Monty's not sleeping well in his new room....

Back to feeling totally pooped today because Monty has been up every single night since he has been in his new room - ahh! He's never really slept on his own as he's always had Minnie there so I think it's partly that, partly habit (once he does it one night he gets into a routine of it so fast it's scary) and partly because it's really cold at the moment! 

Tonight we're going to pop an extra blanket on the bed (which the wriggler will no doubt dislodge), move a lamp in so it's not too dark and I may consider running into the garden naked and harvesting herbs in the moonlight which I can scatter on the carpet....

The big room reveal...

We have literally been moving furniture, doing dump runs, building beds, tidying, organising and working hard all weekend. For some reason what I thought was going to be quite a simple move (moving one double bed out of one room and a few bits of furniture) turned into a debacle as the bed had four storage drawers under it, which we then had to find homes for, had none so we had to sort out the loft to see what space was up there. 

There's still a bit more sorting to be done but Minnie and Monty are now in their own rooms - whoop! They were very excited about it and so am I, if a little sad as it means they are really growing up! Quite literally - having been so used to seeing them in their toddler beds, they look really tiny in a full-sized single bed. After much debate about bunk beds (the kids were desperate for them but we figured that injury-prone Monty probably wouldn't be safe up a ladder) we have ended up with single beds with another single underneath so we can turn them into doubles. Given we are losing our spare room this seemed to be the most flexible solution. We need to buy some storage (anyone got any recommendations?!), a desk for Minnie and some more bits for Monty's room which is rather bare, but we are nearly there. Here are some snaps...

Love this graphic 3D cartoon pic in Minnie's room, a birthday present from my clever pal Kim and her It's Mine artworks  

Minnie and Monty get their own room...

It's all happening tonight - James's brother Steve is coming to help us build two beds and shift a load of furniture around. It's the end of an era, last night was the last time Minnie and Monty will be room mates. Here's a pic of them I took last night so we can remember the arguments, the mess, the waking each other up in the night when they are ill, the chatting and giggling long after bed time, the chatting and giggling way too early in the morning that goes along with sharing a room with your brother or sister. I am slightly sad but also excited for them - they are so thrilled at the prospect. New pics to show the transformation shortly!

Can watching TV when they're poorly stop your child getting better?

I just received a rather timely email. James had to collect Monty from after-school club today as he was feeling poorly and I knew that he was going to snuggle him up on the sofa under a blanket with a Lego movie. Then I got this which I thought was interesting food for thought. I'm also attaching the 'sickness cycle' that they have produced as the symptoms are very familiar (snot going from clear and drippy to thick and yellow - lovely!) and quite useful - who knew that these bugs took so long to get of the system?

 

With thousands of children off sick from school in January, new research from Vicks has revealed three-quarters (76%) of parents say that they rely on TV and tablets to keep their children entertained while they are unwell. Despite this, leading experts, have revealed that this could be slowing down their recovery time, as it can be ‘over-stimulating’.

Dr David Bull and family psychologist, Corinne Sweet have analysed the children’s sickness cycle and have found that tech can disturb their recovery by making it harder for kids to get the rest they need to fully recuperate. Dr Bull highlights that “watching excessive TV can actually slow down recovery as the flashing lights can prevent production of melatonin and make it more difficult to fall asleep.”

Dr Bull’s examination of the child’s ‘Sickness Cycle’ reveals that it can take up to 9 days to fully recover. The best way to aid their recovery is actually rest and a parent’s touch says Corinne Sweet: “one of the most powerful antidotes to sickness developing further, is parental care and concern.”

 

 

 

 

Have you ever been to Hastings?

We're just back from a wonderful weekend there and were so pleasantly surprised. We stayed in the Old Town in a house that was so ridiculously stylish we were drooling over everything from the views to the curtains, the furniture and the lighting (oh the lighting! It was all vintage and stunning). Said lighting and velvet sofas were a slightly terrifying prospect with the children but they seemed to know it was a special house and were very good. There was also loads to do for them and us - vintage shops to browse in, cool cafes for hot chocolate and cake breaks, the beach, an aquarium, mini golf and a skate park. Full review in Metro soon!!

 

 

Ditching the tags - a new year's resolution of sorts

When I was in Australia Christine noticed that half of my clothes still had the labels in them - either the tags where I'd bought them or dry cleaning tags. A few of the children's things were the same. I went to put on my jumper this morning and noticed that it too had tags at the neck, scratchy and a bit uncomfortable (above) but I still came in to work with it still there. 

I pondered why this is. Can I really be too busy to cut out some labels? Am I too lazy? Do I not care enough about my appearance? I realised that it's probably a combo of all of these factors. I am always in such a rush in the mornings - I get dressed upstairs, where I have no scissors to snip things out, then probably intend to cut them out downstairs but get swept up in school run mayhem and it never gets done. Frankly because of my chaotic life I don't have a great deal of time to dwell on my appearance.

Surely this is something I can change without too much effort? So I have just asked my work colleague and desk neighbour Sharon to snip this out for me. 

I know it's a small thing, but I am going to try and make sure the children and I don't wear anything with tags in them from here on in. I am hoping that this is one resolution I will actually be able to stick to! 

Need childcare help? Check out my new website studentnannies.com - sign up is FREE! Small Talk's new speech boosting baby books Bedtime and At the Park are out now on Amazon 

Why kids never cease to amaze me...

This morning the tiny tyrants didn't wake up til 7.38am having apparently woken up early but seen it was still dark and heard no noise, so assumed it was the middle of the night. 

So, jet lag thoroughly conquered it would seem. And  cue a mega rush to get out the house in time for work and school. I bet it won't happen at the weekend!

 

An eczema update

One of my biggest concerns about our trip to Australia was that Minnie's eczema would flare up and she'd end up in tears and in pain on the beach with the salt water stinging her (this happened in Spain last Summer and was heartbreaking).

So Christine and I went in to full-on eczema elimination mode - and it worked, we had hardly any 'pink bits' during our stay. This is what we did:

1. Minnie had her arms covered up whenever she was in the water, whether it was a pool or the sea. The sun definitely irritates her arms in conjunction with salt water and suncream. Any good C-shirt will have UV protection - I love the ones from Sunuva which offer UPF 50+ Protection in cute designs.
   
   
   
2. We used a natural suncream free from chemical nasties that irritate the skin. We used an Aussie brand called MooGoo that Christine had heard great things about and it was fab. I just googled it and it's available here in the UK. In the past we've also had success with Green People's Organic Children range.
   
   
   
3. I used a mineral sunstick on her face (she sometimes get eczema on her eyelids, cheeks and chin) - all the surfers seem to use a flesh-toned zinc stick so she was happy knowing she was doing what the locals do, namely her surfer dude cousins Oliver and Jack. This is the one we used Sun Zapper
   
   
   
4. I was super strict about her and Monty not having any bubbles in the bath apart from the MooGoo Bubbly Wash. I also used this to wash her hair and Christine also bought a natural conditioner. 
   
5. When she was out the bath I slathered on Cetraben on her arms and legs, and reapplied it in the mornings too so dry skin didn't have a chance - it's an emollient that really seemed to help and I only discovered it just before we went away. 
   
   
   
6. If any 'pink bits' appeared I zapped them with her a very think layer of her prescribed steroid cream. 
   
   Having hit upon a seemingly successful formula, we'll be repeating all of this next time we see the sun!

Need childcare help? Check out my new website studentnannies.com - sign up is FREE! Small Talk's new speech boosting baby books Bedtime and At the Park are out now on Amazon 

Take that, jetlag!

So Thursday was a 3.15am start, Friday was 4.15am, Saturday was 5am and this morning was 6.15am. I have never been so pleased to be woken up at 6 on a Sunday! 

I am not sure if it was down to the magnesium flakes we used in a warm bath pre-bed, or just a matter of time, but hopefully we have finally kicked the jet lag.  And I would certainly try the magnesium flakes again - apparently the minerals are very good for you and promote a good night's sleep so can't do any harm.

After all our gallavanting we've had a really quite weekend. Grandad visited today and Minnie treated him to a gym display and he and Monty built a Lego Batman boat (above). Grandad found it a bit fiddly and exclaimed, 'Gorgon Bennett!' and Monty replied, 'We don't say that in our house, we say Jesus Christ!' Oops. 

In other news we've had a big clear out. It began when Minnie asked me for a glass of water yesterday morning and I decided that at aged seven she should really be getting her own water. But she pointed out that she couldn't reach the plastic glasses. So we re-jigged the kitchen so that the kids' plates, cups, cutlery etc. is all in a ground-level cupboard.

Surely them making their own breakfast while we lie in of a Sunday morning isn't far away?! #inmydreams

The jet lag takes its toll...

By the time I got home from work at 7pm last night M & M were zonked out in bed. James made it til about 8.30pm and I hit the sack last at 9pm feeling quite smug. But then Monty was up at 4am. He had a brioche and some milk then on the promise of a hot water bottle agreed to go back to bed at about 5pm. Unfortunately him going back in his room woke Minnie up then we all had to get up. My eye balls are currently aching and I am worried the kids may have fallen asleep at school!

I did an early morning Instagram post shouting out for jet lag remedies and was recommended arnica (no joy at the pharmacy, though) and a warm bath with magnesium flakes which I did manage to get hold of, so will be trying this later. Also hoping to get them to their usual Friday swimming lessons providing they are not too exhausted after school - need to try and keep them up a bit later each night in the hope that they will sleep a little longer each morning. 

If you have any more tips then please do share!