Naptime Natter

My monthly bucket list – September

It is official (ish), summer is over. Leo and I went for a walk today and there were already orange, crunchy leaves on the ground. August has been a bit of a confused month in terms of the weather but we have still managed to have a good one.

In fact, August has been a pretty life changing month actually. As some of you might know, my husband has got a new job and we are packing up ship and moving to Southampton at the end of this month. I feel like there has been lots going on this month but I think I have managed to tick off a few things on last months bucket list…

1. Make sure Leo has the best birthday ever – Done! We threw Leo a minion themed 2nd birthday party and he loved it. He got lots of presents, saw all his family and ate lots of cake. I am pretty sure he had the best day ever.
2. Sort out life – Well kind of done, I don’t think I will ever feel I have my life completely ‘sorted’. However, Oli accepted his new job so I have been busy getting boxes together and sorting bits out and getting ready for the big move.
3. Finish knitting my hat – Nope, I gave up. I just had no motivation to knit a hat I didn’t even want and I knew wasn’t going to be good enough to give as a present. I have instead started a chunky knit jumper and in the last 2 days I have knitted more than I have in the last month.
4. Dedicate more time to blogging – So I bought myself a laptop this month but I still haven’t managed to up my blogging game. I am finding it difficult to focus and with so much stuff going on right now I am struggling to find dedicated writing time.
5. Finish reading Us – I am so close! I think another couple chapters and I will finally have finished it!
6. Get a hair cut – Done! My wonderful husband treated me to a trip to the salon. Feeling a lot more human now and less like cousin It.
Now on to this month…
1. Write CV – Boring but has to be done. Once we move I will need to start looking for a job and my CV is in desperate need of a make over.
2. Pack – Another boring one but it has to be done. I am so not looking forward to packing our home up, I think I am going to find it very stressful but quite emotional too.
3. Say goodbye to my favourite places – I am going to be sad to leave Swansea, before we go I want to visit all the places I love one last time. A trip out to the Gower and a play down the beach have to be squeezed in amongst all the packing and cleaning.
4. Do more messy play – Leo loves getting his hands dirty and discovering different things but something about messy play makes me feel a bit panicky. I am going to try and silence my inner clean freak and find some fun, messy activities for Leo and I to do.
5. Finish jumper – Ambitious I know considering I gave up not even half way through my hat. I think I can do it though, an hours knitting every evening and who knows what I can achieve.
6. Relax and enjoy Centre Parcs – The weekend before Oli starts his new job we are off to Centre Parcs with our families. Although it is right before we move, I am planning on having everything sorted so I can spend our break just relaxing and enjoying myself and not stressing about the new start.
That’s it for now. I am not sure how much of this I am going to get done but I am going to give it a good try. 
Have a lovely September 🙂
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15 reasons why Julia Donaldson is awesome

‘A mouse took a stroll through the deep, dark wood…’


I will give you three guesses as to what book this opening line is from. I am betting all parents out there will only need one and could then go on to read the rest from memory. The Gruffalo is Leo’s favourite ever book, it is the book he asks me to read the most, he always want it more than once and he can already recite some of the lines back to me. 
The Gruffalo is an exciting story about the woodland adventures of a little mouse, accompanied by wonderful illustration by Axel Scheffler. We are slowly developing a bit of a collection of Julia Donaldson books and both Leo and I think she and her stories are amazing!
15 reasons why Julia Donaldson is awesome…
1. She invented the coolest creature ever.
2. Her writing is fun to read and easy to remember, great for those times you don’t have a book handy and baby wants a story.
3.  She teaches us that if we are clever and cunning we can get out of sticky situations – stay back Gruffalo or you are going in a crumble because that is totally my favourite food, I eat it all the time (lies!).
4. She has a brilliant imagination and this rubs off onto our kids through her storytelling.
5. She teaches us to follow our dreams and that we can be whatever we want, such as a doctor who flies around on a dragon.
6. Thanks to the BBC adaptations of her books, Christmas daytime TV is a bit less boring than it once was.
7. She wrote Charlie Cooks Favourite Book, a book about books which shows how amazing books are (say book again..book).
8. She writes for all young ages so no child has to miss out on her stories.
9. The Gruffalo has provided parents everywhere with an excellent theme for birthday parties with the food already decided for them, scrambled snake anyone?
10. When my son asks ‘again again’ I really don’t mind. This is not always the case with children’s books, sometimes I can’t wait to get to the end.
11. She teaches us that wandering off while your parents are asleep in their cave is not always a good idea.
12. Her books include children’s favourites such as dragons, witches and giants.
13. She teaches us to be kind to others, even if it may result in our broom (real or metaphorical) breaking into pieces.
14. Her stories really engage, make children laugh and help them enjoy reading.
15. As a children’s author, she is pretty much perfect.
Does your child like Julia Donaldson? Or do your kids have a different favourite author? For now atleast, Julia Donaldson is clearly at the top of Leo’s list.
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Top tips for coping with a poorly toddler

The last 5 days have been so stressful, they have really challenged me and put my parenting skills to the test. My lovely Leo has yet again got an ear infection but to make matters worse his chest is also infected.

On Monday he was not himself at all and his temperature was running pretty high. Stupidly I put it all down to teething as his right back molar is cutting through. When he woke up burning hot at 5am on Tuesday I knew a visit to the doctor was in order.

Poorly Leo 🙁

The lovely doctor diagnosed Leo with a chest and ear infection and prescribed a course of antibiotics.  That was on Tuesday and now it is Friday Leo is almost back to his happy self. We are now almost out the other side of this horrible infection and I thought I would share how we managed to make it through this horrible week in one piece.

Tips for coping when your toddler gets ill …

Don’t stress if they don’t eat.
Leo has hardly touched his food all week. He’s had the odd bowl of cereal and a couple bits of toast and banana but as far as actual meals go, he has eaten nothing. This would normally stress me out loads but as he’s poorly I’m letting it slide. Sometimes when you are poorly food just is not appealing at all. As long as your little one is drinking then try not to worry, they will eat once they are better.

Even funny face food wasn’t good enough!

Be prepared for lots of sofa cuddles.
I have been glued to the sofa most of the week. Leo has not wanted to do anything other than cuddle up and watch cartoons. My friend and her daughter came to visit on Wednesday, we went to the park and Leo would not play at all. I would suggest you get your most cwtchy blanket, have a drink and snacks handy and get settled on the sofa for some serious cuddles and lots of Peppa Pig (if you can’t stand kids tv, have your phone handy and make the most of this quiet time to catch up on blog stuff).

Remind yourself how to do things one handed.
Leo is not a clingy child but this week I haven’t been able to go in the kitchen without him chasing after me, arms up and shouting ‘mummy cuddle’. I have had to reacquaint myself with the art of making toast and tea with one hand while holding Leo in the other, it’s not as easy as I remember!

Don’t feel evil when giving them medicine.
Oh wow, Leo hates his antibiotics. Like, he seriously hates it. He screams the house down and I have to pretty much restrain him to get any in his mouth. It is a traumatic ordeal for the both of us and has to happen 3 times a day, after each admission I am almost in tears myself. My only advice would be to just remind yourself even though they hate it, the medicine will make them better and is what’s best in the long run.

Everything else can wait.
No one makes a better nurse than your mum, we all know this from our own childhoods. The pile of laundry can wait and the dishes can pile up a bit if need be. Right now your baby needs you more than ever and all those other trivial things can just wait.  Don’t feel guilty about neglecting the housework, making your little one happy and comfortable is all that matters.

Enjoy some ‘me’ time.
Looking after a poorly toddler can be exhausting and some days you won’t get a single second to yourself. Once your patient is tucked up in bed spend some time relaxing and do something you enjoy. Luckily I haven’t had to work this week so once Leo is in bed I have just been crashing on the sofa with Jessy and Oli, I have been too tired to do anything else! On Wednesday we got my nan to babysit and once Leo was asleep we went to watch Avenue Q at the theatre where I work, it was nice to be out the house! A nice bubble bath with a good book sounds like heaven right now though…

Cuddles with Jessy after a busy day.

What do you think of my tips? Have you got any more ways of coping when your little one is ill?

Mums' Days

How to look after your mental well being by writing a ‘to don’t list’

How to look after your mental well being by writing a ‘to don’t list’

Yes, you did read that right.

I am a woman of lists: to do lists, shopping lists and now, blogging ideas lists. To do lists help me keep on top of everything going on and even if there is loads of stuff to do I always feel like having it written down makes it seem more manageable.

Anyway, we all know the purpose of the do list but this post is all about writing a to don’t list and how this practice can help improve your mental wellbeing.
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