Whilst out doing a spot of shopping with Mr C and the kids last week I happened to spot what looked like a children's chemistry set in a shop window. Not that uncommon a sight, but always good to see. Once in the shop I noticed that it was actually aimed at younger children that I'd expected with a recommended age of 4+. This attracted my attention and a lovely shop assistance happened to come over and ask me if I wanted to see inside the box. I am so glad she did as that was the start of my love affair with the Learning Resources Primary Science Set. Making a volcano What's ... read more
Toddler fun in the snow
Like much of the country we've spent the last week with snow and when there's snow on the ground and children in the house there are much more exciting things than sitting inside in front of a computer. Combine that with a few days solo parenting and blogging has once again taken a bit of a back seat. The wonderful thing about snow is just how magical it is for children of all ages. Enough of a rare event here in the UK that there's a huge novelty value attached to it and all the disruptions to school and transport is exciting. Talking to the parents of other toddlers yesterday we ... read more
Toddler friendly hidden vegetable bolognese
I'd put money on Little Miss C not being the only toddler out there who isn't particularly keen on fruit and veg. After a Christmas season in which she went to several parties that presented her with the opportunity to eat her own body weight in crisps we thought it about time to try to reverse this unhelthy eating trend. LMC has always been a fan of meat dishes and would quite happily snack on sausages or similar in the same way that other (healthier) children might eat a banana or an apple. Over the last couple of years I've therefore become quite good at trying to squeeze as ... read more
Review and Competition – WOW Toys
With two and a half years experience under her belt Little Miss C is becoming rather adept at reviewing toys now. Whenever she gets something new she will actually tell me what's good and bad about it without me having to prompt her and is quite happy for Mummy to get her to pose for pictures with things too - it might slow things down a bit on Christmas Day, but it's super handy when we're asked to review new things, and no one is quite as honest as a toddler! This time round I was asked by the lovely people at Cuthberts Toys to review a selection of toys from the WOW Toys range. Stood in ... read more
How?
When you have a toddler people always ask if they've reached the "why stage" yet. All toddlers are inquisitive and learning how to question things is a natural development step for them. As a result they all seem to go through a period where they have the need to ask "why" with reference to everything they see and do. People had warned me about the why stage and I had even started to mentally prepare myself for the why questions that I might get. But, being a bit different as always, Little Miss C instead seems to be asking "how"! It all started one morning ... read more
How to keep a toddler amused…
... whilst having to wait for the Doctor's appintment that is running 40 minutes late. Hand over your camera and ask them to take photographs of the things they like. The result is some slightly blurred pictures and ten minutes peace and quiet at the time. Little Miss C was so pleased with herself that I thought I ought to share some of the best pictures. Some friends from In The Night Garden. Mummy waiting patiently. And a rare in focus one - LMC's friend and constant companion. What pictures has your little one taken? ... read more
Three hours
I'm sure I can't be the only person who gets to the end of the day and wonders what I've actually acheived that day. When you're at home with little ones it can be quite easy to just concentrate on "surviving" and it can be easy to lose track of what has kept you busy all day. Realistically though, stay at home parents usually acheive loads, but they simply don't have the time to step back and take stock of just what they have done. This morning Mr C went out to a first aid course so I thought I'd keep track of just what I got up to in that time - admitedly, ... read more
Toddler cupcakes
After the scathing comments about "mummy bloggers" that appeared courtesy of Ms Jones in yesterday's Daily Fail (I refuse to link to them and give them any SEO credit at all for this) I felt slightly bad about today's post being about cupcakes, but still. I may be one of these parents who stays at home knitting and baking whilst blogging and bringing up my children, but that's completely fine with me. And also with my husband who gets to eat the fruits of my baking activities when he comes home from work. Little Miss C has really got into baking recently and one of the ... read more
Visiting the animals
I'm always on the look out for new places to take Little Miss C - especially ones that don't cost much. I worry that there's a lot of pressure on parents to pay to take their children to loads of expensive attractions but that need not be the case. On Friday morning we went along to one of our favourite free attractions - the local garden centre's pet department! We're lucky enough to have a short drive away a garden centre that sells chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, budgies and reptiles, as well as a selection of fish. It obviously costs nothing to visit the ... read more
Mothercare’s new store
When pregnant with Little Miss C Mothercare was my first port of call to look at baby things. I'm guessing the simple reason why was because I remember going there with my mum as a small child to buy things either for myself or for my younger sister. Nowadays there are also other stores selling things for babies and toddlers, and supermarkets also have a wide range for this market, but Mothercare is still there and they're making some changes to their stores to make sure that they meet the needs of modern parents and their offspring. I was delighted to be invited along to see the new-style ... read more