Relief from the heat and the passing of time

This week has made me even more in awe of single parents than I was already. The boys have been sweaty and irritable in the heat and have been getting up to mischief - one memorable morning we had a huge poo leak on the carpet and curtain, a cot drenched in wee, a dramatic glitter and water explosion in the living room and then an A&E visit, all within an hour! Thankfully Esmeralda was at home that day. She works four days in the week, but even when it's been a bit of a day I know that she'll be home eventually to talk things through, and of course I look forward to the three days she's at home with us. We've had a week of big tantrums, slapping, pushing and biting (all the boys!), a broken ornament, insect bites, poor Andy got blisters from his new sandals, heat rash, bumps and grazes, and in the midst of it all Jack-Jack took his first steps! It's been amazing to see him practice and explore this new freedom, they're both getting more confident and steadier on their feet each day.

It was a bit cooler today which was a huge relief. We took the boys out to our local Italian restaurant for lunch and they both behaved impeccably. Our landlords have had a new fence installed in the garden which has created a safe area for the children to play without us having to be on top of them all the time, and they had two long play sessions out there today, having a whale of a time (Andy seemed to think he actually was a whale, as he kept sitting in every bit of water he could find and was on his 3rd clothing change by 10am!)

This month is going by so quickly. Andy's only with us for one more week, it will be strange when he goes back to his carer even though this was a planned respite placement and we've always known how long he was going to be staying. He's such a lovely little boy and has settled well into our family life. It must be different for each child and situation, but although with Jack-Jack it took me quite a while to realise that I loved him, with Andy I knew before he'd even moved in. Fostering's a funny thing, we're already wondering and thinking about who will be moving in next...