Sometimes the idea of another pet really tempts me. After all we now own our own house and require no permission to get any sort of animal we’d like now. But do we want a pet now?
We’ve had two pets together since living together and although we’ve loved both of them we had to give one away. Milo our African Pygmy hedgehog was rehomed to a new home after being so hard to look after with a newborn. Check out my previous post on my hedgehog for more info why. So with that being said we aren’t really looking for something that doesn’t give us love and affection and is hard work. We had a Chinese dwarf hamster named pebbles optimus prime Hazelwood and he survived 4 long years! Pebbles was such a loving little guy and we didn’t mind cleaning him out as he would sit on us as we cleaned him out and loved being held and wasn’t really hard work to look after. One day I may get Elijah a hamster if he decides that’s what he wants.
I used to have a dog and my family all have dogs and I miss having something to cuddle with on the sofa. There’s nothing like the companionship of a dog. Going for walks with Elijah and the dog would be lovely and Elijah having a little friend to get into trouble with is just lovely. I loved being a child growing up with dogs and chasing them around and looking after them too. James has never had a dog but absolutely adores dogs.
I think when Elijah is in school we will get a dog. Because dogs take a lot of work and I don’t want Elijah climbing all over them upsetting them at such a young age and would like to be able to train it and have the time. I want Elijah to understand animals and how to respect them. I want to have a pet when we’re ready and not make the decision on a whim. When we’re ready we’ll do it but for now our family of three is complete.
I have never met a child who doesn’t enjoy activity sheets, be it colouring, painting or learning to spell. A important resource for all children of all ages, worksheets are so helpful to teach while engaging and learning with your children. Young children will love colouring and looking at pictures. Whereas older children enjoy more sophisticated activity sheets like word searches, spelling and maths sheets. We love orchard toys puzzles and games and always find them both fun and educational. Looking on their website for more toys ideas for Christmas i noticed they have a things to do section. Under this section there are lots of craft ideas such as using household products to make a rocket and even tasty recipes. There is also a out and about section with ideas on things you can use for arts and crafts too. You can print your very own activity sheets and print them for your children to do. There is lots and lots for all ages and interests and only will cost you your ink and paper. So go check them out. This is not a ad i just love this little freebie and all caregivers should be able to save money when they can!
Following a lovely day pumpkin picking we where ten minutes away from a garden centre (poplar nurseries) we love visiting as it has a miniature railway! We decided to go grab some lunch and browse the shops in the garden centre.
We went for lunch where we shared a pasta, chips and garlic bread. Elijah wanted a scone so a scone and some of our dinner he had! I had the most beautiful hot chocolate. As always it was really tasty and filled us right up! The railways station is just outside and is very cute they have steam trains too! They’re perfect size for children and under 4s travel free. The adults and older children are a pound a go or ten pounds for a pass of ten which we brought last time and still have turns! They have statues and flowers to look out for as you go around which Elijah loved!
Afterwards we stopped in the Christmas sections and looked at the lights and ornaments and it was so beautiful it made me feel warm inside! We found a door sign and bauble with Elijahs name on the first thing I have found with his name on in a shop ever! So we of course had to buy it. They have lovely food, cakes, chocolates, toys and home bits and we always buy something nice whenever we go.
We always live going to this little garden centre as it’s a day out when you get food. The foods always super delicious and out the door busy but if you reserve a table you’ll get a very nice meal! The train conductors are fun and lovely to everyone and they try their best to make it more exciting for the children! They play their whistles and shout all aboard and make the kids wave as they go! The outfits and the decoration of the area is lovely too very old fashioned and cute. You don’t have to pay entry either only for things you buy and each turn on the train so a good day out overall and it’s so big you can be there for hours.
Every year for the last 5 years we have gone pumpkin picking together, for the last four we have been to foxes farm in colchester. A short journey from our home we love going every year. We have taken other family members and friends and this year we went just three of us. Every year we get lots of photos and its been lovely as i have a photo of Elijah in my tummy, at almost a year and now.We will continue this tradition every year now as i think its a great activity to do and something to look back on every year.
The perfect family friendly autumnal activity for all ages which happens to be really cheep aswell. How it works is you park in their massive field and then walk to the pumpkin patch. The staff are really nice and helpful and every year they have more and more things to do. This year they had food carts and they haven’t had that before so you can even grab a drink and something to eat while your walking around or finishing off . There are plenty of places to take lovely family photos together such as on hay bales or photo set ups and next to signs. There are so many things to do for little ones. Little slides, climbing on hay bales, corn maze and obviously picking the pumpkins.
There are pumpkins as far as the eye can see their are all sorts of pumpkins there are small ones, big ones, different coloured ones. It’s lovely knowing you get to pick your own pumpkin and take it home. You know where its come from and you took it home yourself. Its a fun activity for yourself and your family. It may be a bit more expensive then a shop but they don’t charge you to attend only for the pumpkins. We brought 5 miniature pumpkins and one medium one and it only came to a tenner. We loved getting muddy and getting stuck in the mud. We have been in the rain before and the sun and overall it is always a lovely day come rain or shine.
Elijah loved being free to run around and choose some pumpkins. Once he got the hang of it he was filling the wheelbarrow and loving it. He enjoyed the puddle jumping to and squelching in the mud. When we took him to the minature pumpkins he was perfect size for this and loved grabbing them and holding them. When he got to the pumpkin patch of the bigger ones he would not stop till he found the right one when he found it he shouted “its too heavy” and asked for “help”. He tried to lift himself and fell back on a pumpkin and smashed it with his bum! He was very happy when we put it in the wheelbarrow. He enjoyed sitting in the wheelbarrow and guarding his pumpkins.
Its easy to pay and i think you can even pay by card now but i would check before you go on their website. Dogs are not allowed so humans only properly to stop risk of dog poo and dogs eating the pumpkins.We will be using the miniature pumpkins to decorate the house for Halloween and the bigger one we will carve closer to Halloween as a fun activity! I’m thinking about using the insides for once and baking something with it!
Below are some photos i took on my phone and on our camera. Enjoy!
Trying to expand your toddlers mind and teach them skills at the same time can be difficult, but there are resources out there you can use to help. Here are a few items i have used and found effective in teaching my son that might help other parents and toddlers stuck in a rut. If anyone else has anything they can recommend do please get in touch with a comment or check out my instagram @lifewiththehazelwoods and send me a dm there.
First up flash cards. I cannot rate flashcards enough because they are such a brilliant tool for learning. Remember revising for tests and you made flash cards? Well they work the same for toddlers. They’re brightly coloured and have pictures. They have the word under so you can teach your toddler the word for the photo which eventually they will learn with daily practice. Everyday we’ve used these since a little before his first birthday. Hes learnt a lot of animal names, foods, objects,weather and more. He can now basically say a whole pack of words now which makes us insanely proud. We have several packs which i have brought which Elijah loves doing you can get themed or basic first words, we have some ones that show counting objects for when hes older as well.
Puzzles are great too. We have quite a few types. We have some which are wooden boards where you take the shapes away and put them back in which are quite easy to do but teaches shape sorting. We also have vehicle, animal and letter ones to teach him words too. We have words to words to object animals. We have wooden puzzles also where we match the body parts. Puzzles are so good for making your child learn more, gain more skills and also strengthens their muscles using their motor skills. It also helps their memory including muscle memory.
Lacing beads. This teaches your child about colours and shapes. This also teaches how to thread through beads into the lace and counting as you do it. Teaches hand eye coordination and muscle memory again. This is also one of the things they access where children are too to see how they’re able to use their joints.
Arts and crafts products.Colouring books and crayons, Jumbo and thin crayons can be great for the wrists and finger development. We use it to teach colours and patterns and try to get him to copy us when we do shapes. We love painting and exploring patterns and objects and how we use things to paint. We do themed painting and use objects we find such as toys, objects from the outside or pasta. We love doing stickers which Elijah loves them and sticking them on the paper or on things.
Word books, i cannot stress how important reading is to children. They are sponges from when they are born. We have read to elijah since he was in my tummy and we make a effort to read atleast 4 books a day together. Word books with pictures and words are really good because they teach them the word for things. Elijah was so proud of himself when hes learn all the words in a book and would bring them to show us all day long.
Play dough. Teaching your child textures, making things and just using their hands and objects are a great tool to use. They come with good play sets too so as they get older you can make them explore more play. Like a dentist set, beach set, food making set. Playing together is lovely too.
Bricks, counting and balance all come into this. They have fun building towers and learning balance. You can also use them to count.
Magnetic fish teaches hand eye communication and team work.
Food is probably the best one! Teaching them too cook is such a fun experience and lots of messy play! Put food colouring in cooked spaghetti and let them go wild! Bake cakes and shape cookies! Colour pasta shells and rice for necklaces and arts and crafts activities!
The possibility’s are endless, just enjoy learning and having fun together!
Elijah went for a sleepover at his nanny’s yesterday so me and James could go cinemas and destress as we had a very stressful week and needed some time to just breath. It got me thinking that sometimes I miss our old life. When it was us two. I obviously don’t wish away or regret having Elijah but sometimes I ache with a need to just be us sometimes.
Nobody really warns you when you try and get pregnant that you will no longer have time just the two of you anymore. You get told from everyone they’ll be there for childcare but once baby exits your body nobody wants to know. Childcare is a few hours of peace and it’s rare to get anymore than that. I can count on one hand the nights away from Elijah we’ve had. In two years that’s not a lot of time. Although I love our family time and cuddles on the sofa I miss life in the slow lane.
It’s the little things you miss, waking up at the weekend after a lay in. Slowly waking up and scrolling on your phone and chatting till you decide to get up and go have breakfast. Having a a slow breakfast eating whatever you want with no mess to clean up after, hands to wipe or hands grabbing at your food. It’s deciding what you want to do and just going out to do it. No packing a massive bag and cramming with snacks and nappies. No thinking do they have baby changing? Is it kid friendly? How long should I be there before I need to come home and get the kid to nap?
It’s missing out on dates. Where you used to randomly decide at 7 you where going to cinema and just get in the car and go and now it’s can you have the kid in a weeks time for two hours please and we’ll pick and drop you off? It’s going to a restaurant and spending the whole time worrying about other people judging your kid for going on your phone or making a noise or something like that. It’s also cleaning the floor and sides after eating a meal. Something you’d never do just the two of you on a date.
It’s the conversation being calmed down. Not swearing except for when the kids in bed and talking about certain subjects so they don’t learn the words and go round using the c word or something like that. I will say however I find it hilarious when kids swear by accident it brings my soul pure joy!
I miss not relying on anyone to do things just us two now and when we go and do our old hobbies not having to rush them because Elijah grows bored or tired. I miss going to bed when I wanted and not waking up exhausted. Not having to listen to baby alarm in a light sleep and waking at every roll in his bed all night long. I miss when 7 am was early to me on days I wasn’t working.
Overall I love our life now and wouldn’t change it for the world. I love our family and how much better life has got since having Elijah but sometimes, just sometimes I miss when it was us two and we could be just a couple .
The other day I took Elijah to feed the ducks and have muddy outdoor play and activities. Fun right?? Wrong. I was so excited to have a lovely day with my friend and her little boy and mine playing nicely and imagined it going so well but it didn’t. It started of well Elijah held my hand nicely and enjoyed feeding the ducks and cane away when I told him too. But then we went to play on a climbing frame. It was great fun till it was time to come of which Elijah point blank refused.
Obviously I’m aware he doesn’t understand that things come to an end so I explain nicely it’s all done now and to say goodbye and we will come back another day to play. He was having none of it kicking and throwing himself on the cold muddy floor hitting me when I tried to help him up. My child’s not badly behaved and I understand this is a stage and how he gets his feelings across. But I still couldn’t help getting stressed with all the dog walkers and yummy mummy’s walking past at my screeching child deciding the floor was his new home. Eventually I had to pick him up and walk away. He then decided to keep throwing himself on the floor because I wouldn’t carry him. Boys heavy and I’m not busting my back walking around a lake with him when he has two perfectly capable legs and more energy than me! Again throwing himself on floor on footpath and mud infront of people and screaming. I tried over and over to be nice then tried getting up and asking him to follow me where he’d stand up and run other way or try jump into the lake.
Brilliant I thought as I started to get increasingly more stressed. But more and more people stared and my friend and Elijahs friend where out of sight and it just kept building up. After fifteen minuites I ended up shouting. I’m not proud but I shouted get up and walk and hold my hand your being a pain in my but. I felt bad but he still carried on and the most turned to shouted nos and the get ups turned to shouted again I couldn’t turn it off. I gave up and hurt my back carrying him back to the picnic area where he decided to behave. Obviously as food was around he was happy. When we got to the car he was such a good boy allowing me to take of his clothes and change them and didn’t moan once. When we got home he sat nicely playing and there came the mum guilt flooding like a storm.
Was I a bad mum for shouting? I see other mums all the time get to the end of their tether and shout so why wasn’t it ok for me too? I always try to be kind and explain things when telling him off but sometimes it doesn’t work. No matter how much I wish it would I hate myself for loosing it. I feel terrible in my heart whenever I shout at him after. But sometimes we need to make ourselves hurt e.g if I asked Elijah nicely to get up all day he’d still be there and of gotten I’ll from the cold floor. If I’d of said nicely don’t jump in lake I’d probably of ended up swimming with the ducks trying to fish him out. Sometimes they need the raised voice to get there attention, especially where safety is concerned. But still the guilts there good old #mumguilt .
Today I went for my first smear test and it went swimmingly. I was in the room five minuites and carried on with my day. Here’s some reasons why you shouldn’t fear the smear.
First of all it takes seconds. Literal seconds the woman was in and out within one minute maybe even less. It doesn’t hurt, it feels odd but it doesn’t hurt. It’s not awkward, the doctors /nurses do not give a thought to whether you’ve shaved your legs or trimmed your lady garden because trust me they’ve seen worse and will see worse. You are given privacy to get undressed and dressed and something to place over your body. You are entitled to a chaperone if you’d prefer (this normally is not friends or family but another nurse). You get checked to see if you could have a type of virus that causes cancer. You could save your life going. It’s free in the uk and many other country’s have to pay.
What happens at the smear you may ask? Well it’s starts of by signing in at reception. You sit and wait to be called. Don’t worry nobody knows or cares why you’re there. The nurse or doctor will call you through. You will talk general chit chat and they will take your name, date of birth and address for the sample/results. They will explain the procedure if you would like them too. They will pull a curtain around the bed and allow you to get undressed bellow your waist and put these on the chair next to you. You will have a sheet layer out to cover your lap as you lay down. You call the nurse/doctor when your ready. They will instruct you how to position yourself and don’t be afraid to chat during. They’ll insert the speculum which can feel weird. They’ll use a long brush like a long cotton bud to scrape your cervix. Then they will take it out and put in pot and remove speculum. They leave you to get dressed and when your ready come out. And that’s it done.
My top tips for having a smear test.
Don’t be afraid.
Wear a dress or skirt so you can keep your dignity if you like me don’t want to show everything. In autumn/winter wear tights. You can obviously wear what you want but if you want it over and done with quickly and have a little bit of added dignity for yourself this is what i recommend.
Get childcare if you can. It’s easier for everyone if you can relax and the professional can concentrate.
You can choose whether you have a man or woman if you like. Only if it is asked for in advance.
Wear a sanitary towel. Some woman bleed after. Not because they’re injured it’s just because they do sometimes, better to be safe than sorry.
Do not have sex 24 hours before the test.
If you are on contraceptives or have had anything done or looking in your vagina tell the doctors first to see if suitable to have test. My first test was cancelled as I had to have my coil removed two weeks before my smear.
Nobody cares if you’ve shaved or not but if your worried about it just do it.
Research first if your worried about what will happen.
Ask questions.
My results will take 2-3 weeks and I’ll receive them in the post. Till then I remain optimistic and whatever will be will be. So don’t fear the smear I know it’s easier said than done but if 60 seconds of laying still could save your life then do at least try.
We always try to make time for our friends but do we take the time to remember our best friends? I mean yeah we talk to them constantly and can meet up every week with our children. But do we remember to take the time to be just us and hang around together? No kids or others?Quite simply no. For some reason or another be it childcare or being busy/ tired can get in the way of quality time where you can have a conversation that’s grown up with a few swear words thrown in. Where you can just talk unfiltered and not have to run off and chase the toddler making a run for it . Where you can share memories and just talk and have fun. Go where you want to and do what you want to as you used to. As a parent we always think about having me time and going out with others who don’t have kids as they are free more. We also prioritise using free time to go out with partners so that you can keep that freedom alive for the both of you. But sometimes it’s good to see your best friend and remember that they are one of your nearest and dearest too. So ask them out be it coffee or something WITHOUT the kids if they have them as sometimes you just want to be completely real again. Sometimes it’s not possible and we meet every week with our kids but it’s still nice to take the time just us two and be able to relax together.
Now that it’s autumn it’s colder out and we spend more time inside. Finding things to do with your toddler to entertain them can be a struggle at times. Why not find two activities in one to do!
Take a stroll in a local park and explore the leafs and conkers. Show your toddler the textures and get them to pick some that they like the look of and put them in a bag to take home. Make sounds crunching on the leafs and sing songs. Throw the leafs in the air.Take them home with you and get them out the next day for another days activity.
The next day was perfect for us as it was raining. We got out our tuff tray and played with the conkers first. We rolled them around and we practiced counting and crashing them into each other. Next I got some paper out and paints. We glued on our leafs and then prepared the paint. I shew how red and yellow make orange. We used autumnal colours like red, yellow and orange. We painted with paintbrushes for the first photo on top of the leafs. The second we used conkers and our hands to paint. We then used orange glitter to finish off. It was a fun activity and very messy!
Life with the Hazelwoods 