The One About Blackpool Zoo . . .

Last Wednesday was our three year anniversary from the day that we met, so as is tradition Mark booked the day off work and we went to the zoo.  The first year was Chester Zoo, and last year was Knowsley Safari Park (which given that I was pregnant and suffering badly with morning sickness, being in the car was a good idea), so this year we went to Blackpool zoo.  But with an extra little one in tow!  We had a really lovely day, the sun was out, it was warm (and me being silly thought it wouldn't be hot and left her sunhat at home, so had to buy one that said Blackpool zoo on it!), we saw animals that we hadn't seen before and Alissia was really well behaved and happy throughout.  The question is where do we go next year???

An anteater, which I'd never seen before!

We were really lucky to see all the wolves out, as it was a nice sunny day they decided not to hide!  I think they were my favourites!

One of the enclosures had these tiny monkeys running loose, and you could walk through and watch them, and look for the other animals that were meant to be in there, different parrots and birds.  Luckily Alissia was protected because I put her UV sun cover over her in the pram, plus there was a man going round squirting the little monkeys with water to make sure they didn't jump on anyone walking through.  It didn't stop me from squealing though when any came near us!  Of course we got to the end of the walk through and Mark decided to turn round and try to get pictures of them, leaving me with Alissia, they were very fast movers, running along the fence and in all the trees and plants.

I'm busy chewing my gums Daddy!

The One About Arley Hall Garden Festival . . .

The garden festival is held every year on roughly the same weekend.  We've been nearly every year since Mum moved to Wincham.  We missed last year because I was suffering badly from morning sickness, so I really wanted to go this year.  Mum & I have been watching the weather forecasts all week to see what it would be like today, and made one final check this morning, where it said that it would be dry today.

I don't know if you've ever been to a garden festival or flower show, but the majority of it is just on grass.  So when we got out the car we asked one of the car park attendants whether we would be able to push the pram round the festival.  He said it would be fine, but a little muddy.  A little muddy was an understatement!  We got through the paying bit, got a couple of feet in and turned round and went back to the car to swap the pram for the baby carrier!

Anyway once that was sorted we had a lovely walk round the gardens, the show tents and the plants that were for sale.  And it was a good job we didn't have the pram because we'd never have got it down the narrow paths or up and down all the steps, which were really quite steep!  I held onto Mum going up and down them because I didn't want to slip with Alissia on me!  She quite liked being in the carrier, and she was that comfy in it she fell asleep!  We didn't take a photo though in case the camera noise woke her up.  We needn't have worried because whilst she was asleep a loud speaker announcement was made, and she twitched a little and that was it!  My little girl seems to be able to sleep through anything!  It was a lovely day out, and especially nice because it was something different, not just going round the shops!

The One About Father's Day . . .

We started the day off by bringing Alissia up to bed with us after she'd woken up, so that she could give her Daddy his card and pressie, an Avengers T-Shirt which he wore on the day!

For Father's Day we were going to take Alissia swimming, but with her exzema getting worse we thought we'd give that a miss and go for a walk instead.  I'd always wanted to go to Queen's Park in Bolton, and I was really glad that we did because it was lovely.  It was really well looked after, there was a large enclosed playground for children (making a mental note for when Alissia is older) and lots of hills to push the pram up!  Excellent for losing some of this extra weight!

Well it turned out to be more than a walk, and more of a rescue mission because when we got to the top of the park Mark spotted a gentleman in an electric wheelchair who had keeled over.  He' tried to get up onto a grass verge and obviously it was too high, and it tipped him backwards.  Mark went off to get someone else to help lift him back up because with my back I wouldn't be able to help with any lifting. Between Mark and the runner that he found they managed to lift him upright again, but the battery had come loose in the process.  It took Mark 10 minutes to reconnect all the loose cables, but thankfully the chair started working again.  I'm just glad that we found him when we did, it was really quiet at the park on Sunday and he could have been lying there for a long time.

We didn't stay out much longer because we were meeting Mark's dad for lunch.  We went to The Harvester where they let you eat as much salad as you like.  And because I've decided to be healthy now, I had quite a sensible (but yummy!) lunch of grilled salmon, runner beans and baby potatoes in a parsley sauce.  And after all that there was no room for dessert!

And an action shot!

Then it was back home for us and a visit from Mark's mum, where we sang songs with Alissia.  All in all I think it was a good father's day and I think Mark thought the same!

The One About Saturday . . .

Today has been good, because Mark has been home, and because Alissia has been having better daytime naps and feeds.  We've worked out that the eczema has spread to her eyes and has been irritating her, but that Calpol helps settle this.  We've got an appointment with the doctors on Monday for her because I don't really like giving her Calpol so often, and the creams aren't working.

So back to today . . . Our local Surestart Centre put on a special event this morning as it's Father's Day tomorrow.  Really it was for older children, but we didn't make it until 11am because Alissia had a long nap so it didn't matter too much.  We made a card by inking Alissia's feet and stamping them on, and we made a 'World's Best Dad' certificate.  Now I didn't know what the event was going to be like at all so we brought Mark with us, well I thought it would be nice for him to do something nice with Alissia other than going to Tesco!  We all had a lovely time, and poor Alissia was shattered by the end!

Once Mark and I'd had lunch (from Subway - well there was nothing in the fridge and the weekly shop wasn't scheduled till this afternoon) we took Alissia to the library.  Really it was so that Mark could look at some design magazines, but whilst he did that Alissia and I read some stories.

Then came the boring weekly shop.  Every Saturday I make a meal plan for what we're going to eat every night in the week, then buy everything in for the meals.  Because I refuse to go to Tesco every day!  Plus it makes more sense this way, I know that if I didn't have anything in to cook, I'd probably just turn to a take away!  We've been doing it this way pretty much ever since I moved in, I used to do the shop on my own, but now that we have Alissia Mark comes too, or if Mark is busy working on the house I take Mark's Dad.  So how does everyone else plan their week of meals?  Oooh and does anyone want to share what they have - and give me ideas for meals?  I'm always on the look-out for new ideas!

So we came home, and Alissia and I chilled until bathtime, whilst Mark went to the Trafford Centre to get a new charger cable for the laptop.  It's been steadily getting worse all week, to the point that the laptop was about to die and had no way of charging it.  I've only been without it for a day, but have felt completely lost.  It's made me realise how much I actually use the internet to check things!  Who else would be lost without their laptop/PC?  Anyway, Mark is currently making homemade curry, and we're hopefully going to watch a movie this evening, and then an early night to make up for last night!  (We'd been asleep an hour when someone got up, and woke me up to tell me they were going to the toilet, and then doesn't even remember it today!)  Fingers crossed we have a better night tonight!  And tomorrow will be the last instalment of my Week in the Life, I hope people have been enjoying reading what we get up to!

The One About Friday . . .

After all the gadding about we've done this week I decided we would spend the morning at home, with no rushing about.  I hardly took any photos yesterday, well I think my mum friends have decided I'm a bit odd taking photos all day, plus it's difficult to take photos when there are other babies around that we don't know, and we'd need their permission to post photos.  Anyway we were that lazy, I didn't get dressed until 11am!  Alissia watched some CBeebies and had a nap, and I caught up on reading blogs.  After some lunch we were ready to go out to music class, which is put on by a company called Rhythm Time.  The class has just been taken over by a different lady and I don't think it's a good as before.  There's a lot of the teacher singing by herself rather than listening to tunes on the stereo and us all singing along.  We've only got another 4 sessions then thats it for the summer, so we'll have to see whether we go back in September (well we'll only be able to go if I can get flexible work from home one day a week - which I must get myself in gear and apply for asap!)

After music class we met up with my friend Evelyn and her little boy Conor for tea and cake, at Applewood Farm pub.  Although I was very good and didn't have any cake.  You should have seen the size and selection of cakes though, they were all in this glass case and it took a lot of will power to avoid it!  I've decided I've been eating too much cake and chocolate and it's time to diet.  I want to get back into my regular jeans again, plus we're having a naming ceremony for Alissia in September and I want to look nice in my outfit, and not feel uncomfortable and frumpy which is how I always feel at the moment :( Anyway, the pub was really good for children as they had a designated area for kids to play in, and whilst I was feeding Alissia I realised they're put toys and streamers on the ceiling too, because Alissia kept looking up at them!

Anyway at about half 3 we decided to head home because both babies needed naps, and were more likely to go off in the car.  Alissia was asleep as I turned the corner out onto the main road, so I decided to take a detour home, so we went on a magical mystery tour (so called because I knew vaguely where I was going, but not exactly, I only had to turn round the once!  We used to go on lots of magical mystery tours with my mum when we were little!)

Last night we went out for a drink with Marks friends, Mark needed cheering up as work is a bit rubbish for him at the moment, so I thought it might be nice.  Plus I knew that once Alissia was asleep she'd stay asleep until the early hours.  I had my first drink since being pregnant, and it went straight to my head, so I only had the one!  I'm very glad I didn't have any more because when we got up at 3am with Alissia I felt quite sick - I'm just not used to drinking anymore.  Or to the late nights, I was ready to come home at 10pm!  But we stayed out longer, and had a lovely time.  I'm sure that I'll suffer for it today though & fall asleep on the sofa early this evening!

The One About Thursday (And Last Night's Scrapping!) . . .

So I'll start with the scrapping from last night, I actually finished my Christmas Journal!  I still can't quite believe it because it's been on the go for so long.  But I've got so many unfinished projects that I was determined to finish this before starting any Alissia LO's.  So I've done Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve, and the front cover.  Not all last night - over the last week, but finally completed it all last night!  Hurray!

Front Cover

Christmas Day

Boxing Day

New Year's Eve

Extra photos under the flap

So back to today ... this morning I went to my pilates class at Tyldesley Community college.  It's the one hour a week I get some time to myself, the rest of the week I'm Mummy!  It's certainly helped to tone up my muscles, and my abs, but I've not lost any weight (but that might be due to the cake that we eat!).  Alissia is looked after by her Grandad whilst I'm out, and she loves it, he always does lots of different things with her, playing with different toys, and doing flash cards and things!

Watching the fans on the ceiling before her sleep

After the class, we went for lunch with Grandad to Frankie & Bennies, which was very yummy, but I have since realised that I need to order meals that can be eaten one handed now, and spag bol is just not one of those meals!  Alissia was shattered and needed a sleep but wouldn't go off unless I kept rocking the pram, hence one handed eating!

We'd come out to a retail park, with the intention of looking at travel cots for our holiday to the Lake District at the end of July.  After quick visits to Asda and M&S, we ended up in the toy shop Smyths, because they have a baby section upstairs.  Well I couldn't make my mind up about the travel cots, but we picked a large playmat, and then I looked at the high chairs (because that's what I've been doing for the last month), and one of them was half price and was exactly what we needed.  Whilst looking at the highchairs Alissia decided to scream for a feed, and I mean proper scream, so what did I do?  I asked for a chair and fed her right in the toy shop!  We were in there for an hour!  But we did get the highchair, and it was a good job too because it was the last one in stock.

Our new highchair - not that we'll be using it till the start of August once Alissia is 6months old.  We've decided to go down the Baby Led Weaning route - I'm already looking forward to the mess!

Back home, and Alissia seemed to like her new mat, now I just need to encourage her to start rolling!  Tonight dinner was cooked for me, which was nice, bangers & mash!  And now it's time to work on the invites for Alissia's Naming Ceremony, and chilling in front of the TV.

The One About Wednesday . . .

So last night, or rather very early this morning, we got woken up at 1:50am.  Surprisingly having to get up at this time for a feed then go back to sleep till 7:30am worked better for me than the 5:30am feeds.  I felt much better and was up and ready on time today!  (Well we were ever so slightly late because someone decided to do a smelly nappy just as we were about to leave the house!)  I wish I knew why Alissia has decided to go from 5 feeds a day and sleeping through to getting up in the night for the fifth feed.  Nevermind, we've just got to go with how she feels!

Today was the first day of a new baby group that they've set up because we'd all complained about the lack of classes for our baby age group at the children's centre.  There was a class on Thursdays but they've decided to limit the numbers and run it in 6 week blocks, so basically we have to wait for our names to come up in the list before we can go to that.  So it's just as well we have found the Tuesday baby yoga class, and go to music class on Friday's otherwise we'd have nowhere to go! Anyway, there was no set plan for the new group, so we get to choose.  I think they're going to do something different each week, with one a baby sensory class, and some nursery rhymes another week.  It should be good! Oh and they'd brought lots of toys down for today, but we'd been there long enough for the hello song then Alissia went to sleep!  Unfortunately my phone decided to die while at the class so I had to ask my friend to take a picture for me!

I'm also having problems with my point and click camera, I'll upload the pictures I took this morning, and if anyone has any advice I'd be really grateful!  I've tried it on every setting possible, both indoors and out, and all the pictures are just coming out too white.  The ones below are what I took when we all went out for coffee and cake after the baby class.  I've made some really good mummy friends over the last couple of months and it's nice to go out and have a proper natter!  Unfortunately I didn't get any cake because Alissia wanted a feed! (I made up for this later on!)

I can't work out why the photos are so bright, or why there are lines across???  Is there something wrong with my camera??

Mark was on a half day today because he wanted to give blood, so after we'd had lunch, and Alissia had a sleep, we went out for a walk for some cake!

Note the new pink hoody from Monday!  I wish Alissia's bald patch would go!

Mark had Alissia in the baby carrier because he much prefers that than pushing the pram!

After the walk Alissia fell asleep on Mark so I got to do some scrapping - yey!  I'm hoping to finish my Christmas Journal (I know it's June and I'm still working on it!), I did the last two pages this afternoon, and this evening I just need to do a front cover (while Mark is off out at the cinema with the boys, watching Prometheus, something I really didn't want to watch given I really hated the Alien movies), then I'm all set to start on Alissia pages, which is what I've been wanting to do for so long now!  If I get finished I'll put photos up tomorrow!

The One About Tuesday . . .

Today we were woken again at 5:30am, and because of the time, Mark fed Alissia so that I could go back to bed.  At that time of the morning he would rather stay up because if he goes back to sleep he tends to feel worse for it.  So, I'd rung up yesterday afternoon to see if we could book a place on a baby yoga class this morning at 10am.  I hadn't heard back yesterday, but thought I'd best get up just in case we got a call this morning.  So I set my alarm for 7:30am, but stupidly turned it off and went back to sleep until Alissia woke me at 8:15am!  First thing I had to deal with was her smelly nappy and get her dressed.  Then at 8:30am I get a call to say I'd got a place on the class and they would see me later.  Major panic! Alissia to feed, me to eat breakfast, have a shower & wash my hair.  Well there wasn't enough time for all of that, I had to forego washing my hair and just jump in and out of the shower in record time!  I put pigtails in and hoped that no-one would notice about my hair!

We got to baby yoga right on time and had a lovely time.  We sang songs, learnt three yoga moves (which were really little exercises for the babies) heard a story that used the yoga moves and other actions, and played with lots of sensory toys.

 And afterwards, Alissia slept for well over an hour, which is unheard of for her!  The sat nav got me to the class just fine.  Coming home was another matter!  At one point it wanted me to go down a road 'unsuitable for motor vehicles', well instead of turning round, which in hindsight I really should have done, I took a detour.  Big mistake!  This road had major potholes down in that were so deep I was in first gear all the way down and very worried about the suspension.  Alissia, bless her, slept through the lot!  Next week I'll have to try to remember how we got there and just do that backwards!

After a mammoth sleep and then an even bigger feed, and some lunch for me, we walked up to see Alissia's cousins Jack and Danny.

Alissia in her new coat!

We walked down quite a busy main road, which we don't normally do, and Alissia was transfixed by all the cars!  We had a nice afternoon with the twins, and her Auntie Carole & Uncle Patrick, & Grandad, and then walked back again.

Alissia & I with Jack. Danny didn't want to sit with us!

Alissia with her Auntie Carole

Alissia with both Danny & Jack

After a snooze on the way back, and some chilling and some more singing, and playing peek a boo with her new octopus Oliver, it was time for bed.

Action shot!  See how my arms and legs move Mummy!

After all the excitement of the day Alissia went straight to sleep without any problems!  Tonight's dinner was homemade pasta bake with bacon, and salad.

Note to self, tomorrow get up earlier to get to the new class on time!

The One About Monday . . .

This week I thought it might be fun to blog about our week, and it might give Mark an idea of what we get up to when he's not here!

Today we were woken up at 5:30am, which given that Alissia went to sleep last night at 7pm isn't bad at all.  It just felt a bit early because over the weekend she was sleeping for 12 hours till 7am.  As I'd gone to bed last night with a really bad headache and it was still sore this morning Mark offered to do the feed so I could go back to bed.  So back to sleep I went and we didn't get up till 8am!  Today we were going out to the Trafford centre with my Mum, because both Alissia and I needed new jackets.  Alissia had grown out of hers and mine has got holes in it!

Mum got here at about twenty to ten, and after a quick visit to the petrol station we arrived.  We had lots of time before Alissia was due another feed, and we made it round quite a few shops.  Alissia kept putting her feet up on the bar of the pram, and every time I put her foot back she would just put it on up there again, so in the end I gave up!

We didn't find me a jacket because everything in the shops is just this for the summer and waterproof.  But while I need waterproof, especially at the moment with this weather, I need something warm, everyone who knows me knows that I am always cold.  That's why I love my current jacket, because it's fleece lined inside.  But I did find this lovely pink hoody, which means I won't have to wear Mark's as often which he'll be pleased about!

Luckily we found Alissia a lovely little pink jacket in M&S, and I bought her a little pink top too.  Alissia decided it was time for her feed at 12pm, bang on three hours from the last one - I don't think we're going to have much trouble with teaching her the time when she gets older!!!

Anyway, Mum decided to feed her, then off we went to Pizza Express for our lunch, where I have a taste card for and get buy one get one free on meals!  Alissia was as good as gold and went to sleep all by herself, all I had to do was give her the dummy and drop the pram down a notch and she was out like a light!  I think it was all that shrieking she'd done as we'd gone round all the shops!

Laughing at Nanny Ann! 

Fast asleep!

After lunch we tried a few other shops for jackets but didn't find anything.  But we did go in Mama's and Papa's to look at seats for the bath, but Mum ended up buying a couple of toys for Alissia instead.  We held the Octopus in front of Alissia and squeaked its leg (or should that be tenatacle!) and it made her giggle, so how could we resist!  (I want a bath seat because at the moment Alissia just kind of floats on her back in the bath and I want her to sit up a bit more).

We got home from the Trafford Centre and had a cup of tea, while Alissia chilled in her bouncy chair while watching CBeebies!  After Mum had left I did some singing with Alissia and read her a Postman Pat story until it was bathtime at 5:30.  Alissia is in a routine now where she has a bath, then her bottle, then goes to bed, and it's the same every night.  Tonight she was asleep for 6:45pm, we'll have to see when she wakes up tomorrow!  After bedtime, it was off to the kitchen for me to cook dinner (salmon in a creamy white wine sauce with mash) then a chance to relax on the sofa in front of the TV.  However the TV watching was interrupted because Mark wanted to solve his Maths problem.  Have you been watching Dara O'Briain's School of Sums?  Well at the end of every episode they set you a maths challenge, and the most recent one was driving him mad, until he solved it about 5 minutes ago!!!

I'm going to try to keep up with this every day, but we'll have to see!

Ps The daily posts probably won't be as long or as detailed as this every day - our days aren't that exciting at all!