Under the weather

Yes, the weather is heavy, stormy and unsettling, but today I'm under it. I don't know if it's because I didn't sleep well last night (because B. didn't sleep), or because I've caught some kind of bug. I know that something must be wrong as I'm feeling too ill to write! That hasn't happened before; normally I'm straining to type fast enough to get my thoughts down before they seep out my head.

I usually take the opportunity when B.'s sleeping, to write things for various forums and review websites, and recently also for this blog. But today it just didn't happen. As I started typing, the room started spinning, and needless to say I didn't get my normal writing buzz...

Now I'm feeling a little better, but still not well enough to tackle the other two posts that I started earlier. I'm writing this quickly while B. is amusing herself. I'm happy to leave her to her own devices for a little bit, and she's quite good at amusing herself sometimes, but occasionally she gets up to no good, and when I go to see what she's doing she's industriously scribbling on the walls.

As I don't feel much like writing, I thought I'd just add some pictures to this post to cheer me up. I love the great outdoors, and something that gives me great pleasure when I'm wandering around is all the beautiful flowers and trees that we come across. This has rubbed off on B., who has begun sticking her nose in flowers, sniffing dramatically, and making appreciative "hmmm!" noises. This is so clearly a learnt response rather than a genuine delight in the flowers; something that she thinks you just do when you see a flower, and it makes me laugh! I love taking photos of the plant-life that we see, and I can often be seen pointing my phone at bushes.

Growing your own

There's nothing like growing your own food. I'm sitting here eating a bowl of lovely blackberries; a curious mixture of sweet, subtle-flavoured berries and sharp, tart berries with a vicious bite! And as you can't tell by looking at them which category they'll fall into, eating each one is like a sort of gastronomic Russian Roulette. Luckily I love both extremes of blackberry. My daughter, however, only likes the sweet ones, and so her reaction varies from big smiles to twisty-faced scowls and screams, and some spat-out red, juicy gunk.

These blackberries are from our back garden, and there's many more where they came from, and at various stages of ripening, so they should last us for much of the summer. I didn't have any part to play in growing them as they grow wild in our garden. In fact it was a lack of effort on our part that caused them to grow; if we would have spent more time keeping the prickly brambles in check then we wouldn't be blessed with nearly as much fruit. Even so, I feel a certain pride as I sit here devouring them, as they grew in our garden!

My deliberate attempts at food-growing haven't been quite as successful. I have lots of triffid-like tomato plants in the garden, which do have a rather impressive crop of tomatoes, but they're showing no signs of going red. Some of them have been out for months, but they seem determined not to give up their deep green colour. Ironically, I also have a couple of plants which are still on the kitchen window-ledge that I didn't get round to planting outside, and the (very few) tomatoes on these plants have turned a very deep red colour and are ready for picking. These plants are straggly, yellow-leafed and extremely unhealthy-looking in every other way, but it's nice to have a few tomatoes that we can eat now. They always taste much better than the ones you buy in the shops.

I haven't grown anything else this year, but our next-door neighbours have got a nice apple tree, which fortunately for us has some branches that over-hang our garden. They look like they'll be ready to eat pretty soon!

Outside time

Looking at the title of this post, I realise it could read like some science fiction concept of being outside of time... I didn't mean it like that; I haven't figured out how to escape the contraints of time, which is a shame as it's just sooo hard to get out of the house these days with B.'s "leaving the house" tantrums.

It's not so much that she doesn't want to leave the house, but what she objects to is all the things she needs to do before going out; like having her nappy changed, getting dressed, and putting on shoes. Shoes are the worst thing. She runs away, screams "NO, GO AWAY!!!" and throws herself forward onto the chair waving her legs in the air so that I can't catch her feet. It's very dramatic and annoying, and it's almost as if the tantrums have become part of a new routine. I feel as if she's got so used to protesting about these things that she thinks it's just 'what one does'. Maybe she can't remember what it's like to get shoes on without screaming, perhaps she's even forgotten that this is possible!?

Once we finally left the house today we headed for our Friday toddler group. It's not very far, and B. decided to run all the way there. She looked so angelic and girly in her pretty summer dress, which was billowing out behind her (so different from her normal tomboy look!), and anyone who we encountered on the way directed admiring isn't she sweet and angelic? looks towards her. And she is very sweet most of the time, but if they could experience the full force of her tantums, they would not assume she is quite as angelic as she looks.

Toddler group was fun. There weren't too many people there as the weather was so glorious, and I assume that most people were making the most of it in the park. B. has made firm friends with another little girl, which is a bit of a novelty for her as most of her friends so far have been boys. Her mum and I have been watching this friendship develop over the last few weeks, and it's been really sweet. Today they stuck firmly together for the whole time we were there, making eachother giggle, and chatting about things that only two-year olds can appreciate or understand. They found an annoyingly loud musical toy that blasted out Christmas tunes, and both danced wildly in their pretty dresses.

After the group finished B.and her friend spent the next hour running around together in the gardens outside. It seems like a deep friendship!

After B.'s nap and some lunch we spent some more time outside, (hence the title). It was lovely in the garden. Although we attempt to tame it from time to time, the garden is rapidly growing wild again. The brambles are once again taking hold, clematis twines are winding themselves around anything they touch, and all sorts of new plants (and not just weeds!) are mysteriously erupting from the ground. It must be all the rain we've had this year that's making everything so fertile and green. And I think that it's looking rather beautiful.

Save our library!

We rushed to leave the house this morning to get to the library in time for Storytime - only to find that it's been cancelled. Apparently it's not running throughout the summer holidays like it usually does, and it might also be reduced to once a month instead of every week!!

This is very frustrating, firstly because it's another one of our activities that will be closed for the next six weeks; both our Tuesday and Thursday morning activities will now be gone!

And longer-term, if they only run this activity once a month, not only will it be disappointing for those of us who usually attend, but people are bound to lose track of when it's on, or else sometimes not be able to make that particular day of the month, resulting in fewer people coming to each session; - and then the powers-that-be will argue that there's no demand for it! This is more or less what happened to our other library activity, Rhyme Time. At the moment Storytime has a good turnout, but apparently it's all a question of resources. Surely encouraging kids to read is quite a good use of library resources?

These are great activities, they're very educational and they're fun. I've seen a great improvement in B. since we've been going. At first there was no way that she'd sit still and listen to a whole story, but now she listens to all four of them, and she loves to shout out the answers to the librarian's questions, as well as join in the songs and create some lovely artwork in the drawing activity at the end. We love Storytime; it brings lots of children together in a fun learning environment. And it's free!!

There's some concern that reducing services such as this might be the the first step down the slippery slope to closing our library completely. It's a lovely little old library, serving quite a small area, which immediately places it in danger from those political creatures who take pleasure in shutting down local services (see Guardian article on library closures). And if these childrens' services are removed then this will probably further their dastardly plans...

I'm not usually much of a campaigner, but this is bringing out the activist in me. I'm planning on writing to head librarians, local councillors, and even Boris if necessary! I'm going to try to rally some other mums and see if we can help save Storytime!

The campaign starts here...




Photo credit: holoweb

My baby's growing up!

We've been having a good week so far as the weather's been so lovely and sunny! Even though it's the middle of July I say this with some surprise, as it's been a very variable summer so far.

We've been spending lots of time in the garden, and although B.'s been falling off her slide quite a bit (!) she's been having lots of fun.

Yesterday her friend came round and they amused themselves by picking blackberries and stuffing them into eachothers' mouths. Then they strolled around the garden hand-in-hand, like the perfect little couple. Oh, the joys of being two and a half!

We also went to one of our regular toddler groups yesterday. They've recently introduced activity tables, and this week's activities were jigsaw puzzles and playdough. It's so nice when B. can engage in messy play somewhere other than in our house! Sadly, this was the last week before the summer break and this group closes down just like the schools do. What will we do on Tuesday mornings for the next six weeks?

After toddler group we visited our local pre-school. We'd applied for B. to start there next term, and they confirmed that she's got a place, which is good news. She's really ready for this; she's a bright and very sociable child and she's never happier than when she's playing with other children. What's more, each time we've visited the pre-school she's managed to somehow merge into the class and become one of them, even when I only popped in for a minute to hand in our form. I'd just turned my back for a moment, and then there she was, sitting on a little chair amongst the other children, waiting for snack-time! She was absolutely distraught when I tried to get her to leave, and wouldn't accept that we were just visiting.

All of this gives me confidence that she'll love it there and that she'll fit in well - and she's already been accepted by the other children, which is a good sign! And I know it's the right thing to do, but now it's definite that she has a place, I'm starting to get pangs of doubt...

She's been with me almost every day for the past two and a half years, (more, if you count the time that she spent inside of me!). She's been my constant companion; a small, entertaining and loveable companion, and I'll miss her and her funny little ways. Oh, I know it's only three mornings a week, but at the moment that seems like a big thing; it's the start of her school career, there's no going back - and it means that she's growing up! Well, you can see that starting pre-school is going to be much harder on me than on her, which, I suppose is how it should be...

In my more sensible, mature moments I tell myself that it's the right thing for both of us; she'll have fun with her friends, learn all sorts of new things, and have a riot; and I'll have some time on my hands.

Some people, who have been to my house, have suggested that I could usefully spend this time doing a little housework. But they're being mean! And to be honest, I'm not really a housework sort of woman! There are better things to do. And besides, I often feel the need to re-discover the part of my life that doesn't involve childcare, and for a while now I've been longing make some money again. I know that two and a half hours, three days a week won't give me a great opportunity to do this, but if I can find something to do from home then maybe it would be possible.

I should see this as an adventure for both of us. (And stop being so dramatic!)

Mamma Mia!

First of all, I have to say that it was lovely to be in a cinema at all. It had been two years since I had set foot in one (to see Casino Royale). The last occasion had been a bit of a disaster as it was the first time I'd left B. with relatives and she'd spent most of the time screaming, so the film had been punctuated with the buzzing of panicky phone calls . This time though, knowing that she was having a very exciting day with daddy, I could sit back and relax.

That day, I probably would have enjoyed any film (well, apart from Van Helsing or While you were Sleeping, but maybe that's just me). Mamma Mia is a feel-good film, set in a gorgeous location, and carried along by an amazingly energetic, passionate and true performance by Meryl Streep, who gives it her all and carries the whole film. An unsympathetic view would be that this film is a series of modified ABBA songs glued together by what can loosely be termed a story. These are actually both my views, and I don't think that they're conflicting at all!

Meryl Streep is just wonderful, and who knew that she could sing so well? Her talents are obviously endless. Her character, Donna, is a strong, stubborn and likeable Amercian hotel owner who has spent most of her life living amongst the locals on a beautiful Greek island. She has a daughter, Sophie (played by Amanda Seyfried) who's about to be married. But before she ties the knot she'd really love to find out who her father is, so she looks in her mother's old diary and finds out that there are in fact, three possibilities. And these possibilities come in the form of Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard.

Well, Donna's never known who the father is either, and when all three of these middle-aged charmers 'mysteriously' turn up in time for the wedding, she is flabbergasted to find her past come flooding back to her. She is helped through this rather confusing time by best pals Julie Walters and Christine Baranski.

What makes this a feel-good film are the lovely, fun friendships between Sophie and her friends and the parallel friendship between the older women. Both trios are clearly there for each other, and rather partial to getting drunk, having a good time and talking about sex! The music is great, although not all the singers are quite up to scratch (see below!), and it's amusing to hear how the words have been changed to suit the situations. This is obviously a funny film, and something I found particularly amusing was when the the locals, particularly the old Greek ladies, joined in all the musical fun. They're more sprightly than you'd think - must be all the olive oil!

What makes this a bad film is the story, which I felt was weak, and really just incidental to the film. It's just there to provide a platform for the songs, and so that some humourous scenarios can be built around it. I also had big problems with most of the cast.

Amanda Seyfried (Sophie) has a lovely, sweet singing voice and she's a very beautiful girl, but she's rather over the top in this. Although the film thrives on the energy and enthusiasm of its cast, for my delicate English sensibilities her over-enthusiasm and dramatic facial expressions make her less believable and a bit nauseating. But then at least she can act; Dominic Cooper who plays her fiance Sky, seems a little confused throughout the film, and I was surprised to learn from the IMDB that he's acted before. (Ooh, maybe I'm being a bit harsh. He seemed like a nice lad though!)

I was also disturbed throughout by two British actors who I thought were miscast. Pierce Brosnan, so good as an action superhero, is just painful to watch as this singing romantic hero. Meant to be the butch, manly lover who swept Donna off her feet, he just comes across as arrogant. And it is painful to hear and watch him sing, as it gives him this red, bulgy look around his face and throat which made me think he was going to be ill, or maybe explode! I kept willing him not to sing, but sadly he kept doing it.

Julie Walters, usually faultless and quite loveable in every role that she plays, seems totally out of place in this film. She's cast as Rosie, Donna's short, playful, and rather unfeminine British friend, (in contrast to Christine Baranski's Tanya, who is her tall, prim and 'feminine to the point of vampy', American friend!) I don't think this part suits her at all. It's not that she doesn't play it well, but surrounded by all the kitsch, the musical mayhem and the American over-the-top-ness, she just doesn't fit somehow. I thought that she herself appeared quite embarrassed at some of the things she found her character doing, and this all made for slightly uncomfortable viewing.

But despite my tearing apart certain aspects of the film, I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good ABBA song. A Greek island is a nice place to escape to for an hour or so, and Meryl Streep makes it all worthwhile! I came out feeling happy and with an optimistic feeling in my heart.

So, an enjoyable film, (even though it's quite bad).

When I got home I was greeted by a very excited little girl, full of tales about trains, sandpits, grandparents and self-assembly furniture.


Photo credit: The Village Voice

A day off

My first post is in fact about a rather atypical day when i wasn't at home with my little girl. This is an unusual occurrence and it felt very strange.

On Sunday my husband decided to take B. out for the day; visit the in-laws, go to the park, out for lunch, and then a nice trip to IKEA to round off the day. So I was left in the house by myself. It was very quiet...

I had a whole day to myself, and I didn't have a clue what to do with my time. I tried to think back to the sorts of things I liked doing before I had a child, but my mind was blank. So I started to walk around the neighbourhood waiting for inspiration to strike! It was a lovely day, so it would perhaps have been nice to go for a walk. But before I had time to properly process this thought the 221 bus came along, I saw this as a sign, and jumped on. I was heading for Wood Green.

Now Wood Green, for those who don't know it, is quite a good shopping centre, and a few years ago the thought of being let loose there for a whole day would have been a rather pleasurable one. But faced with a whole mall full of shops, and a high street full of even more shops, I was surprisingly uninspired. Shopping, what is that anyway? Shops just don't give me the same frisson of excitement that they used to. So I decided to go to the cinema instead, and I remembered that this was something that I liked to do before B. was born...

Not being very up-to-date with much that's going on in the world, I hadn't heard of any of the films other than Mamma Mia. And as I'd seen a nice interview with Meryl Streep on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, and I'm quite partial to the odd ABBA song, I decided to go and see it.