And on a positive…more weightloss!

I have lost another 1 and 1/2lbs. Race for life and a week’s free pass at Ladies Express workout definitely helped. Friends have been complimenting me on my weightloss, yippee they have noticed and  thankfully I’ve not been asked if I’m pregnant lately.

The bikini is a long way off but I am starting to think that a swimsuit might even be ok when we go on holiday as opposed to a burka covering  I was planning to buy on the internet.

Onwards and upwards

Kids go to sleep!!!!

Oh how I wish I had kids that would sleep. It’s now 9.40pm and my cute little mogwai have caused their usual gremlin mayhem and finally exhausted themselves out.

Is it the weather making them like this? It’s been so hot and stuffy lately I suppose. A growth spurt? Maybe, the youngest one has trousers now resembling shorts. Teething possibly? Nope definitely not that, two front teeth are now missing from the little lady’s mouth and I often get painful reminders on my ankles that the youngest has a full set of gnashers.

For most parents the above maybe likely reasons, but in my case, my adorable two just love staying up to ’party’ with mummy and daddy. They seem to think they are missing out on something. Hmm I dunno what - mummy engaging in her nightly surfing the web fun or daddy watching QI,Man V Food (why??) and reading his food porn cook books - hardly the most exciting nightime activity for a toddler and schoolchild. But still, they insist on not going to bed at the saintly hour of 7pm or even 8pm like my friends’ children.

It seems every sleep delay tactic is used: it used to be only my eldest but now the youngest one has caught onto the non sleeping game, each parent pandering to their nightly needs and running between each room like a headless chicken. ‘Enough is enough’ I screamed tonight, this mummy’s tolerance level has seriously depleted. Coupletime is non existent if you know what I mean, not that I’m looking for that, but at least some time to chat and unwind with a glass of vino together would be heaven. Lately though, we seem to keep bickering like little kids ourselves,  finding fault with each other about whose sleep routine technique has messed up our kids - I’m the softly softly parent, G is the hardcore sergeant major type whose strictness usually results in both kids wailing for mummy to save them. Then again, maybe I’m too quick to console, maybe G is too harsh – whatever technique we are applying is not working. We have become THOSE parents that I used to look down on when watching Supernanny. Oh how smug I was when the eldest was a wee sleepy thing. Karma so bloomin sucks.

Right then best prepare myself for the midnightly awakening by the youngest.. Supernanny if by any chance you are reading this blog, we so need you to save us from our sleepless monsters! If anyone else is reading this and has the solution, I will be your BFF. Otherwise, I will have to look at alternatives - whisky in their milk, a rope and gag tape ( parental disclaimer – I AM JOKING!!) or in the worse case scenario,  shelling out £50 to get those ‘top 5 tips on getting your child to sleep’ from those amazing sleep doctor gurus. Oh the joys.

Last night..the reunion with the fashion brigade

Honestly, I decide to start a blog, get v excited about publishing my ramblings and then, as per my ‘all or nothing’ persona, woomfff…I stop..zilch posts for the last few weeks. (I have enjoyed reading fellow bloggers’ posts on my iPh, some of which have made me really giggle!)

Well, I’m back now in the blogosphere and thought I’d write about last night’s frivolities.

Slack Alice has been absent due to the endless stream of birthday parties March brings (it seems a lot of fertility action happens in those summer months, including my own with a now 2 year old), but also because I’ve been exercising and dieting to the extreme. According to ‘MyFitnessPal’, I have lost a total of 10lbs in the last 6 weeks,  3lbs of which have been lost recently. In my panic to look good and find something that didn’t make me look frumpy,  I seem to have lived on wholesome but healthy soups.

And boy did I look and feel good. I even got a few compliments from the designer label brigade which made me swell with pride at my M&S ensemble (I could have gone designer but we need to eat and live in our house). It  was so lovely to see them all, especially the birthday boy AB, who is the sweetest bloke you could ever meet. The beautiful and original ’yummy mummy’ herself N had organised last night as a gathering of old and new people, AB wasn’t aware that the old gang was coming and his face was priceless, he was genuinely pleased to see us all, I thought he was going to cry although that could have been his beer stare… Anyway, watching some of the people out was like looking at a Gap advert, all Minnie mouse high heel shoes and designer bags, gorgeous hair and amazing makeup. Some of my former colleagues really haven’t lost their sense of style and it did make me think that maybe I should make more of an effort to pay for quality clothes occasionally…until I remembered the cost, the possibility that my size not be available and oh yes, the toddler snot trails that comes with wearing those types of outfits, never a good look.

Cocktail after cocktail flowed. It was great to giggle at what had been happening in the team – from tales of the bloke in IT who STILL thought no one could see him asleep at his desk to endless news of pregnancies, engagements and forthcoming weddings. We also chatted about whether AD would come back from her holiday engaged and MC’s amazing and dramatic weightloss being due to gastric band surgery. It was great to remember our work mishaps (and successes of course) but also the naughtiness, like the time when N and I were returning from an event in Cambridge and just happened to take a detour to Bicester shopping outlet, whereby we pretended we were stuck in motorway jams and had no phone reception (we had turned them off). I feel ashamed writing this here due to the dishonesty and shallowness of it all, but it was a great afternoon.

Cost cuts and restructuring mean the former extravagances have now gone but everyone was still positive and just glad to be in jobs, especially in this climate. Most of the gang have children nowadays so our talk of dating and meeting awful blokes has now changed to nappies and troublesome toddlers. As much as I like my current job, I do miss the atmosphere that comes from an open plan office and also the excitement and dynamic atmosphere that comes with working in that sector. I did feel a slight twinge of jealousy when AB told us he is now a Senior Manager (he does totally deserve it), it reminded me that I will never be promoted where I am now. I discussed this with KR who had become a SAHM and we agreed it was natural to feel this way; we had made the decision to walk away from that lifestyle when we decided to have a family and we agreed that perhaps in the future we can embark on the career ladder when the kids get older.

So at 11.30pm most of us went home leaving the younger ones to continue into the late hours like we used to. Talking to the taxi driver (is it me or why do I ALWAYS recount my evening and whole life to a complete stranger??) I realised that although I do miss the old gang, life doesn’t stay the same, grass isn’t always greener and you should be happy with your lot. At least that’s what I will keep telling myself.

It was great night and hopefully we’ll do it again soon. After robbing a bank and basically fasting, I will be wearing a size zero designer dress and shoes with the best of them…..

Friday night fun – DISCO!

Friday nights are the new night out aren’t they? How many of you really look forward to Friday night telly? New Tricks – nah, Benidorm – nah! I don’t need to watch a serious documentary on BBC2 or what was on the other night…oh yeah, that was it, a history of lightning…wtf?? Saturdays are much better. I don’t miss my carefree, pre-kid party time life on a Saturday as there is more stuff on to keep me and the family entertained – Harry Hill, X Factor and ahem, Take me out ( no likey no lighty – love it cheesehead that I am). But Fridays? TV executives you have it in for mummies like me, I have to organise my free night passes with G to escape the monotony of ending a hectic week on an all time low.

But tonight..oh wow!

So there I was, chilling with G on the sofa moaning about how rubbish Friday night telly is and then I flicked on BBC4 and heard it..DISCO baby! Watching the music, the soundbites, the singers – the glorious Gaynor, diva Chaka and the AMAZING being that is Grace Jones (never realised how much Gaga has been influenced by GJ), listening to all the classics that turned me into a house/dance chick in my younger years, oh my goodness, I became friends again with Friday night.

I even burned off a few calories dancing in the lounge with G and he was loving it despite the fact that Libertines/ Rolling Stones/ Leonard Cohen are more his bag. I was shocked too when he revealed that he was a Gloria Gaynor and Chaka K fan as a teenager, although Chaka and oops, another lovely diva i forgot, Donna Summer were his early teenage solo passion, if you catch my drift. Anyways, I’m loving this evening of boogie woogie, come on let’s bring back  ’you make me feel, miiiighhty real’ and ’pull up to my bumper baby’ (didn’t realise lyrics were so rude Grace).

I hope all this dancing has helped me lose a few more pounds, but the wine probably hasn’t. Oh well, happy Friday people!

Yay – I did it!

Well my battle with the cross trainer is over, I did it and feel bloody knackered for it!

That’s kinda of how I feel now…

Exercise tonight yay or nay?

Well G has just arrived with AJ and following last night’s insomnia episode, I feel too pooped to get on the cross trainer. V naughty of me.

But hang on a mo, isn’t this the reason I started the blog? The inane ramblings are definitely here, but I also need to do the weight loss bit to get rid of my ‘baby’s got back’. I am still maintaining the 7lbs loss but would like to burn off some more, particularly as I’m out with former colleagues in a couple of week’s for a surprise birthday party.

My old firm, ah the memories. I currently work in public sector. That’s all I say for now in case I get identified (paranoia again, highly unlikely isn’t it?), but I used to work in the competitive, glamorous world of professional services aka accountancy. Don’t laugh, the nature of the profession sounds as dull as dishwater but I do miss my old gang and the vibrance and lively culture of the corporate suits.For over 5 years, I worked with a team of beautiful people and that was just the men. The nature of my job was about branding, recruitment and promoting our firm to targeted groups whilst looking immaculate and professional. I was slim then and my wardrobe was more Karen Millen and Whistles, my colleagues were even more glamorous (think Jimmy Choos and other labels I’m clueless about now) and I don’t think I ever left the house looking dowdy. Fast forward to now, with two kids and 4 stone heavier, I’m more Evans and Dotty P rather than labels. As I said before I do miss the old gang, I’ll explain more in future posts about my current and previous role, I’m hoping to lose a bit more weight so that I can at least squeeze into a nice new Limited Collection dress from M&S.

Right I think I will get my ass back on that trainer, do I think I can do 30 minutes interval training? You betcha!

technical whizz…not!

My first foray into personal blogging and I muck it up, anyone reading the 26 repeat posts I apologise…back to the help pages…

Sunshine and Glasses

Just sat with R watching CBeebies, what a glorious start to March..the sun shining that is not the programme, although I’ve just been watching Sid and Andy so that has definitely put a smile on my face. The delectable Mr Bloom would have been a hat trick for my lust for those fellas but hey you can’t have everything!

I don’t know anyone who is Welsh but happy St David’s day to all. Said CBeebies programme has just explained but I was busy typing, all I know is its to do with pretty daffodils and not slaying dragons, really hope R doesn’t ask me later.

The sunshine really brings out the best in people, how many times can we all say ‘lovely weather we’re having today’ and ‘ooh let’s hope it lasts till the weekend, ho ho ho’. It’s a great conversation starter at the school gates too with the teachers and assistants when I came to pick up R for her eye test.

She needs glasses. My little girl from now on will have to wear glasses and be part of the population who have to wear visual aids. I should have known after the various tests that went on for nearly two hours (eye drops and numerous looking at cards, putting on ‘funny itchy silly things’) that she’d need them. I should have known even before that that sitting so close to our large screen tv that she needed them. But I was in denial..

You will soon start to notice in these blogs that I’m the world’s most neurotic, paranoid mum. Once the optometrist confirmed it I rang my mum worried that R will get bullied, name called and in the worse case scenatio like her cousin who is virtually blind when he doesn’t have them on. Mum calmed me down by distracting me and talking to R telling her she’d be beautiful and how exciting it would be to get special glasses. Writing this down has helped me rationalise it too – she needs them to see and she will still be my beautiful little girl. I’ve just remembered Plain Jane superbrain from Neighbours who became a babe when she had that makeover and my numerous friends and colleagues who are beautiful with their glasses. Hang on a minute, I WEAR GLASSES, well when I’m driving and I’ve never been picked on. I just need to take a chill pill, and stop worrying don’t I?

Why can’t I sleep?

I need to sleep…but can’t.

It’s so quiet in the house, bar the darlings’ little snores..G came in about ten minutes ago from night out and has now collapsed in R bed. He is 6ft 2, but hey he can’t squeeze in our bed with said darlings currently occupying the marital bed like those protestors in London.

So I thought I’d post here.. I am tired and need my sleep but can’t…is it because I’m still fretting about earlier R poop episode? I was lucky I made it to her room in time as I’m pretty squeamish with all things lavatory related. She was good though, I cleaned her up and she has gone back to sleep but AJ took a bit of hypnosis with my typing to fall asleep..both in my bed.

I just wish I had more competent skills to train my kids to sleep in their own beds. You can see how mine and G’s problems started when we’re not even in the same bed together…

Actually I’ve just realised why I cant sleep…I did do 25 mins on my cross trainer and 5 mins situps (about 200 in total) so the endorphins are still floating..right endorphins please settle and let me kip!

Night all, well me! xxx

Hello world!

Well I have approximately 15 minutes to write my first post before one of my darlings wakes up, here goes…

Hello I’m A, I’m 38 (well soon to be) ‘happily’ married mum to two lovely but very demanding children (R who is 5 and my youngest AJ 2).

This year has already seen a number of changes and mini crises for me- I lost my beloved uncle in January and watched my dad have a mini breakdown losing his brother. During this period Ialso realised my marriage was near collapse due to said AJ and R taking over our lives and generally giving us no couple time. Finally I realised that despite the fact friends and family  always tried to assure me I wasn’t fat,  a photo taken of me with my cousins during my uncle’s passing made me realise I was overweight and dangerously unhealthy.

So I’ve set about doing something and making the change…

Whoever reads this and thinks gosh there are more important things going on this world right now and my god this woman sounds so shallow, I apologise in advance, please stop reading if you are easily irritated. I’m using these posts to help me rationlise my feelings, hopes and fears whilst trying to ‘fight the flab’. My marriage counsellor told me it would be carthartic and I hope it will be. Please feel free to join me on my journey of ramblings, weight loss (hopefully!) and daily dealings.

Oh, although I said I had 15 minutes, this has actually took an hour as said darlings are now both in bed with me.. one nearly pooped herself following a bad dream and the other is a light sleeper so woke himself up and refused to go back to his bed. My goodness, where is Supernanny when you need her…

Oh and if you’re wondering about the weightloss, 7lbs so far in the last four weeks, it changes on where I stand on the scale though..