On #shopcardiff

Cardiff Stuff, Wales, , , ,

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So here’s the challenge, Cardiff – for one week only, try and shop only in local, independent businesses. You might be surprised at what you find – and at what you save!

Up for it?

  • Find out about the best Cardiff businesses at independentstreet
  • Get involved – tweet your experiences using #ShopCardiff
  • Get a bargain – check out #shopcardiff deals from indie retailers
  • Share the love – via Facebook, Twitter, your blog

Simples!

ps – for inspiration, check out the story of the Pugh family, who are 20 weeks into a challenge to go a year without a supermarket!

On small steps with my biggest boy

Family, LearnerMother, , ,

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One of my clearest memories from having my firstborn was how utterly perplexed he seemed to be with the world in which he found himself.

Completely exhausted from labour, and terrified that I would fall asleep and suffocate him, I had put him in the little crib thing next to me and held my breath, expecting a roar of protest. Well the roar never came – and in fact, he continued to be the most placid baby I’d ever come across. But in place of the roar, was a little face looking around so confused, so worried almost, that I wished I could have popped him safely back inside me for a few more weeks till he felt ready to face us all.

That sense of not being in the right place has stayed with my biggest boy. Even in his happiest moments, he has never been completely carefree. He worries about all sorts of things – most of all about whether anyone likes him. Achingly like me as a child, he is desperate to fit in and be one of the gang, but doesn’t really know how to do it. When I watch him on the school yard in the mornings, I have sometimes felt physical pain in my gut for him as I see him approach groups only to be ignored – and then to start acting the fool to get attention, and of course isolating himself further. In the past I’ve been pretty pro-active about organising playdates for him, but over the last year or so – at his request – these have tapered off.

But just these last few weeks it feels as if there is a small, but significant change in the air. He seems more confident in himself, and his thoughts and feelings. He is definitely playing more with a wider group of friends in the playground, and in the last 2 weeks has had playdates with 2 different friends – at his instigation! – and has invited another friend to sleep over on the last day of term. He’s stayed off the ‘concern list’ all year at school, and his teacher said again at parents evening how far he has come this year.

None of that really matters to me – I would slay dragons for him as he is, however he is. But seeing him grow into himself a little, and become more comfortable in his own skin, is a lovely way to start the Spring, for all of us – but most of all for him. Looking forward to more small steps, my biggest boy! x

Linking up to Magic Moments – why not link up too?


On the MAD Blog Awards

LearnerBlogger, , ,

Just over a week has gone by since I decided to finally stop thinking about blogging and to start doing it. I’ve probably had a fairly typical first week in that I’ve changed my blog theme about 10 times, been caught swearing at wordpress by my kids about 100 times, and – of course – have become obsessed by the stats button. I’m sure with time, the obsession will fade – to be fair, you can only refresh the page so many times before you realise that your 15 page views 3 days ago is as good as this week’s going to get. And probably 14 of those were my mother checking up on me.

But it’s not only my own blog that has been occupying my time. Previously, I’ve dipped in and out of parent blogs via twitter – most often when I’ve had a crap day feeling like a crap Mum and I need to know that I am not alone in not having all the answers. But this week I’ve been doing some more active research – what makes a good parent blog? What makes people read and go back for more? What are the pitfalls? Should I identify my kids and what if people I know start reading? This last one particularly has been topical on Purplemum’s blog this week – and it’s something that’s occupying my mind quite a lot – a post for another day, perhaps.

Well, you know what my research has shown me? That there’s a shedload of good stuff out there. Like, really, really good. There’s funny stuff, useful stuff, what the feck can I do with them today stuff,  techie stuff , and stuff that is both heartrending and excellent – the list is endless. It’s like a massive lucky dip of parenting help, on hand whenever you need it.

And that’s why I’m going to be voting in the MAD Blog Awards. I figure that since I take advantage of the lucky dip, the least I can do is cast my vote…I’m off to do it RIGHT NOW!  Well, right after changing my theme again, and possibly checking my stats….