Wicked Wednesday.

Nice family holiday selfie. 

Wicked Wednesdays

Such beautiful creatures 

There's no such thing as a Gruffalo.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of The Gruffalo. So to celebrate the forestry commission is hosting the Gruffalo Trail. 

Up and down the country different venues are playing host to the gurffalo. There is a signposted trail around the forest, with well know gruffalo characters on the way to finding the gruffalo. 

So we decided to go along to the one at the Wyre Forest in Kidderminster. 

You have the opportunity to buy a trail pack for £2. This includes a sticker, a colouring sheet and an activity sheet. 

You don't need this to do the trail but it's a nice added touch for older children. 

So off we went. 

There a signs like the one above all the way round. They all have activities on them to engage children with the forest and the story.  

You also have signs like the one below to show you where to go, so don't worry about getting lost!! 

The aim is to find all the characters from the book. Like the ones below. 

We also found some wigwams along the way which my lad loved. 

And then eventually you will find the Gruffalo!! 

It was a lovely day out. We took a picnic with us and made an afternoon of if. I imagine older children will engage more with the activities. Where as my boy just enjoyed running around the forest and finding the animals. 

To find your nearest trail visit: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/gruffalo

Toddler tantrums.

Last week I was shopping with my little one and he decided to have the mother of all tantrums because I dared to ask him to hold my hand and not to run off- I know, right, evil mother, what was I thinking.
It was a gale force 10. We had shouting, screaming, crying and then finally sitting on the floor and refusing to move.
The feeling of eyes glaring at me accompanied with various sounds of tutting, I wanted the ground to swallow me up, I was horrified. But then it occurred to me my child is just trying to express himself in the only way he currently knows.
 Young child have trouble expressing themselves. Imagine if you couldn’t explain to someone how you were feeling, or what you wanted. You would probably end up having a tantrum.  
The fact that then other people around, in this case other parents or expectant parents, (I was in Kiddicare) feel the need to judge is just unnecessary and they really have no right.  As parents we need support, you know the look some parents give you, the “I’ve been there look.” Not to feel like we are raising a monster or are socially inept.
My little one is getting better with his words (only 18 months old so not expecting miracles) and one day he will be able to express himself without screaming and shouting , but until then I just hope people will be more understanding when a child is having a meltdown, it is just part of growing up. 

Have you ever had a similar experience?
Toddler had a meltdown in middle of a public place? 

An open letter

Dear readers,

Recently a lot of bloggers have been on the receiving end of nasty and vindictive comments regarding their recent posts.

It’s really really unkind and unnecessary.

When reading our blogs there are a few pointers that may help you to stop being so nasty:

1. 9/10 we are not being serious.

2.Many of the things we say (moan about) are highlighting day to day occurrences of raising children etc, they are meant to be funny.

3.If you think we are being nasty, don’t be a troll and leave a horrid comment. Just keep to yourself or tell a friend. We don’t write to provoke; we write to entertain, inform and for enjoyment. Don’t take that away from us.

4. Just in case you haven’t fully understood points 1-3 :  WE ARE TRYING TO FUNNY/IRONIC.

5. And lastly, no one is forcing you to read these posts. If you don’t like it don’t read it. And if all else fails and you want to be a troll go and join the fellow trolls on the Daily Mail website.

Thanks in advance

x

He is just a normal boy, right?

My boy is coming up to 18 months now and is really coming into his own. When I say coming into his own he is becoming a "proper" little boy.

I seem to spend my time apologising when he runs at full pace through the park, whilst chasing a squirrel or goes head first down the slide at Gymboree.

Climbing up the slide, who needs stairs?' 

But when I sat down and thought about it, I realized he is just a boy, a very boisterous boy, but nevertheless, a boy.

I’m hoping as he grows up and understands more, I can teach him to be calm and to sit still ( haha I know, pipe dream). But for now I think I will just let him be, let him explore the world at 100mph and just feel proud that he wants to explore the world and learn more and hope we don't end up in A&E!! 

Strep A awareness

II'm running the Birmingham half marathon in October to raise money for Birmingham Women's Hospital. 

Why? I was very ill after having my son and spent three weeks there on the high decency unit. 

I has a rare form of Strep A. Below is my story. 

If you'd like to sponsor me please visit: 

http://www.justgiving.com/Laura-Bowker

 What is Strep A?

Streptococcus is an infection caused by bacteria, is can range from a throat infection to pneumonia. They then fall into two groups, A & B.

Strep A often found on the surface of the skin and inside the throat and a common cause of infection in adults and children.

After having my son in 2013 I had Strep A. It started when I was on the post natal ward when my feet continued to swell, I was told this was completely normal so ignored it. After a couple of days of being at home I had developed flu like symptoms which my GP provided me antibiotics for. But then a red/purple rash began to appear on my feet and legs. My GP didn't have a clue what was wrong with me and actually said " I don't really know what is wrong, call me tomorrow if you are no better".

My parents then rushed me back in to the womens hospital as they were so worried and they were right to be. The doctors checked my infection level and were shocked with the results, normal range in about 1-15 and mine had hit 600! My body had start to shut down and major organs were starting to fail, my body was going into septic shock.

I won't go into all the details but I ended up spending 3 weeks in intensive care. I missed the first 3 weeks of my sons life, time I will never see again.

I had countless tests and scans and it took doctors about 10 days until they narrowed it down to Strep A. The  infection had settled itself in my womb and the only way to treat it was a full hysterectomy at 23. I was devastated at the time, although now I find myself fortunate as the surgeon only had to remove one ovary in the end.

This could all have been avoided if my GP had noticed my symptoms, but the infection is so rare and so not many health professionals know much about it.

If you'd like to find out more visit http://www.sepsistrust.org