The Toddler Diaries 'Shop till you drop'

We finally made it out of the house by 11:30am on an exciting trip to the town centre. I had a lovely half hour by myself looking for socks and undergarments while Daniel took the terrible twosome to the Disney store. OK, OK, so I know shopping for underwear isn’t very exciting, but my standards are fairly low at the moment. Any chance for a bit of peace and quiet is worth taking. Caleb came with me and was so fascinated by M&S lingerie department that he fell asleep. We then met up together and lunched on panini and watched ‘princesses’ walk down the catwalk in a fashion show. We had a close call in one shop as Bethany tried to shoplift a pink thong!! Explained to her that she is slightly too young for this type of undergarment!!

PM: everyone went to sleep except me. I mowed the lawn, tidied up the garden and cleaned the patio. This isn’t because Daniel is lazy, but because Caleb was sleeping on his tummy and also because he has something wrong with his left arm that makes it very painful to do anything. He’s been referred to a neurologist, but we don’t know how long he’ll have to wait for an appointment. Daniel made up for his leisurely afternoon by being the ‘cooking man’ at dinnertime.

How am I doing Wendy? Is this enough detail for you?

That's all I've got for now, will try and post some photos tomorrow.

Toddler diaries 'Poo Poo glorious Poo'

Josh woke up this morning with sneezes. Said he didn’t want his cereal, but managed to force down three pieces of toast, so concluded it couldn’t be that serious! Then had to get ready for Rainbow kids which starts at 9.30am!! To get there on time requires military precision. Unfortunately, the privates in this army are singularly individualistic in character and don’t like following orders.. Made sure Joshua and Bethany were fully clothed, hair brushed, shoes on etc., changed and fed Caleb and was all set to go. Then realise that Joshua has changed into his Mr Incredible suit and taken his shoes off and that Bethany has completely stripped. Huge sigh and get everyone dressed again and am just about to leave when discover Bethany has done a huge poo. Bigger sigh, change Bethany’s nappy, remove the breast pads she has stuffed up her t-shirt to be like mummy, by which time Caleb is howling, feed Caleb again and eventually get out the door. I’ve only got a few months to perfect this operation and iron out the problems before I have to get Joshua to school every morning for 9am!! That could be interesting.

Pm began fairly peacefully, if you don’t count Bethany biting Joshua really hard on the arm. He has the bite marks and a big bruise to prove it. Just settle down to feed Caleb when Joshua plonks himself down next to me to do a poo on the potty. Rather pleasant aroma drifting pass my nose when Bethany starts removing nappy containing really yucky poo. Put Caleb down, shout at Bethany to stand still and not to touch anything. Remove offending article and replace with clean nappy. Child one sorted. Ask Joshua if he’s finished, he assures me he has, start wiping his bottom, when he shouts “mummy mummy there’s more coming out” - how delightful. Hurriedly replace Josh on potty to complete procedure. Wipe bottom for the second time and empty potty. Child two sorted. Oh wait a minute; Bethany’s taken off her nappy again. Put Bethany’s nappy back on and wash everyone’s hands.

Settle down to feed Caleb again, but can now hear the sound of water, not good. Go outside to investigate. Find Mr Incredible and Elastagirl covered in mud, water and sand. They are scooping up rainwater, sand and soil with flowerpots and throwing it at each other and the window. Remove sodden clothes and replace with clean ones.

Give Bethany a washing up bowl full of water to wash up her tea set, (yes I know this was a bad idea) Within a few minutes both Josh and Bethany are completely soaked again. Decide to run a nudist colony for the rest of the afternoon.

All I can say is thank goodness it’s Friday. Oh and hello to all Pippa’s friends.

The toddler diaries 'Incidentals'

Not particularly inspired this evening, but know how disapointed I am when Ben hasn't written a blog, so will do my best.

Normal manic start to the day, dress children, change nappies etc.. Not even 9 o'clock and Bethany appears at my side stark naked. She has removed all her clothes because she wants to change. At the moment she feels the need to change her clothes at least three times a day. Her particular preference at the moment is for the layered look, i.e. as many items as she can fit on.

Both Bethany and Joshua are getting very good at getting dressed by themselves. Well at least they get the right garment in the right place, but often it is back to front and inside out, sometimes I re-arrange it, sometimes I don't!!!

Mr Incredible informed me today that he would like the chorous 'Here I am to worship' played at his wedding. How's that for forward planning. He'd like to marry a princess, but on second thoughts wants to marry auntie Wendy. I informed him that auntie Wendy was already married, so he's decided to marry auntie Rachel instead. Good choice I say, at least she's got money and prospects.

[Daniel PS: she's too tired to write anymore, so has gone to bed]

The toddler diaries-'tractor tales'

Decided to go to Tesco this morning on the hunt for big cardboard boxes to make a tractor. Bethany adorned herself appropriately for the occasion, complete with beads, bracelet and pink handbag. Once Josh had taken off his Incredible suit that just left him with lots of felt tip on his face - impossible to remove, just have to wait until it wears off. I looked no better, on walking into Tesco I realised that I hadn't looked in the mirror that morning and wasn't sure if I'd brushed my hair, probably not. Added to which my fleece was covered in baby puke, need to remember to wash it before I wear it again!! Caleb was the only one who really looked presentable.

Manage to pick up a few items from the store, including some big cardboard boxes from the veg. department, before Joshua needs a wee, of course located at the opposite end of the store and no you can't take your shopping with you. Unload shopping, head for disabled toilet,( the only one we can all fit in), and relieve small person.

Arrive back home, walk in door switch on oven and make cake with Joshua and Bethany. Caleb is still fast asleep in his car seat. Sort out lunch, eat half a sandwich, feed Caleb and ice cake. Put washing away, open machine to hang out wet washing, realise some helpful person has switched of machine mid cycle, reset machine. Decide to dash up to shops whilst it is sunny, to dodge April showers and purchase glue to make tractor. Before leaving the children do a corporate poo. Set off to the shops and realise Bethany is now wearing trousers, a t-shirt, a dress and a jumper, but don't really care. Have however remembered to brush hair and wipe cake mixture of Joshua's face. Get half way to shops and it starts raining, return home in a thunder storm and all get completely soaked.

Change clothes, and start making tractor while Bethany smears blue Prit Stick over the window. Time to feed Caleb again, so thought I'd combine it with blogging. I think I'd better stop, Bethany is removing her nappy as I type and her bottom is, in her words, "making noises". Not really a fan of removing excrement from the carpet, though it is one of my many talents. Bbetter deal with the child before it is too late. Just in case you're wondering, the brown stains all over our carpet have nothing to do with Bethany!!!

Toddler diaries 'Another Incredible day'

It was another incredible day in the Simkins household, in other words Joshua spent the day dressed as Mr Incredible. He's hardly missed a day wearing his outfit, since we bought it, definately money well spent. For those of you who are slightly out of touch with these things, Mr Incredible is the latest animated super hero to emerge from the box office. He heads up a family of super heros with wife Elastagirl and three children, son Dash, daughter Violet and baby Jack Jack.

No amusing annecdotes today I'm afraid, it was all fairly peaceful. We spent the morning with friends Rachel, Niamh and Lavinia and then Joshua and Bethany slept in the afternoon. Bethany slept for three hours and for the first hour I had all three children asleep at once-definitely the way forward.

In my free time I looked on e-bay for a pair of jeans to buy. Not sure if this is a good idea, but worth a try. The trousers I looked at yesterday in Next Bethany said were horrible and not to buy them. I can't believe she's already giving me fashion advice at the age of 2!!

Oh well, can't sit here blogging all evening, the house looks like a bombs gone off and exploded toys all over the floor. Can't quite decide whether it's worth tidying up as it will only look the same tomorrow. Such is life with small people.

Toddler diaries- 'Wee wee wee all the way home'

Decided to drive to the library this morning as it was tipping with rain. As a responsible mother ensured that Joshua did a wee before we left. Parked in the disabled space in the library as it was closest to the door, less responsible and quite scary as librarians tend to be a rather stern breed and sticklers for obeying rules. I felt I had quite a good case, three small children and it was raining! Got to the desk to queue up when Joshua announces he needs a wee. No toilet in library, can't believe he wants another wee, having just done one 15 minutes earlier and not had a drink in between. Dash outside of the library carrying Caleb in his car seat, check no one watching, especially aforementioned scary librarians and let Josh do a wee in the library garden. Go back into library (trying to look casual and not at all like we had just been weeing in the garden) and get out Barney video - my favourite!

As Joshua can't possible need the toilet again for the next while, decide to go to the garden centre to buy a present. Walk into the garden centre; small voice pipes up "I need a wee". Joshua again, and of course no toilet in sight. Caleb in car seat and toddlers in tow, head for remote corner of garden centre so Joshua can do his doings behind an ornamental bush. (Now slightly less ornamental). Get slightly strange look from garden attendent as toddlers and mad women carrying baby emerge from behind bush. Buy purchase and make hasty exit to home and a nearby toilet!

P.m. was rather less eventful. Joshua spent the afternoon at his friend Joel's house reenacting Toy Story 1 & 2. "I'm the real Buzz Lightyear, no I'm the real Buzz Lightyear" and so on. Bethany, Caleb and I went shopping. Bethany tried on every pink pair of shoes in Next and tried to pursuade me to buy her pink shades, a pink bag, a pink dress and a Balamory umbrella. Successfully negotiated my way out of this and ended up with a - guess which colour - pink and white pair of shoes from Clarks, which have the added feature of lights that flash on and off when you jump up and down. [Sorry they're only available in the children's range].

Picked up Buzz Lightyear (alias Joshua) on the way home (Mr Incredible is having a rest day) and fed and bathed two extremely tired children who were in bed by 6:30pm - hooray.

[Daniel's PS - in bed, but not asleep. Bethany continued to wreak havoc for at least another half an hour].

Blog nightmare

Libby spent most of last evening writing a wonderful post about our adventures yesterday. Unfortunately, the computer froze irrecoverably just as she was proof-reading it. The 'recover post' function failed to deliver, so it will forever be confined to our memories only (unless she wakes up less annoyed about it than when she went to bed!)

She's having a lie-in at the moment (rare) so I thought I'd write a little something.

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We had a nice day with mum & dad (mine) yesterday, including a bluebell walk, lambs (holding - but not hungry), a tractor and a combine harvester (actually sitting in!) The walk was (theoretically) a mile and a half, but felt longer. I'm sure it felt even longer to little legs (and to Libby, who carried Caleb most of the way). Unfortunately, the 'tiring them out' idea didn't really bear fruit, as they still bounced into our room at 6.30. I suppose that's about twenty minutes longer than usual.

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With any luck, Libby may give you her take later.

The Toddler Diaries

Sorry, no luck at getting Daniel to start blogging again, so I'll have another go.

Another sunny day in Watford, good weather makes life much easier with small children. We spent the morning at our usual haunt 'Rainbow Kids' toddler group and then bought sausage rolls from the bakers and ate them on a bench in the sunshine. Caleb carried on sleeping for another hour in the buggy when we got home and I managed to persuade Joshua and Bethany to go down for a sleep, so had two hours without them. Joshua went to sleep in his beloved Mr Incredible outfit, but I persuaded him to remove the mask. He gets very annoyed if I call him Joshua when he's in costume, the name is Mr Incredible.

Things got less idyllic for the rest of the afternoon, everytime I sat down to feed Caleb, Joshua and Bethany wanted something, so had to keep getting up to sort them out. Had to make tea whilst holding Caleb, always tricky. Just sat down to eat dinner, when Joshua announces he needs a poo, so run upstairs with Caleb to get potty I'd stupidly left upstairs in the bathroom. Just rounding the corner of the stairs when Caleb projectile vomits all over the landing. Grab the potty and head back downstairs, still holding Caleb, mental note to self to clean up the puke. Put Caleb down in bed, run back upstairs to empty potty, experience has taught me it is better to empty potties promptly. Mental note to self to remember to clean up puke as I head past it for second time, empty potty. Caleb is screaming in the background, but as I pass the puke for the third time, decide Caleb can wait and I better clean up the puke. Head back downstairs, pick up Caleb and jig him on my knee whilst feeding Joshua and eating my own meal. Slight worry that Bethany is going to have an accident, she's taken off her nappy again, also realise that my shoulder is covered in puke, but never mind it will soon dry. Meanwhile Bethany has been tucking into her spaghetti bolognese with relish, but I suddenly realise she is spooning food all over a video, remove the video from her and finish feeding Joshua. Bethany now looks like the spaghetti has exploded over her face and realise with a sigh, that there's no avoiding baths tonight. Just on the way upstairs to bath them all, when Daniel walks in and asks if it's OK if he eats his meal while I bath them. Grit my teeth and lie, of course I don't mind if you eat your meal in peace and quiet, while I bath the angry mob. Bethany realising that mummy is not best pleased with the situation, bellows down the stairs, daddy, mummy needs your help. I know I should have asked for help in the first place, but there was a very small place of me that did actually want Daniel to be able to eat in peace, unfortunately for him, it wasn't big enough!

Update

Our contribution towards the world of cyberspace has been somewhat lacking in the last few weeks, so I thought I'd write a post in the hope of spurring Daniel on to take up the keyboard again! I rather missed reading what I'd done the day before every morning at breakfast. It's interesting to read another person's take on your world.

Well things in our family are hectic as per usual, but at the moment all three children are fast asleep in bed and it's only 8'o clock - bliss! We spent a happy summer day in the park with my mum (Guy, as Joshua and Bethany call her) and ate lunch in the cafe. Bethany put in the cafe request before my mum had even arrived. (My children love to lunch and are particularly partial to bannana muffins in Starbucks). I explained to Bethany that we couldn't always go out to cafes because it cost money, to which she replied, very practically, "Don't worry, Guy has money"!

Bethany is struggling being a middle child at the moment and is always trying to vie for my attention. She spent yesterday's dinner time putting peas up her nose, until I took her plate away. Fortunately I discovered that squeezing the top of the nose is an effective way to fire them out. Alternatively sticking your fork up your nose al a Bethany is also equally effective!
Bethany is keen to be potty trained and keeps taking off her nappy in favour of pants. Unfortunately she seems to think the options are nappy, pants or the potty. She hasn't quite clicked that pants and potty are one and the same thing.

Joshua is also rather a challenge at the moment, but threatening his beloved Buzz Lightyear and Woody toys is proving to be a very effective discipline tool. He's beginning to think more theologically about the world and asks me all sorts of questions about life and the universe. (Maybe he should talk to Ben!) "Mummy did Jesus make the swings in the park?","Why can't we see Jesus?", "Mummy where's heaven?"


Caleb is a lovely baby. He's very sociable and loves to talk and smile at anyone who will listen. He is growing very fast and I've already had to get out the 6-9 months baby clothes. He has now reached the 93rd percentile on his weight chart. He's not quite as fat as Joshua was as a baby but he's doing his best to catch up.

Well that's a brief update for now, hopefully you'll be hearing from Daniel soon.

Hello again...

Having looked at my Statcounter, I notice that some sturdy souls are still checking in occasionally to see if there's anything new. So I thought I would too...








No, nothing new....

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The two older children are driving us somewhat crazy, and morning, evening, and during the day never seem a good time to get blogging. That's why my presence (in the cyber sense) is somewhat sparse. I'll try and get a bit more regular (in the cyber sense), if not as frequent.

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Caleb continues to eat and grow, but has yet to smile (at me, that is. He'll smile at every other T, D & H). He is increasingly jowly, and when you're jiggling him on your knee, there's a noticeable time delay before his cheeks catch up. It must be something about our family. At the last measure, he had reached the 75% percentile. No doubt he is reaching the outer limits by now.

Bethany reached 2 yrs 5 mths last week, and is exactly the same height (according to my somewhat ropey measurements) as Joshua at the same age. 91cm if you're interested.

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Work is still fairly hectic, which is another reason why I resist spending the evening in front of the screen. Hopefully, by the end of April things will quieten down a bit. We have two new people, and another starting in May, so I spend a lot of time 'finding things to do'.

The joys of management...

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OK, I'm already late for work. Have to catch up with you another time.

Adios...