Bracelets, Beads & Other Bits 'n' Bobs...

The girls had fun playing with my accessories box this morning, seeing how many bracelets and bangles they could fit onto their little arms at once. E.M kept her arm in the air the whole time to help the bangles stay on...bless her!

We love accessories, SO much fun!!

Uh-Oh...

Not good.

E.M is chewing on a baby bottle.

One from the cupboard where I keep all the plastic kitchen bits.

One that J.R kindly went and found for her.

Not good at all.

Tuesday's Fly On The Wall

Knock knock! Daddy answers the door. It's the Delivery Man "Hello..." he chimes.

J.R comes running up to him.

Practically shoving Daddy out the way, she shouts "Hello mate!!"

Daddy (to J.R) "Go in now babe, go sit down."

J.R, running away "You got my pizza mate? I like pizza!"

A Day To Ourselves

It's my other half's birthday today and for the first time in years he has booked his birthday off. So we both took the day off, (from being Mummy and Daddy) and spent the day chilling out in Brighton while the girls spent their day at Nanny and Grandad's.

I brought my camera - as you do - and we spent time checking out the shops, laughing and joking as we walked along the seafront, eating donuts (he loves those donuts) and making novelty purchases. It was a lovely day but spending time together just being ourselves for once was good enough!

The weather wasn't too cold and the sea wasn't rough either, making for some really nice photos. I couldn't post all of them on here but here are my favourite shots. The first picture was taken around lunchtime and the third in the early evening. The seagull was just me trying out my camera's zoom but it turned out to be a pretty good one!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

xx

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Fun Fun Fun!

E.M seems to have a lot of energy today so I thought i'd break the long morning up by taking the girls to the playground.

"It's about me, me, ME!"

J.R is finding it a little difficult to wait her turn when she knows she could just push past her sister.

E.M is really enjoying playing independently now.

Fun times.

Baby E.M + Chickenpox: Day 8

This photo was taken tonight - E.M's doing okay, the biggest problem we've had so far is her scratching her face in her sleep - due to the itchiness coming back when she's due another dose of medicine overnight. She's been scratching 'til it bleeds meaning her bedsheets have needed changing every single night.

It's made her face look an even worse mess and to be honest i'm getting a bit worried about scarring. But I keep reminding myself that because she's so young her skin should heal pretty well...

Meanwhile there hasn't been a single new blister appear anywhere else on her body, this is good news. Since when the last blister has burst and crusted over, she'll no longer be infectious and I wont have to worry so much about her being in contact with other children when we go out.

Being A SAHM: Staying Sane

I'm a Stay-At-Home Mum and it's not an easy job. Despite what some people think...

Seemingly easy tasks can be made more difficult simply because of the children. But when it comes down to it, you are the parent - you are the one who has to be in charge of everyone and everything. It's a hell of a lot of responsibility and some days it seems like everything is on top of you at once.

How do you juggle everything - maintaining the house, cooking, spending time with your partner, spending time with kids? And then, what about time for yourself?

There's no easy answer to that and I definitely couldn't explain it all in one blog post. (When it comes to the topics which are close to my heart I could ramble on for ages!) But anyway. I thought i’d share just some of the things I do that keep me going. And sane.

- Multitask

Try to do more than one thing at a time. I know sometimes this isn't possible, but once you put it into practice you soon get used to it. Here's a typical example of how I do this: Plonk the dirty laundry into the washing machine, switch it onto Delay, turn on the radio and do a little dance and sing-a-long with the girls while I hoover the front room at the same time.

That’s four things happening in one go!

- Let the kids watch TV

I let my girls actually sit and watch TV for a total of about two hours spread throughout the day, because it gives me time to catch up on my housework and other stuff undisturbed.

- When it comes to the housework - Take it easy!

We don't all have maids like the celebrity mums do, so don’t stress too much over the house being neat and tidy all the time. Remember your house isn't a show home, it's actually lived in. And don’t expect yourself to completely finish every task or chore, everyday. I hoover the floor (carpets etc) every day, and I clean the hard floors once every few days. But i’m relaxed over stuff like ironing. So when the pile of ironing gets pretty high, but I have other things I need to do, I leave it till later and don't worry about it. There are of course, so many more things you can do other than what i've listed above.

What about you, are you a stay at home parent?

If so, please share your tips and tricks with us :)

It's Music Time!

Isn't it great how something so simple can make children so happy?

Today at school, J.R made a shaker from two coffee cups, some macaroni and sticky tape. She absolutely loves it, so I thought we'd make some more instruments using bits and pieces we've kept in our craft boxes.

We got our ideas from 9 Easy To Make Musical Instruments For Kids.

A page from Kinderart.com, which is essentially a website for teachers and homeschoolers in the US, but is packed to the brim with good ideas for filling your child's day with educational activities!

And for the pre-schoolers - like my girls - there's KinderArt Littles. You can find both websites in my new Links section to the left.

Tuesday's Fly On The Wall

J.R "Mummy I want drink."

Mummy "Ok then, what do you say?"

J.R "Get a cup."

Baby E.M + Chickenpox: Day 5

I couldn't count the number of blisters on her face if I tried, since two new blisters have appeared on her body - one on her arm and one on her thigh - the ones on her face have popped and bled, leaving behind a rather gross mess.

I feel sorry for her, her face looks absolutely terrible. But to be honest, it looks worse than it is. I haven't seen her scratch any of them for a long time and not only that, her general health is improving. She's very active again now and eating better aswell...

An Introduction To Chickenpox

The following extract is from

• Chickenpox is a mild but highly infectious disease that most children catch at some point.

• It takes 10-21 days for the symptoms to show after you have come into contact with the virus. This is called the 'incubation period'.

• Chickenpox is most common in children who are between two and eight years of age, although you can develop chickenpox at any age.

• You are infectious from two days before the rash appears until about five days after. Therefore your child should stay at home until all of the blisters have fully crusted over, and this usually happens about a week after the first blister appears. After the last blister has burst and crusted over, you are no longer infectious.

• Once you've had chickenpox, it's very rare you should catch it again. This is because your body develops an immunity to the chickenpox virus, which stops you from becoming re-infected.

For more information on the symptoms and treatment of Chickenpox, please click here to visit the NHS Choices website.

Will Both Girls Have Chickenpox Together?

This morning J.R has woken up with a runny nose. A very runny nose. And a once-in-a-while cough as well. Could this be the start of her catching the Chickenpox too? We'll see.

To My Gorgeous E.M,

Happy 2nd Birthday baby!

I'll still call you that even though you're not really a baby anymore, you're a big girl. J.R is a big girl and now you're my big girl too!

You have made the transition from crawling to walking and running and are now showing interest in using the potty - thank goodness! And even though i'm so proud of you, both of these accomplishments make me a tiny bit sad at just how fast you're really growing up.

This weekend we had your birthday celebration and I made you an In The Night Garden themed cake. You had a wonderful time opening your presents and were excited by each one. And your smile couldn't have been bigger when you saw that cake! "Look, Iggle Piggle!!" you shouted. You couldn't take your eyes off it and were grinning from ear to ear while we sang you Happy Birthday.

Exactly two years ago I was overjoyed when you entered my life and I feel so incredibly blessed to be celebrating your 2nd year in this world.

Love always, Mummy xox

I'm Two! E.M's Birthday In Pictures

Just a few of all the photos I took on E.M's special day.

Balloons/Opening cards n things/A few pressies/Putting together the present from Mummy & Daddy/Midday nap/Homemade birthday cake/Messy but happy/Crashed at the end of the day

Baby E.M + Chickenpox: Day 1

Ok, I admit it, I put socks on her hands. I'd already clipped her fingernails and it was the best thing I could come up with! The fever has died down now, so instead of giving her Calpol, i'm giving her Piriton syrup (which helps ease the itching) and treating the actual blisters with a gel I bought this morning called Virasoothe for chickenpox. Apparently it's new out, and it's doing the job pretty well, even though the blisters appear and grow in size really quickly.

Since this morning the number of blisters on E.M's face has changed quite dramatically, she's gone from having barely two on her chin, to five or six blisters spread across her cheeks within just a few hours. But because of the medicine, she doesn't seem to be irritated by them and that's the main thing.

On The Bright Side...

At least some of us are alright today!

My Baby Has Come Out In Chickenpox The Day Before Her Birthday :(

My poor boo...

On Monday she started showing signs of feeling generally unwell, she was off her food and had a fever. Yesterday she had a few little red spots on her face, but they looked like normal spots, nothing special.

This morning when she woke up they weren't spots anymore, they were big ol' blisters and I spotted them straight away.

I got onto the NHS Direct website to see if I could identify the symptoms.

By 10am we'd seen the doctor who confirmed it was Chickenpox. N'oh dear.

Hasn't dampened her spirits too much at the moment, she still has bursts of playful energy once in a while. (See picture) Until it becomes too much and she gets irritable, needs to lie back down on the sofa and watch TV. I suppose it's only gonna get worse from here then...

Anyway, i'll keep you updated on how she's doing.

Time With The Littlest One

Now that J.R is back in school, I'm really enjoying time alone with Baby E.M. She really is a very different child when her sister isn't around. She's quiet and snuggly, inclined to just sit next to me on the sofa and learn about things. Real temper tantrums happen less often now that she doesn't have to yell and scream to defend her rights as the smallest one. She's calmer and more thoughtful, preferring calmer roleplay games and reading books together to running around and shrieking.

This morning I captured a sweet moment. Baby E.M was sitting on the sofa quietly and contentedly 'sorting' her hair bands out, taking them out of the jar and carefully putting them back in again.

One by one.

I love seeing this side of her personality. Funny little thing she is.

It's Gonna Be One Of Those Days

For some unknown reason, I woke up at 2am.

And the harder I tried to get back to sleep the more difficult it became - everything kept me awake. The ticking of the clock, the slam of the neighbours front gate, even the wind blowing through the trees! I was tossing and turning until almost 4am when I finally dozed off again.

To wake up, at 9.30am. Oh brilliant.

Mad rush for breakfast (fed the girls, but not myself as usual) and 60mph with the iron to get everyone's clothes done. Bundle everyone out the door by 9:50, which I think was pretty damn good for us...nope, hang on - it's raining.

Really raining.

Bundle everyone back into the house again and throw raincoats on. Back out the door and at the school by 10am. Hang J.R's bag and coat up on her peg, when the manager walks past taking some children to the bathroom, apologise for being late and tell her:

"It looks like it's gonna be one of those days..."

She could probably tell from my ever so slightly dishevelled appearance that I genuinely meant what I said. "Aw no worries hun." She said cheerfully and carried on her way. Take J.R into the hall when she suddenly decides to clamp onto my leg like a dead weight. She puts on her 'poor me' face and whinges and whines, trying desperately to squeeze a tear out. I quickly go through all the tactics, reasoning, bribery...and nothing seems to be working.

But then J.R comes out with, "I'm tired."

"You're tired!" I replied, "Then why don't you go and sit in the book corner with a nice cushion and rest?"

"Ok." she says and just like that, makes her way over. Just then I look up to see two members of staff had been watching J.R's little performance.

I smile and shrug my shoulders, "That sorted it!" I said out loud to them, quite proud of myself for a moment there.

Then I turn to walk off, slip and fall flat on my face.

Tuesday's Fly On The Wall

In the supermarket, J.R spots a security guard, and then, in her really loud voice:

J.R "Look Mummy! A POLICE!!"

Mummy "No hunny that's not the police, that's the security..."

J.R "Curey? Noooo it's not Curey it's A POLICE! Hello police, hello!!"

The security guard ignores her.

J.R "Mummy the police is not talkin' a me..."

Weight

It came as quite a surprise to me when I stepped on the scales a few weeks ago. I've put on a lot of weight in just over a month, so much so that I can't even stand to the actual figures here. I didn’t make a post about it since I had a very stressful week and was not in the mood to write about my weight. 　

So i'm jumping on the exercise / watch-what-you-eat bandwagon.

I've just had six weeks of not walking to the school and back again twice a day. Its not just weight I need to lose. I also need to tone up a lot of my body. I have been working on it for about a week now. It is really hard trying to fit in any form of exercise with two little ones and on top of day to day chores! I need some help.

Has anyone out there got any tips for losing a few pounds without having to sign up with a gym?

The Makeover Is Almost Complete!

So, what do you think of the new look?

It took me a really long time to find a suitable layout, but at last i've fallen in love :)

I tweaked it a little bit - but only a little bit - and it took a long time to re-do all the widgets etc but at last it's finished.

Find this layout and even more goodies by Sharnee at Yummylolly.com

We're Getting A Makeover!

Just a quick note to let everyone know i've been a bit behind with my posting and everything because i'm trying to give the whole blog a makeover!

I felt like the blue design was getting a bit dated, so i'm looking for something fresh.

I'll probably be working on this until Monday so apologies if you come back to us and it's all looking a bit messy - it'll all be fixed soon!

J.R & The New Satin Shoes

It was all a little bit exciting today.

Not only did we buy Baby E.M's birthday present - which i've been looking forward to doing all week, we also took J.R to a dance class this afternoon to sign her up with a performing arts school.

Her first step on the ladder, she'll be taking part in Pre-School Ballet classes every friday after school.

She had a trial lesson today and absolutely loved it.

The girls are all roughly the same age, since the youngest starting age is three.

As we sat waiting for the class to start, she watched carefully as the other mum's put their little girls' ballet shoes on.

The dance teacher walked through the room 'gathering' the girls as she went, then approached us "Are you joining us today?" She asked, "Yep!" J.R replied, and with not so much as a glance at me she bounded off into the dance hall (in her school top, shorts and chunky trainers!)...STAMP STAMP STAMP she went, amongst other girls dressed in dainty little skirts and ballet shoes. It looked - and sounded -really funny, but she enjoyed herself and that was the main thing. Roll on next Friday :)

Things Little Ones Do

Baby is perfectly happy keeping herself occupied at the moment.

She's emptied half a packet of chocolate chips into her pretend frying pan and is 'cooking' and eating them.

Funny little thing.

Back To School

Here's how our morning schedule went:

7:00 am Wake up

7:15 am Breakfast

7:45 am Get showered, dressed etc.

8.30 am Both girls are washed and dressed so it's my turn.

9:00 am Leave for school

Loads of new faces, new kids dressed in grey trousers and shiny black shoes - a mistake i've seen many new parents make!

I sent J.R to school in trainers on her first day :)

Packed like sardines it was outside the hall doors, J.R looked a little apprehensive when younger children started to cry. But once she got in there she was away. "Bye Mummy!" she sung and gave me a peck on the cheek, then ran off.

What a brilliant start to her first day back at pre-school.

Tuesday's Fly On The Wall

Baby E.M has a new word.

Pants.

And she says it all the time.

It all started when we started calling J.R's pull-ups 'Pants' as opposed to 'Nappies'. Now EVERYTHING is Pants.

J.R tried to get her to say 'Bumblebee' the other day, which unfortunately is coming back as 'Bum Boobie'.

And with her ever growing vocabulary her pronunciation has gone a bit skewed on words she's known a while, like 'Treats'. Which she now pronounces as 'Tits'.

Wonderful.

This thing called...

Everyone I know is now on Facebook.

Well, almost everyone. My family have no interest in it at all. Especially not my Mum. But once in a while she checks up on me and reminds me "Don't put all your personal things on there...you don't know who's reading that...there could be paedophiles on there" And that little speech from her always gets the reply:

"God, Mum, I know what i'm doing. I don't just let anyone and everyone read my profile..."

Thank goodness for privacy settings eh.

My personal philosophy on Facebooking and blogging is that if I couldn't tell it to just anyone then it's not something i'll be writing about. Anyway, i'm a pro.

My other half however, is a complete beginner to this sort of thing.

Always in the past insisting that he's not interested, his work mates signed him up and suggested he add people as friends.

Tonight I just had to help him figure it out since he looked (and sounded) a little overwhelmed by the whole thing.

I've had to go through his 22 'friends' and filter out 8 people who he doesn't even know. He hates long winded tasks, filling out forms, writing about himself etc.

He's taken almost 20 minutes to create a status. I'm worried I will never get my computer back.

What's on your mind?

What a difficult question that can be!

We never normally go shopping on a Saturday but...

today is the exception. Lucky me. And it's the best type of shopping, the type that doesn't involve food. We are on a mission to find presents - for Baby E.M - coming from other members of the family.

(But today is only possible because Daddy has booked two days off this week, which is really nice of him. He done it to help me out - the school holidays have proven to be quite stressful and I actually have very little sanity left! So he has taken time off to restore some discipline in this madhouse...)

I am shattered though. It's been a REALLY busy, but successful day and we've been everywhere, or at least it feels that way!

I never ever thought i'd turn to my other half and say "You know what? I'm really tired, let's just go home?" When it comes to shopping, I do it properly. Or I don't do it.

Women after all, are naturally immune to things such as tired feet, aching arms due to heavy bags and the constant change of temperature in each store.

Men, not so much.

So having said that, Daddy actually did pretty well, he didn't complain once!

Good stuff. Good day.

Internet browsing for the Bithday Girl

To save me wasting hours wandering around the town centre with no ideas and then arriving home - still with no ideas, I decided to have a look for potential birthday gifts for my baby girl online. That way i'd be able to save my shortlist and Daddy can go over it when he gets in from work (sounds technical doesn't it).

Anyhoo, here it is MY list of some of the best toys for 2 year olds from Early Learning Centre.*

Puzzle Cubes £10.00

116570

Let's look at the animals on the cubes. What are their names and what do they sound like? We can put the right one in the square when the voice asks us to. What a clever way to find out all about the different kinds of animals.

Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Piggy Bank £15.00

115599

Press the piggy's snout to hear songs. Teaches colours, counting, animals and sizes. With 10 coins.

Whizz Down Mountain £35.00

116188

Push the traffic lights to race a car down the mountain road and set off lights and sounds. Press the big red button to send the chunky boulders down behind for a thrilling car chase, again and again.

In The Night Garden Floor Puzzle £8.00

119102

Build this giant floor puzzle to reveal a scene from In The Night Garden. Big chunky pieces make it perfect for little hands!

Light & Sound Funky Footprints £20.00

115994

Follow the funky footprints to hear lots of silly sounds and see flashing lights. Count along the numbered steps. Jump and land on the final footprints to get cheers as a reward.

Little Tikes Hide And Slide WAS £129.99 NOW £80.00

123601

This rugged unit has plenty of features to keep toddlers entertained and is a great way to burn off some of their boundless energy.It is easy to climb and features a wavy gentle slide, wide, multi-level platforms and a secret play area underneath the platform for hide- and-seek games.

Website Exclusive: You won’t find this product instore

*Sign up to the Early Learning Centre's Big Birthday Club and receive a mailing once a year just before your child's birthday. Which includes a little surprise for your child plus a great money off voucher to spend instore, so you can get them something they'll really love! SIGN UP WITH ELC HERE and click My Account to join the Big Birthday Club.

Writing Practice

Every day I find a quiet moment to practice writing with J.R. I remember I was quite impressed when she came home from school one day and was actually able to read her own name.

Soon after, she started marking all her works of art with a "J". So I figured I would help her write her name...

And check these out. According to J.R it's a bunny rabbit (left) and a kangaroo (right). Can you see the differences? Haha brilliant!