SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

My garden is looking increasingly colourful as all the bulbs I planted last year and the year before come bursting through: today I spotted a weeny teeny daffodil which I didn't even know was there!  I still have a load of plants to transplant from the old pond area to elsewhere in the garden, and the irises (well, I think that's what they were anyway) are already over - but then you're meant to transplant them, apparently 'in the green'.  I wonder if any bluebells will come up this year: early yet for them but last year they all came up blind, which was disappointing.  Wouldn't it be fantastic if this year I had a sort of blue mist effect like I used to see in Whippendell Woods in Watford when cycling or running down there?

It's very difficult to remain downheartened for too long when the sun's out and spring is in the air.  I feel low about my singing, but after all that is only one element of my life: and the Baby's increasingly cheeky smile and baby coos and chuckles beat everything.

(photo taken Feb.)

Yesterday - the spring equinox - was Oldest Son's 7th birthday and as a treat school and I let him have a day off and I took him to the Great North Museum in Newcastle.  It's fab., though because I had to take the Baby as well I did spend a lot of time feeding the latter, much to the disgust of Oldest Son.  The idea had been in part to make up to him for the fact that his nose has been put a bit out of joint since the Baby came along and he's had less attention, though both he and Daughter do seem genuinely to love the Baby.  Oldest Son particularly seems to be calming down and being quite responsible towards the Baby, especially as the latter will now look at him and smile in an 'your my older brother and I look up to you' sort of way.

The sun was glorious and a warm 14 degrees over in Newcastle - back over this side of the country we were down to 11 degrees.  Today here has been 'balmy with a bit of coolness in the air'.  I could have gone out in the garden to move some more plants but I also had emails and so forth to catch up on and so the opportunity passed.

It would have been the day for a run, trying out the 'new' buggy, but the opportunity for that also passed.  I guess I should just be hard-hearted and skip paying the bills and so forth but somehow housework, sending an email around to the choir to check they know there's no practice next week, etc., seemed more of a priority.  Or maybe I was just being lazy....  After my run with Running Friend P. on Sunday, which I thought was quite a success, I really should build on the fact that I'm not as unfit as I thought I might be, and I don't have much excuse to keep exercising and to lose the baby weight.

The Woman article finally got published today.  It's not as bad as I had feared, although there were bits which were completely made up (I've never mentioned anything about the school run being anything like Benny Hill).  At least it means that in 6 weeks' time there should be a cheque in the post.  The journalist who introduced me to Woman is now going to contact Femail.  We'll see....

It would be just as well if I got some money as I'm overdrawn more than I expected (the birthday present I ordered my Mum from M&S has not been sent out as funds weren't available to pay for it), I have a piano repair to pay for and I'd also like to have a decent (50th) birthday party later in the year.  Along these lines, I really do need to find a job by about mid-August so I must get around to revising my CV and recording a couple of demo discs.  Perhaps if I get some money from things other than Maternity Allowance or Child Benefit I could use it to pay to for the Baby to have a couple of days, or half days, at nursery, the problem being of course that at the moment I'm trying to do everything and look after the Baby at the same time.  I do think 3 months is too young to start nursery, but a few hours once in a while would just give me some freedom to try to get some future employment generated.

I would also be far better off not having to do so much housework.  I hope Husband never reads this particular blog posting as today I did something which he had warned me against and which I know he'll be annoyed about.  The Christmas before last (2009) he gave me a Norwegian jumper.  I've always liked them, although admittedly this one would have been better if it had been longer, been a jumper rather than a cardigan, and if it had been designed specifically for a woman rather than a man.  But I know that Husband had put a bit of thought into choosing it and also that it was expensive, and when he gave it to me he said I'd have to be careful washing it (I have a track record of shrinking delicates and breaking glasses).  Well, today I put it in a very gentle wash in the washing machine.... except it wasn't gentle enough.  It is now too small for me, slightly felt-like in appearance, and a bit on the big side still for Oldest Son.  Oh dear.  I think I shall hope that he doesn't notice it on the drying rack (in the Utility Room, so he's unlikely to look at it unless he's looking for running kit - not on that particular rack - or if he notices as he goes past to the loo or to turn the heating on) and then quietly send it off to the next of the many charity bag collections which comes along.  Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

That's all for now as I need to get the children to bed (the Baby is already in bed asleep: he is so very, very good - you put him in his bed, he objects for a few minutes, and then he conks out).  Oldest Son is probably already asleep in front of the science programme he wanted to watch on TV but Daughter is leaping around eating apples.  Tomorrow Husband is helping with the school run, which is good, and I think I'll take the Baby to Aquatots so long as it doesn't coincide with his telling me he's starving hungry.  Au revoir!