Growing up fast?

She may have turned 5 last week, but my daughter has still stuck a balloon animal on her head to sit and watch TV. And why not? 

Can I quit this job now?

Most days I feel like I've done OK. If the children are tucked up in bed, everyone is alive and happy, and maybe a third of my tasks have been completed then that is a good day.

But then there are days like today. Where the day is full of lots of tiny challenges which combine to push you over the edge. So who do I hand in my letter of resignation to? Where do I register a grievance at my treatment? Can I book a day of holiday? Er... no.

Right now peace reigns in our household. The two boys are asleep and my 5 year old daughter is happily practising her handwriting. That brings on the next wave of emotions: guilt. How can I get cross with them when they are so young and sweet. Was I too shouty today?

After a particularly busy day of rushing around, it was bath-time that really did me in. My youngest who is just over a year old came out of the bath first, but it was a bit early for bed, so he roamed free around the upstairs. His game of choice was 'lets find clothes and throw them all in the bathtub or the toilet.' He was then joined by his 2 1/2 yr old brother who decided to play 'lets throw enormous quantities of water out of the bath onto the floor'. There was much tantrum-ing etc when the incorrect pyjamas were offered to said 2 1/2 yr old, but what really took the biscuit was when he ripped apart a brand new box of tissues all over the landing. Yes it doesn't sound that big a deal now, but I was none too pleased at the time.

So, mainly to cheer me up, here are some (old) pictures of them being cute!

Does your home turn into a soft play centre?

Today is definitely a 'choose your battles' day. I have no energy to resist the little ones, and besides they are having so much fun! 

Can you believe that the one on the right is 18 months younger than his brother on the left? Need to cut down on his food I think :-)

Two year old tantrums

This is my lovely middle child who is 2 and a half, snuggling up to his current favourite parent :-)

He is a sweet easy going child, but he is now going through the kinds of tantrums usually associated with his age. I think he is trying hard to control the world around him, and so he always wants a specific person to help him whether it is passing him a tissue, opening a door, or serving him food. He will select the person - either my husband, myself or his older sister - and regardless of who else is offering to help him he will shout and scream unless the chosen one fulfils the required task.

Some recent examples include: he dropped a toy on the floor when sitting at the table and whinged about it until his 4 year old sister felt sorry for him and picked it up. He then promptly threw it on the floor again and said 'I want Mummy to pick it up!'. When he was stuck behind a stairgate and my husband opened the gate for him, he slammed it shut again and waited for me to come and let him out. I went to pick him up from pre-school and he wanted Daddy to get him. He shouted and screamed all the way home. Daddy was at home, but instead of being happy to see Daddy to tried to throw his bag and coat outside and drag Daddy to pre-school so that we could start again!

So what is the best way to tackle this emerging struggle for control? For the time being I have been looking for other opportunities to offer him a choice during his day, ie 'would you like the blue or the grey jumper?', 'which colour plate would you like?', 'do you want to fetch your yoghurt?'

I think I need to take a firmer line on who helps him though. I continue to pick him up from pre-school to offer some consistency when my husband is at work and can't pick him up. But, we have given in a few times and brought in the required parent to offer him food or help him get dressed etc. Maybe leaving him stuck behind the stairgate might have helped him learn that lesson more quickly. Like so many things the little ones do, it was comical at first, so we didn't set any ground rules for dealing with it.

Let me know your tips for helping get through the tantrum years! x

What does Christmas mean to you?

We stopped at our favourite cafe in Exeter today, only to be surrounded by a line of charity-inspired Christmas trees. It wasn't long before my 2 year old got tangled up in the fairy lights and then started pulling at the baubles. With less than a month to go, I need to decide how I really feel about Christmas.

My family and are are Baha'is (www.bahai.org) and we believe that all of the major world religions come from the same Creator. We have our own special Holy Days. There is no problem with us celebrating the birth of Christ, or participating in the festivals of other religions such as Eid, or Divali. With some guidance, Baha'is are free to make their own decision as to how much to take part in the cultural and religious festivities of their area.

I tend to try and not make too much of a big deal of the traditions (and dare I say commercial) side of Christmas. We always give cards and happily display cards from friends. We do usually buy gifts for relatives who are not Baha'is, but so far we have not bought gifts for our own children. They get so much from other people that they haven't actually noticed, so at the moment it is only a point of principle! Last year we lived next door to a family who have a huge Christmas shop and they gave us a tree (which to be fair I absolutely loved :-).

So basically, I'm enjoying many of the fine elements of Christmas by just sponging off of others! Time to make a decision and figure out what Christmas means for our family. My husband and I agree that it is an important time of year for catching up with extended family. Most of us get at least a few days off work so it is a great time to get together. We want our children to understand the meaning of Christmas and how it links in with our beliefs, so we are also trying to do a little bit of education about God and His Messengers. My daughter is involved in the nativity play at school and is enjoying learning Christmas carols. We are planning to make little stockings for the children with tiny token gifts but not give 'proper' presents. We also want to make an effort to celebrate Baha'i Holy Days and ensure we are taking time off work to be together on those days.

What are your views on Christmas? How are you explaining the meaning of it to your children? I'd like to hear your thoughts...

Fresh air and exercise!

A family walk in Haldon Forest this morning led to a surprising 11am nap for our 2 1/2 year old! I think the fresh air combined with all of us having colds got the better of him.

Our 4 year old did a great job of cycling all the way around the trail without any complaints.

And my workout was pushing 2 heavy boys all around in the double buggy :-)

Is it worth tidying up?

We seem to endlessly acquire nice storage tubs, shelves, furniture etc to try and rationalise the toys but to no avail.

This is my scene at 7.30pm when 2 out of 3 children are in bed. I would love to organise the toys by theme but what I am likely to do is throw them all in a giant tub and then stick the kettle on.

I feel another trip to ikea coming on!