More about Golby

This weekend was scorchio! and Nani was up so we went to Kew Gardens to melt. Jasmine told me more about Golby.

Golby's mum is a chicken. Called La-lu (or it might be Lu-la - I can't remember). Golby's dad is also a chicken called Da-na. Golby, however, isn't a chicken. Golby, says Jasmine, is a Golby. I think Golby must be quite small because she slipped down a crack in a rock today and had to be rushed to hospital.

Nani passes the baton to Granma

Jasmine's diarrhoea persists. Nani cancelled her clinic on Wednesday to stay and look after her. Granma dropped everything and arrived on Wednesday lunchtime to relieve Nani of her shift.

It's Friday today. Jasmine's bottom has only just started to clear up, but we're beginning to suspect it's something other than swine flu. Nani took her to the GP on Wednesday, then walked all the way back again with a stool sample. Bloody impressive for someone with exercise induced asthma.

Felix has been a star amidst all of this, though going to school full time is taking its toll on him. I have to peel him off me crying every morning as I leave him in nursery. It hurts.

Week 1 at work has been full on. Big 6 hour meetings with suppliers for the first three days. Train trip to Lichfield to the fulfilment centre yesterday. Went all the way to Exeter today to the customer services centre. Packed train both ways, not too dissimilar from a Ryanair jet - cramped, uncomfortable, noisy and about the same price.

Roll on the weekend. I am cream crackered.

update: turns out it was shigella (and not swine flu, or maybe swine flu for the first day, and then shigella for the rest of it). have re-drilled the importance of wipe'n'wash to jambeans, just in case that's what caused it.

Jasmine's still ill - I must be starting a new job then...

Made the emergency call to Nani last night, who bravely dropped work and came up on the train last night. Was feeling rather guilty, on the suspicion that Jasmine would actually be perfectly well today, but the hunch was right. Jasmine soiled herself twice last night and this morning had a slight fever. And the poo is still sloppy sloppy sloppy.

Which must mean I've just started a new job - day 2 today - which is why I'm not taking time off to look after the splinks. It's at New Look the fashion retailers. In their eCommerce team. And that's a bit weird because it's the first time I've ever fessed up to where I work, but I owe it to Caroline who's been asking for days! (And in case you're wondering about previously - freelancing was at the agency Last Exit, before that was Blooming Marvellous where I was made redundant, before that was Early Learning Centre which was completely amazing).

Jasmine is 3

Our darling little girl is 3 tomorrow. Today was her party complete with frock, cake, candles, party bags, grandma, nani, auntie seema and some of mum and dad's friends and their respective broods. Ok. So it was really a bit of a do for us. But who cares? A great time was had by all. Only downside was that Jasmine's chestiness has returned, as have our suspicions of asthma, so she's been put straight back on the montelukast today after months of going without. We'll just have to see how it all pans out...

Piccies to follow.

10 rounds with Mike Tyson

It's impossible to change Felix' nappy at all these days. Normally, I require the help of bf to pin him down. Yesterday at the zoo with uncle A, auntie T and cousin A I had to change him toute seule on a changing station that didn't have a strap to keep him place. Result - 10 minutes of struggling and a total babymomma energy crash all afternoon.

Other than that - no new news. London Zoo yesterday en famille. Jasmine and Abagael get on like a house on fire - though J wants to copy everything A is, does and has. Today Jambeans and I made cake for Nani's birthday, which was raw and collapsing when we took it out of the oven, but by the time we had ferried it to Auntie Seema's had miraculously recovered and tasted delicious. Nigella, irritating as she is, scores another goal.

Our holiday, in brief

So, our 3-week holiday, aargghh. Where to start? So much to cover. So many memories to capture. The short version is that we all had a great time. Spent a night at Nani's, then to Granma's for a week, then to Granpa's for a couple of days, then bf went back to work for a week (boo hoo) and I stayed at Granma's with the kiddisplinks and Nani came down to visit for a couple of days, then bf came back for a week (hurrah) during which we disappeared to Fowey Hall for 3 nights sans grandparents of any description (double hurrah) then we went back to Granma's for a night, back to Nani's for a night and then, breathe, home. Oh, and in between we also managed to do much catching up with Uncle Angus, Auntie Tina and Cousin Abagael as well as Auntie Leon, Uncle Mary and oooh their gorgeous new baby Kate.

I feel that Jasmine stopped being a toddler this holiday, and has really turned into a little girl. Her speech is coming along at a rate - it's now moving into full sentences, with plurals, personal pronouns, possessives and tenses - and she sounds so grown up when she says things like 'I'm feeling ok;' 'Look Daddy, I'm driving!' or, yesterday's new one, 'I don't like it' (gulp). On holiday she also rode a bike for the first time, did the washing up, went to the circus, danced at a birthday party, practically lived in her Wendy House and graduated to a proper bed. She is embracing this new stage of maturity and independence with a lot of giggly excitement and bossy charm.

Felix, quite simply, hit the handsome button this holiday. He is just getting more and more gorgeous each day. Oh yes, he also hit the loud button. One day he realised he could squeal much louder that all the pigs in Pigdom. And so he did, throwing me totally off track as now there are a whole load of new noises to mean, hungry, bored, tired, need a new nappy etc. etc. He has also started mooncrawling (trying to crawl only going backwards), sitting quite beautifully, grabbing for toys and shoving anything in his mouth with a vigour I had quite forgotten about.