A few good days

Some friends came to visit on Monday. Lady and K. had a great time in Harry Potter fantasy land. At one stage they went off with a selection of saucepans, glasses and some smoothie I'd made earlier, and pretended it was Felix Felicis (a luck potion). Well, it was the right colour! Duncan was a bit stressed out and stuck right by me for a while before he decided to head off and play again. Thomas played with the little 1 1/2 year old girl. Their Mum was commenting on how gentle and lovely he was with her. I told her that I reckon he hasn't had to toughen up like many boys do when they go to nursery. She then told me a few stories about situations her son has had to deal with at school.

The following day, we met up again at a brand new, and very busy playground beside their house. Thomas and Lady darted off and climbed and slid and swung while I stayed by Duncan. He liked the roundabout best. It's flush with ground level to benefit wheelchair users, but it's also easier for toddlers to get on and off. They seem to judge the speed so well and know when it's slow enough to climb on or off. Duncan, clutching a picture of Fizz I had made that morning, was loving this roundabout. He lay down and closed one eye so he could look more closely at the small gap between it and the ground.

A dog was wandering around outside the playground fence making Duncan very excited. No-one was with this dog, and Duncan kept opening the gates and letting it in so I had to herd it back out a few times. Who designed a small playground with 3 gates anyway! There were frequent shouts of, 'Duncan, gate CLOSED! No dog!' as I ran up to him. He had bit of a shout and cry when it was time to leave and a few old ladies were having a good tut about us. I was admirably upbeat and we had a snuggle and moved on happily again.

Yesterday, I bought a 3 person tent on impulse at Tescos. Well, I had looked at them online a few days ago. We put it up in the back garden and all 3 children brought out their duvets to sleep there. When they were still shouting and laughing and running around at 10, (it was still bright daylight) I took Duncan (the noisiest one, who'd have thought it!) inside and he feel asleep beside me on the sofa. Thomas and Lady both went to sleep quickly too, then I carried Thomas back inside and I slept there myself. It's been years since I slept in a tent!

Today, we're going through a few things on our 60+ point to-do list before going to spend a few days with my brother and sister-in-law. The weather should be nice and I'm looking forward to seeing them again.