February 1st 2005

Things in the Marsh/Kent household have been hectic this January - infact, I have felt this has been the most hectic month (not including June/July 2004 for obvious reasons!) Bryony started back at pre-school this year and now goes 5 mornings a week. It's only 2.5 hour sessions, but they do her the world of good. She is always wanting to explore and learn and she loves having independance, so this is the perfect opportunity for her. She seems to enjoy family life more now that she gets a break from it! It's easy to forget she is only 3 - not only is she big sister to her 3 siblings, but she acts very grown up and is very intelligent. I must admit to having to remind myself that she is only 3 and will do some silly things at times! Her favourite activities are currently playing outside, being arty and dancing to 'Cha Cha Slide'!

Jenna is definitely the bossy/bully/terror of the family! Since Christmas she has calmed down a lot but she is still very much the dominant child! However, as Rhianna gets older I feel she's going to have some competition on her hands! Jenna's speach is getting very good very quickly! She has little difficulty communicating anything with us now. She enjoys dancing and singing - anything that gets her attention! She loves watching a show called 'Something Special' where they learn sign language and she can sign the welcome song on the show and also some animals.

Rhianna and Euan are coming along great - they both sit up and play nicely now. Both of them love to touch and chew everything in reach. Euan has a hair fetish and will grab anyone and everyone's hair - so beware if you get near him! Rhianna's favourite activity is kicking and whacking everything to see what noise it makes. Euan prefers to scratch and shout at things! They both babble now and are both weaning and starting to get into their 'real' food! Rhianna has now over-taken Euan on the height front but Euan still beats her on the chubby/weight side of things! They are very content babies and we feel very lucky to have them :) They started sleeping through the night (Euan still wakes for cuddles through the night, but at least he goes back to sleep!) about two weeks ago. We couldn't believe our luck! I'm very proud and like to point out that we DO NOT use this 'new age' ignore the baby/starving method! They are just content wee things!

Ian and I have both been tired a lot lately for obvious reasons but things are definitely improving. We are still aiming to move to Kent this year and are trying to get the house sorted to put on the market asap - not having huge amounts of luck with it as something always seems to come up at the weekends meaning we can't get anything done! Hopefully after Jenna's birthday things will calm down and we can get on with the process. Ian is still working for Tollon - not 100% happy in his job and they know it! His Uni work is going very well - he is finding it very easy at the moment with the basic level stuff - hopefully soon it will become more of a challenge for him so he can enjoy it more! I am doing PartyLite Candle Parties to earn us some pocket money. I enjoy it a lot - I get to meet lots of different people and help them have a good party! I don't always earn much and I am usually only out for about 3-4 hours a week at night-time when the kids are in bed which is ideal, really! I have decided to go veggie! There are 2 main reasons; 1) My health - I am on a diet and after just a week of cutting out meat, not only do I feel so much better health-wise, I am also losing weight; 2) I have gradually strted to find meat unpaletable to the point where I will pick out the meat from meals and eat the rest - so it was kind of pointless me serving myself it up! Just to claify for those who care - I don't eat fish - fish is meat! I am getting out with the kids a lot more now - Toddler groups on Monday morning and afternoon, Tuesday morning and am going to start going on a Friday afternoon to a local one that we can all walk too! I am also attending a monthly Homebirth support group and a 'Nappuchino'! (A Nappuchino is where cloth nappy users/people who are thinking about using cloth nappies all meet up for a chat, give advice and have a coffee!) I find it amazing that just a year or so ago I would go out and feel alone as there was never anyone I would 'bump' into or anyone who would come out with me - now I find myself bumping into a lot of people where ever we go! There has been a lot of interest in the twins birth story of late as well, and we got our story printed in the national Australian Homebirth Society's newsletter and many people who run independent support groups have asked for permission to reproduce my story in their booklets/leaftlets! I also recently contacted a lady who is possibly going to use our story in a book that will be published later in the year/early next year! I will keep you up to date on that one and let you know the title if it does get printed! From what she was saying it sounds like she was really impressed with the story so it looks quite possible that the it will be published. I also get a lot of calls form women all around the UK who are expecting twins and are after a chat with someone who has birthed twins without any medical assistance. It's so sad that it is that rare that I am getting this many calls, though. On a lighter note - many people I get talking to in person about the twins will stop halfway through the conversation and go "Oh! You're Sarah Kent aren't you - the Twin Lady - I know all about you". Always gets me chuckling and also a bit freaky that so many people know of us :S

Anyway - enough for this month - meet you back here in a months time ;)