Tantrums

We all had a good nights sleep last night - bliss!  The bad nights are catching up with Mary-Jane, with avengance.  Withing two hours of getting up, MJ was wanting snugglebugs and trying her best to settle down and have a sleep.  That was after she threw the biggest tantrum of her little life.  The day has been interspersed with her admitting that she is tired.  Another good night or two will get her (and us) back on her feet.  I wasn't at my best as I have had a singing headache all day from her high pitched screams.

 

Once things had calmed, we took a trip to the Library and to do the recycling in Gosforth.  MJ picked two books, one in particular she has had before, and really took a shine to it.  She has looked at this at bedtime, as well as a new favourite library book - one that helps you learn the time (only the 'on the hour' time) with a story of Merlin the Dog and what he does from 7am and each hour from there till bed time at 6pm.  She is quite taken with this.  She is getting familiar with o'clock times already.  This book has a built in clock face with hands that you can move around, which she is delighted with.

 

This afternoon we went into Whitehaven to do a spot of shopping with Granma and to go to The Cafe For A Coffee.  After the cafe, MJ wanted to use the toilet, got there just in time, good for her.  When we came out of the loo, she headed straight for the Peppa Pig Ride and got on.  Things went rapidly downhill from there.  As soon as she was on the ride, it started interacting with her - talking to her and flashing lights etc.  She was hooked, excited and thrilled.  I was not.  I did feel a bit mean at asking her to get off, which she didn't.  I don't want to start a thing where she thinks she can go on a supermarket ride everytime we go shopping.  As you can probably guess, the situation didn't end well.  I had to lift her off there, against her will, with her screaming and shouting.  Of course she didn't want to walk with me through the store, back to Granma in the cafe.  So I got her by the hand/wrist and off we went.  I have never had so many people stop and stare at me before.  Her screaming was deafening.  She did begin to calm after ten minutes or so, but as soon as I wanted her to do something she didn't want to do, like walk with me, the screaming started again.  In the end I picked her up and carried her.  This did have a calming effect on her quite quickly. 

 

When I said to her that I was going to put her down, she asked me very politely for pick ups as she was very tired.  Can't argue with that.  She snuffled in for a few minutes longer. When she got down she was good, only for a few minutes.  The whole situation culminated in me taking her by the wrist after the checkout and walking her briskly to the car.

 

She admitted on the way back that she was still sulking (always makes me smile when she admits this!).  She has apologised a few times since.  She even asked Daddy if he would take her back to the shop so she could say sorry to the lady in the shop.  By the time we got back, she had pulled herself around, and was looking more than tired with very puffy dark eyes.  Between then and bedtime, we have only had the odd squalk.  Since bedtime I haven't heard her at all, only the throbbing of my temples!

 

Several rows of knitting later and I am headache free.

Of Rhubarb, Cheese and Yet Another Sleepless Night

Another fairly sleepless night had by all again last night.  Before the screaming got to fever pitch, HK bought MJ through to our bed.  We did not attempt to take her back to her room, this is futile when she is as she is at the moment.  She did try to settle in fairness, but just couldn't quite catch her sleep.  After about two hours and two trips to the loo, we took Mary-Jane downstairs around 5.30.  HK insisted that I go back to bed and rest, so I did for an hour and a half.  I have protested at this point and stayed up, much to my later fatigue, so I didn't argue this time.  I did, however, nag the beejaysus out of HK to do the same.  He gave into my nagging at mid-day, and went to bed for a few hours.  Fingers and toes crossed tonight that Mary-Jane is that tired that she sleeps through.  I did wonder if she is going through a growth spurt, as she usually can't sleep well when she is.  The high winds don't help either, and they are still up.  I have heard her murmer twice this evening so far.

 

We did get a brief time out in the garden.  The winds were a bit strong to stay out long.  I had primarily gone out to pick the rhubarb and to let MJ have a bit of fresh air.  The rhubarb patch is doing really well.  I have about stripped it bare now, it was all ready for picking.  I have bagged up five pounds of rhubarb, 3 x 1lb bags and 4 half pound bags.  I want to use it soon, to do some kind of rhubarb cake and maybe some rhubarb curd - a recipe that I briefly came across in Sean Wilson's book today.

 

Talking of which, I am warming to him a little more.  In his very lenthgy but informative introduction of his life up to now, he seems more passionate about food and cheese than of his 21 years as a celeb on 'Corrie'.  It made me sit up a bit more and take notice, and realign my thinking.  I haven't looked at all the recipes yet.  I am inspired to make a fair few things.  And cheese, it has fanned my flames further to make cheese .  I am aware that things aren't quite in the right place for me to have a go at making cheese, but I will in the fullness of time.  It's going to be a thing I want to research a little more, and start of with something really simple.  Posh cheeses, as I call them these days, are beyond my current budget, we make the most of 'value' cheese and get along very nicely.  I do look longingly at posh cheeses, and in true Wayne's World admiration I think - one day you will be mine, oh yes you will be mine!  And I shall savour every single morsel of it.  It will be like rediscovering cheese.  Now I am more Foodie orientated than ever and I know I shall appreciate, critique and develop my taste for cheese and all good foods.

 

 

 

Sleep With The Lark, Rise With The Lark

I am back from my sojourn, my absence.  I needed a break.  The last nearly two months have been tiring and stressful amongst other things, and I was already sick of saying all too regularly that I was tired.  Not tired of blogging, mind!  

 

The lighter evenings and especially mornings have had Mary-Jane waking early, seeing the day light and thinking that it was morning and time to get up, even when she was really tired and wanted to go back to sleep, she fought it.  A very common thing apparantly in young children!  Sleep with the lark, rise with the lark.  She has been waking anything from 3.30 am, averaging around 5.30.  It is getting better now, although the last two nights she has awoken in the night and refused to come anywhere near settling until she is esconced in our bed.  The recent heat has been effecting her (and HK) too, we are so not used to it, it has knocked the pair of them about.  I have found that I can't tolerate the heat as much as I used to.  It is absolutelty pickling it down outside now.  I wonder how long it will be before I'm moaning about the rain!

 

On the work front - I still haven't started yet.  I have a provisional start date, but I can see this slipping away.  The amount of (justifiable) security checks I have had to under go are like nothing I have undergone before.  The thing that is holding the works up now is that the Establsihment want to see a particular identity document, which has been long since lost.  I have now had to send off for another, but with change of name and address (don't worry, its a change to what and where I still am now!).  That may take a few weeks to come back, I have to send a copy off to the Establishment and they will inturn send it off for their checks.  My provisional start date was the begining of July, I think it will be more like the start of August.  I have had to do a lot of leg work and running around to move things along, all adding to general stress levels.  The interview now seems to be the easiest part of the whole process.  I am sure it will all be worth it in the end, hopefully.

 

Mary-Jane is now two weeks into potty training.  I thought she would have had this sussed a long time ago, but the time couldn't have been right for her when we have tried her previously.  She is doing very well.  I'll try not to go into too much details!  She now wears knickers during the day, and is able to tell us she needs the loo before she actually goes.  We've not had any wet knickers for quite a few days now.  This afternoon was the first time she has been out and about with out her Dora's on (pull up training pants).  Even when in the garden she will run inside when she needs to go. 

 

Enough of that for now!

 

I have started the Clandestine Cake Club Gosforth Cumbria.  We had our first meeting on Thursday.  It was small and successful.  I am planning on having another one in September, once I know what it happening with work and get the main holiday season over with etc.  I will tell you lots more about this as time goes on.

 

Whitehaven Maritime Festival is on this weekend.  I ventured into Whitehaven this morning to Tesco for a book signing by Sean Wilson, more of that another day.  I got my book signed and found that Tesco were selling jars of Robertson Mincemeat for 20p, with a use by date of somewhere well into 2015.  I only got five jars.  Same as last year strangely enough.

 

HK isn't too bad at the moment.  He has all his usual aches and pains.  This was added to when he dropped a 3' x 2' paving slab on his foot.  Nurse Me was there on hand to bandage up his foot.  Mary-Jane wanted to learn to bandage and help Daddy, so she has had her first lessons in such matters.

 

I'm still knitting, needless to say.  I'm working on a shawlette KAL at the moment and quite enjoying it.  And yes I am still baking.  I made a five layer orange and chocolate cake for the CCC.  It would have been six layers but...  again more later, I'm trying to catch up at the mo.  I have also cut a pattern for a skirt for me, based on my actual measurements rather than copy a standard pattern.  I am fired up and confident to cut more patterns.  However, I do want to physically sew something before I get too carried away, got to make sure the garment construction and fit are good to go.  Oh and there is the small issue of acquiring fabric, that will probably be in a few months from starting work, when life is more settled, when I am more settled.

 

Yesterday saw HK and I's 7th Wedding Anniversary.  We kept it very low key.  I hope we continue to have many, many more x

Musing on Planning Cake Baking and a Future New Knitting Thing

I am planning to bake tomorrow for the NSPCC Plant Sale.  I decided to do two cakes from one of my new books - The Clandestine Cake Club.  There are plenty that have caught my eye.  I didn't want to do a cake that required a lot of decoration.  I settled on about a dozen possibilities.  I dreaded the thought process of having to decide.  I made a list of all the definite 'I would like to make this cake', cut the list up and folded the pieces, then got mum to draw out two pieces of paper.  I am now going to make Choo Choo Chai Cake and Magic Bean Cake.  I have bought the necessary ingredients, I couldn't get ground cardamom, so had to settle for cardamom pods and hope I can find a pestle and morter tomorrow.  If I get done in good time, I may just make some coconut pyramids.  I do have to bear in mind doing Mary-Jane's meals and our tea.  The Magic Bean cake doesn't have any filling.  The other one does, but that shouldn't be too bothersome.

 

I don't want to be on the go all day, at this rate it will probably be most of it!

 

Mary-Jane is feeling better.  She is more willing to tell us that she is feeling better of okay rather than tell us that she is feeling poorly.  Maybe she doesn't have the words to tell us yet.  She has eaten more and her skin is improving.  The Friday Trip To Tesco seemed to have blown a few of her cobwebs away.  Hopefully she will have another good nights sleep and that will help her.

 

I have finished the body of her Touch of Lace cardi.  Tomorrow I will start on the sleeves, I was too tired to start anything new this evening.  It's looking pretty.  It dawned on me this evening that I may be moving in a direction of trying something outside my usual box.  To do something either that I wouldn't normally do or some technique that I haven't tried before.  Maybe it could be the cabled aran blanket.  Perish the thought that it would be along the lines of finishing one of the three lace projects that I started last year!  I have quite a lot of hours of TV viewing, so one of the main criteria is that I can do it whilst watching TV.  Or maybe I could allocate one evening a week say, to this New Thing.  We shall see, no doubt I shall change my mind many times before then.

Interview Part 2

My interview went very well.  I'll spare the details for now.  I left the place at 3.30.  At 5.00 I had a phone call offering me a substantive (full time permanent) post.  The interview was for a bank nurse, but apparantly the advert was mis-worded and they actually were advertising a full time post.  How do I feel about that?  Jolly Good said I.  It seems really weird that I'm going back to work, pending references and clearances etc.  I can't see them being problematic.  In fact today, here and now, it seems rather fanciful, just something I have made up.  This will bring so many changes.  the vast majority of them will be positive.  I will be working four days on and four days off.  The hours are 7.30 - 5.30 Monday to Friday and a few hours less on Saturday and Sunday.  No nights, no late evenings.  It's the nearest I have ever got to office hours, apart from when I was based on the juvenile unit, where I did similar hours.  I will be home in time to put Mary-Jane to bed each night, that I shall look forward to as it will be the only time I see her on my working days.

 

I know the band I shall be working but I've yet to hear the point within the grade.  I asked if I could negotiate my point as I am not newly qualified and have lots of experience.  This is at their discretion. I'd be satisfied with at least mid range, further up would be a bonus.  I'll still accept the job, it's a step back in and I'm sure some kind of promotion/vacancy wouldn't take too long.  Plus it won't be too much responsibility to start off with.  I have to remember that my last working day was in May 2010!

 

Hopefully now I can get back on track with myself (in lots of ways) and stop having the inner meltdown from when I decided to re-register and get my nursing pin number back.  The changes to our lives are now going to be many and far reaching.

 

On to other things before I even think about getting philosophical!

 

Mary-Jane has had a heavy cold for a few good few days.  She has been off her food quite badly for nearly three days.  She has eaten much more today, not as much as usual, but much more than the last day or two.  Plus she hasn't been coughing in the night as much.  Her skin has gone to pot - it does when she is off the hooks.  She is now back on her three different creams, which have been working really well - I've noticed a difference already.  She did say late afternoon that she was feeling better.

 

The weather needs a mention as well - we have been enjoying some sunshine, as well as the usual wind and rain.  It has been very pleasant!  HK has transplanted the tomato and basil outside yesterday.  We looked at what seeds we have - more than what I thought.  The only thing we really need at the moment is seed potatoes.  Nothing has been planted as the weather hasn't been quite there yet.

 

I shall make more of an effort to blog a bit more regularly.

 

I am still making Mary-Jane's Touch of Lace cardi.  It is coming on lovely and I am enjoying doing it.  It is knit all in one from the bottom up.  I am a few rows off finishing the back.  After this is done, I'll do more of the February Lady Cardi for me, whilst I deliberate on what next to do for MJ, she certainly needs more cardi's - and maybe some tank tops!

Interview

I have a work interview on Tuesday.  I won't say too much about it now, I'll wait till after.  I have a brand new outfit to wear and feel confident.  I am a little out of touch with what has been happening in the wonderful world of nursing in the last three years, and I'm panicing about that a little at the moment, mainly because I'm tired and I don't know where to start looking or to think of the right words to google to start looking.  I have only tomorrow now to swat up.  It is for a bank nurse, so I wouldn't expect I should know everything, I do want to come across pretty clued up as it could lead to a permanant post. Job description should help, I'll go and have a quick look.

All else is well here.  Mary-Jane has another cold/cough. HK has an achey back after mowing all the lawns.  Things may be the same or they may actually be starting to change for the better!

Playgroup and A Trip To A Nursery

We had a better nights sleep last night.  MJ did start crying but settled herself down before she woke up properly.  HK bought her into our room around half six (I would have and could have slept for longer!) as she was wide awake.  So far this evening I haven't heard a peek out of her since she initially fell asleep, and that was after she chatted to her bo-bo's toys and sang them a few songs.

 

We went to playgroup this morning.  Mary-Jane always loves playgroup.  There was a couple of older children there.  The singing time was very noisy, I couldn't hear what song was being sung.  Mary-Jane wouldn't sit or participate and screamed a few times then started crying till I picked her up and comforted her, sang to her and she smiled.  At bed time she said, without prompting, when Daddy was asking her about playgroup, that the she didn't sing because it was too noisy and she didn't like it.  Heartbreaking.

 

After playgroup, we walked over the the Nursery, with another Mum and child.  The nursery is across the road.  The manager was very friendly - we had turned up on spec - she spoke with us and will post out registration forms and further information to us.  There is plenty of spaces for September for Mary-Jane, which was my main concern.  I just need to arrange a time for HK and I to go and look around.  Mary-Jane seemed to like what little bit we saw.  She heard the children playing and said that they were her friends and she wanted to play with them.  I am so looking forward to her starting Nursery.  I need to contact one other local nursery to go and have a look there.  As well as to make sure that Mary-Jane will be in the catchment area for both schools that the nurseries feed into.  Then won't life change once MJ is in Nursery!!!

 

This afternoon I managed to get some down time, on HK's insistance.  Cups of tea, feet on the bean bag and knitting!  I must say that I was definitely ready for a bit of daytime downtime and was thankful for it.  I worked on my February Lady Cardi.  The rows are getting quite long now, only about seven before I put the sleeve stitches on holders and start the main body lace pattern.  This evening I have worked on MJ's blue cardi.  I have now turned the hem and am on the third row of fifty of the main body.  I think the next cardi I do, whether for me or Mary-Jane will have to be one that is not knitted all in one.  I am ready for a bit of a break from that technique.  Although I wouldn't say no to a proper yoke, maybe fairisle, but we will have to see about the latter!

 

I made a batch of Jackson Baked Beans yesterday - very tasty.  I put more Buffalo Wing Sauce in it this time.  HK suggested that next time we put in a touch of ghost chilli.  I suggested that that batch of beans would probably be for him and him alone!!

 

I have plans to do more baking, I'm still wanting to do two banana bakes to use up some bananas.  And I want to do sweet potato pie, as well as a quiche.  And some courgette and dolcelatte soup.  Busy, busy, busy!