October my heart

Oh am I glad it's October! If you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed that I was struggling with Alessi's settling in days at school last month. And so was she. Having her routine change from one week to the next confused her no end and while I had initially thought that I would be able to get stuff done around these hours, it quickly became obvious that wasn't going to happen.
No matter. She's finally started her full hours and we've all settled in to the new routine without too many hiccups.*

And so now I find myself looking forward again.

My winter clothes have come down from the attic while my kimonos, strappy dresses, sandals and shorts went back up. I've been reunited with my favourite tartan scarf!

Along with my winter clothes came my box of winter projects. A crochet blanket that needs fixing, the fabric from my ill fated tweed coat (I will make that one day) and two of my favourite jumpers that were ruined by being stretched out of shape. One by Alessi, then a toddler and the other by the washing machine. I'm in the process of upcycling them in to cardigans. It's a slow process because I LOVE those jumpers and I'm afraid of ruining them for good, but I'll get there.

Last month I bought Alessi a book of things to make and do in autumn. The idea was to give us some ideas to fill the afternoons after her settling in mornings at school. As she was too angry/upset/tired/filled with murderous intent to do them then, we're only just making use of the book now. The first activity she picked was making baked apples which she LOVED. Seriously, it was like some kind of crack for kids. She ate hers and polished off mine because I'm a soft touch. I had to promise we'd make them again this week.
The book also comes with a weather chart which you can change daily. It's a lovely little book and I can't recommend it enough. Happily, we haven't had to change it for a little while. Sunny and golden appears to be the order of the day. And long may it last.

*I have yet to get her to school on time, I forgot her PE kit and the homework she's already getting is making me give the education system serious side eye, but apart from that, we're all settled.

Four

She's longer, leaner and a hell of a lot sassier than she was this time last year.

Still very much in to Frozen and all things princessy, but this doesn't irk me the way it once did. She's confident and has a healthy outlook so if she wants to wear a princess dress and sing Let it Go (that song will not fucking die) then I'm not going to stop her.
In fact what irk me that it's ok for girls to do what the boys do, but god forbid a little boy put on a tutu or play with a doll. So I've decided that if Alessi wants to embrace all things that are traditionally 'girly', fuck it. She is a girl and that's not something to be ashamed of. If we make being a girly girl to seem like such a bad thing to our kids at such a young age then maybe we are as much a part of the problem as those idiots that say "no she can't". But I'm veering wildly off track, so I will save that rant for another day.

She had her first proper party this weekend, complete with bouncy castle, cocktail sausages and friends from nursery. It was crazy and I barely saw her in the tea making/food organising haze. Those moments where I did snatch a glance at her, what I saw made me so happy. There she was, confident and happy, surrounded by her friends and just being Roo. A happy kid.

Some of the things she loves at the moment are:

Brown Bear, her ever faithful partner in crime and squashy pillow
Cheese, forever with the cheese
Disney princesses (current faves include Elsa, Anna and Merida)
Playing with her dolls house
Shopkins
Stickers
Fighting her Dad. He barely gets in from work before "DADDY, FIGHT!"
And luckily for me, cuddles. May she never grow out of those

And for balance, some things that she's not so keen on:

Carrots
Jeans (or any trousers that aren't leggings - too lumpy)
Socks
Clothes that are brown
Wearing pants
Having her hair brushed

In just over five months she starts school. Holy shit. Moving on quickly..

Happy birthday my little firecracker. Love your face to the moon and back.
xoxoxoxox

Alessi - 3 Years

I'm not sure why three is the magic number in this scenario, but Alessi's third birthday was the one that caused me tears. In my defence that could very well have been because I was in bed with the flu and essentially missed the whole day. But also, in my head at least, it's the end of an era.

Sometimes there are days that seem to move so slowly that my teeth ache and her starting school seems like a thousand years away. And then there are times when I look down the years to the day she will leave home and I realise that I will look back and wonder where all the time went.
Even Dan has been getting sentimental lately so my saving grace is that I am not alone.

Don't worry though. I've had a word with myself and I know that she's still so very little. She still wants cuddles and to be held, despite weighing a tonne. She'll start school next year, something I'm dreading, but that's a post for another day. For now I will just focus on enjoying my time with her and try to commit as much of it to memory as I possibly can. And to that end..

Alessi loves;

Cheese
Lush bath bombs. Especially the ones with glitter

Singing Let It Go. ALL. THE. TIME.

Dressing up in princess dresses

Playing football 

Her scooter 

Reading. We go upstairs and sit on her bed. She chooses a book for me and a book for herself. Then we'll take it in turn to read a page. When we get to the end of our page we have to say "your turn" and let the other one have a go. When she reads with me, she still sits on my crossed legs just like she did when she was very little. She also loves going to the Library in town with Dan. 

Slides

Going anywhere in the car with Dan

A cartoon called 'Blaze' that's about monster trucks. I hate it.

Frozen chips

And she does not love;

Cooked chips

"Pamatoes" (tomatoes)

Putting her pyjamas on

And that's pretty much it. She's at that golden age where she pretty much loves everything. Yes she's picky about some of the things she eats, yes she sometimes has meltdowns and yes she creates chaos wherever she goes. But that's exactly what she's supposed to do at this age. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Well. Maybe with a little less Elsa.

Alessi's Lanterns

The other day I got a back log of paintings and crafts from Alessi's nursery.  In amongst it all was the lantern she had made for Chinese New Year. 

I don't know what it is about it I love so much, but I'm smitten. She clearly had no hand in the cutting and sticking part, but the scribbles are all hers and to me it's precious. 

I love it so much in fact that I decided that we'd have our own lantern making session. I only intended to make a couple, but she loves drawing an insane amount and didn't want to stop. So we ended up making a whole string of lanterns which are currently adding some colour to the conservatory and making me smile each time I see them.

I don't do a lot of crafts with Alessi if I'm honest, but this has given me the bug. It was more fun and less stressful than I'd imagined. Do you have any favourite crafts you do with your kid(s)? Do let me know as I'm now on the look out for more ideas!

I can feel a visit to Pinterest coming on..

Children's Non-Slip Socks Tutorial

Actually this DIY is so ridiculously simple that it's more of a tip than a tutorial. 

Alessi has to wear non slip socks at nursery and when she first started we found it really hard to find cheap ones. I knew I could make my own, but just never got around to buying the fabric paint needed. Luckily when we went to Wales a few weeks ago, my Mum was having a craft supplies clear out and had some bottles of fabric paint going spare. Needless to say I snaffled them up! Now Alessi has all the non-slip socks she could need.

To make your own you will need 1) socks and 2) fabric paint. That's it. Then get painting! You don't have to be creative, anything will do. As long as there's enough paint on the soles to give the wearer some traction on slippery services. Dots or zig-zags are perfect - and easy.

Et voila! One tip though. Don't let your toddler 'inspect' your work until it's properly dry, (second sock from left). It won't look quite the same. But you knew that