Sunday, October 31, 2010

Tot School: Halloween

 

This week I made a huge bunch of worksheets for Ollie.  Mainly alphabet ones seeing as we will be concentrating on about 3 letters each month.  We didn’t get too much time to use them though this week but he seems to know what he is supposed to do with them.  He did really well with the tracing straight lines, but after tracing two of them he got bored and just coloured in the whole page.

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Because it was Halloween this week we made some cute Halloween arts and crafts.  He made about 9 gorgeous footprint ghosts which we decorated the door with.  They turned out really well.

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We got out our black paper and used orange paint with pumpkin cookie cutters, to make the picture on the left and Ollie used orange finger paint to create the one on the right.

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I spread some glue onto the blue page and Ollie stuck the sparkly pipecleaners on and sprinkled glitter to his hearts content.  When I finally shook the excess glitter off he said ‘that’s enough’…just as well that was enough because that was the last of the glitter!

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Ollie helped me get our pumpkins ready for our parties (an adult party and a kid’s party!).  He thought the inside of the pumpkin was yucky and giggled when he touched it!

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  Ollie also helped me make shortbread graves, bats, witches, ghosts and pumpkins!  We put colouring into the shortbread dough before we cut it :)

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Halloween party post coming next!

There will be no Tot School next Sunday as we are going on holiday to London!  Whoop!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

The Answers (part 1)

Back in September I told you to ask me ANYTHING!  Here is part one of my answers!

Daisy at Lil' Hiccups asked me what my favourite thing was about being a mum!

Do you know... I can't think of ONE favourite part of being a mum... I love it all.... even the days when he is tantrum-ing grump.  I love the snuggles and kisses he gives me and I love being able to play and do crafts and fun things all day long.  It's so exciting when he reaches a milestone or learns something new and I love being able to be a SAHM so that I can help him learn myself.   Ollie is a little bit silly sometimes too which makes me laugh so much.



S Club Mama asked me what the view looks like out my front or back door.... to be honest, neither is very interesting at all!  Here is the front!




bluewhitelife asked what school would be like for Ollie here in Ireland and also how much do I love Tot School.

Kiddies start school (nursery) here when they are 3 or 4.... the cut off is 30th June, so Ollie will start nursery when he is 3 years and 2 months.  He will probably be one of the youngest since he is so close to the cut off date (his birthday is 5th June).  Nursery isn't structured quite like school.  They will be taught basics and mostly play and do crafts.  He goes into P1 (primary 1) when he is 4 and this is where real school begins :)  He will stay in Primary School until he P7 (when he should be 10 and a couple of months).  After P7 he will transfer to High School where he will go on to do GCSEs when he is 16 and A-LEVELS (if he wants) when he is 17/18.

I'm excited for him to start school.  I know he will totally love it.  I think come September he will be more than ready to spend his days with people other than me!!!  I can't wait for him to make friends and come home and tell me stories about his day :)  We begin looking at schools in November to apply in January!


We are a bit late in re-starting Tot School... but yes we seriously love it.  I've been putting a lot of work into creating a whole curriculum for us to follow until July.  I will probably put it up on my Etsy store: Indiechick Printables, when it is finished :)  Next week we will be  learning all about the weather, days of the week, months and autumn!

Amanda at The Nutritionist Reviews asked how we chose the name Ollie...

We went through quite a few names before we decided on Ollie.  His name is Oliver but I can't remember exactly when we decided on the name.  We chose it because it sounded proper and strong.  We also wanted a name that would be cute for a child (Ollie) but that would translate well into adulthood (Oliver).  We just liked it!  As for his middle names - Charlie James.... well James is his daddy's name and I LOVED Charlie... James wouldn't let me have Charlie be his first name so that is why it is his second name!


That's all for today.  Part 2 coming either Saturday or Sunday!  If you like you can ask more questions! I love answering questions!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

What's Ollie up to at 28 months?

At 28 months Ollie now uses phrases like: I have a train (this recently changed from 'Ollie have a train').  He very rarely refers to himself in 3rd person anymore.  He also knows the difference between words such as 'eat' and 'ate' and is using them in the right context.  He knows and regularly uses a few adjectives too.  He previously had trouble saying 'please' and it came out more like 'feeees', but he surprised James and I with a perfectly pronounced 'please' a few days ago in the car.  He has said it correctly ever since.

Ollie looking cute in his winter jumper!

Ollie knows his colours really well since we recently introduced flashcards!  He knows that my hair is brown and that his hair is blonde.  It was very cute teaching him how to say blonde... he couldn't quite pronounce the 'bl' sound to begin with.  The flashcards have also taught him his shapes.... he even knows hexagon, but struggles on oval (which to Ollie, looks like a circle) and diamond/ rhombus.

Ollie eating ice-cream at a recent birthday party!

One thing we are working on at the moment is manners!  He is quite good at saying 'thank you' after he is given something but I always have to prompt him to say 'please' when asking for something.  Ollie will say 'excuse me' after he farts but needs prompted for that too.

Jumping in the puddles :)

We still love doing arty bits and pieces together and I find that he is colouring within the lines intentionally, whereas before he didn't really mind where the colours went.  He can draw a line if I ask him to (albeit wiggly!) and he will draw dots if you ask him to also.

The 3 of us at a wedding a couple of weeks ago!

He can put trousers on himself, but can not put on vests or tshirts... he has no trouble taking them off haha!

We still need to venture into potty training properly very soon.  I think he is ready!  I'm so nervous.

School open days start in a months time and we have to apply in less than 3 months.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

The Christmas printable pack...

... has just been added to my store.



This pack includes a December calendar, baking planner, card list, blank letter to Santa for children to fill in, a family traditions sheet, a Christmas to-do and a New Years resolutions/ goals sheet!

9 printables for just $5... check it out here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/IndiechickDesigns?ref=top_trail

My first item is for sale!

I am so excited, but yep there is only one thing in the shop at the moment!  Haha!  I wanted to show you all my new header and show you the first thing I have been able to upload.  My camera battery died so unfortunately I did not get to take photos of my other printables, but will have them for you soon!

Check it out :)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/IndiechickDesigns?ref=top_trail

Let me introduce the Inspirational 2011 Calendar!  A new set of inspirational words of wisdom every month!



Friday, October 15, 2010

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day


Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day, a day to remember and spare a thought for all those who have endured the loss of a baby before or after birth.

I never in my life, ever imagined that I would be one of those women... 

For those who are new to my blog, I lost a baby at 9 weeks, almost a year ago (8th November, 2009).  I had what is known as a missed miscarriage.  At 8 weeks pregnant I went to the hospital with bleeding to find that the baby was only measuring 6 weeks and there was no heartbeat present.  They could not confirm whether I was miscarrying and booked me in for another scan a week later to see if there was any growth.  James and I spent a horrendous week in limbo.  The waiting was so painful.

At the next scan they took the measurements of the baby and noted a miniscule size difference, which could have been down to the fact that it was a different Dr. measuring it.  The Dr. told us it was bad news, but at the same time told us that because of the tiny size difference, they could not legally advise me of my options.  They told me to come back in another week.  The sonographer who performed the (internal) scan was a little rough and I had a feeling she had prompted things to happen naturally.

I lost the baby 3 days later on Sunday, 8th November, 2009.  It happened at about 9.00pm.  Losing the baby was the most terrifying thing to happen in my life.  It seemed like hours but was in fact less than 20 minutes.  Then it was over.  I KNEW it was over.  I arranged a scan for Monday morning, but I knew they would confirm that the pregnancy was over and the miscarriage was finished.

The appointment confirmed that everything was gone.  I remember feeling relief that the ordeal was over and that my body was able to take care of everything itself without me needing to have the operation.  It felt surreal that we ever went through that fortnight.

To this day it feels surreal that we went through it.  

The pain of losing a baby doesn't go away, but it hurts a little less.  I think about the baby very very often and in my head I imagine that he would have been a boy... a little brown haired brother for Ollie and he should have been about 4 months now.

I'm scared that it might happen again someday.  Will I ever enjoy a pregnancy the way I enjoyed my pregnancy with Ollie, or will I spend my next pregnancy/ies scared for a solid 9 months?

Something that brought me a lot of comfort is the photo at the top of this post.  It came 4 months after we lost the baby.  It's beautiful isn't it?  It arrived in my inbox the morning after a particularly gloomy day and came from a wonderful couple who live in Australia.... they are the people behind To Write Their Names In The Sand.  This couple lovingly write the names of lost babies and children, in the sand at sunset.  They draw lovehearts in the sand for those who have miscarried but not named their babies.

It melted my heart to know that someone took the time to draw a loveheart in the sand, in Australia especially for MY little lost bean.  Something really special had been done for our baby and this photo just makes me feel warm.

I won't ever forget my little lost baby.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Coming later this week...

A WHOLE RANGE OF PRINTABLES!

We will be opening an Etsy store which will contain ALL sorts of printables for your day to day organisational needs! These will include a pregnancy planner pack, a newborn baby pack, a kiddies pack, a newlyweds pack, a CHRISTMAS pack... not to mention a few other surprises!

Printables will be customisable and very very affordable.

Very exciting!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Catch up randomness

Just some random thoughts...
  • I adore sushi... having never had it before, James and I ordered some a couple of weeks ago.  Now it is all that I can think about. (Not the raw type though....)
  • I'm in such a slump!  I can't find motivation anywhere to do what needs done!
  • We have booked our holiday to London!!  We leave on the 3rd November and come back on the 9th!
  • We are planning a costume party for Halloween.... on the Saturday we will have one for adults and on the Sunday we will have one for kiddies.  I can't wait.  I am going as a witch and Ollie is going as a skeleton!
  • I am getting around to answering the questions you all asked recently!  It will include a ton of photos...
  • I have another announcement to make about Indiechick Designs... but it needs a little more work!
  • Our house is FULL of spiders and it makes me feel ill.  They are massive and super fast.  What can I do to keep them away!?