Three!

So I’ve made it through the terrible twos and now have a threenager Lord help me what with the teenager and the ten going on middle aged boy I might not make it to the next birthday blog. I’ve always said Kodi came to challenge my parenting skills and she continues to do just that.
She is finally sleeping in her own bed after if she could just get that waking up at 5.30 or 6am is not what we want or need her to do then we may get along even better

It’s been fun potty training was easier than we expected after trying persistently from 1-1.5 we gave up. Kodi does what she wants when she wants and just after two she was dry at night without even trying. A few accidents later and we have a dry baby one that says poo every time she wants a wee!!!

Food, as I have said Kodi is her own person she started her time as a two year old eating anything she could get her hands on. Turn time forward and we have food being lobbed across the room that isn’t up to the expectations of our new fussy eater. The diet has consisted of no veg, nothing with sauce on, ham sandwiches without the ham and anything plain. Now although you may think we’ll she eats fruit and meat you haven’t tried picking up plate after plate of food off the floor. If she’s in the mood for fruit she will eat it if she’s not yep you guessed it on the floor.

Constipation are we allowed to talk crap??? The fussy eaters club has caused some irregular bowel movements!!! When Elf was born I’d never realised how much shit could come out of one small being. When we brought her home we forgot that they cry poop and need to be fed. At 2am every night for the first few weeks this was the routine… She was regular and like clockwork for a few months and then it became less regular, apparently breast fed babies have less waste. I’ve been brought up knowing that going daily once or even twice is normal at age two we have a little person who goes once a week if we are lucky!!! Cue visit to the dietician and these funny seeds she now has spread on her toast to make her regular….Kodi like her brother is a keen runner in fact any time you let her down she tries to run off. We should have used reins but she would have just pulled them off. So now we keep fit by chasing her everywhere she goes. As she is approaching three she has calmed some what…

After taking thousands of photos of Kodi she now loves a selfie and is a fully fledged member of the tongue gang!! If your tongues not out your not having enough fun!!

Kodi should have been a boy she loves the colour blue, hates, dresses and loves dinosaurs. I have had to learn to compromise with her, now If I force her to wear a dress which is about once a week she wears converse. I’ve given up with pink clothes, she has the odd item but now I mainly buy blue in fact she looks better in blue maybe she just a has style. Kodi is a tough kid she loves digging in mud (she also likes eating it) she will climb the tallest climbing frame and search for creepy crawlies in the garden. She’s an adventurer with her own mind and we just go with her. Some people believe young children should not be allowed to think for themselves and although we guide her Kodi knows exactly what she wants and us hard to persuade otherwise. I hope her strong mind leads her to greatness.

Tantrums if she hasn’t had the most tantrums out of her siblings then I’d be amazed. The throw yourself on the floor embarrass your mum making her look like she failed at parenting kind of tantrums!! Yep she has them at the most inappropriate of times. I’m sat here in Disney whilst she sleeps watching kids have tantrums and smiling as I am happy it’s not my turn or my kid again! I’ve become a tantrum pro, at child three I actually don’t care yes its embarrassing but it’s not the end of our little world. If she wants to kick scream throw herself about I let her and within moments calms restored and we are on our way. Kodi is like having twins she has her good side and her bad when she is good she’s amazing a delight to be with and a really beauty. But when she’s bad shit she’s awful, ever heard of the rhyme ‘There was a little girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead… when she was good she was very very good and when she was bad she was horrid’ yep that’s Kodi.

People meet Kodi fall in love with her her elfie look is a thing of the past she has a beautiful smile, big brown eyes and cute little curls (that she still won’t put in a hair band)

Kodi likes to get herself dressed which for my st children is a simple exercise. For Kodi this means a battle of what we have chosen for her to wear against what she wants to wear! After our morning errands she comes home marches to her bed and puts her PJS back on

The journey to three has been eventful we have had some remarkable moments from our little elf princess like the breaking of the TV with the toy broom or the dangling of the worm in front of my face in the park. We have also had the most amazing moments how loving she is with her siblings and friends and her face this week when she met Mickey Mouse.
Another year has gone far to quickly and we can’t wait for the next chapter Nursery…. let’s hope she’s not excluded before reception!!!!!

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Public Transport V Car!!!! (Toot Toot Beep Beep)

I heard the other day it’s £2.30 if you haven’t got an oyster card to get on the bus, I’m more disgusted than surprised. I know under sixteens go free and pensioners too but don’t penalize us poor folk in the middle. (I remember when adult fare was 60p) I’m one of those people who rarely gets on a bus, the big red things I call them. They breed germs and are full of rude and smelly people (and that’s only the drivers, no I’m joking). I seem to know where every bus in South East London goes, coming from Waterloo the land where all buses cross I must have been on every number at one time or another.

But I always have some drama on the bus, when I was pregnant I couldn’t get a seat, when I had my daughter it was the old ladies huffing about me getting on with my pram. The amount of arguments I have had with idiots who hold up the bus for one reason or another, when someone holds up the bus this really gets to me because when your on the bus you got someone to go. The way some bus drivers drive is ridiculous, just yesterday I get a message from my husband saying the C10 nearly crashed into him, when hubby gets out the car ready to blow the driver says “Sorry boss I didn’t see you”! Then there’s the drivers that don’t wait around for you get on and get hurled up the stairs because they can’t wait. There’s the other ones who don’t tell you they are not going further than Elephant and Castle because they are running late, your problem not ours!!!

Really though I would rather walk than get on a bus, but to be fair the tubes and trains are actually just as bad. Trains are always delayed, if it’s not leaves on the track then it’s someones jumping in front of one. Why do we never feel sorry for the poor person who jumps in front of the train??? I prefer trains to buses as they are slightly cleaner, they have more space but coming out of a main line station at rush hour is a nightmare it’s every woman and man for himself!

As for the tubes you have to literally fight to get a seat, I go into auto pilot when I see the tube approaching. I ensure I’m at the doors and I don’t care if I was there first. Next, head down, spot the sit I want and make a dash for it ensuring I’m in it arse first. Then I’m cool, I can sit comfortable, read a paper or book and dare I say enjoy the journey. Tubes are quick. I don’t like being that far underground and since the London bombings I feel that all transport travellers are on their guard!

When I got on the tube monday afternoon to go to work I thought what I always think what a miserable lot the passengers seem. No matter what time of day they always seem like they have the worlds problems on their back. Sometimes I get onto a packed tube, forced in some form of unnecessary embrace with fellow passengers. First thing in the morning, the last thing you need is the skanky smell of some guys aftershave, or being pushed all around the place until there is no space to think and breathe. The tubes are always packed, there doesn’t seem to be a rush hour, I guess this is one of the reasons why everyone has the hump. The only good thing about the tubes is you can get from one part of London to the other quickly. My local tube station runs on the new East London line, when running on time these tubes are not that bad.

I hate the stress that comes with driving but it’s something I have to do, I remember how happy I was when I passed my test after failing a few times, I thought I’d never get the hang of it but I passed and I’m not exactly loving it.

Everyone knows driving in London takes a certain skill you need to be:

• aggressive
• In control
• Have a vocabulary of swear words that you can present at a whim
• Have excellent reflexes (In case you need to break or turn left quickly)

We all know how much stick is given to woman drivers, but I actually think men are worse than us, some of the main culprits who drive like they own the road are white van man and the taxi driver.

Traffic in London is a nightmare what with all the road works, if I finish work at 2am it takes me 30 mins to get from where I work to home, if I finish at 7.30am I rarely get in before 9am.  I’m one for road rage too, if any male driver thinks they can intimidate me they are wrong. When I’m driving I turn ghetto, most people who have been in my car will know I don’t ramp! I’ve often stopped my car and had to tell people about themselves, London driving is just stressful.

Petrol prices are soaring like we all need to start buying shares in Shell, the congestion charge is a joke. Did they actually think they could stop people driving through London by asking them to pay??? It’s probably cheaper to pay congestion and drive than it is to get on the tube or train.

As much as it’s a pain I love the freedom of driving, at any time I can jump in the car and go anywhere where I need to go. Being in the metal enclosure that is a car means I don’t have to deal with funny smells or not getting a seat, my seat is my seat!!! Minus the road rage and traffic I can play my music loud and enjoy my journey, in my own company within my own thoughts. I wouldn’t be able to get to do half the things I do without a car, one of my jobs required me to be able to drive and own a car. I’d prefer to have a chauffeur but I guess it isn’t going to happen, so for now, mum’s taxi it is.

Hello down there!!

Do any of you remember the yellow pages advert? The one where the girl holds the mistletoe and the boy tries to kiss her but his too short? If you can’t click on the link to refresh your memoryYellow Pages

Now that your memory has been fully refreshed after stepping back in time to christmas 1992 let’s get back to the subject in hand!! I have chosen to write if you haven’t already guessed about “SHORT MEN”!

The issue of how tall men are has been a recurring theme in many of my conversations for the last ten months, previously the height of the male population never bothered me but recently I have become more and more concerned!

Why am I so bothered I hear you ask and my reason is I strongly believe that somewhere down the line a majority of  men perhaps those born mid to late 80’s and beyond were deprived on the gene that makes you tall. Now some of you may think I’m over exaggerating the situation, but it has been drawn to my attention by many friends in all walks of life that today’s variety of men are lacking in height.

I’m not exactly tall I’m 5’4 which is a reasonable height for a lady not too small and not too tall in high heels I probably average 5’7, anyway I have a perfect BMI so I’m cool. So here I am on a night out in heels with friends and this has been a regular occurrence so there is no particular night in mind, as I gaze across the dance floor and look around at perspective guys for my single lady friends (Who are all around the same height as me) I notice one thing and one thing only and in my head I ask myself the question “Where did all the tall guys go?”

I’m not trying to offend any guys under 5’8 who maybe reading this I am merely writing about my observations, most of the guys I have noticed are really short anything from 5’6 and below. I’m almost certain I have seen guys below 5ft which for me is bordering on dwarfism!!

It’s not just me and my friends that have noticed that guys are getting shorter, they have been talking about the issue on some well known TV and radio shows too.

A friend of mine has actually made up a name for short guys which she calls “Double A Double M” Action Against Munchkin Men, as it really seems somewhere down the line in Munchkin Land a few of the Munchkins detracted from the yellow brick Road and hit London Town.

Let’s look at music for Instance UK artist Tinchy Stryder is 25 and is said to be 5’3, Dappy from Ndubz is 24 and definitely no taller than 5’6. Scientifically guys stop growing in there late teens early twenties so the guys I have been seeing who are pushing 30 are not going to grow anymore and either:

*Smoked too much in their early teens stumping their growth

*Didn’t eat their greens (Or Green giant Sweetcorn)

*G0t the short gene (Pulled the short straw)

There have been a few occassions when I have been chatted up by some brave short guys and if this is your thing and you don’t mind bending down and breaking your back I salute you. I just really wouldn’t  want to be with someone that is shorter than my 12 year old brother. (Who for the record is almost as tall as me) I’m not saying that these guys are ugly at all as some of them are very nice looking, it’s just really not my thing I want someone who is able to sweep me off my feet without worrying they are going to drop me!!!

For some girls being with a taller guy is about security, being able to feel that he can protect you when you need protecting but I guess this is purley pychlogical as the saying goes the bigger they are the harder they fall. If you are a tall girl going out with someone that is a lot shorter than you can be partonising for the guy, always looking up at her and when she wears heels it’s even worse.

I have noticed that height is as touchy subject for guys as girls and their weight, last week I told my husband he was short and we were nearly on our way to the divorce courts (His 5’8 which is pretty average for a guy)

When I was in the US a few months back I noticed that there are more tall guys than short ones but I was in a place where everything is big so I guess this should not have been a suprise!

I asked a few ladies I know for their views on short guys and got sent the following comments:

“Short guys are a NO NO! The twins on Towie =Cringe”

“Short is when they (guys) feel insecure when you are wearing heels!”

“I’ve been with short guys and didnt find it most attractive however, I’ve learnt not to underestimate them as they can sometimes feel they have got more to prove so put in a little bit extra effort. Short guys to me would be shorter than myself (under 5’8) however I have now found that I actually think too short for a guy would probably be under 6ft (Which is’nt really as tall as it sounds)!”

“I prefer being with a short guy, because I’m short myself (5’2). Not someone that’s shorter than me, that’s too short but prefrably a bit taller. Can not see myself being with a tall guy. Height does matter!”

So mixed views on short guys but overall it appears size does matter whether it is too tall or too short, maybe as ladies we are just too fussy and need to accept people for the way they are. One of my friends sent this message to me which I think is a nice way to end this piece:

“I’m 5’2 on a good day anything shorter than 5’3 is too short, but love comes in all shapes and sizes and what they don’t have in height a lot of the time is made up through personality. Sometimes what you wouldn’t feel instantly attracted to turns out to  be exactly what you want. Look at Tom Cruise!”

It’s Kicking off!!!

So... if you didn't notice London's a mess! It's been kicking
off everywhere!
So I thought I'd do my own piece onwhat's been going down
in the heart of London town and elsewhere across the UK.

On Thursday 8th August, Mark Duggan was shot dead by police in
circumstances that are yet to be fully revealed.
No one, at present knows what happened to Mark, and I think it
is important that we do not judge until we hear the full story.
Mark had a partner, children and a family who are all grieving.

Mark's family, like any family, deserve to get answers
about his death, so a peaceful protest was held outside
a police station in Tottenham.
Family and friends requested answers from the police
about his death, and unfortunately, this didn't happen
-tempers flared.

A witness then contacted the BBC and said the Riot,
which devastated Tottenham on Saturday,
was caused by a young female approaching the police asking
for answers about the death of Mark Duggan.
This female was then set upon by police which caused outrage,
and widespread chaos.

Subsequently, as we all came to realise, London descended into a
place where it was normal to see someone robbing the local
shop, the sounds of helicopters and sirens blaring through the
streets of Hackney, Brixton,Clapham Junction, Edmonton,
Enfield, Lewisham, Peckham,  Croydon,
Colliers wood (I would go on but... I will let
you see for yourselves.) 

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=207192798388318292131.
0004aa01af6748773e8f7&msa=0&ll=51.558503%2C
-0.055275&spn=0.114195%2C0.298691

People are disgusted by the mass looting and fires to people's
businesses, homes and cars. The ripple effect has spread,
and what started as Tottenham Riots, changed to London Riots
and is now UK Riots.

Three men were killed in Birmingham and one man was shot in
Croydon as a result of the madness that continues.
Another man also remains critically ill in hospital
after being set upon by thugs.

Now everyone has an opinion on this.
Some people are blaming the government, others police and the
parents of those out there and unsuprisingly, it is turning
into a race issue.
My point is, it's not just black people doing these things.
Every race has been seen on TV looting and although on our
screens it's mainly young people seen
(News only shows us what they want us to see don't be fooled)
I have seen people of all ages and classes involved. 

One part of society blaming another is not helpful and I
believewe need to all stick together and try to help with
the resurrection of our society.

In all honesty, I'm not a great fan of the police,
but they are there to do a job to protect our
streets-whether you agree with it or not.
It's their job, they're not all racist although I do
believe there is institutional racism within the
system - but you can't tar them all with the same brush.

The people who are getting involved are just following fashion,
they don't know why they are doing it!
(One girl claimed it was to claim her taxes back-
I don't thinkshe had ever worked!!)
When it kicked off in Tottenham and everyone saw the looting,
it became a game of Grand Theft Auto - Who can mash up their
'ends' the most!!!!

I feel people need to start taking responsibility for
themselves and for their actions however,
it is easier to be following the crowd.
How many people who have been dragged into the hype of
getting stuff for free or at a discount price?
Think how many of you have acquired 'stuff' through
ill gains or 'off the back of a lorry'-
stolen is stolen..hmmm... #justsaying

For example, if you found a wallet on the floor how many
of you would hand it to the local police station????
Or if a cash machine started giving out randomly £50.00
notes how many of you would be
there with your money bag???

I'm not condoning looting at all but people are happy when
they get stuff for free! (You know this.)
The big chains do exploit us as a nation and
with growing prices I'm not surprised people took their
chances.
Like Robin Hood, the poor steal from the rich!!!
Sadly, these people took it too far when they
decided to burn down towns, started robbing houses,
local small businesses and innocent
people got hurt. One of the worst videos I've seen
is of a boy getting robbed after being helped up 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=327J3ISiVOU 

There are a range of issues in society that have caused
the sudden uproar and destruction of the UK unemployment,
absent fathers, poverty, social exclusion, demonisation
of the youth- if we had looked at these issues
sooner would this have happened???

My husband grew up in a poor part of Peckham in the 80's
he came from a single parent family and lived much of his
childhood on the poverty line. However, he went to college,
got a job and even though he became a father at 18,
he is a brilliant Dad. (With no criminal record)
The fact is, not everyone is a product
of what is going on around them.
You don't have to fall into the cycle. Everyone has options.
Yet, believe it or not,
those around you; be it friends, family or community have
a part to play in how we all grow.

One Lady on LBC made a valid point yes there is poverty all
over the UK we are not in Africa there is always fresh water,
food and we have a welfare system that everyone has access
to if they need it!!!

I have had many messages from friends and family stating
what they have seen and heard. A lot of people are scared
to go out (I have been driving with a baseball bat to
protect myself in the event of being attacked)
and although it is calming down and there is a greater police
presence anything could happen!
Last night, I drove to a friends in Norwood from my house in
Rotherhithe and back driving through areas such as
Forest Hill, Peckham, Crystal Palace, Sydenham, Surrey Quays
and Old Kent Road.
I can tell you I saw 4 police Vehicles and not more than
a dozen police so where they all are is beyond me.

I just urge people to know where your children are in
these dark days. One mother, who thought her children
were at the gym, found out they were looting the
Curry's store in Brixton!
I do think we, as parents, play an important role
in teaching our children right from wrong and to those
mothers who were out looting WITH their children
"SHAME ON YOU"!

Even though my children are still young I made it quite
clear to both of them the other day if they ever were
involved in anything like I would firstly take the crisp
new trainers they had robbed, off their feet hurling them
at one part of their body and secondly march them to the
local police station handing them in. I don't know how many
other parents would do this but I strongly believe
in teaching  my children right from wrong.
A lot of parents act like their children are angels
and like their child could never do wrong and these
are the worst culprits! Know your children. 

My daughter is eight, slightly on the mouthy side,
can be quite rude when she wants to be, likes to have
the last word and sticks up for what she believes in.
(Yes, a miniature me). If her teacher
says to me she did XYZ today she knows she will be
punished.
I will protect my children to the end of time but if
they have done wrong they need to understand there
will be consequences!!!

It's nice to see communities coming out and cleaning
up the mess and sticking together to show the
behaviour we have seen is not on.
I've heard about people protecting their areas and
making a stand ensuring that anyone who comes near will
be met by people who are serious about protecting
what they have!!

I just hope all this stops and soon London seems to be
calming down for now, I'll leave you with an African
proverb I have seen on Twitter this week...

"It takes a whole village to raise a child."