Sorry, I wrote this five days later without making any notes or taking any photos during the day!

17 December 2018

Rochelle and Carl had left for work by the time we were up and about, but all four kids were at home, with Avis in charge of keeping them all out of trouble…! They are so brilliant at keeping themselves entertained, but there is the odd accident that happens – usually a smashed glass or unintentional, mislaid punch….!  Cornelia loved it all.  If I were ten years younger, I’d be coming home with a plan for another four kids, if she had her way.

The only thing she was wary of was one of the dogs, Elsa, who had bitten her yesterday. (I had forgotten to put this in the blog!!) Elsa is quite protective of her family, particularly Carl, and can be a bit growly at other kids, and on this occasion, snapped at Bugsy.  We thought she’d just threatened her, but when Carl looked at her hand (she would only let Carl look!), Elsa had drawn blood, and Cornelia was understandably a bit upset and scared by it all.  But she only wanted Carl to care for her.  Even I couldn’t get to her!  Carl scooped her up and cuddled her, and despite the blood, it was more the shock of it all that had made her cry, and he was able to soothe her quite quickly.  But, she kept her distance after that, and largely Elsa was kept outside, just in case! In any event, Carl had taken Elsa with her to work, so Cornelia was free to roam.

We had originally planned to stay for just the weekend and leave on Monday, but Rochelle & Carl convinced us that, as we didn’t have any plans for the coming week, we should stay with them until Friday when we were heading to Brisbane.  I was over the moon, of course, but Ian was concerned that we were overstaying our welcome.  Despite my protestations to the contrary, he couldn’t shake the feeling, and decided that we should leave on Wednesday and head up to the Sunshine Coast.  Needless to say, I was devastated and pretty cross about it.  But, it’s his trip too, and I have been extremely lucky to spend this time with my wonderful extended family.

I am not entirely sure what we did all morning, but the time seemed to disappear!  Cornelia was glued to the television which was on in the movie room, and Ian and I chatted to Avis and Steve.

In the afternoon, I was going to go to the supermarket with Cornelia and Zara.  Zara was upset because she wanted Levi to come, but we only had two car seats, so I couldn’t take all three.  Luckily Cornelia Square Eyes decided she didn’t want to come, so off I went with Levi and Zara instead!  Now, bear in mind, I’ve never had two four year olds on my own before, I wasn’t quite sure how it might go, and I warned Ian that I would probably be a good two hours.  Well, I surely underestimated my own ability to imitate Mary Poppins.  We had so much fun!  I had them counting out carrots, choosing apples, hunting for new vegetables, guessing the animal different meats come from… every day’s a learning day! ;o) They were good as gold and completely up for my games.  Then, as we checked out, I gave them a pen and a piece of paper and asked them to draw something to do with our shopping trip.  It kept them both occupied as I packed the bags and paid.  Genius.  Even the checkout lady remarked that she could see that I’d done this before.  I hadn’t, but I didn’t say anything and just glowed quietly to myself instead.

Back home, only about an hour after I’d left, I got to work, finally getting to cook some food in a big kitchen, for someone other than me and Ian!  I forgot how much I enjoy it, and ended up making both a normal lasagne and a chicken & roasted vegetable lasagne.

As the kids were laying the table, we discovered that Levi had fallen fast asleep, so he escaped mealtime!  Along with the lasagnes, I’d made garlic bread and peas (you can’t have lasagne without peas – yum), and there was tons of it.  Way too much for the eight of us, but I was touched that everyone ate as much as they could.  Even a couple of the kids who usually don’t like lasagne enjoyed theirs!  Jacob made me laugh out loud, when he told me (whilst eating his chicken and veg lasagne) how much Rochelle hated zucchini (courgettes).  “Oh yeah, she absolutely hates them! Mum, you told me that just before we ate!”  Rochelle didn’t hear that bit and was utterly mortified that he’d said this.  Apparently, she’d said no such thing and swears to me that actually, to the contrary, she loves zucchini!  I may never know….!

After supper, Rochelle reminded me that she’d sourced a scrapbook at Spotlight, a nearby hobby & crafts shop. She drove us there, and we wandered around on the prowl.  Finally we found them.  They’re not perfect, but I think it’s as close to what I was after as I will get.  And, as I said to Rochelle, the fact that it’s a bit different, and the search we had for it brings its own story to the book too.

Back at home, Cornelia was just getting out of the bath that she’d shared with Zara, complete with bath bomb.  Zara had had her hair blow dried by Carl, and Bugsy was keen to try it too, so Carl took her back upstairs, stood her on the bathroom counter and blow dried it for her.  It was very cute, watching him pamper her with such love and attention.

Finally, it was time for her bed.  She said her goodnights and Ian took her off to read her her stories.  He left her with the light on and in our bed, and when I looked in on her half an hour or so later, she was fast asleep.  She didn’t stir when I turned off the light, and I left her in bed until we went to bed later.