excitement so M just dozed in his pushchair and E was bribed with the promise of an ice cream. As usually happens I ended up applying for a second mortgage half way round as Steph bought half the store. I’ll also state for the record that I didn’t know quite so many different types of lavender plants existed! Anyway everything is now ready for the big planting session tomorrow before Grandma heads north. 🎍
4. As part of the “flower bed preparation session” which went on this afternoon there appeared to be a discovery (and disturbance) of an ants nest. Cue panic stations as my brave wife hid inside (sorry, looked after M from the safety of the kitchen) and an order for some Ant Killer was made. Easier said than done as we drove around looking for some, finally hitting the jackpot at the local hardware store. I had to remind the kids that it wasn’t talcum powder as they edged ever closer to watch the poor ants writhing around. I’m hoping the soil is clear tomorrow so we can finish everything off and get another lockdown job completed. 🐜 
5. After my 17th weekly DCA quiz was completed (scraping the bottom of the barrel to find topics and questions by this point!) we were faced with the challenge of putting our excitable cherubs to bed. Now we are pretty blessed and know that bedtime is much less of a challenge here than in many houses around the world but tonight was certainly far from straightforward. Steph took them to bed first but M escaped and ran down the stairs. He was sent back so dropped his head and put on his pet lip and then E ended up in his room as she wanted to read him a story. Then they wanted to tidy his room up (having first trashed it to make sure they had a tidy up job to do!) I put her back in her bed and then read him “One Mole Digging A Hole” but he still wasn’t having it. I had to give in and leave him for some controlled crying and eventually they have both dropped off. Place your bets now for what time I’m dragged out of bed tomorrow morning! ⏰

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And so we are reunited. What a wonderful, glorious, joyous day! Sometimes you don’t quite know how much you miss something until you get it back. Whilst Steph and I are overjoyed to have our first born home, even our excitement was overtaken by M who is just absolutely over the moon! It melts our hearts to see how close the two of them are. 
I’m not sure I want to talk about anything else as everything else pales into insignificance but I’d better knock out a quick top 5 to keep my avid readers’ appetites satisfied:

1. This morning started with a buzz of excitement as we all jumped out of bed ready for a busy day. Well, that was the plan at least which didn’t quite work out as we all rolled back under the covers and tried to pretend it was the weekend already. I was eventually kicked out to sort out M who was patiently waiting in his room to be let loose. I got him milked (my own verb for giving him his bottle) and changed and then made him some toast. A little bit later I was up in our bedroom and found that beautifully buttered toast lined up on my bed. Before I had the chance to gather it up, he rushed in and grabbed all the pieces in his little hands and rushed out again. I haven’t seen them again so am hoping he’s eaten it and not stored it somewhere! 🍞 
2. After 4 days of procrastinating, today was the last day to get the house “Grandma-ready”. The size of the task really hit home when we peered into the back bedroom (the lockdown playroom) and saw a complete bomb site. It all needed clearing out and put *somewhere* else so we could put a bed back in! As I was #RemoteWorking the majority to this task fell to my poor suffering wife who worked her socks off all day. We didn’t quite get the kitchen finished but everything else was done just in time for the big arrival this afternoon. The house has never looked so clean and tidy but I can’t help feeling guilty that I don’t spend as much time preparing for the arrival of my mother in law. 🧹 
3. The big surprise for E was our re-theming of her bedroom from My Little Pony to Disney Princess during her extra Scottish holiday. It took bloody ages but we were really pleased with the end result but not quite as pleased as E was when we unveiled it to her. Even M (who had tried to help us during the process) was running round like a loon and tonight refused to leave her bed as clearly he was after a sleepover! I know I’ll sleep easier tonight knowing my little princess is back under the same roof. 👸🏼 
4. I popped out tonight for my first professional haircut in over 6 months. I arrived, face mask in hand, and was a little surprised I had to have my hair washed before any scissors were wielded. I naively assumed I would need to take my mask off during the actual cutting but sure enough it was kept on, and only unhooked when the clippers reached my ears. I now feel like a new man with a great weight lifted off my head (or is that shoulders!) Unfortunately my lovely hairdresser was unable to deal with my hair colour; something about not being a miracle worker… 👴🏼 
5. During our evening BBQ, Grandma developed hiccups which was a source of of much amusement. The grandkids certainly enjoyed trying to scare her to get them to stop and even the copious wine drinking didn’t do the trick. My personal highlight was when Steph piped up to say she had caught the hiccups too. She then paused and said, oh no they’ve gone now, it was just the one. I had to break it to her that she hadn’t had the hiccups – she’d just burped!! 🤣

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A day tinged with sadness as it’s E’s last day with Grandma. She has clearly had an absolute whale of a time, and when combined with our brilliant week last week, I’d imagine returning home tomorrow will be a complete bore!
My weekday posts are getting pretty repetitive I fear as they continue to be dominated by #RemoteWorking. Steph has been working reduced hours this month so it’s been a relatively normal full day’s work each day for me. It does of course beg the question as to when my diary ends. What actually constitutes the end of lockdown? Has it already happened and I just missed it? If anyone knows BJ perhaps you could ask for me as a bit of clear guidance would be helpful so I can formally tie the end of my diary into the official end of lockdown.
In the meantime I’m cracking on, so here is today’s top 5:

1. With a pretty horrid day ahead (according to the weather forecast) I dragged myself out of bed and went out for a quick 4miler. I just made it back before the heavens opened and in fact have E to thank, as just as I was flagging in my last half mile she FaceTimed to say good morning so ended up spurring me on. Unfortunately today was also the day the Garmin served crashed (or was hacked depending on which articles you believe) so I can’t upload the run onto Strava. I really hope it has been safely stored as every run will count in this GNR Solo challenge. Only 27 more runs to go… 🥵
2. M has been on a complete journey this week, probably as a result of being out of kilter without his best friend. Today was a strange one as he seemed very happy and cheeky this morning but has been very clingy and cuddly (but only with Steph) and then went and had a 3 hour nap this afternoon. I’m really looking forward to see how he greets his sister tomorrow when she arrives home. I suspect there will be a lot of excited chatter (or yabbering perhaps) and some hugs and kisses but it won’t be long before he realises he has to share all the toys and books again! 🤼‍♀️
3. We tried to speak to E this evening but sadly she was not really in the mood. It turns out that after a 5.30am start (unlucky Grandma!!!) she had a very hard day of playing and biking and ice cream eating meaning that she took herself off to her bed at 5pm. Grandma wasn’t really sure what to do with that when she found her fast asleep in her bed but got her up to try and eat tea and that was when the call took place. All she kept saying was that she was grumpy and so couldn’t speak to us. We tried every trick in the book but eventually had to concede defeat. We still can’t wait to have her back tomorrow, warts and all! 😴
4. The only thing we did manage to talk to E about was her journey home tomorrow. She has a very clear plan of how her arrival will pan out and she wants a cuddle from Mammy first, then from M and finally (if I’m lucky) she will cuddle Daddy. When I told her that I would just cuddle my mum instead when they arrive, I was told in no uncertain terms that this was not an option and I was not allowed to cuddle anyone until I’ve cuddled her. Miss Bossy Boots was out in force again tonight! We have been working hard on a bit of redecoration in her bedroom so hopefully we might gain some brownie points when she sees that (and hopefully some bonus cuddles!) 🤗
5. Thursday night normally means quiz night with the in laws and tonight was no different. Despite still having a million and one things to do ready for the big homecoming tomorrow, Steph and I got comfy on the couch and quizzed hard! Unfortunately the family team could only match our existing personal record of 49/50 and that perfect score still eludes us. I can’t believe the correct answer to the question we got wrong was George Clooney, and you would think we could easily recognise his voice with our eyes closed. Well sadly we didn’t and that cost us big time! Going to have to try again next week! 😣

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Another hump day clambered over and we are heading down the other side! Also our 3rd full day without princess E and strangely M appears to be over it completely! He has moved from his lost puppy phase to being completely overjoyed with life and was just a very happy boy all day. Don’t tell E however as she will definitely want to know we’ve been missing her all week!
I decided half an hour ago that I didn’t have anything to write about today as it was completely dominated by #RemoteWorking but then my wife stepped up and reminded me about all the things I could include. 
And so here we go with the 5 things I learnt today:

1. My son is a complete chatterbox. I thought it was like father like daughter when it came to liking the sound of your own voice but M has decided to get in on the action. Whenever we read stories to him he has started reading along and really emphasising the last noise at the end of each sentence. It’s really very cute and also very funny as I think it sounds like he is mimicking his Mammy (which is exactly the sort of thing his Daddy would do!) We just need to encourage him to form the words a bit more clearly now but that’s where the fun really begins!! 🗣
2. My daughter is a bossy boots. Now, to be fair this isn’t anything new but she went on a play date in Aberdeen this afternoon and appears to definitely have been in charge. After playing fairies she then was drawing letters on the floor and the (older) girls had to guess what it was. I suppose it was pretty educational. They were guessing (correctly) “C” by saying “see” and were being told they were wrong because it was a “kih” – I think they were definitely talking at cross purposes! I’m a tad relieved it isn’t just me she bosses around! 🧐
3. Our house is never tidy. The big clean up continues and it’s only just sunk in that the back bedroom (which you will recall we turned into a playroom very early in lockdown) needs to be back as a bedroom before Grandma arrives. To be fair Steph spent quite a few hours this afternoon trying to sort things out but when I checked this evening it didn’t look like anything at all had even been touched (please don’t tell her I said that!) I’m going to have to do some heavy lifting tomorrow if we’re going to be ready in time but the “stuff” is just going to be moved from room to room! It’s a never ending cycle. 🧸
4. Never underestimate a woman’s feelings. Tonight we had our daily FaceTime call with E and we shared the stories of our days with each other. I commented about how we were getting the house and garden ready for Grandma’s visit this weekend. After that E went incredibly quiet and then got upset. When asked why she just said that she was upset Daddy hadn’t mentioned her name in his “speech”. I had no idea what she was on about until it sank in that she didn’t understand why I had mentioned Grandma’s visit and not the fact she was coming too. I tried to reassure her that I only didn’t mention her name because she wasn’t coming to visit but was just coming home but I’m not sure she’ll ever forgive me! 😳
5. My wife is just a tad competitive. Tonight was the latest online work quiz and the first one that neither of us have hosted so we could both take part. After much debate we decided to play individually which meant we were going head to head. We then found out the first 10 questions were all TV and film based and Steph went storming into the lead. I’ve genuinely never seen her so happy. Her geography knowledge isn’t quite so good and I took over in the sport round. Sadly it all ended in disaster as I was pipped in the last round by someone else but I guess I get the house bragging rights with my second place to Steph’s third. Imagine how well we could have done if we pooled our knowledge! 🤓

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It may by our 126th day since this all started for my family, but I’m definitely thinking it’s been one of the hardest as the reality of E’s absence really hit home. M has been like a lost dog all day and clearly is missing his best friend. We would never want to admit it to her, but Steph and I are also struggling without her. It’s been lovely to spend some time just with M and give him all of the attention but it just isn’t the same. We feel incomplete.
As the push to return to normality continues my #RemoteWorkingbecame #OfficeWorking but just for the day. I’m still not sure if I enjoy the peace and quiet or not!
Once again I’ve had to think very hard just to find 5 things that happened today!! So I guess they are by default the top 5:

1. Looking back at my diary entries, M seems to get a lot of the blame for the early morning starts. The proof is of course in the pudding and actually I owe him an apology. Without the elder troublemaker he seems happy to wake up and then just stay in his room playing and completing his jigsaws. That allowed Steph and I to accidentally sleep in and have an unplanned long lie. Don’t get me wrong, it was lovely, but I certainly didn’t get the usual heightened emotional mix of love and frustration that I’m used to when getting bounced on until I wake up! ☺️
2. I headed out to the office and left Steph in full charge of M. One would expect capable hands but apparently not. He appeared upstairs full of beans but when Steph went for a cuddle she found his entire back soaking wet. She still hasn’t worked out what he did and searched high and low for a puddle (he likes to pour out his water bottles occasionally). That boy might well be a magician with all his disappearing tricks and unexplained events! 🧙‍♂️
3. We did get to see E a couple of times today through the wonder of modern technology. If she’s missing us as much as we’re missing her, she’s a very fine actress! She took Grandma out for a bike ride to the park (and home again) and let’s just say only one of them is saddle sore! Oh and she was very quick to complain that she didn’t get pudding this evening but not so quick to explain she had two brownies in the late afternoon instead. My how the other half live on their extended holidays!!! 🤤
4. M appears to have taken to dressing up today which I can only assume is in dedication to his sister. Any item of clothing and he wrapped himself in it. I don’t actually know what he was pretending to be but if he has half the imagination of his sibling it will have been someone or something completely unusual and wonderful. I am somewhat tempted to leave very specific items of clothing lying around tomorrow just to see what he does. Look out for the photos tomorrow! 👗 
5. The big tidy up started tonight ready for the arrival of my mum at the end of the week. Steph took the easy option and started with M’s room but was amazed at what she found. I think he was wearing the wrong footie kit yesterday as he’s much more of a magpie than a mackam! All sorts of things which definitely do not below to him were hidden away in different nooks and crannies. We’d found a nail file down the back of our headboard yesterday after he rammed Steph’s phone down there, and it mysteriously ended up in his bed! I’ve no idea how he got hold of it again. I’m just gutted she didn’t find any toothbrush heads in there! 🐧

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So today saw my return to work, having recharged my batteries over the last 10 days. I’m not sure how much juice was left in the batteries after all the running and cycling last week but it did get me through the day. 
My worry was that without E life at home would just be incredibly boring, and as usual I was absolutely right. I mean my working hours were a lot more peaceful but the house was eerily quiet and I definitely didn’t like it! 
I’ve tried to cobble together the 5 things we did today as we count down until Emma’s return:

1. M was up bright and early and I gave him a good talking to first thing and explained he needed to do some funny things to allow me to write my blog. He duly obliged by filling his nappy straight after being changed (as is his usual so it doubles our nappy costs) and then ran upstairs and jumped around on our bed. Steph didn’t realise that he was actually smearing his poo all over our duvet as it leaked out the side. So that was the first wash load of the day… 💩 
2. We received regular updates from E, telling us what a brilliant time she is having with Grandma and not with us! She built her new lego, went for a bike ride at the beach, bought a brand new bike and then nailed a bunch of circuits round the university car park. I always had this image of doing my running and her riding along beside me but I fear that it will never be a reality as there’s just no way I could keep up with her! Perhaps it will be father daughter bike rides instead. 🚵🏻
3. I snuck out for a lunchtime run (No 12 ✅) whilst Steph was attending her long awaited hair appointment. I mean it’s lovely but I don’t see that it’s any better than when I dyed it purple half way through lockdown. But apparently that’s an opinion I should have kept to myself when she got home and showed it off. You would think after all these years I would have learnt about the whole “giving compliments” thing. I actually think I’m quite good at it but I just get the timing wrong. Dropping in the nice comments after I’ve already upset her just makes it sound like I’m sucking up. I’ll keep working on it. 😣
4. M spent a little time with his other Grandma this afternoon and ended up playing with his baby cousin. After initially being pleased to see her (his cousin that is) he then developed a strange fear of her and apparently avoided her like the plague. It particularly showed when I arrived to pick him up and she tottered over to see me. As soon as I started showing her any attention he came bowling over and forced himself directly in between us. Jealous much? Weirdly he then went and gave her a kiss goodbye at the end. Boys are just weird! I’ve made a note to remind E of this on a daily basis for the next 15 years… 😘
5. As usual Monday is Yoga night and I had an extra little helper this evening after he refused to go to sleep. I find most of the positions hard enough let along with an extra weight on top of me. The only advantage of having him anywhere near me is that Steph always assumes the noisy gaseous releases are coming from him. I’m just gutted his downward dog is better than mine! 🧘‍♂️

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