Who do they look like?

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Isn’t it funny how people are often so obsessed by which parent a child most takes after? People have always said that Monkey is a mini-me for his daddy. That he is the spitting image and it is very rare anyone says he looks like me if they know both hubs and I.
Then LM came along and everyone has said she looks like me, yay! Then thre are those who see resemblances to grandparents, aunts, uncles and the likes. I guess it is inevitable really and lovely. But in truth we both struggle to see who they look like, as to us they just look like themselves.

It doesn’t remotely matter of course and this really is just a bit of fun as I thought I would share some pics of us as kiddies to see who you think they look like. Try not to laugh too much at the pics of hubs and I haha.

So does Monkey look like Mummy?

Or Daddy?

daddymonkey

And does LM look like Mummy?

Or Daddy?

What do you think? To be honest I think this has proven a couple of things.

1) that I take waaaay too many photographs as it took me a seriously long time to find the pictures of the kiddies for this post (I have been planning this post for months!)

2) They both resemble both of us at different times. I think that’s the best way though isn’t it? Nice to see a bit of both of us in each of them :).

Who do your kids look like?

Focussing on Happy #2 “Goodbye”

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Well this week has flown by as usual, even though I feel like we have said goodbye to the summer already with all this rain we have been having! In fact that is one of the reasons that my word of the week this week is “goodbye.” It doesn’t sound all that happy and here I am only week 2 of focussing on happy but bear with me as we have had some lovely times. Here is what has made me happy this week.

Ok yes, we seem to have said goodbye to summer and sunshine at the moment and it has been pouring with rain for a seriously high proportion of the week. Bit of a nuisance but on the positive, the kids adore getting out in the rain and splashing in puddles, and well I adore seeing them having so much fun. LM even insisted on going out mid downpour one day, though I have to admit I watched her from the dry living room, took a couple of pics then dried her off when her waterproofs gave up under the onslaught and she was starting to get wet and chilly!

I’ve also made another HUGE step in the life of a mummy this week, and, *gasp* said goodbye to my changing bag. For a while I have been feeling that I just don’t need to carry such a huge bag around with me all the time. LM now often will go for a little walk or trip out without the buggy and it was a nuisance to carry if I had to carry her, and well it really was a haven for junk, crumbs and random odd socks and crusty raisins. So the extremely happy part of this goodbye is that I got to buy a couple of very lovely new bags. One being a small over the shoulder bag that I can put my purse, some wipes and a nappy or 2 in for short trips out, and the other being a lovely colourful backpack for days out when I need spare clothes and other bits. The great thing about it being a backpack is that I can also use it when out on my bike with one or both of the kids, which I couldn’t do with the existing changing bag. So I am very excited about that!

It has been brought home to me this week just how soon we will be saying goodbye to our little pre-school boy and will have a little boy attending school instead. We attended a meeting at the school this week where we were given all manner of information and found out lots of important things about transition sessions and home visits etc. It’s a mixed bag emotion wise but I am choosing to be happy and relish in the exciting stage. He and his closest friend, F, are in the same class group and the same group for the transition sessions which I think will really help them both. It feels like there is a lot to do to get organised with buying uniforms and labelling them (labelling recommendations are very much welcome or ones to avoid!) but I also don’t want to do any of this too early in case he has a growth spurt. I am sure the next couple of months will fly by though!!

One other goodbye that I am not going to dwell on is that we are saying goodbye to Daddy on Monday as he will be going to Canada for a week for a business trip and I will be solo parenting. It will be the longest we’ve been apart and the longest either of us have solo parented the children. I am a little apprehensive but I am so happy because of the support friends and family are already offering and actually I feel pretty confident I will be ok anyway. I am sure I will be tired and I know I will miss hubs… but I don’t doubt I will manage.

This links nicely to another goobye, which is that potentially I am on the road to saying goodbye to PND. I may be wrong but I feel different lately, and I imagine even a few months ago I would have felt quite differently about hubs going away. Keep your fingers crossed for me on that one!

So that’s all the “goodbye” themed happiness and here is a few other things that have made me very happy this week.

Seeing some very very lovely friends of ours on Saturday who came to visit from London. Watching the kids play together and have tonnes of fun in the back garden, and finding out that they are randomly on holiday in Dorset this summer over the same period we will be down there house sitting! Hooray and wonderful timing!

The kids having tea at our friend’s house and Monkey trying a bite of cucumber! I never thought I would see the day!

My old school teacher recognising me at the school evening and even remembering my name after about 27 years! So daft but I felt afterwards like I had met a celebrity – teachers, never forget the impact you have on the children you teach!!

I also had a lovely time visitng my friend with just our littlest ladies and seeing LM enjoy stroking their guinea pigs and trying to feed them. So cute!!

There has been some goodbyes (or at least bye for nows) this week but there has also been some lovely hellos. How has your week been?

SIblings June 2015

Posted by Caroline Elliott

I love watching my little pair and seeing their relationship grow and develop as each month passes. This month they really seem to have grown the tiniest bit closer. I wouldn’t have said it was possible, as they were already so close, but they have. I think partially because LM is getting older so their interactions are changing. Looking through the photos from the last month there are so many examples of the fun they have together!

Sometimes they are content to play alongside each other, both doing their own thing but simultaneously, which I do love and is seriously cute. It also makes a change from arguing over things or messing with each other.

Because oh they do like to mess with each other, in pretty good spirits most of the time. LM is a cheeky thing and she does do most of the messing. From just going up to her brother and poking him in the face (haha) to playing peepo with her brother from behind his chair at the table.

Very often when they are sat on the sofa together LM will sidle closer and closer to her brother until she is basically on top of him and sometimes it gets very giggly and silly which is lovely. Add a front facing camera in to that and it can get a bit bonkers haha

It’s funny to watch but though she is younger LM is the bossiest of the pair, she knows her own mind and what she wants to do, and a lot of the time Monkey is very happy to follow her lead. He will often copy what she is up to and follow her. Difficult sometimes when obviously we are a bit more lenient on her due to her age but expect him to know better than to copy her naughtier behaviours. We aren’t that lenient on her obviously and so she does have tantrums. On a recent walk, in the midst of her mini meltdown, LM plonked herself on the path and refused to move, beacuse a blade of grass annoyed her I think (honestly sometimes she is such a drama queen it actually makes me chuckle, but thats another story!) and bless her big brother he sat down with her out of solidarity haha cutie.

A great example of her bossiness that I happened to capture was when she wanted to lie on the beanbag but Monkey was on it. After a very brief argument (wordless on her part) he gave in, rolled off.. and well as you can see LM was quite pleased with herself.

Bathtime gives the best and most fun example of her dominance and is also the best example of the fun they have together. They are such a little duo in the bath and most of the time he copies what she is doing… which she loves and plays up to. For obvious reasons I am limited with how much I can share visually to show this, but suffice to say bathtime can get very loud and very wet! It is also very fun though.

They are such a lovely pair and yes there are the odd arguments and squabbles but I think we are lucky for the most part as it is very rare. Just this morning I saw Monkey take his sister’s hand and I say “you’re my best friend.”She shook him off and ran away giggling but that’s just the way they are. So lucky to have each other.

How to make a Go-Jetters style Jet Pack

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Sometimes Monkey announces he wants to make something with me and after much head scratching I either a) give it a go and fail massively, producing something really rubbish, or b) persuade him that doing something else would actually much more fun and seriously hope he forgets his idea.

Other times, he says he wants to make something, and a flash of inspiration strikes. Thankfully this is what happened when Monkey announced last week that he wanted to make a Go-jetters Jet Pack last week. Becuase the feedback on social media and here has been so positive about said jet-pack I thought I would share the very simple method of making it.

1. Raid your recycling bin/junk modelling supplies to find the following.

A large cereal box,
2 empty pop bottles (2ltr) and lids
2 toilet rolls
Duck Tape
PVA Glue
Paint
Stickers
Tissue Paper

2. Cut the tops off the bottles and the bottom from the cereal box. Insert into cereal box and affix as best you can with Duck tape. (Try not to get too annoyed with tape sticking everywhere but where you want it to).

20160607_095644 3. Mix Paint with PVA glue to make it stick to the glossy cereal box and help your preschooler paint everything.

4.While the paint it still wet stick the toilet rolls onto the front of the box.

5.When the paint is dry stick stickers and the pop bottle lids on to the front as buttons.

6. Try and make some kind of straps. I did this using another random bit of cardboard and loads of duck tape to widen the back as the cereal box was a bit narrow. Attach to this some long bits of paper and find something else in your to use to do up the straps. I randoml had some little velcro fasteners which work quite well. (I haven’t made too much about the straps as they are possibly the worst thought out part of our creation and advise you to try and find your own way of making the straps.)

7. Stuff some strips of red yellow and orange tissue paper inside the toilet rolls to be fire.

8. Watch your child blast around the garden so happy to be alive and wearing a jet pack and chuckle at their poses while they model it to perfection.

Is PND losing it’s hold on me?

Posted by Caroline Elliott

I can’t believe it has been a year since I was diagnosed with Postnatal Depression. In so many ways it feels like 5 minutes ago and I really didn’t think I would still be taking my anti-depressants a year on. But after trying and failing to come off them earlier in the year I have been in absolutely no rush to try again until I was more sure that I was ready to. I have worried at times that I wouldn’t know when that time was and would I ever feel ready to try with absolute certainty? I’m still not 100% sure but things are different at the moment. I feel different.

I am starting to wonder whether PND is losing its hold on me and feel there is the possibility that I am coming out the other side. It is a little difficult to quantify other than saying that I feel different. I wouldn’t say life is particulalrly less challenging than it was a year ago. With the kids being a year older things are different now and probably challenging in different ways. If anything though things have been really tough lately. With hubs’ operation meaning I have had to pick up all of the slack and try and get everything done I was worried how I would cope with it. Worried that it would knock me down. But it hasn’t. I have just got on with it and though yes, I have felt overwhelmed and stressed at times, but where in the past those feelings would have consumed me, they just haven’t this time. I have found it relatively easy to focus on the positives.

The worst thing about the PND for me was the way it changed me as a parent. I wasn’t able to be the mother I wanted to be while I was in the worst moments of it. I was tetchy, irritable, tearful and so snappy with the children. Doing anything fun with them was too much effort and the TV was on far more than I wanted it to be because it was the easy option. That was when I realised and accepted that there was a problem and that I needed help. That was why I went on the anti-depressants, and they have helped, so so much. They have helped me to be more like the mother I want to be (I’m still not as perfect as I would like haha but are any of us?).

So why do I feel this time like it may be more than just the anti-depressants helping me. Again it is so hard to quantify but where the anti-depressants have always helped there has still been times when things have been too much for me. When the kids getting messy with paint has tipped me over the edge and brought back the shouty snappy mum. When a day with little sleep or my husband not helping me as much as I wanted has resulted in me being foul and grumpy and unable to lift myself out of that.

Lately though I am more able to make the choice between being grumpy or looking past the problem to see the positives. That is the key and that is the difference between just feeling a bit down, and having a mental illness, in my opinion. A difference that isn’t easy to see or explain, a difference that perhaps you have to feel to understand. I have tried so many times in the last year (and beforehand before I accepted there was a problem) to be mindful, to choose to be happy, and I just haven’t managed it. No matter how I hard I tried I was constantly dragged back to the darkness by the simplest and smallest of things. Even whilst on the anti-depressants, though a thousand times better than without them, the darkness is often not that far away. Now though, the darkness feels smaller, more manageable.

Let’s face it, parenting can be a battlefield. You can wake feeling positive in the morning but after your preschooler having a major meltdown about which pants to wear, a baby throwing breakfast on the floor, pulling off their nappy and weeing everywhere it is easy for that positivity to be eroded. When those things happen on a day when you haven’t slept well or have woken with a cloud over you it is very hard to see the positive side to anything. Everyone has bad days, but depression can mean most days are bad days, or that on a good day, even something minor can turn that day into a bad day.

Maybe hubs’ operation has helped because I have had to get on with things. There has been noone there to pick up the pieces for me. Hubs and I both know that sometimes we make each other lazier… with the “oh they can do that” or blaming them for not getting jobs done. Not in a nasty or even a particulalrly concsious way… but we know we do it. With him out of action I have definitely noticed it as I have known that there is noone else to clear the dishes, do the washing up, empty the bins, mow the lawn etc. etc. There was no point griping about it I just got on with it. Maybe that has helped shift my attitude in every area? Or maybe it has happened at a time when the PND is subsiding. When I am able to choose to see thehappy rather than focus on being stressed.

Will this feeling last? I have no idea, but I hope so. I’m not going to suddenly stop taking my anti-depressants yet. Hubs has to go to Canada for 5 days for work in a couple of weeks so I will see how that goes first. If all goes well and the positivity remains, I will try and cut the dosage again. See what happens then. This time though it will be my choice, because I feel I am ready. Not because a Dr thinks it is time that I come off them, or because I feel like I should be able to come off them. But because I just might be ready to. I will keep you posted!

Focussing on Happy #1 “break”

Posted by Caroline Elliott

I’ve been joining in with Jocelyn’s word of the week linky for a long time and I love using it as a way to sum up my week, though sometimes I struggle to choose one word that fits the whole week as a lot can happen in a week! Sometimes it is easy to focus on the negatives and for example this week I nearly chose overwhelmed or struggling or hectic… But when I look back at pictures from the week what I actually see is smiles and happiness. That doesn’t mean I haven’t felt overwhelmed at times but it pays to remember that the whole week hasn’t been negative.

I’ve seen many other bloggers joining in with the Happy Days linky and sharing what has made them happy that week and have loved the idea of that too so I decided I want to join in. From now on I will be combining the two. I will still pick a word that best sums up the week but I will also try and focus on the positives and what has made me happy.

So while I have still been struggling with the extra things that need doing while hubs is recovering from his op and have felt overwhelmed at times, to the point where my blog has had to go on the backburner… Overall it has been a happy week and my word of the week is “break” here is why.

Saturday I had a much needed break catching up with some friends in London for a birthday. Lots of fun and laughter, mooching round Camden which I haven’t done in years, drinking shots at 5pm and a very tipsy and bizarre first experience at mecca bingo! Very amusing and definitely a break from normality. Massive thanks to my little bro and sister in law for helping hubs with bath and bedtime so that I was able to go as I really needed it.

Sunday dawned and it was a lovely sunny day so we popped over to my mama’s for the morning and it was lovely to feel warm and have a break from the chilly wet weather recently.

In another break from normality we abandoned the meal plan that evening (I didn’t fancy cooking a casserole in the heat) and instead invited some friends over for a little bbq which was really really lovely and so much fun.

Monday being the end of half term means Monkey being back at pre-school… Which as much as I love being with him… Means I also get a bit of a break from him and a bit of peace when LM naps in the afternoon, which I so need.

I’ve run out of “break” analogies now so here is a few other things that have made me happy this week.

Hubs getting better and able to move more and more. We have been on some lovely short walks round the block with the kids or just with LM, helping him exercise. He has started driving short journeys again and can help me a bit more. He even did some hoovering!

Watching LM explore the world around her as at the moment she is fascinated by everything.

Making a go jetters jet pack with Monkey during Mummy and Monkey time on Tuesday. Even more I have enjoyed seeing how much he loves it and how he wants to wear it all the time. Cutie.

Doing some painting in the garden with LM and her covering me in paint too. Cheeky girl haha.

I’ve also had a bit of a break from blogging this week which means I have managed to get quite a few things done instead. I’ve planted a load of plants and sunflowers my stepdad and father in law kindly gave us, defrosted and cleaned out a freezer and deep cleaned the bathroom. So the house may still look tip but it hasn’t been a terrible week. Plus I feel a bit rejuvenated about blogging again which usually happens after a little break. How has your week been?

Our busy half term week

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Ooh where has the summer gone? It seems to have been raining forever. OK so it has only been raining for 2 days out of 7 but the sheer quantity of rain makes it seem much longer! Despite the rain though we have managed to have a good, fun, busy week for half term.

It’s been a bit of an odd week this week with hubs recovering from his operation and the wet weather and half term meaning we have spent more time at home than normal. On a normal bank holiday weekend we would have been out somewhere fun for at least one of the days, but not this time. While the kids and I popped out a bit we mainly stayed home and enjoyed visits from lovely friends and family. In fact the word for the weekend could have been lego, as Daddy and Monkey did loads of lego together and got lots of other family and friends involved with the lego fun too.

We did get out once over the weekend, round the corner to hubs’ parents for Granddaddy’s birthday which was a very lovely family occasion.

We had the odd bit of sun on Monday which allowed me to mow the lawns and have a little fun outside but then the rain really set in on Tuesday. LM went out with my parents for rhyme time while Monkey and I did some star wars baking, then in the afternoon we had some really lovely snuggle time watching films. It was so lovely and chilled and to be honest I am surprised both kids sat still and snuggled for as long as they did as they normally are desperate to be on the move!

We had some indoor play making playdoh Monsters too and we did get out and about later that afternoon for some puddle splashing of course. I just hate staying in all day as it drives me stir crazy.

Much as I love the extra time I am able to spend with Monkey over half term… I do find him exhausting. He is a lovely boy but honestly he never stops talking and just wants attention all of the time. Balancing the needs of him and his sister together can be seriously hard work. One salvation is that my parents have Monkey for a few hours every Wednesday, so even when his pre-school is on half term I have one day where things are just a bit more chilled with LM and I and of course she has a nap so I get a little bit of peace. Unfortunately on the recent half term, my step dad woke up terribly poorly on the Wednesday so Monkey couldn’t go round for the day.

My Mum suggested a trip to a local garden centre that morning instead so we headed there for tea and cake, and Hubs even came too. Garden centres can be a saviour for parents of little ones these days as they are not only for buying plants. Most of ours have other things to do and fab cafes for a sweet treat. So on that wet Wednesday morning we ended up playing crazy golf in the rain with Nanny while hubs watched and then the kids always adore seeing theanimals and fish so that kept them happy for a while at least!

That afternoon we once again got out for some puddle splashing and then the kids and I had some really really lovely playtimes together.

Thursday I was so hoping that the rain would hold off, and thankfully it did so we headed to our local country park to meet with some lovely mummy friends and all the kiddies for some fun. It was windy and chilly but we had so much fun. The pictures say it all I think really but ooh I was shattered when we got home that afternoon!

Its funny as I have said it was a busy week but actually in many ways it hasn’t been as we have been home a lot. I think it just feels massively busy to me because with hubs recovering from his op I have barely stopped all week. Hubs is getting better by the day and so feeling much less frustrated thankfully. He is also starting to be able to help around the house a bit too. Nothing crazy, he won’t be kneeling or carrying LM downstairs or pushing a hoover round just yet, but he has made breakfast and helped clean the kitchen which is at least a huge help after trying to do everything by myself for the past week!

Thanks to everyone for all the lovely kind comments on my post last week, I wish I had time to reply to comments as it really meant a lot to have all of your support as always xx

Our little cyclist

Posted by Caroline Elliott

We have had a huge wonderful event in our house and one I am so excited about. Monkey can ride his bicycle!

We bought his bike last year as a 3rd birthday present, but he just couldn’t get it. We knew it would come when he was ready so didn’t force the issue too much… Even though I was looking forward to the day when we could go on a family bike ride.

I persuaded him to try a couple of times earlier this year but “its too hard work” was always the response. Then in March his good friend Felix got a bike for his 4th birthday and basically hasn’t stopped riding it since then and was even off stabilisers after a few weeks. Monkey was suitably impressed and showed a lot of interest in his bike after that. We got him out on his again a few times and he definitely improved though he still said it was hard and tiring. His uncle even helped out but laughed and said he was lazy as he wanted to be pushed all the time haha.

Then I realised his tyres needed pumping up. In fact, *bad parent alert* his back tyre was flat as a pancake! No wonder it was hard work. We pumped his tyres up and he improved almost immediately.After a few more practice runs it clicked and he just suddenly got it. He even figured out how to move his pedals to the right position to start himself off. He is loving getting out on his bike so much and we are so so proud of him.

We have been out on his bike loads this week and Daddy even got his bike out too. LM adores running in front or behind too and finds the whole thing hilarious at the moment. He’s still pretty slow so a little while until no stabilisers I think but he does keep talking about Felix riding without his so who knows. We have sorted helmets now (his head his so big he fits in Daddy’s haha) and pumped up the tyres on my bike and I was quite excited to take both kiddies on a short bike ride on my own. LM wasn’t sure at first but then started enjoying it I think. Difficult to see when she is sat behind me haha.

Right now I am just looking forward to hubs recovering from his knee op so we can all work towards a nice family bike ride, even if just a short one to start with!

Me and Mine May 2016

Posted by Caroline Elliott

May has been a seriously busy month for our little family. Starting off with our lovely holiday then a trip out to celebrate my brother and my step-dad’s birthdays followed by the big event, Monkey’s 4th Birthday and his fab pirate party. Finally we have had hubs’ knee operation to prepare for… and start to recover from!

I had many a grand idea about getting lovely shots of us as a family but sadly they didn’t all pan out. I got a couple of shots at the very beginning of our holiday, in the grounds of Tattershall Castle, which I like, but you can’t really see us. (My phone has been in for repair and my camera is a bit old and doesn’t take the highest quality shots!)

Then, realising the end of the month was nearing I suggested trying to take shots of us when we had family round celebrating Monkey’s birthday the day after the big party day. I was almost loathe to suggest it for fear it would cause tantrums and I could see Hubs was not convinced that it was a good idea. Monkey did moan a little but we soon persuaded him, and you know what, actually got some pretty lovely shots!

I mean my hair is a mess and hubs and I look a bit frazzled, but all 4 of us are actually smiling! I can’t believe it! LM was really playing up for the camera and giving gorgeous smiles to her uncles taking photos. Miraculous! IMG-20160522-WA0003 (2)

A wildflower meadow in the suburbs

Posted by Caroline Elliott

We live in the suburbs. A very leafy open suburb built in the early 80s mind you which is a lot less crammed in than some modern developments, but is a suburb nonetheless. I’ve always liked the idea of living somewhere more rural but I am a pretty practical person, and well I like my conveniences close by. Also as a teenager my best friends lived on a village with limited bus services and it was a complete pain for them to ever get anywhere without lifts from parents and I don’t want that for our kids. May seem like a daft reason to some I know! I do love the peace of the countryside but like to think we have the best of both worlds where we live as there is lots of open space to run and play but we are also close enough to everywhere we want to be able to ‘pop’ to.

Why am I banging on about this? Well, randomly amongst our little suburban area is a touch of the countryside. A little meadow filled with wild flowers that changes with the seasons. I have no idea why it is there and hasn’t ever been built on but I love it. It is actually surrounded on all sides by housing estates and a dual carriageway… But through so many layers of trees that while you are there you can almost forget that you aren’t in the countryside.

I took the kids there the other day and enjoyed watching them run free, chase bubbles in the wind, hide in the grass and generally just enjoy themselves. With the blue skies and sea yellow buttercups it was a beautiful summery afternoon.

As you can see, the kids absolutely loved it, monkey especially loved exploring and letting his imagination run free as he did so. And I loved watching, and taking hundreds of photos of course!

There is no greater purpose to this post than that really. Just a lovely afternoon in the sun with my kiddies.

Becoming a Stay at Home Mum

Can I really do this?

Who do they look like?

Focussing on Happy #2 “Goodbye”

SIblings June 2015

How to make a Go-Jetters style Jet Pack

Is PND losing it’s hold on me?

Focussing on Happy #1 “break”

Our busy half term week

Our little cyclist

Me and Mine May 2016

A wildflower meadow in the suburbs