Tag Archives: motherhood

April 28, 2012

Day Zero – Month 19 (April)

On the 19 September 2010 I started a Day Zero list: a place to record your goals, discover new challenges, and gain motivation to achieve them. I have a list of 100 things I want to do over 1001 days. The list is due to be competed by 16 June 2013.

Life with two children is hard. I knew it would be but it’s really hard and I don’t seem to have much time for much besides looking after children. There are also lots of fun times though and I’m never happier than when we’re all snuggled up in bed or on the sofa together.

I currently have a 5 and 25 month old. Their needs seem to be similar – constant attention, regular meals, nappy changes and constant entertainment. I can’t quite believe I have two children in nappies who are both teething. This has meant lots of sleepless nights lately, especially as we’ve just taken the sides off the toddlers bed which he seems to regularly fall out of throughout the night.

Anyway, I didn’t write an update for March so this update covers the last two months:

 

3.     Move house

We’re spending all our spare time looking online for houses then visiting them at weekends. We still want to move this year but are struggling to find an area we’re both happy with.

20. Get Edward christened

We’re working towards getting both children christened this summer. We have godparents, just need to sort the date, outfits, party, etc!

22. Bake 10 different gingerbread recipes. This was easy and when I stopped to count them up I have easily exceeded my aim of 10 recipes:

25. Buy a new Orla Kiely handbag

I’ve managed to do this one AGAIN by buying another beautiful Orla!

38. Do at least one geocache a month for a year

We love geocaching and I’m happy to say we’ve managed this goal. Wherever we go we make sure to see if there are any geocaches, this is great free outdoors entertainment!

39. See Keane play live

My tickets to see Keane in June arrived today which makes me very happy.

74. Pass driving test

I passed my test back in February but today I managed to pluck up the courage to take my husband’s automatic out, not bad considering I learned on a manual. This has also made me happy as it brings me a step closer to being more independent.

 

I thought I had lost a bit of momentum with my Day Zero list but going through my list has made me realise I’ve done a lot more than I had thought!

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April 11, 2012

Competitive mums

Like a scab that can’t be left alone I follow someone on twitter that I shouldn’t. We are complete opposites but we are both mothers.

She does nothing but boast about her child. To be fair she works hard to give him the best. He goes to a good nursery, has his name down for private school, has beautiful toys and clothes.

I’m a stay at home mum of two. I run myself equally ragged but cooking, cleaning, taking trips to the park and dreaming up messy activities.

She goes to gigs, concerts, weekend breaks in Europe and has membership of a private club. I arrange playdates, go swimming, take trips on the tube with my train-mad son and get to meet the likes of Upsy Daisy, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Paula Radcliffe.

I blog and tweet about my children because I’m proud of the little things they do. I want to share and equally remember. Why do her tweets seem so boastful and over exaggerated? Is her 18 month old really counting to 20, just like he said his first word at 4 months, whilst my son is only just stringing two or three words together? Can her son really ride a bike whilst my son loves his 3in1 scooter?

Does it really matter or is it just showing off to compensate for the fact she’s chosen to work full time? I’m not sure why it bothers me so much. I know I’m probably a bit jealous. My clothes are milk splattered, my tummy is saggy, and I can’t walk across the carpet without standing on a piece of Lego. For sanity’s sake I’ve deleted her from my twitter account. I figured life is too short.

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September 13, 2011

I don’t know how she does it

It’s five months since I handed in my notice at work and a couple of months since I received my P45 – nothing says unemployed more that a P45!

The good bits

  • I don’t have to commute
  • I can wear what I like
  • I can work on my blog, with the excuse that I’m ‘keeping my hand in’, for when I manage to land the perfect job
  • I can say I’m bored, tired, stressed out and people empathise – a privilege not given to many people in paying jobs!
  • I’m my own boss
  • I have time to renew old friendships and make new ones
The bad bits
  • I don’t have a commute which means no time to catch up on google reader or relax
  • I haven’t drunk a hot cup of peppermint tea in about, ooh, 17 months
  • My clothes are constantly covered in food or snot
  • I haven’t had a decent conversation about anything other than Edward, his sleeping patterns or teeth in months
  • I have no monthly income – child benefit doesn’t count

I was sent a copy of the book ‘I don’t know how she does it’ to read (it’s been re-released to tie in with the film of the same name) which was a great opportunity to see how the other half live – those mums who juggle work and their children.

I loved the book! Allison Pearson is a good writer and I enjoyed reading how the main character, Kate Reddy, juggles work, the nanny, her relationships and trying to do her best as a mother. I especially loved the opening scene where she distresses mince pies so she can pass them off as her own for the school carol concert. “Women used to have time to make mince pies and had to fake orgasms. Now we can manage the orgasms, but we have to fake the mince pies. And they call this progress.”
I really hope I can squeeze in a trip to the cinema to see the film which moves the setting from London to New York. Some of the reviews I’ve read have been great and I’d love to see SJP out of her Sex and the City role.
The film tie-in edition was published by Vintage on 1st September, price £7.99 in paperback. The film opens in the UK on the 16th September.

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