How Family Makes a Tough Week so Much Better!

It's been a difficult week.  Ian's operation was a week ago today and recovery has been slow and difficult.  He spent three days in hospital before coming home to recuperate for a further three weeks.  They said he had to rest completely which is something that my husband finds difficult, but he has been utterly laid to waste and unable to do anything anyway.  Thankfully he seems to be slowly on the mend now and I'm hoping that he will be up and at it (albeit very gently) shortly.  I have become an expert nurse and starting to think I missed my vocation.  I am a dab hand at catheter care and can clean and dress stitches without being too grossed out.  I am definitely ticking the 'in sickness and in health' box from our wedding vows.  Seeing Ian shuffling around, bent double in his slippers and dressing gown has given me a glimpse into our old age.  It's not pretty but when you love someone, it's all part of the job!

The operation that Ian had, has rebuilt his urethral tubes using a graft from the inside of his cheek which will hopefully mean that the risk of future kidney failure will be finally laid to rest.  His surgeon was Paul Anderson, the best man for the job in the UK and a regular on C4's Embarrassing Bodies.  In fact he has been on the show doing the exact same operation that he did on Ian.  Here is a link for anyone curious! www.livefromtheclinic.channel4.com/case-videos/lftcw4bus

I really appreciate how much my husband does around the house, because doing everything is exhausting me!  I'm not used to soldiering all the responsibility and nursing a poorly hubby at the same time.  Ian takes on a lot of the childcare when it comes to Freddy, who continues to be quite a high maintenance child with his funny quirks and foibles.  He is really missing daddy being able to cuddle him and carry him like he did before the operation, and as Ian isn't allowed to lift anything for at least three weeks it'll be a while before things get back to normal.  He is however quite intrigued by his daddy's wee bag!  I am struggling settling him into nursery again and feel so guilty leaving him crying every morning.  But with September beckoning, he really needs to keep a daily routine.  It's hard though.

This week, Ella is away on a school trip to Germany, so my household is down to having just the two little ones at home.  This is a glimpse into what it will be like next year when Ella goes off to university.  My nest is emptying.  Ella has done so well in her AS exams getting two As and a B (which was one mark off of an A grade).  She actually finished in the top 10 of all entrants in her Chemistry exam.  She is such a clever little thing!! I'm so proud of her and everything she has achieved.  I'm so glad we made the decision to send her to the college she is at.  She is doing so well and getting so many opportunities.

Megan came home to see me and visit her dad on Mother's Day along with her boyfriend.  She's had a rough few days herself since some scumbag slashed her petrol tank to steal £30 of petrol, causing £700 worth of damage.  This meant she couldn't get herself to work or attend any appointments, but I guess the unemployed petrol thief wouldn't even consider the consequences of his selfish actions.  Thankfully, her boyfriend is an absolute star and has bent over backwards to help her out. It was lovely to see her and it cheered up her dad no end to have her company.  We had lots of laughs which is always good therapy!

I loved my home made Mother's day cards.  I love the wonderful things that my kids write inside them.  I also was sent a beautiful picture of my grandson Ted with 'I Love Nana' on his babygro.  He is so adorable, I can't wait to see him again.

We attempted to watch John Carter on 3D but it didn't turn out too well as you can see by these two sleeping beauties in the photo below who were not adequately entertained enough by the movie to stay awake!  They did however, wake up to make me a Mother's Day Banoffee Pie (or Caveen Pie as Freddy insisted it was called!)  Whatever it was called, it was delicious!  

This week has reinforced to me that however tough times are, family makes everything so much more bearable and I love each and every one of my guys so unbelievably much!

What February May Bring

Hello February!  Who can believe that we are now in the second month of 2013!?  Certainly not me.  It seems like yesterday that I packed the Christmas baubles back into their plastic box, and I'm still finding the odd rogue pine needle hiding itself against the skirting boards. But here we are.  One twelfth of 2013 is now behind us.

This month is going to be a strange one for us.  Ian's operation is fast approaching.  There is just a bit of organisation left to do, negotiations between the surgeon, hospital and private health insurance to make sure that all the t's are crossed and the i's dotted.  Ian has been put under the care of a surgeon who is the UK's top specialist in his field.  In fact he has been on Embarrassing Bodies being filmed doing operations, so I'm guessing Ian will be in extremely good hands. Hopefully this time we will get a cure rather than just a 12 month hiatus which his last operation gave him. Ian's symptoms are getting worse and we do live in fear of his kidneys suffering some damage.  Everytime he gets a twinge in his back he starts worrying.  So I hope the red tape gets waded through quickly and Ian can go under the knife that is held in the capable hands of the TV doc!

Of course, following his operation I will have to look after Ian.  I am not the most sympathetic nurse in the world when it comes to caring for my poorly husband.  But he assures me that it is my tough love that gets him back on his feet.  The post-surgery fortnight sounds quite grim and will involve me having to get hands on with some procedures.  I will have to harness my inner Florence Nightingale and rise to the challenge.  Although I am tough, I do it with all the love in my heart and Ian knows that.  It's only because I want him better and can't bear to see my man suffer.

Before the op, we are taking a trip to London as Kizzy has won a competition with Girl Talk magazine to spend a day in the offices.  The competition was to write a topical gossip story in 50 words and she amazed me by writing a really punchy, snappy piece about One Direction.  She really wanted to win but I told her as I always do, not to get her hopes up as hundreds of people enter and the judges have an idea what they are looking for and if you don't fit their criteria you won't win however good your entry was.  I told her that the enjoyment of writing the piece is reward enough and anything else is a bonus.  She was happy with that and pretty much forgot about it until the phone call telling her she had won!!  She can't wait to play at being a magazine editor for a day.  She loves her girlie mags, make-up, fashion and celebrities, so she will be in her element.

Kizzy At Work

We will be hosting a Tree Fu Tom party in half term along with other bloggers across the country.  We'll be inviting round some little people to try out the latest Tree Fu Tom toys and enjoying some themed party games and food.    Freddy loves the CBeebies' show starring Tom, the young boy who does his magical Tree-Fu moves to save the day.  So he will love this!

You can join us between 4 and 6 pm live on Twitter where there will be some great prizes to be won.  Just look out for the #treefutomtoys hashtag and join in the fun!!

Tomorrow I'm off to see my grandson Ted!  Last night we spent half an hour on Facetime with Joe, Jade and Ted (after Joe read my post).  At times like this I LOVE technology even more than usual.  I got to see my chubby, chinned little grandson cooing and gurgling and giving little smiles as his mum and dad played with him.  It was wonderful!!  I can't wait to give him a cuddle for real tomorrow.  It will be my first visit of 2013 as this is our first free weekend,  and I am going to savour every second with my son and his family. (Just wish that Megan could be there too...nothing beats having all my kids together!)

So February here we come.  I hope it brings all good things for you too!

Rambling On About Miranda, Tampon Girl, Cook-Offs and Ambition

I simply cannot believe that January is almost over.  Clearly, time is showing no intention of slowing down anytime soon.  Already this year we have achieved a few things on our to-do list for 2013 and have put the wheels in motion to organise a few more.  It's nice to feel we're getting somewhere albeit slowly.

The over-riding thing that is putting our lives on hold at the moment is the imminence of Ian's operation. Last year he had an op with a 50% success rate.  Unfortunately he fell into the wrong half and so now needs a bigger op to correct the first and put right his original problem.  The recovery time is going to be quite arduous, but we are psyching ourselves up to deal with everything and get ourselves prepared.  We just want it all over and done with so we can move on, with what will hopefully be a cure for Ian.

Today, I was meant to be at a Cook-Off with three other bloggers, making my Quorn Enchiladas for a celebrity chef to try to win a trip to Australia.  I forfeited my place because I wasn't sure if Ian's operation would have been done by now and because he is taking a lot of time off for hospital appointments at the moment so I couldn't justify him taking another day off to look after the kids while I went to London.  But when I thought about the competition I decided that I really wouldn't want to win a trip to Australia without my family anyway.  I just couldn't have done it.  It made me realise that I won't be trying to seize every opportunity that comes my way.  Maybe last year I would have gone ahead and done it, but right now my priorities have really changed and my personal ambition is much less important to me than I thought it was.

Yesterday, Ella asked me if I'd seen 'that' video.  Not knowing what 'that' was, I surmised that I probably had not seen it.  I pressed her further to discover that 'that' video was the latest viral video of 2013 to spread itself across the  internet.  This new video is basically a young girl pulling out a used tampon and sucking on it.  Yes, seriously.  Already there are hundreds of reaction videos and photo memes in honour (or in disgust) to this phenomenon.  It just made me feel really sad to think that someone is so desperate for their 15 minutes of fame that she would dream up such a grisly stunt and that it would then go on to become an internet sensation!  The world wide web is an amazing thing, full of so much potential but it also has given rise to a society where a girl sucking on a tampon becomes a huge success in terms of views, exposure, reach and influence.  Frightening!  In short, my advice is don't watch it. Period.  It's bloody awful. (Sorry, couldn't help myself!!)

Another thing that has left me confused and perplexed this week is Miranda, the 6' 1" comedienne who everyone seems to adore.  That is everyone except me.  Why is she funny??  Because she is tall and awkward and a bit funny looking?  Because of her slapstick comedy acting?  Watching her show is like going into a time machine and a returning to 1978 when comedy like this was en vogue.  Surely we have left that sort of humour behind us?  Surely we have evolved as a nation.  Surely we want more sophistication in our comedy than a tall woman falling off a gate?  Obviously not.  I admit to watching the Gary Barlow episode because, you know...Gary Barlow was in it.  The series of mistaken identity moments, silly walks,  slapstick comedy, implausible relationships and unbelievable, stereotyped characters was just so old fashioned. I'm sure Miranda is a hugely talented woman, I love her in Call The Midwife as a straight actress, but this sit-com and its massive success just confuses me.  If we have gone in a big comedy circle, I look forward to the return of the alternative comedians.  Bring back the Young Ones!