Babysitting fun!

Yesterday I babysat Nathan for the first time. (The Mummies were off to test drive a car.)

When I arrived just after nine o'clock he was just finishing his breakfast feed so he was full and happy when his Mummies left at around 10 am.  He stayed that way for a while - sitting in his bouncy chair watching Nanny tidy up the kitchen and listening to a child friendly channel on the radio.  Some very interesting modern versions of nursery rhymes!

When he started to get fed up with that I took him upstairs to change his nappy and get him dressed.  He was happy while doing that - I found a few ticklish spots.  I put him in his big cot while I washed my hands.  He doesn't sleep in there yet but it's a safe place to leave him and he was entertained by his musical mobile for a bit.

Once he'd listened to that he began to get a bit grumpy so I decided it was time to put him in his buggy and go for a walk to get him off to sleep.  I put him down in the buggy, slipped a dummy in his mouth and by the time I'd popped to the loo he was asleep!  No moaning or fighting it, just asleep.

It was about 11 by this time so I did another couple of chores not knowing how long he might stay asleep.  Well he stirred at about 11.30 and as I didn't think that was a long enough nap I took him straight out for a walk.  We only went around the block (it's a big block) but was asleep again in no time and was still asleep when his Mummies got back just after 1 pm!

I moaned to them about their pathways. On their street the pavement (sidewalk) is quite narrow so it's hard to push the buggy along and it's bumpy so the baby gets jolted a lot so much so that I almost contemplated walking in the road but I thought if they came back at the wrong time and saw me I'd get told off for doing that.  Their response to the state of the pavement was: "oh we often walk in the road"!  To be fair their road is a dead end and doesn't get much traffic. I'll know what to do next time!

My daughter was not impressed at how easily I had got him to sleep - he doesn't sleep that well for her usually.  Apparently he also slept during the afternoon but, as might have been expected, he didn't have the best of nights!

Routine?  What's that?

Friday's Fave Five 15/9/17

Fridays are a time to look back on the week and share our blessings.
If you want to join in or check out the other participants pop over to our host Suzanne's blog at Living to Tell the Story

With all the craziness going on in certain parts of the world it's good to be able to stop and count my blessings this week as follows:

1)  Time.  There are very little constraints on my time.  I always have a long to do list but very little that is pressing or demanding.

2)  A visit from our eldest son and DIL last weekend and of course their fur babies.  We have to be food aware when the dogs are around - they are counter top height and very interested in food but it's great to see them.

3)  Nathan time.  I love having then close enough to be able to visit them most weeks.

4)  No real money issues - although if I keep getting tempted every time I see cute outfits for Nathan my hubby might be depriving me of my credit cards!

My hairdresser was running late yesterday so I had time to browse the store and couldn't resist these. 

5.  Attending my first ever Pilates class today.  My physio suggested this and the class runs in a studio just 5 minutes away from our house so I had no excuses left not to give it a go.  Hopefully I won't regret it tomorrow!

I'm trying to get this posted early as hubby has a record group meeting here this evening - a group of music appreciating friends get together each month to listen to and discuss a record - yes an actual record!  It's his turn to host so now I'm off shopping for some nibbles and then getting the house straight for guests. Whatever you're doing I hope you have a good weekend.

Wednesday Hodgepodge 13/9/17

Wednesday's Hodgepodge is brought to us courtesy of Joyce at

From this side of the pond

Pop over there to see other posts and if you want to join in add the link to your Hodgepodge blog post to the Linky List at the end of Joyce's post and don’t forget to visit at least your neighbours on the list.

1. Is a picture worth a thousand words? Elaborate.

It obviously depends on the picture but yes some would definitely generate a thousand words.  Of course I’m all about my Grandson at the moment and the photo taken of him just after he was born, swaddled up to keep him warm and connected up to machines to keep him alive compared to the one taken yesterday generates so many words most of which are ones of thanks.

Pictures of the devastation caused by Irma also generate so many words although in many cases there will be no words to ease the pain of those who have lost so much, especially loved ones.
2. Have you ever driven any part of the Pacific Coast Highway? If so what was your favourite stop? If not, is this sort of trip on your bucket list?
Never been there but putting it on the bucket list sounds good.
3. How do the changing seasons affect you? As the seasons change do you find yourself looking more forward or backward? Which season-season transition bothers you most? Why do you suppose that is?

Yes the changes of season do affect me – we definitely have four different seasons here although sometimes they seem to forget which one they are!  I think autumn going into winter is worst – the days are so short and often gloomy.  Hard to feel cheerful then.
4. It's your birthday and you get to pick the dinner menu. What are we having? Do you ever lie about your age?
That would depend on where we were eating but there would definitely be a chocolate dessert!  I don’t lie about my age.  I have a cousin who has tried to stay the same age for a while (even though there is only 4 months between us) and her grandchildren are now old enough not to be fooled.  She’s now thinking about a new ploy - to say she’s actually older than she is in the hope that people will say she looks good for her age.  I thought about giving that a go but decided it would be too disheartening if no one gave the right response!
5. What's a life lesson you've learned recently?
Does downloading Uber onto my phone count?
6.  Insert your own random thought here.

I hope that anyone affected by Irma has come through it safely.  Homes and furnishings can be replaced, people can’t.  We never used to have names for storms here in the UK but recently they have started to give them names due to the increasing strength of them.  Storm Aileen hit parts of the country last night but she was a baby compared to Irma.  But global warming/climate change isn’t a thing right?

Review: I See You

I See You by Clare Mackintosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Zoe Walker sees her photo in the classifieds section of a London newspaper, she is determined to find out why it's there. There's no explanation, no website: just a grainy image and a phone number. She takes it home to her family, who are convinced it's just someone who looks like Zoe. But the next day the advert shows a photo of a different woman, and another the day after that.

Is it a mistake? A coincidence? Or is someone keeping track of every move they make?

When one of the women is murdered Zoe becomes convinced she is being watched and followed and, after a terrifying discovery, she and her daughter Katie find themselves in grave danger.

Perhaps not quite as good as her debut (no jaw dropping twists along the way) this was still a great read which I thoroughly enjoyed.

View all my reviews