Traditionally does it

Before I go further I love Christmas. Love it. 

But.

Increasingly I see new 'traditions' and it's got me thinking. I am a traditional sort of gal, I like my tree real, I like it decorated in reds and golds with small lights which are white and not flashing. I like proper family feast days to mark this time of year. It is the most wonderful time of the year. And a time to wallow in the old traditions.

Morkus Christmas 2014: Lists

I have a long standing tradition, habit or insistance, of not talking about Christmas until after my birthday. I love Christmas but I like it to be contained to Advent in the main and not extended too long. Years of working in retail with two or three months of Christmas kinda kills it.

This year we are hosting for the first time. I am at once excited and terrified at the prospect. In 2012 J and I had a solo Christmas as a newly wedded and pregnant couple. We raided M&S and hold up on our own in our freezing flat with the Radio Times as our only timetable. It was fab but even putting a turkey breast joint in the oven for two for my more than a little stressed. 

Toddler Creations: Blue collage

This was one of my all time favourite activities to set up in my Reception classrooms. A large collage in one or two colours to work on collaboratively. Its a great activity to support sharing and discussion, it can help reluctant talkers talk as they focus on painting or sticking and it can be used for all sorts of great displays either as is or when cut up.

I decided in our week of colour based activities to set something similar up for L, I decided on blue as we are also making links back to our visit to the Tate Modern and the Matisse exhibition a few months ago.

Media Storm

Last week the lovely Hannah of Mums Days shared my birth story again via her Facebook page. It is one of over 100 birth stories shared by mums who have had every birth imaginable. 

My story isn't that unusual. You can read it here in full. The brief story is that due to an awkward presentation my labour failed to progress and it was felt that a caesarean would be the safest way to deliver baby. 

However, when Hannah shared this story again what followed was a media storm. Some ladies read my post and took umbrage with it. It was a sob story, it was overly dramatised, it was unnecessary to share the details, it was all me me me and they didn't need that in their lives. 

Sigh.

Discovery Basket: Colours

All primary teachers joke about how half their salaries go to Ikea because of their great range of stuff for the classroom. Be it creative storage solutions or role play Ikea covers it all. I think all teachers who are near a Tiger store will probably now joke about how the other half of their salary is spent in there!

Pocket change stuff covering everything Ikea also does well, storage, creative materials and those odd bits you can't seem to find anywhere else. Anyway, I was in my local store and found some lovely bits and bobs including this fab little basket.

Living for the Weekend

Living for the weekend, the two days after five of working, the time for rest and play. A largely credited to the Victorian invention and we have a lot to be thankful for for their introduction. The change of pace and the change of priority is vital for many of our mental healths and for our families. It is a time to reconnect and savour.

In the past, in the distant memory of life pre L, our weekends were spent lazying around in the mornings, lunches out, dinners out, dancing, visits to friends and some more lazying around. Visits to galleries, houses and gardens, weekends away to Paris or staycations. 

Life with L has slowly changed our weekend plans, and now that we have a fully fledged toddler, sob, our weekends now are much more jam packed. They need to be for L as she is a little whirl wind of energy who needs constant stimulation or she drives her parents potty! We now try to head out early for days out, swimming, visits or holidays to make the most of these precious days. With J working long hours during the week L doesn't much of her Daddy so the weekends are a time for filling with memories. 

After a week spent reading about and playing with farm animals I decided to research local farms and found one a 30ish minute drive which promised big things. Farm animals, playgrounds and soft play. Toddler paradise. 

Toddler Creations: Cotton Wool Ball Painting

We've had a week of farm based play, a small world, books, puzzles and we finished the week with a visit to Godstone Farm in Surry. 

When we got home we were all a bit tired and needed an activity to get us towards dinner time. A handy collection of pudding pots were the perfect size for some cotton wool ball stamps. 

Very simply cotton wool slightly teased out and then pinched in a peg. A great stamp and easy for a toddler to manipulate, hold and move.