Pie Blurb

Release

2012-01-13T13:55:00.000Z

Today I thought: I shall update pieblurb. So here I am! I have no plan for this post, but I think it'll be positive.

After what was starting to seem like an eternity of frustration, Isaac and I are enjoying life together again! I think that individually we were both doing all right, but together was strained and down right unpleasant at times. The past few days have been nothing short of blissful. We've met mummies with similar attitudes to parenting choices (YAY!), I've seen old friends, done two liver flushes, had a haircut and made plans, Isaac is enjoying nursery lots, we're settled in our routine with going to Daddy's house and the atmosphere at home has changed significantly, something has lifted.

It's happened since he was so poorly (Isaac had a cold then was left with a very chesty cough for nearly four weeks before, during and after Christmas). That one was a milestone; it's the most poorly he's ever been and for the longest. I remember reading something in Raising a Vaccine Free Child a while ago about children changing during illness, exactly what escapes me, but I absolutely see what she means. I know he's growing and developing all the time, usually it passes by unnoticed until we see someone we haven't for a while and they comment and I reflect, but this is obvious to me even though I spend almost every day with him. I can't pinpoint it either, which is fine. I'm just happy that we've found our groove!

When I lived with Isaac's father there was always so much to do! There was ALWAYS are huge pile of laundry, the never-ending stack of dishes, lots of rooms to be vacuumed/mopped/dusted/cleaned, little girl's and boy's rooms to be tidied, beds to change, [huge] lawns to mow, garden growth to tackle, plans for weekends to be made & carried out, the weekly food shop, meals to be planned and cooked, children to ferry around - I've made myself tired just remembering! I don't at all resent that I did these things and, for the most part I loved doing them. Big up to all the mamas that still do it daily! My point is that it's taken a good six months to acclimatise to there being only mine and Isaac's requirements. I felt useless for a long time, then frustrated, then bored and then I went through a whole phase of simply not giving a f***. At last I've struck a balance, mellowed a bit and the world feels right again.

I don't think though, that I'd be where I was without the love and support of my amazing family and friends. I'm so very grateful and humbled to have many wonderful people in my life...and that they all still care! You all know who you are; whether you live down the road or bloody miles away, whether I see you once a week, once a year or rarely anywhere other than Facebook, I wouldn't be without any of you. And of course, my little sausage himself. Isaac. For a very long time I honestly believed I couldn't live with him on my own and that he'd be much better off with someone else. Well folks, today I close the door on those redundant affections. I'm DONE!

Nursery

2011-12-08T15:54:00.001Z

I've been meaning to write about Isaac starting nursery since he did last month, but haven't got round to it. Today was his sixth session and I was asked to fill in a little bit on a sheet for his first five sessions record which was the catalyst I needed to prod me into action.

Click to enlarge

I had originally wanted him to go to a different nursery, but I missed out on getting him a place by two lousy weeks! Imagine the frustration when I phoned up! So that's it for the year now. I shall see about getting him on the waiting list for when he turns three, but for now he attends our local day nursery twice a week for four and half hours at a time.

We went to look round the nursery in early November. As soon as we got there he was off! Quite happily played with the toys while I went on a tour with the admin lady. We arranged his two two hour settling in sessions for the following week and those went just fine. The tears started when I picked him up from his first session. The next time we went he saw the nursery gates and clung to me like a limpet shaking and crying that he didn't want to go and he didn't like it. It was so horribly traumatic for both of us that I wondered if I'd made the right decision - I went home and cried for half an hour straight and I know it took him a long time to settle that day.

Since then it has been easier to drop him off at each session and today he wasn't upset at all!

He LOVES nursery now. When I pick him up he happily jabbers away the whole walk home about what he's been doing and what he likes. He made cakes today! The staff all love him and comment on how good his manners are. He thanked one of them for changing his pooey nappy today! Apparently they've been trying to take photos of him playing, but every time he sees the camera he scrunches his face up in his funny grin or he doesn't see the camera and looks deadly serious while concentrating. Bless.

So, it seems to be going well. PHEW!!

And we're still friends, he even tells me he loves me now *mummy gush*

Since we last saw you...

2011-11-10T15:18:00.001Z

Isaac's had a birthday

we've been to some play groups

we've taken Rinny for walks

Isaac's kicked some footballs

we've hung out with friends and tried on their sun glasses [post cake]

Isaac' been to a Halloween party with his sisters

and we've done a fair bit of mucking about

We've also had our fair share of tantrums, snotty noses, bloody lips, nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!s, heart ache and tears. It's all about balance, right?

Life is still settling. We'll get there and hopefully my words will come back too and I can articulate myself again. Until then eh?

Pre birthday update

2011-08-26T13:54:00.001+01:00

Hello pie fans!

Well, it's been a few weeks at least...actually a whole month (again, I know) since any Isaac related news. So here goes.

Isaac is now TEN DAYS shy of his second birthday. WTF? WHEN? When did my little baby boy suddenly nearly become TWO?! Best get on with birthday presents and cake!

Until a few weeks ago he didn't like slides. He could climb up them, but then didn't know how to do the next bit and no amount of Mummy help would teach him. Then we were at a local messy play morning (that happened to have a slide) and he observed a little girl's technique. Now? There's no stopping him! Literally. He spent half an hour sliding that day. The next time we went to a kids play area he spent another good half hour sliding. He can't get enough! Everywhere that has a slide must be slid upon. He loves the sliding. Nuff said.

He has lots of new words and ways to express himself now too. He says penguin! But called them pengas (with a soft g). TOO CUTE! It's because we have a lovely book (Me by Emma Dodd) that we read at night. I ask him which one he wants and it's usually either 'penga' or 'beebee' (Star Baby by Margarent O'Hair). He loves his bedtime stories.

And talking of bedtime. I got him a duvet this week to see how he gets on with it. I plan to take the side off the cot soon and want him to be used to sleeping without his sleeping bags before we take the plunge. They've been so incredibly helpful, but I think it's time to move on, especially as I'm starting to think about potty training...but not quite yet.

Other favourite words include: "Mum! Look!" "Where go?" accompanied by open hands gesticulating 'where?' "Cake" remains a firm favourite. Anyone would think that the boy lived on cake and cake alone. I do feed him a range of foods (when he'll eat them)! Cake seems to be a general term for food or being hungry. He knows "cook" now too and takes great pleasure in telling me that I'm cooking. There are loads, seriously. They all make me smile and some of them make me chuckle. He's ace.

He sees me with my Mummy bag of endless pockets and depth and apparently decided that he wants one too! He purloined this one of mine during an unpacking fit one day and gets very upset if he has to go anywhere without it. I decided I didn't really like it being dragged everywhere because it's one of my favourites so I have made him one of his own in a messenger style. It's pretty good, even if I do say so myself. It will get its own glorious post when I get around to taking pictures of it!

This was taken last Sunday on a walk up at Shipley Country Park. Yet another lovely place to walk the dog and take Isaac to see greenery and wildlife. He loved looking at the birds and the big pond there. He's very good at walking and walks nearly all the way into town without wanting to be picked up now. That's pretty good for one with such little leggies! We still use the hip seat, but much less now as he boldly strides about checking everything out.

The best thing I've bought for him to play with this summer has been his sand and water table from ELC. Hands down. He'll spend an hour at this thing playing with the sand. The water didn't do so well and ended up as part of the sand, so now it's just sand in there. Admittedly he chucks the sand all over the garden, but hey, he's having fun. That's the main thing.

He still loves his books and we've snuck in a few episodes of Timmy Time on the BBC iPlayer. My GAHD he LOVES TT. Seriously. Then again I love it too. It's beautifully made, has simple story lines without (like a lot of kids TV) being horrifically dumb and makes us both chuckle. We love how different the characters are; even the two grown up characters in it are a hoot!

Enjoying Mummy's hairband.

On a more serious note: he seems to be adapting well to our new house and living without Daddy. They see each other every other evening and every other weekend. He gets to see his sisters a fair bit too which is important because he loves them so very much. It's important for them to see him too, of course. I'm sure the change in circumstances will have affected him, but I'm doing all I can to make things right for us. We're still busy meeting up with people (when parcel collection doesn't scupper our plans gah!) and going out to parks and on dog walks etc. Busy keeps us happy. He met his French cousins for the first time last week which was great - they all got on famously!

We're headed south this weekend to scatter Grandpa over the Solent and pay our final respects. It will be emotional I'm sure. The whole family will be together again which will be nice. Blended family is a strange one, but seemingly the norm these days. Isaac will grow up not knowing any different. For that I am grateful; he won't remember Mummy and Daddy being together so less pain there than if he did...I hope? Only time will tell.

Anyhoo, back to happy thoughts of the all important second birthday! See you next month? Or maybe before...

Happy birthday Grandma

2011-08-04T08:27:00.000+01:00

This lady right here is my Grandma, my Dad's Mum. I never got a chance to meet her and my Dad didn't know her for very long either; she died when he was seventeen. What a trauma for him! Imagine having your mother ripped away from you at a time in your life when you're still finding your feet.

I think she has a beautiful face and I can see a lot of my father in her. I like her laughter lines and her lovely smile. I wonder what she was looking at when this picture was taken? I love the spots on her clothes and how dark her eyes are.

This is the only picture of her that I have and I've had it for a good few years now. She's been all over the country with me and has made me feel happy when I've looked at her.

I wonder what she was like? Dad tells me that she would have loved me very much. I think I have her cheeks.

She would have been one hundred years old today. So happy birthday to you Grandma that I never met. I hope we do one day.

A note on crochet (and a bit about knitting)

2011-07-26T19:29:00.001+01:00

I have cancelled my subscription to The Art of Crochet. There are several reasons for this.

1. I have completed all of the square patterns at least once.

2. I'm not so keen on the other patterns in the magazine.

3. I will have very limited space in my new house for storage of crafty items.

4. I don't think I can learn much more from it.
5. I prefer square patterns from 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton and ones I find online. More imaginative and purty.

I've achieved what I set out to and feel no remorse about not completing the throw. I have The Art of Knitting after all! One subscription is enough for anyone. I only know the basics of knitting so I shall see how I feel about it when I can confidently say the first four things listed above about it.

On a crochet related note, I have made another amigurumi! Meet Barry.

He's a bit cute inne? He was made for my friend Kate because she loves penguins...a lot. He's another Lion Brand pattern (link here, you'll need a [free] account to view it).

In other yarn related news: the sweater I started for Isaac in January. You know...the one that nearly made it to finished item status? Well, it's never going to be finished because now it's TOO BLOODY SMALL for him. Plus it's summer. So meh. Nevermind. I learned that sweaters aren't as hard as I thought they would be and that knitting with circulars isn't as bad as I originally thought. R.I.P. lovely jumper. I've edited my Ravelry queue so I should ctually find myself achieving more, especially if I finish what I cast on and don't buy yarn unnecessarily! I'm told it's manageable. We shall see!

Green grass, blue sky and a picnic

2011-07-26T14:22:00.001+01:00

Click image to enlarge

We really are lucky that there is such beauty so close to where we live. We arranged to meet my friend Steph and her daughter for the morning at Carsington Water as our sprogs seem to be nap synced. There are three walks you can do; we opted for the gentle walk as Steph is due any day now with Daniel (can't wait to meet you little man!) There was lots of chasing each other around and "this way!" and "a bee!" It was so lovely to get out into the sunshine and pretend I was by the sea a little bit. I even managed to take Rinny who loved it and didn't bugger about at all! A dog's gotta get out sometime, right?

And now for something completely different

2011-07-19T13:37:00.001+01:00

Yes. A new chapter in my life is starting. One where I am no longer married to and no longer living with Isaac's father. I've debated writing about this heavily with myself and have come to the conclusion that I am going to want to remember how I felt at the time and so here I am.

I honestly and truly thought thirty was just a number, life goes on, one year older and nothing changes, right? Oh how wrong can a person be? Thirty, for me, was an epic milestone. A time for massive reflection, consideration, decision making and action. There are things I know in my heart to be true that I've ignored for a long time and things I thought would go away and haven't.

As far as ending my marriage goes, well, it was the single most difficult thing I've ever done. So many ripples with endless possibilities. It's not as if my decision only affects me and certainly wasn't one made lightly. In the beginning I was really really angry, then really really sad. Now I've made peace with it (this isn't one of those posts so don't expect juicy details) and am looking forward to the future. We have an Isaac plan which looks pretty bloody good and means he'll get to see lots of his Daddy. It's not as traumatic as I thought it would be, now, and we're both very positive about the decisions we've made. It's down to people outside of the decision to accept our choices. They don't have to understand it or even like it. Just accept it and move on. We are.

As for Isaac? I know he won't grow up with Mummy and Daddy living together as a happy family unit and this is what breaks my heart. Even now as I write my eyes prickle. I swore I wouldn't make him feel what I did as a result of my parent's separation. I can't guarantee that, but through communication and honesty I'm hoping he'll understand and not hate me for it.

So now I return to a me almost forgotten. It's something getting to know her again. I thank each and every one of my friends who supports me in my decision and loves me for who I am, even though I lost sight of that a long time ago.

That covers all I wanted to. Anything else is not yours to know.

Boy in a box!

2011-06-22T09:01:00.000+01:00

You know the general consensus that the box is always better than the toy? Well, here's all the proof you need.

And then it was June

2011-06-21T13:25:00.000+01:00

Where does the year go? I blink and I haven't posted anything for over a month (again, I know). I've been sorting out pictures this morning and the month of June so far is looking shockingly empty Isaac photo-wise. The ones I do have are taken on my phone, so not the greatest quality.

Isaac continues to be a source of joy and happiness for me. He's always up to something hilarious which is really him learning, but could just as easily be mistaken for him trying to make me laugh. His latest favourite thing is a battered old Roses tin from Halloween a few years past. He likes to sit in it, wear it as a hat, throw it around and generally terrify the dog with the loudness of it. Poor Rinny looks like she's going to have a heart attack sometimes, but how to and indeed why kerb the enthusiasm of a child? It's tremendously difficult to snap him these days so most pictures are a blur of Wiggler!

He's recently discovered his pockets and loves to put things in them. We recently went on a short shopping trip to a local home store and I asked him if he wanted to take some toys with him. Off he went to find George Pig (borrowed from Roisin) and his little brontosaurus and put one in each pocket.

He's much more precise with a pen now and his scribbles are very controlled. I'm interested to see what he will draw when he'd older as I understand that boys draw differently to girls, not so much the things/objects.

He's in his own big room now so all his toys are up there with him. He really loves it and it means we have mostly reclaimed the living room! It also means his sisters' room stays tidy when they aren't here.

He's such a clever little boy. I know I'm going to say things like that because he's my son, but he really is a clever one. He always gives us his plate when he's finished. He's more than capable of drinking out of a regular glass at meal times. He loves to put his books and toys away when he knows it's time to do s. His words are coming along now and he'll try to copy me when we're reading a book. He particularly enjoys Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Goodnight Moon, Star Baby and For Just One Day. He still loves his Richard Scarry book and we keep that in his room so we can ready him different bed time stories. I'm getting very excited about reading him longer bedtime stories as he get older, bigger books like The Chronicles of Narnia, Peter Pan, Just So Stories. Then there are Grimm's Fairy Tales, Aesop's Fables etc and the myriad new books in the children's literature section of the book shops that I haven't even begun to explore yet...there a just so many truly great books that I've known and loved that I want to share with him! I think it's important to share stories and toys from times gone by because, if I'm honest, kids culture these days scares me a little in that it seems to treat children like imbeciles, not little people who are going to be adults one day. I just hope his love of stories and books continues.

Trying on hats in H&M

He has a very serious side too where he's desperately trying to tell me something, but he just doesn't have the words yet. Gesture helps us a lot in understanding him and he understands pretty much everything we say to him. His attention span is phenomenal for one his age; he'll quite happily sit and play with the same thing very intently for up to twenty minutes! I was playing with him on & off with the same thing for an hour the other day! Of course there are times when he'll pull out every single toy in his room and not be interested in one of them for longer than thirty seconds. Some of his favourite toys include cars, dollies, his push along clacky dinosaur and his farm animals.

He likes walking around the shops with me; he'll chat to the shop assistants, peruse rails of clothes (with some of the cutest/funniest faces you've ever seen) and sample textures and smells, he likes to take things off shelves and then re-stack them - he never leaves a mess. I'm really a very lucky Mama! He LOVES the shoe department the most, particularly massive high heels! I guess it's because he doesn't see them at home so they are a novelty.

HE EATS VEGETABLES NOW! Almost forgot that! How? Simon and I have decided to change our diet and eat more simply during the week (steamed vegetables, grains and a simple sauce) so we thought we'd implement the change on Isaac too and so far no complaints. He's eaten butternut squash, ASPARAGUS!, potato, carrot, and green beans! We are most pleased. He also like lentil dahl as long as it's whizzed up to a smooth paste. He LOVES bread and is always asking for toast. Since he decided to eat vegetables I'm much more relaxed about his vitamin & mineral intake and if we have a bad day then I'm not so stressed. Some meals he'll eat loads and then at others next to nothing. We're all trying to limit our cheese intake and highly processed foods such as Quorn and tofu which looks to be more achievable now. Happy lady! Eating out is now much easier as a result also and waitresses and waiters alike are powerless to resist his cheeky grim and charm. Eating out food that tends to be cheese related because obviously that's all that vegetarians eat. When are restaurant management going the EDUCATE THEMSELVES?! Pigs may fly.

Lunching with Mama

So, that's enough waffle for this month. I shall leave you with the Wiggler doing his ghost impression. Not that he knows what a ghost is, but it was a very good impression none-the-less complete with shouting and staggering!

Crazy child...

2011-05-18T15:52:00.000+01:00

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We ain't been up to much...

2011-05-18T13:00:00.001+01:00

...just pottering around the house & garden.

Click image to enlarge

Blanket Love 2

2011-05-11T12:53:00.002+01:00

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As I've said before, he really does love this thing!

The first and coldest excursion

2011-05-09T13:56:00.005+01:00

Right, this is as far back as I'm going.

There's something very special about being far enough away from [too much] civilisation that you can stand still and hear your own heart beating in your chest more loudly than anything but the [freezing cold] wind whistling past your ears. I never used to appreciate the dampened quiet of the countryside, but now I'm kind of addicted!

With this in mind and wanting to explore the Peak District more, we planned our first trip of the year (with all of the children). We chose the Manifold Valley as our destination which boasts a disappearing river and a cave (Thor's Cave to be precise and it's up a bloody cliff!) The date of this bold first walk? 20th February. Brr.

Click image to zoom

We're pretty organised people as a rule, but we learned a lot from this trip. Much of it is *slap forehead for not thinking of it already* type stuff, but hey; it is sometimes stressful when the girls arrive for the weekend and we just want to LEAVE THE HOUSE. Here are a few items we can now tick off our mental list of stuff to bear in mind for future trips.

Lesson one: check weather where you are going. Just because it's sunny and mild where you are DOES NOT MEAN IT IS WHERE YOU ARE GOING!
Lesson two: locate on O.S. map where you are going and remember how to read grid references BEFORE YOU GO!
Lesson three: take hats/scarves/gloves/thermals for the small people because they feel the cold more quickly and savagely than you.
Lesson four: check baby changing facilities at the pub where you plan to eat lunch at prior to arrival.
Lesson five: do not feed your son a ridiculous quantity of cherries the day before planned expedition unless you have learned lesson four.

All that aside, as well as: the greyness, the sheer drops on parts of the route, the squelchy muddiness for the duration, the temperature that had brass monkeys talking nervously amongst themselves and the seemingly never ending uphill climbs, it was enjoyed by the majority! Did we mention there was snow? THERE WAS SNOW!

We're pleased that we made sure everyone had proper walking footwear and coats (without these we wouldn't have made it out of the car!) We did also remember to pack a deck of cards which kept the girls entertained while we waited for our food. Coincidentally, this was Aoife's favourite of the walks we've done so far making it, by default, Roisin's least favourite.

Hindsight is a glorious thing and has served us well on trips made since then. AND NOW IT'S NOT WINTER ANYMORE WOOOOOH!

Rain + wellies = happy boy

2011-05-07T20:21:00.000+01:00

20 months today!

2011-05-06T12:11:00.004+01:00

He certainly is!

Writing about someone/thing regularly is like when you see a person everyday; you don't always notice the changes you would if you only saw them periodically. Being able to go back and look through these pages to see what Isaac was doing a certain amount of time ago is truly great. I've never kept a written record of anything for this long; sure we take photographs and smile when we flick through them, but to see, in black and white, your own words describing sensations and emotions from events past is really quite special. I'm so grateful that it is so easy these days to keep loved ones up to date with things they may not otherwise hear about entirely, proven by Nanna's many trips away and Grandad's recent four month trip to India (from which he has now safely returned - welcome back Grandad!)

Seven weeks ago Isaac was walking confidently at home, but not so well out and about. Now he's off! Everywhere! Properly! When he wants to go faster he does this funny forward lean that reminds me a little of Good Robot Bill & Ted. He much prefers walking over being carried, but still asks to be carried occasionally. It's (understandably) usually when he's tired or unsure of somewhere. We use the hip seat more than the carrier now, preferring it for its ease in getting Isaac on & off quickly while he's transitioning to independence. We still use the carrier for long periods, e.g.: our walk on Dartmoor; we used it successfully on my back for the first time then too. Now he's bigger the back position seems to feel better than it did before. Hip position still dubious.

We made the decision to not use reigns: we are fortunate that much of our outdoor high street is pedestrianised and that many of the pavements in town are wide. Isaac doesn't like walking along side busy roads too much yet; he doesn't really run off or make us chase him when we're out (give it time, you say) and he knows to stay close to us so the idea of them seemed a bit redundant. He's developed the kid thing of walking into people's paths which I guess I did and you did and every child that's learning to walk tall in the world does. Most people aren't bothered by it which is nice.

The major development has been his words and little phrases. It's all very exciting! He's been babbling Isaac speak for months and months and month and his grown up words have been brewing for a while, but now they're tumbling out of his little mouth! Shoes! I wan s-tory! Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! (Rinny - possibly his favourite word) Am fiiiiished! (I'm finished) Nanny! Daddy! Mummy! Byyyyyyyyyyyye! No! Mmmm! (yes) Brush teeeee! (brush teeth) Fish! (thank you Tracey :-D) Toast! House! Down! Out! Door! Obviously the babbling continues which is just too cute, but it's lovely to hear him use grown up words to help him understand us.

A few miscellanea:

Nap times are still settling. Until today, for about two or three months, Isaac has had only one, two hour day time nap either before or after lunch which has been fine. Today he's had a morning nap of about three hours, but I'm not convinced he'll last until bedtime! What is it they say? A well rested baby sleeps better at night than a tired one? We shall see...again.

He has started to gingerly climb out of his car seat on his own.

He found his nose the other day. Delightful!

I had my first night away from Isaac four weeks ago when I went to stay with a friend in London. It was all good and nothing went wrong, not did either of us feel anxious about it at all. Win!

Isaac is now officially dog biscuit giver. No complaints from Rinny since the hand over.

He likes to flash his belly at us! It's so funny and he knows it's funny which makes it even funnier!

He's had his first proper haircut.

We've abandoned snacks completely. I'm not really sure why we included them in his daily eating regime, other than the girls have always had them and our HV said we should. However, we get on better without them. The End. (©RR)

On the whole things are going well right now (phew!) The sun has been shining lots which keeps us outdoors and busy. Isaac continues to make us chuckle and smile regularly and helping him learn about his world is staggeringly brilliant!

We're all really looking forward to summer; winter seemed awfully long this year. We've got lots of things planned so I'm sure it'll fly by at a rate of knots. The kids (and us if we're honest) can't wait for this year's Just So Festival. It'll be totally different now Isaac is walking and he'll be two weeks shy of his second birthday. Hopefully some other festivals too, if finances prove favourable, and definitely some camping, barbecues, visits with friends and days out in general thrown in for good measure.

A less cold excursion

2011-05-05T11:56:00.003+01:00

I told you I was going backwards.

In our bid to get out of the city together regularly we've been walking out in't Derbyshire countryside. Our first complete family walk in the Peak District was...er...cold...to say the least. But that's another story. With the days becoming longer and lighter and with wind the chill factor being not so down right bloody freezing, about six weeks ago (late March) we decided to try again. This time we chose a shorter, flatter route that we had walked before, was closer to home and had more interesting bits for the (Roisin) Bean. So off we set with our packed lunch to Stanton Moor which is home to the Nine Ladies Stone Circle.

Click to zoom (a bit)

Looking back on these images and having just been to Dartmoor, it's quite remarkable how the terrain and flora differ in the two places. I know that we're further into spring now and that Stanton Moor is considerably further north, but Derbyshire moors seem so bleak and barren when compared with Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor. I guess for me, West Country moors are what I remember from my late teens/early twenties so I use them as my point of reference for greatness, although it will be nice to come back here in the summer to see if my opinion changes.

Coincidentally, Aoife wasn't such a fan of this walk as it wasn't "uphill enough". Gotta strike a balance somewhere!

First signs of summer

2011-05-05T10:44:00.001+01:00

Continuing the remembrance of the past month and a half, some pictures and memories from about three weeks ago.

Once the clocks have sprung forward, the difference in evening light is virtually instant and it's really lovely that the children can play outside for longer. Which they do, at every available opportunity.

I love that they all play so well together!

One of the girls' favourite questions when it's sunny is: "can we have the sprinkler out...pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" Up until a few weeks ago it's been sunny, but with just enough chill in the wind for us not to agree, much to their dismay. But with the arrival of the first really warm and sunny weekend, who were we to refuse two very excited small people? When he awoke from his nap, Isaac wasn't so sure and preferred to watch from a safe distance.

And finally, my favourite picture from that afternoon.

I hope you all enjoyed the start of the warm weather!

Long time no blog

2011-05-04T22:44:00.001+01:00

Well, it's been a while - about a month & a half actually! So what's been happening then? I might do this backwards so I can get the freshest stuff out of my brain and then think about before that...

Last week (over the Easter break) The Family Turn went to Devon for a much needed break from routine and stayed in a family residence just far enough away from Torquay (not that I don't like Torquay, but it's nice to be out where it's green for a change...and away from the grockles teehee!). The weather was glorious for the first five days and not that bad at all for the last two, especially considering it was April.

We went to the beach twice. The first time we went to scope it out as we hadn't visited that particular cove before and, true to form, Roisin "accidentally fell in the sea a little bit" and got drenched! She loved it though, they all did. We forgot to take the camera both times though. Boo! We did other stuff like visiting the nearby Babbacombe Model Village and Kent's Cavern.

The pictures of the model village really don't do it justice, the detail & humour were truly magnificent. The kids absolutely loved it, particularly the fire breathing dragon which induced squeals of delight! There was even a Royal Wedding procession - the most we saw of it in-fact!

We're always looking for ways to get us all out into the countryside. Being down in the West Country made this even easier than being at home what with the beautiful as it is remote Dartmoor being on our doorstep. Don't get me wrong, we get our fair share of moans and groans beforehand from the small people, but the overall experience is positive and Aoife particularly loves this kind of excursion. In-fact it seems the more challenging (i.e. uphill) the walk, the more she likes it! Rosh is (as always) the complete opposite, preferring short flat walks. HOWEVER. How can anyone fail to recognise such astounding natural beauty? And on such a glorious day too.

Thank goodness for Ordnance Survey maps though, seriously. I love A-Zs for regular A to B driving, but deepest, darkest Dartmoor driving requires proper detail thanks very much! Kudos to my Dad for helping me out when I was wee. All those trips in his van following our route and recognising landmarks have obviously sunk in! Although it didn't stop the back seat driver comments "is this the right way?" "are you sure you know where you're going?" etc. Hmm.

We saved our trip to Paignton Zoo for Friday when my Mum and our friends Mark & Angie had arrived. I'm not a big fan of zoos, I remember being particularly upset at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. seeing the animals pace the same worn trail again and again. However, Paignton Zoo is more committed than most to conservation and breeding programmes in both the U.K. and overseas and the majority of the animals seem happy enough.

On our last full day we went over to Brixham. The original plan was to take the ferry across Torbay, but something to do with swells over on the other side of the bay meant we drove instead which worked out well nap-wise for Isaac. We'd found out (that morning) on the Brixham website that it was going to be the first day of the Pirate Festival and we weren't sure what to expect, but it was brilliant! There were pirates from all over the country making an appearance and really just wanted to arrrr! at people and be piratey; especially on camera. A nice chap was letting people hold his African Grey parrot. (I was relieved that his wings weren't clipped, rather he was wearing a little harness almost like the one we use for Rinny.)

Perhaps the best trip we made was to the House of Marbles near Bovey Tracey. I always forget how much is there! There are several small museums as well as a working glass factory with two skilled glass blowers, a restaurant serving really lovely food, an outside area with different marble related games and an enormous shop selling all manner of traditional toys and games, books, clothes, things made in the factory etc. and of course marbles. Admission is free and we all had a brilliant time! Definitely enough to fill one morning and lunch after. Highly recommended.

So that's what we did with the time afforded us by various Bank Holidays and religious holidays. Here's wishing you all a rather belated Happy Easter!

P.S.: Credit to Simon for photos. Demanding son = no photography for Mummy :-(

Meet the blanket

2011-03-17T09:48:00.000Z

Isaac has a blanket. It is the blanket from his pram and early on he forged an unbreakable bond with it. He doesn't sleep very well without it which has pros & cons. He'll sleep pretty much anywhere with it. Without it, we're basically screwed. As the whole Premium Economy section of our flight to Newark found out recently when the air hostess took it away to stow for landing (because a blanket is, like, so dangerous and heavy and pointy sharp!!) and he screamed. For 45 minutes. Traumatised, distraught, nothing-Mummy-can-do-about-it-right-now-until-the-plane-lands-and-the-captain-turns-off-the-seatbelt-sign screams. Thanks lady!

Recently he's started to go upstairs to pull it out of his cot and drag it around the house with him. He looooooooooves this blanket and is remeniscent of Charles Schulz's Peanuts character Linus (who was secretly always my favourite character in the comic/cartoons). I wonder if he'll be like Linus or if the blanket is just for show? Anyhoo, he's perfectly happy being a pretender to the Linus throne so who am I to complain!

Isaac's excited face

2011-03-15T09:57:00.000Z

Ladies & gentlemen, boys & girls. I'm delighted to have captured on camera Isaac's very-excited-about-something-usually-food-related face. This face is a source of many giggles and guffaws at meals times for our family. He knows how to play it and that it'll get us going. When this face comes out we know we're onto a winner.

Without further ado: The Face.

Art of Crochet squares 33 - 40

2011-03-15T09:38:00.003Z

Square 33.

Using dc (US) the pattern makes a V stitch. All fairly uninsipring, but more interesting than others.

Square 34.

It took me aaaaaaaaaaaaages to fingure out that I had to turn this square on its side to make it look like the magazine picture. D'oh! I quite like how this looks like knitted rib. I don't like how it's sideways though.

Square 35.

A pretty funky ~~mother~~ granny.

Square 36.

Second checkerboard square. No brainer.

Square 37.

Second target granny. I like the double blue. I think some of the holes are a bit big, but I'm sure it'll even out when sewed together with other squares. *fingers crossed*

Square 38.

I've totally made this wrong. I can SEE the bottom row isn't right. Gah. T.B.F. (To Be Frogged).

Square 39.

Third coloured bobble square. I like how this one feels less girlie because there isn't any PINK! Looks a little small though.

Square 40.

Second attempt at the mock cable square. Less harrowing this time around as already sussed pattern. It's actually quite easy when you get the hang of it, but I had to consciously work what I thought was an extra stitch on the return dc (US) row to ensure always having 26 st.

A.O.C. posts will be more evenly spaced from now on as I'm all caught up :-D Hurrah! I might actually finish Isaac's sweater while it'll still fit him...

Art of Crochet squares 25 - 32

2011-03-15T09:26:00.002Z

Square 25.

I think this one is pretty fun! I reminds me a little of a carnival. No idea why. Maybe it's the colours and the little strips? Something to do with ticker tape?Anyhoo, with the Trebles (US) it was a doddle to make and I managed to do it ending with minimal weaving in :-D

Square 26.

I finally chose my sub for square 26. I used the Solid Square pattern from 200 Crochet Blocks. I like how it retains the simplicity of the original square without incorporating the ghastly embroidery. Super quick & easy to work up. Did it whilst watching How To Train Your Dragon - an excellent animated children's tale with some really lovely characters and CGI.

v1.0 v2.0

Square 27.
This was another embroidery square. I um-ed and ah-ed about what to use for a sub and came up with v1.0. I wrote down my pattern & everything. Then I cam to make it again using different colours and my brain went a bit wobbly (like trifle) so I decided against it in favour of Chocolate Box from 200 Crochet Blocks.

Square 28.

*yawn*

Square 29.

This square looks lovely. I really like the basket weave effect. It was, however, a massive P.I.A. to make. I must've frogged & restarted about six times. I kid ye not. Eventually I wrote the pattern out in terms of rows so that I could tick each one off and know exactly where I was. I think this is the kind of pattern that you work in one go, if only to save your sanity!

Square 30.

Same pattern as square 27. The square that made my trifle brain pick a different sub. This time (on the final round) I only worked in 3 ch spaces & didn't work a sc (US) into each sc between 3 ch sp. Made it less "frilly" and more even/flat. Win!

Square 31.

I LOVE this square. It's so purty. And it reminds me of a swimming gala. WTF? Yes. Anyhoo. It's nice and quick, simple and obvious working.

Square 32.

This square is renowned for being difficult to work. I was feeling cross with it for being such a pain and then I remembered some discussion about it on the Ravelry forum a while back (I'm behind the others subscription wise) so I went and had a peek at what advice was on offer. It's amazing how many times I can correct my work, just by READING THE FREAKING PATTERN. Can't see the wood for the trees sometimes y'know. So now it's done and that's THAT!

Walking walking everywhere!

2011-03-15T08:58:00.002Z

That's right folks, Isaac is officially walking!

On his own.

I'm so pleased!

He's a sneaky snap I took of him at the park a few weekends ago. This particular walking episode lasted approximately 25 seconds and ended with him face-planting the slide. Earlier that day he also kissed the concrete and cut his little nose. So understandably, he prefers to walk at home more than out and about just now. He's practising where he knows it's safe before he unleashes his awesome new skill on the general public properly!

It's obvious that he wants to play on the climbing frames, but isn't quite sure what with the other children running around; it must be quite daunting really. He's quite a sensible and sensitive chap in many respects, this being one of them.

Art of Crochet squares 17 - 24

2011-02-25T20:51:00.005Z

Square 17.

Again, more rectangular than square :-( I like the colours though. I've read in the Ravelry forums (from people who are ahead of me) that these ones are sewn together so that the stitches don't face the same way. WHAT??? I don't like the sound of this...

Square 18.

I really like this square. It's simple and still quite classy. It, along with three others, forms the centre of the throw.

Square 19.
Granny número tres. Muy bueno.

Square 20.

This one was a MILLION times easier to work up the second time around. A) it didn't take so damn long and B) I'd started to crochet in all of my ends as I go so there wasn't any evil weaving in after I'd finished. Yay!

Square 21.

The first of who knows how many checker board squares which are essentially DCs (US) and chains. Purty.

Square 22.

Another granny, using Maize (LOL) as the outer colour.

Square 23.

Another non-square-square.

Square 24.

I really like this square. It's the only embroidered one I haven't substituted, the reason being it calls for blanket stitch which looks the same on both sides. Very pretty and fun to make. Well done Hachette! The only thing I'd do differently is space the coloured hole rows more evenly through the square so that there were 2 rows between each throw, but Simon pointed out that it may look better as it is when in-throw. We shall see.

I'm actually up to square 36, but I haven't crocheted 26 & 30 because, you guessed it, they feature embroidery that I don't like an I'm stewing over what to substitute. I might actually catch up! Watch this space.

This throw's gonna be massive!

Art of Crochet squares 9 - 16

2011-02-25T20:38:00.001Z

I've really left this far too long to post about, but hey. So.

Square 9.

A plain DC (US) square with an Aztec-style design embroidered on. You know how I feel about embroidery on crochet, so I used "Circle in a square" from 200 Crochet Blocks. I omitted the last round of the pattern to keep the square 13cm.

Square 10.

A mesh pattern square. Easy and very quick to crochet.Not sure I'd choose it for a throw I was designing myself, but I'll see how I feel about it when it's in-situ.

Square 11.

My first go at intarsia. Not so pleased with the colour changes; I know I could've made them neater had I read the pattern properly (I'm a bugger for R.T.F.P.ing). Still, now I know it's possible so I expect I'll incorporate it into my own crochet at some point in't future.

Square 12.

My second ever granny! I completely forgot how to do them, but was quickly reminded. I do like grannies. Hurrah!

Square 13.

The second repeating square, this time with an "aubergine" diamond on a backgroud of "vanilla". Give me strength. Why not just call the colours what they are? Purple's purple and white's WHITE!!

Square 14.

The first of a series of diagonal two-colour squares. I don't like how they end up more rectangular than square, but I expect that's me crocheting too loosely. Or maybe if I do HDC (US) instead of DC? Hmm. The mind boggles and I've done too many to frog them all now. Meh.

Square 15.

This was a square of plain DC (US) or HDC or SOMETHING with an Aztec-style lady embroidered on. I chose this square from 200 Crochet Blocks to substitute. I also chopped a bit out of the middle of the pattern to keep it the right size. Sailor blue? Pft.

Square 16.

This was the square that started all the frogging of previous squares and serious pattern design questioning. As per previous post I decided to do all squares with the teeny embroidered star using granite stitch + tiny crocheted appliquéd star. The star features of both sides so that it looks less plain on the "back".

Art of Crochet squares 4, 5 & 7 - v2.0

2011-02-25T20:13:00.009Z

Having subscribed and fallen massively behind with T.A.O.C. I have the chance to see what's coming up & what repeats etc. With this information I decided to re-crochet some of the more repetitive squares and jiggle about with what substitutes for what. So, with this in mind here are squares 4, 5 & 7 again.

v1.0 v2.0

The original 4th square was plain DC (US) with a cross stitch diamond embroidered in the centre. Blah. While I liked the granite sttich I used on my original sub, I thought the whole design more suited to sub for some of the later squares. So I used "Diamond in a square" from 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton. I omitted the last round to keep the required 13cm size.

v1.0 v2.0

Square 5 was another embroidered cross stitch which I replaces with bobbles and worked using a 3.5mm hook. After crocheting a lot more squares I realised I wanted them all to be made using a 4mm hook. So. I frogged and re-crocheted using said 4mm hook and so a new square 5 was made.

v1.0 v2.0

Again, the original square 7 was embroidered, but I chose a different square from 200 Crochet Blocks. Decided to frog & simplify the design so that it was more in keeping with the original embroidered star square and to re-crochet using a 4mm hook. I used the original granite stitch + tiny star sub design from square 4 and will use this for all repeat squares.

I'm happier now that I have my subs set up so that when a repeat crops up I know what I'm doing and haven't got to find a new square. I've pretty much seen all the squares that will be crocheted now so I'm all good. In an O.C.D. sort of way.

Continuation of a theme

2011-02-25T19:14:00.000Z

So he still seems to like books!

Not sure if "Who's Who In The Ancient World" is what all 17 month old boys like to read, but seems to be gripping stuff...for 5 minutes at least!

Bookworm...?

2011-02-17T15:15:00.003Z

Isaac has never been really fussed about books. We've tried all manner of different of books, but he was always more interested in posting them though little gaps or stacking them (the chunky cardboard kind). Sure he liked the touchy feely sort, but even they didn't hold his attention for more than a minute or two. However. Today he picked this one from the shelf and spent a good 10 minutes looking at it, all of it, in it's entirety!

Even more exciting for me (an avid reader in my pre-Isaac-still-had-time-to-do-lots-of-whatever-I-wanted days) last night he let me read him a bedtime story! We hadn't even tried before because it just didn't fit with his routine. Needless to say, Mummy book nerd is now very pleased and hopes this bodes well for a future with Isaac and books/stories/reading.

So what did you do this Valentine's Day?

2011-02-14T20:09:00.001Z

We did a little painting...

I know now what my primary school art teacher, Mrs O'Connell, meant by "the famous brown"!

How to be an Isaac for 20 minutes

2011-02-12T17:40:00.000Z

Step 1: climb stairs

Step two: act guilty

Step three: gaze longingly into sister's room

Steph four: bask in laundry box

Fifth and most important step: pull faces at and admire self in mirror

Update, as promised.

2011-01-31T01:58:00.004Z

This photo was taken at Fort Lauderdale beach on 23rd January 2011. Only a week has passed since then, but it seems that Isaac is quite different now. It serves to remind me that some things are inevitable and it's nice to remember them, even if they do all happen within a very short space of time.

Isaac has totally weaned himself from my breast milk. I always thought I'd be more upset about this than it turns out I am. I know that if he still needed it then he wouldn't have weaned himself, and he did wean himself. I continued to offer and he just didn't want it anymore. When they're done, they're done and that's the end of that. It's as though my body knew too. My breasts haven't swelled up to epic proportions, but I guess the amount he was taking gradually diminished and so my supply steadily decreased until it stopped production. As Vinnie Jones once said "it's been emotional", but I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Our young man now wants to walk everywhere that he can. He LOVES walking. I think he'd prefer to never be carried again actually and seemingly never tires. It's been lovely while Simon's been here because we've held a hand each while Isaac confidently and carefully places one foot in-front of the the other between us. He really is very good and I'm sure, with a little more practice, that he'll be off on his own and, as everyone we meet delights in telling us, then the fun will really start.

He's had a growth spurt while he's been here and so now wears size 12-18 months. Finally he's the same age as his clothing size! Not that that is important at all, rather it feels strange not calculating sizes and weather! He's also outgrown his shoes and now measures a size 4 in the US which equates to bigger than 3 1/2, but not quite a 4 proper in the UK. Confused much? The only problem now is I can't bring myself to get rid of his old shoes. I've kept his first pair, but he was in and out of those so quickly that his second pair seem more like his first. Aah...silly old sentimental bugger.

Before he came away Isaac had a terrible time with teething, so much so that we resorted for the first time to the dreaded Calpol. It wasn't a decision we took lightly, but he was in so much pain that he couldn't nap and subsequently couldn't sleep. We've managed his teething well using Chamomilla and Gumomile until this point. He only had Calpol a couple of times, but it did the trick and he was able to sleep. Soon after arrived two bottom molars and two upper incisors...four teeth simultaneously!

So those are some changes we've experienced recently, but there's so much more that happens daily to make me realise how much of a little person he is now: his vehement dislike for vegetables (we keep trying in new and ingenious ways to no avail), his waving and saying goodbye to people and more recently saying "hiya" and waving hello, reactions to different things I whisper in his ear, the habitual fight at nappy changing time, his continued comical use of objects as telephones, his preferred use of a fork and spoon to fingers when eating, giving us proper kisses on the cheek at bedtime, how he looks at me to see what my reaction will be...this list is by no means exhaustive.

When I was younger I never understood why people wanted to have children, I found the idea (along with marriage) bewildering and somewhat ridiculous. Now, as I sit here pondering the life Simon and I created, there isn't a flicker of doubt that remains in my mind as to why we did. Isaac is the greatest joy, heartache, frustration and love I have ever experienced. I don't expect everyone to understand and I'n not saying children are for everyone, but I make no apologies for how I feel.

First trim

2011-01-23T16:08:00.002Z

Isaac and I are in Florida at the moment with Nanna and Auntie Denny (who goes home today *sob*). Isaac's hair has been getting in his eyes quite a lot recently so I took the plunge, after discussion with Daddy, and trimmed his hair.

I was massively relieved that the trim didn't make him look even more like a girl, something I was very worried about. People are ALWAYS saying "oh look at her isn't she pretty" or asking us "how old is she". So I smile sweetly and move on or say "he is blah months old". However, when we went out for lunch yesterday, the waitress said "hey there big guy!"...GET IN!

So now he can see and apparently also looks like a boy...finally! Here's to many more "boy" comments because, let's face it, he is gorge ;-D

Grandpa

2011-01-03T22:12:00.014Z

Dear Isaac

With you at 10 weeks, London 2009

It has been three months since your Grandpa passed away, almost exactly give or take a few hours. I'm sitting here listening to the song we chose to play as we walked into his funeral service - The Wonder Of You by Elvis Presley. Listening to it makes me happy and sad at the same time; happy because it reminds me of him and I can see him singing along in his funny way and punching the air during the chorus and sad because I know I'll never see him do it again. I'm writing this so you will know a little about him and also so that I have a reminder of my step-Dad.

There's so much I want to tell you about him because you won't remember knowing him. He loved his family immensely. He loved you so very much and loved that you were his grandson. There are so many things that made him who he was. Peter Edward Russell, Per. His great love was sailing. When I first knew him he had a yacht called Miss Tickle, which I thought was hilarious. If you say it quickly it sounds like Mystical, which I also thought was rather splendid. I liked sailing with Peter; we used to go to Cowes on the Isle of Wight. When he retired he did a lot of fundraising for the R.N.L.I. which he believed to be a very worthy charity, as do I.

At my 26th birthday meal, June 2007

He loved country music. I have memories of him driving me back to school on a Sunday evening listening to Crystal Chandeliers or Rose Garden. Elvis, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton (or Dolly Partits as he'd call her) always remind me of him. Whenever we went anywhere on holiday in the car he would insist on playing On The Road Again by Willie Nelson. This was the song we played to walk out to at his funeral and I didn't cry during the service until I heard that.

He liked brown sauce, big American style hamburgers and lasagne. He was partial to the odd Kit Kat and Mars Bar. He loved to drink black coffee and I sometimes used to think that, if cut, he'd bleed black coffee instead of blood. He wasn't short, but not particularly tall either. He always made a joke about his hair and how I had to be careful with him because he only had two strands left. This wasn't true at all, but he had a lot more of it when he was younger and was known as the Golden Gnome as a consquence! A recent revelation for me! He was a fan of Aston Villa FC. I wasn't sure why until a few weeks ago. He loved rugby and played it during his time at Welbeck College as well being a boxer there. He loved going back to visit and always used to joke about how "awful" it was that they let girls attend these days. He had a very dry sense of humour, which I didn't really understand until I was a little older than when we met. He loved the The Goon Show and Monty Python. He would regularly tell me (in a comedic fashion) "SFG!" (shut your festering gob you tit, your type really makes me puke! from the Monty Python Argument sketch) or would burst into song, usually the one sung by the Knights Who Say Ni.

At mine & Daddy's wedding
in March 2008

He was a hugely intelligent and articulate man and very politically minded. He thought Margaret Thatcher was a great lady; there are many who disagree, but your Grandpa was adamant. I bought him a Maggie Thatcher nut cracker one Christmas. He thought it hilarious, heehee! He instilled in me an abhorrence of improper use of grammar and punctuation; if I tell you that "it's bored with, not of" or "it's should have, not of", you've got your Grandpa to thank for that! Thank him I do. There's no excuse! I remember watching University Challenge on television with him. He loved when Jeremy Paxman was rude to the contestants. I thought it was mean, but looking back it was pretty funny. I will never forget when he phoned me up to ask me the meaning of "chav" and "bling". You will grow up with these terms, but to your Grandpa they were whole new concepts.

It was a confusing time for me when my Mum (your Nanna) & Peter got married. I was 11 then. Dad had left and I didn't see him very much and then there was this strange man that came to live with us. I don't have many memories of that time if I'm honest. I do remember being a bloody awful teenager, but Peter took it all in his stride and I respect him immensely for that. It can't have been easy dealing with an emotional & hormonal teenage girl that wasn't his actual daughter. I apologised for my behaviour a few years ago, which I know he appreciated.

I learned a lot about him at his funeral from people I've never met. He had a whole life I knew nothing about before I met him. I knew that he was a salesman for much of his life. I knew he worked for Rothman's (a tobacco company) and that he was also a Freeman of the City Of London. The thing that struck me most about the funeral was how much people respected your Grandpa. There was no denying his headstrong nature, but this fierce determination was seen in a positive light and as an admirable quality. I learned that he was a good man to work for and an even better person to have on your side. People valued his opinion a great deal and he was widely well though of. The sheer number of people who came to pay their respects to him is testament to all these things.

He loved this picture because he could claim my hair as his!

Having lived in a residential home, age and illness are things I suppose I'm used to. Finding out that your Grandpa was so poorly was strange for me. What was stranger was, as his condition progressed, seeing him progress with it. The residents at the home were all quite old and in need of care when they arrived, but Peter? No. Peter was not the kind of person with whom requiring care sat easily. Of course he accepted it with good grace. I helped him into his pyjamas so he could go to bed one afternoon and he was so incredibly grateful. His gratitude extended to all of his carers: his nurses, Nanna and Eva and even on occasion Auntie Denny, even if he didn't show it all of the time.

I can remember now as clearly as if it were yesterday the afternoon of 3rd November 2010 when your Nanna phoned me to say she had the paramedics come to take him to hospital because he had yet another infection. She was so mad with his doctor for thinking she was fussing. She knew then that he was going. I guess, because my Nanna lived to 98 and liked to keep us on our toes shall I say, that I thought she was overreacting and he'd pull through. I remember later on that evening she phoned me to tell me he didn't have long. I spoke to him on the phone and told him how much I loved him and how grateful I was for everything he had done for me. He didn't say anything because he couldn't. I rushed to get ready and drive to the hospital so I could say goodbye properly. I remember stepping out of the shower and your Daddy coming in with the phone in his hand. I was too late. He'd just had enough. Enough of hospitals and doctors and medication, of not being able to breathe easily, of being poked, prodded and injected. Can you blame him?

Learning of the death of a parent is something that cannot be described, so I'm not even going to try. I know death is a part of life and not to be feared, but that doesn't stop the pain when you lose someone so utterly significant.

In France with Nanna in 2010

What to say now? I've said all I can; a few things that make me smile when I remember them and some things that will hopefully help you know a little about your Grandpa's character. I shall close with the words of a family friend, received in a card of condolence, because it is far more eloquent than anything I could write.

"His was a life with much to celebrate, not least his passion for living every moment to the full. Very much a man of his generation, kind, considerate and a true gentleman, but eventually undone by the shadows of his working life. He will be greatly missed."

Love and so much more

Mummy
xxx

2 months later...

2010-12-30T21:01:00.000Z

...and Isaac shows signs of becoming a roadie? That or he'll be a wire hoarder (just like his Daddy :-p).

I'm long overdue an update...stay tuned!

Slightly adrift

2010-11-30T23:27:00.001Z

Forgive my lack of posts; I haven't really felt like writing anything much of late. I have lots of ideas & photos are piling up on my phone, but the impetus to extract from my brain onto paper (as it were) is lacking.

I haven't spent much time at home lately - approximately 6 days in-fact during the month of November. This sucks. I like being at home...with my boys. However, I've been needed elsewhere. But right now, this very moment, I'm sad because I've realised how little time I've spent at home...with both of my boys.

After an horrific journey, some tears and a bath I'm now sitting alone in a hotel room listening to the fuzz on the monitor, feeling melancholy. To kill some time I've been sorting through my phone images (those aforementioned). I was more than pleased to find a picture I took last month before all the weirdness, when we were just trundling along with our lives. It made me really very happy to see it again so I've decided to post it on here.

I'll file it under "happy" & whenever I'm feeling sad I'll sneak a peek and it'll make me grin :-)

A distraction

2010-11-12T23:13:00.002Z

I've been quiet lately. I think it's partly because winter is all but breaking down the door and I'm going into hibernating mode, but more recently it's largely because my step-father passed away. While I try to figure out how on earth I'm going to put into words the many things he meant to me, here are some pictures to distract me and make me smile.

There are times when...

2010-11-02T10:43:00.009Z

...I feel frazzled. Today is one of those days. I debated for a while whether or not to post this. But then I figured - parenting isn't a piece of cake for anyone. Who am I to wear rose-tinted-blog spectacles?

So, then. There are times when...

...I simply don't know what he wants & he doesn't want the things I think he does. He cries and holds his arms up to me so I pick him up; then he cries and wiggles about, kicking my stomach and pinching my skin between his foot and my trouser/skirt waistband, so I put him down again...and he cries. He disdainfully turns away from anything I offer him and progresses further into frustration. Both of us completely exasperated. But then I don't think he knows what he wants either and he certainly couldn't tell me if he did.

...I think we should have shares in a tissue company, when I'm sick to the back teeth with having his snot all over me and if I see him wipe it all over his face one more time I...I don't know what I'll do. But it can't be fun for him either. It's not his fault he's teething or poorly. He must feel wretched, poor thing.

...I wonder if one of those playpen things would be useful; I could just sit him in it and not worry about the CDs, books, DVDs, board games etc being pulled from the shelves and onto the floor again. But I know he would be miserable as hell in one and, at the end of the day, it's only stuff. Stuff we don't really need to be happy. So what're a few sticky finger prints on discs between family members? Books, however require respect. We're working on that one and I'm pleased to report that he hasn't ripped any yet.

...I nearly cave in and give Isaac Calpol or Neurofen for children. But I know too much, thus don't take the adult versions myself. Simon and I have agreed that it's really only a last resort when we're at our wits' end. I know there are alternatives to pharmaceuticals that work, their effects just take a little longer to kick in. His liver will thank me in the long run.

...I dream of the day that Roisin will just bloody listen. If she could absorb and understand information as quickly as an adult then I wouldn't have to say the same god damn thing six times in less than three minutes, each time rearranging the words and usually increasing the volume until I'm heard and comprehension is reached. It's impossible to get her attention and I really do wonder what goes on in her brain sometimes. But then I know she is only four and the most important thing in her world right now is: "will I get sparkly party shoes with heels for Christmas?"

...I'd like Isaac to be able to sleep in the push chair. It'd be lovely to spend a whole day out and not have to worry about him having a nap. But then I think: he won't nap forever. You wanted to carry him in a sling and even if you hadn't I don't think he'd be happy in a push chair; he's just not that kind of child. And we're not that sort of family.

...I want to be deaf to his wailing. Seriously. WHAT DO YOU WANT? or LET ME SLEEP? But then I know it's his only real means of communication right now and I know how utterly pissed off I'd be if I couldn't communicate other than cry when upset.

...Aoife really needs to understand that if she doesn't want some toy or other to be trashed then she A) should stop teasing her little sister with it and B) needs to put it away so that the other two can't get at it. But then I remember she's only six, despite increasingly acting like a twenty six year old.

...for one flippant nano-second, I want Simon to be the stay at home parent and I go out to work. But then I snap out of it and realise that I would actually be miserable and miss my little munchkin to death.

...I'd like force feeding to be acceptable. But then I think - he's developing his own tastes and of course he isn't going to like everything immediately. Plus if he was really hungry then he'd eat it.

...I wish the dog would just bugger off for once. Isaac is starting to pet her nicely and give her kisses now, but it terrifies her and she pants and shakes to excess. She's so bloody nervous! She uses me as her safe point which is also where Isaac usually wants to be. But then I think - I taught her to come to me when she's afraid of new things when she was a puppy. Of course she's going to be how she is, he's a constantly changing little person - how weird it must be from doggy eyes! And she really is very good with him.

...I can't wait for Aoife to grow up and see that, as an adult: you don't always get to do whatever you want, you don't tell children to do things for a laugh, you do actually have a reason for most things and it's usually experience, money really doesn't grow on trees! But then I remember exactly how I was when I was a child and I'm sure I had much the same viewpoint as her.

...I seriously think Isaac would be better off in nursery school with people who are qualified to look after him. He's not the baby I couldn't imagine handing over to anyone else anymore. Interaction with other children would be good for him and the time apart would probably be good for me too, I think. But then I see his little face when all he wants is his Mummy and I know I'm the only one that can stop him hurting, even if it is only temporary and I think to myself "he's my son, I chose to bring him into the world and so I choose to care for him myself".

...I am selfish and wish it was just me, Simon and the dog. But then I wonder how happy I'd really be without my little Wiggler and the girls? They've each brought a new dimension to my life and taught me things about myself I never thought existed. I'd most likely be working the same hours for the same employer doing the same old things. Now, even if I go back to that, I know I have three amazing little people waiting to show me something new they've learned about or learned to do. Awesome!

...I hate myself for thinking all of these things and for even writing this post about them. But then I know it doesn't make me a bad person because I'm only human and not to acknowledge how I feel would be of far greater detriment to our little family than doing so now. I feel these awful things infrequently, particularly when I'm poorly and fed up with my own snot too, and it's usually in these moments that they're all there...in my brain...sniping away at me and it's in then that I feel my worst and go a little crazy.

So I'm not sorry for putting this out there or if any of it upsets your sensibilities. I defy any parent to look me in the eye and tell me they don't have moments such as these.

And now it's written down, it's not in my brain anymore and I can properly get on with being a Mum.

I'm totally biased, but...

2010-10-29T10:14:00.000+01:00

I think Isaac is pretty much the coolest little guy around :-)

These are a few of my favourite things...

2010-10-28T10:42:00.001+01:00

Reading a book about my doggy, Rinny...

...peeking over bags, (my Mum thinks I'm silly)...

...removing my pjs, then crawling away...

...but blueberries, by far, are the best things today.

The Non-Wiggle Chair

2010-10-14T10:10:00.001+01:00

In the UK, until s/he reaches 20lbs, an infant must only ride in rear facing car seats in the back of the car or in the front with the air bag having been disabled. There is research (somewhere) to show that it is more safe for infants to continue riding rear facing for as long as they can. However, Isaac has been getting increasingly fed up with staring at the back of the seat for a while and his legs were all scrunched up, but we abode the weight rule.

During the same visit to Mothercare in which Isaac's first shoes were purchased, I sneakily weighed The Wiggler on the store scales (because I haven't taken him to clinic for aaaaaaaaaaaaaages) only to find that he has finally reached the 20lb mark! Yippee!

So, as I need no persuasion to shop, we bought him a front facing seat for the car.

He thinks it's GREAT! Now when we go out he's busy watching where we're going, looking at all the things happening outside the car and playing silly games with me in the mirror. I think it helps him on longer journeys that he can see me, plus I love being able to see my Wiggler too!

When we had Isaac we got a Maxi-Cosi car seat & an EasyFix car seat base with plans to buy the next one up to utilise the same base. Here we have been thwarted by Maxi-Cosi who no longer make car seats to fix said base. They now may the FamilyFix base. Gah. We figured that we aren't going to be taking it in & out of the car the way we did with the carry-style seat and it won't be long before he's climbing in & out himself.

Instead we went for the Maxi-Cosi Tobi. From experience with Roisin when she was smaller, we knew we wanted one with a soft seat; some of them are so hard! The Tobi has the required soft seat. It does most things that seats in its class do (5 point belt system, reclines slightly from sitting to sleeping position etc), but it also has an additional safety point that I didn't see on others. As well as the car belt securing around the bottom of the seat, it also feeds around the top of the seat. I like this. Call me paranoid, but I don't think extra safety is a bad thing in cars. The age range goes up to 4 years, however, from experience I don't know he'll be in it for that long. The base on this seat doesn't take up as much room as the EasyFix either so, when all 5 of us are in the car, it should be easier to get all 3 of the kids done up in the back without the customary jiggery pokery. Plus it was on sale. Everybody wins!

The Wiggle Chair

2010-10-13T23:09:00.004+01:00

I have several things on my to-blog-about list, but this one makes me chuckle the most. I pick the girls up from school on a Wednesday & we have them over night. While the weather is nice we like to go to a park or something before tea. Obviously Isaac comes with us and has a right old laugh too.

Whoever invented this thing deserves a medal. It [The Wiggle Chair] was clearly created specifically for Isaac [The Wiggler].

Enjoy!

The cookies that broke my whisk

2010-10-06T14:12:00.002+01:00

The recipe was written by Isa thingy-whatsit (no offence Isa) & can be found for free on the PPK website here. I've made them once before. With hindsight, I probably should've used a different attachment on both occasions; no cookie dough should do what it did going through the whisk! Or I should've used my hands, which is what I resorted to when Ms Whiskie croaked her last. Gutted.

Bugger the cookies, look at the PLATE!

Look at them, aren't they beautiful? So aesthetically pleasing. They taste pretty good too!

I like to think of them as what would happen if a brownie and a chocolate chip cookie had babies. They are, though, very chocolatey which is not good for gorging because one can't gorge for very long before one feels sick. This could be considered a plus point if you are, like me, unable to leave freshly baked cookies alone...when they're just out of the oven...and still warm...soft in the middle...gooey chocolate...

ENOUGH!

Real food lunch time.

Oh, I forgot to say. They're 100% vegan. I use Organica Vegan Chocolate Couverture Bar (which I get from my local whole food store) for the chocolate chips. It tastes pretty much like milk chocolate, but without the sicky icky feeling you get from eating milk chocolate. Anyhoo, I digress. It's prefect for these cookies as I'm not a huge fan of dark chocolate in cookies that are already pretty dark. It lightens the taste of them somewhat, but if you like lots of dark chocolate then what the hey!

There I go again. Going now.

*gone*

Going up?

2010-10-05T21:12:00.006+01:00

This is the sight that greets me as I look up from my knitting:

Until now he has only patted the bottom step, but yesterday he decided he was destined for greater things. Somewhat shocked & rather excited by this new activity, I grab my camera. What's he after?!

Ah, The Wallet, of course. The Wallet is one of Isaac's favourite things to play with, especially when we're out. Proper toys just don't hold his attention like The Wallet and The Keys.

Busted!

I am a crafty Mummy Pie and use The Wallet...as bait!

Just a little further...

Mum, WTF, seriously.

No shifting the goalposts...until you've reached them!

A quick half-time Rinny ball chucking interlude before...

...stairs, part two.

I love how pleased he is when he discovers something new that he thinks is fun. Learning should be fun. I wish my A Level teachers knew that. Then again, how exactly does one make Richard III fun?

I might have been a little ambitious with this last stretch. Or maybe the timing was wrong; it wasn't long until his afternoon nap when he instigated the climbing and I think climbing required a considerable amount of exertion!

I'll get you my pretty, and your little cards too

My boy did very well for his first attempt; I didn't help him at all, other than being there with him to offer encouragement and smiles. Where's the fun in doing it for him?

A trip to Darley Abbey Park

2010-10-04T16:45:00.005+01:00

In our house, doggy birthdays are not forgotten. Rinny was four on Friday and to celebrate, along with the string of toy sausages & chocolate bones, we took her for a lovely walk to Darley Abbey Park on Saturday. Thankfully the weather was just right. She had a splendid time haring around like a complete loon & chasing after her toy. She even brought it back! It was refreshing, for once, to not be the owner of the dog that chases after everybody else's dog. (This has been replaced by crazy barking when she spies her toy, not great, but better than the chasing of other dogs; she gets so very excited by her toys that she just can't contain herself. I was warned about this by the lady I bought her from.) In-fact, she was the chased for once!

We found a huge stick.

Aoife spent much of the walk like this:

And there was a lot of this:

The girls found LOADS of conkers and Aoife was particularly pleased to find her first acorn, albeit a wee one! We explained that most of them had been squirrelled away for the winter.

Roisin and Isaac had lots of fun on the swings:

We had a well deserved beverage in The Abbey. This is an old pub in the middle of Darley Abbey. It's tiny, but drinks are incredibly reasonably priced and the place has loads of character. Plus it allows children and dogs.

On the way back we stopped to look at the river and Simon was telling the girls about salmon swimming upstream, only to see a fish trying to jump up the waterfall!

The bit of the park we walked around is mostly trees and grass so we didn't see a lot of flowers, but we did see this one in amongst some nettles.

We used our new book about wild British flowers to identify it when we got home and found that it is a policeman's helmet (Impatiens glandulifera) which is not indigenous to, although considered naturalised throughout the UK. We thought it was very pretty.

Both Simon and I think it's disturbing that more children these days seem to be losing touch with the natural world. We think it's important to pass on a love of and respect for nature, but you can't do that if you don't get out about about in it. So, we are. Trying to. I'd love to find some more wild spots to wander about & forage, but local parks are a good place to start. While we fully admit that we aren't terribly knowledgeable, we have books, access to the internet and we're interested. So we'll do our very best to find out what we don't know for them and, of course, Isaac too.

While at the Just So Festival, we joined the RSPB who have a site not far from us. Aoife spent ages poring over the information we got and was engrossed in the bird book. She was very pleased to tell me all the different birds she recognised already and was quite excited by the prospect of doing more outdoors-y stuff. Roisin told Daddy "this is fun" while re-potting some jasminiums on Sunday. There's hope, David Attenborough!

Crayola boy

2010-10-01T14:09:00.001+01:00

As he seems to like to draw I bought Isaac a set of jumbo pencil crayons. Another first! There are plenty this week and one hasn't arrived yet! I'm not a huge fan of felt tips really, they seem like a lot of plastic and also get EVERYWHERE in my experience of children+felt tips=won't even come off in the bath.

So, anyhoo.

He loved them! I look forward to many more scribblings from the Wiggler. Maybe now the Scribbler?

Post-op dog

2010-10-01T13:51:00.001+01:00

I performed my first minor surgery the other day on one of Aoife's stuffed animals. It went very smoothly & the patient is recovering nicely. Hurrah for teddy slings!

Shoes!

2010-09-30T18:31:00.000+01:00

Isaac has been pulling himself up on various things for a while now so, after consulting with a few Mums, I decided to take the plunge and buy him his first little pair of shoes!

There are different perspectives on children and shoes. Some say they aren't necessary until a child is ready to walk outside, other people seem to have them in mini Timberland boots & Converse from birth. We made a point of not buying pram shoes because A) they aren't necessary & B) they don't help the development of baby feet.

I still intend to keep him barefoot at home and, now, shoes on when we're out & about. I think the grip will help him when we're out, socks can be a bit slippy and (call me paranoid) I was never 100% comfortable with taking his socks off in public while he's so small.

He was so funny in the shop. He beamed like a loon when the lady put his shoes on. Then I helped him stand for his photo; every time she went to take the picture he looked down at his shoes & then looked up, grinning. Then down again, then up again, beaming. I thought I was going to cry when she put them on him. It might not seem like a lot to you, but shoes are apparently a big first for us.

Post birthday mega update

2010-09-28T17:16:00.003+01:00

I've felt reclusive over the past few weeks, hence no posts. I think it's mostly to do with the change in season; it's now officially autumn! How can I tell? I'm wearing tights and Isaac is wearing socks, neither of which can be hung outside to dry.

Here follows an Isaac update of mega proportions.

Food

Isaac is doing very well with feeding himself nowadays; he mostly feeds himself with his spoon &/or fork & lets me collate the damage into one final spoonful. It's our little agreement. He eats and loves a wide variety of foods & usually has the same as us, which makes mealtimes very easy, but here are a few of his favourites.

Breakfast - still whole wheat cereal biscuits (Weetabix type efforts, but not made by Weetabix), home-made hemp milk & a mashed up banana followed by a piece of toast with either pear & apple spread or Natex (like Marmite, not as salty). He's also partial to lemon curd. Mmm...lemon curd...
Lunch - humous (plain, lemon & coriander, red pepper, sun-dried tomato, roasted vegetable) & mini bread sticks
Tea - it's a toss up between coconut-cauliflower chana or tofu saag. Yup, I know! The boy loves his spicy food! HURRAY!
Naughty tea - alphabetti on toast (when Mummy is: Just. Too. Tired.)
Fruit - blueberries. If he had his way and we were made of money I suspect he'd eat a punnet a day.
Snack - Organix alphabet biscuits or mini rice cakes (apple & cinnamon or pumpkin & carrot)
Milk - breast is still best for the Wiggler. We're down to three feeds per day now. 1st - before breakfast upon waking, 2nd - after 1st nap around 11ish & 3rd - before bed. He dropped the afternoon one himself. I gathered he didn't want it when he started to squirm & push away...three days on the trot! I'm not sure what we're going to do about milk replacement. Everyone else I know is moving onto cows milk, but we all know how I feel about that. I've read that almond milk is high in calcium & other vitamins/minerals/fats/proteins so may try that. It's pretty easy to make too, although will need to remember to soak the nuts. He had it before I started to make hemp milk so I know he isn't allergic to it and it's quite naturally sweet anyway. Hmm. *ponders*

Mobility

Isaac is well & truly on the move now. He still commando crawls everywhere, but really rather quickly! He's started to crawl on his hands & knees a bit too & sometimes he'll shuffle forwards upright on his knees. He pulls himself up using me & Simon, the sofa & the coffee table. You can tell how high he ventures by which shelf of DVDs is in disarray!

Play time

Master Chef 2010

He loves playing with his different toys & spends the most time with his wooden ones and the things that aren't created as toys, such as empty containers, kitchen utensils, the telephone, camera battery chargers, spectacle cases etc. He loves things that make noise and enjoys smacking seven kinds of musical s**t of the keyboard. He also likes an app I have on my phone called Toddler Lock. It's basically a black screen on which you draw lines & shapes by tracing your finger on the screen or tapping it. It's good because only an adult or older child would know how to unlock the phone from the app so no deleted stuff! I don't like him using it much & only really use it as a last resort. (i.e.: when I'm coming around in the morning and his toys just aren't cutting it, or when we're out & about & have run out of things to play with, which isn't often as he's so easily amused!

He also loves playing with the dog. He lurches at her to give her cuddles now and has recently learned how to thrown her ball for her to chase. It doesn't go very far, but she joins in and it's very cute to watch; I think Rinny is warming to him. It freaked her out massively when he started to move and she was very nervous. This created a catch 22 for her because she'd use me for protection, but at the same time Isaac would be using me as a climbing frame! No escape for the pooch. I like to think it's payback for all the times she never lets up with her ball. Revenge, dog, suck it up.

Of course he loves having play time with Mummy & Daddy, although it seems we start out playing to entertain Isaac & then it turns into us playing & he's buggered off to do something else because he's bored with watching the paper aeroplane/bouncy ball go back & forth for the 80th time. He likes to climb on us and if we roll a ball at him he'll push it back. He also likes bashing balloons around - great fun!

One of his favourite pastimes of late is taking off & replacing the lids of pens. Felt tips, biros, gel pens...whatever. Any kind of pen. He loves it. Hew also drew his first picture a few days ago. It's really a piece of A4 covered in green squiggles, but it made me proud nonetheless. He didn't even get any on the floor!

He loves swimming and I try to take him when I can. We usually all go together on a Sunday morning for the parent & child session in the teaching pool, but coughs & other activites have kept us away lately. Will see how we all are this weekend perhaps?

Dislike

Isaac really isn't a fan of having is nappy changed any more. I've found that giving him different things to investigate while I do it helps to distract him. I keep a small stash of objects in the drawer under his changing mat for this purpose.

Without sounding smug, there isn't a whole lot else that makes him upset or grumpy, other than being tired or hungry & no one likes that do they? He's a very happy little chap & we're always complimented on his smile when we're out.

Sleeping

He's been sleeping through for a good few weeks again now. HURRAH! He goes to bed between 7 & 8pm depending on how he is & then wakes between 6.30 & 8am. He still naps twice a day. Times vary, again depending on how he is, but he has a morning & afternoon nap. At one point I thought he might have been gearing towards one big middle of the day nap because he slept for 2 1/2 hours in the late morning, but he's changed his naps so that it now seems to be the afternoon one that's longer. Go figure. ~~Babies~~ toddlers huh?

Misc

I sometimes think I have a mogwai rather than a human baby. The vocal similarities between Isaac and Gizmo are astounding. It's very cute. Then he does he's thrash metal growl and even that is cute.

We still use the carrier. I'm particularly grateful for this as the weather is decidedly more autumnal than summery now, brr! It's different to this time last year because I could put a hoodie over the top of him & the sling & zip it up around us both, but now there's a lot more of him so I usually unzip my sweater & have it on, but open under the carrier. This keeps us both warm & prevents Mummy from passing out through overheating. We shall see how this goes. I've bought him a coat for the colder months & we've still got the special socks to keep him legs/feet warm when it becomes bitterly cold. I shall sincerely miss him when he's too big to be carried, but that's a few years away yet! He likes being able to see everything from my perspective and is interested in it ALL. I would call him nosey, but that isn't the right word. Insquisitive methinks.

"Inquisitive" and pulling himself up, all in the space of 5 minutes!

We still meet up with the NCTs sporadically. It's so lovely to see them all growing and changing & to hear funny parenting stories. The ones that are going have nearly all gone back to work now so it's trickier to have a time when we can all meet up, especially with constantly changing nap times. C'est la vie.

Isaac's got his first real little cold & cough at the moment. I think that nearly 13 months without sniffles is pretty good going really. We've been giving him the Nelson's cough syrup & I've been taking echinacea for mine. Seems to have done the trick with the cough & the runny nosey-ness is clearing up now. It hasn't been traumatic in the slightest and hasn't interfered with food much either. In-fact, it only lasted a few days!

He gets on very well with his sisters and they like him lots too. They came to stay for a week last week while their Mum & boyfriend had a week away. We had a lovely time! I think I was dreading it; weekends are sometimes a strain when it comes to keeping them entertained, but no one was bored and I did lots of stuff with the girls while Isaac napped when we got home from the epic hour-long school run (so called because they live on the other side of Derby from us, but we managed just fine). Roisin started her reception class this year and is making some little friends of her own which is GREAT news. She's only been there a few weeks, but already it's made a hugely positive impact on how she is. Aoife is doing very well in her class, she really is a very bright little girl.

In short, it all going well. We're all poottling along happily. Nothing major to report. Rest assured when something massive happens, you will know!

Freezer paper stencilling...with children!

2010-09-18T20:06:00.001+01:00

In a bid to steer the girls away from so much TV I cracked out the freezer paper and fabric paints. I haven't done any since Isaac's last two shirts (lion, tortoise) and felt it was time for another one; and what better way to spend a Saturday morning? Here are the results.

L-R: Aoife's, mine & Roisin's

The girls had a great time doing the drawing & painting. I think the most difficult bit for them was waiting for it to be dry. This wasn't so bad as we'd booked to take them to a children's play at the local theatre studio so the paint was dry by the time they got home.

Evaluation

This was the first time either of them had done this and it was the first time I'd supervised anything like it. For future projects I think I need to be more instructive, i.e.: "draw me a strawberry" or "draw me a teddy bear." Roisin got a bit carried away with her drawing and included sky & background so I explained that we could only really use the girl for the stencil, but she could paint other stuff on after which she was happy with. Might need to be more clear when explaining, but then too much explanation and they lose interest. Catch 22!

I know they had fun & it was a valuable lesson for me in letting go of some of my perfectionist neuroses. The kids are used to dunking their brushes in cheap poster paint tubs and slapping the paint on rather than delicately dabbing at the excess paint inside the lids of quite-expensive-for-the-amount-you-get fabric paints and then stretching the paint out on the fabric. I just kept reminding myself "only 6 & 4" and it went really well. I could really tell that Aoife's now starting to think about things more rather than charging ahead and being upset when it doesn't look how she expected it to. It's lovely to see Roisin drawing actual people and things, since she started school her drawing has come on leaps & bounds.

Goodness knows how (in-fact I do know how - they're kids) they got paint all over their fingers/elbows etc, some of which ended up on the shirts. An additional whale on Aoife's shirt and a cunningly placed balloon on Roisin's meant the worst was disguised. They are only 6 & 4 after all so I think they did extremely well!

Just for good measure - Roising & Isaac playing after the shirts were done.

He's not quite sure what to make of Rosh sometimes!

12 month musings

2010-09-07T00:09:00.006+01:00

Dear Isaac

As I start to write this it is 11.09pm on Monday 6th September 2010. You are asleep upstairs in your cot. Daddy has gone to bed and Grandad has too. We've had a busy weekend, but I can't make myself tired or want to sleep just yet; my mind wanders back to this time last year.

About now I'd be waiting for the hospital staff to take me into the operating theatre to deliver you. My eyes sting thinking about it. It was all such a blur. I was so tired after hours of being in labour. I kept crying then too and thinking, just focus on this minute, one minute at a time. It hadn't even dawned on me that I'd get to meet you! My womb occupant of the previous 42 weeks. I knew you were in there and that you were coming out, but never in a million years did I dream that you'd be who you are.

You are amazing Little Man. From the first moment I saw you and you sneezed I was in love. In love with you my son, in love with being a Mother, in love with your Daddy for making you possible. I can honestly say it was the most surreal moment of my life, purely in a good way. I wanted to hold you so badly.

11.21pm now, getting closer. As anyone can see, you've changed my life completely. Definitely for the better. I know, deep down in my soul that I couldn't ever be the person I was before I met you. I wouldn't want to either - I'd feel I'd rejected your lessons in patience, love, tolerance, forgiveness, awareness, letting go... the list goes on. You've encouraged me to be stronger and to stick to what I believe is right.

Enough about me on your birthday. You've learned so much in your first year. Only the other day I was showing you that things exist even if you can't see them and you already knew! Your Daddy and I are very proud of you. We are especially proud of how well you've coped with growing teeth. You are such a brave Little Man and barely make a fuss if you are hurt or take a bump.

11.32pm. I've just heard you on the monitor muttering something in your sleep; it's brought me out of my memories. Daddy and I love how you chatter away, even when you're doing something else that takes your concentration, you're such a happy little soul. You really do bring a ray of sunshine everywhere with you, even when you're asleep!

11.41pm. I'm nervous now, watching the seconds tick by.

11.42pm. Here we are then, Isaac. Exactly one Gregorian calendar year since you breathed your first breath of atmosphere, since you sneezed and cried, since Daddy and I saw you and grinned like idiots.

Rest safe in the knowledge that Daddy and I will love you always because you are our son. Half me, half Daddy. We made you from scratch, just us, because we wanted you more than anything else.

Happy birthday darling. Here's to many more happy, wonderful, celebratory birthdays.

Love and so much more

Mummy

x

Sofa cruising

2010-09-04T11:01:00.002+01:00

Click image to zoom (a bit)

Master of the Spooniverse

2010-08-31T16:54:00.001+01:00

OK, so maybe he hasn't fully mastered the use of the spoon yet. But he's doing a damn fine job of trying!

Art Of Crochet squares 1-8

2010-08-30T16:40:00.009+01:00

It's taken me faaaaaaaaaaaaar too long to make these. Not because they're difficult, but because (that's right you guessed it) I'm super slack. I also have a nearly one year old so that sort of counts dunnit? Plus I'm distracted by shiny new projects such as...embroidery...sewing...card making...see how I'm digressing right now? That is how I craft as well. Nuff said. Back on track.

Square 1.

I quite liked this one. It uses simple stitches & looks pretty, quite thick though, no drape at all. It came out at exactly at the required 13cmx13cm after blocking. It's also available as a pattern called Lemon Peel in 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws and Afghans by Jan Eaton. Fabulous book BTW.

Square 2.

I quite liked this one too, although I wasn't sure I got it right a few times so frogged & restarted. Looks all right now though. It came out about 14cm x 14cm rather than the required 13. Meh.

Square 3.

My first ever granny! I can't believe I've been crocheting for about 6/7 years now & not made a granny square before this one. I love it, although it's too small. I hoped blocking would fix this, but it didn't. Someone in the Ravelry group for this part works pointed out that on the finished throw image, all the grannies have 3 rounds of the final colour, not 2. Adding an additional round of blue will make it the correct size. Way to go Hachette.

Square 4.

I didn't like the pattern for this at all. It was DCs (US) and cross stitch. I couldn't figure out how to cross stitch onto crochet without leaving a hideous mess on the back so decided to make my own pattern instead using the same colours. I used a 5mm hook for the vanilla granite stitch (pattern here) & a 3.5mm hook for the tiny star (pattern here).

Square 5.

Again, this one called for cross stitch. No thanks! I used the aforementioned blocks book to make bobbles in the same pattern as the cross stitch, again using the same colours & a 3.5mm hook. Much more fun!

Square 6.

I LOVE this stitch, it makes me want to crochet a whole sweater with it. It's so warm and floppy. Hmm, maybe if I lived in Iceland? The colour is great too. Lots of people say the colour is horrible, but I really like it! Ner to non-likers-of-maize. It's supposed to be a vintage throw. Have you seen colours from the 70s?

Square 7.

I thought the pattern for this square was terribly boring & embroidered yet again so chose the Starflower pattern from 200 Crochet Blocks using the same colours as the A.O.C. pattern & a 3.5mm hook (I think, or it may have been 3.75mm) omitting the final round to keep it 13cm x 13cm.

Square 8.

This one was a real labour of love. I started it a month ago. I chose to work it in SC (US) not DC (US) as stated in the pattern. I think it looks neater & more uniform this way. The bobbles are from 200 Crochet Blocks rather than being the pattern bobbles. I don't think I liked them as much. Not enough panache. I don't really know what happened, actually it was probably my crafty absent-mindedness/magpie-ness, but I only finished it yesterday. I didn't even feel gleefully triumphant like I usually do upon completion of a project. Ah well, they can't all be little gems can they?

Thoughts on the part works so far:

I'm glad I have my own hooks because the one supplied is not great. I quite like the colours of the yarn, but it doesn't feel terribly nice. I guess you get what you pay for. I'm learning new things & I'll have an immense throw at the end of it all plus I've made a new friend along the way so I'm not complaining!

Now all I have to do is catch up to issue 32. ROFLMAO!

Just So Festival 2010

2010-08-30T15:46:00.004+01:00

It's taken a week, but today I've finally Henry hoovered up the last of the festival mud from the hall. It made me smile thinking back to last weekend and how the mud got there.

It came from the Just So Festival, held at a Scout camp ground by Rudyard Reservoir just outside of Leek. It's a truly magical setting with little glades containing different themed areas all offering different activities (e.g.: lantern making, small cinema, traditional games (croquet, cricket, hoopla etc), sand pit, face painting, circus skills, story time, bands etc). It was the first time the festival was put on and I have to say that the guys organising (Sarah & Rowan) did a sterling job. The camping glades were dotted around the site and were all named after animals from Rudyard Kipling's (whose parents named him after the reservoir) Just So Stories (it all makes sense now). We were pretty lucky to be in the Elephant glade which was relatively close to everything. I guess it's because we had quite small children with little legs. 200 families camped and an additional 300 families came in on day tickets each day of the festival (Saturday & Sunday). It was beautifully organised with coloured lights strung along the paths, baubles in the bushes and bunting galore. There was even a bush with brown labels for you to write your festival memories.

We arrived on Friday afternoon & managed to get the tent up just in time for a rain shower. It's the first time we've used our new bell tent and we absolutely LOVE IT! It looks pretty small in the picture, but it's 5 metres of massive. I can't imagine using any other kind of tent again. The only downside was that the inner we purchased broke. 3 times. Imagine, if you will, the centre pole of a bell tent. About 2/3rds of the way up said pole is a hook on which one can hang various items such as a tea light chandelier or, in our case, an inner. We chose to use an inner as the children are still small and feel the cold, plus it separates the sleeping area making it easier to keep clean! Anyhoo. The order of the inner, from the hook, goes - hook, ring, fabric loop, inner. The loop of fabric at the top of the inner can't have been stitched very well to the inner because it snapped on one side, so I fixed it, then the other, so I fixed that too. Then the ring snapped into 3 pieces. So I fixed that too. How? I took a sewing kit with me. I have no idea why I packed it, but I did & good job too! I used a canvas strip that was used to tie the tent in its bag to replace the ring & it held fine for the duration. I can't believe I took a sewing kit to a festival and had to use it.

That was the worst bit really. The rain was intermittent, but enough to be annoying. however because the site was established it had proper paths and so we didn't end up swimming in mud like you can do at some festivals. The toilets were a festival goers dream! Loo roll, soap, paper towels and lights! Quite magnificent...for a loo. I hope it hasn't spoiled the girls for future festivals - Aoife's quite particular about loos! The food was wonderful and we all ate very well while we were there. There was a baby deli serving home cooked food for the youngest visitors. We chose not to use it because there wasn't any finger food on the menu & Isaac still isn't big on being spoon fed apart from breakfast, which we took with us. To both mine & Simon's delight there was a Pie Minister stall selling the Heidi Pie. Sold. Relief in the form of a pie!

The activities were great, the ones that we did. I think next year we really do need to plan what we want to do & do it. The rain meant that we didn't do as much as we've liked and Isaac being so small still meant I couldn't do as much as I'd have liked (he's very clingy to me at the moment). I felt very jealous of all the beautiful lanterns I saw waiting to be collected. The baby sensory tent looked lovely, but a bit soggy as it was at the bottom of a slope and the rain had leaked in & wet the rattan type flooring, which was a shame. The was a lot for babies, all in the Peekaboo glade.

There were some adventure playgrounds which the girls loved. One was for under 8s & the other for over 8s. Unfortunately, parents weren't monitoring this so by Sunday morning there was a marshal monitoring it. Much to Aoife's annoyance.

We went on a wildlife trail & made dragonflies & masks with the RSPB. The girls practised their circus skills, listened to stories, made sandcastles and watched Punch & Judy. We painted their faces and rocked them gently in hammocks. Simon & the girls watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in the Silver Screen glade while Isaac and I napped. Isaac took it all in from his carrier. He watched his first live band sporting some borrowed baby ear defenders. He also practised kneeling against the tent pole (I'm not sure if I should be pleased or bemused by this!) I'm very excited about when he's bigger and can do things like the den building, campfire building and foraging activites. I want to do them!!

Click image to zoom (a bit)

The time flew and before too long it was time to pack up the tent. We decided to cut the weekend short and leave at about half past two on the Sunday. We were all shattered after a broken nights sleep on Saturday & we hadn't managed to book in for some of the activities we wanted to (apparently next year there will be more room in the activity groups). I felt for the day crowd because most activities got booked up on Friday evening. So, no Moomin Tea Party for us! Boo!

We had lots of fun and are all (those of us that can voice opinion, that is) eager to go back next year. I think nearly everyone that went is though, so we'll have to book our tickets soon!

Thank you Rowan & Sarah for a fabulous experience!

While I've been quiet online...

2010-08-27T21:53:00.005+01:00

...I've been furiously crafting away! Seriously. I couldn't post most of these until recently because they were gifts for or being sent to people who I know sometimes read this blog. Then I got lazy & decided to post them all in one übercraftpost.

So here goes.

First up, Noah's towel. Our NCT group agreed not to get presents for everyone, but to do a secret santa type thing & spend between £5 & £10 on one present for one child instead. We all picked names out of a hat & I got Sarah's little boy, Noah. I decided to make him a hooded towel with his name embroidered on the hood. It's my first attempt at embroidery & (typically, feet first Sarah) I chose a tricky fabric to embroider. I also discovered that towelling is not easy to transfer a design onto hence it was a lot bigger on the towel than I'd anticipated when drawing it initially on paper! I ended up drawing it on freehand because none of the transfer methods worked. Tailors chalk? Pfft. Transfer pen? NOT A CHANCE IN HELL. Especially as I chose a darkish towel.

It's a bit wonky, but in my defence it was made with love & towelling is a BUGGER to embroider. Structurally speaking it's the best & neatest hooded towel I've made to date. 3rd time's the charm. What did I learn from my first embroidery experience? However much floss you think you need, always buy two more skeins if you are working satin stitch.

Second. Isaac's birthday party invite. He's going to be the big o-n-e soon so we decided to have a little tea party for immediate family, Not-Godparents & their partners. Little, hehe, that's 18 people already! So, me being me, I had to make special invites. My boy isn't one every day y'know!

Next. Amy's A. I know we agreed to only get one present for one child in our NCT group, but technically I didn't get this gift. I had everything already and the fabric actually belonged to the recipent in borrowed-no-longer-fits-sweater form! I wanted Steph to know that I appreciate how much she does for our wee group of babies & parents, she really is the glue that holds us together. So, I made this for little Amy Mae. With hindsight I should've photographed it before going into the glass to avoid reflection & stitch squashing. I've never framed embroidery before. Does one use glass? Who knows! It'll stop it getting dusty at any rate.

Finally, for this post. Fairy wings! As I'm sure you know, we went to the Just So Festival this weekend gone. I read on the programme of events that there was a fairy trail through the forest, at the end of which was the Fairy Queen. So, I thought to myself, what little girl can meet the Fairy Queen without wings?! With this in mind I set to and wings came forth.

Click image to zoom

They were a hit :-) I have tonnes of tulle left. MUST CALCULATE FABRIC QUANTITIES BEFORE GOING TO BUY ON A WHIM. Although I figure, little girls + pink + sparkly = not a bad thing². My brain is conjuring up sparkly skirts & dolly clothes for Rosh's Barbies.

I'd like to acknowledge my patient as hell husband Simon for putting up with bits of towel, paper, floss, glue, scissors, card, pens, needles, fabric, cutting mats, sewing machines and other such crafty miscellanea strewn all over the kitchen during my creative bouts. And also for not grumping about the finished crocheted square that's been pinned out on a board on the lounge table for nearly a month while it waits for the one that's been sitting on the arm of the sofa for nearly as long to be finished. And various other U.F.O.s dotted around the lounge/computer room. Thank you hun beam! I suppose I'd better finish those...and the other thing I should've finished by now...and the other thing I should really start...

Stairgate (SG-1)

2010-08-26T22:39:00.002+01:00

That's right folks. We have a stair gate. It doesn't transport its users to far off, mystical lands. It doesn't even glow, but it does mean I don't give myself a mini hernia every time Isaac drags himself super-fast towards the top of the stairs in a bid to catch the dog.

Upon measurement, it transpires our staircase is just-too-wide-for-a-regular-without-extenders-stair-gate kind of staircase. This instantly narrows our choice of gates as we (being seasoned stair gate users) wanted the screw-to-the-wall kind and not the trip-over-the-bottom-rung kind. See image to the right which conveniently demonstrates both irksome features. In addition to wide a stair case, we have silly 70s bannisters & ridiculously small skirting boards. Also from the 1970s. I was slightly concerned about fitting any stair gate in our house.

Having had experience of pressure mounted death trip gates (from when Roisin was wee and also from keeping Rinny out of the kitchen at our old house) I think we were justified in our decision to spend more than we had planned on a gate we A) liked the look of, B) worked with our bannister/skirting board and C) can be tidied away easily when not in use.

We decided on the Lascal KiddyGuard which is essentially a sideways roller blind. It's BRILLIANT!* I read many a review & even ordered (and then cancelled) a BabyDan Flexi Fit before hitting the checkout button. (I cancelled the BabyDan because, despite moving house, space is still an issue and there aren't really any walls against which we could leave a conventional gate open). Lots of people complained that the KiddyGuard is noisy & that you can't open/close it one handed. Something about the push-button-in-click-forwards-the-back system confused people & the noise woke up their kids? After reading the instructions & a few practice attempts both Simon & I can competently use this gate. It's doable one handed, but it makes the noise (clicking sound used as safety feature to alert parent to possible child tampering). That doesn't bother me because if I'm trying to do it one handed then I must be holding Isaac who almost certainly won't be asleep!

It was a doddle to install and the bannister/skirting board potential problem didn't even come into it. Granted the supplied rawlplugs were of usual shoddy supplied-with-product standard, but nothing a quick trip to the toolbox couldn't fix, plus I got to use the drill! MORE POWER! Isaac thought it was all very exciting & happily dragged himself around while I fitted it, munching on the occasional carrot & pumpkin rice cake.

It's not in use lots yet as we don't spend much time upstairs with Isaac on the loose so it's open for much of the time. It's pretty inconspicuous I must say. In-fact, it's so discreet that the girls haven't noticed it yet!

So anyhoo, here is our Stairgate SG-1.


Closed

Open

Job done, thank you very much, goodnight.

* Personal opinion, no one's paying me to say nice things. About anything on this blog actually.

Absent minded observation.

2010-08-26T01:14:00.001+01:00

I was flicking through some of my old posts & this one has a picture of me at 5 months old. Here it is.

I can't help but notice that I've crossed my feet. Isaac does this loads. To the point where it becomes comical.

It's amazing when he does it while sitting bolt upright, a stern look on his face & eyebrows slowly changing shape on his forehead until he bursts into a crazy faced grin! He's kind of doing it here, but rather than looking at it sternly, he's scowling at the toastie.

I wish I could've seen more of Simon's baby photos. I wonder what similarities there are between baby Simon & his son?

Clappy clappy joy joy!

2010-08-25T21:14:00.001+01:00

Isaac has finally learned to clap! I say finally because I was wondering if he ever would. As with everything Isaac does, I thought, it'll happen in his own sweet time when he's good and ready. He'll probably have been thinking about it for months before he actually tries it out. He liked it when we clapped for his entertainment, but was never really taken with the act of physically clapping himself. Until Monday. With a handful of dinner he started to throw hand smackings together all over the place interspersed with the over excited bounce/jerk/exclamation of glee combo that he's perfected lately. Bless him.

Last week: a summary

2010-08-25T12:14:00.001+01:00

Gosh it's been a week since my last post, and that was a hastily thrown together picture affair rather than a proper post. So. What have we been up to? Well...

Monday

Isaac & I do our food shopping together; he likes to check out new things so I let him explore stuff from his perch in the trolley while we're going around the supermarket. Today he decided to sink his teeth into a red bell pepper before we got to the checkout! He looked at me as if to say "I know I probably shouldn't be doing this, but what the hey". Who am I to stop a mini-scientist? And besides. Isn't that the cutest little set of bite marks?

We discovered that Isaac is a BIG fan of cherries.

Nom nom nom

And also of eating bits of carpet fluff. Busted!

Tuesday

We went to a soft play with some NCT chums where Isaac had his first ride on a rocking horse! He loved it.

Wednesday

In the mornings after breakfast & while I'm doing the dishes, Isaac likes to drag himself around and discover new things. This morning he particularly enjoyed removing & replacing a cloth from the gap between the washing machine & the cupboard under the sink where we hang the tea towels. I now truly understand the saying "it's the little things".

Thursday

We were going to go swimming, but Isaac decided to sleep from 9.40am - 12.15pm! This meant there was no point us going (the pool we had planned to go to with a friend is about a 20 minute drive so by the time I'd have got him dressed, booby fed, in the car & there the session would've been over as the baby slot was from 12-1pm). So, no swimming last week. Plans? Forgeddabouddit.

Instead we went to clinic and got Isaac weighed. 17lbs 11oz! At this rate he's putting on 1lb a month which is pretty good going. He's still on the chart & doing what the piece of paper says he should. He sat up on the scales this time. I remember seeing other babies do that when I first started to take him to be weighed & I remember thinking "gosh look how grown up they are". Now our Little Man is growing up just like that, but he's still my baby boy...

Happy post-nap baberoo

Friday

Today was the start of the Just So Festival, but more about that in another post. Needless to say it was a totally insane rush to get everything ready & we didn't end up leaving until 3.15pm. Exactly what we didn't want to be doing. PLAN, ORGANISE & PACK THE NIGHT BEFORE NEXT YEAR! Before the craziness started, though, I managed to snap a shot of Isaac doing something he loves which is sharing his food. He really is a very generous child with his munch, despite putting a healthy sized portion away!

Observation

Since Tuesday Isaac's naps have become more regular. He sleeps for 2 hours twice a day with a good 4 hour chunk of day in between. This is great! We do more stuff during the day; he eats a small lunch at 1 o'clock now instead of getting stroppy & chucking it about meaning he's full after tea and subsequently he goes to bed later (about 8pm) which means...*drum roll please* he sleeps through & gets up later!!! Between 7.30-8am. OH YEAH! I feel like that bit in The Matrix where Neo finally *sees* The Matrix. Lets see how long it lasts....!

There's nothing better...

2010-08-17T09:10:00.001+01:00

...than mucking about with water!

Secret midnight snapshot

2010-08-15T21:36:00.001+01:00

The Munchkin is so cute when he's sleeping, even in a travel cot away from home.

Evolution of eating

2010-08-11T19:16:00.001+01:00

Isaac, it would seem, no longer wants to be fed with a spoon. He screws his face up and has a little fit. There is a single daily exception to this rule and that is breakfast. He simply cannot get enough of the tasty banana-wheat biscuit-hemp milk combo in his mouth fast enough any other way than if I feed it to him. I guess it's because he's gone without food for so long (i.e.: all night) and he's super hungry by morning time, even with a boob feed at about 5am.

This morning he wolfed down a WHOLE BOWL of the stuff without stopping to whinge once AND THEN ate a WHOLE PIECE OF TOAST too! It was cut into dinosaur shapes, but still. That's some good going for the Wiggler, who usually gets to 2 spoonfuls left & then quits.

I tried, again, to feed him his lunch, to no avail. He screwed up his face, again. He threw a little fit, again. So. I left him with the bowl and the spoon & went to do the washing up. I look up to see a perfectly contented Little Man playing with spoon & food and later on even eating it!! I think he managed to eat most of it, but it's difficult to tell with vulture hound stalking the underside of his high chair, ready to pounce on any freshly discarded foodstuff. He was happy enough to eat this way and even managed to get some on the spoon and subsequently in his mouth! Excitement!

It looks like a total mess, but it's not. Believe me. This is relatively clean when compared with previous baby led weaning exercises. Anyway, I think he enjoyed himself! And the fact he looks a little like he has food stubble is too cute :-D

And he's off!

2010-08-05T10:38:00.004+01:00

Isaac is officially on the move. He doesn't crawl yet. I like to think of it as a commando-style belly drag. He's pretty quick about it though! Or, you know in zombie movies when the zombie has lost its legs & it still drags itself towards you, desperate for a taste of human? A bit like that, but without the insatiable desire for brains and with a cheeky grin & some slobber.You can tell where he's been because he leaves mini piles of evidence. He's so happy while he does it! Constant babble as he Wiggles about.

He particularly likes pulling DVDs off the shelf & getting them out of their cases. It seems to be a standard baby tactic - "Right, I can move I shall beeline for the DVDs". Why is this? Also, Rinny's ball is not safe. At all these days. I have to put it away when he's around & on the move because between them they won't leave it alone!

Anyway, he's very happy about being mobile and I'm sure crawling proper isn't too far off. Then walking...then running...then leaving home...

Blue Monday

2010-08-03T10:14:00.001+01:00

Last week we had our first colour day. I've decided that it's a good idea to have colour days, maybe once a week, where Isaac wears the colour of the day and I point out things to him which are that colour. So anyhoo, last Monday was (of course) Blue Monday.

He had a lovely time playing with the blue Mega Bloks in his blue t-shirt & blue jeans. We spotted lots of blue things on the way to the swimming pool, around town and on the way home. Even his swim nappy is...blue! How convenient!

I think this week our colour day will be tomorrow & might well have to be Orange Wednesday. *groan*

Fruity fruity!

2010-08-02T20:42:00.000+01:00

Today Isaac had his first taste of nectarine. He used all 4 of his teeth to nash his way through it. He has 4 teeth now by the way; the top 2 came through just before the weekend and now he's onto his next lot. He puts his hand to his gum & grimaces...poor little mite. I don't envy him this pain at all.

Anyhoo, I think he liked the nectarine as he scoffed nearly the whole thing! :-D

Can't...stop...baking...

2010-08-02T15:58:00.001+01:00

It seems I either bake nothing or have a bit of a frenzy. Typical me, all or nothing. Yesterday I made sugar cookies. I used the recipe in The Joy of Vegan Baking by Collen Patrick-Goudreau. I've made sugar cookies before, but not very well. Have you ever made sugar cookies? They're perfect if you want to make a shaped cookie/biscuit to ice. Good for occasions (like baby showers - I saw a very cute onesie cutter the other day) BUT they are an awful faff. Very tasty, but a massive faff to achieve perfect results. There's shed loads of refrigeration and then some more refrigeration and some extra refrigeration just in case of dough warming. Not really being bothered about achieving perfect results, I have decided from this moment on to not faff so much, thus saying b*****ks to the refrigeration completely and not using a cookie cutter. I like them round & if I want shapes I'll make something else. Meh. Here are my attempted-not-perfect-but-delicious sugar cookies.

I haven't iced anything before and must say that it was great fun! I used unrefined icing sugar, hence the golden colour. The icing recipe was from the same book and was very easy. No faffing there you'll be pleased to hear. I didn't even know that some icing contains egg whites. WTF? Yes that right. Regal icing contains uncooked egg whites. Yuk!

Anyhoo. My second batch of baked goods were made earlier today and are vegan blueberry muffins. I Googled "vegan blueberry muffins" and got quite a few results (surprise eh?), but most of them were a right faff! (We know how I feel about faffing.) Or required ingredients I do not have. So, I chose this recipe from recipesforvegans.co.uk. I haven't tried anything else from the site. They were so easy and quick to make! And delicious! Thumbs up! Not bad considering the blueberries needing using up.

I've also made a fruit salad (gotta love reduced fruit) & spiced lentil soup today. But they aren't baked so do not get a photo.

I hear my Little Man has woken up so off I shall go to get him. I love how he greets me when I enter his room:

:-)

Onwards and...downwards?

2010-07-30T10:21:00.009+01:00

Isaac is becoming increasingly mobile these days. He's not a particularly speedy mover, but he Wiggles around a fair bit and shuffles about in a backwards manner, too. He even tried to pull himself up on the coffee table the other day! Looks like it's time to think about baby proofing. Yipee!

His favourite thing to do when on the sofa is to lunge forward and investigate what's going on on the floor. Which is invariably nothing, but he does it regardless. Each time he does this my heartbeat quickens as I prepare to leap to his rescue should he overbalance any; can't have him landing on his noggin!

Don't let him play on the sofa! you declare.

Now, where's the fun in that?

Teasing with toys that aren't even yours.

2010-07-30T10:11:00.003+01:00

Isaac has taken a shine to Rinny's favourite toy. The red-legs-chewed-off-doesn't-squeak-anymore-bounces-lots-ball. She's so good with him. She wouldn't dare try to take it from him. She knows the line exists and that she definitely shouldn't cross it.

(I don't usually let Isaac play with her toys if he happens across one because A) it's unfair to Rinny & B) it's not terribly hygienic, but today I caved for the sake of funny pictures.)

Doesn't stop her sulking though.

Garden, grub & a gift!

2010-07-27T10:49:00.012+01:00

This weekend was quiet; a rare occurrence in our house! We had planned that friends were coming to stay and some Couch Surfers too, but as it worked out no one came, Simon's cousin moved out and was only Simon, Isaac, Rinny and I. It was lovely.

I had an unexpected night out with most of my NCT girlfriends to say goodbye to Maria who is moving away. The meal was fabulous (as it always is at Le Bistrot Pierre) and proved to be highly entertaining as the night wore on! Pictures not posted to protect the innocent ;-)

Our little dog, Rinny, was quite poorly last week. She was sick a few times and not herself at all. I took her to the vet on Friday evening & she received an injection to stop her being sick. That seemed to do the trick, along with not eating for a few days and you'll be pleased to know she's now back to her insane, couch hogging, incessant ball chasing, voracious self!

On Sunday Isaac woke up with a ridiculously cute tuft of hair sticking out which stayed there all day.

We were (and still are) shrouded by oppressive dark clouds (where did Summer go?!) so when the sun came out we legged it outside to get some vitamin D!

We wanted to go the route of baby led weaning, but Isaac doesn't get the food in his mouth fast enough to not get fed up with being hungry. Sometimes he just don't wanna eat and on these rare occasions we let him loose on the food. Which he likes. I think the dog likes it more as she always does very well!

I've known since being a child that the box is always more fun than the toy. It seems the same is true for blankets. This IKEA blanket/throw thing is the source of much happy time spent with Little Man. He particularly likes having it thrown over him so he can fight his way out.

He also likes lying under it with his Mama. Sometimes. When he's not too busy Wiggling!

As I said, Simon's cousin moved out this weekend and during the process we gained a very generous gift of a keyboard. On the same day that someone told me I should learn to play the piano no less!! Isaac loves playing on it. He loves the dials and buttons & has actually made some pretty awesome music on it so far!

Here's something else to add to the list of things he's *going* to be - virtuoso!

Next weekend: carnival fun and possibly camping *fingers crossed*

On the radio (uh oh!)

2010-07-23T14:40:00.012+01:00

We were on the radio today...quite unbelievable! I say we, I was. Isaac was much of the focus, but he's a baby thus not capable of holding a radio-style conversation.

It was all quite unplanned. I innocently sent a text to the Shaun Keaveny breakfast show on BBC 6 Music yesterday asking them to play my earworm (Can I Play With Madness by Iron Maiden - oh yes). Later in the day someone rang me to see if I wanted to be on the following day for a feature called My Morning Racket. Initially I said no because I've never been good at anything involving people watching me as my school friends know well (freezing up, dry mouth, talking at high speed, turning as red as you like), but she talked me into it. Plus no one was actually watching so it was OK.

Turns out I didn't get to talk to Shaun because, typically, he went on holiday the day before! So I spoke to Andrew Collins instead, who was very nice. I've only just heard myself and I've decided that it's not too bad so...here I am on the radio!

(Simon aren't you proud? I got the audio file embedded in the page all by myself!! Well, strictly speaking, I used this awesome tutorial. Thank you for teaching me html & css though :-D xx)

P.S.: Please forgive my Leatherface ignorance.
P.P.S.: If you can't see the embedded flash player, click here instead.

Morning Mega Bloks

2010-07-21T11:07:00.006+01:00

Our latest post-breakfast activity, just before Isaac has his nap, is playing with the Mega Bloks. The game goes like this: I build some sort of structure, hand it to Isaac who pulls it apart in seconds! Then he looks at me in a way that says "build another one Mama, please." How can I refuse? Such fun!

P.S.: Cracking shot of the ScienceFingers™! A double whammy in-fact!!

Rosh turns 4 and other weekend antics

2010-07-20T20:54:00.008+01:00

This weekend, Roisin turned 4. We had planned to go camping, but the weather forecast was typically British (dubious as hell) so we reluctantly decided to stay home rather than make their first camping experience a soggy one. Gutted. Instead of sleeping in a tent outside, we put up the beach tent in their room, blew up one of the air mattresses and they slept in their sleeping bags which went down pretty well!

On Saturday I made strawberry milkshake which was a huge success

and Isaac scoffed a whole bowl of sweet potato wedges!

At the time I thought he was filthy, but looking back I think he did very well!

After lunch we went to a local farm where you can feed the animals. We've been before, but Isaac hadn't and the girls wanted to go...so we did! Isaac totally freaked out when we got there and didn't like the animals at all. Simon handed him back to me and he calmed down a bit. Poor Daddy. I can understand it though, huge noisy furry beasts that don't smell or sound like Rinny. I remember when Rinny was a puppy and every time she experienced something new she's run back & hide behind my legs. So I guess it's kind of the same thing with Isaac, apart from he's clearly not a dog. He spends the majority of his time with me so looks to me for reassurance. Bless his little lovely socks. Anyhoo...animal fear aside. The girls had a lovely time feeding the animals and looking at chickens, ducks, peacocks, rabbits, guinea pigs, donkeys etc. Although, apparently "that pig poo is disgusting" according to Roisin which amused a lady and her elderly mother standing close by no end!

The sheep were out in the fields this time, but the goats weren't complaining!

There was an old tractor for kids to climb on and play with too.

On the way home Roisin (whilst looking at a map) won the award for quote of the weekend, which goes as follows:

Roisin: "That's Zombie Island!"

Sarah: "Zombie Island?! What's on Zombie Island?"

Roisin: "Ghosts."

(!)

On Sunday morning Roisin opened her presents and cards (the cake was had after tea)

while Isaac played peekaboo with his sweater

The girls played on their bikes for a while (Rosh's was our birthday present) and *helped* us do some gardening. We were going to go to a pub near the campsite (The Bull's Head in Monyash) for lunch had we gone camping, so we went to a local one instead and had a veggie carvery followed by incredibly naughty puddings - yum! Then we went to Toys R Us for Rosh to spend some of her birthday money from Nanna & Grandad Steven.

It's always so incredibly quiet when they go back to their Mum's house on Sunday evening. I felt a bit deflated this time; I miss them when they go home.

Despite not going camping we all had a lovely weekend. If we don't manage to sleep under canvas before, we're going to the Just So Festival which should blow the girlies minds and be a memorable camp at any rate :-)

This is [not] the day [anymore]

2010-07-19T21:01:00.010+01:00

I turned the page of my diary earlier only to see that today, this very Monday, is the day I should've started back at work. Only, I'm not going back. Today marks the official end of my 52 weeks maternity leave. The time has flown and I can't quite believe it's here already! I've meant to write about it before now, but the timing seems appropriate today.

The instant Isaac was handed to me my Mummy instincts overwhelmed my senses and I knew in my heart that I couldn't possibly, no way ever, nuh uh EVER give him to someone else to look after before he goes to school. Just the thought of it made my soul hurt. Paying someone else to look after my baby? It strikes me as absurd. They won't appreciate his development like I will. And they won't be his Mother. Period.

I reasoned with myself that lots of people send their kids to nursery and they're all fine, but I just can't do it. I figure if I did go back to work I'd be part time anyway so that he wouldn't be at nursery all day (full day = 8am-6pm, half day = 9am-3pm). I know if I worked we'd be eligible for some financial assistance from the government to help cover the cost of childcare, but (having worked it out previously for when we thought Simon's youngest might live with us for a bit) we'd still be only slightly better off financially. It'd be different, I think, if I had family close by who were prepared to and were able have him during the day, but I don't. So that scuppers that one! I've thought about child minders and have looked at several nurseries which were nice, but something inside me feels that the right thing for Isaac is staying home with me. I don't want to get a piece of paper telling me when my son's nappy was changed or when he ate or what. I want to be there and experience all of it myself! As goes the cliché, I'll never get the time back, so why should I lose it in the first place?

I'm a great believer in the family unit and that parents are as much, if not more responsible for their child's education than the state. It therefore makes sense to me that during the early years of his life I teach Isaac about life and human interaction (and other stuff, obviously) to prepare him as best I can for what lies ahead while taking time to develop the existing bond between us to hopefully give him a secure basis from which to spring into his own independence. I think academic pressure starts too early in this country, way before kids (particularly boys) are ready for it.

So, we've decided that I will be a stay at home Mum until he's of school age. I don't think any of this will be a piece of cake by any means! Just before he goes to school we'll probably do a few mornings or days a week in the toddler group at the school we'd like him to go to so we both get used to not being with each other so much.

Until then...we're going to take life as it comes and have as much fun as possible!

Which shouldn't be too hard with this cheeky young scamp!

He's going to be a...

2010-07-16T10:10:00.010+01:00

As I'm sure all parents do, on numerous occasions we've made a remark (when Isaac has being doing something in particular relating to a job/career) beginning "he's going to be a..."

Here are some of those things that I've managed to capture!

Body popper

Drummer

Conductor

Food taster

Photographer

Wine taster?

We've suspicions about construction too, but that one remains elusive in terms of photographic evidence. Of course it's silly to do this and he can be anything he wants, but I wonder, what will he really want to do/be?

New beginnings...online at least

2010-07-15T22:06:00.014+01:00

I have deserted Wordpress and am pleased as punch about it! Don't get me wrong, Wordpress is a great site & has been perfect for me, but I've discovered that Blogger is...better!

Having blogged about Little Man and things crafty separately for a while I, decided that I might like to blog about other things too and so decided to remove blog parameters. After almost 2 years of loyalty to wordpress.com, I have jumped ship to blogger.com. Why? Because...A) I can post bigger pictures on Blogger than any of the Wordpress themes that I liked B) it's much less complicated in terms of editing/customising/controlling the layout and making it exactly how my OCD self wants it, very intuitive and C) it links in with my Google account. Yes I know...one of those. One less password to remember...feeding the Google machine yada yada...

Anyhoo...first I combined Crafty Pie Blurb with Mini Pie Blurb and then, after realising the Wordpress export feature isn't compatible with the Blogger import feature, I used this little page to instruct me in ways mutinous. It says it will only work with .xml files 1MB or less, but mine was 1.10MB and it still did it. Hurrah! The whole process took approximately 5 minutes and was rather painless; it transferred comments. tags (labels on Blogger) and everything!

I am now completing the arduous task of deleting the posts from Wordpress. Which I can only do 15 at a time. I suppose I should leave Mini Pie Blurb up for a while with a forwarding note? Or is that self indulgent that anyone will notice? Hmm. *ponders*

The only thing that irks [my OCD self] is that the paragraph spacing on existing, transferred posts is off and pictures aren't centre aligned now that they're on Blogger. BUT. I am NOT about to edit every single post to satisfy my inherent compulsive orderliness! Not tonight anyway...