Wordless Wednesday - Race For Life

A Post In Which I Appeal To Your Generosity

Tomorrow for the first time I am doing the Race For Life, to raise money for Cancer Research UK.


My target is £300 and I have raised £200 so far, so I am appealing to your better nature and asking if you can sponsor me, it doesn't have to be a lot £1 will be plenty.


I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, I am told they are very emotional days so I will be taking lots of tissues with me.


Enjoy the rest of the sunshine and I will post pictures on Wednesday.


I am thanking you all in advance.


NM X


(Click the box below or in my sidebar to go to my sponsorship page)

The Gallery - Emotions

The subject for this weeks Gallery is emotions, now its a special Gallery this week as its teaming up with Sleep Is For The Weak Writing Workshop, which means only one post to do this week! 

Its a tough trying to put words and pictures together and me being a dumb blonde came up with a great idea then realised that the word I was thinking of wasn't actually an emotion so I'm kinda cheating!

I feel frustrated, sad, depressed, worried, despair, angry and miserable when I am tired. 

I feel happy, gleeful and loving when I am tired.

I'm quite often tired, almost everyday. 

Today I am tired,

I was tired yesterday,

And I will be tired tomorrow

Today I am a Mum,

I was a Mum yesterday,

And I will be a Mum tomorrow. 

That makes me happy,

And the tiredness slips away.

Don't forget to visit the Gallery on Wednesday to see everyone else's posts. 

Birthday Surprises, Germany, The V&A, Jamie Oliver and Bon Jovi

That was my week last week, no wonder I feel like crap this week! I’m not used to all this running around.


So last Saturday (the 12th) I turned 30 and OH surprised me with train tickets to London. And when I say train tickets that is about as far as he had thought (no typical man jokes please). So after a quick look on the internet and a run around to pack a bag for BG we were off. We decided to go to the Natural History Museum as BG had been to the Science Museum a few weeks before. BG loved the Dinosaurs, she now has a soft one that she growls at, that the sound she thinks it makes!!


To be honest after the Dinosaurs BG got a bit bored, at 18 months she’s probably a bit to young to appropriate it so we took her over the Science Museum as we know she loves the Garden there (children’s play area in the basement) and of course the trains and cars. Time seems to pass so quickly in London and it wasn’t long before we were on the train home.

Do you want to know how I spent the night of my birthday? It was really exciting; we watched the football, ate Chinese and drank champagne. OK not that exciting but nice all the same.


On the Sunday we had a small BBQ for friends and family and my youngest sister surprised me with a visit from her, her OH and my niece. It was by far my favourite present! It was the first time she had been to my house so it was lovely, and all three sisters where together, all that was missing was our brother. It was a lovely day, a great way to spend my birthday. My 
younger sister even baked cupcakes for me!!

Tuesday I flew to Germany for a PR trip, I will give you all the details on that soon on New Mummy’s Tips.


On Thursday we were back down to London, me and OH spent the day with my sister V at the V&A. I wanted to see the Grace Kelly exhibition but they had sold out of tickets for the day, (note to self pre-book exhibitions at the V&A). However that didn’t stop us having a good time walking around and spending money!! I bought this book....

And this great bit of material that I’m turning into a scarf.

We had a hotel booked for the night as we were off to Bon Jovi at the o2 that night, you can see my full review of the gig on my new (yes another!!) blog For Those About To Rock. We meet my dad and my sisters OH at the hotel, then went for dinner at Jamie Oliver’s Italian at Canary wharf.


I would like to say it was the best meal of my life but I would be lying, it was all just a little bit disappointing. The food was fine, I had Meatballs which where lovely and a to die for brownie for dessert but the whole experience was a bit lacking. When we arrived it wasn’t very busy, we were sat at the back by the window (I assume to make the place look busy from the outside), we were right by the disabled toilet, staff point and office. You can’t book if there is less than 8 people so we didn’t have a table reserved. The music was horrendous, really bad 70’s and 80’s music, I do not want to listen to the YMCA when I’m eating my dinner, it was also quite loud. I had such high hopes for our meal and it just didn’t live up to it.


Bon Jovi was awesome and we had a really good night. It was nice to get back to BG who I hadn’t seen since Tuesday; I really, really missed her!


This week by comparison as been quite and for that I am truly grateful. Though I am off to London tomorrow, but I’m going to be thoroughly pampered!!


NM X

BG Meets An Elephant

 

This weeks theme on The Gallery is Creatures, now I'm not really a pet person so we don't have any at the New Mummy house. I'm allergic to cats but BG has fallen in love with them. OH's sister has a cat and BG goes mad every time she sees it and chases after it. 

The nearest she gets to a pet at home in the random cat that appears in our garden most days, it sleeps out there and keeps BG amused by trying to get in the patio doors. 

BG recently meet an elephant, if you look closely you can actually see her saying 'Ahhh'

Don't forget to pop over on Wednesday to see everyone else's pictures. 

When The Darkness Comes

I'm cheating slightly this week with my Writing Workshop post as its a poem I've already written, but I would like to share.


I choose prompt 2. What does depression feel like to you? This is what it feel like to me 

When the Darkness comes I can't breathe,

My head pounds and my mouth goes dry.

When the Darkness comes I just want to hide,

Loneliness is my friend.

When the Darkness comes I cry and cry,

I don't always know why.

When the Darkness comes I am scared,

Panic rises inside me.

When the Darkness comes I am paralysed,

I wish I could run away.

When the Darkness is gone I am free,

Until the next time it appears.

Hello I'm Carol

The lovely Carly from Mummy's Shoes is putting together a meet and greet for Cybermummy, so we have an idea about who we are meeting.


Here is my bio 


Name:  Carol Smith
Main Blog:   New Mummy http://mummynew.blogspot.com 
Twitter ID:  @Caroljs
Height:   5ft 3in
Hair:   Short/blonde
Eyes:   One brown and one green 
Likes:  Music, Gigs, Theatre, Blogging, Reading, Eating, Wine


I'm not adding a picture of me, instead here is the dress I'm going to be wearing, its my birthday present. 

 Can't wait to meet you 

Guest Post - Mamma McCann

The finally guest post this week is from Mamma McCann, she needs some advice on returning to work.


Preparing To Return To Work
Many mummies these days have to face the stark reality of having to return to work. Whether full or part time the sudden realisation that you will be apart from your baby suddenly hits home. This has happened to me and has become increasingly distressing over the past few weeks.

Before Mini McCann arrived I'd seen a variety of nurseries and finally came across one that pulled at my gut instinct. A month before baby was born I had put down a deposit and started paying for the first month. That seems like a million years ago now. My return to work is looming and I am in a lucky position that I am having a phased return to work. Flexible working plans for parents are now becoming common place and I believe these can create a better and less stressful work/life balance. I start work again on the 1st August beginning with 2 days a week and planning to increase up until I reach a 9 day fortnight in October. I'll be able to leave early every Friday to pick her up, have some mummy/daughter time, then go and meet daddy from work. 

Financially I need to return to work and mentally I know it will be good for me to have some adult interaction that doesn't involve baby. Me and baby are pretty much one person at the moment. For Mini McCann a whole new world is looming and one which I know will be good for her development/social skills.

So why do I feel so torn? I would love to be a stay at home mum. Yes, sometimes it drives me crazy but other times like half an hour ago I want to stay and have cuddles while she is asleep in my arms, breastfeeding, enjoying providing her with warmth and food. The problem with this is will she expect cuddles to sleep at nursery, will she sleep without me (and the boob)? Will she interact well with other children? So many worries and positives all flow through my head at the same time

So no questions answered yet as to how I'll cope, hopefully I'll come blog again once I'm there but for now I am off to be Mummy McCann again...full of cuddles ready for my little redhead when she wakes up.

Thank you for that great post mama, I can't wait to read your follow up post. 

NM X 

Guest Post - Ryan Jarrett

Welcome to the second guest post of the week and the first man to write on New Mummy!!


Ryan Jarrett, is a lead writer of children's television website, My Kids TV

Screen Time - A Parental Balancing Act

Technology pervades every inch of our modern, appliance filled homes.  If Convenience is King, then Entertainment is Queen.  The average family house is now home to numerous televisions, DVD players, games consoles, laptops and set-top boxes, not to mention their hand-held cousins - mobiles phones, netbooks and Nintendo DSs in Tooty Frooty colours.  These items are a part of our lives.  Our generation have grown to accept them; our children's generation are born to expect them.

As a parent I feel I have a duty to let my children be exposed to this gadgetry which has become intrinsic to us.  It would not be fair to shy them away completely, denying them the pleasure they can bring or the education they can provide.  The PC and the smartphone are the tools with which people work nowadays and by shielding our children from these could we be hindering their later progress in the big wide world?  It's hard to say.

I do appreciate the view that there can be too much exposure to media and technology.  I am a firm believer in family time, in talking to your children, in shared mealtimes round a dinner table and other more traditional customs.  Children can provide some of the most insightful comments and the most amusing conversation - it would be a crime to have their opinions and views homogenised by advertising and peer pressure.

My son, who is nearly 5, is a happy, healthy, intelligent and unique individual.  His first exposure to modern media was to the television.  As he got older he started showing an interest in the noisy, glowing box in the corner, so we slowly let him watch a couple of minutes of a children's programme.  After a while he started to show some preferences to certain shows, but we never forced him to watch one things or another.  We limited screen time and we watched the TV with him as he got older, making it a shared bonding experience, rather than a passive experience.

He enjoys music with a real passion.  However, whereas when I was younger I would listen to cassette tapes and even records, we don't even own a CD player any more (apart from in the car).  All of our music is digital, either stored on our computer or MP3 players, or streamed over the Internet.  My son uses Spotify (a fantastic music streaming application) - could he possibly be the youngest user in the world?  He listens to Lady Gaga, Snow Patrol, Cheryl Cole and even The Beatles, as well as kids TV theme tunes and more traditional childrens music.  He dances and jumps along to these tracks happily, and to him this is the norm.

He owns a DS and he plays on the Wii, but he is not overweight, he has lots of friends and he still plays with his toys.  The games he plays are age appropriate and access to these is limited.  He has a good imagination and his reading is excellent.  The press, both in the UK and globally, present this dichotomy - they want everyone, including our children, to consume media (which, obviously, is in their interests) but we are made to feel bad about over-exposure.

It's not easy being a parent, and we don't ask for medals.  We do our best but we have to pick and choose what to believe.  Is technology and modern media good or bad?  There is no answer - take each experience as it comes, watch your children and decide for yourself.  Just don't feel bad or guilty about having to choose, to restrict or to censor.

Thank you Ryan for your great post. 

Guest Post - Baby Genie

I'm not really here this week and off gallivanting, so I have some fantastic guest posts for you.


The first guest post if from Catherine who writes at BabyGenie . 

My memories of being a new mummy

“What if I don’t want him when we get home?’ I said to my husband a few hours after the birth of our son.

His mind flitted between my wellbeing and what the coming days and weeks may hold.

I had an ok labour – pretty standard, tearful, painful, resulting epidural, forceps and then the birth of a healthy happy boy.

Like all mums, those early days were a little roller coaster.  On reflection, here is the auto pilot route I took.

A moment of panic as I saw a foot bent back the wrong way as our son was born, the delirium leaving me thinking of a baby penguin – a flipper*.

A moment of self doubt that I actually wanted to be a mum which thankfully cleared after a little sleep.

A moment of pure emotion when my dad ran towards me, not our newborn son, and kissed me – beaming with a look of pride that might burst from within him.

A wince of pure desperation as the physical pain pierced in to another day and left me unable to enjoy my new baby.

A morning of pure madness, throwing drop scones into a pan, rocking the bouncer with one foot, determined to arrive at a brunch party having prepared something home made with my four week old son.

A broken laptop, screaming baby and inconsolable mummy after trying to settle my child with white noise downloaded from the internet.

Handmade thank you cards sent out within a matter of moments of receiving a gift, just to prove a point.

Nights of playing Soduko on my phone whilst breast feeding; longing to feel that ‘incredible bonding’ feeling that never came.

But, more than anything, an overwhelming, heart stopping feeling of pure gratefulness that I was a mum.  I was washing clothes that said I love my mummy on them.  A change bag had replaced my handbag.  I knew if it was a hungry cry or a tired cry.  The baby was being passed back to me when he became unsettled.  That baby was mine.  And I did love him – and now, I love him more than I ever knew possible.

Thank you so much for that lovely guest post Catherine. 

The Gallery - Motherhood

This weeks Gallery prompt over at Sticky Fingers is Motherhood. 

I had have a really good think about this, there were so many things I could have photographed to portray Motherhood, I almost took photos of my stretch marks but no one want to see them! 

I decided to pull together some pictures of me and BG, my main problem was that I'm always behind the camera so I haven't got many of the two of us, but here are the ones I could find including a picture of me pregnant. 

And as I was playing about with the photos I tried them in black and white as I personally think I look better in it!

Motherhood for me is the hardest job I have ever had and I'm only 18 months in! But the sleepless nights, lack of money, lack of a waste, the tears and tantrums  all slip away when I see that smile looking back at me

This is my favourite picture of BG, I look at her I think "I made that" and that to me in the most amazing thing about motherhood.


Don't forget to pop over to Tara's on Wednesday to see all the other photo's. 

Soundtrack To My Week - Birthday Special

Normally on a Friday I do the Soundtrack To My Week where I choose a song that best represents my week. As its my 30th Birthday tomorrow I thought I would share the song that was number 1 when I was born.


Unfortunately that song was Crying by Don McLean which just a little bit depressing, so I've chosen a tack from 1980 the year I was born. 


It was tough to choose as they were some great tracks released that year including, Brass in my pocket by the Pretenders, Going Underground by The Jam and The Winner takes it all by Abba.


The song I have chosen is.......


Call Me by Blondie 



NM x

Writing Workshop - Time

I have attempted poetry again for Josie's Writing Workshop. 

I choose prompt 5 Time 

Time passes slowly,

It is fleeting,

It stands still,

It runs out.

Time passes to quickly,

It waits for no man,

It can’t be turned back,

It goes by.

We ask for less time,

We beg for more,

It never ends,

It stops still.

Time heals all wounds,

The hands of time wave goodbye,

Minutes, hours, seconds go by,

We watch it but never see it.

It speeds up, slows down and stops,

There is never enough of it,

Time is our friend,

Time is our enemy.

There will always be time,

Ours will run out,

Someone else’s will begin. 

Wordless Wednesday - BG Plants Sunflower Seeds

Today at toddler group, they where planting sunflowers, BG couldn't wait to get involved.

The Great British Blog Festival

The Great British Blog Festival is the brain child of Erica at Littlemummy.com. 25 posts on all aspects of blogging will be posted across 5 blogs this week to help celebrate the joy of blogging.

Every day this week each host will a new guest blog post from a different blogger, these fabulous hosts are Littlemummy.com , Littlemumpreneur , Englishmum , Cafe Bebe and  Me, The Man and The Baby.

The first posts went up yesterday and my post on How To Write Reviews is now up on Cafe Bebe so do pop over and give it some love.

Enjoy the Great British Blog Festival, the only festival you can enjoy even when it’s raining!!

NM X 

Soundtrack To My Week

This week has been really liberating for me, after my post yesterday and the fantastic comments from everyone. I'm now in the process of setting up a Music review blog and I'm really excited about it!!


I have 8 days until I'm 30, so today I had an early birthday treat from OH and went and had my hair cut and coloured. I've gone shorter and blonder.

This is me just after it was done.

and me after I played with it a bit.

Pictures never do it justice

I've chosen this track this week not because its by my favourite band but because the chorus is really apt for this week...

It's my life

It's now or never

I ain't gonna live forever

I just wanna live while I'm alive

Have you guessed what it is yet?............

Bon Jovi, Its My Life

NM X

Decisions Decisions

Yesterday I received a call from a local recruitment agency about a job that to be honest would be perfect for me, 3 days a week, local and I actually have the skills and experience for it and the money is good, well it would have been perfect 6 months ago when I was looking.

Things have changed now, I’ve definitely changed. I actually making an income from blogging, not that ever thought I would do and would really like to peruse that more. I’ve started dabbling with fiction not that I think one second that I will get published but I find it an excellent release and find my writing has really improved and that makes me really proud of myself. That sounds really stupid doesn’t it, let me explain.

When I was 21 I went back to college to do an access course, after I had written my first English Lit essay it was returned with ‘This is not an essay’ written on it. My writing was horrendous, I can’t spell very well and it was just terrible. I was sent to special English lessons so I could learn to form sentences correctly and learn the basics again; how I passed my GCSE’s and a AS level I will never know. So you see I never foresaw that I would be writing anything and I never thought I would be paid to do it.

After the phone call yesterday I of course went on twitter when a wise lady called Karin (cafebebe) tweeted’ I guess you have to determine what your DREAM is. Will this job help you get it?’ the simple answer to that is No.  The problem is I’m not sure what my dream is, I’ve tried different roles and even though I’ve done well in them none have really excited to me.

What do I want to be when I grow up? That’s such a tough question, I suppose my absolute dream job would be to write about music, be a music reviewer, go to gigs, and listen to new music that would be awesome. I have never told anyone that before and its quite liberating.

I spoke to OH about it last night and we discussed money etc and even if I didn’t make another penny from blogging we are OK finically at the moment. There is also a possibility that we will be moving away from the area. So this morning I said thanks but no thanks.

I love being at home with BG, I know sometimes it’s hard and I just want to go out and be Carol not BG’s mum but I wouldn’t swap this time with her for anything. I want a chance to explore writing a bit more and see what I can achieve. I’m even thinking of doing an OU course next year in creative writing.

For the time being I’m staying at home with BG as a Full-Time mum and a Part-Time blogger and it feels good.

NM X 

Wordless Wednesday - BG Goes To The Seaside

Last weekend when we had all that lovely hot weather, we went to visit my sister and her other half.


We took a trip to Clacton and here are the pictures

The Gallery - Still Life, My Life

The theme this week on the Gallery is Still Life. Now as you will probably know by now I'm really bad at taking photo's, no matter how much I try to make them look beautiful or breathtaking or even interesting it just doesn't work.

I live in quite a small house, even though the living room and kitchen is opened planned its still small, I'm grateful for the summer so we can extend the house into the garden.

I decided to take random photo's of things in my living room, kitchen and garden, I found a fancy application on Photo bucket (thank you Emma).

I'm hoping this works, this Still Life, My Life......