Monthly Archives: May 2011

The Cambridge Mummy Blog: Simple Saturday..

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Life seems to get away from me sometimes, so I don’t know if this is my second or third Simple Saturday. But anyway, W and I have been up since 5am and we are sat on the sofa together, watching Sinbad for the eight hundred and forty fourth time. I still see new things in it – a new line, a smirk from one of the characters that I’ve not seen before.

I have noticed recently that I’ve been a bit obsessed about things that are frankly new and / or expensive. I don’t know what is going on with me? I feel like some keeping up with the Joneses’ thing is going on, but I don’t know who or what I want to keep up with. That’s a bit rubbish really isn’t it?

Being where we are isn’t just fine. It’s more than fine. It’s pretty blooming great actually. We have a healthy and on the whole happy family. As a couple we bicker too much, but we’re together and not contemplating life on the other side of the fence too much!

I am going to take today as a starting point, to try really hard today to be appreciative of everything we have and our lovely family. To start it off, I’m going to unstack the dishwasher and divide up the socks and pants into the correct piles.

What are you going to do today?

The Cambridge Mummy Blog: I’m not dead yet!

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I’m still here. Honest. I’m not dead (had to link to Monty Python there, it’s just too funny).

I’ve just been working non stop and been busy trying to be a better mummy. Right now, I’m achieving that for W – I’m a great mummy in his eyes, because we are watching “Ra Ra” the Lion, narrated by Lorraine Kelly. It’s nothing special, but he likes it.

What’s happening in my life? E has taken to sleeping with toys stuffed down his PJ trousers. I think that’s to stop W getting them from him. Though W is in his cot anyway, so I think it’s a bit of an over reaction on E’s part.

W is off to the doctors in 20 minutes as apparently he’s not making the sounds vocally that a 3 year old should be making. That’s interesting in itself because a) his teeth are the wrong way around when he bites and we’ve been telling people it needs checking out for ages, b) because we can understand most of what he says and c) because if he’s annoyed with someone/something or conversely, happy with someone/something, he’s really good at communicating that.

But we are doing the right thing and going to the doctors. If there is something amiss I’ll be annoyed because I’ve been trying to be all “relaxed mummy” recently rather than “hovering, hot housing and push mummy”.  Time will tell as to what’s best for me and the boys eh?

The Cambridge Mummy Blog – Things I don’t want to forget

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Morning :)

I laid in bed a moment ago with E, and he said something that I don’t want to forget, because it is *so* E. I’d put the duvet over him and he threw it off because his legs “need some fresh air”. He said it last night as I tucked him in too and I don’t want to forget it. It’s a lovely phrase that doesn’t really make sense literally but I still understand what he’s saying. And yes, it was another night where he’d ended up in bed with us, on my pillow with me, with daddy getting half of the king size bed, E having the other half, and me dangling out of the bed. But I’m used to that now, and woke up this morning in tracksuit bottoms and an old hoody. I must have put them on in the night. I don’t remember doing it though….

And W, what do I want to remember of W in 20 years time? I want to remember how he talks like Yoda from Star Wars. “My am here Mummy”. And the putting of the hand on the hip provocatively, defying you to query what he’s saying. His stroppiness – everything needs to go his way these days, or it will be the end of the world. And of course, his obsession with hot chocolate. It started out being phrased as “Hot choc” and now we have the phrase “my need hot choc mummy”.

And I also love the “please may I ….” that gets trotted out so nicely when they really want something. And that E and W are learning about “deals” that we shake on. They are the most surreal things. I can’t remember the terms or a good example of one now. Lovely Bloke says they are usually around food: “You need to eat three pieces of chicken before you get down”. “No, this is the deal. I will eat two pieces now, get down and play and then come back later to eat the last piece, right?”. And there’s a finger being wagged at you whilst he announces his terms. We love that kind of thing here. Lovely Bloke feels E is learning life skills…

At pre school this week the boys trotted in and both said “Good morning Jayne” as they always do. Jayne loves it as apparently they are the only children in the whole class who say it every morning. I didn’t realise that we had been training them like this. But now that I do, I’m really proud of it.

And I will forget this but W is 3 next month and still cries if you don’t put his nappy back on quick enough so no toilet training or big boy pants here for a while. Last weekend Lovely Bloke gave W and his bum bum some fresh air time. E did a wee in the back lounge, went to find daddy to announce “my done a wee, you can go and clean it up now”. Nice. And E, although toilet trained has forgotten twice this week that the toilet exists and done poo’s in his pants. Lovely Bloke is getting very annoyed with E about this.

And finally, on that toilet orientated note, E now shows W how you wee up a tree in the garden, because life’s too busy to come in the house and stop playing. You wee up the tree, pull your pants up and get back on with playing. Simple eh?

Do you have phrases or activities that you hope you’ll not forget?

And so too, this shall pass…

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W is in the garden “Oh no, Bubba, no more water in here”. Closely followed by  ”Bubba come fill this up right now for mine watering can”.

They are so lovely together, E and W. W still talks in a language that we have to translate for most other people, but E, Lovely Bloke and I all understand him perfectly. He’s 3 next month and I’m struggling with that.

He still feels like my baby. I think he always will. I’m usually grateful for most things showing themselves to be a passing phase, but his speech and cute approach to life is something I wish we could bottle forever. That’s something I don’t want to pass…

W and his food….

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I was so busy today with work stuff, that the time flew by. E has been having lunch at pre school for ages now, but W was doing his first time having a packed lunch there. Lovely Bloke was fretting about it, especially as they both ate very little for breakfast. Fast forward to 3.30pm and I go to collect them. It’s one of the perks of self employment – being able to pop out for half an hour, to do the school run. Turns out W has eaten apple at morning snack and eaten a lovely afternoon snack. But at lunch time he did a lot of watching and not enough eating – other than his cake and salami.

E ad W got into the car and started devouring their packed lunches with fervour. It was actually quite sweet in some ways – they had been too busy / nosey / distracted to eat at lunchtime. Upon arriving home W doesn’t want to go digging in the garden. Instead, he proceeds to request, nay demand, food. And lots of it. He had a second portion of crackers, and salami, and apple. And then sausages which E took me to the fridge and instructed me to cook “right now”….

I fret so much about their eating. I really do. E is in a phase of eating beef and chicken at the moment, followed by him adopting the muscle man pose. We then have to feel his “big strong muscles”. It’s quite funny really, as he used to not eat much at all. God willing, W will follow in his footsteps at some point. At the moment, all he wants to eat is Salami and chocolate. And drink hot chocolate. He loves to drink his hot chocolate.

It was the programme last week, My Child Won’t Eat that’s altered my perception at the moment – if W is eating something, surely I should just let him get on with it? It’s important that he eats a balanced diet, but surely instead of a perfect diet, how about him just eating some good stuff and some stuff that’s not so great. And if that’s all he wants to eat, I should maybe let him.

I’ll probably go back to fretting about their food next week, but for this week, I’m going to be a bit more relaxed about it….
Do you fret about about the amount of food your baby, toddler or little people? What’s your approach…..

I had the Pretty Woman customer service experience today…

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So earlier today, I shared my voucher for Hobbs, where you can get a free pashmina, in a lovely purple colour, if you use it by Wednesday 4 May 2011.

I also had, and had been waiting to use it on something lovely, a £25 discount card that came on the front of Red Magazine in January. That ran out today, so I went there specially to use it. With Lovely Bloke, E (age 4) and W (3 next month) and the buggy. To the Hobbs shop in Cambridge. The stand alone shop.

I have the same experience every time I go there. It’s like the scene from Pretty Woman – you know, where Julia Roberts is told that there’s “nothing for you in here” etc. It was just like that – they looked me up and down and did that “you’re not worthy to shop in here” huffy stuff. Seriously??? Do they know how much I’ve spent in Hobbs over the years? Lovely Bloke has since estimated that it’s more than £12,000 (I used to wear their suits in London and in Hatfield…)

E and W gear up for their rolling around on the floor antics, so I pick up a blue and white striped top and head to the desk to pay. A customer in front of me is mid transaction which is fine. But the other two women stand there chatting – about non work stuff. They can see me but they don’t come to process my transaction. I’m irritated by this but keep quiet.. Then when the customer is done and leaves, I present my voucher and request my scarf. Shop Assistant A asks Assistant B for help. They then bicker over who will go to get the scarf out of the back for me. The boys are being physically held apart by lovely bloke at this point.

And then Shop Assistant B who felt she was too grand to help me with my shopping started on me saying I couldn’t have two discounts or offers in one shop. I explained I wasn’t looking for that. I just wanted my pashmina with the voucher. And to use the £25 card for the t shirt. I didn’t expect a further 10% off it. Shop Assistant B goes over it twice more and it’s only when Assistant A returns and says – “yes, she knows that” that I’m permitted to have it.

I don’t have Richard Gere to come in and make people be nicer to me in a shop so it’s up to me to make this situation better for myself. Do you know how I’ve done that – Lovely Bloke and I have committed my wardrobe funds to Fenn Wright and Manson, John Lewis, LK Bennett, Phase Eight and anywhere BUT Hobbs for the foreseeable future. And I’m going to tweet and facebook this everywhere.

Just because I am a Mum, and I’m not the slimmest size that crosses their threshold, and I don’t wear matching Hobbs stuff from head to toe, it doesn’t mean that I can’t afford to shop there, or don’t deserve to wear their clothes, or should be looked down upon by them.

Here’s hoping that some other people decide not to push money their way and then maybe they will start to be a bit friendlier to people……