Teacher's Gift Ideas ....

The long Summer Holidays are less than a week away.  The late nights, movies , picnics and ice cream will soon be filling our days :) ..

The start of the Summer Holidays also means that another school year has ended .. time to show the teachers a little appreciation for all they have done this past year . I am all for more homemade gifts, if you are too here are a few ideas ...

Simple Sweet Gift ~ B Inspired Mamma

Potted Plant ~ The Blackberry Vine

Starbucks Gift Card ~ Unknown 

Hands Down Gift ~ Eighteen 25 

I hope that these ideas have given you a little inspiration ?? 

I will be sharing our gift idea on Wednesday :) 

Are you more a homemade or pre-made gift giver ???

No More Baby's after 30 .....

I have stopped and started this post more times than I care to mention.... Sometimes I seem to write the perfect post in my head but when it comes to writing it down it never seems to be the same.

I didn't know where to start, so I am starting from the beginning....

I am so blessed to have 4 beautiful daughters. I had my first daughter aged 19, my second at 21 and 3rd at 25.. These pregnancies where beautiful I loved being pregnant and my labours were really good.

To say it was a shock when I found out I was pregnant again when my 3rd child was 4 months old, was an understatement !! However I loved the thought of having another child so close together.. however a month into the pregnancy I started bleeding, this bleeding persisted and ended up clotting in my womb it almost looked as though I was having twins.. the clot grew and at times was double the size of this tiny baby .. 
I knew that this pregnancy was 50/50 , that was tough I needed rest but with 3 young children it was hard.. I spent a lot of time in hospital , we did find out that this tiny baby was a boy :) we couldn't be happier..
My joy soon to despair and heartbreak as i went into premature labour at 26 weeks my baby boy was stillborn , perfect in every way weighing 1lb.. 

The months after loosing my son were a blur and I am not sure how I got through it,  but I knew I had to my girls needed me and I needed them .

In 2010 almost 2 years after my tragic loss, I conceived again, this time though there was no joy only possibilities of the unknown , how could i love another little being growing inside of me not knowing what the outcome could be ?? 
The bleeding started not long into the pregnancy, only this time it was worse, I was devastated, scans showed that i had once again clotting in my womb, I was giving the option of aborting the pregnancy .. I refused, deep inside I knew that this would be the last time..
Somehow I managed to get to 30weeks, and then 34 weeks, my water broke I was admitted to hospital I had steroid injections to help this tiny baby just before 35 weeks my contractions started, I ended up having an emergency c-section .... 
My tiny baby girl was born healthy at 4lbs, we celebrated her 3rd birthday last Friday.


Something happened to  my body during these last 2 pregnancies, my periods became heavy, longer and painful.. I made the decision to be sterilized, knowing i would never want to go through another pregnancy, I just couldn't cope with the mental torture of the uncertainty..

I also had another procedure, Endometrial ablation to help with the heavy bleeding, which was successful but after the bleeding stopped I developed constant pain, almost like "after birth" pains almost everyday..

Fast forward to today, tomorrow I am having an Hysterectomy, as I am left with no other option.. My Consultant thinks I am a little young to be having this procedure, but the pain is too much. I am so lucky to have my girls especially the youngest , for me my family is complete as it can be.. Always in my heart I will know that I should have a 5 year old boy running round but he will forever be in my heart.. 

The next 6-7 weeks are going to be hard as I recovery from my operation, but for my own health and quality of life I know that I am making the right decision. 

I hope that my story will help other mommys, who may be going through a similar situation ..

If you have any comments or questions please ask or email me ..

Thank you for reading 

Claire xo

Coffee Date Friday ...

Source

This week has flown by, so glad it is the weekend though. getting back into the routine has been tougher than i thought.  I am tired, looking forward to a small lay-in tomorrow and a movie with my girlie's. 

If we were having coffee (or tea) in my case, I would tell you that writing this post is part of my goals for my blog, being more intentional and personal about my content. 

I have been busy planing my baby girls 3rd birthday and even though I am having her party in a "play area" I am still going to decorate our home and bake a few goodies :)

I also received a letter from the hospital that confirmed my surgery  for the 24th of this month, I am both thankful and scared at the same time .. Not only am I worried about the surgery, the recovery, (6 weeks) , the 4 nights stay i am worried how my girls will cope , especially the youngest.. 

I would also tell you that I am loving blogging at the moment and feel that I am chasing my dreams at the moment ...

What would you share with me ?? 

Linking up with Alissa @ Rags to Stitches