A WEEK'S WORTH OF WORDS

Hello everyone

What an amazing mix of weather we have seen today: heavy rain, snow, more rain and from about 3.00 pm onwards brilliant sunshine.  I am sure that it is only in this country that you can experience all types of weather in just one day.

Thank you to everyone who visited and commented on my Handmade Monday post of last week, my Wednesday Multi-Coloured Blog Swap Carnival post from Karen and my Friday Guest-Blog post that wasn't a guest blog post.  Karen's post was lovely and I hope you enjoyed it - hope you also managed to visit my corresponding post on Mammasaurus's blog.  Thank you Trouble Doubled for arranging the Swap - great fun, lots of new visitors, followers on Twitters and new blog friends too.  I must add also that Hannah, a great all-round crafter, featured me in her Share Your Story post last week - thank you Hannah.

I love blogging and try to post twice each week - it's great fun and has brought me into contact with lots of new people around the UK and the world.  Not all craft-related and that's the great part of it really, because it has given me the chance to read and 'talk' about lots of things I don't really know much about.  Apart from the social part of blogging, I think as a business we tend to use it as a promotional tool.  We can talk about our business and what we make without feeling guilty because we are not forcing people to read our witterings.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my guest blogging this week and also taking part in the blog swap.  Sadly, I have found encouraging people to take up my offer of a guest spot on Fridays is proving very hard work.  I have a great blogger post this coming Friday, but not too sure what happened to last Friday's blogger.  Perhaps I should have sent them a BIG reminder, but (embarrassed) I have no contact details for them (except posting on their blog) and could not locate any in other likely places.  Tried via Twitter and discovered that unless someone is following me I cannot DM them even if I am following them.  Oh well, such is life - I know they are very busy and I hope will be able to join in at a later date.

The lack of participants in the crafts field has made me think that perhaps I should open up my Friday guest spot to anyone who would like to join in - what do you think?  I have a friend who runs a travel business and she has asked if she could join in - at the time I said sorry, no it has to be crafts-related, but I may re-think this.  I know everyone is desperately busy, and often it means extra work, but if you have time can you add to your comment why you think guest blogging is hard work.

It is lovely Handmade Monday time and unfortunately I have no makes to display.  A good reason as I have several card orders (one for a Golden Wedding, one for a 21st birthday, one for a 60th birthday and one for an 'ordinary' birthday - this is in addition to place cards and menus for the 60th birthday boy).  By next Handmade Monday all of my orders will be finished and I will add some to my next HM post.  In the meantime, please do visit all the other HM contributors and read their great posts and look at the lovely things they have been working on this week.

Have a good week everyone - I will be back on Wednesday.

Jill

THE DAY OUR WORLD CHANGED

Welcome to the Multi-Coloured Blog Swap which has been organised by Trouble Doubled.  Don't forget to check out the other great blogs taking part for some great posts.

This post has been provided by Karen of Tales of a Twin Mum as part of the Multi-Coloured Blog Swap Carnival.

The day our world changed (1 May 2009)

 I lay on the bed and lifted my jumper, hardly daring to breathe.  The sonographer squirted cold gel onto my barely-there bump and swished the scanner in the goo.  Being pregnant had been the best diet I could have imagined; I’d already lost 10lb.  Within two days of conceiving I’d started being sick and hadn’t stopped since.  I tried to distract myself from throwing up by concentrating on the joy of seeing my baby.  At least morning sickness (‘all day sickness’ seemed more appropriate) was supposed to be an indicator of a healthy baby, or that’s what the midwife kept telling me…

‘It’s twins,’ said the sonographer, calmly breaking the silence. ‘There’s no easy way to tell you so I just thought I’d get it straight out.’

She carried on prodding my tummy as though she hadn’t just landed an enormous bombshell.  Matt squeezed my hand tightly and I squeezed it back, not daring to take my eyes off her in case she suddenly burst out laughing to tell us it was a joke.

‘Twins?’ Matt and I asked in shocked unison.  ‘Yes. There’s two babies there, look,’ she said pointing at the screen.  ‘Were you not expecting two?’  ‘Twins?’ we both replied again.   We looked at each other, unable to speak.  Everything felt like it was running in slow motion. My heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest. I wanted to scream.  Tears stabbed at my eyes but I tried to hold them in.  The sonographer seemed to be taking it in her stride, as though it happened to her everyday.  Maybe it did, but to us twins was massive. 

We’d been dreaming of one baby for a whole twelve weeks, we’d planned the nursery, looked at prams…but twins changed everything.  It felt like the rug had been pulled out from under us.  What we had been expecting was wonderful; what we now had was the most amazing, precious, spectacular thing we could ever have asked for.  It felt like winning the lottery; better in fact, as we didn’t even know we’d bought a ticket.

Matt and I didn’t look at one another again as our eyes were firmly fixed on the screen, watching our babies bounce in response to the nudge of the scanner.  We were deep in our own thoughts, but joined together through a new bond that was greater than anything we had expected.  It felt like we were sharing something that nobody else had ever experienced.  We gripped hands and counted our blessing as the pictures of our two perfect little beings were printed.

 ‘You’re allowed double the number of scan prints for your money seeing as you’ve got two babies,’ the sonographer told us proudly.

Just one of the perks of expecting more than one.

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Thank you Karen, I am so pleased to have hosted your post - it is a lovely story and your babes are gorgeous.