Tales of the unexpected with The Boy, my pride and joy.
I'm very excited to be joining the Tuesday Tutorials Pin Party team; a wonderful linky which runs every Tuesday for instruction based posts of some kind, usually crafts, recipes or learning through play opportunities. The linky opens every Tuesday where I will share posts from the previous week's linky on a chosen theme.
Autumn is a wonderful time of year to get out and about, enjoying nature and all the treasures the season brings. During the month of September, we are forever scavenging for conkers and acorns, finding colourful leaves and spotting squirrels, with our pockets fit to bursting with the fruits of our labour.
When we were recently sent some crafting materials as part of the Bostik Bloggers' Challenge, we decided the most appropriate thing for us would be to make an Autumn Treasure Bag in order to make collecting conkers etc. easier.
I used to love making peg dolls as a child, and would frequently make small versions of family members for them. We were recently given a couple of traditional wooden pegs and The Boy instantly pretended it was a person with legs; the perfect opportunity to create a mini-me with him.
World Book Day may have fallen earlier this month, but when you have a four year old child who devours reading books at the rate of knots then every day is a book day! Seeing my son settle himself down to read a book independently is one of the most amazing things I've seen as a mum, and it is reassuring to know that he already has a love of books.
Every child has at least one favourite story, and this easy craft activity can be used to help explore the book and bring the story to life.
68. Free! (It was a beautiful day in south Wales with temperatures reaching 15°C. So we headed down to the barrage with Mr. TBaM's bike and the tag-along. The Boy absolutely loves cycling with daddy, and he is honestly screaming in glee in this photograph.)
69. Warning (I should have realised when he didn't want to play in the garden that something wasn't quite right with him. A headache all day in school and plenty of sobbing after school meant a rough night and buying a new bottle of calpol.)
70. Ill (The Boy was off school today with a trip to the doctor on the cards; third bout of ear infections this Winter, with tonsillitis added in for 'good' measure. I've not seen him so ill for a long time.)
71. Swish (We managed to do some craft after school using one of the silk painting kitsfollow that we'd bought from Baked By Me. A bargain at £2.00 from £8.99!)
72. 40.5 (Dreadful day and night. Horrendous. I was called out of school early because my mum was so worried about The Boy's temperature, and then that night he spiked at 40.5°C with a fever. It took a full two hours, both nurofen and calpol, a cold flannel, no duvet in the cover, and a fan on full pelt, to get his temperature under 39°C, and for him to manage to attempt sleep. At 2.30am he ended up in our room with me holding him all night for him to be able to sleep.)
73. On The Mend (The Boy was definitely beginning to feel better after the dreadfulness of the night before, we even managed to attempt some craft in the afternoon which resulted in a cheeky look for his lordship.)
74. Daisy, Daisy, Give Me Your Answer Do! (The first daisy of the year picked for mummy, I came home from the park that a school-friend's birthday party was held in with a pocket full of them. So pleased to see my little man out and about with a little colour in his cheeks.)
–
349. MONSTER BINGO (… is the phrase that needs to be shouted out by the winner of the latest Orchard Toys game we're reviewing. I love the exuberance on his face here.)
350. Daddy Does Craft (This is not something which happens often in our house, in fact he groaned when I asked him to do this activity, "Homework; yes. Reading; yes. Craft; NO!" However, it was a super easy activity from Toucan Box with idiotproof, foolproof, comprehensive instructions.)
351. Intent (Watching his video message from Father Christmas via the Portable North Pole app, he was enchanted with the whole thing. Every time Father Christmas said his name, he nodded eagerly and smiled.)
352. Dear Miss… (Making his Christmas cards for his teachers, the effort was immense but he made a super job of it.)
353. Bedtime Reading (New pyjamas and books sent from Marks and Spencer for a bedtime reading project. I love seeing him in old-fashioned pyjamas, he looks so cute!)
354. Hungry (For a few months now we've visited our local nature reserve once a week to feed the swans, our confidence has grown as has their hunger. Yesterday they were starving, and with it a little bit nasty. For the first time, I felt nervous feeding them in the slipway area; one of them hissed at The Boy and flapped his wings, another pecked my hand. We walked up to the boardwalk as they can't manage it and it forces them into the water to have the bread; more controlled you see! Within thirty seconds of us being at the board walk, the 40+ swans had worked out what was going on and swum around to feed on our stale offerings.)
355. Best Buddies (We ventured to Tredegar House near Newport today to see Father Christmas in his grotto. Normally we go to Cardiff Castle but it was completely sold out weeks in advance, so we decided to try here in their first year as a National Trust property. The Boy was over the moon to see the Big Man himself, and the room was dressed so beautifully! He walked in cautiously, took one look at him and ran at him to give him the biggest, most heartfelt cuddle I've ever seen which was received warmly. Unfortunately the photo is too blurred to share as a 365, but it was a wonderful sight to see. And all for only £2.50.)
—
335. Poser (Today saw our local pier pavilion re-open after extensive building work to renovate it, mostly funded by local people and organisations, along with a National Lottery grant. We went down for the opening and also a charge around in the brisk, Winter air before heading off to a classmate's party.)
336. Poet Laureate (After school The Boy picked up the notebook that he'd had in the party bag the previous day and started writing in it. I love that he loves to write, and that he's started making little notes. I look forward to the day when I find a book full of made up stories.)
337. Big Moment (The Boy always puts the star on top of the tree, and I always have to correct it afterwards; it's a heavy star that goes on a spindly 'twig'. I love the look of anxiety on his face!)
338. Bed Fellows ('Puntsey' has been a regular bed companion since Children In Need, Oliver Monkey doesn't mind as it means they can share watch duties alongside having plenty of cuddles from The Boy.)
339. Bird Man (We went to feed the swans after school; it was just as well we did because they were starving! The minute we slammed the door shut in the car park, they were clambering up the ramp. We got to the entry gate and they were standing there waiting for us! I deposited The Boy on the boardwalk as it forced the swans back into the water to be fed.)
340. Double (I set up a free craft table after school for The Boy and let him create freely. I adore his double chin in this photograph!)
341. Plees (We went to Dyffryn Gardens today to enjoy the Christmas craft fair; the first to be held there in over two decades. I used to go regularly as a child and it's a special venue to hold one. There was a table set up to write letters to Father Christmas, so The Boy sat down and wrote one all by himself.)
—
