Awards and thank yous

I’ve had a whole bunch of awards sitting around gathering dust, so figured I would make use of my unexpected night away from my computer to sit at a different computer and dispense awards left, right and centre (appropriately, it being election day).

Warning: I am almost certainly giving people awards who have already received them. Sorry. It’s difficult enough getting it together to write this awards post, without having to check on who has what!

Fucking Fabulous award

We shall start with rather fantastic Fucking Fabulous award from the equally fantastic Amy at And 1 more means four. Amy somehow manages to juggle four children (and I can’t even manage three balls), a job, a house and a husband, not to mention writing a blog and even going on the radio to talk about it. Wow! She is about ten years younger than me, but I don’t think that alone can explain her endless bounds of energy.

Now, most of these awards come with a bunch of instructions. Here are the ones for this one:

List five current obsessions and pass the award on to five more fabulous blogs. On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them. When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. To add the award to your post, simply right-click, save image, then “add image” in your post as a picture so your winners can save it as well. To add it to your sidebar, add the “picture” widget. Also, don’t forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by leaving a comment on their blog.

Obsessions

1. Investigating buggies. We need a light-weight buggy that will fold easily for going on buses (though actually the easy folding may not be as much of an issue now I think of it, as Eleanor won’t be going to my mum’s until she’s at least six months, at which point, she can use Rosemary’s MacLaren Triumph) and it must have her facing me and being high up. I am convinced (probably unscientifically so) that Rosemary’s advanced speech is more than partially attributable to pushing her around in her buggy lots when she was very little and talking to her the whole time. So, I can write 100 words about the search for buggies; does that convince you that it’s an obsession?
2. Trying to persuade Eleanor to stop pushing/kicking whichever internal organ she is pushing/kicking that makes me feel like I’m being leaned on by a very heavy person with very pointy elbows, from INSIDE! Stop it. Please. You’ll have plenty of time to kick me and push me and clamber all over me, if your big sister is anything to go by.
3. Rewatching Buffy from the start (now on Season 5). It’s been a long time since I’ve watched it, especially all the way through. And I’m pleased to find that I’m loving it. I was a little worried that I was getting too old to appreciate it properly, but it is still great and I have the added bonus of feeling nostalgic when I watch it. Once I have got to the end of Season 7, I shall move on to Angel.
4. Baking with Rosemary. We are baking something pretty much every other morning. It means we get to spend 20 minutes or so of solid one-on-one attention, which I had become lax at of late. When I ask if she wants to bake, she jumps up and down and says ‘Oh, yes, please Mummy!’ and she often follows that with a big hug and kiss and ‘I love you, Mummy!’ That’s all worth it, of course, but we also get the bonus of yummy cakes and biscuits to eat. May not be doing our waistlines much good, but mine’s disappeared amid baby anyway, so I’ll wait until next year to worry about that!
5. Our new Wii. Except not so much, because Eleanor (see point 2 above) is not making it easy for me to jump up and down hitting imaginary tennis balls or throwing imaginary bowls. Still, I am very excited to have a Wii finally. I’ve wanted one pretty much since they came out, but haven’t been able to justify the cost. So it was with great delight that I discovered I had won the competition that Single Parent Dad ran in conjunction with Ciao!. I never win anything. Though Chris did remind me that I have actually previously won a different Nintendo games console – won a GameCube about seven or eight years ago. I did pay for my DS, though, promise! Anyway, even though I’m not managing to engage in actually playing with the Wii, I have been enjoying watching Chris and Eva (my sister) playing with it and Rosemary has even had a go. I also watched some of Ashes to Ashes via the BBC’s i-Player. The interface isn’t brilliant for doing so and a proper media extender would be preferable for that kind of thing, but does still allow for catching up on TV in the bedroom.

Winners

1. More than just a mother, whose insight into human nature and ability to tell it how it is can make me laugh, cry and jump about in excitement – sometimes all in one post. If you’ve never read her blog, where the hell have you been? Hopefully, her computer nightmares will be over soon and she will be back entertaining us.
2. Maternal Tales from the South Coast, who frequently has me rolling around on the floor laughing or, at the very least, spitting tea all over my keyboard and also tends to bestow some really handy advice.
3. Single Parent Dad, who is responsible for obsession number 5 and who’s blog can be funny, insightful and also incredibly moving.
4. Are we nearly there yet, Mummy?, who is super famous after a trip to Disney World (or was it Land – I never remember which is which) and has had a lovely make-over and a change of address (update your blogrolls – note to self: update your blogroll!).
5. Motherhood: The Final Frontier, who is probably the absolute coolest ex-popstar parent blogger out there and who always makes me laugh or think hard or just marvel at her turn of phrase.

One Lovely Blog award

This one came from the lovely Surprised, whose pictures and tales of the young (though fast-growing) Isobel take me back to Rosemary’s early months. She is another supermum (though, as I say that, I realise that pretty much every mum I know through this blogging lark could be described as that, and the dads are super, too) who manages to juggle working with bringing up her daughter, almost single-handedly. I have much admiration for her.

Now, this one has some rules, too, of course:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 10 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
3. Publish your 5 pet hates.

Pet hates

WARNING: It’s quite possible that you do one (or more) of the below. Fortunately, I am very aware that people are well-rounded and just because you do one or more of these, I will still like you for all that you are. Probably!

1. People who park on the pavement. The pavement is for pedestrians. For people pushing buggies and wheelchairs. It is not for cars. You have loads of roads and car parks and proper parking spaces. Get off the pavements! I do not want to have to push a buggy with a small child or baby out in the road where other people are driving over the speed limit. I do not want to have to walk into people’s gardens in order to pass you. I want to walk on the pavement. Grrrr.
2. People who jump to conclusions about other people based solely on their age. Teenagers are all skiving, drunk drug addicts. Old people are all grumpy and boring. People in their early twenties party too much. Gah! Actually, it’s probably jumping to conclusions about people based on any kind of generalisation, be it age, sex, race, class, occupation, or lack thereof. Everyone is different. Get to know the individual first before making assumptions!
3. People who spend their whole time complaining about everything under the sun, but never doing anything about it.
4. People who drive to the corner shop. Or to the school round the corner. Or to their friend’s house half a mile down the road. Use your feet. Think about your children’s future. Just get a bit of exercise. And be a role model to your children.
5. Reality TV shows. And people tweeting about them. I hate Big Brother. I hate The Apprentice. I hate I’m a Celebrity. I hate Britain’s Got Talent (though have to admit watching some of it – oops). I hate lazy and cheap TV programming. Go out and make some good dramas and comedies instead. Or even some interesting, thought-provoking documentaries.

Winners

Oh good. I get to choose some newly-discovered blogs. Have found quite a few new recently, though not sure if I’ll be able to muster a whole ten. Since they’re only newly discovered (but mostly because I’m getting tired and still have two awards left), I’m just going to link and not give a whole big write-up and cheer. Sorry. But they’re all great! Go read them, if you don’t already.

1. Clareybabble
2. OMG We’re Pregnant
3. Kelloggsville
4. Being a Mummy
5. The hair dog chronicles
6. All Grown Up
7. Grit’s Day
8. A Midwife’s Muse
9. Country Lite
10. Little Garden Helpers

The Lemonade Award

This came from one of my new finds, who also gets to experience the ups and downs of working at home. She’s also big into guiding – did you know Baden Powel is some kind of ancestor of mine (can’t remember exactly how, sorry).

OK, here are the rules for this one:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate up to 10 blogs that show an attitude of gratitude.
3. Link to your nominees within your post.
4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this
   award.
5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award.
6. Tell us how you've come to have an attitude of gratitude.

Attitude of gratitude

One of the biggest things I’m grateful for is getting to be a mum. I lost three babies before they were born, so having one actually make it the whole way and another half-way there is pretty darned amazing. I’m also generally grateful for my whole life – my husband, my family, my house, my career, the fact that I am able to live in considerable comfort. I have things to moan about, sure, but all in all things are very good and I know that I am extremely lucky to be able to say that.

The winners

I’m just linking again. Really need to get some sleep. But all these people seem to show an attitude of gratitude, many in the face of much adversity. I am thankful to know you all.

1. Jo Beaufoix
2. Time Management Mum
3. Not wrong, just different
4. I promise that I will do my best
5. Littlemummy
6. And 1 more means four
7. Rosie Scribble
8. Nixdminx
9. Sticky Fingers
10. Violet Posy

Honest Scrap

This one comes from another new discovery. OMG We’re Pregnant is a blog written by Mr and Mrs, a couple who are embarking on parenthood for the first time, and whose due date is pretty darned close to ours. They both write really well about the whole journey of pregnancy. Go read for yourself.

This one has quite simple rules:

The rules of this award are that you choose 7 blogs to pass this award onto, and list 10 facts about yourself as well.

Ten facts about me

1. I lived in Spain for a year when I was 9/10.
2. I was homeschooled for a few years of primary school.
3. I can speak (well, a bit, I’ve forgotten quite a lot) Esperanto (and French, Spanish, German and Italian, oh and sometimes English).
4. I love to programme and code and have done since I was 7 and got my first computer (ZX81) and learnt BASIC.
5. I am allergic to cats, even though I grew up with them and didn’t not have a cat until we lived in Spain.
6. I have a Joint Honours degree in Publishing with French Language and Literature.
7. I lived in Oxford for seven years and still miss it.
8. I love my work (most of the time).
9. I like real ale and live music.
10. I am happy.

The winners

Links only again. Am determined to get to bed before midnight.

1. A Modern Mother
2. Secret Diaries of a Wannabe Yummy Mammy
3. Home Office Mum
4. The Potty Diaries
5. All that comes with it
6. Bringing up Charlie
7. Dulwich Divorcee

Take your pick!

Finally, the lovely Clareybabble offered me my pick of three of the above awards, all of which I have already. So… over to you. If you haven’t had one of the above awards and would like it, then it’s yours. Enjoy!

Phew! That was time-consuming and probably the longest post I’ve written. Next time, I will make sure I give them away immediately, instead of saving them up. Telling everyone they’ve won an award will definitely have to wait.

Coming soon… a post about The Secret of Happy Children: A Guide for Parents, by Steve Biddulph.