Saturday 15 December 2007

Ready for Christmas

Only 10 days until Christmas? Panic, panic! Actually... skip the panicking. We had a very successful shopping trip today and I managed to find all of the hard-to-locate ingredients for Christmas dinner. I was holding an armful of parsnips in Kingsalmarkt and probably looking slightly crazed when the greengrocer asked me if I wanted more. I now have about 6 parsnips which I am really pleased about because they are harder to get hold of than hens' teeth! I've decided to cook turkey breasts rather than a whole bird because it is just too much meat and hassle for 2 adults and a toddler. It is just going to be us for Christmas this year because Phil's mum is spending Christmas with her other grandchildren. I'm making ginger spiced pudding for dessert. It is served with slices of mango and toffee sauce. I somehow doubt that the toffee sauce will make it to the dinner table unmolested. I decided to skip the traditional Christmas pudding because it is so rich and filling after a full Christmas dinner.

I'm probably going to prepare and freeze some of the food in advance because I don't know if will end up getting morning sickness. As any woman who has had morning sickness over the Christmas period will know, cooking a Christmas dinner is absolutely the last thing you want to do. I don't have morning sickness at the moment which is both worrying and a relief. I'm worried that there might be something wrong with the pregnancy but of course hoping that everything is fine and that I have just been lucky so far.

Now that I have got all the presents wrapped and sorted and the food organised I am starting to feel quite festive. I have a bit of a dilemma, though. I am an atheist but was raised in a Christian household. As a consequence, I am used to the tradition of going to a carol concert at the local church at this time of the year. I like the sense of community and the festive feel it brings. How hypocritical would it be for me, a non-believer, to go to a carol concert? I guess since I haven't stopped celebrating Christmas then it doesn't make me any more hypocritical than I am already being. I should probably be celebrating the winter solstice without reference to Christianity. Doesn't sound quite as much fun.

Wednesday 12 December 2007

In memory of Samuel

A wonderful and courageous little boy whose death 4 years ago today inspired his parents to set up the charity Samuel's Boxes. Never forgotten, little one.

Tuesday 11 December 2007

Stupid scientists

Scientists can be so stupid sometimes. What a sad end to such an incredibly long life.

Reins

What an incredibly stupid invention reins are. Although I have never felt the need to use them with Michael, family have been repeatedly extolling their virtues. Michael has always been very good when we are out and about. He happily holds my hand and doesn't run off. Because of the potential danger of his hand slipping from mine by a busy road, I caved in this afternoon and took Michael out for a walk with reins that were included in a safety pack I bought months ago. I say again, what an incredibly stupid invention.

Firstly, I think they are demeaning to him. It felt like I was walking a dog and not an intelligent and interesting little boy. As I was locking the front door, he couldn't understand why his little legs were going like pistons but no progress was being made in moving forwards. Secondly, he had no idea which way I was expecting him to walk so he was doing his best to veer into every kerb and driveway that we passed. I then had to tug on the reins to keep him on the pavement. This reinforced the feeling that I was walking a dog. When he walks holding my hand, I can easily and gently correct his direction. At some point he realised that if he stumbled, then the reins would take his weight. That being so, he no longer felt the need to put his feet back on the ground when he tripped. He was left dangling from the reins having a whale of a time. The last straw came when we crossed a road, he stumbled again and the bloody reins snapped. Why on earth would you make the clips from plastic? Michael was now quite content to walk without holding my hand but because the reins had snapped this wasn't an option. The journey home became a mini battle of wills.

Stupid, demeaning product.

How responsible are we?

How responsible are we for the way our children behave? Particularly young children like Michael?

Family members sometimes comment that Michael's behaviour is a credit to our parenting. I'm not sure if I agree with that statement. For example: In the very early weeks, Michael started sleeping for at least 5 hours a night. I don't think that we had anything to do with that. I had bought a couple of baby books that discussed the various approaches to sleep training but I implemented none of the methods described. If Michael cried in the night I would either give him a feed, change his nappy, cuddle him or medicate him if he was in pain. That was it - no controlled crying, no co-sleeping, no shushing and patting. He's just naturally a good sleeper.

As for his behaviour elsewhere, I think he is just a good-natured child. Perhaps on a genetic level we are somewhat responsible but I don't believe that our parenting has had much to do with it at this stage. We're just first-time parents, bumbling through the days and trying to do our best to make our son happy. He never makes a fuss if he has a dirty nappy or sticky fingers. He rarely cries if he takes a tumble. He doesn't pinch, smack or kick if he doesn't get his way (at this point I have the irresistible urge to write 'yet!') It is always nice to hear that family think we are doing a good job, but I feel a bit of a fraud when we are given credit for the way that Michael is.

Taking credit for the way that your children behave is a bit of a double-edged sword. Where do you draw the line? If, God forbid, your child turned out to be a murderer, would you be to blame? How could you live with yourself if you did feel responsible?

Thursday 6 December 2007

Pregnant

I took a home pregnancy test this morning and it's official - I'm 4 weeks and 1 day pregnant! This pregnancy was planned and Phil and I are very excited. Whilst I am going to write about my experiences of the first trimester in my blog, I am not going to publish the entries until I am in the second trimester. If, God forbid, something goes wrong with the pregnancy then you may never read the words I am writing now. My reticence is down to the two early losses I suffered before getting pregnant with Michael. Although carrying him to term has made me far more optimistic of a similarly positive outcome, miscarriages leave a scar on the soul that will never heal.

I took the test after Phil had gone to work and called him with the news. I attempted to fool him into thinking the test was negative so that I could go "Ha ha! Fooled you!" but I had forgotten how rubbish I am at fibbing. I am just disgustingly honest. He knew immediately from my tone of voice that the test was positive. With my first pregnancy I felt very different, almost like an alien was inhabiting my body in the beginning, but this time the pregnancy feels completely natural and normal. I have to keep reminding myself that I am pregnant when my mind strays to mundane thoughts like sorting out the remainder of my Christmas shopping.

Michael is now a *very* active toddler and I am hoping that I don't have the horrible morning sickness that I had last time. I had it from about 5 to 17 weeks and lost quite a lot of weight. My mother and grandmother both had much worse morning sickness with their second pregnancies and I have to hope that this bad luck ends with me. I registered (online! progress!) with the local midwife practice this afternoon and informed my doctor by phone at lunchtime. You might think that this is quite early, and I would agree with you, but the reason for this is that my second miscarriage was possibly ectopic. I therefore need to have a scan at around 6/7 weeks to check that the pregnancy is developing within the womb. This is rather bad timing because it means a scan right before, or after, Christmas when many hospital staff disappear off on their holidays. I'll probably get a private reassurance scan if I can't get a hospital one.

One thing I forgot to mention... the baby's due date is August 13th 2008. The day after Michael's second birthday. No, we did not plan this ;o) August is going to be a very expensive month for us! I barely have any symptoms at the moment. Nothing more than the odd growing pain and infrequent feelings of nausea. I came across the most fantastic and mesmerising pregnancy ticker on my antenatal club that I have to show you:



How cool is that?!?

Wednesday 14 November 2007

Are you turning into your mother?

I've just completed a quiz posted on one of the baby forums I visit. The subject was "Are you turning into your mother?". This is how I scored:
Mummy Mortified

You're so determined not to be your mum that you're running away from her - kicking and screaming - whenever she calls, visits or even sends a birthday card

Sunday 2 September 2007

Can we take a vacation away from Michael's teeth?!?

On Monday, Phil, Michael and I are heading off to stay with Phil's mum in Newcastle for a week. We're going on the overnight ferry to Hull and are stopping off at Harrogate on the way up there. I spent 8 years of my childhood in Harrogate and haven't seen it since I was 12. I have really been looking forward to this trip for months but in the last week I have begun to dread it. The reason is that Michael's molars are coming through. He has had a high fever twice in the last fortnight and getting him to sleep at night is a real battle. He'll wake every hour, on the hour in distress. Since my mother-in-law's downstairs neighbour can hear it if she has a fan whirring in her bedroom, I don't think she is going to be dramatically impressed with my son's lung capacity and stubborn streak. We're going to have to share a room with Michael also, which is something that we haven't done since he was eight months old. He is a very light sleeper and would wake at a mouse's fart. Michael's teeth seem to make a habit of ruining visits with his Gran. When she came out to visit us at Christmas, Michael starting teething with his first tooth.

I've been up the stairs to Michael 5 times in the last 4 hours and I desperately need to spend Sunday doing last-minute organising and packing. I need sleep!

Friday 24 August 2007

Unexpected questions #1

Whilst enjoying a quiet moment in front of the television, Phil has just turned to me and said the following....

"Do you think it is possible to disguise human sh*t as food?"

For once, I'm completely speechless. On top of that, I'll be suggesting we get take-away tonight.

Wednesday 22 August 2007

Domestic goddess

The washing is done; the dishwasher is loaded; the house is tidy; dinner is waiting; Michael is napping and I am a domestic goddess. Phil will be home in a couple of hours and I can either spend the time doing some baking or I can chill out on the sofa with some chocolate and a good book. Since I haven't sat down in three days I am sorely tempted to do the latter! Michael is completely well again and his temperature is now normal. He's learned a couple of tricks in the last few days. He will now feed me Cheerios when he gets fed up of eating them. If I can only switch the Cheerios to grapes or sweets then I'm on to a winner here. His favourite thing right now is coming up behind me when I'm sitting at the computer and spinning the swivel chair around. He gets very annoyed if I won't play along. Last night I was attempting to read through the Norton Ghost User Manual whilst being spun around every few seconds. I'll probably always associate that software with nausea now ;o)

Perhaps I'll multi-task. After all, I can read some of my book whilst the eggs and butter come up to room temperature :o)

Tuesday 21 August 2007

No fair!

I've just realised that Phil has taken two business trips since Michael was born and on both occasions I have been stuck at home. On the first occasion there was a huge storm leading to the public being advised to stay indoors. On this the second occasion, Michael has a fever. Does he take the luck with him or something? No fair!!!

Sleep now

I'm finally all done for the day. I've just completed an online food shop and soon I can sleep! I don't like leaving Michael during the day in order to do housework and chores so I tend to cram them all in when he is napping or after he goes to bed. This is the first chance I've had for a break all day long. Although Michael's temperature has been lower today (hovering around 38.5) he has been quite clingy and periodically distressed. He only had a brief nap in the afternoon which was unfortunate because I usually get a lot done during that time. I took him into a toy shop when we went into town and bought him some crayons, paper and those little windmills on sticks that you blow (I'm sure they must have a proper name but I haven't a clue what it is). He thoroughly enjoyed batting at the cats with the windmill and helped me with a 'welcome home' drawing for Phil. If Michael's temperature hasn't come down to normal by tomorrow lunchtime then I am going to call the doctor to see if I need to make an appointment.

Well my mind has now gone blank so I think I'll leave this entry here. Night night!

Monday 20 August 2007

Perfect timing

Today has not been great. Phil left early this evening to travel to the UK. He is doing an upgrade for a customer and won't be home until Wednesday evening. Before he left we went out to the local shopping centre for a walk and an ice-cream. There is a nice children's play area by the water and I held on to Michael's hands and let him walk where he wanted to go. Unfortunately he wanted to walk into the water to get a good close look at the coots and boring Mama forbade it. He was extremely distressed when he didn't get his own way but I put that down to him being overdue for a nap.

Something rather amusing happened when Phil said goodbye to Michael. Michael and I were standing in the doorway to his nursery. Phil kissed Michael and I asked Michael to wave 'bye bye' to Daddy. Instead he shut the door in Phil's face. We found this very funny. After Phil left, Michael was clingy and unhappy. This behaviour isn't unusual because his front molars are coming through. I was also a bit subdued due to Phil's departure and I guessed that was a contributing factor. Michael ate most of his dinner but wouldn't even touch the bread which was unusual. He continued to be very clingy and whiny and only breastfeeding would soothe him at all (albeit temporarily). I decided to take his temperature as he felt a little hot, only to discover that it was 39.5... the highest it has ever been. I gave him paracetamol, stripped him down to his nappy and then called the after hours doctor. They passed me from pillar to post whilst poor Michael crawled on the floor getting more distressed by the moment. They were concerned that it might be meningitis and asked me to check the signs and monitor him closely. Although he responded well to the paracetamol I was thoroughly rattled by this point.

I had intended to put Michael to bed and sit down with a good book and honey-glazed pork chops. Instead I found myself pouring out my woes to Phil on the phone and eating a hurried roast chicken sandwich. There couldn't be a worse time for Michael to get ill because I would have to take him up to the out-of-hours doctor by taxi or by bus. The local taxi firms are not keen to collect fares during the night. Michael is fast asleep now and, other than the fever, is displaying no signs of meningitis that I can discern. I was hoping to take him on some day trips over the next few days but I don't think I can risk it if he is ill. I know that teething isn't supposed to cause a high fever but I can't think what else could have caused this.

I do hope tomorrow is better!

Saturday 18 August 2007

Mobipocket

Damn you, Mobipocket.com. You might want to consider backups and making your reader software available to other sites.

Wednesday 8 August 2007

General update

It's been a busy couple of days. I took Michael to the dentist yesterday morning because I wanted to get his top front teeth checked. I was worried that he might have damaged them by bumping his mouth. Thankfully, they are fine. The dentist was trying to encourage him to open up and say ah by showing him a model of a mouth saying ah. I don't think he has much experience of 11 month old babies. He then asked me if Michael could say ah - erm... no. Michael sat there impassively regarding the dentist who was foolish enough to put a gloved finger in his mouth. Michael bit it. I forgot to warn him that this is a hazard for any finger venturing too close to that dank cavern of evil ;o)

In the afternoon we went to the children's farm in Hoofddorp with a friend I 'met' on a baby forum and her two children. It was a lot of fun and Michael really enjoyed playing in the sandpit. He seemed, despite my efforts to prevent it, to eat a vast quantity of the sand so I imagine that he will be pooping sand castles soon enough. He had so much excitement that he ended up falling asleep in his dinner when we got home. Being a good Mummy, my first thought was to take a photo ;o)

Today I decided to have a lazy day and I took Michael out for a little bit of shopping in town and a snack in Hema. Michael had babbling conversations with any baby in earshot and spent a happy 10 minutes thumping his hands up and down on the table and waving to passers-by. He can be quite a handful in restaurants so I gave myself a pat on the back for being brave enough to venture into Hema. On the way home I spotted a huddled bundle of feathers on the pavement. A wood pigeon was sitting very still and with some of his feathers at odd angles. I'm a bit of a hopeless case when it comes to animals in distress so I shot off home to get a box and some gloves. The sun was very hot and I was concerned that the bird would get attacked by the local cats if he sat there much longer. I have never handled a bird before but I managed to get it into the box without too much trouble. Holding the box under one arm and steering the pushchair with the other I made my way home again. I put the box in the utility room as it is quiet, dark and cool in there. Within the hour the animal ambulance came to collect him to take him to a local vet. The animal ambulance really is fantastic. The lady took the bird out of the box to examine him and he really was very beautiful. She thought that he had a broken wing and was a bit stunned but would almost certainly be fine after some TLC.

So... that was my good deed for the day. Michael was most unimpressed that his dinner was delayed whilst I attended to the bird. As punishment for my good deed he decided to hang off my leg howling. What is it they say? No good deed goes unpunished?

I guess I'll finish with a general update:

Currently reading: Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
Last movie watched: The Glenn Miller Story
Last thing I ate: A smoked salmon sandwich in Hema
Current mood: Murderous. If Ron doesn't pipe down I will go crazy.
Current location: In the living room at home

Friday 3 August 2007

Not such a good idea?

Perhaps the late-night curry wasn't such a good idea. I had a dream last night that I was being pursued by a 15-foot giant snail that wanted to lick me (do snails have tongues??) I woke up in a cold sweat with my bed sheets in a tangle. Still... it was worth it. That was a fantastic curry.

Thursday 2 August 2007

Curry

I have to take a moment to mention a fabulous Indian restaurant in Amsterdam called Mother India. We recently discovered this place after a tip-off and all I can say is - fantastic! The food is delicious and the service is wonderful. There are woefully few decent Indian take-aways in Haarlemmermeer so we are more than happy to make the trip to Amsterdam where Mother India know how to do the job properly. There is none of that sickly, flavourless, canary-yellow rubbish that the Dutch like to call curry.

Tuesday 31 July 2007

Dear Mr. Gleghorn...

... thank you so much for the 'precious' gift you left for me this afternoon. I think fondly of you as I go about my wifely duties of a day and hope that you think fondly of me. On this day, joy of joys! I have the proof I sought that you do indeed adore me. I can only hope to find an equally thoughtful gift the next time I mop the kitchen floor and look behind the recycling crate. You truly make my heart go pitter patter :o]

Seriously... do that again and I'll serve it to you, slightly chilled, with a chateaubriand steak and pan-fried vegetables (lovingly pan-fried, of course)...

Thursday 12 July 2007

Bloody cat

I left the room for a second to go and take care of Michael and that bloody cat has chewed through the baby monitor cable. We have tried everything possible to stop Harry from chewing but it is never enough. He is a danger to himself and to Michael and I am absolutely sick of it.

Tuesday 26 June 2007

Photo of my hair

Before I forget completely, here is a photo of my new hair colour.

Sunday 17 June 2007

Lazy afternoon

Hello, my little blog. I haven't posted an entry in a while! I'm having a quiet moment so thought I'd take advantage of it. It is Father's Day today and Phil is still sleeping. If anyone deserves a lie-in, it is him. He is going to be dismayed to learn that I got up at the crack of dawn to take care of Michael and that I have only had four hours sleep. I feel a bit like death warmed up. Michael is currently having a nap after having fallen asleep in his dinner. I'm always torn between hurrying to get him upstairs for a nap or pausing to take a photograph. On this occasion I did the former.

I had a lovely day yesterday. I went along to the Martijn Fraaij hair salon in Amsterdam and had a professional henna treatment. The salon is on a really beautiful street and I sat at the window, with a dryer over my head just watching the world go by and reading my book on Edward VI. It is quiet moments like this that make the sweetest memories for me. I chose henna because I wanted something completely natural and safe. I used traditional hair colour products as a teenager and they always burned my scalp. I had been thinking about colouring my hair for ages because premature grey hair runs in my family. I held off for as long as possible but in the last few months the amount of grey hair had really increased. I now have a deep, rich and slightly shocking head of red hair. I absolutely love it and so does Phil. Phil is now the only one who doesn't have red hair because Michael's hair colour has been deepening over time. I was wondering whether it was going to go blond but it seems that he will remain a red-head.

Phil and I have always joked about our hair. As I mentioned, premature grey hair runs in my family, but a premature receding hairline runs in Phil's family. Our sons could end up twenty-somethings with wispy bits of grey hair around their ears. I really don't think I am going to mention this to Michael until he is old enough to have a stiff drink in his hand. I'm hoping he won't inherit Phil's hair and will instead inherit mine. I may have grey hair but it is extremely thick.

Anyway... enough talk of hair. The plan for today was to go to Race Planet in Amsterdam. I bought Phil vouchers for go-karting for Father's Day. The fates must be conspiring against us because he hurt his back yesterday when lifting Michael. I don't think he is going to be getting in a go-kart without prescription painkillers and a truss ;o) I shouldn't laugh, really, as it is rotten bad luck for his first Father's Day. He was so pleased with the present, too. I told him that all fathers have the right to try to kill themselves in competition whilst behaving like preschoolers.

Right... I'm off to enjoy the last of my quiet time with some food and a book.

Sunday 20 May 2007

Phil down

Phil just fell asleep prostrate on the living room floor with the cats licking his head. Oh dear. That can't be a good thing, can it?

General update

Basic facts as of this moment:

Currently reading: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett (Sam Vimes is just fabulous)
Last movie watched: The Queen (although I did fall asleep midway through)
Last thing I ate: Roast chicken dinner
Current mood: Tired and grumpy
Current location: In the living room at home

On Tuesday our water supplier found a trace of the E.coli bacteria at a water pumping station in Hoofddorp. Since then all 170,000 affected households have been instructed to boil all water for consumption for at least 2 minutes. There was a run on bottled water in the supermarkets. To say that this has been a pain in the ass is an understatement. If I had been feeding Michael formula instead of breast milk then I would have been terrified. We had to boil and cool his bath water yesterday because he splashes so much that some of the water gets swallowed. I wasn't going to take any chances. The source of the contamination has been identified and dealt with but the boil water advice stays in force until Monday 21st.

The last couple of days have not been a lot of fun. Michael has been whining and very clingy. Two more teeth are getting ready to push through and he likes the suffering to be a communal affair. The poor little chap managed to cut his lip on a wicker toy box this evening. He pulled it towards himself and then decided to fall over onto it. He was very distressed and held his breath briefly. I called Phil downstairs and he took one look at Michael and thought that he was choking. I had to explain quickly what had happened because he was about to grab him and perform the Heimlich manoeuvre. I'll not soon forget the look on Phil's face.

I think... that we could do with a holiday. The pressure of routine is grinding us down a bit. Before Michael was born we never really had a routine. We woke up whenever we felt like it and ate meals whenever we were hungry. It wouldn't be so bad but the cats are constantly underfoot. Sometimes I feel like I don't have enough love to give them. I know the heart is supposed to be able to stretch to love an infinite number of people (and pets) but I'm not sure this is true anymore. When Michael is tucked up in bed the last thing I want is to be climbed over by four demanding cats. I just want a tiny bit of personal space before I go to bed. Not much, just a little. We do talk about re-homing them sometimes but I seriously doubt that we will do that. We made a lifetime commitment to them and we'll simply have to find a way to make it work.

If all goes to plan (ha... ha... hmmm) then we'll be going over to England next month for a holiday. Woo hoo!

Friday 18 May 2007

Woe is me

No more Grey's Anatomy until 'late 2007'. What am I going to do with myself now? Hmm? I'm all McDreamy-less! Woe!

Thursday 10 May 2007

What flower are you?

You Are A Lily

You are a nurturer and all around natural therapist.
People see you as their rock. And they are able to depend on you.
You are a soothing influence. You can make people feel better with a few words.
Your caring has more of an impact than even you realize.

Wednesday 2 May 2007

Texel

Before it goes completely out of my head, I should mention our trip to Texel at the weekend. We had a lovely time and the weather, although quite windy, was warm and sunny. We stayed in a hotel suite at the airport (light aircraft). We had a balcony with a view of the airfield and watched the planes taking off and landing whilst having our breakfast. The hotel manager was, quite rightly, very proud of the suite and excitedly showed Phil all the facilities from the under-floor heating to the self-cleaning bath tub (I would like one of those!) It had a kitchenette and I was very glad that it did because I could easily prepare food for Michael.

We lazed around the hotel suite on the Sunday and Monday was Queen's Day. The hotel manager told us that there was no check-out time and we could stay as late as we wanted. This was really great news as it saved us from rushing around. We had a leisurely breakfast and then wandered out to take a look at Texel. Phil had wanted to take a tour of the island by plane but sadly the pilot would only take a minimum of two people. Michael was pretty grumpy with the teething and I didn't think it would be a good idea to take him up in a plane. We were not willing to leave him with a stranger (for not willing read 'over my dead body') so sadly we had to give the tour a miss. We drove up to the north coast and had a walk by the lighthouse. Michael was completely covered to avoid sunburn but, stupidly, Phil and I are never so kind to ourselves. We both have sunburn.

On the subject of not being kind to ourselves - we really have to sort that out. We packed two of everything that Michael could conceivably need for the trip and we totally neglected ourselves. I managed to forget the alarm clock and my toothbrush and we both forgot to bring any warm clothing. It was very windy and we had no coats. I had to buy one. How totally stupid! In future I will have to write a checklist to save us from ourselves.

Texel is a great island. There are lovely walks in the woods and in the dunes. The little villages are very chocolate boxy. This time of year, as with the rest of The Netherlands, the fields are a riot of colour. Tulips are growing everywhere in every imaginable shade.

Now that we know a trip away with Michael is perfectly manageable, it is time to start thinking seriously about a summer vacation. Now... where to go...?

Sunday 29 April 2007

Aaaargh!

Every time it really matters, Albert Heijn messes my food order up. At Christmas they omitted the cranberries. Today, on my wedding anniversary, they have screwed up the Argentinian steak I ordered. They've substituted a pathetically feeble and tiny piece of something that I assume I am intended to believe is Dutch steak. Naturally, I didn't notice the mistake until I took it out of the fridge to cook.

Aaaaaarrrrgh!

Albert Heijn, you deserve your nickname. You really are a swine!

Thursday 19 April 2007

Sunset at Noordwijk

Phil likes this photo a lot. It is a photo of me and Michael at the beach in Noordwijk. We went there last night at sunset and I got to try out my funky new purple beach Crocs.

Need suggestions

Phil and I have £40 worth of Lakeland vouchers that are burning holes in our pockets. Any suggestions on what to spend them on?? Help...?

Tuesday 17 April 2007

Virginia Tech


As a general rule I do not comment on international news in my blog because I prefer to keep my opinions private, and also because it is too easy to inadvertently cause offence. However, I do want to extend my sympathies to the friends and families of the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings. It is such a terribly sad thought that yesterday morning when I got up, those students and staff were still safely asleep in their beds and when I went to bed some 14 hours later, they were lying cold on mortuary slabs.

Ouch!!

My back is agony. I did a really stupid thing yesterday - I reached down to pick up the folded Quinny in the utility room and pulled a muscle in my back or something. I know how you are supposed to lift things but the Quinny was on the floor behind a few other things and I was in a hurry. I'm really paying the price today. Bending is agony and so is lifting Michael. I lift him all day long so my back is starting to get more and more stiff and painful. I'm glad I never attempted to take the Quinny on public transport - it is WAY too heavy at around 12kg. How on earth would I manage the folded Quinny in one hand and Michael in the other? Thank goodness I have my Ergo carrier which makes public transport a doddle (I can't say enough good things about this carrier.)

Monday 9 April 2007

Goat farm

Today we did not go to Texel as we had originally planned. We had underestimated the amount of travel involved and, given how distressed Michael was yesterday with his teething pain, we decided to pick an outing closer to home. We decided to go to the goat farm in the Amsterdamse Bos.

We had previously attempted this outing a couple of years ago. We travelled there in the middle of winter when the ground was thick with slush and snow. The area around the farm was swarming with people and when we had to dig our car out of a slushy, muddy hole, we gave it up as a bad job and came home. Today we went ready for the crowds and were hopeful of a good day out because of the glorious weather.

WRONG! Yes, we went ready for the crowds but we didn't expect EVERYONE in The Netherlands to be visiting at the same time. The farm is of a reasonable size but it was ridiculously overcrowded. The central farm buildings housed pens for goats, chickens and pigs. There were a lot of goats and kids in small pens. They looked perfectly well cared for but it made me wince to see how little space they had. I seriously hope they are given some time to graze in the fields, although I doubt it as the farm is open to visitors from 10am to 5pm, 6 days a week. Apart from a chap selling goat milk ice-cream, I couldn't actually see any farmhands anywhere. Because of this, adults were actually vaulting the fences of the pens to get closer to the goats. They were taking their cameras (with flash) and their children with them. The poor goats had nowhere to escape to. The other depressing thing was the smell!! Phew!! I must have turned into a real townie because I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose.

We didn't stay for more than 20 minutes and then we headed off to Amsterdam to get some fish and chips instead.

Sunday 8 April 2007

Zoo photos

I excitedly took Michael out of his pushchair so that he could get a good look at the elephants. He was completely uninterested and instead started smiling shyly at a lady to our right who seemed more captivated by him than by the baby elephant.






The zoo has four Asian elephants. The baby, Yindee; her mother, Thong Tai; her aunt Win Thida and the only bull, Nikolai.







This huge and splendid fellow is a California sea lion. We visited their enclosure at feeding time and some of the spectators got quite a soaking.







We were incredibly pleased with the photo that Phil took of the hippo. He certainly wasn't camera-shy! You can even see the remnants of his lunch wrapped around his extraordinary teeth.







The gannets make a wonderfully eerie noise in their throats. At Artis they make their nests amongst the penguin colony.







I'll have a starter of fish followed by a main course of trainers, please. And waiter? Bring me the wine list, there's a good fellow...







Totally... underwhelmed by the big cat enclosures behind him.











It being mating season, we got to observe the storks bill-clattering. It was a very impressive sight.

Catherine Howard

When I was at the Tower of London last year, I was told by a beefeater in the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula that Catherine Howard's body was sprinkled with quicklime on burial so that no trace of her would remain. Having her executed was not enough of a punishment for adultery as far as Henry VIII was concerned.

My question is... why have I never read this information in a book or been told it by a history teacher? This is the kind of gruesome gossip that gets people interested in history.

Saturday 7 April 2007

Update on our Easter plans

So how are we doing with our Easter plans?

DIY on Friday
Zoo trip on Saturday

So far... so good! We had a fantastic time at the zoo this afternoon. It took us about two hours to get the picnic packed and ourselves and Michael ready to leave the house so we got to the zoo in the early afternoon. I immediately turned into an oversize toddler and starting pointing and saying things like "Phil, look, look!" and 'Phil, look! The camel is yawning!" Phil, being the nice guy that he is, always turned to admire whatever it was I had pointed out. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with zoos. I hate seeing any animal in captivity, especially in enclosures as small as those at Artis. However, I appreciate that in order for the next generation to learn compassion for animals that they will possibly never see in the wild, a zoo is necessary. Their breeding programs for endangered species are also admirable.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I love elephants. Some of my earliest memories are of going to Twycross Zoo and staring for ages at the elephants. I don't think I have seen an elephant in a zoo in over 20 years. I saw four today and one was a baby - only one year old and the first elephant ever to have been born at Artis. Her name is Yindee. There was also a baby gorilla at the zoo but the baby is less than a month old and kept away from the noisy crowds at present.

Michael was largely uninterested in the zoo animals - who were equally uninterested in him. I think that I enjoyed seeing the sea lions best. They were in a tank with a raised viewing platform. I was with the Quinny so couldn't go up the steps. Phil went up to take a look whilst I peered into the murky darkness of a window in the tank. I nearly fell over backwards when a pair of dark eyes zoomed towards me out of the gloom. Two small sea lions and one larger one took it in turns to zoom around the tank at the nosy spectators. The way they move is just fantastic. Their keeper was feeding them (I didn't know this, being below the platform) which probably explains the show.

Phil was captivated by the penguins and we sat and ate our lunch on a bench with the penguins and gannets in front of us and the llama enclosure behind. A few of the penguins were very friendly and came up to the fence to nibble at the shoes of the onlookers. Phil made a video of them and took a lot of photos. Speaking of photos - we took 163 in total which is perhaps a tad excessive. Phil is currently wrestling his computer to get them uploaded and when he does I will put a select few in the blog. The bench in front of the penguin enclosure now rates as the most unusual place I have ever breastfed Michael. I find it difficult to imagine that any location can top that but you never know.

I'm looking forward to having a peaceful day tomorrow - I'm exhausted!!

Thursday 5 April 2007

Easter plans

It may only be Thursday evening but Phil and I have already planned out what we want to do over the Easter weekend. Normally on a long weekend we just go where the wind blows us but we want to be a bit more organised now that we have Michael to think of. Otherwise the weekend will pass with Phil not getting as much done around the house as he would like and me not spending enough time out of the house (really important to me now that I am no longer working). So, the weekend will (hopefully) go as follows:

Friday: DIY during the day followed by a trip to the beach at Noordwijk if the weather is good. There is a strong possibility that I will drag Phil into the pancake house but then again it will probably be full of German tourists.

Saturday: A trip to Artis Zoo in Amsterdam. I'm going to pack a picnic for us and make a beeline for the elephant enclosure (I have always loved them).

Sunday: No real plans. Probably more DIY.

Monday: We're going to Texel to take part in an organised walk to see as many lambs as the island has to offer. Phil, the crazy lamb fan, will almost certainly try pestering a farmer into letting him adopt one.

I will be fascinated to see how many of these activities fall by the wayside because we are notoriously late risers on the weekend and Michael's top front teeth are threatening to make an appearance imminently.

Saturday 31 March 2007

Ice-cream

We play the Nationale Postcode Loterij and have done since Christmas. We figured - why not? I'm years away from writing a bestselling novel and we need our millions now ;o) I got a letter from them this morning and we have won...

Drum roll please...

Two half-litre tubs of Ben & Jerry's ice-cream!

How cool is that (literally)?!? I know what I'll be pigging out on this weekend. We don't even need to share - we can have a tub each.

It might stop me from gorging myself on the Easter egg I'm saving. If that little Crunchie egg makes it all the way to Easter Sunday then I'll be stunned (or have been stunned).

Friday 30 March 2007

Horn-happy Gleghorn

Until Michael was born, Phil would almost never use the car horn. On the exceptionally rare occasions that he did, the blast was so minute that it could be mistaken for a sparrow farting. One memorable incident springs to mind when we got snared in traffic in Heemstede town centre on a busy Saturday afternoon. We ended up needing to retrace our steps and Phil decided to do a three-point turn in a private driveway (bad Gleghorn!) The elderly owner was trimming her hedges at that moment and looked at Phil with some annoyance.

Phil's response?

He blew a raspberry at her.

Yes, ladies and gentleman, this hulking great 6 foot 3 tower of a man blew a raspberry at an old lady in her own driveway. Even thinking about it all these years later still brings a tear of mirth to my eye.

But... things have changed. The Dutch are notoriously bad drivers and even they seem to acknowledge this. Phil gets very angry that the reckless behaviour of other road users endangers Michael. One classic example was a couple of weeks ago when we were driving to Amsterdam for my baby gymnastics class. We were going down the motorway slip road when an idiot coming from the service station failed to give way and pulled out right in front of us. Phil gave him the most prolonged blast of the horn I have ever witnessed and continued to hoot at him for some way down the motorway. I helped out by giving him a look that could curdle milk as we overtook him (he looked very sheepish).

At this rate I may need to start playing new-age music and lighting scented candles in the car to soothe his battered nerves.

Saturday 24 March 2007

Wrong wrong wrong

I've just seen an extended version of "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" on one of the Disney channels. I didn't even know that the version I have been watching on TV for 30 years has been hacked about with. You can't just go ruining my afternoon by introducing new songs and scenes. I'm too old for change!

Bring me a blanket and a warm milky drink at once!

Friday 23 March 2007

The destroyer

Harry has just destroyed my new headphones.
The new headphones attached to my new MP3 player.
The MP3 player I got for my birthday.

I had been listening to some music on the sofa when Michael started crying. I put the player down and headed upstairs to take care of him. When I came back downstairs a moment or two later my headphones were in several pieces whilst the furry offender snapped happily at the debris. The little b*stard. We cable-protect everything that we can in the house and have even tried daubing some cables with things like Tabasco sauce and commercial cat repellents. The problem is that headphones can't really be coated in repellents.

Harry has always, always been a chewer. It doesn't matter how much or how little attention we give him or how many chew toys he has. He just has an affinity with destruction. This has become much more problematic since the birth of Michael because we are often tired and our attention is constantly diverted. Much as we love the cats, they are not 'fur babies' in our house. They are just cats and second in our affections to Michael.

We don't really know what to do to solve this problem. In our next house we hope to have a secure garden or at least space to create an outdoor run so that the cats can have a more varied environment. It was suggested to me that we should consult a cat psychologist. I guess it is an option but I envisage paying a fortune to be told that we should play with Harry more. We're exhausted and Harry is incredibly demanding. The more attention we give him, the more he demands. I think that Harry's personality is perfectly suited to being some older couple's only pampered prince. We wouldn't consider re-homing him but now acknowledge that he is not a good match for a young couple with a baby.

Phil has just presented me with his only spare pair of headphones and a plastic tub to keep them safe in. I really hope I can make them last longer than the last pair...

Sunday 18 March 2007

Happy Birthday Phil!

Happy Birthday, Phil!


With love from,
Catherine & Michael xx

Saturday 10 March 2007

This and that

Oh my God - how disgusting is tofu? Sometimes (especially in spring with all the lambs gamboling around) I have a crisis of conscience about eating meat and get the urge to go vegetarian. I have never before eaten tofu and since it is cheap and supposedly healthy I thought I'd give it a go in tonight's sweet and sour instead of chicken. Oh, what a mistake. If I had chopped up a bath sponge and added it to the frying pan I would have got more flavour.

And now for a completely different topic. It was my 30th birthday on Thursday (March 8th) and I had a fantastic day. I got a good haul of presents and after having a leisurely breakfast we headed out to Amsterdam to spend the day. I bought far too many books in the American Book Center and then we wandered over to the Begijnhof. It is a very famous hidden court dating from the 14th century. It houses the English Reformed Church and on the day we visited they were having an organ recital. I was very impressed by how well behaved Michael was. I was carrying him around in my baby carrier and he was extremely peaceful. Nonetheless, I didn't risk taking him into the Miracle Church because it is a place of prayer. I would have loved to have spent some time admiring the paintings.

Despite receiving a 50 euro parking fine for accidentally parking in a loading and unloading bay, we left Amsterdam in good spirits and headed off to a restaurant for a steak dinner. Michael sat in a high chair and thoroughly enjoyed himself. He was the life and soul of the party and was great company. Phil loves showing him off and spent ages entertaining him and making him laugh. I tried Michael again with banana but he hated it and promptly threw it on the floor. Point taken, my love.

My birthday was the only day in the last couple of weeks when we have actually had good weather. It was cold and grey yesterday and again today. We have day tripped to Leiden and Den Haag but didn't have anywhere near as much fun. Michael has been in apparently excruciating pain with teething so we have been turning ourselves inside out trying to keep him happy and comfortable.

Tomorrow we're going to spend a lazy day at home. I don't dare hope that Michael will be happy enough to play on his own because he is, understandably, very clingy when he is teething. If I do get a minute to myself then I'll bury my nose in a book. I'm reading two at the moment:
  • The Last Days of Henry VIII: Conspiracies, Treason and Heresy at the Court of the Dying Tyrant by Robert Hutchinson
  • Thud! by Terry Pratchett
I have a passion for the Tudor period of English history and came across the book on Henry VIII in the bargain section of the American Book Center. How could I resist? From what I have read so far, it seems to be a fanciful treatment of the subject and reads more like a work of fiction. I'm loving it and read out the more entertaining extracts to Phil (whether he wants me to or not).

Update on dinner: Normally I am very good at eating what is put before me but I just could not eat that tofu. YUUUUUUUUUUCK! I'm afraid that I am guilty of eating around it and then tossing it into the bin.

Is Bin Laden in your garden?

Good grief...

Saturday 3 March 2007

Canada

I mentioned in my first blog entry that we are in the process of applying for permanent residency in Canada. The application process is very complicated and involves completing a lot of forms; supplying education certificates; statements from past and present employers; police checks and submitting to a thorough physical and mental examination. I have taken the task of the putting the application together upon myself. I'm a lot cheaper than hiring an immigration consultant and, perversely, I like filling in forms (my secret shame).

I think it is going to take at least a couple of months to gather together all the necessary supporting documentation. I managed to find an online copy of the guide that is given to medical examiners by the Canadian immigration department. It is the kind of read that will make the layperson's eyes glaze over but it was very informative and (unintentionally) amusing in places. As long as neither Phil nor I turn into a syphilitic, faeces smearing terrorist during the application process, I have high hopes that our application won't be rejected on medical grounds.

Monday 26 February 2007

In the black!

This evening I sat down with my spreadsheet to work out our new finances, given the updated 2007 charges and the fact that I am no longer bringing in a salary. I do this every year and it always makes me nervous. I could not predict how our utility bills were going to increase with the arrival of Michael so was mildly concerned that we would have enough money coming in. I was very relieved to discover that we are going to be fine and won't have to rob any banks this year (I'd have to do the actual robbing because I can't drive so Phil would have to be the getaway driver).

Given this news, I think it is time to contemplate buying a tumble dryer. For the past 7 years we have hung out our clothes to dry on a clothes horse in the guest bedroom. This isn't practical any more for a couple reasons. Firstly, the guest room is now a nursery (Michael sleeps in our room for the moment but will eventually call this room his own) and the box room is for the cats. Secondly, there is just so much washing to hang out. I can't believe how much clothing one small(ish) baby has, and we go through oodles of muslin cloths a week. It is like painting the Forth Bridge - no sooner have we emptied the linen basket then it is full again.

I also fancy engaging the services of a cleaner. Yes, I know I am home all day but I signed on as a Mummy and not a cleaner. I hate cleaning with an absolute passion. That is odd, really, since my sister enjoys it and considers it therapeutic. She sent me Kim and Aggie's "How Clean is Your House?" and I read with dismay exactly what chores the ladies consider necessary every single week. Call me lazy if you will, but I would much rather spend the time doing something with Michael than cleaning the oven (although I suppose the fumes might be rather pleasant if I didn't ventilate the room properly). I'm trying to coax the lady who cleans for my next-door neighbour into cleaning for us. Fingers crossed!

Thursday 22 February 2007

Tot dolls to help grieving mums

Tot dolls to help grieving mums

I came across this article when reading The Sun. I can totally understand why a grieving mother would be drawn to such a thing but it did give me chills when I read it.

Sunday 18 February 2007

Come to Noordwijk...

...or alternatively... don't! Phil took Thursday and Friday off work and we had been planning a trip to Noordwijk at some point. Some point became today. Noordwijk is a lovely little seaside town about half an hour from Nieuw-Vennep. It is very popular with the German tourists and hosts my favourite chocolate shop and Phil's favourite ice-cream shop. We haunted the pancake house in the last few weeks of my pregnancy (very hard to fight a craving for poffertjes under normal circumstances but impossible to resist a pregnancy craving).





Anyway... back to my story. The temperature at Noordwijk was 7°C and the sky was bullet-grey. We therefore assumed the beach wouldn't be too crowded. Wrong!!! The world and his wife, children and dog were out in force. We couldn't find a parking spot anywhere. We got jammed in a car park, looking for a spot, where half the people were camping on a spot and the other half were driving the wrong way. Phil is too polite in these situations so I did the swearing and gesturing on his behalf.






We had to admit defeat and decided to go up to a more remote beach to the north of Noordwijk. We had success parking this time but the place was a total dump! There were steaming piles of dog poop and horse manure everywhere and to top it all off the tide was in so we couldn't walk on the beach (the rough sand was too tricky to push the Quinny very far). We showed Michael the sea and pointed out that England was across the water. He was completely... underwhelmed... and we gave the whole thing up as a bad job and came home to eat cheese on toast.





We shall never speak of this day again...

Friday 16 February 2007

How much?!?

We knew that our energy bills were going to rise with the birth of Michael but we had no idea by how much. The new water rate is fine but the electricity bill has gone up by 40 euro a month. How much?!? How on earth did that happen?? Nuon must think we have found a money tree or something (our Sims characters have several, but we aren't so fortunate). I think it is time to change our electricity provider... sharpish... Alternatively we could send Michael out to work down the mines or something. Little pick-axe... little hat with a light on... little canary. Perfect!

Thursday 15 February 2007

Black Wednesday

Today has been a pretty miserable day. Michael's second tooth came through so he was very unhappy and clingy all day long. My dad was in hospital for surgery and I have been worrying about him. I haven't heard from my mother yet so I have to assume that everything went well. I've been sleeping very badly for the past few nights so I haven't had a lot of resources to call on. Phil has taken Thursday and Friday off work so hopefully we can go on a few excursions and recharge our batteries. I would really love to visit the zoo in Amsterdam but it would take a full day to do it justice and Michael is too young for such a trip. If we are out and about then he won't take his naps. It is Chinese New Year at the weekend so we are going to go up to China Town in Amsterdam in the hope of seeing a lion dance. I'm really looking forward to it.

Phil and I had our first ever date in China Town in February of 2000. It started off with us wandering into a couple of book shops off Dam Square and we then made our way through China Town and we have no idea where we went after that. We were enjoying the local beers along the way which at least partially explains our amnesia. We know that we were sitting in the window of a bar that had heated seats at one point but we have never been able to find it again. Now I think about it, we were also in a bar with a fabulous CD collection and handcuffs on the bar. Happy days :o)

Tuesday 13 February 2007

Introducing our cats

It is probably time for me to give a mention to our 4 cats. Introducing:

This is Ron. He is a 4 year old European Burmese. His pedigree name is Ragtime van Sirimyrhana. As you can see, he is absolutely gorgeous. He's a sensitive soul and you have to earn his love. He's a problem solver and could open doors by the time he was 3 months old. That is the reason why all our door handles are upside down. He is very active and loves to play.













This is Harry, Ron's brother. His pedigree name is Rashidi van Sirimyrhana. He is a sweet but very demanding cat and trouble with a capital "T". He chews everything and likes to howl at 3am, waking the whole household. Phil spoilt him rotten as a kitten which might explain a few things. He suffers from chronic renal failure so will be on medication and a special diet for the rest of his life.








The cat on the right in this photo is Xinx. His pedigree name is Blue Velvet's Xinx. We decided to use his pedigree name because it suits him. He is 1 year old and has the sweetest personality of any cat I have ever encountered. Nothing phases him - not even the addition of Michael to our family. As a kitten, his party trick was to scramble onto any available neck for a nuzzle. He is a tiny cat at only 3kg. His father is a whopping 6kg. He got cat flu from a live vaccine as a very young kitten and that might explain why he is so small. He has never mastered jumping and has an exceptionally high-pitched miaow.





This gorgeous girlie is Zita. We named her after the band, Zita Swoon. She is a 5 year old moggie and is huge at about 5.3 kilograms. She's a bit dense (especially when compared to the alarmingly intelligent Burmese) but we love her to pieces. She is unusual in that she adores water. She used to sit in the sink when she was a kitten and play under the running cold tap. Her favourite thing is to sit on Phil's chest and rub her face over his chin. Phil's solution to this is to remove the cat hair from his face with one of those sticky clothes rollers afterwards.





I was going to post a bit of a rant about how Harry is driving us mad at the moment by howling through the night, but I looked through his kitten photos in order to select one for this entry. It is hard to stay mad when I remember what a lovely little kitten he was. I'll save the rant for another day.

Monday 5 February 2007

Phew... no flu

Well, it doesn't look like I have flu. It seems to be a sinus infection. This is good news because, although I feel terrible and my symptoms are worsening, it isn't contagious. It almost certainly sprang from an allergic reaction and tree pollen is a likely culprit at this time of year. I'm going to spend the day getting as much tea and sympathy from my family as humanly possible.

Sunday 4 February 2007

Unwell

I'm sick :o( I have a low-grade fever, thumping headache, sore throat and aching muscles. I've been feeling progressively worse since Friday. Please please PLEASE don't let this be the start of flu. I don't know how I will manage with Michael if I have flu. He was a bit of a nightmare yesterday and basically chewed his fists and howled from sunrise to sunset. I've given up wondering when this next tooth will appear. By the time we went to bed last night I was having to do things for him in near darkness because the light hurt my eyes. The real problem is that I am severely limited in the medication I can take because I am breastfeeding. I think I am limited to paracetamol. Please let me feel better soon!!

Wednesday 31 January 2007

Out with the old

We have finally named our new car. Our old car - a knackered, aging Toyota Corolla - was called Myrtle. Our new car is a Ford Escort Wagon and we have named her Gertrude. Phil got a really good price for her and can't believe our good fortune. He keeps expecting something big to go wrong with her. I did have some vague concerns in the beginning that she was a cut and shut but these concerns are fading with every day that passes when the rear of the vehicle doesn't pass us in the inside lane.

I always get itchy feet in the New Year and fancy a trip away somewhere. Michael's extreme nosiness in public situations probably means that we could risk such a trip. We've been talking about going to Paris for ages but have never got around to going. Criminal really - all we needed to do before Michael was born was get Fikkie's to watch the cats and then get in the car and go. It really isn't all that far by car. Alternatively, we might chicken out and go to Center Parcs for the weekend. Michael is doing a Jekyll & Hyde number due to the teething so we don't tend to make any plans.

I can't believe it has been six months since I was last at work. Occasionally I get the urge to answer a technical support question (Phil still works at FatWire so I hear about everything that is going on with the customers) which is really tragic. I suggested last night that Phil mind the baby and I answer some of his cases. The customers would immediately spot that something had gone wrong with Phil if I did that. Phil is really polite and goes that extra mile for the customers and I'm somewhat abrupt and bossy. I expect the customers to know what they are doing and have read the manuals. Definitely my greatest flaw as I should know by now not to expect anything.

55 nuns on the run over debt

I can't seem to wean myself off the habit of reading tabloid newspapers. This article is a perfect example of why I can't. Fabulous stuff!
55 nuns on the run over debt

Saturday 20 January 2007

Daffodils

Oblivious to the storm a couple of days ago, the daffodils are... blooming... in January?!? This can't be a good thing. They came up early last year too but not as early as this. I hope this isn't because I've been leaving my TVs on standby.

Thursday 18 January 2007

Phil goes, storm comes

For the first time since Michael was born, I'm spending the night away from Phil. Phil has to attend a team-building exercise in the Alps with the European FatWire team. This is the third time that such an exercise has been arranged, and the first time I have not attended. It is always arranged by the French team so it is no surprise that the destination is always France, and that skiing and fondue are always on the menu. Phil will be home tomorrow evening.

I had planned some outdoors activities to keep Michael and I busy but we have not been able to leave the house due to the following:

Huge storm causes havoc, public told to stay indoors

I don't even dare go out the front door to set the wheelie bin upright for fear of being hit by flying debris (it would only fall over a second later, anyway). The cats are terrified and I am mildly concerned that there will be a power cut. The storm is set to rage until midnight and there has already been some damage to the airport. I do hope there aren't any problems when Phil flies home tomorrow.

Should I be battening something down...? Ah well...

In closing I would like to say:

WE LOVE AND MISS YOU PHIL! COME HOME BEFORE WE'RE BLOWN AWAY!

Tuesday 16 January 2007

Update

Since Phil is asleep (got a grand total of 2.5 hours sleep last night) and Michael is watching Fawlty Towers in his playnest, I decided it was time to update my blog. So here are the facts as of this moment:

Currently reading: Jingo by Terry Pratchett and Annabel Karmel's Baby and Toddler Meal Planner
Last movie watched: The Browning Version
Last thing I ate: Trifle - oh God, I feel sick
Current mood: Subdued
Current location: In the living room at home

I don't have time for a longer entry because Michael has started to cry so this will have to do for now.