Bonjour!

Well well well ... good evening folks.  How we doing?  Good I hope!  Long time no chat hey ... Must be at least 5 - 6 weeks.  Soooooo, what's been happening?

Ruby turned 1 - to which we celebrated with a few close family & friends - fab time had by all!  The highlight was her cake - check this out!  A big thanks again to our pal Helen at Aardvark Cakes - it was superb!

So what else have we been up to?  The usual play centres, parks, pals houses etc ... in fact we go somewhere or do something every day ..... The new one at the moment from Sally is her shouting at the top of her voice "Mummy is that a man or a lady?" - funny right, but rather embarrasing when she is shouting it at the top of her voice from the back seat of the car, to the dude behind the counter/window at the McDonalds drive thru!

The countdown is still on and is becoming more and more real ........ only 13 more sleeps until our holidays now!  Whoohoooo, but my god so much to do .... the usual wash, iron, pack and sort the kids comes into play - as well as me having the pleasure of "trying on my summer gear" ... don't you just HATE that task!  I do, as nothing ever looks / feels right .... best get my ass into gear really!  Oh I also need to lose that stone or 2 that keeps hovering about!?

Anyway, let me tell you about the MADDEST thing I've heard in a while ..... long story short I was telling a couple of mum's the other day that I'd done a load of washing and I'd accidently washed a pull up at the same time .... As you can imagine what a bloody mess.  My friend then told me that she'd heard of somebody who washes baby wipes and reuses them!  I kid you not this is the truth - as the lady who does this came forward on twitter and admitted to it ............. I'm speechless to say the least and surely there's no wipe left once it's been washed!?

On a more serious note, Parents 2 Bee are doing really well with the sales of our natural products at Harefield Water Gardens ...... We are thrilled and as a thank you we took Sandra (the owner) a lovely house plant.  Only when I'd reflected on my day that night, I did wonder 'is taking a plant to the lady who owns a garden centre a wierd thing to do???!'  .... I guess it's like taking sand to the dessert really!  Anyway moving on .......................

The sun has been here!  At last and how fabulous!  The sun makes eveything feel / seem sooooo much better.  I really do hope this is the start of our summer - as the rain is just yack.  However, today was particularly miserable with us having RAIN all day - but hopefully tomoz is gonna be a scorcher ..... it best had be, as we have a little 'shin dig' planned to celebrate the Jubilee - in a nutshell, booze & BBQ on the front with some neighbours  - beltin!  Sally is so excited as she just LOVES playing out with all the kids in our road.

Talking of Sally let me give you an insight into some of her latest questions ............  Brace yourselves!

• What flavour are mints?
• Does Winnie the pooh have any brothers or sisters?
• How did you get Ruby out of your tummy?  And did she bang her head?
• Do walkers crisps walk?

The list goes on - these are just some of my favourites!  I'm sure you all have some questions like this from your little people - please feel free to share them with us.

In the meantime, get your teeth, fingers, eyes and toes crossed that we get some good weather and keep your eyes peeled for Parents 2 Bee, as the time of year is here where we'll be at lots of school gala's and local craft events.

Enjoy the loooooooong bank holiday ............. be rude not to really!  

Until next time :))

"Thank You Shop Keeper" .......

Well hello and welcome back!  So much has been happening I have only just found time to type!  I guess you are wondering about the title of "Thank you shop keeper" aren't you?  Well let me tell you this is what Sally now thinks I am - I think she honestly thinks I am a shop keeper!  If I give her a drink she says "Thank you shop keeper" - in fact whatever I give her she says it!  How very bizarre!

So you'll recall from last time that when we signed off we were just off to make our Easter Bonnet .... In summary, it was OK .... not brilliant & not dreadful .... Probably used too much glue - but Sally didn't get high from it, so all in all I guess it went OK!

Easter was fun & action packed with friends & family ...... Highlight for the kids was receiving an abundance of chocolate.  Highlight for us proud parents was that Sally gave her dummies to the 'pesky Easter bunny' ..... Something we dreaded - but a week in and we are doing GREAT!  The first few nights she cried for them, now she's forgotten all about them - Horaaay!  I tried to relate to it in terms of giving up smoking ... as for those who have smoked will know that giving up is HARD .... I stopped 4 years ago - only cos I was prego!  Never gone back to it though!  I've often thought about it though ... in fact I craved it dreadfully when I had given birth to Ruby - Bizarre!

The absolute NIGHTMARE of the Easter Hols was that Sally got her head caught in the railings of a wrought iron gate!  We can laugh now, but my god it was HIDEOUS at the time!  She was playing in her pal Alfie's garden and they were pretending to be cats!  As Alfie's cat walked through the bars of the gate and they thought they'd try it too!  Alfie got through and Sally got stuck!  Thankfully Mark found some inner strength, turned himself into David Bannerman (aka Incredible Hulk) and pulled the bars apart and her head popped out!  I can safely say that this has been my biggest parental nightmare to date .... Anybody willing to share one of theirs?

Anyway ................ As we mooch into Spring and the weather is now getting colder!  We are starting on 'house hold projects' ... The key ones are:

• decluttering (Everything and Anything!)
• sorting garden, and
• Making sure that Mr Heron doesn't return to our pond EVER!

Our pond is now 6 years old and for some reason 'Mr Heron' has decided he rather quite likes coming to pay us a visit.  Thankfully Mark has now changed is tactic from shouting "FFS Heron just F**k off" to "Get out of it!" ... How much is that 'Dad language'!   Only today we spied him twice - so the mission of the week is to 'get rid' .... Please send all suggestions on a Post Card!  I'll keep you posted!

Parents 2 Bee are now entering into their 5th month of life - impressed?  I am - as let me tell you juggling 2 small kids, sorting general day to day house stuff & having some form of grown up life is a MAJOR achievement!  Thanks to all who are recommending us - it really is very much appreciated.   It seems to date that the most popular items are:

                           Newborn Hamper

              Natural Products 'Mummy Gift Pack'

Keep up with the good work of spreading the word folks and remember to tell people about our website too www.parents2bee.com

Can't believe I have got this far and haven't told you that Ruby is now crawling!  Horaaay and brill - but my god I am demented!  I spend my day saying "NO" to nearly everything Sally does, whilst watching Ruby and dragging her our from under the table, off the dog bowl, out of the cupboard!  It really is madness!  I've often thought about recording a "day in my life" so I can watch it back and see  what actually goes on, as everything seems to bloody well merge into one!

Before I sign off can I just bore you with how happy our house is that Liverpool have got through to the FA Cup final - it's just the best!  Hopefully Mark will get a ticket from somewhere and go - I hope he does as he's never been to one before.  Anybody else out there cheering for the reds? (Liverpool that is!)  If not, please think of us on the 5th May and cheer us on ... No doubt "chav cafe" will have the flags flying!

Finally for all those who are about to welcome a new arrival in the next few weeks or so - good luck!  Cherish EVERYTHING about it - even the pain!  We're 3 weeks away from celebrating our youngest daughters 1st birthday - I just don't know where that year has gone - I honestly don't.  I guess now is the time to reflect upon the last few weeks of my pregnancy with her and her arrival into our world - makes me smile thinking about it & gives me lots of happy tears...............  Until next time folks :))

Ps.  Thank you for reading shop keepers!

Dear NEXT ......

Please could you show 'real' sized woman in your catalogue - especially in the swimwear section!  Yes the time is here and I am now picking swimwear for holidays.  11 weeks on Saturday until we go to sunny Portugal - so as I type I am now on day 7 of being "good" .... not doing great, as so far have had several huge ice creams in the park with the kids & I'd swallowed a whole piece of toast with butter at a toddler group, then remembered I'm being "good"!  Oh and we had a curry last night!! Hopefully next week will be better - as after all anything goes at the weekend right?

Funniest thing I've heard in a while was last week - when Sally was looking at the fish tank and said "mummy, why isn't that fish drinking his water up, why mummy?" ..... I thought it was hilarious!  Not quite as funny as when I caught her sticking a bread stick into Ruby's ear as a substitute cotton bud!   Other classic questions this week have been:

• What makes us shattered mummy?
• What makes us hungry mummy?
• How do planes stop?

I constantly find myself talking rubbish as I attempt to answer!!  I am sure it makes some sense though!!

I am sure you'll all agree that the change in weather is just superb!  What a HUGE difference it makes being able to be outside all the time - loving it.  I like it when you spend more of your day outside, than inside ..... Even better that the clocks have changed this weekend too - horaaaay!!

We had our first 'Sunny BBQ' of the year today and what a nice time was had by all.  Rubes hung out in her high chair squealing with delight at anything & everything, whilst Sally trolled around in her usual knickers & crocs watering the plants ................. you gotta love it!

Yesterday saw the grand opening of 'chav cafe' - in a nutshell - me and a few neighbours sit out front with the kids, some wine and our deck chairs!  It's been going  for a few years now - we know that it's so god damn chavvy to sit out front, so that's why we named it 'chav cafe' .... let me tell you though, we've had many a good conversation out there!  Some that aren't for repeating either!  What have you guys done to celebrate the arrival of the sunshine this weekend?

Parents 2 Bee continues to generate lots of questions from new mums & I am gaining new followers every day - so don't forget to think of us when your picking gifts for mums & dads 2 bee .... Everybody loves something unique!


So what does the week ahead have in store for us?

• fun in the sun
• ice creams (kids only!)
• questions galore from soon to be 3 year old
• parks, playgrounds and more

The BIG event of the week is the Easter Bonnet parade on Tuesday at toddlers!  We have our equipment to make it - so just need to make it now ................... I'm feeling that this is somewhat of a HUGE parental task - so best get crackin'.

Enjoy the sunshine and be safe ............ cheerio!

Araf!

For those who have travelled to Wales, you will know that 'Araf' means 'slow' and is written on the floor of roads as you approach every bend going.  Still to this day though I feel the urge to shout out 'Araf' when I see it on the floor ..... must be some form of tourettes - I do hope not!

Anyway, hello from Anglesey!  Yes here we are on day 3 of our week away.  So far so good - the house is mega, the weather is great and it's a new adventure for everyone!  Sally is LOVING it and her new word of the moment is 'orchard' .... "Mummy shall we go to the orchard?" ...."Mummy I've been to the orchard with daddy" .... So funny to listen to her and most importantly watch her mooching about the orchard in her knickers & wellies - you didn't think coming away would change her fashion sense did you??!

The build up to coming away was immense - wash, iron, pack .....wash, iron, pack .... for what seemed like days!  So much so that I may start packing for our next jolly in June when we get home!  We also had a little trip to the drs for both girls: tonsillitis for Sally & a viral infection for Rubes.  For those of you with young kids, does it not just drive you insane when the GP says 'viral infection' - honestly it drives me nuts.  Thankfully though they are alot better now and seem thrilled to be on holiday with mummy, daddy and Harry the dog!  Harry who actually turned 6 yesterday!

If you've been reading previous posts you will probably know by now that I'm quite into music - always have been to be honest.  Yesterday I heard a song I haven't heard in years "Mary's Prayer by Danny Wilson" - guilty pleasure or what - love it!  Go and you tube it now - you know you want to!  I've also heard a couple of Michael Jackson songs recently too and just can't believe that he is actually dead.  He was such a HUGE icon when I was growing up - such a shame and what big news that was.

Talking of BIG news, Parents 2 Bee are thrilled to tell you that our 'Natural Products' are now on sale at Harefield Water Gardens http://harefieldwatergardens.com/ - the finest 'Water Gardening Specialists' in the North West - as well as being the home to 'Experience Alpaca' - http://experiencealpaca.co.uk/ - check out their sites & take a visit to see their fabulous range of 'luxury hand knitted alpaca accessories' - they really are sensational and our Parents 2 Bee 'natural products' compliment them perfectly.

So as we zoom into March I can honestly say that I am now feeling somewhat excited at the prospect of lighter nights, spring / summer and of course being outside alot more.  Only yesterday I saw a little old lady walking along the roadside picking some daffodils - it made me smile and think 'how nice - what a lovely thing to do'.  We are very much an 'outdoors' family - in fact before we had kids, our pals would always come over for dinner and bring their coats / fleeces as they knew we'd end up outside by the pond with the fire on!  The outdoor life is something I definitely want for Sally & Rubes, as I grew up on a farm and loved it!  How many of you guys like the outdoor life?

Did I tell you that we are horse racing fans?  Well we are ..... So with Cheltenham starting tomorrow for 4 days we're thrilled!  So please feel free to send me your top tips!  Who know's if we play our cards right we could be millionaires this time next week?!

Moving on to more important things who do we think killed Frank in corrie??  At first I thought it was his mum (still not sure to be honest) ... now I think it's that Jenny or Michelle .... Sad I know and I should get out more, but with 2 kids under 3 nights out are very few & far between these days.

On that note I will leave you with a couple of bizarre facts that I have stumbled across recently:

• 'stewardess' is the longest word that can be typed with only the left hand
• 40% of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals
• A crocodile cannot stick it's tongue out
• A horse can sleep standing up

Please feel free to share your 'bizarre facts' too!  That's all folks - have a great week!

What happened to February 2012?

You might well ask yourself the same question right?  Where the hell has February gone to?  It's as if somebody has flicked a switch, fast forwarded 3.5 weeks and here we are about to enter March 2012 - I just can't believe it.

So what's been happening?  On the home front, all is well - the girls are thriving, if somewhat challenging as well .... Sally's latest is to 'wallop' Rubes has hard as she can!  You might well laugh, but my goodness me, poor Rubes is getting plotched left, right and centre.  Hence, they can not be left out of my sight for a second these days - I even have to drag Sally to the toilet with me!  Anybody else in this boat?  I keep telling Sally that Ruby will get her own back one day!

I also think we are in the midst of the 'terrible 2's' - if we aint, well god help my patience (what's left of it!) if it hasn't arrived yet!  Here is a snap shot of my daily vocab:

• Don't do that
• Get off there
• Leave her alone
• Stop it
• I am warning you
• Right behave
• Why have you done that
• Say sorry
• That is not acceptable behaviour

You get the idea?  The most frustrating part is the fact that you have to say these things at least 50 times or more .... That is not an exaggeration!

The funniest part of it is Sally now says "Mummy is this acceptable behaviour?" .... I had to go out of the room to LOL before I answered her!

Only today at the weekly 'mummy club' meet up did we all say how our 'beautiful precious babies' have turned into 'monsters!' .... we laughed about it though and for anyone wondering about 'Sambuca Liz' - she said she is running low on supplies and reckons there's only a few swings left!

A few swigs hey - wish that is all I'd had the other week at one of the neighbours parties .... A 1st birthday party might I add.  It was one of those parties where the host & hostess are 'top admin dudes' - by that I mean 'your glass isn't empty before it's topped up again' ............ Great afternoon had by all - so much so Sally & Rubes practically put themselves to bed when we got home!

We are currently revving up for Mothers Day at Parents 2 Bee ..... seems the Natural products are proving to be a BIG hit and the feedback I am getting is really positive - so if you haven't spoilt your mummy yet, why not buy her a little moisturiser, body scrub or facial wash, as part of her gift.

 Mummy Body Scrub - £5.75              Mummy Papaya Facial Wash - £6.50                                            

Mummy Moisturiser - £5.25

As always this is just a snap shot of some of the great gift ideas we have.  Check out our website for all the latest & greatest www.parents2bee.com

HUGE disaster of the moment is my car - In a nutshell it's 'very poorly'.  Long story short it has been at the garage since Wed and I am still to hear when it is back.  The downside was I didn't have a loan car until Friday night, so that meant I was house bound with the sprats for 3 full days!!  Arrrrgggggh! .. we survived though.

The upside however, is that on Friday night the garage very kindly came up with a loan car for me.  Here's how the conversation went:

Garage to Me: "Hi Kate, just pop down when you can, we've put a nice 4 door family car to one side for you - it'll be perfect for you"

Me to Garage: "Brilliant - I'll get there as soon as my mum & dad get here, as they are looking after the kids"

Everything seems straight forward right?  I then get to the garage:

Garage to Me:  That's yours over there - is that OK?

Me to Garage:  "Errrrrr yes that's fine .... For those who know me well - you will understand when I said it was fine - I was lying!!"  I am now driving around in what can only be described as a 'pizza delivery car' ..... admittedly it gets me from A to B and I am no longer house bound - but on a serious note it is hideousness on wheels ............................

Fingers crossed my car will be back with me ASAP!

Holiday countdown is on - 2 weeks until Anglesey - can't wait!  Trying to get as many holidays in as we can before we are tied to school holidays - boo hoo or what!  It's just so expensive.  I am sure there are alot of you out there who are tied to them already ...... Do / Would you take your kids out of school to go on a cheaper holiday?   I would - whether I'd get them out is another thing though, as I believe it's becoming impossible to do.

My Uni pal finally had her baby - a baby girl, Claudia Rose, she weighed 10lb 8oz and I am dying to hear if she had her naturally or not.  When I found out the news I crossed my legs immediately and pulled aN 'ouch' face.

Tablet Pete (aka my Dad) is back on his travels in Tenerife this time ......... Seems he is doing really well with his 'tablet' and has connected to a local wifi - we've already received 2 emails this week (they only went on Saturday!)

Anyway, suppose I best mooch now as 'stuff' to do - isn't there just always 'stuff' to do!  I wonder what it would be like if there was never anything to do ............... hmmmmm one can wonder - that's all folks!

Happy Valentines!

"Abracadabra!" "Izzy wizzy lets get bizzy!" ... no matter how many magic spells I attempt to cast the ironing still stays there!  Cor don't you just HATE ironing!  It's one of those thankless tasks in life - a little like changing the toilet roll, emptying the bin - It's a chore!

Okay my number 1 pet hate this week is 'people parking in parent / child spaces who don't have kids in their car' ..... this drives me crazy!!  I feel like yelling out of the window "Oi where's your kids?" .. But I don't .... I just drive very slowly and stare at them!  Does this drive anybody else crazy? 

It dawned on me over the last few days that looking after 2 children on a daily basis, makes looking after 1 child seem like a piece of cake (and I thought that was hard at times!) ... Good grief, talk about challenging ... Sally is like an Olympic athlete and runs everywhere at 100mph - this includes everywhere in the house as well!  Whilst Rubes is now just over 9 months and wants to stand ALL day long ... she'll be walking before we know it - I can just tell.  We're in trouble then aren't we??!  I keep thinking about them both walking and think "OMG how an earth will I control you both!" ... All fun & games right?  Or in the words of Miranda (my favourite comedian EVER) - such fun!!

An example of this weeks battles have been:

• Shoes on / shoes off
• clothes on / clothes off
• brushing teeth
• brushing hair (Sally HATES this) - she often looks like Wurzel Gummidge!
• Car seat
• Drying hair
• Eating food

The list goes on ................ It's just a 'phase' apparently!  Bloody 'phase' what a stupid word!

We're still addicted to OBEM and have now got into 'Protecting our children' - my goodness me - it plays on my mind so much it's untrue.  It makes me LOVE mine even more - something I didn't think was possible.

Thinking about Mothers Day at the moment and gifts that us at Parents 2 Bee can offer - here's a little taster of some beautiful gifts for all those mummies out there:

I love Mummy photo frame - £6.99

Complete 'mummy gift pack' - natural products - £19.50

Both items can be bought online at www.parents2bee.com - there are lots of other items to look at too!  That reminds me all the natural product samples have been sent out now, so remember to check out our facebook page to read customer comments / reviews - so far so good - we like!!
Sally has continues to constantly strip off and just mooches about the house in over sized shoes and underwear ... how funny.  Something happened the other day and I said "oh what a rubbish mummy I am" She said "yes you are"  "You need a new head, new eyes, new nose and new tummy!" - I howled!  Not as much as I laughed when she said to me and her daddy the other night "Bye Bye people!" - How funny is that at all!

HUGE faux pas this week - I went to an indoor play area and had a hole in my sock - the SHAME!  I instantly tried to scooch my sock around once I'd spotted it and immediately put the socks in the bin when I got home - as I could just imagine people saying "look how scummy she is over there" .. As I know I'd have said it!

Feeling very thrilled at the thought that Ruby is just over 9 months, so under normal circumstances - i..e if I had a job, I would be coming to the end of my mat leave now.  I can honestly say I am delighted that I am indeed a stay at home mum - which allows me to enjoy her more and more .... lovely.

Date night this Saturday with other half - what an earth will we talk about?!  I am sure we'll be just fine - I just keep thinking how nice it will be to eat a meal a) that is hot for the duration, b) is served to me and c) doesn't have the waft of baby sick looming over it!

Happy Valentines folks - Hope you have fun celebrating!

Kids 'v' OCD .............

This week I have mostly been buying 'plastic storage tubs' .... for all those toys that just keep getting lashed all over the house!  My goodness me .... Kids 'v' OCD .... I honestly don't think I need to go there!!  It simply puts me over the edge!  Least when the toys are in a plastic box it's not as messy!


Sally excelled at swimming this week - really loved it, jumped in off the float and generally liked it a whole load more than last week.  So from now on we say "bring it on to swimming" .... in fact I'm really looking forward to taking her again this week.

We've briefly touched on OCD right?  Can I ask you 'has your car turned into a skip since having kids?' .... I have cr*p EVERYWHERE!!  So this week I thought 'enough is enough' and even the inside of the car has a bloody plastic storage box in it now - 2 in fact!  One for each of the them!  I was amazed at a) how instantly tidy it now looks and b) how much cr*p there actually was!

A friend of mine renamed toddlers to oddlers a few months back - how apt hey!  Don't toddlers, aka oddlers do the most bizarre things?  Sally has become obsessed with mooching around the house in knicks, vest & wellies!  A bit young for the Glasto look you maybe thinking ....however, it keeps her happy - so that's a BIG thumbs up in my book.

She has also taken to saying "that's a nice car mummy" to every car we drive past!  She really is hilarious!  I feel like I've gone deaf when she starts nursery in September.  Yikes!

The big wait is over now and I am DELIGHTED to show off my natural products for Parents 2 Bee ... Here is a clip of the Mummy and Baby Gift packs ... They are on sale at www.parents2bee.com and I guarantee you wont be disappointed!

Mummy Gift Pack



Baby Gift Pack

All natural products can be bought in ones as well - in fact you can buy as many or as little as you like! 

You know you hear old wives tales all the time?  Well a couple of weeks ago somebody told me that if you rub Vick's onto your child's feet, then they wont cough at night.  Yeah right hey?  Anyway, I tried it and let me tell you IT WORKED!!! I have no idea how it worked - but it did.  Sally had been coughing dreadfully all day - for a few days in fact - so I put the Vick's on and not one cough all night!  Has anybody else tried this?  If not, do it!

Ruby has now come into her own and is sleeping for 12 hours a night!  Whooohooooo - we have finally turned the corner!  Wish the same could be said for Sally though .. To be fair she does sleep for 12 hours - however, tends to wake a couple of times in the night for NOTHING!  Admittedly it has got better - she woke alot more when Rubes first arrived - so we are now showing her the 'gro clock' .. in summary, kip when the stars are on - wake when the sun comes up .... SIMPLES hey!  Will somebody please come and tell Sally that the idea is not for Mummy to come and watch the sunrise with her!!

Sunrises hey ... One of my favourite things, that along with sunsets & waterfalls.  How peaceful.  Ahhhh reminds me of the year out I had mooching about Australia & South East Asia in 98/99.  The only places I mooch about these days are in washing machines, play groups, play centres and nappies!  All good though.  I'm defo going to encourage my kids to explore the world - A like Dora the Explorer!

Time is ticking and I really need to do 'stuff' ... nothing precise or mission critical - just stuff that somehow seems to consume my whole day.

Arctic blast is on the way - so crank your heating up, get your supplies in and lets hope there is enough snow to have a bit of fun with our wee ones ...........That's all folks!