Risk Assessment for a Nap

I have been managing to keep well through Ramadan and wake for suhoor and then again in the morning for the school run and work, mainly thanks to my daily short nap after I get home for work.  Usually this is about thirty to forty minutes and the kids are allowed internet access to do homework to keep them busy.  I get both of the youngest to lie down with me so that they are not causing havoc and we get some cuddle time (which is as comforting and soothing for me as it is for them).

This week I hosted an iftar for my family and found myself utterly exhausted.  I decided to give myself the luxury of a longer afternoon sleep.  Usually this means I have to carry out a little cost-benefit analysis of whether the potential mischief that will happen will I am unconscious and the work that it will create afterwards, is worth the bit of extra sleep and rest.  Yesterday I came to the conclusion I was tired enough and had earned it to the risk.  A very nice sleep it was too, despite the heat.

I woke to find the cost of my little nap:

The front door was open

Darling had decided to hold onto the washing while she used her brothers skateboard and broke the washing line – with the slightly damp washing still on it

Dad-in-law had ended up on Netflix log in page and was looking at the screen wondering where he was (I suspect the kids were trying to find a way to get in)

The sink was full of dishes and the kitchen counter full of bread crumbs and chocolate spread smears (Darling again)

I think the kids were shocked that I hadn’t lost my temper at them.  It’s a wonder what a good nap can do for your mood.

image source

Picture of the Day 07.04.018: Garden Fairy

We spent last weekend clearing out the junk that seems to accumulate in our garden in winter and weeding the flower bed.   That this meant this week we got to do the fun part of planning what we are going to grow and growing some flowers.  I don’t know what it is about digging up mud that brings the kids running, everyone wants to have a go and most of the time they are either filling up the hole I have tried to dig or flinging soil around.

Chronicles of a Little Tornado - Volume 2

My youngest is a handful at the best off times, but recently Baby seems to have gotten more bolshy, more rebellious and even a bit meaner.  I wonder if it is the result of being the youngest and having to fight to hold her own.  Or perhaps she just inherited some of the spite that seems to run in my family.  Either way, she manages to keep all of us busy.  

Currently her busy schedule includes:

Refusing to sit the whole way through any single meal

Turning every room she walks through upside down

Demanding to help with the cooking and trying to climb on things to get to the kitchen counter (I am terrified of her getting near to the cooker)

Insisting on helping roll out chapatti's and rolling them hard enough to make them stick to the worktop

Pestering her nan for sweets as soon as she sees her

Accusing her brother of having smelly feet

Spilling every other cup of water she gets her hand on

Refusing completely to put away her toys 

Switching my laptop of while I am working on it

Opening the taps in the bathroom and getting her sleeves wet and knocking the loo roll and towels off of their place (every single time she goes in there!)

Jumping off everything.

The older kids have complained that they seem to be picking up after her numerous times per day, so in the end we confiscated most of her toys and put them in a black bag while she thinks about changing her ways.

The kids have named her Ramona the Pest after the book because of her hair style and all of her mischief and she seems to like the name.

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The girl is lucky she has those big, innocent eyes and I have a soft spot for fierce girls, or she would be spending a lot more time on the thinking chair (our kitchen chair).

The good news is, she finally made a friend after a whole term on playing alone at nursery.  She is a bit of an introvert and likes to be left alone to explore (and wreak havoc) for stretches of time. Happily this friend is actually real and Baby even knows her name.

Picture of the Day 12.05.17 - Little Tornado

Picture of the Day: 3.11.14 - Go Smash an Egg

My husband was given this little spoon by a friend that collects things like this.  It says "Go smash and egg" and when he gave it to Gorgeous, who breaks things without even trying, I knew it was a bad idea.  So after carrying it around for a day or two and laughing to himself every time he tapped his head with it, I found an opportunity to sneak it away and hide it.

He clearly found it:



















When I found the tray of eggs like this, I wondered if someone had put something heavy on them and broken them all by mistake, but they were all clearly tapped from the top.  So I asked the kids if they all knew anything about it.  They all denied it, including Gorgeous.  One of the things I love about him is how transparent he is.  He cannot look you in the eye and lie and he cannot lie with a straight face.  Which is handy because I always catch him out when he makes any mischief and if it isn't him and he looks me in the eye and says so,  I catch his brother out by default.

So I asked him if he broke the eggs and he burst out laughing.  He said he wasn't laughing because he broke the eggs, but because it was so funny.

Someone is going to be eating a lot of eggs for the next few days.