Whew. That was something of a whirlwind.

I’m pretty sure that after a fortnight of ‘not being at work’ I’m less relaxed than I was when I started.

It’s not been an easy couple of weeks, not least because the girls have been out of routine – something they do tend to struggle with at the moment. There’s been present envy, despite our best attempts to be even-handed while reflecting their own preferences and interests.

It’s also been difficult because I’ve been ill for the majority of the break, culminating in a particular unpleasant bout of something-or-other in the early hours of New Year’s Day. Yeucch.

On a more positive note, we had a very lovely family day on Boxing Day which included a spontaneous Chinese dinner. The girls were delighted to try eating with chopsticks, and they were much more adventurous than usual in trying new food.

We also enjoyed our trip to Cadbury World (or ‘chocolate land’ as elder daughter insists on calling it) and our friends’ wedding was lovely too.