On Saturday we had a slow start to the day, but eventually got out of the house at about lunchtime, me to go op-shopping, and E to take the munchkins to PlagueZone to tire them out a bit. My op-shopping was cut rather short by E’s realisation that he had forgotten to bring bumwiping supplies with him, and that K was marinating in a squitty nappy. I had to drive over so that he could change her in the back of the car. After that, I went into the Mall for my usual meal (which I haven’t had for weeks and weeks), after buying myself a new book to read. E ended up taking the girls to the bookshop in Lyneham, then back to pick me up. We spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up before Nannie arrived to babysit, then headed off to David’s place for a gathering, including pizza (because I abhor farnarkling and have decreed that it may not happen in my presence, especially when I am starving to death and craving pizza). It turns out that K didn’t want to go to sleep for Nannie but eventually allowed her sister to sing her to sleep – we need to pay that Elder Daughter more, I think…

Sunday, we got out of the house quicker, and went and had brunch at the organic cafe at the Markets, then I did the F&V shopping while E entertained scrublets. At various times we ran into Jim’s friends Joe and Caroline and their two kids (the last time we saw them the first one was a couple of weeks old, and now they have two!), and Chas and Amanda. Lolling about the house was done for a while after we got back, then we headed off for Bunnings to get a lock for the games cupboard (which turned into getting a lock for the games cupboard plus a long BBQ gas igniter, a set of steak knives, some lightbulbs, some daffodil bulbs, and an indoor plant, as it generally does whenever we go to Bunnings to pick up “just one thing”). We went home via Coles because, yet again, I am craving red meat, so we bought hamburger makings. I lost a couple of eBay auctions in the evening, but in the process learnt an awful lot about the psychology of bidding. I think that eBay is a tool best used sparingly, and with a very good idea of exactly what one is looking for and how much one is prepared to spend. Fortunately, I have cheapskate fingers – they don’t let me bid unless I’m Really Really Sure I want the whatever-it-is. K had an early night, and B kept herself awake after Robin Hood long enough to watch a new Dr Who episode with E before going to bed.

This morning, Nannie came round at 9am instead of 9:30, and got me just as I was finishing getting dressed. I’d forgotten that 9am used to be the usual time, so she could take K out for a walk while B and I did some bookwork. I didn’t have any bookwork in mind (obviously, since I’d forgotten all about it), and B was not hugely happy about the idea anyway, so I gave her a few chores to do and then sat her down with the multiplication book (something she doesn’t mind doing) just before Nannie came back. Then she was reading some of The Cat on the Mat was Flat to Nannie while K and I left (she must practically know that book off by heart by now…).

K had loads of fun at playgroup, as ever, and came home with a frog made out of a balloon with paper feet and stickers stuck on. She also enjoyed joining in the music and listening to a story (she’s obviously getting better at sit-down-and-join-in activities – she’ll be ready for something like kindermusik this year I think). I had a nice chat to some other mums, at least after I had woken up a bit more. I parted company from my first breakfast this morning and didn’t think to have a second one before we left, so I was also ravenous (it would be the first week in ages that no-one thought to bring morning tea for the mums!). K fell asleep in the car on the way home, and B watched her for me while I made Nannie and me a quick sandwich each for lunch. B had brought home a gorgeous blue goblet from pottery that Nannie was trying to convince B should go out to the farm, but B was having none of it! After Nannie went home, B went inside and watched the recording of Robin Hood again while I read in the car.

After K woke up and there had been a sufficiency of cuddles and playing, she settled down in front of a Play School episode, and B sat at the table and wrote another page of her story. Her spelling really is improving, when she’s actually concentrating on the sounds in the words. For example, she had written “wet” for “went” a couple of times, then did the trick of holding her nose and saying the word (this is something we came up with which helps her to identify the nasal sounds), realised there was an “n” in the middle, and went back and wrote it in where appropriate. Go B! She asked for the spellings of some words (like “peasants” and “beginners”), but made a pretty good attempt at some others (like “rekods” for “records”). She still finds it very difficult to keep her handwriting neat when she’s concentrating on composition and spelling, though. She was happy to escape after writing one page, and went outside to plant the daffodils we bought yesterday.

Before the afternoon’s TV came on, we lay on the mattress in the playroom (well, I lay on it – they mostly sat on me!) and I read some of the library books I borrowed weeks ago but which we haven’t gotten to yet. B enjoyed the story of “Edison’s Fantastic Phonograph“, although K was less impressed, so we read her “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” afterwards. Then I read B “The Quangle Wangle’s Hat“, and both of them “We’ve All Got Bellybuttons“, which was a good book to end on as it segued neatly into a tickle fight… Now they are both (I presume) watching Play School.

ETA: I forgot to say that K counted up to 10 with no mistakes this afternoon!