Sunday, 31 March 2013
Saturday, 30 March 2013
13/52
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013.
 |
| 13/52 Easter Eggs... |
Stripey girls enjoying their egg lollies. Although they're both actually in wrappers This Baby had a good go at trying to gnaw her way through to the chocolate inside....
Thursday, 28 March 2013
Currently...#10
It's Thursday (how?) so it's time to join in with the, frankly delicious Ot and Et and the delightful Harvesting Kale for Currently, huzzah!
This week I have been:
Feeling: Happy, sleepy, positive. After mentioning my massive dislike of cleaning last week I suddenly got the urge this week. I'm not sure why, maybe the Spring clean instinct kicked in a little, or maybe no one's nagged me about it for a while. Either way I actually felt like getting my shizzle in order.
Imagining: All the people, it's easy if you try. Ahem, sorry. I wonder how many people will do that in response to this question.....
I have mostly been imagining what I will look like in my bridesmaid's dress next month. My best friend is getting married and I'm honoured to be her BM together with her lovely sister. Trouble is her sister is beautiful and svelte. I keep imagining looking like a giant marshmallow stood next to her in a dress that doesn't disguise any of my wobbly bits.....it's quite a concern.
Considering: I've been considering telling my friends about my blog. I feel, I suppose, more legitimate now, a little more established and less of a whim. I don't know, maybe. I know they'd be supportive, but I don't want to look self indulgent. Or bonkers. So of you're reading this Lucky, Impressive E or Tilly I've been brave and this is it. What do you think?
Listening to: to my much loved Tom McRae. He calms me, he moves me and sometimes he depresses the hell out of me, but I am completely in awe of that man. We've seen him play live over the years in so many places and so many settings and he's never once failed to stun me. Even when he played at Shepherds Bush Empire when he had man flu, he still knocked spots of anyone else. He once replied to a tweet of mine when This Baby was little (I sound mad now, right?) I told him that she was sleeping listening to his first album and that Mr Husband Sir had remarked "Great, she'll grow up miserable" he countered that she'd would be inoculated now and that he went to sleep listening to Kylie to stay depressed. I laughed. And loved him for replying. And I think I will listen to him until I'm an old, old lady.
Moving: Baby things down from the loft to get rid of them. It's a sad realisation that I won't have any more gorgeous tots. And on that basis we have to move down things like the Moses basket and move them onwards to another home. Sigh.
Next week: Drinking, Buying, Driving, Missing, Obsessing.
Join in?
This week I have been:
Feeling: Happy, sleepy, positive. After mentioning my massive dislike of cleaning last week I suddenly got the urge this week. I'm not sure why, maybe the Spring clean instinct kicked in a little, or maybe no one's nagged me about it for a while. Either way I actually felt like getting my shizzle in order.
Imagining: All the people, it's easy if you try. Ahem, sorry. I wonder how many people will do that in response to this question.....
I have mostly been imagining what I will look like in my bridesmaid's dress next month. My best friend is getting married and I'm honoured to be her BM together with her lovely sister. Trouble is her sister is beautiful and svelte. I keep imagining looking like a giant marshmallow stood next to her in a dress that doesn't disguise any of my wobbly bits.....it's quite a concern.
Considering: I've been considering telling my friends about my blog. I feel, I suppose, more legitimate now, a little more established and less of a whim. I don't know, maybe. I know they'd be supportive, but I don't want to look self indulgent. Or bonkers. So of you're reading this Lucky, Impressive E or Tilly I've been brave and this is it. What do you think?
Listening to: to my much loved Tom McRae. He calms me, he moves me and sometimes he depresses the hell out of me, but I am completely in awe of that man. We've seen him play live over the years in so many places and so many settings and he's never once failed to stun me. Even when he played at Shepherds Bush Empire when he had man flu, he still knocked spots of anyone else. He once replied to a tweet of mine when This Baby was little (I sound mad now, right?) I told him that she was sleeping listening to his first album and that Mr Husband Sir had remarked "Great, she'll grow up miserable" he countered that she'd would be inoculated now and that he went to sleep listening to Kylie to stay depressed. I laughed. And loved him for replying. And I think I will listen to him until I'm an old, old lady.
Moving: Baby things down from the loft to get rid of them. It's a sad realisation that I won't have any more gorgeous tots. And on that basis we have to move down things like the Moses basket and move them onwards to another home. Sigh.
Next week: Drinking, Buying, Driving, Missing, Obsessing.
Join in?
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
We have a problem. We:
need to move from this:
To (eventually) something a little more like this:
We've tried this and this and this and this....
Only someone:
is having none of it....
We've had the most success with this:
But when I say success I'm applying the term loosely to say the least. Generally I end up looking like this:
Yep, cross and wet and over exposed.
So....can anyone tell me how I'm meant to get that pesky baby away from her beloved bottle? And tips or suggestions on a good transition bottle/cup? I'm struggling!
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Sleepy Nico: Meet the Boss!
Don't you just love it when you stumble across a company that makes a product you think is the bees knees? I do. And when they're really flippin' charming on top of that it just makes makes my day. With that in mind I'd like to introduce you all to the very lovely Angeline Braidwood who, on top of being a Mummy, owns Sleepy Nico, the company that made my much loved baby carrier. Angeline was kind enough to let me ask her a few questions about herself and about Sleepy Nico so we could find out a little about the lady behind the business. Here goes....
Tell us about yourself? Your background? Your family? What interests you? What are your hobbies?
I was the eternal wanderer up until 10 years ago, I couldn't stay in a job, or in a flatshare, I spent lots of time travelling and worked for a while at Lonely Planet which didn't help with the inability to stick at anything! So I've done a bit of this and that, marketing, publishing, PR, communications, a brief stint in a garden centre. Then I met my husband and we went travelling and for the first time ever I was homesick and I realised I was ready to settle down. He proposed in Antarctica and when we got home were married 6 weeks later. I was delighted to give up work and spend time raising our lovely girls and I thought that was it...
Tell us a little about the history of Sleepy Nico?
Sleepy Nico was not my idea. I met a lovely woman and her son at a playgroup over five years ago, I had walked there with my first baby in a 'high street carrier' and had an aching neck and back on arrival. Maria came in with her baby tucked into quite the most beautiful sling I had ever seen and I went straight over to her and struck up a conversation. It turns out she and her friend Maria and their two sons Nico and Nico (!!) were making and selling beautiful baby carriers - I ordered mine as soon as I got home and it is the carrier I still use with my youngest. We stayed in touch over the years and I offered feedback, constructive criticism and support, I was always being stopped in the street and asked where I got my carrier from. Then I made a call last spring to Maria as I had noticed the website said they were all out of stock and I was interested in getting one for my sister-in-law. It turns out that she and Maria had moved onto other things (more children as well) and were looking for a like minded mother to take on the business. It felt like the right thing for me.
So how did you first become interested in baby carrying?
I think my interest stemmed from practicality, living in London I found a pram was a nightmare on the bus and I once slipped down an escalator at the tube station with the push chair. I loved the freedom that a baby carrier gave me and my first little one. It also proved an excellent means of getting her to sleep and I still rock my littlest to sleep in it now. It felt rather vain at the time but I chose a carrier that matched my clothes, it was wonderful to accessorise my favourite colours with my child.
What advice would you give to someone looking to get a baby carrier for the first time?
Go to a sling library and try lots on, different styles and types suit different people. I fell in love with Sleepy Nico because the buckles and straps made me feel secure and I loved the way I could put the girls on my back for outings and on my front for sleep. Everyone has their own different requirements so try them out and see which you like best before you buy.
What does the future hold for Sleepy Nico?
Sleepy Nico is part of the family now and the first priority for our future is to get my toddler carrier tested and out there. My littlest is too big for the baby carrier now and it's fine for a five minute rock to sleep but she needs something bigger and more supportive so we can get out and about and enjoy the Suffolk countryside. So, a new size carrier, lots more pretty designs and to get our name out there in the world. I'm trying to make Sleepy Nico my last baby and give her plenty of care and nurturing and we'll see what happens, as with children you can never be sure.
Anything else to add?
I didn't say anything at all about being a WAHM (work at home mum), which I suddenly have become and how hard it is because the little people demand your attention all the time and then all of a sudden your business does too. If you had told me back in the days of 9-5, with an hour for lunch drifting around the shops and a lot of time in between emailing and chatting to colleagues, followed by a large glass of wine, that I would work as I hard as I do now I would not have believed it and would have been very fearful. But it is lovely to mix it all up and the children do play running their own businesses a lot which is very sweet to see, I hope I'm instilling something useful in them for their future.
See? What did I tell you? Flippin' fabulous! And the thought of a toddler carrier in the pipeline? Hide my bank cards!
Tell us about yourself? Your background? Your family? What interests you? What are your hobbies?
I was the eternal wanderer up until 10 years ago, I couldn't stay in a job, or in a flatshare, I spent lots of time travelling and worked for a while at Lonely Planet which didn't help with the inability to stick at anything! So I've done a bit of this and that, marketing, publishing, PR, communications, a brief stint in a garden centre. Then I met my husband and we went travelling and for the first time ever I was homesick and I realised I was ready to settle down. He proposed in Antarctica and when we got home were married 6 weeks later. I was delighted to give up work and spend time raising our lovely girls and I thought that was it...
Tell us a little about the history of Sleepy Nico?
Sleepy Nico was not my idea. I met a lovely woman and her son at a playgroup over five years ago, I had walked there with my first baby in a 'high street carrier' and had an aching neck and back on arrival. Maria came in with her baby tucked into quite the most beautiful sling I had ever seen and I went straight over to her and struck up a conversation. It turns out she and her friend Maria and their two sons Nico and Nico (!!) were making and selling beautiful baby carriers - I ordered mine as soon as I got home and it is the carrier I still use with my youngest. We stayed in touch over the years and I offered feedback, constructive criticism and support, I was always being stopped in the street and asked where I got my carrier from. Then I made a call last spring to Maria as I had noticed the website said they were all out of stock and I was interested in getting one for my sister-in-law. It turns out that she and Maria had moved onto other things (more children as well) and were looking for a like minded mother to take on the business. It felt like the right thing for me.
So how did you first become interested in baby carrying?
I think my interest stemmed from practicality, living in London I found a pram was a nightmare on the bus and I once slipped down an escalator at the tube station with the push chair. I loved the freedom that a baby carrier gave me and my first little one. It also proved an excellent means of getting her to sleep and I still rock my littlest to sleep in it now. It felt rather vain at the time but I chose a carrier that matched my clothes, it was wonderful to accessorise my favourite colours with my child.
What advice would you give to someone looking to get a baby carrier for the first time?
Go to a sling library and try lots on, different styles and types suit different people. I fell in love with Sleepy Nico because the buckles and straps made me feel secure and I loved the way I could put the girls on my back for outings and on my front for sleep. Everyone has their own different requirements so try them out and see which you like best before you buy.
What does the future hold for Sleepy Nico?
Sleepy Nico is part of the family now and the first priority for our future is to get my toddler carrier tested and out there. My littlest is too big for the baby carrier now and it's fine for a five minute rock to sleep but she needs something bigger and more supportive so we can get out and about and enjoy the Suffolk countryside. So, a new size carrier, lots more pretty designs and to get our name out there in the world. I'm trying to make Sleepy Nico my last baby and give her plenty of care and nurturing and we'll see what happens, as with children you can never be sure.
Anything else to add?
I didn't say anything at all about being a WAHM (work at home mum), which I suddenly have become and how hard it is because the little people demand your attention all the time and then all of a sudden your business does too. If you had told me back in the days of 9-5, with an hour for lunch drifting around the shops and a lot of time in between emailing and chatting to colleagues, followed by a large glass of wine, that I would work as I hard as I do now I would not have believed it and would have been very fearful. But it is lovely to mix it all up and the children do play running their own businesses a lot which is very sweet to see, I hope I'm instilling something useful in them for their future.
 |
| Angeline and her little girl, aren't they just gorgeous? |
See? What did I tell you? Flippin' fabulous! And the thought of a toddler carrier in the pipeline? Hide my bank cards!
Monday, 25 March 2013
Magic Moments....#2
Good morning campers! It's Magic Moment time again and I'm linking up with The Oliver's Madhouse.
Ok, after writing this post, an extra little Magic Moment squeaked it's way into my day, and I couldn't let it pass without mentioning it, so before I begin properly here goes. On Sunday morning I was googling my blog address, not really sure why, I suppose I just wondered if it came up near the top, or if anyone else out there used the same sequence of words for anything. Anyway, what actually came up could have knocked me down with a feather, I was completely oblivious to the fact that some lovely little blighter nominated this little blog for a MAD Blog award! Look right there, click it! I'm there under the J's! Round 1 week 1. I had absolutely no idea so I didn't promote it or mention it, but I just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU to that wonderful anonymous person and give them a big virtual kiss. How cool is that? It really REALLY is the thought that counts and I couldn't be more chuffed about this particular thought. Magic Moments are just popping right up all over the show aren't they? And that, quite frankly, is a fan-flippin-tastic thing.
Anyway, since joining in with this link up, I have, like many others I would imagine, been giving the Magic Moments in my life some thought. After sharing a little about my dear husband's marriage proposal recently it made me think about some of our memorable moments as a couple. I thought I'd share with you with you the story of how we first met.....
Actually, that's a bit of a lie. I'll have to share the story of the second time we met because I don't remember the first. He does, but I may have been a little teeny weeny bit tiddly.
At the time I was living in a shared house with some friends, I was enjoying my freedom, only having to worry about myself and generally having a ball. Everyone in the house got on so well, it's the first and only time I've ever lived with friends and it was great. I look back on it as care free time that was full of laughter, we were young, not tied down by anything and had disposal incomes to fritter on nonsense. We ate sea bass on weekdays, that's right you heard me, weekdays!
We'd all lived together for three months when it was Twinkle's Birthday. A house night out was arranged, to be attended by myself, Twinkle, Blagger, Pammy and Twinkle's new boyfriend Murf. They'd not been together long so Murf was granted permission to bring along a friend as back up. The thought of being confronted by a gaggle of women (Blagger didn't count) didn't appeal to him, understandably! He chose to bring along my lovely boy. On the way there I told Twinkle in no uncertain terms that she wasn't allowed to lumber me with Murf's geeky mate whilst she went off with her beau.
We arrived and I immediately thought Murf's mate was pretty flippin' lovely. Tall and handsome, but quiet and sweet. He was very interested in music and we'd (unbeknown to us) been to a lot of the same gigs, we chatted easily, got on well. I was deploying several of my excellent seduction techniques (ha!) in an effort to make an impression, the only problem was; Twinkle wouldn't flippin' well leave us alone!! She'd taken my earlier threats to hide her epilator if she abandoned me very seriously. In the end I had to make surreptitious cut throat signals at her whenever he looked the other way. Eventually followed by two unmistakable fingers. She got the message.
At the end of the evening my boy offered to drive us back to the house (he hadn't been drinking) so we all trolled back to his car and he gave us a lift home. We went inside and I made cocktails for the others and tea for him. It was the first time Murf had, ahem, stayed over and Twinkle retired upstairs ahead of him. We mocked him mercilessly with jokes about "slipping into something more comfortable" and how he'd have to do his duty for king and country. Eventually Murf sloped off and everyone except my boy and I had either passed out or fallen asleep. We'd been having a lovely time, chatting, but eventually it was time for him to head off.
Now, our house at the time had three storeys and the front door could only be opened from the inside with the key. Twinkle had taken her keys off to bed, so the only way to let my boy out of the house was to go up to my bedroom on the top floor and get my keys to unlock the door for him.
Off I sauntered to get them, thinking how very lovely this young man was and what an excellent job I was doing of being impressive. I'd taken my heels off when I got in, like you do - so I only had tights on my feet. Slippery bloody tights. Oh I should have known! On my way back down the top level flight of stairs I slipped, fell on my arse with the loudest bang you've ever heard, the whole house shook. A LOT of unladylike swearing followed as I and went boom, boom, boom down the last three steps. My legs sort of travelled out in front if me and whacked into Twinkle's bedroom door, opening it slightly. I didn't give the door opening much thought at the time, but I was in massive trouble the next day for "putting Murf off" sorry guys!
I picked myself up, tried my best to dust myself down and ignore my reddening cheeks and summoned every last scrap of dignity I had to saunter into the hall on wobbly legs. My boy was standing waiting, trying, very sweetly, to disguise the fact he was wetting himself with laughter at my, ahem, grace and elegance.
We glossed over it. I let him out, kissed him on the cheek and said goodbye. He looked terrified! A girl, being so forward? Scandalous!!! Then he asked me if I'd like to see his band play the following week.
I'm not the sentiment type, but I locked the door, went upstairs and went to bed. I knew that night I'd met the man I was going to marry. Magic Moment? Hell yeah!
Ok, after writing this post, an extra little Magic Moment squeaked it's way into my day, and I couldn't let it pass without mentioning it, so before I begin properly here goes. On Sunday morning I was googling my blog address, not really sure why, I suppose I just wondered if it came up near the top, or if anyone else out there used the same sequence of words for anything. Anyway, what actually came up could have knocked me down with a feather, I was completely oblivious to the fact that some lovely little blighter nominated this little blog for a MAD Blog award! Look right there, click it! I'm there under the J's! Round 1 week 1. I had absolutely no idea so I didn't promote it or mention it, but I just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU to that wonderful anonymous person and give them a big virtual kiss. How cool is that? It really REALLY is the thought that counts and I couldn't be more chuffed about this particular thought. Magic Moments are just popping right up all over the show aren't they? And that, quite frankly, is a fan-flippin-tastic thing.
Anyway, since joining in with this link up, I have, like many others I would imagine, been giving the Magic Moments in my life some thought. After sharing a little about my dear husband's marriage proposal recently it made me think about some of our memorable moments as a couple. I thought I'd share with you with you the story of how we first met.....
Actually, that's a bit of a lie. I'll have to share the story of the second time we met because I don't remember the first. He does, but I may have been a little teeny weeny bit tiddly.
At the time I was living in a shared house with some friends, I was enjoying my freedom, only having to worry about myself and generally having a ball. Everyone in the house got on so well, it's the first and only time I've ever lived with friends and it was great. I look back on it as care free time that was full of laughter, we were young, not tied down by anything and had disposal incomes to fritter on nonsense. We ate sea bass on weekdays, that's right you heard me, weekdays!
We'd all lived together for three months when it was Twinkle's Birthday. A house night out was arranged, to be attended by myself, Twinkle, Blagger, Pammy and Twinkle's new boyfriend Murf. They'd not been together long so Murf was granted permission to bring along a friend as back up. The thought of being confronted by a gaggle of women (Blagger didn't count) didn't appeal to him, understandably! He chose to bring along my lovely boy. On the way there I told Twinkle in no uncertain terms that she wasn't allowed to lumber me with Murf's geeky mate whilst she went off with her beau.
We arrived and I immediately thought Murf's mate was pretty flippin' lovely. Tall and handsome, but quiet and sweet. He was very interested in music and we'd (unbeknown to us) been to a lot of the same gigs, we chatted easily, got on well. I was deploying several of my excellent seduction techniques (ha!) in an effort to make an impression, the only problem was; Twinkle wouldn't flippin' well leave us alone!! She'd taken my earlier threats to hide her epilator if she abandoned me very seriously. In the end I had to make surreptitious cut throat signals at her whenever he looked the other way. Eventually followed by two unmistakable fingers. She got the message.
At the end of the evening my boy offered to drive us back to the house (he hadn't been drinking) so we all trolled back to his car and he gave us a lift home. We went inside and I made cocktails for the others and tea for him. It was the first time Murf had, ahem, stayed over and Twinkle retired upstairs ahead of him. We mocked him mercilessly with jokes about "slipping into something more comfortable" and how he'd have to do his duty for king and country. Eventually Murf sloped off and everyone except my boy and I had either passed out or fallen asleep. We'd been having a lovely time, chatting, but eventually it was time for him to head off.
Now, our house at the time had three storeys and the front door could only be opened from the inside with the key. Twinkle had taken her keys off to bed, so the only way to let my boy out of the house was to go up to my bedroom on the top floor and get my keys to unlock the door for him.
Off I sauntered to get them, thinking how very lovely this young man was and what an excellent job I was doing of being impressive. I'd taken my heels off when I got in, like you do - so I only had tights on my feet. Slippery bloody tights. Oh I should have known! On my way back down the top level flight of stairs I slipped, fell on my arse with the loudest bang you've ever heard, the whole house shook. A LOT of unladylike swearing followed as I and went boom, boom, boom down the last three steps. My legs sort of travelled out in front if me and whacked into Twinkle's bedroom door, opening it slightly. I didn't give the door opening much thought at the time, but I was in massive trouble the next day for "putting Murf off" sorry guys!
I picked myself up, tried my best to dust myself down and ignore my reddening cheeks and summoned every last scrap of dignity I had to saunter into the hall on wobbly legs. My boy was standing waiting, trying, very sweetly, to disguise the fact he was wetting himself with laughter at my, ahem, grace and elegance.
We glossed over it. I let him out, kissed him on the cheek and said goodbye. He looked terrified! A girl, being so forward? Scandalous!!! Then he asked me if I'd like to see his band play the following week.
I'm not the sentiment type, but I locked the door, went upstairs and went to bed. I knew that night I'd met the man I was going to marry. Magic Moment? Hell yeah!
 |
Sunday, 24 March 2013
Saturday, 23 March 2013
12/52
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013.
 |
| 12/52 - Auntie Joan's new cardigans... |
Honestly, you try and get a nice picture of your two girls together in their new Easter cardigans, expertly knitted by Auntie Joan and this is what you get. A photobomber and a squishy cheeked baby in the background....
Friday, 22 March 2013
So.....what's been happening your end?
Yesterday was a lovely day. This Baby and I dropped That Baby off at school and then we went round to Belle's house for a cuppa with lots of my other favourite village Mum's. I love these kinds of catch ups, they make me feel so lucky to live where I do. Impressive E made her (frankly astounding) shortbread biscuits, which I shamelessly hoovered. Lucky was there with Baby Dinky. Belle's little girl Squeak and This Baby swapped toys and dribbled on things whilst we ate hot cross buns and chatted about all sorts of stuff. Belle and I decided to take the babies to a sing along session at a local library after Easter as we both felt like we missed singing nursery rhymes and the traditional old fashioned songs with our little girls. This Baby and Squeak will be in the same school year so it's lovely that they already know each other and will have formed a friendship. Should make starting in Nursery a little bit less scary. Not that much scares my little madam! She actually knows most of the other children that will be in her school year, another village benefit. I desperately wish things had been like that for me. I started one primary school, moved to another area, started another primary school didn't get on very well, moved to another, moved house again and found it really hard to fit in with anyone at my new school. I'd moved too much and friendship groups had already been formed and sealed. It wasn't my parents fault and there was nothing they could have done, but as a child I always felt like I was on the outside looking in. I was quite a sad child, I suppose that's one of the reasons I tried hard to amuse people, just to be allowed to be in the company of others for a while. But that's made me who I am today, so that's alright with me.
Mr Husband Sir and I went out for lunch together yesterday too. We haven't done this since This Baby was born. We've spent time together alone, but nothing so decadent as lunch. And it was goood! Although I did do the typical girl thing and want to swap starters because his blue cheese chicken and bacon salad looked yummier than my cheese thingys. He didn't mind though, good man.
Then This Baby and I went to the children's service at our Church. This was lovely, but a bit quiet yesterday. I suspect it was because it was being held a week early (because of Easter). I'm sorely tempted Ha!
Then we picked That Baby up from school and went to the swings with her friends. This was not so much fun, she bumped her head, she bumped her nose, it was cold and This Baby cried. But it was fresh air and this is good.
So all in all a rather lovely day! In other news yesterday my Bloglovin' feed went bandy so I had to get it reset. Apologies to anyone who was bombarded with six million of my old posts! I also featured in the Sponsor Spotlight on Kym's awe inspiring blog Deaf in the Kitchen. Check it out! And I've also set up the Just Pirouette and Carry On Facebook Page - see the link to the right. If you're so inclined I would love it dearly if you would check it out. I've reached 100 GFC followers on this lil'blog of mine, which I am insanely proud of. Again, thank you all so much. There's a sense of irony in many ways as now we all know that GFC is to be retired, but I don't care, nope not one jot! Thank you. Just thank you.
On another note, I find it endlessly hysterical that my traffic sources show that LOADS of people end up here after googling "Sexy Calendar Girls" and end up finding me yapping on about the Women's Institute. Sorry guys! I'm doing you a favour really YOU'LL GO BLIND!!!
I hope you all have fabulous weekends!
Love, love,
Mr Husband Sir and I went out for lunch together yesterday too. We haven't done this since This Baby was born. We've spent time together alone, but nothing so decadent as lunch. And it was goood! Although I did do the typical girl thing and want to swap starters because his blue cheese chicken and bacon salad looked yummier than my cheese thingys. He didn't mind though, good man.
Then This Baby and I went to the children's service at our Church. This was lovely, but a bit quiet yesterday. I suspect it was because it was being held a week early (because of Easter). I'm sorely tempted Ha!
Then we picked That Baby up from school and went to the swings with her friends. This was not so much fun, she bumped her head, she bumped her nose, it was cold and This Baby cried. But it was fresh air and this is good.
So all in all a rather lovely day! In other news yesterday my Bloglovin' feed went bandy so I had to get it reset. Apologies to anyone who was bombarded with six million of my old posts! I also featured in the Sponsor Spotlight on Kym's awe inspiring blog Deaf in the Kitchen. Check it out! And I've also set up the Just Pirouette and Carry On Facebook Page - see the link to the right. If you're so inclined I would love it dearly if you would check it out. I've reached 100 GFC followers on this lil'blog of mine, which I am insanely proud of. Again, thank you all so much. There's a sense of irony in many ways as now we all know that GFC is to be retired, but I don't care, nope not one jot! Thank you. Just thank you.
On another note, I find it endlessly hysterical that my traffic sources show that LOADS of people end up here after googling "Sexy Calendar Girls" and end up finding me yapping on about the Women's Institute. Sorry guys! I'm doing you a favour really YOU'LL GO BLIND!!!
I hope you all have fabulous weekends!
Love, love,
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Currently...#9
Have I mentioned how much I enjoy this link up? It's a bit of a gift really, I discover the themes for the following week every Thursday and wonder what will happen that will fit into those categories. It's lovely seeing how things turn out. So! Once again I'm happily joining in with Ot and Et and Harvesting Kale.
This week I have been:
Cleaning: Ugh, I loathe cleaning. My Parents seem to have serious issues with it, my Mum is constantly cleaning, planning her entire social calendar around when she can clean her house. My Dad is just as bad. Our worst fall outs living so close to one another are ALWAYS about cleaning. Me cleaning, not them cleaning. I am constantly being picked up on my lack of cleaning. I don't think my parents remember how impossible it is with a baby. I can't just leave her to wreak havoc whilst I merrily trip off to the bathroom with a bottle of bleach. I try my best, I do, but in truth I am never going to come up to the standard they expect of me. So in truth I have been cleaning, but not as much as they would like. It's a sensitive subject.
Planning: Ahhhhh! Now here's a good subject for me! I've been planning a whole host of things. Blog posts, holidays, birthday parties, picnics in the park, Easter celebrations. Oh I love to plan. There are so many lovely things on the horizon and so many things I'm looking forward to. The most imminent is lunch, TODAY just me and the husband. We've been planning this for weeks, WEEKS and I'm so pleased it's finally come around. We have a coupon (counting the pennies) we have a babysitter and we have appetites the size of cows.
Planting: I love this time of year, it's planting and it's planning time. So far at our allotment we've planted the broad beans and we've moved our fruit bushes. We desperately need to plant our our potatoes, they've been chitting for ages now and they're more than ready, but we haven't had the weather for it. My fingers and my toes are crossed that it gets better soon. At home we've been planting spring bulbs and they've just started to flower. Just beautiful. Come on Spring, I'm ready for you!
Skipping: This theme.....I can't think of a single thing that I've skipped. I am such a good girl (ha).....
Wearing: Warm jumpers in spring colours. I'd love to be able to start getting out my warmer weather clothes, but alas the British weather seems to have other ideas. So I've been wearing my warmest clothes, but trying to encourage the change in season by adopting some bright cheerful colours. Climate take note!
Next week: Feeling, Imagining, Considering, Listening To, Moving.
Join in?
This week I have been:
Cleaning: Ugh, I loathe cleaning. My Parents seem to have serious issues with it, my Mum is constantly cleaning, planning her entire social calendar around when she can clean her house. My Dad is just as bad. Our worst fall outs living so close to one another are ALWAYS about cleaning. Me cleaning, not them cleaning. I am constantly being picked up on my lack of cleaning. I don't think my parents remember how impossible it is with a baby. I can't just leave her to wreak havoc whilst I merrily trip off to the bathroom with a bottle of bleach. I try my best, I do, but in truth I am never going to come up to the standard they expect of me. So in truth I have been cleaning, but not as much as they would like. It's a sensitive subject.
Planning: Ahhhhh! Now here's a good subject for me! I've been planning a whole host of things. Blog posts, holidays, birthday parties, picnics in the park, Easter celebrations. Oh I love to plan. There are so many lovely things on the horizon and so many things I'm looking forward to. The most imminent is lunch, TODAY just me and the husband. We've been planning this for weeks, WEEKS and I'm so pleased it's finally come around. We have a coupon (counting the pennies) we have a babysitter and we have appetites the size of cows.
Planting: I love this time of year, it's planting and it's planning time. So far at our allotment we've planted the broad beans and we've moved our fruit bushes. We desperately need to plant our our potatoes, they've been chitting for ages now and they're more than ready, but we haven't had the weather for it. My fingers and my toes are crossed that it gets better soon. At home we've been planting spring bulbs and they've just started to flower. Just beautiful. Come on Spring, I'm ready for you!
Skipping: This theme.....I can't think of a single thing that I've skipped. I am such a good girl (ha).....
Wearing: Warm jumpers in spring colours. I'd love to be able to start getting out my warmer weather clothes, but alas the British weather seems to have other ideas. So I've been wearing my warmest clothes, but trying to encourage the change in season by adopting some bright cheerful colours. Climate take note!
Next week: Feeling, Imagining, Considering, Listening To, Moving.
Join in?
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
My Sleepy Nico Baby Carrier: A Review...
Hello to you!
You may remember a short while ago I was seriously hankering after a Sleepy Nico baby carrier. I'd mentioned it a few times in blog posts (mostly here, and here) the keen eyed amongst you may have later spotted said baby carrier being rather excellently modelled (here and here). Well, I've had it a little while now, This Baby and I have been getting used to it, making ourselves familiar and I thought I would write a little post about it.
When That Baby (my oldest) was born nearly five years ago now I had never heard of the concept of "Babywearing". As far as I was concerned, your baby went in a pram, a pushchair, or what I call a buggy. A swanky buggy perhaps, a brightly coloured buggy maybe, but one way or another you had a buggy. We bought ours from Mamas and Papas, we chose a travel system. Mr Husband Sir insisted that it wasn't too girly, so we ended up with a black three wheeler, with logos that are apparently very impressive to men and - *gasp* SUSPENSION!!! Mr Husband Sir rather rudely disolved into a fit of giggles when the lady in the shop explained to me that I had the option to lock the front wheel into "Jogging Mode". Ok, so I've never once used "Jogging Mode" in the entire time that we've had it, but the point is I COULD, if I wanted to. I just don't want to ok? But I COULD.
Then I started to notice more and more people carrying their babies in forward facing carriers. How very smart I thought, carrying your baby, no buggy, no soggy haired swearing trying to squish the flippin thing in the boot. I was sold! So off we trotted back to the baby shop and we bought our very own baby carrier.
We timed it perfectly because we bought it just before our first family holiday to the Lake District. We love a long walk up a mountain, always have. Mr Husband Sir proposed to me on this holiday, half way up a mountain, sat in the sunshine by a tarn. It was beautiful. It nearly didn't happen because apparently I was carping on about how his specially selected, wonderfully romantic spot would be a great place to dump a body if you were a serial killer. Apparently I then (loudly) I talked myself out of that idea because despite the excellent remote location, you'd need a wheelbarrow at the very least to lug your corpse uphill, then access to a boat to get to the middle of the tarn, then something to weigh down the body.... you get the picture. Thankfully he eventually got Mrs Mood Killer to shut up and well, the rest is history!
Anyway, here we are on said holiday, proudly lugging our little bundle of joy around on our tummies:
I thought we were wonderfully trendy with our cool new baby carrier. But there were some very definite downsides. You may notice that in the majority of these pictures Mr Husband is carrying That Baby. Well there was a very good reason for that! The bloody thing was murderous to wear for anything longer than half an hour, it was balanced all wrong, pulled your shoulders forward and gave me the worst back ache. I also found that you needed a sodding science degree to get it on properly. There was no chance, NO CHANCE of putting it on solo. It had straps that twisted and that wouldn't sit right, and they'd dig into you as soon as you were somewhere completely impractical and couldn't possibly take it off. You may also notice that in pretty much every single one of these pictures That Baby's head is lolling to one side. She just looked uncomfortable. She was never a titchy little baby and I always felt like we were squishing her in. Not good. Still, I didn't realise we had any other choices, so that was what we did.
Fast forward four years to the time just before "This Baby" was born. I met a friend of mine to talk about breastfeeding She'd had her second little girl a few months before and she was, and indeed is, a breastfeeding pro! She's on support groups and everything. I hadn't been able to feed That Baby myself and desperately wanted to be a bit more clued up before This Baby's arrival so I could give it another shot...
She arrived wearing her baby in something I had never seen before, she had on what looked to me like a baby rucksack, her little girl faced her Mummy, could breastfeed on the go and looked sooooo comfortable. Not only that but the fabric was beautiful. Really unusual and individual. She explained to me that a lot of research had gone into baby carriers and that having your baby in a forward facing position could potentially do quite a lot a damage. She told me that I could have been (unwittingly) putting stress on my baby's delicate spine, during the first six months of a babies life their spine is developing and at this time they are most at risk of hip dysplasia or dislocation. She asked me if I would like to be dangled from another person with all the pressure from my bodyweight concentrated on my ladybits groin? Because, that's how your baby feels when you're carrying her facing outwards Of course I said "No flippin' ta!".
It all made sense! My old carrier had never seemed comfortable for "That Baby" somehow she *felt* wrongly balanced. It just added up in my head. I had a good look at her carrier and was a little sceptical, it still looked a little confusing so I asked her how she got it on, was it a load of bells and whistles and complicated bits and bobs?
Then she turned into a transformer. In a speedy blur she'd made some clicking sounds and released her little one from her carrier, then she'd taken the carrier off and given it to me. Blimey I thought, that looked easy. But that was getting it off, surely that's the straightforward bit? I studied the carrier. It was beautiful. It felt sturdy and strong, but at the same time it felt soft and light (Sleepy Nico carriers weigh less than 500g). The fabric was gorgeous, a baby fashion statement in itself. There weren't a load of straps, crossed over pieces of fabric or complicated looking methods of tightening. "Put it back on again then!" I said, knowing that this was going to be the real test. Again, she mutated into a flippin' transformer....click, click, click and her little girl was back in her carrier looking happy and comfortable. She explained that the style of carrier made sure babies were seated, rather than dangled. They were supported underneath their bottoms and they have support all the way up to their knees. With their legs and bottoms in a sort of loose 'W' formation they were safely positioned and facing inwards meant their backs were not under strain and correct hip development was being encouraged.
I wanted one, but in all honesty other things happened, I put it to the back of my mind and I pretty much forgot all about it. This Baby was born and everything was a blur for a while. Initially she went into her pram and laid flat. Lovely. no problems there.
She grew out of the pram and went into the buggy. Only THIS Baby had decided that being strapped into a buggy where she couldn't see her Mama was equivalent to the seventh level of hell! She could manage twenty minutes, then she'd scream like a banshee, turn herself purple with outrage and try to wriggle herself free. Not fun. People in shops would tut at us.
So finally it was Sleepy Nico time, hurrah! Now, they're not cheap, mine was £75, but the design and structure certainly make them worth it. Plus, I figured that I would happily spend that amount on a buggy, and this was meant to take it's place so it was worth it. It took me what felt like ages to save up my pennies, so many times I felt like saying sod it and cracking out the credit card! But I spent that time wisely, the thing I found the hardest was choosing the fabric, there are so many beautiful designs to choose from, I must have asked everyone I came into contact with for their opinion! Eventually I settled on a purple carrier (I went for an organic cotton carrier) with a design of little purple houses. The straps are made of soft purple corduroy (which This Baby loves to suck on) and they're wide and padded. I must say the fabric is stunning, I'm so pleased with the choice I made. I agonised over it so much! If anything there are too many fabric choices on offer, and they're all beautiful. But if you really can't decide you even have the option to have a bespoke carrier made for you, with a fabric of your choosing.
I've had my carrier nearly a month now and I genuinely love it. It's incredibly easy to put on, there is one buckle on the belt section which you click behind you first like a belt, this is also thick, padded and very comfortable. You then hold your baby in front of you with its legs curling around you at your waist. Then the fabric of the main body of the carrier is lifted up behind baby's back and you pull up the shoulder straps. The last step is to click a buckle which lays at the bottom of your neck and at the top of your shoulders on an adjustable strap, this makes sure the front straps don't slip off. Voila! That's it! You can also wear your carrier on your back, although I have yet to try this. I'd miss her snoozing on my chest and giving her kisses as we walk along.
This Baby loves it, she snuggles in close to Mummy and I can cuddle her whilst we're out and about. She looks comfortable and to me, there is a world of difference between this and our old carrier. Her weight is distributed between my waist, back and shoulders, it's not all concentrated on my shoulders pulling them forwards and I can happily carry her for hours. And I have! I can put my carrier on by myself, although the first few times I did stand in front of a mirror to make sure everything looked ok. I can also get her out quickly and easily with just a few clicks, sometimes without even waking her.
Sleepy Nico carriers also have a sleep hood which can be pulled up if your little one falls asleep. This stops their head from lolling backwards, it's also very useful in the rain if you've forgotten your brollie! They are 100% cotton and you can put them in the washing machine, which is always a bonus. The straps are made of soft corduroy (which This Baby loves to suck on) and they're wide and padded.
The one and only downside I have found with my carrier is that my daughter now refuses to go in her buggy for even twenty minutes. She knows she has other, far cuddlier options now, the cheeky sausage! Not that I mind.....:)
So my advice? Get one, a thousand times get one!
If you would like to find out more about Sleepy Nico as a company check back soon to read the chat I had with Sleepy Nico's lovely owner Angeline Braidwood. If you would like to find out some more about Sleepy Nico, or check out the different designs they have on offer click here.
P.S I have not been paid or sponsored to write this post, I just genuinely think this is a fantastic product and wanted to share it.
You may remember a short while ago I was seriously hankering after a Sleepy Nico baby carrier. I'd mentioned it a few times in blog posts (mostly here, and here) the keen eyed amongst you may have later spotted said baby carrier being rather excellently modelled (here and here). Well, I've had it a little while now, This Baby and I have been getting used to it, making ourselves familiar and I thought I would write a little post about it.
When That Baby (my oldest) was born nearly five years ago now I had never heard of the concept of "Babywearing". As far as I was concerned, your baby went in a pram, a pushchair, or what I call a buggy. A swanky buggy perhaps, a brightly coloured buggy maybe, but one way or another you had a buggy. We bought ours from Mamas and Papas, we chose a travel system. Mr Husband Sir insisted that it wasn't too girly, so we ended up with a black three wheeler, with logos that are apparently very impressive to men and - *gasp* SUSPENSION!!! Mr Husband Sir rather rudely disolved into a fit of giggles when the lady in the shop explained to me that I had the option to lock the front wheel into "Jogging Mode". Ok, so I've never once used "Jogging Mode" in the entire time that we've had it, but the point is I COULD, if I wanted to. I just don't want to ok? But I COULD.
Then I started to notice more and more people carrying their babies in forward facing carriers. How very smart I thought, carrying your baby, no buggy, no soggy haired swearing trying to squish the flippin thing in the boot. I was sold! So off we trotted back to the baby shop and we bought our very own baby carrier.
We timed it perfectly because we bought it just before our first family holiday to the Lake District. We love a long walk up a mountain, always have. Mr Husband Sir proposed to me on this holiday, half way up a mountain, sat in the sunshine by a tarn. It was beautiful. It nearly didn't happen because apparently I was carping on about how his specially selected, wonderfully romantic spot would be a great place to dump a body if you were a serial killer. Apparently I then (loudly) I talked myself out of that idea because despite the excellent remote location, you'd need a wheelbarrow at the very least to lug your corpse uphill, then access to a boat to get to the middle of the tarn, then something to weigh down the body.... you get the picture. Thankfully he eventually got Mrs Mood Killer to shut up and well, the rest is history!
Anyway, here we are on said holiday, proudly lugging our little bundle of joy around on our tummies:
 |
| Mr Husband thought he was clever with his sneaky two fingers up. Cheeky. |
 |
| We ever bought her a MASSIVE rain suit... |
 |
| She dribbled on it a lot..... |
 |
| And regularly stole my glasses to nibble on them... |
I thought we were wonderfully trendy with our cool new baby carrier. But there were some very definite downsides. You may notice that in the majority of these pictures Mr Husband is carrying That Baby. Well there was a very good reason for that! The bloody thing was murderous to wear for anything longer than half an hour, it was balanced all wrong, pulled your shoulders forward and gave me the worst back ache. I also found that you needed a sodding science degree to get it on properly. There was no chance, NO CHANCE of putting it on solo. It had straps that twisted and that wouldn't sit right, and they'd dig into you as soon as you were somewhere completely impractical and couldn't possibly take it off. You may also notice that in pretty much every single one of these pictures That Baby's head is lolling to one side. She just looked uncomfortable. She was never a titchy little baby and I always felt like we were squishing her in. Not good. Still, I didn't realise we had any other choices, so that was what we did.
Fast forward four years to the time just before "This Baby" was born. I met a friend of mine to talk about breastfeeding She'd had her second little girl a few months before and she was, and indeed is, a breastfeeding pro! She's on support groups and everything. I hadn't been able to feed That Baby myself and desperately wanted to be a bit more clued up before This Baby's arrival so I could give it another shot...
She arrived wearing her baby in something I had never seen before, she had on what looked to me like a baby rucksack, her little girl faced her Mummy, could breastfeed on the go and looked sooooo comfortable. Not only that but the fabric was beautiful. Really unusual and individual. She explained to me that a lot of research had gone into baby carriers and that having your baby in a forward facing position could potentially do quite a lot a damage. She told me that I could have been (unwittingly) putting stress on my baby's delicate spine, during the first six months of a babies life their spine is developing and at this time they are most at risk of hip dysplasia or dislocation. She asked me if I would like to be dangled from another person with all the pressure from my bodyweight concentrated on my
It all made sense! My old carrier had never seemed comfortable for "That Baby" somehow she *felt* wrongly balanced. It just added up in my head. I had a good look at her carrier and was a little sceptical, it still looked a little confusing so I asked her how she got it on, was it a load of bells and whistles and complicated bits and bobs?
Then she turned into a transformer. In a speedy blur she'd made some clicking sounds and released her little one from her carrier, then she'd taken the carrier off and given it to me. Blimey I thought, that looked easy. But that was getting it off, surely that's the straightforward bit? I studied the carrier. It was beautiful. It felt sturdy and strong, but at the same time it felt soft and light (Sleepy Nico carriers weigh less than 500g). The fabric was gorgeous, a baby fashion statement in itself. There weren't a load of straps, crossed over pieces of fabric or complicated looking methods of tightening. "Put it back on again then!" I said, knowing that this was going to be the real test. Again, she mutated into a flippin' transformer....click, click, click and her little girl was back in her carrier looking happy and comfortable. She explained that the style of carrier made sure babies were seated, rather than dangled. They were supported underneath their bottoms and they have support all the way up to their knees. With their legs and bottoms in a sort of loose 'W' formation they were safely positioned and facing inwards meant their backs were not under strain and correct hip development was being encouraged.
I wanted one, but in all honesty other things happened, I put it to the back of my mind and I pretty much forgot all about it. This Baby was born and everything was a blur for a while. Initially she went into her pram and laid flat. Lovely. no problems there.
She grew out of the pram and went into the buggy. Only THIS Baby had decided that being strapped into a buggy where she couldn't see her Mama was equivalent to the seventh level of hell! She could manage twenty minutes, then she'd scream like a banshee, turn herself purple with outrage and try to wriggle herself free. Not fun. People in shops would tut at us.
So finally it was Sleepy Nico time, hurrah! Now, they're not cheap, mine was £75, but the design and structure certainly make them worth it. Plus, I figured that I would happily spend that amount on a buggy, and this was meant to take it's place so it was worth it. It took me what felt like ages to save up my pennies, so many times I felt like saying sod it and cracking out the credit card! But I spent that time wisely, the thing I found the hardest was choosing the fabric, there are so many beautiful designs to choose from, I must have asked everyone I came into contact with for their opinion! Eventually I settled on a purple carrier (I went for an organic cotton carrier) with a design of little purple houses. The straps are made of soft purple corduroy (which This Baby loves to suck on) and they're wide and padded. I must say the fabric is stunning, I'm so pleased with the choice I made. I agonised over it so much! If anything there are too many fabric choices on offer, and they're all beautiful. But if you really can't decide you even have the option to have a bespoke carrier made for you, with a fabric of your choosing.
I've had my carrier nearly a month now and I genuinely love it. It's incredibly easy to put on, there is one buckle on the belt section which you click behind you first like a belt, this is also thick, padded and very comfortable. You then hold your baby in front of you with its legs curling around you at your waist. Then the fabric of the main body of the carrier is lifted up behind baby's back and you pull up the shoulder straps. The last step is to click a buckle which lays at the bottom of your neck and at the top of your shoulders on an adjustable strap, this makes sure the front straps don't slip off. Voila! That's it! You can also wear your carrier on your back, although I have yet to try this. I'd miss her snoozing on my chest and giving her kisses as we walk along.
This Baby loves it, she snuggles in close to Mummy and I can cuddle her whilst we're out and about. She looks comfortable and to me, there is a world of difference between this and our old carrier. Her weight is distributed between my waist, back and shoulders, it's not all concentrated on my shoulders pulling them forwards and I can happily carry her for hours. And I have! I can put my carrier on by myself, although the first few times I did stand in front of a mirror to make sure everything looked ok. I can also get her out quickly and easily with just a few clicks, sometimes without even waking her.
Sleepy Nico carriers also have a sleep hood which can be pulled up if your little one falls asleep. This stops their head from lolling backwards, it's also very useful in the rain if you've forgotten your brollie! They are 100% cotton and you can put them in the washing machine, which is always a bonus. The straps are made of soft corduroy (which This Baby loves to suck on) and they're wide and padded.
The one and only downside I have found with my carrier is that my daughter now refuses to go in her buggy for even twenty minutes. She knows she has other, far cuddlier options now, the cheeky sausage! Not that I mind.....:)
So my advice? Get one, a thousand times get one!
If you would like to find out more about Sleepy Nico as a company check back soon to read the chat I had with Sleepy Nico's lovely owner Angeline Braidwood. If you would like to find out some more about Sleepy Nico, or check out the different designs they have on offer click here.
 |
| Tell me that's not a happy baby? |
 |
| Love! |
P.S I have not been paid or sponsored to write this post, I just genuinely think this is a fantastic product and wanted to share it.
Monday, 18 March 2013
Magic Moments...#1
I would rather like to join the Magic Moments link up once again over at Oliver's Madhouse. I enjoyed reading what people shared last week so much, I found it absolutely fascinating. Plus I think Jaime is rather fabulous! She actually (and I'm not entirely sure how) had me singing excerpts from The Sound of Music in her honour at work this week. Now that's gotta be good, right?
So! To business....
Two rather lovely things have happened this week and although they're only small I decided that in my head a least they qualified as Magic Moments.
The first; after weeks and months of trying to help That Baby with her reading she has FINALLY be deemed competent enough to be given a reading book to bring home by her Teacher. She knows that many of her little friends have been merrily taking reading books home for some time, and whilst the speed at which she picks things up makes no difference to us, she'd started to notice and feel a little left out. We had practiced and practiced her word lists to the point where she'd see which colour it was and reel off the words she'd memorised. Anyway, on Friday I was at work all day, but once again returned home to find my first born, washed and sweet smelling in her pyjamas. I sensed her excitement as soon as I made it through the front door "Muuuuummmmmmmmyyyyyy!" was shouted loudly somewhere from upstairs followed by the bashing and banging of a four year old making their way to find you urgently. "Guess what Mummy? I've got A READING BOOK! A proper book to read Mumma. For ME to read!" She was so happy. I'm proud of everything she does and the timings don't make a bit of difference to us. But I am happy that she's so happy.
The second thing that I wanted to record, isn't exactly magical, but it did make me pretty pleased with myself.....Sitting on the sofa together on Sunday morning Mr Husband Sir declared that I had been a good wife lately. He then listed the good things I had done. The previous weekend I had put up the stairgates (to cage in This Baby) all on my own, with actual man spanners and everything. I had also come up with an excellent system to access toffee bonbons from their very tall jar with minimal effort (don't ask) little things like this please him. I had cleared out the overflowing understairs cupboard with the help of my Dad and it looked "nearly organised." And, perhaps most importantly, I had made him laugh during a conversation with That Baby to the point where he nearly spat his tea out. It is universally accepted that I find myself funnier that Mr Husband finds me. He often asks if "I'm find myself amusing again?" as I guffaw uncontrollably at something that is only that funny to me. I shall recount the conversation that made him laugh a lot here:
Me: Darling please don't leave little pieces of Lego on the floor where the baby can get them. If she put them in her mouth they could make her very poorly.....
Her: I'm a naughty girl, I'm always naughty, I'm in trouble again *big dramatic sigh*. I'm going to put myself on the naughty step!
Me: You're not in trouble sweetheart, I've just asked you not to leave little bits of lego all over the floor. And we don't HAVE a naughty step. You're just a girl sat on a step.
Cue Husband spitting out tea. Hysterical aren't I?
Anyway I hope you've all had marvellous weekends! I shall look forward to reading some more of other people's Magic Moments. I bloomin' love this link up!
So! To business....
Two rather lovely things have happened this week and although they're only small I decided that in my head a least they qualified as Magic Moments.
The first; after weeks and months of trying to help That Baby with her reading she has FINALLY be deemed competent enough to be given a reading book to bring home by her Teacher. She knows that many of her little friends have been merrily taking reading books home for some time, and whilst the speed at which she picks things up makes no difference to us, she'd started to notice and feel a little left out. We had practiced and practiced her word lists to the point where she'd see which colour it was and reel off the words she'd memorised. Anyway, on Friday I was at work all day, but once again returned home to find my first born, washed and sweet smelling in her pyjamas. I sensed her excitement as soon as I made it through the front door "Muuuuummmmmmmmyyyyyy!" was shouted loudly somewhere from upstairs followed by the bashing and banging of a four year old making their way to find you urgently. "Guess what Mummy? I've got A READING BOOK! A proper book to read Mumma. For ME to read!" She was so happy. I'm proud of everything she does and the timings don't make a bit of difference to us. But I am happy that she's so happy.
The second thing that I wanted to record, isn't exactly magical, but it did make me pretty pleased with myself.....Sitting on the sofa together on Sunday morning Mr Husband Sir declared that I had been a good wife lately. He then listed the good things I had done. The previous weekend I had put up the stairgates (to cage in This Baby) all on my own, with actual man spanners and everything. I had also come up with an excellent system to access toffee bonbons from their very tall jar with minimal effort (don't ask) little things like this please him. I had cleared out the overflowing understairs cupboard with the help of my Dad and it looked "nearly organised." And, perhaps most importantly, I had made him laugh during a conversation with That Baby to the point where he nearly spat his tea out. It is universally accepted that I find myself funnier that Mr Husband finds me. He often asks if "I'm find myself amusing again?" as I guffaw uncontrollably at something that is only that funny to me. I shall recount the conversation that made him laugh a lot here:
Me: Darling please don't leave little pieces of Lego on the floor where the baby can get them. If she put them in her mouth they could make her very poorly.....
Her: I'm a naughty girl, I'm always naughty, I'm in trouble again *big dramatic sigh*. I'm going to put myself on the naughty step!
Me: You're not in trouble sweetheart, I've just asked you not to leave little bits of lego all over the floor. And we don't HAVE a naughty step. You're just a girl sat on a step.
Cue Husband spitting out tea. Hysterical aren't I?
Anyway I hope you've all had marvellous weekends! I shall look forward to reading some more of other people's Magic Moments. I bloomin' love this link up!
Sunday, 17 March 2013
Saturday, 16 March 2013
11/52
A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013.
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| 11/52 That Nose |
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| 11/52 Those teeth... |
It was Red Nose Day this week, the 25th anniversary I believe. Cue much fun and merriment in this house! Silly hair at school day, red noses at dawn. The childlike enthusiasm was lovely, something done so many times before for me, is entirely new for her.
This Baby has been suffering with her teeth this week. She tries her best to stay cheerful, but by the end of the day she is pink cheeked and full of "Wah". Poor little mite. I feel for her. But they do look cute, those little teeth of hers.
My favourite posts from last week have to be from Rebekka Seale you can just SEE the motherly love in this picture. It's beautiful.
And from Erica at Expatria Baby she said it wasn't her best, but I still thought it was beautiful!
Thursday, 14 March 2013
Importing your blogs from Google Reader to Bloglovin'
So I see that blog-ville is up in arms about Google's decision to retire Google Reader from 1st July 2013. I can't see the point behind it really, but I'm not all that technical, so that's not really a surprise. Funnily enough I don't think my Google Reader has ever been so chocca block full of posts, quite a few of which seem to be asking people to be sure to follow them using Bloglovin' as an alternative.
Bloglovin and I have been together for a while now. You could say we've been dating. Flirting with one another cheekily from across rooms. Batting our eyelashes at one another in an alluring fashion. Personally I get on really well with it, so I'm not too troubled about losing Google Reader as an alternative.
You can see my link to Bloglovin just underneath my picture there on the right hand side of this page...... see it? There? Just underneath Connect.
It goes without saying that I would love for you all to stay with me. My blog friends - and I really do consider you friends - mean a huge amount to me and I'd be so sad to end this little journey we're taking together before the train has even pulled out of the station. What a strange euphemism....anyway....
The point of this post, and there IS a point you'll be pleased to hear is just to say that it's really easy to transfer all the blogs you've had in your Google Reader over to Bloglovin in one swift move.
All you have to do is create yourself a Bloglovin' account (if you don't have one already), make sure you're logged in (open this in another tab) and then click HERE That's right, just there. Where it said here. No, not that here, the different coloured here above. Ok HERE Just click on the blue Google Reader button, follow the instructions and Robert's your Father's brother.
Easy! All done in one swift move, completely painlessly. So come on my lovelies, do it. You know you want to! I'll see you on the other side.....
Bloglovin and I have been together for a while now. You could say we've been dating. Flirting with one another cheekily from across rooms. Batting our eyelashes at one another in an alluring fashion. Personally I get on really well with it, so I'm not too troubled about losing Google Reader as an alternative.
You can see my link to Bloglovin just underneath my picture there on the right hand side of this page...... see it? There? Just underneath Connect.
It goes without saying that I would love for you all to stay with me. My blog friends - and I really do consider you friends - mean a huge amount to me and I'd be so sad to end this little journey we're taking together before the train has even pulled out of the station. What a strange euphemism....anyway....
The point of this post, and there IS a point you'll be pleased to hear is just to say that it's really easy to transfer all the blogs you've had in your Google Reader over to Bloglovin in one swift move.
All you have to do is create yourself a Bloglovin' account (if you don't have one already), make sure you're logged in (open this in another tab) and then click HERE That's right, just there. Where it said here. No, not that here, the different coloured here above. Ok HERE Just click on the blue Google Reader button, follow the instructions and Robert's your Father's brother.
Easy! All done in one swift move, completely painlessly. So come on my lovelies, do it. You know you want to! I'll see you on the other side.....
Currently...#8
Once again I am very happy to be joining in with Ot and Et and Harvesting Kale and their Currently series. This week I have been:
Watching: we've been busily catching up with lots of things to watch using the iplayer and 4oD. Anyone who knows me will tell you I'm a sucker for a crime drama and the been has been excelling in this particular field lately. We've been watching "Mayday" starring Aiden Gillan who I happen to think is gorgeous and a slightly strange murder drama set on the Shetland Isles. We've also been watching David Tennant try his hand in a gritty detective role. We've also been re watching some classic Alan Partridge. Stop getting Bond wrong!
Craving: Warm days, sunshine, spring flowers, short sleeved dresses, light cottons, warm breeze. Washing line laundry. With each passing season I reach a point where I'm starting to long for the next change. I've enjoyed our winter, but I really am ready for some Spring now.
Looking: in Charity Shops for dresses! After This Baby was born I'd sort of lost my enthusiasm for buying things for myself. I guess that's what happens when you have a baby isn't it? I can get the same rush of excitement buying something for them that I used to get buying something frivolous for me, so I sort of lost the urge. Whilst I was pregnant there wasn't much point spending money on too many clothes that I wouldn't be able to wear in a few months, so I got myself out of the habit I used to have of looking in the charity shops for me, me, me every week. This last couple of weeks I've started looking at the odd couple of bits for myself again. I feel like maybe it's nearly time for me to have a little treat again....
Loving: Spending time with Mr Husband Sir. He had a day off on Monday, we didn't do anything particular, I let him have a lay in, he had a bath, we mooched about together, he played with This Baby so I could catch up on the washing. It was lovely though. I'd like to do that more. Being so happy in his company reminds me how lucky I am to have met him.
Planning: A little getaway with some friends at the beginning of next month. Nothing major or even terribly adventurous but it will be lovely to have a little break from the old routine. Plus going away with others isn't something we get the chance to do that often and I think it's going to be brilliant. I bloomin' love those guys. I can imagine us laughing til our sides hurt and drinking til our heads hurt. Bring it on!
Next week:
Cleaning, Planning, Planting, Skipping, Wearing.
Join in?
Watching: we've been busily catching up with lots of things to watch using the iplayer and 4oD. Anyone who knows me will tell you I'm a sucker for a crime drama and the been has been excelling in this particular field lately. We've been watching "Mayday" starring Aiden Gillan who I happen to think is gorgeous and a slightly strange murder drama set on the Shetland Isles. We've also been watching David Tennant try his hand in a gritty detective role. We've also been re watching some classic Alan Partridge. Stop getting Bond wrong!
Craving: Warm days, sunshine, spring flowers, short sleeved dresses, light cottons, warm breeze. Washing line laundry. With each passing season I reach a point where I'm starting to long for the next change. I've enjoyed our winter, but I really am ready for some Spring now.
Looking: in Charity Shops for dresses! After This Baby was born I'd sort of lost my enthusiasm for buying things for myself. I guess that's what happens when you have a baby isn't it? I can get the same rush of excitement buying something for them that I used to get buying something frivolous for me, so I sort of lost the urge. Whilst I was pregnant there wasn't much point spending money on too many clothes that I wouldn't be able to wear in a few months, so I got myself out of the habit I used to have of looking in the charity shops for me, me, me every week. This last couple of weeks I've started looking at the odd couple of bits for myself again. I feel like maybe it's nearly time for me to have a little treat again....
Loving: Spending time with Mr Husband Sir. He had a day off on Monday, we didn't do anything particular, I let him have a lay in, he had a bath, we mooched about together, he played with This Baby so I could catch up on the washing. It was lovely though. I'd like to do that more. Being so happy in his company reminds me how lucky I am to have met him.
Planning: A little getaway with some friends at the beginning of next month. Nothing major or even terribly adventurous but it will be lovely to have a little break from the old routine. Plus going away with others isn't something we get the chance to do that often and I think it's going to be brilliant. I bloomin' love those guys. I can imagine us laughing til our sides hurt and drinking til our heads hurt. Bring it on!
Next week:
Cleaning, Planning, Planting, Skipping, Wearing.
Join in?
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Toast, lies and dustbin lids...
Yesterday morning started out in the usual way; This Baby woke up somewhere around 7 o'clock, I stumbled out of bed, groggily went into the kitchen and prepared her morning milk. I fed it to her and took myself back to bed until 8 o'clock when my alarm officially goes off, not just the "Waaaah Alarm". Sometimes I can go back to sleep for these few minutes, if I'm particularly pooped, sometimes I catch up on few emails, maybe squeak in a little bit of blog reading. Before I'd even got out of bed yesterday I'd used up 10% of my (phone) battery. Not a good omen...
That Baby is usually awake when I go in to get her, we get her dressed and I spray her down with nitty gritty headlice repellent - I bloomin love this stuff, I live in mortal fear of crawly hair monsters, so far with this we've been safe - and we go and get her little sister. This Baby gets a nice fresh nappy and a nice clean babygro to trash as quickly as humanly possible.
Then we make our merry way downstairs. I make them both toast. A whole slice for That Baby as I figure that before school she should have something reasonable in her tummy. It took me many years to get her to eat a proper breakfast, we'd tried everything from cocoa pops to porridge to pain au chocolat in an effort to persuade her to eat. She was having none of it! I'm quite happy for her to have a slice of brown toast now. I told her that her teachers will find out if she hasn't eaten her breakfast an send her back home - something she considers a horrible prospect - she'd miss the fun!
This Baby and I usually share a slice of toast. I make sandwiches for That Baby to take with her to school (I am useless at making them the night before). Milkshake gets bunged on the television and I make my way upstairs to get dressed. We have an agreement that television is ok in the morning as long as it's understood that the beginning of Roary the Racing Car signals the time to stop watching and go and put your school shoes on. This normally works quite well.. We then get our coats and shoes on, This Baby goes into her buggy or her sling and we walk to school together. Lovely.
Only yesterday. Hmmmmm.... I went upstairs to get dressed. When I came back down That Baby declared that she had "Eaten all her breakfast Mumma" and showed me her empty place. "Excellent, good girl" said I and I thought no more of it before we all set off. Until later. When This Baby and I returned home and I was preparing her porridge I happened to put something in the bin. Where I spotted half a slice of toast. Distinctive toast. Toast cut into pretty little diamond shapes. Toast that could only possibly have belonged to one person.
The little scamp had sweetly looked me in the eye and told me she'd scoffed the lot, but actually chucked it in the bin. It's not too much of an issue, but I really hope she isn't doing the same thing with her lunch. She has a tendency to come home and adopt the same butter wouldn't melt expression and tell me she's eaten every scrap. Usually when she eats lunch she leaves some form of revolting carnage in the bottom of her pots, breadcrumbs, bits of chicken or kiwi fluff, but not lately. Lately it's been clean as a whistle pots. She even started showing me how well she'd done with her lunch in the Post Office last week by whipping out her empty pots, only to be given some bubbles by Roger the Postmaster as a reward for being such a good girl. She knows how to work things for maximum advantage even at four years old, quite frankly I admire her for it!
Anyway, I haven't raised the subject with her yet and if I'm honest I don't know how to go about it. How do I impress upon her the importance of eating a good meal and having a fun enough tummy to last the day, without making her ashamed of lying to me? I know if she gets upset she wont really listen to the point that I need to make, that I need her to understand. I've asked them to keep an eye on her at school to try and make sure she's eating properly, but I understand that they're busy and then can't focus on just one child.
Oh! This Mummying business can be a tricky one. Any advice on what to do would be much appreciated.... :
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| Actually that's a pancake, but that's what I'm after... |
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
All around my house...
I am a nosey moo. I like nothing better than a butchers around someone's house, so I thought I'd share some of the nooks and crannies around my house with you. Just the little things that make me smile, and make our house "us". I wanted to take some genuine, spur of the minute snaps, so forgive the quality, I am far from a photographer!
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| A fairly standard washing line, featuring Pinky Pancake and the Snuggle Bunny |
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| This is what happens when you marry a football fan, your lounge starts to feature miniature Martin Keown and Lionel Messi figurines |
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| The Baby Trail... |
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| I have been re-stringing all the necklaces This Baby has broken, you'd think I'd learn not to wear jewellery round Destructor Baby,,, |
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| The kitchen notepad.,,,,Things he must not shout during the football...he's doing quite well.... |
That's all really. What funny little spots do you have around your home? I'd love a nosey!