Monday 31 May 2010

OMG BG is 18 Months Old!!

On Thursday BG turned 18 months, I really can’t believe it! She’s growing up so quickly, I know I say that every time I write one of these posts but she really is learning so much.

Her personality is really starting to show and she is growing in confidence every day. She is definitely a cheeky monkey, her new trick is to climb up on the sofa with her winnie the pooh, close her eyes and fake snore!!!  

The tantrums are coming thick and fast but I’m learning to cope with them and can deal with them much better now. Her sleep is so much better and she now goes down awake without any fuss, she’s in bed for 7 though she does like to get up early, anytime between 5 and 6.30!!
As BG’s birthday is at the end of November which is pretty close to Christmas I decided we will celebrate her half birthdays. To celebrate me and BG made cakes, this was the first time we baked together and it went really well....

I’m really looking forward to more cooking with BG, we might make cookies next time!

NM X 

Sunday 30 May 2010

BG Goes To Drayton Manor

The lovely Liz from Living with Kids was looking for a family to review Drayton Manor, so as OH had the week off and my brother and sister lived in Tamworth where Drayton Manor is I jumped at the chance.

We went down on the Tuesday and spent the night in the nice hotel in town so we could get to Drayton Manor at a decent time in the morning; we packed a lunch and was ready to go. Now there wasn’t enough room for two children and four adults in the car so OH had to drop me, my sister and my 10 month old niece off, then go back and get my brother, thankfully they are only 10 minutes away. BG went back with daddy as she had just woken from a nap in a foul mood and I had just broken my only pair of sandals I had with me!  OH brought me back a pair with my brother.

I was a little worried how BG would be as this was her first trip to a theme park but she had a great time. The first place we headed to was Thomas Land, which she just loved (trains & cars are her new favourite). As she is small there wasn’t a lot she could go on but we went on the Sodor Classic Cars

And she had her pictures taken with the trains. She spent most of the time shouting “choo choo”.

I’m not as brave as I used to be so I went on the more meek rides like Excalibur which is boat ride with twist, The Pirate adventure which BG liked as well and the Roller Coaster.  My Brother and sister who are more adventurous went on the thrill rides such as Apocalypse - The world's first stand-up tower drop and G-Force  A white-knuckle journey through 385 meters of rolls, tight camelbacks, high backed curves and loops at over 70 kph! I also went on an old fashioned waltzer that me made me feel really sick afterwards.

We took turns watching the BG and B and going on the rides.

The highlight of the trip has to be the Zoo, it has over a 100 species and BG and my Niece B were just fascinated. BG’s favourite where the tigers and the monkeys.

There is a Thomas Playground and Picnic area in the Zoo, we had our lunch there it was a lovely place.

We were only there 5 hours but my god we were shattered by the end of the day, it might not be the biggest theme park but there is so much to do there. It has something for everyone. I spent a fortune in the Thomas gift shop, but BG is now the proud owner of Thomas the Tank Engine and Bertie the Bus which she fell asleep holding!

We went midweek so were really lucky that there were no queues, I imagine it can get quite busy at weekends and in the holidays. We will definitely go back again; hopefully BG will be able to go on a few more rides and maybe I will

NM X

Secret Post Club - May

My Secret Post Club gift for May was from Not Supermum and what a lovely parcel she sent me I felt really spoilt.

First was this great book, which when I get time to read I think will be a great help.

Then I got some chocolates to say well done for making it as a finalist in the MADs.

I also got this great magnet and a lovely sample of perfume.

And if that wasn’t enough she also sent BG this copy of Dumbo, how wonderful is that!

So I would like to say a huge thank you to Not Supermum for my goodies they really made my day when they arrived

NM X 

Friday 28 May 2010

Guest Post Day - Becky from Baby Budgeting

This is the second Guest Post Day organised by Erica at Little Mummy, basically we all swap blogs for the day. Our blog swap is a little different as its a three way swap I’m writing for Single Mummy, Single Mummy is writing for Baby Budgeting and Baby Budgeting is writing for me.

This is Becky from Baby Budgeting fantastic Guest Post 

My love is perfect even though my parenting isn’t

I very rarely get to write about my wonderful children as I focus my blog around budgeting for parents but they are the reason for the budgeting you see. They are the reason for pretty much everything I do. Carol writes so beautifully about her gorgeous daughter I often feel jealous. So please indulge me as I indulge myself and tell you a little about them.

My son is 5 and daughter is 2 and they are chalk and cheese. Frankie is smart, extremely lively, cheeky and serious and easily frustrated. He also has a huge sense of justice and ethics. He loves animals and knows way more than me about many things. Did you know a chow is a dog with a blue tongue?

Annalise is calm, happy, chilled out and loves people. She’s not really sure how to have a tantrum. She believes her true name should be Princess Dora Chipstick Ooo. She is mildly obsessed with ponies and doggie and is a big fan of fancy fairy cakes. She finds life very easy he finds it a bit tough but always, always exciting.

Lisi is nearly 3 and will go to school next year too.   Times are a changing and I feel a sense of countdown beginning already. It has been so wonderful. How precious our children and our time with them. I know indeed I have been very, very lucky being able to spend so much time with them.

In his poem Perfection, Walt Whitman wrote

Only themselves can understand themselves and the likes of themselves as only a soul can understand a soul

The feeling I have of love for my children is exactly this: it is perfect; undamaged, unconditional and absolute.

I could say I love them perfectly but obviously I don’t. i get it very wrong in lots of ways much of the time (Jam sandwiches when he wanted  cheese, favourite Peppa nightie still in the wash, mummy in a grumpy mood etc) . But I do feel perfect love for them. And that is the most amazing treasure and that’s why as parents I think we feel connected, we all l know about this glorious treasure this gift of loving our children.

Wishing you happy baby days

Becky x

Thank you so much for that great post Becky!

Don't forget to check out the other guest posts

NM X 

Wednesday 26 May 2010

5 Reasons I'm Going To Hell

Jehovah Witnesses came to my door today, I was very polite to them and thanked them for calling but I wasn’t religious so goodbye. They wouldn’t leave so I explained that I had studied Jehovah in the past (I actually have) and I don’t believe in god myself. I was then told is I didn’t believe in god I was against him and would perish when the time came, basically I’m going to hell.

I was still very polite said goodbye and shut the door, then laughed to myself. You see me and OH often joke we’re going to hell, not because we’re evil (well not all the time) but because we have a really bad sense of humour and laugh at really inappropriate things.

If there is a Hell here are 5 reasons I’d be going there:-

  1. I sky +Comic Relief and Children In Need so I can forward past the clips of children in Africa etc and before sky + I would change the channel
  2. We only watch the Winter Olympics in hopes that someone will fall, trip or slip. If there are no accidents then it’s not worth watching.  The ones when they all crash are the best.
  3. When BG was really small we would make up songs to sooth her, one is called “BG smells of poo”
  4. I laugh too loud when people fall over in the street or walk into things, even better if they walk into something then fall down.
  5. I avoid charity collectors in the street; I’m really good at ignoring them

There are more reasons but I fear you would never look at me in the same way again ;)

NM X 

Tuesday 25 May 2010

BG Goes to the Science Museum

BG has had a really busy week and has been and done lots of new things, this started last Saturday when we took a trip to London. We were invited to a family fun morning, I took my best friend N along and her daughter. We decided to make the most of the day and visit the Science Museum in the afternoon.  

I was dreading the trip down on the train, me and BG had only been on short 20 min journey’s before this was going to be two trains and then the undergrounds, you can understand why I was feeling a bit nervous.

I shouldn’t have worried BG was pretty good and I took plenty of snacks and made a fun bag up for her to keep her occupied, my God Daughter E played with her as well. The undergrounds wasn’t a total nightmare like I feared, a lot of the stations have lifts now and N helped me up and down the stairs, to be honest we were offered help at every set of steps we came to.

The Science Museum is much bigger than I remembered, It really spacious and bright. We only had a few hours there so only got to do a few things but you could spend the whole day there.

We headed for the Basement first and once we have found it (we got a little lost) BG went wild. There is section called the Garden, which is full of things for younger children to do, the main areas are construction, water, light and sound.  BG found the water and it was hard to tear her away, we spent a good 40 minutes there and I was glad I remembered to bring a clean set of clothes.

While N and E went on a tour around the Exploring Space exhibition, I took BG around the Energy Hall which if full of trains and engines etc. We walked through it to get to the basement earlier in the day and she was fascinated. BG pulled me around the hall for 30 mins pointing at the trains and cars shouting “what’s that?, what’s that?”, you should have the look of pure joy on her face, I had to buy her a toy car and train for the journey home, she fell asleep holding them.

We also went to the Launch Pad on the 3rd floor which is an interactive exhibition, which E really enjoyed.  There was thermal imaging, light table and pedal power where you try and get electrical items to work by peddling to power them; we only saw a fraction of the exhibition as we had to go home.

We had a great afternoon and we didn’t even get to see a quarter of the museum, me and OH are going to take BG back before the summer holidays.  Most of the Science Museum is free, though they do suggest a donation of £3, really worth a visit for children and adults and it’s close to the National History Museum.

BG fell asleep on the tube ride and stayed asleep as we went up and down stairs and in and out lifts and the whole train journey home, she had a really good day!

Next time BG goes to Drayton Manor and BG goes to the seaside.

NM X 

Monday 24 May 2010

The Gallery - Friendships

This week’s subject on The Gallery is friendship, I thought it would be easy but trying to find my pictures was hard. A lot of my older pictures are in storage I really need to get them and scan then so I can share them with you.  

I’m really lucky when it comes to friends, I may not have many but those are do have are fantastic.

These lovely people above are my brother and sisters. On the left is my sister V, we are very close now though it hasn’t always been that way, when we we’re younger we were so nasty to each but now I couldn’t live without her. On the left is the two D’s, they are very close as well, not that we don’t get on but they are closer in age, there is 10 years between me and my sister. We are good friends now that we are all older. I’m really happy they live near each other as me and V lives a few hours away.

The lady *ahem* in the photos above is one of my best friends N, we meet 9 ½ years ago when my boss at the time hired her to work at the pub I was supervisor in. She had just turned 18 and she tottered in wearing high heels with this tiny handbag, I bed the locals she’d last two weeks. Well I was *so* wrong, she had a wicked sense of humour and a heart of gold. We’ve been through a lot together and also had a lot of fun as you can see from the pictures above.


The lady above is my other best friend K, I have 100’s of photos somewhere of us but I just can’t find them. We meet at college when I was 17, we went clubbing one night and have been fast friends ever since.  I know that if I ever needed help K would be there in a shot, we’ve also been through a lot but come out fighting the other side.

One of the great things about these friendships is the future friendships they have started to grow. 

Top left is K’s daughter who believe it or not is only 7 weeks younger than BG; I love that they will grow up together

Top right is N’s daughter who is almost 7; she dotes on BG like a little sister. I’m hoping she will look out for her.

Bottom is my sister’s D’s daughter, who is 8 months younger than BG. I think its great that she will have a cousin close in age to grow up with.

I love all my friends dearly, they have changed me and helped me in many ways and I hope our children grow up to be great friends like us. 

NM X 

Friday 21 May 2010

The Soundtrack To My Week

As you may have noticed my poor blog has been neglected this week, well that's because OH is on holiday this week.


Normal service will resume next week but while I'm gone enjoy this......


Madonna, Holiday 

Monday 17 May 2010

Desert Island Question

The lovely Julia at Tales From The Heads Office has tagged me in the Desert Island Question meme.
I have to answer the following three questions:-
You are being sent to a Desert Island & can take:
One person (living/dead/known to you/famous etc)
One piece of music
One book or item of reading
This was not easy but here are my answers.
Person - John Peel
Music - I couldn't choose just one song so Julia said I could choose an album and its 'New Jersey ' by Bon Jovi
Book - Heidi by Johanna Spyri its my favourite book. 
I'm tagging  all the lovely mummy bloggers who are in my category in the Mads finals.

NM X 
PS there is still time to vote

Thursday 13 May 2010

The Soundtrack To My Week

This week I've been brave, I'm really proud of what I've achieved in my life but it hasn't always been easy.


This week I'm been in print twice!! Once in Practical Parenting at the beginning of the week and yesterday in my local paper. Both post about my blogging, and in my local paper an added extra of begging for votes in the MAD awards.


I also wrote a guest post for Breaking The Silence about my struggle with depression, its the first time I have ever written about it and I feel proud and brave about speaking up about it, please pop over if you get a chance and read my post 'What A Difference A Year Makes


The song I've chosen this week represents the hope that everything will work out just right!


This is my favourite version of this song...........................


Somewhere over the Rainbow by Eva Cassidy 






NM X

Wednesday 12 May 2010

The Gallery - Men

The men in my life weren't keen on me posting pictures of them on my blog (sshhh don't tell them I have in the past) so I though I share some new pictures of BG with you.




Now its not cheating *ahem* as technically BG wouldn't exist without the men in my life!! There are two main men in my life my dad and OH. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for my dad and neither would BG. 


I've shared with you before how lucky I am to have my dad, he is really supportive and always has time for me no matter how busy he is, me and my sister have always come first. My dad has shared his wisdom with us and his passion for music, the theatre and rugby and thanks to him we have the same loves. My dad still to this day looks out for me, just yesterday I was on the phone to him talking about a trip to London me and BG are taking on Saturday. Whilst on the phone he checked what tube line we needed and whether there were any works on the line that day, he's so sweet. He is a great dad and a fantastic dotting granddad.  


Then there is my Other Half, who I have told you many times is fantastic and supportive. He's not perfect but he's perfect for me, we are total opposites in some ways and exactly the same in the others and without him I wouldn't have my BG!


This is for this weeks Gallery, the prompt was Men.


NM X 

Monday 10 May 2010

How Do You Deal With The Grumps?

BG has been having the odd tantrum for a few months now but this past week has been a complete nightmare. There are has been tantrums, screaming, tears (hers and mine) and shouting (not something I'm really proud of).


I don't know if it because she's teething or the change in the weather but she's been pushing hard this week and I'm been to almost breaking point with her. Saturday was the worst day, she keeps climbing up on the arm of the sofa then trying to lean over to press buttons on the TV, Sky + box and grab CD's (we need to move it all but means a big re-shuffle). 


It didn't matter how many times I told her to get down she wouldn't move. So I started counting to 5 with her and if she didn't get down I would get her down my self, this worked for a while and then she thought it was a game. I tried explaining that its dangerous and that didn't work.


As the day went by I found my self getting more and more annoyed and snapped and shouted at her and called her naughty which is not the type of parent I want to be. I had to put her in her cot three times for a time-out because she kept screaming and throwing her self around.


By the time OH got home I had a glass of wine ready to go and a bath half run, I passed her over and had half an hour to my self. I can't go on like this, she has tantrums in town when we go out, its completely draining.


I need help parents what's the best way to approach this? She's 17 months old I'm dreading the terrible twos!


NM x 


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Sunday 9 May 2010

Plastic Joy, Sunshine and Photo's

Over the last month I've been tagged with a few meme's and as usual I've let them build up so here they are:-


Firstly I've been tagged by Lorraine, Sally, Leslieanne and Victoria to do the Plastic Joy meme or the freebie 5, I have to share with you the 5 fictional characters I would *ahem* spend the night with, you get my drift. 


Now I am I little worried sharing this list with you, not only will you see my taste in men but you will find out what crap TV I watch. I'm not going into why I *like* them, I just do.


In no particular order ......


                                                             Warrick Brown from CSI. 


                                                             Colby from Numb3rs 
                                                            G Callen from NCIS:LA


                                                      Owen Hunt from Greys Anatomy 
                                                           Larry Paul in Ally McBeal 


I know many of you have done this meme so I'm not going to pass in it on to anyone in particular, if you haven't done it then feel free to do so.


Next the lovely Mrs Lucia-Wright tagged me with the  Sunshine award.


All I have to do is pass this onto other bloggers that bring sunshine in to my life, so here are some of them.


Liz at Living With Kids
Josie at Sleep Is For The Weak
Sally at Who's The Mummy
Carly at Mummy Shoes
Susan at SusanKmann
Tim at Bringing up Charlie
Victoria at Its A Small World After All 


OK now I'm going to cheat slightly I've been tagged for some meme's I have already done so I'm going to link to them!


YummyMummyno1  and  BabyGenie  tagged me in the Photo meme, I did this last year so click here to see it. 


SusanKmann tagged me in the 7 things meme which I did just last week on Midlands Mums so pop over and take a look 


Phew that's them done, I have go a few more to do but I will do them next week. If you want to do any of these meme's the go ahead!


NM X 


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