Tales of the unexpected with The Boy, my pride and joy.
Today we received our first box of toys to review as part of the Toys R Us Toyologists scheme. Yesterday we had received the larger item which funnily enough wouldn't fit in the box! I'll be posting proper reviews of the items within the next few weeks but for the moment I thought I'd share the moment that The Boy opened them up.
Ever since I've had The Boy my emotions are raw and likely to spill over at any opportunity. I can't watch the News anymore because I weep. To be perfectly honest, I cry at the CBeebies 'Happy Birthday' song (what? It's emotional thinking about the littlies growing up and suddenly being seven)!
When I watched Comic Relief this year I sobbed repeatedly. The tales that some of the people have to tell were awe-inspiring and humbling. The stories that really touched me were the children, the children who have little hope of living past the age of 5. Yes there are children in the United Kingdom who have horrendous lives, but I am not talking about those exceptional circumstances. I am talking about the children in developing countries who do not have the same basic rights as ours; the healthcare and the education. I have been extremely touched by the voyage that Christine from Thinly Spread has been on recently to Mozambique in a successful bid to raise awareness of the need to provide vaccines for every child.
Now as a primary teacher I feel very strongly about the right that every child has to a basic primary education. I'm not talking about the vinegar and baking powder experiments; I mean the right to learn how to read and write, how to do everyday maths, how to nurture their inquisitive nature and the right to be treated as children for a short time. In my school the children study the country of Lesotho because it is a comparable and contrasting country to Wales. We have a very strong link to one of the schools there, and the headmaster, Godfrey, has been to visit us, as well as vice versa, several times. I call him the headteacher but he is so much more to the children in his care, many of whom are 'boarders'. Many of whom, when they are taken back at the end of the week or term to their parents, find that actually their families have either died or moved on. So he puts them back into the battered van and takes them home with him.
Without wishing to inflate my school's ego, through our fundraising, last year this amazing gentleman was able to purchase a sizeable plot of land and build a new school for his pupils. That was an amazing moment for him, and for us too.
Not every child in a developing country is fortunate enough to have a 'Christine' or a 'Godfrey' or a school that is able to raise money for them.
This is where an organisation like ActionAid steps in. By sponsoring a child through ActionAid, you can make a real difference to their lives. You can make a difference to the other children in their community and help people who, through no fault of their own, are struggling to exist. This video shows a visit to Rwanda by Jimi Mistry to highlight how the work of ActionAid can help change children's lives forever.
Because every child has the right to a life.
Click here to sponsor a child with ActionAid
One thing that I never thought that I would describe myself as is a 'Yummy Mummy'. However Top That Publishing have decided differently because they have selected us to join their elite bunch of book reviewers. Oo-er! That makes me rather chuffed. Not just the 'Yummy Mummy' bit, but because we adore books in this household. The wonder of turning over a fresh new page, inhaling the aroma and discovering new words is sacrosanct in this abode. If anyone in my vicinity even contemplates creasing a page the gasp is audible. Hubby winces if I crack the spine of a book; I'm serious, I can see him stiffen with disdain at me.
It's only natural that a love of books is handed down to The Boy, and so being sent copies of new books for review on a regular basis is like elixir to the gods for him. For our first selection we were sent the following two books:
'When I Dream of ABC' by Mr. Henry Fisher
This beautiful paperback book is visually stunning and excellent quality. When I Dream of ABC is a book about the alphabet, but not just any book. The illustrations and characters used to depict each letter are inhabitants in an enchanted dreamworld. From the dragons who 'are very polite, but are best avoided on account of having smelly breath' to the Queen who 'eats too much chocolate and have lots of shoes', this book is captivating and very funny. There is a page per letter, with a facing illustration in beautiful muted pastels. I am very impressed with this book, as both a primary school teacher and as someone who did Art as my minor during my teaching degree. The Boy likes to look through the pictures and has certain favourites, he likes the O is for Octopus page.
I'm not the only one who likes this book, it has been nominated for a People's Book Prize in the Children's category, which is pretty impressive! If you fancied popping over and voting using that linky then I'm sure that would be most appreciated.
'The Wide-Mouthed Frog' retold by Graham Oakley
The Boy has progressed recently from the normal board books, past lift the flap books to pop-up books. To be honest, there are an awful lot of badly made pop-up books out there. The Wide-Mouthed Frog is not one of them; it is excellent and he loves it! There are two pop-up books that he wants read again and again at bedtime each night, this is now the third! Don't be fooled by his reaction with the toucan; he's laughing really!
With the impending celebration of all things daddy this weekend, Tara has set us a challenge of giving some big Gallery love to the men in our families:
Your children's dad, your dad, father in laws, grandpas . . .
Now on this blog, Mr. andMe doesn't tend to get much of a look-in. He gets occasionally referred to as hubby and 'daddy' but generally doesn't get talked about. Thing is this man is the rock in my life and he probably doesn't realise how much he is needed and loved in our family. He is the calm to my storm and is an amazing husband. I am in awe of how much patience he has with The Boy, such a patient teacher and friend to him.
When The Boy was born, he needed to go onto oxygen straight away. He had a little rest on my chest for the minimal amount of time, but then straight over to be assessed and sorted out. I could see hubby was torn, but I told him straight away that he needed to go to him. Our tiny little bundle that was whimpering and so very unhappy. This was the first photo taken where we were really allowed physical contact, and fittingly it is of my two boys.
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Now pop over and check out the other link-ups using this little widget below:
I'm going to moan. I don't care, it's my blog and I'll rant if I want to!
I find it hard enough coping with the incompetent or ignorant customers who misuse designated car spaces as it is without the staff adding to it.
Like today in Asda when I pulled into the last remaining P&C space. I reversed in so I could get The Boy out on the side of the walkway, which also gave me more space to get him into the trolley. An old coffin-dodger walked up with his puffed-up self-important neon vest on and asked me to move over a space. I politely enquired why and he said because the workman needed that space so he could get his tools out.
WHAT?!
I politely pointed out that this was a P&C space to which he said that the man needed it so he could get his tools out. I lost it. I impolitely pointed out that this was a space for parents with children to park in and that I had a child to get out the car and 'NO! I would NOT be moving'.
Having got my child out of the car, I saw him moaning to a colleague. I saw red and went and very loudly complained at the store manager who apologised profusely.
Oh and on the way out of the store I saw the workman. He was pushing his small toolbox over in a baby-carrier trolley (I know). No, I didn't mow him down with my trolley although I felt like it! I like dodgems…
These are some of the photos that we had taken to celebrate The Boy's 2nd birthday. I was eagle-eyed and spotted an offer on Groupon a few weeks ago which meant that we had 10 photos (albeit very small) printed out for £40 and we get low-resolution copies on a disc. When I say low-resolution I mean 85kb a photo, 300 pixels wide. Yes I know, very low-resolution. We'll get the prints in a few weeks, but for now this is the cheekiness that is my (eeek!) two year old son!
Birthday present from Nana and Grandad.
