Comments (3)

By Little Mummy, July 31, 2007 2:38 pm

Yesterday I talked about the issue of a daughter being legally allowed an abortion without a parent’s prior consent or knowledge.

Today is a similar discussion. The fact;

If your son’s girlfriend is pregnant, not only does he have no rights when it comes to deciding the outcome of the pregnancy, but the girlfriend has no legal obligation to even make your son aware that she is pregnant or what her intentions are toward the pregnancy.

My own opinions on this issue are similar to yesterdays. I believe that the young man should have the right to be made aware of the pregnancy if both parties were consenting to intercourse in the first place. I agree with the law that the final decision regarding the pregnancy should remain with the young lady.

Again, please give your own opinions and viewpoints in the comments.

Comments (2)

By Little Mummy, July 31, 2007 12:48 am

I have quite a bit of news to catch up on. Here goes…

Erin the Artist

Erin decided to do a little redecorating in the form of a mural on my nice cream livingroom wall. Yet another sign that toddlerhood is upon us.

Alex and the Problogger

We attended my friend’s wedding on sunday, which was amazing. I’d like to share with you an excerpt from the day;

Me: See the video guy (to husband, Alex)

Alex: Aha

Me: Well, you know that really good blogger I mention sometimes.

Alex: (blank look)

Me: You know, the one that earns six figures and has tons of readers.

Alex: Oh yeah. What! Is that him?!

Me: (look of despair) Uh, yes Alex the six figure earning problogger Darren Rowse (from Australia!)is moonlighting as a wedding video guy in Edinburgh, at our friend’s wedding no less…..

No, he just is his absolute double (roll eyes).

Posts of Interest

Live the power discusses procrastination and how to combat it.

Ten steps to good parenting at lidl raised a knowing smile.

Play activities had a great article this week in their sensory play series. The sense of smell is not something I’ve ever based activities around, not even at the nursery. Great idea.

The Carnival of Family Life is at home at Island Life.

It’s that time of the year when we need an inspiration boost to keep our kids amused for the rest of summer, our budgets are probably pretty stretched now too. The Simple Dollar presents 10 ways to amuse kids for a dollar or less.

Comments (12)

By Little Mummy, July 30, 2007 12:31 pm

Before I start, this is not another post about whether abortion should be legal or not, and I would like to keep that discussion for another day. Thanks

I want to discuss abortion where it directly relates to parenting.

Did you know that a girl of any age may have a termination without consent?

Did you know that nobody need even tell you. Ever.

This is actually the law in Britain. I found out this fact via a book from harper collins which I will be reviewing, however, I can see me writing quite a few of these discussion pieces as I read – You Want to Do What?

I found this fact pretty frightening. I would hate for Erin to go through something like this and not have my support, or worse still, not want my support.

In my opinion, this law should be changed to give a parent the right to be made aware of a termination situation before age 16 with full rights regarding the final decision remaining with the minor.

I understand why the law is as it is, clearly some parents would not be supportive and may use threatening behaviour to sway a decision, but I’d like to think, and perhaps I’m being naive here, that most parents would be an asset in such a difficult situation. I would see myself assisting a daughter in exploring all avenues, perhaps raising points that they hadn’t thought of and expressing my unique viewpoint on whether I think my daughter could cope with such huge responsibility.

……………………………………….

As indicated in the title I want this to be a discussion, and I’m very interested to hear everyone’s take on this. When commenting please stick to the topic, this is a discussion so I expect there to be people with different viewpoints but let’s keep it constructive, abusive comments will be deleted. Thanks, look forward to hearing your thoughts…

Comments (2)

By Little Mummy, July 29, 2007 10:50 am

This weeks challenge was to lose weight, or more accurately try and eat more healthily and do more exercise which would result in weight loss. I have kept a diary of my meals, calorie intake and exercise to see exactly where I can improve.

Monday

Breakfast: 1 slice wholemeal toast & butter, coffee

Lunch: 5 cocktail sausage rolls, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, 3 strawberries, 5 walnuts, glass of OJ

Snack: 1 donut, 2 cocktail sausage rolls, coffee

Dinner: Pork escalope wrapped in parma ham (baked), low fat creamy veg (baby corn, sugar snaps, carrots with tbsp creme fraiche warmed through), glass of OJ

Supper: 1 donut, coffee

Calorie Count: 1826

Exercise: None

This was a mixed day. I switched back from sugar to sweetner in my coffee and ate more vegetables than usual. Monday is our shopping day so we usually have a treat, hence the donuts.

Tuesday

Breakfast: Rice Krispies, Coffee

Lunch: Small cheeseburger, small fries, 2 mozzarella bites, small irn bru

Dinner: 6 cocktail sausage rolls, glass of OJ

Supper: Club sandwich (chicken, bacon, lettuce, no mayo), carrot sticks, coffee

Calorie Count: 2059

Exercise: 20 minute walk

Ouch (have you seen that calorie count!) Today was so bad I actually thought about ditching this weeks challenge, however, I’ve decided to stick with it, it’s such an eye opener!! Definitely going to try harder tomorrow.

Wednesday

Lunch: Slice wholemeal bread, 1 slice of ham, 2 cocktail sausage rolls, carrot sticks, glass orange squash

Snack: 2 french fancies, coffee

Dinner: 3 chicken wings, 4 cocktail sausage rolls, glass of OJ

Supper: Coffee

Calorie Count: 1790

Exercise: 30 minute walk, 1hr Wii Tennis

Not a great day, I’m glad the sausage rolls are finished!

Thursday

Lunch: Cheese & onion toastie, glass of OJ

Snack: Crisps, squash

Tea: Steak & onion ciabatta, side salad, glass of OJ

Supper: Coffee

Calorie Count: 1486

Exercise: 40 mins Wii Tennis

Today was quite good calorie wise I think, but I need to eat more fruit and veg.

Friday

Breakfast:Rice krispies, coffee

Lunch: Grilled chicken breast, roast potatoes, leeks and red onion with parmesan, glass of OJ

Snack: Glass of water

Dinner: 1 slice peanut butter on wholemeal bread, coffee

Supper: Rice krispies, coffee

Calorie Count: 1068

Exercise: 20 mins Wii Tennis

Today was quite good but I think I should have eaten a bit more, maybe some fruit would have been good.

Saturday

Dinner: Quiche, large salad, glass of squash

Supper: Coffee, 4 chocolates

Calorie Count:1524

Exercise: 15 minute walk, 30 minutes Wii Tennis

Today was ok, I think I need to find some fruit that I like though.

Next weeks’ habit: Exercise

Comments (0)

By Little Mummy, July 28, 2007 12:51 pm

A quick run down of where you can find me.

Subscribe to Littlemummy RSS Feed

Erica Douglas on Facebook

Littlemummy on MyBlogLog

Littlemummy on StumbleUpon

I also blog (albeit very occasionally of recent) at GNMParents.

My new blog will be launching in August at www.britishparentbloggers.com if you’d like to bookmark.

Please leave any links you’d like in the comments so I can link with you too. Thanks

Comments (7)

By Little Mummy, July 27, 2007 3:26 am

Inevitably there are occasions when you want to take your toddler out later than usual. Weddings, birthday parties and family meals out, are just some of the occasions we’ve attended with Erin.

By the time our babies have become todders, we’ve fully mastered the bedtime routine and have the timings and tricks down to a fine art, ensuring our sanity and marriages survive by giving them a precious few hours of toddler-free time each evening.

So, how then, do we reverse this routine when we want the exact opposite effect? I have followed some simple steps which seem to have worked quite well, I always follow this pattern when I know we have a big event coming up and I want Erin to be at her best to get full enjoyment. These steps may be obvious, or perhaps you have your own tricks – if you do, please share.

1. Move Meal Times

Either move lunch time later or dinner time earlier, ensuring that when they are out they will be hungry enough to want to eat. This helps on two scores, the first advantage is that it gives you another thing to occupy them among your bag of tricks – food, secondly if it’s a meal or there will be a buffet I like Erin to experience the new food. For example when we go to a chinese restaurant she loves prawn crackers and prawn toast, food that she wouldn’t usual get at home. Sharing a meal with the rest of the family also makes her feel involved.

2. Nap Later

Most people I know follow the nap later rule. I usually try and encourage a nap for about an hour to an hour and a half, about and hour before going out. I always try and keep a full hour of awake time before we are due to go out to give her chance to wake up and get dressed without the need to rush, minimizing the stress and maximizing the excitement – Erin usually figures out something exciting is about to happen as she is familiar with this alternate routine. This is an important point, Erin doesn’t become anxious or upset as she recognises this routine and knows that it leads to meeting family and usually lots of attention!

3. The Bag of Tricks

I include a few things in my bag of tricks. Her own bottle of juice/water. Two toys (quieter ones!). Snacks, usually chopped strawberries and grapes and a dry product like crisps or crackers. For the final stages of the evening, milky buttons and a dummy.

4. The Evening

When we arrive I’ll start by giving her the bottle of water/juice. Everyonelse is ordering their drinks and she doesn’t feel left out as she has her own ‘special’ bottle. I try and mirror what the adults are doing so that she feels involved.

I give her a bit of anything from the meal that she likes ie. prawn crackers, chips, prawn toast and give her a little ‘picnic plate’ that she can feed herself. She enjoys this as she feels independent being able to feed herself while we are having our own meal, she also displays some good manners as she copies everyonelse at the table.

This usually keeps her occupied until about halfway through the meal when I bring out her own snacks, she will usually eat quite a bit as I’ve adjusted her meals from the afternoon. Once the snacks are finished, I will give her the first toy which she’ll play with until the main meal is finished.

At desert, again, she will have a little of what I’m having – it’s a special occasion after all, and then she’ll have her buttons as a treat.

Finally she’ll have the final toy, and do the rounds saying ‘hello’ to everyone. By this time she is beginning to fade but it’s usually late anyway. If we need to, we’ll give her a dummy even though she usually only has it when she is in bed, it gets her through the last twenty minutes.

Once she’s had enough we don’t push it. We try and be quite quick to say goodbye with minimal fuss, I think this keeps her memories of the evening positive and when it’s time to stay out late again she looks forward to it.

5. The Morning After

As with us adults, the morning after usually lacks routine and we tend to muddle through gently moving back to the old routine. Erin will usually nap a bit more and be up slightly later but it’s worth it to know that she has had full enjoyment from the big occasion.

Photo by flickr user Nyx

Comments (6)

By Little Mummy, July 26, 2007 1:14 pm

I received an email recently with a tip on finger painting, which I thought I’d share

Kids can do finger painting using pudding. You just make up a batch of vanilla and separate it out into bowls adding whatever food color you choose. Then let them go to work. The little ones will always be sticking their fingers in their mouths, it might as well taste good

Thanks Kimberlyn

Comments (1)

By Little Mummy, July 26, 2007 12:52 pm

Scribbit has a great article on quiet time, she focusses on the benefits of it when you have multiple children, but I think I will establish some ‘room time’ wherby Erin can play in her room and I can try and get some housework done. You should also check out the rubber glove puppet idea while you’re there.

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Apparently it takes a toddler 500 times of hearing a word before they use it themselves. Clearly I say “no” and “there we go” way too often.

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British parent blog spoiler ahead.

Here’s a sneak peak at the theme for the new site – click test run for a proper look at it. It’s quite plain but I intend on customizing it over time, eventually I’d like to have a fully customized design but it’s a bit out of my price range for now, so we’ll need to make do. What does everyone think?

Comments (6)

By Little Mummy, July 25, 2007 10:35 am

Erin and I went to the park today with a couple of friends. On previous visits to the park she has shown minimal interest, she would entertain a short go on the swing, and that was it. Today she was happy to swing for ages, I then put on her reins so she could toddle freely, she climbed up and down the climbing frame ramps, went through and under anything she could go through and under (dragging me with her), tried on several occasions to climb up the slide, and on even more occasions lifted her arms to be put at the top of the slide and squeeled with glee as she went hurtling down.

It occurred to me amidst all the fun, how slow and fast each phase goes. Let me explain. When she wasn’t walking it seemed like we were at the cruising phase for ages, now that all of a sudden she is fully mobile and asserting her independence the cruising phase seemed so short and is now a dim and distant memory, never to be experienced again.

And there it is, the bit that strikes a big dart of sadness into a parent’s heart – never to be experienced again. Once its gone, it’s gone forever. You can’t bring the baby cuddles back, the first smile, the happy to sit still bit, the weaning, the learning to walk… when the phase seems long and neverending remember that the phase will be over sooner than you think and you won’t be looking back remembering the difficult bits, you’ll only remember the good bits and wish that you can experience each happy moment just one more time, and you can’t.

It’s always just a phase, enjoy it while you can, because tomorrow it’s gone forever.

Comments (9)

By Little Mummy, July 24, 2007 6:24 am

Like most children, Erin has her fair share of toys. A good variety of toys at this age is important to develop all areas. Here are a few different categories of toys, and our stand out favourite in each area.

Toys that help them balance and walk….

Sit and ride toys, rocking horses, trikes, tractors, push along toys.

Our Favourite: Wooden push along with ducks that make a noise as you walk, seems to be out of stock now, similar idea to this wooden push along.

Toys to develop fine motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination…

Sorting toys, jigsaws, building blocks, threading toys.

Our Favourite: Stacking cups, which we also use as water vessels in the bath and as cups with the kitchen, very versatile.

Imaginitive Toys

I think this is one of my favourite categories as I enjoy watching toddlers play in this way. Toys include teddies, dress up clothes, kitchens and dolls.

Our Favourite: The kitchen(which is a little less advanced than this one) and doll (must have accompanying bottle) are definitely the favourites, anything to do with being a mother and homemaking!

Art & Craft Supplies

Paints, brushes, sponge, lining paper, play dough, crayons, pencils, stickers.

Our Favourite: Definitely the magic paint wands. Easy to use, good colour and quick to put away afterwards.