Today

Today I went to work, and in the evening worked more at Santa workshop. We finished watching season 4 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Today I went to Witney with Harriet in the morning and then took Owen to his martial arts class in the evening. It was rainy and dark and so there was a lot of yelling, swearing, and crying. Harriet had been super fussy as she didn't have a nap. At the end of the day when we talked about it, Owen assured me that we were still best friends.

Today I took Harriet to the last toddler group of the year. Afterwards when I put her to nap she cried and cried for an hour and refused to sleep. The children were quite good today though, and I even managed to steal a few winks of sleep on the sofa while they played in the afternoon.

Today we went to the village hall to watch Paddington Bear 2. The children had a great time. Harriet didn't quite get the plot and was rooting for the baddie.

Today as per Christmas tradition, we went to Jaffe & Neale in Chipping Norton to get some last minute Christmas presents. Harriet seemed to have x-ray eyes and could see through to what I was hiding in my shopping bag. I bet she will be the one to catch us out some day.

Today it was nice and festive in the office. I spent all day concentrating some chunk of work. In the evening I drove to pick the children up, and this time Harriet didn't cry when I put her in the car seat, though shortly after she wanted something Owen had and was crying and screaming all the way home again. Someday I will bring her home without tears.

Today I took the day off to attend Owen's first 'nativity play' in his Primary School. It was actually a musical and was surprisingly enjoyable. In the afternoon, I was busy with Christmas presents.

Today I still ended up driving home with Harriet crying and screaming the entire journey. Some day this will get better. I didn't burn dinner today (only because we had leftover for dinner). That's an improvement.

Today I went for a lovely morning walk with Harriet to see the horses at Ditchley. Harriet was so very cute, her personality starting to come through. In the evening I burnt dinner while trying to order tomorrow's grocery on Ocado. Owen helpfully told me he would remind me when the timer goes off the second time round.

Today I took Harriet to the toddler group and then after school, I took the children to the library. In the evening I hurt my toe, and Owen gave me advice on how to deal with it. It's so cute how he talks to me like a grown up.

Today we went to Cogges Farm Christmas market to see Daisy and ran into Dennis, a designer I used to work with, and he was telling me how good he thought my drawings on Instagram were, and how he thought I should change profession. He's a man of good taste, I'm really flattered!

Today we drove to my office so I could pick up the car I abandoned on Friday for the Christmas party. And then we went to the library. In the evening Daisy came to see us and stayed for dinner and the night.

Today Owen got drenched in rain in the morning when I took him to school because he didn't have an umbrella, and he was sobbing when we reached school. In the evening we had our office Christmas do. It was so nice to see warm familiar faces like Dan and Ben, who are now based in Bristol. I got home after midnight and couldn't sleep until 5am due to coffee, alcohol and discomfort from the skipped breastfeeding.

Today I worked from home all day. It was freezing cold.

Today the office was super quiet! We used the new car seat. In the evening, I drove to pick up Owen and Harriet from childcare, and spent 20mins trying to stuff a screaming Harriet into the car while inconveniently parked. Got home super late and felt demotivated.

Today for the first time I was early to pick up Owen, so much so I even had time to buy him a new school jumper. Afterwards I juggled 3 kids in the library and felt empowered (Maddie's mum was ill, so I helped look after her for a bit). I had driven to the village centre when I picked Owen up, so we didn't have to walk in the dark and cold after his Martial Arts class, and got home super quick to make dinner! I felt like a super mum.

Today in the morning I helped out at the village toddler group. In the afternoon, Harriet cried and screamed, and then threw herself to the floor and sobbed when I woke her from her nap so we could go get Owen from school.

Today we went to Chipping Norton and bought our first Christmas tree (a small one) to decorate in our house. The children didn't seem impressed.

Today I printed my linocut block to make some Christmas cards. We stayed home all day as Owen didn't want to go out, and so Peter took Harriet for a splash in the puddles outside.

Today we opened the Christmas box and unpacked the advent calendar and Christmas wreath.