Headache!

Tam is moody without mummy. She is grumpy, she is grouchy, she is disobedient and she is tearing the house apart. She asks for food - doesn't want it. She asks for a drink - doesn't want it. She gets a toy - doesn't want it. The trouble is, she is a real Mummys Girl. She loves her mummy, mummy can do no wrong, but daddy, well... Daddy is grouchy, daddy doesn't put up with the whining and whinging, and this makes daddy a lot less fun than mummy.

So, she cries. And cries and sobs and wails and makes this noise in her throat that drives me mad as she forces out a cry. Sort of "Waaah I'm crying, look at me!" And then, as magically as the tears started, they stop, and she plays with something or watches something - resigned to the fact that mummy is AWOL. She might be happy for minutes, seconds, even an hour or two, but invariably, she thinks "Hold on a darn tooting second - where's mummy?!" and it starts all over again.

Five minutes ago she was wailing like it was the end of the world. Now she has a teaspoon and is playing with it on the floor. Never mind the toys down here, no, the teaspoon is the fun item. So, in the interests of safety, I've taken it away from her.

And now she's wailing again, complete with the back-of-the-throat noise.

So, in the interests of sanity, Jo has called her mum, told her I'm having a nervous breakdown and please-please-pretty-please-with-a-cherry-on-top can she look after Tam. Which she agreed to.

Chilled-Out Dan will resume later. Now please excuse me, I have to go and pick up a pile of pasta that "fell" out the cupboard...