The A team show is slower than I was expecting it to be, but I do want to see if he can get Mr T!
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And sodding weather!
There is clearly some law somewhere that states that if I hang out washing and crow about doing so it will piss down with rain solidly for the following 48 hours. The same law clearly works in even more irritating ways to decree that when the weather forecast is for ‘severe weather’ including heavy rain and gusts of wind making me think ‘aha I will not be caught out in the same way again. I shall not do that pile of washing in the hopes of getting it dry before the weather turns again and end up with all of the metres and metres of washing line full of soppy washing for days’ and therefore not do the washing in a smug manner it will be the most perfect drying day for weeks. The severe weather so far has been no greater than lots of wind in an otherwise sunny day. Ah well, the previous lot is all dried now at least.
So today we’ve done loads of reading aloud. I went and sorted out both the childrens’ bookcases – although I could probably do with further sorting at some not too distant point but at least all the books are in the bookcases the right way round again now. And I found all the library books and have got them all together in one place again now. So we sat and read most of them. In the pile was ‘A diffendoofer day’ which I just adore. I’m sure I’ve linked to it before as it’s so HE suitable – it’s about a school where they don’t teach anything conventional – stuff like laughing and thinking. We also did some messing about with a little kit of plastic meccano-alike stuff I’d got but it was quite fiddly so when it turned into me doing it all and them watching TV over my shoulder we packed that away and turned the TV off! They then played with the geomags and the pretend food. Oh and had several games of Kerplunk too.
I made flapjacks (most of which have gone now :oops:) and we had lunch. After lunch Davies wanted to do some writing so he copied lots of various words and we spelt them out together (don’t get excited, his contribution to the spelling out was minimal 😉 ), they both drew a series of drawings each to tell stories with – Davies’ was very good, logical and had an introducing the characters bit with a bit of background about them both, a middle bit with some plot and then an ending. Scarlett’s was slightly more random and she then filled sheets and sheets of paper with folded flicker pictures, not quite grasped the actual how to do them so they are animated but I’m not correcting her on that yet as she is loving drawing two versions of something so she more than grasps the basic idea. 🙂
Then I remembered a competition I’d got details of with with our Film Education screening details for next week (we’re seeing Curious George on Monday and The Wild on Wednesday – it’ll be Tarly’s first time at the cinema and we’re really looking forward to it. Hope any soundtracks are not too dire as I imagine I’ll be hearing them lots! 😉 Oh and Davies already seems to have achieved movie critic before seeing the film status as off the back of two trailers and a poster for The Wild he’s decided that it is ‘just Madagascar with a different name! 🙂 ) .
So we talked through the rules of the competition and Davies decided he wants to do W&G (I could pretend to be surprised but you wouldn’t believe me 😉 ), Tarly is still thinking. He was slightly fazed by having to write the title out and checked several times if ‘that was the law of the competition’ I agreed it was indeed ‘the law’ and showed him a quick sketch of a poster I’d do for Madagascar – movie title, a made up tagline, some pictures of the main characters and lots of background so the whole page is filled. Explained that was my sketch and I’d then do the proper poster. I can’t find anywhere on the entry form which states a size of entry so we are planning to do one on our big poster sized paper which should be cool.
He started doing the writing first and made some excellent progress with that. We’ll no doubt continue with that over coming weeks. Good project I reckon 🙂
The plan was that Ady would be home for 2.30pm so that I could take Tarly to the docs at 3pm to get her stitches out without Davies. Not sure how strong of stomach D is having never injured himself and always been fairly traumatised by Tarly doing so, and also wanted to focus on her rather than worry about him at the docs. But at 3pm he wasn’t home so I had to take him with us. They went into the waiting room to play with the toys while I tried to check in. Turned out the giddy bloody receptionist (have I ranted before about doctors receptionists? I’m sure I must have done 👿 ) had booked her in for June 1st rather than today. I just stood there with a patient look plastered to my face while she muttered and mumbled and said ‘erm well we’ll have to fit you in somehow’ and got all flustered. I agreed that indeed June 1st might be leaving it a bit late and I hoped she would have healed completely by then so removing stitches at that stage may be a little tricky! We were in within five minutes 😉
The nurse was cautious when she saw Tarly and asked how old she was and looked quite doubtful about how easy a job it might be, but Tarly just asked her if she could keep her stitches to take home in a jar and happily hopped up on the couch and jutted her chin out. Davies climbed up on a chair next to her and was all interested. Don’t think she quite knew what to make of us really! She had to call another nurse in in the end as she was struggling to see the stitches – apparently they were very small – the smallest she’s ever seen. As they are the only one’s I’ve ever seen I can’t really comment either way. 🙂
Anyway, it took ages as they were really embedded in her scab which has healed so well I think they could have come out a day or two ago even. They smeared loads of cream on and told me to keep it moisturised so it doesn’t pull as it heals and finally got them all out and in the little jar.
Tarly laid there, without moving at all, said it ‘tickled’ when I asked her if it hurt and was proclaimed the ‘bravest three year old ever!’ they said it would normally have been a nightmare to get stitches out of the average three year old – guess I always knew Tarly wasn’t average really ;-). So she got a whole sheet of stickers again and the nurse actually put on her notes ‘three very tiny stitches removed from a very brave three year old indeed’ which she said will stay on her record every time it gets pulled up. So when she’s there in X years time having a home birth with no assistance they’ll read that and say ‘ah yes…’ 🙂 She loves her little ‘spider stitches’ in her jar and will no doubt be showing them to everyone we meet along with her scar. The scab has already started to come away a bit and it looks pink but healthy underneath so hopefully it will continue to heal well and she’ll have a minimal scar – picking not withstanding.
Ady was outside the surgery on his phone as we came out, very apologetic that at the last place he’d been to before coming home he’d walked into a crisis to do with million pound customer threatening to stop ordering given the quality of the delivery he’d just receieved. Ady feeling bad that he couldn’t justify his daughter having stitches out as reason enough to leave anyway, but it was fine, Davies was fine and I can think of many instances when neither parent would have been around to take a child so I’m sure neither of them will need counselling about this particular incident 😉
And that was pretty much our day. Some cleaning out of tadpoles (about 50 remaining according to Ady but he said that a week or so ago and has been fishing dead ones out daily so somewhere his maths is wonky – clearly counting them twice as they swim around 😉 ) – they are now in a shallower water with rocks for climbing available. We’ve not made as much of the whole tadpole rearing experience as I’d semi planned to but sometimes that’s the way things go and they have clearly learnt as much as they would have done even if I’d had them drawing life cycles and making lapbooks about it – we’ve fished out dead ones at every stage and had them under microscopes, they’ve held live ones at every stage and gauged ‘wigglyness’, we’ve watched them at length and observed the changes in shape, colour, size and movements and we did read one book right at the beginning detailing how they change at each stage. We also have plastic versions of each stage of development which Davies could already name and order so it’s been cool to have the real life version to watch go through it’s metamorphasis just like we did with the caterpillars last year.
So, tonight, lovely dinner (tacos and fajitas), Big Brother launch night, my cold is feeling better and tomorrow Ali and Freya are coming over, and even better that that IT’LL BE FRIDAY!!! 🙂
Totty 🙂
Davies’ dragon picture from the other day:
Front
and back
Efficient morning with us taking three parcels from ebay to the post office, returning one book and collecting two from the library, getting bread and milk and home again before 10am.
That was about the sum of it mind you 😉
No point in doing washing as the last lot is still swinging wetly on the line 🙄
The children had started a game with some wooden blocks before we went out so they carried on with that. Davies built a pyramid and I showed him how to make it 3D with some cube blocks – a bit of guessing numbers as it decreased toward the top – starting with a four by four layer moving to a ??? sort of thing. All very low key but sometimes I like to offer not remotely challenging things which set him up as excelling so next time he is prepared to stretch himself a bit more.
Scarlett brought me a pile of books so we sat and read through them, with Davies listening from his pile of blocks on the floor and occassionally coming over to join in, see a picture etc.
I was in the middle of all this trying to write a blog post about autonomy but it wasn’t happening so I think I might start that one again as having read the draft back it is quite disjointed with the points I was disturbed while writing it very apparent in the flow. Ros texted to say she wouldn’t make it to us for lunch due to technical faults so we had lunch and headed off to HE group, grabbing a jigsaw puzzle about space on the way out of the door.
Although I was five minutes late I was first there with Julie arriving shortly after me. We sat on our own for over half an hour with Davies, Scarlett, Jack and Maisie fairly occupied by drawing a communal picture about all things space related. At 1.30 I spoke to Ros with proper directions and she arrived soon after, followed at nearly 2pm by Lucy who had also had a stressy morning. So just as well I have friends and a sister in law really as all three attendees this week were already well within my first degree of seperation. 😉
We’ve booked the hall for the next two weeks which takes us to the end of May and with some helpful input from Ros have decided to break from hiring venues through the summer and decamp to a local park (which is handily nearer to me anyway) for three hours every Wednesday bringing picnic lunch, ideas for games, maybe some Kessingland style outdoor crafts and general running around in the (ha!) summer sun. We’ll charge reduced subs to start building funds for the Autumn venue hire again and hopefully return with boosted numbers again. I am still confident there is a need for a Worthing group and I don’t think 3 weeks is anywhere near long enough to gauge success so I am really happy with that plan. 🙂
As it happened we had a really nice group today – the adjacent nursery had left a box of sporting type toys (balls, cones, hoops, skittles etc) and after Julie checked we were OK to make use of them Davies led a set up of some sort of game involving throwing a dice and rolling a ball to knock cones and skittles down. They were all involved in it, taking turns and it seemed pretty well set up. Davies also thrilled himself (and I confess quite surprised me) by managing to throw a ball through a basketball hoop not once but twice too – normally his aim is very shaky so that was good. 🙂 In the car on the way there and back Davies played a xylophone he’d brought with him. Despite the fact it was quite annoying and distracting he played it quite well. We had the tumble tots action songs cd on too and he was hitting quite a few of the right notes trying to play along to some of the songs. Must think about some sort of musical instrument for him at some point.
Ros came back with us for very late lunch, chat and ‘Nic’s sewing salon’ – she brought her sewing machine in from the car and finished off her brothers curtains and I started on a small Wallace I am making next for Davies (Totty finished last night, will take photo later). Nice to see you darling, Happy Anniversary and hope you have a lovely romantic night tonight 🙂
Scarlett managed to fall at least part way down the stairs while they were here (that child!!!!) and when asked where she hurt she sobbed ‘everywhere!’ but no blood, no broken bones and no chin split back open, just a small scrape on one leg and her back 🙄 The community nurse had only just rung to say she’d had the discharge form from A&E and was phoning to check she was OK and healing well. She asked if I was at all worried and I reassued her she was fine and I was not worried at all. Slightly concerned that it would take anyone the prompt of such a phonecall to realise they were worried and take further action really but I guess she was just doing her job…
Ady arrived shortly after they left with yet another charity shop find Gromit to add to Davies’ rapidly growing collection – we’ve decided that once he outgrows them we can probably sell them on ebay to fund his university education however so that’s fine 🙂
Football tonight so I have very lovingly said I’ll cook dinner (even though it’s not my turn and as it is one of my speciality dinners tomorrow he won’t even get to swap with me!) but he has done every Wednesday for weeks so I can watch The Apprentice so it only seems fair, and I do have my new Jodi Picoult book to read in a week so I’ll happily read that.
I woke up with the kids’ cold this morning and felt pretty rough first thing, slightly better through the day but increasingly shit again now so I think comfort food of toad in the hole and a large glass of warming red wine should have me in bed fairly early too.
Tomorrow Scarlett is having her stitches out in the afternoon – we’ve talked about it and she knows it might hurt a bit. She wants to have the stitches to keep after I told her sometimes people do that and I offered for Daddy to go with her instead of me (he’s coming home so Davies doesn’t have to come witness it too) but she wants me – quite chuffed about that actually 🙂 So a quiet day in otherwise planned.
So before I freecycle / bag up for the charity shop wondered if Isabelle / Josie / Alys / Rachael (think that’s all the smaller girls) would like any of the following outgrown Tarly stuff:
12 pairs of knickers aged 2-3 years.
size 7 wellies, sparkly with flowers on
plum coloured velour Laura Ashley top and trousers
four long sleeved tops
two pink vest tops
denim pinafore dress (muffin stylee!)
floral Next short sleeved top
Can bring to Kessingland if definite takers for them. Will probably add more to the list if any of my next load of ebaying doesn’t sell.
And the verdict on the book was unanimous that it was crap 🙂 So that pleased me!
Felt a bit lightweight again tonight when they started talking about a group outing to the theatre (theatre, surely you can’t do cleavage in a theatre. Doesn’t sound like my sort of place at all 😉 ) but I’m definitely getting more discerning in my reading choices so my own agenda for attending is being satisfied.
Both the children were still / infact are still awake so sitting watching endless films all day has far from worn them out – not surprising really, but nice to know they can amuse themselves for all but a whole day every so often. They have had plenty of educational opportunities in the film watching with lots of conversations with me about various things and stacks of imaginative play inbetween, along with plenty of drawing and writing while watching. The repeated previous viewings of all of todays films have meant they were able to just keep half an eye on the screen and get on with other stuff anyway.
Not the sort of day I crave having all the time by any means but it’s been nice enough and tomorrow we’re back to out and about-ing with HE group (Ros, you coming here first? D’you want lunch?) and I noticed the library had a few copies of the latest Jodi Picoult book on the way out this evening so I plan a dash there in the morning to grab one.
And now, it is my intention to have a bath, eat my lovely dinner and get Lost!
children ate their tea watching Madagascar (film fest a go-go here today!), Ady’s home and I’ll be off to reading group in a while.
children have finished Nightmare before Christmas and are now watching Corpse Bride.
I’ve just put their tea in the oven and they are about to start clearing up their colouring stuff.
rain’s set in 🙁
Children doing dot to dots and colouring while watching Nightmare before Christmas.
but it’s started to rain 🙁 I’ve grabbed everything dry off the line but I think the rest will have to stay there til tomorrow now.
Just realised that this time last year we were at Hesfes – seems a hell of a lot longer than a year ago that…
Happy Birthday Simon 🙂
Have a fab day with lots of love from Ady, Nic, Davies & Scarlett xxxxx
last load of washing has just spun to a stop so off to peg it out.
Children have been eating snickerdoodles so unlikely to require any lunch, I’m going to make myself something to eat, brew some tea and start speed reading the book for tonight’s reading group. Currently on page 241 of 373….
Ebay hotting up 🙂
last load of washing about to go on….
Rest swinging merrily on the line 🙂 Loving my washing blog!
Children have had a banana each, watched The Upside Down Show and are about to watch Cat in the Hat (animated, not Mike Myers).
I’m part way through the first CV and have just checked my ebay auctions about to end after lunch – out of 14, 6 are selling and most of the others have watchers.
Just read through the first CV and have been pmsl at some of the info the person has filled out. Without giving too much information here are some of the answers:
Since you were last working what have you been doing with your time? (so that we can plug any gaps in employment with details of how you have continued to develop skills – most people talk about DIY, computer or study skills, travelling, raising children etc)
“I have had three years off work as I was beaten up outside a nightclub”
What did you like about this job and what did you do well there? (in reference to each job, so we can praise their achievements)
“Not much as I found it boring and only stayed for a year. I felt like a Joey”
and for another of the jobs:
“It was a good laugh working with the lads who worked there but I didn’t like it much as it was hard work and rubbish money. It taught me that slave labour is still alive and well though”
Did you get promoted at all while working here?
“no, but the boss did used to disappear for hours on end leaving me in charge”
I’m thinking honesty might be one of the skills and qualities I play up in this CV! 😀
Fourth load on!
Watched the Dragon show (interesting, very interesting 😉 )
Blogged in at least three places and am about to start the first CV
I’m up, children are watching The Emporers New Groove, I’ve got dinner cooking in the slow cooker (beef in red wine), first load of washing out, second spinning now, third, fourth and fifth lined up in piles ready to go. Children have had breakfast (Wallace and Gromit stamped toast with peanut butter for Davies, crunchy nut cornflakes for Tarly) and I’ve phoned and got a doctors appointment for Tarly’s stitches removal.
Davies wants to show me a ‘dragon show’ he’s been practising all morning with some toy dragons and I have some CVs to get done. Back with more later 🙂
Affliction update first then 🙂
Tarly’s chin seems to be healing nicely. She’s not complained once about it hurting and aside from lifting her chin up to show everyone and enjoying me retelling about how brave she was she has been remarkably unfazed by it all today. It must be sore but she’s not mentioned it (am now worrying she’s lost feeling!) and even more amazingly for Tarly she has managed to not pick, touch or fiddle with the stitches.
Davies’ rash has pretty much gone. It did flare up again slightly today while out and about in the countryside but as I imagine any formal diagnosis would still result in simply administering anti histimine I’ll carry on piritoning him up whenever he is likely to have skin contact with grass.
Today we went along to a bluebell walk organised by Julie as an Activeo event. I had a vague idea of where it was in deepest Sussex and was hoping to get guided in by brown signs when I reached the general vicinity. Wrong! I was following a sort of random left, right, left, left, right pattern at the criss cross of crossroads that characterises the all but single track roads round there and the children were insisting from the back that ‘we’d been down this road before’ when suddenly Julie appeared behind me flashing and beeping! It appeared she was equally as lost as Chris always drives when they go there so we followed each other round a bit more and then started to try a 17 point turn to turn round which meant at least 8 cars appeared on a previously deserted road 🙄 including a charming old man who gave us directions and we eventually found it. On the way we had various conversations including a very interesting one about water shortages, hosepipe bans, reservoirs, how we can help to conserve water (showers, turning off taps, not flushing the loo every time etc) and why there is a water shortage.
Had a really nice walk around the lake through the bluebells. It was a safe enough environment to let the children go slighly ahead and out of sight (but not sound) which was nice for them to have a bit of freedom.
There was an amusing incident involving a cuddly Shaun the Sheep Davies had insisted on bringing along. He managed to drop him over the edge of a fenced off very steep drop down to a river. Shaun toppled head over feet in slow motion before landing with a splash in the river. It was quite fast moving but Shaun got trapped in a small corner and seemed to be holding on. I went over the fence, scrambled down the hill and laid flat next to the river to lean over and hook him out, back up the hill and over the fence again to much applause 🙂 I did have my Super T shirt on today – coincidence? I think not!
We had lunch mid way round the walk and came home via the Wizard store for small gifts for being brave / having a rash. (Aside, my Dad’s just rung to ask if ‘Tarly’s keeping her chin up?’ Ady replied ‘Oh David, you’ll have me in stitches’ groan!) and tea.
Then Davies and I went off to Badgers while Ady bathed Tarly and got all the blood from yesterday out of her hair.
Davies very happily let me drop him off and go back out to sit in the car, where I very happily sat in total peace and quiet reading my book – bliss 🙂 Apparently they learnt to count to ten in German (which he couldn’t remember but was hugely impressed that I already knew how to do and then tested me on lots of other German words, getting quite disappointed when I had to confess that the sum rememberings of 2 years of German at senior school left me able to count to 20, say ‘My Name is Nicola and I am 12 years old’ and ‘excuse me where is the hospital?’) and did lots of running around games. He seemed full of it again tonight and had really enjoyed it and actually sitting in the car for an hours peace once a week quite suits me so the arrangement seems fairly win:win to me 🙂
Tomorrow, weather permitting I have a massive dirty laundry basket full of washing to get through, I also have two CVs to get done and the rest of the book for tomorrow nights’ book club to read so we have a quiet day at home planned which I’m looking forward to. And you never know I might just get that hole in the internet plugged back up with some serious blogging again! 🙂
weekend roundup time…
Saturday – Ady’s birthday. 🙂 I got up with the children, Tarly first at 6am and we sat together and wrote out ‘To Daddy, Love Scarlett’, which she did really nicely 🙂 We assembled her card and I wrote my poem out for Ady, we wrapped his presents up together and I cleared up the tip that was the kitchen after using every saucepan in the room for curry, rice, popadums, bombay potatoe, nan bread curry the night before. Ady got up around 9am ish and opened his presents and oohed and ahhed over his cards. I’d got him a V slicer (his request :roll:), The De Vinci Code book and a Pompey top (away strip). We also got him a box of chocolates and a lottery ticket (potentially the best gift ever 😉 have not checked it yet actually)
Then we packed a picnic and my parents arrived and we all headed off to Bentley for the day. We had a lovely day feeding birds, enjoying the pretty surroundings, going on the train, walking through the bluebells, playing on the playground and inspired by Lije’s football playing Davies had brought a football along which Dad took great delight in kicking about with the children. In his youth he had been talent spotted to play for Wrexham but his Dad had refused to let him go to the final trials (no idea why? waste of his ‘excellent brain’ I believe, which has of course been put to far better use during his long career as a painter and decorator! :roll:). I think having been teasing me about how crap I will be at camping to be teased back about being elderly and having more respect for me as I will be the one choosing his retirement home soon he wanted to prove he’s still ‘got it!’ (just like at Longleat last year :-D)
Unfortunately Tarly had inadvertantly had a face off with a very aggressive male swan protecting his mate and her eggs, she’d kept going towards it wanting to pet it without realising that lowering its head, straightening it’s neck and bringing it’s wings up was fairly clear body language to stop advancing and got bitten quite nastily on the back of her leg 🙁
Poor baby, she’s very brave is Tarly so you know when she screams it really hurts. So ten minutes recovering from the ‘swan attack’ when she went flying and started screaming again I knew before even checking for damage there would be blood – and there was, both knees, scuff on on one hand and damage all up the other arm. Piggy back the rest of the way and picnic followed by train ride soon cheered her up though, as I say she’s pretty brave. Did ponder on what the third thing might be though…
We left there about 4pm as my Granny was coming over at 5 to see Ady and share in the birthday cake eating.
Cake consumed (and much praised :oops:) the children had a bath and went off to bed. Davies complained on getting out of the bath that he was itching and literally before my very eyes he started to develop hives and a rash, starting on his torso and working up his neck, down his thighs and across his arms and face. His ears swelled right up and went bright red. I gave him some piriton and smeared him in Euradex which seemed to stop the itching and decided we’d see how he was today. Both of them have previosly had unexplained rashes – Tarly’s was very bad when she was about 1 year old and I did take her to the doctors but it was never diagnosed as anything other than an allergic reaction and treated with anti-histimines. Davies had one last year which cleared up in 24 hours and as my GP/A&E policy for me and the children is very ‘last resort’ I’m disinclined to bother unless it is lengthy or they are in great distress.
Today he has varied with it flaring up and down, but seemingly controlled slightly by more piriton with him fine in himself, so I’m unworried. I think it is very likely a reaction to the cut grass he rolled around in while playing football actually, as he suffers with hayfever and has done so since pre-1 year old so to me it stands to reason he might have a contact skin reaction too (or I could be talking utter bollocks!).
Granny left around 11pm, followed not too long after by my parents and that was Ady’s birthday.
Today the weather has been altogether less nice although it’s ended up a nice evening. We went over to Chris and Julie’s for a barbecue via the local to them car boot sale. We found nothing but the very last stall before we left was giving away the books for free so I picked up a stack of real 60s/70s children’s books, the sort I had as a child both for nostalgia and reading to the children. 🙂
A nice time at Chris and Julie’s although Scarlett fell off the climbing frame but then along came her real third and I hope final injury when a mass collision between her, Davies and Jack happened. Not entirely sure what happened but I am assuming it was Jack’s teeth which sank into her chin giving her an impressive and gushing blood wound to the chin and making her shriek with pain while leaking blood everywhere… A quick clean up revealed a definite hospital visit injury according to Ady so off we dashed.
Once I’d ascertained that she was basically alright and although it was a fairly big and deep gash I started to fret rather at the condition of us to be going to hospital. I know this sounds crazy and of course if she’d been very seriously injured it wouldn’t have even crossed my mind but I know how people can judge and there we were, children filthy with mud and sand and grass stains, matted hair, old clothes (which I always put on them when we go to C&J’s) Davies covered in his rash which had flared back up again (probably giving weight to my grass allergy theory actually), Tarly with her Hesfes hoodie on. We’d just been saying ‘how Home Educated’ they were all looking. So I took the hoodie off her, put shoes on her and got Ady to drop us off at A&E, take Davies to my parents and then come back rather than us all going in.
Which was just as well as we were there for two and a half hours so Davies was far better with my parents anyway. We read every book in the waiting room, swapped stories with the other two people in the children’s area, Scarlett, apart from still dripping the odd bit of blood from her chin had utterly forgotten why we were there and seemed totally fine to the point of me wondering if actually we should’t just go home and put a plaster on it (like I say, I hate the possibilty of overreacting almost more than not reacting enough somehow). But when we got called in the doctor took one look at it and sent for the nurse to give stitches and said it was a very nasty cut – allowing Ady the smug ‘told you so’ look ;-).
I don’t remember the last time I was so proud or felt so maternally tugged at than watching my brave little baby lie back, screw her eyes up and barely flinch as they pulled it wide open to clean it up, put an anaesthetic injection right into it and then sew it altogether. My knees were very wobbly, but she simply clutched my hand as tight as she could, had a quick restorative cuddle inbetween the injection and the stiches and listen to my lighthearted commentary about how she was being sewn back together with a needle and thread like I sewed her Totty and Davies’ Wallace toys. She even peeked at the thread to see. The nurses were so in awe of her she got a whole sheet of stickers rather than just choosing one, upon which she pronounced she was going to share them with Davies and she couldn’t wait to show Davies her stitches cos ‘he won’t believe his eyes, I’ve never been stitch-ded before’. Now I am not remotely squeamish about blood, broken bones or other injuries but somehow I have real issues with surgical procedures. When I was pregnant I worried more about the prospect of an episiotomy or needing stitches than any other part of the labour and birth. I idea of deliberate cutting of skin or popping it with a needle even when I know it is being done to heal and aid just makes my knees go all wobbly and feel queasy. Which probably made me even prouder of her if that’s possible.
We went back to collect Davies from my parents, for Tarly to show off her stitches and have restorative tea and cake before heading home. Both asleep long before 7pm tonight and we have roast dinner waiting.
