Good days and bad days

On Sunday we had a really good day and after days like yesterday and today, I think it's important to remember the good days as sometimes the bad ones take over when remembering back.

The two little ones had been invited to a third birthday party on Sunday, so I had taken the day off work to take them.  We were all looking forward to it, the boys for the party and I was looking forward to catching up with some friends I haven't seen for a while.

After finding my way to Camberley, we managed to get there with about 10 mins to spare.  That's really good for me, as no matter how much time I give myself, I normally end up getting lost and running late!  The party was the most relaxed kids party I have ever been to!  It was in a leisure centre and there were 3 staff members there to look after the kids.  I was actually able to sit and talk to my friends without having to run around after the boys or break up any fights!  The boys also seemed to be on their best behaviour.  Even at the end of the play session and they had to get their shoes on to go to the party room they did it with no fuss or tantrums!  The party continued in this manner and when it was time to go home, they came along nicely!  Wow, who's replaced my two boys!

We got home at about 3ish and found the flat empty.  Hubby had mentioned that he might go to the gym while we were out, so I didn't think much of it.  I let the boys play with the goodies in the party bags and eat some of the sweets.  I then texted hubby to let him know that we were home.  It turned out he wasn't at the gym at all, but in fact in the pub with some of his mates.  I decided then that seeing as he was out and about, we were all having a good day, it would be nice to go out for a family dinner somewhere.  We very rarely get the occasion to go out, so it would be a nice change.

I texted PJ and hubby to let them know of the plans and off we went to the nearest Harvester.  We all had a good time and the food was nice.  The service was a little slow, but that's to be expected at 4-5pm on a Sunday.  All full up, we came home and the little ones went off to bed not long after.  Once they were settled in bed, PJ, hubby and myself all settled down with a couple of beers (not PJ!), popcorn and a film.  All in all, a very good day all round!

Now, as I sit here listening to the screaming fits and arguments of the littlest two, how I wish days like Sundays could be a much more regular occurrence!

Jackie. x

Happy Birthday Noah!

Today my littlest boy turns 3.  I can't believe how fast the time has gone!  In just over a weeks time he will be donning a school uniform and starting nursery!

A few hours old

Noah has always been the laid back baby.  Where Aled was always quite highly strung and needed plenty of attention, Noah was the complete opposite.

Noah was born by elective c/section.  After having two c/sections and with the fact that Aled's was an emergency, there was no way that the consultant was going to let me have a natural birth.

I found myself more nervous the morning of this c/section than what I was for either of the other two boys, but everything went smoothly and he was in my arms in no time.  At 8lbs2oz, he was also my biggest baby!

Noah's ezcema

On the whole, Noah was a happy baby.  Even though he suffered from dreadful eczema from about 5-6 months old right up until just after he turned two, he always had a smile.  Most of his first year was spent on anti-biotics from the infections caused by his eczema, but this still didn't get him down.  From about six months old onwards, Scratchsleeves and sleepsuits with build in mitts were our best friend!  He is still prone to getting a flare up every now and again, but nothing like he used to.

As he's gotten older, Noah and Aled's relationship has blossomed as brothers.  There is the usual fighting (on an hourly basis) over toys, but you can already tell just how close those two are going to be when they are older.

He's a cheeky little monkey, but we wouldn't have him any other way. :-)

Happy birthday Noah!

Here is a little montage of my baby from birth to 3.  I hope you enjoy!

Jackie. x

Reason to Be Cheerful (#R2BC)

Well, it's that time of the week again and I have survived one more week of the school holidays! Yay! This coming week is a bit of an exciting week for us, so here are this weeks Reason's to Be Cheerful:

Picture from www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com

• Sunday is Noah's 3rd birthday!!  I can't believe that he's going to be 3 and starts nursery in two weeks!  Time has flown by so quickly, he will no longer be my little baby. :-(
• Of course, birthdays mean cakes.  Noah has asked for a dinosaur cake again this year, so I am going to attempt to make one like the one on the right there.  Wish me luck!!
• Birthdays also mean days out.  I am really hoping that the weather report is lying at the moment and really the weekend is going to be hot and sunny.
• The weekend off work.  Since starting my weekend job, I have made sure to book the birthday weekends off.  So a whole weekend off work, yippee.  :-)
• And of course, it's a Bank Holiday weekend, so even more time to relax.
• Today is Aled's last speech therapy appointment, so next week we can do what we like, when we like. :-)
• We had a great time at our play date yesterday at the park and had a nice picnic and fingers crossed, we will be having another play date again tomorrow.
• I got my first two sponsors for the Race for Life that I am taking part in in October.  The link is there on the right if you would like to sponsor me. ;-)

Well, that's me for this week.  What are your Reason's to be Cheerful this week?

Jackie. x

I see you....(or maybe not)

On Tuesday I  took Aled to the opticians for a check up.  I wasn't overly concerned.  I did notice that he tends to lean in quite close when looking at books or pictures etc, so with that and the fact that I am short sighted I thought it was best to get him checked out before going back to school.

Mistake number one was the time of the appointment.  It was at 4.30pm and really, I should have gone for a much earlier appointment.  Mistake number two was going to a couple of shops before the appointment.  With the boredom of the shopping and the time of day, Aled wasn't very co-operative at the opticians.

Before going to the appointment I had a look around on the net to find out the process of an eye test for small children and for a video or photos that I could show Aled to prepare him.  To be honest, I didn't find much at all.  The little information that I did find said that for small children they don't use the big machines, but tend to test their eyes manually.  Thinking this was the case, I was quite surprised when we were taken in for Aled to look into the machine.

Not surprisingly, Aled wouldn't sit still and keep his head in the right place for the assistant to get a reading from the machine. (Honestly, I think that was a bit much to ask of any four year old, let alone one with additional needs!)  After about 10 minutes of trying this, the assistant got the optician, who, after trying himself for 5 or so minutes decided that it wasn't going to work.

We were then taken into the opticians office and the optician put on the 'funny' glasses.  The letter board is now a computer generated one, where the optician was able to isolate a single letter in different sizes.  With the glasses on and covering each eye in turn the optician was able to get a bit of a look at Aled's eyes.  What he did manage to find is that Aled has an astigmatism and that he is long sighted.  Unfortunately, that was about all the optician was able to determine.

Apparently, when a person is long sighted, dye needs to be put in the persons eyes to be able to fully assess them.  As Aled was already being unco-operative, the optician felt that it would be too much for Aled to have to do at that time and the best course of action now is to refer Aled to the eye hospital.

So, the outcome for us is that we know Aled needs glasses, but we now have to wait for the referral to go through and for an appointment to come in from the eye hospital.  From previous experience with the eye hospital for Noah, I know that it can take months for an appointment to come through, I'm just hoping that it will come through quicker seeing as Aled starts full time school in two weeks along with the knowledge that Aled does need glasses.

Jackie. x

Reasons to be Cheerful...1, 2, 3 (#R2BC)

It's been a little while since I have taken part in this linky.  I'm going to be honest, I've not been in a good place recently, but I've decided that I need to try to 'snap out of it', which is my reason for making sure I take part this week.

This week the linky is being hosted by the lovely Mama Owl while Michelle is taking a well deserved summer break.

So, without further ado, my reasons to be cheerful this week:

• Tonight I am going to an Ann Summers party.  I am really looking forward to having some girly fun.  It is way overdue.  The host has been busy the over the last couple of days making themed cupcakes.  I can't wait to see how they look!
• Next week is payday for me and I can't tell you how much of a relief it is knowing that we have some money coming in!
• The boys and myself also have a play date scheduled in for next week.  We have been trying to arrange something for the last couple of weeks, which unfortunately due to the weather or other circumstances have been cancelled, so I am really hoping that we do get to meet up with friends next week.
• Aled's speech therapy is coming along in leaps and bounds.  Yesterday we had our third out of the four sessions and I'm really pleased with his progress.

Well, that's me for this week.  We do have some other exciting things coming up, but as they are not until next weekend, I will save them for next weeks post. 

Jackie. x