The Godfather - NEWS BULLETIN

The ageing patriarch of an organised Stud Dog Dynasty, Micheal a.k.a. Don Scanlon attended the Christening of Grace Mae at the weekend. Lucky for the lesser known family-of-Grace, the only horses head in sight was a hobby horse brought along for the occasion. A rare photo of Micheal was found in a roll of 35mm discarded at the church, and his whereabouts remains unconfirmed. Also unconfirmed are reports that he wore a disguise to the Christening by way of shirt and tie. Those close to the Don wouldn't comment on the matter, but did admit he had ironed it that morning. Witnesses, including Michael's wife Grabrielle were seen to enjoy the Christening, and rumours are rife that Michael might quietly be looking forward to getting Grace involved in the GSP show circuit and showing her the ropes.... not in an Al Pacino kind of way...

Formula Run Grand Prix!

Making shopping for milk FUN.

VRRRRROOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!


-brakes sharply to take a corner by the nappy aisle

-beeps fellow first-time mum for dawdling with toddler in buggy

-flies into the check-out pit stop for refuel on ricecakes while mummy fills up the bag and pays

-and they're off again

VROOOM!

-Team Wiggles in pole position as they race across the carpark to the cheering crowds in the family bay

JOB DONE!!

-and the chequered flag is up!


(You don't have to be mad to read this blog, but it helps. If you question my sanity, go right ahead, everybody else does. Besides, what do you expect from someone who has a favourite roundabout and knows about the Roundabout Appreciation Society???)

Grace's Baptism

On Sunday Grace was christened by Canon Ian Black at St. Mary's. It was a beautifully special day spent with family and good friends sharing the occasion, yummy food and pink cake.

Swimathon - paddling bark and forth

Wearing blue to mark the occasion, Grace and I showed our support for Dogs for the Disabled at Mypetstop, where over 50 dogs had a dip in the pool to raise funds for the charity. At last count a little over £1k had been raised in sponsorship and more donations are still coming in. A big thumbs up to the team at the centre, and to Super Cooper, boxer belonging to our pal Sheli who made the news in the Yorkshire Evening Post. Yay!!

p.s. if you wonder why Grace is looking a bit miffed, she's looking at James who's taking the picture. Trust me - he sits opposite me in the office. I understand her look...

Lucky Seven

Dear little Grace,

Seven whole months ago you were brought into this world and every day your Daddy and I count our blessings for such a wonderful daughter. This past month has been very challenging for you as you were poorly for sometime with a nasty lingering chest infection. Fortunately you responded well to the anti-biotics prescribed by your Doctor and you are now back to your normal self. Your development stagnated while you were unwell and we didn't see much change in you for several weeks. Since then you have zoomed along, and we have noticed a host of new things you are capable of doing. Sitting still seems to elude you.... you can sit unaided for several seconds but you do seem to like slouching or leaning on anything nearby. You are readily doing push-ups when you're having tummy time and we thinks it's possible you will be crawling sometime soon. You've taken a real interest in books and you seem to love sitting in your bumbo chair flicking through colourful board books and sometimes having a little nibble on the corners too. Still a firm favourite for your bedtime story is We're going on a bear hunt and you are thrilled by the sound effects we make as we read through the story with you..... awoo awoo awoo!!



You've settled into nursery well and everyone you meet says what a delightful little girl you are. You're hair is growing fast now and one of my treats is to rub my face on your hair - I call you my fluffy little chicken. I miss you when I am working although we both know deep down it's for the best as we do so many fun things on our days together you hardly notice when I'm not around, so contented you are. Weaning is still posing no problems for you, and a new favourite is sticky thai rice and baby corn soaked in a sauce, and today you made a super mess with mashed potato and baked beans. Yummy!

Having such a lot of fun doing bouncy bouncy bouncy!


Next month is going to be a busy one baby girl, with your Christening, Mother's Day and Daddy running the London Marathon, we will be ladies on the move as we race about living our lives and wondering if today will be the day you decide you don't need to slouch because 'Mummy I can sit up quite alright on my own' thank you very much!

Lots of love sweetpea, remember Mummy and Daddy love you always x x

Animal awe

We took a trip to the local pet store this morning to introduce Grace to the pets for sale there, and she is absolutely fascinated by them. A guinea-pig with three babies held her interest as they hurriedly scurried around their pen, and the aquarium fish were a big hit, with her eyes as wide as saucers.



After having a nap when we got home, Grace dug out her book of pets and sat for a long while pondering which might be the first she will handle when she's a little bit bigger.

Pancake Day!

Grace has thoroughly enjoyed her first Shrove Tuesday, and it is official that Pancakes with lemon and sugar go hand in hand with baby led weaning. We had visitors for lunch, Christina and Dimitris, and we all tucked in to pancakes with gusto.

Matt the Husband and I are giving up diet coke for lent, so we are having our late binge tonight before going cold turkey for 40 days from Ash Wednesday until Easter. Grace is too young to give up anything for lent though she is rather complacent with her toys so it might be we tuck her favourite rattle into a drawer only to surprise her with it at the end of lent.

My yoga it has to be said, has fallen by the wayside - so much for practicing every day in February!! That was wishful thinking, I can tell you. I think it's more realistic to say I will practice on days I'm not working. Only time will tell.

Anyway, that's all I've got time for today, seeing as I need to drink a gallon of coke before going to bed tonight!!!

Fast Parenting

You may have read in the news this week that a BBC News presenter Sophie Raworth is applying the US principle of 15 minute fast parenting at home with her children. That is spending 15 minutes per day completely focused and uninterupted time where the child choses what to do and the parent obliges. Apparently it fosters good beahviour and development for working parents in a hurry.

So I'm in bed at 7.28pm last night having done a 200 mile round trip to work in Newcastle, attended to Grace fleetingly (yes she got her 15 minutes). And I wonder to myself am I going through an episode of Fast Marriage? Believe you me, Grace is getting all the time in the world, and more. But Matt the Husband? It's not so much a case of ships in the night, rather dead lions in the night. This past week the minute Grace is in bed we have headed to bed, and trust me, there is nothing fanfare and fireworks about that statement. Tucked up with our pyjamas and hot water bottle for 7.28pm on a Friday night. Now that's dire!
We are just soooooo tired. My house is dusty, the garden is neglected and the spare room is looking like a car boot sale. We're happy and well fed. Just so very worn out. I'm assured by working parents at the office that this gets easier to deal with as we get more experienced in the art, but seriously, I doubt any of them are in bed at half seven on a friday night. Aaaaarrrggggh! I need more TIME!

The 25th Hour Syndrome

Alternatively known as the aspiration for an 8th day. I am FRAZZLED after 3 weeks back in the saddle at work, loving every minute of it, but pooped with a capital Zzzzzzzzz. I just cannot get everything done. HATS OFF to women who work full time. Seriously, well done girls!

I'm not alone in this syndrome so I take solace from that. Every working mum goes through it. Snatching 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. Making up milk bottles while stirring the dinner and making sandwiches for tomorrow at the same time, with the washing machine on in the background and the dog pestering me for a walk while Grace yells at me from the high chair saying she's had enough of her starter and is ready for the main course which of course isn't ready as I'm still stirring the sodding thing in the pan. BREATHE!!!! I'm keeping up with housework and we're not on freezer food just yet, but I can't remember the last time I straightened my hair... so yes, frazzled in more ways than one!

Grace, bless her, has adjusted well to having a tired working Mum as opposed to a stay at home mum climbing the walls. She's a little more fractious than normal and I put this down to the fact she's having so much fun at nursery and with Grandma that she simply doesn't have time to sleep during the day. She's still a happy little poppet and rarely turns to tears, but she does have bags under her eyes some days which while very cute, are a tad worrying for one so young!

Grace having a play at The Oaks


We have had plenty to keep us occupied of late. Grace has had a winter cold which declined into a chest infection so she was off colour for about a fortnight. Matt the Husband and I both had varying degrees of the lurgy too which has left us both feeling drained at times. Thankfully Grace made a recovery in time for a visit from Nanny and Grandpa from Norfolk and they took much delight in spending time with her and watching her demonstrate her motor skills at the dining table.

Grace listening to a story with Grandpa and Nanny


Grace and I also went on an adventure to visit family in Shropshire, a beautiful drive out over the Pennines and down into North Wales in the spring sunshine. Jennifer and Stephen were great hosts, and Grace had a wonderful time in the garden having a go on the swing and looking at the sheep and horses in the field.

Grace taking an interest in the snowdrops with Stephen


Grace with Jennifer at The Oaks


I have much much more to tell you seeing as I haven't blogged in over a fortnight, but I need to head off into the depths of the house and find a little chore or two to do now that Grace is in bed dreaming of getting Mummy a cleaner for her birthday.

Night night, God bless x