The time, it flies.

This is Ethan at 4 days old. Today Rich told him the story of the night before this photo.

It was about midnight and he'd woken, and fed, and would. not. settle. I was exhausted in the way that only day three (especially with your first) can make you. Plus the hormone crash was happening, so after checking he wasn't still hungry, I handed him over to Daddy to wind and sort out... and promptly fell right to sleep. Rich tried to put him down, but he squawked, so he hurriedly scooped him back up, in the way you do with your first, and held him upright on his chest til he fell asleep. Too terrified of the possibility for squawking, Rich didn't know what to do next, so he came up with the brilliant plan of sitting up in bed all night with Ethan sleeping on his chest. I woke up for the next feed refreshed and poor Rich grabbed a couple of hours before the sun properly emerged.

This all feels like it happened last month. how has it been almost 5 years? Yesterday he lost his first tooth. He was incredibly brave and it was a lovely thing to see a little of myself in him again as he fiddled with his wobbly tooth in the morning. That's definitely a me-trait. I thought he'd be fine at school as it didn't seem like the falling out was imminent, but turned out it worked loose at playtime and he came out with it in a little envelope. Baby teeth are really teeny. He nearly burst with excitement putting it under his pillow for the tooth fairy and has developed a little lisp. And oh, is that the most adorable thing I've ever heard or what. I really cannot believe he'll be 5 in a month. He's growing into such a kind hearted boy though. Today we needed to go looking at baby car seats and he patiently ran about 'looking after' Sam in the early learning centre bit of Mothercare. And he did it very kindly too, not a bit of grabbing or shoving. I do love those boys, especially when they play nicely together :)

In other news, I am now 34 weeks. I am the size of a house, though I don't feel it, so I keep getting a shock when I catch myself in a reflective surface. We don't have a car seat, and therefore no way of getting the baby home from the hospital. The family crib is at Mum and Dad's, with no plans to see them pre-sprogging. I don't have a moses basket. In fairness I've never used a moses basket before, but without a crib it might be a bit more essential this time! We do have a cot (2 in fact. No I don't know why.) but it's enormous for a newborn.

Still, only 6 weeks til D-day, so probably about 8 weeks til any actual birthing, but I bet that time will fly too. Hopefully.

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!

Pregnancy, a haiku

Pregnant lady walks all day

Sits down to rest

Where are my ankles?

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!

Porthmadog, Wales

 We've just had a wonderful long weekend in beautiful Wales. It was just lovely, such a wonderful place to take a breath. The car journey wasn't too bad, The boys both took a small nap and Ethan had this checklist that he asked me to draw for him (pretty great idea, he sat ticking things for about an hour and a half).

 

It also helped spread out the "when will we get there?" questions, which he has now discovered.

When we got to the caravan site we had a note saying we'd been upgraded to a deluxe van, which was nice! We'd already paid a small fee to go up to luxury, so it was a nice surprise. The van was really great, proper kitchen area, three bedrooms (we'd paid for 2) a shower room and an en-suite toilet from our room. The living area was nice too, the sofas had nice covers rather than the coarse ones that look and feel a bit like carpet. There was also a decent tv with freeview which was handy on the Sunday when it rained and the kids were bored and in Sam's case, covered in chickenpox.

 On Saturday morning Ethan went for a fencing and archery lesson. It was less a lesson and more playing with swords, but he loved it :) They played with foam swords at first and then had the 'foils'. They were electronic so when you got a good poke in they buzzed.

 The archery also turned out to be crossbow shooting (foam darts thankfully!) but as he was the only one signed up, and a little girl who showed up a bit late and was very shy and left pretty quickly, He got pretty much undivided attention from the guy leading the activity and thought it was brilliant. He was actually not too bad at it either, and LOVED it when the guy said he could lay on the floor to do it.

 

 Saturday was gorgeous. Really warm and beautiful sunshine. We went to the park, and the high street to buy a bucket and spade and beach shoes for the boys, then headed to the beach that is right behind the caravan site. There was a little stream at the top of the beach which was lucky as we'd timed it badly and the tide was completely out! The boys played in the water and built and smashed castles to the sound of Sam's war cries of "seaside an' a beach!" He still hasn't grasped that they are one and the same.

 There may have also been a date and walnut scone with clotted cream and jam on our trip into town. Unfortunately I was so preoccupied with devouring the deliciousness that no pictures were taken. And that is a real shame because I'm telling you, that was heaven. It was in Cadwaladers ice cream parlour. Where I might also have bought ice cream. A couple of times over the weekend. For the boys of course.....and myself...

On Sunday Sam was really bad with the chicken pox so we skipped church. The branch there is VERY small, they meet in the town hall and are mostly quite old with a smattering of small children. One bad case of the pox could take them down for a month! Sam spent most of the morning watching telly curled up with Daddy and no nappy with occasional sobs, poor thing.

Ethan and I went swimming, and it was great! He normally wants his giant rubber ring and armbands, but he decided he didn't need the ring this time, which was great, til I let go in the water and realised both armbands had a puncture and he sunk a *tiny* amount :S He was quite upset, til we went to the poolside shop and bought new angry birds armbands. Then we worked on swimming - he's not very confident in the water, so he clung on for a long time, but I eventually convinced him to let go of one hand, and then a bit later the other. He swam! not for long, and for only about 10 feet maybe, but he did it! I am so proud of him, he's usually very scared and almost completely unwilling to try anything, and this time he was scared but did it anyway! 

I rewarded him with a play in the soft play area, and we went back to a much happier Sam.

Monday came around far too quickly, and after a play in the arcade it was time to come home. It was a brilliant and much needed break, and we really lucked out with the weather. Now it's back to reality, and school and stuff, but there are so many great things to look forward to, Ethan's birthday is in a month, then a couple more weeks and it's baby time! Yay! and EEK! and yay again!

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!

Nesting, it's not a myth after all!

So left to my own devices, I'm a bit of a slob. I'm also a bit spoilt (or depending on how you look at it, lucky) in that Rich is amazingly good at tidying. He also washes up. And occasionally folds laundry. Ok I'm quite spoilt.

But the last few weeks of this pregnancy, I've felt a need to *gasp* tidy.

I've washed all the newborn size clothes and sorted them into new(ish) drawers. Today I was childless (they went to Grandma's) and rather than slobbing out I pulled out the TV and it's stand to clean behind it. Ok, so I was prompted by the fact that Sam climbed up the stand and poured around half a litre of juice down the back of it, but still. Side note - everything is fine, though I don't know how he didn't electrocute himself or blow up the TV. Some definitely went inside, as after checking the TV still worked for a while, the vents at the top smelt distinctly blackcurrant-y :S

I also pulled out the side 'table' next to the couch. Not technically a table, it's one of these from Ikea-

 

And it was disgusting. The holes  mean that various kinds of detritus find their way inside. And by 'find their way' I mean are put there by small boys. I have known for a while that the box itself needs to go (it's too big for the space really) and that would involve emptying it. Occasionally I lose a pen to it and have to decide whether to go in after it. Today I did. I rescued a few lego bits, some playmobil stuff, a few pens, about £4.50 and then I had to give up. Some crayons and coloured pens were casualties of war. I sacrificed them for the greater good. The greater good in this case being no longer having to shove my hand into the layer of raisins and bits of foil and paper and cheese bites.

And yet, it was oddly satisfying to make my front room really clean in places no one will see. I know right?!

And tomorrow, I get to go to Ikea for a new side table. And a taller TV cabinet. And a new bedside table. These should altogether cost us around £35. I love Ikea! And I get to build it too, which I love. Yes, I'm a little weird. Bring on tomorrow!

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!

Goodbye Toes

My view this morning. 

 

I might as well be a weeble wobble! Good job I know where everything is below the hips, as I won't be seeing any of it for about 3 months! Sock and boots are a bit of fun now, so the snow has been just great for me! Most of my shoes slip on though so I'm hoping to avoid a perched on a seat, crying over my attempts to get them on situation this time!

We spent Easter weekend in Reading with my mum and dad, and amongst other things, went into town. SO nice to be in a town with big shops, and shops that actually had maternity ranges in. I got some new tops and I bought the spiderbaby suit :)

 I also got this one that comes with a spotty vest and a stripey hat, which might be his first outfit :)

 I am now 30 weeks (and 5 days, very important!) and the size of a house. The baby is a squirmy little wiggler, which is lovely, but sticks his feet in my ribs, which is not so much. Not too much longer to go, though it doesn't feel that way as it has crawled by, so I don't expect it to start flying now!

Oh, I can't wait. I'm so excited to hold this new baby, and feed him, and smell his little new baby breath and head - after he's had a wash that is, no one wants to smell that. Oh and little baby baths! mine have both loved them from the start and it's so cute to see their little legs kicking away. 

65 days to due date :)

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!

These Boys

These boys. They are so much fun, so much of the time. There are also the days where they end up in the bath at 3pm because I just can't take the fighting anymore, and they LOVE the bath. Also, as  an aside, why is it that they can be playing brilliantly together, but the second I step in the shower and apply shampoo, the blood curdling screams start?

 This picture was from one of those days. See how they're totally fine, and not ripping each other to pieces? The magic of the bath, my friend.

So far today is shaping up to not be one of those days, thankfully. Aside from when I was in the shower, that's pretty much a daily occurance.  They've played with batman, they've tipped the lego all over the floor. They had jigsaw books out. They asked to watch Cinderella, and gave up on it. They asked to watch Tarzan, which got a little more attention. What can I say, princesses don't really cut it for them. Of course, this is how they chose to watch it:

 Hey, I never said they were normal. They love each other fiercely though. If one of them gets hurt (and it's not been caused by the other) then the other one will run over to see that they're ok. The fighting is accompanied by many hugs and kisses in this house. And oh, the hugs these boys give. full of love, yet also like they're trying to squeeze the life out of you. And they're my boys. As frustrating as they can be at times, there is far more than enough good to outweigh that.

I found this while uploading photos, and couldn't not add it, because it's cute and makes me laugh.

                                

He did fall properly asleep in the end, with my hand holding his head up. 

I'm trying to let the frustration go as much as I can, because they're growing so fast. Ethan is almost 5, and getting to be a big boy. And Sam is 2 and a half, and no longer my baby. I want them to remember a mum who was fun, not one who was shouting all the time. One who had time to play and let them make a mess and who didn't always respond with "in a minute." Speaking of which, we're going outside to play. I love these boys.

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!

Mother's Day

I had a lovely one this year :)

  Some of my most favourite chocolates, that I keep forgetting exist because they don't sell them in many places, which Rich remembered I like, without prompting ;)

 Two lovely cards from Ethan (left, made at school) and Sam (right, made in nursery at church, with what I suspect to be a fairly large amount of help!)

 A certificate from Ethan that he did at school, and did all the writing himself. Ok, so the date doesn't make a huge amount of sense, but I don't care! He has only recently discovered a desire to read and write and learn, and I love it.

Some lovely flowers chosen by the boys including this pink gerbera, also one of my favourite things.

The two loveliest parts of the day though were at church. First Ethan got up with the primary children to sing. He was first up, and it didn't look like it was going to go well at first when another little boy gave him a shove and a kick and he started to cry. So I started to mouth the words at him with a (slightly maniacal) grin to get him smiling. After a while he recovered and made me cry by belting out the words to 'every star is different'. Then later he and Sam went up together to bring me a flower and held hands very cutely, which is especially lovely when they do it in public ;)

After church I made camp on the couch and was made a delicious dinner and generally spoiled until bedtime!

I am incredibly grateful to the mothers in my life, starting of course with my own. She's a strong woman with incredible faith and a wonderful sense of fun, and I love her dearly.

I'm also grateful for Richard's mum, who brought him up to be a wonderful man, who is the kindest man I have ever known. He is respectful, hard working, and just generally brilliant.

And then there's me. I feel the responsibility heavily with these (soon to be 3) boys. I have to bring them up with love and respect, faith and happiness. They deserve the best, as do their future families. They deserve to turn out like their father. We're trying :)

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!

10 things they don't always tell you about pregnancy

Here's a small list of things you may or may not know about pregnancy. I was going to find some pictures to go with the list, but lets face it, the text is enough :)

1. In the beginning, there was morning sickness. The name is a LIE. You could be a right lucky cow like I was the first two times and barely be affected, or you could be like most normal people (and me this time) and feel absolutely rubbish for about 12 weeks. If you're unlucky it lasts longer. If you're REALLY unlucky, like my sister, you'll throw up around once a day or more, every day until you spawn that sprog.

2. Dog nose. For some reason, mother nature decided the best time to increase your sense of smell to that of a beagle is while you're spending a lot of time hunched over a toilet. Thanks for that. Also not fun, public transport, and sometimes, smells you used to love will turn on you too.

3. If you get a minor illness, like a cough or a cold, there is NOTHING you can take. And then someone suggest paracetamol. *hollow laugh*

4. Relaxin. It's a hormone that relaxes your muscles and stuff in your body. It's to help prepare you for labour and birth, but it also relaxes your digestive muscles, slowing all that down. Hurrah! Constipation! Gas! Bloating!

5. Stomach pains. I have only got these this time around, and was reassured by a friend with 6 children that yes, that's normal. Apparently from baby 3 onwards, round ligament pain (ie a really sore bump) gets much worse. I can attest to this.

6. Sometimes you get hairier. Fortunately I have avoided this one, since my hair is fairly dark and I'm a bit hairy already, I did NOT need this one. Although my sister told me that when she was pregnant with her girls, she felt less hairy.

7. Varicose veins and thread veins. So far I've avoided varicose veins, but have a few thread veins. Nice. And they don't just appear in your legs. They are what can cause hemorrhoids and I was recently told you can also get them in er... other non-public places :S What a fun thought.

8. Kicks and movements are wonderful...most of the time. Then there are the ones where you are literally being kicked in the guts. Or ribs, or cervix and bum. quite yeouchy!

9. You might get SPD. When basically your pelvis starts to get a bit too loose and very very painful. I have avoided this one too so far, thank goodness, but I have had friends on crutches and one in a wheelchair with it.

10.  Skin irritation and itches. This one has not avoided me, but has actually resulted in a funny story.

Apparently, I get to this point of pregnancy (27 weeks woohoo!) and I start shunning clothes. Rich assures me it happened with both Sam and Ethan too, but I have no real recollection of it until much later, like, pre-labour later. So during the day this is fine, my conscious mind is rational enough to remind me that it's not ok to be naked. And it's cold. So while I'm spending more time in loose jammies than is really acceptable, it's not that big of a deal. Night time is a different story. I go to bed in pyjamas. I wake up... less in pyjamas. Again, no big deal. No one's going to see who's not married to me. Except unconscious brain is not so good at the undressing. The last few nights have been funny at the 3am wake up to pee (number 11! though everyone knows that one). One night, I woke up with my top wrapped around my neck. Another night, my top was still on, but my bottoms were round my knees. Not helpful when you jump up to to go to the loo!

And now, a small update on this pregnancy. So as I said, 27 weeks! Boy Brown III is kicking away merrily. He's apparently about 37cm long, and can open and close his eyes. Physically I am approaching ok, though I still have a hideous cold and cough (number 3, joy) Mentally I am feeling shattered, but luckily not too tired physically. I am getting a bit tired of being pregnant though. Not too much longer to go I guess, and we've got Easter and a weekend away to look forward to in between now and the fun that will be actually having the baby. Only 13-15 weeks to go though :)

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!

World Book Day

Today was World Book Day, and Ethan got to dress up as a character. He decided on Harry Potter (with a teeny nudge from me away from Batman and Thor) and we got him the costume. Sewing was not on the agenda this year, as I am still not firing on all cylinders. He looked so cute, and was so excited to do magic. "I made that car stop!" and "I waved my wand and the door opened!" and "Expelli-larmus!" Were the cries of the day. He got his scar drawn on, and decided it wasn't right, and we re-did it, and off he went to school.

It couldn't have come in a better week. Since starting school in September I have tried to get Ethan excited about reading. It wasn't going well, though in his defence, some of those early books are ridiculously dull. I was (prematurely) beginning to worry that he was going to be someone who didn't enjoy reading. While that may be fine and normal for many people, it is the one thing about Rich that I really cannot fathom.

How can you not enjoy reading? I could literally read my life away, given sufficient books. Luckily for my family I have not been provided with said books, though the ones I do have make a dent ;)

Anyway, back to this week. On Monday we still had last weeks books, one about a princess and a dragon and one about packing for a holiday (like I said, riveting stuff.) and we got them out. And oh. He read about the princess. And sounded out words by himself. And WANTED to do it! We were happy! On Tuesdays he gets new books. It happened again! Something must have just clicked and he read. No, they are not taxing books, but he read them. He figured them out by himself, and then read them to Rich when he got home from work. Then he did something that surprised me, and began really using intonation and making the question should like a question, and the pop! sound right.

And that was when I thought, this boy can get it. He can know how much fun it is to read. To disappear into the other world that is in a book. And I'm so excited for him, I might have got a tiny bit emotional. But that's allowed, because I'm pregnant ;)

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!

Ugh.

Ill. It's so much fun. We've had a full week now of family illness. It started on Friday afternoon when  I was hit with a migraine. I laid on the couch with cushions on my head and begged the boys to play quietly, and Rich hurried home as soon as he could and sent me to bed. All fine, except a few hours later, I woke up to the sound of Rich throwing up. That night was spent pleasantly, with both of us in and out of the bathroom. Like I said, fun.

The next day we were ok, if totally exhausted. Then Saturday night rolled around, I got what he'd had, and I had the added bonus of an already exhausted starting point. At least he got some rest though. Sunday, we skipped church out of exhaustion and not wanting to spread it about. I spent the day on the couch making the sounds of the dying (I'm not good when I'm sick, I tend to go a bit pathetic. I was however proud of myself this time, I managed to be sick without bursting into tears and needing support at the head-in-toilet position.) and Ethan started saying he didn't feel good either.

He got it next, though luckily it was quite mild for him. He stayed off school on Monday and was much better. I took a couple more days to feel up to scratch again, what with the whole growing another person thing.

Sam, the lucky little monkey, has avoided it altogether, but now has a stinking cold, along with me and Ethan. Do you know what's especially great about being pregnant with a cold? NOTHING. There is nothing you can take. Paracetamol is the limit. I am fed up, I have been ill for a week now with various germs and ailments. I have decided to self medicate with old episodes of Friends and this:

I think it's a good choice :)

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!

Maternity and baby clothes shopping, or how I got The Rage today.

So, today I wanted to buy a short sleeved white top, and a pair of maternity leggings to wear under a couple of dresses.

I went into town and stopped at 5 shops, 4 of which I know to have maternity ranges and one which I assumed to have. It was not a success.

To start with, I got to the car park and got Sam out of the car, only to realise the pushchair was at home. Sam is a known runner, however he was brilliantly behaved today thank goodness, otherwise I wouldn't have made it very far! I started in Asda. They had maternity clothes out, hooray! However they only had one side of one aisle, about 8 feet of clothes. There was a white top, huzzah! it was even a 2 pack, with a black top. Only it was such a mess, that none of the tops were attached to each other. And they didn't have my size. Wonderful.

On to shop number 2 - Sainsbury's. I assume they have a maternity line but there was nothing there either. (Sainsbury's website says no matches for maternity, so not their fault I guess!)

Shop number 3 - Next. Again, not a maternity item in sight.

Shop number 4 - H&M. Definitely a maternity line. Not a single item in store.

Shop number 5 - Mothercare. Loads of clothes - well you know, for maternity clothes. They even had some leggings! The catch, only about 5 pairs, and you guessed it, none were my size. They didn't have any plain white tops, but the tops they did have were £20 each. 20 Bucks! for a top I'll only be able to wear for 4 or 5 months. No thank you. So, an hour and a half of shopping, and we came up snake eyes.

Now onto baby clothes. All I want is to get some nice brightly coloured babygrows. There are none. I don't hate baby blue, but there's only so much pastel I can take! And why do boys clothes all have trucks/planes/monsters on? Though I will concede that much of the monster stuff is cute. I was getting more and more rageful until I went to mothercare and saw this:

And I practically melted. So cute. They also had a superman one! Then I got cross again as it only has poppers in the bottom, not up the front or back, and those suits make me so cross! why make it difficult? I am aware I need to chill out, it's the combination of frustration and hormones. Although I'll probably soon have a baby spiderman suit to placate me. I'll take it out and stroke it when I get cross :)

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!

Good days

I've had a lovely week :) On Saturday, despite feeling like absolute rubbish still, I went to see Les Mis with Amy and some friends. It was so wonderful. Moving and beautiful. I was shocked at the bits I'd forgotten (nothing major plot-wise) though. I thought all the actors did an incredible job, to my untrained eye ;) I'm not going to list them all, but Samantha Barks as Eponine was just amazing, A Little Fall of Rain was heart rending. 

As we came out someone behind us quietly said to his companions "I didn't know it was a musical." We stifled our giggles.

Sam did this:

And kissed and cuddled the baby for several minutes, which in Sam time must be about a decade.

He also asked that we make a snowman, and insisted he have a carrot nose.

 He was only little so it had to be a carrot-stick nose. He's checked on him everyday at least once (we put him on the bin so he could be seen from the window) and says hello to him. And his eyes. And his buttons. And his carrot nose.

 I drew a moustache on my face for a friend.

 Never let it be said that I don't give you anything, my dear (though I suspect near non-existent) readers.

And the pièce de résistance...

 Say hello to my little friend!

I had my 20 week scan today which I had to wait an extra 45 minutes for, with a full bladder. Thanks for that one, hospital. When I went in the sonographer apologised as there were staffing issues and people turning up late/not at all. I was not happy but did the completely British thing of saying "oh no, it's alright." Why do we do that?! I was cheesed off! I think I just got so grateful for an apology, and to be laying down, that I just went with it. She then also told me that the baby's head was plowing right into my bladder, so even though it wasn't very full (I cheat a bit on the amount of water they tell you to drink and when - thank goodness in this case)  that's what caused it. Yes madam sonographer, I'm sure the 45 minute wait had nothing to do with it.

So.. we are cooking up a little boy! Ethan is ecstatic, He was rooting for a boy, who he decided would be called Rudolph. Sam is fairly uninterested, but we're attempting to convey that an actual little brother will be materialising at some point in June. I can imagine it will still be a surprise. Rich had to stay out with the boys until the checks were completed, but as he came in apparently got a nice crotch shot and saw that it was a boy before I had been told :)

The little sausage has really begun kicking in earnest now, which is lovely and reassuring, though no fun for my bladder! 

Only 20 weeks to go, hopefully it'll go as fast as the first 20 have!

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!

Exciting times!

So, how about two posts in one day?

I wasn't planning on it, but then something lovely happened. In the midst of feeling so terrible and like my head is stuffed to bursting with cotton wool, I decided to go to bed. Thought I'd give my bump a little poke and what do you know, it poked right back :) I've been feeling sort of flutters for a couple of weeks but I wasn't even sure it was the baby! I have felt a couple of thumps against the doppler when listening in, I don't think the baby likes it much, but I felt it to tonight, from the outside, with my hand! And then Rich felt it too, and now it's having a lovely wriggle which is very nice and reassuring. Nothing else to say my dears, but it felt a bit momentous at this end. Night night!

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!

Poor Neglected Blog!

I'm sorry. I've abandoned you, cold and alone in the vastness of the internet. It's not that I don't love you little blog. It's not you, it's me. No really. To be perfectly honest there's not been much of interest to write about, I've been feeling rubbish with the baby on board, and this week I've had a wicked cold/cough/blocked sinuses combo, which under normal circumstances I'd just take something for it and carry on. Unfortunately there's almost nothing you can take in pregnancy.

I am incredibly blessed however, to have a brilliant husband, and good timing meant that yesterday when I was feeling really terrible, was a Thursday, which meant he was working at home. Rich always does the school run on a Thursday, so I was spared that, and he also sent me to bed for an hour and a half in the afternoon after I was dozing on the couch and started talking in my sleep! The boys were brilliantly behaved for him too, as usually he has to work upstairs away from us, or we go out, as it's just too much noise otherwise. I'm also incredibly happy and grateful to be pregnant, even when I feel so awful.


I really don't have a lot of news at the moment, hence the neglect ;) So I'll just leave you with a picture of my lovely boys on Christmas Eve, the gorgeous little sausages.

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!

Merry Christmas, Happy new year, and some news!

We had a lovely Christmas and new year this year, we got to see my family for Christmas, and have a brilliant Christmas day with them and we saw Rich's family in between Christmas and new year and let off some fireworks.

Christmas was spent down in Reading, with a brilliant day of presents, food, laughter and family. I love Christmas at my mum and dad's, they love it, and the tree is always full of decorations from my childhood. We always sit fairly reservedly and my dad hands out the presents. This year Ethan got to sit with him and help and he loved it :)

Fireworks at Rich's parents was great fun too, especially when one malfunctioned! It sounds scary and it did make us all jump, but all that really happened was instead of a fountain style firework, we got more of a flashbang effect! The most entertaining part was just afterwards. Everyone jumped, but Carl (very much a grown up brother in law) squealed like a girl. Or maybe a pig. We were laughing our heads off! He's a great sport though and laughed along with us :)

New Year's eve itself we spent.... in bed. We are not new year's people. I don't really get it, it's just another night to us, and with boys who get up at 5/5:30 am, NOT worth it! I value my sleep too much to be cool ;) If I had a party to go to or something, then I'd enjoy it, but unfortunately the morning comes around all too fast!

Now for the news...

 Ta-da!

That's right, we're having another baby! There are sneaky posts from the past that just appeared here, here and here muahaha! I'm 17 and a half weeks, so almost halfway! In 2 and a bit weeks I'll be having my second scan, and hopefully it'll look a bit less like a potato this time. We are so excited. I am also exhausted, still sometimes slightly nauseous and suffering from an insane sense of smell. That is not fun. 

Oh, and our holiday, which I never came back and commented on, really was great. Except for the part where I crashed the car at low speed into a wooden post and destroyed the bumper. Oops. But for a first accident, not too awful. It's currently in with the insurers getting fixed, which was cheaper than getting it done ourselves, even with a small premium rise. However, our courtesy car is a Skoda Fabia. A fine car, even for our family of four. Except we had a Mazda 5. And we had to do the Christmas trip in it (200 miles each way, with presents!). I was a little nervous! It actually worked out alright, with a bit of tetris know-how and putting smaller presents in the space where the spare wheel should have been, as the car came with a repair kit instead! Hopefully we'll be back with our bus soon and I'll adjust back to the size of it without knocking anything else!....Don't tell Rich I said that... 

Update: This blog has now moved to www.undomesticaited.wordpress.com - Hope to see you over there!