Dear Darwin

What biological imperative does whinging and whining satisfy?

Because surely it must act contrary to a toddlers survival instinct.



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Things we have learnt this summer

Isobel has learnt that chilli makes her 'tongue feel funny'

She learnt to catch at the begining of the summer and you have never seen anyone smile so wide.

Isobel has also discovered that 'RossandAmanda' is actually one person called Ross and another called Amanda, not two people both with the name 'RossandAmanda'.

She knows all the words to 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear' but we have also learnt that there are two different editions.

Little girl can pierce her own drink carton and open her own yoghurt.

She is an expert at balancing.

What have I learnt?

That my daughter will always amaze an delight me...

except with her learning of the phrase 'I don't like...'; a phrase I never knew could be repeated and applied so often in the space of ten minutes. Funnily enough she has yet to say 'I don't like chocolate'.

My true north

Some people think the magnetic north is located somewhere near the north pole; it's not true. Well, not for me anyway.

My true north lies at 5 High.

A month ago we scattered my Grandfather's ashes off the end of the pier, he took two sisters with him (in ash form obviously!), so he will not be short of 'head leaders'.

A few weeks ago my Aunt rang and asked if there was anything from the house I wanted as Grandma is not going to live there any more, so these are the things I would like:

I would like the outside shower full of sand after we have all come back from the beach;

the sound of feet swinging on the black box outside the loo while we all queue to spend a penny before going out;

telling stories of Maggie the witch who lives through the hatch in the loo;

Grandma and Grandad's bed scaled with the help of a chair as we all pile in;

the fairies that danced in the fire while we toasted crumpets;

the twin beds that Katy and I slept in - my blankets remaining beautifully tucked in after I slept like a 'princess' and watching Katy struggle to remake hers the next morning.

Wardrobes full of cousins as we play sardines at Christmas.

The poster grandma would put on my bedroom door at Christmas when I was little;

the claw foot bath ...

I could go on about the summers I worked with Grandparents; my Grandma meeting me off the bus for a weekend with them..

but actually as I have typed this I have realised that many of my 5 high memories are also memories of my cousins, and all the summers we spent together, and I guess we still all have each other and the Hut.

It's time...

to hang up my flip flops; summer is over.

There is a slight chill in the air which means if I do not hurry there will be no time left to write down the posts that have been percolating in my head in the sunshine.

It's time to get back to two things I love but am out of the habit of: blogging and yoga!








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Step away from the sewing machine

My mother has told me she is 'sick of seeing bloomin skirts' , she didn't say bloomin but I am being polite. She also mentioned that I may be addicted to sewing at the mo, if that is the case then Backstitch.co.uk should cut me off, wonderful 'dealer' that they are.

It was this book that suddenly started me off again, 'Lovely Things to Make For Girls of Slender Means' by Eithne Farry. I just saw it by the till at Foyles, it called to me and I bought it. In fact both my skirts were made from this book.



Then I found the Grosgrain Blog and her 'Frock by Friday' - hence the blue dress.

Sewing has given me far more satisfaction that I remembered. I like the feeling of having made something, and yes being complimented on it makes it more so. (Just as well no one looks too closely, I'm not a great and accurate seamstress.)

It's not just that, it is kind of meditative, it stops me ruminating, stress and generally being anxious.Let's face it, it has meant I done' have too much time to fret about PD being out of work; or how I will juggle being a mum with maintaining a job, retraining for a new career and if I will be able to afford to follow that career let alone manage to logistics of getting across London whilst doing nursery drop of and pick up, once I have trained; or how we scattered Grandad's ashes off the pier so he really is gone; should I get a boob job; whether or not Glampervan we will be the success we need it to be because we love Clementine so much; should I get a boob job; blah blah blah.....

And it doesn't leave my hands free to blog or to tweet.

The fact that it let's me have pretty and original outfits is a bonus too!

One last picture, I made this for Isobel who refused to have her picture taken but wore it for two days.








Normal service will now
resume. Well once I have made a couple more dresses for Isobel, fixed her curtains, a skirt and dress AND a top for me... guess the sewing machine won't be going away anytime soon.

I will stop sewing and start blogging soon

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I will be a good mum and start sewing for baba tomorrow promise

Today I made this from the free coffee date dress pattern on burdastyle.com. It need jigging, but I think it's ok:




(will look better with a bra!)

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Suffering for my art!

That's a very grand title and probably not entirely true.

Actually my blog has been suffering for the sake of my sewing...

On Wednesday evening I made this butterfly dress with fabric from backstitch.co.uk and a pattern from burdastyle.com











On Thursday evening I made this












Then I went to the Isle of Wight...

Then yesterday evening I made this outfit










The skirt was an eBay dress and I ran the top up.

Tonight I have cut out the pieces for a dress, but it looks frightfully small!

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Hipstamatic - my weekend seventies stylie

Loving the Hipstamatic app for the iPhone!

And loving the seaside if course...
















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How old am I?

I have just been to a school friend's party, in a sixth form haunt; I was driven there by step-father and picked up by mummy.

How old do you think I am?


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Always a day away

At 4:30 this morning I had definitive proof that my baba has a grasp of days and time.

She doesn't always remember the days of the week but recognises them as markers in space time continuum (no, Isobel doesn't use those exact words, that would be freaky!).

Yesterday we had much chat about how we were grandma's tomorrow, Isobel pointed out that that was after sleep, a good start of the recognition.

At 4:30 this morning little girl was standing up in her cot singing 'i go to grandma's today!'.

If my head hadn't been buried under my pillow I would have joined in.


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What's wrong with this picture?

Yes, you guessed it - Isobel is wearing Crocs.

This is something I fought a long hard internal battle over.

The fact that Al Pacino wears them didn't stop me signing up to the 'when-I-see-Crocs-I-throw-up-a-little-in-my-mouth' club.

But, after going through a pair of expensive sandals in a day, I begun to see why they could be good for little ones who drag their feet while riding cars. My cousin Katy would have certainly stubbed her toe less if she'd had them growing up.

This little debate has gone on for more than a month; I discussed it with other Croc haters and we agreed we couldn't do it.

But, I was wavering.

Then when we went Camping and I saw Erica had given in and bought 'Vieve a pair, I knew it would all be ok.

I am still a gladihater though and will not be buying Crocs or Gladiators for myself. But I said that about fitflops...


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Cooking the books

I am an accountant in denial; one who really hates numbers and spreadsheets.

My daughter loves playing with a calculator, although I am happy to say she uses it as a telephone.

But seriously, cooking the books?






Ps. I'd rather she was a pirate










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The one in which we attempt to be literary - well nearly

Hi my name is surprise mum and I am a book addict.

That actually wasn't a tough admission, it's try I am a voracious reader, I devour books and consume them like some people do chocolate. My favourite people tend to be the same.

As Isobel is definitely one of my favourite people and she is heading the same way, so we have been reading ALOT; and like all little bookworms we are big fans of the Gruffalo and all things Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler.

I suspect everyone has heard the theory that there are only actually seven stories, and everything is a variation upon a theme but I was very surprised to hear a Turkish fairy story where the Hodja (wise man) advises a man who feels his house is cramped to take in all his pets and then remove them in order to appreciate the space he has - Squash and a Squeeze anyone?

Then I was reading the new Scarlett Thomas book the other day (a great book, full of fascinating literariness, has inspired me to read Aristotle's Poetics next), and one of the characters recounts a chinese fairy tale about a tiger who captures a fox. the fox makes the tiger walk behind him to prove that actually the fox is the scariest animal - sounding familiar?

At first I admit to being miffed that they weren't original stories, but now I think good on them for invigorating the originals, if they carry on like this we have many more to look forward to but I'd love to know which one inspired The Snail and the Whale.

Mummy fail - yet again

I really didn't think being a mum would be easy.

I never wanted to have a perfect angel child, because somehow children that are too good give me the creeps.

I always wanted a child with something about her, a bit of a spark, an adorable cheekiness.

I certainly never intended to spoil my child.

But most of all, I thought I would be FAR FAR better at discipline than I am.

I'm as firm as my thighs (clue: I haven't done yoga for months!, my voice becomes so high pitched I can join in with the twilight barking and I have no idea why evolution gave us whining.

I think I will just go sit on the naughty step a while.*


*I tried the naughty step on Isobel and she thought it was funny, so funny she would come back in smack PD again and say 'I go sit on step', she would sit on the step and repeat the whole exercise.

The Gallery Play

Sticky Fingers: The Gallery: Week 22

I love this camping picture.  It was the evening, and Isobel was running towards me, still playing as the sun sets.

Yes, at last I have managed to take part in The Gallery!  (Even if I did use this as an excuse to repost a picture from Monday)

We went glamping in a Glampervan

I've never really been camping before, well not in this country but on the basis of a romantic notion I went ahead and bought a campervan.


Yes I set up Glampervan to help me pay for it, but the main purpose was to literally provide a vehicle for entertainment and travel for me and my little girl.

It would be dreadful if we hated it. We didn't even hire one first.

Luckily we loved it. We took more seasoned campers with us on our first trip, Erica-May and Genevieve were our guides and although we heard more 'mine!'s from the two girls than we did bird song from the trees, we couldn't have asked for better company.

This may have been my first trip but I already feel qualified to offer words of wisdom (yes, I'll show you pictures in a minute but 'stuff' first:

Baking scones before you go means instant cream tea and happy campers!

Take pre-cooked chicken and sausages so that on your first evening and morning you can throw these on on the barbie and dinner will be ready in a time frame suited to two year olds.

Garlic bread and corn-on-the-cob cook well just wrapped in the fire and placed in the coals.

If the log man comes late on day one buy two bags so you can light the fire for supper before little girls want to go to bed - genius Erica, pure genius.

Make wishes on sugar sprites in the fire - sprinkle sugar and see the sprites.

Make sure your daughter wakes up peacefully and slowly on her last morning or she will be grumpy and cry for the television and her cot the whole time you pack up - this will not make that chore any easier.

Hand written signs on the side of the road are worth following for a little fair magic.

Oh, and it may take three attempts for a much asked for pony ride to be successful.

The camper may also provide hours of fun.

It's worth every penny

I experienced a moment of complete and utter joy today.

A moment I would pay any money for, yet a moment we will repeat many times over the coming years.

Where was I when I had this moment? I was on the M25.

We were in Clementine, sitting side by side in the front of our camper (the joy of no airbag), we were wearing our sunnies and singing baa baa black sheep at the top of our voices!

Who knew heaven was the M25.


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Living the dream

Let's face it there is always something about the lives of the rich and famous that we covet.

Isobel and I really are living the dream; we have a life you only see on telly.

If I was to tell you that Grandpa has a boat












And that 'we're going on holiday in a campervan,'










would you know who's life it is we lead?


Yes, we are living the Peppa pig dream!

















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Left-hand drive is child's play

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