Catching up

I've been away on holiday! Hopefully my absence wasn't too noticeable thanks to a bit of advance planning and some excellent guest posts. Look out for plenty of posts about the holiday to come.

I have come back to an enormous number of blog posts to go through in my blog reader, and my poor social media channels have been badly neglected. One thing I did learn though was that during the week of our holiday where I had no Internet access whatsoever I didn't actually miss anything. I sometimes have a compulsive urge to check Facebook, Twitter and so on throughout the day, but it was much easier to catch up in one go. So I'm now going to try and put my phone aside during the evening more and concentrate on some of my projects - in particular there are a number of things on my Day Zero Project list which need to be worked on!

I'm giving myself a couple of days to get through the washing and over the jet lag, then I'll be back in the swing of things. Also something exciting for me, just before we went away I took the big step of registering myself as self-employed with the aim of searching out some actual paid work as a freelance content writer. Wish me luck!

Three Things sampler update

It's been a little while since I shared a picture of my very long term cross stitch project, so I thought that it was time for an update. I started off the year with good intentions and was really hoping that I might finish it this year, but other projects have encroached and I've not done as much lately as I was hoping.

I'm not doing too badly, probably just over a quarter left to go. I just need to put my mind to it and get on with it! I'm going to work on the lettering in the middle next, I find working on text very satisfying because you can make quite a difference in a short space of time.

You can find a picture of the finished sampler here - Moira Blackburn Three Things Sampler.

Watching my son fall asleep

I'm really pleased to welcome a lovely guest post to the blog today, thanks Ruth!

This is a post from Ruth, who blogs as DorkyMum. Ruth lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and 4-year-old son. She posts about parenting, politics, current affairs and photography, and is a finalist in the Outstanding Blogger category at this year’s MAD Blog Awards. You can always find her for a chat on Twitter or Facebook.

Watching my son fall asleep is my favourite thing to do.

It doesn’t happen so often anymore.

When Tom was just a baby he'd nod off in my arms, or leaning on my shoulder, all the time. I took it completely for granted.

One time my Dad came to visit, and we went out for a walk. As I pushed the pram along, Dad kept skipping ahead to peek into it.

‘What are you doing?’ I asked, laughing?

‘Just watching him fall asleep,’ said Dad. ‘It’s one of the loveliest things to see.’

I thought he was a bit mad, and said nothing.

Now Tom is four and he has taken sleep - that most private of things - behind closed doors. He tucks in to bed with only Binky - his manky old hippo - for company. We will hear him sometimes, singing a song or chatting to himself for a few minutes before falling silent. Sometimes he will call me through, bleary eyed in the middle of the night, for a nose blow, a sip of water, or to retrieve Binky from somewhere in the tangled sheets. He'll be in that half sleepy state; will murmur something dreamy that makes no sense to me.

But the actual process of falling asleep, those precarious moments between one world and another, are not something I see very often these days.

When I do - usually on some long journey - I understand what my Dad meant all those years ago. I’m reminded what a sweet and lovely thing it is.

He fights it, first. Bashes his head from side to side as though trying to shake those snoozy sensations right out of there, blinking frantically to ward off sleep. Any small noise or movement will make him jolt and sit straight up with a start.

But eventually, with a sense of resignation, he starts to settle. His eyelids become heavier, and his blinking slows right down, giving me the chance to admire those eyelashes that are longer and thicker and darker than is really decent. He clutches Binky to his face, turning him over and over until he finds the most loved part – his tatty old tail - that he picks at with the pinky nail of his right hand. Pick, pick, pick... No wonder poor Binky has needed so many repair jobs.

Tom’s left hand is saved for the serious business of ‘thumb pie’ which is what he calls sucking his thumb. Gentle, at first, although as he falls deeper and deeper into sleep it becomes more furious and noisy, great slurping noises that make me giggle, until he finally reaches that sleepy place where all is calm, his mouth relaxes, and the thumb is released.

He will nap like that for an hour; soothed by the motion of whatever train or plane we happen to be on. His head will get incredibly warm, and often a tiny bead of sweat will course its way slowly down his pink cheek. He will twitch, sometimes, dreaming of ice cream or buses or whatever other things make little boys happy. If he is lying on me, I will have to shift in my own seat, slowly so as not to wake him, trying to get comfy as his weight becomes heavier and heavier.

And then, when he is done, when the batteries are recharged, he will open his eyes and sit up, his hair a mess, his face crumpled and flushed.

‘Good nap?’ I’ll ask.

‘What nap?’ he’ll say. ‘What are you talking about? I didn’t nap at all.’

‘Oh,’ I’ll say.

‘What a shame,’ I’ll say.

I like it, watching Tom not nap. It’s one of my favourite things.

A quick children's craft - design your own room

This craft is something that I remember doing with my Mum when I was little. She used to receive a mail order catalogue and when the new one came we could have the old one to cut up. I used to like choosing my favourite items to glue on to a cardboard house. You just need a thick catalogue with plenty of pictures of furniture, homeware, toys and so on. Ours was a Tesco one, and the Argos one would work well too.

I'm working with Harry on his scissor skills at the moment, and he's doing pretty well at it. We went through the catalogue and I got him to cut out pictures of things that he'd like in his bedroom, then we stuck them all down on to some coloured paper to make his dream room. This is it:

This craft provides a very interesting and often amusing insight into your child's mind. Harry chose a bed with the same bedding that he has at home anyway, but then chose some very pink, girly accessories including a dresser. I was pleased to see that storage was important to him, less pleased to see that he considered a large television essential. He also picked out some smart bookshelves and he really wanted to include a display cabinet, which isn't something that we have in our house. I asked him what he was going to put on display and he said "my stuff".

The good thing about this activity was that it kept Mia entertained as well with her own little pot of glue and the off cuts of paper. A really quick, easy and cheap activity and lots of fun!

How to enjoy your staycation with the kids

Today I am delighted to welcome a guest post from Cat, with some fantastic tips for avoiding the hassle of travelling with small children and enjoying a staycation at home.

Before I had kids holidays were all about long lie-ins and lounging by the pool with a book. Taking a whole evening for dinner and wine or dancing the night away has given way to more family friendly activities. When you combine the practicalities of travelling with children with the pressure on everyone’s finances at the moment it’s no surprise that more people are opting to have a ‘staycation’ or holiday at home, but can that ever be as much fun?

Here are a few steps to make sure it is:

1 – Adopt a ‘holiday’ frame of mind

It’s not going to seem like a holiday if you are occupied with all the usual boring things so try and get any chores finished of beforehand. Get the shopping done along with any cleaning or washing to stop it hanging over you so you can enjoy your break. To make sure you stay in your ‘holiday bubble’ try and ignore things like your social media accounts, the news and the papers. Why not go the whole hog and tell people you’re going away if you really want some peace and quiet?

2 – Make a Plan

On a normal holiday you can take each day as it comes, planning outings or lazing around. If you don’t make plans for your staycation, however, you’ll just end up slipping into your normal routine and where’s the fun in that? Try to schedule one or two things a day so there is always something to look forward to and you don’t end up stuck in front of daytime TV or cleaning the kitchen.

3 – Investigate local attractions

We often forget about the things we see signs for everyday and go for ages without visiting the attractions right on our own door step. Take some time before your break to look into events scheduled during your holiday. I’m sure there will be some big permanent attractions like zoos or National Trust properties near by but also think about temporary things like exhibitions or theatre shows that may be coming up. There may well be some regular scheduled events at your library or community centre. How about something as simple as visiting a ‘pick your own’ fruit farm or finding a little bit countryside for a picnic which can be a fun day out for all ages.

4 – Do something unusual at home

They say a change is as good as a rest so why not try spending the day at home but doing something unusual? How about a Film Day? Rent some DVDs and get comfy with popcorn, pick ‘n’ mix or some nachos. You could even set the kids to work making some tickets for everyone to allow them entry to the living room.

Maybe a ‘Books in Bed’ Afternoon? Head off to the library so everyone can choose some new books or gather up their old favourites at home and then don some PJs and squish into bed together to enjoy them. Take it in turns to read out your favourite parts and to talk about what is happening or why you like the characters.

Gardening can sometimes be a chore but what about getting some cheap plastic pots for the kids to decorate and fill with bedding plans or herbs so they can watch grow for the rest of the summer. Kids will love a chance to play all the board games that you’re normally too busy for or to make their own pizzas with their chosen toppings. I’m sure you can come up with lots of ideas once you get started.

5 – Remember little things can be treats too

One of the nicest things about being little is that it only takes a tiny treat to make your day and, let’s face it, when they’re happy we’re happy so remember the little things. How about letting them choose their favourite dinner or getting a tin of special chocolate biscuits for an afternoon snack. One favourite in my house is letting the boys have a bath in the middle of the day. Instead of waiting until the evening when you’re all tired and focussed on getting them into bed why not do it during the day to make the most of all those toys and bubbles (and don’t worry about the splashing). So have a great staycation this year. Who knows, you may never want to go away again!

Cat is a married mum of two small boys who, after a career in health service management, now works as a freelance writer as well as blogging about parenting and family life at Yellow Days.

How messy play actually keeps my house clean

I've started getting a bit more into messy play recently. I used to say that Harry could do enough of that at nursery, but now that he has moved to a new pre-school they don't seem to do it as much, and Mia hasn't been much to nursery yet so I don't want her to miss out. I've also discovered that it's one of the few activities that they can both do together. They each play in their own way - Harry has proper role-play going on and Mia is content just to tip things in and out of containers - yet they are both using the same materials and in the same place. It also keeps them both busy for ages, as does the subsequent bath.

Many people are put off messy play because of just that - it's messy. But I've found that thanks to our new found interest my house is actually cleaner!

I use a shower curtain on the floor in the kitchen, which is good for dry things but although it absorbs water it is not entirely waterproof. Water is usually involved in our play, so the floor is nice and wet when we've finished. I can wipe it up quickly with a few old towels, which gives the floor a good clean too.

I'm also getting the hoover out a lot more, to clean up the trails of mess created from the real kitchen to the play kitchen (to grab more things to make messy) and up to the bathroom. While the hoover is out I tend to do a quick whip round the rest of the downstairs too, so I'm also getting more hoovering done.

I'm even finding that the washing machine is going on more reguarly too, as the shower curtain needs a wash afterwards as do the clothes that they've been wearing. It means that I'm keeping well on top of the laundry!

So don't be put off trying messy play, it has its benefits!

A pirate treasure chest and some gold doubloons

Both children are very into Jake and the Neverland Pirates at the moment. I'm not sure exactly how it suddenly entered our life, but we are planning a Disney holiday soon and I think that my husband is trying to make sure that their Disney knowledge is complete by putting on Disney Junior at every opportunity. It's not a bad programme, although I have noticed that Harry is starting to speak American ("I sure can!"). Recently I blogged about the pirate treasure map that we made, and our next task was to make some gold doubloons.

I bought a plain pirate treasure chest at the same time as I bought my butterfly box, and this seemed like the right opportunity to decorate it. I stuck some yellow foam pieces around the edges, then Harry glued some plastic jewels all over it. I've not watched Jake and his friends a great deal (when it's on I'm usually to be found making the most of some quiet time) but I know that one of the objectives of each episode is to collect and count the gold doubloons.

I did a quick search through Google images and found a skull and crossbones picture which I placed inside an olive wreath image,then printed out a sheet of them. Then we cut out circles from gold cardboard and stuck the pirate picture on. Harry has been having lots of fun hiding the treasure chest for me to find, and then counting out his pirate money.

A pirate treasure chest and gold doubloons