A day in the life of .......me!

Photos!

2009-07-14T12:41:00.001-07:00

The Birth of Emily Scarlett Rose

2009-07-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

Hi!

My little lady has finally made an appearance! Here is the story of how it all here is how it all happened............

My water broken in the early hours of Saturday morning...........I went to the labour ward at 8pm Saturday night, and had it confirmed that my waters had broken and that i was 2-3cms dilated. The midwife wanted to admit me to the labour ward but i asked if i could go home till i couldn't cope because my contraction were very light, so she said that was ok and i went home at 10.30pm Saturday night.........

I had woken up at 5am Sunday morning with contractions every 7 minutes and this kept up until 7am but then they started slowing off again and by 9.30 I was probably having 1 or 2 if lucky per hour. I got sick of waiting for the next one to come along so I suggested we go to the car boot sale to take my mind off it and hopefully the walk round would help. We managed to get 2 fab bargains while we were there, even though I was having contractions again by this time. A Galt playnest (like new) for £2 and a Happy Land farm for 50p!!

After the car boot we called in at my mums, just to let her know what was happening and just as I walked through her gate I had a strong contraction. We didn’t stay, but gave her an update and then went straight back home. I did a bit of tidying up and made lunch and had a chat to Nik about what we should do. I was going to have to be induced at 8pm that night if nothing happened naturally anyway, so we were not panicking. Then the contractions started getting closer together again and were lasting longer and were more painful. I phoned my mum about 1pm and asked her to come up as soon as she could. I called the labour ward and asked if I could come in and one the way to the hospital we called in to Tesco for some food supplies (2 BLTs and 2 bottles of orange) because we really though that it was going to be a long day again.

When we arrived at the labour ward we were introduced to our midwife (the lovely Davida, who we would only have till 7pm) and taken to a room and monitored for roughly 30-40 minutes. I told my midwife that my contractions were still erratic and about every 15-30 minutes. When she came back to read the chart she said they were happening roughly twice every 10 mins with 1 strong one and 1 milder one each time. I had an internal and told I was 3-4cms dilated, which didn’t seem very much because the previous evening at 8pm I was 2-3cms. Davida was really kind and showed up a chart of the cervix and different stages of dilation. There actually was a massive difference between the 2 sizes, which made me feel as if all the contractions and sleepless night had at least done something to help things along.

Davida then asked me what I thought about aroma therapy, to which my reply was, ‘I’ll try anything you suggest if you think it will help speed things up a bit!’ Davida went on to explain about Clarys Sage and Jasmine and how if she mixed them together with some grape seed oil and put them in a nice hot bath for me they would help my contractions get stronger and get me dilating. She also went on the explain that this method couldn’t be used before 37 weeks and could even cause contractions in women who were not pregnant! So after I agreed to give it a go she said, ‘Ok, I’ll go and get it out of the drug cabinet’ to which I remarked to Nik, ‘It must be powerful stuff if they have to keep it locked up!’ but I still wasn’t convinced and was more than a little bit sceptical.

Davida arrived back to inform me that my bath was ready and that when Nik got back from fetching my bag from the car (yes, I’d left it in the car because I thought they would send me home again till my 8pm appointment) he was to pour water from a jug onto my tummy whenever I had a contraction in the bath and that I was to stay in as long or as little as I wanted. Well……..the bath smelled gorgeous and my thoughts at the time were that if it didn’t work, at least I’d smell lovely and my skin would be lovely and soft!! I think I was in the bath for around 30 mins but had to get out as I hate it when the bath starts to cool down. As soon as I got out the bath I had a really strong contraction, but I still wasn’t convinced and just thought it was a flook, dried myself off and waddled back to my room. Then it all kicked off. They started coming every 5 minutes at first and were so strong I had to stand up and grab on to the wooden chairs arms as it was impossible to sit or lay down while I had them. They just kept getting closer together and stronger and when Davida said that maybe bouncing on a birthing ball would help when I had them, I agreed to try it. Oh my God! Did that make it worse or what! At that point I couldn’t sit on the ball or stand and asked Davida for my epidural!! She said that the anaesthetist was busy with a lady in another room and she’d get him when he had finished, so I asked for some gas and air.

Thank God for gas and air! Is all I can say because not long after I was given it to suck on they got so close together that I couldn’t get my breathe long enough to speak to Nik. Poor Nik later told that I sucked on it so hard that I stopped breathing twice for 40 seconds and gave him the fright of his life. Well, to cut a long story short 55 minutes after the contractions started (when I got out the incredible magic bath) Emily Scarlett Rose was born at 16.22pm weighing in at 9lbs 3 ½ ozs! and she is totally gorgeous!!!!!

I'm Officially in Labour!!!

2009-07-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

My waters have broken, i'm 3cms dilated and have had a show. I am having erratic contractions and have been to hospital. The hospital wanted to admit me to the labour ward but i begged to be let home as we were bored to death in there and at least at home we can get some sleep/rest and go back when i can no longer cope at home. We only live 10 minutes away so its not far to go. It was just so boring in there and i was progressing so slowly that it looks unlikely that she'll be born before morning.

Will update blog as soon as i have any news :O)

Another False Alarm :O(

2009-07-10T04:59:00.000-07:00

I am so fed up today :O(

I started having pains last night. They started at 20 minutes apart and built up to 7 minutes apart. We got out of bed, i had a shower and got dressed. Nik had a cup of tea and i announced to everyone on Facebook/PTS that i was gonna call the hospital! Now i feel so stupid cos the pains started slowing down to 10 mins, then 15 mins, then 20 mins and then stopped at 4am so we both went back to bed.

I have just tried to phone the midwife at the surgery to see if she could call and check me over but have been informed shes on holiday! and i don't wanna call the hospital cos they might want to keep me in till my till my inducing date and what would i do with Max if they did that?

So i'm really upset and disappointed today :o( and just wanna cry.

So near, yet so far. I'm not telling anyone the next time cos i couldn't bear to go through this again if i'm wrong.

I've Got A Date!

2009-07-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

I've had my antenatal appointment. The doctor did me a membrane sweep too!

They have given me a date to be induced........

Its the 14th July at 8pm (so at the most i have 1 more week to go).

The Waiting Game

2009-07-07T02:00:00.000-07:00

I'm still here, fat as a whale and bored out my head of waiting!

I have an antenatal appointment at 11.15am so hopefully i'll get a date to be induced then. I will report back later.

Today was supposed to be THE day!

2009-07-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update.....

Today is my official due date and i have watched it come and go with no signs of my baby. Everything it stretched to the max and i'm so uncomfortable, especially in this heat. Bed time is the worst as i can't find a comfy position and its just to hot to sleep when i do.

I have tried walking, a hot curry, raspberry leaf tea, fresh pineapple and nookie but nothing is moving her! *TUTS* I guess shes just not cooked yet!

I have an antenatal appointment on Tuesday, to arrange a date to be induced if i go over much more. Fingers crossed i won't need to go to it though.

Hopefully the next time i blog it will be with baby news and photos.

HaPpY AnNiVeRsArY!!!!

2009-06-30T06:52:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post today

Just wanted to wish Vanda & Andrew, my bestest friends in the whole world a................

HAPPY 25TH

SILVER WEDDING

ANNIVERSARY!!!

Lots of love and best wishes to both of you on your special day!

from

Teresa, Nik, Daniel, Joshua, Jacob, Max & 'Emily'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Fathers Day

2009-06-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

Thought i'd better do a quick update in case i don't get another chance (only 3 more days to go or 10 more days by the doctors dates).

We'll start with Fathers Day, Nik was rudely awakened at ridiculous o' clock by Max with a handful of presents and a card. After a lot of poking and 'Wake up Daddy!' Nik finally realised Max wasn't going away so he woke up to receive his gifts. When he got to the box of chocolates Max quickly reminded his daddy that, 'Its good to share!' How funny are kids :O)

Here i am at 38 weeks fatness!

Nik bought me a huge bunch of lillies the other day, aren't they gorgeous?

Although the poor fella did suffer for his romantic gesture.

His poor old schmozeller (nose) didn't like them at all and he kept sneezing so we had to send them to the kitchen!

On the way to the car boot sale on Sunday we drove past a field full of poppies, so i just had to stop and take a photo. It did look lovely and colourful but Nik reminded me that it was bad farming if all those poppies were growing in a rape seed field, cos when the farmer goes to harvest his rape he'll get the added bonus of poppy seeds in with it too. Isn't opium made from poppy seeds? That'll make for some 'exciting' cooking oil!! LOL

OK, its official! Emily has a better wardrobe than me! Look at all the clothes she has!!!

These are the Boot sale bargains of Sunday!

A Brand new, still with tags on Vertbaudet playmat costing £4.00

A tummy tub costing £2.50

(Bit of info)

The new concept in bathing babies. Endorsed by doctors, midwives and health visitors. TummyTub was designed in the Netherlands by childcarers to ease the transition from the comfort of the mother’s womb. Babies naturally adopt the foetal position in the Tummy Tub and it is amazing to see how quickly they calm and relax.

.....and last but not least, I saw this in Mothercare the other day and loved it but it was £16 later i saw someone had a bnwt one for sale on Ebay so i made a bid and won it for £6!! How clever am i? Its upto 10lbs, so i think this will be her coming home outfit. The photo really doesn't do it justice. Its gorgeous and i can't wait to see her in it :O)

Answers to Kerries Bloggers Tag

2009-06-17T06:33:00.000-07:00

Kerrie Tagged me, and i though others may like to see my answers too so, here they are......

1). What is your current obsession.
My baby girl due in 17 days!!!!!!!!!.

What is your weirdest obsession.
Making sure all my food labels in the cupboards are facing the front and all the same things are kept together, eg. Beans with beans, soup with soup etc

3).What are you wearing today?
Big comfy brown maternity trousers, strappy pink with white spots top and matching pink flip flops (Oh and a big pair of ‘apple catchers’ knickers)

4).Whats for dinner?
Spaghetti Bolagnaise with tear and share bread

5).What would you eat for your last meal?
Mmmmmmmmm the biggest bar of Galaxy you can buy!

6).What was the last thing you bought?
Ermmmmmm…. LOL Breast feeding gel pads (can be warmed to stimulate milk flow or chilled to cool down sore boobs! (you did ask!)

7).What are you listening to right now?
Nik asking Max what dvd he wants to watch.

8).What is your favourite ice cream flavour?
Not a great fan of ice cream but I do love mint Feasts.

9).What do you think of the person who tagged you?
PMSL Kerrie makes me laugh, I think she s a nymphomaniac, a shopaholic and a truly fantastic individual!

10).If you could have a house totally paid for where would it be?
Abersoch in Wales as near to a slipway as possible or preferably with its own private one.

11).If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour where would it be?
Inside my sons (Jakes) head to try and understand him better.

12).Which language do you want to learn?
Welsh, so I can understand what the locals say when we’re on holiday (cos I’m sure they talk about you while your there next to them) and also because my mums friend Ann (she makes fantastic apple pie, by the way) is Welsh and i love to hear her speak the language and how she'll be speaking it and then there is the odd english word dropped in because there isn't a word for it in welsh.

13).What"s your favourite quote?
Reach for the moon, even if you miss you’ll land amongst the stars :O)

14).What is your favourite colour?
All shades of blue

15).What is your favourite item of clothing in your wardrobe?
I don’t have a favourite, I’m not a dressy up type of person (I wish I could say a wedding dress though but still not got one yet).

16).What is your dream job.
I’d love to be a midwife.

17).What is your worst habit?
Tidying up after everyone and moaning about it.

18).Do you admire anyones style?
I always think Myleene Klass looks fantastic in anything she wears.

19).Describe your personal style?
Casual and comfy.

20).What are your favourite movies?
Deuce Bigalow Male Gigalo, Practical Magic, Braveheart, Rob Roy, erm…..I have loads.

21).What is your favourite fruit.
Melons and pineapples.

22).What inspires you?
Confident and happy people who are comfortable in their own skin.

23).Your favourite book.
Any Harlan Coben, James Patterson or Patricia Cornwell novels.

24).Do you collect anything.
Dust? Oh…….. and kids LOL

25).What is your favourite smell,Fresh coffee and baking bread

Whats the verdict? Am i mad, sane or totally weird?

19 Days left! So, What have i been up to?

2009-06-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

19 DAYS TO GO!!!

(sorry, had to get that out of the way first)

I can't believe that its been nearly two weeks since i last updated my blog! Time flies doesn't it?

I've had my hair coloured (was full of grey) and cut to shoulder length so i'm all *coughs* beautiful for when my daughter decides to make her grand entrance LOL

and i've been reading this......

appropriate, don't you think?

So what else have i been doing with myself? Not very much really cos when your the size of Moby Dick with a bad back and hips and low energy levels, you don't really fancy doing much at all! Here is a fat photo to update you on my largeness. I look a bit serious but it was only cos i was concentrating!

Here's me trying to do an 'Artist' shot.

Don't think i managed to pull it off though ;O)

Oh and i've been SHOPPING!!!!! (Kerrie will be proud of me!)

Look what i bought.......

Girly headbands!

Cute short dungerees!

Little lemon dress!

New baby alarm/monitor with movement pad (this beeps if the baby doesn't breath for more than 40 seconds) I used my double up Tesco C/C vouchers to buy this :O)

A new light and sounds cot toy. The little birds rotate while the music plays and it shines birds on the ceiling too.

This time round i have decided to give reusable nappies a go. I've opted for Kushies which are basically like a disposable in shape with velcro fastenings. They already have a waterproof outer so no need for old fashioned rubber pants like with terry nappies. They also look very trendy,

Here they are, What do you think?

I read somewhere that from birth to potty trained a baby can get through 7500 nappies, depending on how often they are changed, and that the nappies can take up to 100 years to rot away! It sure must make for a really stinky land fill. This way could even save me some ££££'s too. I will be using disposables at night time and also when we go out, just for an easy life. I'm not going totally green yet! LOL We are also going to be saving all out cardboard boxes and plastic stuff for nursery in September so out poor old wheelie bin will be a lot happier too.

Here are some photos of Max, showing everyone how lovely our stairs are now that they've finally been carpeted

This one is when we got back from Nursery and he said he was sleepy!

Its Official - Max is Now a Big Boy!

2009-06-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

Max is now a big boy! He started nursery on Monday!

Here he is just before we left home.

He absolutely loved his first day, especially the outside play area. He settled right in with all the other children and wasn't even a little bit shy :O) The teachers commented on how lovely his manners were, as everytime he went up to speak to one he'd say.....'Excuse me teacher' before he would ask a question. We were so proud of him!

All Tuesday morning he kept asking if it was time to go to school yet? (he goes to the afternoon session) and by the time it came to going he was bursting at the seams with excitement.

Here he is on his second day, complete with sun hat for outside play and smothered in factor 50+

I went shopping the other day and picked up a cot quilt and bumper set for Emily's cot, here is what it looks like, pretty isn't it?

While Max and I were at nursery today the carpet fitters came and put the carpet down on the stairs and landing. It was lovely to just come home and find it all done. Its the only bit of fitted carpet in the entire house and the first thing i did was walk upstair barefoot, it felt so good to feel the carpet between my toes LOL

Here are some photos now that its finished.

The house is starting to look finished now, i just wish we could get the extension done before our new arrival makes an appearance.

Right, i'm off now to get a drink. Its thirsty work, all this blogging marlarky.

36 Days left!

2009-05-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

Ok Ok, i know i keep going on about it but....I'm excited! 36 days left to go or 29 if your going by my dates :O)

My tummy is getting really big now, here is a photo especially for Vanda!

Max has started to get used to the idea of having a new 'smelly' baby sister, here he is giving my tummy a kiss. If you ask him what his sisters name is he says Emily. He made Nik and me laugh last night when the baby started kicking and Max had a feel of my tummy. He put his head to my tummy and shouted...'Sit still, Emily!' Then we asked him who was in my tummy and he said...'My Enemy!' instead of Emily and Nik as quick as ever said...'Yes, she probably will be!'

Nik and Max looking through the ELC 'wish book' catalogue.

Nik proves that sand pits aren't just for kids!

We have been so busy in the house over the last few weeks. We now have all the stairs and landing ready for the carpet which is coming at the beginning of next week. All the doors have been glossed, windowsills have been fitted and we've even planted some vegetable and sprinkled some grass seed! Nik has also bought himself a new toy to help him dig the trenches for the 3 phase electricity cables, so he's now a happy chappy.

Niks new toy in action.

Mr Sandman

2009-05-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

The sun came out today and i thought it was about time we went and spent Max's birthday money. So off we went to The Early Learning Centre and bought him the sand/water play table that he's been asking for. Here he is playing in the glorious sunshine, it kept him entertained for hours.

While we were in the ELC i saw some pink letters and just had to buy them for our new baby's bedroom door. They'll look fab next to the ones we have for Max. I hope she looks like an Emily when shes born now we've bought them!

Oh, and the purple and blue and stripy thing at the bottom of the photo is my baby bump, it was too big to keep out of the shot LOL

While we were in town we had a look round for a stairs carpet. We went to 4 different shops and then went back to the first one we went into to buy one. Its being fitted next week! How exciting is that, finally the house will be nearly finished (except for a few bits in the kitchen and the extension) WooooHoooo!!

Bye for now *waves*

New photos of Emily

2009-05-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

I had another 4D scan last Sunday and this time Emily decided to pose! Here she is.....

She definately has Niks lips!

Rose bud lips

Yawning

The dvd is fantastic, especially when she yawns. It was worth every penny :O)

I have also been shopping at Ikea and bought a new changing unit, its great because it folds flat and matches our living room LOL

....and here are some photos of the new pram i've bought

....and the new pink bouncy chair!! It plays classical music and vibrates at 2 different speeds (don't tell Kerrie though, cos she'll want one...nudge, nudge, wink, wink!) ;OP

We finally got Max to put on his full fireman outfit. Isn't he just fab?

Josh has started driving lessons, here he is on his very first one!

Sorry about the dirty windows, I'll have to blame Max :O)

and Jake has done his 2 week work experience placement at Karissma hairdressing salon and has now got himself a Saturday job there.

Thats about all we've been up to recently recently, Oh did i mention i have 44 days left till i get to hold my new baby? LOL Sorry if i'm a bit of a baby bore ;O)

Meet Our Daughter!

2009-05-10T14:16:00.000-07:00

I have 7 weeks and 6 days left until Our daughter is due!!!

Today we went to have a 4D scan done! The baby was really naughty and wouldn't turn to face the camera and no amount of poking my tummy would wake her up to move position. All we managed to get were photos of her with her hands over her face. The lovely lady and man that run Window To The Womb gave me a dvd of all the footage and a cd of all the still shots and an A4 print out of the best shot. I also have a free appointment to go back next Sunday for another scan, were hopefully the baby with be in a different position and be more photogenic and hopefully awake :O) I don't mind cos at least i get to go back and see her again LOL and i'll get another cd, dvd and 4 printouts too!

Here is my cute bundle of pinkness!

9 Weeks & 6 Days Left!

2009-04-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

I'm now in single figures! Hooray! This is whats happening this week...

Your baby is growing rapidly, but is still half the weight of a full term baby. Your baby is stronger than ever and still has plenty of room to move around. The movements will begin to grow stronger to you and you may even see them ripple across your bump.
At this point your baby's lungs and digestive tract are nearly mature, meaning she'll do much better in the event of premature birth. Researchers also believe your baby can actually see now, in utero, but no one knows exactly how much she can make out.

I made us a salad for tea last night and while Nik was making a cuppa, i tweeked his bread and butter LOL. He turned round and couldn't stop laughing!

Isn't he cute? :O)

Nik said he tasted nice.

Also yesterday, we turned this into...........

.......this!

Its a lovely 4 berth Hymer caravan built in 2001, we have got to build some frames for the bed and seating area but, we have a new set of cushion seats and new mattresses for the sleeping area so, not too big a job. It will look so beautiful when its done and i'm hoping *crosses fingers* that after 'Emily' is born we might be able to nip off for two week to Wales (Abersoch) in it to give it a good test.

Work on our extension started last week and this is what it looks like so far. It'll make the bathroom much bigger and even 2ft wider so we can have a seperate shower and bath. I will gain a utility room where i can finally keep my washing machine and tumbler dryer (instead of having to go down to the garage to do it all) and the conservatory will be longer too.

We went to a caravan/motor home sales site yesterday for inspiration. The weather was glorious and Max did really well staying dry throughout the trip. Well done Max! Here is a photo of my clever 'big' boy taken in the grounds of the caravan site.

This week is going to be really busy. On top of keeping Max sleeping in his big bed, trying to potty train him and all the usual shopping and housework, I have the midwife doing her home visit on Wednesday to help me do a birth plan PMSL! (as if i don't know what i want by now!) and the Nursery co-ordinator doing a home visit on Friday to assess Max, check his birth certificate and arrange for him to start nursery!! OMG! where has my baby gone? It all seems to be happening at once with Max at the moment. Oh, and by the way, he's still not sold on the idea of having a 'stinky baby' :O).I had him listening to my tummy the other day and when i asked what he could hear he said, 'Nothing, its sleeping, but i'm not sharing my toys with it'. I hope nursery teaches him to share.

Off to see Hells kitchen now, I think i fancy Marco a little bit, don't ask me why though cos even i don't know.

Bye for now ....

What Do You Think?

2009-04-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, its just a small blog tonight....

The proper work started on our extension today. Its up to 6ft approx. and looking fab!

I'm really tired and my tummy and groin is absolutely killing me. Its a combination of Braxton-Hicks and strained muscles (flippin' hurts). Nik had just got me a tub of hot water and washed my feet with a raspberry foot scrub. When i've finished my blog he's gonna give them a rub with foot cream (oh i am soooo loved!)

We have been trying to decide on a name for our daughter, what do you think of this....

Emily Scarlett Rose Cooper

Milly for short?

Off to have my pampering session.
Bye!

My Tummy Today!

2009-04-21T09:35:00.001-07:00

Ok, I thought i'd be brave and post a tummy photo, taken today (God! I must be bored!)

Where did my feet go?

This is all i see when i look down at the floor!

My Bola Chime neckalace came today, this is what it looks like.

It make a little chiming noise when i walk/move. I feel a bit like a kitten with a bell collar on LOL

Max loves playing with it when we have a cuddle *tuts*

Now for the good news (well it is for Nik and I) Max has been sleeping in his Thomas bed for one whole and totally fantastic week!!!!!!!!!!! No more sleeping on the edge of the bed for us while Max takes up the majority of the middle (its been like sleeping with a windmill, with his flapping arms and legs at night). Now we have a kingsized bed all to ourselves and its total heaven :O)

I even get to have a back rub and a cuddle before i go to sleep. I do have to get up a couple of times in the night to tuck him in when he shouts me, but he doesn't cry and is soon settled again. He's even started going to bed earlier at 7pm so i get to have a bit of quality time with Nik, which is lovely.

Right, i'm off to cook tea. I have made a cheese, bacon, pototo and onion pie mmmm.... so all i have to do is bung it in the oven :O)

Oh speaking of food, my lastest cravings are salad boxes (includes tuna pasta) from a fab little shop in Bolsover, peach and apricot Muller corners, chicken korma, fresh crusty bread and strawberry jam, lovehearts, marmalade, rice krispies and haribo sweets LOL

God help my waistline!!!

Bye for now *waves*

74 Days to go, and counting!

2009-04-21T03:16:00.000-07:00

Not long now till the 'Big Push' Here's what happening this week.....

The baby's bone marrow takes over production of red blood cells meaning she'll be better able to cope on her own when she's born. She can also recognise your voice as distinct from other people's. Research has shown that the fetal heart rate slows down when the mother speaks, suggesting that your baby not only hears and recognises your voice, but is also calmed by it. Also, the fine, downy hair (lanugo) that has covered her body is beginning to disappear as her fat stores increase and help to regulate her body temperature. The baby's weigh will be approx. 3lb 1oz.

I've also ordered a Mexican Chime Bola necklace. Its to wear from 20weeks pregnant and the gentle 'chime' is suppose to calm and sooth baby while in the womb and after birth too. Here's the description of it....

Calm and soothe your baby in your womb with this classic silver Bola which originates from Mexico. This stunning heart-shaped bola looks lovely hanging over your pregnant belly and is a beautiful pendant to wear even after you have had your baby.The Bola is worn under your clothes so that it hangs low over your growing bump, and as you move or walk, the bola makes a soft and soothing chime which your baby can hear from about 20 weeks and is believed to help relax your baby in your womb.

Will report back on the effectiveness LOL

We finally managed to get Max dressed up in his birthday suit

(present from Auntie B & Uncle M)

So here is Fireman Max

We went to the park last week, here's my lil monkey!

We called at the shop for a treat on the way home, two lollypops.

The way Max held the lollies made it look as if Nik had antenna!!

We went trialing at Padley Wood at the weekend, Max looked every bit the part in his John Deere tractor driving overalls and puddle dashers!

Josh did a tyro (To compete in the TYRO Trial you need to be A member of an ALRC Club and a minimum of 14 years of age. It is non damaging sections and can be driven in any Land Rover , ideal for inexperienced off road drivers) with Nik as navigator, he got clears on on the sections, except the last one, when he got a flippin' 6! At least Phil Chapman got the same score. he got clears on all the sections too and picked his 6 up in the same place as Josh! The winner was Alan Wilson. Well done to Amy Wilson (the only girl) for completing her first ever tyro!

The ups.......

.....and the downs of trialing

Max made a new friend while we were there, Jen-Jen the collie.

Here is Julie and Irene Chapman (Jen-Jen's Mum and Granny)

Latest photo of our daughter, taken at 28 weeks+4 days

We did have a few glimpses of her face but the scanning lady was too slow on the button and missed them :O(

You can see her foot really well though!! (top left) PMSL

Pregnancy Questions & Answers

2009-03-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

Pregnancy questions and answers taken from www.paidtoshop.co.uk posted by Waterfall

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?
A: No, 35 children is enough.

Q: I'm two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?
A: With any luck, right after he finishes university.

Q: What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex?
A: Childbirth.

Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she'sborderline irrational.
A: So what's your question?

Q: My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labour, but pressure. Is she right?
A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.

Q: When is the best time to get an epidural?
A: Right after you find out you're pregnant.

Q: Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife is in labour?
A: Not unless the word "divorce" means anything to you.

Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?
A: Yes, pregnancy.

Q: Do I have to have a baby shower?
A: Not if you change the baby's nappy very quickly.

Q: Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and actnormal again?
A: When the kids are in university.

HELP!!! Top 100 girls names in the UK

2009-03-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

Still searching for names. I need a combination of three to go with our surname COOPER.

Please post your suggestions :O) all help welcome.

1. OLIVIA
2. GRACE
3. JESSICA
4. RUBY
5. EMILY
6. SOPHIE
7. CHLOE
8. LUCY
9. LILY
10. ELLIE
11. ELLA
12. CHARLOTTE
13. KATIE
14. MIA
15. HANNAH
16. AMELIA
17. MEGAN
18. AMY
19. ISABELLA
20. MILLIE
21. EVIE
22. ABIGAIL
23. FREYA
24. MOLLY
25. DAISY
26. HOLLY
27. EMMA
28. ERIN
29. ISABELLE
30. POPPY
31. JASMINE
32. LEAH
33. KEIRA
34. PHOEBE
35. CAITLIN
36. REBECCA
37. GEORGIA
38. LAUREN
39. MADISON
40. AMBER
41. ELIZABETH
42. ELEANOR
43. BETHANY
44. ISABEL
45. PAIGE
46. SCARLETT
47. ALICE
48. IMOGEN
49. SOPHIA
50. ANNA
51. LOLA
52. LIBBY
53. MAISIE
54. ISOBEL
55. BROOKE
56. ALISHA
57. TIA
58. SARAH
59. SUMMER
60. GRACIE
61. FAITH
62. COURTNEY
63. NIAMH
64. AVA
65. EVE
66. AIMEE
67. MADDISON
68. ROSIE
69. MATILDA
70. SIENNA
71. SHANNON
72. LILLY
73. MADELEINE
74. ZOE
75. NICOLE
76. EVE
77. SKYE
78. AMELIE
79. ABBIE
80. HARRIET
81. MAYA
82. ZARA
83. RACHEL
84. FRANCESCA
85. LYDIA
86. ALICIA
87. HOLLIE
88. SOFIA
89. ALEXANDRA
90. LAYLA
91. NATASHA
92. MOLLIE
93. MORGAN
94. ISLA
95. DEMI
96. LAURA
97. LARA
98. TILLY
99. MARTHA
100. ELOISE

Max's 3rd Birthday!

2009-03-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

Has it really been two weeks since i last blogged? How time flies LOL

Well, i'll start with my DTD (double the discount). I bought these bottles of shampoo and conditioner on a BOGOF deal but when at the checkout i noticed they didn't come up as a BOGOF. I promptly took them to customer services who asked me to show them where it said BOGOF on the shelf, which i did. Then she gave me both items for free and refunded me DTD which was almost £6 so, i got my Quantum of Solce for £1 as Mr T was selling it for £7 for three days only!! How good was that then? :O)

My receipt & refund.

Mmmmm....... yummy Daniel Craig!! for £1!!!!

Max has been celebrating his 3rd birthday over the weekend. Here he is wearing one of his presents, a Sportacus outfit! Isn't he cute?

Here's Max with the presents he got on his birthday (Friday)

Another cheeky Sportacus pose.

Max with his Grandad David unwrapping the farm set that he bought him.

Max's birthday cake, its supposed to be a monkey but we all thought it looked like a lion.

The party food (Andrew, notice my homemade Be-Ro Quiche!)

A photo of my tummy so Vanda can have a laugh at how fat i'm getting!!!

It sticks out more than my boobs now!!!!! 13 weeks and 4 days to go!!!

Max dressing up as Fireman Sam, his present from Auntie Beverley and Uncle Mark.

Max blowing out his birthday candles.

Dan, Jake, Rebecca, Max, Lloyd & Josh.

Max with his present from Grandad.

Look What We've Been Up To!

2009-03-15T07:32:00.000-07:00

Thought i'd better update my blog. We have been so busy over the last two weeks. Here's what we've been up to.....

Max has been so busy with his Play Dough octopus

.....and Fuzzy Felts

I've been knitting girly stuff!!

We've had to have the septic tank emptied euwwww! I always hide when they come cos i don't want to talk to people who suck all our *pulls face* poop up and take it away on their lorry!!!

Daniel's made a brilliant window frame at college.

We have redecorated our bedroom. This included laying a new floor, buying a double sliding wardrobe, bed frame, two chests of drawers, curtains and duvet sets. Poor Nik's still in shock over how much it all cost him LOL!

We've tiled the kitchen but it still needs grouting.

and finally....we've decorated the living room and bought some new furniture!!! Not a bad job for two weeks! Nik's turned into Cooperman!!

My baby, Week 22

2009-03-01T04:28:00.000-08:00

Developement of a 22 week baby (Taken from Welcome baby Home Pregnancy Calendar)

Your baby now weighs about 12 oz (350g) and is over 7 inches long (19cm). Baby continues to grow, eyelids and eyebrows are developed, and nails are also visible. The amniotic fluid is replenished on a daily basis; in fact about a third of the fluid is exchanged every hour. Your baby swallows the fluid and some of this fluid is absorbed back into your body via the umbilical cord and placenta. The rest is simply urinated back into the amniotic fluid. Baby uses its 'bathwater' as its drinking water (EUW!). While some of its nutrients are provided by the amniotic fluid, bulk of the nutrients comes from the placenta.

How disgusting is that? Bath water as drinking water? Just disgustable!

I don't know if this will work but if you go to this............

http://www.welcomebabyhome.com/newsletter_weeks/fetus_week_22.htm

There is a moving scan picture of a 22 week baby, so she should look something like that at the moment (hopefully, minus the testicles that are clearly visable on this little boy though) LOL

Wallace and Gromit Ice Lollies

2009-03-01T04:15:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention yesterday, that in our lovely parcel from Vanda there were also some Wallace and Gromit ice lolly moulds. We made some apple juice ones straight away but because i put them in the freezer i forgot about them in my blog. So, this morning Max looked in the freezer and look what he found.....

Mmmm..... delicious Gromit ice lollies! Thank you Vanda & Andrew :O)

Stop Bugging Me!

2009-02-28T11:31:00.000-08:00

GrannyPants came up to see us yesterday and bought Max a present, It was an insect sticker book!!! We had loads of fun with it. Have a look...............

Max Grows a mustache

Nik's caterpillar eyebrows

Watch out Max!

There's a big hairy spider on your nose!

Muahhhhhhhhhhhhh
Thanks for my present GrannyPants!

The postman came today and bought us a parcel, It was from my bestest friend in the whole world, Vanda! It had some Mr Men cookie cutters and three beautiful pink babygrows in it. Thank you so much for thinking about us :O) So we put them straight to use in the kitchen. Here are some photos of Max making ginger Mr Men.

This one looks a bit camp LOL

Look at the concentration

The finished result, and Mmmm......they're delicious!

Here is a photo of the beautiful babygrows, aren't they just lovely, Thank you very much :O)

Ok, i'm off to have a shower. Bye for now *waves*

Some photos

2009-02-23T13:03:00.000-08:00

We went out to the P&D Dinner & Dance on Saturday, here are the photos we took before we left the house. Who's tummy do you thinks the biggest? LOL

He are some very recent ones of Max, taken yesterday with his new Ikea crocodile :O)

Computer stress!

Ok thats it for tonight cos Who Do You Think You Are? is on tv, so i'm off to watch, Bye!

My Birthday

2009-02-21T08:31:00.000-08:00

It was my birthday yesterday, and i had some lovely things. Mark & Beverley gave me some beautiful flowers. Vanda, Andrew and the girls bought me a baby names book and a gorgeous necklace (Thankyou Vanda :O) and Nik bought me 2 x 2gb memory cards for my camera, the Rhianna cd, some berry body scrub and body butter (it smells nice enough to eat) and has paid for the police records for my great grandfathers brother, Agur Abner Hndley (he was a policeman not a criminal, before you ask LOL). Here are photos of some of them.

Ok, i'm off to get ready now cos we are off out tonight. Its the Peak and Dukeries Annual Dinner (Landrover club do) so i've got to try and make myself look beautiful (argh!) I'll probably look like a well dressed whale! Nik on the other hand, always looks fantastic when he's wearing a suit.

Bye for now *waves*

Nik's Been A Busy Bee!

2009-02-19T14:43:00.001-08:00

Nik has been a busy bee over the last two days and has put the laminate floor down in Jakes old room and helped me move Jake's bedroom furniture from his old room to the back bedroom. Now Max and the new baby can share the larger front bedroom. Here is the result of all his hard work.

Its looking really good now but, needs a colour change. Its our bedroom next and i'm hoping to get him started on it next week so, that by next weekend we can go to Ikea and buy our new bedroom furniture, Yeay!

One last pink thing LOL before i go to bed :O)

My Pink Purchases!!!

2009-02-19T14:23:00.000-08:00

I know i should wait but the urge to buy a few things in pink was far too great, so here they are (Elena keep your eyes off the piglet ones!!)

IT'S A GIRL!!

2009-02-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

OMG! We did it! Its a Pink one!

Here she is posing for the camera, taken today at 20 weeks and 4 days :O) Isn't she gorgeous? The doctor said everything is the right size and in the right place but, the spout is missing on this one LOL

I went for the scan today and we were still deciding if we wanted to know on the journey there. I went into the scan room still undecided and when the lady had looked to see if everything was working ok, in the right place and the right size, i asked if she could tell what sex it was. She looked and asked if we wanted to know and we both said 'Yes!'. When she told us it was a girl, i asked her if she was sure even though i could see her'bits' on screen! I still couldn't believe it cos i was convinced it was going to be a boy, but Nik was right all along :O)

At last! My kitchen gets tiled!

2009-02-13T05:47:00.000-08:00

Finally (and about time too!) we are getting the kitchen tiled. It took so long to actually get the worktops replaced because of the fault that i thought we'd never get anything done. The wonderful James Snell is our master tiler and a fantastic job he's doing too :O) Take a look at his good work!

Oxcroft Igloo man

2009-02-10T02:27:00.000-08:00

Here is Jake's great building project which Max seems to fit into perfectly! Don't you think he did a great job? Its quite big and took hours to make (poor lads hands were blue when he finally came inside). Max loves it and i couldn't get him out of it. The local rabbits and pheasants must like it too cos there were footprints all round it LOL. Maybe they all huddled up together for the night when the snow was coming down fast?

Max made us both laugh this morning when he woke up (in our bed as usual) He said ...

'Mummy! The sun is shining and the birds are singing, Lets get up!' ROFLMAO Sometimes it makes me wonder how flippin old he is cos he's definately not 2 in the head!

We went to Ikea at the weekend and he finally (and off his own bat) went to play with the other kids in the restaurant play area. He kept introducing himself like this....

'Hello, My name is Max, Whats your name?' by the end of our breakfast he had made 2 nice playmates called Alex and Theo. It was lovely to see him interacting with children his own age as prior to this he prefered adults and looked at anyone as small as him with a puzzled expression and didn't really wanna know. I'm starting to think he'll be ok at nursery now when the time comes :O)

I'm still having trouble picking baby names :O( At the moment i like

Freya, Seth

Alexa, Noah

Milly, Finley

Evie, Lex

Kiri, Finn

Please, help! i'm really struggling. I've always had a name pick by now (20 weeks). I'm half way there only 20 more weeks to go. So, look at credits on tv, names in magazines, newspapers, books, anything. I want something not too common but not 'Way Out There' if you know what i mean. I don't wanna call it Apple, Orange or Melon, Luna, Zowie, Seraphina or god knows what other silly names people call their kids nowdays.

So suggestions please :O) Oh and remember it has to be three names. I already have.....

Daniel Adam Roy

Joshua Graham Lee

Jacob Symon Alexander

Max David Harry

Gonna go clean the house now *sighs* Bye for now......Toodle Pip!

Sledging!!

2009-02-08T11:24:00.000-08:00

Oh, what fun we've been having in the snow!

We have been loving all our snow and have been having great fun in it. We went to Bolsover to use the sledge and Max thought it was Grrr-eat!

Jake has been very busy with his igloo and here he is posing with Max in it. I will have to get another photo of it because it now comes complete with a roof!!

Nik has become addicted to Ebay!! OMG! he is turning into a NetNerd!! I can't get on my blinkin laptop anymore *TUTS* and i keep trying to find all my Hindley's.

I had a lovely message from my bestest friend in the whole world (Vanda). It went like this -

Did Silas marry Ellen Cook? [Yes] Were his parents Thomas Hindley born 1827 & Barbara Ditchfield born 1829 & died 1905? [Yes] Did Eubulus Hindley (born 1858) marry Eugenie Clarke (born 1863) & have a daughter Barbara (born 1889)? [Yes] Did Keren Happuch Hindley (born 1863) marry James Dunkeld (born 1859 & died 1948)? [Yes] Did Julius Augustus Hindley (born 1861) marry Ellen Valentine (born 1859) [Yes] Did Cleophas Hindley (born 1858) die in 1861? [Yes] Are we talking about the same Hindley's [Definately] ;O)

Thank you so very much for taking the time to look them up for me. I did already have the information but it did give me the ''Warm fuzzies'' to know you took the time to search them out for me :O) Thank you.

I do have them on most census's but i have a few missing, i've tried searches but with no luck (I know they aren't dead). The ones i am missing are -

1901 census for Thomas Hindley - 74 (I have found his wife Barbara but he's not with her) Last living in Culcheth

1901 census for Silas Hindley - 48 Last found living in Pennington
1911 census for Silas Hindley - 58 last found living in Pennington

1891 Keren Happuch Dunkeld - 28 Last living in Bedford but i know she moved to Lancaster after she got married.

1881 Lewis Hindley - 14 Last living in Culcheth

1891 Lewis Hindley - 24 Last living in Culcheth

Dunno where they are, but they are definately hiding somewhere. I'll have to keep searching.

Anyway thats all for now, will update again soon.....Bye *waves*

Snowman

2009-02-04T14:39:00.000-08:00

We still have plenty of snow left, Max has been out in it again today, and he loves making footprints and throwing snowballs. Here are some photos of him.

View from the back

View from the kitchen window

I love snow, and i'll be really sad when its all gone. It makes everything look clean instead of muddy (I hate the mud!!) We are supposed to be having some more tomorrow so, fingers crossed :O)

My grandparents marriage certificate came today and it was lovely to actually see some documentation of their exsistance. I don't even have a photo of my grandad and i only have one of my grandma (kindly donated to me by my Auntie Olga) I don't know/have any photos of their eldest two children and only knew my dads twin, Uncle Harry and of course my dad. Its funny cos my dad never talked about any of them and i don't think there was any love lost between them all. Its really odd growing up and not knowing one part of your family (even more odd to know you have 2 half sisters and a half brother that you wouldn't recognised if they walked past you in the street). I guess i'll just have to be happy with records and knowing they did actually exsist.

I'm now waiting for the postie to deliver me some marriage certificates for my mothers side of the family. The surname is ''Hindley'' and my mother has a morbid obsession with finding a connection to Myra Hindley, although i have told her that if i find one, i will not be telling her about it. I definately wouldn't be proud to own her! The Christian names are interesting in their own right. They are as follows -

Silas Hindley b 1852

Kezia Hindley b 1854 d 1864

Eubulus Hindley b 1857

Cleophas Hindley b 1858 d 1861

Julius Augustus Hindley b 30 March 1861 (My great grandad)

Keren Happuch Hindley b 1863

Agur Abner Hindley b 1865

Samuel Thomas Justus Hindley b 1869

Aren't they fantastic names? It makes a look up very easy as its not like a ''John Smith'' or a ''John Brown'', when you find one, theres definately no doubt if its correct. I have the marriage certificate for Julius Augustus and he had a catholic marriage so i wonder if this has some significance in their unusual names? I have a normal certificate but last night i found a transcript from the catholic church register and all their names have been changed. Here have a look -

Julius Augustus Hindley Catholic Marriage

Marriage: 17 May 1886
Sacred Heart, Hindsford, Atherton, Lancashire, England
Julius Augustus Hindley - of Tyldesley
Helenam (real name Ellen) Valentine - of Tyldesley
Groom's Father: Thomae (real name Thomas) Hindley
Bride's Father: Thomae (real name Thomas) Valentine
Witness: Eduardo (real name edward) Valentine, of Tyldesley; Maria Eckersley, of Eckersley
Married by: Ricardus (real name Richard) O'Neill Miss. Apost.
Register: Marriages 1869 - 1900, Page 34
Source - www.lan-opc.org.uk

Isn't it weird how they had their names recorded? Is this what normally happens at a catholic wedding?

Anyway i'm off to bed now before Max wakes up. He is being put to bed in his ''Big'' Thomas bed now but he can wake up anywhere between 12am and 5am and then won't go back to bed unless its in our bed. I really want him to be in his bed permantly for when the new baby arrives else its gonna be a nightmare with two of them in our room.

Night night *waves*

What's all this white stuff??

2009-02-02T05:37:00.000-08:00

I thought it was about time i did a bit of blogging because its been over a month now and its in need of an update.

I woke up this morning and looked out the window, guess what i saw!

Yep, Snow! Everywhere! and its still coming down as i type.

Life has all gone to pot around us at the moment because of this 'white stuff'. Josh has just been sent home from college as they have decided they should close at lunch time. Dan has just rung home to say his college progress interview at Chesterfield has been cancelled for tonight and my mum had just phoned up to say she won't be bringing Jake home from school and can we fetch him. I wouldn't mind but we haven't even had an inch yet!!! God bless 4x4's is all i can say :O)

I have just realised that i didn't post my 12 week scan picture of Peanut, so here is he/she for all to see.

This scan photo is really out of date now because i'm 18 weeks and going for another scan on 17th February when we should be able to find out if its a Mstr Peanut or a Miss Peanut LOL. I'm still in two minds about asking though so, we'll have to wait and see.

I have started enjoying food again now, but cooking smells can still put me off. At the moment i'm loving corned beef and salad cream sandwiches, KFC, prawn cocktail crisps, apples, fishfinger sandwiches, cherry yoghurts, tomatoes!! but it all seems to change from week to week. I don't seem to be putting any extra weight on, which is unusual for me and at my last midwife checkup i was 2lbs lighter than when i went to book in at 7 weeks. I do have a baby belly though so maybe the baby is eating all my calories and after i give birth i'll be the same weigh as Kate Moss!! PMSL Oh, I know, I can but hope!

We have just got back from taking Max to Dobbie's. It was a special treat promised to him by me last night when i was trying to get him sleep in his Thomas bed at 1am. He loves to go there to look at the tropical fish (they have Nemo and Dorey ones!). He made us laugh on the way there, we were talking about the snow and Nik said 'The snow is very cold' Max corrected him by saying, 'The snow isn't very cold, its just chilly. I like chilly' you had to have been there really as it wasn't just what he said but how he said it.

I seem to have caught the family history bug with a vengence again at the moment. I think its all due to the release of the 1911 census returns. I think i have finally managed to find my father's parents (living seperately as they were too young to be married then). Using http://www.freebmd.org.uk/ i have managed to find a reference for their marriage and have sent off for the certificate. I have also found two brothers of my father, that i have never heard of and which sadly died in childhood. My father and his brother (born on 11 July 1926) also had a elder half sister, and an elder full sister (i have references for both births now) who was two years older than him! There is just a mystery about what happened to my father's mother's first husband now but, as the disappearance of him was in time period of WW1 i suspect he was a casualty of war, leaving her a widow with a daughter. I have also found the death reference for my father's mother who i know died when they were two but found out that she was also buried on their 2nd birthday. It seems like his mother was born and bred in Whaley Thorns (my fathers birthplace) as she is living there with her family in 1911 stating it also as her place of birth and i know she is buried there too. Finally, at last! i have some information on a family i never knew, as both my grandparents on my fathers side died before i was born. I only ever knew my father and my Uncle Harry (his twin) and my father knew next to nothing about his family apart from having a sister and a half sister, but not knowing any details about them. I can't wait for the postie to slip it through my letter box so i'll know for sure!

Speaking of the postie, he delivered me a package the other day, and i was all excited when i saw the handwriting belonged to my bestest friend in the whole world - Vanda! On opening it, i found to my delight a slow cooker recipe book. Thank you Vanda and Andrew, i'll definately be trying some of the recipes out :O) Did Gemma recieve her sunglasses parcel?

I'm really loving the Sunday night tv at the moment. Dancing on Ice followed by Wild At Heart. There's not much else to be doing while my backs bad and the nights are dark. Dancing on Ice is fantastic and i love this years celebrities. Although i do think its terrible how Todd Carty is still in after each of his terrible weekly performances. The bloke can hardly stand on the ice in his skates, let alone skate to music. I felt he would be voted off this week for sure after his terrible atempt at swimming on the ice was viewed by millions of people, but what can i say? He wasn't even in the flipping skate off!!!!! Poor Michael Underwood ended up being booted off and he was far better than Todd and not the worst skater in the line up at all. Oh well, all i can do is hope for his kicking off in next weeks show. My favourite to win is the very cute and squishable Ray, who is totally fantastic and seems to have a natural flair (must be down to his ballroom dancing) for ice dancing and has much more content in each of his performances than any of the others.

Anyway, thats it for now folks, i'll try and update again soon - Bye *waves*

Delivering Presents

2008-12-21T14:53:00.000-08:00

We have been helping Santa out this weekend delivering presents. We finally took the last ones this afternoon to Rebecca & Lloyd. It was great to see all the family again. Grandad was also there when we arrived. Max loved bossing the kids around and they were great with him. He ended up coming home with some more out grown toys. A big stuffed cockerel and a Shrek helmet LOL

Nik took me out for Sunday pub lunch today and it was lovely. I had a roast beef dinner and ate every bit, Nik had a steak and ale pie and that look yummy too. Max was a pain in the bum and hates sitting still. He thought it was like Ikea and was upset that there were no toys to play with, how can you explain why to a 2 year old?

Anyway as promised here is a photo of my Christmas cake. Hope it tastes as good as it looks.

Going to bed now so i can get another sleep out of the way before Santa can come PMSL...Bye xx

2008-12-19T13:51:00.000-08:00

OMG! What A Day!!

2008-12-19T13:01:00.000-08:00

Its been a totally flippin horrible day today :O(

I got up early to pack Nik some food for his trip to Liverpool (to take a car). Got Jake sorted for his last day of school and sent Dan off to work.

Half an hour after Dan had gone to work Nik came in looking odd. He told me that Dan had just rung him to say he'd just reversed into a car in the petrol station. So, before Nik could set off on his trip he had to calm down the man and explain that Dan would pay for the damage done to the mans car without going through the insurance company. He also explained he worked for a accident repair company and that it would be sorted to a high standard. So, after all that he set off on his trip.

At 9am i took Josh to college. It was his last day too and only had half a day to do. I just managed to get home and unload Max from the car and take his shoes and coat off when the phone rang again. It was Josh asking to be picked up because no one else had turned up ARGHHH! So, i put Max's coat and shoes back on, trudged through the mud and juggled him back in the car. I was about to set off when the phone rang again. It was Josh, saying he was ok now as some of the lads had turned up!! I could have strangled him. So, back in the house i went and took everything off again. Poor Max didn't know if he was coming or going.

Josh went to work with Reg and Knocker at their yard when college had finished. He has started helping them out and he does stuff like helping Knocker build his new trialer and gives Reg a hand repairing things(Reg is Knocker's dad). Its all good stuff to be learning when your a lad (or so i'm told by Nik, who did all his training there when he was a lad and Reg was 30 years younger and Knocker was just a nipper LOL)

The rest of the day was spent trying to keep Max entertained which was hard because he was having a 'pain in the bum day' and was being a little devil. At one point he took some papers out of the cupboard in the living room and i took them off him and put them back but, before my hand was out of the way he slammed the door and trapped my finger in it.

When Nik finally came home i got him to have Max while i had a shower, to give me a break. I got out the shower feeling loads better and started making dinner. I put it out at the usual time but the only diners were Nik, Max and myself. After we had finished our food i phoned everyone up and told them about dinner. Dan had forgot to tell me he wouldn't be home till 8.30 and he was picking Jake up from granny's house and Josh was working late at the yard. I was so cross with them cos they never think to give me a quick ring and its been happening a lot just lately. Does this only happen to me or is it what i've got to expect now?

Anyway at 8pm Nik went out down Clowne with all the lads from P&D trialing club for a Christmas pub crawl, so as i type i'm sat with the cordless right next to me so when he rings for his ride home i can grab the phone asap without it waking Max up.

At 9pm i heated up the dried out dinners for the three boys and couldn't care less what it tasted like. I hope it was horrible, serves them right LOL maybe they'll learn now. I guess i can live in hope.

Now its all peaceful and i thought i'd do a spot of blogging. I wanted to put a photo of my Christmas cake on here but i went to take the piccy, only to find my camera battery is dead and wants charging. I think i ought to go to bed before it can get any worse. There's one good thing (two if you count not feeling sick today) and that is, tomorrow can't possibly be any worse. Although we do have to go see the man that Dan reversed into to make repair arrangements.

My Catch Up Blog

2008-12-18T01:49:00.000-08:00

OMG I am getting so excited about Christmas this week. Only seven sleeps left!!!

I thought i would put a few photos on my blog because its ages since i have, so here is our Christmas tree.

Here is Max with Santa. I thought this year the photo would be better (no screaming child). After we had cleaned him up, dressed him in nice clothes etc. all our efforts were wasted when he fell flat on his face in the car park on the way. He bust his lip and grazed his head (he looked a right mess) but we still had to have the photo.

At least this year he did manage a smile, even if it was forced (but we did bribe him with 50p which he has in his hand for a ride on Bertie The Bus).

We have had some guests to stay for a week. Ann's dogs, Jack and Duke. They were no trouble but they did make the kitchen smelly and the floor hairy. If ever i say i want a dog, will someone please slap me! The favour will be returned though as Ann always has Boo dog if we go away anywhere so we didn't mind.

Here are some photos of our guests LOL (Jack is the black one and Duke is brown).

Here are the Three Amigos waiting for a biscuit LOL

I'm Still Here!

2008-12-06T14:11:00.000-08:00

OMG! I've not blogged for forever have i?

I've felt really tired and sick for the last week and haven't done anything with the computer. We have been having a nightmare with Max and his bedtime. We can't get him to sleep in the Thomas bed, he won't stay in his cot and keeps wanting to get in with us around 12-1am every morning. I can't sleep with him in our bed cos i've been having trouble sleeping too. I must get up ten times a night to use the loo and i can't seem to get comfy in bed no matter what position i sleep in and when Max is in its just an impossibility so, i've been sleeping on the sofa or on a mattress on the floor in Max's room.

So what have i been up to since i last blogged? Not much really. We fetched a Christmas tree yesterday from Sherwood Pines forrestry commission and we trimmed it up last night. It looks lovely and smells fantastic :O) I love the smell of pine trees. It was a fab smell to come downstairs to this morning.

Jake, Max and me went to the hairdressers this afternoon for a tidy up, Max having the most off. It was starting to get a nightmare to wash and comb so, i decided a good trim was the only answer. He actually sat still for Karen as she cut it, which was definately a first. He looks lovely now and was quite proud of himself for having it done.

Nik, Josh and Dan are off trialing tomorrow, They tell me its somewhere near Melton Mowbray. It'll be the first time Nik will have competed in his new trialer and Josh is gonna be his 'co-pilot'. I have packed them up a fab lunch to keep them going, so hopefully they will do well. Jake, Max and me arre staying at home. The weathers far too cold for us but we'll be keeping the home fire burning to warm them up when they get back LOL.

Jake has finally got an appointment through for the hospital. Its the 20th January, so not too long to wait. I have my scan booked for the 23rd December, and we all think its a girl this time because of how sick i'm feeling (never been this bad before) and everyone keeps saying its always bad when your having a girl so, i may have to ask the sex when i go for it LOL Its still undecided but i think i might :O) I can't stop eating clementines at the moment. Its the only thing i'm craving. I still can't eat puddings, cakes and sweets which is a bit of a bugger cos i've made a Christmas cake this year and i don't fancy it at all. I really can't cook because everything smells so disgusting, its unbelievable. I can't eat my dinner most nights as it makes me heave. The only thing keeping me alive is salad sandwiches and clementines. Fingers crossed for it to pass soon.

I'm really missing IACGMOOH as tonight is the first night without it and i need my jungle fix. I was really happy with Joe winning and i think i predicted it at the very beginning. I got to like Martina, which i never though i would and George kept making me smile. I don't think that man has a bad bone in his body. He always seemed calm and got along with everyone (good or bad) in the jungle, and for 70 something he did fantastic in his last two trials.

Gonna go to bed now and try and get a couple of hours before Max decides its time to create havoc. Night night xxx

Timmy Mallets Gone!!!

2008-11-30T15:41:00.000-08:00

Yeay! Timmy Mallets got the boot!!! and about flippin time too. What a totally annoying man. He was cheating at the end because he was losing and he tried to distract Brian by squeezing and pinching his arm while they were eating worms!! Dirty little cheat! Good riddence.

The postman came to my house yesterday and delivered me a package from my bestest friend in the whole world! Vanda :O) Thank you Vanda (and Elena for choosing it) It contained a 3 pack of baby bibs that were absolutely gorgeous. Thank you from Peanut LOL It also had some 5p off a litre of fuel for Tesco stations which always comes in very handy. Thanks for thinking of me.

A Good Day...At Last!

2008-11-30T12:41:00.000-08:00

OMG! I've actually not felt sick much at all today, apart from when i brushed my teeth, which makes me gag from start to finish .....euwww

Nik took me to Ikea for a slap up breakfast, which i totally destroyed! I think he's been a bit worried from my lack of appetite. We had a look round the store but all we bought were a set of underwater creature finger puppets for Max that he said he 'needed' LOL

We also had a look in Decathalon and Next but came out empty handed. I did try on some boots but they were too small and they didn't have a bigger size, so we went home via Mansfield and called in the Next there. Still no luck. So, we went a walk round Mansfield and i found a pair of boots eventually (ones like Hugg boots) in Peacocks for £10. I just wanted something warm and comfy to go with my jeans. I also treated myself to a maternity tshirt too for £5 in the sale.

I'm sat now, watching, Here Comes The Boys. Its brillant and great to see all the men are singing live. What a fab cause too. I hope it encourages more fellas to check themselves, Last week we had the girl version and that was also fantastic. For some reason women don't seem to get as embarrassed as men when finding lumps and telling their doctors. I wonder why that is? Maybe its because after having all our children, we learn to leave our dignity outside the health centre/hospital door and pick it back up on our way home PMSL I was shocked to learn that testicular cancer was most common in the 18-32 year olds. I would have thought it would be older than that.

I think i have most of my Christmas presents sorted now. I just have Glenn, Rebecca, Lloyd and dad left and of course Nik but i know what i'm getting him, i just haven't had chance to buy it yet. We are going for the tree next weekend, and i'm all excited and can't wait. I love decorating the tree :O) Its only then that it really starts to feel like Christmas.

I'm off now to watch IACGMOOH......Bye

A Bit Better Day

2008-11-27T13:29:00.000-08:00

I have felt a bit better today. Maybe its the combination of being busy and out of the house?
I got up early cos i had to take Dan to college and Josh to the dentist for a filling. Josh had his filling without an injection, brave or what? Then we went to Asda for a spot of Christmas shopping and i managed to get a few bits as well as Laurence and Edwards Christmas pressies.

We called at the bakers and bought a sandwich for Nik, who was working at Papplewick on some farm machinery. When we got there Max got all excited about the John Deere tractors and combine harvester. So, John took him a ride in the biggest tractor and Max was in his element. He looked so happy sat with John as he drove round the farm LOL Definately a tractor driver in the making!

After tea tonight Dan nipped out to MacDonalds and bought us all a Quality Street Flurry. I didn't eat all mine but what i had was lovely.

Now i'm sat watching my favourite....IACGMOOH....bliss!

Max Makes Us Laugh

2008-11-26T12:37:00.000-08:00

OMG! How funny is our Max? We were sat at the table having tea tonight and Max was drinking lemonade. He took a great big mouth full and he was having trouble swallowing it. His eyes were watering and he dribbled some out and down his top. We asked him if he was ok and he said, 'I'm fine, its all under control' PMSL we just burst out laughing at him and that just made him keep saying it over and over. You really had to be there LOL

I have been to the doctors today, I've felt so sick for the last two days that i had to try and get something. When i got there the doctor really didn't want to give me the tablets and suggested travel sickness bands (the ones you wear on your wrists with the bobble that presses on a pressure point on your wrist) i made her a deal. If she gave me the tablets, i'd go buy some bands and try them before the tablets. So, off i went to get my perscription and pick up a set of bands. OMG how shocked was I when i found out they were £7.99 There's absolutely no way i'm paying that for a bit of elastic with a bobble on it!! So it was a total waste of time going this morning cos i'm worried about taking the tablets incase they do some kind of harm and haven't even got any bands. I tried them on and they would have driven me crazy cos they were so tight. I'll just have to grin and bare it.

On a brighter note, the weather has warmed up a bit and i'm not feeling so cold.

Its Getting Colder!

2008-11-25T13:30:00.000-08:00

OMG! It just keeps getting colder. Its registering at 0c at the moment but i'm sure its colder than that.

Nik had gone to Nottingham and is there as i type. Daniel and Steve (his boss) have been fitting a kitchen over there and Steves car broke down on the way back. Nik has gone to trailer them in. Hope they're all ok and are keeping warm.

I booked my ticket today for the ferry to see my bestest friends for the new year. We are leaving on the 27th December and returning on the 2nd January (hope thats ok?) I looked on the ferry website and found the prices. £68 as a special or £125. I rang them up to check which fare it would be and told them i was paying with clubcard deals and they told me it had to be the £125.40 if it was going to be in deals! How mean is that? So, i've converted my deals and all i have to pay is £5.40!! So i'm a happy bunny :O)

A Cold Day

2008-11-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

Is it just my age or is every feeling the cold like me at the moment? I have a fire up the chimney back roaring away looking fantastic but i'm still flipping freezing! (OMG! i'm turning into my neshy bestest mate, Vanda!)

I've been to the midwife today and booked in with her, so thats a job out of the way. I also had my blood taken too.

Jake has been a sweetie today and rubbed my shoulders for ages when i moaned they hurt. Its nice to have a bit of TLC and he's so fantastic at back rubbing. It definately would be a fab career choice for him LOL

I've just watched IACGMOOH and aren't they all a bunch of moaners? I would like to think if it was me in there with someone who was driving me crazy, that i would just be able to ignore them and avoid all the bickering but probably being so close to each other and having nowhere to go for a bit of peace must cause all the arguements. I do like Nicola but i think she should try and ignore David and Timmy cos its really winding her up, especially when she was in the stinky tanks with Robert and Timmy and Timmy kept laughing that awful laugh and singing Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny! Arghhhhhhhhhh even i would have had to shout at him. Poor lass she looked freezing and couldn't stop shaking. I definately couldn't have done that at the moment. George gives all the arguements a wide birth while Esther seems to be coddling the upset ones a bit. I'm not sure who i want to win anymore LOL but i'm still enjoying watching it.

We tried to get Max to sleep in his Thomas bed last night and it did work for quite a while but around 11.30pm he woke up and try as we might (I had a go at sleeping on a mattress at the side of him and then Nik read to him) by 2am we gave up and put him in bed with us. Tonight he's back in his cot cos we're both too tired tonight.

Expecting The Unexpected :O)

2008-11-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

We've had a really lovely day today.

We got up early and took ourselves off to Ikea for breakfast Mmmm scrummy yummy! We had the full monty with a round of toast and 2 cups of coffee. What a way to start a cold day :O)

Then off we went around the store for a peek. We bought a new rug for the living room (Nik had burnt the old one when making the fire *tuts*) a tin of ginger & cinnamon biscuits and a weasel LOL

Then off we toddled to Decathalon, I did hum and ah over a pair of brown boots that would have looked fab under my jeans for the winter but at £40 they weren't cheap. Eventually i decided i'd rather have a pair of trainers that i can wear all year round, but didn't buy any cos there were none i liked.

Lastly we called in at Next to get Nik a hat for the winter. OMG I never thought buying a man a hat would be so difficult!!! He tried loads on and decided he like none of them. Now, Nik doesn't need the hat for going out, basically its just for working in to keep his noggin warm. After explaining this to him and him whining that hats give him head aches he said he didn't want one arghhhhhhhhhhh! Now i've been listening to him moan all week that he could do with a hat when he's outside cos he's feeling the cold (bless him, he is getting old LOL) so i wasn't having any of it. I made him try them all on again and managed to talk him into a black (good for dirty oily men) ribbed one with a lot of stretch in it. Theres absolutely no way it'll be too tight and its very minimalistic (for God sake its only to flipping work in!!!) so should be ok. Dunno if he'll wear it, he's still deciding PMSL. Then, (now this is the newsy bit) i had a look round the maternity clothing section for a pair of jeans. Yes, the news is I'm pregnant (8 weeks and 5 days) to baby number 5! Check out my pregnancy blog here.......

http://www.mybabynumberfive.blogspot.com/

I managed to pick up two pairs of lovely comfy jeans cos although its early days and i'm not really any fatter, i've been feeling so sick and i can't stand anything tight round my middle cos it makes me feel even worse. So i came out quite happy with my purchases :O)

On the way home we decided to call in at dads and tell him the news and when we got back home we told the boys and my mum and i called my bestest friend in the whole world, Vanda and told her seven would be coming to visit for new year! PMSL (PMSL is really easy now i'm pregnant so i shouldn't joke about it) She was shocked, suprised and then happy LOL thats when it finally sunk in :O)

Tonight we have decided we're gonna try and get Max to sleep in the Thomas bed. I know its gonna be hard cos he is so used to his cot but i think its time and it will be lovely to have our room to ourselves again (well, at least for a few months). So, fingers crossed it will go smoothly.

Josh's Hard Work

2008-11-21T14:44:00.000-08:00

Josh came home from college today with a window frame he has made. Its totally fab so i just have to post some photos of it :O)

Isn't it fantastic? He got an 8 1/2 for it but i definately think its a 10!

Silksy To Stay David Out!!!

2008-11-20T14:48:00.000-08:00

Got To Go!!

OMG How good is IACGMOOH this year? I tuned in tonight to see two new celebrities enter. Timmy Malley and David Van Day. Now when i first saw who was going in i thought.....'Oh no Timmy Mallet, he'll be a nightmare!' but i take it all back cos he settled in easily with the rest of the camp and didn't take it personally when the original celebrities wouldn't pay the rasom to get him and David released from their overnight imprisonment. Pity David didn't take it so good naturedly and as soon as he got released and entered camp he started causing arguements with everyone about not giving up their luxury items so he and Timmy could be released. So he definately gets my ....Get him out! vote.

Oh the other hand Silksy as Joe Swash calls him, has totally gone up in my estimations! I actually felt proud of him for doing so well in his two insect ridden bush tucker trials. Good old Silksy. Can i change my mind and keep him now? LOL

I'm still wanting Joe to win with Nicola second, Silky third and Simon forth. Lets see how good my prediction is at the end of the show.

Jakes School Photo

2008-11-18T13:15:00.000-08:00

Jake's school photo finally came and to his horror i'm posting it on here for the world to see (if they want to) He hates it but i think its quite good :O)

GET RID OF HIM!!!

I'm a celebrity wasn't as good tonight and i'm finding Robert Kilroy Silk extremely annoying. I don't know if its just clever editing to show him in a bad way or what but i had a bad feeling when i saw the first episode when they all met up in a hotel. When he introduced himself to Carly Zucker and asked her who she was, she replied 'I'm a personal trainer and fiancee to Joe Cole the football player', he stopped her in her tracks and said, 'Well we don't want to hear about that'. I was so annoyed for her. I know she's only a celebrity through her engagement (a wag as they call it) but i was disgusted at his rudeness which was so uncalled for. I definately want him to be the first one voted off.

We've had a lovely tea tonight. We had chicken salad wraps with sweet chilli sauce and chips. It was totally gorgeous. Its one of those meals that everyone eats (josh doesn't have the salad though) so made it an easy job for the chef (me) and hardly anything left, just a few bits of cucumber and a bit of tomato :O)

I'm Loving TV At The Moment

2008-11-17T13:15:00.000-08:00

OMG! I'm loving I'm A Celebrity on ITV. I watch it every year and even though the celebrities go down a grade each year i still enjoy watching it. I'm just sat here wetting myself laughing at Joe Swash eating a crocodiles willy and testicles while crying, heaving and being sick! and his opponent Nicola Mclean eating kangaroo testicles. Totally fantastic!!! I couldn't do it but it does make great tv.

Joe Swash

Nicola Mclean

In the end Nicola (page 3 model) won by eating 3 crocodile eye balls, 5 live silk worms, 3 live crickets, a lizards foot and a kangaroo testicle. OMG how brave! Or stupid LOL

We went to McDonalds at lunch time and with each large meal you get a BOGOF cinema ticket.

You have to go to the website enter the code, select a cinema and print off a ticket, then stick your sticker on to the print out. You have till the 30th June 2009 to use it too! We are gonna go and see Four Christmases, it looked really funny when we saw the trailer and i love comedies.

We also went to Bolsover today and i called in at the Ashgate Hospice charity shop to get my Christmas cards, while we were there Max saw some books and came away with 4 which we've been reading all day to him.

Nik went to parent interviews tonight with Jake (mostly good reports, Well done Jake!!!) and while he was out we had some suprise visitors. It was George (son of Annie & Tom, who had the house before us), Dorothy and their daughter Sandy and her husband. We told them when we bought the house that they must stay in touch and drop by when passing. So, they came today because Sandy had come to visit them from Scotland and wanted to meet us all and have a look what we'd been doing to the place. I think we got their approval LOL

Here I Am!

2008-11-14T13:27:00.000-08:00

Ok, back by popular request! ;O)

Sorry i haven't bloggled for a while but, to be honest, nothing interesting has happened. I didn't wanna bore the pants off you LOL

I have been to Shirebrook today to pay some cheques into the bank. One was for Daniel (his wages are paid monthly by cheque) and the other was for Max which was a kind donation of £100 from grandad that was given to him as a present last weekend.

We had a walk round the market and then called in to the bun shop for a cake. I got into the queue and the next time i looked up Nik was flirting with one of the girls behind the counter. I call him the Kroeneburg 1664 man (cos he'll flirt with anything in a skirt from ages 16-64) but i never mind cos i know its just 'him' and today he did really well cos, every woman love a man with a little one (ooh that sounds rude, i mean't to say little child) at the end of our trip to the bun shop she'd given him a free dinosaur biscuit for Max and 3 smartie cookies. All i had to pay for was a few teacakes and 3 sausage rolls!!

The postman has been to my bestest friends house and delivered my little present. I couldn't believe it actually got there today because i didn't post it till 4pm last night so it reached her in record speed. Maybe its cos i put two first class stamps on it (it got there twice as fast) because i thought it was quite heavy and i couldn't be bothered to queue up and have it weighed. Anyway I'm glad it made you smile :O)

A Cold Day

2008-11-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

Today has been really cold.

The temperature registered 5c at its coldest while those lucky people near Shanklin had 13c *tuts* ( or so my laptop says) and guess what Nik decided to do today, of all days? Let the fire go out so he could give it a good clean!! Luckily it wasn't out for long so, my worries about freezing to death were unfounded LOL

It was lovely and quiet in the house today because everyone was either at work, college or school so Max and I decided today would be a good day to watch a bit of House. Actually thats a lie because Max wouldn't budge from Fireman Sam so i had House on in the kitchen. I've only got episode 5 to watch from the current series and then i'm up to date. I think for my next 'catch up' i'm gonna start with Prison Break, everyone says its good, so i'll take a peek.

I have been for my doctors appointment today. The doctor checked my heat with her stethescope and took my blood pressure, all seemed fine. It never went funny while i was with her (its just like when i say the car is making a funny noise and Nik goes to investigate, inevitably the darn thing never makes the noise when he goes to listen, and then you get that questioning look which means 'Are you stupid?') Anyway the doctor has booked me an appointment for an ECG for tomorrow at 5.45pm so will update then. I have asked Nik to remind me to put on my best lacy push up bra (instead of plain and comfy) just incase i get a cute male doctor/male nurse PMSL

Thats about it for today cos i'm in the process of cooking tea which is jacket spuds with either cheese, beans, or tuna mayo (or any combination of the three) a good meal choice for a cold dark night. Maybe if i get chance i'll have a go later at HSMSHS and post a pic, if not, goodnight :O)

Trip to Dobbies

2008-11-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

We went to visit Nik's dad this morning. He had found me out some photos of Nik's mum, Shirley. There is some really lovely ones of her and i'm going to go to Asda and use their scanner to upload them to their photo machine and print them off. I asked him last week if he had got any of her because Nik only has a few and these were from an old undeveloped 35mm film that we found when we moved from Gorsethorpe and are poor quality. I want to get one framed so that Max nows he has another grandmother or 'Nanny' as we call her. I know its hard for him to understand so i wanted to be able to show him an album of photos of her so she isn't lost to him.

After we had been to see dad, Nik took us to MacDonalds for dinner Mmmmmm followed by a trip to Dobbies (garden centre and mini mall). They had all the Christmas stuff in so i bought a snowman sillouette for the window and a pot snowman and santa. Here they are....

Aren't they cute? I also got a Christmas tree bauble for Max with his name on and a glow in the dark solar system for his bedroom ceiling. I'm getting excited about trimming up the house for Christmas and this year i even know where all my decorations are!!!

Been suffering a bit this evening. My palpitations/irregular heartbeat has been going crazy and at one point i felt really tired and cold. Nik asked me if i wanted to go to the hospital but i didn't want any fuss. I will definately be making an appointment at the doctors tomorrow. If you imagine your heat beating

1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4.

Mine was going 1, 2, (missing 3) then a big 4th beat. 1, 2, (missing 3) then a big 4th beat.

Its getting me a bit worried now, so i'll try and get it sorted but it did stop on its own last time i had it.

Gonna go to bed now cos i'm tired, hopefully will feel better in the morning. Bye for now.

Lazy Day

2008-11-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Had a lovely lazy day today.

Had a lay-in till 9.30! OMG! and then just rattled around the house doing bits and bobs. I don't know about everyone else but these dark nights make me really lazy. My energy levels have dropped so low i think i should probably hibernate till spring PMSL. All i wanna do is sit in front of the fire eating junk food. I'm so tired i think i could quite easily fall asleep on a washing line in a hurricane. I'm not moaning, honestly but the dark nights seem to go on forever and the light ones come and go so fast, that if you blink you've missed them. Maybe i should invest in one of those happy light thingies LOL

We have just been out to get supplies from Tesco, we did it in 2 shops to maximise our coupons. I managed to get a pair of jogging bottoms reduced from £10 to £4 and a pair of black trousers for myself. I also picked up 2 Christmas pressies for Max. A Mack lorry from Disney's Cars and a numbers puzzle. The puzzle was only £4 and the lorry was reduced to £7.49. I had seen this in meadowhall last week and it was £15, so it was a real bargain today. It was a toy he's asked Santa to get him too, so everyones happy. Here they are.

Ok i'm off now to make tea. Its shepherds pie (idea was stolen from my phone call to Vanda last night)and i'm starving.

The Postman's been today!!

2008-11-07T12:13:00.001-08:00

I have had the best day today!

The postman bought me a parcel from my bestest friend in the whole world.

Here it is...

...and a closer one of Daniel Craig

It was a cd of James Bond tunes but she had made a new front cover for it saying, From Sandown with love and wrapped it brown paper which read, 'Top Secret' F.Y.E.O (For your eye only). Now this had my giggling straight away but the icing on the cake was when i turned it over and saw the back cover....

Vanda doesn't think Daniel Craig is gorgeous (i do) *TUTS* and she prefers (drools over) the hairy Pierce Brosnan! Can't see it myself. Anyway she calls Daniel Craig 'Mr Potato Head' so this is what she put on the back! Well i laughed so much i cried. I don't know how she thinks all this stuff up but i'm sure she has lots of help from her fab hubby Andrew.

Thank you for my lovely pressie, i think its brilliant!!! and thank you for the thank you card, not that any thanks were needed cos we loved having you all :O)

OMG! Last episode of House series 4!!

2008-11-06T15:09:00.000-08:00

I'm sat here crying like a baby (trying to do it quietly so Nik doesn't think i'm stupid).

How totally sad is the last episode of series 4. The one where Amber dies. I was only gonna watch the episode before it, where House is in a bus crash and has head trauma but it was so gripping that i just had to watch the last one before going to bed! I had to know what happened else i'd never have got to sleep. It was so sad and such a fantastically filmed episode :O)

I will be starting on series 5 tomorrow morning.

Vanda.... you have created a monster!!!!

Why did i have to say it?

2008-11-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

Ok thats the last time i say nothing much has happened!!!!

We had our tea early and Daniel was playing with Max on the floor in his college clothes (carpenter trousers) when Max started to scream 'somethings stuck in me' we all wondered what had happened until Dan remembered he'd left a pencil in his side pocket. This had stuck into the back of max's thigh when he'd sat on Dan's knee and the lead had snapped off in his thigh. I had to pull his trousers off and get the lead out while he was wriggling and screaming. It did all come out easily but then i was worried about poisoning from the lead. So, we phoned up NHS Direct and was told that pencils are all made with graphite now and not lead and it isn't toxic PHEW!
We put Max in a bath to soak his wound (hopefully clean it all out) and then wiped it down with antiseptic wipes. He's asleep now so hopefully he'll be ok in the morning.

I'll never moan nothing happens here again!

Look what we had for tea....Mmmmmm

2008-11-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

Can ya tell what it is yet?

Its a vegetable omlette!!

it was delicious :O)

(mushrooms, red onions, tomatoes, ham and cheese)

I took this photo of Max while i was cooking and couldn't resist putting it on here too.

What have i been upto?...Not much!

2008-11-06T07:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, i know i haven't blogged for ages and you would have thought that in all that time i would have done something interesting so i could share it with everyone on here. Sadly, i haven't. All i've been up to is the everyday mundane stuff. We didn't even go to a bonfire last night. I think that was probably my fault because i really couldn't get excited about going outside in the mud, fog, rain and cold to watch a few fireworks and a few bits of wood burning when, i could stay at home instead watching series 4 of House, while eating chocolate infront of my well stoked fire........see what i mean?

So what has everyone else been doing with themselves?

Nik has been working really hard making some huge double doors for a stable and going 'on site' to install barriers.

Dan has his car back now and is enjoying his freedom when he's not working or at college.

Josh is definately the star of the moment because he keeps doing the washing for me and is such a help when he isn't at college. He kept going on about wanting to learn to iron, so this morning when i had everything set up i gave him a hankie to have a go on. Sadly it turned out that ironing wasn't his 'thing' and he did make the following comment 'Its harder than it looks, isn't it?' so maybe now i'll get the appreciation i deserve when i've spent two hours on my feet with the ironing board for company LOL I'm not complaining though cos House did keep me rather good company today :OP

Jake has been doing ok lately and didn't fall back into his old self when our visitors had gone home, which was lovely. We still haven't heard fromthe hospital yet but the doctor said it wouldn't be long. He went to Newark with school on Tuesday night to the theatre to see a play called Bouncers but i can't manage to get out of him the storyline or if it was good (suppose from the lack of excitement about it i can take it, it wasn't that fantastic) but thats just Jake.

Max is always a little ray of sunshine but he still hasn't got over the fact that Vanda and Andrew has left him! LOL He can go for hours without mentioning them but then out of the blue he'll say, 'I want Vanda and Andrew back' I keep telling him we will be going to see them at their house when Santa has been but all he wants to talk about then is the ferry journey and the pirates (boats) he'll see PMSL

Well, thats it for today, no photos cos i can't think of anything for the word 'cling'. I promise i'll try harder tomorrow.

Hooray! We've gone wireless!!!

2008-11-02T15:23:00.000-08:00

At last we've got rid of the useless dongle and gone wireless, thanks goes to my bezzie mate Andrew who set it all up for us (even though he was on holiday) and got it all working wonderfully. I should now be able to upload some photo and join in with HSMSHS.

Its been a bit of a sad day at our house because today was they day our lovely visitors went back home :O( My bestest friend in the whole world (Vanda) her fabulous hubby (Andrew) and two of their gorgeous daughters (Gemma & Elena) have been staying with us since Wednesday and we have had a great time together.

We went to Creswell Crags on Wednesday and had a lovely walk around the lake. Here's Max wearing his new winter hat.

On Thursday we went to Meadowhall and shopped till we dropped. I don't think our visitors could get over the shock of how many shops there were (they live a sheltered life on the IOW), and we tried to go in as many as possible. Max was such a good little boy for us so he got a few treats from Boots and ELC.

Friday (Halloween) morning was spent in Ikea in Nottingham. Vanda, Andrew and Elena had been before but Gemma was an Ikea virgin so we broke her in gently by taking her for a fry-up breakfast in the restaurant. When we had filled our tummies we went on a rat hunt around the store, stopping for photos along the way.

Nik as Mickey Mouse

Max in the trolley

Me, Max and Elena
Andrew relaxing

ElenaThen we had a bit of a halloween party and did some apple bobbing!

Nik

Josh & Max

Saturday was a visit to Hardwick Hall and a trip to the cinema to see James Bond's Quantum of Solace, which was fantastic!

The Gang!

Vanda

I love this photo of Vanda, smiling, happy wearing more layers than an onion and with her camera in her hand. MY BEST FRIEND! Love ya lots sweetie xxxxx

So thats what we've been upto, since my last post. We all had a great time :O)

2008-10-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

OMG! How much do I hate this flippin dongle. Its pants, total and utter pants! Arghhhhh! I can’t get photos to upload and I have some fab ones and it takes me forever to sign in to blogger and then the connection goes up the swanny. So, here I am writing this in word and hoping that I can copy and paste it speedily to blogger before the signal disappears again *tuts* Roll on Tiscali!!

Today I fetched my new glasses, don’t get all excited about seeing them on a photo cos its never gonna happen (see above reason) and I love them, they are really comfortable. My darling Nik bought them for me (isn’t he a sweetie?) but nearly died when he found out the price £249. I didn’t intentionally pick the most expensive (honest) but I was having a problem getting a pair that was comfortable, because my right eye sticks out more than the other and I have a lump growing on the side of my eye socket (the sphenoid bone, I think its called) all the frames were either tight to my head and were cutting into my lumpy bit or they fitted too close to my eyes and my eye lashes on my bad eye were touching the lenses. So the lady kept getting more and more expensive ones out until the perfect pair came along, then you have to add the price of reactors and scratch coating and all that rigmarole and voila £249 is the total. It did make me laugh when we picked them up because the lady gave me a special cloth and a spray cleaner for free, like she was trying to justify the £249 spend LOL

I’ve been busy in the kitchen again today. I made a death by chocolate cake Mmmmm (Nik said it should be entered in the Southwell ploughing match cake competition, because it’s a winner) and its fabby dabby. I also harvested my beetroot and was sadly disappointed that I’ve only managed to get two jars full (all done by my own fair hands). They do say its quality, not quantity don’t they? Well its totally organic and pickled before the soil on it could dry. Can’t wait to try some on a cheese sandwich. Will post about it when I do. They recipe for the vinegar was meygrannies, passed on to Auntie Jean and now me, so I feel quite privileged ;O)

We had a curry for tea, Nik totally amazes me because he’s getting quite into it. When I first adopted him (normal people call it – ‘becoming a couple’) he only ate plain bland food, traditional English food etc…. but now he munches spag bol, curry, ratatouille, sweet n sour and I’m so proud of him.

We sat down after tea to watch Hugh Fernley-W’s River Cottage Autumn. Its my favourite show on tv at the moment and I can’t get enough of it. I would truly love to live the life he does. He makes it interesting and worth while. I loved the spring series where he got together with some people and helped them take over some waste ground near where they lived and turn it into a small holding. This time next year I should be the proud owner of a well stocked poly tunnel with vegetable coming out my ears. I hope i can do as well as he does but its definately harder than it looks.

Pardon the garden

2008-10-22T07:13:00.000-07:00

In the Daily Mail today there was the following poem which i just loved and reminded me of my garden.

Credit goes to Mrs Pam Davies Abbots Langley, Herts.

Pardon the garden.

My garden is a picture (i was thinking of The Scream).

Though things i haven't planted are the biggest ever seen.

My nettles are magnificent, my dandelions prolific,

My pots attract a multitude of flora, non-specific.

I swear i only turned my back a moment, no more.

And there it was, wilderness where garden lay before.

Once the lawn was benign, not something to be feared.

But now its got so long and next doors granny's disappeared.

Something black and slimy, and reared on steriods by the size,

Is aiming for my marigolds, I can't beleive my eyes.

Should i call the SAS or RSPCA?

Or shall i be humane and let it slither on its way.

I need a reaper and the grimmest would be best,

To get to grips with all this grass before the woodcocks start to nest.

Somewhere underneath it all, ants must surely lurk.

I don't think i'll discourage them, i know they love to work.

I'm thinking Serengeti when i cast my eye around,

So no suprise if Yeti or wildebeest is found.

I blame the weather centre for their lack of rain control,

It started with a shower or two and ended on a roll.

All i really wanted was a dahlia or such,

Maybe some lobelia, some heather, just a touch.

A lawn where i could sip tea and eat a cake or two,

It can't can't be all that much to ask, I'm not expecting Kew.

But when they hold the contest for the garden of the year,

I'll send them up the road because, they'll never find it here!

2008-10-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

Laurence

My Sunday

2008-10-20T07:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday started with a trip to the car boot sale where Max found loads of cars all for 50p each which was a hugh bargain as they are usually £3 each. Each one was like new so they were a fab find.
We then went to visit Ann, Glenn and the twins Laurence and Edward. We took some photos of Max holding Edward.
On the way home we called in at a ploughing match and Max got to sit on a Massey Ferguson tractor. He loved looking at all the different tractors working hard to make their competition acre the best.
Nik must have caught the bug while he was there because when he got home he went out and rotavatored the land to the side of the house. I'd had enough of the cold weather and wind at the ploughing match so i stayed inside and did a bit of baking. I made a totally gorgeous chocolate fudge cake (even though i do say so myself!) and some swirly biscuits as well as all the usual stuff. Nik came in and stoked up the fire and we stayed in front of it for the rest of the night all snuggly and warm watching tv while the wind howled outside.

My Sunday

2008-10-20T04:18:00.001-07:00

Max holding Edward

Max's car boot finds

A quiet day

2008-10-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

Been busy round the house today. Cleaned, dusted, tidied all the usual boring stuff along with doing 4 loads of washing and 3 hours of ironing. So i really haven't much to type about today...LOL

Daniel did go out for a drive in his car and he came home with a suprise for me.... A Wispa bar of chocolate, which i thought was really sweet of him. Dad (Nik's) came up to visit in the afternoon and we showed him all the stuff we'd been doing in the house. He loved Max's new bedroom and what we were doing in the conservatory.

I made ratatouille for tea served with chicken breasts. Jake finally came round to my way of thinking and asked if he ate his chicken would he be allowed back on the computer (the nice boy we had last week has returned again) so i said yes and peace and harmony was once again restored in our house (TFFT!) All the rest of the day has been spent chilling in front of the tv with Nik and Max :O)

Dan

2008-10-17T14:12:00.001-07:00

Here is a lovely photo of our Dan. He's never seen without his hat but it was a lovely photo and i just wanted to share it. You can even see his dimple in his cheek, which i love to tease him about.

Max in the bath

2008-10-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

I took some lovely photos of Max in the bath tonight. He had us in hysterics because he kept lying down and saying he was a 'hipopotarus' wallowing in the mud. I asked him to show me his 'happy' face and this is what he did. He was also calling us nasty ogres and telling us to go away and kept roaring like a lion too. I am bias but he is gorgeous and he gives me such pleasure.

We've ordered Tiscali today!!!

2008-10-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

We've ordered Tiscali today. Wow!, about flippin time i hear you say ...LOL . Thanks to the wonderful advice and suggestions from our Vanda, Lisa & Liam. Took us most afternoon as we had to do internet and telephone research on a few companies for price comparisons. Tiscali finally won, so next week we should get delivery of our router and away we'll go.

Today on HSMSHS the word is 'bake' so here are my 3 photos. Not as good as yesterday but i can't be sexy everyday! PMSL

Todays word is 'Hold'

2008-10-16T14:27:00.002-07:00

I hope you like my interpretations of 'hold' (from HSMSHS).....ROFLMAO how rude am i? I must be getting brave in me old age, i must admit i am quite impressed with the outcome! but Nik does seem to have a bigger cleavage than me which is slightly worrying LOL

Not really done anything super interesting today, just cleaned, cooked and went to Mr T's. Was really upset to find that the Mansfield stores have changed their MOC policy again :O( The latest in their many rules are ONLY 5 MOCS ALLOWED PER TRANSACTION!!!!!!! I went armed with £26 pounds worth and was only able to use £9 worth (one of them was for a £6 airfreshner). I did manage to pick up 2 pairs of trousers for myself reduced from £10 to £6 and a pair of slippers too. Max got a toy car so, that was both of us happy LOL

The day was going ok till Jake came home and laughingly announced that he doesn't wanna eat meat anymore but, did not give us a reason as to why. I already cook at least 3 different dinners at teatime so i wasn't well pleased. Then he managed to rip the bin bag on the way out of the front door, dropping cottage cheese all over the place. All was well after that until i shouted everyone for their tea. Jake asked what had i done for him (oh god! i really can't explain the tone he asked in) and i immediately saw red. I said sweet 'n' sour chicken and boiled rice. He went on to say he didn't want to eat meat and that he'd just have rice, so i told him to eat it or lose the internet. He chose to lose the internet and is now making our lives a misery. I think he may even be on a food strike, but i am totally sick of him and his stinking attitude so i am not pandering to his latest whim or the fact that he loves to try and make my life difficult at every turn. Anyway enough said, rant over LOL I keep smiling.

We have been looking in to getting a new internet connection/provider and God is it a flippin minefield. I have some compare printouts that i got from the internet and i'm still no wiser arghhhhhhhhhhhh!!! I didn't realise there was so many different download speeds and limits. I think i'm gonna have to give the man who fixed my laptop in the summer a call cos i seriously don't get it at all (must be me age).

I think Nik's a bit miffed cos the Vanquish recovery has been cancelled, and he was looking forward to it, i think. So sorry Andrew, no photos of James Bonds car for me blog :O( The man went yesterday to fetch it himself.

House in the middle of the M62 motorway

2008-10-15T05:33:00.000-07:00

Just passed this fantastic farmhouse in between the carriageways of the M62. When the M62 was built the owner must have refused to sell it and so the motorway was built around it. Must be a pain in the bum to get out the drive though. Nik says it has a tunnel that goes under the motorway for its entrance/exit. Must be a noisy place to live and privacy must be a problem too. I just had to post a photo of it.

The Ginsters Pasty Man!!

2008-10-15T05:29:00.000-07:00

Heres Nik filling his face with a Ginsters Cornish Pasty when we stopped for a lunch break.

Blackpool Tower??

2008-10-15T05:25:00.000-07:00

Ok i may need some help. When we got to Blackpool we saw this tower and Nik assures me its the 'official' Blackpool one. Me thinks he's telling porkies!

Even more photos.....

2008-10-15T05:10:00.001-07:00

These photos are especially for my bestest friend, Vanda, who is probably still laughing at me LOL :oD We are now on our way home but don't know where we are, I can see signs to turn off motorway for Old'ham' (thats what the Gammon glitch would be now if you've still got some left in your freezer! PMSL

I must have known the word today at HSMSHS would be 'stripes' because both Max and I are wearing t-shirts with stripes on them!! Oh and for all the safety concious people who may read my blog, the photo of Max was taken when the car was parked LOL

Can't believe Vanda hasn't got a photo of a barcode on her blog, as they are a hobbies of ours (he-he) It was on max's Chocolate animal biscuits. There was even a stripey tiger on the front of the bag!!!

More stripes

2008-10-15T02:57:00.000-07:00

Stripes

2008-10-15T02:52:00.000-07:00

Here are my stripes for today, taken on my journey to Blackpool (happening as i type).

Project - Christmas Tree

2008-10-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

I thought you might like to see a photograph of the Christmas tree we have grown from a seed (its approx. 3 months old). Currently it is about 2" tall and it has started to branch out a bit now. Still don't think it'll hold a bauble for this Christmas though LOL will keep updating its progress on here for all to see.

Spider cake

2008-10-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

Thought i'd post a photo of my spider cake seeing as i've done nothing remotely interesting today but play in my kitchen LOL

My cakes

2008-10-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

Here's the result of all my hard work today.

'Dip'

2008-10-14T15:20:00.000-07:00

Here's my photograph for the word 'dip'. Sorry its not very original but i did go through a lot to get this picture (a lot of Jammy Dodgers!) the things i do in the name of art.

Baking day

2008-10-14T13:26:00.002-07:00

Oooh i have been a busy bee today. I cleaned house, Talked to my lovely Vanda on the phoned and went shopping to Mr. T's. When i got back it was time to get baking. Today i made granny buns, iced victoria sponge, cherry muffins and a big batch of gingerbread men (they sold well last time) The 3 big lads love them as much as Max does. I also made a big pan of beef stew, which was enjoyed by all (except Max and Josh who had Turkey dinosaurs and chips *tuts*).

I had a fabulous treat tonight.......a big bath!!!........it might not seem it to you but i loved it. We have to try and cut back on water as we are metered and run a septic tank so showers are the thing to have at our house. It does tend to get full quickly with the 6 of us. I stayed in it for nearly an hour and came out looking like a prune. Now, i was gonna put a photo of me in the bath on here to represent my interpretation of 'dip' but i didn't want anyone who came across my blog to feel that they had to call Greenpeace!!! ROFLMAO

Got to have an early night tonight as we are off to Blackpool on a car recovery tomorrow and are setting off at a disgusting hour!!! Will take my camera in case a photographic oportunity arises.

Max & the heron

2008-10-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here is Max with QMC heron in the background. He was really cheeky and wasn't afraid of all the people walking along the bank or cycling past him. I would have loved to see him catch a fish.

2008-10-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

We eventually got to QMC hospital and blow me if they hadn't shut down the flippin multi storey carpark!!!! We did 3 laps round the whole hospital which is absolutely massive because its a teaching hospital (no Vanda i didn't see anyone who looked like Dr. Gregory House LOL) finally we had to ask someone where to park as time was ticking on. We parked the car and had to walk across a bridge over a river and as i looked over to the bank to show Max the ducks, what

did we see? A cheeky heron waiting for its lunch to swim by! Take a look at my photo, i think you'll have to zoom in a bit to see him (centre of shot).

We got into the waiting room at 2.30pm (my appointment was for 3pm) and she didnt call us in till 5pm (thats why i really didn't wanna take Max cos its such hard work keeping a 2.5 year happy for such a long time, bless him though, cos he was that bored he fell asleep. I finally had my check up and i told her i was having headaches and all the usual blurb and she had a feel round and asked me about a lump thats grown on the side of my head near where the arms of my glasses are and some other stuff and then she decided i need a MRI scan to check if its started to grow again so, that means another trip back that i could really do without! Then on the way home we got stuck in rush hour traffic and it was quite late when we got home and i still had to make some tea for us arghhhhhhhhhh what a day!

But on the good side i did have a text message from Vanda saying that Postman Pat had delivered her a rude gingerbread man and that made me smile.

2008-10-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

Today was a rubbish day, in terms of the fun content it contained. We were supposed to be getting mum to babysit Max while Nik took me to QMC hospital for my yearly check up on my eyes. For anyone who is interested and doesn't know the story i have a benign tumour behind my right eye which makes my eye stick out more than the other one, gives me headaches and is generally a big pain in the bum. The docs can remove some of it and have done so in the past but cannot remove it all because it grows round my optic nerve. Thing is, the blinkin thing keeps growing back *tuts* So anyway, back to my story (thats if you haven't nodded of already LOL) Mum was gonna have Max and Dan was gonna bring Jake home from school on his way home from work. One problem though, Dan's car still isn't back from having its oil leak repaired so we had to have a re-think. We took Max with us and granny fetched the lads back home. So off we set, stopping at MacDonalds for a Happy Meal on the way. Here is Max eating it en-route. Deffinately fast food if your eating it on the M1!! PMSL We went via Ikea cos my lovely Nik wanted to get me a cupboard to go under my new computer desk (aren't i lucky?) So while we were there we just had to have dinner, Mmmmm yummy meatballs and chips with gravy and lingonberry sauce.

2008-10-13T02:59:00.000-07:00

After rotavating we went into the Marks & Spencer unit to have a bit of a clear out. We had a big bonfire to get rid of all the burnables. Mark, Beverley, Rebecca and Lloyd came for a visit which was lovely and i had big cuddles from the children. We came in for a quickie tea of cheese toasted sandwiches and when we'd all had a shower and were chillin i phoned my bestest friend in the whole universe (Vanda) for a nice chat.

2008-10-13T02:49:00.000-07:00

When we got home we had a bite to eat and decided to do a bit of rotavating in the garden. Here i am on our little tractor (isn't it cute?) The garden behind me was waist high in weeds again *tuts* but it soon made short work of it. Confession time.... I didn't actually do the rotavating or drive the tractor, i just posed on it LOL

Sunday

2008-10-13T02:40:00.000-07:00

We started Sunday morning off with a trip to the local carboot sale. Max did really well out of it and for £2.00 he got a Fireman Sam 4x4 (Tom's car if your a fan), Brum, Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo and Sally, Doc & Luigi from Disneys Cars movie. Well done Max! and here he is with his 'Treasures of the day'. Looks happy about it doesn't he? LOL

My squirrel

2008-10-11T23:57:00.000-07:00

If you look really closely you can see the squirrel that we saw in Clumber park. I wish i had more zoom on my camera. He danced around on the grass for ages and wasn't one bit scared of us.

Conkers

2008-10-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

On the bridge

2008-10-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

Clumber Park Bridge

2008-10-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

Nik & Max near the lake

2008-10-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

Nik & Max in Clumber Park

2008-10-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

Clumber Park

2008-10-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well, its been another lovely sun shiny day here today so we decided to go for a bike ride.

We drove to Bryan's house (Nik's ex Father-in-Law) who lives in one of the estate houses near the entrance to Clumber Park and parked our car. Before we set off Bryan showed us round all his different breeds of chickens he's recently got. There were lots of fancy ones and some really big ones that i think were called Jersey Giants. He took Max to see the baby chicks in the hatchery, Max thought it was fantastic. Alpacas graze in the field at the side of Bryans house and we stood watching them with Max who kept saying they were sheep. The Alpacas are really cute animals and look really fluffy and cuddly and have totally adorable faces.

We eventually set off through Clumber Park and cycled round the lake which was full of canadian geese, ducks, swans and cygnets. We saw a squirrel at the bottom of a tree and i managed to take a photo of it before it ran away. Its really funny because we live in an area surrounded by beautiful parks and countryside but never go see it and take it for granted. I think i'm going to try and get out more on the bike (getting fit in the process) and 'explore' a bit of it.

Not done anything interesting since we got back, just boring, cooking and ironing. Gonna go put Max in the bath now and settle down with the tv. Could do with a rubber ring to sit on though cos me poor old bums killin!!! PMSL

My Lovely Day

2008-10-10T13:11:00.001-07:00

I have had such a fun day today. We went to Shirebrook (me, Jake & Max) to pay a check in the bank for Nik. Friday is a market day, so we decided to have a walk round while we were there. It was the same usual stuff/stalls except for a bicycle stall that i'd not seen there before. Guess what caught my eye? They had Bike trailers (made by Halfords) that children can sit in and be towed behind an adults bike. Well, i've always wanted one for Max so i asked how much they were. The single child one (seats 1 kid) was in red and was £45 and the double child one (seats 2 kids) was in blue or yellow and was £50! Well i'm sure the one that i had seen in Decathalon was over £100 so these were an absolute bargain. I called Nik to ask him what i should do and i decided to go for it, so i bought the double blue one so Max would have room for taking some toys with him on rides.

This afternoon Jake and I took Max out in it for a test drive to Bolsover play park. It was a lovely ride down Oxcroft Lane, passed the pigs, on the corner that Max loves so much. We pulled in to the side when a shiny red tractor needed to get passed and in thanks the tractor driver honked his horn and waved to Max. He loved riding in the bike trailer with his stuffed toy friends, Melman giraffe, Eddy elephant and Funky monkey and had loads of fun running off his energy on the swings/slides and climbing frames. On the ride back home he fell asleep so it must be comfy.

When i got home i realised how unfit i am. My poor bottom felt like some one had given it a good kick and left their foot up there! PMSL. Jake on the other hand was no different than when we first set off!!! Oh what i wouldn't give to be young again. My brains willing most of the time but my body just says 'No!'

Jake has been really lovely to me today, he kept me company in Shirebrook, then came on the bike ride with me and we had a fab time teasing each other and to top it off he's just dried my hair for me. Thanks Jake :O)

I have taken some lovely photos today so, i'm hoping to upload them for all to see. Fingers cross that blogger will let me as i have been having trouble again with it.

Good News!

2008-10-09T09:37:00.000-07:00

Just had a phone call from my health centre. It was about my latest cervical smear test and to tell me that the results were negative 'Phew' I have been quite worried cos i had the test done about 10 weeks ago and have heard absolutely nothing (you usually get a letter saying if the result is good or bad after approx. 6 weeks). I have to be tested on a yearly basis because 4 years ago pre-cancerous cells showed up on a test and i had to have a minor operation at the colposcopy unit. It wasn't one bit painful and there wasn't any pain afterwards but the 'no sex for 6 weeks' nearly flippin killed us! Anyway, thats another test out of the way for another year.

I took Josh and Jake to the opticians today for an eye test and both boys got away without needing any specks. Nik and i had our tests last week (Niks first ever test and he needs a pair of reading glasses! Bless him, he's showing signs of age now PMSL) so that just leaves Dan.

While we were down in the village i decided to call in to the hairdressers to get Max's hair a trim. Max is my 2.5 year old and he has a gorgeous head of curls but, they were getting a bit out of control and he looked like he belonged in the Hairbear Bunch (to the younger people who my read this, its an old cartoon where the characters all have Big afro's). Well, he really didn't like it. We had tears and tantrums and for some reason when he feels threatened/scared Max roars like a lion!? So, if you can imagine a curly haired child stripped to just his trousers (because he wouldn't wear a gown and i didn't want him to have to sit in the car all the way home in a hairy shirt) sat on my knee having a hair cut with a tear stained face and roaring at the poor girl like a angry lion while shaking his head in every direction possible, you'll get the picture. The minute he was finished the girl gave him a lollypop and then he was all smiles and 'Thank-you very much' He does make me laugh.

Nik has been really busy again in the house today. He has finished the dividing wall in the conservatory (so that i can have a seperate utility room) and has filled it with insullation. He even go round to putting the UPVC step in on the french doors and they now look lovely. I have taken some photos and will upload them asap (i have trouble getting them to upload on here).

Anyway i must make the tea now so i'll call it a day....bye for now.

Gingerbread Vanda

2008-10-09T00:10:00.001-07:00

Isn't she cute?