Mummy & Moose
clapping, napping and yapping our way through the day

Lunch idea for Moose!

lunch bag and boy
This week Moose Is Beginning A New Chapter

He has been attending 2 afternoon sessions at preschool for a while now but this week will see him attend for 2 full days!

We are both looking forward to this immensely, we took a trip to the shops over the weekend and Moose picked out a lunch bag because full days means that he will need to
have a packed lunch. Incidentally Breadmakers by Panasonic are now on my wish list – the reason will become apparent later. I am definitely going to get some use out of one!

Suddenly I am panicking about what I can include in his shiny new lunch bag. I know he will eat fruit so that’s going in. Not bananas though for obvious reasons. When I was a child a standard lunch was a sandwich, fruit, crisps and a chocolate biscuit. I have it on good authority that including crisps and a chocolate biscuit will anger the packed lunch gods so they are out. 

Problem is, Moose is not a sandwich eater. He likes bread. He likes filling. Assemble them into the form of a sandwich however and he is not a happy bunny. 

I need to think outside the box

Maybe he doesn’t need a sandwich? I could give him bread but make it a bit less sandwich-ish in a bid to dupe him into eating it, right? 

So here is the plan. A foolproof way of smuggling a main aspect of his lunch and getting past his sandwich radar. Drum roll if you please..

Pizza swirls 

Moose loves pizza! This cannot fail. Plus it has the added benefit of allowing me to sneak some five a day in the form of the pizza sauce. WIN! 

There are loads of recipes online for pizza dough. Here’s one from Honest & Truly If you have the Panasonic breadmaker (hint hint Mr G) then it’s even easier, pop your ingredients in and you are away. If not then you are going to be kneading.

Once the dough is formed. Roll your dough out, pop your sauce on the base and top with cheese (and whatever else your munchkin will eat. Here it’s ham and pineapple). I won’t patronise you with what constitutes a pizza. Surely everyone knows this information? Go here if you really need more guidance.

Resist the urge to cook the pizza as it is and instead roll it out to make a large pizza sausage. Yes, pizza sausage. Technical term for sure. Roll it nice and tightly or you will unravel and nobody wants that.

Now slice your sausage into 2″ thick rounds and lay those out on a greased baking tray. Don’t cook them yet. Let them sit in a warm room for about half an hour. This will give the dough time to prove and makes for a better dough. Now you can bake. 180 degrees for about 20 mins.

When they are cooled pop them in the fridge and eat cold in a packed lunch or warm them up for a delicious treat when your child is at preschool and you can enjoy peace and quiet! Oh how I will enjoy the peace and quiet..

Love

Mummy & Moose

Disclosure: This post includes sponsored content but all views and opinions are my own.

Moose Visits The Hairdresser (and nobody got bitten!)

boy having a haircut
The boy has some sort of Rapunzel gene. 

Moose is 2 years old and has always had lots of hair. He was born with a shock of dark locks and despite my best efforts at home the most I have managed is to keep his fringe in check. He did go to a hairdresser once before when he was a little over a year old but it didn’t go well. 

On that occasion he refused to sit down, refused to sit still and no amount of funky car shaped toddler chair was going to persuade him that letting the (by now) very nervous lady near his head with a pair of scissors was a good idea! We ended up with the hairdresser on the floor with Moose and the result was the trimmest of trims. Really not worth the tantrum. 

Fast forward a year and a bit and his hair really was getting a bit too long and had passed the point of ‘surfer dude’ into “what a pretty little girl” 6 times a day from strangers.

Moose IS pretty but as well as the girl comments I was starting to get a bit hacked off with the world and his wife offering up their opinion on what I should do with my child’s hair. I once counted 14 “Oh you should never cut it off” comments. 14 separate times relative strangers and some acquaintances thought it was a good idea to say this out loud. It wasn’t a good idea. 

On Tuesday I gave Moose a morning bath and while trying to comb through his now past shoulder length locks I decided it was time for a haircut. I called our local salon and crossed my fingers that Moose might just cooperate – I wasn’t hopeful. 

I should have known.

Should have known that as soon as I began warning the hairdresser that he hates getting his haircut and he recoils at the sight of scissors, that he would be the model client just to prove me wrong.

He sat still, he turned his head when asked, he didn’t try to rip his little doggy apron off and he didn’t scream and kick and insist that he needed to be on the floor playing instead of getting his haircut. Result! 

I however had to actively stop myself from getting emotional at seeing the pile of Moose mane on the salon floor..

love

Mummy & Moose

 

The Ordinary Moments

Terrible Twos

I am a hypocrite.

Every single day I am reminded of how much I detest labels and trying to pigeonhole people into being one thing or another. My belief is that it almost always does more harm than good and yet I am just as guilty of it.

A teen, a tween and a toddler. That’s my reply when asked about my kids. But Col is more than a teen, Bess is not just a tween and Moose is so much more than a toddler. 

Terrible two’s? 

I think I hate this term most of all. We bring our child into this world and we dote on them. We feed and nurture them and then the moment they begin to develop their own sense of their little selves? BAM we slap on the label of “terrible two’s”. For what? For acting like a toddler? What were we expecting?

There are articles in loads of parenting magazines telling us how we should “tackle the terrible twos” but maybe we should be looking at things a little differently if we want to do this successfully. I think it should be less about tackling and more about understanding. Them and us. 

Try to think about this from your kid’s perspective. 

Your little darling is throwing himself on the floor in screaming rage because you “broke” their banana (a Moose favourite). It might seem silly to you but to him, it’s a very real and perfectly valid reason to feel upset. He is a tiny person trying to deal with feelings too big still for him to contain let alone understand. 

During a tantrum any parent will tell you that reasoning with the child is not an option. That’s because the fight or flight part of their brain has taken over and they are attacking and defending rather than thinking and listening. With this in mind it is probably a waste of time trying to talk them out of it.

Deal With It. Or Don’t.
  1. I am a big fan of just letting them get on with it (and if it’s safe to do so, moving yourself away while they do) 
  2. If you can sell them the idea that they now have 2 bananas then great! It worked for my daughter, never has for Moose though. 
  3. If you’re in public don’t assume that you are being judged harshly. Most people are probably just trying to sympathise. 
  4. Try to stay calm. Easier said than done, granted, but if you can then it helps. A lot. 
  5. When your kid calms down (and they will, promise) then talk. Validate their feeling and maybe give it a name too. 

boy and legoIt’s not pleasant to have to deal with a tantrum but if you can remember that really they still have so much to learn then I think you are halfway there already.


Add your own tips in the comments below!

Besides, if you think that two’s really are terrible then you my friend have never parented a three year old! 

Love

Mummy & Moose 

Real Mum Reviews

 

 

 

 

Things to do in February and half term in Cambridgeshire

things to do in cambridgeshire
Here are my top picks of what’s on this February including the half term in Cambridgeshire

There are loads of things to do both indoors and outdoors this February in Cambridgeshire and I have trawled the internet so you don’t have to! You’re welcome!

18th to 26th daily – Half term adventure. Visit Sacrewell Farm where you could build a den, toast a marshmallow or travel back in time in the old mill and learn how to make a bread roll, Victorian style! Usual entry fees apply, check the website for details

19th – WOW! Said the Owl is an acclaimed children’s book by award winning author Tim Hopgood and is brought to life through a blend of beautiful story-telling, puppetry and music. Catch it at Key Theatre this February

20th – Make a bird box at Ferry Meadows. You can take even take it home with you so you will have a nice home for the birds in your Garden.

Open daily – Hamerton Zoo. A massive outdoor play area and loads of animals including Tigers and Giant Tortoises! 

18th and 19th – Come and explore the gardens in winter at Peckover House in Wisbech. 

Have we missed something going on near you? Feel free to contact me to add your event! tasha@mummyandmoose.co.uk

 

Feeling All Blanket-ish

I hate feeling poorly. Hate hate hate it.

I spent Saturday with a bit of a headache and by Sunday this had evolved into a full-blown hide under a blanket on the sofa poorly head cold! I was just a groaning ball of symptoms, you name it I had it.

This is not ideal when they are things to be done and children to entertain. Not ideal at all. Usually I can manage, I pop a pill and just get on with it. As you Mums (and a few of you Dads) know it has to be done.                                                                                                               This time the pills weren’t touching it. I admitted defeat and bundled myself up for the day. MrG was on duty and did a good job of keeping the troupes inline – aside from us having to order pizza because of a lack of instant MrG friendly food in the fridge.

I found some herbal raspberry teabags in the cupboard which were <cough> only six months outside of their best before date so made myself a cuppa and added a big squeeze of honey to sooth my decidedly painful throat and some citrus to cut through the gross amount of mucus.

Nurse Moose

I snoozed for the best part of the day and in between naps, Moose did a very good job of playing nurse. He tucked my blanket in, gave me lots of hugs and brought me teddy bears and tissues as and when the need arose (it was a lot)

Admittedly I am still feeling rough today but I can’t sit on my hands any longer. Moose must go to preschool and I have work to do so I am dosed up and back to the daily grind. There is no doubt I will be off to bed early tonight but for now I will leave you with a few home remedies to try as recommended by some blog friends;

Always hot orange squash with a spoonful of manuka honey in it. That and vocalzone pastilles have seen me through many a performance with a horrendous cold! Maddy – The Speed Bump

Chicken noodle soup! I swear that stuff has magic powers when you’re sick… Kirsty – Life With Boys 

Hot water with honey & lemon juice! That, and sleep!! Sarah – Whimsical Mumblings

Hot Ribena! Fixes everything! Jon – The Money Shed

Manuka honey! Katie – Living Life Our Way

Rub vicks on your feet, socks on, works every time! Laura – Five Little Doves

A slice of potato on the inside of your socks To Reduce temperature whilst sleeping. It’s used commonly in Peru (we have friends there) and really does work Victoria – Mummy Times Two

Hot water, whisky and honey, if it doesn’t help get rid of the cold it helps me sleep through it
Kate – Modern Mum

Love 

Mummy & Moose