living arrows

- Sarah 11 Comments

Living Arrows 15/52 (2017)

Week 15 and it seems like spring has finally sprung! We’ve been having some lovely weather this week, and especially this weekend.

On Tuesday Toby had a day off nursery (mostly to save a bit of money as he doesn’t get his funded hours during the school holidays) but Gabe still went in so we had a mummy and son day. We didn’t do too much – we played with some of the games we don’t usually get out when Gabe is around, and then we went out to run a few errands and have an ice cream. We don’t get much time, just Toby and I on our own very often, except when Gabe is napping, so it was lovely to have a day just the two of us.

We had a little bit more one on one time on Friday too, but that wasn’t quite so much fun as it was for Toby to have his preschool immunisations. We decided to tell him what was going to happen but that meant he was scared before he even got there. He was OK in the end really. He wailed when they did it but recovered fairly quickly when I produced a new Gruffalo toy and a Kinder egg! He has complained about sore arms a couple of times but otherwise seems to be fine so far.

Gabe on the other hand has been grumpy all week. I’m not sure what’s wrong with him – possibly teeth, or a cold, or just some sort of virus. He’s had a couple of little spots on his face but nowhere else, and on Saturday woke up with sticky eyes which have mostly cleared up now. He’s been off his food a bit though and just exceptionally clingy and whingey. Hopefully whatever it is it will pass quickly.

Despite Gabe’s grumpiness we decided to make the most of the lovely weather this weekend, and as Toby’s reward for reaching the end of his chart that I mentioned last week, we went to the beach on Saturday. We were planning on going after lunch but after fighting to fit the car seats into our new car for ages it ended up being almost 3 pm before we set off. Read more

- Sarah 10 Comments

Living Arrows 14/52 (2017)

It’s been another fairly quiet week but a busy weekend. On Tuesday Barry and I did manage to go out for lunch on our own which is a pretty rare occurrence. I was working on Wednesday and then Thursday and Friday were quiet days pottering around at home. We had one of our usual walks to the shops and the park on Friday, and Toby has realised that the ice cream van is often near the park so we had a little treat too.

We’ve been using a reward chart with Toby for the last couple of weeks – he had started wetting himself nearly every day after being dry for months and it was just through sheer laziness. He had also got into the habit of getting up early and coming into our bed, which I don’t really mind too much but Gabe is usually in there too and he was waking him up as well.

Toby in Cartmel

So anyway, we made a chart which was ‘Toby’s race to the beach’ and he could move a space nearer to the beach for every day he had dry pants, for every morning he stayed in bed until the sun came out on his Gro-clock and extra spaces for being especially kind or helpful. We added in smaller rewards along the way -Toby is a bit obsessed with Kinder Eggs at the moment so they featured quite heavily, but we’d also put in a trip to soft play when he was getting towards the end of the chart. Read more

- Sarah 11 Comments

Living Arrows 13/52 (2017)

Another week done, and not a huge amount achieved. Sometimes it feels like we never really do anything but then maybe we don’t really need to. The boys have both got colds at the moment. They managed their two days at nursery but the rest of the week has mostly been spent at home, and I have been wiping noses every five minutes!

This weekend though it was my dad’s birthday so we went out for a meal. Eating out is a bit tricky at the moment. It has to be early enough for the boys to not be too hungry or too tired…and we don’t always get it quite right. Gabe huge fan of sitting in a highchair unless there’s food in front of him, and even then he’s not always that keen! Read more

- Sarah 15 Comments

Living Arrows 11/52 (2017)

Last week we were staying at Bluestone National Park Resort in Wales and we had a fab time. I’ll be writing a proper post all about it soon but we really did have a great week. This was helped enormously by the fact that both boys slept very well – Gabe even made it all the way to 5:30 am before waking up (twice) and even then went back to sleep again until after 7! Barry and I managed to watch all four Hunger Games films while we were away so they must have been sleeping well!

The weather wasn’t great for most of the week but on our last full day there the sun shone and Toby and Gabe got chance to explore the toddler play area. Gabe seems to have come on leaps and bounds in the last couple of weeks both in his physical and mental development. He was loving exploring the park and it was small enough that we could let him loose a little bit…

Gabe exploring the tunnel in the play area at Bluestone

On our way home we went to stay with my friend Claire who lives near Chester and had a day out at The Ice Cream Farm. Read more

- Sarah 3 Comments

Living Arrows 10/52 (2017)

I’ve been quite good this year at linking up my Living Arrows posts on a Monday and sharing pictures from the previous week. But we didn’t really do much last week, Gabe was ill again, and I didn’t get the big camera out once.

So I’m a little late this week, and these pictures were taken today on the beach at Tenby. We’re on holiday at Bluestone National Park resort in Wales this week (and I’ll be writing all about it when we get home). The weather hasn’t been great so far but we’re having a lot of fun and the boys loved it on the beach today, even if it was raining!

Toby next to the sea wall in Tenby

Gabe on the beach at Tenby

Oh, and I can’t take credit for these photos – Barry took them and I thought they were too good not to share.

Living Arrows
- Sarah 10 Comments

Living Arrows 9/52 (2017)

This week’s Living Arrows photos were taken this weekend. We went to a Christening / birthday party on Saturday but didn’t really have any plans for Sunday. Toby was going a bit stir crazy in the house so we just went out onto the street outside our house for him to have a scoot up and down and burn off a bit of energy.

I actually took loads of photos of him scooting and then pulling silly faces but I really like this one with the serious expression on his face…

Toby does a serious face

And when we came inside Gabe had got up from his nap and I still had the camera out so I got a few shots of him too. Read more

- Sarah 11 Comments

Living Arrows 8/52 (2017)

The last week has mostly been about continuing to recover from our illnesses of the week before. My tonsillitis is gone now thankfully and although they’re still a bit snotty the boys are feeling much better too.

Gabe has been in the wars a bit this week though – on Monday night I was trying to get the tea ready before Barry got home from work, I gave Gabe some baking trays and dried pasta to play with on the kitchen floor so I could keep an eye on him. Which was fine until Toby decided he would come and play too. Somehow he managed to accidentally whack Gabe right on the forehead with a baking tray and left him with a really nasty looking bruise and a bump too. Then at nursery on Wednesday he fell over when he was playing at the water tray and caught his cheek on the water wheel ending up with a cut there too. He didn’t seem too bothered by either injury but just looked a bit of a mess! Read more

- Sarah 11 Comments

Living Arrows 7/52 (2017)

The last week has been pretty awful as weeks go… Gabe’s cough and cold is still sticking around and his cough has really started to bother him at night so sleep hasn’t been great. Then last Monday I started getting a sore throat. Overnight I had a temperature but was shivering and by the time I woke up I could barely swallow. A trip to the doctors and I was diagnosed with bacterial tonsillitis and prescribed antibiotics.

Luckily it was a day the boys were at nursery so I thought I would get chance to rest but I got a phone call at lunchtime saying Toby had a temperature and I had to pick him up. By the time I got him home his temperature was normal and there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with him except a snotty nose. Nursery policy meant he couldn’t go back for 24 hours though.

All that would have been bad enough but on Wednesday morning I had an interview at a local school for a job starting in September. I had to teach a lesson and have a formal interview, all whilst struggling to swallow, let alone do anything else. Barry was working at home with the intention being he would take the boys to nursery in the morning but of course he had to have Toby at home until lunchtime. Read more

- Sarah 11 Comments

Living Arrows 6/52 (2017)

Another fairly quiet week here – after me saying in our January Me & Mine post last week that we had got through the month without being ill we all came down with colds! Toby is just really snotty but OK in himself. Barry has been suffering with a sore throat and cough and even had a day off work last week. Poor little Gabe has got a constantly dripping nose and a cough that has been affecting his sleep. And I seemed to have recovered the quickest but I am so fed up of wiping snotty noses now. And snotty faces – does anyone else have a toddler who manages to just wipe snot all over their own face every two minutes?! Read more

- Sarah 7 Comments

Living Arrows 5/52 (2017)

Here we are again, this year seems to be going so fast! We’ve not been up to much over the last week – I don’t know what it’s been like where you are but it’s been freezing here! I did make more of an effort to do stuff with the boys last week though.

On Monday we went to pick up some supplies from Hobbycraft and then came home and made a glitter ‘calm down’ jar. I don’t know if it’s helped with calming down at all but both boys enjoy giving it a good shake!

Later in the week my mum came over for lunch then we went out for a coffee (and a cake for Toby). We didn’t manage much this weekend except a quick trip to the garden centre to use our monthly free drink vouchers!

All this meant I hadn’t really taken many pictures of the boys this week so I got the camera out last night after tea. Taking pictures of children in really rubbish artificial light isn’t easy but I actually quite like the ones I managed to get…

Toby in the living room

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