I’ve been getting a lot of polite suggestions to cut Arddun’s fringe. And my answer has always been no. A few reasons spring to mind – sharp object near very wriggly child, too-short fringe, the return of “Oh what a beautiful boy!” comments… But the chief reason is that I really want to train her hair to part on the side and not the centre… and I really want to be able to tie a ponytail.

Arddun’s broken out into some sort of rash. At first I thought it was food related, and I’d blamed the tablespoonful of chilli-coated chicken pieces she’d helped herself to (from my plate!) when we were at a food court on Saturday. But when it got worst and actually spread to her face, neck and all over her body, I took her to the doctor who decided it was a viral rash.

No special name for it. Just “viral rash”. No cure either. Just stay clear of warm baths, keep cool, and give plenty of children’s panadol because she’s probably feeling achy and yuck.

Today’s warm by Canberra’s spring standards. It’s also Day Three of Arddun in Spots, and Arddun’s mood swings aren’t fun to deal with even though she’s trying so hard to have a good time. After taking ages to fall asleep, only to wake up again 45 minutes later crying and scratching, I decided to put her hair up so it’d be a lot easier to slather her neck with Dermaveen. Her very first ponytail!

Arddun in a ponytail, waiting to put on her white sandals
White sandals = the promise of going out for a walk very soon. We wait patiently.
Arddun with ponytail in cafe
My little monkey, waiting for her mini muffin