Help, help, help, help, help!

It’s just dawned on me that littlest’s birthday is in six weeks and I’ve no clue what we should get him. What do you get a two year old?! He has books and DVDs galore, he has a ride-on toy and an abundance of musical, push-along and shape sorting toys. I was considering getting him a Leapfrog LeapPad or VTech Innotab but they are both marketed at the 4+ age range and I think could be a waste of money at this point. A friend of mine recommended the VTech children’s camera which is a really lovely idea and would-be husband suggested a workbench since littlest loves to ‘fix’ things but I’m always open to suggestion so come on, all you wonderful mums and dads, hit me with your best ideas! What gifts did you (or do you plan to) get for your munchkins? We have a lot of family members that are going to be asking for advice and I’ve just taken the best two ideas for myself…

This heatwave finally seems to have got the best of littlest. He went to bed at 7.30pm last night and cried for half an hour before would-be husband fetched him up again. The three of us cuddled up on our bed watching Postman Pat for an hour (it’s the coolest room in the house) before littlest started rubbing his eyes. Despite crying when I settled him in his own bed again, he was asleep working ten minutes. I absolutely loathe leaving littlest to cry, it breaks my heart, but sometimes it’s the only way. I can tell from his cry that he’s not distressed or in pain. It’s a cry for attention and if we keep going in to get him up he’d never give in to sleep. Thankfully, normal service was resumed this evening.

I had rather hoped that littlest’s late night would mean we had a lie-in this morning but no such luck. At 6.30am he was ready to go, but with that little face beaming at me when I walked in to the room who needs sleep? Today was haircut day and I asked for it to be cut (scissor over comb, no buzz cuts for my baby thank you) as short as possible since it grows so fast. My god he looks grown up now, littlest’s hair takes on a curl as it grows longer and it makes him look all cute and baby faced. Now he looks like the rambunctious toddler that he is. Speaking of growing, his bloody feet are at it again! I took him into the shoe shop to look at some summer shoes (he hates his sandals, they pinch his skin) and thought I’d taken the opportunity to have his feet measured at the same time. Yep, shot up a whole size in what feels like just a few weeks. The saying ‘baby needs new shoes’ has never applied to my job more.

I am happy.

This morning, as soon as the kids were fed we set off for the beach to have a paddle in the sea and an ice cream. Let me tell you, there are few better ways to start the day and even at 9am it was so warm that it felt as though we were somewhere abroad. Littlest made a moving wasp-catcher of himself by ensuring that his mango ice lolly covered every visible patch of skin and once that was finished, insisted on helping me to finish my summer berry frozen yogurt cone too.

By the time we returned home, it was lunch and nap time. So would-be husband took the stepson out whilst littlest and I settled down for some peace and quiet (sleep for him, feet up an F1 for me). Because would-be husband had a bit of work to do after dropping the stepson home, I decided to take littlest out to dinner and we went to a newly refurbished pub about 12 miles from home. Littlest was the perfect date: he was chatty, funny and charming and he didn’t complain when I ate the lion’s share of dessert. Whilst I was at the bar ordering, I was partly obscured by a wooden post and littlest was seated about eight feet away. Every so often he’d call to make sure I was there and once I’d popped out from behind the post, he’d carry on with his colouring. Then he called me, so I peered round to see littlest grinning and he called out “hello baby!” much to my (and everyone else’s) amusement. It’s what I say to him when I go into his room to fetch him up in the mornings or after naptime but he’s never purposely said the phrase to me before. I love it.

Littlest tucked into ham, egg and chips whilst I had a steak sandwich (littlest took a liking to my tomato chutney though and polished that off on my behalf) and we then shared a sticky toffee pudding. Well. I thought I was the sugar fiend in our family. Whilst I did eat two-thirds of the sponge pudding myself, littlest finished off the rest along with all of the ice cream and all of the toffee sauce. He even went at it with two spoons for maximum input. With all of that washed down with fresh orange juice, I’m already laughing at the mid-morning crappy nappy my mum is going to be dealt tomorrow.

All told, it’s been a fantastic weekend (putting aside a silly spat would-be husband and I had this morning, we always seem to be tense with each other when the stepson is here), and I’m gutted that it is over so soon. Littlest is a such a brilliantly fun age and, as sad as it may sound, I love nothing more than hanging out with my little buddy. We make each other laugh, sing and dance together and have cuddles on the sofa when it all gets too much. What’s not to love about that.

Littlest and I have had a most magnificent Saturday. We woke up to warm, blazing sunshine again and so called up my mum to come over and then we all went to the beach. We got there early so as to avoid a build up of traffic but it was still pretty busy and this is the part where I have an embarrassing confession to make. We were crawling along the seafront at about 3mph when littlest shouted for my attention. Very stupidly I turned around and in the moment that I did, the traffic stopped. You guessed it…BANG! The noise was worse than the impact, I literally just knocked bumpers with the car in front and as they drove forward I could see that there was no damage, but they pulled over none the less. I could NOT admit to taking my eyes off the road so I lied. As soon as I got out of the car I apologised profusely and said my flip flop had got caught under the accelerator pedal. The couple in question were great and just relieved that there was no damage because they were on their way to sell their car! I genuinely felt appalling and didn’t stop apologising so much that in the end the lady hugged me! Ok universe, lesson learned.

Once we’d parked up and my mum had stopped shaking (she’s such a nervous nelly, bless her) we set off for the beach where littlest couldn’t wait to dip his tiny toes into the sea. None of us could stand it for too long though, despite being a hot day the water was freeeeeezing. So we took a still along the pier where I tried (and failed) to win littlest a prize (his word!) from the grab machine. We wasted a good £12 there before going back down to have our lunch on the deck of a beachfront cafe. Littlest started to get ‘the stares’ so we took him home for a nap and he was out like a light almost instantly. I let him sleep for four hours before I had to wake him up otherwise it would have left too short a gap before bedtime.

After a quick tea, littlest wanted to go out in the garden. I stripped him off, gave him a bucket and let him go nuts with the water in the paddling pool whilst I lounged around on cushions like lady muck and played with littlest’s tube of bubbles. I read a comment on a blog yesterday that the writer had made about the simple pleasure to be had in blowing bubbles and they were spot on. I was having the best time laying there, launching bubbles of all sizes into the air and watching to see how high they flew, where the landed and wondered how high up they’d be able to go before popping.

It’s one of those days that just went too fast. We’ve had such a lovely time and I hope for more of the same tomorrow.

1. I absolutely adore this spell of warm weather that we are having.  27 degress is quite warm enough though, thank you.  Anymore than that and I start to get sweaty and irritable, an unpleasant combination by any standard.
2. As soon as I tell myself that it’s time to get my act together and start eating healthy I just want to root around hoover up everything in sight.  With my mouth, not my hands, just my mouth.  Like a pig.
3. After a whole 2 week hiatus, the stepson is staying overnight with us again this weekend.  I do not truly believe that this is in his best interests right now and I am not looking forward to it, but what do I know.  I’m just the stepmother.
4. In a mere 46 days, littlest will be two years old.  Just….wow.
5. I have been on my own in the office all day today and absolutely loved it.  The two are completely unconnected but I am so much more productive when I am here on my own.

• Challenge yourself every day. Try climbing the stairs carrying two soccer balls while wearing your father’s shoes. Remember, failure IS an option.
• De-clutter! Start by throwing all your dishes in the garbage. After that I suggest toothbrushes and important paper work.
• Pee on the floor and stomp in it like a puddle. You’ll be shocked how much better you feel.
• Whether the glass is half empty or half full is irrelevant if you dump it out on the sofa. You’re welcome.
• If you’re feeling aggressive, or just bored, scream in a cat’s face.
• Don’t ever be afraid to hand someone an ice cube while they’re on the toilet. That stuff is cold. You don’t have to be in pain!
• Socks are poison. Trust me, don’t wear them! Happiness will soon follow!
• Pound on a computer keyboard like Jerry Lee Lewis playing the piano. Feel better? I thought so. Great Balls of Fire!
• If you fall down, stay down. Someone will pick you up eventually.
• Quick thrills fuel the heart. Have you learned to delete things off the DVR yet? DO IT. It’s AwWwWwEsOmE.
• Seize the day and the night and the middle of the night and the early morning. Seize everything, y’all! Never stop seizing stuff.
• Tired of looking at yourself in the mirror? So was I until I met my friend permanent marker. FACE TATTOOS ARE RAD.
• This might be a tough one, but you gotta trust me: Take a crap in the tub. It’s surreal.
• Live in the moment because there is nothing else. Seriously, there isn’t. Not that I’m aware of at least.
• If you’re gonna run, do it at top speed, man. Life is too short to walk in the mall.
• I’ve seen God, and his name is iPad. Let us pray.

~ by Jason Good via The Huffington Post

…having to tiptoe out of the house to go to work whilst your son is calling “mama, mammaaaa” from his cot.

I couldn’t even kiss him goodbye because it would upset him that I wasn’t staying. Stupid hot weather waking my boy up early.

I’m such a proud mama, littlest is learning lovely manners: 

• He’s very good with saying please and thank you when he asks for or receives something
• If you sneeze in his vicinity he says “bless you”
• If he burps he says “pardon” or “me-meee” (excuse me)
• If his nose his running he says “tissue, bogies, wipe please”
• If his hands are dirty he asks to wash them
• If he farts (or ‘pops’ as we call it), he laughs.  That’s my boy.

Hardened commuters will know that there is a regular train, a regular carriage and a regular seat. They will most likely adopt all of these things themselves and as a result see the same faces at the same time every day. For me, it’s often how I judge whether or not I’m on the right train when there are no announcements (or course if everyone is following my logic we could well get screwed). But I digress. Today, an irregularity exposed me to a part of the commuting world that I did not realise existed. The travel-buddies. My regular train was only two thirds of its usual length and as a result people that usually wait further down the platform now occupied my regular spot with me (annoying). They spoke to each other, they acknowledged new arrivals by name and asked about personal events that they obviously know about. Then it happened. They spoke to me. Directly to me. This has never happened before but I politely responded before turning away and slipping my earphones in. I can see the attraction of travel-buddies. We take the same very long journey twice a day but it’s just too much human interaction for me so early in the morning. The train journey is the part of the day that I don’t actually have to do anything and, as much as I loathe the distance, I appreciate the time.

Littlest seems to have perked up and recovered from the tonsillitis well. He’s finished his antibiotics and apart from a runny nose and hacking cough he is much better. He had a great day at ‘school’ yesterday and came home absolutely covered in sweat, sand and sun cream. He helpfully informed me that his hair was “woofy” (it’s what we call it when his hair gets too long and goes fluffy) and that he’d like it cut so I’ll make an appointment for next week. Littlest does great having his hair trimmed, which is great because it grows so fast and thick that we have to make an appointment once every couple of months to keep it at a comfortable length. He went to playgroup with my mum today but apparently absolutely refused to wear his shorts or sandals (he feels the heat, does my boy) and so they ended up going with him wearing nothing but his short-sleeved body suit, socks and trainers. Sexy.

This amazingly hot weather that we’re having has meant that I had to make some unexpected emergency purchases yesterday. A summer-weight grobag for littlest and a lightweight dress that I can wear both to the office and casually. I wore the dress to work today with a little bolero cardigan and sandals. When I came onto my floor this morning, one of my colleagues from another department (we know each other on a “small talk” basis but I still don’t know her name) commented that I looked very glamorous, like a movie star. Outwardly I smiled, gave a twirl and said thank you but silently I was thinking “are you kidding me?”, an overweight woman in a maxi-dress trying to cover as much of her body as possible whilst still remaining cool does not scream “movie star” to me, but I’ll take that compliment thank you very much.

Speaking of weight, my efforts to become healthier and fitter took a severe blow when I discovered that I was pretty good at baking cupcakes. I started baking every week which means that all of the glorious pounds that I’d shed came back very quickly, although thankfully they left a few of their mates behind so I am not quite back to square one. So here we are again, and I’m pledging to make a renewed effort to take better care of myself by making small changes (starting with an end to my Nigella Lawson phase) to what I allow to pass my lips every day. This is really going to take far more of a conscious effort than I’d ever anticipated. I had hoped it would be quite easy but the third decade of life is not kind to your metabolism and I’m quickly realising that I’m actually going to have to work hard at this as opposed to just willing the weight to disappear and then it actually doing so. I remember being certain that I was going to be back to my fighting weight by the time that littlest turned one…….(let’s allow a moment for the tumbleweed to pass through here). We are now less than two months from littlest’s second birthday and nothing has changed. Apparently just wishing to be lighter doesn’t actually work and I’m actually going to have to invest in this.

So here we go again. More good intentions. Let’s see if we’re having the same conversation next year, shall we?