Grumpy grump grump

I have been tagged by the lovely London City Mum to list my top 7 things that make me grumpy. After a shit week at work, a few things going not quite right at home, and another night on the sofa after working - again - after putting little one to bed, I feel the venom rising to the surface. So here it is.

1. People who don't do what they say they will when they say they will
I work in a job that means I spend a lot of my time persuading people to do things that they don't really want to, that means they will have to go out of their way just a little bit. Using my best good girl voice, feminine wiles and the odd bit of begging, I tend to get what I need. Which just means that it REALLY, REALLY annoys me when someone says they will do something and then fails to deliver. That goes for people who don't turn up to rowing outings when they know there is a crew waiting, or people who don't turn up for dinner parties (all too frequent in HK).

2. Lack of sleep
Pre-Eve I was an 8 hours a night girl. Or, in my more partying days, the 8 hours every 24 hours. I love sleeping. I love my bed. I have spent that last 15 years of my life being dragged out of bed when it is still dark to go rowing/running/circuits class. Therefore, I love bed. Since Eve, I have learnt that I can survive on 6 hours on and off sleep a night. But it is survival. In the last week, Eve has started waking up at 5.30am. Boy am I grumpy about it.

3. There being no bus between 7.45 and 8.10am
Most mornings the Boy gives me a lift to work. It's a bit indulgent but rather nice. However, when the Boy is away I have to get the bus. In HK we have minibuses that run fixed routes and will stop whenever you want to get on or off. Every big city should have them, it is just about the most convenient part of public transport. I am spoiled because one goes from right outside my block to almost right outside my office. They run every 5 mins or so from 6am until midnight. Except in that crucial rush hour time between 7.30 and 8.15 when there is only ONE bus! This lack of logic and customer centricity makes me grumpy anyway, but it is even worse because I know that all the buses and drivers are having a chat at the petrol station just down the hill. This morning I ran into the office because I couldn't face the stress of waiting.

4. Thin people
I know this puts me out there as a real bitch but I've never been a thin girl. I grew up with an impossibly stunning, tall, thin sister and now I live in HK where everyone is tiny and obsessed about staying so. I don't like feeling fat, therefore I get grumpy with anyone who makes me feel fat.

5. Lazy people
Sort of similar to number one, but this goes for people who are seriously lazy. Those who expect you to organise an evening out. People who complain about stuff but do nothing to change their situation. People who, like today, stand over me at my desk telling me which order they want me to put their charts into a pitch. On the latter, after 5 mins I politely suggested they make all the changes they wanted to themselves and then get back to me with the final version.

6. Cold
I've lived in HK too long, I need heat and humidity to survive - whatever it does to my curly hair. And I don't much like having one either.

7. Eve being in a bad mood
Mercifully rare, but there is nothing that makes me more grumpy than my darling, generally happy little girl, waking up in a bad mood.

I will tag Lady C to take up this idea.

Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day (the international one) to all other international Mummies who are celebrating today.

Although I haven't got a present, I did get to do anything I wanted today. Cue a lovely early morning row in a double scull on flat water in the sun with a dear new friend, a fun church service and lots of cake with the other mummies at church, a boozy lunch, and an afternoon nap on the sofa after reading the whole of the Sunday newspaper in one go - a very rare treat.

I want to break free, oh I want to break free

From when a baby is born there seems to be an awful lot of baby stuff that is designed to keep a baby stationary. Bars on a cot. Car seat. Bouncy chair. As the mother of a very, very mobile child I have embraced this with gusto. When Eve got too big for her cot, not for us was the nice pink princess bed, No, we headed straight to IKEA and bought the highest bed we could find (it's a bit like bunk beds but with only the top one). I used the excuse that it was a sensible storage solution in our tiny HK flat but, in reality, it prolonged the immobility, and sleep, for me.

The other morning, after a rather large night out with Eve's godfather, I failed to hear her plaintive cries of "Mummy, I'm awake". Our nanny did, but she ignored them too. The first I knew about any of this was when Eve climbed into bed next to me and poked me, telling me to wake up. She has finally learnt how to climb down the little ladder from her bed.

Initially I was horrified at this new development. No longer could I rely on the bed four feet off the floor, heavy blackout curtain and sliding doors to keep Eve in. However, after 3 days I must admit I rather like it. Not only is my little girl becoming a proper big girl - a fact she is all too keen to inform me of - but I don't actually have to get out of bed when she wakes up and I can get another ten minutes dozing while we cuddle and she sings to me.