Pulled pigtails and windy walks

After Isla’s recent antics of playing up at bedtime, chatting, singing & purposely getting her legs ‘stuck’ in the cot bars or throwing her pillow out so that she can shout for help, we decided yesterday that it was time for Operation Tire out Toddler.

With that in mind, we headed to the coast (Southport) to visit Grannie, with the aim of a long walk along the pier and a lot of fresh air.

The Met Office app reliably informed us it was not going to rain, and they were mainly right. However, when we arrived, full of May optimism with our picnic, it was slightly too baltic to get out of the car. And it was blowing a gale. And then Eve started screaming. And it started drizzling. And the upshot of all the above was that we panicked, and ended up diving into the nearest soft play place instead.

Once Eve had stopped screaming & we all had cups of coffee inside us things were calmer. Lilly and Isla were playing so nicely together and all was well.

But then, Devil Child (aka boy toddler) entered stage left and, with a swift pull of Isla’s pigtails all out meltdown began. Because, while Isla might like to dish out the odd smack to her big sister at home, she is definitely not used to being on the receiving end.

This Devil Child was a particularly sadistic little thing. And accompanied (naturally) by the kind of parent who comes to soft play and immediately washes their hands of their kid, not caring what kind of bad behaviour they might be getting up to.

Isla was screaming and this only amused Devil Child, who then kept trying to come back for more, following Isla and trying for another grab of her pigtail. Not going to happen, Devil Child. “She doesn’t want to play with you, so go away please,” I told him. But Devil Child isn’t bothered, his mum isn’t watching, and Isla is getting more and more traumatised. I try to encourage her to keep playing, but Devil Child keeps following her, so she’s getting hysterical and we give up and go for a Fruit Shoot break.

Luckily, Devil Child & Neglectful Parent leave soon afterwards, and play continues. But Isla’s obviously traumatised because later when another little boy comes near her she crumbles into a heap of tears and throws herself down some (soft) stairs, sobbing “naughty boy!”

So, if Devil Child has done one thing, it is to put Isla off boys for a while… hmmm… wonder if it might last into her teens….

Anyway. After a few goes on the big wavy slide (me, Lilly and Isla all on one lane each – great photo opportunity missed, eh?) We decided to give the windy walk along the pier another go.

Once we got outside the weather had really brightened up, the sun was out and it was even a little bit warm. It was still windy, but it was a pleasant kind of wind, not a freezing cold drizzly kind of wind.

It was such a clear day, you could see the Blackpool Tower and The Big One

We had a lovely walk along Southport’s famously long pier. The tide was out so we didn’t see much of the sea, but it was a really clear day. And when we got to the end the girls had loads of fun looking at the old fashioned penny arcade games they have there.

Lilly’s favourite was always the Sooty and Sweep Band, who sing a nursery rhyme in exchange for an old penny. I’ve actually blogged about it before. This was the first time Isla had really been big enough to take much notice, and it was her turn to fall in love with Sooty. Quite a few of our old pennies went into this machine – it’s brilliant!

And, of course, no trip to the seaside could be complete without ice creams…

All in all, we had a really lovely afternoon. And, as for Operation Tire Out Toddler? Well, after all that excitement – soft play, pigtail pulling, long walks, meeting sooty, eating ice cream – yes, you’ve guessed it… it DIDN’T MAKE A BLIND BIT OF DIFFERENCE… she was still up for a good 40 minutes at bedtime messing about…

*sigh*

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Life as a family of five

Well, Eve is now 10 weeks old, so we have had two and a half months to adjust to life as a family of five.

Of course, it was chaotic at first. A pre-schooler, a very mischievous toddler and a newborn baby… And a house move when Eve was four weeks old… Well, it definitely had it’s moments!

But now I am beginning to feel that things are settling down a bit. Having three children has started to feel ‘normal’. For example, we have got used to the logistics required when we all want to leave the house (notwithstanding the time we arrived at Ikea only to discover we had left the baby’s bottle at home & had to race round in record time before feed time was due, or the time Tony was so flustered he used the deposit box at the bank to pay in some cash but completely forgot to enclose his name or bank account details!) And in the daytime I now feel like we have a bit of a routine for the various naps & feeds and other essential jobs to be done.

All the cliches are true – it feels like Eve has always been here. The thought of our family before her is strange! Words cannot say how much we all love her. She is chunking out a bit now and becoming more and more alert every day – gaining strength in her neck and wanting to look all around her to see what is going on and who is there. She is smiling and seems quite a happy and smiley kind of baby, not like Isla who was very serious when she was tiny… you had to work very hard to get a smile out of her! Eve’s lovely smiles first thing in the morning when you go to collect her from her basket are so gorgeous.

She reminds us in personality very much of Lilly when she was a baby – she is feisty and hard work at times. When she wants something, she will let you know in very definite terms – she has one heck of a pair of lungs which she exercises regularly with some pretty loud wailing – and if she’s really upset (e.g. you just got her out of the bath and now you have the audacity to want to get her dry and dressed) she will SCREAM at the top of her lungs, almost enough to set the glasses humming… it is incredible! She hates being in her car seat and (just like Lilly at that age) will tolerate it for a while if the car is moving, but if you stop at the lights the crying starts again!

She also looks a lot like Lilly at the same age, and we have been looking back over pictures of Lilly and marvelling over how difficult it is to tell which baby it is! At some point I would like to try and pick out a few to compare and post them on here for you to see what I mean!

Sleep wise, she is excellent in some ways, terrible in others! On the plus side, once she is asleep for the night she can go extremely long stretches… 9pm until 5.20am being her personal best. BUT… she is very difficult to settle for the night. She fights sleep something chronic. She wants to be held & rocked to sleep & if you do that, then put her down, she wakes up! Sometimes a dummy and a little bit of Ewan The Dream Sheep will help her settle, sometimes it just keeps her happy for a little while before the crying begins again. we are trying to get her into a bedtime routine, milk in the bedroom & putting her down in her basket, but most nights we end up having to bring her downstairs and trying to get her to sleep in her carrycot before taking her upstairs in it once she is definitely asleep for the night. I think as a parent of a baby you are always frightened of getting them into ‘bad habits’ such as rocking to sleep, dummies etc, but on the other hand you NEED sleep!

She can now coo loudly and likes to watch the lights on the television whilst kicking away on a mat. She doesn’t get as much time under her playmat as the other too used to, because with Isla on the roam its a little bit dangerous – both girls always try to get under the mat with Eve but Isla is a little bit more clumsy with her efforts, shall we say! She doesn’t mind sitting in her rocking chair for a little while now, as long as she’s in a good mood. But essentially, her preference is always to be held, and yes, she would rather you stood up while you do this, there’s only so long she will sit happily on a motionless lap!

Lilly and Isla are still doing us really proud as big sisters. Even though Isla is going through a bit of a hitting phase she hasn’t so far extended this to the baby. She is actually very gentle with her and is always stroking her and saying: “aaaahhh, Evie”. If we are out somewhere and Isla hears a baby cry she’ll always think it’s Eve. And Lilly really dotes on Eve and is always telling her how much she loves her and that she’s the best baby in the world. In return, Eve always has big smiles for her sisters – except maybe when Isla gets a little over enthusiastic with her cuddles and puts her full head of hair right in Eve’s face!

But yes, I think we’re doing ok. My return to work seems to be looming large though – end of next month – I think Tony is feeling a little nervous!

Related articles

• Say hello to Eve… (growingmyfamilytree.wordpress.com)
• A quick catch-up (growingmyfamilytree.wordpress.com)
• Eve’s birth story (growingmyfamilytree.wordpress.com)

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Peppa Pig: Corrupting little minds since 2004

I noticed today that Peppa Pig was trending on Twitter. I was curious, so I clicked and discovered what everyone was tweeting about – this article in the Daily Mail about parents claiming that Peppa Pig is a bad influence on toddlers.

We are big Peppa fans in our house. The first episode I ever saw was when Lilly was a baby. It was the one where they go on a picnic & Daddy Pig is scared by a wasp. It made me laugh & reminded me of our family… Not only because Hubby does tend to overreact at insects, but also because Peppa’s family are a nice, normal bunch, doing nice, normal, family type things. There is humour in basic everyday situations without the use of magic or anything complicated or scary to young kids. And I think Peppa Pig is something that reflects normal families and that children identify with.

Apparently though, the programme is really much more sinister. Did you know that Peppa Pig was the first one to give toddlers the ideas to:

• Splash in muddy puddles, rather than walk carefully round them, being sure not to get their nice shoes dirty
• Learn to say (and use) the word “No”
• Sometimes be cheeky & perhaps even not do what their parents ask them to do straight away & without complaint

And, most shockingly:

• Prefer chocolate cake to lettuce & cucumber!!!

My two girls are big Peppa fans, so imagine my guilt as I now realise I have let this evil, one dimensional, pink MONSTER get into their very souls & corrupt them, right there in my living room!!!!

God knows what would happen if children grew up watching cartoons like Tom & Jerry. I can only imagine the number of parents whose offspring would immediately leap up from the sofa & start hitting each with saucepans or using sticks of dynamite to blow up their parents. It’d be chaos!!

And what about Norman from Fireman Sam? If that kid doesn’t have an ASBO by the time he’s 15 I’ll be GOBSMACKED.

I must admit, however, that in the past a couple of real life mums have said to me that they think Peppa Pig is “spoilt”. But I don’t agree. I think she’s just lucky enough to come from a stable, happy family, and she’s loved. And anyway, look at the evidence, all she wanted for Christmas was a yoyo! And for her birthday she got one poxy piece of clothing – for her teddy!

In my opinion, if you want spoilt pigs, look no further than the ghastly Olivia, who has to always be the best & get all the attention, and her mum & dad find her oh-so adorable for doing so. Or that incredibly irritating Angelina Ballerina. Both a big pair of brats, if you ask me.

There are many more things on the TV that I prefer my little ones not to watch. Scooby Doo, for example, which has given my 4-year-old way too many nightmares and consequently given us way too many broken nights (cheers a bunch for letting all the kids watch it, nursery).

So, lay off the Pig, you crazy, hysterical people!

 

Related articles

• Peppa Pig is ‘making children naughty’, parents fear (telegraph.co.uk)
• Is Peppa Pig making toddlers naughty? Parents despair as children copy cartoon by answering back (dailymail.co.uk)
• So Peppa’s been a naughty pig. Do you worry about children’s TV shows? | Open thread (guardian.co.uk)

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Addicted to multitasking

I used to consider myself good at multitasking, because of my work.

As a journalist, and later as a PR officer, I was never allowed the luxury of doing one thing at a time.

I’d be working on one story or press release, when somebody would ring up about another, I’d also be drafting an urgent statement on some other issue while trying to chase information on another.

Yes, I was used to doing 2, 3, 4 things at I time, and I was ok at it.

Then I had a baby. And I started to see what multitasking really meant.

I think most mothers would agree with me. I’d be amusing a baby while sorting the washing, making bottles, freezing baby purée, ironing, tidying, burping, changing, soothing, photographing, organising, planning & feeding. Now I was really multitasking. And when I went back to work, juggling two or three pressing work tasks was a piece of cake in comparison.

And then i had another baby.

And so I had a toddler AND a baby.

And now I really, really know what multitasking means. It is heating baby food while cooking a toddler’s dinner while fending off 20 requests for a biscuit while comforting a grumpy hungry baby while making drinks for both children while taking toddler to the toilet while putting a wash load on while strapping the baby in the highchair while answering the phone while feeding the baby while picking out the onions from your toddlers dinner because she doesnt like them today while stopping the baby from spraying water all over the house while warming her pudding while taking the toddler for yet another wee while soothing a crying baby while saying “sit down at the table Lilly to eat your dinner” while wiping the baby’s face while finding the toddler a pudding while cleaning the highchair while helping the toddler to scrape the “last bits” from her yoghurt pot while putting the baby down for a nap while putting on CBeebies while clearing up food from the floor while topping up toddler’s drink, while going back to comfort a crying baby, while answering the door to a delivery man while switching off Ben & Holly cos it scares toddler while making a nice strong cup of coffee…..

Is it any wonder I need a nice, cool class of Sauvignon Blanc at the end of the day?

As a result of this constant multitasking, I find it very difficult not to do more than one thing at once. I can’t really ”do nothing” anymore. I can’t just sit and watch tv. Because while I’m watching TV I can’t stop the nagging feeling that I could actually also be ironing or doing the grocery shopping online, or reading a magazine or sorting the washing or(as now) writing a blog post.

If I’m ever in a job interview in future and I’m asked to give an example of how I might multitask I think I’ll just tell them I’m a mother of two. If I couldn’t multitask, I’d be pretty stuck. In fact, I think we should just put that on our CVs. And I would imagine the more children you’ve got, the more multitasking you’re able to do. It makes me dizzy just thinking about it!

I remember reading that if you do a lot of multitasking it can actually make you more suseptible to dementia in your old age. Probably because your brain is inevitably going to shortcircuit somewhere along the line. So, keep drinking the pomegranete juice and doing the crossword, mums.

There are only a few things in life that I can really switch off for and concentrate on one thing at a time: mainly cooking, driving (when the girls aren’t in the car) and watching Coronation Street. Simple pleasures.

Is it just me? Or are you also “addicted to multitasking?”

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Terrible Threes?

A few weeks ago when I met up with my NCT mummy friends and their 3 year olds, we were talking about surviving the terrible twos.

We all agreed that over the last few months, as our children approached their 3rd birthdays, their behaviour had become slightly better, that the tantrums were less and the pleasant conversations were more.

Tony and I had been saying this a few weeks earlier. The last six months have seen a real improvement in Lilly’s behaviour and we both agree that we’ve turned a corner. (Not that she was some kind of devil child, just a normal terrible two!)

For instance, I felt confident to take Lilly to places like the garden centre and know that, if given a stern warning at the beginning of the trip, she could largely be trusted not to run off, pull everything off the shelves and have screaming fits.

A far cry from one memorable trip to the local garden centre which resulted in full scale meltdown with Lilly lying spreadeagled on the floor, screaming her head off because I made her put a little garden brush back on the shelf. Cue disapproving and shocked looks from elderly customers…

But, now that Lilly is three, it is starting to dawn on me that there are some fresh behavioural challenges to contend with.

Namely:

She will not do ANYTHING without being asked AT LEAST three times.

E.g. “Put your coat on Lil.”

“Put your coat on Lil.”

“PUT YOUR COAT ON LIL!!!!!!!!”

Drives me insane.

Also, she has become a lot more cheeky and purposely naughty. She will sometimes refuse to do things we tell her to do, or more to the point, refuse to stop doing something we tell her to do. Usually something she is doing that is dangerous and likely to result in her hurting herself at any second.

And it is quite depressing having to constantly use either a) bribery or b) threats to try to get some degree of coperation from her.

I am not stupid. I realise that children generally don’t always do what you tell them to do! I know this is just a normal part of development and something we’re going to have to get used to. But she is also going to have to get used to us instilling a bit of discipline as we don’t want her turning into a right little madame!

What do you think? What challenges did age three bring you and your children? How did you deal with them?

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The baby monitor isn’t working…

… And now I can’t relax!

Our baby monitor has served us well for three years… until today when it developed a syndome akin to the ‘red ring of death’, started beeping incessantly and the light flashing red.

We only live in a small 2 bed house, and, in truth, we can hear when either of the girls cry. But I’m dependent on the monitor for reassurance, that all really is quiet, and nobody is choking, or coughing, or on the verge of waking.

When I have the monitor, and the girls have gone to bed, I can go in the kitchen and cook dinner quite happily, listening to Radio 5 Live and knowing that I’ll still hear the slightest snuffle.

And ironically, when the baby monitor is not working, all I can hear is babies crying and toddlers shouting in the back of my head all the time.

I know some of my friends with babies say they stopped using their monitors after a few months. But we slept with the monitor on Lilly right up until Isla was born, when Lilly was two and a half.

So, I am not ready to give up the habit yet. And tomorrow, we will be rushing off to purchase another monitor… and evening relaxation (or not!) will be restored.

RIP, faithful friend

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Goals for 2011

Jan 4, 2011

I know everybody is at it at this time of year, but I’m going to be another one to jump on the New Year bandwagon. I may be a little late with this, but our New Year was kind of dominated by third birthday celebrations, so we didn’t really get too much time to think about the dawning of a new year (or decade, as some people think of it).

I started writing down a few basic goals, but inspired by Tiddlyompompom‘s Day Zero posts and Pumpkin and Piglet’s recent post but here are some of my personal goals for 2011. Some are bigger than others!

1. Teach Lilly to read - or make a start, at least! I’ve already started helping her learn letters and showing her the odd word. She is really good with all this and seems to pick it up quickly. I was reading well by the time I started school, thanks to my mum teaching me, and I want the same for Lilly. I’ve got to make sure this year that I put in the time and effort to make this happen. By the way, can anyone out there recommend me children’s reading books? I’m looking for the modern day equivalent of Peter and Jane? Also any tips from mums who’ve done it would be MOST welcome!

2. Book another holiday for us – Either Center Parcs or (preferably) foreign sun. Either March/April or December/January. We have our holiday to France with extended family, but want to get away, just the four of us. Problem is, I’m fussy and want a) sunshine b) somewhere to stay with a separate bedroom / living area (so the kids can sleep while we stay up supping wine!) c) some basic cooking facilities to make baby food and store milk in the fridge whilst also staying somewhere with d) half board, at least, so that I don’t have to cook for us all while we’re away. Gran Canaria or the Canaries probably. I’ve had some suggestions on twitter, please feel free to send any more!

3. Tidy up all my recipes and update my recipe database – I am a geek and love collecting recipes from magazines, putting them in folders, and making lists on my computer of the recipes I have, so that I can meal plan. I haven’t tidied up my recipes for about six months, so I have a lot of magazines and pieces of paper hanging around that need sorting, and a shiny new folder, waiting to be filled!

4. Meal plan and create weekly plans I can go back to to save time - I do do this, but I still think I could be more efficient.

5. Be superorganised to help the transition back to work – Military precision is going to be involved. Everything that can humanly be done the night before, is going to have to be done the night before. How on earth am I going to leave the house by 7am everyday????

6. Remind myself of some first aid – I did a course at school, but my memory is terrible. Every so often I look at my first aid book to try and remind myself of things. It would be great to do a refresher course, to help it all finally sink in. In the meantime, I pray I won’t need it…

7. Keep the kitchen table clear of clutter – It has become a dumping ground. It is a victim of Small House Syndrome. But a clear kitchen table just makes so many more things possible – eating together, cooking with Lilly, painting, arts and crafts, blah blah blah. I aim to tidy things off it each day.

8. Swim a bit more -  this will be a hard one as it’s a case of finding time. Ideally I’d like to take the girls swimming more, and also go by myself too. This was one of my goals for maternity leave – Lilly and I went once in that whole time, not including our holiday in Center Parcs. So, we will see if I can manage this one while working five days a week…

9. Lose weight – Sure I am not alone in this one. I have very little will power. But I MUST try…

10. Use my Wii Fit more – In relation to the above

11. Get ready to move house – Our house is too small. We need to move. But we probably can’t do it this year, for a multitude of reasons. So, with the aim of moving in 2012, we need to carry out some decorating and maintenance – e.g. new facias, decorate our bedroom, fix our bathroom shower and extractor fan. What fun.

12. Keep my job – I work for a local authority, so in this current climate, nothing is assured. When I return to work next week I intend to do my job as well as I possibly can, to make myself as indispensible as I possibly can.

13. Brush up my French – We are going on a holiday with extended family to France in August. Between now and then I want to brush up my (very) rusty language skills so I can at least understand SOME of what is said and written.

14. Make the most of my afternoons off – My new working hours mean I will have two afternoons a week off with the girls. I want to make sure I fill this with ‘quality time’, not just additional time to do housework. I’m thinking trips out, cooking, painting, playing. All the good stuff.

15. Spend more time with hubby (alone!)  – We have willing Grandparents living a short walk away. We don’t take advantage of them often enough! I would like hubby and I to have one night out at least every six weeks, even if we only go to the local pub for a few hours. The ultimate would be to have a weekend away, although not sure if we’ll do that this year while Isla is still so small. We have talked about going to York together for a night to mark our 10th anniversary of meeting in March, and I’d love us to do that.

16. Use my new camera and learn something about photography – I got a new camera for Christmas and I am slowly working my way around all the settings. I love taking photos, I love looking at photos. Maybe I’ll even join in The Gallery this year…

17. Cook lots with Lilly – I love cooking, and I want my girls to grow up eating healthily and enjoying cooking too. Lilly and I already do a bit of baking together, which we enjoy. I bought her a children’s cookbook for Christmas, and I want us to try making some more adventurous things together. Cass at Frugal Family has just started a regular Cooking with Kids challenge on her blog, perhaps we will join in with that this year.

18. Shop by App – I love my Iphone. And one of the best things about it is that you can shop online now, for food and clothes, via the comfort of an app. I did 90% of my Christmas shopping on the (brilliant) Amazon.com app. My back to work wardrobe was mainly purchased via the Debenhams, Very and Next January Sales on their apps. Instead of shopping lists, I’ve started using the Tesco app to add items to my basket as and when I think about it, saving a lot of time when it comes to doing my online shopping. So basically, retailers, if you want my custom in 2011: Get an app!

19. Go on more family days out – and blog about them. Go back to our favourite places and discover new ones. Make the most of our weekends.

20. Weaning Isla – Yes, I know I haven’t got much choice on this one! But it’s still a big project for 2011. I love cooking meals for the girls, and am armed with my trusty Annabel Karmel books, so hopefully it will be fun for both of us.

21. Help nurture a good relationship between my girls – Like any parent, I want my children to get on and have a good relationship. They’re fairly close in age, so hopefully they can grow up as good friends. I am also realistic, I know there will be times when they will fight, but I am hoping I can encourage them to be thoughtful and kind to each other, and help their relationship along the right lines… how I’ll do this, I’m not sure!

22. Keep our family photo albums up to date – A job I love, but a time consuming one. I’m not doing to bad, I’m up to date to the end of September. So just a few months to catch up with, and then try and keep on top of it.

23. Be a better blogger - I’ve really developed this blog over the last year, and I love writing it. My aim is to create a record of our family life that I can look back on, and the girls can look back on when they’re older. The fact that people read it is a bonus, but it’s nice to know what I’m writing is interesting and hopefully well written. So, in the interests of ego, I’d like more people to read my blog, and more people to comment. I must not neglect my blog when I go back to work. I won’t have as much time but I want to make sure I carry on reading other people’s blogs, and comment more. I also want to remember to date my posts, so that when I archive them one day I’ll know when I wrote them.

Oh, and if anyone can tell me how to add a badge to my wordpress blog / change the picture above to one of my own, I’d be grateful!

24. Revisit my goals regularly to see how I’m doing – Perhaps, like Tiddlyompompom, I could come back to this list every month or so, and see how I’m getting on. That might help me achieve more of these goals.

So, that’s it for now. Better get on with it….

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It had to happen…

Yesterday we had a nice day with my mum visiting Botany Bay in Chorley. We had some nice lunch then wandered round their Christmas shop, where we picked up some Christmas colouring books for Lilly and a little red bell bauble which she took a shine to.

Later, Lilly discovered the 1990s equivalent of a Kiddizoom camera on one of the second hand stalls. She loved it instanty because it has a string to wear it around your neck, similar to the binnoculars they have at nursery which she is currently obsessed with. It was only £2.99 and she spent the rest of the day taking pretend photographs and telling me to “say cheese”. Imagine the delight when we discovered later that we could put batteries in it and now she can actually make it flash too!

In all the excitement, Lilly nearly left behind her handbag, which currently goes everywhere she goes and is filled with an assortment of random items. Luckily, she remembered in time and we retraced our steps successfully before somebody picked up her handbag believing it to be one of the second hand sale items!

After a while, we decided to go to Astley Hall, which is just up the road. I’ve never been there before but my mum has. It looks like a great place to take children, as it has huge grounds.

By the time we got there, Lilly needed a change of clothes after drenching her tights splashing in muddy puddles. Lilly has been so good with toilet training lately that I’d only come out with one change of clothes. We had a brief look around Astley Hall but Isla started getting agitated for her bottle so we sat in the cafe while she had it.

After our drinks Lilly asked to go to the toilet, and then I changed Isla’s nappy and decided now would be a good time to head home. Lilly had just been for a wee, Isla was fed, changed and tired and I was hoping she’d have a nice nap on the way home as I was planning on putting her to bed an hour later to pre-empt the clocks going back overnight.

20 minutes later, we’re on the M6.

“I need a wee-wee”

Yikes.

“I can’t stop now Lilly, I’m on the motorway. Can you wait until we get home?”

“Um, yes”

Phew.

A minute later.

“Mum, mum. I need a wee-wee.”

Oh, gawd.

“I know Lilly, but we’re on the motorway. I’m not allowed to stop. Let’s think about something else. Erm… which is your favourite episode of Same Smile?”

“I need a wee-wee. I need a wee-wee!”

Oh cripes.

“Lilly, please try to hold it, we won’t be long”

At this point I decided to pull off at the next junction. But, as I searched for the first available side road, it happened:

“Mummy, I need a wee-wee! It’s coming out! It’s in my knickers!!”

Oh GAWD!!!

So, with no dry changes of clothes left, Lilly had to travel the rest of the way home in just a t-shirt with one of Isla’s blankets over her, in a wet carseat. And of course, all the drama had woken up Isla and thwarted the long-nap-in-the-car-plan.

At least the car seat cover is machine washable.

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If every day was like today…

… life would be just perfect!

I’ve just had the most loveliest of afternoons with my two girls, and felt compelled to share how perfect it has been, as a reminder on the tough days that it really is all worth it!

The day didn’t start too perfectly – it was Isla’s second lot of jabs, and to top that off, I forgot to take her red book (bad mummy!) Luckily, the nurse wasn’t too bothered and Isla was pretty brave – wailed a lot for the second jab, poor thing, but who could blame her?

However, on the bright side, both our children slept pretty much all night last night – Isla’s been sleeping through now for nearly two weeks – and Lilly’s sleep is a little bit better (only one minor wakeup last night). I also tried out my new cafetiere, which was a birthday present from my mum, so started the day with a gorgeous cup of real coffee… yum!

Once hubby had gone to work I decided to take the girls out to the park and get some fresh air – much better than being cooped up in the house. We spent a good hour in the park, most of the time we had the whole place to ourselves and Lilly had taken her cuddly Nok Tok (a ‘Pipling’ from CBeebies programme Waybuloo, for the uninitiated), and had great fun taking him on the slide, pushing him on the swings, riding with him on the bouncy horses and swinging him round on the teacup roundabout! Isla was asleep most of the time, but woke up towards the end of our visit and was contentedly looking around before having her bottle while Lilly played.

On the way back to the car, Lilly and I hunted for pretty autumn leaves of all different shapes and colours and collected them to take home. As she had been so good I decided to risk taking her to the garden centre just up the road for a cake and to see the pets. 

It was a gamble as Lilly has been known to be hard work at the garden centre – running off and having tantrums because I’ve made her put things back on the shelves! But I decided to risk it as she seemed in such a good mood.

We went in and first of all went to change Isla – Lilly was very good throughout and then we headed to the cafe. I managed a cappuccino and Lilly and I shared a cookie. The three of us sat on a comfy sofa – Isla was quite happy lying down and kicking her legs while Lilly and I had a lovely chat about nursery and the day we were having.

After that we went to look at the pets – Lilly was super good and didn’t run off, so I carried Isla and she was able to look at all the brightly coloured fish in tanks, which she seemed to enjoy. We then watched while a staff member fed the rabbits and we admired the baby hamsters.

On our way out Lilly had another little treat for being good – a ride on the Postman Pat van! And, when the music stopped, she asked for another turn, but she just accepted it and got out nicely when I said no (we have had so many full scale lying on the floor tantrums when the Noddy ride comes to an end in Mothercare!!)

Back home Isla dozed in her car seat while Lilly and I had fun making autumn leaf pictures with the leaves we had collected in the park.

After that, Lilly had her tea (homemade chicken nuggets with ketchup to dip – another ‘treat’ for being a good girl) with rice pudding for afters. Meanwhile, I was changing and feeding Isla. To add to the unbelievably good behaviour, Isla fell asleep easily and I put her to bed upstairs in her basket at 6.45pm.

I let Lilly watch Humf (her absolute current favourite programme) while I changed the steriliser, washed the bottles and tidied up (jobs I usually have to do once they’ve gone to bed). Then she went up to clean her teeth without any fuss, and, after her current favourite bedtime story, Maisy Goes to Hospital, she has gone off to sleep like a dream.

What a fabulous day! The kind that makes you feel anything is possible. We didn’t do anything particularly massive but it’s just the simple things working really well that give you so much joy as a parent, I think. I love my girls so much!

Now I’m off to make us a toad in the hole with mash for dinner – yum yum yum!

More days like this, please!!!!

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It’s been a busy week…

It’s been all go this week with appointments here and there for both girlies.

On Monday, Isla had to visit the hospital to have her hips checked. This was a routine appointment for any babies who were breech late into the pregnancy – she was only breach up to 36 weeks and then turned, but I was still referred. We were literally in and out of the hospital in less than 5 minutes, consultant checked her over, said all was fine. She barely woke up!

Tuesday’s appointment was a bit more traumatic – Isla’s first jabs. I was dreading it! In reality it wasn’t too bad, the poor thing did cry, which was awful, but she got over it fairly quickly with a compensatory bottle in the waiting room afterwards and was fine for the rest of the day – if anything she just slept lots.

Yesterday (Thursday) was Lilly’s 2 and a half year check-up with the Health Visitor. Our old HV has retired, so we met our new one for the first time. She seems fine, and mentioned that she once had three children under three, so at least she has had children of her own so might talk some sense (occasionally!). Again, all was fine, she just asked me whether Lilly could count, recognise colours, name body parts, walk up and down stairs, that kind of thing. Yes, yes yes, was the answer. Lilly also demonstrated her more “willful” side by having a lie on the floor tantrum at the prospect of being measured against the height chart. Cue me climbing on there myself giving a demonstration (fail), attempt at distraction technique (fail), promise of trip to the park (fail) followed by threat of confiscating crayons (success!!) I was starting to sweat a bit at this live demonstration of my parenting skills while HV sat and “observed”. Was SO glad when Lilly piped up with a butter-wouldn’t-melt “Sorry mummy, I won’t do it again” and took herself over to the height chart good as gold (aaaand relax…). After all that palaver I noticed this morning that HV didn’t even write the height into Lilly’s red book – seem to recall it was about 99cm but I wasn’t taking that much notice!

Aside from all our appointments, yesterday morning I took Lilly swimming.  It has been a long time since she went (probably our last holiday to Center Parcs, which was November, I think) and it was just so strange to be swimming with a little girl and not a baby! Wearing her new waterwings, Lilly was able to float in the water just holding onto my hands, instead of needing to be held in a cuddle or around her waist. It has made me think about how I begin teaching her to swim. I managed to encourage her to kick her legs but not sure where we go from there? Anyway, she really loved the pool experience and said she wanted to stay “for ever and ever”! It took a chocolate button bribe (the ultimate bribe which is only used in the most desperate of situations) to get her out!

I was also very proud of her because half way through the swim she said: “I need a wee wee. We get out and go to the toilet, and then we get back in”. So that is exactly what we did, and Lilly went on the “big” toilet without needing her seat adapter or anything. What a good girl!

I had also been thinking about taking Isla swimming. I was too scared to take Lilly on my own when she was a baby because I worried about all the logistics. But lately I had been thinking “what was I worried about, it can’t be that hard”. But having a quick glance around yesterday I realised why I had been reluctant. What do you do with the baby while you are getting dressed? How can you carry a baby and operate a locker, let alone put all your stuff in or out. There are only two “family” cubicles, the others are the size of a kitchen cupboard. If somebody’s using the family ones, where do you go? And, how do you get in and out of a pool on your own while carrying a baby? I continue to have a lot of respect for those mums and dads who do complete this amazing feat on their own week in week out – think I am still not quite brave enough and Isla’s first swim will have to wait for a few weeks until we are at Center Parcs again.

And, on the sleep front, Lilly has been a little better the last two nights. She has only had one or two small wakeups, although she has started getting up at about 5am, which isn’t too great. And, two nights out of the last three Isla has been asleep for the night by 8pm, which has given us a couple of more relaxing evenings to ourselves. Great!

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