New shoes and toothy pegs

Another jam-packed weekend for Team O'Toole...

We were still recovering from our day at the Show yesterday morning, and being a Saturday the natural urge to go a bit more slowly was way too strong to fight. I allowed the kids to loll around in their jarmies for most of the morning. Apparently, jumping on the trampoline and playing with the dogs is way more fun when you're still in your pyjamas! I ignored the dirt and mayhem and enjoyed the happy vibes of my kids...until they discovered the garden hose. All of a sudden we had two sodden children in the house, dripping all over the floors and giggling, "Mummy, I'm soaked!!" As I already had a string of washing flapping around on the line all the way up the hill (strung between the trees, it's brilliant!!), I didn't really want any more washing, so I made them dry off naturally before letting them go back outside again - is that bad parenting?

After a quick trip to the supermarket, the kids had an afternoon kip and awoke just in time to watch the Grand Final. Actually, if I am to be completely precise, they woke up just in time to run back outside while Christian and I watched the footy. Apart from one little incident involving an umbrella (Phoebe's brand-new Dora umbrella she received in her solid-gold show bag on Friday) and the trampoline, they played exceptionally well with Sunny and Clancy (or Flancy, as Jack calls her!), our two adopted dogs, for the entire afternoon.

All three kids were in bed by 8pm last night, and I should have taken advantage of this unusual situation. Instead, Christian and I watched three episodes of 'The Royle Family' and only got ready for bed just in time for Maisie to wake for her late feed. Silly, silly Mummy! I took her into our bed with the idea of feeding quietly under the warm doona, so that I would be able to get her back into her own cot with a minimum of fuss. Wrong. After a massive feed, she had a coughing fit and launched a deluge of breastmilk and pureed vegetables all over the bed, Christian, myself, herself and the floor. Apparently she felt marvellous after this episode of purging, as she then started laughing and kicking and blowing raspberries. We got Maisie to sleep after another cautious breastfeed. Mummy and Daddy eventually went to sleep on towels, after mopping up the rivers of vomit and taking showers to rinse away the stench.

After a very late night, Christian and I were not prepared to be woken this morning by a little voice whispering, "Mummy, Daddy, the dogs ate my shoes" Despite the kids bringing their shoes in every night after being outside, they forgot after their hose-induced glee yesterday. Sunny and Flancy must have thought they had been given a special treat, so believe me, I don't blame the dogs at all. As far as dogs are concerned, I reckon if you leave something outside in their reach, it's fair game! The only trouble was, I had only packed one pair of shoes each, plus a pair of gumboots for the kids. So off we trooped to our swimming lessons clad in gumboots - quite the fashion trendsetters!

Jack and Phoebe had a great time at the pool, while poor old coughy Mais watched from the side. It was while I was sitting with her watching Jack's torpedoes that I discovered her very first tooth had come through! I know it wasn't there last night, as just before she spewed everywhere she had bitten me quite hard and laughed uproariously. But at the pool this morning, I tipped her backwards in a game, and in a split second when the drool spilled sideways out of her mouth and her tongue rolled back, I saw the ridged little edge of a brand-new pearly white!!!! (Can anyone predict delicate moments in breastfeeding coming my way...???)

We had a golden afternoon with Pa and Aunty Miffy, running around in the sunshine and collecting yellow 'daisies' in the yard behind my Dad's shop. It was so nice just to sit and chat while the kids explored and only answered to Dora and Diego. After a couple of hours, we packed three very tired kids into the car and let them sleep all the way to K Mart. I must say, the replacement shoes we purchased were exceptionally popular - Ben 10 runners for Jack, sequinned Tinkerbell runners for Phoebs, and the cutest little sandals for Maisie Mouse (absolutely no use except for decoration, I know!) And the new shoes are now proudly lined up INSIDE the front door, ready for another jam-packed day tomorrow!