It was the usual start to the day – everyone up, fed and clothed, and then off on the school run with Genevieve. It’s a little bit like Groundhog Day at the moment.
While I was out, Stephen opened a couple of letters for James that had arrived from Grandma Lindsey and Grandad Lawrie. James’s eyes lit up and he dived straight in to the activities. He was particularly enamoured with the ladybird mask, as well as the mazes and dot-to-dot puzzles. His arrow-grip pen holding is really coming along nicely now.
I got back from school and managed to tear James away from his activities for long enough to take him to my parents’ house for a play date. He was extremely excited as playing at Grandma Margaret and Grandad Stephen’s house normally meant he’d get an ice cream at some point…
This part is written by Grandad Stephen.
Oh no, Grandma Margaret has to go to the dentist so Grandad is in charge. A cup of Ribena is immediately ordered – not so much water before you add the blackcurrant, Grandad. A thorough risk assessment is carried out before James helps Grandad make his cup of filter coffee – no hot kettle touching. James then helpfully shows Granddad where the flapjacks are so the tin is suddenly a little lighter.
Grandma returns and remarkably the house hasn’t been flooded or burnt down. Lunch is another jam sandwich followed by a piece of pepper and strawberries. After lunch another check on the ice cream van in the park is called for.
The young man knows how to get maximum enjoyment from an ice cream!
On returning James decides to build a robot to take home, so goodbye to a few empty cartons and tubes. Too hot to do much more, other than a research project on iPad games, until Mummy arrives with exciting news… which will be covered later in the blog.
While the kids were away for the day, I was focused solely on work, work and more work. There’s so much to do, prepare and keep on top of at the moment. Stephen, on the other hand, focused on rest, rest and more rest (per the doctor’s instructions). He seems perkier as a result, but him doing nothing is proving really hard for both of. Stephen’s instinct is to try and help but it’s just not the right thing to get him better in the long term, and my instinct is to shield him as much as possible even though it’s breaking me in the short term. Tricky.
Before I knew it, the day had disapearred and it was time to collect Genevieve from school. I knew James had been enjoying an ice cream at my parents’ house, so I treated Genevieve to an ice lolly when we got home (after her school-mandated bath, of course). Plus, it was the end of her school week so she deserved it.
With ice lollies eaten, Genevieve and I set off to collect James. It’s amazing how much ferrying about the kids need despite both being so young and in spite of the continuing lockdown. I dread to think about when they’re a bit older!
Stephen and I had agreed that we’d get the children McDonald’s for dinner, partly as a treat for being (mostly) good during the week and partly as neither of us wanted to cook. Although the drive-through was a breeze (less that five minutes’ wait), as soon as the food was in the car the kids’ behaviour deteriorated rapidly. They were an absolute nightmare and had me pulling out my hair before I’d even made it halfway home (which is doubly impressive as the drive-through is less than ten minutes away). Oh well, we’ll be thinking twice before doing that again.
After dinner I took the kids up to see the friendly neighbourhood monkey. Apparently it’s national picnic week – yummy! We just had to be careful to look out for cuddly ants and fluffy wasps.
As if the excitement of dinner and the monkey visit wasn’t enough, we yet more intriguing news when we got back home. We found out James’s teacher for reception when he starts Big Boy School in September. Woo!
It was soon time for teeth, pyjamas, stories and bed for the kids. Then Stephen and I had a curry, watched a bit of TV and then went to bed ourselves. It’s day three of Stephen being signed off again and, frankly, I’m utterly exhausted.
The Smiths Family Blog 
Another happy(?) day for all
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