Thursday 30 January 2014

Just chillin'


Here's my 15 month old. You've gotta love that happy smile! He's found a deckchair, dragged it to a nice sunny spot on the landing, and sat himself down to watch the world go by. With a toy snake.

Sunday 26 January 2014

6 things you can't do with 3 small children...

1) Get in a normal car

2) Walk down the street

3) Go into any cafe or restaurant without every single person turning to stare at you

4) Fit through any kind of doorway

5) Leave the house without spending at least 20 mins getting people's shoes and coats on several times

6) Stay in a hotel room


Friday 24 January 2014

10 things I love about my kids...




1) All the hugs. My baby waddles over and rests his head on my legs, my 2 year old jumps on my back, tries to strangle me and says 'cuddle'. My 5 year old jumps into bed for a quick snuggle. They all make me smile :-)

2) They all look so adorable when they're asleep. My husband and I like to stare at their cute little sleeping faces and the funny poses they get in to. My middle child snores like a purring kitten, and my baby likes to sleep with his head firmly wedged against the side of the cot.

3) The way they all 3 play together. It varies from a free-for-all rough and tumble to more elaborate role-play games.

4)The endless repetition of books, TV shows and jokes. The theory is that if it was enjoyed once, it should be enjoyed many times.

5) They all make me laugh. My 2 year old has yet to learn the idea of being more than one thing. If you say 'you are 2 years old' he will reply firmly, "No, I Sur-land" (Sutherland).

6) The many and various dolls, dinosaurs, bears, toy cars and most of all rabbits that have been dragged along on family outings, strapped into car seats, fed meals, been pushed around in pushchairs and generally led a better life than I have.

7) The fact that they run everywhere. It shows enthusiasm.

8) That I can make them really enthusiastic about any dull old thing, just by sounding enthusiastic myself. "We're going to the post office!" spoken in jubilation with wide eyes and waving of arms.

9) The cutesie small shoes. They are fantastic.

10) Seeing the DNA of myself and my husband recombined to create 3 different but similar little people.




Tuesday 21 January 2014

Making a mess!


This is my 15 month old who was quietly munching away in the corner on what I finally discovered was shoe polish!!! I rushed him to bathroom in a panic and then, yes, came back for my camera! Mainly though I took the photo so that I could chastise my husband who had left the shoe polish out. His response: "Oh no! Have we got any left?" Me; "No idea, I was too concerned with whether I needed to take your son to hospital!!!"

This was last week and the little one is doing fine. Mummy needs to pay greater attention to what he is up too though :-)

Sunday 19 January 2014

How fussy is your little one?


Some of you will have read previously about the exploits of my dearly loved 2 year old middle child (see Two year old tantrums). He is still making the most of his age by using his license to tantrum, usually about clothes.

As a general rule, he doesn't like any sort of interaction with clothes. Putting them on in the morning is usually a full-scale battle, and he is not so keen on taking them off again at the end of the day to put on pyjamas. Like many other children he cannot see the benefit of jumpers and coats, and now I don't even try with hats and gloves. So what is the problem?

With my armchair psychology I assume he is trying to exert some control over the world around him and he dislikes anyone forcing him to do something. In the photograph above he is having one of his more helpful days where he gets up and chooses a full outfit and nappy. He actually did that this morning, but when I tried to change him he insisted he only wanted to be changed in the exact spot his was standing which was right outside the bedroom where his baby brother was asleep. Nothing could persuade him to move even a little bit. In the end I managed to get him nappy changed and he is still just wearing a nappy and pyjama top. I'm saving up round 2 for when we need to leave the house!

Aside from exercising his right to choose, my 2 year old is an old round lovely chap. He sleeps extremely well and plays nicely either on his own or with one of his siblings. He isn't too concerned with getting parental attention and he generally wanders around being cute. He has a healthy interest in trains and dinosaurs and he will watch the same episode of Octonauts as many times as he is allowed.

I am trying to remember to enjoy the cute years whilst they last!

Tuesday 14 January 2014

Nobody puts Baby in the corner!


If you have more than one child, do you feel that your youngest gets neglected? This is my third and youngest child who is 15 months old. He has climbed up onto a pile of boxes (yet to be unpacked from our move 3+ months ago!) and he is reading a copy of 'English Grammar' to himself, since Mummy isn't doing enough to teach him how to speak.

My first child had plenty of attention and encouragement to sit and read books together, to make different sounds and to practice speaking. My youngest gets to follow his sister and brother around and learn by playing with them and them chatting to him. His brother always calls him 'Baby' and I'm hoping he won't be stuck with it for too long!

He does have a fun life with plenty of outings and loads of great games with his siblings. But, he doesn't get that same focused attention on his development. At home he follows me around and helps with the laundry and the dishwasher, or plays with toys whilst I work. He gets loads of cuddles, but maybe it is time to bring out the 'Baby Einstein' kit and get him started on some serious work :-)




Monday 13 January 2014

Fun Ways to Get Children Interested in Their Education

This is my first guest blog, sponsored by Pencilstreet.org an educational resource site:
Fun Ways to Get Children Interested in Their Education
As any parent or teacher knows, there are some kids who just don’t seem to be interested in their education. Whether it is due to pressure from peers or simply through the lack of understanding when it comes to a particular topic, it can be a challenge to get certain kids on board. Of course, it is your responsibility to make sure that they do just that.
So if you are wondering about what methods there are to make this happen, why don’t you consider a few of the points below? They are sure-fire ways to get more children interested and involved when it comes to their education. All you need to do is put yourself in their shoes and see whether a normal day in the classroom or one of these options sounds more exciting...
Field trips
Think about all the wonderful places that you can take your kids to discover something exciting, often with the assistance of a knowledgeable expert. There are caves to learn about the different types of rocks, water springs to learn about the water cycle, and old settlements to appreciate the history of the country. Some teachers or parents might even want to consider a trip to the cinema if there is a film that will aid education on a particular topic.
Going outside
Whether at home or school, a simple trip outside often does the trick. Get some pavement chalk and get kids to draw the planets of the solar system, or even just improve counting by seeing who can jump on the skipping rope for the longest. It is these little things that can make a big difference in the basic skills that kids need to progress as they get older.
Role play
Inside you can always get kids to do a bit of role play; something that many of them are keen to do when they are young anyway. Instead of them choosing to dress up as One Direction or the latest girl band, get them to pretend to be characters from a book, or historical figures that they are learning about. A script can be helpful if you also want to improve English skills at the same time.
Games
Whether it is inside or outside, playing games can be helpful when it comes to further a child’s education. This could be in the form of quizzes where prizes are up for grabs, or physical activities. What you choose will be dependent on the ages of the children, as well as what subject you are trying to get them interested in. For example, a game such as ‘higher or lower’ played with cards can be a fun way to get kids to understand chance, probability and numeracy.
Special days
Check the Pencil Street website for some ideas when it comes to special days that you can mark. These include Remembrance Day and Black History Month, and should give you some suggestions about what you can do with the kids.

Sunday 12 January 2014

Eating healthy food


Thanks to all of you who gave suggestions for getting the kids to eat more fruit and veg (see earlier post Fruit and veg). We have been blending all the veg up into a pasta sauce which has been going down well, and making sure there are plenty of servings of boiled apple which all 3 love. Grapes and raisins are still popular and bananas are a favourite with 2 of the 3.

Here they are enjoying a bit of pizza at our lovely friend's birthday party.

Let me know your hints, tips and recipes for getting children to eat fruit and vegetables. My children are mostly vegetarian so any veggie recipes would be very welcome :-)


Tuesday 7 January 2014

Freezing cold fun!




This is what we did at the weekend. Today is the end of the holidays and we're back to school and work. Is summer on its way yet?

Monday 6 January 2014

Back to school!



So, the holidays are over and it is back to school time. I found this photo from last term which reminded me just how grown-up my little girl can be, and just how sweet my children can be! My little 5 year old school girl is reading one of her school story books to her 2 year old brother. Naturally he is wedged behind the sofa, but he is engrossed in the story, and she is able to read it to him!

Let's hope we'll be celebrating more academic and social achievements this term :-)

Sunday 5 January 2014

Fruit and veg


HOW do you get children to eat 5 portions of fruit and veg every day? This question troubles me frequently and I'd be glad of your advice.

At the moment my baby is absolutely fine, as the others were at his age. He loves fruit and veg and will chow it all down with glee. My 5 year old (pictured here) can understand the rationale that she has to eat a certain amount and so can be controlled through reward and punishment. I have tried to make the experience pleasant for her, but realistically we operate on bribery and threats. It is working though, so I'll leave it alone for now.

My 2 year old is the real worry. He seems to be slipping through the net and now barely goes near any form of fruit or vegetables. He doesn't seem to grasp the idea of reward and punishment and is fairly prone to throwing a bowl of fruit onto the floor.  I am now at the point of having to be super-strict (in my opinion... maybe this is just normal!!) and not giving him other kinds of food until he has eaten what he should. I haven't withheld any meals yet (where he would just eat carbs and protein) but I am offering only fruit as snacks. I am telling him to stay at the table and finish his food, but so far with not a huge amount of success.

My main successes have been boiled apple which all 3 children will eat endlessly, and smoothie drinks which come in and out of vogue with my eldest 2.

Let me know if you have found a way to get fruit and veg into your little ones!

Friday 3 January 2014

What is the optimum number of children?


This is a common question amongst parents. No matter how many children you have people (yes me included) always ask "would you have any more?"

At the moment I answer with a definite 'no' and the obligatory eye-roll, but deep down have I really ruled out having just one more?

My three children are aged 5 years, 2 yrs 8 months and 1 yr 2 months. At the moment the youngest two are both in nappies, both still use a bottle (at least at bed-time) and both need me to dress them. All 3 of them still need to be watched most of the time so maybe the gap you have makes a difference.

People have asked what it is like to have three children, and my usual answer is that there was chaos with 2, so another 1 doesn't make too much difference. There are a few logistical issues sure. Walking down the street is one, cuddling them all at once is another, but as my 2 year old says "all aboard!". I spend a ridiculous amount of time doing laundry, and a considerable amount of my day is focused on meeting their basic needs.

Finances are definitely a concern and we had to buy a larger car when we had the third child. Good parenting is of course top of everyone's list of worries. I think this an ongoing challenge, but I comfort myself with the thought that I am constantly worried about whether a different child is getting enough attention, so each of them must be getting attention at some point! My eldest now gets some special time with me after her brothers have gone to bed and we spend quality time reading together. My youngest has some time when the other two are at school and pre-school, and my middle one gets attention when his brother is asleep. They all three love playing together so we're often able to play with all three together.

The best thing about having three children is the love they have for each other. They are very cute together, and definitely feel as though they belong together and want to play.

Some people are concerned about over-population and see having more than 2 children as selfish. They could be right, but I personally feel that if I can raise good citizens who can contribute to a better society then I'll have done my job. Time will tell how I get on with that one! For the time being though our eco credentials are that we are (mostly) using cloth nappies and the kids are vegetarian.

I regularly count my blessings that I've been given these three precious children, and my heart's desire is to be a worthy mother.

Let me know your optimum number! x