It's been a while since my last entry...crikey, I sound like I'm confessing. I'm not, well I might be, but only to being really bad at updating. Hopefully it should get better from now on due to a crucial development in my life: I have FINALLY finished university!

I started in 2004 as an already apparently "mature" student, had a hell of a first year when my husband was suspended from his job for something he didn't do (big panic..."eep, I've just left work full time three months ago and now THIS is happening?"), got through the first year ok, albeit with one or two grey hairs, then right before I went back to start my second year I found out I was pregnant. Ummed and ahhed and decided that, as the baby was due 12th May I'd *probably* be able to get my assignments out of the way well before then and, if there were any exams, I'd take them at the august resits. Great plan, apart from the small complication that one of the exams was actually a practical drama majiggery, consisting of performance art. On 8th May. Four days before my due date. Actually, I think I had a few twitchy eye moments about this here But, despite obstacles, I passed my second year with a 2:1, had Heather on 15th May 2006 and had the summer off practicing being a new mummy.

Then decided I could not leave my four month old daughter in nursery three days a week, work in the library for those three days and then be a full time mum for the rest of the time AND successfully manage to complete my third year with a dissertation. Superwoman I am not.

So. A year off. During which time I trained part time as a body piercer, thought about going back to uni, panicked and decided to withdraw, panicked again and reversed my decision, and then went back to try again in September 2007. Of course, I had to do it exactly the same as I would have done before; H in nursery three days, do all of my work during those days and in the evenings, be a full time mum the rest of the time. But Heather was older and sleeping through the night, so things seemed a little easier than they had a year previous!

Until things started to go wrong. First, there was disaster January - three weeks before assignment due dates, Heather dislocated her elbow so I had to write off a weekends worth of uni work. Eep...but there were more important things to think about. Then, the next weekend on Friday night, our boiler exploded. So that weekend was lost. In the midst of this, I discovered a lump in my breast and was referred to a clinic for testing...so my mind was kind of elsewhere but work. Extensions! Extensions are good!

So huzzah, yay, I had my extensions and managed to get the work done...fantabulous!

Then, as assignment deadlines again loomed, we had more disaster time. Heather dislocated her elbow again, she became very ill with suspected coeliac disease which had her off nursery more than she was there, Alex's nan become very very ill (and later died...we still really miss her). Oh, and I found out that I was pregnant again...despite having been on the pill, taking it properly, no stomach upsets/antibiotics/skipped pills/anything else to stop the damned thing from working. As the doctor said, "hey, it only works 98% of the time...someone has to be the other 2%!" Fantastic! So more extensions. Until August. Huge great big extensions wearing big boots, with moustaches. The extensions had moustaches, the boots didn't. Though I think that should be an Autumn fashion trend.

Then (aha yes there's more!) we found out that I wouldn't be able to qualify for maternity pay, but could qualify for maternity allowance (less money, government funded...but money nonetheless) but only if I started work RIGHT THEN. So, as soon as my lectures finished, I went back to work full time...whilst still trying to do my dissertation and remaining assignments and also trying to deal with the mood swings of a busy 2year old in the evenings and attempting to handle pregnancy fatigue and niggles. My days roughly consisted of:
6am - wake up and leap out of bed/into shower
7.30am - After an hour and a half of frantically trying to get myself and a toddler ready (with help from Alex), leave house. At speed.
7.50am - After dropping Heather at nursery, speed-waddle to train station.
8.15am - Arrive at work an hour early. Work on dissertation.
9.15 - Start work.
1pm - Lunch. Work on dissertation for an hour.
5pm - Speed walk to train station, squeeze onto packed train.
5.30pm - Meet Alex at nursery, collect Heather.
5.45pm - Arrive home, cook Heather's dinner and battle with her about how much she has to eat before she's allowed a yoghurt.
6pm - Heather bathtime/teethbrushing/watch 'In the Night Garden'/bedtime story/milk
7.30pm - Heather bedtime.
7.40pm - Get laptop out. Work on uni stuff.
8.30pm - Break for dinner.
10pm - Put laptop away and go to bed.

I signed my dissertation in on the 28th August. Since then I have:
- Read two books that have nothing at all to do with taboo sexuality/the gothic
- Had a lot of baths
- Enjoyed being able to do whatever I want to on my lunch break
- Played some computer games
- Painted my fingernails
- Watched a couple of films
- Caught up on and watched the finale of Big Brother
-...and loads of other things I haven't been able to do for about three months now.

Needless to say, I'm a hell of a happy Kate.

I've really, really waffled on here...so I'll shut the hell up now. The next entry will hopefully catch people up more on Heather (she's now 2 years, 3 months old...I think the last time I was writing in here she was teenie tiny bubba), inform about new pregnancy (only 8weeks and 6 days to go until D-day), and general other crap. Unless I get sidetracked into something dull and tedious and painfully boring. Like I did here.

I'm off to eat maltesers. Mwa.