Still grumpy, even with the prospect of sunken cake for breakfast

I am in a bad mood. The Husband has gone to California on business and I have felt increasingly out of sorts all day. Tired (he got up at 5.30) and a bit fed up I guess. He’s not gone for long and goodness knows I’m used to longer from when he was out defending the realm, but I’m out of practice because he hasn’t really been away since Christmas.

So, the bad mood has pervaded my day. Nothing specific, just grumpy. By the time I picked up the kids from school, I was just about holding it together, but teetering on the edge. Fortunately I’d remembered to take the kids something to eat which meant I didn’t get a whinge from Pink (who never eats much of her lunch because it wastes too much of the ‘giggling and huddling in corners’ time so beloved of nearly 6yr old girls), but she’d hurt her foot and was clearly tired – and still 31/2 weeks of term left – so I took a deep breath and set off back down the hill homewards.

Blue decided to run off ahead – not much of a problem as he walks to school on his own in the morning already, but I had assumed that at a particular point in the journey I would see him ahead of me, and I couldn’t. Now, I have had 3 “I HAVE LOST MY CHILD” moments with Blue. Once, he managed to disappear in a car park outside the houses we were living in at the time. A second time, he ran off from Clarks in the shopping centre in Basingstoke (with a brand new pair of unpaid for shoes still on I might add) and didn’t get apprehended till he’d got as far as Marks & Spencer, almost 3 sides of a square – quite a lot of shops and people. The last time was at Harlow Carr Gardens near Harrogate, when he’d come out of the loos in the entrance area and disappeared. My father was supposed to have been keeping an eye on him. We didn’t know if he’d gone back in to the gardens or out onto the road. Fortunately he went in to the gardens, and was found after about 10 minutes. I can think of a few “longest 10 minutes of my life” and that was one of them. His disappearance this afternoon wasn’t quite in that league, but it added to my general grumpiness. However, as predicted he had just made it home quicker than I had anticipated. Be proud of me - I didn’t to lose it with him and instead managed the “I was scared – you need to tell me what you are going to do” speech, although I grant there may have been a touch of hysteria laced around the edges. Pink didn’t want to go to ballet, and the TV went on as soon as we got in.

Sunken (and now I come to think about it, slightly charred)
cake - enough to make anyone grumpy

I decided to take advantage and try to cheer myself up by baking a new cake – well, ‘oatmeal in a slice’. The real driver for this particular confection was the possibilities it presents for ‘cake for breakfast’. I gave the kids the usual “you can watch half an hour” and closeted myself in the kitchen. This is a recipe from Baked in America – my new cake porn – and I have been eyeing this recipe up for a few days. It calls for ‘applesauce’ for which I substituted the appelstroop I brought back from Holland. Also I had forgotten to get buttermilk in my last online shop so I had to make do with yoghurt cut with white vinegar. It’s a very easy and straightforward recipe, but dammit, it sank in the middle. Probably because I was reheating Saturday’s biryani in the oven for supper at the same time and kept opening and closing the oven door – but just because I know WHY it's sunk it doesn't make it any less distressing to look at. Tastes pretty good, though, and I reckon the kids will give it a go for breakfast, being as how it's full of oats and raisins - just like porridge really (come on - indulge me)

The kids watched more TV than they were supposed to – cue slightly more hysterical rant about being trusted (it’s only the TV for goodness sake – come on get a grip woman) – and then had to endure homework which is mainly consisting of paperwork to support Blue’s sarcophagus building project. The outline paperwork was supposed to be up on the school’s website over half term but it wasn’t, so we made a start on the sarcophagus anyway (with thanks to a Boden shoebox) and now have to recreate some back up nonsense about planning and evaluating. Drives me insane.

We made it through to bedtime though, with only one all out hysterical rant about how mummy was tired and it really wouldn’t be a good idea to have a bath tonight and just get into your PJs, do your teeth and there will be time for stories.

Thank God for story time. That’s all I can say. Pink forwent (is that a word? Spell check seems to think so) the Secret Garden (Mary Lennox has just met Colin Craven – I am LOVING reading it to her) in favour of one of her fall back favourite picture books (‘Pond Goose’ about a goose who wants to be part of the gaggle) and Blue chose Emil and the 3 Twins, by Eric Kastner – a follow up to Emil and the Detectives which, if you haven’t read it, is a total must for the kind of 8-10 age range. I totally loved it – proper ripping yarns stuff, for all that it’s very old fashioned and set in Germany. Nothing better than cuddling up with the kids and having a story and a cuddle.

Am still annoyed about the cake though. Not even story time could fix that. And the time difference between here and California means it’s going to be tricky for me to talk to the Husband – which may be a good thing anyway. Now, just need to log on to Sainsburys to top up my order - let’s keep fingers crossed that today isn’t a maintenance day on the website, shall we.