Oh the moaning...

Pollyanna tendencies aside, this has been a bit of a stressful week so far.

Friday my eye was full of a big red lump that had been insidiously growing since the surgery and was now too large to ignore. One quick visit to the lovely (seriously, he's a lovely man) optometrist and Jon, the boys and I were in the car on the way to East London, where the equally lovely opthalmologist agreed it wasn't much cop and, after dropping two drops of local into my eye, proceeded to cut the lump out. While I sat there, keeping my eye open totally without help. No strapping it open or anything. Luckily he moved so fast (and I only felt twinges of pain on the last two cuts) that I only got a bit shaky about it afterwards. Hopefully this has solved the problem. If, however, the granulated lump recurs, I'll have to have further full-on surgery. Holding thumbs it doesn't bloody come to that...!

Jon was a star, driving for around 6 hours, and the boys were stars too, sitting in their seats in the back for all that time. We had a quick look at my old school, and I showed Jon the two houses where I lived as a child.

The other exhausting thing about this week so far has been the migraines. The auras started on Thursday, and there's one most days. The bloody things build up, so that yesterday's one left a really nasty, sick headache in its wake. Thank heavens for Mici, who came round with anti-nausea pills and company to take my mind off the pain. And how wonderful that she thought to check with a pharmacist first, to make sure the anti-nausea medication could be taken with the codeine based pills I had already had!

Then last night we were fast asleep at 0130 when Nicky came in, climbed onto me and wee'd, hugely. The ensuing clean up and change took ages, was loud and woke up James into the bargain. So we ended up again with Nicky (a terribly restless sleeper) next to me and Jon in the little bed with Jamie. The upshot is that sleep since about 0200 has been a little fractured, and Jon and I have snapped at each other at least once this morning, and I've yelled at the boys at least twice, and it's only just 0700. We've all got colds and chesty coughs too. Oh, the joy of spring!

Now it's time to make dippy eggs and soldiers and fight off James, who wants me to read Richard Scarry just as the breakfast and school run kicks off. I need a clone, really.

make that two clones - one a mere vegetable growing me a replacement eye, just in case. Yuck. I know.

Blue Moon Sunday

I am feeling a trifle hard done by today. It's only 0600! And I have no right to feel this way; the person who does is finally getting some sleep in a real bed after a night spent hopping between the sofa and the single bed in the boys room.

Yep, the boys didn't sleep. Nicky was the main culprit. He went down at around 1930 but woke up crying at 2000, asking for us and refusing to go back in his room, let alone his toddler bed. So he spent the next three hours sitting with Jon on the sofa, watching kids TV for some of the time, and yelling and screaming any time anyone mentioned sleep, or resting, or snuggling down. He felt a trifle hot, so I dosed him with Ponstan, but that just seemed to chirp him up no end, dammit.

I lay in the bed (our room leads off the sitting room in this teeny tiny house) and tried to rest, but every time I dropped off into a fitful doze I was woken by shrieks. I remember waking from one very odd dream, where I was driving an amphibious spacecraft. It was a bit clunky, to be honest, but considering I had landed in water, I was glad to have it...

Anyway, Nicky woke Jamie up. So when Nicky finally fell asleep enough to be put into his bed, Jon had to go into the horrendously uncomfortable single bed with Jamie. Then Nicky woke up again, and had to go in with me. And he lies sideways and kicks, which makes sharing even a queensize bed a trial... Every time I tried to shift him, he woke up and yelled.

Then Jamie woke up for the day at 0430. Jon, bless him, kept his quiet so Nicky and I dozed on till 0530, but there was no holding them back after that. Thankfully Jon seems to have managed to get to sleep now, so I'll leave him as long as possible - thank heavens it's Sunday!

I did get sleep (albeit truncated and not terribly deep) so I should not be moaning, but but but... I feel like it. Sleep problems have been the hardest part to date about becoming a parent. Even though they do sleep through more than ever before now, there are nights where we are reminded of the sheer horror of learning that sleep is not the necessity it always seemed to be, but rather a luxury in an uncertain world.

In good news, I found a pair of sandals yesterday. I've been looking for some and these are just what I wanted. I'm terrible at shoe shopping, so to walk in, see a pair I liked and buy them was a big WIN for me. Yay!

More tea needed now.