Why my toddler is crying

she is hungry and she wants a snack

Staycation

Ugh. I can't stand terms like "Staycation" - but for some mad reason years ago when I still had some imagination left I thought it'd be "neat" to limit myself to single-word titles, and I also have an issue with a blog that feels the need to have several posts with the same title so "Holiday" was ruled out.

Anyway, before Baby III arrives, we all felt in need of a bit of rest, so I took a week off work and we hada holiday at home. Well, mostly at home: it started with a weekend where I took the girls to see my parents and Jay stayed behind to rest properly. This was a little tainted by a sickness bug, but I have a sneaking suspicion that my mum quite enjoyed looking after us :)

Doormat Speaks Truth.

We had a quick visit to see my brother Ian and his wife Christine, at Banff Links. They had made French Fancies. They were good.

By the way, this is what a North-East Scotland visit to the beach normally looks like. No sand, definitely no water (despite it being very close), winter jackets, and enough wind to blow a tin of cakes off the table.

Here is a get well soon card that Naomi made for me after she was feeling a bit better and I was feeling a bit worse.

Here's Miriam concerning everyone with what appeared to be illness. Turned out she was just tired and didn't get the bug at all. Hurray!

Two girls feeling much better...

They're both being "a different kind of star shape"

Well, it's not Grandma's house without ice cream!

Naomi made a cake with her Grandma to take back to Mummy. Here it is after the trip back to Stirling.

Worth mentioning is also a classic bit of child logic. On the trip back south, Naomi requested toileting facilities as we reached Dundee. I found a Tesco that looked like it would contain some, and we proceeded inside. (this was accompanied with some classic slapstick comedy as we walked across the car park: upon crossing a road, with a child in each hand, a wasp landed on my eye. Trapped on my glasses, no amount of upward blowing could make it shift. I performed a most interesting dance until we reach the far side and I could release a child to facilitate hand-based wasp removal). Anyway, back to the story.

After we'd made use of the facilities, we made it back to the car. I put Naomi into her seat, and she asked for her sunglasses. I found them and put them on her. She then burst in to tears: "I wanted to wear them to go into the shop". Well, I may be a Doc, but I don't think our car does 88mph and we are definitely out of plutonium, so I suggested that time travel may not be possible. Cue massive car-park based tantrum. Happy days.

On returning home we had a couple of nice quiet days, even with some good playing together:

On hearing that poor Grandma had caught the signess bug, the girls mad get well cards for her too:

We've already shared about our visit to the Science Centre, so now I'll close with a picture of the biggest onion bhaji I've ever seen. Excellent takeaway based joy.

Yes, that's an actual full-size tin of beans for scale.

Terrific Twos!

Naomi has worked out she is two! Obviously she turned two a few weeks ago but it seems to have taken her till now to find the behaviour that most people associate with being two.  If I'm being honest I am struggling with the transition to this phase, I feel like I now spend all day every day shouting and I don't enjoy it.  As with many things in life when it all feels too hard I like to try and find some humour, so here is a list of things that may (or may not, who knows?) be the latest cause of one of Naomi's tantrums...

It is time to get up
It is time to go to bed
It is time to wear clothes
It is time to put on a nappy
It is time to have her nappy changed
Having asked to sit on the potty she now doesn't want to sit on the potty
Her sister is sleeping (so not playing with her)
Her sister is not sleeping (so taking up my time)
It is time to get in the buggy
It is time to leave the house
It is time to leave toddler group
It is not time to go to 'Kate's House' (she wants to go to this particular friends house, all the time!)
Lunch doesn't feature sausages
Dinner does feature sausages
I won't let her watch "pocket pocket" (a cbeebies programme called Grandpa in my pocket)
I won't let her play with kitchen knives
Large items won't fit into small holes
Water is wet
We have run out of juice
We have run out of raisins
I have suggested that we should drink water (not juice)
I won't let her get in the oven
Fruit is a finite resource
I asked her to wear a hairslide
Her hairslide fell out
Random piece of clothing won't stay on dolly
One of Miriam's dresses won't fit on Naomi
Miriam isn't wearing socks (probably because Naomi just took them off)
Miriam is wearing socks
She wants to go "that way"
Miriam won't let her eye be poked
I won't let my eye be poked
Sandy won't let his eye be poked
I won't let her phone 999 (again!!)
Breakfast was served in a bowl not decorated with peppa pig
I won't let her wear her wellies in bed
I won't let her take every book she owns to bed
I won't let her have calpol for no reason
Life is just tough

All that said, I do love her!