Communication

I need to work on my personal communication skills.

Ironic, given that I have spent the last 11 years working in various sections of the communications industry. My CV claims that my written and verbal communication skills are second to none.

However, it seems my personal and working life continue to be hampered by a long-standing inability to make people understand what I want.

Somehow I am perfectly able to turn other people's stories into readable prose but trying to ensure others get me is where I fall down.

Today was a perfect example. I won't bore you with the details of my employment situation, suffice it to say I am not exactly feeling on top of the world. Time to move on definitely. All I need to do now is work out where to.

Nice things

Occasionally my girls do say nice things to me. Although their comments sometimes come with a sting too.

Yesterday I was applying moisturiser in a vain attempt to lessen the 'knackered lone parent' look I am currently sporting. My 3 year old was watching.

3 year old: Why are you doing that mummy?
Me: I'm trying to make my face look beautiful. Is it working?
3 year old: No. (Yeah, thanks honey, need to teach you some skills in 'white' lying) Are you going to put it on your legs?
Me: No, why do you think I should?
3 year old: No, your legs are beautiful already.

Aww, you see, she does love me a little bit. Or rather she does love some little bits of me.

This morning after waking, my girls were lying in my bed (no they hadn't been there all night... for once). Eldest claimed youngest smelled like tea and lemons that were a bit old. Not sure that was all that complimentary but I was impressed by her descriptive powers nonetheless.

Me: What do I smell like then? (fearing the worst)
6 year old: A kiss.

Awwww. That makes up for her wanting to move out on me earlier in the week. And then some.

Tired, tired, tired

After several days of celebrating 6 year old's birthday last week the excitement finally got to her as she woke at 5.30am on Monday screeching for me.

"Mummy, come and get me! Come and get me!"

My initial response was a fairly unsympathetic: "What is it? It's the middle of the night (sort of)."

Then of course I get up and go to see to her, worrying that she will wake 3 year old - who, incidentally, is already lying next to me after an earlier outburst.

So what was wrong? "Mummy, I want to go and live with my Uncle and Aunty!"

Nice. Resisted the temptation to point out that there was more than a little irony to the fact that I was now lying awake comforting her because she wanted to leave me!?

Mornings are hard work again this week. Still, looking on the 'bright' side, in five weeks time I won't have a job to go to after school and playgroup drop-off, maybe then I can catch up on some sleep in-between hunting for work and fighting the blues.

Time travel

Went on an outing to Bradford the other week. Bearing in mind that we live a stone's throw away in Leeds I was quite amused by my daughters' conversation in the back of the car about how far it was. Like two little old ladies they discussed: "Ooh this is a reeeally long way isn't it...."
Then eldest asks me: "Mummy, what day is it in Bradford?"
Me: "Saturday"
Eldest: "Oh, so it's the same day here as it is at home?"
It was hard to believe, obviously.

I am trying, really I am

When I first started this blog I was hoping to record some of my efforts to 'green' my lifestyle. As time's gone on though I have mainly chosen to write about the things my children say and do before I forget all the lovely ideosyncracies that make them who they are. This time I feel like a moan about how as a parent it can be hard to stay on track with my 'principles'.

This morning I decided to walk to work. No big deal, I have done it many times before, except that over the summer I have stopped using the pushchair for my 3 year old so if I walk, now she has to also. Walking my six year old to school for the first week back has been no problem, the difficulties start once we leave the school gates and continue on up the hill. I reckon between school and nursery there's at least a mile of gentle upward slope, a fair distance for a 3 year old I admit. But yesterday we walked happily with the offer of half a strawberry for every little milestone. Forgetting one of the golden rules of parenting (i.e. nothing ever works twice) I decided to try the same trick again. Uh-oh, this time my offer of fruity treats were met with wails and a refusal to do anything other than sit on the pavement.

Result? Not wanting to give in to the tantrum that ensued I hung around for a few minutes to see if she would come round. No chance of that. At least not within the time that remained between school drop-off and the due-in-work deadline. My few minutes of hanging around smiling at passers-by as they stared was of course followed by much huffing and puffing as I then carried her up the hill to work.

Ouch, that was hard work.

I am doing my best to leave the car at home but sometimes it is very hard indeed.

Happy Birthday six today

It was my eldest's sixth birthday today. Am doing the ridiculously expensive play-den party thing for the first time ever this weekend with most of the girls in her class going. Ages ago I said she could also invite a friend round for a small birthday tea and candle-blowing ceremony after school on her actual birthday. She finally decided on C, after hearing that C wasn't able to come to the party at the weekend.

Conversation on the way home goes something like...:
Me: So when are you 6 then C?
C: I'm not sure but I don't really have birthdays because I'm a Jehovah.
Me: (inside my head obviously) Bollocks. So that'll be why she's not coming to the party then. Doh.

Am I the only one who does things like this? Obviously the first part of this girl's visit involved my daughter proudly showing off her birthday gifts - in case you don't know Jehovah's witnesses don't celebrate birthdays and don't do the whole present and party thing. Sitting down to tea later we lit the candles and sang with our guest sitting politely watching, after telling me she wasn't allowed to sing 'Happy Birthday'. Seemingly she IS allowed to eat the cake afterwards though. Phew.

Six years old. Wow. Hard to believe. And the other day three year old's school forms came in the post. It's all going by so fast.

Our trip to the seaside

Just returned from a week's holiday with my lovely girls and mum, not to mention a visit from my lovely friend. We paddled in the sea, played in the sand and fished for crabs in rock pools. It was wonderful. Apart from the bedtimes of course, which were inevitably long-winded and exhausting. What a privilege to spend all that 'quality' time with the lovely people in my life. Simple pleasures are what make life worth living. Now time to get on with the mountain of laundry and tackle the chaos of the house...

I will come back to this and write more about the week's highlights, just wanted to mark our return to reality.