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This day I love.......

At the moment I feel rubbish, not in an ill way but emotionally.  I started my eldest daughter at nursery when she was 11 months old, 2 weeks before I went back to work.  She really hated it.  Screamed every time I dropped her off, was always red eyed when I picked her up and never wanted to go.  She is a different story now and often asks to go and play.  She talks about her key workers and tells me about her friends at nursery.  I feel much better about her going as I think she enjoys it.

I said when my youngest was born that we would start her in nursery at a younger age and with much more time before I went back to work.  My husband and I decided 9 months old.  Today she had her first afternoon visit.  All was fine for the first hour as I sat and played with her.  I think she enjoyed that no one was taking her toys and she could explore new surroundings.  It was then decided that I leave to let her explore and settle on her own.

I felt so mean and horrible.  I feel like I am the worst parent in the world.  I know she is looked after.  I did so much research on nurseries and child minders and nannies, I spent weeks reading offstead reports and looked round all the local nurseries before settling on the one she is at.  So I know its the best care other than her family but I still feel rotten.

I came home and unpacked some boxes.  We moved house in May and there are still loads of boxes to unpack, I just never have the time.  I organised and put things away and kept myself as busy as possible to take my mind of it as best I could.  It felt good unpacking and sorting but all the time it did not feel right, like something was missing.

I clock watched and as soon as it was time I set off to pick my girls up.  My eldest came with me to pick up her sister, she did not know she had started at the same nursery.  My youngest was so happy to see me that she cuddled her head into my chest.  Nursery said she had been brilliant, ate all her dinner, drunk her milk and had a nap, so I think she is going to be ok.  

My eldest told her Daddy that baby has a room at nursery and how she picked her up.  My youngest would not let me go, she was my little koala bear.  I know it has to be done because I have to go back to work.  Not that I am complaining about work given the current economical state I am more than happy to have a job, let alone be lucky enough in one I really enjoy.  It doesn't stop the guilt though and the pain.  The feeling of am I doing the right thing or the worry.  It definitely does not get any easier with your second.  I am just glad I had those boxes to unpack to keep me busy else I think I would have sat outside in the car and just waited.

my girls

This day I love Keeping busy.
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Before I begin I want to say a huge thank you to the boy and me for recommending The Imagination tree to me.  I wanted a make your own play dough recipe that was quick and simple to do and this was perfect.

We used the no cook play dough receipe which is:

1/2 cup of salt
2 cups of plain flour
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp cream of tartar
1.5 to 2 cups boiling water
1 packet sugar free jelly crystals [optional]

I had run out of some of the ingredients so we began with a visit to the local supermarket,

at the supermarket

My eldest was on look out duty for pirate treasure as I pushed the trolley [sorry pirate boat] round the shop.

Upon our return home we set to work making our play dough, very simply put everything into a bowl and mix.  Then knead the dough until it is a smooth consistency.  

mix doughkneading dough







We used strawberry Jelly Crystals which turned our play dough a lovely pink colour and give it a beautiful smell.  I am thinking of using lime next time to make green play dough.

making cakelittle fingers in play dough


tearing doughcutting shapes


playing with dough

Both girls really enjoyed the texture of the dough, squeezing it through their fingers.  My eldest made cakes and cut out lots of different shapes.  We did some pretend play making different animals.  I had some letter cutters so we cut out some letter shapes and did some letter recognition with play dough.  I think my eldest favourite part though was making rings to put on our fingers.

letter eplay dough ring

I really love that both girls were involved at every stage from buying ingredients, to the mixing and finally to playing.  We had so much fun with the play dough and it kept both girls entertained for some time. 

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I love watching my youngest daughter think.  She is like most 8 month old very curious about the world around her and loves to explore.  Earlier both girls went a little quiet and I discovered that they had helped them selves to not a piece of the chocolate cake but to the whole tub

cake all goneeating chocolate cake

My youngest found the empty container so interesting.  The noise it made and the texture.  How it rattled with empty crumbs and how she could open it up.

She has learnt to smack her lips together almost as if kissing but she does it when there is something she really wants to eat.  So as she and her sister ate the chocolate cake I could hear lots of lip smacking going off, I knew she was enjoying herself.

Whilst getting the girls ready I heard some rather strange noises coming from my youngest and watching what she was doing made me really laugh.  I tried to video but when she sees me she says 'mama' right at the end. She was doing this for over 30 minutes and it had me in stitches.


The decisions she makes and her whole thought process is amazing.  I love how she now responds to How big by lifting her arms up high.  If she doesn't want to do something or you are doing the wrong thing she smacks her hands down and if she loves something she smacks her lips together.  The mind of an 8 month old is truly fascinating.

This day I love the mind of an 8 month old.


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My youngest daughter has now started to use her push along walker.  She previously would pull to standing with it and push it, then maybe take one or two steps.  Today she started to walk with it.  This is a huge milestone for her and I cannot believe how much she is growing up.  It is flying by so quick.

big girl walking

My eldest and I made pirate masks today, as she has a real fascination with pirates and pirate treasure at the moment.  The other day whilst shopping in the supermarket I went to pay to discover that she had taken all my money out of my purse and replaced it with her pirate treasure, funny yes but not great for paying for food.

She loved playing pirates with her mask on and was so quick at running round in it that all the pictures I have are a bit blurry

pirate maskrunning pirate


We had loads of fun pretending to be pirates and looking for treasure.  I could not get the mask off her for her dinner and it was only when she needed to get her PJ on for bed that it came off.

This day I love Pirate masks and walkers.


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Many of us partake in a Meal planning Monday of sorts.  I know I often plan my week ahead of the dinners I will be doing to make sure I have the necessary ingredients in at home.  Every now and again I like to have a treat, which usually consists of a takeaway.  Last week we treated ourselves to a Dominos pizza.

Dominos Pizza currently have an offer of a Large Pizza, which you can choose from the range on their Pizza menu, a Garlic bread pizza, Potato Wedges and a movie rental [worth £3.49 and lasts for 48 hours], all for £19.99.  This makes for the perfect family night in.  There is a good selection of movies to choose from and some suitable for children including Postman Pat.

What is particularly nice about the ordering process for Dominos is that the calories per slice for each pizza is clearly displayed.  This means that even those who are sticking to New Years Resolutions or for those on a diet, the calorie intake can be managed and so are still able to enjoy a Pizza.  I was able to order and pay on line which is a great bonus with two little kids around, I could even specify what time I wanted it to be ready for.

film and pizza


We could watch on line the status of our order.  Telling us when it was prepared and when it went in the oven.  This gave us a real time update and enabled us to judge when to set off to pick the Pizza up.  Unfortunately our local Dominos does not deliver to us.

We had a lovely evening sat in watching our film all together and eating our Pizza.  

pizza


For desert we even shared a tub of ice cream!  It really was a lovely treat and a great night in together.  Why not plan your family night in with Dominos?

sharing ice cream






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One of the lovely things about where we live is that around the corner are allotments and paddocks.  On the allotments a lot of people keep different animals.  My favourite is the goat, he is a real cheeky character and very friendly for a goat.  

I took the girls for a walk to have a look at some of the animals in the allotment.  Many of them stayed inside their sheds as I think it was a little cold for them with the snow.  Three geese however had other ideas and not only came up to the fence but kept putting there heads through and hissing to tell us to stay away.  They were rather amusing as they all did it in sync, my daughter found it funny but knew to stay back.

looking at yougeese

After a lovely walk we came home and my daughter started to throw snowballs for the dog.  It is rather funny watching him hunt in the snow for the snowball.  He looks up confused with an expression of I know you threw that ball here but I just cannot find it.




They had lots of fun playing together in the snow.

I figured with all this outside activity that the girls would be tired.  Bedtime came and my youngest went to sleep at 7.30 pm like she always does, my eldest however decided against sleep and asked several questions including:

'I need a wee'
'I need cake' - this had to be my favourite
'I need my glasses'
'I need Grandma / Grandaddy / Daddy / J / Milo'
'I want a moo cow'
'I want to make cake'
'I need chocolate'
'Where is the sun?'
'Where is my sister?'
'Why is my sister sleeping?'
'I want to watch Pinocchio'
'I want to watch fish' 
'Where is Mike?' [she means Mike from Monsters inc]
'Lets go shopping'

Some great techniques for not going to sleep.  She has rather a good imagination and some great questions came out.  All the time I am trying either not to laugh and not to engage in conversation so that she goes to sleep.  At 12.30 she finally went and her sister promptly woke up until 3.30, a rather fun night!

This day I love geese and lots of questions.  
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footprints

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Yappy Happy Dilly Dog from Top That Publishing follows the story of a Dog Dilly who likes to Bark.  It is a very playful happy story, with a lovely ending.  The book features a hand puppet which my eldest likes to put her hand in to make Dilly bark, and my youngest then giggles.  

It is a great interactive book with a very soft Dilly Dog hand puppet.  Both girls 2 years and 8 months sat through the story and both giggled when I made Dilly Bark, I made the Bark noise but used my hand to move the puppets mouth.  The book got the girls to interact with each other which was really lovely to see.  I am also convinced that the author of this book has met our dog, as the story matches his personality perfectly.  

A really lovely read for younger children.


getting her bookenjoying her book



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week 4 project 365

Some normality returned this week.  The girls enjoyed playing in the snow although my youngest is still unsure about how cold it is.  My eldest discovered the Mr Potato head accessories and decided to run around the house with the umbrella, she looked rather cute.  Our new car seat arrived which my youngest seems to have taken to.  The girls shared ice cream and it was great to watch them share.  My youngest now likes to empty all the drawers and also is taking great pleasure in teasing the dog.  She has recently become very attached to her giraffe, today it has gone everywhere with her.  A fun week, hard to believe its almost February where is the time going


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With the girls poorly the past few weeks our normal routine went out of the window.  I don't have a routine in the sense of at 11 am we do this and at 3 pm this happens but we do have a structured day or routine.  Once a week the girls go swimming, I try to do an activity with them everyday.  Today we had swimming lessons to catch up from the 3 each girl missed when poorly.

I took my youngest in the pool first for her 30 minute lesson.  As its a pool we tend to use for catch up classes my youngest has never swam in it before.  She was a bit taken by the size of the pool and kept looking round, not really paying very much attention.  She normally splashes and kicks her legs, today she was too busy looking at everything.

My eldest has used this pool before.  She really enjoyed her lesson and has now taken to standing up and jumping in.  Her aim is to make the biggest splash possible in order to get Mummy as soaked as possible.  She absolutely loved it today and we had plenty of giggles.

lets go swimming


After swimming I took the girls out for lunch, followed by a quick trip round the supermarket.  Having run out of bread, milk, rice and most fruit and vegetables a food shop was definitely in order.  My youngest decided to test out two new things.  The first is to grab anything she can reach, including members of the public and their shopping, and put them into my trolley.  Rather amusing the first few times.  The second thing she wanted to test was to take out any item in the trolley she could reach and either eat it and if not edible throw it.  I can see future shopping trips taking even longer.

This day I love swimming and shopping
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For Christmas my daughter was given a book as a gift called Funny Pets.  The book is part of a Magnetic Funny faces series by Top That Publishing.  Since Christmas this book has provided us with hours of entertainment.

The book, like all of them in the series, contains over 30 different magnetic features.  Each page in the book contains a blank face and a story underneath.  You can then choose to create a serious face or create something comical.  What's great is that there are hundreds of different possibilities as features can be mixed from other books creating even more fun.

My eldest is very much into stickers at the moment.  Any surface she can find to stick a sticker on she usually does.  This book is perfect for her because the magnets allow her to stick, which gets the sticker fixation complete, and then re use.  The magnetic features can then be easily stored in the compartment attached to the book ready for use again.

When I opened the envelope from Top That Publishing, my daughter got ever so excited when she saw that Magnetic Funny Families had arrived.  She took the book from me straight away and settled down to create some family faces.

Creating faces

The book is also perfect if you are teaching little ones different facial features and where they go, or the number of features, i.e. 2 eyes, 1 mouth etc.  The book is recommended from 4+, I think that is more to do with the size of some of the magnets, as my 2 year old loves playing with these books.

Here are two of her creations

Funny face 1

funny face 2

I cannot recommend Magnetic Funny Families enough.  It is a great way for me to keep my 2 year old entertained and she gets so much enjoyment from this book.

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Tired does not cover today.  I have driven the girls over 100 miles in the car, my legs are absolutely killing me and I am very tired.  On the plus side the girls have had a really lovely day.  We had 2 hours this morning of sing and sign.  Both girls really enjoy baby signing and my youngest is absolutely fascinated by the different signs.  

Part of the class we play with musical instruments and we could not take the jingle bells from her.  She loved the noise they made.  They also have a surprise bag to which children pull out different objects and we sing an appropriate song.  Today the theme was weather.  My daughter pulled some Wellington boots from the bag, and of course she had to put them on.

boots and bells

The girls also had swimming lessons, which they really love.  After a day full of activity and driving I would have thought they would both be asleep, unfortunately my eldest has other ideas.  My youngest also spent most of the evening teasing the dog, who is not allowed upstairs.

i can see you

I am hoping that they go to sleep soon, as we have another busy day ahead of us tomorrow

This day I love Jingle Bells and Wellington Boots
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Ever since I can remember, the thought of taking my youngest anywhere in the car has filled me with dread.  The constant, and I do mean constant, screaming from the second the car engine starts until we reach our destination and I pick her up make for very unpleasant journeys.  It is not the car or the driver neither of these too factors seem to make any difference or for that matter the seat for she would happily sit in it, unless she was in the car.  

She has started to outgrow her existing car seat.  Her head was coming over the top and it was a real squish to get her in so I started looking into a new seat.  My eldest has a Kiddy Energy Pro, which I have to say is one of the best car seats I think I have ever owned.  Its light weight so easy to transport between cars.  When I say lightweight I can pick it up with one hand with no effort.  Incredibly easy to install, you simply sit it on the seat.  My daughter finds it comfy and she loves the impact shield for resting her head on when tired. Better still it wins Which awards.  An amazing seat.  I started looking into seats for my youngest.

I read some reviews, and watched some videos and after weighing up evidence decided I wanted a rear facing car seat, with the option of forward facing.  The option of forward facing was more in case the screaming in the car from my daughter was because of the direction of travel.  I put a question on Babyhuddle and was amazed at the response.  I really would have loved another Kiddy Car seat but unfortunately they only have forward facing.

I settled therefore for the BeSafe Izi Combi similar to this one.  It arrived really quickly and I set about today installing it.  I spent the best part of the morning, pulling levels, turning ratchets, extending poles and clipping clips onto various points of the car.  I finally managed to install it and then came the part of getting my daughter in.  Well I pulled levels and belts and finally managed to get her straps on.  I could only get one of the magnetic clips to work to hold the straps out the way.  It is no where near as easy as the Kiddy, and no where near as light weight.  I have told my husband it is never coming out of the car because I cannot do with the stress of figuring out how to install it again.

I started the engine expecting to hear screaming but all I got was some mm noises.  That's never happened before.  We only went to pick up some milk about a 20min drive and when I stopped the car still silence, the unthinkable had happened, sleep.  Now she was trying her hardest to get comfy to fall asleep, her head kept flopping forward even on the most reclined position, but eventually she did and off she went.  I was in shock.

For all the stress it took me to put the seat in the car and its large size and weight non of it matters because, not only is my daughter safe, she also appears to be happy.  This is the first time in 8 months we have got in the car and no tears, no screaming.  I love that she is high up so she can see out the window and she even loves that she can see her sister.  The padding on the seat does feel lovely and soft so I think it is comfortable to sit in, shame it does not recline more, although it does recline more than most.  I am hoping with time the shoulder straps become easier to adjust as they are really stiff and that the buckle becomes easier to clip on and off as it is really fiddly.  It is by no means as easy to install or move from car to car as the Kiddy but she seems to like it.  

asleep in car


This day I love the new car seat
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A weird day is the only way I can think of to describe today.  I think my eldest is starting to get fed up of the house and garden.  I wanted to take the girls out today but was awaiting delivery of my youngest new car seat.  Due to arrive between 7 and 7, eventually turned up at 16:30, so no chance of going anywhere.  She asked if she could go, shopping, to nursery, to her Grandmas, to the park, to see football, to our friends house before packing a very small bag and declaring she was off to visit her cousins.

My youngest was in an even stranger mood and decided that all she wanted to do today was bite, yes that is bite, our dog.  She chased him round the house and every time she got hold of him she bit him.  He ran upstairs so she followed.  Poor J I felt so sorry for him and had to keep pulling her away.

upstairsbiting dog

To make it even stranger the weather which has snowed constant, although never very heavy, for the past few days decided to be brilliant blue sky, still freezing.  It made for such gorgeous views up our street

back garden

So overall a very strange day, I am hoping to get out tomorrow as the girls and I really need a change of scenery

This day I love a weird day. 


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Having only really a sprinkling of snow up to now, we woke up to a good covering.  My daughter wanted to go out and play in it and so whilst Daddy cleared the drive out we went to play.  We had good fun playing with the snow and throwing it up in the air watching it land.  My daughter loved running through it and was amazed at how deep it was, jumping off the steps and decking into it.  She started to get a little cold so we came back inside to cuddle up with warm milk and watch some films to warm up.

deep snowsnow fight


tired outrunning in snow


watching printssmall, mummy, baby

watchingthe girls


thinkingstill not sure







I think my youngest is still a little unsure about the snow, even with the encouragement of her sister.

This day I love a snow day.
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I breastfed both my girls and I always struggled with what to wear when doing so.  I often opted for any top that I could pull down low enough so that I could feed them without exposing my Mummy tummy.  I am very self conscious and so feeding my daughter in public I would be hiding away trying to feed her without exposing any Mummy tummy and holding down several layers of clothes just so my daughter could have her milk.

I wish ever so much that I had found breast vest in those early days.  Breast vest is a revolutionary piece of breastfeeding underwear.  It is ever so soft and comfortable to wear.  In fact I was taken back at how soft it is, and my eldest daughter wanted to keep hold of it, she loved the feel.  It is worn under any piece of clothing, like a vest, but, and this is the clever bit, the neckline is really low.  The neckline sits under your bra, as a result any top can become a breastfeeding top, because you can lift up your clothing to feed your child without exposing your tummy.  What is even better is the straps on the vest do not interfere with the straps on your nursing bra.

I appreciate that some Mums are more comfortable with their tummy out and that's fine, but if like me you feel very conscious about it then Breast vest is a solution for you.  What is really nice is that because it sits underneath the bra line, there is not an extra piece of clothing to move out of the way, in order to feed.  There therefore is not that extra piece of clothing that rides back up and makes feeding difficult.  Or that extra bit to get out the way before you can feed your child.  Its convenient and its comfortable to wear.

It is even great to keep that postnatal Mummy tummy warm in this cold weather when feeding your little one out and about.  Breast vest cost £15 and is worth every penny.  No more wondering what you can wear and if you can feed in that top, with breast vest any top is a breast feeding top.  My only negative, why did I not know about this sooner!

breast vest logo

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Today our dog J is 4 years old.  It is his actual birthday and not the day we brought him home, that's in March.  4 years seems to have flown by and in that time his life [and ours] has changed so much.  He has gone from a nice peaceful existence, to having two small children constantly wanting to play with him.  No wonder come 7 he is tired and curled up asleep, or maybe he is hiding?

sleep dog

To mark his birthday the girls and I baked him some cheese biscuits, following a recipe I found on another blog, Days with Dylan and KC sunshine.  I wanted a recipe that was suitable for both babies, adults and dogs and this one fitted nicely.

To make cheese biscuits:

8oz Grated Cheese
1 cup flour
pinch salt and pepper
4 Tbsp butter
Water

1. Mix all dry ingredients together and then using a food processor blitz until you get crumbs.  

adding flour

adding cheese


2. Add water a Tbsp at a time to the mixture and mix until a dough ball is formed.  We needed 5 but you may need more or slightly less.  [You also need to watch the youngest child does not eat all the mixture].

stealing mixture


3. Wrap dough ball in cling film and place in fridge for 20mins

dough ball


4. Roll out dough to desired thickness, thinner the cut the crispier the biscuit and cut out desired shapes.  We did Rockets, trains, motorbikes, stars, Chickens and Mr Tumbles bow tie.  I also cut out two larger dog shapes for J.

more biscuitsmaking shapes

5. Bake in oven at 175 C for 12 -14 mins.

biscuits on tray


Whilst the biscuits were in the oven the girls and I had a little dance to pass the time.  I have not listened to music that isn't child based in a while so took the opportunity to but on my itunes.  When AC DC came on my daughter would not stop jumping around and giggling, her face was amazing and great to watch her having so much fun with me.  J even joined in the dancing and that made the girls giggle even more.

The girls had a biscuit before bed and J had his special biscuit too, they all enjoyed them.  They are very delicious.  Whilst getting the girls ready for bed my youngest took the opportunity to climb into and empty the PJ drawer.  Making my oldest giggle even more.

emptying the draw


It has been a very giggly day and J has enjoyed himself, I can't wait to see what the next few years bring as the girls learn to play with him even more.

This day I love Cheese biscuits, AC DC and the drawer.





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About me

About Me

Welcome to This Day I love.

My name is Leyla, also known as Mum to my 3 humans and dog Mum to J. I have a passion for the outdoors and love to run. I can often be found off road exploring the trails and fells and covering distances all the way up to 50 miles. As a family we love travelling and discovering new adventures, as I try and run around the world!

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