A Thought for Thursday: Maggie

Britain's ex-prime minister Margaret Thatcher died on 8 April.

David Cameron described her as our "greatest peacetime Prime Minister” and said that she "saved Britain." Tony Blair said she was a "towering political figure." Everyone said she was (and remains) "divisive."

In the UK, parliament was recalled to debate her legacy. Street parties were organised by some to celebrate her passing.

In India, they created a sand sculpture:

Margaret Thatcher Sand Sculpture
[Source: Telegraph, April 2013]

Her death was covered at length by media across the world.

What surprised me was the strength of feeling expressed by people and the extent of the shadow she still casts over this and other countries' political life.

It's not often a person comes along that has this sort of impact. Reflecting on this week, it seems to me that the Thatcher era is destined to become a major section of history textbooks in years to come.

Getting ready to Crawl

Ben is starting to lift his body onto his knees. He wants to crawl - now he just needs to figure out how!

Ben Pushing Himself up onto All Fours
[9 April 2013]

Teething

Ben now has his first tooth! It's one of his bottom front teeth and it's clearly showing. The tooth next to it is starting to poke through as well.

It's almost impossible to get a picture but I'll post one if I do.

The teething pains are bothering him constantly and I can see this going on for some time. It wakes him up several times most nights.

We've tried a few things, like Calpol obviously and teething gel. But the product I'd have to recommend is Teetha Teething Powder. It's basically a small sachet of powder that you just pour into your baby's mouth and he grimaces a little bit but it seems to give him almost instant relief. The only problem as with everything is you can't use this constantly.

Edit 12th April:

Finally got a (slightly blurry) picture of Ben's teeth. So tiny!

Ben's First Teeth
[April 2013]

Kitchen Project: Day One

We are making some major changes to our house. Our project to move the kitchen downstairs and create a large open-plan kitchen and living space has begun.

Jana, Ellie and Ben have flown out to see their Czech family for three and a half weeks. I'm left here alone to keep an eye on things. We've got builders in to do the work.

Nothing can go wrong, surely?

Today was the first day of the work. This was the downstairs at the start of the day:

Our House Downstairs
[24 February 2013]

And this is how it looks now, after a full day's work on it:

Our House Downstairs
[25 February 2013]

We're also getting the stairs boxed off and a doorway put in:

Our House Stairway
[25 February 2013]

Exercise

Since we had Ben I haven't done any regular exercise. The running I had started last year came to a grinding halt when he was born. I didn't really mind at the time, because I'd been struggling with strains and aches in my legs and I thought they could do with a good, prolonged rest to heal properly.

This year, however, I decided to get things going again and thought I'd at least commit to going for one run per week to start with.

The good news is I've kept this up so far.

The bad news is those aches and pains are back. It's a bit worrisome. This isn't just a bit of muscle fatigue. I've had that before and recovered within 48 hours max. This feels like my whole lower leg is bruised and the feeling doesn't subside much, even though I'm not running hard and I'm only running once a week.

The only explanation I can come up with is that my legs aren't coping well with the high impact. I run on tarmac and concrete mainly. I've recently invested in a proper pair of running shoes but the damage might already be done. I'll try contacting a physio but in the meantime I'm thinking I should try another form of activity.

So, I've decided to look at this positively and see it as an opportunity to try something new.

I really don't fancy going to a gym, so I'm looking for a new, low impact form of exercise that I can do on my own. So far I've come up with swimming and cycling, and either might be feasible to fit into my current work/life routine.

The main thing is I need to get fit again!

First Meal

Today we started weaning Ben. Here he is having his first ever meal.

Ben's First Meal
[10 February 2013]

He had about 10 small spoonfuls of mashed carrot. About half an hour later he had a full bottle of formula milk.

Ben is definitely teething. We can't feel a tooth poking through but he's taken to chewing anything within reach and his cheeks regularly glow bright red. Poor thing!

Happy Birthday Ellie

Ellie turned 3 on Sunday. She really is looking less and less like a toddler and more and more like a little girl.

I hate to say it, but they do grow up so fast, don't they?

Anyway... Happy Birthday Ellie!

Ellie's Third Birthday
[20 January 2013]

Life is so busy at the moment we decided not to organise a full scale party. We filled her room with balloons and hid her presents in various spots, and she loved this! She was still finding presents in the afternoon.

We bought her a shopping till.

Ellie's Shopping Till
[20 January 2013]

She had loads of other presents from friends and relatives. Her favourite was a playdough dessert making set from her Czech grandparents.

I took her to see her first ever movie at the cinema in the afternoon - Tinkerbell and the Secret of the Wings. She just about kept her concentration to the end. I love these moments as a parent when you discover you had start doing something new with your child.