Archive for the ‘Family & Parenting’ Category

Wedding anniversary II

Saturday, October 28th, 2017 | Family & Parenting

Earlier this month, Elina and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary. By my calculations, we will probably get in another two after this, before the divorce year. So, it’s important we make the most of them.

Storm Ophelia was sweeping in. However, given the very limited amount of baby-free time we get, we decided to brave it and cycle up to Appley Bridge for a pub lunch.

The food at the Stansfield Arms was okay. They put onion in Elina’s salad, despite us requesting it to be onion-free. When they returned from the kitchen with a new one, it still stank of onion, so we had to give that a wide berth.

On the ride home, we were treated to a beautiful sky.

Venla’s first birthday

Friday, October 27th, 2017 | Family & Parenting

Venla is now a year old. How time flies, etc. Grandma and Grandad were kind enough to host her birthday party, which was attended by friends and family alike. Of course, it’s quite easy to get most of your friends there when you’re only 12 months old and have two friends.

She received so many presents that we had to bring them back to our flat in two journies. Ah to be a child again.

Gran’s 90th birthday

Wednesday, September 20th, 2017 | Family & Parenting

Last month, we celebrated my Gran’s 90th birthday with a family party. Much like the family party we had two years ago, we were once again blessed with good weather. And excellent company, of course.

Venla at nine months

Monday, August 14th, 2017 | Family & Parenting, Photos

It is safe to say that Venla is now more dangerous than ever. She can shuffle. And she is quickly perfecting the art of speed shuffling: every day it gets faster. Which means she can get to draws, and pans, and balconies.

Time for shopping.

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Your monthly Venla fix

Saturday, June 24th, 2017 | Family & Parenting, Photos

Missing out on the latest Venla pictures? You probably need to follow me on Instagram. For those of you who are not down with the kids, here are some photos…

Venla learnt to wave last month. SHe’s enjoying it.

In May, we went back to Leeds SOUP to report on the progress at Anxiety Leeds. Venla screamed her head off last time, so this time I took her up to the front to give the talk with me. She seemed much happier in the limelight.

We went for a walk along the canal and let Venla sit in the grass. She was not sure about it at first but got used to it after a while.

You know Oreo’s? The biscuit that nobody likes because once you take the cream away from them they are just this really dry, flavourless biscuit? Well, turns out they are incredibly chocolatey in the right hands. This was shortly before Venla sent my cocktail glass smashing to the ground.

Venla’s naming ceremony

Friday, May 12th, 2017 | Family & Parenting

In March, we held a naming ceremony for Venla. How time flies. She is now seven months old and I still haven’t written anything up about it. Thank you to everyone who attended, especially those who took part in the ceremony and Christine for leading it.

Venla vs food

Monday, April 10th, 2017 | Family & Parenting, Photos

Venla hasn’t started with solids yet. But we have been giving her some things to try.

Like this plate, for example.

I don’t know why they make baby’s spoons out of rubber. It essentially turns them into a catapult, allowing them to fling food right across the room.

Normal human beings shouldn’t be able to eat a lemon without wincing, right?

Family parking

Monday, March 27th, 2017 | Family & Parenting

Family parking spots always seemed like an unnecessary thing to me. Sure, the extra space is nice. But that would be nice for everybody. Adults need to be able to get out of the car, too. It is not like families are disabled: why should they get preferential parking right next to the shop?

Now that I have a family, they still seem silly. I’m not going to unilaterally disarm by not using them, of course. That would be stupid. But I’m not convinced that any of us really need the parking spots to be there.

Indeed, they are not there in many car parks, and somehow we manage to survive.

Another oddity is that Homebase have family parking, but no changing facilities. That would have been a much welcome addition when Venla decided that mid-trip was the appropriate time to start screaming.

Venla’s 5-month birthday

Saturday, March 11th, 2017 | Family & Parenting

On Thursday, Venla reached the grand old age of 5 months. She celebrated in the usual way: by doing a lot of crying and screaming.

Unfortunately, as people have a habit of doing, she overindulged a little. Soon she was passed out on the sofa.

Are premium nappies worth the money?

Friday, March 3rd, 2017 | Family & Parenting

With most products you can find in the shops, there are premium brands and supermarket brands. Is it worth paying the extra money for? It varies from product to product, but often the answer is no. Can you tell the difference between Kellogg’s corn flakes and supermarket corn flakes? My guess is that if you did not have the box there in front of you, you couldn’t.

Sometimes, the supermarket own brand products are made by the premium brand companies and simply re-packed. This is not always true, though: some products there is a measurable difference and the only way to work it out is to try them. Bare in mind though that there is also the placebo effect. You may think something tastes better simply because you paid more for it. It is clear that people cannot tell the difference between cheap and expensive wine for example.

But what about nappies?

According to the independent consumer magazine Which, the answer is yes and no. Based on their surveys, Pampers do indeed come top being rated as the best nappies you can get. However, they do not score well in one category: value for money. In comparison, some supermarket own brands, including Aldi, score almost as well while being much, much cheaper. How your supermarket fares depends on where you shop: see Which Magazine for full details.

My personal experience mirrors the findings of Which. Pampers are great: they have a wetness indicator on the front and the mesh lining inside them means the waste seeps through while Venla’s bottom is given a bit more protection. For us, it is worth the extra £3 a week we spend to upgrade.

It may come down with how much you want to spend. The premium brands do seem to be slightly better, but for the increased cost means that it is certainly worth trying the cheaper versions first.