U Can't Touch This

So this is me last week, at 22 weeks pregnant - eeeek!! Please note, I do not normally wear leggings with vest tops, (in fact, I've only just purchased some leggings to wear under tunic-type tops after much wrestling with my conscience, as I distinctly remember thinking I would never, ever wear leggings again after the 80s...) but I put the top on to show off the bump. I'm rather fond of my new shape, as I look obviously pregnant, rather than just overweight and making people wonder if I might be just because I'm standing all slouchy with my tummy pushed out. One of the only things I've hated so far about this pregnancy lark is the way people just have to touch me. Generally people are pretty good, but there's a lady at work who I have to get on with but don't like all that much and she insists on giving me a good rub/pat when she sees me. What am I - a dog?! "Ooh, look at that lovely bump!" (rub, rub) How would she like it if I grabbed her chest and said "ooh, look at those lovely boobs!" Gah!! And she's passed it on to her daughter, who I also see at work ("Let me have a feel." "NO!!!!! Eff off!!!") The first time her Mom did it I was mortified, as I really wasn't showing and all she was rubbing was flab....

This week I thought I'd have a go at joining in with the Dares again! Now I've just about sorted somewhere to craft I thought I didn't really have an excuse any more and was worried I'd be kicked off the design team for non-participation (not really - the girls are too nice for that - I hope!), so I read Jo's brief and thought, "I can do that!"

This week we have to make a card using office supplies, so I used some coloured paper clips that I've had for ages and never used, plus some lined notepaper and some staples. Paper is from thePaper Loft Flips Flops range and the lettering is Sizzlits Nouveau. It's a bit boring and simple, but I'm easing myself back in gently. Actually, I'm starting to doubt that I'm good enough to be on the design team as there are some fantastic examples of work from both the other girls and those of you who play along. I've only had a couple of months break from cardmaking, but things seem to change so quickly and I feel it's often hard to keep up. However, keep trying I will. It's my Dare this week, so please have a look at the blog on Friday morning and play along with me.

Hello

<------- Looky what I did!! It's a card. I wasn't sure if I still had it in me, but it's not too bad an effort, eh? I spent yesterday morning trying to tidy the kitchen a bit, clear the table of rubbish and sort out some of my stash so that I could sit and make something while D watched the most boring FA Cup final in the history of boring FA Cup finals. Luckily for me, Bex posted a card template challenge at just the right time, so I thought I'd have a go and this was what I came up with. Took me flipping ages to hand stitch those lines and they still look crap!! I've got one of those mini sewing machines, but do you think I've ever been able to work it?

I really feel like Mrs. Swotty Knickers as I have managed to make my Dare card ready for next Friday too - the first one in aaaaaaaaages. Of course, I can't show you that one yet... It's a great dare, so make sure you check out the blog on Friday morning and have a go!

Over Now

Pickle is dying :-( I came downstairs this morning and was just on my way out of the kitchen when something caught my eye and instantly I knew what it was. Pickle had crawled out of her little house and was lying still on the platform. I burst into tears and absolutely sobbed. I've known for a while she was probably getting close - she's over 2 years old now and has had regular trips to the vets lately as her teeth became misaligned and needed clipping. She's been quite shaky on her feet, but still fighting the good fight, but it looks like it's over now.

I called D, (still in floods!) who was on his way home from work on nights and when he got home he found her a little box to put her in, filled it with bedding and took her out of her cage to put her in the box. "She's still warm," he said. Oh God. Hamsters do this, don't they? You here all sorts of stories about people buying their hamsters alive because they have a habit of playing dead, slowing their metabolisms right down. I looked at her and she was breathing! About once every 30 seconds, but she was still alive. Argh! What do you do? There's obviously nothing we can do for her, but what if she did come round and was in a strange, dark box? For the moment we've left her in the box and put it back in her cage, but I really don't think she'll last much longer.

ETA: She's gone :-( Feel so daft getting upset. Have fun at the Rainbow Bridge sweetie xxx

Waterfalls

Oh. My. God. Just how much rain can there be in them there clouds?!! I am totally, utterly and completely sick of it now. The poor buns! They must think I don't love them anymore, sticking them outside in a draughty hutch to have their ears tormented by the sound of rain on the tarps covering the whole shebang! I hate the rain when it's so persistent like this - it makes me feel so miserable. Actually, I'm having one of my 'down' days today, rain or no rain, so it's just making me worse!!

To cheer myself up, I thought I'd revisit digi-scrapping for the first time in aaaages, after finally catching up on Kirtsy's blog and discovering the fabby freebie she created especially for my Hawaii photos - how on earth did you know? ;-) Only kidding... I'm a wee bit out of practice, and I've forgotten how to use all the lovely effects I downloaded a few months ago, not to mention how to do all sorts of things, so I guess I'm learning it all over again. Ho hum...

At least it means I can still be a bit crafty and creative until I get my 'real' stash sorted out again. I do like doing it digi style though, but would love a new pc as mine is so slow it takes all afternoon to do one simple layout!

And how impressed are you at my blogging performance this week?

Friday I'm In Love

The scan was fine! Everything appeared to be ok with baby, although how they can tell, I do not know. It all just looked like random blobs to me and was so much less clear than the previous scan. I suppose that's just because baby is so much bigger. Here come the piccies - apologies to those of you who have trouble deciphering scan pics, as these are not labelled this time!

You should be able to make out it's head, with it's likkle nose sticking in the air and it's chest - the dark blob is the heart. Not really sure what the other bits are myself as I was in some discomfort, trying to crane my head around to see the screen while she pressed really hard with the scanny thing.

It's little lips are pursed like it's whistling in this one! The sonographer had us panicked at one point as she could see something strange on there that shouldn't have been, then she realised that it had it's hand somewhere between it's legs and was holding the cord. You know when you just know there's something not right by the look on someone's face? Then she exclaimed "it's a hand!" and starting laughing to herself! " I like this baby" she said. Of course, this meant that there was no chance we could see which flavour it was, which was quite a relief.

So, that's it for scans, as long as there are no problems in future. Next time we see little one it will be on the outside in about 19 weeks or so - eeeeek!! We went to the Baby Show at the NEC today and have ordered the buggy and bought a steriliser, so it's getting more and more real now. Mom and Dad bought baby a Sleep Sheep that plays soothing sounds, etc, which was the first official purchase for little one - aaww!

Come Out and Play

Finally took some photos this morning while the sun was out. It's piddling down again now though :-( This is the hutch - you can see Princess Bean-Bean in the run at the bottom. She spent the whole day in the hutch part yesterday as she just hadn't a clue what the ramp was for or how to use it. This morning, however, when we went out to feed them, she was in the run - hurrah! She then showed off, running up and sliding down the ramp a few times...

And here are just a few totally gratuitous photos, just because I loves 'em!

Just look at the bunny lip!

Other stuff: we've got our 20 week scan tomorrow and I am actually looking forward to this one. At the 12 week scan, part of you goes in worrying that there's not going to be anything there, but as bubs is now kicking the hell out of me, I don't have that worry this time. Being the anomaly scan, they will be checking for problems, but keep your fingers crossed that everything is fine. I can't believe we're half way through already!

Oh and yes, that was my layout in this month's Scrapbook Inspirations :-)

It was amazing to be asked to have a go at the sketch challenge and such a buzz to see my work in print. I've really got to get my stash back out soon before I forget how to do it!

Today

... was the day my babies became outdoor buns. Eeek! I so hope I've done the right thing. We've bought them a mahoosive hutch and run combo so they've got lots of space, but what a crap week to move them out! What's with the weather?! I'll post piccies of the palace just as soon as the wind and rain stop. At the moment it's all covered with a delightful combination of shower curtain and tarpaulin and looks like some sort of makeshift refugee camp. I know it's all for a good reason, but I just know I'll be so worried about them for a while. They've spent all day in the run as neither of them could figure out the ramp to get up to the hutch, but I've just been out to check on them and found that Rade has managed it, so there's some hope!

We've had a clean of the kitchen and I swear there was enough bun fluff behind the radiator to make another rabbit - gross! No matter how much you think you've cleaned, that stuff just seems to get everywhere and that's not good when you've got a baby, eh? Now I've moved some of my craft stuff into the kitchen, but even that seems to be taking over now. I just have so much stuff that I know I won't use but don't even know where to begin to sort it out and get rid. Any ideas gratefully received...

This week is all about sorting out the bedrooms and it's like trying to tackle Everest in flip flops. Today I took one look at all the crap and just burst into tears. Where to begin? D keeps telling me not to worry, Rome wasn't built in a day, etc, etc, but heck, you should see it! I should have taken photos actually, in a kind of before and after makeover way.

Sorry, this is a rambly, pictureless post, but I felt like sharing my agony with you. I'll keep you updated on (possible) progress and will post those bun pics just as soon as I can!