And thus to silence. Quite a rip roaring start and then a crash. Partly work, partly Owen. We have done minimal pops for two days in a row, so tonight was bad, not as bad as the first night Jo and the kids were here, but rough all the same. This of course means rough for Claire and I. Yesterday and today were the two ahrdest days I've spent with Owen in a  long time, he wasn't distractable, he absolutely hated being picked up, especially to go upstairs, even just to get something out of the bedroom, but a tantrum to go to the changing table. Tomorrow I will try to pop less throughout the day, its so tempting when I see blisters to whip out the needle, and sometimes its possible to get away with it, but as often as not, he gets upset, I've yet to figure out what exactly is a pop that I can get away with and what I can't. Two needlings will be identical in my mind and one will pass unnoticed, while the other means a long time soothing.

Last night we stayed up watching ice dancing. A mistake no doubt, and like bobsled and ski jumping, I can not really tell all that much difference between competitors, except for ridiculous costumes, but somehow we got  suckered in, Owen needed soothing around midnight when we finally crashed. Claire took it and did a good job, very quick, but he was back up at 3:15 and I couldn't get him back down until after 4. At least Claire's breathing was as if she were sleeping. He squacked at 7, but stayed down, clairegot up to keep the dogs quiet and cleaned the kitchen, made a big pot of coffee for me and left. Owen got up at 8.

This is boring, but I'm hoping that even writing this will make patterns easier to recognize. I'm desparate in a way, and tired, and trying to figure out the strangeness of slow days and fast months. It rained a lot today, and not just outside.