"The most important educational vehicle in all life is a parent figure."

I love mothers day, probably more than Mrs M's birthday, but then shes the kind of person that stresses about getting older so that may be why. Mothers day and fathers day have been huge for me since having the boys as they are a celebration of parenting, the thing that is most important to me. Becoming a dad changed everything for me and having children makes everything so much more amazing. They are hard work at times and demand a lot of attention, so I have always made it very clear how important it is to say thank you to mommy for everything she does for us.

The boys don't need any prompting when it comes to this time of year, when the words 'Mothers Day' are mentioned they spring in to action. What can we make her? can we buy her something nice? To be fair though, being such caring thoughtful children they are like that all year round, always wanting to put a smile on Mrs M's face (and i know how they feel).

After waking mommy up and presenting her with lovely cards we asked her what she wanted to do and she told us she fancied a walk up Carding Mill Valley, so we wrapped up and headed towards our mothers day celebration. I think as soon as she opened the car door she instantly regretted her decision as it was freezing. But we ventured up the valley and it was a lovely way to spend the special Sunday morning.

After an hour or so we we all craving a hot drink so we headed to the cafe and Mrs M made a bee line for her table, situated right next to the log fire. So we all sweated having our lunch before heading home for an afternoon of family time together.

We're so lucky to have Mrs M looking after us and it was great getting to spend some quality time with her considering she has had so much work on recently. 

To all my mom friends out there...

I hope all you moms out there had an amazing Mother's Day.

“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”

Opeie has started getting in to his drawing a lot more recently which is great, its one of the things i loved to do when i was a lot younger and is still something i enjoy today when i have the time. Embracing your creative side is so important and personally i think it is as important as the academic side of learning. With every new shape drawn and mark made Opeie is developing exactly the way we wanted him to and his excitement recreating the people he loves most is infectious, One of his most recent creations is a dedication to the beautiful one in our family, mommy. I think he's captured something here that perhaps we don't all pick up on.

So here she is, Mrs M in all her glory,  Excellent work Opeie...

"As far as I'm concerned, there's no job more important on the planet than being a mom."

I love Mother's Day, I love being able to celebrate Mrs M and all the amazing things she does. She always puts us first and always makes it so clear how much she loves us I feel so lucky to have her in my life and I would never take that for granted. Although sometimes she can feel a little pushed out when were doing our boy thing I know that if there's ever even a slight mention of cuddles the boys are all her, I completely understand though, I'm quite partial to a bit of her affection myself.

Mother's Day is a great way for the boys to make a fuss of mommy and despite us celebrating Opeie's birthday yesterday too he must have said 'happy mothers day' at least 50 times. They really do love their mom. Mother's Day preparation started around a week a go and although our house is full of craft stuff the boys were excited to see a new box of craft items for our little creative session.

Me and Opeie had used the bits to make mommy an I love you card a week ago to so we've made good use of it. we made her a sheep out of buttons, combining two of her loves, sheep and textile related things.

The boys wanted to make a Mother's Day card each and I also made one too because I wanted her to know just how much I appreciate her as a mom. I really couldn't ask for a better mother for our two boys she is a truly amazing woman. So production started and the boys were loving anything with a sticky back. I decided to use some pages from a Dr. Seuss book and hand sewed some buttons on. In keeping with Dr. Seuss Seth made a Truffula tree on his card which was very cute.

Cards made and gifts wrapped we hid them away and waited patiently for the mommy celebration to begin. 

As expected Mrs M was all smiles and couldn't get enough of her little boys yesterday. It's so lovely to be reminded every day just how much me and boys clearly mean to her as she truly is the most important person to us and we would do anything we can to make sure she is as happy as can be.

Happy Mother's Day Mrs M we are all so smitten by you xxx

Playing with your children... "unless you're a moron, why wouldn't you get bored?"

Nothing on the internet has made me angry until today, there's so much rubbish about to read but it can all be taken with a pinch of salt. I love writing the blog but I don't tend to sit on the computer for hours reading articles and posts that don't draw me in straight away. My friend Alice from bigmilkthing sent me this article and even though I'm a really laid back guy that doesn't let anything get to me, this made my blood boil and I am really disappointed that someone like parentdish would publish it. First the article:

(click the link below)

 

Why playing with your children can be (whisper it) a little bit boring

I was limited to 3000 characters in the comment box so I thought something like this needed to be put in to a post as it is relevant to blog and what I'm all about as a parent, so here is my (extended response).

When i found out me and my partner were expecting our first child I knew that I wanted my son to completely adore me, I mean what father wouldn't? i didn't have a great relationship with my own father growing up and I didn't want that for me and my children. I have a step son from my partners previous relationship who on a daily basis tells me that I am his best friend and am also his favourite person to play with, this isn't because he is shy and he doesn't have issues talking to other children, he is a very outgoing child.. This has nothing to do with me being a 'moron' and I'm not even sure what 'obsessed parents' is supposed to mean? 

 The problem isn't that your children are boring its that firstly most parents seem to have no idea how to talk or communicate at all to their children, you don't have to talk to them in baby talk or act like an idiot. Just talk to them like adults and if they don't understand what your saying then explain what you mean (sadly parents think their lives are to hectic for this level of commitment). The second major issue is that most parents have no imagination and rather than actually listen to what their children are talking about and get involved they would rather make a coffee, put their feet up and apparently watch Jeremy Kyle,  if what i hear on the school playground is anything to go by. 

Try and think back to when you were a child, what did you love to do? My eldest loves hearing stories about all the things I got up to growing up and these stories open up his own imagination. I used to love 'making bases' so how hard is it to take a couple of hours to make a base in the house with some sheets? Lego was a big thing for me when i was younger and I have introduced my boys to this and its something we do together when the weather isn't great and were stuck indoors. My boys love playing dress up and Ive been known to don a Captain America outfit and run around with them playing 'The Avengers', it puts a smile on their faces and if you don't want that as a parent then it says a lot about your parenting skills. 

All it takes is a little effort and some imagination. I play with my boys everyday which is why I started our blog giftsfromthepirates.com as a kind of online diary for them to look back on and also to show other parents that read the blog that spending time with your children is a never ending amount of fun. Your commitment to your children doesn't end at changing nappies, cooking food and bathing etc. I have a feeling that the article was written to make waves and get a response, I'm quite shocked that parentdish have posted such offensive material and to label a parent a moron for wanting to get involved in the development of their child is a ridiculous comment to make. 

Your children want to spend time with you, they want you to interact with them and take an interest in what they are doing, this may not always be the case, these could be the golden years in your time as a parent so you should be making the most of every spare minute you have with them. Yes you have many mundane things to do, we all do but if you communicate with your children and explain that sometimes adults have grown up things to take care of but you still take some time to give them the attention they deserve then they will understand and in time respect you for that. 

Too many parents that I come in to contact with seem to have gone in to the whole parenting thing half arsed. When you decide to have children it is a huge commitment, yes your going to have to watch Children's TV and play with toys but your making them happy, Isn't this the thing you want the most? a happy family and children that want to spend time with you? I cant believe that in the article there were so many ridiculous comments from apparent parents. I'll be honest i just feel sorry for the children as apparently "parts of the business of child-rearing are, frankly, dull.". I could go on and on but i feel that doing so would just make me more and more angry. I love and respect my children, I'm there when their happy, I'm there when their sad and I'm there if they want me to build them a hideout in the back garden and dress up like a super villain. Its all part of being a great parent.

I will agree with one part of the article though the "creaking knees" can be a pain.

Anyway rant over, I'm happy in the fact that I am putting everything I can it to my relationship with my boys.

Pauly (a doting, not obsessed parent)

"Get off your horse and drink your milk."

When we found out that Opeie was on his way we had many decisions to make about how we were going to approach certain situations. In some ways myself and Mrs M have very different parenting techniques and views on life but when it comes to the important things we agree on pretty much everything. Mrs M has very strong views on breast feeding which is great because I really didn't want my boy brought up on formula. It's been quite a tough journey which could have been ruined within the first few days by incompitant NHS staff, but thank fully we got through the difficult times with the help of a few people ( our brilliant midwife Amanda, and Telford BEST ) and i am so proud of the fact that she is still feeding our boy. Thank you to everyone who supported us, you'll never know how much you helped, by listening and offering a supportive ear!

He still doesn't sleep through the night and he can be quite demanding at times but Mrs M has the patience of a saint. She has given and is still giving the best start to our little angel and i am so thankful for that. I always wanted children even from a very young age  but i wanted to make sure it was with the right person and in a stable and happy relationship. I spent all these years obviously waiting for Mrs M as she is greatest mother i could ask for for my boys and she is so loved by us all.

Our little super hero will continue to grow big and strong thanks to breastfeeding and its all down to Mommy and of course a very supportive daddy.

I guess this post is just to say thank you from me, Opeie and Seth. We love and need you more than you will ever know. x

(If anyone ever needs any breastfeeding support, feel free to message us via here or our Facebook Page, and Mrs M will do her best to point you in the best direction she can.... it can feel like a never ending journey, can be stressful , but the health benefits for Moms and babies/toddlers is incredible..)