Busy with friends and neighbours (well wouldn't call the latter a friend)

Never seeming to get a chance to go on the computer, it's taken up by someone else, or else I'm too tired and have to make sure I get my head down. Well so much for all this talk of blog safety, the thing that happened the other day could have happend even if I had no computer at all. I got someone ringing my doorbell asking to come in, claiming to be a relative. It was a Danish lady who I think lives nearby, but I think she may have forgotten to take her medication. I thought it may be the Jehovah's witnesses again as they always seem to pick me out, but then i thought twice about going down to get them off my back and just switched the ringer off. Then someone else must have let her into the building and she knocked at my door. As I have a peephole I could see she was sporting merely a towel and she had cuts on her body. Alhamdulillah a sister was visiting who speaks both Swedish and Danish and she phoned the police and kept her calm by talking through the letter box. This went on for 2 hours!! I talked a little to her in English as she understood, but she couldn't remember anything apparently, neither her surname nor address. She's had a Muslim(?) partner and turned out to know a little about islam. When the police finally arrived, it must have been a sight for the tall, fair-haired officer who we opened the door to, one niqabi and one hijabi with 7 kids standing in semi-fear at the doorway! (DH was away so don't know how I'd have handled it alone) The boys were certainly impressed by the policeman's gun and radio. It was funny to see the kids' faces when I told them I was really phoning the police to come, after they regularly play make believe games involving cops and robbers. Finally the officersgot her to come with them to the hospital.
Back to the more humdrum stuff, have revisited sleep 'training' with Biryani once DH had gone to Cameroon. All the books recommend you have a helping hand when doing this, but I find its one less thing to worry about that her crying wakes him as well as the neighbours, so best done when he's tucked up in some nice hotel king-size well out of earshot. In fact it didn't really take much to get back on track, just an earlier bedtime, and me not sleeping next to the cot and waking with every mumble she makes. It does seem to go against instincts, and I'm all for bedsharing when you're feeding all night, but at 14 months she really shouldn't need a drink every 3 hours and she tended to scoot around the bed, finally resting at right angles to me, leaving me perched on the edge getting a sore neck. I suppose if you're living somewhere where snakes and insects are a real threat then I'd rather have them close at hand, but for my sanity I have to sleep away from the cot when I can.

I realised that the trip away must have been so tiring for the dear girl, grabbing naps during car journeys and having to sleep in many new places, hardly getting enough sleep for over a week. So that's why surprisingly to some, early bedtimes do help. They haven't got 'wired' yet so can sleep better.
Have progressed to having looked after 5 boys and one girl single handedly the other day ( and night!) Getting some idea of what a sister I've heard of with 5 boys has to cope with on a daily basis. So have had various combinations of kids friends staying over, which is also quite tiring, but the 'I'm bored' phrase has popped out and so I thought they deserve to have their friend's stay over. Most of the time it does actually keep them more occupied, although more kids does increase the probability of more arguments etc...
Activity wise, hmm well they made some homemade space-themed jigsaw puzzles by sticking their pictures on card and cutting them out. I still cannot remember the order of the planets despite the numerous times we cover this topic, space rocks do not do interest me however hard I try.
Today I took the first 'English' class with M and his 2 friends who inshaAllah are moving to the UK soon. Well M had suggested me doing this several months ago, but today due to the incorrect side of the bed being used maybe he didn't want to go. After dragging him there thinking he'd be fine once we started the activities, but no, disruption and tears, but did manage to get some stuff done with the other 2. Going through the jolly phonics sounds, using joined-up writing style (cursive? can't remember name in English ('skrivstil' if that means anything in Danska) Oh and M called centigrade, 'centigrees' yesterday, quite apt.
H, I'll try to put on the other selective mutism blog.
Biryani has taken a few steps, but still feels safer crawling.

Anyhow here's a summary, entitled 'My children's ideal career path'

S - still Lego builder
M - Blue Peter presenter, esp the craft section
H - milk quality control Officer
Biryani - Mt Everest guide (As we have no stairs, tables, worktops are all fair game)

Also one excellent book I'm reading, which I'd recommend to anyone having kids, 'How to talk so your kids will listen and listen so your kids will talk', Adele Faber
Everything in it is so sensible with lots of cartoons and practical examples. As always with US 'self-help' books they expect you to put pen to paper and note down your 'answers' but maybe I'll leave that fora second reading. It's useful for talking to anyone not just kids, and I got vague reminiscences of my 'listening skills' on the counselling course we had in the first year of my degree (19 year olds maybe a little naive for learning how to be counsellors methinks), we were just lying on the floor after having had very little sleep listening to the lecturer telling us to picture a scene wher we felt relaxed zzz.