The good, the bad & the just plain weird of cBeebies...

So as you know, The Little Dude has been a poorly bunny since Friday. (He does appear to be lots better this morning - but I don't want to jinx it, staying home & taking it easy today just to be a million percent sure!) Anyway, the last 5 days have been spent mostly curled up on the sofa, with him on my lap in various states of half-awake, watching cBeebies.
We don't usually watch an awful lot of TV - just In The Night Garden (because Dylan loves it) & Mister Maker (because, well, you know why...) so three days of watching it more or less all day, has been something of an education. Here are my thoughts.
The Good:

I Can Cook. Real kids, making reasonably real food. Good stuff. And although I could live without Katie’s ‘re-cap songs’ (cringe!), I could see myself recreating her recipes with LD in years to come. (Unlike Big Cook Little Cook, we’ll get to them in a minute.)

Charlie & Lola. We actually really very love this. The animation is quite kitsch & old school – and I like that it doesn’t dumb down the English language for little people. Thumbs up.

Timmy Time. It may just be because I love Wallace & Grommit, or I might have been brainwashed by maybe the catchiest theme tune ever, but I like it.

Chuggington. Not one of my favourites (let’s face it – it’s just Thomas Tank for the next generation, right?), but the little man seems to love it- I think because it’s really bright & colourful. And again, I challenge you not to get the theme song stuck in your head.

The Bad:

Show Me Show Me. Does. My. Head. In. The girl presenter, looks like she’s dying inside (I’m a classically trained actress don’t you know – how did it come to this??!), her male friend could only ever have been a kid’s presenter (really, could he be more enthusiastic about everything?!), and I’m sure it’s a huge thrill for the parents of the children who get to go ‘Show Me Show Me …Penelope!’, but personally, I just find it annoying. And Penelope is a rubbish cartoon anyway. The LD generally zones out when it comes on, so I’m guessing he’s not a fan either.

Big Cook Little Cook. What fresh hell is this? The best café in town? Really? When you have to wait God knows how long for little cook to whizz away & get half the ingredients to make whatever delicacy Big Cook’s book reckons you’ll love? And really, they may differ in size, but they are equally enormously annoying. And unlike Katie – their ‘recipes’ really are rubbish in the main. Last time I checked, ketchup wasn’t an ‘ingredient’. Richard Herring sums them up better than I ever could. (Go have a read, hilarious!)

The Just Plain Weird:

Waybuloo. The jury’s out on this one. It seems to catch the little man’s attention, and I guess the characters are cute in a weird big-eyed kind of way, but what’s with the pigeon English? Is this the best example for ‘cheebies’ that are learning to talk? I’m not so sure.

Dirt Girl World. I thought I’d caught LD’s fever first time I saw this one. It’s just odd. I’m all for teaching children about growing veggies, and taking care of the planet & such – but I’d prefer the little man to join The Green Balloon club than watch this weirdness.
So yes, a mixed bag, to say the least! I’ll be glad when we can get back to filling most of the day with music & playing & going to the park & stuff – I fear too much more cBeebies may melt my tiny little brain!

What do you think?
Do your little ones have any favourites that make your head hurt? 

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The one where I'm feeling completely out of my depth...

Remember earlier this month I was sick? And I was all relieved that the Little Dude seemed to escape it other than one brief sicky incident & a few dodgy nappies? Well. I jinxed that good & proper.
My little man now officially has the lurgy that's been doing the rounds, and it is horrible.
He's been struggling to keep anything other than water & toast down since Friday, and is feeling very sorry for himself.

I was getting a bit fraught by yesterday lunchtime (read: a lot fraught. A big blubbery overtired mess actually - all panicky he'd start losing weight & end up back in hospital like when he was only a week old, generally feeling totally useless & like the worst mummy ever.), so called NHS direct (after getting no answer from my health visitor or GP - clearly babies just aren't supposed to be poorly on Saturdays - sorry 'bout that.) and spoke to a lovely nurse who calmed me down & said that as long as he's getting plenty of fluids, a few days off his food won't do too much harm.

I don't think that nurse will ever know how grateful I was for that call. I was in such a state, feeling like a crappy mummy, and in just a few minutes, she chilled me out & made me feel a million times better. She probably put the phone down thinking 'ah bless, first time mummy dealing with her first tummy bug - she best toughen up quick!'
And although I did have a slight mini-meltdown when the Daddy got home from work, I think that was more from sheer relief at having some help & a chance to close my eyes for 10 minutes.

It's times like this that make me realise just how much I still have to learn.
And remind me that I am completely responsible for taking care of my little man - that he's completely dependant on me come rain or shine.
And to be completely honest, it sometimes scares the bejeesus out of me.
Things will be ticking along nicely, I'll get comfortable - maybe even let myself think actually, I'm pretty good at this, and bang - something new comes along to remind me I'm still a complete novice.

Today, the Little Dude's much the same - a bit more cheerful when he's awake, but still sleeping a lot. No sickness in the night, so I tried giving him a bottle for breakfast - that was a mistake, but there are wet nappies, and he's still drinking lots of water & munching down his toast, so that's encouraging. And I managed some sleep, so have a slightly less neurotic-first-time-muimmy head on, and am feeling a bit less useless and overwhelmed by it all.

Still, fingers crossed he'll be better tomorrow - I miss my happy smiley little monster.

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The Mary Poppins Effect

Remember the scene in Mary Poppins, where she pulls all manner of wonderous things out of her oh-so-shabby-chic carpet bag?
I used to dream of having a bag like that.
Turns out, all you have to do is become a mummy, and get yourself a nappy bag.


Karin, over at Cafe Bebe, has challenged me to show you what's in my bag, so here we go...


My own bag of choice, is a Ju.Ju.Be in a stripey turquoise sort of flavour. (Which just so happens to match my turquoise Xplory beautifully.  Neurotic, moi?)
I love it - it's not too big, not too small, full of useful pockety goodness, and it's pretty. (But not so pretty that the Mr feels like too much of a girl to be seen with it.)

I also carry a handbag too, simply because they are one of the loves of my life & I feel naked without one.  It changes frequently, but is currently a little black cross body deelie, customised with a girly corsage.


So, what's in my bag?  Lots.  First up, the JuJu...
(NB: I have not edited the contents, I promise.  If it seems impossibly neat, it's because it is. I'm an OCD loony & dejunk my bags at least every other day!)

Front Pocket:

My Diary & some pens - various magical teething potions (Gel, Little homeopathic tablets that really are magical, and Bickiepegs which are a truly genius invention.) - Emergency Dummy - Mirror - Hair clips & band (For mummy hair emergencies) - Tiny pot of sudocreme - Cocoa butter lip balm - Body shop lip gloss - A Nail file.
There's also a handy keychain attached to the inside pocket, where I keep an emergency front doot key for those air headed 'crap i've locked myself out' moments.  And, theres a little secret zip pocket where I keep an emergency £10 note. (Which currently needs to be replaced.  Yes, Latte & Cake with a friend was an emergency.)

Front Section:

Emergeny clothes for the little dude - jeans, tee, vest & socks - Muslin square (never leave home without one!) - Bib (Soph4Soph, of course!) - Nappies - Wipes - Calpol - Hand Gel - Another tiny pot of Sudocreme - Body spray for mummy - John Frieda Glossing spray (For emergency frizz outbreaks) - Tissues (read napkins, aquired from many a friendly coffee house) - A book for the little dude (changes frequently, but there's always one in there - at present, we're working on numbers :D) - Mummy's mini makeup bag. (Which contains: Mascara, Lip Gloss, Powder compact, Vaseline, and another nail file.)

Phew! Still with me? We're nearly there.

Back Section:

Is all about food. A bottle - formula - sippy cup - spoon - little pots of snacks (rice cakes, organix crisps, rusks & the like) - milky bar buttons (which mummy never, ever steals) - plus whatever I pack for the little dude's lunch in the morning.

And lastly, Mummy's bag:

Contains, purse (H&M circa 1990, possibly the only purse I haven't lost within a year of buying.  I love it.) - Mobile (not fancy, not high tech, but does it's job, and it's pink.) - More lip glosses - a tiny mirror - chewing gum - sunglasses & Dylan's fuzzy caterpillar finger puppet.

My camera generally lives in there too, but couldn't get in the picture as it was too busy taking it.

And there you have it. I'm thinking that now LD's getting bigger, more mobile & generally becoming more of a monkey everyday, I should probably get some plasters to bung in there too. Any other suggestions of what I'm going to wish I had in there in the next few months?

Better still, take up the challenge - show me what's in your bag, leave me a link in the coments & I'll come steal all your good ideas :D

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This time last year...

This year, in her world famous* writing workshop, amongst other things, Josie asks us "What were you doing this time last year".  Well, let's see...

This time last year, I was very very pregnant. (The LD was due 10th April. He actually made an appearance on the 20th- longest 10 days of life!).
I was lucky, in that I had a 'nice little bump', or so people kept telling me.  Personally, I felt like a freakin' whale, and by this time last year, I was perpetually exhausted. (No change there then.)

This time last year, I was getting ready to finish up at work.  I was neurotically making lists and cheat sheets and post it note after post it note of helpful tit-bits for my replacement.  I hated the idea of handing over my responsibilities & my execs & all their little quirks.  I truly did have every intention of going back.

This time last year, I spent most weekends shopping with the Mr, picking out teeny tiny little babygrows and hats and sleepsuits. Every purchase brought squees of 'loooook, it's SO lickle!!'.  Never got old.

This time last year I was reading about my pregnancy a lot.  I got almost obsessive about knowing how big my baby was getting in relation to fruit & vegetables. (16 weeks, about the same as an avocado - 27 weeks - a head of cauliflower.)  I blame the hormones.

This time last year, I needed help to remove myself from the sofa.  And God help me if I tried to sit on the floor.

This time last year, I spent a lot of time convincing myself that labour couldn't be that bad. Could it? (Yes, it could, you deluded fool.)

This time last year, I had no idea how to change a nappy.

This time last year, I had no idea just how little sleep a human being can survive on.

This time last year, I'd never even heard the word Tombliboo, much less knew what one was.

This time last year, I hadn't even met the little monster who now simultaneously rules my life, and makes it feel complete.

What a difference a year makes.

How about you?  What were you up to this time last year?


...don't forget to take a reip to the shiny new-look Sleep is for the Weak & show the other entries some love- there's always a whole bunch of good stuff to read.

(*The world being that of a select group of Mummy Bloggers who think it's cool. Which is good enough for me!)

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The best things in life are free.

Yep, they really are you know.
The South's most rockingest bump of the moment, Miss Beetroot & Gherkins, tagged me sometime ago in a meme to illustrate that very point, and this is me finally getting around to doing it.  (I always get there in the end!)  In short, I have to share with you, good readers, my 10 favourite things that cost nothing.  So here we go...


1. My family.  More specifically, my man, my baby boy, and my dog.  My little posse are all I really need to be happy.  I forget that sometimes, but then one of them will do something to make me smile & I am swiftly reminded.  Love them.


2. Laughing.  There are few better feelings than an uncontrolable, unstoppable, fit of giggles.  The ones that have you gasping for air, hugging your aching ribs & crossing your legs so as not to pee your pants.  In the words of the great Dick Van Dyke, I love to laugh.


3. Cuddles.  From the Mr, the Little Dude, chums, other peoples kiddlies, random strangers on the stroke of midnight at New Years... all good.  The best though, is a big group squish with my two best boys before we get up in the morning.  The little dude curls up in between us & we sneak a few extra minutes of zzz's before facing the day.  No other feeling like it :)

4. Sunshine. I like winter, and I actually sort of love autumn - actually, I love the seasons and the changes they bring in general, but my favourite is a bright sunshiney day with clear blue skies save for an occassional candyfloss cloud.  You can't not smile on a day like that.


5. Birds singing.  I love little tweetie birds.  We get quite a nice variety in out garden and it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to listen to them tweeting and chirping. And gooing in the case of the big fat wood pigeons with their fancy pants collars.  It must be a pretty good life being a birdy.  They're always cheerful.


6. Trips down memory lane.  You know, when you sit in with someone you love & a bottle of plonk & wind up just chattering about days gone by... 'Do you remember that time when...' blah blah blah.  I'm a nostalgic fool and I love to reminice.


7. Daydreaming.  In my former life, before boarding the good ship motherhood, I did *a lot* of office jobs.  And spent *many* a bored-out-of-my-pretty-head hour gazing out of the window pondering what I might be doing instead if I scored a huge lotto win.  Or if I happened to bump into Johnny Depp in Cafe Nero.  Or if Simon Cowell happened to be in the pub when I was singing karaoke and insisted on signing me up right there and then.  You know, normal stuff.


8. Sitting indoors, cosy & warm, watching the rain.  I hate walking in the rain (doesn't everyone?), but I love watching it pour down when I'm safe & dry inside.


9. Rainbows.  Just one of the most pointless, random, and yet utterly beautiful things ever. Well done nature, well done.


10. Watching the Little Dude sleep.  Particuarly when he crashes out on top of me.  One of the best feelings in the world is a tiny baby cuddling up to you, getting all comfy and squishy, and falling asleep.  I don't think I've ever seem anything more content in all my life.

As is the way with memes. I'm supposed to tag some lovelies to carry on the happy - but as I've left it so long, everyone I know has probably done it.  So, if you haven't, consider yourelf tagged & come back & leave me a coment with a link to your post :)

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Happy Valentines Day!

Two posts in one day??!  I know, I spoil you.  But it is Valentine's day after all ;)
Assuming you're all stuffed full of heart shaped chocolates and pink fizzy stuff (or is that just me?), you will be in need of some reading matter while you digest, so, may I suggest you head over to The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, where Claire has brought together a fabulous selection of posts for your perusal in her Valentine's Carnival.

Also, and I am a little scared to do this, because frankly the other entries are amazing, but what the hey.  English Mum is hosting a Valentine-cupcake-bake-off-deelie, and as I made these for my boys last night anyway, I figured I may as well throw my hat (wooden spoon?) in the ring!
Seriously though, go look at the other entries - outstanding - I'm bookmarking it for future inspiration!

These are vanilla cupcakes, with butercream icing, topped with foiled chocolate hearts & edible glitter.
And they taste pretty damn good if I do say so myself!

Hope you've all had a wonderful cupid day - I've been spoiled with lovely cards & flowers, but my best bit was the card I got from the Little Dude in which he declared (in writing which looked suspiciously like the Mr's - I think he may have got him to transcribe)

"I love you mummy, more than Makka Pakka loves stones, which is a lot."

Totally made my day :) ♥

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The surrealism of Motherhood...

The very lovely Carly over at Wives & Daughters, is holding a fantastic carnival, with a bunch of great prizes up for grabs, all about people's top 10 surreal mummy moments. To be perfectly honest, as a first time mummy, everything is still a bit surreal most days (even now, nearly 10 months on!), but I've narrowed it down, and here's my top ten...

1. Laying in the bath at 8 months pregnant (having had help from the Mr to get in there in the first place), watching my bump literally wriggling - less movement in the last trimester? Yeah.  Tell that to the Little Dude.

2. Coming round after my emergency c-section to see the Mr looking like an extra from Scrubs, with a tiny little baby in his arms and me asking 'is he ours?'.  (He was.)

3. Day 3 - 4am feed - having been awake for about 26 hours, I was sat with the Little Dude breastfeeding and me watching god-awful infomercials, thinking who on earth watches this junk let alone buys it? And then thinking, ooh, actually, that looks pretty good...

4. The first time I phoned the doctors to book LD an appointment (for his first round of jabs).  Saying the words 'I'd like to book an appointment for my son', out loud, to a complete stranger - suddenly made everything very real, and a bit odd.  In a good way.

5. The first time we left him with someone else for a whole day.  We had tickets to see Blur in Hyde Park, I had been looking forward to it forEVER, but spent all day feling like I'd lost a limb.  So surreal.  And just when I managed to stop being a big sap, and start to relax & enjoy myself, I found a small felt fish in my bag which nearly made me blub.

6. The first time the LD rolled over and pushed himself up.  I squealed.  I cheered. I took a dozen photos. I phoned the Mr at work and gushed incoherently. I so wasn't prepared for that insane rush of pride & joy over something so small!

7. Having cBeebies tunes ingrained in my brain.  We don't even watch much TV (LD prefers to rock out to music of the loud & noisy variety), but I have lost count of the times I've caught myself singing the 'munch munch munch' song while getting lunch ready.

8. What has become affectionately known in our house as 'the Tombliboo incident.' 
We were Christmas shopping, and came across some cute lil Night Garden Beanies - I picked out one of each, but oh no - there was no Tombliboo Eee! I stood, in a very busy shop, with an armful of Night Garden beanies, and shouted to the Mr 'Babe, can you ask if they've got anymore Tombliboo Eee's - because there's no point in buying them if we can't get a full set of Tombliboos!'  Oh. The. Shame.

9. Other Mummys.  I still find it quite surreal that I can start a conversation & chat for hours with a complete stranger purely on the basis that we're both mummys.  Those tiny little people who rule our lives are quite the ice-breaker, no?

10. The mush factor.  The first gummy grin.  The consequent toothy smiles.  The tinkly baby chuckles.  The chubby armed cuddeles.  The 'kisses' (ie: open mouth, plant on mummy's face with a hefty portion of dribble).  I had no idea the power those little things would have to turn me to a complete mushy mess of goo.
Love it though :)

And there we are.
Ask me again next week & I'll probably have chalked up a whole bunch of new surreal moments. But that's all part of the fun of being a mummy.

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The Great Childcare Debate...

One of my twitter chums, @flyingstartmag posted a link to this article in The Telegraph this morning, regarding the soaring costs of nursery fees.  It's really quite frightening.  Especially when you consider the points Liz at Living with Kids made in her post yesterday regarding one of the alternatives - Modern day nanny's (Mary Poppins would be horrified!)

As you'll know, if you're a regular visitor to my blog, I recently made the decision not to return to work after my maternity leave.  One of the biggest contributers to that decision, was of course, money.  Basically, if I had gone back, even part time (which was my original plan), I would have effectively been working purely to pay someone else to look after The Little Dude.  That's all my salary would have covered.  So what would have been the point?

My job was pretty standard office admin and I was reasonably well paid - better than minimum wage, but a long way off what's apparently the national average (£500+ a week - really?!)

Many people, on hearing my decision, responded with 'Wow, you're so lucky - can you really afford to do that?', and truthfully, no, I can't.  But equally, I couldn't afford to go back either!
And yes, it's tight, really tight. The Mr works his butt off for a pretty uninspiring salary, we get very little in the way of 'benefits', (but that's a whole 'nother post!), but we're managing.  And I'm looking at ways I can bring in some money from home, so we're a way off bread & water rations just yet!

So yes, I do feel lucky that I'm able to stay at home with my little monster, be the one who takes care of him everyday & witnesses all the little developments and milestones, but at the same time, it's not really luck at all - it's a leap of faith & a change in lifestyle.  Which is all part of having a baby, no?

And of couse, I know there are women who probably think I'm crazy for wanting to stay at home and be a 'little woman' & not get back to the workplace ASAP, and they are absolutely entitled to their opinions, and I wish them nothing but happiness, but so far as I'm concerned, I had a baby because I wanted one, and all that comes with it.  Not because I wanted to pay someone else thousands of pounds to look after him & only do it myself at weekends.*

Just as well really, I'd have to find a whole lot of change down the back of the sofa to foot a £20,000 nursery bill!


(*And for the record, I am actually thoroughly enjoying the role of domestic goddess thank you very much! My brain is not rotting, I am in the process of setting up my own business, have a very active social life and do plenty of bits & pieces to keep the ol' grey matter working, so please, no comments about me being a down trodden stereotype, thanks!)

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Hello again Blogger!

So, I'm feeling a little sheepish, but here's the thing - The Little Dude & I have moved back to blogger.  I know, I know, I am a huge pain in the bottom, and I am super duper sorry, I really am!
But Wordpress and I, well, we just never really clicked... we weren't compatible... we wanted different things... we grew apart.
I'm sorry I ever doubted you blogger - and look - you've even gone and made yourself all pretty for me - with your spanky new 'pages' for me to fill up with bits and pieces. Oh the fun we'll have! 

And as for you, dear readers, oh how I love you.  And I'm truly sorry to keep messing you around, and I love that you keep coming with me, but please, pretty please,  could I ask you, just one last time, to resubscribe to the new RSS feed, and/or become a follower again?  There are pretty new buttons over there>>> just begging to be clicked!! (And that twinkly cake over there <<< is just for YOU.)


And although I am still tweaking my pretty new blogger palace, I faithfully PROMISE, I won't move again.
Honest.
Love you guys :) ♥

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Nothing to see!

This is just for the benefit of the good people at Technorati- if that's not you, go read something more interesting!

Q7EM37CWP8QT

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Awww. We've all been there.

The Little Monster & I nipped into Co-op earlier on our way back from the post office - to grab some milk, an apple for the Little Dude & certainly not a packet of Rich Tea Cream Fingers for me. Oh no.
(Foxes, need a biscuit connoisseur to do you a super blog review? I'm all over it.)

Anyway, we were stood behind a man, about the same age as my Mr, who I'd guess, on a good day, would be quite attractive. Today wasn't a good day though. His clothes were crumpled, his stubble was way past the point of being designer, he had major bedhead going on, and his blood-shot eyes were like two holes in a bewildered looking head.

Then I saw what he was paying for & it all became clear.

A pack of teeny tiny newborn nappies.

Awww.
I wanted to give him a big cuddle & tell him it gets better, but the Little Dude & his new found grab-things-from-comfort-of-stroller skills were working on toppling a precariously high tower of Digestives, so I decided against it.
Hopefully he'll get a few hours sleep at some point in the next few weeks :)

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Another mummy rite of passage down.

I hate being sick.
I am a terrible patient. I don't like to be nursed, or waited on, or mollycoddled.
I just want to bury myself in my duvet and hibernate till I feel better.

Turns out, you can't really do that when you're a mummy.

A horrible gloomy cloud of sicky bug has been hanging over The Little Dude household this weekend. All the Daddy's fault I hasten to add, he totally started it, then shared it with me, then the poor Little Dude got the dregs of it today. Thankfully, he seems to have got off lighter than we did - though we have gone through 6 changes of clothes thanks to various vomitting/runny nappy incidents. (sorry if that was TMI - you know we're all about keeping it real here at LWALD!) Have been sure to get lots of water down him, and he seems quite happy now - sleeping like an angel & no incidents since 7pm. All good. Touch wood.

I, on the other hand, am utterly exhausted.
Luckily (?!), my portion of the evil out-of-nowhere-virus 'manifested' itself Saturday night/early hours of Sunday morning while the little man was sleeping, but when he woke me up at 7am Sunday morning, holy crap I was an empty shell of a mummy. (Quite literally - that's how sick I was :P). But, the Daddy had to go into work, so it was all on me. And somehow, from somewhere, I found a shred or two of energy, and I got on with it.

Because that's what mummy's do, right?

Sure, we didn't do any dancing, or much chasing around on all fours, but we did read, we built blocks, and we chilled out & we cuddled & we watched maybe a little too much tv. And sure, I did breathe an almighty sigh of relief when the Daddy got home & my tired, achey, dizzy-headed, body got permission to sleeep, but while I had to, I pulled it off.

Which is lucky, because today of course, the little man suffered through his own portion of lurgy & needed his mummy on top form.
He's actually a pretty good patient though - a bit grouchy in places, and quite limpet-like for most of the day, but quite low maintenance really.
(other than the repeated top to toe changes. seriously, felt like I had a newborn all over again :P)

But ANYWAY. Safe to say, we have successfully seen off our first visit from the tummy bug, and we ain't scared of him. (But if he could leave us alone for a while anyway, that would be good.)

Oh and don't worry, The Daddy will be making it up to us for bringing a plague on our house. Oh yes!

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It's official...

...I am now a full time mummy.

Actually, it's been official since last month when I took a deep breath & told my boss I wasn't coming back after my maternity leave, but I haven't had the chance to blog about it until now.

I haven't been this particular combo of super excited & completely terrified since I found out I was pregnant in the first place. On one hand, it's incredibly liberating. It's such a relief to not have to worry about finding great childcare / missing out on important stuff / re-learning my job - and I *love* knowing that I can spend the next couple of years just enjoying watching the little dude grow up.
But on the other side of the coin, I have no job. (Well, not a paying one anyway!)
It's the first time since I was 15 that I haven't had a job.
Eeek.

Don't get me wrong, the plan is not to be a 'lady of leisure' (ha! does that apply to any mummy??), I am actually hoping to be classing myself as a WAHM, or even a Mumpreneur very soon (balls in the air... plans forming!), as we do need for me to be bringing in *some* de niro.
It's a bit of a leap of faith, but it feels right. And very exciting.

So, if anyone hears of great opportunities to work from a home, point me in the right direction if you please!
Every little helps! :D

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Caution: Severe Slush Ahead

No, no, we haven't had another dollop of snow, I'm talking slush as in mushy gushy ♥ lurrrve ♥

You see, I am doing a little multi-tasking & getting all romantic, because a. Claire, over at The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, is holding a Valentines Carnival (because she might act tough, but she's a big sappy girl really ;) ), and b. I haven't made time to play over at Josie's Writing workshop in ages, but this week, option 3 is: Write a post on the theme of ’soul mates’. Do you believe in them? Have you found or lost yours? Or are you still looking?

So, without further ado, may I present a bit fat chunk of sun shining, birds tweeting, song in your heart, lovey dovey goodness. (Don't panic, normal service will resume soon!)

♥..................................................................................................................................♥

Do I believe in Soul Mates? Oh yes. I met mine nearly 13 years ago, and have never looked back.

Was it love at first sight? Actually, yes, I think it was.

We met, completely by chance, at a night club. I had no idea he even existed before that night, and now I can’t imagine life without him.

That first night, we just clicked. We spent four hours sitting outside under a big full moon, just talking, and freaking each other out with the amount of spooky coincidences and similarities there were between us.

In the previous year, we’d been at 3 of the same parties, 2 of the same gigs and both been to see the same play, on the same night, yet never even bumped into each other. It was almost like fate had been trying to throw us together, but had a bit of a rubbish aim… until then.

I had never felt so instantly comfortable with anyone before, ever. Believe it or not, I'm generally pretty shy around new people. Not with him though. It was like catching up with an old friend I hadn't seen in years. It was just a perfect fit from the start.

We moved in together after two weeks. How mental is that?
Our friends & families thought we were loopy, but we didn’t care. It felt right.

And it was. It still is :)

We have been through so much in the last 12 and a bit years.
Good stuff, not so good stuff, and some frankly amazing stuff.
We’ve travelled, we’ve explored, we’ve had adventures.
We’ve strolled along the beach together at sunset, and we’ve toddled along it at sunrise, after many an epic night out. (Tenerife, 2002, in particular, was a bit special!)
We’ve been wild & reckless, rocked out at more gigs & shows and bars & clubs than I can count and got up to allsorts of mischief.
We’ve done scary grown up stuff neither of us had contemplated before – like mortgages & joint bank accounts!
We’ve supported one another through anything and everything.
We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, and shared everything in between.

He makes me laugh a lot, and he knows exactly how to make me smile when I'm down.
He gets me.
He’s the only person who really knows everything there is to know about me.
He is my rock, my voice of reason, my partner in crime, and my best friend.
He’s also pretty easy on the eye, but don’t tell him I said that ;)

And of course now, he’s my baby’s Daddy!
The Little Dude is by far our biggest adventure yet, and I can’t imagine a better person to be enjoying it with. We are loving every second.

Sure, there have been hard bits, and I have no doubt there will be more in the future, but so long as we take it on together, I know it’ll be fine.

Because I do believe in soul mates, and I feel incredibly lucky to have found mine.

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