One week to go!

Next Monday I start my new job, at a completely new setting with new people and new children.

To say I am nervous is an understatement.

I am nervous about leaving my children all day at nursery, even though I know I am only a phone call away.

I am nervous about the drive to work and getting lost even though I have the route pretty much imprinted on my brain.

I am worried how I will find looking after other peoples children when I will be missing my own.

The nursery is lovely, and I have briefly met some of the staff which I think is the worst part for me.

I will be working with the Under Two age range, which is my favourite to be honest. I love watching how much they grow and learn within that small passage of time.

Today I took my eldest girl to her favourite café for a treat while my youngest was at nursery, it was so nice to be just us two, and get some precious time with her before next week.

I treated her to this gorgeous 1940s style hat from H&M which was just too cute to resist.

Modelling her new hat

I am really hoping to get more time with both my children independently this week and together, as we will hardly see each other when I start work.

We are really lucky that my husband finishes work quite early so my main positive is that the girls wont be in nursery until late in the evening, and it will be nice for them to have more Daddy time.

I am looking forward to contributing again to the household, finance wise. I feel my confidence has grown ten fold knowing that I will be a role model for my girls, earning money and looking after the house.

I just wish it wasn't coming round so fast!

A Rainy Saturday

I love lazy days staying in and keeping cosy from the rain.

 

Today has been one of those days.

 

Just a normal day with no plans and no where to be, is just utter bliss at the minute.

 

Snuggling up on the couch watching films under our favourite blankets.

 

Early baths and pyjamas on so we are cosy together.

 

I am really trying to make the most of these days before work begins,

 

Before I have only an hour before bedtime in the week to spend with my girls,

 

When weekends will be our only true time together.

 

Both girls have settled really well into childcare and I am so relieved.

 

But sad that someone else will be looking after them and their daily wants and needs.

 

I am however so lucky to have been off for almost 3 and a half years.

 

I have loved every minute of being a Stay at Home Mum,

 

These have been the best times of my life as a parent.

 

Soon it will be all go, so sit and pause a while..

 

Before the chaos ensues and time waits for no one.

Shopping Trip

My 3yr old and I nipped out for a few essentials this morning, and came back with 3 new books.

Faith is a bit of a bookworm, and adores being read too. She will sit with a book and make up a story from the pictures, or will make up short stories to tell us throughout the day.

I am always on the look out for new books for us to share, and I was really impressed with these 3 books we bought from Sainsbury's today.

New Books!

The books were reduced  to £1 each from £5.99 which is a great bargain.

My First Day is about a little girl starting at school and she loses her favourite rabbit but her new classmates help her find him.

My Family is Fantastic is about what children imagine their parents do as their job or when they aren't there, such as Daddy being a Superhero and Grandma being a Queen of a far off land.

Its My Party is about a little girl who doesn't want to share her birthday with another child.

They all have a reassuring tone and a moral behind the story such as learning to share or making new friends.

Just lovely books with really lovely pictures, they have been authored by Sainsbury's and illustrated by Julia Seal.

Lovely story books if your looking for something to pass the time on a rainy day or to introduce the idea of school to your children.

I'm a Mummy, Get Me Out Of Here!

Today I have really wanted a night out, I have felt this way for a long time now and it isn't going away!
 I absolutely adore my children, nothing will ever change there but sometimes every Mummy & Daddy needs time away to recoup and find themselves again.
I am starting a new job soon and I am really desperate for sometime just me and my hubby before I start as I know how much less we are going to be seeing of each other in a few weeks time.
To just be us and not Mummy & Daddy for a night, at the minute this seems all to impossible. Tonight my hubby is out with his little sister at a comedy night for his birthday and this weekend we are crazy busy again, I would settle for a coffee out somewhere just half a hour from the madness of the day. But so far this hasn't happened.
I think tomorrow I will pull in the big guns and ask someone to have the girls for an hour so we can enjoy a coffee without worrying about the girls, or is it time to pick them up from various childcare settings.

Time for yourselves and time as a couple is so vital when parenting as you are giving your whole self each and every day to a little beautiful person who is so demanding of your time and attention that everything else is just blurred into the background. I love my little family with all my heart, and sometimes we forget as parents that in order to love someone else we need to love ourselves first. If we are feeling low or lacking in self confidence, (I am feeling this a lot lately) then our children and people around us pick up on it and it affects them.

I am not claiming to be on top of my game every day, far from it but I think sometimes I feel so much more refreshed when I have had a little time away. It doesn't even have to be a full day, just a couple of hours and I am ready to start over with my day or my thoughts. In a few weeks our lives are going to be turned upside down, and the pace of our usual laid back lifestyle will be completely changed.

I am looking forward to savouring these last lazy few weeks with my family, and hopefully a coffee or two with my hubby in peace.

Book Review - Wake Up Do, Lydia Lou

A few weeks ago I was given a few children's books to review, this is the first review of the collection we were so kindly sent.

The book is called Wake Up Do, Lydia Lou and is by Julia Donaldson who is the author of some brilliant children's books such as The Gruffalo and Sharing A Shell.

This is a collection  that has been done in collaboration with Karen George, Freddie and the Fairy is also available.

I was quite excited to say the least at being able to delve into a new Julia Donaldson book, as we love them in our house. They are always the first picked at nap times and my girls love the bright colourful pictures.
I was however really disappointed with this book, its about a little girl who is fast asleep and a ghost brings a whole herd of animals into to wake her up and make her scream. My daughter currently doesn't know about ghosts and monsters so she was a bit puzzled and started asking questions about ghosts etc. Not great for a 3yr old, especially for just before bed.

The pictures are cute and nice to look at, with all the different animals and baby helping the ghost to wake up Lydia.

I can totally understand if a child does suffer from nightmares then this book would be great as Lydia Lou doesn't scream at the end of the book but laughs at the ghosts etc. trying to wake her up.

My daughter has been quite sheltered from things such as ghosts or monsters so this book did worry her a little, and so it has only been read a couple of times. This is quite disappointing as I know how much we usually love Julia Donaldson and her wide range of children's books.

I think this book would be better suited for older children who are maybe struggling with bad dreams, or worrying about the monster in the wardrobe.

The Dummy

When F was born she sucked her wrist which she did until she was about 18months old, where it just became too sore for her to continue. My Mum had to fashion a boxing glove to stop her sucking her wrist and allow it to heal.

A few months ago we were told by our dentist to get rid of my 3yr olds dummy, we had already been talking about doing this but just hadn't got round to it.

We had tried previously on Christmas Eve, leaving her dummy out for Father Christmas. Unfortunately she was ill in the night and so we gave it her back, our Christmas day was spent eating curry and chips whilst dosing F up with Calpol.

This attempt really wasn't at the right time!

Anyway we went for it as hubby is off work for a few days and it just seemed the right time, we talked to her about if beforehand and she seemed ok with it. I think this was mainly because we said we would take her to the toy shop for a treat!

We took her to bed as normal and kept the routine all the same so as not to have too much change all at once, F settled ok at first but then was up until around 9pm asking for her dummy and getting upset. Hubby told her that her Aunty Ruth was going to take the dummy for the children in Africa which the charity she works for looks after, this is the only thing that settled her!

The night went ok until about 4am when she was on and off until we got up about half six. F was very proud of herself and the staff at nursery gave her a sticker for ditching the dummy. After nursery we took her to Toys R Us and after being utterly blown away by the price of a plastic doll, we stumbled across a playhouse.

We didn't set out to spend that much but I think of this as more of an investment than paying £30 for a doll that will only entertain for 5 minutes.

We are hoping to get it all set up today so they can have a full day of playhouse fun.
F did really well last night, she was upset again for about half an hour then settled and slept right through, and awoke again very proud of herself.

I am really pleased as I was so worried about removing her dummy as its her only comfort she really loves, but I think waiting those extra few months has really helped. I just don't think she was ready to give it up at Christmas.

We did consider getting rid of our youngest daughters dummy as she is 17 months now, but I think she is just a bit too little yet. It is only used at naptimes and not during the day so hasn't affected her speech so far.
A is a lot less independent when it comes to being comforted she always wanted a cuddle whilst F would rather self soothe.

Overall I am really pleased we went for it, and even more pleased with how proud F is of herself.

New Job

A lot of changes have been going on during the last few weeks, firstly the most stressful trying to find a new job, and then organising childcare its all been a bit hectic.

I am pretty excited about starting my new job, as I feel it is something just for me even though I am looking after other peoples children, I really feel that bit more independent already. Not that I haven't loved being at home with our two girls, it will be nice to be earning and adding to the household once again.

Before having children I was a Nursery Nurse and I am returning to this again which may at the beginning feel like a busman's holiday but I honestly cannot wait. I have met some of the children briefly and the staff are really lovely, which makes it all so much easier.

Finding childcare has been a real issue for me, mainly as I will be working shifts so my start times will vary each week but luckily my family all live pretty close and hubby finishes work quite early so can pickup, which makes me feel better as the girls wont have too longer a day.

My youngest is going to a different nursery than my eldest due to issues that I have had there. I am looking into my eldest hopefully changing to where my youngest girl will be going as its just a much better setting and a higher standard of education. At the moment judging by my girls summer term report, I don't feel like she is being *pushed* enough. I am in no way a pushy parent but I do feel in some areas she does need a bit more encouragement.
I don't think being a nursery nurse helps, as I know how the curriculum works and what my daughter is capable of, but her learning journey currently shows no real progression since April. I know how far she has come in those months but the staff do not seem to be observing and recording these changes.

I think when she starts at nursery school in September it will really give her the extra boost she needs.

I am really hoping this will all be sorted in these next few days so I can really enjoy these last few weeks at home before starting work in September.

Now I am off to snuggle my girls!