Hehehe.. yes... our little girls are bound for shoe shopping, I think! I think I am coping ok without Neil because I only have Gab. I can see why you'd be hangin' for a break when Mark gets home from work - you kinda have a bit more going on than I do In saying that, there's days when I have a little cry because it would be nice to have him home... just to pick up the slack, iykwim?
Hope you can get some info out of children's services. You're a good Mum to find out all the info you can to help Joel out - that, in itself, will probably help him, you never know?