Some fun activities and a lot of 'firsts' for Charlie :)

We've been having lots of fun in the last few days trying out new play ideas that mammy found through her new uber-obsession with instagram and pinterest! -I love my new first ever smart phone :D.

These are some of the things we've tried:

                                    Play-dough

 

There's recipes for play-dough all over the internet but I used:
1 cup of plain flour
1/4 cup of water
1/3 cup sea salt
1 table spoon of oil
Orange & Yellow food colouring

This was Charlie's first time with a 'squidgy' texture and his (what we call) 'danger danger!' barriers came up. He was extremely cautious around it. He didn't want to touch it with his fingers at all and it took about 10 minutes to persuade him to stab it, and stick sticks and coloured pegs into it. He made a lot of "Eww" faces at it!

Daddy stuck all the coloured pegs into it to make a dough ball "hedgehog", and he enjoyed pulling them all out again, counting them and saying the colours.

I kept my dough-ball in the fridge and whopped it on Charlie's tray a couple of days later. He amused himself by sticking the wooden spoon into it and then watching it fall over.

Fun with Blocks

It's not a new idea but it's a classic one and it's just brilliant.
Charlie has an absolute ton of blocks and they're so versatile for learning and play.
The tuff tray is a great quick-and-easy flat surface for them too. He doesn't yet understand the concept of building. Well he probably does, but he's not interested in doing it! He likes to pick them up, feel & say the shapes, say the colours, count them, put them in out of various containers, and push them around the tray. His favourite thing is to push down towers that mammy & daddy build as quickly as possible!

Pipe cleaners & a colander
Such a simple idea but it really works! Charlie was squealing with excitement and shouting "Ooo! Oooo!" as soon as he saw this in his tuff tray.

 

At first he started feeling them and twanging them.

Then he started pulling them out and showing us.

Cleo thought it was an epic cat toy, which Charlie found hilarious.

Pulling them all out and collecting them.

Stashing them in his truck.

Tipping the colander upside down and shaking it to get them all out!

Got them!

I sorted them all into different colours and asked Charlie to help me! Which he did, for about two of them!

But really he just wanted to stash them in his truck :)

Horrific dental surgery, SAD & feelings & stuff update.

I haven't had the time or energy to blog much over the last few days. I've done tons of successful and non-successful activities with Charlie but my confidence has been really low. I've also had horrendous toothache (decay or something, something to do with the nerve - it flippin kills anyway) and then a couple of days ago I had a terrifying dentist experience where she wrenched out one of my top molars.

Seriously. I'd go through child birth before that again. Many times. It was horrific. I did lots of research beforehand on people saying that it's not that bad and you hardly feel it etc etc, and you do hardly feel it, I mean you feel it sliding out of your gum -forcefully - the sensation feels queasy and eugh - but that's not the worst part. It's the bleeding.

I had a loooong chat with the dentist as soon as I was in the chair, telling her all my concerns, how I had to be induced with Charlie and wasn't allowed an epidural due to my platelets and blood pressure dropping continuously. If I'd have had an epidural, the doctors were pretty sure my blood wouldn't clot once it was taken out. I think that was the gist of what they were saying, I was in shock at the time. I was also told that I may or may not need a C-section. For some reason. That didn't make sense. And I couldn't understand the South African doctor all that well... but the point was that there was something wrong with my blood.

I had (about 5) blood tests after Charlie's birth and he had to have one too (which was horrible to watch, he was a day old at the time, in fact I walked off because I was an emotional wreck) and the results all came back positive, that mine and Charlie's blood was fine.

The dentist seemed satisfied that she should go ahead and pull TWO teeth out of my mouth. And I had to let her, because the pain I'd been suffering from them had stopped me sleeping and made me even more of a hormonal roller-coaster wreck than usual.

I don't really want to go into detail, because I know if I was reading this it'd make me feel lightheaded if I explained everything exactly. Lets just say that the bleeding and the sensation of it in my mouth was waaaaaaay too much for me to handle and I was seconds off passing out. I was shaking violently and my dress was drenched with sweat. I managed to tell my dentist that I felt weird and she and the assistants stopped what they were doing and I was given a sugary drink and laid down, which helped. I also managed to tell her not to take the other one out - which she'd already decided on herself. If I'd had two pulled out I would have passed out. I don't even know how it's possible to have more than one pulled out and control the bleeding at the same time. HOW would that work?

Not being able to put pressure on your own bleeding 'wound' when every instinct in your body is telling you to feels like torture.Just laying there bleeding is just horrible. Especially to somebody as sensitive and squeamish and paranoid as me.

I had two stitches, which I was glad for, and which didn't hurt, but I just felt so spaced out, sick and scared. I just wanted to leave as soon as I could.

Then I was told to sit in the waiting room with a numbed up face to see if the bleeding was properly under control. I was shaking and trying to text Chris (luckily our house is about 20 feet away from the dentist, you can practically see it from the waiting room) who tried to text back words of comfort!

I was terrified my mouth would start pouring with blood. But it didn't, and after another check up the dentist let me go. I felt like I had to say "Thank You" but it was one of the worst experiences I've had. I then spent over two hours stuffing kitchen roll in my mouth trying to dry up the bloody saliva I couldn't bring myself to swallow, and the bleeding as it stopped and started.

It's stopped bleeding now and I've got a dull ache in my mouth, which is completely bearable compared to tooth decay pain.

But I've just been feeling 'blah' in general.

I read that having the contraceptive implant taken out made some women feel brand new, all new-found-confidence and energy and less paranoid, but not me. I feel the same, and I've been having nightmares. Great, eh?

I also had to cancel my first SAD therapy appointment due to dental stuff, so I've got a new one on Monday at 10.45. I'm obviously nervous about that too.

I feel fat.
I feel useless.
I feel like Charlie doesn't love me (maybe like me, a bit)
I feel like everything I try to cook goes wrong.
I feel like my blog is rubbish and everybody elses is great.
I feel ugly.
I feel like I don't do enough and I'm wasting my life.
I feel like the house is always a mess.
I feel sad that Chris (and everyone I have on Facebook) is going out all the time with friends.
I wish I had a friend.

I feel frustrated that the parent and toddler bloggers I've added on Instagram seem to be doing new activities with their toddler every day. I can't do that due to lack of energy, mental health problems, and lack of cash! Ingredients for messy and creative play aren't cheap, they're really not when you're wanting to do different things all the time. It's 5 quid for non-toxic childrens paint for Charlie's age and he wants to use all of it in one session.

Rice and pasta and food colouring and sand and water beads and paint and glowing vitamin water and slime and shape cutters and glitter and whatever else. It all adds up. But I feel like if I'm not getting all of this stuff and doing stuff with Charlie ALL THE TIME, then I'm failing him and I'm a bad mother and he's going to have developmental issues.

I honestly love him so much and I wish so much I was better and Chris was able to work full time and not stay here to look after us. But at the moment it's not possible. I need this therapy and I need to get better, and I need Chris to get the job he deserves and I need to feel like I'm doing something purposeful.

It's just hard at the moment.

Review: New Gluten-free baby and toddler snacks from Kiddylicious

Now Charlie is incredibly active, he needs constant refueling between meals. That used to be easy; orange segments, blueberries, pieces of banana and some crackers and cheerios, all of which he munched down messily, with pleasure.

Then he hit twenty months, and suddenly he was looking at his piece of banana like something I'd fished out of a drain, and subsequently throwing it on the floor with disgust, looking at me like "How could you?!" To my utter bewildered frustration, he did the same with strawberry, orange, blueberry and mango - all of which he'd previously loved. It was only when he accepted toast, cheerios and cornflakes that I realised I had a new texture-fussy toddler on my hands. I tried baking fruit and putting it in a crumble...  he saw straight through it, screwing his face up and throwing his spoons on the floor.

He's had fruity crispy snacks before, but they were more like crackers, and they still seemed to have a sticky, chewy kind of texture to them. They'd always be left in his changing bag to go soft. A few days ago we were kindly sent some of the new crunchy snacks from Kiddylicious to sample and review, and I was really interested to see if Charlie would take to them.


Cheese flying saucers, Banana fruity puffs, Blueberry fruity puffs & Tomato flying saucers.

They are gluten free and all suitable from age seven months, which is brilliant because, being big & chunky, they're really easy for babies and young toddlers to hold (rather than slippery fruit) and direct into their own mouths. Older toddlers might also appreciate the Flying Saucer shape.

When I look for packaged snacks for Charlie, the things I usually look for are

1. Suitable for vegetarians
2. Sugar content/artificial flavoring
3. Nutritional value

They are suitable Vegetarians, as well as Coeliacs and Lactose intolerance.

They are not suitable for children with a nut allergy (or a potential one) due to how they are manufactured - around lots of nuts I expect!

There is 0.1g of salt, and 0.3g of sugar per bag.

The Fruity Puffs are made with Corn flour, the Flying Saucers with Rice flour. The other ingredients include Sunflower oil and Vitamin B1. They are flavoured with natural fruit or savory powders depending on flavour, and natural flavorings.

So, on to the fun part, the taste test!

First Charlie tried the Blueberry Fruity Puffs, these were the ones I'd have chosen in a shop because I'm blueberry crazy.



We took them on our spring walk with us.

I loved the purpley colour! Even though it was pretty obvious they would be from the "Blueberry powdered crisps" bit! I know Charlie is a bit too young to appreciate that, but he did say "Purple crispies!" before he started cramming them into his mouth. Every time one was in his mouth, his hand delved into the packet to grab another. He ate nearly all of them and clearly enjoyed them. I also nicked a couple and the blueberry flavour was lovely and they were so light and melty, ideal for seven month olds new to solid food.

Next he tried the Tomato Flying Saucers:



These were my favourites. They were really tasty and I loved the shape of them. Charlie seemed interested too because he loved pushing them around his tray, counting them, and trying to pile them up! Then he ate them all. They were smoother and larger, but still easy to pick up. They had the same, light fluffy, melty texture, with a light tomato taste. I really liked these ones.

Next we tried the Banana Puffs



I'm guessing these were Charlie's favourites as he ate every single one in about five minutes! I don't like banana flavourings but Charlie clearly does, as he shouted "Nana crispies!" and didn't stop eating them until they were finished.

We haven't had the Cheese Flying Saucers but Charlie loves quavers and anything cheesy so I'm guessing these will be a hit! I love how I now have a healthy snack that I can take out with us without getting a squeal over something squishy.

I'm guessing Charlie would definitely recommend them to other toddlers and babies too!

Kiddylicious do a fantastic range of healthy baby and toddler snacks. Before he was fussy Charlie used to love the fruit wiggles and the pineapple crisps.

You can find out more information about toddler snacking and their range of foods here: http://www.kiddylicious.co.uk/

I was sent these for the purpose of this review, these are all my own words.

Springtime walk to Cleadon Hills

We had some seriously gorgeous weather going on this morning, so we did something we've been meaning to do for ages - we went up to Cleadon Hills. You'd never think you were in the middle of Tyneside stood up there!

It reminded me of being back on the Yorkshire moors at home (lots of jolts of nostalgia, happy & sad at the same time) Up there you can see Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham, and a very squinty-distant Scottish Border. It was such a beautiful, fresh clear day. The views really were amazing. It felt brilliant to breath in the fresh air, looking at the huge big blue sky and the miles of lush green grass. And of course you can clearly see the North Sea as well - you don't get that in Yorkshire!

You also can't miss the old 1820's Windmill. It's built on the highest part of the hills (this put out Out N about "all terrain" pram to the test!). In the 1870's a freak thunder storm severely damaged the Windmill and destroyed the sails. Afterwards it was used in the 1st World War as shooting practice, but it stands tall and proud and me being me, was pretty fascinated by it!

According to local legend, the mill owners heartbroken daughter Elizabeth Gibbon threw herself from the top of it after the storm, and her ghost has haunted it ever since... *spooky music*

Charlie loved the friendly horses.

The Mill - it's a lot more "upwards" than this picture makes out!

I've decided I like sky/cloud pictures :)

There is is!

 

 

 

Playing "peekaboo" though the Mill!
(Hope Elizabeth didn't mind)

Linking up to:

The week that was captured.

 It was St.Patrick's day so we did some Green pepper printing and made a big fruit rainbow, with whipped cream clouds and a pot of gold.

I made a mixed fruit crumble for two reasons a) I had a ton of fruit left from the fruit rainbow and b) It was a sneaky way to get texture-fussy Charlie to eat some fruit! 

We tried a new 'buffet' style meal. The quavers & cheese crackers were a big hit, which wasn't the idea. I have a very food-fussy toddler at the moment!

Trendy Thursday - no explanation needed.

 We visited the Discovery Museum in Newcastle where we all got absolutely soaked!

 It was Daddy's 25th birthday! We painted a card, with hand-prints inside, and then Mammy & Daddy went to the football where we won the game. Mammy had her first alcoholic drink of the year, and felt very light headed afterwards!

We went on a lush spring walk up to Cleadon Hills. It was gorgeous!




Linking up over at Make Do & Push :).

Some of my favourite things found in Charlie's room

Yesterday I fiiiiinally had a spare few hours to start making Charlie's room look more like a child's bedroom, and less like a toddler squats there.

Bit of background info on our living arrangements (optional)...

Me and Chris met at uni, I loved his Geordie accent and he liked my weirdness, he serenaded me with his guitar and taught me about Geordie football, and gave me a tour of Newcastle... we "fell in love" and all that jazz, and decided we'd live in Newcastle. We moved into moudly, damp, shower-less, depressing rented accommodation. They don't hand mortgages to people like us. Then I got pregnant, and no way was my baby living in a place like that.

We then moved into a nicer flat. With an actual shower. But again we had huge damp and mold problems. And the freezer and washer was outside in an outhouse. Nightmare in the winter

Luckily we then landed a proper three-bedroom house in a lovely area with a back garden. This was due to this house being in Chris's family for about 100 years. His Great-Grandma lived here all her life, and his Grandma gave birth to both his dad and his uncle in this house, which is a little bit creepy, but still, it makes the house more special, and now it currently contains the next two generations of his family. I like that.

So, due to the absolute uber-stress of moving house (again), equipped with a baby who had since transformed into a "Grab! Throw! Screech! Climb! Eat! Put in the bin! Whack the cat!" charming toddler, and the fact that he seemed to have half the ELC packed into boxes, AND on top of that Chris having been made redundant, I'm going to be honest, I haven't had the time or the money to start personalising our house. Most of the rooms just look sad and bare. But when you've a very limited income, you need to concentrate on making sure you're all fed, rather than paint and shelves and ornaments, as boring as it is.

Anyway, yesterday it was Chris's mams birthday, and she got the day off work, and wanted Charlie for the day, so I had the chance to properly sort his room out a bit. He has so many lovely things bought by us and the rest of his very generous  family. He's a very lucky little boy.

 1. A little Wooden Charlie bought by mammy & daddy from one of the amazing gift shops in York.
 2. Sage the Enchanted Elf. I just love him. He looks like a mythical creature from the woods.
 3. A purple owl money box, bought after daddy smashed Rainbow Pig. Charlie's favourite animal is an owl.
 4. Wall stickers on his bookcase. This worked so well!
 5. Giggles the Money from Charlie Bears. Bought from a gift shop in the Lake District.
 6. Snow Leopard from Charlie Bears; Grandma & Grandads first present to Charlie when he was born.

1. A Snow White poster - just because I love the story & the colours.
2. A little blue toddler arm char & stool bought from Home Bargains
3. The paint sample smudgeI want to paint Charlie's room. "Wizard purple" ! :
4. Lovely toddler mahogany hanging rail bought from Izziwotnot from Amazon.

1. A huuuuge monkey and monkey baby I saw in Asda and had to have!
2. A gorgeous glowing moon lamp that tells Charlie it's bedtime, from Ikea.
3. Broc the broccoli head! He just rocks. From Ikea.
4. A proper African Djembe drum bought from Amazon for Charlie's 1st Birthday. He can reach it now, yay.

1.An owl peg hanger for the back of his door when we get around to fixing it up.
2. A personalised towel from when he was born.
3. His pink and purple owl dressing gown.
4. A "MammyDaddy" photo which he likes to play with - good nappy change distraction!



1. A sensory basket, which he still loves, he can say the names of things now.
2. 'ByCarla' matching changing mat and sleeping bag - such amazing quality & bright colours.
3. Turtle star projector bought from Amazon. Really soothing.
4. "Gro anywhere" Black out blind'- life saver!

 Colourful duvet bought from Amazon "Sleep Tight" & Jungle cot bumper from Amazon "Breathable baby".

 

It's still way way way too plain, but at least it's looking more like a toddlers room now!
Next stage: Painting and making bunting! :)