"Don't ever, never say we're through, We gon boogaloo"

Day 112:

Day 2 of the birthday celebrations has been awesome and I'm feeling so loved. It's a shame I don't turn 40 every weekend.  I woke up to coffee and breakfast in bed again, more lovely presents and then we backed up the car to the river in Jackfield, opened the boot, dropped the seats and lay in the back drawing. I feel like Ive already had my birthday twice over and its not until tomorrow. I've been treated like a princess. I'm currently banished upstairs and I'm not allowed to go downstairs until tomorrow, I have no idea what those lovelies are up to.

I was so chill today that I didn't even think to get my phone out to take a picture, so here's a song instead.  

"When one has not had a good father, one must create one."

Day 93:

Fathers day has always been one of my favourite days of the year and this one was lush, I got breakfast and coffee in bed, a lovely card and most importantly lots of cuddles. The weather wasn't great but we managed to find a spot by the river in Jackfield where we could park, open the boot and paint in the back of the car while it thrashed it down, perfection.

"All is connected... no one thing can change by itself."

Day 50:

Me and Opeie have been playing Unravel two over the last few days and I can't help but feel like the two characters are exactly like us, permanently tied together, but doing whatever they can to make life that little bit easier for each other. Opeie's latest contribution to the house is bringing me coffee and breakfast in bed on the days that we don't go out early for a walk, I'm feeling like a pretty special dad at the moment. 

We decided to get our crafty hands to work and made our own Unravel characters for Opeie to play around with and take photos, this lockdown isn't all bad.

"Teachers can change lives with just the right mix of chalk and challenges."

day 20:

Today was one of those days that was pure perfection. We woke up, had breakfast in the garden and didn't leave the garden all day. It's not great being confined to our homes but this weather is making it so much easier. While looking for something in Opeie's bedroom today I found some chunky chalks so we decorated the back of the house. The last couple of weeks has been one creative activity after another to get us through the days and this one so far will stand out above the rest.

Go and do something that really makes you smile, trust me it will take the edge off all this madness.

“Colours are brighter when the mind is open”.

Day 16:

While Opeie was mark making with inks yesterday he commented on how lovely the water was when cleaning his quill in a glass of water. The blue pigment was really striking and he decided that he wanted to keep it to make 'potions'. This morning while we were sitting eating our breakfast we were looking at the water again and decided to fill a few bottles with different colours for the sun to shine through. A little bit of colour during these strange times is really good for the soul and has made us realise that we can add a lot more little happy colourful touches to the house to make us smile.

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."

I wish I could be a child again, if only for a day. As adults we are hardened to many things and don't see the excitement in the small things around us. But as a parent to two young boys you get a glimpse into this way of looking at life. Last weekend we were all having breakfast at a hotel and Opeie got really excited about the Elephant he saw in his fruit compote, it may not be something that many people would be entertained by but from a creative side of parenting this sort of thing really makes me smile as i love the boys innocence...

I'd love to see things through their eyes, it reminded me of the Christmas themed post I wrote last year (which is actually one of my favourite posts I've written).

On the other side of our breakfast table was Seth, his enthusiasm for the machine that in his words 'plopped out pancakes' was infectious. I love seeing the boys smiling from ear to ear about these little things because to me it means that are happy children. Especially with Seth as sometimes he can be a little stressy (but we do understand why).

I like to think that with many things i can play at their level and fully get involved with what they are doing but its little things like this that are continuously teaching me to relax and and take in the small, sometimes insignificant beauty around me, thanks boys. xx

"All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast."

Being a stay at home dad there always seems to be so much to do in the house on a daily basis and as I like to prioritise our play time over everything else there just doesn't seem to be enough time to take care of it all. That probably sounds like I'm complaining a little but I wouldn't have it any other way, playtime is the most important part of our day. It's nice though when the children get a little older and they can help out with daily tasks and I can make it into a game, 'first one to tidy up the toys doesn't smell like the back of the bin van!'.

Mornings are always the most stressful especially getting Seth ready for school and making sure that Mrs M has everything she needs for work and were out the door on time. Thanks to our house becoming a sort of co-op of businesses, the opening of 'Opeie's Diner' has really taken the load off in regards to the making of breakfast. 

The Le Toy Van Toaster Set has been a life saver, fueling up the troops before departure and our happy little entrepreneur diner owner is more than happy buttering round after round of tasty play toast. The toaster has been used daily since the diner opened and I can see why, the vintage design is so cute and the spring action that pops your toast up when done is fantastic for children's role play. 

Opeie loves chopping and cutting when we're playing with the play food so being able to slice the butter with the knife and plate that comes with the set went down well and he loves serving our toast with plenty of butter and jam on. The chunky wooden design is great for younger role playing enthusiasts as its very robust and there's no fear of small parts coming off, which is great for us busy parents that need to pop out of their sight briefly at times.

I can see that the Toaster will continue to be one of Opeie's favourite role playing toys and its got me looking at the Other great items from the Le Toy Van Range. As Opeie changes his menu he'll need the appliances to keep up. I'm thinking that play baking will be next on our agenda. In the meantime Opeie can keep the buttery breakfast coming our way.

 

The Le Toy Van Toaster Set can be found at Biggamehunters.co.uk along with a great selection of Le Toy Van products that compliment the set beautifully.

"The breakfast of kings."

Why do most of us only have pancakes once a year? I love pancakes! Yesterday morning we woke up and while I got Seth ready for school Mrs M made us all pancakes for breakfast. Opeie didn't know what to make of them and Mrs M doesn't really like them but me and Seth took full advantage of this tasty time of year. I'm a classic lemon and light sprinkling of sugar kind of guy and Seth likes lemon and honey. What's your favourite flavour?

The mornings feeding festivities gave us a chance to fill the table with all our favourite Nuby products making our breakfast table colourful and Inviting.