Amazing surprise winter walk

Today my Mum came over to see us and just spend some time not really doing too much but the weather was so lovely that we looked out of the window and over the estuary and decided to go for a walk. We asked Ethan where he would like to go and he said 'I would like to go to Cotehele'. This is a local National Trust property close to us and has the most gorgeous estate walks.
We started off at the Quayside (along the estuary) and it was gorgeous in the late afternoon sun. There were loads of birds rooting around in the mud flats and Ethan had a great time looking through his binoculars! Yes, he does know how to use them and is able to do so with good results! He said 'Mummy, I can see a seagull, a black bird (cormorant) and a heron' I am constantly amazed at the knowledge that a 3 year old child can retain! We went for a walk along the water's edge and Ethan was able to participate in his favourite pastime of throwing sticks into the water! Why this is such a fascinating thing for a child to do - I am not sure! We saw some gorgeous signs of Spring including catkins starting to come through, daffodils beginning to come into bloom and buds on trees... Spring comes early in Cornwall!!
We completed the afternoon with a drink and scone (without cream - got to think of the diet!) in the tearoom at the Quayside. I think that it is great that it is still open in mid January and that more importantly it was being used by others - not just us! Ethan was still talking about the impromptu walk whilst going to bed... this was a fantastic way to spend time with my Mum and Ethan and I had a wonderful unexpected afternoon!

Feeling Protective!

Today I was reminded of what a long journey we have had as a family over the last few weeks. Ethan has always been a very sociable and happy little boy - right from a few hours old. So when his behaviour started to deteriorate a few weeks ago it was a marked change! He then started to become withdrawn and then one day after attending nursery he remarked that a child had been hitting him! He was very distraught and showed me the marks. I of course returned to the nursery and asked why I had not been informed of this - to which they responded with 'sorry, we weren't aware of it!' This continued the following week but Ethan told the staff this time and they told me on 3 consecutive days that there had been problems with the other boy (F) hitting Ethan. Meanwhile at home, Ethan's behaviour was erratic - on a Thursday (after attending nursery Mon-Wed) his behaviour would begin in a negative way but would improve throughout the day.... I knew that the two things must be linked. He then reeled off lots of children's names saying '.... is not my friend anymore'.

The major heartbreaking crunch came the following week when on our return home from nursery in the car I asked Ethan 'Who did you play with today'? His awful reply was 'I don't play with anyone else Mummy - I just play by myself because if I play with the other children then F hits them'. I was distraught all evening and first thing in the morning I went to the nursery.... they were fantastic and investigated it straight away. The upshot was that basically F had been bullying all the other children and threatening them that if they played with Ethan then he would indeed hit them! The reason for this intense hatred of my little boy? Well, apparantly Ethan had refused to misbehave with F and so he 'hated' him! I think my disbelief at hearing these words was written all over my face! F's parents were called in and I thought that would improve things but sadly no, he remained against Ethan and he continued to come home upset.

Two weeks before Christmas I could take no more and investigated other childcare options - these are very limited in the small Cornish town where we live. I luckily found a FANTASTIC pre-school attached to the school that we wish him to attend in a couple of years so I applied for him to attend... they only had some part time hours so after sweet talking my Mum into having him on two mornings a week, he now is attending there part time and his old nursery on a day when F is not there (I only work 3 days most weeks). He attended there yesterday for the first time and loved it.... his response to Grandad when collected was 'Grandad, they all played with me!!'.

I had my old Ethan back again over Christmas and he was as lovely as he had always been with just the normal boundary pushing that you get from any child... until today! Ethan arrived at his swimming lesson to find that F was in the same group! Ethan got extreamely upset and F made a beeline straight for him! I walked straight out to the pool reception and requested a different group... I understand that some people may think that I reacted quite quickly to this situation but I have never seen such a small child be so vindictive and nasty to another child and result in such mental turmoil! I am a teacher and like to think that I am level headed and understand children and this has shaken me to my emotional roots over the last few weeks... I have learnt that actually whilst I knew that I would protect every hair on my child's head, I didn't realise how him being upset would have such a large impact upon my own emotions... I just pray that all is not lost with F and that there may be some way for him to learn to interact correctly with other children and not be a bully.

This all said and done the day did finish in the most lovely way though.... Ethan gave me a massive cuddle and said 'I love you Mummy - you are beautiful'.

New Year!

So over the last few days I have been thinking about the things that I have achieved (or not!) over the last year. It has been a very hard year with family bereavment and illnesses meaning that I have seen a lot more of the inside of hospital wards than is right for anyone to experience... so although I am not a great one for New Years Resolutions, this year I am going to make some choices to enhance my life.

I aim to:

1. Spend time with my family.

This is a very important part of my life already and I aim to spend time with my family every weekend but sometimes I need convincing of the fact that we don't have to spend time out of the house to enjoy this! I will also continue to make a lot of use of our National Trust membership as we are surrounded by properties that make for fantastic family time!

2. Lose Weight to make myself healthy.

I am not going to let this one become the usual failed resolution as from previous years... this year I have already managed to lost 1.5 stone and hope to maintain this level of loss....

3. Try something new every month.

I am to try something new every month - this could be a big thing or small but I am going to try 12 new things over the year. I will then blog about the experiences on here...

4. Plan a baby...

We would love to have another baby in the near(ish) future... this means that I have to plan ahead because as a teacher I have to be in post for a set time before gaining enhanced maternity - this is the only way that we can affford the 5 months off!!! Watch this space for progress on this later in the year!

5. To be a successful blogger...

I have recently begun this blog and aim to continue it - even if it is just for myself and I have no readers!!

6. To knit an item for myself...
I constantly knit items for other people and this year I am going to make a cardigan for myself! I have the yarn already and the pattern (finally after having to re-find thanks to the wonders of Ebay!)...

7. To try and include at least one vegetarian recipe each week into our diet...
Following a request from my OH I have made this a concious decision for this year... we will see how this goes!

8. To use a new recipe each week from my books...
I will blog about each new recipe on here and chart the ups and downs from this challenge!

I will blog over the next 12 months about the successes and failures that I have in relation to these goals - I will be brutally honest as I think that this is the only way to be!

I would like to wish everyone the best of wishes for 2012 and hope it is a fantastic year!