Cute Chick

So this blog is called Poker, Pique, and Parenthood.

For a while there was precious little poker, but I'm catching up on that now. The pique is ever present. But there's not been much mention of parenthood recently.

Halloween seems a good time to redress the balance...

The little one is going great guns at present. I think we've been really lucky in that she seems to be an eternally happy baby. Even the various cold bugs she has come down with over the last few months haven't got her down.

Which is more than can be said for me. People often say that parenthood is an expensive business, but I'd never appreciated the variety of ways it can dent the bank balance.

As a freelancer, time is money, so losing about two weeks of work to ailments picked up from the toddler is a pretty expensive hit.

While I'm languishing in bed, or on the sofa, the little one continues to scoot around the house laughing and giggling, with little regard for her hacking cough or streaming nose.

Which is how I came to be off work today - with yet another bug - and had the joy of seeing her dressed up to go visiting a few friends in her costume.


If there's such a thing as an instant cure for the common cold, this must be it. I was howling - as was the Mrs, and the proud grandparents.

Speaking of whom, I think doting grandad has to take the blame/credit for the toddler being torn between two favourite TV channels - CBeebies (predictable) and UK Racing (huh?).

It seems her affection for 'horsies' has been nurtured by the daytime viewing habits of the babysitting granda.

Though, to be fair, he must also walk her in her buggy for about 20 miles each week - which gives her ample opportunity to see up close the horses in the fields close to our home.

Right now I'm already anticipating the day she announces she wants a pony - though I suppose that would be preferable to her deciding a career in bookmaking is the way forward.

Her favourite books are still of the big bright picture/nursery rhyme varieties, but if I catch her thumbing through Harrington On Hold Em, I'll know we are in trouble.