My brain still hurts from Jamaica

October 31, 2011 By 6 Comments

Jet lag is severely kicking my ass. So I’m going to fob you off (again) with some pictures of The Smalls being all domesticated and cute and stuff. I didn’t have to edit these photos, unlike the 49 frillion photos from the photo shoots before I went away. So you know, total cop-out in this post.

It’s amazing how willing they are to wash their hands when they know cake will follow.

Somehow, this kid can break eggs and NEVER get shell in the mix. Unlike his mother.

Somehow he does the same. And he tells you about it too.

Note to self: Check blender thingy is working before you start baking.

I love it when they do the hard work.

They currently sniff everything. Everything.

The cakes were slightly browner than I would have liked, but that’s what happens when you are consumed by the urge to sleep. Still, they didn’t care.

It’s cake, innit?

Filed Under: family, food, Isaac, mocha beanie mummy, Noah, photos, pictures

Start them early. Y’know, like before they’re even conceived.

September 22, 2011 By 6 Comments

I knew perfectly well that Noah would be excellently supported academically when we put him in to private school. We want the absolute best we can get for him. I hated that I had to absolutely bust my ass to get anywhere with little to no support from the school; I also hated the fact that rules in my school seemed to have become rather lax. Added to having worked in numerous schools as a peripatetic teacher and whilst working for my PGCE, my eyes were very much opened to systems of education.

Ok, calm the fuck down, I’m not slating every teacher ever to have worked in public/state/whatever-the-fuck-it-is-these-days schools, but I am saying the ones I saw? Left me very, very cold and twitchy.

So yeah, we’re just trying to give our boys the absolute best education we can.

However. I ask the schools for support, help and understanding. Of course! And we get that, we get that a lot.

What I DON’T ask for, is pushy learning and target high-fiving. Especially not for a 3 year old.

Noah came home this week with a “Sounds and Key-words” case; in it were 3 tiny cards with the letters s, t and a, and a “diary” for us (parents) to fill in when he’s done some reading. I’m also reliably informed by D that there’s a “pack” which I need to read through, and also a CD to listen to.

I’ll just say it again – he’s 3 years old.

Now, OBVIOUSLY I want to help and encourage Noah as best as I possibly can. He has bedtime stories every night, where he watches and listens completely engrossed. He then has a book in his bed to fall asleep with, and will flick through it when he awakens in the morning. He has a mini library in his room, as does Isaac, and they share another bookcase rammed with books in our lounge. If I’m honest? Between them? It’s possible they have more books than D and I put together.

I worked through the letters with Noah for about 2 minutes. It was all I dared to do. About 30 minutes later, I did it again, for 2 minutes (he knew ssssss, so we incorporated “apple” and “tiger” for his other letters). This is how it ended.

Noah: Mommy, you’ve given me too much words because my head is aching.

MBM: Ok, we’ll stop now.

Nuff said.

Filed Under: Education, mocha beanie mummy, Noah, parenting, School, Uncategorized

The Linky aka Silent Sunday Put to Rest aka I’m Claiming My Blog Back Dammit

September 11, 2011 By 59 Comments

It’s been a long time coming. I didn’t honestly see it coming, but it came, nonetheless.

The Silent Sunday Linky is no more.

I’m done with it.

I’m done with waking up Sunday morning’s and dreading having to constantly remind people to follow the rules.

I’m done with people taking the piss in every which way possible – posting numerous photos, adding titles, using words in the photo just to say something, rather than doing themselves real justice and sticking to a photo WITH GOOD HEARTFELT REASON, people thinking that just because I’m not around for a week, they’re going to bend the rules etc.

I saw and viewed every single post, every single week.

I’ll be honest; to everyone who took the piss, you made me sad. You made me really, really sad. I had never, ever planned to open up Silent Sunday, and many of you seemed to have forgotten that I’d been doing it long before the Linky existed.

To everyone who thought it would be a laugh to bend the rules and poke fun while I worked hard to maintain your Linky for you, you made me cross. It’s fucking shit to have to give up your entire Sunday to shout at fully grown, perfectly capable adults who really should know better and were pretty much ungrateful.

To those who simply chose not to read about Silent Sunday and the how/why/what the fuck on the very obvious SIlent Sunday page, I feel sorry for you, because it makes me think you were clearly there just to jump on a bandwagon, for a bit of publicity. I’m sorry, but my blog is not here just as a publicity platform for you. You seem to forget this is my personal space.

To those who bitched about my Silent Sunday posts being “sub standard”, or left comments on so many of my Silent Sunday posts, whining and complaining about the Linky instead of just emailing me in private to discuss with me directly, you made me really REALLY disappointed. I thought you were more mature than that. I thought I might be able to count on you a bit more.

But you know what? It wasn’t all bad.

To those of you who have contacted me on twitter to tell me “screw you, I’m still gonna post a Silent Sunday anyway”, this makes me a teeny bit proud of you. I thank you immensely for your support.

To those of you who have emailed me (omg you’re so lovely!!! Emailing me to thank me? LOST FOR WORDS.) telling me how you’ve enjoyed Silent Sunday over the 10 months, how it’s improved your photography, how some of the best pictures you’ve taken have been since doing SIlent Sunday…well that just pretty much makes me chuffed to bits. I don’t even know where to start with the feelings on that one. Humbled, awed, proud, impressed, gobsmacked, thrilled…as long as good has come out of it for someone, I am happy.

I was always destined to be a teacher, since I was about 6 or 7; I remember my mom telling me. I never knew what I would teach, or how I would teach it. But I guess, having previously done music and now photography, it was always going to be something within the arts. I don’t profess to have taught anyone any photography. But I do hope I’ve shown you what you can do with simple instruction. I’m a self taught photographer, having only been doing this seriously for nearly 2 years, so I don’t claim to be in any position to teach people more than anything above high level amateur – that’s like a goat leading a flock of sheep.

Or something.

But I do hope to have been able to show you what you can do with any camera you have on you. I have posted Silent Sunday photos from my iPhone(s), my point and shoot, my amateur level dSLR and my semi-pro dSLR. And I don’t think anyone has called me up on my choice of equipment yet. I hope I’ve been able to show you what you can do with a bit of imagination, a bit of thought and something that can actually capture a photograph; a moment in time. That’s all.

Anyway, I’m rambling now, as ever, and I don’t write to you readers very often. So, I’m just going to say thank you for your support, but it’s time to claim my blog back now. And my Sundays. Now that The Smalls are at school, I have that fucking important chance to claim my sanity back. I have the chance to use my one and only quiet day of the week in the way that I should be using it.

And that’s not shouting at the general public for really pathetic reasons, causing me immense amounts of stress.

As for me? Well by the time you read this, you’ll see I’ll have already posted my Silent Sunday for 11th September. But no, there’s no Linky. I’ll still be posting, as and when, and the badge will still be available if you want it. If you want to remove it, I have absolutely no problem with that. I’m not stats hungry, so don’t worry about linking back. ;) I will ask you not to leave links to your blogs asking me to “please just have a quick peek” in the comments on my posts either; such comments will be removed/not published. This is my blog. Not an advertising free-for-all space. You would do well to show some respect and remember that.

So I guess I’ll see you on twitter, with the #SilentSunday hashtag,

Filed Under: mocha beanie mummy, Silent Sunday

In case you were wondering about blogging

September 1, 2011 By 9 Comments

Noah is playing with a toy phone making phone calls while I’m working.

Noah: Look Mommy! My phone is blogging!

Me: Hmmm? …wait – what?

N: My phone Mommy! It’s blogging!

MBM: *pretty sure I’ve misheard him* Your phone is what, Noah?

N: BLOGGING, Mommy. *showing me the phone in earnest* My phone is BLOGGING.

MBM: …your phone is blogging?

N: Yes.

MBM: *looking at the cute bunny pic on his toy phone*…what’s “blogging” Noah?

N: Well I don’t know! You know…it’s Burpees, and writing, and photos, Mommy.

…

Well I guess that sums it up then.

Filed Under: Conversations, mocha beanie mummy, Noah, parenting

Check-In

June 23, 2011 By 4 Comments

I’ve not been here much lately because I have been BUSY innit. So I’m just leaving a mental note here of all the stuff going on.

First of all, for the first time in maybe 10+ years, my weight is LOWER than it was pre-pregnancy. I woke up this morning 1lb less than my pre-preg weight. OMG, THINKING SLIMMER. That is all.

Next up, the Blogger Calendar categories with Tara and Snapfish have been announced. I actually have a HEADACHE from trying to keep up with the shit load of tweets on twitter. Holy crap I can’t believe how excited they all are! Tis awesome. Sorry to the peeps who missed out, but there may be opportunities for other stuff next year. Photos taken over the weekend, then I edit the crap out of them for about 4 months. Nice and easy. Hah.

Also, buh-limey, I’ve been busting my ass on my pro site. It’s had a COMPLETE overhaul, and it’s not done yet. I’m trying so hard to throw myself into the wedding market, and I’ll be honest, it’s a struggle. Or (most likely) I’m just very impatient. I know I’ve barely finished my first year with 9 weddings under my belt, but even so I wants MORE. So I’m quietly slogging away. 2am has become a good friend of mine. I bloody hate it. But at the same time, I love it. It’s oddly satisfying, eh?

Curiously, I’ve been burying my head in the sand wondering just how much I can actually teach people without talking a load of crap. I have a (my first EVER) photography workshop at Cybermummy. I’m obviously excited to be doing it, and hope to help out loads of people with their photography. However, I just hope people actually understand what I’m trying to convey. I’m also hoping I don’t say fuck, shit, cock, what the fuck, bastard, wank and variations on the themes. The very lovely of will be live blogging my workshop, so I guess she’s the one to lurk near on twitter on the day.

On the list is a thank you to my sponsor Love it, Love it, Love it enough for helping me get to Cybermummy. I’ve got outgoings left right and centre at the mo, and the financial situation for me personally is really shitty. So Ruth? I bloody love you lady. Thank you.

MBM Sponsored by Love It Love It Love It

Then, of course, there’s the biggie (for me). My Dildo Decorating Party on Saturday night, courtesy of Eden Fantasys. Admittedly I’m terrified as I’m a very rubbish host. I am fast starting to understand why The Bloggess stays in the toilets whenever she hosts a party, it makes perfect sense. I have two boxes of goodies for the party, with some daft games, prizes and other treats. I don’t want to give anything away just yet, so I reckon I’ll do all the writing malarky after the weekend, you know, when I’ve stopped drinking. Dildo Bob is primed and ready to go. In fact, I suspect he’s very excited about seeing new family members being born. Must remember to prod him to keep tweeting from , too.

If you’re expecting a Silent Sunday linky bright and early on Sunday, you can piss right off. That won’t show up until lunchtime. Maybe.

I am exhausted. But I think, I think, I am ok.

 

Filed Under: actual happy times, AWESOMENESS, blogger, Blogging, COCK., Cybermummy11, decorating, Dildo Bob, Eden Fantasys, Jay Mountford Photography, Love It Love It Love It, mocha beanie mummy, photography, photos, pimping myself rotten, PR, Silent Sunday, , weight
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