Heads up

Nine years ago today Mr CleanSlate (or was he Master CleanSlate then?!) asked me to marry him on a perishing, magnificent walk, in an (almost) deserted wood, on the edge of Georgetown in Washington D.C. Afterwards, thawing and dazed, we walked around the memorials as the cherry blossom fell like confetti.

*sigh*

Today I fielded tantrums related to:
Heavy school bags;
Inequality of only carrying one sibling's school bag;
(Ditto: lunch boxes);
Getting off the trampoline;
Taking 45 seconds to take a picture of a bee;
Wanting a child not to kick a football at the bush with the bees in it;
Apricot yoghurts (or lack thereof);
Number of signatures it takes to gain approval to participate in transnational research*;
Bottle top Bill not playing correctly on Demand5;
Not being allowed to take a duvet to school**;
Parking in a different parking space;
Getting dressed;
Getting undressed;
Putting pyjamas on...

I really could go on, but I won't - phew :-)

Good job I can't go back and give myself a heads up ;-)

*OK this one didn't come from the 5 or 7 year old
** you couldn't make that one up!!