Mummy&Roo

When I tell people I work 2 jobs or that I work 7 days they often say the same phrase after I've explained I run a craft business, that phrase is "but it's not like real work", Sometimes they follow it up with things like "because you're at home", "because you enjoy it" "because you work for yourself" etc etc and they're right! It's not like real work I don't get a day off, hell I barely even get an evening off I don't get to go home from work I work late into the evening when I have to (I just finished and it's past 10pm) I am ALWAYS thinking about work I'm not paid a wage, if people don't buy I don't get paid If people aren't happy with the product it costs me money I have no company There's no HR department There's no sick pay, holiday pay, time off There's next to no company benfits There's no salary or hourly wage There's no escaping the boss The list goe...

I went to the gym today. I drove there, if I walked I'd be shattered before I got there. I parked and put an hour parking on, I wasn't even kidding myself I'd be in there long. Walked in through the air lock tubes and surveyed my surroundings. Machines I recognised and a couple I didn't, a sign for the men's changing and some vending machines. Step one: find women's changing. I wondered around looking surprisingly lost in a small gym room and found a door with a sign which said ladies, success! I stowed my bag in a locker, which I couldn't lock as I can't remember my padlock combination. I then took my bag back out and remembered to change my shoes. Set my music going and hopped on a treadmill. 5 minutes brisk walk and I was walked up and sweating already. On to the cross trainer for a whole 2 minutes before I decide I need to resolve my lack of water. But an overpriced bottle of water and head back to a treadmill. Do 5 minutes including a half...

So I've joined the gym, again! I'm not on some insane health binge, it's not a resolution, it's not a sudden change. There's 2 reasons I've joined: 1) I am fat and unhealthy 2) I need something for me! Without a child in tow Mostly it's number 2, it's certainly the reason why now! I've been fat and unhealthy for years. I am not a gym bunny, I will not become a gym bunny. But I do sometimes enjoy the gym, it's a good way to work out the stress of life and it gives me some time alone. I'll be blogging here about my progress and any effects it's having. I am going to weigh myself but this isn't an attempt at weight loss, I don't care what the scales say I care about how I feel. I've taken before photos which there's no way I'm sharing now but maybe later. I'm going to post day 1 as a separate blog though so you can appreciate my first time back in a gym since 2013 in all its glory.

It seems my life isn't my own anymore. I knew having a child would change everything and change my name to Mummy but I didn't realise I'd lose everything. I can't clean, I can't tidy, I can't read, I can't eat, I can't sit nothing. It's not even enough that I sit stroking her arm i have to do it an exact way. I know I'm not unique, I know every parent struggles but I can only see my own experience and darkness. This week I have worked 3 days at my employer out for 11 hours a day, 1 day where I did 7 hours self employment, half a day being shouted around by the tyrant and so far 4 hours today in which time she's broken me. In the brief windows of time where Roo isn't driving me mad the cat comes and claws my leg. In all honesty I want to run away from everything. I love my daughter, I will put her before me whenever it matters, I am a good parent. I'm just sick of her happiness always seeking to be at the expense of my own. Ne...

I had my first failed blood donation today. I passed all the questions and tests, got in the chair, remembered my name, it was going fine. Then the guy does his sharp scratch bit. Followed by some firm poking, wiggling and a bit of pain, few more wiggles and he says "we'll have to stop there, I've missed the vein". I think we're done but then he calls for the nurse, "we've got a bruise" Over comes the nurse with a special leaflet and explains I'll probably get a bruise and all the things not to worry about. She was very apologetic which really wasn't necessary, these things happen. She gave me the stark warnings of worse case scenario (not overly bad tbh) and apologised some more. I fully kept my sense of humour and laughed about it. It was my 15th donation and these things happen, as far as I've concerned even a huge bruise is nothing compared to someone needing blood and it not being available. On my way out I made an appointment...

Now that October is over I can declare I didn't have any alcohol. I'm a pint of lager kind of girl rather than spirits most of the time and I don't go out very often so I wasn't drinking insane and unsafe amounts, I very rarely get more than a little tipsy. But throughout August and September I was having a couple of cans of lager every evening, it was basically "Roo's in bed, grab a drink and relax at last. Normally a crate of beer would last me month but instead it was lasting a week, it had become part of my routine and an essential part of winding down. Then we went on holiday and the fridge was kept well stocked, I ended up having a lot more to drink. I still wasn't getting drunk but I was drinking a lot more than is recommended albeit slowly throughout the day. So when I got home I decided my body needed a break! It was the 1st October and there were things on TV and social media suggesting Go Sober for October so I decided I'd do it. I also de...

There's no getting around it, Roo is a wild child. She loves being outside, messy and mucky. She loves running, jumping and climbing. I can't even declare her a Tom boy, she's just Roo. Yesterday we went to visit a friend whose daughter is much less wild and much more calm, Ruby's wildness turns out to be contagious, they were dashing around being loonys. I was hoping that a busy and wild day yesterday would give me the chance for a quiet day where I could work. Nope she's still wild. The only reason she's calmed down today is a game has resulted in a cut finger. Only her first cut could calm the crazy. Let me be clear, she's wild but most the time isn't naughty. She's frustrating but it doesn't warrant telling her off most of the time. I count myself incredibly lucky for our childminder who is just as wild as the kids. Messy play, mud, rain she loves then and Roo gets to let her wild side out. So now, I'm going to enjoy my quiet cuddle ...

Sorry for the absense. After getting back from holiday I was cross the holiday hadn't been the magical depression cure I'd been hoping for (I exaggerate but I thought I'd be loads better). Getting home made me realise only I can get myself better and I started to change my life! In a nutshell I'm changing my business a little to seem like more of a high end product meaning photos and packaging overhaul I've made huge changes to my house and living environment, i have done a lot of decluttering and cleared out of bags and bags of things. It is definitely making a difference in how I feel at home I'm in the process of going back to work after 2 months off, it's tough but I'm getting on with it. I have a lot of thoughts for blogs which I will try gradually post over the coming couple of weeks including... My bikini body Holiday recap / review Some handmade seller features Dipping my toe into YouTube Decluttering challenge Depression I hope you...

I'm cheating a little bit this week and I'm writing my feature Friday on Thursday. That's only because I'm going on holiday Saturday so will probably be running around like a lunatic tomorrow trying to find something I've forgotten until the very last minute. This weeks Feature business is: Pretty Little Style Pretty Little Style is a friend of mine who makes the most amazing hair accessories. She mostly makes them for children but I have previously seen her make adult ones too. I have watched her business grow over the last few years from an idea to save her money to a massive business with loads of fans and followers. She can make bows to any colour brief and has made us bows to match outfits for multiple special occasions, I've also known her make bows to match dance costumes, school colours and more. My latest bow set including matching bow sets for Roo and her big sister Amelia for holiday. The girls haven't seen them yet but I know they're...

Today we joined our childminder and the gang at Forest School. Forest school is an opportunity for the children to play and learn in an outdoor, messy, fun setting. There's a mud kitchen, bug viewers, a den, mud art. They make natural crafts and then have hot chocolate and biscuits around a fire. While I was there they were planning future visits (they go weekly) and how they would fit them in with their topics. I now know this is going to involve making bird feeder and some food adventures with the fire. I can hear some of you already "there's a fire, and children?!" yes there is a fire but the children go no where near it, there is a visual barrier of sticks, lots of supervision and most importantly they are taught. How can children ever learn about fire safety if they're never exposed to fire? I agree that it's better they are exposed to and experience risk at an early age so they can learn to handle that risk rather than just developing a fear. This go...

I've decided every Friday I will talk about some of my favourite small businesses which I have been enjoying that week. As this is the first week it will be slightly larger and will include a few of my favourite businesses. Scarborough Scribbles etc Scarborough Scribbles is the creation of the amazing Jenny. Everything is designed from her own imagination and is the put onto a hand drawing, digital design, cross stitch, clay model or more. Jenny is incredibly talented and incredibly humble. In the last 6 months I've had several items from her including a hand painted card, a digital design for a get well card and I'm getting a keyring soon which I will share a picture when I receive it. Scribbles is still a fairly new business so stop by, check it out and maybe have a little shop. If you don't see what you want drop her a message, tell her Mummy&Roo sent you. www.facebook.com/scarboroughscribbles  Loonicorn Loonicorn is the brilliant shop run by the even ...

Today I have not stopped, I know this is the case for most Mums but I'm dead on my feet. My day started when Roo woke me up at 6am. Daddy has a serious case of man flu mixed with an undiagnosed musculoskeletal condition so he was totally out of action last night and this morning. I got Roo ready and fought the traffic to drop her off with her childminder. I fought back through rush hour traffic to get home to the germ and the work I had to do. Cue 2 hours of making shopping bags, writing address labels and packing everything away. At 11am I got in the car to start the main part of the day, drop 11 parcels at the post office and jump back in the car to head to Hull, an hour and 20 minute drive. Got there an hour early but thankfully they saw me early. The reason I drove all the way to Hull is because I'm taking part in a voluntary (read unpaid) drug trial into the possible treatments for PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and that's the centre running the trial. Somet...

In 11 sleeps we're taking Roo & her big sister on holiday, it's not her first holiday but I'm still anxious. We're going to Fuertaventura for a week with my family, making 9 of us on holiday. Last year the plane had individual TV screens in each seat, this year it doesn't and the flight time is mid afternoon so that means we'll be lucky to get her to sleep. We're taking a tablet (I know, lazy but it's easy), some colouring and some teeny gifts to give the 3 kids every so often. Please give me your toddler travel tips! Travelling with a 2, 3 and 12 year olds is scaring me

Roo has really developed into her threenager title and the tantrums are becoming more common. Coping with these tantrums is new to us, the older one didn't do it. I've racked my brain and I think I remember some Super Nanny tips from years ago. At the moment we're trying totally ignoring it and carrying on as if it isn't happening, but I'm not convinced that's working overly well. We've tried giving her cuddles when she's tantruming or explaining what's happening but that just resulted in me being kicked. Most of the time when she's tantruming it's because she's frustrated that she can't do something, she's so determined. Anyone have any toddler tantrum tips? Drop them in the comments, I'll give most things a try once

This was going to be a very different post. I was originally going to write about never promising a toddler something when the weather can have an effect. All week we have been promising to take Roo to the fair if she was a good girl. It worked and she was good (to be honest, she's normally pretty good I just like to reward it). So today we were going to the fair. It was only small but that suited us because less rides = less expense and Paw Patrol were advertised to be there today from 3 - 5pm. So originally I was going to talk about the fact the rain was making it less of an exciting prospect. It chucked it down at about 2pm and we were thinking about how not fun it would be in the rain. Well the rain eased and we headed to the fair at around 3pm.   Roo was telling us she was "getting so cited bout the fair" the whole way there and we were all glad we'd decided to head down despite the weather. Then we got there and they were packing it all away! I was ...

Yesterday I decided to make Roo a phonics game, it didn't go quite to plan.  My thought process was to create a game which teaches something important, something battery free and something we could play together. Great I thought, serious Mum points for me! I followed the early years guidance of teaching sounds in special sets, the first of which is s, a, t, i, p, n. I created letter cards and 9 images which match the sounds. I went for a simple first draft with the plan of creating a neater laminated one afterwards.  The game is simple, match the word sounds to the letter. Teaching letter recognition and sounds. At this point I was still basking in my amazing plan and the flurry of Mum points due to me. The first maybe 3 minutes of playing went really well, she was interested and liked the pictures. Then is went horribly downhill! Roo likes to be able to do things, she likes to feel smart and get applause. As soon as she realised she wasn't very ...

It seems recently Roo has discovered McDonalds in a big way and is constantly asking to go to "AckDonalds" or playing pretend where she goes to McDonalds. It has got me wondering, what is the huge draw with McDonalds? My first thought was, it must be the toy! Kids are suckers for anything with a "free" toy. As adults we realise it's not free at all but the allure of a toy and the thought it's free so a prize or something more special than just something from a shop. I'm not entirely sure it's just the toy though, Roo never seems bothered about what the toy is going to be. I expected devastation when she discovered it was no longer moji's and was now books, but no she is still totally happy with the book. Then I thought some more and I think I've got it! It's a restaurant which encourage children and childlike behaviour. No one tells you to make sure to keep your face clean, no one tries to make you use cutlery. The colours are bright...

Today we've done our usual twice weekly hair check and once again she's managed to pick up head lice. We use repellent shampoo, we have combs all over the house, we comb her hair regularly and still they come back. There must be something about her that they really like because every time we've got rid of them they come back. If you do not check your child for nits regularly and don't treat them promptly then you are not a good parent. They're itchy, they're awful and they give ammunition to the bullies. We live in the 21st century, we are modern men and women, between us we should be able to keep a little parasite under control. But no, there'll be someone out there who just doesn't bother, doesn't check their child and then rest of us are suffering as they pass them on to every child they interact with! I've reached a point where I no longer bother with the harsh chemicals, they come back anyway and Roo hates having them on her head. Inste...

Does anyone else have a fight at bedtime every night??? Roo isn't naughty she's just got far too much energy all the time and bedtime can take up to 2 hours! What's worse is she's smart! So she knows if she says she needs the toilet I'll have to pay attention because we're toilet training. She makes sure to just push so far so she doesn't miss out on any treats. Most nights we have: I want Daddy - Daddy goes up I want Mummy - Mummy goes up I need a wee I need juice I want more milk I need a poo I want *insert very specific teddy which hasn't been seen in weeks* I need a wee The problem is, if Mummy or Daddy's very thin shred of patience gets broken and we get cross with Roo she starts sobbing hysterically and that takes more calming down.  Before the perfect parent squad starts; she has a bedtime routine which has been set in place for months, involves plenty of winding down time, cuddles etc. We've tried later bedtimes, w...

We have recently finally managed to potty train (I say we, I'm actually quite experienced at using the toilet so really it's been Roo). The biggest challenge now is night times.  Roo is smart, I think most 3 year olds are smarter than we give them credit for, and she seems to know when she's wearing a nappy. I've been buying Huggies night-time pull ups and I've managed to convince her they're "night time pants" but I'm not sure she's fooled.  She will tell us she needs a wee on a night but this seems like more of a way to delay going to sleep than her moving towards being dry over night.  As for the Huggies pull ups. They're good, she likes the designs and can be very picky. We currently have the 'boys' ones as she wanted Lightning McQueen but I cannot see any difference in the pull ups other than the blue colouring on the packaging and pull ups. It does annoy me they are marketed as boys when it's just another colour but...