ENGAGED?...ALREADY?!

Yes it's true! I have been to see the midwife again today for a check up & she has confirmed that the baby's head has become engaged (ie. right down in my pelvis). I am very excited! The baby's body is also in a perfect birthing position - with it's spine running down the front of my tummy. It can quite happily stay in that position for a few weeks though, but we won't think like that!
The first part of it's journey into the world has begun & I am chuffed to bits!

As I am now 37 weeks, I only have 3 weeks left to go (or 21 days for the impatient!), but if it's anything like it's big sister- who was 8 days late - we could be waiting a bit longer. Lets just say he/she will arrive anytime between now & 1st Feb. Lets hope it's sooner rather than later for Christian's sake!

THINGS IT'S BEST NOT TO DO WHEN...

....your husband has gone out, there's a cake in the oven & your daughter is playing downstairs.

1. Have a bath.
Yesterday, Christian had gone out for a couple of hours, Alice was busy playing & I'd just put our chocolate fruitcake in the oven (for 1 & 3/4 hours). "Oh I know I'll just have a quick bath" thought I. Why I don't know, I never have a bath. I hurled my massive body (size 14 on a good day then add on 36 weeks pregnant!) into the bath, a bit of a tight squeeze but never mind. Then as I lay on the bottom of the bath washing my hair, I thought of 2 very important points:
a) Oops, I'm not supposed to lay flat, it cuts off the blood supply to the baby &
b) how the f*#k am I going to get up again!

After a good 5 mins of very unattractive thrashing around, I got out! Christian came home sometime later & found the whole "turtle stuck on it's back" incident highly amusing. What a silly girl I am, needless to say, I've had a shower this morning!

Anyway, must go, Mum's coming for Christmas Eve dinner tonight & there's lots to do. Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to everyone & keep your fingers crossed that the baby hangs on until 1st January at least.

WHAT'S GOING WRONG!

I have just spent the past couple of hours very festively baking very yummy cinnamoney, treacley spiced biscuits & stained glass window tree decoration cookies - Yes I know my "Mum of the Year" trophy will be here shortly! So why is it that Alice (3 year old independent woman!) will only eat crappy Sainsburys 12 for 99p fairy cakes? My biscuits are really good!

CHRISTMAS DO'S ARE LIKE BUSES......

......you seem to stay in for ages then you get 3 do's in 1 week!
Last night was the first, I went to Rowleys in Baslow with Dianne (my mother-in-law - sod Les Dawson we get on very well indeed!) to a Christmas Cookery Club demonstration. It was really good, we watched the chef (Rupert Rowley, head chef at Fischers in Baslow & partner in Rowleys Restaurant) prepare a festive menu, then we went upstairs to the restaurant and ate it!

The Menu:
Egg nog (or lemonade for pregnant people!).
Hot smoked salmon fillet on a potato pancake with white wine sauce.
Ballontine of pheasant, partridge & pigeon with fondant potato & creamed cabbage.
Cranberry & caramelised chestnut Bakewell tart with Christmas pudding ice-cream.
Coffee, mince pies & chocolates.

Very delicious!

We had the meal upstairs on mixed tables, there were 6 on ours. Unfortunately headed by a Peak District toff, you know the type "I bought a new mobile phone so the wife bought a house in London, larf larf snort"! as though she's frivolously bought chocolate biscuits instead of plain! Oh yes, he was very rich and was right about everything. I am definitely having a boy - he's never wrong you know! Funny that, people have been sexing this baby for 4 months now & no one has actually said "I'm usually wrong about these things, but you're having a girl"!

Anyway, he made for amusing conversation and we had a good night all in all. Thank you to David (my father-in-law) who's treat it was.
Next stop - girlie's night out on Thursday - we're off into town in the Briddon Party Bus!

I'M HAVING A GOOD DAY

You know when everything is going your way, not major things, just little things - today is one of those days. I woke up feeling good this morning even thought it was 6:30 on a winters morning. Christian & I have swapped cars until I have the baby, although I love my little Peugeot 206, it is little & I can't get in & out of it too well at the moment - stomach:steering wheel problems! Christian was not looking forward to his 1st day of driving with his knees by his ears, so that was nice for me!

Then whilst getting Alice dressed for school, I noticed her body was covered in spots - chicken pox at last - hooray! We've been wanting her to catch it for a while, just so it gets it out of the way for her whilst she's young - it can be nasty the later you catch it. She is very well though, in fact she's even more impish than usual!

Then we went to Matalan, yes I know it's horrible - Christian says why pay to go to the zoo when you can go to Matalan for free!- but it's the only place that sell lovely soft sports type bras for my massive pregnant wabbers, 38DD so far - I thank you! Anyway I found a tenner on the floor, so I bought my 2 bras & still made £2 change!

We got home literally seconds before a big rain storm, which drenched one of our neighbours! Oh what a good day - I wonder what's next.....

MY MOUTH ISN'T AS BIG AS IT USED TO BE

I've just had a mini panic - I nearly killed myself with a Jaffa Cake! Whilst surfing the net, I was eating Jaffa cakes (the joys of pregnancy means you can eat them a packet at a time without feeling bad!). I eat them whole, but I shovelled one in too far and it got stuck behind my top teeth! I couldn't swallow, close my mouth or breath for a good few seconds! I poked it with my finger and it broke up..... phew, panic over! And yes I did go on and finish the packet!

ISN'T IT HERE YET?

Where's Christmas? I am over eagerly awaiting 25th December this year and it's still 5 & 1/2 weeks away! I have made my Christmas cake, Christmas pudding and mincemeat - I've bought cards, wrapping paper and most of our presents and there's still ages to go!

I know I sound very sad and I will peak too soon and be sick of festive spirit by mid-December, but this year it's all for a completely different reason. I love Christmas, well generally the build up to it - as we always go to Christian's Mum's for lunch and I am not actually cooking anything myself, I loose interest in the day after present opening! And I can't remember the last time I drank on Christmas day, I think it was 2001 - yes imagine me sober on the day when everyone is allowed to get pissed!, I do make up for it over the year as I'm sure you'll agree!!

But I can't wait any longer for Christmas and New Year to be over with this year, so I can get my hands on my joint-best present of all time - my scrumptious new lovely little baby! Hurry up, everything is ready for you, we just need you to complete our family. Then maybe I'll cook Christmas lunch next year and all will be mine ha, ha, haaa .....watch out Dianne!!!!

3/4 OF THE WAY THERE

Today I am 30 weeks pregnant - hurray for me! Only another 10 weeks to go (or there about). All is still going well and time is flying by. Just this last week I have become extremely comfortable, my back pain has gone and I don't feel quite so much like a hippo turning over at night (even though I probably look like one!). I'm even getting mad energy bursts where I clean and iron and things! I've finished decorating the nursery too.

Here's a quick breakdown:
BABY- still very wriggly, with a quick heartbeat av.150 bpm - a sign it's a girl!!!
ME - 46ins waist! Total weight gain 23lbs - below average hurray!
ALICE- convinced I have a boy in my tummy & she has a girl in hers!
CHRISTIAN-not looking forward to being pushed down the family importance ladder another rung! STBY as he would say!

THE'RE NOT RIGHT

Multi-grain Hula Hoops are horrible, they taste really wrong, I'm quite disappointed. If you want a multi-grain crisp try Walkers Sunbites, they are nice!

THE PARTY

On Friday afternoon it was Alice's birthday party, it was a Fairy Castle theme. Her friends and their Mums arrived at 2pm in fancy dress costumes (we always seem to do fancy dress as its always just been Halloween & everyone has outfits they don't want to take off!). I made a fairy castle cake - more blood, sweat and tears than sponge but I think it looked OK - my friends were impressed! The food was usual party things, while the children filled up on crudites, strawberries and grapes - the Mums stuffed sausages, cheese & onion rolls, rocky road squares and pink wafer biscuits mmm!

Christian came home at about 3pm and couldn't believe the noise and mess! but quickly joined in - brave or stupid? I'm not quite sure! We then played pass the parcel or fight for and not pass on the parcel! followed by a rather successful game of pin the tail on the donkey. And we finished with an hour of general playing so the Mums could drink tea, eat more rocky road squares and talk!!! They started to leave at about 4.30 - 4.45 with some rather good (if I do say so myself) party bags - well fairy castle boxes!! After a 30min tidy up, peace was restored - good party though!!