2011

This year has flown by already, my weight was doing very well and I even managed to keep it in check over Christmas and was 1.9kg from my goal, unfortunately I am now a good way off from that goal, but plan to get back there.


Just before Christmas the Camp does what's called a 'Turkey Trott', where the CO dresses in a turkey costume and everyone else in fancy dress and they run to the local Primary School and the kids judge the best fancy dress, then the Turkey and his guards get a head start and the rest have to catch him up and pluck out a feather, all in good fun and great to watch.  Tye dressed up as Elvis as we couldn't find his Captain America costume lol.

For the few weeks before Christmas and of course just after I had been on standby as I was my friend Helen's birthing partner with another lady called Julie, who is absolutely lovely and that bond will keep us in touch and friends, Helen means the world to me and is sister to me in all but blood.  I was so pleased to be able to be there for her after everything she had put herself through to get this far, and I was going to make it one way or anther.  I got the call first thing in the morning on Monday 17th January, I set off straight away after dropping Connor off at the bus.  I didn't do badly on time and got to the hospital at 1.30pm, she had already been messed around and they had tried to send her home, but she had been re-admitted once I got there.  She was already in a great deal of pain, I had two C-Sections and I always remember people telling me that I had missed out on an experience of having a Natural Birth, I didn't think so and that was totally reiterated to me during the next 12 hours, I really do not know why women choose to put themselves through that when there are alternatives and the end result is the same.....

The baby was back to back which was causing Helen excruciating pain, and it was awful for both Julie and I to watch and feel useless, Julie was great at massaging Helen's back as it seems to help the pain, but the longer it went on the less strength Helen had, she had been in labour since 4.30am and at 4.30pm we persuaded her to have an epidural, things went on with more and more pain as the epidural hadn't worked properly and they had to keep topping it up.  I think (and it is a personal observation) that people should be in the midwifery job and maybe that is only some, for long periods, one of the midwives was very matter of fact and yes I realize that this has to be done, but each case or person is an individual with feels and real live fears, and her attitude stunk, there is no other was to describe it, she came across 'been there done that everyday for the last god knows how many years, just get on with it', not that Helen was an older mum, it was her first baby, and a little bit of sympathy and feeling would not of gone amiss.

By 2am on Tuesday 18th January, they decided to move her into the operating theatre, a surgeon and doctor were called and we think they were very close to performing a C-Section, but they tried Ventouse and Forceps, I went in with her and tried to give what little support I could, the Baby was born at 2.26am weighing 6.8lbs.  She didn't have a name for him at the time, she liked Callun but was very worried that everyone would keep getting it wrong and call him Callum, he has now been given the name Joel Joseph.

It was an experience that I will never forget, seeing a life being brought into the world, but I didn't like watching my friend being in so much pain and having to worry for so long.

Not long after Joel was born, she already looks like the doting mum

I know she will kill me for this photo, but we tried to get a quick bump photo but the pain was too much for her

You can see just how small he is in comparison, this was after his first bath

Trying to capture some artistic photo's but he didn't stop crying for very long

This is the other Guy in Helen's life Flynn

Whilst I was at home I took some more photos of mum's dogs, Stokes the tiny puppy is now nearly on his was to his next trainer, I couldn't get over the size of him now.

Especially seeing him next to William

 

Some more Layouts that I have been doing

Connor and I have had a few outings with the cameras recently he is getting very good, he has a good eye, but still shakes quite a bit whilst holding the camera.

We went to Woburn Safari Park as one of our outings, had a fabulous day, until a Giraffe (yes you read right) a giraffe bit off my Ariel....... and I was worried about the monkeys!!!!!

My photos

Connor's Photos

My January Crop was nearly cancelled as the Community Centre we hold it in had a gas leak and was closed for a few weeks, I was really lucky to be able to hold it on camp, but that was when the difficulty came in lol. The security was a bit of a nightmare, getting everyone's full names and car registration, then getting them to sign in and get photo id before entering the camp, I think they all found it a bit of an adventure, and two of them tried to by pass the security lol, 

This weekend I drove to Bubbly Funk to take a class by Craft Stamp Editor - Katy Fox, who is a team member and friend, the class was a Maze Book which I have made several times, but the whole idea was to see Katy, I had kept it a surprise and was so glad that she was pleased to see me, I also got to meet another Team Member Helen who is really lovely, I do think we have the best team ever.  

The class was good, well taught, Katy has a lot of patience and instructions were very clear, the techniques were very good, inking, stamping, etc, it was thoroughly enjoyable, I did think that the price was a bit high for the materials that were supplied by Bubbly Funk but that was just my opinion.

Am very hooked on Nora Roberts books and seem to be getting through them at an alarming rate, have recently discovered that she also writes under the pseudonym JD Robb and read my first one of those, very futuristic murder/mystery/romance and really enjoyed it, oops more books to read.  Am not sure about the kindle I don't like the idea that it does not have a back light, I have the Kindle App on my iPhone and Tye has it on his Galaxy Tab so have been borrowing the Tab to read and love it as it is lit up.