two steps forward

I'm not very keen on reading books about child development, as I think they'll make me paranoid, or more paranoid to be accurate. I have trusted my rather spotty memory of studying this area to carry us through. This has been great, as I have been able to confidently assure Mr McMuffin that our son is a genius and his physical prowess is unsurpassed.

Over the last week or so, Babycake has become (and this is a ridiculous thing to say about an 18 week old) a little bit regressed and like he was at fourteen weeks and a bit needier! I decided to consult the baby manual and it all now makes perfect sense. He is at the age where he is becoming more cautious of strangers and therefore needing more ressurance as to what is predictable and routine. I also took the opportunity to have a quick glance at what similar babies are capable of and have concluded that Babycake is generally making good progress, but should try harder to roll from his front to his side. His verbal abilities are excellent and he has been making the 'ah-goo' noise for a good couple of months. All in all he has demonstrated some good work and so I have awarded him a B+.

apple's itunes drm

I have been following with interest the long running debate about Apple's iTunes DRM. For some reason there are a lot of people who seem to think that it is wrong for Apple to lock iTunes Store users into using an Apple iPod. The French even tried to legislate against it, but the proposed bill has been watered down and probably will not bother Apple too much. I don't quite get it. I appreciate, up to a point, the arguments around being able to use the music you have bought on any machine that you like, but that's a bit like arguing that Rolls Royce should ensure that Vauxhall parts can be used on their cars. If you want to use the iTunes Store get yourself an iPod. It's okay if you don't though, because there are lots and lots of alternatives. I know the iTunes Store is the best out there, but there is a premium to be paid if you want to use it. It really is that simple.

i found this funny too...

Psychiatric office answering machine

johnny cash

We watched Walk the Line last night. Good film. Reese was wonderful, of course. I have been listening to Johnny Cash since then. I am now beginning to wonder just how much Johnny Cash can one man listen to without going mad? I think Mrs McMuffin has already lost her grasp on reality. I need to change the music.

because it made me laugh

From toothpaste for dinner

holiday, celebrate

Mr McMuffin and I want to go away on holiday for a week in the next month or so, but we have no idea where to go. We want to go somewhere we haven't been before as we're not very well travelled and lovely as Madeira is, we feel the need to go somewhere else. We have a list of requirements:

Destination has to be a city in Europe
Warm and sunny, but not boiling hot
Pushchair friendly
Not hugely expensive

We're thinking possibly Krakow or Budapest, but would be most grateful for any suggestions.

can you believe it...

I went to work tonight, and started working, only to find out that I wasn't supposed to be there. Apparently, I had swapped the shift with one of my colleagues. It's great to be away, but it feels like I sort of wasted the day, waiting to go to work. Anyway, I've got Walk the Line for us to watch tonight. I love Reese Witherspoon, and Joaquin Phoenix is okay, although he does have strange sloping shoulders that no one talks about.

the cheek of it

As I was writing my last post I was rudely interupted by a knock on the door. Some fella from Southern Electricity tried to tell me that their records showed that I had failed to claim my discount and I was still paying the old rate for our electricity and gas. I smelled a rat, but when I asked him if we buy our gas from him, he had the nerve to say that I did, and he went on to explain that his company sells the gas that all the power companies in the South East use. In the end I asked him if we pay him any money for any services from his company at the moment. He finally admitted that we didn't, at which point I told him that he was being misleading and I shut the door in his face. I could hear him muttering, "it's not misleading" as I walked away. I wonder how many old folk he suckered today. How can these people sleep at night?

new music...sort of

I haven't mentioned any new music in ages. I have just discovered Electrelane, an all-girl band from Brighton who know how to rock. I am currently listening to their debut album, released in 2001 Rock It to the Moon. It's kind of hard to describe the music, but Mogwai springs to mind as I listen to them. Each track builds driven by urgent beats and bass, and lots and lots of organ. The tracks seem to go on for ages, as if they couldn't quite bring themselves to stop. Excellent stuff. Here's a track from the album called Gabriel. Enjoy.

macbook

I have completely forgotten to mention my latest obsession. I want a Macbook. I have been thinking about a new computer for a while. The trusty iMac still does everything that I need, more or less, but it is nearly four years old, and looking a little tired. If the truth be told, it does struggle a little with some of the newer software that I inflict on it. The Macbook seems to offer the best of all worlds: it's pretty, with lots of good stuff included in the price, great performance, lots of software and, perhaps the most important thing, it's available in black. Oh, and it's dead cheap, as far as these things go. I want one.

dinner challenge

I think I have probably mentioned before that my little brother earns a fortune running a chain of hotels. He knows a lot about catering, and it is always fascinating listening to his thoughts on it all. Anyway, one of the amazing things that he has told us is that he can feed a guest breakfast, lunch and three course dinner for only £1.38 a day (Now, now...I didn't say anthing about the quality!). While Mrs McMuffin and I were out today, we got to talking about this, and this then moved on to how we could challenge our friends, our usual dinner companions, to cook a meal as cheaply. Of course, my brother has an economy of scale thing going on, so we thought we would only ask people to prepare one meal, a three course dinner. We also thought we should double the amount of money that is available, and some, to say £3.00 a head. There is a real incentive here to invite a lot of people to dinner. There are some conditions, the meal has to be like a proper dinner party meal, not a big bowl of pasta and some bread...So, here is the challenge: cook a three course meal for at least six people for no more than £3.00 per head. I think is only fair to say that you can use any condiments or herbs and spices that you might already have, but if you have to buy new ones then that counts towards your final cost. Now that I think about it, you can also use for free any fruit or veg that you have grown yourself, with your own fair hands. Oh, and I think it's only fair that you must keep the till receipts to prove how much you spent.

Is there anyone out there up for this challenge. Yes, that means you Jo who counts sheep! I'd love to hear about your ideas of how to make so little go a long way.

just because...

another child in the house, or can you believe the cheek of him?

Mr McMuffin just told me (without any shame whatsoever) that when he puts his cooking stained shirts into the laundry basket he expects me to look at them before I wash them and treat any stains. If the wash doesn't remove the marks (and pomegranate juice is particularly difficult) then he puts it straight back in the laundry basket, without telling me, again. I am more than a little pissed off with this admission, when did I become the mother of two children? Is it not enough to care for a baby all day, without being given pointless bloody washing to do? Mr McMuffin, you are cut off. If I recognise a shirt returning to the laundry basket then it will be put in the bin. So there!

By the way, my home made mocha was crap. I also had a crap phone call from my evil boss, basically trying to encourage me into a more child friendly job and out of a career and my hair is falling out in handfuls and clogging the hoover.

On a happier note, I can now fit back into my pre pregnancy size clothes, but they are rather yesterday, so I'll have to do more shopping. Damn shame, that.

mmm...shiny

Spent all day yesterday interviewing people for a vacancy in my team, or at least that was the plan. The first three people didn't turn up, and I kind of wish that the last three hadn't turned up either. There is still hope. We have another couple days planned. Today Mrs McMuffin and I took the boy over to Rochester. We were blessed with only sunshine. It rained on and off all afternoon, but each time it did we were in a shop or a cafe. Mrs McMuffin got a huge linen sheet and I got a lovely stainless steel tea set, complete with water jug and tray. It is in immaculate condition. And it only cost me £3.50 from a charity shop. I know Rochester is filled with antique shops, but I like me charity shops. I think it was Cancer Research. I can't wait for Ms Ginger Cake or Gypsy Tart to get home so we can have tea together. Mrs McMuffin just will not drink the stuff. She is busy in the kitchen making herself a chocolate mocha coffee. She just loves those things in Costa Coffee, and has decided to make her own. I even bought her a can of squirty cream. Although I think it is doomed to failure because we only have cocoa powder, and I think she probably needs some hot chocolate powder. Oh, and some kind of chocolate syrup stuff.

I'm rambling now, so I'll stop. Anyway, I got to get on and make us some dinner.

he's a right minger

It's so long now since my last half post, I can't remember what else I was going to say. Days pass so quickly and I seem to be fairly busy and manage to fill my days with activities, even if it's just going for a stroll and a coffee with Babycake (although Babycake doesn't drink coffee directly, you understand). Busy as I am, I still don't seem to get round to doing anything useful, such as posting my sister and brother-in-law's birthday cards and the BIL has been waiting since March to get his.

Last week I took Babycake to visit the team I used to work in with Ms Gingercake and everyone said nice things about the Boy. While this is most gratifying and I believe that he is gorgeous and calm and happy and all the nice things they say, I am very aware that I have said similar things about babies to their parents when I've secretly been thinking that the child was ugly and as animated as a flower pot. Whenever I express these concerns to other people, they reassure me by saying that Babycake really is lovely and I feel good again. Well, until I remember that I've done that too. Anyway, Babycake truly is lovely and a lot of the time is very good company. He's happy to go clothes shopping with me any time and chat to me in the mirror of the changing rooms. He doesn't complain when I go back to the same shop because I want to check something over again and he doesn't complain about how far we walk, even when it's raining. All in all, he's damn fine company.

Babycake may be good company, but as I've said before there is a limit as to how much enjoyment one can derive from the company of a creature with no bowel control, until the need for adult companionship kicks in. With this in mind, I decided to go along to the new parent group at the local clinic and grit my teeth to do the mummy thing. I was pleasantly surprised to find a group of people who seemed really nice and I'm now feeling a bit sad that the group didn't run sooner, as I would have liked to meet other parents much earlier on. As it is, Babycake is one of the oldest , so it feels that the others are at a very different stage. I also find myself repulsed by the little babies and am reminded how much I dislike newborns and how amazing it is that I made such an exception for Babycake that I thought (and still think) he was different to the other babies.

Anyway, must dash. Babycake is napping and I want to join Mr McMuffin for some baby free time. Perhaps I'll be able to post something baby free in the next few weeks, as even I find my obsessive yakyakyak about the Boy a little boring. My apologies.

update

I'm supposed to be working today. It's been a bit quiet, so I haven't had to go into work yet. Mrs McMuffin and her sister have gone shopping, leaving me all alone at home. I've done some cleaning, so she will be pleased about that, I've had a bath, and I'm now sitting at the machine drinking a cup of coffee and listening to The Raconteurs new album. I think it's pretty good, by the way, despite the lukewarm reviews it's received. Jack White is alright by me. What to do next? I think I will sort out some photos and maybe begin the process of transfering my .mac Homepage photo albums to iWeb photo albums. iWeb, which is part of the iLife 06 suite of applications, is a pretty basic website creation app, but it does make nice looking sites with the minimum of effort. I'll let you know how I get on.

like buses

I don't know what's come over us, two posts on the same day. I wrote something a few days ago, but as per usual had to abandon it to minister to the boy. Mostly I have been sick and discovering that I have blue dot cataracts (which sound impressive, but are nothing to worry about apparently). The sickness was a nasty gastric bug that came over me so quickly, that I vomited in front of checkout 23 in Asda last week. All the customers just stared at me as I doubled over, clinging to Babycake's buggy for support and not one person came over to help. I suspect it was because I had the misfortune to be ill in low rent Asda and I bet I'd have been inundated with offers of help if I'd thrown up in my local Waitrose. Anyway, the staff at Adsa were helpful, even if their first aider had the look of a serial killer. I politely refused the offer of going to the sick room for a lie down for obvious reasons...to be continued.

soldier of love

I couldn't help myself. Even though I am usually dead against all that militaristic nonesense that I was browbeat with as a kid, I just had to get Babycake a little camouflage outfit. He looked so cute, but he just wouldn't stand still. He really is the king of squirmers. This is probably the best of all the photos that I took.

analytics

I know this is a bit of a cheek, but I am still fascinated by the site stats. Even though we haven't posted anything worth reading for ages and hardly anyone bothers to comments anymore, we still seem to get a lot hits. I imagine most of them are coming through search engines, but still interesting nonetheless. Anyway, some of you might have noticed already, Google have come up with a fantastic stats thingy, called Analytics. It looks wonderful and I've signed up for it. I suggest all you stats minded folk out there do the same. I would be surprised if it didn't become the stats gathering standard very quickly.

PS I'm missing you all. Hoping normal service will resume shortly...I imagine we will be back properly in no more than 17 or 18 years.

got it covered

Mr McMuffin has gone crazy damn foolish for Asda garden umbrellas and gazebos. We now have so many of the things that Count Dracula could negotiate his way around the garden without fear. I think Mr McMuffin was just overcome by how cheap they were, although the low prices do make us slightly queasy as we wonder exactly how they're achieved. Lord, Babycake is wailing again...

good neighbours

Well, it's certainly paying off having Ms Gingercake as a neighbour. She is a very clean and tidy person and the view from our kitchen window is much improved, as she's begun to tackle the barren wasteland that passed as a garden. I gave her a hand yesterday and it was most satisfying to see paths and borders emerging from the weeds.

We were revisited by the yobs on Saturday night, just before we went to the Carrot Cakes's. Mr McMuffin told them to move along, which they did, before doubling back. I watched one of them standing in the front garden before I told hime to get off. He moved immediately, but a lardy chaverina took offense at my desire to protect my property and told me to get back in your window! I asked her to repeat herself five times before getting tired of the game and moving away, her stupidity was just too depressing and I hope that little Babycake doesn't want to associate with kids like this when he is older. Anyway, Mr McMuffin called the Police and went to the Off License to complain that they were selling alcohol to fifteen year olds, only to find Ms Ginger Cake in full flow, advising the owners that she would be the bane of their lives if they continued to sell to under age children and allow them to hang out causing mess and petty vandalism. Mr McMuffin added his support to her and turned back, so far we have had no further yobbery.

I think that this may the first post I have been able to publish and not save as a draft (only to be abandoned a few days later) without being called away by Babycake. The boy continues to be a delight and we are putty in his adorable and most kissable little hands. I am now very upset at the thought of leaving him to return to work, so am avoiding thinking about it. I'm not against working as I've really missed the daily grind, but I wish Babycake could come with me. I am determined to make the most of the rest of our time together and (please look away now if your stomach is weak or unsettled) cherish the rest of my maternity leave.

sunday morning

We stayed with the Carrot Cakes last night. Dinner was great, as usual, and I drank a little too much, as usual. Pudding was especially good. Some kind of chocolate cheesecake with a toffee cream base. Very nice, although I could only eat one piece. I could feel my teeth corroding with each bite. Mrs McMuffin and Babycake are sleeping in the other room, or rather Mrs McMuffin is trying to sleep while Babycake kicks and squirms trying to engage her in conversation. The Carrot Cakes' children are thumping around upstairs. I think they are playing some PS2 game. When I went to the toilet I could hear them negotiating a fight or something. I have been sitting in the garden smoking fags, drinking coffee and reading a cooking magazine. Mrs Carrot Cake really has done a wonderful job on their garden. It is a peaceful haven for at least a million different kinds of little bird. They have been whizzing around my ears for the last hour or so. Mrs McMuffin has called me. I think she is a little annoyed because I was ignoring her. I wasn't really, but I am sitting here listening to Smokie on the ol' iPod. Got to go. Hope you all have a good day.

where does the time go?

After a fairly lazy Bank holiday weekend, we decided to head off to Tunbridge Wells for the day on Tuesday. No sooner had we got there than I had a call from someone in my team at work and they invited us over for a coffee. It seemed like a good idea, as we were fairly close, to pop down to see my brother in Eastbourne after that. A few drinks and a meal later, we decided to stay. My brother sent one of his minions to buy us some overnight stuff, which was a little strange. I think we just betrayed our lack of class by feeling a little uncomfortable having someone shop for us. The next day we wandered along the Eastbourne pier in the blazing sunshine. It was all completely unexpected and very relaxing. It felt a bit like we had had a proper holiday. I imagine this was because we didn't have any of the hassle of trying to plan it all, taking into account the newest member of our little family, of course. I think I have said this before, but if you get the chance go to Eastbourne for the day. It's a lovely little seaside town and well worth visiting.

This morning has been all drama, and fears of massive expense. The hot water wasn't, well, hot. I called an engineer to come and have a look. Fortunately, he didn't seem to be a cowboy and he checked everything before he had to tell me that Mrs McMuffin was going to have to go on the game to pay his bill. It turned out that we had a gas leak. I couldn't believe that my first reaction to being given this news was to spark up a fag. Fortunately, the house didn't blow up. I've just had the 'proper' gas man in and he has now fixed it all. We have lovely hot water and the risk of dying in our sleep has been significantly reduced...I hope.

that's that then...

It's taken me the best part of a week to sort out the mess that I made of my computer. Fortunately, I only lost the database that I had made of all our DVDs. I'll have to do that again. I have finally put into action all my ideas about backing up. I created the perfect hard-drive setup, with an up-to-date installation of OSX and all the apps that I usually like to have around. I created a disk image which I have stored on my iPod and spanned across four DVDs. All my documents, photos, music etc are stored on an external hard-drive, all of which is fully copied over to another external hard-drive every day at 4am. That's that then. Hopefully, this marks the end of all the heartache of losing stuff, although that hasn't happened for a while. It's really has been a bit hard getting my head around the idea that most of my important stuff only exists in digital form.

I'm curious about how you manage to ensure that you don't lose the stuff that is important to you.