Treasure hunt

The hunt

Stick in the shape of Y

"Leaves of a plant"

"Leaves of a tree"

This was his "interesting stone"

Checked on the flower buds -big change in a few weeks

Explorer

Silent Sunday

Fun and games

We bought this game from a charity shop and it's missing the rules.

She loves it all the same and we play it our own way.

She has renamed it "Smelly pants game",

which causes funny moments while out and about...

Jigsaws are still a favourite

Baking sunflower and sesame bread

(Her love of "lots and lots" of flour made hers rather inedible)

Home is where the fun is

This is what we did yesterday.

Stayed home all day and had fun.

Can you tell why home is Captain's favourite place in the world?

The farm

The building site

Dolly's new clothes (from mama's old t-shirt)

Christmas in a picture

Winter fun

Wellies have been the top accessory lately.
Yesterday we spent a few hours in the nearby field running around, poking ice at the edges of a giant puddle and using sticks as magic wands/swords.
Nothing lovelier than fresh air followed by arts around the kitchen table.
The stove helps too...

What does your winter fun look like?

The door that Captain built

Our bathroom has a door!

I appreciate it on rainy nights, when I don't have to drag an old door and a sheet of insulation in front of the doorway after my shower. But on nice evenings I still leave it open and admire the courtyard.

Captain loved the process of building a door.

She asked the name of every tool, screw and nail and delighted in handing Daddy things he needed.

Mr. Buttons had different view and complained of boredom after mere seconds.

Myself and Captain used leftover wood to make a village of houses, shops and even a little pharmacy.

The shop was required to sell spaghetti, beans and apples -can you guess what are some of the littlest lady's favourite things at the moment?

Wood blocks make great houses

New door

Old door

Happy Father's Day!

And breathe...

We are all in good mood following the parent-teacher meeting yesterday.
I finally got to go to one, because Bio-Mom is on holidays.
We met up with Mr. Buttons' two teachers, who both had great things to say about his progress. I got to ask questions and actually hear everything first hand for once.
I'm so happy I could cry.

Today was a great day.
I stayed at home with Captain in the morning.
We cleaned up a little, but mostly we snuggled and made bubbles outside.
She enjoyed trying to burst them before I had finished blowing them and watched them fly up to the sky. Just watching her little eyes light up with mischief was entertainment enough for me.

All this fun made her so tired, we only made it ten houses down the street before she wanted up into the wrap. She had some milk and a nap, which she woke up from after I'd already had most of my coffee. After lunch it was time to pick up Mr. Buttons.

He was in great form, because he had no homework and he was going to be off from school the following day. We had also had the chance to do food shopping the day before, so we could just enjoy the walk. So we picked up leaves, feathers and stones. Took a "shortcut" and climbed on top of a funny tree. Rolled down a hill and picked flowers.

Mr. Buttons had Beavers this evening and we walked there.
We took a different route and enjoyed the sunshine.
He got to try something new and Captain was the only toddler at the soft play.
She took full advantage of all the space, running down mini slides and over bridges, falling down everything on purpose. She reminds me of myself as a child so much...

The last two days have really recharged my batteries.
The house is progressing really nicely too and that alone would put a smile on anyone's face.
We're going to get our kitchen next week, so it really is getting close now!

When life gives you lemons...

The last few mornings have been a revisit to the great breakfast wars.

Yesterday it was Captain sitting in Mr. Buttons' chair.

Daddy moved her mid-breakfast to avoid a meltdown, which resulted in her abandoning any idea of continuing to eat. She had breakfast later, crisis averted.

This morning chairs were right.

It was Captain's lemon that annoyed Mr. Buttons.

The lemon was brought up numerous times.

Then it was time for some crawling on the floor, which was copied by Captain.

Then the lemon was mentioned again.

While nothing necessary was getting done.

After not nearly enough sleep for Mama few nights in a row.

Oh, and being up an hour before anyone else, making four (different) breakfasts and two lunches, while putting a toddler on the potty, getting her ready while trying to source some clean(ish) clothes for myself and getting two people to wake up at the same time.

Then the lemon was mentioned again.

Then it flew across the kitchen towards the bin.

Hi, I'm an over-stretched autism mama with no support network.

So, when life gives you lemons, you let your toddler eat them.

But only when big brother isn't around.

Also, you have a mental health day with super-secret bubble mixture, silly hats and a baby bath full of water after school.

Silent Sunday

Happiness is...

...spring cleaning the routine!

The giant chocolate egg day

The Captain will only get chocolate flavoured breastmilk tomorrow.

Who am I fooling; she's been getting that for over a week now...

I take The Season of the Bunny seriously and practise for the final Sunday with passion,

eating any egg that doesn't roll away fast enough.

The total so far this year is five, I think. No shame.

I don't want any competition in the house, so Captain hasn't had any added sugar yet.

Because we are going to Nana's Easter party tomorrow, I got my little lady some plastic eggs and tiny chicks, so that she will have something special while the cousins are eating their treats.

I couldn't wait until the big day, so she has had hours of fun with her new little pals.

The delight in her face when she finds a chick is only equalled in cuteness by that extreme focus, when she tries to put them back in and close the egg.

Best three euro I've spent in years!

Now I will go and decorate my ridiculously chocolatey cake for tomorrow.

Happy Egg Day, Easter, Celebration of Spring!

Wild child

We've taken full advantage of the last few lovely days.

It's been a blast; with hours in the park, backyard and any other available piece of grass.

Drawing outdoors

 Having a rest mid-walk

Adventures

Short-lived tennis career

Having a pretend sleep after all the fresh air

What does your spring look like?

Girls just wanna have fun (and perhaps some cake)

We were in no hurry to get dressed this morning, so we did some chalk art after breakfast.

I am still finding blue and pink dust everywhere. I did clean up after this, but it didn't help. Turns out chalk dust is like blocks, creeping under things to hide and plot revenge. Tomorrow more will join its' force and I won't sleep easy for the next few weeks...

After a walk into town she was ready for ups and some take away milk.

We had a dinner guest for our girls' dinner in today.

We made an epic spaghetti bolognaise (with a sponge for dessert for the big people)

The we ate, chatted and had a lovely afternoon, which stretched until the evening.

Then Captain said "Peitto!" and went to get our snuggle blanket from behind the sofa.

She likes her little routine, no matter how good the company.

Now I'll go and try to eat some more and enjoy the peace until Captain puts me to sleep again.

Good night!

When the cat's away...

Hubby has gone to Amsterdam with his brothers for the weekend and Mr. Buttons is with Bio-mom.

Myself and The Captain are having a girls' weekend.

We went to a playgroup in the morning, followed by lunch in town.

Then we stocked up on some treats before heading back home.

Art materials are for my little friend, chocolate is for mama only, to be used medicinally.

I believe the correct dose is one whole bar taken with a cup of coffee and a marathon of Good Wife on Netflix.

Playdough annoyed Captain, because it was inside the little tubs she wanted to use as teacups.

The brush provided great entertainment and I got to hold the dustpan in place.

Then she had another go of the dough, got annoyed and took a bite out of the sponge that came with the cleaning set. I can't blame her, as my feelings towards cleaning equipment are similar.

Seeing as it was shower night, I put the paint out.

She had great time painting both the paper and herself, without being too upset when it was time to finish and hop into the shower.

Success!