Sometimes its More Effort Than its Worth

Halloween! I don't remember all the fuss when I was a child, although I do recall making a conical black witches hat out of card and a cape out of a bin bag. I also had a rubber bat on a piece of string which I used to have hours of fun flapping about, for years. Anyhow, last year the Little Garden Helpers Mummy and Daddy purchased us a pumpkin which we duly carved for Toddler Boy, who showed some mild level of interest. This year, they were doing lots of things for Garden Girl and Garden Boy. I thought perhaps I should make a bit of an effort. Don't want the little fella to turn up at pre-school with no knowledge of Halloween even happening mainly because I am a misery and can't be bothered.

So I carefully cut out lots of bats for Toddler boy to colour and paint and stick on our patio windows. I printed out colouring in sheets. I acquired The Nightmare Before Christmas film. I bought some special orange Halloween fondant fancies to go with his favourite fishchips dinner (MacDonald's fish finger happy meal) and I went to Sainsbury who had sold out of Pumpkins and then to Waitrose to purchase a rather pricey one.

I tried on several occasions to get Toddler boy to colour or paint the bats and met with resistance. I gave up on the colouring sheets. I tried the film to the response; "Too scare for me". He enjoyed the Macdonalds and the cakes, well who wouldn't. Hubby tried to engage him in pumpkin carving, Buzz Lightyear was more fun. I am beginning to think that he has inherited my misery over national celebrations. I can't help feeling a little bit smug over this.

Hubby carved the pumpkin alone, I stuck the bats to the window. Toddler boy and Fifi went to bed without enjoying anything to do with Halloween. We sit here, enjoying the large packet of mini Bounty chocolate bars we bought in case anyone appeared at the door trick or treating. I'm just off shortly to fashion a cape out of a black bin bag (hard to acquire in these wheely binned times) and then I shall get back on my broomstick to cast more misery over the world. In particular that of my work colleagues, as I make my dramatic return to work on Monday morning at 8.00 am.

Sometimes its More Effort Than its Worth

Review; Green Eyed Monster Childrenswear

I think I have written before about how much I like organic cotton. It's for no other particular reason than it feels lovely and soft and seems to wash very well. My university friend owns organic cotton baby clothes company Belle and Dean and so we have some of their lovely babygrows. We also have some stuff from Frugi and Arabella Miller. That's all through, I have to admit, I have looked around but a lot of the stuff is a little, well, less trendy than I would like. The other trouble with organic cotton baby clothes, which incidentally are meant to be very good for children with skin complaints, as well as being good for the environment, is the cost. Inevitably, they cost more than your usual offerings from Asda and Sainsbury and so you need them to last for that little bit longer.

It's great news for my kids that I recently found Green Eyed Monster, they sell funky organic childrenswear. Its really quite cutting edge, unlike most organic stuff. Lucky for me they agreed to let me have a couple of the pieces in exchange for a fair review.

Green Eyed Monster's clothes are produced using a fully certified, innovative, ecological printing, dyeing and production method. But then most organic children's clothes claim to be, so what makes their clothes really stand out are the fantastic graphic designs. You wouldn't mind wearing most of them yourself.

Price wise, they have some fantastic bargains on their site, alongside some more pricey stuff. Toddler Boy's T-shirt above retails at £16, but there are lots of other designs available for half this price and for the quality and individuality I really think that at £8 they would be a bargain. Fifi's playsuit retails at £19 I think this is a bit pricey, but it is quite unusual and so it would make a great gift.

The clothes came in a really nice box, this gave the parcel opening that extra little bit of excitement. The box is so cute with a little monster and their logo, that we have actually kept it to use for our craft activities! I thought that if someone sent me something from here packaged like this as a gift, I would be really pleased.

But what were the clothes like in terms of quality and child friendliness? Well, they were actually really nice, the cotton was as expected, really really soft and washed well. The designs were really funky and a few people asked me where Fifi's play suit was from when I took her to the supermarket. I was a bit chuffed by this. She seemed comfortable,which is good. I am all for comfort where children's clothes are concerned. Toddler boy was very pleased with his long sleeve top. He liked the logo and that says quite a lot as he is very particular about everything.

The only thing for me to criticise was sizing, they were a tad smaller than I would have liked. If I was to purchase some more stuff. Which I most probably will, I think will buy the next size up to what my children actually are. All in all, I'm very pleased and grateful. If you get a chance, check out their website, its very cool!

Review; Green Eyed Monster Childrenswear

Review; Suunto T1 Sports Watch

One of my rare pleasures is to go running. I used to be fairly good, I could run at least three miles without stopping and everything. Nowadays like everything, it doesn't come quite as easily to me. However, I have been trying and I have been spurred on by my new flashy Asics trainers and my new heart rate monitor watch which was kindly given to me by the PR company that represent Suunto. Suunto are a really well known sports watch manufacturer and I had been lusting after one for ages. Nonetheless, its taken me ages to review the watch as I haven't been out running that much and I do like to give things a proper go.

My first obstacle with the watch was to actually set it up when it came. There was the usual thick digital watch manual. But to be honest I gave up. its not easy doing that sort of thing when you are:

A) rubbish at setting digital watches in the first place;
B) trying to crowd control two small children.

I am told that they are working on a new quick easy guide for setting the watch up. It's needed so that will be great.

However, it did look nice. I liked the colour of the strap, which in fact has proved itself to be slightly uncomfortable for long uses and I liked the big flashy white dial which hubby says is trendy. About the only trendy thing I own, so perhaps it modernises outfits in the same way as a new handbag. I can hope and dream can't I!

Let me be honest here, I liked the gadgetry of the watch, but I didn't find it all that easy to use. I had to get hubby to give me training in it. That was a bit humiliating. He took on the task with glee. I did also find it a bit fiddly when out and about, until I actually 'fell in' how to use it. I'm a bit obsessed with running stats as I find them a good way of motivating me. I used to read Zest magazine and they produced a running book which is full of great tips on how to do it. This is like my bible. But I think their approach has left me a little bit obsessed with making sure I am running/ resting/ walking for the correct amounts of time. That's where the watch comes in, you can check things like calories, heart rate and so on.

The best thing about the watch by far has to be the big easy to read dial. That is just superb, running along trying to avoid pensioners, dogs muck, pot holes, fallen branches, cars and so forth it is very important to be able to see your watch easily. Lest you slip behind your times and your 30 minute 3 mile trip takes 50 minutes and you find yourself just about keeping up with the zimmer-framed old dear in front.

The watch also has a heart rate monitor strap thingy that goes around your middle and talks to the watch via complicated wireless communication. I've come to think of this as some sort of magic because the battery on the watch shouldn't be up to it but it seems to work quite well. The strap is welcomingly inclusive for the sporty and the those of the slightly less toned baby tummy, which is nice. It's not as easy to operate as my Nike Pebble, but then it provides a lot more in terms of features. The first couple of sessions were really about finding out how to operate it properly, as much as they were about wheezing asthmatically and feeling depressed about how unfit having two children has made me. But from thereon in things picked up remarkably.

If you shop around you can pick the Suunto T1 up for about £50, which to my mind is a bargain. Hubby's brother has a £300 Garmin GPS heart rate monitor watch that uploads the details and routes to the Internet, but he runs marathons. At about a sixth of the price, this is much more suitable for runners like me. It also looks good for everyday wear.

Review; Suunto T1 Sports Watch

The Bogey Monster

The bogey monster has come back for another visit. Little trails of snot have begun appearing again across the furniture and my clothes. Like the well trodden paths of big fat juicy slugs, you cannot see their maker, just the destruction where they once were. I think that I read somewhere that children have at least ten colds per year. That is a lot of snot manufacture.

The Bogey Monster

All Hail the Sugar Plum Fairy; Review; Frilly Lily

I think my pictures say it all. She looks so cute, I never want to take it off her. It's so lovely I will be ordering many, many, more in lots of different sizes as she grows.

Right, I must calm down and be rational here. A serious review! Bridget of Frilly Lily sent Fifi this absolutely gorgeous cutest thing ever girly Fairy Tutu outfit, after I asked her for something girly. She said I could keep it, I would have paid her for it. Our house is chock full of manly boys stuff and I am on a mission to improve the situation, this goes a long way.

The lovely Kat put me onto Frilly Lily. They do all sort of dressing up outfits and even a fairy rucksack. If you have a little girl you MUST venture over to the website. They do a few boys things too, including a knights outfit.

Fifi's fairy tutu cost £25 and fits from birth to 10 years. Imagine an even smaller baby fairy! I think this is a very reasonable price and I would be hard pressed to make one of this quality for much cheaper. The only thing I would say, is that the leotard bit doesn't have poppers down below, which means that you have to take the whole thing off for a nappy change. But hey, its worth it and little fairies don't poo that often, do they?

Well, there's not much more I can say really, the pictures speak for themselves. I LOVE this, Fifi looks pleased with herself whilst wearing it. It's lovely and girly and pink and every little girl needs to have a tutu don't they. Unfortunately mummy's cant get away with one for going around the supermarket. But if I could, I would have one of these for myself.

All Hail the Sugar Plum Fairy; Review; Frilly Lily

Ever Felt Humiliated and Embarrassed by Your Children?

Well, lets be honest, whenever I am out I feel humiliated and embarrassed about 50% of the time. My children are unique to say the least, they have literally aged me ten years. I end up wandering around like some sort of mad bag lady. You see, Toddler boy is the most miserable little fella you will come across about 60% of the time. He is shy beyond belief, scowls at people all the time and heaven forbid any stranger should attempt to talk to him. Fifi on the other hand, well, she only wants food and her mummy, so that's not too much of a problem. I don't know if it is because she is a little girl but I do feel bonded to her in an entirely different way to Toddler boy. It could be to do with all the difficulties I have had with him, the breath holding from 3 weeks, the slightly traumatic birth with 5 midwifes and a doctor and the depression I felt. I don't know.

Anyway, each week I take them both to the fabulous Mish Mash Music which I cannot rate highly enough. It's lead by the lovely Ruth who plays her drums or guitar and really does a great job of keeping the toddlers entertained whilst teaching them about music. That's most of the toddlers, for the last few weeks Toddler boy has decided that despite actively asking for impromptu Mish Mash sessions at home, he does not want to join in with the sessions. He runs around, climbs on chair and behaves like a demon child. I find this frustrating as Fifi really enjoys herself and I can't concentrate on one or the other of them. It's also disruptive. For this I can only apologise. I am cringing from the tips of my toes to my eyeballs. If any other child did this, I would be wondering about the parenting.

Anyhow, today was the final straw. Toddler boy refused to join in, rather he sat in the pushchair screaming "mummmeeeeeee, mummmmmmmm, MUMEEEE". The humiliation. I decided to ignore this. Then he stood up, tipped the pushchair over and fell over the back " Bahhhhhh". Cue lots of wailing. Another mum ran over to help. Big mistake, we are talking about Toddler boy here, the shyest boy in the land. Interaction with other humans is enough to tip him further over the edge. Internally, I felt yet another little part of me give up with any parenting strategy for him and another little part of what I once was died. I picked him up and took him outside to try to calm the frankly, belligerent little fella down. "no, don't want to" was all he said. He revels in misery, this one. I stood there wondering if it was all my fault. Have I done something so wrong that God has chosen to punish me. I feel mean, but I really am getting to the end of my tether with this. I spend a lot of the time thinking I just want to run away and live quietly alone. With cats. And chickens. And husband (as long as he is quiet). And the sea, to look at, in a manner similar to the French Lieutenant's Woman.

Whilst outside I suddenly became aware of another scream. Yes, as I had left the room Fifi decided that she wanted mummy. I dragged Toddler boy back inside to find slight chaos, caused entirely by my own children. Yet another class disrupted. I'm so sorry Ruth. I took the decision to drag them both outside, without their jumpers and try to get them back to the car as fast as possible. "No don't want to" was all that Toddler boy would say. Fifi would not stop crying. I wrestled them into the car, in the knowledge that they would both be heading to the childminders for another settling in session. The old people who commented about my children as they were passing by the car did not help my state of mind. God help the childminder.

I dropped them off at the childminder, both sobbing and clinging to my legs. The poor woman looked a little bit concerned. Inside my head I did feel a tiny bit of relief, a moment of peace and clarity a chance to sit in a darkened room. I think I will get called quite soon to pick them up. What am I going to do when I go back to work?

So in summary, I'd like tips please. How do I deal with Toddler Boy? Do you feel humiliated? What makes you feel better, other than chocolate? Should I take him back to music class ever again? When did you get your life back? Why, Oh why, did I have children?

Addendum
I wrote to Ruth and mentioned my blog post and she wrote back with this really lovely reply. I think it might help some other people too:

You get your life back when they turn about 4... My little one (now 7) is now a good friend and treasured companion. It started when he reached about 4 ish, and things have just got better and better.

Although it may feel that you are the only one to have your child fall out of their buggy screaming "mummy mummy"...if you were to have come along to my classes over the years you would see similar stories playing out between mums and little ones... the props are different, but the general gist is the same.

I know it seemed really bad to you, but it didn't disrupt the group much and didn't upset me.

Here is my philosophy on kids who are doing their own thing in a way some might see as 'not joining in' at the classes, worked out over the years...

I really feel kids have a right to be themselves... and if that is where a child is, then it's O.K by me. I try to allow for as much freedom as possible in the classes, and where there are kids who are doing their own thing, I only have two questions I try to remind parents of:

1. are they getting something out of this experience in their own way? So if they are listening, or dancing, or shaking something even if it's not what everyone else is doing, then that's fine by me. (I reckon he was listening for a while, and then needed some attention, and I know Fifi was enjoying it.)

2. Are they disrupting the group?... look around. Is any other child copying your child or are they all just engrossed in their own thing?... don't worry about the mums (easier said than done I know). In your case today, I didn't think that toddler boy was disrupting things for others. It was just unlucky he fell out of the buggy!

On a personal note, I remember times when I felt I didn't want to stay in a group, either because I didn't like my son's behaviour, or because he was clearly having a day when he couldn't handle being in a group. I wish I had had the courage more of the time to just get up and go. You did... because it felt right to you. So, well done.

I really really don't think any of the mums were thinking you a bad parent... we have all (or nearly all) been through it at one time or another. You are a lovely mum, and that comes across very clearly. It's also so clear to me, from many years of being a music teacher and watching siblings come through the classes, that much as we would like to blame/ commend ourselves for how our children turn out, they are largely their own people. I see so many loving parents struggling with this... not only dealing a spirited or delicate child, but also blaming themselves for the child they are working so hard to love.

So... come back if you want. Leave when you don't want to stay, know that this phase will pass, and realise that as long as you keep the love and acceptance coming as much as you can, how toddler boy behaves is just based on the little soul he is, an not a mirror of you as a parent. And PLEASE... please send me this email back when my number two child reaches the same age, and I am feeling exactly the same way you are today.

Ever Felt Humiliated and Embarrassed by Your Children?

Wordless Wednesday; Crushed

Life from my perspective

Wordless Wednesday; Crushed

Facebook Fan Pages

If you happen to want to, heaven forbid, interact with me or any other followers, I now have a facebook page here. Go on join up or I'll be sad and lonely...

Facebook Fan Pages

Walking

Things happen quickly in the world of baby development and Baby Fifi has turned into a lean mean cruising machine. A little rocket with her baby walker, she flies across the room beaming smiles of happiness at her new independence. She is literally walking on sunshine. There is just one thing, she is utterly frustrated with her lack of ability to turn the walker around and spends much of the day sulking about it. That is until her brother gets involved, then a full scale walker fight begins; "no, mine SHARE" he shouts. I try to intervene; "Err, no actually that's Fifi's walker, you don't need it anymore". "NO. MINE.SHAAAARE". There is no arguing with a toddler.

Hence I find myself in a position yet again whereby I cannot walk along, as I inequitably spend most of the day with two children clinging to my leg as a replacement walker. It's a bit limiting, but unbelievably physically demanding. By seven o'clock I am spent. Yes, I am stupid, but I just did not think that children would be so all encompassingly demanding before I had them. Still, the pride I feel about both of them makes up for it. Apart from when out in public and toddler is tantruming and Fifi is screaming for food that is...

Walking

Cooking Masterclass 4; Pumpkin Soup

Halloween is coming up, there's tons of pumpkins out there in the shops. Annabel Karmel would tell you to roast them. I say soup all the way. Until I had kids I didn't even know how to make soup. Now I realise its easy if you cut a few corners and use low salt vegetable stock cubes.

• Peel a 1 kg pumpkin (this is about £1.50 worth in the shops). Peeling pumpkins is hard work, best try to get someone else to do that whilst you;

• Chop an onion
• Crush a garlic clove
• Put 1.5 ounces of butter into your saucepan and melt gently use this to fry the onion and garlic until soft.
• Once the pumpkin is peeled, remove all the seeds and chop it into tiny pieces
• Put the pieces of pumpkin into the saucepan and toss them with the butter, garlic and onion until soft for about 5 minutes
• Add to this 1 and a half pints of vegetable stock. I use Kallo low salt organic stock cubes as I'm lazy.
• Add half a teaspoon of ground Ginger. You can also add some lemon juice and some bay leaves if you are feeling extravagant (I don't often and it doesn't seem to make a great deal of difference)
• Boil this mixture then turn down and simmer for about 25 minutes until the pumpkin is tender
• Then puree/ blend the mixture
• Add half a pint of milk to the mixture
• Reheat, add salt and pepper as you like.
• Serve with a whirl or dollop of Natural Yogurt and some fresh crusty bread
• 
• This will make enough for four people. It can be divided in two and frozen at the point prior to putting the milk in.
  

Enjoy

Cooking Masterclass 4; Pumpkin Soup

Thinking Yourself Lucky; A book you really MUST read

Recently, I have been told by a few people to try and look at the Silver Lining to the little cloud that rests upon my head a lot of the time. This is good advice, and it is something that I do regularly. One of the things I do when I am thinking how hard my life is, is to think about how women coped with what life had to throw at them in the past. I guess this comes from me being an archaeologist and all. But it is something that is worth considering, just as a woman.

I have read tons of books on the subject, but since becoming pregnant with Toddler Boy there is one book which I keep coming back to and which I think every mother should own. The book is called Maternity; Letters From Working Women. This is a link to a FREE download (absolutely above board as far as I can see). It was published in 1915 and is a series of absolutely amazing letters written by women (all members of the Women's Co-operative Guild). The letters tell of childbirth, death, the lack of pre-natal care, poverty and the general despair felt by women at the turn of the Twentieth century. In short they are frankly an amazing record of women's life and they really make you think about your life now. One wonders how these women kept going and admires their determination, tenacity and drive in the most awful circumstances. What is so frightening, is that it really isn't that long ago. These women would certainly have been contemporaries of my great grandparents.

I have copied a couple of extracts below to whet your appetite. Please give it a read, it will really make you think. If you do, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

" The first part of my life I spent in a screw factory from six in the morning till five at night; and after tea used to do my washing and cleaning. Left two weeks before my first children were born. After that I took in lodgers and washing, and always worked up till an hour or so before baby was born. The results are that three of my girls suffer with their insides. None are able to have a baby....my husbands wages varied... and has been paid away in drink. I had three little ones in two years and five months and he [the husband] was out of work two years... I took in washing and sewing and have not been near a bed for night after night..."


"... I have just heard the following case;A poor woman, only twenty eight years of age, was confined last Wednesday with her seventh child, all living. She has been allowed to live in a deplorable cottage that is condemned. She has been living near for about 4 years, but myself and my neighbours have never seen her nor the two youngest children, aged two and a half years and fifteen months, and we are told they have no clothes to come out in. These two children were born in the workhouse infirmary.... a poor woman who is attending to the other children until the baby is born has taken the blanket from her own baby to lend her..."

Thinking Yourself Lucky; A book you really MUST read

Review; "FSA Salt" iPhone/ iPod Touch app

I am notorious in my house for being the Salt gestapo. No salt is ever used in cooking, I frown on those that put lots of it on food. I love Rick Stein's cookery (in particular that on offer at the restaurant in Padstow) but I'm unlikely to cook with that much salt or butter. A trip to the supermarket with me is a nightmare, hubby will vouch for that. I seek out low salt stock cubes, butter and all manner of things. Salt is just so bad for you, it can triple your chances of heart disease and stroke and raise your blood pressure. Why pile it on?

When I was contacted and asked to review the latest Food Standards Agency Salt application for the iPod/ iPhone, I jumped at the chance. Something right up my street. I could go around being even more militant about salt. There was just one thing, being a technology luddite (this is a purposeful thing as I love technology but don't have any cash to splash), I didn't actually have anything Apple to put the 'app' on. That was quickly rectified with the loan of an iPod Touch which is very swanky. Anyhow, I can't tell you how easy it was to load up or anything as I got the hubby to do it. He liked doing it. He wanted to.

The FSA salt app is free, therefore it's worth giving it a shot if you do have the technology. You can always remove it if you don't like. I liked it. It looks nice and flashy, but I presume all things do on the iPod. It has 4 main areas, a calculator, a screen which tells you how much babies and children should eat, tips which are an interesting read and some further info including a link for to the FSA website.

It's all quite basic stuff, the main thing you will want to look at is the calculator. The calculator enables you to look at salt or sodium contents per weight and tells you how bad it is for you. This is brilliant, although a bit time consuming as you still have to do some of the maths. Its a helpful guide though. For me the thing that is really lacking is that ability to add up what you are having across a day and week. I guess this might be in another upgrade to it. Anyhow, I quite liked it but as I'm a caring sharing person, I let the hubby have a little go with it and this is his feedback;

Wifey is right in one thing, she is the head of the salt gestapo. Manys the time when I have to microwave a bag of salted popcorn as I just have the craving for something salty. I've always preferred savoury to sweet and her lack of seasoning, as the top chefs would put it, needs some work on. But bless her, her intentions are right and I'll probably live an extra ten years as a result of her care. So given that I sometimes like some chips and vinegar with my salt, I'm coming at this from completely the opposite end of the spectrum from Wifey and its interesting to see how I approached using the application.

I love my gadgets and would rather something on a screen tell me something than a packet or bag or a bit of mental arithmetic, from the start this was right up my street. First off, I never knew the difference between salt and sodium, so before I'd ever started using the calculators, I'd learnt something. I'd always assumed manufacturers used "sodium" to con the people who might not know sodium chloride was salt. Turns out it was me being conned, as the actual salt content is 2.5 times the sodium content listed on a packet. Well I never.

The calculator itself does need a bit of thought. You have to enter the salt/sodium per 100g and then guesstimate the size of serving (not rocket science if its a pizza or you're going halves on a tin of baked beans I suppose). The results are on a traffic light system of High, Medium and Low (guess the colours folks) and are both uninformative but useful at the same time. You don't have to tot up your RDA to work out whether you're all right- I just assumed a lot of greens with the odd red or yellow was okay. It does fall down if you go your own way and cook from a recipe. Cooking a casserole or a side of pork (salt rubbed in to make good crackling? Yes please!) isn't particularly conducive to knowing weights of portions and the quantity of salt added. Not a problem for us, as you may have gathered but it does render the app a bit less useful if you don't eat a lot of processed food.

The other aspects vary in usefulness- one of the tips helpfully tells me to buy tinned veg with low salt contents. Wow- I'd never thought of that!

Overall though, I must say it does the job, ticks the boxes of techno love and healthier eating guide in one. Here's hoping the next version includes saturated fats....

Review; "FSA Salt" iPhone/ iPod Touch app

Wordless Wednesday; Playing Together

This is about as good as it gets!

Wordless Wednesday; Playing Together

Paper, paper everywhere (in the shape of chains)

There's paper everywhere in our house, Fireman Sam would have an absolute fit. Occasionally, I chuck a big wodge out, but I'm a hoarder and I am always trying to think of things to do with it. These mainly involve cutting, sticking and painting. Everyday I try to do one of these things, its usually painting robots. Although we did stick some leaves to some paper the other day.

Anyhow, I have discovered the solution to entertaining the children with minimal amounts of paper. Paper chains! I haven't done them since I was little and I always thought of them as Christmas things, but look at these funky ones in the picture. They look really cool in the bedrooms.

The kids love making them, very carefully and slowly. It is an activity which fulfills so many aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum that I feel like some sort of activity genius. Minimal cost too. Go and get some (from somewhere) or make your own from scratch, you will be thanking me!

Paper, paper everywhere (in the shape of chains)

Sleep, SlEeP, SURLEAP, zzzzzzz

Sleep, hahahahahahahah. Whats that then? I did for a brief period around a few months ago have some, but this week I have managed so little that I am having trouble focusing. Therefore lack of quality content here and mmmm, is the text here a bit fuzzy or is that my eyes? I had been looking forward to this month for well, the last 18 months actually, from the moment I discovered I was pregnant with the Fifi baby. I thought to myself that I couldn't expect her to sleep much at first, but when she comes up to ten months she will sleep through the night. Just like her brother. NAIVETY at its best.

This has been one of the worst weeks ever, what with the vomiting bug, the cold, and hubby's suspected Swine flu, the baby girl is waking every 30 minutes or so throughout the night from 10 pm onwards. She has been doing that all week, Calpol is no Night Nurse to her, Oh, no, it has no effect. She has been plied with bottles of milk, nappy changes, window open, window shut, cot toys, no cot toys, dummy, no dummy, music, no music. NOTHING WORKS.

On Saturday, I had to attend a Paediatric First Aid course. Brilliant though it was, I did struggle a bit. At one point the tutor was saying something about pale clammy skin and lack of focusing eyes as an indicator of something. He looked directly at me. I felt slightly ashamed, so I volunteered to be put into the recovery position. It was comfortable there on the floor. I didn't want to get up, ever.

Anyway, I have decided that the only solution for me is to succumb to Nosferatu, I can after all get the childminder to do extra hours during the daytime. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sleep, SlEeP, SURLEAP, zzzzzzz

Review; Moccis

Fifi and Toddler boy have to go to the childminders when I go back to work. She is Danish and lovely, she has an even lovelier house which defies the amount of children who go there. Its all wood floors, white walls and cream sofas, like something out of a magazine shoot. Fabulous. Anyhow, the wood flooring poses a little bit of a problem for us as we have carpets and so lounge around in socks and well, feet. I didn't want an accident on day one, so I have been searching the Internet for options for baby Fifi in particular, as there is no way that she is gonna wear a pair of slippers. Toddler boy, can be bribed (with lollipops)! That was when I came across these Moccis. They are basically little socks with little moccasin fabric soles attached. Being poor, I was wondering if it was worth purchasing a pair, when it came to me. Take Karin's advice, just ask if you can review them! And that is exactly what I did.

These are the ones I got sent (to keep). They are nicely coloured and match lots of Fifi's clothes. That's most important for girls you know! At £18 a pop they are a bit pricey, so I was a bit worried about whether or not they would actually do the job, would she be able to pull them off and would I lose them almost the second I left the house? The answers are as follows;

Yes, they seem to work quite well at preventing her from slipping over whilst pulling herself up to cruise on wooden floors.
Yes, she can pull them off, but it takes an awful lot of effort and determination and no, I haven't lost them yet...

So, in summary, I think these are actually a really good idea, they are a bit cheaper than proper baby shoes from somewhere like Clarks and I think they are a bit softer for little feet. You can actually machine wash them which is great. They do the job well and I've had a lot of admiring comments from different people, including the woman in the shoe shop.

Review; Moccis

Halloween Costumes

A little flag up for the Great Toy Guide, a team of mummy bloggers who have been busy reviewing the best Halloween outfits for you. Well done everyone!

Halloween Costumes

A Monthy Guide to Illness

EVERY OCTOBER SINCE HAVING CHILDREN I HAVE BEEN STRUCK DOWN WITH WINTER VOMITING VIRUS! Right, so now I've go that off my chest, here is the Being a Mummy Guide to Illness. If you don't have children, this is roughly what you can expect;

January; Stinking cold, usually about the time when you have planned a special post Christmas treat involving you and your partner
February; This will be the remnants of January's cold
March; You might feel better this month, although you will get a bit annoyed that the weather will not allow you to go outdoors with the children, thus leading to mild SAD
April; Probably another cold, the first wave of chicken pox will occur leaving you in terror about leaving the house. The children will get a strange viral rash
May; Normally another cold (children get ten per year on average apparently, they will give the majority of them to you)
June; Again chicken pox will raise its head, along with slapped cheek syndrome
July; A strange tummy bug leading to diarrhea and wind
August; Strange 'viral rashes will appear on your children'. You will briefly consider meningitis, You pray you don't get these rashes, the embarrassment
September; Flu, vomiting, strange dizzy bugs
October; With the regularity of the annual bird migration you will get winter vomiting virus.
November; You might be alright this month, if you don't catch Swine Flu
December; I normally get the flu or a Chest Infection, last year I ended up in hospital

There you have it, you might want to factor in anything that you haven't been immunised against in that equation, as I can guarantee that between now and when your children grow up you will experience all manner of disease.... I am in a joyful mood

Addendum; The hubby now has Swine Flu. I am off to paint the cross on the door, I could be some time...

A Monthy Guide to Illness

Waiting for Dinner!

Twitter chums will know that by last Friday I had just about had enough and the last thing I could be bothered to do was to cook a dinner. It had been a demanding few weeks. I decided that my plan of action would be to walk up to meet hubby, with the kids in the pushchair and splash out on a dinner out. Hooray! A Friday night treat, a rare and endangered thing of such awesome specialness that I cannot tell you how much it is appreciated. Sort of like winning the lottery in an attainable way. Twitter friends helped by pointing me in the direction of some money saving vouchers, wahey! A plan, now to convince the hubby, I had no worries on that front, for he is after all, a man that does as he is told.

The usual pre- pushchair outing checks; change bag full, spare clothes, food, dummies. Voucher. Umbrella. Coats on kids. Appropriate comforters. Handbag. Lights on, television off. Baby Fifi strapped into the Phil & Teds, Toddler Boy strapped into the Phil & Teds. Yep, that's it, all set to go.

THEN. Bleeurgghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A cold sweat came over me. I considered briefly, just running away and leaving home. After all, I could still have my dinner. Yes, that's right Toddler boy, projectile vomited, in a scene reminiscent of Exorcist, all over the brand new, hard fought over Phil & Teds Pushchair seat. I must say, though, at this moment the key benefit of having this type of pushchair was demonstrated. In a tandem buggy, both would have been covered head to foot in the foul juice of Beelzebub.

One of the dilemmas of having two children was then illustrated graphically to me. What do you do first? Save baby Fifi from the potentially drip, drip, drip of sick coming at her through the pushchair? Remove Toddler boy from the sick and clean him up? I opted for the later, hoping that the material had a little bit of sick resistance. Once Toddler boy was reasonably clean, I then removed Fifi to the safety of the play pen and set about cleaning the buggy, and cleaning and cleaning. I can't tell you how hard this was for me, as I am not the household sick monitor. Mainly due to the fact that sick seems to induce a natural sick retching reflux in myself which is hard to suppress.

A few minutes later the hubby strolled into Armageddon. He looked as if he might stroll back out, but to his credit he stayed and helped. This weekend we have had a few more sick incidents, including one in the bed. The worse thing though, is that it has not struck me, Fifi or the Hubby. Yet. So, in a way, we are waiting for dinner, just not in the way I had hoped this weekend.

Waiting for Dinner!

Review;Toy Story Mania Nintendo Wii Game

It seems to be known out there in the cyberworld that we have a Wii. This is fab news for us, as we cant afford any games for it, so are a bit limited in what we can play. Luckily for Toddler boy we have Donkey Kong and Mario Karts this provides endless entertainment, even though he cant really play them properly. The other day, I was offered the chance to review and keep Toy Story Mania, the new game for the Wii. I jumped at this, as I thought that finally this might be a game that he can actually do without too much help from us. Alas, at two and a half he is still a little bit young, although he did love watching us play it. There is an interactive clip here on Youtube which shows you exactly what it looks like and gives you an idea of the game.

I have to admit, I missed the whole Toy Story thing, I am just exactly the wrong age, too old to enjoy it as a child, too young to be a parent when it came out. Nonetheless, I am aware of it and its appeal. The characters are all very child friendly and there is an element of humour in there which appeals to parents. I haven't got any of the other Toy Story games but the bonus of this one seems to be that you can play it in 3- D. Now, that takes me back to the 1980's when I got a free set of 3-D glasses with look-in magazine. But I digress, the glasses did make a difference to what you were seeing on the screen during the game, but you then lost the colours which are really quite appealing. It's one of those dilemmas. you can have 3-d or have great colours. To be honest we opted for the colours, especially as you don't have to sit there with a pair of cardboard glasses on which is frankly a bit of a hindrance to any activity!

As far as the actual game goes, within it are loads of different games, and associated features, quite a few shoot-em ups and a few concentrations type ones. We did enjoy them, although they don't seem remarkable for anything other than the inclusion of the Toy Story characters and the 3- D gimmick. In terms of ease of play, it seemed easy enough once the game got going, but perhaps this is me being a girl, to get them set up it didn't seem all that intuitive and I had to resort to asking my Euro-gaming husband who was also flummoxed at one point. But oh, the personal shame, what a computer luddite! You can have 4 players which is great and you can unlock things and compete against each other. All good features.

I reckon this might be a good game for Christmas when you have the family stuck together wondering what to do with 8 hours of 'family time'.

Anyhow, aside from the brilliant You tube video, there is also this really great website where you can download shed loads of stuff, door hangers, colouring in sheets and so forth. To be honest its proved a bit more popular than the game in our house, but that's just personal preference. Long may Disney continue to do this sort of website, its a really useful resource!

Review;Toy Story Mania Nintendo Wii Game

Sometimes You Just Have One of Those Moments

In fact, in this house it seems that we have one of those moments all the time. If its not Toddler Boy, it's Baby Fifi and her unrelenting demands to be picked up. If it's not them its me. ME! Yes, that's right, the centre of calm and coolness has through the result of pretty much 3 years of broken nights sleep, started to feel a little bit highly strung. Yesterday, I had one of those moments where I really did feel like going on strike. Demands for nappy changes, food, juice, toys (in particular the little man that goes in the helicopter which seems to get lost every five minutes) and television really did begin to grate. I sat on the sofa wishing that I could afford one of those glossy magazines, a chocolate bar and a childminder. Just for an hour or so. I'm worried I'm going to turn into Shirley Valentine.

Revenge is sweet; I made a lentil and rice casserole for dinner.

Sometimes You Just Have One of Those Moments

Book Review; Yummy by Lucy Cousins

I have written before about our love of the Maisy books. Toddler boy positively laps them up and I enjoy reading them, as I love the artwork. Yummy is Lucy Cousin's latest offering, it's a collection of 8 favourite nursery stories such as Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs. We were lucky enough to get sent a review copy by Walker Books who publish it, alongside a lot of other great kids books. In fact, looking through Toddler Boy's bookshelf, they seem to have published most of our home library.

The stories in Yummy have been re-written in a modern style and are so fabulously illustrated that to be honest, I have kept this book on the adult bookshelf to be looked at during precious calm moments. I don't want this one to get scrunched and crayoned. Myself and the hubby have had as much fun looking through it and reading it independently, as we have reading it with the kids. I would go so far as to say that you could actually dismantle the book and use some of the pages as framed prints in the children's rooms. This would be a sacrilege though, especially if you didn't have another copy.

So far, our favourite story is Little Red Riding Hood which we have read several nights running. Its a bit scary, but we love a bit of childish horror around these parts. Whats more, Baby Fifi is soon to be the proud owner of an appropriate outfit thanks to Anjie. I think we will be inspired to do a little bit of role playing! There are also a couple of stories which I had forgotten. It's been lovely to revisit The Little Red Hen for example.

One of the really great things about Lucy Cousin's artwork is that it appears accessible, if you look at it you can see how she has constructed her images and I think this is one of the things that makes it so appealing. I'm not saying we could all achieve such a brilliant style, but it is purely universally inspirational.

This book is fab, fab, FAB. Its reasonably priced at £14.99 and quite honestly, if you are wondering what to get a child for Christmas this provides the perfect answer.

Book Review; Yummy by Lucy Cousins

Romulus; The God of Dogs Muck

"The glorious gifts of the gods are not to be cast aside."
--Homer, The Iliad

Romulus was the Roman God of dogs muck. Revered across the Roman Empire worshippers of Romulus would quite literally poopa scoop like their lives meant nothing without this joy. The dogs muck would then be deposited in special red canisters and every so often a priest would come and take it away, burning it with lavender and incense in a deep pit within the temple. Followers felt assured of a place in Elysium.

Alright, this is a lie. But to the dog owner that didn't poopa scoop in Sherrardswood Nature Reserve, Welwyn Garden City leaving me to wheel my pushchair through some leaves and get more than I deserved, if I ever find you I will be re-enacting the part of this ritual in a modern day manner. This will involve scooping up your dogs poo and sticking it through your letter box. The same goes for anyone else who I catch allowing their dog to poo in leaves and craftily covering it over. As you can tell, I am not looking forward to the traditional Autumn chore of toddler shoe washing. It takes the joy out of kicking fallen leaves.

Romulus; The God of Dogs Muck

She Wants it All

And can you really blame her, for baby Fifi is now a fully fledged cruising machine. Three plus toys pose no obstacle, random sandwiches or fruit meant for Toddler boy, who wont eat anything, get devoured before I can turn my head and the television remote control has once more become the most coveted object within our household.

Toddler boy is finding this transition from having a static baby to a movable one quite hard. He likes everything to be exactly in its place. Toys are lined up meticulously, his shoes need to be put precisely next to mine and heaven forbid if a little man doesn't fit into a specific toy. Hes at the stage where he is running away shouting 'Fifi get me'. What does one do? I find it all very hard as I am a magnet for mess, as is his father. This need and desire for ruthless tidiness is alien to me and evidently also his sister. Perhaps, in years to come we will be organised!

She Wants it All

Teaching Children About Food; The Potato Story

A few years ago, inspired by Gardeners World, I bought a gooseberry bush, a blackcurrant bush and a load of seeds for beans and courgettes, aubergines and tomatoes. It was a bumper crop that year, the weather was great, I didn't have any children to keep me occupied and I spent the long hot summers worrying about vine weevil on my beans and picking aubergines. Fast forward a few years and two children later, the gooseberry bush grew gooseberries but I forgot to pick them, the blackcurrants frankly took too long to cook and my lovely friends provided the courgettes, which didn't crop brilliantly, probably because I kept forgetting to water them. Toddler Boy mainly enjoyed kicking his football into the bush. Sigh.

Anyhow, all was not lost as The Little Garden Helpers kept going on holiday just when their vegetables were ripe to pick. That was a shame, I had to keep thinking of things to cook and Toddler Boy got a chance to use the watering hose on all these lovely vegetables. Joking aside, the Little Garden Helpers have been doing their best to educate Toddler Boy about where food comes from. Their garden, coupled with our strawberry plant and admittedly poor efforts at growing food is hopefully helping to install an awareness of the origins of the food which is served up. If nothing else, he loves digging a big hole. It's a start.

With all this is mind, we were delighted to receive some information about an initiative from McCain called The Potato Story. According to their research 1 in 10 children aged between 7 and 11 think that chickens lay potatoes! I'm horrified and shocked. It's a good thing therefore that they are sending around their Potato Story Bus to help educate kids about potatoes and how they get from field to fork. Its great to see a large company actually taking some social responsibility like this. If you don't get a chance to see the bus, have a look at the website there are lots of facts and things to do.

I suggest that next time you have dinner with the kids, get them to think about where the food comes from and the processes it goes through to get there. Do what we will be doing and let the kids have a little patch of soil in which to dig a big hole and then possibly plant some chitted potatoes or sow some seeds. Get them to look for foods when they are out and about, you will be surprised at the number of apple trees. Whats more, make sure that you look at and discuss the fruit and vegetables at the supermarket and farmers markets. An awareness of the natural world and where things are from is one of the greatest gifts you can give to a child.

Teaching Children About Food; The Potato Story

What's a Wot Wot then?

I managed to wangle an invite to the Wot Wots toy launch, unfortunately I then got to the launch far too late to see anything. But hey, all is not lost, Daddacool went on time. He is very punctual. I have allowed him the chance to guest blog here. He is grateful, I think he's brilliant.


I'm a fan of the children's programmes on Channel 5. Not just thanks to Beth, Jenny and Naomi mind (although to us 30 somethings they're definitely a boon) but thanks to a lot of the actual childrens programmes too. CBeebies is all very good but it's just so worthy at times. Every show has to have a representative character and there's more than a hint of edu-tainment about it all. With the likes of the Little Princess, Rupert, Bottletop Bill and Peppa Pig I get the feeling I'm being entertained rather than moralised at.

So Tuesday saw us hauling bottom up to London Zoo for 10am for the launch of the Wot Wot toy range, and a nice sneaky peek at series two (starts 13 October). The Wot Wot's have been a particular favourite of M'laddo for a while now, he's a discerning two year old, and knows the difference between good, average and poor computer generated graphics and since WETA (the bods behind the effects in both the recent King Kong film and the Lord of the Rings trilogy) were involved in the show, the effects are very good. This helps it be a dad friendly show, as there's little more annoying than watching a TV show that has poor animation. As I said to the creator chap, when I cornered him, just because a shows made for children doesn't mean it has to cut corners and look a bit crap.

Anyway, we got to the Pavilion by the kangaroo enclosure after being taken a route that was filled with steps (a genius bit of organisation considering there were many many pushchairs involved) and were presented with a room with bean bags, tables and some chairs set out in front of a huge back projection TV screen that was showing the Wot Wots.

We sat next to an elderly gentleman in a very natty blazer who turned out to be Nicholas Parsons. I was paralysed by an inability to remember anything he'd been in other than a couple of episodes of Dr Who in 1989 (The Curse of Fenric, it was very good, he played a vicar which he does very well). M'laddo hasn't shown an interest in Dr Who yet and to be fair a huge projection screen with the Wot Wots on it was sufficient distraction for him.

Once the great man himself, followed by the top boffin creator chap had given a little talk, the kids got to meet the Wot Wots (some cunning puppetry dontcha know) and then got to have a play with the new range of Hasbro toys.

There were a lot of kids and a slight deficit of toys, but M'laddo is quick on his feet and managed to get a good play with Dotty Wot and her floaty chair in. The look of awe on his chops when he got to play with the actual characters from the programme was worth setting off into London during the early morning rush hour for alone. In fact, the mini Spotty Wot toy he got to take away is the only soft toy he has ever taken to bed along with his beloved BunBun. You see, unlike a lot of programme merchandise, (In the Night Garden, I'm looking at you), the Wot Wot toys actually look pretty much spot on as they do on the screen. This is I'm told a result of the creators making sure they were happy with the toys rather than just licensing it off and raking in the spondoolicks. Whatever it was, it worked and M'laddo is certainly grateful!

What's a Wot Wot then?

EA Sports Active Review

You know how it is, you are very well meaning, you really do want to lose weight, you are trying. You didn't have that additional Jaffa Cake which would finish the packet off. No, I will leave it for someone else. Oh, Sod it, I'll just have it, what difference is one more going to make? Then, before you know it, you are not just pushing your mid thirties, you are also pushing 12 stone. Panic!

An opportunity presents itself. Would anyone like to test EA Sport Active? YES, me me me me me. What was I thinking? We have Wii Fit, it's about as much help as the cardboard box it came in for losing weight. I suppose if I ate the box instead of some Jaffa Cakes, that might help. But anyhow, its a time thing, will I actually find the time to use the EA Sports Active without tripping over a baby and a toddler? (The Wii Fit near accident was legendary and sensible me has stopped Wii Fit-ing during the daytime). Note to readers and Twitter friends, I realise that I haven't stopped having a fit generally.

The short answer to that was, no, not when it first arrived. I do have some exercises, you see it did co-incide with an operation and our summer holidays. There was no way that I was going to get 30 clear days in which to, deep breath, FOCUS, get into the Zone Man and all that. Still, as it was sitting there on the shelf, I looked at it and in the same way that books seep knowledge into your brain through the sheer act of ownership, I'm sure EA Sports was doing a similar thing. Well, it must have actually, as I weighed myself and following a few measly actual runs I had lost 8 lb in weight. So there you go. The first reason for buying it.

So anyway, I watched the hubby (daddacool) the king of EA Sports (see posts here and here) and began to feel a bit envious. He seemed to be having lots of fun. Thats unheard of, unless he is playing some shoot-em-up game on the computer. He seemed to be getting thinner. That's just generally unheard of. It seemed to work.

Thus, I find myself EA Sport-ing with the rest of them and yes, it's fun and yes it's energetic and yes, it's easy to do. As I used to be super fit, I would do 100 sit ups and 100 press-ups morning and night and then do a three mile run somewhere in between. This was sometimes after a whole day at work wielding a mattock with the lads, one of whom really did used to dig trenches in the French Foreign Legion. I am not ashamed, I was quite fit and I did have a bit of a 6 pack and I was probably even more mad than I am now. Anyhow, now I have a nice pot belly, I'm quite plump but I do have two kids and a nice pair of Asics running trainers and EA Sports Active (which I might accidentally forget to give back). I digress, what was I saying? (no I'm not trying to avoid exercise really). Oh yes, back to the actuality of EA Sports Active.

Right, there are a few pre-set exercise routines you can do, if like me, you like to overdo it and collapse in a heap, then go off for a can of Coke. They are perfect. You have to strap a thing around your leg which gets nicely covered in sweat and there is an option to see how many calories you burn. This is great, as your other half can sit there and laugh or help to motivate you, the choice is theirs. You can get really quite competitive on this sort of thing you know, not like we have or anything. Honest.

I'd love to have my own personal trainer and EA Sports provides this, in fact it does everything that I like in terms of exercise. I do like it, however you know what? There really is nothing like a run in the good old British Outdoors. I think for me, EA sports is best functioning as a warm-up/ cool- down after the run or as something to help me burn off my excess energy in those cold dark winter nights. There are lots of those coming up. Please, please let me keep it, or perhaps a wealthy benefactor might like to send one my way.

So, if you have a fat *ss, ahem, I mean bottom like me, I reckon you should get hold of EA Sports Active. If nothing else, it's a good fun way to play computer games. Something that gets you kudos with men. Or so I'm told. As with all fitness, its good to reward yourself for your efforts. The image above illlustrates hubby's idea of motivating me. I realise I look cheap. I think I need to hint a bit more about the Vivienne Westwood dress he is buying, when I lose another stone in weight.

EA Sports Active Review