At the end of the day

I've had one of those long, long days where parenting a young baby and a big toddler has made me frazzled, and of course the more frazzled I get the more difficult they, and everything else, becomes.

Maybe it's because the rainiest July in forever means there are less options outside, but sometimes full-time parenting is unbelievably hard. I felt pretty slick this morning- everyone washed and dressed, breakfast (oatmeal and eggs) cooked, eaten and cleaned up, walk enjoyed (complete with puddle-jumps), poodle skirt made from scratch for carnival, bread baking and laundry washing. All with Aretha Franklin providing the soundtrack. Iit was a happy morning and the children were divine- sort of making up for my sleepless night.

Then it all changed when Imogen boycotted her nap. She's doing this lately and I think is growing out of it. The only problem is that for the afternoon of a no-nap day she becomes a clumsy, tearful, slobbery toddler then needs to go to bed at 6pm.

And that was our afternoon: she woke Atticus up a couple of times, so he was cranky and overtired. I was exhausted and trying to get a dinner ready and house tidied a little with him in sling and her arguing, then tripping over and needing a cuddle. By the time I laid him in his moses basket, all I needed was a glass of red wine in a candle-lit bath. It was not to be, and he woke every 5 minutes for nearly an hour with gas, not his fault. The fact that I needed a little time to myself meant that each time I settled him was less calm than the previous, and so less likely to encourage a deep slumber. Hence he was more likely to reawaken. I used to think taking a class of teenagers camping in Yosemite for a week was tiring until I had young children!

Finally, though, all are asleep and wine is breathing. I can relax. The candlelit bath will have to wait, though, until we've installed the tub in the bathroom!