May222013
This week has been blue. A series of blue days where I’m putting one foot in front of the other quite consciously. Telling myself to “Get Up and Do”. Isn’t it lovely, however, when something as simple as a nice, soothing drink can make things a teeny bit better?
This was a Mocha from one of my favourite cafes in Stamford. We sat outside and enjoyed a quick coffee and snack. Right now I’m going to go back there, in my mind. I’ll have an indulgent Mocha and watch the world go by. Join me?
May202013
On Sunday we had the pleasure of visiting ZSL Whipsnade Zoo for a sneak peek of their new outdoor adventure play area, Hullabazoo. Have a look at the wonderful space in this short movie and soon I will be reporting to you from the fantastic blog, English Mum, where I will reveal all. Suffice it to say, Ella and Sam both thought it was Zoo-riffic!
We loved ZSL Whipsnade Zoo's Hullabazoo!
May192013
I grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA. The winters were harsh, bitter and bleak. The first snow often came as early as October and it has been known to snow as late as May (12 inches 2 weeks ago!). Not only does it snow but it’s fricking cold. The ground freezes several inches through. Everything, besides the pine trees or things that are hibernating, dies. If there is no snow on the ground, you won’t find even a speck of green. It’s rather uninspiring, to be honest.
Considering my background, imagine my joy when I discovered that just because Autumn led into Winter, the grass and hedges remained green! Sure, trees lose their leaves but the hills and dales are alive with more than 50 shades of green. It is glorious! Have a look at some of the green in my garden, at my in-laws’ garden and on our school run. Where I live now is quite magnificent.
How green is our garden?
I am often reminded of the lyrics to England’s unofficial anthem, Jerusalem…
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountain green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?
And did the countenance divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among those dark satanic mills?
My family's green
Bring me my bow of burning gold!
Bring me my arrows of desire!
Bring me my spear!
O clouds, unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire!
I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England’s green and pleasant land.
50 Shades of Green...on the School Run
How lucky we are to live in such a perpetually vibrant green land! Thank you to The American Resident for challenging us to write about Green in this week’s Where I Live Linky. How green is your neck of the woods?
May172013
Sam, at nearly 18 months, adores books. We have a wicker hamper full of a wide variety of books. This hamper now has pride of place in the lounge thanks to Sam. Sam will call out “Book!” and grab 2 or 3 books, rush over to me, climb up on my lap and wait to be read to. He knows the key phrases, words and sounds and chimes in where appropriate. It’s quite precious.
When I was approached to review several Little Learners books for Parragon Books, I was eager to see what they had to offer. I was so impressed with the quality of the books that I asked if I could run a competition on my blog. I NEVER run competitions!
Sam and I had the pleasure of reviewing I am Big, Peek-a-Boo Friends, Hickory Dickory Dock and a beautiful gift set with I Love You Bedtime Book and a mobile. The pages of the board books are thick yet smooth and easy to turn. The illustrations are gorgeous and eye-catching and the stories are perfect for babies and toddlers. The Little Learner books are the perfect addition to any library and would make an ideal gift. Perhaps you would like to see what they are like up-close? Here they are in action…
My personal favourite is the Hickory Dickory Dock finger puppet book. Which book is your favourite? Parragon Books has a large selection of delightful books. Have a look at the site and let me know which book you like the best. I will pick ONE winner, at random, from the comments below to win the set of books we reviewed:
I am Big!, Peek-a-Boo Friends, Hickory Dickory Dock finger puppet book and the gift set with a mobile and I Love You Bedtime Book.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
1) Competition start date: Friday 17 May, 2013 9:00am GMT
2) Competition end date: Friday 24 May, 2013 5:00pm GMT
3) Entry is by comment only.
4) The winner will be chosen, at random, from all entries on the blog.
5) The winner will be notified by email and prizes will be sent courtesy of Parragon Books.
6) UK Residents Only please.
So what are you waiting for? These Parragon Books are just perfect for your Little Learners! You can follow Parragon Books on Twitter (@parragonbooks) and on Facebook.
May152013
The last few days have been a mental struggle for me. Being a Stay-at-Home-Mum has its pros and cons. I chose, with the support of my husband, to remain home as opposed to returning to work at the end of my Maternity Leave. It wasn’t that difficult a decision, in fairness, as we would have been out of pocket had I returned to work. I’ve not regretted the decision once. But, the general perception out there is that SAHM’s and WAHM’s are just kicking back and having a party. There really is not a lot of partying going on in our house. Here’s a snippet from a typical morning chez Cafe Bebe…
Good Morning Mummy!
7:00-8:57am:
Everyone wakes and is downstairs by 7:30am. Depending on the number of wakings throughout the night, I will either be Queen Grumpsalot and semi-comatose or just Mum. Thankfully Mark generally shepherds the kids downstairs and gets their first round of breakfast on the table. Channel 5′s Milkshake helps to keep the mood light. I shuffle into the kitchen between 7:30 and 7:40am to rousing shouts of “Mummy!!” We give kisses and huggles to Daddy as he pootles off to work at 7:45am, wave him on his way and shut the door. Numerous requests for more of this, that and the other ensue whilst I attempt to drink my cup of tea before it goes cold which rarely happens.
While the children eat their tapas-like breakfast, I make Ella’s pack up lunch or, on particularly lack-lustre mornings, pitch that day’s school dinner menu. I feel relief on the days that school dinner is the choice. From 8:15am, the children generally play in the lounge while I tidy the breakfast dishes, get the school bag ready and by the door and bring Ella’s school uniform for her to get dressed. By 8:30am I have to make the critical decison of bath or no bath for me. This all depends on how cheerful I am at the time.
By 8:45am, life switches into high gear. Sam gets a nappy change and is dressed for the day. Ella’s hair is brushed and styled, sunscreen is applied, coats or sun hats are put on, scooters and helmets are prepped and depending on how close we are to 8:57am, some shouting may follow. We are almost always out the door, Sam in the pushchair and Ella on her scooter, by 8:57am and make the 5 minute walk to school to drop Ella at her Reception class.
School Run Time
There is a rather lot that goes on in those 2 hours you know? And that’s just the beginning of our day. So what is the value of staying at home? Well, when you have people reminding you how very terribly busy they are in their very important job or how little money you’ve brought in lately, the work I do, staying at home, raising my children, keeping the house, feeding us and such like, seems pretty bloody insignificant. Just because I don’t bring in a paycheck or work in an office doesn’t mean that I’m not working! Staying at home is lonely at times and very hard but is also rewarding and infinitely worthwhile.
I used to do freelance work for several clients. Once Sam was more than 6 months old, however, it became more difficult to dedicate specific chunks of the day to social media and blogging. Cbeebies can only be used for so long you know? I’ve given up freelance work and have no prospects for the future. Those vital pounds that I was bringing in are sorely missed. Being reminded of it is even worse. What is the value of staying at home? Apparently, very little to some.
May132013
Twenty-one years ago this week (can it possibly be that long ago?) I moved what few belongings I had from LaCrosse, Wisconsin to Chicago, Illinois. I was to be working at The Sporting Club for an internship to finish up my fitness degree from University. Yes, I graduated with a fitness degree. So what?
I was so excited to be moving to Chicago! I had no idea where I would live or what life would be like but I knew it would be pretty fantastic. Somehow I stumbled into a studio apartment lease in Lincoln Park East, just a stones throw from Lake Michigan and a short walk from the Magnificent Mile that is Michigan Avenue. The studio was so small but absolutely perfect. I had a day bed, a kitchen table, a microwave and a black and white television. God, rock and roll huh?
The apartment building was quiet and clean and borded Lincoln Park which is a little like Central Park in New York but a lot smaller. I was also right across from the Lincoln Park Zoo, the world’s oldest free zoo…still open today! I had a car which I would leave for weeks at a time when I managed to find a parking space for it. One time my car got towed because I was parked across from a church on a Sunday. That was a very expensive mistake!
The fitness center that I worked at was immense. 7 storeys in total with, at that time, the US’s largest indoor climbing wall running up the middle of the building. There were high-powered business men and women who came in before work to burn off a few hundred calories; young Chicagoans striving to be the next great thing and professional athletes working out and signing autographs. I even saw Michael Jordan, World famous NBA/Chicago Bulls basketball player, on a number of occasions and became friends with his personal trainer. It was a pretty awesome place to be for a 21-year-old girl from middle-class Wisconsin and I loved it!
When my internship ended, I was hired on permanently for the astronomical rate of $8/hour. I could barely afford to eat, that’s how little money I had. My rent was around $500 per month and I had to ration out my bus tokens to afford the luxury of riding the bus to work. I worked the early shift every day which meant that I had to be into work at 5:30am. This meant waking at 4:30am, walking across pitch-black, deserted Chicago streets to wait in the park for a 5:05am bus which would take me to work. Let me tell you, 5am in Chicago in the winter? Not fun! Yet, at 21 and very naive, I was fearless and blissfully unaware that life could have been dangerous for me. The only thing I worried about was the hallway full of cockroaches that I hurdled over on my way out of my apartment building every morning.
When I was saving money, what little I had, I would walk home from work. My shift ended at 3pm so I could take a leisurely walk home, along Michigan Avenue and back down into Lincoln Park. This usually took me about 45 minutes just to walk home but it was a treat for me. Very occasionally I would pop into Marshall Fields (like Debenhams or John Lewis here), walk into the chocolate department and buy myself a 4 piece teeny box of Frango Mints. I would ration out one to eat on the walk home and the other three to finish later in the week.
In my 18 months of living in Chicago I lived in 5 different apartments. The first was in Lincoln Park East; the 2nd and 3rd were disasterous choices of living with two slutty bitches not very nice girls; the 4th and 5th were back in Lincoln Park but both in the same building. The 2nd and 3rd apartments taught me what NOT to look for in a roommate and subjected me to rats the size of small cats and the “El” (Underground) at its worst and scariest. Did you know that homeless people sleep in the Underground at night? I didn’t but quickly learned as I stepped over their huddled bodies as I hurried to work. My final 2 abodes were lovely although this was the building with the cockroaches. My 4th apartment was hotter than Hades and was right next to an exceptionally loud gay couple who liked to sing Whitney Houston’s “I’m Every Woman” at the top of their lungs as often as possible. I can’t hear that song today without hearing them singing along! My 5th and final apartment was the best. It even had a view of downtown Chicago. Shame I wasn’t there long enough to properly enjoy it.
Chicago was an amazing experience for me. Had I not been fired from my job, who knows what would have happened? I’m sharing these memories with you as a part of The American Resident’s Linky, Where I Live. Chicago was good, bad and ugly for me; I’m so glad that I was there however short the time was. I took Mark and a 17-month old Ella there the last time we were back in the US. We even visited the Lincoln Park Zoo which is something I had never done despite living right across the road from it. I would love to go back again and really revisit my old neighborhoods and walk the walks I took. Chicago really was my kind of town.
Ella at Lincoln Park Zoo at 17 months
May122013
Today was a magical day. We bundled into the car en famille, collected McDonalds brekkie along the way and went in search of the illusive and fleeting bluebell. Rutland Water was our destination and the carpet of bluebells we discovered in the woods was just reward indeed.
Sammy was suited and booted in our new Britax Affinity pushchair and Ella set out on her bike for her longest, most challenging journey to date. Save for one brief collision with a small hedge, Ella was a stellar cyclist today. Mark and I were exceptionally proud of her peddaling, braking and hill climbing. What a clever clogs she is!
We are so fortunate to have the Rutland Water woods on our doorstep. Thanks to the genius of Instagram and Facebook, I knew that the bluebells were in bloom and time was a-wasting. The carpet of bluebells was breathtaking…not that Ella or Sam noticed but we were outside together as a family which we all appreciated.
Have a look at our day at the Magic Bluebell Forest…
May122013
May102013
It is 10:10am. Sam and I are sitting in the lounge watching Mr Bloom’s Nursery on Cbeebies. Sam has a cold and has given us 4 very rough nights in a row. I am feeling a scratchy throat coming on, haven’t had a bath and have no make-up on. Today will be a day of naps and lowered expectations.
The kitchen needs tidying. I should put in a load or two of laundry. I will consider it an accomplishment if I manage to have a bath and put on make-up in time for the school run.
This is what reality is in my parenting life. I take a lot of pictures of my smiling, laughing children because they are smiling and laughing a lot. But we are no where near picture perfect. I’d like to bake something today but we have no eggs and I’m not sure I can be bothered to get in the car to get any! Our house is a bit of a tip; the cat no longer uses the litter box and the clothes are in various piles in various locations around the house.
This is the life of us. Happy, often untidy, sometimes there is shouting, sometimes my patience runs out. But I love my family more than anything and would do absolutely everything for them. Today should be a “Duvet Day” but I’m not confident that will happen. At 10:10am on 10 May, in this moment, we are relying on Cbeebies to keep the whinging down and are really looking forward to Daddy coming home tonight. What is happening in this moment for you?
May62013
Maybe it’s just me but I never seem to be satisfied with things the way they are, particularly in our house. I want better, cleaner, shinier, fresher yet we never seem to have the energy or finances to get there. We have set ourself some projects this Spring which include enlarging our patio in our garden and replacing the front hall carpet with tiles. We’re creeping toward both of those goals so I thought it was about time to show you one work in progress…
Welcome to our garden…
Welcome to our garden
Several years ago we had a lovely, quaint, very English garden. Then Ella joined our life and the garden began to get even smaller and decidedly more colourful. In came the trampoline 3 years ago and last Summer, the swing set. The tidy borders and well-manicured lawn eventually seemed titchy and unkempt. Mark no longer enjoyed spending time in the garden and I didn’t fully take advantage of the outdoor living space. The garden became a dumping ground.
Have a seat!
Then Sam came along. Sam loves spending time outside. I love the fact that in our garden he can enjoy the outdoors and be contained. Now that Spring is finally here, we’ve been throwing open the doors first thing after the school run and spending a good portion of the day in the garden. I love sitting at our patio table and Sam loves digging in the dirt and pottering about.
Little people only please!
We’re continuing to make our garden a functional, fun, family place. I am working on this on a budget. Like none. Grand dreams of comfy patio sets, lovely sand boxes and a 2 story play house will have to stay just that. We’re going to have to make do with what we have and maybe one day we’ll have that picture-perfect garden.
Hop on!
The best thing about our garden is when Ella and Sam are in it playing together. They giggle, jostle, dig and run. That’s what makes our garden magical. It’s better with them in it!
Waiting for a play house!
My favourite section of our garden is the left side, just next to part of the patio. It’s where Sam does his digging and where the few remaining tulips can be found. This is one area for development that shouldn’t break the bank. I can’t wait to get out there this week and see what I can do.
Work in Progress
I’m walking you through my garden to show you a page from where I live. My fellow expat friend (and former Midwesterner) Michelle from The American Resident is running a Linky challenge to show “Where I live”. I hope you’ve enjoyed my garden…do stop by for a cuppa…you know where to find me!
We now have FIRE!!
Tweet This week has been blue. A series of blue days where I’m putting one foot in front of the other quite consciously. Telling myself to “Get Up and Do”. Isn’t it lovely, however, when something as simple as a … read more
Tweet On Sunday we had the pleasure of visiting ZSL Whipsnade Zoo for a sneak peek of their new outdoor adventure play area, Hullabazoo. Have a look at the wonderful space in this short movie and soon I will be … read more
