Plum

We couldn't put it off any longer, - Jen's car was simply too small for our future needs and it was time for the Plum to go...!

Her little Micra has been known as 'The Plum' from day one (for obvious reasons), and everyone knew it as her car.

We got the plum for free (a long story), and it's certainly served us well. It may have been basic and had literally none of the mod cons, but there can't be many other people who've gotten by on £20 petrol a month for the past two years, and paid just over £100 for a years insurance!!!

I've basically gone a full circle when it comes to cars; When I was younger I literally ploughed every penny (and more) I had into my cars. But as your priorities start to change I now see them as a complete drain and hate spending money on them. They're basically a constantly depreciating asset you chuck money at! Therefore no-one will appreciate the plum as much as we did. To coin Jen's favourite phrase, "There are other purple Micra's, but there'll only ever be 1 Plum" :o)

By the way she's now got a Focus Estate, and is perfectly geared up for transporting Button as well as Bertha, in what will feel like luxury to everyone...!

4D, - The Garlic Bread of scanning

We went to BabyView in Barnsley last Friday to have a 4D scan. Yeah ok, you could argue there are other things we could have done with the money but what the hell, money came from the sale of an old TV anyway!

I wasn't too sure what to expect because there are some less than impressive examples of this technique on the internet. It also depends which way the baby is lying. i.e. if it's back is facing forward (if you see what I mean), there isn't anything to see. As is happens, Button was facing forward and awake so we got some quite impressive results. We got a DVD film of the scan and also a cd with 30 odd photos on it, - the best of which I've flickr'd. The images are all rotated through 180 degrees, i.e. baby is acually upside down - as it should be during the pregnancy. Yes it is possible to again find out 100% what the sex is during the process, but we chose not to. (The person carrying out the process had actually identified 5 cases in the last year where the sex he determined was different to that given by doctors in the earlier 2D scan!). To clarify the difference, - the pictures are classed as 3D and the DVD film is classed as 4D.

After the scan we carried on down to London for the weekend and attended the Baby Show at the ExCeL, London on the Saturday. Got there quite early before the crowds started around lunchtime. Was quite an interesting day, - obviously there were freebies galore as you'd expect at these things, but there were also some good stage talks; There was one from St John's Ambulance about Baby first aid, then another from Annabel Karmel about Baby nutrition. Flickr'd some pics of the event.

Then seeing as the Saturday was also my Birthday we did a bit of London exploring! We decided to head to Hamley's via Piccadilly Circus for some photo's on the way. Quite a busy day really and Jen did amazingly well considering the miles we put in and the how far on she is!
I was surprised at how on every Tube journey there was always someone courteuos enough to offer Jen their seat! Not what I would have expected in London.
One of the most bizarre things we came across was a London transport employee who's job seemed to be to warn people about the dangers of standing under a ledge full of pigeons on one of the platforms....which was covered in their mess!

Went out for a meal with my family on the evening before heading home on Sunday to relax!

"Canny Ara's"*

Went to one of the Premier League Darts nights the other week, when the tour came to the Newcastle Arena. It was certainly an experience...!

After arriving and firstly being dissapointed at how far back our seats were, it turned out to be a good laugh. Yes the seats weren't ideal but if you think about it, how close would you actually have to be to properly see a dart board?! Luckilly there were 4 Huge screens showing the broadcast as it went out live on Sky.

The atmosphere was best described as mental! - It didn't take me long to realise that most of the people there had been out drinking all day. Anyway, I've stuck some of the photos online and have to say I'd definitely go again next year.

The only downer on the night was the Sunderland and Newcastle fans that decided to have a couple of fights, - erm Hello, it's a darts match. Who cares which football team you support! - Simpletons!!
*"Good Darts"

EDIT: Just uploaded a video too, - gives a better idea of what the set-up was....

Blooming

Jen's now 25 weeks gone, and not everyone see's her regularly so thought it was about time we posted a pic of her bump.

Photo was taken at 24 weeks, and she's getting bigger by the day!

We're busy sorting the nursery now,- of course that involves decorating just about the whole of the upstairs of the house!

Also been getting rid of a shed load (literally) of furniture; Bookcase, DVD rack, Dining Table and chairs have all gone. Just a TV unit and a Sunbed to go now.....and takers??. I'll give them a week and then they're getting skipped!!

Sssssttttrrrreeeetttttccccchhhhhhh

Changed my Blog template to spread across the screen, - makes it easier when trying to wrap words around pictures.

Last of the scheduled scans

Had the 20week scan last week, which is actually the last of the scheduled scans.
The baby is of such a size at this point that it doesn't all fit on the screen in one go!
During every scan we've had, the baby has been jumping all over the place! - Legs a kicking and arms a waving. It's certainly entertaining to watch and you never fail to get a view from all angles!
No, before you ask - we didn't ask to find out the sex which is offered as part of the scan.

"Walkies"

Yeeha
Originally uploaded by Beebop Alula.

We took Bertha and Cedar (ours and my parents dog), for a walk through some nearby woods yesterday, - 'Hollywell Dene'.
They had a canny time in the river and mud, but we consequently ended up having to take them to the beach straight after to get cleaned off in the sea!! Not that they were complaining mind.