Wednesday 22 October 2008

Can toddlers really make up names for toys !??

My daughter astounds me !!

This is no great shakes to people that know me, I am astounded by the things she does everyday, she is learning colours, new words dailly, and can count to 10, ( though the concept of 1 - 10 she hasn't grasped yet !! )

At the age of about 11 months she named one of her dolls Nidan Naden, why I can not tell you, i have no idea....... The name is nothing like any other bname she knows, or watches on the telly, if fact she gets bored of telly really easily !!

Now she has named a toy pig that she has in the bath !! Kinga !!! Why Kinga !!! again this is nothing like any name she has heard, or seen !! I thought a toddlers concpets of imagination are not supposed to be that developed by 17 months??

keep going Darcy , keep learning, put yer dad to shame in the clever stakes, be as clever as you can, learn as much and as fast as you can, !

Gas and 'Leccy bills ! Ouch

Tell me how can the Gas and Electricity companies JUSTIFY a price rise of 30 % ( gas ) and 20% ( electricity ),
If the companies had said, sorry, well times are hard bills are going up in line with inflation, or sorry we are having to buy more russian gas etc , well ok !! but that is the problem there is no sorry !! about it, a lack of competition, and the fact that we all need gas and electricity to get by, means their cartell can get away with crazy price increases.

Now petrol prices are dropping like a stone in a river, and the credit crunch as biting, ( and the government cancelling the winter payments to old people for heating in britain, surely it is time to follow suit , and cut prices !

1st frost this morning, it's getting c.c.c.cccold !! hahaha

Tuesday 21 October 2008

Clocks are going back !

Yep it is that time of year again , when the clocks go back an hour, WHY do we persist in this arcaik tradition.... after 3 weeks it is dark in the evening anyway, sureley it is time ( no pun intended ) to stop this, ??

Please !

Mr. Men are 35 !!

Did anyone else realise this, or is it just me ??
Mr. Men are 35 yrs old !!

My daughter LOVES them, and can name all the characters on the back of the book !! this is pretty amazing as she is still only 16 months !!

We have managed to get her the complete dvd mr men for xmas, so i hope she doesn;t grow out of them soon !!

The funniest is Mr. Jelly, to which Darcy says , "Wobble wobble wobble " !!

haha very good !!

Daddy do it ?? !!

For the first time in 3 weeks, on Sunday, Darcy actually said " Daddy do it "

For the last 3 weeks, all we have heard is " No Mammy, " " mammy do it "

Is this a turning point in the mother clingyness thing ??

Only time will tell !!

Weight loss update

9lbs !!

That's it in just over 4 weeks, ( says jumping for joy !! )

We'll get to a stone, and re-evaluate i think, perhaps a little more, see how healthy i feel !!

Friday 17 October 2008

The Story of the Fairy, and the chocolate cake !

Yesterdays was Darcy's dressing up party of non Halloween theme, fancy dress party at playschool ! ( well it is run in a school )

She went as a fairy, which was great until toast time, which was not taost time, if it had have been toast time, things would have been ok !! but they substiteuted toast for chocolate cake !! Darcy has never had chocolate cake , so this was to be a new experience ! As with all toddlers, they like to pick things up and feel them, so darcy did that to the cake, squashing it in her hand.... then of course because it was oozing everywhere, it is hard to get ooze into your mouth ? !! so she tried to smear it, over her face !! I wish i had a picture, but the image is not pretty !! no the state of the dress !!

( how many times can you mention toast in a blog )

Tuesday 14 October 2008

The sweet sounds of Marvin Gaye !

When ever I reach for a Cd to play , Somehow I always keep overlooking Marvin !!

Why, I guess because it is always too fashionable to reach for something new and untried, or something in the charts !

But the truth is that Marvin Gaye is like putting on a comfy pair of slippers !! only One size suits all !!, and never fails to impress.

when i was a kid i hated Motown, but as I get older i love Motown, there is something that is soothing, yet the lyrics mean SOMETHING ! I am writing blogs in work at 7.50, with Mr Gaye on the cd player, it doesn't come much better sometimes ...

By the way " you are everything is the current track " classic !

Go dust off some Motown !!

Monday 13 October 2008

M.M.R jab

3 little letters that have not struck me with fear, until now !!

I do not pretend to know very much about this subject but,I have always thought that this was essential for Darcy, my sister had measles very badly as a child, and I know someone else who went deaf through having measles, so I figure that the MMR is a good thing , right??

The only study ( i think ) in the U.K was only done on about 100 people, and there were a lot of other factors involved in the case, but there is now another ground swell of anti- MMR in America, Thanks for this as Darcy was due to have it tomorrow, ( 3 months late, due to her surgery , and then 3 colds on the trot !! )

All I want to do is the best by my daughter, the choices we make can have the biggest impacts possible on her life, If we give it her, and she suffers from Autism, I would not forgive myself..... But if I did not give it her, and she lost her hearing , after having measles ( which is now on the increase in Britain) I again, would not forgive myself !!

This is another fork in the parenting road !!

NO !!

Darcy's latest and favourite word of the moment !!

though she can say Elephant, and "temture" (Temperature) ( a word she picked up from having her temperature taken in hospital last week , so many times ) her best word at present is definatley "No" !

Yesterday she reversed the " are you a baby? " answer "NO" " a big girl" to :-
" are you a big girl ? " answer " No" " a baby " to which we said, " Are you a baby ? " and she said, "No " " a big girl " !!!!

You really can not win sometimes !!

I WAS THERE !!

One of those momentous occasions, that as a father , or parent, you pray you are there for,

Darcy took her first unaided steps, and walked across the room !!
What a day, Jayne had been practising for about a week, and Darcy was taking a couple of steps, but yesterday Jayne called her, from the other side of the room, and she just , well, walked !! How great is that !!

Darcy still prefers to walk holding one of our hands, but hoepfully she will be off and walking soon !!

Pleased as punch !

If only we had had the weather this summer that we have had this weekend ? !!

WOW !!

What weather, We managed to get upto the country park twice this weekend !! the sun was out, making it a very nice Autumn weekend !!
We even remembered to take the bread for the ducks, though Darcy has to perfect her throwing arm yet, it is more of a " UR " and drop, but there is something to work with I think !!
Good to get a bit of excercise also time has been pressed recently !

Darcy is wowing the crowds wherever she goes, at the moment, she has got her first pair of shoes, which have a squeaker in each heel, so you can't miss her, when she walks by !!

Friday 10 October 2008

Babies rule the world !

We are slowly... I think ... getting Darcy to sleep in her own bed, some nights she'll sleep right through, some nights like last night, she will wake at 2 am and stand and shout to come in with us. When we do move her in , she spreads out though !!! Jayne and I have minimal duvet and sleep on the bed edges, and often you wake to find Darcy sleeping sideways, or with her arms behind her head !! Guess who is the one in charge eh??

Thursday 9 October 2008

Baby?? or a Big Girl ??

Jayne was asking Darcy last night .... " are you a baby??? "
Darcy was saying ... " No"
so jayne said ... " what are you then ? "
Darcy said " a big girl"

Hahaha, where she learnt that i do not know !!

though she knows which is the on/off switch, and play buttons are on the dvd !!!! watch out Fireman Sam, and squeaky the mouse episode will be on loop now !!!

Wednesday 8 October 2008

Singapore Sling ??

I'm sure this is what Jayne felt like last nite, instead of the sling, and bandage after her hand surgery yesterday!

And of course Darcy thought it was great !! She loves sleeves, on jumpers, coats , you name 'em, she loves sleeves, so when Jayne got home last nite, there was much pointing, and shouting "Biiig sleeve !!"

Darcy is just as clingy though which is going to proove tricky though , as jayne can nt carry darcy for a week or so, because of the stitches.

Tuesday 7 October 2008

Weight Loss

This is something that I have been trying to do , for a long time, going back to my myspace days... and also i was weighed recently at 16 st. 7 !! more than i thought, but i'm 192cm high ,

Ever since turning 30, and also having Darcy i have had a stronger feeling of my own mortality, so when the doctor said i should lose some weight, i agreed and now i am attempting to do something about it, though having a 16 month old, excercise is very hard to fit in, plus i travel 2 1/2 hours a day to work and back.

So i am 3 weeks into the diet, a daily meal plan for example consists of..

breakfast = 1 + half bowls of cereal
snack = low fat yoghurt, + 2 carrots
lunch small tin of spaghetti hoops, and 4 rivetta with 2 triangles of laughing cow cheese, and a glass of fresh orange juice.
snack = fruit
dinner = normal meal, followed by yoghurt.

But do not eat after 8pm...

sounds simple, but by doing this for 3 weeks, i have lost 7 lbs !! i aim for 1 stone and see how i feel ! i do feel better already, and look slightly trimmer.

onwards and upwards !!

Clingy !!

Ever since Darcy was in hospital last week, She has gone really clingy to Jayne, I guess this is a reaction, to the hospital visit, it isn't that she is "anti-daddy" , just very "pro" mum !!

Apparantly this could be just a stage she is going through.... but it is still a little hurtful..

No matter what i do, or amount of time I spend with darcy, she still prefers time with mum... deep down I know it is a phase, but when she screams for mum, and then as soon as jayne hugs her, she is smiles again, this does hurt a little !!

Wednesday 1 October 2008

Hospital drama , and what do you mean the ambulance has broken down!!

The calm after the storm today !

Monday nite, Darcy's temperature rose to 39.7 oC ! after Calpol, and a luke warm bath we got it back to 37oC, but it rose to 40oC by 9pm, we got onto NHS Direct and they sent for a Paramedic, and Ambulance, which because of Darcy's age, wanted to send Darcy to hospital for a check up, well the ambulance went to pull off, and it broke down !! apparantly it was midnite when it was collected by a pick up !!

It took about an hour to get a second ambulance, and get to the hospital , where darcy was refered to the childrens ward , and finally given a room , the last one else she would have been on a ward of 4 !! i managed to stay over as well, thankfully !

After 5 blood tests had come back mostly clear, finally after a chest x-ray they discovered darcy had a chest infection, and was given anti-biotics ! Jayne and I now have colds though !!

we finally got home around 7pm on tuesday, what a day !!

The main thing was though that the hospital staff were brilliant, and darcy is on the mend !!

No more scares though please, Darcy !!

Monday 29 September 2008

New Shoes ??

After the Mumbles we thought we would try and get Darcy some shoes !! she will walk, holding our hand, but not quite on her own, which means that she is between pre- walk shoes, and "proper" shoes,

But trying to get her to agree to have her feet measured, WELL, you would have thought the shop woman was going to chop her leg off !! screamed !! after much pushing, holding , and cajoling, we managed to get them measured !!

Darcy you just need to walk unaided now !! no pressure haha

David Gilmour last Friday

Jayne was good to me on Friday..

Whilst she bathed, and ironed some clothes, i managed to watch most of the David Gilmour programs on BBC4 !! The Live In Gdansk concert is trully amazing, i do not rate live performances on cd, bar Pulse by Pink Floyd and this one, how a live recording can sound like a studio recording is beyond me !!??

Even if you only like Pink Floyd, a little, buy this !!

Sun , Sand, Seagull. Fish ?? No fish ?? Naise will do then !! or is that worms ??

Usual story, as parents you try to organise a day out, and then, you sleep in ... well slightly .. and that throws the plans out .

We had planned to go to Swansea, Mumbles on saturday, but got up after 9, instead of the planned 8 !! usually the road to Mumbles is clogged by mid morning, so when we left at 10.15, we held little hope ! but too our surprise, very few people had decided to go, which is a surprise because the weather proved to be about the best day of the year, ( yes a days respite in the rain we have had for months now !!)

we got there and made our way to a restaurant for dinner, nice italian, overlooking the Bay, though the tide was out, and had , as usual great food !! Darcy loves Bolognaise, so we ordered her a child portion, but of course trying to eat spaghetti when you do not have many teeth, and only basic fork skills, is a challenge !! she did look like a baby bird sucking worms !!

Next we strolled to the end of the headland, and the pier to where I knew there was a small beach, though Jayne didn't believe me, but it was there, and we sat for over an hour, darcy trying to understand why people want to sit on yellow dust, let alone make castles ( which do not even look like castles ) out of the yellow dust !!

A great day, was had by all, even managed an Expresso, and darcy had strawberry icecream, and we managed to catch the sun !!

Car seat Capers.

We needed to get darcy a new car seat !! her legs are getting too long, though her overall height is good, and weight is gaining fast, so the time had come, to make the purchase...

Do you know how hard it is to get a car seat that will fit 2 different makes of car !!?? it is hard believe me !

I bet the poor woman who helped us, was sorry she ever asked " can i help you ? ""

after half hour or so, we got a seat that fitted,and darcy can now look forward , and strtch her legs out in comfort, Happy Days !!

Thursday 25 September 2008

Practising my words Dad .

Every night I put Darcy to bed, She has her milk, lies in my arms, and then we have to go through the same routine...

Darcy goes through all the words she knows, starting with the characters of Fireman Sam, then Bob the Builder, then Mr. Men, and then just her vocab, and if you do not repeat the words straight after her, she repeats the word until you say it with her. This usually lasts 15 mins or so, but for a 16 month old, she has an impressive vocab,

she'll soon be using sentences !

New Diet ?? why yes can you tell ?

The diet is working !

i will not say how much in a week and half, but it is good i think...

the secret of my success, to quote someone else......

drop the biscuits, drop the bread !!

introduce spaghetti hoops

eat a little more fruit, and eat breakfast !!

oh yeah! and do not eat after 9pm !!

easy ? well yes, it is just the commitment that is needed !!
SO the reason for such a gap in my correspondence??

Probably the fact that I have nearly had it with social web pages ! whether I bring too much expectation to the social table? Maybe I am willing to invest too much time and effort? Whether perhaps I expect others to put in, what I try to ?? It is a drug !

I am glad for the experience of social websites, I have met some fantastic people in many many far flung places, but however we look at it, someone commenting on your page is not a “friend” . real life interaction is needed, and perhaps this is what I have missed, For technology and work reasons, I had to stop using a very popular site, I am still bitter about that but in the great scheme of things, does it matter ?? well probably not. It is the letting go that is hard. “Hi my name is Gareth, and I am a social website-aholic. ! I am faced with the real decision of leaving my current site now, again I thought it would put a lot of traffic through to my blog, but no. I know this has been other peoples experience too, and again I say my reason for blogging is not the attention, but at the end of the day, everybody likes comments, and a little feedback , right?? That is just human nature ! To be able to through words out into the air, and letting them be caught by someone, somewhere, holds a little mystery.

I have known good people and shared experiences, who too have been become lost in the drug of these websites, some still blog, Jim thanks again for your experiences, and stories, others have given up their habit because they realised family is something stronger, than being on line all the time, I am reaching the end of my struggle I think, clarity is coming,

Blogging is different though I feel , this is something that I want to continue, whether those 4 subscribers, to my blog actually read it, I do not know.I think the expereince of blogging changes as you do it! what started out as a laugh, was also easy, suddenly things got serious, and the fun stopped, i guess it is keeping a happy balance, we shall see !!

for now i have a new template, we shall see whether there is a new blogging me !!

Tuesday 12 August 2008

1st steps

Darcy walked last night !!
Call in the trumpets, and the parade !!
Yep, it took nearly 15 months but we got there, with a aid of a trolley that she has learned to push, which is weighed down with a few wooden bricks to give it a bit of ballast !!

She just started pushing it, saying over and over " darcy push " "darcy push "
ans she walked the length of the lounge and back !! how very cool !!

Darcy we love you more than you will ever know !!!

, I am just glad that i was there to see it, as it happenend about an hour after I got home from work !! I would have been gutted to miss it !!

we need to buy some cupboard locks now !! and get the gate put up, that i have been meaning to do, as darcr climbed 1 step of the stairs last night !!! "ssssshhhh i have not told jayne yet !! "

Monday 11 August 2008

new words !!

this weekend has been full of new Darcy words..!!

We now have "climb" "knee" "tongue away"

It is getting to be the case where we have to be careful what we say in the house, as darcy has now got a near photographic hearing ability !!! she can repeats words at random, obviously a little more clever than first thought !!

new clutch, new eyes.

What with working with very small drawings at work my eyes are now hurting..

To compound this, the car was playing up seriously on Friday,

Ever just been driving along and you miss a gear ??

yep it happens i know...

but when all the gears start to stick, and rattling comes from the engine, and when reversing, sounds like stamping on gravel.... you kinda know that something is wrong !!

as it happens my clutch needed replacing, i managed to get 95,000 out of it, which is not too bad i suppose.. but the sting in the tail was the £300,
mind you i got a good deal, and got it fixed in the same day,

the car feels like a new car now, and the biting point is non existant, but in a way this is good, as it causes me to drive a little slower,

it is all good ..

Wednesday 6 August 2008

Can babies talk with dialects ??

The answer yes !

My daughter is learning the art of disguise, at the age of 14 months !!

Ok she is half welsh, the better half being english ( only joking jayne ! )
now she can say Ta, and Mam with a Very strong welsh accent
yet she can say Darcy, Daisy ( her favourite doll ) more like Dayy- si which sounds very Yorkshire
but she has discovered Bob the Builder on tv, and she she now shouts Baarb !! at the top of her voice which sounds very American !!

If she shouts Vod-ka with a russian accent next , I will panic !!

Friday 1 August 2008

Early to bed, early to rise !

Jayne, took her parents to see Mamma Mia the film last night .
I declined

I had charge of Darcy
she was great, but i stuffed up BIG time.
We read a book, watched some fish dvd, In the Night Garden too !!
Darcy was getting tired, so i bathed her, fed her milk, and she fell asleep ! great !

NO!!! not great, I had got the hours mixed up !
because darcy went to bed an hour early she was up at4am wanting to play.!, shouting "nose" "nose " "nose, and poking me on the nose !! to which I poked her back, finally she went back to sleep at 5.30, and i managed to get her back into her cot !!

phew !!

Wednesday 30 July 2008






This is a fish...

Yep you know that...

I wasn't asking you to guess or anything !!



This has taken the form of Darcy's new favourite book, it is a new era in our house...




the old favourite... Fuzzy Bee has been deposed ,
and replace by ANYTHING containing FISH
. The problem is that she also likes to eat fish, we dare not tell her that the fish on her plate, actually looks like .........
NO i must not go there, she will not eat it again !!
mind you at the the moment if if doesn't come with "taters" then it may not be eaten anyway !!

Tuesday 29 July 2008

Petrol goes down ? Are you sure

OOhh the heady days of saving money !! petrol fell by 4p this week !! like gullable sheep we in Britain are full of thanks to the great oil companies !! Since the price has risen 25p PER LITRE since christmas, 4p is not a great shake !! ( a start non the least )

We need to consider alternative sources of energy, if we are to escape the rising fuel costs, one provider put gas up 22% and electric 17% which is scanderlous, hitting the poorest the hardest,
I would consider solar power, if it was not so damn expensive, so the future is clear !!

We should all burn used nappies !! parents of Britain, NO, the world unite !! there is always a plentyfull supply, and lets face it they are organic, and a cheap source of fuel !! ok so the smell polution could be a little fierce, but hey ! it beats gas!!

Today is injection day in our household, SSSsshhhSh !! do not repeat this too loud, Darcy will be wriggling on to the floor, as soon as you can shout "FISH "

This weeks new words are " Taters " " Up " "Leg " and " Din Dins "

Go Darcy we will be having sentances soon !!

Wednesday 23 July 2008

Chickenpox... or is it ??

We had it confirmed yesterday Darcy has chickenpox !

The pharmacist did this ... not the doctor.. he wouldn't see her !! scared of catching it I reckon.... so i guess we wait for the itching and scratching, the camomille lotion is at hand !!

Monday 21 July 2008

Patios, plants and a jungle

I finished painting the fence, and it does look 100 times better !! cedar red or some other colour, it looks like a brand new fence, so i thought, ok, lets buy a climbing rose to cover the fence, so we went to look at some.

Do you know how many types of climbing rose there are !!!

mind you at the garden centre, when you see the staff going around deadheading, and taking the leaves ( a bucket full ) with rust, and black spot leaves, you start to panic !!

I need to tidy the patio though, the dahlia's are taking over I have about 10, but the patio is small , so not sure where they are going to go !

The jungle needs taming ! and with a 1 yr old daughter time is short !!

growing out of music

Today was a sad day !
I have a new cd player in the car, so i play my old cd's on the way to work, ( i have hundreds of cd's ) so many journeys will be covered !!

I love Peter Gabriel, and early Genesis, and i bought ( and forgot about ) the platinum collection of genesis hits, and today i realised that I can't listen to the later stuff, in the 80's & nineties, i loved Phil collins genesis, stuff, but now it seems like background music, this seems sad to me, because the songs do hold a lot of memories, it's just that i have moved so much from those days ! I still like the really early stuff, but I just can not listen to the later stuff, Sorry Phil, it is not personal !!

Always buy two !

Ever bought clothes, and then 6 months after realised that that item of clothing turns out to be your favourite piece of clothing, and they have now discontinued it, so you can't buy another ??

Well I have made this mistake with a t-shirt several years ago, and also with a pair of shoes, so yesterday when i tried on a top, and i have to say, it was good, i thought, well if I like it now, then the chances are in 6 months that I will still like it, so I may as well buy 2 now !

i guess now the only problem is in 6 months i may decide that i do not like it, and then i will be left with 2 of them !! Hahaha

Thank god the tops were in the sale !!

Thursday 17 July 2008

Depeche mode and babies

If i like a song, 9.99999 times out of 10 times I like it because of the tune, not the lyrics, that comes afterwards, and because the words are personal to the songwriter, it is hard to take a personal meaning on board for a song...



I have not been a great Depeche Mode fan, I always liked "Enjoy the Silence " though, and recently i bought the singles cd for £2 ( bargain ) if only for the above song !!!

Well the song above 's chorus is

" all i ever wanted"
" all i ever needed"
" Is here in my arms "
" words are very unnecessary"
" they can only do harm "

This is the feeling I have each nite, as I manage to get my daughter to go to sleep in my arms, with some milk, cos she is a very light sleeper, any slight noise will wake her !!

sometimes words just jump up and slap you in the face Eh?? !!

Depeche mode. door hinges, and fish dvd's

We are plagued at the moment, by the Hooray for Fish book and DVD, Darcy luurrrvvveess these SO much, so that if you do not put the dvd on fast enough, she will now shuffle over to the dvd player and starts pressing buttons, to try and get it to turn on ! although she will have it on loop.... watch it 2 or 3 times, then do something else, but if you try to switch the dvd off, then she starts shouting fish like crazy !!

I am thinking about buying finger guards for our doors, but this is costly and i do not want to make our doors look too unsightly, but on the other hand it will stop Darcy from touching the hinge, and either trapping her fingers, or getting covered in oil !!

Monday 14 July 2008

It's all teeth !!!

Darcy got 2 more teeth at the weekend !!

she proudly showed us last night !! fair play though , she didn't moan too much about it . just got us to play her Hooray for fish dvd

now watch the food bill go through the roof!!

Gas works !!

Last week the gas board,decided we nneded new pipes laying from the mains, so they ripped up part of the patio, and dug a couple of holes, in the yard,

Ok, if the work needs doing, well thats fair, but the dust, incovieniance, and small matter of the clematis (3) being ripped off a fence, was more than a little annoying !!

BUT... on the flip side, it has meant that instead i can paint the fence, which has not been done in over 4 years, and perhaps, we could get a rambling rose instead.?? decisions.....

The problem is the jungle, of Dahlia's, i thought what the hell i will plant about 8... thats eight pots, ... thats the patio covered, and now they are growing.... fast !! plus other new additions, the patio is looking like something from Jack and the Beanstalk !! i'm sure they will look better when they flower !!

Friday 11 July 2008

Plague House

Oh my, our house is the house of the sick !!

Jayne has caught a nasty bug, hopefully it is only for a day or two !!
Darcy was bad nappy rash and was having one of her " I want some attention mum" days, so this added to the pain !

Darcy had a good night though apart from waking at 5am, shouting for her favourite doll !!
after lifting her on to our bed with her doll, she settled down, i put her back in her cot, and she opened her eyes, and stared at me. so much for trying to creep out to work !

hopefully she will have a good night tonight ..

Thursday 10 July 2008

A Dilema

When you are a parent, how much nudging or persuading is acceptable?? This is the question, as a proud Sheffield Wednesday fan, i noticed , and been counting down the days till the new shirt is released (july 18th if Lotto can deliver ),

Last season I bought Darcypops her first Wednesday shirt, which ok she did not have much say in the matter, but now when i wear mine, she points and says owl !! "that's my girl "

But do i try to get her to follow the team of MY choice, or incourage her to follow her own, if football at all !! Nick Hornby wrote in Fever Pitch " when you choose your team, choose carefully, because you choose for life " so many kids are startled by the bright lights and lured into following the big 4/5 teams, it is time to show some originality, and individuality !!

So do I buy her the shirt ???

Then of course there is the question of, how old does your child have to be, to take them to their first match ????

Wednesday 9 July 2008

The journey thus far...

I started this page ages back, and the realisation of it from conception, to actually blogging has been tough, i used to blog over on a another social site, and i could blog everyday easily sometimes twice a day, now the words dry up a little, but slowly there is more focus growing and purpose, as I go through the journey that is fatherhood, and also life,

Fatherhood is a strange career, job, pasttime, i am not sure of the word for it, You just do it !! before it you can not imagine a life doing it, and when you are a father, you can not remember a life without it ! it just takes over, the trick is, ( which i am learning ) to not think about it too much, . if you analyse it, then you will never get anything done, .. go with the fatherhood flow. I am not saying everything has been , or will be , sweetness and light, but if you stopped to consider it, then you would not start again !!.

I need to push my worries behind me more, and concentrate more on the Darcy times. Enjoying the little things, are a lot more important, i work so miss out on so much more than if I stayed at home !! some say it is easier working, i am not being funny , but work is easy, compared to being a father, BUT the things you miss are staggering, compared to getting a quote, or sale done !!

Priorities in life are very important, this is something i have to get in order more,

......................................................................................................................................................................

I draw a line in the sand,

2am daisy !

I love Darcy....

Anyone who knows me, or reads this.....
will know that.

BUT when your daughter wakes in the morning shouting for her favourite doll at 2 am, it can be tested, then as soon as you have trudged downstairs, fetched, said doll, she throws it to one side, turns over, and goes back to sleep !! Ohh boy !!

time for the matchsticks today !!

Monday 7 July 2008

It is a generation thing !

My gran is horrified, that my sister has moved in with her boyfriend, she was not best pleased when my other sister bought a house with her then, boyfriend !! and is only coming around to the idea now they are getting married this Autumn..3 yrs on !
With my parents the things I did, when I was younger, I didn't get away with...... my older sister got away, with a little bit more, and my younger sister, gets away with even more,
Yes attitudes are changing with time, but the older generation takes change with difficulty, sometimes you may not like something, but if you do not accept it, then you lose it, walking on egg shells for a few months may be better than cutting all ties ... growing older can be hard sometimes !

Peeling back the layers

Sometimes it is hard to get to what really matters, we get bogged down in life's crap. and do not appreciate the simple things that much !
i get caught up too easily in the daily stress of life, and do not take the time to think about 1) how lucky I am 2) and also that life sometimes life isn't that bad, yes we all strive for something better, but sometimes what we have is pretty damn good ! we just have to open our eyes to see it.
My parents came down this weekend, I do not get to see them very often, and it was a great weekend, Darcy played with them all weekend and by the end of it she was even saying "pops" to my dad !! Plus he loved the fact that he could feed her, and she would also sit and listen whilst he read her books !!

i have had too much stress lately, over work, Darcy , my own health, money, etc etc etc the list grows, my mother told me this weekend, that her stress suddenly vanished when she turned 40, and that her father was the same ( Great only another 7 yrs to go then !!!)
Getting rid of the stress is the tricky bit ! how I will do this i am still learning, but it is something that has to be done, it is like, opening the blinds, or throwing off the covers, realising that things are not that bad, focus on the good, and get on with it !!
It is on going !

Friday 4 July 2008

Donkey

What do the donkeys on Blackpool beach have for dinner ???



An Hour... The same as they do in Skegness !!

Ohh yes the humour!!

But this is good for us....

Darcy shrieks with laughter because she thinks it is hilarious to offer somebody a toy, or book, then to pull it away at the last minute !!

Mind you , she thinks it funny to wake up at 4.30am when Jayne got to bed at 1am after cleaning the house !! yep funny eh !??

The gas board came yesterday to maintain our supply, and said rather than re lay the pipe, they would they would use a flexi pipe, from our neighbour to our house !! "a flexi pipe " !! WTF is that , i have visions of a pipe off of a tumble dryer, going over the wall !! better be better than that !!

oh boy, but at least it is the weekend. !! almost !

Wednesday 2 July 2008

Time to buy that child gate !

Darcy is hyper !
Yesterday she was in a great mood, wanting to play ALL day !! which is great when she is like this ! wanting to hide, then wanting to read books, any books, all the books, together !! especially Fish books !! anything with fish is good !!

But...

She is fast on the floor, i mean her shuffle is quick !! she can be in the kitchen , or hall and looking at the stairs before you can say boo !!, and she is strong too..!!
So the time has come for the child proof gates, i say gates 'cos i bought another one today, sorry Darcy , i hate to curb your crawling but it is for your own good !!

Friday 27 June 2008

coming down again !

It has been 2 weeks of strangness, a kind of rollercoaster that i have been on, and it has been tough to get off, but if I do not come off, sometimes if feels like i will crash !

Darcy's Op, last week sent my stress levels through the roof, though at the time, you deal with it... the before... and after are the worst bits, time to think about it... and the what if, looking back ! ?

I had a scan this week also, glad that was over, all ok !
since hitting 30 the sense of mortality has really hit me, this has been heightened by the birth of darcy and all the amazing things she learns and does,

I need to remember that the glass is half full, not half empty , life is good, i must remember this, move on and let the good times roll !!

Monday 23 June 2008

Phew !

What a week !!
It is scary how many thoughts can swill around your mind, especially when all you can do is wait.
Darcy had her heart op, last wednesday, and thankfully it went very well, we took her home on thursday evening ! she was like the new super improved version !!
Having children has focused my mind, on my own mortality, and the need , to stop dwelling on the past... to try and be a more patient person, and also to remember that the needs of others do have to come first very often..... when my daughter had surgery it also focussed me into thinking my worries were a little less important in the big sceme of things !

As we left her on the operating theatre ( the doctors like parents to bring their kids to the theatre room , ) I couldn't bring myself to kiss her bye, I am partially ashamed at this, and partially pleased, because i knew she would be alright, signing the consent forms was hard enough !!

but the differnece in her now is amazing, she had the tests on thursday, and was realeased later that day, her appertite has gone through the roof, she is more inquisative, talkative, playfull, and crawls faster than ever !!! the new improved Darcy !!

I am astounded by her, I truly am

Monday 16 June 2008

Father's Day.

Father's Day, was good.

I am still getting used to the idea, that I am a father, for years I have given presents and cards to my dad, now I receive them ! ? ! strange...



We had planned to go out for a meal, and too our amazment, Darcy out ate us all... i have never seen her eat so much, then she had a huge tea as well, !! and no "bups" ( thats bread and butter )!

After that we took her to the shopping outlet, and wheeled her around for a while, while I bought too many more plants for the patio, but hey, when there is a sale on, you have to oblige ! right?



after the spag bol, tea, she finally settled down and fell asleep in my arms, but not until she had turned over looked at me, and poked me in the eye!! cheers Darcy !! Having your baby fall asleep in your arms has to be one of the best feelings, being a dad !!



Well no phone call from the hospital on Friday, so we are guessing that the surgery is still going ahead on wednesday ! Darcy's cough is improving, and nerves are not ! if there was anyway of having the surgery instead of her ....... well i'm sure you know that anyway.



onwards and upwards !

Tuesday 10 June 2008

Wake up call !

I never plan my blogs, never.
So today's I thought was going to be run of the mill, "look what happened today !" but... life has a way of sneaking up on yer, and kicking you in the ass ! right?

Jayne and I have known that Darcy would need surgery on a PDA, or heart murmour that she has, it needs plugging, so she function normally, and not get tired too quick in later life, we knew this was due.
But yesterday we got a call to say that Darcy needs to be in hospital on Thursday, for pre-op tests, and then the precedure will be done next tuesday. !! WTF next tuesday !! is it better knowing weeks in advance that something like this is going to happen ?? or is better to be told days away, !?? I'm still working that one out, and coming to terms with it !.

Ok so the surgery is not supposed to be dangerous, but then all surgery carries risks . The feelings I have putting off, of " yeah it will be ok " " this is something that needs to be done " get the surgery done,then move on " have kind of evaporated, and left me with the feeling of "what if " ??
I now know the feelings that parents say, that if they could have the surgery for the kids they would . Everyone keeps saying, " she'll be fine !" don 't worry, but what if she isn't ?? I realise that although I have been there for Darcy in the last year, I could have done more, i could have spent MORE time with her, i could have loved her more, if something goes wrong next week, I wouldn't know what to do !! She is my world !

Darcy learns so fast , she has only met my gran twice, yet she will point to a photo and say "gran" and last nite i taught her what her big and little toes were.. ok stupid , little things, but these are the things that are growing to be the most important things in my life, and i find are now pushing all my worries into the background, ( for me that is a big thing )

This is why i'm trying to hold it together, trying to not worry , or show it infront of jayne, OR darcy, and just praying all will be well !!
I feel it will be a long week and a half !

Monday 9 June 2008

Busy weekend, stress and radios

Well this weekend was all about number crunching, i tried to fix the radio in my car but found i probably made it worse!! i know now that it is now the stereo that has died, so i have to buy a new one, and of course get the fascia plate to suit !! however i will probably have to try and get a new car in the next year or 2 as i'm cramming 20k on the clock in travelling to work, the car has been a workhorse, but for how long can a horse work, before it has to be put out to pasture !!

starting looking at the broadband options, but to enable the broadband i really need a decent pc at home !! to enable all 3 of the above , i really need a new job, with a higher salary !! Oh boy !!

time to save hard, i feel the money will be needed soon !!

Darcy's cold is improving slightly, the need for her to sleep in our bed is disturbing me though.... on saturday she was crying from coughing at 3am, she wanted to sleep with us, but i am so scared of turning on her, that i slept on the floor !! Bad idea, i had bad back pain saturday morning, but darcy got a nice comfy mattress !! Darcy you do not know it but your big cot is coming into play this week !!! sorry no more bed hyjacking !!

So after taking Darcy to the swings, and recovering from a vague hangover from the night before, when me and two friends saw some foortball, shot some pool, and tried to sort out their love lives, i settled down to a lazy day in the garden, caned my dahlia's bought some pots for my sweet peas, and a new camelia !!

After this as Jayne had taken Darcy out for the afternoon, i settled down to watch a few episodes, of King of Queens, and Miami Ink !!

i need to get some cash ..... time for more number crunching .... hhmmm

Friday 6 June 2008

Runny noses, and a toy giraffe

Oh Boy, our house has been quaranteened again, yes Darcy has caught a cold, the kind where she sits and whimpers, and lets snot run down one nostril, before wiping it across her face..... nice !! oh and she has nappy rash !!

Yep, last nite was a barnstormer, Darcy you best not get too used to sleeping in our bed, the big cot is coming into our room for you. you can spread out, ( as much as a grow bag allows )!!

mind you we are proud of you, my sister bought her a rocking Giraffe, which Darcy likes, but was unsure what to do with, until we rocked her on it, and she kinda realised it had the action of a swing !!, now she rocks by herself, and loves it !!

situation on the car radio, well i can't afford to get a new radio, or fix it, so as I shopped in a supermarket at 6.30 before work i bought a battery radio for the car !! £8 you can't go wrong ! and the reception is great too !!!

Hopefully the weather will hold, the house needs another lick of paint !! Looks like another busy weekend...

Hope you all have a decent weekend too !!

Thursday 5 June 2008

Neden, money, cars...

The mystery of Miden , Niden, Neden has been solved !!

Jayne has a 1950's Italian doll, which Darcy likes to look at, and hold, when we change her nappy, and she calls her, Neden !! Ta-da !!

Last nite I thought i'd put some effort into making Darcy some food, so i made stew, Darcy's with "baby stock" seperate to mine and Jayne's...
Darcy was so not impressed by this, though after 30 minutes, she managed to eat more than half a bowl. it was a case of.. " I want daddy's food " though it looked the same ! .... sometimes you just can not win !!

The long running debate, of whether we get to keep the Sky Tv is still running !! I see some benifits, but really we need to get some kind of broadband deal.... for this i need an injection of cash, and what with the car not getting any younger , and the rising prices of fuel lately, things need to be thought out. things can not continue as they are, there has to be changes somewhere along the lines, Plus the car radio has died this week, i can not pick up any FM radio, so it is back to the retro tape player........ oh boy the week just keeps amazing me !!

On a lighter note the Dahlia's are getting stronger and growing fast ! photo's to follow !!

back to the money thinking !

Wednesday 4 June 2008

I am a blog-a-holic, and my name is....

Dear Me,

I have now spent 2 days trying to get this page up and running, sorry crawling, with help from others, ( thanks to Veronica ) etc, and it feels like i am starting over! it is something that i realise must occur, it hurts me, to start over, i had a vibe going, a good vibe, now it feels like i am a very little fish in a gulf stream, ( Nemo in Finding Nemo ! )

Darcy is a star, a shining star in my world, that never diminishes, or wanes, she never ceases to amaze me, though she is 1 now, she learns a new skill every day, sometimes i wish i could learn a new skill every day, a little something new, to carry with me, to the next day, to aid me in my quest, " what is my quest ?? " life and answers i guess !! Happiness ?? i d o not know. I work to live , not live to work !! that i realise !!

Darcy now sings Miden, Niden Neden, what does this mean, i say to her..... " where is the Niden Neden?? " and she just points in a general 180 degrees range !!! what is is ?? oh well i suppose we well find out in due course !!

more witterings, and thoughts tomorrow i guess, just need to find some people to read this !!

Tuesday 3 June 2008

knock those moth balls off !!!

Due to work having stopped access to a popular social website, to which i blog, i have returned to this site.
The urge to blog is immense.

Darcy was one last Thursday. ONE I can not believe that the year has passed so quickly, she has changed so much so fast, that i have had this strange sense of my own mortality since she was born, and the need to take photos, store memories, etc etc, time is short, and passes by faster as we get older.

I had family down for 4 days, and the need to cater for them, and then the extra 14 people for darcy's party proved pretty stressful, as it happened all passed off pretty well,

Congrats to Jayne for doing the Race for Life on Sunday, however she got food poisoning afterwards from some dodgy chicken.... she is getting better now.

If anyone knows the translation for Niden Neden from baby language to english, please let me know, all Darcy sings at the moment is Niden Neden Niden Neden, over and over again ....

It's good to blog again !

Friday 22 February 2008

family, and days to remember

“This is the time to remember
Cause it will not last forever
These are the days to hold onto
‘cause we won’t, although we’ll want to “

The great Billy Joel… This is the time.

This weekend Darcy gets dedicated at our local church. As a kid in Sheffield, CofE, baptised then Sunday school, then at around 11 yrs old we all got confirmed. The church we go to now is a little more laid back, in that you are dedicated as a baby, then when it is right for you, your decision, not a tradition, you are baptised, I like that.

Jayne and I were thinking small, until the family gets involved, so I have about 10 people from Sheffield coming down. Jayne has four also (not from Sheffield), plus friends etc,

This is hopefully one of those days to remember, I do not get to see my family as often as I liked, and it’s always good to get together. As I get older I feel a more real sense of mortality, people get older, my family is close to 5 hours drive away, these are days to look forward to, and yet remember.

It’s also a day, that makes me more aware how important my role as a father is. All I can do is take influences from my father, and friends who are dads, and try and work through it, there is no manual! I have a responsibility to do my best for Darcy. Ok I can not tell what to do or think, though I guess there will times when I hope that she will listen !!! but I can guide her, and try to be a good role model. This will be the first of many days, first birthday….first day at school….etc, I am lucky that family will be there also to see it.

Friday 18 January 2008

choices

Choices

The health visitor said “ If it was a choice between eating lumpy food or puree, or whether Darcy is drinking enough milk? I would go for the Lumpy or puree food choice as being more important !! She reckons all babies have times when they drink more milk than others, but with food they need to be eating as close to grown up food as quickly as possibly (7 months) as this can cause faddy eating in later life !!


When I was a kid I had the choice of wearing the red or blue t-shirt. I guess the choice of eating meat ( or more to the point not liking the taste of it) was mine also… ( I must point out here Darcy eats, meat and fish in her food ).

Later I had choices on which university I went to ( ok not true in the end, I went through clearing) I had the choice to drink, the choice to smoke or do drugs, the choice to believe in God. The freedom to choose is a powerful gift, and one that affects our lives everyday.

I know someone who has a relative who is dying. They have a choice to tell them the real time scale of life remaining, or not. What kind of choice is that.

Choices have got all “grown up” and tough all of a sudden !

Before Darcy I had easy decisions like “shall I go out Saturday night?” Or where shall Jayne And I go on Holiday this year. now things are alot different!