Good Clean Fun

 After functioning on very minimal sleep yesterday, I'm actually quite proud of myself. I managed to get nothing done which is what I set out to do.
 I nearly had a parental blip though. I bathed and dressed my little girl, dried and plaited her hair, breakfast ready then remembered that she needed to be wearing black. Queue massive hunt for some form of mini goth clothing. Fortunately my mother had just brought her a black top the other day, and girls of all ages own a pair of black leggings, especially a girl like mine who happens to be a dirt magnet. So after a mild panic we still managed to get fed, watered and changed, ready and out of the house on time. Hooray! Other than the mini 'drama noir' nothing at all eventful occured.

 Today after I took my girl to nursery, I had a big ol' ring round to see who will be paying my maternity pay. I read a work letter through only to find out that I'm earning £7.00 less than I should be in order to get SMP but I'll still be entitled to maternity allowance, I know I'll be getting paid just not who by just yet. Midwife appointment has been booked to obtain the wondrous form that everyone seems to need a copy of, my stomach is in a mini knot and will be until I've got it in black and white exactly how much I'm entitled too, and who I shall be receiving it from. I felt very grown up researching on the net and making phone calls to my firm with my special new laptop in front of me.

I realise this is the wrong angle.
Does it make the pile smaller?

 After doing all my business like grown up stuff, I had to face up to another grown up task...... the dreaded CLEAN! I've been so good today you wouldn't believe.
 I went for a wander up town to get some money, and formulated a plan of action. I was probably talking to myself in the process. After i went to the bank, i trotted off to Wilko's to get myself a new mop and bucket, I'm just thoroughly spoilt aren't I?! Now my bump is getting bigger I just can't face getting on my hands and knees to scrub my laminate throughout the whole bottom floor so a mop and bucket is definitely the way forward. My bottom floor is now tidy, extra clean and smells absolutely wonderful. I even bleached my kitchen bin. Next step.....ironing. (yawn.)

 Back to work tomorrow boo hoo. Still it's only for a couple of weeks then I'm off again. I've got loads of hols booked for this time of year which is brill because it's my fave. Autumn walks in the forest, finding leaves and doing sticking with my girl, visiting Blackpool lights and getting chips on the prom, Halloween, Guy Fawkes Night and finally Christmas. You're off your rocker if you don't love this time of year, even the air smells better. It's just the best.

 Well, I'm off to bed shortly as I'm up at the crack of dawn. My husband has gone out for the evening and so he shall find a wonderful surprise in his side of the bed upon his return, in the shape of a 3 year old girl. Sleep tight one and all.

I Love It How A Plan Never Comes Together

 Well here I am typing at 5:15 in the morning. My little girl woke me up from a not so deep sleep at 3:30 for a wee, then she went back off only to wake again from a bad dream at 4:15 bless her. I went in her bed with her for about 30 minutes but you just really cannot get comfortable in a single bed at my age, so I crept out of her bed and came down stairs for a brew. Then I spotted our new family laptop and decided to have a wee shot on it, hence finding myself on my blog.

 With the early rise and all I've been having a think about the baby coming and such. I have absolutely nothing at all ready and I'm not even sure If I'm on the right pay level to acquire maternity pay, obviously I'll be getting it from somewhere but it's a form filling nightmare which I really need to look into. I'm halfway through the pregnancy now and I haven't got so much as a baby grow out the spare room. (Inner scream! far too early to subject the neighbours to my neurosis yet.) If there is anyone out there who is as completely unorganised as myself, please let me know. I need tips on how to become mother number 1! Well, we all know there is no such thing as that, but I'd like to improve nonetheless.

 (Another wake up from my daughter, not having a good night bless her.)

 I had a little flick through Emma's Diary, but that's really just list upon list of things that I need, haven't got and got no cash to buy. I really should've been more prepared for this. You think, "well I managed last time, we brought everything we needed." Yes, but we didn't already have another mouth to feed! Holy mackerel this is a pickle but the main thing is not to panic. (Queue panic attack anyway!)

 I think I'm going to have a scan through the spare room and see what unisex things I can salvage from my girl being a baby. That shouldn't be too much of a problem because I know I saved all the white's, the things that weren't stained with poo anyway. And there is definitely my lovely moses basket that I can freshen up. I'm definitely going to get a new pram/travel system because our old one is knackered. I'm not a driver so it was very well used. It was a pram/buggy/car seat, the works and I used every attachment to death.

 As far as feeding goes I'm going to breast feed, I did with my first and I shall with this one. It's cheap, always on hand, (or boob!) and I make it so I may as well use it for as long as I can. Well, six months anyway, when I wean onto food, I wean off the boob.

 This shouldn't be too hard to accomplish should it?

 Famous last words! I am the original disaster area so I'll keep you posted as to how my plan comes together, and it doesn't always, I'm not the bloody A-Team after all.

 

Motherhood Mayhem

 Well good day to all who view! I am currently in the middle of;

• trying to plan a birthday party for my daughter next month
• planning my crafting for Christmas tit bit's
• imagining list after list of things that need doing in my house before bundle of joy number two is born, and last but not least
• figuring out how long I should take of work after bundle of joy number two is born.

 

and in all honesty I'm beginning to find it all a bit overwhelming. Not only do I have all of the above to consider, but it has just hit me that not only am I pregnant, but I will in fact have another child to look after!! I realise that makes me a little slow on the uptake, I mean I know how the whole thing works of course,

My first pregnancy bump.

1. you have sex
2. you get pregnant if you're lucky (or unlucky, depending on the situation!)
3. you stay pregnant for a number of months and then
4. you have a baby by pushing or slicing, which you usually keep, love and cherish forever. (this also depending on the situation.)

I obviously just didn't realise it applied to me this time. Doh! So I was just sitting in my recliner last night and had a mild panic attack about the thought that "Oh shit! I'm gonna have TWO kids to look after!!!!" Followed by another thought of "AHHHHHHHH!"

Oh well, it can't be too hard can it? My mother's had six and she managed OK, I guess only time will tell.

 

 The whole 'operation tidy' I spoke of yesterday did not come into fruition. My brother is ill (likely story ha ha) and my Mother is planning a divorce (thank God, the man's a pillock!) so I did what any woman in their right mind would do, sat on my back side and watched anything at all to prevent me from doing the housework.

 After watching crap on the tele I had a visit from my mother with all manor of jargon from the solicitors, council etc. And we had a good gossip about the fact that husband number 3 is a beep beep beepety beep! During this we totally lost track of time, my bath had run to a ridiculous level and my cat had pooped with a ridiculous level of stench. I had to literally dive into said bath, scrub a dub dub and get the hell out, leaving my mum downstairs with the aroma of poo, a scented candle and a box of matches!

 Consequently we had to drive around the corner to pick my girl up, without me even having time to bush my sodden hair. Slummy Mummy or what?!

 

My own playdough creation.

 All serious questions will have to be pondered onlater in the day, the only serious answer I've fallen upon is that I'm going to let my daughter have a full day at her school nursery as well as her free morning sessions. This is only due to he fact that she has been crazing my gear box about having a packed lunch. She wants to take grapes, an orange, a banana and a cheese sandwich. At least I can be thankful that she has healthy taste.

 

 An eventful day and it's not even gone 2:00pm. Love my life, and I'm not even being sarcastic. Big smiles as always from me.

Two Times With Three Results!

 For the first time for a long time the husband and I had a night to ourselves on Friday. My girl went to my Mother's for the night and I can't tell you how weird it felt. Having said that, I quickly got over it and managed to eat my way through 3 platefuls and a pudding at our local Chinese banquet which was absolutely delicious.

 The husband and I were enjoying our rather yummy grub and talking about intellectual subject's such as politics, (I don't get most of it,) phonics, (I just don't see the point of the added confusion,) and phonic tests on "made up" words. (I mean really?) I actually had to point out the fact that we were being very grown up, discussing things that affect the growth and development of our child. We are actually good parents, (toot toot goes my trumpet) we love our girl and our foetus and obviously want whats best for them both, but it's just as surprising watching ourselves grow up and develop as much as our young! You just never stop learning in this lifetime.

 When we got home after intellectualising, I called my mum just to see how my wee'un was, if she'd gone to bed OK etc, and of course she had, and been as good as gold about it bless her, she just couldn't wait to go and see her Auntie and Uncle's who are much younger than myself, and obviously loads more fun, queue sad 'put out' mother face.

 After the phone call which i knew wouldn't behold any bad news, but us mothers just like to check don't we, myself and the ball and chain sat down to some word games on our phone apps, and laughed at words we'd found such as 'fart' and 'shite,' our level of maturity is quite frankly astonishing, but I love our relationship and wouldn't change anything at all about it. We then went on to have sex...... TWICE! With THREE reslults, if you know what I mean wink knudge. Not something i usually like to discuss but I'm a bit smug about it to be honest. 13 years together and we can still manage twice in a night, I may live a sheltered life but I happen to think that's awesome!

 

 My holiday from work started yesterday and my plan was that during my 5 days off I'm going to try and make my house a little less of a junk yard, so my teenage brother has been bribed round to help me do the heavy lifting bits and my mother has been roped into doing the driving to the tip bits, I may finally have a front room free of crap tomorrow woo hoo! I'll let you know how that little venture turns out tomorrow.

 If anyone has any views or props to help me get a bit more on board with Phonics, I'd love to get a better understanding of them, especially seeing they are a masive part of my child's learning development, please give me a clue. Books, sites, cd roms, anything that has proven useful to you would be a great help, cheers!

Long Time No See....

Well I can honestly say that's it's been a long time since I last blogged and I apologise to anyone who gives a monkey's. Nearly 3 months have passed and so much has happened and yet I can think of nothing to type! I'm gonna carry on and see if anything comes to me.

Not my husbands best swimmers, but you get the picture.

 First thing's first. I'm PREGNANT! Woo hoo! That happened shortly after the last blog entry actually. (Not the conception, but the finding out.) So that took up a lot of my thought for the first few weeks of July and pretty much the rest of the time too, apart from the time my daughter commandeers. (I'm gonna go 80% daughter, 20% baby at the moment.) 

 

 After I found out I had been impregnated, I then had a  bleed, I wasn't too worried as it wasn't heavy and the same thing had happened with my little girl, still, I obviously had it checked out, went for an early scan and saw the wee flicker of life that my womb held within. It was so cute. The 16 week scan followed, we got a couple of pics, only two mind at £2.50 each!!! No, I'm not a cheapskate, just skint. If I had cash I'd buy more. The husband and the daughter came to the midwife at 18 weeks and we all heard the heartbeat. I cried like a baby myself, my daughter told it promptly to "shut up, it's making too much noise!" (she's in for a rude awakening, and NOT just metaphorically!) and my husband just sat there looking slightly bewildered. The midwives smiles at me and passed me a tissue as I took full responsibility for being an emotional female, it was all very action packed.

 The summer holiday's have also happened and thankfully, Cumbria has had some warm but wet weather, but as my daughter and I are firm belivers in walking in the rain, we donned our waterproofs and away we went to the park, to the Nanny's, to the forest, to the Great Nanny's, and even just playing with the snails in the garden. Plenty of fresh air for us girlies.

 

 And that just about brings us to now. The Autumn has just about kicked in, time for making stew's, hot puddings, forraging for berries, making jam's etc. (I'm not of course talking about me.) I've had the heating on twice, but I'm not quite at the stew and dumpling phase yet. I'm gonna get the knitting needles out soon though, I'm certainly not about to go out drinking so I'm gonna try my hand at a little cardigan for my unborn. I shall certainly let you know how that goes, or not, this is me I'm talking about, Goddess of the unfinished task. I'm off now to not finish something else.

Teapots!

Another fulfilling day in the life of moi! My husband has a few holidays in this week so we can spend a bit of time together, and so he could take me out for some grub which I told you about yesterday. But first things first, the first morning with just us two, (our girl being a nursery for her morning session,) and the hubster gets called in for some blinkin hearing test, I wouldn't mind but I'm the one with tinitus.... not him. Never mind though, I took that time to have a lovely relaxing bath, which I promptly tweeted about, slapped a bit of make-up on and felt perhaps not a million dollars, but I reckon at least $48.

The hubby came home in time to watch me struggle with the stupid buckle on my new wedge sling backs, and then we went shopping. Not boring shopping for sprouts and yoghurt, but the good kind where I get gifts. Yippee!

I seem to be having a bit of a crafty type phase at the mo, so I decided that I wanted to go and get supplies, so what d'you think happened? Well I had free reign of the hubbies wallet and could I get inspired? Could I buggery! Highly irritating I have to tell you. I did however come out with a nice new orange teapot! I got a teapot for christmas, a fantastic pumpkin one, but I obviously can't use it because it's far too special. So this super functional one, an by "super functional" I mean a teapot with normal teapot abilities ie: it brew's tea and water, is orange and I just need to tart it up with a pumpkin tea cosy. I love pumpkins. Something groovey about the shape and the ringlety vines, I just love them.

After the shopping, we went to collect the girl and went out for my birthday meal. We went to the local italian restaurant and as usual is was delicious! (Was going to do a review but decided that wasn't for me.) As we waited for our food my girl was watching nursery rhymes on the hubby's phone and started growling out death metal renditions of 'The Grand Old Duke of York' and 'Humpty Dumpty,' not quite sure the table next to us thought they should call a doctor or an exorcist. I assured them neither was needed.

The service was great and I'm always pleased with the food from Salvana's Ristorante, and today was no exception.

What follwed the lovely dinner was my child screaming in the middle of town for no apparent reason, she obviously thought it was the perfect place to let off some steam. I (pause for emphasis) didn't. What a little monster! Then she kept standing in front of me so I couldn't walk without tripping over,  she tried to pull me into Toy Master, (I think NOT!) screamed "stupid man" at the fellow who pressed the button before her at the crossing, and presumed to walk back into our house like nothing had just happened! Shall we play Mickey Mouse game Mummy?

WHAT?

Unfortunately I continued to have a face like the proverbial slapped arse for the remainder of the afternoon only to be cured by remembering I had been bought a birthday teapot. Tea and cake followed this revelation.

This evening I had a lovely time unwinding with my best buddy, my Mother and Sister Number 3 of the first batch with her baby boy. Mother was doing a spiritual reading for my pal, (my mum talks to the other's, she's a bit spooky and uncommonly accurate.) and then she did a spot of Reiki on her aswell. I sat quietly, took notes and ate chocolate biscuits, I felt it was the appropriate thing to do.

Well I'm off shopping again in the morning, I've had a quick scan for some craft ideas but if anyone knows of any good crafty type blogs/sites please clue me in.

A Birthday Quickie!

Just a quickie today as I'm quite busy and important, (that's a laugh, I'm in my pj's already haha!) I've had a really lovely day today albeit fairly quiet. I've had facebookers wishing me many happy returns, a phone call off my dad, a whatsapp picture log of my sister opening a card for me that she forgot to send, this is progress by the way, the fact that she remembered to buy one! Me and her NEVER remember cards, phonecalls yes, but never cards. In all honesty, I think the picture log was that more original. 

I had visits from friends, the mother and the inlaws, I've got cake coming out of my ears, (2 birthday cakes and a slice of fresh cream cake off of my bestest buddy,) money, flowers, sweets, perfume, clothes and a dvd! Talk about spoilt. And I'm going out for dinner tomorrow to the local Italian with my husband and daughter. I'm so looking forward to it, I love love love italian food! I might even try my hand at a review when I come home, not going to make a habbit of it, but I'll give it a whirl.

During this afternoon, my daughter and I were looking under the sink trying to find some large tupperware for storing my copious amounts of cake, when we came accross a rather horrific sight. Gross tendrills of potato root poking out from under my sieve! Goodness knows how long that'd been there, but I'm guessing.....a while. Anyway, we ended up having loads of fun playing "the aliens going to get you" chasing each other around the bottom floor with this wriggly rooted potato. Talk about budget laughs, my frugality knows no bounds.

Some tips? ok, here we go... There is absolutley no need to fork out hundreds of pounds this christmas, just by your fruit and veg a bit early, leave it to 'evolve' and see what happens. In my house Maris Piper is clearly the new Fisher Price!