Dentist

Today I went to see the hygienist for the first time in about 5 years. I had not been avoiding it- I was told by the dentist that there was no need to go. On my last visit, he said that it may be worth going to see the hygienist- and so I did.

I assumed that there would be a bit of scraping around with the mega metal toothpick thing, and then a lecture on flossing and a massive bill....... I was unpleasantly surprised!

This is an ultrasonic descaler- a device intended to really hurt your upper and lower lateral and central incisors (see picture 1) and to make your whole mouth bleed like mad.
Once I had stemmed the bleeding, the hygienist set to with a polish derived from the above- which was also pretty painful on the incisors.

There was then a lecture about gum disease- I have prepared the above slide as an memory jogger for all of my readers- basically, clean them or they bleed loads, hurt a lot, your teeth fall out and then it costs you a bomb to get some new ones made.
As luck would have it, I have an alternative to the troublesome and outdated enamel items that we are fitted with as standard. The above 'tooth grills' not only look stylish, but also enable you to set off metal detectors at airports, and to look like a bond villain.

In other news, Tim has started swimming lessons in a pool where he cannot reach the bottom- he loved the first lesson and hardly seemed to notice that he was floating for the whole time rather than his more usual wading technique.

Katie has started to re-settle herself when she wakes during the night- meaning a lot more sleep for the rest of us.

Elaine has baked blueberry muffins- which are very nice, (despite her forgetting to put the milk in them.) She and Katie went to feed the ducks today but were chased away by a swan (Elaine was bitten by a swan as a child and now does not trust them.)

I just managed to run 6 miles in a respectable time for the first time in about 2 months.

It's The End Of The World As We Know It.

An REM song, written I believe about Tilbury.

Today I went to Tilbury Power station for a couple of meetings

The power station is the highlight of the town in my opinion, although it is going to close by 2015, and is likely to be replaced with a more modern plant in the next few years.

Since I got back reasonably early, we decided to go out for tea.

The only choice for people with children in Bicester is Pizza Express- so we went there.

I had an Etna pizza, Elaine had a Salcicca pizza and Tim had a La Reine- and took off the olives- all very good. We took Katie's tea with us. (she doesn't like Pizza- Curry is her thing.)

We also went into the library whilst we were in town and Tim has got another Winnie the Witch story- he rejected "Winnie and the dragon" as he does not like dragons. The Paddington Bear book that he chose has been lost between the library and home- not deliberately, so we will have to go and confess about that tomorrow.

Another Post

It's only a couple of days since my last post and here I am again! Amazing.

This is Tim- on the night that we hosted the church's nativity figures (on the trunk.) I don't remember any of the wise men wearing orange hi-viz, but clearly that one does some work on the railways. Could our tree be any more festive?

This one is Katie in her high chair- showing the world her new teeth.

A little bee in our lounge.

KP playing with one of Tim's favourite toys of the moment- she is keeping a look out for when he will come and take it off her- which he always does sooner or later.

Congratulations to William and Kathrine!

Sunday Relaxation

We have just had soup and homemade bread for lunch and are now relaxing with the Wiggles. They are a childrens entertainment group who are amusing to watch for adults- Tim loves them.

KP is having a bit of a sleep- something which never lasts very long.

Last week was the last part of my project management course- I am now fully convinced that I never- ever want to be a project manager. There is apparently far more to it than learning to use Microsoft Project!

This evening we have one of Tim's friends- and her family coming to tea. We are planning to have roast chicken, followed by dessert pizza- prepared by the children, so probably containing things that you don't really want to think about eating.

Yesterday we went to Reading to look at a new rug in John Lewis. I had not been to Reading before, and will never- ever go again. it is a place which is a long way away, has a large one- way system, no signs, lots of stairs and far too many horrible louts loitering about. Oh, and we decided that we did not like the rug. There was a rug that we did want to buy, but it turned out to be for display purposes only! We had to use 3 different lifts to get to the rug department- one of which went the height of about 5 steps!The only interesting thing to happen on the whole trip was a discovery that I made about Elaine. She had a blocked up nose and despite some one to one intensive training from an expert (as those of you who know me will agree,) was unable to blow her nose. Apparently she cannot do it! I am considering fitting her with some pipework and a connection to carry out a periodic blow with compressed air.

Oh, the KP sleep is already over!

No self control

I was the model of self-restraint with the Green and Blacks butterscotch last night when Gill was here. Sadly she has now gone home and I am alone with no will power. There is also half a bottle of Zinfandel calling me from the kitchen, it really smells as if it is going off and needs drinking quickly.



Thanks to all for the words of encouragement on the sleeping front. I really do need it, as KP was awake from midnight to 3.30 am on and off last night. Even Gill was kept awake. Quite what I am going to do when I need to get up at 6am to go to work I don't know. I was interested in P's advice about the cold, and will try some of her suggestions, so thanks for that.



As KP is a lot better, Gill and I ventured to Banbury today. We decided to start our diets by having coffee cake and full fat cappuccinos for lunch. I'm not sure I was supposed to mention that. There was much indecision from me (as usual) about whether or not to buy a half price Brabantia bin for the kitchen - Ben and I have wanted one for ages. I finally decided to take the plunge, and when we unpacked it at home, it wasn't quite the colour we had expected it to be. Only Gill and I could actually take the thing out of its box in the shop and still not see that it is black and not chrome. Anyway, it is staying put, and Tim was so pleased with it he had to throw everything in sight into the bin. I am about to throw the Green and Blacks empty wrapper into it.....

Home alone

Gill has come to Bicester to help me out with the children as Ben is away (yet again). We are sitting here drinking a rather nice glass of Zinfandel each, after a hectic bathtime/ bedtime routine.

Tim spoke to his dad just before bed and said "Daddy come home. I'm tired of you being on a course. What does your course look like? Have I seen it before?"

Katie has been back to the doctors today and is on the mend. She has finally eaten something tonight so I am happy (although I didn't appreciate cleaning up the mess!). Granny looked after Katie whilst I went to the Health Visitor to discuss Katie's night-time waking. Health Visitor once again suggested I sit in the room with my back to Katie for as long as it takes til she falls asleep again. Useless advice, I tried that before and got hyperthermia and almost went deaf.

Granny brought many bargains from the sales with her (and an empty box for Tim which he was very pleased with and now holds all his CD's)

Never Ending Illnesses

You are all already aware of my Christmas bout of man-flu. Well since then, Elaine has had a similar illness, as have her mother, brother and sister-in-law.

Katie is poorly with Pneumonia and possible glandular fever, and Tim has a nasty cough. KP has antibiotics to last for 2 weeks or so and we have borrowed a breathing monitor/ alarm for nightime peace of mind.

We are- needless to say, fed up with being ill.

On the bright side, Tim has a new bookcase which he is very pleased with. He has sorted his books into small, medium and large, and each size has a specific shelf to live on.

Tim now has two imaginary friends- Stind and Slammas. (Stind sometimes has a friend- Stindo with him.) Stind is a boy and Slammas is a girl. They both have blonde hair and drive cars. Stindo is sometimes blind and sometimes deaf. They are all about the same size as Tim's index finger.

We are now back on line with a new email address that we will send on to friends and family shortly. We are also wireless and writing on a laptop! Very 21st Century.

Sadly our Christmas chocolate supply is nearly exhausted and we are sitting here wondering what to 'borrow' from Tim's collection.