Surviving the Fourth Trimester by Cheryl Conklin

Having a baby comes with many challenges, even when it isn't the first time. As a mom, you know that the focus after birth tends to shift from mother to baby, but that doesn't mean you don't have new mental and physical struggles to address. Consider these postpartum issues and how you can address them efficiently to get through the elusive fourth trimester.

Getting Through the Discomfort of a C-Section

C-sections require significantly more recovery time than vaginal birth. It's major surgery with a serious incision, cutting through more layers of muscle than any other type of surgery. After your hospital stay, you'll need plenty of rest and help from your family so you can avoid putting your body through too much strain. Walking is extremely important post-surgery, as is changing your bandages regularly to keep the wound clean. Follow your postpartum instructions from the hospital carefully to ensure you heal as quickly as possible.

Managing the Hormonal Changes

In the aftermath of birth, your body goes through a variety of hormonal changes very quickly. It can take time to feel like your old self again. Changes in your vitamin and mineral levels can cause shakiness, which is why doctors recommend you continue taking prenatal vitamins postpartum, especially if you breastfeed. It can take up to a year for your hormones to even out again, so give yourself time and talk to your doctor about any difficulty regulating your feelings.

Preparing for Work

Preparing to take time off work is absolutely essential to bonding time with your baby. You have plenty of time during the pregnancy to prepare for that time off and should take advantage of as much of it as you can. Start by speaking with clients and customers about your upcoming leave and who they can contact in your absence. Hire a virtual assistant to take care of communications even when you come back to work. Lessening your workload allows you more time with your baby.

Soothing Nipple Discomfort from Breastfeeding

Nipple discomfort is common for breastfeeding moms. Research shows that you can even develop painful blisters on your nipples caused by a backup of milk in your duct opening. The best way to treat this issue is with a warm washcloth and a simple salt water solution. However, if you continue to have trouble, you should contact your doctor to ensure there are no infection issues. For cracked, sore nipples, read the reviews on nipple creams to find the best options available for soothing bleeding nipples during the first few weeks of breastfeeding.

Accepting Your Changing Body

Trying to understand the drastic physical changes your body faces while dealing with hormonal fluctuations can be challenging. The best way to adjust is to anticipate the changes. The hormones you produce during pregnancy can affect the appearance of everything from your nose to your feet, but remember to be kind to yourself. Your body just created another human being.

As you navigate the fourth trimester, keep your mind open to the things your body needs. If you listen carefully, you'll be able to avoid some of the pains of burnout. Spending less time at work and more time with your baby is a luxury that not everyone has, but if you can, take advantage of as much time off as possible. As your hormones return to normal and you get into a routine, your life with your baby will become less chaotic.

Creating the Perfect Montessori Nursery: A Guide for Parents

Please enjoy reading this post by Guest Blogger Andrea Gibbs, contributor at Montessori Academy, a blog dedicated to helping parents with the ins and outs of parenting children within the Montessori tradition. Hope you enjoy and please leave some feedback in the comments!

A parents dream is to have their child enjoy preschool and know success in school. This only becomes a reality for many when a child spends time at home in the Montessori nursery. 

In creating the environment, you will want to allow your child to feel successful and build confidence. You will want to give a comfortable and consistent structure so that your child feels safe. You will want to help your child be creative and disciplined simultaneously. You will want a home environment that allows your child to play and have fun, but you will also want to instill good habits for later learning, such as personal hygiene, table manners, and self-discipline.

Things to consider before making a nursery for your child 

When it comes to nursery design, there are a few things you should take into account before starting to decorate. Will the nursery be for a boy or a girl? What is the baby's gender? What style of nursery do you want to go for? What colors will you use? How much space do you have? Be sure to consider each of these questions before beginning the decorating process.

At the Montessori house, we believe in making a very gender-neutral nursery. You will want to get things in both gender-neutral colors. This way, your baby will not differentiate between what is for girls and what is for boys. However, if you decide to make a more girly or boyish nursery, this is fine as well. You want what your child needs and likes.

 5 Tips to Creating the Perfect Montessori Nursery for Your Child 

Montessori nurseries provide an environment that helps children learn and grow naturally. Here are five tips for creating the perfect Montessori nursery for your child.

1. Start by creating a comfortable, welcoming space for your child.

Montessori Nursery Room

Ensure your child has everything they need within reach. It is essential that everything your child needs is within reach from the floor but not too close to where the child will be crawling. This is important because everything should be at a level that your child can reach by himself. 

 Make sure there are plenty of places for them to sit and explore. Also, make sure there are plenty of places to play. 

2. Create a variety of learning materials and toys specifically designed for young children.

The toy should be beautiful, simple, and safe. Buy toys and materials that will last.

Keep things kid-oriented and not baby-oriented. This can help your child grow and learn more. The toy should be educational and fun. 

3. Then, provide materials that are appealing to your child. 

Traditional Montessori materials try to grab children's eyes and senses to learn and grow constantly. Children tend to be visual learners and start learning things the minute they see something new. 

You should choose a neutral wall color. Remove pictures and pictures of the same animal repeatedly. Avoid too much TV, music, or flashing lights. It should just be about nature and learning without distraction.

4. When you're ready to add more furniture, stick to simple designs.

Consider adding a few pieces your child can move around as they grow. This is important because a Montessori room will often change so children can keep up with their surroundings by moving things around themselves rather than having adults move everything for them. Offer a wide variety of things to sit on, such as chairs, benches, stools, and simple bamboo mats. You can also add pillows and cushions to help your child make their own space. 

5. And finally, keep the colors balanced throughout the nursery.

Keep everything within reach and within eyesight for your child. Watch out for colors that are too dark. Make sure the colors are not cold or too warm. They should be just warm enough to be comfortable with great light but not too hot where it is uncomfortable for your baby's touch. 

When choosing colors for the Montessori nursery, think about how you want your child to feel in this space. Then, select colors based on that feeling. In a Montessori nursery, color is used in the following ways: 

Choose pink or purple for your color scheme if you have a girl. If you have a boy, choose blue or green. Everything else can be neutral. If your child is very young (less than 18 months old), you can use bright colors such as red and orange but balance them with warm neutrals like brown and cream.

Conclusion: 

When children feel safe and comfortable, they learn better. Give your child what they need at the moment, but do not overdo it, or else your child will not be able to grow on their own. In creating the perfect Montessori environment for your baby, you should listen to them. They know what they need every day of their life and will let you know if something is missing from their environment.

Author bio

Andrea Gibbs is the Content Manager at SpringHive Web Agency, where she helps create content for their clients' blogs and websites. She is currently a blog contributor at Montessori Academy, a blog dedicated to helping parents with the ins and outs of parenting children within the Montessori tradition. When she isn't writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and her dog.

Outbound link:

a Montessori room

Buckle Up! It's a Crazy Ride!- every mother can relate.

In the words of Catherine, The Great:

I may be kindly, I am ordinarily gentle, but in my line of business I am obliged to will terribly what I will at all.

In the words of Alison Egan:

The best way to describe motherhood is ‘relentless’ and the only skill you need to overcome it is ‘perseverance’.

It is literally like an unlimited canon ball firing head-fucks in every direction combined with blowouts, tears, vomit, poop, sweat and laughter covered in snot. There is ALWAYS something to be done. and you ALWAYS need to be ten steps ahead of your mini squad. Sometimes I get so over-whelmed that I hide in my closet hoping the kids think that I’m out food shopping or dead so that I can get a break. I once faked a OBGYN appointment just to go get a facial because I was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

So here it goes, You have to pick up your husband and in-laws from the airport and just when you lock-up the house (after you have sanitized it and bleached it to the back of beyond) and strapped your kids into their car seats with their buffet of snacks and paraphernalia, you realize that you have not got your phone on your body. You run back into the house trying to retrace your footsteps- you remember that it was last seen in the hands of your one year old. So it literally could be anywhere from down the toilet seat to the back of the air vent inside the snack cupboard. You quickly try to search the house high and low and inside out before the kids die in the back of the car seat from overheating because you have read somewhere that that can actually happen in under 8 minutes. Finally find it ½ mile under the sofa in the living room near TV.

Back in the car, I turn on the ignition to read a red flashing warning light on the dashboard . Unfortunately this is not one of those red flags that you can ignore. It reads “Fuel Low’ Already running late, mission diverted, gas station. Traffic is backed up on the I90. Phone hopping but cannot answer as there is screaming kid in background. Finally, Sophia is asleep but all the stopping and starting on the highway, she is awoken again. Fuck we are out of toilet paper. It’s ok I’ll use my undies to wipe, they are covered in holes anyway, I need to buy more undies. Need to buy toilet paper within the hour before my in-laws think I was born and raised in a field. Must add to my to do list, to replace my undies, along with my PAP smear check-up and my dental cleaning appointment. Hopefully the dentist won’t notice I’ve been flossing with my hair for the past two months. Damn I’ve no wipes and only 2 diapers left. We are all out toothpaste. It’s ok I can make more out of baking soda and the residue of my peppermint essential oil I have in the back of drawer.

Shoot my brother is calling from Spain to vent about his ex-girlfriend or his boss and I do not have the bandwidth or the time to listen because I have to run. Sophia is screaming and running a fever. Harry is having a nose bleed that won’t stop so I grab his sock from his foot to shove it up his nose while I try to find the box of tissues I have seen somewhere in the house.

We have to get our COVID booster shots tomorrow but Jonny has a flu so we have to wait for another two weeks before we can get them.

(reschedule appointment: Add to-do list) Fuck I forgot to pay the gas bill. I hope we don’t get shut off. Although I’m pretty sure I set up the Direct debit.

Need to order a new pair of runners for Harry as he’s complaining of tightness in his current pair. Maybe I just need to cut his toe nails. When was the last time I cut them? I can’t remember. I’ll go on Amazon now to order…oh I also need to order Sophia’s Sippy Cups and wean her off her milk bottles before the DCFS start knocking on our door for negligence.

Shit what are we all going to eat tonight, I forgot to press the ‘order now ‘on the amazon website and didn’t get the chance to go grocery shopping since Sophia was pooping and crying all day. Shoot now Harry has a cough that won’t give up and nobody is qualified to tell whether he should go to the emergency room or not. I really don’t have the desire to take him there and Jonny is not home ‘til 8am tonight because he is dealing with the shutdown in Shanghai tonight and whether the staff just order IKEA bunkbeds and sleep in the factory for the next three weeks with BBQ food or not. In my mind I’m thinking will they have enough food, will they miss their newborn babies and respecting them so much for how much they are willing to sacrifice to make a living. Meanwhile I’m seeing Jonny stressed from dealing with the Americans who want their truck parts yesterday and wondering why they can’t toot their own horns and look at themselves in the mirror while driving along the highways and byways of the U.S. Where are our fucking truck parts?? Meanwhile in China, they are hoping the two dozen eggs delivered by the government will do the 20 workers for food for the weekend and in my world I’m hoping that the slightly out-of-date cough syrup works for Harry and saves me from having to go to the emergency room in Chicago for fear of going bankrupt in health care charges.

I totally forgot to buy and mail and get a stamp for that thank you card I had been meaning to buy for the couple who invited us for a dinner two months ago and ooops I completely forgot to buy that gift for our friends who got married last month. Did I even pay for those charity event tickets yet for Harry’s school? Is it too late?? I wonder if I could find it among my emails??

Oh and did I even get that birthday gift at target for this weekend’s birthday party?! Fuck I forgot Harry’s teacher’s birthday card. Oh no where is the TV remote control so I can slomp Sophia infront of Cocomelon while I can deal with my predicament. WHERE ARE THE BATTERIES?? TRIPPLE A!! Didn’t I just buy a packet last week in Target?

Fuck!!I forgot tomorrow is Mother’s Day and I didn’t send my mum a bloody Mother’s Day card and I didn’t even make a nice Instagram post or Facebook post for her. What kind of a failed daughter am I? What must my poor mother be thinking now?

Now the doorbell is ringing! Who did I invite for dinner? I’m in my underwear with my hair in a bun and it’s so greasy that I don’t even need a hair tie to keep it up and there in nothing but hairy strawberries in the fridge. Phew. It’s just the plumber I had arranged to call out earlier in the week to fix the overflowing toilet because of Harry blocking It with toilet paper with all his willy wiping after he pees.

Open emails. Oh NO!! I’m missing the Mother Son Dance at Harry’s school next week because I am out of town. OMG nobody opened the Blue Cross Blue Shield Letter and now a collecting agency is looking for payment for my hospital stay from two years ago. Didn’t I pay this already along with all my premiums? I guess I have to go through two years of bank statements now to find the exact sum. What’s my bank login details again? Sure, I could call the health insurance company, but nobody cares, It’s the USA. Will it affect my credit rating?

Oh fuck that reminds me did I pay my credit card off for this month? Is it already April?

Is it bedtime already? Damn now I have to go and read one kid two stories and force Jonny to read two stories to another kid because I’m sure I read on some Chicago Parent Magazine that if you don’t read at least two stories to your kids they will end up on the streets and in this case, completely illiterate on the streets. While I’m imagining my kids as illiterate pimps and hoes on the streets I’m also wondering when was the last time Harry had a bath or washed his hair? Oh shoot I’m missing that zoom conference call I accepted a month ago and now my phone is screaming at me. I can’t make it. I’m too exhausted.

Did I write back to Elaine or Audio back Aoife or Aisling after their Audio message from last month? Shit no more reading to Sophia or Harry tonight. They are both still breathing and have a pulse - we are doing an amazing job as parents.

Bedtime, Bath, Bottle, Lights out.

Damn I need to pee so badly. I haven’t had time to pee since the morning.  As I sit in peace and pee I try to remember the date of my last period. Am I late?

NOOOOOOOOO! JoooooonnnnyY!! Tomorrow you are getting a Vasectomy!!

I would like to finish that no matter whether you work outside the home or inside the home, EVERY MOTHER IS A WORKING MOTHER. Also I would like to add I would not change this madness for the world.

I am a full time stay at home mother and have no time to work on my business that I have legally founded and trademarked. I have to put it on pause and wait and move slowly with it in the background. I often wonder how successful my business would be now if I didn’t have poop to clean, dinner to cook, food-shop to buy as well as write and buy those birthday cards and thank you cards and wipe snot from faces. Although my husband is amazing and I would rather be in the trenches of parenthood with nobdoy else, these roles still fall to the mother mostly. When my kids are sick, the school call me, when it’s Spring break, I’m here. As for my hopes and dreams for my own business,  I will wait and see. As Ruth Bader Ginsberg said regarding women. “We can have it all but we can’t have it all at the same time’ I guess I need to be patient and just breathe.

I hope this resonated with some women and mothers out there and gave you a bit of a giggle. It’s hard trying to juggle all the plates. My motto is let the plates fucking fall and land where they land and do what’s right for you and enjoy this rollercoaster ride. You only get one chance at motherhood and while the days are long, the years are short. It will all be over before we know it so enjoy it as best you can!

Budget-Friendly Baby Prep: Tips for Making A Registry

You may be expecting, but that doesn’t mean you necessarily know what to expect. Chances are people — from friends to total strangers — are offering you mountains of unsolicited advice, horrific birth stories and regaling you with scores of expensive items you simply cannot live without. While their intentions are good, it can make preparing for the baby feel all the more overwhelming, especially when you’re trying to stick to a budget.

You’re asking yourself a lot of questions, and the answers aren’t always easy. But here are a few suggestions for items you can put on your baby registry that could help you organize yourself and your household for what comes next.

Choose big-ticket items over smaller purchases

You will be amazed at what you can find on sale at major clothing retailers like Old Navy and Target. Leave the onesies and blankets off your registry and go for gift cards where you can have the power to purchase what you need when you need it. This will also allow you to maximize your cash by researching online coupons for these stores — you can easily double or even triple your savings.

That frees up your registry for big-ticket items you’ll want to purchase brand new — like car seats, cribs, strollers, baby carriers, breast pumps, rocking chairs or gliders, and baby food makers. Most store registries will allow people to contribute to an item, so several people can go in on some of the more expensive requests together. To make the most of your registry, it’s important that you look beyond the items you’ll need in the first three months. For example, families on a budget can save thousands of dollars by preparing their own baby food, once your child starts transitioning to solids. Adding a high-quality baby food maker to your registry is a budget-friendly gift that keeps on giving — for years.

Post-pregnancy needs

It's important to plan ahead for your needs after your baby's debut. Aside from making and freezing meals and stocking up on supplies like coffee, laundry detergent, diapers and wipes, you'll want to think about what you need as you adjust to having a newborn. If you're nursing, you want to have a breastfeeding bra on hand. Buy several to get discounts on bundled purchases. You'll also want to make sure you have nursing pads, ointment, a nursing pillow and plenty of storage bags for breast milk. Sites like Amazon or BuyBuyBaby can help you stock up on these supplies now so you won't be lacking for them when the need arises. 

Nursery and playroom decorations

Many parents are able to mentally prepare themselves for a new baby by decorating the nursery. But with new paint, window treatments, picture frames and textiles, decorating a nursery can get fairly expensive. Take a trip to your local children’s consignment store or participate in a resale event to stock up on nursery decorations. Goodbuygear.com is a great consignment website where I purchased some key pieces! Whatever you have left can be added to your registry. Remember to include baby-proofing items, like outlet covers and tools to secure furniture to floors and walls. Some major retailers, like Home Depot and Kohls, run specials on items that can only be purchased online, so be sure to research the best deals on the web.

It’s only natural to want to make sure you have all your bases covered when preparing for a baby and for your life after the baby arrives. It’s important that when you take your budget into consideration you also look beyond just the first few weeks and months and research what you might need as your baby moves quickly through all those first-year milestones.

Thanks to Emily Graham from Mighty Moms for helping me put this together!!

Quarantine Queen coming soon!

Harry announcing our pregnancy with excitement!

We are about to become parents of two and I am absolutely overjoyed but terrified at the same time!! I mean it’s not really unplanned or anything as we have been trying for over a year now already but it certainly was a surprise! I feel like the slowdown during Covid-19 lockdown really helped with conceiving! I didn’t realize how much I was running around before and glorified the busy life as a working Montessori teacher and mum to Harry. Trying to manage the home and childcare while my husband ran two companies and traveled a lot pre Covid-19 was not really conducive to conceiving, we realized!

I’m not sure how to approach this blog but I really want to convey how difficult it is to actually conceive! I know I most certainly can’t complain as we have conceived naturally and a year or so is not so long in the broader scheme of things but at the same time, it is not as easy as some think!

Growing up in Ireland and attending all-girls’ catholic schools, we were made believe that if a boy’s penis so much as waved passed us we could get pregnant! Given this fear, I always presumed it was so easy to get knocked up. The reality is very different. Even after downloading the ovulation app onto my phone which tracked my ovulation window, peeing on several ovulation sticks, taking my pre-natal supplements, doing our ‘homework’ on the correct nights after the flashing smiley face appeared on the ovulation sticks, we still did not succeed. It took months of doing the right thing on the exact right days to finally get it right!

Long story short, conceiving is not for the fainthearted! You have to really put the effort in while also trying to make it as romantic as possible at the same time! I remember while teaching adults English in Beijing in 2010, several chinese women with their degrees and MBA’s that were in my class said they had given up their full time careers recently. When I asked why, they replied non-chalantly with ‘‘Oh because we are trying for a baby!’’ I had never heard of this before in any other culture! I was actually shocked but now I completely understand why! They have the right idea. Once I had stopped working, slowed down to a snails pace and had a non-existant social life in lockdown, conceiving just happened just by following my protocols mentioned above! Oh I also had stopped drinking alcohol in December 2019. Not sure if this helped or not but I definitely felt healthier because of it!

I also believe it had everything to do with my husband Jonny slowing down too as it is not all on the woman to conceive a baby. It certainly takes two to Tango! Pre Covid-19, Jonny would be on an airplane at least once or sometimes twice a month. He would take a trip to China every 8-10 weeks for a few days so no doubt when the lockdown happened, he was rested too (not exactly stress free but a start!)

Now I’m not suggesting that you MUST to do this to conceive by any means, I’m just expressing what worked for us in the hope that it might help somebody to consider slowing down too. Some women are lucky enough to conceive while drunk or while they are busy in their careers running here and flying there. That woman is not me, I have discovered. Maybe you are lucky enough to have it all at the same time; high flying career, a Paris Hilton-like social life, a child already at home that you are raising and an easy conception and second pregnancy. For others, like me, I can only hope to have it all over the course of my lifetime but not all at the same time.

So in Summary, If you are trying for a baby, slow down, sleep lots, eat nice foods and relax all while putting in the extra effort in the bedroom! Good luck!!

What should a Good montessori classroom look like?

“In the prepared classroom, children work with specially designed manipulative materials that invite exploration and engage the senses in the process of learning.”

— American Montessori Society

Often parents ask me what they should look for on their hunt for a good Montessori School. I have a list below of materials that should be present on the shelves so that when you are invited for open day or to observe a Montessori classroom you can be prepared and keep your eyes peeled for some of these activities below. We are very happy with Harry’s Montessori School and we hope that this helps you find a good school for your little ones too!

First things first, you should see no plastic toys in the room. It should be a clear and clutter free environment with wooden shelves and glassware with real crockery and no plastic cups or jugs. Everything should be child-sized and within reach of the child. All cleaning equipment should be child-sized too and the children should be working and walking freely around the room working on tables or floor rugs either individually or in small groups. There should be a nice buzz in the room but no chaos or shouting. An example of a scene could be, one child is washing a window while another sweeps or is folding laundry. Another older child could be helping a younger child with his addition of the golden number beads on a floor rug while another child is matching continents using the continent puzzle map. You will most likely see the Montessori teacher on the floor kneeling down giving a presentation on botony or zoology while her assistant is helping a child peel and serve cucumber for morning snack.

Below you will see some of Harry’s favorite Montessori Activities that he is enjoying in his classroom at the moment.

I will leave a description of what each activity is called and what the purpose is. I hope that if you are considering sending your child to a Montessori School that the classroom has all of the appropriate materials. According to AMI and AMS there is a criteria or a set list of materials that a classroom must have in order for it to be a legit Montessori Children’s House/ Casa class. I will leave the list below on the bottom too for you to have so you can check it off on your search!

Hope you enjoy the blog post and can find the beauty in a Montessori Environment!

Harry tracing the letter d with sandpaper letters.

Purpose: To give the child the symbols for the sounds of his own language by means of three senses: touch, vision, and hearing. Preparation for handwriting.

Harry writing the letter H in sand.

Purpose: Sensory exercise for writing preparation.

Binomial Cube: 1 red cube, 3 red and black identical rectangular prisms, 1 blue cube, 3 identical blue and black rectangular prisms. When assembled the eight pieces form the cube of a binomial: (a+b)^3=a^3+3a^2b+3ab^2+b^3

Purpose: Indirect preparation for mathematics: the cube of a binomial (How to create a cube out of two factors) . Preparation for cube root

Introduction to algebra and preparation for the proof of the formula (a+b)^3

Map of the Continents.

Purpose: Preparation for the later study of geography. Learning the names and shapes of the continents of our world.

Red Rods: 10 wooden rods, each rod is 2.4 cm x 2.4 cm. Each rod increases in length by 10 cm, from 10 cm to 100 cm (1 meter). The child builds them into a stair from shortest to longest. Additional lessons may include : exploration of the material and sensorial language – short, shorter, shortest, and long, longer, longest.

Visual discrimination of dimension; length and Indirect preparation for mathematics

Float/ Sink experiment in Science/Culture area.

Purpose: Understanding the concept of how some things float while other things sink.

Geometric Cabinet: Learning his geometric shapes in the form of a puzzle.

Purpose: Develop fine motor/pincer grip through transferring the shapes as well as sensorily tracing the shapes with fingers to learn how to form the shape.

Discrimination of shape (or form)

Enhancement of Visual memory

Preparation for mathematics; Geometry

The child reads the labels and matches them to the appropriate picture. He uses control cards (pictures and words are all on one card) to check his work. He can do this work with any Classified Cards for which he knows all the language.

Polishing silver in Practical life area: Develops concentration, fine motor skills as well as coordination. Also the sense of achievement and job satisfaction rewarded after seeing the results of a shiny clean ornament! Empowering children to care for their environment is very important and teaches them a great sense of responsibility! Note that his apron is not on properly and thats ok. He put it on all by himself! Another step towards independence.

Baking using real materials not plastic.

Lots of light, plants for the children to water, paintings should be low hanging so the child can appreciate. Remember it’s the child’s room, not for pleasing the parents.

According the the American Montessori Society, here are all the things you might want to know and look out for in your Montessori School!

I hope you enjoyed the read and it brought you some insight into the Montessori World!

Operation Potty Training

The purpose of this blog post is not to pressure or compare your way or your child’s level of readiness to potty train but rather to just share my experience with this sensitive phase and how we approached the whole phase.

Loads of book, blogs and doctors say it can be done in three days if you stay at home with the child naked from the waist down and I really believe them and I’m sure it works for some people but not our family. There is no way on earth that we could stay at home without leaving the house for that long! Jonny and I would lose our minds and so would Harry!!

Honestly, it took a couple of tries. The first was when he was 2 years and 3 months old which was way too early for Harry. He was not ready at all. I also had my approach all wrong. I was nervous, doubted him and that did not help things at all. I had a little potty in the living room floor right in front of the TV for him to go when he pleased and anytime we were in the apartment, I would remove his nappy and have him sit watching his favorite TV show on the potty in the hope that he would go. Instead, he would eventually go in the hallway on the carpet by his bedroom while I was busy in the kitchen and not looking. After this happening several times, I decided to abandon the idea and try again later.

Someone told me that they had trained their boys at 2 years and 8 months so I decided to wait it out. In the meantime, I bought two new children’s books to read to Harry at story time before bed. One was ‘Everybody Potties’ and the other was “what is poop?’’’ ! On repeat we would read these books to him and he loved learning all about where poop goes after we flush the toilet and how different animals’ poop all looks different! I really think the preparation of reading about it helped him succeed. I also should attribute his potty which is so cute and looks just like a mini toilet that he still uses today and it even has a flush which I bought on Amazon here.

Child Sized Toilet with Flush from Amazon

Another piece of advice I was given by a dear friend, Sandy, who was a wonderful mother herself and advice that was the most memorable to me was her question ‘Where do you have his potty?’ When I answered that it was in the middle of the living room by his toys and the tv she laughed at me and asked “Would you go to the toilet in the middle of your living room?’’ This was my Eureka moment! I laughed and said no way. Of course we would never go in the middle of the living room so why should we expect our child to go there? Children deserve privacy and for their dignity to be protected too. After all, Harry would only go on the carpet away from us when we were not looking or around a corner. With that in mind, I placed the potty in the bathroom and that is where he eventually went for the first time in his potty! Maybe in the middle of the living room works for some children though but not for Harry.

We sometimes overlook the simple things. Children want to be just like adults so they love to mimic our actions and this goes with toilet time too. I also feel that I was ready and confident in the whole procedure and had decided that the bag of nappies in his bedroom was the last packet I was ever going to buy. I never put a nappy on him again during the day, instead just bought several pairs of underpants and shorts from Target and prepared for accidents for the next month or two which is exactly what happened!

With the last number of diapers, I put them on him going to bed for the first two weeks and after a week he would be waking up dry anyway so I risked putting him to bed without one. He had several accidents at night over the course of the training period but after about two months, he was no longer having accidents in the night! Having two twin beds really helped with this process but I’m sure you could set up another bed easily on the floor as there is nothing worse than dealing with all the wet beds at 4am half asleep. We used to quickly strip him , wipe him down and re dress him in pjs and put him straight into the other bed, dealing with the mess the next day!

Anyway, I’ll stop rambling now! Would love to hear your stories on how you potty trained your little one and what worked for you! That’s how we did it and not saying it’s the right way or the best way but it worked out just fine and allowed him to start Montessori School right on time at 3 years old as he was fully trained which you need to be to attend a Montessori Casa or Children’s House 3-6yrs Classroom.

Butter wouldn’t melt

Harry's Montessori-inspired activities at home.

Hi guys,

Sorry it has been so long since my last blog post. Things have been a bit crazy around our house. I am working a lot more so I have less time for blogging but I will try to balance better. I have been meaning to get this one out for awhile now so apologies for delay! The purpose of this blog post is to give you some ideas of things to do at home with your toddler. Even if you have small, limited space like we do, you can really optimize it and turn it into a nice, educational and fun place for your little ones. A little bit of organizing can really go a long way.  See above picture how we placed Harry's shelf right behind our sofa in the living room! He can be working away behind us in the evenings yet still be part of the room. I also suggest to hide most toys/activities and only take out a few at a time, then rotate. That way you will avoid the confusion for them as to what to do which can be overwhelming for our little ones. They will really appreciate their toys much more if you do this. I also do same with books. I will do a whole other posts on books and language next. 

Anyway I will get right into it. Below you will see some activities that I have prepared for Harry to make his environment more engaging and attractive at home. 

The shelves I use are the simple IKEA Kallax shelf units in white as these are the perfect height on their side for Harry to access things easily. Also, they are already divided so it is easier to see each individual activity clearly on the shelf. 

The materials themselves I usually buy from Alison's Montessori store online here. A lot of the materials I put together myself from the kitchen or from Home Goods! I always look in the sale section for the bargains! Have a look at the pictures below and see how focused Harry is as he engages in the work itself. All of these are sensorial and practical life activities that help refine the senses, improve fine & gross motor skills as well as his coordination, concentration, independence and self-esteem. 

Infant imbucare box 

Coloured rings on horizontal dowel.

Sorting & matching pasta bows by colour help refining visual sense.

Multiple shape puzzle

Dressing frames from Alison's Montessori - Buttoning. I have a few different ones; velcro fastening and large button hole fastening as well as this snap button frame. They are great quality and come in all colors! I have pink, blue and green. 

This is a really nice and simple, easy-to-prepare activity. It is just Spaghetti pasta sticks broken and inserted into salt shaker holes. Harry loves this and spends some time focused and engaged with it. Super cheap and easy to do. Bides me some time so I can sit and have a coffee! I love observing him concentrating on little activities that I have prepared for him! Focused Harry comes out of his trance a much more peaceful and happy little boy as he has a sense of job satisfaction afterwards. At this age, children are drawn towards placing things in small spaces...like sliding your money or phone through the floorboards! These activities below help satisfy that urge so that mammy's phone and dollar notes are safe! haha! Harry loves pushing my phone down the side of the bed and pushing my earrings through the sink hole these days, hence why I have prepared these activities. 

This is good for hand-eye co-ordination. Harry has mastered this so doesn't really engage with it anymore but for a younger child this would be perfect! I need to add a challenge to it maybe by having him use a spoon or thongs to carry eggs. 

Below is Harry's kitchen space where we have his practical life water activities as well as food prep area. Harry pours his own glass of water for drinking, squeezes his own orange for fresh orange juice in the morning and spreads butter independently on his little waters biscuits for snack time. ( Butter gets all over the place but there is a napkin there for him to wipe up after which he loves doing!) Other activities are a spooning activity where he practices spooning pasta from one dish to another without spilling and also transfers water with a sponge from one bowl to another. Harry is fascinated how the sponge soaks up all the water and then can be squeezed out to another bowl! This is also great for his wrist control and fine motor development for later writing. Each activity is prepared with a small towel (facecloth) beside so that Harry can wipe up any spills himself. 

Spooning pasta - building hand eye coordination, concentration and independence

Squeezing orange juice - practical life 

Harry squeezing his own orange juice for drinking. His favourite morning activity. Followed by him saying 'more, more!" 

transferring water with sponge! I added some food color to the water so that he wouldn't be tempted to drink from it. It didn't stop him from trying it! 

pouring activity. 

Below is Harry's kitchen where he does some role-play activities such as sweeping the floor with his brush, making tea for mummy with his little cups and washes his hands with soap and water using nail brush too occasionally. This kitchen is from IKEA. I will link it here and I find it so good! He loves his little space here and likes to switch on and off the stove which actually lights up and looks so true to life! I also got his cups and crockery from IKEA too and it is all real and breakable. This teaches Harry to be careful and respectful when handling cups and plates and sets him in the real world where if he doesn't handle carefully, things will break. So far he has just broken one cup! Lesson learned I guess! Harry loves playing with water so hand washing or dish washing is a great opportunity to have a little splash with water outside of bath time.  

Harry's kitchen and hand washing station 

cups and plates from Ikea

Harry is also learning to care for his environment at home. He enjoys watering his plants or 'trees' as he calls them and polishes their leaves too with a tiny sponge. Sometimes he likes to carry his 'trees' around by their leaves placing them in random places around the apartment, hence why below plant looks a bit lobsided!!  

Since we live in a high-rise with lots of windows, to keep Harry distracted from opening them, I prepared a window washing activity for him to enjoy. Now more often than not they look worse after he has splashed and washed them but at least it keeps him busy and working with a sense of purpose in the house. 

Child sized squidgy from Amazon and Basket is from Home Goods

Harry also takes care of his sunglasses and Daddy's watch by polishing them and dusting them with dust cloth. See below picture of setup.

For Harry's Art space, we use the fridge as his stand where he can easily paint with his watercolours and then leave to dry. It is simple and easy to clean too which is great for mummy! We also have crayons for him to use freely with A4 paper in cut in half. As well as this, we use chalk outside at playground and then use clay at home too, making molds and rolling with rolling pin. These are really good exercises for his pincer grip and fine & gross motor. Next we will add a drying rack with pegs where he can hang his own artwork. First he will need to practice and master using pegs. 

Hope you enjoyed seeing what Harry is upto these days and hopefully it helps to give you some ideas of what to do at home with your toddler too. Please share if you think somebody would get use out of this blog post and thank you so much for your time reading it! 

Have a great day!

Alison xoxo

10 steps to a happier and healthier me!

Sometimes being a mum is not all rosy in the garden and it is so important for the family to take time for yourself. It is not selfish and is an absolute necessity for not only your wellbeing but the wellbeing of the entire family. 'Happy wife means a happy life' right? That is our household motto.

Also, what springs to mind for me is what the flight crew ALWAYS remind us of on every flight. That is ''You must take care of your own oxygen mask first before you assist your child'' I try to say that to myself every day and take simple steps to put myself first sometimes and not always Harry and Jonny. Often from the moment I wake up, I am running around preparing breakfast for Harry, getting him washed, dressed and watered and before I know it, it's already nearly mid-day and I often haven't eaten a single thing! Now I leave Harry's milk with him in his room before he wakes and I make sure to have a bowl of cereal and a cup of tea for myself before I even take him out of his bed in the morning. I notice that I am in a far better mood to start my day because of this simple change. I guess the step I'm talking about here is STOP SKIPPING MEALS!  

Below are some other steps I'm taking to make time for self-care so that I can be the best version of myself. I would love to hear how you make time for yourself. Let me know in the comments below! 

1. EATING HEALTHIER

Buying organic when I can and preparing home-made healthy meals for the family. Baking my own bread so I know what I am putting into my body. Not only is it beneficial to my body on a nutritious level, it also helps my mental wellbeing as I feel a level of satisfaction after cooking a meal. Also, just knowing that I am doing the best I can for my own body and for my family's health and wellbeing is enough to make me feel happy and healthy. 

2. EXERCISING

Working out and exercising at least 3 times a week. Whether it be a walk or jog in the park or a simple yoga class at a nearby gym or at home on youtube in front of the laptop. Just working out for me and not for Harry or anyone else gives me the headspace and peace I need to rejuvenate and gives me the energy to smile and refocus on the important things in life. Your health is your wealth! 

3. BALANCE

Starting my day with a smoothie and ending it with a glass of red wine at dinner ( just 1 glass) is really a good way to feel balanced and relaxed :)  Listening to pop, 80's and rock in the morning and classical and jazz in the evening. Having some quiet, headspace moments in the day and then have a good natter with your family and friends on a whatsapp call or audio! You get the picture. 

4. GOOD UNDERWEAR

Investing in good quality underwear always picks me up and makes me feel so body confident. Throw out all those discolored panties and lose fitting bras and go get measured. Less is more!! I personally love Victoria's Secret and they always have good deals on! Better to have fewer pieces but great quality. While I have my 'soft' parts and un welcomed dimples in certain places, it always feels better when you are wearing well-shaped and correctly- fitting underwear. My body is far from perfect now after Harry but I have learned to love it again in its new form as it gave me my beautiful little baby boy. 

5.INVEST IN A FEEL-GOOD ITEM TO WEAR

For me it's good pair of skinny fitted pants, leather or otherwise. They are a great, timeless staple for your wardrobe to make you look and feel your best. These pair I found online and are vegan leather pants that just seem to suck my legs in and are elasticated around the waist so they really are comfortable and flexible at the same time. I will link them here. They are kinda pricey but price per wear..trust me, they're worth every penny! Dress them up or wear them casually with flats

6. BREATHE & PRACTICE MINDFULNESS.

After having a baby, sometimes it's normal to feel anxious and get bouts of 'baby blues' so from me, I encourage you to join mom groups for support or even a therapy session with a professional to help keep your thoughts on track and give you tools and strategies to overcome it with ease! Never feel ashamed as it is completely normal and I myself indulge in therapy sessions occasionally. Thanks to Obamacare it is completely covered by my insurance company although I don't know how long more that will last!! My key in getting back to a good positive mental place is to bring yourself back to the present. Use all your senses; What do you hear, what you smell, what are you thinking, feeling...allow the thoughts and feelings to come and then let them leave and replace with a positive thought. 

7. DO ONE THING FOR YOURSELF EVERY DAY.

For me that is having a bubble bath and doing a face & hair mask as often as I can! Unfortunately it doesn't happen daily but I try to squeeze it in when Harry goes to bed on time at 8pm. I light the candles, turn off the lights and listen to a good podcast or some jazz. Sometimes I might read a book in the bath or other times I might do absolutely nothing just sit in silence and breathe. No technology or phone. Just my mind. I find these times I get creative and come up with fun ideas for blog or activities to do with Harry.

8. SUPPLEMENTS

Take some vitamins/ continue with prenatal supplements. I never felt as good as I did when I was pregnant. I felt soo healthy and my hair was shiny so I started taking my pre natal tabs again to perk me up and I really find they help! My mood and energy also feel good too.

9. ONCE A MONTH REWARD

Sometimes being a stay-at-home mum can be a real pain because you don't get any recognition for your hard work. There are no monthly salaries ( although I have started working part time as a substitute teacher so I do get a little income which is nice) but before this, I found it hard having no pay-day to look forward to. I had always worked before so it was a real shock to the system. I was supposed to be somehow just delighted and satisfied with Harry's smile as my reward or seeing his first steps, which don't get me wrong is absolutely amazing and I feel so blessed and grateful for this but it is still hard to not have the feedback or reward of a monthly salary. To ease this, I treat myself usually on the same day of every month, to a massage of some kind. Whether it be a foot massage or a back and shoulder massage. Carrying around a 26 lb baby on my hips isn't exactly good for my posture so I really think it's essential. I don't go clubbing, to the movies or even out for dinner that much anymore so instead I make sure to make time for my massage! What would you treat yourself to once a month?? 

10. READING, WATCHING TV SERIES & LISTENING TO PODCASTS 

This takes care of my creative side and allows me to become absorbed in another world. I'm currently reading 'The Little French Bistro' by Nina George which transports me to France! Podcasts I am listening to are all 'social media marketing' and I am currently in love with the TV show on Amazon Prime called 'Catastrophe'. Funnily enough, it is all about the dramas of motherhood and marriage and is absolutely hilarious! Jonny and I find ourselves falling around the place laughing at it and it's our time at the end of a long day where we come together with some decaf tea and a square or two of chocolate and put our feet up. My favourite part to the day!

Hope you enjoyed my blog post and that you have a wonderful day! I would love to hear your feedback and remember, be kind to yourself! 

Alison xoxo

All Photos taken by Chicago based photographer,  focal.vision. Check out instagram @focal.vision

Foods and Snacks for Harry

Lately, a lot of people are asking me what I feed to Harry since he seems to grow so fast and is so big, so I decided to do a blog post about food and snacks that I prepare for Harry and a quick glance of his daily schedule in terms of his food and liquid intake. It's always hard to know what and how much to feed your one-year old! I found it hard too to find the right info out there online so I hope this is helpful for some of you mamas out there. 

According to Harry's pediatrician; as a parent you decide when to feed the child throughout the day by creating a routine but then the child should decide what, from their plate, they are going to eat and how much. Generally as a rule of thumb, a one-year old should be eating 3-4 tablespoons at each meal. Harry mostly eats closer to 4 tablespoons at each meal. I keep an open mind when preparing his food and I never force him to eat anything that he doesn't want to. Remember their little taste buds are still developing and changing all the time so what tastes good to you may not taste so good for your little one. I'm also quite lenient when it comes to veggies, if he's not full from his stew full of veggies after the 4 spoon portion,I would add an extra spoon for him. I only restrict the carb and sweet stuff! 

Harry loves this bowl the best for his cereal as he can sip up the milk afterwards. It's from an Australian brand called b.box baby and b.box for kids. He is also loving their sippy cup too for his apple juice! 

Background. Harry loved his pureed fruit pouches and baby jar foods between 5-9months but after 9 months, only ate home-made, blended foods. This was actually great because he would literally eat whatever we were having ourselves for dinner just thrown in the nutribullet. 

So on a given day, Harry usually eats at the following times:

9am Breakfast

12pm Lunch

3pm Afternoon snack

6pm Dinner

Typical Breakfast includes: a small bowl of cereal with milk (a wheatabix, cherrios or oatmeal) NO SUGAR 

1/2  slice of toast with thin layer of butter cut into slices and dipped into mammy's boiled/scrambled egg.

Small shot-glass size of a fresh home-made smoothie with mixed fruit.

Apple juice and water mixed together in his sippy cup.

At Lunch he usually has a protein, veggie and carb mix so anything from a home-made chicken and veggie soup or beef stew / tofu and rice with broccoli/ Quinoa, egg and veggie mix / Couscous and salmon with sweetcorn / pasta and cheese sauce with peas

Salmon and veggie Couscous

1/2 cup of Milk in Sippy Cup

Afternoon snack is usually a probiotic yogurt/ Organic Unsweetened Apple Sauce /Fruit Puree with some cheddar bites or crackers and cheese/ crackers with tuna & mayo & hummus/ Hummus and Cucumber / Hard boiled egg from fridge broken into pieces/ Homemade brown Irish soda bread as shared before in recipe below!

Crackers with tuna and mayo and hummus 

Snack on the go with b.box baby lunch box. Cheddar bites on the right, berry smoothie mixed with natural yogurt on the left. 

For Dinner he usually has whatever we are having in a small portion. He doesn't need it blended anymore and his favourite meals are; Home-made Pizzas with Pita bread / Spag Bol / Sheppard's Pie / Mash potatos with mushy peas, roasted carrots and chicken/fish or steak. He loves egg fried rice with all kinds of veggies too. Stuffed peppers with minced beef is another good option for Harry. 

Here, Harry is eating his dinner of pasta and minced beef with peas, sweetcorn and carrots in a tomato homemade tomato and basil sauce sprinkled with parmesan cheese. He is using a safety fork and spoon from b.box baby and the bib is also from the same company and is so handy as it catches all the spills!! I will link them below! He's like a puppy and always roots out the spills for fear of missing anything! haha!! 

1/2 cup of Milk in Sippy Cup. 

If we are indulging in a dessert, Harry will usually have a Gerber Cookie and a piece of Melon or Watermelon.

As for his milk intake he usually has just 10-15 oz milk in total a day. He loves apple juice mixed with water in his straw sippy the best! I find adding the little bit of apple juice makes him drink more fluids. Currently drinking the Trader Joe's organic Apple Juice with 40% less sugar. See below.

Hope this gives you a good insight and some ideas of what to feed your toddler. Harry will literally eat anything that won't eat him and I put it down to just being relaxed and not too fussy. He often eats of my plate too and i just let him try everything. He even loves olives from picking out of my salads! I think the key is to relax and be positive and create a family meal happy time every morning and evening. Please share your ideas below too if you have any go-to snack or lunch ideas as I am always looking to broaden Harry's tastebud horizons!

Enjoy & Bon Appetit

Alison xoxo 

Click here to be transferred to website.

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Organic Cow Milk vs Non Organic

Hi Everyone!

So lately I've been debating whether or not to give Harry cow milk at all given the large quantity of hormones and antibiotics given to the modern day cow. I mean when you think about it, cow milk is for calves and helping them turn into a 300 pound beast of an animal! I know I grew up on cow milk in Ireland but back then I don't think there was the same amount of chemicals involved and cows would have been grazing on the fresh pastures of Ireland therefore milk was a lot safer back in my day!

I would love to hear your opinions on this. Please share below. I also wanted to let you know about my insane experience while going through security at the airport. I was traveling with Harry last week to LA and I had to go through the usual rigmarole of emptying everything out of the baby bag into tray, bottles and all. Before, I would just travel with already mixed formula and they would just put it through the bomb test in the machine but now it was cow milk (non organic) and each time they placed the bottle into the machine, the bomb alert alarm sounded. So they did it again, and again and again. Each time alarm was set off. Then they had to pat me down...the usual. I couldn't help but think that the reason was because of all the chemicals and antibiotics in the non-organic cow milk. I was shocked and just spilled the contents out right away into the bin. I couldn't believe it! Luckily I had pouches of formula to do me until I go to LA and immediately switched him onto organic milk only. Needless to say on the return flight back to Chicago, I had organic milk and the alarms did not sound at all! Phew!

Between now and then I have been giving him half almond milk and half cow milk and try to limit his milk intake to just 16oz a day, the rest of his fluids being water, fruit and veg smoothies, children's tea and apple juice watered down. 

I would love to hear your thoughts or know if you had similar experience! Please comment below or email me at alison@irishmomusa.com

Harry still uses his MAM bottles that he has been using since first taking a bottle! He uses sippy for waters and juice but loves his 'milkies' out of bottle still. 

Baking Irish Soda Bread with Harry

What do you do with a toddler when it's lashing rain and stormy outside? Bake up a storm!

I have been craving Irish soda bread from home recently and I still have to wait a while before I get back so I decided why not bake some with Harry today and share with you all a simple version of Irish Soda bread!

Here are the ingredients we used and the quantities of each are listed below the picture.

3 cups of whole grain whole wheat flower

1/3 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 cup of melted kerrygold butter

1 egg slightly beaten

2 cups of buttermilk

Steps:

1. First mix all the dry ingredients into one big bowl.

2. Crack the egg into a separate bowl, beat it slightly and then add the milk to that while the butter is melting in the microwave for 40 seconds.

3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well with wooden spoon. Ask a little one to help with this part! It's super fun for them!

4. Place mix into a bread tin and place into a preheated over at 330 degrees fahrenheit and bake for 60-75 mins until crispy and slightly brown on top!

5. Enjoy with some jam and a cup of Irish Tea!

Harry loved making it and also loved eating it! He has been eating it lightly toasted in the mornings with his hard boiled egg! 

Flavour of the Month

I thought I'd share with you some of Harry's current favourite picks or top toys. These are the toys that we literally have to take everywhere with us now to ensure that he stays in 'happy little camper' mode. Some of these he plays with at Stephanie's place, who as you know from previous blog posts, is literally the fairy godmother/dream babysitter that we couldn't live without. We nickname her 'Harry's American Gran'. It was Stephanie who introduced me to some of them too as she loves toys and researches for the best ones. Some of them she comes across at Salvation Army for a bargain! Here are Harry's top 5. Click on Links to find more info about product. If you are reading from Ireland, I'm pretty sure Argos stocks a lot of these toys too or similar. 

1. Remote Control Car with a single button remote.

If you see Harry these days going around the house, he either has this car or the remote. It is like an extension onto his body at this point. We literally have to prize it out of his hands at bedtime. First thing he goes for in the morning. He is such a boy!

B. Rally Ripster Remote Control Toy Car with B. Wheeee-Mote Single Button Driving and No-Stuck Wall Spinning. For Big Laughs, Little Hands, and Children 1 to 4 Years of Age. by B. Toys

B. Toys

2. Rockestra

Since Harry loves music, this gets him rockin!

B. Rockestra

B. Toys

3. Code-a Pillar

We may have a little coding geek on our hands! Which is a good thing because in the school system in the USA, kids learn coding at kindergarten! He doesn't entirely understand the function or reasoning behind it yet but can certainly make it move in all directions!

Fisher-Price Think & Learn Code-a-pillar

Fisher Price

4. Round about Wooden Puzzle from Land of Nod.

He loves putting the little cylinders into the holes on the wooden board. He doesn't quite have the patience for the loops yet so i mostly take them away to avoid frustration and just let him practice placing the cylinders into their place. He loves it and focuses for a long time, mouth wide open and tongue out. He also practices this activity with my lipsticks. He is recently obsessed with going to my lipstick tub and opening and closing all of my lipsticks. I have also prepared some of my empty glass cream jars of different sizes to practice opening and closing. He really enjoys this and it's great for his concentration and coordination. Keeps him quiet for so long too! 

5. Wooden Food Cutting Set from Land of Nod

Harry loves to feel like a grown-up and like he's helping in the kitchen so he enjoys pretending to chop the veggies and fruit. Sometimes if it gets too tough, he just tears them apart with his hands. Great practice either way for his gross and fine motor skills! 

Before I end this blog post, I have to mention how much fun Harry had at a party over the weekend. He spent the whole time playing in a little toy kitchen! I couldn't believe how much joy he got out of it. It was hilarious watching him behave so adult-like in a world built for little people his size. I hadn't realised how much he had absorbed by watching us at home in the kitchen. He was opening and closing the microwave and cupboards, twisting the strove knobs and placing pots and pans carefully on top of each other. It was amazing! I think we will have to add a toy kitchen onto Harry's Wishlist for his Birthday or Xmas Pressie this year!

These are the kitchens I'm currently in love with. I know you would want to win the lotto to buy one of them but hopefully I will find one similar on Craigslist second hand. If anyone comes across a decent one, please let me know! Both kitchens I link below are neutral in colour as I don't like pink and blues personally. 

Ikea Option 1

Land of Nod Option 

 Hope you all enjoyed the post and gained something from it. All of the above toys are available at most kids toy shops around the world in some version or another to match all different budgets. Ikea is a great option too for many cool kids toys! We just don't live near one and don't have a car so online with amazon, craigslist, local kids or consignment/second-hand stores are the most convenient for us!  I'll leave you all with a Maria Montessori quote that is so true! After Harry concentrates on a task or activity for a certain length of time, he is calm, peaceful and happy! 

“The first essential for the child’s development is concentration. The child who concentrates is immensely happy ”

— Maria Montessori

Alison xoxo 

Finding the perfect Sippy Cup

Harry is finally off formula! Thank God! It's so frickin expensive and seems to bloat him. I tried the whole breastfeeding thing for 6 weeks and had to give up for certain health reasons (mental health mostly!!) Sitting on the sofa in my pjs feeding Harry every hour and a half wasn't for me and wasn't conducive to being the best mum that I could be for Harry or the best wife that I could be for Jonny. As I was sinking into the sofa, I was also sinking into a depression...will elaborate more on that another time!   

So how did I transition Harry from formula to cow milk? Simple. It took about 4 days. The day he turned one, I simply cut his formula intake in half and instead of a  4oz formula bottle, I just gave him 2oz and topped the rest with milk. I know it's not recommended as it can have some kind of chemical reaction with the formula but it worked for Harry and he got the taste of the cow milk while enjoying the benefits of his formula. After one day of that I did mostly cow milk and water with a sprinkle of formula powder for flavour. After day 3, I just cut out the formula completely.

Right now we are weaning him off milk at night time and replacing it with just water. He has his last 4oz milk bottle at about 7pm, half an hour after his teatime meal. Then bedtime is 8pm. We brush his teeth using just water for now and he still uses a bottle to be comforted before sleeping but that is now water as it is better for his teeth! Milk is full of sugar!

Harry usually has between 16oz and 20oz in 4oz of milk a day in the form of 4oz bottles and the rest of the time he drinks water. Mostly he was drinking water from a different bottle but now the challenge is on for changing over to a Sippy cup!  He loves to drink out of glasses or plastic, glass-like, real cups with no lid so we use his winnie the pooh cups during meal times but when we are out and about, we need a sippy cup. We have tried the following ones 

Munchkin Miracle 360 Trainer Cup, Green/Blue, 7 Ounce, 2 Count

Munchkin

Nuby 1-Pack Designer Series No-Spill Clik-It Grip n' Sip Soft Flex Spout Cup, 9 Ounce - Colors May Vary

NûbyTM

So we went through the above two kinds of sippy cups or beakers as we call them in Ireland but had no luck! Finally Stephanie, Harry's 'American gran' and babysitter kindly bought him the one below and it his is favourite one! He loves it and he takes in so much more water now. Finally! So if you are going through the same dilemmas, I hope this helps! Don't give up, just keep trying. Now we just have to get him onto drinking milk from it but we are not rushing him. He will do it in his own good time!

Hope you are all having a good week! 

Alison xoxo

Nuby 2-Pack No-Spill Super Spout Grip N' Sip Cup, Red and Blue

Nuby

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Shamrocks in the snow

There's still snow on the ground here in Chicago so we had a nice indoor morning. Started off the with a little potting of shamrocks with Harry. What better way to get to know his roots than with some simple gardening. He mostly tried to pull the shamrocks off the stems!

Doesn't he look like a little leprechaun with red hair here! So cute!

Jonny and I are doing a bit of work this morning but dedicating the afternoon to good quality family-time to remember our home country. It's hard being away from home on days like today so we might might even pop out to one of our fav restaurants/bars here in town called The Chicago Cut and grab an Irish Roast Beef Lunch for comfort! I thought it would be funny to carry Harry's water in this 'sippy cup' today! Haha!

Thanks Vee, Janelle and Axl! They know us well!

We have the babysitter booked for tonight and we are heading out for some drinks with friends. It would be unpatriotic not to, sure! Well, I lie, the babysitter actually booked herself as she knows us so well and presumed we would be heading out tonight! 

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day and don't forget to 'wet the shamrock' as they say, which simply means go have some drinks!

Here's a funny joke a friend sent to me this a.m that I will leave you all with...'An Irishman is never drunk as long as he can hold onto one blade of grass to keep him from falling off the earth!'

Happy Paddy's Day! (Not Patty's) 

Alison xoxo

Go Green or Go Home!

The reason for this blog post and sudden interest in reading Healthy Child Healthy World is because at Harry's One-Year checkup the Doctor pointed out that we needed to do routine blood test to check for lead in Harry's blood! My first thought was, how the hell would my baby have lead in his blood and if so, how did it get there! I thought I was doing my best as a mum to protect my son, feeding him all organic fruits and vegetables, antibiotic free chicken and beef, wild fish and to think that some toxins and chemicals out there might still be invading my baby was overwhelming. I immediately remembered meeting Christopher Gavigan, Co-founder of The Honest Company at an event in Chicago and listening to his pearls of wisdom. It was time to root out that book that I had started and read it. Here are a few take-away notes that I learned from it; 

We all know that we need to child-proof our homes for safety, as in lock away plug sockets with covers, block the stairway with a gate of some sort and lock that dreaded under-the-sink cabinet but who knew that even still, our home poses such a threat to our little ones! Chemicals and toxins are making their way into their bodies as we go about our daily business of mundane household chores. As Gavin puts it correctly in his book, why lock away all those poisons under the sink and then think it's ok to spray them and use them on floors and surfaces where tiny hands and feet crawl and patter around! How illogical and silly are we!

Ok, so I guess you all know that childhood development is a delicate process but did you know that children between 1-5 years old eat three to four times more food per pound of body weight than the average adult! At the same time, their air intake is twice that of an adult so you don't have to be a mathematician or a rocket scientist to figure that children absorb more nutrients and consequently more toxins than we do. Therefore it is absolutely essential and our duty as adults to protect them from these contaminants

Another interesting fact I learned is that there are over 800 thousand synthetic chemicals registered for use today and several thousand are found in our every day environment. So on a given day we are inhaling a cocktail of chemicals before we even leave our house in the morning! And here was I thinking I was being good not consuming alcohol during the week to detoxify my body! Yikes! Also, in the U.S, The FDA approves all chemicals, deeming them innocent until proven guilty which differs to the EU which states that chemicals are guilty and must be proven harmless before they are allowed in use. No wonder so many cases of childhood cancer, allergies, autism and asthma are on the rise here in the U.S!

The good news is that small changes can yield huge payoffs! Start now, it's better late than never. I'm only doing it now after a year!  Check out Healthychild.org to find more detailed tips but here are the few changes I am making. 

1. I have ditched fragranced candles as fragrant and scented products are trojan horses for bringing in all kinds of chemicals to your home. I still love candles but burn fragrance-free ones. I noticed my husband, who suffers from allergies, is not sneezing as much!

2. I open windows daily to let fresh air in and never use air freshers. This is a big no no. Cheaper and easier than buying aerosol cans of spray!

3. Use baking soda, lemon and vinegar to clean just about everything, from counters to floors. I add some tea tree oil to add a nice and clean aroma. Tea tree oil also has antibacterial properties! 

4. Switch to honest or seventh generation laundry detergent and dishwashing tablets.

5. For spills, wipe up instantly for more efficient results. Guide from Christopher's Book is as follows:

For fruit and wine sports: Blot with a towel and add cold water, continuing to blot, For red wine, use salt or club soda!

For Grease: Use boiling water followed by dry baking soda

For blood:  Use cold water or hydrogen peroxide or try a paste of cornstarch or corn meal with water. Allow to dry and brush away.  

For rust: Saturate with lemon juice and scrub with salt. 

Other tips: For deodorizing microwave simply add slices of lemon in 8 inches of water in a microwavable vessel and turn on for 3 minutes. 
For deodorizing fridge, cut half a lemon and stick it to the back. 

Did you know that vinegar is a natural deodorizer so just place a small bowl of vinegar in a room to get rid of bad smells! It smells really bad a first but the smell dissipates. 

More good news is with these new spray bottles of natural cleaning agents that you make, you can now safely give them to your toddler to help you do some housework! Harry helps me clean up the floor after spills and loves to wipe down the windows. A little bit of water and vinegar for mirrors and windows does a great job at shining them! Here is the Montessori teacher coming out in me! 

Plants are key as well. Did you know that there are air purifying plants? As in ones that purify the indoor air more efficiently than others? Examples are; Spider plants, Mother-in-laws tongue, Peace Lily and Chinese Evergreen. They also help the children learn how to respect and care for their environment.  

Another interesting, take home note was to banish antibacterials soap. It is bad to get rid of all the microbes and bacteria in a home. The proliferation of these antibacterials do us all more harm than good! A lot of bacteria is actually beneficial for our body's so killing them can weaken the immune system entirely. So let your kids crawl around on the floor and be kids and now you know that what they might pick up off a dirty floor might do them good and be much better for their bodies than the toxic chemicals used to wash away bacteria.

For Harry's toys, I use wooden as much as possible and with lead-free paint and I try to prevent him as much as possible from using my keys as a teether! Apparently most brass keys have high levels of lead in them

For dusting just use an old baby vest, forget the polish and if you want to use polish make sure it is toxic and chemical free! Easier still, just declutter your home and go minimalist. It's so en vogue these days anyway and then you have less to dust! Jonny is going mad with the amount of things I am selling on Craigslist! haha! I just tell him Less stuff=Less housework=Happy Wife =Happy Life! 

Hope this blog post helped inspire you all at home to go and spring clean, declutter and rid your home of toxins! Whether you have children, or you don't, you deserve the best air quality. It's your basic human right! Have a great weekend! 

Montessori Philosophy

Written by: Alison Egan. Photos are all from my own camera from when I worked as a Montessori teacher in China, my first year was Nursery and other three years I was in the 3-6yr old classroom which they call Early Childhood Montessori. Permission given by parents to take photos but have used no names. 

Many people ask about the Montessori philosophy as if it's kinda some sort of enigma or mysterious curriculum and since there are so many interpretations out there in the world, I have decided to put out the 'Montessori' that I know and tend to follow as best I can in my classrooms and at home.

 The most distinguishing feature of the Montessori philosophy is the emphasis on positive classroom/nursery atmosphere and the prepared environment which must be ‘’scientifically planned and methodically formed’’

The Montessori environment is a bright, beautifully decorated, aesthetically pleasing, prepared environment where children are free to respond to their innate passion to work.  This environment offers all of the essential elements for optimal development and the key components are; the children, teacher/parent and physical surroundings, including all of the specifically designed Montessori material which should be in perfect condition and ready to use.  It is absolutely essential to mention here that in order to ensure a positive learning environment, the teacher/parent should make sure all parts of the materials are working and no pieces are missing or that there are no extra pieces that may confuse the child. This causes frustration and sets the child off to a bad start. 

This is a nursery classroom I worked at in my first year. Children were 2yrs-3yrs old. All toilet trained!!! Look how bright and spacious the environment is and how the children are all doing their own thing independently. 

For the purpose of this blog, I have divided it into the three main components that are integral in ensuring a positive classroom/home nursery atmosphere and all play a role in environment; the physical surroundings (including material), other children and the teacher/directress.

The physical surroundings and materials

‘’Through their use of the materials, the children reach high levels of abstract knowledge and creative thought. ‘’ Paula Polk Lillard

All the materials of the classroom should have a particular purpose to refine the senses, develop essential cognitive skills and concentration levels as well as possessing a luring quality to attract the child’s eye and encourage them to engage with them.  For example; in the math area the teacher/parent could prepare beautifully coloured pouches or baskets for carrying the beads or other counters or a bright silk box could be used to carry small objects in the language area for vocabulary development.

Another element of the environment is that all material should be easily accessible to the child and in sequential order(easiest activity to most difficult) on child-sized shelving within reach and that all work be prepared on trays which make it easier for the child to carry to a nearby table or carpet area. Maybe this is more for a school environment as to me, having loads of trays on shelves at home is not very practical! Harry can just learn to carry the activity piece by piece as I am not going out buying a load of trays! Baskets from the dollar store do just fine too.

 Sequence is very important and should have simple works to the more difficult, concrete to more abstract placed from top-left to bottom right.  This helps ensure a sense of order which the child is very sensitive to at this particular age (2-4yrs old). This top-left to bottom-right shelving order is indirectly preparing them for other skills that will be developed later on such as writing.

This is 2-year old learning in the practical life area how to spoon, which in turn helps him to feed himself, build concentration and focus and move towards independence. He is allowed to cheat coz he's so cute!! 

A major differentiating feature of the Montessori classroom which distinguishes it from traditional classrooms is the busy, humming working atmosphere which is going on at all times.  There are no tables or chairs all in a row with children sitting down doing their work from books. Instead Montessori believed that children needed movement in their work cycle and should have freedom to wander around to the different areas of the classroom, choosing independently what individual activities they want to do, sitting at sporadically placed tables or working on floor mats. This allowed for some social interaction as well as development of gross motor skills developed from carrying mats and materials around the room. The Montessori philosophy is that education should be the development of the whole child not just their intellect. It's kinda like the famous Google-office style of schooling, which is where Google got the idea since Larry Page and Sergey Brin were both Montessori educated. Like in the googleplex, you will commonly find children working on a floor on a floor mat in a small group or sprawled across a beanbag reading or building words with the moveable alphabet. 

Four-year old is giving a lesson to her younger peer building CVC words with the short 'u' vowel using the moveable alphabet and object boxes from the language area. Three-year old looks in on the lesson. Example of the mentoring that goes on in the Montessori environment. Notice also there is a curved line on the carpet with tape......

Working together in a team to discuss the different elements of earth and the different types of transport; land, sea and air. 

A common feature is the 'line' which appears taped on the floor, usually with colourful masking tape. This allows children to walk along the line, helping them with their balance as at this age they are out of proportion, top heavy and have an innate desire to reach equilibrium. This line helps them to do this in the most peaceful way so the line, marked on the floor is vital for a positive class atmosphere. It can also be used to centre the child's focus if they are being unproductive in their work or distracting other children. They can walk along the line and sing a song or try balance a bean bag on their head!

 CheckIng on the goldfish after feeding them coffee beans from the practical life section!! 

Nature also plays a huge role in creating a beautiful classroom atmosphere as well as teaching the children how to care for the environment.  Plants should be ubiquitous in the room and flowers should bloom on every table if possible.  Flower arranging is part of the practical life area of the curriculum so children should be encouraged to do this by themselves. I also usually have class pets such as gold-fish to teach them responsibility and empathy.

Polishing the leaves after watering the plant.

Music is also a huge part of the classroom that could be played in the background to help calm the atmosphere. I usually play tranquil Irish Celtic music or slow classical instrumental music and least distracting. For tidying up their work, I would usually use a wind-up music box, or the Montessori bells 

Helen Zora 18 note Acrylic Clear Gold Hand Cranked Gurdy Musical Mechanism Music Box(Over The Rainbow)

Helen Zora

Other children

In Montessori classes there is also a mixed age-group of children (e.g 3-6years) allowing all children to develop their minds and their personalities at their own pace while allowing the the younger, less developed to learn from role-models in the older children. This kind of classroom facilitates mentoring where the more advanced can help the less advanced and therefore stimulate and motivate a learning atmosphere with a need for interdependence.  Having different ages in the classroom also helps eliminate competition or jealousy instead encouraging a helping atmosphere. This kind of environment is very comforting to the child as it almost feels like a family or community because in real-life they will be interacting with children of all ages.

Here you can see the older child helping the younger child to put on their shoes. How sweet is this!! Or sometimes they might help wipe their tears with tissue if they cry. Melts my heart. 

These so-called role models, or more advanced children then become mini teachers or peace-keepers helping ensure the smooth running of the class as they help the younger ones with their work and correcting the ones who disobey any rules. This kind of empowerment is very healthy in their development. 

End-of-school pajama party! 

The Teacher/Directress

“I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.” –Haim Ginott

The specialized Montessori directress realizes the importance of independent learning as well as the power of the ‘’absorbent mind’’ and takes a step back in the classroom. Rather than leading she becomes the follower. She is always positive, calm and graceful and NEVER disturbs or interrupts a busy or focused child..unless they are of course in some kind of danger!

‘‘Absorption is now helped and enriched by active experience ”

She is the role-model in the classroom ALWAYS therefore it is of vital importance that she epitomizes joy, gratitude, patience and all virtues that she wants her children to posses. She is an integral part to the environment and the overall atmosphere of the classroom as she, like Ginott says makes the weather or mood of the class.

Her voice should be gentle and she must never shout. She is responsible for the stimulation of the absorbent mind with curriculum development and should always prepare appropriate material for each child. For example, if she notices the child is interested in airplanes she could maybe use small toy airplanes or laminated airplane pictures as counters in the math area or use moveable alphabet to write out the different airplane vocabulary; wings, window, engine, pilot. The directress will be able to ascertain when an individual child is in their sensitive period therefore observation is key. Additionally, she should always try to present concrete or real object before the abstract so therefore real objects should be omnipresent in all areas of the curriculum. So a real mini truck should be presented before flash card to help give the real impression of what the word means.

The object in his hand was presented first, then he can match it to the card. 

3 year old learns fruit vocabulary with real fruit in a basket so he can also smell the fruit and feel its real and true texture. Sometimes I would find little teeth marks in the fruit so I guess they were learning through all of their senses!! haha

 The curriculum development should be child-centered and appropriate for their stage of development. She should give the presentations gracefully and in a sequential manner ensuring not to give a child a presentation that he/she is not yet ready for. It is up to her accurate judgment whether a particular child is ready for a particular work. Giving a lesson in three different periods allows child to learn at their own pace and can allow the teacher to assess the readiness for the child to move to the next step without anxiety.

Essentially she is like an interior designer, designing the environment is key in the Montessori classroom so therefore appropriately designing and locating material is a main part of her job. 

Montessori nursery classroom 2-3yrs old in Beijing.

Classroom leadership is also very important to ensure that everything runs smoothly in the environment. She must establish and implement appropriate ground rules and metaphorically 'stick to her guns' ensuring that each child abides by these rules in order to keep the peace. This is important for the other children too as it gives them confidence and security that the teacher can manage the classroom in such a way that allows them not to be disturbed in their work and they know what is acceptable behavior and what is not. This gives a sense of security to the children and therefore creates a more harmonious atmosphere between all. 

Circle time banter with the kiddies 

I believe that creating a good routine or timetable for the class is essential for positive environment too as children love and need a sense of order in their daily lives.  We see that children love repetition and routine and feel much more settled in this kind of environment. 

Having said all that, it is important not to take the job too seriously and to have fun and go with it! She shouldn't be afraid to act goofy or silly at certain times, it is children we are dealing with here and we must not forget that. Look at their smiles! I loved making them laugh, even if it was at my own expense.  I always included dancing and singing in my daily circle-time and at playtime I would engage in their imaginary play and encourage role playing and fictional story telling. I know Maria Montessori said that children find the real world fascinating enough and don't need fairytales but I think every child needs a bit of good old fashioned fairytales. I was raised on songs and stories of fiction and wouldn't like to deprive any child of that!

In conclusion, knowing this secret of childhood that is the absorbent mind, it is imperative that we as Montessori directresses make sure we provide the child with an appropriate environment to optimize their learning experience. Without providing a beautiful and appropriate environment we are actually depriving the child and therefore will fail to see the beauty and wonder of 'the absorbent mind'.

Written by: Alison Egan. Photos are all from my own camera and permission given by parents to take photos but have used no names.  

References:

Websites:

http://socyberty.com/education/house-of-montessori/  2012-10-13

http://www.montessori-ami.org/montessori/environment.htm 2012-10-13

www.fullcirclemontessori.com/.../themontessorimethod.html 2012-10-13

http://childrenshomemontessori.com/learning_environment.htm 2012-10-13

http://childgrowthtoday.blogspot.com/2012/02/montessori-methods-of-education.html 2012-10-13

Books:

The Absorbent Mind. Maria Montessori. Page 168

The Secret of Childhood. Maria Montessori.

Maria Montessori Her Life and Work by E.M Standing

Montessori Today by Paula Polk Lillard

Art area 

Practical Life area; spooning, polishing, pouring, tonging, scooping, Kindergarten Montessori Class Beijing.

Harry's First Birthday!

After weeks of deliberating whether or not we would throw Harry a First Birthday Bash, we finally bit the bullet and went ahead with it. Why not?  You only turn one once right? Also, given his parent's track record of enjoying parties, we knew for sure that our little man would love it too. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, right?

I know people say, including myself, what's the point?!! He's not going to remember it! Why waste the time, effort and money? Well, after the year we have had, moving to a new city and all the challenges of new baby in a new place, we wanted to give back to all of our amazing friends, who we consider family now, who are always inviting us to their homes for parties, dinners and getting me out of the house for a coffee or playdate. Including us in their lives as if we were their own kin is something that we don't take for granted and we wanted to show them our appreciation and gratitude. So while it was all about Harry, it was also a big thank you for all of our guests. 

First on the agenda; find the perfect venue fit for our prince Harry and his fellow royal mini guests. Guess where made the cut? Southern Cut Barbecue made the cut! Just look at the picture above and see how homely, bright and warm it looks. As we live in an apartment, it didn't suit to have everyone over to our place. This venue felt just like we were at home though. Melissa Schero and her team there did such an amazing job decorating the place and even safety locked all the plug sockets so that no tiny fingers could find their way in. Thanks to Matt Moore for allowing us to take up so much space on a Sunday afternoon! It was just so bright and cheerful with exceptional service and don't even get me started on the food! 

On the menu were some pulled pork sliders, sliced brisket sliders, baby back ribs, deviled eggs, tuna tartare and mixed green salad all to be washed down with some Voveti Prosecco and delicious wine from Napa. The kind waiter there kept topping me up all day so I was nicely warmed up with velvety red wine in time for my little speech :) Their drinks selection was really good with lots of variety and I hear they do a great Irish whiskey here too..I think it's called 'Egan's' :) The food was so good and I saw lots of people go up for seconds! Thanks to Lee Ann Whippen, the chef at Southern Cut, there was plenty to go around. I luckily got to steal some to bring home which I am nibbling on as I write this!! Sadly, unlike at Southern Cut, nobody is here to bring me a warm, wet towel to wipe my hands with afterwards. Also a big thank you to the kitchen who baked a beautiful cheese cake and decorated it especially for Harry! Unfortunately none of this was left over to take home. Oh well, I'll just have to go back again. 

Tuna tartare

Mixed Green Salad.

Deviled eggs.

Delicious Cheese Cake 

Prosecco and Wine for the adults 

For all of the little ones at the party, I prepared the snacks myself. I made sure, as best I could, to keep the treats as healthy as possible but to deliver them in a fun way. Of course there were a few sneaky chocolate treats thrown in!! Wouldn't be a real party without chocolate. I also couldn't resist the disposable plastic champagne flutes. You know you are in the USA when you can literally buy anything you can think of. Also a sign we are celebrating in the USA is having a 'smash cake'. I had never even heard of one of these before! Growing up in Ireland you had the one cake. If you were lucky, it had your name on it!  It's basically for the birthday boy/girl to smash up or plant their face in it. As you can see we got a tiny one for Harry for 3 USD in the supermarket. I was not wasting any money on a cake I knew he wouldn't eat. Jonny and I will eat it later on with our Barry's Tea! 

The notebook here was for everyone to write a sweet note or piece of advice for 21 year old Harry. I will wrap it up and give it to him for his 21st Please God! 

Pinterest was great for the ideas! As you can see, I used a sharpie pen to draw dots on the Babybel cheese so they could be transformed into ladybugs and I used the same for the bananas to turn them into pirates!

All pom poms, banners, decorations and balloons as well as this cupcake stand were bought at Party City on Fullerton. Super reasonable all just a couple of dollars.  

Gold fish snacks in gold flutes! I actually forgot the gold fish and ended up just having cheerios in them on the day instead. I took this photo just before the party at home.

For fun, I decided to print large A4 size photos of Harry throughout the year and add some funny captions and speech bubbles from Harry's mouth. Since Harry was too young for any kind of entertainment, I thought this would at least entertain the adults as they went up and got their food! 

I got a bit carried away printing pics of Harry so I cut the faces out and stuck them with scotch tape to the straws! haha! The guests loved this! 

Party favours for the mini guests. They each took home a musical instrument. Harry loves music so wanted to share some music with his buddies. Maybe they will start a band someday together. 

Tiny minaiture plastic cups for 99c for the kiddies to play beer...I mean milk pong with or simply great to take some snacks in for the way home. 'One for the Road' as they say in Ireland. 

Some watermelon for the teething babies!

Mixed Fruit

The play area with a busy basket full of toys for the kids to chew on! haha! 

And below are the pics of all of our amazing friends who joined for the day! Sorry if I missed people I didn't get a chance to take a lot but here are the ones I managed to snap. Also, thanks to Yaxi for helping me take photos!! They came out great! I really wish our own family from Ireland could have been here but please God next birthday and many more, we can celebrate together. 

Since everyone was admiring Harry's outfit for his birthday, I will share the link below of where I got it. It was on sale for 14.99 imagine! Super cute. I thought the pocket with the little handkerchief was so dapper and so like what Daddy wears.

Baby Boy Short Sleeve With Bowtie Checked Gentleman Romper Toddler Outfit Clothing Set 1pcs Jumpsuit (Label 95 / 18-24 Months, Blue)

$14.99 $25.99

I thought Harry would be shy and cry when we all sang to him but he sat there with this cute grin on his face the whole time! He loved the attention! 

Just coming over to have a bite of mummy's shoulder...as you do. 

This is Harry's American grandma, Stephanie. She is Harry's Babysitter who lives in our building. I honestly don't know where we would be right now without her and as you can see from the photos, Harry is very attached! 

It all got a bit much for Harry towards the end and he needed a snooze on Stephanie's lap. I know somebody else who likes to fall asleep at parties! 

Everyone was asking me did I enjoy the day and the answer is Yes! I enjoyed it so much because guess what? I didn't have to cook! I'm so nervous about cooking for a crowd. The Southern Cut staff went above and beyond to make everyone feel at home. I was delighted that I didn't have to host and could focus on enjoying the company of good friends while cuddling my little birthday boy at the same time. I highly recommend having first birthdays outside the home for that reason!

Thank you so much to each and every one of you not only for being there for his party but for being there for Harry, Jonny and I throughout this whole year and keeping us sane in the madness that is the first year of parenthood! We couldn't have done it without all of you! For those who missed it, we still love you and there will plenty of more in the future Please God. 

xoxo 

Music Man

Music plays such a huge roll in Harry's little life. From the time he gets up in the morning, he is bouncing or clapping or shaking his shakers or maracas to his own beat!

Music is so important for whole child development; from social-emotional, cognitive, language and literary as well as physical development, hence why I have been taking Harry to music classes on a weekly basis for the past 6 months now. We like to go to Monica and Andy's Tunes with Tim class.

Music helps refine their little listening and auditory processing skills. It also promotes memory and recall and through repetition can help build their vocabulary. It's so much easier to remember words when they are sung to memorable melodies and rhymes.  Studies have shown that music has a profound impact on phonemic and phonological awareness which are vital skills involved in reading. 

The use of musical instruments promotes gross motor development and through practice, helps to refine their muscle control. Aside from all of this, music just brings children, especially Harry, so much joy! His favourite silly rhyme right now is by his music teacher Mr Tim and it's called  'Little Green Frog'. This always makes Harry laugh so much! I use this video at home to pick him up if he gets fussy! Thanks Mr Tim! Keep making more YouTube videos!

This Christmas, my parents gifted him this great, floor-mat piano which he loves to step on in the mornings. I think it's from Mothercare, Ireland. My mother plays piano.....especially well after a couple of glasses of wine!!haha! She really wanted to instill a love of music in Harry so is delighted to hear he loves music too and is happy stomping away on this. The Piano is great, each time he steps on the key, it plays the note out-loud. This really helped motivate him to walk. It was also great when he was crawling as it would make all sorts of sounds as he crawled along it. Thank God there is a volume button!! 

Symbols are great for banging and waking mammy and daddy up in the morning as well as double up for teething too as you can see! 

Harry and I took a 'mother and baby' ukulele class at Old Town Folk Music School in Lincoln Park when he was just 6 months old. It was more for me to get me out of the house to be honest! He loves to hear his fav nursery rhymes played by mummy on the ukulele and then he grabs it from me to try and strum himself! 

Piano from Fisher Price I picked up for 7 Dollars on Craigslist!

Another of Harry's favorites by Mr Tim is The Banana Boat Song! He bangs on his tambourine and shakes his little maracas to the beat while bouncing up and down. I thought I'd leave you all with this tune as it's so catchy and puts me in a great holiday mood! Enjoy!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Bedroom: Fit for our Prince

Finally, this weekend I got to declutter and get rid of old office furniture from our spare bedroom and turn it into a nice bedroom for Harry! It feels so much brighter and spacious now. He even sleeps better. Can you believe that? For the past two nights he has slept from 8pm-8am! I am a firm believer that clutter and too many toys or furniture cause confusion for a young child. The proof is in the pudding! I often pack up Harry's toys and put them away and rotate them. He is in a way better mood when I do this as he can chose what to play with easily and is not overwhelmed.

It is still not 100% complete, as I would like to add a little colourful book shelving to add a splash of colour but not too much. I want it to be a calm, relaxing space for him. He has taken over half of the living room with his toys and activities so bedroom will mainly be for sleeping and reading only...well for now!

I love his little reading corner with books and child-sized rocking chair! Again from Home Goods!

Above I have paintings that I painted while pregnant. Check previous blog post on Nursery Ideas! 

I bought some nice wall art from Marshalls and Home Goods to add a bit of colour and nature to his room. I think 'Animals from around the world' would be an appropriate theme that you can see in throughout his room. 

Thought panda would be appropriate since Jonny and I lived and met in China!

The giraffe is one of his favourite animals to visit at the Zoo so I thought it would be nice to have this piece.

We  love elephants so have included two elephant portraits in his room. Over the crib is another. 

Lovely pieces from Newbridge Silver, Ireland. Gifts from his Christening! 

This is a little felt cloud I saved that was stuck onto a gift bag. Recycle!! I really hope I find some more felt designs on bags like this or else I plan to make some myself to help describe the weather visually to Harry. 

This is one of my fav wall pieces hanging in his room. A thoughtful gift from his Godparents; Stevie and Niamh. Contains all important info and facts around Harry such as his birth weight, times, dates and locations of where he was born. Such a cute personalized gift. I believe it is from Unique Ink Designs, Ireland.

This is a photo gallery of his family which I switch and rotate around with different photos and family members so that he can become familiar with his grandparents and family back home in Ireland.