10 reasons to love Jodrell Bank

February 19, 2016sirene321 4 Comments

This half term we decided it was about time the kiddiewinks got to visit Jodrell Bank, home of the Lovell telescope, which they enjoy looking at out of the landing window. Living only 5 minutes down the road, it seemed wrong that the kiddiewinks were yet to visit.

We had a great day… Here are our top ten reasons to visit.

1) the Lovell telescope is humungous! Littlest Kiddiewink wowed lots and little man kept stating how it was bigger than he expected

2) whispering telescopes- the kids loved the fact they could give each other rude messages without being anywhere near each other. “You’re a smelly pants” was the favourite

3) gardens to explore as burn off that excess energy

4) a mini play park

5) learn more about our solar system- the kids loved the touch screens, granted not much was read, but they enjoyed messing.

6) not too big- very little chance of losing the kiddiewinks (whether that is a plus it negative, you decide)

7)two cafés- a takeaway one and an eat in (with an outside area). We didn’t sample to food, queues were big and we are skint. I would have bought them a drink and snack but the takeaway cafe was cash only (I was not popular with the kiddiewinks)

8) lots of chance to get outdoors in the fresh air

9) staff that seem to genuinely enjoy working there, and are happy to help

10) Not to pricey- it cost £16.80 for the four of us, would have been a bit dear if hubby had been able to come

All in all, a great day out, we will definitely be visiting again, but this time with daddy too.

School run in pyjamas. Yes or No?

February 12, 2016sirene321 Leave a comment

With it hitting the papers this week, about a school telling parents, pyjamas were not appropriate, and to get dressed, I thought hard about what my opinion actually was. Do I do the school run in my pyjamas? Do I heck. Do I judge people in their pyjamas? Well, I have to admit, I do a little bit! For me, it’s all about priorities, and if you can’t get ready with the kids round your ankles,making demands, them get up before the children do! It takes a few minutes to throw clothes on!

I also understand however, that some people have a lot of shit to deal with, depression and illnesses affecting mobility, muscles etc and that can make it extra tricky, and yes I would rather see them taking children to school wearing pyjamas, than them keep them off or make them late. But, having said this, even then surely friends or family an help with the school run, if you are suffering so much you can’t get dressed!

While I Am on the subject of pyjamas…I regularly see people in shops in pyjamas too! Just, why? Why, oh why? Can you imagine your mum taking you shopping in her pyjamas years ago, the answer is probably not! It just didn’t happen, and I am sure people of that generation had their own shit to deal with, but wouldn’t dream of leaving their house in their pyjamas. Pyjamas are night clothes, end of! It is only over the last few years I have witnessed it, is it a generation thing?

Who knows but I think the world has gone mad! Get dressed people,get dressed and set our children a positive example! For those with real and genuine health issues, I don’t mean you but the rest of you, sort it out!

Patching is pants

January 5, 2016sirene321 Leave a comment

Kiddiewink 2 has been supposed to patch since July, just an hour a day. Although this is nothing, compared to the 8 hour we used to have to do, little man has still posed a lot of resistance! In the end we agreed to try a few hours at school, to avoid the trauma at home! It works! He is still not keen, but the interest and fuss from the teachers and other kids has really helped! He takes a selection in so he can choose, he has even been wearing it for 2 hours so we don’t have to do it at the weekend. We had his most recent check up on Friday- we were all hoping the patching could be stopped again, but Sadly that is not to be. He didn’t perform as well, as at his last test (however he was a bit giddy and silly but the time they tested the left eye). Anyway, the upshot is, he needs it at least 2 hours a day, including weekends- little man is not a happy bunny, he says he hate it.

http://youtu.be/nIOBC50X01Y

Saturday, I managed to get it on him eventually, although I did pin him down (oops), but once it’s on, he is okay. Sunday, was much the same with a few extra tears and shouts thrown in for good measure. But the second weekend he seems to have accepted it and choices when he would like to wear it, last Sunday he out it off all day, so in the end he was stuck wearing it to a birthday party “but mummy I won’t look good, I don’t want to wear it, I won’t look cool anymore”, he wore it though and once there, it didn’t bother him.

Bribery is working! We have a patch chart on the fridge and when it is full, he has chosen the reward of taking his family to Splash landings waterpark at Alton Towers. This has the added incentive of the whole family encouraging him; he is water mad and it seems to be doing the trick.. Also, some brand new patch designs from Swedan has helped, if only we can get them here. All this is working for now….

21 Reasons Rats Rock

December 21, 2015sirene321 Leave a comment

21 Reasons Rats Rock

Rats are super cute, we particularly like ‘Dumbo’ rats, and the babies are far cuter than we ever imagined.
rats are super clever– the kiddiewinks can’t wait to train them to do tricks, they have spent a good hour making an obstacle course out of Lego.
rats are super friendly if handled regularly in the first few weeks of life, these six week olds were super cuddly when we got them
rats come in so many differs colours, and markings; I could have been tempted by lots
Rats are said to be as ‘companionable‘ as dogs
rats need human interaction- this is a huge reason to love them, they thrive on attention and interaction, with humans and other rats
Rats are one of the cleanest pets you could own. They self groom constantly and can even be litter trained.
Rats don’t shed fur, so if running on clothes, carpets and sofas there is no need to clear up hair and fur from anything!
Rats eat anything, they aren’t picky at all.
Rats don’t smell, they clean themselves regularly and are as clean as they can. Very little mess out of the cage ( so far, so good, but it is early days
Rats bond and learn to really love and respond to their owners; just prepare your kiddiewinks for the fact that they will usually live for 2-3 years only! Focus on making its short life amazing.
Rats can learn to live with other pets in the home… (Sometimes). Just hope our two cats end up loving them, so far so good, they have shown no interest in the rat scent whatsoever!
rats respond to their name– Chase does it already,according to the eldest kiddiewink, apparently he is a natural!
Rats love being on shoulders– this is a big reason to love them according to kiddiewink 2
Rats have personalities– already one is cheeky, one cuddly and one confidently chilled

Post hijacked by eldest two kiddiewinks, they are now giving me their reasons and want me to type them for the post.

16. They curl up and cuddle on your arms.

17. They cheer us up when we cry

18. They tickle us when they are on our neck and shoulder

19.They are soft and cuddly

20. They can do tricks and we can make stuff for them to go on

21.The happier they are, the longer they will live

Rats really are the perfect family pet!

20 signs Christmas is Coming

December 20, 2015sirene321 Leave a comment

On the twentieth day of advent my kiddiewinks brought to me…

20 signs Christmas is coming

19 people to buy for

Temperature and Tonsilitis

nativity cribs- I love cribs, yet annoyingly we still don’t have one. There are so many different ones, a lot of places we have been have material or wool ones. The church, in the village where we recently moved, has a travelling crib and we were lucky enough to get it for a few nights before it traveled to the next family.
school nativities- these mere mentioned previously, but they definitely are the start of Christmas for some people
Panics over christmas cards-I always plan to be organised but it never happens! I buy them early, I sometimes write them early, but I never post the, early, resulting in paying 1st class, not sending or dropping off on Christmas morning. Every year, I find a few cards from previous years, that I never posted, we can tell by the number of kiddiewinks which are included.
Christmas trees twinkling
holly berries
robins in the garden- we have lots of bird feeders in the a garden and have seen lots of birds in the last few weeks, including robins.
houses a glow- some amazing lights on houses these days. A house near us decorates theirs for charity- it is awesome!
food, food and more food.
chocolate-
drinks- surprisingly our local Aldi hasn’t run out of prosecco yet, apparently they were sent a monster Christmas delivery to cope with our town’s consumption
friends and family- chance to hopefully get some time of work together; to socialise or chill.
presents- this goes without saying,
Christmas parties and get together (usually for the kiddiewinks, not us)
It is acceptable to snuggle on the sofa, watching films, in the afternoon
Bank account is dwindling ( or well and truly empty)
Colds and coughs are everywhere
newspapers, websites, facebook all speculate about a white Christmas.
glitter, glitter everywhere, it is bloody everywhere! From Christmas cards, to crafts, to baubles, to glittery tinsel. The carpets and floors always look sparkly and messy!
christingle services- these are lovely and the song ‘Sing Christingle’ is always stuck in my head long after the event
christmas songs are everywhere- namely the radio and my son, who cannot stop singing them. He loves them all.

19 was rather tricky…

December 19, 2015sirene321 Leave a comment

On the nineteenth day of advert my kiddiewinks brought to me

19 people to buy for

tonsilitis and a temperature

18 minutes of sex ed…

…And a tantrum about the Christmas tree.

I really struggled to think of something for 19 my steam has run out, but it turns out

auntie x3, uncles x2 cousins x3, grandparents x3, our family of 5, lovely childminder, teachers x2- boom there you have 19!

Temperature, tears and Tonsilitis

December 19, 2015sirene321 Leave a comment

On the eighteenth day of advent, my kiddiewinks brought to me..

Tonsilitis and temperature

17minutes of sex ed

16 tiny paws…

…And a tantrum about the Christmas tree.

Long story short, two poorly children, one poorly hubby, two whiny, clingy children, two temperatures and not much sleep had by most of us. None of it helped by a stubborn little man who hates medicine and in the end had to be force given nurofen in order to get his temperature down.

Peanut versus widgy

December 19, 2015sirene321 Leave a comment

On the seventeenth day of advent, my kiddiewinks brought to me

17 minutes of sex ed

16 tiny paws

15 pounds spend on ratties……

…..And a tantrum about the Christmas tree.

Well, had a car journey with the kiddiewinks I never expected. My eldest started jovially calling her brother a peanut head. I made the mistake of asking what she meant and she said, “proper name for widgy mummy” as if I was stupid! I explained it was a penis, to which she started calling him ‘penis head’. Little man, never to be left out, then asked “what are woman’s bits were called properly then”, as soon as he told him vagina, he paused for a minute, repeated it under is breath and then retrogressive “haha Well you are just a big vagina”. We had a giggle, and then I reminded him he was not to use these words like that, particularly at school. Again he paused, before stating “but I must be able to tell my friends what it means they need to know the proper words too”. Hmmmm, a very amusing car journey and certainly passed the time to the supermarket.

New best friends

December 18, 2015sirene321 Leave a comment

On the sixteenth day of advent, my kiddiewinks brought to me

16 tiny paw prints

15 pounds spent on ratties

14 rocks in a rucksack

13 is unlucky for daddy

12 days of Christmas

11 christmas carols

10 moments peace

9 Christmas cuddles

8 Christmas smiles

7 advent calendars

6 ways to Christmas calm

5 Christmas lists

4 early mornings

3 spectacled reindeer

2 toilet decorations

And a tantrum about the Christmas tree.

Our family now consists of two fish tanks, 2 cats and 3 rats, hence the 16 tiny paws. Both big kiddiewinks have got a it of stick about our pet choice but they don’t care. They have told everyone what a friendly pet they are and. Even the teachers have fought their corner. Dumbo rats are tame, fun and friendly by nature, as long as they get plenty of handling in The first few weeks of their life. All our research said to find a breeder, and by chance the perfect advert was opted in pets4homes- stating all babies Had been handled and were used to small children, perfect! Not only that, they got to choose the ones they wanted, the two became three, when mummy fell in love with one we were going to have to leave behind! We were all surprised by how cute, cuddly and friendly they already were. Three distinct personalities are already coming through.

Rubble- is little mans rat and he is an absolute nutter

chase- is eldest kiddiewinks, and already likes to be chased before being held, he has a cool racing stripe on his back

rocky -is just a cuddler and loves getting comfy on me or the hubby.

These new additions are going to be very loved, and I know they will easily get the recommended hour a day of handling. Kiddiewinks are already keen to make an obstacle course…last night little lady came running downstairs excitedly