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THIS WEEK I SENT SAM OFF TO CAMP...

WHEN I SAID GOODBYE MY EYES WERE DAMP....

I TRIED NOT TO SHOW IT AS I KNOW HE’LL HAVE FUN....

IT’S A HARD LIFE BEING A MUM!

Since winning the “New Face of Iceland“ competition I have been interviewed by several different people for magazine articles and one of the questions I have been asked is, “what do you think is the hardest part of being a mum?”

It’s funny because when you have a new-born baby you think the sleepless nights are the hardest. Then they start putting everything into their mouths, and stopping them from finding sharp objects to choke on is the hardest part. Then they learn to crawl and keeping them out of danger is the hardest part. Then they have tantrums in crowded places and that is the hardest part. Then they learn to walk unsteadily and trying to stop them banging their heads 10 times a day is the hardest part.

This Monday morning I waved Sam off to school camp for the week, and I now think this is the hardest part.

They will have an amazing time; they will be doing abseiling, canoeing, orienteering, and lots of other outdoor activities. They also have a disco and get to share rooms with their mates. It is a confidence building exercise in their final year at primary school to prepare them for moving up next year.

It was lovely to see Sam being so excited and enthusiastic about going. Why then, you might wonder did I find that hard, and try not to well up? The answer is that letting go of children is harder than having them depend on you for everything.

From the moment they are born you suddenly realise you have total responsibility for another person’s wellbeing and you have to cater for their every need without a manual or instruction booklet. For me this came as a shock to the system at first and I was very nervous and scared of getting it wrong. I read every baby book going and then just got confused when they seemed to all contradict each other! Do you pick them up or leave them to cry? Do you feed them when they are hungry or at regular times? Does playing Mozart to them really make them clever later in life?

By the time I had a second one I was much more relaxed and realised that it’s best to throw all the books away and do what feels natural. If you rely on your instincts you can’t go far wrong. As they grow you become more confident all the time in your ability to care for them and supply everything they need. Gradually though, just as you get used to that, the job as a mum changes again. Instead of doing everything for them you have to start encouraging their independence. You have to make judgements about how much freedom to give. When and where can they go out? Who with, and how long for? You still want to keep them safe, but don’t want to wrap them in cotton wool. Just as there was no instruction booklet as a baby, there is none to tell you how much freedom and at what age is the right amount. You only have your own instinct to rely on and you know if you get it wrong either way, there can be bad repercussions. They build their own friendships and start to make their own decisions about how they look and what they wear.

It is the way of nature that your children grow up and away from you and it is exactly how it should be, as you won’t always be there, but for me this is the hardest part!

I am thinking of Sam almost constantly this week and just wondering what he is doing, what he’s had for tea, has he changed his clothes or had a wash yet?! The sales assistant in the chemist said it was a waste of time buying all the shampoo, shower gels and body sprays as they don’t ever use them at camp, but agreed that as mums, it made us all feel better to buy them and pack them anyway! They are not allowed any contact with home for the whole week except for emergencies and I do understand the reason for this, but would love to just be able to say, “had a good day today, Sam?”

I do hope they don’t get too washed out as the weather is terrible, and also hope that 9 pairs of socks is enough for five days! I am really looking forward to hearing all about it when he comes home, although according to reports from previous years, he will be very tired, very hungry, very dirty and just want to sleep!

We won’t have long to catch up as then I’m off to Manchester on Sunday to film the next adverts. At least when it’s me that is away I always know I can phone at any time to talk to the boys, and of course I am looking forward to meeting up with the gang of “Iceland mums” again!

It was a bit of a thoughtful blog this week, but I bet I’m not the only one thinking these things at this time of year with many children starting school for the first time, or changing schools. I also wouldn’t mind betting that more secret tears were shed by parents dropping off children than by the actual children themselves! But again, that is nature and the way things should be!

Please come back next week for a less thoughtful, more action packed blog when I can tell you how the filming went and what happened when we all got together again.

Thanks for reading
Ellie
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Special Tasting and Wardrobe Call

A BIG BOX ARRIVED BY SPECIAL DELIVERY.....
LOTS OF TASTY THINGS TO TRY FOR OUR TEA.....
PRODUCTS SO NEW THEY AREN’T IN THE SHOPS.....
WE WILL ENJOY FILLING OUR CHOPS!

I don’t know about anyone else, but I love receiving things in the post that aren’t junk mail or bills. I feel very happy just to see a post card on the mat, so you can imagine my excitement at receiving a big box of 10 new products from Iceland. These new items are coming soon but have not reached the stores yet. I feel very privileged to test them all out with friends and family, and let you all know what we thought on my product of the week page.


Sam and Luke take the testing very seriously as I pay them 20p each per product reviewed. They have to do it properly and write notes and scores on taste, value and appearance! Perhaps after all this training one of them will decide to be a food critic when they grow up and become famous for sitting in classy restaurants reducing the chef to tears!

Luke found that the other great thing about being sent a big box of food is that you can turn the big box into the “Luke express aeroplane” with a few bits of sellotape and some pens!




I also had another trip up to Manchester this week for a wardrobe call to see what I would be wearing for the next set of adverts. We all had different time slots with my old friend Scott the stylist, but I did manage to bump into Eve and Sam having their fittings too. It was lovely to see them again after the London filming. I can’t say too much except this time it was one dressy, and one casual outfit. Scott is always the professional and had several different things to try so am just keeping my fingers crossed now I get my favourite on the day!

We also met the director of these new adverts and she gave me some vocal exercises to do that real actors use. They involve making odd noises and pulling funny faces so needless to say the boys are enjoying laughing at their mum again when I try to practise at home. I’m sure Meryl Streep doesn’t have to put up with children laughing at her at saying “Mum you sound like a mad person”! I hope it all pays off.

I caught the train to Manchester and back this time which was a three hour journey each way but I have to say I really enjoyed the trip. When at home or work there is always something to be doing and I rarely sit down, but on a train you have no choice so I made the most of the time and read my book and listened to my iPod . People that travel on trains all the time probably find it very boring, but for me I felt more relaxed than ever and made the most of some “me time”.

It was also back to school time this week. You know it’s that time of year again when the trees start to lose their leaves, it’s time to put the garden furniture away, and suddenly there are lots of adverts on T.V for pencil cases and anti nit shampoo!! Mind you it also means we are getting closer to the first screening of the autumn Iceland adverts too. I really can’t wait to see the results of our efforts as sometimes I still think I dreamt the whole thing. I won’t truly believe I’ve done it until I see myself on TV.

It is a big year for Rob’s son James as he starts senior school. I thought he looked very smart and grown up in his new uniform and actually more like an estate agent, or business man than a school boy. He said the first day went well so I hope he enjoys his time there. Sam has one more year and then he will move up too. It still seems like only yesterday I was taking him to toddler groups and “Music with Mummies,” where we all embarrassed ourselves by singing very badly to our children who were too young to complain!

We are only one week into the new term and have already lost: 1 school jumper, 1 lunch box and 1 P.E. trainer, and yes they were all name tagged! I am thinking of tying all the kids’ clothes and possessions to them before sending them off to school in future as that seems the only way to stop them leaving things in silly places and just walking off! I will make them look like buskers with everything attached by bits of string unless anyone can suggest any better ideas?

Thanks for reading and please come back next week when I can tell you about our preparations for filming the last adverts.
Ellie
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Just Dance!

WE HAVE A NEW GAME AND ARE KEEPING FIT TOO....
IT’S VERY COMPETITIVE, BETWEEN ME AND YOU....
ROB AND LUKE WON’T STOP TIL THEY PROVE WHO IS BEST...
I KEEP SITTING DOWN AS I NEED A REST!

Well after last week’s blog I expect you would have thought the last thing I wanted to do any more of was dancing. That would have been true if I hadn’t discovered “Just dance” on the Wii.

We are nearing the end of the six week school break and this is the time I normally start pulling my hair out and counting down the hours and minutes till school starts again. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing things with the boys but after all the complicated child care arrangements for work, when you have exhausted all the exciting day trips and run out of money, it can get hard to think of new entertainments! When I saw this game on the shelf in the shop I just thought that might buy me a bit more time before boredom and destruction set in. I didn’t realise that it would be so much fun for adults too! You basically have to copy the person on the screen and score points every time you get the moves right and do them in time. Four people can dance at the same time so we operated ‘a winner stays on’ policy. I have never laughed as much as I did watching Rob and Luke trying to beat each other dancing to the song “Girls just wanna have fun”. I actually filmed it on my camera and am keeping it for blackmail potential with the threat of posting it on YouTube! My absolute favourite was “The Eye of the Tiger” which involves boxing moves so must be good for reducing bingo wings. I have decided I must have a natural undiscovered talent for boxing too as I got the highest scores on this particular song. A new hobby perhaps?!

We also had a visit from a photographer this week. It is for a magazine article to tie in with the first adverts that will hit your screens very shortly. Although we knew what to expect this time, having done it once before, I still don’t think we are a “celeb “ family yet. Luke still insists on pulling his ears out and going cross-eyed whenever a camera is pointed in his direction and saying “look at me I am a monkey”. Sam and I are quite used to this but I’m not sure the photographer was! I was trying to bribe them with everything I could think of to do what they were told and to stop pulling faces. In the end it was the chocolate that did it, and I even gave one to the photographer which he seemed very happy about. Sam actually has an interest in photography and enjoyed having a chat about lenses, flashes, and how to set yourself up as a free lance photographer, so watch this space!

As the new term approaches we had time for one last day trip today and as I was also looking after 2 extra children for a friend, I thought going out was a good idea. We went to “@ Bristol” which is a huge hands-on science centre that has links with the people who make the Wallace and Grommet films. Something Bristol is very proud of. There is so much to do there you couldn’t do it all in a full day. Luke made a bubble so big his head fitted in it, I had great fun playing with iron filings and a big magnet which reminded me of science lessons in school. Sam found a huge hamster wheel to run in and we all found out how much the average brain weighs at different stages in life. There was also a whole section dedicated to animations where you could make your own film and email it back to your home computer. Our favourite bit though was the planetarium which is inside a huge metal ball where you sit in reclining cinema seats and watch the ceiling whilst they project lots of star constellations and tell you what you are looking at. I decided there and then that if I ever became a millionaire I would have my own planetarium installed in my bedroom at home and just lie and look at the starry ceiling every night!

Sam and Luke also had a taster of what I have already experienced with Iceland, filming for TV. There is a whole “studio” where you can choose backgrounds and camera angles and broadcast yourself reading the news or doing the weather forecast. There are buttons to add on sound effects such as laughter, applause and music. It really was a great day out and I personally enjoyed myself so much I have now signed us up for a year’s membership so we can go back whenever we want!

The next exciting thing on the agenda is my wardrobe call for the final advertising campaign this year. I’m off to Manchester tomorrow to meet my old friend from a previous blog Scott the stylist. I wonder what he will have me wearing this time?! Can’t wait to find out so come back next week when I may have more information…

Thanks for reading
Ellie
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