At home

Today is another at-home day. Both the children have minor colds, so I thought it was best that they have another quiet day to get over the lurgy, ready for the rest of the week. I have much washing on the line and have done much housework already – yet strangely the house still looks messy.

The children were playing hide-and-seek together before, in the delightful way that many young children do. They took turns hiding in the same hiding place while the other one counted (Aidan to 5, Isabelle to 10), before the seeker yelled “I’m coming!” to (re)discover the hider.

Aidan has refused to have his much needed nap so far, which means none of us have rested. My pick is that he will sit down in the next hour or so, quietly read some books and nod off in the chair. The tiredness of course can lead to discipline problems! For example, I told Isabelle an hour or so ago I was confiscating her balloon for some misdemeanour. She promptly ran off and hid it (which of course didn’t change my mind, but my hands were full at that moment). A little bit later the guilts must have got to her as I found her putting the balloon in the back room (our usual place for contraband and confiscated goods). She told me very seriously that she was confiscating her balloon herself. This gave us a good opportunity to discuss the reasons for the confiscation and the expected future behaviour. I have told her she can have it back when Daddy comes home.