Life will never be the same again

As I write, I'm sitting (rather uncomfortably) with one of the kittens (Darcy) on my knee. He has at last stopped walking over the keyboard and batting the cursor as it moves across the screen and is now purring loudly. I wish I were a cat...

Little E pulled a sicky today - she told her teacher she had a tummy ache and - mindful of the dreadful bug going round - her teacher called me at school. As soon as I arrived at LE's school I could tell she was bluffing - but I didn't want to show her up in front of her new teacher. When we got home I told her to put her PJs on and lie down on the sofa. I told her she couldn't watch any tv as she needed to sleep and she certainly couldn't have any food. I then busied myself with inane tasks (washing, cleaning - anything BUT the school work I had brought home with me) while she became more and more bored. Finally, she could resist the temptation no longer and asked me for a 'snack'. With a very straight face I explained that she couldn't possibly have any food for at least 24 hours and I would be failing in my responsibility as her mother if I let her eat. I think this was the point where she realised I knew she wasn't poorly. She went into a long explanation about how she had felt sick earlier - but it had now passed (nothing to do with the fact that another pupil had been sent home earlier in the day - but she didn't know I knew that). She suspected it had just been stress and now she was fine. And hungry.

Some time later she apologised - I think I may have been a bit over the top when I described her absence from school as truanting, but I don't think she'll be trying this one again for a long time...

She didn't get anything to eat until teatime either. What a wicked mum!

Then the cats decided to play up. Not content with the poo fight they had clearly had in the kitchen on Monday morning, they set about wrecking the lounge. While I was washing up I heard a loud thud. On inspection I found a large pot plant - and all its soil - all over the lounge carpet. Even as I cleared it up, one of them tried to dig in it. But they are cute...