Outlaws

Steve's family came up for the weekend. 

We had a lovely Friday, Steve was at work, and his younger brother was left with him to do some inputting (he's fundraising for a trip to Malawi and we're paying him some money for work he does for Steve), so Steve's parents came to our house to see Joel. 

After a cup of tea (well, tea for me, and herbal stuff for them!!) we walked to town to show Joel the Christmas lights.  He liked them a lot and pointed, and cooed.

As it was quiet by 5pm, we let him out of the buggy and he ran around the town centre, and looked at the giant tree and the nativity set.  We're telling him all about baby Jesus this year, and the Christmas story which is lovely.  We have a lovely Usbourne book with touchy feely bits that he's liking :)

We then took him to our favourite Indian restaurant, and we had poppadoms to start, with mango chutney, which he liked.  Then he had some rice with passanda sauce and a bit of naan bread for his main.  He liked sitting on a chair on his own (albeit a bit low!) although we could tell when he was getting a bit tired.

On the Saturday we took him to the sensory room within our library and did a bit of shopping.  In the evening, Steve and I went to a party and were only out till 11pm, and on returning, found Joel to be awake, with tear marks.  Apparently he'd woken up quite upset, and had cried for 45 minutes (I wished that they'd rung me to ask me to come home) and wouldn't settle, and had kept crying.  The most bothersome comment was that 'it was becuase I'd not told Joel we were going out and Granny and Grandpa would be there instead'. 

He's 19 months old, and if I'd said we were going out, I'm not sure he'd (a) understand, (b) understand and be upset, (c) forget after a sleep anyway

So I was upset after that, and he wouldn't settle for ages, so we were all tired and grumpy on Sunday, Joel was extra pickley at Church, and I was stressed out and burst into tears at church as everything seemed to go wrong. 

So I had a little lie in on Monday which helped but Joel's routine was all out of whack, which these visits seem to do to him.  So Christmas will be hectic as Steve is cross my work do is on Thursday 20th, as he wanted to go to Exeter that night, I'll have all the packing to do, the last days of wrapping I won't be at home for, and I'll need to be super ready and prepared.  Christmas just isn't relaxing when you have to travel with a baby for hours.  And it doesn't help that Steve feels I'm keeping him from his family and home so Joel can have Christmas morning in his own home and go to his own church. 

I'm trying to find my peace and goodwill at the moment.