New Shoes

My littlest Blethering Boy got his first pair of shoes this week and he is super chuffed about them!

He loves his shoes.

I almost forgot how important these little milestones are for wee ones. And for us!

As a third child, I try really hard to not forget about all the wee things that make up Owen's babyhood.

It's not easy though, when we have so many other things going on.

Where most first-time parents are making everything about their littlest person, I am often caught unawares by the next stage.

It feels like my littlest guy, the one I wanted to hold onto the longest, is shooting up faster than I imagined.

With Thomas, it felt like I had an eternity of him; almost too much time.  I used to feel the strain of every minute detail and worried over the slightest thing. I did two baby books.  I wrote all the 'firsts' on a calendar. I made hand prints and foot prints and baby albums.

When Ethan came along, I felt the angst of dealing with two small children, picking at the small bits and trying my best to get through the day.

The two of them together were very hard work and I got little respite from that.

I always felt anxious for them to be more independent, to go to nursery, to spend time with others.  I needed the break, I needed to go to work, I needed them to play by themselves for a bit.  I needed to make sure they had good experiences and that I kept my promises and that we spent good time together as a famly; and we did.

And now, this third, sweet, delicious child.

The one we knew would be the last.

He fits in, slots in like we've had him forever.

We forgot the baby book.

We tried with the milestone cards (we really did).

But we are taking it all in.  Inhaling every moment deeply.

Every day I examine his face for changes.

I despair when he moves up yet another size in clothes.

His first shoes were a size 4!

We didn't spend £25 on his first pair, because we know a lot of things about baby shoes - how long they last, the liklihood of him losing one in the street, the grief and stress of spending wasted hours searching for the other shoe in parks and supermarkets; not worth it.

But he has shoes.

He is happy.

I wish he would stop growing!

My Last Firsts (sob!) #petitfilousfirsts

Owen is my third and final baby, so those 'firsts' are a lot more poignant.

I've been careful to try and pay attention to all of them and savour them all...one last time!

First crawl!

First time in the new highchair

First time pulling himself up to stand!

First 'big' climb!

First chocolate cake!

First snow day!

First proper bounce!

First time using the spoon (help!)

First swing

First meal in a restaurant!

First whole banana from the skin

First Santa visit

First Xmas

First teeth

First trip to the zoo

First long lie!

First cosies with brother number one!

Owen might not be a proper baby any more, but he still has a lot of 'firsts' to come, and I am so excited to share them with him.

I think one of my favourite 'firsts' has been weaning.

He's my third child, so I'm a bit more relaxed about what I feed him, but of course keeping an eye on things like sugar and salt, as well as other additives.

One of our favourite go-to snacks is yoghurt and we tried My First Petit Filous recently, a new yoghurt designed for babies and children, which is free from additives and low on sugars.

Owen really enjoyed it and was very happy to have more than one pot in a sitting!

Here's what Petit Filous have to say about their new product:

My First Petits Filous is a low sugar, vanilla-flavour weaning fromage frais, designed to introduce children to fromage frais from 6 months. The main ingredient is milk and all ingredients are 100% naturally sourced, so parents can rest assured there are no artificial colours, flavours, sweeteners or added preservatives. Not only is My First Petits Filous delicious, it has calcium and protein to help children develop strong bones from an early age and the low sugar content reassures parents that their child will maintain a balanced diet during weaning.

Owen loved the taste, and not to be outdone, Ethan was happily snarfling some too - boy loves a milk-based product!

And it's one thing I don't mind my sweet-toothed blethering boys having either!

Even if most of it does end up in his hair!

This post is an entry for BritMums #PetitsFilousFirsts Linky Challenge, sponsored by Petits Filous

Calling All Funny Parenting Posts and Stories! (linky link ups wanted)

Parenting is a challenge at the best of times.

What you think is a nice morning of feeding the ducks can turn into something completely different.

You have to have a sense of humour - whether it's a three year old having a melt-down because his sandwich was cut the wrong way or a baby spewing all over your head, the key thing to remember is: It might not be funny now, but it will be funny someday.

I swear that's all that gets me through sometimes (especially when I've sat in a pee covered toilet seat or realising the school secretary of the massive school knows both mine and my child's name because we've been to the office so many times handing in his lunch/schoolbag/coat. Again.)


There are no massive rules here, but I simply ask that the post is funny and it involves parenting in some way.

It is not compulsory, but it would be courteous to:

1. Visit another person's link (or two if you can)
2. Leave a comment to say hello and what you found funny on their post

An InLinkz Link-up

Pizza Under Duress

Mealtimes can be hard.

I know.

Two small boys who clamour for food most of the time is a challenge I meet daily.

Actually, who am I kidding?  Pretty much hourly.

'I'm hungry mum'

'Can I have a snack?' (re: everything in the fridge)

or the classic, 'I'm finished, but I'm still hungry!'

It's like living in a continual Masterchef judging hell-pit.  They are fussy little buggers.

'I don't like that'

'It's got red bits'

'It's got green bits'

I only like bananas on a Sunday at noon in the glare of the sun'

'Those apples taste like apples, I wanted ones that tasted like cheese'

'I don't like cheese' (lies!)

So when we make something from scratch that has fresh ingredients in it and they eat it and love it and want it, we MAKE it.  We make it so hard, we make sure that we make it the most makiest way ever until we are so done with making that we can't make anymore.

You get the picture.

Thus was the case when we dropped Tom off at school this morning and Ethan caught the smell from the school cafeteria.

'What's that smell, Mummy?'

'I don't know pal, what do you think?'

'Smells like...smells liiiiiiike...pizza?  My want to make PIZZA!  Let's make Pizza, Mum!'

'O.k, we can make Pizza'

'Can we make it Mummy?  Can we make pizza?'

'Yes, we can make pizza'

'We make pizza when we get home mum?'

'Yes, we can make pizza, okay?'

'We gonna make pizza?  Can we make pizza?  Can we make it?'

'YES'

'But we gonna make pizza mum, we can make pizza?'

'Yes, shoosht, we are going to make pizza.'

'Muuum?'

*ignores*

'Mummyyyyyyyy?'

*tries to talk about something else, gets overrun with...*

'We can make the pizza now?'

All. The. Way. Home.

So, what did we do?

We watched T.V.

Joke - we made Pizza.  Do you honestly think I would get away with it?

So here's my Under Duress Pizza.  It was 9.15 a.m. Nobody should have to make, cook and eat pizza by quarter to 10 in the morning, but that's what we did.

Why?

Because he is 3 years old and CRAZY.

And I am a total pushover.

Crazy eyes

INGREDIENTS

450g Self Raising Flour
Slosh of Milk (approx 200 ml)
Slosh of Olive Oil
80g Butter

Sauce

Passata
Grated Cheddar
Sneaky Veg for underneath (if you are feeling like being all healthy and sneaky.  I wasn't.  It was too damn early to be making pizza)

If you are feeling especially brave, allow the toddler to help.  If you want a long, drawn-out experience where crazy comes to stay, let the toddler sit on the worktop beside you while you do your damndest to stop him from basically tipping flour and butter all over the floor.

Guess what I got to do?

As toddler allows, put all ingredients in a bowl and mix.  If toddler is there you might need two spoon so he can 'help do mixing' ie. steal both spoons and proceed to eat the raw dough while coercing you into doing the same.

Crazy offerings

DO NOT eat the raw dough.   Ignore the small child doing the same.  Or not.  Apparently anything will encourage him at this point.

Finally, roll out dough into a thin bed for you to spread the passata on.

This might take a while as toddler will insist on 'helping' of course, mainly by stealing a bit to use as 'playdough' and then mashing it back into the pile, thus ensuing you have to start again.  Don't aim for perfection.  Aim for 'that'll do'.

Spread passata on while toddler screams about wanting yellow sauce instead of red.  Argue with toddler about colour of sauce for 10 mins before conceding that red is yellow.

Grate cheddar. Allow toddler to steal cheddar to keep him quiet.  Try not to lose temper - you are very close to the end.

Steal some cheese in comfort-eating moment of glory.  You have earned it.  Fuck it - you can grate more.

Sprinkle cheese on pizza and try to convince toddler to save pizza until tea time, or even lunch.  Give in to angry, desolate wails of doom and slice up pizza so you can stick a slice in the oven for him.

Console crying, angry toddler who is sad that you have 'broken' the pizza.

Mash 'slice' back into pizza base in an effort to make it look as though it has never been sliced.

Nearly cry.

Console sad toddler who just wants pizza.

Sneak 'slice' into oven when toddler isn't looking.

Tell toddler pizza is nearly ready.  Watch him make this face.

Take him into living room and sit him in front of Peppa Pig while you wait.

Present him with pizza.

Watch as he cries because it is too hot.

Wait until it cools.

Watch as he won't eat pizza.  Cajole him into trying.  Despair as the little sod refuses and asks for yoghurt instead.

Send him to nursery for the afternoon and become so relaxed and carefree after crazy pizza debacle that you leave slice on table.  

Watch the little bugger eat the whole slice as soon as he comes home from nursery while he is waiting for the pizza to cook for everyone else's tea.

Wonder why the hell you bother sometimes.

It's the face!

The things we do for our kids!

Where we're NOT going on holiday...#1 Port Aventura

Sadly, we will not be going on holiday this year due to some pretty dire financial straits, but hey, we went to Disneyland last year, so we certainly cannot complain.

I'm still not sure how we are going to break the news to the boys, who are desperately excited about summer holidays (all 7 weeks of them!  Help!), but hey, that's life, huh?

Here's a review of all the fabby places we were dreaming of going this year.  I'm running this as series of blogs so as to give each the proper dream-time it deserves.

Dreams are allowed. Always dream big.

1. Port Aventura

When we were last in Port Aventura in 2010, it was amazing!  I am a total rollercoaster freak and really know my Vekomas from my Arrows.

When we booked Port Aventura it was just 1-year-old Thomas, Dave and I.  And what happened before we were due to make a final payment on this amazing, all-inclusive holiday of our lives?

I fell pregnant.

Worst timing ever.

Not only is it completely not fun being hugely pregnant in a hot country, but if you are 'embarassades' you cannot ride. Anything.

I think I was the most gutted I have ever been.

Dave, however, was in his element.  Not only could he ride all of the amazing rides front row as a single rider in the single queue lines, he also had a ready-made baby and bag watcher.

He rode the amazing and completely perfectly named Dragon Khan...

...got cooled down on some truly awesome water-rides...

...and got to take Tom on some of his first theme park rides.

I have to say, although it was pretty much one of the most soul-destroying things ever for such a massive ride and theme park fan to have to sit on the sidelines as a bystander, not all was lost.

Port Aventura offered some of the best themeing I have seen - it certainly rivals Disney in terms of photo-ops and carefully-designed amenities.  There was plenty for people who cannot ride, for whatever reason, including maurauding Mariachi bands, Sesame Street characters so many fantastic side shows like puppeteers, bird displays and tribal dancing, all themed to either Meditteranea, The Far West, Mexico, China or Polynesia.

Staying at Hotel El Paso, we had an all-inclusive holiday, meaning unlimited breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets which offered an astounding array of cuisines, including traditional Spanish fare.  We also had our pick of snacks throughout the day in both the theme park and the hotel as part of our deal, and free refills on drinks to keep us all hydrated.

Imagine starting your day with this!

Staying on-site with a toddler also meant that we were among the first up, breakfasted and to enter the quiet park, which was a lovely way to start the day.  And having 10 nights there meant that we could chill out and take our time to wander around, rather than trying to cram it all in.

We were very lucky to have gone at the 15 year celebrations too - there were loads of extra decorations and activities.

As part of the package we booked through Thomas Cook, we also had a day trip in Barcelona, where we visited the huge Barcelona Zoo and went on a wander down Las Ramblas, the main market strip, which was certainly an eye-opener!

Las Ramblas

I think if we go back (WHEN we go back - I NEED to ride those rides!) we will definitely be going for 10 days.  It was a perfect length of time to accommodate everything that we could do and meant that we didn't knacker ourselves in the heat trying to 'do' rides.

Although, with 2 small boys who take up space on aeroplanes and sleep in real beds rather than a baby cot, we shall have to do some considerable saving up.

Looking at their website, they are teasing me with such beauties as Shambhala, the sister coaster to Dragon Khan

and a great new area that the kids will just die for

I swear, if Dave knocks me up before we can go back, he will be dealing with a home-made vasectomy!

In the meantime, we are saving, saving, saving.  Port Aventura is the perfect mix of sun and theme parking.

Take me back!

Stay tuned for the next instalment....our dreams of Disneyland! Dream big!