I'm sure to the more natural and cool blogger this is no major achievement, but this blog just reached it's first 100 views!

oh, and.. 

Happy Easter!

A day in bed.

Katy and I have been thinking for a while of things we could do before the babies born, stuff we might not have the chance to for a while afterwards, and I guess as the old saying goes 'life is what happens when you're busy making other plans' we've ended up staying in bed all day, talking about what we could do, having a nap in the middle of the day, eating, just generally being pretty lazy. 

It's been good, and to anyone out there who may be about to embark on a similar adventure, you should do it! Forget the fancy meal or the day at the health spa, instead just lock your door, get a boxset out or films you've been meaning to watch and just devote a day to being together. 

Because if it's true what they say I think that's the thing you'll struggle most to do again, just doing nothing. 

Falling asleep with your legs hanging off the end of the sofa

Occasionally now I will find myself doing things I never used to, the title of this post for example, at half 8 my work team will be meeting outside the bar for bowling, they have money from christmas and are celebrating the hard work they've put in, but at 8 I found myself with my legs dangling over the edge of the sofa asleep in front of the telly. I have no intention of joining them for a night on the town, despite the fact I have the next 2 days off to recover. I'd way rather be in my own house, crashing out at an insanely early time, and if that doesn't make me ready to be a father, I don't know what more I can do! 

It is tiring this stage, I think thats the thing you aren't warned about, being constantly surrounded by the excitement of a birth. It seems to now be the first thing anyone says 'are you a dad yet', 'how long now'.. 'are you excited' at times I want to shout at them... 'Yes! Of course I'm excited, I'm doing something out of this world exciting, but I'm also really tired of constantly feeling excited and telling everyone how excited I am!' 

I remember the first time I went abroad, I was about 6 years old and we were going to France, the whole time driving down from Sheffield to Plymouth to get the ferry I was trying so hard to stay awake to see the boat, I think I failed at that for the most part, and then I just about managed to keep my eyes open as we drived into the car storage and the moment we were on board, I fell asleep under my mums chair and slept right the way across the channel, exhausted by the days excitement. 

I think this is how I feel now, every day I'm wearing myself out, by the pure excitement bubbling away inside me! It's such a lovely feeling, the never knowing when a gush of water may come and our baby decide she's ready to see the world, but at the same time it's so hard trying to keep your eyes open so you don't miss it that by 8PM you are lying there out for the count. 

And somewhere in the distance I can hear that husky voice of an old woman saying 'Oh bless, he's warn himself out' 

Everything is normal...

Following an appointment Katy had with the midwife we had to venture up to RD&E for a growth scan, visiting a hospital twice in a week isn't fun - but at least this time we were there as a planned visit, and we were excited to see our little girl again, as we didn't think this would happen until she was born. 

The short of it all is that she's fine! Her growth is actually right where it should be, she's not going to be a big baby but she's also not a midget, so we're relieved. Her heads in the right place, and is 2/5s engaged. So she's a coming!

A midwife is about to visit us so we've been cleaning and tidying and making our house look like we are the exact right people to be bringing a human into the world. Which, of course, we are. 

Must dash to polish the mirror, real families have clean mirrors.. 

Recipe #1 : Rice Stir Fry

Anyone who's ever been involved in a pregnancy will probably be as sick as me about talking about diets, so many times I've been asked what cravings Katy's had, things she hates, what's good to eat, bad to eat.. it goes on.. 

It started making me feel bad that we weren't eating good healthy meals so we started to think about what we could do, working late or long hours often, not having enough money to constantly be cracking out Jamies 15 minute (£15,000) meals, and since leaving Bath (and therefore waitrose) we are finding it hard to find bok choy and fresh saffron. 

So we came up with a couple of our own meals, so I thought I'd share one of them with you, a really tasty, incredibly simple, and pretty cheap meal to make. 

Chicken & Bacon Stir Fry with Rice. 

1. Firstly arrange all of your ingredients in a tv chef manner;

White Rice, Chicken Breast, Bacon, Carrot, Broccoli, Mange Tout, Fine Green Beans, Garlic, White Onion, Basil, Mint, Soy Sauce, Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper and Chilli & Ginger Oil

check out this website for
 great oils and ingredients. 

2. After choosing the pointiest carrot, peel, top and tail and finely slice lengthways. 


3. Repeat for all other veg, and cut the broccoli into small pieces (this will give the illusion of that posh broccoli that has long stalks and tiny heads which you can buy for around twice the price of normal broccoli.  I just saved you money, you're welcome)

4. Chop finely a clove of garlic, about 1/4 of a white onion, a few leaves of fresh mint and basil.

 5. Begin to boil the Rice, we have never got our rice quantities right, but we are working to the idea you need less than a cup per person... at the same time put all the other ingredients into a hot wok, with the hot chilli oil, a sprinkling of salt and pepper and a splash of olive oil. 

6. Serve.

 Not the only ones who enjoyed it this evening..

Lock & Load.

At midnight on Monday night we opened our door, shovelled what might be considered food down our throats and collapsed into bed, holding each other tightly and feel asleep, exhausted by the days events. 

When we woke on Monday morning Katy (this is the Mum-To-Be) was having some pretty intense cramps, and a lot of severe back pain, we put it down to the pregnancy and I dragged myself off to work, not really thinking any more of it. As I sat 5 hours later drinking a cup of coffee and admiring the view from outside the coffee shop in which I work I rang her up, the pain hadn't gone away and she had had her show, things all of a sudden got very real. I tried to keep calm and told her to ring the doctors and find out if we could go in earlier, which I thought would just help keep on top of everything. But inside my heart was racing, and whilst it may have been down to the copious amount of coffee had already drunk I suspected this news wasn't helping! 

Hours later I was venturing home, flowers in one hand paracetamol in the other, walking down the high street that I took in a deep breath and it hit me, it's starting. It might not be very long at all until I'm a dad. 

The paracetamol were taken and we sat there, waiting for the pain to subside, an hour later nothing, an hour later again we were trying to navigate the never previously visited corridors of RD&E 'Women's Health Centre'. Eventually finding the Labour Unit and being offered a bed. 

As she lay on the bed and I awkwardly sat beside her on a horrible grey hospital chair I was once again struck by the beauty of it all, how magnificent it is creating this lovely little being inside of her. 

... Some prodding, poking, beeping, feeling, monitoring and talking later, we were advised to go home and relax. She wasn't coming out tonight, the chances are she'll be earlier than we all anticipated, but not tonight. She's cooking for just a little bit longer. 

And so we sit, and wait. I go to work where I wait, I wait for a bus to come home, and wait with my beautiful family, for our next member to join us. 

And when she does there are a couple of things that are certain, it will be scary, it will be exciting, she will be beautiful, she will be fresh, she will have an excellent mother and a loving father, she will be cherished, and it's almost 100% certain that she will never miss an episode of H I M Y M or The Big Bang on E4 at 5pm Daily. 

So as I left the maternity ward that night I was struck by the idea that I'm ready, for all of it. That, and how many men are carrying ladies handbags in a 'Women's Health Centre'