Bug Bear Meme - Children In Need and Pudsey Bear

I am sad that Pudsey's fundraising may be effected by the recent goings on with the BBC, so I am setting up this meme to remind you all that he will be starring in tonight's BBC Children in Need TV schedule.

So please watch it if you can and donate.

To make this meme fun I thought we could complete things in the letters of Pudsey's name.

P is for please. Aaron I am so proud of the way you always say please.
U is for untidy.  I struggle to keep up with the mess you make.  Your toys are EVERYWHERE!
D is for dancing.  You are so musical and love to dance the minute you hear music.
S is for sun.  At the moment you start everyday by saying "the sun came up".  You're my joy!
E is for everything.  Being two, you are into everything at the moment - you keep me on my feet.
Y is for yesterday.  Since you came along, yesterday is always important as there's always a fab photo or memory to look back on.

So I am not going to tag anyone, as this meme really needs to be completed today, as Children in Need is on TV tonight, so please join in if you have writer's block and are looking for bloggy inspiration today.

See you on the sofa, or on Twitter when we're all watching and tuning in later.

Yesterday at Aaron's nursery all the tots had to dress for the letter P.  Pirates, or Princesses or PJs.  Aaron wore his Pudsey PJs:

If you'd ever like to make Children In Need cupcakes, I know just the Domestic Goddesque to show you how.

Here's a linky list if you would like to join in:

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Due to blogger's dynamic template, the list won't be visible unless you click the link but I will manually link to anyone who joins in as well, and tweet.

AND without further ado, the first bloggers to take up the task are:

1. Be More 4 Mums - great Pudsey video here and I love what she has said to spell PUDSEY 
2. Wendy from Inside the Wendy House just did an acrostic post which you can find HERE.
3. Madhouse Family Reviews joined in too with this beautiful post full of pictures and inspiration. 

And Wendy's just taught me a new word, via Facebook, when she told me about her above post:
a·cros·tic  (-krôstk, -krstk)n.

1. A poem or series of lines in which certain letters, usually the first in each line, form a name, motto, or message when read in sequence.

So we are showing our acrostic love for Pudsey :-)

Much love,

Liska & Aaron.

xxxx

How and when do you find the time to.....MEME

It is so so so so long since I have been tagged in a meme, so rather than seeing this as a chore, I am made up :-)

I am going to head it up with the same image that the author of this meme used.

I was tagged by the wonderful Julie: Mama Owl over at My Life and Kids.

The rules of this meme are:

1. Please post the rules.
2. When answering the questions, please give as much detail as possible!
3. Leave a comment on Sex, Drugs, Rocker and...Stroller so she can keep track of the meme and steal your routine tips to make her world a happier place. 
4. Also if you want add a little paragraph at the bottom to give a general summing up about your weekly routine!
5. Tag 3 or more people and link to them on your blog.
6. Tweet tweet tweet #howdoyoufindthetimetomeme

How and when do you find the time to...

....do your laundry?

I work 3 days a week (Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday) so what I do is, ensure that I have a laundry day.  On this day I do all the washing, and for the last few months when the weather hasn't been good enough to put it on the line, I have then been going to the Launderette to dry it all.  Now, this, has led to many many a row with the husband, as he can't bear the shame of me going there, to the point where he dented his car door one day, he was so angry about it, but (1) we live in a flat so we do not have room for a tumble dryer (2) it really beats having clothes hanging on indoor airers here there and everywhere (3) I always coincide it with Aaron's nap, so I sit and enjoy my kindle while he sleeps and the laundry goes round and round and round and (4) folded laundry straight out of a HOT tumble drier does NOT need ironing.

Then when I get home I take great delight in hanging it all up.  I always know if Aaron's laundry is fully up to date, because if it is, his rail is FULL.  Voila:

In fact it is so cold and so wet today (in June!!!!) that I even had a trip to the Launderette TODAY...

....write a blog post?

This I often do not have time for, which is why my blogging has become very erratic of late - also thanks to a February incident, I lost my love of blogging (and bloggers) in a big way.... nuff said about that the better.  

Anyway, I have to blog when Aaron is playing or like right now, sleeping.  The reason I used to be able to blog A LOT, early 2011, was because (1) I had not gone back to work yet from maternity leave (2) I blogged when Aaron was on my lap breastfeeding, which was frequent (yes I blogged typing with one hand, and as the laptop was on my left, used to get a crick in my neck) and (3) back then I was addicted. I read as much as I wrote, and therefore could be seen commenting here there and everywhere on my favourite blogs - I just don't have time for that now.  But credit to those bloggers, they still blog as regularly and consistently as they did back then! Awesome!

....look after yourself...i.e. wash your hair, paint your nails, take a bubble bath etc?

I went through a phase where I didn't have a long hot soak for about a year, and I was lucky that I could squeeze in a shower every day.  But then I went through a phase this year, where I missed baths so made a point to have them really regularly and had used my Xmas Soap and Glory bubble bath within a matter of weeks (rather than months) but nails! I only do nails.... when I go for a manicure which I have not done in a while, but there are days when I don't even brush my hair if we are having a PJ day, which given that I have 4 days off a week we do sometimes do.

What really guts me, is previously I had really really good skin, and didn't look my age, but the 1st thing I did when I had a baby was go for miles for walks with the buggy really frequently and as personal grooming (like makeup and skincare) had taken a back-seat with motherhood, it meant I was out in the sun summers 2010 and 2011 without SPF or sun block on, so now on my cheeks and below my eyes I have freckles that resemble those liver spots that elderly people have on their hands, and I'd managed to avoid those till the age of 37...... gutted..... I do suddenly look my 39 years this year :-(

....spend time with your other half?

This just does not happen!  Aaron will be 2 in a week and we have not had one date night since he was born.  I really don't want to go into the ins and outs of it as it will just make me cross, but motherhood suffice to say has not been good for our marriage....

....do fun stuff with your LO?

Thanks to the fact that I only work 3 days a week we regularly get to do fun stuff.  As a family, the most recent was a trip to Paradise Wildlife Park.

....spend time with family?

Sadly all of my family are in Ireland, in Mayo, so spending time with family is when we holiday over there or spend time with the in-laws - Aaron simply loves his cousins.  Sadly I was meant to take Aaron to Ireland from 17th to 26th May to see my Mum as she has not seen him since August 2011, but due to a drama at work, I cancelled my holiday.  Well, actually, Ryanair does not even let you cancel, so rather we just did not go.... sad, as I do not know now when we will go, although I have to attend a massive family wedding over there in August so hopefully we get to go for that - we shall see.

....socialise with friends?

This is something that really took a back seat due to my post natal depression.   I went into myself.  Days when I felt lonely, rather than pick up the phone to a friend, I would frequent a cafe, where I got to know the owner and she became like my therapist.  I always timed my trips there with Aaron's naps so that we could talk.  There were a lot of regulars there, and I could tell that they were thinking why isn't she off spending time with her friends.  Each visit would cost £10 so the therapy was far from free.

To the point where I have a friend down the road with 2 kids, one the same age as Aaron and yet we had not seen each other since October..... but recently I worked a lot of Fridays and Mondays, so on 25th May I was so thrilled to have a Friday off, we went off and spent the day with them, and it was SUCH a wonderful day I thought why oh why don't I do this more often.  It was made easier by the fact that my PND is now totally gone.  I got rid of it with a spiritual healing and it really really worked, and given that I have had it for nearly 2 years I was tremendously grateful. 

....prepare an evening meal juggling a baby/toddler bedtime routine?

I don't always get time for this.  I feel bad about it so will swiftly move on to the next question, although I did make a yummy dinner for us all yesterday (Monday 4th June) of salmon and veg.

....deep clean your house?

I know some ladies do this when the baby goes to bed but as Aaron goes to bed at 21:30 I often go with him, or soon after, so this is not an option.  A few weeks ago I put Aaron into nursery on a Friday even though I was off and I spent the whole day deep cleaning, to the point where my day was so structured and full on I even had to allocate myself a "lunch break" but deep cleaning and finding the time for it IS tough! and I really don't feel my husband pulls his weight although he is so so quick to criticise!  In fact it is the thing that we most frequently argue over.

....do the food shopping?

The first few months after Aaron was born I used to do really LARGE Tesco online orders for delivery, and cook really often, but it was because my Mum was over from Ireland staying with us for 9 weeks.  I thought my husband would be grateful for the regular meals and fully stocked fridge but one day when discussing it he said it was "extravagant" I never did an online Tesco order again, so now I just grab a few bits day to day when I am out and carry them on the arms of the buggy and no longer do a weekly shop.

....bulk ironing?

I meticulously fold stuff when it comes out of the tumble drier or off the line, and then immediately hang it all up, so no ironing happens in this house.  My husband wears a uniform to work so every day that he works, an hour before he leaves, he can be seen ironing one shirt and trousers, and that's that....

I fold Aaron's vests and PJs like they are going to be sold in a shop, and they are so tightly piled that they press themselves, and everything else is hung.  When I buy his clothes I always ask to keep the hangers.  When dressing him it is lovely to flick through and choose jeans or choose a top.  I'd hate to have to rummage through a pile of baby's clothes.  I love the way I store Aaron's clothes.  It is probably the only area of my motherhood organisation that I can be proud of.

Liska xxx

 
I am going to tag:

Claire at Grumpinator
Jenny at Treading on Lego 
and Kerry at Multiple Mummy

xxx

I am a Celebrity Meme for Mums

Hi

Kate on Thin Ice started this.

I then blagged a tag from Hello it's Gemma

So this meme is called: I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here Blogger Fun

The rules are as follows

1) Answer the 10 questions and consider the mission.
2) Tag a blogger or two or more to do the same
3) Come back to me and tell me you have done the questions and answers.

Kate on Thin Ice "tried to make the questions Ok for those who watch the television programme and those that don’t".

So here goes:

1. What one thing about being a parent makes you scream “Get me out of here!”
DEFINITELY when my husband is acting like a little boy. I then feel like I have two sons and no support and yes I feel like screaming AND leaving the country!

2. What skills, if any, do you have that would be useful in the jungle?
I am a born organiser even though I am untidy. I also have quite good leadership skills even though I am scatty. I frequently make people laugh which would be helpful when they are hungry or not had enough sleep :-)

3. How are you likely to annoy people in your were stuck with them for 3 weeks?
That's very easy - I would talk too much.

4. What is the worst thing you have ever eaten?
A hot dog when drunk in the late 1990s that gave me a 3 day hangover and a Delhi Belly!

5. What luxury item would you take into the jungle with you?
My Samsung smartphone!

6. What is the most daring thing you have ever done?
Jumped over a till bank to deal with scammers.

7. Who would you miss most if you went into the jungle with a bunch of strangers?
Aaron of course

8. What celebrity alive or dead would you like to have with you in the jungle?
Gok Wan :-)

9. What would scare you about being in the jungle?
All the creepy crawlies.

10. After leaving the jungle, you go to a luxury hotel. What would be the first thing you did on reaching your hotel?
Long luxurious hot bath and a big tall cool soft drink. Then sleep in a proper bed.

11th mission should you choose to accept it is to tell us why the person who tagged you is a star.

Hello It's Gemma is a star because she writes in a really down to earth way that I can relate to. I have loved her blog for a long time now - now that I am back into blogging after a long summer break I better start reading hers regularly again...

I tag:

Mama Syder
Wendy - Inside The Wendy House
Kate - Wit Wit Woo...
Karen - Would Like To Be
Clare - seasider in the city
Claire - Grumpinator
Hannah - Mummy and the Beastie
Mrs E - mummydaddyandmemakesthree
Mammasaurus
Frances at Mother Venting

Liska xx

My Dirty Secret

Hi

I am taking part in Multiple Mummy's "where do you blog?" meme.

I was honoured that she tagged me as I have felt out of the game (the blogging game) for months...

And am slowly, ever so slowly resuming my blogging regime.


The meme on this ocassion originated with Bibsey asking if we are Saint or Slattern.

I ran to look up slattern.  The Free Dictionary says:

An untidy, dirty woman. [Perhaps from dialectal slattering, slovenly, present participle of dialectal slatter, to slop.] slattern [ˈslætən]. n. a slovenly woman

Yeaaaahhhh that's me! And my husband would agree!

I did not want to entitle this post "where do I blog?" as (1) it is too boring and (2) er, the photo will explain and (3) the where do I blog meme did the rounds a few months back (I remember SAHM Loving It's gorgeous room in her garden - ooooh how I coveted that :-) ), so I wanted to call it something different.


I played with the following possibilities:

Time to Come Clean
- errrr no, cos there aint nuffing clean about it.

Reality hits
- errr no, cos it hasn't and I am still avoiding life and on my treadmill of blah blah blah.

My Dirty Secret
- that's the one! That fits. If the cap fits and all that!

spot the head gear part of Aaron's vampire suit on the right :-)

So this is my little hovel.  The source of much frustration for my tidy husband.  The place that has to be cleared with a magician's tablecloth, when dinner needs to find a square centimetre to go on ...

As you can see I can blog and watch TV at the same time.

If you could turn the photo 360 degrees you would find a tidy room, Aaron in the high chair and a coffee table that looks much the same as the above :-)

Bye for now,

I tag anyone else, who reads this, who also has a dirty little secret - i.e. a messy place that they blog in, that they wouldn't normally let the world see :-)

Liska xxx

Memorable Firsts

Hi

I was tagged to do this meme by Sally Whittle from Who's The Mummy.co.uk.  Yes, that same lady who hosts the MAD awards, and runs Tots 100 and runs Blog Camp.... and I don't know what else (as I don't know everything).... I am very honoured as she seems to think I will come up with something interesting... so the gauntlet has firmly been laid down. She also prohibited us from getting all smaltzy about our babies...

First snog: Cormak when I was 4 years old.   I think we used to catch ease other on purpose in Kiss Chase - bet they don't play that today in the crazy politically correct world we now live in!  I moved house half way through my first year of school so it was not to last......

First job: During secondary school in the early years we were not allowed out during our  lunch breaks, and in the morning break everyone would be hungry, so I used to sell crisps.  I'd buy 12 packs and bring them in and sell them individually - crazy I know! But I am a little mad! I am the sort of person who would LOVE to go on the Apprentice :-)

My real first job was as a Cashier in Co-op where I pretended to be 16 when I was only 15.  Every time they asked for my NI card I pretended I could not find it.  Probably the only lie I have ever told in my life as I have a complex about being honest and can't even tell white lies!

First crush: A boy called Christopher. I was obsessed about him and even sent him Valentine's Cards.  I was only 11 or 12 years old and I don't think he'd even started liking girls yet :-)

First hangover: It was at University and I remember the night we got drunk, a Science student asked us if we were under the affluence of incohol.  I thought it was the funniest thing I'd ever ever heard and kept repeating it and laughing for the rest of the night.  When we got back to our digs I fell over on the floor with my skirt in the air. Nice!

First gig: Michael Jackson's BAD tour when it was sponsored by Pepsi.

First blog: My first blog was called Liska Life.  It was started at a time when I was doing long hours at work and the name was short for Liska Get A Life! For a few months it worked and my blog was about things other than work, like going swimming etc...... It was very light hearted and I loved it.

Now I have to think of 4 of my own...

First computer: When I was about 11 or 12 my Aunt bought me a ZX Spectrum Plus (was the word Sinclair in there too?).  All of my my mates had Amstrad 64s.   If I remember it was just one or the other.

First tipple: I used to drink malibu and lemonade but the queues at the bar at Uni were too long, so I moved onto pints.... I know! How unladylike... and I never looked back till I gave it all up when we were TTC...

First dance song at wedding: Prince's Adore.

First medal: For Irish Dancing although I didn't keep it up for long.

I haven't got the energy to tag people, so if you are reading this and fancy it, jump on the bandwagon....

I'm off to my bed.

Liska xx