I don't ever remember a time when my mother put down a load of washing or pushed the house cleaning aside to sit down and play a game with me because she felt guilty that we weren't doing enough activities together. Not that I have a bad mother, that's just the way it worked then. Your mother said "get out from under my feet and go outside and play" and you did. So why is it that mother's today suffer from this guilt? You feel bad if you don't get down to their level and play enough. You feel bad if your kid isn't signed up to enough activities because he might be missing out, or worse falling behind. You feel bad that you are not interacting enough with them. Perhaps you should be making flash cards or homemade playdough or cities from old shoe boxes! I personally blame those overly organised people who make everything look effortless and look like they are always doing worthwhile, fun, yet organised stuff with their kids, including making flash cards. I wonder if there's a class to become one .....

Anyhoo, in an effort to do more with the kiddies (as opposed to just cleaning up after them) I set up some paints, a small canvas and a paint smock for my 2 year old. I thought I was thoroughly prepared. Great idea you'd think..... not so, but at least he enjoyed it. So I guess we reached our objective even if the National Art Gallery is not beating a trail to my door any time soon.

The take away lesson I got from that was that I should only give him one colour at a time. Too many colours were just too much to handle at once - and clearly all colours are supposed to be mixed into one disgusting colourless mess if that's what you are given.

Just so you know, I also had a paint shirt on - just in case messy little hands started to get a bit too touchy feely and it did take quite some time to clean up after. So, not only did I take time away from cleaning up to participate in the activity but it also created more work.... but that's how it goes with kids. That's how they roll.... 

So, what sorts of activities are you participating in with your little people and how have you fared with yours?

I also wanted to let you know that Mother Load has now joined Facebook so come and say hi!! On reading an article about social media overload recently, it got me thinking about  my blog challenge and what I would like to achieve with my blog, so I have decided to make a few changes from blogging everyday to blogging every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and on special occassions.  I want Mother Load to continue to be fun and fresh and I don't ever want to get to a point where I am repeating myself and it's not fun for me (or you!). I will also be around on facebook every other day, posting away.

Have a wonderful Weekend and see you on Monday!!

Cheers,


Lee

Hey there Groovy Chicks,

I hope that you have had a great week.... and if not it's almost the weekend, so perhaps next week can be a do-over. I know as a stay at home mum that not having a regular "working" day or even working week can mean that days often blend into each other. I know myself I have forgotten what day it was a number of times this week. So I have put together a few lovely things to inspire, motivate or perhaps just make you smile.

I don't know that I have the time or energy to actually make either of these "dishes" but I
thought they were great anyway. Lunch box inspiration never goes astray. If you
have a go yourself I would LOVE to see it! And that cake looked so beautiful -
what can I say.... I love a good cake.

I really love this idea. Very simple but lots of fun!! There are a few options for making these. You could have some dress up fun first (each child needs four different outfits - so you have a picture for each side) or you could just use magazine pictures. Either way it would be fun. You can get the kids involved in the cutting and gluing and then the actual fun of mixing and matching the bodies. I know kids love doing stuff which is all about them, so having pictures of your kids to do this with would only add to the entertainment value. Instructions are at http://smallhandsbigart.com/blog/featured-article/mix-match-dolls/  if you want to see how they did it and learn from their mistakes. Awesome idea!

I included this picture because it has been so very cold in Melbourne lately and I really wanted to be there in the warm... and it looked so very beautiful.

OK, lastly I know I have already brought up www.picmonkey.com before but if you have not had a little play with it already you are really missing out. So I have decided to include (with her permission, of course!) a before and after example from someone I have converted to a lover of picmonkey. No, I am not on commission... I just love what you can do with it!!

Anyhoo, I am hoping you have enjoyed today's joylights. These really are a few of the things that have brought me some joy this week or just amused me.  

Have a wonderful weekend.

Cheers,

Lee

PS Sending a big warm fuzzy hug and I hope you feel better real soon to my BFF Daniela, who is not doing so well this week.

Trying to find something new and interesting to do in the school holidays is always a challenge but last year we became members of FOZ (that's Friends of the Zoo - for those not in the know) and we have been able to pop over to the Zoo for little visits all year. It's been awesome.

The great thing is we get to have a little looky loo and then head home when we have had enough, not just hang around until we get our "moneys worth". As you probably know - smaller people have had enough fairly early in the piece and they morph from luscious to feral pretty quickly. I don't think we were the only people in Melbourne who had that inspired idea today though, as every man and his dog appeared to be there walking in front of my photo opportunities and invading my personal space.  

Alright truth be told, it may not have only been for the kids. Selfishly, I wanted to go and hang out in the humidity of the butterfly house and pretend I was on holidays, somewhere nice in the tropics. So, we cut a path through the crowds and as we made it to the butterfly house we found that it was closed for maintenance. How disappointing for me... I mean the kids.

Anyhoo, we spent about an hour or so ooohing and aaahhing over the babies. Orang-utan and elephants - that is, and in the seal and penguin enclosures which strangely we seem to have missed every time on our previous visits. We then fought our way back through the crowds - there was a huge long line out the front of people still waiting to get in to see the animals (obviously not for the serenity, as everyone else was in there taking up space too) and we still made it home in time for afternoon naps. The two year olds not mine. So I thought I should share some of our happy zoo snaps with you.

Enjoy,

Lee

Everyone knows it demonstrates a poor example of mothering when you set the kids up in front of the TV for hours whilst you get through your daily chores. Oh, alright, while you spend your time focused on 50 Shades of Grey.

So, in an effort to get the kids out of the house and "get more culture" into our lives, I packed up the 2 and the 9 year old (who is already on school holidays - I'm sorry, didn't we just have those, like a week ago?) and we headed off to Scienceworks at Spotswood, Melbourne.  

Scienceworks is hosting a new exhibition at the moment - Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention. (It runs until November). You have to book a time to go in, which seems to be the way things are going now with major exhibitions at museums but it wasn't overly crowded and you did not have to get out when the next group was allowed entry but it didn't matter as we'd had enough by then anyway.

It has lots of interactive stuff - as you would expect from Scienceworks but it was much more suited to kids 5 or over - my 9 year old really enjoyed it but the 2 year old just didn't get most of it. This was fixed when we went upstairs to the 'Nitty Gritty Super City', aimed at smaller kids who want to touch everything!

'Playing with Light' an exhibition which is also now on at Scienceworks until February 2013 was a clear favourite with both kids. So much fun the kids didn't even realising they were learning something at the same time.

'Playing with Light' is included in the initial entry cost but Wallace and Gromit are extra . I didn't think any of it was overly expensive for what it was - you could easily spend the whole day there and it costs about the same as going to the movies.

Don't just take my word for it, go check it out. Here is the link http://museumvictoria.com.au/scienceworks/ just in case you are  after some more information. 

If you find anything great for the kids to do in Melbourne during these school holidays or at any time really, I would love to hear about it.

Toodles,

Lee

Perhaps it's just me, (please say it's not) but do you ever get that feeling as a stay at home mum, that you've just hung your millionth load of washing and yet funnily enough it does not feel like grounds to celebrate - it feels like groundhog day?
 
Just like all the other banal everyday activities you have become "owner" of, even though you don't remember putting your hand up to take them on because you knew how fulfilled it could make you feel. I know, I know, someone has to do it. Its just that growing up and wondering what I wanted to be - "doer of monotonous, repetitive, unpaid, uncelebrated tasks" did not come top of my list. But again, perhaps it's just me.

Leaving dreams of greatness on the floor, let me now move on to share one of todays highlights with you. It all started this past weekend as it was very cold and wet, I decided to take on a few crafty type activities with the kids - one of these being the making of birdseed cakes. In an effort to bring more nature into our yard, we followed the instructions from a lovely little blog http://themagiconions.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/darling-little-birdseed-cakes.html - (just in case your inspired and would like to make your own) and I have to say the kids loved creating them. It wasn't very expensive or messy (we did it outside undercover), so it was really a successful activity all round. These little cakes have been outside, hanging precariously from the smallest, most difficult branch for a bird to access - but that's what you get when you leave a 9 year old in charge of the hanging of the cakes.....

Well, today it continues to be cold and wet and off we went to swimming lessons with my two year old. Although these lessons appear to be a real highlight for him - I can't say I am loving having to get in (especially in this current weather) and I really look forward to the day when he can get in on his own and I can look on admiringly whilst sipping my chai latte from the sidelines.

Anyhoo, we got home from said swimming lessons and the tree was full of little birds enjoying our birdseed cakes. Both my 2 year old and myself were thrilled. I was thrilled that we had succeeded to indeed bring more nature into the yard and he was thrilled that there were little birds dancing outside his window, so I have posted a photo of this, so that you may also share in our days highlight and because the picture was so cute.

Wow, check me out!! 2nd post in 2 days - I am now 363 days closer to my
goal.... well alright perhaps I am getting a little ahead of myself seeing that
it is so early in my personal challenge. (The Challenge - to blog every day for
a year) But, you have to start somewhere... every journey starts with the first
step and all that.

Enjoy your days highlight,

Lee