One step closer to perfection

I was thinking for a while about 'dos' and don'ts' of motherhood (there are literary hundreds) and then I came across this lovely poster on Pinterest. I think it sums it up perfectly.

You know when you get a new dog and then enter 'the dog owners world'. A completely new and crazy place with its own rules that you never knew existed. Don't let your dog 'talk' with another dog for more than 2mins, always say morning to fellow dog owners no matter how weird they look, carry a poo poo bag pretending you will pick it up, dog barking at other dogs - very bad behaviour (shame on you the Owner!). And it goes on.

So, you enter the world of Motherhood and it has this huge list of 'silent' rules no one really tells you about. You just learn as you go.
I had to google what 'soft-play' actually was ( God, it could be a anything?!!). Everyone was taking their babies to soft-play and I just didn't have a clue. Ah, now I know. I know so much that I could write another long post about it( have this love/hate relationship with 'soft-plays'). So there are rules and then there are 'rules' in the soft-play. For example, if another child pokes your child in the eye and your child starts crying, you just pick your child up, say 'awww', smile at the mother of the 'evil' child and say 'it's ok!' even though it's absolutely not ok and you would like to do something else!

Anyhow, one thing I do know is that you don't tell other mothers what to do with their own child unless you are asked or the woman telling you so is actually your own mother and you have a great relationship with her! We all have our own ways of bringing up our children but we don't need be told (again unless asked) what's right and what's wrong. Motherhood is filled with feelings of guilt and worries enough as it is, so we certainly do not need some 'Mother Earth Look At Me I Am A Super Woman' telling you how they had natural home birth with candles and jazz in the background and her Hubby sitting together with her naked in the birthing pool and then breastfed her child until the age of 3 with no chip or chocolate in sight (you get the gist). I have a happy, healthy child so my parenting ways must be working and you have your happy, healthy child then whatever you are doing is working too.

Oh God, I put my hands up and admit that I am guilty of being judgmental in the past. When Little Miss S was tiny I would look in disgust at other parents in the Pub giving a bowl of chips to their toddlers whilst they attempted to finish off their Sunday Roast. 'I would never give my precious child such a nasty food as chip, I will bring my own home made food to the Pub for her to eat', and I did until I realised that chips or any other 'picky foods' are the best ways to entertain your toddler whilst you are trying to eat your dinner and have some sort of conversation with your other half or your friends. Otherwise just don't go out to any food/drink establishments because toddlers will not sit still at the table with you for longer than 20 minutes tops!

I still have a 'list' (in my head of course, I haven't actually written these things down!!) that I might discuss with my Hubby or close child-free friends, but it's a much shorter list and it's not called 'I will never ever' more like 'I don't really think it's right but then no one's perfect'.
Happy Guilt Free Sunday!


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Stylish Pub and children?! Yep!

I was browsing through other blogs that I'm currently following the other day and something caught my eye. Child friendly pub (a nice looking pub with stylish interior!!) with its own indoor playground????!!!! I was straight onto their website as words 'decent pub' and 'children' don't really go! Luckily, The Florence wasn't miles away from where we live so we decided to 'check it out' on Sat. And what a great little find it was (at one point I even thought about relocating there!). 
Before we had our little darling I used to be extremely fussy about which Pub I wanted to go. I preferred Gastro-pub type places, that were cosy and stylish, not too bright, with good food and long wine list, well groomed people (I'm not snobby or anything just nice to be surrounded by 'nice' people when you go out) and ideally no screaming kids! 

Now that we have our Little Miss S I'm still picky about places that we go to but my criteria has slightly altered:) I still want a Pub to be 'good looking' with tasty food but I also want it to be bright and very much child friendly! There are a lot of child friendly pubs in and around London, which is fantastic, but they are still more of an 'adult' places if you know what I mean (i.e. if your child starts crying and doesn't stop then it is best to leave as most people in the Pub are likely to be child free). At The Florence everyone and I mean everyone that was present there seemed to have at least one child. It was full of parents who most likely in their child free days went clubbing to Ibiza and cocktail sipping to New York, and now they were sipping red wine and eating salmon burgers whilst their little darlings either slept in their prams (heaven!), made lots of mess whilst eating their flatbread with hummus (that was us!), making lots of noise (majority of children in there) or playing happily in the play room. It was just one buzzing place in every possible way. Oh, and they welcome dogs which is fabulous as we have one. So children, dogs, wine, food, noise and happy parents in a great looking Pub. Ideal Saturday lunch if you ask me;) 



My Little Miss S heading to a playroom with daddy at The Florence