Morning Jules,

Was just wondering how you got on when you visited your Mum this week, and also how your daughter got on at hospital?  I do hope things are not too stressful for you and that you can try and have a relaxing weekend.

I'm waiting for my eldest to come home, he has spent somewhat of Freshers sleeping on fellow pupils floors after social events - latest was a toga party last night!  I'm off to my counsellor this morning, had originally been thinking I wouldn't need to see her for too much longer but have been so emotional this week so will talk things over with her.

The weather is forecast to be nice this weekend but is looking a bit gloomy at present.  Here's hoping it brightens up and the sun shines on us all.  Take care  Hope x

Hi Hope

Hope you visit to the counsellor was helpful and its good for you to be able to talk things through and this should last as long as you need it.

I have just returned from visiting Mum and she was ok though I am sure a little concerned at how long she will be able to stay where she.  She has amazed the staff at how forthright she was when social worker 'interviewed' her and they are left in no doubt as to what she wants. All the care staff came to see me whilst I was visiting to make sure I was okay too - very sweet.  I stayed until she was due to go into lunch and we even managed a bit of a laugh when I showed her latest photos of her great grandson.  He has really enjoyed his first week in Reception and keeps telling his mum that his teacher is the most beautiful one in the school!!

Hubby and I picked him up from school on Friday as my daughter had to return to hospital for a second day of tests and monitoring.  Specialist blood tests with regard to her liver function have been sent off and unless she hears otherwise she returns to clinic next Friday.  The last set of bloods were borderline but all readings for the baby were good.  If the new blood tests show certain 'rises' she may have to be taken in and possibly induced (she is now 37 weeks and would probably welcome is being over and done with!!).  Anyway so far so good.  I have an overnight bag ready and waiting and she has several friends on standby to get her to the hospital if her hubby is at work.  Mind you she is still driving herself at present!!

When we met our grandson at school (its only 10mins to his home) he told Grandad that he could meet us there as it was healthier to walk!!!  My hubby's face was a picture as he drove off and I walked the little tyke home!!

Life's stresses seem to come and go but having the forum to offload certainly helped me to see things in perspective this week though I think my mood swings are more due to hormones than current circumstances.

Sounds like your eldest having a great time during Freshers but will no doubt be looking forward to some home cooking.  Have a great weekend with the family and will catch up again soon.  All the best and look after yourself. Jules xx

Hi Tonic

Not sure how often you pop on to read around but just wanted to offer my condolences on the loss of your Mum.  I have only just see your posting on another thread and just wanted to say will be thinking of you at this emotional time.  I am sure you are surrounded by your loving family but can well understand why you want to see the end of 2013.  Sending virtual hugs and peaceful thoughts at this sad time. Jules xx

Just wanted to say congratulations to you Jules on the birth of your grandchild.  Sorry to hear there were some complications but the main things is both mum and baby are home and doing well now.  Take care.xxx

Thanks so much Beaker. Its lovely to have the support and response on the forum.  Happily my daughter has been signed off my the midwife (as has baby) and just needs to take 2 weeks of iron tablets for now and go to clinic in 2 weeks's time.  Baby had lost a few ounces (but thats quite normal) and they were all out today registering his birth so popped into show him off at my place of work.  Very sweet.

Take care of yourself.  Jules xx

Hi Jules,

Glas to read your daughter and Zack have been signed off. That was a nice touch; bringing him into your work place. I bet it pleased you.

Enjoy your two weeks off and bet you are going to give Zack more than a few cuddles.

Do take care, Brian.

Thanks Brian. Yes my workmates have been great support to me and were delighted to see the little new edition.My daughter often pops into the shop when out shopping so they have seen he pregnancy progress - only fair that they can ooh and ahh over the baby.  Think my daughter had done enough for one day though and no doubt she is sitting with her feet up now as her hubby is a wizz round the house and very 'hands on'.  The other Nana was supposed to be visiting this afternoon and the other Grandad (they are divorced) and his new wife will be popping down on Thursday (they come from the North now) so think that takes in most of the immediate relatives visiting.  My daughter is not one to sit still for long and I am going to give her a hand on Thursday (fetching and carrying etc) but expect it will be more like a girlie gossip with the menfolk out of the way. My hubby has been asked to pop into the old workplace as they have a problem to solve (need his brain!!).  First day of my hols tomorrow and I am off to the hospital to get my blood tests done - 6mths has passed so quickly and will be interesting to see the results in a couple of weeks regarding my cholesterol levels.  If nothing else I am a little over a stone lighter!!!  Of course, if the levels have not dropped I will be celebrating with a very large bar of chocolate and then taking the pills!!!

Hope you are feeling much better now and continuing to take it a little easier and also that your wife is feeling better following her tumble.  Best wishes  for a peaceful week and hope you can soon catch up with the grandchildren as they help make us smile.  Jules xx

Hi Jules many thanks for your condolenses, so thoughtful of you , xx I dont come on very often but do like to see whats happening, have a nosey!. I, m not very good at joining in the conversations though.So happy for you , noticed your daughter has been discharged and family all home together xx enjoy your time off work with them, thinking of you often even when I am not on line take care x tonic

Hi Tonic

Sorry to hear your news and my thoughts are with you at this time of year.

Take care and look after yourself and if there is any pampering on offer grab it with both hands.

Mickied with virtual hugs

Hi Jules

Great news your daughter is home again with her little bundle of joy.  Tell her not to be doing too much and listen to what her body tells her.  She will have no worries whenever her mum is about.

Glad to see your hubby's work still call upon him and no doubt he will not hesitate when he receives that call.

Good luck with the blood tests.  My mum has to get those carried out too because of her cholesterol levels.  Heart problems run in her family so she needs to get her bloods checked every 4 months.

Still no news on the work front and as they say no news is good news.  I just recall the same thing happening this time last year too.

Well enough from me and I hope you enjoy your time off with your new baby grandson and daughter.

Take care

Mickied

Hi Hope

Have just returned from some retail therapy (hubby gone into old workplace to offer words of wisdom following them phoning for advice) whilst had a free day (strange but welcome).

Hope you are feeling a bit better.  These bugs seem to be taking time to go once you get them  and am sure your immune system may be a bit low at the moment.  Hope you can get some rest and maybe give yourself a treat (rather than a hard time) to give yourself a chance to recover.  Is your school on half term next week.  I am planning on helping out my daughter when required over the next 10 days as her hubby goes back to work tomorrow. Already booked in to assist with school run tomorrow and Friday (she cannot lift pushchair in and out of flat as yet) Also going to a kids birthday party on Sat p/m as that extra pair of hands and then onMonday she has midwife check up at local clinic and it will  be more relaxing if I am at her place to play with the elder grandson!!!  Have just had my first lot of photos back since the new baby arrived so now have to get a couple into frames.

I managed to fit in my blood tests yesterday so in a couple of weeks will find out if all my good work at changing the diet has had any affect on my cholestrol levels!!  I am telling you if it hasn't I will be having a chocolat-fest.  Mind you I am very happy with the new slimmer me so at least there has been an advantage.

Take care my virtual friend and don't push yourself too hard.  Jules xx

Hi Jo

Lovely to hear that you have a partner that can cook (that was one of my dreams but did not happen - bit like a win a bingo, very rare these days).  Certainly helps you to relax if you do not have to plan meals!!!  Having said that mu hubby has never been fussy about food (even less so now as I constantly have to remind him to eat - managing small meals three times a day and fills up in between on milkshakes and chocolate bars which at least has kept his wait stable-ish the last six months).  Though he is not 'talking about how he feels' - no change there - I am noticing more and more grimaces when he moves and he has more limited movement in his top half so need a bit of assistance to put on shirts, coats etc.  No word of complaint from his though - sometime wish he would have a good rant (and make me feel human!!!).

The weather cleared long enough on Sunday so I did make it to my markets and getting out for a couple of hours here and there helps with my frustrations (cant stop the feeling so trying to curtail it).  Hubby popped into his old firm today (they need to pick his brain so gave him a call and its amazing the difference in him for a few hours!!).  I took myself off for retail therapy and solved a couple of birthday presents and also began the dreaded Christmas shopping.  Why is it so easy to buy for woman but a nightmare when you try to think of the males - ha ha.

Tomorrow I am going to help out with my daughter as her husband goes back to work and she is not allowed to lift for a few weeks!!  Have to say though the little one is doing very well (has been doing four hours between feeds during the night which has really helped her cope).  We are also going to dinner at my Son and his girlfriends on Sunday along with her parents.  We all get on like a house on fire (over a bottle of wine!) so really looking forward to a night out. 

Hope you are continuing with a good recovery and look forward to chatting again soon.  hugs to you and yours   Jules xx

Hi Jo

Lovely to hear that you have a partner that can cook (that was one of my dreams but did not happen - bit like a win a bingo, very rare these days).  Certainly helps you to relax if you do not have to plan meals!!!  Having said that mu hubby has never been fussy about food (even less so now as I constantly have to remind him to eat - managing small meals three times a day and fills up in between on milkshakes and chocolate bars which at least has kept his wait stable-ish the last six months).  Though he is not 'talking about how he feels' - no change there - I am noticing more and more grimaces when he moves and he has more limited movement in his top half so need a bit of assistance to put on shirts, coats etc.  No word of complaint from his though - sometime wish he would have a good rant (and make me feel human!!!).

The weather cleared long enough on Sunday so I did make it to my markets and getting out for a couple of hours here and there helps with my frustrations (cant stop the feeling so trying to curtail it).  Hubby popped into his old firm today (they need to pick his brain so gave him a call and its amazing the difference in him for a few hours!!).  I took myself off for retail therapy and solved a couple of birthday presents and also began the dreaded Christmas shopping.  Why is it so easy to buy for woman but a nightmare when you try to think of the males - ha ha.

Tomorrow I am going to help out with my daughter as her husband goes back to work and she is not allowed to lift for a few weeks!!  Have to say though the little one is doing very well (has been doing four hours between feeds during the night which has really helped her cope).  We are also going to dinner at my Son and his girlfriends on Sunday along with her parents.  We all get on like a house on fire (over a bottle of wine!) so really looking forward to a night out. 

Hope you are continuing with a good recovery and look forward to chatting again soon.  hugs to you and yours   Jules xx

Hi Jules,

Just catching up again with you.

Glad to hear you've had a bit of retail therapy recently, good time to do some when you are off from work.

Hope your daughter and family are all fine and your elder grandson is coping with the noise from the baby.

I am planning a bit of xmas therapy when I go to see the consultant in November.An excuse for a day out.!!!!

Have a good friend coming with me so we can have lunch out as well.

Your husbands loss of self identity is classic. Long may they keep asking for his advice at work.

You are absolutely right about it being easier to buy presents for women than men Jules.Maybe there's just more stuff we women use/like/want.!!!!!LOL.

Had a lovely email from my son in law recently thanking me for the crumbles I left for him in the freezer, I gather he has now run out of them!!!! Do you think thats a hint.?

Busy here until the Visit England inspecter comes in November, looking forward to a little more personal space after that to prepare for Christmas.

Hope you have a good time at your son's Jules.

Annabel. xx.

Morning Annabel and Hope

Quick catch up before I head to my daughter'sfor the school run.  Thankfully she is slowly returning to normal.  She is managing to do most things albeit a little slower than she would like!!  By the time I got there yesterday both children and her had had their breakfast and her eldest was getting dressed for school.  So it was just a case of 'keeping an eye' whilst she got ready to go out and then we all did the walk to school.

My daughter needed a 20 min sit down by the time we got back to get her enegy back.  I have now learnt the full extent of the trouble she had after the birth, the report basically saying we are still lucky to have her because of the level of blood loss/blood clots.Once again a reminder of how life is so precious.  Anyway no need for any cooking on my part (phew) as she already prepared the freezer with meals and her hubby is also cooking. Concentrated on hoovering and washing up (along with a cuddle along the way).  The new baby has so far been pretty good and is mostly on a good four hourly feed routine which fits nicely round the school runs!!!  Now that he is home my eldest grandson is coping with the 'crying noise' (sleeps through the night undisturbed by it and says if its too bad he goes into his bedroom and wears the ear defenders Grandad gave him when he went to watch the drag racing!!).  The baby also has no problem sleeping through noise of hoovering/thunderstorm and children playing around him so fingers crossed it stays this way.

My daughter thankfully pretty laid back second time around despite the scary start for the new family.

Yesterday morning she decided to take her first drive so we took the new edition to see his great gran (my Mum)..  Not much interest (none expected knowing her feelings about children!!) from her but other residents and the staff were lovely and we stayed around half an hour (and had a photo taken of the four generations).  She felt happy enough doing short drive and has been told not to take long journeys for at least six weeks.  She has clinic check up on Monday and they are hoping the iron tablets/antibiotics she is on will all help her recovery.  Still taking mild painkillers three times a day.  Grandad came round in the afternoon and after we all walked round to pick up the eldest boy (he had a friend coming to play for an hour) he took me home (and then he slept for much of the evening).  No doubt my hubby is enjoying the new edition but also feeling more discomfort and showing his usual withdrawn self as we get closer to his check up.

Annabel, hope your parents and hubby are beginning to feel a little better and that you are still managing to steer clear of the bug and Hope keep that recovery/rest going and both take care and have a peaceful weekend.

Hope, I know today is a difficult one for you but still wanted to send you good wishes for your Birthday.  Thinking of you and sending virtual hugs.  Bye for now.  Jules xx

Hi Jules,

I'm so glad to hear that your daughter is doing well now, didn't realise things had been so dodgy at the birth.  Yes life is precious and we have to try our best to make the most of every moment.  Thank you for the birthday wishes, I have posted on my site.  Everybody has been very kind to me today and I'm feeling more positive, as well as feeling a lot better from the "bug".  Speak soon.  Hope x

Morning Hope,

Was so pleased to read that you are feeling better and that the bug seems to be going at long last. Am sure you appreciated being surrounded by hubby and sons for your birthday and hope you have a relaxing and peaceful weekend and some R&R during half-term week.  Take things easy and get  your strength back and look forward to chatting again soon.

My daughter continuing to make slow an stready progress though still having to take mild painkillers (not surprised) alongside iron tablets and antibiotics.  Has managed first drive and also doing the walk to and from school (not one to sit around)  so I have been doing the housework and keeping her company (lovely to have time to chat too).  Baby so far so good, quite content and feeding well.  They both have appointments at clinic on Monday and then first Health Visitor visit in the afternoon so as its half-term  I am going in to keep the older brother amused.  Am really  enjoying being useful, having someone to talk to and NOT having to go into work for another week.

Have a good weekend.  Best wishes and virtual hugs. Jules x

Hi Jules,

Glad to hear the children's birthday party was a great success.  I hope you have a lovely week off work, I'm sure you will be kept very busy with your grandsons (may need another holiday to recover afterwards!), hope Zack continues to lift hubby's spirits.

I had a day in London yesterday with hubby and friends, out for a meal and drinks which was very nice.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend and fingers crossed the storm which is forecast doesn't affect us too badly!   Hope x