A simple Hungry Caterpillar Cake

So as you may have seen in my previous post, for Zachary's first birthday I made a hungry caterpillar cake.

As with all my cakes my first port of call for inspiration was pinterest, I have learnt now though that what is on pinterest is not to my standard and not to be disappointed with my outcome afterwards!

As I wanted it to be simple (due to having some walls being knocked down next to the kitchen) I tried to not look at the big amazing cakes too much!

The sponges I made in advance, just a basic vanilla mix, I have started using vanilla bean paste instead of extract recently and love the more intensive flavour.

The day after I put some raspberry jam and vanilla butter between the 2 layers. Then I covered in white ready roll icing (which hurrah I managed to put on without any tears or crinkles)!

I'd bought a small pack of ready made icing colours and basically mixed some colours together to make a mottled/marbled look.

The caterpillar was made by simply rolling into balls and then shaping them by flattening them down slightly.

And then with the other mixed up colours I made up lots of small circles using a cutter, and with a little water stuck them onto the white surface. 

I stored in a cardboard box, I learnt from my cake making friend never to cover in cling film (which is what I always used to do).

It tasted lovely, and got demolished quite quickly!

Zachary turns one (post over a month late)!

So on the 6th May our little baby boy turned one!

One already! How can that be?

He really isn't so little anymore either, he's a tall and stocky lad, just like his Dad and oldest brother.

I know it's cliche but this past year has flown by and is all a bit of a blur!

Zachary is such a happy soul, you know if he's crying that there is a problem.

So content with the simplest of things.

His favourite toys are balls, and cars. He's often found with a ball in his hand or chasing one!

He's been so good with feeding, taking to solids probably much earlier than he was supposed to really, but it worked for him. I fed him up to around 7 months too which is the longest I have breast fed any of the boys, after that we transitioned him to his own bed rather than his next to me crib. It took a while for me to get evenings back due to him clinging to me most evenings and waking most times we tried him in his cot. Now though he is brilliant, he loves his sleep so much that he will have around a 3 hour nap in the day which the other two boys rarely did, some mornings we might be lucky enough to get a lie in off him-shame the other two don't though.

He adores his older brothers and loves following them around the place, the biggest smiles are always saved for when we pick them up from school, it melts my heart every time.

He is saying a few words now too, mama being his first, followed by dada, Alex (Ala), Sam (lala), hiya, and his first word to an object being Alexa haha. Since his birthday he has least 'ba' which is either ball, book, back, or balloon, and has perfected 'more, more' whenever there is a sniff of food or rustle of a packet!

He's been steady on his feet for ages, standing alone for quite some time, but only started proper steps around 12 months, since his birthday he has got more and more confident. He now walks unaided (with a few little falls on his bum) and if he falls he is straight up again!

For his birthday we kept it pretty simple, the weather was gorgeous, and as we were having walls knocked down at our place we couldn't have people over. So we opted for heading to the local Zoo for the day. My parents and brothers joined us too, we had a picnic and the all important birthday cake before introducing Zac to Cotswold wildlife park, somewhere we have enjoyed visiting for many years (even as kids ourselves).

I made a big vanilla sponge and filled it with jam and buttercream, I've always wanted to make a hungry caterpillar cake for a 1st birthday so this was my theme.

The cake was delicious if I say so myself. 

It was so lovely to enjoy a summery birthday, with the rest of us 4 having birthday's in Nov and Dec it was a real novelty.

We went to my parents for a BBQ and more cake afterwards, and it was the end of a perfect first birthday.

Just can't believe that is the last of the baby days, and last of  the baby firsts! *sob*

3rd Child syndrome

Oops, I've just been updating a couple of bits of an old post as the links weren't complying with something as I've just had a quick flick through some posts of mine to realise that I really haven't written about Zac much at all, if anything other than his birth!!!

Feeling a bit guilty for that I must admit and definitely a case of 3rd child syndrome.

Life with three kids (and lets face it the hubby is sometimes like a fourth haha) is just so busy and full on that I just don't get much time to write anymore.

Zachary is nearly 9 months, which is just unbelievable in itself!

So before I forget or loose the scrappy bit of paper with important dates on I thought I'd type down a few bits I've missed on the blog!

At around 3 and 1/2 weeks he rolled a couple of times from his front to his back, I think this must have been a complete fluke though as it didn't happen for a long time after that. He was a super sleepy baby in the day at this age...night times maybe not so much!

At about 4 weeks old we had the first smiles, some in the bath and them some for Daddy! At at 6 weeks old we were treated with the big gummy grins especially after waking up.

He loved bath time, I think part of this must have been because when he was tiny the weather was really quite hot (feels like forever ago since summer now though) I was giving him baths quite frequently to cool him and make it more comfortable for him. Alex and Sam love bath time with him too, although a bit of a squeeze if they all want to get in at the same time!

At 8 weeks he did he first full night from about 10ish to  6.30, and by 10ish weeks this was most nights (unfortunately this was very short lived much to my disappointment)!

At 15 weeks he rolled from front to back, a day before 4 months old he mastered back to front and also sitting unaided for the first time!!

As he is one of my boys, and a Spencer boy at that I did decide to wean early at 19 weeks ( I know lots of people cringe when I say that), I've weaned all 3 of the boys early as they simply were starving! You know yourself if they are ready for food, Zachary was getting extremely angry at dinner time and was trying to grab anything he could off our plates. I just stuck to simple baby rice for quite a few weeks though. This made him so much happier, although unlike his brothers it made no difference to the night time wake ups and feeds.

By around 23 weeks we really knew that we had him as he no longer stayed in the same place as he got around the lounge with shuffling and his newly perfected rolling, always after the boys hot wheels as opposed to his own toys!

At 25 weeks you could see he was eager to crawl, up on hands and knees and launching himself forward when possible, at 27 weeks the commando crawl was happening and just a week after he'd discovered there were more rooms to explore other than the lounge (eek)!!

Not content with just crawling at 28 1/2 weeks he decided that standing himself up using the bath tub handle would be a fun thing to do too! Just to make bath times even more interesting I think!!

He's a strong lad so at 29 weeks he was able to sit up from a crawling position.

Now the next bits aren't so exact on the dates as A. I have no idea how many weeks he is now and B. we've been so busy I've forgotten to jot things down. Thank goodness I like to use facebook etc though!

I was super excited that one of my children said 'mama' first the other two were definitely 'dada' so I've rubbed this in a little to James who is a little put out by it haha. Such a magical moment, but I do wonder when it starts to change (like now if the older two say Mum constantly it grates on me haha).

He was up against the sofas at 7 months, although happy to just stand up rather than cruise.

At 7 and 1/2 months he tried to say Hiya.

At 8 months he climbed the stairs...I'd like to say with an adult behind him, I'd like to say I watched him do it, but in all honestly he snuck up when the lounge door was left ajar, the boys were supposed to be keeping an eye on him for 2 minutes whilst James and I were on an important call in the office. I've never panicked so much in my own home, the hall was dark, the boys oblivious to the fact he's even got out the room! I ran upstairs to the dark landing and still couldn't hear or see him, then I really panicked!! Sam then found him in Alex's room  (also dark) with a small piece of Lego in his mouth just to top off the bad parenting award! Needless to say a stairgate was bought quickly after that!!

At 8 1/2 months he's now trying to say 'dada' although it's normally just one big 'daaa' or 'dud'. We've had a few bab and lala type sounds too, and it's very cute when he's chatting away to himself.

He's such a good tempered baby, and generally only cries when there is really an issue of hunger, tiredness or pain (downside to an active one is they always seem to bump themselves into things). He is so active though as spots an open door, a little crumb (or not food but something else small to pop into his mouth!) stairs from a mile off, so really have to watch him. He's opening cupboard doors etc now too so will be ordering so door locks.

I'd say the only thing we've yet to master yet is a proper routine, not sure if it's the school routine that has made it harder for him to fall into his own routine or just that's his way of keeping me on my toes. He often sleeps at different times of the day most days so I never really know what to expect, like for example today he's still asleep in his pushchair from our morning school run (nice to sit on sofa with the laptop for a change though), sometimes he won't sleep until after lunch, sometimes he won't sleep in his cot and only my arms.

In the past 4 or 5 months I think I can count on 1 hand how many times he's slept through, he likes to wake and be cuddled in our bed! He does usually go back to sleep straight away though, up until 8 months I'd still been breastfeeding at night when he woke but I decided to try and stop and see if it made any difference. Actually since I stopped feeding him at night he seems to be settling down quicker when he comes in and will then sleep until the morning. In fact he loves a lie in! Sometimes I'm sad to see our breast feeding journey end (without me planning on it) and in other ways I'm glad, a couple of weeks ago I started to get mastitis symptoms so just decided it wasn't worth the pain and to just stop after I'd cleared the blockage!

He's such a cutie and really gaining his personality now, I just wish he'd slow down a little!! Can't imagine our family without him.

Making paper snowflakes and Vileda review

Wow, life has been utterly hectic lately!

I always find this time of year manic, not just from the usual Christmas lead up with school performances and extra activities, but from it being 4 out of 5 of our birthdays within 3 weeks. We gave the boys a party each, which for me means more cake making because I never just make things easy for myself. But if all that wasn't enough this year we also had a nasty sickness bug which wiped out at least one of us for over a week (James was the only one to escape!) and also a friend's wedding too!

The snow day just about tipped me over the edge when I thought either Sam's party would have to be cancelled or no one would turn up...thankfully though we carried on and enough could make it!

So after all those very busy weeks, I was quite glad when the Monday came around and the boys school although not fully shut (they'd said if it was too dangerous to come in not to worry...I didn't fancy a 50min round trip with the buggy in the snow) we took advantage of a possible lazy day in the warmth.

We were all shattered, especially Sam who was still getting over the lurgy and his birthday. By mid morning I'd actually had enough of them and thought we should at least try and do something festive...I'd been in full on birthday mode up until then!

I decided it had to be something very quick and easy. So we made good old fashioned snowflakes from white paper.

It's something I used to love doing as a kid, and still fun to do now as you never quite know how it will turn out.

Simply get a square piece of paper, fold into a triangle, and fold again to a smaller triangle, and then for a third time.

Open up the third fold.

Bring both side of the triangle to the middle fold and cut off the excess paper.

Now the fun part, cut your design.

Alex had free reign and did his own thing, Sam was more frustrated (due to tiredness) and needed more help so I drew some simple triangle shapes for him to cut. With his snowflake I made less folds too, for ease of him being able to cut it.

Look online if you want a more challenging design too.

Once they'd finished we layered them in so much glue they went soggy lightly put some PVA glue on them and sprinkled with some glitter. We couldn't find silver glitter so made do with some bronze coloured one.

Most people would cringe doing this sort of thing at home with the glitter, but it's super easy to tidy with the right tools.

We had a Vileda 3 Action Broom to try out, now normally I'm not a great lover of brooms as I find they don't pick up the small bits of leave a bit of a trail behind them.

Once the boys had finished and there was the mess of the paper, glitter, and their snack all over our kitchen floor (which is a horrible vinyl...) I was thinking that the broom wouldn't be great if I'm honest as I never have much luck with brooms.

But this one was different, because of the 3 different brushes within the broom head it picked up everything really well and with ease. Even most of the glitter moved with it, and we all know how hard it is to get rid of glitter!

So if you're in need of a cleaning aid this Christmas this broom is brilliant for the quick jobs after crafting, baking, or when you get that call from an unexpected visitor saying they will be round in 5!

This is especially handy for us at the moment with Zachary crawling, I don't always have time to grab the hoover so can do a quick clean of our kitchen and hallway if need be (which quite frankly with 3 boys and a husband in the trade it's always needed)!




The broom was given to us to review but all thoughts and opinions are true and our own words

Time

Oops, it seems I failed to keep it going with blogtober!

I've decided linkys aren't really for me anymore as I just do not have the time, and any time I may have I am often too tired to think straight let alone type anything readable.

Time is definitely something I which I could have more of right now.

I have so many tasks I would like to do.

And never get around to finishing them off properly, or even starting in some cases.

Some things that I'd like to get done are:

A photo wall

We have a lovely big plain wall on our stairs that is crying out for some artwork.

I've pinned many photos of them on pinterest, and James obviously must have remembered.

It was our 10 year anniversary (of being together not married) back in Sept and James did a bit of a treasure hunt around the house to the end present of lots of frames, and a 'let's fill them with the last 10 years' note.

After returning the original frames he bought (not because I didn't like them but because I thought Ikea ones would be easier to match year after year as we add to them) came the task of slowly trying to work through the thousands of photos on our Onedrive.

This is why the whole thing has been halted as we really do have so many photos, and we really haven't kept on top of them, probably since having Sam!

 I have literally spent hours deleting the rubbish ones, and putting them into folders so that it loads quicker, as much as I just like them all chronologically ordered year by year rather than by event!

I think I've got to about 2013/14 fully done...but it's so easy to be distracted and go down memory lane!!

DIY

We've been in this house for nearly 3 years and even areas we have done are crying out for a freshen up.

That said the lounge is a priority as we have ordered some new sofas from DFS.

 Although our current one isn't old it is just too small for us now, we bought it in our old home and it's never really fit our look or our growing family in the new house.

It will be so nice to have a bit more space when snuggling to watch a film together, rather than one of us ending up on the bean bag!

Also when we have visitors we will actually have some seating!

There's not much to do decor wise thankfully, just a freshen up and possibly paint the gloss, we have ordered new carpet from carpet right, and want some new radiators, and James being an electrician wants to change the lights as we aren't happy with what we have now.

The other room that needs doing is Zachary's, we planned on doing it before he was born but ran out of time, then thought we'd wait until we knew whether it was a boy or a girl.

Now nearly 6 months later, the room is more of a dumping ground than a babies room! I've so many boxes of baby things ready for the loft or to pass onto friends.

We've a patchy wall from tester pots and furniture than needs tweaking!

Zachary is growing out of this next to me crib soon for sure so this is something that needs doing NOW really!

Declutter

I've made headway on this already as I've sold most of my maternity clothes this past week.

I just wish the rest of the family could tidy up and sort through their bits a bit more as there's only so much I can sort through!

James has so many wires and cables for random bits of technology so I am hoping he has a good sort through it all soon!

Time to create

I've actually had a few crafting chances this past week as Zachary has slept longer.

But I do need to create more time so that I have enough stock for the 2 school Christmas markets I'm doing in Nov.

Time to write

My blog has slipped, I know that!

I feel I've missed out so many moments to record, the little things I know I'll forget.

The boys have completed a term at school and Zachary is nearly half a year old already!

Sometimes I wish I could just pause time, get all the boring house jobs sorted and enjoy our family time together!

Blogtober: Date

Date

I'm sure that's word I used to know the meaning of

My mind's a little hazy as it's been so long!

It's funny, people say you should still date when you have kids, and yes, whilst I agree, it's not always as easy as that. 

Since we have 3 kids, one of which still feeds off me, and parent's who still work full time, baby sitters isn't something I feel we can ask for regularly, I always feel guilty. 

Guilty I'm leaving the kids (despite ALWAYS wanting some more 'me' time, and guilty for whoever is looking after the kids for us as it is taking up their time!

We can never win as parents can we!

I think the closest thing to a date recently, is when James and I escaped the house one evening for a meal with some of his family, but we took Zachary with us. It was nice to dress up a bit for a change though. Nice to be out of jeans and t-shirt which are probably stained in something baby related!! It was also the first time I'd worn heals in a VERY long time.

Looking back 10 years ago, our relationship had just started, as we were 17 it mainly consisted of somewhere our parents could take us, or we could walk to, and of course afford!

I think we basically went to the cinema and then a few months later when we turned 18 the pub for a sizzling meal, a pint or in my case a southern comfort and lemonade (a drink I've not had in ages)!

We did used to hop on the train to London or Cardiff for something a bit more extravagant if we had a good pay cheque! 

We've never really done anything too extravagant as never had the money too. In fact the only nights we've spent away from the kids are nights we've stayed after a wedding or our mini moon!

The most 'out there' thing we did when Alex was little was a night on the dry slopes learning to ski, we didn't learn much but it was a good laugh. 

In the coming years I can't wait to hopefully go on more dates. 

I am hoping that having children young means that we can enjoy our early 40's and catch up on some of the fun we missed in our early 20's. I look at my parent's who had me at 22 and my brothers 3 and 6 years later and look at where they travelled to kid free the past 10-15 years, and I hope that James and I can be the same. 

I'd love to travel more of the world, and who better to do it with than my favourite date (I know pass the sick bucket).  

Blogtober: Car

As you may have read in my 1st Blogtober post, I don't drive. 

So although technically I own the car (well lease) I actually don't drive at all. 

I NEED to start lessons again, I had them when I was 17 and then just stopped, no real reason in particular, I just paused to take me AS levels and then never went back. 

Probably the biggest mistake really as I am kicking my self in the foot with it now. 

As much as I love walking as I think it really is good for the fresh air an obvious health benefits, it also has the obvious downsides such as walking in all weathers and everything taking so much longer. 

As the boys grow up I am also finding weekends to be a bit of a pain, the calendar fills up with parties, and football matches/training and then James throws a curve-ball and says he has to work the weekend! 

Then I have to rely on the help of others, which I always feel a little awkward about. 

So before I am 30 (which gives me just over 2 years) I will re-apply for a provisional license, I will get behind the steering wheel, conquer my fear and lack of confidence and driving!! 

Only problem is I have to learn in our beast of a car, when I'd much rather be driving something a lot smaller!!

My husband on the other hand has had plenty of cars in the 9 years he's been driving, a Corsa (sporty and drank fuel £££ on insurance so got a ...), Aygo (cheap to run, traded for...), Focus (mint condition, got written off by an old lady just days after owning it), Astra (was cheap when we needed a car after months of not having one, died shortly after but practically rolled into the car shop where we bought...), Citroen C5 (lovely car but had loads of mileage...), Insignia estate (did well for while but like all vauxhalls seemed to die with age...), old Scenic (from our friends that moved to France, temporary car to get to the hospital in when Zac was due, and thereafter a work car whilst the insignia wouldn't start)! We now have 2 cars the same, one black and one sliver and automatic  Hyundai i40 estates(which is what I am supposed to learn to drive in)!

Blogtober: Babies

Babies.

That word might but the fear of God into some people, but for my husband and I we knew it was something that we wanted.

Admittedly at 19 when we found out I would be expecting on my 20th birthday it was a bit of a shock to the system, we were scared, I was panicked, I was wondering what everybody would be thinking of me, dreading the bump and the looks off of strangers. Most of all I was dreading telling my parents, so much so I made James do it!!

But once the idea had all settled and everyone else had started to get excited about it, and we had our home then I relaxed.

On the 20th November, 6 days early Alex was born at 7lb 10oz.

Two and a bit years later we got very broody again, and after a rocky few months where I felt dreadfully sick my bump grew and grew and Sam was born on the 9th December, 8 days early (thankfully as was dreading going late and over Christmas) at 7lb 14oz.

Sadly last year I suffered an early miscarriage. It shock me up a great deal, we've been so lucky and fallen pregnant first time so I just thought that my body would be great as it had been previously.

When we came around to the idea of having another baby I was so nervous, nervous and more aware of what could go wrong. I don't think that feeling ever left me during the whole Zac's pregnancy. Zac kept us waiting until his due date, 6th May at weighed in at 7lb 12oz.

I don't know where I'd be without my boys! They drive me mad, but they all give so much love!

Blogtober: All about me

I've been off the ball with blogging of late so thought this little challenge would be good!

I'm doing an A-Z of me.

A Alex

He's our eldest son, and nearly 8 years old. He's almost catching me up height-wise (up to my chin), a lively soul and very much into cars, football and computer games. He's challenging at times and we do clash, but he has a heart of gold under all the tough exterior.

B Boys

I'm surrounded by them! I have 3 sons with my husband, James, who can sometimes act like the 4th boy at times. I also have 2 brothers, and James has 4 brothers with only one sister, so you could say that I am rather outnumbered. It's a good job I'm not a 'girly girl'!

C Cars

I'm nearly 28 but alas I don't drive, James recently bought a car that is automatic, in a hope that I will renew my provisional (from when I had about 20 lessons at 17!) and have a bit more confidence in at least starting to learn again! Confidence is something that I severely lack in many ways!

D Danielle

That's me! And also the name behind my business Danielle Louise Designs. I'm on maternity leave at the moment but will be using a couple of my 'keeping in touch days' for a few Christmas markets. I love creating, it's my little bit of me time and escapism from every day life. I can't wait to have a little more time to start up again, I know that it's never going to be anything big, unless anything drastically changes but love creating art and keepsakes for people.

E Energy

Something I am very much craving right now, with 3 kids who seem to not know how to put things away in right places, cause havoc around the house, a husband who works lots and creates more mess than the kids, a baby that still doesn't like sleeping through night energy is something I rarely have these days!

F Family

Although they drive me mad at times, family is really everything to be, I don't know what I'd be or do without them. They are my life, I couldn't bare to be apart from them for long. Most our immediate family live close by, siblings starting to stray further afield now (James' brother in USA) but that makes moments together so much more special!

G Greed

I hate to admit it, but I always want more. Whether that's more me time, more money, more time as a family, more clothes, a bigger house. As much as I want to enjoy everything right now it's so hard to switch off the greed and hunger for more, as much as I am also so grateful for everything that we do have and what we have achieved in 10 years. 

H Hunger

At the moment I cannot stop eating, I think I got into bad habits from when the morning sickness stopped in pregnancy, and then breastfeeding just seems to make me hungry 24/7! I am known for getting very hangry (just like my father haha), feed me and my mood will change, especially if it's freshly baked cake!

I Ice cream

The perfect addition to any freshly baked cake! Also one reason I am slightly larger than I should be right now as I have been known to eat a fair amount of Ben and Jerry's since I was pregnant with Zachary!! 

J James

My husband of just over 3 years, and this September my partner for 10. We started dating when we were 17 and for a couple of our age have certainly crammed in a lot! 2 Houses, 3 children, 1 wedding, and lots of happy memories and stressful times in-between! James really is my rock, I do not know where I would be without him, he is such a hardworking and kind man, I feel funny writing man as he really is a big kid! But I love him so much, if only he would pick up after himself a little more ;)

K Kids

I always knew I wanted kids, and well that dream has come true and we have 3 beautiful boys!

L Love

Some other things that I love: chocolate, baked goodies, fresh sunny mornings, crunching through leaves, cold side of the pillow, being hugged to sleep, having my head stroked, craft shop.

M Mother

That is me now as much as I love it sometimes at home I wish I was called something else so I don't constantly hear MUM, MUMMY, MUM, where are you  MUM haha. Deep down I wouldn't have it any other way though.

N Nonsense

With 3 boys and James there is a lot of nonsense in our house, and well, if I'm honest I have to join in too sometimes...I'm not going to be seen as cool for long I fear so might as well give them a few laughs whilst I can get away with it!

O October

October is the time of year my mind has to go into overdrive. It's the month I HAVE to start planning (at least in my head) the upcoming 4 birthdays before Christmas, and also start stocking up on Christmas presents too.

P Popular

I've never really been the 'popular' one, I've always been pretty shy and hide behind other peoples personas. I would crave to have a friendly relationship (other than James) with someone that I can call no matter what time, about anything at all. Although I''ve had best friends etc, and I do have friends, but I'm such an introvert that I've not helped myself throughout the years

Q Queen

A band that the older two keep asking to play on Alexa. It's quite funny as now they are recognising the songs and singing along. Although Alex often asks for King instead!!

R Roast

Mum's home cooked roast is the best. I still can't manage to time a roast right when I cook it, no matter how hard I try I just get it right! I can never beat Mum's roast potatoes!

S Sam

Is our middle son who will be 5 in December, he's a funny little boy with such an infectious laugh! He loves snuggling under a blanket and watching a Disney movie or TV. just like Alex he is hot wheels mad too!

T Tentative

I am far to tentative! I always overthink, worry, and am hesitant to change. It's something I need to work on for the future!!

U Undecided

James would say that one of my bad traits is my indecision with so much!

V Voice

I need to find my voice more, not only to be more outgoing and vocal, but to speak out and get passionate about something and not worry so much on other people's opinions of what I am saying

W Work

I've only had one job, the one I started when I was 17 (I think), it was working in the stockroom at Next. To some extent I enjoyed it, and in some ways I would love to get back into some sort of work, but I've been out of work since 2012 as I didn't go back after having Sam so it will be a huge hurdle if and when it does happen!

X ray

I've had one X-ray before, I really busted my hand playing netball once. I took a tumble and landed on the tips of my fingers, my hand the next few days was very swollen! Thankfully it wasn't broken (somehow) I miss not playing netball, but with the 3 boys and out weekends already being taken up by football and parties I don't think it would be fair just now to take a few hours out on a Saturday.

Y Yes

Yes is a word I should say more rather than 'maybe', 'in a minute' 'after this job', I need to be more positive and take more opportunities.

Z Zachary

Last but by no means least. Zachary is our newest addition to the family, and he has slotted in very nicely. Although he doesn't like sleeping through the night (much to my disappointment) he really is such an easy baby otherwise, he's already got the Spencer cheeky grin like the rest of the family and everyone loves him so. Can't wait to see what he turns out like in the years to come, his personality is shining through already.

Behaviour charts vs jars

I can't believe that it's been 21 weeks since Zachary entered the world!

It's been crazy, fun, at times a little hard to juggle everything but I wouldn't change it for the world.

You may have read my last post  about our challenging behaviour from the older two, in particular Alex.

We first tried a type of tick chart, with really quite basic things on such as routine tasks etc, with Alex I added 'go into school well and Sam 'eat my vegetables'. Alongside that we had Pom Pom jars which they could put a Pom Pom in if they'd had a good day or did something nice, friendly, helpful without being asked. With these things in place I am pleased to say that things have improved. The last few weeks of term were still tricky getting Alex happy about school but the difference was we didn't have to physically drag him trough the classroom door!

I will admit I was dreading the start of the summer holidays.

At the end of term, I awaited nervously as I collected Alex from the classroom as I just didn't know which Alex I would be picking up, the happy, chatty chappy or the angry, aggressive and short tempered one.

I was worried we'd have a lot of the latter over the summer holidays, especially more worried about the weeks my parents were sunning themselves in Greek islands.

It turns out James had a week off before we went camping for a week, this broke up the holiday loads, and gave me a huge extra hand with the boys over the time where I had no one else to help me!

Of course over the holidays, routine and bedtimes seem to have gone out the window, so we stopped the behaviour charts we had started for the boys, but have kept the jars that they each fill with pom poms when they have done some good.

These jars have helped massively, obviously there are still times we want to pull our hair out with the kids not listening, Alex still has the odd anger blow out, but on the whole the outbursts are much shorter (thankfully).

The jars are a simple concept, Alex and Sam each have their own jar. When they do something good, especially something without being asked, they can pop a pom, pom (or in our boy's case a cotton ball as they figured they were bigger!) in their jar. For example, Sam got one the other day as he actually got dressed and brushed his teeth without being asked, this is a HUGE deal for us at the moment as he NEVER does this.

Once the jar is full they can get a small treat, in our case that is often choosing a hot wheel car, despite having over 200 in the house already!

I am hoping with the start of school and routine we won't have to go back to the tick charts we'd had, that sort of thing isn't really me, I am too forgetful but if the behaviour slips I will have to start it up again, if they get so many ticks a day they get a pom pom. Ideally I'd love to just have the pom pom jars and keep it simple.

I'd originally written this before school went back when we were busy finishing school projects, but here we are a month in already and the holidays seem like a distant memory!

The hardest weeks of my life

Being a Mum  parent brings lots of challenges and guilt.

Once you've cracked one problem there's swiftly another to be solved. 

I knew adding a 3rd baby into the mix would make family dynamics change and get more difficult.

I knew balancing 3 children would have it struggles.

What I wasn't prepared for was the struggle we had since the May half term.

It was a long half term due to Alex having teacher training days added on, as well as being shut the polling day too. Also my mum is often around the holidays as she works at a school, alas she and dad were enjoying a lovely holiday.

It was pretty hard balancing a young baby, who I had only just got to grips with feeding myself without being too sore, and keeping the older 2 occupied, happy and not fighting!!

One day started very badly with Alex, angry, temper tantrums, not doing anything he was told to, lashing out at his brother and hitting me whilst I was feeding, he tride to run out of the back garden too!!

I thought things had finally calmed down when Alex and Sam had gone quiet upstairs, so once Zac had fallen asleep I started heading upstairs to see if I could join in the fun with them...

Then, half way up the stairs I heard the spray of a deodorant can and soon realised they weren't playing lego like I thought they had been.

Then the smell hit me like a wall. It smelt like the perfume shop had exploded.

Our room was a mess, there were spray marks over the walls, mirror, window, cupboards and more. Our duvet had been spread with my make up, a football sized patch covered in foundation and bright red lip gloss smeared in places also. The thing that made me most mad was the babies bed matress had been ruined from them pouring half a bottle of expensive, and strong smelling perfume.

Not going to lie, I was livid, not only was I disappointed, I was upset that items I don't normally treat myself to had been ruined and wasted. I rarely spend money on myself so I was gutted.  

This day was the start of a lot of change, Alex changed, it's like the red mist hit him and nothing would change it.

We had weeks of terrible outbursts, some lasting more than two hours, he was breaking things (like cutting the straps off brand new shin pads we had bought him the week before as he's just started football training), throwing items and just generally been mean, angry and at times quite scary.

My parent's witnessed it too, I think they thought I was exaggerating things at first but were surprised when he wouldn't stop for them!

June was just such an awful month throughout, one day he refused to go to school for a good 10 minutes purely because he's forgotten to choose a golden time toy despite being ready to leave for 15 mins. I had Alex going one way, Sam starting to head off (and crying because he didn't want to be made late for preschool) and Zac in the pushchair, I will admit I didn't know what to do and could feel the anxiety and anger bubbling away inside.

There was a bad sickness bug going around his class too, as he has a severe fear of being sick this made everyday another battle, as it was constant questions like "am I going to be ok" "but what if I'm not ok" "am I going to be sick". We had tears before school, some days I had to drop him off practically forcing him through the door with his teachers, some days the only way he'd eat at school was in the class not hall. He's never been in trouble at school before but I got called over at least twice in as many weeks for being awkward and just not nice.

How do you deal with angry outbursts? Time out has never worked for him as it leads to even more battles (he can go on for over an hour if in a really bad mood).

What tips and tricks do you have?

Thankfully since this happened things have eased a little but we are still having issues, it definitely started as a cry for more attention after having Zachary, but the anger is still there or a day to day basis.

Baby haze. The early days

Every one says the early days of a new born are hard but I don't think anyone can actually prepare you for it!

The final weeks of pregnancy take their toll on your body both physically and mentally topped with labour (no matter how long or not it is) so when that baby is placed in your arms you need the adrenaline that your body runs on!

This time I think I was running on adrenaline for some time as I couldn't sleep in the hospital despite being up over 24hours.

The first couple of nights I barely slept, not sure if it was some baby insomnia where I was just too worried about baby to sleep!

Zachary was a good baby in that he would sleep laying flat which our other 2 wouldn't do, but the first few nights were hard I had barely any sleep, one night I didn't manage any until 3.30am!

The first few days seemed like we were in de ja vu as we ended up at the hospital on the day 3 (for me with a big clot/membrane), the following day we went to the children's ward for Zachary to have a jaundice check (thankfully fine). I was just in a daze and not with it at all. The bleeding seemed heavy this time around, after pains strong although not as bad as after Sam and I was just an emotional wreck.

Typically when the midwife mentioned heading to the hospital for the jaundice check I burst into tears, partly from tiredness but mostly from baby blues, that was the day my milk came in and thankfully the jaundice worked it's way out after that.

I thought I was on a roll then, thinking that breastfeeding was going well but then they got so sore. So sore I bought an electric pump and then gave him the odd bottle of expressed milk to give me a break and time to heal. I thought that was working but then another spanner in the works.

On about day 9 he screamed from lunch time, he acting like he wanted feeding but then when I tried either breast or expressed bottle he would fuss and arch. He had a small feed at 12am and woke at 7am I was so panicked. He seemed lethargic, hadn't a dirty nappy in the night and I was really scared something was wrong. So much so James went to the docs and managed to chat to my midwife who sent someone earlier than she was meant to be coming over that day.

The midwife was happy nothing serious was wrong, typically (although thankfully) he wet his nappy as soon as she turned up. No temp although warm to touch, fontanelle not sicken, we eventually put it down to him possibly having a sore tummy or something!

I was glad I got to see the midwife I had throughout my pregnancy a couple of days later (I had a couple of extra days on the books and not the typical 10)  and she weighed Zachary who had put on over his birth weight at 8lb 3oz.

I always had in my head that his pregnancy was the easiest out of them and that he would give me a run for my money in the early days!

Our water birth

Throughout this pregnancy and probably the one with Sam also I was tempted to try a water birth.

Unfortunately with Sam the pool rooms were taken which made me want to try it more so this time around, particularly as this is our last baby (unless anything drastic changes in the next few years)!

I was so pleased that when we got to the birthing centre the second time on the 6th May that we had a room with a pool.

I couldn't believe how large the room actually was!

There was the pool, a typical hospital bed, low bed, beanbag, birthing ball and an en suite.

With my stop-start labour  (read previous posts) I actually didn't get a lot of chance to be in the pool. I think I was only in there for 30mins max and most of that time I was pushing Zachary out!

Having said that I was so much more relaxed when in the pool, beforehand I was in agony, grabbing onto James's hands and even trying to bite my arm! I even had some gas and air which I didn't have with either boys!

Once in the warm water the pain, although still there, became more bearable, I no longer used the gas and air ..but still grabbed James's hands!

I still felt the burning sensation when Zachary was making his way out, I know some people say that the pool can help with this. I do wonder if I had been able to be in the pool a little longer whether this may have helped with that.

Zachary seemed to be quite calm when he came out and it was quite nice being sat in the pool a short while before needing to get out.

You do feel slightly 'on show' in the water but I think by that point you don't really care...it's not like the midwives haven't seen it all before!

The hardest part about the water birth is probably the getting in and out! Getting in I was mid contraction and getting out helped my placenta come (due to gravity I guess) at least I didn't need the injection to speed things along, it always feels super gross to me when it comes out!

If you are thinking of a water birth I would definitely recommend it, even if only for the pain relief!

The staff and facilities we had at the white horse birthing centre, GWH were amazing too.

Our 3rd birth story

So if you haven't already you may want to read my previous post to catch up...

The midwife quickly filled up the pool for me whilst I sucked in the gas and air through the now piercing contractions.

I was a little bit out of it when James and the midwife wanted to move me across from the bed to the pool. I remember having a contraction but not being able to really talk and tell. I think the midwife thought I didn't want to get in the pool!

I took the slow walk with each arm in one of theirs over to the pool and the steps into it were hard work.

Instantly I relaxed in the water, the warm water helped so much with the pain. I no longer took any of the gas and air.

I was knelt down with my hands either Ron the pool handles on in James's hands.

I instantly got the pushing sensation and got the go ahead from midwife to do so. My waters went (something that's not happened to me naturally before) and shortly after the head was born.

I was exhausted and really felt like I didn't have it in me for the next few pushes but itstill weird how your body just takes over!

He was born at 11.35pm, making the last stage of labour only 30mins!

I was quite in shock when he was born I must admit when first holding him I was in a bit of a daze. He seemed to come so quickly!!!

He must have been eager to be one of the 5% of babies born on their due date as he only just made it with 25mins to spare!

And yes, it was another beautiful baby boy.

Atb7lb 12oz he wasn't even my biggest baby despite being born a week later than the other boys.

After the placenta (which came without needing the injection) I sat back on the bed and had the check for stitches (which I definitely needed the gas and air again for)! Thankfully I didn't need any (never have woop) and after the gas and air wore off I had those all important skin to skin snuggles ans feed with our new little man.

James text our parents and even rang his older brother who lives in America as he'd knew they be around unlike most of our family due to it being past midnight.


The quiet time was perfect ano he even slept in the hospital crib after his checks.

I had a shower (always a horrifying experience post birth) and felt much more refreshed. We tried a little sleep but I was running on adrenaline...James on the otherhand was snoring so loud!!

I couldn't stop looking at our bundle of joy!

James asked when it would be possible to go home as we knew we'd be comfortable there. After all the paperwork etc we were let out about 5 or 6am.

And there we left the hospital with Zachary tucked up safe in his car seat.

After a little snooze back home we woke around 8ish and worked on choosing his middle name as we were far too tired beforehand to think of one.

So introducing

Zachary Jack Spencer
6.5.17

Stop/start labour in 3rd pregnancy!

It's crazy to think that this time last week I was still pregnant.

Dreading the school runs due to all the usual "still here", "no baby yet" comments.

Deep down I knew that things were imminent due to a few signs but it was only James that knew.

I tried to get anything sorted that needed sorting whilst the boys were at school, just a quick clean up of house mainly!

Late that night I had what was an obvious show rather than me guessing it could have been. So had a nice long shower and settled down early ish.  I woke at 1 and we am with slight pains. At 3 they had cranked up and I was getting so nervous about it, I think I actually made myself think the pains were worse than they actually were. So much so that I woke James at 4 and got him to ring. We didn't get to the birthing centre until around 6am.

I sort of knew once there that things weren't progressing like it had with both the boys. But I wasn't prepared to be told I was only 1-2cm and be told it was best to go home.

Not going to lie I was so apprehensive about doing so, but understood that the contractions had no become quite irregular in strength and the time between each one.

In my head I thought this labour would be quite quick due to having Sam a few hours after entering the hospital.

I felt so deflated and cried to myself in bed when we got home.

My mum left with the boys and packed a bag incase they'd need it for later.

James and I were so bored and frustrated all day long. We didn't really have anything to do and it was literally a waiting game, I was so short tempered and quick tongued. We were so fed up of texts and messages off other people who some were unaware of what was happening.

At one point the contractions had slowed down so much that I thought it was never going to happen that day! They were 20/15mins apart but not always strong.

Gradually they started building up again still varying in length and strength but by 6pm ish things really cranked up!! Just before we left they were 4 mins apart and James started to panic we wouldn't make it in time!

Thankfully we did, unfortunately they slowed down slightly again and when I was checked was only 3-4cm. I just wanted to cry.

The midwife didn't want me to go home though this time they suggested going for a walk around the hospital for an hour and to try the stairs as baby still needed to move round and move his back around slightly.

We found out from near enough every midwife we'd seen that day that 3rd babies can be notorious for stop start labour and then making a quick arrival!!

At 9pm I couldn't take anymore walking around the empty corridors, I was so exhausted and the contractions I was having were unbearable standing up.

The midwives suggested getting a little bit of shut eye as we were both so tired.

Luckily we had a really big room, I've never had a birthing pool room before so was pleased to see it when they showed us in. There was a high more 'medical' looking bed which James chilled on and one low bed which I took. I couldn't really sleep but managed to rest at least.

The rest seemed to increase the time between contractions but come 10pm they started getting more unbearable.

I was literally flinching and grabbing James'shand or belt so tight. I felt that low feeling and had to get the midwife in.

I don't think they thought I could be that far along yet as they seemed adamant to see how dilated I was at 11.30pm which would have been 4 hours since last being checked.

But by just before 10.45 I has to get James to ask when I could have the pool ready and when she saw me again suggested gas and air (which I've hated before now) because I couldn't cope with the pain!

She examined me again and said I was 7cm and she'd get the pool ready...

Read the next post for the rest of the birth story!

Labour anxiety and totally fed up at 39+weeks

So as the title suggests today I am 39+5 weeks pregnant.

I'd had both the boys at this point, with Alex being 6 days early and Sam 8 days early I was certain this one would follow suit.

Unfortunately that has not been the case, unfortunately I had in my head that this baby would be with us no later than the bank holiday.

I've had over a week of on and off 'false starts', wishful thinkings?

I honestly thought at 2am on the 3rd that it was the real deal. But here I am, still here, still pregnant and wide awake at 4am...

I'm not going to lie I am so fed up now. I wish I hadn't got into my head that this one would be early like the others.

I wish that everyone else didn't think the same thing too as I am so, so sick of all the messages, texts, calls and chats at the school gates. I just want to scream "NO I HAVEN'T HAD THE BABY YET, NO I HAVEN'T GOT SIGNS" but of course I don't, and of course I know everyone is just being friendly.

With everyday that goes by I am getting more and more anxious about the birth.

It's been 4 and a half years since my last labour.  To me that seems a long time, I've been lucky in my last labours, I've not torn and with Sam I even managed without any pain relief.

As time goes on I keep thinking this baby is just getting bigger and heavier. I'm so worried about how big they will be and the impact that will have in labour and in my downstairs region!!!

I really want another natural labour, I really want to give a water birth a go this time, I really want to do it without pain relief again.

I'm finding everything hard work at the moment, from school runs to cooking the dinner, to trying to keep the house somewhat tidy. I've had help with morning school runs and have been doing the afternoon ones as much as I can, it's a mile each way and every time I do it I think 'this will help kick start things'.

I've no motivation when it comes to cooking, especially dinners at the moment. Everything is just giving me heartburn, I fancy the plainest foods but obviously that's boring for everyone else.

Every night I have my shower, a 'just incase I go into labour tonight at least I'll be fresh and clean'. And every night the past few days I've been in tears.

In tears because I'm finding it all too much.

In tears because each day that goes by is another day I've had time to worry about everything.

In tears with the aches and pains that make life so difficult in the late stages of pregnancy.

In tears as this could still go on another 2 weeks yet.

I really hope my next post will be more cherry and with some happier news to share!!

The final weeks of pregnancy!

On Monday I had my final blood test and unfortunately along the way I had been bitten by a dog!! Luckily it really wasn't that bad but it had managed to break the skin in 2 places. Because I knew I was heading straight to the doctors I just rushed off-I do hate confrontation with strangers!!

I was quite shaken up, and as soon as the nurses in the room asked if I was ok, I sort of half burst into tears and felt very embarrassed. It was one of those moments when I really wish they hadn't asked if I was ok as that just let the flood gates open-at 36 weeks pregnant it doesn't take much at the best of times!!

Anyway whilst there I asked whether I needed to take anything or buy special cream and as they were unsure they said to ask reception for a call back from the doctor. Unfortunately I need antibiotics for the next week! So now have indigestion pains from them as well as baby!

Tuesday morning I had my 36 week midwife appointment (potentially could be the last...) and was pleased to see it was with my normal midwife this time (not that there was anything wrong with the fill in one last time), always nice to see a friendly face.

I was so pleased that the bloods came back fine, I have been on iron tablets since the last blood test and luckily my levels are around 12 so I am fine to have baby in the birthing centre.

I am so, so relieved with this, I found Sam's labour in the birthing centre so much more relaxing than when I had Alex on the ward, it really didn't feel like I was in the hospital at all, I do have a little bit of a fear of hospitals generally otherwise!

She measured bump which was all good, she noticed how tight it is under my ribs and how little room there is left, I was pleased to find out baby is head down, with it's body to the right and limbs on the left (explains the weird poking out bits I've had this past week)! Baby wasn't engaged, but in bed last night I had a really bad sudden discomfort down below a few times and lots of pressure, so I am wondering if maybe it is now or making a start!! EEK

I am tempted this time to try a water birth, the pools were in use when I had Sam, and I won't be totally disappointed if they are again, I just think it would be nice to try, and with this being my last pregnancy I would really like to give the opportunity a go. I am just wondering whether I would get too hot and then start feeling ill.

We are almost sorted with everything baby, my parents kindly took the boys away Friday night-Monday night in Bournemouth and as James had the weekend off we sorted out our room, cleared some rubbish from the house, and after a year of having no thresholds after laying our hallway floor we finally got them down along with some hallway lights up, as it was so nice weather-wise we didn't do as much as we had planned too. But we only really have the babies crib to make up now, the rest of the DIY will probably wait another few months to a year I'd expect!!

It was so nice to have some time to ourselves and just have ourselves to think about without worrying about feeding, bathing, and bedtimes! We caught up with some friends and family, and took a wander around Cirencester-where we had a yummy lunch!

Plus the boys had a fantastic time away and it was probably much needed as we really don't have much planned this school holiday!

So I am going to try and enjoy the last few weeks of pregnancy, despite the tiredness and general aches and pains, and also being without a working car at the moment (hopefully being sorted asap)! I also have a haircut appointment today which is much needed as I haven't had my hair cut in over a year and I so need it!!

Easter crafting: shaving foam marbled paper and Easter hats with Marigold.

We've been busy crafting this past week ready for Easter.

Spring is a great time of year to craft, the sun is out and it's time for lots of bright colours too!

On a day where Alex had gone to a friend's house to play after school I took it as a good opportunity to do some crafting with Sam one-to-one. Which I will admit I've not done enough of over the years!

We collected some cards and papers, chose the colours we wanted and bought some shaving foam. (Please read the bottle when buying...we bought the gel one first time and had to head back to be able to make this project)!

How to make shaving foam marbled paper:

Things you need

• Shaving foam
• Paint (at least 3 colours)
• Thick paper or card
• Cocktail sticks/kebab skewers/fork
• Tray with foil (saves on lots of washing)
• Ruler or something else to use as a scraper

How to make it:

• Make sure you clear a space, thanks to Marigold we had plenty of sponges and cloths to wipe down the table and kitchen worktops. 
• Wear gloves if you want to...this would be advisable if you wanted to use food colouring instead of paints.

• Set up the trays, and squirt a generous amount of the shaving foam all over. 
• Choose which colours you want to marble together and dab small blobs all over. 
• Using the skewers etc, make patterns with the paint. Tip: start off with bigger gaps, when you reuse the same shaving foam over a few times you will get a 'tighter' marble affect anyway. 
• Once happy with pattern made place a piece of paper on top. Don't press too hard, but enough for the paint to take. 
• Gently peel off the paper, place on the table.
• Using the ruler scrape the excess shaving foam off, press firmly when doing this.
• Leave to dry
• Put the excess shaving foam back in the tray and mix with the skewer again, repeat until you want to stop. 

I will admit this is quite a messy make! But it is fun, and I will also admit that we aren't too precious about our table as it's on it's last legs. Again having Marigold to help with the clean up was great-as you can see our table needed it!

We actually used these papers this weekend, the boys used templates and cookie cutters to cut out spring shapes for their Easter hats. 

These were really simple to make as it was simply a piece of card for each hat, cut into 3, 2 stapled to fit their heads, and then the extra piece bridged over the top. The 'grass and box of carrots' were from Asda at a £1/e I thought these were pretty reasonable! Using my glue gun I got them to tell me where they wanted their shapes placed.  

Hope you enjoyed this, let us know if you will be crafting this Easter!

This is a collaborative post with Marigold

32+ weeks pregnant

I can't believe I have 7 and a half weeks left of this pregnancy, potentially less seeing as I had the boy's about a week early.

I was full of energy after the weekend, the sunny spring day on Monday put me into a great mood.

I'd got James to get all the baby things out of the loft on Sunday evening so I was eager to sort through the clothes and bedding, and got all the neutral bits washed up.

It felt odd looking at all the baby bits, I think I am still a little in denial that there will be another little person joining the family!

I get quite sentimental when looking at the boy's old things, I was a teeny bit sad that the snowsuits they used to wear won't be used this time with this baby being born at a completely different time of year!

I've had to put a small pile of bits back away already as they will be too wintry.

I also always think at this point in the pregnancy, why did we not find out the sex?

It would make it so much easier when sorting out the clothes, if it's a boy then we are sorted, if not then I will have a big bag for charity apart from some sentimental items I'd expect! Although, really I am happy to have another surprise, certainly keeps everyone guessing, and I love the moment you first find out too.

Anyway after all the organising on Monday I think I really burnt myself out, I slept awful that night as had really bad hip pain, each trip to the loo was agony, and I tossed and turned all night. James' alarm goes off at 6am and I must have looked rough as he said he's take time off work.

It was such a relief to be able to rest and not do the school run that morning, I have a 2 mile walk there and back twice a day and it is starting to take it's toll now.

As bump is getting bigger and heavier, I am getting slower, and waddling more, still it's keeping me fitter I guess!

I think I have reached that hormonal stage again, as this past week literally everything is annoying me, the house is so messy where I just have no energy to sort it properly. I do the bare minimum at the moment!

There's so many unfinished DIY projects about, the downside to having a handy man hubby is that our house is always the last to be done! He's electrical business has been doing really well recently which is great, but also hard work as he's been out from 6am to 10pm some days, it's getting hard on all the family, especially this week where he's been out every evening, the boys miss him, I miss the help, and he is exhausted when he's home!

I guess, I am going to have to start asking/accepting some help more now the next few weeks, everyone keeps telling me to rest up but it is so hard to, as if I stop so does everything in the house!