First Child/Second Child

Before I had my first child, I guess I had a certain idea of how things were going to go. Of course, as all parents know, not everything works out as you plan - perhaps you get a baby who will only feed to sleep, or your child decides they don't like vegetables. Perhaps you find yourself with a climber, or a little one who doesn't walk until long after his buddies. However, these small issues with Child One were nothing compared to the differences between the first and second child. In fact, I'm kind of worried what would happen if we ever had a third...

Food:
First Child - no sugar or salt in anything until at least the age of one - this includes no advent calendar or Easter Egg, as the smallest amount will have dire consequences. Only 'baby' crisps, biscuits and snacks allowed.
Second Child - Forget trying to restrict snacks, Child One will kindly 'share' the most inappropriate well before the recommended weaning age. If this isn't done intentionally, Child Two's advanced foraging skills will soon come into play under the dinner table as soon as they are mobile. And we all know that they invented white chocolate because babies make such a mess with the usual stuff, right? So that must mean it's an approved weaning food...

Clothing:
First Child: Enjoy browsing baby shops whilst your little one is happily strapped into their thoughtfully-chosen pram and select the best of the best to suit their 'character'. Your baby will not only look über-cute but also well ahead of the trends. Now where's the number for that baby-modelling company.
Second Child: Now you have both a baby and a toddler, you get away with what you can. It's not unknown for baby to be dressed in the same babygro for days (and nights) at a time - if it's avoided any major explosions from various orifices then it is practically a miracle and therefore should be enjoyed. Anyway, baby clothes are all the same - who can tell if it's pyjamas or not? When Child Two does graduate to clothes (with Child One this age was about 6 weeks, Child Two is lucky to be out of babygros by 18 months) he or she has to wear Child One's cast offs, sometimes regardless of gender (navy and red flowers are unisex, surely). New clothes shopping is no longer an option - you probably can't afford it, you know it will get wrecked eventually and in any case, any kind of shopping is rendered akin to purgatory now that Child One has hit toddler-hood. Once carefully selected designer lookalikes are now not only a couple of years out of date but also worn through at the knees and stained around the neck. Less baby modelling, more charity shop chic. Still, you tell yourself, no one knows if those stains are 2 hours old or 2 years old, right?

Social Life:
First Child: Before Child One was even born, you knew exactly how their social life was going to pan out. Weekly events include post natal group (otherwise known as peaceful babies surrounded by mums with cups of tea group), under ones groups and baby rhyme time. If a snotty toddler happened to be near your baby - or worse, snatch something from your baby - you would do an inward eye roll. Seriously, how difficult is it to keep them away from the little ones?
Second Child: There is no chance of peaceful baby time when Child Two comes along. This time you are the mum whose toddler runs wilfully away from you whilst you try to feed/comfort/change the baby. You screech after them, hoping that they aren't causing too much havoc and lever the baby under your arm to follow. In turn, you are much more relaxed with older children around Child Two. After all, it seems unlikely that any other child is going to be quite as 'loving' (rough) as his own sibling so he can probably take it. Child Two is lucky to have a couple of similar-aged buddies, but only because they happen to be the younger siblings of Child One's friends. At least when you get together you and the other mum can seek temporary solace in knowing you're not alone.

Mum-guilt strikes again - surely Child Two is disadvantaged by all this? Just think of the time and attention you lavished on Child One when it was just them... Then you stop and look. From birth Child Two has barely taken his eyes off his older sibling. He has learnt so much already (well, he has learnt how to give as good as he gets in hair-pulling contests anyway). They might drive you (and each other) crazy, but they will always have each other to rely on. That's why you wanted two children, right?

Days Out - Thomas Land at Drayton Manor

I decide just one post wasn't enough to cover Harry's fabulous birthday treat! The last post was about the Thomas-themed rooms at Drayton Manor Hotel - a big hit with the boys - however, the real treat was still to come - meeting the real Thomas and his friends!

Of course, first we enjoyed a lovely breakfast in the hotel and we headed over to the park at about 9.45 (it opened at 9.30). The rides didn't start until half past 10, so we probably could have left it a little bit longer before entering the park, but it was nice to orientate ourselves and figure out what rides we were going to go on when they did open! We left our lunch cool bag in the lockers near Emily's Play Area (a soft play area adjacent to the main part of Thomas Land) and headed off to the Zoo, which was open. Harry enjoyed looking at the animals, allthough I think he was a little bit confused about the zoo and theme park concepts. When we walked past the tiger he asked 'Is that a real one?!' to be followed by when we saw the exhibits on the prehistoric trail 'Are those real dinosaurs?!'

Just past the dinosaur trail was Spencer's Play Area. I love it when a play area is well judged and designed for its target audience and this one was perfect for 2-5 year olds, which is also prime age for Thomas fans I would guess. I am sure Harry would have been happy if this was the culmination of our day but we soon had to drag him (and Archie) off the play equipment to see what else this end of the park had to offer before heading back t the main part of the park on the train.

Harry was captivated by the magical Thomas exhibition in one of the nearby sheds. He thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the elements of the scene and waiting to spot his favourite trains come chuffing around the track. The Terrence Tractor Driving School is also in this area of the park, but sadly Harry was too small to drive his own tractor. This was probably our only disappointment of the day. We would have appreciated an option for te younger drivers - perhaps even just a Terrence model to climb on - but it was a minor disappointment in what was otherwise a wonderful day.

Before long there was an influx of new people which told us that a train must have arrived at the station, so we hot-footed it over there to find it was Percy, Harry's absolute favourite train! The train rides were, perhaps predictably, one of the highlightss of the day. Nothing beats wating on an actual platform, selecting your own carriage and riding the rails with your favourite trains. We were pleased to capture a usually camera-shy Harry standing next to his new best buddy, Percy the train.

The rides in Thomas Land are really well suited to Harry's age. In fact, at about 90cm, he was tall enough to go on even the bigger rides - the Troublesome Trucks rollercoaster and the Cranky ride. However, Harry didn't fancy those ones having never been on any rides before, and I don't really blame him - I'm sure they would provide plenty of fear factor for even an older child. He absolute favourite ride was the Vintage Car ride, which isn't specifically Thomas themed, but does fit well with the rest of the rides. Little ones sit in the car (accompanied by one adult) and 'drive' it along a track. Harry asked to go on this ride every other time! We were lucky to be there on a very quiet day, it meant that most rides were just waiting for people before starting, even your little family were the only passengers! Harry also loved the Diesel ride, and being able to ride the Blue Mountain Quarry trains. Again, because it wasn't busy he was able to ride on all his favourite trains by going on the rides multiple times. Archie also enjoyed the rides, but at 10 and a half months he was a little young for them. You aren't allowed to have children sitting on your lap, they have to sit on their own seat, which can be tricky with a wriggly crawler!

We ate our lunch on a picnic bench and although we'd held the soft play area in reserve, we decided just to go back and have a go on more of the rides. We also never made it into the main part of Drayton Manor. As we walked through it seemed like there were a few rides that the boys might have enjoyed, but, to be honest Thomas Land was more than enough for us for the one day. I couldn't recommend it enough for a great day out if you have a train- and vehicle-crazy little one like Harry. I think the memories are going to stay with him for a long time and it made his third birthday a really special one. Thank you, Drayton Manor!

Days Out - Drayton Manor Thomas-themed rooms

We really wanted to do something special for Harry's third birthday. In many ways I think the third birthday has been the first 'real' birthday for us. At one, he didn't really have a clue what was going on (although he did enjoy the cake!) At two he liked his presents, but in the end it was just another day (with cake!) However, three was a whole different ball game. In the couple of months preceding there was much talk of 'my birthday', 'when I'm a big boy', 'I'm two now but I'll be three on my birthday' etc etc. This led to us having a small party, which we weren't really planning on - but let's face it, every book and TV programme that has a birthday in it also has a party! However, the real special thing we were planning was a trip away to Thomas Land.

First off he woke up on his birthday - having whispered excitedly to me the night before 'Daddy says it's my birthday too-mo' - and opened some presents. His gran and grandad 'Peugeot' came over bearing a fantastic fire engine and he had a great time. As far as Harry was concerned that was it, birthday done. Little did he know what we had planned! After lunch we bundled him into the car instead of into bed for naptime and off we went up the motorway to Drayton Manor. Despite telling us he wanted to stay awake, Harry slept nearly the whole way. When we got to the hotel, he was delighted to see a model of a carousel with all his favourite Thomas characters in the foyer (how the receptionists put up with that music over and over I'll never know!) but the excitement was really still to come.

We followed the receptionist's directions to our room, only to find that before long the carpet design changed to tracks, leading the way! The room was fantastic, a lovely mural on the wall and ceiling, tracks on the floor, and of course the piece de resistance, the Thomas bunk beds, complete with DVD players in the headboard. At reception we had been leant two DVDs to watch (you can go back and swap them should you need to), and also given a Thomas welcome pack, containing slippers, a magazine with stickers, a book and some colouring pages and pencils. Of course the first thing Harry wanted to do was to sit on the top bunk and watch a DVD which he thoroughly enjoyed. Meanwhile Archie thoroughly enjoyed testing how baby-proof the room was (everything survived, although I did have to unplug the phone after one-too-many Archie-calls to reception).

After a few episodes of Thomas, and before heading out to dinner at Harry's favourite restaurant - Pizza Express, we decided to try the outside play area out. Although some of it was a bit tricky for Harry to do alone, he still had a fantastic time with Daddy's help. I'm sure that a slightly more adventurous three year old would have managed lots of it alone. In any case, it was great to have a run around after our drive, and a hotel with a play area is always fantastic when you have little ones.

After having dinner at the nearest Pizza Express (about 20 minutes away) we headed home and used the bath and the brilliant Percy bubbles (how they knew Percy was Harry's favourite engine, I don't know!) and as it was his birthday, we let Harry watch another DVD before bedtime (well, we had to get the most use we could out of those DVD players!)

 

The room was quite well thought out for a young family. The bunk beds are tucked around a corner so that your little ones won't be so distracted by mummy and daddy. However, the lighting wasn't that helpful. Although the bedside lights had a small reading spotlight as well as a lamp, you couldn't work them separately and even having the bedside light furthest away from Harry's bed still left the whole room pretty light. To counteract this I removed the bulb from my bedside lamp, as using the spotlight was enough for us to read and the boys to sleep in peace. Otherwise, I really couldn't fault the room at all. I think it was all Harry's dreams come true! That is - until the next day at Thomas Land...

Bobchat - Father Christmas Sign

H - (looking at a wildlife warning sign with a picture of a deer) Look! That sign says 'watch out, Father Christmas is coming!'

#50books2013 Capital - John Lancaster

This book is pretty fat, and although I usually like fat books I was a bit concerned that in my current state of mind I would find it tricky to stick with. When I read the back of the book I was still concerned - the residents on 'Pepys Road' in London receive mysterious postcards simply with the words 'We want what you have' on the back. Sounded like a prolonged, and prehaps not particularly interesting 'whodunit'.

I should have had more faith. Despite not being much of a reader himself, my husband always seems to choose books I will enjoy and this was no exception. Of course, by then end of the novel you do find out 'whodunit', but not before you get completely sucked into the lives of the residents of Pepys Road. You get an interesting insight into the lives of a banker and his wife in the midst of the baking crisis; drawn into the familial relationships of the Indian family who own the shop and gripped by the growing relationship between the Polish builder and Hungarian nanny. Alongside these stories a Banksy-esque artist called Smitty and his grandmother tell their own intriguing stories. I found I couldn't put the book down. Although I sometimes became a little entangled and confused by the sheer number of characters (again, I blame my flaky state of mind at the time), I found many of them endearing and I loved the insight into many different elements of London - and British - society.

I'd really recommend this novel for an interesting, thought provoking and just simply good read.

#mealplanmonday

Well, better late than never - right?

Monday - Chilli, rice and nachos
Tuesday - Salmon fillet and couscous parcels
Wednesday - Sausage and mash (or posibly hot dogs if this weather continues!)
Thursday - Sweet and sour pork
Friday - Pizza

Hopefully with this week's menu we can pretty much avoid chips, as I feel like nearly all our meals were becoming accompanied by oven chips. I'm really hoping that now I am starting to feel a bit better I can get a bit better at meal planning and cooking again. It feels like forever since I was organised in the kitchen and I really need to get my act together before I go back to work in a couple of weeks!

#50books2013 - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Pilgrimage? Not that interested to be honest. Religion definitely not my cup of tea. Harold Fry? He doesn't sound that interesting, does he.

Really, Harold Fry isn't that interesting. He lead a static, boring life with his wife down in Kingsbridge on the South Coast. He doesn't seem to particularly mind - that is until he receives a letter from an old friend who he feels he let down many years previously who has cancer - he goes to post a letter back and thus starts the pilgrimage.

This book is about Harold - a stereotypical English man walking through England and stereotypical English towns and villages, meeting gloriously and wonderfully drawn characters on the way. It is a novel of British Idiosyncrasies at its best - especially towards the beginning g of the novel. Sadly, although I loved the book, I did feel like it lost momentum as more and more people joined Harold on his pilgrimage. However, the novel as a whole was great and I loved the story of Harold and Maureen, his wife, left behind uncertain of what is happening.

Road numbers, a journey you can follow on a map, descriptions of places you remember of previous holidays - and ones you file away in your mind for future ones... I really enjoyed reading this novel and would definitely recommend it.