Second Breakfast and High Tea

The last of Eve's full fat milk had gone off on Saturday morning, so I set about making some American style pancakes for her second hobbit-breakfast.

In fact, I ended up with quite a production line, and baked so many that Daddy and I treated ourselves to some with bacon and maple syrup. 

We've never had good frying pans for pancakes, so it was with great joy that I cooked pancakes for the first time on our big griddle that attaches to the cooker. It made the best pancakes I've ever made, so I was most pleased.

I stacked the remainder of the cold pancakes with sheets of baking paper, wrapped them in foil and put them in the freezer. They can be reheated in the oven, wrapped in foil. That will be a good 'Here's one I made earlier' moment.

After breakfast the sun was shining, so we strolled over to the park with Eve. She had a lovely time wandering about.

Laughing at Daddy on the trampoline

I've still got this strange never-ending virus and was feeling quite tired when we got home from the park. I went up to check on Eve during her nap, she was fast asleep. I thought I'd lie down until she woke up. I felt like a lucky mummy to wake up 2 hours later. Sam was entertaining Eve downstairs; they were having high tea together!

Early on Sunday morning I took Eve in the pram over to Southville to see my sister and her little boy, Jago. Preparations were in order on North Street as the inhabitants were getting ready for their street festival.

It was very family oriented, with lots of games and creative pursuits for children as well as adults.

Cool man-powered machine

Before it was spray painted later that day

It was good to spend time with my sister and Jago. The two cousin's enjoyed playing with each other, there were no tears or tantrums. They both seem very chilled in each others company.

Eve and Jago

As Claire's partner Jody works very hard away from home, for the film industry, it was nice that I could look after Jago whilst my sister potted up some plants in the garden. I remember how difficult things were when Eve was smaller, which meant she couldn't be left alone very much.

Relaxing in Claire and Jody's garden

With the disruptions of the day, Eve didn't sleep that well for her nap which kind of threw things out the window a bit. We managed to get both children asleep for a short time in the afternoon, so we had a quick drink in the garden of The Spotted Cow, and then I hot footed it home as I wasn't feeling very well.

We had such a great day, but it was very nice to get into bed last night. Sanctuary, bliss!

Daddy Day Care

 Daddy and Eve hanging out with Noddy and Bessie

Once Eve has had breakfast and is dressed she is raring to get out the door to experience the wonders of the world. Daddy has been finding it a bit hard lately keeping her occupied at home. Thankfully as the academic year is now coming to end he had some time to take her to Knowle for a little outing yesterday.

His plan was to take her to soft play, but they got there so early (this happens often as a parent I think) that it hadn't even opened. Whilst they waited, they had fun with Noddy, and Eve enjoyed a gingerbread man.

Sam said that because they were there so early, soft play was empty. This was great for Eve as she could run about and go crazy to her hearts delight. Not getting knocked over by bigger kids is a plus!

Daddy and daughter quality time

On the way home from soft play, before having a nap, they stopped at the park for some laughs on the swing.

I'm so glad that Eve and Sam get to spend such lovely times together a couple of mornings a week.

However, this morning when I took her off to nursery she was very upset that we were leaving fun Daddy behind. They have an incredible father-daughter relationship, which is always filled with laughs and cuddles.

Playground Sunshine Vibes

 Perrett Park Mama's n baba's!

It's been a while since I've seen Laura and Jilly. Weekend's are busy times for us all these days. The sun was shining brightly on Saturday when they arrived at our place, along with their kids. We had a bit of a catch up and played with the children and then headed down to Perrett Park.

The park is newly redesigned and is a lovely place to play and chill out. It's a natural amphitheatre and has fantastic views of Bristol. 

Ocky walked over with Arthur and met us at the park. Sam and I were so impressed with Arthur, he dashed up the steps to the slide, turned himself around and flew down it on his stomach, landing feet first on the ground at the bottom. His little eye brow raise amused me when he reached the bottom of the slide - his face said, 'check this out, ohhhhh yeah!!'

Arthur at the bottom of the slide

The children absolutely loved running about, playing in the sand pit and being pushed on the swings. I think we were pretty knackered by the end of it. You just can't take your eyes off them for a second, it seems that disaster could be close at hand, at every turn. Since my little accident with Eve on the big slide a while ago, I am now a bit more cautious

Eve was very cute and was calling Arthur's name in the playground. It was lovely to see the kids playing together.

Eve, having a much needed flapjack and drink after the exertion of the park

Eve is speaking really well and clearly says, 'drink', 'strawberries,' 'drawings.' She loves singing along with the telly or kids songs on youtube and said 'peekaboo' this morning whilst watching a show.

Eve was very happy to receive the baby doll stroller, that I bought for her from a charity shop last week. She has great fun racing around the kitchen with it.

She's played a note or two on the recorder/pipe in the last few weeks, but this weekend she started playing long notes, and looks thrilled as she's wandering about playing tunes on it.

Eve with her pipe

On Sunday morning Daddy, Eve and I were at the little park by our house by 9am as the weather was so warm. We had fun building sand castles.

Mummy and Eve

It's great being able to walk to the park with Eve now. I love going out with minimal baby stuff - it is most liberating.

Fergusson Family Selfie

Eve continues to sleep through the night the majority of the time. She wakes occasionally but goes back to sleep. 

The other night she woke up crying, and I could tell from the sound she was making that she was in pain with her teeth. I had medicine prepped as she had been suffering a bit during the day time. I picked her up out of her cot and she pointed at the medicine straight away. I gave it to her, then a drink of water and tried to put her back to bed. 

She started crying so I picked her up and she said 'drink' and pointed at her bottle of water. It's good that she can communicate on our level now and is beginning to tell us what it is that she wants.

Eve will do anything to get her hands on Daddy's glasses

Summer Strolling

Baby doll stroller

Eve is quite independent already. Nursery seems to boost her confidence, making her a determined little girl. Whilst we were at the park the other day she saw a baby doll stroller, which belonged to another child. She happily grabbed it and started pushing it around, with a look of delight on her face.

I just saw one of these for a quid in the charity shop by my work. What a bargain! I've just started getting some of Eve's toys together to pass on to cousin Jago who is now 8 months old. I want to pass on her Vtech Walker as well, though Daddy is a bit reluctant to let it go as he says Eve loves it so much. She's had some really good use out of the walker, plus she just adores playing with her baby doll Emily now, whom I'm sure she'll love pushing around in the new stroller.

The good ol' Vtech Walker - everyone seems to have them, and they are brilliant things

The other night I made an error allowing Eve to carry baby Emily up to the bathroom with her. She was gripping her tightly as I tried to explain that her baby doll could not go in the bath as she's a soft fabric doll. Eve let her go for a moment, so I sat the doll on the bathroom floor and attempted to put Eve in the bath. Suddenly Eve realised what was happening and became most distraught at not being able to have Emily with her.

Eve flailed about for about ten minutes, crying, whilst I washed and sang to her and tried to calm her down. Finally she was won over by the yellow turtle and yellow crab. She enjoys saying the word 'yellow', and I was very proud when she also said 'turtle'.

Eve with baby doll Emily

My phone has deteriorated some more over night. I woke at what I thought was 6.15am to Eve chatting in the next room. I was so confused when I came down and looked at the clock and it was in fact 6.45am, no wonder it looked so sunny. Eve continues to sleep well which is such a bonus. Being able to stay up until 10pm or so with Sam is a real blessing. Oh, such joyous tv watching and wine drinking...

Due to her growing independence, Eve has been getting increasingly more upset at having her nappy changed if she's done a 'number 2'. Now that summer seems to finally be here I may try potty training within the next couple of months. I've collected a couple of chunky toddler books from the library about using the potty, so that Eve can look at them and start to take the idea onboard. She sits on her potty in the lounge and has played with it at various times so I think she's gradually realising it is for something.

Investigating the garden

I guess this is why people call it 'the terrible two's' - as she heads towards that age, she knows what she wants but sometimes finds it difficult to communicate. Last night was good though, I got home with her after nursery and sat her in her highchair to have a snack before bed. Daddy gave her some strawberries and she was grumbling. I said 'what about a banana?', and she suddenly shouted 'banana!' and got very excited. So communications are definitely coming along, we just have to remain patient and encouraging.

Eve has been able to blow into her toy recorder and make sounds on it for the past week, which is quite exciting as it's taken a while of practicing.

Treat Yourself Mama

I'm always racing around, with a million and one things to get done before work, during my lunch break and in the evening when I return home. The past year has been exciting yet tiring and I have at times felt a bit like a sack of potatoes.

A facial isn't something I'd ever really considered. I know that as a gal I'm supposed to love having body massages and things like that, but treatments that I've had previously made me feel a bit anxious and self conscious.

My dear little sister, Claire is a trained masseuse (she is brilliant and works absolute wonders) and gave me a voucher for a Neal's Yard facial for my Christmas present. As you can see it's taken me six months to get round to using the voucher, but man, was it worth the wait!

I took a half day from work yesterday and wandered across the road to the Neal's Yard store on Whiteladies. I've never been in there before as I knew it was expensive and didn't really feel like I could justify that kind of expense.

I'm so lucky that they are just across the road from my work. A lady called Chris did my treatment. She was really nice and I felt completely at ease. She cleansed and exfoliated my skin along with a head, neck and shoulder massage. She used their Rose balm on the top of my chest and their Frankincense range on my face - which is good for skin, over the age of 30.

I fully enjoyed the experience and particularly loved the Neal's Yard Frankincense Hydrating Facial Mist. She told me to breathe in as she sprayed it over my face at the beginning and end of the treatment; it was simply wonderful.

Frankincense Hydrating Facial Mist

http://www.nealsyardremedies.com/skincare/organic-facial-skincare/facial-toners/0354.html

Afterwards I felt so full of energy and ran down the road to catch a bus to the harbour where I met my sister and her little boy Jago. We had a chat and treated ourselves to tea and cake. I felt a bit greasy out in public, as I had oil in my hair and a shiny face. It's best to let all of the products sink in to your skin and not wear any make up afterwards.

When I woke up this morning my skin felt incredible. It's a lovely treat, and something I will consider once or twice a year, pennies permitting. It costs £35 for half an hour (which is what I had), or you can pay £70 for an hour treatment and have a face mask, with a hand or foot massage included). 

I'm not feeling like such a frumpy old mummy now; a little bit of pampering is definitely good for the soul.

Have a look to see the other therapies that Neal's Yard offer:

http://www.nealsyardremedies.com/our-therapies

Playgrounds and Meltdowns

Eve playing in the newly redesigned playground in Perrett Park

We had some sunny days last week, so Eve spent a lovely time playing in Perrett Park with Daddy during their mornings together.

This weekend we've spent our time mainly at home, pottering about, playing and going to the park. The weather was set to be rainy on Sunday. We planned to drive into town so that Sam could spend his birthday voucher from October (this is how much we don't go shopping!) He bought a smart mod suit which will be really nice to wear when we have some events to go to that involve dressing up. 

Ready with her lunchbox to go shopping

Shortly after finishing our shopping Eve woke up in her pram, she hadn't slept very long and was woken up by loud music in a shop. She had a great time walking about Cabot Circus; in and out exploring shops and saying hello to passers by. 

I thought I had a good idea for lunch and headed to Bella Pasta (not somewhere we would usually go), thinking that a nice bowl of pasta would be perfect for Eve's lunch. She was given crayons and a colouring in sheet and some bread sticks to munch on. She was happy enough but seemed a bit on edge and wanted her lunch to arrive. I think I put her bib on a little bit too soon, so she started getting agitated wanting to know where her lunch was. When the waitress brought out her pasta and put it on the table in front of her, we suddenly realised how low the 'high' chair was. The high rimmed bowl was almost as high as her face so she couldn't feed herself as her hands were too low down. She immediately started crying. We tried placing something under her to raise her up, but she had already started getting very upset. We then tried to sit her on our laps so she could try to eat like that, but this method didn't work and she proceeded to scream down the restaurant.

Moments before meltdown

Thankfully as we were inside the shopping centre, I took her, screaming very loudly, outside to the restaurant tables which are undercover. Eve proceeded to writhe around as I desperately tried to feed her something - she wouldn't touch a thing. In the end we gave up trying to give her anything to eat and tried to calm her down looking over the balcony at all the people below. I must say that the restaurant staff were incredibly nice to us. About six waitresses came rushing out, following us to a table outside with our various plates, drinks, and bits and bobs.

As Sam was walking her about, they bumped into Emily; who is the girl in charge of the baby room at nursery. Sam says that Eve stopped crying and even said 'bye bye' to Emily as she wandered off. From there things improved slightly.

Sam and I took turns bolting down our lunch to make a quick retreat. Paying for this awful experience at the end of the meal seemed to be the cherry on the cake. When we got home, Eve calmly walked over to her highchair; I put her in it and she started eating straight away. The poor girl had been in such a state and slept for almost 3 hours after she finished her lunch. 

Enjoying Thomas the Tank Engine in Broadwalk shopping centre.

We didn't need to put any money in it, Eve was happy just standing pushing the buttons.

When Eve woke up around 4pm yesterday, Sam went upstairs to get her. He said that she was clearly trying to say 'sorry' to us both as she was hugging and stoking him and kept asking for me: 'mummy? mummy?' When he brought her downstairs I gave her a hug and she curled up on me and just stayed there silently for a few minutes - something she's never done before. It was very endearing. We had told her throughout the situation that it wasn't her fault and tried to reassure her. I feel that there is always a positive to be taken from a negative situation. I for one will definitely research a restaurant a bit more in the future. It just didn't dawn on me that a restaurant might not have high enough highchairs/or that the tables just didn't work with the chairs.

Mummy and Eve in Perrett Park

I emailed Bella Pasta yesterday to thank the staff for their help and also informed them that this is something they might want to take a look at. I should imagine that by the time a child is big enough to sit in the 'high' chairs there and reach the table, they will be big enough to sit on a seat instead.

I picked up this cute hat for £1 in a charity shop the other day, 

after seeing them online for £14 - happy bargain shopping

Frenic Monomyth T-Shirts - Ordeo Clothing

After the great success of my lovely husband, DJ Frenic's last tour of Greece, Monomyth T-shirts are now available to buy online.

The T-shirts are made from organic cotton and show the image from the Monomyth album cover. Sizes available are Medium, Large and X Large.  They are on sale at the moment for £15 (reduced from £20) and will be sent to you including a free boxed copy of the full album.

If you haven't heard the album yet, you are certainly in for a treat when it arrives on your doorstep.

Delivery costs are only £3.49 for the UK, and £6 for International shipments. You can't go wrong peeps, get one today or buy one for a friend!!

Click the link below to get involved:

http://www.ordeoclothing.co.uk/product/frenic-monomyth-tee/