Hi, my name is bear, mama bear

I suppose I should really tell you a bit about me before I start. I am 27 and I have two beautiful children. Mr S is 20 months old and Mr B is 7 months old. They look and act completely different from each other but are both perfect in their own way. I have a stepson Mr J. He is 7 years old and I have been in his life since he was 4. He is completely different from my two boys and is well known for asking let’s say unusual questions and coming out with even more unusual comments. His best this month was when he told my sister after a fall that he had broken his nipples. I am married to a wonderful man. I know everyone says that but I really believe it. 5 months after getting together I had a breakdown and spent a lot of time in and out of counselling and doctor’s appointments. Throughout this he stood by me and helped me to become the woman and mother I am today.








As a mama of two beautiful little men under two years of age, I have a lot to both rant and cheer about. For example, today they both napped at exactly the same time, meaning a nap for me, (woooo mini mama fist pump), however they both woke up in terrible moods and my eldest, Mr S, snatched my glasses straight off my face and threw them in his toy box, cue me squinting and rummaging blind through endless dinosaurs and things that make noise.








Despite my son being a glasses thief I honestly think that my two boys are by biggest achievement in life. Threw them I grow and learn something new everyday. Today I learnt that jeans are rubbish on a slide and will slow you right down, what a big butt like mine needs is a smooth surface like cotton. So I decided to put on my long cardigan which covered my bum and created a great seat for the giant slide in the play centre, however I picked up too much speed, couldn't stop myself and wiped out two children at the bottom. I apologised profusely to their parents but I could see their judgemental looks. I understand they were angry that their little cherubs got wiped out by the fat woman whizzing down the slide, but hey, when you get to the bottom of the slide, MOVE!








The other difficult thing about these play centre type places is when another child does something to yours, like snatch their toy or push them out of the way to get on the slide first. Instantly your protective mama bear instinct kicks in and you are angry, sooooooo angry. Your first thought is, if I drop kick that kid will anyone notice, then you remember there is CCTV and their mother/father/guardian is watching them too and ya know their a kid. So you go with the only thing which is socially acceptable, make eye contact with the parent, let out a fake chuckle, usually followed by the words "o don't worry it's usually mine that do that". All the while thinking my beautiful perfect prince would never do that he is a delicate soul and ...... o wait, while I was thinking that he just threw a ball at that girls’ head.








 It's like a jungle out there, dog eat dog. I suppose it is preparing them for real life when people will push them down slides to amuse themselves, or throw them in the ball pool to make a path for themselves. I try and stand back and let them have some independence in a place like that for exactly for exactly that reason. I want them to be confident, to stand out in a crowd and to lead the way. What better place to start than in a group of runny nose toddlers all wanting the same talking phone?





So that was my day and also my first blog. Tomorrow I am taking Mr S and Mr B swimming. No doubt I will have plenty to write about after that, I just pray my second blog in no way includes the sentence, ‘and then he pooed in the pool’.





Good day to you X

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Mama Bears break

Today marks the end of mine and hubby's week off together.  We decided to have some time off around Mr S birthday and have some family time. We have definitely made the most of it and I think we're all more tired now than we were at the start. So what have we been up too?


Our first day out was Trafford Centre. We started with an all you can eat breakfast at Premier Inn which with children eating free was great value. We made sure our stomachs were fully lined ready for our next stop, In The night garden LIVE.  I have done a full review blog of night garden which you can read by clciking HERE

We finished the first day with a little retail therapy and then hubby, me and the 3 boys had a picnic in the garden. I think Mr B ate more grass than food, but it was still great.


Our second day out was for Mr S birthday. We went to The Sealife Centre in Blackpool as he likes fish. He loved seeing the huge sharks and the rays. Well what he could see. There were so many people squeezed in there we spent more time fighting our way through crowds and people posing for selfies than looking at the fish. I felt like it was more about cash in the till than providing a great service and experience. Non the less we made it a lovely day,  which ended by eating our lunch in the car. The rain was just too heavy to do anything but. It was fine though because we were looking at the sea!

Downside of car lunch, Mr B ended up like this......

Our third day was again a rainy day so we had a lovely morning at Land of Play with our lovely friends, Stuart, Claire and baby JJ, (as Mr S calls him). I'm not sure who had more fun on the big slides the kids or the dad's.  Land of play is my favourite indoor play. It is in Trafford Park so not too far for us and has great facilities. It is definitely the cleanest indoor play I have visited and the food is yummy too.

The fourth day out was, SHOCKER, blighted by rain. So we pulled on our positive socks, who needs sunshine anyway, and went swimming. Mr S and Mr B are usually quite clingy in the water but on this trip we tried something new.

We took a couple of their fave bath toys so they would stop focusing on all the people and the depth and put all attention on how fun it is to play with Sharron Shark. It worked!! By the time we got out Mr S was jumping in, dunking himself under and even swam without any help from us. A successful trip all round, until we got in the showers and I noticed liquid fudge running down his leg. #swimnappyfail


Our fifth and final outing was a trip to Haigh Hall. We had sunshine which was nice, however with the weeks weather we’d had, i wasn't expecting sunshine so we weren't really dressed accordingly, cue removing layers and slaping on the emergency suncream. We had fun on the park, Mr B ate sand. We had fun in the walled garden, Mr B ate grass. We had fun in the woods, Mr B ate soil. Then we had a picnic with lovely sandwiches and Mr B ate……… nothing!!

The miniature railway was great and only £1 each, with the cubs thrown on for free. The kids loved waving at everyone and when the train went toot toot.
Another great day, made even better for papa bear as next to the ice cream van was a craft ale van. Fun for the whole family.

Thank you hubby and my boys for a great week. Till our next break together hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work we go.
Good day to you x

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In the night garden live

This week we had a family day out to in the night garden live. We watched at the purpose built show dome at the Trafford centre.

Before we went I was quite anxious about our visit. I thought there was going to be huge crowds of people and it would be really hard to manage with 2 little ones. Especially Mr S who has gained a sudden passion for running away in a Usain Bolt fashion.

As soon as we walked up all of my concerns floated away. The queues were so well managed by the staff on the door, that they were practically non-existent. The buggy park was the most organised I've ever seen, which I know might seem like something small, but when you have a double buggy to squeeze in and out, it's important.

Every member of staff we encountered on the way to our seats was fantastic. They made the kids feel special, waving at them, talking to them.  Their enthusiasm really built the atmosphere and excitement for the start of the show. They were so positive that I felt like a big kid myself.
The seating was spacious and staggered so no matter where you were in the show dome you had a great view.  Even for the little ones. We were given a lovely activity book for each child on the way in, this gave us some pre-show entertainment.

The show was fantastic.  There was a magical mix of puppetry, life size characters, projections, bubbles and acting. My 10 month old and 2-year-old were engaged from start to finish and sat, amazed throughout, which is unlike them. They clapped and cheered which was lovely to see. The atmosphere was so magical you couldn't help but join in, no matter what your age.

I would recommend this show to any family. It is a little pricey as it’s full price for the adults and children, but seeing how happy it made the boys meant it was defiantly worth it. I liked that the souvenirs were behind a counter rather than being pushed at you. It saved penny' as the kids couldn't see and want.

We did pay a little extra to meet iggle piggle which was worth every penny. It was an additional £15 but this was for all 4 of us. It also included a picture. They were really patient and we didn't feel rushed out. The lady took loads of pictures so we had a great choice. Mr S was star struck and didn’t know if he should cuddle, hug, high 5 or just stand, smiling.
We honestly had a great day. The staff, the show, the organisation and the overall atmosphere was 10/10. I will definitely be going again.

Thanks for a great day.
Good day to you x

Mr S turns 2

Hi, my name is mama bear and I am here to hand in my membership card for the 2 under 2 club. I'm officially no longer a member. My little big man has just turned 2 and I'm not going to lie……… I'm heartbroken. 

 

Obviously I am happy that Mr S is a healthy, happy 2-year-old, yet I seem to find myself getting emotional at how quickly it has happened. I'm just not ready to have a toddler. I know everyone says 'time goes so fast enjoy it while you can', but it's true, time DOES go so fast, far too fast. 

It been a whole 24 months since the birth of my perfect little big man and in honour of that I'm going to share with you my birth story. 

I had a lot of pain towards the end of my pregnancy with Mr S, they never actually found why, they presumed some old scar tissue stretching, but I'll never truly know. As a result of this pain I was induced at 37 weeks. 

When I went in to be induced I didn't really understand the process and was expecting, as in one born every minute, a pessary and instant labour resulting in a wonderful birth, and maybe for some, that is what happens, that isn't what happened in my case. 

So I had my 1st pessary and went off for a long walk, or waddle as hubby called it. Then my 2nd pessary, at this point it was early evening so they sent hubby home. I felt so lonely and frightened. My contractions started in the early hours of the morning, they weren't strong or regular so they wouldn't bring my hubby in. When he arrived in the morning everything had stopped, dam false labour. So they went ahead with a third pessary and hours later still nothing. 

"We're going to take you to labour ward, break your waters and start the drip"

Having my waters broke was traumatic but once the contractions started and the gas and air made its arrival I had forgot all about it. I was contracting for 23 hours with regular examinations and only gas and air. After almost a day of pain I got the news I didn't want to hear. I was still only 2cms and they had to stop and proceed with an emergency c section. 

I broke down in tears. Everything suddenly went so fast. I felt like hundreds of people in scrubs arrived. Putting a gown on me, removing my earrings, removing my drip. Everything was happening at once. Despite all the chaos my hubby was right there, in our own little bubble telling me how proud he was of me and that we would have our baby boy in our arms any minute. 

I felt so dejected, I had been in labour all that time and I couldn't have the natural birth I wanted. I don't actually remember much of the C-section. I only remember hubby making constant eye contact with me telling me it was all fine, but his eyes looked nervous, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. 

Then I heard it, at 5.52am on 19th August  my baby boy cried as he entered the world. He was perfect in every way and I knew instantly I would love him forever. When they gave Mr S to us I noticed that hubby had a tear in his eye and because of that I broke down into the happiest tears ever. 

 

Despite the disappointment of having a C-section in the end, I enjoyed every moment of bringing my son into this world. I felt so close to my husband who was amazing throughout. I felt nervous as hell when we walked in as a two, I felt proud as hell when we walked out a three. 

Happy birthday Mr S!! 

Good day to you x