Not the most productive day to be at work, but on the other hand quite relaxing. The office is like a morgue. Yesterday, Thursday, was a public holiday, and so is Monday. The schools have Friday off, and I decided to put in an appearance at work to save myself a day of unpaid leave later on, since my parents are at our house for their weekly visit today. We only came in at about 11, as my parents couldn't come until mid-morning, so we took the kids to breakfast at our favourite spot. I am starting to get used to the fact that the five of us can eat a quiet, civilised breakfast together without anyone yelling, dismantling the table layout, falling off their chairs, or spilling their drink. Most of us even used cutlery most of the time. Even the lack of available outside seating did not render the event unworkable. There is something very relaxing about having a family of Big Kids. Even so, when all five of us walk together and Peter is holding a child by each hand and I have one child, the other arm feels a little empty.

As we were leaving our house this morning, after my parents had arrived, some of the new bathroom stuff had just arrived. It is lovely and white. They should also be starting on the roof today, and they are planning to work the weekend too. This actually suits us, despite the noise and disturbance, as a deserted building site where nothing moves for two days is less pleasant than a busy building site where you can watch walls going up, plaster being applied, plumbing being installed, bricks being laid, cement being mixed, etc. Plus, we will actually feel happier leaving our holey house for an outing if there are builders all over it than we would feel leaving it deserted.