"Where`s your other sock gone?"

How time flies.

2011-03-05T06:21:00.000-08:00

OMG is it really that long ago?

After just about managing to get back into some kind of routine with all my 5 kids, I thought it was time to wipe the dust off my computer and get back to writing a little here and there.

Wow! The last time I wrote on my blog was almost a year ago. Just goes to show that when you have kids, time goes by so fast. Too fast!

Anyway, amongst all the chaos and "trying" to be organised and have a routine, I thought it only fair that I try to gain some sanity and get back some of my "me" time.

Here's hoping...

Happy Mother`s Day.

2010-03-14T04:37:00.000-07:00

HAPPY MOTHER`S DAY!

I love you to bits mum. Hope you have a wonderful day.

We`ve laughed, we`ve hugged, we`ve cried and we`ve yelled, but I hope you know that I love you always.

Even though we live miles away from eachother, I hope you can feel this huge cuddle I`m giving you right now. x

Thankyou for everything you`ve ever done for me. Even the tiny things that you probably think I don`t notice. Thankyou. Thankyou for being my friend and thankyou for being my mum.

Here`s to many more years of .... possibly more little yells, but mostly great times with a lot of love and happiness.

I love you millions and trillions, mum. X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Waiting for Mr. Postman.

2010-03-08T03:06:00.000-08:00

I`m sat here waiting for parcels. Yay! I just hope some of them do actually come today. I`ve ordered some compost, plant pots and bird food from Wilkinsons. Can`t remember if I`ve ordered anything else from there, but that`s all part of the fun when you open the box.
I`ve also ordered two tv wall brackets for the oldest two to have in their rooms. Oooh and some books for me. I couldn`t resist getting The Hairy Bikers "mums know best" cook book. When I manage to watch it on the telly, the food looks so good and (ideal for me) pretty easy. (she says.)
Delia`s coming too. I know a lot of people think "Ha! She`s old fashioned and boring!" But for those of us in the know, ie ... people who watched the programme about her the other week, she is probably one of the the most important people in cookery. I can`t remember what the book`s called now. Something basic like "How to Cook." There are three in total, but I got the big thick one which combines all three. Considering it was only a couple of quid dearer than the first book on it`s own, I had to snap it up.
What else have I ordered? ............ Oooh, hair straighteners for me and Miss Hormonal. Ordered them at boots together with about half a year`s supply of "women`s things" so she doesn`t keep running out.
Oooh, and I forgot I`ve got some dressmaker`s chalk coming from Ebay aswell.
I don`t get much of a chance to get out and about with the 3 youngest ones. It`s very tricky not having a car. So at the moment, buying online is heaven for me. I absolutely love it!

Poorly house

2010-02-01T06:24:00.000-08:00

I`m getting fed up now. It`s been well over a week now since the dreaded sniffs and sneezes came into our house. Little Man and Tiny Man have constantly had snot dripping down to their top lip. Everyone`s had their turn at having the chills one minute and then burning up the next. We`ve had sore throats, headaches, coughs, sneezes, body aches and basically feeling like crap.... all on alternate days. So there`s never really been one day where everyone is coughing. Everyone`s had different symptoms as each other each day. And then just when you start to feel better and back to normal, we get blocked up again.

Today, it`s my oldest son`s turn to feel it worst. He`s off school and in bed with a sore throat, headache and a cough that makes him sound like an 80 year old smoker.
Little Sweet pea, has a constant runny nose.
My OH is all blocked up again.
Little Man seems (touch wood) to be getting rid of his chesty cough, although he still sounds husky when he talks.
Tiny Man is bunged up but has more of an appetite now.
Oldest daughter seems to be getting rid of her bad chest, and I feel bunged up in my head.

The house is filled with the wonderful aroma of Olbas oil, which does work, but this particular cold that we`ve got just doesn`t seem to want to go away without a fight.

I don`t have the heating on throughout the night because that just bungs you up whether you have a cold or not. Little Man and Tiny Man both get a bit of Vick rubbed into their chest and backs before bed and a few drops of baby Olbas oil on their pj`s. It really helps loosen up any phlegm on their chest, and the oil stops them getting blocked up in the middle of the night. I always put a couple more drops on their pillows when I go up to bed. I`d much rather them have a pillow full of runny snot in the mornings, than be so bunged up they just feel dreadful.

Little Sweet pea has a couple of drops of baby Olbas on her sleeping bag at night too. This really helps her sleep through the night. There`s nothing worse than seeing your baby frightened when they suddenly feel they can`t breath.

Also, here`s a tip for you. Whenever the little one`s noses are streaming down their faces, don`t use a tissue because this is what makes them start to go red and sore. I use a Johnson's wet wipe to wipe it away. Obviously not the same wipe for everyone. All three of my little ones, (the oldest two can wipe their own. lol) never get red and sore under their noses, no matter how often they need wiping. There must be just enough moisture to cleanse, but not too much where it makes them chapped. And this is the original Johnson's wipes, not the sensitive ones, so I`m not sure if it would be the same with those.

Anyways, I must dash now. Tiny Man just sneezed and is blowing bubbles out of his nose.

Bugs

2010-01-20T11:13:00.000-08:00

Little Man started Nursery one and a half weeks ago now, and already he`s had a tummy bug! It`s years ago since my eldest was in Nursery and I`d forgotten just how blimmin quickly these bugs are brought home. I`m just waiting for the other bugs to arrive now. You know, the ones with legs that like to live in your hair and make your life hell. Having seven heads of hair to dissect once they do set foot through the front door is not entirely appealing to me. In fact, thinking about it, I might even go out tomorrow and buy some lotions and potions. I`ve already got loads of combs .... that`s a thought, I`ll have to dig them out from whichever safe place I put them in.

Little Man`s hair is in desperate need of a hair cut too. His hair is very thick and it`s dark brown. Two big reasons why I need to cut it all off before the nits move in. Aaargh! It`s making me itch just talking about it.

Just wanted to show you this pic of him. It was taken a week before Christmas. His hair`s grown about two more inches since then. This is him singing "Balamory" into his doodle draw pen.

Let the door be locked!

2009-12-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

Well, we finally put a new lock on the bathroom door. We used to have one just above the door handle, but as soon as Little Man figured out how to lock himself in, he also realised he could bide his time and turn on a tap or two, chuck a few things down the toilet and open a few shampoo bottles here and there. So the lock was quickly removed. The new one is about half a mile up the door now, to ensure no little fingers can get up to mischief.

I remember when Little Man was smaller and he just started being able to reach the door handles around the house. My OH came up with the ingenious idea of putting the handles on some of the doors the wrong way round. So the handle still looked the same, but you had to lift them upwards to open the door, instead of pulling them downwards. This worked a treat! However, even though Little Man can open all of the doors now, we didn`t change the upside down handles back. This gives him great pleasure when he watches his mummy struggling to get from one room to another because she can never remember which handles go up and which ones go down.

Well anyway, I`ve now made sure that I`ve memorised which way the bathroom door handle moves, so that when no-one`s looking, I can leg it and lock myself in. Ha haaaa!

Why is it ...?

2009-11-20T05:25:00.000-08:00

Why is it, whenever I`m trying to be really quiet, I end up making even more noise than I would normally make when I`m not even trying to be quiet?

Why is it, when on the rare occasion where I get time to have a peaceful, relaxing and deliciously aromatic hot soak in the bath, someone always needs to sit on the toilet beside me and have a poo?

Why is it, whenever I get an unexpected visitor, the carpet is always plastered in crumbs and ripped up magazines?

Why is it, whenever I`m doing a delicates wash, Little Man comes along and changes the settings on the washer?

Why is it, whenever I get the odd chance to write something on my blog, Tiny Man pushes his way to the keyboard and ........ fkhustbn gtguvud vfsssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssfgfmho;p.hl

Safety Gate Horror!

2009-11-08T07:55:00.000-08:00

This morning Tiny Man and Little Man ( I must find better nick names ) were sat watching 'cbeebies' on telly, while I went back upstairs to get my little Sweetpea out of the moses basket. I have two safety gates downstairs in the front room. One to the kitchen and one to the bottom of the stairs. Then at least I can go to the toilet or get clean clothes whenever I need to without wondering if they`re still there.

Anyway, I came to the top of the stairs carrying my gorgeous little bundle who`d just woken up and was making funny faces as she stretched. As I set off to come back down I spotted Little Man sat on the bottom step looking up at me, fluttering his eyelashes like a little angel. "SHIT!" I shouted ( and yes I said it out loud, and yes that`s not what mums are supposed to say but we`re aloud to in certain situations, so keep your hat on. ) I was horrified! I couldn`t believe I could be so stupid and leave the flippin gate open. Anything could have happened ( and yes I am a bit neurotic when it comes to thinking about 'what if 's when it comes to the kids. ) After all, the front door is right there and he can reach the handle and I`m still waiting ( a year later ) for my OH to make a bloody gate to put on at the front and there are so many idiots out there on that road and ... and ... and ..........

Alright woman, take a chill pill! He was only sat on the bottom step.

Then there`s Tiny Man. Who luckily hadn`t even noticed his brother had left the room because he was too busy finding out if blue crayon goes together well with terracotta walls. He could have easily made a quick run for the stairs and climbed half way up, only to turn around and try to do a stage dive onto the floor below. Ugh, it makes me shiver just thinking about it.
Anyway, I went down the stairs as calmly and quickly as a woman possibly could whilst carrying a stretching baby in her arms and having a small pile of childrens` clothes balanced on her shoulder. I ushered him back into the front room and locked the gate behind us. As I sat down and lifted my top up to feed little Sweetpea, Little Man walked back over to the gate and looked at me.

Little Man ..... "I want a wee wee mummy."

Me ..... "Can you just wait please while mummy feeds your little sister?"

Little Man ..... "Aww pleeease."

Me ..... "Just let me finish feeding her and I`ll let you up."

Little Man ..... "But I can do it mummy."

Me ..... "I know sweetheart but I can`t get up yet when I`m like this." ( Looking down at one content baby who has an extremely firm grip .)

Little Man ..... "No mummy, I can open gate like before, look." He started to open it. "Look ..... just pressssss and lift." ( CLICK! ) "See mummy." he chirped gleefully, "Yay!" He was obviously ignoring my immediate look of horror!

That`s it now, I`m going to be on pins 24/7!
And guess what the constant sound has been for the rest of the day .........................................

( CLICK! ) "Pressssss and lift!"

My gorgeous little ones.

2009-09-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

My gorgeous Little Sweet pea being super adorable.

And my lovely Little Man and Tiny Man having a together moment.

Yay! My baby girl arrived!

2009-09-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

My gorgeous little girl finaly arrived on Wednesday night ( 2nd Sep ) weighing in at 8 lb 5 oz.

I have been so busy. I`ve been eager to get on my blog but I`ve needed 8 arms and legs this past few days.

She is beautiful. She has taken to breast feeding like a duck takes to water. She just needs to settle a bit more at night times. I think she could have been an owl or something in a former life because she has lovely long sleeps in the day, but has me running around left, right and center in the night.

I`m so glad all the waiting is now over. Now I get to hug her and kiss her whenever I want. :)

What a suprise, she still isn`t budging.

2009-09-02T01:28:00.000-07:00

It`s 9.30 am and I`ve been up since 3.30 am counting more contractions. Through the night they were every 10 minutes and then nearer towards 7 am they were about 7 mins, sometimes 5. Most of them have been very strong. I`ve still been having a show (sorry if you`re eating) and when I`m having the contractions, aswell as my tummy tightening, I can feel everything lower down stretching wider. So these are definitely proper contractions. Although They`re wearing off yet again as we speak. I`m on my first R.L.tea of the day now. I`m going to grab my OH in a bit and go for a brisk walk. Or at least as brisk as my little legs will carry me.

I`m so tired. But every time I try to get a bit of shut eye, I end up having contractions again that I need to time.

One thing is for certain... I will sleep like a log once this baby arrives. OH will just have to lay her next to me every two hours and put her on my boob while I`m sleeping. :D

6th day of fed upness !

2009-09-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

This is my 6th day over now. I`m not impressed.
However, I had a show yesterday. Yay!
Last night I woke up every twenty minutes with strong contractions. All night long. Yay! But once I got up this morning they just stopped. Boo!
But since lunch time today they started again. Yay! But no where near as strong. Boo!
Now they`re coming about every ten minutes. Some are strong and some are hardly noticeable.
Will I have this little baby today? Time will tell. I bloody hope so.

4th day of overdueness. Huff!

2009-08-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

This is me trying to bounce my little baby out. :)

I started early this morning with the old R.L. tea. Normally I can`t bring myself to go near it until about lunch time. I ate 2 toast early on aswell. Normally I don`t make myself any brecky until after 11am. I know that`s no good, but I`m usually running around after the youngest two, making sure that they`re sorted and completely forget about feeding ME.
Anyway, I figured that if I`ve no food inside me and I suddenly go into labour I won`t have much energy will I? So I`m being a sensible little girl today. :)

I`ve had my vits and my evening primrose oil capsule. I even massaged an E.P. oil capsule onto my belly where the baby`s head is because it can apparently help that way too.

I`m going to play some music later and have a dance ( well..... waddle!) around the bedroom like it`s 1999. Yeah baby! Although this will be quite a challenge as my bedroom consists of a double bed in the middle, a large cot on one side and a computer desk and moses basket on the other. Not to mention the wardrobes and drawers aswell. So that`s going to be fun!
But put it this way, if this little girl isn`t going to slide out on her own, I can at least try to jiggle her out. :)

2nd day overdue and counting every minute.

2009-08-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I`m still here and she`s still in there.
Today I`ve been supping raspberry leaf tea like it`s going out of fashion. I`ve been climbing on to the exercise ball whenever I get the chance. I got my OH to have a bit of "how`s yer father" and I`ve just had my second evening primrose oil capsule.
My legs are de-fluffed and my pits are soft and smooth.
I don`t know why, but this time I keep putting a bit of eye liner and mascara on. A little bronzer and a bit of gloss. I`m usually in a "take me as you find me" mode by the time I`m on my due date, but this time I just keep thinking, "oh come on, let`s try and look cute for the new baby and the midwifes". Don`t ask me why I should think this, because I know very well that the minute I start to push I`ll look like a cross between the exorcist and alien!
Oh well, whatever keeps me going. :D

She`s packing her things away.

2009-08-27T05:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it`s now the day after my due date. I`m sat here bobbing up and down enthusiastically on my exercise ball trying to get things going. She`s still having a good kick about in there. Perhaps she`s packing everything away ready for moving out. :)

On Monday morning this week I woke up at 4.15am with very strong contractions. I thought this was it and started pottering about, gathering my bags and my thoughts together. Off I went downstairs to make a brew. I wrote a list for my mother in law... you know the kind...bottle times, feeding times, etc. The two little ones were awake before long, and feeling the contractions whilst making their breakfasts was very exciting. I kept thinking to myself that next time I gave them their breakfast I`ll probably have their little sister in my arms. How lovely.
But by about 6.30am the contractions had gone. Sigh!
And nothing followed for the rest of the day either. Another sigh!
(Just excuse me a moment while I peel this giant rubber ball from between my bare legs. My bum`s gone numb!)
(10 minute loo break)

That`s better. I`m bobbing up and down again now.
I went to see the midwife yesterday, hoping to have a sweep. Sadly she said she couldn`t do one because the baby`s head wasn`t engaged yet. Sigh! I`ve got to back in a week. I`m not happy. The longer they leave it the bigger my little bundle will grow and by the time she gets squeezed out she might be another 10 pounder like my eldest son. More sighs! I absolutely hate going past my due date! It`s happened with all my other four and it`s one of the most frustrating things I can think of. It`s pretty stressful as I`m not the most patient person on the planet to begin with.
I`m off to make another raspberry leaf tea now and crack open a large tin of pineapple. Watch this space......

Not long now.

2009-08-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

Wow, I really can`t believe my little no.5 will soon be here.

She`s due to arrive on Wednesday next week. Although she won`t come out that day.... they never do. I know I keep saying that I hope she`ll break the rules and come early, unlike the other lot, but I really want her here as soon as possible. I don`t know if it`s because she`s a little girl and I haven`t had a little baby girl for 15 years, or if it`s just the fact that I know this is the last one I`ll have and I just want it all done and dusted. Maybe it`s a bit of both.

Either way, I`ve been trying to do as much nesting as I can to help get things moving. She`s still moving around like she`s trying to rearrange furniture in there. I`m still on the loo having a wee about every half an hour and the pains in my legs when I wake in the morning are beyond painful now, but I know I`ll be back to bouncy self once she arrives.

2 weeks to go.

2009-08-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

Two weeks to go for my due date. It`s all very exciting. My bags are ready now so I can chill a bit. I either never had time to sort them, or just kept forgetting when I did have the time.

Still haven`t thought of a name though. Well, it`s not that I haven`t thought. I just can`t seem to get a name that wants to stick. I keep saying to myself that today`s the day I will sort the name out and that will be it. No changing of mind. I think I`ll try and sort it tonight before I go to bed. I`ve always liked to have a name ready for when my babies arrive. If I waited for my new little bundle to arrive before I gave her a name, we`d be here for ever.

I so hope this baby comes early. It would be so nice. I`ve gone over with all of my other four children, and the waiting and waiting seems to go on for ever and ever. I went over the full 2 weeks with my daughter. I had to have my waters broken, and to be honest I didn`t have a clue what was going on or what I was supposed to do. I was so tired half way through pushing, the naive side of me thought that if I said I couldn`t push any more, they would just nip me down to surgery and give me a c-section...... How wrong was I? One of the midwifes told me she`d have to give me a "so called" small incision. I can`t remember if she gave me a jab to numb me first, but if she did, the bloody thing didn`t work! "It`s ok, you won`t feel a thing." she said. OH MY GAAAWD!! I felt it! I remember kicking out at her and calling her a couple of words that she may have taken offence to. Anyway, after the name callings and evil looks, my daughter was soon out. She weighed in at 8lbs 15oz and she was almost as long as the little plastic cot that they go in. She was very long and no "newborn" outfit would go anywhere near her. I think if I remember rightly, she was wearing 3 to 6 month baby grows straight away. The sleeves had to be rolled up but the body and legs fit her perfectly.

My oldest son also went over the full 2 weeks. I had to have my waters broken with him too. I was adamant that I wouldn`t be sliced and diced by some clever know it all again, and so I pushed as hard as I could. Plus I kept saying to myself that the agony wouldn`t last as long if I gave the biggest pushes of my life, no matter how worn out I was. After lots of sweating, swearing and huge gulps of gas and air, he was born. He was 10lbs and I felt every bone in his body! It was like pushing out a frozen turkey!

10 years later with my new partner, I decided to go through it all again. My Little Man was to greet us. I really didn`t want to go over with this one. I didn`t want late and I didn`t want big.

I had two sweeps with him. One on my due date and one a week later. My waters gently trickled with him 9 days over my due date. I got out of the shower, dried myself and after a minute of having my slippers on, I noticed they were wet. I just had a little steady flow of dripping. Because my waters hadn`t gone like this before, I wasn`t really sure what was happening, so I rang the hospital to tell them what was going on. I kept getting asked if I was sure I wasn`t just having a wee!? They told me to put a pad on and ring back in an hour to say how wet it was. I rang an hour later to tell them it was soaking. I wasn`t having any pains so it was all a bit weird for me. Later on I rang them to tell them I wanted to come in because I was still leaking, probably more so, and I was afraid that if I left it too late I might start contracting very heavily and not have time to get to hospital. Well....... the woman said there weren`t enough beds and staff due to whatever was going on, and told me I`d have to go to one of two other hospitals that were near to me. I started to panic and put my partner on to them. He lost his temper and said I wasn`t going to any other because it was hard to get to them, bla bla. So I started crying and felt like a wreck. He was furious and stormed over the road to tell his mum what had been said. I just felt stupid and helpless.

His mum came over and calmed the situation, and gave my partner a gentle telling off, for making me even more anxious and stressed than I already was. We kissed and made up and figured out the best one to go to. Before I knew it, I was on the phone to the ambulance people having a nice friendly chat about it all. "Are you ok?" they kept asking. I told them it was a bit embarrassing waiting for an ambulance because I wasn`t feeling any pains, but they wouldn`t let me get off the phone until the ambulance arrived. "Just in case." they said.

Once we got there my waters were broken properly for me, as the constant trickle was apparently just my back waters. Things soon got under way, and after a lot of head coming out and then sucking back in again, he soon came out for good. He weighed 9lbs 3oz.

The last of my boys, Tiny Man, came out at 4 days over. Knowing my track record of having late babies that were quite big, the lovely people at the hospital booked me in for a sweep a few days before my due date. I had another sweep about 6 days later. .. It was my fourth day over and I`d been feeling the usual practice contractions on and off for several days. But the ones I was having now were very frequent although they didn`t get any stronger. I decided to take partner and Little Man out for a good walk. The pains were still coming but nothing progressed. Later on in the afternoon, I was still getting them so I decided to go and have another walk through the park with Little Man to lean on in his buggy. Gradually the contractions got stronger and even more frequent. Not long after getting home, I had a show and the hospital was called. I set off in the back of my sister in law`s car, sat on top of 3 bath towels folded over, in case my waters broke on the journey. ... We got to the hospital at 8 pm and by 9 pm I was having a shower whilst my OH was holding our new Tiny Man. He weighed 8 lbs 8 oz.

I just hope our new little baby girl comes out as quick. But preferably once I`ve got to the hospital, and not in the park.

Scared of Swine Flu.

2009-07-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

I`m getting quite scared now. The baby will be coming soon, but it`s not the birth I`m scared of .... although I am a bit .... I always am ..... I`m scared of this bloody SWINE FLU! It wouldn`t be nice in the first place if I was a single person living on my own, but when you put 4 children and a pregnant woman due to give birth soon into the equation, it completely throws things.

Not only do I want my children to be safe from it for as long as possible, what if I catch it whilst I`m still pregnant? Will the baby be OK? What if I catch it and am ill whilst going into labour ....... how would my body cope? Would I have the strength to even push her out? What if I got it whilst I`m still breastfeeding? How would I cope if we all got it at once, including my OH? Who would look after who ....... or even, what if neither of us were fit enough to look after anybody?

It`s bad enough when you have one child who is sick. You feel helpless for them, although you try your hardest to do everything you possibly can to make them better quickly. But when you have four little lovies to nurse ..... alright, two of them are now 15 and 13 but they`re still my babies. And then a tiny little helpless newbie aswell. The 2 1/2 yr old and the 1 yr old are too young to even know what`s going on when they`re ill, so that`s really hard. And then there`s the man in your life who was sent to look after you and protect you ...... and you probably have to look after him.

I don`t want to dwell on it, because if it happens it happens, but being pregnant is an anxious enough time for any woman anyway, but why oh why do I have to worry about this aswell?!

I just hope the baby comes soon, because I know I`ll be there for all of my babies then. If I caught it whilst still carrying her I`d be worried sick about her, not knowing how she was coping inside of me.

When I heard about different people getting it on the news at first , it was worrying, but it didn`t seem so bad when you realised these people lived miles away. But recently, before the school hols, there were several cases of kids having confirmed swine flu at schools near by. And then a couple at my own children`s school! Then I found out a friend had it, and then someone around the corner. So now it`s really close and it`s more real. Oh crap! I just want this thing to go away!

I know if I wasn`t pregnant, and my hormones weren`t doing the conga, I probably wouldn`t be as frightened. Well, I`d still be worried for my children obviously, but I don`t think my mind would be doing overtime on it. I even cried because I spilled some milk the other morning. Pregnancy can make even the bravest woman crumble.

I`m going to bed now, hopefully without any nightmares.
I hope all you mums and mums to be and your kiddies stay healthy and free from this thing. And if any of you do get it, I hope it`s not too severe and hope you get better soon. xxxxx

Nearly 9 months!!

2009-07-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

Time is pressing on and I`m almost 9 months now. The time seems to have gone so fast with this one. I think having two very young ones to run after every day, it`s stopped me being so focused on this one. Don`t get me wrong though, it`s not like I forget she`s there, because she`s constantly poking and kicking me. Even now now she`s jabbing me with everything she`s got.

I have an appointment with my midwife tomorrow. Just a routine visit to check out all the usuals and listen to my little chicken. I still haven`t even thought of a name yet. It sounds like a poor excuse, but I just haven`t had time. When the little ones are in bed fast asleep, my brain is on shut down mode, and I find it hard to think about anything let alone baby names.

My aches and pains are still with me, but at least I know there`s a light at the end of the tunnel and it won`t be for much longer. I went for a slow mooch down to my nearest Aldi today. It was pouring down and I don`t have a hood on my coat, and I wasn`t going to juggle with a brolly whilst pushing the stroller so I just got wet. To be honest though it was quite nice because the rain helped me cool down a bit. Anyway, I took my time there and back, but by the time I got home I could barely get up the doorstep. One simple little step! It felt like my inner thighs had completely seized up. I felt so old.

Once the baby`s out and my body has had time to recover I`m going to exercise and keep fit for ever, because I don`t want to ever get like that again. I`m going to do my best to keep healthy and stay fit for as many years as I can. Because struggling with just one doorstep made me realise how awful and uncomfortable it would be if I wasn`t even pregnant.

And on that note, I`m now going to go to bed where I will feel more aches and pains. Ha ha....Oh the joy! x

Where the hell are my fruit pastels??!!

2009-06-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

I`m sat here and I`m thinking hard about where I hid my fruit pastels. I don`t really have cravings as such, you know like wanting to eat a lump of coal or chew on a piece of wood or lick a bar of soap...(OMG do women really do that?)....But if I suddenly fancy something like a bit of white chocolate or crisps or FRUIT PASTELS, then I need it NOW!!

Bare with me a moment.... I must go and search again........

15 minutes later....

I FOUND THEM !! OMG, (rustle, rustle) eeyommmm, yommm! Oh come to mama! Yom, yom! (five in one go) Oh the joy!! (another three thrown in for good measure) Oh the sugariness, the chewiness.... HEAVEN!

They were hidden behind the baked beans at the back of the cupboard. Don`t ask me why. It`s my hormones. I`d put the coffee in the fridge the other day. Last week I put about four scoops of baby formula into my cup of tea before realising what I was doing. I could go on, but I forget a lot of the silly things I`ve done. That`s those bloody hormones again for you.

(This is what Tiny Man thinks when mummy puts his baby formula in her brew.)

Well, for the time being I`m happy and content. Little man and Tiny man are sound asleep. I`ve got my yummy sweets, my pop, and Big Brother will be on soon. Sometimes, just little simple things can make a pregnant woman very happy. It helps me keep my mind off my calf cramps and backache anyway, and anything that can do that is a winner in my books.

Different sleeping positions...

2009-06-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

I`m one of these people who, when I go to bed I spend at least an hour at least, trying to get comfortable. I get very restless if I can`t get it just right and my poor OH has had many an unexpected prod in the back from my elbows or knees in the middle of the night.

Well, those days are gone now, or at least until my time as being an incubator for my little no.5 is up. She`s due at the end of August. Of course I can`t wait to see my new little girl and give her hugs and kisses and cuddles and even more kisses.... but I just can`t wait until I can sleep on my tummy again. Oh the joy!

In the olden days, well.... pre baby... I lay in all sorts of positions. On my back....(granted, that`s probably the reason why I`m on baby number 5! she giggles),... on my front,... on my sides,... scrunched up in the foetus position,... cuddled up tightly to my OH with my arms wrapped around him and my legs somehow interlocked with his...(no chance of that one now because the bump won`t let me get anywhere near),... put it this way, I could more or less contort myself into many simple or indeed complicated positions until finally soaring off to dream land.

But now I only have the choice between 2 positions......lying on my left..... or lying on my right. Ugh! I can`t even lie on my back with my arms and legs all over the place because I just feel like an invisible grown up is sitting on my chest. After lying the same way for hours, my thighs tighten up and ache for the rest of my waking day. I get cramp in my calves, backache and my arm goes dead. What fun!

Getting into bed at night doesn`t even give me any hope of relieving my constant backache that I`ve had throughout the day, in fact if anything, it just gets worse. Even a nice soothing soak in the bath is a joke..... I get in carefully, trying not to get cramp in my belly and have to sit down slowly and so as not to get that sudden twinge that feels like a massive elastic band has just gone TWANG inside me. Then when I`m climbing out again, my muscles soon lose that bathed and relaxed feeling as my calves immediately tense up and get phenomenal cramp AGAIN. Oh and not just one calf.... both at the same time. AND may I add, no amount of vigorous rubbing or stretching out of the feet makes it go away...oh no, it goes when it bloody well feels like it thank you!

So, looking at it now, I`ve got another 2 months plus of having agonising nights, where I can`t just dive straight onto the bed and swim around on the mattress until I`m perfectly comfy. Nope. Just the choice of LEFT or RIGHT. "Simples.... eeek" (as the meercat says).

How glorious!

Oh I can`t wait until the baby`s here. Then I`ll be back to having great nights sleeps again, Yay!
Oh...... just remembered.............. No chance of a good nights sleep with a new baby around is there?

AAAAAAARRRGH!!!!! x

Norman... still going strong!

2009-06-11T06:16:00.000-07:00

My tomato plants have dwindled down to three now. (photos on the way)I had a lot to start off with, but obviously I wouldn`t have had room for them all once they got bigger, so I threw away a lot. I kept a few of the best looking ones, but gradually some of them began to look weak. The leaves curled up and withered and although I gave them the benefit of the doubt and lots of TLC, nothing seemed to give them the will to live. Sadly they went to meet their maker.

I checked around the internet to see if I could work out what the problem was. I followed up on answers to other fellow tomato growers who had the same problem as me. Some answers said that the withered leaves were due to too much watering, and yet others said, not watering enough...... erm...ok? Then some people answered that this problem was due to too much sun light, and yet some others said, not enough...... erm...ok? I obviously wasn`t going to get any help here then, so I decided to just wing it and try my best.... alone!

Anyhoo, I had four left but one had the beginning of the curling leaves again. He was a lot smaller than the others and the leaves got considerably worse. Eventually, his leaves dried out, so I sadly had to let him go too.

Now I have three plants! Although they are all growing nicely, one of them has got just a few leaves which have a slight hint that they want to curl but they haven`t gotten any worse and he is still growing. Yay! So I`m keeping my fingers crossed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . He is a fighter, and I`m going to call him Norman.

Let`s hope Norman and his two lovely cute backing singers can give me some wonderful sweet red fruits soon.

Teaching a toddler to read.

2009-06-07T04:48:00.000-07:00

My little man is two and a half now and he can already recognise his favourite programmes when he flicks through the TV listings on the telly..... i-carly, Lazy town, Balamory, Me Too, etc. And that`s without any pictures to give him clues.

So I`ve figured it`s now time to do my little " word labels " with him.

I did this with my older two children when they were toddlers, and it worked wonders with them. They also soon became more interested in the actual words in story books that I read to them, rather than just looking at the pictures.

Little man is already familiar with most objects and places around the house by saying them, so now it will be an extra adventure for him to learn what these things actually look like written down on paper.

I`m not particularly bothered about him being able to spell the words out letter by letter just yet. I think being able to recognise a word as a whole gives the child so much confidence. It then seems to make breaking up the words into individual letters much easier to understand later on.
... This is in my experience anyway....

Even though I will spell out the separate letters on the " word labels " from time to time, this will not be part of his task to do the same. Although as soon as he shows any interest in spelling a word out, then that will become another part of the game.
...I say " game ", because I think it should be seen as a game...

A game is all about having fun, being exciting and rewarding, and that is exactly how I would like my little boy`s reading experience to be.

2009-06-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

The ringing in my ears from one certain little man is gradualy fading away now, so I can just about hear myself think again. He was in bed for 7pm, and suprisingly went straight to sleep. Which is not normal for him as he usualy has me back and forth every ten minutes calling things like..... " Wee wee toyet mummy!" or " Bin seep mummy, we go downders?" or " Poo poo toyet mummy!" or " veet tuck, veet tuck...uh...veet mummy!" (this is where he purposely slips his feet through the bars of the cot and pretends he`s stuck so that mummy will rescue him.)

My tiny man is fast asleep in his cot now too. I think there must be something in the water because neither of them usualy make it this easy for me.

Anyway, I`m hanging around the house like a lost soul, not having a clue what to do with myself. The older two are pottering about, flitting from computer to telly. My OH is quite content in his little pantry hole playing on his game.

I keep noticing my Peter Kay Autobiography, that I`m not even half way through yet. I could do with getting that read, I keep thinking. But then I`ve also got my Paul O`Grady Autobio aswell. I`m not even half way through that one either.

Then as I keep passing the kitchen door, I notice my unfinished crochet project. The hat for my big head......And what about my needle felted mouse I`m half way through?

.............................................................................................

Well, I ended up just crashing on the couch and watching Big Brother. Says it all.

Nose pickers congregate in local supermarket.

2009-05-29T06:25:00.000-07:00

I was sat on the front doorstep this morning, just minding my own and breathing in the lovely warm air. A car slowly drove past. The driver was a man, and he had his finger wedged firmly up his nostril. The sight was extremely gross but it didn`t shock me, as I tend to see this a LOT.

Is it me, or do these frequent nose pickers think they are completely invisible once they get into a car?.... Or perhaps they are so totaly engrosed and curious as to whatever they can feel up there, any mere onlookers outside of the car just seem insignificant.

Or maybe even, this intruiging activity doesn`t stop at all inside the car. These nose pickers could, as I speak, be all congregating at this very moment in and around the nearest supermarket with one finger firmly lodged up their noses, whilst letting on to eachother with their other free hand.

"TO DO" list continued...(did she do it?)

2009-05-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

Well..... I did the two loads of washing. Did three actualy but I`m not one to brag.....Yay me!

Managed to dry the two loads. The third "bonus" load is still hanging around in the dryer wondering if I`ll ever walk passed again and actualy turn the bloody machine on.

As for the rest of the list....... well, let`s not panic eh? It`s not the end of the world. The two loads of washing are folded neatly on top of the microwave.
My hair won`t fall out if I don`t wash it till tomorrow.
The kids never notice whether I put clean sheets on their beds anyway.
I`m sure my camera and little man`s book will be safe and sound somewhere together in a safe place.
The clutter around my computer keeps me company....Oh come on woman, don`t be stupid!
The tomato plants got a good watering when L splashed about doing the washing up.

And besides........ I HAVEN`T HAD BLOODY TIME!
I`ll try again tomorrow. Hmmmmm, we`ll see.

Today`s "TO DO" list....

2009-05-28T04:53:00.000-07:00

Do two loads of washing.
Dry both loads.
Put all dry clothes away where they belong, (not in a big pile in the corner of the bedroom).
Wash hair.
Strip all the kids sheets off their beds and put clean ones on.
Find camera!
Find little man`s favourite story book, which I have also lost. (Probably with camera!)
Tidy all clutter away from around my computer.
Start making some snap cards to play with little man.
Water tomato plants.

This is my "TO DO" list for today. Will any of it get done? Watch this space.........

Scared of quilts.

2009-05-26T08:43:00.000-07:00

When I`m mooching through the net to look for crafty ideas, I always come across quilts. Loads of people out there make them. Small ones, big ones, absolutely HUGE ones! Some are simple, some are extremely artistic, but all are beautiful and have that gorgeous "homemade" look that I just adore.
I want to make one too. But the thought of having to be so perfect with every single square, hexagon or whatever other shape that can pass as an ingredient for a quilt, frightens me. Each seperate square looks absolutely identicle in size to the rest. How on earth can this be done unless your amazingly patient and a perfectionist to the nano of a centimeter? I envy these people who can whip up a blanket in an afternoon. To me, when I see a photo of a quilt, I see talent. It just looks so difficult.
Surely I can do it? Can`t I? Just a little simple one. But where do I start? I need to do a bit of delving around bloggy land to see if anyone has an easy peasey quilt for an inpatient beginner, me thinks.
..........I`ve just thought too, can quilts be done by hand? Yes I know I said I`m impatient and sewing by hand sounds like the last thing I need to be doing. But although I do own a sewing machine, I`m afraid it`s one of those which has been in the box for three years or more and has only come out twice while I figured out how to thread it up. Since then, the video I got with it to show me how to thread it has gone AWOL and even if it turned up tomorrow, I`ve just realised that one certain little man has unknowingly set the key lock on my video player ( which I never kept the instructions for ) so there`s just no hope. No hope for my poor little sewing machine! ...... "Nonesense woman. That machine is a beast. There`s no telling what magnificant pieces it will make with you if you just get it out of that bloody old box and let the thing breath!!"
OK, point taken.
Hmmm, but what will I make? A kingsize quilt for me and my fella, curtains and matching cushions for the front room, pillows, cot bumpers, tablecloths.......... Actually, I think it`s best if I just start off with maybe a little handkerchief, me thinks.

Quick detox for bed time.

2009-05-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

I`ve eaten so much crap today. I feel bloated and full but I`m still sat here munching my way through a bag of giant cadbury buttons. I know I`m pregnant but I promised myself I wouldn`t turn into a whale during this pregnancy. Tomorrow I`m going to drink pints of water all through the day and not one sweet thing is going to pass these lips!
I want to eat fruit like you see in films. Loads of beautiful crispy, juicey grapes... water melon in big red chunks... huge crispy apples... aaw, just all sorts of gorgeous fresh fruit. I buy fruit and it goes soggy the day after! Or it takes ages to ripen and then by the time I think, "Oooh, they look ready now" I pick them up and my bloody fingers go straight through them! ( sighs, it`s a shame for the poor woman ).
In fact, you know what? I`m going to go and get a big glass of water now and give myself a quick detox(ish) before I go to bed. I`ll hide the rest of these buttons so I won`t remember where I put them tomorrow ( yeah right ). Actually, I might put a bit of lemon juice in the water. Double detox!
Right then, I`m off to get my water. I`ll probably wake up in the night now to go and pee, and I`ll wake little C up who will cry so loudly he`ll wake little J up, and this will wake L and N up who will be moaning at me all day after school. Perfect! So just another day then.

My teeny weeny tomatoes

2009-05-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

Yay, I`m growing tomatoes. I`m so excited!
I really love the idea of "grow your own" and decided to give it a go. I haven`t got the money or the space to go berserk at the moment, so one day, I was eyeing up the unwanted cherry toms in the back of my fridge and thought, "go girl, just do it, what have you got to lose?"
I cut them up and squeezed the seeds out onto some kitchen towel and left them for a couple of days for the jelly to dry off. I made some newspaper seed pots and through in some compost that I had lying around. I was so excited while I was doing all this. I was like a little girl. But the grown up in me kept thinking, "now it might not work so don`t be too upset if they don`t grow." I popped all the seeds in, gave them all a good soaking (coz that`s what the internet told me to do) and stuck them on the window sill.
About a week later, they`ve all sprouted and I`m like a mother to lots of children.... well, actualy I am,...... but now I feel like I`ve got more children! I can`t stop looking at them and smiling. It sounds sad I know, but I grew them from seed and now they`re all my little babies.
But what the hell am I going to do when they get bigger?! Shit!

Big head.

2009-03-30T05:18:00.000-07:00

This is just one of my unfinished craft projects. It looks like an entrant for a tea-cosie contest, but it`s actualy a hat. At the rate I go, it should be about ready by next winter. It`s going to be a sort of oversized beanie hat. I seem to have a much larger head than your average hat wearer, so I thought I may aswell make my bloody own.

For years now, I`ve been mooching around lovely woolies for my head. Nothing fits. Sometimes just for a laugh (at my own expense), I`ll try one on in the shop and stand there in front of a mirror - and watch it slowly slide up my head, taking half of my hair with it.

I actualy bought a reasonably well fitting hat once. It was a very cold day and I needed to go and pick my kids up from infant school. I couldn`t drive back then and it was a twenty minute walk to get there, so imagine my excitement at being able to give passers-by a knowing smile to say "I`m nice and warm I am, coz I`m wearing my new hat." It was so snug and lovely. I got to school and stood waiting in the playground. All was well, and I had given all the knowing smiles I could to all the other parents who cared to look, when all of a sudden...... I started feeling quite light headed and faint. I felt hot and then cold and then hot... "Shit" I thought, "don`t have me passing out in front of all these little children, who were now spewing out of the school doors as if they`d been locked in there for weeks on end.

I undid my coat and yanked the hat off. Blimey! I could feel the blood rushing back to my head like it was bionic. I felt so much better. "Bloody hat thing." I swore quietly. I felt like chucking it onto the school roof I was that mad, but I knew the caretaker who was a few feet away probably wouldn`t have approved. I walked home with the kids constantly asking me what was wrong with my head, and I just knew they would have been reffering to my hat hair. We got home and I looked in the mirror to see how bad my hair actually looked. Not only did my hair have such a kink in it that made me look like I still had a hat on, I had the most rediculous knitted inprint going right across my forhead. The flipping thing stayed there for another TWO hours before even starting to gradualy fade.

Needless to say, I`ve never bought a hat since.

So much to do... but the sun`s come out.

2009-03-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I`m sitting here, waiting for the pizza man to bring our tea, and I`m just thinking about today`s events. Even though the grass was covered in frost this morning, the sun soon came out and shooed it away. All the time whilst making the kids breakfasts, I kept looking out of the window at the blue sky thinking..."should I take them to the park?" I can`t ever mention the magic "P" word to my little man, unless I`m absolutely hundred percent positive I can go because he would have a complete rage with me for the whole entire day if I had to let him down. I popped out to the end of the front garden a couple of times to see how it felt, and although the sun was shining it`s little head off, there was still a goosepimpley nip in the air.

After breakfast, I kept looking at the massive pile of washing overflowing from the basket, and then I noticed the words " blitz bathroom" on my "TO DO" list. But the sky was still blue and the sun was trying it`s best to warm things up for me. I pictured my little man playing on the swings and climbing up the slide with a huge excited grin on his little face........ "Right, come on!" I shouted, "We`re going to the park."

"Yeeaaaay!" I heard from the front room. I threw a dirty tea towel on top of the wash pile to hide the huge pile underneath, and just quickly walked away from it.

"I`ll do it when I get back." I said to myself. ( Yes, I did actualy say it out loud to myself.)

Anyhow, after taking ages getting the little ones nappied, milked and dressed, we finaly went to the park. We had a great time. Especialy my little man, who flitted from swing to slide, to seesaw to slide, from springy wobbly thing to swing...... He loved it! So I was happy, and so what if there were jobs to do when I got back? Who cares as long as my babies were happy.

Windy times.

2009-03-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

It`s been so windy this last couple of days, and I mean ..... "strap everything down" windy! Every time I stood by the kitchen sink today, all I could see was my bright orange bucket flying around the back garden like it had been possessed. When I was in the front room, odd plastic bags would whoosh past the window and eventualy settle in the corner of MY front garden. (Why is it, any rubbish and crap that floats, always decides to camp out in MY garden?)
I just can`t wait for the weather to settle and hopefully become a bit brighter, so that I can take the kids out to a nice park for a picnic.
I can hear the wind roaring outside now, as I write. It needs to calm down and go to sleep, me thinks.

I`m just a beginner..... be gentle.

2009-03-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

Seeing as this is my very first entry, I might aswell say Hi and welcome to my blog.

It`s so strange to think that I`m going to be jabbering on about allsorts of stuff, and that somebody out there in this big world might actualy read it. Crikey Mikey!

Well then, seeing as I`m still trying to find my way around this thing, I might aswell give you a little introduction........

I live in the UK, where the weather changes faster than I can change a nappy. I`m the proud mum of four wonderful kids, the partner to my lovely man and the owner of one lazy cat.

I`ll be wittering on about anything from nappies to unfinished craft projects, from runny noses to too much clutter, and from missing socks to trying to grow my own tomatoes.

You get the picture. Hopefully.

I hope you`ll enjoy my blog once it gets on it`s way. Whoever and wherever you are.