Back to school - back in the old routine!

My organisational skills have been put to the test over the last six weeks. I had grand ideas of how my eldest would entertain my youngest which would result in plenty of working time for me, but it didn't work like that. Instead of having one child wanting mummy all the time I had two, so I relented and did the bare minimum of work, resolving to catch up when they finally went back to school.

So here I am, catching up on all the little things I normally do on a weekly basis and looking back on a lovely 6 weeks spent being a kid again. We went camping, played in parks (yes, even I went on the swings!) built sandcastles and went rockpooling on the beach and ate an absurd amount of ice cream, whatever the weather! We even found time to visit a roman fort up near Hadrians Wall and touched the Angel of the North on the way back home.

What is really scary is how little time there is until Christmas (no I'm not sorry I said it!). I already have the Christmas and New Year party supplies on the website, despite my husband telling me it is too early. I am currently looking at halloween supplies, something we didn't stock last year, and I also want to get my greetings cards orders placed so we can wow you for Christmas. This is the start of our busy season, what with Halloween, Christmas, New Year, Valentines Day and Mothers Day I will be lucky if I have time to blink!

Another Competition this one for twitterers!

I know a lot of you are on twitter, so thought a little competition would be fun. All you have to do to win is tell me for what occasion you would send a balloon in a box by writing a little message to go in with it. Remember only via twitter, so you need to copy the following and finish it with your message.
"@partysprite My balloon in a box message would be " and then whatever message you would write.
The competition will run up till midnight on 11/8/09 UK time and the favourite picked by Mr Sprite will win a balloon in a box of choice. Don't forget you only have 140 characters so be creative!

Oops look at me, ignoring my blog during the school holidays

Ok so I sort of have an excuse, two bored children, housework and work don't exactly mix well. I don't remember the school holidays being this much of a problem last year, maybe I wasn't quite so busy then, who knows. This time around however I have been tearing my hair out, two weeks in and the kids are driving me to distraction, leaving little time for anything apart from picking up their toys and checking email.

So how am I fitting the work in? To be honest I'm not sure, I have been going to bed later but I still seem to be keeping on top of things. Maybe I am being more creative with how I use the little free time I have. I have a to do list, something which so far I have managed without, and I am bulk emailing on a night when the kids are in bed. Post is opened while I make breakfast for us all and emails are responded to with a mug of tea in one hand while the kids eat.

Meetings are the hardest. I have a few important ones to arrange soon which I think will have to be on the three days when hubby finishes early meaning he can be childminder. I do get funny looks when I have the kids in tow, surely I am not the only working mum trying to do everything all at once?

Well I better get on with my to do list, will catch up again soon I hope.

Article in Practical Parenting

img014
Originally uploaded by Partysprite

I think I mentioned this at some point, but thought I would link in the pictures too (now I have discovered that flickr can do this for me!) I am hoping that this will be the start of many more!

Time off work today to be a mum

Today was school sports day at big sprites school, so I took some time off work to wear my mummy hat and went along. Watching the children race I was quite shocked to see my girl getting upset because she didn't win. I haven't knowingly taught her that winning is all that matters, in fact I take great pride in encouraging her to just have the confidence to take part, something which at times I struggle with, so where was this competitive streak coming from? I wanted to rush across and give my girl a hug and tell her it was ok, she was doing really well, but I knew how important it was not to make a fuss in front of her friends, so stayed in my seat. Her teacher, noticing the tears being wiped away, crouched down in front of her with a pep talk that soon made the tears dry up. Back came my happy chatty little girl, and with her first sports day firmly under her belt I have no doubt she will have just as much fun next time (with hopefully no tears!)

Look at what we got daddy for Fathers Day

I always struggle to choose gifts for the men in my life. My dad has everything he needs and doesn't really have any hobbies so usually ends up with chocolate. Hubby is just as tricky, he has interests but it is such a minefield to know what he has and hasn't got, so I usually struggle for him too.
So, Father's Day was looming and I didn't have a clue what to get. Then one of my forum friends asked for reviews of her business service - taking pictures of your children and turning it into something spectacular. I snapped up the chance to have one done, had been admiring her talents for some time and it was on my list of 'must gets'.

I sent her a selection of home snapshots of my girls playing outside, not convinced any of them would be useable, and left her to it. A couple of days later she emailed me the proofs - well I was impressed. See what you think?

I loved it, and wanted to show my husband straight away, but knew it was the only thing I had to give him to make his day special. While he was at work, I printed it out on photo paper, put it in a plastic sleeve with a board backing and voila, a lovely present for the girls to give daddy.

If you love it too the talented lady is Victoria Dixon, her website is http://www.enhance-me.com and she comes highly recommended from this happy mum!

Picture copyright Caroline Parker - please don't use it without permission!

Inspiration from others

A lot of my life decisions have been inspired by what I see others doing and how successful they are. Probably not the best way of doing things and I do honestly have my own ambitions, I am just not sure of the right path to get there. Ever since I can remember I have wanted to be married and have children, well that I have achieved, and now I only want to have my own successful business. Nothing too grand, just to provide enough for the girls future and to look after us in our old age. I know I could never go back to working for someone else and be happy, I am just not that sort of person.

Anyway, one of my many inspirations is Amanda Farren. I haven't known her for long, and not really all that well either, we met on a business mums forum. She is a mum of three young children, runs a very successful business, and has recently started another 'offshoot' organising baby fairs. I was lucky enough to be able to go to the first event and was amazed, you honestly would think she had been doing this for years. The fact that she is still so young really shouldn't be an issue, but I personally think that finding such dedication, determination and drive to succeed in someone of her age is a rarity. I am expecting great things from her so watch out world!
She has recently started blogging and for most, their first blog is a mismatch of thoughts and ideas. You only have to look at my own attempts to realise that! But Amanda has applied her usual attention to detail and organisation to her blog and I truely enjoy reading it. One part that caught my eye in particular and strikes a chord with me as a mum was this blog.

Today my eldest was eating her tea and asking where the food came from. She was particularly curious about bacon. We told her it came from pigs, and that the lamb daddy was eating was lambs. She was obviously confused by this and proudly announced that pigs lay bacon. Bless, the innocence of youth! I was aware that telling her the truth could put her off eating it as it did with me, but she seemed quite happy to accept that the animals were killed in order for us to eat.
My youngest, much like Amanda's daughter, loves to sing. She put on a show for us yesterday along with her two older cousins, surprisingly enough singing High School Musical songs while she waved pom poms. I clearly remember persuading my two sisters, somewhere around the age of 8, to put on a show for our parents and visiting relatives, it involved carefully made masks and lots of acting. I do wish I had persued my desire for the stage but like most things back then it was something I 'grew out of'.

As Amanda says, most parents at some point get that warm fuzzy feeling of pride, and today I can truly say I am so glad I have my girls.