Three Beautiful Things

1. While Bettany is napping I show Alec some films of Michael Rosen reading his own poems. He laughs out loud at Don't  -- which I like very much because I remember Uncle Robert almost laughing himself into an asthma attack at the same poem as a small boy; and at My Brother is on the Floor Roaring . Michael Rosen's delivery is tremendous, but I wonder if Alec is laughing, too, because the scenarios and sentiments are so familiar. 2. It's very hard to gauge Alec's appetite and I often end up scraping lots of his food into the bin. Today he eats the lot and looks around for more. It's such a banal victory, but exactly the sort of thing I have to enjoy if I'm going to get through the day. 3. To drink a glass of wine and do a jigsaw with my husband.

1. We've only been apart for an hour, but how beautiful it is to pack my contented self-sufficient bundle into the sling, bring her home and bub her on the sofa for a while. 2. This sandwich has chestnut mayonnaise in it. 3. Bettany sits up at the table in her highchair during our game. She has a couple of large dice* to play with just so she feels involved. Understanding GMs are worth more than rubies, though we both keep stopping mid-combat to gaze at her. *Godfather Timothy has given Alec a set of oversized foam dice because conventional dice, according to Alec, "might get stuck up a naughty boy's nose" or indeed swallowed by a small sister.

1. "Come and get at her at 25 past. That's half an hour," says the room leader as I am leaving Bettany. "I think I'd better come at 20 past," I say anxiously. They laugh kindly at me. 2. I run into Katie on the High Street. She had called at home looking for me, and I suddenly realise that I was definitely looking for someone to drink a coffee with until the 30 minutes are up. 3. "I don't know if this is what you want to hear, but she's been fine," they tell me. She is sitting in the cushion corner looking self-sufficient and bundly with her bald head and rather too large purple playset.

1. I take Bettany for her first taster at nursery -- hasn't that come round quickly! I love to watch how kind and interested the baby room team are in their charges. I wish the first day boy's mum could have seen how empathetically they treated him whenever he remembered he wasn't at home, and how quickly he recovered. 2. Diana brings us a splendid thing for the children to share: a pony made from crocheted granny... well they're not squares, they're pentagons and heptagons and hexagons. He's called Fatty Lumpkin and we love him immediately. 3. Alec's habit of saying "I like you, Mum," at odd moments.

1. We catch part of a documentary about polar and grizzly bears. It features an experiment with a tame grizzly, a salmon-flavoured hockey puck and an ice rink. The tame grizzly, it turns out, is very good at walking on ice. It sits down looking pleased with itself and grasps its hind paws in a very endearing way. It reminds me rather of this picture of Bettany. (Picture by www.pollycoupee.co.uk ) 2. We discover that out of the 1,000 pieces of the puzzle we are doing we are holding a pair that go together. 3. Alec wakes with a stuffed up nose. I drop peppermint oil on the pillow and make him sit in the bathroom while I have a shower. He protests. Then as I step on to the bathmat he sniffs and says "Mummy it worked!"

1. I am staring at a choice of phones and I am paralysed. Then I remember a couple of useful tools: Be a satisficer (work down the list and pick the first option that ticks most of your boxes). Set a timer (15 minutes of researching and then stop). Ask for help (The responses to quick message on Facebook makes me feel much happier).* 2. To watch Bettany picking up a few tiny bits of food. 3. When I turn the lights out Alec says "Once upon a time?" It means he wants to hear a made-up story. I try to tell him a boring go-to-sleep story about a tired baby elephant but he keeps interrupting and it turns into a story where Bettany is stolen by the goblins. Alec rides after them -- faster, faster, faster -- on his scooter, rescues her at the end of the Pantiles and brings her home in triumph. * I picked up  most of these from Gretchen Rubin  who is running a very interesting article series on habit-forming.

1. I have a five year diary with a daily question to answer in a small space -- things like "What animal do you most resemble" and "What did you have for lunch?" I often ask Alec for input. Today's question is "Are you holding a grudge?" He replies "No, I am holding Lego." I think this is a good life idea, generally. 2. Bettany manfully working away at a piece of toast and avocado. Her cheeks (where they aren't green) are shining though her eyes are very serious. 3. I've been bit out of the world lately -- I have had my head down parenting and protecting my health. I feel as if I'm watching through a sheet of glass as life races past outside. I flip over to Facebook this evening and a scatter of informal invitations and a few article recommendations and an update from a friend who asked me for advice. That sheet of glass seems less of a barrier now.