All posts tagged: #toddler

Knicker thrower

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While attempting to pay for Jeremy’s socks in a menswear shop, I pulled my wallet out of my bag with a bit more enthusiasm than strictly necessary (it looked like it was tangled in a nest of wipes, muslins and Sophie the Giraffe). The sheer force dislodged a spare pair of Amy’s knickers from the depths of my bag, and sent them scudding across the counter until they finally came to rest on the computer terminal. The red-faced (male, just-made-through-puberty) shop assistant pushed them back across the counter to me as I gibbered on about them belonging to my daughter. Judging by the look on his face, combined with the fact that the only daughter in evidence was a three-month-old, I don’t think he was buying it. So now I just look like a crazy lady who a) attempts to seduce shop boys by flinging knickers at them, and b) wears pink knickers with owls on the front that are obviously too small. Could have been worse, I guess…they could have been a pair of …

On Leave

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(Originally published in the May/June edition of NZ Little Treasures Magazine) With the memories of a nightmare flight with Tilly still causing me to break into a cold sweat, I vowed to never fly again until our children were old enough to be reliably distracted by entertainment. Then a chance arose to go on a short, child-free holiday with my sister-in-law and nephew (adult, totally self-sufficient and non-tantrum-throwing), and we tripped over ourselves in our haste to agree to go. I was ridiculously excited about the actual flight and wouldn’t shut up about how I was going to eat a meal while it was hot, watch a current movie, and go to the toilet all alone without a baby climbing up on my lap nor a three year old standing in front of me demanding we count how long my wees go for. I could barely fathom thoughts of sleeping in a hotel bed right through the night, in clean sheets that I didn’t have to launder. As for choosing activities without a thought for …

Dinner Time Dramas

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(Originally published in the Jan/Feb edition of NZ Little Treasures Magazine) When both my daughters took an early shining to solids (Tilly actually flung herself from my lap, face-first, into her big sister’s mashed potato at 4.5 months, and Amy’s first tentative sentence was “more yum-yums!”), I thought we were off to a cracking start and would soon be eating as a family, every night. Then a few curve balls got in the way… Dinner Is So Early! If you’re bedding by 7, and factoring in time after dinner for bath, stories, cuddles, and even the most low-drama of pyjama putting on, you rapidly run out of evening. Both my girls descend into meltdown mode if they’re not loading their tummies by 4.55pm on a good day, so week-night dinners are often simply too early for all family members to be present for. Mess! Amy and Tilly both discovered the joys of eating and blowing raspberries simultaneously. It’s astounding how fast and far pureed pumpkin can fly from a baby’s mouth. Tilly insists on waving …