MONDAY 2ND AUGUST 2010
I'd booked the kids in for another activity session at our local library, the Carnegie, this morning, which ran from 10.30am-11.30am. I've already realised that these sessions are extremely popular with parents just desperate to find something for their little angels to do! The libraries are doing space themes this summer, so all the activities are based around that - stories, craft activities, etc. The main attraction for me is that Darcie & Harvey get to see other kids, a boy called Billy who's in Darcie's year at school was there today so she had someone she knew to chat to. His nan was there with him - she's officially one of the nicest people on the planet and even she looked hacked off today, probably feeling the strain of endless summer holidays!
The plan was to whisk Darcie straight up to hospital for her blood test after the library session was over, as we were told she'd have to have it done by lunchtime-ish. However, this morning a letter came from the hospital, dated days ago, explaining that the consultant Dr Wickamansurina (or something like that) had cancelled our appointment on Wednesday, it was unclear why he'd done this. Obviously with no appointment the blood test was unnecessary, which left Darcie feeling elated to have escaped it, but Simon & I confused and a bit annoyed. If we hadn't got the letter this morning then one of us would have taken Darcie all the way to hospital which is 30/45 minutes on the bus (St Marys, our local hospital, where the kids were both born, helpfully shut their childrens ward a few months ago so now we have to drag her all the way to Queen Alexandra which is a proper pain) only to be told there was no need to have the blood test. The lack of notice irritated us, so Simon phoned the hospital to complain.....initially we were meant to take Darcie for the bloody blood test last week and he phoned then to explain she had chickenpox, we were advised to take her today instead. The nurse he spoke to today made a huge fuss about the chickenpox and this was clearly the reason her appointment was cancelled - they didn't want to risk other patients catching it. Fair enough, we understand that many people in hospital waiting areas will have weakened immune systems and catching chickenpox could cause huge problems, but we feel we should have been told in the letter why they didn't want Darcie there. After being initially told we'd have to wait until December for another appointment, the nurse left a message on my mobile this afternoon saying the consultant is willing to see us on 25th August I think. So now Darcie will spend the next 3 weeks getting increasingly worked up about this blood test and appointment, aaarrrggghhh!
Brought the kids home after the library with Darcie in her usual strop because she hadn't been out long enough & Harvey moaning because he was thirsty. They stuffed themselves on hotdogs for lunch (at least while she's eating Darcie physically can't scream although she does try sometimes) and then we started doing some cooking. This is usually a very popular activity, the main attraction being that they get to eat raw cake mix, decorations, etc. and make a huge mess. While we were in the middle of it, Jo, our friend & mum to Davey who went to nursery with Harvey, phoned to see if we wanted to meet up. The kitchen was a tip and Harvey was smothered in chocolate, so we shoved the cakes in the oven and frantically rushed around trying to get organised. After generally being horrible to me all day, Darcie decided she wanted to come out with Harvey & I, despite being years older than Jo's two kids and having absolutely nothing in common with them. I finally relented and agreed to take her, leaving Simon at home to get on with his work......we headed to Orchard Park which is near the kids schools for the agreed meeting time of 4.30pm. I am hardly ever early for anything and was delighted to be there first, but after ten minutes or so began worrying that I was waiting in the wrong place! Jo turned up though, pushing her tank-like double buggy containing Davey the scarecrow child (even she admits he looks like a scarecrow) and Ellie the toddler who is hell on legs. She's quite a cute little thing when she isn't trying to run into the road, throwing things or thumping people.
The kids had a good time running around together; as I predicted Darcie was a bit old to join in properly and spent most of the time giving us a running commentary on what the three younger ones were doing. Even I admit that she was great at gate duty though, she stood guard and ensured that the nightmare child Ellie didn't achieve her ambition of running out into the road at top speed. I was also pretty proud of Darcie for not crying when Ellie whacked her on the nose and made it bleed, or thumping her back like some kids would, I was secretly amused at the sight of my giant child being beaten up by a two-year-old though! The time ticked by and eventually Harvey started flagging, I was shocked to discover it was 6.15pm. Jo showed no sign of leaving and looked surprised when I hinted that we should get going......I had a sudden thought that in a bid not to seem rude I'd end up staying in the park all night with the kids, and had already decided on the best place for us all to sleep. Eventually Jo's kids started crying/begging for food so she opted to sling them in the buggy and head home for some beans on toast. The thing I like best about her is that she doesn't make any attempt to conceal how annoying she finds her children at times, and openly admits to letting them play for hours on their own, eat things off the floor and beat each other up while she happily neglects the housework and glugs wine. That's my idea of perfect parenting, sure you love your kids but are filled with horror at the thought of entertaining them all day!
It was approaching 7 when I dragged the kids home tonight, suddenly panicing that it was virtually Harvey's bedtime and he hadn't had any tea yet! I admit a little bit of me was wondering whether I could get away with just giving him a drink and putting him to bed, I came to the conclusion that my idea was cruel, despite him having had a big lunch. My poor little boy was exhausted but valiantly munched through his tea while I made a quick dash to Asda for cheese!
So today wasn't too bad, am feeling exhausted already from entertaining them all the time and fighting Darcie's moods. I think tomorrow we'll have the morning at home as I desperately need to catch up with some washing and maybe a bit of housework if I'm feeling enthusiastic. Probably take them to the local adventure playground in the afternoon to burn off some energy.
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