"Of course you're not an elf. You're six-foot-three and had a beard since you were fifteen."

So it's day 2 of the snow filled fun. I woke up with Opeie early and we had cuddles on the sofa under the blanket and watched the usual Yo Gabba Gabba/Aquabats Super Show marathon while Mrs M and Seth were still asleep. Looking out the window it was obvious that i wasn't going to be doing the Saturday morning trip to Tae kwon do so i knew i could keep my Giraffe onesie on for a couple of extra hours.

Seth woke up around 7 and we pretty much played with the Lego until Mrs M woke up. Seth was itching to get outside but Opeie's teeth were giving him jip so Mrs M took Seth sledging and we stayed in the warm. Opeie started to feel a bit less groggy so i decided to get him ready to go in the garden

Again it seemed to take forever to get him ready and by the time we got into the garden Mrs M and Seth were just getting back. Seth stayed in the garden with us for a bit making perfectly round snowballs, sledging and writing our names in the snow but as he had already been out for a while he was cold and decided to go in.

Opeie was wrapped up nice and warm in snow trousers and his fancy pink wellies so he was good for a bit more snow fun, so next on our agenda was a snow man. It was Opeie's first snow man so i wanted it to be something fancy. Opeie loves playing with Lego minifigures, he will sit there for ages swapping the heads, bodies and giving them new hair and hats so i decided to make a snow minifigure...

I gave him a crash course in how to roll a body out in the snow and we was having lots of fun but unfortunately he started to get cold and wanted to go in and play with Seth. I decided to stay outside and make Opeie his Snowy Lego man. I did feel a little bad because the house was a bit of a mess but then how often does it snow?! 

It didn't take to long to make and ended up looking pretty good, the hardest part was the hands. The boys loved it and it's another nice thing for them to look back on. Hopefully the snow will still be here tomorrow and we can have yet another afternoon of snow fun.

"Then come the wild weather, come sleet or come snow, we will stand by each other, however it blow."

It seems that everyone in the UK has gone 'snow mad', Every time it snows in this country people act like it has never snowed before. Mrs M has been hilarious this week, checking the Met Office every hour and updating me on when the snow is coming and how long its staying for. I love the snow but I'm patient and much prefer the surprise of it coming round. Ive avoided the social networking sites as much as i can as it seems that each one has turned into weather.com and there's only so many 'it's snowing' updates i can take.

Well the snow is actually here now so i thought i would write a post about what we've been up to (snow related of course). We didn't have any last year so this is the first bit of snow that Opeie has experienced so he has been excitedly sitting at the window desperate to get outside.

There wasn't much on the ground when we woke up this morning so i got Seth ready for school as usual but as we walked through the gates it was clear that he wouldn't be in school very long. After the slightly dangerous drive home, brakes locking and skidding all over we sat patiently waiting for a text from the school which came at 11am saying we could get Seth. It took me three times as long to get to the school but i was happy to have Seth out so that we could concentrate on having some fun. 

After what seemed like an hour and a half getting the boys dressed we were ready to head out. I know the boys need to be warm but Mrs M seems to want them both looking like the Stay Puft Marshmallow man in all their layers. They each got in a sledge and we pulled them down the road, although Opeie soon lost interest in that and wanted to be carried. We headed up to  a local school where there were some hills for us to make the most of the sledges.

We all had a great time but Opeie started to really get cold it was very cold and we all had bright red cheeks. Silly daddy should have put Opeie in a balaclava (I'll know for tomorrow though).

Mrs M decide to take Opeie home, i think they had both had enough of the snow. Me and Seth stayed for some more sledging and a 'snow battle' as Seth called it. We went down the hills on the sledges backwards, on our tummies and i even used mine as a snowboard which made Seth laugh.

We had a snowball fight but sadly the inevitable happened and i hit Seth in the nose with one (Oops), he was Ok though and soon got over it after giving me a big snow beard to get me back...

Soon after we both started to get really cold so Seth got back in his sledge and i pulled him home so that we could have a nice cup of tea and a cuddle under a blanket. It was a great couple of hours and we will definitely be making the most of snow over the next few days. Tomorrow we'll be making a snowman i think so be sure to keep reading.

"Alright squaddies, time to hero up!"

When i first started writing the blog i planned on it mainly being about toys and what me and the boys collect but as time has gone on its become a lot more personal and although i do write about toys on many of the posts there is a lot of posts about the general things that we get up to. A few of the earlier post were taken up by a collection i started for Opeie before he was even here with us. I'm a huge Marvel fan and on finding out about the Super Hero Squad range and how many characters there were available i knew i wanted to start collecting them for that boy of mine.

It's been over two years now but for the last 6 months i hadn't brought anything to go with the collection. To be fair they have been in a sealed crate and basically i had forgotten about them... that is until last week when i decided to have a look on eBay and noticed that quite a few had been listed (strange because apart from the 3 special Amazing Spider-man boxes and the 3 Avengers boxes they haven't released any for a while). I purchased 2 boxes but that afternoon i realised why they had re surfaced on eBay. I had popped in to our local B&M to buy some tea light candles and as usual i had a quick look in the toy isle and there staring back at me were a couple of boxes i needed for my collection.

Obviously i made the most of my find and as i was writing a post about them i thought i would also include the pictures from all of my previous posts. I wanted to get them out of the crate and retake the photos but the boys don't know about them and i didn't want to risk them being seen. These are this weeks purchase...

Finding these has really catapulted me back in to my collection and ive been looking on eBay every day since. I'm still desperate to get hold of the three Avengers boxes from the movie but no luck yet. The main problem is that many of the waves of figures that were released were not released in the UK (story of my life!) the US gets all the best toys. Ill start the pictures with the three Amazing spider-man boxes from the movie...

Rather than just waffle on about them as I'm sure that might just come across a little boring here is the photos from the rest of my collection and the previous posts. I really hope that Opeie continues to be into super heroes or these are just going to end up sealed in that crate until i get my own room for my toys.

"I like to see life with its teeth out."

Over the last few months Opeie has become a nightmare with both bathing and brushing his teeth. The bath thing i can kind of understand, he was fine until he moved one day when Mrs M was washing his hair and he got most of a cup of water in his eyes so i think when he gets in the bath now he is quite anxious about that happening again. Luckily were both very patient parents so we will get him back on track soon.

The tooth brushing saga seems to be coming to an end now with the help of some special toothpaste that Opeie seems to like and the Aquabats super show. It has become Opeie's and Seth's favourite show. Weve had a few off days but that's mainly down to teething issues but overall he is getting a lot better. It does also make things easier when Seth is next to him brushing his pegs too.

As random as it is when you watch the video as it wont make much sense to you without watching the show (saying that the the whole show is quite random, a cross between power rangers and Garth Marenghi's darkplace) this is the video we have to have on while Opeie is brushing his teeth

enjoy...

"Whatever is fair in love and war is also fair in crimefighting."

I wrote a post in November about the different kinds of building materials me and the boys use in the house, when i wrote the post i was really excited about writing this one but i knew it wouldn't be written until after Christmas. Back when i wrote the last post we had found some building blocks by Fisher Price that i hadn't seen before called Trio and the boys really loved them, especially Seth as the blocks are bigger than Lego and i think he finds them easier to play with.

As there wasn't much to play with in the box i decided to look on eBay to see if anyone was selling a bulk load of them but there wasn't. On the off chance i decided to look internationally and when i did i got really excited by what i found. First off I'd like to say that Fisher Price are amazing. Mrs M collects vintage Fisher Price toys and Ive been so impressed by the Batman Imaginext range which Seth has loved and equally impressed by the Batman Little People and Wheelies range which Opeie loves playing with. I did think there was anything else out there comic themed but as i found out during that eBay search there was a Batman Trio range that hasn't been released in this country.

We must have been really good last year as on opening our Christmas presents we realised that Santa must have stopped off in America to get some of the boys presents. Santa's the best (ill definitely be leaving him an extra mince pie next year). There were quite a few sets within the pile of gifts and the boys couldn't wait to get in to them. The Batcave is a great set and is pretty big too, what i and the boys loved most about it was how easy to put together it was, the instructions are really clear and because the pieces are bigger it takes no time at all to erect.

You cant have the Batcave, Batman and Robin without his evil counterpart. Good old Saint Nick kindly sent us the Joker Laugh Factory playset too which is colourful and lots of fun. This was the set that Seth had asked for for Christmas.

There are a fair few Sets in this range, one of the things i liked most was that 'The flash' got his own set with a vehicle, he's not one of my favourite comic heroes but i do still enjoy watching the John Wesley Shipp series and the boys love it too. I don't remember him ever driving around in a meaty vehicle like this though, i bet the insurance on it is a nightmare.

The most confusing of the kits was the Superman kit. The man of steel had Superhuman strength, Speed, Stamina, Invulnerability, freezing breath, super hearing, multiple extrasensory and visual powers, intelligence and regeneration but above all he could fly so I'm not sure what use he would have for an air craft??? any way its still a great little toy.

We did need another villain or it was going to be a very unfair battle, not that i want to give the baddies the upper hand but i do believe in a fair fight. The penguin and his umbrella rocket launcher was a great addition to our play.

When were playing with the Lego batman figures and the Batman themed things that we have built Seth loves a good Jokerbot, A battle with the Joker just wouldn't be the same without one so when Seth opened one of his presents to find a Trio Jokerbot he was a very happy little boy.

As i said at the start of the post im really impressed with Fisher Price, when your a dad that's in to comics and all things Super it can be difficult finding appropriate toys for your young children but Fisher Price has definitely helped with the introduction of new characters during our play time and overall i know it's safe. The only real downside is that many of the toys are not released in this country and seem to be exclusive for the US market. Luckily Santa gets to fly all over so it handy having a visit from that jolly chap once a year. Maybe this year Seth might get some of his Pirate Gifts from over the pond as they do work very closely with Mr Claus.

You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.

Hello, it's Mrs M,

When I was younger, sleep was something that I took for granted. Going to bed late, getting up early was a bit of a killer, but hey, I sucked it up and got on with it.... life was about making the most of it ( and still is... ) the night offered so much fun,  it was worth missing out on sleep for, I think I speak for Pauly more so than I actually as I type this, and I think his friend Paul B would also agree going by their crazy, comedic, addictive stories Pauly has told me. (Ones where I've literally laughed until my stomach hurt, and tears streamed !) they sure had some crazy nights out.

However, when your a parent, sleepless nights come hand in hand with the joy children bring... don't get me wrong being awake at night with a beautiful, sunshine smelling newborn is one of the most amazing things known to a Mother, it feels like it's just the two of you in the whole world awake, when the house and street is completely silent, and dark other than the night light that your too scared to turn off because you can't see your newborn, (or if like me, you slept with the lights fully on for the first few weeks.... Oh hello to you, paranoid Mothers alike!)

As I sit here at 10.39 am on a Sunday morning, after the oddest nights 'sleep' we've ever had with Opeie, no means the worst, it makes me think about babies and their sleeping habits.

When it comes to babies ( and when I say babies, my timeline of a baby is when a baby aged newborn-.......... is fully milk weaned and decides they feel content enough to sleep through) I hate this expectation we have that when our babies get to 'X' weeks or months, or years they should be sleeping alone in their bed through the night, that they are going to be spoiled being rocked, or nursed, or sang to sleep, that co sleeping is 'giving in' to them, and they cry because it's 'what babies do'.... I tend to disagree.

Now Opeie might not be the best sleeper in the world, but he does excel at one thing, feeding during the night, yes he loves Moma's milk! And that's fine, in my experience babies cry because they have a need for something, they don't cry for the fun of it, to make our lives tiring. It's because they can't say what they need. In Opeie's case as he's not much of a crier, it's usually because he wants Moma milk, even if it is every hour or so during the night, every night.

Luckily for me, Pauly has always been supportive of me choosing not to do the 'cry it out' thing with Opeie, every night in bed before kissing me goodnight, he says " Wake me up if you need some sleep and I'll take him in the lounge for a bit", or he's slept on the sofa for nights so Opeie and I can sprawl out on the bed as we still co-sleep. Not to mention getting up almost every morning with Opeie so i can snatch an hour or so's deep sleep. And mostly I'm grateful to him for putting up with me for resembling Oscar the grouch, when I'm sleep deprived.  (Thanks Papa P!)

The only thing we can put Opeie's odd sleep down to this week is teething. We're used to him waking every hour, but the last few nights have been, just, strange! We have an amber teething necklace for Opeie which works a treat, he's never been much of a crier, unless he wants milk, but the last few days he's been holding his mouth, pointing and screaming. He's broken in a few teeth at the back this month already, so we're assuming it's more of the monster molars coming through.

While we were in Florida last year, I stopped by the godlike shop , mother ship, known as Wholefoods which I adore. Mainly to stock up on some bits we can't get here in the UK, Daiya vegan cheese for me, Tom's of Maine toothpaste for me and the boys, Almond milk , but I also bought some homeopathic teething things which I've not used until now. I think I'm going to have to give them a try and see how they go.

Having said all of that, Opeie has been sleeping a little better on the whole this last month.... mainly because we've finally manage to get him eating better at meal times, you might remember Pauly posting about his meal times before here and here. So I can't complain too much.

I hope next time I post about Opeie's sleep and food routines it's reporting that he's much happier and less tearful, Maybe the Aquabats should make a TV show about sleeping and eating properly, since our boy is obsessed with their music, Super Show and dances!

(Also, a quick Hello and Wave to all the new moms experiencing sleep deprivation for the first time- it gets easier and you do get used to it. And hello to all the Mom's still going through this, iPhones in the middle of the night are the best thing ever right?  And a hello to all the people yet to go through it, it's not as bad as it sounds! )

"It is easily overlooked that what is now called vintage was once brand new."

A few weeks before Christmas we had to go to Wolverhampton for something work related for Mrs M. On the way home we decided to pay a visit to a charity shop that Mrs M loves and I'm so glad that we did. Every now and again while mooching round charity shops we spot a great find, usually super hero related but on this day we found something very special.

Mrs M collects vintage Fisher Price and other vintage children's toys and when we walked in to the charity shop we both got very excited...

I couldn't believe our luck you never spot things like this and their very sought after. The vintage school cost us a mere £3 and another couple of pound for the characters,tables, chairs and other accessories. That alone would have got us both very excited but that wasn't the only great find we had that day, it seemed that the charity shop was brimming with vintage treats. We picked these 2 toys up also and until we got to the till we didn't realise that the two attach together and there is a handle to carry it. Its such a great toy and really put a smile on both of our faces.

And the fun didn't end there, this really was the best charity shop find we have ever had. One of the planes was missing a door and the other one had a broken tail but these sort of things just add to the appeal for Mrs M. The thing i love most about vintage toys is the thought of the story behind them, who played with them? where have they been kept for all this time? Well obviously we will never find out who played with them before but we know who plays with them now. Despite the abundance of super hero merchandise in the house its lovely to know that the boys love playing with all toys and they both adore these.

I doubt we will ever have a find like this again, it was so worth that short detour on our way home.