Competitive consumer

Today was Amy’s sports day, nothing like the sports day of old, all terribly PC, no competitiveness, much equality practiced here. Makes me smile really, after all life is competitive so when are these little humans going to become acquainted with the harsh reality of striving to achieve and do better within the workplace. It’s ridiculous really, we are hosting the Olympics this summer, an example of world-wide competitiveness, team and individual pitted against each other, but our school children are not encouraged to compete against each other whilst still remaining friends. 

Fridays are shopping days, supermarket shopping, think blue and red and that’s where we go. Hubby and I gather our bags together and complete a little ritual, the same route, the same day to day necessities. I go onto autopilot, but today I was pulled up short. Wandering around Hubby started laughing, ‘that’s four times you’ve taken your cardigan off and then put it back on’. Ritual, yes hot flushes have become such a part of life that I’m not even conscious of the constant shedding and reapplication of clothes. Just as I was about to berate Hubby for finding my discomfort amusing, a fellow shopper went past with a little gizmo on the handle of her trolley, and she swiped a carton of cornflakes across it and then put the cereal into her shopping bag. I went green, and then noticed other shoppers, even men doing the same thing. I quickened our pace, I had a mission, shopping could become more interesting and less frustrating, I could cut out the middle man, the conveyor belt. Well, I’ve done it, I’ve registered and now I’m really excited about shopping next week, I might just have to bring the weekly shop forward. I’m so sad, a sad menopausal, purple haired womanwho is excited about scanning her own shopping.

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Keep up

Life has been busy, so I haven’t been keeping my ‘on-line’ diary up to date but I realised yesterday that I should as I used it (old blog) to date when we returned to our home after the dishwasher fire caused us to be re-housed.

Just over a week ago we had Amy’s fifth birthday party, her Mummy was terribly organised and had a schedule prepared for us to work to, puts me to shame. It appeared to go well, especially if you judge success by decibels achieved. Boy, can little girls squeal!

Other grandchildren are well. Jack is attempting a record on how many activities a 6 year old can do – football, rugby, swimming, choir and mountain biking. Amy has renamed herself, she is now Blossom and mother to all, very attentive and brilliant with those miscreants ‘the boys’. Izzy has started pre-school, not a moment too soon, looks like an angel but is trouble personified, actually, perhaps it is something to do with 2007 babies as the boys, especially Louis, are hard work. People deceived us, twins do not get easier, well they haven’t yet anyway, they are exhausting and naughty. Sometimes they are individually naughty but now they are really starting to bounce ideas off each other so will work together in some little plan to outwit Nanny. Evie is the image of her Daddy and a real little parrot in that she copies everything you say she is a bright little button, let’s just hope that the new baby doesn’t dim her too much.

All the fish given to us have died, ours appear to be well and happy so heaven only knows what that was about.

DIL saw the obstetrician again who has decided to go with the scan dates so, whilst new grandchild may be scheduled to arrive next week, it could equally be another 4 weeks plus before we meet. Please, please be born before July 5th as otherwise I shall be in hospital having my long awaited op. Yeah.

The new house next door is nearly finished. Hurrah. Dust, dust and more dust, angle-grinding the roof tiles produces and amazing quantity of the stuff which liberally coats everything.

Work is uber busy, expected though so not a surprise. Life is full of leaving dos at the moment, at least one a week for the foreseeable future, some retiring, some recalled to the mothership and some just giving up midwifery.

Beautiful weather, if you are not experiencing power surges in which case it may still be beautiful but it is not enjoyable. Last night was an excellent example, our bedroom was 80F and I could not get to sleep, too hot, too sweaty. Eventually I gave up on the marital bed and sat outside until I cooled down, I then decided to sleep in the spare bed but due to my rubbish hand and wrist joints couldn’t open the door, door handle too stiff. As I struggled to turn the handle a tropical tsunami overcame me, at this point I lost the plot and allowed my emotions, mostly self-pity, to run riot. Following this I gave up on the bed idea and flopped on the sofa where I managed 3 hours sleep. I have now made public to Hubby my desire for an air-con unit in the bedroom, the 2 fans we currently have do little other than redistribute the hot air, either an air-con or a walk in freezer.

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Political comment

Jack (aged 6) ‘We’ve got a new Prime Minister. He’s David Camera and he’s in the conservatory. He was hung but now he’s got some coal. Stop laughing, it’s not funny, the people in the market were really worried.”

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Family portrait

 

 

This is me and all the Grandchildren as Amy see’s us. Grandad is poorly and Amy decided to make him a get well card, this is what she produced. Can only assume that she wanted to remind him that I do have people to look after other than him. Good that we are all smiling.

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Conflict over dates

I’m going to have a new grandchild, all being well, some time in June. I’m being non-committal about dates as there is some disagreement between scan dates and EDD by first day of last period. This situation is not unusual, the majority of my women will arrive at clinic following their dating/nuchal scan with a date a due date a few days earlier or later than the one arrived at by naegel’s rule. There in lies the first dilemma, the scan date is 3 weeks later than calculated using an obstetric calculator. At this point I generally discuss longer cycles with the parents, I started out doing this but was cut off at the pass by son pointing out to me that all the measurements were indicating a fetus whose size was above the top line. We waited for the 20 week scan, same story, big baby estimated as being due 3 weeks later than DIL’s dates. Due to DIL’s low BMI there was another scan at 28 weeks  just in case baby was not growing well. No worries there though as baby was once again on the top line. I’m a little piggy caught in the middle. I know that scans are generally accepted as being more accurate than LMP, however they can be wrong and it’s not surprising really as the measurements used are so small initially that a slight malpositioning of the probe could make days of difference. I’m torn because of several little things,their first baby, Evie, was 12 days late and only came because of induction and even then had to be helped out with the ventouse, dislocating her Mummy’s coccyx on the way.  I rationalise the lateness of Evie by factoring in that DIL was stressed due to son’s illness so her hormones were not behaving optimally for  labour to start spontaneously. Perhaps that wasn’t the cause though, was it because baby was too large for DIL? Now supposing that this baby is also late. DIL’s dates indicate a due date of 5th June, 2 weeks over would mean induction round about 17th to 19th June but the scan says that baby is due on 25th June and allowing DIL to go 12 days over would mean the pregnancy could be 5 weeks over. From another perspective, if the scan dates are correct then this baby is big, very big, will DIL be able to get it out? 2 days I did an antenatal examination, all well until I palpated. Baby feels ‘a good size’ and, at 32 weeks, is measuring in at 34 weeks.

This feels like deja vu. Amy’s Mummy had a large bump with her. I referred her in with polyhydramnios and a large baby at 32 weeks. I was right, but that didn’t stop the consultant allowing daughter to go 10 days over and to end up with an emergency caesarean for failure to progress in labour with a 9lb 12oz baby.  I’ve highlighted the discrepancies between dates, scans and size in the notes, had a word in clinic sister’s ear and eagerly await the consultants thoughts next week.

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Tadpoles v Fish

There’s a problem in my pond, tadpoles and lots of them. In previous years I haven’t noticed them affecting my fish but maybe that was because I only had small goldfish. This year I have, had, 2 small, 2 medium and 4 large goldfish courtesy of a friend giving up their pond and I have an issue with tadpoles. Initially all seemed well but then the little black tadpoles started ‘coating’ the big fish which definitely made them uncomfortable. The 2 largest fish were soon behaving as if they were dying, I caught them and put them, minus any tadpoles, into a tub, within the day they had shuffled off their mortal scales. I began an offensive against the black marauders, after 4 hours I had scooped out a bucket full but that did not stop yet another fish being covered in a seething mass of blackness, out he came into the tadpole free tub. Off I went to the local aquatics centre where I took out a second mortgage and purchased some magic potion which promises to make fish healthy. By the time I returned home a medium-sized fish was besieged with black terrors, out he came into my quarantine tub. My flower beds are now sporting a new mulch, tadpoles. I have 2 fish in a tub, 4 in the pond, countless tadpoles wriggling about in pond water which is now super healthy and I have been unable to find out whether the tadpoles are hurting the fish. Anyone out there have any experience of this?

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