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A Very Detailed Day
Some months ago, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bateleur wrote up his day in great detail. Today I decided to do the same.
06:30 Woke up, no sign ofbateleur but I can hear the television downstairs. Look at the clock, shudder, try and get back to sleep.
07:30ishbateleur comes up to say goodbye. Vaguely remember him saying something about having a busy day ahead. Grunt in a meant-to-be encouraging manner and go back to sleep again.
08:20 Get up, find the postman has been. The Tamba (Twins And Muliple Births Association) membership card has arrived along with our first Christmas card. The latter is a homemade one from Chris and Sacha (demonstrating the joys of having a colour printer) with a photo of their newborn son on the inside.
08:25 Discover we only have two weetabix left. Panic. Look at the Tescos "Kids" packet (ie. Ready Break). Decide that they can make do with one bix each so long as lunch and dinner are substantial (they usually get one-and-a-half). Make twins breakfast.
08:35 Go up for the twins. Ryan is quickest to the edge of the cot so gets taken downstairs and fed bix on my lap. Then I give him his bottle and go and fetch Bea.
08:50 Both twins are drinking milk so I start packing away the dry washing. When I finish I load up my email and LJ whilst waiting for them to empty their bottles.
09:00 Having put both twins in the playpen I then make myself some breakfast and eat it whilst reading LJ, Dilbert and the BBC website (having got no email).
09:15 Start fetching out water, nappies and cotton wool for the unpleasant over-night nappy change.
09:20 Change and dress both twins. Bea has to be done first or Ryan will scream.
09:40 Put the television on and retire to the playstation. Make myself a coffee and plug the earphones in. Load up Wild Arms 3 whilst listening to "The Tweenies".
10:15 Save Wild Arms 3 and go and have a shower.
10:35 When I emerge from the shower I remember to prepare their lunch bottles (diluted orange juice). After that, go upstairs, get dressed. Ignore Ryan's calls to "come and play" !
10:45 Return back downstairs and put my shoes on. Bea takes the hint and heads for her own pair of shoes. Ryan is oblivious to my actions but is delighted when I tell him to fetch his shoes and duly does so. I give each twin a clap for fetching both of their shoes and then sit them on my lap and fasten shoes on them. Afterwards I realise I've forgotten to say which is the left one and which is the right - never mind.
10:50 Put jumpers on the twins. As ever, Ryan is co-operative and Bea isn't.
10:55 Take the pushchair out, fight with it, eventually unfold it, and put both twins in it. Ryan goes in first (having been stopped from throwing the TV remote outside the front door), and then I chase Bea across the lounge to put her in (as usual). Discover it's pretty cold outside.
11:10 Arrive at the post office. Struggle to open the other half of the double doors to get the pushchair through. An elderly lady helps me.
11:15 Halting refuse the two toys that the elderly lady tries to give Ryan and Bea.
11:20 Buy stamps for Christmas cards (most still not written). Have American cards weighed. The elderly lady tries to give the noisier of the toys to one of the people behind the counter.
11:35 Arrive at Tesco. Do shopping. Remember Weetabix and cotton wool. Put Ryan's discarded right shoe back on his foot three times. The checkout lady coos over the twins - most of the Tesco staff now recognise them.
11:50 Come home again. Take bags and twins out of pushchair. Take off twins' jumpers and shoes. Fold up pushchair and bring it back in. This is made more difficult by Ryan standing in the doorway.
11:55 Put shopping away. The twins whinge so I give them a mini chocolate biscuit each.
12:00 See twins are happily playing with bricks (and biscuits). Decided to start the morning details for this LJ entry.
12:10 Realise that the bricks are no longer interesting (and the biscuits are finished). Put the television on (Tikkabilla) for Bea and play Megablocs with Ryan.
12:20 Ryan decides that sitting on my lap playing with my necklace is more fun.
12:25 Bea realises I have Ryan on my lap and comes over. She brings Monkey Puzzle for me to read to her. She sits on the other half of my lap.
12:26 Ryan considers being jealous. Eventually (fortunately) he seems to accept that Bea gets my right leg. I finish Monkey Puzzle. This is one of my favourites; there's no plot, but it has some nice rhymes.
12:28 Start cooking scrabbled eggs and mixing the new vitamin liquid with mashed yam.
12:40 Sniff lunch, decide that the vitamin liquid isn't disguised as much as I would like, but never mind.
12:45 Settle both twins in their high chairs. Guide Ryan's feeding hand to the bowl and back whilst Bea feeds herself.
12:50 Ryan realises that the yam has been tampered with and stops after the first two-thirds and tries to spit his mouthful out. This is good by his standards. I get out the fruit juice and transfer both twins to the settee (Bea has finished all of hers). Start tidying up.
12:55 Ryan chirps in my ear to tell me he's finished his bottle. I cot him. I then come back for Bea and cot her too. Continue tidying up.
13:00 Make the phone call I've been putting off. Ring Cineworld Feltham to book seventeen tickets for Lord of the Rings. The automatic system can't handle double digits. I have to go through a few times to finally get to the operator (and have to say "No" to "Do you want to book tickets" because otherwise I get thrown back at the automated system). They pick up after five minutes. They take my details several times and ring my credit card company because the total exceeded fifty pounds. They put me on hold, then ask me for my details again. Then put me on hold again.
13:25 Finish phone call. Hope that the tickets really are booked. Get back to my LJ entry.
13:40 Start heating up my own lunch (the remains of yesterday's yam, mince and sausage casserole along with some peas).
14:00 Having eaten lunch I return to WA3 (I'm after a dragon).
14:40 Realise I'm getting nowhere on WA3 (again), give up and catch up on LJ instead.
14:45 Have another shot at chapter 5 of my book.
15:35 Finish the new draft of chapter 5. Realise I'm late for the twins. Start pouring milk into beakers. I'm planning to try them on beakers for their afternoon milk for the first time. Just giving them beakers in the evening doesn't seem to be working, Bea's as incompetent with them as ever.
15:45 The beakers are not a success. Bea bursts into tears after giving it back to me and hence realising that a bottle is not forthcoming. This sets Ryan off. When I try to comfort him, I discover he has a nappy leak. Yuck !
15:50 The last of the chocolate biscuits seems to have calmed them down. I then do two nappy changes (one of which is icky) and a trousers change for Ryan.
16:00 Put the television back on (more Tikkabilla, the Koala Brothers, Bob the Builder and Sergeant Stripes). Go and do the washing up.
16:30 Having finished the washing up I prepare their tea bottles (diluted orange juice again). Then I go upstairs and get on with the task I started yesterday of clearing out their room so that I can transfer Bea to the lower bunk bed.
17:05 Back downstairs again to prepare mashed bananas and fromage frais for their tea.
17:10 That feeding thing again. This time Ryan eats it all.
17:20 More bottles. I spend their drinking time adding more to this LJ entry.
17:30 Bea finishes her bottle waves her "art" (the paper and cardboard) and starts crying. I know what this means, so I take it to the table and sellotape fresh paper to it. This would be an easy task if it wasn't for Bea "helping".
17:35 Hand newly-papered "art" over to Bea along with a chestnut crayon and return to the screen.
17:40 Yell at Bea to not draw on the books (some have already suffered, namely "The Twins Handbook"). Watch Ryan pick malteser bags off ofbateleur's jumper (ie. his costume for cuthbertcross and dr_bob's party). He's both quiet and happy 'cos he thinks he's being naughty.
17:42 Ryan starts wailing. I go and see what the problem is. I open the bag of Megablocs for him. Ryan stops wailing.
17:45 I prepare and put on baked jacket potatoes for dinner.
17:50 I start the "evening walk" preparations. My shoes, their shoes, my coat, their coats. Then we go out and head in a Tescoly direction. It seems warmer than it did this morning.
18:00 Turning around time. Ryan's tantrum is anticipated and I pick him up and carry him some of the way back. When he stops howling I put him down again.
18:10 We arrive home at the same time atbateleur. This is a wonderful stroke of luck as his arrival diverts them from throwing their usual "end of walk" tantrums. He helps me take off the shoes and coats.
18:15bateleur reads "Cock-a-moo-moo" to Beatrice. I check on the potatoes and reconstruct the beakers.
18:20 I read a lot of books to Beatrice. Including "Cock-a-moo-moo", "Fergus", "My dog", "Monkey Puzzle" and "The Alphabet Book". I sing "Twinkle, twinkle" and read "Rainbow Fish" to Ryan.
18:45 Ryan decides that Bea is banned from my lap. Bea doesn't agree.
18:55bateleur pours milk into the beakers.
19:00 I feed Bea her beaker andbateleur feeds Ryan. We each change a nappy and put the twin into nightclothes. Then we do a teethclean each.
19:25 The twins are cotted for the night.
19:30 I tidy up for the last time.
19:40 I type up more LJ asbateleur cooks some beans to go with the potatoes.
19:50 Eat dinner (BJ potatoes with beans and cheese followed by banana custard).
20:20 Back on the computer checking email, LJ and webpages. Plus updating this entry.
20:35 I ringfrax and cardinalsin. I talk a lot to frax and a little to cardinalsin.
21:50 It's a bit late to start on Xmas cards so I return to the computer. I write a bit more LJ.
22:10 Back to Wild Arms 3.
22:40bateleur comes to watch Wild Arms progress. I'm busy trying to solve Millenium Puzzle number ten. After a while bateleur helps and I manage it.
22:55 I go and clean my teeth.
23:00 Up to bed and to sleep.
bateleur wrote up his day in great detail. Today I decided to do the same.06:30 Woke up, no sign of
bateleur but I can hear the television downstairs. Look at the clock, shudder, try and get back to sleep.07:30ish
bateleur comes up to say goodbye. Vaguely remember him saying something about having a busy day ahead. Grunt in a meant-to-be encouraging manner and go back to sleep again.08:20 Get up, find the postman has been. The Tamba (Twins And Muliple Births Association) membership card has arrived along with our first Christmas card. The latter is a homemade one from Chris and Sacha (demonstrating the joys of having a colour printer) with a photo of their newborn son on the inside.
08:25 Discover we only have two weetabix left. Panic. Look at the Tescos "Kids" packet (ie. Ready Break). Decide that they can make do with one bix each so long as lunch and dinner are substantial (they usually get one-and-a-half). Make twins breakfast.
08:35 Go up for the twins. Ryan is quickest to the edge of the cot so gets taken downstairs and fed bix on my lap. Then I give him his bottle and go and fetch Bea.
08:50 Both twins are drinking milk so I start packing away the dry washing. When I finish I load up my email and LJ whilst waiting for them to empty their bottles.
09:00 Having put both twins in the playpen I then make myself some breakfast and eat it whilst reading LJ, Dilbert and the BBC website (having got no email).
09:15 Start fetching out water, nappies and cotton wool for the unpleasant over-night nappy change.
09:20 Change and dress both twins. Bea has to be done first or Ryan will scream.
09:40 Put the television on and retire to the playstation. Make myself a coffee and plug the earphones in. Load up Wild Arms 3 whilst listening to "The Tweenies".
10:15 Save Wild Arms 3 and go and have a shower.
10:35 When I emerge from the shower I remember to prepare their lunch bottles (diluted orange juice). After that, go upstairs, get dressed. Ignore Ryan's calls to "come and play" !
10:45 Return back downstairs and put my shoes on. Bea takes the hint and heads for her own pair of shoes. Ryan is oblivious to my actions but is delighted when I tell him to fetch his shoes and duly does so. I give each twin a clap for fetching both of their shoes and then sit them on my lap and fasten shoes on them. Afterwards I realise I've forgotten to say which is the left one and which is the right - never mind.
10:50 Put jumpers on the twins. As ever, Ryan is co-operative and Bea isn't.
10:55 Take the pushchair out, fight with it, eventually unfold it, and put both twins in it. Ryan goes in first (having been stopped from throwing the TV remote outside the front door), and then I chase Bea across the lounge to put her in (as usual). Discover it's pretty cold outside.
11:10 Arrive at the post office. Struggle to open the other half of the double doors to get the pushchair through. An elderly lady helps me.
11:15 Halting refuse the two toys that the elderly lady tries to give Ryan and Bea.
11:20 Buy stamps for Christmas cards (most still not written). Have American cards weighed. The elderly lady tries to give the noisier of the toys to one of the people behind the counter.
11:35 Arrive at Tesco. Do shopping. Remember Weetabix and cotton wool. Put Ryan's discarded right shoe back on his foot three times. The checkout lady coos over the twins - most of the Tesco staff now recognise them.
11:50 Come home again. Take bags and twins out of pushchair. Take off twins' jumpers and shoes. Fold up pushchair and bring it back in. This is made more difficult by Ryan standing in the doorway.
11:55 Put shopping away. The twins whinge so I give them a mini chocolate biscuit each.
12:00 See twins are happily playing with bricks (and biscuits). Decided to start the morning details for this LJ entry.
12:10 Realise that the bricks are no longer interesting (and the biscuits are finished). Put the television on (Tikkabilla) for Bea and play Megablocs with Ryan.
12:20 Ryan decides that sitting on my lap playing with my necklace is more fun.
12:25 Bea realises I have Ryan on my lap and comes over. She brings Monkey Puzzle for me to read to her. She sits on the other half of my lap.
12:26 Ryan considers being jealous. Eventually (fortunately) he seems to accept that Bea gets my right leg. I finish Monkey Puzzle. This is one of my favourites; there's no plot, but it has some nice rhymes.
12:28 Start cooking scrabbled eggs and mixing the new vitamin liquid with mashed yam.
12:40 Sniff lunch, decide that the vitamin liquid isn't disguised as much as I would like, but never mind.
12:45 Settle both twins in their high chairs. Guide Ryan's feeding hand to the bowl and back whilst Bea feeds herself.
12:50 Ryan realises that the yam has been tampered with and stops after the first two-thirds and tries to spit his mouthful out. This is good by his standards. I get out the fruit juice and transfer both twins to the settee (Bea has finished all of hers). Start tidying up.
12:55 Ryan chirps in my ear to tell me he's finished his bottle. I cot him. I then come back for Bea and cot her too. Continue tidying up.
13:00 Make the phone call I've been putting off. Ring Cineworld Feltham to book seventeen tickets for Lord of the Rings. The automatic system can't handle double digits. I have to go through a few times to finally get to the operator (and have to say "No" to "Do you want to book tickets" because otherwise I get thrown back at the automated system). They pick up after five minutes. They take my details several times and ring my credit card company because the total exceeded fifty pounds. They put me on hold, then ask me for my details again. Then put me on hold again.
13:25 Finish phone call. Hope that the tickets really are booked. Get back to my LJ entry.
13:40 Start heating up my own lunch (the remains of yesterday's yam, mince and sausage casserole along with some peas).
14:00 Having eaten lunch I return to WA3 (I'm after a dragon).
14:40 Realise I'm getting nowhere on WA3 (again), give up and catch up on LJ instead.
14:45 Have another shot at chapter 5 of my book.
15:35 Finish the new draft of chapter 5. Realise I'm late for the twins. Start pouring milk into beakers. I'm planning to try them on beakers for their afternoon milk for the first time. Just giving them beakers in the evening doesn't seem to be working, Bea's as incompetent with them as ever.
15:45 The beakers are not a success. Bea bursts into tears after giving it back to me and hence realising that a bottle is not forthcoming. This sets Ryan off. When I try to comfort him, I discover he has a nappy leak. Yuck !
15:50 The last of the chocolate biscuits seems to have calmed them down. I then do two nappy changes (one of which is icky) and a trousers change for Ryan.
16:00 Put the television back on (more Tikkabilla, the Koala Brothers, Bob the Builder and Sergeant Stripes). Go and do the washing up.
16:30 Having finished the washing up I prepare their tea bottles (diluted orange juice again). Then I go upstairs and get on with the task I started yesterday of clearing out their room so that I can transfer Bea to the lower bunk bed.
17:05 Back downstairs again to prepare mashed bananas and fromage frais for their tea.
17:10 That feeding thing again. This time Ryan eats it all.
17:20 More bottles. I spend their drinking time adding more to this LJ entry.
17:30 Bea finishes her bottle waves her "art" (the paper and cardboard) and starts crying. I know what this means, so I take it to the table and sellotape fresh paper to it. This would be an easy task if it wasn't for Bea "helping".
17:35 Hand newly-papered "art" over to Bea along with a chestnut crayon and return to the screen.
17:40 Yell at Bea to not draw on the books (some have already suffered, namely "The Twins Handbook"). Watch Ryan pick malteser bags off of
bateleur's jumper (ie. his costume for cuthbertcross and dr_bob's party). He's both quiet and happy 'cos he thinks he's being naughty.17:42 Ryan starts wailing. I go and see what the problem is. I open the bag of Megablocs for him. Ryan stops wailing.
17:45 I prepare and put on baked jacket potatoes for dinner.
17:50 I start the "evening walk" preparations. My shoes, their shoes, my coat, their coats. Then we go out and head in a Tescoly direction. It seems warmer than it did this morning.
18:00 Turning around time. Ryan's tantrum is anticipated and I pick him up and carry him some of the way back. When he stops howling I put him down again.
18:10 We arrive home at the same time at
bateleur. This is a wonderful stroke of luck as his arrival diverts them from throwing their usual "end of walk" tantrums. He helps me take off the shoes and coats.18:15
bateleur reads "Cock-a-moo-moo" to Beatrice. I check on the potatoes and reconstruct the beakers.18:20 I read a lot of books to Beatrice. Including "Cock-a-moo-moo", "Fergus", "My dog", "Monkey Puzzle" and "The Alphabet Book". I sing "Twinkle, twinkle" and read "Rainbow Fish" to Ryan.
18:45 Ryan decides that Bea is banned from my lap. Bea doesn't agree.
18:55
bateleur pours milk into the beakers. 19:00 I feed Bea her beaker and
bateleur feeds Ryan. We each change a nappy and put the twin into nightclothes. Then we do a teethclean each.19:25 The twins are cotted for the night.
19:30 I tidy up for the last time.
19:40 I type up more LJ as
bateleur cooks some beans to go with the potatoes.19:50 Eat dinner (BJ potatoes with beans and cheese followed by banana custard).
20:20 Back on the computer checking email, LJ and webpages. Plus updating this entry.
20:35 I ring
frax and cardinalsin. I talk a lot to frax and a little to cardinalsin.21:50 It's a bit late to start on Xmas cards so I return to the computer. I write a bit more LJ.
22:10 Back to Wild Arms 3.
22:40
bateleur comes to watch Wild Arms progress. I'm busy trying to solve Millenium Puzzle number ten. After a while bateleur helps and I manage it.22:55 I go and clean my teeth.
23:00 Up to bed and to sleep.
Monkey Puzzle
What ?! How can you say that ?!
It's an epic verse detailing one monkey's quest through the jungle to be reunited with his family. As the narrative unfolds, the young monkey must wrestle with the nature of trust and friendship and the complex question of simian identity itself ! I'll avoid spoilers, since everyone should read this seminal work for themselves, but suffice to say that the recurring elephant is the most profound commentary on the nature of rationality that I have read this year.
But yes, it's one of my favourites too.
Re: Monkey Puzzle
Re: Monkey Puzzle
Re: Monkey Puzzle
Re: Monkey Puzzle
So what you're basically all suggesting that if two books have different titles, they aren't the same book?
Re: Monkey Puzzle
no subject
17:30 Bea finishes her bottle waves her "art" (the paper and cardboard) and starts crying. I know what this means, so I take it to the table and sellotape fresh paper to it. This would be an easy task if it wasn't for Bea "helping".
17:35 Hand newly-papered "art" over to Bea along with a chestnut crayon and return to the screen.
You may understand what your twin wants but I am mystified. How does the cardboard and sellotape come into it?
no subject
Further info
Re: Further info
Re: Further info
The main drawback is that Bea also uses her drawing implements on the walls, furniture, etc, etc. Crayons don't do that much damage, but white board pens could leave some impressive marks.
Re: Further info