Back From The Dentist

And in a lot of pain still, i've been told it's the start of Gum disease. Great.

I have two lots of antibiotics and Hydrogen Peroxide mouthwash.*

Add to that my own remedies of £3.99 for a tube of all-natural Tea Tree toothpaste (antiseptic), £5.99 for an uber tiny tube of dental pain relieving gel and countless boxes of Nurofen to help with the pain so I can sleep at night... This is one hell of an expensive problem to have!

*I am aware of the debate about using Hydrogen Peroxide in your mouth, but since i'm in so much pain i've chosen to just do it and see if it works.

First appointment available with the dentist is in two days time, friday morning.

(Oh and when I did phone I had to sit on hold listening to stupid 'chill out' music for nearly 9 minutes...grrrr!)

Is There A Dentist In The House?

This morning I was brushing my teeth, as you do, when I got the worst pain in one of my teeth. The third molar, or "one of those big chunky ones at the back" as we normal people call them. And it hurts, badly. As if i'd brushed away all the crud that was holding it together - nice thought eh?

Although it may not be that far from the truth, i'm taking painkillers regularly throughout the day for it cos it is so painful, but only on one side. The other side of that same tooth is perfectly fine. A second opinion - my Dad's - is that i've cracked it in two. Nice.

But that would explain a few things, like why it only hurts on one side and why it appears to have 'sunk' lower than the rest of my teeth and I keep chewing on it when I talk (which yes, hurts like hell)... Anyhoo.

That brings me onto my next subject:

When's the right time to bring your child for their first ever dental check up?

All you need to register your child with a dentist is their NHS number. It can usually be found in the details on the front page of their Red Book.

I've decided that now is the time for my J.R to go to the dentist. It is, after all inevitable plus she is 3yo and has all of her primary nashers. I have to admit I am a lil bit anxious that it might take both me and Daddy to keep her in that chair, just so the dentist can see into her mouth - let alone poke her teeth with some strange metal stick with a mirror on the end...

But hey, guess i'll worry about that when we get there.

Tuesday's Fly On The Wall

It's surprising what 3 year old's can come out with isn't it? Here's a new one from Miss J.R this week:

(She shouts, in the way a drill instructor would)

"Are you ready girls?!"

(then in a quiet voice answers herself)

"Almost ready..."

The Bedtime Trials Zzzz

At the weekend I was searching on the parenting forums for: how long children should sleep at certain ages and if/when they should be taking naps during the day etc. I found a lot of parents who have children aged 3-4, who don't actually put them to bed very early. In fact more than half of them said their children went to bed between 8.30 - 9pm... Interesting I thought.

Since it makes sense that you can't put your child to bed at 7pm and expect them to stay asleep until 8am (when you're ready for them)! That's 13 hours, could you stay in bed for that long? I'm guessing you, like me, answered no to that one. But that's the predicament.

At this age, if you set your child a fairly early bedtime, then it's perfectly normal for them to want to be out of their bedroom after 12 hours or less! But give them another hour - an hour and a half extension on their evenings and they tend to be content enough til 8am.

Now i'm not suggesting you sellotape your child's eyelids open and order them to stay up this late, if they're tired they'll probably take themselves up! But rather don't start the bedtime routine until around half eight. I've been doing this for a few days now, this is how it's gone so far:

• Night One Both girls are still awake at 8.30pm, I start the bedtime routine then, and they go to bed without a fuss. The little extra waking time looks like it's knackered them out! And in the morning? I hear nothing from them til gone 8am.

• Night Two Baby E.M stays up til 8pm then asks for bedtime, goes to bed ok. Then J.R follows me up at 9pm. And in the morning? No complaints, i'm out of bed before then! But no sound of them awake until around 8.20am.

• Night Three Bedtime routine started at 8.30pm (both girls were starting to get silly by this time) in bed by 8.45pm. And in the morning? Heard nothing from them until about 8.15am.

Now considering that my girls are used to a 7pm bedtime, these changes have made quite an impact. We're used to waking up to one of them screaming because they're bored and want out. So being able to wake up naturally is great! I'm gonna carry on the trial bedtime for the rest of this week because if it carries on going the way it is, we're onto a winner!

Happy Father's Day to all the Daddies out there!

The girls and I made Daddy some shortbread biscuits shaped like hearts. Dusted them with icing sugar and presented them in a little tupperware box lined with blue tissue paper. Simple yes, but it can be cheaper than you think to give a gift with that personal touch...

We wrote out four cards yesterday - four! Of course I let J.R 'help' me by drawing smiley faces and some X's in each one.

The kitchen smells lovely, there's cupcakes in the oven. I'm making Apple & Cinnamon cupcakes for my Daddy, they should go down nicely with a cup of tea :)

Looks like it's just one of THOSE days...

I am not impressed.

• Not impressed with the permanent marks left on the dining room table by the 'washable' colouring pens.

• Or the broccoli that J.R has trodden into the carpet.

• Or the fact that Baby E.M has just bitten a chunk out of my Nivea Lipcare stick.

Baby's Tired???

Stubborn as a mule she is. She just wont give in.

Baby E.M doesn't do naps.

She does however become short-tempered and miserable, whilst stumbling around rubbing her eyes out. When you put her down in her cot, she immediately stands up and screams until you rescue her from the pit. And she can do this for real long periods of time. So today I gave up, I sat her on the sofa and told her to stay there. You could see she was knackered but she wanted to be downstairs with everyone else... Didn't take long.

Spring Has Sprung!

Believe it or not, in the UK spring actually begins on May 25th. That surprised me, since I tend to think of spring as the first few months after Christmas when the snow stops, and i'm sure many other people do too.

But no, Spring has officially sprung and we're already well on our way towards Summer!

Funny how the smallest things make a Mummy happy.

The Terrible Two's + The Threatening Three's...

...means tantrums galore - lucky me!

Dealing with tantrums is a normal part of the parenting experience (despite what your Mother might tell you!) They come out of nowhere and leave you exhausted, which is one of the reasons they're so frustrating. And what's worse is that the smallest of things can trigger them.

But how to deal with a tantrum when it happens?

Well, i've done a little research and most sources are saying the same thing:

AVOID, DISTRACT, IGNORE, WALK AWAY

So, first try and avoid what might trigger your child to have a tantrum in the first place, tiredness and hunger are two common ones. If and when it does happen, try and distract your child by pointing out something new and interesting, be enthusiastic - even if you have to make it up! Try and ignore your childs testing behaviour, they are most likely going to 'feed' from your reaction, so to shout and scream back at them would only elevate the situation for both of you. And if all else fails, walk away - providing it's safe to do so - because nothing's worse than a performance without an audience.

Tuesday's Fly On The Wall

It's a case of quick thinking this week, as Miss J.R tries to talk her way out of bedtime.

J.R (In a quiet voice) "Psst Mummy!"

Mummy "What's the matter honey? Can't you sleep?"

J.R "No. [J.R] can't sleep, I can't close eyes."

Mummy "Why can't you close your eyes?"

J.R "It's dark outside..."

Mummy "Yes, that's cos it's night time. And past your bedtime now."

J.R "But... I can't find it!"

Mummy "Can't find what?"

J.R "I can't find the spider. Mummy where's the spider Sydney?"

Mummy "Sydney is in bed now sweetheart, because it's time for big girls and spiders to go to sleep. Night night, see you soon."

I kiss her forehead and turn to leave the room.

........

J.R "Mummy, what about bees???"

Caught Red Handed

Oh dear, doesn't she look guilty!

That's the problem with having 2 girls but only 1 drawing pad, when the paper's gone they do tend to move on to something else. Luckily red pencil isn't permanent :)

'Moo' Than Just Nature!

Trying to get out of the house with both girls can be daunting.

Simple things such as shopping or getting the bus can turn into a complete nightmare, and when you're anticipating these things somehow your kids can tell... So today I invited Uncle out with us, not only is he a helping hand if I need it, but also some grown-up conversation...brilliant!

We walked to our nearest park/nature centre. It takes about 20 minutes. Baby E.M slept most of the way, and then halfway round the park...

But I got some great photos today and J.R definitely enjoyed herself, if she wasn't busy spotting animals or diving around the hedge maze she was just enjoying that never-ending outdoor space!

So to help everyone catch up...

Here's the lowdown on what's been going on at 64 over the last week:

Friday 5th J.R sick for a week now. Went to doctors - no sign of infection or anything. But she's throwing up every 30 minutes, whether she eats/drinks or not.

Saturday 6th My life has been put on hold indefinitely as I mop up after a vomiting toddler all day every day, even after she's gone to sleep. It looks like it's getting worse.

Sunday 7th Just after 10pm Baby E.M throws up in her cot.

She has the virus too.

We take both girls to the hospital.

Monday 8th 1am Both girls treated for dehydration while I spend the rest of the stay with my head in a bowl in the next cubicle. It only took two hours for me to catch the virus also.

6.45am Home at last, the four of us go straight to bed. By lunchtime Daddy is also sick.

So as you can see, we've been a bit...busy! But i'm happy to say we're all fully recovered now.

Back At The Desk

Hello my blogging friends.

It's been a while since I last posted. Thanks to those of you who checked up on me, and well... I'm sure the rest of you thought about me....right?

Anyway, I have a very valid reason for keeping quiet all this time - i've been ill. Well, we all have... Really ill :(

Top 3 Tips For...

Enjoying being a parent every day!

• Listen Ask your children how they feel about their time at school and other events of the day. And really listen to what they say to you. It's often a good idea to refrain from making negative comments or correcting their language at this point, since it quite often puts them off sharing their true feelings about something. On the other hand, asking a simple and sincere question like "Yeah...and then what happened?" can be very encouraging.

• Spend time WITH your children SAH Mums usually feel they’re with the kids all the time anyway. (I know this feeling.) But when you look closely at how you spend the day, you can see the difference in the time spent 'with' the kids and time spent 'around' them. We know every child wants attention from their parents, but it's not always possible during the day. So try and make some time exclusively for them at some other point, no matter how short. It could be anything from cuddling up, reading a book together at bedtime, to helping Mummy out in the kitchen.

• Spend time WITHOUT your children Get someone to look after the kids so you can have a night out, either with friends or your partner. This is always a difficult one for us. Unless our parents or other close family members are able to, we have no-one we’re comfortable with to babysit the kids. In our case, ‘time together without the kids’ is when they’re both asleep at night. That’s when we chat, catch up, eat dinner and watch a DVD together.

Yummy Organic Milkshake

Light yet surprisingly filling!

You will need:

1 punnet Organic Strawberries

4 glasses semi-skimmed milk

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Ice cubes

A blender

Chop the tops off the strawberries then slice them in half, add to the blender along with a handful of ice cubes and 1 glass of milk. Blend on pulse until smooth. Then add the rest of the milk and the sugar and blend again. Serve immediately.

Remember, since this recipe uses fresh ingredients it wont keep for very long, so be sure to dispose of any leftovers once everyone is finished.

First Reward Chart

For about three weeks now i've been using a reward chart for J.R. She seems to be enjoying the whole experience so far, and loves to choose which 'sticker' she gets and place it on the chart. The behaviours i'm trying to tackle using this reward chart are mealtimes and using the potty.

So the daily tasks, as declared by Mummy, are:

1. Use potty
2. Finish breakfast
3. Use potty
4. Finish lunch
5. Use potty
6. Finish dinner
7. Brush teeth/wash hands

And so far it's going quite well, in week 1 she managed 25 'stickers' out of a possible 35.

And that includes two extra rewards, one for learning her full name and one for attempting to get dressed herself!

I'm giving stickers not only for completing the set tasks but also when I catch good behaviour, because sometimes when a childs behaviour has been less than ideal, any good behaviour then goes unnoticed.

The chart we're using is £6 from Early Learning Centre and comes with 35 reward magnets and a dry wipe pen.

Top 3 Tips For...

Dealing with a pestering toddler

• Ignore them It's been called 'harsh' but you can't deny it works. Calmly give a quick explanation to your toddler as to why you're saying no, then pay no more attention to them. Don't talk or even look at them until they change the subject.

• Once you've said "no" don't change your mind If you give in, your toddler will learn that being persistent will get them what they want and they'll try it again.

• Pestering in public If your toddler pesters you or throws a tantrum in public you'll know how stressful it is. (If not, you have that to look forward to.) But don't give in just because people are watching, use the technique you use at home. And though some bystanders may tut, remember most will watch with sympathy as they will have been through it too. Just remember to stay calm, do what you've got to do and forget the audience.