Category Archives: Aly

Aly’s Attempt at Swimming

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I’ll be totally honest, I’ve never really learnt to swim, no lessons nothing but I can swim. I’m pretty lucky that I can try most sports and can wing it and get by.

We try and take the girls swimming as much as possible but with working and other things getting in the way it’s not always possible and Aly loves getting in the swimming pool. The problem is I can’t teach her to swim as I have no idea what I should be teacher her and I am not great at teaching people to do anything.

With this in mind we’ve decided to get Aly some swimming lessons which will mean she’ll learn how to swim and also allow her to go swimming once a week which hopefully she’ll enjoy.

Before she starts lessons she had to go for an assessment so they know what class to put her into. All week I think this has been playing on her mind a little bit as she’s been very quiet which is unlike her but she didn’t say anything.

The day had arrived and we headed off to the leisure centre and we got changed and she made sure I put her armbands on and we met the instructor and the first thing she said was no armbands which Aly didn’t seem to pleased about but again didn’t say anything. She walked to the other side of the pool and looked so lost but she knew I was nearby. I watched on as she tried everything that they asked even stuff that was out of her comfort zone.

It was no surprise when they said she’ll be in the beginner class but that does mean she’ll be in a group with one of her school friends.

I’m so proud of her for going ahead with this even if she’d been worried about it all week…

Feeding The Birds #CountryKids

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Berry Bird Feeder

This weekend for our outside fun we decided to make something for the birds in our garden.

I’d seen on Pinterest and Coombe Mill’s blog about creating a fruit chain for the birds so that’s what we decided on making.

We’d decided on a fruit mix of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries.

Berry Fruit Mix

As Laura makes pieces of jewellery we used some of her stronger thread and this was very easy to thread the fruit on to it but equally thin enough that we could tie it around parts of the tree to keep it in place.

Aly had great fun threading the fruit on and creating fruit patterns. Mia however found throwing the fruit and squishing it.

Aly Berry Chain

All we need now is some visitors to eat our feast.

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

 

#Countrykids Sorry More Snow

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I’m sorry but once again my Country Kids involves snow and lots of it.

This past 8-9 days we’ve been covered with snow and only now has it gone but the girls loved playing in the snow and seeing what adventures we could get up to.

We tried snow painting which kind of worked but it was totally successful, but to be honest I wasn’t sure what results we wanted but we were the only garden that had blue snow so I guess that was fun. Note to self buy lots of food colouring.

We also attempted to make giant ice marbles but they never seemed to freeze even after a couple of days and then Mia decided to wack one of them and ride over them in the sledge and they burst so it wasn’t the outcome I was expecting. Once again note to self buy lots of food colouring.

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Once we’d used all the snow up in our garden we headed to Nana and Pop Pops to destroy make a snowman and this was the most successful outcome with Mummy’s artistic flair and Aly’s hat, scarf and gloves. Even with their noses running and watery eyes the girls loved themselves.

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Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

 

The Long, Long Wait

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This is the next part of the start of out little family. For the first part please read It All Started in Barcelona.

So November 5th came and went and there was no sign of Baby C arriving any time soon so it needed a little helping hand in the form of being induced.

Easy peesy we thought, pop to the hospital, they product a little magic and boom we have a baby…oh how wrong can you be?

We headed to the hospital with Laura’s bag packed and all the essentials like phone numbers and the camera. Our appointment was on the 19th November at 9am. They put us into a side room and done all the checks and started the wheels in motion.

They told us to have a little walk around and pop back in an hour to see how things are progressing. An hour passed and more tests and checks were done but still no movement. This time they said walk around and have some lunch and then come back. 1pm we headed back and still nothing was happening. So off we went again for another walk, by this time everyone in the hospital thought I was a doctor doing my rounds.

It had now got to 6pm and they made Laura a sandwich but everything was closed so me and the mother in law (who had come with us) managed to get a packet of crisps and a kitkat for dinner ummmm yum.

Well 9pm, 10, 11, 1am and 3am all same an went and slowly contractions coming and at 7am things seemed to be getting there and all I remember was rubbing Laura’s back surviving on a packet of crisps, a kitkat and about 8 oranges. At 9am we were thinking about going to the delivery suite some 24hours after we’d come to the hospital.

Originally Laura had wanted a water birth but after trying for a while it became clear this wasn’t going to happen so on the bed she went with what seemed like a crowd telling her to push. The next few hours seemed like a blur but I do remember a food wagon coming round which I bought one of everything from and also a fair bit of screaming.

Finally at 2.15pm it happened Baby C had entered the World and I’m not too proud to say I had a tear in my eye. They asked us what we wanted to call her and I said its up to Laura as we had been choosing between two names, too be honest she could have called her Geoff at that point and I wouldn’t have cared but Alyssa Mae was introduced into the World weighing in at 8lb 12oz.

A Few Hours Old2

Now it’s time for men’s works and that means phoning everyone you’ve ever been into contact with, parents, grandparents and of course the group text to everyone else. This was of course before Twitter took over my life but I still had to do a status update on Facebook.

After spending time with them on the ward it was time to leave mummy and baby and head home. This felt very strange and an empty home wasn’t at all inviting. All I had the energy to cook was beans on toast and ate that at about 9pm and sat down and made the mistake of switching on Facebook and responding to messages and 3 hours later my head hit the pillow but all I could think about was thought of Alyssa, is she ok? Is she feeding?

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This day had changed our lives but were we ready?



 

It All Started In Barcelona

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABarcelona – Feb 2007

So here we are, enjoying a short break in the lovely Barcelona, just the two of us.

We had been trying for a baby for a little while, but not a long time. Laura had bought a pregnancy test while in the airport before we had left England but she decided not to tell me. After dropping our bags at the hotel before we head off to have a look round and grab some dinner Laura heads to the bathroom and a few minutes later comes out with a look on her face, straight away I can tell “We’re having a baby!”

The words you’ll never forget, the words that will change your whole World.

By this stage we’d been a couple for 6 years and married for almost 3 years so we knew we were ready to start this next chapter.

Before we left for this little break we’d just had the news that the landlords wanted our flat back by the end of March. Laura at the time had said that these things happen for a reason and now we knew what that reason was.

Straight away I wanted to tell everyone but was told I had to wait and that is by far the hardest part. Once we got home Laura had made the doctors appointment and it was confirmed that she was pregnant. Shit! It was starting to hit home and the next stage was the 12 week scan.

I didn’t really know what a 12 week scan involved but I knew I wanted to be there and I was nervous. This would be the first time that I’d get to see my baby and even know 5 years later I still have the photo (even if I don’t know what I’m looking for).

Was everything ok?

Can you tell what it is?

So many questions but at that moment when you see your baby and hear the heartbeat everything stops. The lady said everything looked normal and as expected but it was too early to tell what sex it would be.

20 Week Scan

The next time we saw anyone was at the 20 week scan and this is normally the one where they can tell what sex the baby is likely to be.

After all the checks and measurements had been done the question was asked “Can you tell what it is?” Her reply was I’m 99% sure it will be a girl (they don’t like to sat 100% because people have actually sued them when they got it wrong)

BINGO! We now have something to work with, a colour if you will.

Colours

Finally I get to feel like I can do something. By this time we’d moved into our new house which would now become a family home. Granted I’d lose my office but I could live with that, I mean how much stuff can a small baby need?

Oh how wrong could I be. First there’s a moses basket – why? What’s wrong with a cot? A baby bath – but we have a bath! Changing table – can we not just use the floor? Wardrobe – she’ll be tiny can she not just use my sock draw? Then there’s the stuff like sterilizer, bottles, monitors (not to be used as walkie talkies when you want a cup of tea), the list is endless and when it’s your first you need everything new as the baby will be able to tell.

The most expensive outlay is the pram/travel system. Its important to get the best you can afford and make sure it’s easy to fold down and lightweight. We went for a complete travel system which included a car seat. This system lasted until she was almost 3.

So we’ve decorated and bought the entire contents of several baby shops all we need to go is wait until the due date of 5th November.

 

 

 

Our Christmas 2012

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Christmas 2012 was probably the best we as a family have had.

It was the first year that Mia understood presents and what Santa was all about.

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Christmas morning started at about 7ish with the girls coming into our bed to open their stockings.

We then wondered down the stairs to see if Santa had been…

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They couldn’t believe their eyes, I wasn’t sure they’d remember hope to open presents how wrong was I.

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The girls soon got into the swing of things and it wasn’t long before wrapping paper was flying everywhere and the excitement on their faces was worth it, of course they got spoilt.

Once the excitement of opening the presents was over we headed to the In Laws for the rest of the day and the best part of Christmas for me the food.

For the most part of the day the girls played together really well but as usual the wanted to play with each others toys or the toy the other was playing with. I think they really enjoyed the day.

How was your Christmas?

I Choose Sellotape

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All children are of course different and that’s what makes them special.

Mia is totally different from Aly, but it would be boring if they we’re the same.

Aly is my little girl and always will be, we are both stubborn but I wouldn’t change anything about her. She is without question unique. While most of her friends love sweets she hates them and anything like that, she doesn’t like fizzy drinks and will only drink water or apple juice. Her favourite foods are yoghurts, salads and fruit.

After school the other day Aly had just got a good report and her teacher said her handwriting was really progressing so it was decided she could chose a present from the Tesco Local, out of everything in the shop all she wanted was a pack of sellotape! No chocolate, no magazine nope it was a 99p pack of sellotape.

I told you Aly was unique, there is nothing she likes more than creating various things using paper, tissue and sellotape. On Saturday she spend the whole day with a pack of paper and pipe cleaners making book wallets and bags for her soft toys.

I’d much rather she was like that than sitting in front of the television stuffing her face full of sugary sweets.

Christmas Tealight Holders

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Whilst researching Christmas presents for teachers online, I came to realise that what teachers prefer is something handmade from the children instead of a box of chocolates that they would most probably have to give away due to having so many. So I found this idea for handmade Christmas tealight holders on netmums.co.uk and gave it a go with Aly.

Here is how we made them:

You will need:

  • Jam jars
  • Tissue paper
  • PVA glue
  • Ribbon
  • Things to decorate your tealight holder such as confetti, glitter or Christmas pictures cut
  • out from old cards, wrap or tags
  • Tea light

Take your jam jar and cover completely with PVA glue. Wrap tissue paper around the side and leave to dry for 24 hours. This can be a single layer of tissue or a couple.

NOTE: I found this easy to do on my own without Aly’s help as she was a little to young to be able to do this neatly and without ripping the tissue.

Once dry trim any excess tissue from the top of the jar to neaten. Now Aly was free to decorate it any way she wanted. Simply stick your chosen decorations around the jar with the glue and tie some ribbon around the rim. Pop a tea light inside and add a little gift tag with some more ribbon.

If you want you can wrap some wire around the rim to make a handle and turn it into a lantern but we didn’t have any suitable wire.

In the end we made 8 and plan to give some to family as well. Aly really enjoyed making these gifts and i’m sure her teachers will appreciate the personal touch of a handmade present.