A _much_ better day!
Thank you for all the kind comments following yesterday’s post.
So we started with a firm resolve – I would
- listen
- stay calm
- be careful to explain my expectations clearly.
In return Adam would
- not whinge.
And we achieved a high level of success. I negotiated him out of doing a combined swimming and lunch trip into town (my bike is locked up at work, and without it there would have been too much trailing from one venue to another), so we compromised on lunch only. (Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know – we will go swimming, soon, I promise… ) So we caught the bus into town and bought
- clothes pegs (but no washing up bowl – there is nowhere in the middle of Cambridge that sells washing up bowls – apparently we need to go to Tesco’s – but that’s the other side of town, so involves the car
) - stickers as a reward for Ruth – tomorrow is “Big girl in pants” day, and I want to try to keep Adam feeling at least a little bit involved – we’ve had a long and serious chat about how it will be difficult for her, so it’s really important that nobody shouts at her, and if she does make a mess he should just quietly and quickly come and get me if I’m not there already.
- various other bits and pieces
and, most importantly we went to the Rainbow Cafe for lunch. I know I’ve raved about this place before, but if you’re ever in Cambridge, do give it a visit (esp if you’re veggie or gluten-free, but even if you’re neither, it’s still wonderful – don’t be put off by the endorsement from Gillian “I’ve got a degree in Language and Linguistics ” McKeith). Adam had his usual pasta with cheese and salad followed by chocolate icecream, and I had Turkish tomato soup (i.e. slightly spicy) with ricecakes (if you ask they provide ricecakes on the side rather than bread rolls – how cool is that for a Coeliac?!) followed by Chocolate Pear Cream Pie. I swear I had to sit on my hands and bite my lips not to order a second portion – it was sheer unadulterated heaven – and it was gluten-free.
And the good behaviour lasted pretty much for the rest of the day – even from me 
This afternoon we delivered the tam jacket to Agatha – and I got to have a cuddle, and Adam stroked her cheek, and she’s absolutely gorgeous in the “I want to eat you all up” way that tiny babies are – and I still don’t feel the need for another. Hurrah!!
And when Ruth arrived home from the childminder, she looked like this:
(except with fewer crumbs – it’s one of the things I love about Bev is that Ruth always looks immaculate when she gets home)
But look at those gorgeous pigtails – here’s a better view:
And in knitting news – so I finished one major project – clearly it was time to cast on for 3 more…
From L to R:
Zig Socks for the Trek Along using The Knitting Fiend’s wonderful sockulator. (I was going to do Jaywalkers, but this one is so much easier to customise, and I have fairly teeny feet.) I’ve adapted it to use 2 circulars – and I have to say that at the moment I’m not loving it. I keep using the wrong needle and then having to transfer the stitches back onto the correct one. I am totally adoring the yarn (Trekking XXL #110) though. I’ve only swatched with it before, but now it’s getting more serious – maybe I do want more babies after all…
Black bamboo shrug for Annie – who saw the other bamboo shrug I knitted for a different Annie, and asked if she could have one too. (See, see – I really have started it!)
Toe-up socks for a birthday present in gorgeous green yarn from eBay. I did my first provisional cast on, and I’m fairly chuffed with the result. Although the eagle-eyed among you will notice the wiggly yarn – yup, this is the second attempt, the first one was frogged, but hey – this yarn is also rather delicious, so I’m more than happy to keep knitting with it.
Oops – my maths tutee is about to arrive. I’ll stop now 
two comments:
THREE projects?! Tut tut. I’d never dream of doing something like that…Good luck with “Big girl in pants” day and the pigtails are ace!
Also congrats on not going broody (I’m not doing so well on that one at the moment!
Nephews. Hmm.)
Daisy () (link) - 01 June '06 - 22:23
You sound altogether better today! Your day with Adam sounds lovely (esp the pudding). Good luck with Big Girl pants (I’ll be sending positive potty vibes to my dear GD).I had a big shout at Michael this morning. He will insist on unplugging electrical items, carrying them into a different room and plugging them in again. Am I being over-protective or I am I correct in insisting that he (age 4 2/1) does not touch electrical plugs? (Part of my concern is that he leaves sockets exposed for Isabel to go and stick her fingers in). Anyhow, I’ve “told him and better told him not to do this”. This morning he was subject to a serious, high volume telling-off. Access to computer and keyboard is now denied until further notice and future tampering with electricals will result in access denied to TV.
Thank you for the link to Dr Gillian. I find a lot of advice on food and nutrition confusing and depressing – and the more confused and depressed I get, the more chocolate I eat. I have one of her cookery books and all of the recipes that I tried tasted awful to me.
Big Ruth () (link) - 02 June '06 - 10:49
