Tuesday 16 December 2014

Letters to Santa

For the first time ever, we have written to Father Christmas on Munchkin's behalf.  It's her third Christmas and she has a pretty good idea what's going on now.  I wrote a letter to him, asking her what she wanted to say.  Having already decided to send a reply via santa.co.uk, I included things in Munchkin's letter that I knew would be reflected in Santa's reply.
Letter to Santa

There were about five letters aimed at Munchkin's age group, so I picked the one with the story that I liked best.  The only thing that could have been done better is the way the child's best friend's name is used.  In some of the letters, the friend is referred to as "they".  Surely it wouldn't have been difficult to include one extra field to indicate whether the friend is a boy or a girl?  The best friend thing was difficult for us in any case.  Munchkin's closest friends are twins so it was difficult choosing which one to name.
Letter from Santa

We really liked the letter from Father Christmas.  I'm not sure Munchkin was quite as impressed and Angmering Daddy and me, though she did like it.  Perhaps she'll be more interested next year.

Friday 12 December 2014

Santa Special at the Bluebell Railway

We went to the Bluebell Railway to visit Santa last Sunday and Munchkin loved every minute of it (almost).  The Bluebell has several Christmas packages and we opted for this one because it seemed to include the most for our money. We had originally intended to book a first class compartment, but  the helpful man on the booking line explained that you see Santa for longer in a standard class compartment; he only pops his head round the door in First Class.  Even standard class wasn't cheap, but I think it was worth the money.  Munchkin is still young enough to travel as a toddler, but I paid the child rate so she could have her own seat.  Standard (aka third) class tickets prices are: Adult - £20, Child £13, Toddler - £9. We were on the first train of the day, which I'm glad about because it meant it was relatively quiet when we arrived.  People who arrived later on had to use the overflow car park in a field down the road.


The Santa Special goes between Sheffied Park and Horsted Keynes stations.  There was a children's roundabout and a few fairground type stalls at Sheffield Park.  The roundabout was meant to be free for the first go, and £1 thereafter but they weren't very strict about this.  Munchkin won a doll on the Lucky Dip but I wouldn't describe this doll as lucky.  So far her head and one arm have fallen off!

When the train arrived, we found our allocated seats.  We didn't know whether we'd be seeing Santa on the way to Horsted Keynes or the return journey.  It turned out that we saw him on the way there.  Munchkin was given an embroidered red bag containing a gift.  It was a cuddly lamb, who is now called "Bluebell".  Munchkin loves Bluebell, and she's been everywhere with her for the past week.  Munchkin was also given Smarties, and the grown ups were given mince pies.

Munchkin was a bit overwhelmed at Horsted Keynes.  She didn't want to have her photo taken with Father Christmas.  The Victorian fairground games and sideshows on the station were fun and good value (6 goes for £1, I think) but mainly a little grown up for Munchkin.


Upon our return to Sheffield Park, we went to the carvery restaurant for Christmas lunch.  This was OK, but nothing special.  Given that the Santa Special is aimed at children, I think they could have done more to promote children's meals. We were able to get child sized portions, despite there being no mention of them on the menu enclosed with our train tickets, and the waitress got Munchkin a tub of ice cream from the cafe downstairs because the desserts on the carvery menu were too big and rich for her.

We loved the Bluebell, and will be signing Munchkin up to the Stepney Club. She'll get a newsletter about Stepney (who appears in the Thomas the Tank Engine series), a birthday card, invitations to special events, and reduced rate train travel for just £8 a year, £12 for 2 years, or £16 for 3 years.

Adult £20.00  Child £13.00  Toddler £9.00
Adult £20.00  Child £13.00  Toddler £9.00
Adult £20.00  Child £13.00  Toddler £9.00

Sunday 30 November 2014

Soft Play and Santa

Since I last blogged, Out of Bounds has opened in Rustington.  We're very impressed.  It consists of indoor climbing, soft play and ten pin bowling.  It's the largest, newest soft play in the Worthing area.  Munchkin has been there twice so far, once with me and once with Daddy.  Although there is an area aimed at under 4's and another aimed at under 12's, we found that Munchkin was able to navigate everything by herself, which was good going as she's nearly 3 and small for her age.

The soft play is on three levels.  You enter and leave through (an apparently) child proof gate so it's all pretty secure.  There are loads of tables within the soft play area, though the cafe is outside so I'm not sure how easy it would be to negotiate the gate with a buggy and a cup of coffee. The soft play cost us £4 off peak, with no time limit.  The whole experience was a complete contrast to the soft play at Worthing Leisure Centre that I mentioned in my last blog.

Other than soft play, we've been planning for Christmas.  I can't remember the last time I'd got this much Christmas shopping done in November.  Munchkin has been very clear about what she wants for Christmas this year: Skye from Paw Patrol, an oven, a till and a Peppa Pig car.  Thankfully, I found out that my step-brother was coming over from the States at around the time she decided she wanted Skye.  Nick Jr haven't released Paw Patrol toys in the UK and I didn't really want to spend £15 + on an imported toy that costs around £6 in the US. 

Munchkin and I wrote her letter to Father Christmas today.  He will be replying via santa.co.uk.  This website enables you to generate a letter from Santa with lots of personalisation.  It costs £4.99 and a percentage goes to RSPCA.  I looked into Royal Mail, which is free but I don't think there's much personalisation and NSPCC which is £5 suggested donation.  NSPCC came highly recommended but I wasn't that impressed.  I don't just want a letter from Santa, I want something that reads like a reply to the letter we've written; santa.co.uk gives me that option.

We're off to see Santa at the Bluebell Railway next weekend.  Blog to follow...


Tuesday 28 October 2014

Poogate and Parties

It's been over a month but I'm finally writing another blog.  In the world of Angmering Mummy, there are three things going on at the moment, Munchkin has taken to saying, "Are we nearly there yet?" in addition to "Why?", Angmering Nanny is very poorly, and we're trying to plan a third birthday party.

Due to Nanny's illness, we've been staying with Sweetpea's family.  This has involved Munchkin and Sweetpea sharing a rather large single bed.  In addition to the usual staying awake at all hours and group trips to the toilet, we've had Poo Gate.  Child A did a poo in her PJ's in the middle of the night, then threw it on the floor.  She said Child B did it.  Child B said Child A did it.  Neither were budging on these stories, however Child A said, "B did a poo in my pyjamas".  To top this off, Child A has a history of pooing her pants, hadn't pooed during the day, and her end of the bed smelt.  The jury is still out on who threw the poo on the floor.

Munchkin is going through a really shy phase at the moment.  When we go to groups, she refuses to join in, even though she claims to enjoy them and wants to go back.  As a result, we decided to arrange a birthday party for her that wouldn't involve group participation.  Soft play seemed the obvious choice so I made enquiries about Amazon Adventure at Worthing Leisure Centre.  They had availability of the right date, and the party package seemed to be what we were looking for - an hour in soft play plus 45 minutes for food in a separate room.  Since we'd never been, Munchkin and I made a trip to check out Amazon Adventure... We will NOT be having a party there.  The equipment has seen better days; it's threadbare in places.  The slide is a nightmare.  If you were there with a group of three year olds, you'd either need to man it to help them get up there, or ban them from using it.  We've considered every other soft play in the area and ruled it out for one reason or another:

Not my choice of a party venue.  That red star definitely looks ready for retirement.
  • P.LA.Y. - You're just in soft play with members of the public, then you get called to a small party room.  Although not as run down as Amazon Adventure, it's seen better days.
  • Harbour Park - You're just in soft play with members of the public for 45 minutes, then you go to a party room.  Apparently their catering is attrocious.  I've never been, but my friend says the coffee is undrinkable.
  • Flying Fortress - As above, you're sharing the softplay.  It's so big, we'd probably lose a toddler along the way.  Might be a viable option next year.
  • Wyevale Findon - No party room, you sit in the open plan cafe.
  • Old Barn - According to Angmering Daddy, the soft play is smaller than Wyevale's.  No party room, though it's less open plan than Wyevale.
 As a result, we think we've settled on a bouncy castle party at Worthing Leisure Centre.  This has come highly recommended by other parents.  It's £76 for 20 children, plus catering (£3.49/£3.99 a child for cold/hot buffet or £26.50 room hire if you do your own catering).  One of Munchkin's friends has a bouncy castle party in November so we'll be able to check it out then.  In actual fact, she's going to two parties at the Leisure Centre on the same day, with most of the same children.  The other is a soft play party...

 That brings me up to date with our news. Must try harder to blog regularly.

Saturday 6 September 2014

Why?

We have finally entered the "Why?" phase.  The fact that this didn't happen until Munchkin could talk in full sentences hasn't made it any less frustrating.  My friend's little boy is a month older than Munchkin and she has tended to do things a month or so after him, but not on this occasion.  I was vaguely worried that she was developmentally slow, but secretly pleased I didn't have to deal with it.

I am currently dealing with around seven "whys" a day, excluding the supplementary ones.  I wouldn't mind but I find them so difficult to answer.  The answers I give are often met with a "why?".  We still haven't established why there are big and small roads, and why weeds are so called.

We were driving home from swimming yesterday when Munchkin asked me why we had to drive round the roundabout.  I explained at great length that roundabouts allowed cars to drive onto different roads more easily, otherwise we would never be able to get from the small roads (single carriageways) onto the big roads (dual carriageways).  As a result of this, she asked me why there were big roads and small roads.  I told her that big roads were for getting from one town to another and people usually lived on small roads, but I'm not convinced she was satisfied with that answer.
Image courtesy of iamharin freedigitalphotos.net

I was doing some weeding yesterday, when she asked me what I was doing.  I explained that I was pulling up weeds like Grandpa Pig in Peppa Pig.  This is going to be easy, I thought, I just say what Grandpa Pig did.  Grandpa Pig said that weeds were naughty plants that grew where they weren't meant to.  The next thing I know, I've been asked why Grandpa doesn't like weeds, and why he says "weeds".  After trying to explain that they were called weeds because that was their name, I gave up.  Every time I tried to use a comparison, it resulted in another question.

You would think that as a Business Analyst, who spends my working days asking, "Why", "What", When" and "How", I would welcome this but it's making me use my brain more at home than I do at work.  I'm used to adapting my communication style for the business area or IT but now I'm having to think like a toddler. WHY?

Saturday 30 August 2014

Clearing Out

I recently spent two days transforming our home office from a junk room back into an office.  I've now moved on to the conservatory which is being changed from an unused and junk filled sitting room into a play room.  This has left me with piles of stuff that I've been trying to sell or give away with varying degrees of success.

A month or two ago, I tried to sell some good quality baby clothes to a local pre-loved shop.  They declined the lot without even looking, telling me that baby clothes didn't sell.  They were interested in one good-as-new toy but I declined the offer as I was sure I could get more on eBay.  The following day, I asked parents on a local Facebook page if they thought it was worth the hassle of trying to sell baby clothes.  Some said no, others advised me to do a nearly-new sale. My current approach is to dispose of what I can through the internet, then assess if I need to do a nearly-new sale.

I've tried various means of selling things online.  I've got mainly kids' things plus a few items of furniture to dispose of.  Facebook selling pages have proven a complete waste of time, though I managed to sell something to a friend via a Facebook status.  Friday-Ad proved brilliant for selling furniture - it went for the asking price, give or take £3 and the ads didn't cost me a penny.

I've put various things - mainly toys and baby equipment on eBay.  Some things haven't generated any interest.  Others have lots of watchers and a few bids.  My most popular item?  Used, slightly bobbled training pants.  Munchkin's old pants have three bids and nine watchers so far!
Would you pay good money for these pants?
There are some things I can't even give away.  I've put Munchkin's old changing mats and changing bag - all clean and perfectly useable, but by no means good-as-new on three Freecycle-type sites and no-one is interested. The problem with the changing bag might be that Boots give them away for free but I can't explain the changing mat thing.  So why do parents want to buy used... and I mean USED... pants when they don't want free changing mats? I don't get it, but those FLIP training pants we didn't get on with will be going on eBay as soon as I have time to take pictures.

Monday 18 August 2014

What's in a name?

The Office of National Statistics announced the top 100 baby names for 2013 last week.  I'm trying to decide how I feel about Munchkin's name slipping out of the top 100.  Part of me is pleased that she has an unusual name.  Part of me is disappointed that others don't share my good taste ;-).  When it comes to names, I don't like anything too popular or too obscure, which is probably why I ended up with a name that was at seventy-something in the chart when I had my baby.  I'm somewhat glad we're not intending to have more children, by the time I've ruled out the above, ignored anything that I consider too old fashioned, any name that was obviously borrowed from a celebrity and anything that I don't think sounds like a "real" first name, there's not much left.  I don't want to offend anyone by saying this, just because I wouldn't chose your child's name for mine or vice versa doesn't mean either of them have "bad" names.

I've been encouraging Munchkin to name her soft toys and dolls - the above rules do not apply when you're two and a half - but this isn't going too well.  She's happy to use the names that certain characters came with such as Peppa Pig and Baby Annabell and also the names that Angmering Daddy and I gave certain toys before she could talk, such as Ronnie the rhino and Alan the dog.   However, when I've asked her to name a toy recently, she's gone for the obvious, dogs are called "Doggy" and rabbits are called, "Bunny".  She won't budge on this one, if I try to come up with other suggestions, she says, "No, Mummy."

Poor Alan - so-named because he came from Ikea, where everything is put together with an Allen key - has been in the wars a bit recently.  He nearly got taken to lost property after Munchkin left him in soft play at a garden centre.  He went in the washing machine at the weekend because he smelt.  Today he's been checked for nits.  I had to check Munchkin's hair because nits are going round her nursery.  I gave her the all-clear, but she in turn checked me, Alan, Princess Peppa and several items of bathroom furnishings.

Apart from names and nits, we've had a relatively quiet week.  We've been to several parks and had a non-spectacular lunch out.  Weather permitting, we might go to the Play Day at Homefield Park on Friday.


Tuesday 12 August 2014

Little Monsters Bash

On Saturday, we went to Little Monsters Bash, at Stanmer Park in Brighton.  This was a festival for young children, arranged in aid of Tree of Hope - a charity that helps sick children.  Someone sent me details a while ago on Facebook but it didn't sound that exciting until I checked out the the line up.  The headline acts were Heaven for the under tens. 

Munchkin got to meet Peppa and George but she wasn't expecting them to be six feet tall, and was a little scared!  Captain Barnacles and Quasii from The Octonauts were also there, as was Yo Jo Jo (or whatever his name is) from WayBaloo.
George doing a meet and greeet
There were some excellent shows on the main stage - most of which repeated several times, meaning that we had a chance to see what was on elsewhere.  Alex Winters from CBeebies was the compere.  I think it's perhaps the only time he's been able to give a big up to shows from Nick Jr without falling foul of his employer. I really enjoyed Katy Ashworth's band.  I like a bit of live music and they were talented and entertaining.  Munchkin enjoyed watching Go Go Go... or the Go Go People as she prefers to call them.  We didn't bother with all the main acts, since we thought Dick and Dom, and the times table rapper amongst others, were too grown up for her. 
Katy and her band on the main stage



There was much more going on than I have room to mention here.  The only marquee that we  managed to get to was the Story Tent.  The Crafts Tent looked good, as did some of the other activities including Sing and Sign, and a kiddies' disco.  There were various stalls dotted around, the most popular of which sold animal shaped helium balloons. In addition to all the shows and stalls, there were kiddies' favourites such as a bouncy castle and face painting; Munchkin was a happy, busy girl. 

Little Monsters Bash wasn't cheap, it was around £15 a person, even with a Groupon discount.  However, you got a lot for your money.  I believe parking was an additional £5, but we didn't need to pay this.  2014 was  the festival's first year and I hope it continues for many more.  My only criticisms would be some minor logistical ones: although there were plenty of toilets there wasn't enough toilet paper, and there weren't enough children's options on the catering vans.  Given that picnics weren't allowed, an outlet selling sandwiches would probably have gone down well.  I'm also undecided on the merits of a mobile petting zoo.  Do meerkats like spending significant amounts of time in transit, and setting up a temporary home away from their normal territory?

Munchkin's social life seems to be continuing apace over the summer holidays so I'll no doubt be writing more blogs on activities.  It makes a change from potty training, which incidentally is completely done.  She doesn't even wear nappies at night now.  I just need to find a buyer for those expensive cloth training pants.

Friday 1 August 2014

Beds, Water and Monster Munch

Today, Munchkin has mostly been cute.  Her day didn't get off to the best start as she spilt water all over her bed.  When I told her we were going to see her Pops, she said she didn't want to.  She changed her mind when I told her she could take lots of toys, and appeared to ask if she could take her, "Monster Munch" with her.  To my knowledge, Munchkin has never eaten a Monster Munch and we definitely haven't had any in the house since she was born.  I eventually realised that was saying, "instruments", so we packed her toy guitar.

My step-dad -her Pops- is currently incapacitated, so we went to his home in Haywards Heath to keep him company.  He's snapped his Achilles tendon, or Hercules tendon as he prefers to call it!  Munchkin maintained that she didn't want to talk to Pops for most of the journey.  Thankfully she changed her mind but every other person we met in Haywards Heath was subjected to the silent treatment.

Since Pops had another visitor for a couple of hours, we decided to leave them to it for a while and visited Victoria Park.  Not having been to the park for many years, I'd forgotten it had a paddling pool.  There was no way Munchkin was going to stay out of it, so I let her go in in her T-shirt and knickers.  Other than the paddling pool, which I think is technically a splash pad, the playground has a variety of equipment including two slide/climbing frame combo's, a sit-on roundabout, rockers and a selection of swings.  Munchkin loved the roundabout and the minature swing.  In addition to regular swings, Victoria Park has a tiny "big girl swing" which is perfect for toddlers who don't want to be pushed on baby swings.

Munchkin managed to drench her T-shirt in the paddling pool so I took advantage of the fact the park is next to the town centre to buy her a new top.  Luckily it was a hot day, as I was marching around town with a bare-chested toddler.  I bought her a little floral number in JoJo Maman Bebe's sale.  She was so taken by it that she didn't want to take it off tonight and is excited that I've told her she can wear it again tomorrow.


Once she was fully clothed, we returned to the park for an ice cream in Tory's Cafe.  This is a new addition since my days as a Haywards Heath resident.  There's a pleasant outside seating area surrounded by gardens.  In fact, the whole park is more landscaped than I remember.  There is also a skate park for the older ones.  Perhaps skate park is a misnomer, since it was full of scooters and BMX bikes.

It's likely we'll be back, with a towel and a swimsuit next time.  Munchkin's day went pretty well.  At bedtime, she said, "Mummy I want to keep you."
"Where do you want to keep me?" I asked.
"In my bed," came the reply.

Monday 21 July 2014

Resolutions

Yet again, I haven't found much time for writing.  I've just had another birthday so have decided to make some resolutions for my 42nd year.  So far I've got to:

  1. Write more
  2. Worry less
  3. Read more
  4. Go to bed earlier
  5. Clear out all of our junk
Munchkin is pretty much potty trained.  Until today, she hadn't had an accident for about two weeks.  She's got a tooth coming through and was too busy screaming at me to notice she was desperate for the toilet.  Night times are going really well.  She's said that she wants to wear Peppa Pig pants to bed and I've told her she can if she can show me that she can keep her pull-ups dry.  She's woken up dry every morning since I said that to her last week.

Here's a brief run-down on what we've done since I last blogged, if I can keep to my resolution, I might go back and blog on some of these in more detail:

  • Family holiday in North Devon with Sweetpea & Co.  This went really well and we managed to find lots of activities suitable for toddlers, parents and grandparents.  The weather was also kind to us.
  • Party at David Lloyd for Munchkin's twin friends' third birthday.  This was really well done.  It was held in the David Lloyd creche, and everything was laid on by the club.  The party was led by one of the creche staff and food was supplied by the club's restaurant.  It was interesting to learn that you don't have to be a member to book a party there.  I would love to join David Lloyd, but don't think I can afford it!
  • Visit to Washbrooks Farm.  This was a very good suggestion for a meet-up by our childless friends.  Munchkin got to see animals, ride on a tractor, play outside on a wide selection of equipment including a brand new bouncing pillow, and go to indoor softplay.
Phew, I've blogged... Must try not to leave it so long next time.

Sunday 29 June 2014

To my mother

I've spent a lot of time thinking about my own mother just recently.  The mother of someone I'm close to has just discovered she's seriously ill so is attempting to spend as much time with her grandchildren as possible.  My mum never had that opportunity, her only grandchild was born six years after her death.  I'm really missing her at the moment, and feel guilty that my grief may be detracting from my friend's concerns about his mother.

Munchkin and I were looking at some old photos today, one of my mum when she was a child and two of my mum and me when I was about the age Munchkin is now.  She quickly realised who the little girls were, and that the woman who looked like me was actually Granny.  I've concluded that Munchkin looks like me, but with Granny's hair and Daddy's eyes.  Munchkin understood the concept that I was once a little girl like her, a lot more readily than when I tried to explain why Granny wasn't at Pops' house when she was in lots of photos with him.  She spent five minutes upstairs looking for Granny that day.  I ended up telling her Granny was in Heaven, and hoped it didn't come back to haunt me when we went on holiday to Devon!
Image courtesy of Marin / Freedigitalphotos.net

My mother taught me a lot about parenting, sometimes without realising it.  Here is a brief selection:
  1. The only person who could convincingly tell me everything would be all right, no matter how dire it seemed, was my mum.  I think this should be in the Mother's Job Description.  I'm sure I once read a Caitlin Moran column where she said this was the biggest lie a mother ever tells.  Sorry Ms Moran, I disagree.  It's all about perception.  If you believe everything will be all right -I'm starting to sound like Bob Marley now- you'll find a view of the world that enables you to feel this is the case.
  2. Never forget you were once a child.  Children need to be played with, and they require empathy.
  3. Potty train as early as possible... Nappies are horrible!
  4. "I want doesn't get."  Oh Munchkin, how many times have I said that to you?
  5. Be careful what you say to your children and never assume they don't understand.  I can still remember things that my mum said when her first marriage was breaking down.  I would only have been three or four at the time.
You may have gathered that I've taken point 3 to heart.  Potty training is going really well.  Munchkin spent last week on holiday with Sweetpea, who has also just started potty training, and they've been running a toilet relay all week.  I've concluded that we get a 5 minute warning for wees and a 30 second warning for poos.  We took Munchkin swimming without a nappy today.  I assumed it would be fine since her swim nappies have always been empty after lessons.  Thankfully she knows when she needs the toilet, or it could have ended in pool closure.  She pooed in her swimsuit just as we got to the loo.  It will be back to nappies for Friday's lesson.

If I can find the time, I'll blog about our holiday in Devon.  We're off to a birthday party at David Lloyd in Worthing next week, so that might also be worth a mention.


Tuesday 10 June 2014

Date Night

Last week's Date Night was much more exciting than anything that's happened this week so I've decided to make it the subject of a blog post.  Angmering  Daddy and I don't go out that often because we're not the type of family with grandparents on the doorstep.  A few months ago, I noticed a bill board advertising a live show by Dave Gorman, one of our favourite comedians.  I looked details up when I got home and found that Dave was doing a series of live shows to test out material for the next season of his TV show, Modern Life is Goodish.  We booked straightaway.  The next challenge would be to find a babysitter.  My lovely step-sister obliged, suggesting that Munchkin joined her five year old daughter for a sleepover.

So Date Night arrived and we took Munchkin over to Lewes to stay with my step-sister.  We set up her Ready Bed in little Flower's room and stayed to play with her and make sure she was settled in.  After about an hour, Munchkin asked us to go home!  It was nice to feel wanted...

Our evening started in Food restaurant in Worthing - somewhere we've wanted to try for ages.  The service was good and the food was superb.  We used the fact that we had time to kill as an excuse for having three courses.  Everything was cooked to perfection.  I had the Calamari, Louisiana Street Food, and Banana Creme Brulee.  AD had Latino Popcorn, Blackened Prawn and Pork Tenderloin, and Cheesecake.  We've been considering going back with Munchkin, but yet again I've been put off by the children's menu.  Why do so many restaurants, even those frequented by "foodies", think that children want chips with everything and assume that the parents are happy with that?

Then we moved on to the main event, Dave Gorman at the Connaught Studio.  I hadn't been to the Studio before so was unaware it was a separate building.  People had to queue outside until the doors opened shortly before the show.  It interesting to learn the Studio used to be The Ritz, which had beem a cinema and a ballroom at different points in the 20th Century.  Dave Gorman was really funny.  The purpose of the live shows is to help him develop scripts.  His audiences have been asked not to post details of the content of these shows online since it would spoil the TV series later in the year, and might make some of the special guests nervous.

It was weird not being woken up by a toddler demanding a cuddle or a cup of milk at 6:30 am the following morning.  Apparently she was well behaved but was too excited to sleep until around 9pm.  Other than decorating her bed with felt-tip and not using the toilet at all, she was the model child.  Since Flower had an inset day, we spent the day in Lewes when I went to pick her up.  She had great fun in the playground at Malling Recreation Ground before we went to lunch at Prezzo, which thankfully had a much better children's menu than some of the independent restaurants I've been to recently.

In potty training news, I still have two Munchkins.  Nursery Munchkin wore pants today and only had one accident.  She then came home, refused to go to the bathroom to get ready for bed, and peed her pants.  I think the next two days at nursery will be fine, but I'm dreading pant wearing on Friday.

Wednesday 4 June 2014

Potty Training Week 2

It's as if I have two different children.  Nursery Munchkin is almost potty trained whereas Home Munchkin uses the toilet every now and then.  The Peppa Pig medal for pooing on the toilet has been awarded.  This feat was achieved yesterday... At nursery, of course.  When we arrived to collect Munchkin this evening, we were told that she'd been dry most of the day.  The carers have asked if we want to send her to nursery in knickers next week.  I'll probably send her in the Bambino Mio training pants since she prefers those to the Flip. 

The unworn pairs of Flip pants went back to Lizzie's Real Nappies.  Lizzie commented that they were the best on the market, but the manufacturer hasn't got it quite right yet.  We probably will use the remaining pairs but I was hoping they'd be a substitute for pull-ups and that hasn't been the case.
Peppa Pig Medal

Home Munchkin has been a nightmare.  She has regressed to only using the toilet a couple of times a day and doing everything else in her pull-ups.  And the tantrums... Well, where do I start?  Public screaming fits about going to the toilet and/or wearing nappies, refusing to get dressed, refusing to go to bed... The list goes on... She's been driving me to distraction.  I'm somewhat anxious at the best of times and I just haven't known what to do.

I've tried ignoring her, the "broken record" technique of repeating myself continuously until she gives in, negotiating and letting her do what she wants.  Nothing seems to work very well.  Angmering Daddy thinks negotiation is the way forward but I'm not convinced.  I think she behaves worse for me because she picks up on my anxiety.  She's made me cry twice this week.  I'm trying to find some mindfulness training to help with my anxiety and have also reserved ToddlerCalm by Sarah Ockwell-Smith from the library.  However, AD is really annoyed with me.  He says that you learn to be a parent by being a parent and books are pointless.  I'm still going to read it though!

Hopefully my next blog will be about something more exciting than toilets.  Munchkin had her first sleepover at the weekend when AD and I went on a date, and we've also been to Ferring Country Centre, which has had an upgrade since our last visit, so there's plenty to tell if only I can find the time.

Sunday 25 May 2014

Potty Training Week 1: Lessons Learned

Well, potty training has definitely had its ups and downs over the past few days.  Here is a list of lessons learned so far:

  1. Flip training pant inserts have a girls' way and a boys' way.  My daughter was wearing them the boys' way.
  2. Munchkin views going to the loo as a recreational activity. She'll only go if she's near a bathroom and/or someone else wants to go.  When she does something on the toilet, she gets very excited.  Most of the time she goes in her pants because it's quicker.
  3. Flip training pants are not as absorbent as disposable pull ups, unless you use multiple inserts.  If you do this, the pants become so bulky, most self respecting toddlers don't want to wear them.
  4. Like several other toddlers I know, Munchkin doesn't much care if she's a bit wet.  She was no more keen to get out of soggy training pants than she would have been to get out of an absorbent nappy.
  5. The inserts in Flip training pants bunch up in the middle, meaning it's difficult to get the absorbent bit where it's really needed.
  6. Our plans to keep Munchkin home all weekend so she could get used to fabric pants backfired.  She got stir crazy and started to regress.
  7. Potty training can be really stressful if you don't approach it in a way that works for you and your child.  The last time I felt as bad as I did yesterday, I had post natal depression.
  8. Pull ups aren't so bad after all.  I had a long chat with Munchkin and she agreed to wear them.  They've meant we can leave the house, and she can use the toilet whenever she fancies.
  9. Portable toilet seats are a godsend.  We have a Toodaloo.  It folds to the size of a couple of nappies and means that Munchkin can sit on any toilet without my having to hold her.
  10. My child has a sprinkler attachment.  I have to wipe down her toilet seat after she's finished.

Tuesday 20 May 2014

Pants!

Munchkin and I have been too grumpy and busy for blogging recently so you've missed out on two epic tantrums and a family trip to Fisher's Farm.  We'll be going back to Fisher's Farm so I'll blog about that another time.  The least said about the tantrums, the better, though I would like to thank the helpful stranger who got us moved to a later swimming lesson when Munchkin's pool tantrum finally ended.

Munchkin is getting closer and closer to being potty trained.  She doesn't like nappies very much and hates pull-ups but my attempt to put her in standard training pants ended in a puddle, partly because they weren't absorbent enough but mainly because they didn't fit snugly around the legs.  There was no way I could put her straight into knickers, since she was doing half her wees and all her poos in nappies.  I still felt cloth training pants were the answer, but I needed to find the right brand.

I didn't have much idea where to look.  Luckily, Laura from Worthing Nappy Library came to my rescue.  She very kindly contacted other nappy libraries to get recommendations for absorbent training pants.  Two American brands, Super Undies and Bumgenius Flip, were recommended.  Super Undies were out of stock everywhere, which was a shame because they were cheaper and more slimline.  I therefore invested in some Bumgenius.  These pants are adjustable so one size fits age 18 months to 4 years.  They have removable inserts which can be changed if the child has only done a wee.  I initially bought three pairs when they were on offer at The Nappy Lady.  The offer price was £21.49, or thereabouts, for a pair of pants and three inserts.  I wish I'd bought more since I've just paid the full price of £27.99 for additional pairs.  I got the additional pairs from Lizzies Real Nappies because they had a better range of designs, in my opinion.  There seems to be a market for second-hand real nappies so I'm hoping to recoup some of my money when she moves on from these pants.
Munchkin's first pants... They've got bunnies on :-)
We had a nappy dry run yesterday.  Munchkin liked her pants, and it almost was a dry run too.  In three hours, she only did one small wee in them.  They're not as easy to get up and down as I'd hoped so we might have to try loosening them.  I did also put them on back-to-front initially, though I'm not sure I should admit to that...  At the weekend, we'll start potty training properly.  Hopefully I've bought my last daytime nappies.  Angmering Daddy has told Munchkin she can have a Peppa Pig medal when she poos on the toilet... I look forward to making it for her.


Thursday 8 May 2014

Duck!

We like ducks in the AM household.  "Duck", was Munchkin's first word, well over a year ago now.  We all love feeding the ducks at Mewsbrook Park in Littlehampton.  Despite this, I was somewhat annoyed when Angmering Daddy announced that he'd bought us an annual membership to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.  We'd probably use it once, then the cards would sit at the back of our wallets until the renewal came through and we realised we'd forgotten to cancel it.  Well, that's what happened with English Heritage and National Trust, anyway.

I hate to admit it, but I was wrong.  We've been to the Arundel Centre three times since AD was "conned" into signing up at a local garden centre.  Our membership was £63 and it would have cost us £71.70 if we'd paid on the door each time.  Munchkin goes free until she's four, so we'll make the most of that as well.  We've tended to go for a morning stroll, then stay for lunch in the cafe.

We're not avid bird watchers or serious photographers, we just find it a pleasant place for a day out.  In the past we've made a day of it, and taken a picnic.  We generally take the same route, so we start off in the area where bird feeding is permitted.  -This is something WWT need to be clearer about. Every time we visit, there are people feeding birds where they shouldn't be.- When Munchkin is a bit older, we'll give pond dipping a try.  We take the boat safari towards the end of our visit.  Munchkin usually insists in going to the playground just before we leave.

The Centre puts on family activities from time to time.  We're hoping to try some craft activities, though these tend to be in the school holidays so may be busy.  I need to find out if any mummy friends are members, since it's an easy place to get to for a meet up.

In other news, we are finally potty training... Munchkin does something on the toilet pretty much every time she sits on it.  The trouble is, she still goes in her nappy between toilet visits... Sigh...

Wednesday 23 April 2014

Trails and Thomas

We've been out and about for a big chunk of the Easter weekend.  On Good Friday, we did the Easter Egg Trail at Petworth House.  We signed up as National Trust members a couple of years ago and aren't exactly making the most of our membership. The trail cost £4 per child. As members, we got free parking and admission to the house, though we didn't look round on this occasion.  Munchkin was given a goodie bag which contained all the bits she'd need to make an Easter chick. We followed a trail around the park, which led us to instructions on how to make our chick. At the end of the trail, you present your chick and are given an Easter egg as a reward.  We really enjoyed it, but get the impression they might do the same thing every Easter, so we'll have to try somewhere different next year.

This is the chick we made.  The poor thing has been dismantled twice and is currently awaiting surgery.
On Saturday, we went to see Thomas... Toot Toot! Thomas the Tank Engine is a firm favourite of Munchkin's so we were disappointed to hear he wouldn't be making an appearance at our local Bluebell Railway this year.  However, a web search revealed that he would be at the Watercress Line in Hampshire over the Easter Weekend.  At £18 per adult and £12 for a child over 2, it wasn't cheap but you got a lot for your money.  Family tickets are available for two adults and two children for £54.  Had we booked in advance and used the promotional code 'NICK' on the Days Out With Thomas website, we could have got a 10% discount but we chose to just turn up on the day.  Thomas will be back at the Watercress Line from 9th to 17th August.

This was a really good day out.  The railway had clearly done this before and had an efficient parking system (the only drawback being that the disabled parking was a bit of a hike from Ropley station) and had shipped in additional toilets and baby changing facilities.  Parking at Ropley was free, but you had to pay & display at the other stations.  The railway meets the mainline at Alton if travelling by train suits you better than driving.

We saw a lot more than just Thomas.  Many of the trains and brake vans had faces on them.  We rode on Thomas's train -I don't think he had Annie and Clarabelle with him though- and in the cab on a "Friend of Diesel's", in addition to having a couple of standard steam train rides between stations.  The lady giving commentaries at Ropley station, where Thomas was, was excellent.  She presented the whole thing as if she was talking to Thomas.

Munchkin went on her first ever tea cup ride and loved it.  There was also a giant inflatable slide for older children.  We spent some time in the Imagination Station at Arlesford station, where she enjoyed playing with wooden trains and bricks, and acquired two temporary tattoos; one of Thomas and one of Percy.  We also met the Fat Controller, Bulgy the Bus and George the Steam Roller.  There was so much to do elsewhere that we never made it to Alton station.

I discovered that there is a train in the Thomas series with the same name as Munchkin and Googled it for more information.  It turns out there is a Thomas wiki.  I found it highly amusing that the wiki is used by train geeks who argue over the statistics of fictional engines!


Tuesday 15 April 2014

Pubs and Puddles

Another weekend, another lunch date for Munchkin...  This time we met up with some former work colleagues.  Since our friends are childless, we always have to pick the venue.  They live in Brighton and don't drive so we generally pick them up and go somewhere in the Brighton or Lewes area.  I stumbled upon a site called Child Friendly Brighton & Hove, which is a godsend for finding Munchkin friendly eateries.

We went to The Half Moon in Plumpton.  The food was really good.  Munchkin and I both had sausage and mash.  We promised to leave some for Daddy to try but it was so nice, we scoffed the lot.  The children's menu was £6 for two courses. The children's dessert was anything you like, as long as it was a scoop of ice cream...  The children's facilities were good, but not as good as we were expecting after the write up on Child Friendly Brighton & Hove, for example there were no crayons and paper on offer.  The play area in the huge garden was great.  Munchkin loved the slide and the sand pits.  However, the pub let itself down on service and we wouldn't rush back for this reason.  Strike 1: Our drinks didn't arrive. It turned out that they'd run out of stout. Rather than telling us, they just forgot our whole drinks order.  Strike 2: The wrong menu had been put out and the dish Angmering Daddy wanted wasn't available.  Strike 3: I couldn't find the baby change promised on CFBH.  The waitress told us they didn't have one so I changed Munchkin on the toilet floor.  I later discovered there was a tiny changing table tucked away in one of the toilet cubicles.

Yesterday was a little dramatic.  Munchkin has finally worked out what the toilet is for so I bought her some training pants.  I've gone for the fabric variety since these are meant to promote quicker potty training.  She had a tantrum and refused to get dressed yesterday morning.  I gave her the choice of a nappy, disposable training pants or the new pants.  She settled on the new ones, but the tantrum didn't subside much.  Five minutes later, I found her standing in a puddle.  Thankfully she'd been thoughtful enough to stay on the changing mat.  Note to self: Training pants hold a small wee, not a torrent.  The morning didn't improve much.  She had a friend round to play and spent the first half hour avoiding her and the second half hour screaming.

Munchkin has a busy Easter weekend ahead of her.  She's going to two Easter egg hunts and may be going on a day trip to Butlins in Bognor and/or a trip to see Thomas the Tank Engine.

Tuesday 8 April 2014

Little Ladies that Lunch

We've been for several meals out with Munchkin and her cousins recently.  The first one was a Mothers' Day meal when we were staying in the Midlands, and a total disaster because Munchkin threw up everywhere.  Luckily she's now back to her usual self and eating everything in sight.

This weekend, we went out for two meals.  On Saturday, we visited my step-dad and went to The Sergison Arms in Haywards Heath.  The Serg is a pub that I know well; it was originally called The Sergison Arms, then changed its name to The Dophin after a refurb and image change.  It's recently changed its name back to The Sergison.  Irrelevant fact = dolphins are in the Sergison family's coat of arms.

The Sergison is owned by Vintage Inns - one of the better pub/restaurant chains in my opinion.  There was something for everyone on the menu, which is no mean feat; Angmering Daddy has adventurous food tastes, mine are moderately adventurous, my step-dad's are conservative and very British, whilst Munchkin will have a go at anything put in front of her.  It ticks all my boxes for a child friendly hostelry... apart from there being a number of steps for small people to negotiate.  High chairs are available, though we don't use one any more, and there's an easily accessible baby change area.  The children's menu includes quite a lot of variety, including mini versions of some of the main menu dishes.  Munchkin had BBQ Chicken followed by Churros.  It was £6.95 for two courses and a drink, which I thought was reasonably good value.  She scoffed the lot!  I was pleased that the chicken was served with baby potatoes rather than chips.  Vintage Inns provide children with a paper activity menu and a jar of crayons.  The only drawback with this is that Munchkin drew on Daddy's menu.

On Sunday, we went to an old favourite of mine, Montagues Tex Mex in Worthing, with my step-sisters and their families.  It was the first time we'd been there since Munchkin was born.  There were nine of us, including Munchkin and her cousin, Flower.  As always, the food was brilliant.  Montagues offers children under 10 a free two course meal and drink if they are accompanied by an adult who orders a main costing at least £10, so it was free lunch for Munchkin and Flower.  Like The Sergison, it has an activity menu and provides crayons, though Munchkin managed not to draw on any grown up menus this time.  Munchkin had the Loaded Shells and Flower had the Quarter Back Rack.  Both girls had Marshmallow Dream for dessert.  Daddy helped Munchkin finish her marshmallows but I'm not sure she needed any help!  The staff are friendly and very helpful.  There's even a gluten free menu should you need it.  Booster chairs are available.  Unfortunately there's no baby change table.  I changed Muchkin standing up in the ladies' but I wouldn't want to change a young baby in there.

We're going to The Bull in Ditchling this weekend, so I'll add a review if I remember.

Sunday 23 March 2014

Sheep Week

It's been a bit sheepish in our household in more ways than one this week.  Munchkin discovered that she could get out of bed and open her door in the middle of the night.  She'd woken up coughing for the second night in a row and decided to take matters into her own hands.  We think the remedy is Sam the Sheep but this is still a work in progress.  Sam is a sleep training clock.  He shuts his eyes at bedtime and Munchkin has been told that she has to stay in bed until Sam opens his eyes.  He is also an alarm clock and a night light.  His screen colour changes depending on whether it's bed time, nearly time to get up or time to get up, and stars also appear on his screen at night.  Sam is more expensive than the market leading sleep trainer, Gro Clock, but he has a number of advantages over Gro Clock.  We think he's more fun and Munchkin can use him long after she would have outgrown a Gro Clock.  Since Sam has analogue and digital time displays, she can learn to tell the time with him and use him as conventional clock in the future.  I bought him from Cheeky Rascals, whom I hadn't heard of before.  This was because they had free next day delivery but I think they're actually the UK importer - I believe Sam is Dutch.

Today we went to Open Lambing at Gaston Farm in Slindon.  We've been before, but this is the first year Munchkin has really appreciated what it's all about.  Gaston Farm is one of two farms local to us that does open lambing.  The other is Coombes Farm, near Lancing College.  We've been to Coombes in the past, but much prefer Gaston Farm.  Coombes has the advantage of starting lambing earlier than Gaston Farm and they used to be cheaper, but looking at their website, I think Coombes have put their prices up whereas Gaston seem to have dropped theirs.  Whenever we've been to Coombes, it's been a mud bath.  Gaston is less muddy and is generally more geared up for visitors.  I first went to Coombes on a school trip in the 1980s and doubt it has changed much since then.

Entry to Gaston Farm cost us £10 (£5 per adult and Munchkin went free).  They have a large, clean barn, decked out with stalls and displays including refreshments, a gift shop and the oportunity to hold ducklings and chicks.  There were plenty of staff and volunteers on hand if we had questions.  As always, the "Grumpy Shepherd" had his name printed on the back of his sweatshirt, as did "The Other Shepherd".  There was no sign of the "Tolerant Wife" this year, perhaps she has become less tolerant?  We were lucky enough to see a lamb being born.  For the first time, we went on the tractor and trailer ride this year.  There was a very professional commentary on the local area, and all for an optional charity donation.  When it comes to lambing, Gaston Farm gets my vote every time.

Sunday 16 March 2014

Dummies are for dummies

For the third night in a row, Munchkin has gone to bed without a dummy -"a soother" if you're reading this in North America.  Angmering Daddy has been trying to persuade her not to use them for a month or two, with limited success.  I hadn't imagined we'd be at this point so soon since Sweetpea was nearly three when she gave up dummies.  I'm very proud of Munchkin and if this continues, I'll be throwing away all her dummies -she has about ten.

She's been a good girl generally over the past week or so.  Her confidence is coming back after half a term of no gymnastics or swimming.  Last week we managed the gym warm up with no screaming and a small amount of participitation.  Post warm up, she was back to normal and showed off her skills on the big beam - it's lower than a full sized one but there's still room to fall off.  Her late granny, who was a gym coach, would have been really impressed.  She smiled during most of this week's swimming lesson, though she's still lacking confidence and won't do half the things she was doing last term.

I've posted on here about potty training in the past.  These days, Munchkin hates the potty and will only sit on the toilet, using her Peppa Pig toilet seat.  Unforunately she only sits on the toilet, she hasn't done anything on it yet.  Despite repeatedly showing signs of being ready for potty training, we're no closer than we were eight months ago. 

Munchkin's toilet habits have caused me to change nappy brands.  Being environmentally conscious, but wanting an easy life, I've usually opted for eco disposables.  We started out in Beaming Baby, which was great until Munchkin ended up between sizes; their mini nappies leaked but we couldn't do up their midi nappies tightly enough.  I gave up on Beaming Baby and switched to Sainsbury's eco nappies.  These served us well for a year but are now leaking like mad.  I changed from a size 4+ to a 5, which was slightly better but still not great.  I bought some Naty pull-ups, the only other eco brand they sell in Sainsbury's to see what they were like.  They seem much more absorbent so I'll give their regular nappies a go.  I think, until we're really potty training, Munchkin can have a mixture of nappies and pull-ups depending on where we are and what we're doing.  The pull-ups were brilliant yesterday because we went to a family party at a pub with no baby change and they were easy to whip off in the Ladies' without having to lie Munchkin down.

Well, I think that's enough blogging for one week.  I'll try to blog more regularly in future but certain aspects of my writing regularity are just shocking.  I've got three international penfriends whom I haven't written to for almost a year, and a novel in my head that refuses to be put onto paper.

Sunday 23 February 2014

Zoo Poo

We'd fancied going to Whipsnade Zoo ever since we'd seen it on the Sing & Sign DVD that Munchkin's addicted to.  Along with Sweetpea's parents, we'd saved up a load of Tesco Days Out vouchers and were looking forward to our day out, even if it was half term -busy- and Munchkin and I were a bit under the weather.

It's around a two hour journey from Angmering to Whipsnade, but we didn't care... We love zoos!  Munchkin kept talking about animals and seemed to be looking forward to it despite having a sick day from nursery the day before.

We arrived to massive traffic queues.  You have a choice of free parking or taking your car in the zoo for £20.  We initially decided to park for free, then changed our minds, meaning that we unintentionally jumped half the queue to drive into the park.

Upon arriving, we were unsure where to go.  The sign posting wasn't great and we needed to find Sweetpea's family.  We parked up and went to meet them, thinking there would be made up footpaths suitable for buggies.  Whilst there were some paths meeting this description, many were waterlogged or non existent.  We didn't see the giraffes because it was too muddy.

The zoo is large and really spread out.  It would be a challenge to get round it without a car.  There are narrow roads without pavements going round it.  It's important to point out that Whipsnade is not a safari park, you don't see much whilst driving in your car.  Most zoos we've been to have had a programme of keepers' talks, we didn't see a keeper during our day at Whipsnade.

My sister-in-law was even less impressed.  She was underwhelmed by the number of baby change tables, and felt the service in the cafe we went to was abysmal.  Had it not been for the Tesco vouchers, admission plus the car -which wasn't covered by Tesco vouchers- would have been around £130 for four adults and a child -Munchkin is under 3 and therefore free- ZSL might do some good conservation work but a day at Whipsnade Zoo is a waste of time.  It's neither a zoo nor a safari park but the worst of both worlds.

Tuesday 11 February 2014

I blame it all on the Two TT's

Things have been a bit trying round here recently, and it's mainly down to the TT's; Terrible Twos and Tommee Tippee, that is.  Munchkin has been testing boundaries, which is nice.  She is having to learn the hard way, that if you scream for 20 minutes solidly, it doesn't get you what you want.  On Sunday, she insisted that the only thing she wanted for tea was a chocolate chip biscuit.  Daddy told her she could only have one if she ate her sandwich.  She refused, and spent 20 minutes screaming, "Want a biscuit."  Daddy won.  She eventually ate her sandwich -amazingly, she ate it without deconstructing it in her usual manner- and had a biscuit afterwards.  Dummies have been the cause of many screaming fits.  At some point in the next year, dummies will be doing a disappearing act.  For now, we've told her dummies are for sleeping, and she's still allowed a dummy in the car seat... If she asks for one - I've noticed that she sometimes forgets that she needs one.  However, she's been screaming for her dummy at times when she's not allowed to have it.  The screaming fits always end with Mummy and Daddy winning and Munchkin turning back into a sweet little girl, but they're not pleasant.  I've got a perforated eardrum at the moment and all this screaming isn't helping it...

The Terrible Twos are also causing Munchkin to tell me she doesn't like me from time to time - usually alongside a screaming fit.  I don't think this is unusual behaviour as I believe my late mum told me I did this at the age of two.  All the same, it's quite disheartening to be told that your only child doesn't like you, even if she has said she loves you and every other family member at another point on the same day.

I've come to the conclusion that Tommee Tippee -other brands of infant feeding equipment are available- has a lot to answer for.  My daughter has been coming back from nursery with food round her neck for months.  I always blamed the nursery but I now know what the problem is... Tommee Tippee bibs.  The bibs we'd been using until recently fitted snugly around the neck.  We replaced them with Tommee Tippees -the brand that nursery use, only to discover that they're too loose, even when done up on the tightest hole. 

Tommee Tippee struck again when it came to getting Munchkin to drink from a normal cup.  I tried giving her a TT sippy cup with no lid.  This worked fine for a few weeks but now she insists on having the lid on just because she knows it exists.  I need to buy some child-sized beakers with no lids so that she thinks she's drinking from a "Big Girl Cup".  Tommee Tippee will be reserved for her one cup of milk a day, which Angmering Daddy wants to phase out anyway.  When I say "beaker", I mean a plastic cup with no handles.  I just thought I should be clear since Mrs Bucket and my mother-in-law -who are in no way related- seem to think a beaker is a ceramic cup with a handle.  Now, that's what I call a "mug"!

I'm really hoping Munchkin can make it to her swimming lesson this Friday, for the first time this term.  We both had ear infections last week -I think I've still got mine- so swimming was out of the question.  This weekend, we're off to her cousin, Sweetpea's, birthday party.  Sweetpea will be three and I bet her parents are rejoicing that she'll no longer be a TT!

Sunday 2 February 2014

Not the best of weeks....

I think it can safely be said that there have been better weeks in the Angmering Mummy and Daddy household.  Munchkin has basically been unwell since she turned two.  First it was chicken pox, then it was teeth with a bit of a cold.  Around the middle of this week, I noticed that her ear smelt and she had spots around her eye.  It turns out that she has a bacterial infection which has also spread to the back of her hand.  Well the good news is she's not allergic to penicillin, she's been taking it for three days without any issues (apart from loose bowels... ugh).

Until Saturday I was despairing, Munchkin had decided that she only loved Daddy.  All other family members were to be avoided, particularly me.  Every time she was mildly upset, she screamed, "Cuddle Daddy" and even told me that she didn't like me.  To add insult to injury, some members of Angmering Daddy's family told me it was normal in their family for little girls to love their Daddies and ignore their Mummies.  What kind of a culture had I married into?  I was getting rather upset, particularly when friends were writing on social networks that sometimes your little one just needs a cuddle from Mummy...  However, since the antibiotics have kicked in, she's started turning back into my little girl.  Today she was more interested in cuddling Mummy than Daddy.

Our search to find a Saturday morning group to replace the brilliant Sing and Sign continues. We tried a music and movement group called Boogie Beat twice but won't be trying a third time.  The main issue was that the class just seemed too advanced for a child of two, even though it's meant to be suitable for age two plus.  Munchkin didn't want to know.  She wouldn't join in anything apart from playing with the parachute, and then she was disappointed that nobody would give her a ball to hold.  Some parents were encouraging their children to join in by carrying them as they did the dance moves themselves.  Neither Angmering Daddy nor I have the strength to do that for long.  Munchkin is heavy and I still haven't fully recovered from my fall down the stairs.  Boogie Beat also seemed to be a misnomer; there was nothing that could be described as boogying and not much of a discernible beat.  It seemed odd that most of the songs were sung without any backing track.  This was made worse by the fact that the instructor's singing abilities were similar to mine, and I won't be auditioning for a choir any time soon.

Munchkin's social life has been a bit pants recently.  She hated the new group and hasn't been to swimming or gym because of my back.  I felt well enough to take her swimming this week but she wasn't allowed to get her ear wet.  Maybe we'll make it into the swimming pool next week!

Sunday 19 January 2014

To blog or not to blog...

Ooh, scary, I've left it so long, I'm not sure how to blog any more!  Life just got in the way.  I left blogging for so long, I wasn't sure if there was any point going back to it.  My Christmas went with a bang, quite literally.  I fell down the stairs, went to A&E in an ambulance and spent Christmas so drugged up, I slept through half of it.

Munchkin's grown up a lot in the last couple of months.  She no longer uses a highchair and we took the sides off her cot this evening... Fingers crossed we don't get a 5am wake up call!  We keep being told that she's a brilliant speaker for her age.  We put this down to Sing and Sign.  Despite my high hopes in the summer, she still isn't potty trained.  She seems to have developed an aversion to the potty recently but has agreed that a Peppa Pig toilet training seat would be lovely.

I'm still unsure how my child (who only ever watched CBEEBIES and Disney) developed an obsession with Peppa Pig.  She watched it a handful of times at cousins' houses and there was a Peppa Pig themed charity event at nursery in the summer.  The next thing I know, she wants to watch Peppa every time the TV's switched on!  I can only assume it sends out subliminal messages to all toddlers...

I've been thinking just recently that becoming a parent has given me a whole new social life.  Admittedly, it's more difficult to go out as a couple now.  But on the plus side, I've made more friends in the past two years than I did for donkey's years pre-baby.  Last night I met up with some mummy friends and friends of friends for a meal at The Lamb in Angmering.  I highly recommend The Lamb.  It was recently converted into a gastro pub and has a busy bar on one side and a decent restaurant the other side.  The only thing I wasn't so keen on, was that I'm always on the lookout for child friendly pub/restaurants for weekend lunches.  I wasn't impressed with the children's menu since everything appeared to be served with chips.  Not one to add to our list of family favourites!

Well I did it, my blog is resurrected!  I've got another defunct blog out there somewhere and it will have to stay defunct for now because I can't remember the password!