So my 4-year-old son has come so far in the last 2 months since starting school. A year ago he wasn't toilet trained, still drank out of a baby bottle at night, threw 'terrible 2' tantrums even though he was 3 and most of all, could hardly speak 2 words.
He was recommended for speech therapy, but due to the lengthy waiting list, by the time he actually got offered an appointment he could speak so much more that they decided he no longer needed it and signed him off.
Toilet training, ditching the baby bottle and the tantrums soon wore off, nursery was working wonders.
However, since starting school, my 'baby' is no longer my baby! He's coming home showing me 'bar models!' Yes, the first time I heard him say this I did think I had misheard him! Apparently this is how they teach them to add up.
He's talking about diagraphs and innovation and that we must never give up!
He's grasped the alphabet and writing the letters, and according to his teacher has a natural understanding of maths. I'm considering that may be he's not actually my child!
However, his latest little gem that is keeping my giggling, is as follows. He has now learnt to pronounce 'c' and 'g' properly. He announced during dinner the other evening that he knew what 'P I G' spelt = pig! I said well done, and then realised he had pronounced the 'g' properly, so naturally got him to repeat 'pig' about 100 times! Although, when pronouncing pig and other words such as this, there is emphasis on the 'g' so it sounds like 'pigger!' 7-year-old then pipes up 'Mummy what's pigger!' I explain to her that he's saying pig of course and then think to myself that I should may be get him to pronounce 'bug!' Do you get it??!! But I don't think I can deal with the question that will naturally follow from 7-year-old!
In attempting to move him on a bit I've tried to help him pronounce 'l' and 'v.' It's not gone brilliantly well! For 'low' he now spells it 'la la la la o w' then proceeds to say 'wow' instead! And for volcano he says 'v v v' and follows it with pronouncing 'holcano!'
We'll get there, he's done so well, and remembering he's 11 months younger than a lot of them in his class just makes his achievements bigger somehow.
xx
Tuesday, 28 November 2017
Saturday, 18 November 2017
Marriage is.......................
Over the years, friends, new and old, may ask where did you 2 meet? How did he propose? Where did you get married? How old are your children?
All these things are for sure the events that stick in your mind and are your memories forever, they are the story telling, but they are not what marriage is.
Marriage is ........................ everything, from the moment we met to now, and (I hope) the rest of forever!
I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now if it wasn't for marriage. In case you're wondering, that is sitting by myself on a Saturday evening, kids in bed, husband out, watching George and Larry Lamb tour Turkey on the telly, rock and roll!
Marriage is the every day everything. The hovering on a Tuesday morning whilst the kids are at school, going to work, school runs, having lunch with my Mum, optician appointments, cinema trips, coffee breaks, literally everything from the mundane normality to the bigger moments such as the actual wedding and having the babies!
So, I think I'll answer the questions in the top 2 lines now, for those wishing to know!
In my Grandma's garden in 2001.
On Valentines Day whilst away for the weekend in Oxford in 2005.
Red Rock Canyon just outside Las Vegas.
7 and 4!!
And finally, marriage is, hoping that when my husband gets home, he can explain why every time I decide to watch a whole episode of Midsomer Murders it's always the episode where Martine McCutcheon gets squashed by a giant cheese!! 😂😂
Happy Saturday everyone! xx
All these things are for sure the events that stick in your mind and are your memories forever, they are the story telling, but they are not what marriage is.
Marriage is ........................ everything, from the moment we met to now, and (I hope) the rest of forever!
I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now if it wasn't for marriage. In case you're wondering, that is sitting by myself on a Saturday evening, kids in bed, husband out, watching George and Larry Lamb tour Turkey on the telly, rock and roll!
Marriage is the every day everything. The hovering on a Tuesday morning whilst the kids are at school, going to work, school runs, having lunch with my Mum, optician appointments, cinema trips, coffee breaks, literally everything from the mundane normality to the bigger moments such as the actual wedding and having the babies!
So, I think I'll answer the questions in the top 2 lines now, for those wishing to know!
In my Grandma's garden in 2001.
On Valentines Day whilst away for the weekend in Oxford in 2005.
Red Rock Canyon just outside Las Vegas.
7 and 4!!
And finally, marriage is, hoping that when my husband gets home, he can explain why every time I decide to watch a whole episode of Midsomer Murders it's always the episode where Martine McCutcheon gets squashed by a giant cheese!! 😂😂
Happy Saturday everyone! xx
Wednesday, 15 November 2017
Statements of Fact Part 2
Be kind to everyone because you can never tell who has lost an argument with a 4-year-old today!
Silence is golden, unless you're a parent, then it's suspicious!
Hell has no fury like a 4-year-old whose sandwiches have been cut into squares when he wanted triangles!
If you have 1 child then you're a parent. If you have more than 1 child that makes you a referee, nurse, taxi driver, waitress, counsellor etc!!
A 4-year-old takes half hour to put on shoes but can delete apps, phone Australia and text someone in 20 seconds!
We are all braver, stronger and smarter than we think.
Sometimes my 'Mummy' voice is so loud that the neighbours put their shoes on immediately!
Everything in my life has something to do with coffee (and tea)!!
Finally, 1 of my favourite quotes from my favourite US TV series (second of course to 'give me coffee and no-one gets hurt!) - 'people can live 100 years without ever doing anything, so make it count.'
xx
Silence is golden, unless you're a parent, then it's suspicious!
Hell has no fury like a 4-year-old whose sandwiches have been cut into squares when he wanted triangles!
If you have 1 child then you're a parent. If you have more than 1 child that makes you a referee, nurse, taxi driver, waitress, counsellor etc!!
A 4-year-old takes half hour to put on shoes but can delete apps, phone Australia and text someone in 20 seconds!
We are all braver, stronger and smarter than we think.
Sometimes my 'Mummy' voice is so loud that the neighbours put their shoes on immediately!
Everything in my life has something to do with coffee (and tea)!!
Finally, 1 of my favourite quotes from my favourite US TV series (second of course to 'give me coffee and no-one gets hurt!) - 'people can live 100 years without ever doing anything, so make it count.'
xx
Tuesday, 7 November 2017
Why?
Why? When you decide to work a different day do the kids decide they don't want to go to school. Followed by texts from the school within in 2 hours of being at work saying one child has had first aid administered!
Why? When you present child with dinner, after hours of complaining they're hungry, do they take over an hour eating it!
Why? There's yoghurt on the bottom of my jeans! And icing in my handbag!!
Why? 4-year-old carries a stick around everywhere like some sort of retriever!
Why? 7-year-old says 'I don't get it' to everything I say but apparently she's very intelligent at school!
Why? As soon as you tell someone that your child is sleeping a lot better or that they haven't been ill for ages, do they then wake you up once an hour worse than a new born, and catch the next available cold/bug going around!
Why? When the normal child insomniac in the house decides to sleep properly, does the other child decide to have a bad night!
Why? Do I not understand my 7-year-old's English homework!
Why? Every time you dare to think everything might just be normal for 5 minutes, does the universe decide to throw your entire day/week/life into complete chaos!
So I guess it's just 'Murphy's Law' to put it politely!
xx
Why? When you present child with dinner, after hours of complaining they're hungry, do they take over an hour eating it!
Why? There's yoghurt on the bottom of my jeans! And icing in my handbag!!
Why? 4-year-old carries a stick around everywhere like some sort of retriever!
Why? 7-year-old says 'I don't get it' to everything I say but apparently she's very intelligent at school!
Why? As soon as you tell someone that your child is sleeping a lot better or that they haven't been ill for ages, do they then wake you up once an hour worse than a new born, and catch the next available cold/bug going around!
Why? When the normal child insomniac in the house decides to sleep properly, does the other child decide to have a bad night!
Why? Do I not understand my 7-year-old's English homework!
Why? Every time you dare to think everything might just be normal for 5 minutes, does the universe decide to throw your entire day/week/life into complete chaos!
So I guess it's just 'Murphy's Law' to put it politely!
xx
Wednesday, 1 November 2017
Our Halloween
I'm slightly delayed doing my blog post this week due to being away last week and then getting back to normality on Monday. There's the normal returning to work/school after a holiday that nobody likes, and then there's this particular Monday, that's a whole different ball game!
4-year-old, who had had a nasty cough during half term, didn't sleep past 4am on Monday morning, therefore neither did I! He then, for the first time, didn't want to go to school. Kept saying his mouth hurt. After faffing about for ages, trying to decide whether to send him to school or not, finally I try 'tactics.' I say to him, 'if your mouth hurts that much we'll have to go to the dentist.' All of a sudden he decides he should get dressed for school!
He's still a bit subdued going into school, and big sister helps him go in with all his baggage. I wonder all day if I will get 'the call' from the school sending him home. This never occurs. Therefore, yesterday (Tuesday and Halloween) I am relaxed in the fact that both children are at school and I can go back to normal.
I go round town and pick up a few Halloween things (as we are not organised this year!). Sweets for the trick or treaters, silly masks for the kids, silly balloons for the kids, silly head bands for the kids! You get the idea!
I go off to have lunch with my Mum as normal for Tuesdays, and 2 bites into my sandwich, 'school calling!' 4-year-old has been sick.
I race back, and by the time I've got to the school it's less than an hour until normal pick up time anyway and they tell me 4-year-old is actually ok now but nevertheless needs to go home due to the sickness. Ideally he should be kept off school for 48 hours to prevent any spread of germs.
However I speak to the teacher who tells me he was only sick because he was coughing so much during PE, and although policy is to keep them off for 48 hours, it can be my choice whether to keep him at home for the full 2 days. I decide to compromise with the school and keep him off just for 1 day just for caution. 4-year-old is returned to me bright as a button, 'happy as Larry', and asking for chocolate! Also, just to prove he was absolutely fine, our neighbours call round soon after I arrive home with 4-year-old, offering little chocolate pumpkins for the kids as a Halloween gift, 4-year-old thunders towards the front door grabbing the chocolate and stuffing it in his face, I'm not even sure he removed the wrapping first!
So after going back to the school again 40 minutes later to get 7-year-old, and bribing both kids with the thought of Halloween treats to get them showered/bathed, we finally embark on Halloween.
Our Halloween, consisted of 7-year old wearing all the silly bits I'd bought her, and posing for the camera, and looking out the window for trick or treaters. 4-year-old, although fine, didn't want to wear his mask, head band or even hold the ghost balloon! Refused to drink from a straw with a pumpkin on and wouldn't pose for the camera. The only bit he seemed to enjoy was answering the door to the trick or treaters. He was shouting 'trick or treat' at them, not sure he's quite got the idea! I invested in 3 bags of sweets (in past years we've needed more than this), and only 2 lots of kids turned up (total of about 7 sweets given out!!)
So I think Halloween was a bit of a 'flop' really in our house! Below 1 picture of 7-year-old to prove that my efforts to buy them some Halloween silly fun things didn't go completely wasted!
4-year-old, who had had a nasty cough during half term, didn't sleep past 4am on Monday morning, therefore neither did I! He then, for the first time, didn't want to go to school. Kept saying his mouth hurt. After faffing about for ages, trying to decide whether to send him to school or not, finally I try 'tactics.' I say to him, 'if your mouth hurts that much we'll have to go to the dentist.' All of a sudden he decides he should get dressed for school!
He's still a bit subdued going into school, and big sister helps him go in with all his baggage. I wonder all day if I will get 'the call' from the school sending him home. This never occurs. Therefore, yesterday (Tuesday and Halloween) I am relaxed in the fact that both children are at school and I can go back to normal.
I go round town and pick up a few Halloween things (as we are not organised this year!). Sweets for the trick or treaters, silly masks for the kids, silly balloons for the kids, silly head bands for the kids! You get the idea!
I go off to have lunch with my Mum as normal for Tuesdays, and 2 bites into my sandwich, 'school calling!' 4-year-old has been sick.
I race back, and by the time I've got to the school it's less than an hour until normal pick up time anyway and they tell me 4-year-old is actually ok now but nevertheless needs to go home due to the sickness. Ideally he should be kept off school for 48 hours to prevent any spread of germs.
However I speak to the teacher who tells me he was only sick because he was coughing so much during PE, and although policy is to keep them off for 48 hours, it can be my choice whether to keep him at home for the full 2 days. I decide to compromise with the school and keep him off just for 1 day just for caution. 4-year-old is returned to me bright as a button, 'happy as Larry', and asking for chocolate! Also, just to prove he was absolutely fine, our neighbours call round soon after I arrive home with 4-year-old, offering little chocolate pumpkins for the kids as a Halloween gift, 4-year-old thunders towards the front door grabbing the chocolate and stuffing it in his face, I'm not even sure he removed the wrapping first!
So after going back to the school again 40 minutes later to get 7-year-old, and bribing both kids with the thought of Halloween treats to get them showered/bathed, we finally embark on Halloween.
Our Halloween, consisted of 7-year old wearing all the silly bits I'd bought her, and posing for the camera, and looking out the window for trick or treaters. 4-year-old, although fine, didn't want to wear his mask, head band or even hold the ghost balloon! Refused to drink from a straw with a pumpkin on and wouldn't pose for the camera. The only bit he seemed to enjoy was answering the door to the trick or treaters. He was shouting 'trick or treat' at them, not sure he's quite got the idea! I invested in 3 bags of sweets (in past years we've needed more than this), and only 2 lots of kids turned up (total of about 7 sweets given out!!)
So I think Halloween was a bit of a 'flop' really in our house! Below 1 picture of 7-year-old to prove that my efforts to buy them some Halloween silly fun things didn't go completely wasted!
Tuesday, 24 October 2017
Diagraphs and Innovation!
Help! I'm no longer bringing up babies! My children are growing up too fast! My (only just) 4-year-old is talking about diagraphs and yesterday mentioned the word innovation! So I guess it's clear we're definitely in the Primary school years now!
I remember when my daughter was 4 and came home from school repeating 'we must always endeavour and we must never give up!' A sign she wasn't going to be 4 forever!
How have they gone from this
to this is about 5 seconds!
I am now quite used to them both being at school all day. It's nice to actually get conversations in with people without constant interruptions, and half term this week seems to have come around so fast. However, I do feel like I've blinked and missed it a bit.
When I had my son, second child, I was determined to make the most of the baby stage, enjoy it, because they're not babies for long, just as everyone had said when I had my first child. With the first child you're so exhausted and I personally found it such a shock to the system, that you don't necessarily enjoy it (not true for everyone obviously).
I still call my son 'baby' even though babies don't talk about diagraphs!
My daughter, when walking back from the Chinese takeaway with me on Friday evening, I said 'I don't know' to something but I said it fast (so that it didn't sound quite like I don't know) she questioned what I said, when I explained she said 'oh yes Mummy that's a contraction!' I think we have different ideas to what a contraction is!! She meant it in grammatical terms (I had squeezed the words I don't know together).
I was left wondering who was the adult!
This was followed by my son, repeating numbers back in Mandarin! The whole school had been learning about Shanghai apparently and my daughter was asking me what numbers I thought she was saying in Mandarin, 4-year-old answered and was right!!
However, I'm not sure i should be overly concerned at this moment about their quick aging as my son is currently head butting the sofa and laughing to himself!
Xx
I remember when my daughter was 4 and came home from school repeating 'we must always endeavour and we must never give up!' A sign she wasn't going to be 4 forever!
How have they gone from this
to this is about 5 seconds!
I am now quite used to them both being at school all day. It's nice to actually get conversations in with people without constant interruptions, and half term this week seems to have come around so fast. However, I do feel like I've blinked and missed it a bit.
When I had my son, second child, I was determined to make the most of the baby stage, enjoy it, because they're not babies for long, just as everyone had said when I had my first child. With the first child you're so exhausted and I personally found it such a shock to the system, that you don't necessarily enjoy it (not true for everyone obviously).
I still call my son 'baby' even though babies don't talk about diagraphs!
My daughter, when walking back from the Chinese takeaway with me on Friday evening, I said 'I don't know' to something but I said it fast (so that it didn't sound quite like I don't know) she questioned what I said, when I explained she said 'oh yes Mummy that's a contraction!' I think we have different ideas to what a contraction is!! She meant it in grammatical terms (I had squeezed the words I don't know together).
I was left wondering who was the adult!
This was followed by my son, repeating numbers back in Mandarin! The whole school had been learning about Shanghai apparently and my daughter was asking me what numbers I thought she was saying in Mandarin, 4-year-old answered and was right!!
However, I'm not sure i should be overly concerned at this moment about their quick aging as my son is currently head butting the sofa and laughing to himself!
Xx
Tuesday, 17 October 2017
Little Miss
So after a stressful day at work yesterday I walk through the front door to be met by little miss 7-year-old asking 'what's the solar system?!' 'What's the atmosphere?!'
Hold on, get me wine first!
Then, on emerging from shower, I'm met by little miss inquisitive, with 'what's helium?!'
Whilst cooking dinner little miss constant questions (and little brother) start with 'what's a planet? And why dont we live on Jupiter?!'
All this has stemmed from little miss academic's latest school reading book by the way.
However, after dinner, whilst loading dishwasher, and thanks to BBC news, little miss save the best question for last asks 'What's breast feeding?!'
I gave her the truth on this one and she followed it in typical little miss lack of concentration style with, 'let's play hide and seek!' Directed at little brother of course.
Have a good day everyone!
Xx
Hold on, get me wine first!
Then, on emerging from shower, I'm met by little miss inquisitive, with 'what's helium?!'
Whilst cooking dinner little miss constant questions (and little brother) start with 'what's a planet? And why dont we live on Jupiter?!'
All this has stemmed from little miss academic's latest school reading book by the way.
However, after dinner, whilst loading dishwasher, and thanks to BBC news, little miss save the best question for last asks 'What's breast feeding?!'
I gave her the truth on this one and she followed it in typical little miss lack of concentration style with, 'let's play hide and seek!' Directed at little brother of course.
Have a good day everyone!
Xx
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