Today started as usual with Alexa announcing 6.30am. I left my daughter in bed as long as I could. She was not happy when I woke her up and got her dressed.  The usual morning stress of getting up and out of the door. Then queuing in the traffic to school and daddy’s work.

Arriving at school today we saw the black cat, so he is alright. He has just been staying indoors I guess in the cold weather. The kids raced over and made a fuss of him.  We left my son at breakfast club and then turned the car around and headed home. Once home, despite it being my day off I had work I needed to do. My little girl sat on my kindle whilst I loaded up my work laptop. Then I had phone calls to take whilst my 5 year old was asking for toast.

Once my work was completed I had to try and wash the landing carpet where my daughter had been sick on Sunday evening. I sorted out the shampoo and started cleaning the carpets. As I was washing I started to wonder why the plastic tank was not full of water. I then realised that all the water was now on the carpet and no water had been sucked back up. A while ago the plastic cap that goes over the hole on the tank went missing.  I thought maybe it just helped keep the water in.  Well surprise surprise, it does have a purpose.  I  put my the palm of my hand over the hole and the suction started drawing the dirty water out of the carpet into the tank.

I phoned Vax hoping they could send me a new cap.  They advised me I would need to buy a new dirty water tank with the cap attached. So I have noted I can buy a new tank but first I need to try and find the missing cap. I know it is inevitable that if I pay Vax for a new dirty water tank, I will then very quickly find it.

This then had me wondering how to seal the hole to help produce the suction, I tried one of daddy’s socks. This worked for a while but was not terribly effective.  I then gave up on the sock and started crawling around the floor with my hand over the hole.  This produced better results and I tipped a lot of dirty water down the drain.  However the job is not perfect, some dirty marks are still obvious on the carpet where the dirty water was not drawn out properly. The sick mark is no longer there but now I’m either needing to buy a new dirty water tank or try and find a second hand one.

My 5 year old has been quite good these last few days with being so unwell. A few days ago I purchased a ‘Good Luck bear’ care bear of eBay. I think he is from 2003 but very good condition and about 10 years older than my daughter. She loves care bears and was very happy when I gave her ‘Good Luck bear’.  She has not really put him down since I gave him to her.   Today he went to school to collect our son, to grandma and grandad’s and then to daddy’s work. So this old bear now has a new friend and has made my little girl very happy. Just wish that he really did bring good luck. Maybe he does if you believe he does.

My 7 year old had PE and then netball today. I realised as I was putting the Vax away that his PE kit was still at home. His plimsolls were still in the airing cupboard drying due to washing them after Rugby last week. When we got to school I found that they had lent him a top to wear and he was not happy with me for forgetting. Tomorrow he has forest school, thankfully he reminded me. So his wellies and clothes are now in a carrier bag by the door.

My son read to me this evening and completed his reading book, my daughter refused. Then when putting them to bed she refused to clean her teeth. Daddy has shown her photos of what happens if you don’t clean them and she still won’t clean them. I’ve told her she does not want teeth like Queen Elizabeth 1st. Any advice here? how do you get a 5 year old to clean her teeth? she has two electric girlie toothbrushes. I think at first it was the taste of the toothpaste that she did not like as it was a different one to what she was used to.  However she now also won’t clean them with the toothpaste she has used for years.

My son wanted ‘We are going on a bear hunt’ read to him tonight. I read the book and he did all the sounds ‘swishy swashy’, I love this book. My little girl fell straight to sleep. Today was the first day since Friday that she did not spend most of the day asleep.

I am really hoping that both kids get to school tomorrow and nobody is sick tonight. After spending time rearranging my week, I really need to go to work and so does daddy.  I am now going to try and get some rest and try and build my strength for the morning and the challenges of being mum.

For more see, Tuesday and fallen leaves

Another Monday, another early wake up, another cold wet drive to school. My 5 year old did not want to leave the comfort of her bed but we had to take daddy to work and big brother to school. I spent my day working from home with my daughter upstairs sleeping.  The weather matched my mood today, gloomy.  My 5 year old called me up to her twice so she was a good girl really, She called me to pass her drink bottle and then because she was hungry. For once a chocolate spread sandwich was not good enough, she wanted cheese, tomato and lettuce.

My 7 year old is still alright at the moment and I am hoping he stays well.  I do not like seeing my children ill. After work I collected my son from school, he had been doing art and crafts. He really enjoys it and came out talking to a little girl about making slime. Somehow he had glue up his right arm, he likes messy play like a lot of children.

When we arrived home, unfortunately, he found the IPad whilst I finished some work and sent emails. Then he refused to read, foot down and determined to just play Roblox. My 5 year old was happy to have him home to play with. They were sat together on the settee.

Dinner tonight was either reheated pasta bolognese, or something else. I did not fancy a repeat of last night, I still need to use the VAX on the landing. It has left a lovely dark yellow sick mark.   My little girl wanted sausages, which she had a few mouthfuls of. They are normally her favourite but tonight she could not eat them. My son though ate his and then complained that he wanted more, a good healthy appetite when sausages are on the menu.

At bedtime, my little girl wanted the iPod.  She had been asleep most of the day and after taking away the iPod she fell asleep again. I’m hoping tomorrow she is more awake and alert so she is ready for school on Wednesday. My son now wanted to read, after the earlier arguments trying to get him to read and now it was bedtime, he wanted to read.  I sat thinking that I should listen to him, reading is important, but he should have read to me when I asked him too.

Parenting feels like a constant balancing act, trying to teach them discipline as well as being a parent they want to spend time with.  I don’t want to scare them, I want them to want to spend time with me. I want them to feel that they can confide in me when they need too.  It is hard sometimes to be kind with love and not let them get away with playing me. Do other mums feel this? I wanted him to read but not when he should be going to sleep. Bedtime was late due to the time it took to cook the sausages.

So tomorrow is Tuesday and supposed to be my day off. However, due to my daughter being unwell today, I still need to work out my day on Wednesday. So when I could be potentially spending quality one on one time with my daughter I won’t be able to all of the time.  It is very rare that we have alone mum and daughter time, or mum and son time, sometimes I feel that it is necessary. I could also do with the time to just rest, I am exhausted right now.

Anyway, I am now going to hopefully get an early night, ready for tomorrow morning and the ongoing challenge of being mum.

For more see, Monday rain

I hate it when my kids are sick, my 5 year old has spent most of the day in bed, only really coming downstairs for dinner. She has spent Friday and the weekend hiding in her bedroom feeling rubbish. We thought she was getting better then tonight she brought her dinner back up.  Dinner was pasta bolognese. I told daddy to watch out for the Passata sauce just in case someone was sick.  He put half of the packet in and topped it up with water. Unfortunately tonight it returned, so no school tomorrow and I’m either working from home or not at work.

Our 7 year old has for a while now been scared of germs because he does not want to be ill. Tonight after seeing his sister unwell he will not stop crying, he is afraid that he has caught it. How do you make a child stop crying when they are worrying about something which will quite possibly happen?  I’ve told him that he won’t need to go to school till Wednesday if he is sick. This didn’t make him feel any better.

Despite the sickness, we have had a productive day. My son has read some of his book to us and completed his homework. Daddy helped him, he coloured it in and I am impressed.

Maybe daddy should redraw Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and frame it, might look good on the wall in our front room. Starry night would look good too.

I got the ironing and washing done, just wish I had remembered a chicken for dinner, though a roast chicken dinner would possibly have made as much of a mess as pasta bolognese.  I haven’t been able to vacuum because of not wanting to wake my daughter, tomorrow I might just do it and hope she does not wake up.

My son has spent too much time again on the IPad but he did at least get his homework done.  When I put him to bed tonight he asked to read more, so he read another chapter of his book. It is written by ‘Frank Lampard’ I didn’t know that he was an author. With out the IPad he is keener to read, just with the IPad he will sit quietly. Without it he will sit and complain, with it he sits focusing on what he is playing. Today it was Roblox and Minecraft. At the moment he is not having the Ipad at all during the week which is an improvement.

I’m hoping that if my son is going to be sick he is ill tonight. It’s hard balancing child and work commitments. I’m hoping that I don’t catch it, I’m feeling alright at the moment but I have spent a lot of time cuddling her.

My daughter cried last night because she wanted her favourite duvet cover on her bed. I hadn’t changed it because of her being so unwell. The cover has little dogs on it and the pillow cover says “I wuff you” it is very cute. I didn’t want her being sick over it.  Tonight I have no choice, after bringing up dinner tonight she wanted food. We gave her two cream crackers. The last few days she has kept toast down, it was the bolognese that disagreed with her.

So I’m hoping for no more sick tomorrow, I’m hoping that both kids are at school on Wednesday as though it is lovely spending time with them I need to work. I’m already going to have to postpone planned visits then hopefully book to go somewhere else on Wednesday.

The sickness here continues, she has been so good this weekend. A shame it takes for her to be ill for her to be so quiet.  I don’t think she has the energy to climb the cupboards, play with water, answer back, generally just not do as she is told.  Fingers crossed for no more sickness and all back to school and work on Wednesday,

I’m now going to get some rest, try and build some strength for the challenges of Monday morning, the sickness and the ongoing ups and downs of being mum.

For more see, Sunday acrobatics