Owner: Exquisite Chick URL:http://www.exquisite-chick.blogspot.com Join Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 11:27:49 -0500 Rating:1 Site Description: The blog of a young British Chick from the south of England, who is temporarily living in Cyprus.
Exquisite Chick is also a qualified massage therapist, a health and fitness nut, a football fanatic, a lover of gadgets, a wife and a mum! Site statistics:Click here
The bit that no one warns you about... 2006-10-07 19:51:00 People often talk about the joys of a newborn baby, in fact they often talk about the not so joyous parts too like the sleepless nights. But no one ever mentions or cares to warn you about the really gross stuff. I'm not talking nappies, those I can handle. (I worked as a care assistant for a while so baby nappies are nothing!). I'm talking about the really nasty stuff! Like cord stumps!
Basically, at birth the umbilical cord is cut so that a stump is left coming out of the baby's belly button. After a few days this shrivels up, goes a kind of black colour and falls off. Or at least that's what supposed to happen...
And over the first couple of days Baby EC's umbilical cord stump did start to shrivel up as normal. However a few days later we realised that the underneath part was still wet, gooey and really really gross!. We washed around it with cooled boiled water and left it to air as much as possible in the hope it would dry out, but by day 10 the midwife was getting concerned Read more:warns
No smacks for me... 2006-10-03 19:55:00 I got brave and submitted Exquisite Chick to the bitches at I Talk 2 Much!
The good news is I didn't get the boot, the finger, the fish or the short bus. The bad news is I didn't get any smacks either! But as nice as a couple of smacks would have been, there's no denying that the review (which you can read for yourself here) is pretty damn accurate!
To sum it all up, I've managed to avoid writing all the quirky little stories and bits from each day, and have instead written quite a lot of drivel. A fact I wish wasn't true, but reading back over a few of my entries they don't reflect the past year as well as I thought they did simply because I've omitted some of the most important and interesting details!
I'm not going to dwell on this though, instead I am going to use it as a chance to start over. I am going to send this blog back in the direction I originally intended for it and hope I don't slip back into the drivel!
Thanks Avitable!
I Talk 2 Much
The stork has been... 2006-09-10 16:10:00 Baby EC was born (by caesarean) at 9.10am on Wednesday 6th September 2006, weighing 8lb 15oz!
(Will add a picture as soon as blogger lets me!)
Mmmm Johnny Depp... 2006-08-26 21:04:00
Mr. EC suggested that we go see Pirates Of The Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest. I decided I could easily spend my Saturday night drooling over Johnny
Depp, so I jumped at the idea!
Of course it wasn't as good as The Curse Of The Black Pearl, but it was still a great film and definitely worth watching in my (slightly biased Johnny Depp fan) opinion!
Damn digital camera... 2006-08-18 14:05:00 We've gotten pretty used to the fact that sod's law tends to rule what goes on around here, so it didn't come as a great surprise when our digital camera broke the other week. You know 5 WEEKS before our second child is due!
For me this was good enough reason to have a major hormonal outburst. I mean we don't exactly have the spare cash to spend on a new camera right now so we would have been stuck with some kind of disposable film one. You know the sort that you get developed only to find that every picture is out of focus, badly lit or over exposed! Not to mention that neither Mr. EC or myself can take a decent picture to save our lives. We need the 30 attempts that can be deleted before we manage that one perfect photo, it's a luxury we have become far too accustomed to!
This little rant does have a happy ending though, because after my hormonal outburst I set to work actually trying to solve the problem. And being the clever, technologically minded soul that I am, I fixed the
Father and son bonding time... 2006-08-12 13:55:00 Mr. EC and Little EC are growing their own crystals.
Mr. EC presented the idea a few days ago and it sounded like an innocent bit of father and son science. A great way for them to bond beyond the football pitch.
I really should have known better! Mum's across the globe are laughing at me for thinking there could be such a thing as INNOCENT science, especially when father and son have teamed up.
My kitchen bloody stinks!
Of course I can smell it 10 times worse than either Little EC or Mr. EC can, so they think I am just being hormonal and over reacting (boy do they know how to get on the right side of a pregnant lady!). And apparently that stench has to sit in the kitchen for at least 2 days whilst the crystals appear!
I am so going on strike, someone else can cook the tea tonight. Read more:Father
, bonding
John Terry named England captain... 2006-08-11 20:01:00 "John has all the attributes an international captain needs: leadership, authority, courage, ability, tactical awareness and a total refusal to accept second-best. He has been an inspiration for Chelsea and is at his best in adversity."Those were the words of England
manager Steve McClaren. And I don't think it can be put any better than that! John Terry
is a fantastic skipper for Chelsea and certainly has all the qualities you'd look for in an England captain.Congratulations JT!Congratulations also to Liverpool's Steven Gerrard for his appointment as vice captain!Terry and Gerrard will face each other this weekend when Chelsea and Liverpool battle it out for the first silverware of the season.ChelseaFC.com: John Terry Named England Captain Read more:named
My poor little car... 2006-08-08 20:16:00
...is out of action!
A few days ago I parked up in front of the house as usual and everything seemed fine. 30 minutes later, as we were about to head out for the day in Mr. EC's car, I noticed that my lights were on. Now normally I would have been surprised by this, but with all the cases of pregnancy brain I've been having recently it seemed pretty typical. I figured I'd probably put them on as I got out of the car thinking that I was switching them off or something.
As I went to flick the switch I realised it was already set to off. At which point I started to think I was going mad! Or that my car might have a life of it's own, Herbie in disguise maybe? (Although that would be kind of cool!) Anyway, I went about turning the switch to every position I could find, indicators on, full beam on, side lights on and all back off, but the main lights just wouldn't switch off. So in stepped Mr. EC, half expecting to flick them straight off and have a good giggle about how dopey I was, Read more:little
A day of rest... 2006-08-07 12:54:00 No energy, can't breath properly, look like crap! Oh boy am I loving this pregnancy thing!
So I have taken the executive decision that I obviously need a day to recharge my batteries.
I am going to allow myself to remain looking like crap for the day, whilst I squirm about on the sofa in an attempt to catch a decent breath and actually get comfortable. To prevent me feeling too guilty for doing sod all, I may combine my hourly trip to the loo with the odd snippet of housework (I'm ashamed to admit the place desperately needs hoovering, there are dishes in the sink and a load of clothes waiting to make the journey from the machine to the washing line). Then at some point this evening a long warm bath and face pack will be followed up by a return to the sofa in my most comfortable PJ's. I'll probably head for bed just after 9pm and you never know Little EC may wake up tomorrow to find a Blue Peter presenter for a mother!
EDIT: Little EC hasn't quite understood the concept of my da
So what have I been up to since I last blogged... 2006-08-03 20:10:00 Well, during July we had some of our closest friends from the UK staying with us. And even with the added stress of being hostess, it was absolutly fantastic!
Unfortunately though Mr. EC got stuck working most of the month thanks to the situation in Lebanon. He happened to be on call when it all kicked off and ended up working nearly 24 hours a day at some points. On the plus side though he was given this week off to make up for it and so was able to spend at least a few full days with our visitors.
As for being pregnant, can you believe there are just over 5 weeks until Baby EC is due! I definitely look like a whale now and am getting more and more uncomfortable but both baby and me seem to be doing well. My feet and ankles are huge too, I don't think they took too kindly to the amount of walking that came with showing our friends around Cyprus but hopefully a few days rest should do them some good.
Today has consisted of catching up on the housework and recovering from the hectic sc Read more:blogged
Seriously... 2006-07-17 19:41:00 It is actually possible to spend a whole week away from the laptop and survive, who knew eh? Read more:Seriously
Nesting... 2006-07-08 20:48:00 I must be nesting, there is no other reason for having spent today:
-Washing Mr. EC's car-Washing my car-Washing the white veranda fence out front-Mopping the veranda-Tidying the garden-Washing down the living room walls and skirting boards-Hoovering the living room and hallway-Dusting the living room-Rearranging the airing cupboard
Admittedly I'm a neat freak at the best of times, but there's like a week's worth of chores there and I chose to spend my Saturday doing them, WTF?
Tonight I am putting up my tree trunk ankles and doing absolutely nothing! Read more:Nesting
Baby Stuff... 2006-07-06 20:07:00 I've been absolutely bloody knackered this week. Which is funny, because I've been on iron tablets since Monday (as my bloods came back showing I'm anaemic) and iron tablets are suppose to up your energy levels, at least that's what I've been told. Guess either they haven't kicked in yet or baby is steeling all the goodness for himself. 'Sod Mummy, I'm having me some of that iron' he's thinking! Not that I can blame him, it just means that for the time being I still feel like crap. The joy's of pregnancy eh? At least tomorrow is Friday, so Aqua Natal should perk me up a bit.
On a much happier note, we went baby shopping for the first time this week! It was a surreal experience, especially when I found myself stood in Mothercare, arms laden in sleepsuits, scratch mitts and other baby things. It seems so long ago since we bought anything like that for Little EC! So long ago in fact that I felt like a first time Mum again, slightly overwhelmed by the amount of baby paraphernali
Bloody penalties... 2006-07-02 14:04:00
I still believed! After 90 minutes of goal less football I still believed that England were gonna go through. Beckham had limped off, Rooney had been sent off, but I just felt that in extra time a goal was to come. Maybe Aaron Lennon (who had replaced Beckham in the 62nd minute) would pull some magic out of the hat, maybe a set piece would see a beautiful Terry header, maybe Gerrard or Lampard would send the ball hurtling towards the back of the net? Either way I felt it was coming.
OK so I was wrong. After 120 minutes it was still 0-0. But things weren't looking all that bad. England had soldiered on with the fans as their 11th man and technically we were still in the World Cup. We had looked the stronger side for most of the match and now all we had to do was get pass the Portuguese goal keeper.
Easier said then done? Well, Hargreaves made it but Lampard, Gerrard and Carragher all missed and as Cristiano Ronaldo's shot went in a sombre silence filled our front room. Portugal were Read more:penalties
Carte D'or Coke float... 2006-06-27 20:00:00 Our three days away in Protaras were fantastic, but it seems that my attempts to cure the post holiday blues aren't impressing Mr. EC.
Basically, I decided I would make myself a Coke float
(which amongst the numerous non-alcoholic cocktails was my drink of choice whilst we were away). Not a big deal eh? Well, apparently using Carte D'or in a (decaffeinated!) Coke float is a big deal. Apparently using Carte D'or in a Coke float is the equivalent of using my wedding dress to clean the toilet! Which I thought was a pretty harsh comment, I mean it's not like I used Ben and Jerry's! Anyway, I may just have managed to convince Mr. EC that the use of Carte D'or was perfectly acceptable had it not been for the Coke float volcano that then erupted all over the kitchen surface. Oops!
Worth the wait... 2006-06-22 21:11:00 Back on the 23rd March I ordered a replacement for my beloved REN Acacia Blossom Lip Honey, as the current pot was starting to run out. Well 2 emails later (each a month apart) and guess what arrived yesterday! I so want to be angry at REN for the delay, but they were really apologetic and even sent me free 50ml versions of Moroccan Rose Otto Body Wash and Damask Rose Ramnose Biosaccharide Body Cream (which together cost more than the lip balm itself!) and my love of REN products makes it so hard to be mad at them for long. Plus I'm a sucker, whose just glad to finally have a full pot of my favourite lip balm to hand again.
Talking of great products, Original Chino Frappechino's are now on sale within walking distance of my house! Woo hoo! This means no more trips into town purely to indulge myself in my favourite ice drink. I saw the machine had arrived in the shop at the weekend but they hadn't got round to filling it, then yesterday it was finally filled and ready to serve. Needl Read more:Worth
5 things.... 2006-06-17 13:12:00 You can blame Geeky Dragon Girl for this (which by the way is my 50th post!).
5 things
in my refrigerator:
1. Halloumi, I always keep a pack of halloumi on standby in case Mr. EC decides to light the barbecue.2. Milk, personally I'm not a big fan of the stuff but the men around here drink it like it's going out of fashion.3. Salsa, left over from the fajitas we had on Thursday, did I mention that they were homemade fajitas!4. Hellman's Light Mayonnaise, because I have it on practically everything (including homemade fajitas!).5. 1/2 bar of Green and Blacks Dark Chocolate with Ginger, my Grandma may talk too much but she knows how to spoil us!
5 things in my closet:
1. Trainers, I have at least 9 pairs although that includes my ones for running, my old ones for getting muddy, my ones for the gym, etc. etc.2. Shoes and handbags, I can't beat the stereotype, I'm a girl who loves shoes and handbags and I have lots of them!3. Football Shirts, all Chelsea and England ones of course. I
Must resist... 2006-06-15 12:25:00 As we don't have a house phone I tend to use my mobile a lot, but I still seem to use it for taking pictures more than I do for actually ringing people. Or at least I did before the camera on it broke!I can't actually afford a replacement right now, despite the camera being like the millionth thing to go wrong on it, but I thought hey there's no harm in looking.(Note to self: looking is fine once you have mastered the art of resist
ing temptation!).I think I have fallen in love with this Sony Ericsson phone that I came across. It has practically everything including a 3.2 megapixel camera, which is what initially grabbed my attention. 3.2 is slightly more megapixels than our digital camera uses (although I must admit our current digital camera is probably considered an antique these days). But still, for a phone thats pretty awesome!I won't bore you with all the specifications, (if your interested click the link below) but this phone also has the usual flashy features that they come
Ouch... 2006-06-15 09:38:00 The midwife took blood. Which doesn't usually bother me, but today it really hurt! In fact it still hurts a bit now.
Anyway, baby seems to be doing well which is the most important thing.
Next appointment is in two weeks.
The Ugg: Yesteryear or here to stay? 2007-01-15 01:40:00
I really want a pair of Uggs to wear with jeans and joggers, but I'm afraid I may be too late! Are they on their way out or have they earned their place as a wardrobe staple? Read more:Yesteryear
My latest addiction! 2007-03-01 23:45:00 Always one to maintain a healthy diet I decided to branch out into the world of homemade smoothies!It took a few trial runs but I think I found the perfect mix using vanilla Swedish Glace, frozen berries and apple juice. The only problem now is that I can't get enough of 'em! (Seriously! I'm on my third today!). But at least this new addiction
makes a great alternative to my all too regular Ben and Jerry's habbit. Not to mention the antioxidants from all those berries has got to be doing me some good!
Where'd it go? 2007-03-05 11:22:00 Sometimes the weekend whizzes past so quickly that I feel like I almost missed it! A trip to the supermarket, some ironing, an hour on the exercise bike whilst watching Top Gear and suddenly it's Monday already!
Drained funds and blue skies... 2007-04-24 15:00:00 So my wardrobe is finally going places. At last I've sorted it and all the basics are contained within so I can focus my attention on things I'd like to buy rather than things I need to buy! Of course now I have no money spare for the things I'd like to buy so my attention will probably be back on my bank account. Especially as the coming weeks are set to drain my funds even further. A 21st birthday, a hen do, a wedding, a 30th anniversary, another anniversary and 2 more birthdays all before the middle of May. And I still need to get my Reading festival ticket, if I can get together a spare 62 quid before they all sell out! Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to get hubby an 80GB Ipod as an early birthday present, especially as I'm sure a 30GB one would have done just fine and his birthday's not till June (did I mention I still owed him a present from last year though, oops!).On a calmer note my book for this month's book club arrived today. Yes I go to a book club, but no it's n
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