Alphabet box

I have been feeling really guilty lately that I just cant find the time to spend with Little Miss like I used to with B. I remember being able to do lots of preschool activities with him at home with letters and sounds, like making little books together with basic words. The kind of one on one play that lets you get really close and gain an understanding of your child's thinking. With Little Miss I just seem to have no time. The fact that she is going through phase of constantly whining or screaming might have something to do with it (and I do have a blog or two now). So the guilt remains and its time I made more of an effort.

I found this fantastic Alphabet box idea from Pink and Green Mama and thought this would be a great start for us. We purchased the box with 25 drawers from K-mart for $20. (It came with a collection of screws so the husband was happy). B and the husband labeled the drawers sticking taping the upper and lower case letters on each drawer. The letters X and Y were combined on the one drawer.

We then got a big container and searched high and low for little bits and pieces that we could file away according to their letter. Little Miss and B absolutely loved this activity and even took it outside. They liked rediscovering their little trinkets that had gone by the wayside. We then filed them away in the drawers according to their letter. B was really good at this (as a 6 year old) and Little Miss was enthralled by it all.  She loves pulling out and looking in each drawer and wants to know where each drawer goes.

Here is the P drawer with a pom pom, peg, person, paperclip, pencil, pin and the colour purple.

For the letter B we have a block, bugs, bottle top, button and a book.

In the letter S drawer you will find a star, stamp, sheep, stone, shell, spoon and some snakes.

Getting a drawer out and naming each item is a fantastic activity to reinforce letter sounds. Little Miss has recognised the letter L for her name (Ah no, her real name is not Little Miss) and she is getting lots of practice of the alphabet song. I am also really happy there is now a home for all those annoying little things that the small people collect.




Find out what other mums are playing at here.

Discovery

Recently in a carpark Little Miss discovered her shadow.

"It can dance Mumma" she said jumping up and down.

Later as we got out of the car in the shade at home she exclaimed,
"Mumma! where's that silly shadow gone."
"It was just visiting" I explained, "But dont worry it will always come back."

Colour peace play

I am really sick of my kids fighting all the time, so in a desperate attempt to keep the peace I divided the Duplo lego into colours between my children. B got the warm colours, red, orange, yellow and brown, Little Miss got the cool colours greens, blues, white, gray and black.

There were still a few gripes about base boards to work with, but generally this colour coded play was peaceful for a while. Thankfully Little Miss didn't notice she had much less lego than B. It also taught them some negotiation skills as they did swaps for the pieces they wanted of each others. Best of all I got some peace.

Find out what other mums are playing at here

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.

Little Builders

Read an architectural analysis, comparison and grade of these couch cushion masterpieces by bBuild here, you wont look at the couch in the same way ever again.

Dummy

What a dummy I've been.

With B, the hospital tried to get him to take a dummy to aid with his sucking reflex. He wasn't into it and was never a sucky put-things-in-the-mouth type of baby. Which all turned out really good in the end. Why didn't I learn from this? Why didn't I leave the dummy alone?

I have no idea what I was thinking, but Little Miss was a sucky one. She loved the dummy and it soothed her. At any sign of unsettledness the dummy really helped. But at seven months of age, it all went a bit pear shaped. She would wake up 10 -12 times a night wanting the dummy that had fallen out. Putting a gazillion dummies in the cot with her didn't help, so when the husband went interstate overnight, I took the dummy away. And it wasn't really all that bad. In fact it was good. Little Miss slept well, deeper and longer than ever before.

But then teething started to happen and Little Miss was NOT happy. Special numbing gels, baby Panadol, messy rusks and teething rings - cool or room temperature, were not enough for Little Miss. It was my friend the dummy that did the trick. I decided not to stress about the dummy. Hey she is my baby after all. You go with what works at the time. Well I did anyway.

So dummy has been a part of our lives and a big part of Little Miss's life ever since. "Have you got the dummy?" has been the big question in our house. But when Little Miss was around 2.5 I thought this is enough. Dummy looks horrible, and when its in your mouth we can't understand what you say, and it can't be good for your teeth. So I introduced the bed only rule for dummy. Little Miss went with this and it was relatively easy. But then she thought a rest on the couch might warrant the dummy, or a quick sleep in the car would also fit the bill. Eyes held shut. We held our ground, no dummy unless your are in the cot.

But slowly she has started waking up more at night. And guess what she is after? Yep, the dummy. "I want my dummy" is heard at least once if not twice a night. So here we are, I've taken it away altogether. As much as I don't want to admit it, my Little Miss has to grow up. I've explained, "Dummies are for babies. Your a big girl now."
"No, I'm a little girl" Little Miss corrects me.

Its day two. The first night was great, she only woke up once, made a squark type noise and then went back to sleep. However the day sleep has not happened. She wanted her dummy and she wanted it bad. She cried on and off for her dummy for 30 minutes. That is a long time. I had to close the windows so the neighbours would not hear her. I tried to reassure her, I tried to pat, rock and sing to her. She yawned and closed her eyes, but without the dummy she wasn't having it. Sleep was not on the agenda. Only the dummy was. I rang the husband for reassurance, then I gave up on the day sleep. But I didnt give in there was a no show for the dummy.

Hopefully the lesson is learnt, and she wont want the non existent dummy again. But it is only day 2 and we haven't got to bed time yet...


I would love to hear your views or tips on dummies. Do you love or despise them?

Rattled

I am woken up as the word "Earthquake!" is shouted out into the dark. I jump out of bed and yell, "Get the kids."


From the dim light of the bathroom down the hall I see that everything is moving. Shaking. There is a low rumbling noise and rattling. I run to B's bedroom and lift him as though he is a feather out of his bed. I hear the words, "It's over." 
I stand B up in the hallway and he asks, "What are you doing Mum?"
"It's fine go back to bed" his father says.


Then I realise my heart is in my throat. A hard lump is beating away inside and its hard to breathe. I feel faint. I've got to sit down. I swallow, but the lump stays lodged in my throat. Sitting on my side of the bed I see with the light on that everything is normal. Everything is as it should be. 
"It's all over now." My husband tells me. I take several deep breathes and the beating lump  melts back down into my chest.


"Was that an earthquake?" He asks me
"Yes what else could it be?" I ask him
He leaves the room for a moment, I think he is going to check the house for damage or something. I go and check Little Miss. She is sound alseep. B has also gone back to bed. Then I hear him yell out from the living room, "Yes, earthquake, Twitter is going nuts with it." He walks back into the bedroom with his phone.


"What are people saying?" I ask
"Was that an earthquake or a hippo on my roof?"
"Knew I shouldn't have had beans for tea"
"Look out for Wednesday Advertiser where they report on the Adelaide earthquake. Cutting edge journos."
"Some people are quick on the uptake. There is already a facebook group called 'I survived the Adelaide earthquake'."
"Can we get out of the bath now?"


Twitter's instantness comes into its own for an experience like this. We laughed at the tweets, they were amazingly reassuring. We learnt that the epicentre was at Mount Barker and measured around 3.8 on the Ritcher scale.


"I feel strange" Said my husband

"Me too" I said, "when you have kids it changes everything, it wouldn't be so scary if you didn't have them to protect."


We struggled to sleep well that night, feeling small and at the mercy of a planet in a spin. My thoughts go out to the all the families in the world who have experienced real devastating earthquakes, ones that do much more than just rattle.


There is nothing like an earthquake to put you in your place.

Happy

When my kids jump on the bed I try to remember that...

I have had the most wonderful time these Easter school holidays with my kids. In the past I have got stressed about how I will keep B entertained day in day out, what will we do and how much T.V. we will watch.

These holidays I didn't stress, particularly about time. Time has meant nothing. Which has enabled me to take my time, go slow, and go with the flow. Live in the moment. Pause take a breathe and not look at the clock.

It is a relief not to be somewhere by a certain time, we will get there, when we get there.

Without time there is liberation.



And thankfully no one was left waiting for us...

Free puppy

I love a cafe with a play area for kids, it makes going out with children possible and even enjoyable. At Warrawong wildlife sanctuary this sign made me laugh out loud.

The albino kangaroo (in background) was a little surprising for B and Little Miss, I think they preferred the regular variety of kangaroo.

i

Hello autumn

The nights are cooler, we all sleep soundly

The days warm up slowly, the sun doesn't burn anymore

I feel like making soup, and poached pears are calling me

Leaves crackle under my feet and run away on the streets

The rain has come at last

Our Buddy

My sister and I have an arrangement.

I look after her rabbit (Buddy) when she goes away, and she looks after B and Little Miss occasionally. Its a win win situation, as B and Little Miss just love their Auntie and her rabbit. Little Miss can often be heard saying "I want that Bunny" when the rabbit comes to stay.

This Easter my sister is going away to talk to some Tasmanian Alpacas (don't ask) so we are very pleased to be getting a visit from a real live Easter Bunny. I am planning to hide chocolate treats in his hutch and just can't wait to see B and Little Miss's faces.




Buddy is an exceptional rabbit. He's a spirited lad not afraid to mess in. Buddy loves time out of his hutch to run jump and explore. He just loves to eat apple. He will nudge you with his nose for a pat, and has even been known to pick up toys with his teeth and move them around. Recently we found out that he just loves the sand pit, he seemed to want to play with the sand. Instead of just digging in it, Buddy pushed the sand forward with his front paws, something I had never seen a rabbit do before.

One teen

While happily counting one day, I listened with interest to Little Miss, wondering where she would stop.
"One
two
three
four
five
six
seven
eight
nine
ten
oneteen
fourteen
sixteen" and she stopped.



"That is fantastic counting Little Miss" I said

I just love the logic and thinking behind oneteen. She knows the pattern and it should be oneteen. Where did eleven come from anyway?

According to Wikipedia the word eleven has Germanic origins meaning 'one left'. Read more about this strange number here

Something I learned today

 













Two children on one couch equals problems


One child on one couch, the other child on another couch equals no problems


Children's sofa available from furnitureseen.com