Twinkle, Twinkle, It's Gone Too Far!

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So while I'm in the mood for confessing to parenting fails, take a look at this photo of The Boy's beautiful bedroom and tell me the small issue…

photo

It's a small fail and you might not even register it as one. First look at all the things that are in the picture, work your way around the photo…

  • a soothing colour scheme with a rather lovely tree (even if I do say so myself) stretching over his bed
  • a monitor to hear his lordship if he wakes in the night
  • a fun bedset
  • cuddly toys
  • a bedguard to stop my gorgeous boy from falling out and hurting himself
  • Oliver Monkey
  • a soothing mobile

Which one shouldn't really be there? Which one is the item I feel is a parenting fail?

Some might argue it's the bedguard as apparently children need to learn how to not fall out of bed. Personally I'd rather The Boy do this without breaking his arm or nose, or by ending up with a black eye. Therefore the bedguard stays.

Surely the cuddly toys and Oliver Monkey aren't a problem? Every child has cuddly toys on their bed, and while they do tend to take up the bottom third of his bed, he is actually not occupying that space allowing Ludo, Peppa and friends to remain in situ.

I'm pretty sure no-one's going to try and argue with me about the monitor.

You'd be correct if you identified the soothing mobile as the problem. Next month, The Boy will be four and we are still using his cot mobile at night to help him get off to sleep.

I know.

We bought it before he was born and have used it every night since he arrived home. It plays three tunes although I have no recollection of what the first two are, as we have always found the third to be the magic melody; 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'. For some reason it has always had the most soothing effect on him, and I still know all the verses to it from when I used to sing along with it when he was a baby. The mobile comes on holiday with us and for weekends away, to London, Cornwall, Butlin's, you name it and it's been there!

Occasionally we attempt a story CD or a gentle musical collection to try and coax him into the land of nod. 'Guess How Much I Love You' is his favourite, but the problem there is that he lies awake listening to it and then wants to start joining in with the actions. We humour him with it occasionally, hoping that he'll drift off quickly but it never seems to work, and we end up resorting to 'Twinkle'.

The main issue with using 'Twinkle' (aside from the fact that it is intended for babies) is that it runs off batteries, and I can't even begin to tell you how many we've bought over the past (nearly) four years. We've come to the conclusion that the cheap yellow ones from the Scandinavian furniture store are pretty pointless as they last about three days, and this is why we ended up buying some rechargeable batteries last year. They worked very effectively until my mum replaced them, didn't realise they were of the rechargeable variety and threw two of them in the bin.

And so we find ourselves facing the issue of what to do with 'Twinkle'. Do we try and phase her out? He surely can't still listen to her when he's 17?! Aside from anything else, the screws holding the battery compartment shut have no thread left on them and are a nightmare to unscrew.

Tell me; do you use music at bedtime? Does it help?

Please tell me you have a parenting fail?

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Days 111-117 of Project 365

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117-123 of 365

111. Too busy! (Today was a stay-at-home day and The Boy's cousins came over to play in the morning and stayed for lunch. We spent hours in the garden, them playing, mum supervising and us gardening. The day was so busy that I forgot to take any photos until the evening when we were playing a calming Orchard Toys game before bed.)

112. Bubble Jedi (At 9.05am The Boy requested we go in the garden. And because I wasn't at all awake (although I was dressed, I agreed. I know. We then proceeded to spend two and a half hours in the garden; me pegging out the washing and pottering about with titbits of gardening, him making up games, blowing bubbles and making dams in the water 'future' (feature). We only went in to decide on what to eat for lunch, which was enjoyed al fresco! I love Spring.)

113. #30 (After a very good day together; playing in the garden, making cakes and chilling out nicely, we had a gargantuam parenting fail/threenager situation in the evening. Basically, The Boy took ages to eat his dinner and we both got cross because we were waiting to take him to the park to feed the swans and have a run around before bed. After a temper tantrum from him when he had the audacity to say I was taking ages (!), I put my foot down and said he could feel the swans (I needed the fresh air) but would not be allowed to go to the park. Being a parent is tough sometimes!)

114. Bottoms Up! (A play in the garden after I'd finished school and The Boy has found a new use for the non-slidey slide; it's a part climbing frame and then head first down after the rolling hoops!)

115. Flying Boy (This is his new way of going on the swing, he likes the way it makes him feel like he's flying! We took mum down the beach for an ice-cream after school but she was feeling her age today and didn't want to go for a walk and so we nipped to the park instead.)

116. Back Again! (I know this is a very similar photograph to one I recently had up but there are subtle differences; mainly the lack of coat and a great deal more sunshine. We've come back to Butlin's for the Butlin's Ambassadors weekend with many of the other ambassadors. Keeping my fingers crossed for dry weather and sunshine.)

117. Even Higher! (That was what he called to the attendant on the bungee trampoline he tried out earlier today! He screamed that he didn't want to go on it, and then I couldn't get him off.)

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Days 104-110 of Project 365

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104-110 of 365

104. Two Years On (I'm a little bit of an Instagram addict and follow the actual Instagram's feed with interest. Every weekend they have a challenge called the Weekend Hashtag Project and last weekend's emulated the photography style of the blog Dear Photograph. As we were heading to Porthcawl anyway for the Chris & Pui Show, I dug out a photo of The Boy on the beach there from Father's Day 2010. A very windy day made it tricky to get an exact line up but I'm really chuffed with this photograph.)

105. Bubble Monster (Monday was absolutely beautiful and we played out in the garden for nearly three hours, most of that without a coat on. The Boy filled the garden with bubbles from his bubble blower that we'd bought him in Butlin's.)

106. Plopping (After dropping my car off to the garage to work out where a slightly alarming oil leak was coming from, we walked up to town for our second breakfast, then through the park and down to the beach. A quick scoot along the pier and the beach front, then down the lifeboat ramp to plop some pebbles into the sea, before walking home through the tree-lined Victorian avenues where The Boy promptly fell asleep. I collapsed on the sofa for half an hour having just completed a six mile round walk, before having to walk two miles back to the garage to pick my car up.)

107. Snuggle Down, Sleepyhead (It's a Wednesday – work day – and therefore it's a bed photo!)

108. Masterchef 2013 (On Thursdays I get home earlier from work and so we have time to play. I gave The Boy various ingredients and he decided to 'bake' us a ginger cake with his 'cooker'.)

109. Through The Kitchen Window (When we bought this house and did all the work on it, we had the kitchen window made bigger. I dreamed about the day that I'd see my child/ren playing in the garden while I cooked their dinner, etc. Today that came true, and I just stood and watched him for ten minutes as he repeatedly rolled his hoops down the slide, retrieved them, climbed up the side of the slide and started again. I love him.)

110. Reflections (We met up with my brother and his family in Roath Park today on a very sunny afternoon. One of his favourite places is the hothouse and so we spent a pleasantly sticky forty-five minutes watching the koi carp and terrapins in the pool before sauntering around the lake and feeding the swans. Life doesn't get much better!)

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Days 83-89 of Project 365

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83-89 of 365

30th march 2013

83. Look Mummy! (We left for our Butlin's Ambassadors' holidays a day early to break up the journey, and called into Westonbirt Arboretum on the way – more on that in another post. It's an amazing Forestry Commission site, but dear God it was cold. We braved -3°C to explore the play area and some of the old arboretum, and The Boy really showed his growing ability and confidence at tree climbing!)

84. View (Checking into our hotel room in The Ocean Hotel, we discovered that we had a gorgeous view from the fourth floor over the resort. The Boy has been out on the balcony at any and every opportunity this week to catch a glimpse of his beloved helter-skelter.)

85. Plopping (A day trip to Brighton, which was an opportunity that I couldn't let pass when down this way. I've wanted to visit the West Pier for a long time and I find the condition of it so very sad. How it's been allowed to lapse into such a terrible state of disrepair over the past thirty years, is beyond me. Our seaside heritage is one of the things that makes Britain special, to see such a beautiful example of Victorian architecture destroyed is shocking. The remaining pier was a let-down, and so we spent a good amount of time 'plopping' on the beach, having already enjoyed the wonders of the Royal Pavilion.)

86. Round and round (We had passed a walled park several times this week, peeking over the top was a zip-wire and wooden climbing frame. A quick Google showed it to be Hotham Park, which we visited on Wednesday afternoon. The park was amazing, and for most of the hour or so we were there, we had it to ourselves. I even had a go on the zip-wire myself; a first! The Boy found a very different swing to those we are used to, and really enjoyed spinning around watching the sky swirling.)

87. I Can Cook! (This is one of the shows that we've been looking forward to all week. The Boy is completely captivated by Katy's antics on CBeebies and, even though this show wasn't presented by her, he couldn't wait to see today's show. I had to sit him at the front with all the other children, and then join the adults at the back. That was until I heard a frantic 'mummy!' being screamed from the front when the character 'Naughty Salt' was being chased by 'Lucy' around the audience. The Boy hates naughtiness of any description, and it really upset him. Another frantic 'MUMMY!!!' and I'd managed to scoop up his little sobbing body. Apologies to the three parents whose fingers I stood on en route.)

88. By the seaside (Today's photo had to be one that summed up our Butlins Ambassadors break in Bognor Regis; sunshine, deckchairs, cheerful smiles but biting winds. Hats and gloves, long johns and rosy cheeks were the order of the week, but dear God we had fun!)

89. Which ride first? (I won a competition for us to visit Legoland for the launch of the Lego Hero Factory, Build and Test Area. We've never been there with The Boy before, the only other time was actually ten years ago, well before children were thought of, and we commented on the time that it was a pointless place without them. Today we got to try many of the rides that we'd seen then, and how they had expanded the park. Freezing conditions meant that we lasted from 9.30-4.00 but gave up early to head home after a tiring week. The Boy adored the park and the rides were a good length for him to enjoy them, he loved looking over the park map to see where he'd been or which he was going on.)

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Days 62-68 of Project 365

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62-68 of 365

20130309-192237.jpg

62. Shoot! (These are the seeds we planted a week ago in our gardening play table. They've really shot up, which means that I now have to find somewhere to move them to so they can acclimatise to the outside temperature. However, look to the back, the middle seed label was written by The Boy.)

63. The Sands of Time (We went for a long walk and cycle along Cardiff Bay Barrage today and played in the pirate play park there. We were the only people in the park for quite some time, which meant that The Boy had free rein over the sandy, sunken, pirate ship.)

64. Lick! (The first ice-cream of the year down the beach! The Boy had an eye-test today and he was meant to have eyedrops to test for a stigmatism, however because he held so still and was compliant during the test, he didn't need the drops which I was very relieved about. As a result it meant we were able to nip down to the beach and enjoy an ice-cream on the pier with nana.)

65. Bed Fellows (The Boy looked so peaceful when I went to check on him at midnight, so calm and serene. Oliver Monkey is never far away, and the week wouldn't be complete without a sleeping photo!)

66. Bubbles at Bathtime! (We had an extra long bathtime tonight where we had the bubble machine out, a pot of bubbles and the underwater light – all to remember a special little girl who loved bubbles.)

67. Catch The Pigeon! (Remember the Wacky Races song? Our weekly cycle ride along the pier was just like a scene from that today. The pier was deserted aside from a few elderly couples having their 'daily constitutional' and one or two brave pigeons. I say brave because once The Boy saw them he was determined to scare them away, something that made the grannies and grandads chuckle at!)

68.Splat! (We've been to Nymans for a National Trust event today as we are helping to promote the 50 Things To Do Before You're 11 and ¾ campaign. More to follow on this, and I've had to add this photo in at the last minute so please forgive any editing errors in this post!)

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Country Kids: Mill Wood

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After a rubbish week with barely any outdoor play, I was determined to get out and about with The Boy today and we went in search of woodland to explore. Welly-bedecked and waterproof ensconced we found ourselves some stout walking sticks to aid our exploration and trekked through Mill Wood.

We found the old mill, abandoned for nearly a century, and pretended to play house amongst the ruins and squelching mud before climbing the steep, stone steps wedged into the hillside and following a path above the stream. At one point Mr. TBaM got stuck in the bog and The Boy decided to try and pull him out before pretending to get himself stuck.

outdoor play

The most enchanting thing for The Boy was exploring his echo, which was amplified brilliantly in the Wintery woodland.

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country kids

Days 48-54 of Project 365

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48-54 of 365

48. 'Sandcastle' (It feels like too long since The Boy has played with his sandtable, so we uncovered it and he got stuck in making mini-sandcastles and driving his cars through the sand. A chillier day than it had been the previous week, turns out Spring wasn't on its way after all!)

49. 'Downfall' (I was sorting through one of the boxes in the Ikea unit in the living room when I found Downfall nestled at the bottom of it. I got it out for The Boy and we spent most of the morning playing the game; he picked it up quickly and was really good at developing a strategy. It has remained the most played with toy of the the week!)

50. 'Chilled Out' (Every day-off morning before Mr. TBaM goes to work, The Boy sits on our bed while I shower quickly and get dressed. This morning I climbed back into bed to warm up and The Boy leant against me chilling out playing on the iPad. I love how completely relaxed he is.)

51. 'Run, run as fast as you can!' (In lieu of the fact that we want an XBox Kinext but can't afford one, we've introduced The Boy to the Wii this week and he has become a fan of the bowling game. However, we introduced him to running on the Wii Fit and he is now obsessed with it and wants to play it all the time! He loves competing against us to see who can run the fastest and it's very cute to see his little legs flying around the place as he tried to run as fast as he possibly can.)

52. 'Eggy Words' (Yes I know it's another technology shot, but such is our life this week as it has been so damned cold! I've just downloaded Eggy Words by Reading Eggs for review, and The Boy has completely taken to spelling out simple CVC words on it, I'm very proud of him!)

53: 'Slumber' (Zonked out after a long morning at nursery, and a long afternoon playing with nana, The Boy slept soundly all night. Just before our bed I went to check on him and found this tousle-haired young man cuddling Oliver Monkey tight, I do love watching him sleep.)

54: 'Lazy Saturday' (We've been very lazy today and done hardly anything! I feel quite rotten this morning and Mr. TBaM very kindly let me have a lie-in which knocked out most of the morning, and they both went shopping to give me a bit more space. Upon their return I walked into the living room and found The Boy having a bit of a chill out session on the sofa with the iPad, again. I think it's the jeans which make him look like older, it's why I tend not to dress him in them.)

I'm actually a little ashamed of the fact that there are four technology photos in this lot and only one outdoor photo. We've failed a bit on our 15 minutes outdoor play this week (only managing it five times) because of how horribly cold it has been; next week will be better!

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Polarn O. Pyret Clothing (Review)

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The Boy was recently sent a top to review from Polarn O. Pyret, the children's clothing store which has fun and bright clothing designed for play at the heart of its philosophy.

children's clothing

He was sent an alphabet sports top for children aged 2-6 years, which is available in both red and navy blue. It's a fun top with capital letters of the alphabet dotted all over it and interspersed with pictures of sports equipment and cute animals.

  • Soft seams that do not chafe
  • Can take a stain and bacteria busting 60°C wash
  • Fun unisex prints look great on boys and girls
  • 100% Cotton
  • Fold up arm cuffs for extra growing room

I really like the double cuff sleeves which are of a good length that means they can be folded back without showing the hem underneath. It's also a thick cotton which is warm and retains the shape well once washed. The colour is vibrant and the design fun for young children, especially as I do get fed up of seeing mini adult clothing for children, and The Boy likes the pattern on the top. He also likes how soft it is, and is more than happy to wear this as often as he can.

At £16.50, the top is a few pounds more than can be found in other high street stores, but I think it's worth it because of the child-friendly design, quality of the fabric and print and that it can be washed at higher temperatures to get rid of stains, without it losing its shape.

I was sent this product for the purpose of the review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.