Slightly Distracted

Watching OBEM. One Born Every Minute.

I was obsessed when Emily was pregnant and then I think the series ended and my obsession ended but I was in the middle of watching a programme called Obsessive Compulsive Disorders. During one of the advert breaks it said that the new OBEM series was on at 9pm this evening but because I was watching the other programme on Channel 4+1 I quickly realised that it had just turned 9pm so I thought,
"Pfft, screw watching this, OBEM here I come!!"

So, now my sister and I are watching One Born Every Minute. I should be scared and terrified BUT in a way it is good way of picking up tips and writing down notes, plus with Emily being here I can ask her loads of questions about her pregnancy and labour - even though I was there pretty much through the whole of both.

I am trying not to get freaked out by it all because when all is said and done it is going to happen and baby is going to get here one way or another. We have been talking about painkillers and gas and air and I should be scared, which I kind of am, but at the same time I am intrigued and want to know more. It's like when you're doing an essay for something you have to look up everything about it and know everything about it, which can be either be a good or a bad thing. So I can freak myself out or I can be as prepared as I can for whatever happens. And I know, I know, you can never be FULLY prepared but it's nice to know a few of the circumstances than know nothing at all.

My brain.

My birthing plan so far is 'go-with-the-flow' and do everything as naturally as possible. Obviously I might (most definitely will) need pain killers but I don't want to go as far as an epidural and I don't want to have to have a C-Section so at least that is some sort of guideline to go along. It is kinda nice to have gone through it all in 3rd person with my sister Emily because her labour was as straight forward as I think they come. She did brilliantly and it is an experience I shall never forget.

In other news, first time sickness in a long while (I think about two weeks to the day actually) this afternoon during lunch which is annoying. I wonder why I am still getting sickness at random times because it clearly isn't because 'baby doesn't like it' like it used to be. Annoyingly enough I think I was ill because of the fruit juice I had with my lunch, it was five fruit exotic juice and I got it because I can't drink Coca Cola because it gives me heart-burn so I now have a choice between water, water and water oh and the occasional OJ. Nevermind. I'll be losing weight not gaining it! Just because I can't have chocolate now or anything too sweet.

I know, blah, blah, blah.

Baking a Bell: Update

In the progress of becoming 26 weeks pregnant. There really isn't a middle ground is there? It's not like people go around telling everyone they're 25.5 weeks pregnant. So, yeah... I'm in the progress of becoming 26 weeks so the information I have found online relates to someone who is between 25-26 weeks pregnant.

We went to the midwives yesterday for our 25 week check up where we got to do a number of things. First she checked my blood pressure and the good ol' urine sample which all worked out completely fine. Then we got to the interesting part where I had to lie down on the bed and she felt my stomach, all that was good too. After that we did the best bit ever... we heard baby Ava's heartbeat. The midwife found it hard at first to get the heartbeat because Ava kept moving around but we got there in the end. You know when your child pretends to have a gun and shoots at you with their hand? And they say pow, pow? Not bang bang? Well, imagine pow pow pow pow pow whispered and continuously, word after word; that's a baby's general heartbeat.

Think I've used this one before, but it is funny. 

I heard the heartbeat a few weeks ago when I went into hospital with pains but Adam wasn't in the room at the time which was a shame so when he heard it yesterday his face lit up. All he could say was "wow, that is really fast"; also normal. The midwife measured my baby bump and said I was perfectly where I needed to be.

According to a website online baby is nearly 2lbs in weight and is approximately 10-14 inches long, which seems kinda scary because when Amelia, my sister's baby, was born she was 22inches long. So my baby is now roughly half the size she needs to be when she is born! Ahhh!!

At this point in time she is starting to have sleeping patterns too which is very apparent to my uterus since she kicks during the morning, mid afternoon, late evening and night time just as I am going to sleep - thanks baby. I haven't forgotten about sleep yet but it shall soon become a distant memory. I am however, usually up when Adam is at 7:30 even if I haven't slept until early morning due to trying to move into some random positions in bed whilst trying to get to sleep. I really should become a contortionist. I wonder if they have better sleep when they are pregnant.

Can't wait for this. 

And baby is no longer the same size as an egg plant but rather now she is the same size as a courgette - not bad. 

Trial, Error and Then Some

In the middle of last week I finally finished the cardigan knitting pattern that my mum sent me via email. I must have done something right because it actually looked like it was supposed to and everything sewed up in the right places and voila I made a cardigan. It just needs buttons.

So, on Friday, I decided to get started on a pretty but simple pattern that Adam's mum had given me. I am using a beautifully soft wool that my sister Emily bought me a month ago when she was out in town with her daughter and it is the perfect pink. I don't usually like pink, in fact I really don't like pink, but, this pink is beautiful. It is the definition of baby pink.

I looked at the pattern and previously Adam's mum had highlighted a size that she wanted to do for Adam's nephew, Leo. I figured I should go with a smaller size as I don't remember if she was knitting for Leo when he was first born. I started to cast on and did a few rows and it looked tiny! It definitely looked small and when I sized it up against other cardigans I have and the one I made previously, it didn't size up at all.

So, I pulled it out.

Then I decided to follow Adam's mums highlights as it wasn't the smallest or the biggest and seemed to measure about right. I cast on I knit a few rows, it didn't look too small so I knit a few more, then went from rib to stocking stitch and carried on, until I realised that the back of the cardigan would need to be 27cm long and my baby cardigans were only 20cm long; that's 7cm, which is a lot, and I had knitted about 12cm before realising this was going to be way too big for a newborn and sure I could have carried on and hoped in a little while baby Ava would be big enough to fit into it; which I am sure at some point she will, but something didn't seem right so...

... I pulled it out.

Now I am doing the smallest size again and even if it kinda looks too small the measurements match some of the cardigans my mum has made for baby Ava so I am just going to go with it and hope it works. I just got a bit bored of doing stocking stitch which is actually the easiest stitch to do besides knit knit knit knit knit - garter. But oh well.

We had an appointment with the midwife today and all is well with baby Ava, but I shall update you more on her tomorrow.

P.S. Sorry this post is so late. I've been out all day and then got home, had dinner, did FHE, and watched a TV program I've been meaning to watch all week.

Fish & Chips and Babies

I went to church today, as I do every Sunday and at the beginning of this morning's Primary someone on the Primary Presidency made an announcement. They said that for a service at a place they worked some of the staff were working on a project called 'Fish and Chip Babies'.

They were asking for all avid knitters to try and make jumpers/ hats and clothing to send to children in Africa. The jumpers had to be in dark or bright colours and the jumpers weren't to be pale or striped. I don't know the reasoning for no stripes but I shall explain soon why no pale coloured jumpers were required.

These jumpers would then be sent to children who were born as said in Africa in hospitals where HIV and AIDS were a common and sad occurance. The children were known as the 'Fish and Chip Babies' because when they are born and allowed to go home they are sent home and wrapped up in no more than newspaper. The group were asking for no pale colours to be used in the jumpers because some of the jumpers will never get washed and so bright and bold colours will be best to use.

There were shocks all around the room at this announcement. Living in a country where I know for a fact my child will go home in a beautifully home made blanket, strapped up to it's (her) eyeballs in a comfy car seat and going to a place where they will always be kept safe, warm and fed made me realise how thankful I should be for such a small blessing as a blanket.

Annoyingly enough, my baby brain prevailed in retaining the knitting pattern for this jumpers, and I left it at church. But I read the pattern and it looked very straight forward to me so for any avid knitted who is more than capable of doing a beginner's pattern it should be simple enough to do. Now, if you can't knit then it is obviously fine that you don't find the pattern but, please, ask your family members or anyone you know if they can help you out in knitting even one jumper. If you know 5 people that can knit, that's still 5 beautiful babies born in to hard circumstances going home with more than the mothers could give them.

Please Google the pattern if you are interested, as I left my sheet at church, BUT if you wait until next week I shall have all the details of the patterns and where the jumpers need to be sent to.

See more here:-

Tiny knitted goods flown out to poor African 'Fish & Chip' Babies (Daily Gazette)

Knit for Africa - This website has patterns on it too!

Helping Fish & Chip Babies in Uganda - Patterns included too!

Baby Bedroom Bonanza

We've come to the point where we are starting to decide what we are doing with the baby bedroom. At this current moment in time the baby room has a single bed in it, a couple of doors that still need to be hung in various rooms around the house (including the baby bedroom) and lots, and I mean lots, of junk. Bits and bats that make up the house, like under floor tiling, bathroom tiles, panels from the bathroom and pieces of wooden skirting board that really just need to go in the bin. However, Adam rarely has time at the moment and I am forbidden to lift anything heavier than a cotton wool pad (slight over-exaggeration BUT it sometimes feels like that's all I can carry - I am quite capable of carrying things but, I've been told not to over do it but I sometimes forget that I'm pregnant and carrying an ever growing child in my belly).

So, yea we have that to contend with before we even get started on decorating the bedroom. I think Adam is going to tackle it when he has a week off in March - it was the week we were going to go away and have a bit of a vaycay away from the world, but oh well, we have to make do. Once Adam has cleared up the baby room we are going to figure out what we are doing with the single bed; I presume we are keeping it for the spare bedroom downstairs (once Emily moves out). Then the walls need sanding and painting.

This is where my brain got to with regards to decorating the bedroom when I decided to ask Adam's opinion on what colour we should do it. Not expecting a response other than 'Do whatever you want' or 'whatever makes you happy' I was gladly surprised when he said pink and green with a border going through the middle. So I got onto the good ol' Pinterest which will never faileth on giving good ideas and found these colours.

The top green and the lighter pink

I showed them to Adam and I guess we must know each other well because he likes the colours that I found which is awesome. So once the junk is removed, the walls are sanded, then we can paint and decorate with a border and put a carpet in... not forgetting furniture and some curtains then we are away. The day baby arrives seems to be only a moment away which is why I am starting to panic about things and books, people and websites keep telling me that I should get things sorted as when I enter the third trimester (in only a few short weeks time) I won't have the energy to do it. I suppose this is what a husband is for. He has bigger muscles than me so can lift more.

But if on the off chance that things go belly up and we don't get time straight away to finish all the essentials baby can sleep in a Moses basket or on our bed and we can change her on the floor. Haha, not ideal but beggers can't be choosers. I've been looking at bulk furniture sets from ToysRUS and they seem pretty cheap and some websites have really good deals on baby stuff so should we buy separate or should we buy sets... this is my dilemma at the moment.

Was trying to find a picture of me as a baby that Mum put on Facebook but I can't find it -
so if you have it Mum, please send away 

Milo the Mini Minder

Apparently, it is said by some, that male cats know when their female owners are pregnant. They do what male penguins do, which is, sit on the egg until it hatches. Obviously, a cat can't sit on a human egg but he tries to get as close as possible! Milo will follow me everywhere (when he isn't meowling his head off). He will sit on my feet and on my chest and will follow me to bed at night time. We don't let them stay in our bedroom over night though because as soon as the light goes off he will come up to my face and purr and rub his head all over me until I get up.

Milo sitting as close to me as he can

He is a little cutey. Sometimes he can be a right pain in the bum, Milo I mean, not Adam, but at other times he will just come and sit on my tummy and let Ava try and bump him off since he is so big he is squishing down on her space and that's not fair is it? She doesn't have much room in there as it is, never mind with fat cat Milo on top.

Kicking Adam out of his space on the bed.

Millie seems to have taken a slight interest in me as well but she is too bothered with her own kitties to be interested in mine.

Also, on a more positive note than yesterday Adam and I have been deciding on colours for baby Ava's room and I think we are going to get started on decorating it in April/May time but more about that tomorrow.

I wasn't going to post today but since I've missed a couple of days here and there this past week I thought I'd give you all a little bit of a catch up with my crazy life.

Purring his head off

Minimal Motivation

I seem to be lacking in any type of motivation to do anything at all these days. I haven't been feeling well the past couple of days and I think it is a mixture of old pregnancy symptoms mixing with the new and the added feelings that something is completely wrong with baby when actually nothing is wrong at all.

My stomach and bottom of my throat always feel empty. My stomach always feels like swishy swashy like I've drunk too much water and it is finally getting to that time where it takes me just that little big longer to get up out of my chair. I seem to be walking around like a person 40 years my senior and my bladder is acting the same way.

I would say that's too much information but everyone has got to know these things at some point. I have started reading a pregnancy book too which is quite funny. She writes the same way I do and has a nice hint of sarcasm to her voice that makes her a fun read. I guess it is just one of my day time things to do. But anyway back to my motivation. I lost it. I don't know where it has gone. I think it disappeared at the same time as my pregnant belly got bigger; or maybe baby has taken it all. Either way I'm finding it hard to do things these days.

Take for instance the fact that I don't like leaving the house anymore. The house seems be my comfort zone and even though I go for little walks here and there I don't like leaving the house for too long. I have a cinema pass and Adam and I often go to the cinema but sometimes I just really don't want to leave the house. I know that when I am out and about I will enjoy the film and enjoy spending time with Adam on our own - a rare occasion these days but I have to push myself to get out of the house which can be quite hard sometimes. My sister, Bethany tells me it is a comfort thing that I like to be around things which bring me comfort which I guess could explain it, however, most women only experience this towards the end of their pregnancy.

Another thing, I haven't really had the urge to eat anything at all. Last week it was apples and this week it is nothing. Nothing I eat seems to quench my hunger and yet it does all at the same time because I am not hungry anymore but yet I am. It is a strange feeling but one I suppose I shall have to just bear with. Like my sister, Bethany also said, "you wanted a baby you've just got to deal with the 9 months before the baby comes" and hey only 15 weeks to go. So prepare for some more moaning.

On the plus plus plus side, Ava is now kicking loads, everyday and most of the day. Mid evening she tends to stop which is nice but then as soon as I go to bed she is back at it again. It is a lovely feeling.

When I Worra Kid

We went to see my grandparents as a last trip before coming back to Washington yesterday and it was so lovely to see them. They are in their early 80's and have really experienced life, a life that nobody my age would ever know about. They have seen nearly four of my lifetimes and remember lots from all of it.

They spoke of when they went to school, two completely different schools and how the teachers would walk around with a cane in hand ready to whack the nearest non self-disciplined child and how the Father in one of their schools, as it was a children's Catholic school, would come into the classroom on a Monday morning and whip their cane on the front desks ready to punish the child that hadn't gone to Mass the day previously. They told us of the ink wells and fountain pens they used in the classrooms and the blotting paper they had to utilise in case their pens dripped ink onto the page; which as my Grandma told me, it frequently did. She told me that her teacher would put big rings around every over splodged page and the ink that would fall down their fingers and wrists whilst writing so that by the time the end of the school day came her hand would be blackened with ink. They told me that at the end of each day the ink wells would either be collected up and washed or they were responsible for their own ink well which had to be cleaned and put away.

My Grandma told us, very briefly, of what things were like during the Second World War, an experience I will never ever have - not of back then anyway. My Grandad told us what things were like for his family during the war. My Grandma told us that her father was one of the first men to ever ride in a rubber tire vehicle and how she spent her afternoons listening to the radio and using an 'amplifier' (I think that's what she called it) to make it just that bit louder.

They told us what it was like to have children 50 odd years ago and how it was completely different to what it is now and how my Mother would always cling to my Grandad when he came home from work until he picked her up and hugged her and how Grandma would have to wash the nappies because there was no such thing as Pampers or Huggies. My mother in fact only had Pampers when I was born, before that they were reusable and washable - non of this recycling rubbish.

Well, my Silver Cross certainly doesn't look like this!

I think we young ones take for granted a lot of the things we have these days. We have televisions, internet, mobile phones, internet on our mobile phones, we have washing machines, dryers and dishwashers. We take all of these things for granted but most of all, I think we take for granted our heritage. Our past and those in our family who make up our past. I rarely visit my Grandparents; it doesn't help that I live 100 odd miles away but that is no excuse. The stories of the past will soon be gone and all we will have is memories, memories that are shaded and sketched and a little unbelievable in parts. The World Wars and the times my Grandparents grew up in are most definitely alien to me and  anyone who was born after a time where they could remember the war for themselves.

Of the Grandparents on my father's side my Grampy is passed and no longer with us and my Nana, blessed Nana, sadly has Alzheimer's disease. All of her memories are lost now in to the deep abyss of nowhere. It is at these times I urge you to keep a record of your life, even if one day you stare at the page and don't know what to write; tell them that you don't know what to write. Tell your children and your children's children of your life before it is too late; before you have to frantically get in any time you can to see them and tell them everything you know. My Grandparents are far wiser than I am and far wiser than I will ever know. Don't disrespect that. Take time today to do what you can do tomorrow. Yes, you can put it off, but tomorrow won't always come.

The Disappearing Act

Things I have lost since finding out we were expecting a baby:

I lost some knitting needles. Or rather I don't my know where they are. They must be somewhere. When I used to knit at my mum's house I had a bag full of knitting goodness and now I have no idea where it has gone. I have looked everywhere. It had needles of most sizes and even some extra wool but still no idea where they have gone.

My purse. Disappears all the time. I like to think I have put it in a safe place and think to myself that if I put it in this place then I am going to definitely remember it but no I don't. The safe place is most definitely the safest place it can be because I never remember where it actually is. I think that's a good place for it to be until I need it for something, then I have to pull the house apart to find it. One time I went a good couple of weeks without knowing where my purse was at all because I had my bank card and my bank card was really all I needed but then I figured I should find my purse because it had my driving licence in it. Silly me.

My bank card. Looked everywhere for it. I knew I had given it to someone after we had been shopping for food. I thought I had given it to Emily to put in her purse, so I checked her purse, checked Adam's wallet and still there was no card. I even rang my bank and asked if anyone had used it but they hadn't. Nothing new had been set up and nothing had been taken out of the account so I knew it had to be somewhere. However, just to be on the safe and yet annoying side, just before Christmas I cancelled my debit card. The new one came rather quickly but a month later my husband found my bank card in the inside pocked of his suit for church, mushed up with some tissue.

My keys. These are forever getting lost. I really should put them in my bag. I have to remind myself to put them in my bag but then if nobody else is around and doesn't remind me to put them in my bag then what am I to do... I can't remember everything. I even forgot my keys the other night when I went out to see a friend and I knew my mum wouldn't be up when I got home; which ended up in me banging on the front door at midnight and ringing the house phone non-stop (which nobody answered) until I rang my mum's phone and she sleepily plodded down the stairs barely awake enough to open the door.

I can't help it. It's not my fault. In fact, I think I was going a little crazy before I even got pregnant. I blame it on not working. Your brain slows down and doesn't have to work to 'deadlines' as such, it still needs to work to deadlines but not ones that you get paid for. I know I have to be more organised and it is all about being more organised and doing this to help that and putting that there to remember this but somehow, somewhere the communication of that to my brain doesn't work. It drops through the filters and into the never never. If I just remembered to leave my keys in my bag then I would be fine. If I just remembered to put my purse in my bag I would be fine and if I left my bank card in my purse then it wouldn't get lost.

But do I remember any of this.



No, of course not.

One, Two, Miss a Few...

... Ninety Nine, One Hundred.

I told Adam I had to do my blog today and he asked "Why? Can't you just do it tomorrow?" valid question which has a valid answer. I told him I didn't post on Friday and I didn't post yesterday because the day ran away with me in a polka dot bag on a stick on it's back and so if I didn't post today there wouldn't be a good flow to my blog; and I don't want to get out of the habit of blogging before I've even gotten back into it.

I found out at some point last week that my body doesn't like sugary things, it gives me a headache and sometimes makes me get really bad heartburn so I was determined not to eat that much, however, that quickly went out the window when I went to my mums for the weekend; we are here until Tuesday. I blame Adam. He should be with me at all times and in all places so that when I get offered chocolate he can eat it instead of me but when I was given a tray of Thornton's Chocolates (capital letters needed for the chocolate's importance) to share with a friend on Friday, how could I refuse? Then it just went downhill from there. So, I think if I write it down and tell everyone I shouldn't be eating too much sugary things then hopefully I will stop myself from eating too much. My mum also has Pepsi, a cup full of flavoured sugar; bring on the unladylike burping.

How could anyone refuse?

Then yesterday we went to visit my youngest sister, Bethany, in Preston. She made everyone a Sunday dinner complete with roast potatoes (Thank you Bethany) which was delicious, scrum-diddle-e-umptious. So I ate all of that and yes, you guessed it, more chocolate. It wouldn't be so bad if I had remembered to take my Gaviscon to my mum's house, but I didn't. But I seem to be coping on the paracetamol at the moment for the headaches.

So, this weekend has just been too busy to get everything done. I should write my blog from my phone but the app I have to write it with isn't very good and blogger doesn't seem to exist on the Windows phones... something they need to correct pretty soon. Plus my brain remembers some things and forgets others which is slightly annoying and by the time we got back from Preston yesterday all I wanted to do was sleep for a couple of hours. Adam and I were supposed to be going to see a film at the cinema so I wanted to get in a little nap to get rid of the headache before we went. I slept for a couple of hours, got up and wanted to go back to bed but, I persevered in staying up for a couple more hours yesterday, and still didn't want to get out of bed for church this morning.

I love Kitty piccys!!

Well, that's me for the past couple of days. Tomorrow I'm not quite sure what we are doing besides visiting my brother in the evening and then on Tuesday visiting my Grandma and Grandad so I shall keep all updated. It's weird when Adam gets five days off and we go to my mum's house for the long weekend because we try to cram so much in and we get ourselves so busy that we never seem to stop. Don't get me wrong it is lovely to see people but sometimes the roller coaster of life really should just slow down for a minute or two.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know some people won't celebrate Valentine's Day and I know others won't have anyone to celebrate Valentine's Day with BUT I will celebrate it with you! I hope everyone felt a little bit of love today even if it wasn't from a special someone and I hope everyone celebrated the day doing exactly what they wanted and they were happy.

Adam was at work all day and he was a little late this morning so we didn't get time to open our cards and I didn't want to open mine without Adam being there so I told him I would patiently wait until this evening to open it. So, when I went downstairs this morning I saw a nice big red envelope... not too big as to look cheesy (personal view but I hate hate hate the massive Valentine's Day cards they just look so tacky - to me anyway, others can love what they wish) but it was big enough and bigger than the one I got Adam.

I love this man more than words could ever say.

Beside it was a little bear with a heart on it's tummy. I have no idea why (probably hormones you know how it is people) but I suddenly got a tear of happiness in my eyes. Adam had gotten me a bear! He had gone out and seen it and thought I would like it and so bought it. I was so thrilled! He gives romantic gestures in his own little way throughout the year but not in the usual chocolates or flowers (and hasn't given me flowers to date yet) but I don't mind that. He loves me the only way he knows how and that is perfectly beautiful enough for me. I haven't named my bear yet but he shall go with me everywhere I go.

Adam later noted that he wanted to get me a bigger bear but he knew I would be a little annoyed since we don't have lots of spare cash at the moment, and I don't like money spent on me when I know it needs to go somewhere else. He got me exactly what I wanted and I baked him a cake, which we are currently munching on.

It should be noted that I might not bake again until the end of my pregnancy, or after baby Ava is born because I just can't seem to remember anything or get any ingredients right. I forgot to grease my tin this afternoon (luckily it didn't matter much) and the other day I made such a mess in my kitchen for the pancakes so I don't think I will be doing that again in a hurry!

Knit, Sew, Stitch

Yes, yes. Another one of those tabs at the top of the page that says 'Coming Soon' on it but if you check all the other tabs they finally have something of interest on them! I promise.

About five maybe six years ago my mum sat down to knit something for the Bliss charity - a charity for those beautiful little children born too soon and so they have tiny little bodies and maybe aren't so well. It was Christmas time and the church every year made bundles to give to the mothers of the premature babies. Mum was knitting hats the size of tennis balls and cardigans that would fit only the smallest of dolls; never mind a baby. I was always really fascinated by what she was doing and would watch her needles click clicking together magically changing a ball of wool into something that could be worn or used. I wanted to help and do something for the Bliss babies too and so did my sister, Emily. So, we started to knit. Or, rather, Emily started to knit and I got frustrated, told mum I couldn't do and sat and watched from afar as my sister and my mum click clicked together in their little clubbing of needle clicking.

Time went by, a few years in fact, things happened and my patience changed and it was Christmas again, or coming up to Christmas so my mum got her knitting needles out and I sat again in awe of what she was doing and decided that this time I would try it. I would sit down and put needle to needle with wool and create something. My first piece of 'something' had holes in it. It had dropped stitches or too many stitches and couldn't have been used for anything useful but I did it and I got the hang of it. And because I had figured it out as a treat Mum and I went out to the shop bought some wool and a pattern to make a hat and a scarf. It was a plain scarf with a simple pattern but it was still a scarf and when I was finished making it I was extremely proud of the blessing I had received to have patience to be able to get it done. I was also blessed with a warm neck and head for the winter time!

Two years since then and my skills have gotten a little better and I can finally read patterns without my mum having to write them out for me. And since I have a baby on the way I decided to give a cardigan a shot. I wasn't very good last time and I don't even think I sewed it up properly. But this time I have followed the pattern to the T and I may have gotten stuck and I may have pulled it out more than once but that's just because I want it to be the best it can be for our baby Ava.

So, every now and again I will write a post on the piece of clothing I am knitting at the moment and on the Knit, Sew, Stitch page I will put the pictures of the things I have been knitting recently. I think the more I do the better at it I will get. Nobody can say practice doesn't make perfect in this circumstance especially since before I started my cardigan and a blanket I made a couple of weeks ago I didn't even know what an 'eyelet' was let alone how to knit one!

Getting there...

Puddled Pregnancy Brain

I am enjoying pregnancy for now. I am going through the stage where I can start to feel little baby movements and even though I know baby Ava is in there it all doesn't seem real; not yet.

However, there is one thing that pregnancy could definitely do without and that is the mixed up moments of madness where I forget what I am doing, where I am going and how I am doing it. I didn't post yesterday, I was going to, but then I didn't. I forgot. Or rather, I had it in my mind to post, was going to post and then got distracted. Yesterday wasn't a good day for my puddled pregnancy brain. I think yesterday I'd just had enough; and it wasn't just the pregnancy.

At 23 weeks I don't sleep through the night, and for those of you who have been pregnant you will know why. I had to get up for a pee and then just as my brain was settling down to sleep... I had to get up for a pee again. I drank too much water in the evening because of another pregnancy symptom, the headache, the water helped the headache go away but didn't help during the night *baby is bumping me at this very moment, squiggling and squirming around my insides - very distracting*. So then I'd peed, I'd settled and I was chilled and feel asleep only to be woken an hour later by my sides aching because I wasn't lying on my back and baby didn't like me lying on my side, so all in all I didn't get very much sleep.

But that's not it. My kitten, Milo, whom I love to death, hasn't been 'done' yet if you get what I mean and so he is in heat season - goodness knows how long that lasts (he is on the list of things to be paid for) and at 7am he was meowling for a mate, and it was non-stop. And once I thought he had settled down and stopped he would start up again. From 7am until 11am he just on and off meowled. So when Adam went to work at 8am I couldn't even try and go back to sleep.

Then on top of that, the kittens had chewed through a ball of my wool that I am in the process of knitting with, not good. To make matters worse I was trying to clean the house for friends coming over in the evening and had mopped the dining room floor and Milo then proceeded to walk over it, just as I had finished. Millie, our other kitten, happily stayed off the floor, but not Milo. So I was at my wits end with him and I just kept thinking over and over "He is just a kitten, I'm having a baby and after 1 day of my kitten being a nuisance I want to put him outside in the bin, what am I going to do when a baby arrives?" In the end I tried to be a little more patient with him and luckily he calmed down.

But since I was sooo stressed out with Milo, being a pain, on top of not sleeping and feeling achy, trying to do my knitting was like trying to concentrate on a bulldozer or forklift picking up a needle. I had to pull it out 2/3 times because it just wasn't going right because I hadn't read the pattern properly. On top of that some family members were having a disagreement and I was the go between.

In the end I turned my phone on silent, went to the bathroom, locked the door (even though nobody else was in the house), turned some soothing music on nice and loud and then went in the shower and sat on the floor for a good long while. Showers are supposed to be short but that one wasn't. It helped though. I got out of the shower, restarted and finished my knitting (that part of the cardigan anyway) and made dinner.

Sometimes, you just gotta let it out, and moan, and groan. Even if nobody in the world can help you with a meowling cat or not being able to sleep or kittens walking over just washed floors, you just need a good moan sometimes. So, that's why I didn't post yesterday. Because my puddled pregnancy brain wouldn't allow it.

Primary, FHE & Church

Or should that be Church, Primary & FHE?

Nor one or the other is more important but I guess I can't have FHE and Primary without Church.

Again, another one of those random tab things I have at the top of my page for who knows what reason... well why don't you click and find out?

I shall explain more about Church, Primary & FHE in the tab named the aforementioned but for now Sunday shall be my day of posting about Church, Primary and so on and so forth. I love going to church for the simple reason that it makes me happy. Someone once asked why I go, what I do it for. I simply said,
"Because this is the only Church I know of that answers the question of who I am, who I was and where I am going next" the biggest questions of all... and no the answer, unfortunately isn't 42; like we are led to believe in Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Today was a lovely day at church. I love Primary and the children I work with and couldn't possibly ask for a better calling (besides being a mother). In Primary today we sang some songs and played 'Name That Tune' for the songs we've been learning recently and then we talked about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and why they came to Earth. Such a simple and yet incredibly important lesson to learn. But I think they understood it perfectly.

We have a mini problem with behaviour at the moment, because with kids being kids they don't like to sit and behave all the time. We have a system in place where if they behave they get to put a piece of armour on the 'Warriors' but for the past few weeks they have been nothing but trouble sometimes and today we had a meeting about we could eradicate the bad behaviour, nip it in the bud so to speak before the child gets too erratic and sets off other children in the room - we don't want to punish the lot for the few if you get what I mean.

So, we had a chat and I prayed and had a think about it and I've put it to the Primary President that we should make a 'traffic light' system but more basic. We have green badges for good children and red badges for bad children. When they come to the classroom all the children are presented with a green badge and if they misbehave they get the green badge taken from them and are given the red badge, if they are still misbehaving and being disruptive we take them to their parents (after-all nobody is perfect). Those who have green badges or green stickers against their name at the end of Opening Exercises and Sharing Time get a gold star on the chart, those who have red badges or stickers get nothing - because nobody should be rewarded for bad behaviour. So, hopefully this should work but let me know what you think.

Date Night Delay

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I kept meaning to do it through out the day but one thing led to another which led to another which led to me completely forgetting to post and then it was date night so we left the house at 6pm and came home at pretty much midnight.

I love date nights with my husband, I think everyone with a partner should set aside a night during the week where they do nothing but spend quality time with one another; where the mobile phones stay in the pockets and the computer games stay off the TV - it works for us.

At the moment our date nights are a 'little' predictable as spare money is in short supply BUT we do have Cineworld passes, means you can go to the cinema as often as you want a month for completely free - even the 3D films are free and with the cinema costing £8-£10 in places spending £15.90 a month seems completely worth it. So, anyway, our date nights sometimes consist of us going to dinner, last night we nearly went to Nando's but opted for cheaper and just as good KFC and then went to the cinema to see Flight.

Out in America before here

Man, is that an amazing film or what. Luckily, a few weeks or so ago, but definitely after Christmas, I had the pleasure of watching The Graham Norton Show on a Friday night. I don't usually like him but some of the actors and actresses he gets on that show are unreal - take for example Robert Downey Jr who is a REGULAR... and I mean regular on the sofa. He once had Will Smith - anyway I digress. So, I happened upon the show and Denzel Washington was on it promoting his new film Flight, and I LOVE Denzel Washington, every single film I have seen with him in has been absolutely awesome - Unstoppable and Deja Vu just to name two. And he showed the trailer for Flight on The Graham Norton Show and I knew I had to go and see it...

...No spoilers here but HE FLIES A PLANE UPSIDE DOWN TO STOP IT FROM CRASHING and saves 96 out of 102 people on board - I mean woah... craziness and when you're watching the film it's like you're really there as it is happening, brilliant. But the film isn't just about that, it's about something else too, something more powerful and stronger than Denzel Washington flying a plane upside down - but I can't explain any more than that otherwise it spoils the story, needless to say it is one I shall be watching again.

Just to add, Flight is a 15 because of swearing, small amounts of nudity and addictive substances - however the film would have not been the same without the swearing or addictive substances - could have done without the nudity at the beginning though - since it doesn't appear afterwards.

Also, kudos to Costa in the Metro Centre in The Village (or between blue and green mall I can never tell) as I went to sit down with my hot chocolate last night my hand holding the tray got a piece of glass stuck in it, (small piece) and the pinprick cut wouldn't stop bleeding, the glass piece was small but pretty long and I had scraped it into my finger sideways. I moved my tray and found another small piece so I put them on the saucer and took them to the barista and she was very very apologetic and gave me my money back for my drink. Super service

A Yorkshire Gal I Shall Always Be

There's always something nostalgic about going back to Bradford and seeing familiar roads, faces and places. Weird thing is I'm not really sure why as I didn't really much like Bradford but it seems to have grown on me as I have moved away. I wouldn't like to live there again but I always like to go back and visit from time to time and tell Adam about the places I grew up and the schools that I went to - a tale I'm sure I've told him very often.

Last weekend Adam and I (and a friend) went to go pick up our new car from Burnley and because we hadn't been to the place before we put it in the satnav and went on our way. After a little while I realised that we were going towards Skipton in North Yorkshire and A roads that looked like motorways started to turn into A roads that looked like country dual carriageways and then they turned into B roads winding and swerving through the amazingly beautiful countryside of Yorkshire. Adam proclaimed that he could never live in such a place as he is a city boy and likes everything to be around him but I suppose that's where we differ.

A Yorkshire gal I shall always be who smiles at the greenery and ponders of the days when I used to run around in the fields and walked up the hillsides. I remember how the suns rays shone down on the moors from my bedroom window and changed the grass from green to yellow to gold. I think in lots of ways Adam and I are a perfect match, not only because we have strong accents but also because we come from places that you'll never forget as you grow older. Even though I live up North - which is even further up North than where I actually come from I will still love to go down memory lane whenever I visit family and friends. I wouldn't say school or childhood was particularly wonderful in Bradford but I gladly push those pathetic memories aside and remember the happier days.

The reason for this sweet simmering praise of Bradford is because today Adam and I dropped my sister and her daughter, Amelia down at my mum's house and even though I wasn't going home it felt like I was. I went into the house that I grew up in for at least 11-12 years (which was a long time in one house for us) and I felt incredibly at home. I guess you always do feel like that when you go to a place that you grew up in. The only weird thing was that now my mum's children have children and we're all growing up and growing away, which has a sweet sadness to it.

One thing I shall have to remember though for when travelling down to my mum's house and taking my daughter with us is that you always need bigger boot space that you actually have and you always need to bring twice as much for the baby than you do for yourself.

Do you think this would have big enough boot space?

Baby Bell in the Baking

As you can see at the top of my blog there are little tabs, different pages of my life. Some of them haven't been updated yet but if you click on 'Baby Bell in the Baking' you will see up to date information, cuteness and piccys of baby, bump and more. I won't notify my main page every day of updates that I put on the 'Baby Bell in the Baking' page but if you click the tab you will get the info you need.

I was writing a baby journal and I was reading through it yesterday and I must admit it actually depressed me a little. I mean pregnancy is supposed to be one of the most magical times of your life and there I was page after page splurging out how sick I was and how everything was just a mess and how everyone was getting on my nerves; I suppose that's just the reality of it all really but I don't want to always remember my pregnancy like that. I want to remember the mini movements, the kicks, the punches (in a cute way as long as they're not too violent) and the delighted looks on my husband's face when he feels her kicking.

Yep, our baby is a girl, or so we've been told. I am sure she is a girl, it's just when you're expecting to have a boy from the day you found out you were pregnant up until the day of your anomaly scan it kinda takes a while to sink into your brain what you're actually having.

So, no, peoples, the 'Baby Bell in the Baking' tab is not about baking food but rather it's about baking a baby, as I sincerely hope that's what I am cooking in there; even if she did look like an alien to begin with.

By the way, baby Ava (the name we've given her) - is the size of an egg plant, but the annoying thing is... eggplants come in all different shapes and sizes...

... so I might be a little bit worried if she is the same size as the large purple or green ones on the right of the picture; and she weighs about a lb in weight. HOW CUTE! Apparently this is the month where I start to pack on the lbs... or rather baby does as her body starts to ripen up a bit. Keep you posted!

The Beauty's in the Blueprints

Welcome to my new blog!

I have debated with myself over the last couple of weeks or so as to whether or not I should write a new blog but I think it would be selfish of me not to.

Why the name?

My sister and I were thinking of a name for hours last night. I wanted it to represent my new growing family and be about not just one specific thing like my last blog www.bradfordianbridezilla.blogspot.com - I wanted it to be a follow on about becoming a mother, being a wife, growing up (in a matter of speaking). I wanted to show progression of how my bump turns into a baby, that turns into a toddler which progresses into a child and life goes on.

My previous blog was specifically about being engaged and getting married but I've done that now and I found it hard to continue to write on a blog about being a Bridezilla when I was no longer a Bridezilla - I am no longer in that category anymore; although I am sure I am wifezilla which is where this blog comes in perfectly.

Blueprints are enlarged designs of houses, structures, statues, and are the conglomeration of a set of minds to produce something original, beautiful, interesting. The details in a blueprint include measurements of each and every single part included in the plan - the height of a window, a door, a wall for example. When you look at a blueprint you see a set of shapes and lines that make up the bigger picture. However, if these details, measurements are even a mm off the design will not fit, the outcome will not be as the blueprint has shown and the work of all those incredible minds will have been lost. The beauty in the blueprint is in the details. The beauty in life is in the details. Every single thing we do in our lives, big or small, counts. What we do now in the details and the plans will in turn shape up how the blueprints turn out and how the plans come together.

There is one thing about life's little details that blueprints cannot allow for and that is, mistakes; or rather changes to the plan. Luckily life has a way of working out even if it is a mm off everything still slots together, maybe not perfectly but besides for blueprints - what is?

What I do now in my life will affect the blueprints of what happens in my children's lives' the beauty of it is in the detail. At the moment I am 22 weeks pregnant, I have been married just under 9 months and am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I have two cats which I love and adore. I bake, I cook, I clean and I knit. I do not work at the moment and do not plan to until I feel it is right to do so. I hope you join me and my family whilst we create our own blueprints on life.