MrsB

In 2012 I ran 1544 km, started doing CrossFit, got a tattoo, quit Citalopram and other than a break over summer holiday and Christmas – didn’t eat any sugar. So all in all it was a good year, even though it didn’t start very well – MrB got labyrinthitis right as 2011 became 2012 and [...]

Oskar woke up at 6:19 this morning (he looked at the clock and told me later), Oliver woke up 6:35ish in our bed. We had told them they had to stay upstairs until 7 so they patiently waited and a few minutes before 7 we all came downstairs and opened the doors to the study with the Christmas tree and all the presents.

Upon opening his first present, Oskar fell on his knees and shouted “My first wish has come true! Thank you! Thank you God for making Santa!!”

Oliver opened up all of this presents and of course has been playing with one of the smallest and cheapest items all day. Parents always go just a little overboard when it comes to Christmas :) [...]

We are taking it easy this year for Christmas – we’re not going anywhere, we only have one house guest, we only have a couple of very casual catch-ups with friends planned and a pantomime on the 28th.

Most presents are wrapped, the turkey and a new batch of gingerbread cookie dough is in the fridge. There won’t be a special Christmas breakfast or brunch or any of that – just the regular porridge or pancakes and being out and about whenever it’s not raining.

Today we went ice skating in front of the Natural History museum, it was quite a workout for us holding the kids up for 50 minutes :) Afterwards we enjoyed a late pizza lunch sitting outside – it was such a warm day! Then a walk through Hyde Park checking out the sights of the Winter Wonderland in the background and then home to a movie and mulled wine. [...]

I got up a bit grumpy this morning (you could probably tell based on my last post) but went to CrossFit regardless. At 5:40 there was no point in going back to bed knowing Oliver would be up around 6 and I knew I was going to feel better after the class – no one EVER feels worse after exercising.

So by 7am I was in Canary Wharf again and it was raining and totally miserable outside. During the warm-up we practiced the head stand and I usually just balance with my knees resting on my elbows. When the trainer asked whether I can lift up my knees I said “Nope”. [...]

It’s no surprise to anyone who’s a mother that motherhood changes you. It changes you in ways you predicted (e.g. boobs – gone, bellybutton – ‘frowning’) but it also changes you in ways you never thought about (e.g. not being able to watch the news, not being able to listen to music when home alone because all you want to listen to is SILENCE).

In my case I’ve also noticed that ever since my last baby was born, I’ve actually for the first time started to have PMS :|. The fact that for 33 years I never really felt like I ever had PMS is I guess good for me, but to get it NOW is sort of not very hilarious. [...]

It’s been a weekend of mixed emotions. I have stayed away from newspapers and actually hidden them so that the kids don’t see the headlines. I am not ready to explain.

If I still lived in the States I know I’d have to explain, and generally I don’t shy away from deep and meaningful conversations with my kids (more with the 7-yr old than the 4-yr old) but living in London now I am hiding this story from them… I don’t know whether this is the right thing to do or not, but it’s what I’m doing…

Other than that, we’ve had some fun moments this weekend but also a whole LOT of moaning and tantrums :| I don’t know if other parents feel the same, but when my kids have tantrums that just last on an on and on and morph into moaning that goes on and on an on – I totally feel like I’m failing at this parenting thing. [...]

10 days until Christmas – life’s still busy but showing signs of slowing down… I even took my ‘rest day’ today seriously and had a long afternoon nap :)

MrB has been coming home before the kids are in bed and it’s been so nice. Sadly I had almost forgotten just how nice it is when he comes home in time to do the boys’ bathtime and bedtime with me. I feel total calmness come over me as soon as he walks in the door and I love when all 4 of us are cuddling in our bed and reading books. It’s visible and palpable how the kids love having him home during workday evenings and I feel a lot less frantic when he’s around (I can be a bit of a stress head, especially when I have to jump straight into homework/bath/books/bed routine after a day in the office). [...]

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

Enough of the exercise stuff, right? It’s finally beginning to look a lot like Christmas! [...]

Oliver’s nativity play + Joseph’s oufit
Oliver not really participating because he hates big crowds
Office Christmas dinner
Five working days
Seven CrossFit days [...]

The next two weeks are going to go by in fast-forward mode – my calendar is full of notes, appointments and to do lists :| I no longer have Wednesdays off work to run errands, spend time with the kids or cook dinners. In addition, I’ve decided to join the “12 days of CrossFit” challenge at my CrossFit gym and that means that I have to fit in a class every freaking day from this Monday until the 14th of December.

There are also various work/school/nursery related Christmas functions AND a costume hunt for my little “Joseph” for tomorrow’s nativity play (eek!! so soon!!!) AND Christmas presents going overseas that need to be wrapped and posted asap. [...]

Just a few photos I took of my ‘baby’ this evening. I’m getting used to his hair – if he doesn’t want to get it cut then let see how it goes until the summer when it’s hot and longish hair probably not very practical.

This year we spent our wedding anniversary weekend in New Park Manor hotel & spa. Last two anniversaries we’ve spent in Four Seasons in Hook, but this year we wanted to try something different, especially since we had a nice experience in Danesfield House in April for my birthday.

So how did New Park measure up against Four Seasons and Danesfield House? Out of 10 points I’d give Four Seasons 10 points, Danesfield House 9 and New Park Manor 7. Why just seven? Mainly because the wow factor was missing from almost every element other than the look and comfort of the room. [...]

Haven’t written a Run for Fun post since 1st of October when it was all about mixing up the training in preparation for the two half marathons I ran that month. Since then I’ve pretty much stayed with the same training schedule – CrossFit twice a week, 10k run on Wednesdays or Thursdays, and a long run (22-25km) on a Saturdays or Sundays. I haven’t done any hill repeats since my last half marathon though – CrossFit gives my muscles a good enough workout that I don’t feel the need to go mad on the hills at the moment!

My long runs have been to Richmond Park lately. I finally figured out how to run there without getting lost :) The quickest way is through Wimbledon Common but at this time of the year the common is very muddy so I’ve been taking the road around it which makes the loop a bit over 22km long – perfect for a weekend run.

I love long runs because they make you think about running, they make you preservere, they make you patient and they make you cherish how far you have come in the whole running journey.

The more I do it and the more distance I cover, the more I am seeing how running is just as good for my mind as it is for my body. [...]

We love to read in this household, but I don’t usually blog about books. Maybe because for kids it’s the classics that everyone knows about – Dr.Seuss, Julia Donaldson, fairy tales, etc. + a lot of Estonian books bought during our summers there.

Earlier this year the boys got a book I had never seen or heard about in a party bag from a friend’s birthday – “The man who wore all his clothes”. We loved it as soon as we opened it – great illustrations, great story, lots of funny details to catch the kids’ attention. It involves a bank robber and a car radio that can never get the news right and the mystery of why is a man wearing all of this clothes at the same time.

Last week I saw a book by the same author in the library, “The children who smelled a rat”. Since we brought it home we have been reading it every night – it’s written in the same humorous style as the other book and the kids are totally in love and have memorised many pages of it :). It has a teacher who behaves very oddly and a bird who hypnotises a cat and a baby who’s in a runaway shopping trolley being chased by his dad.

Both of the books are like the kinds of movies where you have several stories going on at the same time but it all comes together nicely at the end. [...]