The Questions people ask...

When you enter the 'both children at school' phase of life, people ask you some marvellous questions... 

"What do you do all day?" (Probably the most common - I'm not going to rant - but it's safe to say; I'm not just sat on my rear watching Daytime TV...)

"When are you going back to work?"  Because combining shift work with the school run is just so much fun...

But my personal favourite:

"Are you going to have another baby?"

Seriously?

I have to get over my initial urge to just laugh maniacally.  No, I'm not.  If I was going to do that - I would have done it already; not waited until I had a bit of spare time - and then filled it with morning sickness, more stretch marks and additional sleep deprivation... 

Any of you who have ever read my blog know that I love my children a lot; after all - I talk about them enough.  They are marvellous, brilliant, funny, bright, insightful, *insert additional superlatives here* But I still don't want another one.

One of my good friends is pregnant at the moment with her second baby, and she's really struggling with her pelvis.  I had some pelvic problems; particularly in my second pregnancy; so empathy is not a problem.  Watching her struggle to move around, I can almost feel that pain again.  I know that, even amidst her pain, she is not regretting being pregnant.  I'm glad that I'm a bit more available to help; having kids at school does release you a bit to do other things - even if that is to help others with their babies...

So, dear reader - I am quitting whilst I'm ahead.
And if I ever feel the need to cuddle a baby - I'm sure I'll be able to find one...

Toxic Strawberries

Before getting down to the point of this blog...  Does anyone think 'The Toxic Strawberries' would be a good band name?  I just wrote it down, and immediately thought it sounded like a rock band.  Ah well, I digress, and before I've even started...  Could be an ominous sign...

Anyway, carry on!...

Yesterday, Nathan and I bought some new strawberry plants, along with a few others, and planted them out in our garden.  We've been attempting to grow our own fruit and vegetables with limited success over the last few years.  Last year we managed lots of potatoes, a heap of green (should have been red) tomatoes which ended up as chutney, a few dodgy looking carrots and parsnips, and three baby corn-on-the-cob...  We did also grow some impressive looking courgette plants, without courgettes on... Oh well, never mind.

My motivation for trying again, was Nathan's appalled reaction to the shop bought strawberries we had recently.  Although Nathan happily eats other strawberry (OK...  jam) based products, he obviously hadn't eaten an actual strawberry for a while; and thus had decided that they were not just unpleasant, but down right dangerous.

Of course, the fact that the rest of the family were happily tucking into the strawberries didn't seem to help.  You would have thought I was trying to make him eat a raw oyster, or some sort of creepy-crawly from a bush-tucker trial.  The strawberries were, in fact, toxic - and no amount of cajoling was going to convince him otherwise.

In the end, I did what a lot of parents do.  I told him he couldn't get down until he'd eaten the strawberry; and in the end he did eat it.  I think, despite all the angst, he did actually like it in the end. 

Thinking back on Strawberry-gate; I am thankful that we have incidents like that relatively rarely now.  Nathan had a very difficult food phase (by phase, I mean year...) after being ill for a month with a bug, and then an ear infection when he was 18 months old...  He hardly ate any normal food for a month, and afterwards, he seemed to have forgotten how.  Out of nowhere, almost all foods had moved from the 'OK' category in his head to the 'probably toxic - avoid at all costs' area.  We spent the next year slowly re-introducing foods, until he was finally eating something resembling a normal diet.  It was a very difficult and stressful time, and I'm so thankful that we are basically over that now.

And so, we will grow our own strawberries.  Water them.  Talk to them.  Give them straw beds to sleep on, etc. etc.  And hope that by the time they are ready to eat, a certain person will have decided they are not toxic after-all...

In the mean time, I might buy some more from the supermarket.  Let the desensitization commence!

Simply take...

Simply take, a tired and slightly worn out person - a mother of small children is best

Sprinkle with sunshine...

Remind said person that it isn't actually winter anymore.

Exercise.  I find a bike ride is best.  This encourages wakefulness, and also feelings of post-exercising virtuous-ness.

Plunge in shower.
Rinse off dirt, snot, grime, and any other debris. 
Complete ablutions until satisfactorily clean and smooth.

Dry.

Moisturise.

Steer towards wardrobe. 
Remind subject that clothes other than jeans exist.
Dress according to taste.

Provide cup of tea to get over the shock of wearing skirt.

Consider painting toe-nails.
Decide not to get carried away.  It is only April after all.

Straighten hair.
Add necessary accompaniment to face; in this case - a smile.

And now you're done.
You're not just a mummy.  You're a nearly ready for summer, even if it's gone a bit cloudy mummy.

Whirly-gig Wonders

Today I faced the age-old dilemma faced by Mums (Dads / Grans etc... other carers are available...) everywhere.  Do I hang the washing out or not?

I know.  Earth shattering stuff.

The sky was part blue, part white and part grey...  It wasn't warm, but it wasn't freezing either.  I wasn't convinced that it would stay rain-free, but it was so windy outside, I had to give it a try.  It was what they call Up North, 'a good drying day'...

However, once I got the washing, pegs and rotary washing line (aka Whirly-gig) out, I realised - this was going to be no easy task...

The wind was so strong.  Unbelieveably strong.  More 'top-of-mountain' strong than 'random-suberb' strong...  As soon as I got one thing on the line, the thing spun round and round again...  I must have looked like a crazy woman; trying to hold onto the line, the pegs, and bending down to find the next sock - all at the same time.

I know that in Matthew Jesus commanded the wind and it calmed down - but I can tell you - it didn't work for me today.  Apparently God was more concerned with saving people's lives in the New Testament than He was in helping me hang out my washing...  Fair enough I guess.  I did feel like I'd done a few rounds with Mike Tyson though by the time I'd finished.  Not my most glamorous day.

I did benefit from the wind though.  After a couple of hours, the sky looked threatening - so I thought I'd take the washing in - and it was already dry.  Marvellous.  I am in fact the Queen of Laundry...

Do I get a crown with that?

"I feel pretty..."

Don't ask me why I'm wandering around singing songs from 'West Side Story'...  Heaven only knows.  I am (completely unreasonably) blaming my friend Sarah - who I recently went to see perform spectacularly in a local production of Iolanthe (no - not even close to West Side Story - I know)...  Just seems to have made me remember every musical theatre production I have ever been in, or even seen...

Still, any excuse for a good sing...

Today I am extra pleased having bought a couple of items of new clothes from the local fashion house (Sainsbury's), that not only fit, but were in the sale, and look nice.  Marvellous. 

Brilliant timing too actually, as I have recently killed yet another pair of jeans...  I don't know what it is about me and jeans - but generally speaking - the relationship never lasts long, and they always end up dead!  Ah well, just as well my relationship with jeans has no correlation with my relationship with people... 

Anyway, moving on...

Last week when it was raining (again), and we were stuck in the house (again) I decided to calculate my BMI.  BMI (or Body Mass Index) is a guide which uses your weight and your height to calculate whether you are a healthy weight - or not.  There are other ways to do this, and it's by no means a cast iron rule, but it gives you an idea.

I guess writing about my Dad losing weight in my last post made me think about it.  Since having my children I've lost a little bit of the weight I gained through having them, but not all of it...  I guess that's not unfamiliar territory to a lot of mothers.  In my experience, looking after small children is very tiring - but not actually very good exercise...  It seems a bit unfair really.

So anyway, my BMI actually worked out at 26.2, which really isn't bad at all considering the healthy range for BMI is 20-25.  It made me think; actually my perception of my figure and how I look is probably not very accurate.  I think (or thought) of myself as an overweight person, when really - I'm a 'slightly-less-fit- than-I-could-be' person...

So - what to do...  Hmmm...  Time for some action points I think:

1. Stop worrying about it - the more I worry about this sort of thing, the more I want to eat cake anyway... 
2. Try to keep up the exercise - I find this is good for the mental health as much as anything, but I'm sure it would help with the toning up a bit too.  So God, if you could stop the rain - and make it nice and sunny - I'll do some more cycling...
3. Try to dress with a bit more thought...  After all, the kids are big enough to not cover everything I wear in snot now...  I know there are things I wear that look nice, and things that make me look like a slob.  It's not rocket science...  That said, we all need to slob sometimes; everything in moderation!
4. Pray.  After all, God promises He can renew my mind (see Romans 12), and I'm sure most of my issues with my body are actually in my head.

Oh, and maybe a bit more singing:

"See that pretty girl in that mirror there!...."

That was the year that was...

So here we are at the end of another year.  I'm sure I'm not the only person looking back over the last twelve months, and wondering quite where they went.  Somewhere between school runs, house work, bed time routines and cups of tea I would guess...

This time last year I had just completed my last shift (at least for the time being) as a midwife.  It's odd to me that 2010 has passed by without me actually delivering a baby.  That said, I've actually had quite a lot of opportunities to use my midwifery knowledge over the past year...  I've palpated at least four pregnant abdomens, done a fair amount of breastfeeding support, given a couple of informal antenatal classes and answered a gazillion pregnancy and baby related questions.  If I'd have charged, I could have earned at least 20 pence!

What I haven't had to do is juggle childcare, fill in a timesheet, or try to organise time off when I need it (otherwise known as organising the off duty...  It's called that because people are always more concerned with when they're 'off' than when they're 'on'!)...  I haven't had to complete any mandatory (or any other sort of) training; one of these is called K2 - it's named after a mountain for a reason!  I haven't had to run for any buzzers, answer any irate phone calls, deal with any unreasonable visitors or chase any blood results.  Although I miss some of my wonderful ex-colleagues, I know the world of maternity still rumbles along quite happily without me, and to be honest, I can't see me rushing back anytime soon.

Of course I've done some other things over the last twelve months other than my informal midwife-ing.  So here, in no particular order are some of the highlights of my so-called life (insert drum-roll here!):

1. I have been part of a new congregation on the housing estate where I live.  This have given lots of opportunities for doing new / slightly comfort zone stretching activities such as playing the guitar and singing in front of lots of people, helping with a children's holiday club, and organising a nativity in about 30 minutes (click here for more details on that one...)
2. I have learnt to enjoy cycling
3. I have had some singing lessons.  All good fun, and notwithstanding the fact that I obviously still have much to learn on the singing front, I have discovered that I really needed boldness lessons more than anything else
4. I have been mummy to two of the funniest, most handsome, cleverest boys in Warwickshire - or maybe the whole world (no bias here obviously...) With them I have laughed, cried, danced, sung, jumped, sledged, swum, eaten (the chocolate log is all gone now - sorry), slept, prayed, cycled, wrestled, argued, cuddled, watched TV and sat in the car.  Is it any wonder I can't fit in a paid job?!
5. I have written a blog which people have actually read - I know amazing but true.  I didn't realise until I started writing this list how so much of what I have done this year has been covered by the blog... 
6. I have seen an angel
7. I have written the odd poem / song
8. I have built a snow rabbit
   
   
9. I have continued to celebrate small victories...  I'm fighting the urge to add another link...  Oh okay, but this is the last one... (have a look here if you're not truly bored by now...)

What were the best bits of your year?  I'd love to know, and you have put up with me rambling about my 2010... 
 
Here's hoping 2011 is full of more laughter, inspiration, joy, peace, music, achievements, friends, blogging, encouragement and all things good.  Gxx



The Generation Game

I've just got back from a weekend break with my family in Centerparcs.  Overall, we had a lovely time: we even had a chance to play in the snow, although we've come back pretty tired actually - what with all the swimming, walking, fresh air etc.

There were six of us in our merry band of adventurers:  Me, Paul, Joel, Nathan, and Paul's parent's (aka Chris and Jenifer / Mum and Dad / Grandma and Grandpa - it's a wonder that they ever know their own names actually, given that they have so many options...)

It's nice going away on holiday with extra adults; especially if those adults are fond of your children.  We've been away previously (yes, Centerparcs again - I know, very cliched) with Becca, my friend from school who is also Nathan's Godmother, and with my parents too.  It is good having some other people to play with the children; and to spend some adult time with too.  If you play your cards right - you can even end up with some free babysitting.  Marvellous.

There is something a bit stressful about mixing up the generations though; it seems to muddle up the roles some how.  When I'm with my children, I know what my job is.   I am Mummy; source of food, cuddles, medicine (only when clinically indicated obviously...), stories etc. etc.  When I am with my in-laws, I am daughter-in-law; who will listen to stories regaled at great length, laugh (OK, not cringe too much) at pun related jokes, and generally try to formulate coherent sentences.

These roles are sometimes hard to complete at the same time; for example - trying to listen to a story about an incident from a recent holiday, whilst smallest boy announces in a loud voice that he needs a wee.

Thinking about how to juggle the roles I have was one of the main motivations behind starting blogging in the first place.  It's why I'm called 'MummyLadyMe'.  I'm know I'm not the first woman to feel this way.  I've just realised that in this post I haven't even really mentioned trying to fulfill my 'lady' role (although Paul and I did make use of some free babysitting this weekend - Hoorah!), or just trying to be me.  Crumbs.  There's so much to do!

I guess all you can do is prioritise the role that seems most important at the time, and trust that everyone involved loves you enough to forgive you if they don't always rank at number one on the priority list.  I am so thankful to have relatives who I know feel that way about me.

Sweet Caroline

Those of you who know me well, know the truth about me.  I'm not a lean, mean, cycling machine; more like a wobbly, knobbly, cuddly mummy.  I feel I need to start with this fact - as I'm going to talk about going cycling - again.  I've confessed in a previous post (See 'I want to ride my bicycle') to being pleased about having finally found a form of exercise I enjoy; but to be honest - the main motivation has been having Joel master cycling over the summer holidays, and him wanting to practice his new found skill.

We went out today, on a mission to cycle round Draycote Water.  This is a local reservoir (the same one mentioned in 'One to One time') which is about five miles round.  This time we took a picnic (vital fuel for the intrepid adventurers), but we also took our new piece of cycling kit.

Our friends, the lovely Diane and Aaron, had passed onto us a tag-along bicycle attachment their sons no longer need.  This adds an extra seat, pedals, handle-bars and a third wheel to my bike, making it really quite long.  It opens up the possibility of cycling together as a whole family, as Nathan's only just mastered pedalling, and doesn't yet have the stamina to keep up with the longer legged members of the family.

I have to admit to being a little dubious.  Nathan is a wiggly child, and I wasn't sure he was going to be able to sit still, let alone for long enough for us to get around the reservoir.  So I decided to have a little chat with him about it before we set off.

We stood together looking out the back door, watching Paul assembling the tag-along.  He listened as I explained which bit was Mummy's seat, which was Nathan's seat, where he would hold on etc. etc.  I asked if that sounded OK to him.  He thought for a couple of seconds with his serious face on, and then replied that he was happy to go for a ride on Caroline.

Caroline?

I checked that he understood.  I know that Caroline is the name of a car in Thomas the Tank Engine stories, so I wanted to be sure that he understood that we wouldn't be driving round the reservoir...

He understood completely, he had just named the tag-along! 

And so it came to pass that we gained a member of the family.  I then had tantrums to deal with as both Joel and Nathan couldn't ride on Caroline at the same time.  In fact, one of us will probably have to take Joel out on it (sorry, her) later in order to keep the peace.

Our trip around Draycote Water was a storming success.  Joel managed to cycle all the way round.  So did Paul & I, and Nathan and Caroline were a beautiful, if slightly wobbly couple.  A picnic lunch had never tasted so good.

If I do manage to get fit, it won't be down to my efforts or discipline; it will be down to the boys harassing me for rides on Caroline... :)