Took forever to put Little Munchkin to sleep. He kept talking to himself in his crib. At one point I am sure I even heard a Miaaw sound. I really hope he will start talking soon. A few days ago I had a visit from local health visitors who finally realized that we moved into the area. They are sort of like nurses who are responsible for well-being of kids under 5 years old. They suggested getting Little Munchkin a referral to a speech development specialist. Waiting list to see one is long. It is better to have an appointment and not to need one, then need an appointment and not to have one. I really hope that we would not need one, but Little Munchkin is so far behind in his language development that we might need to see a specialist.

I also took them both to see a dentist. As I have known there is nothing can be done about his underbite (lower teeth protruding forward over the upper jaw). Hopefully it would correct itself. After all, Big Munchkin's gaps have evened out.

I have been incommunicado for the past week because Little Munchkin managed to wreck our computer. All he really did was to pull the plug out, but his timing was impeccable - the computer was loading and the battery was unplugged. Anyhow, the power surge corrupted the hard drive. The disk needed to re-start the computer was locked in a metal cabinet. The key to that cabinet was lost during our last move. So, first we had to call a locksmith, get the cabinet opened, find the disk, re-start the laptop, realized that it has to be reformatted. My DH spent the whole weekend reformatting the laptop and reinstalling all software. Due to pure lack I backed up the hard drive ten days before the incident. We did not lose any photos or videos or any important files. I have lost some of my stuff, but nothing vital.

Big Munchkin has hit another philosophical stage. She has been asking:
- Does papa like me?
- Of course honey, papa loves you very much
- But he is not here. Does papa like me if he is not here?
- Papa always likes you and loves you. Even when he is not here.
- Why papa is not here?
- Because papa has to earn money to pay for our house and for your classes and for your fairy dress with wings and for your new toys...

Another one was:
- Mommy, can I love my teachers?
I found this one a tough question. At the end I told her a qualified yes. But it raised an old question, yet again, how do I explain to Big Munchkin that not all people are good. Not every adult is her friend. How to explain her not to trust everyone without scaring her? This conversation is seriously overdue, but I simply don't know how to approach the subject.

Today we went to a park. Big Munchkin has been talking about climbing a tree for a while. She saw Angelina Ballerina climbing a tree in a cartoon and wanted to do the same. Today, she found a tree that she could climb. A little bit, that is. She must have done it few dozen times - climbing up then yelling that she can't get down, getting her daddy fly her through the air down from the tree, and repeating it all other again. The worrying bit is that Little Munchkin also managed to climb the tree. He did not get too high up and he did get down by himself, but I could just see him climbing a lot higher in a very near future. If he manages to climb up in eighteen months, just how high will he be climbing at three years? I can feel my hair turning grey.

It looks like we finally have a reason for Big Munchkin's excessive crankiness during the past 10 days or so. Last night she complained about a pain in her ear. I did not take it too seriously as she did not have any fever associated with an ear infection, but I decided to take her to the doctor anyway. I am certain I already have a reputation of a paranoid mother, so what have I got to lose. Plus, considering the amount of taxes we pay, I feel entitled. Anyway, apparently, she does have an ear infection and had it for some time. It is a second ear infection she had in a month, unless it is, of course, the previous one which was not completely treated. Big Munchkin is back on ibuprofen, paracetamol, and antibiotics. Hopefully, she will feel better soon.

Today is Big Munchkin's last day at the daycare. I can't wait. It is going to be hard in the next two weeks as she is not starting pre-school nursery till September 28, but I feel very strongly that the daycare has been a mistake. It has been too much too soon. Big Munchkin has learnt next to nothing there. Every time she goes there she gets more whiny and more ill-tempered. I am certain that lots of behavioral issues we currently have stem from the daycare. I am not sending Little Munchkin into one in any foreseeable future.

Today was Big Munchkin's first trip to her new school. We went there for an hour to meet her teachers and her future classmates. I now feel much better about sending Big Munchkin into government school. Most kids there are white. I am all for multiculturalism, but am exactly for MULTI-culturalism. Big Munchkin is one of two white kids in her current nursery and I was concerned that her new school will be again dominantly Caribbean. It is not. It is also very well-equipped. I was very impressed at four new Mac computers at the nursery. It has a big separate playground. Her teachers are nice. I really liked it. It was as good as any private (fee-paying) school I have seen.

It is also across the street and less then 5 minutes walk from home. I am looking forward to not having to drive every morning and afternoon to daycare and back. I have been so tired and sleep-deprived lately that my driving has often been borderline dangerous.

On the topic of comparing two Munchkins - Big Munchkin used to scrape her knees all the time. It used to happen so often that I had band aids as a part of my diaper bag. She still manages to scrape her knees every other week. Her current penchant for dresses isn't helping.

Little Munchkin does not scrape knees. He generally hits his head. In the past few weeks he managed to have four serious hits. One was so scary that my DH took him to the emergency room. Little Munchkin was fine but the imprint of the leg of the kitchen chair was visible in various shades for a couple of weeks.

Then there was a fall from a crib, fall (or flight) from Big Munchkins bed (Little Munchkin was bouncing there and missed the edge). The last one was a 'back yard fall' - he climbed on top of the plastic chair which had toppled backwards and Little Munchkin hit his head on the wall of the house. It all happened in a matter of seconds. I was looking for blood, but there isn't even a scratch on him. Quoting my favourite 'Baby Blues' - you can take a boy out of danger, but you can't take danger out of a boy.

Last Thursday was Big Munchkin's nursery home visit - meaning her future nursery teachers visited us at home. I just hope they did not assess her development, because she'd get into the lowest development group, e.g. brain dead. She behaved horribly - refused to do anything. She refused to draw, to play, to do puzzles, to read. She whinged the whole time, did not let me discuss anything with her teacher, and overall excelled in making me upset and angry. It was terrible.

Her behaviour during her first swimming class was even worse. She threw a huge tantrum, refused to go into the water, and screamed for another half an hour afterwards. It is all without any apparent reason. I could not get any explanation out of her why she does not want to go into the water in this pool and/or with this teacher. She behaved so well during her summer swimming classes, but last Saturday she was impossible. After that my DH took her to see Angelina Ballerina ballet. It took more than an hour to get out of the house and at the end they missed third of the show. He said that the show was a bit too advanced for Big Munchkin. She said that she liked it.

The coming week is Big Munchkin's last week at the daycare. Unfortunately, the starting date at the pre-school nursery is on September 28. It means that she will be at home with me for almost two weeks. I suspect I'll be climbing up the walls by the end of it. I really hope that she'll settle into the nursery without any fuss. After all, it is across the street and it is only 2 and a half hours a day. Next Friday is a settling in day. My DH is going to stay at home with Little Munchkin and I'll take Big Munchkin to the nursery.

The week after my aunt is coming for a visit. I am really looking forward to it. I haven't seen her for fifteen years. Plus, she is only coming for 4 days. It would be a good test to see how difficult it is to have people around in our little house. My dad did not come last week. I understand that he is not coming for a reason, but I was still upset. I was really looking forward to him being here. I am really lonely in London and it would have been nice to see some relatives at least once in a while.

Today my DH was doing manly things - repairing the bathroom door and fixing Little Munchkin's crib. The bathroom door's hinges fell off after both Munchkins repeatedly opened it the wrong way. It is all fine and fixed now. The crib has been broken since our move from Canada, but it hasn't been a problem. Unfortunately, during our last move it was assembled incorrectly - placing the mattress a few inches higher that it was before. Few days ago Little Munchkin succeeded in falling out of the crib. Luckily, he did not break anything, but I has been terrified that next time he might not be that lucky. Today my DH nailed a wood plank on the side on the crib. It might look ugly, and it is quite uncomfortable putting Little Munchkin in and out of the crib, but there is no way he can fall out now. BTW, he was wearing a sleeping bag when he fell. I can finally remove all the blankets and towels that I placed on a floor of his room to cushion the next fall. The only thing left is to varnish the plank. It is relatively smooth, but I am still concerned that he can get splinters in his hands and mouth if he tries to chew it.

Just a little explanation on the abbreviations used:
SAHM - stay at home mum
DH - dear husband
OH - other half
DD - dear daughter
DS - dear son

Last weekend we went to the Hop Farm. One of Big Munchkin's favourite characters, Noddy, was making an appearance there. The 'appearance' was exactly that - an appearance. Big Munchkin got to shake hands with Noddy, Mr Plod, Martha Monkey, Sly, and a few other characters. She got a Noddy Balloon (£3) and a picture in a Noddy Car (£8). It was a good trip overall. There were trampolines, bouncy castles, and a big playground. Both kids had fun.

Other than that, I have been depressed, again. The main reason is money or lack thereof. The cost of living in London is ridiculous. After paying the bills, mortgage, etc, I have so little money left that I have to literally count every penny. I am not used to having to judge whether or not I can afford to spend 2 pounds on a cup of coffee. Most of the time I can't. I find this situation to be very depressing. I feel very, very tired. This is the part of the reason why I am so tired. This is another part.

I feel like this.

I also feel like this - look at my favourite Baby Blues. I just got new crocs for Big Munchkin for £20. She lost one somewhere between the car and her gymnastics class. I had to spend 15 minutes looking across the parking lot for it.