I'm back - did you miss me?

Firstly, apologies for no posting yesterday - it was a busy busy day so didnt get a chance to post anything.  I dont like recapping on past days' events because I know it confuses some of my Mumsters so I will just give a brief overview:

Took Megan to school then emma to pre-school (no tears), it was then straight round to Bs house for coffee morning, with cake I might add (take note other coffee morning hosts!), then back home as Mr Mum's Mum was up for the day, went and picked emms up, came home, had lunch, sat down for 5 mins, went to the shops, it rained, came home, sat down for 2.4 minutes, went back to school to pick megan up from gymnstics after school, back home for tea, kids to bed, my tea, me to bed. 

Today, well it all started at some crazy hour this morning as it was my turn to take Megan and her friend H to Athletics - a club before school (whos idea was that?!?!) had to be there for 8am and had the other kids as well, so we all had to get out of the car, drop the kids off and then get back in the car, come home fore 30 mins and then go back to drop Emma off.

Rosie and I then popped home to do some printing of posters for the Easter Fair and then off to Toddlers club with M and M (no not the rapper).  Toddlers club was good - I managed to negotiate a few biscuits and two cups of coffee so not all bad! played some games, let the kids run around and then home for lunch.

This afternoon was an uneventful affair, I did have pab meeting, but that was postponed so diary empty...it was then back to school to pick Emma and Megan up.

now, the ongoing saga of Justin "silly hair" Bieber carries on...apparently one of Megs friends saw the Bieber in concert and apparently was invited on stage and apparently kissed him - I think the story has grown in the telling but now everyone seems to be obsessed with the little man.  Megan even asked for me to buy his album - that got a very swift response which I wont repeat on this global blog!

I thought i would share some facts about Justin with you - he was born in London** in 1994, so he is a mighty 17 years old.  His song "baby" (dont ask me to sing it) has had 500 million hits on youtube, thats nearly as many as me dancing in a nightclub in London!! (if interested, type in ITopia1000 in youtube and amuse yourself! I mainly feature in "Ravers" but also make a cameo in "ravers part 2").  anyway, thats quite enough about the Beiber. 

Anyhows, thats the day really, not a massively entertaining day so sorry folks - will try harder tomorrow. 

Oh one last rant - Deal or no Deal - I had the opportunity (whilst ironing today) to watch this "game show" - what a load of rubbish, I have never watched it through before, I cant believe it has done so well - 20 odd people who make out they have all been best friends for at least a decade stand there with a cardboard box in front of them - then the person playing the game picks a box to open and hopes for a small number  (I wont bore you with all the rules, just take my word for it that low numbers are best). the person with the box then declares their love for the contestant, saying how great they are and how they know the number will be small.  they then open the box to find it to be a rather large number (which isnt good) and its like the contestant then blames them for it, as if they had anything to do with the number in the box.  Noel then speaks to someone on the telephone (probably his agent asking him when he is going to stop wearing dodgy shirts) and Noel then gives the contestant a price to walk away.....anyway, I wont take up anymore time with it but believe me it is poor tv! Noel should have given up after Swap shop!



Catch up you all tomorrow - its Friday by the way so happy days!!!


**thats London, Ontario, Canada before you all flood me with comments saying he isnt English!!

We have a winner!

Before we get into today's proceedings, a big shout out and congrats needs to go to T, aged "20" from Bromley for being the first person to successfully leave a comment on the blog.  T has already received her prize and I hope this encourages more of you out there to post your comments.  Its easy to do and is always welcome. 

As today has been rather uneventful due to me outsourcing the kids to school / T for the day so that I could go to a work networking event / being thrown around in the back of a Mercedes AMG on their track at Brooklands, I thought I would share some of Mr Mums secrets with you. 

Firstly food, I guess a lot of you out there have been asking yourself what does Mr Mum cook his 3 kids on a daily basis when he is sooooo busy and how come they are always excited about tea?  Well, I have collected a carefully selected database of recipes over the years specifcally for this purpose and they are going down a treat! The book - "101 easy teas" by Mr Mum will be in all good book shops very soon, but in the meantime I am going to share one of my premium recipes - "Pasta Surprise".

Firstly, get a handful (per child) of pasta.  I prefer using Penne pasta but you can use whatever you have in the cupboard at the time.  Pour this into a large pan and add boiling water.  When it boils, let it simmer for 8 mins, occasionally stirring. 

While this is happening, take out a smaller pan and put some heat under it, then add a couple of large tablespoons of Dolmio original sauce and heat through.  Now comes the surprise bit - add to the Dolmio two large tea spoons of Soft cheese (Philadelphia works best) as well as a small can of tuna and a few shredded up pieces of ham.  Mix the lot together until the soft cheese has worked itself into the Dolmio and the sauce is now bubbling. 

When the 8 mins are up, drain the pasta and rinse through with hot water, then pour back into the saucepan and add the sauce.  Mix thoroughly and serve.  As a special treat, add grated cheese to the top of each serving.

This recipe serves 3 kids with seconds available as well as an extra portion for tomorrows lunch for Rosie!  

The final secret for today is music - If the kids / other half is getting a bit rowdy and noisy, the best thing to do is drown out their screams with some nice loud music.  For this I would suggest The Chemical Brothers - Further.  A great album with all the tunes you need to put you in the right mood and drown out kids! If you require a sample of this please either visit iTunes or ask Mr Mum nicely.......

Thats about all for today folks.  I will just leave you with a couple of episodes from today.  Whilst on the way home Megan, who is 6, declared a love for Justin Beiber.  Oh My God - she is 6 years old and talking about her first pop star.  Apparently a friend at school saw him live and has posters all over her bedroom - please don't tell me I am at that stage already - and Megan - Justin Beiber?!?!? whats wrong with Oasis, U2 or The Beatles.........there is some work to be done here by Mr Mum.

and finally it is the Easter Fair at school this weekend, most mums are helping so I kindly volunteered my services.  My wife has ended up with a rather cushy number working on the tombola stand.  as for Mr Mum - well, he has the nice job of clearing up at the end - equality seems to be lacking here!!!!

You stay classy and catch up tomorrow.....


Footnote: For my older Mumsters - more information on Justin Beiber can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Bieber    or ask a 6 year old!!!

Disclaimer - Mr Mum is not responsible for any food poisoning or unhappy kids caused by today's recipe.

How long until the weekend???!?!?!?!?

Today has been a loooooooooong day.  Cant put my finger on why, the kids werent too bad (other than the 5 times we got up to Rosie last night),  the sun is sort of out but the day took its toll!

As many of my more regular Mumsters will know, Monday is a busy busy day so it requires precision organisation and management, the slightest thing out of place leads to a day of chasing your tail with three kids to juggle.......so what you dont need when you are leaving the house this morning is one kid needing a poo and another stropping because they are not wearing the right top! 

What is it with kids, are they born with a pre-programmed "annoy parent" feature which is set to go off when you are in the biggest hurry or stressful situation.  When does the day come when they come downstairs already dressed, quietly eat their breakfast, tidy themselves up, discuss the day ahead and then line up by the front door waiting for the signal to go to school....we can dream.  I reckon at any one time before we leave for school there is at least one child screaming, crying or stropping over something, its like some sort of "annoy the parent relay" they keep going until they are exhausted and then pass the "annoying baton" to the next child who carries on and so on and so on.........

Anyway, back to planet earth - dropped Megs at school with her scooter before rushing home and off in the car to Jo Jingles.  Just to recap on Jo Jingles, it is a group of about 10-15 (normally) mums who sit around with their kids desperately trying to get them to join in with the singing and dancing, which normally ends with the parent pushing it too far and the kid crying! We sing and dance to a few songs whilst Jo Jingle (a teddy bear) sits smugly at the front laughing at us all trying desperately to get our moneys worth out of our kids!  Jo then has the front to be carried around the room at the end waving us off, with the same smug grin on his face.....one day Jo, one day......

After Jo Jingles, its playtime in the soft play area.  Emma and Rosie found a spinning top which could be stood on while you spin round and round....they loved it....that was until Rosie tried to get off.  To describe her, it would be fair to make the comparison to a typical 20 year old (or 38 yr old) on a Saturday night after a heavy night drinking trying to walk straight.  Rosie came of the spinning top and zig zagged her way across the soft play, bumping into other kids, toys, parents, pillars and pretty much anything that got in her way - quite a sight!

It was then home for lunch and "art time" before picking Megs up and off to dancing.  Going back to what I was saying earlier, about the slightest thing out of place....well wehn we picked Megs up, I heard the words I didnt need to hear right then "My teacher wants a word with you" - I had been summoned to the teacher.  Suddenly the years fell away and I felt like a 10 year old being sent to the headmasters office.  What had happened, was it Megan in trouble or me? had the teacher seen me on megs scooter? had she seen me walk on the grass? what had happened??? so I bravely went to see her and take my punishment.  It tuned out it wasnt me, it was megs - she just needed to have a chat with me about Megs' maths, she had got a few sums wrong so needed to polish up on her maths skills.....although I was relieved it wasnt anything more, it did mean I was now way behind my schedule.....so we grabbed our things, pushed the other kids out the way and off we went..

Dancing went well, for some reason the teacher likes to have the lesson behind closed doors so we have no idea what they are up to...I reckon they just turn the music up and then sit round and have a game of poker!!! anyway, I managed to organise a game of football outside which was good. I was joined by Will, Grace, Jody, Rosie and another girl (name forgotten).  The average age of this bunch was about 6 so as you can imagine it wasnt much of a game of football, more a collective group running around after the ball! still, it was fun.

Then home with all kids for tea - one of Mr Mums specials, Hot Dogs and Chips - cant go wrong with that!  then a play in the garden before bed.

I seem to have waffled on a bit today, sorry about that.  Anyway, tomorrows another day so will catch up with you then.

PS PAB meeting might be off this week - one of my Mumsters  has blown out the meeting this week  - you know who you are, so hang your head in shame! Watch this space for any updates.

Excuse me, but where did the weekend go????

Cant believe its Monday already, did we actually have a weekend?? I blame the clocks going forward......

Anyway, another week starts - first up is Jo Jingles Music club........lets begin.

Thank Crunchie its Friday......

Another week draws to a close for Mr Mum, the weekend is upon us and the sun is shining.

Its been a funny old week with its highs and lows.  Losing Bob was a definite low moment and has certainly aged me by about 5 years, so I look about 25 now!  High moments included the inaugral pab meeting, mothers day tea party and of course England getting through the group stages of the cricket!

Today Mr Mum has been stripped of his duties.  The breadwinner aka Jo had the day off so she kindly took Megs to school while I went off to meet with an old work colleague.  Therefore it has been a realatively easy day for Mr Mum.  I had to peel some potatoes this evening but heck, whos complaining!

The schedule for next week is already pretty full, what with a coffee morning, pab meeting, visit from Mr Mum's mother and a work event. So heres to the weekend and another busy week next week.

I hope you all have a splendid weekend and lets hope the sun keeps shining.

Seeeeeeee yaaaaaaaa

PS Good luck to England tomorrow, both in the cricket and the football, and I guess the F1..........


Please note - I have had some feedback from the Mumsters and apparently people have been trying to leave comments on the site - I have looked into this and Mr Mum forgot to tick the right box to allow this to happen so sorry! It is now live so comment away!

Coffee mornings are sooooo last year....

Today was another cracking day - the sun was out and the summer felt like it was with us, which is nice.

Megs was taken to Athletics at 8am with her friend, so only needed to drop young Emms off (no tears), came back and chilled in the garden with Rosie before going back to school for the Mothers Day Tea Party, with Emma.  I was the token dad there so made up for it by eating more cake than anyone else! Emms "sung" a couple of songs with her pals before they passed round cake and drinks (non alcoholic) which they had made - all very nice although Rosie thought it would be a good idea to try and nick all the cakes which ended in a display of her tantrums across the floor, which was nice.

The tea party finished just before midday and then it was on to our next social event - the pub! Dont get me wrong, I am a fan of coffee mornings, they have their place in society and should never be neglected, but nothing beats a pint in nice company in a beer garden! Met up with T, D and E (too famous to disclose full names) and enjoyed a few hours in the sunshine.

THIS IS THE FUTURE PEOPLE SO EMBRACE IT - We have started a new activity for all the mothers out there, no more sitting around eating a biscuit, drinking a cup of tea and discussing the latest goings on at school whilst the kids destroy the house. No - from now on, it is down to the nearest beer garden for a pint of lager, or Archers and lemonade for the ladies, whilst the kids play on the swings and climbing frame kindly provided by the pub.   Wheres the down side? there isnt one, so give it a go!

As this was the inaugural P.A.B. meeting (parents at pubs) we had to lay down a few ground rules and pointers for fellow PAB members:

1) Pick a pub that has a play area for the kids - this is essential for anyone looking to enjoy their time at the PAB meeting
2) Pick a sunny day - kids inside a pub doesnt work, they cant buy a round, they cant play on the fruit machines, they cant watch the football on the tv so its useless
3) Make sure they have kids food on the menu - an enjoyable experience starts with kids who arent hungry, make sure there is food available for the little ones.  Giving them some of yours just doesnt work - they dont like it so dont try it.
4) Facilities - actually, forget the facilities, unlike a coffee morning, you dont need baby changing facilities, drinking areas, nappy bins etc - you have everything you need in the beer garden - grass to lay the child down on for changing, bins for the nappies and space for them to run around. Simples
5) Visit the loo prior to leaving the pab meeting and picking the kids up from school - if this doesnt happen, you end up picking the kids up and getting home a great speeds - today, I must have covered the journey in a new British record - I was even overtaking cars!!!

So you can see pab meetings will soon be the new coffee mornings, I can see it now, our children grow up, get married, have kids, meet other mums and then on one historic day, the magic words "fancy going for a pab meeting" will be common practice throughout the country.   Just remember, it all started today, Thursday 24th March 2011 - the first pab meeting...................we salute you.

Sorry, got a bit carried away there - anyway, picked the kids up after the pub, came home for tea and bed.

The moral of this blog - there is more to life than coffee mornings so come on mums all over the country, get out there, put down the tea pot and the biscuits, dont worry about the dirty dishes or the cobwebs in your sitting room.  Go forth and try a pab meeting - you wont be looking back!!!

Disclaimer - Mr Mum does not encourage the drinking of alcohol during the school day - it is not big or clever and should be done in moderation.  After all, you dont want to be burning the dinner when you get home because you have fallen asleep!!!

The summer is coming!!

Today was a good day, the sun was out and the birds were singing.  I think the summer is almost here - happy days! No more buggy rain covers, wellies, big coats, scarves, gloves etc - bring on the flip flops, sunglasses and shorts!!

Took Megs and Emma to school today (no tears again from Emms) and then Rosie and I played in the garden and watched some Peppa Pig before having to go back and pick Emma up at Midday. No lost Bob episodes today so all pretty good.

Came back for lunch, played some more in the garden, I gave Emma some bunches in her hair and then back to school again to pick Megs up from here Gymnastics class, then back home for tea, more playing in the garden, some tv and bed!

Off to school again later for a Governor meeting - four times in one day is a little excessive I would say, I might as well move in.

Anyway, as you can see, not much to report, but I thought I would give you an update to save any confusion on events discussed on the wrong date in the blog!

Catch up tomorrow with much more to report following a Mothers Day Tea Party and a trip to the pub - blimey, I think I have forgotten what a pub looks like so best let the others go to the bar!!!

Laters.....

Emergency Code Red - We have a lost Bob situation....

The day started so well, dropped Megs at school then took Emma in (no tears) and came home with Rosie, the sun was out and it was a nice warm day......

Rosie and I popped to the supermarket for our weekly food shopping outing before coming back for a play in the garden and lunch.  After lunch we did the ironing (more me than Rosie to be fair) and went back to school to pick the others up. 

Now, as my more loyal Mumsters will know, Bob is a key part of Emma's life, he goes everywhere with her (see previous blog for full description) and will never be replaced.  So imagine the drama when I arrived to pick Emma up to find she was last out - why was she last out? Because she had lost Bob.  I thought I could notice panic on the faces of the teachers and finally my worst fears became reality when one of the teachers came out as white as a ghost and delivered the words that I have been dreading for the past 4 years - "We seem to have lost Bob".

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I could feel all the blood drain from my face and time stood still for a moment.  What were we to do, I had visions of search dogs, helicopters over head and a combination of Bergerac and Columbo assigned to the case.....but instead of this I had two teachers, me and Emma looking for the lost Bob. 

Although Emma was putting on a brave face, I could tell the stress was getting to her.....we searched the classroom, the lobby and then headed out into the garden to look there.  Rumours of abduction and ransoms were spreading fast and I could imagine the missing posters I would have to start printing. The search was a good four minutes old now and my heart was pumping...we had looked everywhere and were becoming exhausted.  It would be dark soon (well 4 hours) and that would mean a night without Bob for Emma and a night without Emma for poor poor Bob who could be anywhere. 

Just as morale was at an all time low,  suddenly Emma came up with an idea - has anyone searched the playhouse in the garden? I looked at Emma, Emma looked at me, the teachers looked at each other, Rosie kept eating and we sprung into action, it was like a slow motion clip from a film as we ran down the garden to the playhouse, Emma got their first (my run was more of a stroll), she burst open the door and ran inside.....then silence......nothing.....I could hear the seconds ticking by on my watch as we all waited for Emma to appear.....a few seconds, which felt like hours ticked by and then a shout came from the playhouse, it was Emma - she marched triumphantly out of the playhouse with a small,slightly grubby and scared looking Bob held high above her head.  The search was up, we had found Bob, everything was going to be ok again. 

There were cheers of delight and much hugging of Bob.  Emma looked so happy to be reunited with Bob after such a long time apart.  I put Emma and Bob safely in the buggy and then rushed round to pick up Megan who we were now late for who promptly told me off for making her have to tidy up the classroom with her teacher.  Little did she know of the drama that had just unfolded and I wasnt about to give her nightmares by telling her what had happened, instead I took my telling off and we went home for a nice bowl of pasta with thoughts of what could have been................

There is a lesson here for all parents, good luck and dont ever let your "Bob" out of sight for one second, the consequences arent worth thinking about.

Groundhog day / week / month.......

It was mentioned to me on Friday that every day is like Groundhog day - I am beginning to know what they meant as the routine rolls on...

Today was the busy day, as my favourite Mumsters will know, Monday is music club, soft play and dancing club so busy busy, although I did manage a trip to Waitrose and treat myself to a can of Oxtail soup for lunch!

Softplay was a bit surreal this morning, as we finished music club and went down to the softplay area we were confronted with a room full of blokes in suits having a meeting - which you may not think is too weird, but in a softplay area with hundreds of screaming kids running around, I would not suggest this is the perfect venue for a meeting! Anyhows, we had fun and then came back for lunch, play in the garden, quick nap and then back to school to pick Megs up for dancing classes - the dancing teacher even threatened to get me dancing so I made a swift exit!

Home for tea, showers, bed etc etc etc then start it all over again tomorrow!

PS I have three days till Mothers Day tea party at Emma's preschool - this isn't how imagined spending a Thursday in March!!! luckily there is a little trip to the pub afterwards which I will certainly need!

PPS for anyone interested, Utd are 5 points clear and looking good for a record league title........Adios one and all. 

Blooming buggy rain covers....

Whoever designed buggy rain covers must have been a pyscho!

Today, it has poured with rain all day which is slightly depressing when you have kids to entertain.....this morning was ok, B came round with the twins for a coffee morning (i am getting to be something of an expert on coffee mornings) which was good, that killed the morning, leaving only the afternoon to fill before picking Megs up from school.


Normally picking Megs up is not a problem, but today it was thanks to the rain.....the blooming buggy rain cover wouldnt fit on the buggy, however I tried, i am not even sure it is the right rain cover for the buggy but it got quickly disposed of as we got later and later.  This led to the kids getting a little bit wet in the buggy and Mr Mum completely soaked.  Not doing that again, no one told me I had to pick the kids up in the rain.  Next time, I will be outsourcing the task or getting Megs to come home in a taxi!!!


Anyhows, we are all home now and ITS THE WEEKEND - it better not rain tomorrow or there will be trouble.........

PS good luck to England - going for the Grand Slam and Six Nations - last time we won that we went on to the win the World cup, so lets hope we can repeat this year! (I am talking about rugby for anyone wondering)......

What an exhausting day....

Today has been mentally and physically exhausting........not with the kids, but with watching England trying to get through to the Qtr finals of the World Cup! For those of you who missed it, we batted first and scored a respectable score.  West Indies came in to bat and smashed the ball everywhere, at one point we were out of the game totally, but we bounced back to win by 18 runs. We are pretty much guaranteed a qtr final position now but who knows!

Anyway, back to the kids - Megs had athletics (T - have I got the right day?!?) this morning so only had to take Emma in (small tears). Rosie and I were then invited to a coffee morning at the local church hall - it was actually pretty good - for £1 I got two cups of coffee, a story and two bits of cake, and Rosie did ok as well! We were there for 2 hours with M and her daughter M (protecting identities), although good we did almost lose dolly, which after yesterdays exploits with Bib was the last thing we needed, but luckily it was only a mini drama as dolly had been handed in so all ok.

We came home to be confronted by an odd little man who I could hardly understand, I think he was trying to let me clear my gutters but I declined!

This afternoon, Rosie and I watched more of the cricket before picking Emma and Megs up and rushing home for the cricket finale.....sorry, the kids took a back seat today - crucial game of cricket as you might have gathered.

Anyway, soon be there bed time so best go and get them organised......see you all soon.

By the way, did I mention England won today?!?!?

We are over half way through the week!!!

Hold the front page - HUGE drama today, probably the most exciting moment in Mr Mum's short career to date.......I wont be surprised if this is on the front page of all the national newspapers tomorrow......I hope you are sitting down.....I shall begin....

It all started today at about 11.50am, Rosie and I set off on our 100000000th trip to the school this week to pick up Emma.  We picked her up and headed back, when we got home I unloaded the kids from the buggy along with Bob, dolly and Bib (all essential traveling companions for the kids, and will explain about them later.) But wait a minute, we had Bob, we had Dolly, BUT THERE WAS NO BIB - NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO somewhere between home and school and back again Rosie must have dropped Bib - now to the untrained this probably doesnt seem too big a deal, but to anyone with kids who have "connected" with a doll or something and can never be parted will no what this means....crying.

There was no controlling her, we had tears, rolling about on the floor, hitting me, the works.  all over Bib.

I finally calmed her down with a good old fashion parent trick - the bribe.  A biscuit for no more tears, works everytime.

Anyway, later on we headed back to school for the 100000001th time to pick Megs up, on the look out for Bib.  We were about to give up hope, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a soggy looking red thing perched on a wall next to the school gates, we dashed along the path and sure enough it was Bib - I had to fight back the tears as I reunited Rosie with Bib.  A truly emotional moment and to date THE most exciting episode of the past few weeks!!!

A lesson to us all.

Anyway, off to the school for the 100000002th time now for a Governor meeting so will leave you to calm down and digest the excitement from my day.

PS Before I go, brief introduction to the kids' companions - First we have Flopsy, Flopsy is Megs' little friend - a stuffed rabbit, who has been with her since she was about 2 years old and goes everywhere with her (we draw the line at school).  Flopsy is now looking rather sorry for himself, he has lost a lot of stuffing and has holes forming everywhere.  Luckily we have not one, but two back up Flopsys which get rotated for emergency repairs and washing. 

We then have Bob.  Bob is Emmas special little friend, a 9 inch tall bald headed doll with no clothes on.  Bob literally goes everywhere and is even known at School, everymorning the teacher welcomes us with "morning Emma, morning Bob". Luckily we also have a spare Bob for backup purposes.

Rosie is still in the "trying to work out the best little friend stage" but currently she has Doll, a Barbie doll with long blond hair, a tshirt and no other clothes.  Oh yes, and she is missing one leg below the knee.  And of course, there is Bib - a normal bib, red in colour that is getting a bit old now.....

So there you have it the full family. 

Footnote - you might have noticed Bob and Flopsy are boys - this is to even up the numbers in my house.......

Champions League Qtr finals here we come........

Oh yes, for a record 12th time Man Utd are in the Qtr finals of the CL - Wembley here we come!!

Sorry, football talk.......anyway back to life as Mr Mum, well we are half way through are second week and all still standing so not going too badly.  Yesterday was a quiet day as T had Rosie while Megs and Emma were at school, this freed me up to put my feet up and watch tv all day.....no just kidding, I spent the day getting through my long list of chores so not too thrilling.

Today is already much more exciting - after dropping Emma (no tears) and Megan off at school, Rosie and I ventured to the supermarket - and check this out, it didnt cost us anything to do the weekly shopping - how exciting is that! (not really I hear you say, but this is the highlight of my week so stick with me!) and before you ask, it wasnt down to Mr Mums charm at the checkout, more the point I had bundles of Nectar points to spend......anyway, it made my day!

Off to pick Emma up in a moment, then back for lunch and an action packed afternoon of ironing and park visits.......catch you later.....

Another week begins.....

Start of another week in the life of Mr Mum - and I got to tell ya, I am getting the hang of this!

Megs to school this morning, Emma, Rosie and I quickly into music class followed by a stint in the soft play, we then dived into the supermarket for some essentials, and back here for lunch.

Then it was off to pick Megs up and on to dance class - as its Comic Relief this week, the kids were asked to dress in Red - Emma had her pyjama bottoms on with a red England top, and Megan had her Manchester United pyjama top and red shorts on - I think we managed the red quite successfully, as did the majority of other kids. 

home for Mr Mums special for tea - pasta in a tomato sauce (secret recipe)......then bed!

I did however forget Megs wellies for gardening club at lunch, so not 100% today - but certainly getting better!!!

ITS THE WEEKEND!!!! HOORAY!

Before we go any further, we have have received a complaint here at Mr Mum central.  I am afraid one of the "Mumsters" thought there was a problem with an earlier blog, the problem being, I was talking about something that happened on Wednesday but it appeared on the Thursday blog, this apparently was too much for one Mumster and led to a formal complaint.  Rest assured, I have dealt with the matter and the complaint has not been upheld.  It turned out to be a reading error from the Mumster, she apologised (well almost) and the matter has now been closed. You know who you are Mumster!

Anyway, back to the blog - ITS FRIDAY! thank goodness for friday, I now have two days where I can talk with adults and (hopefully) put my feet up for a bit! Its been a quiet day in the Mr Mum household, had to wait for the freezer to be fixed and the car dropped off, but Rosie, Emma and I managed a fun packed trip to the post office and to the park, before picking Megan up and staying for "scooter club" - basically, a bunch of over excited 5 or 6 year olds scooting around the playground at high speeds!

I have even managed to see some of the cricket - Again, England like to make the game exciting but not batting well and then letting the opposition get into the game.....almost over and its going to the wire.  Obviously, this is on in the background as my prime objective right now is tea for the kids......so on that note I bid you farewell at the end of my first full week - and what a week it has been, oh the memories......

PS come on Man Utd tomorrow against Arsenal - lets knock them out of another cup this week!!!

The countdown to the weekend begins.....

Hi all, its Thursday, that means the weekend is oh so very close.....

As predicted, Messi showed Arsenal how to play football, well done to Spurs and heres to Man Utd knocking Arsenal out of another cup at the weekend.   Sorry, but I need to discuss it with someone as Rosie doesnt seem to be interested in a conversation around football!!

As for Mr Mum, he has been a very busy man, the fridge freezer packed in so needed to empty it and off load a lot of the frozen food to "B' that led to my first coffee morning as Mr Mum so thanks B!

Megs had gymnastics after school so Emma, Rosie and I played a thrilling game of hide and seek before playing the garden for a while....with no frozen food, i still managed to rustle up a treat for the kids and there were no complaints.

Today involved a quick trip to Sainsburys followed by a morning entertaining Rosie....off to make her lunch now so catch up later......

Its pancake day!

A short blog tonight as I am exhausted and in desperate need for a beer! Reasonably straight forward day today, both megs and emma went to school leaving Rosie and I  free to do the food shopping which was a good plan until the fridge freezer repair man came out and told me to turn the freezer off for 3 days - just after I had stocked it up with food!

After school I took the kids to the school book fair, we were in there about 30 mins and I think at one point or another we all fell out with each other! Megan started sulking because I wouldnt buy her a rubbish notepad and pen instead of a book, so we came out of there a lot more depressed than when we went in! although a few biscuits on the way home helped the mood!

My wife is away tonight so I am hoping for a quiet night from the youngsters so I can put my feet up and watch Messi show Arsenal how to play football!!

Until tomorrow, good night one and all......

blimey......today was tough!

Apologies to you all for the delay in posting the latest chapter in the thrilling life of Mr Mum but I have been a tad busy!

When I said last week it was a breeze, I was lying - today has been busy busy busy!

The weekend was a busy affair as well, we went to my wife's cousins' wedding in Wales on the Saturday, leaving the kids with "T' - by all accounts T managed brilliantly and everything went like clock work.....the wedding was fun as well and we came back sunday morning with slight hangovers! I eneded up coming second in a squash tournament on sunday evening so all in all a good weekend.

As for today, am I glad its all over - started the day taking Megs to school, with the cup from squash for her to show off, as well as her wellies for gardening club.  We then had to rush over to Music club for Rosie and Emma - a room for of mums and toddlers sitting on the floor clapping away to various "songs" - at least the kids enjoyed it!

we then dived home for lunch and a nap (Rosie not me), before picking Megs up from school, and heading off for Emm's dance club followed by Megs dance club....we finally made it home at about 5pm just in time for me to cook tea and get them ready for bed......so all in all a busy day!

Still, at least tomorrow Emma and Megs are at school so just me and Rosie for the day - only the shopping and ironing to do............. the fun continues!!!

End of day three........

Today I cheated, yes you heard it here and I dont mind admitting it, I cheated!

My wife wasnt working today so she took over as Mr Mum while I met up with a few friends and chewed the fat of the life of a Mr Mum (and also to hear what was happening in the outside world!).

The kids seemed to have a fun day and were happy to be back with mummy for the day (cant think why!)......anyhows, a short blog today.

Off to a wedding in Cardiff tomorrow while the kids are looked after by our friend, who for the purpose of the blog will be known as "T".  T has 3 kids of her own and therefore is, I am sure, looking forward to 6 kids for the weekend - rather her than me! T, if you are reading this, then thanks for your help - and always remember, you are welcome to do the ironing if you get a chance!!!

Anyway, thats it for this, my frist week as Mr Mum - been an eventful week and I am sure I will be back blogging on monday - busy day Mondays, so lets see how it goes!!

Have a good weekend one and all and thanks for breaking the 100 views mark!  lets push on now for 1000!!

Mr Mum

Going viral........

Just a quick note to thank you all for viewing the blog to date. It has only been up two days and already had 100 views!!!! Had people in greece, america and even vietnam viewing it- We are going viral with this one!!!!

Day two and all under control..........

Day two has been a breeze, I dont know what all the fuss is about!!!!

Managed to get Emma to pre school on time and we had no tears, which was good (Megan was taken in early for athletics) .....then Rosie and I headed to the shops for a bit before coming home and watching some classic daytime TV - blimey, it is rubbish - why dont they put something better on for us house husbands, perhaps the premier league should schedule some mid week mid morning matches to keep us entertained! after 2.5 mins of Jeremy Kyle I was ready to throw my tv out the window, so we turned it off and played who could run around the house the quickest - Rosie won!

We then had lunch before enjoying the sunshine, although slightly cold, in the garden - I cut the lawn while Rosie ran around with her buggy trying to keep as far away from the lawn mower as possible.

We then went to pick up Emma and Megan.  Now back home getting ready for hot dogs for tea.  I have also prepared dinner for the wife and I and done the laundry.....I could get used to this life......although I am sure not all days are like this!

The end of the first day......

Its the end of the first day of my 5 week marathon...........and I am exhausted!!!  The kids are all in bed after a successful day as Mr Mum........I have never walked so far in my one day before - took Megan and Emma to their schools first thing (both schools on same campus so handy), came home with Rosie, once I had finished coming to terms with daytime tv and being pestered by scary WatchTower people it was time to go back to School to pick up Emma (half day on Wednesdays).

We then came home for a lunch Mr Ramsay would be proud of, followed by a trip to the local park - freezing cold so didnt last long before kids started moaning.....home again for an hour before walking back to the school to pick Megan up from her after school Gym club. 

Then back home for a homemade pizza for tea, followed by a bit of relaxing tv, ET tonight - first time they have seen it, not sure they get why there is a little creature with long fingers walking around someones house but ho hum - I am sure there will be a few nightmares tonight!!

THEN AT 7.12PM THE TIME I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR ARRIVED - BEDTIME!

I have now earned a big glass of red wine before cooking some dinner for the bread winner.......... and to top it all England lost in the cricket to that giant of the game - Ireland!!! brilliant.

....I am now half an hour into my blogs and within that time I have been subjected to the Jeremy Kyle show on the tv - what is that all about?!?!  and also had two overly friendly old woman from WatchTower trying to sell me a bible or something!!

My First Day in charge.....

Its 10.30 on Wednesday 2nd March 2011 and this is my first day as Mr Mum!


Before I go any further, I should probably explain how I got to be Mr Mum in the first place......without going into the full details, (which I cant for legal reasons) I have recently resigned from my job as MD of an IT Consultancy in London which I helped set up 3 years ago.  There was a difference of opinion on the board and I felt it best that I left the company as I wasn't happy with the direction it was heading.  Anyway, this coincided with my wife (Jo) being offered a 5 week contract in her capacity as an Occupational Psychologist so the timing was perfect for Mr Mum to take over the household duties for the duration of Jo's contract.

Easy you might think, put your feet up for 5 weeks, take in a few films, go to the gym, few beers with the guys - happy days! but no, one small factor I haven't mentioned yet - 3 young children.  

You will get to know them all over future blogs, but in a nutshell there is Megan (6 yrs old) - she is the tomboy, always rushing around on her scooter, playing with her friends and very happy at school.  Then there is Emma (4 yrs old) - slightly more sensitive and a proper young girl, likes painting her finger nails, checking her hair and dressing in pretty clothes.  She goes to Pre-school 2.5 days per week and doesnt like it that much.  Finally there is Rosie (1.5 yrs old) - shes a happy little thing that is quite willing to follow the others or potter around the house with her dolls.

So, there are the kids, then there are the activities including Gym, Dancing, Swimming, Music and athletics to contend with.  I think I have my work cut out.....