Thursday Photo #99

Since the weekend, we have been back in quarantine with chickenpox. Libby seems to have an amazing knack of timing her illnesses so she doesn’t miss out on anything.

Last Thursday we had a lovely lunch at Resorts World Birmingham, Friday was another fabulous day out at the opening of the Drayton Manor Tamarin Trail. Saturday was a bit more chilled, followed by lunch with my husband’s family on Sunday. Then on Monday, the dreaded (but much anticipated) spots appeared.

Neither of the girls have been particularly ill with chickenpox, predominantly due to the itching being largely controlled by rhus tox tablets. My mum remembered using these for me when I had chickenpox as a child and as soon as they started taking them, the itching stopped for both girls.

Last night, I’d arranged to go gin tasting with my sisters at our local pub. It was the first time for months if not years that I’d been out in the evening and I was really looking forward to it. My dad agreed to babysit so my husband and I could both go. So, with the chickenpox under control, we left both girls in bed and headed off.

The girls were still wide awake when we left, but both were happy, chatting and playing together. Fast forward an hour and a half, and my dad sent me a message to say that the girls wanted me to come home. I’d only managed to get through two of the five gins and being the only one who could get back in a hurry, it had to be me that went home.

Both girls were fine when I got back, but they had done the typical children’s trick of winding up the babysitter. My dad was in the bedroom with them with the lights on, Libby was running around the room at breakneck speed and Lia was lying in her bed crying – with her Christmas pudding hat on.

I managed to get them both off to sleep within a few minutes of coming home, but I certainly learned my lesson from the experience. I had it in my mind that we needed to arrive at the gin tasting by 8 pm when it was starting, but in reality it wouldn’t have mattered if I’d been late. Next time my husband and I attempt to leave the house together, I’ll make sure the children are asleep first.

Due to the somewhat spotty appearance of my eldest daughter since Monday, our best photo from the past seven days is definitely one that was taken at Drayton Manor last Friday. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t look their best when wearing a tamarin moustache?

Our Thursday Photo #99