May 2015 Archives – Mummascribbles

When we moved into our house this time last year, we had all of these ideas and plans. The house itself was perfect for us, it hadn’t long had a new kitchen, bathroom and flooring and the walls were all magnolia which meant all we had to do was furnish and colour the walls to our taste. We knew we couldn’t do everything in one go so in our heads we had a little list of what we wanted to do. One of those things was to replace the awful garden furniture that had been left behind by the previous owners.

Unfortunately everything took a slight change when our cat got very poorly and sadly died. We had suddenly had to fork out the money we ‘d saved for this stuff on vets fees! Don’t get me wrong, we had insurance but there were certain things they just didn’t pay out on and so suddenly our money starting disappearing to the point where we could no longer do the things we had planned.

Not long after we moved in, my sister asked us if we wanted her old garden table. At the time, I wasn’t sure whether we did but we said yes just in case. I am very glad that I said yes now as the glass table that came with the house broke and was dangerous, so we got rid and then we discovered we couldn’t buy new ones just yet. Said table has sat at the bottom of the garden for the last year and we decided to put it together and see if we could give it a makeover. It was my little project once the other half had nailed it all together – of course, after that we found all the nuts and bolts that we had actually needed!

We’d been to Homebase and picked up varnish and already had an electric sander at home so we were all set.

This is the before photo!

I then took the electric sander to it which slowly transformed it!

  

Then it was time to varnish! I’d chosen mahogany for its darkness as it had quite a bit to hide. I started from the bottom up…

Then I moved onto the main table starting from the outside in…

And by the end of the first coat, I looked like this…

I then let it dry, cooked and ate a shepherd’s pie and went back out with a very full belly to do the second coat!

And the finished product…

And while I was busy doing this, the other half was Brillo padding the chairs that had also been left behind. They definitely look better than they did and we now have a (slightly mismatched) garden set that we can make do with throughout the summer until we can buy a new one.

Sometimes you just have to make do with what you have and I’ve enjoyed my first little upcycle project

I wonder what could be next?!

Have you had any fun upcycling projects?

We all know that there has been an unexpected outcome in the election today and the news, Facebook, Twitter and every other social media channel has been overtaken with various opinions, shell-shock and a heck of a lot of negativity around the country. Unfortunately, this news has come on a hideously important day that is now being overshadowed by a bunch of morons (because truly, no matter who you support and whether they won or not, there is no denying that they are al just a bunch of twerps acting like school children).

Today is VE Day, marking 70 years since the end of the second world war in Europe. There is no doubt that the majority of you reading this would have had grandparents or even parents who fought or were evacuated in the war. The war began in 1939 and lasted until 1945 and involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. There were an estimated 50 to 85 million fatalities from a variety of means including bombings, nuclear weapons and of course the Holocaust. There are a lot of things taking place in the coming days in commemoration of this day and we were fortunate at the weekend to have one taking place in our area.

The Royal Gunpowder Mills were in operation for 300 years and yep, you guessed it, is where gunpowder was made. It closed it’s doors in gunpowder making in July 1945 however it still remains there now, with some of the original building in tact. It is an extraordinary space, full of important history and sadly, is in threat of closing it’s doors for good. It is run mostly by volunteers and for some reason just doesn’t get the crowds that it should. That was until this weekend. If every weekend could be like the one just gone, it would be a triumphant success.

We went along on Bank Holiday Monday to experience a little bit of history. The VE celebrations were in full swing all weekend and everything was set up as if it was the 1940’s.

There was a 1940’s band with 1940’s dancing.

There were 1940’s stalls displaying and selling old wartime badges, medals and war equipment.

There were wartime trucks with soldiers at the wheel. On the usual truck ride that you can always get from one side to the other (it’s a big place) – there was a man at the back guarding the ‘prisoners’ with a gun!

  

  

There were soldiers with guns everywhere. Soldiers hiding in camouflage, being spotted and having a to do!

One of the coolest parts of the afternoon was a spitfire show. Yep, said spitfire was doing loop the loops, flying low, whizzing around. It was a fantastic display and my aeroplane fan of a son loved it!

And then, there was a re-enactment of Operation Varsity when British and American troops fought side by side for the first and only time. This…this was amazing. There were hundreds of re-enactors taking part. It was set withint the forest section of the Mills, there was gun fighting, simulated grenades (they had loud bangs!), pretend fisty cuffs, just an all out war in front of our eyes. And it isn’t until you see something like that, that enables you to imagine a little of how terrifying it must have been in World War 2.

Here’s a little video clip of the re-enactment.

The day was fantastic and we have since found out that there were almost 2000 people there on the day we were. We have never seen it so busy, have never had to queue to get into the car park and it was just wonderful. Of course, Zach had a fab time and his confident little self wasn’t scared of a bunch of men with guns!

  

  

I so hope that this place doesn’t end up closing down. It would be a travesty if this important part of history disappeared. And they even have a miniature railway that Zach adores!! 

 

If you are interested in joining in with any of the VE day celebrations this weekend, I found this website which has lots of information. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/victory-in-europe-ve-day-celebrations

Let us remember and focus this time on the millions and millions of people who lost their lives. Not on which colour party is running the country.

There’s always lots of posts doing the rounds where you get tagged by a fellow blogger and requested to join in. One brilliant one that is spreading at the moment is the A-Z of me. A gorgeous post in which, you guessed it, we match the letter of the alphabet to a fact about us. I’ve been tagged by the lovely Louise at Little Hearts Big Love, Stacey at Mums Blind Love and Helen at All the Beautiful Things. Thank you to the three of you for this nomination.

A is for Arachnophobe. Yes, you guessed it, I HATE spiders!

B is for blogging. My other half would say it has taken over my life, but I adore it and it has brought so many fantastic opportunities so I cannot complain!

C is for Connor. My 12 year old nephew who taught me how to be a mum. Don’t get me wrong, my sister was around full time for him, but I was around a lot of the time too and he was the first regular experience I had of looking after a young child. I wouldn’t have known how to change a nappy if it wasn’t for his pooey bum!

D is for Dean. My other half. My beloved. The father of my child! I couldn’t have asked for a better half.

E is for eczema. Something we have had to deal with on Zach since he was a baby. Sadly he got mummy and daddy’s dodgy skin and we have had periods where it has flared up real bad and periods like now where we thankfully have it under control.

F is for Film, tv and radio studies. The subject my degree is in!

G is for gardening. Something I thought I hated until I got my own house with a garden! Suddenly I’m all green fingered!

H is for home. It is where I love the most. We’ve only been in our own house for a year now (I wrote about it here) and it is where I am most happy. At home, with the two men in my life.

I is for Institute of Physics, which is where I worked for ten years before leaving last year. It was my first ‘real’ job and I am still thankful for everything they taught me. I always knew it would be hard to leave and there are days when I do actually miss it (or I should say, the people I used to work with).

J is for Jumanji. One of my all time favourite films!

L is for laser eye surgery. I had it done 4 years ago!

M is for mum. Not me but mine, What she does for us is incredible and I don’t thank her enough. If it wasn’t for her looking after Zach for us three days a week, we would never have been able to get the mortgage for our house as our nursery fees would have put the banks right off! Thanks mum

N is for nuisance. Which is what I was when I was younger! I wasn’t the easiest child for my parents…often called a bull in a china shop, and also for my sister who I annoyed hugely on a frequent basis!

O is for Olympics. We managed to bag some tickets to the Olympics when they were held here in 2012. At the time, we lived ten minutes from the Olympic stadium so I think it was only fair that we managed to get tickets. We went to the showjumping and saw Team GB (including Zara Phillips), get their medals. I was also 7 months pregnant at the time and our seats were way up high in the stands. The stairs were really steep and of course I needed to pee frequently. Every time I went back to my seat, I had to stop for a rest half way up!

  
P is for Piano. The musical instrument I have always dreamed of playing, even though I am pants when it comes to playing music. I am often jealous of my nephew who at 12 is an amazing piano player!

Q is for Queen. The band. I recently remembered how blinkin awesome they were and are probably my all time faves!

R is for reading. I love reading and the only good thing about working is that I have to commute and therefore I get time to do it!

S is for Scorpio, my starsign. I am the fiercest, most possessive, jealous sexy lady ever (pahaha). I am right at the start of the Scorpio timeframe though which means I am also slightly Libran…very indecisive!

T is for theatre. I love the theatre and even though I don’t get to go very much (if at all), I just love it. Phantom of the Opera is my absolutely favourite, closely followed by Wicked.

U is for unpaid. I used to volunteer at a riding school for the disabled. Every Sunday I would get up at 7am to go and help muck out, groom and assist on lessons. I did get to ride the horses which was amazing as I love horse riding (how chuffing expensive is it?!) The only reason I stopped was because I fell pregnant and I sadly don’t have the time to go back. My weekends are filled with spending time with the toddler that I hardly get to see during the week. I do so miss my William though.

V is for viola. I played this when I was younger. They didn’t have any more spaces to play the violin so a viola it was!

W is for working mum, which is what I am. I work five full days a week as an event manager. It’s a pretty cool job but I hate being away from my boy so much.

X is for xylophone. I learnt to play the frog song (by Paul McCartney) on the xylophone back when I was little and we were doing a school performance. I can still play it to this day and it’s one of the only songs I can actually play on the piano (it is soooo easy!).

Y is for YMCA. My sister and I used to go to the YMCA holiday camps when we were younger. They were amazing and I have fond memories of the times we spent there.

Z is for Zachary, my gorgeous son. He is my world and I’m so glad he has that name as I have no idea what Z would have been for otherwise!

And that is me! I hope you’ve enjoyed and feel like you know me a little better!

I now tag The Twinkle Diaries, Mrs H’s Favourite Things and Lupin Girl if you’d like to join in/haven’t already taken part!

Zach makes me laugh so much now. He’s a complete chatterbox and sometimes there are moments that are just hilarious. Most funny conversations happen in the car and generally, by the time I’ve got to wherever we are going (usually home), I’ve forgotten what it was that he said that made me laugh so much. It’s like I need a dictaphone switched on continuously to catch everything so I can then write it all down.

Yesterday I managed to remember because it was truly impossible to forget. I picked him up from nursery, and like the rest of the UK at the moment, we have the strong winds. Trying to calmly wait for him to get into his car seat (his new thing that he just has to do by himself but that takes at least five minutes of faffing around before he actually sits on his bum to be strapped in), I asked him to hurry up a bit as I was getting blown around and was cold. Once in the car and driving, the following conversation took place…

Zach: It’s windy isn’t it mummy?

Me: Yes it is, it’s very windy.

Zach: My hat would blow off, over the fence!

Me: (laughs) Yes I guess it would if you had it on – you’d have to hold it tight onto your head.

Zach: Yeah I would. Want my hat mummy.

Me: What now?  You want your hat on in the car?

Zach: Yes please mummy

As his hat was sitting in his bag on the seat next to me and I was sat in stationary traffic, I unzipped his bag and gave him his hat.

Zach: (after a few seconds of trying) Can’t get it on mummy!

Me: Would you like me to put it on for you?

Zach: Yes please.

Still sitting in stationary traffic, I put the handbrake on and lent round to put his hat on.

He then sat there for the rest of the journey with it on while repeatedly telling me that the wind would blow it over the fence if he didn’t keep it on tightly! He was absolutely adamant that this would happen and I don’t know where he got the blowing over the fence part from but it was just making me giggle!

When we arrived home, he asked me to hold it for him so that it didn’t blow off of his head.

Indoors, I then asked him if he wanted something to eat. Sometimes we buy pancakes, you know the little ones in the supermarket that taste like syrup? I offered him a scone & jam, spaghetti on toast or a sandwich and he said that he wanted a pancake which wasn’t an option as we didn’t have any. When I explained this to him, his response was:

Want a pancake mummy, we’ll have to go and buy some! 

Oh I did giggle!

Finally, there was a slight disaster. I’d popped some milk in his cup and put it on the coffee table for him. He wanted it on the floor and I said no because I just knew he’d spill it. Of course he ignored me and he put the coaster on the floor then put his milk on it. Before I could even say Zach I said no, he’d taken one step and yep you can guess what happened…

I guess they always say don’t cry over spilt milk!

I quickly cleaned it up, wiped the floor with a few baby wipes and told him not to walk on that bit as it was slippery. For the next few minutes he wandered around saying…

Mustn’t walk on that bit cause it’s slippery! 

Then he decided he wanted a cuddle so came and sat with me.

It was just one of those evenings where I had one very happy boy who was showing me how big and grown up he is with his speech and his memory and his knowledge. I was having a chat on Twitter yesterday and a few of us were mentioning just how quickly they grow up and it’s so true. We were watching him this weekend just gone with a new pair of eyes. He’s so tall now, he understands so much and he is so good at communicating that there is hardly ever a time that I don’t understand what he’s saying. And if he is struggling to get a word out, if he knows in his head what he is trying to say, but he just cannot find the right word in his little vocabulary, he says to me disappointingly…

Oh, I don’t know the word mummy. 

And between us we figure it out. And it’s one of those moments that just makes my heart explode with love.

Today has been an emotional kind of day. I woke up to the news that the royal baby was on its way. I followed the news throughout the day, was overjoyed to hear that their precious daughter had been born and watched with delight when they left the hospital. I am not a royalist; I just love good old baby news and I just remember becoming a mum being the most wonderful feeling and so I love to think of people experiencing those feelings. Such happy baby news.

And then?

Then on the flip side there was the absolutely devastating news about Rio Ferdinand’s wife Rebecca passing away at the horrendously young age of 35, leaving behind three darling children.

And I cried. I shed a tear because it is among every parents worst fears to not be around to watch your children grow up. It has been my second biggest fear since giving birth to my boy, only overshadowed by the possibility of something happening to him.

I worry about it more than I should. I have horrible thoughts of something terrible happening to me and of him crying at night like he does now, only wanting his mummy. Thoughts of him not remembering who I am. Thoughts of me not seeing the man he grows into. It is a haunting, haunting thought.

I know a lot of people who lost their mum’s at terribly young ages and in these past couple of years, I have seen this disease bravely beaten by people I know, one a year older than me and one a year younger.

I watched this awful disease take Jade Goody away from her boys. But back then, whilst I felt sad that such a horrible thing had happened to a young mother, I didn’t cry. Because at that time, I couldn’t put myself in her position. But now I can. And Rebecca was just a couple of years older than me. It hits home a heck of a lot more now than it ever did before. Because as parents we have everything to live for. We have parents evenings to attend. School plays, football matches, dance classes – you name it, we are there to enjoy them and suddenly – just like that, there is one person missing. And it is just so sad.

And I know it happens every day. I am well aware that along with Rebecca, there are many other parents out there that this is happening to. Heck, right now, one of my wonderful blogging friends is dealing with the fact that her darling husband and father to her two very young children, has terminal cancer. And yes, every one of her posts about it make me sob.

Life is just so unfair. Cancer is just simply the most evil. And even though I didn’t know Rebecca; even though the news came in early this morning, I still tonight feel so terribly sad for her family, her beautiful children who have just lost their precious mum.

And all I could do today is make sure that I got lots of hugs and kisses from my boy. And all I can do in the future is pray that I am around to watch him grow up.

That is all we parents can do.