Poison oak

For the last couple of days, George's foot has been acting weirdly....it started with what looked a bit like eczema and then over the course of 24 hours, I thought it might be bites coming out. Then yesterday, his foot started to turn red/purple so I took him to see the pediatrician. She also wasn't sure what it was so put him on antibiotics in case of infection and gave me a steriod cream for the swelling. Overnight it got worse to the point where he couldn't sleep, was complaining when trying to walk on it, limping, you couldn't see his ankle bones and he couldn't get his shoe on. The pediatrician told me to take him to the emergency room.
The doctors told me it looks like a nasty case of Poison Oak - something I've never come across before and gave me a steriod for George to take orally.

The only place I can think of that we've been in the last week is Tilden Park (and they do have warning signs there about it), but I have no idea of how he might have picked it up there. The pictures I've posted actually don't give a true impression of quite how bad it still is.
This is the end of a mad week in which Simon was away in NYC from Tuesday to Saturday, the toilet flush broke, the washing machine stopped spinning (so I now have a huge pile of washing building up), my back flipped out (but hopefully my osteo-exercises are working on improving that), one of my milk ducts has been blocked, etcetera, etcetera. Funny though, because I could have got quite down about all of the above, but it really hasn't bothered me that much.

I'm worried about George's foot, but all the other stuff? I'm learning not to sweat it and it's really quite liberating.Couldn't resist posting this photo of Maddie sleeping in the hospital -she really is my Sleeping Beauty!

A jolly good marbling day out

With the new addition to the family, the boys don't get a lot of time with either myself or Simon lately, so we've been testing out a new way for Harry and George to get special time with either mum or dad - earning MARBLES! - the rules are:- being kind to your brother, no hitting, kicking, having good manners at the dinner table, going to bed without making a fuss.

There are other toddler-sized chores they do to help around the house and we explain that this is because we are a family and work together.

To earn their choice of treat, they needed to earn five marbles. It was tough going, but they did it in the end. George chose to go to Pier 39 to see the stinky sealions with me. We had lots of fun watching them swim up and down, shout to eachother and generally whiffing out the local area. Then I took him for lunch on the pier; his choice.

Hot dog and candy floss (or cotton candy as we now know it) that is nearly the same size as him. I was a bit worried about him eating such a huge volume of sugar - no idea why, because I used to scarf that much and more when I was younger.....but he didn't eat it, I think it was more to do with having free choice than filling his tum. It ended up as a sort of play doh subsitute instead!

We enjoyed watching this guy juggle with fire sticks and then knives - while balancing on a see saw (teeter totter - see? I'm still learning new words!).
Harry also earnt his marbles and decided on special time with his dad - they went to watch the start of this year's Gumball Rally in San Francisco. David Hasselhof turned up with Kit car, all very exciting - so much so that Harry couldn't even make it into bed when he got home, but crashed out on the floor next to the bed instead!

Lucky

I'm feeling extremely lucky right now, to have three healthy children born into a family that loves them beyond anything.
We have been blessed - I am with a great man who I love, I get to experience being at home and bringing up our fabulous boys AND to get the opportunity to have a surprise girl in the mix too is, for me, beyond my wildest expectations.
I have to keep pinching myself to remember that it is true and that I mustn't take it all for granted, and to hope that this bubble never bursts.

Fun in the sun

We had fun on a day out in Walnut Creek with Lauren, who was visiting from the UK (on a four day whirlwind tour!).

I pretended to dunk the boys into this fountain.....Harry got me back by nearly pushing me in backwards! I'm loving their sense of humour, that I have so much energy now I'm not pregnant anymore, and the fact that we can just have a lot of fun together.

This is what I need to keep reminding myself of when they or I are having a tough moment.

Me and three

Without wishing to be morbid, children are a surefire way to measure the passing of time. I can't believe Maddie is five weeks old already. My mum said that holding Maddie takes her right back to when I was a baby, because she looks just like I did as a newborn.

Having a new addition to the family is very exciting, but challenging for all of us and I think we're handling it really well so far. I'm looking forward to watching the children's relationships develop and grow, and to seeing how having a girl in the family changes the dynamic.

Maddie's Here!

Madeleine Alexandra Lily David arrived six days late - on Tuesday, June 17th at 18.13.

Weighing in at a delicate 10lbs 8oz and 22 inches long. My waters broke while I was driving in the car to my antepartum testing appointment - so luckily, I was only about three miles from the L&D wards! The labour was very quick and intense, lasting just under four hours - so quick in fact that Simon missed the whole thing and there was no time for any pain relief. She is beautiful and I'm still pinching myself that I have a daughter!

Below are some of the lovely photos that my dear friend Sivan took for us when Maddie was only two days old. My doula took a tonne of photos at the birth and I'll load some up as soon as I have them.

Art & Wind Festival

We went to the Art & Wind Festival in San Ramon on Memorial Day. They had lots of stalls with arts and crafts, food and music. There were also kite displays throughout the day and The Cat in The Hat even made an appearance. The boys had so much fun watching all the days activities and spent a long, long time rolling down the slopes while watching the kites - it reminded me a lot of sunny, summer days out with my parents when I was growing up, not spending a tonne of money on amusements but just good old-fashioned, outdoor fun.

These drummers were a big hit with Harry and George - we must have spent at least 45 minutes just watching them beat out the rhythms.