Poo hug

Today after Little Miss had successfully done another no. 2 on the potty, we were settling ourselves back into the living room when she came up to me and said,

"I need a poo hug"

Of course I thought, she has become accustomed to us making a big deal about poos in the potty, she isn't quite ready for the song and dance to be over yet. Note to self: got to keep giving reassurance and positive reinforcement Mum.

To bunk or not to bunk

We are in a dilema, do we put B and Little Miss together in the same room to sleep and maybe get them Bunk beds? Or not...

Pros

• If they are in the same room, we can have another living room, benefiting everyone
• They can be together and 'be there' for each other 
• Little Miss's move to a big girl bed will less of a big deal, she'll be just like B.
• B really wants bunks, it would make him really happy.

Cons

• They muck around at sleep time
• They wake each other up (then us) earlier than normal in the morning
• Eventually they will need separate rooms thus creating more work rearranging stuff and furniture later on
• We just got given a car bed for B from our neighbour, (hear me sigh heavily) car theming and fairy pink princess land kind of clash decor style wise. 
• Together they have too much stuff for one room, it would overflow and be cramped
• Bunks are dangerous, kids muck around on them and break limbs
• Buying bunks is an added expense

OK I cant think of any other pros or cons. There are more cons anyway, I think I know they shouldn't be together as we have tried a few nights with Little Miss in B's room and she is disturbing his sleep. I also know that B will just have to try and jump off the top bunk as that's what boys do and it will only be a matter of time before Little Miss copies him. 

But I still had a look for some nice bunk beds just in case...

Duet bunk bed from Nursery works

Cool minimalist cantilevered beds by Phillipe Allaeys

The Taylor Bunk by Modular furniture Australia

Room and Board's Moda Bunk

Or what about a funky loft bed? Love the built in storage.

Play time

Little Miss likes to decorate biscuits, but I'm not really the baking type. So I have stocked some basic ingredients in the pantry to make this activity an anytime easy occupation for both of us. No baking required and no icing sugar on the floor. Note the low sugar healthy biscuit choice, so this activity has a low guilt factor too.

I think these writing icing tubes are brilliant. They don't make much mess, have a long shelf life and give the fine motor skills a workout. Though I have had to stop her sucking on the tube.

It's the journey not the outcome that matters, and efforts should always be rewarded...

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Food face #6

I haven't done one of these for a while and B was asking me why his food wasn't in a face anymore. A few nights later the kids were presented with this to eat with bread and sauce...

One fine day....

Recently my husband and I had our birthday. We share the same birthday so it makes for a special occasional. Last year we got married, so this year we thought a more low key private thing would do. With the kids taken care of we went out to lunch.

We had this view

Shared this slow roasted tomato tart for entree

Drank plenty of fluids

I had Whiting with Scallops for main

My husband enjoyed the Gnocchi

We shared this baby rocket and pear salad on the side

Then he finished off with this rhubarb crumble

And I with this chocolate pudding

Then we took a walk through this

and found this.

What a fine way to spend our birthday.
Thank you husband it was one very very fine day.

New words

A fantastic activity I played recently with B, had him reading and learning new words and loving it. Yes you read correctly, reading and learning new words and really loving it.

B is a very active type learner, like a lot of boys. He has to jiggle, wiggle or fiddle with something all the time, even if it is his own fingers. When we try to sit and be still to read the school reader it is almost impossible for him. This is most distracting for him and for me. My patience is really tested and unfortunately the school reader sessions can turn bad, very easily.

For something different I tried an activity suggested in the book, "The Minds of boys" by Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens. I wrote down the names of about 10 things around the house, sink, white wall, toilet etc on individual pieces of paper. I varied the level of difficulty so there were some hard and easy variations. I then went through the words with B and helped him sound them out. Then I timed him with a stop watch as he ran around the house putting the words on the objects. At first it took over 4 minutes, but he had it down to under half that time as he learnt the words by sight. He really loved this activity and insisted I have a go too. And it was really quite fun.

Another list of words was made and this time I included things outside to make it more interesting, cubby house, garden chair, hose etc. This was such a fun way for him to learn and a very different experience from the school reader.

A few days later I got the words out and tested him, he knew them all. The proud smile he wore on his face was priceless.

I haven't finished reading "The Minds of boys" but it is really helping me understand how B's brain learns. He really doesn't need to sit still to learn something new.

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Water baby

Dear Little Miss,

I just wanted to write to you and say congratulations. You are now properly toilet trained. It wasn't too difficult to convince you of what to do and where. You seemed to be determined of it yourself. Your brother and a constantly open bathroom door has given you a generally well rounded idea.

It did take a little bit of convincing and bribery to get you to do your poos on the potty though. At first chocolate frogs seemed to be the incentive, but over time this currency changed. It seemed swimming lessons were the ace.

You have always loved the water, and infact your first outing as a baby only a few days old, was to the swimming centre to watch B have a lesson. It shouldn't be any surprise that you wanted your turn. You have had to watch him in the pool for years. Once I said no lessons unless you do your poos on the potty, you did it.



And I was more than surprised, I was completely shocked at how you happily got into the pool with the teacher. I watched you intently, listening and copying her every move. Kicking so hard and absolutley loving every minute. You tried floating on your back, kicking along with a kick board, doing a safe entry, you learnt how to climb out, retrived objects from the bottom and went for a ride on big floaty shark. You just love your goggles they go on and off your face a dozen times or more. I am so happy you love the pool, as swimming lessons are some of the most important lessons in life. I am really proud of you.

And now it is B's turn to watch you for a change.

With Love from Mummy.
xxx

It doesn't take much

The world is like a wonderland to children. Their fresh eyes see things we take for granted as amazing. I get so much pleasure from their enjoyment of simple things.

Lets take the washing machine as an example. I hate washing, it's an endless thankless job that I never finish, but B and Little Miss just love the washing machine. B loves the fast spin cycle that sounds as if the machine is about to launch off into outer space, the clothes turn into a blur of colour as they wind up for the last spin. Little Miss likes a slower pace to point out which clothing belongs to who as it tumbles around before her eyes.

A front loader where you can see the washing as it washes has been a really great purchase.