Wake up at 7.00 am to the sounds of BallFiend. Still tired after getting up to feed Thumper at 4.00 am. My body is still set to 'zombie mode' as I struggle through the morning routine - breakfasts, showers, dressing kids, dressing ourselves, changing nappies, dishes, etc. Thank goodness DeepSpice is still on leave - I cannot begin to imagine how I am going to manage once he goes back to work.
We attempt to leave the house by 10.30 am with entire family (DeepSpice, BallFiend, Thumper and me) in time to get to a walk in the park in Carlton with our local ABA group, which starts at 11.00 am. BallFiend throws a tantum:
"I don't want to go out." he whines.Finally at 11.00 am, we are all in the car, strapped in and ready to go - running late, but still time to get there and catch up with the others.
"OK, you can stay here then, and we will go out without you." I reply.
"NO! I want to come."
"OK you can come too."
"NOOO!! I don't want to come."
(repeat for about 15 minutes)
The car feels strange as we drive off - like there is something stuck under it. (Strangely my first thought was that it might be a dead body!) DeepSpice gets out to look. Front driver-side tyre is flat. DeepSpice changes tyre with BallFiend supervising. Thumper waits in the car.
At 11.20 am we are on our way (stopping off at a mechanic's garage to inflate the spare tyre that is now on the front driver-side wheel). I phone up to find out where the walkers are up to. It starts to rain and the ABA group leader confirms that it is raining in Carlton too. The walk is abandoned and we arrange to meet the group in a cafe opposite the park.
Arrive at the cafe. No parking anywhere close. DeepSpice drops me and the kids off, then leaves to find a parking space. 5 metres from the cafe door, BallFiend decides to have another tantrum. This time he wants to ride in the pram, not walk. Eventually I get the three of us inside. The ABA group is there so I sit BallFiend at a table and get him some lunch. DeepSpice arrives and orders us hot chocolates.
When it is time to leave, BallFiend throws another tantrum about not wanting to leave. About 15 minutes later, we finally get him out the door.
We drive the car up to our regular tyre shop in Brunswick. Bad news: tyre cannot be repaired. Worse news: The tyre-guy reckons that our tyre was deliberately slashed because the puncture is on the side-wall near the wheel rim ("unless you drove into a really sharp curve in the past few days, it was done deliberately"). But also some good news: they have an identical tyre in stock so we can just buy one, and don't need to buy a matched pair. I breastfeed Thumper at the front of the shop while the tyre is replaced. At least there are no girlie magazines or calendars on the wall.
$90.00 later we are on our way home. It is 2.00pm and still raining on and off. BallFiend is annoyed that he didn't get to the playground as had been planned. Another tantrum to reinforce the point. We get home and take BallFiend to his cot for his afternoon nap but it is very late so he won't sleep. Therefore I don't get an afternoon nap either. We get BallFiend up and DeepSpice takes him out to a playground for a while.
I attempt to do some housework and prepare dinner, but then have to stop to feed Thumper. So when DeepSpice and BallFiend get home, nothing is ready. BallFiend is overtired and doesn't want to eat anyway. We battle through an I-don't-want-any-dinner tantrum, an I-don't-want-to-get-ready-for-bed tantrum, then an I-don't-want-to-go-to-bed tantrum. At last, he is in bed and we can relax to the distant sounds of screaming as the last of the tantrum storm fades out and gives way to sleep.
--
No comments:
Post a Comment