New Birthing and Doula blog!

Very exciting news m'dears...

I have had a very exciting few days....

Firstly I became an auntie to a gorgeous lil' baby girlie :-)

I am also delighted to be joining the DOULA UK magazine editorial team and working on some stuff for JUNO MAGAZINE for their summer issue.

And....whilst being in hibernation feeling-pooey-and-ill mode, I have been quietly getting my shiz together and now have a new Doula website and Blog with the help of my lovely techically whizzy Pete and our equally technically whizzy friend Ian, so do pop on over and take a peek.

It's brand spankin' new and I'm rather proud of it. Hope you like it.

Lots of love everyone xxx

Check out my new Birth Blog!

British History Podcast

Hey. Feeling a little better today and my cold is gone. Yay! I overdid things with my back - boo! So that is sore now. But.... feeling a lot happier. Thanks for the support and bloggy love.

So, moving on, I want to share with you a really great resource which we have been following for a couple of years now. 

It might sound a bit weird that an American should be doing a podcast on British History, but this guy IS actually British, and what is more he is awesome. He truly knows his history, and tells it in such an easygoing way, bringing to life the chronological history of Britain in mini-episodes. He is much more fun to listen to that those serious types (Simon Schama et al) and I often listen to him last thing at night to drift off too (Although I usually listen to then end) Yeah he occasionally bleeps out the odd swear word, but I personally really like that he just talks in a normal and real way and isn't at all pompous. He's done something 93 episodes at the time of writing and half of those were just covering the Romans!

Go check out his podcasts in the itunes store and if you want to listen to them in chronological historical order, then scroll down from the beginning and work your way up the list from the bottom.

and if you likey, go take a look at The British History Podcast Website  He does this job full-time now but nearly had to give it up recently and go get a paid job. Thankfully he has just announced that thanks to donations and support he can afford to make a living from his podcast and website, which I for one am really pleased about!

X Enjoy! X

Normal service will soon be resumed

Apart from Indie learning to read and a really gorgeous phonecall and skype session with Lucy over at Dreaming Aloud and the company of some friends in the village over the last couple of days, it feels like one of those tumbleweed weeks when nothing in particular happens and the world seems a bit grey.
I've had a horrid cold and felt like my head was in a clamp (fun with bouncy boys in the house) and spent several days literally sat in an armchair by my woodburner just feeling a bit poo with a blankie wrapped round me. Pete has been doing all my jobs. He's been a trooper, but is understandably, knackered.
We're both feeling a bit lost at the mo....restless....uncertain what to do on so many things.
I don't know why we're feeling like this.
I try and cheer myself up with this and that and it works for a while....
Maybe it's the time of year.
Maybe its worrying about our finances since they're all so completely tied up in horrid business wranglings.
Maybe its a hankering for the open road.
Maybe it's the very very BIG talk we had about having more babies or not and all the tears that flowed with it.
Gah.
There are always things to be grateful for and to look forward to but I'm having a wallowing moment.
I know it will pass and I know happy things are round the corner. They always are....
and I shall soon be launching my new Doula website and Birth Blog.... so watch this space folks!

I like Peter and I like Jane

Well who would've guessed it?  Somehow after reading just a few odd words here and there, Indie today can suddenly just read, which he demonstrated today when he brought me a pile of Peter and Jane books and announced that he'd like to read them aloud to me. He then astounded me by reading the whole of 1a, 1b 1c (you have to write in that one) and then half of book 2a! (At which point he realised Peter and Jane is actually really f*cking boring and was starting to parody a bit - but who cares? He's reading. Sentences! )

  

He actually read the entire first book whilst spinning round and round in circles in the kitchen as I cooked pancakes!

He is one of those kids that reminds me of Sir Ken Robinson's descriptions of children who cannot think unless they're moving their body. Like they literally can't stand still. And that is Indie all over!

He is forever twisting and turning and spinning and moving his body, rarely sitting completely still!

And there it is.

When you don't force, when there are no tears, when you are not trying, when you let them come to it on their own terms and in their own timing, it just happens.

After prompting him with the odd word in the first three books he then announces when he got to 2a, he said "Paula I don't actually need you anymore because I'm actually doing this pretty perfectly on my own!" And so he was.

Magic!

Eh?.....Eh?......Eh?.....What? ...... oh I've forgotten.

If you have never watched......... 

A walk on the wild side 

then I suggest you drop absolutely everything and watch it NOW! 

My sides hurt from laughing!