21 Dec 2018

Mia turns three!



Eats: All the snacks and not much else. You've gone through a really fussy stage and mainly eat pasta, sausages or wraps and then lots of fruit and snacks. You could graze all day long. Your favourite treats are ice-cream, jelly tots, Haribo, cheese strings and cookies. You're obsessed with packed lunches and love going for a picnic too.

Says: All the things! This year your talking has really taken off and now you can converse easily in sentences and you amaze us all the time with the little phrases you come out with. You're a really chatterbox in the morning and the rest of us are grumpy and quiet and you just chatter on and on. You get giddy and love to laugh and joke with everyone. We recently went Christmas shopping in Debenhams and you were charming all the elderly customers in the lift telling them all about your wet boots and how you brother Ellis was at school. My favourite misunderstandings of yours are when you call your high chair 'a cot' and hand soap 'ketchup!' When I ask if you need the toilet you say, 'no thank-you!' So polite! If we ever thank-you for anything you say, 'you're welcome!' 

Personality: You're very mischievous and cheeky and love to mess around with everyone. You like to wind up your big brother and recently you've been bickering with each other more . You're very enthusiastic and its so cute to see you get so excited about everything - especially your pink party! We've been planning it since July and you're always running through your guest list in the car. Your very bright and have a very good memory.

Playing: You love a good run around at the park or soft play and especially being pushed n the swings and going down the slide. You love to play with all the dollies and accessories - particularly bags which you stuff full of all the things and carry round everywhere with you. At Clare's you like pushing two single buggies together like its a double pram. You love playing in Clare's toy kitchen and making her 'wunch.' You're quite crafty and love making cards with mummy and baking. You love dancing along to music and often know the words to popular songs on the radio.

Funny memories: So many - you always brighten up our days with your funny little actions and personality. On your birthday we went to Five Guys and you just stood up in your chair and were grooving along with the music - not caring who was watching!
You also had your first run in with the law! We went to Bicester shopping outlet and you and Ellis joined Rara in a posh shop and he clearly wasn't being very vigilant. Next minute Mia came running out holding a box, followed closely by a young security guard asking you to 'stop' and trying to stop you without actually touching or restraining you. Next minute daddy joined the race! I couldn't stop laughing! It is everyone's favourite story! So cheeky! You also love your accessories and it was a £200 belt inside the box!

Favourite places: On your birthday I asked where you wanted to go and you said, 'supermarket.' You do love shopping and running errands with mummy and hate being left out of anything - hence why you come to karate with us every week, You love going to Bramble Bakehouse for cake and Goose for a play and cake and Temple Donut...do we see a pattern emerging here? We often go to the playbarn with your buddy Carmen on my days off. You're a real daddy's girl and love family days out on Saturdays. 

Ellis turns five!

Well, Ellis, it's been a fantastic year with so many achievements and adjustments that you've taken in your stride.


Favourite things to do... You're still a fan of trampoline parks and we recently discovered Jumperooz and you enjoyed it. You are obsessed with water parks and love the indoor one in Bruges (especially the rapids as they go really fast and the one in Furtuerventura - especially since they were very lax on the rules and let you go on all the big water slides!) You're really proud of learning to ride your bike without stabilisers and you whizz round Yeadon Tarn and Ilkley Park and love, love, love the skate ramps even though they make me extremely anxious! You love a cinema and cafe date as well - daddy sometimes takes you to see a Saturday morning show and mummy takes you to Morrisons cafe after school and you love cakes and treats as you chat to me about your day.


To celebrate any special occasion you always want a fancy meal at...Hotdonalds! You've progressed from fish fingers and chicken nuggets to cheese burgers and chocolate milkshakes. We asked you recently your favourite place in Yeadon and you said Morrisons as it's so big and has kinder eggs! We like to trawl the charity shops looking for new puzzles and DVDs - you can do 100 piece puzzles now and your favourite is your Scooby Doo one and you love your Minions, Sing and Scooby Doo DVDs.


Friends... Your friendship circle has really changed now you've started school. You have a good group of friends from your class: Lucas, Holly, James, Dougie, Thomas, Leo and Max. You're also friends with Owen and Oliver in blue class. You've enjoyed going on play dates and checking out everyone's toys! You and Mia generally get along really well too and she has definitely missed you now you're at school.

Your first year in school has been a success. You've loved your teacher Mrs Sharp as she is really fun and enthusiastic and has a little girl Olivia your age. She loves dressing up and the Disney film Moana - so you gave her the poster we got free in the cinema! You've enjoyed the routine and joining in with star moments and show and tell.





What's your name? Ellis at 5

How old are you? Five

When is your birthday? In July

How old is your mummy? Umm…I don't know

How old is your daddy? 100

What's your favourite colour? Green

What's your favourite food? Hot dogs

Who's your bestfriend? Lucas

What's your favourite tv programme? Yoki Watch

What's your favourite film? Minions 1

What's your favourite song? This is me (Greatest Showman)

What's your favourite animal? Guinea Pigs

What are you scared of? Monsters

What makes you happy? Mummy 

30 Aug 2018

Lets talk about reward charts....


Five weeks into the summer holidays with lots of long road trips and I was feeling a bit broken. Constant whining, squabbling, mess and refusal to follow instructions and I was done. So I decided to reinstate REWARD  CHARTS - can you tell I'm a teacher?

So I made a very basic chart and decided upon three 'targets' for Mia and four for Ellis (as he's older!) to address the behavior issues that were cropping up. His were about not hitting his sister, following instructions first time, no tantrums and to write three sentences a day (very reluctant writer over here!). Hers were no hitting her brother (do you see a pattern emerging here?), to not take her brothers' toys and to brush her teeth nicely. Teeth brushing was a particularly grueling and harrowing process of pinning her down and lots of screaming which we dreaded every evening. Each day they would get a tick if they achieved each target. Mia is only two and a half but she willingly let me brush her teeth for the first time ever in return for her tick - we were onto something here!



If they got the majority of ticks they got a smiley face for that day and if they got enough smiley faces they got a treat at the end of the week. On the whole it worked and Ellis was definitely more willing to write (he has a holiday scrapbook project which has been lingering all holidays) and the change in Mia's attitude to teeth brushing was remarkable. Although Mia did earn her reward quicker than Ellis as he had a few 'grumpy' days. 

In perfect timing for the reward I was sent some 'Ready 2 Robot' toys to review. Ellis was delighted with them as they involve three of his favourite things:-

1) Blind bags (thanks for this Youtube!)
2) Slime- it comes in a little capsule at the top of the plastic pod with the robot's head inside. Mia really enjoyed playing with this as you can see in the picture above.
3) Construction (as you have to build the robots)

Of course his favourite thing of all was the index showing all the different robots you could collect. He's already begging for another one so it could turn out to be an expensive 'freebie' for us! They are available to buy from Smyths and there are even some mystery ones - which Ellis is keen to get his hands on.


He has sat for hours building them and they accompany him in the car (not recommended with all the small parts), to soft play, to the farm and his karate teacher even got to hear about all the inner workings of his robots and which ones he hoped to get next time



What techniques and ideas do you employ to keep your kids from killing each other in the holidays?



* I was sent these to review but all opinions included are my own. * 

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