First words
In the last few weeks Benjamin has finally uttered his first proper first words. He’s been saying ‘mama’ and ‘dada’ for a while but it turns out that his ‘dada’ has been coaching him. Of course getting him to say his first words on video required a little prompting but if you listen hard, you’ll just about be able to make it out…http://youtu.be/eW9Xl3FYVRg
Did you hear it? He can say ‘tickle tickle tickle’!
Ava is trying to do a little prompting of her own and is trying to get Benjamin to say ‘car’ which was her first word. Her perseverance has paid off as he can now say car and even knows which are my car keys, however sadly there is no video evidence of this.
I Did It Mummy’ fundraising for BIBS – https://www.justgiving.com/IDidItMummy
I pledge allegiance to my hair
In my post entitled ‘9 years of matrimony and it’s time for a change’ – https://ididitmummy.com/2012/09/07/9-years-of-matrimony-and-its-time-for-a-change/, I said that I was in need of a mini-makeover. Last week it was time to tackle my hair. I posted on Wokingham Gossip Girls requesting recommendations for a hairdresser who specialised in curly hair, as I was determined to embrace my naturally curly locks.
It was 9.45am in the morning when I entered the hairdresser with an over-tired young Master Popple. I sat down in the chair, the hairdresser came over and said ‘what can I do for you today?’ I explained my history of bad hair days and that I was looking for a manageable curly hairstyle that I could wear down . I promise I used the word ‘curly’. The hairdresser talked about trimming the ends off. I said my husband wouldn’t even notice I’d been to the hairdressers. She said ‘we could take it a bit shorter and I’ll smooth it out for you’, at which point words failed me. This was the moment where I was supposed to say ‘but I want a curly down style’, but no, the allure of smooth, straight locks once again rendered me mute.
45 minutes and many tears later (from the boy) and my smooth, straight hairstyle was complete.
Straight hair
I was delighted and decided that I would not be washing my hair again until it started to itch. 3 days later and the inevitable happened. Hair washed and I decided that I would see what the curly downstyle looked like. Needless to say there is no photographic evidence of the bush. The only thing that could save my hair now was product so a quick trip to Boots and a selection of shampoos, conditioners and the obligatory 3 Day Straight™ Semi-Permanent Styling Spray from the John Frieda range and I was ready to reinstate my straight hair. And the ghds have made a return from the wilderness too. Next step, Brazilian Blowdry?
So my pledge to my hair is to maintain a straight style unless attending an 70s/80s fancy dress party. How long will this last?
I Did It Mummy’ fundraising for BIBS – https://www.justgiving.com/IDidItMummy
A lesson in sharing
It turns out even the big kids need to learn how to share, the road that is. This certainly wasn’t a lesson I was expecting to learn from my speed awareness course. Those of you who have been reading my blog for a little while now, will know that a couple of months ago I was issued with my first speeding offence letter – refer back to my post entitled ‘A first I am not proud of’ – https://ididitmummy.com/2012/08/01/a-first-i-am-not-proud-of/.
Anyway today was the day I attended my speed awareness course. I was expected to arrive at 12.15pm, with the promise that if I didn’t turn up on time, I would not be allowed on the course and would instead face the 3 points on my licence and a fine that I had tried to avoid. Needless to say I wasn’t the only person who turned up 15 minutes early. On arrival, the man on reception treated us to a joke about being sent off for fingerprinting in the next room. Being gullible, I believed this was possible. Afterall, if I could drive 4 miles per hour over the speed limit, what other offences may I be capable of?
Upon entering the classroom (it really did feel like being back at school), we were greeted by a prim and proper lady in her late fifties who took no nonsense. It didn’t take much observation to see that the girls heavily outweighed the boys by about 2 to 1. As the lady in her early seventies next to me said, it was certainly girl power or should that be girls massive fail.
It turns out there are a few myths about this course. There are no videos with blood and gore of horrific road traffic accidents and I was not patronised for four hours. Instead the focus was on educating the road user, which was achieved through a combination of Powerpoint presentation, video clips showing braking distance testing, stills of roads where accidents had occurred and discussion around hazards, plus a few ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ style questions on key road statistics, complete with voting pads. Did you know that in the Thames Valley there are approximately 350 speed cameras, of which only 22 are switched on at any one time and that the orange speed cameras cost around £30k to construct and erect? So it turns out the local council isn’t really trying to make money out of unsuspecting road users. In fact, the £90 I spent on the course is self-funding, whereas any money from fines goes straight back to central government. Another myth uncovered or have I just been brain-washed?
So from this day forth, I will observe the gateway speed signs and will no longer break the speed limit, even if I am running late. I will plan to leave a little bit earlier or arrive late, safe in the knowledge that no one has been harmed by my presence on the road that day. I will watch out for hidden dips, junctions and buses pulling out. I will learn to share the road with other road users, including pedestrians, bikes, motorbikes and other vehicles (even the lorries on the A34 that insist on overtaking on the hill) and I will be assertive enough when someone tail gates me not to feel under pressure to put my foot on the accelerator but instead will move it gently over to the brake pedal. I will make it my mission to be a better road user and encourage others to do the same through my actions. AA Drive Tech you can consider me educated.
I now have to keep my fingers crossed that the mobile speed camera on the A329 the other day, did not clock me at over 70 miles per hour so only another 6 days to sweat it out to see if I could yet face a fine and 3 points on my licence. No special invites to speed awareness courses for repeat offenders.
I am now pondering whether to book myself on an advanced driving course or perhaps a skid pan experience. What do you think? It could make a good blog post.
‘I Did It Mummy’ fundraising for BIBS – https://www.justgiving.com/IDidItMummy
Centre position, you’ve got to be kidding me?
On more than one occasion in my life I have regretted not being able to speak up. I was one of the shy kids at school. The one who would be bursting to say something, only to be rendered mute by a sudden rush of adrenaline and then a few minutes later find myself beaten to the post by the kid that did speak up. I thought that I had put those days behind me but inside I am still that painfully shy girl and as I entered the inside of a school gym last week, for my first netball session in over half my life, I found myself regressing back to the girl of old.
Over the years I have often thought about playing netball again, not because I was some hotshot because I wasn’t, but perhaps to put to bed my regret of not playing in my secondary school team. At primary school I had played in the centre position in the ‘A’ team but when I progressed to secondary school, the competition was a lot fiercer and I didn’t get picked for their ‘A’ team. I decided that if I wasn’t going to get in the ‘A’ team, then I wasn’t going to play in the ‘B’ team either. It was a definite ‘cut off your nose to spite your face’ moment. There have been other opportunities to play over the years but I was always afraid it would be a bit too serious and I would be outclassed.
So cue a casual post on Wokingham Gossip Girls a couple of months ago from someone wanting to hear from ladies ‘who have played netball, maybe not since school but enjoyed it’. This was the kick that I had been waiting for. A lot has changed since school, mainly, I’m a bit (make that a lot) older, perhaps a little wiser and undoubtedly less fit but one thing hasn’t changed and that’s the rules of netball. Warm up over and we were being encouraged to pick a position off the floor. ‘Don’t be shy ladies’ hollered the coach. In my mind, I was thinking go ‘Wing Attack’ but shy I was and what was left, the dreaded ‘Centre’ position. Fine when you’re an elastic youngster who can cover the whole court without the threat of a stitch ensuing. By week 2 I had learnt my lesson and in true ‘I Did It Mummy’ style, I spoke with my feet and was the first to lurch forward to pick up the ‘Wing Attack’ position!
Any local ladies fancy joining me? Just to let you know that ‘Wing Attack’ is now taken!
‘I Did It Mummy’ fundraising for BIBS – https://www.justgiving.com/IDidItMummy
The countdown begins
For one little lady, the countdown to the most important day of the year (possibly with the exception of Christmas Day), has begun. In 27 days time it will be her birthday and for at least a month after that, I am hoping I won’t get asked the daily question ‘when is it my birthday?’. Please someone tell me when children have a concept of time beyond a couple of weeks.
Ava’s birthday countdown
To build the excitement and as an activity (aka a time filler), together we have created a countdown calendar to her birthday, with the ulterior motive of getting Ava to practice her numbers. Every day she must count how many days until her birthday and write down the number of the day it is. I wonder how many days she’ll do this for…
‘I Did It Mummy’ fundraising for BIBS – https://www.justgiving.com/IDidItMummy
I Did It Mummy 