Win an Easter Hamper from Balloons by Up Up and Away!

Posted by Caroline Elliott

With Easter approaching I am thrilled to share with you a fantastic giveaway courtesy of balloon and party supply company Balloons by Up Up and Away.

Balloons by Up Up and Away supply a range of party supplies and are able to to cater for a range of events including weddings, birthdays and holiday occasions (Christmas/Easter/Mother’s Day etc). The company has gone from strength to strength since it was founded as a family business in 1990 and has beeen awarded “Party Times Best Wholesaler.”

Now, on to the fantastic giveaway! One lucky reader will win a fantastic hamper with all you need for some fantastic fun this Easter! Worth £40, the hamper will include:

2x Balloons
Pack of Easter Decorations
2x Easter Bonnets
Pack of Bunnies/Chicks Easter Eggs
Easter Cup Cake Kit
Selection of Tableware (Table Roll/Cups)
Pack of Windmills
Chocolate Egg
Cuddly Toy

The competition ends next Sunday, 29th March, I will contact the winner that morning, so please keep an eye on your mailbox as we will need your postal address as soon as possible so that this hamper can be sent out to you in time for Easter!

All you need to do is enter below. Best of Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions:

Competition is open to UK residents only

Prize will be posted to winner within 72 hours on receipt of a valid postal address

Prize is not exchangeable for any cash value

Monkey Says at 34 Months

Posted by Caroline Elliott

I feel like I want to write down every word that Monkey Says at the moment as most of it is really adorable! His vocabulary is coming on leaps and bounds all the time and his pronunciation is getting so much clearer too. He can pronounce his L’s now sometimes and is learning th rather than f. There is still plenty of cute mispronunciations though and some very cute sayings and phrases.

Manners

We have been working a lot on his manners over the last couple of months. I was always bought up to believe that manners were important (Manners Maketh Man my Mum always said :)) and actually because most of my day to day conversation is between Monkey and I it became really important to me to be treated with a bit of respect. Obviously when little ones first learn to talk the things they say are simple – want this, need that, give me this. After a while though as the main carer I started to feel like I was more of a slave. Being shouted at and ordered around by my toddler every day was not enjoyable. We had obviously been working on please and thank you for a long time but we have started to elaborate on it now and he is doing really well.

Now when he would like something he knows he has to ask nicely (sometimes he needs reminding but he is saying it more and more on his own too) “Please can I have some milk?” “Please watch Toy Story again?” etc. etc. He is doing very well and also says “thank you,” “no thanks” and when we thank him for things it is “You’re most welcome!” It just makes our home a nicer place to be and I think it is so important to ask for things nicely and say thank you. One of my friends always says that Monkey doesn’t have to say thank you to her if she gives him something, but I don’t think there are any exemptions to the rule, personally.

It is so cute hearing him be so polite though he is learning to try it on – saying please over and over when he wants a biscuit “twease can I have a biscuit, twease, twease, twease” and “no fanks” when he doesn’t want to do something, like eat his vegetables or have a nappy change! We try not to let him get away with it but occasionally he does get something because we can’t resist him asking for something so nicely.

Conversations

We have some lovely little conversations with him at the moment. I was getting LM ready for bed and listening to Monkey and Daddy at bathytime and heard this cute convo.

Daddy: Its teethy clean time then story time
Monkey: And sleeping time and wake up and playing and eating
Daddy: Is that your day?
Monkey: (very happily) yeah

I just felt it was a really nice indication of how much he loves his little life at the moment!

We’ve also noticed how we are really having little conversations. Now when we pick him up from playgroup and ask what he has done, he doesn’t always say “I don’t know” and will now often tell us what he has got up to.

Mr Potato Head

He has such an imagination now too which is lovely and since watching Toy Story a few times he is now in love with his Mr Potato Head toy and is currently carrying him everywhere. He couldnt find his hat the other day and kept asking for it. I said he should look in his toy boxes, to which he replied ” I can’t, I not a good looker” really despondently. I helped him look (and he decided he was a good “looker” after all and once Mr Potato head was completed he shouted “Look! Like on the TV!”

Then we were sat at the table and he was chatting to Mr Potato Head and then he got cross and said “he not talking Mummy” lol. Despite the lack of response he is talking to him a lot “Come a me Mr tato head” and “it’s ok Mr Tato head, Mummy gone to get Monkey’s drink.” He is such a cutie with him!

Other sayings

Another thing that he says all the time is “Got that at…” pointing at objects, books, toys at home, in the shops, on the TV. Most of the time it is “got that at playgroup” as they have some of the same books and the same step for the sink, and various other bits. Then there is “got that at Nanny Pop’s house!” and “Got that at home!” which is very cute.

We are also very much in the “Why” phase at the moment. There are lots of “why” and “who not” though I am sure we are only just entering this phase and will have more um fun with this over the coming months!

He also likes to talk basically all the time and narrates everything he is doing and often will repeat things over and over until we say it too, which drives me potty. We can answer him in a hundred different ways but sometimes unless we repeat what he says he will keep going!

Recognition

Posted by Caroline Elliott

I wasn’t sure if I was going to write a word of the week this week as it has been a bit of a mixed bag. Some parts of the week have been absolutely lovely, others really hard with LM and honestly I am a bit fed up about banging on about the difficult days, so I wasn’t sure what word I would use.

Then I woke this morning to a pingback, a little email telling me I had been included in a Tots100 article – a real first for me – titled Five blogs for Parenting Advice. To be included amongst such awesome company as the other bloggers felt pretty incredible. But what really, sincerely touched me, was what the author said about my blog, and one of my posts in particular. She said that it had genuinely helped her and her little one. This meant so so much to me.

I blog primarily for my own sanity. It is a way to keep my brain working and exercised while I am surrounded by nappies and crumbs and toys every day of my life. It also serves as a lovely record of our family journey which I hope I will treasure in the years to come. I also blog in the hope that something I say may be able to help someone else. I am no saint and I know it sounds cliche saying I want to help people, but becoming a Mum is the hardest thing I have ever done and it is challenging and lonely at times. If by sharing my experiences I can help another Mum feel, even for 30 seconds, that they are not alone, then I am ecstatic. Or if I can share a technique that actually helps them get some more sleep or avoid a mealtime battle, then I am thrilled. It makes me feel that my blog has a purpose.

I have noticed this week that the ramp up to the Bibs has started with lots of posts about why people hope to be nominated. Of course I would be lying if I said I didn’t hope for a nomination, who wouldn’t want that recognition? But there is so much talent out there in the blogging community that I am pretty realistic about my chances of winning. I thought about writing a post showcasing some of my favourite blogs to vote for rather than asking for votes for myself, but I don’t even know which blogs to choose and nominate for my own vote as there are so many amazing bloggers that it feels unfair to choose some over others. I may yet try as I would love to see some of my favourite bloggers up there getting awards or at the very least receiving a nomination.

I guess that what I am trying to say is that while winning an award for my blog would be amazing for me, being included in this article felt a little like winning an award. Someone out there felt that what I had written was worthy of comment. Someone out there felt that my blog genuinely helped them through a tricky time. I couldn’t ask for more.

So regardless of awards I will continue blogging. I will carry on sharing my experiences, good and bad, and the things that have, and haven’t worked for us. In the hope that I can help a few other Mummies through this amazing yet challenging experience.

Learning to read at nearly 3

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Monkey loves books, he has done for a long time. We read multiple times a day and he has so many books he adores. He knows all of his letters now, and can recognise them all. He sings the alphabet song almost constantly and we have been trying to help him understand the phonetics and sounds of letters too as I know he will need those at school and to help him with learning to read. He regularly spells out writing on things and so wants to read himself, and actually I think we are starting to head down the path of learning to read.

I am pretty impressed with this at his age I have to admit and as ever I am not saying “oh my son is amazing” or by any means taking credit for it. All kids learn at their own pace and he may be earlier with some things and later with other things. For example he is not ready for potty training yet but he does seem to want to learn to read.

He regularly points at words and wants to know what it says. When we say it, we try and spell it out and he will often repeat it. He now loves shouting Netflix whenever the big writing comes on the TV! One of his favourite books at the moment is a colours book from the hungry caterpillar collection, where he likes to spell out each word and read it. He is doing this with Daddy and how much of this is just memory I am not sure but it will hopefully help him learn that this is how you read.

Daddy is great at helping him with this and is explaining some of the more complex sounds like o o makes oo etc. I never know how far to go with it as he seems so little to me but at the same time he is so desperate to do it and to learn. He found a bottle of infacol the other day and traced the letters on the bottle and said “LM’s medicine” lol bless him!

He is so proud of himself when he tries which is just lovely and so I certainly don’t want to discourage him from it.

Were any of your kids early readers? I have no idea what is usual for this age and what isn’t!

Charity and Children

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Last Friday at playgroup Monkey did some Red Nose Day activities. He decorated some lovely biscuits (which sadly I didn’t get a photo of as he scoffed them almost as soon as he got home and I didn’t think to take a piccy) and made a funny face plate which he loves.

It was our first foray into the mixture of charity and childcare/school. I don’t think they asked for any donations for Comic Relief (hubs took him and collected him so am not 100% sure) and I’m not sure if they explained to the kids what it was all in aid of, I am sure the toddlers just thought it was another fun activity. They were asked to make Mother’s Day cards and Red Nose Day Biscuits. It probably all just felt the same to them.

It got me thinking though in a way I never have before, about the way certain charities have become so connected to schools and childcare. It was the same when I was a kid. We had a mufti day for Children in Need (where you wear your normal clothes) and there was always fancy dress and activites for Comic Relief. I’m sure there were others but they were the biggest ones. As a kid you don’t really think about it and I guess now I am a parent I realised something that I hadn’t thought of before. Which is that, as a parent, you suddenly have very little control over whether you give to these charities.

Now, I am not saying by any means that you shouldn’t give to these charities, or that they are undeserving in anyway, or that this should stop, but I guess, as a bit of a control freak I always hate when decisions or choice is taken away from me. Of course you do have a choice but I also don’t want to be the parent that makes my child the odd one out who isn’t wearing special clothes or who isn’t participating in something, so it does feel like we are a little forced into it. I know we aren’t generally talking about a lot of money here but it does all add up and I guess it is about the principle of it.

There are so many causes and charities out thereyou could choose to give to. The British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research, Sue Ryder, Oxfam to name but a few. What if you would prefer to give to those charities? What if you already do give to those charities? Most of us don’t have the luxury to be able to afford to give to every charity so what if you would prefer to give to a different charity, but don’t because you already feel that you have to donate to charities connected with schools and that almost target your children?

I personally don’t like sponsored activities, I hate asking people for money and I feel that there are so many things now that you can almost be sponsoring someone to do something every day of the week. (That’s not to say I don’t sponsor people, I do, I just don’t like asking other people to sponsor me.) But I do give to charity and have given to Cancer Research monthly for a long time. I donate things to charity shops and buy things from chairty shops. As Monkey grows older I will no doubt be donating to the various charities on his behalf that are connected with fun days and bake days and sponsored events.

Because actually I think it is a good lesson for kids. To understand the idea of giving. of doing something on somebody else’s behalf. To understand that there are many people who are less fortunate than we are and that if we can help them in some then we should. Much as I don’t like sponsored activities on a personal level I know they work and are a good way of fundraising so again I am not saying we should stop any of it.

I guess I just don’t like the fact that I don’t have a choice in where that money goes. Do you ever feel like this? Maybe it is just because we haven’t had to experience it before!

Keeping Toddlers Busy at Home (34 mths old)

Posted by Caroline Elliott

With Monkey being poorly recently we have spent a LOT more time at home than we do normally. First it was a nasty bug where he was very poorly and spent a lot of the time in bed or slumped on the sofa poor thing. Then it was Chicken Pox, which he actually got off pretty lightly with. He didn’t have too many spots and for the most part wasn’t that poorly with either. But because he was contagious we were still pretty much consigned to the house – but with a full of beans toddler! Never an ideal situation for me and even 6 months ago I would have hated the thought of being stuck at home with him.

He is older now and easier to keep entertained, and more able to amuse himself thankfully, but we have still had to come up with a number of activities to keep him busy and out of mischief while we have been stuck at home! We have:

..made a Den and played Big Bad Wolf (thanks to Bing Bunny for that idea!)

and ran cars up and down the “hill”..

..jumped up and down on some bubble wrap..

..been cooking Pizzas and baking some yummy cupcakes using this recipe..

..played in his tent and tunnel and had snuggles and silly selfies in there..

…and made some lovely super simple Mother’s Day cards for Nanny and Granny..

I basically let him loose with some glue and sparkles (loose-ish anyway) then cut a hole in a card like a window and stuck his sparkly collage on the inside.

We have also been watching a lot of TV. Thankfully he likes DVDs now and I have finally managed to persuade him just how wonderful Disney films are. So far he likes Wall-E, all of the Toy Story films and Cars but he is much less keen on Up and Monsters Inc which is a shame. I love some of his random TV viewing positions, they do make me chuckle even if I would prefer it if he wasn’t quite so close to the TV!

There has also been lots of drawing, we tape a big bit of paper to the floor and let our imaginations run wild – at the moment it is usually him telling me what to draw but that is still good fun and then he plays with the scene we have created – seascape, road, etc! Stickers and painting are always good too and as he has improved we have been out in the garden a lot too.

How do you keep your toddler entertained if you are stuck at home?

#MaternityMondays Week 11 – A Mother’s Day Special

Posted by Caroline Elliott

Welcome to Week 11 of #MaternityMondays and a special souped up Mother’s Day edition. With this linky being largely about motherhood we could not let the day celebrating and appreciating Mums pass us by without a bit of a mention. So here it is and this week #MaternityMondays is open longer than usual, from 6.30am Sunday to Midnight on Wednesday.

Feel free to link up any normal #MaternityMonday posts but we would also love to read any Mother’s Day posts too. Be it a celebration of your Mum or Wife (or any special Mum you know), any Mother’s Day crafts or sharing what you got up to on the day, we want to hear about it!

Thanks to all our lovely linkers from last week and thank you all for your support, we love our little community and it is amazing to see all the bump updates every week! You are all really progressing now with lots of lovely babas on their way very soon.

Speaking of which, we had a surprise arrival from Another Bun and the first part of her birth story so reminded me of LM’s early arrival! Huge congratulations to you and your little family and looking forward to reading part 2 about your natural C-Section!

I also loved reading Mama Mim‘s post about things she wish she had done before having children – no matter how much you want kids or how prepared you think you are, the little loves always turn our world upside down and I think many of us could relate to these!

I also really Seeking Adventure‘s roundup of her favourite pregnancy and baby books – there are so many out there and I always think it helps to hear whether they have actually helped someone!

This week, in honour of Mother’s Day I am linking up a little homage to my lovely Mum, including some amusing photos of us from over the years 🙂

Now it is over to you! Please grab our badge and share the linky love by commenting on a few other blog posts, it would be lovely if we could grow a little community to share the highs and lows of motherhood and parenting.

The linky is open Mondays only from 6.30am to midnight.

Don’t forget to tweet your link using #MaternityMondays, and if you tag us in we will retweet, we are @EmmaLander2 and @BecomingaSAHM

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Siblings March 2015

Posted by Caroline Elliott

LM is now 4 months old and for the most part she and Monkey sort of co-exist without really interacting much. For her part she still stares at him as much she can but he is a little whirlwind and ball of energy flying past, barely pausing to give her the occasional smile.

But there are the odd moments of magic which I try and capture. They are fleeting so the photos are not the best but it is nice to capture them nonetheless.

The moment where I sat them side by side on the sofa and one of her hands tickled him prompting a fit of giggles from him while she merely looked perplexed.

The moment where she was propped on the sofa and he ran over to take her hand and tell her she is his best friend (yes my heart melted!) and give her tummy a tickle.

The moment he decided he wanted the phone she was looking at, but (after a little conversation about sharing toys) decided she was allowed to play with his Percy train.

The times he wants to see what she is up to on her playmat and lies down alongside her.

The moment where he ‘helped’ her play with the toys on the jumperoo, and said “Well done” when she turned it herself.

The moment when we were sat taking family selfies on the bed, where he kissed her, cuddled her, told her she was his best friend…then started patting her on the head saying “it’s a drum!” (Massively cute moment that ended with Mummy in a fit of giggles!)

The last few weeks have been tricky with a lot of illness and chicken pox and I have struggled at times to meet both of their needs with the added complications of poorliness. But we have survived and I am grateful to have my lovely happy children back and I look forward to seeing them grow together, and catching more of these lovely moments :).

A Spot of Gardening

Posted by Caroline Elliott

It seems that Spring is springing into action at the moment doesn’t it? We have had some lovely sunny days and some have actually been really quite warm too which makes a lovely change. Saturday was one of those days, and with the sun shining, Monkey’s Chicken Pox clearing up and some bluebells to plant from Hub’s Dad we spent some time enjoying the sunshine in the back garden.

Monkey loves a good dig in the mud and Daddy likes to put him to work… though unfortunately he always ends up targeting plants rather than weeds and there is one that we are hoping has survived being attacked by Monkey’s trowel…

While Hubs and Monkey were planting I was doing a bit of pruning, dead heading and leaf raking that we didn’t get round to in the autumn (we aren’t the best gardeners in the world!) and enjoying the signs of spring. The crocuses and daffodils blooming in the front garden..

and the buds on one of our new trees (we got these in the sale in August, already marked down to £15 which we thought was a bargain they actually only cost about £8 each), this one looks like it is going to be beautiul once it is in bloom!

Then we had a lovely moment watching some Bees collecting Nectar from the crocuses talking about how Bees make Honey, was very cute!

With yet another week of illness (my turn now) I am hoping that Spring will bring some better health along with the sunnier weather so this week my word is Spring.

My Lovely Mum

Posted by Caroline Elliott

With Mother’s Day approaching I have been feeling a little soppy and nostalgic. Motherhood is hard and I have to admit this past month with all of the illness in our house I have found it especially hard. Don’t you find that being a Mum yourself really makes you appreciate your own Mum all the more? It certainly makes me appreciate my Mum.

It’s been particularly tough with both kids having Chicken Pox lately and it must have been much harder for my Mum as she had Chicken Pox at the same time as my brother and I. I have known this for years but never really appreciated how tough it must have been before. It is hard enough dealing with two kids when you are well, let alone when you are suffering too.

We have always been close, even with the stomping and door slamming of my teenage years, and though we didn’t always get on so well living together when I came home from Uni (not an easy transition), as long as we aren’t living in the same house and both have our own space we get on really well. We have been through some tough times, with the death of my Dad and her fight with Breast Cancer a year later. But we’ve also had some amazing times including a week in New York on the start of my world travels and her wedding to my ovely Step-Dad (Pops). She set me up on the blind date with my lovely Hubs and is a wonderful Nanny to my kiddies. She helps us out so much with the kids, mostly because I know she just loves being their Nanny!

I’m not very good at sentimental writing, and I certainly can’t write a poem but here is a little photo tribute to my lovely Mum on Mother’s Day, I could not appreciate and love her more. (I could have used some very dodgy shots of us both from over the years but chose to be kind to both of us – note the jump from toddler photos straight to adult ones lol!)