Rain

Last weekend we lucky enough to be able to share a really magical experience with our little boy. We took him to Drop Bear Theatre and The Seam's production; 'Rain'.
It was a beautiful performance installation / sensory experience for babes in arms and crawlers. Jacob was simply mesmerised from the minute we stepped into the space - and you can see why!

Picture from Shine Little Light

Our little man wasted no time at all setting off to explore the room, clambering over the actors, and inspecting the beautiful cello which accompanied the performance.  I think his favourite part was the huge bladders full of blue water - they were wonderful to climb over, or bury your face in; you could jiggle the water to make waves, watch them move and listen to the sounds they made, you could beat them like a drum or just watch the beautiful reflections!

To see him so engaged and interested, so full of wonder and delight was an amazing and moving experience for us as parents! It was a lovely reminder that the best thing that we can do for our babies is to be present in the moment, to notice what draws their attention and interest and to try to see the world with their eyes, to experience everything as if for the first time.

At the end of the session we were handed a poem, which is too beautiful for me to not share. It's by Cheryl Lawrie, I haven't seen her work before but I think I might be a fan...

Car Wash!

How do you entertain a toddler on a hot day when you've got a list of chores as long as your arm to get through? Put them to work of course! Ella had so much fun washing the car with Daddy and I think he had a lot more fun than usual too.
The real bonus of course was that it left me free to have a sleep on the sofa while Jacob was napping! Happy days!

Ice Cream Dough

This morning we set up our very own Ice Cream Parlour. We had a lot of fun! Ella spent about an hour and a half playing with this. First we made the dough together, then we set up the 'Ice Cream Parlour' and she spent ages scooping out the ice cream into cones (I only made 2 cones to begin with but she kept asking for more so that every teddy / dolly could have their own!) We had homemade confetti to use as sprinkles (there were also near constant requests for more of this!) and coloured foam wafers to stick in the top. Even the washing up afterwards was fun!

I saw this at Bath Activities for Kids (Sister site to 'Growing a Jewelled Rose' - go and have a look, there are so many wonderful sensory play ideas!) and really wanted to give it a go. I'm so glad we did. The 'Ice Cream Dough' was really easy to make - ours was chocolate - flavoured with cocoa powder - and it smelt delicious! (Didn't taste too good though judging by Ella's face when she tried it!)
It's basically just baking soda and water with some colour or scent but there are soooo many things you can use it for - I think we might try 'Errupting Snow' next... I just need to find somewhere that i can bulk buy baking soda and i'll be all set!

Mindless Parenting (The Activity Jar)

Do you ever have those days where you really do want to do something fun with your kids but coming up with the ideas is just too hard?  I first came across this idea in Montessori at Home! a really great e-book for anyone who is drawn to the Montessori way of learning, it's full of ideas for simple and inexpensive activities that you can set up at home.

Our Activity Jar is full of ideas for fun things that we can do if we are ever stuck for inspiration. Many of them are really simple things, such as 'Brush your hair', 'Read a book', 'Dance' etc. The activities are all colour coded into groups such as 'Art and Cooking' 'Outdoor Play' 'Active Play' etc so that we can ask Ella to pick a certain colour based on what sort of activity would suit the situation.

I sat brainstorming (and searching Pinterest!) for a couple of hours to create my lists but I think it will prove to be time well spent.  It's certainly not an exhaustive list and I'm sure it will be added to, but for now it's a wonderful resource to have.  Excuse me now, I have to go and help create an obstacle course...

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

I love deck chairs. There's something so nostalgic about them. They conjure up the most wonderfully evocative images of the British seaside for me. You know the sort of thing, seagulls, fish and chips, pebble beaches, ice cream, fishing in rock pools, old men with knotted handkerchiefs on their heads, little girls paddling with dresses tucked in knickers...

So, you can imagine how excited I was when I stumbled across these gorgeous little pint sized ones on eBay. They were pretty grubby and the seat fabric was mouldy and generally rather unappealing, but it's amazing what you can achieve with some new fabric, a screwdriver, a bucket of water and an enthusiastic helper!

I found the fabric in Ikea (I didn't even know that you could buy fabric in Ikea..) I was originally hoping for a classic navy blue and white stripe, but I loved this multicoloured version and thought it was just perfect for a child's chair.

The chairs were a big hit, with both Ella and Dolly, and got dragged all around the garden, although I think my favourite location is on the cubby deck - don't they look perfect up there?!  It's so satisfying to see something old being given a new lease of life, particularly when you are sure that an hour or two of work will result in years of pleasure!

Why?

So, after spending a beautiful year at home with my second baby, Jacob, it's time to return to work. Only part-time admittedly, but still.. It's a strange feeling, a little like the start of a new school year. It feels like a time where I should be making resolutions and getting everything at home in order before I launch myself back into work. I've been thinking a lot about what is important to me, what I want my life to be, how I want to live. My 'free' (non work) time is suddenly more precious and I want to make the most of every minute that I get to spend with my little ones.

But how exactly to do that? I've made lists of all the things I want to do (learn more about photography, brush up on my french, replant the veggie garden, build a wood fired  pizza oven, read up on getting chickens).Lists of all the sewing projects that I want to get through. I've stocked up the arts and crafts shelves and made lists of fun projects and activities to do with the children. I've resolved to spend my evenings being productive, but no matter how much I plan I'm afraid that I'll get home from work, make some dinner, race around doing my jobs (laundry, tidying etc) and then give in to the huge temptation to crash on the sofa and stare at the TV like a zombie until I finally summon up the energy to drag myself off to bed.
True, I could get rid of the TV, but I don't think hubby would be best pleased, and besides, sometimes it's so nice to just snuggle up together on the sofa and watch a film.

So how do I make sure that I stick to all my admirable intentions? Well, you're looking at it. This blog. I'm working on the theory / hope that if I think someone is watching then I will feel compelled to take action. I hope it works, there are so many things I want to achieve this year, so many great projects to get into that I hardly know where to start. I'm looking forward to sharing them with you...

Jess.