Chalk and Cheese

My two boys are like chalk and cheese.

My eldest son is quiet (mostly), gentle, sensitive and aware of people's emotions, kind and has always been relatively easy to discipline.

My youngest son is the exact opposite. He is loud and rough, and mischievous. Don't get me wrong - he loves a cuddle and is very much a mommy's boy, but he is much more rough and tumble.

Today, we went to do shopping - as unfortunately, everyone has to do. I know, I know, shop online... That would be fine; except I like choosing my own fruit, vegetables and meat. And also like to find the odd bargain! And, for some reason, we always tend to get very odd substitutions - baked beans instead of apples. Totally makes sense...

Anyway... so Big P calmly sits in the trolley and then decides that he would rather stroll along besides the trolley, helping me. Fabulous!

Little P on the other hand, as he is only a little toddler and cannot be trusted to walk sensibly around a shop; alternates between being held and sat in the trolley, while I find food to placate him with. (Yes, I am one of 'those' mothers - oops!).

When Little P is not being placated with food, he is screeching like (as my friend so aptly put it) an Orc from Lord of the Rings. It is the most ear shattering, soul destroying and brain numbing thing you have ever heard. Just the type of thing you want to constantly hear when you are trying to quickly do some grocery shopping...

And believe it or not - something I have no control over. No amount of asking nicely, offering of rewards, ignoring, talking sternly, or shouting back works... We have just about tried everything. I hear it might be related to his desire to learn to talk, but who knows...

What I always find shocking though, is other people (a lot of whom have/ have had children - they were obviously those angelic types) and their reactions to a parent trying their hardest to control their unruly, mischievous or just curious child. 

From people's looks and comments today, and while dealing with a child who didn't want to co-operate (imagine that!); I very nearly had my own child-like melt-down of bursting into tears, leaving my fully laden trolley and running out of the shop to hide in my car. Oh, to be a child...

Parenting is hard enough as it is, and everyone needs some support and kindness from time to time. 

Kalli x

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Rain, rain go away...

With miserable weather being a relative constant in London, it is always a good idea to have tons of back up plans. We seem to actually really enjoy our rainy days in, but they can get a little monotonous after a few days... Here are 10 great indoor toddler activities, to tyre your little one out. Remember, you can have fun in even the smallest house.

10 - Put a large piece of fabric or a plastic rubbish bag (cut open) on the floor - set up paint, brushes, sponges and different papers. Let your child really get into the painting - using their hands and feet. Make sure they are dressed for mess - a bath is easy enough to remedy any excess dirt!

9 - Get some cool colouring in books, and sit and colour together. Pointing out the colours of the crayons and pictures, shapes and numbers. Teach your child to write their own name too.

8 - Get coloured paper, stickers, crayons, glitter and pictures. Make cards for granny and grampa, Father's Day, birthdays, etc.

7 - Make some playdough. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salt

1 cup water

1 Tbsp oil

2 tsp cream of tartar

Food colouring (drops)

1 cup flour

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a pan and stir.  Cook over low heat, stirring until a ball forms. Add food colouring and mix thoroughly until desired colour. Cool and store in covered container. Hours of fun!

6 - Make some popcorn, and some hot chocolate. Get a cuddly blanket and let you little one chose their favourite movie. Have a cinema day!

5 - Play a fun session of hide and seek.

4 - Have a treasure hunt. Hide a sweet or a favourite toy. Draw up a map or clues, and spend hours 'searching' for the treasure.

3 - Bake! Get the kids involved. Kids love helping, and getting messy - so put on an apron, and get messy in the kitchen. Make simple cookies or cupcakes, get them to help you with mixing, or rolling or anything that requires them to get their hands dirty. Or you could make lunch together - mini pizza's are amazing!

2 - Build a fort (using chairs, sofa's, duvets or sheets, and pillows) or pitch a tent in your living room. Make a picnic, and grab some books and toys. Spend the day 'living outdoors'.

1 - Dress warmly, grab your umbrella and wellies, and go splashing in the puddles.

Rainy days can be super fun... But sometimes it's nice when the rain just comes 'back another day' rather!

Baby to Toddler

Oh my word, have we had such a transformation in the last few days. My little one has just turned three, and all of a sudden, has developed into a proper little boy - he is FASCINATED by yucky boy things (snails, stretchy skeletons, daddy's playstation games, mud, etc) and has become such a daredevil - bouncing on the bed, and falling off of it; going on the swing - something he hated as a child; and jumping and splashing in the bath (and almost drowning himself), two week after telling me 'Mommy, I don't like baff(th)ing, get my out'. He has also become so much cheekier. I asked him to get ready for lunch time, and he come back with a bag of sweets that he got out of the cupboard and said ' No mommy, I think it is sweetie time'.

I love the fact that he has become more confident and more sure of his own place in this world. This said, our naughty corner has never been used so much before... :)

Potty Training...

We have been potty training for about three weeks, and while I think we have mastered it now - he goes to the potty without being asked, and has very few accidents; it was not as easy as I initially thought. There were stages that I was tempted to go back to nappies, they was a stage I was tempted to see if I could find a potty training boot camp and there were days that I just wanted to leave home.

But perseverance paid off; and after many hours of sitting in the bathroom with him, after many hours of nagging, he seems to have the hang of it. I definitely do not think that potty training is for sissies. 

What worked for us, was that we tried a variety of techniques. We went cold turkey from the beginning - removing nappies and only using them for sleep time. He was in underpants for the rest of the time. I put the potty in the lounge for the first week, and asked him every five minutes if he needed to go. About every 30 minutes, I would put him on the potty and get him to sit there to see if he needed it. We did this until he could tell when he needed to go. We sometimes used pull ups for trips to the shops etc (we made it clear that his pull ups were not nappies, but another type of underpants) - I think it is terrible for a potty training child to be embarrassed by an accident in public; and we would ask every once in a while if he needed to go. He would always come home dry, and in his own time he asked to go out in underpants. The potty was slowly moved into the bathroom, and it became 'exciting' for him to go to the bathroom together. We still have to ask or remind him sometimes, if we know it has been a while since his last trip to the loo, but he is also aware now of when he needs to go.

We spent a lot of money on all sorts of toilet training accessories, we have two toilet seats, a potty and a portable potty (with disposable bags) but it was worth it. If you are only able to afford one product, I would HIGHLY recommend a portable potty, as you can use it as a toilet seat, a potty and it folds down to go everywhere with you!

Hope this helps! :)

Baby Food

Simple, easy and super healthy. Home made baby food is way simpler than you expect, and you don't need that much time or fancy equipment.

What you need:

a few ice trays
cling film
fruit and veggies
a blender/ food processor

With a 6 month old baby (/a baby that has just started weaning), the idea is that you start them off slowly. You can start with one or more fruit/veggie at a time, and change every week to give them a variety of different tastes and textures. Obviously some they will like and some they won't.

So here is an idea of how I started out. In the beginning I started with about two 'ice blocks' for meals and then add more as his hunger increased. I puréed carrots and peas, for one weeks veggie tray; and apple and pear for the week's fruit tray. Then for the next week, it was carrots and potatoes and pumpkin for veggie tray; and apple, mango, and pear for the fruit tray. Slowly adding different vegetables and fruits. Try everything. My little guy loved asparagus, even though we didn't.

When they are a little older, shred some chicken, fish and meat into the weekly vegetable trays. And add some yoghurt in the fruit trays. And don't purée so finely. This is how you can experiment with textures and tastes.

The best thing about putting the purée into ice block holders, is that you pop out how ever many cubes you need, warm them up (preferably on the stove) and it's ready.

So how you actually prepare the purée: Boil chopped veggies/ fruit - you can season, if you like. Remember your child is used to tastes that you like, they ate what you did for nine months. Once the fruit and vegetables are soft, strain them and blend until they are the desired texture. Then teaspoon into ice trays, allow to cool and cover with cling wrap. Put in the freezer.

This is also a great thing to have in your fridge when you have a toddler, you can pop puréed vegetables into their dinner without them knowing. Or they have 'yoggie pops' in the fridge when it's hot. Or if they bump their mouth, they have a yummy ice pack!

Hope this helps!
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