Part time Nicola

This morning started pretty badly. I would say shittily, quite literally. 🙁

Candle, who is very old – we’ve had her for 15 years and she was at least 2 when we got her, has been blind for about a year and protests in a rather disgusting manner at us going away on holiday. She quite comprehensively protested (none of that peaceful picnicking and bubble blowing for this cat!) while we were away last week and has continued to protest since our return. However this morning she had vomited all over the sofa and crapped in many places downstairs during the night. While Ady was clearing that up downstairs she came and continued to protest upstairs. Both of us were late for work due to clearing up her bodily fluids :(.

Ady took Davies and Scarlett into work with him for the morning. He was working in a local garden centre removing some incorrect labels off plants and replacing them with the correct ones. Time was when he really didnt like being out and visible with the kids in school hours but these days he is more out and proud than I am (and I’m pretty out and proud ;)). So they sat and helped him with that while fielding ‘not in school today?’ questions between the 3 of them – and quite possibly setting us up for a visit from all sorts of agencies with regard to child labour, servitude, truancy and all sorts of other accusations.

Meanwhile I went to work for the local government myself and spent most of the morning researching cat euthanasia.

At lunchtime Ady returned the children home, met my Mum and headed off to work without his little helpers. I went round the charity shops and got a pile of long sleeved tops for Scarlett who is desperate for autumn / winter clothes. I also spoke to Michelle a couple of times :).

The cat has won a temporary reprieve as Ady admitted he’d bought the wrong cat food (as in something other than the *only* flavour of the only brand she can eat without being sick) so she has a minor excuse. Her days are definitely numbered though… 🙁

Work was all very much the same as I’d left it 2 weeks ago – frustrating Nightmare Colleague, Summer reading game is over for another year, I spent a very theraputic hour removing staples from a hessian covered wall. Due to quirks in my rota again I’m not working again until next Friday, so over a week between shifts. It would be tricky to be more part time really and remain employed! ;).

Back at home all was calm. All four of us have the beginnings of a cold but have a quiet few days ahead before next week kicks in with a vengence so will hopefully recouperate speedily.

This evening I spent time transferring all the dates for various clubs into my diary and phone calendar. Then I had an email from the gym to say both children can start on Monday for 90 minutes a week and Scarlett can go straight into the older group as she is nearly 7 (which is very handy), then I came across phone numbers for the Brownies leader to get Scarlett’s name on a waiting list for January (she now has a place for Tuesday evenings) and the local Sea Scout Cub leader where Davies has been on the waiting list for a year and finally has a space. He’s going along next Tuesday evening to see what he thinks but it sounds just his sort of thing so he’s really chuffed about that. This means our weeks are very full again potentially with Gym on Monday, swimming followed by Sea Scouts for one and Brownies for the other, Wednesdays with Badgers for both and until the end of term Scarlett has Rainbows on a Friday. They both have Wildlife Explorers on Saturdays once a month and Davies has YACs monthly too. That does satisfy everything they have both asked to do for now though and means we keep Thursdays free (and Fridays after Christmas) which is good as those are my working all day days each week. I’ve signed up for a 9 week course which starts on Tuesday evenings too and is likely to lead to more out of the house stuff for me too. Aside from gulping at the amount of time off of these things other stuff we want to do, like holidays, trips to London etc. means it is nice to have full calendars and be providing all the stuff the kids ask for :).

We started reading as I’d brought home the book and the film with the intention of showing the children the two interpretations as we’d been talking about films from books the other day. None of us got hooked by the end of the first chapter though so I think we’ll watch the film instead. I suspect it’s a bit too old for Scarlett and maybe not a book that lends itself well to reading aloud anyway. We then read some which I have to say didn’t really do it for me either but both children kept asking for more and said they were enjoying it so we’ll carry on with that tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s plan is some baking, some artwork for Tasha’s display of kids artwork for the Made in Worthing festival and probably some sniffing, nose blowing and coughing.