Life

An emotional week

Posted by

32

This week the word I am going for is emotional. It has been full of emotions, both happy and … less happy this week.

P1040196Starting with the happiest, we were at a wedding last Friday which was just beautiful. You can read more here but it really was wonderful and they had so many personal little touches to their day that it was a bit emotional. During the ceremony I teared up right at the start as  instead of walking down the aisle to meet him at the alter, the groom left the alter and came and got her. He took her hand and they kissed before walking up the aisle together. I just thought it was a beautiful moment and makes me tear up even thinking about it. I hated walking up the aisle at our wedding, with everyone staring at me so I wish we had thought to do this at ours!

Hubby and I were also full of pride when we came home as Monkey handled our absence amazingly well. Our little man really is growing up right in front of our eyes.

Unfortunately then the week turned a little gloomy. I was really tired and in quite a lot of pain with my pelvis after standing a lot at the wedding and spending about 6 hours in the car there and back. Tiredness and soreness sadly makes me a tad on the mardy side so there was a grumpy couple of days at the beginning of the week! Poor hubs!

By Wednesday I was feeling a lot better and a day catching up with friends while the kids all played made me feel back to my normal happy self. Then that night, disaster struck. I have no idea how it happened, I was in the kitchen getting the last bits for dinner, hubby and Monkey were sat at the table. then I heard some very odd scuffly noises and saw hubby leaping in a panic and then scooping Monkey off the floor. Somehow, Monkey had managed to fall off his chair.

This is the boy that loves climbing and scampers up climbing frames and is running about all day without coming to any harm. He sits on his chair in the dining room, the chair he sits on at least twice a day, and manages to fall off. It may not sound that bad yet, but he must have landed right on his face as he is a mess the poor lamb. Hubby scooped him up for a cuddle and then we realised there was blood everywhere, it was pouring out of his little mouth and even after we managed to slow the bleeding we really struggled to console him.

Twitter2893c65Honestly we haven’t seen him so unhappy for so long since the days of colic as a baby. Of course he cries sometimes, and has cried a lot during illnesses but we always manage to soothe him with a combination of cuddles, singing, stories, tv but on Wednesday none of these worked and we were really worried. It was clear he was in a lot of pain and was really stressed out by the fall.

I then had a bit of inspiration and we gave him an ice lolly, in the hope that the ice would help his wounds, make him a bit numb, take the taste of blood out of his mouth and hopefully take his mind off of it.Thankfully that and a bit of Postman Pat on the TV worked and soon enough he was back to his usual happy self again. Phew!

His poor little face though is so swollen and sore looking. He seems to have bounced back from his ordeal but hubby and I are taking a lot longer to recover from the stress of it all. I’ve honestly been an emotional wreck and couldn’t stop crying the next morning. I’m partially blaming my preggo hormones but seeing his swollen little face just broke my heart and I have just been worrying non stop. Rationally I know it is fine and he will heal but it just looks so awful and painful. It really is horrendous seeing him hurt and that’s only a bash on the face. I can’t imagine what a wreck I would be if anything serious happened to him, heaven forbid!!

I’ve also been well and truly on over-protective mama mode, not like me at all, but I am terrified that he will bash his lip and re-open the wounds so have been insisting on a lot of calm indoor play at home to avoid any more dramas while it heals. Not easy with a hyper toddler who loves to run around like a little loony!!

I also know it’s daft. He’s a toddler. He’s clumsy and sometimes he is going to hurt himself. I am not one for wrapping kids on cotton wool as I know it is part of the rough and tumble of childhood. I also know that you can’t protect them every second of every day, it’s just not realistic. Who would have ever thought he would do so much damage falling off a chair that he climbs up on and gets down from by himself multiple times every day? I just don’t want him to have another knock that reopens it or makes it worse!

It has definitely been an emotional week in our house, how has your week been?

The Reading Residence

#GetGoodSummer Week 9, One week to go!

Posted by

3

I can’t believe we are on week 9 of #GetGoodSummer! This summer has gone by so so fast, but with the weather lately it does feel like it is pretty much over.

So anyway, where are with our goals?

Goal 1 was to clear the baby room and we definitely checked that one off the list at the start of the summer!

WP_20140827_14_02_55_ProGoal 2 was to decorate the baby room. We haven’t finished yet but we are making progress. The room is completely painted now and yesterday we had the flooring fitted! We have gone for some ultra hard wearing vinyl, which is pretty expensive but our hopes are that we never really have to put any other flooring down – it has like a 15 year guarantee on it! We like hard floors as good for spills and messes but with it being vinyl its not as cold as some hard floors can be. It looks lovely too!

Hubby also drilled holes to get the black-out blind up, and we just need to cut it to the right size now. We also got some gorgeous curtains from our sister in-law who doesn’t need them anymore – some lovely pink gingham Laura Ashley ones, they are just gorgeous! We need to buy a curtain rail before we can put them up!

Now the flooring is down we can finally get the furniture sorted out in there and then we will need to get the wall stickers on the walls, though we aren’t wanting to rush that as it may be a challenge!

Overall though Goal 2 is going well and hopefully we will get a few more bits done in there at the weekend!

Goal 3 is the goal we are failing at so far. We have not really got anywhere with sorting out the lease on my flat. We were recommended a property lawyer and hubby called them, but sadly they weren’t available. He left a message but hasn’t had a reply so we are pretty much at square one with it! We will try and get started over the next week but there is now no chance we will complete that one by next week! Boooo! 🙁

Goal 4 went really well and has been a lovely fun goal – catching up with family and friends that live far away before baby comes along. We have done pretty well with that one and Baby day is getting ever nearer now!

Goal 5 was to get organised. We have done lots on this one too though there is still more I want to do – which is organise baby things. Now the flooring is down in the baby room and we can get the furniture set up, it is also time to get the baby boxes out of the loft. Time to see what we kept, what is in good enough condition, and what we need to stock up on for baba’s arrival. I am hoping to get a bit more of this done during the last week of #GetGoodSummer, so keep fingers crossed for me on that one!

How have you got on with your goals? One week to go!!

CLARINAS CONTEMPLATIONS

Mummy & Daddy take the night off!

Posted by

32

On Friday morning hubby and I left the house at about 8.15am and headed off to Hereford for a wedding. Monkey? Monkey stayed at home, in the care of his Nanny & Pops! This was quite a big deal for us. Before we had Monkey and when he was a tiny baby we had grand ideas about leaving him with the grandparents fairly regularly so he would get used to it from a young age and it wouldn’t be a big deal.

In reality things didn’t quite work out as we planned (when does it ever, with babies?). Colic didn’t help matters and I always found leaving him behind difficult when breastfeeding – having to express extra milk before the event, trying to ensure he would drink out of bottles, having to find somewhere quiet to express your engorged boobs while at an event (trying not to get any on your fancy outfit) to relieve the pain. Not simple or stress free, in my personal opinion. We did manage a couple of days like this but didn’t actually have any events or plans far away, requiring an overnight stay, when he was very little so always came home for the night.

Continue reading →

A Summer Meadow

Posted by

26

Last weekend my Auntie Maggie came to stay. We had a really lovely (and thankfully very relaxed) weekend with a lot of playtime. Considering Maggie lives in South London Monkey has a great relationship with her, we have seen a lot of her this summer and it has been great for him and he loves her to bits. In many ways she’s a bit like a 3rd Grandma!

He was really excited to have her come to stay and wanted Maggie with him all the time. After a short walk together, Monkey decided he didn’t want to follow Mummy & Daddy home, and instead dragged Maggie away in the opposite direction to have a slightly longer walk! We were all a bit surprised but as I may have mentioned (once or twice) he is getting much more independent lately!

We didn’t want to go too far while she was up and mainly just pottered and went on a few local walks. On Sunday my brother joined us too and we all walked to a little field a few minutes from our house. It is a slightly random field, surrounded and hidden by housing estates, roads and a lot of trees, there is hardly ever anyone there, and even though hubby and I grew up in this area, neither of us knew it was there until a couple of months ago!

WP_20140817_13_03_50_Pro

At the moment it is particularly lovely as it has the feel of a gorgeous summer meadow. I know they are just dandelions and other weeds but being greeted by the sea of yellow was just lovely.

WP_20140817_13_02_31_Pro WP_20140817_13_07_51_Pro

My older brother Paul had popped over to say hello so he came with us and we all had a lovely relaxed time in the meadow. I say relaxed, I was sat relaxing on a rise while Monkey made everyone else run around in circles and chase him etc.

WP_20140817_13_04_35_Pro WP_20140817_12_56_37_Pro WP_20140817_13_07_14_Pro WP_20140817_13_05_09_Pro WP_20140817_13_05_01_Pro

 

Just a lovely little ordinary family moment 🙂

theordinarymomentsbadge

Time Management as a SAHM

Posted by

28

I hate being late, I always have done. As a kid my Dad always took ages getting ready and so we were late to pretty much everything. Whenever we saw friends or went to events it was like a running joke “Oh it’s the Pardoes, late again!” As a kid, knowing that it was outside of my control I hated the mocking, whereas it never bothered my Dad. My Mum, brothers and I would often be sat in the car ready and waiting to go while he was pottering around getting himself organised!

ID-10055206

courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Whether I would be so averse to lateness as an adult if it weren’t for this, who knows, but if anything now jokes are the other way round. It is extremely rare that I am late and often arrive at things early, and even if I try to be late (when it doesn’t matter) I rarely manage to be later than on time. It’s a bit ridiculous really but I actually find being late really stressful and I hate the thought of keeping people waiting. Thankfully hubby has similar feelings about lateness as I do though I can be a bit OTT if he is faffing slightly before we go somewhere – he is nothing like my Dad but I can over-react a little on occasion!

I have heard parents talk before about how they are never able to get anywhere ontime now that they have children, and I am not criticising, we are all different (and our kids are all different) but I haven’t found that to be true yet for me. Who knows, when I have two kids my anti-lateness feelings may crash and burn! If anything though I find it even harder to be late since we have had Monkey, because we are up so blimmin early in the morning!

Continue reading →

Tired

Posted by

18

Sadly not the most positive or exciting words to describe the week but the word that best sums up our week is tired. I guess being 6 1/2 months pregnant and running around after a 2 year old it is slightly inevitable!

We had a fantastic weekend with friends which left me feeling happy but shattered! My parents helped with Monkey on Monday as usual which really helped (though I will admit I was still tired and irritable!). Tuesday Monkey actually spent some time with Daddy in in the office as I had a variety of pregnancy related appointments including blood tests, my whooping cough jab and seeing the midwife. It turned out that the midwife was running over 20 minutes behind too so  I was hugely grateful not to have to entertain Monkey in the waiting room the whole time!

Continue reading →

A Fab Weekend with Friends

Posted by

45

2008

Annabel & I in 2008

Last weekend some very good friends of ours came to visit from Newcastle. Annabel and I worked together for just a few months nearly 10 years ago and somehow, wonderfully the friendship has lasted. There have been times when we haven’t seen each other for a long time, or have barely spoken, but when we get together it is always as if no time has passed. There has been girls nights out in Manchester and catch ups in London.

What’s really great though is that our lives have gone in pretty similar directions now. While I am settled with Hubby and Monkey, she also has a lovely husband and an 18 month old Doodle who is lovely. If anything mummyhood and the challenges it brings has brought us even closer together, although we have never lived so far apart before!

Continue reading →

Getting Shipshape

Posted by

24

We’ve had quite a lot going on this week in an effort to be more organised and to get the house shipshape! This weekend coming we have some lovely friends coming to stay from Newcastle, and we are so very excited to see them, as we last went to visit them last August, and our boys have all grown since then and we can’t wait to catch up! This has also been a kick up the proverbial backside as  our house has been a tip lately.

Because my pelvis has been pretty bad the last few weeks the housework has really suffered as I have been lying down a lot more. Hubby has been doing his best bless him, but he works so hard, and we’ve also been hard at work decorating the baby room, and well there is only so much he can do! So this week we took a good look around us and decided it was time to do something about it. Thankfully my pelvis hasn’t been quite so bad this last week (touch wood, fingers crossed, hope I am not jinxing myself by talking about it) so I have also been able to help him a bit more.

Continue reading →

Our Mini Helper – 26 months

Posted by

32

I’m not sure if it is toddlers in general or just him, but Monkey loves helping. He can be getting in the way and under my feet but if I give him a job to do, he is so excited. He doesn’t always actually help that much but it certainly keeps him busy while I am getting something done, and he does look cute while he is helping! Plus I figure it helps him learn life skills. For example he likes cleaning up after himself when he has spilt something on the floor or on the table.

So anyway we were doing some tidying in the front garden last weekend, which involved a bit of chopping but mainly weeding. Rather than Daddy doing it all and me trying to entertain Monkey elsewhere, we figured we could get Monkey involved. His Granny & Granddad bought him some gardening bits for his birthday, which have mainly been used in the sand pit so far, and it felt like the perfect opportunity to do some gardening with them!

Continue reading →