On the downward slope towards term 2

I've been neglecting this, with good reason, there having been no school for over a week now (that doesn't excuse me from having written nothing since two weeks before the end of term, but whatever).

The last week of term didn't contain much of any great excitement, as Reception don't do a nativity or Christmas concert or suchlike. Apparently this is because of how tired Reception children get in their first term, and nothing to do with the propensity of over-stretched Reception mothers to sob pathetically at the spectacle of small children singing 'Away in a Manger' (or is that just me?) There was a Christmas party, which required a small plate of sausages and some money. Daughter used her money to buy a bright pink bauble (which doesn't go at all with my silver and red tree) and something else, which escapes me now. Husband had to lend another mum a pound for her child, which said mum paid me back the following day, only for me to have to borrow an extra pound from her to pay for a quiz sheet. Which we have now lost.

There was also Christmas dinner in the canteen on the Friday, about which I heard nothing, par for the course for school dinners.

Reception and Key Stage 1 finished at their normal time on the Friday, and Key Stage 2 15 minutes early - ie the same time. Okay, NOW I see why they're normally separate. The doors opened at 3pm on the dot and the bigger kids came out like a tidal wave just as the parents of the smaller ones were trying to get round the corner to where they're let out. It was madness. Daughter came out in tears, and when I finally calmed her down enough to speak I found out she was upset because she had too much to carry. I'd taken everything off her by this point! She had her book bag and water bottle as usual, and a large paper folder of festive bits of art, which was all a bit too much. Later that day (while Husband and I were out drinking on respective work dos, having delivered Daughter to her grandparents for the night) a small bag of Daughter-made festive sweeties arrived in the porch, having obviously been forgotten and subsequently hand-delivered.

Christmas has been very nice, now getting a touch of cabin fever so got a couple of play-date-ish things planned. Daughter is getting ready to celebrate a new year by having her tooth fall out. I can't believe she has a wobbly tooth - it seems like five minutes ago I was going around saying I couldn't believe she had a tooth (at four months).