Anyone else had a tough week last week?
As the end of the festive season approached, the husband started to complain about going back to work after New Years Day. I was with him on this, while I am not yet going back to work, it would be my first complete day in about 2 weeks on my own with both smalls. We have had friends and relatives visit all over the festive season, plus a pre-new year party to finish it all off. New year was spent getting back to ‘normal,’ but I still had the husband home to pass miniature humans over to.
His first day back at work would also be my first day back on my own, and it was as daunting as it was disastrous.
Possibly, feeling it’s approach with some degree of anxiety didn’t help, possibly, it became a self-fulfilling prophacy. Possibly, I had set myself up to fail. The fact remains, Tuesday 2nd January kicked my arse a bit!
We were up early and ready to leave way eirler then normal, so we headed out to the dreaded soft-play. It was deserted, dirty and freezing cold. I guess everyone else thought it was still holiday time. The heaters were broken and I was not prepared for such cold. The Girl was ok running around but I was not. By the time other parents started to arrive I was a block of ice. She got a good 50 mins of playing, but had clearly had enough because when I told her we were leaving she said ‘yes mummy’ and came away without a fight. The baby was ready to be fed and I wanted somewhere warm to sit.
We headed to the M&S cafe, The Girl chose a gingerbread man and a babychino (she loved these but won’t drink them at home!) I ordered a decaf coffee. The Boy screamed his lungs out because I have never fed him. Clearly. The dubble buggy and screaming baby did not go down well with the elderly clientele in the M&S cafe, (actually the only place I have ever caused someone to move away from me because of breastfeeding, and that was only once, in all the time I have fed two babies!) However, an older gentleman did help me pick up things that had been dropped, but I suspect he was the only person who didn’t mind us being there!
No matter, we proceeded, the baby much calmer for having eaten and The Girl is usually pretty good when we eat out. That said, when I eventually got to try and drink my coffee, The Boy managed to grab the cup and throw half of it all over the table and the buggy, so now I have a buggy that smells like I bottle feed them both lattes.
We walked home in the pouring rain. The Girl complaining because ‘mummy wet!’ But refusing to get into the buggy where she could sit under the waterproof cover. When we got home she then refused to nap. I was desperate to try and nap myself because The Boy has done one of his split night-times again, but of course The Girl has other plans. She screamed and screamed and screamed until I gave up on anyone napping and we all went back downstairs to watch junk TV.
We tried to walk the dog and The Girl screamed her head off again. To wet, apperantly, although I suspect the truth to be ‘too tired.’ She also refused to eat what I cooked her, so ended up with wheatabix for her tea while the baby howled (I forgot how much the baby cries when I am on my own with them.) The Boy then refused to nap, even in the sling. I was desperate to get him to nap because I know it effects his nighttime’s if he dosen’t but, in this case, he wouldn’t!
When the husband got in I was a wreck. With two over tired and strung out children, one of whome had pretty much only eaten a gingerbread -person all day, and a dog that hadn’t been walked yet due to the toddlers rejection of the idea and nothing actually done in the house at all, I’m half surprised he didn’t turn round and head back to work!
Why was this day so bad? How will I cope the rest of the week? The Girl isn’t back at nursery until next week!
Thankfully, the week did not continue quite in this vain, the next day was better, and the day after we had got back into something resembling ‘normal.’ Not all of our classes have started yet but we are catching up with our routune again. It was just one day. Next time I will be more prepared, next time I will be calmer when disaster strikes. Actually, I probably won’t but it’s reassuring that these days only happen sometimes now, not every day!