Catch up to where?

I’m starting to think that waiting till i can backdate myself is probably silly, so i’ll give up and do a very quick one!

After my busiest ever weekend on BM again, we finally got away to Devon for a few days. Managed to spend some time with Sarah and co, albeit briefly as we always seem to jet into Devon just as they jet out and then had 3 lovely days out on Dartmoor climbing tors (Kestor, Hay Tor, Mis Tor to name just 3 and some others we didn’t really know the names of, plus the inevitable Moreton Carnival trip, a visit to Widecombe and Chagford, exploring old favourite haunts and regaling the children with “when we were first together” and “before you were born” stories. Really cross though as forgot to take the number of our Dartmoor friends and i don’t know them well enough to just descend… ho hum.

I got a fab Gelert rucksack, just what i’ve been looking for, in one of Chagford’s famous hardware shops (i love them, they sell everything and in a so much more interesting way than Tesco) for £8, and the kids had a ball. We didn’t get the pushchair out once and Josie climbed the tors all on her own and refused help (“I not like it hand”) for almost every climb. We did a bit of high altitude breastfeeding too 😉

I didn’t take many photos, but what i took i shall flickr…. i made them all laugh by insisting on taking a photo of a gate cos i want to make a Fimo model of it!

Saturday we spent with Max’s brother and family and had a great time; many games, much late night silliness, lots of talking and wine drinking and a nice walk in Danes Wood on Sunday morning (i think that is how it is spelt.) Home then to MORE parcels and a very pleasant Monday, which now utterly escapes me but just seemed to consist of us all doing our own thing very harmoniously. I think Max played a Narnia board game with them and i sorted out clothes.

Tuesday i packed parcels for a lot of the day and they played, vegged and relaxed once we were back from swimming. Max’s aunt looked after them, along with mini Violet her grand-daughter, while i went off for the first of a series of 8 counselling session that my doctor booked for me. Never had anything of the sort before, except a one off in college and it was all a bit weird, not least because it is slightly unnerving to get something so, hmmm, what is the word…intangible i suppose would do, on the NHS. Ah well, nice to have official confirmation of balminess i suppose and i suspect that even if it is a bit uncomfortable, it will probably be useful for a variety of things, perhaps including Josie’s birth which i think i just buried a bit too deeply and unresolved in form.

I’ve only recently been able to see from above about all that really; i had this sudden revelation a few weeks ago that i had a PPH, i don’t quite know what i had thought before but i suppose it could have happened just as easily with a normal delivery, though i have no idea if they are easier to control during a section or after a normal birth. Anyway, oddly, that sudden understanding that what happened was a normal, if serious, childbirth crisis, has helped me accept that quite a lot. Funny what has to come from inside sometimes. 😕

Tuesday night i went out to the pub with a friend and agreed terms for her to become my cleaner/BM helper for 6 hours a week. 🙂 I am so relieved 🙂 She has all my paperwork at home this week and is sorting it for me and next week she will start here on Friday and we’ll take it from there. I don’t want to use her name on the blog, so i was going to call her Odd Job, shortened to OJ, then i decided that sounded like Orange Juicy, which is a bit like Juicy Lucy, so i’ve decided her blog name is Lucy… convoluted, me?

Wednesday we swum first thing, everyone doing really well and they’ve said Fran can do her next 10 week course in level 3 now; Amelie is coming on nicely and Maddy seems to have overcome her crisis. Then rushed home to do parcels, then rushed out to J&J’s (parents of Buttercup-alike K) and had lunch with them, before going off to K’s party at That Painting Place, a pick a pot, paint it and then pick it up glazed a few days later, type place. Loved it, thought it was very reasonable (plates and tiles and pots are cheap, models are a bit more expensive but still okay value) but will definitely use it as a place to take visitors from now on. Nic, they have W&G items… so you must come 🙂 Then went back to J&J’s for tea and gossip, arranged a camping trip with them (Max just found out he has some spare holiday so i must sort out some long weekends) and got home very late. I got out on my bike again after nearly a week off it and the ride home was HARD again. Ow!

Today we’ve swum (round of applause to the lady who got 4 children to three weeks of early swimming lessons without being late, missing any or forgetting swimming kit!) and then came home to sort out the house and stuff, having reached crisis point and let down Tammy and Sam who we’d intended to visit 🙁 I spent all night looking for car insurance last night EDIT so i could tax the car, finally gave up and did a last minute online one knowing full well it would then arrive late and cause me hassle – but then naturally found the insurance documents INSTANTLY this morning. ARGH. So does anyone know if i take the receipt it emailed me in the car tomorrow, i can drive it and show that if i get stopped, without being fined?

BM gone much quieter now, so with my newly tidy office, i stand a small chance of catching up. This afternoon we’ve finished off the Darwin story, demonstrated bio-diversity, evolution and survival of the fittest using Hama beads and tap-a-shape pieces, made pictures, done hama bead pictures and done HappyMais. Back to education 🙂 Oh and ranted at the bank – AGAIN.