Or just another one-off, I wonder!  Hopefully a return to blogging.  I like looking back over what we’ve done and enjoyed having a chance to get on my soapbox from time to time.  Tonight, I’m sitting up with Flopsy who can’t sleep, and so I’m just surfing the next waiting for her to drop off again.  I was thinking of blogging about what we’ve been doing today, and haven’t done that since when I very first started blogging when Mopsy was born!

The night before last, Flopsy couldn’t get to sleep until midnight, the night before that it was 10.30.  Considering DH and I are usually in bed by 10pm at the moment, this was making us quite tired and angry etc. but DH had Saturday and Sunday off work so I wasn’t too fussed the first night.  However, I was not looking forward to looking after all three girls on the hottest day so far, on my own, heavily pregnant, and lacking in sleep.  Before I went to sleep, I told DH to take the car to work so he didn’t get so tired cycling (he can leave a little later if he drives) and said I’d just spend the day letting the girls watch tv and lolling on the sofa with the fan on trying not to lose my temper whenever they started bickering.  However, when DH woke, Flopsy was already awake (she wakes early, goes to sleep late and I don’t know how she’s surviving at the moment!) and I couldn’t get back to sleep, and my pelvis was aching (obviously slept awkwardly) so I got up and apologised but said could I please keep the car so that I could take them out.  I figured that even if I just took them out for an hour in the morning when it wasn’t too hot, it would help all our fraying tempers!  Being the lovely DH that he was, he agreed immediately and sped up his morning preparations so he had time to cycle.

After he left (at about 6.50am), Flopsy sat on the sofa watching tv, as she likes to do in the mornings, and I faffed around on the computer.  Then we heard little Cotton-tail bumping herself down the stairs, as she likes to do.  She comes and sits right close to Flopsy (she adores her big sisters) and cuddles up to her to watch whatever she’s watching.  Soon after 8am, Mopsy came down to join us too and by this time I was watching the delights of early morning children’s tv too so Mopsy cuddled on my knee in her lovely cosy, dozy state she is in when she first wakes up.  I asked them if they’d like to go to the NCT toddler group we helped set up and still go to occassionally (we don’t go too often because the Children’s Centre it’s based in keep going on at us to get everyone, including ourselves, to ‘register’ with them and fill in this extensive form which is not, IMO, appropriate and I refuse to do it.  Luckily my friends who still run the group also think it’s too intrusive and are negotiating with them to change it - that’s a whole ‘nother post though!).  A couple of their young friends go there so they do like going sometimes, although Flopsy finds it too boring to go every week being so much older than everyone else, but they decided they did want to go this morning.  We have to leave soon after 9am to get there on time, but I decided to take things slowly as I was in such discomfort.

We set about breakfasting and discussing how we would tell which of our chickens laid which egg (oh yes, we now have chickens…will post about them at some point if I keep this up!) - Flopsy has decided the way to tell is to ask them, because apparently she can understand ‘bok, bok, bok’   For some reason unknown to mankind, all three children co-operated with suncreaming, which, along with teethbrusing, is just about the only thing we insist on happening, so I didn’t get stressed out then - had to do it sitting on the birth ball though, as it was too uncomfortable to sit on the sofa or floor.  Then they all *gasp* got dressed without too much cajoling - not sure what was in their cereal…some sort of ‘let’s be nice to Mummy medicine’ or something.  Usually this is where I’m getting flustered when I’m tired and achy and asking them tetchily why on earth I’m putting all the work in getting them ready for something *they* want to go to!  Then, even more of a shock, Mopsy let me brush her hair!!!!!  This is a very rare occurrance in our house - she usually looks like she has a very blond birds’ nest on her head, with a few curly rats tails coming out the bottom, but this morning she looked very neat and tidy with a plait in it!!!  Flopsy also asked for a pony tail so she looked fairly presentable too!  Considering this toddler group is full of mainstream parents, I do palpably feel the ‘looks’ I occassionally get when my three are ‘allowed’ to just be children, but I console myself with the knowledge that my friends running it are totally accepting of our family’s lifestyle and the rather smug feeling of ‘I have more experience (more, and older, children than anyone else there) and more knowledge (willing to think outside the box!) than the rest of you so pah!’

We all piled into the car (Mopsy can now strap herself in, but Flopsy can’t ) and I put the buggy in and an extra-full nappy bag just in case we made any impromptu decisions about what to do after the group.  Then we were off and got there about 40 minutes late and had a lovely time.  Mopsy and Flopsy did some lovely paintings (which we leave to dry and one of my friends collects for me next time she goes), and Cotton-tail clung to me for ages, which is unlike her in general, but something she’s started doing lately…maybe picking up on the ‘new baby coming’ vibes…?  There are lots of silly rules at this Children’s Centre, so I have spent some sessions telling the children they can’t do this or can’t do that - luckily they seem to understand that, although the rules don’t make sense to them (or to me, for that matter), we have to follow them if we want to come to the group, so they’re pretty good when I ask them to stop doing forbidden things now. 

We had planned to go to a children’s yoga session we tried out two weeks ago before our holiday, and which none of them joined in with but which Mopsy was very upset when it was time to leave saying ‘but I wanted to do yoga!!’.  So it was very easy getting them to leave this time (usually it’s a nightmare!) and we drove off to the next town and got there in time not to have to rush, except I didn’t have money for the car park so had to just keep my fingers crossed that there wouldn’t be a parking attendant round in the next 45 minutes!  The session was really lovely - we only have to pay for Flopsy and Mopsy.  Flopsy decided she was still not ready to join in, but Mopsy joined in for the whole session with me, and Cotton-tail was so sweet copying as much as she could.  Mopsy absolutely loved it, actually, so I’m looking forward to going every week now.

After yoga, we’d arranged with a newly pregnant friend who runs the toddler group and has two children who are very friendly with mine, to go round to her house for lunch and to survive the afternoon.  When we got there, the children all asked for McDonalds so we decided that it might not be a bad idea to go there and eat in the restaurant - an hour of coolness!  When we got back, my friend’s DH had returned early from work, and set up their new big paddling pool.  He was so kind getting myself and my friend chairs so we could sit with our feet in the pool, and a parasol to shade us.  We consequently had a blissful afternoon with the children all playing and splashing to keep us cool, and entertaining eachother so we didn’t have too much to do.  Then the thunder started and we all came in and had crumpets.  Poor Flopsy then complained of a tummy-ache so we left and got home only an hour before DH was due to arrive back.  Poor thing came back drenched from the torrential rain.

All in all, considering I’d been dreading the day, it turned out really, really lovely.  Flopsy’s just fallen asleep next to me on the sofa now, so I’ll click on ‘publish’ and go and wake DH to carry her upstairs to bed.  Fingers crossed she doesn’t wake when he puts her down, or I’ll be back writing something else!

A fantastic breastfeeding campaign aimed at the social group least likely to breastfeed has been launched which focusses on breastfeeding being glamourous.  Have a look at the Be A Star website and this wonderful Guardian article written by a very experienced NCT Breastfeeding Counsellor.  Absolutely lovely

I haven’t blogged on here for ages.  Reason being I feel ill.  Reason I feel ill is that I’m expecting another baby!    I’m starting to feel a little better now so maybe blogging will become more frequent soon - hopefully…

 Oh, and Mopsy turned 3 and I turned 28.  Not quite such exciting news though LOL!

My wonderful, lovely cousin is coming home early.  She’s been in Kenya for the last four months volunteering in an orphanage in Nakuru.  She went to the beach for Christmas and before she got back everything blew up (literally in some cases).  She can’t get back from the beach anyway as there’s no transport but it would be too dangerous for her to try.  She was meant to come back at the beginning of next month but her parents have arranged for her to get to an airport and fly out sooner - should be back next week hopefully :-)  Can’t wait to see her - we love her very much and have been very worried about her.

Because I think that comment conversations get lost among posts, I’m going to respond to comments here

1. Yes, a raised bed might be the only option, but I understand that the thing about comfrey is that the roots go really deep and tap into the nutrients that can only be found in the subsoil and then these nutrients are then returned to your veg beds when you used the leaves as a mulch/compost.  Soooo….I’ve discovered that the large rock thing I’ve found is actually a lump of concrete and it’s surrounded by lots of smaller pieces and ‘grains’ of cement.  I don’t know how deep the cement goes, but it’s easy to clear and the concrete lump appears to break up when it’s banged very hard with a spade.  I’m going to borrow my Dad’s sledgehammer to make breaking it up easier (and safe-guard  my spade that is in danger of being broken!)  and hopefully then the comfrey roots will be able to reach past the crap to the good stuff deeper down (if there is any!).  I think I’m going to start a campaign for builders on new-builds to not make a horrid rubble heap of the garden!

2. Green manure is plants that you sow solely to nourish the soil - legumes that fix nitrogen for example, or plants that you cut down and dig in when they’re very leafy.  They’re meant to keep the ground covered between crops which is better for the soil, and some improve the structure because of the way their roots grow. 

There’s loads of it in our garden (our house is only 6 years old).  I’m getting quite used to digging out huge paving slabs and bits of house brick but I’ve just started digging over an area to plant out some comfrey and hit a really large bit of red stone stuff.  I don’t think I’ll be able to dig it out and if I leave it, the bed will be too shallow for the comfrey which, according to an allotment website, needs a deep bed :-(  Not sure where else I can put it now…will have to get my thinking cap on!  Stupid garden!  It had better produce some very good veg after all the back-breaking work I’m having to do to prepare the ground!

Wow!  I haven’t blogged for what seems like thousands of years!  Well, here I am again, all excited because the New Year’s begun and I can get on with our plans for it.  We have Mopsy’s birthday in a few weeks, then mine.  We also have a very important wedding coming up at the end of January for which the girls are being flower girls and I am doing a reading.  It’s a very, very special friend of mine getting married and I’m so excited to be able to be there with her and her husband-to-be and to be a part of it! 

I’m now branch secretary and, as we have a new chair who is a good friend of mine, it’s a nice easy job, at last!  Something I *can* do that I actually *want* to do as well!  I’m hoping to attend NCT Conference this year for the first time as it’s the closest to us it’s been and I’m really excited about that

In February I’m attending a weekend course to train me to train breastfeeding peer supporters so I’ll be able to train new ones and offer refresher training to our current ones at the support group I work at.  At the moment the peer supporters have to rely on the other BFCs within the network of groups so there’s often travelling involved for them.

I’ve ordered my organic gardening catalogue so I can order my seeds for our first veg plot!  I got some gorgeous wellies today so I tried them out by starting to dig our second plot - we’re hoping to end up with three over the next couple of years.  I can’t decide what to grow yet.  My green manure is starting to grow now on the first plot so I’m very pleased about that - hopefully that will help the atrocious soil to be a bit more helpful to the veg we grow along with all the manure I chucked in there over the autumn.  DH got a bird table for Christmas so he set that up today then sorted out the two sheds to make them more usable for the next year. 

More exciting than anything else is what’s going on as I write.  We got a doughnut maker for Christmas and DH and the girls are trying it out.  I’m very excited about eating one as they’re making a cinnamon sugar coating for them - we are all addicts of the cinnamon sugar pretzels you can buy in Cheltenham so to be able to make our own version will be very pleasing

Oh, and Cotton-tail’s 1 now

…who has won a Nestle Children’s Book Prize but refused the prize money and issued a statement saying why.

I posted the link to the petition on a mainstream parenting board.  I also posted links to websites explaining ContactPoint.  There was only one reply from someone saying they signed it - the rest were all ‘I don’t see the problem’ or ‘I don’t know anything about it’!  Are HE parents the only ones who take the future and rights of their children seriously?  It’s just really hit home to me that it’s all the more important that those of us who *do* understand the issues make a fuss, if the vast majority of parents are willing to just be swept along and trust the government without question.  It also shows how important it is that we bring our children up to question authority - if no one questions it, that’s when it becomes totally corrupt.

I’ve signed this petition to the Prime Minister to abandon plans to create the Information Sharing Index, a national database of all children aged between birth and eighteen - please sign it too.