So very happy to be Aaron's Mum.
Sunday, 19 May 2013
Thursday, 16 May 2013
Reasons To be Cheerful
I am nowhere near as consistent as I ought to be with this Linky. Not nearly disciplined enough to join in every week. Would love to though.
I can't think of ANY reasons to be cheerful today but I am going to force myself to, as I think it is at times like this, that the Linky is most needed. To make you introspective, to force you to reflect on what is good in life or as Mich puts it: God in life.
So let me think:
The other thing I am "cheerful" about, if you can call it that, is that all of the clothes I bought Aaron last year, I bought BIG. That is how I am surviving now this year when I have no money coming in. All of his clothes from last year still fit, bar a few pairs of jeans which I have had to replace, and yes there are some hoodies that are now short on the arms. His arms and legs seems to have got longer, but bar that, everything still fits :-) The me of this year THANKS the me of last year for being clever with her clothes shopping - it is certainly not something I can currently afford to repeat.
And the final reason to be cheerful, is that we are home. Ireland was quite stressful, and as a result I had about 3 PJ days after we got back Saturday and have only unpacked today. Sometimes it is nice to be home with your creature comforts and not having to keep apologising for Aaron's behaviour.
Oh and to explain the PJ rest days on return, we went by boat which involved many hours in car and boat. I am extremely grateful to my Dad that he let us both accompany him in the car there and back. It must have been stressful for him doing all those hours of driving (10 hours on 2nd May) and hearing me playing with Aaron in the back - or maybe just maybe it made the time go quicker for him. Who knows. Anyway, I could not afford the flights so it was the only way that we could attend the wedding.
Bye for now, Liska xx
I can't think of ANY reasons to be cheerful today but I am going to force myself to, as I think it is at times like this, that the Linky is most needed. To make you introspective, to force you to reflect on what is good in life or as Mich puts it: God in life.
So let me think:
- First of all I was without a job, having been made redundant last July, and then eventually, I took Aaron out of nursery. Because they reduced his hours, their idea, the notice period lasted from January to April. They said "you'll have found a job by then!" and me being ever so slightly psychic, I knew I wouldn't. I cried a lot on his last day, as they gave him the biggest "leaving card" I have ever seen and it was full of photos. I also got an arch lever file full of photos and learnings, that cover 2011, 2012 and 2013. Anyway, preparing for Ireland took my mind off the fact that he was finished at nursery. I was doing laundry at a rate of knots and busy packing. So now we are back, and the week doesn't have as much structure without him going to nursery but the R2BC is that he will be back there from September 15 hours a week, and I am going to enjoy every minute of him until then :-)
- I guess point (1) makes me a SAHM, and I have always wanted to give that a go.
- Before I went to Ireland I wrote some cheerful blog posts about how I'd QUICKLY got Aaron a wedding outfit in TK Maxx and me in M&S, and his shoes in a Clarks' Factory Shop. I did the MOST successful, budget ONE DAY shopping trip I have ever done in my life. I did that target and strike type of shopping men are famous for. Well it WAS a reason to be cheerful, but then at the wedding I did not at all feel glamourous in my £39 jersery fabric M&S maxi dress, but to be fair it was more about the fact that my hair was not done. I will NEVER again go to a wedding without my hair being done. Big mistake HUGE as they say in Pretty Woman. I got a lot of flack from my Dad and his Wife that Aaron was not in a suit or at the very least in a shirt, tie and smart trousers, but what they didn't seem to realise is.... well a few things (1) I don't think that is necessarily right for a 2 year old (2) I didn't want him wearing what he wore to a wedding last August (because the photos are on Facebook and it was the other side of the family) (3) I liked him in what he DID wear, and (4) ironically enough, the smart outfit last year was cheap as chips Primark, whereas the shirt and shorts he wore to the wedding this year were BOTH reduced from £35 to £15 EACH. People with CLASS can SEE money, and to me, I could SEE that Aaron looked good AND he looked more comfortable than the children in suits (yes there were a couple).... I guess you want photos right? Well here they are :-)
The other thing I am "cheerful" about, if you can call it that, is that all of the clothes I bought Aaron last year, I bought BIG. That is how I am surviving now this year when I have no money coming in. All of his clothes from last year still fit, bar a few pairs of jeans which I have had to replace, and yes there are some hoodies that are now short on the arms. His arms and legs seems to have got longer, but bar that, everything still fits :-) The me of this year THANKS the me of last year for being clever with her clothes shopping - it is certainly not something I can currently afford to repeat.
And the final reason to be cheerful, is that we are home. Ireland was quite stressful, and as a result I had about 3 PJ days after we got back Saturday and have only unpacked today. Sometimes it is nice to be home with your creature comforts and not having to keep apologising for Aaron's behaviour.
Oh and to explain the PJ rest days on return, we went by boat which involved many hours in car and boat. I am extremely grateful to my Dad that he let us both accompany him in the car there and back. It must have been stressful for him doing all those hours of driving (10 hours on 2nd May) and hearing me playing with Aaron in the back - or maybe just maybe it made the time go quicker for him. Who knows. Anyway, I could not afford the flights so it was the only way that we could attend the wedding.
Bye for now, Liska xx
Monday, 13 May 2013
#SpecialK30 BritMums Special K How I’ve Changed Linky Challenge!
For the first time since 1983, Special K has updated its recipe. If you would like to try it, ensure you get the one with the above header on the box: "NEW delicious 3 grain recipe".
The new recipe contains three grains — rice, wheat and barley (previously there were two) — and is made with wholegrain, for a source of fibre as well as 8 vitamins and minerals. It gives health-conscious, weight-watching women a tastier breakfast.
We were sent a box a few weeks back, and it was so delicious and yummy that every day I had a bowl, Aaron wanted one too, so much so, that on 1st May we had to go and buy another box. It was left here whilst we had our 8 days in Ireland but I am very happy to be back to munching a bowl a day on our return. For some reason I have only had today's now. Yummy.
It is quite honestly my favourite cereal at the moment. It also keeps you full up for hours.
Well back to the purpose of this linky THIS is what I looked like, back in 1983.
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| 1983 - aged 10 - where oh where is my fringe???? |
Digging out this photo confused me somewhat, as I had thought I had worn a fringe (bangs if you are American) all through my childhood, but no, here I am, fringeless!
So I carried on searching and found a photo from my FIRST day at secondary school 1984 where I am still fringeless so the above is my last year at Junior School (4th year as they called it THEN), and is 1983.
Below is the proof that my memory serves me right. I did grow up with a fringe - clearly at some point it went AWOL. Followed by the 1984 first day at big school photo:
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| The fringes I wore all through childhood to protect my big spam! |
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| Who stole my fringe? 1984 first day at Secondary School - aged 11. |
A quick Google tells me the sort of music that was around then:
| Every Breath You Take | Police | |
| 2 | Girls Just Want To Have Fun | Cyndi Lauper |
| 3 | Jump | Van Halen |
| 4 | Flashdance...What a Feeling | Irene Cara |
| 5 | All Night Long (All Night) | Lionel Richie |
| 6 | Blue Monday | New Order |
| 7 | Relax | Frankie Goes To Hollywood |
| 8 | Time After Time | Cyndi Lauper |
| 9 | Let's Dance | David Bowie |
| 10 | Karma Chameleon | Culture Club |
| 11 | Holiday | Madonna |
| 12 | Rockit | Herbie Hancock |
| 13 | She Works Hard For the Money | Donna Summer |
| 14 | Love is a Battlefield | Pat Benatar |
| 15 | Radio Free Europe (I.R.S. version) | R.E.M. |
| 16 | Legs | ZZ Top |
| 17 | Sunday, Bloody Sunday | U2 |
| 18 | Pink Houses | John Cougar Mellencamp |
| 19 | Maniac | Michael Sembello |
| 20 | Photograph | Def Leppard |
| 21 | Burning Down the House |
I am very pleased to say that my memory has not deserted me, and I can hum along to all of them.
Anyway a requirement of this linky is that I tell you how I have changed, since 1983.
Well... it is ironic that the fringe or lack of it, is a highlight of my 1983 photo, as I have not been wearing a fringe for the past 6 months, and can be seen most days wearing a pink headband to allow the light to fully illuminate my third eye ;-) as seen here, on our recent boat trip to Ireland.
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| Aaron doesn't look happy as we are outside on the boat and he said it was too windy!!! |
However, as our recent trip to Ireland was for a wedding, I thought I ought to go for the well groomed look, so here I am back with fringe, on the day of the wedding with Aaron, after a mad last minute dash to the hairdressers on the eve of the wedding. #yikes!
Well it was a pleasure to go down memory lane so I am grateful for this linky and now need to put the cupboard back together after going through a dozen packets of photos.
What do you think? Would you recognise the 1983 and the 2013 Liska as the same person? Have I changed a lot?
This post is an entry for the BritMums/Special K “How I’ve changed Linky challenge” and is to celebrate the change in recipe of Special K after 30 years.
If you would like to take part, the link to the BritMums linky post is here
Thinking back to 1984/1985 I was BIG into my cross country running and used to get to school at 07:30 twice a week to run around Alexandra Palace with school friends including my mate Beatrice. The teacher was a letch so we used to run really fast every time he came near us. I was very brave going to school that early considering (a) it was DARK and (b) I left home before my Mum and Step Dad were even up yet.
This linky has really made me go down memory lane.
How about you? What were you up to in 1983?
Liska xx
The Boat Journey and Magic Moments
I am joining up with the Oliver's Madhouse Magic Moments linky
Every time me and Aaron go to Ireland we go by plane. He knows the drill, so do I. We've got it down. We travel alone. We manage. We are near an airport and the other side, so is my Mum.
So it was with a great deal of trepidation that we embarked on a boat journey which also includes hours and hours in the car. We were going to a wedding in Ireland and I had no money for the flights, so we asked if we could join my Dad and his wife in the car, being that the wedding was on my Dad's side of the family.
It was a magic moment when the journey begun and Aaron seemed to be quite happy - seemed he would be a great traveller/sailor.
Of course it was the portable DVD player that was many times a life saver, there and back.
He was very excited when we arrived at Holyhead and he could see the boats.
Looking out the window on the boat was a huge novelty.
It was a BEAUTIFUL day for setting sail:
So I took Aaron out on deck, thinking my run around boy would run around. OH NO!
It's too windy Mummy. Or more like: "It's too windy Mummmmmaaaaayyyy!"
So our next magic moment was him finally settling down for some "me time" [below] so I could hear myself think for 5 minutes!
Look how tranquil he is [above] sitting by the sea. The boat was relatively empty given that it was May and not August :-)
The real magic moment on any boat journey of course, is when you SEE LAND! Which in this case was Dublin Port.
The arch shown above is NOT on the horizon. It is the "mouth" of the boat opening to let the cars out. Aaron was fascinated watching it rise. So much so, that on the way back, when we discovered we were sitting at the wrong end, he wanted us to relocate our seats - errr no! ;-)
There were lots of magic moments on our 8 day holiday but despite leaving Ireland Friday, and it now being MONDAY I am still shattered! Aaron and Daddy have just this minute gone out and I am too tired to get dressed to join them. I think I will have a hot bath.
Liska xx
Every time me and Aaron go to Ireland we go by plane. He knows the drill, so do I. We've got it down. We travel alone. We manage. We are near an airport and the other side, so is my Mum.
So it was with a great deal of trepidation that we embarked on a boat journey which also includes hours and hours in the car. We were going to a wedding in Ireland and I had no money for the flights, so we asked if we could join my Dad and his wife in the car, being that the wedding was on my Dad's side of the family.
It was a magic moment when the journey begun and Aaron seemed to be quite happy - seemed he would be a great traveller/sailor.
Of course it was the portable DVD player that was many times a life saver, there and back.
He was very excited when we arrived at Holyhead and he could see the boats.
Looking out the window on the boat was a huge novelty.
It was a BEAUTIFUL day for setting sail:
It's too windy Mummy. Or more like: "It's too windy Mummmmmaaaaayyyy!"
So our next magic moment was him finally settling down for some "me time" [below] so I could hear myself think for 5 minutes!
The real magic moment on any boat journey of course, is when you SEE LAND! Which in this case was Dublin Port.
There were lots of magic moments on our 8 day holiday but despite leaving Ireland Friday, and it now being MONDAY I am still shattered! Aaron and Daddy have just this minute gone out and I am too tired to get dressed to join them. I think I will have a hot bath.
Liska xx
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
The Gallery - Self Portrait
I don't really know where to start with this post. Tara has set us the prompt of self portrait this week.
I can't use old photos as they are all on my Apple, and it is broken at present (well since Xmas Day to be precise) and wasn't fixed by PC World's KNOW HOW in January despite them having it for 12 days and my paying them £9.99 GBP a month! GGgggrrrr.
Anyway back to the task in hand: The Gallery
Okay, so with what I have access to on this computer this is the best I can do.
Of course it HAD to include a pic of Aaron as HE is my BABY!!!!
I'd actually turned my computer off, when I realised it's Wednesday and The Gallery tomorrow.
I turned it back on to do this ;-)
Please look back though as this is my 4th blog post today.
Liska xx
I can't use old photos as they are all on my Apple, and it is broken at present (well since Xmas Day to be precise) and wasn't fixed by PC World's KNOW HOW in January despite them having it for 12 days and my paying them £9.99 GBP a month! GGgggrrrr.
Anyway back to the task in hand: The Gallery
Okay, so with what I have access to on this computer this is the best I can do.
Of course it HAD to include a pic of Aaron as HE is my BABY!!!!
I turned it back on to do this ;-)
Please look back though as this is my 4th blog post today.
Liska xx
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Magic Moment When Two Becomes Three
Aaron is NOT yet THREE,
but the change is there for all to see,
or at least it is a change
that is visible to me.
I am his Mum,
I've dealt with the "twos",
But now comes the threes
and there are less of the blues.
As the twos come to an end,
on you I can depend.
You do what your told,
Not quite so bold.
You pass things to me,
You listen to what I say.
Things are easier,
We're making headway.
They call the twos terrible,
They weren't that bad.
We created many memories,
You getting old makes me sad.
But three I can see,
will be so much fun.
It's a few weeks off,
But the change has begun.
My boy is quite different
A little man in the making.
Seeing you blossom,
My heart it is breaking.
It's magic you see,
Seeing what you can be.
You are my little shadow,
the best part of me!
I am entering this post into the Magic Moments linky, as we are having lots of them now. It's like something has clicked. Bus journeys are easy! Shopping is easy (that's a slight exaggeration as today WAS stressful, but unlike in the past it was POSSIBLE). THAT is progress.
You understand every word I say and I understand every word you say. You are learning at the rate of knots. Mummy LOVES you so so so much. Being with you is literally ALL I need.
Love you my little darling son.
but the change is there for all to see,
or at least it is a change
that is visible to me.
I am his Mum,
I've dealt with the "twos",
But now comes the threes
and there are less of the blues.
As the twos come to an end,
on you I can depend.
You do what your told,
Not quite so bold.
You pass things to me,
You listen to what I say.
Things are easier,
We're making headway.
They call the twos terrible,
They weren't that bad.
We created many memories,
You getting old makes me sad.
But three I can see,
will be so much fun.
It's a few weeks off,
But the change has begun.
My boy is quite different
A little man in the making.
Seeing you blossom,
My heart it is breaking.
It's magic you see,
Seeing what you can be.
You are my little shadow,
the best part of me!
************************
I am entering this post into the Magic Moments linky, as we are having lots of them now. It's like something has clicked. Bus journeys are easy! Shopping is easy (that's a slight exaggeration as today WAS stressful, but unlike in the past it was POSSIBLE). THAT is progress.
You understand every word I say and I understand every word you say. You are learning at the rate of knots. Mummy LOVES you so so so much. Being with you is literally ALL I need.
Love you my little darling son.
Wedding Clothes for a 2 Year Old Boy
I did a tweet today asking whether Aaron should wear a suit to a wedding this Sunday. The consensus in the MANY and varied helpful replies was no, not for a two year old who'll want to be comfortable and play!
So there husband! Us Mums know best!!!
So off we headed to the shops this afternoon after already having been in the Clarks Factory Shop this morning (see last post). Yes, a very productive day. If I told you I got my outfit too, you wouldn't believe me right? But, I did.
Considering I never ever dreamed I could shop with Aaron I am very impressed with our day today.
ALSO got a load of washing out on the line AND back in dry :-)
Anyway HERE is Aaron's capsule wardrobe for Sunday all from TK Maxx
Full size photos can be found here: clothes for a 2 year old boy going to a wedding
I have linked to the full size photos as Pic Monkey rotated some of them above :-(
Plus, in the full size shots hopefully you can appreciate the detail.
What with his shoes coming from a Factory Store and his clothes coming from TK Maxx, I am very happy with my budget shopping today.
CAN'T WAIT till I can show you photos of him wearing this lot... (to be continued)...
Liska xxx
So there husband! Us Mums know best!!!
So off we headed to the shops this afternoon after already having been in the Clarks Factory Shop this morning (see last post). Yes, a very productive day. If I told you I got my outfit too, you wouldn't believe me right? But, I did.
Considering I never ever dreamed I could shop with Aaron I am very impressed with our day today.
ALSO got a load of washing out on the line AND back in dry :-)
Anyway HERE is Aaron's capsule wardrobe for Sunday all from TK Maxx
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| The stripey shorts are not for the wedding but I could not leave the shop without them :-) |
Full size photos can be found here: clothes for a 2 year old boy going to a wedding
I have linked to the full size photos as Pic Monkey rotated some of them above :-(
Plus, in the full size shots hopefully you can appreciate the detail.
What with his shoes coming from a Factory Store and his clothes coming from TK Maxx, I am very happy with my budget shopping today.
CAN'T WAIT till I can show you photos of him wearing this lot... (to be continued)...
Liska xxx
Bargains at the Clarks Factory Shop - London - Seven Sisters Road
We have just got back from a very early start. We got up at 7 a.m. so that Daddy could drive us to the Clarks Factory Shop before his afternoon shift at work. We did not leave home till 09:30 though but we still got there and back. For anyone trying to find it, it is on Seven Sisters Road, nearest tube = Finsbury Park bur it is nearer to Holloway, i.e. 10 minute walk.
We got 3 pairs for under £50 so it did not disappoint and at least Aaron will now look smart in Ireland.
2011 and 2012 he has spent 7 months in sandals so I hope he will get good wear out of these too, although March and April are gone (for obvious reasons we survived without them this year).
Anyway here is our haul:
I am very pleased with my purchases, but Daddy didn't manage to put money in the metre due to an error on it, so I had to shop & choose while trying to stop Aaron running around which was very stressful.
Oh and make sure they size you standing up.
Aaron was a size 9 sitting down, but a 10 standing up!!!
Liska xxx
We got 3 pairs for under £50 so it did not disappoint and at least Aaron will now look smart in Ireland.
2011 and 2012 he has spent 7 months in sandals so I hope he will get good wear out of these too, although March and April are gone (for obvious reasons we survived without them this year).
Anyway here is our haul:
I am very pleased with my purchases, but Daddy didn't manage to put money in the metre due to an error on it, so I had to shop & choose while trying to stop Aaron running around which was very stressful.
Oh and make sure they size you standing up.
Aaron was a size 9 sitting down, but a 10 standing up!!!
Liska xxx
Monday, 29 April 2013
Sunday, 28 April 2013
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