Time has flown past and the end is nigh.  Well not the end, more the beginning, but part of me also feels like it is the end.  Having been made redundant when I was pregnant with Ben I was relieved of that "returning to work from maternity leave" feeling.  Despite a brief foray into the world of work with a local posh hairdressing chain and the consultancy work, I've not really had to deal with the proper challenge of juggling a job and kids.  This all changes next week as I return to the coal face and start to attempt to juggle a 3 day a week job with 2 kids.  I've got mixed feelings if I'm honest.  I'm sad that I will be leaving my kids in childcare 3 days a week, until late when it's dark.  I'm terrified of having to get them up, fed, dressed and out of the house with a deadline, and I have NO IDEA how I will manage the house stuff without a bit of time to myself in the week to get things sorted.  That said, I am looking forward to having a mental challenge, adult company without the constant interruptions, not having to sweep under and clean the dinner table 3 times a day, and being able to listen to my choice of music in the car for 1 hour a day as I travel to and from work.
I'm lucky in that I only have 3 weeks of work before I get the Christmas break so hopefully it will be a gentler introduction.  We'll see,  wish me luck.....

well that was a bit of a shit week what with having an ill son, an ill husband, being ill myself and having a happy, bouncy little girl into the mix.  This was supposed to be my first week of freedom after having finished my work, and having 3 weeks before I start work.  I managed 2 hours in town on tuesday shopping but other than that it didn't quite happen.  Ben was clearly not well when I picked him up after nursery on Tuesday, by Wednesday he was grim and Paul was off ill.  Thursday saw Ben off nursery, but luckl=ily dispatched to grannies whilst Paul and I slept (separate beds!) - and today I had to call Paul to come home from work at lunchtime cos my head was pounding.  I'm hoping that the worst is over and we will have a nice weekend.  It's not a fat lot of fun being ill at the best of times, let alone when you have kids to look after :-(

that said, Rebecca has had us in stitches all week, she's a real chatterbox and never shuts up, god help us when she can actually say words......!

it's been a fair while since I last posted, partly because any real spare time is spent doing this consultancy work which was due in yesterday (yeah, well never mind eh) and in other areas of my life I have used up all energy, enthusiasm and commitment in persuading my son that pooing in his potty is preferable to doing it in his pants.  In which respect we seem to have finally got somewhere.  If I had written this 7 days ago it would have been one of slight despondency, but finally we seem to have cracked it and today was the first day that he finished the day in the same pair of trousers he started in.

I apologise if you are not a parent and reading this (in which case, why are you reading this and not out drinking and enjoying your social life....??!) -but if this kind of stuff makes you wince just be grateful that you are only reading about it and not living it.

I'm nearing the end of the policy updates I have to do, and the kids are getting nicely settled into their respective nurseries on a Tues and Thurs.  I start work in a month, so I can nearly taste those few days of freedom between finishing this work and 4th December.  Bring on Chapel Spa and an afternoon of lying on the sofa watching the last 8 episodes of X Factor USA..... (I love my son but it does my head in when he won't let me watch my choice of TV).

So November is upon me and it's my mum's 70th birthday next week - that's almost as scary as the fact that I am 40 next year.  She definitely doesn't look 70 that's for sure.  :-)