21 December , 201626 December , 2016 - Sarah 1 Comment

Living Arrows 51/52 (2016)

Everyone is starting to feel a bit better this week so hopefully we’ll all be well enough to enjoy Christmas. The boys had their last days at nursery before the Christmas break and both came home with so many Christmas crafts I almost needed a suitcase to carry them all!

The weather has been pretty rubbish though, not festive in the slightest. The rain did stop long enough though for Toby to finally get out on the new SmarTrike scooter we’ve been sent to review. Considering he’s never had a scooter before (although maybe has used one at nursery) I was really impressed with how well he did on it. You can see on his face how much he was enjoying it…

Toby having fun outside on his new scooter

Gabe has been feeling better too – his nose is still constantly dripping but apart from that he’s not too bad. He wasn’t too impressed with me going away for a night out with my friend last weekend though – he woke up at 10 pm and didn’t stop crying and go back to sleep until 5 am! Not much sleep for daddy that night either!

He’s turning into a proper little character now though and sometimes seems so close to talking, I’m sure it won’t be long until he gets more words than just ‘hiya’. He can still be very serious sometimes though, and if he’s not happy about something he’ll definitely let you know about it. He’s usually quite happy when he’s in the buggy even though his resting face doesn’t always show it…

Gabe and his serious face in the buggy.

20 December , 20166 December , 2016 - Sarah 1 Comment

Remembering Childhood // A mother’s ramblings

It’s that time of week when another blogger is going to be sharing their childhood memories. This week it’s Pippa from A Mother’s Ramblings.

Which decade were you born in?

I was born in the 1970’s, just, but it was a great decade to be born in!

What is your earliest memory? How old were you?

My earliest memory that I can date is actually the morning of my fifth birthday. I got a fishing rod and my Dad took me fishing at this beautiful spot. The sunlight dappled over the water and the grass blew lightly in the breeze. It was absolutely perfect and I even caught a fish! It was so amazing and then we went home to my birthday party, but I never went fishing again… Apparently five year olds talk too much for successful fishing trips!

What was your favourite toy at 5 years old? At 10?

At 5 I loved my playdoh, I would constantly make little cakes and treats and put them in what I pretended was my display window (it was my wardrobe). The hours spent playing with the playdoh was some of the best time I’ve ever spent! At ten my favourite toy was probably my bike. I used to ride around the estate I lived on making a map of the alleyways that connected all the houses. I really loved being on my own!

Saying that, I also loved my Sindy’s and Sindy house at both ages. I had a four storey house and it had it’s own light system which I used as a nightlight! I still have it now in my loft and get it down every so often to play with it with my children.

Do you still have any toys from your childhood?

Yes, I have a cuddly toy Bambi. He was given to my at my First Christmas by my Dad, when I was seven months old and he still has pride of place on my bed. My husband has learnt to love him too! I really wish I’d kept my Dusty Bin from a year or two later because he was wicked!

Who was your favourite pop group/artist as a teenager?

I loved Bros. I had a giant poster on the wall, which used to freak my Grandparents out when they stayed in my room, as it looked like two men were breaking into my bedroom to kill them. I’m ashamed/pleased to say however that I didn’t really do “pop music”, I was more a listen to classical music and the classics… My parents had me listening to Simon and Garfunkel, Abba, Dean Martin, Dolly Parton and other Country and Western performers. Honestly it’s probably why I can sing almost anything from memory!

What was your favourite TV show(s)?

I LOVED The Pink Windmill, it was my most favourite show. I also liked cartoons like The Flintstones and Dungeons and Dragons. I remember watching Knightrider and Blind Date reguarly too! My children still think it is amazing that we didn’t have 24 hour children’s TV available to us.

What was the first film you remember seeing at the cinema?

The first film I remember seeing is a rerun of Disney’s Robin Hood. I remember coming out of the cinema and it being dark and thinking I was really grown up. It was probably only about 5 pm however! I wish that Disney would re-release some more old movies at the Cinema, I’d love to see some more on the big screen.

Do you have any dodgy haircut/ outfit memories that you’d rather forget?

Why would you bring that up?! I had a black and fluorescent pink ensemble that I purchased from a car boot in the 80’s. I’m sure I thought I was absolutely beautiful but looking back now I hold my head in my hands! I also let my Mum talk me into having a perm when I was about 13. I had curly hair, but it was quite frizzy with a natural wave and curls and so the thinking was a perm would help my hair.

My hair was not helped. Instead I had tight corkscrew curls and my hair has been super curly ever since! The of course there was the time I accidentally dyed my hair bright yellow…

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a Teacher. I still do, but I’ve realised that I only like a few children and could never be a full time teacher! I also wanted to be an actor, but I wasn’t good enough.

If you could go back to being a child again what age would you choose and why?

I would go back to any age if I’m honest, and I didn’t have to stay there but when I was 13 I was doing something quite amazing. I was in the West End Production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat as part of the children’s choir and I would love to relive all that again. I was hanging out at the Palladium theatre, talking with grown ups who were doing a job I wanted to do (acting) and being treated as a grown up. If I was going back to change things however I’d be seven and instead of vowing that my new school would never change my messy handwriting, I’d work hard… maybe that would have made a difference to my GCSE results!

Thank you for sharing your childhood memories Pippa – how exciting that you were in Joseph! I would have loved that – I saw it nine times when I was a teenager!

If you enjoyed this post then please come back next week when another blogger will be Remembering Childhood.

17 December , 2016 - Sarah 5 Comments

Living Arrows 50/52 (2016)

Hello, and welcome to this week’s very late installment of ‘who’s ill this week?’

Sunday night Gabe woke up with awful croup. He’s had it before so we didn’t bother with phoning 111, we just gave him a puff of his inhaler that he got when he had bronchiolitis a couple of months ago, then stood outside on the balcony for a bit as the cold air is supposed to help. He spent the next couple of nights sleeping in bed with me while Barry got relegated to the sofa. The croup went quite quickly just leaving him with a cough and cold but our couple of nights of good sleep last week are now a distant memory.

The rest of us have got colds too but I guess that’s pretty standard for this time of year. With everyone feeling a bit sorry for themselves we’ve not done much this week. On Monday while Gabe was having a nap Toby and I made a robot out of old boxes and tinfoil. I’d been promising Toby we would do it for weeks after he saw it on CBeebies and I’d finally run out of excuses not to do it! To be fair I did most of it but it was mostly Toby’s design. I think it came out pretty well if I do say so myself! Excuse the mess in the background – the kitchen still isn’t quite finished!

50_52-16-t

On Thursday we actually made it out of the house briefly – we had to pick up Gabe’s reflux meds from the chemist and managed to squeeze in a quick trip to the park too. Even Gabe got out of the buggy for a little play too.

50_52-16-g

16 December , 201626 February , 2020 - Sarah 4 Comments

Choosing the right primary school (when you are an atheist)

Choosing a primary school when you're an atheist

It’s that time of year when parents all over the country are visiting primary schools so they can choose the right one for their child to attend next year. It feels like Toby only just turned three (well it was only in July) but it’s really not that long until he’ll be starting reception. But how do we go about choosing the right primary school?

We only moved to this area in the summer and part of the reason we moved from Scotland when we did was so that we would be here before we needed to apply for Toby’s primary school place. In Scotland the system is totally different. When a child starts school depends on how old they are at the end of February. With Toby being a summer baby if we had stayed in Scotland he wouldn’t start school until he was five but here he’ll only just be four. And Gabe will only have been four for two weeks when he starts school but we have a couple more years before we need to worry about that!

We have moved to quite a small town but there are quite a lot of primary schools here. Realistically though there are only a few that we would consider, and that Toby has a chance of getting into. To be honest I don’t really understand the big panic a lot of parents have about choosing the right school. Perhaps it depends on where you live but round here there aren’t really any bad schools, they all follow the same curriculum and I would probably be happy for Toby (and eventually Gabe) to go to any of them…but for one thing. And is one thing that is really concerning me about this whole process.

All but one of the schools in our town is a church school. There are two catholic schools near by and the rest are Church of England schools. Our nearest school is a ten minute walk away and it is one of the C of E schools. And yet we are atheists. I do not believe in any kind of god but I certainly don’t have any issue with those that do. What I do have an issue with is my children going to a school where they will have to go to church every week and where they will be taught Christianity as fact.

We went to the open days of the non-church school and our catchment C of E school a few weeks ago. Both schools had positive and negative points but overall we preferred the non-church school. It isn’t within walking distance but if I am back at work by next year (which I hope to be) then the chances are we wouldn’t be able to walk to school anyway. The only real problem with this school is that it is over-subscribed, we live at the other end of town, and it is unlikely that Toby will get in.

I feel quite strongly about this – I really think we should have the option to send our children to a non-church school if we choose, but I did wonder if I was making it more of an issue than it needed to be. So I asked some of my fellow bloggers if they had sent their children to church schools, even if they weren’t religious themselves and this is what they had to say…

Quite a lot of the bloggers I asked didn’t have a problem sending their children to church schools, even if the aren’t religious themselves, or follow a different religion.

I don’t see any harm its not like it’s rammed down their throat that they must believe in God. I’ve found its more to do with the values of the school.

Tammy, Mummy of 2 +1

I am a child of atheist parents who attended C of E schools and don’t remember any home/school conflict at all! I just grew up knowing that’s what Christians believe and that I didn’t have to be one but I could be if I wanted to. I think as long as that message is clear it probably doesn’t matter where you send them.

Amy, 2boys1mum

We have sent all of ours to the same C of E primary school although neither of us are religious … I have not found it too overpowering and each of the children know their own minds on the subject.

Mandi, Hex Mum

Even non-church schools have to include a “daily act of worship”, which is generally Christian in nature, so even though my kids don’t go to a church school they still get taught a lot of religious stuff at school. We have conversations at home about how different people believe different things, and encourage them to make their own decisions about what they believe.

Ruth, geekmummy

I think if you feel strongly against religion then a faith school probably isn’t for you, if you’re ambivalent and other factors are more important (mine were proximity to home, the other children attending that we knew and general ‘feel’ of the school) them give it a chance.

Pippa, Red Rose Mummy

I taught in a non church school and we still had to include daily collective worship. It’s also part of the curriculum to learn about other faiths and cultures and of course religious festivals are celebrated such as Easter and Christmas. I often explained to my class using terms such as ‘Christians believe/celebrate’, ‘Muslims believe/celebrate’. I think it is important for our children to understand and respect different beliefs without saying ‘this one is right, this one is wrong’. Personally I am much more interested in the standard and style of teaching, the provision, resources and opportunities available [than whether it’s a church school or not].

Sarah, Arthurwears

We’re Muslim and Z goes to a C of E school. The only difference is that we don’t believe Jesus is the son of God. He’s one of the greatest prophets in Islam and so I was happy with our choice. We pointed out to Z that difference and his reaction was “oh ok!” And that’s it! They cover all faiths but Christianity the most which is fine. They do prayers every day and lots of stories from the Bible (all the famous ones). They’re always told with a good moral behind them so they’re mostly just learning to be kind and compassionate.

Taslim, Not My Year Off

My children attend a C of E school and we are not religious in the slightest. My girls happily learn about religion. they are taught all religions and they know my opinion on it all. They know that it is their choice as to what they believe.

Chantelle, Mama Mummy Mum

As someone of firm faith who has worked within both systems, I’ll be happy to send my child to any school, provided the school’s ethos resonates with my family’s values.

Mo, Adventures of a Novice Mum

I’m not religious but taught for several years at a C of E school and absolutely loved it there. I would love them to go to a church school because I found the ethos was absolutely lovely and there was a much greater community sense than in the non-faith schools I’ve worked in.

Rachel, Coffee Cake Kids

But there were also quite few bloggers who have similar opinions to me on the matter…

Syd goes to a supposedly non religious school. They still pray daily and have been to church at Christmas and Easter. It annoyed me no end as we chose the school specifically because it wasn’t religious. We love the school overall, and I’d never move her now but my initial decision may have been different if I’d known then what I know now.

Tina, MotherGeek

I’m with you. We have lots of religious schools in our town, with strong links to their churches, and it was a big issue for me as I am strongly atheist, and as a secularist I do not believe in state funded religious schools.
I was concerned about her learning religion as fact, but also about myself not feeling I could fully engage with the school community. I also didn’t relish the idea of me contradicting what she may learn in school, but thankfully, we got into a secular primary.

Simon, Man vs. Pink

We didn’t look at or apply to any religious schools, my strong atheist, brought up catholic, hated catholic school boyfriend was very firm on that one! And yet our next best option was a non-secular academy run by a Christian organisation. It took me a good while to get over that contradiction, but since he’s started school my opinion has improved and I’ve realised my objection lies more with government and education rather than with the school itself. In an area with a lot of religious schools, I did find the lack of choice frustrating when we were applying for schools.

Chloë, Sorry About The Mess

We’ve gone backwards and forwards about what the best thing to do is; whatever we decide to do we will need to put at least one if not two church schools on the application. Barry doesn’t have so much of an issue with the church thing as I do, the church school is nearer and has better outdoor space but it still doesn’t sit right with me sending the boys to a church school when we are non-believers.

In the end we have decided to put the non-church school as our first choice and two C of E schools in second and third. Realistically though I know it is very unlikely we will get in our first choice as we live too far away and it is over-subscribed. But you never know, and by putting it first is the only way we will find out. I’m kind of resigned to the fact the boys will end up in our nearest school which is one of the church schools. And I’m just going to have to work out a way to deal with that.

**UPDATE – After writing this post Toby was indeed offered a place at the C of E school near our house. He’s now in Year 1 and there are still some aspects of him being at a church school that we aren’t happy with. Generally though we just continue to tell him that he is free to decide what he wants to believe in but that mummy and daddy think that it is all just stories. It wasn’t our first choice but we are making it work, we had to really.

Did you send your children to a faith school even if you aren’t religious yourselves? I would love to hear some more positive stories to help me stop worrying about it…

13 December , 20166 December , 2016 - Sarah 1 Comment

Remembering Childhood // Dear Bear and Beany

It’s that time of week when another blogger is going to be sharing their childhood memories. This week it’s Laura from Dear Bear and Beany.

Which decade were you born in?

I was born in the 1970’s, the later part!

What is your earliest memory? How old were you?

My earliest memory is when I was two years old at my birthday party and I ended up in tears. Turned out the next day I had chicken pox!

What was your favourite toy at 5 years old? At 10?

My favourite toy when I was 5 years old was my Barbie and Ken dolls. I remember I had Crystal and she had this gorgeous white dress.

At ten years old my favourite toy was my fashion wheel. I used to spend hours making pictures with it. I can’t wait for my girls to be old enough and I can get it for them (me!).

Do you still have any toys from your childhood?

My parents still have my dolls pushchair and highchair, My girls love playing with them when they visit. It’s really strange to see them playing with my toys.

Who was your favourite pop group/artist as a teenager?

I loved (and still do) Take That. Robbie was my favourite and I was obsessed. My bedroom was covered in posters and I used to tape every single appearance they made on the TV.

My wonderful dad took me and my friend to their concert, he patiently waited outside for us.

What was your favourite TV show(s)?

Definitely Neighbours, every day my brother and I would watch it. For my honeymoon we went to Australia and did the Neighbours tour, it was brilliant going to Ramsey Street. Which in actual fact is called Pin Oak!

What was the first film you remember seeing at the cinema?

I think it was 101 Dalmatians, the original one at a Saturday club they ran at the weekend. I still love this movie and have it on DVD, Alice loves it too.

Do you have any dodgy haircut/ outfit memories that you’d rather forget?

I have lots of outfit memories I would rather forget. I had this bright red pixie boots, that I wore with everything. Even if they didn’t match my outfit, I would wear them!

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be teacher and I used to play schools all day long. I had my own register and I would sit all my teddies in a circle as my pupils.

If you could go back to being a child again what age would you choose and why?

Good Question! I would go back to being ten years old. Old enough to get to do lots of fun things, but still young enough to want a hug from my mum.

That time just before you start secondary school and you are opened up to a whole new world and it’s no longer cool to be seen with your parents.

Thanks Laura – it sounds like we had some very similar interests growing up, I loved Neighbours and Take That too. And I had some red pixie boots – I’d forgotten about those!

5 December , 20165 December , 2016 - Sarah 7 Comments

Living Arrows 49/52 (2016)

I’m not going to say much today, mostly because it’s only a few days since I published our last Living Arrows update! But, hurray – I’m finally back on schedule!

And I don’t want to tempt fate but we are all, for now, well again (except for a few sniffles but I don’t think they ever really go away in our family).

On Saturday we even managed to get out of the house and visit Jodrell Bank. It’s not a massive place (well apart from the ginormous radio telescope – you can see it in our November Me & Mine picture) but there was plenty to keep Toby occupied. There were a few things to play with outside and even though he didn’t understand the science Toby still had fun with them…

Toby enjoying the activities at Jodrell Bank

And at the indoor exhibits Gabe even got out of the buggy to join in (he couldn’t get out outside because I’d left his shoes in the car!).

Gabe having a go at the science at Jodrell Bank

Here’s hoping we all manage to stay well now until Christmas at least!

4 December , 201621 December , 2017 - Sarah 2 Comments

Me & Mine // A Family Portrait (November 2016)

So here I am, late again, but not quite as late as last month!

To be honest November is a month I think I would rather forget – it seems like it has just been a month of never-ending illness for us. Gabe has had the worst of it (and has made sure the rest of us knew about it too) but this last week or so we’ve all had some sort of stomach bug, I had an awful cold as well and now both the boys are snotty too.

Barry spent almost a week in Germany for work too, leaving me to cope with poorly non-sleeping Gabe. At least we now live near enough to my parents that my mum could come and give me a hand one day so I wasn’t all on my own.

What with all the illness, and trying to get the painting finished in the kitchen, we didn’t really go anywhere further than the park in November so I didn’t manage to get our Me & Mine picture, and I didn’t really want another living room selfie.

Yesterday though, we actually got out and went to visit Jodrell Bank. Toby loves space and the planets and although he’s still a bit little to really understand most of the actual science he still had lots of fun playing with all the interactive exhibits.

So, November’s Me & Mine picture was actually taken in December, but only just. We actually asked someone to take the picture for us, which we never normally do, but I think it turned out pretty well.

me-and-mine-at-jodrell-bank

You might notice that the picture above is a little bit blurry….that’s because I cropped it from this one…

me-and-mine-november-2016

That’s one hell of a telescope!

I’m really hoping that we’ve all got our winter illnesses out of the way now and we can have a happy and healthy Christmas! Please do come back at the end of the month to find out how we’ve got on, and to see our last Me & Mine family portrait of 2016.

2 December , 2016 - Sarah 4 Comments

Living Arrows 48/52 (2016)

Hi. Did you miss me? The eagle eyed among you may have noticed I’ve not posted since last week. Do you know what though? I’m bored of writing this myself so you must definitely be bored of reading it – we’ve all been ill again; stomach bug and colds this time. Far too many bodily fluids to deal with…

So anyway, here’s some pictures of the boys.

Toby making gingerbread

Before the illness struck last week Toby and I made some gingerbread. They were yummy, if a little puffy because I halved the recipe but forgot to halve the baking powder!

And this is Gabe’s big fluffy bum, just because…

Gabe's big cloth nappy bum

22 November , 201623 November , 2016 - Sarah 3 Comments

Remembering Childhood // Chocolate and Wine and I’ll be Fine

It’s that time of week when another blogger is going to be sharing their childhood memories. This week it’s Samantha from Chocolate and Wine and I’ll be Fine.

Which decade were you born in?

The 1980’s (1985 to be precise)! I am now in my 32^nd year – scary stuff!

What is your earliest memory? How old were you?

This is a tricky one – a lot of the memories I have I think I have because I have seen photos or home video that have triggered something. I would probably say that my earliest memory is of my auntie and uncle’s wedding. I was 2 (nearly 3), and a (very serious) bridesmaid/flower girl. I have watched the wedding video thousands of times so it may be that that has triggered the memories, but I do feel I remember the day in significant detail (more detail than shown on the video). I forgot to throw my confetti, I didn’t smile, my baby sister had to be taken out of the church, the line-up took FOREVER and I got so fed up of being kissed! It is still my favourite video to this day!

What was your favourite toy at 5 years old? At 10?

I don’t think I can actually remember. At 7 years old I got a doll (the boy version of “Tiny Tears” that I named Timmy) and that doll was my favourite thing in the world for many years (so much so that I have little recollection of any others). At 5 years old it was probably Cindy (no Barbie’s allowed in our house) or a My Little Pony?

At 10 years old it was still Timmy, but Winnie the Pooh had also joined the gang (see below).

Do you still have any toys from your childhood?

I still have Timmy somewhere and all of his paraphernalia as I want to give him to my daughter in a year or two. She will probably hate him but never mind. I also have a Winnie the Pooh teddy that I have had since I was 9, and my children are starting to love him (I am not sure I approve of this).

Who was your favourite pop group/artist as a teenager?

A1 (ahem, moving on…)

What was your favourite TV show(s)?

As a teenager it was Funhouse. All I ever wanted to do was be a contestant. I also liked Get Your Own Back and Finder Keepers, and Round the Twist, and Byker Grove. I think I watched too much TV. When I was slightly younger I liked Bodger and Badger and Art Attack. I can’t remember much TV from before that as my mum was quite strict with screen time. Maybe that’s why I watched so much as a teenager!

What was the first film you remember seeing at the cinema?

The Rescuers Down Under. My sister cried the whole way through. I don’t remember much of it and have never seen it since. I remember it being quite sad!

Do you have any dodgy haircut/ outfit memories that you’d rather forget?

Yes, many! Shell suits and knickerbockers (not together of course). Hair-wise, I had a pretty standard full on fringe and short bob until secondary school – it was terrifying. I am the one on the right in the picture.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

A mum. Literally, nothing else. This is still what I wanted at age 16 so I found choosing my A-levels and onward career rather difficult. I am very lucky that my dream came true (sorry, that’s a bit soppy).

If you could go back to being a child again what age would you choose and why?

Age 7. We lived in Germany (my dad was in the RAF) and it was the most amazing experience, and one that I still think about a lot. I loved my schools, the area we lived, the places we got to visit. And I had Timmy. And my parents still liked each other at that point (I think). I have a lot of happy memories from that age!

Thanks Samantha for sharing your childhood memories – I loved Round the Twist too, I bet I could still sing the whole theme tune! If you enjoyed this post then do come back next week when another blogger will be remembering their childhood.

21 November , 2016 - Sarah 9 Comments

Living Arrows 47/52 (2016)

I’m not going to write too much this week because, if I’m honest, I’d rather forget last week happened!

Barry was in Germany with work all week. Gabe got a temperature on Tuesday night, managed to survive a day at nursery on Wednesday (he had to, I was working), and then pretty much wouldn’t be put down, even to sleep for the next 48 hours. Thankfully my mum came to help all day on Thursday, and my dad came to the rescue at 7pm after I’d managed to break our bed (I knew there was a reason we moved to live near them!)

Anyway, Barry came home on Friday and then we both had colds and Toby got a temperature too. We all seem to be mostly recovered now but all in all it’s been a pretty rubbish week!

Gabe’s picture this week was taken at about midnight on Wednesday – it’s dark and grainy but sometimes I think it’s important we show the reality of parenthood. He had just stopped wailing and fallen asleep, while I watched Planet Earth on the iPlayer…

Poorly Gabe asleep on mummy on the sofa at midnight

And I took Toby’s photo when he was sitting up on the window sill in our kitchen/diner playing with the new star I got this week. It’s supposed to be a Christmas decoration but I like it so I think we might have it there all year round.

Toby sitting in the window looking at a light up star decoration

Here’s hoping this week is a better one…