slowing down for the summer

a week in our house can often feel a bit like a whirl wind... it's all rushing to get to places, rushing back to eat, nap, use the potty... endless to-ing and fro-ing.

the summer holidays are like a big deep breath... a chance to slow down and take a moment.

i really am a keen believer in slowing down ~ seriously. even on the school run i {try to} take a moment to re-group before we rush out the door. i find it gives everyone a chance to catch up. to check themselves. to calm down. 
yep.
calm down. this is a biggie in this house. even when we have nowhere to be or time schedules to keep, we always seem to exude a certain air of mania.

i came across a book online where it teaches children to remember their breathing in times of worry or stress.  it is not a self help book or an educational book, it is a story of a little girl who has a secret. the secret helps her to forget her worries. the secret is her breath. focusing on her breath helps her to clear her mind of anything that is bothering her. it is very sweet ~ http://www.loulourose.net/#/eastward/

we are trying to incorporate a form of basic yoga into our nightly routine as it is becoming more and more of a 'dance' each night! in and out of each of theirs rooms fulfilling umpteen potty, water, itchy bottom requests. until we are almost falling asleep in bed together, crunched up against a wall with no covers and no pillow except a token stuffed animal 'to snuggle'.

so as it goes, we are still working on shortening the nightly rituals from 1.5hrs to 45mins {or thereabouts} i am sure the long summer nights are partly to blame.. or it could be me.
hard to say.

dear fergus

hello wee guy! you are 18 months and 3 weeks old and have become the most charismatic and cute little person! you say daddy, mama, poppy and lily with such clarity and sing us songs and give us amazing hugs and blow us kisses... your big white teeth are really coming in and you smile with an intensity and so freely that it's hard not to smile back. at bedtime you ask to go 'upstairs', you say 'grandpa', 'up', 'please', 'more', 'eat', 'car' and 'duck duck'. when you dance you press one ear to your shoulder and spin around. and when you get mad you are so hard to console, you feel things so wholeheartedly. and that's okay because that is who you are; you are sensitive and emotional, playful and charming. you are cheeky and adventurous, caring and empathetic.
our daily routine revolves around poppys nursery drop off but you don't seem to mind. you spend your days immersed in play, chasing your big sister and your best friend, the dog! you love poppys 'big baby', books and your pull along dog. you love to sing and can sing twinkly twinkle, happy birthday (which sounds more like happy daddy!) and the chorus to golden slumber!
fergus, we love you and cant wait to watch you grow into the man you are going to be.

mothers day craft!

bath bombs

i found this great blog the other day with some inspirational crafts... this one really stood out for many reasons... seasonal, kid friendly. mum friendly! can't go wrong :)

it was so easy to do with the kids and acted as a great sensory/messy play activity! but best of all, the ingredients were all in the cupboard! so here's how...

mix two cups bicarbonate of soda and one cup cream of tartar with a splash of oil and a few sprays of water. then add a small handful of dried lavender and another of dried chamomile (i used the contents of a tea bag)
mix until it holds together when pressed - you may need a few more squeezes of oil or sprays of water.
press into a silicone ice cube tray and leave for a few days... the longer you leave them the harder they go!

as i was giving these as a gift i made up some baskets (string/twine soaked in glue and wrapped around a small balloon, leave to dry and pop balloon!)

i loved these so much i made a second batch but added a drop of beetroot juice to colour it and stored them in this lovely jar in the bathroom!

there is nothing nasty in these so they are suitable for kids and adults! i am going to look out some fun animal or robot shaped moulds and make up a batch for the next party bags!

rainbow intestines and jelly worms

so for a bit of halloween fun, we had some messy play at the playgroup i run.  i boiled up some spaghetti and added food colouring to portions once i had drained and washed the pasta. i then added them all together into bowls and hid some creepy creatures in the pile of rainbow intestines!  for snack i made banana smoothies {basically just milk and bananas!} and i filled straws with jelly {gelatin and fruit juice mix} let it set then gently warmed the straws to release the worms!

we also had mini pumpkins {satusumas} and ghosts {more bananas with raisin eyes!}

it was a lot of fun :)

halloween always brings out the big kid in me...

no bad kids?

whenever i try to explain my parenting methods, i find it almost impossible to fight my corner.  my baby brain makes it so hard for me to think clearly enough to give a decent answer!

i want to say -
i am not a walk over parent who doesn't discipline her children or teach them right from wrong. 
i am not letting my kids run wild and rule the roost.
i am teaching them all of the above, respectfully. 

i try to talk to my daughter about everything, if she is having a hard time with a task, game or activity, i talk her through it and offer my help if she wants it.  i don't swoop in and do it for her.  if she is having a meltdown, i sit down with her and hold her until she is ready to talk to me and we work it out together.  tantrums are part of growing up and not necessarily a negative thing.  toddlers have these huge emotions that they don't understand... it must be so overwhelming for them.  so surely withdrawing affection as a form of discipline teaches them that our love is conditional?  it is not wrong to feel emotions, it is not wrong to cry - we all need to cry sometimes.  instead of leaving them to work out their scary emotions themselves, should we not instead help them to understand them?  i struggle to explain this without sounding patronising or critical but i really believe that children are not purposefully 'bad', negative behaviour is almost always a cry for help - a need to sleep, hunger or a need for limits.  using the naughty step, cry it out or the removal of toys or privileges when a child 'acts out' can really only create resentment and distrust as well as making the child feel shame or guilt.

often i see parents use the naughty step or other such threats at the smallest things and it makes me feel kind of sad... and this may seem harsh but it is almost like they are saying, ah, you are angry but please do it quietly over there so i don't have to see it.  these children are only little for such a short time so why not make that time fun, positive and happy? why stress the small stuff? 

so, i implore... enjoy this time as much as possible and trust your child or children to learn the lessons of life on their own - just as they learn to talk and walk in their own time.

calm down!

yesterday i went along to a toddler calm workshop and it was fantastic!  now, i cant complain about poppy at all, we don't get tantrums, we don't have fussy eating, she naps well and she sleeps all night.  however, during her waking hours, she is wild.  she talks continually, skips from toy to toy, game to game and she can't sit still for more than five minutes at a time.

so, i cleverly thought i could teach myself some skills to help her wind down a bit in the evenings and help her to fall asleep calmly - instead of the incessant chatter and giggling with her rabbit that goes on in there for at least half an hour to an hour some nights!

i will keep you all posted on that though...

cloth nappies and teething necklaces

during our daily trips out and about i see so many different parenting styles and i often find myself thinking about how i have chosen to parent poppy.

when poppy was born i had an idea of what parenting entailed - through books, my own parents and friends and also my own experience in childcare.  i have to say that the way i do things now is entirely different.  now i am far from a lax mummy who lets their child run wild but i do wholly embrace the playful parenting style where you make everything as fun as possible and thus eliminate the majority of battles, tantrums and huffs. i often fall short, but i do try.

i used a sling alot and i breast fed for over a year, i baby led weaned and i use herbal and homoeopathic remedies where possible.  i have always cooked her meals and rarely let her eat junk food, sweets, juice or crisps. i don't cajole or use force instead i give her options.

i like the idea of attachment parenting but i also believe that children should be allowed to develop their own sense of security early on and not rely solely on their mothers.  on the opposite side i see parents shouting at their children on a daily basis, children lying in their prams with a bottle of milk propped against the buggy bar.  i see children treated with such disrespect and impatience that it makes me feel sad.  but who am i to judge. they may have had a bad day - i sure have plenty of those ...i just don't take them out on an innocent child.

i have a mixed view on things, i certainly don't do things by the book - i do what i think feels right at the time, it may not always be right but it is me being the very best mother that i can be. i cant do any more than that.

i have often been told that i am 'snobby' because i use cloth nappies and i don't use baby food jars, i get funny looks when they catch a glimpse of poppy's amber teething necklace.  people will always form opinions no matter how much we try to conform - so i say, don't.