Perfect timing

Today has not been great. Phil left early this evening to travel to the UK. He is doing an upgrade for a customer and won't be home until Wednesday evening. Before he left we went out to the local shopping centre for a walk and an ice-cream. There is a nice children's play area by the water and I held on to Michael's hands and let him walk where he wanted to go. Unfortunately he wanted to walk into the water to get a good close look at the coots and boring Mama forbade it. He was extremely distressed when he didn't get his own way but I put that down to him being overdue for a nap.

Something rather amusing happened when Phil said goodbye to Michael. Michael and I were standing in the doorway to his nursery. Phil kissed Michael and I asked Michael to wave 'bye bye' to Daddy. Instead he shut the door in Phil's face. We found this very funny. After Phil left, Michael was clingy and unhappy. This behaviour isn't unusual because his front molars are coming through. I was also a bit subdued due to Phil's departure and I guessed that was a contributing factor. Michael ate most of his dinner but wouldn't even touch the bread which was unusual. He continued to be very clingy and whiny and only breastfeeding would soothe him at all (albeit temporarily). I decided to take his temperature as he felt a little hot, only to discover that it was 39.5... the highest it has ever been. I gave him paracetamol, stripped him down to his nappy and then called the after hours doctor. They passed me from pillar to post whilst poor Michael crawled on the floor getting more distressed by the moment. They were concerned that it might be meningitis and asked me to check the signs and monitor him closely. Although he responded well to the paracetamol I was thoroughly rattled by this point.

I had intended to put Michael to bed and sit down with a good book and honey-glazed pork chops. Instead I found myself pouring out my woes to Phil on the phone and eating a hurried roast chicken sandwich. There couldn't be a worse time for Michael to get ill because I would have to take him up to the out-of-hours doctor by taxi or by bus. The local taxi firms are not keen to collect fares during the night. Michael is fast asleep now and, other than the fever, is displaying no signs of meningitis that I can discern. I was hoping to take him on some day trips over the next few days but I don't think I can risk it if he is ill. I know that teething isn't supposed to cause a high fever but I can't think what else could have caused this.

I do hope tomorrow is better!

Mobipocket

Damn you, Mobipocket.com. You might want to consider backups and making your reader software available to other sites.

General update

It's been a busy couple of days. I took Michael to the dentist yesterday morning because I wanted to get his top front teeth checked. I was worried that he might have damaged them by bumping his mouth. Thankfully, they are fine. The dentist was trying to encourage him to open up and say ah by showing him a model of a mouth saying ah. I don't think he has much experience of 11 month old babies. He then asked me if Michael could say ah - erm... no. Michael sat there impassively regarding the dentist who was foolish enough to put a gloved finger in his mouth. Michael bit it. I forgot to warn him that this is a hazard for any finger venturing too close to that dank cavern of evil ;o)

In the afternoon we went to the children's farm in Hoofddorp with a friend I 'met' on a baby forum and her two children. It was a lot of fun and Michael really enjoyed playing in the sandpit. He seemed, despite my efforts to prevent it, to eat a vast quantity of the sand so I imagine that he will be pooping sand castles soon enough. He had so much excitement that he ended up falling asleep in his dinner when we got home. Being a good Mummy, my first thought was to take a photo ;o)

Today I decided to have a lazy day and I took Michael out for a little bit of shopping in town and a snack in Hema. Michael had babbling conversations with any baby in earshot and spent a happy 10 minutes thumping his hands up and down on the table and waving to passers-by. He can be quite a handful in restaurants so I gave myself a pat on the back for being brave enough to venture into Hema. On the way home I spotted a huddled bundle of feathers on the pavement. A wood pigeon was sitting very still and with some of his feathers at odd angles. I'm a bit of a hopeless case when it comes to animals in distress so I shot off home to get a box and some gloves. The sun was very hot and I was concerned that the bird would get attacked by the local cats if he sat there much longer. I have never handled a bird before but I managed to get it into the box without too much trouble. Holding the box under one arm and steering the pushchair with the other I made my way home again. I put the box in the utility room as it is quiet, dark and cool in there. Within the hour the animal ambulance came to collect him to take him to a local vet. The animal ambulance really is fantastic. The lady took the bird out of the box to examine him and he really was very beautiful. She thought that he had a broken wing and was a bit stunned but would almost certainly be fine after some TLC.

So... that was my good deed for the day. Michael was most unimpressed that his dinner was delayed whilst I attended to the bird. As punishment for my good deed he decided to hang off my leg howling. What is it they say? No good deed goes unpunished?

I guess I'll finish with a general update:

Currently reading: Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
Last movie watched: The Glenn Miller Story
Last thing I ate: A smoked salmon sandwich in Hema
Current mood: Murderous. If Ron doesn't pipe down I will go crazy.
Current location: In the living room at home

Not such a good idea?

Perhaps the late-night curry wasn't such a good idea. I had a dream last night that I was being pursued by a 15-foot giant snail that wanted to lick me (do snails have tongues??) I woke up in a cold sweat with my bed sheets in a tangle. Still... it was worth it. That was a fantastic curry.

Curry

I have to take a moment to mention a fabulous Indian restaurant in Amsterdam called Mother India. We recently discovered this place after a tip-off and all I can say is - fantastic! The food is delicious and the service is wonderful. There are woefully few decent Indian take-aways in Haarlemmermeer so we are more than happy to make the trip to Amsterdam where Mother India know how to do the job properly. There is none of that sickly, flavourless, canary-yellow rubbish that the Dutch like to call curry.

Dear Mr. Gleghorn...

... thank you so much for the 'precious' gift you left for me this afternoon. I think fondly of you as I go about my wifely duties of a day and hope that you think fondly of me. On this day, joy of joys! I have the proof I sought that you do indeed adore me. I can only hope to find an equally thoughtful gift the next time I mop the kitchen floor and look behind the recycling crate. You truly make my heart go pitter patter :o]

Seriously... do that again and I'll serve it to you, slightly chilled, with a chateaubriand steak and pan-fried vegetables (lovingly pan-fried, of course)...

Bloody cat

I left the room for a second to go and take care of Michael and that bloody cat has chewed through the baby monitor cable. We have tried everything possible to stop Harry from chewing but it is never enough. He is a danger to himself and to Michael and I am absolutely sick of it.