Rome wasn't built in day. But at least they laid some bricks.

The web is littered with people trying to sell you motivation tips.  Some of it looks interesting, but as we all know, most of it is complete crap.  Well let me tell you what's working for me.  

A daily resolution to move things forward - however small and incrementally each day.

And it's working at work, and it's working tackling the massive project of gardening at home...

Work - We all have a to-do list as long as our arm.  Mine is pages.  But for the last few weeks I've been trying to close off at least 2 more things each day than come on.  Yesterday I had written 4 new things on the list, but closed off 6.  Same again today.  It's going to take weeks, but that list will be tamed.

Veg Gardening - If you've been following my twittering, you'll be aware that I'm setting up a vegetable garden from scratch.  Taming the wild moor of South Lanarkshire and turning it into a productive veg garden to feed the family and save us some hard won cash.  It's a massive project, and it's just me and a spade.  Well last night 3m2 got dug over between 8pm and 9pm.  Tonight, another 3m2.    I'm a great fan of John Seymour - and his motto is "Little and often".  It really is amazing what you can do, if you keep at it, little and often ...

So - move things forward a little today.  Then move them a little further tomorrow.  Then again the day after.  After 100 days of moving things a tiny bit forward each day, you'll be amazed where you end up.  

Rome wasn't built in a day, but I bet they were out there laying a few bricks ...

Thought I'd write a short bio and some musings ...

For all my blog and twitter followers I thought I'd write a short bio, and some thoughts on what I want to blog about.

As for me, by day, I'm a senior finance professional, with one of the worlds largest and best known manufacturing companies. Prior to this I've spent some time in finance in retail, logistics, and the banking sector. I am a chartered management accountant, with an MBA from one of Scotland's leading business schools.

However by weekend and night times, I'm Dad. I have decided to Blog in anonymity because my subject matter here is my son, and the capers he gets up to. Whilst it's funny, interesting and very challenging stuff, I don't ever want him to embarrassed about Daddy's writings. So anonymous this shall remain. That's a shame, because I'm twittering and writing elsewhere, and it would have been good to make the connections. But having decided this should be anonymous as 'first principles', anonymous it shall remain.

I am a new father to 13 month old son, in my late 30's and wishing I'd done it all a lot sooner. I'm also the owner of 3 cats (one missing presumed dead), two dogs, and a horse. I've recently built my own house, and now I'm trying my hand at a bit of writing and gardening.

My driving ambition in life is to secure a financial "present" as well as a financial "future" for my family, and these are some themes I want to explore in time in this blog and hopefully share with you some of the hard lessons I've learnt along the way. Here's some initial thoughts ...

• Working hard in your day job, it might not be perfect, but frankly its the thing most likely to pay the mortgage. We all dream of easier routes to financial security. The day job might be tough sometimes, but it's far more likely to pay the mortgage. Buckle down and get to your work ...
  
• Not spending it unless you have to. This is the flip side of the coin that a lot of people forget. The key to a secure financial present and future is not just about earning some money, but not spending the stuff once you've got it. Just because you can afford a flash car doesn't mean it's the best use of your hard earned cash. Next time your on the motorway, check out the flash cars. This guy isn't necessarily successful, he's probably in debt to his eyeballs just trying to look flash and he'll be working till he's 70. The guy in the small beaten up 10 year old hatchback, is probably tucking £1000's away in his pension fund and will be retiring at 40. I've been the guy in the flash car. Now, I'm in my hatchback.
  
• Building income generating investments. Yes, I suppose, stocks, carefully and for the long term. But also less obvious things in the here and now. Investing in some potato seed in March for £3, investing a few hours of your time to dig them into your garden, and reaping a ten-fold reward in September with £30 worth of fresh potatoes. There's not many stocks out there can manage that return. The highest yielding investments are sometimes the most ordinary - staring you in the face.
• Developing multiple income streams. For me, it means trying my hand at a bit of writing, I've always wanted to be a writer, and well here I am plugging away at 7am on a Friday morning. So far a couple of google ads on a couple of blogs have made me 13 cents. You gotta start somewhere! For me it's also been about building my own house, and now trying to grow my own food - which takes me to ...
  
• Self-sufficiency one thing at a time. I wish I had the time (and energy!) to follow 'the good life'. If you only ever buy one more book in your life, make it John Seymour's Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency. But your unlikely to free yourself completely from having to "work" for a living. But you could be self-sufficient in potatoes. Or strawberries. For me, every morning when I walk the dogs I bring back a branch or two. With our wood burning stove we're self-sufficient in half our fuel. The money saved can pay off the mortgage, or buy more potato seed ...
• Enjoy what you've got. The grass probably isn't greener on the other side. Stop dreaming of some fanciful future, and start making the most of the future you already have. Spend some time with your kids, not some money on your kids.

Lots more nuggets of knowledge and musings on life to follow, but I think that's enough for now, don't you?

Chase Growl Tickle Chase

Right, the rules to "Chase Growl Tickle Chase."

First Daddy runs at you, shouting "Growl, Growl, Growl." You crawl away as fast as you can. Then you stop and Daddy tickles you. Then Daddy has to run away and you chase Daddy, shouting "Growl, Growl, Growl." When Daddy stops you grab his leg and tickle Daddy. Then you crawl away as fast as you can, because it's Daddy's turn to chase you, shouting "Growl, Growl, Growl."

If it all gets too much, there is rule that says you can stop and tickle yourself.

You can play this game for about 4 hours, but Daddy can only last about 20 minutes.

Creamy Macaroni Cheese and Peas

Nursery Food - Fantastic. Forget your TV chefs. For a comforting supper, this is what you need. This is what I've just pulled together for our supper tonight. I reckon 5 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking. Oven 190c or the Baking Oven if your using an Aga. Recipe below should feed family of four ...


500g Macaroni
About three tablespoons of butter
About the same of cornflour
500g of cheese (get a bag of ready grated mild cheddar)
A pint of milk, maybe more
A 340ml tub of double cream.
A bag of Frozen Petits Pois (forget Garden Peas, life's too short)

Boil the kettle. Macaroni in the pan. Add kettle of boiling water, stir straight away to loosen it off and then simmer 5 mins on a low heat. Aga, stick it in the simmering oven for 5 mins, no more, and no lid.

Meanwhile - Butter - melt in pan, low heat. Whisk in the cornflour. I always try to get the same amount of cornflour as butter. Whisk it through for a couple of minutes on the heat, then take it off to rest a couple of minutes - always seems to make a better sauce.

Back on the heat and add in all the milk, now whisk as it heats through. When it thickens start throwing in handfuls of cheese, and keep whisking. Hold back a couple of handfuls of cheese.

Drain the macaroni, throw into a large oven proof dish. After the cheese goes in the sauce, pour in the cream, stir round. Combine in the dish with the macaroni, last few handfuls of cheese thrown on top, into the oven - 30 mins, golden on top.

If you've no peas, leaf spinach or spring green cabbage works just as well.

I'd recommend a full bib for this one, its messy food when your eating by the handful.

Enjoy.

A long day at work ...

So tonight's post is a bit more philosophical.  

I had to head out to work early early.  But my son was already awake and playing in his cot.  Well, I had to go.  But guess what, I felt guilty.  So I rubbed his head, kissed him, and promised him that I'd play with him tonight when I got home.  

He's only one, he will have understood very little of what I said.  A couple of hours later mum would have deposited him with the childminder he loves.  Then he would have had a day of playing with all the other kids, going to play group, watching a bit of children's channel, and having a messy lunch and dinner.

I on the other hand, understood exactly what I was saying.  I was eaten up by it all day, especially as meetings ran on, and things came in which had to be dealt with.  Deadlines got met, but it was 8pm when I got in the car, 9pm when I got home.  It was one of the hardest and longest days at work for a while.  And it was capped by getting home to find I'd missed bedtime, and he was sound asleep.

So here's the philosophy.  Forget the hopeless promises you can't control.  Quit them now, before he understands, and feels let down.  When you need to go to work to earn your child a crust of bread and a roof over his head, go to work.  Work hard, put everything into it, and do as well for him as you can.  When it's playtime, get in that play pen with him.  Get down on your hands and knees and chase him round the kitchen.   You don't know when the next play-time will be, so make the most of this one.

So there you go, work hard, play hard, for Dad's with toddlers.

Oh, and one last not so philosophical thought.  I have discovered in the past year that there are many things worse that a dirty nappy.  But tonight I can add one pretty high up the list - standing in a dirty nappy.  

Goodnight.

Tantrum

Marginal Propensity to Tantrum = 1/overtiredness*(teething factor)*(fever factor)*(grumpy factor) + hours deviant from normal nap.

The factors are of course not always present, but when they are, they can have a significant effect.

WHY!!

Okay, looking around this kitchen and dining room, there are hundreds of objects.  Chairs, table, cupboards, changing mat, pushchair, playpen, highchair even cats and dogs for goodness sake.  

So what is the attraction with sticking your fingers in the plug sockets???

Sausages!!

Amazingly the cat still has its tail.

Here's a tip for lunch.  When your cooking your Sunday morning fry up, reserve 2 sausages.  Allow to cool then slice thinly.  Present one slice at a time on the highchair table.  If necessary spread with jam.  

Today's new game, which seems irrepressible, is reaching up to pull the cats tail.  And the cat seems to be encouraging this game. 

By the end of the day, we're either going to be at the Vets or A&E.  Either way, this game ain't going to have a good outcome.

"Mucky Pup"; "Little Terror"; "Monster"; "Tearaaway"; "What have YOU got there" ... it must be pretty hard to spot your real name in there ...

Southern Fried Chicken is a definite hit

Marshmallow snowballs can make a very popular end to a supper.  However they are difficult to eat unless you spread them all over your face, and it does take several baths to get them out of your ears.

If a toddler is any good at all, he can crawl across a room and start emptying an open cupboard within 0.2 seconds of you turning your back.

You need to be careful you establish who's responsible for watching over the little one at any point in time.  Slip up here, and before you know it, you discover a one year old tucking into the piece of fish that's being lying in the cat's dish since last nights supper, and been chewed over by several dogs and cats.

Funny how he wants to eat that, but turns his nose up at fish-fingers at proper dinner time.