It has been a long time.

Well, it really has.  I have been busy focusing on other areas of my life for the last few months.  As a parent, I don't get a lot of time to spend on things that aren't directly related to being a parent.  That includes slumping on the sofa of an evening, of course.  That is directly related to the amount of hassle and energy-sapping antics my four year old has been up to throughout the day.

Anyway, I just popped in to say that I really miss having a bit of a rant or cathartic outpouring on here, so I may start it up again soon.  However, I am making no promises.  Every time I think I might get around to doing something fun for me, someone decides to get ill in the house or part of the house ceases to function.  

I am determined though, so you never know.  Now, there's suspense for you!  I am not sure if you find a new post on here in the near future that it means that I have achieved world domination or that I have given up trying.  I will try to make it obvious either way.  

A day in the life of...

I dropped my son at nursery at 9am this morning. 

Since then I have:

·         Done the grocery shopping

·         Cleaned my son’s room – recycling the old pictures, sneaking broken toys into the bin, matched bits of toys together and reorganised his cars

·         Vacuumed the whole house

·         Emptied the washing machine

·         Put on more washing

·         Hung up wet laundry and put away dry laundry

·         Ironed a load of dry laundry

·         Emptied the dishwasher

·         Sorted the recycling - including hiding anything my son may still think he wants

·         Filled the dishwasher

·         Matched toys up downstairs and put them in the right place

·         Cleaned kitchen surfaces

·         Replaced loo rolls

·         Changed bathroom towels

·         Organised a bag for charity

·         Sorted through a load of old receipts that were lying around

·         Cleaned jam out the hall carpet

It’s now 12:15pm and lunchtime.  I have time for lunch and to clean the bathroom before I’m off again to get to the nursery early to go through my son’s ‘learning journey’ to check how both he and the nursery are doing.

I often wonder whether teaching teenagers what is involved in being a parent of a young child might make them realise it’s not all fun.  Would adverts highlighting the reality of parenting help the teenage pregnancy rate?

On the plus side, it is all good exercise!

The best things about winter

We’re not deep in snow here, but it is -3⁰C.  The sky is bright blue and sunny which makes it easy to look at the wonderful things that winter can bring us:

1.       The beautiful scenery of the frost and ice on the trees, fields and hedgerows.  All white and glistening in the sunshine

2.       The horses in the field wrapped up in their blankets against such a wintry backdrop

3.       The discussion in the car with my son about whether horses like eating frosty grass for breakfast or not (we have no idea)

4.       Kiddies all wrapped up super warm in coats, scarves, gloves and hats, so much so that the little ones can hardly move their arms about

5.       Enjoying the British tradition of talking about the weather with strangers: how cold it is, the prospect of more snow

6.       Snuggling up with my son in bed this morning giving me an excuse to stay warm in bed longer

7.       Hot chocolate

8.       Being able to put a woolly hat on top of a bad hair day

Although I am longing for warmth and sunshine, winter does make me grateful for summer when it comes.  I’m also super grateful for my central heating, my nice warm duvet, my loft insulation and double-glazing.  Blue sky and sunshine make me happy whatever the temperature but realising how lucky I am, makes me happiest of all.

My son got 82%!

Fabulously my son already knows his way around Hotel Chocolat and chose this lovely bar of 82% gorgeousness from Equador for my Christmas stocking.

Top choice! It certainly hits the spot, especially after said son has been a bit of pickle.

Girls to be homemakers? - What a scandal!

I let out a groan the other morning in bed after reading an article on the BBC website on my phone.  Apparently it is shocking that schoolgirls in the year 2012 are still being given the impression that later in life they will become homemakers. This, according to the article, is a scandal that should be rectified with immediate effect.

From my own experience, I went to a girls school in the late 80’s/early 90’s and sadly was not given career guidance on being a homemaker.  Instead, we were told that we would follow an academic route to University and beyond.  We were lead to believe that our options were unlimited, that the glass ceiling was being smashed ahead of us.  Being a mum was never mentioned.   

That was all well and good in my 20’s.  I was inspired and had ambition.  Now, though, I frequently feel unprepared for this stage in my life where I have a child.  My career is now constrained by my son’s need for a stay-at-home-parent and soon, school run times.

I wish someone had pointed out, all those years ago, that I should think about planning my career path to fit in a few years of freelance or flexible hours.  Being the same age, Husband was not given this kind of career advice at school either. 

I was disappointed that the BBC article is still calling for girls to disregard the importance of being a parent.  The call should instead be for more career guidance for both sexes on how to manage the inevitable scrum for a work/parenting balance.  Surely it is time for boys also to be taught that being a parent can be a tough job.  They should be given career advice that includes not expecting your future wife/partner to stay at home with the kids.  Until boys start to think about sharing parenting and taking on the tough role of ‘homemaker’ when they grow up, women will inevitably be the ones to fill the role.

The Curse of the Faraway Tree

Well, tonight we read another chapter of the Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton.  Once my son was in bed and snuggling down, he announced that he'd actually like to change his mind on Christmas.  He told me he'd need to write a new letter to Santa asking (instead of more wooden railway, trains, etc.) for some spells, a brush (if the spell came in a can, like in the book) and also for a car.  

Naturally, I asked about the car.  The response?  Well, he'd apparently use his new spells to make me really small, then, of course, he'd need to have a car to drive himself to the supermarket.  He felt confident that he'd manage just fine at the supermarket.  He did check that I'd give him the list first though.  As far as driving was concerned, I would also need to tell him which roads to go on.  Oh yes, I'd be taken along too.  In his pocket.  Apart from in the supermarket, where apparently he'd delight in putting me in a trolley and pushing me around.

I'm not sure if this tells me something about how he feels about being a small child and his impatience to grow up.  Or, if he's just gonna have some interesting dreams tonight.

Moved in. Now back to blogging.

Well, finally I can knock one item off my 'to do' list.

Yes, after months of planning, we are living in our new home.  The whole thing was exhausting and, really I suppose will continue to be so.

The move itself went smoothly but the stress associated with the organisation and the length of time it takes to unpack is really not fun.  There are plenty of other things I should, and would rather be doing than searching through boxes, unpacking boxes, moving boxes and so on.

On the upside, once things are settled in properly, I shall have some real space to put my files and thoughts and finally get on with the grand plan of a Working At Home Mum (WAHM).  I rather suspect that the onslaught of winter bugs and the depletion of financial means will ensure that my plans for world domination may take longer than I would like, but I am eager to get going at least.

Another advantage of the move is that since each evening there has been packing/sorting/moving heavy furniture/manic searching for things, both me and husband are feeling a bit fitter, trimmer and all round less interested in sitting on the sofa watching TV and eating snacks.

I wrote a post earlier in the year about doing more and moving house has reminded me not to fall back into bad habits.  I have put a note in my diary to remind myself again at the end of the year as it seems without a kick every now and again I have the tendency to seek out the solace and comfort of the sofa.

Blogging will be back on the agenda slowly as I still have a huge list of stuff to get on with, but for now, it is just great to be logged back in.