BBC NEWS | UK | Tories ponder baby nurses for all

BBC NEWS | UK | Tories ponder baby nurses for all

And the funding for this comes from....?

I'll believe it when I see it.

We managed a night out!

Since Lucy was born Hayley and I haven't had a night out as a couple.... until tonight. Our two previous attempts failed because firstly Oliver was ill and then Hayley was ill. But tonight we were successful in our escape.

We played safe, going to our favourite Indian Restaurant and then to a couple of local pubs, Cassidy's and The Baker's. Cassidy's had a couple of guys playing country music on stage. To my amazement, Hayley was singing along to songs I had never heard before and saying "come on you must know this one...". And I thought that Dolly Parton album was a one-off.

It was great to get out and we had a really fun time. Hayley seemed to revert right back to the girl I met 5 years ago in a way she really can't do with the kids in tow. And for her part she said she hasn't seen me laugh so much in ages! We already knew we should get out more, but this certainly proved it.

BBC NEWS | England | Nottinghamshire | Mother to fight bid to take baby

BBC NEWS | England | Nottinghamshire | Mother to fight bid to take baby

The Joseph Salmon Trust

Fellow blogger Dan and some friends are supporting this very worthy cause with (by his own admission) an uncharacteristically physical endeavour - to complete the 78 mile Dales Way. Here is why...

"Joseph was a happy, healthy three year old who loved life. He enjoyed playing with his toy trains, his cars and his pretend kitchen. He had a busy social life, with lots of friends from nursery, friends who lived nearby and his little sister. He enjoyed cooking with his mummy, going on trains and buses with his daddy, and playing outside with anyone who would join in. Joseph had a passion for books and had just started to ‘read’ them to his younger sister.It felt like his life was just beginning.This all changed on 1st April 2005, when Joseph died. He did not suffer, he simply fell into a deeper sleep from which he never awoke.

The Joseph Salmon Trust has been set up in his name. It is a small charity whose aim is to offer financial assistance to people living in the Huddersfield area, whose child has died."

You can read more about the walk, the trust and how you might support it in this post at All That Comes With It. (I warn you now, it almost made me cry in the middle of a busy office.)

Hats off to Dan and Co for a great endeavour. But between you and me, boy have they got some training to do if it ain't gonna hurt!

BBC NEWS | Education | 'Muddle' on rural school closures

BBC NEWS | Education | 'Muddle' on rural school closures

It's always easier to knock a government than praise it, but this is getting TOO easy. (And I don't even WANT to knock them.)

I went to a village school so I know a little about this subject. The government needs to stop thinking about solely money and start thinking about the bigger picture: the communities these schools serve.

And anyway, they are even closing cost-effective schools to fill spaces at (in some cases) less cost-effective schools. Not to mention the financial and ecological effects of having to transport kids to less local schools.

And through all this they claim to be supporting rural schools. Bonkers.

Drinking contest tragedy - News - Manchester Evening News

Drinking contest tragedy - News - Manchester Evening News

It's amazing how our society doesn't treat alcohol as the dangerous drug that it is. Like many men of my generation, I knocked back many a pint in my twenties and thirties. Now in my forties and rarely drinking (let alone indulging), I see alcohol in a new light. Especially when I read stories like this.

BBC NEWS | UK | Charity says childcare costs soar

BBC NEWS | UK | Charity says childcare costs soar

As we've chosen for Hayley to stay home with our kids this doesn't affect us that much. Oliver is over two years old and only attends nursery two mornings a week.

But for anyone wanting to carry on working and put their kids in daycare, the costs are daunting.

BBC NEWS | Wales | South West Wales | From 'menopause' to baby for mum

BBC NEWS | Wales | South West Wales | From 'menopause' to baby for mum

"I grabbed a towel and wrapped her in it. I was in a state of shock..."

No kidding!

Dancing (or not)

Lucy. Pretty in pink. Prepared for any weather.

Hayley took Oliver and Lucy to the Lowry Centre today for a special music and dance session. Oliver loves dancing so he seemed pretty excited about it yesterday when we told him. But today when he got there (and Hayley had paid for him to go in) he decided he didn't want to get up and dance at all and spent the whole session on his Mum's knee watching. Perhaps he wanted to take it all in first. Perhaps he was overawed by all the others there. Perhaps he's a free spirit who shares his father's healthy mistrust of any mass orchestrated dancing.

Whatever the reason, he had a good time anyway. Here he is pictured with Cara and Jessica who also attended.

BBC NEWS | England | Lancashire | Girl stabbed in 'frenzied' attack

BBC NEWS | England | Lancashire | Girl stabbed in 'frenzied' attack

This happened in my home town, or at least the town where I went to school, 2 miles from my home in a nearby village. It's a cliche, but if I were there now I'm sure I'd still be saying "but this sort of thing just doesn't happen around here!"

Is my recollection rose-tinted? After all, in a "delph" about a mile from my childhood home, they dragged up the headless body of a murdered man, so we can't have been entirely crime-free.

But I still think this attack is something belonging to the 21st century. In a way I wish it were the other way round. If it belonged to the past, I'd feel the world was becoming a safer place for my kids, but I feel quite the contrary. Metal detectors in schools, proposed by the government today to eliminate knives (and presumably guns), would have been unimaginable in my day. Then again, back then a 6 foot 4 history teacher could happily drag a girl from the classroom by her ear without fear of any comeback. Progress? All depends on your point of view!

Rolls Royce

On Saturday, Lucy rolled all the way over onto her front for the first time. She's been rolling onto her side for a while and sleeps on her side sometimes, but this was the first time she had managed to get all the way over onto her front.

She seems keen on her new skill. Last night I placed her on her playmat and by the time I had turned my back on her and found space on the sofa to sit down she had rolled onto her front.

Lucy has an expression that she sometimes wears which involves peering down her nose in a serious manner. When she does, we call her the Queen. Maybe I should call her my Rolls Royce instead.

On the move

Lucy rolls over and half off her playmat.

5 months old

Lucy is 5 months old today. She is still a very contented little lady and still a big smiler to boot.

More notably, in the last few days we have started to give her some "solid" food. Baby rice to start with, mixing in some pureed apple or some other new taste for her to try. From the first time Hayley offered her Baby Rice she took to it with gusto. Her mouth was wide open and she grabbed the spoon!

It's not really surprising. She has been trying to get at our food for a few weeks now, so we'd been thinking of starting her on solids. We only delayed because she wasn't drinking all her milk and because ideally we wanted her to get as close to 6 months old as possible. The latter being because prevailing advice is still that the baby's organs aren't fully developed to handle food until then. (Of course yours truly was probably on solids at 3 months. Times change. Advice changes.)

But once we'd fed Lucy the first time it was obvious she was ready and there was no going back. It has also helped her to sleep through the night again (touch wood). Her recent sleeplessness being another sign she may need to start solids.

She still spends as much time as possible attached to Hayley or myself in the Baby Bjorn carrier. And she seems to have shot up in height. In fact she's a big baby now. I guess she's half way to being a toddler: scary thought! Last night Hayley sat her on her knee and she was virtually able to sit up and keep herself upright unaided, just needing the occasional helping hand when she started to wobble over.

One other thing. She takes after her mother when it comes to her tongue. I don't mean she talks a lot (honest, dear!), I mean she seems to have a long tongue. Hayley is perhaps the only person I know who can touch her nose with her tongue. (Admittedly I don't often put others to the test.) And Lucy seems to be taking after her. My "Lucy Lizard".

Come out, come out, wherever you are!

OK, OK, I'm cheating because this post is appearing a few (ahem) hours late, but I've been meaning to do this anyway and I'm not waiting a year for the next one.

When I first started this blog I didn't much anticipate anyone else would read it. It was just our scrap-book/journal of Hayley's first pregnancy for our nearest and dearest. More recently I've used Sitemeter to show me where "Life Begins..." readers reside in the world. (OK, it's a bit hit and miss. I work for a French company so it looks like I go to Paris every lunchtime to check in.)

So... I'd love to know who my readers are and I'd love to hear from my regular (and irregular) commenters.

If you need a reason to bother, tell me another blog I should be reading. Or the greatest food known to man. Come on now, don't be shy, you know you want to. (And don't let the fact it's no longer Jan 10th put you off! I'm making it a de-lurking week.)

Fire, fire...!!!!

We've been having a few problems with our microwave recently. It also works as a regular oven so we sometimes use it when cooking something small, rather than heating up our big oven.

The other evening I walked into the kitchen to find the spring rolls that Hayley was cooking on fire. The microwave had, for some reason, started to microwave the food as well as cook it as an oven.

Today Oliver had a play-date at home with his friend Cara. While they were playing in the play room (known as the "messy room") next to the kitchen, Hayley walked in to the kitchen to discover the mince pies she was warming had burned badly, filling the room with smoke.

"Oh crumbs, they've burned", she remarked and started to open the kitchen windows. On hearing this Oliver came in to the kitchen and shouted "Fire! Fire!". He and Cara then ran to the dressing up box, grabbed the firemen's helmets and ran around shouting "Fire! Fire!" and laughing.

Having opened the windows, Hayley shut the kitchen door for the smoke to clear. About half an hour later, Oliver said to Cara "Come on Cara, let's see the fire."
"Is there a fire Oliver" asked Mummy.
"Yeah. In the messy room."
"How do you know?"
"Smoke!"
Hayley laughed. "I'm not going to be able to hide this one from Steve am I!"

"This one"....?