Too little to help out? #wotsofunee

We try to be consistent with discipline in our house. It isnt easy! There can definately be a bit of a mob culture and they can opt for a divide and conquer approach which can leave us reeling a bit.

Well there is only two of us and five of them!

But with the usual toddler things i think we do okay though i do accept that our little toddlers have a fair amount of influence from their older siblings where they might be fooled into thinking that they deserve the same treatment as their much older brother or sisters…

But tonight it was pretty evident that one of my little ones is learning a little too fast to get a bit of wriggle room.

She had taken herself into her room to get a book after bath time. I followed her in a few minutes later and discovered that she had pulled all the books of the book shelf.

She looked at the books and gave me a cheeky grin….then we had a little conversation…

Me: “Okay before we read the book i think you should pick up all these books’

her: ‘oh i can’t do that’

me: ‘yes you can’

her: ‘no i am reading my book now’

me: ‘if you don’t come and help you will have to go and sit on the step’

her: *frowns*

me: ‘come on” I start to put the books away. and i re-iterate that she will go onto the step.

her: ‘oh don’t be silly mummy,  i am too young for that!’

and with that she flounced off…

 

Wot So Funee?

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Ballet girls #whatsthestory #magicmoments

If you follow me on twitter or instagram then a few weeks ago you would have seen that my girls (three of them) were getting ready for a ballet show. They go to a ballet school that is run by a lady who danced for the English and Australian National Ballet..so she has quite high expectations for the girls in her company! I took these pictures just before they left, hence the make-up. They were pretty excited about the make-up bit it has to be said!! 🙂

The shows take place every second year, which is a good thing as i dont think i could cope with it every year…but pretty much since October half term we have been too-ing and fro-ing to lots of rehersals. The older girls have been to about 30 hours of extra practice in the last month or two and whilst that might seem like a lot, they accept that they have to be committed to it to be able to give their best performance. It is a big theatre and its only run on one night so its pretty important to get it right.

This is our third show and so we were ready this time. We gave the girls a little pep talk about what to expect and how it might make them feel. We usually hit a few ‘i dont want to do this anymore!” type of comments but they are soon forgotten after the show when they are all on a high and have fallen in love with the performance side of ballet. 🙂 They get to appreciate how much enjoyment can be gained from actually working hard at something, sticking with it when the going gets a bit tough and then being thrilled when they experience the results. I am so proud of them just for that regardless of how they actually performed!!

But they all did great and this year having three girls in the show gave us a lot of interest all the way through the show. Faces shining, big smiles and lots of attitude and giddy, happy and tired girls at the end. But it was all so worth it.

I am very happy that its two years to the next one however!! Maybe then it will be all four girls in the show!!

Motivational Monday

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Bubbles, flip flops and windfalls #countrykids

This week has been a strange one, the come down from a crazy run up to the girls ballet show, a horrible flu like cold thing and our car needing some attention ‘dans le garage”  😉

We scheduled in the car for its day of treatment on a day when i didnt have quite so much to-ing and fro-ing. Me and the littlest one got on with getting used to a day at home. Which is not something that happens very often. We have visitors this weekend so we did some baking and she did lots of ‘helping!’ We did some washing (yeah exciting stuff for a toddler) and i got her to help me sort out clothes into piles. It is amazing how well she knows everyone’s clothes!! Then we made ourselves some toast and jam and headed out into the garden.

Our garden in the winter is a bit of sorry state of forget…its not a whole lot better in the summer if im honest (sshhh) but at least spring and summer getting her glad rags on and giving them a bit of a shake covers up our ever-so poor horticultural skills!

But anyway we had about half hour of bubble blowing and digging in a random, bucket of earth before she discovered the hose and it all went a little down hill quite quickly! You will notice that she has the completely appropriate footwear for November…as always 😉

I did do a bit of a dizzy dance this day though…as you might notice she is wearing a cute little dress…which she has refused to wear for months and months. I had lost the receipt and resigned myself to the fact that i would just have to hand it down to someone else and ta-dah..she appeared wearing it!

Thats worth a celebratory piece of cake!!

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

mummy mishaps
the ordinary moments
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Lessons in shoplifting #wotsofunee

We usually go to the same supermarket at the same time each week. Its part of an annoying routine that i have got into and now that the food stocks start to fail at the same time every week i am trapped into it. That sounds all a bit dramatic i suppose! But usually every week you can find me in the same place.

My youngest has been doing this route with me for a few years and up until her sister started school she would be in the trolley. Now she is trusted with the act of walking beside the trolley (in a manner of fashion) and ‘helping’ which of course means every so often its worth taking a cursory glance at the contents of the trolley so i don’t end up accidentally purchasing the extra little bits she feels appropriate to add to this weeks shop.

She has had her eye on the little christmas chocolate decorations for a while and every time we pass them she asks me if we can buy them. I am pretty persistant with my ‘not today, its not christmas yet!’ every time i say that she fiddles a little bit with them but then resigns herself to the truth and wonders on.

Last week we went through the same thing, word for word nearly and she scuttled after me as usual and i didnt think anything of it…

Driving home, i noticed she was quite quiet and looking round i saw her concentrating hard on opening a little tiny red and shiny christmas chocolate ball. We had stopped at some lights and i watched her till she looked up at me and stopped – rabbit in the headlights stylie.

me: “what have you got there?’

her: ’nuffin’

me: ‘is it chocolate’

her: ’nuffin’

me: ‘ is it from the shop’

her ‘uhhh- huuh’

me: “where did you get it from”

her: ‘my pocket!”

me: ‘ how did it get in your pocket”

her: “it just rolled in there all on its own!”

me: ‘you could have left it in the shop”

her: ”no..no…no…mummy, it would have been very lonely!’

Im wondering if any of those would work in defence!! 🙂

Wot So Funee?

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Holiday inspiration for 2014.

Its about that time of the year isnt it? When you start to think about getting away from it all.

For us, its a crazy season the run up to christmas. Made even more so this year by the fact that my daughter’s ballet company has their bi-annual theatre performance which has chewed up most of the weekends in October and November! Its a busy time for everyone…and so sometimes you just can’t help yourself but start to think about holiday season when its time to have a bit of down time.

Doesn’t have to be summer holiday, there are always good breaks that can be had at any time of the year and also through all of the kids school holidays! We have had some fabulous holidays in this country. Especially when the weather is with us! Choosing a  UK holiday Park can be a great option as it can offer you some under cover activities (for when the sunshine isnt around) that your kids are going to really love you for and you have the added benefit of being able to enjoy those traditional seaside past times that only the British seaside can offer. 🙂

One of the most attractive parts of so many holiday parks is that they are so close to the sea. Our kids love being by the water and you can spend days there even if the weather isnt great. Some of our favourite beaches are the ones with plenty of rock pools to search through and hunt for sea dwelling creatures! Also there is the chance to grab a surf board and do some body bording. When we are in Devon this one thing we do a lot of as the surf there is so good. Not forgetting, of course the fact that you can round off your days on the beach or at the seaside with some freshly cooked fish and chips wrapped in paper and covered in vinegar..whilst the sea salt air still blows through your hair.

Pretty perfect if you ask me 🙂


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