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Friday, 5 March 2010

My Space - A Guest Post

Today, I'm very happy to be introducing a guest post here at Geriatric Mummy's.  And being used to my mundane ramblings you are in for a real treat.  Erica over at Little Mummy's decided to run a guest post swap and 'Musings of a Geriatric Mummy' was paired with 'Very Bored In Catalunya'.  And here is is...a little bit of Catalunian sunshine to brighten your day :-)




My space is home, filled with chuckles, deep hearty manly chuckles and infectious little boy chuckles.  Cuddles and beaming smiles, administering magic kisses on poorly knees. The sound of background noise, radio 2 or an Indie music TVchannel or more often than not, Peppa Pig.   Not too loud, because I like to think.  The computer humming, the tapping of the keys as I twitter or blog or facebook the hours away.

My space is blue, blue skies and blue, blue sea punctuated with the green, green rice fields.  The heady perfume of orange groves in spring, the sticky sweet scent of rice in summer and sadly the smell of manure (chicken shit?) in winter.  A lone shepherd meandering his way down dirt tracks and country lanes, his flock of goats & sheep following timidly behind in search of tasty grazing.

My space is the beach, watching my boy splashing in the surf and listening to the sounds of the waves gently lapping the shore.  A double cone of cherry and chocolate ice cream before we go home or a fragrant spit roasted chicken to take away.  A seaview restaurant serving paella made with local fish and rice, the food of my doorstep.

My space is a bicycle ride through the Delta, following the flat, flat roads through the seemingly never ending rice fields, to where the River Ebro finally spills into the Mediterranean.  The Mussel farm nets lacing the shore.  A natural habitat for thousands of different birds, a nesting and breeding place for beautiful flamingos.  A place so peaceful and tranquil, save for the odd hunter shooting duck.

My space is a boat trip down the river Ebro, t’husband at the helm, helped by Able Seaman Joseph.  The warm sun reflecting off the cool green water.  The mountains setting a stunning backdrop.  Mullet & carp leaping out of the water, probably being chased by the giant catfish lurking in the murky depths.

My space is my rooftop terrace, where at night the unadulterated sky sparkles with the brightest stars and the biggest moon, and the occasional Ryanair flight from Reus to Luton or Stanstead.  The scent of our BBQ dinner still in the air as we sip (sup) some of the finest wine in the world from vineyards we can drive to. The mosquitoes revelling in the feast that is my English blood.  In the day the bourgeonvilla creeps its way along the wall and blooms its pinkest flowers, my Lime tree refuses to flourish or fruit, the little purple flowers who name I don’t know, permeate the air with their fragrance.

My space is my bed, the far right hand side nearest the en suite and the door.  I say the far right hand side, not because we have a big bed but because I am usually left with about 2 inches of bed space after t’husband has sprawled himself out.  A trusty book by my side, to lose myself in and be transported to another world before sleep takes over.

My space is far away, off to some distant place in my mind, present, future or past.  Daydreaming and scheming, planning and wishing.   Sadly all too often, about being somewhere else.   



I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. Doesn't it sound like a fabulous place to live, and to bring up a child?...all that outdoor time. As someone who yearns for sunshine I'm very envious. If you would like to hear more of life for a 'late 30's stay at home mum to Joseph aged 3 and wife to t'husband' who is 'plodding my way through my Catalan life by wasting time knitting, sewing and blogging instead of ironing and cleaning' Head on over. She sounds like a gal that has her priorities right ;-) There's a lovely mix of posts, but the sunshine always comes through and I usually leave with a smile on my face. Oh and she supports Nottingham Forest Football Club, and that alone makes her a fab blogger...

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Tuesday, 2 March 2010

A little bit of swinging...

...not that sort. tutt.


Came across this today, and thought I would have a go at posting it.  Firstly, a couple of my very good friends are having a tough time at the moment, Mummy at TheMadHouse  and the lovely Amanda, who hasn't yet stepped into this mad world of blogging, and I thought this may put a little smile on their faces, even if ony for a short while.  God knows we could all do with a little light relief from time to time.  I also thought it would give me an opportunity to lose my 'vlogging cherry' as it were...


This is Star, taken in Sept 09, aged almost 11 months at our village swings.





However, I then came across this one, which I think will even tempt  a chuckle.  This was taken in early January this year, and features Star, aged almost 15 mths, in his fun pod, playing 'catch' with my mother.







And with that, I bid you goodnight :)








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Monday, 1 March 2010

Keep Calm and Carry On...on Groundhog Day

Before I start, I will issue the obligatory warnings.  This is a post about baby making, has more than it's fair share of self pity and depressive content, will undoubtedly contain information of the 'too much information' genre, and will be even more rambling than normal...incomprehensible even.  If you are not up for a post like this, please click away now.  You have been warned.


Still here?  Ok, well, I'm sure you've guessed that I'm not pregnant, again.  But there is so much more to tell, because I am certain that I was, even though I didn't get a positive pregnancy test.  Here's why. From 10 to 13 days after the IUI I had the symptoms...metallic taste in my mouth, needing to wee all the time, tingling and expanding breasts (when I was expecting Star I went up 2 cup sizes in the first 8 weeks), a slight rounding of my lower abdomen and a feeling of heaviness (I have a BMI of 19, so if there is anything going on there is nowhere to hide, and again I had the same with Star at about 5 weeks) and last but not least I had no premenstrual breakout.  I told myself not to get too carried away after what happened last time, and not to test until 18 days post IUI (when I tested for Star) as anything could happen.  And of course, I was right to think that because 14d.p.iui all the symptoms I had been experiencing stopped, and my body returned to 'normal' until yesterday when we started back at day 1.  And more confirmation that I was pregnant, as it's not 'normal', much more loss than usual, and tiny clots (sorry, tmi).


So there we have it.  And I am once again devastated.  I can't even call it a miscarriage as I never had a positive test.  So I'm sitting here feeling in limbo, not knowing what to think or how to feel, other than utterly dejected and in despair.  I have so many questions, but nobody to ask.  If, at 40, you have two 'miscarriages' in three attempts does this mean that your eggs are shot to pieces and there is no point going on?  Does the fact that they were both very early 'miscarriages' have any significance?  Is it that my eggs are fine, but there is something preventing my body from doing this pregnancy thing again ?  Both times I have been feeling really under the weather with a nasty, and prolonged cold (this time I'm 2 weeks in and no sign of recovery) and I'm normally really healthy and don't get ill.  Is there a connection ?  Is my body so under par that it cannot cope with a pregnancy ?


Then you move onto the wider issues.  Maybe I need to accept that I'm too old, and that I cannot have another.  Maybe it's fate.  Maybe I'm supposed to put all my energy into raising one fantastically special boy.  It's the not knowing that is the problem.  If only I could see into the future and know if it's worth continuing the fight, because that's what it feels like, a fight against my tired, weary, ageing body.  It's not like it's a straightforward process to continue.  It takes over your life, and no matter how hard you try you just can't focus on anything else.  It's expensive, and we could spend that money on something much more pleasurable. It's inconvenient, having to plan your life around cycle days, and trips to clinics.  And of course, it's bloody painful.  I would willing go through all of this for as long as it takes if I knew that at the end of it I would have a sibling for Star.  He deserves it.  But the thought of continuing only to fail...


I feel that everywhere I turn there is a reminder, pregnant women everywhere, on the tv, on twitter, in real life.  My one local 'mummy' friend, or perhaps more an acquaintance is expecting her second baby in July.  She is in her late 30's and exactly the same number of weeks that I would have been had I not miscarried the first time.  I have 'texted' and 'facebooked' my hearty congratulations but I don't want to see her.  It's not a problem yet as we only saw each other about once every three or four months but at the very least I will have to go and visit after she has the baby.  The issue I have is that I know I'm starting to feel bitter and I don't like myself for that.  I look at all these pregnant women and feel that it's so unfair because I do everything 'right'.  I don't drink alcohol, I don't have caffeine, I eat organic wholefoods, I take supplements, I drink/cook/bathe in filtered water, I'm not overweight...so why me?






So here we are, day 2, and what to do ?  Tomorrow I need to start the drugs, but it all seems so pointless at the moment.  I could have a break, but tick tock tick tock...that's not going to help my chances.  So, I guess I'll just carry on regardless, hoping that all I need is one good egg.  In the meantime, I'll try and hold it all together, try not to think about it all, try not to cry more than a couple of times a day, and try to 'keep calm and carry on'.








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Tuesday, 23 February 2010

So many awards, so little time...

I love getting blog awards. No really, I do. And I have been very fortunate of late to have been the very lucky recipient of more than a few.


 I will never be a 'top blogger' as you all know, as I bleat on about far too much misery for that. And I wouldn't say this blog is generally an uplifting read. Nor is it full of inspiring things to make and do, or pearls of wisdom, or funny stories. My writing style can best be described as waffling meandering, and is no doubt full of spelling and grammatical errors.  So why do I receive them ? I am truly mystified as I'm not sure I would read this drivel.  Whilst I'm sure there is an element of 'can I find a blog that hasn't already received this one' I hope that it is the honesty in what I write that brings people here.  I write about real life.  My real life, the good, the bad and the ugly.  No sugar coating.  With all this in mind perhaps you can appreciate why these awards mean so much to me.


Anyway...onto the business in hand.  First off The Sunshine Award.  What a lovely little award this is!  I love the picture don't you ?  Just what we need in these cold, damp, grey and miserable days.  A little bit of summer.




I was given this award by The Moiderer, Make Do Mum, Rosie Scribble, The Life Of Wendy Wife, and Very Bored In Catalunya.  Gosh!  Thank you :-)


I know that I'm supposed to pass this on but frankly it's been around for so long now that I'm sure everyone else has not only received it more than once, but has also already blogged about receiving it, so I think I've missed the boat on that one.


Now, you might be thinking that that is all.  But no.  I have another to share with you.






I received this from Nic over at Diary Of A Domestically Challenged Housewife.  This one comes with caveats ie recommending blogs, telling untold truths about yourself etc.  I think I've already mentioned a few of the blogs I read so you can all assume yourself to be lucky winners, and here are a few more...Chic Mamma, More Than Just a Mother, English Mum, Muddling Along Mummy, and TheMadHouse.


As for the untold truths, I don't have time for that particular part today, but suffice to say that I will do another post on some of the fabulous things I've done, places I've visited during my few years of 'living the dream'.  In the meantime you can hop over to this post and read up on some little known facts that I spilled back then.


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Monday, 22 February 2010

Menu Planning Monday

Well, belatedly once again, here is my menu planning post. It really would make sense to prepare this post on a Sunday and schedule for a Monday morning but alas I'm not that organised. Time always runs away from me. Last weeks menu plan was a complete waste of time as, due to my feeling decidedly under the weather, much of the catering arrangements turned out to be of the 'everyone fend for themselves' ilk. This week will be a little unusual too. The Daddy and I are going out for a belated valentines lunch at our local Michelin starred restaurant, L'ortolan, on Wednesday and we are also out for lunch at friends on Sunday, so that's two days without having to cook.

Anyway, enough of my drivel...

Monday
Star - Spaghetti bolognese with wholemeal spagetti, Bangbang Chicken goujons, bread, broccoli, parsnips, sweet potato, piece of fruit, carob raisins
The Seniors - Roast chicken and vegetables

Tuesday
Star - Chicken risotto, sweet potato, broccoli, parsnip, fish bites, bread, piece of fruit, carob raisins
The Seniors - Chicken risotto

Wednesday
Star - Chicken risotto, fish fingers, sweet potato, parsnip, runner neans, bread, piece of fruit, carob raisins
The Seniors - Out for lunch

Thursday
Star - Roast chicken dinner, parsnip, broccoli, sweet potato, bread, fish bites, piece of fruit, carob raisins
The Seniors - Minted lamb chops and vegetables

Friday
Star - Chilli con carne with brown basmati rice, fish bites, carrot, broccoli, green beans, bread, piece of fruit, carob raisins
The Seniors - Chicken, bacon and mushroom pie with vegetables.

Saturday
Star - Spaghetti bolognese with wholemeal spaghetti, fish fingers, carrot, broccoli, parsnips, bread, piece of fruit, carob raisins
The Seniors- Spaghetti bolognese with wholemeal spaghetti

Sunday
All - out for lunch

I will now endeavour to put a MckLinky below, so that should you decide to do a menu planning post, or would like to share a recipe, you can link it here.




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