Pyjama Problems

Robbie had a better night last night, partly because he didn't dare to go to bed until it was almost time to get up! I know he must be feeling as tired as I am because trying to wake him up this morning was like trying to wake the dead. I think it's a minor miracle that he managed to get to the station in time for his usual train this morning. I am rather worried that he will be sound asleep by the time he gets to New Street, but hopefully it will be a service that terminates there and he will not wake up to find himself heading further north!

On the subject of sleep my son has a problem. Most people think that being one of only a handful of boys at a girls school would be a dream come true, but it can cause unexpected problems. On Friday his school have a pyjama day to raise funds for something or other. He doesn't possess any pyjamas, he usually wears boxers in bed. He does have a onesie but he claims is skin tight and it would attract too much attention if he wore it to school. So it looks as if he will have to pass on the PJs and just go to school in his normal clothes. Chatting to him about this reminded me of a PJ related incident when he was about eight or nine and trying to be very grown up. At 17 he doesn't like to be reminded of the things he did when he was younger but I treasure all those funny little memories.  

2004
There was a funny little episode last week with S. A couple of days before he went to his first sleepover he said he absolutely had to have some deodorant – Sure for Men Sensitive to be exact. We went to get him some deodorant, but while at the shop he asked for FCUK pre shave face wash. I pointed out that he doesn't shave but he said "it says pre shave, and I will shave one day so it is ideal for me". He went to the sleepover with his grown up toiletries and his new leather jacket looking really cool. A couple of days after he got back I asked him if his mates had been impressed by his grown up stuff. He gave me a long stare, then in a very serious voice he said "you spoiled the effect mum, you packed my Buzz Lightyear pyjamas!" 

Some Things Are Not Meant to Happen

I don't work on a Friday, or to be more accurate I don't go to one of my jobs on a Friday, but instead I run around like a headless chicken trying to catch up with all the jobs that I haven't managed to fit in during the week. Last Friday was more chaotic than ever because I was getting everything ready for a weekend trip to Plymouth to deliver Christmas presents to my in laws and to my niece and nephew. So by the time I sank into bed I was so tired that could hardly stay awake long enough to set the alarm clock.

Saturday mornings are not designed for getting up early so when the alarm clock went off at 4.30am I found it very hard to drag myself out of bed and even harder to prod 'sleeping beauty' into action. By quarter past six or thereabouts (Robbie hates it when I am so vague about train times!) Robbie, my son and I were safely on board the train to Birmingham New Street ready to begin our journey to the South West. 


My son was idly looking through his film magazine when he looked up and informed me that he had something else to add to his Christmas list. He will be 17 just days before Christmas and he has a keen interest in clothes, fashion and grooming products. As I have mentioned in previous posts, he has his own particular style. He likes skinny chinos, polo shirts, bow ties, shoes of all kinds and just like Robbie he has a passion for bags, rucksacks and wallets. I thought that the new item for his wish list would be clothing of some sort but I was almost speechless when he told me that he wanted a onesie! I asked if he was serious and he patiently explained that they are very popular this year. He wants a black one with a skeleton design, he is tall and thin, but even so I can't imagine that a onesie will be very flattering. He told me about some of the other designs he has seen recently including one with a Superman theme, a tiger, a cat, a panda and a devil as well as some more 'ordinary' designs.


I was just getting used to the idea of a skeleton wandering around the house when Robbie dropped his bombshell. He had been listening to our conversation and he also wants a onesie! There are some things, such as me having my belly button pierced, that are just not meant to happen. Robbie in a onesie really has to be one of those things that should never happen. All sorts of images flashed through my mind from Dell Boy dressed as Batman to a middle aged Andy Pandy! Life is challenging enough already and having Robbie trotting around the house in a onesie (and no doubt attempting to go outside in it) is more than I can cope with!

Making Demands

The last couple of nights have found me doing something rather strange in the bedroom just to please Robbie - I have been hand sweing his PJs! He has a beloved pair of PJ bottoms that have seen better days but he loves them so much that he wanted me to try to extend their life. Not an easy task, the pocket was hanging off, he had a tear running up one leg and the crotch - well lets just say it wasn't there. I sat in bed sewing and listening to Radio 4 while he busied himself with his jigsaw in the kitchen. After two nights of careful sewing his PJs looked almost as good as new, the things I do for that man, but it was worth it just to watch him dancing for joy to have his PJs back. I was pleased with a job well done, but glad to pack my sewing kit away until next time. Unfortunately 'next time' has already arrived, he caught his beloved pair of shorts in the car door this morning and he can't face life without them so for my next trick I need to work a miracle on his shorts. He has lots of other pairs but it had to be his favourite pair that got torn.

It was a beautiful day today, Robbie had been up half the night working on his next jigsaw, so he didn't get up very early. I didn't mind, it gave me a chance to do a bit of the jigsaw without him chasing me away - it is very hard, I didn't manage to do much. When his lordship was finally up and ready to face the day we drove to Wroxham Barns, it is a rual craft/trendy shopping yard with a very nice little chldrens farm and an old fashioned fairground. We pottered around the shops and I resisted the temptation to harm the very annoying man playing accordion, I gave him a deep and meaningful stare instead and within minutes he stopped playing and vanished - result!!


They have added a model shop since we were last there so Robbie was in his element, I only managed to drag him away when he spotted a shop selling local real ale, he bought a bottle to take home, then he took me to the beer garden where he enjoyed a pint of Wroxham Barns Bitter and a pork pie, while I had a rather nice pot of tea and a sausage roll.

The last couple of nights have found me doing something rather strange in the bedroom just to please Robbie - I have been hand sweing his PJs! He has a beloved pair of PJ bottoms that have seen better days but he loves them so much that he wanted me to try to extend their life. Not an easy task, the pocket was hanging off, he had a tear running up one leg and the crotch - well lets just say it wasn't there. I sat in bed sewing and listening to Radio 4 while he busied himself with his jigsaw in the kitchen. After two nights of careful sewing his PJs looked almost as good as new, the things I do for that man, but it was worth it just to watch him dancing for joy to have his PJs back. I was pleased with a job well done, but glad to pack my sewing kit away until next time. Unfortunately 'next time' has already arrived, he caught his beloved pair of shorts in the car door this morning and he can't face life without them so for my next trick I need to work a miracle on his shorts. He has lots of other pairs but it had to be his favourite pair that got torn.



It was a beautiful day today, Robbie had been up half the night working on his next jigsaw, so he didn't get up very early. I didn't mind, it gave me a chance to do a bit of the jigsaw without him chasing me away - it is very hard, I didn't manage to do much. When his lordship was finally up and ready to face the day we drove to Wroxham Barns, it is a rual craft/trendy shopping yard with a very nice little chldrens farm and an old fashioned fairground. We pottered around the shops and I resisted the temptation to harm the very annoying man playing accordion, I gave him a deep and meaningful stare instead and within minutes he stopped playing and vanished - result!!


They have added a model shop since we were last there so Robbie was in his element, I only managed to drag him away when he spotted a shop selling local real ale, he bought a bottle to take home, then he took me to the beer garden where he enjoyed a pint of Wroxham Barns Bitter and a pork pie, while I had a rather nice pot of tea and a sausage roll. It was lovely sitting there in the sun watching the world go by. We returned via North Walsham to buy a couple of presents and then to Stalham for one or two essentials before returning to the bungalow. We've had a lovely evening just doing our own thing and trying not to think about going back to reality on Sunday. I wish I could make time stand still.

Loud and Impossible to Ignore

On Friday evening I collected my daughter from university, she was finally home after a trip to USA. She is a Geography student and the trip to SW USA was an important part of her course. Her flight home had been delayed by five hours so I expected her to be tired and jet lagged, she wasn't, she was very talkative. 


She had seen some amazing places but for the first hour or so all she could talk about was how much she disliked the food. This surprised me as I had assumed that they would have the same sort of food as we do in UK, but apparently that is not the case. She was appalled that they have doughnuts for breakfast, she said that everything was far too sweet and the portion sizes were ridiculously large. She said that everywhere seemed to smell of peanut butter and it made her feel ill, I think she may have been exaggerating because I can't imaginine anyone wanting to eat peanut butter on a regular basis. I think she may have seen peanut butter here but we don't have it at home. I quite like it but she doesn't like nuts so I am not surprised that she was put off by the smell. I asked if they still have Root Beer in USA, back in dim distant past they used to have root beer at Mc Donalds and I loved it. As far as I was concerned it was the only nice thing at Mc Donalds, but it was probably very bad for me - it seems that everything that I like is bad for me! She didn't know anything about Root Beer, but she told me that Mountain Dew is different in USA, it is high caffeine here but apparently they can't put as many additives in it here as they do in USA.  


My daughter said that fuel was really cheap (I wish it was here) but she went on to say that apples were very expensive. I am not sure why apples and fuel popped up in the same sentence, but who knows what goes on in the brain of a 19 year old! I can't think why apples would be expensive but that is what she said. Anyway I must stop obsessing about food, but in the interest of fairness I should point out that within a couple of days she was longing for some of the things she had eaten in USA. Young people are so fickle!

Being a typical young woman she found time for a bit of a spending spree. She bought herself some lovely clothes and a new ipod, and knowing Robbie's passion for PJs (or as he says 'lounge-wear') she bought him a pair of PJ bottoms, he loves them because they are loud and hard to ignore - just like him. They have M&Ms in various colours all over them, to say they are brightly coloured is an understatement - they are scarily loud. I didn't think the blog was ready for another picture of Robbie in his PJs but you can see the pattern in this picture. I think Robbie was rather touched that she knows him well enough to make such a perfect choice.

Snow Joke!

We had snow showers on and off yesterday, then at about 9pm it started to snow more seriously, we looked out a little later on and found that the world had turned white. Sam is doing a photography project on the theme 'night lights' so he put on his coat and boots and went out to assess the photographic potential of lights in the snow. Robbie wandered off into the kitchen muttering to himself, but I took no notice, I am making full use of my newly aquired deaf ear! I heard the front door open again, but I just assumed it was Sam coming back in, I was wrong. Robbie's inner child had got the better of him again and he had gone out to look at the snow dressed in Dr Marten Boots, a ski jacket and PJ bottoms! Fortunately there was no traffic around due to the snow because a sight like that would have brought the traffic to a standstill!

The Cat Won

Robbie and the cat have a couple of things in common, they both love eating and they both think that they should have my undivided attention. The cat sits on the arm of the chair leaning against me and he becomes even more interested if I eat anything. Last night Robbie told him to go away because I was going to have something to eat. As usual the cat ignored him, so Robbie poked him and suddenly it turned into a jousting competition with the cat sitting on his hind legs waving his arm menacingly at Robbie and Robbie dancing around in his PJs as if he was having a sword fight. Needless to say, the cat won and Robbie retreated to his corner to seek solace on the Internet.

Problems with PJs

I can live with Robbie's peculiar taste in music, I don't have a problem with his passion for trains but there is one thing that I just can't tolerate! He is not allowed outside in his PJs, (or lounge wear as he calls it). One morning in early summer I had been out doing errands while Robbie was doing some jobs at home. Just before lunch, I dropped my daughter off at home and I told her to ask Robbie to come out to the car to speak to me before I went out again. Suddenly Robbie appeared at the side of the car wearing only PJ bottoms and looking uncannily like Homer Simpson's brother. Before I could fully express my displeasure our neighbour arrived home, poor woman, she looked terrified!