Lunchtime Latte with smooth porno funk

I'm in Costa Coffee again... no yummy mummies around yet today. At each table sits someone with their laptop open, vibrant apple logo aglow. It's quite soothing if I'm honest, a bit of breathing space amongst the tantrums and toileting that is my job.

The kiddies have been pretty well behaved today. The usual suspects are mellow and relaxed this morning (so far) and we sit outside enjoying the sunshine. One of my key children is away so I'm enjoying the company of just the other two today. One, lets call him 'M', has taken a real shine to me and I've taken to thinking of him as my little shadow. 'M' always has a look of either soulful introspection or slightly ill as a resting expression (beats looking like a bulldog as I do) but I strive to get him to smile on a daily basis.

I'm hitting the parenting books at home now, as well as the development books at work. My latest subject to swat up on is 'tween hormonal changes'. That nine year old in your life can be an enigma so I need to study up on him. Little D continues to match her cuteness with equal measures of stubbornness and musical talent. I was marvelling the other day that my girl has now turned 2! I cannot imagine what life was like before her now and marvel what an epochal change fatherhood actually is. You really don't know what it's like till you're in the middle of it!

Anyway, that's enough for now. Gotta hit the books for 25 mins before getting back to the kiddies.

A.

Dizzy and That Ghastly Mouse

D's musical education continues...

She loves They Might Be Giants and their collaborations with Disney. Now if there's one thing I don't mind her watching on a Saturday morning it's Here Come The ABC's and The 123s.

Catchy, wholesome, yet quirky, stuff.

Ties in with Disney are another matter though. TMBG are deserving of taking a fat paycheck off Mickey and Co but the less exposure my daughter has to The Rat, the better. Trouble is, this is on her favourite DVD. Seventy seconds of dire saccharine which makes CeeBeebies look like Eastenders by comparison.

Is it just me or does any one else find Micky Mouse creepy? He sounds like he's on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

PS. I was going to attach a pic from Google Image search for 'Mickey Mouse creepy' and came up with this. Diz was resting on my shoulder so maybe she's been turned off Disney for good. I can only hope.

A.

The eagle eyed amongst you...

.. will have spotted the links on the right hand of my blog.

I use them for my Matched Betting (MB), a lucrative little hobby I've been doing over the years to make a few quid. My daydream is to be able to teach someone the nuances of MB without the looks of blank confusion they normally exhibit when I try.

If you want some pointers in the wonderful world of MB, let me know. 

A.

Spearmint Rhino reaches the singularity

Spearmint Rhino enters the 21st Century with their new dancers.

Genius at work

March 2014 - It seems like only a few weeks ago my daughter could only lie on her back and cry alot. Every child goes through learning mark making and using technology, but it's always a marvel when your child starts doing so.

Battling the yummy mummies for coffee...

I've started my new job at a nursery in Teddington.

It's a 15 minute drive but might as well be another country: genteel, well maintained, with convoys of Ladies That Lunch all over the pavements. Lunchtime means a quick visit to Costa Coffee to get my caffeine infusion. Here you'll see the yummy mummies in their native habitat, roosting round their tables with Jackie O sunglasses perched atop their glossy barnets. Meanwhile the  little Tarquins and Bellas mewl quietly in their chrome plated strollers, replete with technology a BMW engineer would be proud of. 

I roll out of bed at 6, and two weeks in I'm used to it. Despite the early starts I've settled and hitting it of well with the kiddies. Management are hardworking, supportive and very nice so it's a big change to my last place. There is a sprinkling of foreign languages amongst the parents so I plan to try a few key words in Spanish/Italian/etc which is for my benefit as much as for the kiddies. Already I've mastered a stern 'NIET!' to chasten a feisty Russian boy in my charge.

Roll it in your mind, go on.... Niet... I always think of the word in a deep ominous tone along similar lines of 'I will crush you'. or 'If he dies, he dies'. But maybe thats just me.

A.

Who wants a rewind??