It's a dog's life

Who came up with that phrase? As far as I can see the dog gets to sleep a lot, enjoys his food (and everyone else's), is excited about visitors to the door and likes to chase cats. It seems pretty perfect to me - well the sleeping bit anyway!

Sleep is a big deal at the moment. Both kids have a cough. Isabel has also taken to randomly throwing up so my nights are spent tending to coughing children, being kept awake by coughing children and dodging sick. There's nothing quite like that moment at 2am when you realise that the warm bundle of child who has come to snuggle on your head is actually about to barf...

In between times the kids are fine (but snotty) but I feel like the walking dead. It makes it worse that before this they'd both been sleeping pretty well (well for my children means not waking EVERY 2 hours but eeking it out to roughly every 3). I've been lucky to get an hour of consecutive sleep in the last few days. It makes it hard to summon up the effort to do much in the day and means I don't take well to small people climbing all over me. One at a time I can just about manage but I feel crowded when it's both of them at once. Problem is they're both a bit under the weather and so both want cuddles.

There are times when I would happily crawl into the dog's bed and sleep - well ok maybe not as it stinks! Something has to be done...

Isabel bounces a lot. She spends most of her days having milk, bouncing, running randomly around the house and being upside down. Often with a 'baby' too (baby can be the calculator that has hands or a doll, she's not fussy). She's rather likes dressing herself at the moment which can be err... interesting....

Dog heaven! A mattress that's miraculously appeared in a sunny spot.

The definition of optimism - setting up the marble run for your not-quite-2-year-old

with the obvious results.

Matthew took the kids and dog to the park this afternoon and I went to work on making the dog's bed a better place - the old duvet was chopped up and used to stuff some Ikea fabric that has been hanging around waiting for a project. There are two cushions and they will fit in the washing machine more easily which may mean the bed gets less stinky. Obviously the new bed was shunned this afternoon as it didn't smell quite right....

That was the week that was

Oh how time flies when you're on your own with two small children who won't go to bed and take over the computer.

But in the last week we have trundled along with life meeting friends and playing in parks and soft play places. Climbed trees, watched gliders, chewed bread stick tubes (ok that was just the dog), seen catkins, woodlice and sharks.

Timing

You gotta love it when the children do tag team sickness. Add in another trip for Matthew and my heart sinks. Thankfully neither child was ill for long but I could do without the disturbed sleep, the late nights and early mornings at the start of a 2 week period of being on my own.

We managed to get out and exchange books (mine) and DVDs (Isaac's) at the library and have a quick play in the park.

Isaac has taken to borrowing things from friends. This is sweet in some ways but the need to keep track of and care for all these various treasures causes a little maternal stress. It was very sweet though that he went to sleep in the safety goggles last night though.

Isabel's favourite food is whatever's on my plate. She may have the same food on hers but it's just not as appetising as what's on mine. Mostly I don't mind but there are times when I get a little hungry watching my lunch disappear...

Space cowboy

Isaac has been visiting outer space dressed as a cowboy (in cycling helmet & wellies) - the bubble machine creates 'planets' and he went to lots of them including the Clangers planet.

Isabel is playing at being a baby and lies on the floor and then wants a hand up - she's copying Isaac's version of being a baby but with Isabel twists. It's very funny seeing her copy him and take up his creative play to the extent that she can at not quite 2.

Here he was being the Soup Dragon.

One of her favourite positions...

My henna from Isaac's artwork yesterday.

Henna fun

We had a lovely Blessingway for one of my friends today and as part of it I did some henna - I've never done it before except for a quick practice yesterday and watching some video tutorials online (kenzi.com had the best videos) so it was a bit daunting to have a real live bump to play on. It wasn't perfect but it will look great when the henna has taken (artistic flourishes were added by a proper artist at the end).

My two were out for most of the day but returned in time to have a little henna fun - Isaac was very willing to be the artist and lots of lovely mamas were good spirited in allowing him free rein of their hands. He went a bit over the top with mine though and it had to be washed off.

Matthew is off again tomorrow and Isaac feels the transitions strongly so wanted some wrap cuddles. I got to play with a friend's lovely Oscha roses - such a beautiful wrap, shame about the photo.

Letters

Isabel likes drawing, writing and writing numbers - they all look much the same to the casual observer ;~) She's very enthusiastic and prolific though and will gladly work her way through the front and back of many many pieces of paper a day. I don't think Isaac was ever as focused.

Today I got out some glitter sticks - they look like a glue stick but have coloured glittery stuff in so and the kids seem to like drawing with them (Isaac drew mostly on himself as is the usual result).

Isaac started doing big blocks of colour as seems to be the current trend and then started to make shapes and announced he'd written a letter 'c'. There were lots of other letter shapes too so I asked him if he wanted to write his name. One A3 piece of paper later and this was the result.

Busy Bee

Isabel is a very busy bee. There are babies nappies to be changed...

Clothes to try on...

Eating and writing to be done (and gazing out of the window)

Wings to fly...

Lots and lots and lots of bouncing...

Brothers to watch....

And sleeping to be done.