And so it starts....

I'm going to try and edit a pic a day and get my backlog sorted out, but firstly here's a pic just because.



It's not very often I'm caught on the other side of the camera - but BFS got me on the sly!

Photo's anyone?

Gosh BFS isn't wrong - I've just checked out my blog and there really is a famish by way of photo's...

I'm trying to work out when exactly I had the time to do all of the editing that I used to do as I really can't seem to find it anymore. Unless I completely ignore my whole family that is! Now with BB off to school all day, and LL in nursery for a couple of hours every morning I should have no excuse, but it appears that I have less and less time for what was my passion or more realistically my obsession. When BFS is at work I find I'm too tired in the evenings, and when he's home I would rather spend my time with him than at the pc in seperate rooms. I either need to move the pc or get the tv working in the playroom!

For the past two weeks I have an excuse - I busted a gut whilst BFS was away to decorate BB and CC's rooms in a hope to free up some quality time for when he was home. I lived and breathed painting and papering for 2 weeks solid (and I mean every waking hour that I wasn't feeding my boys or keeping them amused during their holidays. I even managed to make watching mummy paint whilst playing around her a novelty thing to do for stints!

The result - a shattered mum who probably isn't the best person to spen QT with anyway. Now there's an irony.....sorry BFS!

Where's the 99's mummy?

On a sunny day in summer this may be a common question to hear your 5 year old ask....but hearing it whilst snuggled at bedtime reading his story kinda threw me! He was pointing at a closed bracket symbol in the book and asking if it was the 99! Huh? I explained about brackets and how the words in the middle tell you a little extra information about what you're reading about when he asked where the 99's were?
I was very confused.....then he offered a touch of clarification when first he pointed out a question mark and then to some double inverted comma's at the start of a phrase I was reading and informed me that 'there were the 66's'....just as it registered he also clocked the elusive 99's at the end of the phrase.....

It's amazing how the small mind works. They really do say it as they see it!

CC's first tooth...

He had a more restless night last night and a chomp on the finger in the morning soon threw up the explanation. CC has finally cut his first tooth. A sliver of white can only be seen upon very close inspection - but it's definitely there! This may trigger the countdown to weaning off of the boob...

Splish Splash.....I was taking a bath!

BB decided tonight that he'd like a shower in 'Mummy's shower' so in his absence I decided to plonk CC in to the big bath with LL. Boy oh boy did he have fun.

It took me a good five minutes to determine if he was in fact okay as he just kept splashing the water with a spasmic rythmn with his arms. He had that gasping thing going on which babies can have when they are splashed a split second before they start to scream...but the scream never came! LL informed me that CC loved water being poured on his tummy so repeatedly scooped up the bath water in a cup and doused his little brother. I tried laying him down with only my hand under his head whilst I rinsed his hair and his legs took over the spasmic rythmn!




I got soaked, he got soaked, his brother got soaked and the floor got soaked - but who cared? Here was a little boy showing no fear of what must have been the equivalent of sitting under the niagara falls. Who could deny him of that?

Happy hols!

It's the 'Tattie picking' holidays and BFS has skulked back to work to leave me on my own with all of the tribe full time all day every day (you catch my drift?).

It has, however, been okay!

BB was in the very bad books after starting school on the wrong foot. He has been throwing tantrums at the slightest thing and is really pushing the boundaries (or to be more precise - his luck) with regards to how much he can get away with. It really hasn't been fun to be the parent who is taken aside - daily- at the school gate to be informed about how your eldest has been causing a disruption once again! It climaxed when BFS was informed that he had thrown his latest hissy fit in front of the local Minister and was causing such a disruption that the Head Mistress came in to see what the ruckus was about, only to be faced with his wrath and we almost received a call from the school to come and collect the said screaming child!

Anyways - he lost pretty much all of his treats. TV, stories at bedtime, and the biggy being that he was supposed to be going to the local toy shop to spend a birthday voucher. He didn't get to!

Since then he's been almost angelic. Very responsive to instructions about being good, and only hinting at throwing a wobbly. There have been a couple, but swift reminders of potential story losses have been enough to sort him out. You can tell he's really trying, and cautiously asks every evening if he can have his TV or stories. He's been getting lots of praise re: his good behaviour and in return he's been very pleasant company.

Yesterday we had a swift trip to the shops and whilst in the toy section he spotted a cracking speed boat which he spent ages admiring. Although we bought a couple of toys for his cousins (early xmas shopping) and did ask if he could get it. He was very good when told no. I could see he was gutted! Probably more for my guilt than anything else I treated him to a cookie cutter in the shape of a space rocket. It made his day, and he pestered me all the way home about when we could make some rocket cookies.

Today was a rainy/windy day and the kind perfect for baking! We pulled out a recipe book and together LL, BB and I made cookies in every shape we had cutters in! trains, cars, hearts, dolphins, circles, flowers, upsy daisy, iggle piggle and of course rocket ships! Sugar free too - they were sweetened with banana and a dash of maple syrup! Don't think they'll last very long though.....

.....and he's off!

CC is on the move!!

Amazingly when we were at a visit to Grandma A's he bum shuffled his way across the width of the room, and upon being turned round made his way back! I've only placed him down on the shagpile before, and that - I suppose - would be pretty restrictive so far as motion would be concerned for small beings who wish to shuffle forward with a free and easy movement!

He had clocked the cars that his big brothers were playing with and obviously wanted in on the action! It was done by stealth, under the guise of gaily bobbing up and down as though dancing to a rhythm in his own head. There was very slight propulsion with the bounce which brought him steadily in a forward motion.

He did look very pleased with himself.

I, however, was left gawping in amazement!

When exactly did I become a clean freak?

I've made it successfully through two weanings without much scarring, however this time the initial stages have been giving me the heebies!

CC celebrated his half year birthday last Monday with a tablespoon of baby rice mixed with some of mummy's finest.



He was suitably impressed, but also suitablty curious about the utensil which was being waved around in a most tempting manner in front of his face. At every opportunity he tried to grab it and direct it towards his mouth (obviously not realising that was where it was headed anyway!) and with each grab came the squidge of grainy slop being squeezed through his fingers. This ends up all over his face and anything else he grabs before I can get in there with a cloth. I particularly don't like the feeling of this all over me!

Since then his menu has consisted of:

Tue - more baby rice & boobjuice
Wed - babyrice, boobjuice and pear
Thu - pear & apple
Fri - apple & purple carrot (looked like a massacre!)




Sat - Weetabix & cows milk (brekkie) apple & butternut squash (lunch)
Sun - same as sat!

He has his first banana on monday which went down a treat. I had to use some to convince him to eat his weetabix on tuesday (and today!) he has now had the magic combination of banana and avocado. Always a winner!

Admittedly he is now getting a bit better with the tongue motion although I am still having to restrain his arms whilst feeding. It has been duly noted that BFS cunningly shyed away from any feeding duties whilst home and has planned it, I'm sure, that by the time he's finished this stint at work CC will pretty much have sussed the whole thing and he'll pick up from there citing that he can't understand what all of the fuss was about......