It feels like I'm on holidays and sleeping in is not a sin

The powers that be have determined I have way too much leave accumulated, and have forced me into some days off. 18 in all, although that is only 8 work days, but, yeah, it's days off, innit, so who's counting?

I have shitloads that I need to do, from major building work in the laundry to replace termite damaged sections to researching APLS guidelines on paediatric weight estimates for my formal project [my emergency cesar project turned out to need ethics approval- and all the advice I have received is to run like hell away from anything needing ethics approval] so I don't think I will have all that much time off to just laze around and do stuff all, although I sorely want to do just that.

I'm going to try and do two things daily, though- go and do some laps at the local pool (it's only 25 metres which drives me insane but it is also just a handy three minute's walk away) and to try and write something lucid here. I have a post in my head about families, but I just can't think of a cogent way to wrap it up... I had yesterday off and tried to write this very post but my computer decided to shut down the wireless network so i couldn't post it and lost the lot. i also didn't go for a swim: I mowed the back lawn instead (we have a push mower- it's actually great excercise) and totally threw my SI joint out for the rest of the day.

I'm also thinking of a PIF too- whee!

More stream of consciousness...

1. I got a new laptop. I got sick of the old one being nearly full (there's at leats 30G of i-toons on there as well as some video that I will oneday get around to editing, and that takes up a fair whack of the hard drive) and so very slooooow that i just cracked the shits and went out and bought one. On my birthday. Oh- here's a tip; if you are sick of being ignored in electrical stores, bring in a rowdy toddler who wants to push the buttons on every single piece of equipment they have out on display and they will be at your side to get you the hell out of there in no time. When they discover you have money to burn you are their new best friend!

2. I'm loving spring. Our jacaranda that grows out of the back deck is in full purple bloom and looks awesome. Mangoes are getting cheap. The jasmine we planted is in bloom and covering most of the side fence and it smells magical. When we are out walking patrick loves to stop and sniff any flower we come across, and when he smells a particularly nice one, he "ooohs" appreciatively. Fabulous habit in a young man, and one I hope he never grows out of. We found the first frangipani flower of the season when we were out on a walk on Sunday, and inducted P into the flower behind the ear custom. Charming. There's nothing like seeing new leaves on bare wood to make you feel optimistic about life.

4. Up until a few weeks ago Patrick could not have given a flying figtree about the TV, but he's now sorely addicted. It's my own fault- too: I had something i needed to write for work and didn't want him to interrupt me so I put some DVD on, and now he's hooked worse than an old junkie with a habit. Luckily the content of his addiction is not too unbearable- Peppa Pig, In The Night Garden and Finding Nemo. He's not into the Wiggles, and I have also tried Bananas in Pyjamas ('Morgan' the Teddy Bear is one of my brothers' friends from high school, btw) but he's just not that interested. We've weaned him down to maybe an hour at night whilst I'm cooking dinner, but it doesn't stop him throwing an almighty tanty in the mornings. We've managed to distract him to some degree with trains- not long after he was born my s-i-l sent a B.rio trainset (well, actually the i.kea ripoff) in the post with a note on it saying "don't fight it- it's genetic" (my own father is a train nut. A real alive train spotter. When he and my mum travelled Europe a few years ago they did it on the seniors' equivalent of a Eu.rail pass, not so much because it was a cheap way to travel, but because Dad was so keen to check out European trains- like the AVE, the TGV and the ICE. My nephew L is also obsessed with trains- one of his first words was 'Thomas'. When he was about 4 my brother found an ad in the paper for train drivers, and l was so keen they applied on his behalf- "... what I lack in experience i make up for in enthusiasm..." and VicRai.l was so charmed they made him an honourary member of the train, tram and busdrivers union- he still proudly keeps the pin on his school bag).

5. V2.0 is now at 18 weeks. Next Wednesady is the morphology scan. I'm starting to feel some movement. I'm trying to find a non-twee ticker as I lose track these days- no luck so far. I'm starting to waddle, but I'm putting that down to the cranky SI joint. Eek.

More tomorrow! Promise!!