Making up for being naughty!

Huge thanks to the lovely Lisa who nominated me for the Unique Blogger Award!

As I have received this before, I am reblogging, but I thought I would answer the questions that were set!

When you were 8, how would you have answered this question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” A teacher!
If you could have dinner with ONE celebrity (living or dead) who would that be? Give details! Hmmm… Princess Diana… she fascinated me!
Where would you live if money were not an issue? Wherever my family and friends are… as long as it is warm, with a beautiful beach!

Life of an El Paso Woman

Hi Everyone! Happy Wednesday! A huge thank you goes out to my blogging buddy Gwin a.k.a. Lady G from Seekthebestblog. She nominated me for the Unique Blogger Award. Check out/follow Gwin’s blog if you aren’t already. It’s always a great time on Thursdays when I read her “My Jams” posts there. This week she’ll be taking us to ’93 with a life story and jams! I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve laughed! Check it out sometime, you won’t be disappointed.

The rules for this award are:

Thank the blogger who nominated you and include a link to their blog.
Include one meme and one quote you really like.
Nominate 8-13 bloggers to receive this award.
Ask your nominees 3 UNIQUE questions.
Add a link to the awards creator. (I don’t know who created this award.)

Favorite Meme (I like so many, especially if they make me laugh!) This…

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Haiku Hub Floating Challenge #1 – Heritage

24 Aug 2016 39 Comments

by Ritu in Challenges, Photography, Poems Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Floating Challenge, Haiku Hub, TJ

Now, some of you may have heard, TJ over at La Vie Et Trop Courte Por Boire Du Mauvais Vin, created a Haiku Hub, where he has invited all manner of Haiku writers to join, and a couple of weeks ago, he put it out there to us ‘Hubbers’ to think of some challenges to throw out to all Haiku enthusiasts!

You know me, always up for a challenge, and I volunteered some ideas, and in turn, TJ volunteered me to be the first host!

So, here I am hosting my first ever challenge post!

I went walking in a nearby country park with the family a couple of weeks back and took plenty of photos. One of them cried out to me to be used!

20160807_151437

The prompt photo is as above, and a word prompt to use is

Heritage

Use either, or both together, to create your haiku. Think outside the box if you want, substitute the word Heritage for something similar…

My take:

Roots

Fallen and exposed
Unearthed, shifted here and there
Though my roots, still strong

Ritu 2016

Whatever you want to do! Just link back to this post within the week, and I will compile a post with all the entries on Wednesday 31st August. Please check and makes sure it has pinged back to the post, or leave a link in the comments.

Then all you need to do is look out for the next challenge which TJ will repost on his blog, as and when it is live next month!

Tween-age Angst!

23 Aug 2016 59 Comments

by Ritu in Children, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Angst, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Children, Frustration, Testing Boundaries, Tween-agers

It feels like only a short few months ago, I was using you, my Peeps as a sounding board, for my frustrations with Lil Princess, with her terrible behaviour, awful sleep patterns, and eating issues.

I would hate myself for thinking it, but I felt like, for the first time in my life as a mother, I had a favourite. I would much rather spend time with Lil Man, and leave Lil Princess to stew. I was a BAD MUM!

But over the last few weeks, there has been a true shift in dynamics.

Lil Man is 11, and has definitely hit that Tween-age time.

He has started to push his boundaries BIG TIME!

I knew it was going to happen. He is due to start Secondary School in less than 2 weeks! Eeeek!

It started with him requesting a mobile phone. He actually does have a handset, an old one of ours, without a SIM card, to use as a mini-tablet on WiFi. But he wanted a SIM as some of his friends had phones, and they were using WhatsApp, to keep in touch with each other.

We will get him a SIM for the phone. Actually, I already have one, but not giving it to him just yet. I know I would feel happier if he had a phone, so I know he got to school ok, of that he got home safely. And if need be, he could call or message to say whether any after school activities had been cancelled. But he needs to earn it.

But over the holidays, he has become so cocky, so full of attitude, and downright mean to his sister, I wonder what happened to that darling boy of mine? Someone has transplanted his personality into Lil Princess, and hers into him!

Ok, so he is still eating perfectly well, and she is still terrible, and he sleeps fine, whereas she can still visit us at around 3am, but it’s the behaviour!

Lil Princess can still be annoying, and downright naughty ( caught her calling her brother a ‘f***ing brother!’ the other day! Where did she learn that!?!) but she has calmed down so much, and seems to have transferred that angst to her Tween-age brother!

I find myself constantly telling him that various things will be taken away from him, or that he can’t go here or there, as he winds me up so much!

The lip on him! I can’t believe that he mutters under his breath at me! And he’s not good at hiding it too, so I know exactly what he said… he’s getting frustrated too, so his limited vocabulary of swear words is getting a good airing!

And to be honest, it hurts even more since we have broken our backs the last 2 weeks to give them their own spaces, their own bedrooms. It feels like we are not appreciated at all, and everything that we do is taken for granted.

I know it is all part of growing up.

At various ages and stages, there are new boundaries that children will try to push. But Jeez, is it frustrating!!!!! And to think… we’ll have to go through it all again soon with Lil Princess!