Tiredness

Last week I was waiting, mostly for the school holidays to begin, well I’m waiting no more. Although it may have been silly of me to expect a little longer in bed in the morning. It’s the Little Man now, he likes to get up around 6-6.30am.

And I’m tired.

I’ve tried going to bed earlier but the heat means it takes me a while to go to sleep. Also, one of our neighbours has barking dogs that seem to go on all night.

I keep falling asleep during the day, but that’s no allowed. For some reason every member of my family believes it is their duty to make sure I stay awake all day. Seriously! If I fall asleep I get woken up to words such as ‘Mum, you fell asleep!’ Or ‘Anne, you fell asleep, do you want a coffee?’ Why don’t they realise I’ve fallen asleep because I am tired? Or is that too difficult to understand.

IVIG

I was so looking forward to my IVIG this week. I’d had a really rough weekend where I’d barely been able to do anything (well, apart from the cooking, washing, cleaning etc.) I was also thinking that my tiredness might be due to the sudden worsening of my condition.

I went along to the hospital for my appointment and I immediately felt a wave of tiredness envelope me before I’d even had the cannula put in. I managed to stay awake though and then when my infusion was up and going I pulled out my phone and headphones and put on an audio book. I’m listening to Sherlock Holmes read by Stephen Fry. Within minutes I was fast asleep.

There is nothing wrong with falling asleep in the hospital, a lot of the patients do it. But I was woken up by the nurse calling my name, then asking me a daft question which I know I’d already answered. It felt like I was at home, being woken up for no reason. Then it dawned on me. What if I was snoring loudly? I know I get woken up at home to be told I was snoring, so maybe the nurse woke me because I was snoring? I was too embarrassed to ask.

Sleep

Last night I went to bed early and the dogs where not barking. I fell asleep straight away and although Graham woke me when he came to bed I wasn’t awake for long. The Little Man came in at 6am and I was still tired so I persuaded him to climb into bed with me for another 1/2 hour.

I’m not sure if it helped though. I’m still feeling tired today. Maybe I need more than one fairly good night?

It may be the heat, I’m sure it causes fatigue. My tiredness is not like normal tiredness, it creeps up on me suddenly and it’s so hard to ignore. I’ve fallen asleep watching television, on the laptop, while crocheting, and I’ve struggled to stay awake while eating, while in the car (as a passenger, I’m not driving at the moment) and even while on the loo!

Plans

I’m hoping my plans for the rest of the week will help to keep me awake. I have a birthday cake to make and decorate for Boo, she wants a rabbit themed cake and has already made a little fondant rabbit topper.

I have some shopping to do and we are off to the supermarket this afternoon.

Friday we are having a birthday tea for Boo and a couple of her friends. It is not a party, just some party food and cake.

I also plan to sort out the bedrooms, we have a new chest of drawers for the girls room that we can’t fit in at the moment because of all the toys that they don’t even look at any more. Yes, it’s definitely time for a big clear out.

My word of the week this week is tiredness, but with so many plans I am hoping to shake it off!

a koala bear asleep in a tree

Photo by Cris Saur on Unsplash

Debs Random Writings
The Reading Residence

 

This week was the final week for Boo in Primary School as she was a year six leaver.

My Sunday Photo(s) this week are to celebrate some of the fun stuff she did in the last year at school.

The Heart of England Forest.

As a treat for doing so well during SATS week the class was treated to a trip to The Heart of England Forest in South Warwickshire.

two girls looking at white flowers

This is Boo with her best friend. She has lots of friends at school but seems to be drawn to the ones who are a little different. Boo could easily fit in with the ‘popular’ girls but instead prefers to choose friendships she can trust and give something back to.

two girls running along a grass path in the forest

 

a girls just visible in the trees

Kingswood Residential

Just last month Boo spent two nights away from home on a residential trip. She joined in with everything and had a really good time. Here is a photo of her abseiling, which she found really scary, but she did it anyway.

a young girl abseiling down a wall

She is quite a timid girl, but with the right encouragement she will generally give anything a go. She loved being on the residential trip, she enjoyed all the team work and the opportunity to enjoy things she wouldn’t normally get the chance to do. I worry that she does miss out on a lot of stuff. We avoid things because of Star’s disabilities, and it’s even worse since I became disabled. It’s so good that she can get the opportunity to do these kind of things.

In this next photo she is again with her best friend. She told me all about the tumbling tower with such great excitement. Her friend kept falling off before they’d finished building the tower, but Boo was there to catch her every time.

two girls in harnesses balancing on a pile of crates, one girl is tumbling and the other is holding on to her, several children are holding up the crates they are standing on.

I’m so proud of my little girl, she never fails to surprise and delight me. She has a heart of gold and always kind to others. At the leavers assembly she was awarded with the trophy for being artfully creative and her teacher said to watch out for her name on the shelves of Waterstones in the future.

We have already talked about her writing a book and Star will help with the illustrations. Maybe we can make this our task for the Summer!

Photalife

 

Sunday Snap

 

A Trip to the Cinema is a great treat for kids and a way to keep them occupied over the long summer holiday. It’s especially good on those wet summer days when planned picnics have been cancelled. Even on hot days what could be nicer than a cool air conditioned cinema.

Here are my top picks of family films to watch this summer.

Thomas and Friends, Big World Big Adventures.

When my eldest was a little boy he adored Thomas and Friends, he had all the trains, all the books, all the DVDs. Sometimes I wished he’d never grown up because I loved Thomas too. I might have to drag my Little Man along to watch this new film.

Catch Thomas and his friends at the cinema from July 20th 2018

Get up to 40% off your Thomas and Friends Cinema Tickets here.

Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation

I love the Hotel Transylvania films and I’m so glad they’ve made another. This time they are off on a cruise, I’m sure nothing can go wrong…right?

The film also has a timely message of love, acceptance and tolerance of those who are different.

Catch the film in cinemas now, rated PG

Get up to 40% off your Hotel Transylvania 3 Cinema Tickets here.

 

The Incredibles 2

The Incredibles are another one of my favourites. Who can resist superheroes!

Incredibles 2 truly shines as a sequel, with top critics claiming it has even outshone the original. Behind the hi-tech adventure that young and old kids will appreciate, there are genuine themes here that we can appreciate – the perils of parenthood, family stress and gender inequality. Smashing the box office, Incredibles 2 deserves a family cinema trip this summer, with lots of popcorn.

Released on 13th July 2018

Get up to 40% off your Incredibles 2 Cinema Tickets here.

Disney’s Christopher Robin

Now, I’ve never really been a huge fan of Winnie the Pooh but this film intrigues me. It’s set around a grown up Christopher Robin (Ewan McGregor) who is helped by the stuffed animals of his childhood that have now embarked on our world.

You can catch Christopher Robin in cinemas from August 17th, rated PG.

Get up to 40% off your Christopher Robin Cinema Tickets here.

Teen Titans Go! To The Movies

We love Teen Titans Go! It’s quirky and fun, and sometimes totally ridiculous.

The Teen Titans are a group of sidekicks and minor heroes in the DC Universe. They are very American but that shouldn’t be a problem with the young YouTube addicts of today. (Do your kids have American accents sometimes?) If your kids are a fan of the TV show then they should enjoy the film.

Released on July 27th

Get up to 40% off your Teen Titans Go! To the Movies Cinema Tickets here.

Kids Pass

I hope you’ve enjoyed my top picks of family films for this summer. Let me know if you go to see any of them.

You may have noticed some links that I’ve included offering up to 40% off Cinema Tickets.

These are through Kids Pass

I am a member of Kids Pass and they offer some great offers for families from Days out, eating out and holidays. You can even get discounts on your favourite theme parks. You can sign up for a 30 day trial for just £1 to see if it suits you. Download the app to your phone and your discounts go with you everywhere.

I am an affiliate for Kids Pass so if you join through any of my links I will receive a small monetary reward.



 

Mix It Up Linky

 

Sticky Mud and Belly Laughs

New Sofas

Do you remember my new sofas from six weeks ago? Well, even though I really like them, the rest of the family had mixed feelings and now we have ended up swapping them. We had to wait for the new ones to be made but I think they are worth it. The new sofas are a bit different because even though they are leather, they have fabric seats and backs. (Not cushion backs, I’m sorry but they would drive me insane.) They arrived on Monday morning at 7.30am. Just as we were getting the girls ready for school!

I believe everyone is happy with the new sofas. Well they had better be, I’m not changing them again. I’m just glad I was able to change my mind with no issues this time.

Sports Day

The girls are having sports day this week and they are both really excited about it. I was never a sporty person and I hated P.E. and sports day. The only game I really liked playing was rounders. I was good at the long jump, especially having longer legs, I barely had to put in any effort to get further than anyone else. I was rubbish at short distance running as I was a slow starter. I did manage to keep up stamina in longer races though. I can’t remember ever winning anything.

School sports day these days are much more fun, and the girls love them. Star can’t take part in a lot  because of her Elhers Danlos Syndrome. She suffers from tiredness, dizziness and joint pain. She does try as much as possible though and still has fun. The school is brilliant with her, if she says she can’t go on they let her stop.

Boo loves sport, she’s not the best at most things but she tries really hard. I’m hoping that she wins something as I know she will get a real boost if she does. I’ll be waiting impatiently to hear how she does. Daddy is going to watch her.

Update: Both girls had real fun on their sports days, no medals were won but they really enjoyed themselves. Boo did get a trophy at the year six leavers assembly, for being ‘Artfully Creative.’ Now, I’m waiting for them to come home from their last day at school…yay!

Holiday

It feel like I’ve been waiting for this Summer holiday for so long! We really deserve a rest from school. Can you believe, I have spent a whole term home educating the Little Man. He’s done really well and we have folder full of work to show the LEA when they come to check on him. As well as all the curriculum work we’ve also enjoyed learning about electronics, rainforests and magnets. We have even fitted in a little Quantum Physics!

He’s been reading a longer book than usual, Kid Normal by Greg James and Chis Smith. We can’t wait to see how the book ends.

The summer holiday is looking really exciting for us. We start with Boo’s birthday, I’m not sure what we will be doing yet but I do have her presents. Then we have a charity gig to go to and Graham will be on stage doing his part.

Next up is the Little Man’s birthday and I’m really hoping we can get out for the day. We have yet decided where to go  but I’m sure it will be fun. I have most of his birthday gifts ready.

Mid August we will be going on holiday, it’s a camp in Devon that we went to 8 years ago. Before the Little Man was born. We had such a brilliant time there that I’ve been waiting for a chance to go back and now I won’t have to wait too much longer.

After the holiday we still have some excitement as it will be Star’s birthday before they go back to school.

Rain

I think that when it rains it’s going to be so welcome as we’ve waited for so long now. It’s just not the way we expect our summer to be is it. We had a tiny bit of rain the other day, I was actually sat in the garden and felt it. Sadly, it was not enough to even leave the patio wet.

I want to it to rain now, a nice big downpour to bring back the green!

Then it can go away again and give some more weeks of glorious sunshine. I’ve never been a summer lover but I have to admit, I’ve felt so much better in the heat, the usual aches and pains are really not so bad. I can see why chronically ill people decide to move to hotter climates.

IVIG

IVIG, is the treatment I receive for my condition. I have it by infusion in hospital once a month and it seems to be helping. Before I used to have to wait 3 months for a treatment, but the monthly one is working much better so I’ll be telling my consultant at my appointment in October. I have been waiting patiently for my consultant appointment, I’ve been doing some research and want to ask him about some other treatments.

There won’t be too much waiting for my next treatments though. I have one next week and another the day before we go on holiday, how brilliant is that! Having it monthly also seems to reduce the side effects because the dose is smaller.

 Waiting

Hand holding a watch

Photo by Jaelynn Castillo on Unsplash

My word of the week this week is waiting because I’m waiting for so many things, thankfully they are all good.

 

Debs Random Writings
The Reading Residence

 

I’m a big lover of Cadbury Chocolate and a native of the original Cadbury land of Bournville.  Today I have two treats for you. One is a discount code on an Inventor Selection, the second is a chance to create your own chocolate bar and have it made and sold by Cadbury’s.

Inventor Selection

I’ve always been a big fan of the Cadbury Letterbox selection, well now you can make your own by choosing four of your favourite bars in the Inventor Selection. What would you pick? My selection would be Caramel, Fruit and Nut, Oreo and Oreo Mint.

All four bars arrive in a box slender enough to go in the post, so you could really make someone’s day and send them a super gift. It’s only £10 too. If you use the code MADBURY you can even get 25% off your order. Double yummy.

a box of a selection of Cadbury Dairy Milk Bars

Become a Cadbury Inventor

How would you like to invent your own Cadbury Dairy Milk? Pop on over and have a go 

First choose three ingredients, then give your bar a name. Fill in your details and you could win the opportunity to go to Cadbury World and see your invention come to life. It will also go on sale for a limited period (make sure you stock up!)

The competition runs until July 31st so enter soon, and good luck!

I made my ultimate bar, what do you think?

a cadbury dairy milk bar invention called Tea Break and made with biscuits, ginger and lemon green tea

 

I’d love to hear all about your inventions, let me know if you enter the competition.

 

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links