On the importance of not feeling guilt

JYC has taken a bit of a back seat in recent days. I have a poorly boy & am feeling quite tired and not very Christmas-y. As Shimelle says at the start of every class, there are no deadlines & no detentions with this class. It's just a guide to help you achieve what you want to achieve and take back the magic & wonder of Christmas. So JYC updates will resume when life has calmed down a little. Ta-ta for now!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

JYC 2010

As promised, here are the sights of Christmas round here.

JYC 2010

Day 8: Do you see what I see?

Usually a photo-heavy entry today - will upload from my laptop when I get a chance.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

JYC 2010

Day 7: Still to do...

When I feel like life is getting on top of me, I make lists. To-do lists, to-buy lists, to-make lists, guest lists, idea lists, gift lists, the lists go on and on. Writing things down, making things concrete and visible usually makes me realise it is possible after all. It allows my brain to rest and the fear of forgetting something vital passes. This year's list isn't as long as I'd thought it was but things get added as I remember them. Each task is broken down into steps and the joy of ticking things off is remarkable. And no, you can't see the lists yet. That would spoil the surprise!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

JYC 2010

Day 6: A tale of 2 Christmasses

Before you, I woke at 7 to see my presents. This year, I'll wake at 3 then want to sleep in.
Before you, there were two stockings at our fireplace. This year, there are three, with room left for more.
Before you, I wanted our Christmas alone, just us two. This year, I want to share it, and you, with our families.
Before you, I worked over Christmas or New Year, or both. This year, I'll be at home to celebrate, all day & all night.
Before you, Christmas was a holiday, time to relax. This year, it will be all go, all the time.
Before you, I asked for books and pretty paper and luxury goodies. This year, I'm asking for frying pans and graters and practical things (although there's some pretty paper coming too, courtesy of your Dad).
Before you, Christmas was becoming a let-down, stressful & pressured. This year, I'm determined to make it fun and carefree, just for you.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

JYC 2010

Day 5: Counting down

As far back as I can remember, the countdown to Christmas started with the first Sunday of advent & the lighting of the first candle in the advent wreath. Different churches, different wreathes but the same ritual. Our present church doesn't have a lot of ritual or an advent wreath but we're reminded that Christmas is coming by the celebrations planned.

Back home we had calendars &, in later years, a candle. We were never able to keep up with the burning and it used to be a race to catch-up & have just a stump left on Christmas eve.

Our countdown? This year it's making arrangements and trying to finish all the presents in time. No calendar or candle for me this year. December seems to have crept up on us all of a sudden & the new year will arrive before we know it!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

JYC 2010

Day 4: Perfect Christmas

So I spent the day singing S Club 7 at Isaac! My perfect Christmas revolves around the people in my life. Naturally I'd spend it with Andy & Isaac but there are other people there too.

Since I had Isaac, I appreciate my mum more. It started when she spent 5 days with us right after he was born. No, actually it started before that. The morning after I had him, I wanted my mum. Going home these days is fantastic; I love talking with my parents, seeing them with Isaac & just chilling out. (My Dad's great too, just for the record.)

My sister & her husband live in Texas. They usually visit at Christmas but won't be making it home this year for the first time. I miss them a lot.

And then there's my new family (also known as Andy's family). There's dozens of them, literally they don't all fit in 1 house. Plus
I have cousins and grandparents and plenty of friends, near & far.

It's definitely the people that do it for me.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

JYC 2010

Day 3: Christmas cards

I'm not buying any cards this year. I have so many left over from the last couple of years that most people will be getting one of them. Personal cards are a big tradition in my family, though not in Andy's, so hopefully I'll be able to make those special ones. All part of our own austerity measures, though it's also fairly environmentally-friendly too.

When we first moved here, we were touched to receive cards from all our 'circle neighbours' and it's a tradition that's continued. You'd think I'd know who lives in which house by now...

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Journal Your Christmas Day 2

Don't go looking for day 1, it didn't quite get written down!

JYC has begun again for another year. Last year's album is finished... apart from all the writing. Oh well, it's a new year, new start. I really want to remember Isaac's first Christmas but I'm conscious of my lack of time. So a photo a day & a blogpost while I feed every evening seems doable. Of course, yesterday didn't get blogged but that's another story!

Day 1: Manifesto

Remember the details.
Be gentle.
Lay a pretty table.
Light a candle or three.
Recapture the magic & excitement.
Be grateful & gracious.
Have confidence.
Remember the reason.

Day 2: Winter weather

We have snow, like much of the country. Took Isaac out to look at some today, he wasn't keen. Brushed it off my hand!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Isaac's Dedication

We spent this weekend with family and friends celebrating Isaac's dedication.  It was important to Andy and I to publicly recognise that Isaac is a gift, entrusted to us by God to raise in faith.  We had a fantastic service at Living Rock Church and then went back home to have a meal together.  I didn't get many photos of the day as I was too busy with other things but the ones I've seen are great.  I've set up an online album where people can upload their photos of the day.

Message me for the password.

Decisions, decisions...

We're trying to make some important decisions at the moment about work and Isaac's care.  A few options have presented themselves and we're considering them all carefully.  Both our work situations have changed in the last month and the plan we thought we'd sorted has changed accordingly.  The money side of things is the big sticking point as well as when we plan to increase our family again.  At the moment we're trusting God that He's got a plan for all of us and that He'll provide the means to make it happen.  Watch this space!

A couple of photos from our week just for your interest:

Isaac in his new highchair trying out a beaker.  Nothing in it yet but at least he's getting the right idea!

 We went for a walk with Cathy and Jonathan this week and ended up at a playpark.  Isaac loved the swings!

Not much time for scrapping recently.  I do have 1 layout in progress and LSNE is still on the go.  Hopefully I'll be able to show you something creative next time!

Whistlestop Tour

So we've been busy since last I wrote - I can't remember what I did with my time before I had a baby to fill it with!!

The best way for me to remember what I've been doing is to browse my photo albums.  I take so many pictures these days and I'm getting less embarrassed about doing it too; people seem to expect a new mummy to have a camera glued to her hand at all times so I'm getting fewer strange looks!  All my photos get transferred to my laptop then backed up to an external hard drive monthly.  I'm also about to start making hard copies of them all on CD, not that I'm paranoid!!  Everything is sorted by year, then month and then into a descriptive folder e.g. Isaac, trip to the beach, etc.  Some folders have subfolders, mostly baby-related photos, to make finding the one I want easier.  If I want prints, for scrapping, gifts or putting in an album, I upload them to photobox and get a lovely parcel every couple of months.

So, since last I posted we've;

• been to Mummy & Baby group - I love my mummies!!  We met at a New Parents' group organised by our health visiting team and now we get together every Wednesday to chat, drink coffee and eat cakes.  There's a lot of cake involved!!

• met up with Cathy and Jonathan for swimming and coffee more times than I can count

• visited Andy's parents

• celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary with the purchase of a tv/dvd player for our bedroom and Sunday lunch at a nearby pub.

• and started weaning!  Which necessitated the purchase of baby food products and two highchairs!  (One is light and foldable for visiting family.)  Isaac's loving trying out lots of new foods.  Most of it ends up on his clothes, his hands, his face and the floor but every now and again he manages to swallow something!  It's making for some fantastic photo opportunities too!  Gotta love that boy!

Lazy Sunday Morning

So I should be at church this morning but baby boy's been all over the place with his sleep so we were up a bit too late to make it.  Instead, Isaac's asleep on our bed and Andy & I are chilling out on the sofa watching Heroes season 4, which has been on our Sky+ box for ages!  I'm busy knitting and he's got a fat cat on his knee.

I've been a bit of a knitting dervish lately.  I have plenty of hoodies for Isaac but unless they're done up to the chin they fall off his shoulders and I think he gets cold.  So I went looking for a nice jumper or two but couldn't find any that I liked.  About that time, we went exploring in a nearby village and found a lovely knitting shop.  I picked up a pattern and some lovely Fair-Isle style wool.  It took a few weeks to finish but I'm so pleased with the end result.

Now I'm knitting a little waistcoat and I've got plans for an hooded cardigan, a hat and gloves set and some wristwarmers (for me obviously).  Also thinking this might be the way to go for presents for the littlest nieces and nephew - finding nice knitted things that aren't too expensive is so difficult!

Isaac continues to be delightful!  This week he's found his feet and is now making proper baby poses for Mummy to photograph.  Yesterday we went swimming as a family for the first time.  Andy has a thing about indoor swimming pools (spoilt by a childhood by the sea and a pool in the back garden) but he had a good time with Isaac.  And I managed to swim a few laps while they played in the wading pool.  It's good to have a quiet family weekend, lovely as it is to have friends and family to stay.

Getting back to me...

Learn something new continues apace - I'm so pleased I'm keeping up with lessons though I'm not reading the prompts or scrapping everyday. It's also making me quite reflective - September seems to be the month that I'm coming back to being me, not just mummy. I've bought some new clothes & made some new friends. I'm getting out of the house with others or just me & Isaac. I'm trying to build my confidence to teach him to be brave & to stand by his principless and it seems to be spilling over to the rest of me too. I seem to be getting better at the mummy-thing too, of course today is a good day, ask me again tomorrow!

Which sort of sums up the overall lesson. Tomorrow is a new day; Isaac starts each day with a clean slate, delighted to see me when he wakes in the morning. I guess as we get older our memories get better & we can hold grudges for longer, not just against others but against ourselves too. I know that isn't a healthy way to live, it's definitely not what God intends for me. I'm learning a lot about how God is providing for our family both materially & emotionally at the moment and I'm more confident than ever that He has a good plan for our future.

Enough profundity! Here's a baby photo (I know you want one!)

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

LSNE Update

It's been a busy week, highlights include;

• getting my wedding ring back on properly for the first time since 36 weeks of pregnancy,
• Isaac learning to blow raspberries,
• a visit from a lovely old friend,
• and yet more swimming (must get pictures soon!)

 

I've also managed some scrapping! And so far none of it is about the baby! LSNE continues & pages 3, 4 & 5 are above. I've also almost finished a LO on my love of krispy kreme donuts, yummy yummy!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Learn Something New Day 2

Day 1 was an important lesson but doesn't lend itself to easy scrapping so I decided to start with 2nd September instead. Turns out 4x6 is really quite small but I like it already. I can see most pages coming together quickly but there's scope to put on more time & effort on special days too. Hope to have more to show you soon.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Lordy Lordy...

... it's taken me 3 days to work out how to log-in to Blogger from this computer!  New security software is to blame - nice to know that my computer is so secure!  I suppose I could have blogged from the Mac but my laptop has all the photos!

Isaac continues to grow nicely - weighed in yesterday at 16lb 10oz.  He's busy learning to blow raspberries; Andy's been blowing them at him for weeks so it makes sense that that would be the first thing he decides to learn.  He's babbling, smiling and laughing all the time now.  He pushes up to stand if you hold his fingers and much prefers to sit up.  It's not all sunshine and smiles - for the last week Isaac's refused to fall asleep in his cot or moses basket so I'm cuddling him to sleep 4 or 5 times a day.  Hoping it's just a phase and it passes soon.

I don't want this to be another baby-bore posting - I don't have much else going on in my life at the mo.  It's true that all new mums want to talk about it their baby!  I have been trying to scrap when I find the time.  This lovely lady is running her Learn Something New Everyday class again during September.

I first did this class in 2008, which happened to be when we were moving house.  I made it to the 14th writing notes everyday but only scrapped the first 8 pages.  I also had an entry for the 30th so I spent a couple of days completing the pages for the notes I had.  I figured if I could finish a book 2 years after I started it, with sufficient note-taking, then I had no excuse for not doing it again this year.  (The great thing about Shimelle's annual classes - LSNE and Journal Your Christmas - is that once you join up once you get the prompts every year unless you opt out).  So I've been reflecting on each day just before I go to bed and writing some notes in a little book.  I've also been documenting my lessons as status updates on facebook.  And now that I have some cream cardstock to make pages, I'm hoping to get scrapping soon.  Watch this space for photos!

Oh, and just one more sneaky photo of the baby!  I promise Andy put him in there, I had nothing to do with it!!

Two months ago today...

... I was in hospital in labour.  The longest day of my life (literally, it started at 1am and didn't finish until 3am the next day).  Although looking back now, it seemed to have passed in the blink of an eye.

So now I have a 2 month old baby boy and I was looking back over the last month, trying desperately to remember as much as possible.  Time seems to pass so quickly these days and Isaac changes week to week.  It's hard to remember how small and passive he was when he first came home.  Now he's wearing clothes for 3-6 month olds, cooing, giggling and flapping his arms and legs like he wants to take off!

He still loves to have a bath.  He smiles and shouts and kicks water everywhere.  By the time he's ready to get out, his feet are all prune-y!

Getting out is much less of a trauma now we've worked out that he hates to have his feet covered up.  Now we only have 5 minutes of screaming blue murder instead of 20!

All of the above was an excuse to show you pictures of my little man, who is the most beautiful baby in the world.  So here's another, just because I can!

So what were you doing two months ago today?

Long time, no write!

Wow!  A lot of things have happened since I was last here.  Kittens are cats, the kitchen is in and, oh yeah, I got pregnant, delivered and now have a 7 week old baby boy.  Funny how these things slip your mind!  Lots of changes in our lives over the last year and a bit so it'll take a little while to catch you up.  Plus blogger has had some changes since I was here last.

I'm off to grab some food before the little man wakes up again so for now I'll leave you with some piccies of my little man.  Isaac David Longden Ingram, born 31st May 201 at 23:02 weighing 9lb 10oz!  It was a very very long day but we were both alive and well at the end of it, which is the most important thing.

BTW, he's not that size anymore!  At 6 weeks, he was 14lb 2oz and almost out of his 0-3 month clothes.  Can't believe how small he was just a few short weeks ago!