Rain, rain, go away!

04.03.12.

The brief sniff of Spring we were teased with only a few days ago, seems to have been replaced with October. Today has been a thoroughly miserable day - so much so, that I'm blogging about it before it's even finished.

My weekly riding lesson was a pleasure as ever, but the bits in between the hour-long ride in the indoor school, were cold, wet and muddy.

I got a lovely, smiley greeting from the boy when I arrived home, but then he had a very grumpy lunch (most of it ended up on the floor), and a little look out of the window (as shown in today's #366 photo), before deciding that bed was the best option.

That is where he is now. The husband is watching a Woody Allen film, and I have taken the opportunity to catch up on some blogging and face the ever-increasing pile of marking I have to tackle.

Whilst weekend family-time is precious, I don't always mind days like today. They take the pressure off having to constantly be on the go/doing something exciting. We're all in loungewear, the heating is on, and it's a good opportunity to chill before the onslaught of another working week...

Lunching in Lewes

03.03.12.

Today was the first birthday of Lottie, one of Dexter's little buddies. Sadly for Little Lady L, she'd had a nasty bug, so our plans to join birthday-girl and her family at Drusillas Zoo Park were cancelled.

The husband and I decided instead to spend the afternoon in Lewes. Before we were married, we used to visit Lewes quite a lot, to browse the antique shops and enjoy the relative quiet and more civilised experience than a Saturday afternoon venture into Brighton offers.

Today, we mainly spent the entire time there having lunch. I had to share my fishcakes and chunky chips with the boy. I don't do sharing food, and a family lunch is a real test of my parentally-enforced altruism. I basically ended up eating about a half of one fishcake, while Dexter scoffed the rest. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be quite so interested in the husband's Caesar salad. Fortunately, the boy was asleep by the time the latte and giant piece of banoffee cake arrived.

Dexter had woken up from his post-lunch snooze when we were ready to pay the bill. Today's #366 photo shows the response our lovely waitress got when she tried chatting to the boy. Apparently, Dexter's current new obsession with blowing raspberries is all part of his language acquisition. I hope he's got a few more appropriate words by the time he's out lunching with friends...

End-of-the-week Blues

02.03.12.

It's been a long week, and I really felt my later than usual night yesterday when the alarm went off this morning. Even Pat's strong coffee failed to make a full-day's teaching any less exhausting.

We stopped off at a local country pub on the way home to catch up with a former colleague. Dexter was tired and hadn't had his tea, but was very well-behaved and seemed to be relatively entertained by the pub's light fittings and little scruffy dog lounging out in front of the open fire.

To be honest, we were both pretty glad to get home. I'd reached that point of exhaustion where even my hair seems to hurt, and my legs ache so much it feels as though a steam roller has been over them.

Today's delightful #366 photo is of Dexter at tea-time. He could barely keep his eyes open, and was doing some annoying banging of his water cup on the table. I 'tell him off' for doing this, and it is interesting to observe his increasing awareness of being told 'no'. After some repetitive bashing of the beaker on the tray of his highchair, a firm 'No!' from me was met with an upside down mouth and Dexter dropping his head to look at the floor. It was all I could do to keep a straight face as his reaction was a complete textbook sulk. I didn't want to undermine my successful discipline by laughing at him!

There was nothing rock or roll about Friday evening. I put the boy to bed with no bath; he was just too tired. I was tucked up by quarter past nine. Sometimes, you've just got to. 

Pinch, punch...

01.03.12.

The first day of the month today, and with March came some beautiful Spring weather, with temperatures that would seem more fitting for an English Summer. A bit of sun seems to warm the bones and nourish the soul, and somehow, everyone seems in a better mood. The only gripes my students seemed to have today, centred on the temperature in my notoriously warm classroom.

Dexter spent part of his day at the park with the Huffle Crew. There's no point in even indulging myself with any jealousy about this; I'm just glad he had a lovely time in the fresh air.

As it happens, the boy got some accidental additional mummy-time anyway, as it was on the way home that I realised I had left my door keys inside the flat. I promptly informed the husband, who said he would leave work a little earlier. The only sensible option for dear lift-share friend and me seemed to be a coffee stop: naturally.

Today's #366 photo is of a very jolly Dexter in the local M&S cafe, which was looking very seasonal with daffodils on each table. Whilst the grown-ups enjoyed a coffee in a cup the size of my head and a sticky bun, I witnessed the boy in full-on 'mine-sweeping' action. He was virtually climbing out of his highchair to grab at some iced loveliness, and I saw a snapshot of the behaviour he must display during mealtimes at nursery.

Daddy being home slightly earlier than usual, combined with my regular meet-up with work ladies for some pub food and a sip of vino, meant that Dexter's day only got brighter as the husband was in charge of bathtime.

The ladies and I make a concerted effort to get together once a month. As ever, a lovely time was had by all. The downside is that the second day of the month may be a tad less easy to deal with...

One giant leap...

29.02.12.

This year is a leap year and today was our 'extra day'. I am failing to see the positives in gaining this extra twenty-four hours. Dear lift-share friend and I had no real clue what day it was this morning, but I always think it is Thursday on a Wednesday. We did manage a sneaky coffee-stop though, so I guess this cloud has a caffeine-infused silver lining.

My confusion was compounded during lesson one as I realised my usually trusty digital watch was rather (un)helpfully declaring today to be 1st March.

This week seems to be taking its time to roll over and allow the weekend to take centre stage. It seems to be the curse of the working mum to live for the weekends - there I go again, missing the journey in hot pursuit of the destination that is the weekend.

We drove past a dear friend and colleague (and veteran of the lift-share) on the way home. She's on maternity leave and was returning from a trip to the park, black lab on lead in one hand and Bugaboo with baby boy in the other. It was with a desperate nostalgia that I listened to her confusion over days blurring into each other in an idyllic bubble of babies, yoga, coffees and catch-ups (okay, I can live without the yoga). I can barely remember my maternity leave. I can barely remember my own name most days, so I guess I shouldn't feel too disheartened.

I always think of Wednesday as the 'hump' of the working week, and Wednesday evening marks the descent to the magical valley that is the weekend. Dexter did his own bit of climbing when we got home this evening. Today's #366 photo is of him making his merry way up the stairs. I was quite proud of my little pet baby, heaving himself up each step. He did nearly topple off shortly after the photo was taken, so I carried him the rest of the way.

Despite his long days at nursery, it is lovely to see some 'firsts' myself. I put the boy to bed about twenty minutes ago. It's the first time he's been put to bed without his precious dummy. He's still not quite settled, despite being tired from his 'extra day'. I may have to relent and accept that this 'first' isn't going to happen today.

Ah well. Small steps.

Having a ball!

28.02.12.

Today I experienced something I haven't felt at all since giving birth to the boy: I missed my bump. Only for a nano-second mind, and for no real reason other than a brief flashback whilst walking down a particular set of stairs at school. I was suddenly transported back to being quite heavily pregnant and waddling round the corridors, often with students staring at my tummy in mild disbelief. There's something quite special about a pregnant woman, and you are generally treated with a sense of reverence - when the sprog's popped out, you become 'just another mum'.

There is some irony to having a moment of nostalgia for my pregnancy as I was generally rubbish at being pregnant and, *whispers*, I didn't really enjoy it. This was largely due to the fact that I had pretty bad morning (and afternoon and evening) sickness until quite a late stage. I also found lugging around a permanently attached small person quite hard work. I was very lucky in that I had a very neat little football of a bump, the classic shape (if the old wives are to be believed), for carrying a boy.

I was wondering if there was any connection between my little 'in utero football', and Dexter's favourite new toy: balls of any description (see an earlier post for how he is taking this quite literally...). The boy loves nothing more than pushing around and chasing his inflatable Gymboree beach ball (a gift from Gymbo), or his little dinosaur-print ball (a gift from Santa), and gets very distressed if they get stuck under the table/the bed/my foot (if I'm trying to get his attention). Perhaps he is destined for a career as a Premiership footballer, or he just has a secret desire to be a labrador.

Just as I had a moment of bump-nostalgia today, I was informed at the nursery pick-up that Dexter has had to be given extra food for the second day running, despite being sent in with a packed lunch-box every day. The boy seems to be cultivating his own little rotund belly. It's very cute, but if my career prediction is correct, he's going to have to start working on developing some Beckham-esque abs and stop stealing food from babies...

I'll be there for you...

27.02.12.

Today's #366 photo was taken on the way to school this morning. I was not engaged in some 'crazy driving whilst simultaneously taking photos' stunt; I was in the back of the car as it is my week off and dear friend's turn to drive. This may not seem a big deal to most people, but I relish the week off from being at the wheel. I get to sit in the back with the boy, do some chatting and peek-a-boo games, and generally have some extra Dexter time during our increasingly epic commute.

I have mentioned my lovely lift-share ladies before. They are absolutely brilliant about the working mummy crazy juggling act. One of them has done the Huffle-Shuffle herself for several years, and now juggles the job with a school-age daughter. The other really understands that my sanity and ability to cope with the significant demands of teaching full-time and being mummy to a little 'un, are greatly supported by such intervention.

I left home at eighteen, to come to Brighton and study at The University of Sussex - a decision made solely on the size of Sussex Uni's prospectus and the fact it had deckchairs on the front. Whilst I am fiercely proud of my Northern roots, Brighton is my home now, and so my family remain a couple of hundred miles away. The husband has lived in various far-flung locations during his childhood and his parents now reside in the depths of the Kent countryside. In the absence of a geographically-close blood-family, our 'modern urban family' has been of increasing importance.

The husband and I have a (rightfully) rubbish reputation amongst our friends for actively staying in touch or being at the helm of organising get-togethers. Nevertheless, we are fortunate enough as a little family, to have a brilliant bunch of buddies who have offered invaluable support and friendship.

Whilst you won't find us spending endless hours in pun-tastic coffee shops, strumming guitars along to songs of whiffy felines, we truly feel we have a group of people who will be there for us.

Having a child only seemed to increase this support network, and our NCT classes introduced us to more firm friends whilst Dexter was still cooking away in my tummy.

The boy himself seems to be emerging from his baby's chrysalis and turning into a social butterfly. Only this morning at the Huffle drop-off, I bumped into his little 'girlfriend', Lily. The Huffle ladies had already told me that Lily's favourite word is 'Dexter'. Lily's mummy added to this loveliness by informing me that the only way she gets Lily out of bed in the morning and to nursery is with the promise that she will see Dexter there. The husband will be proud, I thought. He was, and also deadly serious when telling me that he was the only reason I get out of bed in the mornings. Hmmm...