Thursday's tootsies have far to go

I know I have mentioned before that I am a lover of nail art.  I find just one nail colour boring, unless your nails are too short to do anything with them but in that circumstance there is always the half moon and my absolute favourite, polkadots.  

One thing that is always on my to do list and always gets done because I see no point in going out without them looking their best are my toenails.  I don't have the greatest toenails in the world or even feet for that matter but I love to paint my toenails.  I don't feel like me if they're not painted and I can't bear to see a chipping toenail on me or anyone for that matter.  It's not like a paint them every week, it's actually once a month/6 weeks as my nail varnish usually lasts that long before it starts chipping so I can make the time in between everything else. 

Also, I am a lover of ballerina pumps.  Usually when I go over to people's houses I take my shoes off unless I have been told not to and when I attend classes with my son they also require you to take your shoes off... revealing my cleanly painted toenails.  Occasionally I wear little lace socks inside my pumps but the majority of the time I am au naturel.  I also own a couple of pairs of peep toe pumps so definitely no socks with those.  I'm not trying to show off when I have to reveal my toenails, it's all for me really.  It gives me a sense of pride to see them nicely (sort of) painted and it makes me feel like I'm not a total homebody - although I do love a good dressing gown and slippers day. 

I know what you're thinking, how has this girl managed to make an entire post about feet and toenails well I'm done now so it's too late as you've read it all! To finish, here are some pictures of my almost finished designs before I tidy things up:

  

The calm before Christmas

October-November is our busiest month with birthdays and anniversaries galore which doesn't help on my quest to be done with Christmas presents by the end of November.  Needless to say this year I have dropped the ball a bit and have just one present bought. Oops.

As per my usual self though, what I have managed to do is compile a Christmas list for everyone and I have also bought an outfit for my son for the Christmas cards this year.  Unfortunately my son has had a viral infection and is now covered head to toe in spots so they wouldn't make for the best Christmas card photos but if needs be I will have to make it work or like everyone else just buy some off the shelf.  

Around this time you see loads of articles online about the most popular presents to give to children this year.  That's great but what you will never see is a list of presents for babies.  What do you get for an 18month old who has everything? Having trawled the internet trying to find out about 18-24 month old development, I have found that they are honing their walking skills and expanding their vocabulary, neither of which helps me with presents as he has literally everything useful to aid him.  What I have settled on so far is this:

This will hopefully help him learn to dress himself and that is about it.  I have toyed with the idea of clothes but my son has some of his hand-me-downs as he has always had too many, then with vtech learning pads etc.  Any other ideas would be very welcome as I'm completely stuck!

Then there is my son who is a darn sight easier to buy for as he doesn't have all of the clothes in the world and is eating like a trooper so he will be in the next size up soon which I cannot wait for as 12-18month old clothes as so much nicer! When I had mentioned to a shopkeeper I was looking for a yellow fisherman's coat for my son (yes I know he would look like Paddington bear) she said, "we don't do plain coats in that size as he's a baby and they love the little patterns and prints".  Firstly, he is a baby so he loves anything colourful and secondly he will be wearing it, how will he be able to see the print to care that it has space ships on it?! Obviously I didn't say this out loud but other retailers must think the same as the market is saturated with coats covered in silly prints, I just want a plain one!  I have settled on this one although the description of "shell jacket" gives me fears he will look like a throwback of the 80s. 

Now to just sort everyone else out, roll on payday!

~AB~

Working mums making it work

I'm lucky that I get to sit on both sides of the fence that I am both stay at home mum and working mum.   That's probably quite rare to hear said I imagine as not a lot of people would say they were lucky to work I'm sure.  For me though, I find work as my son finds anything new, an endless source of fascination and stimulation.  I wouldn't say I love my job but I am interested in the field I work in.  

As a stay at home mum of sorts I see other stay at home mums all of the time, juggling life with more than one child or enjoying the company of their child(ren).  I often wonder what my son will be like when he is older, will he want to chat with me, would he be embarrassed to be seen with me from a young age etc especially when I see the mum's who have great relationships with their children getting on well, no tantrum in sight.  I travel on buses a lot with my son so we get to see a lot of mother/child interaction.  There is a particular mum I see a lot who carries books with her and reads with her son.  He seems to be around 15ish months old and loves how animated she gets.  There is always loads of infectious giggling and contentment at the time his mum is spending on him.  

On the flip side, I also see a lot of working mums when I am on my way to work.  Mums all suited and booted with their children scooting alongside them or holding their hands skipping up the road.  My husband and I are those people, well dressed workers wheeling their son to nursery while we go out and earn a crust.  Unfortunately, I have no heartwarming story about a suited woman/man and their child as I have seen none.  That is not to say that professionals don't spend time with their child and bond with them but it's not so public.  I can only speak for us but I imagine they have places to be and people to see so they can rush back home and spend more time with their child creating heartwarming moments in the privacy of their own homes. 

Despite saying it at the start, I don't actively think of myself as a stay at home mum and honestly now that I am back at work I can't imagine being one full time.  I love my son, but I have realised I also love being mentally stimulated by something completely different in my day.  I have found that I have more patience and energy for my son despite actually getting less sleep.  My son is at that age where he has started to become extremely active and wants to walk everywhere despite not being able to walk without assistance.  This is great exercise but exhausting 5 days a week (my husband takes the weekends) so I don't know how stay at home mums do it.  

Working mums in this sense really applies to all mums.  We've all got things to juggle but we're all making it work and we all deserve a round of applause.  It's a beautiful thing we're doing day in and day out, nurturing and growing another human no matter whether we do it full time or not.

Baby's days out

In a bid to do more with our son, I have tried to make sure my husband and I do something with him every weekend.  If we're visiting people then that counts too as we don't want to overload him but we want to make sure he has some adventures even if they are to Aunties and Uncles houses. 

So far he has been to a local zoo, walking in a forest and a soft play area.  We have taken him to a few parks in between and our local sensory room and visited a few friends as well but we're looking for our next adventure.  

I have big plans for my son's birthday but till then I want to keep the momentum going.  I have wanted to take him to an aquarium for some time now but it's a matter of finding a local one and there is also a bunch of stuff I want to do with him when he's older like fruit picking and creating a drive in cinema in our lounge, making gingerbread houses etc.  Is it just me but are activities limited if your baby is under 1?  My son is an explorer, he loves to be outside and he loves to know what everything is and why and what is does and if it drops on the floor if anything happens.  Has anyone else found this problem?

My son knows when I'm recycling the same old day and I can tell he is bored too, wanting to do more than just sit at home or be pushed about in a pushchair while mummy points at things.  My son is desperate to walk but for the meantime he is still very much a hand holder which also makes things hard.  Whilst our local Childrens' Centre is good for a quick fix with the sensory room and some free classes, I have had to find new books for my son to read till I can figure out what else we can do.  My son absolutely loves Happy Dog, Sad Dog by Sam Lloyd 

and the old classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  

My husband says it's mainly the way I read it but getting a giggle and seeing my son want to read them gives me hope that whereever we take him next it will feel like when we read him his favourite books.  Can you recommend any to me? What did you love to read when you were little?

~AB~

The never ending to do list

Despite getting barely any of my DIY list done, I feel like I have had a very productive weekend.

My son's top half of the wardrobe is done and now looks much more balanced and I have finished sewing the canopy over his den, I just need to fix a rail or something for the fabric to hang over and then I can put the lights all over it.  

I have also started accumulating cushions for his little space and so far I have three with three cushion covers on the way so I can repurpose some old cushions from our first house which don't match the decor of this one.  All of these were from IKEA and they fit my multicoloured brief perfectly.  I just need to get some textured cushions now and a bean bag and then I'm done. 

Other things I bought this weekend include a frame to house my husband's Jack Vettriano print.  I'm not a fan but it fits our old boy's club study perfectly although I'm not sure where to put it. 

Next on my to do list is the hallway I think.  Our radiator cover is due any day now so that will be another thing ticked off of the list.  I have managed to find several round and oval shaped photo frames on ebay which should work with my photo wall above the radiator perfectly.  I need to order all of the photos I intend to put on the walls then I can get started once the cover arrives so I know where I intend to hang everything.  

Then I will work on our lounge.  The bottom up blinds have arrived so we have had to take down the awful bar that secured the previous owners' heavy, unwashed curtains.  I am so pleased to see the back of those bars even if it meant I had to take out the paint brush and filler once again!  That's really the last part of the owners (other than the kitchen) still left but that's a job for a while in the future.  We have black bags covering the bottom half of the windows at the moment so that the blinds can be installed at the weekend.  I cannot wait but that's never the end of it.   The walls definitely need another coat of paint (despite having 3 already) however the room is fully furnished now including a glass table which is too heavy to move so that will have to be done by someone more careful than I.  My plan for the lounge artwork is to research our house's history and see if anything interesting comes up.  I know ours is a post WW1 house and that there used to be a sweet shop on our road in the 40s but that's it.  I will be attending a class at the end of November to help me do some research as all googling and ancestry.co.uk have all drawn blanks.  Once I have found enough information and hopefully some pictures, I will display them in a floating frame like this if I can find one large enough: 

It's all go all of the time but at least the house is habitable which is a massive feat considering I was practically brought up on a building site! 

~AB~

Big changes

This weekend marked several changes for us.  The first is that my son is now in his own room and although he slept no more differently than usual, I did not sleep quite so well.  It was a combination of getting used to our old (horrible) mattress and not being able to see my son at the end of my bed.  Part of me is a little sad as it means our son is yet another step closer to toddlerhood, the other part thinks... woooo hoooo no more sneaking around hoping I don't wake my son up! I'm a little torn but I'm sure it will be good for all three of us. 

The second was that we're now using the study as an actual study and not a dumping ground. As you may or may not have seen from a previous post, I finished the cork some time ago it was just the touching up of paint around the cork and the tidying up that I couldn't do! The dining table which used to house our computer is now looking sorry for itself but is still very much a dumping ground so I need to have a really good tidy of that and I also need to do something about the state of the table like cover it with something.  I have a plan for that but it would require me to find the fabric I need. That will be a weekend job for my husband which I'm sure he won't be looking forward to! 

I have finally managed to put up my son's wardrobe although the drawers that I was hoping could be shelves instead look a little sorry for themselves so they will have to stay drawers.  This now means I need to put the front on them but the wardrobe is now full of clothes and our stockpile of wipes so the floor has been opened up for me to create my son's little den.  The curtain has arrived I just need to fix velcro to it so it can stick to the top of the wardrobe then it can be hung and the fairy lights can go on top of it.  I also need to buy many more cushions to make it a proper hang out but that's a work in progress.  The alphabet embroidery I finished ages ago has also now gone up so here is a little peak at what the space looks like now:

I used some left over orange door knobs I bought for my son's chest of drawers/changing table and then washi taped two of the panels to be a little bit more interesting than just plain white.  I think I will also washi tape the outline of the panels on the opposites to create a little more balance but I love it and I hope my son does too.  I have been told it's like I'm forcing orange onto my son, but I just think he enjoys the colours so everything isn't so boring.  Better than having all navy and blue I think and much brighter and happier.  

As an aside, for part of my 30th birthday celebrations my husband took me to a ceramic painting session (which is very selfless of him as he is neither creative or interested in crafting... so I made him paint a penguin for me) in which I wanted to create something that could be used for a while and not just pushed to the back of a cupboard never to be seen again.  As well as a plate which my son will eventually use and a bowl for cotton wool balls, I made this for my son which I had always intended to hang in his room but actually it looks better on the door: 

The ribbon was re-used from a gift he was given at birth which just happened to be the perfect colour to match his room.  I love Shakespeare and poetry and I thought this was a fitting quote to finish off my son's room.  I should add it was remarkably difficult to write with a paint brush! Busy busy busy!

~AB~

Big girls don't cry

Except that they do cry and that's ok. Even in public (to an extent).  Bear with me and I will explain. 

Taking my son to nursery was absolutely fine at first until separation anxiety started setting in and my son is now inconsolable.  He is or at least seemed to be an independent baby and he is happy to entertain himself if I need to leave the room briefly to make a fresh milk etc.  I always thought with separation anxiety it was something some babies went through and some babies don't but let me dispel the illusion for you, ALL babies go through it.  The fact that they all do doesn't make it any easier however and it breaks my heart watching my baby crying for me and reaching out but not able to come to me as I have to leave him behind.  As with everything, I always hear, "it will get easier" or "oh it's just a phase" but it's not that easy for me to dismiss. 

On the positive side however this has meant my unaffectionate son wants more cuddles and kisses when usually he would literally push or facepalm me away (and no I am not joking, he really does do this already) so I am more than willing to oblige!  Who doesn't want to smother their baby in love or maybe that's why he pushes me away because I'm too much?  Anyway I digress. 

Absence does make the heart grow fonder when it comes to working life and my son.  Whilst I do wonder what he's up to during the day I don't feel I am obsessive about it and as I have reassured my friend whose son will also be going to nursery soon, I think it does help with your relationship.  I do believe that I have more patience and more energy when I do spend time with him and he would benefit from that more than if I were to be home full time.  I also believe I'm developing his independence by not having him spend every waking moment with me.  I know I will always be his mother and noone will ever take that place, I also know there is unconditional love between us and that will never change.  I guess what I'm trying to say is, and maybe this is me reassuring myself, that it's ok to cry over my son upset that he's leaving me.  If we didn't love each other we wouldn't be so upset.  My separation anxiety too is just a phase and a normal and natural one.  The baby I have lovingly nurtured since conception is now like me becoming more independent and I should be proud that this is another feat he will be achieving in his development.  He will always need me even if it's just for advice or a babysitter for his children and if like me you have cried for your grown up baby, it's ok to cry.  Have a tissue on me and a high five for independent babies. 

~AB~