THIS week’s Living Arrows photos are a perfect illustration of childhood fun – a fancy dress party! We were invited a few weeks ago, and toddler S instantly decided he was going to dress as Buzz Lightyear (or And Beyond as he calls him). Obviously, that meant E would be dressing as Woody … and
Category: Parenting
Potty training and being outsmarted by a two-year-old
I’ve been getting a bit worried that potty training is never going to happen. S is two years and eight months old and showing absolutely no interest whatsoever in swapping nappies for pants. A while ago we thought he might have been ready. We bought superhero pants and let him run around in nothing else
Shared parental leave half way through – a dad’s experience
I am now just over half way through my shared parental leave, and can honestly say that it has been more difficult than I expected – and I wasn’t expecting it to be easy. I have enjoyed it so far though, and feel that it has been a positive experience. Mainly because I now feel
Siblings photography project: January 2017
SINCE we became a family of four last June I’ve been trying to take regular photos of our two boys together. Mainly so we can look back at them and see all the little changes and similarities they’ll develop. And secondly to join in the siblings project run by a group of bloggers with the aim of
Six months old: Our little bear’s update
FORGET about being a bad mother, this post should have a terrible mum alert. Not only is this our littlest man’s six month update, but it’s actually the only update I’ve got around to writing since he was born. Shocking. I said it with every update I wrote about Santi, but I can’t believe how
Gaining confidence and making the most of the winter sun
AFTER nearly six months I feel like I’m finally getting into the swing of getting out of the house with two little people – and even being spontaneous. For a while I only went places with both Santi and Ezra if Stew was with us or if we were meeting friends so I wasn’t alone.
AFTER nearly six months I feel like I’m finally getting into the swing of getting out of the house with two little people – and even being spontaneous. For a while I only went places with both Santi and Ezra if Stew was with us or if we were meeting friends so I wasn’t alone. It was a confidence thing – I was worried I would struggle with both boys on my own, and felt that I needed someone else with us as back-up.
Even little things like getting from the house to the car are a mission when you have a toddler, baby in a car seat, pram and changing bag with what seems like a month’s worth of things. Staying at home is definitely the easier option.
Recently though, I’ve been making sure we get out and about just the three of us. It’s a combination of knowing I’ll be back in work soon and don’t want to regret not making the most of my time with the boys while they’re so small, and that once winter sets in properly we won’t have much chance to be outside.
Santi goes to nursery two days a week, and when I pick him up we only have an hour or so before we have to fetch Stew from work. It can be difficult thinking of something to do to pass the time, and we usually end up just coming home and watching some TV before heading out in the car again, which is such a waste. Anyone with a toddler will tell you that being stuck indoors will just drive you crazy, and we’ve had a run of dry, sunny days recently, so it’s been lovely to wrap up warm and go for a little walk instead of coming home. It’s really nice picking Santi up and asking him where he’d like to go, rather than what programme he’d like to watch.

A little while ago I would have been too nervous to do that – being outnumbered by children is daunting, to say the least. Now though, I’ve worked out how to get us all from the car to the park with no drama (the key is putting Ezra in the pram first while Santi is still in his car seat so he can’t run off!) and because it starts to get dark by 4.30pm Santi knows when it’s time to leave and doesn’t make a fuss about wanting to stay longer.
I’m lucky that Ezra is such a content baby and he’s happy to sit and watch while we play. There’s a lovely new play area at the park we go to, and Santi loves pretending to be pirates on the wooden ship. Ok, so he did once slip under the fence into the old park, which was being refurbished, but that shows his adventurous spirit, right?!
I take some snacks and a drink to tide us over until tea time, and would usually panic a bit if I forgot something. One day last week I didn’t pack Santi’s juice bottle and he started to complain that he was thirsty. Rather than abandoning our plans, we popped through the McDonald’s drive-thru for a Fruit Shoot and a Diet Coke … crisis averted! Santi now thinks McDonald’s is an emergency drinks shop, so nobody let on that they sell chips or we’ll never be able to drive past again. It’s not something I’ll make a habit of, although I have discovered their Christmas coffees, which could be dangerous.

I’ve also been a bit braver recently on full days when I have the two boys on my own. We would usually spend an hour or so at a soft play place and the rest of the day at home. But again, knowing how dark and cold the days will soon be I’ve been keen to get out while we can.
It’s funny how when you have two children you realise how easy life was with just the one and I do wonder now why I wasn’t more confident to do things with Santi before Ezra was born. You live and learn I guess. Having said that, I’m still only brave enough to venture to enclosed places where I know Santi can’t run too far ahead and we only have a short walk from the car, but that’s a start.
One day last week we spontaneously popped to the wetlands centre. I say popped, but we ended up staying for nearly four hours! We fed the ducks, followed the Lego trail through the grounds and even sat in the cafe for a drink and a biscuit. I wouldn’t usually attempt a hot drink because you never know how long Santi will sit still for, but it was so nice having a chat with him about the Christmas decorations the staff were putting up and what ducks we had seen (luckily they do takeaway cups so I wouldn’t waste my coffee if he decided to make a break for it!).

The sun was low in the sky and cast a beautiful light over the grounds – perfect for me to take far too many photos and annoy Santi with the camera the whole way around. There was hardly anyone else there and Ezra fell asleep in the pram so it was nice to have some one-on-one time with my biggest boy. He’s so funny – he started off saying he was scared of the geese (they are nearly the same size as him, so it’s fair enough), but it wasn’t long before he was racing them and telling them off for not coming through the gates with us.


It might sound daft, but I was quite proud of myself for spending so long out of the house just the three of us with no major mishaps … just the one little incident where a certain toddler ran off with a huge cylinder from the soft play area, which he abandoned in the shop in favour of a duck-shaped lollipop, but I’ll let that one lie…
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Changing our baby’s name after he was registered
CHOOSING your baby’s name is a huge deal, but what happens if you choose the wrong one? Apparently, one in five mothers regret the name they gave their child, and six per cent feel so strongly about it that they actually go on to change their baby’s name after they are registered. Confession time: we are
Teaching children to swim with confidence
AS someone with fond memories of family holidays entered around the swimming pool I kind of take it for granted that children learn to swim at a young age. I can remember jumping into the water, splashing around on lilos and generally having a good time. As I got a bit older, swimming became more
Throwing a toddlers’ Halloween party with minimal planning
A COUPLE of months ago, without really thinking about it, I asked Stew if we should throw a Halloween party. On a bit of a whim I messaged my mummy group to ask if anyone would be up for it, and all of a sudden it was on. Sunday, October 30 at our house, with
A typically chaotic day…
PICTURE the scene … It’s a Tuesday, and the one day a week you’re solely responsible for your toddler and baby for the entire day. By 8.50am (more than three hours before you’re due to meet friends for play and lunch) the oldest has been up for several hours, two of you are dressed, and