No callers unless by appointment…

We give to charity when we can. Comic relief, Children in Need, Sport Relief, Race for life, the list goes on. We don’t begrudge giving money when we can, charities do fantastic work and rely on donations to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

When we need to buy something we go online, go in to the city, go to the supermarkets. We understand the whole process of supply and demand. There’s no problem there.

Because of this, we display a sticker on our front door stating that we don’t want anyone calling to sell us anything or ask for donations. In fact the only person who ever sees any money cross the threshold is the window cleaner.

So why is it that we still have people knocking on the door? This evening, approximately five minutes after Junior was in bed there was a banging on the front door. I assumed it may be our neighbour. Wrong.

When confronted by a young man in a red vest I knew it was someone who obviously couldn’t read the large sticker on our door, or had been told to ignore them and knock anyway. I didn’t say hello. I asked if he had an appointment. He replied that he didn’t but he was from a charity, was it alright? No it isn’t I replied in a friendly manner, my son has just gone to bed. He has had trouble sleeping due to the heat and a tooth coming through so I was less than happy to be disturbed when he was settled.

At this he tiptoed back across our driveway, tail between his legs. Junior began to cry.

I appreciate he has a job to do and has more than likely been told to knock anyway. That is what gets my back up. There were three of these ‘chuggers’ doing the rounds in our close. Talking loudly and harassing every household on our road, at the direction of their charity.

The last time this happened, the man banging on our door lost his job. I figure that if they can’t read a simple sticker then they shouldn’t be knocking on doors. Upon opening the door to him, he began to question Mrs L as to why we had a sticker at all.

Why do the charities need to do this? Can they really make much money doing this? I doubt it.

Like I said, if I want to donate money I will of my own free will and if I want solar panels I will go out and buy them myself. Just don’t come knocking on my door…

High shelves…

It has been a few days since my last blog, and although I have loads to blog about, only one thing springs to mind right now.

A few days ago I experienced something that I hope never to experience again. What could’ve been. After a particularly bad night with Jnr and a long day at work I sat in the living room after being handed a coffee and played with Jnr. I put the coffee on the bookcase and continued to play.

Having drunk some of the coffee, and knowing it had stood for 20 minutes, I knew that it wasn’t hot. It was no hotter than Jnr’s bath water but what happened next was horrific.

I watched in slow motion as Jnr grabbed the coffee cup and pulled it over himself. Just his arm, which wasn’t bare, and his legs – again not bare. To say I watched suggests I didn’t react. I did but everything seemed to slow down and I couldn’t get to him quickly enough. It is terribly cliché to say ‘time stood still’ or ‘the whole world slowed down’ but it did. I have never experienced this before and hope never to again.

Needless to say, Jnr was and is fine. The coffee was luke warm at best and so didn’t even mark him but it gave me my biggest shock yet. I know he can get things from the cup’s perch. I know he likes to pull things down. Why did I put it there? There is no reason, I have no reason and need no reason. For the next two hours after he went to bed I crucified myself, silently and mentally. What if? How could you? All these questions went through my mind. I can’t help but think that all parents must go through at least one of these moments. The ones I have spoken to have and I’m sure those that haven’t, will.

All I can say is that I hope that time never slows like that again for me or Mrs L.

Blogtastic

This blog is a bit of shameless promotion for my class. I have enjoyed blogging so much I have got my class doing the same. Please feel free to have a look at their blogsite and leave some comments!

http://hpsyear6.blogspot.co.uk/

 

 

BLOG HOPPING!!!!

As part of the Brit mums group, members of the Dads group had a great idea to start a blog hop with 5 questions we would all answer. Being a wordpress user I can’t use the code for the linky list so please hop around the other daddy blogs by following the links I have created at the bottom of the page. Then hop on using the links on other members blogs.

Why do you blog?

I was inspired to start blogging by a colleague who I had recently met and by work done (or to be done) on blogging in my school.

If you could choose a performer to see in concert who would it be?

Well, that’s a tough one. Have seen my favourite band already so probably someone like Michael Jackson. If they had to be alive then Foo Fighters again, they were incredible.

How is your blog influenced by you being a Dad?

It is all about being a Dad. I can’t really discuss work so what else do I have to share? My life is centred around my son who is the most amazing little boy and my best friend.

What is your favourite film?

That is an impossible question for me to answer. I love films and have numerous different favourites which I love for different reasons. There is no one stand out film in my opinion as every year new films are released which stand out. Who’s to say that my favourite film right now is my favourite film tomorrow? If I were honest I would say a film can only be rated as your favourite based on how many times you can watch it and never get bored. It is that DVD which always escapes the dreaded car boot/ebay clearout. And even though you know all the jokes, you still laugh every time. I will go with Terminator 2, just so there is an answer!

Who gets up for your kids in the night?

Me. I always have and probably always will. I am a night person and find it easier to operate at 3am than Mrs L. She does sometimes get up and always helps if I need her to but it is one of my main duties in our tag team!

Please visit the other Dad’s blogs and keep the hop going!

1. RJR Daydreamer

2. Dad’s Cooking Tonight

3.  Files and Records

4. My Life as a New Dad

5. Wisdom begins in Wonder

6. Daddy Time – The Blog Hop

7. It’s a Dad Thing

Memories!

We had our Photobox A4 photo album delivered a couple of days ago and firstly can’t believe how good the quality is and secondly how so much time has passed and how much our boy has changed in just over a year.

Putting the photos in order and selecting the photos to use was a long task but one I would happily do every single day, every week. Just looking back at the pictures of Junior at his first swimming lesson and in his bouncy chair brings so many memories flooding back.

It’s amazing how one little picture can trigger a detailed memory of an event, day or longer and related events. By looking at one picture so many other memories jump out and a patchwork of pictures and experiences is reignited in your brain, it is the best feeling. It makes me realise just how important photos are, not just digital ones but actual prints. Digital pictures are great and we have hundreds, but those pictures in print for some reason just make my brain work differently.

A picture of Junior’s first solid meal just brings back so much. It makes me remember all the fuss around the baby rice, measuring it out and making sure it was perfect consistency. Preparing all the utensils and ingredients as if we were working in Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant. I remember thinking it was strange that baby rice went into the bottle (it doesn’t) and how would it come out the small hole? I remember being promptly called an idiot and standing back while the ‘boss’ took charge.

How can one photo trigger so many memories in a person? Especially a person like me who sometimes struggles to remember his name!

For new parents. Buy a decent camera. Take photos of those important moments but remember to experience them first and foremost. A picture will show you a snapshot but living that moment will give that picture so much more life.

Don’t buy twice! Sometimes don’t buy at all!

One of the most frustrating things that I have found since becoming a parent is the amount of money I spend unnecessarily and have spent unnecessarily since Jnr was born. I don’t begrudge spending it. I love spending my money on him. I just hate buying rubbish and seem to have been plagued by baby shop ‘deals’ since March 1st 2011.

I love the quote that a dad is “a man with photographs where money used to be” but I don’t love the fact that I have spent money twice on more than one occasion.

Example 1: Baby monitor.

A must have. Well it depends on the size of your house. There are very few parents that wouldn’t buy a monitor first time around. Don’t worry though because I have bought three just to cover two other sets of parents who never bought one.

The first was a Tommee Tippee monitor with breathing monitor pad. This was a terrible mistake. The breathing monitor couldn’t go into the moses basket and when we did test it before Jnr was born it was so terrifying we chucked that part away. The monitor itself was awful quality. You could barely hear anything unless turned right up and then all you got was static. We binned it. Though it might be good because they are reputable for bottles etc, but it was awful.

The second was marginally better. A Tomy. No real issues, sound was clear, easy to use, temperature measurements were relatively accurate. Broke after 6 months. Wasn’t misused, just stopped working. Probably battery issues but due to make of handset a new battery cost £35, so it too was binned.

At this point I cursed myself for buying cheap monitors. The first at £30 (on sale from £50) the second at £60. So I bought a higher quality BT model. It’s brilliant. I hate myself for false economy.

Example 2: Pram/Pushchair

Pushchair one was a Mamas & Papas Pliko Prammette. So complicated it’s a joke and started to have wobbly wheels after a few months. Thankfully it was a gift.

Pushchair two is a Quinny Buzz. It’s pretty awesome and I wish we had just asked for the money towards it when the first was bought for us rather than going for something that did too much and none of it that well. It was a good pram i guess but shoddy pushchair.

Example 3:  Highchair

We are on our third. It is a Baby Bjorn and is amazing. The first one was ok but we couldn’t attach the sticky bowl to the matt finish tray. The second was the same model but with a gloss tray so we could stick the bowl but the strap system had been altered so was just plain dangerous once Jnr was able to wriggle and jiggle his legs out of it.

We didn’t buy three chairs. Just one. The first was a gift, the second was a swap  for the first with my parents as they didn’t need a glossy tray as they only feed Jnr occasionally.

There are many other bits and pieces bought and replaced due to wear and tear and chewing and tearing and dropping out of pushchair but I wanted to highlight these three quite expensive and important pieces of baby kit. It is so difficult to choose the right model. Reputable shops and brands seem to have lowered their standards and increased their prices. I have never been someone who has looked for the cheap option but when faced with a bargain with a good brand behind it who can resist?

My tip. Listen to your friends. Listen to experience not the shop staff. Be careful of online reviews too, you don’t know who has written them.

For our current highchair I watched our neighbour use hers and was so impressed I spent £135 that night. Store demos don’t quite cut it like demos with an actual baby.

P.S     Don’t waste your money on a little plastic baby bath with inflatable bottom and tiltable head support. They are awful, kids hate them and you miss out on the best time of the day. Nothing beats having a bath with you child and that comes from a strictly shower type of guy!

My 1st set of Secateurs

Ok. I want to clarify that I am not, nor ever have been a gardener. In fact I don’t enjoy gardening and if it weren’t for the fact I do appreciate their beauty I would happily do away with gardens altogether. Well, that’s what I used to think.

After moving into our new home in August 2011 I have done the bare minimum to keep the garden in check. A little cutting here and there, mowing the lawn once or twice. That’s it. I never understood the excitement of gardening or any sort of DIY. Not through lack of experience. I have dug holes for ponds, pruned hedges, painted a dance studio and countless other tasks relating to home improvement but never enjoyed any of them. They have always been a chore.

But this last week I have enjoyed gardening for the first time. I have had an experience which led me to visit Homebase (other garden centres are available) 3 times in 4 days. In fact, I was a little worried for a few hours that I may have been developing an addiction. As it panned out it was more my addiction for spending money and buying new ‘toys’ rather than DIY. Thankfully.

I digress. The simple act of destroying a rose bush that had grown wildly out of control gave me the desire to sort my garden out. I borrowed tools from my father to do this, tools I never thought I would buy or  had any need for. As long as I could borrow his I would cope without my own gardening equipment, this gave me an excuse not to do things as ‘I don’t have the lopper/pruner/mower etc etc.

So, I visited Homebase and was a sucker for an advert. I had recently seen a Fiskars advert for a weeding tool and so had a brand I could recognize aside from Flymo. I made my way to the gardening department and located what would be my first set of Secateurs/pruners. Now I know this isn’t exciting but I am someone who can’t help but share when he finds something awesome. The set I bought were about £15 and I now look for things to cut.

I guess what I have found is that a little bit of destruction and the right gadget can make any man excited about any mundane task. There is a big hedge in my front garden with my name on it. It serves no purpose so will meet the same fate as the rose bush, all because of a rotating handle.

The 1st night home

After enjoying another ‘eventful’ day with Junior today, I couldn’t help remembering the first night he came home. He spent the first couple of days in hospital with Mrs L as she recovered from a natural water birth of a 9lb 4oz baby! Those nights at home, alone, were strange and not a lot of fun. I recall just wishing I was there to see my new son and help Mrs L take care of him so when we were told we could go home I was made up.

 

Everything, or so I thought, was prepared. The car seat, the moses basket, the sleepsuits, bottles, breastpump etc etc. All angles were covered. I was prepared, just as the Cubs had taught me. So here are my two pieces of advice.

 

1. Buy milk. If your other half plans on breastfeeding make sure you have a carton of formula in the cupboard. Nothing prepared me for the screaming at 4am from a baby who wouldn’t latch on. A baby, who due to his delivery, didn’t feed for the first few hours of his life so had learnt to suck his tongue. This meant at 4am when both parents were exhausted and the milk hadn’t come through properly yet for Junior to feed on, I was racing to a 24hr Tesco store to frantically buy something I had no idea about and was too tired to understand.

So, for a couple of quid that may well be wasted, be properly prepared and buy some cartons of milk.

 

2. Enjoy it. Enjoy that first night. Listening to your baby sleep is one of the best experiences you will ever have as a parent. I will always remember every noise he made that first night home.

A New dawn, a new Dad

As a dad-to-be I became increasingly frustrated at the lack of information and support available for new dads. Every magazine my partner read had a ‘Dad’ section but it never included any useful information or advice.
I don’t claim to be the world’s best dad or the fountain of all knowledge but I wanted to share some of my experiences in the hope it might help someone/make someone smile/give someone hope or even just remind someone of something they have done.
My boy ‘Junior’ is 13 months now, but I remember the early days like they were yesterday!