Eighteen weeks + 3

Well today I go back to the doctors, I will tell him that the Fybogel made no difference whatsoever and he can tell me it isn't because I'm Coeliac and we can move on to a more sensible suggestion. Do you like the way I've got that all sorted in my head, I really shouldn't organise the doctors that way, but I'm not in the mood for anything else today. Mainly because Cyril has once again been doing his best impression of a baby and getting me up several times in the night. I can't see that it can be anything other than food related, but again we will have to see, you never know what doctors will do next. After the doctors Neil and I (because we are completely nuts) are continuing our Christmas shopping, this time at Merry Hill.

We did quite well yesterday (that's a lie we bought one bag full of stuff), and at least thought we could add to that by making a trip to Merry Hill (known as Merry Hell, by anyone with half a brain). At least there I know where all of the shops are, and it's all undercover. As yesterday we got soaking wet, went round and round in circles unable to find a shop we wanted, and then the ultimate stupid thing. I looked on the internet on my phone for the Wetherspoons in Worcester as I couldn't remember where one was, and we made a mad dash in the pouring rain to get to it, only to find there had been one just opposite where we had been originally sheltering, OK I guess life's like that.

So it is going to be a bit full on today: Doctors, Merry Hill, Home, Ned to the woods,  Malarky and finally Uni. Yes I am going to be tired tonight! I'm actually rapidly coming to the conclusion that having Neil at home is going to mean that I need a holiday, a really long quiet one, with no shops at all. Right now before all the madness begins what I need to do is myself another cup of coffee.

Eighteen weeks + 2

Well Cyril has been at it again and I've been up 4 times in the night, he's worse than a baby. It's made for a grumpy Maxine and one that doesn't really want to go out today, but as we know I'm against being controlled by him so I will go to Worcester shopping, whether I want to or not. I really do hope the doctor can be more helpful tomorrow, or I'm just going to put myself on an exclusion diet and eat nothing but rice and water for weeks on end, just to settle everything down. Luckily for me Neil is is here and has got the boys up and ready for school, not that they don't do everything for themselves, Xander was even up at just after 6, I know I met him on the landing. I sometimes think they don't really need me that much at all, then I look at the washing machine and realise that yes they probably do. Plus we know how badly they eat when I'm not around, so at least I'm good for something.

So we are shopping in Worcester today, we haven't done that for over 10 years, what with Merry Hill being 10 minutes away, why would you? It should be a fun day (we'll ignore Cyril) as long as we don't kill each other before we even get out of the house, which believe me is always an option. You can't be a woman living with 3 boys (yes I have included Neil in that count) and there not be some friction from time to time, like the idea of getting rid of the dining room table and replacing it with a pool table, or that we should have Indian food for Christmas dinner, I just have to stand my ground and hope for some sense of sanity to return. The plan for the day is to get to Worcester at about 10:30 giving us a couple of hours shopping before and after lunch, then home again before it's dark so that I can get up to the field and do Malarky. Mind you there is something very Christmassy about shopping in the dark, still that will have to wait for another day, as I am pretty sure we won't get it all done today.

That is pretty much my whole day, I don't think I've got time for food shopping today, so that will have to wait until tomorrow, and of course tomorrow I do have the doctors. It's going to be an interesting couple of days I should think. Mind you first I have to survive the having Neil at home, or is it the other way around?

Eighteen weeks + 1

Well it's a pretty grey Sunday morning and I am once again having to deal with a sit in by Denny (cat), who thinks that sticking his claws into my arm in a rhythmical fashion is a friendly thing to do, and will get him what he wants. I beg to differ, plus it's making my typing very wonky indeed. Well I managed to get the house pretty straight yesterday before Neils parents came, so that was good, plus I did this huge pile of ironing that was growing in the dining room, so I have absolutely nothing to do today, who am I kidding, I can always find housework to do. I cooked a huge chicken dinner as well, of which there are quite a few leftovers, so that's me sorted for the whole day, plus not only did the addition of curry sauce to the roast chicken dinner not phase Neils Mom at all, she had only it and no gravy and said it was a nice change (she may have been just being nice, but still).

Today, well apart form having no housework to do, we do have a trip to the field in store. I have a large metal bin which is at the moment down the side of the house that I want moving to the field to put bags of feed in, mainly because the bin I've got there isn't tall enough for the task really. Anyway that is going to take a certain amount of man power, and protection (gloves for me because of spiders etc) and it's something that we can't do yet as it's too early to be banging around outside. I have to make Xander bacon (and possibly cheese) sandwiches today as we didn't have them yesterday, and trust me he will not have forgotten that. So apart from that I think it will be a pottering about kind of a day for us.

Neil has the next three days off from work, so apart from when I have to go to Uni it means we will have a nice time together, or we will row a lot and I'll be glad to get away, you never know how these things will go. I know he wants to go Christmas shopping in Worcester on Monday but what he has planned for the rest of the time I do not know, maybe he'll try and finish off the utility, boxing all the pipes in. Maybe not, we will have to wait and see. He is at this very minute writing a presents list for us to take with us on Monday, as he doesn't like to wing these sort of things, he likes to plan. Which is why it's weird he doesn't know what he wants to do on the other days he has off. Oh well I'm not going to worry about it, he's gone to make me another cup of coffee, so for now at least he's being useful.

Eighteen weeks later

So, it's Saturday morning and I could have been in bed having a nice lie in, am I? No. For some reason I am up and wide awake and it's only just 7 o'clock. I'm not complaining too much, I have been sleeping slightly better this last week, so I guess I can put up with it. I really enjoyed my afternoon at Summerhill, and yes it was a bit strange to see all the kids in normal clothes, but a lot more colourful than when they are in uniform. I was a bit late leaving as Miss Wilson wanted to ask my advice about re-wording the question she is going to set the year 10s for their GSCE coursework. I took that as a huge compliment, she also said the year 10s see me as another teacher in the class not just a helper, she said you can tell by the way they ask me to help them, again another compliment. I was so pleased with myself I skipped down the pathway outside the school. Then proceeded to get told off by Will, as apparently it's not something that Mothers are supposed to do, not on school premises and certainly not with their children near by. So I stuck my tongue out at him, which I'm sure is something else I'm not supposed to do. I suggested that if he didn't want to be embarrassed by me, he could always walk home. So that put a stop to that nonsense. 

Oh Miss Wilson has also agreed to be my referee for the PGCE as well so that's another step closer, in what really seems like a far too complicated process. On top of everything else I have to write a personal statement about why I want to become a teacher, it could make the difference between getting on a course or not. I don't think that "I know it's the right thing to do" mixed in with a bit of "I must be completely nuts" is really going to do the trick for me, so this may take longer than I thought. Plus I am only applying to one University as the others are really a bit too far away, again limiting my prospects, but what else can I do? I can't do my PGCE at Wolverhampton because you have to do a course specific one, and they do not do History there, so Worcester is my closest, and trust me, that's not close. Still after all the problems I've had just trying to get my degree finished, I think a little bit of travelling should seem simple.

So what does my day have in store for me, well Neils Mom and Dad are coming to visit: so I'll be mainly tidying the place up then. It's not that my house is a mess, but it is lived in, sometimes it seems by a lot more than 4 people. I have Malarky and Ned to deal with and I have to buy a chicken. I know that seems a silly addition but I didn't think I could get a chicken with my shopping that would last until Saturday night (my shopping comes on Monday) so I intended to buy a chicken for dinner tonight sometime later in the week. I know that chicken is boring but cooking a roast chicken dinner is the easiest thing, as Neils Mom won't eat any other kind of meat, and Neils Dad, like mine, is a Coeliac. Still I will keep it simple by doing a medley of roasted root vegetables, oh and Xander says I have to make my curry sauce to have as an alternative to gravy. I have the feeling that's going to end up on the Christmas dinner list if I'm not careful.

OK I'm off now in search of coffee and something to eat, mmm I wonder if I can have mince pies for breakfast? 

Seventeen weeks + 6

I'm having trouble writing this this morning as Denny (one of my cats) seems to be having some kind sit in protest (on my lap) which is making it quite hard to type. He also likes to roll around and pretend to fall off, so that means I have to rescue him from time to time, I'm not quite sure what the protest is about, could be food and conditions, more likely it's a sixth sense (that cats have) that I want to get up and get myself another cup of coffee. You learn these things, cats get on you when you want to get up, and your kids only want to speak to you when you are on the phone. It's a life lesson kind of a thing, for people without cats and children, well that's OK they get to move around when they want and have uninterrupted phone conversations, I have no clue what that is like. So how am I this morning, well I completely fell out with Cyril last night, who started misbehaving just around dinner time and didn't stop until about 10 o'clock, the only comfort is at least I was home, but I'm getting really fed up with it now. The Fybogel stuff isn't doing a thing, even though I'm taking 2 sachets a day, so I do hope the doctor has some better ideas when I go back to him next Tuesday. Lets hope Cyril is all misbehaved out so at least I can go to Summerhill this afternoon without worrying about it.

I had a great morning at Summerhill yesterday, I love being at the school, mind you I have to remember to ask Miss Wilson if she'll be my PGCE referee as apparently I need one. I had to log onto a web site yesterday to try and apply to get onto the course, it's pretty complicated, and I'm quite smart, so I'm guessing it's a way of weeding out people without even trying. It kept asking me if I had any convictions, I mean it asked three or four times, I was beginning to develop a paranoia, especially when every time I clicked no, it logged me out and I had to log in again. Still I can cope with awkward software, after all I fixed the internet yesterday, so there's pretty much nothing I can't do today. OK I can't get out of my chair at the moment but that's another matter entirely. 

I must take Ned to the woods today, as he was supposed to go yesterday and I ran out of daylight. That's the problem with this time of year, I love it in the summer we can go to the woods after dinner, it's a nice way to spend the evening, now the days are so short I'm having to cram in things like Ned and Malarky into a much shorter time frame, still it won't be that long before they start getting longer again, so that will be better (I know it's a month away, I'm being optimistic). My boys have both gone to school in civvies today, as it's a MUFTI day, does anyone actually know what that word means, we didn't use it when I was at school we just called them non-uniform days. Anyway it's to raise money for Children in Need, well that's a couple of quid I've already donated. I suggested that Will wear a smart T-shirt, he's gone to school in a space invader one, I give up with that kid I really do, if that's his idea of smart he's a lost cause. He looks so much older not in his uniform, still I'm guessing it's going to be a little odd with all of them in their own clothes this afternoon, that's a new one for me to deal with.

Well I have a morning to myself so I'm going to chill out a bit and have maybe some more coffee (if Denny ever gets off), I may even do some housework, but as it's Fun Time Friday maybe not.

Seventeen weeks + 5

I nearly didn't have a blog this morning, I got up to find Xander on the computer watching a movie, well that's odd for him (the movie, not being up), when he announced that the internet wasn't working. Now that made more sense, so I kicked him of the PC and had a quick look (I attempted to open Google) sure enough the internet wasn't there, so I restarted the computer (I'm not married to a tech geek for nothing), hmm, no that made no difference what so ever. OK I said to Xander "I'm running a diagnostic on the network", "Wow Mom that's the most computery thing I think you've ever done". We'll ignore the lack of real words involved in the sentence and I will also point out it was an option I discovered when I accidentally clicked a button on the right hand side of the screen. After much deliberation the computer told me that the internet wasn't working, well Xander told me that 1/2 hour earlier, but we won't go into that, so I did the only really technical thing available to me at that time in the morning, (no I didn't ring Neil, which I have been known to do before, as the internet not working isn't apparently an emergency, just shows what he knows!) I turned everything off at the socket and waited for a bit, then turned everything back on again, I know the scale of my genius has no limits. So internet fixed I can get down to writing my daily blog.

Yesterday my brother came for a visit, I bet you didn't even know I had one, well I do his name is Elliot, and he'd be 3rd in line to the throne, if there were such a thing in my family, and you have to feel sorry for him growing up with three sisters, especially when one of them was me. He rang whilst I was at the field, and said "where are you?", and got slightly confused when I said I was up the field with the boys, he was sitting outside my house having dropped someone off in Wolverhampton he thought he'd pop in. Well it's typical really because I'm in far more than I'm out and I rarely take both of the boys with me, so that was a skilled piece of timing on his part. He stopped for a couple of hours, chatting until Neil came home then went on his merry way with a promise of a return visit for an evening soon. He's recently split up from his girlfriend and is trying to rebuild his life, so it was nice to chat to him and see how he is doing. 

So what of me today, well I have Summerhill this morning, with Miss Wilson back this week, I may find out what was really thought about me teaching that lesson last week, because despite the fact that I enjoyed it, I probably shouldn't have done it really. Still it's done now, I can't take it back. I love my time at Summerhill but I really should remember it is actually a module as well, I have a log that I keep forgetting to write up. I have written it down, all on pages of my puzzle books in the bedroom, so it's just a matter of finding them, and typing it up on the computer. I know that's a little bit mad, but I'd hate to forget what I did each week, and if it comes to mind at 4 o'clock in the morning in the middle of a cross word, who am I to argue. I also have another piece of work to do on it, though it's a self evaluation, so I'm thinking I just say I was amazing and hope for top marks (I'm kidding), I have no clue what that is all about, I'll let you know after I've seen my tutor in the next couple of weeks.

Anyway I had better go and get ready, another cup of coffee first though I think, don't you?

Seventeen weeks + 4

Well our house was all full of the talk of Christmas presents last night, it's making me feel a little Christmassy I must say, but what's even weirder is Neil says he feels a little like that too, this is a new one for me, as Neil and Christmas don't normally get it together until after his works do. I should explain - He works in a contract tool room, where they have a lot of jobs with a monthly deadline, which means in December it can be a real pressure environment to get everything out, basically with a weeks less time to do it in. Then they all go for a real blow out, I mean it's normally on the 23rd December and they start at lunchtime, with a 3 course meal and all the beer etc paid for. Needless to say we normally end up with a very drunk Neil by early evening, who sleeps through most of the night and then goes Christmas shopping on the 24th, finally in some kind of Christmas spirit, or sometimes just full of them. Over the years (as he's been working at Larkshill since before the boys were born), we have had the odd adventure, my least favourite was finding him on the back door step with hypothermia (he'd been there for over 2 hours in below freezing temperatures), the funniest had to be when he caught the train and missed his stop and then got off at Bromsgrove, so I had a drunk husband in a town I didn't know before we had mobile phones, it's a wonder I ever got this far actually still with him intact. 

Any way back to the Christmas presents, well Xander has written his list, he gave it to me last night, it's small, no not in length, it's on a post it note, so I will lose that if I'm not careful. Will has gone completely the other way and messaged me his on Facebook, I'm not sure which is more scary, or funnier. Neil mentioned my presents and Will said "a puppy", which Neil put a stop to straight away, everyone knows I want another dog before Ned is too old and grumpy (he's only 2 so we have a while yet), but Neil is adamant that one dog is enough. Anyway Xander actually has asked for a giant bar of chocolate, which says a lot about him, but Will has a top hat and cane on his list, so I'm not sure at all what to say about that. I do love Christmas, I love all the preparation and the cooking and the giving, plus all the drinking, it's the only time of year we drink port, which is silly as we both really like it. Also my birthday is only the week before so it's the only time of year I have to look forward to. I'll be 42 this year which on one hand seems really old, especially when I think about the incident in Bromsgrove with Neil which was before the boys, when we lived in Kiddy, but on the other hand I have so much left to do, 42 doesn't seem that old at all. I have to finish my degree, then I'll do my PGCE, I'll be 43 before I actually become a teacher, something I'm so looking forward to that it doesn't really seem to matter.

On to today, well I have Uni at lunchtime, which always fills my day up, when it shouldn't really, and of course I'll go and see Malarky on the way back. Then I'll pop to cooltrader with Xander, as I didn't get chance to do it yesterday. So not too much, wrapped up with a little bit of housework, sounds like an OK day to me. Maybe I should actually write my Christmas list too, I can put a puppy on it, it doesn't mean I'll get one, but there's no harm in trying, is there?