During the last hour I’ve already become victim to at least four violent, stormy tantrums. The Terrible Twos are taking their toll.

Having sought some cool in the kitchen I move myself and my angry 23 month old into the garden. She is hot and bothered. Grumpy.

But she spies her second favourite thing in the world. Her hat. And I bask in the radiance of her smile, snapping the moment on my phone to remind myself of this happiness when the next tantrum arrives.

The storm clouds gather yet again. A wave of darkness passes across my daughter’s face. She angrily bats away suggestion of playing in the sandpit.

The day is narrowly saved by paint, grass and sunshine.

Tantrum averted. Phew.

***

This is my offering to this week’s Gallery, where the theme is “Sunshine”. Head over to Sticky Fingers to see the rest.

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All you have to do is dig out a picture of your beautiful child making a huge mess. Something like this:

This time last year Frog was learning about food.

She was learning to throw it, smear it all over her face and, occasionally, taste the odd morsel.

I remember one particular meal very clearly. We’d had carrot soup for lunch. It was everywhere – adorning the wall, floor and ceiling. Frog had food in her hair, all over her face and under every fingernail. I couldn’t imagine a day when this wouldn’t be the outcome of every mealtime. The thought of Frog using a spoon was a distant dream.

Fast-forward to today and we’re all about the spoons. Gone are the days of plunging chubby fists into plates of spaghetti. Instead, we’re scooping and aiming with perfect precision. The mess is, amazingly, minimal.

But I look back on those early days with fondess. We had great fun…

Now here’s the good bit.

If you too have messy children, you now have the opportunity to brag about it and win yourself a £75 Amazon voucher.

All you have to do is post a picture of your child making a mess, covered in mess or just generally looking messy, on your own blog, along with the following:

Here is my entry to the Appliances Online messiest kid competition at Mother’s Always Right.

Once you’ve done that, come back and leave a comment with a link to your post so I can see your picture. It really is that simple.

Then, in a couple of weeks, keep your eye on my Facebook page and Twitter feed to find out if you’ve won.

Terms and conditions:

• Competition open to UK residents only
• Competition closes Monday 6th February
• The winner will be chosen from the selection of photographs posted – the messier the better

The post A mess and a present (for you) appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

We were going to do something today. I’m not sure what. Just, well, something.

Instead, we have spent the morning making a mess without really doing anything. The day is already half over and we’ve only made it to the end of the garden.

Weekends take on a new quality now I’m juggling the new job with everything else. We always plan to do something good. Something “quality family time” orientated. Something that involves effort and huge amounts of preparation.

And, yet again, we have failed.

Instead, somehow, time has slipped away from us today. Bed kept us all hostage (even the sleepy 18 month old) until at least 9am. The novelty of not getting dressed in a rush was too much to bear, as was the treat of eating breakfast together and not having to be out of the house when it’s still dark.

I blinked, and it was time for Frog’s nap. And, being the lazy child that she is, she’s still there. Sleeping.

So here we are, 2pm on a Saturday, and it’s already threatening to get dark soon.

Looks like the day trip is off the cards then.

At least we managed a spot of gardening though…

The post On the reality of spectacular plans appeared first on Mother's Always Right.

Gone are the old, boring, white walls. Hidden are the original timber beams. And camouflaged are the dull beige carpet and cream rug. In their place are spots of tomato sauce, layered with smudges of mashed potato, accompanied with a fine dusting of rice crispies and crusty sausage.

Frog has taken to decorating like a true pro. She’s really gunning for Laurence Llewelyn Bowen’s job.

Now, everyone knows baby-led weaning is messy. Hideously messy. You need a crate of newspaper to cover the floors, at least two bibs for the baby and ten tonnes of overalls for yourself. Either that, or everyone gets naked and you all jump in the bath at the end of every mealtime. Not that we do that. Honest.

So, just as Frog was starting to get rather adept at using her hands to shovel food into her mouth (with only around 45 percent of it making it to the floor) we decided to up the ante. Not content with the fact our baby clearly loves her food and will eat anything (I mean this in the literal sense – we’ve caught her trying to lick a nugget of poo in the past)  we thought it would be a good idea to introduce a spoon.

Idiots.

I’ve admitted in the past I have a tendency towards the competitive side. I’m ashamed to say it, but despite all my promises to leave the baby race etc etc, I’ve jumped straight back in. My nearly-13-month-old daughter will NOT be left behind. Oh no. She will learn how to use a spoon and will, in less than 2 weeks time, be cutting up her own meat and veg in a manner more lady-like than the queen.

Or not….

[slideshow]

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