Health Update, Upstairs of the House, Kids
This time 21 years ago I had started to go into labour with Lionel, the contractions started just after 5:30am when I was awoken from sleep with shooting pains running up my spine and across my pelvis, by 8am there was no change so I waited and waited just carrying on with normal daily things which back then was looking after Joseph my 16 month old very active toddler. By 5pm I was getting into a bit of a state with the waiting so called my Dad round to take me to the hospital. By the time I got there it was well after 6pm but labour had only progressed all day to a dilation of 6cm so I got into bed feeling exhausted by then and we waited and waited. Midnight came and went so it was already the following day, 1am examination turned out only 8cm had opened up so by this point utterly exasperated I accepted the pethidine injection, by the time the midwife stabbed the needle into my leg it was already twenty past one in the morning, I became drowsy but my body wanted to push the baby out, I was laying on my side and dozing off but could feel myself pushing and pushing all the while laying there semi sleeping in a completely dreamy state. Entering the room I heard in the far distance a voice "I think she's pushing lets take a look" two midwives pushed me over on to my back, laying flat on my back not propped up or anything, as soon as my legs were parted the head whooshed out tearing my skin in multiple directions which despite the drugs and my dopey state, completely woke me up.
Lionel was completely born into this world at 1:42am, I had to be worked on for over an hour with the stitching, couldnt sit down for almost three weeks without the use of a truck tyre but my oh my, such a sweet adorable baby who took to breastfeeding from the moment he was placed on my body still with the cord attached he was reaching with his mouth towards my breast.
When he was born Lionel had thick black long hair running from all over his head to down his back, on the side was a smashing white patch, complete contrast to the rest of his hair which was jet black. The white patch made me smile so sweetly, I kissed him on the forehead and whispered to him "that is from where the angels passed you to me".
As a toddler Lionel was no trouble at all, so quiet and passive compared to Joseph's more boisterous self. They did contrast each other but that meant they complimented each other perfectly, like chalk and cheese going along together side by side in everything. This remained the main focus for them right up until 2009 when they started college together, then the split kind of naturally happened, Lionel became the completely active one and Joseph the more quite passive one. Now at university Lionel is doing really well but I miss him so much and dont miss him at the same time because he is so boisterous at home its like a massive hurricane is sweeping through the house each time he is here then when he goes again the dust settles and we can all get back to our normal routines.
21 years old tomorrow and this will be the first actual birthday my son and I have been separated not together in the same house. I feel both sad and proud of this at the same time, sad obviously because I cant grab him and squeeze him in person to tell him how proud I am of him and shower him with love, good home cooked food and a mother's pampering, but proud because he can stay away knowing he has a strong supportive family who is here for him no matter what, proud because he is all grown up now making his way in the world finally which to me is the greatest gift of all knowing his strength and stability, his determination to make things work, its all working for him now and hopefully in two years he will have gained his degree with honours and be off making even more of an imprint on this universe than he already has done.
On the health front, its official I have gluten intolerance, having failed all the tests there is no doubt now. This is good news to receive this diagnosis because having started off my diet ten weeks ago for the first seven to eight weeks with no gluten then suddenly having those two scrambled eggs sandwiches over the ten days, then two nights ago a bun plus the day before that a cheese toastie, well its sent my system into an uproar or pain, fluid at the top and bottom of my spine causing pain pain and more pain, twinges I had not experienced for weeks across my abdomen and my coccyx bone area which appeared to be healing nicely is now screaming out in sympathy with the rest of the aches wanting to join in as well. On the plus side, my menstrual cycle was 75 days this time as opposed to 91 last time and now its come I feel brighter already and less bloated which had started to build over the last two weeks.
The weigh in this week was exactly the same as last week, 116.3kg, however, I usually put on 4 to 5lbs at the time of the month so I am pleased that at least its not a higher number than that of last Tuesday's weight reading because actually it means I've lost weight again, thankfully.
Angelica made the most amazing dinner last night, all by herself with no help whatsoever from me beyond writing the shopping list earlier in the afternoon. So proud of her efforts, she is doing really well. We need to choose a college for her straight after the summer holidays have finished at the end of August but there are so many to choose from the only way to shortlist them would be to physically go visit them all then do a second list and go again for a second visit.
Well, the upstairs is officially clear of clutter, has had all the boxes and suitcases unpacked and repacked with two thirds less contents than before and now the less amount of boxes and suitcases are all stored away neatly. I have been through everything, and I mean everything that was upstairs so its all nicely airy and clear now.
We spent the first night in our bedroom tonight, actually on our new bed not the mattress on the floor. Today my husband is going to have to do several trips to the tip because all the junk stuff including mattress I dumped in the hallway ready for him to take away today, the good stuff was given away in massive quantities and some held back for another sale on Sunday where they have a giant carboot sale in some fairly local fields. Hopefully it will generate some money for lining paper, paint, wallpaper paste and a set of new brushes and rollers so we can start actually getting rid of all the dark brown in the hallway upstairs and getting the bedrooms in some sort of order. I'm actually sitting upstairs typing this entry out right now, its bliss having reclaimed our house back from the rodents, to be rodent free is something that has taken many months but well worth the effort of filling in holes, constantly checking the outside of the house for more and having copious amounts of poison under the floorboards. Now the smell is finally gone from them as well I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned upstairs repeatedly over the last week, it all feels quite lovely up here now and its nice to get away from the noises downstairs. All I can here up here is everyone breathing soundly asleep in their beds and the trains going by across the road.
Managed to scoop a LaCie Rugged hard drive for my macbook pro, its all safely been backed up a few times now over the last two days over Sunday and Monday so I can feel secure in the knowledge that I am not going to loose over twelve years worth of precious family photographs, music, audiobooks and of course, my blogging history which goes right back to October 2003, that is a long time to have kept this blog, another proud revelation.
Also on the house front I should also mention that this week I also managed to win from ebay auctions a fridge, freezer and gorgeous old walnut dressing table which is in our room in one corner now with candles lit on top of it which are reflecting in the mirror giving a nice warm soft glow to the room. The dressing table has curves to the front, its beautifully shaped and well made solid wood with a big mirror on top, I was so happy to have scooped this one as normally they go for a couple of hundred quid upwards, I of course won the auction for a fraction of that so am chuffed to bits.
So the house is really coming along now, we've decided to put Harvey's Thomas The Tank Engine Bed in Angelica's room for now, once Lionel and Dom return to the north east after their summer break in September, he can move into his own room again. As they are staying for a couple of months we have made the room cosy for the two of them as Harvey was not actually sleeping in there he was just putting his toys in the room, which actually kept on somehow ending up in the living room instead so I've left them downstairs but sorted them into different plastic boxes so he can access them all better himself now. He appears to love reading so we will sort out a shelf for his books collection so he can choose a different one from his own library shelf instead of them being piled in a box which is a bit difficult for him to manage so he tips the lot out on to the floor. I'll say this though, he always picks up everything himself without me saying anything or asking him to which is fabulous.
Oh yes, I was saying about having a hard drive now to back up my laptop, well I wanted to upgrade the operating system yesterday but the Snow Leopard disc has vanished, completely no where to be found in amongst boxes upstairs so it must have somehow become separated from all the rest of our mac computer stuff and is now lost in amidst the chaos of the downstairs boxes, so once I get a chance to tackle those I'll surely find it, well I hope so as I need to upgrade to keep my mobile me @me.com email addresses that I use for most important online stuff.
No knitting for me at all since Sunday, I was massively busy then tired out so hopefully will get a few rows done on my loom knitted shawl today, I want to do some cloths for the dressing table now in silk or tencel yarn, my mind has been racing with the thought of designs since I woke up around 5am. I even started looking up French gallion lace as well, then I thought I would do this entry first whilst it was all quiet. I love the house early in the morning before everyone wakes up its so peaceful, I think this is my special thinking time as about the only tie I can sit with a clear head and not become flustered with interruptions or everyone else's thoughts and ideas.
Today already feels like a lovely day, the sun is just rising and the day feels beautifully calm so I think I shall go make a cup of tea and enjoy the peace for a bit longer all to myself.
Lionel was completely born into this world at 1:42am, I had to be worked on for over an hour with the stitching, couldnt sit down for almost three weeks without the use of a truck tyre but my oh my, such a sweet adorable baby who took to breastfeeding from the moment he was placed on my body still with the cord attached he was reaching with his mouth towards my breast.
When he was born Lionel had thick black long hair running from all over his head to down his back, on the side was a smashing white patch, complete contrast to the rest of his hair which was jet black. The white patch made me smile so sweetly, I kissed him on the forehead and whispered to him "that is from where the angels passed you to me".
As a toddler Lionel was no trouble at all, so quiet and passive compared to Joseph's more boisterous self. They did contrast each other but that meant they complimented each other perfectly, like chalk and cheese going along together side by side in everything. This remained the main focus for them right up until 2009 when they started college together, then the split kind of naturally happened, Lionel became the completely active one and Joseph the more quite passive one. Now at university Lionel is doing really well but I miss him so much and dont miss him at the same time because he is so boisterous at home its like a massive hurricane is sweeping through the house each time he is here then when he goes again the dust settles and we can all get back to our normal routines.
21 years old tomorrow and this will be the first actual birthday my son and I have been separated not together in the same house. I feel both sad and proud of this at the same time, sad obviously because I cant grab him and squeeze him in person to tell him how proud I am of him and shower him with love, good home cooked food and a mother's pampering, but proud because he can stay away knowing he has a strong supportive family who is here for him no matter what, proud because he is all grown up now making his way in the world finally which to me is the greatest gift of all knowing his strength and stability, his determination to make things work, its all working for him now and hopefully in two years he will have gained his degree with honours and be off making even more of an imprint on this universe than he already has done.
On the health front, its official I have gluten intolerance, having failed all the tests there is no doubt now. This is good news to receive this diagnosis because having started off my diet ten weeks ago for the first seven to eight weeks with no gluten then suddenly having those two scrambled eggs sandwiches over the ten days, then two nights ago a bun plus the day before that a cheese toastie, well its sent my system into an uproar or pain, fluid at the top and bottom of my spine causing pain pain and more pain, twinges I had not experienced for weeks across my abdomen and my coccyx bone area which appeared to be healing nicely is now screaming out in sympathy with the rest of the aches wanting to join in as well. On the plus side, my menstrual cycle was 75 days this time as opposed to 91 last time and now its come I feel brighter already and less bloated which had started to build over the last two weeks.
The weigh in this week was exactly the same as last week, 116.3kg, however, I usually put on 4 to 5lbs at the time of the month so I am pleased that at least its not a higher number than that of last Tuesday's weight reading because actually it means I've lost weight again, thankfully.
Angelica made the most amazing dinner last night, all by herself with no help whatsoever from me beyond writing the shopping list earlier in the afternoon. So proud of her efforts, she is doing really well. We need to choose a college for her straight after the summer holidays have finished at the end of August but there are so many to choose from the only way to shortlist them would be to physically go visit them all then do a second list and go again for a second visit.
Well, the upstairs is officially clear of clutter, has had all the boxes and suitcases unpacked and repacked with two thirds less contents than before and now the less amount of boxes and suitcases are all stored away neatly. I have been through everything, and I mean everything that was upstairs so its all nicely airy and clear now.
We spent the first night in our bedroom tonight, actually on our new bed not the mattress on the floor. Today my husband is going to have to do several trips to the tip because all the junk stuff including mattress I dumped in the hallway ready for him to take away today, the good stuff was given away in massive quantities and some held back for another sale on Sunday where they have a giant carboot sale in some fairly local fields. Hopefully it will generate some money for lining paper, paint, wallpaper paste and a set of new brushes and rollers so we can start actually getting rid of all the dark brown in the hallway upstairs and getting the bedrooms in some sort of order. I'm actually sitting upstairs typing this entry out right now, its bliss having reclaimed our house back from the rodents, to be rodent free is something that has taken many months but well worth the effort of filling in holes, constantly checking the outside of the house for more and having copious amounts of poison under the floorboards. Now the smell is finally gone from them as well I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned upstairs repeatedly over the last week, it all feels quite lovely up here now and its nice to get away from the noises downstairs. All I can here up here is everyone breathing soundly asleep in their beds and the trains going by across the road.
Managed to scoop a LaCie Rugged hard drive for my macbook pro, its all safely been backed up a few times now over the last two days over Sunday and Monday so I can feel secure in the knowledge that I am not going to loose over twelve years worth of precious family photographs, music, audiobooks and of course, my blogging history which goes right back to October 2003, that is a long time to have kept this blog, another proud revelation.
Also on the house front I should also mention that this week I also managed to win from ebay auctions a fridge, freezer and gorgeous old walnut dressing table which is in our room in one corner now with candles lit on top of it which are reflecting in the mirror giving a nice warm soft glow to the room. The dressing table has curves to the front, its beautifully shaped and well made solid wood with a big mirror on top, I was so happy to have scooped this one as normally they go for a couple of hundred quid upwards, I of course won the auction for a fraction of that so am chuffed to bits.
So the house is really coming along now, we've decided to put Harvey's Thomas The Tank Engine Bed in Angelica's room for now, once Lionel and Dom return to the north east after their summer break in September, he can move into his own room again. As they are staying for a couple of months we have made the room cosy for the two of them as Harvey was not actually sleeping in there he was just putting his toys in the room, which actually kept on somehow ending up in the living room instead so I've left them downstairs but sorted them into different plastic boxes so he can access them all better himself now. He appears to love reading so we will sort out a shelf for his books collection so he can choose a different one from his own library shelf instead of them being piled in a box which is a bit difficult for him to manage so he tips the lot out on to the floor. I'll say this though, he always picks up everything himself without me saying anything or asking him to which is fabulous.
Oh yes, I was saying about having a hard drive now to back up my laptop, well I wanted to upgrade the operating system yesterday but the Snow Leopard disc has vanished, completely no where to be found in amongst boxes upstairs so it must have somehow become separated from all the rest of our mac computer stuff and is now lost in amidst the chaos of the downstairs boxes, so once I get a chance to tackle those I'll surely find it, well I hope so as I need to upgrade to keep my mobile me @me.com email addresses that I use for most important online stuff.
No knitting for me at all since Sunday, I was massively busy then tired out so hopefully will get a few rows done on my loom knitted shawl today, I want to do some cloths for the dressing table now in silk or tencel yarn, my mind has been racing with the thought of designs since I woke up around 5am. I even started looking up French gallion lace as well, then I thought I would do this entry first whilst it was all quiet. I love the house early in the morning before everyone wakes up its so peaceful, I think this is my special thinking time as about the only tie I can sit with a clear head and not become flustered with interruptions or everyone else's thoughts and ideas.
Today already feels like a lovely day, the sun is just rising and the day feels beautifully calm so I think I shall go make a cup of tea and enjoy the peace for a bit longer all to myself.