Nature Games: Marble Run...

A friend of ours has a game my daughter never tires of: a marble run.  It’s the first thing she asks for whenever we visit.  She loves putting the pieces together, dropping the marbles into the hole at the top and watching them make their way down through the tubes. This week in the backyard we seemed to have an abundance of bark, so I suggested we make our own marble run using macadamia nuts.  I showed Little...

Freedom In Trust...

I’m playing Toddler Translation again with Childhood 101 and this week’s word is trust. trust [truhst] –noun reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence. – dictionary.com Families are built on trust. My son trusts Daddy to hold him tight. I trust my husband too. There is no fear in this photo. There is freedom in trust. As a family we trust each...

Advanced Toilet Training (Parenting Aus)...

Complete toilet training is a longer process than I thought.  I’m sharing my thoughts on the whole process over at Parenting Australia today.  Head over there to read the rest of this post, and find out what’s involved in, ahem, ATT. Before I had my own children, I thought toilet training was a period of a few weeks whereby a child transitioned from wearing nappies to wearing pants. Sure there would be accidents,...

Wild Things...

On the weekend my kids and I went to a wild rumpus in the park hosted by Cradle Fables.  We roared our terrible roars and gnashed our terrible teeth and rolled our terrible eyes and showed our terrible claws. The wild rumpus was of course inspired by Maurice Sendak’s classic picture book Where The Wild Things Are.  The story which has enchanted generations of children is about to be released as a feature film,...

The Boys Are Back (Win Tix!)...

The Boys Are Back is a beautiful film shot in South Australia, starring Clive Owen and directed by Scott Hicks, director of Shine.  Inspired by a true story, it is the touching tale of a father who finds himself raising two sons alone while grieving the loss of his wife.  As he transitions from part time parent to full on father he learns a lot about his children, and perhaps even more about himself. Would you like...

Little Apprentice...

Our wonderful builders have been here this week, fixing up some dodgy areas on our home.  We do a lot of renovating ourselves, but we know that some jobs are completely beyond us!  Little Miss 3 was fascinated with the builders’ tool belts so we had a go at making one ourselves. I’m sure if you google it you can find patterns for sewing proper child sized toolbelts, but toddlers aren’t great with...

Innovation on a Washing Basket...

I’m playing Toddler Translation with Childhood 101 this week, and today’s word is innovation.  Has your child come up with a creative innovation you’d like to share too? n innovation [inəˈveiʃən] (the act of making) a change or a new arrangement. -The Web Dictionary Washing Basket + Cardboard = AEROPLANE Step 1 – ask Mum for two cardboard triangles Step 2 – attach with copious...

Beanie Bag Games...

Recently my son received these gorgeous home made beanie bags as a gift from a friend.  It was such a delightful present that I just had to share.  We have had so much fun with these together.  Here are ten of our favourite games to play with beanie bags: In and Out – very young ones enjoy the simple pleasure of putting things in and out of boxes and containers.  My 13mth old put the beanie bags in and out...

Clean...

I thought I’d revisit this old post from January, since it is featured in the current edition of Footprints Magazine.  You can become a fan of Footprints on facebook or read their blog here. I had the most fabulous facial on the weekend. An hour to myself, uninterrupted by a needy baby or a demanding toddler. An hour of quiet bliss. I had not one, not two, but three exfoliations to get my skin glowing. As each...

The Second Time Around (Parenting Aus)...

Yes, this is me the second time around.  (And no, I can’t believe I’m posting this photo either…)  In comparison to my first pregnancy, the second time I was much bigger, much more tired, and much less fussed over!  Spending time with some of my special mummy friends this week has reminded me of the challenges of second time pregnancy.  (And looking at this photo has reminded me of why twelve months...