I'm a full time Mum with a 20 month old son. I gave up my job as a veterinary nurse thinking what a nice break it would make to be at home! However, I have never worked so hard in my life, particularly the first six months, where I found my eyes had adjusted to night time vision only, and I blinked with red, watery eyes in daylight hours.
My baby has morphed onto a toddler whose climbing skills are on a par with 'Alain Robert', the French man who can scale tower blocks with no safety ropes. I often find him standing on the windowsill, the dining table or the back of the sofa with little idea of how he got there.

In short, I'm sure most Mums out there may agree that having a child is the most amazing and wonderful experience to go through, but not every moment of every day is spent skipping through a field of wild flowers on a sunny day, so I would like to share some of the ups and downs, laughter and tears with you; how I fill my days or how I can sometimes be found rocking gently in the corner of a room, going slowly mad.

This week for example, I was woken up at 6am to the sound of a loud thump from next door. Running into the nursery, I found that Louie had mamaged to climb out of his cot. Luckily for him, he landed in his toy basket, so there were no tears, just the sound of his toys making annoying tunes on impact, and him in the middle with a startled look on his face like he couldn't believe play time had started already!

The same day he managed to climb into my car, and as I shut the doors he found my keys, pressed the fob and locked himself in. He sat there on the front seat with my house keys and mobile so I couldn't even get the spare key! We both looked at each other over the now deafening din of the car alarm in mute horror. After a couple of minutes of watching each others' crumbling faces he pressed the fob again and the locks sprung open! I leapt like a gazelle to open the door and he rolled out, smiling, so all was well.

Suggestions of things to do to keep your children busy and stimulated:

"Beneath the Waves" An aquatic adventure play for 3-7yr olds and their families to include music, puppetry and performance held at the Arts Center, Bedwin St, Salisbury.
Saturday 29th Sept at 11am and 2pm. Tickets £4.50 each. Tel 01722 321744