Sorry. I know it's been
a while since you’ve heard from me. Believe
me, my absence from blogging has not been by choice. I've just been flat out. And, on top of being
just regularly flat-out running around taking the kids to their various
activities, running around to try to get things done myself, and running around
the house to try and keep on top of the mess (and the operative word here is “
try” because I’m not all that successful at this), I recently found myself at
the local Maternal & Child Health Centre for little man’s eighteen-month
check-up, and little madam’s three-and-a-half year check-up. And, despite the fact little madam’s check-up
was a couple of months overdue, in an effort to reduce the strain on my already
chaotic schedule, I decided I’d delay little madam’s check-up slightly so I
could take little man and little madam together.
Well. I realised almost
as soon as the appointment began, that organising an hour long appointment for
little man and little madam to have their particulars checked, was most
definitely not my best move. In fact it
was apparent as soon as I sat down to begin my brief chat with the lovely
Maternal Child Health Nurse (MCHN), when little madam began to crawl around the
floor in an effort to imitate little man (the little man before he started
walking, at least), I should have found a separate time in my busy schedule for
each of their appointments.
Perhaps the MCHN sensed my dismay because, in an effort to
get little madam off the floor, the MCHN - who had strategically placed a few
coloured pencils and a piece of paper on the small table in the centre of the
room - asked little madam to draw a picture.
Well. Not only did little madam
refuse with a rather defiant “No. I
don’t want to!” she did so in a tone of voice that I could only describe as babyish.
The drama continued when little madam decided to again raise
the eyebrows of the MCHN by throwing the small plastic tea-set, that the MCHN
had pulled out for her to play with, around the room. And, despite my gentle request of, “Why don’t
you make me a cup of tea...”, she, again, exercised her defiance by refusing,
and continued to toss the plastic cups and plates around the room. Well, I’m pretty sure by the time we finished
with little man’s check-up, the MCHN had more than one concern about little
madam’s behaviour; perhaps she even felt that I’d booked her in for her
three-and-a-half year check-up prematurely.
Never-the-less, the appointment continued and little madam’s
assessment began. As expected, it didn’t
begin all that well. First, little madam
refused to participate in the eye-test. Well. Actually.
Her initial protests of, “I can’t do it!” had me a little worried. Perhaps she really was struggling to see the
cards the MCHN was holding up from the other side of the room. Thankfully, though, it turned out that little
madam was, in fact, just demonstrating her defiance once again. As, after a few protests on her behalf, she
eventually complied and was able to complete the test successfully. Phew!
I was so relieved at the end of the hour long ordeal – as little
man wasn’t exactly fantastically well-behaved either, and I found myself,
towards the end, having to wrestle one of the small wooden chairs off him after
he threatened to tip it over rather forcefully – that I’ve made a vow never to
attempt a double appointment with the MCHN again; unless, of course, I can go
alone. Not likely though is it?
Thanks little madam for showing your true colours to the
MCHN. I really was hoping you’d leave
your defiant side at home that day! Love
you!
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