I used to cycle a lot when I was younger, I’d grab my bike and off I would go on my adventures, not a care in the world. Nowadays I’d struggle to ride a bike without expecting to waddle the john waynesque walk for a few days afterwards but the Mr is a keen rider and one day he would love to get us all out for a family bike ride together, I’m sure Isabelle would love it. 
It only comes once a year but it always leaves me stumped and I never know what to get for the Mr, he is impossible to buy for and on a day when we are encouraged to celebrate the man in our lives I don’t really want to let him down since he does so much for us. Then I had an idea, after weeks of stressing about gifts and looking around for Father’s Day inspiration, I knew what the perfect gift would be all along.
He’s not really into the usual bottle of tipple, and he’s not a chocolate kind of guy but what he does like is gaming. I know that he has been lusting after an arcade table but without bankrupting us it wasn’t really an option…or perhaps it was?
This year along with the obligatory cards and homemade gifts from Isabelle my master plan is the start of something epic! With our love of retro gaming, especially arcade games we are staring the Raspberry Pi Arcade Project, the build of our arcade style coffee table. Running emulators we will be able to play our favourite arcade and gaming classics, I’m looking forward to having Ms. Pac-Man readily available. To start with we have the basic elements already so my Father’s Day gift this year is the the award winning Raspberry Pi for us to tinker with and create our dream gaming machine.
It might take us a while but we are going to document everything along the way until we reach the final product. If like us and you are stumped for ideas for a father’s day present and you know that the man in your life is a massive gamer but you don’t fancy the process of creating your own machine then there’s always the classic games consoles to buy. We’re a little bit in love with 80’s and 90’s consoles, my particular favourites are the SNES, Megadrive and the N64.
Perhaps when we have finished the table I can modify an old Gameboy…
I love a spot of doodling, graphics and design and using a laptop and mouse pad generally means that it can be a long and difficult process, even when using a mouse I can’t get precise movement for my images.
I’m a complete novice when it comes to design and while I like to undertake most tasks myself like designing this site for example, I am no where near professional standards. I needed something that would help with my level of design, something that was simple to use and understand whilst still giving me the results I desired. When the lovely people at Wacom offered me the chance to review the Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch with wireless capabilities, I could not say no, having previously used a Wacom Bamboo fun I knew that I would not be disappointed.
Wacom have revamped the design from it’s predecessors, the tablet is bright, bold and stylish which stands out from it’s crowd of competitors. The black gloss finish gives it an artistic appeal and is aesthetically pleasing. I could not fault the look and finish of the tablet.
It features a 9.7-inch touch responsive surface with four ‘ExpressKeys’ which you can customise and assign access to desired tasks. The pen/stylus has been ergonomically designed and boasts a pressure sensitive tip that replicates the touch of standard pen and paper. Being able to lock the pen to one screen with the simple press of a button has its benefits especially when using dual and multiple monitor setups and the lack of need for batteries helps to keep the weight of the pen to a minimum making handling a pleasant experience.
The tablet was quick and easy to install, I had it up and running and within less than 5 minutes I was ready to go and explore the Bamboo features using the installation disk included in the pack. The wireless set up was a little trickier but as long as you follow the instructions you should not go wrong or have difficulty. When it was correctly synced it meant that I had no restrictions of a wired connection.
Performance wise I had no qualms, the tablet is responsive and I love being able to switch between using the pen and manual touchpad mode.
When using the Pen & Touch I discovered that it has all the features you’d expect from a Wacom tablet. The stylus is pressure-sensitive so you can simulate pen and brush strokes in supported software programs like Adobe Photoshop. It is a consumer level tablet but that doesn’t mean to say it would disappoint.
The handwriting recognition was a little interesting but my handwriting isn’t the most legible at the best of times let alone when a computer has to decipher my scribbling. On the whole it managed about 90% of written text so I had to double check emails before I sent them.
One of my favourite features was also being able to use the tablet as a touch pad. I found the tablet perfect for something more accurate than a mouse when producing for creative work and could not fault in when using in Photoshop but I did find the surface area a little on the small side.
What I loved
What could be improved
Overall I found the Pen & Touch to be beautifully simplistic and perfect for my needs, for a budget model I cannot fault the price even with the added extra or purchasing the wireless accessory kit.
A lot has changed over the years, I’m nothing like the person I once was, in fact if I met my younger self now I probably wouldn’t like her. She was the kind of girl that would spend all nighters in a bar, drinking, dancing badly and generally being a wally. I was a giddy and carefree girl who didn’t know where she was going in life, I changed my mind at the drop of a hat and I was completely indecisive.
Now that girl seems like a complete stranger to me but I know the girl that used to dye her hair pink and dance like no one was watching, is still in there somewhere. Nowadays my idea of the perfect evening doesn’t involve rolling in at 9am and grabbing a fresh pair of clothes before heading out to work.
I’d much rather kick back and relax with the Mr, maybe if we’re feeling fruity we’ll crack open a bottle of wine. It has only recently struck me that although it does not feel like it, I’ve actually grown up. I still feel like it was only yesterday that I was the awkward girl that was ruled by hormones and giggled at my crushes. Now I am settled, I have my little family, I have the Mr whom I love dearly and I could not be happier. I never thought I would grow up but slowly it has snuck up on me like a skillfullninja…I’m a fully fledged adult
It’s been a while since I have sat down and bitten the blogging bullet, I haven’t had time and to be completely honest, I haven’t known what to say. These past few weeks have been difficult, more so than I originally thought. Our little family has struggled but with the help of my lovely friend and amazing family we’ve got through the worst of it, honestly I don’t know where I would have been without them.
I’m not usually a lovey dovey person and public displays of affection are generally kept to a bare minimum but I am ever so grateful for the help and support I have received from my family these past few weeks.
After a lovely and well needed holiday at the start of the month we didn’t really expect our month to end in the chaotic style that it did. We had been waiting for the Mr to receive his date for surgery since the start of the year but hoped that it would be put off until we had our fmaily holiday. Low and behold the phone call came, it was ok we were expecting it to happen but we had hoped that we would have had more time to prepare. The Mr was born with congenital heart problems, pulmonary stenosis, he required surgery to repair/replace the valves in his heart. After speaking to his surgeon, scans and tests it was discovered that a little more work was required that we originally thought but still we had known this was a possibility since it had been a long time since his last surgical repair. When the call came, we were told that his surgery had been scheduled for the next working day, I guess we were lucky that the phone call came on a Friday of the bank holiday weekend. That gave us two days to prepare, you can do a lot in a couple of days but prepare for something that will change your lives and routines for the next few months wasn’t really possible.
How could we explain to Isabelle that daddy would be going away for a couple of weeks? As adults we were prepared and knew that we would be spending time apart but the little one, well she wouldn’t understand. Instead I came up with a cunning plan, each day she would be told her daddy was doing something different, like safari, deep sea diving and even excavating for dinosaurs, just so that we could have something to talk about and what daddy would be doing. Okay it was a lie but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her daddy was having major surgery and that her relationship after would be different.
I coped perfectly fine saying goodbye when he left for the hospital, his surgery was required, it’s not something that could be left. I knew that I would be spending a minimum of a week without him at home, some of you may laugh that a week in the grand scheme of things is nothing, I have friends whose partners are away for months at a time for work but for us, a week is a long time, especially when you consider that your partner is going to have major surgery.
Tuesday morning arrived and I knew he would be wheeled down to theatre first thing, all I could do was wait and keep myself busy for the day. Eight gruelling hours in surgery seemed like a lifetime, especially when waiting for the surgeon to call me with updates, it was probably the most helpless I have felt in my lifetime but I kept it together. That massive rush of relief came when I received the phone call, the surgery went well, there were a few complications and a few unexpected problems that they had repaired but he was stable. He was taken to intensive care post surgery but I could visit the following day. It had only been two days since I saw him last but there was a feeling of overwhelming joy when I knew that I could see him. Being a healthy young chap it seemed silly to worry about things going wrong, he had youth on his side but you cant help but worry in those situations. I carried on with my day and phoned the hospital a couple of times to see how he was doing, I even managed to speak to him before bed, he was groggy, confused and barely coherent but I expected that, it was just amazing to hear his voice.
My trip to the hospital was joined with a spring in my step, a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I arrived on intensive care with a bag of goodies for him to be greeted by nursing staff that they would need just a few minutes with him before I could go in. Those few minutes turned into hours and through my persistence I discovered that he was in trouble. Doctors came and went, but I wasn’t given much information just to wait in the family room. I’d been there before in that very room, the same room when we were told my mum hadn’t made it through surgery. Right there and then I crumbled, I felt like I had had the wind knocked right out of me. It’s the waiting and not knowing, again I was helpless and my thoughts turned to my little girl at home, oblivious to everything and enjoying her day with my friend as they played with crafts and made cards for daddy. The Mr and little legs are my world and in that moment, I could not breathe, what if he wasn’t coming home? It had to be serious, the nursing staff on duty either gave me a pitiful look or would not look me in the eye. They were low times just sat waiting, my aunt came to stay with me, she understood and knew what I was going through, how traumatising it was to be there in that situation again, I’ve never been so thankful to see her.
Eventually I was called in, I could see him after I had spoken to the doctor that was in charge of his care. He apologised profusely about the lack of contact, I was understanding and grateful that his main priority was stabilising the Mr. He explained to me that the Mr had taken a setback just before I had arrived to see him. Through nobody’s fault, his lungs had collapsed and his obs had plummeted. His heart was struggling to find its own rhythm and keep up, he was fitted with pacing wires and a drain was fitted to released the build up of air that was causing his lungs to collapse. I had expected lots for drains, wires, tubes and cannulas but seeing him was a shock, machines everywhere monitoring everything, bleeping and alerting every minute. They were still working around him when I was told I could sit down, a nurse was collecting samples of blood from the central venous line that emerged from his neck and I could see his obs dropping as he struggled to breathe but in all of that he turned to me and smiled, he knew I was there and he reached out his hand to grasp mine. He nodded and squeezed my hand, that moment I knew he was there and he would fight. Each day following that there were setbacks but he became stronger and was soon able to leave intensive care and continue the rest of his stay on the cardiac ward.
Being a trooper he was out of bed, pottering around a few times a day in-between sleeping and resting. I spent my days with him until I had to leave at the end of visiting hours each day, he needed me there with him, even when he slept, he just wanted me there.
Each day I would have to leave my daughter with my family to visit him, she was confused and her routine was broken. Not only was she missing daddy, she only had a couple of hours each day with mummy to and that took its toll on her. Each day when I would collect her on my way home it was a case of putting her straight to bed, I felt truly awful…neglectful even. I broke down one evening when trying to to put her to bed when she stopped me and said “no bed mummy, just cuddles for longer” she was clearly exhausted and so was I but she clung onto me and we stayed like that for over an hour.
Over the next few days he had improved enough to be released home but then we were faced with another battle, infection. His temperature was rocketing throughout the day and he was not allowed to come home until he had been free from a temperature for 24 hours. It was a daily battle each day was filled with disappointment when we were told ‘tomorrow’.
When the day came we realised that this was the main part of the the whole process that we were concerned about, the recovery period at home. He would not be able to hold or cuddle his little girl, he wouldn’t be able to work, help out around the home or even play with his little girl in case he caused any damage to his healing chest and chest bone, we didn’t want to add to his hospital stay. She doesn’t understand this and it’s heart-breaking as he cannot give her the attention that she wants. He can’t drive, he spends his day drifting in and out of sleep, he can’t walk far, he can’t lift, bend down or open doors, even getting up the stairs is a struggle. It’s going to be a long process and it’s taking some getting used to.
Throughout this whole ordeal I am so grateful for my family being there for us, they’ve been a huge godsend, taking care of Isabelle, helping out when they can, taking me to visit the Mr, taking us shopping, taking the Mr to appointments, they call to ask how we are doing and if there is anything that they can do. I know I never give my family enough credit but these past few weeks I cannot thank them enough and I know that I would not have coped without them.
So this is the reason why I have been so quiet on the blog lately, it hasn’t been intended and I certainly haven’t lost interest, it’s just that right now my little family need me more.
If your family love exploring new places, a cruise can make for a spectacular child friendly holiday. Children are often mesmerised by the vast variety of things to see and do onboard and there are always activities going on that appeal to different age ranges. If you like the idea of cruising with kids, take a look at this selection of some of the most child friendly cruises available.
Summer isn’t all about holidays and barbecues. Most of us have to work during the summer months and we need to be smart, yet cool and comfortable, which can be a difficult balance to achieve. Fortunately, however, clothes retailers are on our side, with some great dresses, skirts, tops and jackets that are designed to look fabulous without stifling those summer impulses.
Okay nerdy mums, it’s time for a night off. Wonderful as they may be, these kids of ours are exhausting, all eager as can be to run around outside in the sunshine, play sports and all that sort of stuff, heaven knows why!? Oh how cruelly far the apple can fall from the tree…
The pressures of motherhood can sometimes leave us with precious little time to indulge our passions for beautiful, beautiful tech. We need a plan of action. The ultimatum must be made.
One night! One night, husbands/partners/whatever they are, of alone time in the glorious world of gadgets and games. Okay? Good. So how to spend it?
Game-athon – No messing about, let’s go for the option that’s on all our lips straight away. There’s nothing quite like a good old-fashioned game-athon to salve the soul. This takes a lot more planning than might be considered even remotely decent. For starters go retro, back to the 8-bit or 32-bit days where some still called Sonic The Hedgehog Mr Needlemouse, and Luigi was just Mario, but green. Plug in the console of your youth, be sure to blow on the cartridges before you load them up to safeguard against any malfunctions and party like it’s 1991. Games were so weirdly hard back then – kudos to any nerdy mums that clear anything first time round.
The Mr and I are a fairly relaxed couple, sometimes too relaxed for our own good and don’t really plan ahead unless we really have to. We’ve recently been trying to think about the future, what do we want to be doing and where do we want to be.
A lot of our plans require saving, we already have a pot for a deposit on a house when we are ready to buy but now we need to save for Isabelle’s future and education, I was lucky in that my University fee’s were paid for but with todays fee’s I know that when the time comes the Mr and I need to be prepared to dig deep when Isabelle decides what direction she is going in.
We spent a lovely week in the Spanish sun with amazing weather and clear blue skies every day, relaxing by the pool, investigating on the beach, and having a lovely time. When our holiday was over we hoped for a little sunshine on our return but no such look, on our decent into Manchester Airport we were greeted with dark, gloomy grey skies in every direction.
Get every new post delivered to your Inbox
Join other followers
