double trouble

An exceptional weekend away has left us exhausted so it was perhaps the wrong day to complete the often painful school shoe shopping task. We actually did it with less pain than expected. But it all went to pot later on - we took the tandem out to trial it while Eve and Zeke were to play happily on their bikes. But the play was less than happy - scraped knees turned to kicked shins turned to a screaming banshee.... I had to enforce consequences that hurt us more than Eve - another element of parenting which the mythical handbook should mention. We retreated home, all of us feeling a bit frazzled. Better luck next time!

All was sorted out and soothed later on and Eve is looking forward to blackberry picking tomorrow - a sure sign that the school holidays are drawing to a close..... which is a melancholic feeling, I love having Eve at home more, she's a treasure even if she's experimenting with wilful/rebellious behaviour!