Play Doh Sweet Shoppe

Hasbro have very kindly sent me the Play Doh Sweet Shoppe to review with BoyG. He is very creative and this was brilliant for him as it's not just Play Doh, but it's also got lots of bits for busy little hands to push, squish, and wind levers. It managed to hold BoyG's attention or at least an hour and a half in one go - it has been a while since I could find anything that would keep him interested for that long!

He was so excited when he saw the box. Coincidently, we had had to throw his old Play Doh away the previous day as it had gotten a little too used and grubby so I had promised him I would get him some more. The next day, the Sweet Shoppe arrived!!



The age range on the box says 3 years plus. I was a little sceptical that it might be too hard but actually he was fine. He squidged the Play Doh into the syringe to make long bits, and he found it easy enough to use the molds and push down the lever to press the Play Doh into shapes. But his favourite bit by far was winding the handle to make little Play Doh balls. He did that bit again and again and again.







The toy came in several parts but was easy enough to assemble. I had to ask DaddyG for help but BoyG kept telling me how to do it!
It was easy to take apart when we had finished, with no mess, so that we were able to store it neatly in the box for next time.

 

BoyG's and my creations

I have always wondered about buying the toys like this that have Play Doh in as I thought it would mean lots of mess, and spending money on something that BoyG would use for 5 minutes and walk away, but I would buy this type of thing in the future after seeing how much BoyG got out of it.
I was sent this toy by Hasbro but it is available to buy in toy stores or by using this link to the Hasbro site.

Thank you again Hasbro for a lovely toy. It was great to have something creative to do with BoyG.

Chad Valley App

In this day, children are so good with technology, I think they can do more than their parents! BoyG often sits and plays with DaddyG's ipad.

I downloaded a free app onto DaddyG's ipad for BoyG to play with, called Chad Valley Playtime. There is also a paid version which is £1.99. We had a go with the free version. It was really good and kept BoyG occupied for ages. He loved it so much that I eventually gave in and got the extended version.

This app has all the things BoyG loves but all in one app. It has puzzles with a choice of levels, there are colouring pages, a maze game and lots more. Definitly worth a look if your little one is always after the ipad, even if you just go with the free version, which does have a lot of features.

Its user friendly, and once I had gone through it with BoyG, he was able to sit alone with it. He loves the colouring and the puzzles. He also likes the dress up part and the maze game where the mouse has to get all the cheeses before the cat catches him. Its very addictive. For him and for me!!

I was told about the app by Parragon Books, but it is available to buy here; http://bit.ly/CVPlaytime and if you want to have a quick look, you can preview the app on YouTube; http://youtu.be/ubwvVgfN5ul .

 

Book Review - Scaredy Boo!



Front cover of the book

BoyG having a look

BoyG loves having a story before he goes to sleep. I enjoy reading with him as its usually once BabyG is in bed so we get to spend some real quality time together.

I have kindly been sent a book to review from Parragon Books. Its a picture book for children. It is called Scaredy Boo! and is written by Claire Freedman and illustrated by Russell Julian.

I really enjoyed reading this with BoyG tonight and he sat quietly throughout the whole story (very rare indeed!).



BoyG's favourite page

  

This is a story about a little monster named Boo who lives under a bed and is afraid of everything and everyone - even his own shadow! This is until he starts to play with Spike and the other monsters and go exploring. Scaredy Boo! is written in rhyming verse and it is beautifully illustrated with brightly coloured pages. This is definitly a new favourite of ours!

Boo and Spike

This book is available in book stores, the cover price is £5.99 but I was kindly sent a copy by Parragon.





My little fighter battles again!

Well... What a day!!!

Little BabyG has been a bit poorly lately with a cough and cold. We have had a bad couple of nights, and he has been hard to settle. He has been very sleepy as well. This is what rang alarm bells with me as that is what would happen if his heart wasn't doing what it should be, like before.

I was unsure if it was anything serious. I thought maybe it was just because he had a cold. That always knocks me out when I am ill!

Luckily I thought to send a text to the doctor who I have mentioned in a previous blog. She helped to save BabyG when he was poorly with his heart and I have stayed in contact with her. So I text this morning asking for advice, thinking she would say it sounds fine. She told me to take the baby to a and e so he could get checked as it could be more serious. This lady is wonderful. She is an amazing person, and has helped Riley so much before. So if she says take him then I take him!

I dropped BoyG off at my neighbours and I drove straight to hospital. BabyG and I sat in a and e for hours, we saw a nurse, a doctor and a paediatrician. BabyG was diagnosed with Bronchialitis. As if he hasn't had enough to deal with already, poor little boy!

So much for the doctor telling me a few days ago 'Its just a cough. No need to worry'.

We are now on a ward full of babies who all have the same thing. Breathing is hard work for BabyG. He is mostly managing when he is awake but when he is sleeping he needs a bit of help with some oxygen. He has had an inhaler which seems to have stopped him coughing as much. They are expecting him to get worse before he gets better but BabyG has already proved to be such a brave little fighter so I have every confidence he will come through this quickly.

Get well wishes for my precious little boy please! Lots of prayers for a speedy recovery!

Slow Cooker Sunday

Here is one of my favourites for the slow cooker - Chilli!!

I had never made this before until BoyGs Birthday this year where I made it for 20 people! Now I make it quite often for just the 3 of us (BabyG doesn't have dinners yet!). It's one of DaddyG's favourites. BoyG doesn't love it but he doesn't love anything with crunchy bits (thats vegetables to you and I!) but its good for him so he gets it anyway!

This time it was just me and DaddyG having dinner as BoyG had been out at his friend's for tea so I was able to make it fairly spicy! It was delicious! It fits perfecty into my diet, and there was enough that I could have some the following day as well.

Very simple-

Brown the minced beef and put it into the slow cooker. Fry some red pepper, onion and garlic and add to the cooker. Throw in some tinned tomatoes, kidney beans, and spices and your away! Yummy!

Swimming Lessons!

BoyG has started swimming lessons at Birch Farm. We told him he was going to go, and bought him a swimming bag. He was so excited!! The first thing he said to me this morning was "Is it my swimming lessons today?". We had a little bit of confusion with his trunks or trunk.... BoyG told me very seriously that we need to go and buy him a trunk. I explained that he had got swimming trunks already and that I would make sure we took them with us. He shouted at me as if I was stupid, and said "I didn't say trunks I said trunk!!!!'. I tried to explain that it was swimming trunks.... He was covering his eyes and I figured out what he meant when he said trunk... "Sweetie do you mean goggles...?". He nodded at me as I finally understood what he meant. I went on to explain that he didn't have any but that he didn't need them yet!

He was still excited despite not having a 'trunk'. So we set off for the pool....

Well he howled for half an hour and didn't relax at all!! DaddyG and I could hear him from behind a glass window!

When BoyG came out of the pool I asked if he liked his lesson. He replied 'No!'. I asked why he didn't like it.... He burst into tears and sobbed 'Pos I thought I was having a truuuunnnnkkkk!!!!'

We will have to buy a pair of goggles before next Wednesday I think!! Fingers crossed he likes it a little bit more next week.....

Silent Sunday

Slow cooker sunday

I needed something quick and easy for tonights dinner as I was out all day with the boys. I also needed something a fussy 3 year old BoyG would eat....

I used a piece of gammon, some potatoes, apple, onion, garlic and peas. I added a vegetable stock cube, a bay leaf, some water and some ground black pepper. The slow cooker was set on high and I went out for the day.....

I came home after a busy day to a house that smelled divine!! The gammon just fell apart when I took it out of the pot. I served it with some carrots.

And the best part of it.... BoyG ate the lot!! Nice healthy dinner and a full up boy. Can't beat that can you?!

A day out at Birch Farm

BoyG has been a good boy and has been getting lots of stickers on his chart. So as promised, we went to Birch Farm. We met some friends there with their children and ended up staying there all day.

The children are kept busy, with a bouncy castle, lots of toys, a big caterpillar tunnel, two big slides, a ball pit and play houses.

There is an area for small children and babies. BabyG was happy to use a bouncy chair from the little area. He sat and watched the bigger children play.

Mummies are also kept happy with coffees, teas, lunches and cakes! They have lovely home made food and lots of choice.

We stayed for lunch and I had taken a cake with me so we all had some yummy beetroot & chocolate cake.

There is also a swimming pool there but we didnt swim today. We have done before, and BoyG will shortly be starting swimming lessons there.

BoyG was suitably worn out and promptly fell asleep in the car on the way home! He really enjoyed himself. If he gets all his stickers this week he will get to go again next Friday!

What affects a 3 year olds behaviour??



Grumpy BoyG!!



We have had a few behavioural issues with BoyG. Mostly since BabyG was born so at first we put it down to jealousy. BabyG is now 11 weeks old and it had started to get worse instead of better. The main thing was that he was just not listening to what I said to him. As it was getting to the point where I was close to tears, DaddyG and I decided something needed to be done!!

We have put some things in place already but we are still open to try even more.

So far this is what we have tried...

Roaring - BoyG likes to roar at people! Its very frustrating. No one likes it. I hate it! He seems to do it for attention so at the moment we are trying to ignore it. It seems to be working as he is doing it much less than before.

Reward chart - We now have a sticker chart. I just drew a chart on some A3 paper and he gets a sticker if he is a good boy. There are two columns; morning and afternoon. So he can get up to 14 stickers in a week. If he gets at least 10 then he can have a special treat the following week. A favourite for him is to go to a play area with his friends. If he gets all 14 he will get an extra treat.

Television - We realised we had the tv on far too much. We now limit it. We have it turned off most of the day. BoyG gets to watch a little in the morning, and maybe after lunch and then after tea if he has been good. This seems to be working well. When he does have it turned on now, it is more of a distraction than before. And he plays with his toys a lot more now that there is no telly to laze around infront of.

Sweets and treats - Originally I took these away as I thought 'he's misbehaving so he shouldn't be rewarded with sweets and biscuits'. When BoyG had been very good for a couple of days, we let him have a biscuit as a reward. Literally as soon as he had finished the biscuit, his behaviour changed. It was like having another child instead of BoyG!! He was rude, hyper, and stopped listening again!!

With this in mind, I went and bought some healthy fruit treats with no added colours or flavours. And for biscuits we got some rich tea biscuits. I got some PomBear crisps as I believe them to be better, and so far they seem to be fine for him.

All of this seems to be doing wonders for BoyG. He is much calmer (most of the time!) and actually seems happier. Also, because I have to shout a lot less, he has a lot more cuddles for me. All in all its win win!!

Remember remember the 5th November!!



BoyG with a sparkler



Well its the 6th actually but we had to wait till DaddyG had a day off!!

We have been waiting for DaddyG to be at home for the fireworks. For the past 4 days, BoyG has woken up asking "Is it my fireworks today?" so he finally got his fireworks and his favourite food!



BoyG and BoyT



BoyG and BabyT with DaddyG



We've had a lovely evening of sausages, potatoes, fireworks and sparklers. BoyG had his friends over for tea and fireworks that DaddyG was organising. MummyT, BoyT and BabyT were here with us. The boys had a great time playing, they loved the fireworks, and they helped eat lots of yummy sausages! It was nice as I got to catch up with MummyT who I haven't seen for a while. BabyG liked watching the fireworks before returning to his bouncy chair (he loves his chair!!).

 



Lots of sausages sizzling in a pan!!


All in all it was a great evening. I love having children - it makes celebrations much more fun :0)

Mummys little soldier



BabyG once he was well again



I just want to write about my amazing baby and all that he has been through and survived. Apologies if it is a little mixed up. To be honest it is still a tender subject to me but I want to write about someone special that BabyG saw yesterday so I feel I should write about the background of it all.



After his operation in London



BabyG was very poorly when he was only 10 days old. He gave us such a fright! He was rushed to Ipswich hospital in an ambulance where they made sure he was stable and did their very best to get him well again. The problem was with BabyG's heart but as they dont specialise in paedeatric cardiology in Ipswich, BabyG was sent to the Evelina hospital in London. When he was there he went to their intensive care unit. He had a condition called coarctation of the aorta. His aorta was very narrow and went in an hour glass shape so much so that the blood could not flow through. The blood was not being able to flow to the lower half of his body so there was no pulse in his groin, legs, or feet. The reason we didn't know about this earlier, is that when you are in the womb and don't need to use your lungs, you have an extra duct which bypasses the lungs. The blood was bypassing the bit of BabyG that was too thin. That duct goes away gradually and then at around ten days old it dissapears and the heart starts to function normally. When it started to dissapear is when BabyG got poory.



DaddyG's first cuddle after BabyG's operation



BabyG's scar



BabyG had to have open heart surgery at 11 days old, and he was on heart bypass. It was such a hard time for the whole family but out little fighter made a full recovery and I am forever grateful to everybody involved in saving my baby's life!

My midwife came to see BabyG at home when I told her he wasnt himself. She is the one that called an ambulance as when she was holding him his colour just drained from him.

I went to Ipswich hospital yesterday to see someone else who played an important part in saving BabyG. The doctor that helped him in Ipswich asked me to bring him in to see her when he was better. I said I would, although at the time I still didnt think he would make it. But he did! So, I went to see her yesterday afternoon. It was so lovely to see her, and give her a huge hug! She got a lovely cuddle with BabyG while BoyG played with the toys in the waiting area. On our way out to the car, she took us through to the resuscitation room where BabyG had been when he was brought in by ambulance. It felt very strange being back there and it brought back lots of memories. There were a few tears shed today! But im so glad i got to go back to see the doctor and thank her for all she did!



BabyG havinh his check up at the Evelina Childrens Hospital in London



Halloween 2012

Logan and I have been getting ready for halloween for the most part of October. We had a 'Halloween box' with all sorts of fun things in it. From painting, glueing, and putting up banners, to making spooky cakes and biscuits. He has loved spending time with mummy just the two of us, and he has been very creative. My favourite was the picture he painted of a pumpkin.

Logan (who i will now call BoyG) dressed up as a bat and was very scary. He is very into batman at the moment!

Riley (who i will now call BabyG) was dressed up as a pumpkin. He looked very cute!

We will shortly be taking it all down and putting most of it in the loft for next year. Logan is already asking me if we can start the things in the 'christmas box' but i think we may need to make him wait at least till mid november!

My lovely little family

This is my first ever post on my blog, so I thought id start with a bit about myself and my three favourite people - my family.

I have a lovely husband, Duncan, and I am mummy to two gorgeous boys.

Logan is 3 years old. He is so independant, he hates to accept any help from anyone! He is so loving and caring.... And my little monster!!

Riley is 10 weeks old. He is a sweet, smiley little boy. Riley's character is now starting to show, after a very tough start in life, having major heart surgery at just 12 days old!

Riley had a condition called Coarctation of the Aorta. His aorta was too narrow and the blood was not being pumped round to the lower parts of his body. He was rushed to the Evelina hospital in London for heart surgery, where a brilliant team took great care of him and made him better. That was possibly the toughest time in my life so far but thankfully we have come through it and Riley is ok now, although he will have regular check ups for a long time to make sure everything stays working how it should be. We are just lucky that he was a good sized baby at birth, that he did not have a traumatic birth, and that he is a little fighter!

Logan is a typical 3 year old.... He wants to be involved in everything, helping me with anything he can. He is a cheeky little boy with a smile that just makes me melt and he most definatly keeps me on my toes!!

We have a few jealousy issues since Riley's arrival, especially as we had to be away from him for a week when Riley was poorly, but overall, he is a very proud big brother, telling me when Riley cries and telling me that Riley must be hungry again. The scariest thing he has done is carry a 4 week old Riley into me in the next room because "He is crying mummy. He needs you"

 

My blog is all about my life with my two boys, watching them grow, and enjoying every moment of it :O)