The Aries Baby

Jamie was born under the sign of the ram. Aries: 21 March to 20 April.

Aries is represented by the powerful ram and marks the beginning of spring, too. Little Ariens are real toughies and take the knocks of life with a philosophical shrug. They know what they want and can often show their quick temper if things don’t go their way. However, tears don’t last long and they soon calm down. Newborn Ariens may find it hard to settle and sleepless nights are common; however as they are lovers of routine, once this is established, things should get easier.

Aries babies love: Fresh air and being anywhere where there is lots going on.

Aries babies loathe: Not being in control, so stand by for tantrums!

What parents should know: Aries children need to be kept busy and want constant stimulation, so interactive books or activity toys are ideal.

I love this...

Remember.......
Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Thanks Shad

Only 2 weeks to go...

...until Jamie will be the big one. A whole year - where has it gone? I don't think I have really had the time to think about it!! And now my life is dominated by the party that I foolishly organised for him. I have booked the venue and invited people and am just stressing now about what food to give them and how to entertain the older children. And I still have to buy Jamie a present. Added to this cousin Noah is being christened the week after so been organising his present. And on top of all this mummy has been trying to loose some weight so that she looks good. She has been aiming for pre-pregnancy weight but at the moment there is still about half a stone to go. Hopefully that last bit will be gone before she needs to wear a swimming costume in 9 weeks time. Fingers crossed she will be able to fit into the size 14s she purchased yesterday when they arrive!!??

As for Jamie, I think he may be walking by his birthday. He is certainly cruising around the house at the moment and walks along with his trolley full of bricks whenever he can! He may even have 6 teeth (or more) by his party. I think the two top and bottom are now fully through and we noticed the two on either side at the bottom yesterday. He is becoming a little boy. He has moved on from baby and is now certainly a toddler defined as; One who toddles, especially a young child learning to walk. www.answers.com/topic/toddler

And Daddy has a new job - yippee!!!

Happy Mothers Day

The ghost of Valentines Day has almost been exorcised.....I got a lovely big bunch of flowers and a big personalised card with a poem:

Thank you for reading me stories
Thank you for cleaning my bum
Thank you for all of the kisses
And thank you for being my mum!

The boys are (hopefully) going to pay for me to go to Eden Hall again at the end of April.

Monday we had another trip to Fun Factory with Sophie. This time mummy and Jamie went down the big slide but it was a bit scary for both of us. In the afternoon Jamie had a brilliant time at Debut Tots with Will and we went to theirs afterwards for a nice little chat. However, I think it was all a bit much for us both as we were both in bed by 6.30pm - mummy with a dose of painkillers an a wheaty bag on her neck due to taking Jamie in and out of the car 5 times in all!! Yesterday we went with the twins to Rand Farm http://www.randfarmpark.com/ Jamie was a bit wary of the animals when we got there - I think it was the smell - but soon settled in. Only trouble was that I know he did not like being in his pushchair for so long. I had to keep getting him out and carrying which was a lot better for Jamie but not so good for my back! Oh well, have finally got my appointment with a physio in a couple of weeks.

The Dreaded Swine Flu Injection....

This week has been rather chaotic to say the least. Due to Jamie's Swine Flu injection on Thursday I had to rearrange my working days; which meant rearranging all my baby sitters. Added to this I had arranged two nights out (Bingo we won £110 between us and a night at Gino's with the girlies) - what was I thinking? So, its now Saturday morning and I feel shattered - although that may have something to do with the bottle of red and the 3am wake up call.....


When I first got the letter about the injection I posted a comment on FaceBook and did have a few replies - some for and some against: James had his on Wednesday. He has been fine no side effects all ok. I was in two minds as well thinking what if things come to light in years to come and I am to blame, but if he got swine flu now, he would be very poorly and couldn't communicate and let me know how he felt and would be really worried and scared if I saw him that ill, so I decided to give it him. As a friend above says go with your own instinct.

and then: I'll go against the above and say NO. I'm not giving to my two. Don't believe enough tests have been carried out on it. Also makes you think twice when actual medical staff at GP centre my friend works at, all won't have it. Why?

and also: I am normally on the side of not to jab for flu, but Issy got swine flu before xmas and she had a temp of 40 for 4 days. Swine flu also causes vomiting as well. its not nice, Hannah was ill to but not so much. I would definitely consider giving it to the younger children now. Hope this helps!

I hope I have done the right thing...

While at the Doctors, I also took Jamie to clinic to have him weighed. He is now 21.12lbs / 9.88kg and is above the 50% line (70% ish!). Afterwards; as we had both been so brave, we went to Asda, spent some money and had a packet of chocolate buttons between us!!

Mother Knows Best

Mother quoted in Family Life Made Easy by Grace Saunders, Arrow Books (2009);

"The only tip I'll give is to try your best not to beat yourself up over small things like a perfectly tidy home or 5 kids being in bed by 7.30pm. Something has to give and if you allow yourself to relax just a little, life will flow with far more ease and less stress".
(Full time working mum of 5)

Grace talks later about the problem of life becoming one long chore instead of a choice. She emphasises the need to place some 'me time' somewhere near the top of your To Do list as opposed to being an add-on in scribbled pencil right at the bottom. I had my massage yesterday (gorgeous) and am off to Bingo on Tuesday night and a meal out with the girls on Thursday night. My worry is being too tired to get anything done in-between! Lately I feel that I have been making better choices about what to do with my time. I can see the dust on the piano but know it will be there until later in the week. Then I shall have a good clean before my mum comes for her Mothers Day lunch. But wait, it will be Mothers Day for me as well......

Only 5 minutes away from A&E

Mummy seriously needs a rest and is almost glad to be going to work 2 and a half days at the moment as Jamie is into everything and like a whirlwind when awake!! All the CDs find themselves on the floor, the plant has had to be moved as he wants to throw (or eat) all the stones, all the cupboards - if easily opened - are quickly emptied of their contents and the remote controls keep going missing!! Jamie is only a few weeks away from walking so; along with this inquisitive nature, comes no end of bumps and falls and general accidents. So far in the last few days, he has fallen onto his teeth; cutting his mouth twice, pulled a chair on top of himself and pulled the washing hanger over - which in turn pulled the uplighter onto him. How he has remained without a major injury I do not know. Mummy got all flustered at the blood but half a bottle of milk and a cuddle and 5 minutes later he was off again and into something else. His zest for life means that he hasn't even got a few minutes to have his nappy changed and I have learnt to change his nappy and clothes almost 'on the go.' He likes to pull himself up the side of his cot and this is an ideal time to dress / undress him. Failing that, I can sometimes distract him with a toy for a few seconds but mostly he would rather be off exploring somewhere - naked or not!! Talking of naked, he has a terrible habit of holding onto my legs when I am washing up in the morning; and as I am usually wearing my pyjamas, this means they often end up around my ankles!!

But yesterday we found the perfect place for hyperactive babies www.funfarm.co.uk - lots of padded playthings and play areas; as well as ball pools and toys for hyperactive babies!!