Meal times can be a battlefield at our house. Food that the kids have eaten quite happily for years is suddenly treated as toxic waste.
"Have you eaten all your dinner?" I ask.
"Urghh, I don't like it, Daddy," they say in chorus.
"Which bit don't you like?"
"Sweetcorn," replies the eldest.
"Sweetcorn?...Sweetcorn? But you ate it yesterday and liked it."
Pause for thought. "But...erm...I'm full."
"I'm full too, Daddy," say the other two.
"Well, if you eat two more mouthfuls you can have a yoghurt," I bribe them.
"I want a yoghurt," says the youngest girl.
"I thought you were full."
"I got a bit of room here," she says, lifting her t-shirt up to point at the side of her tummy.
Nice try.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Bad month - Part 2
So my wife has handed in her notice because we cannot find, let alone afford, suitable childcare.
Last week I had Monday to Wednesday off work to look after the kids whilst my mother-in-law was "recuperating". All of the children and my wife have got streaming colds and a stomach bug. How come I don't get sick?
My wife calls me on her first day back at work, Friday, to say she had had a panic attack in the car on the way to work. She'd got through it and dropped the kids at nursery but just broke down at work. She came home early. She hasn't had a bad panic attack for years and I think it's the stress of leaving work coupled with the illness that triggered it.
By the way, I've got a three-hour exam due on Tuesday (11th October) for my Business Studies degree and I'm trying to revise through this upheaval. The only time I've got is on the train during my commute and after 9pm when the kids are in bed and I've cooked dinner.
From Friday my wife had hot and cold sweats, nausea and really bad stomach cramps. They'd eased a little by Sunday but she was still not right so while I went to work she went to the doctors.
I called home mid-morning to see what was happening and my mother-in-law answered the phone. The doctor had sent my wife straight to the hospital for tests, a friend had driven her there. She hadn't called me because she knew about my exam and a difficult meeting I had scheduled at work, she didn't want to stress me out if it wasn't too serious.
Shortly, afterwards our friend called from the hospital to say that my wife had been admitted for observation and scans. I went home to see what was going on.
They suspect gall stones but can't be absolutely certain until an ultrasound scan has been done. My wife had been doped up with painkillers and wasn't allowed any food for a couple of days.
The next day I did my exam and then drove straight round to the hospital to pick up my better half. I'm confident I did enough in the exam to pass but, I could do with out revision days like those.
My wife has been discharged but still has a course of anti-biotics to finish and some painkillers too. The ultrasound will be done as an outpatient but, it is likley that the pain will return before the scan is done or the treatment that follows it. The GP has signed her off work for two weeks so she won't have to go back to work her notice.
All we need to do now is start planning for Christmas. Sheesh.
Last week I had Monday to Wednesday off work to look after the kids whilst my mother-in-law was "recuperating". All of the children and my wife have got streaming colds and a stomach bug. How come I don't get sick?
My wife calls me on her first day back at work, Friday, to say she had had a panic attack in the car on the way to work. She'd got through it and dropped the kids at nursery but just broke down at work. She came home early. She hasn't had a bad panic attack for years and I think it's the stress of leaving work coupled with the illness that triggered it.
By the way, I've got a three-hour exam due on Tuesday (11th October) for my Business Studies degree and I'm trying to revise through this upheaval. The only time I've got is on the train during my commute and after 9pm when the kids are in bed and I've cooked dinner.
From Friday my wife had hot and cold sweats, nausea and really bad stomach cramps. They'd eased a little by Sunday but she was still not right so while I went to work she went to the doctors.
I called home mid-morning to see what was happening and my mother-in-law answered the phone. The doctor had sent my wife straight to the hospital for tests, a friend had driven her there. She hadn't called me because she knew about my exam and a difficult meeting I had scheduled at work, she didn't want to stress me out if it wasn't too serious.
Shortly, afterwards our friend called from the hospital to say that my wife had been admitted for observation and scans. I went home to see what was going on.
They suspect gall stones but can't be absolutely certain until an ultrasound scan has been done. My wife had been doped up with painkillers and wasn't allowed any food for a couple of days.
The next day I did my exam and then drove straight round to the hospital to pick up my better half. I'm confident I did enough in the exam to pass but, I could do with out revision days like those.
My wife has been discharged but still has a course of anti-biotics to finish and some painkillers too. The ultrasound will be done as an outpatient but, it is likley that the pain will return before the scan is done or the treatment that follows it. The GP has signed her off work for two weeks so she won't have to go back to work her notice.
All we need to do now is start planning for Christmas. Sheesh.
Bad month - Part 1
The last few weeks have been...difficult.
Our childcare arrangements have become too difficult for us to to carry on so my wife has had to give up work.
Over the last year we have made many changes to the childcare to allow my wife to keep working. For the first half of the year we were skinning ourselves as she wasn't earning enough to pay for the childcare.
It costs an average of 30 pounds a day per child, with three pre-schoolers that soon mounts up to a hefty bill. When my wife changed to a better paid full time job we drafted in the help of my mother-in-law to help out for three days a week. It meant she had to stay with us from Sunday to Wednesday and we did pay her a small amount too. The new job was school term time only too so my wife would have the kids during the breaks. With our eldest girl about to start school it meant not having to find childcare during the school holidays so all OK.
Then the nursery we used closed down. All the other ones near us only operate from 9am - 12pm so they were no help. Childminders that had spaces for three chldren were/are as rare as hen's teeth but, we got lucky and found one.
It was still very expensive though and ate all of my wife's wage. Then we found a term-time only nursery near my wife's work that was partially funded and half the price. So when the new term started, our eldest went to school the twins stayed with Nanny Monday to Wednesday and went to the new nursery on Thursday to Friday. Great.
Except the new nursery only runs until 4pm so my wife had to leave work 90 mins early every Thursday and Friday. We couldn't find any childminders that would take two young children for just two small
sessions a week during term-time only. It would use up two spaces for very little recompense so it's not worth their while.
If you're wondering why it's my wife doing all the running around for this and not me well, I work in London which is almost two hours away from home. I leave at 7am and get home at 6:45pm, IF the train are running smoothly. Local jobs don't pay enough to service all our bills and the mortgage. We can't afford to live closer to London without buying either too small a house or living in a rotten area so I commute for 3 and a half hours every day.
Anyway, my wife's work were understanding enough but couldn't keep the reduced hours going indefinitely. Then my mother-in-law twisted her ankle and had to take a break from the kids. My sister helped out for the first week but couldn't do the second. I had some time off to step in but, I don't have much leave left due to taking a lot of leave in January to care for the family when they were all hospitalised with dehydration due to a severe sickness bug.
It then turns out that my mother-in-law wasn't quite as laid up with her ankle as she had made out. She'd been out and about doing early Christmas shopping and the like. Arggh, she just doesn't realise how much of a difficulty this is for us.
My wife spoke to her work to see if she could permanently reduce her hours by an hour and a half everyday so we could move the twins to the nursery five days a week. Unfortunatley they couldn't do it so my wife is now working her notice and will stay at home with the kids until they are all at school.
Our childcare arrangements have become too difficult for us to to carry on so my wife has had to give up work.
Over the last year we have made many changes to the childcare to allow my wife to keep working. For the first half of the year we were skinning ourselves as she wasn't earning enough to pay for the childcare.
It costs an average of 30 pounds a day per child, with three pre-schoolers that soon mounts up to a hefty bill. When my wife changed to a better paid full time job we drafted in the help of my mother-in-law to help out for three days a week. It meant she had to stay with us from Sunday to Wednesday and we did pay her a small amount too. The new job was school term time only too so my wife would have the kids during the breaks. With our eldest girl about to start school it meant not having to find childcare during the school holidays so all OK.
Then the nursery we used closed down. All the other ones near us only operate from 9am - 12pm so they were no help. Childminders that had spaces for three chldren were/are as rare as hen's teeth but, we got lucky and found one.
It was still very expensive though and ate all of my wife's wage. Then we found a term-time only nursery near my wife's work that was partially funded and half the price. So when the new term started, our eldest went to school the twins stayed with Nanny Monday to Wednesday and went to the new nursery on Thursday to Friday. Great.
Except the new nursery only runs until 4pm so my wife had to leave work 90 mins early every Thursday and Friday. We couldn't find any childminders that would take two young children for just two small
sessions a week during term-time only. It would use up two spaces for very little recompense so it's not worth their while.
If you're wondering why it's my wife doing all the running around for this and not me well, I work in London which is almost two hours away from home. I leave at 7am and get home at 6:45pm, IF the train are running smoothly. Local jobs don't pay enough to service all our bills and the mortgage. We can't afford to live closer to London without buying either too small a house or living in a rotten area so I commute for 3 and a half hours every day.
Anyway, my wife's work were understanding enough but couldn't keep the reduced hours going indefinitely. Then my mother-in-law twisted her ankle and had to take a break from the kids. My sister helped out for the first week but couldn't do the second. I had some time off to step in but, I don't have much leave left due to taking a lot of leave in January to care for the family when they were all hospitalised with dehydration due to a severe sickness bug.
It then turns out that my mother-in-law wasn't quite as laid up with her ankle as she had made out. She'd been out and about doing early Christmas shopping and the like. Arggh, she just doesn't realise how much of a difficulty this is for us.
My wife spoke to her work to see if she could permanently reduce her hours by an hour and a half everyday so we could move the twins to the nursery five days a week. Unfortunatley they couldn't do it so my wife is now working her notice and will stay at home with the kids until they are all at school.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Me
7th October 2005
This blog is mainly for my kids, I want them to have something to look back on when I'm dead.
That doesn't mean I don't welcome comments though so, post all you like.
Family
I thought it about time I put some pertinent facts together for easy reference.
I'm 34 and married with three kids:
4 year old girl who has just started school
2 year old boy
2 year old girl
Yes, twins. The 4 year old was just 18mths old when the twins were born and it has been very hard keeping things together with three babies on the go.
I'm the eldest of 5 children myself, three sisters and one brother.
Work
I work in IT for an organisation based in London. I've had lots of other jobs before this including; catering, window-fitting and office cleaning.
I left school at 16 with a few GCSEs. I hated school with a passion, I couldn't stand the idiots I had to share it with.
So I've put myself through the pain of acquiring an education later in life.
Apart from numerous vocational qualifications, I'm also working towards a degree; a BA in 'Business Studies with ICT' from the Open University.
This blog is mainly for my kids, I want them to have something to look back on when I'm dead.
That doesn't mean I don't welcome comments though so, post all you like.
Family
I thought it about time I put some pertinent facts together for easy reference.
I'm 34 and married with three kids:
Yes, twins. The 4 year old was just 18mths old when the twins were born and it has been very hard keeping things together with three babies on the go.
I'm the eldest of 5 children myself, three sisters and one brother.
Work
I work in IT for an organisation based in London. I've had lots of other jobs before this including; catering, window-fitting and office cleaning.
I left school at 16 with a few GCSEs. I hated school with a passion, I couldn't stand the idiots I had to share it with.
So I've put myself through the pain of acquiring an education later in life.
Apart from numerous vocational qualifications, I'm also working towards a degree; a BA in 'Business Studies with ICT' from the Open University.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
What happened to my baby girl?
My eldest girl started school recently. For the first four weeks she was only doing half-days, mornings one week and afternoons the next. This week is her first of full days.
On her first day I took the day off work to take her to school and pick her up. She looked so grown up in her uniform. Very smart shoes, grey skirt, white polo shirt and a cardigan with the school badge on. She also has a bag with the badge on.
It goes so quickly. I remember when she was born she had a touch of jaundice and had to stay in a bili-bed (a UV treatment bed for jaundiced babies) to help her get over it. She was so tiny and helpless. Now she comes home with grazed knees from the playgound and thinks nothing of it.
She still wants lots of cuddles, I wonder how long that'll last.
On her first day I took the day off work to take her to school and pick her up. She looked so grown up in her uniform. Very smart shoes, grey skirt, white polo shirt and a cardigan with the school badge on. She also has a bag with the badge on.
It goes so quickly. I remember when she was born she had a touch of jaundice and had to stay in a bili-bed (a UV treatment bed for jaundiced babies) to help her get over it. She was so tiny and helpless. Now she comes home with grazed knees from the playgound and thinks nothing of it.
She still wants lots of cuddles, I wonder how long that'll last.
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