That's what I said as the girls and I made our visit to the pet shop last week and I watched my quiet little Natasha running up and down from tank to tank screaming, "FI-I-I-I-I-I-ISH!" to each one she arrived at. I have never seen her so excited about anything, even the guinea pigs! Watching her press her hands against the glass and grin with excitement before moving to the next tank and doing the same thing had me in fits of laughter, and her sister too who referred to her as a 'silly sausage'.
It became clear that all my fabled thoughts of getting fish 'one day' were coming closer. No longer was this a five-ten-years-down-the-line thing, this was an immanent plan. I sighed, thinking about all the tank cleaning and worrying about finding one floating on top of the water that was ahead for us, but the sight of my girls side by side, admiring the swimming wildlife melted my heart.
I think pets are good for children. Within reason of course - I can't see Angelica petting a leopard or something - but they teach them many things about life. When Natasha was born Angelica knew instinctively to be gentle because she had learned that from handling the guinea pigs and hopefully Natasha will be the same when the baby arrives. They've both learned the responsibility of caring for another living thing, they take turns feeding them and they show genuine love for them. It's amazing to see.
With fish things will be a bit different, I know. There's no petting them, feeding time is minimal and there'll be multiple arguments about which stupid china castle to buy for the tank, I am sure, but I can see them catching their imagination and hopefully give them an extra distraction to keep them busy and out from under my feet when I'm trying to cook dinner!
So my next question is: any fish experts out there? I need advice and I need it quickly!
Monday 23 August 2010
Thursday 19 August 2010
My Little Expert - Apparently!
My quiet little Natasha has suddenly become very vocal. She's gone from being a quiet little thing to talking all the time. ALL THE TIME! Where has this chatterbox come from?! It's so funny to see her come out of her shell at last!
One of the things she's recently been very vocal about is the identification of any animals she spies. She knows cats, dogs, rabbits, fish, mice, sheep, cows, pigs... oh, and of course guinea pigs, but she's known them for a long time.
Today I was wondering where to take the girls for a walk and decided to take them to the pet shop. I wanted to show Natasha the fish.
"You can point them out when you see them," I told Natasha, "considering you're now an expert."
Angelica, who'd been listening, piped up,
"I'm an expert!"
Not having any idea that she would know what the word meant I asked her,
"Oh yeah? And what are you an expert on then, sweetheart?"
She looked at me as though I was stupid for not knowing already and replied casually,
"Antiques."
My mouth fell open. Where on earth did she learn the word antiques?! How did she even link it up?! And more importantly, if I took her to an antique shop d'you think she'd have an eye for a bargain?!
Life with children is never, ever dull, that's for certain!
One of the things she's recently been very vocal about is the identification of any animals she spies. She knows cats, dogs, rabbits, fish, mice, sheep, cows, pigs... oh, and of course guinea pigs, but she's known them for a long time.
Today I was wondering where to take the girls for a walk and decided to take them to the pet shop. I wanted to show Natasha the fish.
"You can point them out when you see them," I told Natasha, "considering you're now an expert."
Angelica, who'd been listening, piped up,
"I'm an expert!"
Not having any idea that she would know what the word meant I asked her,
"Oh yeah? And what are you an expert on then, sweetheart?"
She looked at me as though I was stupid for not knowing already and replied casually,
"Antiques."
My mouth fell open. Where on earth did she learn the word antiques?! How did she even link it up?! And more importantly, if I took her to an antique shop d'you think she'd have an eye for a bargain?!
Life with children is never, ever dull, that's for certain!
Monday 16 August 2010
Happy Birthday, Natasha!
Two years ago today, Natasha made her safe arrival into the world. This little girl changed my life in so many amazing ways that I cannot even begin to explain them. Her birth undid all the bad memories from Angelica's birth and took away the block I'd always had left from that horrible experience. Her arrival showed me how amazing it is to watch siblings grow and learn from each other. Her arrival brought giggles and smiles to the whole family. It brought a gentler side to Angelica. It brought love to all of us. It brought so much to our family in so many ways.
My baby daughter is two today. I can hardly believe that two whole years have passed since that first day in hospital where she cuddled into my arms. She's been my little shadow ever since, a definite mummy's girl and full of love and kisses.
Her wild hair and cheeky grin make me giggle. Her blue eyes melt my heart and can get her out of any trouble she's found herself in. Her obsession with pointing out when someone has scored a goal when we are watching football and with animals that she has to announce at the top of her voice mark out her big personality. Her cuddles and hugs make everything better.
My cheeky little girl is everything to me, to her daddy, to her sister and even to the guinea pigs who come and look for her when she is closeby. One day we can explain to her how much she means to all of us. For now, I'm going to go and spend the rest of the day playing in her new playhouse with my girls and giving as many hugs as she will allow from her sentimental mother.
Happy Birthday, Cutie-Noo!
Friday 13 August 2010
Friday Five
Five naughty things Natasha has done today:
1) Managed to break into a packet of biscuits to steal herself a tasty treat
2) worked out how to undo the child lock on the airing cupboard door so she can open it and play interesting (for 'interesting read 'annoying') tunes on the ridged seat of the step stool propped up inside
3) Picked up a golfing magazine in the newsagents and almost took it out the shop
4) Switched the DVD player on to watch a DVD of her favourite cartoon
5) found a box of tissues, removed said tissues from box one at a time, decided they were too large and systematically ripped each one into small pieces
This little pest is going to be two beautiful years old on Monday - they've been the best two years of my life :)
1) Managed to break into a packet of biscuits to steal herself a tasty treat
2) worked out how to undo the child lock on the airing cupboard door so she can open it and play interesting (for 'interesting read 'annoying') tunes on the ridged seat of the step stool propped up inside
3) Picked up a golfing magazine in the newsagents and almost took it out the shop
4) Switched the DVD player on to watch a DVD of her favourite cartoon
5) found a box of tissues, removed said tissues from box one at a time, decided they were too large and systematically ripped each one into small pieces
This little pest is going to be two beautiful years old on Monday - they've been the best two years of my life :)
Saturday 7 August 2010
Got it Licked!
Why do children lick things? I mean, they'll lick just about anything. Angelica used to be the champion at licking, In fact, my MIL used to ask for regular updates about the various things she had licked. This included the stairs, the front door, our legs, the television, the phone, my laptop - you name it, she licked it.
Natasha was never really one for putting things in her mouth - we had to work hard at convincing her to chew on a teething ring even - but now she has adopted the licking trend too. I was unaware that she was sneaking around beside me a moment ago until I felt something wet on my leg and found her choosing to taste my trousers. Ugh!
Angelica grew out of the licking phase a while back, I am happy to say, but not before she had wondered what her sister's hair tasted like and licked it. She also once tried to lick a guinea pig - I can't remember which one. I'm not sure who was more traumatised by the event, Angelica, the guinea pig or me!
Of course, I guess we send out mixed messages. Earlier on Angelica watched my husband moisten the back of an envelope with his tongue and seal it, so I couldn't really blame her for picking up the envelope and slobbering all across the address and the stamp. Her great-grandmother is in for a nasty surprise when that drops through her letterbox though.
With any luck Natasha's tongue-exploration phase will be over pretty soon, otherwise I'm going to have to invest in some waterproof clothes pretty quickly!
Natasha was never really one for putting things in her mouth - we had to work hard at convincing her to chew on a teething ring even - but now she has adopted the licking trend too. I was unaware that she was sneaking around beside me a moment ago until I felt something wet on my leg and found her choosing to taste my trousers. Ugh!
Angelica grew out of the licking phase a while back, I am happy to say, but not before she had wondered what her sister's hair tasted like and licked it. She also once tried to lick a guinea pig - I can't remember which one. I'm not sure who was more traumatised by the event, Angelica, the guinea pig or me!
Of course, I guess we send out mixed messages. Earlier on Angelica watched my husband moisten the back of an envelope with his tongue and seal it, so I couldn't really blame her for picking up the envelope and slobbering all across the address and the stamp. Her great-grandmother is in for a nasty surprise when that drops through her letterbox though.
With any luck Natasha's tongue-exploration phase will be over pretty soon, otherwise I'm going to have to invest in some waterproof clothes pretty quickly!
Friday 6 August 2010
All About my 21 Week Scan
This has been some kind of crazy week. Monday finally brought my 21 week scan, and I was very nervous. I have been scared at every moment of this pregnancy and couldn't let myself believe for a moment that everything would be OK in case things had not gone well.
It was just my luck that the taxi driver on the way to the hospital chose to take me on the bumpy route. By the time I arrived I was feeling sick and already had a migraine coming on. Waiting in the humid waiting room for twenty minutes with a family who were all arguing about which one was going to get x-rayed didn't help either. Finally the doors of Ultrasound Room A opened and I was called in.
I had been dreading being called into that room. It was the room where I was given grim news last November. The last thing I wanted to do was to pass through those doors again. I'd been lucky to avoid it throughout this pregnancy so far but as soon as I walked through the doors it all came back. I was fighting tears by the time I climbed onto the table.
The ultrasound tech told me I didn't have to take my boots off, which was just as well since I hadn't... but I'd asked at the last 3 scans if I needed to remove them and hadn't had to yet so I just assumed that would be OK anyway. A moment later my baby was wriggling and waving on the screen, so much bigger than I had last seen. The most incredible part of the 20/21 week scans I've had so far has been to see the movement while I felt it too. There's something very magical about that.
I practically held my breath as the tech checked everything. She seemed to take a really long time looking at the heart and saw me looking at her nervously so she reassured me she was just trying to get a good picture. Eventually, scanning down further she told me she thought she could see something between the baby's legs. So on edge and nervous I thought she meant there was something wrong with the baby, some kind of growth, and it took me a few moments to realise she just meant boy parts!
To be honest, it was no surprise to me. I wish that it had been in a way, but I had always felt that we would have a boy next. Way back when I was pregnant with Natasha, before we found out her gender, I dreamed that she was a girl and that I was pregnant again with a boy and I have never shaken that image from my mind. I certainly trust my instinct more than I trusted the picture on the ultrasound which certainly didn't look like any boy-part U/S I've ever seen so I'm going to just double check at my next scan before I go crazy buying blue!
Everything looked good on the scan, no problems found, and I finally feel like I can relax and enjoy the latter part of this pregnancy. Finally!
The long, long bus journey home didn't do me a whole lot of good though, and I felt migrainey and nauseous for a couple of days afterwards, but yesterday finally we were all able to go to the coast for the day to celebrate. That - however - is a whole other story!
It was just my luck that the taxi driver on the way to the hospital chose to take me on the bumpy route. By the time I arrived I was feeling sick and already had a migraine coming on. Waiting in the humid waiting room for twenty minutes with a family who were all arguing about which one was going to get x-rayed didn't help either. Finally the doors of Ultrasound Room A opened and I was called in.
I had been dreading being called into that room. It was the room where I was given grim news last November. The last thing I wanted to do was to pass through those doors again. I'd been lucky to avoid it throughout this pregnancy so far but as soon as I walked through the doors it all came back. I was fighting tears by the time I climbed onto the table.
The ultrasound tech told me I didn't have to take my boots off, which was just as well since I hadn't... but I'd asked at the last 3 scans if I needed to remove them and hadn't had to yet so I just assumed that would be OK anyway. A moment later my baby was wriggling and waving on the screen, so much bigger than I had last seen. The most incredible part of the 20/21 week scans I've had so far has been to see the movement while I felt it too. There's something very magical about that.
I practically held my breath as the tech checked everything. She seemed to take a really long time looking at the heart and saw me looking at her nervously so she reassured me she was just trying to get a good picture. Eventually, scanning down further she told me she thought she could see something between the baby's legs. So on edge and nervous I thought she meant there was something wrong with the baby, some kind of growth, and it took me a few moments to realise she just meant boy parts!
To be honest, it was no surprise to me. I wish that it had been in a way, but I had always felt that we would have a boy next. Way back when I was pregnant with Natasha, before we found out her gender, I dreamed that she was a girl and that I was pregnant again with a boy and I have never shaken that image from my mind. I certainly trust my instinct more than I trusted the picture on the ultrasound which certainly didn't look like any boy-part U/S I've ever seen so I'm going to just double check at my next scan before I go crazy buying blue!
Everything looked good on the scan, no problems found, and I finally feel like I can relax and enjoy the latter part of this pregnancy. Finally!
The long, long bus journey home didn't do me a whole lot of good though, and I felt migrainey and nauseous for a couple of days afterwards, but yesterday finally we were all able to go to the coast for the day to celebrate. That - however - is a whole other story!
Wednesday 4 August 2010
Meet Sam
14+ months TTC
4 Losses
Approximately £400 of HPTs, OPKs, supplements, fertility monitors and other assorted TTC paraphernalia.
Worth it. All totally worth it!
Sunday 1 August 2010
Post-Bath Conversation
"Angelica, do you want a little brother or a sister?"
"Hmm.... a sister!"
"A sister?"
"A sister like Natasha!"
"Do you think the baby's going to be a boy or a girl?"
"A girl."
"Not a boy then?"
"Noooooooooo!"
"Well, we'll see tomorrow."
A gasp comes from the dripping Angelica as I continue drying her after her bath.
"No! Baby's coming too soon!"
"What...? oh, no, Angelica, the baby's not coming tomorrow..."
"babies sleep in a cot."
"Yes, the baby will sleep in a cot."
"In my room?"
"No, the baby won't be sleeping in your room." I paused. "Natasha might be sleeping in your room soon though. Would you like Natasha to sleep in your room?"
A look of glee fills Angelica's face.
"Yeah!!"
"Well, that's good."
"Natasha has big feet," Angelica remarks.
"Well, yes, but I'm sure there'll be room for them too."
Angelica considers this for a moment and nods.
"Bye bye, bathroom," she comments and scarpers, leaving a trail of clothes and towels behind her.
"Hmm.... a sister!"
"A sister?"
"A sister like Natasha!"
"Do you think the baby's going to be a boy or a girl?"
"A girl."
"Not a boy then?"
"Noooooooooo!"
"Well, we'll see tomorrow."
A gasp comes from the dripping Angelica as I continue drying her after her bath.
"No! Baby's coming too soon!"
"What...? oh, no, Angelica, the baby's not coming tomorrow..."
"babies sleep in a cot."
"Yes, the baby will sleep in a cot."
"In my room?"
"No, the baby won't be sleeping in your room." I paused. "Natasha might be sleeping in your room soon though. Would you like Natasha to sleep in your room?"
A look of glee fills Angelica's face.
"Yeah!!"
"Well, that's good."
"Natasha has big feet," Angelica remarks.
"Well, yes, but I'm sure there'll be room for them too."
Angelica considers this for a moment and nods.
"Bye bye, bathroom," she comments and scarpers, leaving a trail of clothes and towels behind her.
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