Last chance to win!

The competition to win a DVD, book and 2 toys (all aimed at 3-6 year olds) is ending at midnight GMT on 7th Jan. Just add your name and email address - these will be deleted once the competition has ended.
Entry form and review of the goodies is here: Competition entry.

Competition! And review of 'Heroes of the City'

Our family was sent a lovely pack from the makers of Heroes of the City: a TV show aimed at 3-6 year olds. We received a DVD with 5 episodes of the show, a nice big hardcover story book and 2 character toys.

I peeked at the package and then put it aside to look at later, but found it being sneakily opened and inspected by my eldest two. My 5 year old daughter and nearly 3 year old son both insisted that we look at it all NOW! They were very impressed with the toys (made from die cast metal) - one is a tractor and the other is a train. I decided that a quick viewing of the DVD before bed would be a good Friday night treat and so they snuggled in Mummy and Daddy's bed to watch the first 3 episodes. My daughter's view was that it was "fun" and she liked all of the characters. My son was won over by the toy train and tractor, and also loved looking through the book.

'Heroes of the City' is made by Swedish media company Ruta Ett. It is in English (with American accents) and appeals to both genders. It is about rescue vehicles who each get to be a hero when it is their turn to save the day. Ruta Ett have developed an app in which you can watch the shows, interact with the characters and play some cool games. I had a bit of a go, but it was an immense hit with my husband who pretended to check it out for the children, but who wasn't keen to let them have a turn :-) My eldest two both enjoyed playing the games. There are a few free ones and then others that can be purchased.

You can download the Heroes app from:

AppStore: https://itunes.apple.com/app/heroes-of-the-city-movie-app/id602592310

GooglePlay: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rutaett.HeroesMovie&hl=en

To win a set of goodies similar to what I received - a DVD, book and 2 toys - please enter your email address below (rug not included!). The winner will be contacted to get address details. This set will be posted direct from the suppliers so you must be willing for me to pass on those details. All names and email addresses will be deleted after the competition.

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.

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

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.

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 :-)

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!