So, I am a little bit behind on the old blogging as I am writing about a couple of Saturdays ago now!
Recently, the majority of our Saturdays have consisted of Seth studying. We try to play a little bit as well, but he is doing a part time Masters degree and he had exams coming up the the week after I had my piano exam. They are ridiculously hard and complicated exams (my sister Laura saw his coursework on the computer once and thought that it was an error code as it was just a jumble of numbers and symbols that neither of us understood. Well, we understood the numbers, we can count. We just didn't understand them in that context!) and so he had to spend a lot of time putting in the work. It was really nice to have a free Saturday and to be able to spend it with our friends, Laura and Simon.
On a freezing cold Saturday, what is there to possibly do? Oh yeah, that's right. Crazy golf. In the snow. As you do. In all fairness, it wasn't actually snowing when we started to play, the snow came later. It didn't diminish our fun though, we all had a great time! We played on the crazy golf course at Bluewater and a lot of the holes are very close to water so we (well, mainly I) was celebrating the fact that none of our golf balls ended up in the water! It was a very close game, all of us seem to be as brilliant / shocking as each other. Caleb must have been having a great time, he fell asleep.
When we got back to ours, we had Chinese and chatted a lot. It seems that Laura and I have very similar taste in films and she pretty much owns my entire chick flick collection, which I take as verification that I have exceptionally brilliant taste! We then played "Articulate". We played couples against couples, which in hindsight wasn't the best idea as they completely slaughtered us. They didn't rub our faces in it though which was very kind of them :).
Laura is also a fellow blogger and has an excellent blog, Girl in Flight, so have a look!
Things have been so busy with us recently, as I'm sure it gets for everyone, so it was really nice to be able to enjoy a Saturday playing!
Monday, 8 April 2013
Friday, 5 April 2013
It doesn't happen often....
...in fact, it hasn't happened since Caleb was born, but today I actually had a lay in! A mother to a son of 8 months shouldn't be able to have such things surely?! The reason for this is that Seth is off work this week, which I am thrilled about. He works crazily hard at his job, for his Masters degree and in his church assignments and so it is lovely this week that he isn't working or studying and Caleb and I get him all to ourselves!
This morning was really great, I actually slept in until 10am! I am pretty fortunate in that I am a very heavy sleeper. Unfortunately for Seth, he isn't, which means that when Caleb cries in the night, by the time I have even woken up, Seth will have gone in to see him, comfort him and will be back in bed. Apparently he did this at around 4 this morning and I took my turn at 7.30. I know, you're probably thinking that I'm a terrible mother for not getting up with Caleb there and then but he was happy enough at that point and if I can buy a few extra moments in bed, then I will :).
Seth and I didn't get to bed until around 2.30 this morning as he is painting Caleb's bedroom at the moment and he was on a roll and didn't want to stop. We were both pretty wrecked, but this morning, Seth got up with Caleb. When I began to get up as well, he told me he had it covered and to go back to sleep. It would have been rude of me not to comply with his wishes so I did as I was told! Seth took care of everything, he bathed, dressed and fed Caleb, put on a load of washing and was washing up by the time I got out of bed. It felt so luxurious to actually be able to sleep in, it was brilliant! I once read somewhere whilst a lot of wives and mothers love to receive flowers from their husbands (I like that too - lilies are my favourites. Seth bought me some a couple of weeks ago. Yes, I am spoiled), there comes a time when it means just as much, if not more to have a husband that will encourage the wife to relax while he looks after the children and takes care of various household jobs. I agree with that! And I feel very blessed to not only have a great husband, but for Caleb to have such a great Dad too.
This morning was really great, I actually slept in until 10am! I am pretty fortunate in that I am a very heavy sleeper. Unfortunately for Seth, he isn't, which means that when Caleb cries in the night, by the time I have even woken up, Seth will have gone in to see him, comfort him and will be back in bed. Apparently he did this at around 4 this morning and I took my turn at 7.30. I know, you're probably thinking that I'm a terrible mother for not getting up with Caleb there and then but he was happy enough at that point and if I can buy a few extra moments in bed, then I will :).
Seth and I didn't get to bed until around 2.30 this morning as he is painting Caleb's bedroom at the moment and he was on a roll and didn't want to stop. We were both pretty wrecked, but this morning, Seth got up with Caleb. When I began to get up as well, he told me he had it covered and to go back to sleep. It would have been rude of me not to comply with his wishes so I did as I was told! Seth took care of everything, he bathed, dressed and fed Caleb, put on a load of washing and was washing up by the time I got out of bed. It felt so luxurious to actually be able to sleep in, it was brilliant! I once read somewhere whilst a lot of wives and mothers love to receive flowers from their husbands (I like that too - lilies are my favourites. Seth bought me some a couple of weeks ago. Yes, I am spoiled), there comes a time when it means just as much, if not more to have a husband that will encourage the wife to relax while he looks after the children and takes care of various household jobs. I agree with that! And I feel very blessed to not only have a great husband, but for Caleb to have such a great Dad too.
Wednesday, 3 April 2013
Jess and her mission call
I mentioned in my previous post that I was going to talk about the reason for my trip
to Norwich in this post, so here it is!
My nineteen year old niece, Jessica decided to serve an 18 month mission for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. (You can find out more about what we believe here and here). She submitted her papers and she found out that she would be receiving her assignment at around the time I was having my injection. Mum was planning on being there for when Jess opened her mission call, but of course, if she were down with me, she wouldn't be able to do that. We decided that we would skype Jess so that we would be able to be there that way but then I thought that being as though Mum was with me to help look after Caleb, etc, while my wrist healed, there was no reason that we couldn't be in Norwich for that time instead of here. So on Thursday morning we loaded up the car (you really can't travel lightly with a baby, or if you can, I really haven't figured out how to do that!) and after my injection we headed to Norwich so that we could both be there, just in case her mission call came. As we were driving up we got a text from my sister, Lin (Jess's Mum) to inform us that Jess's mission call had come. We were pretty excited about it! Laura had been on holiday in Portugal but had flown back that day and was also travelling to Norwich to be there. It's pretty much a usual thing for the family to gather to be there for the mission call opening, it's really exciting to find out where the person will be going.
On Thursday evening, we all gathered at Lin and Steve's house. Jess's sister, Rach lives down near Bath with her husband and so she couldn't be there; neither could Tor (my other niece and Jess's cousin - she's at university in Hawaii - alright for some!) so they both skyped in to be there. It was so exciting to watch Jess open her mission call - there is a video of it but it is on facebook and I have absolutely no idea how to save it and upload it to here, being the technophobe that I am! So if you're my friend on facebook, I am tagged in it and you can see it. Watch it, because my description of it really does not do it justice! Here is a screen shot that Tor took of Jess at some point during the proceedings!
See the little Tor in the corner too?
To begin with, my nephew Sam read out the list of guesses as to where the family thought she might be called to serve. Most of the guesses were for the Scotland Ireland mission, I think one guess was the Leeds mission, one was Mauritius, one was Temple Square. (I guessed Scotland Ireland). Jess opened her call and read it aloud to us..... she is called to serve in the Utah Salt Lake City mission. We are all so happy for her and proud of her. I remember around 9 years ago when we all gathered around to be there for Laura to open her mission call before she went on her mission to Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Jess would have only been 10 at that time, so for me it felt a little surreal that it was now Jess in exactly the same situation! She is such an amazing girl and I know she will be a fantastic missionary.
My nineteen year old niece, Jessica decided to serve an 18 month mission for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. (You can find out more about what we believe here and here). She submitted her papers and she found out that she would be receiving her assignment at around the time I was having my injection. Mum was planning on being there for when Jess opened her mission call, but of course, if she were down with me, she wouldn't be able to do that. We decided that we would skype Jess so that we would be able to be there that way but then I thought that being as though Mum was with me to help look after Caleb, etc, while my wrist healed, there was no reason that we couldn't be in Norwich for that time instead of here. So on Thursday morning we loaded up the car (you really can't travel lightly with a baby, or if you can, I really haven't figured out how to do that!) and after my injection we headed to Norwich so that we could both be there, just in case her mission call came. As we were driving up we got a text from my sister, Lin (Jess's Mum) to inform us that Jess's mission call had come. We were pretty excited about it! Laura had been on holiday in Portugal but had flown back that day and was also travelling to Norwich to be there. It's pretty much a usual thing for the family to gather to be there for the mission call opening, it's really exciting to find out where the person will be going.
On Thursday evening, we all gathered at Lin and Steve's house. Jess's sister, Rach lives down near Bath with her husband and so she couldn't be there; neither could Tor (my other niece and Jess's cousin - she's at university in Hawaii - alright for some!) so they both skyped in to be there. It was so exciting to watch Jess open her mission call - there is a video of it but it is on facebook and I have absolutely no idea how to save it and upload it to here, being the technophobe that I am! So if you're my friend on facebook, I am tagged in it and you can see it. Watch it, because my description of it really does not do it justice! Here is a screen shot that Tor took of Jess at some point during the proceedings!
See the little Tor in the corner too?
To begin with, my nephew Sam read out the list of guesses as to where the family thought she might be called to serve. Most of the guesses were for the Scotland Ireland mission, I think one guess was the Leeds mission, one was Mauritius, one was Temple Square. (I guessed Scotland Ireland). Jess opened her call and read it aloud to us..... she is called to serve in the Utah Salt Lake City mission. We are all so happy for her and proud of her. I remember around 9 years ago when we all gathered around to be there for Laura to open her mission call before she went on her mission to Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Jess would have only been 10 at that time, so for me it felt a little surreal that it was now Jess in exactly the same situation! She is such an amazing girl and I know she will be a fantastic missionary.
Sunday, 31 March 2013
Needles!
Have I mentioned before that I have tendonitis in both of my wrists? Well, for those of you who don't know, I have tendonitis in both wrists. It's a specific type of tendonitis called De Quervains Syndrome, which apparently is quite common amongst pregnant women and new Mums. I got it when Caleb was around a month old and when he was six months old, I finally had my first physiotherapy appointment. I had tried to get one sooner but I had to go through the process of taking ibuprofen and then something stronger, then applying voltarol gel to my wrists, wearing wrist supports, etc. I had hoped that the doctors would refer me for physiotherapy sooner than they did but apparently, your wrists giving out and dropping your baby isn't good enough reason to be referred any sooner. (Luckily I dropped him onto the bed, so no damage was done, but still!).
I had about 4 physio appointments but none of the exercises they gave me to do worked. It might be because they told me not to do any lifting. I told them I have a baby and I can't really not lift him and I was told if I want it to get better, then I would have to avoid lifting him. Obviously that really wasn't an option but I was so glad when they finally decided that I could have steroid injections in my wrists. I had read up on it a bit and it's meant to work really well. Last week I had the injection! I'm not the biggest fan of needles but I was brave. They decided to only do one wrist for now just in case I couldn't use them at all, which is fair enough. I had to try and rest my wrist as much as possible afterwards, so Mum came down to help out with Caleb. She's so good, bless her! We ended up heading up to Norwich straight after my appointment, but more on that in the next post......
A week later and I can report that the injection seems to have worked! For the first time in around 8 months, my left wrist doesn't hurt and I can hold Caleb without being in any pain. I am having my right wrist done on Monday and Mum is coming to stay again. I am looking forward to having two fully functioning wrists. Yay for steroid injections!
....... I meant to post this before now, so here's a little update: I had my right wrist injected on Monday. It hurt quite a but more than my left wrist, perhaps because I'm right handed and I use it far more and it's taking a while to recover but hopefully all will be well soon! I had a lovely week with Mum here helping out and Laura came to spend the day with us on Thursday too, so it was a pretty good week for me, despite the pain! As has kind of become our tradition when Laura is here, we went to Bluewater on the Thursday. We tried on fossil watches (neither of us bought one, even though between the two of us, I'm pretty sure we keep them in business! They have a new range out and they are rather lovely) and Oakley sunglasses. I'm kind of lusting after one particular pair but I am being very sensible and not buying them. Here is a picture of Laura and Caleb hanging out in Urban Outfitters:
I had about 4 physio appointments but none of the exercises they gave me to do worked. It might be because they told me not to do any lifting. I told them I have a baby and I can't really not lift him and I was told if I want it to get better, then I would have to avoid lifting him. Obviously that really wasn't an option but I was so glad when they finally decided that I could have steroid injections in my wrists. I had read up on it a bit and it's meant to work really well. Last week I had the injection! I'm not the biggest fan of needles but I was brave. They decided to only do one wrist for now just in case I couldn't use them at all, which is fair enough. I had to try and rest my wrist as much as possible afterwards, so Mum came down to help out with Caleb. She's so good, bless her! We ended up heading up to Norwich straight after my appointment, but more on that in the next post......
A week later and I can report that the injection seems to have worked! For the first time in around 8 months, my left wrist doesn't hurt and I can hold Caleb without being in any pain. I am having my right wrist done on Monday and Mum is coming to stay again. I am looking forward to having two fully functioning wrists. Yay for steroid injections!
....... I meant to post this before now, so here's a little update: I had my right wrist injected on Monday. It hurt quite a but more than my left wrist, perhaps because I'm right handed and I use it far more and it's taking a while to recover but hopefully all will be well soon! I had a lovely week with Mum here helping out and Laura came to spend the day with us on Thursday too, so it was a pretty good week for me, despite the pain! As has kind of become our tradition when Laura is here, we went to Bluewater on the Thursday. We tried on fossil watches (neither of us bought one, even though between the two of us, I'm pretty sure we keep them in business! They have a new range out and they are rather lovely) and Oakley sunglasses. I'm kind of lusting after one particular pair but I am being very sensible and not buying them. Here is a picture of Laura and Caleb hanging out in Urban Outfitters:
Friday, 22 March 2013
The Exam
A couple of Mondays ago was the much anticipated and much dreaded day. My piano exam. I would like to say that I am one of those chilled out people who doesn't get nervous and who just takes everything in their stride, with the confidence that they are quite good at what they are doing. Unfortunately I am not one such person. I have always been like it really. When I was at school, when it came to getting the school report, without doubt every one of my teachers would say that I need to have more confidence in myself and in my abilities. No matter how hard I worked at things and how prepared I was, I would always still be insanely nervous before exams. Apparently this hasn't changed!
I think I started preparing to take this exam last May, when my piano teacher, Coady, gave me the first piece to start practising ready for the exam. By the time it came for me to go on maternity leave, I had two of the pieces in my possession, one of which I was steadily working through and the other one I had barely played. I was very optimistic about the amount of practise I would be able to get in once I had Caleb. After all, how hard can it be, having a newborn? They sleep all the time, I would have plenty of time to practise. I would probably have a week off when I had him and then I'd be back to it. And of course, THAT didn't happen. In fact, I don't think I played the piano for around three months, and then I started to have lessons again. We had to go over some of the stuff we had already covered because I hadn't practised in such a long time.
From just after Christmas until the exam, I upped my practise. I was practising every day anyway, but I started to practise for around two hours a day (when Caleb was sleeping). The couple of weeks before the exam I was practising more than that, as well as preparing for the aural element of the exam in the evening once Caleb was in bed and while Seth was revising for his exams. I think I had pretty much done as much as I could for the exam and it got to the point where the only thing left to do was to sit it and either I would play well, or I wouldn't, but either way, I would know that I had done everything I could.
The day of the exam was pretty good. Seth had the day off work so that he could come with me. He also got Caleb completely ready in the morning so that I could practise as much as I needed to before the exam. I felt quite calm in the morning but the more the day progressed, the more nervous I got! We left in pretty good time to get to Oxford Street. I am definitely not a last minute person and I would rather be half an hour early than on time. As it happens, we were 40 minutes early, but that was fine.
The venue of the exam was pretty cool, it was in a music shop. Downstairs is used as a venue for concerts and exams. The exam was..... well, I guess it could have gone worse, but it could have been better. Me, being me, I was very nervous and I think it came across in my playing, I made a couple of mistakes that I don't usually make. I was very grateful for a nice examiner who was quite friendly, so that helped me to relax a tiny bit!
I am so glad the exam is over with now. Straight after it, I thought I would feel really relieved that it was over with. I don't know how I felt. I guess, in a way, it was a bit of an anticlimax. I had worked so hard for so long for this, and it was over with in half an hour. Of course, I was glad that it was over with, but it was still a pretty strange feeling. It's such a novelty to be able to play anything I want to now without it having to be those three exam pieces which I have been playing forever.
The results should be coming out in a couple of weeks, so I guess we shall see how it all goes! Either way, at least I did everything I could, so time will tell!
I think I started preparing to take this exam last May, when my piano teacher, Coady, gave me the first piece to start practising ready for the exam. By the time it came for me to go on maternity leave, I had two of the pieces in my possession, one of which I was steadily working through and the other one I had barely played. I was very optimistic about the amount of practise I would be able to get in once I had Caleb. After all, how hard can it be, having a newborn? They sleep all the time, I would have plenty of time to practise. I would probably have a week off when I had him and then I'd be back to it. And of course, THAT didn't happen. In fact, I don't think I played the piano for around three months, and then I started to have lessons again. We had to go over some of the stuff we had already covered because I hadn't practised in such a long time.
From just after Christmas until the exam, I upped my practise. I was practising every day anyway, but I started to practise for around two hours a day (when Caleb was sleeping). The couple of weeks before the exam I was practising more than that, as well as preparing for the aural element of the exam in the evening once Caleb was in bed and while Seth was revising for his exams. I think I had pretty much done as much as I could for the exam and it got to the point where the only thing left to do was to sit it and either I would play well, or I wouldn't, but either way, I would know that I had done everything I could.
The day of the exam was pretty good. Seth had the day off work so that he could come with me. He also got Caleb completely ready in the morning so that I could practise as much as I needed to before the exam. I felt quite calm in the morning but the more the day progressed, the more nervous I got! We left in pretty good time to get to Oxford Street. I am definitely not a last minute person and I would rather be half an hour early than on time. As it happens, we were 40 minutes early, but that was fine.
The venue of the exam was pretty cool, it was in a music shop. Downstairs is used as a venue for concerts and exams. The exam was..... well, I guess it could have gone worse, but it could have been better. Me, being me, I was very nervous and I think it came across in my playing, I made a couple of mistakes that I don't usually make. I was very grateful for a nice examiner who was quite friendly, so that helped me to relax a tiny bit!
I am so glad the exam is over with now. Straight after it, I thought I would feel really relieved that it was over with. I don't know how I felt. I guess, in a way, it was a bit of an anticlimax. I had worked so hard for so long for this, and it was over with in half an hour. Of course, I was glad that it was over with, but it was still a pretty strange feeling. It's such a novelty to be able to play anything I want to now without it having to be those three exam pieces which I have been playing forever.
The results should be coming out in a couple of weeks, so I guess we shall see how it all goes! Either way, at least I did everything I could, so time will tell!
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Mum!
Mum has been down to see us a couple of times over the last couple of weeks. She has been coming down on Thursday, staying over and playing with us on Friday then going home on Friday evening. It's so lovely to have her here with us but one of the main reasons she has been coming is so that I can have a piano lesson. Since Caleb has been born, I have only had one lesson with him there with me and he was impeccably behaved. However, as much as I love him, it's easier for me if I don't have him there because I can't predict what mood he might be in and he may end up spending the whole time screaming. I try to arrange lessons on a Saturday but Mum and Laura are both really supportive and when they have come down recently, they have looked after Caleb so that I could have a lesson. Of course, they also don't mind because they love Caleb and love any excuse to be able to spend time with him.
Mum has been amazing though. She is always there and comes to see us whenever I ask her to. She has been knitting like crazy and Caleb has some gorgeous little jumpers and cardigans to show for it. Caleb absolutely adores her and is always full of smiles when he sees her. Even at the grand old age of 73 ( I can say that because she really doesn't care who knows! But then, if I look as good at her age as she does, I wouldnt care either!!), she still gets down on the floor to play with him. It's also great when she comes down because she really doesn't mind changing his dirty nappies and if she is more than willing, it would just be rude of me not to let her do it. Who am I to deprive her of that joy?! On Thursday nights, Seth gets home earlier than usual so when Mum is here, she looks after Caleb so that we can go out. A couple of weeks ago we went to see Les Mis (the film - I loved it!) and the week after when she was down, we were able to go out for a lovely Valentine's dinner. I am so grateful to her for always being there whenever we need her and for being a pretty great Mum and Grandma!
Mum has been amazing though. She is always there and comes to see us whenever I ask her to. She has been knitting like crazy and Caleb has some gorgeous little jumpers and cardigans to show for it. Caleb absolutely adores her and is always full of smiles when he sees her. Even at the grand old age of 73 ( I can say that because she really doesn't care who knows! But then, if I look as good at her age as she does, I wouldnt care either!!), she still gets down on the floor to play with him. It's also great when she comes down because she really doesn't mind changing his dirty nappies and if she is more than willing, it would just be rude of me not to let her do it. Who am I to deprive her of that joy?! On Thursday nights, Seth gets home earlier than usual so when Mum is here, she looks after Caleb so that we can go out. A couple of weeks ago we went to see Les Mis (the film - I loved it!) and the week after when she was down, we were able to go out for a lovely Valentine's dinner. I am so grateful to her for always being there whenever we need her and for being a pretty great Mum and Grandma!
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Sunday, 17 February 2013
pi-a, pi-a, piano
Guess what? I have a piano! Exciting isn't it? I had been trying to make do with practising on our keyboard for quite some time, but was finding it very difficult, firstly, because it doesn't really feel or sound like a piano and secondly, because I was missing a lot of the notes that I needed as it isn't full size. A few weeks ago I came home from a piano lesson feeling a little down and I complained to Seth about how hard it is trying to practise on a keyboard all the time. His response is that I should get a piano! I was pretty excited about it and began my search on ebay for pianos. I missed out on quite a few of the ones which I like, which at first, I was gutted about. Then, Seth and I decided that we should probably measure the width of the stairway going up the stairs to our flat to see if a piano would actually fit. It turns out that it wouldn't. How grateful were we that we were unsuccessful in getting any of the pianos I had bid for?! So we have opted for a digital piano instead, a yamaha clavinova. I love it and it is so nice to be able to properly practise in my own home!
I tend to practise the piano when Caleb is having his morning nap. He sleeps for a couple of hours, I play for a couple of hours. It works quite well for the both of us! However, a couple of days ago, he decided that he didn't want to sleep, so I had him in with me, playing in his bouncy chair as I practised. He doesn't mind me playing at all, in fact, he really loves music so he was more than happy to listen. Even when I am playing loudly, he still doesn't seem to mind. I was pretty surprised that day when I was playing and at a particular part of the piece, he started crying. Not that it's unusual for him to cry in any way, but he actually started crying at that part of the music. (It was a glissando, where you run your finger up the keys). His eyes opened really wide, his little face crumpled up and he sobbed. Obviously, I stopped playing to comfort him and to make sure he was okay. A few days later he was with me once again when I was practising the same piece of music. Now, don't judge me for being a bad parent or anything, but I coudn't help but wonder if it was a one-off that that particular part of the music had made him cry, so I tried it again. And got the same reaction. I then thought, when I played the piece of music again, that when it came to that part, instead of playing it, I would just run my finger along the keys without actually playing it so that there would be no sound at all. I couldn't believe it when Caleb started crying in the run up to the glissando! My boy is a musical genius! He even knew when it was coming, I'm so proud. I think he was really just trying to tell me that I was doing it wrong and he wanted to show me how it should be done.
I tend to practise the piano when Caleb is having his morning nap. He sleeps for a couple of hours, I play for a couple of hours. It works quite well for the both of us! However, a couple of days ago, he decided that he didn't want to sleep, so I had him in with me, playing in his bouncy chair as I practised. He doesn't mind me playing at all, in fact, he really loves music so he was more than happy to listen. Even when I am playing loudly, he still doesn't seem to mind. I was pretty surprised that day when I was playing and at a particular part of the piece, he started crying. Not that it's unusual for him to cry in any way, but he actually started crying at that part of the music. (It was a glissando, where you run your finger up the keys). His eyes opened really wide, his little face crumpled up and he sobbed. Obviously, I stopped playing to comfort him and to make sure he was okay. A few days later he was with me once again when I was practising the same piece of music. Now, don't judge me for being a bad parent or anything, but I coudn't help but wonder if it was a one-off that that particular part of the music had made him cry, so I tried it again. And got the same reaction. I then thought, when I played the piece of music again, that when it came to that part, instead of playing it, I would just run my finger along the keys without actually playing it so that there would be no sound at all. I couldn't believe it when Caleb started crying in the run up to the glissando! My boy is a musical genius! He even knew when it was coming, I'm so proud. I think he was really just trying to tell me that I was doing it wrong and he wanted to show me how it should be done.
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