Thursday, 9 February 2012
The Sweetest Thing
The other night we were having a fair bit of trouble getting Alex to eat his dinner, but he wasn't say "I dunt larrk it" as he normally would when being difficult at the dinner table. So I asked him "Why? Baby. Why don't you want to eat your dinner?" and he replies "I dunt wanna be big I wanna be liddle!!!" Ohhhh how my heart melted (which was most probably his intention, cheeky boy!) So we gave him cuddles and told him he will always be our baby. It is a shame that when he is a teenager and saying horrible things only Chris and I will remember how he wanted to be our baby forever. Although I know it is a cliche, Alex will ALWAYS be my baby! I agree with everyone who has ever said it! I must keep reminding myself, that I have to treasure each moment (sometimes a very challenging thing to do) because he will be grown in the blink of an eye!
Monday, 6 February 2012
Summer Time!
I know it is a bit late, but..... Merry Christmas AND Happy New Year. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe festice season.
What have been your favourite summer time activities this year?
We have had an amazing and amazingly busy festive season this year. And with my sons Birthday party all sorted this past weekend it seems to be winding down now. Which is a releif as we can now settle back into our routine, and I am sure all you mums out there would be feeling the same. No more late nights for the little ones, no more unnescessarily early mornings, not having to pack 10 million just in case items when you go out with friends. Everyone is back at work and school so there are set times and dates for social things, which means planning is a breeze!! Any adult social events for the next 3, maybe even 4 months, will see Alex having a sleep over at his Nanny's house!! I love him to pieces but it is difficult to socialise with half your brain worrying that your kid/s are destroying your DINK's (Double Income No Kids) friends ornamental garden, or if they are continually re-dipping their fingers in the dip, or telling adults to SHUT UP or just having a tanty. Of course when you are keeping an eye on them and not participating in the conversation properly (you know what, I mean your friend will be having a serious conversation about mortgage/sick friend/mother in law and you give an innapropriate & non-commital response like 'oh wonderful' or 'no surprise there') the child is an angel. But the moment you go inside to pee, refill your drink or just turn your back ,you hear 'tsk tsk' from the other side of the room or a blood curdling scream and turn red in the face as you know it is your kid using a celery stick to throw dip at the freakishly clean windows, or beating up another kid with a stick!!
All in all though, aside from a few moments where I have been mortified, Alex was quite well behaved at most social gatherings. I think it may have something to do with our amazingly patient and considerate child friendly friends. Who have entertained, amused and understood. It is amazing how good these friends can be and if you dont have any I recommend you find some now, for the sake of your sanity! One thing I would like you to remember though, as you shuffle out of your friends house with a screaming kid under on arm and a broken lamp in the other, with promises of fixing it like new or finding one 'just like it' on your lips..... YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Every parent will experience this, or something like it, at least once. If they say they have'nt then they are lying! Or their kid has'nt developed to that stage yet. Either way it will happen to them too.
So, our busy Christmas/New Year has left me with many opportunities to be a 'proper mum' to Alex, and I think we have both enjoyed it. I am back at school again soon, where as other mums are sending their hubby's off to work and starting the 'how do I entertain you today' dilemma all over again.....Well, here are some ideas for you to entertain your little ones now that you have them all to yourselves again.
Silicon mold crayons! All you do is gather up all the old stubby crayons, unpeel them (if yours have any of the paper wrapping left on), break them into medium sized pieces and chuck into a silicon mold. The kids love this as they are 'cooking' their own crayons. We used a $5 dinosaur mold from K-mart, but you can do anything from ginger bread people to bugs. When the molds are quite full chuck the mold in the micowave and microwave on high for 2mins at a time till the crayons have melted. Leave in the microwave till they have set a little then place in the fridge for a quick set. Then all you have to do is simply pop them out and draw!! You can colour co-ordinate, use different molds, give them gifts to party guests or create a whole set. Be careful. The wax is very hot when melted. If you spill any try and wipe it up while its still hot, or leave until it is completely set and scrape it up with a butter knife.
Decorate cookies! Buy a packet cookie mix for $2-$5 and keep it in the cupboard for those quiet afternoons. Mix it up and let the little ones grab lumps of mixture and shape it and decorate it. We used chocolate drops, blue, green, orange, and special dinosaur sprinkles and even used pink food colouring to make PINK cookies!!
We made a dinosaur jigsaw cake. Alex had a lot of fun trying to put the pieces of cake together, he loves a good puzzle & nibbling on the cake pieces made it even better! We picked up the Wiltshire Jigsaw Cake Mold at Kitchen Witch for $13.95 but I know that Big W has similar ones , including a jigsaw butterfly cake mold, for $16.95. If you are super keen you can ice it, which is what I did for Alex's Birthday cake, but it is quite a challenge.
Play at the beach!! If you live close enough for a day trip GO! If you live quite close GO! And if you live inland perhaps a dam, river, or weir? The kids love it. Its such a cheap activity and way too many people I know over look it as an entertainment idea. Alex and I go to the beach a minimum of twice a week at 8am, (as it is still cool and the sun safe time to go) and try and squeeze in a few afternoon visits as well. Take anything your child likes, we take dinosaurs, and buckets and spades and our friend takes model motorbikes and cars.
Pasta paintings! I managed to find a packet of dinosaur shaped pasta, only $1 at Coles, and we have used the heck out of it!! Best $1 I have spent. We made a painting using the pasta as a stamp, we glued them on and painted them and we painted and then glued them on. We even coloured them in with textas strung them on some string and made a dinosaur bracelet.
Well I hope that these ideas help you a bit, they are a little obvious I guess but sometimes they're the ideas we miss. Alex has certainly enjoyed them and I hope your kids will too. If you have any ideas on expanding some of these activites, let me know!! I would be glad to hear from you!!
What have been your favourite summer time activities this year?
We have had an amazing and amazingly busy festive season this year. And with my sons Birthday party all sorted this past weekend it seems to be winding down now. Which is a releif as we can now settle back into our routine, and I am sure all you mums out there would be feeling the same. No more late nights for the little ones, no more unnescessarily early mornings, not having to pack 10 million just in case items when you go out with friends. Everyone is back at work and school so there are set times and dates for social things, which means planning is a breeze!! Any adult social events for the next 3, maybe even 4 months, will see Alex having a sleep over at his Nanny's house!! I love him to pieces but it is difficult to socialise with half your brain worrying that your kid/s are destroying your DINK's (Double Income No Kids) friends ornamental garden, or if they are continually re-dipping their fingers in the dip, or telling adults to SHUT UP or just having a tanty. Of course when you are keeping an eye on them and not participating in the conversation properly (you know what, I mean your friend will be having a serious conversation about mortgage/sick friend/mother in law and you give an innapropriate & non-commital response like 'oh wonderful' or 'no surprise there') the child is an angel. But the moment you go inside to pee, refill your drink or just turn your back ,you hear 'tsk tsk' from the other side of the room or a blood curdling scream and turn red in the face as you know it is your kid using a celery stick to throw dip at the freakishly clean windows, or beating up another kid with a stick!!
All in all though, aside from a few moments where I have been mortified, Alex was quite well behaved at most social gatherings. I think it may have something to do with our amazingly patient and considerate child friendly friends. Who have entertained, amused and understood. It is amazing how good these friends can be and if you dont have any I recommend you find some now, for the sake of your sanity! One thing I would like you to remember though, as you shuffle out of your friends house with a screaming kid under on arm and a broken lamp in the other, with promises of fixing it like new or finding one 'just like it' on your lips..... YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Every parent will experience this, or something like it, at least once. If they say they have'nt then they are lying! Or their kid has'nt developed to that stage yet. Either way it will happen to them too.
So, our busy Christmas/New Year has left me with many opportunities to be a 'proper mum' to Alex, and I think we have both enjoyed it. I am back at school again soon, where as other mums are sending their hubby's off to work and starting the 'how do I entertain you today' dilemma all over again.....Well, here are some ideas for you to entertain your little ones now that you have them all to yourselves again.
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