BFGC Update

Well we're a bit closer to achieving our goal. Last Friday we went to London to get our official papers organised. This involved two jobs - one at the Greek Embassy and one at the British Consulate.

First stop was the Greek Embassy in Holland Park where we had to get a Power of Attorney document saying that DF's Mother can act on our behalf in getting the Marriage Licence. We arrived at the Embassy where we had to add our name to a list and then wait. There was no indication of how the names on the list got passed on to the relevant person but, in true Greek fashion, it seemed to work by nods and shouts and general telepathy.

In fact the only people that couldn't cope with it all were an English family who ended up shouting at the guy responsible for the lists who then shouted back in true righteous Greek fashion.

Whilst we were in with the guy who was sorting out the legal papers we discovered that he came from the same area of Greece as DF (this is no coincidence, instead of six degrees of separation all Greeks are related by two degrees at most). This meant that when it came to pay the fee he said we should just give him a tenner and that'd be fine (it was supposed to cost £35). I couldn't help but feel that the English family that had caused so much fuss were going to be overcharged to make up the difference...

On to the British Consulate which, in true British fashion, were giving out numbered tickets as you arrived. However, the security guard that checked our bags gave me a ticket that someone had given to him when they left (probably as they'd lost the will to live seeing the size of the queue). Our official ticket was number 86, the guard gave us ticket 51 and they were currently seeing ticket 17...

We settled in for a long wait and the idea of trying to entertain Lia for god knows how long was daunting to say the least. Luckily there were people there with not very well behaved kids (running up and down and screaming) so there was a guy coming round each person with children and taking us to a free window to jump the queue. We did pay the full amount (I didn't get the chance to ask the morose assistant where they were from) but at least we were out of there in 25 minutes. Oh, and I gave the security guard back his 'queue-jump' tickets so he could help someone else.

So, Power of Attorney done and my official documents stamped to say they're real official documents. DF is posting them to Greece today so my docs can be officially translated and then his Mum can go and apply for the marriage licence. We have to do this as the official papers have to be handed in 8 days before the licence is issued and we're only in Greece 7 days before we want to get married.

Reading back there's an awful lot of 'officials' in that last paragraph, especially given the Greeks don't really work 'officially'. LOL. Still, I guess I'd rather it was all done properly as I don't want to find in however many years time that I'm not 'officially' married...

Only when the licence is issued can we book the wedding so we could be confirming the date just literally days before it happens. I must be the only bride in history who sent out her wedding invites with a disclaimer on the date and time saying they were subject to change!

Still, it's a big job done and we're a bit closer to getting it all organised which can only be a good thing.

Lia was totally unimpressed with her first train ride and visit to London. She coped remarkably well with being shunted up and down and in and out of tube trains as well as with the long waits in boring places. Unfortunately she had the beginnings of conjunctivitis (again) so we had to dash back home for a doctor's appointment at 5.30pm which meant no nice dinner in London.

We did have a good lunch though - DF found this place on the web and we tried it out. It was really good and he managed not to moan about anything which suggests it was almost as good as the real thing. Lia also seemed to enjoy her first taste of Greek food although the real test will be in a few weeks when that's all she has to choose from.

10 Months Old

I've said it before and I'll say it again, where does the time go?

Lia seems more and more like a proper little person every day. She pulled herself up onto her feet several times this weekend and is making attempts at walking when someone is holding her hands. Okay, she tends to walk backwards (a kind of slo-mo moon walk) but she's doing it.

Crawling is still reduced to dragging herself along on her tummy although she's mastered being on all fours, just not moving in that position. She's also finally sitting herself up properly which she hasn't bothered to do before as it's easier to shout till someone helps her.

She cut another tooth on the way to nursery this morning so that's tooth number three, middle top left. Hopefully the top two will come through quite quickly now as that'll help her eat. She manages quite well with just the bottom two but I haven't given her anything like carrot yet as she needs the four teeth to get through something that hard.

She also seems to have grown over the last week or so. She's as long as her changing mat now and her legs are definitely longer all of a sudden (I'm really happy as I hope she doesn't have as short legs as I do).

That's about it for her this month but I think that's more than enough to be going on with.

In other news the Big Fat Greek Celebration is coming on a bit. We've got the caterers, DF and I just need to tweak the menu a bit to suit our tastes (and not his mothers). I also need to make sure there's enough veggie options as some of the guests are veggie and the Greeks don't seem to be able to cope with that.

I spent this weekend making invites, most of which went in the post this morning. I still had to put 'to be confirmed' next to the wedding info but if I wait till things are confirmed we'll actually be sending them out about a week before the event!

We also went shopping for table favours and place settings last week as there's a new shop opened in town selling all you could possibly want (and more) for weddings. I feel a bit better knowing that we've got these things and so at least part of the wedding is being organised by me and DF and we're not just ending up with whatever his mother decides on.

I picked red and silver as the colour scheme as that's my favourite and as it's neither just a wedding or just a christening I felt we could go with whatever we choose (I don't want pink at all). Besides, I've got a red skirt for the event (which I don't think my Mother is too impressed by) so the reception will match me! LOL

We've got all the official papers together and put the notices of intent to marry in the local Register Office here and a local paper in Athens. Now we've just got to go to the British Consulate and the Greek Embassy to get them stamped and translated.

So nothing too complicated then...

That's all for now I think. I started the 101 challenge this weekend and have bought a diary to keep track of things. It appeals to my control freak nature and I just love making lists. I also think it'll help divert some of my frustration from not being able to do much with the whole BFGC.

I'll get a pic or two of Lia to post up in the next couple of days (if I can get her to stay still long enough!)

101 Things in 1001 Days

Okay, this is a little off my usual topics but I've seen this on a couple of blogs and I thought it'd be fun to do and I figure here is as good a place as any to keep a tag of them.

The idea is to set 101 goals of things you want to do and you have 1001 days (roughly 2.75 years) to do them in. They have to be specific, realistic and stretching which means I have to make some effort towards them and can easily show that I have achieved them. I shall be starting on Saturday and will review them once a month to see how I'm doing.

Start Date: 1st April 2006
End Date: December 27, 2008

So, my 101 things are (edited to organise them a bit):

Personal
1. Get married (a bit of a cheat but who knows how these things go LOL)
2. Get pregnant
3. Lose 50lbs
4. Move house
5. Write a letter to a friend once a month
6. Get my legs waxed
7. Visit a spa
8. Make a new friend
9. Find an old friend who I've lost touch with
10. Get a henna tatoo
11. Have my hair dyed professionally
12. Buy a dress
13. Spend a whole afternoon browsing in an LNS
14. Have my bra size professionally measured
15. Buy at least two items of luxury underwear
16. Build a personal website
17. Learn 50 new words
18. Have a facial
19. Get a birthday book and not forget anyone's birthday for a year
20. Tell someone I love them at least once a day

Entertainment and Leisure
21. Throw a party
22. Go on a picnic
23. Watch 20 B&W movies I've not seen before
24. Go for a walk at midnight
25. Ride a horse
26. Spend a weekend away from DF and Lia just enjoying myself with friends

Craft and Hobbies

27. Read 50 books
28. Go to the cinema at least once a month
29. Finish Michael Powell's Handmade Houses
30. Learn enough Greek to have basic conversations
31. Learn to knit
32. Stay on the Stash Wagon for a year
33. Learn karate
34. Learn to play the banjo
35. Try hardanger
36. Make six ornaments for the Christmas tree
37. Make a scrapbook of Lia's first year
38. Fill in Lia's baby book
39. Frame at least 10 finished cross stitches and hang them on the wall
40. Decrease my cross stitch projects by at least 20
41. Put all my family photos in albums
42. Do some family tree research
43. Make a needle book instead of admiring other peoples
44. Use my sewing machine to make an item of clothing
45. Take a course on framing
46. Go to a professional stitching course
47. Start playing the keyboard again
48. Organise and quantify my stitching stash
49. Learn to juggle
50. Build a wooden ship
51. Enrol on an OU course

Travel
52. Go to Italy
53. Visit 6 museums
54. Visit Cambridge
55. Spend a long weekend away somewhere we've never been just the three of us
56. Go to Wales
57. Visit Lands End
58. Go to London at least once a month for six months and visit somewhere new
59. Visit Ireland and the Giant's Causeway
60. Visit Scotland

Food

61. Eat 5 fruits or vegetables a day for a month
62. Cook a new recipe at least twice a month
63. Write my recipes down in a book
64. Try a new food at least twice a month
65. Find a local farm shop and buy stuff from it at least twice a month
66. Have a romantic meal for just the two of us once a month
67. Learn to make Creme Brulee
68. Roast a leg of lamb for DF

Health
69. Go for a half an hour walk at least three times a week
70. Have a foot spa twice a month
71. Go to the dentist
72. Not drink fizzy drinks for a month
73. Not eat chocolate for a month
74. Fix up my bike and ride it at least once a week for six months
75. Not eat take aways for one month
76. Go swimming at least once a week for six months
77. Go walking somewhere in the countryside at least once a month
78. Try meditation


Financial and Personal Info
79. Aim to pay at least £100 a month extra into the mortgage
80. Re-write my Will
81. Organise all our financial information and make sure at least two people have copies
82. Get Lia's christening gifts valued and insured
83. Get a safety deposit box
84. Organise all the bills and file them as soon as they arrive

De-Clutter
85. Clear out my wardrobe and donate old stuff to charity
86. Tidy the house once a week
87. Throw at least one item of junk out a week (or donate it to charity)

Miscellaneous
88. Paint bathroom door frames
89. Varnish the doors
90. Replace the dining room chairs
91. Fix the car radio so it holds the stations
92. Recycle more
93. Clean up the back garden
94. Paint the small area just inside the front door
95. Organise the home office into something less resembling a bomb site
96. Have a family portrait photo done once a year
97. Research one country a month and learn more about it
98. Chase the dust bunnies out from behind the sofa at least once a week
99. Clean out the kitchen cupboards and throw away anything not used in the last 12 months

100. Take pictures of all my 101
101. Start a new 101 list when this one is finished

I should of course add that I got this idea from Hazy's Blog although from following her link backwards it seems quite a few people are doing this.

For those of you thinking about it and wondering if they can come up with 101 things, it did take me three days to think about it so come on, join in (and feel free to nick some of mine if you like the sound of them)

How Much!!!!

You know I said in my last post that Lia seems to be bypassing crawling? Well Saturday she pushed herself up onto her feet and was quite happily stand on her own when holding on to something!

So Sunday we headed for the shops and her first pair of shoes. I would have waited a bit longer but we've got laminate flooring and she slips around quite a lot so I figure shoes will help her stand steadier. So she's measured and fitted and tested and the like and her first shoes are chosen. Pink unfortunately (I try and avoid pink whenever I can but they had a really limited choice) but cute nonetheless.

So, to the point of this blog entry, the price. £16.00!!!! Yes, SIXTEEN POUNDS!!!! And then I'm told she'll need to come back in six weeks for the next fitting. SIX WEEKS!!!! I don't pay £16 for my shoes if I can help it and I certainly expect them to last for more than 6 weeks.

I guess I've been lulled into a false sense of security as clothes are so darned cheap but I can't believe how much I'm expected to pay for a pair of shoes for a baby that she'll wear for six weeks and barely scuff.

It's wrong and I wish I knew who I had to complain to...

Still here

Yes I am still around and I do have stuff to post about but it's been a funny couple of weeks and everytime I sit down to post something else comes up that needs my attention.

I've also had another stinky cold and this one actually laid me up for a few days. I have this weird reaction to head colds that is like a bout of travel sickness when my head gets really bunged up. This means that as well as coping with the cold I get nausea and I can't read, watch TV, stitch, use the computer or do anything that really passes the time. When it's real bad I can't even sit up.

Anyway, it's been really bad on and off since Thursday but I'm definitely on the mend now. I didn't bother with the Doctors as I'm sure the excessive use of antibiotics is what's killed off my immune system in the first place so I'm soldiering on and hoping the immune system will slowly get back up to full strength.

Enough of that boring stuff, what's going on with Lia?

Well, last Wednesday I was feeding her and she decided that she didn't want me putting bits of food in her mouth, she wanted to do it herself. Since then, if the food doesn't come on a spoon, it has to go in her hand first. This is great fun but I did discover yesterday that it's not a good plan to leave her alone with a Jaffa Cake...

She's also had her first hair cut (yes I did keep a lock). She's had a funny hairstyle for a while now - basically the original hair on the top of her head never fell out but she rubbed bald patches on the sides and back. This meant that she looked like she had a comb over as the top stuff was about four times the length of the rest. I finally gave in and trimmed some of it as it was actually over her eyes (very wispy though) so now she looks a little startled but less shaggy.

Still no proper crawling. She's been displaying serious stroppy moments over the whole thing and I think she feels it's not worth the effort. She'll roll over onto her tummy and even push herself up onto all fours but then she just slides back down onto her tummy and shuffles around a bit. About 30 seconds later she'll start complaining about the whole thing very loudly until someone comes and sits her back up again...

Along with her reluctance to crawl is a determination to be on her feet. She doesn't pull herself up at all but if you help her stand she'll hang on to you and wobble around slightly, sometimes even making a few tentative steps. I don't know whether she'll skip crawling all together but she's definitely frustrated by her lack of independence.

Oh and that frustration is manifesting itself in a right little temper sometimes. I can't think where she gets that from (*grin*) but I'll be keeping a serious eye on it as I'm not putting up with any of that nonsense.

So that's Lia's last couple of weeks. No more teeth yet but some serious teething signs.

In other news, the Big, Fat Greek Celebration is still somewhat in Limbo. We've started the process of getting the official documents for the marriage but we're still trawling through red tape to get confirmation of when we can do it and where.

DF's mother is currently checking out caterers. Yes, that's right, the event is 10 weeks away and we don't have a caterer yet. 110 Guests, but nothing to feed them. We also have no entertainment lined up.

I'm not panicking, I'm not, I'm really, really not. There's very little I can do but I will sit down with DF this weekend and come up with a list and demand some answers. I keep getting vague comments like 'the Godmother is in charge of that, don't worry' or 'my mother's sorting it, don't worry' but I'm determined to finally pin him down with a list as, if nothing else, it might spur him into some action.

In other news, I've been stitching again (although not for the last few days with this cold) and should have some finishes quite soon. I've also found a local framer who'll do a discount if you frame six or more items. I want to finish two more and I'll have seven to frame which will be great as I'll finally get some of my stitching onto the walls!

Nine Months Old

I can't believe we've reached nine months - where does the time go?

Lia's now crawling but very tentatively, she keeps getting onto all fours and rocking backwards and forwards as if she's ready to explode out of the starting blocks but, as yet, no explosion, just a vague shuffle forward. She's also started waving, sometimes she amuses herself by waving both hands wildly but sometimes she waves one hand at you in greeting.

The big news of today is that tooth number two has just pushed it's way through so we're well on the way to a full set (LOL) She's still really good natured, despite the teething she's sleeping okay and rarely really grumpy (although the nappies leave an awful lot to be desired...)

She was on her hols last week as her Greek Grandparents were over so she had lots of trips out and tried lots of new foods. We had a fun week although world war 3 did break out for several hours one evening (that's a whole other post) but that aside her grandparents loved spending time with her.

One really nice thing that happened was one lunchtime when we'd headed to a pub on the seafront at Folkestone (in Feb!!!) The pub was full of elderly people having their fish and chip lunches, one group of which were at the table behind ours for about an hour and a half. As they got up to leave they stopped at our table and congratulated me on Lia saying that she was a lovely baby and so well behaved that I should be really proud!

Proud doesn't even come close, let me tell you. I was gobsmacked that they took the time to say something so nice and really pleased that they did it in front of my In-Laws as my MIL had been rumbling on about my parenting skills for three days.

I'm so lucky that Lia is good natured and I know that DF and I can't take all the credit but I'm so grateful that at the moment we can take her anywhere and know that she'll be good and happy to sit and play.

However, I am convinced though that we'll either have the worst terrible twos on record or her teenage years will be totally awful.

Finally some pics

I had fun with the camera this morning and here you are:

6-9 month top, 9-12 month tights and 12-18 month skirt...

If you squint you can almost see the famous tooth

A better view of the tooth (and tonsils LOL)

Children's Clothes

So I've been doing my quarterly sort out of Lia's clothes as she's just moving up into the 9 - 12 month stuff and I've been struck by the lack of standardization.

I should first of all point out that clothes are my real weakness when it comes to Lia. We don't go overboard on toys but I can go nuts in a clothes shop (which is weird as I don't own that many of my own and have no desire to).

I mainly shop at the supermarkets unless places have a sale and I've always got clothes in advance as I buy the end of season stuff for the next year(I got next years winter coat in the sale on Boxing Day).

And I do have limits, apart from 3-6 months where some of the stuff really didn't get used much (I put that down to me not thinking about how much time she'd spend just in a body suit or sleepsuit) she's normally got just enough to get through a week so I don't have to wash too much.

But on the whole, she's spoilt for choice of what to wear. Anyway, on to the point of this post...

Now don't get me wrong, I know babies come in all shapes and sizes so why would their clothes be any different but the differences are so marked in some cases that I don't understand the thinking behind it.

Take for example two skirts that I have for her. One for 9 - 12 months that I bought from Tesco (mainly because it had well funky tights included) and one that is 12 - 18 months that I bought from M&S. I picked up the Tesco one and measured it on her only to realise it'll be much, much closer to 12 months before it fits. No probs, but as I was sorting through I found a much smaller looking skirt, the M&S one. This one I tried on her and it fit absolutely perfectly!

So, the one for her age group falls off if she stands up but the one for twice her age fits? Now to me that's a bit more 'give' than I'd expect.

I've had this with clothes from Zara tpp. I don't shop there very often but when we were in Greece last year we were given the most HIDEOUS outfit for Lia that I went and exchanged almost immediately (not bad, I got five tops and a jacket for the same price as a trouser/cardigan set). I bought the next size up for her as I knew I didn't need any more clothes but when I looked at them properly they were at least a size smaller. Then when I checked out their sale at Christmas and got stuff I had to buy a size larger than I needed as everything in there seems to be a size smaller than everywhere else.

Oh and while we're on this subject, why do most stores size theirs in age but a few (H&M for example) size just with random numbers? I got a couple of summer dresses in their sale but spent ages trying to find out whether I needed size 82 or 96 or whatever - what's that all about?

And why are some parents prepared to pay stupid money for clothes their kids wear for three months? I don't even look in Mama's and Papa's as their stuff, even in the sale, is so overpriced I'd not even bother with it.

I remember when I was in hospital after the birth there was this real chav in the bed opposite (seriously, it was her 8th child by four fathers of various shades of brown and black and the guy she was with wasn't the father of the latest one, he'd already moved on).

Anyway, this poor little mite was an emergency caesarian delivery and as barely over 5lb. This woman dressed her up in this HUGE burberry outfit (tasteful pink and brown checks) and informed me it cost £60!!!! I looked at Lia in one of her '3 for £4.50 Tesco sleepsuits' and wondered if I was a bad mother. LOL

A Tooth!

We have a tooth!

Or at least we have a hillock poking out of the bottom gum but it's the beginnings of a tooth. It appeared yesterday, I swear it wasn't there in the morning but when I picked her up from nursery there it was!

Despite all the dire warnings from people she seems totally un-fazed at the moment and is sleeping just fine. She's still got the ends of a cold though and I'm praying it goes before the Greek Grandparents arrival on Sunday.

Her eyes have totally cleared up too which is great and so I'll be hovering round her with a camera and I'll get that picture posted sometime this week.

We interrupt our usual schedule...

So I can ramble on about some stuff that I've been thinking about for the last couple of days.

This internet thing is amazing when you stop and think. Forget the twisted dark side that we hear about so often (and that AOL seem to want to petrify us with in their TV ads) and think about the people that you have met that you've formed some sort of connection with.

I have friends that I met on the internet, I have people I actively dislike who I've met on the internet. Some of them I've met in real life and still like or dislike as I did before I met them which has led me to think that I can pretty much judge people through their writings on this here www and know that my instincts are right (but I am prepared to be proved wrong of course).

As I have mentioned before I cross stitch. Because of this pasttime I found a bulletin board on the www and became part of an online stitching community about four years ago now. Throughout this four year period I have seen the best and the worst of people on the internet. I have played my own small part in some events, good and bad, and I'm sure there are a number of people out there who have strong opinions about me, also both good and bad.

Sometimes I do sit on my hands and try and ignore things, sometimes I post things that maybe I should have thought twice about but I have never posted something that I didn't totally believe in and I have never posted anonymously about anything. As in real life, if I have something to say, I say it and, if my mouth (or my fingers) get me in trouble then I take the consequences.

However, there are some that use the internet as their personal playground, they have multiple identities, create fictitious personalities, minipulate others, write hateful things and generally abuse the system that we all like to think of as 'nice'.

Take for example eBay. I love eBay, I've bought and sold many, many things on eBay and will continue to do so but it amazes me that people are actually surprised when buyers / sellers are fraudulent. How many people do you know in real life? Now categorise them on a sliding scale of who you'd trust with your life and children and who you'd keep hold of your valuables around.

MILLIONS of people use eBay. If you apply the sliding scale from my last paragraph that means THOUSANDS have the potential to be untrustworthy. So why are we all so surprised when it happens? Yes it's horrible, yes you never want it to happen to you or someone you know but it is a fact of life, like it or not.

Going back to the stitching communities, you can apply the same sliding scales there. Generally, most people are great, friendly, pleasant, trustworthy and all-round good eggs. But still people are surprised when something not so nice creeps in to the daily round of 'look at what I'm stitching'. I'd say the active stitching community that I'm aware of is probably around 800 - 1000 people (mainly women) with maybe that many again who look around but don't join in.

So, put that many people in a room and work out how many you'll get on with. How many will have a different opinion of things to you, how many you'll hate on sight and how many will make no impression on you whatsoever.

This internet thing can bring people together from all corners of the globe but what it can't provide is the tolerance you need to remain part of a huge community and not get upset by someone else's ideas and opinions once in a while.

It can't give you the intelligence to not post something in a public place that is likely to hurt and upset people.

It can't give you the wisdom to stop typing and hit the delete key until you've counted to ten and calmed down.

I'm as guilty as the next person of posting without thinking, I'm sure in the last four years I've upset some people and, whilst I stand by every word I've typed and I've never written anonymously there were times that I might have done things slightly differently if I'd thought about it longer.

But I'm still here, I'm still posting and I hope all of you do to as, even though I may disagree with you, vocally or non-vocally, I still get a kick out of this thing called the internet

No picture for a while....

Just thought I'd let you know you'll have to wait a bit longer for the next picture as Lia has a bad case of conjunctivitis and I don't think she'd ever forgive me if I took a picture of the way she looks now.

She's okay with it but her eyes are really puffy and red. We have drops that have to be put in four times a day (boy is that fun!) and at least they've stopped the gunk that was clogging her eyes up so badly.

I now have to have another day at home as nursery won't take her for 24 hours (fair enough). I should be able to get some work done at home though which should limit the holiday I need to take.

We've also both had another stinky cold but thankfully this one doesn't seem to linger too much. I had two days of feeling completely lousy and bunged up but today is much better. I'll be glad when both our immune systems get up to scratch so she won't bring the germs home and I won't catch them so easily.

Anyway, as soon as the eyes settle down I will get that promised picture for you.

Eight Months Old

Okay, the more observant of you will have noticed there was no seven month update as that fell on 1st Jan when I was in the middle of my ear infection 'fun'.

I'm also a day late with the eight month old post AND have no picture to share so I do apologise. I'll try and get a good pic this weekend but we've actually been busy taking mini-videos of Lia on DF's camera so that my parents can take a DVD with them on holiday to Oz to show her off to all the relatives down there (at least one of whom reads this blog so B, you have been warned!! LOL)

Anyway, Lia is now moving up to 9-12 months clothes. She's been in the 9 - 12 month pj's for a while now but I'm just starting with the body suits and tops as most of her extra length is in her top half (she seems to have inherited her Mum's short legs). We're also hoping she gains some weight quickly this month as she needs to be almost 1kg heavier before she can be in the next size car seat. It's a bit of a problem as she's so long she doesn't fit in the baby one that well any more and always complains about being so squashed in.

No teeth yet (despite the red cheeks) but we've had a couple of rough nights this week and she really didn't want me feeling her gums this morning so you never know.

Development wise she's more got sitting up pretty much mastered and she's much more balanced now. She's also making moves towards crawling but nothing major (she managed about a foot and a half in a backwards direction last night but it took her about 10 mins). Her fave occupation at the mo is rocking backwards and forwards at high speed. This has led to some bumped heads (hers and ours) but as her balance improves, there's less and less bumping (which can only be a good thing)

She's still tucking into her food like a good 'un. Her typical food regime is morning bottle, large bowl of ready brek, lunch, afternoon bottle, afternoon snack, dinner and then bedtime bottle! And we're not talking small quantities here so I don't think we're going to have to wait too long for that weight gain!

So she's had her first Christmas and New Year and was very well behaved for it all. We've booked our flights for this December as her second Christmas and New Year will be in Greece. It's a bit odd for me as this will be only the second time that I haven't spent Christmas with my family (the first DF's parents and sister stayed at our house) but I'm sure we'll have fun. Lia will be 18 months by then so will have much more input in the whole day.

I think that's about it. As I said, I'll take a pic this weekend to give you all a visual update.

The main excitement of this month is that DF's parents are coming over for the last week and we're going to stay at my parent's house (my parents being in NZ and Oz) which means we can show my in-laws a new part of England (Kent) and also all stay under the same roof (they normally stay at a hotel when they come over as our house is tiny). I'm not too stressed about the visit as we've got plenty to do and talk about (all those BFG Celebrations to discuss) so hopefully we'll all have fun.

Snow Pics

Finally DF sent me some of the snow pics and here's a couple - our Snow-Baby looking totally cute and my family home looking like Narnia!

A Happy Child

So we must be doing something right as we've been blessed with a happy child. Of course she cries sometimes and she can get grumpy but generally she's a bundle of giggles and laughs which is great.

However, as great as this might be, there is a downside to having a happy, chatty, laughing child. It's at 2.30am when she wakes up and decides that she's going to have a chat and a laugh with her stuffed elephant FOR TWO HOURS!!!

Yep, she didn't cry, she didn't want either or both parents, she just wanted to talk to the elephant at the top of her voice for two hours... I don't know what the elephant has done to deserve such an honour but I reckon she covered her whole life story in those two hours. It's a new cuddly toy and she's fallen totally in love with it. She's almost eager to get into bed now as it means she can see it, hold it and chat to it.

We stayed with my parents this weekend and we put Lia down for a nap before heading off shopping and when we left she was happily chatting with the elephant. I called my Mum an hour later and she said Lia was still not asleep but still just chatting away.

I don't understand what magic this elephant holds but it was the best £4 I've spent in mothercare... At some point I'll get a picture of it just in case all you other Mums want to see if it can cast the same spell over your child.

Here's a picture from the weekend. The elephant is not the one that is the subject of the post but she likes this one too. I'm not quite sure what she's doing to the crocodile though!

Oh and yes, we're thinking those red cheeks may just signal the mythical teeth are on their way...

Don't panic!

Oh the joys of parenting...

Since starting nursery Lia's had an almost constant cold that has waxed and waned but never really gone away (although at the risk of tempting fate she's been almost snot free for a week or so now) but through it all she's been happy and we've never had to even bother with calpol.

However, last wednesday I got the call from nursery to say she'd had a couple of bouts of diarrhea and been sick. I phoned DF to let him know and headed off to pick her up. When I arrived at the nursery she was sitting on the floor playing like there was nothing wrong. Typical. However, she did have a bit of a temperature and the girls at nursery were busy telling me they had a really bad bug going round that was about five days of sickness and diarrhea and so I should brace myself.

Yeh! The fun side of parenting.

Anyway, I got her home and she was definitely under the weather - she wanted to be held all the time and was quite miserable by this point. I phoned NHS Direct and got some advice from a nurse which was to take a layer of clothes off her to help her cool down, a dose of calpol and then some milk - small quantities at half hour intervals to see if she kept it down.

DF had arrived home by this point and was flapping. He wanted to take her to Casualty and get her checked out by a doctor but I was adamant that we should stick to the advice that we had and see how she was.

Typically this was the day that there were new symptoms of meningitis being discussed in the news, one of which was cold hands and feet. Lia had slightly cold feet which didn't help his flapping...

That and her throwing up on him.

Anyway, the calpol did the trick with her temperature and she kept her milk down so when the nurse called back she said we should just keep an eye on her and if she got worse then take her to a doctor. Thankfully that was the end of the physical symptoms. She was very clingy the next couple of days and she was also slightly off her food but at least I didn't have five days of ick to contend with. But other than that she was right as rain and back at nursery on monday.

Yesterday I got a call from nursery - she's got a rash that's spread all over her belly and up under her arms! So I head down to get her and phone DF again telling him to call the doctor and see whether they say to bring her in or not.

Lia spends the whole journey home chatting happily to herself so I'm not that worried. The rash looks much more like a heat rash than anything else and does disappear when pressure is applied.

DF was home when we arrived and stressed and flapping again. He was relieved to see her so happy and he took care of her while I spoke to the doctor who diagnosed urticaria (or hives to us lay people).

No real treatment, it should clear up quite quickly on its own. Just try and keep her a bit cool and don't rub or irritate the infected area. Lia barely registered it - she wolfed down her tea and chatted away happily which made me feel much better but didn't stop her dad pushing a glass on the rash every now and again just to make sure...

DF's mother is a worrier. Big time. She stresses out over pretty much everything and can work herself up into a real frenzy given the right circumstances. DF has inherited this trait and it has never been more obvious to me than during the two events recounted above. He really over-reacted and would have had Lia at the hospital both times without giving a second thought despite us having advice from Health Care Professionals.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not uncaring and if I'd had the slightest worry I would have been heading to the hospital like a shot as well but thankfully both times it turned out to be quite mild.

He also has not told his mother about either event as he couldn't cope with her reaction. It's on days like these that I'm so glad we don't live closer to her...

Happy New Year

So I'm a little late but it's been quite a couple of weeks for us one way or another.

I hope you all had wonderful Festive Seasons and that you're all well and truly recovered from the excesses.

Our Christmas was great fun. Lia had a blast, mainly from playing with wrapping paper it has to be said, and we had a good time testing out her many new toys...

Even better, it snowed and snowed on the tuesday after Christmas so we were snowed in with a good six inches of the stuff. I know some of you will have more snow than you know what to do with or will hate the stuff but I LOVE it and with DF being Greek it's quite a novelty for him to see so much and have it settled.

We went to see The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe on Boxing Day and our garden looked like Narnia by the next morning which was magical. We were at my Mother's house which is out in the countryside so we really were cut off from civilisation for a bit and I was transported back to childhood when we used to pray the schools would close for the day so we could play in the snow.

New Year was a bit of a washout though as I got an inner-ear infection and was in bed Saturday - Wednesday. I was so bad that we had to get my Mum over to stay and look after Lia while DF went to work as I couldn't get out of bed without falling over. Still, I'm all better now which is the main thing.

So 2006 is shaping up to be an interesting year already and we have so much to look forward to. I now have the engagement ring I said I didn't want but am really happy with (18ct white gold solitaire diamond) and we went out on saturday and bought the wedding rings (18ct white gold plain bands). We've also booked our flights for May and we'll be in Greece for a total of three weeks which, as well as the wedding and Christening, will encompass DF's Mother and Grandmother's birthdays as well as Lia's first birthday. So all in all it'll be one long celebration.

We've also decided to spend next Christmas in Greece all going well so that's my year's holiday well and truly sorted.

I don't make New Year's Resolutions but I have two goals this year, to end it weighing significantly less than I do now and to have all our finances in order so we can start seriously overpaying on the mortgage. Hopefully those won't be too hard to achieve and I'll keep you updated I'm sure.

Stitching goals wise I don't have many but I would like to stitch Lia a christmas stocking and I am working on a large animal alphabet design for her as well.

Finally, I'd just like to say hi and thanks to those of you who have posted such nice comments. I'm a sporadic commenter on other people's blogs but I do visit many (and have now updated by side bar with some more addresses) so maybe I should make another goal to comment more for other people as I know how nice it feels.

Merry Christmas

It's a bit early but Merry Christmas and here's a picture to make you smile

Have a lovely Christmas and a great 2006

Not such a blast from the past...

This is not going to be a sentimental look at my childhood where I wallow in the memories of endless summer days etc. I did have a great childhood, I grew up in the country so climbing trees, riding bikes and generally exploring my surroundings was the order of the day but I don't feel the need to wax lyrical about those times.

However, there are things from my childhood that I do miss. Not just the life of no responsibilities and the fact that I could get much, much further on my bike than my parents seemed to realise. But also certain books that I loved yet can't find copies of to buy for Lia, places that are no longer the same, TV shows that I loved with presenters that you could respect and look up to rather than ones that try too hard to be your mate.

Just as an aside (and apologies to overseas readers who know nothing of what I speak) I was prompted by seeing Johnny Ball in the audience of Strictly Come Dancing to tell DF that if Johnny Ball, John Noakes and John Craven were gathered on TV to announce the end of the world my generation would totally believe them. No ifs, no buts, those were men that represented truth and, although they were grown ups, were totally on our side.

I don't watch much children's TV at the moment (bound to change as Lia gets older) but the presenters are absolutely dire and I dread the day Lia wants to watch Dick and Dom...

Anyway, that's slightly off my topic for the day. What I really wanted to talk about was sweets. Certain sweets that I loved in childhood that you can't get any more. Yes they brought back Spangles (although you don't see them that much any more) but for me there were certain gaps that just couldn't be filled.

And one in particular. Texan bars. I remember these as being rectangular with a thick, chewy candy covered in chocolate. The candy was quite orange and the toughest thing that you could ever put in your mouth. Not only that, when you did manage to suck it enough that it got softer it didn't break, it just stretched and stretched and stretched. I loved Texan bars and I also loved the competitions I had with my brother as to who could make one last the longest (very sticky results!)

So imagine my total and utter delight when I was looking for the address of a particular website selling old fashioned sweets to send to someone - A Quarter Of... - and discovering that TEXAN BARS ARE BACK!!!

Okay, you can only order them in fives but that's great cos I'll be chewing well into 2006 so I make my order and spend a couple of days stalking the postman until they arrive and finally, yesterday, they were in my hot little hands.

First disappointment, they're the wrong shape and they're half the size of the originals if that. But at least the packaging is as I remember and, lets face it, everything is smaller these days to what it was when we were little.

So I unwrapped and took a tentative bite (my teeth are not as sturdy as they were!) and bit right through! Okay I had to chew and chew and chew but the taste just wasn't right.

So there's two choices here, one my memory is not up to the task or two, they're not the same as before. I'd have to say that I think my memory is just fine and, given the rules about additives and the like these days, the recipe has changed but maybe I'm wrong and I've been romanticising this sweet for 20 years and can't really remember what it tasted like.

The real point to all this though is that, whatever the reason, I've been disappointed and I wish I'd never found them and so could have spent the rest of my life remembering them the way they were.

Still, I suppose I could always just prove I'm getting older by starting to moan about how they just don't make things how they used to...

Christmas is coming...

and we're all getting well and truly festive in our house.

The Christmas tree is up and decorated (has been since the 3rd) and takes up a large part of our small dining room. Presents are wrapped and under the tree (I think Lia's a bit too young for us to worry about Santa this year!) and all that's left is Christmas Cards to be written - a job I hate but I'm working through them slowly.

Lia has a Christmas party to attend on Friday at the nursery and will meet Santa for the first time. I'm hoping that she won't freak out too much as DF has a belly and a beard so hopefully she'll just see him as an older version of Daddy.

She's also meeting the Greek Santa on Sunday as there's a Greek church near where we live so we're heading there for the Christmas Service. I'm not too thrilled (church does very little for me) but it'll be nice for DF and Lia so I'm prepared to make an effort.

We'll be celebrating Christmas with my family this year which means a 100 mile drive on the 23rd. They were all full of 'we won't get her toys this year, she's too little' last time we saw them but I've since found out that most of them have succumbed and bought her a toy of some sort. Don't get me wrong, I have no objection to her having toys but at the moment her favourite playthings are the tv remote, free pizza menus we get through the door and her burp cloth (great to play peek-a-boo with) so I don't see the need for lots of expensive toys at the moment.

Still, I have to remember that this is the only child in the family, after her the youngest is 27, so people are just indulging a long unrequited need for kiddie things at Christmas. I will be putting a quota on toys in the future though as I'm not having the house full of stuff she plays with once and ignores.

T'is the season of eating too it would seem. Lia's apetite knows no bounds and DF and I seem to be heading all over for meals. It was his works Christmas lunch on Friday, we were out with my parents on Saturday, it's my works Christmas lunch on Wednesday, we're out for lunch on Saturday, a Christmas curry with friends on Monday and then a works buffet for me next Wednesday! All that before that actual Christmas food (which is incredibly well done by my family it has to be said).

I've decided to leave all thoughts of dieting till 2006 but once the holiday season is over I will definitely be on the getting fitter trail. Not only do I have the Big Fat Greek Celebration to look good for but I'll have a small, slim, half-Greek daughter who will be starting moving around so I'll need to be fit to keep up with her!

Food Glorious Food...

Before I start I should just say that I've decided to refer to DD by her name (or at least the shortening of her name) as I spend more time editing it out than writing posts.

So, Lia has been eating 'real' food for a month now and after a rocky start has launched herself at the multitude of food available to her with gusto.

Last night when I picked her up from nursery one of the girls told me that they love feeding her as she's easy to feed and very enthusiastic with anything they give her. I'll admit we did have a bit of a rocky start but it's been quite a while now since she's refused anything so I'm hoping that continues (I'm not looking forward to the fussy stage).

Her breakfast consists of ReadyBrek which, whilst it doesn't make her glow, can be guaranteed to make her, and anything within a ten yard radius sticky in the extreme. Still, she likes it, it fills her up and it's easy to make so we're sticking with it (no pun intended) for the moment. Plus four out of seven days the girls at nursery feed it to her so I just have to clean the clothes, not everything else. She's pretty good with everything else but for some reason this is the one food that she has to get her hands in and then wave them enthusiastically all over the place.

Nursery days include pureed meat and veg for lunch and pureed fruit for tea. Well they call it tea, Lia seems to look upon it as an afternoon snack as she's ready and waiting for food when I get her home. She'll wolf down half a jar or more of baby food and then rusk and fruit for pudding!

As we're still at the us feeding her stage it's not too bad mess wise but there have been some spectacular patterns made when she's had a mouthful of something and coughed (I'll leave those to your imagination I think). She's not showing any signs yet of wanting to feed herself anything (I have no idea when she's supposed to start doing that) so hopefully it'll be a while before we have to cover the room in tarpaulin before each meal.

Still, I'm thankful that she's taken to it so well and there's very little refusal of anything offered to her and I shall await the mess to come with at least some comfort in the knowledge that nursery will deal with at least half of it.