We love books in The Mad House and one of my favorite times of the day is when we read to each other. As the boys are growing up I still feel it is important to read to them and I am aware that sometimes the length of books is daunting to younger children if they want to read them themselves, more »
10 Comments
Leave Your Comment »
We were recently sent Spooky Steps, which is a fun game for 4 to 12 year olds and focusses on maths skills. It costs £14.99. The boys both loved this and built it and played independently without any input at all from me and MadDad. The instructions were clear and concise and they loved the 3D effect of the game board. The quality of the materials is really obvious and although it has been played with extensively it does not yet show any signs of wear.
The object of the game is to creep through the spooky house to reach the cauldron and break the witch’s spell. It encourages math skills, but also adds chance to the game, so evening out any age differences in players.
As a parent this game was a real hit as it meant that the boys were using mathematics in a meaningful context without even realising that maths were involved. This is the joy of Orchard Toys. If your child means a little encouragement in a specific area you can focus on it without them even noticing and it makes learning a fun experience through play.
That time truly flies and people were not exaggerating when they said “they grow up so fast”
That life really does change when you look at that tiny bundle and suddenly realise you are responsible for another human being
That one so small can create so much poo
That irony is not lost on babies
That boys WILL wee on you as soon as you remove their nappy
That no matter what colour you dress your child in, people will always think they are of the opposite sex
That second hand is not second best
That it will take 30 minutes more than you allowed to get out of the house
That babies smelled so good after a bath
That sleep is for the weak
That colic does get better
That cold tea is all I will drink for months and to invest in a thermos cup
That LEGO is a weapon
That poo could be such a funny word to toddlers and boys of all ages
That it is OK to get angry
That I will never again be able to go to the toilet in peace
That I would know The Hungary Caterpillar off by heart
That I would cry on their first day at Preschool
That DVD’s do not wear out though repetitive play even if you wish they would
That nativities are so emotional
That is it perfectly acceptable to get sick of cooking and preparing meals
That it is natural to live in constant fear of something bad happening to your child
That it is not acceptable to fancy one of the presenters of CBebbies
Daytime naps for Mummy as well as baby are totally acceptable
That the odd jar of baby food and bit of salt will not harm your child
That saying no to homework is OK
That the cleaning can wait
That it is not a sign of weakness to ask for help
That weetabix dries like concrete, so wipe it up quickly
That when people are starring at your whilst your child is having a tantrum are actually thinking “oh no, poor woman” rather than “gosh what a crap mother”
That I would be a better parent for having some me time
That being a parent is the hardest, but most rewarding job in the world
I feel like crying, not that is not quite right, crying would be an improvement right now, as I am so tightly wound up I could burst. I am filled with frustration, anger, disappointment and sheer exhaustion. Mini used to be terrible at going to bed and then this time last year we put our foot more »
2013 Diary Contents:
Year-to-view 2013
Double page week-to-view
4 storage pockets
Elastic closure strap
Pen loop (new feature for 2013)
Notes pages
Now the fab people at KTwo have offered a free diary to one of the readers of The Mad House. So please follow the rafflecopter instructions.
I am back this month after a break on the bedroom challenge with the Tots 100 Home Club a garden challenge.
My garden was a mud pit 6 years ago. What do I mean by that, well we live in a new build, so it has been a hard slog to get the garden in to any shape to be actually called a garden rather than just mud. However, our needs have changed over the last year or so and we have had to get rid of the play house after the boys started using it as an obsticle course. I was the words “jump of the roof and try to get on the middle of the whirlygigg” that finished it for me. I had visions of my boys hanging themselves and they were actually using the house to climb on top of the six foot fence and try to walk across the top of it!
The family planning summit, backed by the Gates Foundation, UNFPA, charities, campaigners and attended by governments from across the globe, is a chance to make a real change in the lives of millions of women which would have knock on effects in whole communities and nations.
David Cameron is hosting a family planning summit on Wednesday 11 July (yes, tomorrow). This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to help girls and women make decisions over when and whether to have babies. Save the Children we want him to lead the summit to take action on empowerment, sex education and health care as well as providing more contraceptives.
As a woman, I am a true believer in empowering other women to be able to make the right decisions for themselves. I was fortunate enough to visit a town ship in South Africa with a friend of mine who works for a charity
OK So the irony isn’t lost on me. Posting a sponsored post about removing red wine stains the day after a fab Tots100 twitter chat on Children and Alcohol. but I can assure you it wasn’t me drinking the stuff. No MadDad was having a very rare glass after nearly getting stuck on Newcastle during the apocalyptic #toonfloods!
Now we have hard floors downstairs and I have never had to remove a red wine stain before, but I walked past him and spilled it on our rug. So it was time to hit google and get stain removal tips more specifically how to remove red wine stains
Initially it is important to mop it up and blot the carpet or rug with a paper towel or towel.
Leaf Free Summer Salad – Royal Jewel Salad
Thankfully Kodak came to the rescue with their fantastic free jubilee printables. So I have been printing like a demon on my new Office Hero 6.1 printer that they gave me. I have made the boys fantastically simple crowns for their jubilee day tomorrow, printed out cake toppers for mini bunting for my Jubilee layer cake and more impressive that that I have actually use their bunting and flag printables to make the boys t-shirts for tomorrows red, white and blue day using Dylons image maker, which transfers pictures on to fabric!
Follow Mum In The Madhouse
My other sites
Join Me Facebook
I’m Listed At…
Working with
Working with
style="width:165px"I am taking part
Advertising
My Ebook
