The weekend was exactly as expected but our flat is now totally viewable. We decided to dump some stuff in storage for a couple of months to free up space (particularly to remove a very large chest-of-drawers from our very small second bedroom) so Roj did a couple of trips with a full car. The only time spent not clearing up was Sunday evening for hot dogs and ice cream in Regent's Park. Not exactly a thrilling weekend, but a necessary one.

Still haven't heard whether our sale has fallen through. We should have decisions on the lease details later in the week which might mean that the buyers - if they haven't already pulled out - are enticed back. Having put our flat back on the market on Monday it's been disappointing to have had only one viewing in that time - and only then for a relocation agent - so it would be a big relief if the original buyers would make up their minds in our favour.

Have had a couple of lonely days so far this week. Haven't had adult conversation beyond the odd 5-minute chat, which is most unusual. All my good mum friends are either away or unavailable, and gym class was cancelled on Monday. I've been keeping out of the flat in case the agents ring up with viewings (always easier to keep the place tidy than tidying up after the Jody whirlwind has been in action) which has been easy in such gorgeous weather. Today though, after the thunderstorms last night, everything will be sodden and therefore not quite as appealing.

Finding it amazing to realise that Miles will be three months old next week. How did that happen!? The first three months went much slower with Jody and we were minutely aware of every little development. This time round, Miles has transitioned from newborn almost without our noticing. He's not rolling over like Jody was at this stage, and is showing no signs of wanting to. However he is nowhere near as sleepy as he was in the early days, and now sits there kicking and punching like fury, and is happy to chew his hands and hold toys when given the chance. His speciality is smiling though. He seems to be the happiest little baby on the planet and loves to give out big grins as much as possible.

Jody, meanwhile, is developing her language skills very quickly. She chatters non-stop most of the day and picks up whatever you say parrot-fashion after hearing it once (can be dangerous!). In the last few weeks she's gone from sentences constructed from a smattering of nouns to attempts at real sentences with adjectives and verbs and pronouns and everything. These are only a few words long, but they're certainly the start of something more elaborate. She's learnt most of the major colours and is working on numbers 1 to 10. She's also bringing back plenty of new phrases and rhymes from nursery so I have conclusive proof that they're teaching her something. By all accounts she's getting on well there and is mature for her age, though I often wish I could be a fly on the wall to be certain she's enjoying it.

As far as her defiance goes, we've been testing the time-outs theory in the last few weeks, which is a method of discipline (advocated by all these telly psychologists) that removes the toddler from her current environment when she misbehaves. Jody likes to throw things right now (sand, stones, balls, toys, you name it) so we were trying to nip it in the bud. Unfortunately the time-outs don't work in the slightest so we've reverted to the stern (but equally ineffectual) "no - we don't throw things," until she's old enough to try something different. It's certainly a nice little test for people with short tempers (like me) to keep calm when your toddler is ignoring every voice of reason.

We have another birthday picnic this Saturday and we're aiming to visit Will & Pippa on Sunday in Bournemouth with their two daughters. Plenty planned for the next few weekends actually so we'll be at the end of summer before we know it. Where we'll be living though, is anyone's guess.

Henman got knocked out in the second round, thunderstorms due for the weekend, Jody, Miles and myself have got colds, and our house sale has fallen through.

On the bright side I've had a nice half week with Jody. She becomes an affectionate little angel towards the end of the week when she's caught up on sleep from the weekend's deficit.

It's becoming clear that the way Jody's jealousy of Miles manifests itself is by her ignoring me and clinging to other mums whenever she gets the chance. I suppose it's understandable - if my undivided attention has suddenly decreased it's only natural that she'll try and compensate. Gutting though, when she cries as I go to pick her up and runs in the direction of the nearest free pair of hands. Hopefully just a phase.

There's scant chance that our flat sale will continue. It looks like they're backing out because of impatience to get on with things (despite other excuses), but we should conclude negotiations in the next few days so hopefully they can hang in there. We'll have a final decision from the buyers on Monday, and either way we'll be getting more viewings in the week. Which still means we have to clear up and paint over crayon marks on the walls this weekend. Something to do while it rains I suppose.

I forgot to mention that as from last Friday I'm sporting a lovely watch which was given to me by Roj for having Miles. Having been a cheapo Swatch gal for the last several years it feels good to have upped the stakes a little, and even better to be reminded that it's for having my little boy. My camera has enormous sentimental value for that reason. Lovely to get gifts that mean something more than that a large amount of money has been thrown at them. Thanks Roj.

Bit tired right now. Just as I was thinking Miles was getting into some sort of routine, everything turns topsy turvey. He's now sleeping for only a couple of hours in the day and is much less keen to go to sleep when put in his cot. And he's feeding on a 2½-3 hourly basis at night. Eurgh. I'm hoping it's a bit of a growth spurt and we'll go back to the easy life afterwards, but you never know with babies.

Much more depressing is the fact that our flat sale seems to be falling through. The buyers don't want to purchase unless the lease is amended to permit sub-leasing, but the building is unlikely to allow it (especially given longstanding issues with (unauthorised) tenants in the basement flat) and is certainly taking their sweet time to decide. Roj, as a director on the building's board, is doing his best to expedite things and can't see a reason for the amend to be refused. I want the purchase to go through as much as he does, but can very clearly see why the other owners in the building might prefer the lease to stay as it is. Either way - since the building won't reach a decision for another couple of weeks - we're going to put the flat back on the market from Monday which means this weekend will be spent hiding things and making it look presentable for yet more viewings. It's the last thing I wanted but I really don't have much choice. The brightish side is at least that the weather is nice enough to stay outside for most of the day. Let's just hope we can find new buyers before the owner of the flat we're buying runs out of patience.

Did another postnatal class on Monday but paid for it afterwards. Jody didn't sleep during the day on Saturday, Sunday or Monday and was therefore totally overtired by the time I took her out of the creche. She started a proper tantrum as I undressed for the shower, to the extent that I had to put my sweaty kit back on and get her back home asap. She fell asleep in the car but woke as I was trying to gently get her back in the house, and proceeded to be in the foulest mood ever - intent on total flat destruction. Even Miles - usually the mild-mannered boy - spent much of the afternoon crying, despite having been awake and happy during the class. I finally managed to settle him and grab lunch at 4pm, by which time I was nearly keeling over.

The class itself was a little more energetic than Thursday's but just as much fun. Enjoyed the workout (and the freedom) and will attempt to do it every week. Next time though, will leave Jody in the creche for an extra half hour (£1.50) while I have a shower and a free coffee with the other mums without having to deal with the tears.

The weather has been amazing for nearly a week now. We took advantage at the weekend by attending a birthday picnic at Kenwood House on Saturday (very relaxing indeed) and camping out in the resident's park all day Sunday. It's actually getting too hot now to be out in it during the middle of the day, though I have yet to attempt keeping Jody in shade in the park (she usually likes running around). Books and crayons can only work for so long.

Don't know that this weekend is looking so bright, but as we have nothing planned barring the stupid flat-clearup, it doesn't really matter.

Can't believe it - Miles did another 7-hour stint yesterday between feeds. If I could only move the start of it to 11pm, not 7:30pm, I'd have a baby sleeping through the night. It's a good start though, and I feel quite refreshed this morning.

Went to the gym yesterday for the first time since before Miles was born and it was amazing! It's never felt so good to get my aching limbs moving and to work up a sweat. I rediscovered endorphins and realised why I'm so addicted to them. I achieved it by leaving Jody in nursery for lunch rather than picking her up at 12, so I had an extra 1.5 hours to play with. Plus it was a postnatal class I went to, so we all had our babies sitting in their carseats and buggies at the side of the room. I expected it all to be a bit tame, but it was a kind of step aerobics class which could be as energetic as you wanted it to be. Needless to say I was at the back giving it some. Fab.

I was originally skeptical about paying for extra time for Jody at nursery on top of my gym membership for so little time exercising, but I felt it was so beneficial yesterday that I'm planning on continuing the Thursday session and also signing up for Monday afternoon's session. It's an extravagant way of keeping up exercise but as it's my only option right now, I'm loathe to give it up.

When we move house (if we move house - eek) I'll supplement it with a couple of swims in the mornings (since the pool is 5 minutes away from our new place) while Roj is having breakfast, and that will eventually change to running (but not for another couple of months probably). I have high hopes of being in good shape to do some half marathons and 10ks at the end of this year and then building up to marathon length next year. Whether I'll ever be able to fit in the length of training sessions I'll need while also looking after 2 babies is questionable, but I'm starting out optimistic.

The Dell hard drive issue continues apace. The hard drive I ordered recently against which I used my $100 of compensation from customer care turns out to be a secondary external hard drive rather than a primary one, despite not being listed as such on the Dell website. Unfortunately the only other hard drive available on that site for my laptop is definitely listed as a secondary hard drive (and on inspection has the same manufacturer part number), so I'm not going to go to the trouble of sending it back. Instead I'm paying nearly $300 for a hard drive which I know is the correct replacement from their reconditioned parts centre. The secondary hard drive will be useful for backing up photos anyway, and I couldn't have used my coupons against the reconditioned part, so for a mere $39 I'm not going to complain too much. Although I am complaining about the utter incompetence of Dell over the past 11 months since my hard drive first failed. Every single call I make barring the one where my hard drive was diagnosed with chronic death syndrome has been a waste of time and money. Dell hell is right.

Goodness. I am at home and both of my bairns are asleep which is almost unheard of. In fact I'm not sure what to do - catch up on the million things that need doing around the house or take a rare opportunity to sit and relax. So I'm updating my blog.

Miles slept for a 7-hour stint last night. His longest up to now has been 5 hours (once) and 4 hours (fairly frequently). It still meant he woke up at 3:50am and then writhed for most of the morning - enough that I didn't sleep much in those early hours - but I can't complain because it's a hell of a lot better than waking every 2 hours which he did the previous 2 nights. I wonder whether it's the shape of things to come or a tantalising one-off.

Had a good afternoon yesterday. Monday I'd been so knackered I didn't even make it out of the house after 2pm, which is always a bad call as the place ends up looking like a pigsty and Jody and I both end up climbing the walls. So to make it up to her, I took her to the sandpit area with her new Like-a-bike and invited her pal Albie and his mum. Neither toddler spent much time on their bikes (the adults spent more time admiring them), but expended plenty of energy running around in 'the jungle'. The great thing about being in a snotty exclusive garden square is that you know it's 99% safe and completely fenced off which we took full advantage of, as well as the fact that the whole garden was practically empty so we could all run riot as much as we wanted.

Today has been miserable weather though, so we've been forced to stay inside for most of it again. Just been out to stock up on pizza for 3 of my university housemates who are coming round for dinner this evening and saw the sun poking through the clouds, but when Jody dozed off I had to take advantage and come back home.

I've had Miles in the Baby Bjorn for much of the morning and my back and shoulders are consequently killing me. He's now a bit big to be lying horizontal in the sling too (he'll be better when his head is stable enough for him to sit up in it, so we're just taking a temporary break). I therefore need to resign myself to lugging them around in the double buggy, which is fine until I have to do anything that requires I push it with one hand - like shopping - which is nigh-on impossible.

Oop - I hear baby cries. My time is up.

I can't believe it. I am a sleep-deprived mother of a 2-year-old toddler and a 2-month-old baby and I have insommnia. Insomnia. I've been awake since Miles's last feed at 2, wondering how many sheep I have to count before I get to go back to the Land of Nod. Very frustrating.

Had a lovely day yesterday. Minimal stress in the party preparations (not leaving enough time to make a million sandwiches), and only 3 things went wrong (forgot the newly-cooked pizza and matches to light Jody's candles, and the 15 helium balloons that Roj picked up at lunchtime disappeared into the sky before any of the guests turned up), but in the end none of that mattered - it was a lovely afternoon and it seemed that everyone enjoyed being there. Thanks especially to Maggie and my mum (Pimms-maker supreme) for helping out so much and making it a special day for Jody even when I was tied to the kitchen for a lot of it. No thanks to the weathermen for predicting gorgeous sunshine when all we got (barring 5 minutes) was cold cloudiness. At least it didn't rain I suppose.

It seemed that Jody enjoyed herself although she was a little more subdued than I expected, which was probably more down to the size of the group than anything else. She certainly enjoyed eating smarties off her birthday cake with her mouth (that's before it got sliced up!) And it definitely looks like we'll have to get her a Like-A-Bike since there were 3 present at the party and it's obvious how advantageous they are (kids can skip the whole stabiliser stage), never mind how cool-looking!

It was lovely to see so many toddlers and parents there. Originally I was disappointed that so many of my friends were away this weekend, but the people that did come were all fab. I managed to take photos of everyone for Jody's party-album (not like me to be so diligent), and even a few of Miles smiling, but probably not enough of my little birthday girl. By the time we got back home it was already bedtime despite there being a million presents to unwrap (she'll be busy for several days with that - and so will I when I try and work out who brought what) so we just had to bid a hasty farewell to the grandmothers and rush her to bed before she got totally over-stimulated. She still wouldn't let go of her big silver helium '2' though, which was a definite hit not least because it didn't go up to balloon heaven like the rest of them.

Great to have Roj back at last. Hopefully he's managing to sleep off his jetlag right now - he did very well to arrive home from the airport at 10am and get thrown straight into party mode after 5 days working hard in Pittsburg. It's always good to have our little family complete again when he's been away, even if this time I've been so busy I hardly got a chance to miss him. And happily this is his last trip overseas for a while so we can make the most of it.

Another birthday picnic tomorrow - but for a 36-year-old this time. Not sure the weather will hold up (it being midsummer), but it'll be nice to go along and not be responsible for any of the provisions. I fully intend to do as little as possible all day long!

Happy 2nd Birthday to my lovely little girl.

Since when does 'organic' mean 'crawling with caterpillars'? I was chopping broccoli florets off yesterday evening to make dinner for Jody. I stepped backwards onto a large crumb in the kitchen. A large green crumb which curled up and writhed when I stepped off it (killer caterpillars that don't even die when trodden on) "Where did that come from?" I inspected the broccoli and discovered to my horror that it was absolutely teeming in them - big fat dayglo green ones. And not just one or two but about fifteen of the damn things, plus a whole load of their shit. Yukky yukky. What disturbed me more though, was how squeamish I was about the whole thing. I grew up in the countryside, so you'd have thought I wouldn't give them a second glance, but countryside in the country is one thing. Countryside inside a sealed package of broccoli bought in central London and then transferred to my flat is another. I threw it away!

Another strange thing happened today. The whole of the opposite side of our street was cordoned off this afternoon when I returned from toddler group. I was curious, as one is in these circumstances, but forgot all about it. Later a policeman rang our doorbell and asked to speak to me about an 'incident'. He came in and explained that they'd found a great big pool of blood at the bottom of one of the outdoor footwells in the building opposite, and he wondered whether I'd heard anything last night. No body apparently, so they don't know if the person is dead or alive. Despite having been up several times to feed Miles I hadn't heard anything so unfortunately I couldn't help him. I could only welcome him into my flat (which looked like a bomb had hit it at the time), and introduce him to stinky Miles (who is gassy as an old drunk) and Jody who had decided moments before to fill her nappy. The poor copper must have been reeling when I opened the door!

I notice I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I wonder if this has anything to do with not having eaten very well this week. That's not strictly true because intermittently I've treated myself to at least 3 days worth of 5-servings-of-fruit-and-veg in one sitting. I must be craving vitamins or something. Of course I counteract that by lashings of Pont Leveque and Mr. Kipling Bakewell Slices. Well we can't be virtuous all the time can we? Anyway I lost another half stone while breastfeeding Jody, so I expect I haven't hit my lowest weight yet, but it's a relief to see that I'm returning to normal pretty quickly. If ever we mums profess not to care about our post-baby bodies, it's all lies lies lies.

Right I'm nearly sorted for Jody's birthday party. Had the back of the double buggy laden with cake and strawberries this afternoon on the way back from M&S and have astonished myself by fitting nearly everything I need into our miniscule fridge. Am quite looking forward to it now - there are some lovely people coming along who I'm looking forward to see (some of whom I don't see on a weekly basis, in case you were wondering). Lets hope nothing goes wrong tomorrow, since so far it hasn't been half the work I anticipated (and Roj returns in the morning to help me with the last-minute stuff - hooray).

It's way past my bedtime now so I'll just wrap Jody's present (wooden train from Florence) and be off, otherwise the biggest thing that goes wrong tomorrow is that I sleep through it.

Been spotting even more stars since Florence. Marylebone is thick with them. First Barbara Windsor on New Cavendish Street then Cate Blanchett with her hubby and two boys on the way to our local playground last weekend. Saw Noel Gallagher a few weeks ago too, so all that remains unseen of the local residents is Madge. Then it really will be time to move to pastures new!

Jody's birthday party approaches this Saturday. The two grandmothers have decided to join us so there will be 20 adults and 12 toddlers and infants. I'm absolutely gobsmacked that the weather looks to be good for the duration - just over 20 degrees and plenty of sunshine. I confess to taking shortcuts wherever I have been able though, so there'll be no hand-crafted birthday cake and no sumptious edible creations. Why should I bother when M&S do such a good job!? Maybe in subsequent years when the effort might be noticed and when I don't have a 2-month-old (who's forgotten how to be happy when not held).

Went for Miles's 2 month check-up and injections on Monday. The doctor said "Fifteen pounds! My six-and-a-half-month-old isn't fifteen pounds yet!" He also measures 65cm (by my own calculations last Saturday) which is pretty far above the 100th percentile! I'd forgotten how harrowing it is to get the injections done. Miles screamed blue murder when the needles went in (hardly surprising when he's used to being wrapped in cotton wool). Didn't help that he was ravenous by then, so we rushed home and quieted him with a good feed. He then slept for most of the following 24 hours, only waking afterwards to whinge massively and throw up all his milk. Roj has been in the US since Monday - getting back Saturday - so Miles's new phase of 'pick-me-up-or-I'll-scream' is something I'm having to deal with alone. And isn't conducive to eating meals. We're spending a lot of time bouncing on the swiss ball so I suppose I should be glad that at least my back will be strong.

Talking of my children's pain thresholds, I broddled a great big splinter of glass out of Jody's hand which has been stuck there for over 3 weeks. I stuck a needle right into her hand to get the thing out and she hardly even flinched. I think we could all learn a lesson in bravery there. Mind you, having discovered the secrets of 'kiss it better' and telling us that something hurts, Jody does overdo it somewhat (we've had to teach her to kiss herself better or she never stops!)

Not as much as she overdoes the word 'no' though. She's turned into a right little two-year-old in recent weeks (which is appropriate I suppose). She's at her most testing when Roj and I are both around when she manages to whinge and tantrum like a proper drama queen. We're taking the advice of all these TV-child-psychologists and ignoring all the bad behaviour but it's not an easy ride. I'm not sure how long it lasts, but it's pretty exhausting (and quite demoralising when she's at her most contrary).

Her sleeptime routine is excellent though, so at least I have that to fall back on in the evenings when I need matchsticks to keep my eyes open. And she can still be the most affectionate and willing little girl in the world, so as long as we keep seeing glimpses of that side of her, I feel I can cope. Much as coping with two is easier than expected, I still feel that I'm spreading myself a bit thin. Miles's development is almost passing me by and Jody doesn't get nearly the attention she sometimes needs. I'm not contending with too much jealous behaviour, but it's my own inadequacy that makes me guilty. I wouldn't wish it on the world, but sometimes it would be nice if there were two of me!

Am considering going back to the gym next week. There are a couple of postnatal classes I can join with Miles until he's old enough to be in the creche (3 months). Whether I'll feel comfortable leaving him in the creche at that age is another matter. I'd like to do some running again soon too - start training for the 2006 New York Marathon (or that's the hazy plan anyway). Not sure how I'm going to manage going back to it (particularly on the lack of sleep), but I'm working on it.

Jody's is the first of a handful of picnics in the next couple of weeks. One on Sunday and one the following week, weather-permitting. We're going to try and catch up with a few friends before we move house because we'll then be busy for weeks sorting out the new place, and knackered for even longer. Unfortunately we haven't got a solid exchange date yet due to hold-ups on the purchase of our flat, but it's nothing fatal so we have high hopes of being in by the end of July. I keep driving past Mongagu Square on the way to Jody's nursery and looking wistfully into the gardens. It will certainly be novel to see green when we open our front door.