A Close Shave ~ poem

A Close Shave

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These shavings tell a story,

They ‘paint’ a picture too,

They’ve given hours of creation

With paper, scissors, glue…

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These shavings have fallen

From the sharpener in my hand,

As I turn and turn and turn

And as I watch them land…

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These shavings are a work of art,

A work of pure genius

From the pencil crayons of our little bear,

Yes, I know I’m slightly biased!…

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She colours lots and lots… and lots!

It’s something of a passion,

It was her favourite thing to do

‘Til loom bands came into fashion…

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Yes these shavings tell a story

Of a masterpiece that’s unique,

We’re standing by with baited breath

For her first art gallery critique!…

~

By Mummy Bear

Linking up with Jenny at Let’s Talk Mommy (click the badge below to go to her blog)

…and Vicky at vevivos.com (click her badge to go to her blog)

~

Read my emotional and inspiring true story ‘Diary of a Complicated Pregnancy’. Available now through my website at Virtually All Sorts. 50% of sales to the charity Action on Pre-Eclampsia. …and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @ComplicatedPreg

Also available – my indispensable guide to avoiding ‘Working Mum Guilt’. Whether you are about to return or have already started back, this book offers practical solutions and feedback from real Mums with real families in real situations. Covering topics such as Post Natal Depression, childcare options, yours and your child’s development and time management – Ditch the guilt today! … and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @WorkingMumGuilt

Follow Carol Cameleon’s board Parenting blogs I love… And think you might too! on Pinterest.

~

Why homework has made me one proud Mummy Bear!

Well, it’s been a while since I blogged and that’s because of the 3 bears succumbing to the nastiest lurgy that we’ve had in ages.  It looks like we’ve turned a corner and are now on the road to recovery…  so on with my week.  Last week to be precise!  I had every intention of posting last week but the sentiment still stands so here goes!

I’ve blogged before about why I get excited about our little bear’s homework and it is SUCH an exciting time for me to be getting involved with our little bear’s homework and thinking outside the box.  I’ve been grabbing it with enthusiasm and gusto!  Reception at our little bear’s school is learning about The Three Little Pigs and the children (and parents!) are being encouraged to do something pig-related for homework.  It’s always with much excitement that I delve into ‘the book bag’ every day after school.  First, I take out the ‘Communication Book’ which is a fantastic little book, particularly as I don’t always pick our bear up from school in the afternoon.  Then I rummage through the various pieces of scrap colourful paper that our bear and friends have so diligently put into each others’ book bags through the course of the day!  As I rummage, I find her Reading Record Book and the actual book to be read.  And if the homework book is in there, I have a flick through that too.

Faced with doing something ‘Three Little Pigs’ related, our little bear’s creative head went into overdrive.  I asked our little bear what she would like to do for her homework and she immediately went to the stash of packaging that I have very cleverly been keeping, dragged it all out like a game of jenga (she takes after her Dad – always takes the one from the middle, never from the top…!)  Next she told me she wanted to make 3 houses – straw, sticks and brick.  That done, we made some ‘bodies’ with lollysticks that we’ve been keeping to one side.  And hey presto, we had 3 little pigs (4 including Mummy Pig!) and the Big Bad Wolf!  We had oh so much fun completing it and took it into school on the Monday morning for her teacher.  As I handed her teacher the bag with the models inside, I felt an overwhelming rush of pride that I had taken the time to do this with our little bear.

That done, I thought very little of it and just got on with my day.  When I picked her up, she told me that her teacher said she had done ‘good work’.  Another rush of pride….  But when I picked her up later that same week, she showed me with pride her sticker which read ‘Principal’s Award’.  Then she told me that her teacher had taken her to see the Headteacher for ‘good work’ with her Three Little Pigs house models!  Given the lurgy that’s been lingering and staying well past its sell-by-date, I wasn’t feeling on top form… until our little bear told me this wonderful news and showed me her sticker.  Suddenly, nothing else mattered, my hacking cough and wheezing didn’t matter, only my heart swelling and very nearly bursting with pride mattered.

Proud?  Just a bit!

Not surprisingly then, my #WordoftheWeek is ‘Pride’…

Linking up with Jocelyn’s Word of the Week

And Jenny at Let’s Talk Mommy ‘Share With Me’

~Read my emotional and inspiring true story ‘Diary of a Complicated Pregnancy’. Available now through my website at Virtually All Sorts. 50% of sales to the charity Action on Pre-Eclampsia. …and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @ComplicatedPreg

Also available – my indispensable guide to avoiding ‘Working Mum Guilt’. Whether you are about to return or have already started back, this book offers practical solutions and feedback from real Mums with real families in real situations. Covering topics such as Post Natal Depression, childcare options, yours and your child’s development and time management – Ditch the guilt today! … and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @WorkingMumGuilt

Follow Carol Cameleon’s board Parenting blogs I love… And think you might too! on Pinterest.

Taking a look back on the HELLP syndrome journey…

HELLP save a life by raising awareness of HELLP syndrome with a 2015 calendar…

 

This year I thought I’d got away with it.

 

This year I was feeling absolutely fine.

 

This year I felt  normal… but then the memories came flooding back (albeit some of them very hazy).

 

This blog post was going to focus on how I hadn’t shed a tear and hadn’t felt the need to.

 

Memories are powerful though and my memories are too strong.  The trauma is still there.  It is getting easier.  It really is but at this time of the year, as well as celebrating and being forever grateful, I find myself needing a little bit of ‘wallow’ time.

 

My emotions need to come out.

 

5 years ago as we came to the end of the third trimester, I thought we were coming to the end of our complicated pregnancy journey but really, it was about to get a whole lot more complicated due to pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome.  Frankly, I was lucky to come out alive.  Yes, I had sky high blood pressure and mild jaundice.  Yes, my liver was frighteningly close to shutting down.  But I survived…

 

We are forever grateful that our little bear also came out of it with mild jaundice and no other issues.  Forever grateful.

 

We are lucky to be here 5 years later as a family.  A while ago I took part in a blog linky where ‘The Prompt’ was ‘anger’.  I wrote about why I’m tired of pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome and “Why I’m putting my anger to bed.”  My blog post focused on turning away from the trauma but in it, I promised that I would continue to raise awareness of both conditions.

 

Along with personally marking the scariest time of our lives, I wrote this blog post to raise awareness of the HELLP syndrome awareness 2015 charity calendar produced by Kelly Lewis (founder of hellp syndrome angels on facebook).   All sales are being split between Tommy,s and Action on Pre-Eclampsia.  You can read more about the calendar here.  Kelly is also a survivor but tragically her and her husband David’s baby girl Ellissia wasn’t so lucky.  They have a gorgeous rainbow baby who can be seen below with Kelly, holding up ‘March’ which is the month Ellissia went to the angels.

HELLP syndrome awareness calendar 2015 with Kelly Lewis and Jake (her gorgeous rainbow baby)

 

click here for more information on the calendar

HELLP has a far-reaching effect but sadly not many who are not affected know about the condition.  Not even the medical professionals.  You can change that by buying the calendar and ‘hellping’ to raise awareness.

HELLP to save a life today…

~

Written for Share With Me (click the badge below to go to Jenny’s blog)

and Post Comment Love (click the badge below to go to vevivos.com)

~

Read my emotional and inspiring true story ‘Diary of a Complicated Pregnancy’. Available now through my website at Virtually All Sorts. 50% of sales to the charity Action on Pre-Eclampsia. …and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @ComplicatedPreg

Also available – my indispensable guide to avoiding ‘Working Mum Guilt’. Whether you are about to return or have already started back, this book offers practical solutions and feedback from real Mums with real families in real situations. Covering topics such as Post Natal Depression, childcare options, yours and your child’s development and time management – Ditch the guilt today! … and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @WorkingMumGuilt

Why I get excited about homework !

Here’s why I get excited about homework!

As a parent, you have your moments that you really treasure above many of the other moments.

Aside from starting school, one of mine was our little bear bringing books home in her book bag to read.  You might call it ‘homework’!

I absolutely love reading to our bear, although it’s getting so close to the day that I read with our bear!  And won’t that be a moment to treasure!

When I delved into her book bag a couple of weeks ago, I was ‘oh my god!!’ excited to see a ‘Reading Record’ book with her name and class on the front.

And then a Biff, Chip and Kipper book.  We’ve had a few now and I can see that they’re very clever in the way they build up sentence structure, they make the child (and parent) think about the book and they’re enjoyable too!

Time is most definitely of the essence in the week and we’re very aware of giving our bear some down time at home before and after school.  But I’m really happy that we’ve still managed to read (and enjoy!) the books.

And I honestly think that our bear is getting something out of the books and taking it in.  To know that we’re helping in our bear’s literacy journey gives me such a warm, fuzzy glow 🙂

~

Written for ShareWithMe

and PostCommentLove

~

Read my emotional and inspiring true story ‘Diary of a Complicated Pregnancy’. Available now through my website at Virtually All Sorts. 50% of sales to the charity Action on Pre-Eclampsia. …and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @ComplicatedPreg

Also available – my indispensable guide to avoiding ‘Working Mum Guilt’. Whether you are about to return or have already started back, this book offers practical solutions and feedback from real Mums with real families in real situations. Covering topics such as Post Natal Depression, childcare options, yours and your child’s development and time management – Ditch the guilt today! … and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @WorkingMumGuilt

How to encourage your child to eat healthy food… (pst ~ no bribery involved!)

Like many parents, we encourage our little bear to eat ‘properly’ and have a healthy diet.  That is, not to be a fussy, faddy eater. but to eat her fruit and veg (with the odd treat thrown in – everything in moderation and all that.  And we can’t get away with cake ourselves otherwise!).

She’s a good eater but very predictable and always sticks with the same food on her plate.  When we entice her with something new it invariably ends up pushed to the side or on the table so as not to contaminate the other food on the plate!

One tea-time recently, we were tucking in and chatting away at the table.  Our bear said, “I’m super girl with super powers!” and promptly put her arm up in the air like a super hero!  Immediately, something clicked with me.  I gave hubby the ‘knowing’ look that tells him to play along…

“Oh well, super heroes need power food to keep their super powers!”

(Can you see where this is going?!)

“What food on your plate stats with the letter ‘puh’?” I asked.

And it went from there.  The result being that our bear was not only eating her peas and saying they were yummy but actually shovelling them onto her fork!!  Yes, really!  So now she knows that peas, potatoes and pasta are super power foods.

And I’m pleased to report that since she’s started school, our little bear is definitely getting more adventurous with her food.  She’s tucking into school dinners and reporting back that they’re, “yummy!”

She still doesn’t like the idea of this delicious, nutritious snack though… 😉

~

~

Read my emotional and inspiring true story ‘Diary of a Complicated Pregnancy’. Available now through my website at Virtually All Sorts. 50% of sales to the charity Action on Pre-Eclampsia. …and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @ComplicatedPreg

Also available – my indispensable guide to avoiding ‘Working Mum Guilt’. Whether you are about to return or have already started back, this book offers practical solutions and feedback from real Mums with real families in real situations. Covering topics such as Post Natal Depression, childcare options, yours and your child’s development and time management – Ditch the guilt today! … and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @WorkingMumGuilt

A poem about getting down with nature… a delicious, nutritious snack

 

A delicious, nutritious snack… getting down with nature

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The soil under my fingers

Is a sign of fun;

I dug around in the mud

And unearthed a worm!

~

He’s a friendly little fella,

With his long body he wriggles around;

Not sure what he thinks to this tub though,

No soft furnishings to be found!

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But does he think? Is he a she?

If we know, I’m not sure how!

With soil and mulch to feast on,

These are his home comforts for now.

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Back to the earth little wormy,

It’s been good to explore your home;

You’re not like my dolls or My Little Ponies,

No clothes to change, no hair to comb!

~

I like to explore in the garden,

Get grubby and dig around;

Yes there’s lots to do outside,

And grubby things to be found!

~

~Read my emotional and inspiring true story ‘Diary of a Complicated Pregnancy’. Available now through my website at Virtually All Sorts. 50% of sales to the charity Action on Pre-Eclampsia. …and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @ComplicatedPreg

Also available – my indispensable guide to avoiding ‘Working Mum Guilt’. Whether you are about to return or have already started back, this book offers practical solutions and feedback from real Mums with real families in real situations. Covering topics such as Post Natal Depression, childcare options, yours and your child’s development and time management – Ditch the guilt today! … and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @WorkingMumGuilt

Follow Carol Cameleon’s board Parenting blogs I love… And think you might too! on Pinterest.

How to turn a cot into a desk ~ a poem!

How to turn a cot into a desk ~ a poem!

Somewhere to learn and to play…

Once upon a time, there was a little bear,

Born 3 weeks early, you were tiny with no hair;

You slept in your cot, through the night give or take

And rarely did you stir, not a noise did you make…

~

The cot was your cousins’ and

Has a tale or two to tell,

Many a time between you all it’s

Heard the ‘odd’ scream or yell!

~

Lost dummies, stuffed teddies

Wedged ‘tween mattress and frame;

I’d nudge your daddy, “Your turn!”,

At least that was my aim!…

~

Fast forward a few years,

And now you’re starting school,

“I know!”, I shrilled, “I’ve had a brainwave!”

(Thanks to Pinterest) and went to fetch the rule…

~

With measurements to hand,

We got some wood chopped and changed,

Then spread a layer or two of blackboard paint,

When dry we re-arranged…

~

…Your playpen came down,

Your baby toys were given away,

Your cot was transformed into a desk,

Somewhere to learn and to play…

~

By Mummy Bear

~~

~~Read my emotional and inspiring true story ‘Diary of a Complicated Pregnancy’. Available now through my website at Virtually All Sorts. 50% of sales to the charity Action on Pre-Eclampsia. …and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @ComplicatedPreg

Also available – my indispensable guide to avoiding ‘Working Mum Guilt’. Whether you are about to return or have already started back, this book offers practical solutions and feedback from real Mums with real families in real situations. Covering topics such as Post Natal Depression, childcare options, yours and your child’s development and time management – Ditch the guilt today! … and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @WorkingMumGuilt

Making child’s play of an ‘Elsa from Frozen’ plait… kind of!

How to do an ‘Elsa from Frozen’ plait… kind of!

Each morning in our house, I ask our little bear how she would like her hair.  True to our obsession with ‘Frozen’, it tends to alternate between ‘Elsa’ and ‘Anna’.  Occasionally she chooses just a head band but invariably she plumps for plaits…

Fortunately, years ago I used to be able to do a french plait on myself… I knew the practice would come in handy again one day 😉

I grab a section at the top of  our little bear’s head and ask her to keep her head still (this usually works…)

Then I grab a little section with the little finger of the appropriate hand and sort of match it up with the main part.  Then I do the same again with the other side and the other little finger!

This is repeated until we run out of hair… and then quickly pop a ton of hairgrips in to stop it all falling around our bear’s ears!

See, easy when you know how 😉

(who am I trying to kid?!)

Have you got a  funny ‘how to’ post that you would like to share?

Link up your post in the comments below using ‘comment luv’ and then hop over to Jenny at Let’s Talk Mommy for more blog posts 🙂

~

 

~

Read my emotional and inspiring true story ‘Diary of a Complicated Pregnancy’. Available now through my website at Virtually All Sorts. 50% of sales to the charity Action on Pre-Eclampsia. …and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @ComplicatedPreg

Also available – my indispensable guide to avoiding ‘Working Mum Guilt’. Whether you are about to return or have already started back, this book offers practical solutions and feedback from real Mums with real families in real situations. Covering topics such as Post Natal Depression, childcare options, yours and your child’s development and time management – Ditch the guilt today! … and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @WorkingMumGuilt

How to give your child a creative outlet

So we’ve let our little bear get creative and paint a mural on her bedroom wall!

She’s constantly colouring and cutting – at home and wherever else she may be!  When we have the time and the opportunity arises, she also loves messy play painting.  Although, it’s getting less messy each time now.  Sign of the times…

Recently, hubby and our bear painted a wall of her bedroom.  She decided on sky blue, so that she could later paint a rainbow, clouds and a flower on it too.

She used to have her own wall space downstairs that she experimented on (we’ve just recently had a decorating splurge so it’s been painted over).   She knew she could colour, paint, do what she wished with that wall, and that wall only.  It was ‘her wall’.  And she never bothered with pushing the boundaries and trying it on any other wall…

Give her an inch and she takes a mile – in the place she knows she’s allowed to… in her own expressive way.  And the result?  A creative outlet for her to be proud of.  And she is very proud of her wall 🙂

Just in case it’s not obvious (!), the above picture shows a finished painting of mummy (that’ll be me then!) and a work in progress of daddy!  (‘I’ was still wet so had no facial features at this point…!)

What creative outlet has your child got?  I’d love to know!

~

Hop over to ‘Share With Me’ with Jenny at Let’s Talk Mommy…

~ Read my emotional and inspiring true story ‘Diary of a Complicated Pregnancy’. Available now through my website at Virtually All Sorts. 50% of sales to the charity Action on Pre-Eclampsia. …and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @ComplicatedPreg

Also available – my indispensable guide to avoiding ‘Working Mum Guilt’. Whether you are about to return or have already started back, this book offers practical solutions and feedback from real Mums with real families in real situations. Covering topics such as Post Natal Depression, childcare options, yours and your child’s development and time management – Ditch the guilt today! … and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @WorkingMumGuilt

“Time to spread my wings…” To my pre-school from a little bear aged nearly 5 xx

 

Our little bear has been reading ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ at pre-school.

With that in mind, this little poem which I wrote for her key worker on her last day is quite appropriate, don’t you think?

~

Read my emotional and inspiring true story ‘Diary of a Complicated Pregnancy’. Available now through my website at Virtually All Sorts. 50% of sales to the charity Action on Pre-Eclampsia. …and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @ComplicatedPreg

Also available – my indispensable guide to avoiding ‘Working Mum Guilt’. Whether you are about to return or have already started back, this book offers practical solutions and feedback from real Mums with real families in real situations. Covering topics such as Post Natal Depression, childcare options, yours and your child’s development and time management – Ditch the guilt today! … and visit my facebook page or follow me on twitter @WorkingMumGuilt