Play-Doh - Get over it Nat!

I am going to fess up straight away and say that I loathe play-doh. Can't stand the stuff. I used to not mind it, I really enjoyed playing with it, with kids in our therapy sessions and found rolling out the play-doh somehow therapeutic while we targeted sounds, language, whatever the client was working on.
Now, as a parent, I can't stand the stuff. I don't make it from scratch, I don't add glitter or smell or any of that exciting stuff. We do however have LOTS of play-doh and play-doh related equipment, that we have been given over the years, but I am a terrible parent. Every time the Muddy girls ask for it I find some excuse to not get it out 'Puzzler's awake and she'll eat it', 'why don't we do some cooking', 'Dad will be home soon, so we won't have time'. Today I ran out of excuses! It is raining, that slow rain that has no breaks for going outside, just slow and steady, so before I knew it the Muddy Preschooler and the Muddy Pixie had dragged down the big box and were into it, having a lovely time.

For me it just reinforced my dislike. I have a suspicion it's my control freak gene that influences my feelings. The mixing of colours together that you can't separate out, the tiny bits that get stuck and then go all hard and dry, the little bits that get ground into the ground when they fall off the table, all contribute to our decision not to get it out.

As I was cleaning it all up today and making comments about how I don't like it my Muddy Preschooler replies with 'Well why do we have it in the house then Mum?'. Sometimes I am amazed at what comes out of their mouths. I replied with 'We have it in the house because you love it'.

I know how much they love it, how creative they can be with it, how it stretches their imagination. Today they had planned out a whole 3 course meal, sorting dessert from entree from main and making each individual piece. This is why we have it in our house. This is why I need to get over my hang ups on clean up and mess when it comes to Play-doh and let them enjoy, after all isn't that what parenting is, in part, all about, letting go of some of our boundaries to let them explore theirs?

Muddy Puzzler sneaking a piece to eat when she thinks I'm not looking!

Is their Play-Doh in your house?

Do your kids like messy play that you don't?

Tiredness

Tiredness is a funny thing. You can be going along just fine and then suddenly you can keep going no more, your eyes droop, you can't concentrate on anything for very long and you are forgetting things. For the last two weeks, we've got up, got ourselves organized and headed into swimming lessons every day. Today was the last day (hooray) and now we're home I'd really love a sleep. The tiredness which has been looming for the last two weeks has decided it's time for a rest.

It's not that the swimming lessons weren't worth it, they definitely were, but the physical and emotional toll has been more difficult. Mainly the emotional toll. It took a few days but my Muddy Preschooler began to enjoy the lessons, and by the end she was about up to where everyone else was on day 3, but she was happy and we were very proud that she learnt some new skills and improved her confidence in the water.

My Muddy Pixie though had me crying on several occasions, in the pool and out of it. She had started out OK but by day 3 would cry and scream through the entire lesson. One day we had a stand off in the pool for ten minutes because she refused to paddle, something she had already done on day 1. Then yesterday, the second last day, she merely protested a couple of times, but actually started to paddle on the noodle on her own. I was very proud of her, but at the same time frustrated that it had taken her so long to get back to where she had started.

I always struggle when my Muddy Kids cry, it goes straight to my heart and to see her do it every day was very tough. My theory though was if I gave up and let her get out of the pool, that I wasn't likely to get her back in any time soon, so we persevered and today I am dead tired. I have 50% of My Muddy kids asleep, but the two that should be as tired as I feel, are full of beans, so no sneaky nap will be coming anytime soon. And so we plod on, tired and slowly, maybe tomorrow a full day at home will help to revive us all.

Who knew they got to play in a boat on their last day?

They loved it though

The cheeky gang, born together, swimming together, starting school together!

The second round of babies

Do you have any tricks for getting your kids to have a day time rest?

Did you do swimming lessons and feel as tired as I do?

Wordless Wednesday - Summer Thunderstorm

Family Fun in a Summer Downpour on what was a hot and sticky afternoon

Linking Up for Wordless Wednesday with My Little Drummer Boys

To Invite or Not To Invite?

My Muddy Preschooler's 5th Birthday is coming up and I'm having a  slight dilemma, or maybe it's really a crisis of conscience. A couple of nights ago we sat down together and made a list of the people the Preschooler would like to invite to her birthday party. She reeled off a list of the usual suspects, kids I know and I know their parents, either very well, or know them to say hello to at preschool pick up and drop off. Then she threw in the name of a little girl I do not know. I don't know this girl's parents, I don't know where she lives. I do know she's going to a different school to the preschooler this year (courtesy of another parent), but other than that I know nothing.

The question is, do I send an invite? How do I send an invite when I don't know where to send it? It's not unusual in our town for children and their parents to not have the same surname, so that's the first stumbling block. The second is, there are lots of people in the phone book with the same last name, so how do I know which one to send it to. I asked around at swimming lessons this morning but nobody could help me out.

I explained to the Muddy Preschooler this afternoon that I didn't know this little girl's address and she asked 'Why not?'. So I'm having a battle with myself, do I spend hours trying to track this little girl down, making phone calls and leaving messages, so we can send her an invitation to the party or do I let it slide and hope the Muddy Preschooler doesn't ask about it again?

What would you do?

Muddy Preschooler's 1st Birthday Cake

Sharing with Muddy Hubby who turned 30 the same day



The joint birthday cake, with her cousin and neighbour for the 2nd Birthday



Shared Birthday Cake with Muddy Hubby for the 2nd Birthday

The first of 3 cakes for her 3rd Birthday, shared with the neighbour who is born the day before

The 3rd Birthday Cake for Day Care

Home Birthday Cake with her cousins and Muddy Hubby

A shared 4th Birthday Cake (Cheesecake Shop Special) while on holidays 2011

Monday, Fun Day

I've said it before and I'll say it again, sometimes I just love living on the farm and being married to my Muddy Hubby Farmer. Today was one of those days. Ask me again tomorrow when it's 40 degrees and we're in the dusty sheep yards and I can't see or breathe through the dust and I might say different. Today however was a good day, with Muddy Hubby getting to spend some time with the Muddy Kids, while working. The Muddy Kids get to do some work with Dad, learning all the time, asking questions all the time. Today's big question was from our Muddy Preschooler who says to me 'How do sheep sleep?, 'Do they sleep with their both eyes closed like we do, or do they sleep with one eye open like a Crocodile?'

While it is hard at times to live on the land, I am very grateful for the life we are living. I am especially glad on those days when the kids are getting ratty (like they are at the moment) when we can go out and explore in the paddock, or lend a hand in the shearing shed, or workshop, or simply take a drive to see what Muddy Hubby's doing. It's that kind of small things that help keep us all from going insane. With only a few weeks left of school holidays, I am trying to make a conscious effort to relax a little more with the kids, hopefully today was a good starting point of more to come.



Muddy Hubby, Muddy Bubby and the Muddy Puzzler headed off to work in the shearing shed while the Pixie, Preschooler and I went to swimming lessons

A trip to the shearing shed to see Muddy Hubby after lunch

In a very spread out convoy

A dip in the small pool to keep cool

Having fun before the storm rolled in

Extra fun when Muddy Hubby jumps in to cool down too

Back to shifting sheep before it poured down rain.

After such a great Monday I'm now wondering what tomorrow will bring! The pessimist in me has me thinking it might just go downhill from here, but fingers crossed it doesn't.

How did you spend your Monday?

Our Restaurant Challenge

I honestly can't remember the last time we went out for dinner at a restaurant as a family. It was probably about the time Muddy Pixie was born and it all just got too hard. When we do a non-cooking night (which isn't very often) we generally get a takeaway and bring it home, or take it to the park.

Tonight though we challenged ourselves (with reinforcements as Nana and Grandpa are still here until tomorrow). We went into town to the local Chinese restaurant. It's your typical Chinese restaurant you find in every country town, complete with tacky decor, plastic tablecloths, the table set with spoon and fork, and you have to request chopsticks if you want them. We went in early, in the hopes of feeding the Muddy Tribe before they got too overtired and out of control.

It started out pretty well, they were happy to colour in while we waited for dinner. Our biggest challenge though was the Muddy Puzzler and the toilet! I counted no less than 8 trips to the bathroom with no success. Eventually Nana took her outside for a 'grass wee' and once that was over we were able to enjoy the rest of our meal.

The Honey Prawns and the spring rolls proved the favourites. It was actually really lovely to go out to dinner as a family, and as my Muddy Pixie started to lose it as we were finishing eating I wouldn't have wanted to be there any longer, as it would have ended in tears! We just might challenge ourselves again sometime when I don't feel like cooking, as it wasn't as terrible as I had feared it would be.

Do you take your family out to dinner?

How do you manage tired kids in a restaurant?

The Grass Wee

When my Muddy Preschooler started toilet training and we were outside and knew she wasn't going to make it inside we'd get her to 'just do a grass wee', she'd pull off her undies and go on the grass, she would still prefer to use the toilet but if we got stuck she was happy to go outside. Muddy Preschooler we tried the 3 day toilet training program with, and it worked very well, it was also our first go as parents so we wanted to do the right thing.

When My Muddy Pixie started toilet training same rules applied, except we didn't do the 3 day thing, we followed her lead, it took longer but we got there.

Now we face the challenge of the Muddy Puzzler, a strong willed little thing. We had dabbled a little with wearing undies but hadn't been consistent, until this week! We have reinforcements this week, with my parents visiting to help out with swimming lessons, so into undies she went.

Muddy Puzzler had picked them out herself 'Timmy Undies' she calls them as they have pictures of Timmy Time on them. Initially she started out on the toilet, but somehow for some unknown reason she will now only do them on the grass. The Muddy Puzzler is getting very good, she tells us when she's ready to go, then bolts out the front door, strips off her undies and assumes the 'sumo' position, as she gradually straddles her legs wider and wider before she lets go. It really is hilarious to watch, we've upped the rewards if she goes on the toilet but this has not worked. It's starting to get a little problematic.

It's not that I mind her doing grass wees, I think she's doing a fantastic job in a short space of time, what's nagging in my mind is the conversation I had with the day care teacher when I first started training the Muddy Preschooler she said to me 'we have a small problem some times with our farming families, where the kids just strip off and go outside, and they really need to be using the toilet'. I can remember laughing at the time, and now, we're one of those 'farming families' whose kids don't know how to go inside!

We have 2 weeks to get her back inside before she starts day care again and at the moment I'm really not sure how I'm going to get her there. Any tips or suggestions most welcome, because at the moment I'm getting to ready to rename her 'the sumo' as she assumes the position for her outside time.

Source
Muddy Puzzler doesn't quite look this angry though

What toilet training method did you use?

What rewards worked for your kids?