being Real

my best presents ever. 

I turned 42 yesterday and must admit there are many days when I think - surely I should have it all together by now?  Somehow I got it into my head that someday it would all be perfect. Me in the kitchen cooking healthy food; the kids happily playing around me; the dog obediently lying on his mat watching us (like in the movies). I would look good (definitely not harassed or tired) and my home would have that lived in, but somehow still neat and ordered and pretty look about it.

It's really not like that - at all!

What I do have is lots of messy moods, a messy kitchen, a very energetic messy dog, and two (very normal) children who don't always get along, or listen or have good manners. And me - well self-control often flies right out the window.

This grown-up stuff can be hard.

There are many days when I have to remind myself of how it's so very normal, very okay, very real and that GOD is the one I should look to for calm, for help, for peace in my home. And He does help. The best part is the forgiveness part - I can ask him for forgiveness, and forgive myself for all the "imperfect" and start the day new and try to do it better - whether it's the first five minutes of the day, or the last.

So I am afraid I have a bit of bad news for you...whether you are 22, 32 or 42, it's never perfect. Never. But stay focussed on our Saviour and there is always love, often joy, always G R A C E in these messy, imperfect moments. :)

PS. Cute kiddie craft coming up tomorrow using a glove. Hope I have your interest piqued. See you then.

Tea Bag Craft and Gift

 

  

Boy, I know I have been rather slow in posting, but not because I haven't wanted to. Some family/life changes have simply meant more responsibility for me and a little less time (and energy) for fun things (the best things) like blogging. But Love and Lollipops is never far from my mind. This space is like a great old friend - always welcoming, always happy to see me, always fun! I hope that when you do see a new post, you feel the same way :).

Today I'm sharing our Mother's day gift that we made for the super Grannies in our lives. I saw this idea over at Rebeccas DIY blog and knew we had to try it. If you love art, simple crafts and tea, then this one is for you. I absolutely love Rebecca's version and the special box she made, so do go have a look. 

First off, you need to purchase some tagged tea bags and cut small white cards to overlap the tag. Then get arty and decorate the tags, which you must staple onto the tea bag tags. Wrap up the tea bags neatly and put them back into the box (decorated if you like) or a petty flat packet. Now you have a special gift for a tea-loving lady.

Till next time...

PS. Our homemade Mother's Day gifts from previous years:
Cards to use made from children's art
Serviette holder
Mosaic fridge magnets 

OOOOPS!

How embarrassing! I must apologise, but somehow, perhaps between blog writing and serving dinner, I accidently pressed the publish button on a post filled with notes about the movie "Smurfs". I have been considering doing some Mommy friendly reviews of popular children's movies and the post was some rather rough notes I had made. I have deleted it on the blog of course, but I am afraid all my email readers have received it. Please simply ignore it - I haven't gone crazy - at least not yet :).

To make up for it,  I promise a fun, happy, crafty post very soon.

Take care,

Georgia 

Baby Room Art

 

Hehe - No, there's no baby on the way - just in case you were wondering. These are long ago pics that I was going to share - then never did. They were the art I made for Little One's Nursery - now almost five years ago. Can it be true? - he's almost five! (sigh)

To make, I painted a backdrop onto good quality card stock and fit this into my frames. 

I was lucky to find some wooden cut-outs that matched the animals embroidered onto his white cot linen at a craft shop. I then carefully painted them. Usually I don't have the patience for such finicky work, but I was very motivated to make his room special. It helped me work slowly and with a steady hand :).

Lastly, I attached the cut-outs with prestick to the glass. 

I absolutely love looking at pictures of nurseries and children's bedrooms and have lots pinned onto my Pinterest Board, Little People Decor, if you feel like browsing.

Till next time.

Bottle Top Bats

Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. Wikipedia

I love that when we do a craft like this, we always learn something new and interesting. It's really one of the simplest and most effective ways to grab your child's attention about a new topic. Recently Little One and I made these bottle top bats, but at the same time we chatted about them. Of course this Mommy was prepared and I had done my homework before the time and could tell Little One about these creatures while we were crafting.

Big One inevitably overhears what we are getting up to and so also walks away with some new knowledge.

(On Little One's cupboard)

Here are some nice sites to visit to learn more about bats:

Animal Planet
Kidzone

This idea was inspired by a craft at The Mailbox Magazine. 

PS. Sharing this at Shine on Friday and The Sunday Showcase. 

How to raise a Genius

Today I'm sharing this (fun) infographic with you.  It nicely summarizes some of the latest and key research in raising "smarter" children.

Of particular interest to me is the way in which we praise our children and how we can often over-focus on vague character traits (such as "you are so nice/smart/creative"), rather than on their specific efforts. To read an extensive article in this regard, go here.

This infographic was provided by onlinepsychologydegree.net.

Reading this summary reminds me that I have some work to do in a few departments. And you? What are your thoughts on this information? Does it change the way you are currently thinking about raising smart children? I'd love to hear your opinion.

Great reads that discuss some of this research:

NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children (by Po Bronsan and Ashley Merryman) - I absolutely loved this book, but then again it's right up my Psychologist alley :). There's a whole chapter written on the inverse power of praise, as mentioned above. 

How the Brain Learns (by David Sousa) - I couldn't put this down and I think it should be prescribed material for all educators - seriously. 

Till next time, happy reading. 

Little World Play: The Aquarium

I saw this super idea over on another Mommy blog and knew we had to try it. (As soon as I find the link, I'll add it and give proper credit). If I recall correctly, they even added  water, but after making ours, I decided not to. It certainly made less mess I think, than if water had been added to the fun. :)

A few days earlier we had spent time on the beach and collected some nice shells and rocks and pebbles for the project. Little One absolutely loved collecting all the treasures and it was probably even more fun than making the aquarium. We used aquarium stones to line the bottom of the containers and also added some fake and real greenery from the garden. 

 

So here's our mini Aquarium.

The Nemo Exhibit.

Watch out Mr Diver, that Shark is close-by!

 

Can you spot the crab?

The Aquarium Restaurant.

The jellyfish tank.

In the corner of the picture, you may spot some penguins on rocks. 

This turtle reminds me of the real one we saw when we visited the Aquarium in 2010.

Eels! 

This was a fun activity and really quite easy to do. It could be a nice way to pass the time on a rainy afternoon this coming Winter. 

Till next time, have fun.

Egg Wobbly Heads

Do you have some plastic eggs lying around after the weekend? Here's a simple and fun activity to get up to with them. I saw this idea over at Parents magazine and Crafting in the Rain. 

Take some play dough and put it in the bottom of the more rounded part of the egg. With a permanent marker draw a funny face on it. Push it over and watch it wobble.

Happy playing :)

Easter {Egg} Boxes

I have been so quiet this year on this blog, but this week I'm making a nuisance of myself. Hope that's okay. :)

Inspired by a lovely Easter gift at Sugar Lander, I used egg cartons to put together some Easter gift boxes. I love the simplicity of this egg carton (I like the pretty hen design), but I think adding the Humpty Dumpty finger puppets made it more fun.

I wanted to make a few extra gift boxes to give to some strangers, but we didn't make enough Humptys, so I needed a sweet and simple alternative. These lovely free bunny and chick templates from willowday were perfect and I decorated a few more boxes. Some ribbon may have been a nice touch, but I didn't have any extra and I think a good motto is to do the best you can with what you have! 

If I don't post again this weekend, I wish you a very blessed and special Easter time with your family.  

PS. Sharing at Shine on Friday.

Egg Puzzles

 

I remember seeing a super idea for making egg puzzles, but I cannot remember where? My apologies for not giving the proper credit. 

I added to the idea and created a quick counting activity. It was easy enough to create and Little One liked it. Match up the number of dots to the correct numeral and of course this is aided by the fact that each egg is a puzzle.

The template for the eggs, I found here.

The best was when Little One had packed them out and started counting them. When he got to four he said with great delight and surprise "Only one more to go, then I'm five!" Only one more Little One. Only one more. :)

PS. Sharing at Show-and-Share Saturday at I can teach my child