Week so far, babysitting and Dora.

I've had a few days off this week, thankfully. I've been exhausted, after having gone straight from a stressful exam period into a lot of hours, and eventually two weeks of full time work, so I've really really appreciated having a few days to myself this week. I've spent some time with Jess and Szilveszter, and have done a fair bit of sitting around too, which is what we all need, really! I've had a bit of a head cold, also, which at one point, I was positive would manifest in a return of the dreaded tonsilitis, right before I go back to uni, which would be just my luck. But I'm feeling a lot better now, and I've got a few more days off this week coming, so I should recover nicely in time for the new semester. I've got a huge to-do list in my little Moleskin notebook, so hopefully I have the energy and motivation to work my way through it before uni goes back.

Last night, I babysat my cousins for the evening. Matthew is eleven, Kate is five and Ciara (pronounced Kiera, it's the Irish spelling) is two. I was privvy to a viewing of The Land Before Time - Invasion of the Tinysauruses, which was democratically elected as the evening's entertainment, before the routine participation in Dora the Explorer's quest to save the snow princess. Matthew is constantly engrossed in sports of any kind, so he gave me a run down of the NRL's current state. This was handy, because now rather than pretend I know what Szilveszter's talking about when he gets onto this topic, I will actually have some background in it! Kate opted to be dressed as a princess for the majority of the night; her outfit consisted of a tasteful Princess Aurora dress, golden plastic tiara, her good black dress shoes and a sceptre, which had been stuck back together with sticky tape after too violent a knighthood, or some such. Like me, Kate loves to draw, so she and I got some materials out and were depicting yet more princesses, when Kate nonchalantly announced, "I'm only giving Snow White two fingers, because she doesn't need any more, and I can't draw them anyway." I hid a smile at this, and rendered the full amount of digits on my own Princess Kate, who was defaced by Ciara later on anyway. Ciara is such an enthusiastic girl, who announces anything and everything that pops into her small blonde head with gusto. For instance, last night, with swelled chest and proud stance, she declared, "THIS IS A DRINK BOTTLE." Then nodded and looked around the room, presumably seeking applause or some sort of gratification. It really is hilarious. Once, on a car ride, she said, "DADDY, DADDY, DADDY - I HAVE FINGERS," and displayed them for all to see. I often wonder if she's an ameteur comedian, because generally she's as happy to receive laughter as she is to be rewarded with a round of applause.

It was good to hang out with the kids for the evening last night. It's nice not to have to worry about anything except whether Dora's going to find the blue cow sneezing in the red barn in time to save him from his geranium allergies.

Despite me constantly being stressed, however, everything's going well for once. I've saved an amount of money I'm really happy with, and am able to keep adding to it. Work is great, I love the girls; on our Thursday shift change crossover, we all seem to have a switch flicked and end up in hysterical laughter. Our house is finally a happy place to be, even if Murray and Rosie are generally engaged in combat. They honestly roll around in a ball like on a cartoon. I've been able to spend more time than usual with Szilveszter lately, and that's been wonderful. We've been talking and planning and thinking about Europe, and that's a huge motivator on straining days. And, importantly, I have plenty to read, and the time to do it over the holidays. Jess and I are going to see Harry Potter tonight, so I can't wait for that!

Hope everyone else is enjoying their holidays too.

Thanks for reading!

claire.x.