I O, I O, its off to school we go!

Its September, that means back to school. Chloe's now in year 2, its all gone so quick! She's now reasonably settled within school, with a new teaching assistant and teacher.

The house is looking a lot better, and we had a letter from the charity shop we donated so much to saying they've raised £125 already. We've begun to go through even more things now, its true that once you start flinging stuff, you don't stop. Its made me realise we didn't need all that stuff, it was just in the way.

As far as the ME goes, its been very hit and miss. I had a rough time over the summer, with a nasty infection while we were with the family in Worcestershire, and meaning we had to stay longer than planned. I also crashed the car up on the way home from that trip, so at the moment, we are without our car. No-one was hurt, I just hit the curb and buckled the two passenger side wheels, burst one tyre and lost the pressure in the other. It had failed the suspension test, but the insurance company have agreed to repair it. Hopefully it shouldn't be too long before we get the car back.

I had a flare up after the car accident, more based on the backache I had after the accident. At the moment as long as I pace, things are reasonably OK. We have all had the latest gastro bug thats going around, but thats over and done with now.

So now we are looking ahead to the end of the year. Chloe's birthday is in 8 weeks time, so we are contemplating what to do. I personally would prefer not to do a party, and Chloe seems quite taken on going to a museum for the day instead. We are looking into it, and into present ideas.

So its an early night tonight, I want to get a decent rest so I can get some more stuff done tomorrow.

So its not home sweet home yet, ADJUST!!!!

Oh gosh. What a time its been. After 9 months of uncertainty and upheaval we are now in a new home.

Its been a hellish move. We've gone from a four bedroom house with garage to a 2 bedroom end terrace a quarter of a mile away. We are still walking distance to school, and Chloe has already made a few friends in the close.

We've been here for 10 days, and we are still in a sea of boxes and bags. The charity shop has made a tidy profit from us, as has the tip unfortunatly. We're now in the process of finding homes for all our things and finding our way around our new home. For the first time, we have freeview in our bedroom, something I find so useful. I managed to "sneak peek" view Desperate Housewives at the weekend so now I am free to go to bed early tonight after a nice long, hot shower.

Since I last updated, lots of things have happened. My "little" brother is getting married in a months time. He asked his girlfriend of 10 years to be his wife back in January, and its been a whirlwind of planning etc. We are so pleased for them both and wish them love and happiness.

Chloe exceeded all our expectations during assessment week at school, and is thriving academically. She is enjoying reading Roald Dahl, at the moment we are reading Danny, Champion of the World. She has a spelling age of a 10 and a half year old, is taking part in the local music festival and is learning French after school. We are so proud of her. She has adapted well during the move too, with the help of her friends.

Illness wise, things have been up and down. Since the move I've had really disturbed sleep patterns and am sleeping more in the day, but with the stresses involved I expected that. The pain levels have been higher, something I also expected. I didn't expect the severity of "tramadol withdrawal" headaches though. With the frenzied moving I forgot doses at times, and have been made well aware of it :-( Today was one of those days too.


So now its onwards and upwards, enjoying a new home and a summer full of happiness and merriment. That is, if it ever stops raining!

Where does the time go???

I can't believe its been 5 months since I posted :-( Time passes so quickly.

So where am I now? Well, the house has been sold underneath us, and we are STILL in the process of finding somewhere new. We've tried getting a mortgage, and its harder than people think with the "credit crunch" going on. Plus the area we are looking in is quite small. We will get there, but everything is slowing down now ready for Christmas. Having said that, we have 2 viewings booked for the new year already.

Health wise, I am much the same. I was diagnosed by the specialist as having Fibromyalgia as well as M.E. so its all in writing now. I was starting to see some improvement until the Landlord started piling on pressure for us to get out, and then the winter set in. With Fibromyalgia being similar to arthritus, the cold weather makes the pain more noticable. I tend to try and stay in the warm as much as I can. I'm still trying to walk etc as much as I can though.

I've been granted Disability Living Allowance :-) I finally got confirmation at the begining of this month, it was a long time coming. It is such a relief, as I am in the time of year where I use more taxis etc. It also means I'm allowed access to Motorbility now, so I could in theory get myself a car once I've passed my driving test.

Chloe is doing VERY well at school. Academically she is a year ahead of her peers, which is encouraging. She did very well in the nativity and carol concerts, singing with gusto. She is looking forward to Father Christmas bringing her MORE lego! She had a lego village for her birthday too. She was 6 this year, and is getting more and more grown up by the day.

So we are pretty much still plodding on. I'll post more in the new year.

Hmmmm.......... Worried now

We've had the report back from the accident in January. The doctor I saw at the time thinks I may have Fibromyalgia setting into my spine, hips and shoulders. :-( It kind of fits as the painkillers aren't working as well as they were. With all the pressure going on I'm feeling a bit low too, so its time to book a GP appointment.

We've been looking at houses, and have another 4 to look at over the next few days. Its a busy time, properties are appearing in the market daily. Si made me promise that I'd stop looking at houses during the week so that I don't get so stressed.

And there's only 4 more school days left till the end of the term. I am tired now, and can't wait for the lie ins, but wonder how I'll cope with 6 weeks of entertaining Chloe. She wants to learn how to tell the time over the holidays, and I think thats a good thing. We have a few educational games around the place, and I am going to try and use the opportunity to go through the things in the house and get rid of a lot of junk ready for moving.

I'm looking forward to moving somewhere to call ours, but not the stress involved in it. It looks as though much of the organising will be left to me, as Si is on a big project at work with a big client. This happened last time, and I think thats what contributed to the big flare up last year. I keep looking at items around the house that I don't like, or don't want to take to the next home. I just know I have to be sensible and take regular breaks so I don't over do it.

Gosh! Its been over a month since I posted

Whoops! It has been so busy here, its unbelievable.

June was a blur! In the last 5 weekends, we have been away from home for 4 of those weekends.

We went "home" for fathers day. I use it in speech marks as Swindon feels so much like home now. It was a very snap decision, I decided at 3-30pm on the Friday afternoon of the Fathers Day weekend. I managed to pack everything and we arrived at Si's mums at about 10pm. During the weekend we went to see my grandparents, as it was my grandmothers birthday the following weekend. It was good to see them, particularly as its been a while and Grandad has been a bit poorly of late. Nan loved her birthday present, a beautiful Portmerrion brooch.
I treated Si to dinner at our local Hungry Horse on the way home. It was busy but some lovely family time. Chloe actually tried brown/HP sauce. I was amazed!

The following weekend was Damian and Sue's wedding party. The party was amazing, so intimate and enjoyable. The food was exquisite, I really enjoyed that bit. Everyone looked like they were having a great time. Here's a pic or two:





Also, huge thanks to Jen for having Chloe so we could enjoy an evening on our own. It had been a while. Jen and I went for a lovely lunch together in House of Frazer in Reading the following day, I totally recommend it. We chose the Afternoon Tea, it was sandwiches, tea and scones for £6-50 each . We also tried Krispy Kremes, something I won't be doing again in a hurry. They were OK, but VERY sweet. Not really worth the hype in my opinion.

The following weekend was SUZANNE VEGA!!!!!!! It was hard going, but so worth it. We left here really early, and got Chloe to Amie's for about 11am. Chloe was totally settled with her aunt and her cousins. Chloe was taken to Worcester by train and taken to see Shrek the Third. She was so well behaved all weekend, I was so relieved.

Our weekend was amazing but tiring. We put Jen on the insurance for the car, it was so worth it. It only cost £35 or so, but meant we could all take turns. It was such a long drive, but didn't take as long as we thought. We avoided the M6 and the roads were clear. The hotel was fine, cheap and cheerful. There was a problem with the booking, but it was rectified quickly. We settled in, had a cuppa and changed, then went off into Liverpool.

I drove into the city, and parked in what I thought was the right car park. It wasn't! We got a cab over to the Philharmonic Hall, and found an excellent family run cafe for dinner. £3 for an English breakfast and a cup of tea! It was cooked excellently too, and the cafe had a real family feel.

The Philharmonic Hall was beautiful. The outside was very grey looking, lots of concrete etc. Inside it was stunning. Very art deco, with lots of character. In terms of disabled access, it was OK. There was a lift available to the car and auditorium. The staff were helpful, but not necessarily friendly.

The gig itself was amazing! The support act, David Ford, wasn't my taste, but his approach was interesting. He was using equipment to sample music and repeat it, so he could build up a sound/song. Most of the lyrics were angry and shouty, so not my taste, but the concept was good.

Suzanne was amazing! She came on at 9pm, and played for an hour and a half! There were 7 tracks played from the new album, with a full band. Many of the old favourites were played, including the rarely played Rosemary, one of my all time favourites. There were a few that weren't played that I wanted to hear, Maggie May and Calypso. Suzanne was wearing a fabulous pair of shoes that she herself were beauty and crime. She looked great!

After the show we met up with some "towies" (fans on www.suzannevega.com) and we were escorted to meet Suzanne! She was even better in the flesh
Please excuse the really bad pic, but the camera is on the way out :-( On the left is Suzanne, Me in the middle and Mike Viseglia on the right, the bassist in the band.

We had a brief chat, I told them what I thought of the new ideas on the album (being a musician) and that the shoes were fantastic. She seemed so genuine and happy to hear the fans comments.

We got back with no problems, even though it was quite heavy rain on the way home.

The following weekend was very stressful! We use freecycle listings, and had managed to get hold of a high sleeper bed, and intended to use it in Chloe's room. On the Sunday we tried to put it together. It was reasonably easy to do, but was difficult in terms of it was quite heavy and cumbersome to put the bed part on as you had to lift the bed base over the top of your head. IT was a two person job, so Si and I worked together on it. Once we put it up, we realised it was too tall, and that C would be able to reach the light fitting. Si had been feeling a bit rough all weekend, and as we took the bed back to pieces, he started to get chest pains. We were both petrified! He sat down for a while, then phoned NHS direct, who immediately sent out an ambulance. Si was checked out thoroughly, an ECG done, and the consensus was that he had either pulled a muscle while putting up the bed or had very bad indigestion. We felt awful that we had had the ambulance service out, but relieved that it was nothing serious. Si has been referred to a cardiologist as a precaution. Thankfully we have private health insurance, so his appointment is in the next 2 weeks.

And so to last weekend, where we went "home" to celebrate our parents birthdays. Si's mum is 80 at the end of the month, and my dad is 57 today. We bought a birthday cake and had a takeaway evening on Saturday. We went to see Shrek the Third as a family too. I found it hard to pack this time around, I think the going away so much has really taken its toll.

Its been quite hard in the last month. Our busy shedule has left us all tired and worn out. We also found out that our Landlord has decided to sell our home. We are still thinking about what we are going to do, but are looking at new homes to buy. It also means that I have to keep this house in showhome standard, something I'm not very good at. And with the summer holidays looming, its getting harder.

There is good news about Chloe. She has completed her first sports day, we have had her school report, and she has made excellent progress. Term finishes next week, and so ends her first year at school. She has excelled all our expectations, becoming more independent, sociable and academically gifted as the year has gone on. Last week the class performed their first class assembly, it was fantastic. We recorded it so are now busy with our reception class DVD factory!

Health wise, I've been up and down. I've had 4 coldsores in as many weeks, so I have ended up on medication for it. My other symptoms have been up and down. I have decided to take some immune boosting vitamins for a while to boost my system back up. I have an appointment with the specialist next week, and will be discussing the possibility of a fibromyalgia diagnosis too, after a private medical for an insurance claim following a car accident in January. If it does happen, I'll deal with it. The pain has changed recently, and I am concerned.

So that's the last month for us! With the School holidays looming, I'm looking forward to lie ins and lazy days, bliss :-)

Its all catching up with me

And finally, some photos :-)

The one of the three of us is when I was symptom free


The one of Chloe and I is one of my favourites

Yesterday I managed to do quite a bit, but boy do I feel it now! My shoulders ache, my back is so sore, and my feet are swollen.

I got the contract to the letting agency yesterday, that was kind of desperate. I wanted it done so that I didn't forget about it. I knew Si would forget so knew it had to be my priority, as it is the roof over our heads. I managed to get up the terribly narrow staircase to the second floor office, and paid up the contract fee. I have no idea how they propose to help more disabled people, the office was so cramped that you'd never fit a pushchair or wheelchair up there, thats not without the logistics of getting it up there in the first place!

Then I went shopping! The sun was shining down and I was just gently ambling across town.

I ended up getting a cab back from town, and I was shattered. I did get an hours lie down with Chloe while we watched Over The Hedge (again! *groan*) which gave me the energy to carry on last night, but now I feel mentally exhausted as well as physically. As it says on my coffee mug: "Todays Agenda...... just get through it " I have my porridge and coffee here, then I'll go upstairs to just chill out and read my book.I would reccomend this one to every M.E sufferer. Its written sympathetically and informativly without being too much to take in. I can well believe it will be one of those books that I dip in and out of all the time once I've read it all the way through. I know I won't be able to read much before I feel sleepy, but I'm going to make the most of the peace until 3pm comes :-)

I finally got somewhere today

I should be jumping from the rooftops. Today I have achieved so much.

I took Chloe to soft play with friends, we stayed for lunch. The food was good, particularly for one of those places. Chloe enjoyed the play and was dissappointed to leave.

After that, we popped to the local garden centre. It was an impromptu visit, but very useful. I got some petunias to replace slug eaten seedlings. I got a few odds and ends too, and looked forward to an afternoon in the garden.

I managed to plant up all the plants, tidy up the pots, and chop back some overgrown plants at the side of the house. The feeling of accomplishment was amazing. It took 2 hours, but I can see exactly what I have done and how pretty it all looks.

So after all my hard work, Si bought dominos for dinner. We had a half price offer code so got a huge order for not a lot of pennies. It was a lovely treat for a hard afternoon of work.

So all thats left now is to sign the house contract for another year, and thats a good day for once.