- noise -

Half term: four children in the house and the noise was unbelievable.... Just now. It's died down again, to more tolerable levels.

Yesterday my mother gave me the 'poor you' look that she tends to sport when i take the four of them home again after a few have stayed over for a night or two. How do i cope?! I don't think the question is so much how do i cope, but how do i cope, when i've had no training whatsoever in dealing with anybody - let alone myself... Nobody can give you as good a feeling about yourself as your mother... Well - my mother at least...

When setting out on the journey of becoming a mother, never had i envisaged having to 'deal' with 4 of my own. Never ever. A friend, who's a dab hand with tarot cards, predicted 'lots of kids', and a dark haired husband, but i never looked beyond the au pair family (which had a dark haired father...) with their 3 , and regularly more visiting friends. Great fun and i loved being with them, but the idea of any kids for myself seemed outrageous, more than 2 surreal... However, the prediction appeared true and here i am, a house full of noisy, silly, mad, energetic, original kids, who amazingly keep each other occupied more that occasionally. Tomorrow Otto will be in charge of the games at Polly's birthday party, Felix, Otto and Polly spent hours playing with Lego yesterday, this morning Max allowed them into the inner sanctum that is his bedroom and they 'made music' (the afore mentioned racket)...

How i cope? By enjoying them, 'cos they're amazing.