Thursday 29 March 2018

Update 29/3/2018

Hi All

This past week has been busy to say the least! We had throat infections last week. Oliver wasn't very well at all and had all of the week off sick. He was suffering with a high temperature and a really sore throat. The poor little man didn't want to eat and he spent a lot of time lying around doing nothing. Ethan turned 7 last Thursday and he woke to presents and a Pokémon Balloon. The years are going by way too quickly and I looked at Ethan with tears in my eyes. He has become an amazing young boy, full of life, always inquisitive, always eager to learn and always cheeky. I love him for the person that he is inside and out and cannot be any prouder of how he is growing.

Ethan went to school as normal and spent the day showing off his 7 Birthday Badge. He was happy to play with his best friend, Daniel and came out exclaiming that it was the best day of his life. Once home, he opened a few more presents, including Minecraft Storymode for PS4, Star Wars Remote Control Fighter and Lego. We are sitting here looking at his many birthday cards as I write this; he hasn't wanted to take them down yet. For tea we went to The Keymaster Pub, Hungry Horse.

https://www.hungryhorse.co.uk/pubs/west-midlands/keymaster/

The boys had hotdogs and chips. Carrots for Oliver, Veggie sticks for Ethan.

Stew had waffle and chicken mess on a plate.



When it came out then it didn't look very appealing, but he said it wasn't too bad, but he failed to finish it as some parts were very spicy.

I surveyed the menu for a long time, I had been having a rough few days with a tummy bug and I wasn't feeling very hungry, but at the same time I didn't want to pay expensive for something small like a salad. So in the end I had the Chick 'n' Mix which was plain chicken on skewers served with salad and rice with sweet chilli sauce.

As it was Ethans birthday then the boys wanted ice cream as a treat so they both had an ice-cream sundae which was a lot bigger than it looked on the menu. It was off the children's menu, cost £2 and was amazing! The boys loved them!

Friday and Saturday were relaxed - school runs, spending time with family and generally vegging out. On Sunday we took the boys to Thomas Land as a birthday treat for Ethan.

https://www.draytonmanor.co.uk/thomas-land

It started off well, for the first time this year the sun shone down brightly and it was lovely and warm. I spent the day with my coat off. We got there for 10.50 and the queues to get in were immense! We waited patiently, showed off our tickets and entered the gates where crowds of people were waiting to get on rides. We decided to get food out of the way first, so rather than joining the many huge crowds then we found a little pizza place, ordered food and enjoyed a small meal. At this point Ethan started to complain of tummy ache and said that he wasn't very hungry. We put it down to him being too excited, so we forced a bit of food down him before we headed off. It started off well. The boys went on a couple of rides together and hopped onto the carousel with me. Stew still struggles getting on and off of rides, so he waited patiently on the edge whilst we whizzed around on the galloping horses. We were about to get into a queue for Captain, when Ethan started crying. He was complaining of headache and saying he felt poorly. Not like him at all. He has always loved going to Thomas Land and loves going on the rides with me, especially Diesel Mayhem. I stayed with Oliver and Ethan went and waited with Stew, who took him for a sit down and a drink of water. When I got back to them after riding the water ride with Oliver then it was obvious that Ethan wouldn't be able to go on much else. He was so pale, he was tired and he didn't feel like being there at all. I took Oliver on one more ride and we decided to take them home an hour earlier.

It is such a shame that his day was ruined by him being unwell. But we have plans to go back again, as we always do and then there is Harry Potter Studios later in the year too.

The rest of this week has been work, school run, work, school run. We had the boys parents evenings last night and despite some comments regarding Oliver that I am not sure I agree with then I am happy with how they are both getting on.

Now it is the Easter Bank Holiday and I am so relieved. I feel like I am running on empty most days, running from one place to the next.

We have a date with Paw Patrol tomorrow in Walsall for Breakfast, So I will bid you Goodnight!

Have a fantastic, chocolatey Easter everyone! Hope the Easter Bunny doesn't nibble your carrots!

S x



Wednesday 21 March 2018

Ethan Richard Geary

Dear Ethan




The moment I saw you, I knew you would be someone special.
You lay in my womb for almost 10 months and each kick and movement resonated within me. I felt as you grew inside me and waited very impatiently for you to be born. The days ticked by and eventually around 5 days past my due date you were delivered to me and your Dad.

I was groggy from drugs when I first saw your face; you were being dressed by the midwife and I could hear your cries but not see you. The anaesthetic was playing tricks on me and I was a little in and out of it, but I was determined to liven up so I could see you. You were brought over to me and even though I couldn't hold you, I happily soaked in how you looked. It was a few hours until I was able to hold you properly as I had been heavily sedated and my arms weren't strong enough to hold you at first. You were born around 9.30pm on 22nd March 2011 and I was able to hold you properly around 3am the next morning. There is a moment that I will never forget. They had taken me out of the observation room and were taking me back to the ward. They placed you in my arms as they wheeled the bed and we had this moment. Both of us looked at the other at the same time and we simply stared at one another. Your eyes narrowed slightly and your brow furrowed as though you were wondering 'who the hell I was'. And then your brow smoothed and you simply stared at me. There was no crying, no pulling of faces; you simply looked at me.

From that moment you have gone from a wonderful, bright, cheerful baby to a sensitive, intelligent gentle crazy soul. With every step we have watched your likes and dislikes change and watched in awe as you thrived in all things that you put your mind to. Your reading and word learning came on brilliantly and you were telling the time before you were 3 years old. You have a good chunk of me and your dad in you. Mentally you sponge information and retain it in your beautiful mind, as your father does. And you are a chatterbox and have a kooky sense of humour, like me. I would like to think that you get your sensational good looks from me too.

You love your family; work hard at school and you are building a loving/competitive relationship with your younger brother, Oliver.

Each day that you are in our lives only helps to make our days better. We love watching you grow and I hate the thought of the day when you will leave home and not need me as much. I want to stop you growing and hold on to you forever. I look back at your baby photos and realise that I marched through those days in a blur. I wish I had slowed down a bit, I wish I had enjoyed the nappy days, the sleepless nights and the endless CBeebies just so I could mentally take a picture of every moment I made with you. I want to slow down your growth, I want to stop you getting any bigger, because I know I will miss 6 year old Ethan as I miss newborn Ethan and 2 year old Ethan and 5 year old Ethan. Every stage you held onto my hand as I guided you on the right path.

So, tomorrow you will turn 7 and we will celebrate as we always do. We will give you presents and then we will take you out for a meal after school.

Please always remember that we love you, you make us so proud everyday. From the constant babble you make to the fact that you are a Minecraft fanatic. Everyday that I am alive I will always have your back, and as much I hate to see you grow,  I look forward to seeing where your future leads. Wherever you go or whatever you do, I will always be by your side and will always Love you.

Happy Birthday for tomorrow Pudding.

Mom xx

Monday 19 March 2018

Ant McPartlin

Unless you aren't in to watching or listening to the news, then you have probably seen the latest on Ant Mcpartlin.

The 42 year old Geordie presenter was yesterday arrested following a collision he had with two other vehicles. The news stated that a 'drink-driving' charge had been given.

Twitter-verse and Social Media feeds alike were ablaze with the news that he had been out drink-driving. There was also news of a 3 year old girl being injured in the crash.

Some called for his immediate dismissal from ITV programming; some felt sorry for the family television favourite, especially as this isn't the first time in the last 2 years that he has been in the spotlight for personal reasons after admitting himself into rehab for substance abuse and then publicly divorcing from his wife of many years.

The news was fresh off the press last night and facts about the crash were hazy, although online newspapers and broadcasters confirmed details as though they were 'fact'. The details about the 3 year old were limited, but we still heard that she was 'seriously' injured and that she was admitted to hospital. The internet was up in arms. This man has been well loved for years, but nobody could condone the injury of a child. People slated him, his behaviour and even had a go at his mother for allowing him to drive (She was in the vehicle with him). I am one of those that agree that he should get help, I do think he should be convicted as someone out of the public eye should be; whether that means imprisonment, etc. But I do think that he will be beyond guilty over what he has done.

We don't know the full story. Did he drive out after having a skin full? Was he still drunk from the night before after an ALMIGHTY bender? Was he simply enjoying one too many drinks with lunch and thought he 'was fine' to drive? None of this is fine, none of this means he SHOULDNT be punished for what happened, but he is still human. He made a mistake; yes it was BIG one, but it was still a mistake.

I don't think we need a witch-hunt or a 'slate on his character'. What he does need is help from the producers of his shows? Does this not show that MAYBE he wasn't ready to get back into the limelight? I saw the episode recently of Saturday Night Takeaway when he and Dec drove monster trucks. After driving his car, Ant came away with a knocked up arm. I watched as he struggled to deal with the pain from that, he appeared jumpy and on edge. Was he concerned about how people would perceive him if he didn't ride through the pain? Was he worried that people would wonder whether he was using painkillers excessively again? Or was he edgy for another reason?

I do hope he gets himself back on track. I have been a huge fan of Ant and Dec since there 'Byker Grove' days and I have followed there careers ever since. I used to be a big fan when I was a teenager and had their posters on my walls.....I also have an embarrassing confession - I used to wear the same red shirt and pin-striped shirt that Dec wore in a number of posters I had of them. OH Dear!

Come on Ant! Don't give up! Ride it out, take your punishment and come back fighting!

Monday 12 March 2018

This Month...

This Month I should be preparing for you to arrive. 
This Month I should be feeling you swirl and tap dance in my tummy. 
This Month I should be washing and rewashing your tiny clothes eager to put you into them. 
This Month I should be fed up with pregnancy; groaning daily and eager for it to be over.
This Month I should be eating my body weight in pickled onions or other foods I crave
This Month I should be talking to you repeatedly through the skin that parts us.
This Month I should be counting down the days until you arrive.
This Month I should be too big to drive around in my car.
This Month I should be complaining of heartburn and swollen ankles. 
This Month I should be on maternity leave, enjoying the thought of the months ahead.
This Month your brothers should be welcoming a new sibling, someone they would love.
This Month I should be holding you for the first time in my arms after you have been born.
This Month I should be bringing you home to add a very welcome addition to our family.


Instead...

This Month I am plastering a smile on my face and trying to act like I am okay.
This Month I am crying almost daily at the days and memories I wont be able to make.
This Month I am picturing what you would have looked like and long for you painfully.
This Month I am carrying on at my work; trying to forget that I lost you.
This Month I am carrying on for my boys, and not showing them how sad I am.
This Month I am trying to push onwards and hoping April will be better.  
This Month I sneak glances up at your memory box before I go to bed each night, knowing that your ashes are safely stored away in it. 

This Month I miss you; I never had you, but I miss what you would have meant to us. I miss what you would have brought to our family and I miss the memories we wont now be able to make. 

This Month I love you as I would have if you were here, but This Month I ache for you. 

I lost you months before now, but This Month you should be Born. 

Always thinking of you; always missing you, always wanting you. Never forgetting. 

S x

Sunday 11 March 2018

Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all the amazing mothers out there.

We have been spoilt haven't we?

Pretty mugs, boxes of chocolates, even alcohol...(Because lets face it, sometimes we need it) 

The cute faces on our children as they hand us hand decorated cards is generally all we need, even if we do get covered in felt print and glitter.

And if that wasn't enough we got the 'obligatory' extra hour in bed. 

This 'sleep-in' was obviously disturbed as the boys raced around downstairs, making all sorts of noise and creating dramas over whose breakfast bowl was whose, with the occasional 'blue' word from my husband as he tripped over the dog for the hundredth time, but it was a lie in!

And it made a change from being badgered into getting up and downstairs by Oliver who had woken up hungry.

His first thought is always food! In fact, most thoughts of his are food related.

Once I got downstairs I was enticed by Ethan to a game of Minecraft.

We built maze-like tunnels around his self-created land, whilst he spawned lots of wolves....I have no idea why.

After dropping Mothers Day gifts off and having Sunday Dinner with my family, we came home and chilled.

I showered all 3 of my boys. That is Ethan, Oliver and Harry.

I thought showering Oliver was difficult! He usually screams the bathroom down as I wash his hair, asking me or rather begging me to not wash his eyeballs. 

But the dog tonight was on another level. I had one hand on him whilst I bent down to shower him; he was trying to escape which had me almost slip over a number of times...and when I did finally finish showering him, he wanted to get back in...

Needless to say, I was absolutely drenched, but....he smells gorgeous now and his fur is lovely and soft. He is now currently snoring next to me. 

Today has been quite normal really; back to work tomorrow. I am on a countdown now until Ethan's birthday in a few weeks. He will be 7!

How on Earth did that happen??

S x

Wednesday 7 March 2018

Save me TV Series

No Spoilers



Wow, has anyone been watching that new Sky Atlantic show, Save Me? It has Doctor Foster star, Suranne Jones and Walking Dead actor, Lennie Jones.

If nobody has watched it yet, please give it a go! It is a 6 parter (we are 2 episodes away from finishing it) and it has a fantastic cast, a brilliant script and a superb story! It is dramatic and thrilling from beginning to end.

The show follows the story of Nelly (Lennie Jones) who is turned inside out when he realises his estranged daughter, Jody has gone missing. Nelly isn't exactly the most innocent of people, with his rough background, fiery temper and his womanising ways, but when he finds out his daughter is missing, despite not having had a relationship with her, he makes it his mission to find out what happened to her. The script and character interaction is fantastic! His ex-partner, Claire (Suranne Jones), who is the mother of Jody interacts really well with Jone's character as they struggle to come to terms with their daughters 'abduction'.

We still haven't got to the end of this series yet, but I am looking forward to seeing how it ends.

Definitely put it on your TBW (To be watched) list.

S X

Saturday 3 March 2018

TV Shows we watch.

Its no secret that I love a good series to watch. Me and Stew always enjoy watching boxsets and if we are really into a show then we can be known to watch a few episodes of a particular show in one sitting.

Here is a list of some of the shows we watch and my opinion of each. These are my opinions, not of the shows networks or producers. I have no connection to the shows whatsoever:-



We have enjoyed watching Walking Dead since it first started; now at Season 8 we still continue to watch it. The show is entertaining to watch and I have enjoyed some characters more than others....cough, cough...Daryl....but overall it is a good show.

But...and I say this without wanting to diss the show too much....but. I think it has lost its spark a little. Negan is like a big bad pantomime villain. Yeah, sure, he killed Glenn in a vicious way, but since then he has been like a big angry, grinning pussycat. He is a dick, don't get me wrong but I don't feel that he is a big scary character even though I do kind of like him. There are times when I just wish someone would wipe that smug look off of his face, but I do actually prefer him to Rick. The fact that he has such a big group of people willing to fight for him means that he is always covered from attack.

I do feel that this series and maybe last one too dragged out a bit. If you placed all the bits from the episodes together that truly matter then it probably wouldn't add up to much footage. There are times when I feel that an episode doesn't really give us anything and it kind of leaves me disappointed especially when I have waited from the week before to see it again. With the slow build ups and 'deliberately' not killing off fan-favourites then I do wonder how long this show can go on for.




Gotham is a series based around the world of Batman, but PRE Batman. It has Ben McKenzie of The OC fame. He plays a young James Gordon who struggles daily to make Gotham a better place. The show is dark and graphic in its portrayal of the shady city. The appearance's of familiar comic characters make this a firm favourite with my husband. Penguin is a vile, greasy whiney man; Riddler is a geeky, enigmatic fool and Alfred has quite right hook and a rather British 'likeable' air about him. And Bruce Wayne is a kid who is having to come to terms with the deaths of his parents whilst he goes through challenges which will ultimately lead him down his 'fateful' path towards tight leather and the 'bat-mobile'.

As with most comic book television runs then this does have twists when it comes to the characters. The Villains come and go regularly with some preferable characters over others. I have to admit that this isn't my favourite show, Stew prefers this one. I find it very dark, the humour at times isn't that funny and I really don't like Penguin. His face is enough to put me off food! But saying that, there are some fun elements in this film. I love the interaction between Bruce and Alfred and I enjoy the 'romance' between Bruce and Selina (who will ultimately become Cat Girl) - We have just finished season 3.



We love this show. The first season was watched within a week, I love the 80s feel to it and the script is amazingly well written. The cast do so well to deliver this story. We have started season 2 but i feel it is a little slower than the first one, but I have also been watching it whilst I write on here, so I haven't been paying enough attention. We are going to revisit the episodes and start it again.

Great show though!



13 Reasons Why.
This is one of my favourite shows ever! I loved it, the script and characters were well written. I loved seeing Hannah's story unfold, even if it was so heart-breaking at the end. I really wish her and Clay could have come together and be happy. It is such a bitter-sweet story. I have only recently realised that this is based on a book; I will make sure I search this out so I can see whether it differs any from the series. There is a second series coming out, although I do wonder where they can go with the series since the end of Season 1. But I will be sure to give it a go. 



When Stew suggested us watching this then I wasn't too sure about it. I am not mad crazy about X-Men style stuff and wasn't sure it would be for me. I liked the fact that the guy from Tru Blood was in it and Fred from Angel (Buffyverse) but despite some reservations with the first episode then I kind of liked it. It got more and more interesting as the series wound on. There were some cheesy moments and predictable parts but not a bad watch. 



We have been hooked on this show since the very beginning, it is so entertaining. Every type of emotion runs through you as you watch this show; horror, intrigue, sadness, heartbreak, shock. It is best to NOT get attached to any characters though as you never know how long they will be around. The show knows how to entertain and the producers and the cast do a fantastic job of keeping us viewers watching. The fact that there are very few episodes left until the very end is quite sad. I hope they do it justice; this has been such a great show, I would hate to HATE the ending...like Dexter.



We have watched every episode of this show and it was so so good. The writing was brilliant, the show never let itself get stale and left on a high note. The characters were believable, enjoyable and completely entertaining. I love Steve Buscemi, he did a fantastic job at playing Nucky Thompson. He was quite scary at times, although how he ever got any woman to fall for him is beyond me!



This is another series that we have finished but what a show! I loved it! Again, amazing script, it kept you on your toes from the very start. Walt was a glorious, amazing character and he brought some fantastic scenes to our screens. Those who haven't watched this, please give it a try. It really is a slow builder, but you have to stick with it. It gets so much better than what it first appears. 

That's it for now folks, I have got tired, it is late and I need to get some sleep before my two jerks wake me up in the morning. :)

Thanks Guys. I will write more about the shows I watch in another post soon.

S x



Thursday 1 March 2018

Snow'n Hell

Now the news on everyone's lips is the 'Beast from the East' or in other words the heavy snowfall we have had or are having. Some areas are more affected than others, some areas are buried deep with snow, such as Scotland. Others like here have only really seen a small pattering of snow until today. Tonight has been a bit blistery. The snow is like very fine grains of sand; it is being blown around by Windy Emma and creating snow drifts here, there and everywhere.

Its bloody cold out there though, which I am sure you have all heard spoken over and over again. Us Brits like to state the obvious don't we?

I am sat here trying to write a new post and I have got a tad distracted by EastEnders...I am catching up on about 8 episodes and am watching Abi's funeral. Max is reading a poem for his deceased daughter and I have tears streaming down my face. EastEnders can be very cheesy at times, but on days like today it can be tearjerking! I know Max is a scoundrel but I do feel sorry for his mushy face at times.

...and then he places a picture of Abi's daughter on her coffin...I am going again! Damn you EastEnders!

Well this post completely went off track...started about snow and now its about EastEnders...

....so....Its cold out isn't it?

S x