Change of Plans

Well this is what we had planned for the day.

A slow morning bumming around the house, cleaning up the remnants of the puking gastro infestation that has finally left our happy home.  that would include finishing off the rest of the laundry and getting all the sheets and towels dried and put away.  I need to rebuild the beds and put girl-child’s mattress back on top bunk.   We should also trying to eat something at some stage too.

Today is girl-child’s best-not-school-friends birthday and party.  Despite her being sick yesterday, her friend still wants her to come over today, however I am waiting for final confirmation from her parents.  I feel apprehensive sending her to a party after being so unwell but she has been puke free for 24 hours, for longer than she was actually unwell, and besides this bug seems to be everywhere at the moment and not just here.  So assuming she goes to the party, we will drop her at the party and I have to drop in to work for a while.  I love that despite being on holidays, I still need to get work ’stuff’ done, at work!  If the work thing gets done quickly enough I hope to make a quick stop at a craft/fabric store to collect a few more supplies to finish the costume I am making for a friend before heading back to the party.

The plan was to head from the party to mum and dad’s house for a few days of R&R.  I wasn’t looking forward to a 3 hour drive but figured it would be worth it for the recovery time and sunshine when I am there.  3 days in the country with yummy home cooked meals and someone else to entertain the kids was going to be perfect to recharge the batteries.  That isn’t going to happen now and to say that I am bitterly disappointed would be an understatement.

Wasted Days

I have been away here for a while for about 3 billion reasons, but I am guessing the main reason is that I don’t know who I am at the moment.  I seem to be everything for everyone else and nothing for me.  I have been helping friends through some pretty difficult situations of late, some with work issues and another with serious marital problems.  On top of that I am to be the best big sister I can be as the arrival of Baby Billy looms closer and closer – 3 weeks to wait.  Then of course there is work, far too much work to do in a dysfunctional office.  Underlying all of this is the desire to be the best mum I can be which I am afraid isn’t actually the best mum when I am so distracted all of the time.

It is school holidays and naturally I have been working.  The kids have been visiting with mum and dad since the weekend so that I don’t have to deal with the logistical nightmare of enrolling the kids in school holiday programs.  The kids love going to mum and dad’s house – I can’t imagine why?  Playing all day long, visiting cousins and going out for dinner really can’t be that much fun for kids!

Of course when you are on a roll, the world conspires to make things even more fun.  As we speak, the kids are on their way back home, boy-child is due in at the hospital at noon to sit around and no doubt wait for hours before having surgery to have the screws removed from his elbow.  They have been up since 6am so that he could have a giant breakfast as he has to fast from 6.30am.  I wish my parents luck for the 3 hour drive here with no food to keep the kids sane – on the drive there they stopped for a fruit break where he ate an apple, mandarin and 2 bananas and that was after having a ginormous roast lunch and dessert!  I don’t think it will be a pleasant drive.

In the absence of the kids I should have been having heaps of fun, sleeping in and going out.  In reality I have been waking early without an alarm but still feeling tired.  I have been running a little, but not actually feeling fit or healthy but tired and sore.  Knowing that I have to take time off work to allow boy-child to recover from his surgery I have been working crazy hours.  I worked an entire week in only 3 days.  I feel good about the work that I have done, but I know that I will be swamped by the time I eventually go back to work in a week.

It has been strange coming home from work to a quiet house.  I was so disturbed by the silence that on Monday evening I had an hour to fill before going out for dinner.  It was strange that I didn’t enjoy the silence.  Normally I am silently pleading for peace and quiet but this day it disturbed me.  I ended up getting my cup of tea and taking it over to the neighbours house just to be a part of the noise of family life.

I did go out for dinner with friends.  Now that really isn’t something surprising or even unusual, but what was unusual was going to bid farewell to friends.  One friend was heading to Noosa for a well deserved holiday the following day and the other was packing up her life and moving to Hong Kong with her husband.  I am so happy for them to be starting a new adventure together and I know she will be back in Melbourne many times in the next few months finalising their move but I really miss them.

I guess I am just tired and grumpy and feeling isolated.  I know that is a strange concept with so many people still around me, perhaps I am just tired of being the ‘fix it’ person for everyone else.  Maybe I just miss my kids and the insanity and busy-ness that surrounds them.  Maybe I just need a holiday but for now I just need my kids home, for today to be over and for my boy to be back home from hospital and recovering happily so I know all is well and we can enjoy the final week of the holidays together.

Tired, Grumpy and Picking Fights

I think I am trying to do too much.  I have too much happening and I don’t have time to get my shit together.  I am struggling to be a good mum, partner, and employee.  I still haven’t kicked the bug that has been lingering in my body for the last bazillion weeks.  Essentially I am tired and grumpy and not much fun to be around.  I anger easily and all I seem to do is pick fights with anyone who is around.

My work hours have increased a little, the days in the office aren’t long but I am now there EVERY DAY and I don’t get a break.  During the additional 6 hours a week that I am working somehow I am expected to take on the workload of a colleague who has transferred.  Now I am no mathematician but somehow trying to do a new job, a job that previously was done on a full time basis of 40+ hours a week  in a measly 6 additional hours just doesn’t seem to add up.  Something has to give, either I do my job to a lesser capacity, I do absolutely nothing with the new job or I work even more hours (unpaid).  None of these options seem particularly attractive and I think that what is really happening as a result is that I get nothing done other than freak out about what I need to do.

On the home front, well I am not here enough to get on top of things.  I really miss having a day at home every now and then to get shit done, fun domestic things that need doing – laundry, cleaning, getting rid of clutter.  I get resentful that it is important to me to not live in a total pigsty, that I need to clean up instead of going out and having fun.

I was a total bitch to be around almost all of the weekend and as fun as it can be to be a bitch, it wasn’t fun.  I didn’t want to be here.  I didn’t want to be the mum who couldn’t get her shit together.  I hate that I am the boring parent, the one that sets rules and boundaries, the parent that the kids don’t ask to go and play with them in the park because they know that I am tired, or grumpy or just not likely to have fun.  I want to be fun.  I want to be spontaneous.

I am torn in so many directions and I don’t know how to get everything done.  I don’t have the time of energy to do everything as well as it should be done and I hate not doing things properly.  I know it is hard to tell, but I hate complaining all the time, I just want to get my shit together and be in control, or maybe I am just hormonal and moody.  It really bugs me that I have been feeling crappy for what is essentially no real reason at all.  Realistically I have a great life – my family are awesome, I have friends all around me, hell I even have a job that I usually love.  Hopefully I will wake up in the morning and feel better and more realistic about my world.

A Wet Weekend

There is much I could write about for the weekend, but this is my summary of the weekend, beautiful things combining and then things go wrong my macbook gets soggy and I am all bleh!

Soggy Macbook

Still Running

I haven’t mentioned it for a week or so, but I am still doing the Couch 2 5km running challenge.  I haven’t mentioned that it wasn’t as hard as I expected.  I mean, it still hurt but I was surviving.  In fact, last week during Week 3 I actually jogged more than was required because I felt like I hadn’t really exerted myself.  Lets just say that that lulled me into a false sense of security.  Week 3 consisted of two cycles of 90 second jog, 90 second walk, 3 minute jog and a 3 minute walk.  It seemed strange to go from a 3 minute walk into a 5 minute cooldown walk and that was where I inadvertently ran an extra 90 seconds and survived.  During week 4 I feel like I have been sucker punched.  After the standard 5 minute walk to warm up it was straight into 2 cycles starting with a 3 minute jog, a 90 second walk, a 5 minute jog with a 2 1/2 minute walk between the cycles.  Now for someone who is fit and runs regularly running for 5 minutes would be nothing but for someone as unfit as I am, 5 minutes is a really really long time.  Fortunately I can’t look ahead to see what world of pain I will be in next week.

I am kind of proud of sticking to the running plan for this long, I am almost half way to being able to run for half an hour and hopefully for 5km.

In other running related news, I would like to take the time to ‘thank’ the cyclist who was riding city bound and decided that it was an opportune moment to overtake a fellow rider, when facing oncoming traffic – namely me.  Thank you very kindly, I really appreciate being forced off a shared footway by an inconsiderate cyclist who is riding on the wrong side of the path.  I love running so much, even more when I am forced from the path and into the wet and muddy grass.  Again, thank you

Goodbye July (pt 4) or Why I Hate July (pt 5)

What went wrong?

So we clearly arrived safe and sound and had a chance to explore our new home.  Man-child was to have the first week off work so that we could settle in as a family.  In reality, his week off work upon arrival was just like his week off work prior to departure – it didn’t happen, he had to work every day except the 4th.  He did only work part days, going to the must attend meetings and such but it did make it difficult to get organised.

That first week, when we had time together we confirmed the kids places at a daycare that we liked.  It was going to be a chance for the kids to meet other kids and make friends.  The daycare was at the local Y and had an awesome program that included swimming, cooking and story time in English, Spanish and French.  The program coordinators and teachers were delightful.  It all sounded too perfect, boy-child was going to be in the Koala class and I was sure that it was a sign.  We could have started them there the following day but since it was still summer holidays, we planned on waiting a few weeks before they would actually start, that way I wouldn’t be too lonely during the days!

We also used this time to check out our new apartment.  It was fantastic.  The apartment itself had 3 bedrooms and a huge loft/play space, a decent kitchen and 2 bathrooms.  It was on the third (top) floor in a complex that was full of kids and young families.  There were barbeques in the gardens, toys strewn around the play areas, swimming pools, basketball courts, a gym, playgrounds (multiple) and even an onsite playgroup.  All this and the the rent on the apartment was cheaper than the cottage.  It was situated near a mall, was not too far from man-child’s work and apparently was also in a great school district to boot.  All we were waiting on was the carpet to be relaid in the apartment and the company to co-sign the final papers for the fund transfers.

We managed to start stocking up on things we would need for the apartment.  We had new beds and bedding for the kids, we thought we would stock up on towels too – the towels in the cottage were beautiful, white and fluffy until we moved in.  I didn’t think that they would ever be white again if we kept using them!  There were delays in our boxes last few boxes arriving, read they hadn’t even been sent yet so we headed to a mega toyshop somewhere to stock up on a few extra kiddie essentials.  

We stocked the teeny tiny kitchen in the cottage with food that could easily be prepared to take with us exploring.  Mostly it was cereal and crackers as the kids didn’t like the local bread – apparently it tasted like cake.  Eventually we even found a market that had a great variety of fruit and vege to keep the kids happy.  

We even spent a fun filled afternoon in a local town (I have no idea where) sitting in a social security office, applying for social security numbers so that man-child could be paid.

Once all this was done and we were set up to really live life in our new community was when everything really started to go wrong.  Firstly they, the company decided that we should be paid in Australian Dollars.  They didn’t get that we actually needed to know what our income was going to be.  At the time the exchange rate was pretty ordinary and trending downward.  We weren’t going to be able to guarantee an income to cover our expenses.  The HR departments in both countries got the fact that we needed some security and were trying to sort it out for us.  Next was the fact that they decided to not co-sign our lease.  They had decided (they being the CEO and company owner) that it was more cost effective for the company if we stayed in the cottage as they already had a lease there.  Clearly they hadn’t ever been to the cottage, whenever they were in town they stayed at the Princeton Club!  Just to make things even more fun, the head cold/sinus mess that I woke to when we first arrived was now lodged squarely in his chest.  He had all the precursor signs of having pneumonia again so we needed to take him to a doctor.  At this stage we had no medical insurance confirmed so finding a doctor that would see him using our travel insurance as cover was challenging.  Now we had yet another important issue that needed resolution, urgently.

It was then that I decided that it was time for me to get involved.  I drafted an email to send to the CEO, outlining the issues that we had faced during the move.  It started off being a short email but ended up being many pages.  I detailed the difficulties of having my husband spend more time in another country than with us, the constant changes in expectations of the company in regards to how long we would be staying and the inexperience of the HR departments in relation to international relocations.  I continued to outline why we were unhappy with living in the cottage as a permanent home.  I mentioned that it was not suitable for small children, was filled with antiques and that the gaps in the floorboards allowed bugs of all sorts into the cottage – the kids were waking covered in bites from said bugs that were huge and crawling over them in their sleep.  I also reminded her of the kids ages, that one had a day time sleep and the other did not.  I couldn’t leave girl-child in the house asleep knowing that she could wake up and try to walk down the stairs to look for me.  I couldn’t let boy-child out to play whilst I waited with girl-child as there were no enclosed spaces.  Within 3 year old walking distance was a main road, a creek (that had flash flooded in the short time we had been there), a forest area and corn fields.  All amazing places to explore, but not as a 3 year old on his own.  

I offered to document my experiences of both moves with the company, firstly to New Zealand and then to New Jersey to show how each move occurred and the impact it had on a family, to comment on what worked in the move to New Zealand and what hadn’t worked so well in the move to New Jersey.  I figured that as a company that was wanting to expand into more countries in the world it would be beneficial to know the experiences of someone who had been involved in such moves.  I was really nervous about sending such a personal email to the CEO but I had to do something, I needed some certainty in our futures, I couldn’t just sit by as she played with our lives.

Now since we were living on a farm in the middle of nowhere that didn’t have real ceiling lights there was no way that there was any internet connection.  I had to write the email as a word document and have man-child take the document into his office to send on my behalf.

Life continued as I waited for a response.  I felt really isolated living in the middle of nowhere not knowing the area nor anyone who lived there.  Man-child was still expected at work each afternoon as a minimum so we spent the afternoons driving around the neighbourhood.  Whenever we came across a park we would stop and play.  When girl-child fell asleep we would drive around aimlessly, trying to find new things to do.  I had marked dozens of ‘must-do’ events and places to visit in the guide books we had purchased but of course the books were in the boxes that hadn’t arrived (or been sent).  I also had heaps of local sites bookmarked but of course with no internet we were flying blind.

We did find some fantastic places to play and explore but living in such an isolated place made it difficult to just bump into people to begin a conversation.  In fact in all of the parks we stumbled across, and there were dozens of different parks, there were very few little kids out playing.  It may have had something to do with the insane heat and humidity, almost 100 everyday and 80% + humidity or it may have been because everyone was enrolled in a summer camp.  Whatever the reason, it was isolating.  

Finally early in the following week I received a reply from the CEO.  To say it was the furtherest thing from the reply I was expecting would be an understatement.  Instead of an acknowledgment of any sort her response was along the lines of ‘if it was too hard for me, perhaps I should just move back to Melbourne with the kids’.  I mean WTF!   How from reality could this person possibly be?  I replied saying that it wasn’t that living in New Jersey was too difficult, it was the lack of stability that was difficult, that I hadn’t just given up my career for 2 years for no reason.  I wanted this experience in the US to be beneficial for everyone and that man-child, as any other father, would be more focused in the workplace if they knew that their family were being well cared for in a stable environment.  

It was around the time that it was confirmed that boy-child did have pneumonia and a minor heart murmur was discovered to boot.  To make matters worse, it was also around the same time that the owner and the CEO confirmed that they weren’t going to sign our lease on the apartment as our time in New Jersey was going to be assessed on a ‘month by month basis’.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  I hadn’t upended my entire life for someone to change there minds in a month or two and send us home.  Hearing this I decided that if our trip was going to be cut short it would be on our terms.  I didn’t want to settle the kids into a new life, in new school with new friends only to rip them out and move at short notice.  

They were the personal reasons that I wanted to throw in the towel and head back home.  Man-child had some reasons of his own.  These reasons went beyond not actually getting any time off to move and settle in but were more about leaving a position as a senior manager in Australia, managing clients Australia wide and in New Zealand and until we moved to the US, many states in the US autonomously, to not being able to respond to a meeting request without having to consult with a team of colleagues back in Australia.  The Australian contingent of the company also expected that when he had meetings interstate in the US that he should drive to them, regardless of the fact that said meeting was a 6 hour each way drive.  The same meetings that, when he was still living in Melbourne and commuting to the US for work he would automatically fly to.  Essentially they were being unreasonable.  

There it is, the reasons why it just wasn’t going to work.  I could have saved myself 1500 odd words and just written an in summary post like this.  The reasons to go back to Melbourne were as a result of the ‘company’ changing the rules as we went along, 

• leave requirements not being met
• country of origin of pay changing, meaning that our monthly pay would be unpredictable
• not being paid through the US arm of the company meant that we didn’t have health insurance other than our travel insurance.  That made things challenging, especially when boy-child ended up with pneumonia
• the house we were to live in changed from being a new and funky apartment in a great neighbourhood to a quaint cottage in the middle of farmland WITH NO INTERNET ACCESS
• the job description of man-child changed as it evolved and became a junior role and not a senior role being micromanaged with unrealistic expectations
• the length of stay had gone from 1 – 2 years to a month by month proposition
• many of our belongings hadn’t been shipped over to us – was that a sign that our things weren’t going to be required?

Now that I have written the post in point form, it sounds kind of lame.  I really wish that we had given it a go, that maybe if I hadn’t been so pigheaded it would have all worked out and we would have lived happily ever after.  Then I realise that if we had stayed and played by their rules it would have been an extremely difficult time where we were isolated and alone as man-child worked unreasonable hours with no stability, never knowing if we would be staying or going.  

We had to make a decision, one that would impact on our lives greatly.  Would we stay and try and make it work, or should we go home and try to start over.  Leaving New Jersey and returning to our old life would be difficult, everything had changed.  If we returned we would both be out of work.  Sure I could apply to return to work sooner than planned, but now we had no child care.  We had given up the nanny that worked for us and the list to get into child care in Melbourne ranged from merely months to years long.  I didn’t want to return to Melbourne and have to explain to the world that I just couldn’t fix everything and we had given up.  I felt like a failure.  I didn’t want to give in so easily.  Many tears were shed during the discussion and arguing over what we should do, but eventually we had to decide to be in control of our futures and not be putty in the hand of someone else.  

Once the decision was made, life was fantastic, we went on holiday.  We spent the remainder of the month having fun.  Next installment – the fun parts, my favourite places and great memories.

Choking on Pizza

Around here Thursday night is netball and poker night.  I head out for a game of netball and in my absence the house is overrun by poker players.  It is generally a good thing.  It is a safe and affordable night of entertainment for every one involved and the house is left in a decent condition most weeks.  I generally enjoy the company of the other poker players and as long as the kids are asleep before the game begins it really doesn’t matter how much noise they make or how obnoxious they are.  When I return from my game I may stay and chat a bit, occasionally sharing a glass of wine or two but most often I disappear upstairs to watch a bit of telly or catch up on some blog reading.  

With the madness of Thursday afternoon running around for dance lessons and the mad rush to feed the kids some dinner before it is time to go to netball I often don’t get time to eat a real meal myself.  (Playing netball on a full stomach is never pleasant, for me or the opposition.)  Tonight was one of those nights.  In the hour between getting home from dance and heading out again I didn’t have time to eat myself.  Naturally after the game I was hungry.  When I arrived home the poker guys were discussing what sort of pizzas to order.  I commented that I was starving and would eat any pizza without fishy bits and fungus.  Pizza orders were phoned through, for a pizza to my liking – meat lovers with extra chilli, as I left the room.  

When the delivery arrived, I waited a few minutes to let the mad rush on the pizza die down before going to grab a slice or two.  I grabbed the last slice that was sitting on a pizza box lid and took a bite.  Apparently that pizza slice was someone else second slice and there was no more pizza left.  As I had already taken a bite I continued to eat.  I figured that since I had actually requested to be included in the order I should at least get to eat some.  Man-child was upset that I was eating someone else’s pizza, I should eat his instead.  That made absolutely no sense, why return a now half eaten slice of pizza to someone who has already eaten a slice of pizza when he had another piece as yet uneaten on his plate.  Apparently it was his third slice so he really didn’t need it. 

Anyway, I guess what I am trying to say is the pizza that I stole nearly choked me.  I think I inhaled a piece of salami but perhaps the choking sensation was caused by the guilt of eating someone else’s food rather than as a result of the recurring sore throat thing as a part of the lurgy I still have?  Either way I am still hungry and I need pizza damnit.  

To cut to the chase I am sick of being forgotten or taken for granted.  Perhaps I am pissed off just for the sake of being pissed off.  Currently I am 2 floors away from where they are playing, wishing I were asleep and for some reason they seem much louder than usual and the laughter is more grating.  Yep, I think that I am pissed off and it is likely to remain that way for tonight at least.  Fingers crossed there won’t be a mess to wake to or there will be trouble.

Moving On

So my bad mood is passing.  It hasn’t gone yet and I guess it won’t go until the issues concerning the bad mood – the division of labour, or lack thereof, are resolved and that doesn’t seem likely just now so I am going to move on and enjoy the good that is my world.  

This afternoon boy-child returned to tap dancing.  I knew he was excited, what really gave it away was when he was dancing around the house this morning singing ‘Something Good is Going to Happen Today’ and then upgrading the good to great.  It helps that his bff is in the same dance class.  If only I had the time to get him to try on his tap shoes prior to today because of course they didn’t fit and I didn’t have time to get to the dance shop before class.  He coped much better being in non tap shoes than he would have coped starting the class late.  Despite the inappropriate shoes, he actually kept up really well with kids twice his age and much more importantly, he had a great time and is looking forward to getting new shoes ready for class next week.  Hopefully we will be able to find some tomorrow in between work and work/play.

As for work, I really shouldn’t complain, I am spending all day tomorrow hiking with colleagues up and down and mountain and then I think, just for fun they are planning to do it again.  It should be exhausting yet fun.  Then we, the family and friends, are heading in to the football tomorrow night.  Now I am not the biggest footy fan but boy-child’s favourite team is playing against girl-child’s favourite team and to make the evening even more fun, boy-child will be playing in the half time kids games on the stadium ground.  

It is going to be an extremely long day but a fun day that I am looking forward to.  I am starting work earlier than usual so the task of  getting lunches and kids organised has been delegated and it will be straight to work for me.  I think that perhaps an early night is in order, although it is almost 10pm so it won’t be terribly early.  Good night.

Waiting

Skip right on by if you don’t what to hear me moan and groan.

Knowing that this week my foreseeable future is going to be insanely busy I decided to be proactive last night.  I cooked three separate meals, last nights, tonights and even tomorrow nights so that at least we would have something decent to eat in the after school/after school activities madness.  If all goes to plan I will pick the kids up from school and rush to either work, sport or other after school activity almost every day.  We generally won’t be back until 5.30pm and by that stage the kids are likely to have joined me in the tired and grumpy camp.  At least now we will have dinner almost ready.  Continuing in my proactivity I even went to bed relatively early thinking that I would also be well rested as well as prepared.

It was a good thought and a great plan however the planets were poorly aligned and it just didn’t quite work out that way.  First there were the child wakings.  Although I didn’t have to deal with them, the stomping up and down the stairs at 3am were enough to wake the dead.  Finally the stomping stopped and the house resumed its silence but the cat was awake.  Of course 3am is the perfect time for a cat to have a wash, on the pillow beside my head.  She was swiftly relocated but soon came back seeking warmth and comfort.  Eventually she climbed under the doona so I couldn’t hear her purr or wash.  At around 3.30am I turned Dr Horrible back on knowing that I would be asleep within 3 tracks, not because I don’t like Dr Horrible but because I can lay with my eyes shut and still see what is happening as I listen.  In fact I have seen it so often that I could probably recite it unprompted!

I barely remembered listening to the intro music and I was out cold.  Unfortunately before I knew it I was awake again.  There was no light in the room so it was clearly too early to contemplate waking.  Time for more Dr Horrible and it was only 4.12am.  Again the music worked.

Then I was awoken by someone who need not remain nameless as he was the only other person in the room.  He was totally asleep and extremely gropey and bloody annoying.  A few kicks and he rolled over but I was awake – AGAIN.  Time for Dr Horrible again.  This time the magic was losing its amazing sleep inducing power and I actually watched Episode 1 and started Episode 2 before falling asleep again at some time around 5.  

The cat was removed some time between then and the alarm sounding.  Needless to say when the alarm did sound I was in no mood to get up or even be civil.  I am glad that I didn’t plan of doing day 2 of the couch to 5K this morning.  Instead I hang out washing, put another load in to wash, made lunches and prepared the after school snack bag.  Now I am waiting.  Waiting for the kids to wake.  Wondering if I should wake them.  It is 8.22am and there is no noise from them save the odd cough.  I think I will cook some toast for them and then go wake them, peel their jammies from them and try and dress them before rushing out the door.  I am expecting tears, lots of tears.  Wish me luck!

Man Flu Strikes Again

Man flu has entered the building, we must all stop and show sympathy whether we feel it or not because man flu is the most exhausting, debilitating, body achey, snot fest, stuffy head world of pain to hit our world.    Now normally man flu isn’t a problem, we all go about our daily doings and leave the house in peace and quiet so the ill one can recuperate.  Well that is the usual deal when said ill one is male, but not today.  You see, it is still school holidays and that means the kids will be at home all day and I had work that I really needed to do, at work, in the office.  

Now holiday child care is a minor nightmare, I have only sporadic child care so I take leave to cover the childcare-less days.  Today wasn’t a planned stay at home day, it was one of the few days that I had care orgainsed; I had arranged for a friends daughter to come over and sit with the kids and keep them entertained.  

So today started just like any other day – I woke albeit a little later than usual and got everyone organised for the day.  This included, but was not limited to ensuring everyone ate breakfast, made lunch for the student that is staying with us, checked emails, pureed the pumpkin and lentil soup that was in the crockpot overnight ready for lunch, hung out another load of washing, cleaned the kitchen, confirmed that the clothes that the kids were wearing were actually suitable for winter and I even had time for a cup of tea whilst reading the junk mail.  Just a typical morning in the superRelish house really.  In actual fact I was ready earlier than I needed to be and I had time to sit on the couch with the kids and watch Harry Potter again.

I wandered upstairs at 8.30 to enquire if man-child was going to go to work today.  He mumbled that he was dying too sick and thought he would stay home.  Now being my usual sensitive snarky self I commented that it made sense that we paid a baby sitter to entertain the kids so that he could rest all day.  I suggested that he go to work today, since the sitter was on her way and he take tomorrow off instead thinking that at least if he had tomorrow off work I would be able to work and not lose yet another day of my leave.

I was also kind enough to mention that if I were to be unwell it would still involve me getting the kids to and from wherever they needed to be, making sure that there was food ready for dinner and even cleaning up a little.  Often I go in to work because I am already half way there when I drop the kids off so it is just as easy to keep on going and getting things done.  The one time I have been sick enough to need a house of peace and quiet I had to share it with and infectious girl-child who had far too much energy.  

Anyway, I digress.  Man-child has man flu and the world must stop.  He must rest and recuperate for today is Thursday, tonight is Thursday Night Poker Night.  When I left for work, shortly after warning the sitter that he was still at home I could at least be thankful that he had already wandered downstairs and was wearing a pair of jeans and a tshirt.  At least I could relax knowing that a 15 year old girl wouldn’t be traumatised by the sight of him wandering the house in his boxers. 

Knowing that he was at home, I opted to stay at work later than usual to make up for all the time I have spent away from the office this week.  I knew that the sitter’s dad was picking her up when he finished work so I didn’t need to rush home.  I also knew that by staying later at work, nothing would be organised for dinner.  I suggested that we go out for dinner and had him make a booking for us.  Of course the booking had to be super early to allow for us to be fed and home with the kids in bed before Thursday Night Poker Night but that is OK, I didn’t have to cook!

You can imagine how pleased I was when I walked in from a long day at work with no time for a lunch break and only a quick stop for a ‘work delivered hot chocolate’ (thanks E!) to see him sitting up at the table with the sitters dad enjoying a beer.  I guess that was to be expected, they are both blokey beer type guys, I guess what really bugged me was that he mentioned he was feeling well enough to go and see Transformers 2 at IMAX!   No more man flu sympathy for you man-child.  If you are too sick too go to work, you are too sick to have fun!