Daddy and son time

I always love seeing my boys together. They love spending time with each other and weekends are really so precious. During the week Seth leaves for work at 7am before Caleb is up and for the most part by the time he gets home, Caleb is already in bed. Seth gets to see him every day though as we always go in and check on him before we go to bed (when I say "check on him", he's always fine, it's really just an opportunity for us to go and stare at our beautiful boy!). For Caleb however, he has to wait until the weekends to hang out with his Daddy! He loves the weekends, I love seeing his little face when Seth walks into his room on a Saturday morning, he gets so excited and jumps up and down in his cot. He has so much fun with his Daddy, there is always plenty of laughter whenever they are together.

Home Improvements

I feel like I've not updated on here for a little while. It seems we have had a fair bit going on in Casa Manning, so let me get you up to speed, in case you want to know what has been happening in our little lives.

Seth had two weeks off work in August. I had been looking forward to this for ages, firstly because obviously, he would be at home with us and secondly, we would be doing some work on our little home. I'll give you the background story that let up to this point, as I know you're dying to know.... or not.... Anyway, when I was pregnant with Caleb (4 days overdue in fact), we were given notice on the property that we were renting and we had to move out in two months as the landlord had decided to sell it. I went into labour that evening, I'm not sure if it was related or not! At the stage when most Mums want to be nesting, I was instead stressing with the thought of packing up boxes having just had a baby. Seth and I decided that we would buy our next home as ironically, it worked out to be a lot cheaper than renting. And so we moved in to our first bought property in October. Where we live, we can get into central London within 20 minutes by train and so I'm sure you can imagine, it's really not the cheapest area of the country to be living in! This meant that our first bought home isn't what I would necessarily have wanted. I of course, wanted a place where we could move in and it would be beautiful, nothing would need to be done to it at all and I would love it. Very unrealistic, I know, but I could dream! We had to buy what we could afford, especially as we knew that I wouldn't be going back to work. There were quite a lot of things that needed to be done to our home, the hallway was completely ugly with old, stained carpet and dirty, peeling wallpaper. It sounds so glamorous, doesn't it?! In the lounge there was a tiled fireplace with a fairly old and really not at all to my taste fire in it. I knew that that was one of the things that definitely had to be on the top of our priority list of things to be sorted, especially as I have had a mirror standing in front of it since we moved in to try and disguise the ugliness!

During the first week of Seth's holiday he spent 3 days at a boys church camp. While Seth was gone, once Caleb was in bed my task was to strip the wallpaper from the chimney breast in the lounge and in the hallway. You wouldn't think it would be that big of a task really, would you? I knew it would be messy and I was fine with that but I didn't realise it would take SO LONG! The chimney breast didn't take long at all as the wallpaper hadn't been up for all that long but the hallway took what seemed like forever, even with a steamer. There were 3 layers of wallpaper and the top layer had been painted a few times. The underneath layer I'm sure was from the 1950s! It really wasn't easy to get off, I definitely had my work cut out for me! I more or less managed to get it done by the time Seth got back, so I was pretty pleased with my efforts.

The next week was so busy, Seth took out the fireplace, a plasterer came in to plaster over the chimney breast, Seth laid some laminate flooring which had to be replaced in the lounge, re-wallpapered the chimney breast and painted the hallway and I painted the doorways.

 

 

Seth did a lot of this during the day time while I was out with Caleb and in the evenings we would work on it together. It was so nice being in the hallway together, just chatting away. Seth reminded me that the floor didn't need to be filled as I seemed to be getting more filler on the floor than in the holes on the wall. We laughed a lot about it and for some stupid reason, even though I have never filled holes before, I managed to keep choosing the biggest and most awkward ones. I had to keep getting Seth to fix up my mess each time! One evening we were working on the hallway until 3.30am, but it was so much fun. At some stage in the process of me trying to paint doorways, I managed to lean on one of the freshly painted walls. Epic fail.

 

 

 

 

The lounge is finished now aside from just a couple of minor things and the hallway has been a bit of a work in progress. We didn't manage to get everything done while Seth was off so he has been laying the laminate in the hallway in the evenings when he gets home from work. Once the skirting boards are on in the hallway, that will be done too. I'm really pleased with how it looks, we chose (I chose) a grey paint and I love it! We have other things that we want to get done eventually but it's quite satisfying to be able to see what we have done and the improvement that has been made. I'm going to be doing a photo wall on one of the walls so once I have done that I will post a picture so you can see it in all its glory :).

Going back in time

Last week, Seth was running a young mens camp for our church and so it was just Caleb and I in the house for a couple of days. On the Thursday, Lins, Sam and Caitlin came down to see us. I always love catching up with my family. I know I get to see Mum and Laura quite a bit but I don't see Lin and her family as much. We are a really close family and I miss living close to them and seeing them a lot so any time I get to see them is a novelty! Sam and Caitlin were so excited to see Caleb and to see the progress he has made, he changes so quickly!

The main reason for Lins and the kids coming down is so that we could all go and visit our old haunts. You see, I actually spent the first 8 years of my life living only about half an hour away from where I currently live. You would think that being as though it is so close I would have gone back to visit and have a look around, and yet I've not done it. I don't really know why I've not got around to it, it's one of those things I've been meaning to do. We were pretty excited about being able to do it with Sam and Caitlin. The first port of call was going to the home where my family lived before Laura and I were born. Lin told us stories of when she used to live there and the mischief that she got up to! Sam and Cait were entertained by it all and enjoyed climbing in the trees that Lin used to play in.

The next stop was Lesnes abbey ruins. The abbey dates back to 1178, so it's pretty old! I was really excited to be there again, as Lins would often take Laura and I there when  we were younger and we would have fun playing and climbing all over the ruins (yeah, we weren't meant to do that, but they were just so inviting, what child could resist?!). Sam and Caitlin kept up the tradition and spent a while playing while Lins and I chatted and Caleb entertained himself with a bottle of water!

 

 

 

 

 

We went to visit our old school and as luck would have it, it was open! Workmen were there painting it so we went in to have a look around. Lins and I commented on how it hadn't changed at all since we were there, which was 23 years ago for me and slightly more for Lin! There were some small modernisations but other than that it was pretty much the same. Being back in that school, it felt like no time had passed at all, it was very strange being back in there but also a lot of fun to revisit it.

 

 

 

 

When we left the school we went to visit our old houses and went to the park in the local village where we lived. It is so much cooler than when we lived there, the park is huge and there are so many fun things to play on. I may have played on a couple of things. I'm not saying that I did, just that it is possible......

 

 

I had so much fun being with my lovely family and taking a trip back down memory lane. I had such a great childhood and it was really nice to be able to share it with Sam, Cait and my own child!

Why I wouldn't want to know

If you have particularly strong views on finding out the sex of a baby, then you might not want to read this in case I say something which unintentionally causes offense. But if you're just curious to find out my take on it, then read on!

Before I got pregnant with Caleb, I didn't really have that much of an opinion either way when it came to people finding out the sex of their babies. I had spoken to people who had and hadn't found out and I could see the reasons behind both. Some people say that they like the surprise throughout the pregnancy and it keeps them going through labour, while others say that the fact you get a baby at the end of it all is reward enough.

When I fell pregnant with Caleb, I knew that I didn't want to find out the sex (I'm a bit of a hypocrite, I must say because despite me not wanting to find out, whenever friends were pregnant, I always wanted to know what they were having!). Seth did, but I won that argument! (ha, not that it was an argument, I pretty much just said that I didn't want to find out, he put forth all of the reasons why it would be a good idea, I said I still didn't want to find out and alas, we didn't!). During the pregnancy when people asked me if I wanted a boy or girl, I just said that I wanted the baby to be healthy. I think deep down I was probably leaning towards wanting a girl. I only have sisters and I could just see me being a mum to a baby girl. I kind of thought that I might have a boy though. Not based on anything to do with how I was feeling, but 2 of Seth's older brothers have 2 boys each and so I just thought that we might follow that pattern! The second Caleb was born and I found out he was a boy, all of a sudden I wanted a boy all along and all thoughts of a girl went completely out of my head!

I recently read an article about a woman who had been told that she was having a girl, spent £3000 on pink clothing and everything girly, only to then give birth to a boy. I told Seth about it this evening and said that this is one of the reasons why I wouldn't want to find out. I know that scans are pretty accurate and everything but there are times when they (or the sonographer) are wrong! If I were in that woman's situation, I wonder how easy I would find it to then bond with the baby after thinking that I was having a girl for all that time. I wouldn't want to have prepared myself for a certain sex if then I end up having the opposite. You may completely disagree with me and say that it wouldn't be a big deal at all and you would love that baby regardless. And of course, I would. It may be that I would have no issues in bonding with the baby at all.

I remember all of the feelings when I had Caleb. I was quite ill for a while after I had him due to it not being a straightforward labour and delivery, etc, etc. In hindsight, I think I probably suffered from postnatal depression and I hate to say it, but as much as I did love him and as much as I love him now, I didn't really feel particularly connected to him. It felt like he was someone else's baby and I was just trying (and what felt like failing miserably) to look after him. I think it probably took a couple of months before I started to really feel a bond with my boy, once I had started to recover. Now, I'm not saying that a mix up in the sex of the baby would cause me to have postnatal depression, but in my mind, I would want to try and minimise the chances and not find out, just in case it would be a contributing factor. I kind of sound like I'm talking it up, having postnatal depression in subsequent pregnancies, don't I?! I definitely want more children and hopefully all would go swimmingly, but would I find out what I am having with the next baby? I'll keep it a surprise, thanks!

Being pregnant

As I just typed the title of this, it made me wonder how many people will click on this and read it because they think I am in the family way again? My Mum would probably have a heart attack if she read the title and thought I was announcing a pregnancy on here without telling her about it first, so just to set the record straight, no I am not pregnant! Now that that's clear, I shall continue with my tale.....

When I was out shopping the other day, I was walking behind a woman who was walking really slowly and awkwardly. From the way she was walking, I thought that she was probably pregnant and quite far on in her pregnancy. When she turned, she had a tiny bump, hardly anything at all, even though she was walking like she was about to give birth. It made me think back to before I was pregnant. When I would see women walking like that, I vowed to myself that I would never adopt the pregnant waddle. It seemed like some women seemed to enjoy walking like that as another way of showing the world that they are pregnant, aside from their bumps, of course. (How many of you are hating me now for confessing to thinking that?!)

Then when I was pregnant with Caleb, I realised. It wasn't as bad early on in the pregnancy but from about 30 weeks onwards, it kicked in. Walking was agony; my hips and pelvis felt like they were on fire and I had never known pain like it, along with painful ribs from where they were expanding to make room for the baby. But the walking part and the pain associated with it was the most difficult. I had heard people talking about pregnancy aches and pains and I hadn't really thought that much about it, but I didn't know how painful it could be. I remember having to stand up from my desk to go and get something from a filing cabinet for one of the students and I was literally holding on to furniture as I walked over to the filing cabinet because the pain was so bad. I tried to play it down but I didn't do a great job with that, as my lovely colleague, Kerstin then started to bring me anything I needed so that I wouldn't have to get up. I don't know if I had it, but there is something called symphysis pubis dysfunction, which one in four women suffer from in pregnancy. It basically makes walking and moving around agony. For the most part, I did still try to walk as normally as possible but sometimes it was enough of an issue to manage walking in the first place and so in those moments, I didn't really care how I looked when I was walking, just the fact that I could get from A to B was a victory! When I was pregnant, I never wanted to complain about aches and pains of pregnancy because I knew that it was a blessing to be pregnant in the first place and if you're reading this, I'm not whinging about it now (well, maybe a little, but that's not my intention!). But looking at that pregnant girl walking along in the mall made me realise how much my view of things have changed since being pregnant and having Caleb. We've all heard the saying, "don't judge a person until you've walked a mile in their shoes". Well, I walked the mile when I was pregnant and I have learned my lesson on judging the pregnant waddles! Instead of thinking about how she was walking I found myself wondering how far along she was and if she was suffering with any pains. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't enjoy having those pains, it was a rite of passage that I think I could have happily lived without but in a small way I am glad for them because now at least I feel like I have some sort of an idea of what some people go through. Lesson learnt!

When I was 38 weeks pregnant.

One

A couple of Saturdays ago it was Caleb's first Birthday. On the Friday it was a year to the day that I had him, and I texted Seth at exactly 1.44pm to remind him of this fact, as it was exactly the time that Caleb was born. I have to say, I had very mixed feelings about the whole thing! I am obviously so excited to see my little boy grow. He has changed so much in the last year, from a tiny 6 pound 2oz baby to a little boy who has his own little personality. He makes me laugh every day with his chatter and he knows when he is being funny, I love him. Every day he seems to be learning more and more things and I love being able to watch it all as it happens. He is all over the house now, opening cupboard doors and drawers and emptying them of their contents, attempting to climb up on furniture and when I am washing up, he will come over, grab onto the back of my legs and pull himself up.

However, a part of me misses my tiny baby boy. A year ago on the Monday was my due date. This was when Seth decided to buy some face paints on the way home from work and paint my bump in honour of the upcoming Olympics.

On the Thursday afternoon, I felt little twinges that turned into contractions. When I got into hospital, they then debated over whether to give me a c-section as Caleb's heart rate kept dropping and they weren't sure whether they should just get him out as soon as possible, but then his heart rate would pick up again. I have to say, I felt a little bit emotional as the memories came flooding back. This is what having a baby has done to me, I never used to be this soft! I remember the few weeks that followed as well, being excited, happy, exhausted and overwhelmed and wondering why no one had given me a heads up that motherhood is so HARD!

I guess it's kind of hard to explain how I am feeling about Caleb growing up really. Everyone had said to me to treasure every moment because it passes by so quickly and when he was first born, I don't think I really appreciated just how quickly the time would go by! Every time I see a tiny baby now it reminds me that Caleb isn't small anymore and that he's getting older! Just last week, I held him in my arms and rocked him to sleep and when I looked at our reflection in the mirror, I could hardly believe how much he had grown in what seems to be a day. But, to sum it all up, a year ago had a beautiful tiny little baby who has now grown into a beautiful bigger baby boy! I don't know at what stage I should actually stop referring to him as my baby but for now, I'm sticking with it and keeping it around for as long as I can!

Farewell and Birthday Celebrations

Last weekend, Seth, Caleb and I headed to Norwich. It was my niece, Jess's last weekend at home before leaving on the Monday for her mission and she was having a farewell shindig on the Saturday night. We kind of crashed it (actually, my sister Lin offered) and turned it into a joint thing to celebrate Caleb's birthday as well. I was really pleased when she suggested it as the thought had crossed my mind that it would be lovely to celebrate his Birthday being as though all of the family would be together in the one place! It meant celebrating his Birthday a week earlier but I was fairly sure that he wouldn't mind too much.

The family get together wasn't until Saturday evening so Mum, Laura, Seth, Caleb and I played in the daytime. It was another gorgeous day (I am loving the hot weather that we have been blessed with recently! Not loving the permanent glowing quite so much though!) and so we decided to go to Wroxham Barns. It's a lovely place with various craft shops, gift shops and cafes.

 

 

 

 

 

We just wandered around the shops, ate ice cream (which Caleb loved!) and played in the park. When I say that we played, you may well think that I mean we played with Caleb in the park but no, we were mainly playing ourselves. We're real grown ups like that. We attempted pull ups on the pull up bars, which Seth could do with no problems at all; for Laura and I it was a bit of a failure! I did however manage to do a forward roll on the bar though so I was happy with that. It may have taken a couple of attempts but I did get a round of applause from people at the nearby picnic bench which made it all worthwhile!

 

  

 

 

We also had races on the swings. I think Seth won that as well. Lest you think we left Caleb out completely, he also had his turn on the swings and loved it. It always takes him a while to get used to it but once he gets into it, he loves it.

 

We headed over to Lin's in the evening for the family gathering. It was so lovely to have everyone there, including my nephew Jamie and his new wife, Lauren. She's a lovely girl and she fits in perfectly with the family. Although Jess loved having all of the family together, she didn't really like the attention and kept a fairly low profile, unlike Caleb who was loving all of the attention! He was given some lovely presents from everyone, he's a very lucky boy! The evening consisted of lots of food, chatting and playing, it was a lot of fun being with everyone, as it always is!

 

A lovely picture of all the family, even if it is a bit blurry!

On Sunday at church, Jess gave a talk in the church meeting on why she had decided to serve a mission. As I looked at her, it seemed hard to believe that she was the little girl who we used to look after and run around after, she is a proper grown up now! It seems strange that I won't see her for 18 months, although there will be letters and emails but our loss is definitely Salt Lake City's gain.