Let them eat cake!
I'm a little bit OCD. Mainly in my work environment, but it does spill into my real life. So when I take on a 'project', if I'm going to do it, I will do it properly. The reason I give this background information is because when a friend suggested a theme for The Boy's 1st birthday, I may have gone a little over the top with it.
It didn't help that The Very Hungry Caterpillar was everywhere last year. When I say "it didn't help", I mean it did because it made finding everything for the party so much easier, but it didn't because it then meant that I had to have the party bags, badges, table-cloth, napkins and balloons. I would like to add that my mother bought all of those things that I've just mentioned. I had said no because of cost. She also bought the party hats and dishes. I love her, I knew I got my OCD from her really!
For months before, my crimping scissors and sewing machine were on over-drive, making bunting for the party. The garden was festooned with 50 metres of Very Hungry Caterpillar bunting strung from the trees and pergola. Birthday parties in the summer months are easy; throw a load of toys in the garden and have the party food on blankets for an instant picnic! The food, while I mention it, was of course straight out of the pages of the Eric Carle classic; watermelon, chocolate cake, gherkins (ok it was cucumber but who the hell likes gherkins anyway? They're the first things to come out of hamburgers!), swiss cheese, cocktail sausages, salami, the whole lot! The table looked really enticing.
And so to the centrepiece: the birthday cake.
I spent hours trawling the Internet to find a good idea, and stumbled upon a fabulous one designed by a cupcake company in Vancouver. Shipping, I could foresee, was going to be a problem which meant of course, that I had to make it myself. I scoured the cookbooks for a healthier option to a buttercream topping. What's the point in carefully monitoring your baby's diet, and introducing foods at an appropriate age to aid the development of their digestive system, if on their first birthday you chuck a load of sugar at them? So we had mascarpone & icing sugar topping (straight from Delia's bible). It was scrummy! I adore tiramisu so loved it. Everyone wolfed it down, and I only found one discarded topping, not bad for 15 babies and parents!
Imagine my dismay today when sat in the staffroom, two 'friends' (who have babies two months older or younger than The Boy) decided to completely rip the p*ss out of the fairy cakes I made for him. And I mean, absolutely ridicule! Infront of the other members of staff, some of whom had also been invited to, what I considered his really special celebration. I half-heartedly laughed along with it and over-exaggerated my outrage to hide my rapidly-sinking heart. I asked one of them afterwards if it was really that bad, and she looked shocked. Admittedly at the time, she did say 'Jesus Christ, where's the sugar?' , but when I confronted her today, she was mortified! Maybe she should have considered that before criticising my child's first birthday party?
Next time, I'm going to do a reverse Marie-Antoinette: they can eat stale bread and like it!
That's if I even invite them!
Linked to ShowOff ShowCase: The One About Birthdays
Tuesday 15th February – 'Smile' (46/365)
Smile
Review – Pally Pirate Noah
I recently wrote about one of The Boy's favourite toys; the I'm Toy Fire Engine Workbench. When Jean from @ToyJeanius read my review, she offered to send me a similar toy that she thought The Boy might like to play with and review. I was only too happy to accept her offer as I am a big fan of the I'm Toy range, many of which Toyjeanius stock.
From the very first moment that you hold an I'm Toy box in your hands, it is obvious that this is special; a quality toy, possibly even an heirloom. The packaging is extremely attractive; corrugated natural cardboard with a full-colour sleeve illustrating the product and the different ways it can be played with.
The Boy was as eager as I was to 'ope(n)' up the Pally Pirate Noah, and he had great fun pulling out all the different parts and figuring out how they fitted together. Here's what's brilliant about the Pally Pirate Noah; there are so many different parts to the toy which can be used in different ways. Mount the ship onto the pull-along base, insert the masts and sails and you have a pirate ship. Remove the sails, wheel, cannon and treasure chest, add the house, roof and animal pegs, swap over the red pirate for the green Noah and you have an ark instead!
Or you could do what we did; take the ship off the base and assemble the pirate ship. Then flip the base over to insert the animal pegs and Noah. Then, we had a battle at sea between Noah and the pirate. Noah won, what with having God on his side, but the pirate put up a good show.
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The Pally Pirate Noah is advertised as suitable for 24 months and up, however The Boy is 20 months old and actually got a great deal from it. Admittedly he may not have been able to play with it as imaginatively as an older child, but that's part of the appeal; I know he will enjoy it in different ways with each new stage of play development. He is outgrowing so many toys that are supposed to be suitable for up to 3 years old purely because they don't do enough, therefore they don't stimulate him. I'm very happy that this toy will last him for a good few years. The pirate ship/ark is great fun and he loves the treasure chest into which he always pops the pirate. Oh, and well, um he may used the masts as drumsticks, but then he's developing his creativity.
Another winning toy from I'm Toy and supplied by the lovely and traditional Toyjeanius!
Toyjeanius are offering a 10% discount using the code TSUK10! Have fun shopping!
Whilst provided with this toy for the purpose of the review, I was not given any other reward and my reviews are, as always, honest.
Togetherness
Tara set us a lovely challenge this week, a real heart-warming theme especially for Valentine's Day: "This week's theme is: Togetherness. You, your children, your other half, your siblings, friends, lovers, Romans."
It's a fabulous theme and thought-provoking for a new family. This is our second Valentine's Day with The Boy in our lives, but probably the first time that I've analysed how our relationship has changed since he arrived. We are shattered. We never seem to have time for ourselves, evenings are spent washing bottles, tidying up, ironing, paperwork, cleaning; all the things that you can't do when you've got a curious toddler around. We have to make an effort to remember to talk to each other. We can't do impulsive things anymore like going out for dinner at the drop of a hat, or popping out to the cinema because there's nothing on television.
And yet, we have never felt more complete. The Boy is amazing and astounds us daily with the way he enhances our lives. We cannot remember a time when he wasn't in our lives, it certainly must have been more boring and superficial!
Valentine's Day is a time for couples to show how much they love each other, but then we only have to look at our son to quantify it. The Boy is the ultimate symbol of our love.
Sunday 13th February 2011 – 'Do I have to?' (44/365)
Do I have to?
Beachcomber
The day started with my bedroom door being flung open, after several failed attempts, and The Boy running in to my open arms shouting "mummy, mummy, mummy". This is a usual occurence on the weekends. Hubby is kind and has the good sense to let me sleep in 'til 9am both days, when he helps The Boy to wake me up in my favourite way. I'm quite grateful for his failed attempts at opening the door, it means that I have time to turn over, grab my phone (which is on charge on the bedside table), fling it under the pillow (otherwise he plays with it and it's my phone) and stretch my arms out. My eyes are not open during any of this. He then gets lifted up for a huge hug, and my eyes slowly work themselves open.
Today was more special than others; The Boy was 20 months old today. That's 1 year and two-thirds. I can't believe how quickly the time has passed! Where has my little squiggly ball of flailing arms and legs gone? Bizarrely, he has a new game at the moment; he crawls around and says "baby". I'm hoping it's a game anyway, and that he's not regressing for some reason!
After various naps had happened (both boys tottering back off for a 2hr nap) and lunch had been administered, we decided to head off to a local beach, not my nearest but The Boy doesn't move easily on pebbles at the moment.
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Ladies and gentleman, this is no ordinary beach, this is Barry Island! Yes, that's right I said Barry Island. The one on 'Gavin and Stacey'. Yes there are slot machines, and yes 'Marco's Cafe' is real, but Butlins has long gone (now an expensive housing estate) and the funfair is seriously lacking in both 'fun' and 'fairness'. However it does have a rather fabulous sandy beach which has been awarded a Blue Flag in the past few years.
Wellies on, bucket and spade swinging in our gloved hands, hats on (it may be sunny but it's still February); off we marched. Paddling first, so pleased we wore the wellies. I had secretly been worried that the rubber had perished on the joins and that I would literally be paddling in my wellies, it hadn't. We splashed, splished and paddled to our hearts content. Hubby didn't lift The Boy up in time and he got soaked by the 7th wave (hubby grew up in the middle of England and doesn't believe me about these things). I ranted for a little bit but it's only water and I am a sensible mummy and always have spare clothes. Then the boys made sandcastles with the rakes and spades while I wrote messages in the sand. It was absolutely gorgeous there, definitely the first of many trips before the end of the year.
It was a lazy Saturday and I didn't want to cook so we popped into a local restaurant for our tea. As we were packing up in the restaurant, the background music changed to (and I absolutely kid you not) 'Fantastic Day' by Nick Heyward & Haircut 100.
Saturday 12th February 2011 – '20 months old' (43/365)
20 months old today!
Sunday 13th February 2011 – 'Splash'
Splash!
DreamGenii: Twinkle Togs
I have recently been sent a DreamGenii: Twinkle Tog to use with The Boy.
I was more than happy to be asked to review this revolutionary sleepsuit because he doesn't keep still in his cot. Quite frankly the concept of putting him under a sheet or blanket was ruled out when at the age of 1 month he would end up with it scrunched up under his armpits in the morning because he'd been flicking his legs about in the night. He's become progressively more acrobatic during the night ever since. It is not at all unusual for him to do a full 720°!
We use sleeping bags with him but sometimes he becomes frustrated that he can't move his legs very much. The Twinkle Tog is different because it is an all-in-one wearable bedtime quilt and, the one I have, is 2.5togs in thickness, therefore ideal for the Winter months. They do a lighter weight one for the summer too.
"If you travel in the car during the evening, the dreamgenii® Twinkle Tog allows your toddler to be unstrapped easily from their car seat and transferred to bed without unnecessary disturbance. With a quilted outer, and a soft jersey lining, the dreamgenii® Twinkle Tog will ensure that your toddler has a comfortable, undisturbed and cosy night – quite simply A Magical Night's Sleep."
The fact that it can be used in the car is fabulous. We've got a couple of trips coming up which are going to involve evening travel. We'll be able to get him into his pyjamas and the Twinkle Tog before strapping him into the car-seat and it won't interfere with the safety straps. For parents who are looking for an alternative to a Gro-bag, this is ideal!
As you can see from the photo, The Boy is extremely comfortable sleeping in his Twinkle Togs; he had far more freedom and slept just as soundly as in a sleeping bag, but had more independence prior to bed, and after waking up. I'll definitely be using this for a while yet!
Available in Summer and Winter tog weights and in a variety of patterns and age sizes.
Exclusively available in the UK from www.Mothercare.com and selected Mothercare Stores
Follow these links to view the different designs on the Mothercare website: Bubbles, Sheep and Zebra.
The lovely people at DreamGenii sent me this Twinkle Togs to use with The Boy. I was not given any other reward and my reviews are, as always, honest.
