Chickens in a box

Today it was William's turn to throw a wobbly at the pool. All was well to start with until he discovered the big steps where he didn't actually have to swim at all, from then on whenever I tried to coax him out into deeper water he screamed blue murder. Finally I decided to play the 'I'm stronger than you' card and dragged him out with me anyway - a good move as it turned out because he was so determined to get back that he didn't notice I'd let go and was already 5 feet behind him as he whirred his way back to the shallows. So far so good. Until it was time to get out.... To say all hell broke loose would be an understatement. From the minute I said we had to go and get James William was having none of it and proceeded to work himself up into one of the worst tantrums I think he's ever had. I did the classic, gritted-teeth-Mother bit trying to get him to stop, but in the end gave up and just stoically wrestled him into his clothes, flung everything ...

Today was James' first Waterbabies session. There's always a screamer on the first day, and today it was us. From start to finish JimBob protested his aversion to the water and anything related to it. His excema is now at its peak, covering every inch of skin and scalp, so by the end of the half hour lesson he was a puce, blotchy, shrieking, livid, wriggling blob of rage. But enough about James - I loved it and couldn't have cared less about the din. It was a small group, just four of us and I'm sure that after a couple of weeks tootling around the pool in Egypt James'll soon come round. I felt quite the old hack as was the only one with Baby Number 2, but also quite proud to be the only one in a bikini (a new investment in advance of the holiday) albeit sandwiched between two other ENORMOUS other mums in one-piece horrors. Home now with both boys snoozing; the sun is shining, the snowdrops are out, we're off on holiday on Friday and all's well with the worl...

Happiness is....riding in Grandpa's van.

After an unprecedented 8 hours sleep last night I am reborn. The boys have been angels all morning and are both asleep, leaving me a whole hour to myself to write my blog, check emails and update Facebook. Nirvana.

It's amazing how much a decent night's sleep can make a difference to you. James has always been a nocturnal mammal, but recently we got on an even keel by introducing a dream feed at 10.30 and for about 5 days he went through until 6am, rather than 3am so we didn't have a broken night. Alas he soon returned to his wicked ways, waking earlier and earlier until finally we got to the stage where we went to bed at 10pm, set the alarm for 11.30pm to feed him and he was up again at 3am. Ridiculous. So - war it was. Eddie went in with the Cool Boiled Water as an opener, which was predictably met with howls of rage. We then moved on to the nappy change and finally collapsed into bed an hour later resigned to listening to James as the shrieks turned to wimpers, the thumb went in and finally he gave up and went back to sleep. Zombies yesterday our strategy paid off with a whopping 7 whole hours of unbroken sleep between 11pm and 6am last night. Long may it continue (apart from anyth...

A better day today, incredibly the sun actually shone and it made such a difference to have a day without rain. We went to Tuesday Cherubs and it was wonderful to see some of the girls and realise that I'm not the only one finding two babies hard work - especially at this time of year. My cold continues to drag on which doesn't help and by the end of the day I'm absolutely shattered, all I want to do is watch rubbish - even a glass of wine doesn't appeal any more. Egypt is just what we need, I must stop myself worrying about all the challenges it also brings. The main thing is to get some time away to recharge our batteries, I'm sure that things will seem so much brighter for a fortnight away but I'm in such a stew what with one thing and another that sometimes I can't see 'the wood for the trees' (!) Sigh. Back to EastEnders then.

We're finally beginning to surface after over a week's worth of colds and flu, added to which I suddenly got an attach of insomnia which didn't help matters. Now it turns out that Little Sods has had an outbreak of chicken pox, so we've decided to keep Will at home for now and he'll go back after we've been to Egypt. I'm so bored, I feel as though we're all just going through the motions and this appalling weather every day leaves us stuck indoors the whole time. William's sleeping up to 3 hours over lunchtime and I grab what I can when James naps to avoid feeling like a total zombie. Even Molly's fed up - following me around like a wraith, crying. The gym is a no no with William at home so that makes things even more challenging, added to which I was really looking forward to going! Oh well, I think it's for the best and keep telling myself that soon we'll be soaking up the Egyptian sun and it'll all be worth it.

Sweating gently as I languish in bed sipping a hot toddy and trying to catch up on life in the virtual world. I've had this hideous flu since Monday as has Will and it is a nightmare; aches, pains, fever, cough, runny nose - the lot. All I want to do is curl up in bed and wait for it to be over. No chance. Not with two little boys to look after!! My God, if life wasn't exhausting enough before....I honestly don't know how I'm getting through the days. Every night I go to bed feeling appalling and just praying I feel human the next day. So far my prayers haven't been answered - let's hope tomorrow I wake up and feel at least marginally better.

And in Will's case, teeth, to deal with, all of which are making us a bit of a grumpy lot. I think Will's getting some molars through as he's had a temperature of 40 degrees and been dribbling from every orifice for a few days now. We almost didn't go to Jim's birthday party down in Sussex, but in the end wrestled the children into the car and headed off - a good decision as it took Will's mind off the fact he felt rough because he was so excited to see everyone. The party was great fun and the boys slept through like angels. Alas as ever, Eddie and I paid a high price for a few glasses of champagne and a late night; children don't allow for lie-ins or hangovers! Still feeling very tired today, but Will's not too good still either, he even fell asleep in the buggy today - unheard of - so in a way we're tootling along at similar speeds which kind of works. Hopefully we'll be back on form soon, in the meantime I'm finding Will's new Fatboy ...

Trying to get anywhere with two small children is hard enough, but in a force ten gale and driving rain it's 100 times worse. Today's expedition was to Canons to go swimming. Of course all the Mother and Baby spaces (Oh My God, I really do park in them now....can you believe it?) were taken so we ended up parking miles away and next to a hedge. I managed to wrestle Will out of the car, and then had to try to stop him running in front of any other vehicle/stomping in the biggest puddle he could find, whilst attempting to yank James out of the other side, avoiding the hedge. We finally made it inside looking like drowned rats - well, Will and I did, James was serene; cocooned in the Maxi Cosi - only to find we'd coincided the visit with the end of a million and one classes and so had to fight our way past a million Yummies and their offspring. Finally I managed to find a creche girl who'd rescue James and Will and I went swimming. Great fun if even more faffing aroun...

Watching James with Will today it suddenly occured to me that it's no bad thing being the second child. James was really grizzly over tea and I couldn't do anything to cheer him up - until I put him down on the carpet while Will and I were playing skittles. He was absolutely thrilled and I realise now that he's at the age where he doesn't want to be tootling about on his own anymore, he wants to be with William. So obvious but sometimes I can't see the wood for the trees (!). He's now doing his next best thing, which is wriggling on the bathroom floor sans nappy. The best fun ever - especially when your big brother is playing trains on the tiles next to you :)

I just can't believe that William is two. Where on earth has the time gone? He is totally into the concept of presents now, and with a birthday so close to Christmas he'll probably wonder why they've suddenly dried up after having been inundated for so long. Today was his first day back at nursery and he was so thrilled to be back with his friends. I think he must get bored being at home all the time. In my efforts to be a true Yummy I attempted to bake his birthday cake last night. It was OK in the end, but only after I'd spooned the mixture into my perfectly lined tins only to remember I'd missed out an egg. I then had to scrape it all off the paper, back into the mixer, add the extra egg and start again. Urrrrghhh...I have clearly missed out on the baking gene that Granny and Mummy had.

2007 is over - the hardest year I have ever lived through with absolute extremes of joy and tragedy to try to reconcile. But I have my two beautiful sons, Eddie and the incomparable Molly. We're ready for the adventures 2008 will bring.