Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday- 7 weeks

Posted by cafebebemama on Jan 13, 2012 in Flashback Friday, Motherhood | 0 comments

Sam is 7 weeks old now! Nearly TWO MONTHS OLD! Crikey, where does the time go? As one probably shouldn’t, I’ve decided to compare Sam at 7 weeks to Ella around 7-8 weeks as well to see what similarities and differences we have. Ready?

We purchased this bouncy seat from Kiddicare for £9.99 in 2008 in preparation for Ella. We didn’t want anything with ridiculous bells and whistles. Hubby picked this one and while I thought it was lacking in beauty a bit, it was most certainly functional. Ella loved it and spent a fair bit of time in it. We saved it from the bin with Sam’s arrival and Mark dutifully assembled it to see how Sam liked it. At the moment he’s tolerating it for about 15-20 minutes before shouting. He prefers sitting in it in the kitchen so he can look out the big picture window. Isn’t it great when you can put something to use again?

I love the expression on my face in the picture on the left with Ella…NOT. We spent an exceptionally windy and unseasonably cold (it was July) day at the seaside in Hunstanton with Mark’s family. I was worried about Ella as I hadn’t dressed her appropriately and the sand was swirling around something fierce. I bundled her into the Baby Bjorn carrier and wrapped her up in someone’s jacket.

I believe I look considerably happier and more than a bit different in the picture with Ella and Sam on the right. This photo was taken on Monday on our maiden voyage to London as a family of four. We stopped at Regent’s Park on the walk back to the car park so that Ella could burn off a bit of energy. Funnily enough, the weather was quite similar to that Summer day back in 2008! You’ve got to love England!

Ella never had issues with the Moses Basket. She went into it straight away when we arrived home and slept quite well in it. It was right next to my side of the bed and we did occasionally bring her in bed with us but she was pretty confident in it from the get-go. Unfortunately, Ella was never a brilliant day-time nap taker so she didn’t spend much day time in the Moses Basket.

Sam, from the beginning, has not enjoyed his Moses Basket. We are now in Operation Don’t Be Afraid of the Moses Basket. I’ve brought it downstairs so he can spend time in it next to me while I work on the laptop. It seems to be alright for set periods of time. He’ll dose off for 15-20 minutes and happily wriggle around for a while longer. Not too bad for a boy who’s been pretty much attached to Mummy from the time he came out of me!

There’s my Flashback Friday for today! Looking back to Ella’s early days in comparison to Sam’s current days. There are a few similarities between them but quite a few differences as well. It is lovely to look back however…happy memories all around. That’s what Flashback Friday is all about! Feel free to do the same on your blog…take a trip back in time, share a memory and a smile. Have a great weekend!

Flashback Friday- 4 weeks ago

Posted by cafebebemama on Dec 23, 2011 in Bebe, Flashback Friday, Motherhood | 0 comments

Today is a very short Flashback Friday to celebrate what occurred 4 weeks ago. 4 weeks ago yesterday our precious Sam joined the world and our Cafe Bebe family. What a wonderful addition to our lives he has been.

Thank you for bringing so much joy to our family little Sam. We all love you so!

Happy Christmas to all and to all a wonderful holiday week!

Flashback Friday- Last Christmas

Posted by cafebebemama on Dec 16, 2011 in Blogger Love, Flashback Friday, Little Miss Adventures | 0 comments

I was reminded last night how important holiday traditions are to a toddler. Last night, at dinner at the inlaws, Ella began talking about Father Christmas and how we need to leave a carrot (we had carrots as one of the veg for dinner, naturally) for Father Christmas’ reindeer. There was a heated discussion amongst the adults about what beverage should be left for Father Christmas after that (Captain Morgan’s and Coke anyone?)

Then Ella started talking about how Father Christmas puts wrapping paper on the door. How does he do that she wondered? And I remembered, on advice from some Twitter/Blogging friends, that last year we used wrapping paper to close off the door to the lounge so that Ella would have to burst through it into the lounge to get her presents. At the time, last Christmas, Ella was terrified of the prospect of breaking through the paper and what might be on the other side but it obviously stuck with her as it’s all she could talk about last night. Now I know that we simply MUST repeat this tradition again this year no matter what.

In our house, this has obviously become a tradition. Generally, we have a relatively quiet present opening on Christmas morning with just our wee family and give Ella the presents from us (I mean, Father Christmas) and assorted family from America. Then we gradually get ourselves presentable and head over to the inlaws house where more present opening will happen later in the morning. My husband’s family also has a tradition of (to me) a rather unique Christmas morning breakfast. They ALWAYS eat crumbed ham, pork pie, chutney & pickled onions and lovely rustic white farmhouse bread. They throw in the odd fried egg as well and other bits and bobs to round out the breakfast. Unfortunately, due to my coeliac disease, I can’t eat most of this but it is their tradition. I might have to bring my own gluten-free tradition from now on.

What are your traditions on Christmas? Do you have any memories from Christmas Past to share? I’m really looking forward to this year’s Christmas as it will be Sam’s first and Mark’s sister Julie and her family will be with us for what will probably be the last Christmas in a while. Also, my Mom is here from America to share the holidays with us. So this Christmas will be a special one indeed.

I’m not including a Linky for the Flashback Friday today as I’ve been off for a few weeks (thanks to having a baby and all that jazz) and I think everyone’s forgotten about Flashback Friday. However, feel free to share your holiday/Christmas memories and link back if you like. Starting in the New Year I’ll be revitalising the Flashback Friday linky so get ready for that! In the meantime, Happy Holidays!

Flashback Friday: My Dad

Posted by cafebebemama on Nov 18, 2011 in Bebe, Blogger Love, Flashback Friday, NaBloPoMo | 2 comments

This is my Hubby and my Dad very early this morning, around 12:30am. They had just spent the past 2 hours struggling, swearing and sweating over the GORGEOUS new IKEA Hemnes bed which is now Ella’s “Big Girl” bed. My stepmom and I left them to it. They are the perfect pair. Mark gets cranky, Dad calms him down and encourages him and they love to work together. A beer is generally welcome and they accomplish pretty amazing things in the end.

This past week my Dad and Stepmom were here helping Mark and I (and Ella) to transform our two main rooms upstairs into gorgeous new havens. Ella’s Big Girl Room is still in need of some decoration and accessorizing but she’ll be sleeping in it tonight. 3 1/2 years ago my Dad came over from America to help us prepare Ella’s nursery so it was only appropriate that they would come back to help us get ready for Bebe.

My Dad and I have always been close. I guess it’s that “Father/Daughter” thing. I have always looked up to my Dad and learned a great deal from him. It makes me sad to be 4000 miles away from him, particularly as he’s retired now and has more free time. In retirement, however, I think that my Dad is busier now than he was when he was working. My dad was a P.E. (sport) teacher and coach and then became an Administrator/Principal (Head Teacher) towards the end of his career. My Dad was even MY P.E. teacher when I was in Middle School which was both a bonus and a curse. I was “Mr Morley’s” daughter but it wasn’t a hardship…most of the kids thought Mr Morley was pretty cool.

Now that he has retired, he hasn’t missed a step. Not only is he extremely active in his church, he volunteers his time with various causes in our hometown and is still an extremely dutiful son to his Mom (my Grandma). My Dad cared for my Grandpa (his Dad) until his last breath and I know he misses him terribly. In addition to all of the volunteer work he does, my Dad started a side business making golf clubs and giving golf lessons. He’s gotten to a point (thanks to advice from Mark) where he’s making a tidy profit on his well-crafted clubs. It’s his “slush fund” and he LOVES what he’s doing now.

It was wonderful to have my Dad and Stepmom here, if only for a week. They helped me to get organised, made light work of everything and had the opportunity to do something for the Bebe and Ella as well. This makes them feel good to be a part of it and that makes us happy as well. Today they head back to the US to get ready for new adventures and eventually, celebrate Thanksgiving next week. Hopefully we’ll be able to get back to the US next summer as it will have been three years since we’ve been back. 4000 miles is a very big distance indeed.

Today I’ll be tidying the house, playing with Ella and continuing the decorating in preparation for Bebe’s arrival TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY. Thankfully my Mom will be arriving on 14 December and my Sister-in-Law and her children arrive on 16 December so we’ll have more family to entertain us. But for today I’ll be missing my family a bit and being a bit sad…share your memories of friends, family and other wonderful things on the linky below.

Flashback Friday- Remembrance

Posted by cafebebemama on Nov 11, 2011 in Blogger Love, Flashback Friday, NaBloPoMo | 8 comments

Today, 11-11-11, is Remembrance Day or Veteran’s Day in the US. My grandpa was a pilot in World War II and was exceptionally proud of his service to his country in the war.

My Grandpa Dale died on March 8, 2008. He missed meeting his great-granddaughter by 3 months. I hadn’t seen my Grandpa since September 2005 and couldn’t go back to the US for his funeral as I was heavily pregnant with Ella at the time. My Grandpa had suffered, the last 10 or so years of his life with Alzheimer’s Disease. The Grandpa that I remember is not the one who died in 2008 but the one who was my Grandpa from 1970 on.

My Grandpa was the life of the party, the best Grandpa a child could ask for, a supportive and loving husband and a devoted father to my Dad. I learned a lot from my Grandpa and the memories I have of him are fond ones. My Dad was an only child so my brother and I were the only grand-children he would enjoy. He doted on us and made us both feel very special indeed.

One of the areas of my Grandpa’s life that I didn’t know very much about was his military service. Mainly because I didn’t ask, I suppose! But my Grandpa’s generation didn’t brag about anything. He was proud to have served his country, was a brave pilot who flew missions in the Atlantic and over Europe and came home in one piece to marry his childhood sweetheart and start a family. My Grandpa worked many a job to go to University to become a teacher following the war and eventually became a Principal (Head Teacher) where he helmed many a school and staff to become better and brighter. “Mr. Morley” was loved by one and all. Not a bad reputation to have.

My Grandpa died just 3 days short of what would have been his 85th birthday. Instead, he was buried on his birthday after a funeral attended by hundreds in the town in which Grandpa grew up. According to everyone in attendance, my Grandpa’s funeral was a great celebration of an amazing man and an amazing life. I miss my Grandpa and honour him today, Remembrance Day.

My Dad produced a short video which was played at Grandpa’s funeral. It’s this that I share with you today for my Flashback Friday. While I was not there on the day of Grandpa’s funeral, I love that I can view this video to see some of the wonderful memories of my Grandpa and his life. You’ll even find me in a few of the later images. Enjoy and remember, today of all days, the thousands of brave soldiers who fought so hard to make our world a safer and better place. Please link up your Flashback Friday memories below…

Flashback Friday- A Nightmare Christmas

Posted by cafebebemama on Nov 4, 2011 in American Mum Me, Blogger Love, Flashback Friday, NaBloPoMo | 4 comments

Flashback Friday has been a wonderful series which I have been running for a while now. I’ve taken a photo from times gone by, related the (usually) happy story behind it and then provided the opportunity for others to share their memories as well. Recently, I met up with a blogging friend who was telling me how she was going back through some of her older posts and editing them. That got me to thinking about my posts gone by…

I’ve written approximately 650+ posts and have just committed to writing another 30 for the month of November for NaBloPoMo. But once a post has been written, I rarely go back to read it just for the fun of it. I mean, why? Well, exactly! Why not?! It might be kind of fun to see what I was writing on a given day in the last two years, right? So, I filtered back through my archives and found the post that I wrote for 4 November, 2009 during the 1st year of my blogging “career”. Have a look at what I was up to then…

(The picture in this post was not from 4 November, 2009, nor was it from Christmas 1998 but as the theme of my post from 2009 was Christmas related, I give you my Christmas tree from 2005)

In another Wednesday Writing Workshop challenge from Josie at Sleep is for the Weak, I have chosen to tackle writing prompt #2:  Tell us about the worst Christmas presents you were ever bought and what you’d prefer this year (inspired by Claire at Being a Mummy).  I’ve chosen poetic license to slightly alter the prompt to be “the worst CHRISTMAS” I ever experienced but will be happy to add some of my Christmas wishes at the end.  Get your credit cards ready!

Way back in 1998 (oh.my.God.eleven.years.ago!) I had just moved from Decatur, Illinois (don’t bother Googling it…it’s not worth it) to sunny California.  I had taken up a job with a Gymnastics Centre and was living in Lancaster, California whilst working in Canyon Country and Burbank, California (Google those…they’re brilliant…Burbank is practially Hollywood!).  I had left behind my boyfriend at the time but we were going to give the long-distance thing a go as I thought I was in love.  Silly woman.  Somehow I managed to convince said Rubbish Boyfriend that he should “Go West” to spend Christmas with me.  He refused to come to California (warning sign? nahhhh) but agreed to meet in Las Vegas as that’s where his estranged father lived.  We would stay with “Bud” in his MOBILE HOME in a TRAILER PARK in Las Vegas.  **shudder**

I lived in southern California which required me to drive approximately 4 hours east to get to Las Vegas.  The drive to Las Vegas is probably the bleakest drive one could make…desert, desert and more desert.  You’re advised to carry water with you as you never know when your car is going to die and you won’t see another soul for hours on end.  Is that the warning I should have listened to?  The desert did not eat me up and spit me out, however.  I arrived in Las Vegas and drove straight to the airport to meet Rubbish Boyfriend.  I waited and waited and waited and when his plane arrived and EVERYONE departed from the plane (this was pre-9/11…you could still go to the plane to meet your family/significant other/Rubbish Boyfriend) I became a bit concerned.  Then a big-haired, platinum blonde woman approached me.  She was Rubbish Boyfriend’s alcoholic & drug rehabbed sister.  Said Rubbish Boyfriend had missed his plane.  She had been sent to keep me company while we waited for the next plane to arrive several hours later.  Thus began the nightmare.

We stayed in the MOBILE HOME with “Bud” and Whatever-Her-Name-Was and had the most miserable time.  Well, I say WE but really it was just ME who had the most miserable time.  I didn’t know these people, save said Rubbish Boyfriend and I felt like I was living something out of a horrible movie.  What capped it all off was the Christmas dinner that we had.  I was not, at the time, a big fan of steaks.  I had never eaten one that had been cooked properly.  They were always cooked to within an inch of their life which required one to use a very sharp steak knife and chew and chew and chew and chew…ick.  So, what was for Christmas dinner??  Not a steak surely?  Who has steak for Christmas dinner?  I’ll tell you who has steak for dinner…”Bud”, Whatever-Her-Name-Was and Rubbish Boyfriend have steak for dinner.  And not just any steak…a GIANT New York Strip steak…cooked to within an inch of its life.  Ugh…I had to cut and cut and chew and chew and never say a thing.  It was horrible.

I weathered the Christmas of 1998 in Las Vegas with “Bud”, Whatever-Her-Name-Was and Rubbish Boyfriend and managed to put Rubbish Boyfriend back on a plane to the Midwest of the US.  Could I see the forest for the trees??  No.  It took me another year and a half before I finally realised that settling for Rubbish Boyfriend was not the best choice I could have made.  My family is most grateful that I finally saw my way free.  Wonder how “Bud”, Whatever-Her-Name-Was and Rubbish Boyfriend are now?  **shudder**

Having survived the Nightmare that was Christmas of 1998, I feel I am deserving of some karma in the form of lovely Christmas presents.  Here is my list which, I am most certain, will remain just that…a list:

• A new laptop to efficiently do my website, blogging and writing during naps and stolen moments.
• A Flip digital recorder camera thingy…how cool is that Flip??  How easy is it to become a film maker??
• Some money to get several items for my clothing wardrobe that actually fit and flatter my unfortunate shape.
• A gym membership and family childcare option so I can get take my shape from unfortunate to fortunate.
• A FREE RAIL TRAVEL FOR A YEAR card so Little Miss and I can go to London more often without cost.
• A “TimeOut London with Kids” or “London for Children- TimeOut” guide so we can find more to do in London after we travel down to London on our FREE RAIL TRAVEL FOR A YEAR card.
• A new, blingy, multi-media, app-loaded, easy-to-use mobile phone…an iPhone works for me.  Also, a fully paid contract to go with it with unlimited everything.

I don’t ask for much do I??  I would also like to have a week or weekend away in Paris with my hubby and daughter so I can start to share my favouritest city in the world with my daughter.  My husband has already started to learn about it with me and now I’d like to bring Little Miss into the fold.  So, if we could have return travel from Peterborough to St. Pancras, Eurostar to Paris and a stay in our favourite hotel, the Hotel Elysees-Union on Rue Hamelin, we would greatly appreciate it.  Thanks so much. What’s on your Christmas list?

Wow! Reading that post from 4 November, 2009 TOTALLY sucked me back to that NIGHTMARE Christmas from 1998. Gah! And I am pleased to report that the Christmas wish list that I have written at the end of that post has pretty nearly been accomplished as of 4 November, 2011! I am still in need of a Gym Membership and have yet to make it to Paris with Mark and Ella but maybe that might happen in 2012? When we have Bebe to join us!

I’m going to challenge you to look back in your archives as well and see what you were writing about a year or two or three ago. It’s pretty fascinating to see what you were writing about and how your writing style and life have changed since. In the meantime, feel free to link up YOUR Flashback Friday memories below. I can’t wait to see what you have to share with us this week!