One day…

Work shop time over at Josie’s again!  This lovely mummy is still not 100% fighting fit, so go show her some love.  Despite being poorly, she’s still put together some excellent writing prompts – because she is a trooper & generally brilliant.

So, this week, I’m choosing No. 1: Write about what you hope for ‘one day’.  Sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin…

One day, I’ll have this whole mothering gig well and truly cracked. I’ll know exactly what to do in any given situation.  I won’t doubt myself, I won’t let myself think ‘oh-my-goodness-i’m rubbish at this’, I won’t assume that everyone else knows better than I do.  One day.

One day, I’ll be a proper domestic goddess. There will be no perpetual pile of laundry, the ironing mountain will be vanquished, the floors will be clean, the cupboards will be full & there will be something delicious in the oven for dinner every.  single.  night.  One day.

One day, I’ll cross everything off my to do list.  There will be no unpaid bills, no post-it notes on the fridge advertising the jobs I keep avoiding, no little pile of ‘to deal with later’ letters on the table, collecting dust.  One day.

One day, I’ll have my old (ie. pre-baby) shape back.  My skinny jeans will be rocking the park & playgroup scene rather than hanging trapped in my wardrobe, dreaming of former glories.  One day.

One day, we’ll be comfortable.  Living each day without worrying about cashflow, those stupid bills, budgeting, snapping up bargains, stretching every penny to breaking point.  We’ll have enough to be happy and occasionally even silly, rather than just ‘getting by’.  One day.

For today though, I’ll make do with stretching the grocery budget & feeling a bit podgy in my ‘fat day’ jeans.  I’ll be happy with the quick & easy chilli we’re having for dinner, and that pile of washing & ironing can wait another day.  Because today, I’ve been playing with my little boy.  My gorgeous little man whose big blue eyes & cheeky monkey grin make me do the same – he could care less about the house being immaculate so long as can reach his toys & his favourite book for story time.  And his daddy will be home soon.  My best friend and the love of my life – who insists he doesn’t care about the baby belly & actually bloody loves my chilli.  Suddenly everything else doesn’t seem all that important. 

And besides, I’m sure the rest will all fall into place… One day.

Writing Workshop Catch-up…

Lovely Josie over at Sleep is for the Weak was a poorly bunny last week, which sadly meant no workshop, but was also sort of lucky for me as due to The Mr being on holiday and generally playing havock with my routines (in a good way really – love you honey!), I didn’t get a chance to do anything for Workshop #4.  Soo, I shall take the liberty to do so now…

I’m picking No.1: Write about an overheard conversation.

(Please note, what follows is a true story. You can’t make this stuff up!)

The Little Dude & I are in Boots, stocking up on 3 for 2 Christmas presents.  Well, I’m deliberating over presents, LD is chattering to his cuddly fox rattle.  It’s all good. 

I’m looking at a set of In the Night Garden figures – perfect for a friend’s daughter, when I see a little blonde boy of about 2 gleefully pressing buttons on any and every noisy toy he can get his chubby little hands on.  Cute, I think.  He gives me a cheeky toothy grin & shoots off to stare in wonder at all the festive sweeties.

Suddenly I hear someone screech ‘Shandon! Get here, Naaaaa!!’ – hate to sound all posh, but it was a voice that wouldn’t be out of place selling apples in Albert Square.  You know what I’m talking about.  I look up to see the little blonde boy being grabbed by the arm & fastened into a double buggy next to a little blonde girl. ‘You’re doing my f**king head in today!!’ she continues.  Nice.  I can’t help feeling sorry for the little guy – he wasn’t being naughty as such – I can’t STAND it when people swear in front of kids, and oh my God, what sort of name is Shandon anyway?  ‘Just sit still and behave – be good like Moet.’ …penny drops.  Shandon, is in fact, Chandon.  And his sister is Moet.  Uh-huh, mother of the year named her children Moet & Chandon.  Altogether now, W . T . F ?

Don’t get me wrong, naming your little darlings is one of the most important and personal decisions you ever have to make – and if you love somthing, you should go with it, regardless of what anyone else thinks.  But there’s a limit, right?  I know us mummys are supposed to support eachother, solidarity and all that, and call me judgemental if you like, but I think anyone naming their children after beverages needs to have a serious re-think.  But then who knows, perhaps their cousins had already used Bacardi & Smirnoff?  Proper classy like.

Amazing what you overhear when you’re trying to stretch the Christmas budget!

Don’t forget to go & check out the rest of the great posts over at Sleep is for the Weak.

Public Service Announcement

Hello gorgeous people, how are you all?  Bit weathery out there today huh?

This is just a quickie to let you all know about my new twitter acount: @lildudesmummy

Why do I need another twitter account?  Well, the reasons are three-fold…

1. It’s partly to do with the whole changing-where-my-blog-lives fandango – i don’t like the idea of protecting my tweets, but i’m also not keen on tweeting about blog updates from my ‘proper’ twitter, because it sort of defats the whole purpose of moving the blog in the first place, y’know?  (fear not though, my existing tweetie nonsense will continue, this is just an extra way of keeping up with things of a mummy & blogging nature.)

2. I worry about boring my non-parent tweet-chums with pimping my mummy blog.

3. I’m a neurotic loony who rather likes having separate places for separate things. Great Big Geek? Why yes, yes I am.

And that’s it. No more to see. As you were.  (I’ll do a proper post soon, honest I will.)

Perpetually playing catch up…

Seems to be something of a constant theme that, since boarding the good ship motherhood.

I used to be one of ‘those’ people who was all ridiculously organised – with a terribly anal compulsion to cross off all of the days to-do’s before tucking myself up in bed.  I still make the lists.  Lots of them.  But that oh-so-smug feeling of crossing everything out for any given day, has become something of a rarity.  I’m always chasing my tail.  My little personal organiser (ie. a pretty notebook of the paperchase variety), is crammed full of things that need doing, brilliant ideas that could be done, and all too many things that really really need to be done, like, pronto.

All that’s a bit of a rambly way of saying sorry to my neglected lil’ bloggette.

You see, life’s been even more crazy-busy than usual lately – the Mr had a week off, which as I’m sure many of you can relate to, throws everything into mayhem & confusion.  And it was his birthday, which meant not one, but TWO mummy & daddy dates on the trot! (I know, shocking!), which also meant the MIL assuming the role of live-in-babysitter for 2 days – very generous, but a surefire formula for more mayhem & confusion (and converting of front room to bomb site via the medium of ‘makeshift guest room’).  Then we spent a few days at the in-laws – very lovely, but not at all conducive to Getting Things Done.  One of the LD’s chums was the big 1-2(months that is), so off to his party we went (which was brilliant – his mummy had put so much effort in, and all the babies had a great time – LD even played his first game of pass the parcel!) – another day gone.  Then throw in all the usual coffee & playdates (including a super outing with @ilovemonty, @kellyfairy & @omgmummy – very good times, and proof positive that the four of us make incredibly beautiful children. like there was ever any doubt.), supermarket runs, half arsed attempts at laundry & ironing… well, you know how it goes. The things to do vs hours in a day ratio hasn’t exactly been in my favour.

And it’s annoying – because I’m forgetting to write about SO much good Little Dude stuff, which is kind of the whole point of this blogging adventure!

So, this is me giving myself a blogging report card, and it says “must do better”. And I will.  Honest.

In the meantime, I’ll make up for being rubbish by pointing you to the brilliance of others…

~This post by @mummytips, is incredible.  If you haven’t read it yet, do.  If you have, read it again, and then check out the brilliant blog party she’s hosting too.

~Dare I mention the C word yet?  Well, we are almost half way through November, and if you’re thinking about making your gifts, you best get cracking. @Violetposy’s Thrifty Christmas is packed full of excellent ideas.  Go see!

~Speaking of gifts, if you don’t fancy making your own, why not have a peek at the Christmas Collection over at Icklebabe? Beautiful things for your little folk.

Lastly, *big thank yous* to everyone who’s still reading/following/subscribed even through the change of location & the big chunks of white noise. You all rock ♥

Settling in…

Oooh, first post in my new wordpress home – like what I’ve done with the place?

I don’t really want to get into the whys & wherefores (spelling calamity!) of why I decided to move, because in all honesty, anyone who’s not me, probably won’t care, but at the same time, I feel like I should probably offer *some* explanation to those of you have kindly followed the removal truck.

Basically, I was feeling a little exposed.  Over at Blogger, my mummy blog was all connected to my business blog – same username & all, with no way of separating the two – and while I’m happy to have anyone and everyone read my business related blog, I’m a bit choosier about who reads the personal stuff.

This place gives me just enough anonymity to feel comfortable.

Now if I can just figure out where everything goes and which buttons do what, we’ll be all good!

Recipe For a Perfect Day…

It’s workshop time again over at Sleep is for the Weak (I know, where does the time go?), so go have a look for some great writing and inspiring prompts to get your creative cogs a-turning.

(Click here for the prompts, and here for the links to all of this week’s entries.)
(But read mine first, or I’ll pout.)

This week, I chose:

2. Write a recipe for something abstract – i.e. a recipe for a good/bad day, recipe for a perfect Halloween, recipe for a happy mummy/daddy etc.

 

(And don’t worry, you don’t need to be from the house of Nigella to give this one a whirl :D)

Recipe for a perfect day.

Start with a base of sleeping in until at least 8am, with mummy waking gently from slumber to the sun shining, birds tweeting, and baby chatting contentedly to himself.

Smooth over a thin layer of milk, plus peach & banana porridge for baby, and a thicker layer of coffee for mummy. (For best results, use proper coffee, made in a pot, not instant.) Add Nutella filled croissants to taste.

Combine with a couple of large cups of morning playtime. Equal measures of singing and dancing and cuddles.

Snuggle up with a slice of good reading and quiet time, then set aside for a minimum of one solid hour napping time.

Once rested, blend in a portion of lunch – perhaps granary toast with mushed up avocado for two, with added strawberry fromage frais. Add a liberal pinch of mess – it’s all part of the fun of learning!

Mix in a lovely walk in the sunshine, adding your choice of park or seafront. Be sure to thoroughly marinade with all the sights and sounds along the way.

Cover with an afternoon nap. Once chilled, blend in something delicious for baby’s tea and leave to settle while watching Hollyoaks together.

When the daddy gets home from work, generously apply more cuddles.
Combine daddy & baby, and gently whisk in more milk, and the bedtime story of your choice.
Place baby in cot, sprinkle with goodnight kisses.

In a separate bowl, combine mummy, daddy, some tasty dinner and at least two large glasses of wine. (Can be substituted with bottles of beer as a variation.)

After all the ingredients are combined, gently simmer and enjoy the warming satisfaction of a perfect day.
And don’t forget to save the leftovers for tomorrow!

 

The Six Month Milestone

Okay, actually, it was 6 months last Tuesday, but what can I say, being a mummy is a busy job, and it’s been a week filled with plumbers, and coffee dates, and a mummy & daddy date, and distractions. And a stupid cold. So, y’know…

Anyway.

The Little Dude, is six months old. One hundred and ninety days today to be exact.

It’s an odd feeling – on one hand, I absolutely understand what everyone means now when they say ‘enjoy it- it goes too quickly!’ – and on the other, I can hardly remember what life was like before being a mummy. (in a good way I mean, not just because of the perpetual exhaustion!)

It’s amazing how much has happened in such a relatively short space of time.

My little boy has gone from a tiny little wrinkly pink bundle, just short of 7lb, who didn’t care for much else than sleeping, pooping and mummy’s boobies, to a wrinkle free 17lb of inquisitive little baby boy, complete with a tooth, who grins, and giggles, and is interested in just about anything and everything he can get his chubby little hands on. (particuarly my mobile, the tv remote, the dog…)

In the early days, we used to spend hours just snuggled up together – in bed, or on the sofa – the little dude feeding or snoozing – gently snoring and blowing tiny bubbles in his sleep – me, gazing in complete awe at the beautiful little person I’d made. (with a little help from the daddy, obviously ;D) From day one I was so thankful to the baby gods for blessing me with such a happy, chilled out little boy – and he was a sleeper too! I kept expecting the bubble to burst, but touch wood, it hasn’t! Yay!

Now, our days are spent rocking to mummy’s favourite tunes (he particuarly enjoys the work of Maximo Park, The Guillemotts, and ELO – good boy!), dancing, chattering about nothing, going for walks, play dates, and mummy indulging in all manner of silliness to encourage those delicious little giggle-fits.

He’s gone from not being able to hold his own head up to rolling around the floor at will, pushing himself up, grabbing anything that looks interesting, just about sitting up unaided, and looking likely to start crawling at any minute.

And then there’s the weaning! I love watching his little face each time he tries something new – and the look of sheer joy when he has a fist (and face!) full of rusk, is priceless.

In short, it’s been an eventful half a year.
And it’s been wonderful. Everyday brings something new, and I’m loving every minute of it.

I can’t wait to see what the next six months have in store.

Everyday Inspiration…

Mummy Porridge Brain is putting us to work again in her Writing Sweatshop Workshop 😀
Hop on over for more brilliant prompts to exercise ye olde grey matter & get your creative juices flowing.

This week, I toyed with opting for No.1: You get a day off. No kids, no housework, no responsibility. Where would you go? What would you do? – but all I’d do is a. sleep, b. make like a potato and veg with dvds, junk food & readables, or c. retreat to my wonderful magical room of fantasy. Given that c sadly doesn’t exist, and a&b wouldn’t make for terribly exciting reading, I have decided to go with:

5. Sit in a room of your house you spend a lot of time in. And really LOOK. Notice all the details you usually miss, and describe them with all the creativity you can muster. Let the every-day inspire you.

Sitting comfortably?

Me too. On my sofa, in my living room.

My living room, which, once upon a time, was a haven of carefully selected, 100% colour coordinated, classy, comfortable, chic. Deliberately positioned cushions, perfectly aligned coasters on polished coffee table, pretty photo frames and other objects dotted here and there (always grouped in threes – it’s an interior design thang sweetie), no mess, no clutter, everything had it’s place.

Then I had a baby.

An almighty inflatable donkey attached to a felt play mat sits on the floor to my left. To accommodate the overflow of my growing boy, he’s been joined by a safari themed playmat in all the colours of the rainbow. They don’t match eachother, much less the rest of the room. They are strewn with various rattles and cuddlies, a muslin square, a baby whoozit, and what looks like a lump of half eaten – yep, it’s a chunk of chewed-round-the-edges rusk. (note to self – pick that up.) To my right, there’s a bouncy chair. A bright blue bouncy chair, covered in frogs and turtles. That is definitely not in-keeping with the decor.

A few feet in front of me, my once Mr-Sheen’ed to within an inch of it’s life coffee table, is now littered with… stuff. Let’s see, there’s an empty little stars pot and a bib, smeared and smelling of strawberries. There’s a copy of Cosmo which I think I managed to read about 4 pages of before a certain someone decided that pretty, glossy magazines make great noises when ripped and crumpled. There are 2 cold half cups of coffee, a distinctly drool-covered remote control, and oh look, another chunk of rusk.

Other side of the table, the faux-leather magazine rack that used to be where the uncrumpled glossy magazine loveliness lived, now houses nappies, wipes, and a selection of creams. And, there’s a bright blue changing mat propped up against the wall. (At least it matches the bouncer I suppose.)

Right of the coffee table, is the other sofa (those still match too. Just.), and on that, sits the love of my life. My Mr, My other half, The Daddy, My best friend. He’s half watching TV, half falling asleep, and in his arms, is the reason for the inflatable donkey, the froggie bouncer, the nappies and the empty little stars pot – our son. The tiny little person who somehow comes with more stuff than the Mr & I have put together. (even including my bags & shoes. really.) Our precious little baby boy who came along and turned everything we had gotten to know as normal completely upside down.

Sure, a tiny part of me misses the serenity of the way this room used to be.

Yes, I’d love to sit and drink a whole cup of coffee while it’s still hot, while nonchalantly flipping through a glossy magazine.

And no, I probably wouldn’t miss playing ‘hmm, wonder what that new stain is?’.

But the thing is, I’m a mummy now, and I love it.

I love the toys everywhere and the general sense of disarray & mayhem.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

(Though the neurotic tendencies do still insist on coordinated cushion covers and the groups of three – gotta have some standards!)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Josie was right – the everyday really can be inspiring! – Have a go yourself – it’s very fun.

And remember, the first rule of Writing Workshop, Is that you don’t talk about Writing Workshop.

Except actually, you should. Lots. To everyone. It rocks.

 

Sunday Night Catch Up…

Dinner made by me & eaten? Check.

Dessert made by the Mr & eaten? Calorie-filled Check.

X-Factor watched & laughed at? Check. (Whitney, have never been a fan, but really, you should have quit while you were ahead.)

Baby fed & sleeping? Cutieboy Check.

Dog curled up on my toes keeping them lovely and warm? Oh yes. (Every home should have a furry hot water bottle).

Time to catch up with all those memes like I said I would? Checkity Check.

Which actually, isn’t as big a job as I thought, because everyone had given me the same award!! And I’m very pleased and flattered to say, it was the one up there in the top right – uh-huh, apparently I’m a great read 🙂 – *blush!* So thank you muchly Sandy, MrsOMGPregnant (who is now an OMGMummy to a completely gorgous little girl!), and the 2 other people who my fuzzy little brain can’t remember – SORRY!! (if it was you, shout & I shall link!!).

Anyway, rules of the award are that I’m now supposed to share 10 people/memories/places/things that make me happy, so here we go…

1-3: My Man, My Boy & My dog. Between the three of them, they make me smile more than anything else in the world, every single day, and are also responsible for 99% of my best memories. I love them all crazy-lots and am so thankful for them. I’m very blessed.

4: The day I found out I was pregnant. Also known as the start of our biggest ever (ongoing) adventure. Still smile when I think about it.

5: The first time the Mr took me to Tenerife. Two weeks of sheer unedited fun. We had an absolute ball & saw the sun rise more or less every morning we were there. We’ve been 6 times since, and can’t wait till the Little Dude’s a bit older so we can go back with him.

6: Blur @Hyde Park, this summer. I had waited almost a decade to see them live, and it was worth every minute. Such an amazing day.

7: My photo albums. I’ve always been a bit of a shutterbug, and as a result have pretty much my whole life documented in photo-form. One of my favourite rainy day pastimes is flicking through years & years worth of memories, smiling & giggling. (And occasionally dying of embarrassment!)

8: Doctor Who. But only David Tennant ones. If ever I’m in a funk, had a bad day, or otherwise feeling sorry for myself, curling up with The Doctor & a big mug of hot chocolate will help. Actually, same goes for Will Ferrell movies. Especially Zoolander.

9. Animals! Random? A little maybe. But I have so many happy animal memories, I thought it best to lump them into one. I’ve seen dolphins in the wild, hand fed squirrel monkeys, held an almighty giant tortoise, had numerous parrots perched on me, kissed a baby crocodile, and lots of other fun bits and pieces (without going into all the pets I’ve loved & lost over the years), the memorie of which all make me smile. I adore animals, always have, and hope to pass that passion on to the little dude. (He already loves dogs :D)

10. The first time I sold a piece of jewellery. The feeling that someone I didn’t know was choosing to wear something I had made was fantastic. And it doesn’t get old – everytime someone buys something I’ve made I get the same exciteable little buzz 🙂

have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed doing that, it’s nice to reminice about good stuff – I could easily come up with another 10, but I’ll stop, and pass the love on to all the great reads on my blog list. I’m going to be rubbish though & not name anyone specifically, because having taken so long to do it myself, I’ll only end up tagging people who’ve already done it.
So if you haven’t, do!
Because you’re all great reads – that’s why I read you!!

Oh, and speaking of great reads, Kelly over at A Place of My Own is running a great competition to win a copy of her friend’s new book, which sounds brilliant – go check it out.
(even though I’m hoping to win, obviously!)

And now, night feed, then bed. Sleep’s a thing that makes me happy too.

A room of my own…

The very lovely Josie over at Sleep is for the Weak, has kindly set us all some blogging homework, in the form of some very fun writing prompts, head on over to check out Josie’s surreal new conspiracy theory plus all the other great submissions.
(After you’ve read this one here, obviously :P)

Anyways, I’ve gone for option no.3:

Imagine an extra room in your house just for you. Time would freeze as you stepped through the door, leaving your life frozen behind you and giving you unlimited guilt-free time to spend there. What would you fill it with? What views would it have out the window?

Sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.
Firstly, the room is going to have to be tardis like, in that yes, it fits neatly inside my house, but once you’re in there, is far far bigger than any of the other ‘normal’ rooms.
On entering, there’s a delicious waft of freshly baked cupcake smell, as low & behold, Johnny Depp, my personal cupcake chef, is hard at work in one corner. And yes, he lets me lick the bowl 😉 (hahaha!! shameless, sorry.)
In another corner, I’ve got THE sofa from central perk in ‘f.r.i.e.n.d.s’, huge plush beanbags and vintage cushions GALORE, plus shelves and shelves of all my favourite books and all the sure-to-be-great reads I’m yet to get to.
To the left of the library, there’s the walk in closet. Yep, just like the one in Ugly Betty, choc-full of utterly delicious vintage dresses and gorgeous shoes and bags and accessories and needlessly pretty other things.
Don’t get too hung up on the couture though, we’ve just reached the huge bay window, where – what’s that? ah yes, it’s Mr Alex James, of Blur fame, sitting in my big retro egg chair, strumming a guitar, seranading me at will.
And if you’d care to take a peek out the window, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the view – remember the land of chocolate & candy in Willy Wonka? Well that’s my garden, uh-huh, I know, fabulous.
In the last corner (yes, I know I’ve had more than 4 corners – nobody said my perfect room had to be square), it’s craft heaven. There’s an easel set up (in perfect light, of course) with dozens of brushes and paints in every colour of the rainbow. There’s a huge table, which I never have to clear, and a wall full of drawers and boxes, stuffed full of beautiful papers and beads and embellishments and glitter and buttons and ribbons… it’s almost even better than Johny’s cupcakes. Yes, it’s that good.
And in the middle of the best room ever, for when I tire of cupcakes and art and literature and fashion (unlikely, but sometimes it’s nice to take a break), there’s a huge fluffy rug, and a whole bunch of tiny puppy dogs. Because no matter how bad your day’s been, everything is better with a puppy on your lap.

Now then. Who do I see about having this fabulous room installed in my house please?

While I deliberate, don’t forget to go check out all the other great posts at Sleep is for the Weak – and if you’re not a follower over there – why not?? Fix it! And join in on the wonderful weekly workshops.
Oh I love alliteration 🙂