Friday Favourites

Happy Friday, blog friends. It's been a busy one here in the shire and I am more than happy to finally be lying on the sofa watching HP5 with a large glass of Sauvignon.

Thought I'd wind up the week with a list of Friday Favourites...

1. Green People Organic Children Sun Lotion (available on Amazon)

Last summer, Boy randomly decided to spontaneously develop an allergy to both of the sun creams we had in the house that we'd been using on him with no problems for the previous 3.5years? Thus followed an extremely expensive period of time where I tried in vain to find a replacement that didn't bring him out in a rash. Finally we stumbled across this one and HURRAH, no rash. It's not exactly cheap (think I paid £17 in waitrose but it's £14.69 on Amazon...?) when you compare it to Boots' own brand (£5) but what can you do? Ordered a fresh tube today (the sudden sunshine spurred me on!)

2. Cousin love!! 

Niece arrived this afternoon and is here until Monday lunchtime. Whilst it is a constant juggle having an extra child, especially one so close in age and ability to Toddler, it brings me such joy to watch the boys love on her with such gentleness and chivalry. I don't want her to be treated like a precious flower but at the same time it is lovely to see how they both look out for her and protect her. Let's just hope she sleeps until 7am!!

3. Islabikes in Ludlow

Last weekend we took Boy up to Islabikes in Ludlow to get measured for his next set of wheels and his shiny new bicycle arrived today while he was at school. He actually jumped for joy when he saw the box! The staff are incredibly passionate about cycling and really know their stuff, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to friends. Yes, the bikes are expensive but they really hold their value, are lightweight and durable and, let's face it, a hell of a lot more aesthetically pleasing than the shit you can buy in Halfords covered in skull stickers!!

4. Finding inspirational quotes on Pinterest. 

Nothing much to say about this, just that I have printed it off for my fridge door and am trying to chant it every time I go to get the milk...

5. Boden on sale!

Love Boden stuff but refuse to buy it without an offer code (not that you ever need to, just check Mumsnet first!) Toddler has a new bundle of gear for the warm weather due to the fact that he is smaller than his brother was at this age and they were born in different seasons (Husband despairs, I just like a valid reason to shop!) And here he is rocking one of the tshirts. Everything washes and wears really well (he does have a lot of Boden stuff handed down from Boy that looks almost new) and I love the traditional, classic styling. My boys only wear blue (don't ask!) which sometimes limits my options but Boden always comes through. Love!!

6. Boy's new teacher

God, the news that Boy's teacher was leaving at Easter made me spiral into a panic ridden sob fest. Luckily, his replacement is a STAR! She is calm and quiet, kind and thoughtful, inspirational and thorough. I like her a lot, and more importantly, so does Boy. In a few short weeks I have gone from dreading the transition to feeling sad he won't benefit from her skill set for a longer period! The irony!

And 7. Fabulous friends

It's not been an easy few weeks for this Mama. After a lot of introspection and contemplation, I think my low state of mind and fatigue is being caused by a combination of poor diet choices, hayfever season, tiredness due to Toddler dropping his daytime sleep, planning too much into my days to avoid down time (down time gives me time to think and thinking makes me melancholy... Unfortunately, being too busy also makes me blue, what larks!) and Toddler turning 2 (so long baby days, arrivederci infant boy, waaahh) Since only three of those factors are within my control, I need to turn my attention to those and roll with the others. Only then will my funk lift. Am grateful that I have such wonderful, supportive, caring girlfriends to carry me through the dark times and help me analyse what's causing it (this time) and what might help it bugger off faster. God bless girlfriends!

There you have it, seven of my favourite things this week that I'm grateful for and make me smile. 

We have a class birthday party tomorrow morning and then a family trip out to Weston Park to test out these new wheels. Nana is coming to meet us so we might sneak in a cheeky Beefeater for tea? (My idea of hell but Boy will be delirious!) Then a lovely lazy day on Sunday before another week of mayhem. 

Hope you all have a great weekend, whatever you have planned. Enjoy the sunshine xx

Heartache

Oh man. My heart is so sad this evening and I can't nail a thought down concretely enough to decide how I feel about all this. 

Boy's new teacher caught me after school today to let me know how well he's doing. She said some genuinely lovely things which made me so proud and happy and then, just as I couldn't puff my chest out any further, she said something that made me stop. 

'Oh, everyone warned me about X and Boy, told me that they were the 'rough' boys in my new class...'

Now. Correct me if I'm wrong but 

A) he's 4

B) he's a boy

C) he can be hands-on and tactile, but is not mean or aggressive

D) it may well be human nature to form opinions about young children, but it's unprofessional and downright wrong to project those opinions onto a new member of staff

I have done what I always do in this kind of situation. Naturally, I failed to respond in any way when it actually happened then (so far) have spent 4+ hours angsting about it. I have text the squad to gather wisdom and advice I know I can trust. I have drunk a glass of wine and googled 'homeschooling your summer born boy with violent tendencies...' And I've cried. 

The thing is, it sounded to me like members of staff have made a judgement about my small boy. And being labelled 'rough' doesn't exactly scream 'loveable', does it? 

To add to my heartache, this revelation comes in the same week when Boy sobbed into the bathroom mirror 'they call me silly, Mama, everyone calls me silly'. I'm assuming (hoping!) that he was referring to other children and not staff?! Ha!

I have the terribly English disease of wanting, needing, people to like me. In my 33 years I have wasted countless hours of my time and energy trying to achieve it, even when my heart was screaming at me 'but you don't even LIKE them, why do you CARE?' 

In life, we all come across people who don't like us FOR NO GOOD REASON and that's ok. It took me years to stumble upon this theory and even though I know it to be the truth, I struggle. I struggle with it when the person in question doesn't like ME. It never occurred to me the heartache I would go through when the person didn't like my BOY, my first born who has my heart!! That's my issue though, and I mustn't spiral into an emotional breakdown! 

Now obviously, I don't want my child sitting on peoples' heads and poking them with sticks but since I don't believe he does that on a day-to-day basis, I'm going to focus on the parts I can help with at home. I'm going to focus all my attention on his self-worth and strength of character. 

I don't want my sweet boy to spend fruitless hours trying to get people to change their minds like I did and I don't want my boy hurt/upset/confused over their decision. I want him to be confident and happy and so strong in his own identity that these types of angst don't even cross his mind, he merely accepts their (unfounded, ridiculous!) dislike of him and skips gaily on, with his crew, never to look back. 

I guess I just never expected to be dealing with this at 4.5 years old. I thought I'd got more time before friendship dramas and thoughtless, throwaway comments. 

Isn't that the mantra of motherhood, though? Oh shit, I thought I had more time. 

Sob!

You HAVE to see these...

OK, so I never name my children on here and I try hard not to show photos with their faces front-on...don't know why because a) I'm not a secret spy, b) no-one gives a flying f*ck who I am anyway and c) every photo I ever take is posted on my personal Facebook page so I can't claim privacy is a massive concern...

All that aside, I guess I enjoy the anonymity this blog gives me, to vent, to be honest, to attempt being 'funny'!! However, whilst keeping their faces out of the spotlight best I can, I really want to share some recent photos we've had done of the boys.

Louise Powell came to the house last Sunday and, well, she has captured some really beautiful moments that I am itching to get developed, printed onto canvas, splattered all over the walls of our forever home. The woman has a serious gift so if you're in the market for a wonderful photographer, check her out here!

Enjoy...

This is the one patch Husband lets them dig up!

Jungle explorer!!

Boy said 'take a photo of this, this is my triangle...', so bless her, she did?!

Toddler, raiding Boy's tool box!

Is there anything better than up to date photos of the ones you love?! Am off to spend a fortune on PhotoBox!!

Taking the plunge

Right. Every so often I get the urge to set myself a personal challenge. It can be health related, money related, anything really! Last week it was purging the wardrobes and utility room shelves in a massive spring clean, Lord knows how many times I've tried the whole 'take your vitamins with breakfast' malarkey (I am shit at this one), one month I tried to read more books (was better at this), another I went without shopping for 30 days (nailed it, then went berserk...!) and I was contemplating giving up caffeine.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha excuse me while I die laughing.

Basically, I see new months as perfect opportunities to 'better' myself in some way...and the beauty is that if it doesn't work I can jack it in in 30 short days ;-)

So I got to thinking about what I could tackle for the month of May. For the last few weeks I have had the biggest of mood slumps. Not only have I been tired and irritable during the day but some nights I have been crawling into bed at 8pm and sleeping straight through...and still waking up feeling like I have flu. Posh Mama thinks I need some blood tests doing (I'm inclined to agree with her so am putting them on the list...) but for now I have decided to cut out sugar.

I'm not entirely convinced my 'funk' is purely diet related as I've been suffering from an increase in anxiety as well but since it's something I'm conscious of I figured it's worth a punt. I am a bugger for reaching for something sweet whenever I have a spare 5 minutes at home...it's the quick energy fix or the comfort boost I need on a busy day and the slump I feel after the sugar wears off is so draining it's untrue. So yes, bye bye sugar!

I won't be giving up sugar entirely, mainly because once I started reading into it I realised that a) sugar is in everything and b) I'd soon starve. I also need to balance this challenge with the energy levels I need to run a house and raise two small children (no mean feat!) So basically, the rule of thumb is...no sweets, no chocolate, no cake, no biscuits...nothing that sugar is the MAIN ingredient of, I guess. I'm still eating bread and fruit and cereal etc... just cutting out blatantly obvious sugar. 

I must admit, this idea didn't spring into my mind totally of its own accord. I was reading 'Not Another Mummy Blog' this week and Alison's post just made me sit up and pay attention. I suppose I'd been putting it off under the guise of 'it's all too tricky and I'll have to spend a fortune on new foods and new equipment and ho hum, everything in moderation' but actually, the basic move of cutting out sugary treats made it seem all the more possible.

Today has been tricky and it's only day 1. The boys chose some rocky road treats to take to BFF's house (nom) and then Husband cracked open a packet of fruit pastilles once they were in bed. I physically had to leave the room!!

We shall how I get on for the rest of the week. Wish me luck!!

Pant free moments

Toddler was fully toilet trained before his second birthday and the entire thing was a breeze so I thought we were past the days of being 'pantless' around the house for quick and easy access to a potty. Apparently not. 

Earlier this evening he walked through to the snug where I was sitting on the floor, on hold to npower but with the phone plugged in so it didn't die (I'd been on hold for an hour!!), and was completely naked from the waist down. He said 'oh, hi Mama' and, obviously delighted at the novelty of finding me sat on the floor behind the sofa, decided to snuggle down and join me.

'Toddler', I asked, 'where are your pants and trousers?'

(And this is the bit that makes me laugh, he looked down at his legs and did a little jump, like he'd positively forgotten he was half naked?!)

 

'I d'no' he replied, and did a funny little shrug. 

Honestly, to be 2!