Is it all a bit too much?

Posted by Caroline Elliott

This time of year is so hectic and full on and I have been feeling lately that maybe it is all just too much, especially for the kids. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas and all the build up… but everything seems to start so early now and everything is so amped up and it is just feeling a bit much.

The last couple of years we have been provided with a beautiful Christmas tree in exchange for promoting the company on my blog. We have been extremely happy about this arrangement, but it has meant that we have been putting the decorations up far earlier than we would have otherwise. Small trade off but it does affect the kids. Every day I have to stop LM from pulling baubles off the tree and every day I have to tell Monkey that no it isn’t Christmas day yet.

So many people seem to decorate so early these days too. I saw some houses lit up by the end of November… and with social media the number of Christmas trees etc. up and filling my feed as the beginning of December astounded me. I don’t remember things started so early when I was a kid? Why do we all do it? I don’t think we will decorate quite so early in the future as December has felt quite long this year.

I’m also very unconvinced about chocolate in advent calendars. Obviously the kids love it and it is a good way to tell Monkey how many days are left until the big day. But both of my kids have had more chocolate in the last month than they usually get in maybe half a year! Because it isn’t just chocolate in advent calendars, it’s treats from father Christmas and from preschool. There seems to be tonnes of it about and it just feels like too much. I know that it comes down to choice and I don’t have to give the kids a chocolate advent calendar and I’m not sure whether we will next year… don’t want to be bah humbug either so will have to think of something.

There seems to be father Christmases everywhere too now. You can barely leave the house without seeing the big guy in shops, shopping centres, at pre school and school fetes. I had to stop Monkey going in one shop as I knew we would have a tantrum if he saw him and I didn’t let him go to him. But he can’t see him every time we go out, it would cost a fortune and there are only so many naff presents I can cope with! Then there is the whole encouraging our kids to cuddle a stranger in a fancy dress costume… but let’s not go down that road.

Moving on to nativities at pre-school. Don’t get me wrong it was very cute seeing all the kiddies at pre-school all dressed up and singing but really they seem so young for putting on a show. Quite a lot of them were very overwhelmed and my Monkey wasn’t alone in crying for much of the performance. It just feels like a bit too much pressure on them? Some of them revelled in it of course as all kids are different but many didn’t. Why is there the need to do these performances? Who is it for? Us parents? I would rather have my little man be happy carrying on his usual routine than upset about the changes and feeling pressured to do something he isn’t comfortable with yet. Maybe that’s just me though. It was lovely but I guess I’m just not sure it was worth it, if that makes sense.

We managed to get a few smiles after pulling silly faces from the audince... but he wasn't happy about perfomring!

We managed to get a few smiles after pulling silly faces from the audince… but he wasn’t happy about performing!

I’ve also found that some children at preschool are ‘writing cards’ for their friends there. Or rather their mums are getting lists of the kids names and writing out cards to each of them. On the one hand it is lovely and thoughtful and Monkey does enjoy receiving the cards … but on the other it just feels a bit too much. I don’t even know who some of the kids he has received cards from are… and when I ask him Monkey says he doesn’t know either. Maybe that says more about me as I am not the most sociable person in the world but who has the time or money to write an additional 20 odd cards for children that will just go in the recycling in a few weeks? I may get Monkey to help write a few for friends… though given that tomorrow is his last day I may never get round to it haha. He has made some gorgeous cards for his relatives though.

I am also eating too much at the moment… which I know is down to no-one but me. There is the attitude of why not, it’s Christmas, treat yourself. But it’s not actually Christmas yet and I have been over indulging for too long so now a week before Christmas I feel ready to diet already! Like I say it’s no one’s fault but my own but it’s just another example of things being ‘too much’ at the moment.

Christmas presents are another matter entirely. I loved this post from Sara at Mum turned Mom about why they are giving their children experiences rather than gifts and this post from Mum of Three World really spoke to me too about the uselessness of some of the gifts that the shops are filled with at this time of year. We don’t give the kids very many presents at Christmas, one from us, one from santa and a few small bits like books as stocking fillers. They get enough from their relatives and don’t feel they need much more… and I will follow Sara’s example in the future! As for everyone else we usually buy from lists we have been given for ease and making sure it is what they want… but this year we have gone off-list for most people and have hopefully bought some thoughtful presents that they will like and/or find useful. I hope so anyway!

I think part of my problem this year is actually that we have been uncharacteristically organised. Thanks to a couple of child free shopping trips we got organised buying presents really early and I am not sure that has been for the best. For a start, a couple of things have been reduced since then (grrr) and also I am second guessing some pressies and wondering if we are giving enough and am ending up spending more than I do when things I am less organised. Daft eh?

I am aware this is a slightly rambling grumpy post and I assure you I am not really scrooge reincarnated. Outwardly I am joining in with a smile on my face. Monkey and I are crafting, I am wrapping presents and writing cards and most of all I will love spending the extra time with my family as that is really what it is all about to me. I know that many of the above gripes come down to choice and I feel maybe I will make a few conscious choices next year instead of being swept along with the tide of what everyone else is doing.

I’ve also been watching the “back in time for Christmas” programmes recently and it is fascinating seeing Christmas across different eras compared to Christmas now. Have you seen it? What did you think?

My word of the week is a bit of a cheat as it is two words – “too much.”

Siblings, December 2015

Posted by Caroline Elliott

My little cuties really grow and change so much each day, let alone each month, and their relationship grows with them. In many ways they are the same as last month, they are still very possessive of me and fight for mummy cuddles. As evidenced by Monkey’s most frequently uttered phrase at the moment “But I want you all the time!” and though she isn’t really verbal yet we get the idea that with her whines LM is essentially saying the same thing haha.

They fight for toys and wind each other up in the way that only siblings can, but they are also so so loving with each other and have a lot of fun together. They chase each other round playing hide and seek and laughing away at each other and it is music to my ears, especially compared to the whining, shouting and screaming that sometimes accompanies their playtime. Here is a little video of them having fun before bathtime this evening, just a little glimpse into their random world.

They get up to a lot of mischief together too. LM loves a good box of tissues… and one day monkey couldn’t resist joining in the fun. Cheeky pair honestly but I have to admit we did let this unfold for a bit… they were just having so much fun together!

One of their favourite places to play together is on Monkey’s bed, randomly enough. LM loves climbing up and sitting on his bed and they are so cute when they sit together or snuggle up… or play about like loons. Monkey quite enjoys bouncing on the bed and she generally finds this hilarious too.

They have so much fun though occasionally it ends in tears. Monkey was bouncing yesterday and singing about Monkey’s bouncing on the bed. Next second we hear a thunk, LM is on the floor crying and Monkey is pointing at her singing “one fell off and bumped his head… Mummy called the Dr and the Dr said, no more Monkeys bouncing on the bed!” Ah the joys eh ? Thankfully she didn’t actually hurt herself too badly!

Cuties though 🙂

The Stick Collectors

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Monkey has always had a thing for sticks, I think a lot of kids do don’t they? When he was I think 20mths old I wrote a post about his little obsession after one particular walk where he was collecting hundreds of the things. It was just so funny watching him that we named him the stick collector. Why am I telling you this? Well it seems a love of sticks runs in the family, as on a recent little walk LM reminded me so so much of her big brother as she started collecting sticks too.

I actually really loved watching her pick and choose which ones she wanted and it is also wonderful to see her learning and working out how to hold them all, how to open her fingers to take one more without dropping all of the others. The concentration on her face is adorable.

Monkey was not to be outdone though and showed his little sister that he is still the master stick collector, insisting I take pictures of him collecting them too.

She found their stick collections hilarious.

Monkey then decided they should have a little sort of sword fight with their sticks, and man did she find that funny! I was obviously constantly warning him to be gentle, and keeping a close watch in case he got close to poking her eye out but with them both enjoying themselves so much I couldn’t bear to spoil their fun.

Love this pair and love her chuckling 🙂

Getting in the Christmas Spirit

Posted by Caroline Elliott

The word of the week for us this week has to be “Christmas” as it has been a very Christmassy week!

Things kicked off with a bang on Friday night as hubs and I had a wonderful night out for his works Christmas do. Not only was it a night out but a night away as my parents babysat and we got a night in a hotel room. Not just any hotel room either, as one of my close friends works in the hotel where the party was hosted (the same hotel we got married in, in fact) and she got us upgraded to the bridal suite! It was amazing and luxurious and so so lovely to be us for the night and not Mummy & Daddy. I drank too much and stayed up too late but at least we didn’t have to get up for the kids first thing in the morning!

Christmas continued over the weekend (through our monster hangovers, honestly I can’t hack it anymore!) as we got our decorations up. I have to tell you about our new lights from Wilko – NOT a sponsored post in anyway but I think they are fab. They are battery powered and come with batteries and being suitable indoor or outdoor there are no cables trailing across the garden. Then, this is the best bit, they have a built in timer. So you turn them on at whatever time, say 4pm, they stay on for 6 hours and then they will come on the same time the next day and every day after. Genius and timesaving!!

We adore our Pines and Needles Christmas tree and I do have a special code to get you some freebies if you would be interested in ordering one, check it out here. We also bought a few new decs as some of ours were looking a bit naff. We have a lovelu cushion and throw… and I would like to introduce you to Horace the Christmas reindeer head…. haha Hubs’ choice 🙂

Monkey and I have been doing our Christmas crafting and then Tuesday night I had my little Christmas meal out with my four bestie Mummy friends. An evening full of laughter and fun and I love those girls I really do. No piccies though sadly!

Wednesday the magic continued as my parents, aka Nanny & Pops took us on the Santa Special on the local Nene Valley Railway. My stepdad volunteered on it for a few years so he has been looking forward to taking the kiddies on it. Monkey was so so excited and he adored meeting Father Christmas. LM was far less convinced and actually looked a bit terrified of the big man haha. She enjoyed being with her Nanny & Pops though and she loved her pressie. It got really, really hot on the train but other than that we all loved it. Us 4 grown ups may have had a cheeky baileys too haha. Yum!

I’ve also got all the Christmas cards written this week, a few presents wrapped ready to meet some friends this weekend and the last bits bought. Hubs and I have gone through all the food orders as we have my family here on Christmas Day and his here on Boxing day. All in all I am feeling much more ready for Christmas now and looking forward to it. How are your plans going? Are you in the festive spirit yet? 2 weeks to go woohoo!!

Christmas Crafts with a pre-schooler

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Tuesday mornings is Mummy & Monkey time while LM is out with my parents at rhyme time, and it is often a time when the messy play or crafts come out as it means she can’t interfere or eat things she shouldn’t! It is also lovely one on one time with my Monkey. Last week we started our Christmas crafting and had a really lovely time.

I never know what crafts to aim for, I see some gorgeous things on pinterest etc. but I know a lot of the work involved would be done by me, so I tend to stick to simple things I know he can achieve and that he enjoys. So we spend a lot of time just finger painting or car painting haha! I decided on quite a simple actiity to start with that I knew he would enjoy. Making a Christmas tree picture. I cut out the triangles but I asked Monkey to snip at the bottom to be the branches and leaves. I thought this would be a good way to practice his scissor skills and I was dead impressed with the little snips he made. They were very deliberate and neat.

Then it was a case of gluing and sticking see pretty bits on, something Monkey loves and does really well. We also stuck some cotton wool on for snow.

Monkey then asked to get the metallic pens out and I confess to thinking this would ruin the picture but he actually did well. I drew some tinsel and he drew some sparkly baubles and stars bless him. This didn’t take long so Monkey and I then had a quick look on pinterest together and he said he wanted a go at some pictures we saw of cotton bud painting, so that was our next activity. I drew somestar shapes and then because he wanted to do it together we dotted and filled them in together. Again I was impressed that he stayed in the lines for the most part. Love seeing his development and he is growing up so much all the time these days!

He then said he would like to do the same type of picture of a snowman and Christmas tree. So I drew the shapes for these (though I loved Monkey’s addition of a hat for the snowman!!) He did well at this though got a bit fixated on the black paint and wanted everything to be black. After a bit of encouragement (and yes a little involvement from me, but not much) we finished the picture then when he wanted to do another picture I let his imagination run a bit more and then even more with the next one!

Bit of of a devolution but who cares he was having lots of fun! I loved the arms he did on snowman no.2 and apparently the bottom one is also a snowman and the dots are his arms :).

Our Christmas Tree from Pines and Needles

Posted by Caroline Elliott

It’s December, which means that Christmas preparations are in full swing in our house. Are they in yours? The presents are all bought and I’ve written most of the Christmas cards now. We also have our tree and decorations up, and well, what a magnificent tree it is!

This beauty came courtesy of Pines and Needles. A wonderful eco-friendly Christmas Tree company, who would you believe, deliver them right to your door. Now I know there is something lovely about choosing your tree yourself but when you have small kids any shopping trip can be hard work and trying to squeeze a tree into your car in between car seats and all the other paraphernalia… well that can escalate it to nightmare.

This is our second year receiving a fabulous tree from Pines and Needles and we have been so impressed with the quality of everything. Last year we had our tree up from 1st December and it lasted well past Christmas without looking dry. The Nordman Fir is our favourite as it doesn’t drop anywhere near as many needles as a traditional tree but still looks and smells fantastic. They are also very competitively priced in my opinion too and we would easily spend the same amount on a tree in our local garden centre.

It isn’t just trees either as Pines and Needles sell lots of other lovely bits too. The tree stand they provided us with is by far the best and easiest tree stand I have ever used, and the mat is oh so handy as I do have a tendency to spill water when watering the tree! Plus it adds a bit of extra traction on our hard floor making the tree very firm on the ground.

I am a little in love with the garland they sent too, I’ve never had a garland made from a real tree before and it is amazing. It just looks gorgeous on our mantelpiece but also has rope attached very firmly so you could hang it if you wish.

Finally they also sent these gorgeous mini trees for the kiddies which are oh so cute and will be planted in the garden come spring.

So if you love the idea of a real tree but don’t want the hassle of going and getting one then I cannot recommend Pines and Needles enough. As a little bonus I have a discount code for you to use too.

By using STAY15 at the checkout you would get the following:

Free 10″ Decorated Wreath
Free Holly
Free Mistletoe
Free Mini Tree

Why not give their delivery service a go this year?

Little Miss at 13 mths

Posted by Caroline Elliott

I am a bit late in writing this monthly update for our gorgeous girl as she was 13 mths over a week ago! She is growing up so fast and though she is full on I really love this age. Watching her learn and seeing her really develop into a person with her own personality is just wonderful.

And our Little Miss’s personality can be defined in one word – cheeky! She loves to laugh and is such a cheeky and inquisitive little thing. She adores running and being chased, laughing her little head off. Great fun unless you are in a shopping centre with her brother causing havoc in one direction and her running off in another – aaargh! She also adores playing peepo with her brother, often hiding behind the sofa so he can find her while she chuckles away merrily to herself. In fact she is turning into such a chuckler and it is amazing to hear her laughter fill the house.

She is so inquisitive too, far more than her brother ever was and she gets into everything in a way he just never bothered with. With Monkey you would tell him know and he would listen. With her she gives you this cheeky look and sometimes even shakes her head, then does it again! Minx! She is terrible for taking Monkey’s things and yes you may say she is a baby and she doesn’t know, but oh, she knows. She gets his Doggy Bear (his special comforter) and she is so proud that she waves it around for me to see… and will even go and wave it in his face before running away giggling. Cheeky Minx, seriously!

She stands on things and is obsessed with touching radiators which she knows she is not allowed to do. She is seriously quick off the mark and if one of the door gates hasn’t shut properly then she is off – making a dash to get up the stairs, or into the kitchen to climb the stepstool and see what she can find, or in the hopes of playing in the sink. So I have to be seriously vigilant to keep her safe. She hates being shut out of anywhere I am, standing and rattling the bars and screaming her head off so I often relent and have to do jobs with her accompanying me. Standing washing up with her at the sink with me, or trying to get washing in/out of the washing machine with her ‘help.’

She absolutely adores her brother too and he is guaranteed to make her happy (other than when he snatches his toys back from her, or takes hers!!) and she absolutely loves havng bath time with him, splashing away to their hearts content and absolutely drenching the bathroom!! I absolutely adore seeing their relationship grow and hearing them laugh together and enjoy each other’s company. It’s just magical as I am sure you can imagine.

Not the greatest photo in the world but you get the idea I’m sure

She is learning all of the time, getting really good at using the stacking rings and has even done some drawing on little magnadoodles which I was impressed with. She is obsessed with posting things and putting lids on and off of things – obviously leading to immense frustrations for her at times – and boy do we have the start of tantrums! She can be such a little diva at times and even Monkey is repeating what we say by calling her a drama queen. He also has the way we shout no to her down too… sigh mini parent, he is good at alerting me to some of her cheekiness though! Anyway, she also is starting to love her dolly and buggy which is just adorable. She gets really frustrated by the buggies though and by not being able to put baby’s hat back on after she has taken it off.

She is fascinated/obsessed by clothes, shoes and accessories, we have taken to calling her diddle diddle dumpling sometimes as she will often present us with a shoe and insist we put it on – then walks around with one shoe on for ages! She often wants her hat and coat on too… and any other random item of clothing she lays her hands on. She likes to use some of the bigger stacking rings as bangles too, little cutie 🙂

Her communication is coming on leaps and bounds too, partly with the tantrums and moaning – as she is very loud, but also with little hints at language, and lots of pointing and shaking her head. She is getting very ~~fussy~~ particular about certain things and is getting very good at letting us know what she wants. Bedtime stories makes me laugh as if she is not interested in the book I have chosen she will shake her head and point at one she would like. Usually the same ones – “Where’s Spot,” “That’s not my snowman/dinosaur” or “Baby’s Day.” She adores books actually and often brings them to us to read her.

In addition to pointing and shaking her head she has the start of a few words too – “tickle tickle” being my favourite, along with “uh oh” and there are lots of ohs and ooohs with varying volumes and tones depending how excited she is by something haha. For example whe we came across the shoe aisle in H&M this morning “oooooh! Ooh ooh ooh!” haha which descended into screams as I dragged her away.

She also is saying something resembling “there you go” when she gives you something, which is seriously adorable. It is not that defind, more of a “daredudo” but still so so cute and lovely to see her start to share already.

She is such a snuggly little lady, far more so than her brother ever was at this age, especially with me. She loves to ie with her head in my lap for a good snuggle or sometimes just snuggle herself up on the sofa or in the beanbag. Monkey has gotten a lot more snuggly as he has gotten older so we do now have some lovely times all snuggled up together!

So on the whole, she is just a whole bundle of cheeky adorableness. Yes it can be challenging at times but I want to bottle her up at this age as she melts my heart every day she really does. I love this age, so much fun 🙂

My word of the week is cheeky.

Feeling a Sense of Achievement as a SAHM

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Hubs and I were sorting some bits out recently and ticking things off our very long to do list. After making a couple of big purchases I was feeling very pleased and Hubs said “you like spending money don’t you?” To which (a little affronted as generally no I don’t like spending money at all) I replied “No, I just like achieving something and doing something we have wanted to for ages.” It got me thinking about that feeling of achievement and the difference between when you are working to when you are a SAHM.

When you are working, obviously depending on what job you do, there are real targets and you are always working towards something and I guess that sense of achievement is either there, or it is what you are striving for. Be it sales targets, personal development goals or just working hard so you know you can afford to do a specific thing, there is a definite sense of achievement for a job well done.

Reward charts for SAHM’s? Hmm maybe not!!

As a SAHM, or SAHD for that matter, it is a lot harder to define. I may feel a sense of achievement when I clean something but it never lasts long as I turn around and it looks as though I may as well have not bothered! Then there are the times where I am focussing on the kids. What have I achieved other than building the perfect den or managing to keep the house relatively paint free while the kids are going loopy with finger paints? I guess that is why people often ask “what do you do all day?” It isn’t necessarily quantifiable or describable. It doesn’t sound like it amounts to much and I often feel as if I haven’t achieved anything, like I should have been doing something more worthwhile than playing.

Now I know what I am doing is worthwhile. What I am achieving, or hoping to achieve is well rounded, happy kids. But that isn’t easy to see on a daily, weekly, monthly even yearly basis. The fruits of my labours and sense of achievement will hopefully come as I watch them grow into adults and can think “I did that.”

But I think that can be one of the more challenging aspects of being a stay at home parent. Which I guess is why I love ticking things off our list of jobs. I crave a more definable achievement. I guess that is why many of us blog, it gives us a place to record our achievements, a community to share with. We encourage each other and remind each other why we do it. That’s not the only reason for blogging obviously as otherwise only stay at home parents would blog and that is of course not the case. I also think it is why many of us are constantly trying to come up with bigger and better playtime ideas for our kids, so we can feel like we have accomplished something or done something worthy.

It may also be why many of us struggle and aim to be the “perfect” parent. Perhaps because we need a goal to aim for? I am obviously writing this from the perspective of a SAHM but with working parents who get that sense of achievement from work… how does it work for you guys? Is it easier? As you get a sense of achievement at work do you put less pressure on yourself at home? Or is it worse because you are used to a sense of achievement at work and you put even more pressure on yourself at home?

I also worry about what will happen when I do eventually return to the world of work. I know that I won’t be content at home full time when the kids are at school. I will be bored with cooking and cleaning (domestic goddess I am not) and I know I will need something else. But I also know I will want to be around before and after school and in the holidays, at the very least while they are at primary school, so what will I do then? And how will I react going back to the world of work? I hope I embrace the challenge but I do feel nervous about going back to work after what will be a very long break. Am I up to it? Or will I feel like a failure, so out of the loop after focussing on my children for so long.

I have a few ideas for what I will want to do, and one in particular. It is just an idea and I am not ready to talk about it publicly yet. It is something I am very interested in but have no experience so would take a lot of study and potentially volunteering and I guess that may gradually ease me in to the world of work. But the thought of working full time again in the future does make me nervous. I can’t really put my finger on why other than the vague feeling that I somehow won’t be good enough. How will I adapt back to a focussed achievement driven world of work after living as a stay at home parent for so long? Only time will tell I suppose and hopefully my experiences at home with the children will help me to be successful in the future.

This post has ambled a little and moved away from what I originally thought I was writing but that is just the way my brain went. Are you a stay at home parent? Will you return to work one day? What are your feelings about it? Do you feel a sense of achievement as a stay at home parent?

Monkey Says at 3 1/2

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Our little boy is growing up so much all the time and his language skills are growing with him. Pretty incredible when I think he was a little delayed and had no speech at age 2! He now gives everything a good go and even copied “echocardiogram” from Get Well Soon on Cbeebies the other day! He also comes out with some real gems at times too. Some that make me cringe and others that make me laugh out loud. So here are some of the Monkey’s top sayings recently.

“That’s my favourite.” Everything is his favourite. From people to food to things. The Dr is his favourite. His dinner is his favourite. Even his poo has been his favourite (I’m not kidding sadly). It’s actually very endearing when he says “I love Daddy, he’s my favourite” and when he calls LM “my favourite sister.” He also has a couple of children at playgroup who are his favourite too and it is so lovely to hear he is building relationships with other children.

Another endearing one is when he strokes his Daddy’s arm and says “You’ll be OK.” Generally absolutely nothing had happened and Daddy is perfectly happy…. but it is very cute nonetheless!

Less cute is when he copies us and shouts at LM to stop or yells at her that she is naughty. Nothing makes you think about the words coming out of your mouth more than hearing those words come out of a 3yr old’s mouth! That also includes him copying “oh for god’s sake” (we are trying to turn this into for goodness sake) and worst of all copying Daddy when he described a relative as “big fat …” I was less than impressed with that one and thank goodness he hasn’t said it to the person!!

He really likes making up random words at the moment too. Some are quite amusing, “binky banky” for example, some strangely accurate as when he described a car park as danky when yes, actually it was a bit dank. You can probably get there is a theme here and yes he did go through a stage of proclaiming everything was “winky wanky” which I was less than enamoured with! Thankfully we have persuaded him that is a bit of a silly thing to say!!

His imagination is wonderful now, and when he is playing cars or doing car painting he is very often using one to chase another, saying “I’m coming to get you” followed by the other car saying “aaaaaaaaahhh” hehe. You may have seen recently that he loves dressing up as a super hero and he really is so cute – running around saying he is “coming to the rescue!” and once he has rescued something (for example he did a great job of rescuing a welly the other day haha) it is “mission accomrished” with two thumbs up, so a bit of a superhero/postman pat SDS combination!

Mission Accomrished!

He is really inquisitive about the world around him, asking “where do trees come from?” and “what are planes made of?” He wants to know everything and he loves spotting things, the moon being the most recurrent especially at this time of year. We can be in the car and he will suddenly be yelling “look Daddy look it’s the moon!!” and of course we have to reply (as with whenever he tells us anything) or he will just keep repeating it tirelessly until he gets the answer he is looking for! He also thinks every conversation is aimed at him and answers any question he hears, not just those directed at him. So I can be talking to LM or Daddy or someone else and he will answer. He adores Show Me Show Me on the tv (one of my fave progs for the kids) and always answers when Chris and Pui ask questions. The other day he ran over and said “Chris asked me if I like shopping and I told him I did” and was so proud of himself.

A cut? Or Jam???

We love the way he tries to find the language to describe something. For example he had a bit of a sore throat on the weekend and when he had some of Daddy’s warm tea he proclaimed “That was lovely! That made my throat feel not all gone” so cute. Other examples are “I’m getting all filled (full)” “that’s a bit splatty” (paint). During a snuggle on the sofa he decided I have “a lovely cosy bottom” and once when I was getting dressed “that’s a lovely nippley boobie.” Errr, ok, thanks Monkey haha.

After falling tooth-first onto my forhead at the weekend giving me a lovely cut, lump and bruise, Monkey looked at me and said “you’re all cut. It looks a bit like Jam.” Well yes, I suppose it does, a bit!

Now for the funnies. We were watching Toy Story 2 the other day and when the man came to mend Woody’s arm, Monkey decided the needle and thread was a hooker. “Look he’s get a hooker. He loves hookers. I love hookers too, they’re my favourite!” I really wasn’t that sure what to say to that to be honest hehe. Then at lunch one day he randomly piped up “Mummy and Daddy do you like licking each other?” errrrrrr not sure what to say or where that came from.

my cheeky Monkey 🙂

Finally, this morning he was on the receiving end of a few stern words from Daddy about the fact that he had done a wee in his pants (he seems to have regressed a little lately which is annoying with more incidents than usual) and he was being really good and listening, and then he suddenly announced “But cats don’t like bananas.” I have to admit I laughed out loud in the next room, I mean where did that come from? Funny Monkey!

An almost perfect Sunday

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Sunday was a pretty perfect day for the most part. One of those days that are just lovely and reminds you how much you love your life. We have been so busy the last month and there seems to be an endless list of to-do things but Sunday we decided to take things a bit easy. We had some leftover roast ham in the freezer and decided to do all the rest of the roast bits to go with it. We had planned to pop and see hubs’ parents that morning but invited them to ours instead to share our roast with us.

We had a lovely morning playing and cooking then I have to admit a lovely roast dinner. It was one of those times when the roast potatoes, veg and yorkshires all miraculously turn out right haha. The negative was that both kids decided to kick off as we sat down to eat. Monkey was eventually reminded tha he does like yorkshire puddings, stuffing and sausages (though of course wouldn’t even try the veg) but LM was pretty miserable, she has back teeth coming through which is causing her a lot of pain. She has always been a good eater but at the moment she is getting fussier and I am hoping it is just because her teeth are causing her problems rather than her going down the same path as her brother!!

Anyway she did eventually settle thanks to cuddles with her Granny and then her and Monkey had some very lovely times together while we were at the table. She thinks her brother is the funniest person alive and laughs her head off when he is silly and tries desperately to copy him!

After lunch while we cleaned up Monkey and his Granddaddy had a fab playtime. Monkey was basically throwing balls at his Granddaddy and while that isn’t normally allowed, he and his Granddaddy were laughing so hard that I didn’t have the heart to stop it. They were having so much fun together it was really very lovely.

Later that afternoon after G & G had headed home, hubs’ younger brother Uncle Simon popped round for a play. We had so much fun playing with a couple of Monkey’s games together and it was a lovely peaceful afternoon while LM slept.

I also managed to get a template done for the picture wall we have been planning for ages, in the hope of finally getting it on the wall. Once LM was awake the kiddies and I wrapped up warm and went outside for a good old explore and run around while Daddy was hanging the pictures for us. Monkey has suddenly got the hang of scooting and goes so fast so we soon left the confines of the back garden and went on some of the longer paths nearby.. and he was miles ahead! I do love seeing LM toddle about in her wellies and wooly hat too 🙂

Monkey then decided he would like to go on his bicycle that we got for his birthday back in May. He has been on it a few times but so far can’t get the hang of pedalling. Daddy came out to help him and though it was getting pretty dark by now he did manage to make a bit of an improvement with his pedalling so hopefully he is getting there.

Soon it was back inside to check out the finished photo wall which I have to admit I am totally in love with! We wanted to do something with the photos from our awesome family photoshoot back in the summer and the photo frame we did have in the hall had fallen off a couple of times so was looking a bit shabby. I love the colour and variety of these frames and am just so pleased with how it has all worked out. I love a good photo wall!

We did the kids some tea (we both ate so much at lunch we weren’t hungry!) then they had a lovely bathtime together full of laughter and lots and lots of splashing. That evening with the kids in bed hubs and I snuggled up and watched The Secret Life of 5 Year Olds on catch up which is just hilarious. Then, just as were going to bed, we suddenly heard Monkey coughing with the distinctive bark like cough we have come to know and dread. Croup. Again.

We were terrified the first time he had it and again when LM had it and couldn’t believe he had it again. His breathing was laboured and he was very distraught and struggling to catch his breath, so as ever we don’t mess around with breathing, and we called 999. (For the 3rd time ever and the previous twice also being because of croup!) The fast response paramedic was wonderful and so good with Monkey, and Monkey was so brave with all the tests that he did. We managed to calm him down so he was breathing better and his stats were fine so we avoided a trip to the hospital.

It was a night filled with worry though as he still had the horrendous cough and obviously lying down made things worse and his breathing was very laboured at times. You can’t help but worry and it is so hard to sleep as horrible thoughts just fly round your head, while you also feel really daft and like you are over-worrying. Hubs spent over an hour at one point sat outside his bedroom door listening to him until his breathing settled.

So our pretty perfect Sunday had a less than perfect ending, but all is well that ends well and it could have been so much worse. He is still poorly as I write this (Tuesday) and last night he was still barking in the night. Hopefully tonight will be better and he will gradually improve.

Becoming a Stay at Home Mum

Can I really do this?

Is it all a bit too much?

Siblings, December 2015

The Stick Collectors

Getting in the Christmas Spirit

Christmas Crafts with a pre-schooler

Our Christmas Tree from Pines and Needles

Little Miss at 13 mths

Feeling a Sense of Achievement as a SAHM

Monkey Says at 3 1/2

An almost perfect Sunday