Thankful Friday

This morning I managed to sleep in until 9am. I wasn’t sound asleep as the girls were awake but I was able to doze while the girls played together nicely. OK, so when I did get up the living room looked like a bomb had hit but at least my batteries were recharged!

This week I am also thankful for:

• The abundance of blackberries available. Yesterday we picked almost 3lb of juicy berries which will be saved in the freezer to make pies and crumbles through the winter. We shall go and pick more next week when more have ripened.
• Winning a photo competition on Facebook. My prize was my photograph printed onto a canvas. I’m really thrilled!
• Katie having a couple of good days.
• My lovely dad buying the girls a new pair of school shoes each.
• My husband working extra hard in the evenings after an early start for his day job. He  does the church gardening for extra pennies and out of this next lot of money he says I can have a new laptop. Love that man so much.
• Managing to lose 2lb this week. I have put on far too much weight this summer and when schools go back I will be back on the wagon properly. This has been a good start.
• My Grandma. She turns 91 in October and this week I learned that she has said some really lovely things to my dad. She is reflecting on life and making amends for some things that she has said in the past. It just shows that it is never too late to make amends.

Thankful Friday

Friday, Friday… it has been a long time coming this week! I could start and end this post by being thankful just for it being Friday this week! Let me explain why…

Early on Monday morning we got up and drove across to Leeds for Robyn to be admitted to hospital for tests. Robyn was meant to go down to the operating theatre in the morning. The nurse actually said that we were first on the list at 8.30am. However when the surgeon came round to speak to us he informed us that it would be the afternoon.
The waiting began and Robyn got very fed up. You could see how nervous she was and inside my heart was breaking because I could do nothing to help her feel better about things.
The lunch trolley came round and of course Robyn wasnt allowed anything because she was nil by mouth. She was so hungry. We watched other children go down to theatre and come back. One child had been to have his tonsils and adenoids out, another to have his finger reattached after trapping it in a door, another little boy with severe special needs had been to have a new feeding tube put in and a 6mth baby had his hips realigned. He came back with a plaster cast that went from above his waist down to below his knees. It was pretty heartbreaking to see but the baby remained happy and kept smiling at us 🙂

Finally it was Robyns turn. She went down to theatre at 2pm and it was to be a straightforward procedure of popping a camera down to have a look at her tummy and leaving a tube in with a ph probe on the end. The tube came out of her nose and was attached to a little black box. This monitors the levels of acid in her tummy.
They said she would only be asleep for 10 minutes so I waited next to theatre in a parents room… the most depressing room you have ever seen in your life. The 10 minutes passed and I was still waiting. An hour later I finally got called. I can tell you that during that hour every thought imaginable went through my mind. I knew I was being irrational, I knew that she was fine and that they were just being very careful with her but at the time I convinced myself that something had gone wrong. When I got called to go to recovery I pretty much ran there.

She was fine, of course. She opened her eyes and said to me sleepily “Can I have something to eat now?!” before promptly going back to sleep again!
While in theatre the surgeon noticed a part of her oesophagus up nearer her throat than where they have looked before appeared to be a bit abnormal. He also thought he could see a slight hiatus hernia. When she had barium swallows before one set of radiologists said there was a hernia, another set from a different hospital said there wasnt. Now I thought we were getting somewhere. Robyn was referred for more x rays the following day. Until then the tube in her tummy had to stay there for 22 hours so we went back to the ward and settled down for a long night.

A poor child in the next bed had his appendix removed a few days earlier and was very ill. That combined with the tonsillectomy child crying and also the baby in plaster crying made it a very, very long and tiring night.

Robyn was allowed an early breakfast and was then nil by mouth again until after her x-rays. She began to count down the hours until her tube was coming out. People came by and tried to cheer her up but she just wanted to be back to normal. Finally the tube came out and we went to x-ray for another barium swallow test. The radiologists didn’t see a hernia and seemed to suggest that the problem the surgeon had noticed wasnt there. I’m unsure though until I get official word back about the tests. They did say that there is some reflux there which goes some way to knowing what is going on I suppose.

We were discharged from hospital and went to a shopping centre on the way home where we gave Robyn £20 to spend on what she wanted for being so brave.

So, back to thankful Friday! This week I am thankful for:

• It being Friday!
• That the horrible, invasive tests are done with (for now at least)
• Doctors, nurses, anaesthetists, surgeons and radiologists!
• Wimbledon. Watching the tennis in hospital kept me sane
• Free patientline TV on childrens ward until 7pm
• Family and friends for helping out and caring
• Having a new car that got us to the hospital!
• Our good health. Seeing some poorly children really puts things into perspective

Thankful Friday is back

Apologies for my absence. Life has been really very good lately. Anthony has been enjoying his new job and I have been enjoying being a mummy. We finally seem to have found our roles again and it is having such a positive effect on family life.

This morning I was showering both the girls and I said to Robyn “It’s Friday! We’ll be able to have a lovely weekend together”. She replied “Yes we will. Daddy doesn’t have to go to work at the weekends anymore and he is not as grumpy at his new job is he?!”. I admit that what she said really choked me. Even she has noticed how much happier we all are.

So many things to be thankful for:

• My family. Every day I am astounded at how much love is in our little family.
• The sunshine. We have been blessed with good weather the last couple of days. It makes such a difference.
• Birthdays. Robyn turned 7 on Sunday and she had a lovely day. She also had a birthday party last Friday which was wonderful. She has a great group of friends.
  My best friend also had a birthday this week. She turned the big 3-0. Gutted I couldn’t be there to help her celebrate but we will make up for it in the summer.
• Ice cream. Yum!
• Paracetamol. I had some horrible headaches this week 😦
• Winning £5 on a scratch card this morning. It paid for coffee and cakes in a café.
• Friends. This morning I went out for a walk with friends and then to the park after the café. Without them I would have sat indoors with Katie and probably wasted this beautiful day.
• Make-up. I’ve finally decided to start wearing makeup again. Only a little bit but I’ve realised how much better it makes me feel. Who’d have thought that a bit of confidence could be found in a pot of eye shadow?!

Have a lovely weekend everyone. We are hopefully heading out for some picnics so we can enjoy the sunshine that is forecast.

Thankful Friday

I can’t believe it is Friday already! This week has gone quickly.

Today I am particularly thankful for the water board who took responsibility for the blocked drain at the front of our house. We’ve had the pipes backing up for the last 2 days and it was not a pretty sight. Without going into too much detail it was a health hazard. Still, it is all sorted now and we can breathe easy once more!

I am also thankful for our church £1 sale. It is an annual event and it happens tomorrow. It has made us go round the house with a bin bag and clear out all the stuff that is no longer needed. You know what they say… one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure! I’m sure tomorrow we will go and buy a whole load more junk but it’s all good fun!

For getting to see my best friend on Sunday. It was so lovely to see her.

For my sister passing her driving test. It was her 4th attempt and I am so thrilled for her.

For Anthony starting his new job.

For a plastic storage tub that Katie spent ages playing in this morning!

For getting funding for another Open University course. Even without being on full benefits I qualify since Anthonys new job is low paid. I start a short course on web design on May 1st.

For going to 2 friends houses this week for a cup of tea and a natter.

For the UK benefit system. Yet again we have survived a period of time on benefits. Without the system we would have been in serious trouble. We are a very lucky nation.

Enjoy your weekends everyone.

Thankful Friday

So much to be thankful for this week!

• Anthony got the job that he had the trial for! We just found out this evening. Totally thrilled!
• Lorna had a healthy baby girl. She has called her Alexis Iona and has 2 big brothers to look after her. We will hopefully be able to go and see them all on Sunday. I am so excited!
• I am thankful for my mum and dads apartment in Morecambe again. We were able to go there this week and take Robyns best friend with us. I love being able to make happy memories for my children.
• Thankful for good friends who help us out in various ways.
• Thankful that we can now start to try for baby number 3 again after a little break.
• Thankful that I was able to take Katie to church on Easter Sunday ON MY OWN! She was a good girl and most of all the task didn’t daunt me. I did it and I will do it again!
• Thankful that I continue to make people smile with my photography.
• Thankful that we have been able to spend some lovely time as a family this school holidays.

Thankful Friday

I’ve just got back from Robyns school assembly. Robyns class (year 2) did a performance of “The Gruffalo” for the rest of the school and the class 2 parents. It was really wonderful!
The children all performed very well and there was an extra special guest, The Gruffalo himself! School had hired the official costume as a suprise and it was so wonderful!

This afternoon Class 2 are going off to Burnley on the bus to actually meet Julia Donaldson, the author of The Gruffalo. They have been learning all about her and her books for the last few weeks and by chance she is in the area! Robyns school have managed to arrange for the children to go and meet her and they are able to take a book each to get signed.

Robyn has made me very proud this week. We had parents evening on Monday and we got a mixed report from her teacher. She is very, very capable of producing wonderful work but lets herself down by having sad days for no apparent reason where she does very little and is quite withdrawn. We had a little chat and ever since Monday Robyn has been a little superstar at school. She has done some fab work and has been very happy and enthusiastic. Most of all Robyn is proud of herself. She has realised it is nicer to be happy at school. Even 6 year olds have the choice to choose happiness. She has realised that being happy makes you more productive and more responsive. She has got so many compliments this week on her happy smiling face.
I am wondering whether her sadness has something to do with Granny Mary. As you may know she was very close to her Granny who sadly died suddenly last July. At the time she seemed to cope OK but now she has started to talk about her more and I think things might be hitting home a bit. Hopefully we can work things out and encourage her to talk.

So, today is Friday and here that means Thankful Friday. What am I thankful for this week?

That I spoke to my mum on Mother’s Day and managed to agree that next year I would like to send her a card and she will do her best to accept it graciously.

The lovely warm weather. I’ve managed to just wear my fleece jacket outside instead of my big winter coat.

Swimming. I went to the pool on Wednesday with my friend and had a really lovely time. We have promised to go more often and I really believe that we will. I might even go on my own on Monday.

Bread. This morning I woke up to fresh bread again. That smell is just divine and it tastes good too!

Childrens nurses. Yesterday Katie had to have blood tests at the hospital. I don’t mind admitting that I was dreading it but the nurse and nursery nurse were really fantastic. Katie came away with a sticker, a colourful plaster and an award card with a silver star on.

What are you thankful for this week?

Thankful Friday

I’ve had a really lovely week. Lots of family time and plenty to be thankful for…

I am so very thankful to report that we have our car back. Yes, you are reading that right! Over 10 weeks (that is 73 looooong days!) after the car initially broke down we are £1370 worse off (or rather my dad is until we can pay him back!) and we have a car with a new engine and a new fuel pump among other things.
I am thankful that the mechanic got it mended and incredibly thankful that my dad has been able to lend us the money. My heart aches with love for my parents. The support they give is constant and unconditional. I feel so blessed. We had them round for dinner on Wednesday night so that we could show our gratitude. We had a really wonderful evening.

Old friends. I had a lovely chat with an old school friend this week and yesterday my Godfather came to visit my parents. We went to see him while he was here and all ended up going for lunch together at the pub. My dad paid for that too. Did I mention how fab my dad is?!

Sky+. Katie has obsessions. One of the current ones is for The Disney film, Bolt. We recorded it on Sky+ a while ago and since then she has watched it more times than I can count. There are some days when it is played on a continuous loop. I’m sure she would have worn a DVD out by now. She has already worn out Shrek 1, 2 and 3 after her obsessions with those!

Playgroup. Katie loves it there so much. She adores her keyworker and the feeling is mutual. It is really lovely to see them have a big hug when we get to playgroup.

Daffodils. I finally managed to find some this week. They are brightening up my windowsil at the moment. Beautiful.

Thankful Friday

So today we had more bad news about the car. We have now been without it for 2 months apart from the two days when it worked before the engine broke. The fuel pump that we had fitted is faulty so it needs to go back to the place we bought it and keep our fingers crossed that they refund our money with no problems. They havent been very helpful so far *Sigh*

I can do nothing about it though, just keep my fingers crossed that it won’t take too much longer to fix properly. We will feel so luxurious when we eventually get the car back!

Today I am thankful for

• My friends. I called my friend this evening to ask her a HUGE favour. She said yes without even thinking about it and we now have the use of her husbands car for a few days. She is dropping the keys off in the morning. Her husband will use her car for the time being since she rarely uses it anyway. I am so so thankful that we do not have to spend another weekend cooped up indoors.
• My sister. We had a lovely chat on Monday night and she popped in last night with a Cheryl Cole doll for Robyn. Robyn adores Cheryl Cole so this was a very very popular choice!
• My husband. This week I heard from a friend who has a husband that is behaving pretty badly. I am so thankful that my husband is fab 🙂
• My children. There have been moments of stress this week with Robyn having a very messy bedroom and Katie being very difficult but they always make me smile even if it is because Katie is shouting at Robyn “YOU SILLY GIRL ROBYN!” when her bedroom was a tip!

Today it is “Wear Red” day. Together with some friends we have raised funds and awareness for the British Heart Foundation. It is a charity very close to us. We had BHF pin badges as wedding favours and also had a collection at our wedding reception for the charity. Today we are thinking of baby Samuel and also of my late father-in-law, Barrie.

Thankful Friday

It has been half term this week and we have had a lovely time relaxing as a family after I returned from my retreat. I will blog about that another time when the kids are back at school. For now it is enough for me to say it was wonderful but I missed my little family more than I ever imagined I could.

So this week I am thankful for:

• My family. I am thankful that we can spend time together and enjoy it and also that we are able to spend time apart. We are a family that laugh, cry and be silent together and yet we allow eachother the space we need. To me that is perfect.

• The NHS. This week Katie had successful appointments with various health professionals to continue the support that we recieve. I was speaking with someone from the States last week about the NHS and it made me realise how lucky we are in the UK. I am so thankful that we get free healthcare that makes such a difference.
• My friends. One inparticular this week has been great to have around. I am building up a firm friendship with her and we are soon arranging to go swimming together. We have also promised to take our girls (her daughter is Robyns best friend) to the cinema together.
• My parents. Yet again they are helping us out financially by facilitating the loan that we need to get our car fixed. This time it needs a new engine which is going to cost around £850. Ouch.
• The kindness of others. Last Sunday while in France we were a bit worried about catching the bus to the train station in time to get the TGV we needed to catch the flight home. There was lots of snow in Taizé and we had a big hill to walk down with our luggage. A lovely French girl offered us a lift down the hill and so we caught the bus and got home. We were so thankful.
• Good food. In Taizé the food is basic. When I say basic I am being generous. It was lovely to come home and eat good, tasty food! 
• Taizé. Taizé is a magical place for me where I can feel at peace. I cannot describe how I feel when I am there but I get an immense feeling of wellbeing. That only has to be good.

Have a good weekend everyone xxx