Hectic and Letting Go

I seem to be very busy these days.
Catch-up attempt:
I am working like a fiend at the moment for deadline next Wednesday. Really enjoying it too, speeding along on new laptop, fully wireless-enabled. Lucky I feel, lucky I am, really.
Am managing to get the work/social/parenting balance a bit closer to right. That feels good. Although it is all a bit 'full day of work/boringness' followed by 'full day of social/fun' but then that does mean I can get into a bit more concentration properly when I do work, rather than just having an hour to fit work in, in the middle of a day of other things. And then there's always housework (minimal as that concept is hereabouts) to be done, or so it seems.
Thursday
I voted.
Blair got in anyway, but at least... And I don't actually mind him as much as I feel I'm supposed to. However, I do think the system is rubbish.
We went over to Katya's to play there with Ria and Belle. Katya's partner had constructed a truly excellent den in the garden, with a few steps, all like some kind of Laura Ingalls log cabin stylee. We were very impressed. The afternoon got off to a bad start when F displayed (as is becoming horribly frequent) slightly sociophobic tendencies. OK that's overstating it for a 3-yr old I know. She just ended up screaming 'They won't leave me alone'! But about 40 minutes later after some calm time and cuddles, she was much happier playing alongside, if not with them, and to be fair they had ganged up on her a bit at one stage. Sometimes she and Ria play really cooperatively and imaginatively but this wasn't one of those times. Katya had made delicious couscous salad, and we had bread and houmous. And just about warm enough to eat outside. She and I managed to get some chatting done and share a few good laughs and the afternoon whizzed past.
Friday
Work work work. Jack came over in the afternoon (he's a friend who is good at keeping F company while I work now and then). For the first time ever, F went off for a walk with him on their own, while I stayed at home and worried and tried to work (he's famous for losing things or breaking them, in fact he lost and nearly broke me - he's my ex from over 10 years ago). They were connected by wrist-strap, which we're getting F used to as her grandma will be looking after her next weekend when we go to Devon for this wedding. Grandma was worried about F rushing off. My natural answer as a paranoid parent was well don't take her out then, there's no need! But I guess that's a little restrictive, LOL! Just hoping she won't take her in any antique shops, not a good combination.
Weekend
The weekend was OK, nice visit from F's 2 'aunties' from Brighton, who are hopefully going to be able to adopt one child or even two siblings soon. F always whisks Aunty Shula away, so we only ever get to chat with Aunty Glo. It was nice to chat with her though, we were mature students together, also over 10 years ago now. I'm so excited for them and hope they will be approved and maybe will become parents later this year. And F went for a walk with Aunty Shula too (wrist strap again, worrying again, but a little less).
Otherwise the weekend was largely about catching up on sleep, and continuing to work in the evenings.
Monday
See Friday. F had huge tantrum with Jack. I had suggested a craft/art activity. Bad bad bad bad bad idea. She was out of sorts, she wanted to do it her way, she wouldn't listen, her way didn't work, she couldn't do what she thought she could, she felt crap. Jack felt crap. I felt crap. It was crap. Ah well.
Those big wailfests feel like forever when you're in them, don't they, but I guess it was only 15 minutes out of the whole afternoon at most.
Tuesday
Hooray! Nic, Davies and Scarlett came over. F settled quite quickly into playing with them after initial reluctance. Davies is great company for her, as he has confidence, verbal skills and imagination and uses them to great effect, suggesting ideas, encouraging (persuading) the others to join in with his game, trying to find the aspect of his game that will draw them in too. He's lovely, I think he's a great representative of HE benefits! Even when they were all charging around, there was some plot behind it, some kind of narrative that makes it a bit more interesting. And Scarlett is a sweetheart, she potters around with the little wooden dolls-house furniture a lot, and talks about what is happening, it's lovely. F was very similar at that age. I do love that age actually. Nic and I chatted about all sorts, we managed to have quite a bit of time to chat, as the children played fairly well together on the whole, or independently.
See Nic's blog for pics (sausage sandwiches and snug as a bug in a rug). I must get better at putting links in blog, sorry Nic!
Then Gymboree in Brighton, where F joined in fairly well in most things. Balancing - great! Chasing things, parachute, bubbles, etc. much enjoyed. I guess we will sign up again, not sure if we'll do it straightaway though.
Activities: following on from candle last week, we did a lot of freezing water in a shaped plastic jam tart packaging tray, putting lego brick inside it and watching it melt etc. Things around solids/liquids, melting. But very casual, mainly initiated by F, with me suggesting things sometimes taken up by her. She suggested an experiment with 2 plastic bottles, which we enjoyed, think she saw it on Blues Clues a long time ago. And I made a hole in the bottom of one bottle and attached a piece of string to the neck, so she could swing it over her AquaDraw mat and see the pictures. Quite good, but hole should have been smaller, maybe, definitely one to repeat with different variables!
Sometime soon I would like to do a project with moulds, make 4 models, respectively using water (ice), wax, chocolate and plaster. Maybe jelly too.
Not much else on HE front really, a bit of Headsprout, a really good rainy day picture done at Katya's, some rubbings, conversations about speeds of different things. And too much XBox probably. But it's been that kind of week.
Lawks this is long. If you've read this far, thanks very much, hope you haven't missed a meal!