Pickle Progress

So, nearly 28 weeks pregnant, I feel massive, but in actual fact am probably about the same size as I was with Monty, I just have a different shape this time round.

I feel like I look as though I have a litter of kittens trying to escape my belly as Pickle is such a mover and a shaker!

My belly button has already gone pop, like an egg timer, I don't remember it popping so early last time?

I am shattered but my own fault as I do not relax as much as I should considering am growing a bambino, I just rush around as per normal, then by 4pm wonder why I am shattered!?

Monty seems excited to have a baby sister and gives my bump lots of affection which is super sweet.

I have the midwife next week, I cannot get over how little you see the midwife with a second pregnancy! They just let you get on with it, which is quite cool actually, as I can't be faffed with constantly waiting in waiting rooms especially as they no longer have mags due to the whole swine flu thing. Dull.

Heartburn has started, and I HATE rennie, gaviscon et al, so just pound my chest a la tarzan, drink milk, peppermint tea, eat yoghurt and get on with it. Oh and moan of course!

Oh and lastly check me out rocking my bump HERE, Mucho thanks to Claire for featuring me on her fabby website

Ouch!

Yesterday I fell over.

It bloody hurt. A lot actually.

But more than that it was embarrassing. Very.

I had arrived for my last evening at college, with my (as instructed) plate of party food. The plate on which contained things I was very excited about eating. Simple things please me. Party platters being one of them.

So anyway, one hand has plate tightly clutched, the other a carrier bag full of ring binders to be handed in for marking and cross referencing. I was smug as I was handing in 3 units. I felt pretty kick ass and was not far off polishing my own college geek halo. I should have known pride comes before a fall.

So anyway I'm tottering into college across the car park, treats and topics in my podgy little paws and the usual walk way to get to my class is shut off, so I take a detour, only problem being my detour included hopping over a parking barrier. A metal one.

My detour also routed round via the student canteen and I can see about 5 blokes who i am going to assume are studying mechanics sat around a table through the window. So I approach the barrier, lift and get one leg across, lift the other and crash, all tubby 27 weeks of pregnant me decks it, college folders one way, my plate of samosas the other. My knee hits the floor with a thud as does my hand into the gravel.

The canteen fella's must have seen me approach, then suddenly disappear from sight leaving my eyebrows in thin air still where my 5'4'' frame once was.

I whimpered on the floor for a moment, mourning the loss of my party platter( still warm.) I cursed the probability of scuffing a hole in my topshop maternity skinny jeans and considered crawling along the rest of the walkway so that I did not have to pop my head up in view of the window and catch the eye sight of the 'duuuuudes' in the canteen.

But then, as if it couldn't get more embarrassing, the blokes from canteen appear and are picking my pregnant self up off the floor and being incredibly sweet. Dusted off and eyebrows back in place I bid them good morrow and clutch my shattered plate and college work and away I go, blood gushing out of my hand and my knee throbbing.

I have said this many time before HERE and IN THIS POST,
But, seriously, It could only happen to me!!!

Wordless Wednesday...I found this elf in my dining room???

Make It Monday-Mince Pies

225g cold butter , diced
350g plain flour
100g golden caster sugar
280g mincemeat
1 small egg , beaten
icing sugar , to dust

To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour, then mix in the sugar and a pinch of salt. Combine the pastry into a ball - don't add liquid - and knead it briefly.

The dough will be fairly firm, like shortbread dough. You can use the dough immediately, or chill for later.

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Line 18 holes of two 12-hole patty tins, by pressing small walnut-sized balls of pastry into each hole. Spoon the mincemeat into the pies.

Take slightly smaller balls of pastry than before and pat them out between your hands to make round lids, big enough to cover the pies. Top the pies with their lids, pressing the edges gently together to seal - you don't need to seal them with milk or egg as they will stick on their own. (The pies may now be frozen for up to 1 month).

Brush the tops of the pies with the beaten egg. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. To serve, lightly dust with icing sugar. They will keep for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container.


Monty loved making these as he could play for ages with pastry rolling, cutting etc. It literally is grey by the time he finishes with it! (Don't worry I get on with the real ones while he amuses himself with his bit of pastry, I don't serve up his grubby pastry!!)

I also get him to help putting the mincemeat in the pastry and we count as we go, so it's actually teaching him early maths, and the measuring of the ingredients and combining them is early science!! So, it's good for little ones development, they love it and you get to eat yummy stuff at the end of it.

I strongly advise you keep the ones your little ones have lovingly handled seperate though, as much as I love Mo- I DO NOT WANT TO EAT SNOT,BOGEY, DRIBBLE OR ANY OTHER ONE OF HIS 'ADDED INGREDIENTS!'

Fight! (*To be said in the style of Harry Hill)

We have had a lovely weekend, I took Monty for his first successful visit to see Father Christmas. He wasn't sure to begin with but as soon as a present was mentioned he peered out from under his blonde mop of hair and perked right up!Took the gift from the red suited bloke and all was well.






After his chat with the bearded one, Monty went for a mad dash around the toy section of the garden centre that Father Christmas happened to be chilling out in. He was in his element, playing with all the cars and trains. My Nan was trying to avoid the over friendly member of staff who was trying to teach her to play black jack or something and I was looking at the wooden toys.

Neither my Nan nor I were paying the right amount of attention to the little legged one. Suddenly I hear my Nan yell ''Bec's, Bec's- FIGHT!!!!!''

My heart hit the floor as I heard the scream '' No, No, MY BIKE! mine(ah)''
Oh crap, he always means business when he adds the ''ah'' on the end of his ''mine's''

I dashed around the corner to find a flurry of blonde hair, tangled up in a ride on bike and another blonde kid. Honestly it was like a cartoon.

The other kids Nan got involved '' she's a bit rough isn't she?''
I wasn't going to get pedantic and start insiting that she was he, and yes he was indeed rough....teeth were going to be lost here.

Eventually I managed to talk Monty round, in the mean time the other kid had lost interest and absconded to a more interesting digger.

Monty went to apologise as I instructed ''sorry little boy!'' ok well not exactly as I instructed but better than nothing.

Drama over and I was left with one lasting thought.

I have got to get my boys hair cut.

No child of mine crapped on the floor!!!

image taken from seeragallery.com



Lie!

Mine did.

It was all going so well. Monty had been in big boy pants over a week and yes there have been accidents (to be expected.) But he was also showing signs of holding on for long periods of time, so the accidents have not been more than 2 maybe sometimes 3 a day. Not bad?

I went to collect him from nursery at lunch time and was beaming at the fact that he was still sporting the trousers he trotted off in this morning.

The Nursery Assistant was so excited to tell me he had asked to use the toilet as opposed to the potty and had also done a wee! So proud...but then.... another member of staff gestured to her to check Mo's pants. He'd pooed.

Damn it!

But how did she 'know?'

Oh. As I turned round I saw it, a log of poo on the carpet. It must have vacated his robot Y fronts and rolled down his trouser leg. There were also poo footprints on the carpet all leading to Monty. The evidence was incriminating to say the least!

Oh bloody hell!

Pissing my pants all over the stage.........

I have been reading every ones festive themed blogs and tweets and looking at my tree and feeling very christmassy, even digging out my Elvis does Christmas from my CD collection.

I have even, I'm afraid to admit been feeling extremely smug in that all my Christmas cards are done and addressed and stamps affixed ready to be trotted to the post box tomorrow.

My smarmy glow has even reached new levels in the smarm stakes realising that all the shopping I have to do is Monty's stocking bits and they are only little so surely will not take long and oh the smug and smarmness and OH SHIT!!!!
IT HIT ME! THE MEMORY.......

I know what triggered it, my Mum had been looking after Monty today whilst I did my college work and she rang me to say that he had peed himself in Homebase, she being a tad embarrassed picked him up and left without giving the puddle of piddle a backwards glance. Oh bless him.

Anyway back to the BAM! SHOCK! MEMORY!


I aged 6, dressed as a snowflake, pissed myself on stage at the Christmas school play. And that is all I have to say about that.


Anyone else have anything equally embarrassing to share? PLEASE?

Jackson Reece baby wipes review

A fab product landed on my doormat with a review request!

Jackson Reece biodegradeable baby wipes with organic ingredients. Sound good? They are!

They smell amazing and are so kind to delicate skin. Monty's skin is so sensetive and he did not come out in any sort of irritation. Thumbs up from me Jackson Reece.




Look out for Jackson Reece Soothing
Herbal Wipes in the baby aisles. If you'd like
to buy these wipes at your local store let them
know; or even better, tell the store manager.

Also available in independent chemists and health stores.




www.sainsburys.co.uk
www.superdrug.co.uk
www.eco-loco.me.uk
www.usednappies.co.uk
www.pills2u.co.uk
www.fill-your-pants.com
www.mypalaceessentials.co.uk
www.wikaniko.com
www.earthlets.co.uk
www.thenaturalbabyresource.co.uk
www.budgens.co.uk
www.londis.co.uk
www.lizziesrealnappies.co.uk


They are the higher end of the price point at £1.99 per pack (72 wipes.)
But having said that I am a strong believer in you get what you pay for with wipes as anything cheap has ALWAYS brought Monty out in a red raw bottom.


The wipes are biodegardeable and compostable so smugness to you if you purchase them in the lowering of carbon footprint stakes.

Even the packaging is degradeable!

The are hypoallergenic and dermatologically tested and approved. They never test on animals. Phewy! So they are as kind to our four legged friends as they are to our two legged urchins!!!!!!

As only the purest most natural ingredients are used they are suitabla for use on bubbas with ezema and sensetive skin. The kinder by nature wipes contain a naturally herbal blend of ingredients such as tea tree oil, lavender and soothing aloe vera. They are SLS,SLES, paraben, alcohol and lanolin free. So they are perfect for faces, hands and bottoms.

For more information CLICK HERE

I thoroughly recomend you do!

Review Time- METHOD ''people against dirty''

I have mentioned before in a previous post how particular I am when it comes to Monty's toiletries.

So when Method sent me some baby cleansing products I was only to happy to give them a whirl.

I was sent not only baby smellies but also the antibacterial spray as well. Which I was quite chuffed about as I have long had aspirations to be one of those women who squirts squirts environmentally friendly cleaning products willy nilly, but am usually scuppered on price.

So here's the review!

method all purpose

Method say :

is a powerful surface cleaner made with naturally-derived surfactants. It works by absorbing dirt rather than chemically degrading it. And method is biodegradable so you can clean your home without flushing super-toxic chemicals down the drain into our rivers, lakes and oceans. We're against that. Dirty doesn't have to roll downhill.
We think clean smells more like lavender than ammonia or bleach, so we have added lavender oil.

It costs £3 which ok is not cheap as you can probably pick up a store own brand antibacterial spray for around a quid BUT that is my only criticism of this product.

I loved the smell, so much nicer than that chemical smell that gets right in the back of your throat and it CLEANED BRILLIANTLY! which was a surprise as I was a bit dubious, I was a bit cynical as to whether green meant clean but flipping eck it does! Result!

My top tip as I am just potty training Monty, is to use a couple of squirts of this when rinsing your used potty out, as you know it's not going to burn your mini persons little tushy off!!


Next up to try was the
baby squeaky green baby hair + body wash in rice milk + mallow

Method says:

have you ever wondered why anyone would take something that’s perfect to begin with and then slather it with chemicals and toxins? we have, and we’re against it. we think babies should never come into contact with anything yucky, so we create products as naturally perfect as we can. nature-loving ingredients like rice milk and mallow for an all-over wash that’s gentle on baby. a reusable lid that doubles as a wash cup that’s easy on mum. biodegradable formulas + recyclability to show respect to mother earth.

This product is £5 which is very expensive I admit, but again is my only fault as it smells great, cleans both hair and body effectively and is delicate on the skin ( my main priority) It smells virtually edible too. So my tip would be to save your boots loyalty card points up to make this purchase, well that's what I intend to do!!

Lastly was the baby lotion

Method says:

a nourishing daily body lotion to keep your baby’s skin soft and snuggle-able. just like nature intended.
Want to find out what it's made of? Natural extracts of rice milk and mallow, olive oil, and moisturisers made from sugar are gentle and hypoallergenic and won't irritate as they moisturise sensitive baby skin - especially important since babies absorb more through their skin than grownups.





Again at £5 it's pricey but the product itself is gorgeous, great smell, great absorbency and a little goes a long way, so maybe this would last longer than cheaper alternatives?


So, overall, other than on price, I would recommend these products implicitly. They are fab!


Stockists are
Tesco
Sainsbury
Waitrose
John Lewis
Co-op
Homebase
B&Q
Boots
Booths
Selfridges
Wholefoods as well as many online outlets.


Check out their website HERE

Little Me Organics Review

As I've mentioned in THIS POST and THIS ONE I like to use organic paraben free products on Monty at bath time, as I feel like he is both precious and brand new, so I'd rather not chock him up full of chemicals just yet!

So I was only to happy to oblige when I was sent these gorgeous products from the lovely people at Little Me Organics

A little bit about the company:
All products are organic ingredients, dermatologically tested, paraben free and with no SLS. They came about when ''lots of Mummy's got together to create a range that was carefully selected to be one of the best for their little ones.''

They sent me
*ssh sleepy head hair and body wash
*mmm moisture babies bath soak
*yipee playtime body cream
for Monty
and Mum to be stretch mark oil for me. Lovely!

So, the review.

Hair and body wash.
Pros: The shh sleepy head hair and body wash smells yummy, it states on the tube ''I am a very gentle formulation& have no synthetic fragrance'' hell yeah - so true, the scent has a very real smell, if you know what I mean? This particular scent is dill and organic lavender and is very relaxing for little ones getting them ready for bedtime. It brought a real shine to Monty's hair and did not irritate his eyes or scalp. Thumbs up!

Cons: at £3.99 for 150ml it is on the dearer side, not the priciest on the market but also not the cheapest. But I'll always buy it in Boots and use my advantage card points. Simples!

Bath Soak.
Pros:Again a gorgeous scent, this one was chanomile and organic lavender, again no synthetic fragrances used so the scent is not overpowering just very pleasant. It has a very milky, creamy appearance so gives the impression of being very nourishing and moisturising. Monty's skin was fine after use, and very soft.

Cons:As stated previously it's not cheap at £3.99 for 300ml, and if moneys tight it may leave you reaching for the 99p store brand bath bubbles? But that's a very personal choice, I would rather scrimp in another area and know that I was using something pure and paraben free on Monty. My other tiny nark is that it doesn't really bubble, having said that, this is probably down to the lack of chemicals so I'll happily go without fluffy white bubbles in that case!

Body cream.
Pros:nice soft fragrance (neroli,rose and organic manderin) and the cream itself soaked in quickly leaving Monty's skin soft.A little goes a long way.
Cons:Price again (£3.99 for 150ml)

Stretch mark oil
Pros:Great consistency, absorbed very easily and very moisture rich.It was also great to add to a bath to give an all over oil covering which is fab for pregnant skin which can become dry and irritated.Good price too at £6.99 for 200ml and if you look on the boots website you get extra points, honestly, just CLICK TO SEE!

Cons: I really can't think of any for this product, dead chuffed!






Where to buy
Boots
Sainsburys
John Lewis
Toys R Us
Mothercare

Check out their website HERE

Baby Born Free Drinking Cups.

I was lucky enough to be asked to review these fab cups and I'm really glad we've tried them.
Now I am still quite fussy to some degree when it comes to what Monty eats, don't get me wrong he gets treats but on the whole he eats non processed home made cooking and I am concious of additives etc.
I am also fussy when it comes to what I bath him in, his skincare product have to be organic and paraben free as I have this notion of him being 'brand new!' and don't want to fill him up with chemicals, He has beautiful, delicate skin that I want to take care of.
But I had not even considered the chemicals that are used in his drinking cups and any harm that may cause.
''BornFree™ specializes in producing smart and safe baby products.
BornFree™ has developed a range of products baby bottles, cups and accessories that is totally free of the potentially dangerous chemicals Bisphenol-A (BPA), Phthalates and PVC.

BPA is a known estrogen mimicker that is used in the production of polycarbonate plastic.
According to researchers, BPA may cause developmental and neurological problems if it leaches from plastic. Reports suggest that small amounts of BPA may leach into food or beverages stored in polycarbonate containers, especially when the contents are heated.

In addition, BornFree™'s cups and bottles feature the unique BornFree™ venting system, designed to reduce colic and ear infections.


We will shortly be extending our product line to include more high quality toxin-free products.
If you have any comments or suggestions about our products or the website, please feel free to contact us.
BornFree™ products are 100% Free of BPA, Phthalates and PVC
and are the safe and smart choice for you and your baby.''

This information comes straight from www.babybornfree.co.uk and is interesting reading!
They can also be contacted on 0208 732 4728.

Take a look on their site and see for yourself, their range of products is fab and gives such piece of my mind that they are made free from any nasties, I will definately be using them for pickle as soon as she is born should we need to supplement with bottles to give me a break from breastfeeding.

Monty really enjoyed using the cup for his milk as you can see from the pictures. (excuse his face in the bottom one it was pre sneeze!!!) I think this was due to their low level of pressure making it easier for the drink to be sucked out of the spout.

I would wholly recommend these cups, they are purse friendly at less than a fiver, user friendly unlike a lot of toddler cups and they contain no harmful chemicals which can worry parents! Top marks for baby born free cups!

SOPHIE4SOPHIE

My twitter buddy is running an awesome blog comp over here at
http://soph4soph.blogspot.com/
amazing prizes made by the amazing Natalie, be sure to swing by and check it out.
I love the Sophie4Sophie products, paticularly the bibs which my little Mo has about 5 of, but I am even more excited about putting Pickle in a Sophie4Sophie dress when she's born, they rock.

Here is Monty modelling one of his Sophie4Sophie beautifully handmade bibs.




I can't tell you how brilliant they are. So much more stylish than anything you can get on the high street, and wipe clean so your not constantly chucking bibs in the wash just wiping with a damp cloth is all these stylish bibs need!
The choice of fabrics are immense and she'll make one exactly as you choose even down to the colour of bindings!
They have 3 layers, a fabric layer closest to your childs chest, then the groovy pattern fabric then a layer of clear pvc to make them 'wipe cleanable!'

Check out her fab website for all her awesome products http://www.sophie4sophie.com/

It's a dogs life!

Thank you Bob Bob's.xxx

It's quite honestly been a mo fo'ing crap couple of weeks, rewind 14 days or so...
The 'not seen for 10 years' Dad arives with his wife to stay for the weekend. We have recently got back into contact with one another and the water is under the bridge and the going is good. Weekend is going really well. Take them to Brighton for lunch.

(cue moody music).........Car breaks down, clutch GONE! Car repair worth more than car itself so some thinking is in order. We get home. In the back of a pick up recovery truck. Monty finds the whole thing incredibly exciting. Yummy Husband and I do not!

Next day, mother of all arguments with my Mother relating to every subject under the sun and some under the moon and his wife aswell.

Have a tweet meet planned with @soph4soph my twitter buddy.Monty throws up. I feel dodge.Meet up cancelled.

Monty and I escape cabin fever to stay at my Nan and Gramps house (or Bob Bobs and Dee Dee's as Mo call's them) as yummy husband is decorating our bedroom so we get out of the way. Makes sense?

We're baking cakes...my dog pukes in the kitchen. Oh.

We have dinner, Monty throws up. Twice. Luckily I am super fly with a bowl and caught the lot.

A few days pass and my Nan is due her hernia op on the Monday, Sunday eve I have back ache and feel, odd?

Monday arrives, preparing to take my lovely Nan for her op. I have the most violent gastroenteritis you can imagine. Violent I tell you. VIOLENT!

3 days pass, feel better, back still tweaky but well, I am pregnant, what can I expect?

Bend over to pick Monty up...snap! Muscle in my back goes TWANG.

DIAZAPAN and lying flat, declarations of love to all due to diazapan.

Have I mentioned before it can only happen to me? I'm sure I did in this post http://beetrootandgherkins.blogspot.com/2009/10/are-you-having-laugh.html

Throughout this though that wonderful man that is Bob Bobs ( my Gramps) has been amazing, nursing me , my Nan, taking Monty to the shops, the park, trips on the bus to buy his wine from the offie ( Bob Bobs was worried at the looks he got, clanging his bottle around whilst in the care of a 2 year old!!!)

He even took Monty overnight so that I could have a toddler free night to really try to sort my back out, rest up etc. Monty woke him up at 2.20am then again at 4.30 refusing to go back to bed, so they talked about trains, planes and adventures.
But apparently when I called up the next day to see if he had been good 'it couldn't have gone better' and 'they'd definately have him to saty again!!)
WTF!!!

LOVE YOU BOB BOBS.xxxxx AND THANK YOUxxxxx ( And Dee Dee too.xxx)

Wordless Wed....asleep on my feet!

BLESS MY BOY!

Make it Monday!!!! With a twist!

Well technically I did make her (With a little help from my husband!) However I don't think I need to post a list of instructions on how to make your own Pickle!!! Anyway, here she is, our little girl, wave Pickle wave!!!

Wordless Wednesday- Apparently this is ME!

This is what Mummy looks like in Monty's world!!!

What do ya reckon? Good likeness?

You are going to be WHAT when you grow up Monty?

DADDY: When you grow up do you think you might go into law like me Monty? A Policeman like Daddy, or a lawyer?
MONTY: Monty be lawnmower when grow up.




Super useful Mo, but we do not even have any lawn??

IT'S A......................................

................................GIRL!
I knew it was!!!
Not because I was carrying differently to Monty, neither was it because I had felt more sick than I did with Monty.
I knew because I just did! Call it Mother's Intuition. Call it what you like, BUT I KNEW!!!!
So pickle is female.
How exciting. Not because I like pink.(I don't) Or because I want to dress her up like a doll ( I don't!)
But just because.(*fuzzy, warm, goofy smile)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: What's Your Flavour...Tell Me What's Your Flavour???

So, tommorow is scan day, we have decided to find out if it's boy flavoured or girl flavoured!!











But what do you think?Check out the bump,let me have your comments and kudos to you if you are right!

The Pickle Post!

It has struck me that all my posts have been based around my little Mo and I feel a bit guilty about this. I started to ask why I haven't been pouring all the info regarding my bump out on here. I guess no particular reason other than it's been an odd pregnancy thus far with a few non ideal situations.

This probably sounds a bit odd. I just mean that when I first found out I was pregnant I had a bit of a melt down which I am not altogether happy about but I can understand why it happened.

We had decided in the next few months we were actually going to try for the second baby and then bam.... I'm pregnant! Very happy but also- none of the rosy tinted spectacle stuff you have with your first pregnancy. And I admit it.I panicked. I remembered all the hard stuff with Monty and was still going through a tough time with him, being a spirited two year old.

At the time we were enjoying a nice social life managing to go out once a month with friends whilst my Mum would have Monty overnight...this would all be a thing of the past with two. I realised that I was probably trying to straddle 2 worlds - my Mummy world and my pre Mummy world and it wasn't really working for one reason or another.So I felt a feeling of sadness and finality. Not how you want to be feeling when you just recieved the best news ever.

I felt selfish and disgusting for having those feelings.
A few vile weeks followed, me being up and down, and then I started to bleed, and have cramping. Everything was put into perpective. Told to take things easy and sit it out. I was petrified. I thought it was my fault, I was being punished??

Then I got swine flu.

COULD.NOT.GET.ANY.WORSE. I felt utterly gross until about 11 weeks pregnant, but was also suffering from nausea. Which I had never had with Monty. I spent my days feeling hung over and wishing I could just throw up! This lasted for weeks and I can honestly say I have only probably been really feeling my pickle bump mojo in the last month or so.

All's good now, sorry to put a dampner on things if this post has depressed your eyeballs out of your head- I'm back to shiny happy Bec now and totally loving my Pickle pregnancy.

I think the things that have sorted my preggy mojo out have been taking care of myself, eating well (that has included copious amout of pickled stuff but most of that counts as my 5 a day right? Right???) Excercising- I have been swimming lots- it makes me feel lighter!!! And releases fabbo endorphins. And also good supportive Mummy mates, superbly fabtastic people who had my back and listened to me and were just wholly there for me. And of course my awesome hubby.

So from here on in I'm going to be posting progress pics of the pickle bump and sharing mucho because this goes so quickly and I want to savour every minute!

Frankie says RELAX!

Today I have had an awesome day with my boy.
We haven't done anything special, usually I would class awesome as a trip to the zoo, Hove Park, swimming. You know, something 'special.'
But it started as any other day,actually it didn't because Monty slept till 6.30 in his own bed instead of crawling in with me. So good start. I got up with him and went to the loo as usual he was my audience. He found my weeing funny today instead of creating a fuss about lifting the seat for me and me slowly wetting myself while I wait, he let me get on with it and crooned to himself as I went about my business ''funny Mummy wee wee, silly Mummy wee wee!'' Fair enough whatever floats your boat darling boy. I was just happy at being allowed to have a wee!
It was a nursery day, so uniform was required this can sometimes take some coaxing as he likes to use the word NO alot when getting dressed. Today was no different, I suffered slightly less kicking during nappy changing, and instead of trying to wrestle him dressed, I turned my back on him, took a deep breath and counted to 5. Still no luck. I threatened the sorry step if he did not do as he was asked, he said no, I asked are you going to be Mummy's good boy? Bloody hell. He was letting me get him dressed! WHOOPWHOOP!
We had a nice breakfast together and we walked to nursery. After nursery Daddy and I collected him, he played with Daddy with the train set and Daddy wento to work on a late shift. Monty told me ''Daddy nee naw car, Daddy Policeman!''
We went on an adventure, well that was what Mo called it, but just to the beach, we sat on the pebbles and had snuggles, he walked along the wall of the promenade laughing and holding my hand and jumping precariously off the end!
He had a tantrum when I said it was time to go, but I took a deep breath. And carried on. He followed, and apologised. Feck! Where is my boy???
We ate dinner, he had a bath, he wanted me to get in so I did, we played with the water toys, got in our pjs and drank milk, tea and ate biscuits. No tv.
We went to bed early, he asked for music on choosing baby einstein music cd,and I read him stories till he fell asleep. I looked ta him for ages. My beautiful, gorgeous boy.
Night night.xxx

Placenta Brain?

They say you get stupider when up the duff. Well I do. I really do.
This week I have been searching for one of my baby bibles, the Tracey Hogg Baby Whisperer book. It was not on the shelf and I could see a gap, and damn it, I wanted to read it again so I was all Tracey Hogged for Pickle bump.
Had I loaned it to someone? I started texting mates. No.
I started doubting them- they've nicked it, it's such a good book they want my copy.
A day went by.
I found it.
On the shelf above.
Whoops.

POO!

Wednesday, a poo in the potty! Go Mo!
Oh wait! Another Poo in the potty? Score!


Yesterday, a fart in the bath, well actually a shart.
Oh my, thats interesting. I'll get the shower running. Never mind Monty.

My difficult boy

I love my little ball of fluffy blonde hair and fun implicitly, more than life itself and would without shadow of a doubt give up my own life for him. But I cannot deny, he is difficult.
From birth he was a fussy natured lil chap, struggled to breast feed and rarely liked to be put down which for those early days is fine but eventually you realise WTF! It's 1pm and I have not showered, dressed or brushed my teeth and I need a cuppa, pronto!!! Which cannot go on.
He obviously became less needy thankfully as I would never have emptied the dish washer or hoovered and would be drowning under a sea of used tea mugs and layers of dog hair.
He then became the best sleeper, 11pm til 7am from 10weeks, then 6pm till 7am from 4 months. And 2 good long naps in the day, this was bliss and we had some gorgeous contented months, I felt on top of the world, I had the hang of it, breastfeeding was successful up to 6 months, he weaned well, ate like a trooper, I was doing my best to be Annabel Karmel and Jools Oliver all rolled into one, but as he got older he wasn't doing things like the other babies. He did not sit till 9months old, Health Visitor was concerned at his 9month check,didn't crawl until 14months, cruised along furniture but would not walk, eventually he did at 16months-but it felt like a long wait!!Evenually he caught up and now he is a whirl wind of chatter, movement and as bright as they come, but still he is clingy and can whinge so much through the day that sometimes I feel on the edge of a cliff! I rarely get to go to the loo on my own or if I do he pounds the door down wailing!!!
I do my best, but it's hard. Especially as I have worked in childcare, and am studying childrens care, learning and development now. I feel as though I should have all the answers.
I would love to get through a day without tantrums, being kicked when I change his nappy, refusing to get dressed or do as he's asked.
Every night I go to bed thinking tommorow I'll be a better Mummy, I won't lose my temper, I'll be patient.
Until recently I thought deep down it was me, it must have been something I had done, after all no such thinng as bad children just bad parenting- apparently!
But then not long ago I was being assessed for my course, and my tutor said to me her son was so like Monty, and she could see he was bright, had his own idea's and did not want to folow the pack, which made me feel better.
And since then I have tried. So hard. I used reward charts, stickers, treats for good behaviour, try to keep my cool, count to 5, use a sorry spot for calming him down and getting an apology if he has done something which needs correcting and generally try to be as positive as I can.
It does work, but we are only human us Mums so we still have good days and bad.
He is improving every day, and with him so am I. I love him more than Topshop, chocolate, cupcakes and Paul Weller. And you know what? I would never ever change him because he makes me a better Mum and with that a better person.
I felt this post needed to be written, as Mum's have a tendancy to pretend everything is the mutts nuts when actually we are struggling.
Anyhoo, it's cheaper than therapy!!!!

Are you having a laugh?

Sometimes I feel as if it could only happen to me, or us as in our family, we just seem to deal with oddness on a day to day basis so much so now that I am used to it.
This week I spilt a drink on the laptop. Actually no thats a lie, it sounds like I was typing away and knocked a drink over in a crass hap hazard devil may care 'look at me I have a drink next to my lap top look at me living on the wild side' fashion....but I didn't I DIDN'T! My Nan always told me how dangerous this was so I NEVER EVER have a drink next to my treasured shopping/chatting prized possession.
I was merely passing my drink over it to place on shelf away from it and it, well, spilt. Laptop was wetted, laptop was deaded, laptop was hair dryed, laptop still deaded. Left for a few days, still deaded. Veins in my head started swelling. I wanted to tweet, facebook, check emails, shop, browse...urrrgh. Could still function on it but the 3 sent everything I had done to delete , the t kept sending me to Tescos.com and do not even get me started on the 1, and of course my passwords for said applications all had the deaded sodding letters in them. I kept trying to tweet on twitter without using the letter t. I sounded gangster. It did not suit me.
So the upshot is Lovely gorgeous Mummy has loaned me hers and ours is being looked at by insurers.
But it got me to thinking about the surreal stuff that happens like when Monty hid our remote it was gone weeks only to be found in my Husbands police riot boots (obviously no riots occurred, I wish they had and we would have got our sodding remote back!!)During this same time he hid the house phone I could hear it ringing I just could not find it! It was in such a ridiculous place I am too embarrassed to admit as I should have looked...but you are kind of getting the picture.
The worst time was when I got painted up the stairs. Sounds odd? Well it was. It lead me to joining twitter in fact out of sheer bloody boredom.This is what happened. We live in a Victorian house with original floor boards which are too knackered for varnish but paint hides their sins. I had seen in Living Etc magazine someone had painted their boards black and I loved it so this was what I wanted. In the livingroom, diningroom and hallway including our stairs and upstairs landing. But of course Mr took ages in doing it and Monty, the dog and I ended up being trapped upstairs without much to do,Monty wasn't going to bed, the dog pissed himself, Monty walked through it in his Roary the Racing car slippers- it was messy, but very funny! Stupid thing was I had done the first coat on the stairs the week before and had painted myself downstairs and had to wait for it to dry before I could go to bed. Luckily Mr was working and I had put Monty to bed before I started, but I went to bed very late that night.
Anyone else sometimes feel that it could only happen to them?

Beetroots and Gherkins

So! I have done it, taken zee plunge and got ma'self a lil ole bloggy what not type thing, to diarise all the bonkers shenanigens that occur in my house, with my son Monty i.e Motherhood and with Pickle i.e my (2nd)pregnancy.
Bump is nicknamed pickle due to my cravings for anything well, pickled!! Gherkins, beetroot, picalilli, I also currently adore sliced mozzarella with balsamic vinigar. Now i know that one is a pregnancy craving as I served some up to best Husband and he said it tasted of shoe. So hence the rather crap blog name Beetroots and Gherkins! Although I have to admit to feeling a bit of a fraud as I am mostly in Beetroot zone and Gherkins seems to have passed, I occasionally find myself head in fridge hoovering one up pig style but it's mostly BEETROOTS. I heart them.
A week ago Monday I had beetroot in my sandwhich, read the same for about 20 days previous, and read the same for all the days since then...except yesterday.... It was odd. I was at a birthday party with Monty and scoffing pizza, salad, pitta, wedges and houmous and had the irrational thought '' why are there no effing beetroots!!!'' I coped. Of course I did. But you get the picture.
So anyway, a rather bizarre intro to my blog, I should introduce myself etc etc but 1. Can't be arsed and 2. I don't want to to peak to early- keep reading and I'll keep revealing!!!