The End of Mr Y. - Scarlett Thomas

Loved it!

Would recommend it!

Hanging on to it for a while! The story is good...gripping even! Once the heroine starts doing the 'magic' it gets a bit 'Being John Malkovich' but that in itself is not a bad thing.

The Roof Rack Shop

I just have to say how impressed I am with the Roof Rack Shop! I ordered a new car seat for Sunshine yesterday at about 2pm and it just arrived this morning! Dead impressed! I wasn't expecting it at least until tomorrow! Top marks for the shop on three counts:

1. Cheapest price for the car seat (and Sunshine's Trunki)
2. Free Delivery
3. Bloomin' quick delivery especially as the seat was ordered after the 12pm next day delivery cut off!

Muffin

After much deliberation and prevarication we have a new car...a replacement for Barbie who has given a good 5 years in our service. From my early commuting days to Manchester...to Peter's commuting to Snodland in the last 6 months, she has done us proud! So proud in fact that another Mini was in order...a diesel one this time though. And the name....chosen by Sunshine once the car had been ordered....Muffin...not sure why...Peter is not happy with the choice...he wanted to call it Ken...

So, farewell Barbie...hello and welcome Muffin.

(Barbie was so called because the security etching started with BBQ)

Sepulchre - Kate Mosse

My Dad gave me this book in July and I have finally finished it. I guess it's slightly similar to Labyrinth which was ok...I can't say I didn't enjoy it, but I'm not racing out to get any more Kate Mosse! Sometimes it takes me a while to get over a good book...you know, can't start a new one because the last is still a bit imprinted....but I had no qualms about starting a new one....The End of Mr Y...

Mamma Mia

 

I've been to the cinema in the first time in probably 4 years! I couldn't miss Mamma Mia...I spent the summer feeling fed up that there was no-one to go with (I'm not one to go to the cinema on my own)and finally found someone to go with who hadn't seen the film! Sunshine was very well behaved considering she wasn't really too interested in it...although she enjoyed dancing in her seat, the sweeties and feeling grown up and dancing at the end! The reason poor Sunshine got dragged along was that the film was showing at the new Camberley Vue cinema as a Kids am showing and I needed a child to take along! I just feel sorry for the 10 yr old boys dragged along by their mothers!

I really enjoyed the film (I'm sure the stage show is fab too!) it was a bonus that the lyrics were posted at the bottom of the screen for a sing-a-long but there didn't seem to be many people singing along and Sunshine was a bit miffed that she didn't know the words and can't read! There were the two obligatory trips to the toilet for Sunshine but that was a small price to pay!

And yes, I know the film will be on DVD in about a week, but I felt I needed to see it on the big screen!

Washing Machine

Goodbye trusty Bosch washer...you have been a good washer for the past nearly 10 years but now as your fuzzy logic becomes far too fuzzy to manage to finish a  wash it's time for you to go and be replaced by a new model! Welcome to Miele W3740 only installed for a matter of minutes before it was on constantly for 2 days to catch up with the washing mountain! We love it and hope that we won' have to use the 10 year parts and labour warranty and will work for 20 years!

My Happy Girls

Sunshine decided that she would join Rainbow in the donut!

Buggy Board

When I first considered getting a Buggy Board for Sunshine to use I came to the conclusion that she probably wouldn't want to use it. How wrong I was....or at least this seems to be the case at the moment! She seems to love it! It makes a big difference for me too! After a few weeks of trying to coax a tired toddler to walk any sort of distance and resorting to the rugby ball carry on some occasions, I took my mum's advice and invested in one. Whilst it seems a bit pricey, it's no where near as pricey as buying a double buggy which I know for certain Sunshine would not entertain as she has gotten used to her freedom, and whose usefulness would be relatively short-lived.

We can now have longer days out without the worry that one of us will be worn out from porting a toddler for a considerable amount of time. Trips to Birdworld, shops and other locations can be extended as necessary and I have even trundled it through the woods to the lake to feed the ducks. So in the week I have had it it has done well! It is certainly useful for doing things when I haven't got Peter with me.

On the downside, Sunshine has a tendency to crush her sister when lying forward to give her a kiss and occasionally surprises us by just stepping off the back to go look at something! But the first of these will change when the pushchair gets converted!The only other quibble is the angle of push has to be adapted slightly (but that could be due to the configuration I have at the moment) and you can't put a full stride on when the board is down...but it is much quicker than trying to go at toddler speed!

Anyway, here's hoping that this novelty factor continues and we don't have to resort to taking the car every time or shortening trips! It will certainly make dropping her off at the Nursery School around the corner easier and greener -weather permitting of course!

The Savage Garden

I really enjoyed this book...there was just enough mystery in it to satisfy my shrunken brain and it all turned out nicely in the end! I finished it a while ago...in fact it's probably taken me longer to blog it than it did to read it! Today it went on it's merry way to Newcastle c/o BookMooch.

Dummy

About 3 weeks ago Peter struck a bargain with Sunshine....basically if she could go 2 weeks without her dummy then she could choose a treat. The treat she chose was to go to the zoo and to see elephants (in itself tricky!) Anyway it has now been 3 weeks, and bar a couple of slip ups when she found a couple of stray dummies under her bed, Sunshine ha been dummy-free! Last night however, Sunshine requested her muzzy and a dummy(!). When asked why she wanted a dummy, she said..."I haven't been to the zoo."

Well, that told us! This weekend we will be zoo-bound!

Foxgloves

The foxgloves Sunshine gave me for Mothers Day and planted in June have started to grow...roll on next year when they might  have some flowers (and could be protected from small children by a fence!)

Rainbow Skye

Rainbow Skye  (formerly known as Shark) finally decided to put in an appearance at 8:23am after a fairly short and uneventful drug free (although not entonox free!) labour! She weighs in at 8lb 3oz or 3.64kg and so far things have been good.....although my suspicions about her being a night-owl have been confirmed! We came home at just after 1pm yesterday and things are well at the moment! She looks even more like her dad than Sunshine did/does!

Whilst I said the labour was uneventful...I did need to be rescued from the hospital corridor when Peter dropped me off...I was further along than I thought..one of the perils of arriving at the hospital so early!!

Peter as been a star and his arm may recover by the end of the week although he did ask if he could go get a plaster cast!!

Sunshine has been fab and is excited about being a big sister although she is a little confused and thinks Rainbow is her brother!!

Dry Run

Last night we had what could only be described as a dry run(the less details here the better!) and with the exception of coming home sans newborn all went rather well!

Peter managed to extract Sunshine from Gran's house without a problem and came home, gave me a hug, packed some stuff to take to Annabels and happily went off down the road. She had some tea, played nicely, watched some TV and went to bed! And slept! All very calmly executed and a real surprise to find her asleep when we returned from the hospital...Whilst it seemed mean to wake her up and bring her home, it saved her being miffed that Shark hadn't put in an appearance. By all accounts, Annabel was a bit miffed that Sunshine wasn't there in the morning!

So, now the waiting continues...watch this space! If it doesn't arrive before, I'm due to be induced on Friday 13th...but then that doesn't always work first time!!

Narrow Dog to Carcassonne

I borrowed this one off my mum and I rather enjoyed it! This one has taken me a little longer to read than the last couple of books mainly because my brain seems to be melting!

It's a travel book  which follows the 'adventure' of two pensioners (and their dog) taking their narrow boat from Stone to Carcassone. It is rather amusing and well worth a read!

A Couple of Quick Reads

One of my mooch's....this was really enjoyable and funny and dark humour! Would recommend!

 

 

 

 

 

I think this is probably the last in the Shopaholic series and it didn't fail to disappoint. I picked this one up in Oxfam last weekend as I was a bit loathed to pay full price for it after my disappointment with The Undomestic Goddess. It's up for mooching...

Bump Comparison

Ok so I'm a couple of days later than I intended with this post but at this stage I don't think any major size change is going to happen!

Sunshine Bump EDD -18 Days

Shark Bump EDD -14 Days

Blog Security

Following Katie's lead, I have decided to secure Sunshine's blog so only people we know can read about her. Whilst Sunshines's following is not as big as Tully's, safety is becoming more and more important! We don't want to stop friends and family of friends having access, so if you wish to carry on reading about Sunshine send an me an email at wizard@btinternet.com (if you're a friend of a friend saying how you know about us!) using the email address you'd use to access the blog with and I'll add you to the allowed list of readers. I'm going to secure the blog at the end of June.

The Secret Life of Bees

Another of my random mooches and I will admit I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would given the background of racial tension which runs through the story. It was a really good read, a lovely heartwarming story of triumph through adversity and I learnt a thing or two about bees!

It's been mooched already and I have started a new book...Hoorah! for holiday/maternity leave!

Spinning Baby

Yesterday I went to the hospital for the ECV and was quite prepared to chicken out if necessary and just ask for a C-section...well, in the heat we've had it would make everything so much easier, we could avoid other family birthdays and Peter could organise his work so there was no last minute panic when labour starts! After being on a monitor for 40 minutes or so, the consultant came in and did a scan and, lo and behold, Shark had turned (must have been on Wednesday evening)! "Yay!" and "Bah!" in equal measures!

First Among Sequels

The latest read...and well worth the wait! Thursday Next true to form I'm looking forward to the next TN!

♪♪Breech baby, breech baby....♪

My first day off work was eventful...I had an appointment at the hospital so I could be referred to an anaesthetist just in case I had a burning desire or need for some serious pain killing during labour and to avoid panic at the last minute when it turned out that I may not be able to have an epidural because of my back surgery. Okay, so far so good...until the consultant had a look at my bump and couldn't locate the baby's heartbeat and says 'hmm...think the baby is breech. I'll just do a scan to find where the heart is.' And yes, Shark has obviously been sitting up and reading my emails with me...!

So two more appointments for me...one with an anaesthetist next week (and it really should have been done earlier during he pregnancy as the normal clinics are only held once a month!) and then another in the Labour ward when an obstetrician who will try and turn the baby using ECV...Oh joy...Still, there is still time for Shark to turn before the due date otherwise it could be a C-section...

The Cure for Death by Lightning

I saw this book a while ago (albeit in a different cover) and was intrigued by the title so when I found it available on Bookmooch I thought it was worth a read. It was compelling, a little heavy going given the story but had a a sort of happy ending...It was well written and I did enjoy it to some extent, but not enough to retain it in my bookcase..back up for mooching it goes...

Finished work

Hooray! I have finished work for the next 10 months...and now the real work begins! So much to prepare for the new arrival and for Sunshine of course! Sunshine will be moving to her new room in the next couple of weeks so there is quite a lot of junk sorting to do (and yes I know we've had plenty of time to do it before now...but we are a bunch of serious procrastinators and it seems to be impossible to fit anything around work....excuses,excuses!)

Thank goodness we don't have to make decisions about buggies and cots and car seats this time...so in that respect things are slightly easier (and if you like shopping a bit less fun!) just the change management!

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

I loved this book! It was a mooch from the states in return for one of my difficult to get hold of books...I wasn't sure what to expect entirely although I do know it has been made into a movie (which I haven't seen...but will probably go on my list of chick-flicks to watch!) It was very moving and I would recommend it to anyone - well, anyone female!

I guess the synopsis is that it is a story of discovery for one woman who is having a bit of a life-crisis and blames her mother for everything she can't get a handle on. So the bulk of the book is a chronicle of key events in her mothers life and the life of the Ya-Ya's. Read it!!

I'm having a moment of indecision as to whether to put it up for mooching again...but I guess I'll need the space soon...

Bump @ 31 Weeks

I've been a bit rubbish at posting bump pictures this time round...so I thought I'd better do one! Unfortunately there is no comparison available between this gestation and the last but I shall make a reminder at 18 days to go for a comparison shot...

This is the best dinner conversation!

Peter: This is the best chicken I've had all Easter!

Sunshine: This is the best carrot and swede I've had from Sainsbury's!

The Yacoubian Building

 I finished this book a couple of weeks ago but this is the first chance I've had to blog it...I'm not entirely sure if I enjoyed it or not...I'm not sure what I was expecting from it. It was certainly insightful with regards to peoples attitudes to religion and men's attitudes towards women in the middle east.

It's already been mooched...

Something You don't See Very Often

A medium sized shop-bought free-range egg with a double yolk!

Shark's 20 Week Scan

It's a bit of a freaky pic! This is Shark (or Bob as Sunshine likes to call it now) at 22 weeks and 2 days. All is going well so far, Shark is growing well and certainly moving around!

Here's another one where you can see Sharks arm quite clearly...

Not many photos...

...recently because the LCD on our camera is dead...Well, broken internally...So we are having to resort to using the viewfinder...or just taking a chance with what comes out which is resulting in some dodge photos! Anything worth looking at will be found in the usual place on Flickr! Hopefully we'll get a new camera soon....

New Gadgets

We haven't had many gadgets recently, but I decided that I needed a carpet cleaner (of all the mundane objects to desire) as I am fed up with the yukkiness of our 'cream' carpet and with the impending onset of potty training I decide it would be a good investment! Lucky for me my mum had bought one a couple of months ago and was very pleased with it (and she is not easily pleased!) so with the leg-work done, I set to finding the cheapest one I could....and I did! One hundred quid off! Bargain! Just need the heating fixed so I can try it out!

When we went to collect said item from Curry's (yes Curry's...unbelievable that it was the cheapest!) Peter insisted on going into Comet (sigh) to have a look at PC's/Laptops for use in the living room as his dear old lappy is a tad slow these days...when we stumbled upon this little beauty for a knock-down £120! Yes! £120! A definite bargain considering what Amazon is selling it for!!! So we spent most of yesterday evening setting it up with the digi-antenna, adding the newest photos, connecting to the home network and marvelling at how quickly it booted up...Next the big telly! So far we are both impressed...and if it only lasts a couple of years, what have we lost? (hopefully not all out photos!)

Holiday Books

Nature Girl...very good ending...in fact I really enjoyed this book! It took a while to get into it as I started it a few weeks before we went away, but once I got the thread it was hard to put down. The core revolved around wreaking revenge on a ruthless telemarketer and it was great...

Deception Point ...I didn't think I'd read another Dan Brown as I felt I'd had enough of his style. But I did enjoy this book, there was certainly suspense running throughout and a twist near the end which surprised me...

State of the Union ...I started this one and it is a bit of a page-turner! I pinched it from the villa book-cupboard as I had run out of other books..and there wasn't much else which took my fancy! I finished this recently and added it to my Bookmooch inventory and someone wants it already!

Happy 2008

Goodbye 2007...Hello 2008....I did manage to see the clock change at midnight...I couldn't sleep (how much of a wet blanket am I??) Well, we were so knackered from our trip home from Portugal, that Peter sloped off to bed at 9:30PM....I did try but was too wide awake at 11:30Pm so I got up. I'm sure by the end of 2008 we'll be in a similar state when Shark puts in it's appearance mid-year!

I don't usually do resolutions as I seldom keep to them...but this year I am going to be more positive about things - I hadn't been too good at that towards the end of 2007. Also I am going to be ruthless with the 'stuff' that has accumulated in the house over the years...Watch out Freecycle/eBay/Municipal tip/Bin men!

New year, new challenges and plenty of them!!