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By Little Mummy, August 31, 2010 11:26 pm

So on Sunday 29th August I had plans to go to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh. I was going to take lots of photos and choose the best one to submit to Tara’s Gallery – this week’s theme was to publish a photo you’d taken on Sunday 29th August 2010.

I didn’t go to the festival as planned and I only took one photo that day (completely forgetting about The Gallery). That photo is below;

Erin’s first lunch at school!

This actually turned out to be a very poignant picture as part of the reason for The Gallery was to highlight the fact that three mum bloggers are visiting Bangladesh to raise awareness for the Press for Change campaign.

This photo highlights the stark difference between what we can afford to provide our children with while children on the other side of the world suffer from malnutrition and starvation. To think I was worried that I had no fresh fruit that day.

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By Little Mummy, August 25, 2010 12:07 am

I’m a lucky mum, Erin makes me proud a lot. But some days just stand out above all others. I’ve never felt the way she made me feel on her first day at school. I was literally bursting with pride, it was an incredibly special moment that I will treasure forever. I don’t expect to ever feel that way again, maybe except on her wedding day (although thankfully that’s a long way off!). Thank you Erin.

Comments (10)

By Little Mummy, August 16, 2010 1:34 am

A while back I started a blog on entrepreneurship and business. I felt that I couldn’t really talk about those topics on Littlemummy.com as it ‘diluted’ the content which I felt should be predominantly about parenting.

I feel that as a result I now have two blogs, neither of which are a true reflection of who I am. In retrospect I also didn’t consider that being a parent is more than just days out and big events like starting school, it’s about how it changes you as a person, how you make a living to support your family, how you make it all ‘fit’. Not blogging about all those other things isn’t being true to what being a parent is all about. So basically I’m going to merge the two blogs back together and have a seperate category for ‘littlemumpreneur’. I’ve also changed my tagline to include my new status

To bring you back up to date then, apart from Erin starting school on Wednesday(!) I’ve just started a business and I’m starting University on the 6th September. It’s parenting, but not as I knew it.

It’s a new phase and some big changes are afoot, I’m excited and a little anxious that it all works out. My baby, toddler, preschool and stay at home mum days are behind me and that makes me feel both relieved and a little sad.

Here’s to the future and a new, different kind of journey. A journey that will feature school, a new business, a degree and hopefully lots more fun and no doubt challenges.

Here’s to the future.

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By Little Mummy, June 3, 2010 11:15 pm

Picture the scene: I’m in the bath trying to have a quiet soak when Erin barges in, not an unusual event, in fact it would be a fecking miracle to bath alone without the dog, the child or the husband wanting something. I try hard to ignore her presence but she starts ‘mumming’ at me. I look up to see evidence, her face is red, I look down and her hands are red…

Me: Why are your hands red?

Erin: [ignores me]

Me: Why is your face red?

Erin: [Oh crap I'm in trouble look]

Me: Well? [in my accusing 'mummy tone']

Erin: Promise not to be angry with me?

Me: Tell me first and then I’ll decide…

Erin: I was touching the crown.

Me: What crown? Go and get it…

She returns with a birthday crown fashioned by her nursery buddies, my eyes scan the crown for the offending material..

Aha! (and feeling distinctly like feckin Sherlock Holmes) I spot the red tissue paper.

Me: So why is your mouth red?

Erin: I put it in my mouth

Me: [Feck sake, I give her three meals a day and she's trying to eat red tissue paper?!]

Erin: I was trying to make suncream for my baby

And there we’ve finally hit on this madness, I demand to see the baby and there’s no red on her at all, she’d have been burnt to a bloody cinder poor child.

So, is there such a thing as tissue paper poisoning?

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By Little Mummy, May 31, 2010 12:54 am

I was reading a post at Ready for Ten on things a ten year old should be able to do and it got me to thinking about what a four year old should be able to do, or rather what it’s helpful for them to be able to do, as I’m comfortable with kids progressing at their own pace.

My daughter’s four and about to start school so I’m very aware of the need for me to help her fill in any skill gaps to make that progression a bit easier. I’ve made a wee list of some of the things I think are helpful for a four year old to be able to do;

* Get dressed and undressed
* Put shoes on right feet
* Say please and thank you
* Use the toilet unaided
* Brush teeth on their own
* Write their own name
* Count to ten
* Help around the house by doing basic chores
* Use a knife and fork to some extent
* Use a pair of scissors
* Ride a bike with stabilisers
* Ride a scooter
* Plant a seed
* Make a sandwich

What would you add?

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By Little Mummy, May 26, 2010 12:36 am

Erin had a sleepover at the weekend, her first ever sleepover with a friend.

It came as a bit of a shock really, she doesn’t seem old enough for sleepovers.

As I dropped off ‘Lucy’ and her pyjamas I wondered if she was ready for a sleepover, I wondered if I was ready.

Part of me thought we’d get a late night phone call to come and collect her, a bigger part new that we wouldn’t.

When I went to pick her up the next morning she didn’t run into my arms relieved to see me, she casually continued playing, all grown-up like.

As she skipped up the road with her friend I knew another little bit of her childhood had just slipped away.

Tonight I tucked her in and kissed her head as usual, and then I went back and did it all again.

Tonight I know that one day I won’t be able to go in and kiss her head and tuck her in. Tonight ‘one day’ is hurtling towards me like a high speed train and I’m not ready. Not ready for sleepovers. Not ready for school. Not ready for growing up.

Comments (13)

By Little Mummy, April 23, 2010 4:01 am

I think you can tell from the title that this is going to be a sensitive subject, but it’s one I’ve been pondering ever since I became a parent.

Becoming a parent somehow accentuates you own mortality, one minute you’re living fast and free and the next you have a small bundle with huge responsibility, you can’t help but worry what would happen if you weren’t here. Actually my ‘living fast’ ended when I got crohns, a chronic bowel disease, and having a chronic illness along with being a parent brings a certain amount of fear.

Julianna Moore said it best in Red

When you are very happy and connected to people in your life, you live in constant terror; you think anything can go wrong at any time. But that’s part of the pact. In order to really be with somebody and have a family , you have to surrender to fear.

This summer we’ll be getting our will in order, Erin’s financial future and practical care (should Alex and I cease to be) is a huge priority and for my peace of mind I must get it sorted, but there’s another uncomfortable job that I’ve been wondering about and that is whether to write letters for loved ones should I pass away prematurely, particular a letter (or letters) for Erin.

I know that people who are expecting to pass sometimes write letters but is it something widely done by all? It’s not a nice thought but any of us could pass at any time and although I tell the people closest to me that I love them all the time there are those days when we’re grouchy, have arguments and say things we don’t mean. Is it nice to have a letter just letting that person know how much they meant to you?

Also, there are things you’d say to an older child that you wouldn’t dream of saying to a four year old.

If a parent dies when a child is young is it nice to have a letter for when that child reaches sixteen or eighteen?

Does a letter help the grieving process?

Does it help with closure?

Would it be a comfort?

These are the questions I’m pondering at the moment.

Have you written a letter/s in case the worst happens?

Have you been in the position of receiving such a letter? Was it a comfort?

Comments (17)

By Little Mummy, April 15, 2010 11:38 pm

It seems that Alex and I have committed the cardinal sin of giving Erin a middle name that she fails to acknowledge, if you ask her what her middle name she’ll shrug, or say that she doesn’t have one. Recently she’s been telling anyone who’ll listen that her middle name is ‘Britney’ or ‘Talila’ (pronounced Tal-ee-la).

Before Erin was born there were some discussions over middle names, I wanted ‘Jecca’ and other such crazy names (hormones?), Alex wanted more traditional alternatives. In the theatre, drugged, overwhelmed and sympathetic towards Alex (Erin was my spitting image) I gave in and let him choose the middle name, a consolation prize I thought (did I mention I was drugged and coming off the back of a week with pre-eclampsia?).

I’m not sure if Alex is hurt by Erin’s outright rejection of her middle name, I wonder whether she’ll grow out of it or whether she’s destined for a lifetime of just leaving it off official documentation. God forbid she changes it to Britney, even Talila would be better than Britney.

So what’s this god awful middle name we’ve Alex has given her….

Alexandra

You can see why he might be a bit hurt!

Comments (15)

By Little Mummy, April 6, 2010 11:11 pm

Erin starts school in August and there’s a sense of change in the air at Chez Douglas. Thoughts are slowly turning to school uniform and the prospect of whole days sans child are looming large. I’ve been a stay at home mum for over four years, by the time Erin is full time at school it will be almost five years since I left my 40 hour a week job. I’ve picked up and dropped a couple of part time jobs along the way but my role has always been that of a full time, stay at home mum to Erin.

It’s been hard.

There was the year living in a top floor flat and getting out for a walk meant scaling four flights of stairs with my completely impractical three wheeler buggy. There were the days when I was ill with crohns and felt that I didn’t have the energy to look after myself let alone another. There were the days when it was me hanging off Daddy’s leg begging him not to go to work. And then there were the tears, because sometimes it’s really hard to just give all of yourself to the pursuit of parenting with little stimulation for yourself.

But it’s also been a privilege, I’m aware that I’ve been extraordinarily lucky to have been afforded the time I’ve had with my daughter, time that now it’s almost gone has actually been little more than a blink of the eye. I listened to her first word, I witnessed her first steps, I was there at her first nativity play, I’ve done it all and I have the memories to prove it.

We’ve had to sacrifice this and that along the way to make staying at home work but it’s been worth it. I’m looking forward to being a bit more ‘me’ and a bit less ‘mum’ but I’m sure as quickly as I have that I’ll miss being at home with Erin too because the grass is always greener which is why I intend to fully enjoy these last few months together and make them the best ever, because it won’t be long before I’m waving her off wondering where the baby years went and wishing we could spend long days together playing play-doh, baking and dare I say it watching cbeebies together.

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By Little Mummy, March 31, 2010 12:29 am

So since this is supposed to be a ‘mummy blog’ I suppose I should mention something to do with Erin or parenting, it’s been a while (I wrote this sentence before I decided to post about St Andrews on Monday and now I can’t be bothered to think of a new intro, sorry)

So in January we had to decide whether to apply for primary school or defer for a year until she’s five, she’d basically do another year of afternoons at nursery. After about five minutes deliberation we decided that it would be best for her to move up with her friends. Her birthday is in February so she’ll be one of the youngest but the teachers seem confident she’ll cope fine and I think she’s ready for the challenge. We had another lovely parents evening this week, I’m so proud of her, I just hope she continues to get on as well once she’s moved onto ‘big’ school.

Unfortunately last week we received a letter saying that our local village primary school is over subscribed and therefore all applications will be decided by a panel that will be sitting today. Hopefully all will work out, the village rumour mill has been hard at work and we’ve heard that all kids within the catchment should be okay, if not then I shall appeal on health and transport grounds.

In the meantime discussions over school uniform take place on a regular basis on the shool dawdle run, check dresses or pinafores, shirts or polo-shirts…so many fashion decisions, Erin’s in her element. I think I’m going to make a day of it during the summer holidays, taking her out for lunch and helping her choose stationery and blitzing her whole uniform in one go. Don’t tell anyone but I’m rather excited, I miss the whole buying new stationery for school and picking a new school bag, in fact perhaps I should kit myself out before Uni

If anyone has any uniform buying/wearing/organising tips, chip in in the comments I need all the help I can get