Project 365 week 3 and 4

Have done a post on the time DD2 and family were down. If you want to pop across and read it and see a pile of new baby pictures feel free and pop across here . Just going to do a very short sentence with each photo for week 3 on here.

This fortnight has passed in a blur. I missed the fact hubby and I have been together 25 yrs this month, married for 17 years this yr, no idea how we have made it so long but we have. Dixie dog passed her first year anniversary with us as well. She was a good investment

Sunday

Managed to pick up a magazine linked with the #walk1000miles.

Monday

Made the most of the weather and wandered off for a nice walk.

Tuesday

Ziggy is catching up with some work on her computer

Wednesday

We went up in the afternoon to visit and to meet Jenna, blog name Roo.

Thursday

They came home today. Dog is not keen on a crying baby. Ziggy helps to open Roo's presents and some for her as well.

Friday

Ziggy gives cuddles to her new baby sister







































Saturday

Ziggy helps to wash down Roo who had been a bit sick.

Sunday

SIL was up with Roo who had not slept much again overnight so he had brought her down so her mum could get an hours sleep. Feel she is going home far to early, it is a long drive five days after a c section but she is determined to go.

This week has been spent playing catch up with all sorts that has been neglected in the last  few weeks. Been a fairly lazy week with little mileage added to my 1000 miles

Monday

Took delivery of a new washing machine and freezer on Saturday. Sadly the rubber seal on the freezer door has a large gap now we have turned the door round. It should be a simple five minute job and four of us tried it, the holes on the bracket do not line up. I know we are doing it right as I put it back to factory fit and it went back no problem. Need to wait until next Tuesday for an engineer to come and look at it, they won't replace it as faulty until it has been checked. Sadly it needs to be opening from the left to fit in the gap. This is a huge pain as I needed to fill it with meals for hubby next week as I am heading to DD2's to help out for ten days. You normally pay for somebody to come and turn your door round but they have assured us we will not get charged.
We now also have an engineer booked to look at the washing machine as I am sure the door catch is faulty as it needs to be closed numerous times before it starts.

Tuesday

A lovely afternoon, no wind and a great walk round the fishery just before sunset, such lovely colours. No filters needed.

Wednesday

Over night snow and a freezing cold day A cold walk round the fishery in the afternoon. Love the patterns in the ice on the surface of the pond. Looks a bit like a map of the UK.

Thursday

I had promised Spud we would go to play in the park and to McD's, and so today I kept that promise.
Not sure she was overly impressed with McD's but we had plenty of fun in the park.
Was lovely to spend time with her.

Dog had her annual booster injections and another check up of her teeth which are beginning to cover in plaque again already.


Friday

Have been putting off replacing pants, socks and joggies, but finally got round to it today. Hardly an exciting buy but much needed and them dumped a lot of old ones in the bin.
The suitcase is down ready to be packed for Monday.

Saturday

Total mileage up to 103.5 miles not bad in 20 days considering how busy I have been. Just over 5 miles a day so will more than do the 1000 at this rate. This is probably half normal every day activity and half conscious going out and walking steps.
This map came with the magazine and you colour your way up the country, one are per ten miles, so got ten coloured.

An InLinkz Link-up

Helping out as best we could. #wotw Family

Your children are always your children and whether they are four or nearly forty when they need help you willingly give them it if you can. Decided this was a good blog post to link up to #wotw and Family seems appropriate.  

Glide on by to the bottom of the post if you just want new baby overload pictures. 


DD2 and family went home the other day after being here for eighteen days. She had had to come down as her local hospital was not a suitable place to give birth due to a few different factors. The catchment hospital for where she lives is Paisley but she made the active decision to have the new baby at our local maternity hospital so that we were on hand to look after Ziggy. It is amazing how families change and I think it is lovely the way we have all pulled together to help out in various ways. DD1 has had Ziggy quite a lot to make it possible for me to work while SIL2 has been back home working. Considering it has always been a family joke that the only thing DD1 and DD2 had in common as children was they hated each other then it is amazing that they get on so well now and will happily help each other out.

Ziggy has adapted well to being shunted from pillar to post but she loves it down the road as she has her cousins to play and fight with. Being an only one she has not learnt to share in a way all of her cousins have and does not get the rough and tumble at home either that goes on down the road, but she can give as good as she gets.

They were here for a week before SIL2 came back down and DD2 was here without her car so any appointments she had or shopping she needed we were needed to run her. It was lucky he was back here as DD2 had to go up to the hospital on Sunday while I was at work and they decided to keep her in as they were not overly happy with various things. But this time has allowed Ziggy to settle in and feel more comfortable here and get used to having to let Granddad and I do things for her. Granddad is very good at amusing her as long as she is happy. Granddad does not deal with stroppy moody temper tantrum throwing children but will spend ages singing silly songs and watching things together on the tablet. Granddad turns into a tickle monster and chases her round the house while she giggles her head off squealing with delight. They play with torches and play hide and seek in the living room, the only place to hide is behind Granddad's couch and once you have counted to ten she yells loudly to let you know where she is. She is not difficult to find.

Granddad even walked her down to DD1's one morning as I was going to work and the car seat was back in her dad's car. Dixie dog went with them and got an early morning walk. My plan had been to walk her down and walk back up for the car. This really surprised me as it is not like Granddad to do these sorts of things but it made my morning a bit easier.

One of the disadvantages of my house for my daughter has been the lack of a bath, she had nowhere to soak away her aches and pains, though I am not sure she would have managed to get herself out of a bath, had she got it. The shower we have is quite a small corner cubicle and the door opens into the middle of our small pokey bathroom rather than against the wall so it is very awkward to shower a two year old in there without getting yourself and usually the floor wet as well.

Have to say would love something like the Richmond walk in shower range.  a nice walk in shower with easy access would make showering Ziggy much easier. 

The Richmond Range

Ideal for wet rooms or low-level shower trays, this beautifully stylish walk-in shower range features clear toughed glass and high quality polished aluminium finish

I can but dream, anyway I digress.

SIL2 had got a message from DD2 in the early hours of Monday morning to go in. Ziggy decided while he was out to wake up and start crying for him. A few months ago if she woke during the night and I had gone into her she would have screamed the place down. But this time she did not, she sobbed but did let me cuddle her. She kept quietly sobbing when I put her back to bed so I decided to pop her into her mum and dad's bed and I was going to go in with her but she fell asleep in less than two minutes so I just left the light on for her and the door open and went back to my own bed.

Anyway despite them keeping DD2 in the hospital all weekend her contractions had come to nothing and the plans for her c section went ahead as planned. So baby Jenna Grace was born on Tuesday 15th January at 10.50 am weighing 8lb 12 oz. SIL2 came back for Ziggy at tea time and took her up to meet her new baby sister. I am not really sure she understands that the baby is here to stay or what to make of her as she is a bit young. Daughter was not up to having any other visitors so we did not go up.

We went up to meet Jenna ( blog name Roo) on Wednesday afternoon. SIL2 and Ziggy were still then when we got there but left not long afterwards. When we left I went to sit with Bob, Minky, Dinky and Spud while DD1 and Fifi went up to visit. SIL2 went back up just before 7 pm as his family were all coming down to meet the new baby.

This week has been hectic running here, running there, doing this, doing that, meals at different times for Ziggy than the rest of us and fitting in dog walks where I can. Washing, drying, sorting, tidying and more tidying, do you know how much mess a two year old makes? The constant dished needing done, work tops to wipe, hoovering to do. Barely had five minutes to ourselves. No chance to watch on tv what we normally watch, no chance for a relaxing afternoon and no chance for a full nights sleep either - not that I sleep all night normally anyway.

They went home on Sunday afternoon after a false start where they thought they had forgotten Ziggy's drama llama blanket and came back for it and Ziggy got excited to be back at Grandma and Granddads.

Nice to have my own space back but the help was needed and she could not have done it without help. Once a mum always a mum no matter the age of your children. 

mum and baby about 30 hrs after her section

our first meeting

gazing at her 

Ziggy likes to stroke her

with Granddad in the hospital 

at home with Bob 

6am sunday morning, Roo had been awake most of the night, do daddy brought her down so mummy could get some sleep 

DDi with Roo

one for the history books - granddad brushing her hair 

on the couch with Granddad 

in her moses basket 

one of ,my daughters pictures, Ziggy and Roo in the hospital 

playing with her computer 

helping to unwrap baby presents and a lovely skirt for her

somebody gave her play doh and a whale shape maker

a snugly selfie 

the two girls on my chair

Ziggy helped to wash her little sister

So there you have it, more memories to look back on. 

Raisie Bay

This is a collaborative post but all thoughts, events and pictures are genuine. 

Supporting Your Adult Children: Tips For Grandparents To-Be

This is a very apt post considering we welcomed grandchild number nine into the family last week.

It's the moment you have (probably) been looking forward to for years.

It's the moment when your adult child tells you, "mum, you're going to be a grandparent."

While the news will remind you that you are not getting any younger, you should (despite the reminder of time) be excited and joyful about the impending new arrival into your family.

But when your grandchild arrives, what should you do to support your adult child? And perhaps more importantly, what shouldn't you do?

You should offer your child as much support as they need. You know the joys and challenges of raising a newborn, so you should have plenty of experience from which your child can draw from. Offer them advice when called upon, and if you see your child struggling in any way, gently offer a few suggestions.

But don't go overboard with the advice. You may have some excellent ideas, but if your child wants to do things their way (provided they are being safe and sensible), let them. You don't want to come across as an interfering parent yourself, so try and gauge when you should speak, and when you should lie low for a while. We have been doing a lot of this lying low in the last few weeks.

You should support your child financially when possible. With the birth of a new baby comes a wide range of expenses, so if you are financially able, give your support. Your child should be able to purchase the basics themselves, so you might be able to give your grandchild something extra special, such as this luxury nursery furniture, or even something to go into a child savings account.

But talk to your child before you make any spending decisions. You don't want to duplicate any items that may have already been received at the baby shower, and you don't want to buy items such as clothes or baby furniture that are against the tastes of your child. You naturally want to help, but a quick conversation will ensure you don't waste your money.

You should offer your babysitting services to your soon-to-be exhausted child. They will need time off occasionally, and you may be the best person for the job. Offer your time when your child wants to get out of the house for some me-time and offer to have your grandchild overnight when your child needs to catch up on their sleep. Offer your time to help around the house too, supporting your child with any parenting duties, especially when their partner is at work.

But don't overdo it with the help. There will be times when you want to see your grandchild, so an offer of help might seem like the perfect excuse to visit. Your child might be grateful to you, but you don't want to make them feel as if they can't cope themselves, so limit the help you give. They will need their space with the baby too, so they may not want you around 24/7, no matter how helpful you are trying to be.

We hope these tips have been helpful, but if you're a grandparent already, please share any advice you have for any other grandparents-to-be. Thanks for reading, and if you are expecting your first grandchild, we wish you every joy and happiness with the new little bundle of joy in your life.

This is a collaborative post. 

Tips to Take Care of Your Brakes and Car

Scotland has some of the UK's most congested towns and cities. In fact, with so many Scottish roads in need of repair, the combination of intense traffic and poor road surfaces means that your car can come in for a lot of abuse. You may need to use your brake much more than you would like to in places like Stirling and Fife to avoid problems. The more you use your brakes, the sooner something will need to be done to replace them. For example, you can always obtain a great brake service in Dundee from Fife Autocentre but what ought you be doing to ensure your brakes are as long-lasting as possible? Read on to find out more about your car's braking system. 

Look Out for Brake Fluid Loss 

Sometimes, your brakes get progressively worse but at such as slow pace that you barely notice it. This can make diagnosing faults tricky. Look underneath your car. If you notice that brake fluid is escaping onto your driveway or the road, then it may well be that your brakes won't operate well if you need to stop in an emergency. Avoid this danger by having them inspected professionally if you notice a leak. 

the day our car did not stop. 

Inspect Your Brake Pads 

Brake pads wear down every time you apply your footbrake. In many cases, it is hard to see how much wear has occurred to your brake pads. You can see the pad more easily if you jack your car up and remove a wheel. Alternatively, drive over an inspection pit to look up. Never crawl underneath a jacked-up car, however, because this is dangerous. 

Listen for Squealing 

Sometimes you will hear a car squealing with a high pitched whine as it sets off on a journey. If you notice this – especially on a cold or wet day – then it could be your fan belt which is causing the issue. On the other hand, if squealing tends to occur when you brake, then it could be a sign that your brakes need to be inspected by a mechanic to make sure that they are operating properly.

This is a collaborative post. 

Project 365 week 2

DD2 and Ziggy have been her for just over a week now. DD2 is very fed up and just wants it over. Ziggy has been remarkably well behaved considering she is out of her own environment and her own routine and not seen her dad or her dog all week. Apart from last night ( she fell asleep in the car on the way home)  she has been in bed with no hassle by 7pm.

The baby is still not here.

Sunday

I decided to sign myself up to #Walk1000miles campaign to challenge myself to see if I can do this. I am hoping it will be quite easy but time will tell. I have a basic Fitbit that only counts my steps
but will look for another better one at the end of the month. Have tried a few cheap ones but found them very inaccurate. I have a health app that came on my phone but it does not seem to pick up a lot of the steps especially when my phone is in my uniform pocket. In all honesty all I need is a step counter.

Monday

I finished sewing this in my break yesterday and pulled off the waste canvas this evening. All part of the grandchild to be's baby afghan blanket. Not got a lot of sewing, or much else, done this week.
A wild and windy walk round the fishery in the afternoon.

Tuesday

These two are very fond of each other. Here they are rolling around the floor together. Sorry not the clearest picture but they were both moving.

Wednesday

Ziggy got up while her mum was still in bed. She started crying so I took her up to see her mum was asleep ( she wasn't but pretended to be)  and then dealt with her, at some point she is going to have to deal with this when her mum has the baby.  Plonked her on the couch in front of the tv with her breakfast while I got myself ready, not the best form of child care but she did not cry and she ate so all was well with the world.  I dropped her off at DD1's on my way out of the village to give her mum a break and give her somebody else to play with.

Hubby went out in the morning to scrap the car and warm it up before Ziggy and I got in it. He then ran it round the block. Here is Dixie dog watching for him coming back. Here is Ziggy reassuring Dixie that granddad will be back....was quite funny.

Took the dog a walk and then stopped off for hubby to pick up DD2 so she could get a run back up the hill.  Ziggy and I walked up the road as not room in the car for all of us and the dog as the dog cover makes the middle seat belt unusable. .


Thursday

Took the dog for a 3 mile walk up to Auchincruive. This little dog has gained masses of confidence and gets so much out of her walks, Even happily goes in the river now.

In the evening we went round to The local community centre where they were doing training sessions on how to use a defibrillator. The training sessions were being run by the school as they raised the money and bought two of them for the village.  There is one at the school entrance as the football playing fields are there and the other one is down the fishery where we walk regularly.


Friday

Took DD2 up to the maternity unit but baby is still not engaged so will be a c section on Tuesday as previously planned. SIL2 is down now for the duration.

DD1 took Ziggy to soft play for the day and kept her until tea time.

So while we were waiting we went and did nearly three miles round Dean Park and then went for some lunch and then did approx 1.5 miles round the Kay Park.

Saturday

Since last Sunday lunchtime I have done 30 miles, an average of 5 miles a day.
When did jelly tots change shape? They use to be flatish like chocolate buttons but much smaller, now they are the same shape as the jelly shapes in a dolly mixture packet, sort of dome shaped.

with the #walk1000miles I have done 30 miles between Sunday lunch time and bed time last night, an average of 5 miles a day.

An InLinkz Link-up

Project 365 week 1

Well decided I can't give up now, back for year eight of this project. Welcome to the new people we have joining up and look forward to getting to know you.

A bit of introductory background for the new people.

I have three daughters who feature on the blog and two sons who choose not to.
DD1 has five children, Fifi is 16, Bob is 12, Minky and Dinky the boy/girl twins are 5 and Spud will be 3 in March. She lives just round the corner.
DD2 lives approx 120 miles away, she has Ziggy who was 2 in August, and her due date for child No2 is today.
DD3, Auntie H,  has no children and lives with Uncle M approx 15 miles away.


We have one rescue dog, Dixie, we have had her a year this month and she is settling in really well.
When I am not working, babysitting or dog walking I enjoy cross stitching, crochet, quilting and applique as well as adult colouring, geocaching and of course my blog. .


Sunday
This is the black bun....nothing else to share.....

wiki tells you

Black bun is a type of fruit cake completely covered with pastry. It is Scottish in origin, originally eaten on Twelfth Night but now enjoyed at Hogmanay. The cake mixture typically contains raisins, currants, almonds, citrus peel, allspice, ginger, cinnamon and black pepper. It had originally been introduced following the return of Mary, Queen of Scots from France, but its original use at Twelfth Night ended with the Scottish Reformation. It was subsequently used for first-footing over Hogmanay

Monday

A walk round the fishery and Dixie decided to climb up the pile of old tarmac.

Tuesday

Was a lovely day so we went to watch the Polar Plunge at Irvine. Don't suppose it felt quite so warm when coming out of the sea soaking wet.
Did a blog post on it here.

After the plunge we, and a lot of other people. went for a walk along the beach.

Wednesday

A walk in the woods for today.

Thursday

Ziggy, DD2 and SIL2 are down. Ziggy and DD2 are here to stay until baby is born. SIL2 goes back to work on Monday and will need to get phoned  when daughter goes into labour.
Ziggy and Dixie are rather fond of each other and here they are snuggled together watching Granddad draw on Ziggy's etch a sketch

Friday

The whirlwind that is Ziggy is here!! None stop noise when she is awake, but she slept all night so cannot really complain.

Hubby Dixie and I went and did 3.5 miles up at Failford.

Here is Ziggy using her daddies phone to take some pictures.

Saturday


Out to work before Ziggy got up and back in after she went to bed. So decided to do a fall back picture of a sleeping child, not something I get to do very often.

An InLinkz Link-up