Let's get the dull and boring whinge about my health out of the way .... I got worse yesterday, not better, and spent the afternoon with a horrendous headache and sinus pain. Fortunately it was gone by this morning, and I think I may at last be slowly on the mend. Coughing like mad still, but feeling a bit more human. Bill is still off work too.
I'm having something of a re-think about parenting patterns and boundaries ... which maybe I'll get round to blogging sometime. If only we could have a trial run with somebody else's kids before we ruin our own!
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Monday, November 28, 2005
More of the same
Still coughing, aching, sweating, shivering, eyes now going funny, sinuses feeling dodgy, blah, blah, blah. This is lasting *far* too long.
Tamsin - Granny took her up to playschool this morning but it was cancelled as staff are all ill. Fortunately my Mum took the initiative to keep her out of the house as long as possible, so they went for a long walk with the dog and then a hot chocolate at a cafe. This afternoon was simply wall-to-wall TV, while I slept and sweated on the sofa.
Tamsin - Granny took her up to playschool this morning but it was cancelled as staff are all ill. Fortunately my Mum took the initiative to keep her out of the house as long as possible, so they went for a long walk with the dog and then a hot chocolate at a cafe. This afternoon was simply wall-to-wall TV, while I slept and sweated on the sofa.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Still ill
I'm getting very tired of this. Am still feeling distinctly rough and discovering that my pelvic floor muscles are not up to the challenge of all this coughing :-o ! Mind you, looking on the bright side, the last time I was this bad, I was 8 months pregnant with Benjamin, and that was no fun at all. At least I don't have to try and sleep sitting upright this time.
So, my Mum has come on a mercy mission, at least as much for the dog's sake as anybody else's ;-) She hasn't been walked much lately, poor thing.
Have managed to achieve one or two things though - moving at one-tenth normal speed, I excavated our bedroom of the pile of clothes that was threatening to smother us all, have read Tamsin a few stories including the lovely Usborne Nativity lift-the-flap book which we both love, played "Tummy Ache" board game and attempted to get Tamsin to stick to the rules (rolling eyes icon required!), done some 'rhythm' games where one of us (Bill, Tamsin and me) would tap out a rhythm using a selection of kitchen implements that Tamsin brought out for us, and the others had to copy it. Which reminds me, she wants drums. Real ones. OMDB, I think! Or at least, not until she has a playhouse down at the bottom of the garden we can send her to.
I've been wrestling with the Christmas present issue. Have bid on a few things on Ebay for her but not won them (My Little Pony stuff and a ballet dress just for dressing-up fun) but what she really wants is everything she has seen advertised on Nick Jr (rolls eyes again!). Yes, we've had the "all they want to do is sell you things so they can have all your money" conversation, but she's not convinced yet! I am discovering that I could easily become one of those indulgent mothers who buys her child almost everything they want .... so it's a good job we haven't got much money! Not that that stops some people, I suppose, but it does me :-)
Isabelle is perfecting her standing alone, and continues to be thrilled at herself! She can also walk being held by only one hand, so solo walking can't be far away. She's discovered the delights of flinging her arms up in dramatic gestures just for the fun of it, chucking stuff off tables onto the floor, and opening and shutting the drawers in Tamsin's bedroom and throwing all the clothes onto the floor.
This evening my Mum asked about what regulations or curriculum we had to follow in home-educating ..... and I thought I detected a slight tightening of the lips at my joyful answer that the LEA, all being well, wouldn't even know we existed! I expounded enthusiastically about their lack of rights and used several snippets from the latest MP list (have to still call it that :-) ) discussion. She made no particular comment. I may hear her opinion by some roundabout route or critical comment in months or years to come!
So, my Mum has come on a mercy mission, at least as much for the dog's sake as anybody else's ;-) She hasn't been walked much lately, poor thing.
Have managed to achieve one or two things though - moving at one-tenth normal speed, I excavated our bedroom of the pile of clothes that was threatening to smother us all, have read Tamsin a few stories including the lovely Usborne Nativity lift-the-flap book which we both love, played "Tummy Ache" board game and attempted to get Tamsin to stick to the rules (rolling eyes icon required!), done some 'rhythm' games where one of us (Bill, Tamsin and me) would tap out a rhythm using a selection of kitchen implements that Tamsin brought out for us, and the others had to copy it. Which reminds me, she wants drums. Real ones. OMDB, I think! Or at least, not until she has a playhouse down at the bottom of the garden we can send her to.
I've been wrestling with the Christmas present issue. Have bid on a few things on Ebay for her but not won them (My Little Pony stuff and a ballet dress just for dressing-up fun) but what she really wants is everything she has seen advertised on Nick Jr (rolls eyes again!). Yes, we've had the "all they want to do is sell you things so they can have all your money" conversation, but she's not convinced yet! I am discovering that I could easily become one of those indulgent mothers who buys her child almost everything they want .... so it's a good job we haven't got much money! Not that that stops some people, I suppose, but it does me :-)
Isabelle is perfecting her standing alone, and continues to be thrilled at herself! She can also walk being held by only one hand, so solo walking can't be far away. She's discovered the delights of flinging her arms up in dramatic gestures just for the fun of it, chucking stuff off tables onto the floor, and opening and shutting the drawers in Tamsin's bedroom and throwing all the clothes onto the floor.
This evening my Mum asked about what regulations or curriculum we had to follow in home-educating ..... and I thought I detected a slight tightening of the lips at my joyful answer that the LEA, all being well, wouldn't even know we existed! I expounded enthusiastically about their lack of rights and used several snippets from the latest MP list (have to still call it that :-) ) discussion. She made no particular comment. I may hear her opinion by some roundabout route or critical comment in months or years to come!
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Friday, November 25, 2005
Cough, cough
Urgh, you know you're really not well when you can't be bothered to switch the computer on all day. Cough is really bad, ache all over, feel generally grotty. Girls aren't much better, and Bill is now heading that way too. Fortunately that meant he took the day off sick so I wasn't managing all on my own.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Ugh, head lice are in residence. I've been itchy since Saturday, couldn't find the comb and got round to buying a new one today. Several of the little beasts on me and Tamsin. I hate the little bastards.
Tamsin and Isabelle are still both suffering quite badly from this heavy cold and cough. Tamsin was supposed to go to playschool this morning while I did an Usborne book party, but in the end she came with me, as well as Isabelle, as she wasn't well enough for playschool. Party went well, which was good, except I've spent all my commission on more books ....
Not much learning been going on due to illness but much languishing in front of the TV instead.
Tamsin and Isabelle are still both suffering quite badly from this heavy cold and cough. Tamsin was supposed to go to playschool this morning while I did an Usborne book party, but in the end she came with me, as well as Isabelle, as she wasn't well enough for playschool. Party went well, which was good, except I've spent all my commission on more books ....
Not much learning been going on due to illness but much languishing in front of the TV instead.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Quiet Day
Today was supposed to start with a walk to the Post Office to get a new Tax Disc for Bill's old Citroen that has to go back on the road now that the Astra is defunct. Try as I might, though, I could not find the fairly recent MOT certificate anywhere, and TBH I wasn't too bothered by that as it has been extremely cold and foggy and I didn't fancy the walk.
So, we've been quietly at home today, and more quiet than usual as both girls are noticeably under par due to heavy colds. Tamsin has been content mostly to sit doing stuff - TV, stories, painting. We had a really good go at her bedroom this morning, which was in a complete state, and now it is very tidy and looks great! I've read some Mr Men stories, some from her Bible Activity book (Jonah and the Whale, Moses in the basket being found by Pharoah's daughter) which involved some stickers, spot the difference (which she really enjoys), mazes and the like.
Later, I got the paints out and Isabelle has done her very first painting! That's a keeper, I think. I managed a nap at lunchtime while Isabelle was asleep and Tamsin was watching TV, so that meant more energy than usual later on. Tamsin taught me some of her dance moves she's learning 'at school', as she calls it (the Dance class meets in the school hall!) and then we tried some yoga positions from "My Daddy is a Pretzel".
So, that's been literature, bible, housekeeping, art and PE then!
Isabelle threw up on me as I was just putting her into bed, due to coughing, so she was feeling rather miserable but fell asleep quickly and has stayed that way. Tamsin has already been awake weeping because she feels rotten. Despite that, with kids safely in bed, I've done some Christmas shopping online. It feels good to have got started!
So, we've been quietly at home today, and more quiet than usual as both girls are noticeably under par due to heavy colds. Tamsin has been content mostly to sit doing stuff - TV, stories, painting. We had a really good go at her bedroom this morning, which was in a complete state, and now it is very tidy and looks great! I've read some Mr Men stories, some from her Bible Activity book (Jonah and the Whale, Moses in the basket being found by Pharoah's daughter) which involved some stickers, spot the difference (which she really enjoys), mazes and the like.
Later, I got the paints out and Isabelle has done her very first painting! That's a keeper, I think. I managed a nap at lunchtime while Isabelle was asleep and Tamsin was watching TV, so that meant more energy than usual later on. Tamsin taught me some of her dance moves she's learning 'at school', as she calls it (the Dance class meets in the school hall!) and then we tried some yoga positions from "My Daddy is a Pretzel".
So, that's been literature, bible, housekeeping, art and PE then!
Isabelle threw up on me as I was just putting her into bed, due to coughing, so she was feeling rather miserable but fell asleep quickly and has stayed that way. Tamsin has already been awake weeping because she feels rotten. Despite that, with kids safely in bed, I've done some Christmas shopping online. It feels good to have got started!
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Round-up
There seems to have been a lot going on the past couple of days, despite the snotty colds and coughs affecting the female members of the family. I can't remember it in any particular order (how on earth do the rest of you remember what's gone on in which order?).
Let me see, we've read about the sun, earth and moon and which goes round which for how long; we've read about David and Goliath in a couple of different versions at different times, we've done some rudimentary adding (although TBH she hasn't really grasped it at all yet); we've talked about 'half' in some detail; plus a fair few story books. Ummm, I'm sure there's lots more but it escapes me right now.
She's also been shouted at lots, particularly for opening one of the presents in the shoebox which is for the Operation Christmas Child appeal. I've taken to doing one each year in place of a present for Benjamin, so this year it's been aimed at a 6-year old boy, and Tamsin removed the little pot of dinosaurs and took off the seal and opened it, which was particularly aggravating since she already has that particular set anyway. She said she wanted the 'grass' (green crepe paper used as packing material) :-( Anyway, I had to phone and ask a friend to come and collect the box and take it to church this morning as I felt the girls, particularly Tamsin, were too under the weather with the colds to go out today.
Isabelle is turning from baby into toddler at a frightening speed - refusing to lie still for nappy changes, arching her back when going into the car-seat, definitely very willful! Tooth number 7 is just coming through, and yesterday she stood on her own deliberately for the first time. And having discovered what fun that was, has repeated it several times with big grins and chuckles :-)
The sleep situation is vastly improved - on the whole Isabelle sleeps pretty well till about 4am and then I usually feed her as she won't take 'no' for an answer! Sometimes she wakes me earlier in the night too, but 2 wakings is vastly better than it used to be! And Tamsin has slept all night in her own bed for about 3 or 4 nights now (not consecutively, due to feeling ill) which is a first at age 4.5!
Bill's had a frustrating afternoon, trying to fit the shiny new red cover onto my (new to me) mobile phone .... and despite being the most technically competent, able and careful person there could possibly be, has bust it :-( If he can't do it, I don't see how anybody else would have been able to. So, back to the old Nokia 3310 then.
Tomorrow we're mostly just hanging around at home. I've swapped Tamsin's playschool morning to Tuesday because I have a work meeting to go to, so it'll be nice to have a quiet lazy morning!
Let me see, we've read about the sun, earth and moon and which goes round which for how long; we've read about David and Goliath in a couple of different versions at different times, we've done some rudimentary adding (although TBH she hasn't really grasped it at all yet); we've talked about 'half' in some detail; plus a fair few story books. Ummm, I'm sure there's lots more but it escapes me right now.
She's also been shouted at lots, particularly for opening one of the presents in the shoebox which is for the Operation Christmas Child appeal. I've taken to doing one each year in place of a present for Benjamin, so this year it's been aimed at a 6-year old boy, and Tamsin removed the little pot of dinosaurs and took off the seal and opened it, which was particularly aggravating since she already has that particular set anyway. She said she wanted the 'grass' (green crepe paper used as packing material) :-( Anyway, I had to phone and ask a friend to come and collect the box and take it to church this morning as I felt the girls, particularly Tamsin, were too under the weather with the colds to go out today.
Isabelle is turning from baby into toddler at a frightening speed - refusing to lie still for nappy changes, arching her back when going into the car-seat, definitely very willful! Tooth number 7 is just coming through, and yesterday she stood on her own deliberately for the first time. And having discovered what fun that was, has repeated it several times with big grins and chuckles :-)
The sleep situation is vastly improved - on the whole Isabelle sleeps pretty well till about 4am and then I usually feed her as she won't take 'no' for an answer! Sometimes she wakes me earlier in the night too, but 2 wakings is vastly better than it used to be! And Tamsin has slept all night in her own bed for about 3 or 4 nights now (not consecutively, due to feeling ill) which is a first at age 4.5!
Bill's had a frustrating afternoon, trying to fit the shiny new red cover onto my (new to me) mobile phone .... and despite being the most technically competent, able and careful person there could possibly be, has bust it :-( If he can't do it, I don't see how anybody else would have been able to. So, back to the old Nokia 3310 then.
Tomorrow we're mostly just hanging around at home. I've swapped Tamsin's playschool morning to Tuesday because I have a work meeting to go to, so it'll be nice to have a quiet lazy morning!
Friday, November 18, 2005
My retirement plans...
Okay, the financial situation is dire, we need a new car, and we're up to our eyes in debt. Maybe this will be the answer to all our problems: The Rich Jerk. Whaddya think? OK, so if you click on that link and get interested too and buy it, I'll get paid! Or maybe other desperate HErs would like to club together with me and we could share it? I dunno really ....
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Toys
Haha, my birthday presents have arrived! I've had my birthday money in the bank since the end of August, musing on what to buy, and had a mini-spending spree on Ebay a couple of days ago. So today I've taken delivery of a lovely new DAB radio, and a cute little Samsung A800 mobile phone. I have no idea if it's still a current model, but all I wanted was a flip-phone so I could feel like Captain Kirk. Hooray, I love new toys!
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Friends
We had such a good afternoon yesterday with the Puddles and the Beans. I had gone over in that direction (a 2-hour drive) to collect a wooden Tripp-Trapp style highchair for Isabelle, to match Tamsin's, that I'd won on Ebay (which has turned out to be a great bargain - new and unused for £31.50 instead of the new price of £84.99). So I arrived while Merry was on the phone and had a warm and chatty welcome from Fran and Maddy which was delightful. Fran played delightfully with Isabelle and Tamsin fell with great delight upon the big pile of My Little Ponies - I've never seen so many together in one place before! I got the chance to browse some HE resources that I've heard about but never seen, so they get confirmed on my 'to buy' list ... (oops) and chatted a bit, but not enough, with Merry. Then all the Beans arrived and it was lovely to see them all, and with 8 girls all playing together it was a loud and lively afternoon! We left around 7pm after a substantial plateful of macaroni cheese and both girls were fast asleep within minutes so I had a peaceful drive home, and managed to successfully transfer them both into bed when we got home.
Today has been mixed. We've had a nice time but had bad financial news. Bill's car was in for repair/service so he was using mine, so I had to borrow a friend's car to get to the church group this morning and get a lift to the local Home Ed group this afternoon. But we had a nice time this afternoon and I chatted more with the mum of the 3 and 5 year old girls that we met last month, and she was more talkative and friendly this time. In fact, we have arranged to get together in a couple of weeks and I think that's going to be a really nice friendship for Tamsin, and Isabelle in due course, to know other locally HEd girls. But the news on Bill's car has been dire and it looks like his Astra that he only bought 2nd hand earlier this year was a bad'un and will basically have to be scrapped, so he will have to revert to his old Citroen that thankfully we never quite got round to getting rid of. However that is showing its age too, and I'm really not happy about the Subaru estate that I have been driving as it just feels like maybe the steering is going wrong on that, so we may have to be in the market for 2 new cars when we really don't have the money for any such things. We already have a loan, a credit card debt and re-mortgaged earlier this year. We can afford to eat and pay bills, thankfully, but cars, holidays and clothes are not so easy to come by.
So I'll be off to bed and maybe I'll dream of the perfect money-making idea that will relieve all our financial problems .....
Today has been mixed. We've had a nice time but had bad financial news. Bill's car was in for repair/service so he was using mine, so I had to borrow a friend's car to get to the church group this morning and get a lift to the local Home Ed group this afternoon. But we had a nice time this afternoon and I chatted more with the mum of the 3 and 5 year old girls that we met last month, and she was more talkative and friendly this time. In fact, we have arranged to get together in a couple of weeks and I think that's going to be a really nice friendship for Tamsin, and Isabelle in due course, to know other locally HEd girls. But the news on Bill's car has been dire and it looks like his Astra that he only bought 2nd hand earlier this year was a bad'un and will basically have to be scrapped, so he will have to revert to his old Citroen that thankfully we never quite got round to getting rid of. However that is showing its age too, and I'm really not happy about the Subaru estate that I have been driving as it just feels like maybe the steering is going wrong on that, so we may have to be in the market for 2 new cars when we really don't have the money for any such things. We already have a loan, a credit card debt and re-mortgaged earlier this year. We can afford to eat and pay bills, thankfully, but cars, holidays and clothes are not so easy to come by.
So I'll be off to bed and maybe I'll dream of the perfect money-making idea that will relieve all our financial problems .....
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Wow
Have I really not blogged since Tuesday? Time does fly. Can't possibly remember what we've done, but maybe just a few highlights.
Tamsin was ill Thursday night and yesterday - temp going up and down, sore throat and a headache. She had a little nosebleed in the night too - her first. She was very reluctant to let me wipe the dried blood off her face till mid-morning, so she looked rather ghoulish for a while. Anyway she came to work with me instead of going to playschool, and we did a Letterland Reading workbook, where she consolidated her 3-letter words, and she listened to an Usborne Train Stories CD while following through in the book. In the afternoon she faded rather, until eventually I put 'Finding Nemo' on the DVD and she curled up on the sofa to watch, and I found later that she had fallen asleep in front of it. That was about 4pm. She woke up at 5pm, and was all weepy and hot, so I put her straight to bed, and Isabelle too as she had failed to have an afternoon nap. I sat and read to Tamsin for a while, and then she felt better, and then Isabelle woke up, so we actually had both of them up till about 9.30pm when we all (including Bill who's normally a 2am bedtime man) gave up and went to bed.
This morning she has astonished us by going round and tidying up the living room and vacuuming with the little portable cleaner! An unprecedented act!!! We have been coming down harder on her lately about cleaning up her own messiness, so maybe the message is going in! Now Bill's taken them all out for a walk and I'm supposed to be getting on with a couple of jobs - sorting out baby clothes and equipment for a sale next week, and sorting out my Usborne stuff for a home-party at a friend's house next Wednesday morning.
Tamsin was ill Thursday night and yesterday - temp going up and down, sore throat and a headache. She had a little nosebleed in the night too - her first. She was very reluctant to let me wipe the dried blood off her face till mid-morning, so she looked rather ghoulish for a while. Anyway she came to work with me instead of going to playschool, and we did a Letterland Reading workbook, where she consolidated her 3-letter words, and she listened to an Usborne Train Stories CD while following through in the book. In the afternoon she faded rather, until eventually I put 'Finding Nemo' on the DVD and she curled up on the sofa to watch, and I found later that she had fallen asleep in front of it. That was about 4pm. She woke up at 5pm, and was all weepy and hot, so I put her straight to bed, and Isabelle too as she had failed to have an afternoon nap. I sat and read to Tamsin for a while, and then she felt better, and then Isabelle woke up, so we actually had both of them up till about 9.30pm when we all (including Bill who's normally a 2am bedtime man) gave up and went to bed.
This morning she has astonished us by going round and tidying up the living room and vacuuming with the little portable cleaner! An unprecedented act!!! We have been coming down harder on her lately about cleaning up her own messiness, so maybe the message is going in! Now Bill's taken them all out for a walk and I'm supposed to be getting on with a couple of jobs - sorting out baby clothes and equipment for a sale next week, and sorting out my Usborne stuff for a home-party at a friend's house next Wednesday morning.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Reading
When I picked up the 'Reading Reflex' learning to read book I have in September, Tamsin would have had to start right at the beginning as she couldn't do any of it. Without having done any of the lessons inbetween, but only informal here and there stuff, I've looked at the book again and she's too far advanced for the entire first section, which is reading 3-sound cvc words! Good stuff! I don't think (obviously!) I'll stick to the lesson plan, but at least reading it gives me an idea of what to tackle next and how. It feels rather amazing, actually, having one learning to read and one learning to walk and, I suppose, talk, although there are no recognisable words yet.
We've been out to our women's group at church today, which as usual was lovely but made me aware of a whole confusion of emotions whirling round in me about my Mum, Bill, the state of the house, my relationship with Tamsin and how I am treating her, and more... The usual bunch of stuff, really! But I've been feeling quite conflicted and emotional today, and maybe it's that which has caused me to feel quite ill, almost migrainish but without the headache, this afternoon. I insisted on having 20 minutes on my own after we got home, just so I could try and deal with some of the feelings, and then we actually did some cleaning and tidying up. We went to the Library this afternoon but I was feeling quite sick so we didn't stay long and just came home with the handful of books Tamsin had chosen.
Have now stuck them in front of Nick Jr to await Bill's return home early, I hope - I phoned and asked him to come and rescue me!
We've been out to our women's group at church today, which as usual was lovely but made me aware of a whole confusion of emotions whirling round in me about my Mum, Bill, the state of the house, my relationship with Tamsin and how I am treating her, and more... The usual bunch of stuff, really! But I've been feeling quite conflicted and emotional today, and maybe it's that which has caused me to feel quite ill, almost migrainish but without the headache, this afternoon. I insisted on having 20 minutes on my own after we got home, just so I could try and deal with some of the feelings, and then we actually did some cleaning and tidying up. We went to the Library this afternoon but I was feeling quite sick so we didn't stay long and just came home with the handful of books Tamsin had chosen.
Have now stuck them in front of Nick Jr to await Bill's return home early, I hope - I phoned and asked him to come and rescue me!
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Isabelle is 1!
And I can hardly believe how a whole year can have gone by so fast. I feel as though I will hardly have any memories of Isabelle's babyhood because life has just whizzed by in a blur of too much to do. It feels like I have spent the past year leaving her sitting on her own while I got on with other stuff.
But still, here she is. Poised on the boundary between baby and toddler. Which brings such mixed feelings in me. My last baby, just about gone ... but another adventure ahead as her personality grows and the interaction between the two sisters brings fun and joy (and aggro!). I have loved the 'baby' stage so much more than I ever believed before I had them and am so sad that that time is passing away, but with all the factors I do feel it's right for us to stop now.
So, here's a snapshot of Isabelle around her first birthday. She's so thrilled that at last she's got the hang of moving around. It's an idiosyncratic type of crawl, but it does the job and she's chuffed by it! She's even more excited when she's on her feet, though, and today she walked pushing a walker alone for the first time with no parent supporting or steadying. She stands very steadily but doesn't realise she could do it alone yet and only lets go when she doesn't realise what she's doing. She now wants to be in on the act of whatever her adored big sister does, and is in no mood to be left out of anything. She makes her feelings very clear - she's developing a scary line in shrieking and yelling. It still feels so surprising to me that she has real opinions, wants and preferences and makes them known. But best of all is her sense of humour, mostly laughing at Tamsin's antics but also, like the other day, at her own, which is wonderful!
She's practising eating with a spoon, has fed me with her spoon, and yesterday brushed my hair with the hairbrush. Despite 4-5 months of signing 'milk' and 'eat' to her, she is not showing any inclination to sign herself, but communication is pretty clear nonetheless!
She loves music and does a gorgeous little bounce when she hears it. Her favourite activity is pressing buttons of all types, so today we've covered up the front of the hi-fi ... In fact, while feeding from me she pushes on the ends of my fingers as though they are buttons to press too. She loves to press noses and chins, and is fascinated by eyelashes and is very good at gently feeling them without poking me in the eye!
She is thrilled when Daddy comes home from work, and is always excited to see me even when just returning from the other room, which is heart-warming. I love her very much, and am so grateful she came to live with us. I am excited to see what sort of a person she will turn out to be, but whatever she does or doesn't do I hope she always knows she is very special to me.
But still, here she is. Poised on the boundary between baby and toddler. Which brings such mixed feelings in me. My last baby, just about gone ... but another adventure ahead as her personality grows and the interaction between the two sisters brings fun and joy (and aggro!). I have loved the 'baby' stage so much more than I ever believed before I had them and am so sad that that time is passing away, but with all the factors I do feel it's right for us to stop now.
So, here's a snapshot of Isabelle around her first birthday. She's so thrilled that at last she's got the hang of moving around. It's an idiosyncratic type of crawl, but it does the job and she's chuffed by it! She's even more excited when she's on her feet, though, and today she walked pushing a walker alone for the first time with no parent supporting or steadying. She stands very steadily but doesn't realise she could do it alone yet and only lets go when she doesn't realise what she's doing. She now wants to be in on the act of whatever her adored big sister does, and is in no mood to be left out of anything. She makes her feelings very clear - she's developing a scary line in shrieking and yelling. It still feels so surprising to me that she has real opinions, wants and preferences and makes them known. But best of all is her sense of humour, mostly laughing at Tamsin's antics but also, like the other day, at her own, which is wonderful!
She's practising eating with a spoon, has fed me with her spoon, and yesterday brushed my hair with the hairbrush. Despite 4-5 months of signing 'milk' and 'eat' to her, she is not showing any inclination to sign herself, but communication is pretty clear nonetheless!
She loves music and does a gorgeous little bounce when she hears it. Her favourite activity is pressing buttons of all types, so today we've covered up the front of the hi-fi ... In fact, while feeding from me she pushes on the ends of my fingers as though they are buttons to press too. She loves to press noses and chins, and is fascinated by eyelashes and is very good at gently feeling them without poking me in the eye!
She is thrilled when Daddy comes home from work, and is always excited to see me even when just returning from the other room, which is heart-warming. I love her very much, and am so grateful she came to live with us. I am excited to see what sort of a person she will turn out to be, but whatever she does or doesn't do I hope she always knows she is very special to me.
Friday, November 04, 2005
At last....
I've got time for a quick blog. Isabelle's special 'birthday' blogpost is in draft form, but there isn't much of it yet. I've spent this afternoon and evening making and icing the birthday cake for tomorrow's party. Photo tomorrow or Sunday, I hope.
Isabelle is sleeping better but still waking me up with moans and groans, and waking up properly from about 5am onwards so I usually feed her at that point.
I have the briefest of second hand news from the USA about Victoria that it seemed to go well and she may well have gone home yesterday. She was in quite a lot of pain at times and sick from the anaesthetic, which must be absolutely horrible. Keeping everything crossed that it all stays in place.
Oh, and I must just record the funniest thing that happened this evening. Isabelle made her own game of dropping peas from her highchair tray onto the floor - which she found absolutely hilarious and for about 15 minutes every time she dropped a pea she laughed her head off - it was fantastic!!!
Isabelle is sleeping better but still waking me up with moans and groans, and waking up properly from about 5am onwards so I usually feed her at that point.
I have the briefest of second hand news from the USA about Victoria that it seemed to go well and she may well have gone home yesterday. She was in quite a lot of pain at times and sick from the anaesthetic, which must be absolutely horrible. Keeping everything crossed that it all stays in place.
Oh, and I must just record the funniest thing that happened this evening. Isabelle made her own game of dropping peas from her highchair tray onto the floor - which she found absolutely hilarious and for about 15 minutes every time she dropped a pea she laughed her head off - it was fantastic!!!
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Grrrr
It's Isabelle's 1st birthday today. Tamsin is being *absolutely foul*! I've never known her be so badly behaved for such a long time before. Yuck. I hope to do a lovely 'happy birthday' post about Isabelle later, if Tamsin hasn't completely driven all pleasant loving thoughts out of my mind.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Victoria
If you can spare a prayer, vibe or whatever you do, please can you think of my niece Victoria, age 11, who lives in the USA (daughter of my brother who visited a couple of weeks ago) who is going in for her (we hope) final surgery on her cleft palate today. She will have bone removed from her hip and grafted into her palate.
Poor kid, every single surgery she's had has gone wrong, or not quite done the job and she's had every problem in the book. We long for this one to go smoothly and successfully.
Poor kid, every single surgery she's had has gone wrong, or not quite done the job and she's had every problem in the book. We long for this one to go smoothly and successfully.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Nights 5 and 6
Grrr, when will this child stop waking up and yelling several times each night? She knows how to get back to sleep on her own - why does she have to shout about it? We persevere, but (yawn), I'll be so glad when this particular problem is fixed! She is spending longer and longer at the breast during the day, maybe to make up for the lack of sucking time at night.
In 'other things', Tamsin's continuing to enjoy reading easy c-v-c words and a few others too. In an old slim book "Usborne First Steps to Reading" I picked up from a charity shop somewhere, she read a very short story with only a little help, including words like 'mouse', 'one', 'there' and 'home'. I must get on with the proper reading scheme we have, if only so that it tells me how to start teaching the more complicated and irregular words.
Tamsin found a digital thermometer lying around yesterday, and spent half the day with it in her mouth, repeatedly taking her temperature. We talked a bit about normal body temperature and fever.
Today we've been up to playschool to help clear out and tidy up, so we had a busy dusty morning. This afternoon I've been sooooo tired, and just vegetated mostly. Tried to tidy up Tamsin's bedroom but ended up with more mess than when we started, just relocated. Have sat and read this book which I've got out from the library, which would be my dream holiday although maybe not with a 3 and 4-year old ... but I'd love to do this someday.
And as Isabelle sinks her teeth into my leg as I sit here blogging, it reminds me that she is developing quite a biting habit which Tamsin never had. I'm musing on whether 5.40pm is too early to put them to bed ....?
In 'other things', Tamsin's continuing to enjoy reading easy c-v-c words and a few others too. In an old slim book "Usborne First Steps to Reading" I picked up from a charity shop somewhere, she read a very short story with only a little help, including words like 'mouse', 'one', 'there' and 'home'. I must get on with the proper reading scheme we have, if only so that it tells me how to start teaching the more complicated and irregular words.
Tamsin found a digital thermometer lying around yesterday, and spent half the day with it in her mouth, repeatedly taking her temperature. We talked a bit about normal body temperature and fever.
Today we've been up to playschool to help clear out and tidy up, so we had a busy dusty morning. This afternoon I've been sooooo tired, and just vegetated mostly. Tried to tidy up Tamsin's bedroom but ended up with more mess than when we started, just relocated. Have sat and read this book which I've got out from the library, which would be my dream holiday although maybe not with a 3 and 4-year old ... but I'd love to do this someday.
And as Isabelle sinks her teeth into my leg as I sit here blogging, it reminds me that she is developing quite a biting habit which Tamsin never had. I'm musing on whether 5.40pm is too early to put them to bed ....?
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Night 4 - Rough
I suppose I got a bit confident, and expected a better night last night than the previous ones so went to bed late, and am suffering for it now, considering what sleep we had was extremely broken.
It seemed to go well at first - Isabelle was asleep around 7pm and didn't wake up till midnight - it seems we may be able to rely on a good 5-hour stretch at the start of the night now rather than the 3 hours we used to get. But she was harder to settle at midnight, and then the rest of the night she was very grumbly. She woke lots of times, voiced her dissatisfaction (not crying, but just complaining) and was quite restless.
It may just be part of the process, or it may be that now she is really getting mobile this week she is more unsettled anyway. Ah well, we soldier on.
As well as Isabelle's grumbling, I also had Tamsin nagging me for mummymilk from some unearthly hour ...I kept telling her to shush and go back to sleep but she was restless too so between the two of them I barely slept from maybe 5am onwards. And when I decided to switch the light on and check the time, it was 6.45am (I assumed that Bill had not put the clocks back) and reluctantly gave in and fed her. I later discovered he had put the clocks back so as far as our bodies were concerned it was 7.45am and I had been putting Tamsin off far longer than normal!
It seemed to go well at first - Isabelle was asleep around 7pm and didn't wake up till midnight - it seems we may be able to rely on a good 5-hour stretch at the start of the night now rather than the 3 hours we used to get. But she was harder to settle at midnight, and then the rest of the night she was very grumbly. She woke lots of times, voiced her dissatisfaction (not crying, but just complaining) and was quite restless.
It may just be part of the process, or it may be that now she is really getting mobile this week she is more unsettled anyway. Ah well, we soldier on.
As well as Isabelle's grumbling, I also had Tamsin nagging me for mummymilk from some unearthly hour ...I kept telling her to shush and go back to sleep but she was restless too so between the two of them I barely slept from maybe 5am onwards. And when I decided to switch the light on and check the time, it was 6.45am (I assumed that Bill had not put the clocks back) and reluctantly gave in and fed her. I later discovered he had put the clocks back so as far as our bodies were concerned it was 7.45am and I had been putting Tamsin off far longer than normal!
Saturday, October 29, 2005
And even some education too
We've had quite a good day for a Saturday. Got up and Tamsin produced a book which she wanted me to read, so we came downstairs and read Enid Blyton's version of "The Christmas Story" which has lovely illustrations and I thoroughly enjoyed, although I think Tamsin's concentration wavered considerably at times. I then decided to put some music on, so did dancing and appropriate movements to "I'm a little teapot; Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes; Incy Wincy Spider" and other kiddy favourites - Isabelle loves being danced with! Then breakfast, and some spelling/reading simple words with Letterland flashcards. Then everybody out to walk into town - Bill took the girls to the park while I went to work for a couple of hours to catch up on what I didn't get done during the week. On the way home I went to the toyshop (alone - what bliss!) to buy an outfit for Isabelle's new doll and some birthday cards and wrapping paper.
I got home and since then we've done some pumpkin carving, made and eaten pumpkin soup and generally played. Isabelle has been very mobile today - she really is starting to get going with this strange crawl that she has where she is on one knee and one foot as well as two hands. After spending months shouting at Tamsin for always wanting to take the toy that Isabelle is playing with, today the tables have turned and Isabelle has been chasing Tamsin round trying to grab what she is doing. Tamsin has got very cross!
This evening I have spent far too long browsing unnecessary but interesting blogs, and a little time sorting out a little of our financial mess to try and avoid getting any more late payment fees on the damned credit cards!
I got home and since then we've done some pumpkin carving, made and eaten pumpkin soup and generally played. Isabelle has been very mobile today - she really is starting to get going with this strange crawl that she has where she is on one knee and one foot as well as two hands. After spending months shouting at Tamsin for always wanting to take the toy that Isabelle is playing with, today the tables have turned and Isabelle has been chasing Tamsin round trying to grab what she is doing. Tamsin has got very cross!
This evening I have spent far too long browsing unnecessary but interesting blogs, and a little time sorting out a little of our financial mess to try and avoid getting any more late payment fees on the damned credit cards!
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