February, 2005

Over the past week, we’ve noticed Mrs Levee getting bigger. It’s pretty comical because she’s lost such a drastic amount of weight from being sick, her trousers are actually hanging off her! People who don’t know [she's pregnant] have been commenting on how thin she looks.

“How did you lose all that weight so quickly?”, they ask.

“Oh, just trying to be careful about what I eat.” she replies, not letting on that she’s on a basic diet of toast and Chinese food.

Most of the weight has come off the bum and thighs, so Mrs Levee’s clothes are getting pretty baggy. In contrast, you can see the belly starting to swell a little in the way that happens only when a little baby is growing inside. The shape is just totally different to regular ‘chubbiness’.

Oh, and she’s started going to bed before 10:00 every night and (recently) snoring has entered the bedroom, which makes getting to sleep even harder than it already was . . .

Monday, February 28th, 2005 // Family Life

Got vomitted on today, right in the middle of Tesco’s, by the ever-adorable Jay. Completely without warning, he opened up and retched watery sick over me until I was left standing in a puddle in the bread aisle.

My thanks to all the other shoppers who didn’t bother to help me, but felt it was quite acceptable to stare at me anyway . . .

My one thought as this was happening was “Wow. I can’t believe how well I’m handling all this!”.

Thursday, February 24th, 2005 // Family Life

It’s surprising, isn’t it? There are truckloads of books, TV shows, websites, et cetera, et cetera about finding love, having great sex, then how to have affairs and end your relationship (how to split your possessions, blah blah). This Sunday’s Observer Magazine had a nauseating article about the trials and tribulations of single life - ‘what if I never settle down?’

Then why, why is there no definitive reference for how to maintain a long-term relationship? Really. I’m not suggesting conspiracy here, but don’t the powers that be want us to have happy settled lifestyles? Is marriage (or even long-term co-habitation) the end of life? Do you know, since we had our first child in 2001, my mother has stopped asking me how I am on the phone?

Of course, there’s a reason for this line of questioning. I’ve just started reading a book by Stephen Covey called “The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Families“, I think, with the intention of creating a better family life for us. As the kids grow, we need to find some way to evolve together - as a group - through the years. I’d hate to become detatched from my kids when they hit their teens because we don’t understand each other anymore. That, I think, is my main reason.

Anyway, in the beginning of the book, Covey quite rightly points out that in society, the family faces more challenges today than ever. I agree - especially as the family is seen as a burden by most people. Hopefully the book lives up to expectations….I’ll keep you posted.

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2005 // Family Life

We’ve been to the swimming pool a couple of times this week. Jay seems to have recovered from his Trapped-In-The-Car nightmare!

He surprised me this evening by really trying to swim. I remember Ray when she was that young, she clung to us like her life depended on it in the pool. Jay just gets straight down to business and kicks and spashes whereever he wants to go.

One thing - it’s better to take them swimming in the afternoon, leave it too late and they get tired.

Monday, February 21st, 2005 // Family Life

Saturday morning. Up with the lark, loads of things to do today.

The big priority is getting a few repairs to the car - both door locks are not working, so our local mechanic, Davy is going to remove the locks and I’ll take them across to Antrim to get them repaired.

So, at about 10:30 Jay and I head across to Davy and get the locks removed from the doors. On the way to Antrim, we stop off at the house to pick up the others. Leaving Jay in the car, I run into the house to see if everyone’s ready to go. Naturally, when I go back out to the car, the door won’t open and where are the keys? In the ignition…..

Action stations! Straight on the phone to Davy, who doesn’t seem all that bothered until I tell him Jay is stuck in the car, then he’s outside the house five minutes later.

We exhaust all avenues trying to open the door - bending the door, wire coat hangers, trying to pop the boot. Nothing works. In the meantime, Jay has gone from being chilled out about the situation to completely freaked out. We’re now trying to work out how we can put in a window without traumatizing the child when Davy, on a whim, starts to prize out the rear drivers-side window. Surprisingly the window comes out without breaking, and we’re able to rescue the boy!

Once Jay is out, things settled down, and we got the repairs to the car made. Not a situation I’d like to repeat any time soon. . .

Saturday, February 19th, 2005 // Family Life

We had our first antenatal scan yesterday, and everything seems to be going fine at the moment. We sort of knew this already because Mrs Levee’s sickness is all-consuming - which means hormone levels are high and the baby is thriving.

I didn’t actually make it to the scan, unfortunately. Little Jay had a hearing appointment at the same time in another clinic, so I took care of this while Mrs Levee and her sister went for the scan. Jay’s hearing was fine, by the way - clean bill of health.

Mrs Levee was a little worried about the scan, just in case there was any liklihood of problems (her mother lost a baby with spina bifida, so there is always a possibility this might occur). Nonetheless, all was fine, and she came away with a picture of the baby!

While all this was happening, I took Jay out for something to eat. We had a great time, just the two of us. It’s good for me to spend extra time with Jake, because I didn’t take to him terribly well at the start. I think this was mostly because he seemed to be permanently breast-feeding at the start and we didn’t get to develop much of a bond early on.

So there you go. Bliss reigns for now, except we’re all suffering with colds (mine’s flu, of course!), and could all do with a week’s sleep…

Friday, February 11th, 2005 // Family Life

Composter is filling up slowly but surely! We’ve got a little kitchen bin (airtight) which we fill up during the week with peelings and bits of kitchen scraps. At the weekend, we take it out to the composter.

Thankfully, the kids are great fruit eaters, so there’s always banana skins, apple cores et al. In fact, we’ve started eating more fruit and veg in the interests of filling it up faster. Who’d have thought having a composter would make you eat healthier?

We’ve also thrown in some garden leaves for good measure. Apparently, these decompose more slowly, but all the same they’re good for the mix. I think one of these days I’ll have to go out and turn the mix.

Sunday, February 6th, 2005 // General

The latest ritual for our family is the Sunday morning stroll up to town to get the paper. Sounds exciting? Actually, it is!

Basically, Sunday morning I get up with the kids. We have breakfast, watch TV for a while and then get dressed and stroll up to town to get a copy of the Observer. Of course, we pick up a couple of treats for when we get home.

The shop where we get our newspaper has child-sized trolleys, so Ray takes this around while we get what we need - little Jay helps me by putting everything I choose into the trolley. Amazingly, they’re both quite good at the walk (remember: Jay is only 1-and-a-half).

The last couple of weeks, we run into a little old lady up the road with her small dog. Both the kids stop to pet it and we make small talk about the weather for a minute or two before moving on.

When we get back home, everybody settles on the sofa with their snacks. The kids watch something on TV while they eat and I get to read the supplements (don’t think I’ve ever read the actual paper!) in peace. The Observer Magazine is fantastic - some of the regulars Barbara Ellen, Barefoot Doctor, etc) are highlights of my week. I actually dreamed I missed the walk the other day, but it turned out to be Saturday!

Anyway, after this both babies are usually ready for a little nap, which gives me the opportunity to do a bit of housework in preparation for dinner time. Mrs Levee, in the meantime manages to have a fairly chilled-out morning!

Sunday, February 6th, 2005 // Family Life