Weekend activities

Here is hubby's pizza. And very nice it was too, although I made the dough and sauce, so not sure how much was actually his pizza...bless, but he does get excited when he creates a cullinary marvel ;) Half carnivore, half herbivore pizza - with very clear definitions so no manky pieces of chorizo or ham crept onto my lovely pepper and Quorn half.

My Amazon stash arrived:

A CD for hubby and a straw bale building book - we are having an extension and it will be straw baled - yay! Just need to figure out timescale and get cracking.

Two H.E. Bates books for me and Grow Your Own Drugs, or which hubby's eyes nearly popped out of his head at, thinking that I was intending starting a hash factory or something...although with the HUGE Jiffy bag of fresh fennel that a certain girl sent to me, people might believe him!

Madam in her tent that Daddy made:

and on the swing having a thoughtful moment:

I have been mostly anticipating every twinge, then panicking when I do get one; wondering if my lady parts are capable of providing an escape route for this baby. I know this is what my body is built for, but I truly think I'm a bit defective and it won't work. Bugger. Cos today is my due date and I really don't think I have the option of turning back now.

Jewellery - for ME!

Finally got around to actually making some jewellery for myself. For a change! Been so busy with orders etc, I haven't made anything for myself for yonks. So did a nice little .925 sterling bracelet with silver heart charms (reclaimed) and some amethyst and rose quartz 4 mm beads and an amethyst pendant dropper. Also, a matching dropper on a necklace. Love them.

Here is the bracelet that my girl made me too - a unakite single strand on memory wire - I popped the clasp on but she did the rest. The little star.

We've also been to the beach this week with all of this gorgeous sunshine. Since baby has engaged fully, the pressure is off my old knackered pelvis and I can walk once more! So we've made the most of it and been out and about.

Who's that monster? Oh no, it's just big old me causing an eclipse on the beach. Not for long - nearly baby time. I hope...

Stupid Mummy!

Pixie crawled into our bed yesterday morning for a cuddle and said:

"Ahhhh Mummy, I just told Baby Annabel that she was a pretty girl!"

Me: "Oh did you? That's lovely! What did she say?"

*Stony silence*

Pixie: "Well nothing Mummy. Because she's a dolly. And dollies don't talk."

A look of 'How thick are you Mummy?' across the duvet.

Stupid Mummy. I should know that shouldn't I? A three-year-old knows that.

Still here...

"C'mon lumpy - let's help you out of bed then!"

When this is said by your three-year-old, you know you must be a bit of a potato.

And I do truly think I am cooked. After this week's false alarm with a disappointing end (i.e. no baby), I do think I may last until my due date or beyond. Baby must be comfy in there so I shall respect its wishes to continue to use my bladder as a squeeze toy, press down on my cervix like it's a trampoline and generally be all squirmy.

(You will have to excuse the attractive PJ pants, dire purple cardigan and thank goodness my head is missed off the shot)

Our new hens are settled much more - I love Matilda, the White Leghorn - she is sooooo pretty. Both girls are laying now - Matilda's eggs are lovely and white and the size of a thimble - I think they'll get bigger though. She gets bullied by the other hens and I get upset (hormones maybe, or just 'cos I'm soft).

After visiting another pregnant friend yesterday, I left feeling quite sad. Her husband has very fixed ideas re babies and is determined to ship the child out of their bedroom by 6 weeks old (because he 'has needs'), she has to stop breastfeeding by 5 months as "it's not right for any longer" and other such strong inclinations. I asked why you would put so many boundaries upon a newborn whose needs are so much more important. Apparently, his needs are greater...ho hum, I know everyone is different, and I rejoice in that, but sometimes it pisses me off!

I made her a labour oil for massage during labour (obviously!) but she said "he won't do that sort of thing so it would be wasted". What a shame, and what the chuffin' use is he going to be to her in labour if he won't even massage her back? Gah, I give up.

This is a crochet flower brooch (not a butterfly as wondered by my father...) for my mum's birthday.

We went out for a lovely meal. This is the bracelet Pixie made for her...I think it's a fab design for a little girl. I just fitted the clasp on the end - she chose the beads and got on with it herself.

Gah! When will this baby come?

Well I'm not up to my due date yet, but yesterday, it looked like baby was well on its way.

03.30hrs I woke up with horrendous backache and strong contractions. I soooo thought that was it. My mum came over first thing and 'took me for a walk'. The contractions kept coming and were rather painful and I was thinking I was doing really well breathing through them. We sent Pixie to my parents in the hope that we would be dashing to the hospital to deliver and I spent the rest of the evening bouncing around on my little gym ball willing my cervix to open and then...

nothing.

Zip.

Nada.

Everything stopped. I had the best night's sleep for months. But still no baby :( I am really impatient and can't cope with another fortnight of this: I want baby to arrive NOW!

Why do I do silly things?

Ok so 3 weeks before baby arrives is not the time to do some garden maintenance.

And I'm not talking about the great outdoors either.

I'll be frank: me, in the shower, a hand-held mirror and a razor. Without contact lenses. It really wasn't the most sensible thing to attempt.

And when I am eventually birthing this child, who in the world will care whether my Brazillian has been maintained for nine long months?

Must get on with transferring seedlings too (on a less personal and completely different note). Our basil and melon are well sprouted and need to be planted outside. The tomatoes are doing great with lots of fruit already on them; we have no idea what else is planted as it was my fab idea to write on the wooden stakes with felt tip pen, and the rain has washed off the writing. Pregnant brain again...

Have a million and one things to finish/start before baby comes too. Made a list this morning but don't quite know where to start.

The news henny pennies are lovely, but my hen, the hardy and fierce Monica, is in solitary confinement. She won't leave them alone and attacks them constantly. So we have had to build an additional pen as a temporary measure while she chills out a bit and the new girls get a bit bigger and tougher. Monica is a Warren hen, complete with the attitude and aggressiveness of a battery chook. Hopefully she will adjust or we will have to give her to a friend for his smallholding as she can permanently free-range then, and be less likely to be trouble.

I am also STILL waiting for maternity pay. Because I have been off sick my entire pregnancy, my employer is unable to pay me and I have had to claim from the dole police for maternity allowance. What a chuffing joke: a 39-page form, a load of paperwork requests and a nine-week wait for claim updates, so I have been without money for almost two months. Phone calls get the same response: "Oh, it might be another few weeks before you hear anything yet". Wonderful - apparently it's ok though, because I am 'in the system'.

My hospital bag is ready, complete with crystals, homeopathic remedies (although I do need some stronger ones...), the usual bits...just need some snacks for hubby. Might get him a packet of Hob Nobs like last labour day, and he can sit in the corner crunching them like a squirrel. It can be like a reminiscence for him.

Brazilian Wax

Why aye man!

This week I have mostly been...watching re-runs of Auf Wiedersehen Pet! Bloody fantastic, and I rather think I have a bit of a thing for Jimmy Nail. I know, I know, he's not your average sex god of Brad Pitt style (who, I might add, does absolutely bugger all for me - I don't like pretty men).

No, I think it's the rough and rugged look, the Geordie dialect (even though my WHOLE family except me are Geordies) and the general real man-ness about him. Yum. Why aye man!

Anyhooooo, back to reality. A lovely gift arrived via the postman yesterday morning:

A gorgeous yellow snuggly for baby from Shell. Also inside was a Kipper book for Pixie who was delighted with "Shell from the forum for being so kind sending me and baby a gift!"

I also think the Postman got way more than he bargained for when I opened the door to receive my parcel and my 37-weeks-pregnant belly prevented my dressing gown from closing efficiently. Boobs and lady parts *may* have waved at the outside world for a second. But hey, I have lost the majority of dignity now, so I wasn't that appalled. Can't same the same for the scarred postie though...

Ho hum, this is my new knitted handbag. Now, I know you'd love it if I said I knit this myself, but I really would be lying my ass off. My mother did it 'cos I have zero knitting ability still. But I love it - it's just so furry and cuddly.

I've also been working on more jewellery commissions, and been busy playing with wire and beads:


And in between all this frenetic activity (ha!) I am still waddling around with a knackered pelvis, being a hormonal puddle (I cried when I saw hubby at his market stall and he looked cold - I wanted to bring him home! What's that all about?!) and gathering all my birth things.
So we have reflexology sessions lined up pre-labour, am still self-treating with Reiki and hypnotherapy, acupuncture post-natal, aromatherapy oils and crystals at the ready, as are the homeopathic remedies for every possible scenario...
Baby is well below the pelvic brim now (don't I chuffing know it) happily using my bladder as a squeeze toy and preventing me getting out of bed to pee in the night. I have actually considered just weeing in the bed as it's such a hassle to get out, but decided hubby would not appreciate that so much. So I haven't.
I spend my evenings happily bouncing around on my birthing ball trying to be comfy and hoping this little one wants to come out sooner than later. It's been a loooooooooong 9 months, I tell you.

I DON'T iron tea towels!

I think my mother may be a little crazy. Or perhaps it's just me? EVERYTHING she ever washes gets ironed. I gave her a tea towel back last week that she had used to wrap up a handknitted cardigan she had made for our new arrival, and the look on her face when she saw I had washed it but not ironed it was priceless.

I simply don't have the time, energy, inclination or the interest to iron these kinds of things.

Dishcloths, cleaning rags, towels - everything.

And again today, she brought back some of Pixie's knickers she had washed from when she had her last week. Ironed. Why? Does it make them feel better on bottoms? Does your bum appreciate ironed knickers or undies???

Tea towels. Why? Do they dry dishes better than un-ironed ones? Every inch of her bedlinen is ironed within an inch of its life. Me, I wash, dry and chuck it back on. I don't care whether it's ironed when I'm so bloody exhausted and collapse into bed. All I'm really looking for is rest, not crisply-pressed sheeting.

And don't even get me started on her unrelenting insistence of using those manky chuffing air fresheners that let out a fart-like pfffffff of neurotoxin-filled spray every time you walk past them...