Stair Diving

a sport that I'm sure we've all indulged in at some point in our lives, today baby girl made her first attempt and I'm telling you we're talking olympic standard here!

We were visiting friends today and she was determined to be upstairs with everyone else. Now I wasn't too concerned about the ascent part of the journey, but the descent definitely troubled me. Luckily eldest girl was with us and I asked her if she could please keep an eye on her sister and not let her come down the stairs unaccompanied. I know, I know she's only nine it's not her responsibility... Anyway, the kids were upstairs playing and having a snack, youngest boy shouts down to me "I've finished!!!" I called up to him to bring the plate down, carefully. In the next instant I heard a very theatrical bump bump bump clattering down the stairs. I leapt up with a vision of a boy and plate, sliding down the stairs on his bottom. What I was met with was a little girl with a stricken face white as a sheet, feet up the stairs head on the floor! My friend let out a very non-mummy expletive and I dived at my baby girl, who was now doing the not crying crying (you know the one, where they can't get enough breath to actually make any noise) closely followed by the siren wailing crying (reaching a crescendo, tailing off and building up again). She wouldn't let me look at her, just kept clinging onto me burying her face in my neck.

Eventually she calmed herself down and I could see blood coming from her mouth, "Noooo, not teeth throught the lip" sprang to mind, as it always does with me. Nope just a small split I think, we were so lucky! A very shaken girl and mum and big sis, cos I'm afraid my next reaction after sorting Little Miss out was to turn on poor biggest girl and hiss at her "I told you to keep an eye on her!" My poor girl looked devestated and tried to explain herself to me, sadly I was so shaken I wasn't a nice mummy and just kept on about how she should have stood in front of her. I realise it was my own guilt and I did end up by saying it was just an accident and no-ones fault. I also asked that no-one let baby girl make the upstairs trip at home now as she wasn't quite ready, and if she did get up just to call me to help her down. We have wooden stairs and it could have been so much worse at home, no carpet, wooden stairs concrete floors.. makes me shudder.

Thank goodness I think I managed to cheer big girl up and she spent a lot of time helping me in the kitchen when we got home, not the most fun you wouldn't think but I suspect it made her feel more important and grown up.

Which leads me on to my next subject...as well as helping me clean surfaces and tidy up the kitchen work surface, big girl has decided that whilst the dishwasher is out of commision (until tuesday £75 to repair ) she is going to be the washer upper. I kept saying no it's ok, don't worry about it, but the girl is absolutely determined. I ended up feeling like I was depriving her if I didn't let her wash and dry up!

I was relating this story to Other Half "ahh" he said "she's getting so grown up, I suppose she just wants to do more womanly things" Womanly Things!!!! Oh you mean like housework says I through extremely gritted teeth, because of course men are incapable of such things, their skin might fall off if it touches hot dishwater eh? He could tell I wasn't best pleased by his, um, innocent remark! When I turned on him and said "Don't you dare say that to her" he just looked startled and nodded his head.

I had calmed by the time he went off to bed, so there will be no smacking him around the head whilst he's asleep .

There's money due in tomorrow so I shall be buying little Miss her birthday pressy (last minute again) and also there is probably some chocolate to be purchased , but where to go now, there's no Woolies anymore... Oh well I'm sure I'll find some somewhere, and it'll be nice just to be out and about with some cash in my purse for a change .