Thanks Goodness for Mummy Milk!!!

Well what a week so far. Bean has been very poorly this week with the horrid sickness bug that has been doing the rounds. For a couple of days he was either sleeping or feeding with no eating at all. To go with this he has had a raging temperature and hasn't been keeping paracetamol down so I was at one point getting rather worried. Still he has settled down a bit now and is even showing some interest in food again. I'm just real glad that he is still breastfeeding or I think this bug could have been really nasty!

My Precious Fairy

Last Friday was World Book Day and DD's school dressed up for the event. All the teachers wore crocodile hats as there was a traveling theatre company coming in to performe "The Selfish Crocodile" and the kids could go in dressed as a character from a book.

The dressing up came with rather short notice and as DD never wears her dressing up outfits we had given them all, apart from a pair of wings, to the the nursery where DH works at half term. I was saved however by my little sis who had passed on a beautiful party dress which her DD has just outgrown. I got some bands for DD's hair with flowers on and a necklace and braclets and covered the wings in glitter and behold..................

"Heather the Violet Fairy"


I have to admit to being rather proud of the finished outfit. I am not the most creative of people so this is pretty impressive for me particularly the bit where I didn't just go out and buy the latest disney character outfit!

Sleeping Through!

Well sometimes anyway. ;)

Well I guess that the big news in the Miffy household is that we moved Bean into his cot in what is now the boys room. Dh and I decorated the room over half term and moved the cot and of course Bean in with DS1. At first Bean was waking two or three times each night plus waking for his normal 11:00 feed and either DH or I would settle him back down. However he is waking alot less now, sometimes around 12:00 for a feed and then through until almost 6:00 for his morning feed. On Saturday night and Monday night he slept right through from bedtime (7.00) till the morning feed.


I have to be honest I am not sure how I feel about it at the moment, I'm a little suprised as to how well he has transfered from our bed and bedside cot arrangement to just being in his cot and to find that he is now sleeping through as well. Saying that though he has a cold at the moment and was up last night from about 2:20 so maybe our night feeds aren't over yet.

Other news in the Miffy household. It was Mothers Day on Sunday and though I didn't get any kind of a lie in at all I did get tea and toast in bed and a couple of nice presents from the kids. DS1 didn't prove to be too good at keeping secrets though so I already knew what one of them was going to be, that one was the Life In Cold Blood DVD. I also got a book from my Amazon wish list.

I have ordered some fab yarn from Babylonglegs for a felted bag project (TV knitting) and needles and some other bits from Get Knitted so I am currently stalking the postie. I should have collected the yarn on Tuesday and I was really looking forward to a day at Sarah's but sadly DS1 has had conjuctivis and so we have had to put our visit off till next week. With any luck the needles will be here by then and I can get started straight off. I am really looking forward to it, I'll reveal more about the project later with pics!

DS1's bed socks are well underway, the first one is completely finished and the second one is about half way down the cuff. With any luck I might even get to the heel today if I get a bit of peace and quiet.

DH's GTP course stuff has gotten a bit complicated at the moment but it should settle down over the next week or so once he and I and the school make various decisions about the options currently open to us. Hopefully I will have more news on this then.

February Socks

I've just realised that I haven't yet Blogged my February socks here. I Blogged them on the SAM5 Blog a while back but just hadn't got around to putting them on here. And so I present to you "My February Socks"


I am really pleased with them and I loved knitting them. I used my Harmonies and I am so pleased with them. Whispers - I have ordered some Harmony Circulars I have enjoyed them that much! Just wish they did straights. ;)

The March socks have been cast on and I am making good progress with them. The first is finished already!!! You've got the love the speed at which childrens socks knit up. DS1 is very pleased with it and is really looking forward to his new bed socks. I am going to have plenty of yarn left (I ordered two balls) so I may knit him a second pair just plain knit at some point.

The Saturday Stitchers

Met up with Sarah and Sarah yesterday for our monthly meet up. It was lovely to just sit and chat and knit and chill out for a couple of hours. Thanks for a fab afternoon girls!

Looking forward to doing it again soon. :)

Hopefuly it will become a regular thing and we can get other Stitchers to come along and join in the fun. ;)

Day Out With Thomas - Part 2

Well last Sunday was our day out with Thomas and it was brilliant. We were lucky and the weather was gorgeous, freezing cold and bright sunshine, beautiful.

We drove over to Quorn and caught our first train - Douglas.


From there we went up to Leicester North and then back to Loughborough station. The countryside was gorgeous. Crisp white frost on the trees and fields it was so cold that the reservior was frozen in places. The train windows were still frozen when we got on!



At Loughborough we got on the Thomas/Diesel train for a short ride up and down the station, Thomas pulled us out and Diesel took us back, the kids loved it. DS1 and DD refused to have their pics taken with Thomas but Bean obliged for us though he didn't look totaly at ease about it all.


We then caught Daisy and went back up to Rothley station being entertained by Singing Sally enroute which the girls loved, especially when we sang Daisy Daisy! We had our picnic at Rothley Station and then it was back to Quorn and back home.

The Day Out With Thomas is definately to be recommended and I think we will do it again when Bean is old enough to really appreciate it.

The Great Central Railway runs through beautiful countryside and each station reflects a different time period, the kids really liked the old fashioned look to Quorn and the real fire in the waiting room so I think we will go back in the summer and just ride the normal trains and maybe go for a walk in the Loughborough countryside.

Time for a Catch Up

Well we finaly made a bit of time today to get some photos off the cameras and onto the PC so here are a couple of photos from our holiday at Centre Parcs in January.

We had a fabulous time, very chilled and relaxed and the kids loved it. DS1 had a fencing session


DD had a hair braid (I did too but I haven't a picture of it)


We also did lots and lots of swimming and duck feeding


And DH and I had a massage each which was bliss. I'd love to go again but sadly I doubt that funds will allow another visit for some time to come.

YAY for DH!!!

I am so proud of him.

We just got a letter offering him a place on the Graduate Teacher Training Programme for September.

We still need confirmation of which school they will want him to attend but it is such a relief to know that he has a place. :)

I've Been Tagged

By the lovely Babylonglegs which is a wonderful of her. She has given me a "Make my Day Award"

The only slight snag is that I now need to tag 10 other people whose blogs I read.

"Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times."

However as you can see from my list I don't acctually read that many Blogs, and I "know" even fewer people online so if I fall a little short (putting it mildly) of the 10 you'll have to forgive me.

And so, in no particular order, here are ten people who regularly make my day.

Sarah who reasures me that life with three small children is possible.

Babylonglegs who is a wonderful enabler and a friend who always knows just what to say to make me feel better.

Lottie who is always there for me and has often dug me out of a self indulgent hole when I've needed it.

Ouch!!! Ouch!!! Ouch!!!

I had a toe nail taken off on Monday evening and now it is really hurting so I am after sympathy wherever I can get it today. It should have been Sing and Sign this morning but it is too sore for me to sit on a floor and man handle an energetic Bean so I am giving it a miss in favour of tea and toast at home.

The toast was lovely and the tea is very soothing and the Bean is very energetic. And my toe is very sore

Stuff I've Been Doing

(I know not a very inspired title!)

Well the moster is on its way back out and I am a little more rational now. I did do the homebird thing for a couple of days and had a nice time knitting, surfing internet shops and chatting to Babylonglegs (or should I say Mamalonglegs ) who was wonderful company as always and a great enabler ;)



I did a little retail therapy in the week and now have some purple baby alpa for DS1's bed socks,
lots of new stitch markers which came from Cazza (I hope she'll forgive me using her pics but I forgot to photo them earlier) who was very friendly and helpful and posted them out the same afternoon I ordered them as well as changing the rings for smaller ones for me.
I also brought some Trekking off Ebay for a bargin price.



DH had both his interviews this week. Mondays (at Birmingham) went really well, they gave him his score while he was there, and Thursdays (Northampton) was one of those that you just can't tell -apparantly. Anyway now we are back to the waiting game to see if either college gives him a place. Keep your fingers crossed for us please.



The sock is coming along nicely.

Working from translated German is occasionaly interesting but the heel is done now and I am working on the gusset. If I'm really lucky I might get a good chunk of it done over the weekend and I'll be able to start the second one next week.

Urrgh! The Monster is here.

YUCK! YUCK! YUCK!

I am not happy. It's that time when the PMT Monster comes to visit and this month is shaping up to be a goodun. I have a somewhat unhealthy dose of paranoia to go with it so I am a little shakey all round at the moment and am very tempted to be a bit of a homebird this weekend even though I know I probably ought to make the effort to go out.

Added to the Monster attack I have a full on horrid cold. I am all bunged up and feel generaly terrible at the moment. I don't even want to feed up on junk food which is really unusual for ill me. I even had one night this week when I couldn't be bothered to knit!

Speaking of knitting my next pair of socks has been cast on (well the first one anyway) using my new Harmony DPNs. I love them they are gorgeous. My sock is so much tighter than the last ones which were knitted on the aluminiums, and I am much happier with it. The yarn is the purple/green/blue Opal Neon. I've only done a few rounds but I love the colours already. Pics will follow I promise.

What will also follow is a proper post about our holiday but I still need to get the photo's off DH's phone and onto the PC.

And finally wish us all luck please. DH has both his GTP interviews this week, one Monday and the other on Thursday. These will set the course of the next couple of years at least and possibly the rest of DH's working life and so by default a big chunk of all our lives. He is going to be very nervous this weekend I expect and probably not all that easy to live with (had a taste of that earlier in the week) and I will need every bit of patience I can dredge up. Curse that Monster there doesn't seem to be much patience so far and poor DH hasn't got out of bed yet (he gets the lie in on a Saturday) and I'm already tense. LOL Still hopefully we can avoid any major decisions and if I make the effort to leave the house a couple of times (which I really need to) we can get through this.

Oh I do hope he gets a place. He would be so good at this teaching thing we just need the chance to get him started.

January Socks

Well my January socks are done and blogged and I am fairly pleased with them.

I have learned to do short row heels and I have done anatomically correct toes as well so two new techniques.

I have also learned that I do not like lots of white and sharp colour changes in my socks, and that I do not like using metal pins! Good job I brought the Harmonies then ;)

And here they are:

Day Out With Thomas

We have just booked tickets to go here to see Thomas The Tank Engine. We've been meaning to go for a couple of years now but have never quite got round to it however I reckon that this is the last year that DS1 will really look forward to seeing Thomas so we have made the effort and I have booked the tickets.

I am really looking forward to it.

A Beanie for Bean

Well here it is - My I-Cord Beanie


I am very pleased with how it's turned out. I did some mittens to go with it too



And here he is in his new stuff



He is looking a bit miserable as he was coming down with a cold at this point (which he has full on now) and it was first thing in the morning and freezing and he doesn't like being bundled up but I prefer to at least try and keep him warm.

Big Changes Ahead

Well it has been a busy week for the Miffy family.

DH had an interview on Monday for an LSA position here and he got the job! YAY!!!! I am so proud of him (even if he did anoy me last night ;) ) it will be a brilliant role for him. He will be working will special needs children and so will get loads of training in that area which will be excellent not only for his future job prospects but also for his current applications. The position was advertised to run Jan to July so even the timing of it is perfect. DS1 is going to miss his dad though and is playing up a little now he knows that DH won't be at home all the time. Still we are working through it and hopefully once DH has started he will settle into the new routine fairly quickly.

Other big news is that Baby Bean has taken his first steps, and he is so proud of himself. Crawling is still much quicker right now, especially when you are trying to escape from tots, but he takes a few more each day so I think I will soon have to say goodbye to my baby and hello to my toddler! Unlike when the older two left babyhood behind this time I am quite content to leave the stage behind. It hasn't been particularly hard going in any way it's just that I think I am happy with my (our) decision not to have any more children.

This week has been properly back to the term time routine. Sing and Sign on Wed and Tots on Thursday. It was lovely to see everyone again and to have a good catch up over some strong coffee (at least when I made it) and cake :)

On the knitting front I have started and finished an I-cord Beanie for Bean (sorry no pics yet) and I am working on the last thumb of a pair of mittens for him. I am going to do a long i-cord so I can thread them through his coat. I know he won't wear them but at least that way I stand a chance of keeping them.

Then it will be back to my sock. I am taking part in SAM5 and am at the toe of my first January pair. I am hoping to be well underway with the second one before we go to Centre Parc so I can finish it there and start the Feb pair while we are there. I am going to attempt the Lightening Socks from the first issue of Yarn Forward.

And I think that is about it for this week. Only a week and a bit to go to Centre Parcs which I am really looking forward to. We have booked a head and back massage each for DH and I, DS1 has a fencing session booked and DD and I are going to have our hair braided. Plus we are going to splash about in the pool and chill out in general for a few days. Bliss.

DS1's Tri Peak Hat

When i was knitting his first hat a while back I was trying it on his head while it was still on the DPNs and DS1 declared that he would like a "triangle head". So I showed him Woollys Tri Peak Hat and asked if he liked it. Def winner there so he choosed some colours and the wonderful Babylonglegs dyed up some yarn for it.

Doesn't it look gorgeous. And it knitted up beautifully too, I had to frog it after I had done about 4 inches cos it was coming up too big and unlike other stuff I've used you really couldn't tell that the poor yarn had suffered that. However I forgot to ball it as I frogged it so I ended up with a rather unusual knitting assistant!

Anyway having finally got going in the right size this was a really quick easy knit and thanks to a loan of Lottie's crochet hooks it was finished in no time and looks fab on the boy. He loves it!

Back to Usual

Well here I am first thing Saturday morning up with the kids watching kids TV and grabing a "semi" peaceful half hour on the PC.

I am back at work, the kids are back at school and the decorations have all come down and been packed away, oh and I have socks back on the needles! :)

I'm not a "New Year Resolution" kinda girl so I haven't made but I do have some aims for this year. I want to be tidier in the main which DH and I have started work on already. We are going to decluter the house room by room. We have far too much stuff and it just gets in the way so some of it has to go. We started on the front room yesterday as we took the decs down and it looks better already. There is along way to go though.

I have joined a sock KintALong where we aim to knit (and blog ) a pair of socks each month from Jan to June. Even I should manage this without too much problem. The first pair is well on the way I am already on the foot of the first sock so I am pleased with my progress. I am doing a short row heel pattern, these are my first short rows and I was totaly confused at first but I found some great how to instructions and pics on the web (sorry I can't find the link now) and all became clear to me.

I have done some more work on DS1's jumper so I only have to do another inch or so on the back before the decreases. It's a good job he's a slow grower he may yet get to wear this jumper ;)

I have other things planned for the needles this month too including an I-Cord Beanie for the Bean probably with 3 tails rather than just one. Lottie and I found some fab yarn for it when we went shopping last weekend. We had a lovely time wandering around time for a bit and then chilling out over lunch. I really, really needed the break by then having been cooped up at home all over Christmas. DH wasn't even annoyed that I brought yarn on my trip out.

On Wednesday I took the kids over to visit one of my best friends and we all had a lovely day. The kids played really well together and it was great to just sit and chat for a while.

Other brill things include the fact that I can go to Woolfest and my copy of Going Straight is on its way. Oh and DH ordered my my Harmony DPNs (sorry Lottie) and they are beautiful, I'm using my purple DPNs at the moment but my next pair of socks will be done on the Harmony's.

On a less brilliant note I ordered him Guitar Hero III from Play and between them and Royal Mail it has been lost and now we don't know when I will turn up! Grrrr

And I think that about brings me up to date for now. Hope you are all having a good start to the New Year and that it continues to be a brill year for you all.

Happy Christmas

Well I got lots of lovely stuff for Christmas including some gorgeous pressies from Sarah (of AngelTots fame) in my stocking so Thank You very much :). They included chocolates (all gone now) a fantastic smelling soap, a beautifull beaded box and a lush bath bomb. The bath bomb smells gorgeous so I haven't put it away yet it is just sitting at the side of me so I can smell it.

Well I hope your Christmas days were better than mine. LOL. DH sulked like a baby for the whole day cos he didn't like his presents. He has apologised now and I have forgiven him (mostly) though I think I may need some retail therapy to recover from it, after all I never got those Harmony DPN's I had on my list. ;)

On happier notes I have started and finished a scarf for DH. It only took about 4 days (a bit here and there) which is some kind of record for me for a finished item!!!!! He seems happy enough with it so it's been a succesfull project and it was nice to do something simple after knitting nothing but socks for a while.

I have also started WoolyWormheads Tri Peak Hat in the gorgeous handspun that Babylonglegs did for me. Unfortunatly we are still on the kids PC so no pics of anything at the moment though I have been taking them so they will get done once we have our new laptop. The yarn is gorgeous and has withstood my having to frog 4 inches of it very well indeed. I started off with 72 stiches but it came up too big for DS1 so I had to start again. And then I got into a total pickle joining my round and twisted it (somehow, I've no idea how I did it) the first 3 times. Still on the fourth time I got it right and we are off and away now. 3 inches to go and then I need to get myself a crochet hook to do the top.

I got sock yarn for Christmas so I now have enough for 6 pairs! I am itching to get cast on so I will probably do so today.

DH has a couple of interviews in the New Year. One for a GTP place and one for an LSA job which if he gets it will pretty much see us through till he starts the GTP. Fingers crossed please. Both mentally and financialy I need him to get a job soon!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I've had a very busy couple of weeks so I haven't managed to get online much. Plus in the last couple of days the grown ups laptop has died. I am staying very calm about it so far considering that all of the last 2 years photos are on there and someone (no names of course) hasn't been backing them up on disc. My computer whizz mate reckons that we should be able to salvage the contents of the hard disc even though the laptop itself is probably history. Hey Ho. I am sure I will get used to this very sloooooooow machine in time.

In consolation at having to use this one (when I finaly got on it this afternoon) I went shopping. LOL. Some nice new circulars and some more DPNs are soon to be winging their way to me.

In my blogging absence I have mainly been Christmas shopping (mostly done now) and Christmas knitting (well on the way to being mostly done ;) if you see what I mean) and just being out and about too.

The Tots group I go to had a Christmas meal out for the mums last Friday which was fab. I skived out of work early and went straight there and we had a fab time. There are photos, which I haven't seen yet, however they are of the traditional time so are very unlikely to make it to my blog.

Yesterday I went visiting and had a wonderfully relaxing day with Sarah and Sasha. Sarah's new house is fab and feels just a comfortable and "Sarah like" as the old one did. We sat and chatted and I learned a new knitting technique generally had a great time. We are having another get together next week at Lottie's which I am hugely looking forward to as well.

Once DH gets a day job I will be able to have everyone over to mine which will be good and somehow not something I have managed yet.

We put the Christmas decorations up at the weekend so the front room is very festive now.

And DD's new bedroom is very nearly done now. DH has worked incredibly hard on it. The new carpet went in yesterday and the bed arrived and was built today and now there are just a few bits and bobs that need to be brought and put in and she will be moving in at the weekend.

Well I think that brings me up to date for now so I am off to do some more knitting and probably wake the snoring DH before he drives me nuts. Bless Him.