We escaped to the British Seaside to escape the lack-of-bathroom. I give you a perfect study in contradictory British weather. Saturday: an ice-cream on the seafront. The Pocket Dictator refused to wear a coat but needed the hat to protect her hair from the wind. Sunday: twilight, buffeted by the wind and the rain (and fast asleep in the Zapp with her Bagpuss.) … [Read more...]
The Loneliness of the Celebrity.
Celebrity seems to be to be a peculiar thing. I'm not sure I'd want it, despite the fact that I am a Hello! addict. I am definitely much too Cherie Blair to be any good at dealing with photographers, not necessarily in looks, you understand. I am, however, candidate most likely to be dressed in snot-spattered pjs when answering the door to the postman, have her skirt tucked in her knickers, or indeed just looking knackered and spotty, just as the … [Read more...]
I have a pink one.
The DH has given authorisation for the bathroom to be remodelled. Clearly my subtle plan to complain about it every day for the last two years whilst the children and I repeatedly (and inadvertantly, I might add) bash limbs and heads on the square edges of the un-family-friendly basin, has worked. So I got the usual quotes, got DH to write a cheque and booked Bathroom Guy in. That done, I went to the States, suffered a God-awful bout of D and V … [Read more...]
The Gallery: Show me the funny
This week's theme at The Gallery is Show Me The Funny. It's a jolly good thing we had two weeks to agonise over which pictures to submit, because I had a hard time. There are so many moments in any day with the Pocket Dictator and Dimples that I find amusing. But I'm their Mamma, so it's to be expected. I'm also a little sleep-and-sanity-deprived of late, so that makes it more likely that I would find things amusing when others don't. I … [Read more...]
Moments in Motherhood 2
Scene: the downstairs loo.The Pocket Dictator has just declared that she "needs a wee", so I am busy helping her pull her pants down when we both realise it's too late. I look down. She looks down. Quite frankly you'd be forgiven for thinking that her waters had just broken. I strip her clothes from the waist down, failing dismally to keep myself dry, plonk her beyond the reach of the rapidly expanding puddle, on the hallway carpet and turn … [Read more...]
Shutdown for Autism
I had never come across Autism until I met Lady W. I spent a while working for her family in 2007, and fell in love with the Jigsaw Fiend, her autistic firstborn. Since then, I've gone on to have two children, both of whom are a scream, as Lady W's were. The Pocket Dictator is almost the same age now that Jigsaw fiend was when I first met him, and so different. She babbles away incessantly, ordering us around and asserting her independence all … [Read more...]
Pumpkinfest 2010
Last year I held a Pumpkin Party for a bunch of under-two's who were too small for Halloween but whose mothers were quite keen to dress them up (well, I was at least). It seemed to go down quite well with the children, most of whom didn't violently object to being dressed as cats, witches and pumpkins. The dog wasn't overly keen on the orange cape, but she was quite chuffed to take her pick from the mountains of food that fell onto the floor. And … [Read more...]
