Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

Sooooo, I didn't win this year at the MADS, in either of my categories, but I was just glad to have been a finalist at all... blah blah blah. Eh no, not really.


 The truth is that I really didn't expect to win again after lucking out the last two years, but that didn't mean I wasn't just a bit gutted when I actually went and lost. Which shows that I'm more competitive that I like to think when it comes to this l'il old blog!

A bunch of losers-Katie, Me and Suzanne!

 But my disappointment was short lived because the wine was flowing, the music was starting and anyway I was in good company- my table was filled with  losers!

Including the utterly smashing Katie who writes Hurrah for Gin, Kara from ChelseaMamma, and Jennifer of Jenniferslittleworld.


And gatecrashing us bunch of losers were the epic Suzanne from Three Children and It  and Kirsty from Eehbahmum, so the craic was ninety.

Dr Ranj strutting his stuff with Sarah and Kirsty!

Then Dr Ranj of Cbeebies fame began to strut his stuff to Dancing Queen which meant an excellent photo op for me.

(He's pocket sized by the way, and really quite cute in his bright blue suit that looked like it had been sewn by elves).








 And then it was all over for another year as me and my goody bag made our way back to my sister's house, where she was still up feeding her new beautiful son Cathal (pronounced Ca-hill).

The wee Man

The irony of it hit me then-me out partying and my baby sister in with the baa-by! How I laughed (perhaps in retrospect, a little too uproariously) at how times had changed!  Then I told her all about my night and she didn't even mind when I fell asleep mid story.


 The thing is, I hadn't  even planned on going to the MADS this year -but then baby Cathal came early, and the very next day the Mammy and myself booked our flights and off to London we went.

 And honestly? Over the weekend as I held the wee man, and spent quality time with my  sister and my Mum, I realised that the Awards (or lack of them), didn't actually matter one little bit.

 I'd already won just by being there in the midst of that brand new wee family, secure in the knowledge that Himself was taking care of our (much larger) family back home. (And yet he was still able to remain blissfully unaware of the garguantuan pile of laundry that covered the entire utility room floor... that's a gift.)

 Later Lovelies....and BTW even though I didn't win, thank you so much for taking the time to vote for me all those months back-it means an awful lot xxx

I'm Going to the MAD Awards!

 I've read a LOT of children's books in my time...some excellent-  they're the ones I'll innocently suggest and the kids generally keep coming back to; others ranging from mediocre to pretty crap- when you get that sinking feeling as they're pulled from the shelf, and you read them on autopilot, sneakily skipping a few lines (or pages)  as you go....or maybe that's just me?

Anyway, these days, I'm also trying my hand at writing children's books- did I mention that? Inspired by the fabulous Nicky Harlow who taught a children's fiction writing workshop I attended at the John Hewitt International Summer School, I'm giving it a whirl and believe me,  it's SO much harder than it looks!

With that in mind, and with my trip to the  MAD Blog Awards in London this Friday, I've ripped off  been inspired by a well known children's book in my own little ode to the MADs. Hope you enjoy it!
Oh, and you can check out all the fabulous blogging finalists right here and follow all the cheeky shenanigans live on Twitter #madblogawards

Me at the MAD Blog Awards 2012, complete with the giant red stag in the hotel lobby....No, I'm not sure why either!

I'm going to the MAD Awards, 

I'm going to the MAD Awards, 

I'm going to have a hangover,

What a lot of champers!

 I'm not scared.

Oh-oh! A dress! 

A long, tight dress!

I can't slim into it, 

I can't bust out of it. 

Oh no! 

 I've got to get the spanx on. 

Squishy, squashy!

Squishy, squashy!

Squishy squashy!

I'm going to the MAD Awards, 

I'm going to have a hangover,  

What a lot of champers! 

I'm not scared. 

Oh -oh! Stilettos! 

Sexy, toe crunching stilettos.

I can't wear flip flops,

I can't wear Uggs, 

Oh no! 

I'll have to hobble through it!

Stumble, trip! 

Stumble, trip! 

Stumble, trip!

I'm going to the MAD Awards, 

I'm going to have a hangover,  

What a lot of champers! 

I'm not scared. 

Oh- oh! White skin! 

Freckly Blue-white skin. 

It always goes on streaky,
And smells like old digestives,
Oh no!

I'd better slap the tan on!

Squelch, squerch!

Squelch, squerch! 

Squelch, squerch!

I'm going to the MAD Awards, 

I'm going to have a hangover, 

What a lot of champers! 

I'm not scared.....

Wish me luck, peeps!!

Friday Quicktakes

1. Over the last six weeks, I have sold my entire wardrobe on ebay and now I haven't a stitch to wear. Ahem. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration- as Himself observed helpfully last night it still looks pretty well stocked to him, and then my sister cheerily pointed out that the fact I had so much to sell in the first place, said a lot more about my shopaholic tendencies, than my business acumen.

Myself and the lady in the post office are now besties- she'll refer to my numerous grey packages and make comments like  'Just the usual then for all of them?' and ' Your husband must be delighted with you!' and 'Now, who would even think of buying tights on ebay!?'

But thankfully for me,  some people do, which is just as well given the fact that so far, I've excavated fifteen unopened pairs from my drawer. A lovely selection too- tights and stockings of all different colours and deniers and yep, they were snapped up in no time.

But why on earth did I buy them all in the first place? Especially when I only wear skirts once or twice a year. Well, I think my logic was that I really should wear more skirts, and if I had the perfect tights, I would wear more skirts, and then they just sneaked in one by one over a few years until one day I opened the drawer and thought 'My God! Those tights are actually breeding in there.' (Frozen chickens and now tights- is this what a midlife crisis looks like?)

Conclusion- After extensive statistical analysis clearly showed no positive correlation between the number of tights in my drawer, and the frequency of skirt wearing, the tights' days were numbered. Photos were taken, descriptions written and they were uploaded to my ebay in no time at all...... and the skirts followed fairly sharpish.

2. Mother's Day this weekend, which has meant horrid time consuming Mothers' Day homeworks all week.  It. Is. Like. Pulling. Teeth.
 Rory, after a huge amount of thought and deliberation counted 'folding clothes' as one of my talents. Well, I was deeply touched obvs.
He also felt it important to include the fact that I had 'lots and lots of shoes.' Great, Imelda Markos with OCD tendencies. But the question is, is that better or worse than the previous classic of  'My Mummy has ginger eyebrows.The end.'

Conclusion-there is no positive correlation between Mothers' Day Homeworks and maternal self esteem. In fact, emperical evidence suggests that there may actually be a negative correlation instead.

3. I'm off this weekend with the girls*  for an overnight to Dublin....as in, a hotel + gossip+ no children + lots of  Prosecco + a lie in. Hell, I'm even looking forward to the hangover. But is it a teensy bit wrong that a night away from your kids is like the best Mother's Day present EVER? Don't answer that.

4. In honour of Mother's Day I'm going to include a themed Amazon ad instead of the usual Boogie in the Car seat. I warn you now-it's a bit cheeky, but I hope it gives you a giggle.
Happy Mothers Day, lovelies xxx

* All the 'girls' are in their thirties (or maybe very early forties...even if they totally don't look it) and are all married with children, so strictly speaking, are no longer girls. However, the mothership still enjoys early bird suppers  meals out with her loyal band of ' girls' and those chicks are all kicking the arse off seventy, so I'm running with it.

PS. I'm still officially on a high at being a finalist again in the MAD Blog Awards. Will you take a minute and give me your vote in the Family Life and Most Entertaining categories? I know it's a torture, but it's dead quick and it could mean an actual prize come September....rumour has it that it may even be a year's supply of Caramel Squares, so I'm highly motivated.xxxx

All the Bizz- The MAD Blog Awards 2014

For those of you who didn't catch my slightly hysterical Facebook post the other night, (which strictly speaking I'm off for Lent, but say nothing), I received the MAJOR news that I'm a finalist in the MAD Blog Awards again this year. Which means that I'm one of only 59 finalists out of the 2000 nominated!! Can you believe it? And in two categories as well- Schooldays and Most Entertaining.

 All those times that little voice in my head tells me not to even bother, and that NO ONE wants to read my nonsense anyway, well, this tells me something different. Or the other voice in there that reminds me that Adventures of an Unfit Mother is a very, very small fish in a very big Bloggy pond, but sure what do you expect when you don't understand Google + and you're not even on Instagram? It reminds me that actually, I have a lot of lovely, loyal readers who took the time out of their day to nominate me anyway. So, in a very rambling roundabout way what I'm saying is THANK YOU, to each and everyone of you, and I'm very grateful that you did.

Because as of today,  I got me my brand new finalist badge -check it out to your right>>>>>
It also means that I'm off to London in September for the Awards, so I'll be pulling on ye olde Spanx , wearing a spanking new dress, getting tiddley on all those free drinkies and having a bit of craic with a few other mad bloggers out there. Who knows, I may even have a bit of slap and tickle with a random Cbeebies presenter? (It was Dr Raj last year, but I would positively DIE if I met Justin)

But here's the sting-as a finalist, I still need your votes to be in with a snowball's chance in hell of winning either one of my categories. But a wee birdie told me that it's been done before....and I would sooo love to do it again, so would you take a moment and cast your vote for me in the School Days and Most Entertaining categories?
Right now, I'm blowing you virtual kisses and I promise I'll post lots of photos of the big Awards night....even my most embarrassing and least flattering ones. What the heck, I may even Instagram them!
 Laters lovelies, Emma xx

PS while you're on there do take a look at the other finalists- you are absolutely guaranteed to find new blogs to love. Some of my favs are Hurrah for Gin in the New Blogs category , Three Children and It in School Days, and of course Frugal Queen who's in all the rest! Enjoy xxx

Shoe of the Week #3

My inspiration this week is the greenest and most Irish of days in the whole of the year- St Patrick's Day on March 17th.

Although if I'm really honest, poor old St Patrick is just an excuse to showcase my fabulicious green, cat print, wedge shoes, trimmed with gold and silver piping, and wantonly adorned with jewels and pearls of every shape and size. But actually,  it seems to me they're much more appropriate for honouring our dear patron saint than a leprechaun hat and a fake ginger beard anyway.

Now I know they're a little OTT, and I suspect not for those of you who appreciate the sensible nature of a sturdy pair of Hush Puppies, because these do have it all going on. But IMHO, these delightful offerings from Irregular Choice are absolute works of art. They're 'Shoe Art',  if you will.
(Late last night, I even rather cleverly-or so I thought- coined the term 'Shart' in their honour. In fact, my working title for today was to be ' A Little Green Shart'  before I realised that the term was actually already in use, and refers to something altogether less wholesome.)

I've noticed that I tend to wear these shoes when I'm feeling a little down, not because they reflect my low mood but because they act as an antidote to it. I only have to glance down at my bejeweled tootsies and my inner sadness begins to lift.
 They're not reserved, as you might expect, for special occasions either, but rather are worn with jeans for school runs, up and down supermarket aisles and even on trips to the park. Comfortable, yes, but not slippers either- that wedge is higher than it looks!  So I don't wear them every day... but then I wouldn't want to either.

And now to price. We-ellllllll,  these darlings cost £140 new, which really isn't bad, given their high level of finish, adornment and detail. But okay, let's just cut right to the chase, because you know me well enough by now to know that I didn't pay that for them. Nope, it was in fact, a quare bit less than that.. like £100 less. *sigh* I know- an absolute steal!

So what do you think of them yourself?  Too hot, too cold or just right? I'd love to know.....Emx


PS. Final call!  If you haven't nominated me for the MAD Blog Awards 2014 could you take a minute and do it now as closing date is this Friday 14th? The categories of Best Writer, Most Entertaining or School Days seem to be the ones I fit into best.
Thanks loveliesxxxx

Friday Quicktakes

1. After poor Arthur's untimely demise last October, we finally took the plunge and got another dog. (which actually means that all my excuses ran out and I could postcrastinate no more.)

Instead of a pup this time though, we decided to adopt four year old Dora, mainly because, unlike Arthur, she wasn't black so we could see her in the dark, AND she looked really cute in the photos. (Oh and the dealbreaker for me was that she's already housetrained -sweeeeeet.)

So far, and I know it's early days, she's the most gentle, placid little thing and is enjoying being killed with kindness by one and all.






Rory, bless him, even felt the need to write this little note about her....and cleverly used the opportunity to take his little brother Luke down a few pegs in the process. (Translation-I love Dora. She is so Cool. Luke is nowhere near as cute as her. ) So there you go.






2. I drive past a particular church all the time, and always wonder why they felt the need to place a giant moustache over their sign. Would someone, anyone at some point not have wondered aloud at a meeting,  'Erm, is it just me or does that look the teeniest bit like a silly fake moustache?'

I did my best!

And childishly, I've always had a notion to get a photo 'wearing' the moustache, but it's always been raining, or the kids are killing each other in the back of the car, or I'm on my own, but finally I did...or tried to anyway, and as everyone knows, God loves a trier.







 3. I decided to go off Facebook for Lent and the  withdrawal symptoms are fierce. I'll still post my blog on there, but torturously, I can't see if anyone's actually liked or commented, so throw me a bone, and if you feel like commenting, do it on the blog instead...I promise, I'll love you long time.


4. Thank you so much for all your nominations in the Mad Blog Awards. I sooooo appreciate you taking the time to do it too...although in truth, some of the nominations have left me slightly bewildered, although still very flattered obvs.

For instance, apparently I'm up for, among others, the best Pregnancy Blog (NO. Not even for an award.), Best Food blog (I DO love to eat), Best Homes and Interiors ( all 'before' photos), and most worryingly Best Thrifty Blog. (Here's Me Wha? I have a full blown shoe addiction, FFS).

I've also been nominated for the Blog of the Year, Best Writer, Most Entertaining and School Days, which I'm just as thrilled about.  If you haven't voted yet, and have a spare minute just click the icon on the right ....and thank you.xx

5. Finally, Boogie in the Carseat. Just for you, just cos it's Friday...don't say I'm not good to you.
Happy Friday Lovelies xxx