The Trouble with Gym....

...is that it's knackering.

Until recently Ed has been taking part in a little gym class every Wednesday. I say 'taking part'....lying on the floor or running around aimlessly isn't exactly taking part. He loved using the equipment, but he decided that doing the singing and warming up at the beginning just wasn't his thing. Which meant the dreaded word.......wrangling.

God how I hate wrangling my son. He's bigger now. He's stronger (as strong as me, I'm sure) and he's stubborn. This led to 15 minutes every week, at least, of me tussling with him, chasing him, trying to out-manoeuvre him, while a class of well-behaved children took part in their entertaining and well regimented warm-up time. And I was paying for the privilege.

It was exhausting, and I ended up dreading it every week. Wednesday was not a good day to get stressed because I also had to take Lib to drama after school too, so overall it was a busy and tiring day. So I finally gave in, and realised that if he wasn't going to take part there's no point in us being there, plus not going would make my Wednesdays a whole lot easier. But what to do instead?

I'm not the most energetic of people, as you can probably guess. Ed's gym class was a way of him getting some exercise and learning some new skills, so I had to think of a viable alternative. I don't want my kids to be adverse to exercise just because I am (I have good reasons, sure, but for their own health I want them to get stuck in where I can't). So how I can encourage them, but still preserve my own energy?

The park is great, but inevitably I have to push swings or spin roundabouts and it all takes its toll during the day. So my current solution for Ed? Soft play. Say what you will about them, but soft play has it's place, and for me at the moment it's invaluable. Ed's finally at the age where he'll go off and play, especially if we've invited a friend along too, so I can sit back and 'relax' (let's be honest, it's hard to relax in those places though!) while he does his thing. It's good exercise for him, and I'm sure he learns a few social skills while he's throwing himself around. And talking of social skills, I'm making a more conscious effort to organise play dates with other little mites his age. It's a win win situation. I get my social fix, Ed gets to develop friendships, and it breaks our day up. I've decided that getting into a routine with these things will really help not only me, but him too.

Finally things seem like they're falling into place. The older Ed gets the more I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm generally getting better sleep, feeling less fatigued during the day, and excited for him starting preschool (though emotional at the same time!). I can talk to him and reason with him now, which helps a great deal, and I just feel the hardest days are over. I could be completely wrong and there's a whole sh*tstorm of emotional torment heading our way, but let me sit in my little bubble for a few moments......before I crash back to reality!

He loves a ball pool!

Getting Ed settled in his toddler bed

Well, I did promise an update on the sugar-free diet, and so far it's going peachy. I've also lost 3lbs which is great! I've had a few wobbly moments, especially when we went to a wedding at the weekend. Doing a sugar-free diet is fairly simple so long as you have control, but when we went away all control was gone, so I just went with it. A few days blip isn't going to make much difference, and I've found it easy to start up again, so all is good.

No more of these

As for my MS, I've had a few tingles, but not nearly as much as I was having before the diet. Whether it's the sugar or not, I'll never know, but it's positive nonetheless. I coped really well at the wedding too, which is saying a lot because we didn't get much sleep. Taking a toddler away to a hotel and then a wedding was pretty fraught I can tell you! We all enjoyed it though, and it was great to have some quality family time.

Weddings and sugar aside, the big achievement recently is that Ed is now fully settled into his toddler bed. Well, I say settled. He's still waking in the night and coming through to us, but the cot has gone and he'll settle well enough at night when we put him down.

It actually all happened very naturally. Ed decided he just didn't want to be in his cot anymore. We had the toddler bed set up and ready in his room along with the cot, so when he started to climb into bed, we just thought..let's go for it. Obviously it took a bit of getting used to for him, but he seems to really like his bed. In some ways the fact that he can get out and climb into ours, saves for a lot of upheaval in the night. He's still asking for milk some nights, which isn't ideal. But as its usually after 4am, we give in and let him have some seen as he'll then just fall back to sleep for a couple of hours. Anything for an easy life with this parenting lark!

The other big news is that I've decided to write a book, all about my experiences of life with MS, especially focusing on being diagnosed young, and motherhood.
It's an exciting prospect, and I'm sure it'll take me an age to do, but I'm really enjoying it so far!

Temper tantrums and breaking a habit

The terrible two's have started early, and boy, that little guy can throw some epic tantrums.
I'm assuming that once Ed's language improves, it will help matters...his frustration at not being able to ask for things is palpable at the moment. To be honest though, I started to think that maybe there was something we could work on together to help his moods - getting his sleep sorted out.

I hang my head in shame, when I say that at nearly 2, Ed still wakes up for milk at night. It's something that is complete habit now, and I think is getting in the way of him eating properly too. It's just been so hard to bring ourselves to break the habit, even though we know that having interrupted sleep is no good for anyone. Well, the time has come to bite the the bullet and give it a shot. Si and Sheila are away in Canada at the moment, so I thought having complete control of the situation would make it slightly easier.

And so far so good (though it's more out of fluke than good planning). Because Grandad and Alison are here, he's been excited and had later naps, therefore having a later bedtime the last two nights. Because of that he has slept through and then not needed such an early nap again the next day, therefore completing the cycle. Sleeping through has also meant he's not been tempted by milk, and is therefore eating better so consequently sleeping better. Man, this parenting is complicated stuff!

It's equally a marvel and a frustration that just extending his bedtime by an hour has had such a huge effect on his sleeping. If only we'd tried it ages ago! Hopefully I'm not speaking too soon though - it's only been two nights on the trot that he's slept well. I do think it has improved his mood as well though, so fingers crossed we're on the right track.

So much of motherhood is trial and error, and you'd think the second time around I would remember that certain things help, but I've been in such a fog it's been hard to read the signs recently. Hopefully by the time Si gets back we'll have got it cracked, and we can move on to the next big hurdle - moving him into a toddler bed!! Eeek!

Not my child...though I can tell the scream is similar!

A period of survival

Today has been a bad day and I am writing this in a fug of exhaustion.

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been trying to battle through it, but today I gave in. I just couldn't give anymore.

Ed is coming up to 20 months now, and there was no way to prepare me for the physical exertion having a child like Ed would incur. Don't get me wrong, he is sweet and lovely, and a joy, but by gum he is hard work. He's so strong and heavy, and insistent on climbing on everything, so wrangling with him really does feel like a major battle for me. My ebbing strength just can't stand up to his boundless energy.

I find myself just wishing the days away until he's older and looking after him isn't so exhausting. I know that that is a sad state of affairs, but I suspect every mother has felt the same way at some point. I just feel like my life is a merry-go-round, which at the moment is just making me feel overwhelmed and dizzy. I just want to get off, just for a short time, and try to get back to square one. But is that even possible? After all, this is my life, it's how things are. I can only hope that as the year goes on and Ed starts to become a little more independent, things will improve.

For starters, getting his sleeping sorted is one thing to try this year. He's still not sleeping through after all this time, so we're all exhausted - not just me. The problem is that he eats very little really, so I'm sure getting some more food down him would help matters and settle him. But as they say, 'you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink'. It's all so frustrating and it really does feel like a period of survival. I just have to get through these days until something clicks and things fall into place, as is often the way with kids. Just when you're at your wits end, something will happen to make things easier, and there you go...off onto the next challenge.

Before I had children I went to an MS conference and met a lady who spent a good 10 minutes telling me why she regretted having her children. The fact that this lady was literally foaming at the mouth meant I disregarded such statements as madness (while backing away slowly), but now I see what she was trying to say. I, of course, don't feel the same way as her (I have never regretted having children) but I think what she was trying to say was that MS and motherhood is a volatile mix. The very nature of the disease, and fatigue being such a prevalent symptom, just doesn't sit hand in hand with being a Mum.

That said, it is of course do-able. I am doing it. And I like to think I'm doing a good job. I just have to try not to get downhearted, and see this bad patch for what it is. I'm sure brighter times are just round the corner.

Bad patch

Time marching on...

My brain is fuzzy so expect lots. of short sentences and. random punctuation.

But I'll give a blog post my best shot. It's been too long, and it'll be good for me to use my brain for doing something other than making photo-books and watching Great British Bake Off.  :)

Now if you know me, you know that I love Autumn and colder weather. But lordy be...it seems to have muscled in particularly speedily this year. Where did the summer go?! 

Ed is 4 months old tomorrow! Hhuuh whhhaa??!?!?

From this.....

To this!!!

He's a little cuddly bundle of giggly squidgy-ness but I've hardly seen him the last few days. As usual, the cold that has entered our house has hit me particularly hard and I'm left sounded like I'm purring because my chest is rattling so much. I have been exhausted, and the aches have been dreadful - all in all, a pretty miserable week for me. But as usual, managing to provide the silver lining to my cloud, Lib got on really well at pre-school and loved it! I'm not convinced the teachers are used to the level of unbounded enthusiasm Lib brings to things (I sort of felt like saying "good luck" to them!) but it's been a great start. She'll certainly keep them on their toes! It's been surprisingly emotional, even though it's technically just another nursery. I think it's because if Lib was born a few weeks earlier, she would be starting school and she's so ready for it (in fact....I really must not forget to get her school application in!!). We dropped her off on her first day thinking we would hang around for a bit and play with her (they really welcome that) but Lib had to tell us not once, but three times to leave! We clearly just couldn't get the message and were completely cramping her style! The cheek of it! :)

Another thing that has cheered me up this week though has been planning Lib's 4th (!) birthday party. I love having stuff to plan. The joy of being able to combine two houses, is that we have lots of space for lots of people to come to parties. The downside to combining two houses, is that we have lots of space for lots of people to come to parties. Ha! :) Especially, when you consider children's parties! It's going to be manic, but Lib will have a fantastic time. 

I on the other hand will sat with a large glass of wine in the corner, weeping, because my little girl is growing up so quickly.......

Seriously too cool for school...

Belly Wrap for Pregnancy

Firstly a HUGE thank you to my friend Anna, for suggesting this to me.

This is an example of pregnancy belly wrapping that I thought I'd forward on, because even if you're not in pain, supporting your bump in later pregnancy is always beneficial. I had a long jersey wrap that I made (so much cheaper than buying an official Moby wrap and dead easy - instructions here) to use with Lib, and it was just sat in the drawer waiting for baby number 2. I didn't even twig that it might be useful before hand.

I was obviously already using Tubigrip to support my damaged muscles, but the problem with it is that because I have a burning sensation on my skin this gets irritated hugely by the course material. Also,  I was still moving the same way as before, albeit slowly, and every time I reached for something or bent over I had big shooting pains.

The great thing about wrapping the bump up instead of using Tubigrip is that because it is supported around my shoulders and back, as well as my waist, I can't twist awkwardly, and I have the muscle support if I lift anything. It's made hobbling around the house a lot more comfortable, which is great. I've seen some improvement in the pain because of the rest I've been getting this weekend, and even though the pain is still there with the wrap it feels nice to be more supported...especially if I do ever manage to leave the house over the coming weeks!

The Diddy Fairy

I don't like lying to my child. I really don't. However, sometimes it does make things flipping easier.

[Also, Lib, if you're reading this when you're older and feel appalled and sickened to know that your Mother, Father and Grandmother were all culpable in weaving a web of outlandish lies in order to rid you of your dummy. Then I'm sorry. Please don't hate me]

On Friday the 'Diddy (Lib's name for her dummy) Fairy' paid a visit to us.

I happen to know she looks exactly like his.

She came because weaning Lib off her dummy was long over-due and I had been a) making excuses for her, and b) was tired and s**t scared of the tears and emotional blackmail (and my daughter is getting very good at emotional blackmail) that would occur when she realised it was gone. We finally decided to bite the bullet though when firstly Lib started wanting not one dummy, but TWO....at all times, and also alarm bells were ringing when she went to eat something and 'took' her diddy out when there wasn't even one in her mouth! It was like some sort of weird mime. That's how much of a habit it had become. My daughter is strong though, and so smart, that I suspected that she would adapt pretty quickly after a couple of days of tears.

It worked like a CHARM. Hardly any tears at all! Here's how we did it.

1. We sowed the seeds early. We started mentioning the' fairy' more than a week before we intended to do it, and explained what was going to happen. (We basically told Lib that she was too old for the 'diddies' now and that the fairy was going to come to make them new and give them to the little babies who don't have one).

2. In the mean time we tried to wean her off slowly. For example, cutting out the dummy in the day time and only having it for naps. The first time she managed this, the fairy left her a small present one night to say well done for trying so hard.

3. Every night we asked her if she was ready to leave her dummies out for the fairy, but she said she no and got sad. To be honest, I was just going to keep going like this until she agreed, but realised that that would be a loooonnnng time because she had started to want them even more, and wouldn't let them out of her sight! It was like she was coveting them because she knew she didn't have long left.

4. A good few days before the big day, I told her that I had spoken to the fairy and that she was going to come on Friday because she really needed the dummies now, because there were some babies without them. This made Lib a bit sad, because she didn't want them to go. Which in turn made me feel sad, and mean! However, once I had emphasised that she was much older now, and didn't need them as much as the teeny babies, she was fine. [It was funny though because after this conversation it felt like something clicked and she thought, 'yes I am a big girl' and all of a sudden she wanted to start using her potty too!! Another story...]

5. So the night before came...and I snipped her diddies when she was asleep so they felt strange. This made me feel really mean, and Si was dubious. Especially when she came through to our room in the wee hours upset because her 'diddies had broken'. Ooof...that was hard. However, I think it was this that made Friday much easier because once Lib had realised they had 'broken' she was ok with them being sent off.

6. Lib left them out for the fairy on Friday, which was swapped for a present, and she was so excited she wasn't bothered they had gone. If there were any little moans and cries in the days afterwards, we just reminded her that they had broken and the fairy had taken them for the babies.

It's now Monday, and she's had two nights of going off to sleep with no moaning or tears (the bit I was worried about!), and over all she's been sleeping better.

I'm am so. flipping. relieved!!

Holiday Fun Fun Fun

We've just come back from our yearly holiday with our amazing friends Paul and Liz. This year it was Cornwall.

There was fun, there were frolics, there was icecream galore. Great times were had by all!
Luckily Paul and Liz are moving to Edinburgh soon so we will soon have happy times with our dear friends much more often!

This year seemed a reflective year, with lots of talk of babies, houses and travels. We marvelled this time about how things have changed over the last few years. Lib was a cuddly bundle of chubbiness the first holiday, a cheeky giggly wriggler the second, and this time a shy bright little button. My girl is growing up so fast.

We reminisced about how simple life was when Lib was tiny (even though at the time you think it's hectic and difficult) and I talked through the fears I had about having a second child. However, after looking at old photos and videos together, it reminded me that, though it was hard at times, so much joy comes from a child and the fears I have now are the same fears I had the first time round..and I coped fine. In fact, judging from what an amazing little girl Lib is, I'd say we did a darn good job!
As Elsa says/sings/cavorts in her ice flinging way -  "It's funny how some distance, makes everything seem small." [Yep, that was a Frozen reference...I have watched Frozen a lot recently. It has burrowed into my mind like a heart-warming weevil]
Well I've had my distance for a week, and I have returned home relaxed and completely ready to take on the challenges of Baby Numero 2.

And the lesson learnt here: Have. More. Holidays. :)

Despite it looking like a grey day, the weather was beautiful. 

This is just before we 'swam'....Lib didn't like the seaweed, which was hard to avoid at Polkerris.

Therefore 'swimming' was me carrying her deeper and deeper into the water until 

some brushed her leg. 

NB: It must be noted that after seeing a full-length photo of me in a swimsuit, I am determined to finally kick off some of this extra weight before I get pregnant again. I will dutifully keep you informed.

The Nursery Years

That's it folks!

I finally reached my limit.

After months of muddling through and making do, it was decided that there was no need to be struggling when there was a perfectly acceptable alternative. And that alternative is nursery. 

Let me explain though. Since things have settled after the house move, we were finally able to sit back and have a good look at the way things work. As much as I hated to admit it, I just couldn't cope with a rambunctious toddler 6 days a week any more (especially if/when I get pregnant!). I had reached my peak. 

For starters, I just can't lift her any more! I quickly realised I was really struggling with little things like lifting her out of the bath and in and out of the car. Turns out 34lbs is my weight-lifting limit*. The tricky thing though is trying to explain that to her! Every time I lift her now I can hear my muscles yelling "what are you doing, idiot?!"

I also just simply cannot keep up with her. At 2 and a half, it became more noticeable that Lib needed constant interaction, conversation and me having to create decent entertainment to avoid her sitting in front of the TV all day. All of a sudden, it became clear that she would benefit from something more. It wasn't just me having to send her off for a day so I can get some rest. Lib needed more interaction from others her age, and different stimulation. 

So we enrolled her at lovely nursery not too far away and she now goes every Mon and Friday. Big sigh of relief from me (and probably Sheils! :) I still can't quite get my head around having spare time where I don't have to rest. I feel almost guilty! I mean, I'm not at work. Lib technically doesn't have to be at nursery. I almost felt like I was doing her an injustice. Of course that's utter cobblers, for the valid reasons stated above. I console myself with the fact that even if I Mum didn't have MS she'd be struggling, and anyway Lib loves it, and is doing brilliantly so it's a big 'YAY' for all. 

Now...hmmm.....what to do, what to do?...................

* Huh. Turns out that's actually pretty good! Just read an article where the woman was struggling to carry her 2 year old. I've got 9 months on that! From now on call me 'Muscles Metson' please.

A week of firsts...and we're only at Wednesday!

First Number One:

Lib has he first proper swimming lesson! A bit late considering the age group of the other children there, but she loved it, which is the main thing. Si is taking her every week, which is a lovely thing for them to do together. I love swimming (even though I rarely do it nowadays......hmm....I really must go swimming) so having Lib confident in the water would be lovely. Especially seen as where we're going on our holiday has a pool.

First Number Two:

Lib goes to the dentist. No problem there....though I did have to get her to double check when she told me she had the right number of teeth.
Me: "Oh....but an extra one grew. Are you sure?"
Dentist (counting again): "Huh. Yeah, she has one extra......ok......erm....I've never come across that before..."
It would have to be Lib! :)

First Number Three: 

Lib goes to nursery. (Well...we went to look around, and I've signed her up). She absolutely loved it and was just..amazing. So well behaved, sociable and friendly. I had a weird mixture of feeling incredibly proud, to feeing incredibly sad because it hit me how quickly she's growing up. She'll thrive there though, and we both felt so comfortable there, that I know I won't have any worries leaving her...which is a big relief. There's nothing to make you feel guilty, quite like a screaming child begging you not to take them! I don't think I could have coped. After all, it's not like she's going in because I work and she has no choice. If she hated it, I would be sat at home trying to rest but constantly worrying about her.


Wow...we really have crammed a lot of stuff in so far this week.

Lib looking like she's completely zoned out. Either that..or she was 

trying not to gag during the re-count!

The Bedtime Adventures

Last week was a tough week. It was 'Let's bite the bullet and get Lib into a toddler bed' week.

Si was also away last week. Why, Chloe? Why did you take on such a challenge with no husband around to help? You're an idiot.

Well, I say, yes I am an idiot. It's a well known fact. But in my defence, I do believe it was easier with just me in the house. There was less distraction for Lib, and I knew at some point I would have to stick to my guns despite tantrums and the like, which Si finds tough. I had visions of me having to rugby tackle him in order to stop him rushing in and bundling Lib up in his arms! I sound really mean. I'm really not, I just suspected that it was going to take some toughness to make her realise she can't run riot at bedtime. 

Anyway, here's a brisk summary of the week that was.

FRIDAY: Hey Lib, this is your toddler bed! Enjoy! Oh, you're excited. Ok. Well..now we have to settle down and go to sleep. No, really. Getting up 4 times in the night is a bit tough for Mummy. *stroking hair* Ok, Mummy needs to lie down now. Ok, stay in bed, I'm right here if you need me (cue half asleep stumble onto the futon). 

SATURDAY: Right, so let's settle down in our awesome bed Lib. Ah, you're a bit more relaxed....good-oh.

So just waking up 3 times in the night is an improvement! I think I might just sleep here on the sofa anyway, so I'm within reach.

SUNDAY: Settled quite well, but I sat with her until she dropped off. Woke up a couple of times, but fell back to sleep quickly. I can see improvements!

MONDAY: Decide that Lib's used to the bed, so no more sitting with her and settling her for long periods. She needs to learn to get herself to sleep again. Went down fairly well but awake again in the wee hours. Getting tired of this. Why did I do this again? reverse...REVERSE (in fact, I knew there was no going back. Didn't think it would help in the long run).

TUESDAY: So you're going to be awkward, eh? Stay wide awake for two hours in the night and STILL wake up at 6am? Right. This calls for drastic action. So very very tired. 

WEDNESDAY: Time to get cracking. 40 minutes of me laying Lib back down every time she got up out of bed. At first she found it funny, then annoying, the upsetting. Many tears. But once she was settled she slept until 5am! (Funny how after a few nights bad sleep, that felt good at the time. 5am?! Too early, Lib.)

THURSDAY: Same routine again, but this time Lib's a lot more relaxed. Pottered around in her room and our bedroom, and it was obviously a comfort knowing I was just around, because she fell to sleep in about half an hour. Slept through, but at at 4.45am. Milk, cuddles and cartoons in my bed, then we fell back to sleep for 2 hours at 8am! Very mixed up. I feel like I'm constantly in a dream. 

FRIDAY: By jove...she's got it!! Brilliant. Straight to bed, give or take, and slept through until 5.45am. I can cope with that. 

Since then, it's been getting better each day. She now wakes up at 6.15 ish, but goes to bed well.

The only mis-hap we had was on Saturday, when we went a birthday party, Lib ate too many sweets, and wasn't anywhere near tired enough to go to bed until 9pm. She stayed up and watched Strictly Come Dancing, making me dance with her for every song. I was knackered.....fun though ;)

Best toddler bed ever?

'My Daughter is Two!!' and other scary stories.

Yep, some weird time travelling Doctor Who mayhem happened, and the baby that I literally gave birth to about a week ago....turned 2!!

It was a sobering thought, that I'm sure all parents go through. Where the hell did the time go?!
Lib is an absolute gem though, and had a wonderful day on her birthday. We had a party at the local city farm, which she loved! I never thought I'd be one to do a big party for a 2 year old, but because our living room is the size of a large shoebox we had to give in and hire somewhere. :) It was a great fun...though of course it played a bit of havoc with my MS. When it comes to parties I just can't help but get stuck in and plan and arrange and make cakes, and basically do all the things I could/should have handed over. But then...it's my daughter! I want to make it special for her. :)

A mischievous grin, if ever I saw one...

The cake. 4 hours it took. I show it to Lib on her birthday, and all she does is reach over for the chocolate fingers at the other end of the table. Ha! Next year clearly has to just be a huge chocolate cake!!

Anyway, things are dying down and getting back to normal now. Phew.

So...scary tale 2?

We're thinking of moving! For loads of reasons, we've decided to combine houses with Si's Mum, Sheila, and all live in one big house. The key will definitely be having lots of space to be able to do our separate things, which Sheila knows all too well, having lived with her parents when Si was growing up. It does mean, however, trying to move two houses into one. Like moving isn't stressful enough as it is! :)

It'll be great though. Me and Si would love to have a second child, but we know there are unknown issues that could crop up if we give it a go. I mean, my MS could flare up and make those first few months even harder, so having another pair of hands in the house would certainly be a huge weight off my mind. Especially if Si has to travel more in the future. It's certainly not something we're rushing into anyway. I reckon, waiting until Lib's at school would make sense because I know I'd get time during the day when I just have one child to cope with, which would be a blessing if I'm not well. Anyway, it kicks up all sorts of thought and feelings that I'm not going to cover now (another day), and we're going to take our time with the move, and just be relaxed about the whole thing to try and keep the stress levels down!

Scary tale 3?

Short but sweet. They're selling mince pies in the local supermarket. It's the 3rd of October!!!!!!! Their Christmas display is practically up!! I actually found this rather shocking, and was tempted to throw them all off the shelves in a fit of anger. I love Christmas, but why can't it just be Christmas? Why does it have to be a 3 month Christmas 'season' now?! It means you are feeling royally unseasonal by the time Christmas actually comes, and that's such a shame. I have a feeling I wrote a similar blog post last year (obviously a reoccurring outrage!) but I've never known the Christmas stuff to come out this early. *shudder*

Anyway, my patient followers. Hopefully it won't be quite as long between blog posts next time. At least it's obvious how much has been on my mind! Mince pies in October....Eeek!  ;)

No go for the Goatel.

I will keep this brief because it's 10.40pm and I should be getting my much needed beauty sleep.

Lib caught a tummy bug, so the Devon weekend didn't happen (luckily we could rearrange it to this weekend instead...phew).
Poor Lib. It's so strange seeing her ill because she'd usually in such good health. I haven't had enough training! I'm not adept at being thrown up on (Lib needed Mummy cuddles when she was being sick. It was heart-warming until cottage cheese started erupting from her mouth sorry for that)
We coped fine, but I was surprised at how much it knackered me out. After all, most of the day was just spent cuddling in front of the TV. It's like I got sickness by proxy. Though, I guess it's a pretty stressful thing as a parent. I think it's the worry and concern that tires you out.

Luckily Lib's back to normal, but sadly Husband is now bed-ridden. I'm manning everything on my own, including dog walking. I'm hanging on by the skin of my teeth, but I'm coping. Tell you what though, this weekend can't come soon enough. I'm so looking forward to sitting on a beach (hopefully not in the rain!), eating nice food, and watching my daughter eat sand and bothering unsuspecting wildwife. :D




P.S for Ms. Cranky Pants:
This is a Mr Whippy. I believe you crazy kids in America call it a 'soft serve'!

And this is a 'Goatel'. It's a Hotel for Goats. Yeah, I know. It's cr*p. Or.....maybe......maybe it could be just a little bit special. ;)

We'll find out this weekend!

Thursday's are just...awesome.

Hello all!
I have been rubbish at blogging, tweeting, texting, and I don't know what else, recently.
Not sure why, but I think it's definitely time for a little catch up.

I can do this because it's Thursday! Hazaaa! Thursday is the day that Lib goes to our wonderful child minder so I just have one day a week to rest if I need to/potter/do something nice/etc etc.
It has been such a brilliant support for me, though I only realised how much of a support it was when I didn't rest last Thursday despite feeling poop. I felt awful....and I remembered that actually that's how I used to feel every Thursday/Friday. The best thing though is that Lib loves going off on her adventures, so I have no feelings of guilt while I sit back, with my feet up, sipping my Pina Colada ;).

Anyway, I'm not sure why I haven't been blogging though I guess I'm becoming increasingly aware that it's not great sitting on my phone/laptop when Lib's around. I don't want her to think that technology is the 'be all and end all' of life, and so, as Lib's with me for the vast majority of the day it's leaving little time for sending messages into the 'ether'.

But...Thursdays. My little bit of time. The little pocket of quiet in the middle of the week. Ahhh.

Today though hasn't been relaxing as such, but it has been good.
I woke up feeling great this morning for no apparent reason. Probably because we're back to fairly cool and drizzly again outside so no more muggy fatigue - of 'muggigue' as I'm thinking of calling it. My heart lights up when I see a bit of rain. :)

It's been a proactive day; full of messing around with a my new steam cleaner, cleaning, eating muesli bars, drinking tea, having reflexology done and putting washing on. "Jeez, you have such a glam life!" I hear you say. Yes. Yes I do. I've decided though after my 'ourcleanerdidacrapjobyesterdaysonowi'mgoingtocleanandshowherhowit'sdone' frantic coffee induced mania this morning, rather than pay for a class to try and fight this flab and build up my strength, I'm just going to do some cleaning on a Thursday morning, because when I get going it's a flipping work-out! I looked like I'd been to Zumba or something afterwards (or what I imagine I'd look like after Zumba...I've never dared go *shudder*). I had to have a cold shower to bring my cheeks back down to a normal colour!

Foolhardy? Yes, but it was good for me, and it's true what they say about exercise helping fatigue, because I genuinely got a bit of a buzz after. The problem I have is the gamble of trying to do exercise when I'm tired, and risk actually feeling much worse. Since started reflexology though I can tell more easily when I'm tired rather than fatigued, because the fatigue is no longer masking everything, so I think I have a better gauge for how much I can do at the moment.

Let's hope it continues because we're going on a mini family caravan holiday this weekend to North Devon. It's going to be great, and will be so nice to leave the city for a few days. Expect tales of rain, sand in sandwiches, being sad because Swank says no to Mr Whippy, and the 'Goatel'. Yeah. You read that right. Not Hotel. Goatel. *high five*

Haaaaaaaappy goat.

Full of Pinterest

Well, yesterday was a write-off!
The fatigue went up a notch, which was annoying to say the least. Luckily Si could work from home so I spent the day either napping when Lib did, or sitting on the sofa helplessly watching her run amok!

It's lucky for me then that I have now discovered Pinterest. I'd never tried it before because I assumed it was just 'yet another social network thing', but I've found it great. So many ideas for things to do with Lib, crafty things to get my teeth into, foody bits, and general inspiration. For those of you who don't know, it's basically a neat way to share blogs and ideas. I've discovered so many great blogs that I know I wouldn't have come across normally. I'll set up a link thingymebob soon!

Any way, at the moment I'm concentrating my efforts on books. Specifically looking for natty ways I can turn Lib's room from looking like this:

to this:

Ok....well maybe not this. I mean, there is no way a child has taken one step in that room! Plus I love the way the books are on the highest shelf..that's clearly the way to do it. ;)

No, I just want to start thinking about at least trying to organise things effectively. At the moment, Lib's many books are on a bookshelf which means if she pulls one, a good chunk of them tend to spill out onto the floor. Not that I'm naive enough to think she won't do that anyway, but her being able to actually see what she's choosing would be a start! :)

Anyway, something like this would be cool. I found it on Pinterest - it's made from recycled pallets. I like the idea of reusing something instead of just heading to IKEA (having said that..when I'm tired like today, getting something shop bought is looking mighty attractive!)

I'm sure you'll all wait with bated breath to see what I come up with. Ha! ;)

P.S If anyone is remotely interested, you can follow me on Pinterest at cmetsrun.

Cheese, curry and sniffles

I haven't written for a while and I actually have lots of write about, but for now I'll start with cheese, curry and sniffles.

It's midday and I'm shuffling around the house in jam-covered pajama bottoms (thanks Lib) feeling sorry for myself. Why? Well, just when I started feeling normal again after the mega cold we picked up from Finland, a new tickly, and frankly more annoying, cough emerged yesterday and I woke up this morning bunged up again! That makes it 3 weeks and counting. Arrgghhh!! Colds just wipe me out sooo much and I just want to hibernate for a few days to get over the fatigue and let my body do what it needs to do. Obviously, that's not practical with a jam-wielding toddler though!

Anyway, we have friends coming over for curry tonight which'll be great, but much rest is going to be needed today, me thinks. Shame the Swank diet doesn't allow for a proper spicy fat laden curry to banish the germs! Part of me thinks it might do me good (a phrase that has been cropping up in my head a lot recently! *slap wrists*). The other, more sensible part, is determined to stick with it as best I can in case the excessive fat makes me feel worse, so I've investigated the 'lower fat' curry options so I can at least pretend to do curry goodness! So it looks like dhal and boiled rice for me, with perhaps some tandoori prawns thrown in if I'm feeling cheeky. That's not TOO bad, right? I wanna be somewhere in middle of this...

On other Swank news, I found some low fat cheese called Minicol the other day which I can have a small amount of. Thinking of melted cheese on pasta (mmmm) I tried it last night. It tastes ok on its own, but against a sauce was kind of non-existent and it didn't melt. I decided there was no flipping point! I suppose I could make a very small cheese and pickle sandwich with my quota...... :)

Blimey O'Riley....

Today I have been looking into pre-schools.

This scares me. Lib is 18 months old. She won't start pre-school for another year and a half.
The fact that I have to start looking now and put her name down somewhere, is mental to me!

I think I've found a good one though. I even looked at the Ofsted reports....(jeez louise)

Putting that aside though (because I refuse to accept that I need to sort this out now) it did start me thinking about nursery. I refreshed my knowledge on the Dr Swank research yesterday, and there were some interesting points about fatigue that reminded me how, though I'm much better than I used to be, I could benefit from being a bit pre-emptive with my rest. Understandably it's hard to effectively rest when I have a wee one running around, but there's no reason why I can't organise some weekly time for Lib at nursery to stock up on some rest. The fact that you have to book a slot in advance sort of put me off the idea in the past (after all, I obviously don't know when I'll be fatigued) but reading Swank again hammered it home that just having that slot to switch off and have a lie-down, regardless of whether I feel like I need it, may be hugely beneficial. This will be a big learning curve for me. I'm not very good at switching off since becoming a Mum!

Of course, the advantage of using a nursery rather than relying on very helpful mother-in-laws (thank you Sheila! :) is that Lib will get a set time every week to hone her socialising skills. Now she's older I'm becoming more conscious of her need to be around other kids.

Anyway, I guess I need to do some proper investigating and report back.
Whatever happens though, I've concluded that my daughter is growing up faaaaaarrr to quickly. *blub*

Bristol Zoo. The home of beautiful trains.

I've done far too much this week! Well...for me anyway, and I suspect I've pushed it a bit.
Yesterday I woke up soo tired, but after a morning nap with Lib, felt much better. Did I take it easy though for the rest of the day like a good sensible Mummy though?
Nah. I went to the zoo!! Utter madness!
I've been putting off the zoo for a while. I went last year when it was busy and it gave me the heebiejeebies. It's a lot of walking for me, so I've been waiting for a day when I've felt in tip top condition, but those days are few and far between.
Anyway, as I was going with friends, I thought I'd give it a shot even though I didn't feel great. It was good fun and worth it, but I was utterly shattered afterwards.
I wish I could say Lib appreciated it, but the only thing she seemed interested in was the ride-on train. Sod's law! I did get an annual membership though, so I can just pop in if we're bored and not worry about staying all day to get my money's worth.
Plus it means I can regularly check on my mate, the Capybara. He was huge bundle of giant guinnea pig fun!