23rd April 2007

I’ve been dreading this date for the last year but you know, it’s been really nice, good in fact. Now i think about it, this April has been one of the least depressing i’ve had, so either the pills are good, not seeing cherry blossom and daffodils anywhere is good, or i’ve gained a sense of perspective i didn’t have before. Any one of the above will do.

I’d planned to spend the day planting out the garden with nice flowers, in the company of my children and Michelle, then Max was gonig to meet me and the girls for a picnic in the evening, as a sort of salute to our commitment to make life better for our family after last year. In the event, the day dawned cold, dull and drizzly for the first time in a month, so pretty much scuppered that 🙄

However, me and the girls had all done everything required by 10.30, in the shape of workbooks, guitar and parcels and when Michelle and Chloe arrived they all went off to play while Michelle and i drank the first cup of tea. Then, after Michelle had performed the dual essential tasks of helping get the parcels out on time and purchasing goods 😆 we headed off to the garden centre anyway.

We started with lunch in the cafe and then, given the rain had started again, headed down to the pet bit for a look around. They only had 4 rabbits in, but everyone was very happy with fish, hamsters and parrots and bimbled about for a good while looking at those, while Michelle and i hung over a run admiring a white bunny. And then… it happened… i turned round, saw a little dark fawn Netherland Dwarf rabbit in a box on his own… and knew he was supposed to come home with us 🙂

Texted Max to ask permission, then decided to ignore him regardless of whatever answer he sent back, and buy the bunny anyway, negotiated my way round the reluctant saleswoman, who didn’t like me impulse buying (and i think wanted to keep the rabbit anyway!) and finally headed off, promising to be back to pick him up soon.

While we were there we picked up two climbing roses for the wall, one called “Super Fairy” and one called “Open Arms” and some flowering shrubs. Everyone picked one, then Amelie asked what hers was called, so we looked on the label to discover it was in fact called ‘Amelie’!!! She was DEEPLY thrilled 😆

Shortly after i went back and collected the bunny, who nearly got called Hazel (i do so love Watership Down) but got called Fiver instead, and has absolutely nothing to do with anything other than that being my favourite rabbit in the book. He’s gorgeous, very alert and inquisitive and looks like he’s meant to live here. Let’s hope he’s at least as fortunate as his namesake. Fiver in Watership Down has second sight… i’ve spent the last year wishing i could act with hindsight, but since i can’t, some second sight might be handy 🙂

This evening we all had a family meal together and Max has done stories while i pootled. Am really proud of myself for making it through. Max, Michelle and Claire have all been stars for supporting me and i’ve got a house full of flowers 🙂 I really hope now this is passed i can start to look forwards; i’ve done enough punishing myself.

Quick round up of the rest of the last few days:

Friday i can’t remember much but we did go out for a couple of hours in the park. Amelie had to be coaxed out of the school dress she begged for the night before. The i went back to Tescos to buy 3 more for the others who were all equally desperate for them… most emotionally traumatic £16 i’ve ever spent. Amelie, Josie and Maddy have worn the constantly 🙄 , Fran has turned her nose up since the first day though lol: Everyone did some work in the mornings, feels like the routine is back now.

Saturday, Max wanted to go to Silverstone for the day and i really, really didn’t so i went to Claire’s with 3 of the girls and Maddy went for a day out with max. Got there to find they were struggling to put the springy bit into a trampoline and, i kid you not, i was the most mathematically enabled person there, given Bev and Claire had utterly failed to even come up with a method of getting it centred right 😆 🙄 So we did that for a bit, then Bev went looking for a man to help with the tougher springs, we all cursed, huffed, puffed and fretted for a while and eventually the man figured out (fractionally before me i’d like to point out!) that we might get on better if we stretched the springs to the frame rather than trying to stretch the mat to the spring! 😆 😳

Oh, i picked up the Little Lovelies and Jingle Jangle Ladybird from Manhatten Toys while i was there for Madison and Summer. So soft and lovely 🙂

We had a lovely day there and got home to find Grandad and Uncle Joe here for the night; the girls discovered the new bag of workbooks i’d brought and begged (really, and in front of Joe which they always seem to do and makes me feel like i’m showing off or behaving in a mad fashion!) for them so all 3 of the big ones sat and did maths on the floor with me for a while. A couple of the books had flash card sums in them; Amelie and Josie ended up playing those and Josie kept holding one up and saying “this maths is 28!!!” – which i thought was rather good really. Fancy knowing 28 is a number at 2 1/2! 😉

Sunday there was some fairycake baking by Fran, some work, some playing on upturned garden pots and Max and i rearranged the garage so that the racking cuts off one piece of it at the front for bikes and the rest is more like a room with table, desk and craft stuff. Gives us lots more opportunity to use the space, which will be great. Was good for me too, since i did feel quite down yesterday, so it gave me a project to get my teeth into.

BM has been quietish, but the Amazon store is gonig really well; i’ve had LOADS of sales there this week, lots of them for multiple items to each customer, so i’m thrilled about that as it is a great boost to cash flow and getting myself known. The craft kits i picked out are going great too, so i’m chuffed about that.

That’s your lot – need to go finish my VAT now 😕 (It’s looking like being £800+ – waaaaaaaaaaaaah.) Go buy things – quick!

EDIT: Oh, forgot the poorly Josie bit! She drooped badly yesterday in the afternoon, fell aleep on the sofa about 5pm, wept when we woke her for tea, fell straight back to sleep, slept through Doctor Who while we all watched it together (how we’ve avoided Pig nightmares i don’t know!)  slept through being carried to bed, woke at 1am for Calpol and 2 bottles of milk, slept through till 8am and pretty much did a repeat performance today, althoguh we managed to wake her for a while. Poor little mite, she seems very off colour.

Oh AND Amelie reacted to biscuits she’s always eaten perfectly well, that had “may contain traces of nuts” on the side, but she’s eaten them since the first episode with no effects. This time though, she got blisters on her tongue the size of chicken pox spots near the back and all her tongue was covered in dots that looked like they were raised up on stalks 🙁 Roll on the allery test as i’m starting to wonder if it is more complex than nuts, perhaps a colouring or preservative or something. Either way, it’s getting worse 🙁