NEW SHOES

I like to buy Start*rite shoes for Alice - they're classic in style, plain and relatively robust, I don't like the sparkles and embroidery of the other leading UK brand. Unfortunately buying SR shoes means a 50 mile round trip to the shops in either Bristol or Cardiff - yes THAT'S how much I dislike the other brand. Luckily I discovered that I could buy a foot measure online and as I'm (amongst other things!) a qualified children's shoe fitter I knew that Alice needed new shoes.

(Boring stats for me to remember) Alice's left foot is larger, she was an 8 and a half F, now she's a 9 G!

So she now has new black patent Velcro (ugh) Mary Jane's, very plain and simple. I dread shoe shopping, we went to Cribbs Causeway (a regional shopping centre near Bristol), arrived earlish (for a Sunday) and went straight to get an appointment at JLP (45 minute wait, they'd only been open 15 minutes!) before going onto the shoe shop next door where we were the next to be served. I explained my picky preferences and we were presented with 3 choices, tried my favourites first and they fitted beautifully - I know not to push my luck so we bought them and were done within 15 minutes! Huge relief and nice shoes for Christmas!!

We then made the most of being at the shopping centre and bought the presents needed for 3 nursery friends with parties before Christmas, new furry boots for Alice (she's already got some 9s, but I bought the 10s as she's bound to need them fairly soon - she hasn't seemed to slow much in her growth despite supposing to slow after reaching 2!), tight and food from M&S and a dress, then we went for an early lunch (I thought we'd beat the crowds by eating early, I was wrong!) Then as I was walking back (Alice was in the pushchair) we went through JLP's children's department and we ended up with another new dress, jumper and goose top (and some gloves that she doesn't know about)! Alice was very good and fell in love with some fluffy ear muffs, which she's worn ever since!

All that and we were home by 2:30pm!

THERE'S A MESS IN THE KITCHEN

I've been so busy for the last 2 days that (as usual) the kitchen's been neglected and it's obvious, very obvious.

Yesterday - work and the general exhaustion that follows it.

Today - I dropped Alice off at the beginning of the drop-off time and went on to Coventry. Bought clothes and some Christmas presents, didn't manage to find ELC to use the birthday discount voucher (so ordered online when I got home!) I got back to Alice's school in plenty of time and sat and listened to the radio (it was nice to stop for a while). Home to usual post-nursery chaos, dirty uniform, lunch bag to sort, proper supper to provide (usually it's a snack after a proper lunch, but that reverses on nursery days), bedtime and then where did the evening go? Bejeweled Blitz's newest version!

2 STEPS FORWARD, BAREFOOT

2 Steps forward:

1. The bathroom basin has finally been replaced, £££, but worth it (you'll see!) The bathroom was refitted (huge overall, everything replaced and the layout dramatically changed) within a few months of Mum dying (it had been next on her 'to do' list too, but she had an equally dramatic but totally different change planned!!) The same company that did the bathroom also revamped the kitchen 18 months ago. The 'main man' from the kitchen revamp came out today to replace the basin (it had a major crack in it). It turns out that he's now self employed, he still does lots for the original company so he doesn't take on jobs that they would do.
2. He's going to sort out the leaking roof-light in the other bathroom, hurray!! It's been leaking for many years but now the plasterboards soggy too and it needs retifying before I redecorate in there - eventually (next year or sometime closer to Little Sis' referral) it will become Alice's bathroom.

Barefoot? We went to the capital in search of shoes for Alice but came home empty handed (or barefoot!)

EFFECTIVE DAY

Some days I get many things done, other days when I'm just as busy I don't get much achieved.

By 11am I'd taxed the car, driven to Alice's new nursery/school, paid this term's bill and bought a huge pile of uniform. By 1pm (a mere 2 hours later!) I'd got home, sewn in all the nametapes and cooked lunch!

I had a lovely catchup with a special friend this afternoon, but I didn't get much else done, well you can't expect too much in just one day!

WHEN DID SHE GET TO BE SOOOO GROWN UP? AGAIN!

This is a beautiful hand-me-down skirt from GDP! It's from B*den and I think it's lovely and that Alice looks great it in, but so grown up. I keep having to remind people that she's still only 2! Seeing her walking along at the station yesterday morning she could easily have been mistaken for a 4 or 5 year old.

WONDERING . . . WHEN . . .

Alice grew up . . . so fast . . . tonight I changed her for bed (she's still choosing her cot most nights and ending up with me sometimes!) I put her in a nightie (a recent change from PJs), when she DEMANDED, 'I want seahorsies!' and like a fool, I found the seahorse short PJs and changed her!

Has anyone told her that she's only 2?!

The other sign of growing up - loo roll everywhere but on the roll, she ADORES pulling the end sheet quickly and watching it pile up on the floor, recently she learning to reroll it and tonight I found it rerolled (not having seen it come off the roll!) Sounds daft but it will definitely be a defining moment of PT!

SMARTLY DRESSED

I had an appointment this morning and wanted to attend this afternoon's staff meeting, so when I got dressed this morning I chose more presentable clothes than I usually would for a Wednesday. I wore a newish white blouse with blue and navy flowers all over it, newish navy trousers and fairly new navy suede ballet shoes - I haven't had THAT many new clothes since Alice's been home, but when I've got newer clothes in my wardrobe they tend to get selected more often!

While I was dressing Alice was in the bathroom, so once I was dressed I walked towards her and asked her how I looked (which I do occasionally), her response was very astute and surprising, in a sad, small voice she said, 'Mummy going out!'

ALICE'S EASTER BONNET

At 9:30 this morning, on the way into A'g, I remembered that 30 minutes later and 20 minutes drive away (which was already part of the contingency plan) we were supposed to be at T*ick T*ock wearing Easter Bonnets (the bit I'd forgotten). I dashed into a card shop and picked up a bargain pale pink bonnet and some ribbon for £1.98!

The bonnet was pathetic (as I knew it would be) compared to the creations of the more organised mothers. Just as we were leaving the presenter remembered that we were supposed to go and visit the OAPs who attend a Day Centre in the same building. We went along willingly. The OAPs were delighted to see the children (the oldest was not yet 3!) Alice enjoyed saying, 'Happy Easter Lady!' It reminded me of my Granny.

When we got home I spent over an hour forming bows and sewing bows and eggs onto the bonnet - too late for the parade but at least Alice would have an Easter Bonnet! Alice found it half complete after her nap and she was delighted with it and much happier to wear it more decorated (though it still needed more).

Can you tell where this is going yet?

This evening Pudding found and partly demolished Alice's nearly lovely bonnet. I'm not sure Alice is destined to wear a pale pink Easter Bonnet this year!

19 DAYS . . . AND I CAN GO TO THE BALL, SORT OF!

My favourite dress shop closed last year. Me and my wardrobe have been at a loss ever since! I've been to several places but every shop has been a let down, til today! Today I went to Coventry - 100 miles, 2 hour drive, thank heavens for Sat Nav. I went to a shop that had sent me a mailshot 18 months ago. The owner was there alone today and she was great - chatty and friendly but also a good listener and very tolerant of all my quirks.

I'm not actually going to a ball, it's a wedding. I'd already decided that Alice would wear her Baptismal outfit again (i.e. Mummy's too stingy to buy another outfit!) I spent more on new accessories for Alice than the dress cost originally (it was a sale bargain!) But I was beginning to panic about what I would be wearing. In this new shop I actually had a choice of outfits that looked good, that felt appropriate and that I would wear again. So I now have an outfit for the wedding, I'm happy with it and it's in my favourite colour. The wedding is somewhere where I've never been and it's reported to be very breezy, 'The Day' will involve at least 2 boat trips and walking cobbled streets so the choice of attire is crucial. Now I've got the clothes 'sorted' I can begin to truly look forward to a very special day, hurray! (Can you tell I'm a stress-bucket?!)

AND THIS'S WHY THERE'S ALWAYS LAUNDRY!

TODAY'S PHOTO SESSION

I decided to make the most of today's lovely weather and try and take some photos of Alice and our home for my application to Thailand. T came over to try and take some of Alice and I together (we'd tried last Monday but I wasn't happy with the results), they didn't work out much better than last week's!

These are the photos that I like but aren't going to Thailand, some of the Thailand photos will be in a separate post!

(Alice's dress was one of yesterday's purchases from N*ext, age 4-5 but it is a bit baggy!)

DYDD GWYL DEWI SANT!

A fairly quiet day. Church and Sunday School - unlike nursery there were no tears but she did return running down the aisle shouting, 'Mummy!' repeatedly for ALL to hear!

Then we visited Nana-Next-Door to show her Alice's red Wales top (that's how Alice refers to it!) I bribed her into having her photo taken (by offering lunch!) This afternoon she woke grumpy so we watched S*hrek 3 and then played lots of games - Whose Nose? Snap! and Dominoes.

SHOES

Alice needed to have her feet measured again - she had them checked a month ago but hadn't grown. The urgency of shoes increased at the end of the week, when her black patent Mary Janes started to fall off as the V*elcro lost its stickiness.

Locally the only reasonable brand available tend to be fussy with lots of embroidery and icky colours - so it's a 40+ mile return journey to C*ardiff or B*ristol for shoe shopping. I'd heard a lot about one particular store in C*ardiff, so we set off to try them. It took 50 minutes to get there and park (C*ardiff's going through major retail change with my usual haunts and routes disappearing into rubble to be renovated, so I don't know my way round as it's changing all the time).

The trip was made out of necessity (shoes falling off all the time) but the timing (in the half term holidays) couldn't have been worse. Apparently we were lucky to only wait 45 minutes! Unfortunately Alice's feet hadn't grown (it would be easier to pay for new shoes if the old ones had also become too small!) I'm quite picky about what I want Alice to wear (no surprise to those who know me away from the blog!) I wanted plain shoes, navy or black patent, preferably with buckles not V*elcro (didn't like it even before it failed). The lady who served us was great - calm, sensible and she talked to Alice as well as me and listened to my requests! I had a choice of shoes!! The sensible decision came down to the same shoes as before (black patent Mary Janes with V*elcro) or navy MJs with a buckle. The navy shoes were a lighter style and less clumpy but I like the hard wearing nature of patent, in the end I opted for the navy ones - a change and hopefully buckles won't fail! Alice was very good throughout the time in the shop and I was very proud of her behaviour.

TODAY I WAS A CHINESE MOTHER

The Chinese are known for bundling their children up in many, many layers.

Today I was a Chinese mother. Alice wore:

• a nappy
• a pair of tights
• a pair of thermal leggings
• a pair of trousers
  
• a pair of socks
• a vest
• a thermal vest
• a top
• a fleece hoodie

When she went out, I added:

• a fleece
• fleece wrist warmers
• fleece mittens
• fleece neck warmer
• waterproof dungarees
• a soft gillet
• a waterproof coat
• a fleece pompom hat
  
• a pair of sparkly wellies
  

(I somehow feel that that list should be sung to the tune of 'The 12 Days of Christmas!')

The top coat is a double one - soft gillet zipped into the spotty waterproof layer. Alice has a top by the same company, the top is age 3 and it's skin-tight, so I took advice from GMJ and ordered age 6 - by the time Alice had all those clothes on it barely did up (although most of the time it still has plenty of growing room)!

EDITED TO ADD:
J asked, 'Could she move?'
Yes, she could move but she couldn't get up when she fell over (think beached whale!)

DISAPPOINTING AFTERNOON

Having searched the house for Alice's jacket, I took a couple of photos quickly before we left the house to go to a Chinese New Year party.

About 8 miles later we hit a traffic jam, complete gridlock and nearly 3 miles from the next junction, it took us nearly 60 minutes to get to the junction - by which time we'd missed so much of the party that it wasn't worth completing our journey, so I drove right around the roundabout and drove home. Luckily it was nap time so Alice missed the whole journey (apart from the first 2 miles or so) and equally luckily I hadn't said too much about the party so she wasn't too disappointed but she was very grumpy from waking when the engine stopped (she's always grumpy if she's woken before she's ready).

I love this jacket and I think Alice looks lovely in it, she agrees but only because I said that it's a Chinese Princess' jacket!!

Meanwhile having missed the party I'm left with loads of sausages. Sausage anyone?

DOES MY BUM LOOK BIG IN THIS?

Sorry Sweetheart, but yes it does!

ALICE'S DREAM COMES TRUE PART 2!

Alice was delighted to see the 'pincess' outfit and was quick to finish supper to try it on - look at her face, dreams really do come true!

(Yes, it is skin-tight, but it's age 3-4 and the other princess outfit that I already have stored away is 5-6 and huge!!)

ALICE'S BAPTISMAL OUTFIT

I bought Alice's dress for today in July - I found it in a local shop, in the sale! They had 2 dresses of this style - one with royal blue spots in age 3 and this one with gold spots. I preferred the one with gold spots but had to check its fit, we tried it on in the shop and it was OK, but a little baggy!

Over the summer I picked up the rest of the outfit as I found suitable bits. By Wednesday I wanted to try everything on together - to check the fit and the look - that's when I took these photos. I bought Alice the wrap from M*onsoon - I'm not into fluff but I wanted her to have an extra layer for warmth. Alice loved the wrap on first sight and declared it 'Soff!', it is very soft. I'd also bought a hairband - I didn't want her to wear both together but needed to see what they looked like, get Alice used to them and also to see whether the hairband would work, it did.

The dress is age 4 - by this week it fits, it's no longer baggy. It's got an underskirt that gives the dress some body and hang away from Alice's legs - I really like the style of dress on Alice and the length was great, ballerina - elegant and flattering (even for a nearly 2 year old!)

The weather was so good today that Alice didn't need the fluffy accessories - I did put her in a vest but she didn't need anything over the dress. She seemed very comfortable in her dress and still looked presentable by the end of the party - up close she was actually quite mucky, but the dress did well! She's always lovely but I think that this dress will always make me smile - with lovely memories of a very special day.

FULL WEEKEND - SATURDAY!

I was up early to go to London - to look for an outfit for a special occasion in 2 weeks time. My favourite clothes shop closed last May (just as I was going to China) so I've really been too busy to notice too much, until now! I went to an alternative shop and had no joy - they said that I wasn't in the right frame of mind (to an extent they were right), however the clothes that they offered were drab and some were even unflattering! I was told that my expectations were out of date - but the dull colours weren't inspiring and wide legged trousers don't suit me - let's now even start on the prices!

I then went to a famous underwear provider and was much more successful! It was just across the road from H*arrods - so I popped in there too, with Alice's birthday approaching I went straight to their extensive toy department - but they were out of stock so I couldn't buy her a doll's bed (though that's now in hand!)

I made it back to Paddington Station in time to catch the 3:45pm train - I should have been home for 6pm, but then we were diverted to avoid a broken down train between Bristol and the Severn Tunnel. I was home before 7 and found Alice next door (she was looked after all day before anyone worries, but M and T were sharing the care and I wasn't sure where she'd be!) She'd had a great day (finally seeing C and T - who she'd been asking about since Wednesday!)

JUST 10 DAYS AGO - LAST SEASON!

Alice - watching for frogs in our new water feature. When they cleared the flower bed they saw a lot of frogs and toads, after the reservoir went in we saw a lone frog perched on the metal grid - Alice now looks for it every time she goes into the garden!

(I love this outfit too - I'm hoping as it's a little big now that it might fit next summer!)