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A lesson learnt

Tots100 and PartSelect are giving bloggers the opportunity to win a professional house clean and £250 to spend on an appliance. This post is all about sharing some appliance love, in turn telling a cautionary tale.

If we had a coffee machine, that would be my most loved appliance. As we don’t it a toss up between the retro fridge and the Dyson. This post relates to the latter.

Last year our Dyson stopped working. Usually it would go to Dyson heaven and we’d replace it. On this occasion we decided to try and get it repaired. I suspect as we’d received a timely offer in the post for a service.

When the engineer arrived it became apparent very quickly that he was knowledgeable about all things Dyson. It was quite refreshing and a new experience for us given we’ve never serviced anything before. Other than the car.

Our toddler was under two at this point. The engineer had said hello to her when he arrived then focusing his efforts on the Dyson.

Retrieved objects included the obligatory string, hair and elastic bands along with a giant fluff ball, plastic and plastic. We’d had some building work done a few months earlier so the plaster find wasn’t as strange as it seems. Despite laying all his findings out on the floor, POD continued to be well behaved and stayed out of his way.

Despite removing all blockages and replacing a clearly past it filter, the Dyson refused to come back to life. Further inspections were undertaken and the Dyson was turned on and off several times in the process. Further dismantling was necessary and it wasn’t long before the engineer’s hands had vanished into a Dyson abyss.

I asked if I should unplug the Dyson from the wall and the response was “don’t worry I won’t lose my fingers”.

He nearly did when out of nowhere our toddler turned on the Dyson. To this day I have no idea how she found the strength or turned it on so fast, she was only little. Thankfully my record breaking dive to the off switch saved all his fingers, he just hurt his pride. But he did a fabulous job mending our Dyson.

This post about our Dyson being serviced is an entry into the Tots100/PartSelect ‘Love Your Appliance’ competition.

This appliance gets my seal of approval!

What’s in a name?

Choosing a suitable name is a challenge for any parent to be. The Doves were no different. I can remember we had a few baby name books and I browsed all of them from cover to cover on several occasions!

It’s impossible to select the ideal name for a child you’ve not yet met but we put a lot of thought into it. Ruled out from the outset were names beginning with A to avoid the inevitable “It’s A Dove”. Also excluded were initials such as VD, LSD and STD.

Names beginning with D were appealing at first but we quickly realised DD might cause problems if it matched a bra size. Such a short surname did allow us to consider first names with 3 or 4 syllables. Although we knew these would be abbreviated, we thought it would be quite cool at the time to have options. It really wasn’t.

Although I was convinced we were having a boy, we were much lighter on the choices for boys. This was because the traditional names such as James, William, Thomas and George  had already been taken by family members or friends.

It took some time to pull together a list of boys names and a list of girls names. Once we’d finished we had 16 boys names and 29 girls names. There was a pattern in that the boys names mostly began with H, J or S and the girls names with E and J. We were yet to choose any middle names.

Once at the hospital, we narrowed it down and pulled together a shortlist of our Top 5. Although these were forgotten when POD took 47 hours to appear, something rather wonderful happened instead. The midwife asked what we were going to call POD and without hesitation we both said Poppy. We didn’t even need to think about it, right there and then the name just felt right.

I’ve always wondered where the name Poppy was on our list. It was on the long list but neither of us could remember whether it made our Top 5. The piece of paper that listed all the names, and the scribbles we added in the hospital, was never found.

This week I discovered a blogging book at home and when I picked it up a piece of paper fell out of it. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I unfolded it. It was the list of names we’ve not seen since POD was born on 25th December 2010. It may have taken nearly 3 years to find out but Poppy was in our Top 5.



SuperBusyMum

The guilt of childcare

We’d have such a great time if we could spend every day together as a family. We might take a walk in the woods, paint or colour. Or we could just have a conversation. We might not put the world to rights but POD isn’t actually three yet. She’s a great communicator though – not just with children her own age but also her peers. We’ve helped her develop these skills as have the staff at her nursery.

She started there when she was a year old. It was a tough decision but not one we made lightly. We looked at all the childcare options available and nursery meant POD had the opportunity to mix with girls and boys her own age. As you’d expect, over the last two years her social skills have increased. Nursery has also allowed her to explore her creativity, be more independent and she’s built her confidence as a result.

The Telegraph has published an article entitled “Children who spend time in nurseries more likely to develop behavioural problems”.

It related to a major study that’s been undertaken by academics at Oxford University. They’ve discovered exposure to some forms of education contributes to bad behaviour and could be linked to emotional problems, such as hyperactivity. It also identifies that children receiving childminder care are more likely to have peer problems.

The ideal scenario for children is staying at home or attending pre-school playgroups for a few hours a day. Really???

As parents we don’t place our children in childcare out of choice. We do it because we have to work. The guilt we already feel for placing our children in nursery for example is great enough already. We don’t need a study telling us what we’re doing is not for the good of our child.

Although this report will no doubt revive that existing debate surrounding childcare, surely the answer is supporting working parents?

Cars, turtles and cling-ons

POD has discovered the car is a new source of entertainment. When she pulled the face you see in this photo, she didn’t crack once even when Mummy snorted with laughter. She’s also discovered how effective it is to say “we’re going to c-r-a-s-h” when Daddy was driving round a bend. Taking her arms out of her straps is another favourite. As is sudden clapping.

Most exciting of all POD got to use her potty on the back seat of the car this week after yelling “Mummy wee coming now”. This is toddler speak for I am just about to pee in my car seat. It was perfect timing given the area around the Dartford Tunnel toll is the only stretch of the M25 with no hard shoulder. Amazingly we remained spillage free.

New words have been “come by harder” [combine harvester] and “scrumbles” which is POD’s word for mushrooms.

Bathtime has involved lying down pretending to swim, a good sign given her current fear of pools. Saying “help, help, h-e-l-p” while flailing her arms has been much fun. The highlight was definitely peering over the top of the bath to say “Charly do you want some ice-cream?”. Weird for your toddler to call you by your actual name.

POD continues to enjoy the imaginative play. This week she’s pretended to be a squid and a turtle hiding in its shell. There’s also been a battle between an octopus, a wolf and a flannel ship. But then the wolf turned into a fairy and the taps got a cuddle. She told the bath toys she was a doctor and also referred to the plug as “a tit”.

Despite the hilarity of bathtime and reading numerous stories, POD still thinks sleeping is for wimps. At 10.30pm the other night, while sitting in the laundry basket, POD asked “Mummy shall we play hide and seek?”.

Bedtime typically consists of shouting and numerous requests to come downstairs “for 5 minutes”. POD’s favourite trick is to entice you upstairs which is when you discover your toddler has in fact been replaced with a cling-on.

We’re linking this post up with Wot So Funee? at Actually Mummy. If you have an amusing post you’d like to share, click on the badge below.

Wot So Funee?

The countdown

It’s that time of year when the countdown to Christmas begins. Everywhere you look there are seasonal gift ideas, recipe choices and shopping guides. Dedicated websites tell you how long you have to wait by day, hour, minute and second. Christmas Day is just 71 days away.

POD’s birthday is also 71 days away, she was born on 25th December 2010. The lead up to the festive period is always especially poignant as a result. Some of the Christmas tree decorations and the Rudolph we have on the door provide fond memories of that time. As does the snow, a lot fell in December that year.

This photograph was taken when POD was one hour old, she was remarkably alert given she’d just endured a 47-hour labour. She arrived to the sound of the Salvation Army singing Good King Wenceslas outside the delivery suite. Surreal yet memorable!

Now a toddler, POD has an incredible character, is fiercely independent and highly entertaining. It’s likely this will be the first birthday she’ll remember. It’s going to be amazing to see the joy on her face and be able to share her cries of excitement.

But the time between now and then will fly past too quickly, it always does. If I had my way the countdown to Christmas would be in slow motion. Especially this year. Just so I can enjoy POD being a two-year-old that little bit longer.

We’re linking this post up with What’s The Story? on PODcast. To see more photographs and read the stories behind them, click on the badge below.


Dinosaur juice

POD has so many words now. She cracks me up when she talks through what she’s doing, has a third person conversation with her dollies or pretends to read.

Potty training has reached a new level in that all poos resemble a thing – usually a tree, a house or a car. A potty has been added to the list of ‘stuff’ we take out with us due to her refusal to use public toilets. If we’re in the woods, she’ll proudly inform passers by when she’s done a wee, at times following up with “Mummy put it in the bushes”.

Embarrassing Mummy in public has become the norm over the past few days. First there was “Look man I have poo in my hair” after she rolled down a hill. This after I’d congratulated myself on what a great job I’d done removing the green sludge with wipes. Then came “Hello everybody I eating my dinner” when she had nothing but a lolly in her hand.

She was bathed as soon as we arrived home but a trip to the shop was necessary. Over her pyjamas went a cardigan, coat, socks and shoes. You’d never know she was in her pyjamas had she not announced “hello everyone I wearing my pyjamas” while we were in the queue. At the counter she piped up “Mummy why does that girl look like a monster?”. Despite explaining there were no monsters, POD pointed at the girl serving us and said “is she a monster Mummy?”.

Recently POD introduced herself to a parent at a National Trust property as Rosie. It’s not her name, nor is Charlotte which was her second choice. The follow-up was “Mummy has a baby in her tummy”. Having told the parent POD wasn’t called Rosie or Charlotte nor did I have a baby in my tummy all was well again. Until POD passed comment on why this parent’s baby was crawling in mud. Fair point, I’d wondered the same myself although we had already seen it chomping on an acorn.

This week POD has discovered running on a wooden floor in socks is “slipperly”, a Daddy Long Legs is a skinny legged spider and “wedgetables” *allegedly* go with Ravioli. Having commented Daddy smelt of pears, she decided Mummy smelt of apples and she smelt of dinosaurs. Babies smell like soggy socks apparently. As do robots. Strange questions asked have included “where do giants come from?” and “what is grass is made of?” neither of which I got the opportunity to answer!

POD’s also skateboarded across the kitchen floor with Peppa stickers attached to her feet, pretended to be an “eye-packer” [alpaca] and announced at breakfast “a man said in the night I could watch television”. Having told nursery “we have rats at home” , she was asked where the rats came from. Carrots was the reply, rats come from carrots.

The joy of bathtime is POD’s ability to escape or run off at any given moment. This week, I found her sitting in her laundry basket. When asked what she was doing, her response was “I in the washing machine collecting dinosaur juice”.

We’re linking this post up with Actually Mummy’s Wot So Funee? which this week is being hosted by A Mummy Too.

Wot So Funee?

Pulling faces

When POD was a baby, she screwed her nose up a lot. Although a sign of affection, some would see it as scowling and react with “what a strange thing to do” or “why does she do that?”. It was highly entertaining especially when she did this!

Playing in her travel cot she liked to stick her tongue out then squash her face against the netted sides. She knew it raised a smile and the *occasional* snort.

POD screwing up her nose is now an endearing feature. Just a few wrinkles in-between her wonderful blue eyes.

Her repertoire of facial expressions has expanded though. She can stretch her top and bottom lips over her teeth and simultaneously open her mouth really wide. If you’re lucky, it’s also coupled with “hewow”. Another one of her funny faces is here.

POD has recently taken to pulling faces with her fingers, usually at the most inappropriate moments. The face you see before you was made whilst visiting a National Trust property at the weekend. There was no reason for it and I don’t know who it was directed at – if indeed it was directed at anyone. Given she thinks rats come from carrots your guess is as good as mine!

Best of all was something unexpected that happened in the car on the way home. POD was quiet so presuming she’d fallen asleep I turned round to check her. What greeted me was a staring expression which said “that’s disgusting”. It was directed towards the CD player which was playing Little Red Riding Hood – a story she requests all the time.

It was such a strange face it made me laugh. When I glanced back again, her face was the same, she’d not moved. I looked briefly on two more occasions, exactly the same. She’d not reacted to my laughter at all. The final time I looked back, the expression hadn’t changed but a limp tongue was also out.

I haven’t laughed so much in ages, I was almost in tears. What made it so amusing was that POD didn’t crack, she didn’t even make eye contact. A brilliant moment that created a proper full on belly laugh. Not a bad effort for a toddler.

We’re linking this post up with What’s The Story? on PODcast and Magic Moments at The Oliver’s Madhouse.

Sszty!!

Welcome to my circus

POD takes great delight in saying “hello” to everybody. If she gets no reply she’ll continue to say “hello” and wave until she’s acknowledged. Or she’ll say “Mummy I said hello to that man” and point at their face.

There are occasions when an innocent “hello” will be followed with some unwanted over sharing. Thankfully “hello, I done lots of farts” or “hello, do you want to see my bogey?” have only been directed to those visiting the house.

She likes to comment on what she sees “Look there’s a baby/boy/girl/dog/”butt-fly”/buzzy bee. And what she’s doing “I walking with the buggy”, “I eating raisins” or “I poke Mummy boob”. It’s great she takes everything so literally although she did ask for a scab to be taken out of the bin “Mummy I need to put it back on”.

POD has starting mimicking what we say, often in an identical tone with the same facial expression. She’s also introduced the play one parent off the other lark “Mummy, Daddy tell my off” and “Daddy, Mummy tell my off” when she’s being naughty.

There have been a couple of porkies told at nursery recently “we have rats at home” and “Daddy is in the pub watching rugbies” are personal favourites. Shouting “Mummy needs wine” to everyone we passed when leaving one night was a valuable lesson in why you should never share a shopping list with your toddler.

POD has a vivid imagination. Bathtime can be a subdued affair which involves swimming or jumping but can just as easily incorporate talk of baked beans and fish. She may also pretend to be in a castle and ask where her queen is. Following up with a “yes your Majesty” and a cackle when her invisible queen appears.

Bedtime has been a challenge these past weeks, she’s rarely asleep before 10pm even after running around all day. Last week she did fall asleep by 7.30pm but then woke at 1am, jumped out of bed and announced “I done my sleep”.

The best thing about owning a toddler is when they say something unexpected. Something that just makes you crack up with laughter and snort. Like standing outside a stately home and hearing her shout “Hello everybody, welcome to my circus”.

We’re linking this post up with Wot So Funee? over at Actually Mummy. If you’d like to join in click on the badge below.
Wot So Funee?

Little steps

When POD was a baby we signed up for a swimming course with the view to building her confidence. She loved it and was photographed under water just 3 months later. Incredible really.

We returned for a second term as she was enjoying it so much. But a few weeks in, our visits to the pool came to an abrupt end. POD continued to enjoy being dunked under the water but I broke my wrist. Badly. With one of us out, sessions became more difficult. When the term ended we decided not to renew.

It was almost a year before we were able to start again. This photograph was taken at the beginning of that first session. It kicked off really well initially but three dives proved one to many. With cries of “get my out” and much screaming we left the pool before the class finished.

The next week it was clear she was terrified. She gripped Daddy so tightly you could see the strain in her fingers. After ten minutes in the pool we decided to leave. We were advised to continue trying so each week we arrived and each week it was the same, out of the pool within ten minutes. For the last session both of us were allowed in the pool. There was a slight improvement in that POD loosened her grip but she was still scared. We left it for six months after that.

Yesterday we took POD to the local sports centre where they run a toddler session. We hoped it would provide her with the opportunity to get used to the water. There was a crab, whale and turtle to sit on, a jacuzzi-like pool and a pirate ship. Not to mention water slides and shutes.

POD was apprehensive at first and insisted on being carried. But over time, she was walking in the shallow waters holding Daddy’s hand. Gradually she let go of his hand until finally she walked freely in the water issuing the occasional instruction as to where she wanted to go.

Although she had no interest in the toddler group, where the water was much deeper, POD braved a water slide on her own and lay on Daddy’s tummy down a water shute. She stayed in the pool for almost an hour!

It was amazing to see her confidence build during that time. And by taking little steps, we hope she will learn to love the pool again just as much as she loves her bath!

We’re linking this post up with What’s The Story? on PODcast and Magic Moments at The Oliver’s Madhouse.



Summer family fun

PODcast IMG_6040These photographs were taken in 2012 whilst in Kalkan, Turkey. It was the Doves first holiday abroad as a family. POD was 18 months old, walking but not talking. Unless you count the chattering captured in this video!

POD was impeccably behaved on her first flight despite being on Mummy or Daddy’s knee for the duration. Amusingly she kept a cup in her grasp until we arrived in Turkey. The transfer to where we were staying took an hour and a half but across incredible scenery.

We stayed in a rustic house that blended into the landscape and offered superb views across the Bay of Kalkan. PODcast IMG_6661A pool terrace and gardens provided the perfect retreat with the elegant harbour town of Kalkan only 5 minutes drive away. It was the perfect location for our first family holiday abroad.

Fresh bread was delivered daily and we enjoyed breakfast outside most mornings. The pool and gardens were secured with a gate which meant POD was safe to toddle around.

In Kalkan, cobbled streets were littered with colourful shops and harbour-side or roof top restaurants. Staff at the restaurants fell head over heels with POD. Typically we discovered an incredible restaurant a few days prior to leaving although we did get to enjoy it before we left.

PODcast IMG_6180We took advantage of the nearby Mahal Beach Club which was a wonderfully peaceful place to relax. Overlooking the sea it provided a restaurant, bar and massage centre. We saw fresh squid caught and POD insisted on trying fresh orange even though it made her shiver!

The house was ideally situated for the golden sands of Patara beach and the mountain villages of Islamlar and Bezirgan. We took POD to Patara one day and although she walked on sand for the first time, she wasn’t too keen on the sea. The waves crashing frightened her although I’m sure now she’d stay in the sea all day given the opportunity.

PODcast IMG_6386As well as enjoying the mountains, the ancient sites of Xanthos, Letoon, Pinara, Tlos and Patara were also close by.

The Doves trip to Kalkan was an amazing first family holiday. It was full of firsts for POD too, first flight, first experience of an outdoor pool, first time walking on sand and first ice-cream being just a few. She’s yet to dip her feet in the sea!

We’ve not been abroad since this holiday as running a business to achieve a better work/life balance has been the priority. However having stayed in Mark Warner resorts as a couple we’d relish the opportunity to visit again as a family.

This post is a competition entry to win a family holiday with Mark Warner in association with Kiddicare

Mark Warner Holidays is giving away a summer 2014 family holiday in association with baby specialist Kiddicare. This awesome competition opens today (13th September) and closes on 31st October 2013.

You can enter in any Kiddicare superstore or via the online entry form on Kiddicare’s Facebook page. For tips on how to entertain the kids on your travels, the kit you absolutely shouldn’t leave home without, how to prepare your children (and you) for their first flight, and other useful know how, written by mums and dads, visit the Kiddicare blog.

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