TheBoyAndMe | TheBoyandMe

Time to breathe

May 23, 2011 by TheBoyAndMe 8 Comments

I sat down in the driver's seat and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Not only because I knew the reason behind The Boy's raging temperature and whimpering last night (ear infection) but also because I was about to have a guaranteed two hours ahead of me where the only person I had to think about was me. Sounds selfish doesn't it?

Buckling up my seatbelt, sliding the car into first and feeling that initial burst of energy from the engine as I drove to my dentist's appointment filled me with mixed emotions. I'm petrified of the dentist, I have really weak teeth and nearly every tooth that could have a filling, has one. However the opportunity to focus on just me for a short time, especially after the terrible night that we've just had, was welcome.

Then of course is the obligatory guilt at leaving The Boy, especially when he is poorly. I should be with him, giving him cuddles, nursing him to sleep, making him feel better. Instead I am entrusting him into my mum's more than capable arms so I can go and be told that I need falsies, or something else just as frightening.

Driving to the other side of Cardiff for the appointment is not as irritating when I'm on my own, because I like driving. That scene in 'What Women Want' where Mel Gibson is explaining the advert for trainers and how when women run it's just them and the road is how it is for me and driving. I enjoy driving, I like judging the distances, paying attention to others around me, adjusting routes etc. When you have a little one in the car with you, you're too busy picking up the toy they've just dropped, making sure the sun isn't in their eyes, not crashing and singing along to Bangra Beat. Now don't get me wrong, I like The Zingzillas but there's only so much Zak a woman can take. I'd rather be serenaded by Robbie and Gary.

My point of all this waffle is that every so often all mummies need some time on their own. Even if it is only to be told that you need a filling in one tooth and potentially root canal surgery on another.

Sunday 22nd May 2011 – 'Snap, Crackle and Pop' (142/365)

May 22, 2011 by TheBoyAndMe 6 Comments

Sunday 22nd May 2011

May 22, 2011 by TheBoyAndMe 37 Comments

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Saturday 21st May 2011 – 'Face' (141/365)

May 21, 2011 by TheBoyAndMe Leave a Comment

Indulge me because I'm putting two in for today. We've been drawing faces to go with this meme, and The Boy needed a little guidance on how to draw a face so I drew one first. He then went back and overdrew on it. He added to my picture, look:

No, he hasn't gauged out the eyes; he's drawn glasses on because Daddy, Nana and Grandad all wear them.

Pass It On: A Chance to Grow

May 21, 2011 by TheBoyAndMe 8 Comments

I chose to start a family; we wanted a child. When The Boy was born I vowed to myself that I would do everything in my power to protect him and keep him safe, if not forever, then certainly until he grew up into a happy and healthy adult who could care for himself and his own family.

And there in lies the crux of the matter.

I am able to do this; I am able to ensure that he is healthy, well-fed, vaccinated against illnesses which could otherwise kill him. I've read two blog-posts this week about vaccinations, one of them (Reluctant Housedad) was centred around receptionists' attitudes, and the other (Thinly Spread) is focused on a child's right to not die from a preventable illness.

Last year, I ranted and raved to a friend of mine when she was considering not having her child immunised with the MMR vaccine. Quite frankly I cannot understand why anyone would not have their child immunised against these three diseases. This friend wasn't sure if she should or not, but was unable to provide a valid reason why she shouldn't. I think she was afraid of saying "because of autism" and quite rightly so. There has never been a proven link between the MMR vaccine and autism, and the doctor that suggested it (for his own gain) has since been struck off. In 2009 more than 100 people (mostly children) contracted the measles virus in mid and west Wales. How many of those children hadn't been vaccinated? How many need not have suffered?

We live in a country where we are fortunate to have free healthcare on tap, and where our children are vaccinated against the world's deadliest diseases as a matter of course. It is our responsibility, as parents, to ensure that our helpless offspring are protected and able to grow into healthy and happy adults.

What about children who live in a country where there is no free healthcare? Where there is no little red book dutifully listing weight, height, head circumference and immunisations? What about them? Don't they have the same right as The Boy?

On June 13th, one day after The Boy's 2nd birthday, there is a Vaccine and Immunisation Conference in London. We have a chance to persuade world leaders to save 4 million lives in 4 hours. Twitter has been in the news a huge amount this week, all based around silly little superinjunctions. But what if we were able to use twitter, Facebook and our blogs for a more important message: that all children deserve the chance to actually grow up! Linked to the Save The Children campaign is an online petition which takes about 30 seconds to complete, please do so.

Now I have been tagged by the lovely Christine from Thinly Spread in a meme, started by Maggy at Red Ted Art and Josie at Sleep Is For The Week. This meme gets my contribution most definitely. The very simple idea of it is:

If you give a child a chance to grow, what will they be?

Now Christine reckons that the challenge is simple. I would like to point out to her that her youngest child is a lot older than nearly two like The Boy. However, she tagged me and I can't refuse because it's Christine and she is a goddess.

1) Get your child to either draw or craft a self-portrait of themselves now or in the future. Check out Maggy’s self-portrait post for some tips to get the littlies interested!

Now, I do not hold up much hope with The Boy's contribution. I suspect if he understood the question then he would say i-time-Pod tester (yes he means the iPod) or landscape gardener (he loves playing outdoors). I could waffle on about what I want him to be but that's not the point. So I had to get him to draw a picture of what he wants to be when he's older. This has proved interesting (he may have had some assistance).

I helped him to draw the circle and pointed at the areas where to draw the eyes, mouth and hair; he did the rest. I've no idea what he wants to be when he grows up and neither does he. He doesn't even know what 'in a minute' means, let alone in 20 years. However, it does show that he will have a well dodgy haircut.

2) Sign the Save the Children petition and then pass it onto your friends

Did that earlier in the week when Christine blogged about how she has been chosen to follow 'The Cold Trail', a route that a vaccine takes once it has left the city and reaches its destination in a rural community.

3) Write a blog post about it as soon as possible, including info about Save the Children and the petition. We want as many people linked up AND signed up the petition by Sunday 29th May 2011.

You're reading it.

4) Tag 8 fellow blogger friends

See below.

5) Link up your posts up below to the blog-hop or to RedTedArt or Sleep is for the Weak

Done.

6) If you have time, visit each other posts and say hello!

So, I'm tagging:

The Blog Up North

The Real Housewife of Suffolk County

GhostWriter Mummy

Mum2Four

You can add your link here by clicking on the Linky doo-dah at the bottom.

Review: MyCarryPotty

May 20, 2011 by TheBoyAndMe 3 Comments

I'm putting it off, I really am.

It might not be fair, some might call me cruel but I consider it more unfair to him to start and stop and for it to go wrong. And you know what they say; once you start there is no going back!

I am talking about potty-training. I blogged about it last weekend, discussing how I know he's ready. A further development to that is the utter struggle that my mum is having when it comes to getting a nappy back on him. He's also mucking around for hubby. I give him the iPod to distract him because I'm cleverer than those two. However, I know that the refusal to have a nappy on is the classic symptom of being ready for potty-training.

We have been using a potty with him in between changes for the past few months, and so far he has always performed on it, but only when he wants to pass water. He's never tried for the other one.

That was until I was recently sent a MyCarryPotty to review. He is obsessed with it, he absolutely adores it and will always 'perform' on it. He's even chosen to do a number two on it, something which is yet to happen with his static potty.

I've seen people using travel potty before and have been distinctly unimpressed. They seem to need a lot of assembly for what is often drastically urgent use. This is not something that is needed with MyCarryPotty because when you remove the outer packaging that's it; it's ready for use straight away.

And if you are in a position where you're not able to dispose of the contents straightaway then you need not worry because MyCarryPotty is fitted with a clever rubber seal and a clip shut lid. So flip the lid back over and you've got a completely leak and odour-proof container, so wherever your little one is caught short you can be in total control. It's a marvellous idea for unisex use, however you do have to be more careful with little boys that they don't end up spraying everywhere!

The Boy really does love his MyCarryPotty, and I think one of those reasons is because it's bright and attractive with a little handle that means that he can carry it himself. He's quite possessive of it in fact and will strip all his clothes and nappy off when he sees it so that he can use it. I know that when I actually take the plunge in the summer holidays then it is going to be made a lot easier by having a potty that he has ownership of and enjoys using.

For more information on MyCarryPotty visit their Facebook page or twitter stream. You can buy a MyCarryPotty here where they retail for £24.99.

I was sent a MyCarryPotty for review purposes. My opinion is, as always, honest and without prejudice.

Flashback Friday: Musical Prodigy

May 20, 2011 by TheBoyAndMe 5 Comments

It's coming up to The Boy's birthday and today, with my little boy feeling poorly and needing a lot of cuddles, I've come over all reflective of when he was a tiddler.

Every Monday during term-time we go to Monkey Music. He adores it, loves the group leader and gets quite a lot out of it; which is just as well because neither of us are musical. I've got a piano in the dining room and yet it sits there unplayed, just waiting. It's waiting for The Boy to play it and it's very patient.

I bought the piano from the school that I work in six years ago; it was the old infants piano that was used when I went to that school. They were having a reoganisation of the pianos in the school, and that one was destined for either the tip or to be bought by the piano-tuner and reconditioned. Mwha ha ha, I got in there first! My old headteacher sold it to me £100 which I consider a real bargain. We spent the best part of a week sanding it down in the evenings, teachers are terrible creatures for leaving coffee-mug rings.

I didn't start this post with the intent of waffling on about my piano, bear with me; I've gone off on a tangent.

Oh yes, so when I was feeling nostalgic earlier about my little baby I found this video. It was taken around about this time last year and the change in The Boy since then is immense.

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Make-up: No it's not because I am vain. It is because I am self-conscious of my skin. And you can say, "don't wear it and then your skin would be better," but you'd be wrong. I'm very pale and scar easily, so the chickenpox which I had when I was 19, and the horrendous hormone-propelled zits since The Boy have left a toll on my skin. Foundation, lippy and mascara give me the confidence to face the world.
My Smartphone: I've got a HTC Desire, none of this fruity nonsense for me; I'm an Android girl! I cannot believe how much easier it has made my life; more organised, able to access e-mails, the Internet, take photos and videos of The Boy. And we mustn't forget Angry Birds.
My car: I am not lazy, I actually like driving. I enjoy being in the driver's seat and focusing on all the different challenges, my car is my now second pride and joy.
Canon EOS 300D SLR: The quality of photographs from it never fail to astound me. I've had it for seven years now and I absolutely adore it.
Chocolate! Nuff said.

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