Its all about the slime!

I've worked in childcare and early childhood education for years. Discovery/messy play has always been one of my favourite areas. Every activity you do with a child is an opportunity for learning but I find that a messy child is ultimately a very happy child.
One of my favourite things to make is slime. My son was introduced to it recently and he absolutely loved it. He sat for an hour and a half squishing it, pulling it, rolling it, dropping it and giggling at the plop it made.
Anyway, enough waffling from me. I just thought I'd pop the "recipe" up here for anyone that would like to give it a go with their little ones. :-)

There are no precise measurements in this. Its just always worked.

What you will need:
2 separate cups of water
Borax powder
White PVA glue
Food colouring
A bowl
Spoon

1. Put a spoonful of Borax into one of the cups of water and stir (no specific measurement, I just chuck a teaspoon of the stuff in).
2. Pour an inch of PVA glue into the bowl and add 3 tablespoons of plain water and stir.
3. Add a few drops of food colouring to your glue mix and stir until combined.
4. Add a teaspoonful of the Borax mixture to the glue mix and stir it until it starts to come together.
5. It will reach a point where it will look like its not going to work but keep going! At this point I like to get my hands in and mix.
Note: If you really do think "there's no way this is working" then go ahead and add another spoonful of the Borax solution.

That's it folks! Let me know if any of you try it.

What's your favourite messy activity to do with the kids?

A bit of appreciation for some of you lovely folk. :-)

The title says it all really! The people mentioned below have blogs that I enjoy reading but I think the people behind them are pretty great too. :-)

Bex at I Always Believed In Futures and Crystal at Crystal Says
When I first started my blog I hadn't a clue what I was doing! I had been reading blogs on and off for a few years and felt like I wanted a "go". I reached out to Bex and Crystal on Twitter and both were so friendly and generous with their time. I occasionally catch up with Crystal still and she's one of my favourite Twitter people. She just has this generous nature and wants to help however she can. Plus, she lives in NYC so I get jealous regularly! ;-)

Carol at Flitty Chick Fancies
I met Carol through a beauty swap a few months ago. They couldn't have paired me with a nicer lassie and her blog is always one of the first I catch up with when I get a spare 5 minutes. I'm really enjoying getting to know her and hope to catch a coffee with her one day if I ever find myself in/near Cork.

Michelle at Thou Shalt Not Covet
Michelle's blog is choc full of so many beauty products that I lust after, plus her Twitter feed regularly makes me laugh. Big thumbs up. :-)

Amanda at Amanda Niescior
I got to know Amanda a wee bit when she did my blog design (which I still love, months later). She's a young'un but has such a mature head on her shoulders. Super friendly, super happy and a funny wee lass. :-)

Leighanne at Bump And Beyond
I first "met" Leighanne when her wee baby Darcy was still cooking. :-) Now I love hearing how Darcy is doing and I especially love reading Leighanne's fashion posts. They give me plenty of ideas for my next shopping spree, too many ideas!

Shay at Two Tiny Terrors
Shay is just the sweetest. I love her Growing Your Own and Kids Crafts And Activities posts. I've worked in daycare for more years than I care to mention but its always good to check in with others for new ideas or ways to refresh old ideas.

Lindsay at Newcastle Family Life
I love reading her blog but I'm currently enjoying all the bumpy pics. I miss my bump! Also, on a personal level I feel like that she gets where I currently am to an extent as she was a single mum herself at one point. At some point I'd love to sit down and have a chat with her about it.

Keeley at Dragging Online
Keeley is an online only drag queen. She describes her blog as an outlet for her creativity. I love her fashion/celebrity posts and she has a certain wit that makes me chuckle as I read them. Definitely what you need at the end of a long day.

Tanya at Polka Dots And Cups Of Tea
Tanya has a beauty/parenting blog like myself so I get a good "fix" when I catch up on her posts. She'll often write a post about her children whatever the topic might be and it always strikes a chord with me, I "get" it. Don't tell her but I secretly read to see if Emma has written any more posts. ;-)

There are lots of you but these are the people that come to mind as I'm writing this post. Thanks for the blog posts, the inspiration, your time, your kind words, ta for all of it.

Style on a budget

I recently asked the Twitterverse what they thought of online stores like Just For 5 pounds. Those that got back to me were really positive. 

I'm a mum and a childminder. I love nice clothes as much as the next person but what I don't like is when I get the likes of "washable" paint on my clothes (it's never really washable!) and can't wear that piece of clothing again...not in public anyway! 

Online stores like Just For 5 Pounds solves that problem for me. They have some lovely pieces on their website and if they did happen to get ruined at work...it's ok! It was only a fiver! 

Just For 5 Pounds kindly offered to send me something in the post to review. I had no idea what I was receiving but I was pleasantly surprised! 

They sent me a lovely black soft feel blazer. 

In the photo it needs a quick iron but I wanted to get the photos taken before my wee man woke from his nap. 

It's one of those blazers that you could dress up or dress down. I wore it to lunch a few days ago with a nice white top and jeans. I got a few compliments from friends too which was nice. They're so used to seeing me in boring work clothes. :-) It has padded shoulders (but not Pat Butcher style!) just enough to give me a shape. It also has a cute wee nautical style button that was impossible to take a decent photo of but I tried!

See...cute! :-) 

I'll definitely be having a browse on Just For 5 Pounds in future. They're perfect for those that are shopping on a budget. 

Baby Boy's Books Of The Months (Mar14)

With all the awful weather we had in March we had plenty of opportunities for story time. These were O's favourite books in March. All his favourites are still pretty simple because he's only just turned one. I do read him lots of other more detailed stories (I'm a big Julia Donaldson fan) but I consider his favourites the books that he takes off the shelf to read together or the books that I find him reading if I've popped into the kitchen to start lunch or dinner.

Farmyard Rhymes - Clare Beaton
Its a simple wee book but the illustrations are just so pretty. Everything looks like its been embroidered and its a delight to read through.




Who's That Eating? - Kingfisher
O loves any and all animals at the moment. While he wasn't so interested in the informative details in the book he was completely taken with the photographs printed in it.




Run, Mouse, Run! - Petr Horácek
A great book for the early concepts that children get to grips with - up, down, in, out, over and so on.
 


Strawberries Are Red - Petr Horácek
A simple book about colours but I found my boy on several occasions with his nose stuck in it so it must be doing something right!




Who's That Playing? - Kingfisher
A wee book about how animals play. More animal photographs for him!




That's Not My Lamb - Usborne
That's Not My Polar Bear - Usborne
I'd be doing O a disservice if I didn't have a few of these books lying around. He still loves them!




Don't Lose Pigley, Wibbly Pig! - Mick Inkpen
I didn't find the story anything special to read but my boy was hooked. I'm assuming its because he may have caught Wibbly Pig on TV before and recognises the character?




Busy Zoo - Ladybird
I knew that I was taking my wee man to the zoo the day after his birthday as our own wee personal celebration so I had been reading this book to him in preparation. He spent the journey to the zoo flicking through it and shouting "Rawr" every time he seen a tiger/lion.

What books have your little ones been immersed in recently?

I thought I had it sussed....

As the title says, I thought I had it sussed. Instead of returning to work after maternity leave I decided I would become self employed (childminder), work from home, be with my baby and live happily ever after. 

All of these plans are still achievable, still in the pipeline and I'm still going ahead with them because it's the best situation available to us.
 

The problem is that I don't really want to go ahead with them. I've realised that I want to "just" be a mum, raise my boy and enjoy these precious years that go by all too quickly. 

"Get over yourself" I hear you shout. I'm not whining (honest!), I'm just being very honest about how I feel. I'm a single mum and so I'll do what I have to do in order to provide for my baby. I just wish there were different options available for those mums that would like to be SAHM until their kids go to school. 

I enjoy working with kids, I really do. I've done it for almost 15 years. It's just that I've enjoyed this wee "baby and me" bubble that I've lived in over the last 12 months and I'm reluctant to give it all up. 


I try to put a positive spin on it. I'll have more money for me and my wee boy. I'll be able to save money towards his future, whether its his education, travelling, a house, who knows! I'm just venting really and lusting after a particular way of life.

Have any of you struggled with decisions about returning to work?

Does it get easier once you get into the swing of things?



A year ago today...

This day last year I was doing the final checks on my hospital bag (and yours!) before my induction that night. I had no idea what the future held for us both. All I knew was that I was ready - ready to meet you and see your wee face, ready to stop the Ranitidine, ready to walk like a human as opposed to a farm animal. More than anything, I was ready to start being a mummy to you.
After a 24 hour labour you arrived and my God, you were perfect. The minute I held you a lot of things became insignificant. As twee as it sounds, you became my whole world.
People tell you that the first year flies by but I cannot believe how quickly it has went! It only feels like yesterday that I carried you out to the car eager to get home and have everyone meet you. I've watched you grow from a tiny, helpless little baby  into a loving, funny, strong willed, cheeky wee boy.
If this year is an indication of what the rest of our years together are going to be like, I can't wait!

Jellycat

There is plenty I want to say about Jellycat & their products but I'm trying not to waffle. :-) I was offered the opportunity to review three of their toys: the Bashful Beige Bunny, Clicketty Walter Whale & Octavia Octopus Jitter.

First off, the packaging of these toys is just too cute. They come in their own wee branded drawstring bag and my son had just as much fun with those as he had with the toys inside. He's at that age now where filling & emptying provides him with endless enjoyment.


Onto the products:


Bashful Beige Bunny - Small £11

This is one of the most plush soft toys I have seen on the market. I have a basket full of soft toys that my little boy has received since he was born, he is 11 months old now. He loves rubbing them on his face as he's going to sleep & he also loves giving them kisses/cuddles. This bunny is no exception. I have put him down with it at nap time most days since it arrived & he loves snuggling up with it. As I said before, its very soft & its easy to manipulate so he can hold it when taking steps (he's just learning to walk).
The only thing I would say is that if you're wearing dark coloured clothes the bunny tends to "moult". I don't think that's a massive issue though, a quick rinse in the machine would probably sort that out.


Octavia Octopus Jitter - £11

I know I only have the experience of these three items but they all seem to be made incredibly soft, with tiny little hands in mind. This feels like a soft-knit, that's the best way I can describe it!
My little boy is quite content to sit in his buggy & look around but I always like to have toys hanging from his pram to entertain him in case I run into an unexpected delay. This toy kept him perfectly entertained one morning while I was in the bank. He spent the entire time pulling the octopus by the legs causing that jittery sensation, which in turn made my little man laugh his head off. :-) I love how the babies can pull on the body or some/all of the 8 legs...whatever they find easiest to manipulate. He's now getting to grips with holding one end & pulling the other when we're at home. :-)


Clicketty Walter Whale - £11

Another soft to the touch toy! While O loved all of the toys I think this was the one that held his attention for the shortest amount of time. I think this was basically down to the fact that his development is beyond this toy now. He knows he can move the rings. He knows that they make a noise if he shakes Walter so he does it once or twice then moves onto the next toy. As a mother I can't fault the toy though. Its maybe something I would buy for a younger baby when they initially start to take an interest in the items around them & are just developing their grasp.

Now that I know Jellycat exists I will definitely be visiting the website when my friends have babies. I was surprised at how reasonably priced they are & they have a varied selection of toys. I would love to buy O some of the Farmyard collection.

Have any of you bought from Jellycat?

What did you think of their products?

Much love. xx


Lisa
@latte_fiend on Twitter












While I received these products for free for the purposes of the review, my opinions on the products are entirely my own & honest.