Real Aussie Mum – April...

Nicole is mum to Zoe and Riley (What a gorgeous photo!) Each month I’d like to share with you a Real Aussie Mum.  Despite the differences we all have as mothers, we can learn so much from each other just by sharing what works for us.  This month, meet Nicole from sunny Brisbane, Qld!  Before becoming a mum she was a teacher, and she has two kids:  Zoe is almost 3 and Riley is 7 months.  Here are her five...

Take Your Pick – Garden Art...

Garden Art Collage If you’ve had a morning of exploring your backyard (or a local park) and collected a bunch of interesting things, what do you do with them all?!  Here are a few easy ideas your toddler will love: 1.  Make a collage.  My daughter never gets tired of sticking bits of bark, leaves, feathers and twigs onto cardboard.  Go figure.  It costs next to nothing, takes up a good chunk of time, and...

On the Go!...

It’s official.  Our little man is definitely crawling.  Occasionally he’s up on all fours, but mostly he is scooting around the floor in his own commando crawl style.  I had honestly forgotten what it was like to have a crawler in the house.  Admittedly, last time I had a crawler I didn’t also have a messy toddler.  So here are the first five things I did to accommodate a crawler in our home: 1. ...

Oblivious to the Obvious...

“Mummy, look!  Someone coloured in the sky!”  My daughter’s innocent comment stopped me in my tracks.  It was right around grumble o’clock (you know, when the kids are tired, you’re trying to get food on the table, and everything is just a bit tense).  I left the dinner prep for a few minutes, picked up my grizzly son and we all went outside together to look at the sunset. We quietly...

A Week With Playdough...

Making your own playdough is a cheap and cheerful activity to do with your toddler.  Here’s how to keep the fun going all week long, with five tried and true activities my two year old loves. Monday – make your playdough together. A basic recipe is 1/2 cup salt, 1 cup plain flour, 2 tbs cream of tarter, 1 cup water, a little oil and food colouring.  Mix dry ingredients, then add water and oil.  Finally...

SquiggleMum (name change)...

When I started mySquiggles, I wasn’t sure about this whole blogging business.  I hadn’t really decided if I was doing a mummy blog, or a writing blog, or just a blog for my family and friends.  Since starting late last year this blog has evolved into the mummy blog it is today, and I am becoming known around the traps as SquiggleMum.  So… from now on this blog will be called squigglemum.com to more...

Take your Pick...

Kids love to pick things.  (Take noses for example!)  Head out into the backyard with your kids and see what you can find to pick.  Don’t assume that you need a beautiful cottage style garden for this kind of activity.  Flowers are lovely, but most yards have other things to offer too. My daughter had a delightful time in the garden filling a basket with macadamia nuts.  She collected them from the ground,...

What's in a Name?...

I spent some time yesterday with a mum-friend, discussing potential baby names for her little one that’s on the way.  I find there’s something so lovely about playing with names.   You get to try them for a while, listen to how they sound out loud, see them written down, dream about nicknames and play around with different combinations.  Mind  you, I would only do this with a close friend!  There’s...

Don't Blow It! (Egg Craft)...

I remember blowing eggs to decorate for Easter as a child, so thought this year my toddler and I would enjoy some egg decorating of our own.  Wisely I decided to do the blowing part while the kids were asleep.  As the eggs were just past their use by date, I didn’t want to put my mouth on them so instead I used a small syringe to force air into the shells and force the goop out.  It worked nicely but it was a...

10 Daily Survival Tips for Mums...

#5 Have fun playing together! 1.  Start the day with a hot shower.  In the secret world of mums I’ve discovered that most of us only average a shower every second day! 2.  Eat breakfast.  We would never let our kids skip the most important meal of the day, but we justify forgoing our own nutritional needs because by 7am we’re already too busy. 3.  Have a plan for the day.  You don’t need to have...