Liebster Award

I am such an anal perfectionist that I'm actually redoing this post so that it shows in the CORRECT font and font size etc. Just lost my patience with trying to edit the HTML so starting from scratch!!!

Thank you One Busy Mum for nominating me for this award. It cheered me up, it really did. Lovely thought.

The award is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers who deserve acknowledgement and encouragement to keep on blogging (I copied that bit from One Busy Mum's post - hope that's okay.

The rules are as follows

1. List 11 facts about yourself.
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you.
3. Create 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate for the award.
4. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog. 
5. Choose 5 bloggers with 200 or less followers to nominate.
6. Go to each bloggers page and let them know about the award.

11 Facts about me

1. My first and only childhood dog was called Murphy (also my maiden-name)
2. I'm not very good at conforming
3. I like to label things
4. I like to collect make-up but don't actually wear it very often
5. I have been married for 14 years this July
6. I cannot throw away storage boxes or baskets. Just can't do it!!!
7. I have a secret desire to run away to the country and live off the land (but still have iphones and macbooks etc.... hmmm maybe that won't work)
8. I get changed out of my work clothes and into pajamas the MINUTE I get home
9. I have quite bad confidence/self-esteem issues
10. I have an entrepreneurial spirit
11. I am a quarter Irish (the rest English - as far as I know)

11 Questions from One Busy Mum

1. What is your Favorite food? Popcorn. Or peanut M&Ms
2. What do you do to relax? Have a very hot bath or just lie in bed and tap on my laptop
3. What do you enjoy most about blogging? The support I get from readers and other bloggers
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time? Hopefully spending a little less time commuting and at work. Would like to go back to part time work when finances permit and maybe start my own business or be a freelance project manager
5. Do you prefer sweet or savory foods? Mmmm Difficult one. I love a hot sticky toffee pudding with icecream but also have a love of savoury - homemade cheese straws, nuts, Dr Kargs crackers.... popcorn.... yum.
6. What would be your ideal holiday destination? Turkey. We go there every year! Although would like to go to somewhere like the seyshells (spelling???) or the maldives some time - withOUT the children!!!
7. What is your favorite colour? Pink - CAN YOU TELL????
8. What is your best childhood memory? Probably visiting Efftelling in Holland as a child
9. What is your favorite movie? Got to be an oldie. Slipper and the Rose (anyone else think Richard Chamberlain was dishy?? Just me then...).
10. What is your biggest achievement so far? Predictable, but my children. Definitely.
11. What item can't you live without? My iPhone

My questions to you

1. If money wasn't an issue what would you be (professionally)?
2. What made you start a blog?
3. If you won the lottery, what 3 things would you buy first?
4. What is your favourite pudding?
5. What is your earliest childhood memory?
6. Tell me the latest funny thing that your child/children said to you? (if you don't have children then your dog/husband/cat???)
7. Do you prefer staying in or going out?
8. Apple or PC?
9. What is your most sinful food that you treat yourself with?
10. What are your pets names if you have any?
11. What is the most embarrassing moment you remember?    

Who I have nominated
Just a Normal Mummy - because her latest post Soft Play Code of Conduct really made me laugh
Wonderments - because she needs cheering up right now
Just Pirouette and Carry on - because Kate is so lovely and supportive in her comments on my posts
The Distressed Housewife - because I love reading her blog
The Owl and the Accordian - because I love looking at her photos. She is so crafty and stylish and clever.  

Invisible Mum - My Shovel List (PAPS)

PAPS - Pimp A Post Sunday

Quick PAPS post as am about to go to bed but I wanted to keep up with this one blog hop as I really like the idea behind it - to give a blog post of your choice a chance to get a few more readers. If you want to know more, check out Super Amazing Mum's post.

The blog post I am nominating this week is from Invisible Woman 2013. She is a new blogger and I've only just started following her blog but she writes from the heart and this post made me laugh. Here is her post: My Shovel List. In fact, I liked this post so much that I intend to do one at some point. Its now on my Blog to-do list.

Night all. xxx

PAPS - New Mum Online

So Pimp A Post Sunday is back! If you want to know more about it, check out Super Amazing Mum's post here.

Now I know that a few other people have nominated New Mum Online's post but I am going to do the same because of all the post's I've read this week, this is the one that touched me to the core. I was not lucky enough to have known Kerry and I only started following her blog after she was in hospital but it has really moved me to see how this thing that is the blogging community closes together to support and grieve for one of its own.

The post is about the Thanks Giving Service for Kerry.

Super Sweet Blog Award

Mum Turned Mom has very kindly awarded me with the Super Sweet Blog Award for some reason I can't quite fathom. Still find it surprising people like reading my blurb. Oh well, don't knock it, I say to myself (in true nutter, talking to self stylee).

There it is. My award. Above (first one I've got - I think...). Yay! Thank you so much Mum Turned Mom. So, here I go:

The rules for the award:

1. Thank the blogger(s) who gave you the award and link back to their blog (done above)
2. Nominate other blogs for this award and let them know (will do below)
3. Post the award on your blog (done above)
4. Answer 5 questions:

Cookies or Cake?
Probably cake. Cupcakes in particular with lovely frosting. Particularly like chocolate cupcakes or muffins with the rich chocolatey gooeyness in the middle. The best cupcake I have had was in a shopping centre in London when I was on a day out with a friend of mine. It was actually a Zuccini & Chocolate cupcake (zuccini is basically courgette for us British people and you wouldn't expect it to make a good cupcake but then again carrots are nice in cake so why shouldn't courgettes be good. Hmmmmm Choooooocccooolllllaaaatteeeeeee.

Chocolate or Vanilla?
Are we talking about ice cream here? Cos I am not that fussed about icecream. I prefer actual chocolate over most anything - including sex. Just give me a box of Guylians anyday (Belgian Seashell shaped chocs).

Favourite sweet treat?
If its morning then a chocolate croissant. Also love Guylian chocs as mentioned above. Chocolate cup cakes. Any other kind of cupcakes. Or cake of any kind. Also like triple chocolate cookies. The big ones. That come in bags of 4. I almost always eat all 4.

When do you crave sweet things the most?
Erm, let me see.... when I'm bored. When I'm feeling down. When I'm hungover, fed up. Basically my food intake (not just sweet - I love cheese and fatty bready/pasta-ey things too) is related to my emotions.

If you had a sweet nickname, what would it be?
Don't really know how to answer this one. My hubby has lots of nicknames for me. One of them is the nickname one of my teachers at primary school gave me - Snail. Cos I was always a little bit slow - not in a stupid way, I hasten to add, but in a "in her own little dream world" kind of a way. Not really very sweet is it?

My nominees:

1. Anecdotes of a manic mum - I cannot avoid nominating this lady who I like to think I have almost become friends with. I feel like I know her from reading all her blog post (sorry if that sounds stalkery... I'm really not like that!) and I just think she is a very special lady. The love she has for her husband who has had life-changing surgery is palpable from her posts. She inspires me to write, to look at my life through new eyes - because anything could happen and it could all change in the blink of an eye and she gives me faith that if something terrible did happen to me, perhaps I could, like her, be brave and strong. I really cannot express how much I respect her.  
2. Dear Beautiful Boy - I am nominating Lucy at Dear Beautiful because I love reading her posts. The photos of her little ones, particularly her new baby make me OH SO CLUCKY. But I'm resisting. 2 is enough for me thank you very much!!!! I love the simplistic beautiful style of her blog and the posts are written like prose or poetry. Centred on the page. Makes me feel calm (AND CLUCKY) reading her posts. 
3. The Distressed Housewife - Because she makes me laugh and I can relate to her in many ways.
4. Forgetting Mess, Pausing Time - I love the way Melissa writes. Particularly how honest and candid she is about her past on her Flashback Friday series of posts. She has me sitting on the edge of my seat during these posts. I feel lucky I had a relatively normal childhood. 

Thats all for now as I need to log off as we have a guest.  Thanks again Mum Turned Mom for nominating me. xxxxx

Tag, you're it.... A Christmas Meme (sorry its late)

I have been tagged by Happiness is Homemade in her post. Sorry I'm late in doing this. I've not been feeling amazingly Christmassy to be honest. We've been waiting to receive an offer on our house and its been taking ages and so I've been thinking that there would be a tiny chance that we would move before xmas. Stupid idea really. Well, a few weeks ago I guess it could have been a possibility but now is looking less and less likely that we'll be moving at all let alone before Xmas.

So, here is my take on the Christmas Meme (what is a Meme? Can someone tell me?).

1. What is your favourite thing about Christmas?

This UNDOUBTEDLY has to be the excitement of my kids. As I grown up I've got less and less keen on Christmas. In fact before I had my kids I was even starting to get to the point that I'd get depressed at Christmas. I never felt like I bought good enough presents or spent enough (maybe I didn't but what is the point in bankrupting yourself for one day). I would often request something from my husband that I would get before the day so would get very disappointed about the lack of actual presents on the day. I guess when I was a kid all our presents seemed pretty amazing. Then something happened. My parents seem to have continued in the theme of buying large numbers of gifts but they are often (please don't think me ungrateful here) but they would often be silly jokey or ornamental gifts or things that maybe THEY would like. I hate that. Although I do sometimes do it myself. I think: how could they NOT like that gift. I love it. I have to catch myself out sometimes. Anyway, now I have kids of my own, Christmas is about them. Not me. Although I have learnt from my own past behaviours and started requesting an actual physical gift from my husband and even if I know what it is he still has to wrap it up and present it to me on Christmas day. I still have a child within that I need to keep happy!!!

2. What is your favourite makeup look for the season?

I don't really bother with makeup massively. I do love makeup and love to collect it and play with it but I am rather lazy when it comes to day to day wearing of it. I wear the same eyeshadows all the time. Pale shell colour and a brown (dark sparkly type if going out and more matt lighter brown for daytime) - assuming I can be bothered. I would like to think that for a Christmas event I would get some glitter and glam it up a bit but I seem to have cleared out a lot of my old sparkley makeup. Maybe its time to go shopping!!!

3. Real or fake tree?

Ah. I was actually going to talk about this issue in a blog but you have saved me from bothering. I was actually thinking about this a few weeks ago. Quite a lot of people I know have a ritual of going to pick out a (real) tree with their families. We have had a massive fake tree which we have had for years. Its huge and really realistic. This year I thought, maybe for the sake of the kids we should start a tradition like those other people where we take the kids to pick a tree. I mentioned this to Joshua and he said "but mummy isn't our tree in the loft". Gotta love kids. So I decided... what is wrong with our tradition of bringing the tree down from the loft. My son (and daughter when a bit older) can remember one of us ushering it down and the other one heaving it onto the stairs and then guiding it while it slides down the stairs. Nothing wrong with that tradition, is there? And its a lot easier. And less messy.

4. Giving or receiving presents?

Erm. Giving. Of course. Only kidding. I'd be lying if I said I preferred giving over receiving. I do love to see the kids open their presents and I like it when I have picked something special for a loved one but I am often wracking myself with guilt that I didn't spend enough money, they wanted something else, I didn't spend enough money..... So yeah, receiving is much better. I love having new stuff. Shopaholic side coming out here!

5. What is your favourite Christmas film?

I think this is going to have to be Santa Claus the Movie. I love the way the movie depicts the changing of toys over the years from the hand crafted lovingly made wooden gifts to the plastic crap of the 80's. I thought Santa was brilliant and I LOVED Dudley Moore as the elf. Oh and you can't forget the guy that plays the bad guy. Although I HAVE forgotten his name. Doh. I am hungover you know.

6. What is your favourite Christmas food?

Horribly predictable but it has to be chocolate. Guilt-free chocolate (cos everyone knows chocolate calories on xmas day don't count) by the shed load. I will have a box or two of Guylian sea shells. Oh and cheese. A big cheese and biscuit plate. And bubbly and wine. Yay. So glad we're not going anywhere this christmas.

That's my lot. I am tagging:

1. Super Amazing Mum
2. Just a Normal Mummy
3. Pressies by Pebbles
4. New Mum Online
5. Anecdotes of a Manic Mum

12 days of Christmas - my take

Firstly I shamelessly ripped this blog post idea off this post from the lovely Domestic Goddesque. Hope she doesn't mind.

Here is my version: 
 
On the first day of Christmas, motherhood brought to me.....
My toddler climbing into our bed.

On the second day of Christmas, motherhood brought to me....
Porridge kisses from 2 year old
and a toddler in my bed at 3am



On the third day of Christmas, motherhood brought to me...
Dog puking on the rug,
Porridge stains on top before work run
and a toddler in my bed at 3am

On the fourth day of Christmas, motherhood brought to me...
A sheep costume to make for son's nativity,
Dog puke on the rug,
Porridge stains on my shirt
and a toddler refusing to vacate my bed at 3am

On the Fifth Day of Christmas, motherhood sent to me,
A list of obscure hard to find gifts that my relatives seem to require
Sheep costume to make (I can't sew)
Dog puke on the rug (make hubby clean it up)
Porridge stains on my shirt
and how nice would it be to NOT have a toddler in my bed at 3 fucking AM!

On the sixth day of christmas, life in general sent to me,
A general hate of christmas and all the stress that comes with it
List of obscure gifts (always MY family)
sheep ccostume to ask my mum to make
Dog puke on the rug (quick before other dog eats it - yuck!)
Porridge on my shirt (why can't you kiss me AFTER you've been changed)
and a toddler that is definitely NOT allowed in my bed at 3am anymore!!!

On the 7th day of xmas (can you tell I'm bored of typing the same line again and again), life sent to me,
4 sets of childcare providers to pay
A general hatred of christmas
list of pointless crap to buy
sheep costume done by grandma
dog puke on the rug
porridge on my shirt
and a toddler who attempts to get into my bed regardless of threats of violence towards his soft toys

On the 8th day of xmas, life sent to me
An empty bank account (due to general xmas overspending on crap that we are SUPPOSED to have and food that we probably won't eat)
3 childminders and one nursery to settle up with
general hatred of xmas
pointless crap to purchase
sheep costume (thank fuck for granny!)
a dog who eats plastic bags and then hubby has to assist on pulling them out of her arse as she shits them out (true story!!!)
porridge on my shirt
and a toddler who might as well come in with us as its the only way we're going to get any sleep tonight!

ON the 9th day of xmas
A stomach bloated from all the chocolate I've eaten
an empty bank account (overdrawn in fact)
too many people to pay
Is it over yet?
pointless crap that people can take back to shop
Sheep costume for nativity (basicaly a bath matt over the shoulders, white hat with flaps and nose painted black)
dog who shits plastic bags (and socks)
porridge on my shirt (can't think of anything else funny to say about that)
and a toddler who may as well just clamp himself back on my boob sometimes even though I stopped breastfeeding at 6 months....

On the 10th day of xmas
.....Really?

Isn't it over yet?

I'm off to crawl into a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates - sod the rest of you!!!