I tell you something embarrassing. My 2 year old daughter is currently far more on the ball than I am.

Although I put that down to the fact that she keeps me awake all night. I'm SO TIRED!

Today, I was in a huge panic as I couldn't find my house keys. I searched all the usual places, I went out and looked in the car, I checked my pockets. Then I started to Worry ... had they fallen out of my handbag....?

Caitlin, who had been watching Fifi and the Flowertots on TV (her favourite), came through to find me.

"What's the matter?" she asked, seeing me look upset.
"Mummy's lost her keys!" I confessed.
She trotted straight to the radiator in the hall, where I'd dumped my keys on the way in.
"Here they are, Mummy!" she smiled up at my, handing them over, "Don't worry, I've found your keys!"

I had a similarly disconcerting moment when after rushing from work, still stressed and very tired to pick her up from nursery, I walked her to the wrong car in the carpark without noticing. She kept saying, "No, Mummy! This isn't our car!"

"Yes, it is, silly," says Mummy, assuming that she is the one in control of life.

"No, it's not! Our car is over there!"

And when I got to the car I was pulling her along to, I realised to my horror that she was right! Oh dear . . .

Something else disconcerting is the family relationships going on with the toys in the cot at the moment. It seems the Jane the ragdoll is actually the daughter of Mrs Mouse, whilst Mrs Dear (an elderly teddy in a dress who used to be mine), is Jane's "Nana". Caitlin loves playing happy families, but I was a little alarmed to be informed that I am Denny the Duck's Mummy!

"This is your baby," she told me seriously, holding up Denny the Duck, "Rock him to sleep and feed him!"

(mind you, at one point this week, she told me that I was her baby and she would sing me a lullaby).

Meanwhile, work has been very busy and exciting this week. We had an advert in the Mail for our QE2 tribute covers on the day that she retired. The phones went mad! So I've spent a bit of time helping the customer service team this week.

I've also been preparing for this dreaded collectors' show in Peterborough next weekend. I shouldn't say "dreaded" only Tom and I will be manning a rather massive stall with Caitlin there too! Eeck. Mind you, Mum and Dad (aka Tony and Cath) will be around and will help.

I'm meeting with Kent Wildlife Trust next week about possibly working with them in 2009 (fingers crossed) and today, I'm meeting the organiser of Dover 2009 to talk about the Bleriot celebrations I mentioned last week. My Ivor project is coming along nicely too and our cover will hopefully star Idris the Dragon!

Until next time,

Ellie x

P.S. I'll be putting images of our Mini 50th anniversary covers online tomorrow, hopefully. It's going to be huge!

The Chatterboxes!

Caitlin has discovered imaginative play. It’s great! Over the weekend, Tom and I enjoyed a very relaxed cup of tea whilst Caitie announced, "I'm a farmer today" and disappeared to undertake various tasks around the farm.

We put our feet up and chilled on the sofa, whilst the industrious little farmer would pop in every couple of minutes to let us know what was next on her busy agenda:
"I'm rounding up the sheep now", she'd announce before trotting into the kitchen with a sense of purpose.
"I'm just feeding the pigs!" she called, a minute or so later.
"Don't forget the cows!" we shouted back, encouragingly, before falling back into our chat.

It was all very relaxing. There was, admittedly, a sudden and almighty CRASH at one point which worried Tom but I am wise to the sound of clothes pegs and didn't panic.

WORK WORRIES
Actually, I've been very grateful for Caitlin this week as it's been a bit of a facer at work recently which is why I haven't updated the blog until now.

Cara unexpectedly threw her notice in a me just over a week ago which threw me more than I expected. She'd done a placement year with us between her 2nd and final year of a business degree at University. She first joined us when I was very fat and pregnant and left us just before Caitlin turned one.

Cara was brilliant on her placement year and I also tried to give her a lot of support, coaching and encouragement all through my maternity leave and when I came back too. She seemed a natural at websites, marketing and ideas and very self motivated. I offered her a job when she graduated and she took some time to decide whether to accept or not.

In the end she did, but made it clear she didn't want to be treated as just a young undergraduate next time. She wanted to be taken seriously and given a meaty role that would challenge and expand her.

Well, I obviously took that bit far too seriously as when she gave her notice in, she said marketing wasn't for her, and she'd been lonely. I thought I'd given her all these terrific projects (which I'd have LOVED to have worked on myself but being part time, can't) and her dream job but it turns out I completely misjudged it.

It's all common place in business and goodness knows, I was a nightmare when I just graduated. I also took a job on the back of a placement and really, I shouldn't have accepted it as I hadn't enjoyed the placement at all! But when you are staring unemployment in the face, just out of Uni, you tend to grab the first offer. I expect that is what Cara did.

But even though the grown up side of me accepts it, the childish bit of me is very sad. Still, lessons to be learnt and you can always improve as a manager. Having a part time manager who spends the rest of the time splashing in puddles, making toys talk and riding around on tricycles must be a bit of challenge ...

I LOVE TO RIDE MY TRICYCLE
Talking about tricycles, have I told you about mine? Firstly, a confession.

I can't ride a bike.

Isn't that appalling?

But I've given up being ashamed now so I think I shall just announce it, loud and proud. Give me a horse anytime. It can see where it's going.

Tom, meanwhile, is a very keen cyclist. But I was a bit jealous when he was taking Caitlin out on his bike so . . . he has bought me my very own, grown up trike with 2 child seats behind (2?? Well, you never know) from eBay. It is a Pashley model straight out of the 1970s with a basket for my shopping on the back. I love it!

So does Caitlin.

She sings to me all the way and insists on honouring different toys by letting them ride on the spare kiddie seat. Mind you, last time we cycled to the supermarket, a cauliflower was in pride of place seat belted into the spare seat as I couldn't fit it in the basket!

I'll have to get a photo up for you of the intrepid trikers!

NEW COVER PROJECTS (you heard it here first)

I've had a couple of very exciting projects come my way at work this week. Sarah spotted that it is the 50th Anniversary of Ivor the Engine ... look, there he is! ... next year.

I've spoken to Peter Firmin who created Ivor along with Oliver Postgate and he's agreed to let us produce the official Ivor 50th anniversary cover and stamp sheet! I'm hugely excited and think it is only right that we get Ivor on DVD as a company expense ... do you think??

The project will be raising funds for Peter's charity, Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad, which I hadn't heard of before but now am very excited about. This charity works through West Africa and the Middle East treating sick working animals and educating people about how to look after them better. In communities where people's livelihoods depend on their animals, this is incredibly important. By helping the animals, they also help the families.

The other project is celebrating 100 years since Louis Blériot’s remarkable achievement on 25 July 1909. He flew the very first cross channel flight in a Blériot XI aeroplane powered only by a 25HP engine.

It's a fabulous piece of aviation history to commemorate and even more exciting when you live a stone's through from where it happened. Dover is buzzing with it and there will be big celebrations next year, including a historic recreation of Blériot's flight across the English Channel (hopefully with our covers on board!).

CHATTERBOXES!
Finally, give Tom your sympathy. There will be no peace for him ever since it is becoming increasingly clear that Caitlin is going to be as much of a chatterbox as me!

When I went to pick her up from nursery yesterday, it turned out they had been doing "free play" with large cardboard boxes. They could do anything they wanted with their box. There were pirate ships, racing cars, houses, jack in the boxes ... but Caitlin and her little best friend, Fabi, hadn't done anything with theirs. They were just sitting in it, chatting!

"They've been there all afternoon", one of the ladies told me, "Talking to each other!"

Intrigued, I crept closer to eavesdrop before Caitlin noticed me and listened to their conversation. It went something like this:

Caitlin: I go with my Mummy and my Daddy sometimes to the park.
Fabi: I have a dog and he goes woof sometimes.
Caitlin: And we jump sometimes and sometimes we splash in puddles.
Fabi: My baby doll is called baby.

And so it went. Neither seemed at all bothered that the other wasn't listening and they both seemed delighted with their conversation, which had apparently gone on for hours!

When I interrupted them to take Caitlin home, they had a big hug.
"Claitlin is my best friend", said Fabi.

Thank goodness for toddlers, they do cheer you up (even if they also cause half your insecurities and all your exhaustion).

I did promise in my email last week to tell the tale of Denny the Pumpkin in more depth but I think I may have exhausted your patience enough for one time! So I'll end here,

Ellie x

P.S. Denny has a friend! Caitlin was given a pink rubber duck, which she has named Claire, in her party bag at Isaac's party, which made up for the loss of the Boat.

Claire, it turns out, can't use the potty like Denny as her hole is in her beak but she is fabulous at rinsing and spitting when it's tooth cleaning time . . .