On Saturday 9th November

We've spent most of the day driving around & shopping, trying to get sorted for Anna's birthday tomorrow and a decorating project we're starting on Monday. It was a long, boring trip for two preschoolers. Anna only napped for 15 minutes in the car & Isaac got fed-up of behaving himself before we hit Sainsbury's, our last stop.


You're struggling with your behaviour lately. Lots of defiance, huffing & tutting, easily frustrated & prone to major meltdowns. We're not sure if it's your age, all the changes going on around you, the other children at preschool or our recent parenting revisions. Time will tell I guess. In the meantime, we're just aiming for clear, consistent boundaries & consequences.

You're excited about the new baby. You like to feel it kicking and you think it's hilarious to sit 'on' the baby when I lift you.

You are great at sharing with your sister & looking after her. You've started trying to tell her off & fetching her back if she runs away.

You come out with the funniest, sweetest things. Like 'mummy you look very gorgeous today'.

You've learned to use the tv remote control to pause & restart your programmes on the iplayer. Too clever!


You turn two tomorrow. I can't believe how quickly that time has gone. You're so funny and sweet.

You love to sing, even if you can't actually pronounce the words.

You recognise McDonald's & KFC, loud shouts of "nuggets" from the backseat every time we go past. And yes, that word is very clear.

You like Mr Tumble and In The Night Garden. You ask to watch beebies and can turn the tv in our bedroom on without help!

You've just moved into Isaac's room at night. You still sleep really well & the two of you seem to be getting on well so far. You love lying in Isaac's bed and pretending to sleep.

You love to help and bring us things. You try to blow your nose, shame you use an entire packet of wipes to do it!

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Negativity

I seem to spend a lot of my time saying "no!" these days.  It comes from having a 3-year-old and nearly 2-year-old in the house.  Some days it seems like all that comes out of my mouth is negative.

"Don't do that!"
"How many times do I have to tell you?"
"What did I just say?!"
"Am I talking to myself?"

That last one is my favourite.  I sound like my mother (sorry Mum!)  It's that old chestnut, all the things you promised you'd never say to your own children because it drove you up the wall when you were young.

When Isaac was a baby, I read something that has stuck with me ever since.  My mum has commented on it a couple of times.  And it really makes a difference to how I feel about my children and about myself.

Catch them doing something good.

It's easy to let them get on with it when they're eating their dinner nicely.  And so easy to get on their case when they're climbing the tv shelf again.  Or brushing their teeth independently, smearing toothpaste all over the bathroom.  Or playing hide & seek under the table instead of eating their dinner.  (All examples just from today.  Just so you know.)

But then I sound like a nag.  And I start to get frustrated with myself and with them.  Why do I have to say the same things over and over?  Why do they seem to do things designed to wind me up?  Why can't I be more gentle and patient with them?

So I make a conscious effort to find them doing something positive.  And then tell them about it.  "You're doing great eating tonight."  "What good sharing you're doing!"  "You're such a great big brother, that was a really kind thing to do."  And after a while, it became a habit.  I think it makes us all feel better.  The more you draw attention to something, the more that's what you see.  So if all I do is comment on the negative, I leave the day with a negative impression of it.  When actually, the day has been average (in most cases) and the children are just that: children.  They don't do it on purpose, they're learning.  They try to please me and to get my attention and if I don't give it to them in positive ways, they'll settle for the negative.  And I feel less like a harpy and more like a mum who enjoys her children.  Good things all round.

On October 3rd

He:


1. Is loving preschool. So much. But can never remember enough to tell us about it.
2. Is really into dragons, dinosaurs & pirates these days.
3. Throws the most annoying tantrums these days and refuses to do as he's asked. We're using the naughty step technique to great effect.
4. Is getting really good at telling stories, whether it's the dream he just had or a made-up dinosaur adventure.
5. Can think about the future though he's still a bit fuzzy on when things happened in the past.

She:


1. Has the most wonderful hair these days, with proper curls and now it's long enough to tick behind her ears, she can actually see where she's going.
2. Loves her blankie with a never-ending passion. Seriously, it goes everywhere with her.
3. Eats anything & everything that'll sit still long enough.
4. Sings. She does a fantastic Twinkle Twinkle before bed and a brilliant rendition of Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes.
5. Shouts "Dog" loudly every time she sees one. And sometimes when she doesn't. It's confusing.

This one:


1. Is growing nicely.
2. Has developed corners & edges. I can feel actual body parts now instead of just blobs.
3. Has stopped sapping all my energy so I'm actually getting something done for a change.
4. Likes to boogie when I'm resting.
5. Really has to be here early. But not on Christmas Day.

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On documenting my pregnancy

I had an Anne Geddes pregnancy journal with each of my first two children.  I haven't filled in all of either of them but it's nice to have some thoughts and memories written down for the future.  And to keep the different pregnancies clear in my mind!  With Isaac, we also took a belly photo every week from about 20 weeks onwards but I still haven't done anything with them yet!  A friend of mine had The Belly Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal for her pregnancy and it seemed a great choice for my next time round.

There's a page for each week (up to 39 weeks so this baby better not be late!) with a little bit of writing and a space for a belly photo.  So I'm taking photos with my phone (almost every week) and printing them at home to stick right in.  It's fun seeing how my belly shot out so quickly and has kept growing since.

There are also pages for food cravings and aversions, scans, midwife/hospital visits, maternity clothing and lots more.  The book is split in to trimesters and has a longer writing space at the end of each one to record your thoughts and feelings.  And of course, there's a labour and delivery section at the end with space for baby's vital statistics and first photo.

On going with your first choice

I've not done much scrapbooking in the last few months.  There's currently a six week gap in my Project Life album with a couple of missing weeks since.  And I hadn't made a 12x12 page in ages until a couple of weeks ago.  It felt really awkward getting back into things, like my stash just wouldn't go together in my head or on the page.  I made a half-finished page, which is still waiting for a title, journalling and embellishment.  The second page, I used a sketch having watched some scrapbooking videos for ideas.  It helped to have some recent photos with a story that I love to tell.

I had some time to spare and a little bit of new stash that arrived this week so I decided to just go with it and not overanalyse my decisions.  I chose some photos from Anna's first birthday that would go nicely with the Hello Again collection pack from Carta Bella.  And I tried to go with my first decisions; if I found something that looked good, I didn't keep looking, I just used that.  Even if there might have been a 'better' choice hiding in there somewhere.

I enjoyed the process actually and it definitely sped things up.  My biggest problem is letting go of my perfectionism and making something that's good enough.

 I added some Studio Calico wood veneer hearts, flowers and enamel dots from my stash & freebie ribbons from A Trip Down Memory Lane when I bought the collection pack.  The centres of the flowers did give me a little trouble - I had a grey enamel dot in the middle of the pale blue flower but it really didn't look right.  The only navy button in my jar had a design on the front so I turned it over and added some twine to make it work.

The title is some really old Sassafrass letters and some newer October Afternoon little tiles.  I put them a bit higher up initially but changed my mind when I couldn't think of anything to fit the gap next to the bigger letters.  So I added another piece of paper and put the OA stickers on top.

The other thing I didn't do was try to save things for another page, like rationing!  I love the stickers in the collection pack and they really fit the sentiment of the page.  Better to have things on a page where you can see them than in a bag, under the desk!  And I think it turned out well for a quick and easy page.