Three

Sleep deprivation is setting in. The head hurts. Full sentences are hard to assemble. I have a nagging sense of nausia. If I were to compare it to climbing a mountain, I'd be worried that I'm yet at base camp and failing health will be my undoing. Thankfully, no mountains to climb and a good day all round. Not only was there some genuine positives at work, but I managed to succeed in several of the measures of success that fellow parents are welcome to adopt and make their own.

The truth is that this was aided largely by our super-cool neighbours, Erika and Harley and their son Hudson. They had all three of us over to their house for dinner tonight. I even snuck in a cheeky glass of wine. Anna played with Hudson. Hudson was chuffed that Anna was by his house. Caleb tormented their dog in the absence of our cat. I strung together the occassional sentence between the two kids' demands and got to have dinner without having to clean up. Erika and Harley are gold. It makes me very sad they're leaving the hood to a new house and community in a couple of weeks. Spotting a silver lining, they're going to take a bunch of flattened but as yet un-recycled boxes off our hands.

As I lose the plot, here quickly are the measureables:

Melt-downs: 0. Three days and counting. My confidence is increasing. Only reflecting back on previous blogs keeps my ego in check.

TV-time: Anna at nursery and then at Hudson's and then it was mermaid bath time. No TV. In your face Walt!

Getting "out of the house": Done! Not only did I successfully get Anna to nursery but we went out in an unprecedented 'after school' excursion.

Eating well. That chili I prepared last night? Consumed by Anna today for lunch. Caleb went nuts with Oma, eating an orchard's worth of fruit and sucking back savoury, proteiny goodness too. Then, Erika prepares a home-made chicken noodle soup filled with fresh veg. The kids dined on natures bounty. My diet may be of some concern. I had the soup but otherwise it's been bad for me. There's no time. And then it's late!

Minimize sugar: It is possible that Anna had no refined sugar today. Everything homemade from scratch. I say possible because I know the girl. There is the distinct possibility she negotiated Wyatt or Luke's granola bar off them at lunch. Left to her own devises, she will find treats.

Teaching and creative out letting: Anna was at pre-school for crying out loud. If they can't do it, what chance do I have? We read lots of books before bed too. Caleb, meanwhile, has focused on gross motor skills and is officially a toddler. He now walks whenever he's not in a hurry....which is fairly often. If he needs to have it, it's still crawling at bewildering speed. (A parent recently was so impressed with his speed, they suggested me enter him in a crawling race at a local mall... I'm totally not kidding).

Getting something non-kid done: I'm blogging, aren't I? Which means I can ignore the laundry on the bed...

I've got to crash. Tomorrow morning is the first without Oma at any stage. Two kids woken, fed, potty-ed (that can't be a verb), dressed and in the car and off to care... and get myself cleaned and dressed. I'm still suspicious it isn't possible. Tomorrow will tell.