OK Here is B at her birthday on Sunday (with me) opening a present:



and here is B after eating a jam sandwich:

Well the not so good part is that here it is 6.30 am and having not got to bed until midnight (cleaning after kids had gone to bed - catching up for 2 weeks of sickness) I have been awake for an hour and a half thanks to a little girl.  She can catch up during teh day - what about me??  We have a big day planned as we have appointments with various people to sign contracts, mortgages etc....  so could be interesting.

The good news is that my tests turned up a very good reason for my illness, which has now been treated (with one dose of the right medicine) and I am starting to feel a whole lot better.  If I could only get some sleep now I'd be great! 

Since being sick B has been very unsettled.  For the last four nights (at least - losing count) she has been waking multiple times a night and then finding it hard to resettle.  She is back in my bed and back feeding to sleep (out of desparation) and it is driving both of us nuts!  So, once I am well it is back to trying to redo all the work I had done on settling her sleep!  Oh well, that's life.

Slowly getting better - am up and about again, but still not right - still very queazy, tired and off my food.  The weekend we survived but left me (and all of us) very drained.  Went back to the dr yesterday - change of medication and further tests - wait and see if they tell us anything.  I wish I could say that all this has the positive benefit of making me lose weight - but it doesn't feel like it!  Oh well I keep reminding myself that things could be much worse, so am thankful for every day blessings....

My family (parents, two brothers and wives and children) had lunch today for Mum & Bella's birthday.  Here are the birthday girls:

Had one day of relative health - feeling well aside from a head cold - then the tummy came back.  Woke up Friday with diarrhoea, finished Friday off with vomiting - lovely!  That is just over a week (minus that one day) that I have had an upset tummy and I am over it.  I went this morning to the dr and got an anti-nausea shot.  That got me through Mum & Bella's birthday lunch - I even picked at a Ploughmans and kept it down.  Still feeling very queasy and my stomach is churning.  The house is a mess and we have a party here tomorrow.  i am ready to scream!  I just want to crawl into bed and sleep - but if I do that the house doesn't get done!

Anyway, as Kathryn said - just think where I was a year ago!  Let's see my water's broke 2am 26th and I was in labour on and off until 27th when they induced her properly - she was finally born 7pm 27th.  So 12 months ago, I was in hospital having contractions every five minutes and praying that they would get stronger by morning.  Bags not being back there again!!

WELL FOLKS, I can't believe the last year has just flown by - so here are my two on the 27th May last year





and, in comparison, these were taken last night:

Feeling a bit better today.  Just grumpy and tired.  And peeved.  OK so I know I am MUM, but can I just whinge for a sec - can I get someone to look after me and take me seriously when I am sick??  I have to look after every one else and don't even get sympathy!!  While DH complains constantly he is tired and sick and can't do anything - AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!  Anyway, enough whinging and no-one cares anyway and now you all know I am selfish and rude!  So I'll shut up.

I'll brag instead - I have long aspired to be a writer, and, while it is not actually an article, you can see me in the new June edition Practical Parenting magazine under "Birth Stories".  How good is that??

PS Can you believe Isobella is one on Sunday??

Why do I jinx myself?? My last blog was my last moment of health!  That night I succumbed to what the dr called a chest infection and was on antibiotics.  Only they didn't work.  Today is the first day I have felt well enough to get out of bed and check my computer.  Of course being Mum I still had to get up for other things - but was on survival mode.  If it didn't NEED doing I wasn't doing it!  I have had everything under the sun - headache, earache, sinuses, swollen glands, VERY painful throat, cough, sore chest, aching joints, fevers, sweats, chills, diarrhoea, vomiting - need I go on!  And to top it all off this morning my cycles returned for the first time in twelve months (yes B turns one in 6 days)!  well I guess more than 12 technically, but anyway....... Enough!  Can I resign now???

Well, Dh is away for the week.  Mum & Dad are staying with friends near the hospital (Dad came out today and they'll be home tomorrow).  Miracle of miracles - both my kids are asleep (and have stayed asleep so far).  so I have just had a little glass of wine and some cheese and watched NCIS (my favourite TV show) and Numbers, which I don't normally get to do.  SO now I shall go to bed - very pleasant!

Bella has been sleeping a lot better - last night she slept through, but more importantly the last few nights she has gone to sleep and slept beyond that first forty minutes, which makes the evenings more manageable.  R has slept in his own bed all night (and been having day sleeps as he is not well).  Lovely while it lasts!  yesterday I even got B to sleep in her cot for her day sleep!

Still concerned about R - the dr said he had a middle ear infection, which is affecting his throat and eyes, so he is on antibiotics.  I am really concerned about his size/weight.  He has always been small and when he gets sick he gets very sick.  But even a minor illness like this knocks him about and he loses so much weight - at playgroup this morning the other mums commented.  There is nothing to him but skin and bone.  Everyone tells me not to worry but I do - and he is so determined (that's my boy!) that you cannot force him to eat to save his life!  You can't change his mind or distract him.  What to do??

Well - not a great day I must say, but I got the loveliest present.  My son made me a bookmark, with a feather on one side and a picture he draw of me on the other side (looking like Mr jelly apparently) along with a card that said on it "My mummy plays with me".  Lovely!

My DH also gave me a tool kit! with tools to frame and hand pictures for the new house - interesting!

The two kids were sick Thursday night and Friday but recovered enough to go to my brother's house for lunch yesterday for my niece's birthday.  R will not eat anything and I am starting to see his ribs.  They both have temperatures and runny noses but he also vomits when he gets sick - fortunately this time not too much as he gets very dehydrated from it and has been in hospital twice with a drip for dehydration (and also once for pneumonia).  He is so strong willed that you cannot make him eat/drink if he doesn't want to - very worrying!

As we were leaving my brother's, Dad went for a slide on the muddy lawn and landed with a loud crack.  We put an ice pack on it and gave him panadol, but he insisted on going home.  So Mum drove him and decided to take him to the hospital - they admitted him and he had surgery this morning to put pins and a plate in his broken ankle!!  Poor Dad (and poor Mum too!).  I think he doesn't want to admit he's getting old, but he's hastening the process!

We were meant to go out last night - but our party of 6 dwindled down to a party of one as I sent DH as the lone representative. I stayed home with the miserable kids and looked after mum when she got home.  I didn't get much sleep - don't children know a 6am start is not my idea of a lie in??  So after three nights of this I have had it!

Anyway, I left R at home with mum this morning as he was so miserable and DH, B & I went to church.  Then this afternoon we'll go in and see Dad and hopefully get some rest sometime as DH is off to the snow tomorrow for a week for a trade show.  Fun!!

That's how I feel - blah!  I have two sick kids and between them managed to only get a few hours sleep.  DH is away but fortunately I have mum and dad staying - so they are doing my shopping today.  I have postponed the car service and the other things I had to do, so here we are sitting  in front of the fire in our pjs watching TV - thank God for the free DVDs from our local library!

Here is a shot I took this morning of my little ones - miss almost one is trying to hug her brother and make sure he is OK.  Most of the time he has been "no don't touch me, go away" etc...  but here is a rare moment of cuddles:



Talking about memories (see my article) my son suddenly says to me today "I want to make cars with Dad" - I bought them a kit months ago but put it out of reach as he is too young for it.  Now Dad is away he wants to do it (when Dad gets home)!  Lovely in a way!

BTW we have suddenly gone from "Mummy and Daddy" to "Mum and Dad" - he's growing up!

I went to a lunch meeting for National Mothering week with our local ABA group today and sat next to Mary Paton, founder of the ABA.  She was very inspiring and I was totally struck by how big things can happen when you follow your heart.  When you see something that needs doing and you feel you can help - do it - you never know where it will take you!

Thanks Kathryn - what a great idea!  I actually don't have very many memories of my childhood - bad memory I guess and many of them I remember because they were strong but not always positive things that happened (though I did have a lovely childhood).  However one time stands out in my memory.

I was born in Kenya and we lived there really up until I started school. We were up in the Highlands but my Granny lived on the coast.  She was married to the most wonderful man who was very gifted with children and always had a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.  I remember visiting them - sandy beaches, sunshine, lots of bouganvillea, their talking cockatoo but above all, spitting pips with Pa.  It seemed such a naughty thing to do, but he made it so much fun - we would eat fruit and then spit the pips into a dish he would hold up.  We could see how far we could spit them.  Something so silly and yet it stands out as a magical time.

I'm sure Pa had no idea that it would make a strong memory for me - that's just the way he was.  He even made Ribena and prunes fun in later years and I still have a soft spot for them!  Just a reminder that we have no idea what people will remember of us, so to make sure every moment is good!

I have no idea if it was that time but there is a photo somewhere of me and my two brothers in swimmers on a bright Kenyan beach and I loved that photo - I shall have to ask Mum and Dad if we can find it and I can make a copy.  Then it will remind me of the lovely times we had together.

The house is slowly moving ahead.  We got the contracts yesterday - only to find that they were for vacant land!  A few phone calls later and a new contract was issued today - visited the solicitor and went through it all.  Waiting for valuation on the property.  There is no hurry but I just want to know that i is all OK, so I can stop stressing.

Left R&B at a friend's hosue for the morning while we went to solicitor - they were fine and B even went to sleep in a cot for this lady - will wonders never cease??  I tried it when we got home but no go - but then I think she is sick, so maybe not fair!  Oh well!

My best friend and I have been friends for about 25 years (probably more) and she has been so good to me throughout the years - especially during my troubles to have children.  She never complained even though she was convinced she could not get pregnant and would have loved a child.  Today she rang me to say she is 12 weeks pregnant and I am
 soooooo excited!  Woo hoo!!

OK I need to chill - my son has driven me nuts today - from being nasty to little kids at playgroup to being down right obnoxious at tea time (refusing to eat anything I prepare).  We had a lovely (not) experience at the shops, with Bella either making for the door or the mirrors, R climbing on the furniture and the store assistant saying "are you going to buy those?" when he picked something up.  I refuse to be blackmailed into it, so I said No, put it back and then actually did buy one later as they were good value.

Didn't mean to get on here and bitch - he can be lovely but today he had me at screaming point!  Then he can be lovely - wanting me to sing to him, suddenly telling me he loves me!  Great but why can't he be a bit more even??

Anyway, the good news is that the bank OKed our loan, so we are moving ahead slowly - one step closer to owning our own home!