Poorly boy

A couple of months ago I did a paediatric first aid course, and since then it seems that Phineas has been testing my skills.  We have been in A&E three times with him since then, poor little guy. This last time was a little on the scary side. He has been coughing for a good few weeks now, but last Saturday his breathing got really fast and I could see he was really struggling. I spoke to Ali (handy to have a best friend paramedic when you have a Phineas!!) who advised I take him up to A&E. We got through a triage nurse and a fairly newly trained junior doctor and I figured I was going to be sent home with some antibiotics, but the junior doctor fetched a more senior doctor to check over what she had advised and he heard the wheeze on Phineas's chest.  We spent a couple of days on Disney ward with Phineas receiving oxygen and hourly nebulisers.  At the time, we just got on with it, but thinking back over it now, it is just so frightening to me.  He is home now, but is still having a high dose of inhalers through the day and night. I am absolutely exhausted, but also can't stand to let him out of my sight.

 These things come in threes they say, so hopefully we are done now!

Tree Hugger

I love that we have trees for climbing in our new garden, and so does Phineas!

Super heroes

 We found this guy in Tesco, the boys were super excited!

Phineas loved this spiderman mask in the Disney Ward playroom. Watching him, trying to watch TV through it was hilarious!

Cupcakes in the new house

 Such a cheeky monkey!

 Handsome blue eyes.

So...we moved house!  The timing was not our choice, but we are making the best of it, and our new house is just wonderful. A minor detail, but I am delighted to be able to have a table in the kitchen, which means a spontaneous decision to bake cakes turned into a lovely cosy family evening. 

Logistics are going to be tricky for the next couple of years, but I hope that we are able to settle here for much longer than that and so it will be worth it.  We will miss living in Barton, but it is also nice to have a little bit of adventure.

Moving house

So, we are finally on the move. The actions of our landlady has left us with a bitter taste, and I am actively trying to hold on to the good times we have had in this house.  However, I am ridiculously excited about life in our new home. Chris (Mum's partner) calls it "the mansion", it's not that big, but it is pretty cool!! It is over the hills and far away, and keeping Nathan at his existing primary school is going to be HARD work, but worth it.
Pretty much everyone we have told has been a bit thrown by our decision, it is a bit of a curve ball even to us. We are getting more of a negative reaction because we are moving 20 miles down the road and keeping our children at the same schools, than the Gilberts who are moving continents... go figure.
For me, it is a fresh start that I desperately needed. Perhaps I am a having a mid life crisis (!!) but I have been yearning for a new beginning and Lewis seems to be on board with that.  We have given away a lot of our stuff and furniture and WE are choosing what WE want in our home, it's a good feeling.

Esaias's 11th birthday

 As you can see from his face, Esaias was stunned to receive a BMX and helmet for his birthday.  The house where we are moving to (more on that later) has LOTS of space for him to ride and I think he will love it.

 Phineas has a bit of a wait until his birthday, but I think we are going to have to get him a cheap little bike for Easter or something, because he has spent all day playing with the wheels and asking to be sat on Esaias's bike.

 I needed a bath and asked Caitlin to watch the boys... this is her version of babysitting! It was really cute to see them all snuggled up together though.

 For Esaias's birth day we went to Elsham Hall. It has beautiful grounds, and I really think we need to go back and visit when it is just our little family... and when we have a whole day to explore. The little lambs were very adorable, and still a bit wobbly.  Most of the lambs pictured were born on the day we went, so they share Esaias's birthday!

 These are the adoption pens, they prevent the adoptive mother being able to bite the lamb until they are used to the lamb's scent and accept them as their own. 

 Uncle Pete treated everyone to a ride on the Merry Go Round, there really is nothing as quaint as traditional fairground rides! My children took delight in finding out what their horse was called, as did my Mum! 

Having such a pretty back drop makes it easy to take such nice photos. Uncle Pete and his children are all naturally photogenic which also helps!!

 My Mum in full on crazy Pip mode. There is nothing like a nutty grandparent, every child should have one!

 And finally cake with Daddy, who had been at work all day. 

Somehow, 11 is more daunting than when your child turns 10 and goes into double figures. Over this next year Esaias will leave his cosy, protective primary school, and will enter the big bad world of secondary.  I hate it. For so long I have managed to keep my children as safe as possible, and then all of a sudden they are thrust into a world where fighting on the bus, and swearing and being mean is "normal" because they are just "being teenagers." With any luck, Esaias will just take it in his stride as he does with most things, ignoring the bad and finding the fun. He is awesome like that.

Kidzcast