Temple Trip

I'd wanted to take the kids to see the temple for a while, and also wanted to go to the LDS bookshop, so off we went. The weather was grim, and I didn't expect we'd be there that long, but we actually made a whole day of it. We set off at 10.30 am and arrived about an hour later.




The kids really enjoyed the interactive displays in the visitors centre and were pleased to see the large nativity scene outside. We went for a walk in the grounds and said hello to some friendly ducks - according to James this was the best bit. The kids loved walking over the bridges of the pond - am I the only person that hates kids walking over the bridge with no rails?





We had lunch in the car as it was too wet to eat outside and then went to the distribution centre...or shop as James calls it. It really doesn't matter where I take them they want to buy things...this time it was a CD with Jesus on for Kaitlyn and a scripture bag each - I only went in for a easy hymn book but managed to spend £24. We then went back to the visitors centre to watch a film. They are currently showing 'Joseph Smith - prophet of the restoration' I wasn't sure if the kids would sit through it, but they were really well behaved...this film is about an hour and 20 minutes long, and they sat through it and really seemed to enjoy it.




When we came out the Christmas lights were on - pretty and understated and the nativity scene looked lovely lit up. A quick stop at the bookshop....more money, stickers - £2.25 a pack...extortion...and then home.



It was really nice to spend the day with the kids in a peaceful and calm environment.

Charity.....at what price?

I love a good old rummage through charity shops/boot fairs/ jumble sales....I love to find a bargain and I really love hardly spending any money. I've recently been to a couple good old fashioned jumble sales where I got loads of stuff for about 5p each item. Anyway, today was my morning off so I decided to head into town for a rummage in the local charity shops, I was mainly looking for a green t-shirt for James' Shepard costume, but am always on the look out for other bargains.

I did manage to get a few bargains...some t-shirts for Kaitlyn 50p each, a teenage-mutant-ninja turtle board game for James - 50p and some work trousers for me - £2.00. These sort of prices are fair for what is essentially someone else's castoffs. However a certain few charity shops seem to have forgotten that they are selling second hand items....bearing in mind you can get a new child's t-shirt in primark for £1, I don't expect to see the same t-shirt in a charity ship for £1.50....I will also not pay £20 for secondhand boots, similarly a grubby horse shaped bean bag toy is not worth £1.95....get a grip. I appreciate that the money goes to a good cause, but what is really really want is a bargain!

Let it Snow!

Snow has fallen for the first time this year. 'Is is Christmas?' asked James, I explained to him that it didn't only snow at Christmas...'yes but it's like Christmas mummy' he replied. Yes like Christmas - without the presents, nice food and goodwill to all men...rotten horrible cold weather!!!

Brrrr!!!!

Winter has arrived. Before I realised this fact, I'd offered to take the kids to the park - Hampton was the park of choice so off we set in the car. James had taken his remote controlled car and Kaitlyn had her pram and dolly. We met Glen at the park, but as soon as I got out of the car I realised I'd made a mistake...ice cold wind quickly seeped through every layer of clothing and my glove less hands were turned to ice.

Not wanting to disappoint the kids, I agreed to stay for 10 minutes...Kaitlyn who is not one for the cold was fine with this, she just wanted to be carried by daddy, James however did not seem to mind the Arctic conditions...he was having fun with the remote controlled car, on it's first outdoor adventure. After 5 minutes I suggested that we go...not yet he replied, okay another 2 minutes I offed. 2 minutes later I repeated my suggestion, by this time my nose was frozen and I had no feeling in my toes...still James was insisting we stay some more. Eventually I had to bribe him with going to nanny's house to get him to leave. We warmed up at my mum's and soon it was time to go into Herne Bay town, mum the kids and I, to see the Christmas lights being turned on - I'd promised the kids they could go as there was due to be a Dalek, Darth Vadar and Dora the explorer.

The event was advertised as starting at 3 pm - we arrived at about 3.30, but apart from a band playing and a few people, it was pretty deserted. It doesn't take a lot to impress James however...he excitedly declared 'it's a rock band!'...he's led a sheltered life, bless him!




We took James for a quick hair cut, met up with Carly, Josh and Dylan - and by this time Darth Vadar, the Dalek and Dora had arrived. James and Josh were so exited about seeing Darth Vadar...I bought James a light sabre ..at the rip off price of £4! and he took on Darth Vadar. Kaitlyn likes Dora - but not enough to get out of the buggy.




The crowds started to build up so we took our place by the side of the stage and it proceeded to get more and more crowded. Naomi also turned up with Heather and Esther. The lights were due to be turned by Emma Barton - Honey from Eastenders - who is playing Snow White in the pantomime at the Marlowe. The publicity photos had shown her in her Snow White costume, so the kids were expecting Snow White to turn of the lights, she however turned up in jeans and a baseball cap...you couldn't hardly see her face...and to the kids she could have been anyone. Anyway lights were turned on, people fought their was out of the crowds and we made our way home.

It was late (well 5.30 - but it felt later), the kids were cold and hungry so we stopped off for some fish and chips that we ate at home. The kids sat in silence whilst they refuelled and defroted. Kaitlyn then went straight to bed, no messing, shortly followed by James. Giving me the evening to myself to watch Xfactor.

They're not so bad

A few of my recent blogs have focused on the stresses and strains of being a mum, therefore it's only fair to write about days that aren't so bad - today being one of them. This was helped by the fact that it was my day off from work - James was at school and Kaitlyn went to playgroup so I had a few hours to myself this morning. This free time was spent visiting teaching. Naomi and I visited Tracy, Teressa and Laura and it was nice to have adult conversation without constant interruptions.

On picking Kaitlyn up, we went to Emma's place. Due to work, I usually only see Emma and Kathy once or twice a week so it's good to catch up whilst the girls played together - despite a few incidents involving pot pourri and crisps - it was a relatively stress free afternoon. Emma and I then took the girls to the toddler group at the school.

I picked James up and we came home and despite a few whinges from the kids, they were relatively well behaved. James vegged out watching TV whilst Kaitlyn and I did some puzzles together - it's really nice having one-to-one time with Kaitlyn, she so cute when she's behaving nicely. I often have one-to-one time with James once Kaitlyn is in bed, but she sometimes misses out as James is always around.

It really makes a difference on a non-work day when I can pick James up from school and spend time as a family before bed. Today I even had time to make a home cooked dinner, tidy the kids bedroom and reduce the overflowing washing basket to only 3/4 full....believe me, most days I feel productive if I've loaded the dishwasher.

The kids went to bed on time and after a quick tidy round, I had the evening to myself.

Open Wide Please!

Today the kids and I went to the dentist. It had been a while since we'd been - in fact, Kaitlyn had never been. I'd been getting them exited for weeks about going to the dentist and we'd been playing dentists at home whilst brushing their teeth.

James was first in the chair, his teeth were deemed fine, and he was very pleased to receive a sticker! Kaitlyn in the meantime was protesting slightly so I volunteered to be next. The chair reclining all the way back seemed to impress her enough for her to agree to sit on my lap. She behaved very well and allowed the dentist to check her teeth. All was fine, sticker was received and we were on our way.

My Christmas Star!

James has been chosen to play a shepherd in the school's nativity play, now I know that in these days of political correctness, fairness, and non-competitiveness - every child gets a part, but come on ... a 'towns person' or a 'sheep' is just scraping the barrel of roles on offer. A shepherd however is practically a leading role!!!

I'm not sure how many shepherds wore a green t-shirt and jeans, but that is the costume I have been asked to provide.

I'm really looking forward to the opening night! ... well afternoon actually.

Mornings

I don't know if I'm the only one whose kids can be truly horrible in the morning. You would have thought that after 11 hours sleep they would be happy and smiling...not my two. This morning was a particularly hideous example. I was awoken by the sound of crying and arguing...it turned out to be about books....James did not want Kaitlyn to take the books, she had other ideas. This resulted in a fight irrupting - James, armed with a foam sword, was pursuing Kaitlyn as she came running into my room. After confiscating the sword and listening to 2 versions of why the other party was in the wrong, I tried to mediate and then move on. Tears, moaning, and arguing continued. 'Maybe they're just hungry' I thought and proceeded to sort out breakfast ...despite a few moans about wanting cheese spread instead of jam on toast; juice instead of water; and not weetabix but shreddies...no actually I'll have both - this part of the morning was ok.

The fuss began with Kaitlyn not wanting to get dressed ...'me no like it t-shirt' - the options were limited due to the ever mounting pile of dirty washing - so the t-shirt was forced over her head...'me no like it t-shirt!!!!' x 100 on repeat like a broken record. Trousers on, shoes on, teeth cleaned...done!

Next to James ...'I don't want to wear a jumper' - tough it's cold, 'my trousers are cold' - they'll be ok in a minute, 'I don't want to go to school' - well you're going. Patience wearing very thin by this time.

Back to Kaitlyn - who had sneaked back up stairs and was by this time half naked. Screaming irrupted as I redressed her and took her down stairs.

James then had to be made to clean his teeth despite cries of 'I don't like this toothpaste waaagggh!'. By this time Kaitlyn was back upstairs trying to get undressed again. Redressed her, carried her out to the car - no shoes or coat, strapped her in, shut the door ...and for just a few moments enjoyed not hearing her whingeing.

Now to get James in to the car -'I'm not going' he insists...''yes you are' I reply and guide him out of the door...him still wailing..into car, drop him off, one down one to go.

She moans all the way to nursery, but once arrives runs in happily. Leave her to go to work and fully appreciate the fact that I can no longer hear cries, screams and moans...a truly stressful morning and the day had hardly begun.

Jolly Phonics

James loves school, although he struggles to express this...every question is met by the same answer day-after-day - 'what did you do today?' - nothing; 'what did you have for lunch?' - can't remember, 'who did you play with?' - don't know.

One thing he does like to talk about though is 'Jolly Phonics'. This is the method they use in James' school for teaching the sounds of letters - each letter has a jolly phonic rhyme to help the kids learn the sound. Every time James sees a letter he recognises, he recites his jolly phonic rhyme...'a a ants on my arm, a a ants on my arm, a a ants on my arm, are causing me alarm!' is one example. His letter recognition has come on so much since starting school and he is starting to sound out words and really enjoys 'reading' his school books.......long may it last.

I'll scream and scream and scream until I'm sick!

My daughter can be a moody little mare sometimes. I appreciate that it must be tiring playing and eating all day, but there is really no need for some of the extreme strops she throws. Today when I picked her up from nursery she was really tired, this resulted in her having a hissy fit in her car seat and trying the climb out; throwing tomato soup at James whilst eating dinner; and having a massive paddy whist getting ready for bed.

No attempt to calm her down was working...'Kaitlyn do you want a story?' ...scream!, 'a song?' ...Scream!, 'a cuddle?'...waaaaaaaHHHH!!!!. On and on the screaming went, I dread to think what the neighbours thought. Anyway she got herself in such a state that she started coughing...then choking...and then being sick. Lovely red stained tomato soup sick - all over the beige carpet. I love evenings like this - come home from work, deal with a stroppy child, clean up sick...the joys of parenting.

She finally did calm down and went to sleep...they look so cute when they're asleep...all is forgiven and forgotten....until they awake again!

Gobstoppers

I hate dummies - I know it must be tempting to shove a plug in your child's mouth at times, but I just do not like them and have never allowed either of my kids to have one. Kaitlyn however loves them, I remember that as soon as she could roll around as a baby she would try to acquire one out of some other child's mouth. She would even resort to dolls dummies and bottle teats.

On Friday she had friends over to play, one of whom has dummy. When dropping Ruby off to her mum, her dummy which had been in her change bag was missing, I assumed that had gotten left at playgroup and thought no more of it - until I got home and found Kaitlyn in her car seat with a dummy stuck in her gob.

Through all the business of getting in the house, getting sorted, getting dinner done, Kaitlyn managed to keep hold of the dummy (yes i know it was my laziness for not dealing with it then and there - but sometimes the easy life option wins). I was also trying to get ready to go out and Glen was coming over to have the kids - when i got back they were asleep - hurrah!

Anyway, this morning I was woken by by questions about 'tummy?', 'tommy?' ...what are you saying Kaitlyn? i asked ...she realised i was no help and went off, only to return with the 'dummy' firmly wedged in her mouth. 'Get it out' I commanded, 'no' she replied...running off. In no mood first thing in the morning to get out of bed, let alone chase around a small child, I sunk back under the duvet - glad of another five minutes peace. The dummy served it's purpose all morning - keeping her quiet whilst I got them both ready, out the door, etc etc. By the afternoon however I had finally had enough, she's at the age when most children are giving up dummies, not starting on them. Taking it from her and hiding it I informed her that a bird had taken it back to Ruby (lame i know, but it's the first thing that came to mind), Kaitlyn was not falling for that...she started checking my pockets and throwing a strop. I had to see it thorough though or it would never end. She eventually seemed to get over it until another day I'm sure.

Canterbury Museum

The kids and I visited Canterbury museum today - we'd been there before and as we have a 'residents card' the entrance is free. To be honest I really don't like taking the kids into Canterbury - it's too busy and the shops full of expensive tat, but I had to go in for a meeting, so it was the ideal oppourtunity for us to visit the museum.


The first part of the museum is about some of the history of Canterbury, the kids covered this in 2 seconds flat, they were slighly more interested in the war stuff - maybe 3 seconds, slowed down by the time we got to Bagpuss - 5 seconds, and finally reached thier prefered destination - Rupert Bear.

There is lots to do in the museum for kids, especially at the Rupert Bear bit. Games, puzzles, pictures, exhibits, you can watch the frog chorus on repeat! or try origami!


There were not many visitors at the museum - which was good for us as there was plenty of space and I wasn't worried about ther kids annoying anyone - but a shame if this resouse is underused....so start spreading the word as there are not many free activities for kids!

Kaitlyn and Friends

Since James started school in September, Kaitlyn gets lonely during her time without him so today I invited a couple of her friends over after playgroup. She only goes the the Ducklings Playgroup once a week, but enjoys playing with Kassidy and Ruby. The girls came back for lunch and played nicely with the dolls and prams.

I then took the girls to the toddler group at the school and where I met up with Ruby's mum Emma. Hopefully Kassidy's mum, Kathy, enjoyed a restful afternoon.....when's it my turn!

Pilchard

The only pet we have in the family is Pilchard, our rabbit. He lives outdoors in a hutch and has a separate run where he can mooch around and eat grass. In the summer months he spends most of his days in the run - or escaping into the garden/the neighbours garden/under the decking. In the winter however it's so cold, dark and horrible that he rarely gets a good run around.

Today I felt sorry for him so let him come into the house for a while. The kids love him, although I'm not sure the feeling is mutual, and want to stroke him and pick him up. He is not exactly the cuddly sort and definitely likes his own space, but he's come to expect some form of limited contact with the kids.

We brought his bowl of food in, which managed to get spilt on the floor. Pilchard eats 'Wagg Bunny Brunch' - a highly nutritious and tasty food for rabbits, or so I am told, this 'brunch' contains some flaky looking bits and some brown lumpy bits. Rabbit droppings were beginning to appear and soon I found it hard to differentiate between the rabbit food (the brown bits) and the rabbit poo...nice.

Kaitlyn's Curls

Kaitlyn, who is nearly three, had never had a hair cut until today. Her hair is so curly that it doesn't really get longer and longer, it just gets bigger and bigger. Anyway, the ends were getting really dry so I decided to give it a trim. After acquiring the assistance of a helpful neighbour, as previous experience of touching Kaitlyn's hair suggested I would need help in this matter, I managed to get her sitting still enough for me to begin trim.

I honestly only cut 2 cm from the length, but the curls sprung up even further and her hair looked really short. I'm not sure how level the cut is, but fortunately as it is curly no one will be able to tell. She luckly still looks very cute.

Trip to London

For James' 5th birthday we decided to take him, along with his sister and cousins, Josh & Missy, to the natural history musuem. I learnt my lesson on his last birthday about parties at home - but that is another story - and thought this would be a good alternative. I also found out that the Christmas ice rink had just opened outside the musuem, and thought it would be an added treat to take him skating.

We caught the train from Strood and then the underground to South Kensington. It was the first time the kids had been on the underground. The kids were very amused that there were pigeons inside the train station and were interested in the buskers (a harpist and an keyboard player).

The musuem itself is huge and it's brilliant that the entrance is free. They also loan out 'explorer backpacks' for the under 7's which includes a safari hat, binoculors and a clipboard.

It was very busy and hard to keep an eye on the kids - luckly there were 4 adults to 4 kids so it worked out ok. The Dinosuar exhibition was the best - unfortunately we done this bit last and it was a bit of a rush as we were tired and wanted to go.





James was looking forward to iceskating, he'd been on rollerskates before - and that was like Bambi on ice - however i decided to take the risk of taking him and Joshua on the ice. They had special child skates which had a double blade and fitted over thier own shoes. It was raining a fair bit so the rink was covered in a layer of water. James was the first to fall, he was quite shocked and I thought he might want to get off, but he was fine. There was a smaller rink to the side for kids that was undercover and the boys skated round quite happily. I hadn't been skating in years and felt quite wobbly at first, but after a few minutes I felt fine. Unfortuntely I had to skate along side the kids so didn't really get the benefit fo the rink. I think the boys enjoyed it despite a few falls.





The day out was exhausing but fun - highly recommended.