Pottering.........

Aaaaah - a whole day off! Lovely.....took Miss A to nursery, came home and made some jewellery bits and bobs for one of my best friends (who is also 40 next week), then took myself and Mr A off to Islington. I had a lovely Thai massage while he had a coffee (and played on his Blackberry) and then we hit the shops for the some birthday shopping - thanks to the very slick shop assistants in Whistles and Hobbs, I walked out with TWO new outfits (one pair of grey wool trousers, a teal-blue drapey cardigan and mint green camisole, followed by one black shift dress and matching jacket plus belt!). Phew! Really needed our lovely Italian lunch after that. A great day on all fronts :-)

Want to see the jewellery? Really? Well, ok then! My friend's favourite colour is red, so I whipped up a charm bracelet and cluster pendant necklace (strung on red suede cord).

Here's the necklace:

and the bracelet:

See the little silver heart charms? Aren't they cute? Really hope she likes them!

Little Bruiser

what happens when you go too fast up the pavement on your scooter? You fall off and whack your cheek on the metal pole beneath the handlebars! Not sure if you can see the bruise, but it's there - and makes her look like she's been a fight with the local thugs........

Forty-licious

(photo courtesy of The Couture Cakery)

Well, that's what Mr. A's card says - think I'll adopt it as my mantra!

Musical beds

Forget about musical chairs or musical statues - we have a much better game in this house: musical beds!

Miss A has three beds to choose from: her own bed, the one in the spare room (also known as Grandma and Grandad's bed, as that is where my parents sleep when they come to visit) and, of course, our bed....

Since we turned her cot into a bed last October, I reckon Miss A has probably slept a total of 10 nights in her bed. She generally prefers to sleep in the spare bed - and much as I know I shouldn't be encouraging it, she does look adorable in it. Lately, however, it's been a different story....whether it's linked to my not collecting her from school or some of the other fairly large changes that have happened recently (she's moved into the 'top' class at nursery and has started following a 'proper' curriculum with reading books and homework - a whole different kettle of fish), she doesn't want to be left alone at night. Bedtimes have turned into a battlefield of negotation and cajoling - exhausting.

Anyway, last night Miss A declares she doesn't want to wear a nappy to bed. "Ok", I think to myself, "we've prepared for this - there are mattress protectors on both her and the spare beds, we have plenty of spare linen and it's Saturday night, so I won't mind having to change the sheets in the morning. " So she gets all installed in the spare bed, and Mr A and I go down to enjoy a few hours of peace and quiet.

Lo and behold, when I go to bed a few hours later, I find her in OUR bed (i.e. the only one that doesn't have a protector) absolutely soaking wet.....so there I am, at quarter to midnight, having to strip / shower / change a sleeping child and changing a super-king size bed.......

Oh, this parenting lark is so much fun sometimes.......

Tugging at the heartstrings....

....exactly how can you be expected to start the day on the right footing when you leave the house to the sound of your daughter crying her heart out because she doesn't want you to go to work?

I won't even get into the subject of 'are you picking me up today, Mummy?' (the answer, nine times out of ten, is no........). Nor will I mention the total hysterical meltdown that occurred when Granny took her to her first French class (no, she won't be going back - have realised that too much can be just too much at that age).

Why didn't anyone tell me how hard this 'working Mummy' lark would be?

Oh, and can anyone tell me how to get rid of the stain produced by a Fruit Pastille ice lolly (it would be on her new dress, wouldn't it?)

How much?

Look! Over there! To your right.............

I hadn't updated my Knit Meter account since February, so I had quite a few projects to add - and I'm now gobsmacked to say the least! How much?

twelve thousand, two hundred and eighty-eight meters

and there's still quite a bit of 2010 to go..............

Wonder if I can get it up to 20,000 - shouldn't be too hard with all the charity squares I've got planned, should it?

Add to that some new, very exciting projects that have just been added to my list: baby things! Yes folks, I'm going to be an auntie in 2011! Squeeeeeeeee!

Silly Saturdays

Up until a few weeks ago, the arrival of the weekend was still a welcome relief from all the hustle and madness of the working week. Yes, Miss A would still wake me up a stupid hour, but I could at least sit back with a large cup of coffee and slowly wake up and 'welcome' the day.

No more......

Take this morning for instance. Miss A woke me up at exactly 6.10am - that's earlier than my alarm normally goes off.....she did climb in to bed with me while I tried to prolong the 'snooze moment', but I soon gave up, as it's impossible to even doze when you have a mouthful of hair and a small person wriggling in your arms. So, downstairs we go, with me hoping she'll be satisfied with a little kiddy tv for just long enough for me to have a very large cup of coffee (and where has the lid to my themo mug gone, I would like to know?).

Needless to say, that illusion was quickly burst - first she wanted food (how unreasonable of her! - and yes, I am only joking), then she wanted to do 'sticking' with the new collection of stickers I brought home for her yesterday. I have only myself to blame - I discovered the coolest website recently which has a huge range of crafty / arty products for kids at really good prices. I bought her three packs of foam stickers (jungle animals, flowers and shapes) plus a pack of A3 sugar paper a month ago, and she's already 'burned' through all the stickers...........don't get me wrong, it's fantastic to watch her make shapes and arrange the animals by type and colour - just not at 7am....even if she does make me laugh with her antics

It's now almost 8am, and I have to get motoring - need to get showered, dressed and out of the door by 9am. We need to stop by the post office before heading for ballet class (I'm hoping she will actually do some of the class today instead of bursting into tears and spending the lesson at my side....). We are then off to see my sister and BIL, followed by a stop at the supermarket. I reckon I'll be ready to collapse by the time we get back home........I think Miss A has a play date this afternoon (weather permitting), so I might just get a bit of 'hooky time' (get your minds out of the gutter - I'm talking crochet!). A few rounds on the market bag, or maybe a few of my sock granny squares:

I'm really loving these - can make two during my lunch break and mixing up the colours is really too much fun. I've got almost 90 large (4") squares made up now - will have to think about starting to sew them up soon, as I don't think I'll be able to face sewing all of the 400 projected squares in one go....

And what is Mr A doing while all this is going on? Well, he did have an impacted wisdom tooth removed yesterday (it required stitches in the end - eeek!), so I reckon he'll spend most of the day in bed........note to self: pick up some baby food for him, as I don't think he'll be wanting solids for at least 24 hours!