House Arrest! Again!

It’s official.  I actually have children with the weakest immune systems – they pick up every bug and virus available to them.  In the week before Christmas, Eva came down with a stomach bug, which you may remember, had her screaming I think I’m having a baby!  This scuppered my chances of getting my planned Christmas shopping finished and had us stuck in the house filling and re-filling hot water bottles and watching every single Christmas film ever made, ever, in the history of the world.

Now, this week, I had hopes of hitting the sales and purchasing a couple of bargains.  Maybe a pair of jeans, as my current ones have split at the crotch.  Or a new top.  Maybe even a new bra.   No such luck, as for the last 2 days, Olivia has had a sickness bug where she can’t even keep a drop of water down, poor dab.  So, again, we are under house arrest. We have decorated jewelry boxes, made paper flowers, built a Lego castle, created a play-doh three course meal and Eva is putting the finishing touches to her Aquabeads wall clock.  No to fresh air, but yes to creative development.

Olivia is curled up on sofa with a ‘sick bowl’ beside her.

I am off to Dettol and bleach every single surface in the house, lest there be something else for these children to catch.

And so, to the New Year…

So, there we have it.  Christmas and New Year is over for another year, the decorations are down, new toys put away (sort of) and the rubbish has been collected.  Always a sign that things are back to normal.

Was it all worth it?  The effort, the money (oh, the money), the worry of ‘have the children got enough’, the pressure to make the season memorable and, well, Christmassy, and did I mention the money?

Of course it was.  Who didn’t sit there basking in satisfaction as their friends/family/children ripped open their carefully chosen (and not panic bought minutes before the shops closed – honest) presents.  I for one was pretty pleased with myself, as the children opened everything that was on their list, plus plenty of extra presents, until a certain little madam surveyed the living room and declared ‘Oh, I haven’t got much.’

Aaaaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh.  Like a knife to the heart.  Anyway, it was a great Christmas, despite a little ungratefulness.

And so to the New Year.  I’m not really a fan, I find people act strangely at New Year, especially with a drink down them, and it’s never as good a night as you want or expect it to be.  So, as is tradition in our house the children went to bed as normal, and me and him indoors played Super Mario. Then went to bed. We do acknowledge the New Year, though, with a special candlelit dinner.  Perfect.

I am excited for this year though, hopefully it will be the year I conquer The Driving Test, which is really turning out to be my Achilles heel.  If I’m not in the wrong lane, I’m driving 10 mph too slow or nudging, NUDGING the kerb in a parallel park ffs!  I’m not a boy racer or dangerous driver,  just pass me you miserable b*****ds!!!  Sorry.

It will be the year when I reach my goal of being a size 10 again, I will work for it instead of just expecting my body to eventually just shrink back down.  It is not happening, so I will, in fact, have to partake in some exercise and lower my food consumption.  See, it’s easy.

I also aim to buy some clothes, I don’t say this to shock, but I hate shopping  (apart from grocery shopping, a full cupboard and fridge gives me great satisfaction) I have about 6 items in my wardrobe, none of them nice, and feel that at the age of 28 I need to, as I have mentioned before find my ‘style’.

I also want to have as much fun and quality time (I hate that phrase) with my gorgeous, gorgeous, beautiful, clever, funny children.  The girls are growing up so fast and Frankie will be starting school late this year (this year!!!! Noooooo!) and I will make the most of them wanting me around them, because before long, they wont. Sob sob.

So, Happy New Year to you all, hope you all achieve exactly what you want this year and enjoy yourself in doing so.

xxxx

Our Christmas 2011- In Pictures

Quote of the day:

“Oh, I didn’t have much…..”

Miss Eva

I Think I’m Having A Baby…..

Not exactly something you want to hear from your SIX YEAR OLD DAUGHTER, but on Saturday, these were the words that were screamed at me.

Eva was struggling with an extremely bad stomach and I admit, I didn’t know what to do to help her as she was writhing around on the floor.  We’d tried a warm bath, hot water bottle, rubbing her tummy, Calpol but nothing was working.  I thought she was being (a touch) over dramatic, but after her announcing that she thought she was having a baby and partaking in some labour-like panting, I decided this was serious.  So as you do, I turned to google.  Her symptoms via google, were diagnosed as appendicitis. :-0  Cue a frantic and teary call to my mum (always to my mum first), other half and NHS direct which resulted in Olivia and Frankie being rushed off to their Grampa,  OH leaving work early, and a trip to the hospital.  Turns out this was just a 48 hour bug, combined with colic – which can induce agonising spasms.  Phew.

I know what you’re wondering though, how the hell does a six-year-old have any idea what it’s like to  be having a baby?  I asked myself the same.   Then it clicked, two years ago, a four-year-old Eva got up in the early hours of the morning  and cuddled me on the sofa while I was in early labour with her brother.  Obviously, I tried to be brave so as not to scar my little girl for life, but I gather the manic grin I’d plastered on my face, my oddly contorted body  and the odd inescapable groan/screech/panting combo I let out must have conveyed this was pretty darn painful.

Oooops.  Hopefully, this hasn’t put her off providing me with grandchildren aplenty in the (very) distant future.