What’s new in the mouse house

Actually, not much really.

I’ve just renewed my domain thingy which costs actual real money, and it made me think that maybe I should try a bit harder with this blog thing. I’ve been saying that for months actually, but I can’t quite find enough balance in our busy life. There’s just not much room for this, but I wish there was. I’ve always found writing about my life very therapeutic, and I still do. I really love having things written down to look back on too. I quite often read my old posts when they pop up on Timehop.

On the whole, life is really good right now. Apart from the usual money worries (how is Christmas so soon??) we’re doing really well. My mental health was worrying me for a while, but I feel like I’ve really got a grip of things at the moment. I’ve been feeling quite a bit better physically too, with migraines now a very rare occurrence and they’re mild even when they do appear. A combination of amitryptaline and sertraline seems to really work for me. I’ve had no aura, no flashing lights in my vision, and much less neurological pain. I’m tired though, and I haven’t been looking after myself. I still eat too much junk food. I really don’t need a big bar of chocolate every evening, but somehow I feel like I do. I’ve put weight on, I’m sure. Which isn’t great because I want to lose quite a bit, but it’s not the end of the world.

The big kids are doing great, with the eldest being made house captain at her school. Their days with us have been full of fun, with lots of train trips and boat trips and days spent in Techniquest doing science. Second kid made a gorgeous crown for a school project, and biggest kid has got really into photography. She turns 11 next week and has asked for a fancy camera.

Iris is still going to the local nursery two mornings a week and absolutely loves it. It’s a bilingual setting, and she keeps singing Welsh songs at home! She’s starting praising me in Welsh when I’ve done something ‘clever’ like using the toilet. Da iawn Mummy! I have no idea what she’s been getting up to there, but there’s a coffee morning coming up where I can talk to her key worker about how she’s doing. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s half term now, and I know she’s really going to miss it. She does have a Halloween disco to go to on Friday though! She’s got a witch costume but keeps telling me she doesn’t want to wear it, so she’ll probably go in her usual clothes.

We’ve not been letting the colder weather keep us indoors, which is lucky really as Iris now knows there’s a whole tv channel that just shows Peppa Pig all day every day and if we stayed at home she’d insist on watching it constantly. Because it’s been colder, we often get the big park in Pontypridd all to ourselves. If we go towards the end of the day there’s a tannoy announcement about the park closing, and Iris takes it much better from the tannoy than from me. This has reduced the amount of public tantrums by quite a few!

Astrid is doing really well. I planned to use the time Iris spends at nursery to spend some time with just Astrid, but she’s decided to sleep all morning nearly every time. It means I get some time to myself, but also means I have no excuse to ignore the dishes and laundry!

After struggling to dye my roots I decided that bleachy blonde hair was way too much hard work, and this week I went brunette. The plan is that it’s similar to my natural colour and so I can just stop dying my hair now. It’s just too much work and I can’t be bothered. I’ll probably change my mind. I have trouble committing to one colour!

With Astrid going to sleep pretty early in the evenings with Iris not far behind, I feel like we’ve got a little bit of time for us again. It’s nice. We’ve been watching Grey’s Anatomy from the beginning again. It’s weirdly nostalgic for me. Even though I was very late to it as a series, I watched it all when Iris was a tiny newborn. She never slept so I gave up going to bed. It’s such a good series and it kept me from getting really down during the worst days of sleep deprivation. Trevor caught the odd episode here and there, and he’s now enjoying filling in the gaps. I feel a bit bad about all the hours we’re spending watching tv because I really want to read some of my pile of unread books. I guess they can wait. One benefit to tv over books is that I can do something else at the same time. I’ve been crocheting loads, and finally finished Astrid’s star blanket that I started before she was born. Iris has one I made two years ago, and it’s nice that they’ve got one each now. I also made Iris a doll, which she has named ‘Jo with the bow’, but she refuses to play with it and says she doesn’t like it. I’m trying not to let that upset me!

My sister had a new baby when we were away camping in August, and we’ve been trying to get together as often as possible so we can all get to know my new baby niece. It’s great to get all the kids together anyway, as our little two and my sister’s three are all similar ages. I think cousins should be your first friends if possible, and I didn’t spend much time with mine as a kid. Now we’re not in contact at all, and I’d love for my kids and my sister’s kids to be there for each other even when they’re all grown up.

There’s been talk of getting a new kitchen here, even though we’re a long way from having the cash for it. I’m trying to convince Trevor that we need a dishwasher, but I don’t think he’s persuaded yet. We have a fairly good size kitchen, but it’s poorly designed and laid out in such a way that we actually don’t have much surface or storage space. If it was shuffled around we could easily fit a dishwasher plus more cupboards and more worktop space. Our bathroom needs doing too, plus we have a small hallway with a bare concrete floor that needs carpet or something. Our daft dog Seb has a thing for eating underlay and will happily rip up carpet to get to it. Thankfully that tiny hall was the only bit of carpet downstairs. Perhaps it might be better to put laminate in there.

I’ve started to think about what I want to do when it’s time for me to go back to work. I don’t think I’ll be doing anything anytime soon because childcare for two is too expensive. I’m thinking about not going anywhere to work at all, but childminding from home. I have a couple of friends who do it, and although hard work it does look like a good way to make some cash. I’ve worked with small children most of my adult life and have the relevant qualifications already, so it makes sense. I don’t plan on doing anything at least until next September when Iris will start nursery class at school. We applied for her place last week, which felt like a parenting milestone I was not ready for. She’s only 2!

It’s getting colder and the heating has been on a little bit for the first time this season. It feels like winter is finally on it’s way and I’m relieved for a change. Halloween has been spoilt a little bit this year by those stupid idiots dressing as clowns that we keep seeing on the news. The big kids have said they don’t want to go outside on Halloween, and I don’t feel much like it either. There have been quite a few clowns reported to police around here. Hopefully bonfire night will be better! We went to the display in Ynysangharad Park last year, and it was great. We’ll probably do the same this year. I love the big organised displays, but seeing fireworks for sale in supermarkets makes me nervous. How can it be right that anybody can pick up explosives when they’re just popping in for some bread?

We’ve started thinking about Christmas here, and like every year we’ve decided not to buy as much, even though we never manage to stick to any kind of budget. I want to buy Iris a balance bike and perhaps a Lottie doll but other than that I have no idea. Astrid has all of the old toys belonging to three big sisters to play with, so she really doesn’t need anything. Plus she’ll turn 1 just a couple of weeks later, meaning she’ll get even more presents she doesn’t need! I think we’re going to need a serious sort out before we do any shopping.

I don’t have any more news I want to record, so I’m signing off here. I’ll probably think of something else in a minute!

Our week in pictures #12

It’s Friday again! Hoorah! 

Last Friday we didn’t even get dressed. The health visitor came and weighed Astrid, who was above her birth weight! The midwife called and cancelled her visit, which is a shame as she could have discharged us from midwife care. 

Saturday was a hectic day. Trevor set off early for a speed awareness course (naughty Trevor!) and my mum drove over to pick me and the girls up for my nephew’s birthday party. She’s so kind to do that, drive for over an hour just to pick us up and drive all the way back again. The party went well. The kids all had a wonderful time, and Iris ate a ridiculous amount of cake. Trevor planned to meet us there, and he did eventually, but he had to call the breakdown people because he came out of the course to a flat battery in the van! After that party, we headed to another. A housewarming for a friend that I haven’t seen in quite a long time. It was lovely to see her and a few other friends too, but we didn’t stay long. Iris was so energetic and noisy! She didn’t even sleep all the way home despite it being quite late! We got home to discover that we’d left Iris’s new Peppa Pig backpack behind! 

On Sunday we went to the monthly play group in the park ran by a friend of mine (if you’re local, search Facebook for Growing Space Pontypridd!). Iris enjoyed making a bird feeder from a pine cone and hanging it from a tree in the park, then afterwards she had a puddle jumping competition with Trevor. Lots of the other children and parents ended up joining in, and it was wonderful! We had some fun in the play area afterwards, and then had a lazy afternoon at home. 

On Monday we stayed in for most of the day, and a midwife came and discharged us from their care. Then we headed into town and registered Astrid’s birth, followed by food shopping. 

We needed to get out and about on Tuesday, so we met some friends in the cafe. We also did some shopping. I bought the same jeans in two sizes because I wasn’t sure what size I’d need (turns out I’m the smaller size – whoop!) and Iris got a new Peppa Pig puzzle which she’s currently a bit obsessed with. 

Wednesday afternoon was spent at crochet club, where yet again I did no crochet whatsoever because Iris and Astrid kept me way too busy! It’s still such a fun afternoon though, hanging out with lots of other mums and kids. 

We went to breastfeeding group as usual yesterday, after taking Astrid to see the GP about her cough. I don’t know why I went really. I instinctively wasn’t worried about it, and didn’t think there would be much they could give her anyway. I was strangely worried the health visitor might think I was a crap mum if I didn’t. That’s so stupid. Anyway, her chest is clear and she’s fine. I was right. 

It’s Friday again. We’re waiting in for the health visitor and having a tidy up of the toys, which are all mixed up and in the wrong boxes again!

We’re off to Bristol again this weekend. Hooray! 

Have a good one! 

  
    
    
    
  

    
  

    
  

    
  

    
 

Our week in pictures #10

An incredibly busy Friday of visiting each member of Trevor’s family in turn followed by picking the big girls up from school, gymnastics, a supermarket trip and dinner in Pizza Hut, turned into the laziest weekend at home. We spent lots of time watching Star Wars, playing with Christmas toys and just adjusting to being a family of 6. One of my highlights of the weekend was Iris breastfeeding her doll! I almost melted from how cute she is. I love that she’s watching me with Astrid and mimicking what I do. She’s so gentle and loving. I’m so very proud! 

Unfortunately on Saturday evening Iris came down with a cold. By bedtime she had a high temperature and a cough, and couldn’t sleep. Astrid slept fairly well, thankfully, but we were up much of the night with Iris. I was absolutely shattered by Sunday afternoon. 

Sunday night was worse, with Astrid coming down with the cold too. We were all a mess by Monday, and poor Trevor had to work. Thankfully he was working from home, but he was still really busy when he would much rather have been sleeping! Me and the girls had a very sleepy sort of day. We didn’t even get dressed. 

By Tuesday I’d had enough. I had to get out of the house. Of course just getting ready and out of the door took up most of the day. We had fun once we were out though. You can read about our first trip out without Trevor here.

On Wednesday morning we all struggled to get out of bed. It was almost 10 before we got up! We’d missed the start of playgroup, but did make it to the cafe for crochet club. I did very little crochet as Astrid wanted cuddles, but Iris had loads of fun with her friends. Trevor picked us up and we all fell asleep on the sofa while he took the dog for a walk. 

On Thursday morning we had to force ourselves out of bed at a reasonable time as Astrid had her newborn hearing test at the hospital. She got the all clear, and Trevor dropped the three of us off at the cafe for a quick lunch before breastfeeding group. We had a lovely afternoon with all of the booby mums and their children. Once Iris was in bed I settled down in the bath to get through a big chunk of my current book. I’m loving ‘Before I Go To Sleep’ by SJ Watson. I only wish I didn’t know that Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth play the main characters in the movie. I can’t imagine them in my own way, as I just see the famous actors. I wonder how I would have seen them in my mind if the actors weren’t on the front of the book. 

Today we’ve got both the midwife and the health visitor coming to see us, and I’ve woken up with a headache and very sore throat. It’ll be a calm day at home catching up with housework for us today. Well up until tea time when Trevor needs to pick up the big girls for the weekend. 

Have a good one! 

  
    
    
  

    
  

    
    
    

    
  

 

Our week in pictures #8

 I can’t quite believe that it’s Friday already, and Trevor’s first week back at work is already almost over. I had hoped I’d have the baby at the beginning of the week so that his Christmas break would run into his time off after the birth, but no such luck! 

After Trevor left with the girls last Saturday to take them back to see their mum, I tried to return things to as normal as possible for Iris pretty quickly by doing our neglected dinner, bath and bed routine. It didn’t work of course, as she was a bit upset that the big sisters had gone. She continued to wave at the front door and say ‘bye’ for at least an hour. I love how much she loves them, but when she’s missing them it breaks my heart. 

Sunday was spent taking down Christmas decorations, doing a big clean of the downstairs of our house, and organising Iris’s toys to make all the new ones fit! It was an incredibly productive day, and it was lovely not to have pine needles all over the floor constantly! I never feel sad saying goodbye to all of the Christmas stuff. Getting rid of it all feels more like welcoming the new year in than anything we actually do at new year. 

To celebrate the clean house (downstairs anyway) we went out for Nandos, and it felt odd to be doing something just the three of us. I think it’ll be our last dinner as a three though, which is a weird thought. 

As it’s the last week in the run up to my due date, I very much felt like it might not be particularly good for my state of mind if we stay at home a lot this week. It feels like we’re just waiting now, and waiting feels easier if you’re busy. 

We didn’t make it to Monday’s playgroup as we slept in after a late night. Iris is definitely having a sleep regression! Instead we headed to our favourite cafe for lunch. We had no plans to meet anybody but some of the regulars were there anyway, as is usually the way. It’s part of why we love the place so much! We were absolutely drenched when we arrived. I’m sure it’s rained solidly here since November. It’s starting to get annoying! I’m grateful we’re not flooded of course, but it’s frustrating to get soaked every single time you head out. 

On Tuesday a friend and her boy, who Iris is quite fond of, came over for a play date. We’ve never had a play date in our house before. We live out of town and nobody we know lives near us. I was nervous as Iris was adamant beforehand that her friend would not be allowed to play with her toys! It went well in the end though, and she did let him play. We all had a lovely time until the little ones got tired and our friends headed off for nap time. Every single toy in the living room was out on the floor and there were crushed Pringles everywhere! Thankfully our weekend of organising meant everything now has a home and it only took me ten minutes to put it all away. Result! Plus Seb took care of the crisps. He’s a good dog. 

My books arrived, and I desperately wanted to start reading, but Iris wouldn’t allow it! So I picked up The Girl on the Train just as I was getting into bed. Bad idea! I couldn’t put it down until 2am. I’m gripped! I’ve been reading at every opportunity for the rest of the week, which is great! I used to be such a bookworm, consuming them so quickly that I spent all my money on them! I don’t think I’ll ever get back to that, as I’m so busy these days, but it’s good to be reading again anyway. Although my crochet projects have suffered! 

On Wednesday we went to Crochet Club. It’s not really a club as such, just a bunch of mums and toddlers that meet in the cafe. Often we’re so busy chatting and playing with the little ones we do no crochet at all, which is what happened this week! It’s become my weekly highlight, and I really look forward to it. I hope getting there with a baby and a toddler isn’t too tricky! Afterwards we hung out in the library with Iris’s best friend and her family. Iris loves the chalk board wall they have there! It makes me tempted to find a wall suitable for chalk board paint at home. 

Yesterday was ‘booby group’ as we affectionately call it. The breastfeeding support group that I started attending when I was still pregnant with Iris. It was my lifeline in the early days after she was born, both for support with breastfeeding and a source of new friends! It was so lonely at first, moving over here. The people I met at this group really changed that for me. We didn’t make it to this group for the whole of December because we were busy passing colds and bugs backwards and forwards between the two of us, so it was good to be back. Plus I may actually need them for breastfeeding support again soon!

We found a plastic toaster in a charity shop for 50p yesterday, and Iris is over the moon! There’s one of these at Mum’s house and she played with it solidly during our stay before Christmas. It’s probably the best 50p I’ve ever spent in a charity shop. 

I was awake very early this morning with backache and leg cramps. It was so severe, I was convinced things were starting to happen. After some paracetamol I managed to get a bit more sleep and when I woke up the pains had gone. I’m trying not to be too disappointed! It’s lucky really as Trevor is a couple of hours away on a site visit today. It’d be better for everybody if he’s at home when things start. The early wake up combined with Iris’s strange pattern of late nights and early mornings this week has left me exhausted. I haven’t had a single day time nap either, as we’ve been out every day! I napped so much over the Christmas break that this has come as a bit of a shock to my poor tired body! 

So today we’ve stayed at home. Actually we haven’t even got dressed! We’ve watched a little bit too much CBeebies (which is fine because we haven’t watched any all week!), made endless rounds of plastic toast, had lots of cuddles, and taken a big nap together. It’s been lovely. There are so few mummy-and-Iris days left now. I’m trying to absorb every little detail. Her smell, her little voice and the funny things she says. Soon I’ll have to split my attentions, and while I’m excited I’m also a little bit sad. So cuddles in our smelly pyjamas is fine, at the moment. It’s what we both need. Life is about to change so massively! 

I’m so ready for the weekend and having Trevor at home now! I’ve still got a few things I need to do before baby comes, like write down Iris’s routine in case my mum has to look after her for any length of time. The rest of the weekend will be spent just relaxing and being three. It might be our last one before our family grows again. 
  
    
    
    
       

                

 

Our week in pictures #4

Last weekend was just how I expected it to be. We spent both days Christmas shopping and successfully managed to buy all of the presents for the kids. We did find time for coffee and cake treats and a visit to see Santa in Cardiff though. Iris wasn’t particularly impressed, but did like the giant light up bouncy ball he gave her. It was hard work to prevent her from throwing it at other shoppers! We were thoroughly worn out by Sunday evening.

On Monday we all felt quite dreadful, but we went out for a walk around the shops anyway. We got coffee with a friend and then headed home to make Christmas cards.

On Tuesday my dad came to visit. We don’t see him often so Iris has no idea who he is. She was quite taken with him though, sharing her Peppa Pig toys and insisting he helped her with her crayons. She even gave him lots of kisses and cried when he left! Then she scaled our cat tower  and frightened the life out of me. It’s pretty high!

Trevor and I were both up in the night being sick and had no sleep at all. Getting bored with one illness after another now!

Wednesday meant another crochet club, where I actually did some crochet this time. I started a rainbow hat for Iris (that she’ll probably refuse to wear). She ate cupcakes with her friends and enjoyed the change of scenery. In the evening Santa came through our village on the back of a pick up truck, stopping to talk to the children who had gathered to see him. Iris didn’t want to get too close, but did wave at him. She was more interested in Christmas lights, and it took a long time to walk back up our street as she stopped to peer through the windows and check out all of the Christmas trees. I’m very excited to see how she reacts to ours when we put it up at the weekend.

Yesterday we finally got round to visiting the midwife led birth centre and were very impressed. It’s so much nicer than the hospital where I gave birth to Iris. We’ve all developed nasty colds so didn’t get out and about in the afternoon. Instead me and Iris napped together snuggled up. Lovely. Then me and Trevor stayed up til 2am wrapping all of the Christmas presents. I had two baths because I couldn’t get rid of the pain of heartburn and trapped wind. Pregnancy is not glamorous!

Today it’s Friday again, and I feel like we’ve achieved a lot of Christmas related stuff this week, but none of the things I need to get done before the baby arrives. Like packing a bag! I don’t want to be doing these things over the Christmas celebrations, so that’s my focus for the next week or so. I”ll be washing all the newborn clothes! Tonight we’re off to see the big kids in their Christmas play, and then we’ve got a very busy weekend of Christmas fun planned, including a trip to see the local pantomime! I just hope we can shift these colds.

Here’s hoping for less illness and more energy!

  
  
  
  

Scarf making blogger challenge with @CosyWool. My Autumn #crochet scarf.

  

I’ve been challenged by the guys at CosyWool.com to make a scarf using yarn from their website, using either knitting or crochet. I accepted immediately! I love both knitting and crochet, but struggle lately to find to the time or the energy to sit down and get some done. I’ve been feeling incredibly anxious lately, and as crafting is incredibly soothing this seemed like the perfect opportunity to take some time to relax and make something pretty. 

  
 Ordering from the CosyWool website is easy peasy. I’d never heard of the company before and usually use another big knitting supplies website or the little craft shop in Pontypridd. Whenever I’ve bought yarn online before I’ve had to be in to accept the delivery, or trek to the post office to pick it up. Not anymore! My favourite thing about CosyWool is that the orders always fit through your letterbox, because they vacuum pack them! It’s absolutely genius! It was a bit weird receiving a flat hard brick through the door when I was expecting squishy balls of softness, but I soon got used to it. Popping a hole in the packaging and watching the yarn reinflate was a lot of fun too!   

As it’s just starting to get pretty cold out, I went for a nice warm chunky yarn. I picked Stylecraft Special Chunky because I’ve used lots of Stylecraft yarns before and they wash and wear really well. I picked out what I thought were 7 autumnal colours, but then Trevor told me the teal was blue and made me think I was colourblind. I nearly took the teal out and used just 6 colours. I originally planned to do something elaborate with leaf shapes, sewing them all together at the end to make a scarf. The shapes themselves are easy enough to do, and I love to make flowers and leaves, but the deadline for finished scarves is 1st December and I was worried they’d take too long. 

So I’ve gone for a simple but effective long, thick and warm cowl. It can be worn long and wrapped around once, or short and doubled up for extra warmth. 

  
It’s easy enough to make, starting with a long chain and then joining it together. I did a double crochet round to start and finish, but the rest is just treble stitch. There’s no need for counting or keeping track of what stitch you’re on, so it’s the perfect project to work on when you’re too tired to function! 
Now that it’s finished I’ve decided to give it to my lovely sister as a birthday present. It’s always so hard to buy for people with December birthdays, and there’s nothing better than a handmade present. I love it so much that I’m going to make a short cowl of the same design with the leftovers. A shorter one will be better for when I’m babywearing the new little one in January as it won’t hang down far enough to touch her face. That’s the plan anyway! 

*CosyWool.com sent me two of the balls of yarn used for my scarf free of charge for the purpose of entering this challenge. I either bought the others or already had them in my ridiculously large stash of yarn. The prize for the winner of this challenge is a bundle of woolly goodies from the CosyWool website worth £60. Wish me luck!*