Let Them Eat Cake

We've survived our first toddler birthday party!

The boys were excited to be having a party, but got it into their heads that it wasn't at our house. Even when the banners and balloons went up, they still didn't work it out. 

They liked getting presents, seeing their grandparents and cousins and of course eating cake, but they're still a little young to appreciate the finer points of pass the parcel (or even the basics).

Unfortunately since then the Calico household has been struck down with a bug. We've spent today feeling sorry for ourselves and praying that the puking is over.

Baby Baby will be taking a little break for the rest of the summer*.

My Mum is coming to stay and I don't want to spend the only two weeks a year that I see her sat at my laptop. 

Also we have the actual birthdays of all the men of the house coming up next weekend. We have three birthdays in four days. Yes, that is an awful lot of cake :-)

*that's the theoretical summer, since it has rained here almost everyday since the beginning of July.

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Let Them Eat Cake

Happy Birthday Dear Baby Baby...

Baby Baby is one today!

Where has the last year gone? It has certainly been a busy and eventful year.

I want to start this post by saying a huge thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to anyone who has read, followed, commented on or linked to my blog. It is because of your support that Baby Baby does so well in the Tots100 index of UK parent bloggers.

I have made many wonderful online friends through blogging, far too many to mention by name. I have even met bloggers in real life through British Mummy Bloggers events (and I can confirm that they each only have the one head!) and I'm looking forward to meeting many more soon at Cybermummy.

I have started writing for pleasure, both on and off the blog. Thank you Jenn, Josie and Tim for encouraging and inspiring me.

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I have enjoyed the odd freebie, none more exciting than the edible ones:

Not only are Chippidydoodaas are the best named snack in the world ever, they are also made from baked pitta bread and are DELICIOUS!

Thank you too to The Gourmet Chocolate Pizza Company for sending me this box of gorgeousness in readiness for the World Cup:

I think there will be a few of us World Cup Widows about in a month's time, so what better way to cheer ourselves up than by ordering chocolate online!

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The cherry on my blogging cake has been The MAD blog awards, sponsored by Butlins. I was happy enough just to be nominated, but was over the moon to hear that Baby Baby is a finalist in the Most Inspirational Blog category, sponsored by Plum Baby. I don't expect to win, after all I'm up against some wonderful blogs:

Battling On

Everyday Parent

Strange & Beautiful

You've Got Your Hands Full

If you haven't voted yet, there is still time. The are 50 finalists, so plenty of wonderful blogs to explore before you vote.

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Above all I blog because I enjoy it. I have limited time to spend on myself, but one year on I'm still as enthusiastic about blogging as when I started. Who knows what will happen in the next year?

Now, who wants a slice of birthday cake?



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Happy Birthday Dear Baby Baby...

Affordable Glamour

It was my 40th birthday yesterday.

Even as I type those words I still can't believe it. I think I must be in denial. I'd been burying my head in the sand for weeks. I only decided a week ago what I wanted to do to celebrate and I totally made the right decision.

Of course there was plenty of this:

The boys were booked in for a night at Hotel Grandma and Grandad.

I had been searching for a hotel/restaurant to go to with my husband, Andy.

I found this place:

As you can see from the fact that he has his name emblazoned all over it, this is Marco Pierre White's The Swan Inn. It's in Aughton, Lancashire, off the A59 between Ormskirk and Liverpool. We stayed there last night and had one of the best nights we have ever had. Seriously. It was perfect. 

The Swan Inn has only been open for three weeks, the official opening (with MPW) is next week. Everything is brand new. The bar and dining room are beautiful. The bedrooms are stylish and comfortable. The service is impeccable.

We had a glass of champagne while we looked at the menu. The Veuve Clicquot was quite pricey at £11 a glass, but with our dinner we chose a £15 bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. It was very drinkable, quite moorish in fact!

So how was the food? The food was AMAZING! It was everything you would expect from MPW. I could easily run out of superlatives describing the starters, so I'll just tell you what we had. Andy had veloute of mushrooms and I had a fish cake. They were both wonderful.

For the main course Andy had a tasty fish pie and I had rump steak. I'm trying not to use cliches here, but the steak was cooked to perfection (as was the fish). It really did melt in the mouth. MPW's onion rings are wonderful too.

We were quite full, but it would have been rude not to look at the dessert menu. We both had the sticky toffee pudding. It was TO DIE FOR. 

We chatted to the manager after our meal and as soon as he found out it was my birthday he gave us a glass of champagne each on the house to take to our room. Here we are after drinking it:

You may be able to spot that I had changed into my pyjamas by this point:

We stayed up rather late drinking champagne. You can see the gorgeous flock wallpaper in this photograph:

We felt a little unwell this morning. We felt a lot better after breakfast. There was no breakfast menu, you could have whatever you wanted. A full English breakfast was what I wanted and even that was supurb.

The room, including breakfast, was only £75 for the two of us. Our food only came to £56. I'm not telling you how much we spent on alcohol! I've still got a headache this evening. There is also a set menu for £17.50. An absolute bargain if you ask me.

MPW calls this style of restaurant "affordable glamour". He is spot on. We were treated like we were the most important customers in the restaurant and the food was sensational. The price tag was more than reasonable. We loved The Swan Inn and will be going back. See you there?

Affordable Glamour

Pregnancy Lows

This is a photograph of me in labour with Presley. My waters have broken and my contractions are two minutes apart. We are just about to go into hospital. Another contraction is just starting - take the photo quickly. This is me at my most pregnant.

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The lovely Peggy from A Mother’s Secrets has asked for posts on the subject of pregnancy lows. This is my contribution.

All my adult life I wanted to be pregnant. I couldn’t wait to start wearing maternity clothes and walking with a waddle. I wanted to be treated differently, reverentially. That’s how I saw pregnant women, I was in awe of them.

When it finally happened to me I was thrilled. I had to keep popping to the loos at work so I could have a grin to myself. Mostly I loved being pregnant. It’s an exciting time, a time to make plans. I studied my baby books and each week read about the baby’s development. I also checked the mother’s symptoms guide and read out snippets to Andy. This week I will get a rush of hormones, apparently. This week I should have my first scan. And so on.

With Presley I sailed through my pregnancy until about 28 weeks. I narrowly failed the Glucose Tolerance test for gestational diabetes. I had to keep a food diary and regularly check my blood sugar. After a week I went back to the diabetic clinic at my local hospital. They said some of my readings were too high. Why had I eaten white bread and pizza?

This was the start of the low. I hadn’t even seen a dietician, yet I was prescribed insulin injections. I asked the doctor if there was an alternative. His caring reply was ‘your baby could die’.

I had to inform DVLA and my car insurance. If I had a hypoglycemic episode I could pass out at the wheel. I had to tell everyone at work that I was a diabetic and give them instructions in case I became ill. I had to inject myself twice a day, immediately before eating. I got used to this and could discreetly inject myself in restaurants.

I followed a low GI diet and kept my blood sugar under control. I lost weight. In fact I weighed the same the day I went into labour as I did the day I got pregnant. I probably wasn’t eating enough, but I was terrified that a single polo mint would harm my unborn child.

I had a couple of scans to check that the baby wasn’t getting too big. They estimated an 8lb baby. It was reassuring to see my child on the screen.

All through my pregnancy I had been planning a natural, active birth. I went to a wonderful yoga class to prepare my body. Andy and I went on an excellent active birth weekend. I was following a natal hypnotherapy course too. I was adamant that no one would force me to lay on a bed to give birth.

At one of my weekly diabetic clinic visits I asked the antenatal consultant whether having gestational diabetes meant my labour would be any different from normal.

I was told that I would have to be induced early. I would have continuous foetal monitoring. I would have insulin and glucose drips.

I asked if I would be able to be upright, move around? I was told no, you’ll have to lay on the bed.

When you are pregnant it is almost impossible to see beyond the birth of your baby. You can’t imagine what it’s like to have a baby at home. So hearing these words was pretty devastating to me. I was worried sick that my baby would die because I had gestational diabetes and I was terrified of an inactive labour and medical intervention.

My labour was traumatic, the medics intervened, but Presley arrived, all 6lb 10oz of him. Andy jokes that he wasn’t delivered by stork, but by Dalek (venthouse)!

After a few days in the Special Care Baby Unit we took our precious boy home.

Once you’ve had the baby, and you start to take care of it, the labour and birth gains some perspective. It’s only a day or two out of the rest of your life. The most important thing is holding your new baby and caring for it. All of the worry, fear of the unknown and the pain is behind you.

You’re a parent. Now the real worrying can start!

Pregnancy Lows

Birthday Boys

It's a big weekend in the Calico household. Not only is it August Bank Holiday Weekend and threatening rain, but it is also the most expensive weekend of the year for me so far.

Cash is one today, Andy is forty on Monday and Presley is two on Tuesday.

We've allocated three separate spaces for birthday cards and Andy's Mother has made cakes.

Andy and I travelled down to London on Thursday for a night out with friends. This was the first time I had spent a night away from Cash and only the second time I had been apart from Presley. The first time was a year ago when I was in hospital giving birth to Cash. I cried when I kissed them goodbye. I knew they would be fine with their grandparents, but it was still difficult to leave them.

There was a moment on the train when I felt like the old me. I was reading a book and listening to my MP3 player, looking forward to my first glass of wine. Then I felt guilty. It felt wrong to be child-free because I am a mother now. I wondered whether it was to soon to phone home, just to make sure the boys were okay. I stopped myself and resolved to relax and enjoy myself.

We arrived in sunny London. We had a lovely meal with our hosts Paul and Dez and then ventured into town. We had a few drinks and some good conversation with friends in a pub in Soho. At 11pm we made our way to Karaoke Box. This was quite appropriate as Paul and Dez had just returned from their honeymoon in Japan. I love Karaoke Box. Apparently I sound like Debbie Harry. Who knew?! Andy dedicated a couple of Elvis songs to me. Ah (wipes tear away). We ended with a jolly (okay, pi**ed up) version of Bohemian Rhapsody, followed by the definitive Virginia Plain.

The next morning we woke at 7.30. It was difficult getting back to sleep, even though this was our only opportunity for a lie in EVER (well, in the last year anyway)! I had a headache and a sore throat, but it was worth it.

Having a day away from my everyday life gave me a chance to reflect. I took out some photos of my boys. They are the most beautiful, amazing creatures. My goodness, they're ours. Andy and I made these two new people. I couldn't wait to get home.

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Warning, the next part of this post is sentimental.

Andy

You'll be forty very soon. They say life begins at forty. For me though, life began on 18th March 2006. This was the day we met. I'm not sure about love at first sight, but love certainly followed fairly quickly. I wrote a bit about it here.

With you I can be myself.

I'm comfortable, but I don't want to take you for granted. When I apologised to you for putting on weight, you immediately replied with 'I love you unconditionally'. I am so lucky to have met you.

You are a wonderful husband and an amazing father. I love you.

Presley

My first born. My special boy.

You melt my heart when you smile. You break my heart when you cry.

I remember when we brought you home from the hospital. I stood with you in my arms and wondered what do I do now? I sat down and looked at you and felt a thunderbolt. I had never felt such over-whelming love before.

I feel such pride watching you grow in confidence. You love life and you love to laugh.

You are my sunshine.

Cash

Before you were born I was worried I wouldn't have enough love for a second baby. I needn't have worried. I didn't get the thunderbolt with you, it was more a gradual realisation that I had fallen head-over-heels in love with you.

You are always ready to smile and what a giggler! I see you grow and change every day.

You have taught me that I can relax and still be a good mother.

You are my little poppet.

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So, what are we doing today?

Andy has taught Presley and Cash to say 'Ding Dong' in the style of Leslie Phillips. I'm not sure I should be encouraging this, but if you can't beat them, join them! Well, hello....

Birthday Boys