Right so its 8.30am and I've got my coffee by my side, Lani is watching Mike the knight and I'm having a few moments in bed with my laptop before I get on with my day. Last Sunday was worth the trip over to Hanover to take part in Big Sunday at the Brighton Youth Centre. I put Kalani in their creche and sped around to the following workshops : Printmaking, organisational skills for busy mums, and then enjoyed being pampered in the treatment room by uniquely you spa for my nails and a massage from lovely Lucy who works at Anahata in Brighton. I squeezed in a healthy lunch (ever tried a beetroot pasty?) up in their canteen where the creche was and where you could just chill by letting your kid play and sit back on a comfy sofa. I also met a girl on the stairs who was doing a workshop on blogging whom i have to follow up with an email - she has some amazing ways to get your blog 'out there' and make it pretty. I'm hoping they do another Big Sunday soon, you can find it if you look at http://www.facebook.com/events/281584505278979/
This week I started my new job at Flaming Fun, an Entertainment Agency. I've been learning how their system works by booking aerial artistes, fire shows and even had a call about some Dwarves yesterday from a my glamour puss friend Jacqui Partridge of Partridge Events - apparently dwarves are hard to come by this time of year, they all get booked up for Panto's and so it's unlikely i'll find one fr her but i will try. Its not great pay but i figure its primarily A JOB and it's local, there's free parking, its a fun business - my day is never predictable and as my new bosses are a couple with a 2 year daughter they 'get it' when it comes to childcare, parenting and juggling that with work. I was happy to see the end of my working week on Thursday afternoon though and get back to my little boy who had been almost four full days in nursery / with a sitter at home without me. It's still tough balancing my time on the laptop/phone and spending facetime with my son. I manage to give him all i can......or do i ? I ask myself I could always give more. Which brings me to the topic of this week's blog.... My badass French American girl friend, Nancy Knezvic is giving a lecture in Washington on something like : "Iphone, Ipad, I failed at mothering: the real danger behind giving your child too much screentime"
I wholeheartedly agree with her and don't even need to look at the numerable studies she has cited to support her theory of the damage too much screentime has on children as it's a no brainer of course using a screen as a sitter is not acceptable but is it totally avoidable? In my case no , unfortunately, to get a little peace, work, do housework, write this blog I do have to rely on at least the telly to occupy him. I mentioned this worry to my friend Louise Lawrence who recommended a wholesome blog called http://www.handsfreemama.com/ I had a look and really liked her approach to being a mum (she has two daughters) and how she had changed since they were first born and she was too manic to "smell the roses". I related to that as I've found myself more 'behind the camera' than in front, snapping away trying to record my son's early life rather than 'be' in it with him. But Nancy my wise and no bullshit friend and mother of 3 warns me "NO GUILT" Annabel, absorb him be with him but be who you are and throw away anything or anyone that makes you feel guilty or bad. I so think I give myself a hard time perhaps we all do about just how much i am giving to my son or what I could do better. Don't get me wrong I think a healthy amount of self monitoring is good but not letting myself get weighed down by self criticism is a fine line to tread and I'm assuming I"m not alone in this. I just love Nancy's 'take no fucking prisoners' attitude and wish she would write a book ! However she is too busy writing her thesis, lecturing in the US and bringing up 3 kids in rural France whilst doctoring Hollywood scripts and loving her man.....which I'm sure is not without it's daily challenges.
I did consciously think I need some one on one time with kalani after my week at work so Friday morning I found this http://www.kimbalu.co.uk/classesfaq.html a music and singing class/group over in Southwick on a Friday morning, first class was free and downstairs is a playroom and free parking (not IN the playroom outside of course it's at Southwick Community Church!!). Lani was all over the playroom so much he didn't want to join the class at 11am....But once we got started he did take part and we enjoyed singing together. ooops he's here now needing mummy time. Today we're going to the Xmas fair at the Dome cafe in Brighton....apparently they will have a xmas themed photo booth complete with naff xmassy jumpers to wear !!! that'll be our xmas card for this year !!
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