Coming on leaps and bounds

DD1 really seems to like maths, and counting, adding and subtraction.
She is now starting to enjoy multiplication, as I have been linking it to addition.  Her mental maths is getting very quick, and if she asks (in order to test) me "what is 4+4?" and I reply "the same as 6+2" she is happy with that answer, as she gets more confident with her number bonds.  I have also left the Peak Number Book Zero in her room, so she asks herself questions from there, and can do some of the sequences and things too.
Counting, she can easily go up into the hundreds, and is recognising thousands too.  She likes to do sums on the calculator and ask me what the solutions are, so I have to reply "Five million, three hundred and twenty two thousand, four hundred and seventy nine", or whatever.  Sometimes I also pretend I can't do the simpler sums and she calls me silly mummy.

DD1 also likes to talk in French, German and Spanish.  Only simple words, but she is getting good.  Atm she mixes the languages together, but that will come in time.   And reading, there is a much wider range of words that DD1 knows how to read and spell now.  Atm she isn't too interested in writing, so I'm not pushing it (she is only 3 after all).  The few letters she can write, she will do so over and over.  And she is starting to understand the importance of practice, which is good, so I've every confidence in her.

We also bought her some Money Cards (she chose them) and not only does she recognise all the coins, now, it is helping with larger addition, for example 20p +50p = 70p.  DD1 will happily spend a good 30min-1hour just playing different games with these cards.

And she has recently learnt how to catch.  DD1 has always been more academically minded, than physical, so I'm really pleased that she can now catch [easily thrown] large and small balls.  I can't wait until she can throw a decent distance/height though.  Next door are always throwing/kicking balls into our garden, and DD1 likes to give them back.  Unfortunately, she can't throw them over our 6ft fence, so we have to lift her up, so she can pop them over the top.  It will be much easier when she can do it herself.

Weekly Weigh-in

Current weight: 67kg
Goal weight: 10st
Weight lost this week: -1kg (ie gained a kilo)
Total weight loss:11kg

We were on holiday last week, and I ate whatever I fancied (which resulted in me feeling bad and bloated as I don't eat that much any more), so I'm pleased to only have put one kilo back on.

Library Books

We nearly didn't make the library today, because DD1 was refusing to get dressed.  Then I had a phonecall from the librarian saying that she was expecting a school visit (30 kids) so to prepare DDs if we still did want to come.  Well, at that news, DD1 dressed like a flash and we arrived on time!  Unfortunately (for DD1) the school kids didn't turn up, but we still enjoyed Rhyme Time and got out some books:

• Polar White by Trotter
• Opposites by Donaldson and Scheffler
• Stick Man by Donaldson and Scheffler
• You Choose by Sharratt and Goodhart
• The Magic Word by Moore and Remphry
• Amanda's Butterfly by Butterworth
• Bedtime: bright baby touch and feel (for DD2)
• Three Pigs and a Gingerbread Man, by Robinson and Sanfilippo

First Taste of Strawberry!

Title says it all, really.  We've been away for a week on holiday, and I thought my plants may have died, but no.  Though they were thirsty, they were still there, and we had 3 gorgeous, huge, red strawberries that were delicious and sweet.  Yum.  Much tastier than the best of the strawberries on offer in the shops. 

Library Books

A couple of weeks ago we got out of the library:

• Jack and the Hungry Bear
• Mum's Red Hat
• Weather
• Baby Beep! Beep!

Thinning out the onions

My strawberry plant was flat again today.  Again, my thoughts turned to that damned pigeon/cat.  Nevertheless, I straightened the plant so it stood upright again, and watered it. Aha - the base of the hanging basket was bone dry.  So maybe the flattened strawberry was due to me, and not some creature.  I've watered the basket this morning and I will go back out and water it again later. I hope that tomorrow I will remember to water it again, and it will last now until Friday as that is the next chance I will be able to give it some water.  Either that, or I hope the weather is wet for our holiday.

The tomatoes on the sunny side are still doing well.  They are starting to bush a bit now (rather than going vine-like as I was expecting), but still growing.  On the shady side, the tomato plants are still barely there at all.  I keep watering them, but I don't know when I should be giving up the ghost.

My next jobs were to tidy the garden (remove the last of the dead leaves from nextdoor's palm that has finally died) and thin the onions. The first of these was very quick to do; the second, less so.  Before I could start thinning the onions, I needed to remove the turf from the area of garden I was going to move them to.  No chance of me even attempting to double dig this patch, but I did the best I could in the time available.  I removed the turf, and used a fork to break up the ground.  I guesstimated the size of patch I needed, in order to be most time efficient. 

Then, I very carefully dug up some of the onions.  My gosh, they smell!  No wonder the onions hadn't been eaten by the slugs! LoL.  Onion plants are meant to be separated by around 3-4 inches, well, I've gone for approximately 1 inch separation for now, knowing that I'll need to thin them out again soon.  We have tons of onions!  I'm guessing that using up an entire packet of seeds was totally unnecessary, but at least I know for next time.  I would have separated out the plants to the correct distance, but I knew I did not have the space for more rows, and I should have removed even more turf.  As it is now, I still have 3 extra rows of onions. 

I also had a look at the carrots.  The leaves have started to grow back, after being eaten by slugs, so I'm hoping they are on the mend.  I dug up one carrot, but I think I killed it, so I'll wait a bit longer before I attempt to thin out these plants.

Slugs?

Yesterday I put my washing on the line, and my strawberry plant has some big green straweberries on it, hurray! As a first try of growing them, I was really proud of myself. Then, when I went back to bring my washing inside, my strawberry plants (which are in a hanging basket) were all flat. I think either a cat, or one of the humungous pigeons we have here, must have decided to sit on it. I propped it back up as best I could, and this morning it's not looking too bad, so hopefully it's going ok.

My onions are doing really well, and must be nearing 10cm tall now! My two rows of carrots, otoh, have been demolished. There were about 3cm, and have now been eaten (?) back to practically nothing.I think  it's slugs, but the slugs have avoided the onions which are planted in alternate rows to the carrots. I still have no idea when to start thinning out the onions and carrots though. Think I may try and do some thinning tomorrow.

My tomato plants are coming along nicely too. I have 2 growbags either side of a trellace arch, and only one had sprouted, but now the other side (which is slightly in the shade) has started growing too, so overall I'm pleased.

Weekly Weigh-in

Current weight: 66kg
Goal weight: 10st
Weight lost this week: 2kg
Total weight loss:12kg

I'm my new Low!

Admitted I felt really, *really* sick yesterday, so I didn't eat anything until the evening, which probably helped. Not recommended for a long-term diet, though.

I was nauseous, dizzy, then in the afternoon I had back ache and headache. I hadn't felt this ill since... well, it would've been another virgin birth, but these things still cross your mind. Fortunately, I had a BFN this morning (on the second test - the first was a dud, which didn't help things). I know it could be AF returning (since, as a teenager, I had all these symptoms accompanying it), but even today she hasn't made an apperance yet. Otherwise, just a random bug, that has hopefully passed.

But I'm another step closer to my target (only 2kg away!), and whilst my BMI would be considered 'healthy', I am now thinking of maybe setting myself another target of 60kg, so I can be comfortably healthy, itms.

My Laid Back Guide to Weaning

My disclaimer: I am just me.  I do not claim to be an expert, I am not a nursery worker or childminder.  I do not have a million children for whom I have perfected this 'technique'.  And, I am certainly not a perfect parent, though I can dream...

This is going to be fairly short, because I did Baby Led Weaning.  As it sounds, it is weaning that is led by the baby.  Some BLW purists will argues that you should never, ever, spoon feed your LO.  I, however, disagree and think that it is possible to use a spoon when BLW - you just need to be more aware of your LO's reactions, so that you are not just shoving food into their mouth, so that they are still 'leading'.  I spoon feed all food that is meant to be eaten with a spoon (so soup, cereal, yoghurt, etc).  So, put down that blender, or that fork, ready to mash and follow me!

1. Wait until your child is ready.  That is usually from 6 months upwards.  The main thing is that your baby can sit upright, unaided, and looks ready for food.  (I won't give a list of the signs for readiness, but let's just say that just because a baby enjoys playing with your car keys, doesn't mean it is ready to drive!)
2. Remind yourself what foods to avoid. Obviously, if there is a family history of allergies, take extra care, but the main thing to remember is once you've reached 6months old your LO can have everything except honey, choking hazards (eg peanuts), and can have cow's milk in food/cereals (but should use breastmilk or formula to drink).
3. Don't prepare anything special.  Seriously, life is too short!  Just give some food off of your plate, or whatever you are eating.  Encourage chewing, but if they spit the food back out, don't worry about it.
4. Allow mess.  Your LO hasn't seen these foods before, let alone tasted them, so let them have a little play.  They may put the food straight in their mouths, or they may squish it in their fingers first.  And if they throw things around, they're just learning about gravity. LoL.  Yes, they will use their hands mainly, and may flick food with a spoon before they co-ordinate to their own mouths, but hey. 
5. Don't worry.  If you are the type of person to worry excessively, or not know the difference between gagging (natural) and choking (dangerous), try and find a family first aid course.  They are really useful in general, but especially so if you are concerned about giving lumps/real food (rather than the yucky puree/mush/vomitty stuff). 

I think that's about it, to be honest.  It is important to remember that for a baby's first year, most of their nutrition comes milk, so don't worry yourself if you think they are not eating enough, especially if you are comparing your LO to babies that have been forcefed from 4month.  Soon enough, you'll probably find that your LO is eating real food, all by themselves, and probably a wider variety of tastes too.

Good luck and have fun.

Dear Diary,

Tomorrow is my birthday and I'm feeling a bit rubbish.  I never enjoy birthdays.  Not because I'm afraid or hate getting older.  In fact, I think of myself more as a caterpillar that is hoping beyond hope that maybe this year I'll be that butterfly.  And I'm only going to be 29 tomorrow.  A few people have said, in jest, "getting nearer 30!", but 30 doesn't seem old to me, and I don't think there is anything wrong with being older anyway.  I've never had any looks to go or a body to lose,  so to speak, I just seem to be a person that is just sad around birthday time. 

The children are playing up too.  The house is a mess.  The car has broken down, yet again.  None of these are new things; I'm just noticing/getting upset and frustrated by them more, because I'm in a bit of a slump atm.  And the stats for this blog, which was just a mild sense of excitement, have tailed off too.  So I'm guessing whichever site it was that had a link to here, has now got some other person's blog on it's front page, and that this one is to go back to its bleak existence alone.

On the good side, though, it has rained today, so hopefully my plants will have had a good watering.  I've forgotten to water them the past 2 days, so they were probably really thirsty.  At the moment, I'm just waiting for them to grow some more, although I do know that soon enough I will need to thin out the carrots and onions.  Whilst I know I need to do that, before they grow too big, I have no idea when I need to do it.  My fear is that I'll do it too soon, and end up damaging or killing the seedlings as I try to take them out of the ground, to move them.  Not that I know where I'm going to move them either.  I do have some more ground that I could use, but I haven't removed the turf yet.  And I need to go over the area with the hoe again, as weeds are starting to appear again.  Unfortunately, the children seem to be conspiring against me, and are not allowing me any time to do anything that needs to be done, let alone time to do gardening.

We're on holiday soon, and I can't wait.  Not as soon as I'd like, but at least it's something to look forward to.  The past few days has all been taken up with the AV referendum and surprise, surprise it hasn't passed, and all hope of anyone even half decent ever getting into government has gone down the pan.  Good thing my vote makes a difference... oh, wait. :-(

Hope you feel better than I do, atm.
Yours,
LBP

Book Review: Brilliant CBT by Dr Briers

Book Review: Brilliant CBT by Dr Briers

This is a really interesting book for people who are interested in what CBT is and how it works, as well as people who want to use CBT to change areas of their won lives (and it turns out, you can use CBT in most areas!).  This book was recommended to me, by somebody who is using it's techniques and finds it very useful.  I've only read the book (I haven't done any of the exercises it suggests) but I can see the purpose and theory behind them and how they can be useful to overcome the stresses in your own lives.  So, whilst I'm not giving this a recommendation based on experience, from a theoretical point of view (from someone who has no psychological training) I can see its merits.

If I ever find the time to re-read this book, with the aim of doing the exercises too, then I hope to write a fuller review.

Book Review: Dear Fatty, by Dawn French

Book Review: Dear Fatty, by Dawn French

This is Dawn French's autobiography, and not being a person who usually enjoys this type of book, I was pleasantly surprised.  Almost instantly, I was hooked to reading the end of each letter; and because it was written in letter-format, it was easy to finish each story when real-life interrupted the book!

It was interesting to get an insight into the comedienne's life, especially about the sad death of her father and how that affected her family.  As you'd expect, though, the book is filled with laugh-out-loud moments too.

Yes, I'd recommend it.

Weekly Weigh-in

Current weight: 68kg
Goal weight: 10st
Weight lost this week: 0.5kg
Total weight loss:10kg

Still pottering along.