Back to school bags with Maqio Toys - Review

As we all know that time is here kids across the country are getting ready to go back to school some schools across the midlands have already gone back with the rest going back next week.

Whether it is nursery school or primary school the kids are going to there is one thing they are all going to need, school bags although most kids love a good bag even if it isn't for the school being a last-minute Lil this was one thing I hadn't actually sorted out yet so when Maqio toys asked if we would like to review some bags for them, of course, we were going to jump at the chance.

If like me you have a lot of children, your way behind on getting the school uniform sorted and you don't want to spend a lot Maqio toys have a 40% off sale on their backpacks and there not just the boring plain coloured bags either they're branded character ones that kids absolutely love.

Adam has chosen a Lego bag because like all the boys in the house they're Lego obsessed and the twins choose a shimmer and shine bag which they also love.

Quality wise I can honestly say they are great, the twins overfilled their bags with dolls and toys as soon as they got them they have been bashed about as young children do and they haven't bent or marked as the front are a hard plastic so I would think hard-wearing  and long-lasting the girls absolutely loved the sparkly glitter on the front of them.

Adam has tested his backpack out with his pack lunch in the back of it, it is the perfect size for him he is absolutely chuffed to bits he gets to wear his favourite character to school every day, I like that it has a pocket on the side for a drinks cup and it also has reflective stripes on the sides which is peace of mind for his safety as the darker nights are drawing in.

Adam and the girls are over the moon with there bags and are already showing them off to there friends and family.

If you haven't heard of Maqio toys before its definitely worth a hop over to there site not only are they offering a 40% off sale on their bags, they have also got a massive up to 80% off sale on other items. I have Adams birthday around the corner so this massive discount if definitely going to come in handy and then there is, dare I say it Christmas knocking on the door Maquio toys is definitely a great place to start getting stocked up.

*we were sent these backpacks for the purpose of this review all opinions remain honest and my own thanks maqio toys!

Back to School - Top Tips (The useful ones)

The countdown begins we are nearly there the kids are going back to school get the trumpets out, flags out, strike it off on the calendar.

I can already hear the sound of silence whilst I enjoy my tea in the morning without having to make three cups because the rest have gone cold, usually all I can hear is the screaming of he's took my toy, he's licking me, he's pulled the curtains down, he's yes breathing on me the list just goes on!

You know what else I'm actually looking forward to not having to tell the boys to put the seat down on the toilet a thousand times a day, or trying to work out each day which one of the boys Wee I have just sat in, fact

Now don't get me wrong I like any other parent love my children till the end of time, however, they have been at home too long now they miss there friends and as hard as it is to admit this, us parents just aren't enough for them.

Prepare yourself

Gosh, it's hard especially if it's your youngest child going to school or your first child or any child for that matter, honestly its alright cry but I don't know about you but my mind does crazy things when the kids are not around.

We think about how we're going to fill the void DO NOT go out and buy yourself a kitten, puppy, guinea pig or think that by procreating we can somehow make it all better, schedule in some friends, go out for lunch, have some much needed me time, paint your nails have a long bath, imagine actually having a bath without a bazillion questions and someone going for a poo at the same time sounds like bliss.
Make plans so your not spending the next seven hours concocting a master plan that could turn into a nightmarish situation.

Prepare your child

DO NOT do what I have done I have told my child everyday from last week that they're about to start school with there big brothers, only to get an e-mail from the school in actual fact they don't start school until next week, my new resolution is to find time to read all the crappy papers that the school send home instead of putting them in the very organised kitchen crap draw that I will possibly sort out sometime next year.
Your child is bound to be anxious whether they are just starting out or moving up a class reassure them and make sure you have everything they need for there first day the last thing they need is to have PE on there first day and they have to do it in there trousers cause mummy forgot to send them with there PE bag (Don't be too hard on yourself if you do forget, I hold my hands up and say I'm not always on it with PE kits)

 

Get there haircut,

I have boys of school age so I tend to keep there hair short at all times trust me you want to do this otherwise they will be coming home with nits I promise you that nit letter will be circulating the kids school bags within the first week or two of starting school - if you have girls tie it up and make sure you keep a stock of nit lotion I kid you not you will need it!

Tissues,

Always on the first day, there are some tears the kids cry. Mummas we need to stay strong fake that smile it will reassure them - then leg it to the car or home where you can have a good cry it's ok, it's normal just have those tissues at the ready.

Labels,

The feeling of dread when I think about labelling their bloody clothes honestly make sure everything is labelled twice, I am a stupid parent I should have brought the labels that you can stick inside there clothes, I always leave it until last minute and end up the night before with a biro writing on all the clothes tags, shoes and bags don't be like me be smart buy the Bloody sticky labels! in terms of school uniform I have never put much faith in my children by the end of the first week we have usually lost at least two jumpers a t-shirt and have acquired school attire that is three sizes too big for them, I wish I could get a huge marker pen and write there name straight across the front of the boy's clothes but then I'm still not convinced the boys would come home with there own things.

Make plans

It's going to be a difficult time, the kids miss you and you miss them, enjoy the time at home you have left together and make plans to do something fun at the weekend so your children and you have something to look forward to, a treat always helps to motivate them through the first week as its a tough and tiring one for little people

Is it chaos before the school run? - 10 tips for getting to school on time.

The kids are finally back and school, I here you... that sigh of relief - The mornings in my house were chaos for the first few days, there was one morning that was particularly bad where there was fighting, breakfast being thrown around, screaming - and me with practically no hair left at all trying to have a slurp of tea whilst wrestling toys out of there grips and trying not to stand on sticky jam that was being trodden into the carpet, it can be an absolute nightmare, as you probably already know. Well it was in that moment I decided I was not going to have another morning like that again.

I started to make a list one that was practical and something that would just make mummy things easier, as you probably already know organisation is the key, here is my list that helped my house descend into calm rather than the chaos it was.

• Have a good bedtime routine,  making sure the kids go to bed at the same time every night makes sure they are alert and awake the next day, this also makes them a lot easier to manage, also make sure you have a reasonable night sleep if your tired and grumpy the children will know and this will upset your morning.

• Get up half an hour earlier, try and get up half an hour earlier than the kids just so you can have some quiet time before the rush begins - I find it helps to have a cuppa organise lunches if they need them and just have a bit of time to breathe.

• Organise breakfast,   get breakfast ready the night before ask your child if they have different things each day what they would like and stick to it this way you only have to put milk on cereal or hot water in your cup in the mornings anything that helps save time so you are not rushing and getting in a flap.

• Prepare there lunch - If your child has a packed lunch put there bags/boxes on the side and put in any items that don't need refrigeration or things that will be alright on the side if they have school lunches make sure there dinner money is to hand.

• Make sure there school uniform is ready - There is nothing worse than going to a wardrobe and realising that they have no jumpers or that someone has been in and scrunched all there clothes up at the bottom, so make sure that everything they need is where it should be and its ironed and pressed  right down to there underwear - there have been so many times I have been searching around for some socks because what I thought was a pair actually wasn't.

• Get them to tidy there mess - There is nothing worse than having to run around taking breakfast pots out putting dirty clothes in wash baskets, get your children into a good routine so they help in the morning it all saves time especially if you have little ones you have to tend to as well. 

• Keep instructions to a minimum - I use this a lot especially as Liam struggles with instructions, children don't need to know the hows and whys, when you are getting ready in the morning, I have found that singular or two work tasks work better for example if I wanted them to get there coats I wouldn't confuse them with a sentence like get your coat while mummy does this or get your coat we are leaving soon, I simply say coats please or shoes I have found it works so much better than trying to explain the ins and outs, it can be confusing for them.  

• Paperwork and bags - Make sure school bags/book bags/P.E bags are packed the night before, they are somewhere you are not going to forget them and that all bags have been checked as children have a great way of producing a letter or reminder about something in the morning when your just about to go out the door, meaning it throws the morning back into chaos.

• Keep calm and breathe - Sometimes it doesn't matter how much time you have or how much planning you do there will be things that happen that throw the morning into chaos things you cant predict like illness etc but take a moment stay calm and rational it will keep the children calm!

• School walk tactics - Always give yourself five minutes more than you need - allow time for things that may happen like a little one tripping over - laces coming undone, coat zips getting stuck and again illness these things cant always be predicted but are things that have happened to us on numerous occasions - also try distraction things for when you are walking so they don't try to run off for example how many blue cars the can see or how many birds they can count you could even try giving them a list of things to spot on the way.

I hope this list is helpful to any mums that like me that have found the school mornings a struggle some days or even a battle of wills, I know you cant plan for every event but I hope a little bit more organisation will lead to the majority of mornings running smoothly! 

Can you think of anything I have missed? or are there any situations that regularly upset your morning run? I would love to hear your thoughts.

   

My son was Suspended from school, he is five years old

The title of this post is shocking I agree, and lot's of people would say blame the parents, why not its always easy to point the finger, people will say they must not be coping or they probably don't tell him off or even that as parents we ignore Liam - But this is definitely not the case, if you have been following Liam's story on my blog you will know we have been fighting to get him help but every last ounce of help that he and our family needs to support Liam has had to be fought for even the school have let us down in many ways.

Suspension or expulsion for Liam's behavior was one of my biggest fears as a parent but after a meeting with the school around a month before this happened, the school reassured myself and Liam's dad that this would be a very, very last resort and they didn't like to do this to children of his age - quite rightly so I agreed. Liam hates school so taking him out of school would be ultimately giving him what he wants, which is not beneficial to him.

You might ask then, what did Liam do to get to a point where the school felt the need to suspend him, well nothing unusual really for Liam his favorite tricks spitting, lashing out, hiding under the tables and basically disrupting the class, the thing is no one goes into a job and expects to be abused verbally or physically by any other human being no matter what the age - however as I said in a previous post the school just can not cope with him, they're running out of behavior techniques to use with Liam, and they just do not want him in that school, the head teacher told me that it would "look better on his records" if they have, had to suspend him so he can get the help he requires, What I don't understand is why it has to come to this before extra help can be put into place - it might help them to look better on their records and school inspections, but on Liam's records he will be judged by it for the rest of his life.

I agree that Liam should not be a pupil at this school its not beneficial to him, to the teaching staff or to the other pupils, but they are just not helping. For Liam to move schools he needs a statement and a diagnosis and to get this he needs an educational psychologist report all of which he has been waiting for, for over a year now, it is up to the school to sort this out, which just does not seem to be happening for one reason or another. 

I think the action they have taken is unfair as it isn't going to make an already bad situation any better, you see all children like Liam are going to have a long road ahead of them, because they're just to young to know how to cope with their feelings and know how to control there temper, but I didn't count on every step of Liam's journey being a battle for us as parents surely the support and systems should just be in place to be able to access them when they are required for any child, but clearly the system they have in place is just not working.

      

Behavior, Liam's update we are no closer to a diagnosis

For a long time, I have known Liam isn't quite like other children, his behavior is very erratic not just at home, but at school as well he doesn't like change, he gets very frustrated easily and lashes out, he doesn't Listen, he still has no established friends at school, although a lot of the children like him he isn't really bothered if they're their or not.
Liam has been under the pediatrician for quite sometime, they are thinking that maybe he has ADHD, Autism Or ADD, he has also recently started showing signs of anxiety

This is what has been happening so far,

• August 2014 - Liam has a meeting with the pediatrician she wants assessments from speech and language, hearing tests, and the educational psychologist to see Liam at home and at school.

• October 2014- Liam passes his hearing test, although the test was to put a coin in the box when a beep sounded, Liam proceeded to put the coins in when ever he felt like it. speech and language book an appointment to see Liam for November.

• November 2014 - Liam's appointment is cancelled because there isn't enough speech and language therapists the appointment is re-booked for January in a surgery the other side of the town that we live.    

• December 2014 - Liam sees the educational psychologist at school she only carried out half the assessment required and booked to see us at home but never turned up.

• January 2015 - Dad takes Liam over for his appointment, when he gets there the appointment had been cancelled again.

• January 2015 - A big meeting is called, with all the professionals including myself and Liam's Dad, no decisions are made as the assessments that are required haven't been carried out. It is decided that my self and dad needed to attend a course and Liam was to be refereed back to the educational psychologist and was still to see speech and language.

• February 2015 - Liam See's speech and language and passes his assessment.

• April 2015 - Another appointment with the pediatrician and there is still no further progress to report. Apart from that Liam's behavior has deteriorated at school and he is showing signs of anxiety and is talking a lot about death and bad things happening.

• May 2015 - The Educational psychologist comes out to see Liam at school, and forgets to bring the right assessment tools, we are now still awaiting this and another meeting is being arranged with all the health and educational professionals.

So you see it is a long journey it makes me really cross and frustrated at times nobody seems to want to take responsibility for anything, and this has been going on around three years in total now.
Liam is not learning anything at school as he spends most of his time doing naughty things, almost every week I am being called into the school, and sometimes everyday its really tough for us all. I wish I knew the answers but I don't, I wish I could make him happier but I cant, Liam hates school and I can see him ending up in a different school and to be honest that might be the best thing all round, but for now we are still trying to get a diagnosis and his current school are still trying to manage him, but they're already not coping and are struggling to know what to do next with him even though he already has a one to one support teacher.
I have no idea why things have to take so long the schools just don't seem to have an effective system in place to help children with difficulties its seems to be one long battle after the next.      

What do I do? - A challenging day

I said at the beginning of the week that this week was going to be very busy, today has not been any different in fact today has been very emotional for me, today we had a visit from children's services, they are outreach to help support children in the home and to help parents deal with children with challenging behaviour, she started off by running through some questions just simple things like what did Liam struggle with and how I as a parent coped with some of his more challenging behaviour.

Children's services went on to ask about his relationships with people in his life and asked if there was anything else that was bothering myself with Liam. She went on to inform me that the last week there has been a support worker attending the school observing Liam - I had no idea, I knew this would be happening eventually. but nobody had informed me - again mummy feels pushed out of the loop, everyone seems to know more about my child than me.

I asked the lady from children's services if she knew what they had observed at school in regards to Liam's behaviour, she informed me that Liam has virtually no social skills at all, he spends nearly all his time on his own at school he doesn't know how to mix with the other children, he doesn't share, he can't sit still and when all the other children sit down on the mat he won't, I knew that he was not doing so well at school, I just didn't know the extent of how bad things were.

I also knew he didn't socialise very well, but I didn't know he wasn't mixing with any of the other children, I actually feel like my hearts breaking for him, I couldn't help but cry, you want to protect your children, stop them from feeling sad an any way possible - I feel like I can't.
I don't know how Liam is feeling, he does not share the way he feels, as a parent I practically have to drag things out of him to get him to speak to me, is he lonely? Does he feel left out? does he feel sad everyday because he is somewhere he can't or don't know how to communicate with others?

The school are pointing towards ADHD. They are teachers not health care professionals, the health care professionals are thinking it's more than ADHD - I actually have no idea what that means, a part if me is just hoping that they will say he is just very active, but ongoing assessments are the only way we as a family are going to get to the bottom of things.

I was asked if I was working at the moment, as you already know I'm awaiting my CRB check, which I don't think will be that much longer. The lady from children's services spoke to me about the concerns she had about changing Liam's routine and how was asking how I thought he was going to cope with the changes a new job would bring - the health visitor has already expressed some concerns about this, I don't know what to do? Do I put my life on hold? or go to work and be a completely selfish parent knowing that this might, and might being the optimum word set him back more, I really don't have a clue. As parents we are seen as bad if we even so much as think of putting ourselves first.

The thing is, with my job I am thinking of the boys future I can't give them a nice home or a good life if I am at home with them and my job is only two days a week. At the same time I don't want to make Liam's life even more difficult than it has to be. What would you do?

Life as a parent is never easy, I didn't think that things could get this hard. I know that this is only the beginning of a long road ahead - I need to have a long think about the best thing to do for all of us as a family. because right now I really don't know what is the best and right thing to do.

Playground Crazes what were yours?

I hadn't thought much about my childhood, until recently oxford open learning have put together a list of 50 years of childhood crazes I didn't realise there were so many or how many have come from years ago but soon do the sweep round to playgrounds again.

I think one of the things that surprised me the most were how many I have actually taken part in it must have cost my mum and dad a fortune over the years with me having a brother and sister as well three times the cost and three times the crazes!
 One of my earliest memories of wanting something, well something everyone else had, was Klackers

these were great, you swing them back and forward and the balls click together making an awesome clicking sound - like everything that is as phase, Klackers were banned eventually from the playground but were great all the same!




There was the foot hula hoop, my memory isn't that great so I cant remember the actual name for it but it was a hoop that you put your foot inside and then you spun it around so your other leg would jump over it, I think this was eventually banned because of it hitting and tripping people over!
I also went through the marbles stage like most children something that seems to come and go within the playground similar phase to YoYos they seem to come and go I never did learn to walk the dog with it!

Polly Pocket was another one of my loves although it wasn't as crazy as the time when trolls were in as a craze, with there brightly coloured hair and flashing eyes - would the light stop on green to make a wish, I remember everyone being able to say exactly how many they had collected there were lots of comments like I have got more than you, it makes me giggle thinking about it.





As I got older and went into secondary school I guess the crazes moved away from toys somewhat and moved into fashion or expensive technology items, my poor parents pockets were hit hard as the next craze I remember was Nike Air max trainers only the coolest kids wore these if you didn't have them you were no one! in this year I think the kids at school these days would refer to them as "sick" I had a classic white pair with a purple tick I have to say I did love those trainers, I don't think I out grew them more like the craze just fizzled out as quickly as it came in.

I also was one of the kids that loved the year of Kappa who knows where this brand came from or where it has gone now, but it was massive when I was at school, I wasn't one of the kids that had one of the jackets but I did have a bright green t-shirt with the logo down both sleeves now that was a very cool T-shirt let me tell you!


Then there was the sweets there was the candy bracelets and necklaces you always seemed to get in a mess when biting the sweet off the elastic! there was also the sugar dummies and rave dummies a silly phase after all we were not even old enough to go to raves but still everyone was walking round with them round there necks. Last but not least there was push pops everyone had these, they were so sticky and messy but it seemed everyone loved them and I think like the fashion items something that could never be banned which was great.


Reminiscing over some of the crazes that I have been part of has certainly made me look back and smile probably because I cant believe I was a part of them but its something that makes history and great memories, my boys are not quite old enough (hopefully) for crazes just yet but when they do begin, I must remember they don't last forever and there great fun whilst they last.

can you remember your childhood games and crazes? I would love to hear what your favourites were? its fun looking back so share your thoughts......

Liam and School

I said a while ago I thought things were going well at school for Liam, I ask the teacher everyday how has Liam been today, I always get
 "yeah he has been fine",
Well that was until last week when I said How has Liam been today? and she replied that she thought he needed extra help in the classroom, Which of course I know! I cant understand why they tell you things as if you don't know your own child, I know Liam he has no concentration he flits and floats between activity's, he doesn't always turn around when you call him not because he cant hear you but because he chooses not to, I know he wont follow simple instructions again because that boy is so strong willed Liam just does what he wants, he really wont give in. I think as a parent I made a mistake and should have insisted he had a morning place at school instead of an afternoon place, as he is a child in which from the moment he gets up, he really doesn't stop and even though he is three I think he needs his sleep in the afternoon. I am not saying this is why he misbehaves but I don't think it helps.

The most frustrating part about Liam is that he is really bright, you can tell him a story only once and he will recite back what you have told him.
he knows most nursery rhymes and will tell you about diving, guy Fawkes night and Diwali he really does know a lot but he chooses not to, his lack of concentration and wanting to do what he wants seems to over power him sometimes.

I am going to speak to the school again because to be quite honest I think the teacher is coming to her wits end with him they don't quite no what to do next, I don't think they're helping things either, for example Liam came home with a sticker last week - for putting his coat on independently, yet at home I don't let him leave home until he has put his coat on, so he has been doing this independently for ages! Also in P.E Liam didn't want to join in, so they took him out of the hall and put him back in to the class room with the teacher for some one to one time, but then they will be telling me he doesn't want to do P.E at all, so you see I don't think they quite know what to do with him. but hopefully once I have had a word with them tomorrow.......again, we can start working towards some small changes which will show gradual improvements.              

Educating your child about money iChild finances #Review

We all have an idea in our mind about about what we would like our children to know about money most parents will want children to save to stay out of debt and of course we would all like them to be wealthy.

Have you ever thought about how you are going to teach your children the basic knowledge about money? for example what the separate coins look like?  How you add up the coins? how many coins to add together to make up a different coin? Its all important things children need to know, how many parents think that children will learn all they need to know at school? What ever you can teach them from home as a parent from as early an age as possible, is going to set the stepping stones for the rest of there lives, giving them essential skills and knowledge and your children will be grateful for this when they grow up.

Introducing to you F&C Superstar Savings education programme 

This Programme was designed to help children to learn about finances whilst making education fun. The three packs are divided into age appropriate groups, the under fives, 5-7 and 7-11.

iChild is an online learning program. All the activity's and resources are printable online and there really are a lot of activity's, they are great fun, the actiites work though all the basics from being able to name the different coins in British currency, being able to add them together and some exercises to show just how much items can cost costs.

iChild has been designed with childminders, parents, teachers or well anyone that wants to teach children about the values of money and how to save. There is a huge amount or resources available also the F&C Saving Superstar programme ties in with the national curriculum which is fantastic to know, not only that the packs have special occasion resources to tie in with the programme, with themes like Halloween and religious festivals such as Eid and Christmas. its all fantastic fun education for children.

There are ten activity's to complete in each age group although with both the boys being under five we only tried this pack as its age appropriate for them. With each activity's there is a reward chart to praise your child and  keep them engaged with the activity at the end of the activity's there is a downloadable and printable certificate.

The activity's included in the pack are:

• Looking at money 
• looking at the value of money and what could they buy?
• counting up small sums
• there is a super reward chart
• gold stars 
• A savings superstar certificate

 

The activities are quite easy however, more than one activity in a day I think would be to much obviously this is depending on each individual child of course, but for my Liam it was to much, I loved and Liam loved cutting out the coins and matching up the coins on the relevant activities He loved the reward stars as well.

On the website their are lots of free resources available alongside this there is the option for an upgradable gold membership which costs £79 per year, I think the price is quite reasonable if you are going to use the site a lot, also with the membership comes discounts and offers on things like Legoland Windsor, Chessington World of Adventure and similar day trips and outings. 

Plus if you become a gold member you have access to printable material such as flash cards and posters which can all be personalised. 

Over all I thought the Saving superstar pack was a very educational and helpful pack which really will help to teach your child the values and importance of money, it is simple to use, I am not to sure about the fact you have to print it all off I think it would be far better if you could order workbooks and then just print off the extra parts as they come along as it could prove quite costly. 

In terms of learning Liam is really enjoying the money part especially working out what he would like to buy with it and it seems to be working, with him being just three it is taking us a while to get through each activity as he doesn't always understand it first time but as a parent I know Rome wasn't built in a day and I would rather he knew each learning activity properly.

To find out more about the F&C Saving Superstar Activities for children why not take a look at there website.

I have received a free upgrade to a gold membership for the purpose of this review however all opinions expressed are honest and my own. 

#School is getting better

 

After having a chat with Liam's teacher today she has informed me that Liam's behavior is dramatically changing and not for the worse for the better he has started to hang his coat and bag up when he gets into the class, he is learning to share, he has started to listen.The teacher tells me he loves to dance, dance I thought are you sure you are talking about my child?!

Apparently he loves the marble run and the pretend sweet shop that also sells ice cream which is typical of Liam ever the sweet tooth! he has also been making card board chickens and caterpillars, and he has lots of little stars in his folder which he looked so proud of himself about. The teacher says he knows all his shapes and colours but is struggling with his numbers. he is still naughty sometimes and his listening has a lot of work to be done but over all we are making slow steady steps.

They have given me some WOW slips to use whilst we are at home the idea is every time Liam does something amzing or maybe gets him self undressed or listened maybe helped clean up I have to fill in a WOW slip and send it with him to school where they pin them all on the board, which i think is a great idea lots of positive steps to help him focus more and with the outside help we are getting soon im sure things can only get better I am a very proud mummy and it feels great!
  

 

School = Nightmare

Well here we are over half way through the week, School is just turning into one big nightmare. Everyday when I leave the house to pick Liam up from school I feel sick at the thought of what the teacher going to tell me today, I thought after last week he would of started to settle down but instead this week he tells me everyday
"I don't want to go to school today" and "that naughty lady tells me off"
Its really awful but all I can think is why does it have to be my child that is the naughty one? why does he have to be the one that's continuously in time out?

Liam is the child I think that is every parents worst nightmare. To have as there own and to have there children play with. He is the child that will snap your child's eye patch on there face when there a pirate, snatch there toys off them and throw them across the room, he would tip sand in there hair, and kick there sandcastles over. I shout at him to stop running away from me when were out he carries on, he runs into the road with out looking with out listening, I have to try and walk with the pushchair griping his hand tightly as hes wriggling, jiggling and crying trying to get free from my grasp, free so he can carry on causing chaos.
Other parents they stare at me and I know what there thinking, look at her she cant control her son, look at that naughty child, some tut, some roll there eyes, and others I have heard muttering under there breath.
It actually really upsets me to think that people judge me, they don't know me as a parent or my parenting skills or how I look after my boys, people see a naughty child and automatically blame it on the parents.
Is it my fault? No I don't think so I do my best to discipline both the boys, it just so happens that Liam chooses not to listen or to follow simple instructions he chooses to be spiteful to other children well to anyone really, he finds something naughty to do wherever he is.

Which brings me back to school, everyday the teacher is standing on the door like a bouncer, I am like that under-aged teenager again with no identification to get into the club, hiding my face trying not to make to much eye contact hoping today will be the day I get in or should I say that Liam has been good. Every day she gives me that disapproving look, my heart sinks I know what she is going to say before she has said it, Liam has been in time out today, Liam has been climbing on things he shouldn't today, Liam has tried to break the sandpit today, Liam wouldn't sit on the carpet today the list goes on.
Not only that Liam and his three year old friends have formed an alliance they are running around like wild animals bouncing off each others behavior like children do, they try to better one another, to be quite honest yesterday I felt quite sorry for the teacher she looked shattered I mean I struggle with one Liam I couldn't quite imagine having five or maybe six children like him in the same room!

I am really hoping that over the next week things are going to settle down. Honestly I am not sleeping at night worrying about what the next day is going to bring, or what the day is going to hold for Liam I have parents afternoon on Friday, I feel physically sick at the thought of it, but hopefully they will be able to help make suggestions of how we can work together as a team to improve things.
   

Pirate costume its a pirates life for me!

Liam came home with instructions on Friday that he needed a pirates outfit for school for a
"Pirates Party"
I cant understand why schools do that? Only give you a short while to organise something. So I went in to a bit of mummy panic mode on Friday how am i going to get him a costume for Tuesday I didn't want to spend a lot as I know he will never want to wear it again so this is what I came up with.

I found an old pair of jogging bottoms of Liam's that he only wears to play in.

I cut the bottoms off both the legs of the trousers

It didn't have to be straight as most pirates are quite rugged.

Then I simply chopped them it into the frayed look

I had to make them look like he had been at sea for a month!

Now I did cheat with the rest a bit I had an old stripy t-shirt for him to wear for his top, I bought him an eye patch and I had a bandanna with a skull on from a different occasion, so all in all the outfit cost around £3 that was just for the eye patch but If I hadn't of had the bandanna I would have just used an old tea towel for the head dress.

 

The earring is just a clip on earring with a gold curtain type ring attached to it

This is the end product, not to bad to say everything he has on is what I found around the house apart from the eye patch. I wanted to draw on his face and give him a scar but he wouldn't let me. Liam being Liam, but he went to his "Pirates party" he actually kept his hat on and he has had a fabulous time and all for very little cost! I would say win win all round.

Summery of the first week at school

So after the first day of school meaning ripped trousers etc things just got worse. Day two the teacher said
 "Ohhh Liam Is quite lively hes certainly going to keep us fit",
she gave me one of those disapproving looks as if to say he is naughty. Now don't get me wrong I know he is a handful he was meant to have been referred to a behaviour specialist which was around eight months ago but were still waiting, Liam can be a really good loving little boy when he wants to be, he is so easily excitable and just does not listen to anyone you would think he had a hearing problem but its selective more than anything else.
So the third day of school they tell me he is a wriggle bum and is refusing to sit on the carpet with the other children.
the fourth day Liam refuses to put his coat on and says he is not going home.
Day five ends up with Liam in time out for continuing to not listen and running around kicking children and furniture etc.

The school has a parents evening next Friday, I am dreading going I am doing my best to try and get him to behave but Liam seems to do what he wants to do, I am not a mum that sits back and lets him do as he pleases but I really am running out of things to do to help him improve his behaviour.

On the plus side Liam and Adam have both been in bed at six thirty every evening allowing me to have peaceful nights, which is a huge improvement to me running up and down the stairs till ten o'clock some nights! oh and further to the parents evening he has on Friday they also informed us they have a pirates day on Tuesday where they have all got to dress up as a pirate and pay a pound for the privilege so a costume he needs (home made) as well I will be letting you know how I get on with this in a further post!

First day of school

Well were a little later than most but the day has finally arrived Liam started school today. The day started with him being up at crack of dawn, he was so excited running around jumping up and down not a bit nervous and if he was, he was hiding it very well, I tried to explain to him that he would not be going to school till after lunch but I do not think it registered with him, as he did keep telling me get me dressed mum and its time to go now!

I got him all ready in his school uniform, I felt like the proudest mummy in the world!

 

So we set off for school Liam running ahead in front the school is only a ten minute walk away from home, not really that far as we approached Liam was shouting "mummy mummy I can see the gates"
I did say to him now you have got to be brave mummy will pick you up later, but he wasn't in the slightest bit phased, to busy looking at the shiny building and play areas ahead of us.
If truth be told I think the be brave part was for myself I felt a little bit overwhelmed by it all. As we approached the class room the teacher was waiting out side to greet everyone Liam didn't wait for her to say hello, he did not say good bye he just ran inside and that was it, now I am glad he wasn't crying or clinging on to me like some of the children were but a kiss and a see you later would have been nice I think because I needed reassurance more than him!

The time this afternoon went by so fast, I felt like I had just sat down and it was time to go back and collect him!
When I got to the School the teacher gave me one of them looks my heart sank I thought what's he done? Turns out he had been charging around and fell over bumped and bruised his cheek so she handed me a copy of the accident form, he had also torn a hole in his trousers, his jumper was covered in red paint and his shoes have got what looks like chunks of the fronts missing from them where he has crawled all over the floor, I can see this going to school game is not going to be cheap.

However he had an amazing first day and he has absolutely loved it, he can not wait to go back again tomorrow. I still can not quite believe my baby has started school but I an enjoying every minute of watching him grow into a lovely little boy.

#Win a £25 tesco voucher #BacktoSchool week

So as another week comes to a close I still have shoes, a teacher visit and a holiday to get ready for but i thought I would end my back to school week on a high with a lovely giveaway, actually My very first giveaway hopefully there will be some more to follow!

so to celebrate the start of my blog and in keeping with my back to school theme week I am giving you the chance to win a £25 Tesco voucher to spend on back to School goodies or whatever you choose.

So for you chance to win a £25 Tesco voucher you can enter via the Rafflecopter below, the giveaway ends on Friday 13th September good luck all

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Its a nightmare!! the big school shop #BacktoSchool week

So quite happily off we went to start collecting the things we needed for School, there is a massive choice of places to buy uniforms everyone seems to be getting in on the act all the big supermarket plus all the high street stores all doing there own ranges sizes and prices.

where to start? First stop our local supermarket Tesco, at a first glance the store seemed fantastically well stocked but on looking deeper in to what we needed there were only two royal blue jumpers left in Liam's size and there was one pack of two shorts, so I snapped then up straight the way there were plenty of polo shirts and trousers so two packs of trousers and two packs of polo shirts into the basket.

I would of liked Liam to have tried them on but trying to get a three year old onto the changing rooms with a pushchair and a shopping basket is a nightmare in Itself so after picking up a few more essentials items, next stop back home for lunch. At home I tried Liam's school trousers on in size terms he has the smallest size that the supermarket make. This is a problem in that even on the tightest pull in on the adjustable waist they just fell down and the legs are far to long, so looks like the trousers will be, being returned so all we have up to now is four polo shirts, two pairs of shorts and two jumpers....
Next stop one of the cheapest leading supermarkets Aldi fantastically priced but everyone must have had the same idea as me as there stock levels were very low but i have managed to get four round neck T-shirts and a packet of black socks.

Onto Leicester city centre now first stop Matalan there stock levels were not that great in store but another two royal blue jumpers purchased there sizing is really generous so buying more trousers from here didn't seem an option.
Onwards to the next store BHS they had loads of trousers but mainly not black or in Liam's size the lady in the store was very helpful and found us one pair of black trousers i tried them on and they were a perfect fit, fantastic so I clicked onto my phone to see if i could get some more online and there were none left completely out of stock which i wasn't very happy about. So off we went again this time to marks and Spencer's although they are slightly higher in price i was hopeful they would have a lot of stock i could not see any black trousers on inspection of the back to school range, so after asking one of the store members of staff he was very helpful he managed to find me a pack of two pairs of trousers the last two pairs in store and looking on there website they have plenty of stock I could order some more to collect later in the week.
 So this is what i have managed to buy

• Two royal blue jumpers from Tesco
• Two times two polo shirts from Tesco
• Two pairs of black P.E shorts from Tesco
• Four black pairs of trousers from Tesco
• Two royal blue jumpers from Matalan
• Four round neck Tshirts from Aldi
• a Pack of socks from Aldi
• One pair of trousers from BHS
• Two pairs of trousers from Marks and Spencer plus two pairs ordered online 

I have decided that I am not going to return the trousers to Tesco as Liam will grow, but it has made me think. Are stores not stocking so much in because people are avoiding the shops and doing all there shopping Online? After looking on the all of the companies websites the majority of them have a great selection of back to School Items on line which are available for collection in store or for home delivery, with the exception of Aldi as they don't have a website that you can buy things from but it is worth keeping a close eye on there site, as it lists any promotional or seasonal items and events they have coming up in store.


Today has actually been a nightmare and Liam still has no footwear, I have a three year old that was more interested in hiding under the clothes than looking at them and a toddler that is screaming to get out of his pushchair is not my idea of fun but the shop had got to be done. so i have come up with a few tips to make it through the school shop without to much stress.

1. Compare prices Online to get the best deals
2. If you have to go shopping work out the best route so your not walking round for hours
3. Take a list you don't want to keep having to go back for items you have forgotten
4. Get you child to try things on that way you don't end up with extras
5. Add an incentive for good behaviour like an ice cream/toy or a sticker on there reward chart
6. Take a small toy or snack to keep little ones in push chairs entertained
7. Shop in store as early as you can to avoid disappointment  

 






The trousers that were too big but were getting there we are nearly ready for School.

The list #BacktoSchool Week

As i mentioned in my first post we were given a sheet of what the Liam would need for school and also what would be expected of them.

Expectations;

• All children should be able to get there selves ready for P.E

Liam cant get him self dressed he gets all muddled up and his temper flairs although with gentle encouragement he is slowly getting his pants the right way round after investing in some pants with pictures on the front and explaining that on trousers buttons or strings go at the front.

• Can go to the toilet by themselves and wash there hands after

Liam still has "accidents" and needs lots of reminding to use the toilet he also is not very good at telling me he wants to go to the toilet when were outside of home although he never has an accident out however he will hold it till hes absolutely desperate and without me taking him and making him sit he would wait till he got home. As for hand washing he washes his hands but is fascinated by the water so with out supervision would probably just stay at the sink all day long

• Children should be able to use a tissue or hankerchief properly

I actually can not say if he will do it or not because its a long time since he had a cold but hopefully he will.

What he will need to start school,

• Black trousers 
• white polo shirt
• Royal blue jumper
• white round neck T-shirts 
• Black shorts 
• P.E bag
• Plimsolls
• Black shoes with velcro
• black socks

In addition to all the above everything needs labeling they also need wellies for the colder weather coming and a waterproof jacket they also need parents to pay a fee of £10 when they first start to cover baking ingredients and messy play food items.

So this is my list looks like lots, today myself and Liam are going on a getting ready for school adventure, hopefully to get everything he needs I have written it all down as not to forget anything but we will see how the day goes along I will be back tomorrow to let you know how he has got on! wish me luck x

Our experience of the School Process so far #BacktoSchool week

So here we are nearly at the end of the school holidays, not that this has ever meant anything to me before now, As Liam will be the first child I have in school. So with there only three weeks left before Liam starts his afternoon place I have decided to tell you our thoughts and feelings on the School process so far.

I am going to start off by taking you back to June, when we had our letter through the door inviting myself and Liam to a "Come and Play session", Now I know these sessions are a standard procedure across the country as a way to introduce children to the place they will be spending there next year and a chance for parents to ask any questions they might have, which in my case is usually lots. I was actually quite excited by it all, I read the letter out loud to Liam, he was just as excited bouncing around the room saying "mummy mummy I go School now" .....

So on the 4th of July i helped Liam to get ready, putting him in his best outfit like all parents you want you child to look the best they can especially when its going to meet other parents and teachers, I would hate for anyone to think hear comes the "scruffy child" or a parent for that matter I put my best casual outfit on did my makeup and hair! a proud mummy always wants to look her best.
When we got there we were all ushered through to the nursery and welcomed formally by the teacher, Into "F1" given a list of expectations and what they would need for when they are starting.
To be quite honest the rest of what was said wasn't quite heard as i was completely overwhelmed by the whole experience, There were children from both the morning and the afternoon slots, parents talking between themselves and i was handed a four page form to fill in whilst I was there not to mention an over excited three year old that was disappearing into a sea of children.


But my mind wasn't actually focused on that day at all i could think was how on earth did we get to my baby being old enough to go to school, its almost like someone has pressed a fast forward button and and time has just jumped I guess i know now that this is the beginning of his own future and having a bit more independence away from mum, he is certainly ready to go to school, I am just not sure that I am ready.