Fathers - I salute you...

My good friend E tweeted something yesterday, on Father's Day, that really got me thinking. It went like this, "Don't mean to moan, but can we stop with the single mother awareness for a sec. Today is about the MALE dad, let's keep it that way." I paused for a second and then thought, "Girlfriend really does have a point." Now before you jump on your PC high horse I think all single mothers out there do a truly wonderful job. But I also think that father's sometimes get a rough deal - there are thousands of single fathers out there, not to mention fathers that are co-parenting and they need to be celebrated much, much more. That's what Father's Day should be about. I grew up with a wonderful father. Papa Acheampong, aka Dr Samuel Acheampong, aka the Don of Everything is a daddy and a half. He is the definition of hard work. He was a dentist for 30-odd years in rural Scotland and even now you can't get on a plane (to Cyrpus, Florida or indeed Ghana) or go to a Marks and Sparks with him without bumping into a patient of his. Always there with a terrible joke or a savvy piece of advice, he's a best friend, a confidant, a role model and sometimes even a bank rolled into one. He is a gooey grandfather to Nai Nai, who joyfully pulls at his glasses whilst he walks her around his garden in sunny Elderslie and teaches her about the plants and trees. He gets up every Monday morning to listen to me on 1xtra in his PJs and then Googles the songs I reviewed to listen to them afterwards. I feel sorry for you if you don't know him because he's bloody marvelous.

I am also truly blessed that my hubs, Mr Adom is another amazing father. Although he didn't grow up with one, he's excelled in his role. I always hoped and knew he would be an amazing dad but he has exceeded all my expectations of how fabulous he is. When Nai Nai was tiny and we were still adjusting to parenthood, he was up in the night with her so I could get some much needed rest, then would get up to go to work the next day like it was nothing, come home and help with the chores etc and sometimes do it all again. My man's a soldier for real. Yes, he does fall asleep on the sofa every Sunday afternoon but hell he deserves it. (Don't ever tell him that.) Not only does he bring home the bacon every month, he rains love on Nai Nai like a tsunami and puts up with me to boot. I'm really f***ing lucky. * pauses to high five hubs, will explain to him why later*

Becoming a new mum, you forget sometimes that loads of new dads have been made at exactly the same time. It's truly amazing to see them grow and flourish and develop. One of my favourite mummy gf's J has a partner who seems to be the carbon copy of Mr Adom. Although we spend hours laughing at their love of a bargain, arguing with the Sky TV call centre operators and asking ourselves why they must watch Match of the Day, Match of the Day 2, Match of the Monday, Match of the Tuesday etc etc we both agree we couldn't do it without them. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by fantastic and inspirational grandfathers (Papa Acheampong, that's you), fathers (hats off to you Mr Adom) and even future fathers (my brother K will be the best, if most bonkers, father ever - I can't wait to see that day). I can't say that behind every great mother is a brilliant father, but in my case, there most certainly is. Big up the daddies because they deserve it - fathers I salute you.

Music to bathe to...

At the end of a long day getting covered in banana (Naima's new favourite food), baby massage and picking up teething toys a million times (no, Nai Nai, it's not a game), I like to sit in a huge bath and stew in my own juices with a Weight Watchers choccy biscuit and sometimes a cheeky pint of vino. I'm not a fan of sitting in silence so I always have some tunes to help zone me out and think up outfits for tomorrow, interesting things to cook for dinner, features to write, etc, etc. Here are my top 5 albums I'm zoning out to this week:

(1) Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman. An absolute classic. 'Mountain O'Things' is one of the best songs ever written. It's a shame Boyzone destroyed 'Sorry' for me.

(2) Paul Simon - Concert in the Park. Incorporating music from Graceland, Rhythm of the Saints and hits with Art Grafunkel, it is the best live album I've ever heard apart from...

(3) Jay-Z - MTV Unplugged. Just Jigga, backed by the Roots. What an amazeballs combo.

(4) Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials. More atmospheric than the debut Lungs, it's just so powerful. 'No Light, No Light' will take you to a pretty dark place whilst 'Shake it Out' will encourage you to, well, shake it out.

(5) Ed Sheeran - +. The Sheeran-meister can do no wrong in my eyes. 'Give Me Love', 'Lego House', 'Small Bump' - beautiful, beautiful, beautiful...

Keep on running...

As I type this my fingers physically hurt. Actually every single part of body hurts thanks to my sudden love of exercise and getting fit. Today I tackled the Mothers Meeting Workout courtesy of the Nike 1948 studios in Shoreditch. The workout took place in Shoreditch Park, with about 15 ladies and babies lead by our ultra-fit male trainer. It was a ton of fun but ridiculously hard and involved using Nai Nai as a dumbell (which she didn't take kindly too), swinging kettle bells around, lunging, squatting and running round patches of grass. At one point my entire body went into shock at the thought of running but once I threw myself into it I felt a whole lot better. It helped that all the other girls in the group were really friendly and completely down to earth. Being intimidated by an exercise class is no fun and that's exactly what I wanted to avoid. Thank God I did! I would totally recommend this to any mamas out there that want to get super-fit super-quick. At this rate I'll be back to pre-baby body before I can say, "Look – I've got my American Apparel disco pants on again..."

Naima loves...

Little Miss Adom has a busy week ahead. She turns six months on Wednesday *tries to hold back tears* and so it's time to try eating real food, sitting up in the bath and terrorising mama in her baby walker. To kick off the week we took in a new baby play session at Rich Mix called Wiggly Jigglers and wow did she play. The great thing about this session was seeing Nai Nai revelling in the joy of new toys and discovering new things. Like her mama, Naima is pretty vintage (newspapers not iPads, books not Kindles, give me a CD any day) and so gravitated towards really old school stuff that was simply shiny or made a noise. Some advice for mamas looking for new toys for their little ones is this - don't buy any! Simply look out some stuff from around the house to keep your little ones entertained. Check out Nai Nai's top 5 things she just can't get enough of right now for some inspiration...(she typed this herself and everything)...

(1) Jar lids. I don't care what colour they are mama, I just want them washed and clean so I can bang them together as hard as I can. Stick them in the fridge for me and when they're cold they make a great soothing teether for me to gnaw on.
(2) Silver oven trays. Buy some cheapy ones from the pound shop and let me go to work just banging it with a wooden spoon. Wicked.
(3) Plastic tubs and pasta shells. When you and daddy have finished some coleslaw (or anything that comes in a plastic container) just wash out the tub (I don't want anything that's not milky right now) and put some pasta shells in it so I can shake them til you want to throw it out the window.
(4) A box of tissues. I don't know why but there's something amazing about pulling them all out and trying to stuff them in my mouth that I can't get enough of. Try and make sure I don't choke though.
(5) Corks. When my mummy has finished guzzling vino and champers she saves me the corks so I can chew on them all day long. I can use them to bang on my silver trays too - yay!

Still going strong...

Two years ago today I married my hubs Mr Adom in the church I grew up in, and was christened in, so many years ago. It was a beautiful experience and by far the best day of my life. We've been together eight years and now we have our beautiful daughter thrown into the mix. There's been ups and downs but I wouldn't change anything for the world. I couldn't have asked for a better soulmate. Love ya Patty P xxx

Make love not war...

Hubs and I were lucky enough to have a night out on Saturday night to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary so whilst Nai looked after her Nana, we took in Henry V at the world-famous Globe Theatre on London's Bankside. We were lucky that we got the one night that it hasn't rained so far this June as we had standing tickets on the floor of this open-air theatre. It's a surreal but amazing experience standing in a medieval looking building whilst the players deliver their lines in full-on Shakespeare speak. Without trying to sound common it was totally amazeballs and a must for all you culture vultures out there. Mama loved it! Book tickets now at www.shakespearesglobe.com

Copying mama's swag...

I don't know about you but I love a good clash of prints. In my world, my home and in my mind nothing matches. I don't believe in matchy-matchy - clashy-clashy is soooooo much better. Naima seems to have picked up my love of wearing-as-many-colours-as-possible-without-looking-like-a-clown. Hey - like mama like baby....

Here she's sporting a very fetch Diane Von Furstenberg for Gap Kids leggings and dress combo and looking rather fantasmo if I do say so myself. Well, I did dress her. My fave mama swag for this week is looking like this...

The bag is from H&M, earrings from River Island, demi-wedges from New Look, printed top from ASOS and the yellow jacket from my aboslute fave vintage store right now called Found (owned by EastEnders actress Meryl Fernandes). Located at 205 Hackney Road, Shoreditch, E2 8JL, not far from Columbia Road flower market, it's got gorgeous and super-affordable pieces. I can never go in there without finding something that I adore. Every time I go past the window I covet pretty much everything I see in there. I kind of don't want to tell anyone about it as I want to keep it to myself...it's just too good...

I'm officially a Pushy Mother!

Whoop whoop! *high fives self then jumps up and down, spins around and touches the ground* As you can tell I am slightly pleased with myself. Yes - I did it! I braved exercising outside in the wind and rain with a bunch of people I don't know and I joined Pushy Mothers. Now, it's not the type of thing that I would have normally saw myself doing but stuff it - if it gets me fit and feeling fabulous once more then I'm up for it. Don't get me wrong - it was hardcore but I completed the hour workout and even joined up for the month. There was no running but a lot of step ups and pushing Nai Nai up and down hills but when the hour was up I felt epic, it had a proper Superwoman effect. I was a bit achey for the next two days but it was bearable and I'm all over going back for more. I thought I would be intimidated by loadsa fit mums who had been doing it for weeks but I realised that every mama there was in the same boat as me and therefore there was absolutely no judgement. I even made a few friends to boot. This definitely a must for any mamas out there in need of getting fit in a fun way. Check out www.pushymothers.com for you nearest class and sign up immediately if not sooner.

Working it...

It's an odd Wednesday that feels like a Monday after the longest Sunday that there ever was. I'm not massively patriotic or into the Royal Family at all but I must say thanks Lizzy for giving your loyal subjects two days off work. However, I think all this pomp and circumstance is a bit old hat, and slightly ridiculous considering what state our country is in right now. Anyway....ironically, for someone who is on maternity leave, I ended up working in some measure, firstly doing my usual review spot on the Singles Club on 1xtra (tune in Mondays at 9am, that's quality radio right there), and then on to the Radio 1 and 1xtra Academy at the Hackney Picturehouse to doing a spot of inspiring for the youth. This whole project was put together by a tiny team at the BBC (I see you Emma and Ngunan) who wanted to inspire and inform young people in Hackney and get them interested in a career, whether that be in journalism or film-making, website building or fashion. When I agreed to do it I thought to myself, yeah this'll be okay - it wasn't til I really realised what it was all about that I was like this is actually amazing. The Beeb got people like Leona Lewis, Noel Clarke and Plan B (and little old me) to share their wisdom with hungry young people that really want to hear it and that's such a great thing. I was on a panel with two amazing female journos (Akilah Russell and Kieran Yates) who I felt inspired by and took tips from too, as well as from our host DJ Nihal. It was great to interact with smart, intelligent young people with aspirations who really wanted to pick our brains and make something of their lives. These are the same kids who are labelled troublemakers or, worse still, an underclass because a few of them thought it was okay to loot a Foot Locker. How about we all stop writing off a whole generation? This is what we pay our license fee for people, not just for wrist-slitting episodes of EastEnders or now-I'm-freaked-out-by-bike-couriers installments of Luther, but for arming the next generation with the tools and knowledge they need to be whatever it is the dream of. And that is so important - especially at a time when they are being dumped on from a great height. It's great to be celebrating 60 years of the Queen on the throne but how about setting the stage for the people who are going to be around for the next 60 years. I think we've forgotten that they need some celebrating too.
PS. Check out my top 5 tips to get into journalism here! http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00thk56
PPS. I hate the way I look in this video...

The bad mirror...

At the moment, every mirror in my house is a bad mirror. Although motherhood has meant I have the joy of a happy, healthy baby, I don't really have a happy, healthy body. Losing the baby weight has been hard and breastfeeding has meant not being able to shift it as fast I would have liked. I feel stuck in a body that I don't know and don't particularly like. I feel large and unattractive and so I hate looking in the mirror. Watching endless celebs snap back into shape 6 weeks after that have their babies doesn't help either. It just makes you feel inadequate and ugly. I don't need that on top of sleepless nights and a teething baby! I'm at a loss what to do if I'm honest. Yes, you can put on accessories, a bit of make up and carry a nice bag but it doesn't make anything look any smaller and make you feel any better. I feel too embarrassed to join a gym and I find myself eating because I'm miserable. It's a vicious cycle and one that's hard to break. To that end I've decided to joini Pushy Mothers on Wednesday - www.pushymothers.com - a fitness class for mums with babies. Imagine me running round the park with Nai Nai in the pram. Not a pretty sight as I can't run but I need to kick start some endorphins for sure. Will I be any good at it? I'm sure I won't. But it's worth a shot, right? Anything to start changing the reflection in the bad mirror. I don't want to be the woman that passes on her body issues to her daughter. I would love Naima to be happy whatever size she is, as long as she's healthy, and I will always tell her she's beautiful. I guess I better get healthy and happy first to pass on the positivity. Wish me luck!

A week of firsts...

This week has been a crazy week of firsts for me and Princess Nai Nai. Her first wee tooth has started to pop through her gum and it's too adorable. Unfortunately this means she's had her grump on a wee bit which makes for a knackered mummy. She sat in her high chair for the first time and took in her first live show - In The Night Garden - at the O2. Although slightly extortionately priced (it's the O2 - I should have known) she seemed totally mesmerised by Upsy Daisy and her pals - that is until she decided she needed some milk and promptly fell asleep. A diva to the last is my girl. Although I am so happy she's growing up cute and healthy it also makes me a little sad that she's gradually leaving babyhood. Although the first few weeks of her life were crazy and difficult, they were also precious and amazing. She used to always fall asleep in my arms, now she wants to babble and play. It's too cute and in some ways I want her to stay a baby forever. But since she can't do that, I just hope she grows up to be the best Adom that there ever was. HRH Princess Nai Nai, the world is your oyster, do with it what you will.