Someone once told me..

Someone once told me that I would find it "interesting" living in a house with two women.

"Pah" I said.

What did they know. Everything seemed fine to me until...

...my 8yr daughter has started exhibiting signs of EXASPERATION with me! How has this happened? Well the answer it pretty obvious and I need look no further than the only other woman in my household - my esteemed wife.

I have to admit though that I exasperate even myself. For example last night I was asked to complete the simple task of picking up Ribena and milk from the shop. Simple you might think. Apparently not.

Incredibly I manage to pick up milk and totally forget Ribena, even though the time between request and purchase was no more than 5 minutes. So when I received a text message asking me where the Ribena was in the house - I was at an event - I could quite understand why the women of my household get frustrated.

And to top it off this morning my daughter said:

"Daddy, how on earth did you manage to forget the Ribena last night"

Fair point.

Just William

Well well.

My wonderful daughter has now filmed her first feature film. Can't wait to see it as all reports from her manager are that it is incredible.

She has spent the morning at a press launch for a new TV programme.

I would love to say she gets it from me but as I sit here working on my laptop I can't ignore the evidence against me...

I was going to blog but MUST GO TO BED.

Bachelor life

So I'm home alone now as mini-me and Cameron have gone off on holiday without me. This simply confirms another status I have of "bread-winner". I am left with my laptop and an empty flat whilst my family are swanning around in Spain. THANK YOU.

But on the flip side, anyone that reads my wife's blog will know that our daughter is in a CBEEBIES tv show called the Green Balloon Club, that I am a pushy dad but that I am also incredibly proud of our daughter.

I took mini-me to filming on Sunday. We went to Hackney City Farm which was great. It was full of lots of PLU's in wellington boots and push chairs that cost more than a small family car. We've all seen them - they have bright red hoods (the push chairs) and fancy wheels and exist in newly gentrified parts of London. Lovely place and clearly very well looked after by all the volunteers that, well, volunteer to look after it.

I don't usually do the chaperoning but this time I took the responsibility and went for the day to act as a gopher for the little one, ensuring that she was warm, not hungry and on set when needed. I think I did a good job actually and some people even said that to me although probably out of sympathy than anything else. But it was amazing to watch my little one take on a new persona in front of the camera. She is SO professional, responding to all the direction she was given, concentrating even though there were loads of people watching and generally being the consumate professional. GOOD JOB.

The fascinating thing about a having a child in TV is this. Most people are interested to know what it is like but EVERYONE who is not in it thinks you are pushy. However if I took her to football every week then everyone would say I am a father that takes an interest in their child. I'm intrigued by this. You look at all of the after school classes like gym, ballet, swimming, tennis etc. Particularly where I live they are always full with a 10 yr waiting list - and parents that send their kids to all those classes don't think they are being pushy. Anyone answer this??? Is it TV that does it??

Anyway a great day was had by us all and well done to the Green Team for another great song.

Quality time...

Whooohoo, my daughter actually chose me to do something for her over my wife today! What a great feeling.

I usually feel like a complete waste of space, unable to perform the most basic of tasks like tieing shoe laces. But this weekend I was invited in to the inner sanctum that is my favoured ones bedroom and asked to move a box of dollies in to the bathroom where apparently a full blown school was in operation. Not only that, I performed the task so well that I was asked back to move a second box - what greater validation could there be for my box-moving prowess...

Today, mini me even declared for all to hear that "I want Daddy to hold my hand when I am on the scooter". Now we're talking. This task is usually the sole domain of my beloved wife who takes on the mantel of a waterski boat and pulls mini me in to town on a regular basis with me ambling along in the background. NOT TODAY!!!

I was like a SunSeeker I was so graceful, towing my daughter in my wake. Nothing could stop me, not even an attempt by my wife to reassert her position as "Head Tower" half way through the walk. I saw off her weak attempt with ease, confident in my new found position of "Cool Daddy".

And what drove this whole thing I hear you ask? Well like all Dad's I've been struggling to get "quality time" with the family and so this weekend, I made a real effort to be the one that was on hand to help the daughter or give her a bath or whatever it took. The payback was almost instantaneous and extremely gratifying.

I now have to ensure that I maintain my position which is pretty bloody difficult from behind a desk with my fingers stuck to a laptop - but I'm damn well going to try!

On no, she's actually growing up

Sometimes you just wonder where the time goes. I've just had an extremely adult conversation with my daughter on the phone and it makes me feel sad that my little girl is growing up so quickly and that I see more of my laptop than I do of her.

Is this really how it's meant to be?

For goodness sake Daddy...

So this is acually very scary. My daughter has clearly been studying the best way to handle me by secretly watching my wife and the result is that I appear to have inherited a mini-version of the "trouble and strife".

Only last week, the mini one rolled her eyes at me and in an exasperated tone said "Come on Daddy" referring to something I was supposed to have done - in usual man fashion I had nodded but not computed and the task remained incomplete. I have also noticed the mini one glancing at the older one (notice my avoidance of the word "bigger") prior to reacting to anything I've just said. For example, if I attempt to offer advice to said child, she quickly glances at Mummy to see if the advice is acceptable and then either:

a) reacts in a positive way if Mummy's face looks happy or
b) starts crying and walks out the room if Mummy looks like she wants to throttle Daddy for interfering with the upbringing of our joint off-spring.

As the years pass I can see a situation where they both shout at me for not putting away my washing or wander around after me telling me to clear up after myself and that they are not slaves. Come to think of it, I better go home or they'll both be cross with me for staying too long at work...

Shamed in to blogging

Right, my wife has shamed me in to blogging again but in the same breath told me not to blog unless it comes naturally. This means I'm going to post a blog and then come back and carry on writing about fatherhood tomorrow when "it comes naturally". Good night.