When my little man grows up...

It's workshop time again over at Sleep is for the Weak, and prompt number 3 got me thinking:
What do you secretly dream of your children doing? We all know they are not us and more than anything we would want to see them happy, but sometimes a wish to live vicariously through them is unavoidable. Confess your secret dreams for them.

As The Little Dude's birthday looms ever closer, I've been doing a lot of pondering about how fast it all goes, and a lot of suddenly realising 'oh my god, he's actually going to like, grow up and stuff?!' - because when I was pregnant, I always knew I was having a baby - but didn't really give a lot of thought to the fact that my baby would soon turn into a toddler - then a child - then (OMG) a teenager - and eventually - (gulp) - a grown-up!
So then, what are my dreams for The Little Dude?

Well, obviously, I want him to be happy and healthy and content, whatever he decides to do with himself.
I want him to live life to the absolute max, to explore, have adventures, and as much fun as possible along the way. (Preferably without breaking any laws, please and thank you.) 
I want him to find the love of his life (who I will instantly approve of & we'll get along famously for evermore) and be blissfully happy.
But all of those, while very good intentions, don't make for a terribly exciting blog post. So, let's get vicarious.

I want him to be rich and famous.
Rich enough to be able to say 'There you go mummy, there are the keys to that huge country manner you always wanted.  And yes, you have your very own pond, complete with ducks.'
Famous enough for 'Hello!' to call me up asking for an interview & wanting to do a photoshoot at my fabulous country manor home, just because I'm his mummy.

But, not so rich that he loses all sight of what really matters in life, and not so famous that he loses all his privacy and has to search through streams of gold diggers to find his true love.
Johnny Depp's a good role model - superstar - talented - gorgeous - but still a proper family man, with his head screwed on. That'd do nicely.

So, how to achieve this stardom?
The Daddy and I differ there - he's hoping our little man will be the next Steven Gerrard & captain the England squad to world cup glory. That, or become the next big thing in Hollywood (presumably so he could pull strings & let Daddy realise his own acting dreams!).

Me, I'd rather he was a rock star. If there's one thing I hope to pass down to my baby boy, it's a love of music.  (He's already showing a leaning to loud Indie rock, which makes mummy very happy!)  I'd love him to see the world while playing to huge arenas of people, singing amazing songs he's written that will still be around for his children to enjoy. That said, I'd be constantly worrying about him hooking up with whoever fills Amy Winehouse's shoes in years to come. *shudder*
Perhaps a famous TV chef instead - the next Jamie Oliver? That would be brilliant. He could come to The Manor and cook us scrumptious feasts.  And Jools Oliver is lovely - so theoretically, chefs find nice wives? Well, we all love a man who cooks I suppose!
Or maybe, he could invent something so spectacular that mankind ends up wondering how they ever lived without it?  Then he could be rich and famous beyond his wildest dreams, but still be anonymous if he liked.
(Would you really be able to spot Bill Gates in a crowd? I honestly couldn't!)
Of course I'd also love him to inherit my artistic talents, and if he could make his fortune from it, then fantastic!  But even in a vicarious daydream, I know the term 'struggling artist' exists for a reason.

Ultimately though, it really is all about him being happy, healthy and content.
So long as he achieves those, my work is done.
And however he decides to go about it, I'll always be proud of him.
And however tall he gets (I fully expect him to be towering over me by the time he's 12!), he'll always be my little boy.
And I'll always love him more than I ever thought possible.

So - what are your wildest dreams for your offspring?

read more...

Shiny Happy People

I've been a little bit down in the dumps the last few days.

Nothing awful, just a bit fed up, lots of little bits conspiring & ganging up & getting me down. I hate that. I am, as a rule, a chirpy, upbeat, cheerful sort of chick, and I annoy myself when I get in a funk. I've also completely lost my blogging mojo of late - lots of posts I want to do, but no time and/or motivation to make them happen.  I think it may be a case of too much going on + lack of focus + ongoing run down-ness = big chunk of Bleh. But I'm on it, I am.

So, thank goodness for the Shiny Happy People meme that's doing the rounds. It was started by the lovely Rosie Scribble, and I'm sure I've been tagged, but can't entirely remember who by, so I'll just get on with it...

The rules go:  Name a song that makes you happy – a song you would listen to if you needed a sudden injection of happiness. Post an image that makes you smile, it can be anything – a silly photo, an image taken from the internet, anything at all that puts a smile on your face (and isn’t too rude!)

So, first up, the song.  Oh this was hard.  Music is one of the big loves of my life, and I have A LOT of go-to songs for when I need cheering up. After much deliberation, I opted for this little beauty:



That's right, the eternally-awesome work of The Electric Light Orchestra.  I challenge anyone to listen to this GEM and not smile or tap a toe. If you don't, I fear you might be made at least partially of STONE!  ELO are  a favourite of the Little Dude too - I had a bit of a revival during my pregnancy, and now whenever he hears them, his eyes light up :) (same goes for the Guillemotts, The Arctic Monkeys, MGMT & Elbow - who would ALL get a place if I was allowed to pick my top TEN happy tunes.)  (Actually, I might add that to the list of posts I want to do.)

And a happy picture? Of course I could choose a photo of the little dude, or the daddy - those all make me smile, but instead, I'm opting for a favourite Loldog. (People are often surprised that icanhascheezburger is firmly in my favourites - presumably because I am a grammar snob and HATE txt spk {urg, felt dirty typing that :P}, but throw it together with insanely cute dogs & cats, and I freaking LOVE it.  Call it a guilty pleasure.)

So, Tah Da!:



How could anyone not catch the happy from this little mutt?!

Okay sure, it helps that I'm gaga for dogs in general, but really, the sheer joy in those eyes - the cheesey grin, the big wet nose - isn't he brilliant?!

This one was a close contender too:

I have a weakness for the shaggy cuteness of a little gremlin-like shih-tzu, being that it is my own mutt of choice.  She makes me smile too... most of the time.  She's actually in the proverbial dog house after contributing to the not so very fun parts of the last few days, but that's another story.  For the most part, I love my little hair ball, and she is mostly happy-enducing.  (And she is ever so good with the little dude, can't fault her for that.)

Highly reccomend a cheezburger visit to anyone feeling a bit blue - and if you're not a four-legged fan, there are funny people pictures too :)

As for the tagging - I think most people have done this already, but if you haven't, do!

Forget your troubles, get happy. You'll feel loads better for it. I do :)

read more...