Inspiration

For today's home work for Blogging Your Way, I have chosen the prompt 'who inspires you'.
Growing up, I always wanted to be a high powered career woman. I was fortunate enough to be afforded opportunities and was raised to believe I could do and be anything I wanted to be. In a way I felt sorry for my mum, who gave up her occupation to raise the three of us. I felt that in a way, she had to make sacrifices, she gave up her identity and she conformed to what was expected of her in a very 'patriachial' society (I really thought I was such a feminist ;) ) 
Then I had Zeb, and my whole world view was flipped on its head. I realised that everything I ever wanted from my life, could be satisfied by being his mum. I know that there are people who totally disagree, and don't want to be defined by being a mum and strive for that career recognition and recognition of their self. Three years ago, that was me. I thought I would have a quick period of maternity leave, then be back being everything to everybody. 
I have now realised I don't want that. I crave to be a stay at home mum, and spend my days playing and watching him grow. The days he goes to day care or is with his Nanna, I spend wondering what he is doing, what he is thinking and miss him terribly. I actually like the kid. I love spending time with him, love his take on the world and love making him smile.
He is what inspires me. He is what keeps me going and getting out of bed each day. Zeb is what makes all the heartache we have had the last 10 months with 4 miscarriages worthwhile, he is why we keep going as we know if we can crack it, we can come up with perfection. 
He inspires me to be the best mum I can be, to be a role model for him, by being the best 'me' I can be and by showing him that with perserverence you can get to where you want to be. In five months time, I get to be a full time mum to him, and regardless of 18 year old Chantel thinking I am selling out,  I can't wait! 

30 Months

Dear Master Z,
It has been sixth months since I last wrote to you, and you are now 2 and a half! Time has flown by so quickly and you are growing up so fast.

You continue to bring so much pleasure and happiness to the lives of everyone around you. Your Mummy and Daddy can't believe how blessed we are and your grand parents think the world of you. 

In the last six months, you have gained a new baby cousin and have the excitement of another one on the way. That will be 4 cousins for you to grow up with. It is awesome you are all so close in age. Your Nanna and Grandad are well and truly run off their feet, and loving it!

You are still mad keen on the Wiggles and Bob the Builder - but Thomas the Tank is your first love. You can spot something Thomas related from a mile away and just seeing him on something brings the biggest smile to your face - just you wait to see what Father Christmas has in store - it will blow your mind :) You would watch Thomas 24/7 if we didn't limit your tv time, and you spend hours and hours playing with your trains.

You have been such an awesome 'pick-me-up' on the days Mummy has been feeling down. You can sense when Mummy is sad and you do anything to make me smile. I am sorry that I haven't been 100% there for you these last 6 months, but just seeing you and hugging you tight gives me hope that it will all work out in the end.

We saw Elmo's World Tour together - your first stage show. You were mesmerized from start to finish. We got you a small Elmo and you have slept with him and Ted Ted ever since.

You are starting to really enjoy your stories before bed - I can at least read them to you without you wanting to turn the pages to the end. Your favourite is Thomas and the Jet Engine (of course) and what you call the 'I love you' book -'Guess How Much I Love You' - that is Mummy's favourite too.

You love music, love singing and your voice is one of the cutest things I have heard. Your rendition of the 'Offspring' theme tune where you sing "Giraffe, giraffe ooh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh" is just gorgeous. You love listening to Daddy play his guitar and you will often join him for a jam on your drums. 

Your words and sentences are zooming ahead. You dont shut up - wonder who you got that trait from ;) You have started to say that something you really like is "the best thing ever", but you pronounce ever as "eber" which makes my heart melt. You follow me around asking "what's that Mummy?" pointing to Every. Single. Thing. we pass. Lucky you are so cute! 

You are still doing swimming lessons with Daddy every Saturday morning and You are gaining in confidence each week. At this point in time, it seems like you may have inherited Mummy's co-ordination on land - so we will focus on your swimming - ha ha! 

You are growing into such a delightful little boy. Your manners are beautiful and your compassion for others is already shining through. Thank you for the joy, laughter and love you bring to our lives, we love you to the moon and back xxxxx

Yep, Mummy put you in a onesie - you're welcome!

Linking up today, as every Tuesday with Jess from Diary of a SAHM for IBOT. Head on over to check out some posts.

6 Top Things for Your Play Area

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A play area doesn't need to be fancy or expensive to create - the ones above I found whilst trawling the web, would be a lotto win away for most of us. 


You also don't need a lot of space, a corner of a room is fine. We live in a small, two bedroom fibro with a sleep out. The sleep out has been enclosed and houses a laundry, what is supposed to be a third bedroom and an extra room that leads outside. We have used this for many things, but at the moment, it is where the computer and desk is, where the amp and a gazillion guitars and other stringed instruments live and tucked away in the corner is Master Z's play area. For the time being, I like Master Z to have his toys outside of his bedroom, so that he is really only in his room for sleeping. I know this will change when he is older and if we have more children, but for now, it works for us. 


A play area is an excellent idea to try to minimise clutter and to keep toys and activities in the one space. Kids are kids, and by the end of each day, there is always a trail of toys traipsed through the house, but we can only try  - I said try, I didn't say achieve!


There are so many elements that can go into a child' play area, my top six are:


Colour
It is thought that babies learn to distinguish colours right after they are born. They show a preference for bright colours, particularly yellow. Different colours have been shown to enhance our creativity and learning and research also shows colours affect our moods. 
Red, orange and yellow are known to promote learning and cool colours like green and blue soothe and promote relaxation.


Toys, books and furniture for children are often brightly coloured, so it is very easy to get some colour into your kids play area.


Storage
This is a big one for trying to keep things organised. Fortunately there are many things that can be used to keep toys in one place.
Shelving units can be found relatively cheaply - I got a second hand Ikea shelving unit off gumtree for under $50 - or can be recycled from old book shelves. Shelving with baskets and boxes is ideal to keep different toys separate - I have a box for cars, a box for blocks, a box for trains and a box for lego along the bottom shelf. On the next shelf, I have a basket of musical toys, a basket of random toys and then a shelf of puzzles and one of books.  
The top shelf is for toys I don't want Master Z to use without my supervision - paints, crafts, special books - I am fortunate he is not a climber, so I know he wont try to get those things himself. 
Another great idea for storage is a number of large tubs - the only thing I find with these is that usually your child will want the toy at the bottom of the tub, so everything gets flung out onto the floor in the search for it.


Table and Chairs
A kid sized table and chair set is perfect for craft activities, drawing, reading and puzzles. There are so many on the market and range from beautiful, hand crafted, expensive wooden furniture, to plastic ones. We have a cheap, plastic set and it is brilliant. It wipes easily, I can take it outside to hose it down if it gets too sticky and as it was cheap, I am not worried about the paint, or marks that are being scratched in. The chairs even take my weight (that is saying something - don't think that is what they were intended for though...), so it means I can be at Master Z's level when doing an activity without putting too much pressure on my ageing knees :o)


Blackboard
I had to include this one as this is Master Z's favourite thing to do at the moment. He spends ages drawing on the black board, or I will use a bull dog clip to put some paper on there and it becomes an easel for painting as well. I would love to have an area on the wall with blackboard paint for him - that is one of my dreams for our next house!

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Pin up board
We have a pin up board that was actually from my room as a kid. I use it to put up Master Z's latest art masterpiece as our fridge is too full of birth announcements and bills to pay!
This way, he sees his art and craft on display for a while, and then when the new piece arrives, I can take the old ones down and file them in an appropriate place (the bin, or the folder I have of his special work that I am saving for him to throw out when he is 20 :o))
We also use the board to put up the day of the week (for days we are at home) and also for the season. When he is older, I plan on using it as a weekly calendar, so he will know what is coming up in his week - at 2.5, he is still a bit young for this. 


Blocks
If your child has no other toys, blocks are the must have right up until primary school age. The educational value from playing with blocks is amazing. They can help improve physical, social, language and mathematical development. 


From a physical point of view, blocks come in different colours, shapes and sizes, so can help with fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination when building towers and sensory awareness with the different colours and textures blocks are made from.


They are excellent for counting, naming colours and shapes, facilitating spatial development (over, under, through) and for learning sharing if more than one child is playing with them.


And finally, blocks are great for imaginary play - a whole world can be created with a simple set of blocks.

These are probably just the tip of the iceberg - what do you think every play area needs?

Playing all day

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As Occupational Therapy students we learnt about the role of play in all our child development units. We learnt about how it helps build physical skills, both gross motor and fine motor, it assists children with gaining knowledge of the environment around them and it helps with social development and provides opportunities for the development of self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities. 


I would day dream about my working life and imagined myself spending hours with each child, helping them learn skills through play - being paid to play puzzles, help them foster their imaginations and do fun activities all day - my idea of heaven! 


The reality of working with children in my experience was unfortunately not that. I worked as a locum in a paediatric development team for a time in the UK, but we were so understaffed, with such ridiculously long waiting lists that we were only able to use our allocated time with each child to do short, standardised assessments and then the follow up appointment was with their parents to work through a treatment plan that they would hopefully carry out. With such stretched resources, there was very little fulfilment of my idealistic view of what paediatric occupational therapy should entail. There was very limited time to develop rapport and no opportunity to work with any child on an ongoing basis to see them develop through their hardships.


I don't have first hand experience with the system here in Australia, but from hearing Mums talk and when I have looked into working in Paeds again, it seems very similar to the UK - long waiting lists, limited resources, little chance for therapists to do 'therapy'.


It has been such a wonderful thing for me to "put the theory into practice' so to speak, since becoming a mum. I have been able to dust off my 'developmental OT' hat and explore all aspects of play as Master Z has developed through the stages. He is now 2 1/2 years and I have finally had the chance to do the things my naive 21 year old self dreamt about all those years ago in the lecture theatre. 


The stuff Master Z and I do is what any Mum would do with their kids. It is about spending time with them, paying them your full attention and becoming immersed in their world. We do a lot of repetition of numbers, shapes, colours and naming objects - but it is all very incidental and not planned. He is a sponge for words at the moment, so we have a running commentary about everything that we do. 


He loves the outdoors, so weather permitting, we are there whenever we can be and he has just started to explore role playing and imaginary play. As a mum who likes to play, we are getting to a really cool stage! I do however, have to hold myself back (I am like an exuberant golden retriever sometimes) and allow him to play independently and give him space. This is just as important as being there to roll out the playdough when he needs me to.


I have been thinking about play a lot and now that Master Zeb is a toddler, it has a big relevance in our lives. I have decided I will start a weekly post relating in someway to the broad topic of play and child development. Watch this space!


Just snuck this in for Tuesday blogging with Jess at Diary of a SAHM. Head on over to check today's posts out!

Haircut Take 3

Master Z has been needing a haircut for a few weeks, but I have been putting it off. This is only his 3rd haircut, the first was a disaster at my hands and the 2nd one he cried the whole time, trying to escape the chair and not much was able to be taken off.

Today, I decided to make a morning of it for him. We have been talking about having a haircut for the last few days and he knew he was going to have a haircut and the lady would play with his hair and go "snip, snip, snip".

The before shot

We went to a cafe near to the hair dressers and he had a milkshake 

 

and I had Spanish beans with an egg - Yum! - and of course, a loooonnnng black coffe as I was trying to avoid thinking about the disaster of our last effort. I was armed with a bag of toys, books and Tiny Teddies to try to bribe the tears away.

We headed over to Banana Skin's in Applecross,

where he was the perfect angel! I could not believe it. 

No tears, no tantrums, sitting still and quietly. All my fears of a repeat performance were put to rest.

It may have to do with The Wiggles being on the TV, I prefer to think of it as my baby is growing up!

Finished product (with the finishing bribe - hey, good enough for doctors, good enough for hairdressers!)

People might say it was a waste of money for me to take him to a place like this, but if you read this, you will see that it will work out heaps cheaper than having to pay for therapy bills later in life!

How do you go with haircuts? Easy street? or Disaster Zone?

Chantel x

Linking up today with Jess and all that is fabulous for IBOT

In between the rain

Autumn has arrived here, with bursts of rain through the day. TBone took Master Z outside in the brief periods of sunshine yesterday to play some soccer.

 Most of the time he looked the part

 But sometimes he showed that his co-ordination genes may have come from Mummy.

Game ended with an intercept from the dog. Princess K 1 : Humans 0

Hope you had a lovely weekend.

Chantel x

Easter Treasure Hunt - Wordless Wednesday

 Linking up today with Trish from My Little Drummer Boys for Wordless Wednesday

Chantel x

Gunna Girl

First, can I just say I was at odds as to how to spell 'Gunna' - 'Gonna'??? Went with phonetics. Please correct me if I am totally wrong.


I am a Gunna Girl. It is one of my worst traits and something I really try to curb.


I get grand ideas, get really passionate about something, make elaborate plans with the best intentions, then fail on the follow through. 


I have the most beautiful pile of fat quarter material sitting in the cupboard calling out to be made into a quilt - I went to the quilt shop, googled heavily, bought every quilting tool imaginable and now just occasionally stroke the pretty fabric.


I have piles and piles of scrap booking 'stash' - just waiting for me to bring my photos to life. I even promised one of my best friends a scrapbook album of her wedding photos - that never translated for her - something I am not proud of.


I was going to be a celebrant - researched it all, went gung ho at how I would design the website, how I would market it, what my niche would be - that idea has gone all but quiet.


I started talking up how I was going to do law when I finish my MBA - again researched thoroughly, spoke to heaps of people - now I have gone quiet on that one too.


I was always 'gunna' sponsor a child through World Vision. I talked about it, would often look it up, then something would come up, or I felt money was needed elsewhere at the time. My privileged life got in the way. That personality trait of mine disgusts me and makes me ashamed. 


We aren't well off by any means, but at the end of the day, we have enough money for our mortgage, clothes, holidays and not having to worry about where our next meal comes from.  Above all, we are fortunate to be able to take our safety for granted. There is no worry that we might be at risk of kidnap, that we wont be able to access medicine when we need it, or that our kids won't be able to receive an education.  Eden, one of the greatest Aussie bloggers has been in Niger for World Vision and has written brilliantly and with passion about what she has seen. She has inspired me to get off my butt and do something very simple and sponsor a child. 

I went to the World Vision website and was faced with thousand of children to choose from. I felt quite 'dirty' choosing as it felt like I was rejecting one child over another. I eventually used the selection criteria of 'Boy' and 'Aged 2', the same age as Master Z. The search gave me a little boy called Sidy from Senegal, so he is now our sponsor child. I can't wait to get the starter pack so I can read more about him, where he is from and what programs World Vision have in his area. I can't wait until Master Z is old enough that we can talk about where Sidy is from, what his life is like, so that he can begin to understand about the rest of the world and appreciate the easy, privileged life he has been blessed with.  


I am by no means patting myself on the back for donating to charity, but I am happy with myself that I finally followed through on one of my 'gunnas'. And I hope that I may even get around to that quilt!

Chantel x

Even with easy, She teaches!

Today at for Fresh Horses, Eden has asked for our favourite photos. This week's topic is a lot easier for me to do than some of the last ones, so I thought I would have a go.

Then I spent time looking through recent photos and realised that I just don't capture enough and that's probably something I should take from this week (see Eden, with you, everyday's a school day!) I am always worrying about getting a photo 'exactly right'. I need to stop worrying about the best lighting, the best pose, the tidiest setting and just take photos of life!

Here is one I took a few minutes ago of a special treat breakfast - a hot cross bun (yep, mummyfail here!)
But how could you deny that joy!

Linking up to Eden's fresh Horses Brigade. Head on over to see some great pictures

Chantel x

Happy Second Birthday!

Dear Master Z,


I am a few weeks late with this post, but thought I would still put it on here, as a record of how things are in your life. I have been looking for some photos to add to this post, but you just can't have a photo at the moment without closing your eyes and opening your mouth. As soon as I say 'cheese', that's the face you pull.

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This year has been a jam packed year for you, with some highlights being your awesome first birthday party, your christening, many holiday's 'down south' and your second birthday on Rotto. 

Let's just remind you of the awesome Iggle Piggle Cake your mummy made your for your first birthday party:

Yeah, and sorry, but your 2nd birthday cake was brought to you by Rottnest bakery - a lot less work for Mummy!

You love The Wiggles, Thomas the Tank and Bob the Builder. You have the cutest singing voice and walk around the house singing "Chugginton" and "Hot Potato". You are learning more and more words everyday, though I think you have inherited your Daddy's listening skills, as some of the sounds that come out are pretty way off. I think you also have your Dad's ability to tune your Mummy out - I have no chance!

You love spending time with your cousin's Z and little baby J. Your best friend is your big puppy sister Princess K - who you call Caeser - even though you are very wary of being struck in the face with her exuberant wagging tail. You love being outside, you love the water and love playing in the sandpit. 

You go to sleep with Ted Ted, a bottle of water and a sleeping bag. If any of these are missing from the equation, sleep will not occur. You are an excellent sleeper, sleeping from 7pm - 7am the majority of the time and you still have a 3 hour nap each day to let Mummy play on twitter clean the house.

You started one day a week at day care and have been a superstar there. You caught a new bug pretty much every week you attended for the first six months, but hopefully you are now over that, with a very good immunity. You have been at a new daycare this year and really seem to be enjoying it - particularly the slide.

You are a gentle, sweet, loving boy, who makes our world light up. You always have a smile on your face and you have an amazing patience and perseverance. You bring so much joy to everyone around you and it is a privilege to be your Mummy and Daddy. 

Happy second birthday Master Z, we love you to the moon and back.

Mummy x

Christmas Traditions

I love Christmas. We are not particularly religious, but Christmas has always been a time for family and friends. A time to all get together and eat so much food.

Now that Master Z is in our life, I want to make sure we keep our extended family at the heart of our Christmas celebrations, but I also want to start some new traditions for our little family of 3. Things that we can do together, to bond us and become part of our family story.

Living in England for seven years, we got used to our friends all having 'real' Christmas trees each year and that is something I wanted to keep up here. It is a bit of a different experience chopping down a tree in 40 degree heat, swatting millions of flies away, compared to trudging through snow in zero degrees to find that one tree. Regardless of the temperature, nothing beats that beautiful pine smell that seeps slowly through the house once the tree is up and for the past few years, that smell has meant 'Christmas' to me.

Last weekend, we took Master Z one of the Christmas tree farms that have popped up over the last few years in our Northern suburbs. 

Oh so cute in mini Blundstones!

They have such a great, customer friendly set up, where you are able to walk through the plantation looking for the 'one'. 

Unfortunately it wasn't marked by a light shining from the sky like the Griswold's tree was in 'Christmas Vacation', but we found one that suited our purposes. A nice, 7ft tree that was a great shape and had the right 'look'. You wouldn't believe how picky you get going along the rows - I mean really, surely they all look the same......

This year, I probably was a bit (OK, a lot) more excited than Master Z about the whole experience, but it is the beginning of what I hope will be one of the lasting traditions of our family.

What Christmas traditions do you have in your family?

Chantel x

Did the Doctor Really Order This?

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I'm baaaacck! It is great to be home and back into a routine, but I want to know how can one week be so stressful and so therapeutic at the same time?


We had a wonderful week, we stayed in a small chalet down south, among the forests, beautiful green rolling hills and wineries. We were able to relax, unplug - forced I might add, as there was no mobile reception and only one channel on the TV. It was a great opportunity to enjoy each others company and reconnect after a long 5 months where TBone has been working stupid hours 6 days a week and going to bed at 8.30pm each night as he had to leave at 4.30pm the next morning.

But, poor Master Z was the sickest he has ever been. He was full of cold, conjunctivitis in both eyes, croup at night, had a mouth abcess, was teething his 2 year old molars and had an ear infection. He was so unwell, but was such an amazing little trouper and just slept most of the week without too much complaining. He would get up for a bottle of milk -wouldn't eat anything else due to a sore throat and mouth - and then take himself back to his cot. This meant we weren't able to leave the chalet much, so the planned wine tours and nature walks went out the window. Holidays with little ones are definitely a different kettle of fish to what we are used to!

But, I wouldn't change it for the world - except his sickness of course. It forced us to have down time, to relax (when I wasn't worried about him), we talked, laughed, had long Master Z cuddles, made plans and spoke of our dreams, drank lots of wine and caught up on many dvd movies that we haven't been able to see for the last two years.

It was a great recalibration and now that Master Z is on the way to recovery, I can appreciate it as being exactly what the Dr ordered for us.

Have you had a holiday that was not quite what you planned, but in hindsight was wonderful all the same?

Chantel x

Grateful for Spring Picnics

   

Today was a wonderful spring day in Perth. The sun was shining, there was a gentle breeze and we went on a picnic! I love picnics, I always have. I have such fond memories growing up of our family picnics, which used to be the greatest adventures.


We attended TBone's company picnic at a local winery and the setting was magnificent. The grounds are immaculate and the grass runs for miles with beautiful, old trees providing much needed shade. There are several picnic benches and tables dotted around the grounds, but we were content with the good old picnic rug - which has seen better days - and camp chairs.

We ordered a wonderful platter of local produce and sampled the vineyards best wine. It was the perfect setting for a wonderful family day out and Master Z had the best time running away from me. Such a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon - bring on more Spring picnics!!!!

How did you spend Saturday in your neck of the woods?

Linking up with Maxabella's Grateful for.... hosted today by Sonia from Lioness Lady

Chantel x

Daycare Newbie

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I am playing Wordless Wednesday with Trish at My Little Drummer Boys. Head on over to check it out.

 

*The little pot with the red lid is Holy Water from Lourdes - trying anything to get him healthy :o)

Chantel x

Priorities

Saturday was my birthday and we had the whole weekend planned with fun stuff to do. I love birthdays. I love to make a big deal of people's birthdays and I love to celebrate my own. We had planned that when TBone got home from work at 2pm Saturday, there would be a quick turn around and we would head off for afternoon tea at Koko Black (I know, a cafe devoted entirely to chocolate - could you get any better!!!) then shopping for my presents, followed by a quiet dinner at home with candles and an expensive bottle of red we have been saving for a special occasion.

But....

Poor TBone came home at 7am Saturday with a stomach bug and spent the rest of the day in the bathroom. Seems he caught Master Z's bug of the week from day care.

Now, I am usually very laid back and caring - I am a health professional you know :o) - but for some reason, all care and compassion left me and all I could think was that my birthday had been ruined! I was close to tears even though I knew perfectly well that there was nothing he could do about it. The poor thing was feeling terrible not only for the lurgy, but as he felt he had ruined my birthday. 

I spent the morning huffing and puffing, playing with Master Z and feeling very sorry for myself. What a waste, as it was a beautiful day in Perth. Once Master Z went down for his midday nap, I thought, right, going to go and buy my own presents. First, I decided to get my finger and toe nails done, so headed to a local salon. I asked for the special pedicure and manicure and got shuttled to one of the booths. The guy started sanding my nails and then clipping them back - that was then I started to pay attention to what was going on. He then pulled out acrylics and I pretty much melted into a blubbering heap. My fingernails had been cut right down. "I don't want acrylics, I only wanted a manicure, its my birthday and everything is going wrong!" 

The poor people in the salon didn't quite know what to do with this stranger with tears running down her face and mascara following them. They were very lovely to me, fixed my now very short nails up with a manicure, dealt with my elephant like feet and toenails with a pedicure, not even commenting on the fact that my legs were hairy like a bear.

As I was relaxing I decided I needed to grow up, act my age and make the most of the day. I can be very Pollyanna when I need to be. So I went home, picked up Master Z and went to have the day we had planned, unfortunately without TBone though. I had a lovely afternoon being escorted around Claremont by Master Z and TBone was well enough to have a low key version of the dinner we planned - but we have saved the wine for another time.

The next day really put things into perspective for me. TBone was well, the weather was fantastic, despite predictions otherwise and we headed to one of my favourite places in Perth, the zoo. Master Z had the best day, his smile was beaming the whole time and he chattered away throughout the day. He was so excited to see the lions, tigers, elephants and the meerkats up close and spent the afternoon imitating the monkeys. I had the such a lovely time just watching him happy. We let him spend most of the time out of the pram, wandering around the zoo at his pace.

That's when I realised that what happened Saturday didn't matter and I am embarrassed at my tired and fatigued reaction. The day we had Sunday, a simple activity, the three of us together enjoying each others' company, Master Z soaking up new experiences, that is what deserves to be celebrated. And that is how I will remember my birthday for this year.

Mummy Fail #7384926

Master Z has very little hair. It is fine, golden, like spun silk, very much still 'baby hair'. Recently we had been commenting that he was starting to develop a mullet so I thought I had better give him his first haircut. As he has such a little amount of hair at this stage, I figured that it would be futile to take him to the hairdressers, and that I could manage fine.


Yeah, right.


Unfortunately for him, after a short meeting his daddy's hair clippers, his hair looks like this:

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Yep, he has an 80's two step. That would be fine in itself if you want to get your inner Bros or East 17 on, however it is a very jagged two step and is a pretty noticeable cock up.


Fortunately for me, at 18 months, he doesn't really have an understanding of what his mum has done and he doesn't know how to check the back of his head. He is also too young to read and dial the number for Children's Services.


I haven't been able to get a photo that shows the style to its full effect, but the Simple Jack photo is pretty accurate. He is having some professional photos done on Friday, might have to take a hat as a prop!