Packing

I took a grand total of three photographs today. AND I didn't get round to doing Ben a playdough-filled balloon. But this sums up the day: packing! The boys and I are off to Manchester for the week. Family, friends, a wedding, and some (hopefully not so) scary relatives to meet, who have travelled from the other end of the planet which is quite exciting.

The morning was stressful. There are still a handful of days left until payday and the cupboards are looking pretty bare. None of our usual breakfast fare is available, and I couldn't give either of the boys what they wanted for breakfast. Or myself. After a little cry from all of us and a bit of a cuddle and a pray Ben declared it was biscuits for breakfast and we all cheered up.

Packing was a case of gathering all the clean laundry, putting Steve's stuff away, and folding ours into a suitcase instead - I have very little idea what we've brought but going on the assumption that if was either in the "to put away" pile or the tumbledrier then we'll probably use it! I came down at one point to discover Ben had tried to pack himself in the suitcase. My reaction was a mix of horror (at the displaced clothing that I now had to repack), frustration, and laughter but I have to admit not much laughter. I can laugh in hindsight because I'm not trying to pack any more! Ben got his priorities right though, his trunki is full of toys. His AND Charley's!

Then to Steve's work to give him his wallet that he'd left at home, get him to get cash out for us so I could put diesel in the car, and say goodbye properly. Charley cried himself to sleep on the way there. It's always quite heartbreaking listening to and watching him cry himself to sleep like that :( Still, we'd made it out of the house by midday, that was quite an achievement!

And then we sat in the carpark at work for three quarters of an hour while Steve got equally stressed in his meeting, knowing we were waiting outside.

But we got away eventually. Charley woke up as we left Worthing after filling up with diesel but dozed on and off for a bit. Ben fell asleep halfway up the A24 despite saying he wasn't going to sleep. Charley woke up before we hit the M25, played with his blanket and chatted away until halfway to the M40 junction and then screamed until we stopped at the first services on the M40.

Lunch. Chips, sausages, banana , juice, coffee, milk. Re-fuelled and refreshed (and toileted phew) we carried on. Charley played with his toys for all of five minutes and then cried himself to sleep again, having found his thumb. Mixed feelings. Heartbreaking. I hate watching babies cry. Almost felt like I was breaking him in to car journeys. I don't like that thought.

Made it up past Birmingham before we had to stop again. Ben was a star - he just deals with car journeys now. Charley woke up and played with his toys a bit but by Stafford he was hollering again. The last hour of our journey was traumatic. I put it down to the fact it was gone 6.30pm and by that point in the day he's usually had enough of playing and sleeping, he wants his dinner and he wants his bed.

When we got to mum and dad's (7.30pm arrival!) I discovered a poo in Charley's nappy which explained at least some of his displeasure.....

Lots of boinging from Ben to release all that cooped up energy, paracetamol and tea for me, dinner, unpacking, wow-ing at mum and dad's new kitchen, AND at the fact that for the first time we're getting to sleep in a bedroom instead of the dining room!! and then at quarter to ten I realised the time and parcelled me and Charley off to bed who of course by that point was hollering again. Ben had stories and let grandad clean his teeth etc and then climbed into bed too. We've pushed two single beds together for us to do our usual sleeping arrangement but as Ben fell down the gap in the middle we shoved a pillow down the gap and we're happily snuggled into one single bed for the night! And as I'm writing this at 5.30am the following morning I can report that even though it's stupidly early to be awake, I just had the best night's sleep that I can remember in ages, despite the boys playing tag teams for boob/milk access. Need to change a nappy anyway soon...