Banana and chips

Back into the Tuesday routine with Frieda - and thankfully no sign of any gastric disturbances for any of us, in the wake of Luca's vomit-fest yesterday. 
Richard is away in London for a couple of days, on Folklore Society business. I dropped him at the station just before 7 a.m., so it was an early start.  I picked Frieda up at 8.30.
I could see she was a bit tired when I picked her up, and she told me that 'I was awake in the night and Mummy gave me mapi' - her nickname for the occasional bottle of milk that she still has, when nothing else has helped her to settle down.  So I planned a mid-morning trip to a playground a short drive away, knowing that we could get an early lunch at the cafe there, and then with luck she would have a short nap on the way back (see the main).  This worked out well.  I got a child's portion of fish fingers and chips; she ate the fish fingers and I ate the chips - uniquely, in my experience, she is a child who is  almost never tempted by chips. So it was banana and chips for lunch, for me: clearing up Frieda;s leftovers, basically.  When we got back to the house I sat in the car with her until she woke up after 40 minutes or so; it was all I could do to stay awake myself.
After that Frieda was able to enjoy the afternoon.  We made plasticene fruit and vegetables, which she carefully chopped into pieces and offered to our array of soft toys on little plates (extra). Later we watered the garden together. Jack came to pick her up, and had time to stay for a cup of tea and a chat. He's been getting some paid freelance photography work recently, which I'm really delighted about. So far, his decision to leave his previous job earlier this year, which really worried me at the time, has worked out well. He's been able to support Marianna through a peak in her own freelance teacher training work, and has also built up some part-time community development work of his own, alongside his photography assignments. So far so good, he's doing really well.
Changes are on the way with childcare, however, for Frieda and they'll affect Luca too. They both go to a private 'Forest School' nursery locally. But the nursery has had some ups and downs in its internal management approach, and this finally prompted Jack and Marianna to apply for a local authority preschool place for Frieda, from September. This will save them an eye-watering £600 per month, now that she's almost 3  and they will be entitled to some free nursery hours. The new place also looks much better in terms of the activities and the environment it offers. We had hoped that Luca might have been able to move with Frieda, but for now it doesn't sound as though there will be a place in time - which leaves Ruth and Josh somewhat uncertain about what to do for the best.  Fingers crossed.
I'm rambling, because the day has finally caught up with me. It's 8 p.m. and I will be in bed within half an hour, I think :-)