CHRISTMAS

So I decided to relax and enjoy christmas rather than capture every second of it for the blog. Wow, I hear you say, what a crazy idea ;)

The two pictures I did take I think sums up how Christmas was for us this year, low key, pared back and homely. Myself and Ben only bought a few bits for each other and just one thing for Stanley. Ok, it was pretty decent, and a large set but we were careful in our purchase. We watched earlier in the year lots of brio train sets on ebay and bought two batches locally to combine to make this amazing set for him all for a ridiculously low price. I have never seen such a happy little chap in all my life. He will not stop playing with it and just lies there for hours flat on his tummy pushing his little trains along the tracks. I think myself and Ben have enjoyed making a new track every evening almost as much as Stanley has enjoyed playing with it! I'm glad we made this decision not to buy too much, it is tempting to go crazy, it is so fun to buy things for toddlers, beautiful things that you know they'd love. It's tricky too there is so much out there to see. I'm bombarded on blogs and on IG with amazing things that other people are buying for their children, or for themselves, their house etc, and I feel I need to somehow 'keep up with the jones's' but I know I don't and couldn't afford to anyway even if I wanted too. But really I don't want Christmas to be about that. He got a small stocking from Father Christmas, but it contained many a practical item. New toothbrush heads for example, lucky child! I know it may sound like a cliche or too ideal but I really want him to be happy with the little things in life, and be happy with his imagination and being loved by family. I'm hoping we can instil in him from an early age, that while it is nice of course to receive presents there are other things that are also important. We are not a religious family, so I'm not talking about making him aware of the story of Christmas, just that he appreciates what he has with family and being loved, rather than demanding an ipad next year! We shall see anyway, it is of course easier said than done. His birthday is in a few days time too, so it can be overwhelming to receive so much close together. I don't want our little home and our heads to be weighed down with stuff. Or the importance of owning things...it feels good to try and break free of it all. I think this time less really is more.

I hope you all had good Christmas's and I hope you all have a Happy New Year. We have friends coming over for dinner. A very low key affair, with nice food and wine. Hopefully we will make it through to midnight ;)

GREEN PEOPLE

Which is us really most of the time, but also them. I hope you have all heard of the lovely Green People. If not I'm about to sing their praises! We have been using Green People for years. My husband first introduced me to them (being the secret eco warrior that he is!) and we have been fans of their body wash, shampoo and suncream for a while now. So of course it made sense that when little Stanley came along we only wanted to use organic, non chemical products on him too. Ben ordered me a selection of trial products for Stanley when he was first born - similar to this one. We still use them as his travel kit for when we stay over at people's houses. Recently I've been needing to wash Stanley's hair more. Not only is it quite long but it gets messier with his activities, being outside etc and I wanted to use a specific hair shampoo not just his body wash. Green people were kind enough to send me their Lavender Shampoo as well their Sticky Hand Sanitiser. Well the shampoo smells GREAT, and not at all old lady lavender. It always nice to have some relaxing lavender action before bedtime, even if washing hair isn't a relaxing experience for everyone....please turn away now if you don't want to see Stanley cry.

no idea what is about to come

distracting him with the mirror worked wonders last time

this time, not so much

all clean! what a cruel mother i am...

So Stanley may hate his hair being washed but I can tell you it has nothing to do with the product and I'm sure he'd be crying a lot more if he had chemicals seeping into his eyes. Funnily when I tried to explain this he just shot me a 'whatever' look. How can they already do this at such an early age? A sign of things to come I'm sure.... Anyway I'm very happy with it and I didn't need conditioner (thank goodness, can you imagine trying to that next!). Stanley's hair is fine and the product is so good it rinses out easily and combs through well. A little goes a looooooooong way too people. I used smaller than a pea size and got a great lather up. Oh my it is great - so yes maybe it is more money than other brands but I can tell you now you won't need to buy another for ages. Good for us, maybe not so much for Green People!

The Hand Sanitiser is lovely too. I was so pleased to be able to try this. It has a great scent and comes out in a very satisfying action from the pump! Stanley likes it, he of course wants to do it himself, which is fine, but not to be left alone with or else they'd be none left, even with a mighty 200 squirts per bottle! He's a pretty clean child really and does love to wash his hands. He is not a messy with food, but other children are so it is nice to have this on hand to wipe down high chairs etc when we are out. I'm all for a bit of germ action, but perhaps the only place where it makes me nervous is the tube, and seeing as we visit London a fair old bit it is good to have this on us. It is also good to squirt on to cloth wipes when nappy changing as occasionally I find they dry out in my bag. I use it on my hands too as Stanley is scared of the hand dryers, so washing my hands can often leave us traumatised! (In a similar way to hair washing...) An all round great product, safe enough to use on bottoms but attacks those nasty germs. At the moment too it is a special price so snap some up while you can!

footnote: yes we still bath Stanley in a baby bath. We have a large normal bath and are on a water meter so filling it would be expensive and wasteful. We like to save money and water where we can, and in the Summer it meant Ben could re-use the water over our garden plants as we have used safe organic products, another good reason for bathing Stanley in Green People stuff. He doesn't seem to mind and can't slip over as easily.

LONDON TRIP

Last week Ben had a half day at work so Stanley and I travelled up on the train to meet him at London Bridge. We wandered along the Southbank dodging the crazy rain downpours and looking at all the boats on the river. I had decided to re-join Tate. I used to be a member when I lived in London, but had let my membership slide when I fell pregnant and moved out of London. Anyway now Stanley is at an age where a). he can walk b). he enjoys train journeys and c). he can start to appreciate modern art. Ha. Well obviously 'c' is not really a reason, but I think there are a lot of exhibitions that someone as young as him can enjoy in their own way. Damian Hirst was a good example. Not old enough to be weirded out by all the cows cut in half and the tank full of alive flies & dead flies, he just enjoyed it for what it was. Especially the butterfly room - completely amazing - real butterflies flying about and landing on his Mama! Tate Modern is a nice place to meet people, and yes I think I'll be using my membership as an excuse to meet other Mum's there too. The members room is nice, a bonus with lovely views across the Thames. I can't be going up every week, but as long as I visit every other month the membership pays for itself. And when the Summer has been as disappointing as it has been (up until now!) it is always good to have more indoor activities.

 

Enjoying a slice of lemon in the members room. And if the Turbine Hall was not made for chasing toy cars down it's slope then I don't know what it was made for!

Ben and I enjoyed a beer on the Southbank in a 'pop-up' bar and then just as the rain became too much we headed into Wagamama for dinner where Stanley enjoyed his first proper meal from the children's menu! He did pretty well with it, but avoided all the rice. A hot chocolate for us on the way home and a little warm milk for Stanley, and this was a happy family trip.

♥ S & s