Not too bad, considering.

Went swimming with James and Matthew yesterday. I'd forgotten what it was like to only have two children. So much easier, wow. Kev and Matthew were both feeling a bit off, so I just took my two big sons. It was very nice indeed. I was able to be free in the water, without a small child clinging to me for dear life, ha. I do love swimming, when Kev's there and all three boys are able to come in. But it was just different, to not have to worry so much. You really have to keep your wits about you when you've got a few to watch in the water, especially when it's busy. And especially when the eldest is having a go at swimming without armbands and you have to save his life every couple of minutes! I'm not a confident swimmer, which doesn't really help me to relax. It would be nice for them to have swimming lessons, but we can't afford that. But yesterday I was able to get Thomas using a float to practise getting his legs up behind him in the water. He did very well, and started to get the idea. He felt like he was that little bit closer to swimming properly. He can do a lovely backstroke :) James enjoyed doing a nice doggy paddle! I didn't do much of anything except splashing around and pretending to look like I knew what I was doing :D But we had the pool to ourselves for most of the time, and it was ace.

I have done quite well today: I have not neglected my children in favour of reading a trashy vampire novel. I did pop into town to buy the last book, but I've been very disciplined and have not even read the bumph on the back :) I have played football with my children, I have bathed them, I have read them a bedtime story, I have interacted with them, and I have listened to them in rapt silence while they have wittered on about all kinds of very interesting things. I only thought about chucking them out in the garden and running for my book a couple of times, but I squashed the evil thoughts very quickly and got back to real life. Tomorrow we are hoping for more nice weather so that we can do a little gardening - we've got millions of weeds all of a sudden, so I'm going to let the boys dig them up.

I'm absolutely astounded that a book written for teenagers can have me so gripped. It's very ridiculous, and I really must snap out of it. Did I miss something in my teenage years? Hmm, I don't think so. Mind you, I do tend to get like this with books sometimes - it's not just the beautiful characters of Stephenie Meyer that I can become obsessed with. I do fall in love with fictional people quite often. I always have a little downer when I finish a book that I've particularly enjoyed, even if there's been no-one to fall in love with in it. (When I say 'a downer', I'm talking about a Linda-downer, which lasts about twenty minutes.) So don't worry about me - I'll get over my vampires pretty soon enough, when I've moved on to something else. I was going to read The Book Thief before I picked up Twilight, so that's what I'll read next.

And then I really must get back to my own writing - I get an F for effort on that this week. Tut, tut, tut.