Seeing through the threat!

Yesterday I had to go through with a threat that has been the conclusion of a term long battle about……Hair! Yes hair, can you believe a six year old can argue with you everyday for a whole school term about her hair?!?!?

 

School has a very clear policy – if it’s longer than shoulder length it must be tied back. Simple! Wrong, it would seem not all teachers enforce this rule and in a class with a job share it seems that at the end of a long year anything goes. Don’t get me wrong I am not blaming the teachers, I take my hats off to them spending so many hours in a classroom of 30 five year olds. However, my daughter has fallen in love (to her it feels like love, to me it sounds like domination)! The apple of her eye is quite vocal about his likes and dislikes and having her flowing locks down is something he LIKES! This results in the 40 minute morning argument about putting hair up! Three weeks ago, on a particularly bad morning I threw out the threat…..’If you don’t tie it up for school I will cut it off!!!!!’ Nooooo came the cries, Charlie won’t love me anymore! So for the next few morning she went to school with her hair tied up. However, she never came home with it up! I spoke with both teachers who said they would try and encourage her to keep it up once she got to school, but it didn’t work.  The simple matter was that Charlie liked to twiddle with her hair during break so to keep him happy she takes it down.

Like any parent will know, threatening something in the heat of the moment is never wise! I am pretty good and like to be clear so once I had said it, I knew there was no going back. I gave her a couple of chances, but last week was the final straw. It is beyond me why she would want her hair down in such sweltering heat, but Charlie says, so Madi does! So this time it was a case of Mummy warned so Mummy is doing it! The hair dresser was booked and she took the news surprisingly well. Yesterday came round and Madi seemed almost happy with the idea of having her hair cut short. However, when our hairdresser arrived yesterday and Madi saw how short I asked her to cut it, the tears began to flow. A lump did form in my throat as she sat and sobbed ‘he won’t like me anymore’, but it had to be done. She gave me a look of pure hate and I felt so sad for her and sorry that I had made such a threat in the first place. With a little friendly distraction from the hairdresser, poor woman (she has cut Madi’s hair since she was a year so knows us pretty well) the hair cut was finished and Madi calmed down. Not sure what her reaction was going to be I took her to the mirror to have a look. Thankfully as she stared at herself a small smile started to grow across her face. She liked it! It isn’t drastic, just shoulder length. Personally I prefer it long, but it does look nice. When I got up this morning and she was excited about going to school to show off her new hair that she could now wear down without an argument I did wonder1 Who have I actually punished here, me or her? I’m the one who feels sad to have lost her lovely long hair that made her my little girl. Have I, in a round about way, given into her and let her get what she want’s – hair she can wear down!

Today’s lesson is definitely think the threats through before using them so you don’t end up punishing yourself!

 

 

Goodbye to Summer 2012

On our way to the Queen’s Jubilee Thames Pageant!

Wow what a year! I think this will go down as one of the most memorable years in our life times! I have thoroughly enjoyed all the celebrations this summer from the Jubilee right through to the Paralympics! On top of that I have obviously been enjoying my first summer with a son and, not sure how, but I have launched a new business!

I am so excited that Timeless Treasures Boutique online store went live last week. I have been travelling around Buckinghamshire with my stock all summer, setting up my pop up shop and promoting the business. Now finally the main shop is open for trading 24 hours

Friars Square Shopping Centre, Aylesbury

a day, 7 days a week. My facebook page is starting to get a good following and I was able to take orders from it while the site was in production. It has been incredibly hard work, but very rewarding. I was a bit naive and thought that someone helped put all the text together for websites, not realising that I would have to pen every word myself. I of course now understand why and in retrospect wouldn’t want it any other way. After all it is my baby, my dream, my reality and it needs to represent my thoughts and passion for the products.

The products, that has been the most exciting bit for me I think. Buying all my favorite things and creating a collection to share with the world. I adore traditional Children’s clothes and toys. Without sounding old before my time, I truly believe they don’t make things like they used too. Everything to me seems so grown up now. My 9 year old wants a kindle for heavens sake, what happened to curling up in an over sized arm chair with a copy of Mallory Towers?!?!?! I know there are people out there, like myself, who want to keep their babies innocence as long as possible and share with them toys and memories of their own childhood. That is what I have based my business around. I have looked for products that remind me of my childhood and things I have heard my parents and Grandparents talk about. I have also tried to stock as many Fairtrade products as possible as that is also very important to me. I am really thrilled to also have included handmade items that are made by very talented British crafters to give it a more personal feel. I still have a very long way to go, but so far so good.

Unfortunately though it is time to say goodbye to the summer. As I sit here I feel the autumn chill in the evening air and will be heading off to hunt out my slippers in a moment. I hope you have had a fantastic summer whatever you have done! I think it has to be said that at this moment in my life I am extremely proud to be British!

The 3rd child

Are 3rd children always easy or have I just been remarkably lucky? I pinch myself every day at the moment as I cannot believe what an angel my Noah is! He has slept for 11 hours a night since he was 7 weeks old. He has 3 sleeps during the day, he just smiles all the time when he is awake, he really is no trouble. It is like there isn’t a baby in the house. I don’t want to tempt fate, as there is no sign of teeth yet, but he really does appear to be the perfect baby!

I keep thinking about this and can’t decide if it is the fact he is a boy and they are different to girls, it’s just his personality or if it is down to the fact that I am older and more relaxed as a Mother, or if it is simply because he has had to fit in around a very established family of 4! Whatever it is, it is amazing and has made my, very unexpected, return to the world of babies a fantastic experience. I had no desire to have another child and now I am so grateful that fate took control and brought us Noah. It has changed the dynamics of our family for the better and I truly believe it was meant to be. I would even consider going for number 4 now!

Starting a business

To add to my  juggling act I have decided to start a new business. I already run a Smallprint franchise, which I love, but I have always wanted a shop! However, my business brain tells me that now, in the grips of a recession, it is not the right time to open a shop especially with High Street retailers closing almost daily at the moment. So instead I have chosen to launch my new venture as an online Boutique! I am having great fun, but man I didn’t know what I was letting my self in for. I want to do it alone, which is great as I don’t have to consider anyone elses thoughts, ideas or opinions, but the downside is I have to do EVERYTHING myself. Don’t get me wrong I am not complaining at all as I am loving every minute, but I do wish I had a little Fairy that would appear and just do little mundane tasks that I keep putting off.

Anyway, I finally decided that my business would be known as Timeless Treasures Boutique! In a nutshell I will be selling Traditional (timeless) children’s Toys, Clothing and Accessories. To be true to my values and believes my business is going to be family run for families and my products will be Fairtrade and Ethically sourced. I have even sourced a couple of local crafts people to make bespoke products just for us!

I have been really lucky and been included in a project run by my local photographers Peachy Pics they are supporting 60 local businesses by taking their photo with a product and promoting them around the area for free. This is my fab picture! It was perfect timing for me and helps me raise awareness of my business. I feel the picture captures what I am all about. I am in the picture to represent it being a family run business, my favourite products are in the picture so people have an idea about what kind of products we sell and I love the black and white and colour mix as it screams timeless, classic and quality!

Please help me build my empire and spread the word about my business www.timelesstreasuresboutique.co.uk you can also follow me on FB and Twitter where I will share promotion information, new stock arriving and information and articles about my products. Please, please, please like me and share with everyone you know x

Hartbeeps Babybells

Tuesday has quickly become my favourite day of the week thanks to Hartbeeps Babybells! Noah and I attend a class at Wendover Woods every Tuesday lunch time and it is the best hour of our week. The sessions are fun, interactive and informative. Noah smiles the whole way through and loves looking at the other babies. I have also really enjoyed getting out and meeting some Mums with babies the same age as Noah as most of my friends all have children the same age as my girls.

Hartbeeps run different sessions for different age groups. Babybells is for babies who are not on the move yet. It incorporates a bit of baby masage and some signing too and naturally lots of singing. Our teacher, Caroline, is really enthusiastic and makes everyone feel really welcome. As it is a session for young babies it is not totally full on and during the 50 minutes there are pauses where the Mums can talk and Caroline shares her wealth of knowledge about babies. Being a Mum herself she also  has lots of funny stories to share about her boys which makes it a very relaxed and friendly environment. The sessions are baby lead so if your little one needs a feed or change during the session there is no problem at all with you just stopping and doing what you need to. I have to say I have never attended a group like this. Hartbeeps wasn’t around when I had my girls, we did various things with the girls but nothing that was as fun or relaxed as this. I have purchased the CD so I can do some of the activities at home with Noah as he really responds to the music. Being only 17 weeks I can’t really sit and play with him as such, but Hartbeeps has given me inspiration to use puppets and music to entertain him with. I really feel like I have his attention when we play the music or attend the sessions and he seems really stimulated by it. After the session he is always very tiered and sleeps for about 2 hours. Thankfully it doesn’t affect his night-time sleep routine.

I would highly recommend Hartbeeps sessions to anyone with a baby or small child. Everyone gets a free taster session and then you can sign up for a half term, or if you are like me, go straight in and book the whole term. I was in no doubt that I wanted to keep going so I booked the term in advance and got a CD for free. The teachers sell the puppets and music that are used in the class, if you are interested, but they are not in any way pushy with it. You often find money off vouchers or leaflets about other baby businesses at the sessions so it is also a good source for information. Check out their website for your local classes www.hartbeeps.com Also check with your Sure Start centre as some of them run free Hartbeeps sessions where you can sign up for a mini course for free.

It’s a 10/10 rating from Noah and I x

the Zooball returns!

You may recall the tragic day when Madison wouldn’t listen to Mummy and insisted on taking her Zooball to school. Well today, 7 weeks after the event, the Zooball has come home!

Madison came out of school thrilled that the lost Zooball had been found by a fellow classmate on the playground today. She said ‘I had to wash it 3 times Mummy cos it was really dirty, but it’s alright!’ As I tucked her into bed tonight she said ‘Mummy god really must exist as I prayed my Zooball would be found and it was!’ Well I can’t argue with that. Faith has been restored in the Baldwin Biggs house hold tonight. Ironically Faith was the name of the child that found the lost Zooball, funny old world we live in!-,

Fashion Design for 8 – 12 Year Olds

Ella attended her first Fashion Design course today. She was thrilled to see a Fashion Design course available to her age group in the Aylesbury Vale ‘Do It’ Easter brochure. Ella’s ambition at the moment is to be the next Stella McCartney so this was a perfect opportunity for her. I booked it straight away and she has been counting the days ever since. It was held at our local college which I thought was a great venue as Ella has always been fascinated with the building and knowing I attended my Counselling Training there she has always wanted to go in.

The course ran from 10am to 3pm and they just had to take a plain item of clothing with them that they wanted to style. Ella decided to take a white T-shirt. I have to say as I write this I am feeling very proud of my talented little lady. I think what she created is really good. This is the first time she has ever been given the opportunity to do anything like this and it sounds like the teacher was excellent. They had to create a mood board first and then think about styles and fashion. Ella said to me when she showed me her top ‘Less is more Mummy’ which I was very impressed with as I feel like she has really taken the lesson seriously and got something out of it. She was so pleased with herself and loves the fact that she now has something to wear that she created herself and that no one else will have. For an 8-year-old Ella is extremely fashion conscious and very much has her own style already. I have to say at first I found it quite hard as I felt like she was growing up too quickly. However, I am a believer in allowing your child to form their own opinions through experiences in life and feel it is important that she has some freedom to express herself. Don’t get me wrong I would step in if she took her fashion statements too far, especially as she is a fan of Lady Gaga! But to date I have always been very impressed at the out fits she puts together for herself.

I am very impressed with this course and would highly recommend it to any child who has an interest in fashion. They really seemed to have explored in-depth what goes into fashion design and not just said here’s a load of fabric do what you like! Ella’s mood board is excellent and she can tell you how she came up with the design for her T-Shirt. She has talked about how you can turn an old dress into a skirt and matching clutch bag and has asked if we can go to a charity shop to look for some bits that she can transform. I am thrilled that the course has fueled her interest in fashion even more. She is very creative and at school she doesn’t get the opportunity to do a lot of crafts which is a shame as it is the one area that she thrives in. Today has given Ella a massive confidence boost and she has already asked if she can go again in the next school holidays and knows exactly what she will take to work on. For £25 for the day I wouldn’t think twice about sending her again!

Year of the sleep over

Ella turns 9 this year and it seems it is the age that they start attending sleep over’s! Ella is a confident child when it comes to staying away from home. I think this has come from having Grandparents that lived in Norfolk when she was very young so she would go and spend half term breaks with them. Last night she attended her first Sleep Over Birthday Party. She was very excited and went off happily. The Mum had the girls phone home to say good night around 8pm which I thought was a nice thing to do. They all sounded rather hyper when she phoned. Ella said they had been painting their nails and had pizza and were now getting their pyjamas on and going to settle down to watch a DVD. Knowing Ella is a child who does everything she possibly can to avoid sleep I didn’t hold out much hope of her being asleep before midnight. I think it is quite a big responsibility looking after a group of 8/9 year olds over night and have to say I am not looking forward to May when it is Ella’s Birthday and she asks to have a sleep over. I never had, or went, to sleep overs until I was at least 13, but then everything seems to take hold a lot earlier in life these days – man I sound old!

I picked Ella up at 10.30, she was happy but uncharacteristicly quiet. The Mum said they had been chatting until past midnight and in the end she had, had to join them and sleep on the sofa downstairs. Apparently the more tiered they got the more they scared each other about people trying to break into the house! They had finally settled around 1am! The main thing is they all had a good time, but the aftermath of tiredness is trying to say the least. Thankfully it is the school holidays and Ella is good at laying in so I am sure tomorrow she will be back to her normal self, but really I do think maybe they are still a little bit too young for sleepovers and I may try to gently persuade her to have a different kind of party! I can hear it now – “Mum that’s so unfair!”

Mummy knows best…

So my morning started with a conversation with Madison that went something like this –

Madison; “Mummy can I take my Zooball to school today with its little house?”

Mummy; “No Madi you can’t take it to school as it has too many little bits!”

Madison; “but other children take them to school”

Mummy; “no because it will get lost and then you will be very sad”

Madison (screaming at the top of her voice); “You are so mean Mummy, I AM going to take it!”

Mummy; “calm down Madi we have to walk out the door in 5 minutes so please get your shoes on”

Madi then continued to cry and inform me of what a terrible mother I am and how everyone else’s mum lets them take what they want to school. I carried on getting ready ignoring the 4-year-old throwing a 2-year-old style tantrum in the middle of the dining room. I soon realised if I had any hope of getting her out of the door I was going to have to come to some sort of compromise. I am normally a Mum of my word and don’t back down (which is why she went into the you’re a mean Mummy routine so quickly) but I do believe in picking my battles and a Tuesday morning school run is not the time to go head to head with my very strong-willed daughter. My compromise was that she could take the Zooball but had to leave its house and clothes at home. Not completely satisfied, but understanding that me backing down even slightly was very rare, she put on  her shoes and coat and reduced her screams to a wail for the walk to school.

I handed the sobbing Madison over to Miss Parker at the gate, funnily enough Madison managed to stop wailing long enough to tell said teacher that Mummy had made her sad by being so mean! Miss Parker proceed to guide Madi towards the door whilst listening to her tale of woe. I walked away and forgot all about it.

As normal the day flies by and before you know it you are back at the school gate on the home leg of the school run. The children all file out in the normal fashion, and I stand waiting for Madison. She is right at the back of the line and comes out with her head hung low – never a good sign. She got to me, looked up and burst into tears! “What’s wrong?” I asked and would you believe what her answer was?!?!?!?! “I’ve lost my Zooball Mummy!” Need I say anymore????????