Unlike her wide-mouthed-frog of a mother and cheesy grinning little sis, she has the small sweet mouth of a lady.

In a competition where you have to shove a handful of marshmallows, a glut of pickled onions or several large socks into your gob, she would lose.

If she had to put out a small handbag fire by squirting water from her smiler, alas it would burn.

If you were firing maltesers at her chops your aim would need to be fabulous.

Tomorrow Miss E will be having two teeth out and a transpalatal arch fitted.

She is scared.

Over the last 2 weeks she’s had spacers squeezed between her teeth to make room for metal bands to be fixed round two of her molars, and then the TPA will be added for future braces.  As she lies in the dentist’s chair her feet shake, her face pales and I mouth ‘you’re ok’ at her and try to smile.  But really I am filled with dread and just praying for it to be over quick as she gags and shakes.

Help!

Any ideas how I can get her to feel calmer while she is being pulled about?  I think it’s a lack of control thing.  This look of horror passes over her face and she goes completely white and I know this week will be worse than the last two as there will be a needle and blood and cement.

Any advice would be great.

Photo credit and edited at Picnik (what will I do witout you picnik?  Boo hoo)

Sophisticated

Still really quite small

Sometimes shy of scary scarecrows

Sunny

Snuggly

Spirited

Sweet, smily, special, super SEVEN

Happy Birthday my darling.

Can’t believe you’re 7 today.

Love you so much babe

xxxxxxx

I know this can be an iffy subject for some people who see it as a form of bribery, but I think there is a place for saying thank you to the people who have taught, nurtured, listened to, advised, humoured and ‘mopped up vomit after’ (Miss M) your little one, for the past few months.

I’m not planning on buying stuff for E’s teachers now she’s in Secondary school as I think it’s a very different relationship.  There is none of the hand holding, knee providing, face wiping and cuddle giving that Primary School teachers supply on a daily basis, and well, let’s face it, it’s just not cool is it?

The thing is, I often struggle on what to get them.  I don’t spend a lot, (unlike some people, blimey), but I do like to get them a little something to show that I appreciate what they’re doing for my monkeys.

And this year, they will be getting these:

How cute are they?

I was offered one to review and I bought two more immediately as I think they’re wicked.

As you can see they’re personalised chocolate bars from The Chocolate Library and there are tons to choose from to suit pretty much anyone you have an urge to send yummy chocolate too…

Can you tell I love them just a little bit???

AND, not only can you emblazon your chosen recipient’s name in stars across the bar, you can also add a personalised message on the back for no extra charge, and they start at just £3.95 each for this size bar.

Postage and packing comes in at £2.45 for single items throughout the UK, and there is a flat fee of £2.95 thereafter regardless of weight, with FREE DELIVERY ON ALL ORDERS OVER £30 (going to one UK address).

M is so excited about giving them to her teachers, and it hasn’t broken the bank.

I reckon they’re sure to bring a smile.

What do you think?

P.S  There’s still time to enter my fab Christmas Competition.  Some lovely prizes for one lucky winner.  :D

Oh my Bob!

That’s all I have.

Oh, except, congratulations to lovely Emma and Lucy who will soon be the proud owners of WH SMith goody bags.  I’ll be posting them tomorrow ladies.  :D

M is floating in front of me, arms clutching mine as she bobs about in her bright yellow just-in-case arm bands.

Her eyes are on mine, steady, almost studious and I frown slightly as I recognise something in her expression.

A soft smile spreads across her face and her eyes glaze over a little.

Me:  “Sometimes they have special stuff in the pool that turns red if somebody wees M.”

She grins at me then glances over her shoulder.

Miss M:  “Naaaa, I’m alright.”

Eeeeeevil child, hee hee.

This one is mine.

Well sort of mine.

She also belongs to Miss M

And to Mr B

And Grandma

And Grandad

And Granny

And so many friends

But mostly she is her own person.

And I like  who she’s becoming so very much.

I love her even more.

Happy Birthday Miss E.

So proud of you babe.  xxx

At a recent night of  Girl Scout discos, while M (6) was happy to take her Rainbow Leader’s hand and walk into the ‘unknown’, E (10) needed me to stay with her until another girl from Guides came up to her with a smile and took her under her wing.

While M is gaining in confidence E seems to be losing hers a little, and part of me is so scared for her.  Secondary School looms in September, hormones are rearing their gittish little heads and she is definitely going into that slightly awkward and very self conscious phase where you lose the surety of being a ‘cute kid’ and move into the insecurity of changes you cannot control.

To me she is still my ‘cute kid’, but the hormones worry me as my own self esteem issues started at the onset of puberty, and secondary school was pretty much hell for me.  And E is so like me .

Mr B and I have always made sure she knows she is loved, she is beautiful and she is valued, but will it be enough to get her through the next few years relatively unscathed??

What a difference a couple of months can make!

I wrote the paragraph above in May, but 2 months on and things have changed; so much so that while I still view secondary with unease, I have realised the unease is pretty much all mine.

It started with an audition for a local choir where E was lucky enough to gain a place (woohooo).  She took a risk and went for it and thank bob and all his little hairy animals it paid off.  I’d have never had the guts to do that at her age.

She also took her SATS, AND, wait for it, got 99 out of 100 in Maths!!!!  OMG my child is a number legend!!  (It definitely comes from her Dad.)

And finally she took part in a school production of last weekend Annie and said her few lines with the cutest American accent as well as singing a little on her own.  My ghast is completely flabbered.  She suddenly has this aura of satisfaction about her.  Not in a “I am completely fabulous and you should probably all bow” kind of way, but in an “I’m actually ok” kind of way which just makes my heart fill up with pride.

It’s made me realise that it’s ok to encourage your kids to step out of their comfort zone.  The benefits can be huge.  It’s not that I didn’t know that before, but I’ve always cushioned my kids as much as possible and not ‘pushed’ for fear of pushing too much.  I suppose it’s why you’re ‘pushing’.  If it’s for your own gratification, or to keep up with the Jones or for bragging rights then it’s crap, but if you think your child will really benefit from taking a risk, and that they’ll be able to cope with possible failure (which lets face it we all have to face sometimes), then a gentle shove is fine.

So in the last week, when I have barely been online as E has had  her DARE graduation,  a year 6 cake sale, year 6 talent show, performed in 4 Annie shows, attended the school leavers Beach Party and has been preparing for her ‘School Leavers Mass’ (tissues at the ready), I have been learning:

a My kid is wicked
b I should never be allowed in a pet shop when I am hormonal (Blumming PMDD)
and
c Sometimes a push can be good.  Except off a cliff.  That is always bad.

Photo Credit
Edited at the fabulous picnik.com

This is a scratch and sniff post.  If you scratch the onscreen chocolates then sniff your computer it will smell of yummy chocolatey goodness.  It works especially well if you hold a bar of chocolate under your nose as you do it.

Ready?

Ok.  Fill your lungs, breath out slowly, nose to screen annnnnnnnnd

sniffffffffffffffffffffffffffffFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Go on, take in the aroma.  Let it dance daintily betwixt your nostril hairs, arabesque across your adenoids, soubresaut up your schnoz.

Lovely isn’t it?  Like a huge great big piece of love, an all embracing wack around the olfactory nerves with a warm cuddly chunk of cocoa heaven.

And it’s for you.

Because you lifted me out of the blue, chased off the black dog and made me smile when I was feeling like a used nappy, under a pile of used nappies, in the biggest nappy bin in the land of poo.    The fact that I ‘bled’ helped too in that it once again showed that when I think PMDD is hitting –  even though I only had a period 10 days ago (s0rry boys) – then I should trust what I’m feeling as I’m usually right.  Yes we seem to be back in the land of ‘why menstruate once a month when you can do it twice’, whoopee for me.  I’m actually relieved though as with the red stuff comes relief, a clearing of the head, calm.

Thank you so much for the comments, hugs and emails.  I am a lucky lady.  I have good friends, the ones I’m heading into town with on Saturday night and the ones I hope to share a chat, a hug and a drink with at CyberMummy.

If that wasn’t enough to lift anyone’s mood, yesterday my cousin and her lovely man had a beautiful and long awaited baby girl and boy.  Seeing that fuzzy pic of one of my favourite people in the world with a tired post c-section face, the biggest smile and a tiny baby in each arm was amazing.

Having Miss M asking me if she was born ‘out of my tummy or out of my bottom like a poo’ was equally amazing, though in a different way.  :D

I also had an email today saying I’d made the Cision Top 10 UK Mummy Bloggers list for the third year in a row which was a lovely surprise, especially as I have Taralara sitting on my head.  No nicer person could sit atop your head I have to say, (except maybe David Tennant.)  Congrats Becks, Laura, Josie, Suzannah, and the rest of you lovely ladies too.  Oh and congrats to fellow Hadrian’s Walkers and all round lovely blokes Dan and Ian as well. They made the Top 10 UK Daddy Bloggers list along with Tim and another group of great reads.

So my smile is back.  It’s a bit wobbly at times and I know will be for a while yet (blumming hormones), but it’s back.

P.S.  Thanks @notsupermum.  You’re a star. x

Photo credit:  Chocolates and Lambs
Edited at picnik.com

Thank Bob you have me, although part of me doesn’t want to reveal it until I have it patented, packaged and ready for my Dragons Den presentation.  Lucky for you I can’t be harsed with all that so I bring to you this life changing idea with nothing expected in return except perhaps a smile and a small unicorn – I know someone who has one of those.

Ready?

Ok.

DA + SHC = TCTNLD

or

Daily Attire + Similarly Hued Comestibles = The child that never looks dirty

S’fabulous isn’t it?

Now all you have to do is come up with a daily menu for every colour on the planet.  I’ve made a start for you below.  Am I not lovely?

Any more menu submissions would be most welcome, and if you can come up with one for black I will give you a real live spoon.