Frank and Josie's House

I am fed up of illness in our household! I knew we'd be affected by all these new germs what with the kids starting another new school earlier this month but I'd like one week where someone isn't home sick or in pain. Merida stayed home with laryngitis all last week. A couple of times we weren't sure if we should have pushed her out the door and demanded she go to school, but after she fell back to sleep on both days for at least 3 or 4 hours we knew she still wasn't right. Now it's little Rose's turn. She's like her mum and not good or patient with being ill. She was up every hour in the night so this morning's alarm clock ringing was a bit of a shocker. Poor Frank trudged off to work looking so tired, but he reassures me they have nice coffee at work so at least he'll survive the day...if be a little high on caffeine when he gets home. And then there's Finn. Good old Finn who gets on with stuff in a happy way he so often gets ignored. Latel...

It's been a funny few days in the Yarn household. Firstly Finn tested the hospital nearby when he needed stitches after a playground injury. He's now all healed and back to his normal lunatic-self, running around at full speed having still not learnt to look where he's going! Rose is potty training so the washing is increasing and the sticker charts are filling up nicely. Poor old Merida has laryngitis and is feeling rubbish. She's completely lost her voice and is using a whistle to call when she needs something. So after two days of being home with a potty training toddler and sick ten year old (when I'm supposed to be running errands and attending a crochet workshop) I decided to bake. What else do you do when you have to stick a toddler on the toilet every five minutes and attend to the needs of the whistle-blowing girl? So all morning it's been measure this ingredient, take apron off to help Rose on the potty, put apron back on and hopefully measure the next...

Hello all and how has your week been? It's been eventful in the Yarn household so we are all exhausted (I feel like I always say how tired we are!). Firstly the big kids started a new school. We moved them to the local village school as we felt they would get on better there. So we returned to France from the UK only to go straight in to school preparation mode. I had to make sure we'd done all the forms and the kids had the right stationary etc etc. Then, only one day after starting a new school, it was Merida's 10th birthday so the Christmas/celebration-phase couldn't abate just yet. She asked to keep the fairy lights up so we happily obliged and actually had a really good day at school. She's at the age where she isn't shy telling people it's her birthday and because of this the teacher wrote "Bon Anniversaire" on the board and they all sang 'Happy Birthday' to her in English and French in the canteen over lunch. What a lovely school we...

Well hello and a Happy New year to you all. I had wanted to write this post a few days ago but I've had difficulty getting going since we've been back home in France. We are all still recovering from the long drive through France...well, the long drive both ways and driving lots when back in the U.K. All-in-all we drove over 2,500 miles! Sheesh no wonder we were tired. Since we've returned the big kids have started a new school and it's been Merida's birthday. All have gone fantastically well but it has meant that Frank and I haven't stopped long enough to recover yet. But that is what this coming weekend is for. [caption id="attachment_1621" align="alignright" width="493"] Playing in the waves[/caption] We had a lovely Christmas and New Year and managed to see everyone we had planned to and we even sneaked in a bit of relaxation time in front of my parent's fire, next to their gorgeous Christmas tree. Not much relaxation time ...

Making sure those important letters get there.  Well it's just one week to go. Are you ready? It's one of those annoying facts of growing up which means Christmas becomes more about the organisation than the magic but that's part of the trick isn't it: keeping the magic alive for the children and (more than a little bit) for myself. I love Christmas but organising ourselves to make sure we have everything in order to spend Christmas 500 miles way from our now home is a bit of a military operation. I've single-handedly  kept Amazon in business for another year and made sure things get to the right addresses. I normally like to check Amazon packages in advance of gifting  but I'm having to trust this year. Anything that's not right is just too bad (there's always the return button). My dad told me the guest double bed at their house is covered in packages. (I'm always a bit dubious with the amount of packing that Amazon use as I think it's more th...

Firstly I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who sent me messages or left comments after my last post. Having that little extra support really helps. I'm learning as I go but am determined that endometriosis will not stop me living. Although I am also learning to allow myself to be ill. Today my hubby is working from home so I don't have to chase a toddler as I'm feeling particularly rubbish, but I thought talking to you lot and distracting myself with yarntales (yes, I made that word up) would cheer me up. So today I am talking about this: [caption id="attachment_1591" align="aligncenter" width="540"] different sized balls![/caption] Bernat blanket yarn is what I am using (or trying to use) to make the giant octopus pictured below. It's been more than a little tricky to get hold off or to be precise, to get hold of in the quantity and colour I want it. Now if you follow my blog you'll know that using the recommended yarn fro...

Firstly a quick catch up. You may recall (if you've come across my blog before) that I've been having abdominal issues. When we were still in the U.K. it was still undiagnosed despite a laparoscopy and many tests and scans. Well the short version is that I have endometriosis. I've basically diagnosed myself by putting together all the facts. I know diagnosing oneself when there is no medical training can be dangerous but let me reassure you that I have had this listed as a possibility. After my laparoscopy I was told I had some endometriosis but not enough to cause the pain I was having. Having looked at a few websites I pieced the puzzle together to discover this has been an issue for 16 years and been missed time and again. The best explanation of what this disease is is this: "Endometriosis can be a distressing disease affecting women's health. It can cause the most excruciating pain and in some women it appears to trigger fertility or infertility problems or as...