Tales of the unexpected with The Boy, my pride and joy.
That's quite a confusing image at first, but step back and view it from afar.
What do you see?
You should see President Obama in a black and white image. Up close it's clear that the image is made from words, in fact the words are from his inaugural speech at his first term of office. This is just one of the impressive exhibits in Ripley's 'Believe It, or Not' which we were invited to visit during the Summer holidays.
The second half of the Summer holidays has been plagued with dreadful weather which has really hampered our play efforts. Gone were all the wonderful plans I had for picnics on the beach as it was just too cold or rainy for such an activity. Of course we still went outside to play, but not as much as we'd hoped.
As a result, when we were sent a selection of books from Walker Books in order to hold a Picture Book Party, we decided an indoor picnic was the way to go.
I have had a bit of a love-hate relationship with printers over the years. As a teacher they are an indispensable resource; I can't tell you how many letters and labels have been printed out for display purposes, let alone instruction sheets and activity cards, photos for display and children's books. I try to print out a lot in school, but there's some that needs doing at home as well and so a home PSC (printer-scanner-copier) is a necessary piece of technology.
It's saved my bacon many times, although the most infuriating thing is doing work downstairs and then having to take the laptop upstairs to connect it into the printer, almost as infuriating as the low ink warning sign coming on and having to find a shop that sells the ink cartridges the next day.
The Summer in Britain is a tricky one when it comes to children, particularly at night. They're either too hot and become sweaty, or the temperature plummets at night (like it has done in the past week) and then they are left cold and shivering in the middle of the night.
When The Boy was a baby, I spent a long time seeking out the lightest tog duvet I could find for him, and combined with either a bodysuit or a t-shirt that would be all he'd have on at night. As he's grown older, his bedding has changed to a duvet and therefore so have the types of pyjamas he wears; he wears a short pyjama set from around May until the beginning of September, when he switches back to long sleeves and long legged nightwear. [Read more…]
When I was contacted by House of Fraser just over a month ago and asked if I'd like to choose a raincoat and wellies for The Boy to see him through the Summer, I must confess that I chuckled. The sun was streaming through the open French doors, the ice was melting before I could add it to my glass of water, and The Boy was squealing as he ran through the swirling and squirting hose.
"Ha!" thought I, "Raincoats and wellies? Seriously?!"
Little did I realise that within the month we'd be in dire need of them as the British Summer descended.
I haven't worn a watch in five years, not since The Boy was born and I was too afraid that I'd accidentally catch him with the winder or a link. I do miss the weight of a metal watch on my wrist, but I'm still too worried that I'll hurt him and so stay away from wearing a watch at all. Unfortunately I'm also becoming more and more late for too many things, and need to start wearing a suitable watch before I land myself in trouble.
I was recently given the opportunity to choose a wooden watch made by Jord in order to review, and selected the light maple watch from the Ely range. The Ely is available in four different colours; Natural Green and Maple, Black, Cherry, and Maple. I chose the lightest shade to be unobtrusive against my fair skin, and to suit the Summer shades.
The Ely series is a small-faced design, elegant and lightweight to wear. The hours are marked but not with numbers, which adds to the simplicity of the design, although there is a date window which displays the date in silver on a white background. The face is hardened with a scratch-proof glass, the band is 21mm wide with the frame being 34mm wide, and there is a stainless-steel locking clasp. I think there may be a faulty catch on mine because I have to press the catch closed firmly in order to stop it opening by itself.
Shoes.
They are the one reliable clothing item for me; I can put weight on anywhere else on my body and feel dejected about clothes shopping, but shoes are safe. Shoes and bags.
About a month ago I collaborated with Hotter Shoes to pull together a bloggers' evening in their Cardiff branch where we were able to browse the styles, and be confounded that actually the shoes aren't old granny slippers meant for those with a preference for 'sensible footwear'.
Because while they are incredibly well designed to offer maximum comfort for your feet, they are also quite stylish and funky.
As regular followers of TheBoyandMe will know, we recently redecorated the spare room for The Boy, moving him from his 'nursery' to his big boy bedroom. The room is decorated in shades of blue, and he now has a high bed with a play space underneath. One thing I was keen for him to have was a bookshelf up high so that he can easily reach his books in the morning, or if he needs a drink then he can easily access that.
Tidy Books came to my rescue with the 'Bunk Bed Buddy'.
Those who follow my Instagram feed will know what a big fan I am of making creative lunches for The Boy. I have a wide range of lunchboxes, cutters, silicon pots, picks etc. to create fun lunches which engage him and ensure he eats everything up at lunchtime. While this seems to fit in with the Bento lunch philosophy, I tend to give him fairly normal food in comparison to the usual Bento foodstuffs; sandwiches, fruit, savoury snacks and sweet treats that other parents put in lunches. I do believe it's all in the presentation though so make an effort to make it enticing for him.
After all, the top chefs do swirly patterns on plates for a reason, don't they?
A few months ago we were fortunate enough to be able to grab a last minute break at one of my favourite holiday destinations in the UK; Coombe Mill. The family run and family friendly farm holiday is nestled in a valley near Bodmin, deep in the heart of the beautiful Cornish countryside. Standing on the verandah of one of the Scandinavian lodges, listening to the fledgling River Camel slowly babbling it's way through the woodland while the donkeys bray gently in the dusk light, is my happy place.
Seeing my son flourish and thrive, developing confidence and being happy in his surroundings, is my happy place.
