07 Monday Jan 2013
Posted in Behaviour, Social media
Tags
I have to admit to something now which may cause raised eyebrows and a few grunts of judgment. I’m sorry. I tried to stop it, but it would appear it is too late. My toddler is addicted to Facebook.
There, I said it.
She accidentally discovered Facebook on my phone the other day, closing down Twitter due to the lack of pictures. I think she was searching for YouTube but can’t be sure. At the tender age of two and a half she is a social media queen. I hate it. Continue reading »
28 Wednesday Nov 2012
Posted in Work
Tags
.motherhood, being a working mum, breakfast radio show, early shift, lack of sleep, Parenting, radio, sleep
The deepest of sleeps. My face is buried in the warm softness of my pillow and my mind is far, far away. Dreaming.
I wake before I hear it. The gentle buzz of the vibration on my phone is enough to stir me from the depths of my fuzz. I reach quickly for the phone before it goes off and rouses the rest of the house. Experience has taught me this.
I roll over, instantly irritated by my snoring husband, fast asleep next to me. Huffing and puffing I pad to the bathroom, avoiding the creaky floorboards on the way. I tiptoe past the toddler’s lair, desperate not to wake her as I brush my teeth and wash my face.
I look dead. Continue reading »
22 Thursday Nov 2012
Posted in Play
Tags
.motherhood, development, music, obsessions, Parenting, patience, toddlers
My daughter has always been a bit of a fanatic. At two years old she has many obsessions; some last days, some last months and some are over in minutes. She loves what she loves and hates what she hates. She gives objects of love and hate equal energy. It’s tiring.
First it was shoes:
Then it was hats: Continue reading »
15 Thursday Nov 2012
Tags
Christmas, development, Father Christmas, fears, Parenting, phobias, scared, toddlers
“NO!” She shouts as she pulls the hat down over her eyes. “I SCARED!”
My toddler is startled by a loud duck on the lake. She runs towards me, arms outstretched, as she begs to be carried away from the source of her fear.
Two days later, a visit to a nursery sees a lady drag out a hoover. “NO!” My daughter whimpers. “I SCARED OF THE HOOVER!” And she pulls at my arms, attempting to wrap her legs around me as I walk.
Later that night, as CBeebies is turned on for the regular pre-teatime juggle of cooking, stroppy toddler distraction and washing / cleaning / wiping multi-tasking…. “NO!” My two year old screams from the living room. “I SCARED OF MR WHOOPS!” She cowers under a blanket, occasionally peeping out as Grandpa In My Pocket blares from the television. Continue reading »
11 Sunday Nov 2012
Posted in Play
Tags
crafting, family time, grumpiness, Parenting, play, toddlers, weekends
Do you ever have those weekends where you feel like you haven’t sat down once, but you’ve achieved nothing? That’s pretty much what this one’s been like for us.
Working the hours that I do means housework doesn’t get a look in Monday to Friday. But the long hours also mean a nice, comfortable, non-student grubby house is even more important to me. When I’m on downtime I want to be able to relax in a clean and cosy space, not one covered in hairy toast crusts, dirty washing and mouldy dust.
As anyone with young kids will tell you, it’s impossible to get stuff done when they’re around. The NLM was intent on trying out a new shopping app and downloading a whole series of new recipes to try (he gets his kicks where he can) so I was left to try and sort ten loads of washing while a grumpy, poorly toddler hung off my leg. Continue reading »
08 Thursday Nov 2012
Posted in Speech
“Then cow said MOO! And monkey hit cow. The end.”
I listened to my daughter reading her waterproof books in the bath this evening. She was terribly grumpy and the story she made up reflected that. Each character in her fictional world came to a sticky end. It made me smile.
Every day my daughter – who’ll be two and a half at Christmas (how did that happen?!) – reveals a little more of her vocabulary. As she strings sentences together I get to know her in a new way. This child of mine, who I thought I couldn’t love any more, just squeezes my heart that bit tighter with every new revelation.
I love her interpretations of things at the moment. I can almost see the cogs in her brain whirring as she tries to fathom basic concepts and ideas.
“Where Daddy?” She asks when we return home from the childminder’s. “Working,” She answers for me. “Daddy working. Daddy teaching in school.” This is her answer for whenever he is out of the house, even if he’s at the end of the garden. It’s like she can’t quite get her head round the fact he may leave the comfort of our living room and her side for anything other than this mysterious “school” she’s heard so much about. Continue reading »
06 Tuesday Nov 2012
Posted in Family
Tags
Bonfire Night, children, family, love, Parenting, relationships, relatives, traditions
Family live too far away.
There should be a law that states all mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters should live within 45 minutes of each other. The law should only be waivered in extreme circumstances, like if the family involved can’t stand each other and would rather live on opposite sides of the universe than a relatively short car journey away.
I don’t belong in that camp. I love my family – like them even. I bicker with my sister, who is also my best friend in the whole wide world. I laugh at my mother and father, who are also (they’d hate me saying this) my inspiration and – as an adult – people who I love to spend time with. I also love my in-laws and have found two new brothers and two new sisters in my marriage to the (self-proclaimed) Northern Love Machine. Continue reading »
29 Monday Oct 2012
Posted in Walking
“Is she walking properly yet?” My friend asked me this weekend. She hadn’t seen my two year old wobbly footed daughter since March, when she was still resolutely stuck on her behind.
When Frog toddled and then ran into the room, my friend’s question was answered. “Wow,” she said, “It’s like she’s a different child”.
Just seven months ago my daughter was a toddler of the non-toddling variety. We were in the midst of appointment after appointment to get to the issue behind her inability to walk. Hip dysplasia was ruled out, hypermobility was ruled in, along with flat feet. Continue reading »
23 Tuesday Oct 2012
Posted in Family, Motherhood, Work
When I was pregnant I lost count of the number of times I came across a certain myth. “Your career ends when you become a mum” was right up there with “babies sleep through the night by the age of six months” and “if your tummy sticks out at the front, you’re definitely carrying a boy”.
I became pregnant with my daughter when I was 26 years old. It was a planned pregnancy, despite what many people assumed. I was not married. We did not have a mortgage. I had not reached the “right” stage in my career to “take a baby break”. Continue reading »
22 Monday Oct 2012
Posted in Sleep
Tags
… your toddler is throwing a party on the landing, after pretending to be asleep for an hour and a half.
Yeah, that. Continue reading »