Just a little prick

Do you believe in miracle cures?

I have always been very skeptical about things that promise to cure you from all pain, I tend to always go for "Doctor knows best" As I mentioned in a earlier blog I have been suffering from very bad sciatica since just before Christmas and have been having to have my pain killers increased on a regular basis, but when you have 2 young kids spending your day drowsy from strong pain killers isn't an ideal solution. A couple of weeks ago I was talking to one of my fellow choir members about my problem as I knew she had back troubles as well. She suggested that I come down to her house one night to meet her daughter who was a physiotherapist at our local hospital, I went down a few days later. She got me to do a few exercises and then to lie up on her table while she carried out some movements on my legs, so far so good. Then she told me that my right leg was 1 inch shorter than my left leg and that my pelvis on my right side was out of position and that a new technique that she had learned would put it back in the right place in 5 minutes....wow! I then had 15 minutes of acupuncture,very freaky, especially when she told me I could get up if I wanted but to be aware I had needles in my back, my foot and my knee! No thanks I'll just lie very still! It is truly amazing I am almost completely off my painkillers, I am still having the very odd twinge but that is only to be expected because the nerve was trapped for so long. Definitely a miracle cure for me! I can't believe how normal I am feeling, the permanent bad mood from being in so much pain is gone and my sleep is not be disturb every night plus I can start having a social drink again which is very convenient because we are away with friends for the Easter weekend...hurrah!

Apprentice in the making

I know what I am going to get my daughter for her birthday...a ton of building sand! Just goes to show you how happy kids are with the simple things...just a pity it's so messy!!

A work in progress

My back garden and my drive are all getting redone this week and it is literally like walking onto a building site every time I open my back door(picture taken tonight) We have been assured that it will be all finished by Thursday but going by the mess I am a wee bit skeptical. I am not really bothered because AJ is enthralled by the builders and spends most of the day watching them out of the windows...it's great! She has even been telling the builders how she is not going to school....ever! So the man in charge tried to tell her that if she didn't go to school for her mummy then she would have to come and work for him every day....So she told him that was fine! Although I don't think that I can get steel toe-capped boots for someone that small and they wouldn't get any work out of her because she would be to busy playing with the builders sand....which she has already tried to do!

Houston we have a problem!

We have a problem...well 2 problems! AJ and I went to our local school on Monday to meet her new Nursery Teachers and for us mums to fill in some forms and to find out all about the new nursery and how the first week is going to work for the children. First problem is the new children haven't to start nursery now until the 23rd April so that is another 7 sleeps onto my original total, not really that much a problem as the only thing I had planned for that week was to watch Jeremy Kyle instead of cbeebies! Second problem and this is the big one... AJ is point blank refusing to go! It all started when all of us mums were ask to go into the next room to get all of our information whilst the children played with the two other nursery teachers. We were separated only by one door that had a glass panel and was totally see through and AJ lasted a huge 60 seconds before she started freaking out, so she ushered in and the meeting continued. We were told that all children had to be settled in gently over a period of a week, time slowly increasing each day and most other mums there started complaining about having to stay for more than one day when the head teacher looked directly at me and said "do not worry we have a parents room where you will be able to have a coffee!" I think they know I'll be there for the duration! However none of this really matters for as I said earlier AJ is refusing to go and will not under any circumstance discuss it with anyone if we ask her how was school we simply get "don't like it....not going" and even when I dared to suggest that I thought the teachers were very nice I got a curt " no I don't think so" My hubby is now suggesting(I hope he is joking) that maybe I should start looking into home schooling.....Help!!!

Happy Mothers Day!

Just in case you all think I have possibly forgotten Mothers Day and that I am using my blog to save my skin then you are wrong...my card is all written, the presents in a lovely gift bag and my mum got her flowers today. But I would just like to say a big thank you to my mum who is always there to help me out, with anything from babysitting...to lending a hand with my ironing...for making my dinner most Sundays and for being the most generous and lovely person! P.S. can you have the girls next weekend?!?!?!?

Terrible 2's...3's...???

Does anyone have Super Nannies phone number? I do ask this in all seriousness because this week I have seriously considered putting AJ up for auction on EBAY. I am getting quite worried now because everyone that I have spoken to that knows our family keeps remarking about how much AJ reminds them of my younger sister. She used to get up to all sorts and because I was 5 years older I can remember watching in horror at her exploits for example, cutting her hair...locking my mother out of the house...painting an entire bedroom from carpet to furniture with white emulsion...tipping over her wardrobe, this was all from the early age of 2!! AJ is following in her Auntie's footsteps with great gusto!! I mentioned in an earlier entry that I was getting a new living room carpet on Monday, so whilst poor mummy was slogging away getting her living back to normal AJ was amusing herself up the stairs. Playing with her toys you maybe thinking...watching a video...colouring in...no...nothing is ever that simple with AJ. My darling child was amusing herself with a large tub of Sudocream(very white, very thick, very greasy and very hard to get off!) It was everywhere...all over her...all over my new stair carpet...all over my mirrored wardrobes...all over my bed(and for good measure she had added 500 cotton buds)..all over the back of my bedroom door and in turn all over her daddy's dressing gown...are you getting the picture? I was gobsmacked and in all honesty didn't know what to do first, so I put her in the bath and phoned my mum..."go into another room and count to 20" was her advice. So I did this but to be honest it was more like 50! It took me at least 10 minutes to remove all traces of the cream off of her and another good half hour to clean it off of everything else that she had smeared it on. It's actually amazing about how much damage a 3 year old can do in about 15 minutes. I am now quite terrified to leave her on her on because on top of the cream incident this week she has so far locked herself in my mum and dads toilet and tried to drink perfume and then today she poured a bottle of her dads aftershave down the sink and then she ripped up every page out of her big sisters favourite notepad! So highest bidder wins or any suggestions or anyone with some spare baby Valium please get in touch!!

Welcome Ruby

This is my friends new baby who was born today. Ruby is only 8 hours old in this picture and is gorgeous although she has already thrown up on me! I can't believe she is here I spoke to her mum (mid contraction) at 1.30 today just before she left for the hospital and 2 hours later here she is and another few hours on and she is already home! Welcome to the world Ruby! Love Auntie Alice x

Spring Cleaning

I started my spring cleaning this week. It started on Sunday night in my bedroom then I did my kitchen on Monday. The plan was to do one room at a time over a few days because when you have a 3 year old going behind you and undoing all your handiwork it can be pretty heavy going at times. This plan was going all right until yesterday...what is it they say about the best laid plans? Anyway I was getting a new stair carpet fitted and was getting everything ready for the carpet fitter who was coming later on that night. I started to take up the old carpet and was extremely puzzled to find that where my underlay should have been there was instead large piles of black dust. It was a nightmare, it went everywhere especially as AJ had opened every door upstairs and walked through every room and had jumped on my bed as well...I could have cried! Luckily my dad removed the delightful child out of harms way(yes...my way)and took her down to stay at their house for the night. Daughter number 1 was at her other grandparents so I had plenty of child free time to get on with the clean up. 3 hours of solid scrubbing, hoovering, changing beds and putting stuff back where it belonged followed and by the time I was finished I could barely lift a finger! But do you know whats really worrying me? I need to do it all again on Monday when my new living room carpet gets fitted...help!!

Mr Alice

I have been reading back through some of my entries and have realised I haven't really written much about my better half...Mr Alice! Obviously that's not his real title but he would probably throttle me if I put his real name on this! So that's why I have chose this picture 'cause you can't really make him out and it will give him the anonymity he so desires! He has been my best friend and not to sound too soppy my soul mate, and I'm sure we worked it out that we have known each other for nearly 12 years. We've had our ups and downs like most couples and we have argued over the usual petty things...whos turn it is to put the bins out...who has to make a cup of tea...who is doing the dishes(although I am reliably informed I am getting a dishwasher for Mothers Day)...whos turn it is to get up with the kids and so on but we get there! He is however not the most handiest of blokes when it comes to domestic matters for example as I came out of church this morning and switched on my mobile I was alerted to the fact I had voice mail...."Hi it's me... listen where does the bold stuff go and if its a ball thingy where is it? if its not a ball thingy do I just put it in the drawer?" very technical stuff! He once washed all my towels including my show towels(if you are anything like my mum you'll know what I am talking about!)at a very high temperature needless to say my mum nearly had a nervous breakdown when she saw them and spent a week bleaching all my white ones back to their original state! However there are some things that I couldn't do without him...he fixed my hoover yesterday...he laid my wooden floor...he gets rid of moths for me(I in return have to get rid of wasps for him!)...and although he moans about it every year he helps me get my Christmas decorations down from the loft! But the best thing about him and I have touched briefly on it in a earlier blog is his amazing talent for making tea...it is out of this world!!

Blood Moon

This is a really poor picture taken with my mobile at 11 o'clock tonight outside my back door whilst wearing my p j's of the eclipse. I couldn't use my proper digital camera because it needed new batteries and my husband (who was wearing my slippers!) wouldn't let me put the kitchen light on to find them in case it spoilt his viewing! It was a really spectacular sight made even more special as we got our oldest daughter up out of bed to see it...she was still up just in case you all think I dragged her out half asleep on a cold night! It was nice to see her and her dad sharing this... talking about the planets and the stars, so I left then to it and went back to my warm bed! night !

Not a baby anymore

My eldest daughter H has 2 photo albums that she keeps in her drawer.
Every now and then she brings them out and I have to sit and go through them with her, telling her how old she was...where we were when they were taken...who the person is in the picture with her and so on. Today I looked after my friends baby boy and this has inspired H to again dig out the albums. And it frightens me as to how quick my kids are growing up and as a wise man told me this week "make sure you still make the most of every moment you have with them while they're young, 'cos believe me it won't be long until time is rushing past you faster than the Clyde was this morning after all that rain." Thanks Rev! So I decided to try my hand at some poetry something I haven't done since I was at school and I hope you like it as much as H did.

You're not a baby anymore

you're not a baby any more
not content to lay in your pram at my back door
desperate to go out and about on your own
wanting to have your own mobile phone
telling me you can do it for yourself
reaching for your toys on the high shelf
having a crush on the boy from school
telling me that he is very cool
learning to swim at our local baths
tackling all things with a smile and a laugh
coming downstairs with some lipstick on
dazzling, pink and too much smeared on
stomping out and slamming my door
and telling me "I'm not a baby anymore"

Written by Alice