Still Down

Just to update. I am completely better. Sian is feeling around 80%. Harry is still exploding from both ends. We thought he was done vomiting, my clothes from last night tell a different story. Luckily he sleeps through his bottom explosions. In the morning Sian finds him happily rolling around in poo. Lovely. He is in good spirits though, so we still like him :).

I like that this is my first official week back at work.

Shambles

Now, this blog is not going to be about work. But when I saw this, I had to take a picture:

Can it be true? In my absence has the University become so short of space that we are sticking dyslexic students in TOILETS to do their exams?

Fox Family Down

We are getting over our first bout of what I assume was an illness caught at creche. It has not been pretty. Let's just say that having only one toilet was NOT GOOD.

Sian and I are feeling much better today. Foxy is still leaky, but has actually been quite sweet throughout. Still manages his smiles, if not many laughs. And he's been really cuddly, happy to watch telly sitting on our laps, which isn't like him.

Thankfully we aren't having any work done on the house at the minute. Just to update - bathroom, blinds, painting, and boiler are done, next week begins the kitchen, and that leaves just carpeting and shelving for the living room. I cannot wait to be living in a house not under renovation.

More Guilt

So, yesterday was Foxy's full day at creche. By full day I mean I dropped him off at 9:45 (I let him continue his nap in the car while I worked on my laptop, how lame), had him for an hour over lunch, and picked him up again at 4:30. Still, the longest he had been in previously was 2.5 hours, so this was a big day.

I thought all had gone swimmingly, he was very good natured during his tea, naked noodle time, bath, bottle, stories. Then I put him to bed. He usually just, well, falls asleep. And we start enjoying our evening. Oh no. He cried, and cried, and cried some more. Nearest & Dearest went to check on him because I was finding it distressing. He had been sick, and we decided to just have him sleep in his baby grow. Then he got his leg caught between the bars. An hour after being put to bed, finally he cried himself to sleep.

Now, it was also HOT last night, probably the hottest it has been. So was he crying because of his stressful day or because he was hot? Dunno. In some irrational bid to assuage my guilt, I spent the entire evening making baby food. Even though he prefers the jars, they seem wholesome enough, and I don't even think the cost works out that much more.

This lunchtime I dragged the boy into town and bought a sheet sleeping bag. Hopefully that will do the trick.

Happy Boy

I went food shopping for the weekend and Nearest & Dearest was on Fox Duty. I love, love, love seeing him so happy:


It's no wonder people assume that Nearest & Dearest is the birth mother:

When in doubt, pucker up:


Looking forward to our last weekend before I reurn to work 3.5 days per week. I am thankful everyday that the care he receives at creche is so good. It's written all over his face.

Gym Motivation

I am struggling this morning. We had an unexpectedly late & boozy evening last night. We invited our les neighbours from over the road for a drink. They left 3 hours and 3 bottles later. We realized we were in trouble when it emerged that one of them does not work on Fridays, and the other is self-employed. Oh, and they don't have a 6:30 alarm clock :). Anyway, it was worth it, and we're hoping that 1) we get invited back, and 2) the baby monitor works from across the street. (That isn't neglect is it?)

This morning I have a gym induction at 9:30. I was planning on just taking classes at "our club" (QM - this is what you call a posh gym), and did my first on Tuesday evening. It turns out it matters that I have not been doing my Kegels. I am going to stick to the low impact stair master for a while. Having a baby is great for keeping to a schedule. I would be sorely tempted to blow off this morning's induction, except that Foxy is booked into the creche. Gotta go. I'm sure I will feel better for it.

BTW, don't seem to be attending WW anymore, still fat and frumpy. We have a holiday in Sept in the south of France with Slade Les. Our motivation for fitness is now coming in the form of wanting to show off in front of our friends.

Swimming

For the most part, I am very happy living in England. I am also glad to have grown up in California because it means that I notice everyday life. I notice the good stuff, like proper tea, pubs, and greenery. I notice oddities, like pantomime, and cold toast. There are a few things I notice that can only be described as lame, like customer service, dentistry, and...swimming. I never heard the expression "strong swimmer," until I was being contrasted to my English peers.

Without California sunshine and backyard pools, an effort needs to be made in order to raise a "strong swimmer." For the last month, Foxy has been having lessons at Little Dippers. I've enjoyed watching Foxy's personality unfold in the water. In his class, he has been the most nervous, but put on a brave face. When he's meant to be reaching or kicking, or back floating, be mostly tries to flirt with whoever's eye he can catch. All in all, he has been bottom of the class, and teacher's pet. What a charmer.

All that changed this past week because Nearest & Dearest and I decided to join the Brighton Health and Racquets Club. I took Foxy swimming twice before his lesson this week, and voila! He is now super confident and top of the class. Still charming, but not looking nearly so distressed when plunged under water. (Is it wrong to have found it adorable when he was clearly floundering?) Sadly, we are not allowed to take photos. But watch this space, professional underwater photos should be available by summer's end.