Manic madness

The sun greeted Wellington for a change yesterday morning and pre-made plans to meet some girl-friends at the pool were laid to one side as the sun was just too good to miss. Just as well we grabbed the chance to enjoy it, since today is like a throw back to winter. As I write the curtains are drawn against howling southerlies threatening to lift the roof off the house.

Yesterday we were hot, hot, hot and ready to jump in the cold pool in the garden. We spent lunch on the waterfront, along with hundreds of other folk celebrating the return of the glowing ball in the sky. The ice-cream van and pedalo operators were made up and hoping for more of the same weather to make up for lost profits. Charli had a go at ‘zorbing’ on the lagoon, whilst Sophie enjoyed the thrill of the vertical bungy.

Dan met us for a brief break from the office and then left us to it – with me bravely taking the girls on a pedalo (it was heavily tipped to one side and I wasn’t the most graceful of pedalo punters with my big belly!). The operator kindly said, ‘Just clip the life jacket up…’ well there was no way the zipper was going to work!

Today, I swapped my jandals for winter boots and threw on a poncho and jeans. This ‘summer’ in Welly is a tough one. Every day is completely different and it’s hard not to go crazy. I just got a text from a friend who described the weather as ‘bi-polar’ and I’m right there with her. Since I can’t drink I am just going to hope for an early night. A nice Merlot would go down a treat right now.

I am seriously chilling out this evening. Sophie has started waking in the night – perhaps a little apprehensive about the pending arrival of bubs? She’s been out of night nappies since she was two and a half and always managed to last the night, but recently she’s started waking around 3am to ask to go to the toilet. I then lie with her to help her get back to sleep, but after half an hour to an hour she says, ‘My tummy hurts’ and Dan takes over. They head downstairs, where he tries to sleep on the sofa, whilst Sophie sits up and watches some TV for about an hour…. then she’s tired again and comes back up to sleep… it’s all haywire! With only five week’s to go till bubs arrives she is certainly getting us in training for the sleep deprivation to come.

Despite the disrupted sleep I am totally manic with nesting madness and spent yesterday morning in a frenzy of scrubbing. My plans to head out immediately into the sunshine where delayed when the girls got absorbed in building electronic snap circuits together. They made a light activated alarm system…

Meanwhile, I found myself instinctively drawn to the art/laundry room where gravity pulled me to the floor, the dust and the paint marks. I felt like a robot with the fast forward button jammed on, unable to stop scrubbing – walls, floors, windows… crazed eyes looking for every bit of dust & dead fly…. this is what happens after 8 month’s of no alcohol!

Today the button was forced to pause a little as a friend came round to visit with her two lovely boys, one of them only four month’s old. I kept glancing over at her baby on the play-gym and despite my swollen belly couldn’t quite believe that our home will soon be filled with a little one. The girls were both fascinated in the baby, but a little pushing and shoving to get into the best position made me think, ‘The hardest part is going to be making sure this baby isn’t overwhelmed by his or her big sisters’. In the bath tonight the girls were keen to bathe a toy baby. I could only find one and they shared for a few moments before tugging the baby by the head and legs in opposite directions as though playing tug of war! Eh em, the new family dynamics will take a little getting used to.

Well, the howling southerly is showing no signs of letting up. Both girls are asleep. Hubbie is out enjoying a few Friday drinks. I have finished playing a few melodies on the piano (and howling along like the wind). A sip of Merlot really would be the perfect end to the day.

UPDATE
And after I hit ‘publish’ hubbie texts me to say he’s in a cab home with a small nip of Merlot for me! I have been so good throughout my pregnancy and I’m so close now… just a teeny drop 🙂