"We Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside...."

Had a fantastic weekend away with Jamie's 'Girls' at Blakeney in Norfolk.  However, the weekend could have been terrible as just as we were leaving I trapped Jamie's fingers in the door.  I was so worried about him running out onto the road I didn't notice his fingers.....

Luckily after a few tears we were able to set off before 9.30am!!

Got back Tuesday and Jamie finally had a (long awaited) Poo!!

Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Nursery had a Mad Hatter's Tea Party this week on the village green.  As Jamie was not in nursery that day I left work early and met Jamie and Nanna there.  It was nice to see so many of the children and also their parents.  A lot had dressed up.  Jamie wore one of my old hats and his pirate gear.  The twins mum had made hats (note to self: must be more creative).  It was also nice that the sun came out!!

The nursery had placed various 'hatter' props around the park.  Firstly, the Cheshire Cat, then a tea pot followed by cups and then they had some cards hanging from the trees and the bridge.  There was a large hat (In This Style) and a rabbit hole, and of course there was a lovely tea party / picnic at the end for everyone to enjoy!!

That'll Teach Me!!

There I go, telling people Jamie is doing so well, and then Monday he firstly leaves a small puddle under the table when he is playing with daddy, and then later, when playing with Will, he tells us he is 'wet.'  That'll teach me!!

Resolutions at 6 months....

Over on my other blog http://theonlyconsequence.blogspot.co.uk/ I have written up my writing resolutions at 6 months. 

What I have come to realise in the last 6 months is that resolutions should act as a signpost only and not a weight around your neck!!  My son means the world to me and I am conscious that the time I spend with him at the moment is time that I won't get back. 

It is important to fill your life with only the things that really matter; things that bring you enjoyment and pleasure! Writing and sharing my poetry with others does give me pleasure. It also acts as therapy. 

However, I feel that easing the pressure off myself to succeed as a writer has been very beneficial. Whereas previously I found myself getting more and more stressed at having not written, I do feel that now I am more likely to feel happy when I do write something, and just shrug off when I don't. This attitude actually makes writing easier and means I don't take out the feeling of failure on my family!

Last Day In Nappies??

Here we are on the beach at Scarborough on the 11th July 2012.  Jamie wore his nappy that day, but he didn't really need to. 

He had been dry for a few days and asking to go to the toilet when he needed, but as we were on our hols we decided to play it safe.  But we need not have done.  He wore that swim nappy all day, travelled home in it and it was still dry when we took it off at bedtime.  He has been wearing pants ever since. 

No nappies at night and no problems!!

100 miles and hour....

....is the speed that life is flying past at the moment.  I seem to have no time to sit down and write my blog - or do much else for that matter.  It is also the speed that Jamie is as he charges through life!  It was 5.30am the other morning when he awoke and he was non stop til I dropped him off at nursery 2 and a half hours later.  I was glad to get to work for a rest.

Life with Jamie is a machine gun of questions.  'What you doing mummy?' 'What's that mummy?' 'Why you doing that mummy?'  interspersed with a series of random comments such as 'I'm gonna grow a beard'.

He has started counting things by himself - as well as along with Jake and the Neverland Pirates and their gold doubloons.  This leads to questions such as 'Why are there Two?'  This was about why we had 2 bottles of bubble bath!

Last week we all had the week off together, so we planned something for every day of the week. On the Tuesday we went to the National Railway Museum at York http://www.nrm.org.uk/ which is free to get in, but £9 to park the car.  It was well worth it and daddy and Jamie certainly had a brilliant day.  Then in the evening we drove over to Scarborough and stayed in a Travel Lodge for £29.  Mummy and daddy had previously stayed in the hotel when it was a lot grander, but that must have been about 18 years ago!!  The sun shone in Scarborough long enough for us to have a morning on the beach and an afternoon in Peasholme Park where daddy re-lived some of his childhood on the little train and the Dragon Boats!   On the Thursday I took Jamie and daddy over to Newark by the riverside where there is a lovely park built around huge sand pits.  Again, we were very lucky as the sun shone all morning. 

On Friday Jamie went to nursery and mummy and daddy got a bit of time for themselves - so they cleaned out the garage!!

The week ended with a trip to a couple of Summer fairs on the Saturday, and then seeing daddy 'in concert' on the Lincoln Brayford on the Sunday afternoon.  Kerry and the girls came along, as did Tilly and her mum, as well as numerous other people.  A couple more weeks and we hope to be back at the seaside!!

10 Weeks to the Wedding

In 10 weeks my cousin Anthony gets married to Emma and all of the family will be there - including my other cousin who lives in Australia and we have not seen in ages.  He got married in 2007 - a week or so after my miscarriage.  Consequently, I had a lot to drink and unfortunately look less than attractive in any photographs.  (We were supposed to attend all the day but decided while I was in hospital that the evening do would be enough - which it was!).

That was 5 years ago and I would love to be pre-pregnacy weight by Anthony's wedding in September.  This means I have been trying to increase my exercise while decreasing my calorie intake.  This is (pretty) easy when I am at work - and I have even started walking again during my dinners - but proving difficult at the weekends.  I have re-joined Weight Watchers - this time online only - and this is helping with the counting of calories (propoints).  I continue to attend Zumba and have recently added Total Tone to my Monday evening workouts.  Sad to say however, that I am struggling to get under the 11 stone mark.  Pre-pregnancy weight was 10,11

I have, however, been reading around the subject and have watched a number of interesting programmes on TV, including Secret Eaters.  One of the mantras they said is Bite = Bulge. Love it!!

Another piece of information I have discovered while reading about 'healthy eating' (as well as the fact that there is so much hidden sugar in everything we eat) is: 'The longer the ingredients label, the further away it is from nature and the less healthy,'  www.drfranklipman.com/   - makes you think, doesn't it?

10 weeks and counting.....

Everybody Freddy ???

A month or so ago we found a frog in the drain, that then found itself in the kitchen.  I heard Jamie shout "Freddy's in the kitchen" (as we had called him Freddy) but did not believe him until I saw it with my own eyes!

Since then we have met a number of different animals and every one Jamie insists on calling Freddy.  So, we have had Freddy Frog, Freddy Caterpillar and a lot of Freddy Mice!

Nearly 3 Stone!!

Weighed Jamie this morning (as I was checking mummy was still loosing weight!) and he weighed 2 stone, 10 and a half pounds!!

We have reached the Number 10 ......

.....on Jamie's Fireman Sam Sticker Reward Chart in the bathroom.   The final one he got for having a poo on the toilet.  (Oh what have I become - getting excited about my 3 year olds toiletry habits!!)
Added to all the stickers he has earned from us, Jamie also got a sticker from Nursery yesterday for having a wee on their toilet!

This means we are off to Toys R Us on Saturday to look for Mike the Knight.

I am not saying that Jamie is now officially toilet trained, but he is certainly on the way.  He still needs to learn to 'push it down' when sitting on the toilet and we have had a few incidents of him not getting there in time and a few puddles appearing. 

However, I can't remember the last time he had a 'wet' nappy.  I seem to be just replacing one dry nappy for another at the moment.  Next week, as we are all off, we are going to try him in just his pants.  I have been warned to carry a lot of spare pants and trousers - Wish me Luck!!

Happy 5th Birthday Blog!!

On Sunday 1st July 2007 I started this blog.  Five years ago.  In that time we have all gone through a lot but I am proud to say I have a wonderful 3 year old who has changed my life in a million different ways!!

Some days he makes me want to scream.  But he also makes me laugh so much it (almost) makes the lack of sleep / time / life worth it!!

He still refuses to sleep in his own bed at night and, truth be told, mummy and daddy don't really mind this, but he is doing extremely well with regards to his toilet training.

I still try not to get involved with the 'competition' side of motherhood and am lucky that we have a nice little social circle with different toddlers. Although we grew out of Baby Signing, and Toddler Signing didn't last many weeks, we have continued to see friends made in those groups as well as friends made in hospital and at ante-natal classes, as well as friends who simply had children around the same time.

We love seeing cousin Lucy and it just a shame they don't live nearer.  I am sad to say that we don't see cousin Noah as much as I would like either.  I sometimes feel I have done or said something out of turn somewhere along the way, but if I have I really don't know what it is.  I do try to make the effort to meet up with them every now and again, and will continue to do so and hope the situation improves.

Life still continues at one hundred miles an hour and seems to be one long party for Jamie with party invitations and play dates a-plenty.  We have got a few away days planned; including a week off as a family together, a weekend in Norfolk with the girls, and a week at Butlins with Lucy. Its mad to think that Jamie starts pre-school in September - where has the time gone?

Mummy continues to enjoying her new job and is pleased to find it less stressful that her previous job.  It also gives her time on a Wednesday morning to catch up on jobs and the never ending 'to do' list.  She is still not quite at pre-pregnancy size but there is a family wedding in September for which she hopes to have lost a stone - and be well under pre-pregnancy weight!!

Thought for the day: Appreciate the time with your children.  All the other stuff is just Stuff!