The easter chick sent us the pox :-(

We returned yesterday from a (mostly) fun weekend’s camping in Oxfordshire with Maz and Chris with Archie sporting a few suspect spots…which today have covered him from head to food and he is well and truly contagious, poor little monkey.  Stands to reason as he was playing with big Zac exactly a fortnight ago who then came out with chickenpox the next day.  Still, its best to get these things out of the way apparently, and apart from waking in the night last night with a temperature he’s been in very good spirits – more amiable than usual actually!!  He is off his food a bit though.

Camping was good and he was an angel when it came to going to sleep etc.  No bother at all.  It was funny how we had a huge palace of tent but decided to squidge into one of the small bedroom ‘pods’ to sleep – it meant we could keep warm better.  First night was freezing but the next two were better, if you think that sleeping with pyjamas, socks, woolly jumpers, sleeping bags AND 12 tog feather duvets is OK!  I think my cough which is refusing to go probably kept the whole site awake every night…

Me and the man managed to get a well deserved pub lunch in on the Saturday before the Hale’s arrived and whilst Archie slept in the truck right outside the pub window.  It was nice.  Weather could have done with being a bit perkier but what can you really expect for this time of year in the UK?!  Archie had a lovely time and really that’s the main thing.  I was definitely ready to come home and carry on with the labourious task of the spring clear out I have taken upon myself to do.  Crazy woman that I am.

Had my hair cut today – another task that was well overdue.  Have gone for an unadventurous but cute short bob with fringe…not a bad look for someone who is knocking on the door of 35 any day soon.  Yikes.  Archie is well overdue a trim too but considering he has scabs in his hair I thought it best to cancel his appointment!

Tomorrow me and the little one are off to Meadowside for a few days.  At least there Archie can roam around the garden and ‘help’ my Dad out with some tractor and digging related chores without infecting any one with the chicken pox.  Here we can’t really use the garden until its complete and even a walk to the swings is out of the question in case we bump into anyone. 

Been trying to do Spen’s CIS tax return all evening but since the HMRC can’t seem to provide a website that doesn’t crash every 5 minutes I don’t think they deserve any hard earned cash…what an inconvenience.  Will have to try again in the morning.  Grrrrr.

Here are some pics from the weekend, pox and all   Night night x

 

and here, just for the record, are Archie’s chicken pox…he has about twice as many now as when the pic was taken, my poor little sausage!

I know, I know…

…but there are simply not enough hours in the day.  Honestly?  Well, I suppose there are but you see I am so completely inefficient with my time that it appears that way.  I have also been making a conscious effort to spend less time online and more time in real life…consequently, even the good stuff has been neglected.  Here’s the lowdown on what’s been happening to us…

S has been working.  Too hard.

Archie and I have been on a weekend trip to Nana and Grandad Whistle’s in sunny (and it was, very) Norfolk, a weekend trip to Roskilde in Denmark (which was very, very cold in comparison) to see Uncle Dan, Auntie Ditte and cousin Elias, and a day trip to Legoland in Windsor which was FAB   Daddy had a long over due day off and when asked what he would like to do, his answer was ‘go to a feme park’…translated as a theme park complete with a roller coaster and a carousel.  We have Mr Tumble and CBeebies to thank for that!!  Legoland was the only place that would allow kids 90cm tall go on rides…so with our mini man (standing at 89.5cm short in his socks) in tow, we went and it was well worth it.  So nice to have a day with the three of us together, at last.

Denmark was a lovely break, too, though I wouldn’t necessary recommend travelling alone with a 2year old and no buggy.  I was so exhausted by the time I stepped back through the door on Monday evening at 9pm that I literally burst into tears   But I did have a lovely time all the same.  Their new place is gorgeous and I am definitely green with envy, I cannot deny it.  Oh, to have a place that is spacious, uncluttered and finished!!  I do have plans though for the Easter break in getting our pad a tiny step closer to this though.  Lighting, and de-junking being top priorities and something at least I can do without too much assistance.

Archie and I have the next 2 weeks off from music and playschool and even S has some time this week too as work has gone a little quiet.  He’s going to tackle the garden as as the weather has been so nice its a good reminder of how much we do need the garden to be usable this summer.  Please, oh please let it happen!  I am saving to buy Archie a TP climbing frame,

I have a snotty rotten cold and am feeling downright sorry for myself

Nanny Doris is in hospital and things are looking shaky but she had the energy today to ask Jimbo when he’s going to marry Hannah.  You’ve got to love her

The Gibbos are in California at Jo’s helping out in a crisis and taking the opportunity to catch up with the family over there.  We’re missing them badly and its only 1 week in their 3 week trip!  Get well soon, Andrew, you numpty

Archie is something of a challenge at the moment but since he’s 2yrs and 6months in a week’s time, I suppose I can put it down to the terrible twos…but damn it is frustrating, and exhausting.  He is now known at Playschool for being cheeky/mischievious/naughty and was caught on the window ledge in the bathroom last week, having climbed onto the sinks…he is a monkey, I swear.  Today we have his appointment with the Physio at the Children’s Assessment Centre at the K&C.  Although he should not have had the referal, apparently, since his toe-walking is symmetrical in both feet and therefore not considered to be a concern, I still found the appointment really useful.  She examined him and also watched him play and says that his toe-walking is a result of unstable hips which will resolve themselves eventually but the toewalking is his attempt to make his hips and therefore his legs and feet feel solid and secure instead of unstable.  It is common most particularly, in children who are born early (which he was), and who are small or long (he was small).  Toewalking can become habitual so to encourage him to strengthen through the hips we need to take him swimming but also to use a yoga ball for exercising on…one sized 45cm specifically for younger children.  So, a Scooby Doo yoga ball has been ordered and is on its way and I’ll take him swimming again as soon as my wrists are up to (yes, I’m suffering a bit at the moment but I’m not on the Enbrel so I guess its to be expected).

And to finish, some piccies of the moody little monkey playing in the garden this morning…

Playmobil

Archie is old enough for Playmobil!!  Well, technically he’s not (you have to be at least 4yrs old) BUT they do a range called Playmobil 1 2 3 now and yesterday we bought ‘The Farm’.  Its set up on the new (old) desk I won on eBay for the princely sum of £5, along with some little chairs from the 50s which arrived today.  The desk makes me feel nostalgic as the formica top is indentical to the ones we had on our desks at school all the those years ago (feeling my age at the moment!), and the Playmobil is just so retro-tastic, too!   The chairs are definitely authentic…the name ‘Kevin’ is scribbled on the underside of one, along with ‘Class 5, Infants’…no one has called their child Kevin for at least 20 years, have they?

Archie is still the best dressed in this house.  Check our his new Cons…

Too tired to blog

Feel like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards and have not yet untangled myself so apologies for not updating here for a good while.  Once again, must try harder…  But hey, in the mean time, here are some piccies to cheer you up.   The first ones are from a day trip to Deal on the coast at the weekend…it was so sunny when we left in the morning but the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up and before we knew it, it was freezing.

Today was another blowy one which started out lovely and turned nasty in the end.  But before it did, my little Lion got outside on the decking and rode his trike, mane blowing in the breeze…he then insisted on keeping the costume on for a walk (aka me bundling him into the buggy and enducing a nap) and sleeping in it for over an hour!  Cute.

The Tiger was a HIT :-)

Archie’s first trip to the theatre was a HUGE success.  I am so happy!  Not only that, it was a ridiculously warm and sunny day for February, and our 3rd wedding anniversary as well     Archie’s friend Zac came to the theatre too and both boys thoroughly enjoyed it and were totally engaged for the whole 50 minute performance.  It was Fab!

I promised myself last night that I would keep my cool no matter what today and we really did have a fun day from start to finish.

We went to Wye in the morning and bought cake from the Farmer’s Market.  We sat and ate in the walled village green.  Afterwards we went along to a brand new independent children’s shoe shop called the Elves and the Shoemaker and bought A some new wellies and some cool socks which come in ‘pairs’ of 3 and are deliberately mismatched (but coordinated), the idea being that it doesn’t matter if you have odd socks or lose one.  Genius!

Archie slept in the car on the way back home.   I pulled up and went and dropped in for a coffee and chat with S-M and Mark whose baby was due yesterday; no signs yet that he/she is on its way.   When Archie woke we went to the swings and had our lunch in the sunshine.  The weirdly warm weather had everyone outside so we had a chat to some others up there before bundling back into the car and into Canterbury to the Theatre. 

Initially I thought A might throw a strop but I worried unnecessarily.  He was acting the lunatic when we got seated, partly because of the novelty of the flip-up theatre seats which neither he nor Zac were heavy enough to keep down!  But as soon as the lights went off and the music started he was straight onto my lap and riveted.  It was so cute and hilarious just how involved he got with the ‘panto’ element of the show.  It was lovely.

Afterwards we went for a coffee/juice before heading off in our opposite directions.  Once home, after a quick detour to Mystole, Mummy and Daddy had an Indian Takeway for our Anniversary meal (who ever said romance was dead?!) before Spen’s toothache got the better of him.  I put one of my men to bed with a bottle of milk and a story, and the other with a hot water bottle to clutch against his aching jaw.  And now its time for me to turn in myself, with a nice cuppa and a book.  Here’s Archie enjoying his cake from the Wye Farmer’s Market…

Half Term happiness

This week there has been no music and no Playschool and so Archie and I have had more time together.  More fun.  More tantrums.  He is adorable and demonic in equal measure.  I am a great mummy and a lousy mummy in equal measure also. 

On Monday we had tea with Becky and Thomas T, at a house which Becky was sitting.  A beautiful house with the longest hallway I have ever come across.  The boys spent ages racing from one end to the other and totally kept each other amused.  I also learnt to drink tea.  Yes, I have never liked it before but Becky made one without checking if I drank it first so to be polite I did…and then found myself having a second cuppa later on   I finally feel like I’ve grown up.  We took the dog for a walk in their orchard and Archie and Thomas played with sticks.  It was nice.  Oh, and I alos got rid of all of Archie’s cradle cap with some baby massage oil and a comb, and then gave him a trim.  Looks great

On Tuesday I drove us both into London to see Reija and Genie.  Brave!  London driving is HIDEOUS but we made it virtually unscathed.  The scars are all psychological, not phsyical.  I am such a country driver.  Read that as courteous and safe.  Archie was a bit ‘challenging’; my new favourite word.  Its kind of nicer than ‘Naughty’ but basically means the same thing.  I took him for a walk down to Church St and showed him where Mummy and Daddy used to live before we had Archie.  He look puzzled but seemed to accept what I was telling him.  We bumped into Hannah B and went shopping.  Bought Archie some damn fine green cords from Olive Loves Alfie.  Horrendously over priced but I couldn’t go to my old stomping ground and come back empty handed.  The make is Krutter and they are, yet again, Danish.  I really should just move there…

On Wednesday I booked flights to Denmark for Archie and me for the end of March.  We’ll be staying with Dan and Ditte and Elias and it’ll be nice to see them and their new place before baby no2 arrives in April.  Shame Spence can’t take the time too but we have at least promised ourselves a proper summer holiday this year.  Watch this space…  We went to a half term play gym in the morning which Archie LOVED but I ended up necking some Anadin upon leaving.  The afternoon was supposed to be spent doing some overdue housework but Archie had other ideas.  We fed the horses some carrots, went for a walk and then popped in for a cuppa at Cameron’s house.

Thursday was nice.  Archie had WAY too much TV in the morning while I raced around like a mad thing getting the house into some sort of order.  Its clean, at least, even if its still untidy.  Dull!  Then we picked up Nanny G at midday and went for a swim.  Archie is like a fish and fearless too.  He is loving his Thursday swims so its one thing I will definitely keep doing with him.  Afterwards we went for a well earned coffee in Starbucks before heading back to Mystole.  Then we met Daddy for an early Nandos tea.  Archie was only interested in eating cake.  He is a monkey.

Today a bunch of us Babydaze mums met at Bluewater…that mecca of all things retail somewhere in the middle of a chalk pit in east Kent.  Archie was really quite a good boy (OK, so I ordered him chips for lunch, followed by half a Milky Bar to get an extra 10 minutes of good behaviour, rewarded with a hideously over priced helium balloon in the shape of an aeroplane which turned out to be worth every penny).  Thankfully they have quite a sweet outdoor play area there and a lake with ducks and swans so he had some fresh air and exercise before we headed back to deepest, darkest EastKent and home.  He had a hissy at dinner time and I was really miffed as he is usually good with risotto.  Sigh.  Anyway, I stood my ground, the TV was switched off.  I asked him to quit crying before I let him have his noo-noo and when he continued to fuss I said, OK, milk and bed.  And that was that.  I cannot have him controling the situation anymore.  If he doesn’t eat I am not going to offer an alternative anymore as he is on a wind up, I am sure.  Bless his gorgeous little cotton socks.  Here he is eating his milky bar today…

Tomorrow is a special day; its our 3rd Wedding Anniversary and I personally see that as an achievement given the rocky road we’ve travelled since two became three.  I’d like to think we can make three become four.  Its also a special day as Archie will be going to the theatre for the very first time.  Call me mad but I have booked us tickets for ‘The Tiger Who Came To Tea’ at the Marlowe.  It is aimed at 3yrs+ but the guy in the bookings office has sold us seats on the end of a row and near an exit in case we need to escape.  And he said he was taking his 2yr old so all we can do is it give it a go.  If he can sit in front of the TV for an hour with dedication, a musical theatrical story should be OK.  I really hope so!

And last but not least, Happy Birthday Jimbo and Mum

Piles

Yes, I’ve worked out what the source of my discomfort is; my house has piles…piles and piles of stuff everywhere and no matter what I do, it will never look tidy.  Still, today we moved the dining table back to where it is supposed to be (its been in the wrong place since October.  Yes, October) and then sorted out the desk too.  But now I have even more piles of stuff to sort out.  Still, its half term next week which means in theory I have some more time (with no Caterpillar classes) to get to work on sorting out some of our unnecessary junk.  But Archie also has the week off meaning I will probably get even less done unless I resort to going down the TV route.  Hmmm, my sanity or his developmental health…OK, sanity may have to win over for a week

Yesterday we went for a really long, muddy walk in Blean Woods.  Little lazy man was happy to ride in his buggy for 2 hours while Mummy and Nanny G tried to navigate our way back to the car park…yes, we sort of got a little lost but 2 hours later we were back on track.   Its a good job I wasn’t on my own as there is no way I’d have got the buggy through the mud. 

Today I strapped Archie on my back in his sling and we took the mile long walk down to Mystole to see Nanny and Grandad Gibbo.  It was lovely and sunny and I wasn’t too badly out of puff by the time we got there.  I wouldn’t want to weigh the extra 2 stone I was carrying though!  Later, we went to the playpark in Wincheap and although it was freezing, Archie had a lovely time.  Here are the photos to prove it…

Show and Tell

Playschool ask the children to bring something each day for a little show and tell after story time.  Archie never wants to take anything so I have given up asking what he fancies showing.  Anyway, one of the Key Workers yesterday said that he is very keen to bring something in and is always dissapointed that he has nothing to show.  So, this morning I asked him ‘Archie, what would you like to take to Playschool to show everyone today?’, Answer ‘No, Mummy’  so I then reeled off some suggestions; no, no., NO Mummy.  OK, so I reminded him that Janet said he was sad when he didn’t have anything to show.  And asked again.  Answer; Mr Zebra.  OK, so Mr Zebra is far too important in Archie’s life to take somewhere where he might get lost, borrowed, or cuddled by someone else.  Besides, he is so FILTHY that I’d be embarrassed, as a Mother.  So I quickly reminded Archie that Mr Zebra always stays at home.  And then he asked if he could take Mummy to Playschool instead.  Which I thought was really, very sweet   I had to say to him that he couldn’t take me as I wouldn’t fit in the box where all the show and tell things are kept   To be honest, since today was my first Friday free of running one music class which was failing, I could have technically gone with him to Playschool.  But since in the last day or so he has trotted off quite happily I think its best to try and keep that up.  So instead I did exactly one hours house work (dull) and 2 hours paperwork (duller).  Oh and I also spoke to the Motivated Mums course leader.  Sounds good.

Yesterday I took Archie swimming straight after playschool.  He LOVED it which meant I found it quite good fun too…as usually I am not one for swimming.  But I think I’m going to take him every Thursday lunchtime as he was shattered afterwards and it meant I managed to swerve him away from the TV (technically, only by default as he fell asleep 5 minutes into Bob the Builder so he self-limited his viewing time I suppose!).  Today, I gave him a choice before we went to Playschool; a walk in the Gruffalo woods or a Pizza Express lunch.  He chose Pizza – yay!!!  Annabel bought along Cam and Ethan and so we made an afternoon of it.  Annabel is loving being a mum of two and is looking great on it, too.  I wonder if I would be?

Daddy is with Uncle Hippy tonight on a boys one and now the night has caught up with me and its time for bed.  So I’ll leave you with a couple of piccies…Archie in his blanket den…

…and my new desk buddies.  How cute are these little elves from Etsy seller Starhouse !!!  I was thinking of saving them as a birthday present for Genie Jude but sorry little Genie, I am too in love with them to part.  I will find you something just as cute. 

Meant to add a while ago too, for Etsy lovers or lovers of handmade stuff, please check out Smallville’s store.  I had two pairs of trousers custom made for Archie and the quality is exceptional.  They are both a little long in the leg for him at the moment but are gorgeous.

Blogitis

A common but miserable ailment that gets the better of quite a few of us, apparently.  Sorry but there has been little time and little inspiration in the last two or three weeks (oh, and I keep forgetting to take my camera out and missing some small opportunities of note!).  But, I am still here

Life is a little topsy-turvy at the moment.  The cogs are turning but they need some oil.  Archie has been having a pretty miserble time at Playschool drop-off, leading to much mummy-guilt on my part as I drive off to entertain other people’s toddlers and not making much money doing so, either.  It kind of feels a bit pointless and out of synch right now but then I have always hated January and February for as long as I can remember.  Spence is working all hours again but by the time we see one another in the evenings Archie is cranky, Spence is exhausted and I am deflated.  Not a recipe for familial harmony.

But I am thinking of ways to drag myself out of this wintery hole and kick start myself back into action.  I need to take a look back to the beginning of this blog to remind myself of some of the things I want to achieve in 2009, especially now we are already over one month in.  Where the hell did that go??  And I need to dip back into a couple of magazines I have on the go at the moment which both had some great ideas on how to organise yourself, something that used to come instinctively to me…the old me, the pre-mummy me.  Oh and I have just got in touch with a woman who is a NLP (neuro-linguistic progamming) practitioner with 6 week workshop courses for mums, called Motivated Mums.  Am hoping I can squeeze this in as what the course aims to address is exactly what I need on several levels.  I suppose I need to do some business number crunching too but that is just too far down on the list at the moment.  I’ll get there, eventually.

Little man continues to pester me for TV.  I try, honestly I do but I’m not sure what to do with him.  On the one hand he is desperate to come home after Playschool for some rest and recouperation but then insists on televisual entertainment.  I guess what I don’t see is all the imaginary play and painting and reading etc that he does in the 3 hours that he’s there in the morning and when I try and do something similar at home he isn’t interested.  Or maybe I’m not trying hard enough.  The latter, I think. 

I’m off now to read some more of my book.  Its a slow process but I’m getting there and will stick with it since reading has been the one ‘resolution’ I’ve managed to stick to so far.  Night night.

When he’s not watching TV, Archie is playing with his Jupiter fire engine.  Daddy was very clever and added flashing blue lights with their own switch to the toy to make it better than it already was.  Why do they love plastic, eh?

Looks as though Mummy isn’t the only grumpy one around here at the moment…

Stone Throwing…

is possibly Archie’s new favourite hobby.  Living in East Kent, our coastline is, mostly, stony so a trip to the seaside for Archie means collecting stones rather than shells, and throwing them into the sea.  Buckets, spades and sand mean pretty much nothing to him just yet.  So, stones it is.  He likes the sound ‘plop’!  So, this afternoon we took a quick trip out to Whitstable for some fresh air and stone throwing.  It was an eery, misty, damp and cold day.  Really misty, actually.  You couldn’t see where the see ended and the mist started. 

He’s standing perilously close to the edge of the jetty, I know, but he refuses to be held; even one finger gingerly placed on the back of his hood counts as interference!  He’s a boy who knows his own mind, that’s for sure.  Don’t worry; he was within grabbing distance.

Later we went for a bit to eat at a place we haven’t tried before; the Crab and Winkle, right on the harbour.  Not realising it was quite a ‘nice’ restaurant before we got upstairs and seated, we decided to bail out with just a coffee (Archie was in no mood to sit nicely.  We worked that one out when he managed to unscrew the pepper grinder, sending the contents off in all directions) but went back this evening, just the two of us, for a really excellent meal.  Nanny and Grandad Gibbo looked after Rascal for us.  We really should make the effort to do this more often; it was lovely.  Bedtime now.  Night x