Monday 26 January 2009

The final straw

God, the tedious same-ness of January. I don't know what it is about today - maybe it's because it's Monday, maybe it's because it's still January after what feels like 6 weeks of the dreariest month of the year - but the fact that outside London is putting on a happy face with singing birds, blue skies and sunshine is having no impact upon my mood whatsoever.

It's on days like these that the thought of cooking one more meal to be examined distastefully by my older son, of planning yet another week's meals before dragging myself to the supermarket to buy the same old list (it isn’t, but today it feels like it), or the prospect of hanging up one more load of laundry is enough to make me want to find a brick wall and bang my head against it repeatedly.

I can't even blame PMT because that was my excuse for last week's bad mood...

Though, thinking about it, I know what might have been the final straw this afternoon. The final straw, that is, after a weekend of dealing with man-colds, a working week of solo parenting, and the cumulative effect of almost a year with no economic day-break in sight. Boy #2 is threatening to stop napping. I persuaded him to go with it today with the help of some warm milk and a story, but the writing's on the wall, and once he stops, that's it. My daily moment of calm will be gone for ever - and the thought is very, very VERY depressing.

It's not that he is hard work. Like most children, he's generally good company. Sometimes demanding, sometimes entrancing, and - almost always - completely loveable. But I'm able to appreciate that a great deal better when he lies down for a little snooze in the middle of the day and gives me a few minutes to collect my thoughts...


In the meantime though, right now he is sleeping, so it's time to drag myself out of the poor-me doldrums and thank Iota at Not Wrong, Just Different for this award.





The blurb (that Iota has abbreviated so nicely that I'm not going to change it) says: 'This award focuses not on the glory and fanfare of blogging, but in the PROXIMITY to one another through this online-world. This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY--nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! '

Well. If you know me at all, you'll know that I am excessively interested in prizes, but I will still grab the 'charming' compliment with both hands thankyou very much. In fact, I don't think I've been referred to as such since a Turkish taxi driver with an interesting turn of phrase tried to chat me up on the streets of Istanbul around 10 years ago - but that's another story...

So, in the interests of spreading the luurve, I'm going to pass this award on to a couple of other bloggers. One of them - Frog in the Field - left me my first ever comment, so I guess you can blame her for my still being here. And the other, A Modern Mother, has to be one of the most helpful - and also the hardest-working - bloggers I know, so here you are Modern - something else to do in your spare time; add the logo to your side bar...

And if you're interested, when she recently found herself with 4 minutes to spare, A Modern Mother set up a British Mummy Bloggers Community on Ning. Come and join the party!

23 comments:

  1. I hate January too, and yes, it feels as if it has gone on forever....plus we're now on our second bout of chicken pox!

    Bad luck on the end of napping - my Littleboy 2 is still just about having one but I have the feeling it won't be long.

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  2. Oh god, when the naps stop it feels like the end of the world. But actually, you can always drag him around or get more stuff done. The way I talked myself through it was to remind myself that if he napped in the day he'd be up all night. At least now he goes down at 7.30pm.

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  3. You'll have a tired boy by the end of the day, that's good. Maybe he will sleep a little longer in the morning too. Or don't you want him to?

    Congratulations on the award. It couldn't go to a nicer person. Treat yourself to some extra chocolate. You deserve it.

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  4. The only good thing about when they stop napping is that often they go to sleep earlier and sleep later. All three of mine stopped napping by the time they were two, so I totally feel your pain.

    And...oh my god. I'm on a nasty streak of jacking everything up lately, and now I've done it with this award. I FORGOT TO PASS IT ON.For the love of god. I'm dangerous.

    Congrats to you on this. One hundred percent deserved.

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  5. OMG! Sorry - but I'm laughing. Not at you Potty - but at Rotten Correspondent. I mean - who can't help but laugh!

    I don't get many afternoon naps -but when I do - it ruins my chances of falling off to sleep at night. What's with that?!

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  6. UGGGGHHH.. my full sympathies. Mini is stopping too and I DREAD it.. she's taken to falling asleep in front of the telly on the sofa if all else fails.. but then tends to wee on the sofa - not so good.

    That's why I'm not blogging so much! That was my precious time!

    BM x

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  7. I think you've done bloody well to post at all today! When I feel like you do at the mo, I can't even bring myself to write. Totally agree about January (and, indeed, February - the party starts in March, baby!) AND about the nap ending thing - am going through exactly the same thing at this end. I hope that my sympathetic vibes make their way over the www. Keep your chin up. And for what it's worth, I always feel wiped out for AGES after a stint of single parenting - GOD knows how poor old full-time single parents cope...

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  8. The distasteful examination of meals struck a chord. Almost everything I offer up is greeted with tears at the woment.
    "Nooooo! Not chicken!"

    Also here with the man colds and the solo parenting and the general shit-tasticness of January. We need cake.

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  9. I held on to that last nap for as long as I could ... I feel your despair... you could always have "rest" time with books (or does that not work with boys??)

    Thanks for the award, I do have an extra five minutes so will put it up!

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  10. God, I'm with you on the nap thing. My boy turned two in November, and has been refusing his daytime nap around one in every three days. I've been eking it out till I went back to work, but I'm running out of chocolate money to bribe him with. Still, that's the nanny's problem now... Mwahahahaha (evil laugh)

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  11. Bad luck with the chicken pox NVG - though I suppose you have at least got it all over done with now. And assume you know about Piriton being useful to stop the itchiness (your being married to a doctor and all...)

    EPM, I know, that's true. I am incredibly blessed though - in winter both my boys will go to bed at 7.30pm and wake at 7. What can I say? No drugs are involved.

    Irene, you put your finger on the nub of it - I can't let either boy sleep on past 7 on a school day, much as I would like to...And thanks for the nice comment!

    RC, by the time they were TWO? How did you cope? As for the award, I just noticed on someone else's blog you're supposed to pass it on to 8 bloggers. You are not alone in messing up, it seems!

    Aims, you see, now you're trying to upset me with your talk of daytime naps...

    BM, you and me both. And when I WAS persevering with the potty training I have to admit to putting Boy #2 on a towel if he looked like nodding off.

    RR, I know. I should count myself blessed rather than moaning about it. I will, too. Tomorrow.

    Jaywalker, we definitely do. In large amounts. I tell you, I am so plain BORED with the complaints about meals, and the constant negotiation; '4 mouthfuls?' 'No, I'm not doing this. Finish it.' '6 mouthfuls?' 'Just finish it.' '10 mouthfuls.' 'Oh, for christ's sake. 10 mouthfuls then...' (repeat after me; I AM a good mother, I AM a good mother)

    Thames, I'm trying it. I'm trying everything!

    More Than, if my experience with nannies is anything to go on, he will sleep like an angel for her all week , and then full of energy, will refuse to do so for you over the weekend. It's the carer's revenge...

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  12. Just to remind you of what you are missing in the office: picture it, I'm holding a 3d linticular image of Disney's 16 year old Selena Gomez of Wizards of Waverly place. Senior designer says his typical comment of "she's hot", CEO follows with "dude, she's like okay to clean your house, you can find tons like that in Venezeula". I can't even run because all this is happening over my head as I sit and they hover around my image of Selena. I'm not even shocked because CEO has made the same comment twice before and hasn't gotten a laugh so he keeps trying. It's exhausting. Then again, you British are probably much more polite in the office.

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  13. Oh I do feel your pain... mine is toying with giving up his nap too and I am being such a cow about making him take one... It's that little oasis of time in the middle of the day that sets me up to cope with the whole tea/bath/book/bedtime routine...

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  14. SB, you just snapped me back to the office 3 1/2 years agao - which I guess answers your question about politeness in British offices... Fantastic - but you realise that that actually makes me miss working MORE? I mean, it's not wiping wee off the floor, is it?

    Sparx, I know, I listen to myself sometimes and I think I'm being so unreasonable... Not to the point of allowing him not to nap, of course!

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  15. Potty Mummy - sorry, didn't mean to sound like Marmee from Little Women/Polyanna/any other annoyingly positive person. That's not my style at all!!!

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  16. January in the UK is far too long and dreary. Not sure what the answer is to make you feel better though - apart from the ubiquitous chocolate of course!

    The food problem never changes it seems. If you make the things you know they like you are greeted with 'oh not that again, we're always having that' and anything new is greeted as though you have presented them with a plate of nuclear waste - still glowing to boot! I did stop persuading them to eat though and just pointed out it would be a while until the next mealtime and there would be no snacks beforehand either. But then I'm a cruel mother and almost totally without shame about it.

    Sorry about boy #2's naps coming to an end although I do think you are rather lucky they have lasted so long. My cherubs stopped napping at 2 years and the elder one had only just started sleeping through the night by then too! Still, it is a traumatic to lose that last precious bit of free 'daylight time'. More chocolate?

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  17. Red Rum, you totally didn't; was just trying to snap myself out of it!

    Sharon, do you have shares in Green & Blacks? I'm starting to wonder with all this chocolate encouragement... (But thanks - not that I needed any egging on in that respect!)

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  18. Congrats on the award. Iota is right, you're a bit lovely. :D And I have the January blues too I think. It's just so...January. Sighhhh. Roll on February. (Nothing to do with the fact my Birthday is on Feb, honest.)

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  19. Jo, me too, me too! What date is yours? Oooh, we can have a joint virtual birthday party (about the only type I can afford right now) on the Mummy blogging network. What do you think? (If I sound over-excited, it's because I am...)

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  20. Ahem. I have just realised you are probably going to be about 10 years younger than me. I am only coming to our joint birthday party if no one mentions that...

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  21. Ooooh me too me too.. please can i join your virtual party...???

    I will be the ripe old age of 38 on February 9th.

    What about you girls?

    BM x

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  22. BM, fantastic! I'm on the 15th...

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  23. Potty, you are simply fab giving me this award, Thank you!

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