If you are having a crap day.....

If your day is not so good watch these guys and smile!





Love me xx

Monday Mama: Entertaining budget style!

We are a one income, one child family. We decided, for various reasons I would stay at home with the Madam until she went to school. It has been tight but it works pretty well. Because of the industry (building) the Mr is in it can be a bit hit and miss as far as pay goes - so we have our good weeks and our not so good weeks.

Now as anyone with a child, or niece, nephew, random friends kid knows - children can be expensive. Not only is there the 'stuff' they need but there is the 'stuff' they want (would like!) as well as all the gear you get them out of guilt and a misplaced sense of living vicariously through your kids (or is that just me!) .

Don't get me wrong the Madam does not get everything and a vast majority of the gear she has is thrifted, on sale or a gift - but she still manages to dominate the floor space in our house. With the cold weather coming in and the madam getting older (and apparently wiser) I have been looking for a few different things to keep her entertained, stimulated and to stop in it's tracks that dreaded sentence of 'I'm bored'.

So this is my top five things to do at the moment. They work when you are on a tight budget and have a child who has the energy of an action figure (or six!)


1. Make an indoor cubby - grab the dining chairs, the couch some blankets. Madam sits in hers for ages with her teddies and tea set. This is a good one for a rainy day and also if you have a child that doesn't sleep well - 3am wake up call - build a cubby - they hide and you can crash on couch for a snooze!

2. Playdoh. An oldie but a goodie. I set up the madam with a chopping board, rolling pin, cupcake holders, apron, etc we make some playdoh and she spends a fair amount of time making 'bug cupcakes' and 'worm noodles'. This is the recipe I tend to use:

Uncooked Play Dough

2 cups of plain flour
4 tablespoons of 'cream of tartar'
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 cup of salt
2 cups of boiling water
food colouring
Throw it all in a bowl and mix - it doesn't look to good at the beginning but perservere and it gets better once mixed take it out and knead and your ready to go. If you are not keen on using food coloring I usually find that a little paint helps make it different colours.

Painting and/or cutting out magazine pictures and making the 'flour & water glue' is always a good thing - most kids are happy creating anything (including mess!)

3. A cardboard box. You can't go past the entertainment value of a cardboard box. It can be anything - a rocket, a ship, a robot, etc. They can paint it, draw on it, colour it. If you don't have one at home get friendly with a local store that gets big deliveries!

4. A walk....not only is it obviously good for you but it is good for them - if it's rainy and cold throw on the beanie & boots and take an umbrella. Make sure you allow time as I know at least the madam takes FOREVER to look at everything, touch everything, talk to everyone. If you have a dog take that too. We had some issues between the madam and the dog, crazy Karma, regular walking soon sorted that out. Karma is , well, calmer and the madam isn't trying to sell the dog to anyone who walks through the door. I find on those days that by lunch time you know it has all goone to hell in a hand basket - walking solves it. Something about getting out in the fresh air and looking at the world through a toddlers eyes can really give you a whole other perspective on the day.

5. Have an adventure.....if you have a car put the kids in the car....if you don't then just walk, catch a bus (some places have free buses). Don't have a set destination just go with the flow - follow all the arrows, go south or just chase a rainbow. Sometimes not having a plan is the best plan of all.


Here are a few places on the web I visit to get a little inspiration for my parenting....don't get me wrong sometimes nothing works on the madam but 9 out of 10 days we find a way to stay out of comatose bordom.....

Childhood 101

*e* Emily always seems to be doing something cool with her kids and she has some great 'crafty' ideas.

ABC this is a great website that has some activities, colour in sheets, great links, games, etc - I can never fault the ABC - they seem to provide so many options for kids wether they watch TV or not.


I hope these come in handy. If anyone has any other ideas I would love to hear them

This is part of the Monday Mama series - so if you pop on over to The Byron Life you will be able to catch up on more Monday Mama's - Megan always has some great ideas that she does with her kids too!

Rainbows

Never let the rain deter you from a good adventure....this is what the madam and I got up to today....

Water

I love winter.... I love the soup, the warm house, staying in and colouring with the madam, watching movies with the Mr I love it all. I am not a real summer girl - I am not elegant, I get hot and bothered and it is just usually not a good look. Although I do have my odd 'I love summer' moment....

This photo was taken one night in our backyard. It was this summer just gone, the middle of the heatwave, it was so hot nowhere was cool, we were all a bit 'narky' at different things.....we all put the hose on for ten minutes and played in the backyard. It is amazing how ten minutes can change your day.... the madam was happy, we were happy, we were all cooler. We just walked outside and played in the water - so simple yet so mind blowing.

This post is part of challenge 47 from Blog This.....cruise on over and check it out!

What to tell the "mama me"

I have a few pregnant friends at the moment.....so a few times I have been asked what I wished I had known...what would I tell my mama self.....

Dear Mama me,

Just a few things I think you should know......you will be a dreadful pregnant person.... you blow up like a balloon and when it deflates it doesn't look so hot. As soon as the doctor utters those words YOU ARE PREGNANT just say goodbye to your neck and ankles because they disappear and don't actually reappear for a couple of years. By the end of your pregnancy you are systematically avoiding contact with the outside world because if one more person says 'Haven't you had that baby yet?' you may either cry or make their heads blow up. But you LOVE olives - eat them all the time! Your labour is fine , not quite as dramatic as you thought but just drama filled enough to keep you on your toes. When your mini madam arrives she is bald, covered in white ick and looks like she has black eyes - only kick yourself once for having the thought that she resembles the creepy kid from The Grudge movie.

You adore her from the moment she arrives (actually from about 9 months before that) - she breaks all the rules. She is too tiny for anything you have for her. Take 00000 size clothes for her too the hospital. She hates to be wrapped, wont stay still long enough to be breastfed, turns jaundice 24 hours after getting home so you will be back in hospital for the week. AT this stage the Mr stops coping he will get better two years later - you cope - it is all okay.

Don't buy all the crap - she is a basic child. Dirt and she is happy. For the next few years she will make you feel emotions you never thought you had. She is a terrible sleeper so sleep now. She loves art so stop buying all the other stuff and just get art supplies - you'll need them. Just give up on the rest and live in the moment with her - that is all she needs.

By the time she is three she is a force of nature and you can't believe where the time has gone (no that is not just a bullshit line old grannies say!) She is at Montessori school, she is just a really short version of the Mr, he is coping , he adores her - they fight like cat and dog and you have to get two of everything just to stop them.

You get a camera and a blog......and you get sucked into that vortex which is facebook (you try twitter!)..... you love chai and french music....you become a whole new version of yourself.

Love

me xxx

P.S. You change your hair to dark - stay that way.

P.P.S Just remember all the times you say now 'Oh that will never happen to me'.....IT WILL!

What would you say?

Local is just lovely

I am lucky I live where I do....I have a great little 'village' atmosphere.....we have a co - op thats sells local, organic food & goods grown and created by the same people I run into shopping, our farmers markets, local butcher are lovely......it all proves that local is just lovely xx

Look what I found

There are so many things I find on the internet, particularly blogs, that I love.....here are my favourites for this week.....


What it is to be a partnership, a marriage, a couple and have it turned upside down

I actually did make these - madam thought they were balls (note to self: they hurt when thrown by a three year old) but smell like winter nights

A story about park anxiety that I know at least I can relate too

The happiest girl in the world with the most wonderful cat..do you think I can get Karma the dog to do this?

It's raining here..........I am so excited.

** If anyone has any ideas I am looking at bringing Montessori methods more into our home as that is where the madam is going to preschool - anyone have any ideas on how to go about it?**