I’ve just seen this article in The Guardian Online and felt I should share as I found myself very vocal in my agreement to a lot of what is written.
It’s definitely food for thought!
Happy Mothering Sunday!
Wishing all you Mummies and mummies-to-be out there a very happy Mothering
Sunday. I hope you’re all having a wonderful day with your little (or not so little) ones.
My thoughts today also turn to those ladies (and their families) who don’t have their little ones with them any more. My thoughts and love go out to you.
I don’t really need a special day to remind me I’m a Mummy. Not complaining though…
I got some gorgeous flowers.
I got some delicious chocolates.
But…
Most importantly of all…
I’ve got him.
My Monkey.
And that’s all I really want. All I need.
He’s amazing!
Love you, my gorgeous little man xxx
Where do they go? My weekend musing
Just a thought on this Friday night…
I’ve been tidying up the toys as we’ve had one of those, ‘I’m going to play with EVERYTHING and throw them EVERYWHERE’ days. You know the sort – those ones where your toddler gets stupidly excited, runs around like a total loony and chucks his toys wherever he feels like it.
Now, I tried to think like a toddler whilst I was trying to piece back together his jigsaws, sets of cars and play food. If I was an excitable little being, where might I put things?
That didn’t work.
Not one bit!
It’s not actually worked to the extent that I JUST CAN’T FIND MOST OF IT.
I haven’t got a clue where he’s put them at all. I’ve pulled out the sofa, I’ve looked behind everything and I’ve even checked in parts of the kitchen that I KNOW he didn’t actually go in.
So…
the question remains…
WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?
Answers on a postcard, please! Save my sanity!
The rolling of the eyes: Allergies, smallergies…
A little while ago I saw this ‘someecard’ on Facebook and it made me stop and gasp slightly. My initial reaction was,
‘That’s a bit dramatic’,
closely followed by
‘that’s actually a bit close to the bone for some people’.
But, it made me stop and think – which is what it was designed for (by whoever’s card it is – I have no clue who made it). Now, I’m allergic to shellfish to the extent that I carry an epipen and have to inform people that I really shouldn’t be given anything that might have those nasty little critters in it. I really don’t fancy the whole puffing up like a balloon thing, or the being carted off to hospital not breathing properly/ at all scenario and I definitely (cos I’m a wuss) don’t like the whole idea of a pen full of adrenaline being pumped into me as I don’t react well to synthetic adrenaline at the best of times.
I’m used to dealing with this and for years I’ve got used to reading food/ item labels to ensure that they’re ok for me to eat. Plus, I also have lactose intolerance (which I kind of ignore at times as I love cheese…) so I have to be pretty careful with things that contain cream or milk.
That was all fine. It was easy dealing with it all when it was just me.
But then my little Monkey Clothbum came along and over time we’ve discovered that he’s lactose/cmpi (cow’s milk protein) intolerant and allergic to salmon. He also seems to be very intolerant to tomatoes (which is being checked very soon at our next allergy clinic appointment) and we’re unsure of his reaction to a lot of other fish and have been told to avoid nuts.
Marvellous…
It obviously makes cooking/ finding foods that he can eat a little (let’s be honest, quite a LOT) more tricky and I have to pretty much always be on the ball when we’re out and about. My friends and family are all rather brilliant with him and always check before they give him anything. It’s tough when one of their toddlers is wanting to feed him their goodies as he can’t have them. His little face is always a picture of abject misery and I do really feel for him.
However, what I have found increasingly annoying is the attitude that I’ve come across many times from others whilst I’ve been out. What is it about strangers wanting to offer my toddler food? I really don’t get it, but they do. He obviously looks very cute (I know I’m biased, but he’s a little stunner) and they must feel that he deserves a little treat.
ARGH.
Because, invariably, those treats seem to consist of either things he can’t have, or I’m not totally sure what they contain, I’ve found myself very politely and nicely having to sometimes physically move food away from him. I always say a very nice, ‘no thank you’ along with a quick explanation of why he can’t have it.
The majority of people are lovely about it – but then there’s the eye-rollers. They seem to often have another personality trait which manifests itself in a rather loud, rather pointed tutting sound.
Then these people act offended.
Grrrrr!
I think it’s maybe a generation thing. I’m not too sure. But, I really wish people would stop trying to give him food. He’s quite a sturdy, well-built little boy so he’s definitely not wasting away. My gold top boob milk, along with his love for his food is ensuring that he’s perfectly fine and really doesn’t need any extra treats.
Has any of you have to deal with this? Anyone got any good (and nice, polite) ways of explaining things to people? I know I’m destined to have a fair few years of running around after him, pulling food out of his hands at parties and so on, but it’d be fab to not have that whilst sat in a supermarket cafe!!!
Happy New Year!
Well – it’s 2013! Happy New Year everyone. I hope you’ve all had a wonderful time over the festive season and thoroughly enjoyed yourselves.
We had a fabulous time visiting all of our family and friends and, whilst I’ve missed this lovely little blog, it’s been rather nice to have a break and fully focus on watching my little Monkey Man have a very exciting time.
Whilst it wasn’t his first Christmas, I’d class this one as his first proper Christmas as last year he was only a few months old and spent most of his time staring, slightly cross-eyed, at all the twinkling lights. This past Christmas was so SO much fun. He was utterly delightful and really got involved with the whole thing. Unwrapping presents has never been so much fun and watching his little face when he got new presents was so lovely!
It’s given me a whole new love of Christmas and I actually can’t wait for the next one – he’s going to be so excited! The only downside is that we’re now having a bit of a nightmare trying to find homes for all the wonderful pressies he got. People have been so generous and I can’t thank them enough – but I think I might need an extension!!!
I’ll be back on normal blogging form (with a New Year resolution to actually blog more often!) and I’ve got lots to share with you.
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
Well, it’s astounding how quickly this year has flown by – I’m actually in slight shock at the fact that it’s now under a week until Christmas!
A year…
A year which started with us having a little baby that was just rolling
A year that began with me being still on maternity leave, soaking in every single waking minute that I could possible could with my little one before I went back to work part-time.
A year that has seen our little Monkey wibble himself over onto his front, squawking as he got his hand stuck underneath him.
A year in which our little man learnt how to push himself into a sitting position. This was after many attempts which ended up with him faceplanting onto the floor and protesting loudly at how his body wasn’t doing what he wanted it to.
A year of giggles, turning into cheeky giggles as he’s learnt how to play ‘tricks’ on us. Hiding behind things whilst looking at us are the funniest at the moment as he’s convinced that we can’t see him!
A year during which he began to crawl – backwards at first, wedging himself quite spectacularly under the sofa! Then progressing to quite quick commando crawling before finally figuring out that his head didn’t need to drag along the floor.
A year of watching him change and grow and turn into his own very distinct personality – a very cheeky but gentle little chap who loves nothing more than cuddles and kisses.
A year during which he learnt how to walk. First of all it was the cowboy approach to walking (hands up in the air as he waddled from side to side). Nowadays it’s the running approach to life – nothing is ever done slowly, apart from when he walks backwards as that’s apparently VERY funny!
A year that is ending with him becoming quite determined. Most food ends up on the floor because it’s hilarious, he likes to try to feed the cats or because he JUST DOESNT WANT IT. He’s so determined to do everything by himself so the pram, pushchair and highchair are becoming his sworn enemies, which makes getting him in them lots of fun!
A year of being so happy, so grateful and so thankful that we have him in our lives. He makes every day so much fun and it’s wonderful watching him grow into such a happy little boy.
I can’t wait to see what next year brings!
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and wish you all the love and luck in the world for 2013.
(I’m taking a festive blogging break – so see you on the other side!)
xxx
Winter Woes: The joys of bugs and lurgies
I’ve just realised how long it’s been since I last posted. How on earth did a whole week pass by that fast? Eeeek! Scary stuff.
The Toddler, Mr Monkey Clothbum, hasn’t been at all well this week. He’s had a dreadful cold, ear and chest infection – you know the ones, where the river of snot never seems to stop and you wake up (if you’re a co-sleeper like us) with your face and, erm, boobs covered in a crusty layer of loveliness…It’s been great!
Add to that the whining, the screaming, the incessant crying and the hacking horrible cough and you can imagine how fun our week has been for everyone. Did I mention that the whining was from me?!
So, I have a whole world of reviews and posts to get on with now that he’s back to feeling a little bit better, thanks to the miracles that are antibiotics and time. We’re got some fantastic Charlie Banana and Green Pomelo nappies to review, but I haven’t dared put Monkey in them due to the horrendous stuff that he’s been firing out whilst being on the meds. It’s not been pleasant…
I’ve also got a brilliant book to share with you by Charlie Plunkett , but the ill Monkey hasn’t allowed me much reading time!
I’m also in the middle of doing some really fun cookery stuff for Mumsnet and Gourmet Garden herbs , so keep an eye out for that. Hopefully my efforts won’t be too dreadful – but I’ll let you be the judge of that (how scary!)
Now, I’m off to do some sewing. We’re at that transition stage again, where the trousers are getting too tight for going over the nappies – so he’s now in size 2/3 trousers that are enormously too long for him. It’s actually quite comical to see him in them – so I’d better get sewing turnups so he doesn’t go flying!
Little mid-week titilation… Can you guess what it is yet?
So… I’ve been looking back at the blog over the past few weeks, or so, and I’ve realised that I’ve been doing an AWFUL lot of reviews. LOADS of them – and I have lots more still to come.
I love reviews, I really do. It’s a great way to find out all about a new nappy or product and see whether it’ll work for my Monkey, or to look at a nappy that I’ve already used/know about in a new light. Often, ones that I’d maybe previously used that I hadn’t thought about for a while become new favourites again and it always keeps me on my toes! Plus, as I’ve been reviewing nappies for my nappy library, it’s been very important that I get them as informative (but hopefully not boring – please say I’ve not been making you all nod off…) as possible.
However, I’ve neglected to blog about – well…us!
And that’s just not good enough….because, well…
We’re brilliant! We’re absolutely fantastic and we deserve to be blogged about. Well, more precisely little Mr Monkey Clothbum does. Our clever little Mister who’s now very confident with his walking and is rocking his natty Little Life backpack/ reins thingy with panache. He LOVES it and any/every time we get outside, he’s off – headed straight for whatever big pile of leaves that he can find and I thank god that I can kind of, sort of, stop him diving headfirst into them as he has utterly no concept that the ground actually hurts. Bless him!
As well as this new-found, almost freedom that he’s encountering, he’s also becoming much more adventurous. Lots and LOTS of climbing (eek!) and playing with things that used to freak him out.
Which leads me to my rather lovely photo at the top of this blogpost…
Have you guessed what it is yet? Yes, my very childish mind thought it looked like something funny but it’s actually his favourite toy of the moment, over any other more expensive item that he possesses.
Answers on a postcard, please!
Toddler Tastic!
Wow. I’ve been looking back at the blog and over the past few weeks I’ve noticed something – I’m doing an awful lot of reviews and not a lot of rambling posts! That’s not like me at all… Those who know me are probably laughing and nodding their heads in agreement, but it’s quite unusual for me to pass up on the opportunity to waffle on and on – but that’s what I’ve been doing.
So, there’s a good reason (or a hundred) as to why I’ve not been regaling you with snippets of my life recently. The main one is work. Work, work, work! I’ve been (and still am) very busy and just haven’t really had the time. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my job, but it’s been quite hard to step back and take the time to do things like this. Like, right now – I know there’s a million things that I should/could be doing but I’ve given myself five minutes grace! Cup of coffee and a biscuit at my side and a computer to type away on and ramble – job’s a good ‘un!
Then there’s been all the amazing donations that I’ve been receiving (and still am receiving) for the nappy library/ demo kit that I’ve been setting up. People have been fantastic and I really can’t thank them enough, but with all donations (especially from companies) I obviously am doing reviews for them. That’s only fair and a great way to show people who read this blog just how many wonderful different types and brands of nappies there are.
So, I’ve got a whole host of reviews already written, a fair few in the pipeline and quite a lot more still to come. Phew!
But, nappies aside for a moment – back to blogging about life.
Life is good!
Life is busy!
Life with a toddler is hectic!
Life with a CLIMBING toddler is quite frankly a pain in the backside!!!
Oh dear god, he doesn’t stop! He’s up on everything, almost falling off everything and generally being a little monster. I think it might be time for a renaming of Master Monkey Clothbum to little Master Monster.
He constantly has a massive cheeky grin on his face, is babbling away non-stop and I know when he’s being naughty as he goes very quiet and looks around all the time to see if he’s being watched, which is rather amusing. One of my brothers used to whistle whenever he was doing something he shouldn’t, which was always hilarious, and I think that Monster is going to end up with a similar tell as he’s also started making this funny whistling sound when he’s focusing on things that he knows are not allowed. It’s hilarious!
With this new found sense of self developing, he’s also becoming more determined which is leading to some interesting little stand offs. We’ve had a few tempers where he throws himself backwards onto the floor, quite a few sittings in the corner and howling and general determined attempts to stamp his mark on things and do it his way. It’s actually very interesting to observe but quite tough, at times, to remain cool and gently but firmly stand our ground or distract him (whichever happens to be the most appropriate at the time).
I’m also finding that he’s now nursing more like a newborn again at night, which is a bit sore at times. I’m sure it’s because he’s teething but part of me is wondering whether it’s because he likes the comfort and as he’s pretty much self-weaned during the day, that he wants it at night.
If any of you have carried on breastfeeding a toddler, did you find they upped their nursing at all? What tips could you give to others like myself who are newbies to nursing a toddler?
They’d be very much appreciated!
It’s the Weekend! Halloween and all that jazz…
Well, yet another weekend has winged it’s way around again and we’re here in Clothbum Towers, cosied up in our lounge away from the sudden cold snap that’s hit us. We went out to the zoo yesterday, which was a lot of fun, but little Master C refused to keep a hat on. That was fine until he decided that his head was cold, so we had lots of crying and dramatic moments where he flung himself in a spectacular fashion all over the place in his buggy. Oh, the joy…
We’re incredibly lucky that we have such a great zoo so close to us – it really is a wonderful thing to have on your doorstep. As we have a yearly pass it means that we can pop over for a few hours pretty much whenever we want. I don’t then feel guilty if we go home when it starts to rain and little Monkey absolutely adores the animals, especially the giraffes. He gets SO excited when he sees them lolloping across their enclosure.
However, he has taken to ‘Woofing’ at everything at the moment, which is pretty funny. Did you know that elephants woof? Apparently they do… very loudly as well! And so do lions, tigers and bears (oh my!) Consider yourself toddler educated!
Has your little one educated you recently? I wonder what you’ve learnt that as an adult, you just weren’t aware of before? It’s amazing how these little beings open our eyes to things that we have obviously just previously ignored!
I hope you’re all having a great start to your weekend. Over the next few weeks I have lots and lots of lovely nappies and accessories to review for you. So many companies have been immensely generous in donating nappies to the nappy library/demo kit that I’ve been setting up recently for my local area and we’ve been putting them through their paces.
To finish off this little weekend post – let me proudly show off Monkey’s latest creations from nursery. As it’s nearly Halloween, they’ve been doing some art. So, I’m obviously immensely proud that my 14 month old has not only mastered the art of drawing and cutting out a shape (hmmm…) but that he’s so delicately applied lots of gloopy glue and artistically scattered glittery shapes. You can obviously see the genius emerging already. I’m thinking somewhere in line with Van Gogh …
Then, to top it off he’s made something that should be in every house – a Halloween cracker. Yes! A Cracker! It’s the must have of the season – the new extra that you just didn’t know you needed but now (I bet) you feel utterly devastated at the fact that you don’t have one. Well, we do and I have no idea of what’s inside it yet. We’ll obviously wait until the traditional Halloween cracker opening day that is the 31st (of course – we couldn’t do it early) and then we’ll see what goodies it contains.
He definitely had a lot of fun making these, if the amount of glue and pen marks on his hands when I picked him up is a good indication and, all joking aside, I love the fact that they’re doing lots of arts and crafts with him.
I must go and get some kind of keepsake folder. Any suggestions?
