Ballycastle Break, April 2012

During the end of term holidays I took the four kids away for 4 nights in Ballycastle at a holiday park where we hired a static home.  We had a fab time, despite a hell of a lot of rain!  Ballycastle is on the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland and so we had lots of beaches to visit.  The two little ones loved the beaches despite the cold.

We managed to pack a lot in. We are far too many portions of fish and chips, the 3 bigger kids spent the 5 days playing out a 'Jack Changes It' tournament which kept them well occupied in the evenings. We visited two castles and climbed hundreds of steps. We took the boat over to Rathlin Island and saw seals on the beach.  It was really nice to spend time with the kids without the pressures of every day life.

Gunge, gore, snot and blood clots.

It's been ten days since my operation and I'm finally starting to feel a bit more human again. The nose itself wasn't too bad (except when a little person accidentally head butted me in the nose which was painful beyond belief!) But the tiredness from the anesthetic has been far worse that I'd expected. I've had two aesthetics before, one for an hour long surgery and one for a c section. Both those operations were far more serious than this nose jobby, but took half the time to do. I guess an extra hour of anesthetic really does make all the difference.

I went back to the hospital on Thursday to have the plastic splints removed from my nose. 'Hank' came with me. Partly to drive me because I was still a zombie, partly to be supportive, but mostly because he wanted to see how much blood, snot and gore would come out of my nose with the splints.  And he wasn't disappointed! I got to see the surgeon who again explained to me (and three very eager students, a nurse, and Hank) that the operation had been very tricky indeed.  I told him how pooey I was feeling and he agreed that it is indeed a nasty operation that leaves people feeling a bit yuck for a while.  He explained to the students (who looked like they could have been my own kids) what he had done to me then proceeded to spray disgusting things up my nose, undo stitches and pull out the splints.  Having the splints pulled out was nowhere near as uncomfortable as having the 8 inch tampons pulled out was a few days before!  Hank and the three students all leaned in for a closer inspection at the gorey parts.

After removing the splints he stuck a suction thingy-ma-jig up my nose and gave it a good clear out.  Then he asked me to take a breath through my nose.  Well !!! I nearly sucked up the surgeon and the three students with my turbo powered super nostrils! Never in my life had I realised how much oxygen the average person can breath through their nose till this point! I was totally astonished. The surgeon explained that I would get congested a lot over the next few weeks (up to 3 months) but that eventually I would be able to breath properly through my nose all the time. He then told me that he thought I'd got sinusitis since the surgery so prescribed some antibiotics (which might explain why I'd been feeling so unwell?)

I will be reviewed again in 6 weeks. Since then my nose has been quite congested, which is disappointing but expected.  I can't wait for it to work properly. A few times a day I have to squeeze a half pint bottle of saline solution up one nostril and let it pour back out the other nostril.... which is a strange feeling! But it really helps clean out the blood clots and gunge and make it less congested. Now it doesn't feel too bad apart from the stitches that are inside my nose. I don't like them.  It's just like having had a bad cold. Congested.

For a good 8 days I could barely move with the tiredness. Tiredness like I'd never felt before. Like someone had removed every last drop of blood from my body and replaced it with liquid metal. But the last two days I've been more human and can see myself getting back to normal. Horrah!

Click here to watch a video of a super cute 5 year old girl using the same saline bottle method to clean out her nose as I do. What a brave wee thing!

Oxygenate me!

Last Friday I went into hospital for a septoplasty and turbinate removal. I didn't know I was getting turbinate removal until after the operation (in fact I've never heard of turbinates until this point).  For years I have had trouble breathing through my nose and my GP has suggested it might be the cause of constant headaches and feelings of tiredness. But I was never keen to get it fixed. But then the last few years I've started snoring like a wart hog and choking during the night when I stop breathing.  So once my blood pressure was under control it was decided that I ought to finally get my nose sorted out.

I was lead to believe that septoplasty was a very simple procedure and that I'd be allowed home the same day if all went well. However, after a 2 hour operation the surgeon came to tell me that things had been far more complicated than expected.  My septum appeared to have been broken in two places and was completely bent out of shape. They tried their best to fix it but said they'd had to remove so much cartilage that I might have some trouble from this.  Then he said that my turbinates were so enlarged that I couldn't breath anyway so they removed them too. I've since read that turbinates will enlarge if you're suffering allergies and can be the cause of snoring. 

I stayed in overnight until I could get the two 8 inch long tampons pulled out of my nostrils! Man, that was not a pleasant experience!! I was glad to get home but have to say that the recovery has been slower than I'd hoped. I feel completely and utterly drained most of the time, and really nauseous. I've barely eaten since Friday but have lost half a stone, so it's not all bad! 

Today I am going back in to hospital to get the plastic splints taken out of my nose. I am hoping that I'll feel a marked improvement in sinus and tooth pain once these are out, and might even be able to breath again.

A new addition to the family

  And no, it's not a baby!

Meet Basil, our new puddy cat.

We adopted him from the Cats Protection League in Belfast last Sunday after being assessed by them and approved a few days earlier.  The kids couldn't wait to pick out their new pet.  We had already been told about Basil and so we met him first and fell in love with him.  Tarja and Barney came with me to choose him.  But it was hard to choose. So many beautiful, friendly cats, all waiting for a home. How does one choose?? In the end we went with Basil because he was super friendly and we'd already seen photos of him and had him in mind. 

It took well over an hour to get home, because it was rush hour. But Basil sat in his box on Tarjas lap and made no fuss at all.  We had been told to keep him alone in a room for a day or two until he got used to the new environment, and to expect him to be out of sorts and scared.  

But when we opened his box up at home, he came straight out, jumped down, did his own tour of EVERY room in the house and then started purring and cuddling! Within no time at all he was up on my knee, lapping up the love and making himself at home.

The kids absolutely adore him, and I get the impression he will be very happy here. He used to live on a farm before it was demolished and he became homeless. I can tell that he really wants to get outside into the great outdoors, but he will have to wait a few weeks until he is allowed. 

The first night he snuck onto by bed in the night and took as much space up as he could! He is going to be one spoilt kitty!

Christmas 2011

My baby turns 3.

My baby has turned 3 and is really no longer a baby. She is a little madam! She is so like both Tarja and Barney at that age... but in different ways. She can't entertain herself for a second! But loves someone to play with. She loves Peppa Pig, swimming, going to the park, play dough and playing with her new 'doggies' set.

She had been waiting for months for her birthday and was very excited when the day finally came. This year we had a little family party for her at home. Her aunts, uncles, cousins and Nanny came and the next day she kept saying "wow, Mummy, everybody really loves me!" So she obviously felt really special and was feeling the love!

Here are a few photos of her special day.

Marrakesh, Morocco, Nov 2011

Marrakesh has to be one of the most magical places that I've ever been to. It's like another world. Tiny streets filled with masses of people, motorbikes, donkeys, horses and carts, all bustling around competing for space to get by.  At first it was a bit of a culture shock, but very quickly we realised that the people were lovely and felt really safe and at ease.

We stayed in Riad Linda which is in the heart of the medina. The Riad is a grand old house and we stayed in the Kings suite which gave us more space. Such luxury!  The staff and owners were lovely and most helpful.  But the best thing about the Riad was its closeness to the Djemaa el Fna or main square. 

The main square is where we spent most of our time. The smells, sights and sounds were from another world. In the centre of the square are hundreds of stalls all selling traditional Moroccan food.  One night we sat on a balcony in a restaurant looking down over the square. We just watched the hustle and bustle, whilst the steam from all the food stalls rose into the sky and across the mosque. Such an awesome way to spend an evening! 

We spent days just wandering around the maze of souks, which are never ending. Getting lost was part of the fun but often locals would try to guide us to their shops in the hope that we would spend lots of money.  Of course we brought back souvenirs and I got presents for the kids. We sampled all the Moroccan pastries and ate all sorts of tagines in various restaurants. You can't go to Morocco and not try all the local food. The only thing we didn't try were the snails. They just didn't appeal to us! 

We did a sort of cooking course at the Riad, which turned out to be more of a demonstration. Then we ate it that evening in the Riad courtyard.  One of the staff took us shopping and we both bought tagines to bring home, along with lots of local spices to cook with.  The smell of the spice souks were totally intoxicating! 

I would have been happy enough just wandering around for weeks with my camera as the entire place was just one amazing photo opportunity. I made Hank a photo book of Marrakesh for Christmas so that he can keep the memory of our amazing trip alive forever. 

I could add hundreds of photos to this post but better not or the page will never load. But here are a few of my favourites.  I would definitely go back there again. Without a doubt. 

Tarja turns 15 in the style of Tim Burton!

Wow, I am so incredibly late with updating my blog posts. So much has happened since I last posted. But first let me start with Tarjas 15th birthday. It's hard to believe that my baby girl is nearly a fully grown adult. But she is turning into the most beautiful, helpful, kind young lady and I'm so very proud of her.

We of course had a birthday celebration at home. She wanted money to buy a laptop with (she's
been saving for months) but she still got a few wee presents too. New clothes and girlie things. But this year she, her cousin and her aunties organised a special Johnny Depp/Helena Bonham Carter/Tim Burton themed birthday party for both Tarja and her cousin B at Nannys
house.

What a great night it was! Aunty J had made the most amazing Tim Burton themed cakes, and Aunty M put a lot of effort into food and decorations. Everyone dressed up and it was a memorable night.