DawnieBrown
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Home page: http://www.kneesupmotherbrown.me
Posts by DawnieBrown
The Pox Have Landed
03 weeks ago
It was inevitable really seeing as pretty much every other child at nursery has had Chicken Pox in the last 8 weeks. I was starting to believe my theory that vegetarians don’t get chicken pox for a while, but on Tuesday MasterB came home with suspicious looking spots.
We were quite lucky with the timing really, we just managed to get to his latest ENT appointment on the Tuesday before we spotted the spots. The ENT declared his ears free of infection and finally agreed to book him in for Grommet surgery (provisional date 21st May 
). This is a huge relief as it has taken us about 4 months and 5 lots of antibiotics to shift the latest ear infection and we are desperate to get his glue ear sorted and hopefully improve his speech.
But back to the spots… By bedtime on Tuesday it was pretty obvious that it was definitely chicken pox and so our solitary confinement had begun. To be honest, so far (8 days into the pox) MasterB hasn’t really suffered much with the chicken pox itself, he’s probably had around 150 spots in total and with constant dosing of Piriton Syrup and liberal applications of Eurax cream he has been quite happy. We’ve been trying every trick in the book – porridge baths, bicarb of soda in the bath etc and it all seems to be working although my cleaner is probably a little worried by all the “ingredients” lined up in the bathroom 
The main issue we have had (not surprisingly) it that on Wednesday the blasted ear infection reappeared, just 12 hours after the ENT consultant told us it all looked clear and the perforation was healing! Apparently it can happen as a secondary infection with chicken pox so OF COURSE MasterB was going to get that! After a phone call to our GP we were prescribed more antibiotics (the first induced sick, the second prescription is currently being tolerated) and we are now desperately hoping that this infection won’t take another four months to clear, ideally we’d like it to be clear in three weeks time for his Grommet surgery! As an added bonus – we even have the ear infection in both ears this time round (he only usually gets it in the left ear). The poor love has really struggled with it.
So there we have it – Chicken Pox = piece of cake, Ear Infections = hell on earth
Oh and just for good measure, nursery phoned today as MissB had a temperature. It doesn’t take Einstein to realise that the spots are going to start appearing on her any day now does it! I suppose if she gets it now then at least it means they will have both had it and that we can add chicken pox to the list of parenting challenges that we’ve conquered and assigned to history
Smiling in The Rain – Gruffalo Umbrella Review
04 weeks ago
We are huge fans of the Gruffalo in this house, in fact MissB is a little obsessed with anything Gruffalo related. You can only imagine how excited she was when we received this fabulous Gruffalo umbrella to review from Briers.
Now we think this umbrella is fab! It’s the perfect size for a child, has a great Gruffalo design on it which MissB adores and it’s great at keeping the rain off and bringing smiles to a rainy day
The umbrella has a sturdy plastic handle and a nice and safe rounded end so it won’t become a lethal weapon in the hands of a toddler MissB at age 3 can easily put the umbrella up and down by herself which she is extremely proud of.
I think this umbrella is an absolute bargain at £9.99 and for the amount of smiles it has given I’d definitely recommend one for any Gruffalo fan. In fact go and check out the rest of Briers Gruffalo range, they have some great products for any Gruffalo lover!
Five Fabulous Friday Blog Follows
1 month ago
by DawnieBrown
in Blogging
I thought I’d share a bit of blog love today, although I’ve not been posting too often myself recently, I have been reading my favourite blogs regularly (although I often don’t have time to comment). These are my five for this week:
Finding My Inner Girl – This is a relatively new blog by my gorgeous little sister Sonia who also blogs over at Mummy Loves . I know she’d love more followers on her journey to find her inner girl and ditch the jeans and hoody combination for good I’m incredibly jealous of her nail updates – I’m desperate to find a good nail person up here in Durham so I can have fab nails too!
Wishful Wonderings – There are three of us sisters who blog you know! This is my older sister Cath and I’m sure she’d love you to pop over and say hi!
Slow Cooker Queen – I love my slow cooker and Chrissie from Mediocre Mum has a new slow cooking blog which is definitely worth a follow. It’s not all vegetarian but she does share some great veggie recipes and if I like the sound of something which has meat in it then I’ll try and find a way to adapt it to suit us
Crystal Jigsaw – Kathryn has a great blog, it’s always fascinating reading about her life and she has some great discussions online, she’s never afraid to challenge our views and says exactly what she thinks! This week she posted about Dating Online (a cartoon drawn by her daughter) and Charity. What I love about Kathryn’s blog is that she hasn’t sold out, it isn’t about sponsored posts or reviews – it’s a blog about real life.
Northern Mum – If you’ve never read Jane’s blog before then pop over and have a read. I always end up smiling reading her posts which are incredibly funny a lot of the time. It’s one of those blogs where you pop across to read one post and end up spending ages reading random other posts. I just love her writing style.
Pop back next Friday for more fabulous Friday blog follows
Dowdy Dowdy Dowdy – Fashion Disaster Help Required
1 month ago
You know when you look at your wardrobe and you just want to weep? Well that!
I suppose I’m not the only mother of two young kids who has spent the last three years wiping snot, milk, sick and food off their clothes (all of these originating from my children not myself I hasten to add!). It’s no wonder that I’ve not been buying myself nice clothes for a while. I live in jeans (my current jeans were actually bought about 8-9 years ago) and v-neck jumpers. I look OK in them but they are just SOOOO boring!
It is only now as my children are getting less messy, that I look at my wardrobe with longing in the hope that I can just open the doors one day and find a beautiful selection of clothes waiting for me. There are only two real things stopping me from doing this though:
1) I HATE shopping! I’m just no good at clothes shopping, I see people walking past or on TV looking absolutely stunning and I wish I had their style – my problem is that when I walk into a shop and see rail after rail of clothes on hangers – well nothing looks appealing! I’d much rather see a whole outfit being modelled by somebody (or a mannequin) so that I can have some inspiration.
2) I don’t have TIME to shop. I work full time, run my own business and have two children under three. I work until midnight most nights, my weekends are fully occupied by my family so when exactly am I supposed to shop? It’s impossible to go shopping at the weekend with a 2yo and 3yo in tow!
I was really lucky towards the end of 2012 when I won £250 to spend at Boden! £250! Do you know what’s incredibly sad? That money is still sat in credit on my account waiting for me to spend it four months later because I simply haven’t had the time or the inspiration to choose anything. I’ve promised myself that this money is going to be spent on me and not the children as I could spend it in five minutes if it was for them. (Why is it so much easier to style children than it is myself?)
So – anybody fancy doing a bit of virtual shopping for me? What do you think I’d look nice in? If you’re feeling creative why not design me an outfit or shopping basket from Boden for £250 and I’ll publish them on here at a later date (with links back to you).
Washing Machines and Vegetarian Chicken Pox
1 month ago
It’s been a while since I blogged, life is still running away from me at about 1000mph at the moment but I’ve been storing away some cracking phrases from MissB to share with you. There is something about three year old logic which can’t help make me smile
The other evening, I was lying in bed with MissB and as I tucked her in and gave her a cuddle, I told her “Mummy loves you to the moon and back” – which set off a whole conversation about how much that is. Ten minutes later I managed to finally end that particular conversation, but as I walked out of her bedroom these words followed me out of the door.
“Mummy, I love you in the washing machine!”
Another one of my favourites was our conversation about chicken pox. Now we have so far avoided the dreaded pox although it is doing the rounds at nursery and so we are really just waiting for the inevitable. Last week we were watching an episode of Postman Pat where everybody had the pox and it started a conversation. I was trying to explain to MissB that her and MasterB might catch chicken pox soon when she piped up…
“But mummy we are vegetarian and don’t eat chicken!”
What A Difference A Night Makes
2 months ago
Anybody who follows me on twitter will be all to aware of the nightmare bedtime and nights we’ve had with MasterB over the last two years. 2 Years! I can’t believe he is 2 now and you know what *whispers* I think we might have finally cracked it
You wouldn’t think that this rather angelic looking toddler would be responsible for such trouble would you? But seriously… The little darling turned into a complete devil at bedtime, up until very recently I couldn’t leave his room before he fell asleep otherwise he went crazy. This is one kamikaze kid, without a thought for safety he would throw himself out of his cot or scream the house down if he even sensed you had left the room. For a child with vision and hearing problems, it still amazes me how he just “knew” when you left and would wake up instantly from his sleep and start crying. Bedtime usually took at least an hour of sitting on his bedroom floor!
Just a few months back we were still at the point where we couldn’t even put him in his cot and I would have to wait for him to fall asleep on me downstairs before carefully carrying him upstairs and placing him in his cot. The lovely Fi from Childcare Is Fun helped me immensely through this nightmare and we did finally get him to sleep in his cot but it’s probably taken another 4 months to be able to leave his room.
Tonight (as we have done for a WHOLE WEEK now), I placed MasterB in his cot, said goodnight and walked out of his room. Then I got into bed with MissB for 15 minutes to chat before she goes to sleep. Within minutes MasterB was asleep, no crying…just a bit of chatting to himself before falling asleep. What’s even more amazing is that he has even slept from 7pm – 6:30am most nights without us having to get up to him in the night!
I cannot begin to describe how it feels to have a week of unbroken sleep after 2 years of disturbed nights! I feel like I’m on a permanent sugar high at the moment I don’t know what has finally changed but maybe he really has finally just learnt to sleep at last. Whatever it is – I am one very very grateful mummy
Greener Holiday Parks In North Wales
2 months ago
by DawnieBrown
in advertorial
Family fun in the freshest air on the Welsh coast
Greener environments give the best backdrops to your holiday photos. There’s nothing fresher than green, natural space and clean sea air; which is exactly why Britain’s holiday parks have been re-landscaped over the years, so families can enjoy wide open grassy areas and explore huge surrounding forests, full of life.
In the last 12 months, Haven reduced its overall carbon footprint by more than 10% through by ‘greening up’ its parks.
“We want to keep our surrounding beaches, woods and countryside as beautiful tomorrow as they are today.”
North Wales is home to three eco-friendly parks and in such a beautiful part of the UK, the green efforts at each will work to preserve some of the most diverse wildlife our island has to offer.
Presthaven Sands
Perched on the edge of Shore Road in Prestatyn, this holiday park comes with direct access to a massive beach. Further inland, there are six Welsh forests to discover; one of which is called ‘Big Pool Wood’ and unsurprisingly, is home to a big pool of fresh water.
The park itself has a newly installed ‘Lazy River’ – heated and maintained in line with Haven’s green ethos, to preserve clean sand on the beaches, clean air in the atmosphere and clean attitudes all-round.
Wildlife to spot here: The freshwater otter
Day out: Welsh Mountain Zoo
Hafan y Môr
Looking out into the Irish Sea in one direction and across acres of green land in the other, Hafan y Môr is flanked by beauty. Protecting its surroundings is a priority for staff at the park…but that doesn’t mean they don’t know how to have fun:
Ropeworks, paintball, adventure golf, pottery classes – the list goes on and on when it comes to fun-filled activities here. It is definitely one for big families to look into and everything about the park is green. It’s a nice feeling to know you’re part of a campaign to keep our planet clean, while having the time of your life outdoors.
Wildlife to spot here: Bottlenosed dolphins
Day out: Greenwood Forest Park
Greenacres
The sister park to Hafan y Môr, Greenacres is just a 20 minutes coastal drive down the road. When you reach the park, tucked between Black Rock Sands Beach and Snowdonia, it’s clear to see why its habitat is worth fighting for.
Going green isn’t just an effort to reduce carbon footprints and get a pat on the back – Haven clearly love the locations of their parks and what’s a family holiday without the great outdoors?
The park has its own nature reserve and it’s free to go exploring through the trail. For the rainy days, there’s an all-weather sports court, so you really do get the best of both worlds here. Dogs are welcome too for those bringing their own accommodation and with the whole of Snowdonia to enjoy, it’s definitely worth enquiring about family weekend breaks at Haven.
Wildlife to spot here: Mountain goats
Day out: Go Ape!
The carbon emissions Haven saved in 2012 equated to planting near two million trees. The parks in North Wales are part of an overall campaign to help keep Britain beautiful and perfect for family holidays.
If you want to visit Haven Holidays in Wales and see for yourself what’s going on at the parks, book as early as possible to take advantage of the 2013 discounts. The parks open on March 15th.
Pirate Shapes from Orchard Toys Review
3 months ago
by DawnieBrown
in Reviews
We are big fans of Orchard Toys in the Brown household. We have a few of their games already which are played with all the time and whenever we go to birthday parties I usually buy an Orchard Toys game as a present. When they sent us their latest game Pirate Shapes to review, we were more than happy to help
Pirate Shapes is a game for aged 2.5+ and for 2-4 players. The game consists of 4 playing cards with 6 removable shapes in each one. The cards feature pirate scenes which are a huge hit with my two children. We have a thing about pirates in this household with MasterB having to wear an eyepatch for two hours a day to correct his squint
The game itself is simple enough for young children to play, you place all the shapes upside down in the centre and take it in turns to turn one over. If it is a piece that belongs on your playing card then you put it in the correct place, if it isn’t then you turn it back over and the next player has a turn. First to complete their playing card wins.
This game is great for a number of reasons, it teaches shapes, matching colours and also teaches about memory. If you see another player turn over a piece you need then you need to remember where it is so you can turn it over next time. Of course, as with most Orchard Toys games, you don’t have to play in exactly that way and you can make up your own games around the cards. MissB and MasterB love just sitting and completing them all like a jigsaw
Pirate Shapes sells for £9.50 which I think is great value considering how many hours MissB and MasterB sit playing with it together. Any game that gets my children playing happily together and is educational at the same time always gets a big thumbs up from us
The Moment You Realise Your Child Doesn’t Need You Quite As Much Anymore
3 months ago
Today was that day for me.
This afternoon we went out to Adventure Valley for a couple of hours, we have annual passes (a really thoughtful gift from my mother in law for Christmas) so we tend to go there every couple of weeks as it has a lovely, big soft play area and the kids love it.
Now usually on these days, both my husband and I are playing with MissB and MasterB in the soft play, helping them to climb up, holding their hands as we go down the slide and generally being the most important people in their lives who they love to play with
Today, whilst we were playing, we heard a little boy shouting MissB’s name. It turned out to be a friend from nursery and that was it. MissB was off playing with a group of children her own age. Charging around the soft play, giggling together, running around and generally having an absolute ball with barely a glance back to see where Mummy and Daddy were.
Although I still had the full attention of MasterB, I couldn’t help but get a lump in my throat. My little girl is growing up now. How long will it be until she no longer grabs my hand and pulls me into the soft play to see who can go down the slide quickest? How long until she reaches the stage where she is embarrassed to have Mummy and Daddy in the soft play with her?
I love seeing her so happy and being a child with all her friends around her but part of me doesn’t want her to need anybody else in her life but me (and Daddy of course). I’m allowed to feel jealous of those friends aren’t I? I’m allowed to want to be selfish and keep her to myself that little bit longer aren’t I? Or should I just accept that the days of being needed quite so much are dwindling?
I’m going to cherish these days where she is still my little girl and make the most of being able to race her down the slide because today I realised these days aren’t going to last forever 
MissB – I love you, please always be my little girl.
Erin
Dear kneesupmotherbrown.me
I have visited your site and found it's very useful for us. I think your site is pretty good.
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1 week ago
becky
Just have a brand new slow cooker so I will be checking out Chrissies new blog !
2 weeks ago
Sonia
Thanks for including me sis... Just FYI Cath is now at www.wishfulwonderings.co.uk xxx
1 month ago
