Blurting not packing

I'm not going to attempt a methodical catch-up, which leaves me free to just randomly blurt stuff at you. I'm sure you will cope.
Megamaths - F has watched this and a few other schools progs a bit this week. Measuring, centimetres, how to measure, why we need metres as well as centimetres, etc.
Lego track - a couple of nice layouts, F made her first double-loop with bridge, all by herself, having not seen one done for about 10 months, but remembering it and using logic to fill in gaps in memory.
Tantrums and whinery - F is going through big changes, it seems to me, her horizons are expanding again and along with all this there are horrendous tantrums (including a full-scale lying on the ground in public one yesterday just after leaving Mrs MT's house). The ways she is thinking now are moving into more rational applicaton of logic and use of knowledge. The horrible 2-yr old behaviour seems like a counter-thingy to this. She has a lot more power to understand the world now and I think that's scary in a whole different way to not being able to understand it. As you start to understand more of it, you must get a glimpse of how much you don't know and that must be daunting. Also there is a lot of 'But I am really just a baby, don't forget, and I need to test you to check that you will still catch me and love me completely' stuff going on. And I am dealing with it in various ways to various effects. Yesterday I did really well - I got down to eye level, didn't panic, stayed calm and said to her 'F, I'm really sorry that you are feeling cross and upset'. I said it several times, concentrating entirely on that, and after the third time, she was already calming down and soon after that she got up off the ground and held my hand and we walked along again. I consolidated the positive with an ice-lolly, partly because it was a sod of a hot day.
So I will try and use that technique again - and I know it's probably weird to some people that I would even call that a 'technique' - to some people that comes naturally, when a 4 or 5-yr old screams and goes off on one. To me, I'm afraid it doesn't. My natural response varies between a) losing my own rational self entirely, with the 'well, you can just stay there then, I'm going home' type response, ornamented with the odd swear-word and possibly a bit of sarcasm like 'oh well I hope you'll be happy when we're not home and it's dark and cold and daddy's all on his own at home', and b) attempting to reason, with the 'but we have to go and catch a train, so that we can get home', said with increasing desperation and stress. I find irrationality very hard to deal with. Including my own.
I'm sure I have had someone use that technique with me as an adult when I was very upset about something, but I think I just found it patronising and alienating, probably because it was the wrong person at the wrong time. Or because it's patronising and alienating. We don't expect people to express their empathy by saying the equivalent to 'I am empathising with you', we expect them to go 'awwww' and hug us really. Maybe that would work too, but the words I was saying really seemed to help, I guess it was clearer in some way? Don't know, I'm all blah-ed out on this now I think.
So we're in a time where the tantrums really stand out more than they ever have, because most of the time, I'm seeing an increasingly 'thinking' person emerging, someone who organizes her own time, plans things a bit and does them, is starting to get a better understanding of time and place, to fit herself into her life and her world in a subtly different way. One thing I'm finding is that her ideas, games and stories are starting to get a lot more interesting and appealing to me. There's a lot more detail in them and an interest in trying different things.
Right that's yer big waffle. Back to short blurts now.
Volume - various small fruit-shaped plastic pots of fruity sugar stuff sold at local shop - she chose a banana shaped one thinking it would have most in - after buying and consuming one of each kind over a suitable period, we did an experiment filling each with water and emptying water into small glasses to see which filled glass highest. She was really interested and followed the logic of it.
Yoga - I can't recommend yoga highly enough, it's fantastic, she does so well with it, her concentration is phenomenal and she's completely engaged. The yoga lady is quite a wonder, she brings this great wave of calm and serenity into the house.
My Secret Unicorn - bedtime books of the moment - we have 5 and I think there are at least 10 - I would have adored them when I was a child - ponies that turn into unicorns and you can ride them across the sky! FFS could it be any better?!?!? Charlie and Chocolate Factory and Great Glass Elevator went down well before that.
Neighbour's cat - pops in now and then, F very into cats
Socializing - very restorative and relaxing afternoon at the MonsterTeenies, where the children were largely off and away swimming on D's duvet and other such. N presented me with a vast bowl of pasta pesto and we had lots of good chat and laughs and I think I understand how to work her kettle now. F has really started to play with S now, the age gap counts for far less than it used to, it seems, as she has also started to play more with B, who is the same-ish age as S, when R and B come round. Sorry about the alphabetti spaghetti of initials, but hopefully you get the gist.

Other stuff: the My Little Mutants are still very much a regular presence, getting up to all sorts; F's new trainers are very comfy and I see her walking/running improved again, and her able to walk/run further/more - her shoes are such a high-importance thing here, with the fact that we walk everywhere and she has the slight difficulty to overcome; Star Wars and Doctor Who are still much in favour at the moment, but no Barbie films for the last week or so.

Well, we are off to Kessingland on holiday tomorrow, looking forward to it and will see some of you there.
All out of blurts and blahs for now.