A Christmas Story

Check out this beautiful story written by my 11 year old cousin:

http://strangeworldofsim.blogspot.com/

I'll be back

No internet.
No laptop.
Therefore no blogging.

Normal service will be resumed very soon (hopefully).

Celebrity

The Turkish people generally love children. And I mean LOVE them. It is not uncommon for children to be fussed over and kissed and their cheeks are pinched by random strangers on the street (men and women and other children).

Can you imagine the reaction when you add into the equation a blonde-haired, big blue-eyed boy in a baby backpack?

Wherever we go people point and stare. They talk to Jack, kiss him, pinch him, slap him (affectionate slapping is common here). They pick him up, walk him round, sit him on their lap, play games with him.

When we are out people regularly want to take photos of him. Sometimes they ask us to take photos of them with Jack in the backpack. We feel a bit like celebrities!

Jack is loving all the attention. He is flirting away and smiling at anyone who fusses over him. What a shock he is going to have when we get home!

Istanbul - Rumeli Hisari

Too tired to even post photos. Here is a link to some on fb: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=240832&id=514584623&l=de058a74d2

Istanbul - Blue Mosque

No time for a long update but here are some photos of the stunning Blue Mosque:

Travelling

We arrive at the airport exactly two hours before our flight yesterday morning only to find that it had been delayed by 2 hours. And then delayed by a bit more. The excitement about going on holiday to somewhere exotic suddenly diminishes slightly as we face the prospect of entertaining Jack for over 4 hours in the airport and then another 3.5 hours on the plane.

After paying out our lifes savings on lunch in the airport, Jack helpfully decorates the floor of the restaurant with our food. Time to make a quick exit and head through to departures. Where there are uncomfortable chairs. And shops. And nothing to entertain a small boy with. Hold on a minute. Tucked in the corner of the departures lounge is a Hamleys. They have toys outside for children to play with. We are saved. Jack spends a delightful hour playing with a piano mat (Simeon quite enjoys it too). Two Hamleys staff then make it their mission to entertain Jack with bubble machines. He is a bit bemused. The other passengers and decidedly unamused.

Finally time to go to our departure gate. The lady sat next to me it wearing a furry coat. Jack strokes it like a dog. For twenty minutes. Fortunately she quite enjoys the attention and amuses Jack while we wait.

In the queue to board the plane Jack makes another friend. A small boy travelling with his family smiles at Jack and he smiles back. Jack giggles, the boy giggles back. Both are delighted with their new acquaintance. We board the place and the family with the small boy are sat behind us. Both Jack and the boy are excited. Jack spends a large part of the flight standing and looking at them between the seats. He reaches out a hand. And steals some wotsits. Repeatedly. I'm a little embarrassed. Jack throws all the food I've brought him onto the floor but continues to be offered food by the small boy which he gratefully accepts. He sucks the wotsits and then tries to feed them to me. How delightful. Have you ever tried entertaining an active 1 year old on your lap in the economy section of a budget airline? I can tell you its rather a challenge. Jack behaves rather well (apart from the food stealing) but by this point is really rather tired. As am I.

We land. We go through passport control where there is no queue and Jack charms all the staff. We collect our baggage and go to meet Carrie. Finally we are here. Just a hair-raising taxi journey to go and we are done. What a day. What an adventure. What to do now?

The Playhouse - Assembled but not complete

As the title suggests, the playhouse has been sewn together but I have not yet finished all the embellishments. I thought that maybe you would like to see it as it stands:

Happy Being Me

Sometimes being me doesn't feel good enough. I'm not as creative, stylish, interesting, thoughtful as I want to be. I started this blog to showcase some of the things that I have made and eventually to start selling some of my creations. But I haven't managed it.

Somehow, other women, other mums manage to care for their children, create amazing things, take beautiful pictures, blog about them and often include tutorials on how to recreate them. I aspire to be like that. How do they have time? How do they come up with all the ideas? How are they so darn cool? Dana has an amazing home and makes fabulous clothes for her children and herself, Megan is an inspiring mother and seems to do such fantastic things with her children, Cheri has an incredible imagination and is current champion of So You Think You're Crafty. All three take stunning photos of their crafts, homes, families and there are many many others that I haven't mentioned.

These women have beautiful homes, beautiful children, beautiful style and create the most beautiful things. I have a very messy home (oh how I wish I was tidy), wish I was more stylish and only occasionally create wonderful things. I can certainly compete on the beautiful offspring front though.

But today, I am content with being me. Actually, what I really mean is that today [and tomorrow and the day after] I am [wanting to try really hard to be] content with being me. Its so easy to compare myself to so many other people around me. (I wonder how many of them are in turn comparing themselves to me?). But maybe I should just concentrate on being myself, focusing on the who I am and doing what I love to do rather than trying to be like someone else.

I am me and noone else is.

A weekend in the country

Today we are off to my parents for the weekend where Jack can play in the field, pick apples and pears and blackberries, run around the garden chasing the dog and hang out with Grammy and Gramps. What more could a small boy want?

Birthday Treat

Today is my birthday. Jack has celebrated this by sleeping for 12 hours straight for the first time ever. And also by producing the sort of poo that involves hosing him down still half clothed in the bath. Twice. Oh how I love that boy!

A quick update

I was hoping to get the playhouse finished this week but its been an incredibly traumatic one so no progress has been made. I'm not sure I'm ready to write all the details here yet as it will make it seem too real and my poor little heart may not be able to cope. The short story is: Jack got sick, and then sicker and ended up in Intensive Care but is fine now and we are all home. Hopefully, normal service will be up and running soon xx

Trying not to take it personally

Today was my first day at work for over a year. Jack spent the day with his Fairy Godmother, Sarah at the Botanical Gardens and had a great time. When I got home I was looking forward to being greeted with a smile and some excitement (in much the same way he greets his father everyday). But no. Not even a flicker of recognition. Not even a smile. And when I picked him up for a cuddle he just wanted to get down and play.

I'm trying very hard not to take it personally. And I know that I should be happy that he is so well adjusted and confident that he can spend the day with someone he hardly knows and not be miserable. But I kinda would have liked him to miss me a little bit. And be a small bit excited to see me. I feel a little dejected and rejected.

Oh well. I'll probably be soon complaining that he wont settle at nursery or something similar.

Spoilt

Having had a baby-free morning on Monday and a baby-free afternoon yesterday, I am struggling with the prospect of having a baby-full day today. There is much to be done (including some reading and sleeping) and it is all so much harder when there is a small boy to entertain.

It a good job I love the little guy. And here are some reasons why (this is as much to motivate me to get out of bed as it is for your benefit):

* those great big chubby cheeks that wobble around when we're driving in the car

* the most laboured attempt at crawling (read squirming on his belly and sometimes managing to move forward a centimetre or two) I have ever seen

* that beautiful cheeky smile

* the enthusiasm with which he soaks everyone present at bathtime

* the great big slobbery kisses (with tongues) that he likes to give

Ok, whinge over. I realise how fortunate I am to be able to spend so much time with my son (but just so I don't feel too guilty - does anyone else ever feel the same way about life as a mother?). Today, I will cherish him and cherish the time that we have together. And off we go to the Teddy Bears Picnic with a smile on both of our faces.

Playhouse Progress Report

So, the birthday is fast approaching (8 days) and there is much still to do. I have taken some photos to show you where I am at and if I had the time they would be beautifully annotated so that you would know what is to come. But I don't so you'll just have to wait and see.

We went to the zoo and we saw...

Here and there

While we were away, camping, I learnt a few things. As a result, I have made a few changes around the place.

Firstly, I moved the TV out of the lounge into our new TV room (old dining room). This is to encourage me not just to veg out in front of the TV of an evening, and maybe even have a conversation or two with Simeon. I have also been trying not to get sucked in by The Internet (how easy it is to lose an hour or two there), which is why I've not been here very often.

In addition to the Great Room Switcheroo, I have been busily working on the soon-to-be lodgers room. It is very nearly finished and looks amazing. Just need to find someone to live there now.

And, if that wasn't enough to keep me busy, the mother-in-law has been staying this week. We had a glorious day out at the zoo (thunder, lightening, torrential rain, and lots of monkeys).

That's enough meandering from me. Time to cook some dinner for the boy.

We survived!

So, we survived a week camping and actually, surprisingly, enjoyed ourselves. There is much to say about the week but I am currently in the middle of painting the spare room and moving the TV out of the lounge (more on that later).

Camping

Its been a while. And its been busy. My little sister returned from nearly 2 years travelling the world and met Jack for the first time. The family gathered to celebrate her return. And then, even more family turned up to celebrate my Granny's 85th birthday. I think there were about 25 of us. Plus the dog.

It will be quiet for a while longer as tomorrow we are going camping. For a week. With an 11 month old baby. I don't like camping very much. And Simeon is working onsite as part of the youth team (its a Christian camp that we're going to with our church). So, childcare duty is all mine.

I was feeling very anxious about it all but after copious list-making my only remaining concern is the sleeping thing. Recently, Jack has been waking up at about 5am. I usually turn the baby monitor onto silent at this point and let him babble/shout and play/whinge in his cot (I'm not really sure what he does as I go back to sleep!) until Sim's alarm goes off at 6.30. Not so easy in a tent. Also, he has a cold and a cough so is a little more grumpy than usual and is coughing alot.

My main concerns are that a) wakes people up by coughing during the night and/0r crying at 5am and b) that I have to get up with him at 5am and walk him round the campsite to keep him calm.

It'll be fine though, right?

Making progress

Polystyrene tiles - removed
Wallpaper - gone
Paint - stripped

Tomorrow am - polyfillering
Tomorrow eve - undercoat
Tuesday - paint ceiling

Next week - paint woodwork and walls
Followed by - a big celebration and maybe a nap

And then - get to work on the playhouse.

Porridge Pancakes (for Laura and Roo)

Find a container with a flat bottom.

A takeaway container works well

Add some rolled oats

And some fruit (sultanas, mashed banana etc)

Cover with milk. This is too much

This is perfect

Microwave until the top is firm and the milk has been absorbed,

roughly 1-2 mins depending on the amount of oats.

Put in the fridge to set (this can be done the night before)

Remove from the container. If the base is still a little soggy,

put it back in the microwave soggy side up until it is firm

Cut into bite-sized pieces

And enjoy!

Beetroot Cake is yummy

Pink batter

Pink frosting

Pink cake

Retail therapy

Work want me to start back on 1st September. Jack's birthday. This makes me incredibly sad. I know that he wont notice. And I know that it doesn't really matter. And I know that there will be plenty of other celebrations. And I know it makes sense to be in work on that day.

To be honest, I'm quite surprised by my reaction. I never thought that it would matter so deeply. But it does. I also suspect there's quite a lot of underlying anxiety about going back to work involved.

'What does that have to do with retail therapy?', I hear you ask. Ok, maybe not. Maybe its really quite predictable. But it was an accident. I didn't mean to. But there it was, so beautiful, so glamorous, so practical, so expensive (shhhh).

And now, somehow, it is sitting next to me gazing lovingly at me. I don't know quite how it got here. But here it is. And here it will stay. Maybe. Unless Simeon finds out how much it cost. Of I am overwhelmed by post-splurging guilt.

PS. The bag is red. Maybe I need some new shoes to match.

PPS. I expect you want to see a photo. The ones I've found online just don't do it justice and I haven't got time to upload one right now so you'll have to imagine a beautiful red bag with a very lovely lining, lots of useful pockets, and clever attachments that let you hang it from the pram handle. One day, I will share a picture of it with you and I hope that it will live up to your imaginings.

At the moment, I am...

Making : a felt playhouse for Jack's birthday
Cooking : beetroot cake
Drinking : tea
Reading: The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory
Wanting: an overlocker
Looking: at the mess around me. Arrgghh.
Playing: with stacking cups
Wasting: time wishing that I had more time
Sewing: a maxi dress ( for myself)
Wishing: it was sunny again :(
Enjoying: putting my feet up while the boy is sleeping
Waiting: for my sister Rosie to get home in less than a week!!!
Liking: that I can see a smidgen on blue sky
Wondering: what I should cook for dinner tonight
Loving: my gorgeous family
Hoping: that Jack gets better soon :(
Marvelling: at how much the boy has grown
Needing: to do some serious organising of crafty stuff
Smelling: the laundry drying on the airer
Wearing: new clothes!
Following: Cake Wrecks
Noticing: that I really need to do some cleaning around here
Knowing: that good enough is usually good enough
Thinking: that its gonna take forever to finish stripping the paint in the spare room
Bookmarking: skip to my lou
Opening: no post today :(
Giggling: not nearly enough
Feeling: invariably tired but quite content

Finally finished

I finally finished the quilt I've been working on. It was going really well until I got to the binding. I couldn't find what I wanted anywhere and once I did I then had to unpick it 5 times before I could get it to look how I wanted. It was eventually completed just moments before leaving for the birthday party of the boy whose present it was.

I am rather chuffed with my first effort at a quilt though.

Alone

Yesterday I spent the day in a spa. Alone. By myself. Without company. Without demands. Just me. And a good book. It was truly wonderful. And slightly surprising. I don't like being on my own. Especially not somewhere like a spa, or eating lunch. But, it was a sign of how much I have changed in the past 10 months that I was perfectly content with my own company.

I relaxed, I swam, I jacuzzied, I steamed, I lunched, I was scrubbed, exfoliated, massaged and pedicured and I read. I came home relaxed and ready to get on with all the things that need to be done.

To top it off, Jack has been sleeping til 6am and hanging out in his cot til at least 6.30. That sure beats 5 o'clock.

Now, on with the quilt, the felt vegetable garden and the dress that I am making. Photos to follow soon, I promise.

Budget artwork

I have long been wanting to put some pictures up on the walls. It is rather shameful as we've lived here for over 2 years and still haven't put any up. I'm not sure why I never got around to it. Possibly cost. Possibly time. Possibly finding the right thing to put up. However, I have made a move which has given me inspiration to adorn the walls in other rooms of the house.

I bought a cheap blank canvas for less than £5 and printed out some of my favourite pictures of Jack onto photo paper using our very average and basic printer. They came out almost A4 size. I trimmed the white from around the edges and then used extra strong double-sided tape to stick them to the canvas. It looks just like an expensive printed canvas but for only 10% of the cost.

I recently got hold of some freezer paper (a type of parchment paper from America) which enables me to print onto fabric. My next project will involve printing onto fabric and stretching it round a canvas frame. Unfortunately I only have an A4 printer so they will be small prints, but I am quite excited to see how they will turn out.

Chaos

I've been a bit busy causing chaos. We have decided to get a lodger in September to help pay for Jack's nursery without using up my entire salary. This requires decorating one of the bedrooms, which turned out to be a bit more challenging than expected.

There are beautiful polystyrene ceiling tiles to scrape off,

which revealed wallpaper underneath that needs stripping

Pulling off the border revealed seriously peeling paint

And now all the paint needs to be laboriously scraped off the walls

(this is how the room currently looks)

There is mess everywhere and it feels like it will never end (after all the peeling, scraping and stripping we need to sand, fill and paint ceiling, walls, skirting boards, cupboard). We have decided to call in some back up and ask some friends to come and help us out so that we finish it off sometime this side of Christmas.

Next we need to find a lodger. Preferably a lovely, friendly, non-weird lodger. Let me know if you can suggest anyone.