Handmade With Love

Here is a little softie I made for my son, he adores teddies and cuddly creatures. It also gives me a great reason to play on the sewing machine and have fun creating!

This little fellow is meant to be a penguin....Yes I agree he looks a bit more like a chicken so we called him a Chickenguine. Here is the link where I found this cute little guy. I also stumbled across a fantastic site with 150 free animal softie patterns and tutorials here.

The Art Of Imitation

Nothing beats watching your boys imitate their one true idol - Dad!

To imitate is to learn by one of the most natural ways -- Trying what you see.

If you watch a toddler during the day they are constanly imitating the world around them, from noises your dog makes to actions their big brother makes. This is how they learn to talk, buy imitating your words. How they understand feelings, by imitating your reactions and how they learn to love, by imitating the love you share with them.

The art of imitation is the most natural learning process our children develop. Its not something they have to learn, it is naturally part of their inquisitive minds to be little mini versions of us. They want to be included in everything, they want to be trusted and understood just like we do. 

Give your child the freedom to imitate and the chance to learn in one of the most gentlest forms possible.

Let their imitation lead their imagination! 

Give A Little And Receive A Whole Lot

When it comes to our kids we always do what we believe is best. What happens when you are stuck between how you want to parent and what you feel is right?

Let me set the scene. A favourite wii game and a five year old child who can't rest until he plays it, and even then he is a bundle of emotion, where tears and frustration can strike at any wrong move.

What would you do?

If he's not playing the game he is banging around the house in character -- lining up cars and having races. It is the only conversation you will get out of him, like a constant reminder of  "you haven't let me play it today Mum". These sneaky little hints pile up in your head, and yes, you really want to let him play his game but the obsession and need to play holds you back.

I want to be able to give him everything he needs and desires. I want him to be happy. So why am I not letting him have the one thing he so desperately wants.

The answer was there, it was the desperation, the need, the addiction that didn't sit well with me. Not the game, it is a good game, not the distraction, we all need a break. It was the complete control and hold it had over my son. The look in his eyes after playing it, they turn to glass, his face goes red and he can't switch off, he would completely morph into the characters. Unable to stop until it was time to sleep.

It got to the point where it was his all. His mind was so full of wanting to play that he lost being him. Where had our intelligent, funny, inquisitive son gone. Nowhere, he was still there, just hiding in a haze of a desire he so deeply wanted. 

After a discussion with his Dad we decided to pack the game away for a while, to let him break free of the hold, to let his mind rest and explore the world around him again. With that said, the 'problem' was no longer an issue, and hopefully we could all move on. 

This morning was when we were going to pack it away, but before we could go ahead with our decision, our son transformed in front of our eyes. He walked up to me and said: "Mum, can I play my school games on the iPad in the mornings and then my games in the afternoon?". I was taken aback. There was no mention of the wii game that had consumed him completely for the past few weeks. It was like he knew his fate, he knew that it was time for a break and back to the beloved iPad he went. 

But with conditions. 

Actually they were his conditions, but amazingly those conditions provided a nice balanced outcome for everyone. Educational games in the morning and free to play his other games in the afternoon. 

I look at his Dad in shock -- how could I say anything but yes to this request. His Dad asked what would be a good amount of time to be playing the iPad, and 30 mins in the morning and 30 mins in the afternoon was the agreed time. All of this coming from our son.

With a quick yes he was away learning and counting and spelling happily for the next half an hour, and he gladly finished up at the set time he had given himself. No crying, no ignoring, and best of all no meltdowns.

Did this all just happen? Did a solution just naturally occur? Was our intention heard, our intention that we want what's best for our son without him missing out on what he loves? 

Yes...Yes it did.

Connecting With Your Kids

Having two boys leaves me with a house full of cars, dinosaurs, lots of washing and a need for me to join in with their boy games!

What happens when they grow up that little bit, when your not so little one is now five and his interests are all about computer games. The things you once connected with are gone and now they look at you wanting for you to play their new favourite games with their rules. You are left feeling completely confused and have no desire to broom like a car or smash around the house like you are part of Mario Carts and Bowser has just taken over Luigi.

Is this all starting to sound like a second language...Believe me somedays I feel so far apart from my sons world that I have no idea how to merge back into his lane!

Today I took the plunge. I decided to get a connection with my son even if it meant that I had to sit down and play Mario on the wii (something I wouldn't normally do as it hurts my head). 

He was so excited that I said yes to playing that he could barely sit still. He talked the whole time, encouraging me when I fell of the track, letting me know what position I was in and alerting me to the fact that I has special powers that needed to be used now - Push the button MUM!!!

After two tournaments he kindly set me free and said that he is happy to play by himself now.

Giving him that 20mins of my full attention really wasn't that hard. That 20 minutes that made us have something in common. That 20 minutes showed him that I am there when he needs, that I am interested in what he loves and that I support his love for his game! 

The smile on his face when he looked at me confirmed that my desire to connect had been achieved...

The Aftermath Of Glandular Fever Five Years Later

My story starts when my eldest was 6 months old - five years ago. 

I was hit with a two week long stretch of sever headaches and extreme triedness. Tiedness like I have never experienced, to the point of falling asleep upright. I remember saying to my partner one night, if something happens to me make sure my son remembers me. A little drastic I know but at the time I knew something was wrong. Off to the doctor I went and after a few blood tests later I was diagnosed with mononucleosis (Glandular Fever). Great news that I wasn't dying... The down side was that I couldn't do anything to make it go away. For about another month I suffered from the extreme tiredness and weakness of my body, some days it was so hard to even move. My limbs feeling like I had just been swimming for hours, so tired and heavy that moving them was something I had to plan in my head for minutes before hand.

Finally it had passed and here I was thinking it was all behind me...How wrong was I! 

Every few months I would get that feeling, not to the severity of the first time but enough to hit me for a six. The tiredness comes back, the hint to slow down forces me to rest. The frustration set in that yet again I am not me, I am grumpy, tired, and lack any ambition to do anything. 

The years have gone on and my next biggest bout hit just before I fell pregnant with my youngest three years later! Sure enough the two week headache hit and the signs were all to similar. This time I felt it in my throat. It would come on at night and last until morning. The only thing that would take away my sore throat was a morning coffee. I couldn't even talk until I had finished it. So back to the doctor I went. At first I was treated for tonsillitis but the medication made no difference. After blood tests all they could tell me was that mononucleosis was present but showing up that I had had it a few months prior to my symptoms. This is always the case now. It shows up in my system under the name of Epstein Barr Virus, its just lying there waiting to strike me when my immune system gets low or when I get stressed. Again I was left lifeless for weeks with my wonderful partner holding the house up.

Five years on and I am still having bouts. Im left wondering when it will leave my system, wondering what else I can do to prevent it from taking my body over. I am yet to find an answer. It is like nothing I have experienced and I find it very hard to explain the effect that it has on my body. I can only hope that one day it will pass...


The main reason for me sharing this is that a few years ago I was that person trawling the net for answers. I was that person wanting to hear other people's stories. I wanted to know what it was like for them, how they over come it...I really just wanted to hear that others like me were dealing with this virus and that there is an end...One day I will be able to say YES it does end!

My Perfectly Messy :)

Climbing Critters

Simple to make and lots of fun to play with...Its Climbing Critters time!

First thing you will need is your critters. I use a fantastic site called Open Clipart. Here is the link to the bee I used. I click on the PNG button then drag the picture onto my desktop (I use a Mac) Its as easy as that! I then placed the three pictures onto one piece of paper in word, printed, laminated and cut them out.






Now gather your materials, you will need a piece of thread for each critter about 1m long. I used wool for ours. Two 3cm pieces of drinking straws per critter, a coin per critter and a couple of beads or matchsticks.






Stick the coin to the bottom of the critter, this will give him a bit of weight to slide down the thread. Stick the straws as shown to the back of your critters.









Now thread your wool up through the first straw and back down the second straw. To secure the ends add a bead or a match stick to prevent the wool from falling through the straws. 









Your climbing critter is ready to try. We used a door handle to hang them off. To make them climb pull the ends of the wool apart, once at the top let go of the wool and they will slide back down.

 
























Have fun creating your Perfectly Messy climbing critters!

Paper Aeroplane With A Twist

Can you make a paper aeroplane with straws? You sure can!

It may not technically be called a paper aeroplane with the addition of straws but it sure fly's like one and is super easy to make...




 Cut two strips of cardboard the first one 24cm and the second one 12cm with the width of 2cm for both.

Join the ends of both strips together with sicky tape to make a loop.

Grab 4 straws and cut the bendy ends off. You could save the ends for another craft activity.





Tape the straws on the inside of the large loop. Tape the other end of the straws on the outside of the smaller loop. Now add the other two straws in between the first two.

Your straw paper aeroplane is now complete!

Time to hand it over to a 5 year old to test it out....

Look Mum it can fly, it sure can!

A simple easy activity that will have everyone entertained!