Surviving week one

9 days without my partner to support, help and encourage me and I've survived!! Tonight it feels like "I've survived - only just". Giving in to the boys earlier pleas of "just one more game" or "just five more minutes" led to a good few hours of struggle through dinner, dog walk and bedtime routines. George was left without a routine. When he decided to start jumping on the bed at 8pm, I decided to accept my fate and brought him back downstairs to play whilst I hoovered and did my best to turn the chaos into a house I'd be willing to let people step into. (5pm today and the furthest I'd let you get was the door step.)

Looking back over the week though the boys and I have done much more than survive. We've soaked up culture at the children's museum where they were stacked by snakes, made a ninja film, travelling to Narnia "its terrifying mummy", sat in a kennel watching Wallace and Gromit and donned dressing gowns before bedtime stories in the world's largest bed. Walking along the high street in Oxford with George in the pushchair and Alby on my shoulders probably wasn't my most glam of moments but it was most definitely necessary and i was fuelled with a delicious ice cream and scone from the Ashmolean museum cafe. (Where, I've just remembered, for a bit of tho massage, an American lady who now has two grown up sons informed me I was wonderful mother.  Go figure). 

Turning books to film

Quick nap in the bedtime room

Making story titles 

The next day George was tumble tot extraordinaire - first, as he should be, at tumble tots but later too during our after school, the sun is shining, trip to the park. As well as giving Eddie the Eagle a run for his money George coerced Alby into some light bulldog mocking . Poor Percy.  (On reflection I think he really has only just survived this week). 

It was arts week at school last week with a lion king / Africa theme with the children being treated to touring choirs and dance groups from the continent. The children did their own dance production on Wednesday afternoon, were treated to face painting on Friday (fearful of his wound Albs went for a snake on his arm) and have had a lion king inspired menu all week. There was also an art competition; every child in the school received the same picture to colour in with three different prizes being given. Yes, I was quite smug when Albs ran out of class on Friday clutching his (now laminated) picture, certificate and prize having won. As he told me: "I was just so surprised when they said my name. And then everyone clapped and I got all these sweets. I just was so surprised". Love him. 

Double superstar points actually for this little dude who also got the Headmasters award on Monday for "really good tidying up".  

Smalley meanwhile has taken to telling me how amazing the world of is. I used to think about which bits of Mark and me our children would inherit. Would they get his sense of humour? My competitiveness...? Fair enough questions with Albs but completely redundant with the littlest Monkey who gets everything from Alby. Mannerisms, laugh, sense of humour, dare devil ways and words. This week, inspired by Albug's enthusiasm for life, everything has been "amazing". He's also managed to give himself the new nickname of "Pickle" after shouting "Let's Pickle" before shooting off on his bike on pretty much every single dog walk he's been on.  I'm not sure I'll ever get him in a pushchair again. Telling him we're going to get his bike is my new go to - distracting from tantrums and episodes of not sharing almost as effectively as offering him an ice pop. 

Den and telly time

We've also had lots of testing of colours, counting to ten (- which he did all by himself when in the car with GG, what a time to perform!) singing (twinkle twinkle, incy wincy spider, heads shoulders knees and toes, rainbow world...) and a fair amount of arts and crafts - more on that later.  The boys continue to tell the most awful jokes, Albs generally offering nonsensical punchlines or ones which rhyme with the subject of the joke as if that's funny enough: why did the chicken cross the road?  Because he was licken. Hahahaha.  George has mastered the "Knock knock" format until we get the punchline which continues to be a very serious "no" no matter what has come before.  Joke making, games of eye spy and playing "what are you thinking" have probably tested me the most this week.  

What the photos don't show is how much naked there has been around the house this week.  The weather has been glorious and my boys don't need telling twice to strip down.  We've had naked racing, naked football, naked bubbles, naked daisy chain making, naked digging, naked ninjas, naked water play, naked drawing and even a naked picnic.  

Horse going in for the bulldog snog at Lydiard Park

We finished off the week with bike rides, den building, car washing, swimming lessons, shopping and, today, a trip to Lydiard Park for duck feeding, horse stroking, park playing and, you guessed it, more bike riding. If it's possible to feel both refreshed and shattered at the same time then that's me.  Buoyed by the fresh air, laughter and madness that is my life, exhausted by the cleaning, driving, cooking, late nights and broken nights that are equally my life. 

Sleeping like a baby - someone has to