MY BERRY GIRL!

No one guessed correctly! Alice was devouring RASPBERRIES! The raspberries were from the freezer so they'd leaked a lot of juice.

She's loving berries at the moment, demanding raspberries for every meal, but happy to have blackberries or blueberries instead. With the gastric issues we've had recently I've had to be careful to limit her berry intake - otherwise she'd eat them exclusively for every meal. Her tastes have changed recently - the old favourites of sausages are barely tolerated and she won't even try yoghurt at the moment. Meanwhile 'dippy' (boiled) eggs and berries are by far the most requested foods.

ANY IDEAS?

There are plenty of clues in the photo, but here's another - look at her face, it's a nice not a nasty answer!

THURSDAY, MUMMY DAY, BUSY DAY

In this house Thursdays are generally now known as 'Mummy Day'. Alice is in Nursery for most of the hours between 8:30am and 5:30pm. It's the day that I get the non-Alice jobs done.

This morning's drop-off wasn't pleasant. 3 weeks ago it was a snowy day - they put Alice's group with the older children in the older children's room, Alice was most unsettled by being in a different room. 2 weeks ago Alice struggled going into Nursery, big tears, screams, hysterical but not funny for either of us, I cried and found it very difficult too. Last week she was 'poorly' (before I realised that her illnesses were a symptom of teething). Today she started to protest as we left the house, demanding, 'Go Home!' She was fine in the car but started to cry as we arrived at Nursery, the crying ramped up as we walked towards her room and once we got there she was hysterical again. Amidst the tears I told her that I loved her and that I would be back later, reassuring her that 'Mummy's always come back!' I left as they were trying to distract her (unsuccessfully) with Joseff the rabbit. I could hear her scream as I walked down the corridor - I could hear that scream all day.

Not having had a day to myself for 4 weeks I was determined to make the most of it. I went straight to A'g to have passport photos taken for my adoption application to Thailand. Then I went on to the supermarket before going home. I didn't stop once I got home and had a very productive day.

Today's achievements, I:

• got info on a new mobile phone package - which will hopefully save some £££,
• did a major supermarket shop, including (hopefully) all the Easter eggs
• got home, unpacked all the shopping, cleared out a cluttered kitchen cupboard and debugged the fridge,
• did loads and loads and loads of washing (Pudding is now barricaded away from the that end of the dog room - I now have a laundry area!)
• made several vital phone calls,
• got some prep done for school tomorrow,
• sent an urgent email or two,
  
• parcelled up some unwanted Internet shopping, wrote some cards and got them all in the post (which is a major achievement for me!)
• and somewhere in the middle of all that I had lunch in front of the computer!

I had 3 goals for today - I achieved 1 by sending an email, but the other 2 (application form and letter to Thailand, both for Little Sis's adoption) remain goals - hopefully for next week!

YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN TROUBLE WHEN . . .

. . . you realise that the Labrador has learnt to PAUSE the washing machine!

Yup! Pudding (not yet 4 months old) has paused the washing machine twice today - the first time she paused it in the first minute and I doubted myself, second time round, no doubt, we're in trouble!!

LOVELY WEATHER!

The weather was much warmer today, the sun shone and it felt warm enough to be outside in long sleeves but without coats.

We took full advantage, the kitchen door was open for several hours as the dogs and Alice wombled in the garden. I restricted Alice to the paths and paving and she's beginning to understand the boundaries (with a lot of reminding and positive reinforcement). 'Baby' had a good walk, Pudding stretched her legs before coming inside to pee on the carpet and Alice had fun - she didn't want to come in for lunch!

(And Cynthia - I agree!! If the rest of you want to know 'with what' you'll have to read recent comments!)

RIDING P2!

On Tuesday we went shoe shopping to get Alice new shoes (the old ones were falling off as the V*elcro had failed!) The shoe shop had a black rocking horse like Alice's white one, she rode it for over 15 minutes and adored it!

So when we got home it was time to rediscover her rocking horse - it'd been put out to pasture in the drawing room since her birthday in October. In October Alice couldn't ride it, she was too small but enjoyed it when she was pushed on it, in the shoe shop she was able to rock the horse by herself (after some quick tuition).

Alice was delighted to see her horse again, T and I repeatedly asked her what it was called but she was adamant that it was called, 'Neigh!' (said very expressively!)

It's clear to see that she had great fun with Neigh! Her legs are still too short for the stirrups but at least she can reach the top of them now.

I LOVE . . .

. . . the look on her face - taken as a quick snap (don't like the composition!)

RIDING!

AND SHE'S NOT A TEENAGER FOR OVER TEN YEARS?

Alice slept until after 9:30 this morning, so long that I was up and doing chores, worrying that something was wrong - I studied the (video) monitor closely until I could see her twitch!

With today's plans cancelled we had a slow morning, not coming downstairs again until after 11am, late breakfast, late lunch, no nap (she just didn't seem tired) and a companionable afternoon. I needed her to have a quiet day - intimidated at the thought of D or V when out and about, not wanting to spread her bug and hoping that a quiet day would speed along her recovery. Without graphic details she seemed better all day, but the nappy after supper makes me wonder (better but not right).

This is day 6, day 6! I'm sick of her being sick, sick of serving meals with no dairy, sick of the side-effects of sickness, sick of staying in, sick of cancelling fun plans and I'm not even the one going through it. Meanwhile I'm very aware that this is just a drop in the ocean compared to what some are going through but it's still making me feel like the walls are closing in.

A REMINDER!

I run a Yahoo group for UK families who adopted children from China in 2007. We're planning another reunion for May - please visit the group and let us know when your family could join us (same venue as last time, hopefully!) If you are eligible to join (or know someone who is) please come and join us here.

QUIET DAY

Alice still isn't well.

I called nursery first thing this morning to tell them of yesterday's events and explain her absence. I spent the morning cooking but otherwise it was quiet but with 1 nasty nappy. I was being careful with what she was eating so gave her scrambled eggs and toast for lunch, she didn't eat much (most unusual when well). Then she slept for over 2 hours, again very unusual. She was quiet this afternoon - happy to sit and watch a film and then cuddle for as many stories as I would read before another simple meal which she didn't eat much of.

I was supposed to have a friend visit for lunch, but we decided to postpone due to Alice's illness. Now I've also cancelled tomorrow's plans for meeting Grandad and Co and GMJ. Delaying or cancelling social plans isn't the end of the world but I really hope that she starts to feel better. When Alice sees the medicine ('Edsum!') she declares it, 'Make it ALL better!' Let's hope that it does.

ALICE'S ILLNESS CONTINUES

We had to stay in today to wait for a D*H*L delivery, it was here at 8am but even so I had decided that Alice needed a quiet day.

Just to recap:
Sunday - V during supper
Monday - hungry for breakfast, D in the morning
Tuesday - no appetite for supper followed by serious D

This morning she wanted W*eetabix for breakfast - that's her new breakfast of choice for the past 6 weeks or so (she hasn't had such a firm choice or a choice for so long, breakfast has always been iffy til now). Through the morning she was OK and asked to play games (dominoes and pop it in the post), she didn't have much of an appetite for lunch (stew and mash, mash is always a favourite). She slept well and I woke her after 2 hours, that always makes her grumpy. She wasn't interested in choosing her supper, had a last minute nappy change and then I sat her in her highchair, turned my back to 'dish up' and heard her vomit, no warning it just happened. So I cleared up and then offered her dry biscuits which she seemed keen on but then just played with.

Bedtime was whiney and tears threatened, yet another sign that Alice isn't well but with nearly 24 hours between the last 2 events she isn't quite poorly either. I was due to have a friend over to have lunch while Alice was at nursery tomorrow and we're both supposed to go to Wiltshire for lunch on Friday. Alice definitely won't be going to nursery tomorrow and I'm rather dubious that my other plans will happen either.

D AND V

***Graphic post***

Alice usually vomits immediately after (or towards the end of) a meal and usually its preceded by loud, sporadic burps.

During Sunday's supper the burps started, but her appetite was fine but halfway through her mouse she vomited several times over the course of a minute or so. It's quite forceful but calm - a strange combination. Afterwards she thought that she was hungry and she had a temperature, but after medicine she didn't really eat anything.

She hadn't had a nap on Sunday (as L and her family arrived at lunchtime and it seemed cruel for Alice to be in bed missing playtime now she's old enough to miss the occasional nap), so she went to sleep very quickly in the evening. On Monday morning she seemed fine and within minutes of waking she was demanding, 'Supper!' She ate well but then had a bad nappy - but with no other signs of grumpiness or illness - though she did take L's family departure hard.

Today she's been great, she kept going while we were shopping, tolerated waiting longer than I would have chosen for lunch and then more shopping, once we were back in the car to travel home she fell asleep quickly. Waking up when we got home was hard with quite a bit of crying, not being happy at anything and nothing was right. I couldn't get her interested in supper but I cooked a nutritious meal (after a dismal lunch), Alice picked the cheese out and ignored the veggie sauce and pasta - burping several times so I didn't push the food. She continued to be grumpy but grudgingly accepted some jelly - by then I just wanted her to have some energy inside her or something to be sick on. She wasn't sick but had a dreadful nappy - it changed our plans for the early evening and necessitated an emergency bath and the binning of her vest, ugh!

She was happy to snuggle and watch the end of A*laddin in 'Mummy's bed' but was very cross to be put to bed in her cot. 45 minutes later she started to cry and eventually ended up in the 'Big Girl's Bed' (BBG) in her room. I snuggled with her for a while but she was so grumpy that she wasn't really consoled by my presence. After a little soft crying she eventually fell asleep.

We have to stay home tomorrow to wait for a parcel to be delivered - the duvet for the BBG! I think it's a good thing that we'll be having a quiet day.

SHOES

Alice needed to have her feet measured again - she had them checked a month ago but hadn't grown. The urgency of shoes increased at the end of the week, when her black patent Mary Janes started to fall off as the V*elcro lost its stickiness.

Locally the only reasonable brand available tend to be fussy with lots of embroidery and icky colours - so it's a 40+ mile return journey to C*ardiff or B*ristol for shoe shopping. I'd heard a lot about one particular store in C*ardiff, so we set off to try them. It took 50 minutes to get there and park (C*ardiff's going through major retail change with my usual haunts and routes disappearing into rubble to be renovated, so I don't know my way round as it's changing all the time).

The trip was made out of necessity (shoes falling off all the time) but the timing (in the half term holidays) couldn't have been worse. Apparently we were lucky to only wait 45 minutes! Unfortunately Alice's feet hadn't grown (it would be easier to pay for new shoes if the old ones had also become too small!) I'm quite picky about what I want Alice to wear (no surprise to those who know me away from the blog!) I wanted plain shoes, navy or black patent, preferably with buckles not V*elcro (didn't like it even before it failed). The lady who served us was great - calm, sensible and she talked to Alice as well as me and listened to my requests! I had a choice of shoes!! The sensible decision came down to the same shoes as before (black patent Mary Janes with V*elcro) or navy MJs with a buckle. The navy shoes were a lighter style and less clumpy but I like the hard wearing nature of patent, in the end I opted for the navy ones - a change and hopefully buckles won't fail! Alice was very good throughout the time in the shop and I was very proud of her behaviour.

SPECIAL FRIENDS VISIT

M, C and L came to stay this weekend.

It's not quite 3 months since they were last here - but the girls have changed so much in that time and it was clear to see that their friendship is becoming independent of us their parents and it's wonderful to see! As they grow they continue to develop such different personalities.

L relaxed more quickly and seemed happier to be here (not that she ever seems unhappy to be here!) She was happy, ate especially well and was more expressive about being happy and wanting to return. We love having L and her parents here so it was lovely to hear her say that she likes it here and wants to come back!

Special times with very special friends.

CATCHING UP - SPECIAL FRIENDS FROM NOVEMBER

M, C and L came to visit at the end of last November - I've only just blogged about it but I've put it where it should be chronologically! Here!

2 weeks before that E and A came to stay, I've blogged where it should have been! Here!

YESTERDAY'S NURSERY EXPERIENCE

As soon as I mentioned nursery yesterday Alice changed the subject, said, 'No!', or cried.

When we got to the car she demanded 'Soft Play,' and when we arrived at nursery she started to cry as I got her out of the car. We were on-time but nursery were late opening the doors, we had to wait in the entrance hall, meltdown happened and she wouldn't stop crying (but she did calm down with a cuddle). By the time I tried to take her coat off in the room she was near hysterical. I did all the usual things to calm her and we found 'Flat Dog' (thanks C!) but even he didn't help. Eventually I left as they tried to distract her with 'cooking' (icing biscuits) but I could hear her howl as I walked away.

It was really upsetting (and a controversial action - to leave a crying child who's already experienced being abandoned), but I waited outside, close to tears and shakey until several friends (dropping their children in the same room) confirmed that she had calmed down. I had a busy day which would have been quite satisfying if I hadn't been so bothered about Alice all day. When I went to collect her she was engrossed in drawing and behaving as normal. She was very pleased to see me as she has been every week.

WATER - NOT AS BEFORE!

A quiet day - I usually work on Friday but I swapped and covered during the snow last Thursday (today was a training day). So we started the day slowly, Alice had a bath while I sorted clothes next door in the nursery - I could talk to her and could hear the splashing but I was quite shocked when I saw the state of the bathroom floor. Alice has never intentionally got the floor wet before but she more than made up for that this morning!

You'd have thought I'd learnt my lesson, but tonight (during the ninetyhundredth reading of Owl Babies) she let her sippy cup slip and has managed to soak my bed!

. . . damp and waiting for the third!

'TENDING

Pretending is a big part of Alice's playing. One scenario is particularly popular - pretending to go to bed on the little sofa, quick snore, wake up and tell me what she's going to do that day - and it's always the same, the same role play and the same thing to do the next day - go to soft play with D and A (so I've rung D and requested another playdate!)

SO GROWN UP, AGAIN

The baby's all gone, just all 'little girl' these days, it's wonderful to watch the changes but frightening how quickly they happen!

LOYALTY IS . . .

Pudding!

Fuss fusses during Alice's meals, so she frequently ends up in the dog room (with or without the others). Most recently when Fuss was removed Pud wouldn't move away from the dog gate, that's serious loyalty from a Labrador when there's food around the other end of the kitchen!

WE'RE A PAIR!

Alice cried immediately that I put her in her cot on Sunday night, she calmed eventually but I never discovered the problem. She then cried out at some point in the night (too tired to check) and would not be comforted, just continued to sob and call for 'Mummy's bed,' I gave in and then neither of us slept much until I got tough and put her back in her cot (I think it was several hours later), she cried the cross cry for less than 3 minutes and then slept peacefully until I had to wake her.

I'd set the alarm clock in time to remember the doctor's phone number and be ready to phone when they opened at 8.30 - I wanted appointments for both of us and was offered 9:10 and 9:20 - only 40 minutes to get us both up, washed, dressed, fed and there (as well as mucking out and feeding Pud), we did it and then had to wait a few minutes before seeing Dr P (always makes me smile - the rush to get there on time and then the time to calm down as they always run late!!) (But I also have to acknowledge how great my surgery are - virtually always getting an appointment for the next surgery and to see the doctor you request AND everyone is friendly and supportive).

I went for a consultation about my rotten hands - the skin's still falling off, they're not as bad as they were but then they're not recovering very quickly so there's not that much area of my palms that could be affected! The pills I'd be given 4 weeks ago had run out, I now have another 4 weeks supply - as they've proved to be the effective solution to me. I was also offered a referral to a rheumatologist, I checked and the doc meant DERMatologist!

I took Alice to be checked as she's had a cold continuously for nearly a month and she's been quite cranky (usually a sign of illness).

The result? We both have chest infections (I'd had my suspicions but neither of us were that poorly, but then we weren't recovering either), we both have different versions of the same antibiotics and they've had the same effect on our digestive systems! I'm hoping that by both being on a similar regime that I'll remember to dose us both and that we'll both be feeling much better very soon!

SHOCKED AND PAPERWORK

. . . by my own tickers!

1 month since I passed Panel for Little Sis, wow!

I didn't have my 'Mummy Day' Thursday this week as I went to work, so I haven't got very far with paperwork recently, also I've done the easier bits so it's the hassly or tricky bits left to do.

GOOGLE SEARCHES

The Feedjit tool shows how people arrive and leave the blog, where they are, how they find the blog and where they go afterwards. Look here! It's quite interesting, particularly visitors who come through Google and the searches - mostly 'Adventures with Alice' (that's fine as long as I don't change the name!), more worryingly 'filled her wellies' seems to be effective too.

FED UP

. . . I'm fed up with the weather! I don't mind snow when it's here, but it's all the weather forecasts predicting snow, it's the threat of snow and disruption that I find so wearing.

It snowed on Monday - blizzards for 15 minutes or so, enough to start to stick on the ground but not on the roads. On Tuesday we woke to a proper covering (but only just) and then it snowed for several hours during the later part of the morning, by the evening it was beginning to melt. On Wednesday it started to snow in the evening and again we woke to a covering on Thursday but it tended to melt through the day. Friday - more snow first thing and through the morning, melting later on. By today the garden was virtually clear of snow but the hill behind the house was still covered, we went out at lunchtime and there was more snow on most of our route than there was at home. It tried to snow this afternoon and the forecast again is for more snow and a winter storm tomorrow evening. The snow's hanging around - and they say that it hangs around waiting for more.

I know that we don't have snowfall to compare to levels in some parts of the Continent or US, but when snowfall is small or infrequent then lifestyles aren't very well suited to coping with the 'white stuff' when we see it!

This post - just goes to show how obsessed the Brits are with the weather!

SCHOOL CLOSURES AND THE PRESS

My school was closed today - like most of the other local schools.

The press seem quick to condemn schools for closing too quickly at the threat of snow - they hark back to previous generations when life went on reguardless of the weather, don't they realise that communities have changed (staff live further from schools rather than in the communities where they taught) and risk perception is also very different.

I'm not 'having a go' at friends who are parents questioning why their children's schools remain shut, it's the press that are irritating me, I don't watch too much news - the obsessional nature of the press and sweeping generalisations seem to go unchallenged too often.

2 FAV PHOTOS FROM TODAY

ALICE'S LATEST TRICK!

. . . trying to blow raspberries!

FUN WITH BEADS

At the end of supper Alice spotted the tub of beads on the kitchen table and asked to play.

She picked out 2 blue beads and started singing one of her favourite songs, 'How Do?' It's a T*ick T*ock song about teaching introductions, as they ask 'How do you do?' in the song they use a castanet in to tap out the syllables (that's what Alice is doing with the beads). She had great fun with the snakes (laces) and beads, she built a snowman (stacked one bead on top of another) and was very confident with her colours.

DOGS IN THE SNOW

Playtime in the blizzard, it looks vicious but Fuss could have stopped it at anytime. All the dogs enjoyed being outside in the snow, taking longer to womble round the garden. It was fun to watch Pud shake the snow off her nose whilst trotting towards the kitchen door!

ALICE'S FIRST SNOW!

Yesterday we didn't really have enough snow to make an impact (other than changing the colour of everything!)

Today was different - there was noticeably more snow. I debated whether to take Alice to her swimming class but decided that experiencing her first snow was a higher priority (then the swimming company rang to say that the class was cancelled!)

So after breakfast I bundled Alice up (and I do mean bundled) and we went for a walk. We walked down the field, we just made it into the bottom field, made a snow angel and came home, less than 800 yards from home but the return trip took about 45 minutes at toddler speed! Alice want to pick up every snow flake, eventually she learnt how to 'dust' off her gloves to try and keep them dry. The difficult part was trying to stop her eating it (never sure what was under it, ugh!)

TODAY I WAS A CHINESE MOTHER

The Chinese are known for bundling their children up in many, many layers.

Today I was a Chinese mother. Alice wore:

• a nappy
• a pair of tights
• a pair of thermal leggings
• a pair of trousers
  
• a pair of socks
• a vest
• a thermal vest
• a top
• a fleece hoodie

When she went out, I added:

• a fleece
• fleece wrist warmers
• fleece mittens
• fleece neck warmer
• waterproof dungarees
• a soft gillet
• a waterproof coat
• a fleece pompom hat
  
• a pair of sparkly wellies
  

(I somehow feel that that list should be sung to the tune of 'The 12 Days of Christmas!')

The top coat is a double one - soft gillet zipped into the spotty waterproof layer. Alice has a top by the same company, the top is age 3 and it's skin-tight, so I took advice from GMJ and ordered age 6 - by the time Alice had all those clothes on it barely did up (although most of the time it still has plenty of growing room)!

EDITED TO ADD:
J asked, 'Could she move?'
Yes, she could move but she couldn't get up when she fell over (think beached whale!)

HOME IN THE SNOW

MORE INFO ON THE BLOG

I've added 2 text boxes in the right hand column - about the timings and major events of both adoptions.

SNOW AND PUD

'The worst snow in 18 years!'

Not round here, we had much more 2 years ago (when they'd just taken out the windows to replace the frames and put in)!

We woke to a dusting of snow this morning, enough to see but not enough to completely cover the lawn. Dusty flakes were swirling and seemed to go up as much as down. I showed Alice the view of the garden from my bedroom window, she was interested and she kept returning to the window saying 'Snow!'

We were due to go to Cardiff this morning with D and A. D and I decided that it wasn't sensible to drive that far given the forecast and the warnings on TV. For me it was a doubly good decision - as Pud still had diarrhoea and I wanted to take her to the vets. She's had diarrhoea since Friday night and this morning she didn't want her breakfast - that's when I really began to worry. I was brave and decided to take Alice with us. Pud was fine but Alice was challenging and eventually one of the receptionists offered to distract her (by that time she'd tried to go into the other surgery and gone back into reception too). Pud now has some clay based gunk and an orange pill, both to be taken 3 times per day. The vet wasn't too worried as she hadn't vomited. We came home and Pud took the first doses easily. She was sleepy as usual. Then at around 4pm she vomited - that made me worry even more, I put her to bed (uninterrupted sleep).

Meanwhile the snow got more serious, by 3pm we couldn't see the trees at the bottom of the far field, I cancelled my afternoon appointment and then the blizzard cleared! The snow's continued to fall, the flakes are fat sometimes and now the lawn is truly covered. According to GFN we're due to have significant snow between 7pm and the early hours, but the Welsh news say that it'll all be gone by tomorrow evening! Perhaps GFN was trying to make be feel better about all the provisions that I bought in a panic after he first mentioned snow just after Christmas!

Pud slept until suppertime when she began to cry from her puppy pen, getting the second doses into her was trickier than before. She inhaled her food with head down serious attitude and a wagging tail and now she's sleeping at my feet.

PUD

I've been having wireless issues - the link has been dropping and the speed's been through the floor. This afternoon the link dropped over 5 times in less than 4 minutes - I couldn't even open Google to get a helpline number!! Neither could I send or receive email, in desperation I rang the operator and got put through.

As part of the help desk process I had to connect the laptop directly to the hub via Ethernet cable (a challenge to find rather than connect!) Pud was asleep when I started the call but I soon regretted leaving her snoozing in the playroom when she woke (she's had a very runny tummy since Friday and I'd begun to worry about my carpets!) So I'm sitting on the flags in the hall leaning against a radiator (and very quickly got a cold bum and a warm back), Pud wandered into the study (yes, THAT shortsighted, I forgot to shut the down when I retrieved the Ethernet cable) and eventually came to settle against the baby gate that was separating us! That's yet another reason why I love having a Labrador - and tonight my feet are warm, guess where Pud is?!

ANOTHER MILESTONE

Alice went to Sunday School this morning and I got to listen to the service - not sure what it was about as I was so distracted by the fact that I was alone and it was peaceful.

Small post, huge event!

Alice came back into the service with the others, they went to be blessed and she ran back to me with a beaming grin! I spoke to the SS leader (the vicar's lovely wife and a former headteacher) and she's happy to have Alice back and I think that the 'big' girls there would agree!

A POST ABOUT THE WEATHER!

Whilst we're not living in the freezer like some of my bloggy friends in the US, it has been cold in the UK this winter. I think they said last week that it's been the coldest winter since one of the 1990s (yeah, wasn't listening too well!)

At times it's been really cold this winter, cold enough to go to bed shivering.

Tonight it's snowing and cold (again I must acknowledge those bloggy friends who've been living with the white stuff for weeks), it's been 2 years since we've seen proper snow (remember, the week that they started taking the windows out?!)

NEW MILESTONE!

My freedom is being curtailed - Alice is finally consistently managing to open doors, only the baby gates can contain her now! (But Boo can open the one between the kitchen and the playroom, usually she's quick enough that it still keeps the others in the kitchen).

The challenge is now trying to keep doors shut where I want to control Pud's movements - luckily Alice is capable of understanding why, but she does need lots of reminders, to keep the doors shut.

CANINE INTELLIGENCE

As I've already blogged, choccy Labradors are said to be the least intelligent colour of Labrador.

Pud's the 3rd Labrador we've had - having previously had Daisy (yellow) and her half-sister Blossom (black). Both the others were pretty clever. I met Pud's Mum Sadie - she seemed very much in the same league for intelligence (though a completely different and much more typical Labrador in build).

For many years we've had a soft bone toy - it's blue and there are several rings that fit on it. It's supposed to be a toy to challenge dogs, the rings are supposed to be removable but no dog has ever risen to the challenge. One of the rings has been off it for years but 2 yellow and 2 red are still on it, or were, today I realised that several others were loose too.

Yesterday Alice opened the study door (which was purposely shut to keep Pud out!) Pud settled on the bed under my desk and made it clear that she was too comfy to move without pursuasion (brut force), until I moved a dog bed into the playroom for her! Not daft that dog, not so sure about her owner!

DISAPPOINTING AFTERNOON

Having searched the house for Alice's jacket, I took a couple of photos quickly before we left the house to go to a Chinese New Year party.

About 8 miles later we hit a traffic jam, complete gridlock and nearly 3 miles from the next junction, it took us nearly 60 minutes to get to the junction - by which time we'd missed so much of the party that it wasn't worth completing our journey, so I drove right around the roundabout and drove home. Luckily it was nap time so Alice missed the whole journey (apart from the first 2 miles or so) and equally luckily I hadn't said too much about the party so she wasn't too disappointed but she was very grumpy from waking when the engine stopped (she's always grumpy if she's woken before she's ready).

I love this jacket and I think Alice looks lovely in it, she agrees but only because I said that it's a Chinese Princess' jacket!!

Meanwhile having missed the party I'm left with loads of sausages. Sausage anyone?

THIS WEEK

. . . has been all about princesses! I'm not surprised that Alice has become obsessed with princesses, but I am surprised how it's come from out of nowhere. At the moment I can still 'persuade' her into doing things as long as I can find a 'princess' link to it!

The photo is Alice flying around the playroom as a fairy princess! (Yes, the costume is huge, but it needs to be to fit over her winter clothes and she doesn't seem to mind.)

NOT QUITE WHAT I EXPECT . . .

when I think about Alice sharing!

BOOKS UPDATED!

Only 1 comment recommending books , but so many! Thanks Snick(typed too soon, thanks P as well!)

For those of you who don't read the comments, here are her recommendations:
Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you see? by Bill Martin Jr.
Polar Bear Polar Bear What do you hear? by Bill Martin Jr.
Panda Bear Panda Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin Jr.
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
Ask Mister Bear by Majorie Flack
Bears by Ruth Krauss
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Bill Martin Jr.
Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr.
Chicken Soup with Maurice Sendak
A Dark, Dark Tale by Ruth Brown
Do You Want to Be My Friend? by Eric Carle
The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins
Fortunately by Remy Charlip
The Gingerbread Boy by Paul Galdone
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Hattie and the Fox by Mem Fox
Henny Penny by Paul Galdone
The House That Jack Built by Rodney Peppe
If It Weren't for You by Charlotte Zolotow
I Was Walking Down the Road by Sarah Barchas
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
I Will Not Go to Market Today by Harry Allard
The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown
Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? by Nancy Carlsrom
Jump, Frog, Jump by Robert Kalan
King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
Old Mother Hubbard by Colin and Jacqui Hawkins
One Monday Morning by Uri Schulevitz
Over in The Meadow by Olive Wadsworth
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
Rain Makes Applesauce by Julian Scheer
The Rose in My Garden by Arnold Lobel
Round as a Pancake by Joan Sullivan
Someday by Charlotte Zolotow
The Teeny Tiny Woman by Barbara Seuling
Three Blind Mice by John Ivimey
The Three Little Pigs by Paul Galdone
This Old Man: The Counting Song by Robin Koontz
Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
What Do You Do, Dear by Sesyle Joslin
The Wheels on the Bus by Mary Ann Kovalski
When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
Where's Spot? by Eric Hill
Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema

OBSESSED AND GETTING TOUGHER!

'No Bertie, that's Dirty Bertie!'

Alice's favourite phrase from her favourite book. The book (Dirty Bertie) lives by Mummy's bed for morning wake-up and bedtime stories. Alice loves to finish each page with the key phrase, 'No Bertie, that's Dirty Bertie!' It's very sweet to hear her say it - she consistently misses out that in the phrase.

Unfortunately Alice didn't get DB tonight as she wouldn't co-operate. Alice is rarely naughty but she is very often slow to do as she is asked, so I've resolved to tell her the sanctions and be stricter. Consistency isn't a problem (teaching experience helps) but seeing the need for change is what I find more difficult. She wasn't happy at not having DB read at bedtime, she kept looking at me and saying, 'Good girl!' so I kept reiterating that if she continued to be a good girl then she could have DB read in the morning. Eventually she understood but not before she tried out hysterics - you'd think that I'd never said no before!

The other books (which she didn't lose this evening) that she loves are Elmer and (my favourite) Owl Babies. OB and DB are both successful for Alice as they have a repetitive phrase that she can join in with - and I'd love more suggestions for other books like this please.

SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS

Saturday - Alice hysterics, led to moving into the 'Big Girl's Bed', slept all night, no problems.

Sunday - started in the cot, hysterics within minutes (but hadn't bothered to even ask for the BGB, moved into bed, fell off (ended standing up with arms still resting on the bed but hysterical) at 2.30am and then sleep with me while I suffered kicks and hits and hardly slept from that point on.

Monday - resolved to buy a bed rail (to stop her falling out). I'd researched these before but hoped that we wouldn't need yet more kit as the cotbed was supplied with a guard for the bed mode - but I want to keep it in cot form for now as a backup! Bought guard, tried to fit it but the bed is slated so it won't take it - T and I will swap the beds around the house on Wednesday to try and rectify this, until then Alice has been told that she'll have to sleep in the cot again and she went to bed (in her cot) without a peep tonight!

Naps - still happening in the cot!!

Me - hoping for a full night's sleep alone (sort of!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It's the start of the Year of the Ox.

I started the day by phoning WAG (Welsh Assembly Government) I spoke to the lady who I dealt with when they checked Alice's dossier in 2005. She has a new No1 fan, me! She was so helpful, friendly, informative, relaxed, positive and best of all I DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE DCSF!! She talked me through a lot of the mysteries of the Thai process (I can't 'say' often enough how different this process is and most of the difference isn't due to a different country but paperwork for the local bits!) She clarified many of my doubts over different bits of paperwork and forwarded a new fact sheet that is more constructive than most of the others that I've read. The other HUGE advantage of WAG checking my dossier is that it's quicker, significantly quicker and much less stressful as I can ring DJ whenever I need help or guidance or want to check progress. It's a huge relief to me!

Shortly after the phone call we got in the car to go to A'g. The first track playing was 'One Elephant Went Out To Play' - as Pandas are Alice's symbolic animal, Elephants are for Little Sis, this track was all I needed to confirm all the good news of the morning, my eyes leaked a little at the thought of the reassurance and support coming through at a time when I was beginning to feel overwhelmed and lost.

Then we went to soft play (where we were meeting D and A), we got there just after it opened so it was a little chilly, 5 minutes later I realised that one of my feet was cold, then I realised my sock was wet and finally I realised that I was standing in a puddle of u*rine - I could have stayed at home with Pud and managed that! So for the rest of the morning I had bare, cold feet but Alice had a super time - she's more independent and is even coming down the wavy slide on her tummy (or 'tummin' as she would say), she really is an adrenaline junky!

Having clarified some point with Deb (lovely lady at WAG - who also said that adoption dossiers were a priority, hurray!!) I was able to complete some more paperwork for my LA - another set of photos (as they've mislaid the first set!) and pay the final installment of the home study bill, I delivered all that and dashed round A'g while the Magnificent T was at home with Alice.

Small steps towards my final goal, but very significant ones, in 24 hours this journey has taken a major change, one that I'm exceedingly appreciative of and one that I was in need of, a very positive day and I feel so much better for it.

2008 A REVIEW IN PHOTOS, JULY

We celebrated a year together at the beginning of July, Alice had great fun playing in the garden, her first experience of the paddling pool and she made her first cake!

2008 A REVIEW IN PHOTOS, AUGUST

Alice's first major holiday abroad, first ride on a roundabout, 2 nights on a ferry, 14 in a gite, many many miles travelled, a language explosion and lots of happy memories - that was August 2008 (and a tummy bug that we'd rather forget!)

POTENTIALLY GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS!

The good news started off rather confusingly and has continued to baffle me!

I spoke to the head of the adoption team on Thursday (Thursday is now my Doing Day whilst Alice is at nursery!) He said that my Homestudy was now at the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) for checking. My dossier for Alice went to WAG and they were great - quick, efficient, friendly and informative, they also saved me several months at the Dfes. But this time round I'd been led to believe that they wouldn't be involved in my paperchasing. Today I was informed by a fellow Thai AP from Wales (I think that there are only a handful) that WAG do do the dossier check all the way through to sending it to Thailand.

This is BIG news! It could cut months off the next stage of paperwork and relieve a lot of stress (though if it is correct it will create some stress initially as I'll have to chase paperwork faster than planned!)

The bad news? WAG informed my LA that there were 21 missing or incomplete elements of the dossier - more paperwork.

The amount of paperwork for this adoption is incredible, so much more than for Alice's. Every step has been so different but I hope that the outcome is just as precious!

ALICE TAKES CONTROL

Alice has a stinking cold, her nose is snotty and bunged up, she has a hacking cough, no appetite, no tolerance and is very easily reduced to tears. Not fun.

Sleep has been an issue for the last week or so - ever since the beginning of the week when this cold started showing. She's been slow to go to sleep in the evenings - demanding 'Mummy's bed!' and unsettled through the night, she's spent a significant amount of nearly every night in my bed and my sleep's suffered a lot because of her presence.

When sleep gets bad like this I establish my expectations before bedtime and talk Alice through what is going to happen (optimistically at the moment!)

Today she's been OK during the waking hours, but as soon as I started to leave her (in the usual way at bedtime) she started to cry. Despite reassurance and repeat visits to her the crying ramped up until she's hiccuping and snotty, still demanding 'Mummy's bed!' I wasn't giving in - whilst I don't mind her coming in with me occassionally it's happened too often this week and I'm really tired, I don't want to establish a bad habit and whilst it's painful for both of us if I refuse tonight it will only get harder the longer this goes on.

So I comprimised! Alice is now sleeping in the single 'big girl's bed' in her bedroom. Her cotbed is still a cot but I suspect that Alice won't accept it as a bed when there's a proper bed in the room, but because of the cot bed converts into a bed with protection rails I haven't bought guard rails for the other bed - thinking she'd graduate slowly, but (as is becoming usual) Alice knew better! It took her another 30 minutes or so to settle but for now she's asleep - I hope that I haven't lost my civilised morning starts in the process (I have a backup plan using yet another baby-gate if necessary!)

IT GETS WORSE!

The jury's still out deciding Pud's IQ, apparently chocolate Labradors are known to be the thick cousins of the Labrador world (black ones are supposed to be the graduates with yellow ones coming somewhere in the middle!)

Pud's now been released from her spell 'doing bird' (isn't that another phrase for prison - I'd love to know the origin!), whenever she's fresh from the den or the dog room she has to go straight outside to 'perform', she's very good about going out and went straight out tonight but not to the usual p*ddle spot but to the bird cafe and she SEARCHED for her late night snack, ugh. She had a good rootle round and was only eventually distracted by small dogs barking - probably at the shadow of a figment of a cat!

ELLEN I TRUMP YOUR DEAD RABBIT WALKS!

Ugh.

Ugh.

Ugh.

D'yuh get it yet? Ugh!

I just let the dogs in from the garden after supper, the little ones arrived but Pudding didn't - not so unusual now as she's beginning to love exploring and snuffling and as a chocolate dog she's tricky to spot in the darkness against the flower beds.

Tonight finding her wasn't difficult - I could hear her crunching, that's never good news.

What was she crunching? Dead, whole bird. By the time I'd retreated to the kitchen, thankful Alice was in bed (even if it is mine not hers), swearing loudly in search of kitchen and shuddering at the thought of Pudding's pudding and the memory of the crunch. I thought I was too late but then part of the body, some feathers and evidence of guts was retrieved. Pudding is now confined to her den in the dog room and I'm grimacing at the mere thought of what's just happened.

(For those confused by the title of this post - go here!)

2008 A REVIEW IN PHOTOS, SEPTEMBER

Alice became noticably more vocal and consequently more demanding, and did lots of playing - in the garden with GFN, playdoughing and shestarted 'pretending' in her play!

2008 A REVIEW IN PHOTOS, OCTOBER

Alice partied the month away - celebrating Mummy's birthday, her baptism and her second birthday, all within 6 days! She also made great progress with her swimming.

2008 A REVIEW IN PHOTOS, NOVEMBER

Alice tried being a big girl (potty training - but Mummy decided that for now she's still too little), got sick quite a bit, sleeping suffered, saw lots of friends, survived life at home with no water for a while and aced her 2 year development check!

2008 A REVIEW IN PHOTOS, DECEMBER

My little star started Nursery without a backward glance, performed infront of a huge audience (out-wiggling everyone else!), met Father Christmas again, relished every moment of Christmas and embraced our new puppy.

STICKYI

“Wipe, Mummy!”

“Naughty!”

“Sticky!”

I said nothing, Alice had said it all and still I love her more everyday and everyday that doesn’t seem possible.

CATCHING UP, AGAIN!

It's busy round here - mostly the usual stuff, work, Nursery, paperwork, living, puppy chasing and cleaning up after!

But yesterday I took a trip down memory lane. Alice and I met up with GMJ and her daughter P in Calne (where GMJ and I met at school). It's the first time I've taken Alice there, the first time I've been there as the mum and not the daughter. The town was just beginning a major redevelopment when we left school, parts of it have now been 'made-over' but basically it's still the same small town with several empty shops reflecting the state of the economy. While we were there we decided to get the girls' feet measured and for the first time in her shoe-wearing history Alice's feet hadn't grown, hurray, £35 saved and they don't need to be checked for another 4-6 weeks! We had a super day and as always it was great to see them.

(I had to smile when my gorgeous God-daughter P told her Mum that she was worried that I wouldn't know where Grandma's house was!! I've been visiting GMJ (J in those days!) and her family in the same farmhouse for over 20 years!!)

BUSY SURFING

Love this site!

LOVELY DAY

Simple things, good food and kind, caring company made for a really lovely and relaxed day (though it wasn't relaxed for all but the results were worth it!)

PUDDING'S FIRST CASUALTY!

We've been very careful and pretty lucky but this afternoon Pudding destroyed a mouse. Luckily it was a computer mouse (I don't do blood and guts!) and even more luckily it was a cheap mouse and I've got a spare!!

WHAT A TRIBUTE!

Yesterday at Panel I was asked about the negatives about becoming a mother.

I talked about being worried about possible sleep deprivation when Alice came home and said that I worried about it while Alice was screaming at 2am that morning, but I couldn't think of a negative about being Alice's Mum - I think that's the biggest complement that I could give Alice! (Yes - there are drawbacks to motherhood, but they're general, predictable ones - restricted freedom, longer to go places, more expenses, etc!)

LABRADORS

Every day with Pudding is a reminder of how much I love having a Labrador. She cries when she can't get to the water bowl, you can see her sit back, view the situation and watch her think about things. She reminds me of Daisy in good ways. I really missed Daisy on Christmas Day - it seemed wrong to be opening pressies without her attached to the other end of them, I hope Pudding learns to enjoy Christmas.

Pudding is fun, hard work but fun. I love her, I love her intelligence.

DOES MY BUM LOOK BIG IN THIS?

Sorry Sweetheart, but yes it does!

ALICE'S DREAM COMES TRUE PART 2!

Alice was delighted to see the 'pincess' outfit and was quick to finish supper to try it on - look at her face, dreams really do come true!

(Yes, it is skin-tight, but it's age 3-4 and the other princess outfit that I already have stored away is 5-6 and huge!!)

PUD!

Changing so quickly - she's finally made it up onto the dog bed in the kitchen (she mastered the one in the dog room earlier this week!)

When she arrived (9 days ago) she was smaller than Fusspot, now they're the same size, it won't be long before she's towering over her, she's growing so fast that you can almost see her grow in front of you.

ALICE'S BUSY DAY!

Alice had been to nursery 3 times before today.

She started at the beginning of December. The first week she spent the morning and I collected her at 12:30pm, it was such a successful start that she stayed for lunch in the second and third weeks. Then she had a 2 week gap for the Christmas holidays.

So today she hadn't been there for 3 weeks. Knowing that my Panel hearing was this afternoon I'd asked if she could stay for the whole day, they had space so I booked her in for the full day (just once a week) starting from today. Then my Panel time was changed to this morning - so the whole day at nursery wasn't necessary after all, but given how well she'd gone in I decided not to change the plan.

I warned them that she may not sleep and asked them to be firm and persevere with her. I had a phonecall at around 3pm to say that she was fine but hadn't slept! I'd offered to collect her early if necessary as I didn't want to spoil the positive experiences that she's had so far but they said that she was fine and so she stayed until the end of the day.

She came home tired, thirsty, hungry and extremely grumpy! She was so grumpy that most of the usual supper suggestions were rejected immediately and she ended up wolfing a dam samidge (jam sandwich) and a pot of jelly before demanding a second pot!

ALICE'S DREAM COMES TRUE PART 1!

Alice often finds me taping away at my computer and she's desperate to join in.

Yesterday she finally got her wish - she used a preschool CDRom on my old laptop. I was glad I'd restricted her to the old laptop when she pulled the F8 key off! The CDRom was a bit too hard for her but luckily the earlier stage arrived in the post today. She hasn't had a chance to use it yet as she had a very busy day.

DELIGHTED, RELIEVED AND A BIT EMOTIONAL!

After a very different experience attending an Adoption Panel, they took a blink of an eye to agree to my wish to adopt a Special Needs child from Thailand. My SW said that I charmed them. I was calm and coherent and despite my nerves it wasn't an unpleasant experience!! Phew.

To celebrate I went shopping! I bought Alice a 'pincess' outfit and Little Sis a photo album that can have a voice recording with it - hopefully to send in a care package after referral. It's the beginning of the next paperchase - extra documents for Thailand, but we're a huge step closer and I'm very relieved!

TOMORROW

BIG day tomorrow - Panel and Nursery.

Panel for approval for Little Sis's adoption. The paperwork's been punched, check, filed, checked and sorted. I'm trying to get organised, I'm hoping that by tomorrow evening I'll be feeling mightly relieved rather than wanting to turn the clock back by 24 hours.

Nursery - Alice returns to Nursery, she'd only been 3 times and it's 3 weeks since her last visit, because I was anticipating an afternoon appointment with Panel Alice is staying all day tomorrow for the first time.

Tonight during our review today and then think about tomorrow chat (that we have as often as Mummy remembers!) Alice said 'Yes' for the first time when I asked her if she wanted a Little Sister!

I LIKE DRIVING IN MY CAR

. . . well, sitting in it and waiting for a soft touch to push her around!

THE OBSESSION BEGINS . . .

. . . Alice proves she's like any other little girl . . . obsessed with PINCESSES . . . I'm not sure why, but this week she's 'pw'ten'din' to be a 'p'in'cess' whenever she wears her dressing gown. Maybe it's because you can hold it out like a ball gown, or maybe because it is a GOWN?

WHAT DO YOU MEAN . . .

. . . mollycoddled?

(I can't get the photo to upload as landscape)

SHE MAY STILL BE SMALL

. . . but the wind is crippling!

Pudding looks round in disgust . . . if she's awake, but if she's asleep . . . she sleeps through it! I can't even freshen up with air-freshener as I'm allergic to it - the final irony!

HAHA, I'M BAAAAAA-ACKKKKKKKKK!!

Cleared my cookie history (which is probably going to cause chaos with the rest of my surfing) and now I can log in again!

In case you didn't go to the other blog - you didn't miss much, only 1 real post which I will try and import!!

Hoorah.

NEW BLOG!

I still can’t access blogger or the dashboard, which means I’m restricted to emailing posts to the blog and I can’t read private blogs of friends.  It’s very irritating.

Thanks for the emails with suggestions, I’ve tried every avenue and still can’t find a resolution.

 

So I’ve set up a new blog: http://kes44p.wordpress.com/   There’s nothing much on it yet but at least I’ve got full access somewhere!

OWNER'S GUILT

Earlier this evening I found Pudding crouched underneath the dishwasher door, scrabbling to move – not out but further under, she was trying to reach the water bowl! Pretty clever, though I’m not sure how she thought that she’d get the water out, osmosis? Don’t worry – I’ve showed her where the water bowl in the dog room and reminded her about the bowl in her puppy pen too!!

BLOGGING HELP NEEDED!

OK, so remote blogging is working!

 

But I still need blogger help. I can log into Google but I can’t display my blog dashboard – I get the same message every time

bX-fqmd4l

I don’t know what it means, I’ve tried searching Blogger Help and the only answer seems to be to contact them directly, but when I try I get the same error message!  I’ve tried emailing them (I made up a likely address) but I haven’t heard from them (so I was probably wrong!)  Also I receive comments for moderation by email – but I can’t log into publish them.  I really am in a pickle!!

 

If anyone can help please let me know by email or comment (I can read comments but can’t publish them!) – even the correct email address for Blogger help would be fab!  Thanks.