We are both grumpy ill bills this week. I have had a stinking cold and just about struggled through the 3 working days, plus a trip to Cambridge on Tuesday with a 5am start that reduced me to an angry, tearful wreck as I reheated dinner at around 8pm that night. And Owen has been streaming with snot for I can’t even remember how long, he’s gone into winter cold mode and it’s feeling like he’ll just be that way till about April next year. Plus his eczema is bad. We went to the consultant – the hallowed consultant appointment – yesterday, and were given a suitcase of creams, oils and a disgusting smelling thick yellow unguent paste called Betnovate coal tar or something – and now bathtime takes 3 zillion hours or thereabouts. And Owen is quickly learning to absolutely HATE having this stuff smothered all over him. Horrid horrid eczema. Wreaking havoc with my little boy’s beautiful skin. At least it doesn’t seem to bother him too much, and he’s not kept awake by it. He was a terror in the consulting room – very unusual for him as he’s normally really good in the doctors. But I think he was bored, and tired, and cross at having his T-shirt taken off. He was an absolute angel when I took him for a haircut though – how funny he is with his mood swings, they are all over the place still! But he has been playing at hairdressers with his teddies recently, so maybe he was just gathering inspiration for his game…
In my world, well I have been majorly busy this week, work is totally manic. I don’t have enough hours in the week to do what I need to do. But I am enjoying it, even though I know I’m not going to be able to meet some of the looming deadlines – it just aint possible. I can only do what I can do. At the moment it’s a lot of picture research and commissioning, which is fun but time-consuming. And it’s not for one book, it’s for three. So I am trying to just keep on top of it as much as I can, and not let it intrude too much into my non-work days although I do check my email and make sure everything is ticking along okay. But Owen really hates it when I go on the computer when he’s around, he immediately starts up with ‘Mummy, get OFF the computer NOW!’ or similar polite requests. So I have to keep it to a minimum, it’s not fair on him otherwise.
Yesterday after his hospital appointment I had to cycle back to the hospital to pick up his horrible yellow stuff etc. and on the way back I popped into the fabric shop and bought some beatiful sparkly blue fabric and ribbons etc. for his Halloween costume for nursery. He’s going to be a wizard (a good one, of course, like Gandalf!) and a velvet skirt that I’ve converted into a cloak. It looks totally brilliant! I now want to make him a pirate costume for his birthday party, which will be a joint one with Fred, and it is going to be pirate themed. I spent an hour thereabouts sewing a sparkly ribbon trim on the cloak before realised I’d sewn it on back to front. Oh well, I don’t suppose he’ll notice!
Keep waking at 5am, with pounding headache and racing heart. Not nice. I’m generally fine once I’m up though – but I can lie in bed for ages feeling like that, waiting for the heart to calm down. Headache – not sure what that is about. Maybe the cold. Why the hell hasn’t the human race managed to come up with an effective cure for the common cold yet?!
