A new day

Today feels like the first day of the rest of my life. Some decisions have to be made.

The boys still have little colds so we're off school today. The weekend passed uneventfully, clearing up the garden of me-sized weeds and the housework, somewhat neglected from last week. So today we're trying some homeschooling and looking at the My Baby Can Read series again. Not convinced of its merits just yet, when watching detracts from other activities, signing, colouring and physical activity, but we'll see.

Reuben was pretty studious today as I'd decided we needed some full on homeschooling whilst the boys have these colds. We did puzzles, colours and a lovely picture of the sun, sky and flowers all by himself. Callum kept running away during our activities. And in the bathtub Reuben signed his way through his ABC floating letters, putting each up in order on the side of the bath, running round in an arc under the rim and beautifully read each of the letters in turn, the letter name and letter sound. Sweetly he would recite his way through the alphabet each time he added another letter til we were signing and saying away in cold bath water.

After bathtime Callum runs up to me, "Mama's bed" he beckons, so I take him into bed and we read stories, he plays with the lights whilst I try to dim the environment, he seems to settle and Iggle Piggle is beside him, whom I also kiss goodnight. It's going well.

"Eyes" starts Callum, sticking his finger in my eyes, then "Nose, mouth, hair" and his personal favourite "brows". His face is so close to mine now and I feel his sweet breathe against me. It's a delightful moment.

"Cer - al" he suddenly says excited. No surely, not, he's had enough to eat.

And then he signs cereal because he thinks I didn't quite understand. I did, I just didn't believe. Well, we're not going to have cereal now. Iggle Piggle has already settled down and I do the finger round the palm of his hand and hope it'll work. And amazingly, he does, and he stays asleep in Mama's bed.