Tag: raising kids

Celebrations

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Today I felt at ease. I said no to something very important to be able to focus on celebrating the second birthday of my son properly.

It meant that I could keep my sanity all day and my focus on the celebrations. As it should be. But it wasn’t like me before, it’s my new me. In the past I would had squeezed in all the things came in my way, before prioritising myself and family.

Today I felt good with the progress at home and preparation. It’s far form perfect, but it’s right for the current season of our lives.

The Birthday Boy

After a long nap, our little boy was his happy self again. He went on exploring all the new ‘tidy’ layout, that he found at home 😃 It doesn’t happen often.

I could tell that he fully understands that all the fuss around the house and kitchen is for his celebration.

Grannies were invited for dinner at six in the evening. Allowing some quite after school time for the eldest and a short nap 💤 time for our daughter.

Dinner

Fondue 🫕 with steamed potatoes, fondue bread, some meat and pickles. The latest is my son’s absolute favourite. He can eat half a can for one meal.

Grandma prepared a masterpiece birthday cake. It was not only stunning to look at but delicious 😋 as well.

Birthday cake

Presents and glowing balloons 🎈 made everyone happy for the rest of the evening.

My Birthday Wishes

To my lovely youngest boy: your smile warms my heart immediately! I wish you keep your gorgeous smile forever and ever. Stay healthy and strong always. I love you to the moon and back.

In conclusion

And with that we close a huge era in our lives. No more babies. We take a short break before preparing for grand babies to come 🤗 But until then, look out for more adventures.

Child-led Activity: Colouring

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Yesterday’s weather has reminded me of a walk at West Whittering beach in the UK. Picture a sandy beach. It is low tide, the sea is barely visible somewhere far. Warm dominant wind blows the soft powdery sand at you fiercely. Now, back to reality, we are in Switzerland and the wind doesn’t blow sand at us instead it showers with rain.

Meanwhile Indoors

My son decided he would like to draw something. He was determined to use many colours but he didn’t know what to draw exactly.

He wanted to work on it collectively with his sister and me. As I was taking the crayons out and the notepad, an idea sparked in his head. He opened the notepad and took the brown crayon. He divided the paper into smaller parts. Then he dedicated a colour to each part and instructed us to colour as he told. He felt in control and it was great to see how he gently giggled when we improvised and things didn’t go the way he imagined. He was easy and we were too. We named him Colour Chief and proudly played his part.

Colouring

And we just coloured. It was a bliss. We all chipped in and got the work done. There was no competition, it wasn’t a race, it was a bliss. The kids enjoyed it so much that we made four different pictures.

1000 Hours Outside Challenge

This week has passed by ever so quickly. We spent time outdoors five out of seven days due to some above described weather. In Hungarian customs April is labelled as a foolish month due to its ever changing weather. Well, here is Switzerland, March feels like April in Hungary. The weather is playing tricks on us, as my son would say. Its hard to tell how to dress. It could be winter when the bus picks up the kids in the morning and early summer warm when the bus brings them back from kindergarten. Overall we braved the elements for over 12 hours outdoors this week. Since we starter the challenge we logged over 120 hours outdoors in total. This number is not as high as I expected it to be three and half months into the challenge, but it comes with no surprise due to the time spent in hospital earlier this year. I am not worried about the early set backs as I know that we will recuperate the hours in the warmer summer months ahead of us.

Daisy in macro at the front with toddler running on the road blurred in the background.
Cat is chilling in the grass on a sunny day.
Toddler is sitting in the grass on a sunny but cold day.

In Summary

We made the most of the good weather outdoors and made good use of our time indoors. The kids enjoyed this simple drawing activity so much that we coloured a dozen more in the following day. It gave us a break from the daily routine. It is easy to set up and put away. My daughter learns bit by bit that drawing happens on the paper and not on the wall or furniture. It teaches them to put away things after use, so it is ready next time we need them. And my favourite part is that while drawing the conversation flows like water from a mountain stream. During this time, I can indulge in the stories my son invents.