The Incredible Courage of a Seven Year Old

This week was 'Fairtrade' week at my daughters school. The parents donate healthy snacks for the children to sell in a tuck shop. This time everything had to be 'fairtrade'.

 

Over dinner, we had a discussion about what 'fairtrade' means and how it works. My husband & I explained that, as with most things set up to do good, they usually end up doing more harm and usually too, the only winners are not the people intended to benefit the cause but the company who runs it. This, sadly, is the case with Fairtrade too. My daughter was pretty disbelieving, she is only 7 & still lives, quite rightly, in a world full of good conquering evil & happily ever afters. But she is very curious. And determined. Once a few questions had been raised in her mind, she set off, armed with her iPad to discover the facts for herself.

 

The next day at school, her teacher started talking about Fairtrade & my daughter put up her hand & bravely exclaimed to the whole class and her teacher exactly why Fairtrade was 'bad' and how it was detrimental to the very farmers it claimed to be helping. She also raised the point of the EU imposed tariffs on non EU farmers selling their produce to EU members.

 

Her teacher replied "I think your parents have been telling you porkie pies".

You would think that would mute my daughter. It certainly stunned her, but instead of sitting in silence, she bid her time and at break, went to the school iPads & googled again, 'Fairtrade', and politely, but determinedly, presented this to her teacher.

 

I am so, so proud of the tenacity of my seven year old. To have the courage to stand by her convictions & not be bowed by authority is something most adults could never do. She is seven. Not once was she rude, or disruptive. She kept calm and presented her facts and stood by her principals. But most impressively, she thought. And she questioned. And she failed to accept something on face value. And she refused to be swayed or shamed into silence.

 

What a truly awesome person. I honestly hope I have just one tenth of her courage.

 

 

Next month term her topic is 'Space'. She is already planning her project; 'Why the Moon Landing was Fake'.

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Nice, not slutty, winter style for my daughter, aged 7

My seven year old daughter is very beautiful. I am biased. But she is. She has long straight blonde hair with just a hint of a curl at the ends, big beautiful eyes- just the right shade of blue for her complexion and the most perfect skin. She is very pretty. And kind. And clever. And funny and all the incredible things a seven year old girl should be.

 

What she is not, is a trashy slut. Or a teenager. Or frankly a lap dancer.

What am I talking about? Well, Grace, is very tall for her age. At 135cm she is the average height of a 10 year old. She wears size 10-11 years. And much to my considerable horror and complete frustration, generally, all the clothes aimed at this age group seem far, far too old for a ten year old, let alone a seven year old! Of course Grace is not the only tall girl out there. I cannot be the only parent who faces this battle every shopping trip.

 

I am not going to terrorise anyone with the abominations I find offered, instead, I'm going to show something of my solution.

 

My daughters wear lots of Boden. Lots of Boden. But it does get expensive and as it happens in the last few weeks all my three have had growth spurts & suddenly everyone needed a new wardrobe! So, I found myself looking for alternatives that would be pretty & girly, but practical, not too fussy, at a reasonable price and most importantly, age appropriate.

 

I found many odd pieces but I live in a very rural area, so resort to online shopping almost exclusively and paying a £4 delivery charge for a single item, at say, £10 is far beyond what I am willing to do!

So I found, or should I say, rediscovered, Vertbaudet..

And I managed to find them just as the sale began! These are some of the pieces I bought;

 

 

 

Dress, £11.50

 

Dress, £11.50

 

I also bought a 3 pack of coordinating polo necks that were £8.80! And both dresses happily go with all the blue/tealish greys in the pack. The genius of these dresses is that they are a fairly thick cotton. Therefore they are perfect with long sleeve tops & thick tights in winter but equally, with a chunky cardigan on cooler spring days & even alone in high summer!

 

 

I spent £30 approximately, including delivery(after lots of lovely discounts) and in the parcel was a voucher for £10 off a £30 spend! So of course I went shopping again! This time I bought some tights, a gilet & a couple of tops! All for £35 delivered!

Top,£5.50

Gilet, £18

 

 

So I am happy I've managed to find some pretty, yet practical clothes that don't project some sort of pseudo teenage image on to my daughter!

 

 

 

 

Love Kitty X

 

 

 

 

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A Heartbreaking Conversation with my Daughter

A few days ago, my eldest daughter, Grace was sitting on my bed, watching me get dressed. She had been considering me in a serious way, clearly something was puzzling her.

 

"Why are you so fat Mummy? Why is your tummy so big? "

And then, much to my absolute horror & heartbreak;

"Why have you let yourself go?"

 

I was so shocked & utterly upset, that I was speechless. I wanted to say so, so much, but nothing came out. No words. This was not a conversation I had ever considered I would be having with my 7 year old daughter.

Yes, the truth in her words stung bitterly, but as I gathered my thoughts & emotions, it became apparent that what horrified me more was the realisation that my 7 year old daughter was becoming aware of body image & more importantly, getting a very skewed view of what is 'good' & what is 'bad'.

We do not watch regular TV in our house, but the children all have access to watch blu- rays & catch up on the internet. We don't read print newspapers or magazines, everything is online. Grace is an avid reader. Enid Blyton being one of her favourites. As far as we were concerned, the children were pretty much protected from mainstream media. I have absolutely no idea where she was introduced to these thoughts & phrases.

 

How can it be, that a beautiful, intelligent 7 year old girl has become aware of fat or thin? Not to mention the mindnumbingly idiotic sentiment of 'letting yourself go'. I don't want her spending her time worrying about how she looks. Instead of worrying 'Is my dress pretty?' Now it will be 'Does this dress make me look fat ?'

What a very sad state of things when a 7 year old is concerned with such unimportant things as being fat. Her head should be full of fairies, pixies, wonder & an insatiable zest for knowledge. Her head should be filled with questions of worth, not fickle nonsense about someone's appearance.

Where did I go wrong?

What can I do about it?

 

Honestly, I don't know. Perhaps the single most depressing thing about it all is that it cannot be undone. She has become aware, someone has turned on a little light in her clever little head that I cannot switch off. It's like Christmas. Once you know, you can never be innocent & believe again. You simply can't 'unknow' something.

 

 

Love Kitty x

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Happy Days

Today has been a happy day. A lovely day. We have been busy in the garden, cooking, tidying & playing.

Especially playing.

 

When Grace was little, her favourite thing, like so many millions of other children, was Peppa Pig. So of course, Father Christmas bought her every single toy available at the time.

Luckily all my children love Peppa, especially Eve. So today we got out all the old toys & they played constantly.

 

We had some incredible story lines, they just amaze me with their imaginations sometimes!

 

All three of them were so engrossed.

 

Even Hugh, who is all about Batman & Ninja Turtles at the moment still played happily with his sisters.

 

My favourite story was the children going off on a school camping trip, it raining & them all sheltering under a book (tent), singing the 'Bing bong' song!

At one point, Grace decided it was 'Christmas Eve' & made Peppa & George go caroling to the castle, leave mince pies for Father Christmas & then come down on Christmas morning to find new bikes under the tree!

 

 

 

It was a really simple thing. Rediscovering much adored old toys & enjoying them all over again. I could have watched them all day.

I hope you had a wonderful day too,

 

Love Kitty x

 

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Autumn Boden Picks For Girls

A couple of days ago the Boden Autumn kids catalogue arrived. Oh dear. I want it all. I can just see my little darlings looking oh so chic & 'English humour' whilst poking things with sticks & having 'explores' like Pooh Bear. But of course my husband would actually die (or kill me, either way, not good) if I bought absolutely everything I want. So, here is my favourites, that will, most definitely be on my little ones this autumn/ winter;

 

Grace

 

Firstly, this beautiful, yet very practical 'Easy Jersey' dress;

From £20 it will be perfect for everything from long beach walks to shopping trips. She will have to have it in this deep 'cadburys' shade of purple too. If only so she can wear these genius tights!;

Quite seriously, how utterly incredible are these? They're fun, pretty, practical & childish. Exactly what clothes for little children should be. I will definitely be buying these for her, I have a real problem with people thinking she is older than her seven years. She is extremely tall & because of this has to wear 8-9, but frequently 9-10 & that is where the problems start. High street shops all seem to think ten year olds should, or want to dress like 19 year olds, so it is a constant battle to find things that fit & at the same time, let her be the little girl she is. So, yes! Definitely buying these!

Whilst we are talking of pretty, fun, appropriate clothes, there is this darling cardigan;

A tad pricey, it starts from £30, this I can justify as it will definitely be kept & handed down to her sister.

 

I fell completely in love with this 'Simple Cord Dress', from £24

Purely because of the colour. This is the perfect shade of teal to bring out her big blue eyes. Just lovely! And the cardigan above will look very cute with it!

And the last dress is this 'Pretty Printed Cord Dress' from £28

This continues the hedgehog/woodland creatures them I find myself indulging in every autumn! So cute!

 

Everyday, or at least that's what it feels like I have a constant battle with Grace about trousers (or jeans, or cords or anything at all that isn't a dress). I want her to wear them, she would rather pull her teeth out. I do normally win, but she has the last laugh by inflicting misery & strops on the whole family for the rest of the day. But! I am so in love with this entire look I will suffer the whining because, to quote Mother Gothel, "Mother knows best- take it from your mama!"

Jeans, from £22

Glittery Graphic Tee from £14

Glitter Belt, £12

Glitter ballet flats, from £28

 

Eve

 

Strangely, I hardly found any bits I really 'had to have' for Eve. Except this one outfit that she will have to have,

Applicque Cord Pinnie, from £24

Ribbed tights, 2 pack, from £12 I will put the teal ones with this Pinnie

This beautiful baby cardigan, from £18, will complete the look & also go with many of her other pieces.

 

So, these are my absolute 'must have's girls picks from A/W14 Boden, what are yours?

These are completely my own opinions.

 

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A Room of Surprise UPDATE

 

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Things are moving along nicely with Grace's room. The carpenter is here today to start work on her sloping floor. He has managed to pull up all the old MDF which was laid badly & unevenly on to original beams.

If you look at the spirit level, you can see the angle of the slope in the middle, over the main beam. If you look at the rear wall, where the skirting board has been removed, you can see how the angle gets steeper. There is almost 4 inches difference between the left & right walls. No wonder Hugh could always be found playing with his cars there, watching them roll by themselves down the 'hill'!

We have decided to move the small radiator from under her window, to the opposite side of the room & to double it's size & make it a double, not single as well. So we are waiting for our plumber to come tomorrow!

 

We also had a rather lovely surprise;

We removed an old piece of boarding which covered where the old fireplace had been. We were told by a previous owner that it had been removed. Well, clearly that isn't the case, because as you can see, there is the original, Georgian fireplace! It even had its own dead bird & a deserted bees nest!

Now to commit sacrilege- tomorrow we are reboarding it back up. We don't think it's terribly practical to keep it in a 7 year old's bedroom. We won't be putting a gas or electric fire in & needless to say a wood burner is out of the question! We can't just leave it open as one of the main reasons for such a drastic overhaul of her room is to try & preserve heat in the winter. This house gets bitterly, bitterly cold & it is a very large house so trying to heat it is a constant battle in the winter.

 

So we are covering it back up and, perhaps, in years to come we might open it up & it would be a fabulous, original feature to our beautiful home.

 

UPDATE

 

Clearly I posted that too early! Becuase this is the lounge, directly under Grace's room.

The carpenter slipped off a beam & put his foot through the ceiling of the lounge below. I know it was an accident, but it still happened. That was the first room we did in this house & it has been absolutely plagued with disasters. From wonky ceilings, to plaster cracking within days of being applied. Just a disaster.

Now this. Oh and this;

 

The woodworm treatment he applied to the beam has leaked through the (badly constructed) ceiling, all down the wall & left a horrendously stained puddle on my very expensive brand new carpet (which we have all gone to enormous lengths & great personal effort not to mark stain or ruin!) it has also ruined my perfect, amazing, beautiful expensive & now discontinued curtains on which the whole room decor was based & which are the same as the ones in the 'mirror' lounge.

Crapitty crap crap crapwits.

 

Aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrggggggh.

 

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Progress

 

Today is a rather special day. We have had, finally, a carpenter in who has given us faith & confidence in his ability. So he has measured & explained, whilst we are still waiting for quotes, I am reasonably happy that we will use him. And then, my beautiful eldest daughter, Grace, can finally have something that is not a building site for her bedroom!

We moved in to this 300 year old farmhouse almost two years ago. She was just five. It was her first bedroom, that was truly her own. Previous to that we had all, all four of us, shared one bedroom in a tiny terraced house that we rented whilst trying to find 'the' house.

So it is a big deal. A very big deal. For Grace to have a space to call her own. Her very own. She is excited to help design it. She has already picked the paint. And it is already bought. She had wanted Farrow & Ball 'Middleton Pink' but it was just a bit too sickly against the treacle dark beams. So we have gone for Dulux 'Pretty Pink' as it has a touch of sugary lilac in it too.

She has a beautiful window that faces south over our front lawns, part of the orchard & out over the rolling fields of our neighbours at the manor house. I hope to put a desk near it so her workspace will be flooded with natural light.

I have also started looking at furniture. I am having a really difficult time finding anything suitable. I just want some well made, sturdy wooden furniture that isn't flat packed made in China cheap rubbish. This is proving rather difficult. I've looked at a few places but they all seem terribly expensive. I am not sure I want to spend lots of money on furniture for a 7 year old, knowing that she will cover it in glitter, paint & stickers and then outgrow it in her teens.

So my quest continues....

 

 

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