storbarnsförälder

First thing this morning we had to go to the doctor's to get Linnea's immunisations. Two jabs. She was teddibly teddibly brave. In fact, I know it was very hard for her, because after the second one she cried for almost a minute. I gave her four chocolates before we started, and she put them in her mouth for during the jabs; the first one got an Ow, and the second one she cried - partially from dread, I'm sure.

Then we tried to go to McDonalds as promised but they had no chips. In the mornings they serve breakfast, apparently. So we got bagels, which look enough like donuts to be a big treat, and a hash brown, which was so revolting Linnea refused to eat it.

Then we went into town. We met Layla and Jasper en route and then at Jelly Leg'd Chicken we met T and E - "Hello you two!" - and one of their grandparents. Linnea made a dragon puppet and Emer pottered about.

After that we went to the bookshop, and Woolworths, and discovered that we'd lost Emer's little hat - it's one Birgitte from Gotland knitted for Linnea, grey, with earflaps, and a little sheep motif. I retraced our steps and left my number in the shops in case it's found, and then we went for lunch.

We ate at SpudULike, where they have horrible potatoes but unchanging prices. As we were finishing our meal an elderly woman who had been sitting across an aisle form us came over and said "You are to be congratulated. Two have two lovely, well-behaved children. It's not often you see children so good - I know they might be naughty at home, but they behave when they're out..." She went on for some time, and in the end I just thanked her and blushed a lot, because she wouldn't let me demur. I told Linnea what she'd said, which was a good idea, because she was then very well behaved until we finished lunch and went and did the nappy changes. In fact, it wasn't until I was phoning Rob (to get him to call the Town Hall in case the hat showed up) that she started acting up a little.

When we left the shopping centre, we had enough time to walk home, but it was drizzling and a bus was due, so we waited. And waited. Eventually two arrived at once. Neither would take the pushchair, which had Linnea in it, because of a complicated interaction with a total stranger at the bus-stop. Hints and tips: do not offer other people's children treats in public unless YOU PERSONALLY are going to provide the treats and deal with the hyperactive misbehaviour afterwards. And when the non-appearance of a treat causes crankiness on the part of the child, don't blame the bloody child, it's your own damn fault. Anyway, Linnea was in the pushchair and Emer was in the sling, with no hat. And we had to walk to nursery.

We got soaked. The drizzle turned into a shower which turned into a downpour. I got Linnea out of the buggy and walking so that I could put Emer under cover, but by the time we got to nursery Linnea's coat was almost soaked through; I've brought it home with us and she'll have a dry one when I collect her. The nursery teacher dried her hair with a towel.

I am extraordinarily angry at the bus driver. The number 17 is specifically supposed to be buggy friendly, and has space for four ordinary buggies, or up to six specially small ones, if they are carefully parked. The first bus had two on board, neither large, when the driver said he couldn't take me. And it wasn't that there was a wheelchair or anyone sitting in the flip-up seats; it wasn't even crowded.

Still, Linnea was warm and dry inside her coat, and Emer was warm and dry inside the buggy, and I got laughed at when I cried in exasperation "PUT your HOOD on! Why do BOTH my children want to die of hypoTHERMIA?!"

And Linnea was really extraordinarily brave about her jabs, which she did not like one little bit.