Milestones.

I'm sat here with a Tia Maria and Diet Coke and my calendar because I want to record some milestones before I forget, as once again I've been crap at keeping this updated. I always have the best of intentions, but never seem to have enough hours in the day for the things I need to do, let alone the things I'd like to do. It'll probably take me a lot longer than normal too, as my darling Son picked the S button off the laptop so it's much harder to type as you have to stop and press it really hard, bless him, grrr!

OK, well after my last entry Lily and I collected Mark from the airport and on the way I made her swear that she wouldn't let the cat out of the bag about paddy's first tooth. So he jumped into the car at the airport and she immediately told him that we had a secret but she wasn't allowed to tell him what! Poor bloke, I wonder what sordid secrets he was imagining! When we got home I suggested that he check for teeth as Paddy had been a bit unhappy so he had a quick feel around and completely missed the tooth anyway! We eventually told him and he had another prod about and felt it!

Mark was back in the UK for another 2 weeks and was due back here for his birthday so we spent the next 2 weeks teaching Paddy how to say Dada and clap his hands! I got him a watch that he has wanted for YEARS as a combined birthday/xmas/congratulations on being a Daddy present (it was fairly pricey so had to cover xmas present too!), Lily got him curly wurlies and he had Paddy gave him his first word! I know which pressie I'd have cherished the most!

Paddy isn't really speaking any other words yet although I reckon that 'Lily' or something along those lines will be next. At the moment he shouts 'rah rah' loudly whenever he wants her and we all know what he means. Or maybe it'¦l be Maisy (who he terrorises now that he's mobile!) which brings me on to the next milestone!.

Paddy first crawled on the 7th December AND I MISSED IT! Mum was looking after him while I went yoga. I was just going in to the class when she text me to say that he'd crawled from one side of the rug to the other! I was a bit gutted that I'd missed it (he'd been building up to it for weeks!) but I'm glad that my Mum got that special first! The rest of us had to wait nearly another week before we got to see it! And my God, he motors! You can't turn your back for a minute or else he's into anything with buttons (DVD player, video, the S on my laptop, etc!) or he's chasing Maisy (and he pulls her coat until she squeaks if he does catch her) or he's escaping out of the room to 'play' with Daddy's wine rack (eeek!) or anything else he can get his hands on!

From the 12th December he had a virus which included high temperatures, being unsettled, bad tummy and, at the same time, another 4 teeth put in appearance (so he's now got 3 on the top and 2 on the bottom) so he was thoroughly miserable. I discovered a rash on his back so took him to the paediatrician who said that it was part of the virus and prescribed some meds. The rash went after 2 days and he seemed to get better after about a week. Anyway, the last week of term was as hectic as it normally is with Xmas parties, homework, last minute shopping, present wrapping, etc. It wasn't helped by the fact that Lily developed a horrid rash on her back - another trip to the paediatricians and we were told to give her the same meds as Paddy had been taking and bring her back in 48 hours if she hadn¡¦t improved.

The icing on the cake was when Mark went to the airport on Friday 22nd Dec, checked in, and at the last minute his flights was cancelled due to fog ¡V I couldn¡¦t believe it! All that week I¡¦d been saying that I thought his flight would be cancelled and my ex's wouldn't (he was due to arrive xmas eve) so I¡¦d have to spend xmas day with him - aaargh! I hated spending Xmas with the bloke when I was married to him let alone since we've been divorced! Anyway, he ended up been transferred onto a flight to a different airport so arrived safely, although a little later than planned!

Xmas eve the ex arrived ¡V dun dun dah!! Lily and I collected him from the airport and took him to his hotel. I left her there to spend a few hours before I had to collect her and take her back to the out of hour¡¦s surgery as her rash was a lot wore. Got there and waited half an hour to be called in. The Doctor didn¡¦t even look at her rash and told us it wasn¡¦t serious and to see the ped after Xmas ¡V wasn¡¦t happy.

Xmas day went well ¡V the kids loved their pressies (Paddy mostly loved the boxes and wrapping paper). Lily got a Baby Annabel Wardrobe and highchair and a pram, clothes, a coat and lots of other bits and pieces! Paddy got a tricycle (suitable from 9 months ¡V than you Lou from April 06 club for the idea!), an 80 piece Los Lunnis wooden blocks set, a wooden pull along train, clothes and load of other stuff! We had promised ourselves that we¡¦d keep a tight rein on the amount the kid got this year because we¡¦re trying to keep spending down and also because we¡¦ll either have to get rid of loads of stuff before we move, or pay to have it shipped back. But, as usual, they were spoiled rotten, not just by us but by the while family! Anyway, we packed my ex off in a hotel in the evening and I went for a long soak in the bath with my Butterball Bath Bomb (thank you Secret Santa aka Lois!! It was DIVINE!!!). I got out feeling a bit woozy and put it down to having the water too hot. Anyway, half an hour later I was violently ill, and then spent the next 24 hour hugging the toilet! OH MY GOD ¡V I can¡¦t ever remember feeling so ill! There¡¦s been a sickness and diahorea bug doing the round here since November but I¡¦d manage to avoid it ¡V it caught up with me good and proper though and wiped me out completely. I then passed it onto Mark, both kids and my poor Mum, so we all spent most of Xmas really poorly.

We didn¡¦t¡¦ really go anywhere or do anything except watch too much telly and feel very sorry for ourselves. It was as much as I could do to get dressed and shuffle round the block with Maisy a couple of times a day! Mark seemed to get the same virus, but without the sickness, and he¡¦s still not well now. He went home 2 day ago but still hadn¡¦t made it into work. He went to the Dr¡¦s today and was told it¡¦s a virus (duh) and told to stay at home until Monday.In the meantime (groan) Lily¡¦ rash was atrocious ¡V we went back to the Dr¡¦s who told us to get the Emergency Department at the local hospital (which is HORRID) ASAP as they didn¡¦t know what it was. I made my ex come with us (he has been too stingy to pay for her private medical so thought it only fitting that he could come and see what her level of care would be like ¡V ba5tard). We waited a couple of hours then saw the on call paediatrician who told us within minutes that it was Chicken Pox ¡V why the other 3 Doctors that we¡¦d seen couldn¡¦t have told us that, I¡¦ve no idea! Poor Lily ¡V she¡¦ had sickness, diahorea and chicken pox all at the same time and if it couldn¡¦t get any worse, her coughing has started up again so she¡¦s having a really rough time. I don¡¦t know if the rash that Paddy had in December was just a very mild dose of chicken pox or if he¡¦s likely to start popping out in spots within the next week/ Time will tell.

Anyway, back to WW for me tomorrow to see what the damage of Christmas is (!). I¡¦ve really got to get cracking with losing this weight. My sister is planning to come back from Australia to the UK for a holiday this Summer so we want to book the wedding for while she is over, which should be July hopefully. I¡¦m just waiting for her to confirm dates so that Mark can go and book the registry office. So that leaves me approx 6 months to loose 6 stone ¡V not going to happen ¡V so I¡¦d be happy with 3!

I¡¦m a bit gutted because I wanted to get married here, in the local town hall which is in the village square. I saw a civil wedding there in November and it was beautiful! The groom and everyone else arrived while it was still light and at dusk the bride and her Father and her bridesmaid arrived in the car (practically the whole village turned out to see!). They ceremony was probably less that half an hour then they came out into the square where everyone threw rice, cheered and clapped and set off fireworks! I just thought the whole thing was beautiful and so much more personal. Beside which, I got married in a registry office last time and I¡¦d hate there to be any deja vous vibes going on. Mark, however, won¡¦t agree to it (he won¡¦t come out and say a flat no either) because he want all his family there and obviously the cost of flights and accommodation would limit the amount of people who would be able to attend, and then there¡¦s the whole logistics of who will stay where, etc. I¡¦ve now accepted that fact that if I want us to get married before he reaches retirement (ha ha!), I¡¦ll just have to give in and agree to a UK wedding (boo). So, the plan is to have a registry office and a small reception back at our house, if we have one by then, or if not, at his Mum¡¦s place. Glam or what, lol?! We want to keep the cost down as much as possible, simply because we¡¦ve got much an expensive time ahead of us¡Kwe¡¦ve got to buy a property in the UK, move us, dog and furniture back, and then there¡¦ the matter the future babies that we want!!). So many things to do ¡V so little money!I¡¦m sure I¡¦ve missed a load of stuff out which will no doubt come back to me during one of Paddy¡¦s many night time breast feeds (he¡¦s up every 2-3 hours at the moment, for the last couple of months ¡V I¡¦m knackered).

Feeling a bit down at the moment. I can¡¦t seem to keep on top of the housework, no matter how hard I try. I know it's not the end of the world, but it gets on my nerves when it¡¦s this messy. I need a huge spring clean and declutter as I feel like we¡¦re at bursting point. The really worrying thing is that load of our stuff is already in storage ƒ¼. Need to re-enrol in Flylady I think! I¡¦m prepared to put up with all the American cheese if it makes me get my arse into gear which, to be fair, it usually does.

New Years resolutions:
1) Loose weight
2) Get married.
Should be do-able. Ish!