Small things

Small things are making me very happy at the moment.

Courtesy of my ever vigilant parents I was able to find suitable box shaped shelving for Little Miss. It’s currently plain pine as you can see below, but we will make a decision on the final look over the next week. So far I have been tossing up varnish, oil or a neutral cream paint finish. I’m still not 100% sure which way we will go.

The Pine Shelves

The other issue is where it will eventually live.  Currently, for convenience, it is sitting at the other end of the same wall that Miss O’s activity corner is on in the living room but may be better placed in her bedroom.  The only problem is – which bedroom.  She is currently in the smallest room in the house,  and we are debating what to do when Master Oh Waily moves from his spot at the bottom of our bed.  Will he inherit Miss O’s room?  It is closer and smaller, and therefore more suited to a small baby who doesn’t require space for Froggy, Thai, Lumpy, Leo, Patches, Piglet, Brown or Sneezy and drawers containing big girl clothes.  (I would provide a photograph of “the boys” as they are collectively known, but unfortunately only Leo and Sneezy are currently not having a nap with “the girl”.)

Or will he move into the larger room, further away from our bedroom?  The preference is to move Miss O into the current “guest bedroom” / office and give Master O her bedroom.  The difficulty this presents is one of computer logistics.  The internet connection is in the “office”.  Even though we have a wireless setup and therefore can put the computer anywhere in the house, we still need a secure space for the modem/router thingumybob.  Offering up something with flickering lights and antennae to a two-and-a-bit year old is like waving a red rag in front of a bull, or thumbing your nose at Fate.  Neither of which will result in smiles and pats on the back for the brainiac who thought it would be a good idea.

What to do, what to do, what to do.  The first small thing makes me happy but gives me cause for thought.

The next small thing was actually things – a set of little boxes that I found today, which are reasonable quality at a reasonable price.  I know.  I had almost given up on that possibility.  I will give them internal cardboard bases just to give them a bit of protection from the undoubted hard life they will suffer at the hands of one rough and ready little girl.  Now all I need is a few more and we will be well supplied for any and all toy or activity storage requirements.

The White Boxes

A practical small thing came from a quick trip to Warehouse Stationery (thank you Clare for the pointer) when a beautiful pair of apple green toddler scissors joined our household.  I really like these, they are a vast improvement over our small round-end scissors that I have been using with her.  The primary improvement is the fact that she can put all of her fingers in the bottom handle instead of only two or three.  Other things I like are the fact that these came with a sheath made out of rubber (supposedly an eraser – but who would use it?), they are ambidextrous so her penchant for cutting left-handed will not be hampered, the handles are that rubberised plastic stuff so they should be fairly forgiving on her hands while she’s learning the opening motion and, of course, the bright green is aesthetically appealing.

The Green Scissors

Then there is the stash of small goodies that I purchased a few weekends ago, but didn’t have the camera available to show you.  Just to refresh your memory, I wrote about the shopping expedition a little while ago.  The items that came home then were all small things, and they certainly made me very happy.
Here, finally, is a photograph of that little haul.

The Shopping Stash

Are there any small things in your life making you happy just now?

Amazing Cakes – Updated

Courtesy of a friend, (thanks Marc), I have this link to share with you.

It sends you to another set of amazing cakes, this time with a theme.  They are steampunk inspired.

Oh, and this blog aptly called Cake Wrecks also provides a bit of a culinary laugh at the expense of cake decorators.
If you’ve ever had or seen a professional cake blooper, then this is the blog for you.
There are some amazingly bad cakes that someone, somewhere has thought they could charge for.

Wishful thinking…

Holidays.
It’s fair to say that I could do with one.
Master Oh Waily has been an absolute gem in pretty much every way.  He’s got a great nature, like his big sister, and not much seems to phase him.  He is even courteous enough to sleep an hour at a time only during daytime hours, while through the night he has managed a minimum of 3 to 4 hours almost from the very first.  We are now lucky enough to enjoy anywhere up to seven hours of night time sleep.  This is great but still a little bit inconsistent.  And it still means waking up anywhere between 2am and 4am for an early morning food stop.

What all this sleep talk means is… I am over the lack of it.
With a toddler running rings around me during the day, an afternoon nanna nap is just not possible and if you know me, then you know I like my sleep – preferably nine hours a night if I can get it.
I am not getting anywhere near that, at least not in one long peaceful stretch.  So now I’m hanging out for a holiday.  Christmas will be the first stop on that journey, but since it is “the silly season” there is only a minimum chance of an actual extended rest.  Then there is the joy of being your own boss… sounds good until you’re the ones on call through Christmas and New Year.  “Silent Night“… maybe by Christmas, maybe not.  There will be no breath-holding by Ms Oh Waily on that score.

This all leads to the very nice conclusion that a holiday must and will be booked to take the misery out of next winter.  It has been done.  The Oh Wailys and grandparents (aka as babysitters) are booked for a holiday in June.  There are many reason why this is so.  Here are a few of them:

1. Doesn’t interfere with enjoying (fingers crossed) a lovely summer at home while Master OWW is still small.
2. Doesn’t interfere with our No.1 customer’s service schedule (don’t change it, please).
3. Master Oh Waily will be a good age to deal with the travel and enjoy the destination.
4. Master Oh Waily may be walking (if he follows in his sister’s footsteps) by then.
5. June can be totally miserable here and no one needs to live with SADs.
6. Fiji should be warm and inviting, but not frying and drying (hopefully).

So, here is my homage to our destination.  And a bit of a perk-me-up as I look forward to floating in the pool, eating out at nice restaurants, maybe even snorkeling again and possibly splashing out on a visit to either the Mandara Spa or the Heavenly Spa.
After all, “I’m worth it”.

Where I plan to float

Where I plan to lounge

Visit where we were married

Although frankly, the white picket fence does nothing for me, and I am so glad that it was much more “rustic” when we had our wedding here. A nice Fijian garden with local plants and a beautiful woven archway. Much nicer than the frou-frou white fence !! See if you agree…

An Oh Waily Wedding Snapshot

Ahhhh, just looking at those photographs and thinking about Fiji is making me feel all relaxed and goofy already.  Swim-up bars (which I may even be able to visit by June), warm weather, warm swimming pool, nothing “to do” but lie around and read a good book or two, a bit of retail therapy at the Port and maybe even an iced coffee at one of the new eateries. Oh I am looking forward to it, I REALLY REALLY am.

Now all I need is for the Commodore and our government to calm down a bit and play like nice children in the Oceanic sandpit.  Not that Suva is on our travel itinerary, and Nadi is only if you can be bothered, want cheaper souvenirs or a visit to the local open air food market.  Personally, after this many visits, I’m going for the peace and quiet and pool and to do nothing.  Oh I can’t wait to be back riding on the Bula Bus.

Beads and Chenille Sticks

What’s next on the activity menu you may be asking yourself?

This activity came from a couple of different blogs that I follow, and can be themed as per this version by My Montessori Journey. My version is a plain one for introducing the skill, but come Christmas we may look to make a proper bead bracelet or necklace with seasonal beads.

***

Beading

First you take a trip to your local Spotlight, craft store or anywhere you are likely to find beads and chenille sticks (aka pipe cleaners).  Then you find a container to put them all in or on and off you go.  You now have a fine motor control activity for your little one.  Miss O is now nearly 27 months old and she had no trouble with this, other than the clear beads that I cunningly purchased for their large holes turned out to be slightly less easy to see for a toddler.  It took a few goes, but in the end she was able to see the holes in the end.  In the photos that follow she is predominantly using the slightly smaller wooden beads that I also purchased at Spotlight.

The Starting Bowl

Beading In Action

More Beading

The natural hazards of this activity are: spillage and choking.
One teaches the life skill of tidying up after yourself.  The other requires first aid knowledge.  Introduce the activity when your risk profile suggests only the first hazard is likely.

Now, a bit of further musing on what the Oh Waily household is doing.

Courtesy of finding and reading The Wonder Years blog and this post, we have also had a snack cupboard operating for the past couple of months, mostly with great success.  I fill it with an appropriate amount of foodstuffs for between meals and Miss O can stop and eat whenever she wants.  Currently this means things like raisins, crackers, small sandwiches, some fruit (bananas are a favourite) and her drink bottles.  The only drawback so far has been Miss O requesting “Mummy put X in cupboard PLEASE” loudly and repeatedly, whenever she scoffs all of the favourite item of the day.  Conveniently she ignores the remaining good and available items.  Ah such cheek.  She’ll be fine on the assertiveness front.