#whatwedidthisweek 25.02.18

Another slow paced week for us this week as Monday I went to work and also had my Glucose Tolerence Test, but my back was giving me quite a few problems. As the day went on it was becoming increasingly painful to sit upright. I was getting a lot of lower back pain as well as some shooting pains up my spine and down my left leg.

Back Ache

I really feel like I’m at the end of my pregnancy but I’ve still got 14 weeks to go. I’m shuffling along like an old lady due to my back and getting in and out of chairs is becoming a bit of an effort

I’ve covered all of this stuff in this weeks Pregnancy Diary update if you would like to have a read, but basically I’ve been off work for the remainder of the week so that I could rest.

Tuesday and Wednesday were essentially normal days. Isabelle went to school, Chris and Ryan to work and me at home resting.

We’d read all the supposed warmings of the Beast from the East and rolled our eyes at the potential masses of snow heading our way.

The last time it snowed was when Isabelle was three months old. We remember it so well as the pipes burst in our house and we were left with no hot water or heating. By some miracle an extremely kind plumber agreed to walk to our house to fix it and did. Amazing.

Thursday was due to be World Book Day and Isabelle was really looking forward to it. Wednesday night (at this point we’d had about 16 flakes of snow) we got an email from the school to cancel World Book Day and also to let us know that they would let us know by 7.30am if school was going to be closed.

Pah ha ha we thought. Don’t be so ridiculous we said.

We woke up to the lightest coating of snow. A bit like an accident with a bag of icing sugar might cause.

School will definitely be open. We’d already had the predicted tears and strop about World Book Day being cancelled and we’re awaiting the email.

School was closed. Totally ridiculous considering we were looking out the window at the barely covered floor.

To make up for the disappointment we decided we’d have a tea party lunch. Chris braved the snow sprinkling to go and get some shopping.

And then the snow came……..

Isabelle was so excited as she’s never actually seen snow so this was a real treat for her. We had a sledge in the shed from the last time it snowed so Chris took her to the nearest hill so that she could have some snowy sledging fun.

She was in and out of the garden with her bucket and spade and we watched as they day went on from it being a sprinkling to inches deep. The kids were all out in the street building snowmen and everyone seemed to be enjoying it.

Ryan actually skied down the road that his girlfriend lives on (it’s quite a steep hill).

Our lovely Charlie who is not keen on getting wet was a bit cautious but then went bounding through it. This changed as it got deeper and the poor dog looked so worried as it was touching his bit and was cold and wet. So much so that he was holding in his wee (and pooh) so that he didn’t have to brave the outdoors.

Thursday and Friday having the snow was awesome. Isabelle and Chris spent loads of time together going in and out with the sledge. They even made a snow dragon in our front garden (just to be different).

Facebook became the most annoying and most amazing place ever. There were so many people with 4×4’s driving hospital staff to work, people checking on their elderly neighbours, people offering things that people were running low on such as milk, bread, nappies etc. There were also loads of pleas to ensure that people living on the streets were taken in and given as much provisions and shelter as possible.

The sense of community was amazing and people really were pulling together which is what should happen.

My Dad is currently undergoing chemotherapy for prostate cancer and had stopped eating and drinking. The hospital were worried this would have an affect on his kidneys and wanted him to have blood tests. As it is a fair distance to the doctors surgery we were worried about how we would get him there given his current frail state. After several phone calls, the ward agreed that the tests could wait until Monday but only if we could get him to at least drink. The alternative being that he would need to be admitted. Thankfully this alone scared him into drinking and during the weekend he has increased his intake and now out of bed. It’s times like this that we realise that we as a nation don’t cope that great when snow hits us.

However, there is a flip side to this in that I can’t believe the risk that some people were taking by going out unnecessarily in their cars, and then there were the masses of pleas for shopping. Can people really not last for a few days without bread and milk? Do people really not shop so that they can last for a couple of days without having to go to the shops. Can you really not go for a couple of days without a cup of tea? I’m baffled by this.

Throughout the whole ‘Beast from the East’ episode I haven’t stepped outside at all. I’ve been a good girl and rested my back, not as much with Isabelle being at home.

I think Isabelle has enjoyed having so much Daddy time which she hasn’t had much of recently, and it’s been nice for me being able to slip away and rest when I needed to.

Saturday it rained and the powdery snow had turned to icy slush puppy type snow which wasn’t as much fun. They managed to have a last sledging session as we knew that this was the last day and had to make the most of it.

Sunday I woke up to the sound of rain and a quick look out of the window confirmed that the #snowdays were well and truly over. Everything was wet, slushy and grey. People were coming and going in their cars and normality was starting to set back in.

Panic over folks – There’s milk and bread in the shops! Run, run and fill your boots!

Have a great week.

Lisa x