Monitor went bang: out of action until a new one arrives Tuesday (am briefly online at Suzanne's). Am doomed and cursed and waiting for computer disaster number three, as we all know These Things Come In Threes. Back anon.
Oh, and Happy New Year.
Lisa at 17:09
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Just a quicky: after last week's fiasco, if I were to migrate, where would you recommend I go? I actually have a domain registered ready (and have done nothing with it for a year) so this might give me the impetus needed to do something with it. Where should I have it hosted (I am currently with a provider who seem to not allow all the fancy scripty stuff necessary) and what do I use? Word press/movable type/are there others? Opinions and advice please...
Lisa at 11:17
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(tap tap) hello? Is this thing on?
Am I back?
Lisa at 14:17
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Where did that week go? And can it really be only two until Christmas (breathes rapidly into a brown paper bag at the thought of all there is to do; having November go by in a complete haze of babydom has not helped with my domestic goddesry this year. No cake no pies no shopping ordered nothing wrapped.) Not going to coffee morning today - too bone idle. I may regret that decision this afternoon when we are all climbing the walls.
Lisa at 09:50
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C is away this week on an "awayday" (away 3 days) which, to me, sounds like fancy corporate speak for a bit of a jolly. I'm sure they will work hard, talk a lot, network like crazy, but I also suspect that being in one of Cheshire's finest, fanciest hotels won't be such a hardship, and the instructions to pack a swimsuit, walking boots, a waterproof (my goodness but that will be needed this week) and also to write an amusing poem about another team member lead me to believe it won't be all nose to the grindstone. Fortunately for us it is in Cheshire as it is rather bad timing and the poor chap is doing 30-mile round trips through dark, wet, stormy roads in order to be present for the bath-and-bed "arsenic hour", thus allowing me to retain some semblance of sanity.
Having said that, M slept all night in her own bed (until 8, we like these dark mornings) and even though we didn't get up until 8.30 we were at a coffee morning 20 miles away by 10.30. Yay me: I can be superwoman after all. Frozen food for tea though, attempting to cook would just be silly.
Lisa at 16:02
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Well, I've been home "alone" for approximately 9 hours since Mum and Dad left, and already the house looks like a bomb has hit. But we are all fed and watered, Maggie is happy as she had a friend round to play so wasn't entirely neglected, there are loads of laundry done and I even knocked up some chicken stock. (Which is congealing on the hob as I may never find the energy to strain and refrigerate it.)
The health visitor came today and confirmed that Tamsin is a growing machine (8 lb 12 oz at 3 weeks, what a whopper). I don't think she entirely knows what to do with me: she tentatively suggested that we might be creating bad habits by letting M go to sleep in our bed when she crawls in during the night, but quickly agreed that if that was what it took for us all to get a good night's sleep, then it probably wasn't the end of the world. I think she is secretly in my gang but not allowed to admit it. How mean would it be to refuse to allow Maggie night-time cuddles when the other three of us are all in together?
Lisa at 19:52
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Felt quite nervous this morning as Jenny-from-number-55 was coming for coffee. Not that she is terribly scary but you never know with new people and we hadn't really met before, bar a 2-minute doorstep chat when she came to collect her flowers which the interflora man had left here. As it happened she is very nice (of course! Why wouldn't she be?) and we had a very civilised coffee. Fairly civilised, anyway. Well, as civilised as a coffee can be with a 2 1/2 year old joining in the conversation: Me: yes, Cornwall is lovely
Jenny: we often camp
Maggie: I'VE GOT TIGHTS ON!
Lisa at 17:32
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Some brief notes at 2 weeks:
- I love the celebrity-ness of being out and about with a tiny baby: I was mobbed in Chester today. Particularly in Crabtree and Evelyn which is clearly the sort of shop staffed by very soppy women: I had all three staff members gooing and cooing for a good 10 minutes before I was allowed to buy anything and one (pregnant and clearly bonkers) woman even got all teary over how sweet my baby is.
- Tamsin has soft downy hair and bright Mrs-Tiggywinkle button eyes that she is starting to focus: today she started to make eye contact. The health visitor* came today and swore blind she saw her smile (not sure about that). She also remarked on how alert she is, and we discovered she has gained a whole lb since birth. Smugness abounds.
- Maggie used to hold spiky starfish hands up in front of her face; Tamsin prefers a sort of bunny-paws posture.
*Quite in my gang ("we have to advise against having a baby in your bed, but when I was a midwife we used to encourage it"), much to my relief - you hear such horror stories of officious interfering incompetents.
Lisa at 18:00
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I'm feeling vaguely proud today: 13 days post-childbirth I have not only squeezed into a pair of pre-pregnancy non-elasticated trousers but have been outside spreading manure around the roses and planting garlic (better late than never). All this despite feeling like the mother of a newborn is supposed to feel, i.e. completely sleep-deprived and rather incoherent. Not the fault in any way of said newborn but rather more to do with her elder sister who came visiting, ice-cold feet kicking and squirming into the bed, at 4 am. Fortunately my mum is still here and could be set to work* roasting lamb and accompaniments, preparing pink soup with the firstborn and knocking up a swift plum crumble**.
*Who am I trying to kid? She's done nothing but work since she arrived: I should make the most of feeling proud and smug at the moment as all hell will let loose - and we will have to open an account with the pizza delivery people - as soon as she leaves.
**I'm leaving the path open to return to elasticated waistbands as necessary.
Lisa at 19:00
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A week old already! And we seem to be doing fairly well, with the help of my parents who are cooking and cleaning and entertaining children like troopers - M, surprisingly, got to nursery on time this morning, washed, brushed, breakfasted and dressed in suitable clothing. I was still in my pyjamas when the midwives turned up (but if they will come at such an ungodly early hour - 9.30 am - what do they expect). I left the house for the first time today (twice!), my only previous expedition having been to the shed at the end of the garden. T liked riding in her sling but it felt really weird to be driving and - gasp! - leaving the village. Cabin fever. C is back at work (and has an overnight trip organised for tomorrow); so life goes on.
Lisa at 17:31
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My photo-blog connection is playing up and I am insufficiently with-it to fix the problem today, so if anybody would like to see a picture of Maggie looking very pleased with her new sister, I'll just direct them here, and here for a jolly snap of midwives, Maggie, me and about-an-hour-old Tamsin.
We're doing pretty well, I think: M is a little cry-y with us, as expected, but absolutely thrilled with her sister (and her new Fimbles DVD is a close-run second). T has feeding absolutely sussed but so far prefers to sleep during the day and stay awake all night; she has a small touch of jaundice but nothing unusual and they can't be that worried as nobody is coming to see us again until Friday. I'm very well, if tired (no surprises there), and Cameron is doing stirling work keeping us fed and watered.
Lisa at 17:26
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OK, so I was all set to sign in today and update you all about being 41-bloody-weeks with the whole monitoring, induction, honspital nightmare lurking over me - had a very frustrating antenatal appointment on Friday. And I was going to tell you about our windy walk on saturday and other nice weekendy stuff that now escapes me. But instead I find myself with an announcement:
Tamsin Sarah, 6 lb 9 oz, five to one this lunchtime. Home waterbirth as planned; *much* shorter labour than last time; photos to follow once we are back on our feet.
Lisa at 18:34
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So far today: 2 x "what a big bump", 2 x "what a neat bump", 1 woman completely panic-stricken on my behalf because I was shopping! One my own! And had driven myself there! Poor soul, I didn't have the heart to tell her I had (inadvertantly) left my mobile phone at home too.
Good to see somebody still has some moral fortitude: not quite the exciting anniversary edition I had hoped for (and been led to expect with all those trailers) - I had developed a good theory involving stalker-Kirsty and a gun massacre - but fun all the same. Now, will Sam go psycho or slink quietly away?
The other radio 4 programme I've heard this week was all about war songs (we'll meet again, Lili Marlene et al): when they played an excerpt of some RAF squaddy-type song (bleep bleep bleepity bleep: not sure why they bothered), M piped up ooh I love this song, it's my favourite! Nuts.
And the other thing i am enjoying at the moment is digging deep, on BBC2. Is anyone but me watching it? Completely bonkers garden therapy and highly recommended to do your ironing in front of.
Lisa at 12:03
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40 weeks
... but who's counting?
Compare and contrast with last time, here.
In other news, Maggie is getting ever-braver and more athletic: last week she impressed us by jumping into the swimming pool on her own (no hand-holding required) and performing her first proper forward roll! But she hated the fireworks on Saturday - the kiddies' display was nice (no bangs and cbeebies tunes played) but the proper fireworks were just a disaster. If I'd been a Good Mummy we should have left but that didn't occur to me at the time so I just held on tight to a very distressed little girl. They are pretty but very noisy. (Fireworks, I mean, not little girls. Although...)
Otherwise a very (quietly) pleasant weekend of gentle activities: carpeting the allotment, pulling out frost-killed marigolds, making pumpkin soup and reading the paper.
Lisa at 17:08
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What a glorious autumn day: clear, crisp, cold and sparkly is so much more pleasant than the warm and wet we've had of late. I was even inspired to rise from my slug-like sofa residency to take some wheel of the year photos (let's hope I do better than last month and actually get them onto Flickr at some point).
No trick-or-treaters last night whatsoever (well OK the doorbell did ring once - but Maggie was in the bath so I ignored it and they seem to have just retreated without a trick). Quite surprised as I had expected a lot in this sort of village (we certainly used to get them at the old house), but relieved as I hadn't remembered in time to buy sweets and had nothing for them but raisins or digestive biscuits. Besides, I disapprove. Bah, humbug - but I love bonfire night and resent, on its behalf, it being elbowed out the way by silly pumpkins and cheap Asda masks on money-grubbing teens. Meh.
Lisa at 17:06
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This week I have been nesting by proxy: my mum has been here so the house is clean and sparkly, I have no ironing pile, my freezer is full and M has been well-occupied with rather more books and jigsaws and less beebies than usual. I don't think it is going to fool the baby though, not much chance of it emerging until I have scrubbed the skirting boards with a toothbrush* (*insert other insane act of cleanliness) myself. I feel like it's my turn now, though, my other due-around-now friends having produced their offspring and being fully into the no sleep, nappies and feeding routine.
No other news, today having been occupied by building regs and national insurance. Don't ask.
Lisa at 16:01
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It’s nice living in a village. (Although Vicky next door tells me everybody is interrelated and it’s best to check just whose cousin you are speaking to before saying anything controversial!) Arrived home today to find yet another missed parcel delivery but, as I’d spotted the postie’s van parked down the road, I thought I’d go and find him and see if he’d hand it over and save me a trip into town. (The reason I hadn’t been here when he came was that I was queueing at Parcelforce to get yesterday’s missed delivery so I wasn’t very keen to have to go again.) I stalked him around the village a bit then pulled up opposite: no sooner had I hopped out of my car – not on my road or anything – then he waved and told me to wait by his van and he’d get my parcel. I don’t think I’ve ever had a postman know me by sight before, and I like it! Am all warm and fuzzy and belonging-feeling inside.
Am in the midst of my first ever ebay sale: it is very exciting and I find myself obsessively checking the site every hour or so. I have 20 watchers! (Like Buffy, but more so). Is that good?
I’m single-mumming again this week, with Cameron in Budapest (not exactly trivial to get to and from so let’s just hope this baby doesn’t decide to make an appearance). M revealed herself as ringleader on Monday when, she and Mia having been shouted at for jumping into my (empty) birthpool with shoes on we overheard them in the kitchen. “Mia, are you feeling sad? Why don’t you get in the pool? Go on, get in the pool" (fortunately, Mia takes more notice of being told no than Maggie does). And she also tells me in no uncertain terms that this baby is not to be a boy (her friend Gwen has a 2-day-old baby brother) because we need two Maggies*. I don’t think she believes we don’t get to choose. Conversations continue to be slightly on the bizarre side: she just told me she doesn't want a boat and a car and an aeroplane but she does want a snowman. Right.
*Like one isn’t enough. More than enough.
Lisa at 13:32
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Two-year-olds are great (well, mostly, when they are not being, you know, two). We have had a lovely day: I am feeling pleasantly emotional and nostalgic-in-advance for these last few weeks of being mum-to-one. On the bus into Chester (library; coffee and muffin/milk and biscuit; bank; new trainers for M), Maggie told me I like great grannies. And the fimbles. But I love you best.
Lisa at 16:06
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My pool has arrived! Which is very exciting (except that it's in next-door's hall at the moment, which isn't a lot of use). Otherwise, no real news, just plodding along trying (and mostly failing) to hold back the tide of housework and laundry that threatens to take over as soon as I turn my back. New cleaner is coming on Friday, though: she can only do 2 hours but that will be better than nothing and hopefully enough to allow me to retain some hold on my sanity.
Had my hair cut today while M was at nursery: it took an hour and a half. I like being pampered as much as the next woman (well, unless the next woman is, y'know, Victoria Beckham or somebody) but I was fidgeting and on the verge of leaping from my seat to proclaim "for pity's sake, stop!" when it came to an end. So much for my plans to shop-mooch and have a lovely coffee: I'd only paid to park for 2 hours. I'd blame the fact that my (very nice really) hairdresser was suffering a little, having been out to celebrate one of the juniors turning 17 last night - never try to keep up with a 17-year-old, I advised her wisely - if not for the fact that last time I went she took an hour and three quarters. I need to find a speedier cutter: life is too short (and it is only a chin-length bob).
Lisa at 18:00
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Full steam ahead with the shouting again (well, the being irritable). I have Hormones and they are making me mad. And a cold, still. And cbeebies makes me want to throw things (so does the football but that one I really do have to bite my tongue about!).
On the bright side, the midwife came and dropped off my homebirth "kit" on Friday (a cardboard box full of absorbant things, plastic gloves, etc) and agreed that my birth plan wasn't at all outlandish or unreasonable. M was a nightmare while she was here (worst point was when she managed to grab, take the lid off and spill my urine sample on the coffee table!) but I am glad she came. She knows where we live now, too, which is probably a good thing!
Lisa at 14:50
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Today has been a good day. I resolved last night to try to get through without shouting (I've been the world's shoutiest mummy lately) and have mostly succeeded. Of course it was a nursery day, which helped - she *loved* nursery today and was quite disgruntled when I turned up just as she was about to draw a picture - and we haven't tackled bedtime yet (but - shock horror - Cameron is in the country and will be home for tea), but I'm feeling quite calm. Had an hour of reflexology while M was at nursery, too. And most excitingly the midwife rang and cancelled tomorrow's antenatal appointment (meaning we can get to M's swimming class without having to break the sound barrier (or the law)) because she is going to come on Friday and drop some things off for my home birth! Eek! Am very excited indeed (suspect it will be plastic sheets and unexciting things of that ilk, but it has driven home how close it is getting). And the morning room, which has been a repository for piles of teeny tiny baby clothes, is starting to look more normal again as I have nearly sorted them all out and at least half the newborn things are washed and folded away ready.
Still knackered though. And have a cold. I just twigged last night (am slow) the reason why I am so exhausted: by this stage in my last pregnancy, not only did I have a husband who came home most evenings and no toddler, I had a cleaner who came twice a week and did all my ironing! Must make some phone calls and get organised with home help again.
Lisa at 16:32
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OK, remind me now why we thought a second child might be a good idea? I can't get the first one into bed without serious bodily harm (to me not her) and much screaming (me, not her). At least number two should start out small and sweet. (M is small and sweet but bloody bloody heavy when she falls off the back of your chair where you have told her about a hundred times not to climb and saves herself by grabbing fistfuls of your hair, thus rendering you slightly bald and very sore of neck. And then I had to run out of the bathroom to investigate the HUGE crash - all the stuff off my bedside table including lavender oil which spilt on the pillow - and slipped over bashing my shoulder against the doorframe. Sore and bruised and very cross.)
Hey ho, she's asleep now. I had such lovely plans for tidying the house this evening (C is away again) thus starting tomorrow morning all fresh-slatey and immaculate. But I think I'll camp out on the sofa with the remote control and a large bar of chocolate instead. Plus ca change.
Lisa at 19:04
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All last week's cleaning and list-making turned out not to be so sensible after all, as I spent most of Thursday and Friday beached on the sofa trying to decide whether to have flu or just be utterly exhausted. I lost my appetite, too, which perhaps suggests some sort of viral weirdness, but have tried to take it a bit more easy this week (am once again blessed with energy). Cameron is away again (he left at 5 am; the joy) so there is only so much easy available to me, but what there is I am trying to take.
Went to Edinburgh on Saturday. On my own. On the train (well, on a bus then a train, this being Virgin Rail after all). Most uncomfortable, the seats not being at all designed for 8-month-pregnant whales, but it was lovely to be in Edinburgh which is still one of the most glorious cities to visit. Had a lovely lunch with my lovely friend Rachel, then a lovely visit to her lovely flat to meet her lovely cats, and a wander about her lovely neighbourhood. Followed by a trip to our old university mucker Dave's even-more-lovely flat, where I had the view from my bedroom explained (never mind the Pentland Hills, that big house there belongs to JK Rowling!). He lives in an illustrious neighbourhood.
Saturday night was a "reunion" - 10 years since (their) graduation. I was a bit of an intruder, having mosied off south for a year and come back to complete my finals the year after, but they didn't seem to mind. It was a very pleasant evening; nobody seems to have changed a bit (apart from a few more grey hairs, offspring, wedding rings and kilos) and there was really no need to be scared.
And on Sunday I woke at 5, realised there was no toddler demanding food, and had a real, proper lie-in. Lovely. Then I just wanted to be home again (24 hours was long enough for me): when will they invent a teleport? Met Gareth's baby, missed my train (forgot to build in waddle-time), was rescued by Lorna and Dan who very kindly returned from the Savacentre and drove me down the M6 to rendezvous with Cameron and Maggie just half an hour later than my trainbus was due anyway. Phew.
Lisa at 19:10
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Starting to get organised, I've made a List, ordered a birth pool, some teeny-tiny nappy wraps, a big bottle of lavender oil and some detergent, found a window cleaner (it was on the List) and thought hard about what to do with M while I am in labour. Not come up with any great solutions but I (if nobody else) am happy to play it by ear. Cameron is in London else he would have been nagged up a ladder to retrieve small vests and babygros, etc; a job for the weekend. I even took the carpet lurking in the hallway to the allotment - some weirdo form of nesting behaviour but surely more useful than scrubbing skirting boards.
Toddlers are nuts, it's official. After we dropped C off at the station Monday night, M and I had the following conversation.
- Has Daddy gone to London?
- Yes.
- To see the Queen?
- Um. Yes.
- With Max?
- (thinking hard)...who's Max?
- He's a man. He's got short hair.
- (assuming she means Cameron's university friend Max, who is indeed a short-haired man and who lives in London though how M knows that I have no idea) Oh yes, that's right.
- They haven't got big spoons.
Must contact Max and ask about the dimensions of his cutlery; otherwise, does anybody know some kiddies' television programme, perhaps, with a small-spooned short-haired character called Max?
Lisa at 15:59
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Cornwall was very nice thank you, we got on the beach several times and went to the Eden project too; spent quality time with great-granny (Countdown and Come Dine With Me); read a proper newspaper every day - and I read a whole book! - and Cameron didn't have to do too much work. The cottage was good, too, with a playground, farm trail, "pets corner" (one bunny, four ducks and some hens) and an indoor toddler play area.
Baby spent the week alternating between being properly breech and transverse (it has been well-poked); yesterday as I went to bed I was sure its head was further down than it had been before - but still off to one side. I had another feel (poor thing) when I woke up this morning and thought it was head-down but convinced myself it couldn't be...
It is! And the hospital doctor was really nice - not particularly supportive of homebirth, as you might expect, and very keen to tell me all the reasons I should go to hospital instead (also to write in my notes that I had agreed to transfer in if necessary: what difference does that make to anybody?), but also keen to reassure that if I did have to transfer in I wouldn't be treated any worse than a planned hospital birth. (Until that point it had never crossed my mind that I might be: now it has). Fundal height is back up, as you would expect, and it was very interesting listening to her explain it all to her student. I wish I'd done medicine.
I have come away feeling unsure what she was, though - I had assumed she was an obstetrician until she turned out to be very keen on bladders and confessed to being a member of the international continence society (I used to work on an incontinence drug so it wasn't an entirely random conversation). She wasn't sure why I was there, though (huh, if she didn't know and I didn't know...): was it to do with the urinary retention problems I had after my last labour or was it because I wanted a homebirth? I said neither, as far as I was aware, but to do with a small fundal height...hey ho. I said it was all nonsense. (And surely being sent to hospital because I wanted a homebirth would just be weird?)
We had quite an interlude in which to chat about my job, as she'd sent somebody off to find my notes from last time (she was sure she would remember me as they don't get many such cases of urinary retention). If only she'd thought to check if I had had my last baby in Chester it would have saved much time.
Made my 41-week overdue appointment while I was there: was are almost certainly going to need it so I thought I might as well. Plus, given my record so far (baby turning this morning and M refusing to make an appearance until I had an absolutely unbreakable appointment for induction) I thought it might focus this baby's mind and get it out a bit quicker!
Lisa at 09:59
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I'm feeling very stressed and grumpy and can feel my so-far nice and low blood pressure rising unnecessarily. When I get back from Cornwall I have to go to hospital because - well, I'm not really sure why. If it was urgent you wouldn't think it would be OK to wait a week. I'm quite irritated, actually: my MW has insisted I go because my fundal height is showing no increase since 4 weeks ago BUT the baby was breech (ie upright) then and is now transverse (ie sideways) so a brief consideration of baby topology shows that of course it is measuring smaller. I have spent the day stomping about the house muttering about how I am thinner side to side than top to bottom and so are most people I know! But there are protocols, so to hospital I must go - and not even for a scan but to let one of the hospital MWs have a feel. So is my MW effectively saying she doesn't trust her own judgement? I don't know. If the baby has moved again by the time I get back I may well phone and cancel the appt anyway. In the meantime Unnecessary Stress (and packing, too!). Much dairy milk.
It seems to be par for the course though - they can't take a blood sample without muttering darkly about what happens if the Hb count is too low, and today I had to hear all about how they don't like homebirths past 42 weeks (a bit premature at 32 weeks, you'd think? Especially as they know I went to 42 + 3 with Maggie so there is a good chance I'll be overdue again. I am developing a catch phrase: let's cross that bridge when we come to it.)
Lisa at 16:40
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I've bought Maggie a new book about new babies. It's a bit graphic: 2-year-olds can cope with placentas (placentae?), right?! I just got a bit sick of the ones I've been lent/found in the library, where a new baby is a redecorating opportunity, where mum and dad disappear off to hospital and then appear with a small bundle who sleeps in its own room and drinks bottles of milk. They just don't really tally with what Maggie will experience. Oh, and worst of all are the books which put ideas into her head: I am sure we will have jealousy and possession issues, but why ask for trouble by suggesting that is how she is supposed to feel? So. New book. Placenta. We'll see.
Off to Cornwall tomorrow so I may not post again until next weekend. Go out and do a sun-dance for us, please, so we can get on the beach.
Lisa at 17:07
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We've had a lovely weekend, despite the occasional fireworks that result from the combination of "over-tired and two" with "pregnant and exhausted" (and single-mumming at the weekend is even less fun than it is midweek).
Friday afternoon, M and I went to a party at one of the neighbour's. M had a lovely time playing with the big girls on trampoline and bouncy castle (they were so good with her, made the big boys get off or bounce gently when she was nearby!) and scoffing chocolate fingers. I loathe and fear meeting large groups of new people but it was really fine: they were mostly friendly and chatty (of course! Why would they be otherwise?). Apart from one woman talking about that channel 5 show who, when I happened to know a bit about it (ie the title: I didn't say any more about it than that) - having actually watched the programme not just the trailer - looked at me with utter contempt and said you're not into all that are you which I thought was a bit rude given that she didn't know me from Adam. Naturally, I've been dwelling on that all weekend rather than thinking about all the people who were welcoming and kind. Anyway.
Dashed home from the party for a quick turn-around as Sara and Ian were here to look after the hooligan while C and I painted Chester red for our anniversary. Or had a very nice, quiet, meal at Got Wine (nice restaurant, bloody stupid name): much the same thing.
Saturday was tumbletots in the morning followed by a trip to Crosby with Sara and Ian again, to see the iron men again, then onto the red-squirrel sanctuary at Formby. Didn't really expect to see any but there were loads! And what a glorious day for a walk in a sweet-scented pine forest. And ice cream.
Yesterday was my single-mum day as C had to go in to work: I did a reasonably good impersonation of supermum in my opinion (apart from the aforementioned fireworks): M and I went out and picked blackberries then came home and made a cake; we played in the garden, I did a pile of ironing and then she helped me make pizza (from scratch!) for tea. Ting! See my halo glint. I even made blackberry jam when she was in bed. And this morning I had to wake her at 8.45; poor wee mite was completely exhausted.
The only bad news is that C appears to have lost his passport. Must go and turn the house even further upside-down, but am not hopeful. This does mean he hasn't gone to Germany today. Perhaps it makes me a bad, unsupportive corporate wife (I'll stick with the fish) but I can't help being quite pleased by that.
Lisa at 09:40
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What a charmer.
"Are you cross because of the banana mummy?"
"Yes, it was very wasteful"
"Can I kiss you" (mwa) "Are you happy now, mummy? Shall we dance?"
Lisa at 09:31
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Ahem. Long time no blog, and my wheel of the year photos just didn't happen this month either (I still might take them, later). I have excuses though! Lots of them! We spent Friday mostly sitting in a selection of traffic jams on the M6 en route to Ely for a family wedding. Oh, and stopping at service stations as M has realised that the most sure-fire way to instant attention and some fresh air is to wail want a weeeeeee weeeeeee. Friday night was a very jolly family meal, interrupted only to dash up and down flights of stairs to see M, who was, we thought, unhappy at being in a strange place. More fool us: it turned out she was preparing to be really very poorly indeed for the wedding and right through until this morning. Still haven't quite decided whether to blame teeth (she has 4 big molars still to come) or the ubiquitous "virus".
It was a very nice wedding anyway: lovely to see the family, even if C did see rather more of them than I did! And I liked wearing a big hat. I didn't really expect to go all the way to Cambridgeshire for a wedding and to come home feeling like I've caught up on a week's worth of missing sleep, but that was a bit of a bonus nonetheless. Have come back with a cold, too, while Cameron has completely knackered his back (not so much that he can't go to work yet too much to lift the kettle: a good man-injury!)
Last bit of news: we are full steam ahead on the nice new not-too-weedy allotment. I'm going to assess this afternoon; work out how many raspberry canes I can fit in, and plan a layout.
Must dash: have to return my hat and buy an orange. Oh, and happy anniversary to us.
Lisa at 08:55
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Huh. Call yourself a bank holiday? Have been up since 5.30 as C was jetting off to Germany (he has Friday in lieu so I don't mind that but I find 5.30 quite objectionable) and M heard the alarm (what's that in the shower, mummy?). Shut my eyes for 5-minutes-honest around 7, during which time M did a lovely sketch in black biro on our cream sofa. When we went upstairs to get washed and dressed, I discovered the window seat was absolutely soaked through (yet another use for the fantastic underfloor heating): C claims to have heard water dripping in the night but I have no idea where it was dripping from. Suffice it to say that rain inside the bedroom is Bad and that a man will have to be called (who, though - a builder, a damp person, a window person...?)
I have a huge manuscript lurking ominously about EPR and ENDOR (it's similar: trust me, you don't need a link), about which I admit to feeling very hazy (that was the chapter of my thesis I bluffed my way through and if I didn't know it then...). Am mildly concerned but insufficiently so to actually have made a start.
Took M blackberrying this afternoon - got a small bagful but will have to go back in a week or so as they are mostly still green. Odd, as those on our driveway (unpicked due to diesel fumes) are long over. I had intended to make jam (in a bid to avoid thinking about EPR; see above), only we have been recycling so efficiently since our move I have no jars to put it in.
Lisa at 18:48
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Have discovered an unforeseen bonus to the underfloor heating: it's great for proving bread! Well, Nigel's blackberry focaccia (yummy, but tricky to get half the berries kneaded in so I gave up - will try harder next time as the few I did manage are particularly delicious). Cameron and Maggie have spent the afternoon making apple crumble (first apples from our trees) - it looks very nice but I am going to cook it very thoroughly as I distinctly heard no! don't spit in it! at one point.
Yesterday we popped in to the village flower and produce show: I am so thrilled to live in a village that stages such events. (It's been an ambition of mine ever since we visited Beeston castle on the day of their village fete just in time to watch the local vicar judge which dog had the most appealing eyes.) Many elderly people milling about admiring Very Large onions and Very Straight runner beans; a children's make-an-animal-from-veg competition; one of Cameron's colleagues, we spotted, had come first for his cucumber and marrow; and Barbara Goode (yes really) had cleaned up in the beans, cabbages and lettuces categories. We also visited a hat-hire shop (we've a wedding next weekend) where the owner's mother was rather too surprised that I was expecting a baby - though my brother in law wisely says better a pregnant girl standing up than a fat girl crying. Possibly because, when I said I needed a good hat to distract from my whale-like midriff, Cameron shouted "she's not pregnant". Ha ha ha. Or perhaps she was just distracted by Maggie's pants, on display at that moment because she had been told she was a big girl. (I a big girl. I wear pants. Look!)
Lisa at 15:23
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Crosby beach photos are now here.
Exciting allotment update - I went down there this afternoon intending to take some 'before' photos as we had a brushcutter booked for the weekend, only to be collared by a chap called Jeff who was fixing the gate. Was I the lady who wants an allotment? I agreed I probably was, and he proceeded to explain his new scheme: they are hoping to divide two long thin east-west plots at the top of the site into three more normally dimensioned north-south ones; would I like one. Fantastic, I said - I'd get a wall and a bit of space for a shed, more space generally (raspberries and rhubarb!); it is flat and already weeded and not at the bottom of a slope. Fingers crossed the chap who has just taken on one of the long thin ones (and JCB'ed the whole site to clear it a couple of weeks ago) is amenable to being moved around: Jeff seems to reckon he's not that serious and might be persuaded. Have cancelled the brushcutter - C asked whether that means he doesn't have to spend the weekend in hard physical labour. His tone would have been easily misinterpreted by anyone else as glee; I know it was intense disappointment.
Lisa at 19:42
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Collected M from nursery this morning (she had eaten all her lunch and met the chickens) and headed straight to Crosby to examine the Anthony Gormley statues. Despite the doom-mongering on Radio 4 it wasn't wet at all but sunny and quite warm, and M had a glorious time running for miles on the sand and collecting shells. It's a lovely beach, with miles of fine golden sand and the "installation" (for want of more educated terminology) was interesting, if disappointingly hard to photograph. Then we had an ice cream and came home: both exhausted (I also had a 45-minutes walk round the village this morning to drop the allotment key back to its owner), hungry and fingers crossed will sleep well tonight.
Lisa at 17:41
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Oh dear, I'm not very good at this blogging malarky these days. Too busy washing sheets and tidying and what have you. Had a lovely evening with Wednesday's visitors, even though we had to make up a bed on the floor for the boys who wouldn't sleep in Maggie's TOO PINK bedroom - we braved the cool damp air and managed a barbeque. Quick change of sheets etc then a very pleasant weekend with some of Cameron's old university friends; much alcohol (no silly not me) and antique pop music and debate about the merits of an ipod. We remain luddites in this household, at least for the present: we don't even have a home cinema thingummy. Oh and really ridiculously busy with work: the 200-odd expected slides morphed into >300 and kept my nose to the grindstone until 11 pm. Yuk.
M continues to love nursery: on Sunday we were out for a tour of the village when we saw her little friend Holly in her buggy. Of course Holly's mum and I didn't know each other from Adam; it's very odd when she knows people I don't. And yesterday she did her first whole morning (and stayed for lunch) which was really peculiar for me - not the being on my own thing, but the not knowing what she had done.
One of my schemes has come to fruition and I have some very exciting news: we have taken on an allotment! Well, half an allotment. A very small plot, really. I know it is an utterly ludicrous time to do so (esp as it has weeds up to my elbows) but if we turn it down now we will have to wait for somebody to give up a plot (realistically this means waiting for one of the bold boys to die!) which could take years. So, eek! And hooray! We went up to have a look this afternoon and it's not quite as weed-infested as I first feared - mostly stingers - so now I am planning and scheming and avidly lurking ebay. Any excuse.
Lisa at 14:05
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Nursery was fantastic; I'm so proud of my clever daughter. I rang the doorbell and lifted her out of the buggy; by the time I had folded it she was in. I then filled in some forms and when I got upstairs after that she was sitting at the table eating toast and chattering to another little girl (they became friends very quickly because they had the same T-shirt!): she then completely ignored me for 2 hours and cried when I said it was time to go. And and I overheard the two women talking to each other saying that her language was good; her colours were excellent and hadn't she settled in well. Apparently they had one last week who screamed for 2 hours even though his mum was there.
I can't imagine what I was worried about. Well, worried is the wrong word - I just wasn't sure whether she would like it or not. Whether she was ready. All doubts have dispersed and I find myself looking forward to my two mornings a week. Whatever will I do with myself.
Oh, and she slept 12 hours straight last night: nursery, trip on the bus to Chester and a walk at Ness gardens is a recipe for a peaceful night (which included her falling out of bed twice but not waking - we just heard a big bang and found her snoozing on the floor!) Not a recipe I can recreate every day without falling down exhausted myself, but one to bear in mind.
Lisa at 15:35
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big-girl bed
Originally uploaded by Turquoise Lisa.

Maggie in her new big-girl bed. Very pink. She loves it during the day but there have been a couple of small-voice where's my cot? comments when it's dark.

Lisa at 21:24
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Ahem. Blush. Did I say we were going away? We were. We did. Just to Scotland, where M built sandcastles with her grandparents, I read four (four!) whole books and slept a lot, and C also slept a lot. And we visited the Pittenweem Art Festival, too - same as always but enjoyable nonetheless. We're back now; my Mum and Dad are here. Mum and I had a "spa day" at the local hotel on Saturday - her birthday present but I could hardly make her go alone, now, could I. That wouldn't be friendly. Was lovely. They leave Tues; Weds we have more friends coming to stay overnight; Saturday another 5 arrive. Is all go. Much washing of sheets.

Lisa at 21:15
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Had a lovely chat with a very nice old lady on the bus today; she carried Maggie's teddy and remarked what a shame one isn't allowed to smack children these days apropos nothing, or certainly nothing M did; she's been an utter angel today (all beginning when we had to wake her at 8!). Apparently she slapped her daughter once for whinging and she Never Did It Again. This immediately following her telling me that the reason "all those parents" on television had such horrible children was because they were so rude in speaking to them (so, I conclude, it is OK to smack but not OK to raise one's voice?).
I'm being a little snide: she was very well-meaning and really quite kindly. We like going on the bus, you always meet somebody. And we like Chester's farmers' market (farmers'-market moussaka, peas we had to pod - M loves podding peas - and carrots from my garden for tea tonight!) and the library, and I like to go to Starbucks.
Lisa at 20:04
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Oops! Got to 5 o'clock today before twigging that it was the first of the month: have run about and taken most of my wheel of the year photos in 5 minutes flat. No considered shots this month (what do you mean, again).
Have spent most of the day trying to persuade M to go away and play (in a nice way, of course) because Mummy has a stack of work to do and we are going away on Saturday, but we did get to a coffee morning and manage to find somebody last-minute to come and feed the cat while we are away. Had a walk to the shop to find that their milk delivery hadn't turned up today; called in to the local allotments to make friends on the way home. Now go away and play, I have work to do.
Lisa at 16:35
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Did I say I'd hardly noticed this pregnancy? More fool me; have run full-tilt into the 6-months-pregnant wall this week: Messrs Backache, Pelvic Pain and Sciatica have all come to stay, Miss Heartburn is visiting in the evenings and my afternoons are haunted by the Ghost of Lightheaded Faintiness (only warded off by the twin talismans of coke and ice cream).
Am waiting for the foot-pump fairy to call and blow up my exercise ball so I have something comfy to sit on at the computer.
However, am feeling somewhat perkier today - yesterday was a complete write-off as I couldn't summons the energy to walk from here to the kitchen, let alone leave the house or think of fun toddler games (M protested in the best way she knows: she peed on the floor) - but I got a good 9 hours last night and feel quite ready to go. Even managed a good kitchen dance with M while emptying the dishwasher. Must make the most as today is to be the last day of summer, apparently.
Lisa at 08:45
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Mountains of work in and expected. Oodles of it. Very foolishly accepted three new projects from one of my more stress-inducing clients this morning, too, so don't expect any signs of sanity round here until, ooh, September. Am v miffed with myself as she expressed surprise that I hadn't put my rates up since last time we worked together (I hadn't really realised one was allowed to). Missed opportunity, so they are going up in September; having done some asking around I realise how cheap I am selling myself.
Last month's pay cheque was earmarked for toy storage so we are now much more tidy, having three new boxes (morning room, dining room and dressing up) and a basket for jigsaws. Getting there slowly, I might even sort out my desk one of these days and re-connect the speakers. I need my dad to come and visit to fix a leak and do all those other handy dad-jobs.
Not doing much today really, having kept it free for the delivery of Maggie's big-girl bed (which unfortunately didn't come into stock so won't be arriving until after we've been to Scotland now). I have itchy fingers to go to the garden centre but am restraining myself (will go at the weekend when I don't have to toddler-wrangle). Several exciting new projects on the go, all of which are too new to be mentioned yet. I'm not sure I have time for a new baby. Speaking of which, I rang to book on some antenatal classes and was told quite clearly that second-timers weren't really wanted: I suppose I should have noticed that they are all held at 2 pm at venues without childcare or creche, but it's not very friendly, is it!
Lisa at 13:49
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M has (virtually) dropped her daytime nap: I may never blog again. I admit to encouraging it a little - she is now routinely sleeping until 7 am - but also to really missing those hours of peace in the afternoon when I edited, cleaned, cooked and chatted; am now working nights, eating quick-cook rubbish and living in a midden. Sort of. But 7 am is so much more acceptable than 5 and she seems to be taking it in her stride - in fact, she's really very cheery these days and has a (brief) down-time after lunch when we sit and read books quietly and recharge our batteries. ("Mummy, open your eyes!") She's getting very good at amusing herself for ever-longer periods of time, too, and will happily potter about humming to herself while I do exciting things like wash the smashed bottle of Guinness off the kitchen floor (don't ask).
In other exciting childcare news, we've signed her up for a couple of nursery sessions a week. I know "they" say not before 3, but I think she's ready - presumably "they" are taking an average that includes boys (!) and thickos (!). I can't say hand on heart that I really want to send her, but they have a big garden with a veg patch and chickens, the staff are not all teenagers, they employ a chef and I think she'll enjoy it. Plus, better to send her now than when I do feel I need some time, i.e. in november with a new baby on the scene.
Work is busy just now, too: summers always are. With the teaching pressure removed from academics they often knuckle down and churn out some papers. Which is good financially so one mustn't moan, even though it is tempting.
Had a very pleasant do-little weekend with all the girls (6 big girls, 3 little ones and Cameron pottering about too. Not that he is a girl, but he came home from the shops with a new CD player for me to have in the kitchen so he got fed on Saturday night.) Apart from my niece Mia - and consequently my sister Suzanne - who had a bad night on Saturday. Apparently there was a little girl in her cot (I'm not talking to you mummy I'm talking to the girl), so perhaps we are haunted. It is an old house and Cameron and I are the last people who would pick up on such a thing! Or perhaps it was too much barbecued fish before bed.
Lisa at 18:56
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Tatton was really lovely - extraordinarily hot, but one thing Tokyo has set me up for for life is an ability to handle heat. 36 deg and moderate humidity holds no fears; and as the friend I went with I met in Tokyo and had moved there from Singapore (she now lives in the Lake District) we flagged far less than many people there. Many of whom kindly felt obliged to offer me their seat in the shade: RHS members are Nice People on the whole. I didn't need to stick out my belly or rub my back or anything! I was relatively restrained with my buying* (given that I have no real garden yet I had to keep to seeds and things that would be happy in a pot until next summer at least) but have come home laden with ideas and itching to get going. Hand me that rotovator!
For those who like to be fashionable I noted that agapanthus is this year's plant and rusty terracotta shades the planting schemes of choice: there were also one or two bold returns to Colour which were fantastic to see. No more "prairie planting", of which I am quite delighted to see the back. Grasses are still in use but in a much more restrained manner, and one simply must shoe-horn in a tomato plant or two to show your modern eco credentials.
Maggie and Cameron had a lovely day too; nice for them to spend some concentrated time. I don't know what he did but she slept until 8.20 this morning. EIGHT!!! A.M.! Unheard of. Though to be fair she was up a bit in the night: it was incredibly humid then we had a very noisy (beautifully refreshing) downpour around 5, which I think woke her.
*Agapanthus "enigma" - I am fashionable, a nepalese lily thing, herb seeds including shiso (which I emailed Dan Pearson from the Observer about last week: he said Jekka so I visited Jekka), sweet pea seeds for next year, a gorgeous golden crocosmia, a verbascum for its lovely leaves (I later discovered its flowers would be a manky yellow so I'll have to hide it away) and a nice thing whose name I've forgotten - I'll post a photo later.
Lisa at 18:12
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Much better. M slept for 12 hours with only two drinks of water required; I got about 8 or 9 hours myself. So much less tension in the house today, despite catering requirements (must go and make a tart). We spent yesterday afternoon in a friend's brand-new garden; last time we visited it was a field with a shed in the middle, but now it has landscaping and plants and vegetables and is generally very conducive to long lazy afternoons sipping cool drinks under the gazebo and watching toddlers jump in and out of the paddling pool.
Cameron is back tonight and I/C childcare all day tomorrow as I'm off to Tatton Park flower show (as seen on the BBC). Am very much looking forward to it even though I will wilt like the flowers in this heat.
Lisa at 09:07
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Estimated 4 hours sleep last night (M with upset tummy); incoherent and v grumpy; C in, um, away somewhere on a plane; can't manage punctuation. People coming for both lunch and dinner tomorrow; one staying overnight; must sort spare room. Sleepless daze = scarily large amount of money spent at Sainsburys on what looks like enough food for 3 days. Plus kilos of fruit; don't want too eat fruit; too tired. Eating doughnuts. Yum.
Lisa at 11:22
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Phew! There's nothing like a toddler for getting you up and at it - she kindly slept until 6 rather than her habitual 5 today, which felt like a lie-in: I was so full of energy that by 10 am I had cleaned our bedroom, Maggie's bedroom, the bathroom and the downstairs loo! Maggie did some dusting and sweeping then amused herself beautifully bouncing on our bed trying on hats; when she lost interest in that she made a tent in her cot, crawled in to make a duvet nest with all her toys, and read them stories.
Of course at 11 o'clock it now feels a bit like bedtime: time for a nice sit-down I think.
Gardener's question spot Who knows about courgettes? My plants have gone from last week's gorgeous healthy specimens (see photo) to some sad, mildewy things with yellow leaves. They are well-ventilated and windy so I'm thinking they just need more nutrients (they are in pots) - I am currently giving tomato feed weekly but should I increase the frequency (they are "bulk feeders" I believe) or consider a foliar feed?


Lisa at 10:00
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I've been a bit absent this week: just not been in a bloggy frame of mind. Am a de facto single mum again and feeling quite fed up, though it is something I feel I must put up and shut up given that poor Cameron doesn't love it either and "they" do pay him rather well to travel like he does. So I decided to graciously stay away until I was a bit chirpier and could type without it turning into a big poor me whinge. However, Cameron has bravely and very kindly arranged to miss half a London meeting next week and is flying back early to do a day of childcare and allow me to go to Tatton Park Flower Show. It's been a long-drawn-out saga, with meetings on and off and parents on standby to come: 2 days ago I thought I was going to have to take her with me and was not looking forward to it one bit. Much as I love her company, childminding a toddler who is far too big to spend a whole day in a pushchair, and bored by plants, around a large RHS flower show at which, let's face it, I will be purchasing plenty, did not sound like a fun stress-free day out. So a big hoorah that that bridge was crossed well in advance and can be retreated back over, and I find myself looking forward to it immensely. I don't get out much.
Which is where I find myself today: quite chirpy. Glorious weather and, despite rising at the unhodly hour of 5, a jolly tot. We went to Walton Hall this morning to see the animals ("pigs and peacocks" as M calls it). Am considering taking over the catering franchise (well, more wishing somebody else would): it's a nice large house - not quite stately but approaching in that direction - with a small children's zoo, a playground, some nice gardens, a big space for ball games etc...and the most abysmal coffee and pre-packaged cakes you can imagine. It simply isn't the National Trust, darling.
Came back and hung out in the garden all afternoon. This stay-at-home-mumming is OK really you know, despite appalling hours, pay and conditions: M alternated between paddling pool, lounging under a blanket and playing with her ball while I read in the sun, pruned my very sad-looking roses (which are, against all odds, showing some signs of revival), pottered about tying in/pinching out/chatting up various other plants, replaced M's blanket approximately every 2.35 minutes and occasionally provided cold drink, plum or pea. (Ahem. We shelled peas for our tea, too, and weren't left with an awful lot to cook. Which is absolutely fine: I care that she eat veg not whether it is cooked, raw or in between.)


Lisa at 16:33
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Taken a couple of weeks ago when M was feeling amenable: this week we heard I am not going under there and I don't need a woggle. You can see how much she loves the water though.

Lisa at 14:05
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We survived, and had a nice time too once we got there. Journey up unbelievably stressful due to the rudeness and lack of consideration from our fellow travellers (worst offenders were men with briefcases who were clearly in such a hurry that waiting 2 minutes to allow a pregnant woman and her toddler to get themselves, a large suitcase, a buggy and assorted items of hand luggage off the bus was incredibly taxing: wouldn't you think, if they were in such a genuine rush, that the most effective thing would be to give me a hand? Which of course I didn't expect, so I didn't mind - much - that they didn't, but I did mind rather being sighed at and pushed out of the way.) The only person who was even slightly above neutral in the helpfulness stakes was one air stewardess who held M's hand so I could use both hands to lift the buggy and five bags (without losing teddy) up three flights of stairs. And then there was some nonsense about my suitcase...but it's past now, breathe deeply. Good things: M loved the plane (it had a propellor!) and was an angel on board; the car-hire firm upgraded us because they had nothing in the class I requested; our first night away from Maggie went very smoothly. Oh, and Dylan Moran might have been on the flight but I am hopeless at celebrity faces so couldn't swear to it. It was lovely to be back in Edinburgh so many years on (though I am sure it didn't used to be such a mecca for hen parties) and we had enough sunshine to sit outside in the grassmarket and drink Kir. Am glad we made the most of it because it rained the rest of the time we were away: the rest of you were basking in glorious sunshine, wittering on the radio about how to handle the heat (to which, having lived in Tokyo, I can only say a quiet pah - until I remember the ubiquitous air conditioning in that civilised city) while we shivered damply in our summer clothes.
Back yesterday: much more pleasant journey with several people smiling sympathetically if not actually being terribly helpful. I honestly don't mind not being helped as long as they are patient and don't shut the door in my face.
Today my car has gone for a service so we bussed into town for the usual: library, bank, market, coffee. And now I really must go and take those wheel of the year photos that are 5 days overdue.
PS House sold. Hoorah.
Lisa at 12:55
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I am so stressed I can hardly talk (let alone type straight) - just taking 10 minutes for a cup of coffee before I start again. M has gone from using the potty beautifully to weeing on the floor and also seems to be biting her nails: do you think she can tell?
Let's see. I have to pack, load the car (bearing in mind that the opener for my boot is kaput so one has to hold its full weight with one arm while lifting things inside and that my case weighs 25 kg*), and get M and I to Manchester airport via a. cattery and b. estate agent**; get parked, get us and all our luggage checked in and onto a plane.
Cameron is around but has to work today: he's joining us in Scotland direct from a London meeting tomorrow.
Better make the most of it I suppose: imagine doing all this next year with two children. Last time I took M on a plane she was 10 months and small enough to sling while I pushed all the bags in a buggy; plus we had an international business-class baggage allowance and Virgin couldn't have been more helpful. How the mighty have fallen and all. (Economy! The shame!) On the bright side (spacially if not financially) she now gets her own seat so I don't have to have a heffalump on my lap the whole way. And it's a nice short flight.
*What's that phrase again, the one that always makes me laugh like a drain? Oh yes "a delicate condition". Ha ha bloody ha.
**Apparently we are exchanging and completing tomorrow, which is obviously a relief yet I find it very strange that my solicitor had to chase theirs to find this out: don't you think that is the sort of information it is good to share? All of which means I have to take the keys in en route today.
Lisa at 09:05
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To continue:

grams of Lindt intense mint chocolate scoffed in desperation at manuscript's poxiness: 40

hours M slept in the afternoon: 2 1/2 (has somebody swapped her?)

potatoes baked for tea: 3

enormous sneezes, poss. hayfever (mine): about 1000

hot drinks made, forgotten about and discovered later when they are cold and have dust floating on top: 2 (not bad)

Lisa at 15:25
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Today's statistics:

cats collected from catteries: 1 (boo)

potty:floor ratio 2:0 and counting (v.g.)

supermarket shops done: 1 (medium-sized)

bags of shopping put away:left on the floor ratio 0:4 (not good)

neighbours interacted with in a friendly manner: 1

manuscripts edited: 1

time to which Maggie slept this morning: 7.15 (so I must say a large YAH BOO SUCKS to the doomsayers who insinuated she would never sleep through if we didn't Do Something About It)

new friends made on MSN: 1 (yay)

friends congratulated on the birth of their lovely new babies: 1, hooray!

catteries booked for next weekend: 1

cars booked in for service (don't think about the cost): 1

loads of laundry washed: 2

and dried: 1

and ironed: 0

dishwashers emptied and refilled: 1

stories read: 3

hours spent with cbeebies on: 3/4

cases unpacked:bags awaiting unpacking ratio 1:5 (v. bad)

crossword clues solved and filled in: 4

pieces of fruit M persuaded to eat:biscuits allowed ratio 2:1 (v.g.)

Lisa at 13:39
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We had a brief unscheduled visit to the Cheshire Show this afternoon, when M ran amok (bunnies!! want to touch! goat! meh! want to touch! want ice cream!) and I scoffed strawberries dipped in the chocolate fountain.

Lisa at 19:27
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I've sat down to blog several times over the past few days but each time I do the ennui sets in and I have to find something else to do. Sorry. Is all part of being a single mum: C was back in the country for a whopping 36 jetlagged hours before heading off to Germany. I believe on Friday we may eat a simultaneous meal for the first time in nearly 2 weeks. Actually, on Friday we are off to Royal Escet, I may need a het. I am looking forward to it (Cameron in same timezone; Maggie in care of grandparents; civilised day out) apart from the whole attire worry. Mid-sized bump not helping matters and the only shoes I can really wear are quite high (I am given to understand that trainers are not the thing) so might a. cripple me and b. sink into the grass.
Speaking of bump I am very aware that this poor child has been the attention of virtually no blogging whatsoever (and frankly little thought outside the blog either). I hope it doesn't grow up with a complex when it realises its elder sister had a whole blog all to herself. (Of course it is equally likely that M will be creased with embarrassment and #2 just relieved to have escaped.) Anyway: it's fine, was scanned on Monday and all well. Very obliging - much more cooperative than M who used to flip end over end during scans - it waved its little hand (5 fingers) to Maggie. Am hoping this presages a placid child who sleeps 12 hours a night from, say, 3 days old. Or is that delusional?
Lisa at 08:07
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Helen's comment made me realise that this is perhaps the only place I haven't put on the record how much I LOVE my new doctor (and yes thank you, M is completely better now). He's Cheshire's answer to Dr Sears: a father of 6, all home births, all breastfed until they self-weaned (some in tandem) and a fan of co-sleeping. Yay! So nice - so unusual - to meet a medical professional on one's wavelength (though I seem to be quite lucky in that respect: my British GP in Tokyo was a home-birthing breast-feeding Dalai-Llama enthusing nutcase.) As predicted, she had "a virus": he did seem to think I was concerned about meningitis, which made me feel a bit bad momentarily (it hadn't crossed my mind) before that small remaining part of rational brain took over and pointed out that had I suspected meningitis we would hardly have waited for a 4 o'clock appointment at the clinic, but would have been at A&E within about 5 minutes (it's a 10-minute drive). He said, approvingly (I think): ah, a laid-back mum. Am I laid back? That's nice, I'd like to think I am.
Lisa at 13:10
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I read the most appalling book today, while M was at 'rhyme time' at the library. Please never get it. Coming home, I am now wondering if it was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but it certainly doesn't read that way. I see most of the Amazon reviewers agree with me, which is nice to know. I am now, however, fully aware of Just How Important it is to wear nice knickers to your scan (a good job since I have mine on Monday and would have turned up in any old tat) and to make sure you are waxed and pedicured before your due date (because otherwise what if you get a good looking doctor). But seriously: how can it be a good thing to aspire to be that woman, quoted, who repainted her nails, styled her hair and applied full makeup before being discharged from hospital after giving birth? Shows seriously skewed priorities and some sort of self-image "issues", I would have thought. Yet she was held up as the ideal. Oh, and waterbirth is bad because you come out looking like a prune - and drugs are the only way to give birth (because otherwise you risk smearing your lipstick? I don't know.) Homebirth is an utterly ridiculous idea because you might have to do some laundry afterwards. The only single piece of advice with which I would concur was this: no leggings, no dungarees. I find it very hard to believe that anybody actually finds the time or inclination to give themselves a weekly facial and pedicure after their baby is born (or before, for that matter).
I am seriously non-yummy. As evidenced by the fact that four (four!) people approached me in town and asked either where I got my hair cut (and not in a good way) or did I want some hair and beauty vouchers (I would, actually, but not for £50 thanks very much). I fear other people interpret my fresh-faced and natural look (and isn't she lucky to get away with it at her age) as unkempt and unruly. That, or today's unusually dangly earrings - a bid to distract from my expanding waistline - misled them into thinking I was much higher maintenance than I actually am.
Lisa at 13:19
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I think there's some sort of weirdy voodoo thing going on here. Call me neurotic and overimaginative, but. I have two black-cat figurines that live on a windowsill (with a penguin and and elephant but that's by the by). Now, I know M likes to move them around but I noticed yesterday that one of the black cats is missing. Perhaps if I find it Islay will come home?
Is raining here, hope she's found somewhere dry to hide.
Lisa at 16:02
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My goodness, what a day. I feel quite wrung-out. M was up (thus, so was I) between 3.30 and 5 for no apparent reason so I was tired to start with. And let's not discount the hormonal turmoil, but when I woke (again) to find that Jura was missing and Cameron hadn't yet called to let me know he was safely in Japan, I lost the plot rather. I managed to track Cameron down by dint of some creative phoning (his hotel claimed never to have heard of him: whether she didn't really understand the question or was being annoyingly Japanesely discreet is anyone's guess) then when I did finally manage to speak to him collapsed in a heap. Juuurrrraaaaaa's nooooot heeeeeeere. Poor Cameron, must feel awful: there's not much he can do from 6000 miles away, is there. Anyway, I settled a little in time for Sinead, Libby and baby Katherine to come and play for the morning - took my mind off things. Ann and Olivia kindly came over this afternoon to sit with M so I could go out shouting round the streets, and I found her!
She must have heard my voice and started to cry too: I rang the doorbell of the house whose garden I thought she was in and, when I got no reply, went in and stood on her garden bench to see over the hedge. Unfortunately the owner chose that moment to appear from her herbaceous border, wondering what the hell I was doing. She became more accommodating when she heard Jura crying and helped me tempt her through the holly hedge, when I carried her home. Very hungry, very tired and now very disgruntled to not be allowed back outside! I'm still worried at being one cat down, of course, but immensely relieved that we don't seem to have a nutcase stalking the village pets on Sundays, as I was beginning to suspect. A sort of catty Bermuda triangle.
I almost feel calm enough to clean the kitchen, or would that just be going overboard?!
My other excitement came last night when I idly checked maternity wear on ebay only to find a top I had tried and failed to buy from funmum.com (out of stock) there with 40 seconds left to go! I won it, too. Bet the people making real proper not-last-minute bids were cross. He he he.
Lisa at 19:44
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Aren't kids great? I was just chatting to the little girl next door (5), back from her holiday. I confess I had been hoping Islay would reappear as soon as they came home, having been shut in their house all week - but no such luck. It's OK though because she assured me that Islay had probably been run over - which didn't matter, because I had another cat. I feel so much happier now.
Lisa at 18:07
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Went to Arley Hall with Ann and Olivia on Thursday. M and Olivia are friends and had a lovely time together. And we saw a swallow and its nest.

Lisa at 14:08
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Glorious though it is, isn't it just sod's law that we get this weather the week I move some long-established roses (poor things are very droopy indeed) and M goes down with some sort of high-temperature virus thingy. Or I assume it's a virus thingy, they usually are, but I can't say I am entirely fit to judge having had two - count 'em - hours of sleep last night. We're going to see the doctor at 4 (I wouldn't have bothered except it's a Friday so the last chance for 2 days) and he will no doubt tell me to go away and not bother him it's a virus. Though I hope not in so many words.
No Islay. People are queuing round the block to tell me about their cats who disappeared for weeks and then turned up, which I suppose is very kind but doesn't really stop me fretting. Cameron leafleted the road and closes last night which resulted in two phone calls, but we haven't found her yet.
I took a poster in to the primary school this morning, thinking mums and kids walking to and from school might keep their eyes open for her. Have come away with a registration form and a copy of their latest Ofsted report (they are very keen) which was absolutely outstanding: surely even in a terribly middle class area of Cheshire such as this, some kids must just be a bit thick? I wonder what they do with them on inspection day.
C off to Japan on Sunday. I am planning to sulk for the week.
Lisa at 12:01
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Good news: the council haven't picked any black cats off the roads. Bad news: Islay still hasn't turned up. Spent the morning making leaflets which I'll put through local doors later today, and received a slightly cheering email from the cats' protection league suggesting we hang our unwashed sheets and stinky trainers outside so she can follow the stench. (Scent. They said scent.)
Otherwise, have had the sort of day I just know everybody imagines my life consists of. Had a bit of a lie-in as Cameron's family were here, then took the bus to Chester and had a lovely coffee in Costa, where M was an absolute angel. So much so that two people came up and told me she is lovely! Went to the library, produced said leaflets, browsed for new books because my 'to-read' pile is only as tall as the house. Attended rhyme time, where M, still naturally angelic, rather horrified the gang of mums to 6-month-olds: I could just see them thinking my child will never do that as she ran about, climbed up and down, tried to sit on the leader's knee, danced manically to the songs, pulled a poster off the wall, and demanded to be read a story. Of course the other toddlers there were utterly well-behaved and sat on their mums' laps throughout, smiling prettily and waving their shakers in time to the beat.
A quick whizz about the farmers' market then home on the bus, when M went to bed and I sat in the garden with a magnum ice-cream and a trashy book. Such a hard life.
Lisa at 14:20
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Oh dear, I've been half-blogged all weekend but somehow life gets in the way. Or gardening and sunshine, anyway: got to make the most of it. Spent Thursday running about taking snaps for the wheel of the year project, which you can see here if you would like to admire our new front and back views, and garden. Which no longer looks like that, as I spent the entire weekend digging a tiny strip (about 1 1/2 x 5 ft) as a 'holding bed' for the roses we wanted to bring from the old house - we are gardening on pure compressed clay here, mixed in places with builder's rubble, so it was quite a task. Cameron offered to do it for me "because you're pregnant" if I did the supermarket run on Saturday so off I went, only to find him laid up with a bad back on my return. So I did both jobs (poor me): he stripped half the turf but I removed the rest, dug as deep as I could (only about a spade and a bit), mixed in a couple of bags of manure, dug up the roses, and planted it all up. The bed is going to look quite nice, it now has a nice mixture of plants I had lying about as well as the roses: marigolds, fuschias, columbines, carrots (bizarrely) and sweet peas up cool twisty metal things.
I also managed to cook Nigella's involtini (OK, C's bad back didn't preclude him cooking the aubergines) and profiteroles as we had friends to dinner. Felt most smug; rather less so when M took off her nappy and wee'd in her cot (Paul and Donna are childless). AND I hit the credit cards and ordered my entire summer wardrobe; busy busy busy.
Sunday we went back to Grappenhall (via Borders for lunch, naturally) to get the aforementioned roses and take a few cuttings. Looks like a jungle there, but rather a nice one with all our plants looking lovely and lush. And ground you can just slide a fork into.
Today has been spent mostly fretting as Islay has been AWOL since yesterday morning. No idea if she's lost/making her way back to Warrington/run over/shut in somewhere but am very concerned - it's not like her. Just hope somebody kind who knows about cats finds her and gets her zapped as she is microchipped. Any suggestions, anyone?
PS: A new entry in the ongoing series "things you never thought you'd have to say": don't spit on your toothbrush then scrub the walls please, it's disgusting.
Lisa at 11:54
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After yesterday's horrors (M woke at 5.30 in a foul mood and whinged and cried her way through the entire day until Auntie Sara came to visit at 5.30 - resulting in a very cross and shouty mummy too), there's nothing to make you feel like a Good Mummy like putting an apron on your 2-year-old, standing her on a chair, and baking muffins (if you make it, halve the topping quantities as I threw a load away). It would have been even more successful if she'd eaten them all up rather than picking out the apple chunks ("I don't like that") - have made a mental note to chop 'em smaller next time. But she enjoyed stirring and sprinkling the toppping, and even did the dishes and some left languishing from last night (as she was there anyway).
We then sat in the garden and read magazines while the muffins cooled, then I repotted some more poor neglected plants, and planted some french bean seeds, while she felt-penned her legs, tried to drown my baytree, and sprinkled compost about. Then wee'd on the floor (health visitor reckoned a week? Not a chance. M must be particularly slow, or I am unusually bad at asking if she needs to go. Or both.)
After lunch we walked to the village farm shop (tiny but another reason why we love living here) for veg: M fell asleep in her buggy so is now snoozing on the patio while I wait for a locksmith to come and sort out unopenable doors. I have to wonder where the 'farm' is, given that they sell pineapples, oranges, grapes and cherries (the veg seems more likely). Or are all shops entitled to be 'farm shops' given that, presumably, all fruit and veg comes ultimately from a farm. Is it the modern word for greengrocer?
Lisa at 12:34
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One more: I am really happy to have an outdoor washing line again. An dyes, I am quite aware how hopelessly, irredeemably sad this makes me. We've been friends a long time now: you'll forgive me.
(Bloody cat just brought me a fledgling collar dove. Am not impressed.)
Lisa at 15:39
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Reasons to be cheerful:
- Maggie did a wee on the potty! This is very exciting indeed.
- The insurance company have agreed to repair or replace the carpet, less £75 excess. I dropped the iron on it and melted a big irony-shaped mark (which might teach me not to attempt ironing when knackered. Or at all).
- Maggie slept from 7.30-3.30 last night; had a drink of milk*, went back off until 6, came in with us and stayed quiet until 7.15! And I'd gone to bed at 10 so have had more sleep than I know what to do with.
- The sun is shining.
- I found my maternity swimsuit, which was AWOL. Naturally, it was in a box with newborn baby clothes rather than with other maternity stuff.
- The health visitor said M was brilliant (I paraphrase slightly) and that you can tell she's got her mummy at home. It is very unusual to feel anything other than a cop-out from society, not paying one's way, etc etc (see this great book), so that was a real boost.
*Is milk in bed at night Bad?
Lisa at 14:33
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Had another midwife appointment this morning, after last week's failure (they were running 30 minutes late and I wouldn't wait - M would have had to miss swimming and I'd have had to entertain her in a waiting room full of ill people for half an hour). Have quite a lot less blood than I did this morning, and 'my' midwife was off sick so we met another. Who I loved, and who is very keen on waterbirths (unlike some on the team, apparently), and hope turns up when I am in labour. Dashed almost the entire width of Cheshire (Saughall is right on the Welsh border; Northwich can't be very far from the county border the other side) to take M for her swim. Back home for a quick lunch and a whizz about with a hoover before the health visitor came to inspect. Which she did very well: you'd never have known she was inspecting and she didn't look at all health-visitory being about my age but infinitely more trendy. We got along famously (which I know is her job) so I feel quite sad that, as she is expecting in November also, she won't be my HV for the new baby. Perhaps we'll meet at a baby cafe.
Lisa at 17:29
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Is 3 weeks too soon to fall out with the neighbours? The side we haven't yet met has three horribly noisy dogs. I don't know what they are but they are small and white and very very loud. Every time we go in the garden there they are, yap yap yap. Not exactly relaxing, and M is quite nervous about going out there. She was improving and getting used to it (though I still grit my teeth) until today: I've started letting the cats out under supervision and when the dogs saw them they went mad! The volume must have doubled, which was bad enough: the cats doubled in size to match and retreated into the house. When they next ventured out, one of the dogs broke through the fence and chased them into the house and up the stairs: this I will not have. Can't decide whether to go round, introduce myself and mention it casually or just to reinforce the fence and hope they settle.
Otherwise a pleasant day: small adventures. We took the bus into Chester (is nice on the bus, people chat to you), had a lovely coffee and joined the library, arriving serendipitously just before "rhyme time" so we also got half an hour of songs and stories. Unfortunately Maggie filled her nappy just before it started (sorry, is that over-sharing?!) so was the stinkiest child there and wouldn't sit down (can hardly blame her for that). Naturally I had gone out without a spare - I am such a bad mother - so we had to run to Boots and buy pants and wipes before getting the bus home. Small adventures!
Lisa at 13:57
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Sorry I haven't been here: been busy building an ark. Ha ha ha. Actually, the sun came out today for long enough to run in the garden a little (cats too), sweep up a patio-full of lilac blossom to go in my shiny new compost bin, and have a walk to the other end of the village to investigate the nursery (plants not children) which turned out to have a minute farm shop with fabulous fruit and veg. So rather a success all in all. It's raining again now, naturally.
Lisa at 19:07
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My goodness, isn't the NHS bossy? I got a letter through confirming the appointment I made for a scan (having declined the dating scan, I decided to have the anomaly one around 20 weeks) and giving a list of dictates: I must empty my bladder an hour before the scan then drink a pint of water (not fizzy) and not go to the loo again. I must bring £2 for parking and more money if I want a printout of a scan picture. I "will" be seen by a hospital midwife who will check I have "correctly" managed to see the community midwife (what the...??!). I may bring one adult, but if I bring a child that adult may have to wait outside with it.
And it's full of typos.
I also got a letter "to the parents of Margaret Stewart" from the health visitor. Margaret Stewart is my mother: is that really who they mean? How have they got Maggie's name wrong when I filled in the form veryclearly; I am nearly certain I got her name correct.
I am not filled with confidence.
Lisa at 13:27
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Maggie woke at 4.30 again this morning, meaning my day also started very early (despite best efforts to make Cameron get up and give her breakfast, I didn't manage to get back off to sleep). Which meant that I wasn't entirely with it while she was finger-painting this morning and didn't notice until it had already become face-and-hair painting! She had fun, and she enjoyed the unusual mid-morning bath that resulted; she even had a short unscheduled nap straight afterwards, which was quite a bonus.
Today's other amusing Maggie story is set at breakfast: me still half asleep, radio 2 babbling inthe background. All of a sudden she started a really whingy cry don't like the muuuusiiiiic which lasted until the song finished. The song? Phil Collins, against all odds. What a discerning child: Cameron is extremely proud.
Lastly - and I hate to be a mummy bore - she went out to play all on her own yesterday. I was all nervous (I am just rubbish) but the two little girls next door are very nice and took her on their trampoline and in their playhouse. She came back with her very first "fruit shoot": what a big grown-up girl! I imagine the novelty of playing with a 2-year-old might wear off for them quite quickly (they are 5 and 8) but we'll see. She had such a nice time.
And that, apart from more unpacking and sorting and feeling tired and wishing for curtains, is really that.
Lisa at 15:47
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Hooray for Wanadoo (unusual, I know), who got me re-broadbanded within 8 days. I no longer feel I am missing a limb. The new house has space downstairs for the PC, which is potentially dangerous: I already spend far more time than I really should online and now I can do it without entirely abandoning my daughter the time spent could grow exponentially. Is there an online anonymous support group?
Had a fabulous day yesterday in York. We stayed overnight in Harrogate with Suzanne and Mia (and Uncle Crisp, as Maggie insists on calling him). After a nice early start (M was up at 5, as she has been every day since we moved) we headed into York. Glorious sunshine and a nice pottery town. Coffee, cake, mooch mooch mooch. A lovely lunch (anyone searching for food in York, I can enormously recommend Oscars on Stonegate, although we will never be allowed back, having coated their stylish 'Mediterranean' courtyard in chips, chicken, crayons and then I dropped and broke a glass bottle.) Then, some false starts later, we found the theatre for the FIMBLES LIVE! Hosted by Sarah-Jane, no less. (Those who are innocent of the ways of cBeebies, you have no idea.) When she skipped onto the stage - she is so am-dram - Maggie pointed and shouted "It's Sarah-Jane", which just set the tone for the afternoon. They loved it. My only criticism would be that it was slightly too long. I think a 4-year-old would have coped (but do 4-year-olds still like the Fimbles?) but for our two, an hour would have been plenty, rather than 45 minutes then an interval then another half hour.
In the car coming home Maggie asked where the Fimbles had gone, then asked if we could see them again tomorrow. A success.
Lisa at 08:28
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I'm back - but only sporadically as I just can't cope with dialup slowness. Many, many boxes, but all our belongings in one place for the first time in more than 4 years. A new village, a new house.
Oh, and a new baby due in November. Did I mention that?
Lisa at 09:34
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We've had such a lovely day today but I do feel completely exhausted now. Maggie and I headed into Chester - well, Christleton, about 3 miles south-west of the city - this morning to meet up with Val and John on their canalboat. Rendezvous accomplished we set off to sail (does one sail a barge?) into town. Many locks later - poor John was quite worn out - and after feeding many ducks and swans, cooing at baby moorhens and ducklings, exclaiming at a back garden that contained not only 4 donkeys, a cat, a cockerel and a turkey but a peacock with his tail up, and a lovely pub lunch, we arrived. In time to whizz to the estate agent and pick up the keys to our NEW HOUSE! We then said goodbye and thank you for a lovely day, before walking back to the car (what had taken from 10.30-4 on the boat could be walked in 45 minutes) and going to visit the house. Still like it - and a good thing too.
In between all this, and the inevitable phone calls to solicitors, agents, removal companies et al, we accepted an offer on our house. Phew!
Lisa at 18:54
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Proud mummy post coming up: you might choose to skip it. M was an absolute star at swimming today, her first time in the big children's class. Which she is only in at all because she is Brilliant (naturally), having skipped the intermediate class. We were just going to watch and see how she did and drop her back down again if she didn't like it. She loved it! There are big (3-year-old) boys in the class who are really starting to swim, but she jumped and splashed and kicked and bubbled and climbed with the best of them. One very strange woman said oh, poor little thing every time she was submerged: I have no idea why, especially as her son was equally underwater.
Lisa at 18:59
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Sorry - busy busy here Organising (with a capital O) and Sorting and Telephoning. Am not going to be about very much now until we are re-broadbanded in the new house and goodness knows how long that might take. In between ticking things off lists and tearing out my hair at the dreadful on-hold tunes, I am getting secretly quite excited at the prospect of our lovely new home. (A lovely new home that we have visited precisely once, for approximately 20 minutes, in the dark.) And I am really looking forward to Saturday, when our long-lost belongings will be released from their dark bunker in Stoke-on-Trent. I wonder what we'll find? And looking forward even more to the week after next when it will all be over bar the unpacking and finding homes for random items.
Lisa at 14:33
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My current mantra paint on the paper not your hands has no effect whatsoever (also the closely related don't touch anything and please don't draw on the table)

Lisa at 14:30
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We've had a glorious Easter weekend, all blue skies and sunshine, and have spent most of it Sorting Things Out. Garden Friday, house Saturday (for some viewers: they loved the house but hated the viaduct and were rude enough to say so!), garage Sunday. Today, earmarked for taking Maggie to the farm, is naturally overcast and freezing cold. But we went anyway: us, the world and his wife. Well worth it for the 12-hour-old piglets and the few-week-old goats (I love goats but Maggie was slightly nervous and didn't want to touch). Maggie had a ride on a carousel and liked the llama, riding on the tractor, the farm cat, and the beans on toast.
Lisa at 14:33
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We went to our first concert since Maggie was born - actually since quite a long time before she was born. I got to choose so we saw the fabulous Christy Moore (Cameron is usually i/c music, so we usually see people far more trendy). He *was* fantastic, and such a nice man too: I am sure the 11-year-old Laura in the audience was completely thrilled to have a song sung especially for her.
Today we have blitzed the garden: cut grass, weeded, barked and pulled everything out of the shed to sort and clean. The shed even got vacuumed. A very good job done but I want to lie on the sofa and sob quietly at my aching limbs now. Gorgeous sunshine though and Maggie had a wonderful time digging holes, watering random plants, looking for ladybirds and singing songs (wind the bobbin up went ok until she got to point to the ceiling, point to the floor. I could see her looking round, then she sang point to the tree and fell about laughing!)
Lisa at 17:26
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Note to self: avoid Morrisons like the plague on a Friday morning. Had two run-ins with horrible people: one man didn't give way to me at the roundabout because, as he communicated in rude gestures, he thought I should have turned left into the petrol station. It's not compulsory and I was not indicating to turn, so I did some gestures of my own back and M learnt some new words. Then, at the fish counter, another man started to speak at the same time as me. I told him to go ahead, not being in a huge hurry, but the fishmonger wanted to serve me as I'd been there first - very strict about queueing , these 'mongers - so *I* got a mouthful of abuse from him. Apparently he'd been in the queue, mentally if not physically ,before me and it really mattered that he had his salmon before I got my herring. But it was compensated by a nice lady who, as we waited for our fish, had a nice chat about how often we wash our cars and how I should be careful round the rest of the shop as horrible people, like buses, come in threes.
Other news: am waiting for the electrician to return my call (promised yesterday) to find out if he'll fit in with my Master Plan. Am thinking he won't as the MP involves him working a bank hol, but would be nice if he'd ring and let me know. Then I can book removers and get things going.
Lisa at 13:33
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Hallelujah!
(hallelujah, hallelujah)
Hallelujah!
Ha-lle-lu-jah.

(We've exchanged)
Lisa at 13:56
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Solicitor back from her hols and being, well, solicitous; vendor now gone AWOL, having chinese-whispered that he isn't going anywhere until the end of the month. We await the next installment with some excitement. Have planted my sweet peas because Carol said this was Absolutely my Last Chance: somebody kind will take them for a few days to prevent them being traumatised if and when we move.
M settling in to being 2 rather nicely: had a good scream complete with lying down and drumming heels today because, when offered white or pink socks then choosing the pink ones, mummy had the temerity to put the white ones away (gasp).
Lisa at 14:13
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Sometimes it's nice being woken in the night (yes, really). The past three or four nights I've been sleeping in the same room as M because Mum and Dad were here (and I haven't got around to changing the sheets yet). Around 3, I've been woken by a little voice saying Mummy...cuddle?. When I get up to give her a cuddle, she lays her head on my shoulder for a minute or two before saying KISS!, giving me a great big smacker, then lying down and going straight back to sleep. Aw.
Lisa at 20:30
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We've had a nice few days with my mum and dad here - Cameron has gone to Houston this time. We took M to her normal playgroup on Monday, her birthday, where I felt a bit teary when they sang happy birthday. Then Sara and Ian came for a birthday tea, bringing pressies and candles and it was sort of OK that Daddy was away for it. Tuesday, I took my parents on their first ever visit to Ikea: despite the crowds (I'd promised it would be empty midweek, failing to anticipate everybody being off work striking, or off work looking after their children whose schools were shut because the dinner ladies were on strike - or something) they were enormously surprised and impressed. I think they expected a small selection of flimsy falling-apart flatpack and were actually overwhelmed by the huge selection and came away clutching leaflets about kitchens! So that was fun - I always enjoy a trip to Ikea anyway, even if I buy nothing but a coffee and a new pack of bibs for Maggie.
I got her new shoes today - was made to feel like a really Bad Mummy because she'd gone up a whole size and I admitted she'd had them for ages. But her toes were only just at the end, it's not like I was squashing her feet in like an ugly stepsister; and we had had them checked (ahem, once) in the interim.
Still no exchange.
Lisa at 19:34
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Look who's two! Busy busy with parties and presents and parents; back soon.


Lisa at 15:58
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We had Sunday lunch with some friends a few weeks back. And very nice it was too: they are nice middle-class (!) cloth-nappy-using people (well, for their children) and fed us enormous amounts of roast lamb and a vast selection of seasonal veg: all organic, naturally. Then a fabulous home-made cheesecake to follow. And then they got out a "tweenies" yogurt for Maggie, at which point I began to feel like a complete mad old crunchy hippy mum as I had to confess that I didn't know whether she'd like it as she'd only ever had natural yogurt. (She didn't, and is far too young to have the manners to hide it - she took one spoonful and spat it out!) I felt quite embarrassed to come across as a nutritional obsessive*: I'm not, but having a child who eats virtually nothing makes you very aware of what each mouthful contains. Of course she has biscuits (plain ones, mostly) and the occasional chocolate or cakey treat. But not nasty cynical branded-for-children desserts. I don't want anyone to think I'm like that Paltrow woman, but I don't eat much muck myself and am certainly not going to feed it to a 2-year-old.
My sister cleverly suggested I do as she does in the future - so I'm not the only one, and she has a child who would eat you if you stood still long enough - and suggest that it is about miserliness not freakishness. Although anyone even vaguely familar with my profligate ways won't be fooled for one second.
*Also secretly quite pleased, I'd have been a bit miffed if she'd gobbled it up going yum yum yum.
Lisa at 20:05
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I'm terribly sorry: I have no excuse bar general rubbishness and the overwhelming drudgery of single parenthood. Roll on April, when I will once again have a husband in the same location as me for more than 2 days at a time. Germany this week, while Maggie and I attempt to buy a new house and organise the Grand Birthday Bash. Which isn't so Grand, having been left completely to the last minute, but she won't mind. There will be cake and new toys and some of her favourite people and soft-play: what more could a 2-year-old want?
Let's see. Last week was spent mainly on the phone to solicitors (or rather, solicitor's receptionists, and quite a lot of time on hold) or "dealing" with the bank. I have no idea why we nominally have internet and telephone banking when to do anything more unusual than check your balance you are required to present yourself in person, with passport et al. The Warrington branch has see my passport more times than Japanese customs (and without fail they say ooh this is a well-travelled one). We took M to Tatton Park Farm (grumble grumble license to print money mutter mutter) on Sunday, which she really enjoyed, touching donkeys, feeding goats, wiggling her nose at the rabbit and snorting at piglets. Katy and Megan came to stay last night: spookily, about 20 minutes before they arrived Maggie told me Megan's crying then Katy told me when she arrived that Megan had slept most of the way and just cried for the last 20 minutes or so!
Lisa at 15:40
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