sea picture/ beados/ more shorts

"Mum, say Cheese!" for some reason this is the funniest game at the moment.. taking photos of the other one taking photos... :)


Jumeirah decided to make her own craft today, couldnt be bothered waiting for me to stop fluffing around ( in my own defense, I am trying to organise this gang for a short holiday, plus get ready for preschool, plus trying to breakfast 4 of us, and tidy the kitchen, 4 loads of washing... blahblahblah) so she got out of the cupboard some shells, some cut fish, and some glue. I gave her a lid of an old container as her canvas today.

She set to work creating a simple under the water picture, gluing shells around the esge and fish in te middle. She also went and got some grass to make seaweed. I love when kids do this: create themselves their own masterpieces without any prompting or assistance. I can just hand out a few materials and shes off :) Its a great, independent stage.

Jared got lucky today in the never ending shorts making addiction... I was actually pretty pleased with these ones. The material is quick dry so we will test them out at the beach this weekend. Will take him spares just in case :)

He and I had a lovely morning. We sat and chatted, took photos of each other, had a picnic morning tea with the tea set (he poured me a milkshake, he had a "coffee") and just generally hung out. I love this little guy and his constant affection :)


Yesterday, with the delivery of more coins from the tooth fairy, Jumeirah decided for the first time to spend some of her pocket money. And so we traipsed to Big W. She wanted something specific, BEADOS. Having been totally in love with Hama beads for years, I was a bit dubious about these beados things, seeing as the need a special which needs to be constantly refilled, plus I wasnt sure how water would them together. Nevertheless, she was totally determined to get them. So once I had two little ones in bed, we set to making something out of them. After losing more than 500 beads TWICE all over the floor trying to get the rotten things into the pen, I had had enough. But she hadnt, and she worked out a way that she could do it herself. And so she spent the best part of almost two hours work on these little projects.
I was so amazed at her for so many reasons... she stuck to something she had her heart set on, she worked out a way to achieve it, and she did it by herself.
Awesome little 4 year old you are :)

And they turned pretty good too! (Final products will have to be shown at a later stage as they got whipped away preschool this morning to show the well loved Amy) Not as good as Hama and they are alot more fragile but she loved doing it. Shes even put in an order for more for her birthday :)

the joys of dough

This morning I had three very eager bees, ready for SOMETHING. Trouble was, all three were interested in totally different things. Hmmm how to split myself.....

Jumeirah started off with the 4 different colours of playdough I made ( yes making one is just a tad boring now... good one, self) and the challenge of making "Bikini Bottom".
(For those of you now worried at what I am teaching my children, Bikini Bottom is the wonderful home of Spongebob Squarepants. Now dont you feel more relieved?? ;) )



And so I left one happy child humming "oh, who lives in a pineapple under the sea?", and set to work on the others.

Amahli was trying to maim herself whilst screeching in the cupboard in a vain attempt to help herself to the button collection. A deep breath, oh what the heck, ok go for it :) Its something that makes the hugest mess ever but she loves it and seems to get so much out of transfering the buttons into smaller containers. Today I gave her a spoon and some small jelly cups. And she was blissed :)





Jared was keen on some playdough too but wanted to sit at the dinner table with a plate, knife and fork. He set to work making "sausages" and then cut them into small pieces with knife and fork. Seems my little guy has been practising! I was well impressed at how well he handled these. Playdough was a great way for him to continue his "self help" skills as it doesnt run away like peas do, it doesnt go cold waiting for the miracle " I finally got it!" stab, and he can cut it up as many times as he likes cos he can just roll it up and start again! ( he tried this with some pear recently but it turned to mush and thus ended the fun).





And this is how we played today, all set on our own fun, in our own little worlds. And it was such a happy little land :)

rosalina/ ice play

We lost a second tooth today.. shes not even 5 yet!! How do I slow her down from growing up???


Weekends seem to be less crafy and more do-y/ go-outy. Which suits me fine after being at home most of the week. Dont get me wrong, I love being at home, hanging out and doing awesome stuff with my kids. But I also love going out as a "gang" and especially as today we went swimming :) All my kids seem to have been born with gills and fins. Jumeirah is such a fish I am not quite sure whether she spends as much time above the water as she does below. Not really swimming as such, more wrything like an eel. She loves it. Jared, now a bit more cautious with age and not quite as adventurous as his older sister, but still just as difficult to get out. Someone who knows that "mum can get as cross as she likes but its still wont get her back in to get me out once shes dressed" and uses it to is full advantage. And my tiny fish, whos trick today was launching herself as fast as she can in the opposite direction of daddy to see how fast he can get her back above water. Quite funny to watch really :) She has no fear of water yet so it really doesnt matter how much she goes under or how much she swallows she still goes back for more.
Unfortunately no photos of any of this as cameras arent as waterproof as I would like and slippery fish wont hold still long enough :)

So instead I am posting an older idea I posted on facebook which my kids absolutely loved and its something we will be doing again very soon as the weather here heats up.

ICE TREASURES


This activity takes a bit of preparation but its so worth it.. my kids have spent hours doing this during the week..

Start by finding a large container that will fit in the freezer.. icecream container is a good size.

Put in about a quarter full of water. ut into this water the first layer of treasures : I had coins, buttons, plastic dinosaurs, marbles, shells... anything I could find on the floor ;) obviously it will have to be larger items for smaller children. You wont need heaps of things in each layer you freeze so start with about 5 to 10 items.
Put in the freezer for a few hours.. I am shockingly impatient and kept trying to freeze more layers too fast and everything kept falling to the bottom.. it really is much more fun if you let it completely freeze.
When its frozen, add your second layer of water, about half way and 5-10 more treasures.

Again into the freezer.
Third layer of water and final layer of treasures... let freeze. NOW THE FUN PART! trying to release the treasures!



I gave my kids some spoons, a bowl of warm water, syringes, and then left them to it :) They started in the shade so it wouldnt melt too fast, then moved it out into the sun to see how fast it would melt. Takes ages in winter :)



Great for exploring water, cause and effect, fine motor and patience.

Also, finally, I have begun my beautiful little waldorf doll for Jumeirahs birthday. Her name is Rosalina, or Rosie for short. Actually this is the second one as the first one was a hilarious disaster. I worked with the pattern I got ages ago (here) but it didnt really work for me. I have a friend who also used this pattern and hers turned out great but mine? Not so much. So I hunted further on the net and found another style. ( will post when its finished so I know the whole pattern is great). And so far... its fantastic and shes just how I wanted her. (havent sewn on her hair yet but thought I would post one now anyways!)

busy brain day/ scrapping for kids/ car painting

Yesterday at rest time I actually took some time to sit for myself (its rare but I so needed it after the last two weeks!)and so I have Jumeirah some pipecleaners to construct something for me while I lay on the floor beside her. She made me this sleep fairy and "when I wave it around your head you will rest for a hundred years".
Sounds fine by me. But I will settle for 60 minutes :)

Well we have had a very big day in our corner of the world.. we finally got to celebrate Amahli's birthday today :) After having such sick kids for such a long time it was great to see them finally well, happy and running around at the beach :)

Unfortunately I completely forgot to Blog yesterday ( I KNOW! I can hardly believe it myself ;P) because I got so involved in the NEXT birthday surprise. For Jumeirahs 5th birthay ( about 3 weeks time) ( YIKES) I am making her a book of herself for her first 5 years. Its a massive project but one I am really enjoying as I go back over the copious amounts of photos we have taken. Its been a real eye opener to see how much the little girl has changed in such a short time. I have gotten tear at memories more than once but I know shes going to love her book. Will post it when its done :)

Yesterday we had a fairly productive day as all kids were feeling much better. Jared and Jumeirah both wanted to do car painting this morning, so I happily set that up for them. ( great paint activity for boys who arent so much into paint cos they really just play " cars" and and looks great!)

After the fun Jumeirah had making a card for a friend last week, I gave her a bigger project to do. In the school holidays we got a kit from a friend at "The Scrapping Bee" that was bits and pieces to make a scrap book page. I got this out and she got to work, working out where she wanted to glue the "bits" and then instead of a photo, she made a picture of herself and Amy at the park.

These are a great christmas gift for family or teachers and look really effective no matter how its set out. I let her do this on her own as her way is normally better than mine.


This a fairly easy activity to set up. You just need some scrapbook paper/card ( or normal cardboard will also work but its nice to have some patterned card as well) and some hole punches or you could just cut your own shapes out. We use a glue pen for less lumps and bumps but really any glue would be fine.








And while Jumeirah did this, Jared got the tongs out of the drawer and wanted to sort the buttons out after seeing it at preschool. Another fun way to strengthen finger muscles, work on hand eye coordination and it also use lots of patience.

I love busy brain days :)

Have you stumbled across some busy brain activities?? Let me know so I can do them too and give my own busy mushy brain a rest:)

chalk painting/ I fell in love again today

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child” Picasso

Someone once asked me whilst I was pregnant with Amahli, " How will you have enough love for three kids?" Probably one of the stupidest questions I have ever been asked but it made me think about the fact that I was about to have a second girl. How would I love her the same? How would our bond be different to the bond I have with her big sister? Will it feel different to love another child? And I remembered going through this before having Jared, wondering how I would ever love him as much as I loved Jumeirah. I was kinda shocked at how much love I had for him, right from the first moment I saw him ( this may sound strange but having Ceasareans really screws with your head and maternal instincts took a little longer to kick in completely with Jumeirah).I had struggled quite a bit at the thought of having three when she first showed up in a blue line, but the instant, overwhelming powerful love kicked in as soon as she was born. We have had our moments, her and I, the not sleeping or feeding dramas, but I am really seeing a lovely little personality (feisty, demanding and independent but really shes a beauty) as she discovers herself and makes a place thats hers in our family.

Today.... with Jumeirah at preschool and Jared still not 100% and tucked up on the lounge with "Nemo" and his blankie, I took my littlest babe outside to play. This morning I dug out a bag of clothes I had put away for her and tried on a dress she was given last year ( too big then, it now fits!) and we had a lovely game chasing each other up and down the hill. She was such a delight to be with this morning, only a few lingering traces of the babe thats been so sick this last few weeks. I grabbed the camera and she happily obliged my photo obession and I captured this little one in all her absolute gorgeousness. And I fell in love... again... or more... whichever... both :)

This afternoon, Jumeirah and I got out and made some chalk paint ( we made this ages ago but it was good then and it was good today too!) and painted the fence. I loved how to colours came out on the fence and it was lots of fun. It gave us some lovely time to chat about her day and paint away the worries :) Very therapeutic :)

Eric Carle inspired butterflies

Strangest thing on my clothesline.... this little baby sock keeps turning up in the wash. Every few weeks I seem to find it in here in amongst everything else. Its strange because my babe is now 1 and wouldnt have fitted this for over 10 months, but stranger still... its a boy sock so Amahli has never worn it. So it hasnt been used in over 2 1/2 years.... how it keeps turning up is a mystery! But it is a good reminder that my babes dont stay babes forever, my kids are growing up... Im trying to enjoy every minute, every stage, every day because they are all just the greatest little things I have ever been blessed with.



We found this awesome painting/cutting activity from Deep Space Sparkle and just had to try it.
Jared and Jumeirah made the paper last week, both fairly keen to help with this one strangely enough, but both let me draw in it with my fingers, they used forks and spoons to create patterns.

stuff you'll need:



Today we got the paper out and made some templates to trace for the wings and body. Jumeirah was really keen to trace and then cut. I was told not to chat as she was concentrating :)




Then we put them together on a page with glue.
I loved the result of these!





Unlucky for me, two special preschool teachers are getting them tomorrow with a note of love :)

I also tried to clean a pair of bean bags today with my little "helpers" who helped me empty the bags of beans into bathtub. I then went to wash the bags whilst they discovered how fun it is to play in polystyrene balls. Barbie enjoyed her spa treatment, Jared loved just running his hands through them.



And although we had them all over the place, it was so great to see him happy and playing again after being so sick. Unfortunately, this stuff is really hard to control so its a once off activity but it was still very fun! ( and it took mummy ages to pick it all up!)