Today

Today I immersed myself at work.

Today it rained and rained and I went to Oxford in the morning with Harriet to collect some toys I bought for Christmas. Then in the afternoon I had to pick Owen up to take him to his martial arts class. I was drenched (even with my waterproof coat on) and cold from pushing the buggy around all day in the rain. My poor hands were sore with chill and wrinkly from damp. And then the children were impatient, rude and ungrateful. I feel a bit sorry for myself.

Today I took Harriet to the toddler group. It was freezing cold! Harriet was very cute and said another complex sentence: 'when is it snack time?'. Growing up so quickly! In the evening I got mad with Owen for being rude and demanding when I was so busy and tired from serving the two rascals. Maybe I should cut down on the Christmas presents and teach them a lesson.

Today I stayed home all day again and Owen didn't want to go out though Harriet was keen. So Peter took her out to kids runaround at the Charlbury community centre. I did a lot of Christmas shopping. Next year we'll try harder to cut down on consumerism! But it is hard with children, particularly when you spend Christmas with other children and you can't explain to your kids why Father Christmas was unfair.

Today we stayed home all day. Peter's mum dropped by to see us in the afternoon. In the evening I worked on the moose linocut until past midnight!

Today finally I got to do some work as Peter worked from home to look after Harriet, who wasn't allowed at nursery. In the evening I did the final moose drawing for the Christmas linocut. Harriet said the first complex sentence I've heard her said: 'what happened to mama?'

Today I took Owen and Eddie to school. And then at noon, Harriet got sent home from nursery for having a temperature. And then our architect and Bob the builder visited to talk about the extension. It was a challenge juggling these and work and then picking Owen from after school child care and making dinner! Knackered!

Today Harriet cried and cried all night, and was too poorly to go to nursery today. As Peter had only just started work, I had to stay home with her and didn't get much work done.

Today Harriet didn't nap till late and I had to wake her so we could go pick Owen up. In the evening we went to Owen's Martial Arts class and Harriet as usual was super cute there.

Today Peter started his new job! I took Harriet to the toddler group. She was so cute. I will miss her next year when we send her to nursery for even more days. :( In the evening we had our first PTA meeting for Owen.

Today we went to Witney and finally bought Harriet new shoes. In the evening Peter was short tempered. Maybe it is nerves about his new job tomorrow. I didn't want to go to bed angry, so I stayed up late.

Today we went to the bookshop cafe in Chipping Norton and ran into Owen's best friend, Maddie there. Everyone thought Harriet was very cute. In the evening I drew some moose for inspiration on a festive lino cut.

Today I immersed myself at work all day and quite enjoyed the focus.

Today I drove to work in the new car and loved it though I'm really not a car person. Sadly I had already scratched both front and back wheel hub caps on the curb. In the evening Daisy came to visit and the children went mad.

Today I had the day off work to clear my holidays, so I went to Oxford to do some sketching with the Oxford Urban Sketchers group.

Today I drove our new car out for the first time, but had to turn back shortly due to a road accident (not caused by me).

Today I finally organised the new sketchbooks I made, took photos of them, and added them to Etsy to sell.

Today we went to Witney to watch Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero. Luckily though it was a war film it wasn't too scary or sad for the children. In the evening I carved my first lino block! Loved it! It wasn't as difficult as I had thought, probably due to my splurging on some top quality carving tools, and the hours of passive learning I had done, reading blogs and watching video demos.

Today we went to Oxford as we felt sorry for the children who had to stay in the last 2 weekends due to illness and other business. It turned out not as nice as I had hoped as Harriet was trouble and it was rather stressful and frustrating for us.

Today I didn't get to carve my lino as I came down with a cold which lead to a migraine, and was in bed for more than 24 hours!