blogging the good blog

well, i have been tempted to drop the ball here a little bit, using moving house and fat pregnant fingers as my excuse. But I think we all agree that if I do that now, well.... an 8 month hiatus might seem short.

So just a short one to say, yes, I'm alive and in the new place, and no, I've not yet had Number 2. Though we are within 4 weeks of being due, so start those predictions rolling. Mine is for a 7lb boy on 11 July (so 2 weeks early). We've settled on names, and I must say that the male name is an absoulte corker that none of you would ever guess. And although I've always been partial to having a little girl, I've got to say that lately, I've swung to wanting a boy,- purely becuase I prefer that name. It's THAT good people (though i'm pretty sure conversations outside our earshot will question mine nad Dave's sobriety).

The house.... well.... it's amazing. I LOVED the Tabard Centre and know that it's probably the coolest place I will ever live - but this new house is a proper family home. And already life is so much easier and I feel so much happier. To wheel a pram in my front door (as opposed to going up 52 stairs) is a bliss i cant describe. To be within a 5 minute walk of every ammenity I shall ever need (train station, post office, supermarket, chemist, cinema, library, liesure centre with pool, a Primark....) is a revelation. For Fred to have his own bedroom and a wonderful backyard with lawn and sandpit to explore for hours on end.. is how a childhood is meant to be.

The actual moving into the house is a work in progress. We left a fair chunk of furniture at our old place (which we are renting out to a women's shoe designer) and much of what we have brought does not exactly fit in the smaller spaces of the new place. We are without some essentials (dining room table and chairs) and fixtures we took for granted in the last place (bathroom cabinets, bookshelves) will need to be sourced. So we are still some way off unpacking many boxes, and with baby number two beginning to take my full attention, I'm not too sure when this will happen. (perhaps when mama and papa anders get here in a couple of weeks! mwa ha ha).

Fred is marvellous. Each week gets better and better. He adds daily to his vocab and collection of bruises nad scratches. Last week, in an incident involving a potplant and a chair, he got his first (and I doubt last) black eye. It was an awesome sight to behold and one with I will exhibit when I locate the cord which connects my camera to the computer. He also has started properly cuddling me, which is just about the nicest thing I have ever experienced. It has taken Mr ActionMan 18 months to figure out that snuggling into mum for 10 minutes, with head on sholder going 'mmmmm, mmmmmm' is one of life's great pleasures. Although I'm not sure he's aware how hard it is for me to resist squeezing him too tight. Mmmmmm.

Moving Madness!

This weekend Dave and I are moving out of the Tabard Centre into our new place in Peckham (yes, THE Peckham from Only Fools and Horses and THE Peckham which 10 years ago had one of the worst crime rates in Europe... SE1 was becoming just too comfortable for us edgy types).

Anyway - as anyone who has ever moved will know, I'm in for a weekend of pain. God knows how we are going to do it, with me 33+ weeks pregnant and the size of a small elephant, a mini-monster who sits in the specific box you are packing at any one time - 'unpacking' it for you or cramming bits of apple into the holes, and poor Dave being responsible for all of the lifting. And whilst he does have huge guns - considering the number of stairs involved nad sheer quantity of books and wine (at the very least) to move - he too is in for a weekend of pain.

Anyway - will post pics of the move and the new place as soon as we are settled in properly. I'm off the email/internet for the next week and pretty busy organising all things new baby (new purchases, change in hospital and doctors etc. etc.) so realistically it will probably be at least a week.

Am very sad to be leaving this amazing apartment, have lots of memories of here - with many friends and family. It was Fred's first home.... *sigh* HOWEVER am most excited about moving to a place with no stairs nad a backyard with room for a sandpit. ANd we are renting out this place for the next year, so if Fred gets better at climbing stairs and we decide to rennovate into the loft, there is a vague (very vague) chance we might even move back here.

Anyway... BACK to packing!!! Argh.

Below are the pics of the Tabard Centre for all you people who were too lazy to come visit us in the last 3 years XXXX

(and yes, it was always this neat!)

Not just any Sheila.

We had some bad news over the weekend that came in the ominous form of missed phone calls from my sister at a time when she should have been in bed. My Nana Anders suffered a sudden and massive stroke from which she did not regain consciousness on Saturday morning. She passed away Monday evening.

You vaguely prepare yourself for things like this and in the event join the family rationalizing it’s inevitability, appreciating the swiftness, being grateful for the lack of pain or loss of mind.… trying to pull some sort of positivity out of something which is a deeply saddening event. It’s an end I think most of us would pick given a choice - but pragmatism aside, it’s quite obvious that nothing but time is going to stop how much it hurts that you will never again see some who has been such a big part of your life. Someone who you love very dearly. There was so much more to say, so much more to do and you can’t help but feel a little bit cheated.

But that’s the way the cookie crumbles, and I know I’ve been truly blessed to have an almost full deck of grandparents until 27. But in our tiny little Anders family, where christmases, birthdays, mothers days and idle Sundays have been shared by the same seven characters for over 15 years, she will be sorely and obviously missed. As will that gingernut biscuit cake she made.

No need for comments on this one, just to take a suggestion from me that you enjoy each day you have and to love your loved ones as best you can.

xxH