Weekend at Grandma's

As Bekah is in her third year at university, and as it is not too far off the end of the Academic year, I suggested that perhaps we could have Charlie for a weekend so that she could get some work done.  The weekend I suggested turned out to be the same weekend as their anniversary, so it was very convenient timing.  

This meant we got to have Charlie from Friday until Monday, with a little visit from his mummy and daddy on the Saturday night, as three nights away from him was more than Bekah could handle.  Now I have to admit that I was excited and nervous in equal parts.  As gorgeous and amazing as he is, I haven't looked after a baby for many years and was worried that I had lost my knack.

It was also good timing as I had just been paid and found myself buying baby equipment that could stay at grandma's house so that Bekah didn't have to bring everything but the kitchen sink every time they visit, although now I have to find somewhere to keep it all.

So Charlie arrived just after tea on Friday.  Robert had to go out to choir practice which meant he was all mine.  Well, mine and Katy's, but mostly mine.  He whinged a bit and then fell asleep until his late night feed.  He also got to meet his great aunt Sarah and is cousin Darcey.  I still can't remember how the second cousin/cousin once removed thing works (sorry Alex), so we'll just say that Darcey is is cousin.

Now here was the tricky bit.  Where to sleep him and who was going to be on night feed duty?  "We" decided that the best thing would be for him to sleep in his pram downstairs with Robert as I had to get up early for an appointment.  I trotted off to bed and left Grandbob to it.

My alarm went off at 7:15 and a few minutes later Grandbob came upstairs and fell into bed while announcing that he hadn't slept all night.  Now, I hadn't heard a thing so was a bit concerned at the terrible night Robert had had with Charlie.  It turns out that Charlie slept just fine, but Robert had forgotten what it was like to sleep next to a new baby, and be constantly listening to them breathe, and then checking that they are still actually breathing when they go really quiet.

Auntie Katy got to do her auntie duty while Robert slept and I went to my appointment.  I came back having stopped off to buy yet more stuff for Charlie, including a bath and a chair.  So after a bath and a bottle, and it being a lovely day, we decided to walk into town as Robert was still fast asleep.

I like my new chair

Charlie was just wonderful the whole time we were out.  Katy on the other hand has decided she needs some sort of sign or badge or writing on her hoodie proclaiming that she is not the mummy, when she's out with Charlie.  Several people assumed this to be the case, and one lady was asking her what she had and what she called him.

In pensive mood.  Either that, or planning on how to take over the world.

He came to church with us on Sunday and slept through the whole thing, which let's face it is probably the best thing to do at church.  One young married man wasn't happy with us however, as seeing Charlie made his wife a bit broody again.

So what have I learnt from this weekend?  I have learnt that Charlie is a very good baby whose routine is pretty much eat, play and smile and be gorgeous, then sleep after a little bit of grumpiness, then start the cycle all over again.  I have learnt that I haven't lost my knack, and that Robert is still better at going without sleep than I am.  Most of all I have learnt that being a grandma is a whole different ball game to being a mummy as you are so much more chilled out about the whole thing, and can put everything on hold while you just enjoy being with your grandchild.  It doesn't matter for a few days if the housework isn't done or if full family meals aren't cooked. Nothing is as important, for whatever time you have, as being with your grandchild.

The Next Chapter

I've thought about starting this blog post several times, but I'm not sure I know where to begin.  This last week has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life and it's hard to know how to put my thoughts and feelings into words.

last Monday on my way to work I was telling myself not to get too excited as there was still a week to go before Bekah's due date.  I started thinking about the things I had to do that day, and one of them was to make sure my boss was ok with me taking off if I got the call from Bekah while I was at work.

I had been doing a few jobs and got back to my desk; out of habit I checked my phone.  There were two missed calls from Bekah.  This was not normal behaviour so I rang her back straight away.  As soon as she spoke I could hear the pain in her voice and I knew this was it.  I left work ten minutes later; went home to pack a bag and headed down to Crewe.  I think it took me about an hour to stop shaking.

When I got there, the house was quiet and relaxed considering the circumstances.  Bekah was coping well and Adam was being very supportive.  They had planned a home birth with a pool, which was all set up and ready in the dining room.  The midwife returned around 5pm and decided that Bekah was far enough along to be monitored constantly from there on.

Things were progressing as normal, albeit slowly.  I wasn't really doing much as Adam was making sure Bekah had everything she needed, but she was glad I was there.  Around 4am in the morning it was becoming clear that Bekah needed to make a decision as to whether she should go into hospital and give up on the home birth as it seemed baby was far too comfortable and happy and wasn't keen to be coming out any time soon, so a little extra help might be needed.  She didn't know what to do as this meant turning the experience into everything she didn't want.  She looked at me and asked "what should I do?".  Anyone who is a mother will know that the responses you give at crucial moments like this are pretty darn important.  I just told her that she needed to do what was right for the baby and that if she stayed at home, she didn't have the options she would have in hospital.

We got to the hospital around 5am, and it was a bit of a shock to the system.  At home, it had been quiet (apart from the occasional scream) with subdued lighting and comfy armchairs.  The hospital was all bright lights and noise and without a comfy chair in sight.  I felt bad that I had advised Bekah to go there, even though I knew it was where she needed to be.

They tried every trick in the book to move things along for her but it was still slow going.  They kept saying that baby was happy and they would give it another hour.  Every time it was "give it another hour".  Bekah was getting exhausted but was coping brilliantly.  They were talking about epidurals and caesarians, but thanks to there being two other ladies that needed more urgent attention, and only one anaesthetist, this kept getting delayed.

Eventually just after 11am they told her that she was finally ready.  We all just burst into tears, including Adam, although I'm not sure he'd admit it.  I haven't asked Bekah exactly why she was crying but my tears were a mixture.  On the one hand this meant she was going to have a natural birth, but on the other hand this meant waiting another hour (they call it passive second stage) before she could start actively pushing.  I was glad things were ok, but concerned at how much longer Bekah could go on and how tired she was.  I wanted it all to end for her as soon as possible, but yet again we were being told another hour.  We got told so many times that baby was happy that it nearly became his middle name.

My beautiful little girl had to push for two and a half hours.  She was amazing.  So exhausted but still giving all she had for her baby.  At the start of this we weren't sure if I would still be there right at the end, or whether it would just be Bekah and Adam, but I got to see my grandson be born.  Ok, maybe not 'see'. I was more on the 'grab my hand and grip as hard as you can' end of things, but even so, I was there.  And, as with pretty much every mother I know about, the first thing Bekah said to him was "hello" as she held him close.

My first cuddle came when Bekah was having a shower.  I think this is the very first picture of him.

Bekah had to stay in hospital that night to be monitored, so eventually Adam and I left to go and get some sleep.  Something that Bekah desperately needed but was unlikely to get.

I spent the next day trying to make things normal for them at the house while waiting for them to get back from the hospital.  In the evening there were lots of visitors and cuddles all round.  Baby was being so good, as we were all making suggestions about what he should be called.

Once everyone was gone I said I would stay downstairs with still unnamed baby, while Bekah and Adam slept.  He wasn't keen on settling in his moses basket, so we just cuddled all night.  This was when he really became my grandson.  Babies smell so good don't they?  He was all mine for those hours.  I didn't have to share him with anyone.  I could watch him and rock him and kiss him as much as I wanted. Something I shall never forget, and I hope the feelings I experienced don't dim with time.

He finally got named on day three.  He is Charles Alfred Bentley, or Charlie, but also currently known as monkey boy Charlie or Charlie monkey and was introduced to the world with this photo..

I enjoyed my few days with the new family.  I got to know Adam much better, and was treated a bit like a VIP when I stayed at the Holiday Inn where Bekah worked.

He is one and a half hours drive away from me, and I'm finding it hard to accept that there is a little baby in my life that I'm not there to look after twenty four hours a day.  I'm not the mummy this time.  This is the next chapter.

My New Obsession

It's been far too long since I did a blog post.  Since my last one I've turned 50, for which I failed to get anywhere near to achieving my goal of being able to do the splits.  Oh well, never mind.  I've also found out I'm going to become a grandma, which is now only three weeks away.  I'm trying not to peak too early with my excitement, and keep it under control.  However, this upcoming event has been the catalyst for my new obsession.

As we haven't had much money this year, and I couldn't afford to buy things to spoil the baby, I decided I would make things instead. I used to knit all the time, but stopped quite a few years ago. This seemed like a good opportunity to start again.  I began looking at patterns for things like booties, and was finding that I was drawn to the crocheted ones rather than the knitted ones.  I never learnt to crochet, and had only really seen the granny square blankets that my mum had made for my girls, which I had never liked.  Now I was coming across all sorts of really cute hats and booties and toys to make and figured I would teach myself to crochet so that I could make some of them.

As usual with most things these days I googled "how to crochet", and discovered that there were hundreds of video tutorials on YouTube that showed you the very basics and even went through how to make all sorts of projects step by step.  I knew that getting the tension right was important with crochet, so the first thing I tried was just a simple square, to see how hard it was.  On the same day I then tried a flower and even a slouchy hat.

I also made a bag, which I haven't photographed, which I now keep some of my projects in.  Kirsty saw this bag when she was home one day and said that she wanted one.  This gave me the idea for my first proper project, and I made a bag for her birthday.

I think it looks small in the photograph, but it's actually about the size of a satchel.

Then I started making things for the baby.  Two blankets came first.  One for the cot (no photo) and one for the pram.

Then came hats for Katy and Kim, which I also failed to photograph.

I was working in the shop one Saturday while Robert was busy elsewhere, and Katy was telling me about the Christmas presents she was planning to get for her friends.  One of these friends was texting her at the time, and the conversation went something like this:-

Katy's friend:  Please tell me what you're getting me for Christmas.
Katy:  No
Katy's friend:  Is it a dragon?
Katy:  No
Katy's friend:  Is it a dead dragon?  Have you killed a dragon?
Katy:  No, it's not a dragon.  Why would I get you a dragon?
Katy's friend:  Make it happen.

This got me thinking, as I had seen patterns for toys, and I said I would make a dragon for her friend.  I had some leftover wool, and Katy ripped apart a couple of her old toys for the stuffing, and I made my first little animal.

I have learnt that this type of crochet is called amigurumi,  and is very popular.  They are fairly easy to make and don't take very long.  The baby now has some of its first toys.

I have been informed that the unicorn has won the competition to be baby's first toy.  Although Bekah hasn't seen the cat yet, and I'm now making a teddy bear.

This is not a toy, it's a beanie hat for the baby.

Robert has been pestering to crochet something for him, but what do you crochet for a fella?  Then one night I had inspiration.  Robert's phone vibrates during the night when he gets emails, and our bedside tables are wooden.  The vibration is quite loud and has been known to wake me up.  By now I had learnt enough skills to figure out a very simple pattern and set about making a bed for his phone to cushion the sound.  Unfortunately it doesn't cushion it quite enough and I have plans on how to pad it even more.

Now, all I want to do is crochet, and anything that gets in the way of me being able to crochet just makes me mad.  I think I am perhaps a little obsessed.

Meteor Watch

I like to look at stars, so when I read that we were passing through a decent meteor shower on 11th August and for the next couple of nights, and as we were having a pretty decent run of good weather, I decided I wanted to go somewhere dark and see what I could see.

On Monday 12th, I texted my brother Jim, who also likes to look at stars and knows much more than me, to see if he wanted to go somewhere dark after work too.  Around 10:30 that evening Robert and I went to pick up Jim and Liz and then we drove up to Crown point and parked near the singing ringing tree (actually, that reminds of something Robert and I did on week two of my summer holiday. We went up to the singing ringing tree for the first time and took lots of nice photos).  There were already a few cars there with people gazing up at the sky.

Jim got us all looking in the right direction, and even though there was some cloud around, there was enough clear sky to make it worth it.  Now when you're looking up at the night sky, you need to get your night vision working and the last thing you need is car headlights in your face.  Unfortunately, other people insisted on using their headlights to see where they were going or where they were parking without any consideration to those of us who were trying to look at stars.  Some of us were more irritated by this than others.  I won't say who was most irritated by this but I will say that most of the derisive comments were being said in a Scottish accent and a healthy dose of Southampton.  I was quite concerned as sound travels well on the hills at night and I thought people would hear them, and some of the people up there looked a little too "Burnley" for my liking, and as it got later, I don't think they were all there to look for meteorites.

As it turns out, this was also a good night to see the International Space Station.  I'd looked for this a few times when it was supposed to be visible without success.  What I needed was my big brother to be there and point it out to me.  We saw it bright and clear travelling across the sky at around 11pm.  We also saw two other random satellites while we were out.

We also saw the meteorites that we had gone there to see.  Every time we saw one we all whooped and Liz and I threw our hands up.  I saw twelve all together which is the most I have ever seen. Some of us saw more than others and there was a thought put forward that if we didn't all see them then they weren't really there.  I'm still saying I saw twelve though.

Thanks to Liz's blankets we kept fairly warm, and Robert provided the Galaxy, Milky Way and Star bars to eat. He thought he was being clever bringing activity related confectionery. I think it was about midnight when we got home.  I loved it.  No photos to post though as it's a bit difficult to photograph meteorites when you don't know what half the buttons on your camera do.

What I Did on my Summer Holidays - Week Two

So my laptop broke and had to go to laptop hospital and I've only just got it back, and now I can't really remember what I did in week two of my summer holiday.  I do remember that on Monday I went to see Kirsty in her new flat in Preston, which was nice, and on Tuesday I waited around again for my precious to be returned from the garage and the hire car to be picked up and on Friday I spent five and a half hours creating a new window display in the shop. Apart from that I seem to have completely forgotten everything else.  This all leads to a rather boring blog post.  Sorry about that.

What I did on my Summer Holidays - Week One

I knew my two week summer break was going to be different this year because we now have the shop and Robert couldn't take any time off so I would be spending most of it on my own, but I was still looking forward to it.  Doing my own thing, driving around in my lovely little car with the roof down as the weather was being so good.

So just how wrong do you think I could be?  On my first day off I was driving to my dad's house I stopped behind a car who had come to a halt to let someone out of a side road.  The person driving the car behind me didn't stop and ran into the back of me. They damaged my precious and later that day I found out they'd damaged me in the form of a touch of whiplash.  Plan 1 and plan 2 out of the window.  Plan 2 had been to get back to the gym and do some swimming every day as I hadn't been for a few months and thought I would take this time off to get back into the habit.

OK, so not a lot of damage but it still meant being without my precious for a week.

On Monday, I had to attend a speed awareness course because a mean policeman had said I had been naughty and broken the speed limit.  He was actually correct, I had been driving over the limit, which is not something I normally do in town, especially on that road as I know they often patrol it with mobile cameras.  In my very shaky defence I would like to state that it was Robert's fault that I was speeding.  A few weeks earlier, I had got home from work on a Friday evening after having already done several errands on the way, and was starting to pack as I was going away for the weekend.  I had to iron some clothes so put the iron on and then couldn't understand why it wasn't ironing as well as it normally does.  When I looked at it more closely I could see that it was cracked and broken at one side and the foot plate was loose. I was in the house on my own, so I texted the two likely culprits and asked them who had broken the iron.  Robert replied that he had broken it three weeks ago, but it was still working and as I hardly ever do any ironing, he didn't tell me.  I mean, fair play to him for doing most of my ironing, but at that moment, when I needed it, it wasn't working and it was - in my opinion - his fault.  So I had to get into town and buy a new iron before the shops closed, which is why in my angry and rushed state I was going faster than I should have been.

The course itself was quite interesting, but it was a very hot stuffy day and I had painful whiplash, so I wasn't a very happy bunny at the end of it.

On Tuesday, when the weather was still glorious, I had to spend my time waiting in the house for the garage to come and pick up my car to repair and for the courtesy car to be dropped off, so that was a waste of a day, and now I had to drive around in a little Vauxhall Corsa instead of my lovely convertible precious.

Wednesday was an ok day as Katy and I went shopping so that I could buy her a new dress for the formal dance at this year's EFY.  I also wanted to buy a present for Bekah's baby, and we had fun going "Oo" and "aah" over all the cute baby clothes and toys, although I didn't end up buying anything as I had something in mind and couldn't find the perfect version of it.

Thursday was Robert's birthday.  He had to work in the shop, but Katy and I went over for the afternoon and then had dinner at the restaurant next to the shop which was delicious.

My yummy dinner.  Well...everyone photographs their meals these days don't they?

For the evening entertainment, we went to see Evita at the Lowry theatre in Manchester.  I had seen this advertised in January and thought it was perfect timing that it was in Manchester on Robert's birthday, so I bought the tickets and had kept it a secret until he opened his card that morning.

Marty Pellow was playing the part of Che and he was pretty good.  Don't know the other two leads playing Eva Peron and her hubby, but they were also very good.  Really enjoyed the performance despite getting hotter and hotter in the theatre as the evening wore on, and the programme was too heavy to use as a fan, even though Katy did a good job with it.

Along with what I was up to this week, there was also a trip planned for my dad to go down to London with Bekah and Kirsty and to meet up with Kim there and to take my dad to see some of the things he never got to see when he lived there as a child.

Kirsty, dad, Kim, Bekah

All was going well, but on Thursday Bekah had texted me to tell me that she was feeling particularly unwell with the baby sickness and had nearly fainted in the street that morning.  As a mum and a daughter this worried me as Kirsty had come home due to work commitments so my 86 year old dad was left to deal with an unwell pregnant granddaughter.  I talked to Robert and we decided it would be a good idea if I went down and spent the rest of the week with them in case either of them needed anything.  Bought the train ticket late on Thursday night and hot footed it down to London in the morning.  Bekah then asked if I'd mind if she went home as she really wasn't feeling well, so this left me and my dad together in London.  We took a lovely leisurely stroll along the South bank and saw some clever (although perhaps also a little mental considering the temperature) guys doing sand sculptures.

Dad preferred this one because he could see what it actually was

We stopped at the book market for a good rummage and dad bought two books.

You've got to wonder what this is all about.

Then we carried on our wander back up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square and sat down for a while doing some people watching.  As we passed the end of Downing Street dad asked "so this is where that man on a bike got into trouble?"

Current fourth plinth sculpture

Dad had decided that actually he thought he had seen everything he wanted to see and asked if I minded if we went home on Saturday instead of Sunday, so I ended up being away for less than 24 hours.  Still good to go and I got to catch up with Kim on Friday evening at dinner.

At Euston station, waiting for the train home

So that was the end of my first week.  Only one of the things I had planned for the week actually happened but there you go.  Life happens.

Catch Up Time

Well so much for my good intentions to blog more this year.  Where does the time go?  As I haven't written a post since April, here is a quick round of up the last couple few months.

Katy went on a visit to France with school in March.  Although technically this was before my last post so shouldn't really be counted in my catch up, I decided it ought to get a mention.  She tried her hand at archery, and informs me that she really wasn't very good at it but did enjoy feeling like Katniss Everdeen for a little while.

She also visited Mont Saint-Michel which looks like a pretty cool place and is allegedly the inspiration for Diagon Alley.  One of these photos is a bit blurry but I included it so you can see why it looks like something out of Harry Potter.

Coincidentally it was in the news today as it was totally cut off from the mainland by an extreme high tide for the first time since 1879.

The shop is doing well.  Can't believe it's really only seventeen weeks since we opened, it feels like we've been doing it forever sometimes.  Robert is loving it and is getting to know his regulars and becoming involved in Clitheroe life.  We decided early on that we would allow dogs in the shop and now it has become a bit of a thing.  We have an album on our Facebook page of all the dogs that pop in with their humans. There are some cuties in it.

A young girl left her teddy in the shop the other week, and he became a feature on Facebook for a few days until she came back to claim him.  Robert took photos of it around the shop and added captions to them.

Having been in a sweetshop for over 24 hours Teddy was worrying about his weight, but as you can see he's still a perfectly healthy 27 grams 

Katy turned 16 in June and we got a little childish.  A couple of her friends came over the night before and were watching a video and enjoying some snacks.  Robert and I had gone to get a bite to eat and then popped into Tesco for something (I can't remember what), but while we were there we picked up some party poppers and silly string and launched a surprise attack on the girls when we got back.

Katy and the Alices

We had a gluten free cake made for her by our neighbours in the Courtyard in Clitheroe, which went down very well.  Spot the reference:-

As I said, that was on the night before.  On her actual birthday, we went to Windermere for the day.  You may or may not know that Katy is going go college in September to do catering.  Her goal is to become a pastry chef.  She had asked for money for her birthday this year so that she could go to the Lakeland shop to buy baking equipment.  She came out with three bags full of all sorts of things and couldn't wait to get home to start using them.

Of course, when in Windermere you have to take a trip on the lake and feed the swans.

Next in chronological order was mum's 93rd birthday.  What do you get a nearly blind, diabetic, dementia suffering lady who doesn't even really know it's her birthday?  Why a cake of course.  Actually Kirsty provided the cake.  I love this photo.  She didn't manage to blow the candles out on her own because she just couldn't get close enough to the cake

We've become a bit Americanised over here and now at the end of year 11 we have proms.  Don't think we knew proms existed when I was at school (ok maybe a slight exaggeration, I'm not quite that old).  Anyway, Katy's prom was at the beginning of July and we made quite a few preparations.  Of course, the outfit  had to be bought and we really enjoyed shopping for the dress and all the extras.  I had already decided it was probably time for Katy to try wearing contact lenses and prom seemed a good time to debut them.  Bekah came home and helped Katy get ready as she's not yet proficient in the art of doing her hair and makeup and really appreciated her big sister taking time to be here and help.

Prom prep

I know I'm a little bit biased, but I think she looked just beautiful on the night.  Several of the teachers didn't recognise her.

It was a bit of a magical mystery tour for them, as they had to go to school and get on a coach all together, and they weren't told where they were going.  Personally I think this was a good move on the part of the school as then the kids couldn't rock up to the event having already perhaps indulged in a little naughtiness for 16 year olds.  Of course, this did mean they didn't get the chance to really make an entrance with their arrival at the prom, although some of the parents did drop their kids off in what they considered to be a suitable fashion.  There were several parents doing fake coughs and mumbling such words as "pratt" when one young man got dropped off by his dad in a Lamborghini.  Now I'm not saying there's anything wrong with expensive cars, but when you're revving your engine and acting like a jerk, then people are going to laugh at you.   Anyway, Katy had a great night at The Pines Hotel in Clayton le Wood near Chorley, and the whole meal was gluten free, so she didn't need a special dinner because she's special needs :).

So that brings us pretty much up to date, apart from the latest news that Bekah is going to be a mummy.  Which I suppose means that I'm going to be a grandma.  Hmm, not sure I like that title.  However, I am very excited about the baby.  She had her twelve week scan today and was given a due date of 4th February, which is my dad's birthday.  It would be nice if it arrived on time.  Since we found out, I've said I think it's going to be a boy.  Robert thinks it will be a girl, so we'll see whose intuition was working properly next year.