Day not going as planned.

It has been one of those days. And I mean REALLY one of those days. It began early, at 4am, when a flying saucer or something went noisily over our house and woke me up. Aliens are just rude - there I've said it.

So being knackered and feeling like my throat has been sandpapered (yes tonsillitis again - its getting embarrassing) I sent the screamies off to childcare with hubby and... er... well I'd like to say went back to bed, but we're flat out at work so in fact I hunkered down with my laptop and behaved pretty much like I'd actually gone to work only I was still in my pjs. Yes, my dedication knows no bounds.

By lunchtime it was 38 degrees and you know I just had this feeling. It may have had something to do with the smell of smoke and the sound of helicopters. So I wandered outside to discover...
1) a bushfire
2) a bushfire that was being waterbombed by four helicopters
3) a bushfire that was oh about two kilometers from our home.

Marvellous.

Then the phone rang. Miss Three had a high temperature and could I go and pick her up immediately. Of course I didn't hesitate, into the car and off to work I went. By then the car temp was telling me it was 41degrees. So I picked up the poor sickly one, who to be honest didn't look very well, but had a sudden turnaround which increased in volume and enthusiasm the closer to home we got.

Still, I could see she wasn't well. The helicopters had the fire in their sights, if not exactly under-control - so I felt confident enough to leave the house again and take her to the doctor.

Which was when the thunderstom hit and we got hailed on.

Of course it didn't change the temperature just pushed the humidity up a bit. Madam Three screamed the doctor's surgery down and was diagnosed with a virus and we came home to the smoke, the ash and thisIt was then that I discovered we had no chocolate in the house.

Hubby decided it was prudent to come home before the fire spread and cut off the motorway. He arrived (with Miss Four), decided the fire was going out (he was right) and took all the children to buy pizza. There was another rainstorm, a southerly change, the temperature dropped from 38 to 21 in ten minutes, the marvellous firies mopped up the fire and the thunderstoms went away and it was all over.

Really I'm quite tired.

Actually I am sending thoughts to those in Londonderry right now who are defending their homes against a bushfire - but for the weather it would've been us. And we're still on fire-watch tonight.

Well hubby is.