Oh Bugger

Why is it that when I’m away from the computer I can formulate hundreds of blog entries in my head but the second I sit down to write anything, it all pours away? Buggery. I guess with the lack of anything inspirational or witty to say I should probably update you all on what’s going on around here…

Things are finally starting to calm down. My course module is finished, and I’m waiting on the results. I have a feeling that due to ‘external pressure’ (i.e. juggling work work, home work and a baby) I’ll have failed this one, but I’m hoping that I’ve scraped enough to qualify for the free re-sit.

Isabel is growing in so many ways, but it’s so subtle it’s hard to describe it. For example, the other day she was waving a book at me so I said “bring me the book” … and she did! And that sounds so mundane and ordinary written down, but it means she’s taking in and understanding more and more. I hadn’t given it much thought when I said the sentence… normally I’d just pick her and the book up in those situations so it was very spur of the moment. Anyway, she recognises so many things now. She identifies body parts, knows certain words like ‘car’, ‘cat’ etc. She will “blow” her nose if you offer a tissue or muslin and say ‘nose’. She walks if she’s not thinking about it, but as soon as she realises what she’s doing she sits down or starts crawling. I’m missing out so many things here but there’s only so much time in the day and I can’t gush about her all night :)

No work until Tues 4th Jan now, which is a nice break, albeit just building up to a big deadline when I go back. I’d been working on a big big WordPress project which has introduced me to plugin building (I’ve only ever done basic widgety stuff before). This of course is endearing me to WordPress, which is never a good thing… it’s only ever lead to trouble before and I do love Habari. Sigh.

The cats are mostly a pain in my ass for one reason or another, but that’s not entirely their fault. Isabel loves them, though. I shall get around to taking pictures of them at some point. Crumble has grown, although I couldn’t really see it until I started looking at some of the pictures from mid-year.

I guess at some point I should considering writing a “things that happened this year” post, but thinking back it was fairly quiet and uneventful compared to previous. We didn’t move. Nobody killed anyone. We gained a cat. The baby grew some. I think that’s about it? Oops, guess there’s no need to write that post now then. I wonder what 2011 will bring…

WordPress Plugin Development

Although I’ve used WordPress on and off for years, the closest I usually get to plugin development is custom widgets. This is not through lack of willing, but rather that everything I’ve wanted is already out there and I’m too lazy busy to reinvent the wheel.

However, one of our work clients has put in a request for an interesting addition to their site which is currently not really satisfied by any decent/up-to-date plugins. Part of the project involves extending the user-side of WordPress with full profiles, account history etc. It’s very “web 2.0″ (now there’s a buzzword I’ve not heard in a while).

The advantage of this, beyond increasing my WordPress knowledge and experience, is that it’s given me the inspiration/kick up the arse needed to turn my free PHP mail form into a WordPress plugin!

Cloth Nappies: 6 Months On

Some of you may recall that back in June I worked out the cost of disposable nappies: how much we’d spent in the first 6 months and how much we’d spend if we carried on using them. I played around with some different types of cloth nappies and quickly considered myself converted.

Although I’ve spent about £200 on cloth nappies — which is more than the predicted 6 month cost of disposables — we have a stash of around 20 Bumgenius v3s, 3 FuzziBunz one-size for night-use (the fleece inner allows moisture to quickly ‘drain’ into the inserts and then dries for a more comfortable baby), and an ‘emergency’ drawer of terries and OneLife for between washes (2 per week) if needed. Unlike disposables, however, these nappies are ‘birth to potty’, which means they should last until Isabel is ready to potty train (which could be another 2-3 years away). Of course, they can also be saved for possible future bab[y/ies]…

Considering how big a cynic I was about the whole cloth nappy deal, I am definitely a big convert. The savings over time will be in the hundreds, and it’s been so easy to fit a few nappy washes into our domestic ‘routine’ that I don’t consider them to have a time-cost at all. They look adorable too! :D

This morning I have ordered a trial pack of BumGenius v4s and a couple more FuzziBunz (because they were a) pretty and b) on sale) from Fill Your Pants. The prices for both were the cheapest I could find when I searched, and I managed to get an extra discount of 10% off by reviewing an existing product. (BARGAIN!) The advantage of trialling the v4s is that you get a wet bag with the nappies which I need for when Isabel starts nursery. I’ve just had a mail to say these have been despatched already, too.

All-in, money well spent. :)

The World of Jem

What’s going on in the world of Jem lately? Let’s see…

  • I’ve been back at work 3 weeks now. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be. That’s not to say I wouldn’t rather be at home with Isabel, but I am actually enjoying parts of it. I know! Knock me down with a feather! I even get to drink my tea hot and piss in peace. Wish I’d not spent so long stressing about it and enjoyed the last few weeks with Isabel. Of course, this may all change come January when she starts nursery (at the minute my mum is sitting her).
  • Talking of Isabel… she’s now just shy of 13 months old. First molar is breaking through the gum. She’s regularly taking wobbly steps on her own now, although I don’t call it walking so much as stumbling.
  • I’m still taking driving lessons. I’m on # 13 or 14, I think. I’m quite good (naturally) :D I have a few weak spots; I don’t mirror-signal-manoeuvre so much as signal-manoeuvre-oops…mirror! Still, I hope it won’t be long now before I can think about taking my test.
  • When I’m not at work, I’m… well, at work. Working little projects for friends to boost the bank balance pre-Christmas. This is not as easy as I thought it would be, with a littlie bombing around the place. Working from home is more playing/burping/feeding from home.
  • My OU module has taken a back seat, which is worrying because I really can’t afford to waste £200+ by failing. The end of module report is due in a week and I’ve not even read the course materials properly, let alone started writing. I’ve been making it up as I go along for the exams.

Heyho, nearly Christmas :D

Christmas Presents for Men

Am I the only one who struggles to buy Christmas presents for men?

It’s that time of year again (and right up there with birthdays and anniversaries); normally I spend weeks trying to think of the perfect present and still end up buying books, socks and/or smellies. I struggle to think of anything more imaginative.

Karl and I have been together 9 years… by this point I think I’ve given him pretty much everything he needs anyway. Then there’s my brothers, who just grunt at anything I buy (hard to tell from “yeh. great. wow, socks.” whether or not they like what you’ve got them.)

I’m thinking lump of coal in stocking at this stage…