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.

M.E + Autistic child + half term = huge disaster

The title says it all really! This week has been half term, and has been hellish, on a personal level and on a M.E. level.

I tried to plan to do something every day to lessen the boredom, not taking into account the exaustion levels. On Tuesday, we went to Soft Play with some friends then on to the outlet village for lunch. The play was fine, Chloe left me in peace while she played and I rested while chatting over coffee with friends. Lunchtime was reasonable too, Chloe ate well and behaved. She was a mare while we shopped though. I did compromise and bought her 3 new story books, good for using during rest time. I was shattered physically afterwards though, so the story books came in particularly useful.

Wednesday was reasonably ok, we went for lunch at Pizza hut with Katy and Sophie. The restaurant was heaving! It was quite difficult to move with the walking stick around the buffet tables and to the toilets, and also the disabled toilet was out of order. That made taking Chloe to the toilet a bit difficult as I find it so hard to lift her now, as she is quite heavy! The food and company were good though. Afterwards, as it was pouring with rain, I went over to the supermarket and bought Chloe Over the Hedge on DVD. What a godsend! I was starting to get so fed up of Flushed Away, Happy Feet and Cats and Dogs. Its quite entertaining on an adult level too. I could at the moment quite happily sit through it.

Thursday was tough. Chloe was in a foul mood, it was pouring with rain, I was in pain, and the housework was piling up. I'd made myself a list and wanted to just get on with it. It seemed as though every time I got up to do something, Chloe wanted attention, and she wanted it NOW! At one point she accidentally kicked the laptop, and I went supersonic at her (not my finest hour) then burst into tears. It was like that all day. Looking back, knowing what I do now, it was the last exhaustion before I finally gave in. I hated thursday, I spent most of the evening upset in tears. Si came to the rescue with Kentucky Fried Chicken for dinner, and an early night was called for.

Friday was strange. I woke at 4-30am desperate for a drink and coughing. I'd also got the start of a coldsore, and a headache with the feeling of someone trying to drill a hole through my skull above my eye, a very strange sensation. I tried to sleep it off, but by 6-30am it was turning into a migraine. I took everything I could, told Si to cancel Hydrotherapy and I went back to bed, drowsy from the migrealeve. When I woke again at 10-15 am I felt a bit better, and although I realised I should really stay at home, agreed we'd carry on with the plan of going to see Jen in Reading for her birthday.

It wasn't too bad a day out, we went shopping and out for lunch, where Chloe was well behaved. I managed to get an outfit for a wedding we are invited to later this month, and we got an idea of what Reading is like to shop at, having not been since we moved here a year ago. I'd definatly go back for the day, probably on my own though.

And so to this weekend. We have been pottering around, I was quite tired yesterday so I had been resting upstairs and reading a lot. The book I'm reading now is facinating, Living With M.E. by Dr Charles Sheppard. I hadn't realised I had so many issues with brain disfuntion and core temperature control until I read about it. My condition makes more sense now I'm reading about it in black and white. I'm finally understanding WHY my body is all messed up and what I can do to help myself. Certainly porridge every day is helping my core temperature control greatly.

But for now, I do feel like yelling "Roll on Tuesday". I have so many jobs to do that are so much easier without her around, and my body prefers the school routine as I can sleep while she isn't here. I dread the summer holidays, but this week has taught me the necessity of regular breaks and sleep patterns, along with the need to ask for help from others more. My friends are so willing to help, I just have to ask.

For the rest of the day, I plan to potter and eBay stuff like crazy, to raise some pennies for an expensive month. Not only is there the wedding, there are many birthdays and the Suzanne Vega gig in Liverpool on the 30th. That is Si's fathers day present from me, and it looks to be a fab show with Suzannes new material being released next week. I can't wait for the CD to arrive.

So off to the grindstone I go.......