"Wherever you go, go with all your heart."

Day 71:

Today was one of those days where everything just seemed to fall in to place. A mixture of great moods, fun, creativity and a picnic in the woods. Last year Opeie and I found a really lovely area not too far from where we live which we've used a few times to sit and do home-ed work. This evening we decided to take the garden parasol, a blanket and some art supplies for a relaxing peaceful evening under the trees. Just what we needed to take out minds off the current madness. We took loads of pictures of our paintings but this little guy that joined the party (with his heart shaped markings) really summed up how I was feeling.

"What is there more kindly than the feeling between host and guest?"

I had big plans for getting out and doing something this morning with Opeie but as i dragged our wheelie bins down the path before getting in the car to take Seth to school i buttoned up my coat and watched the steam come from my mouth as it hit the cold air, it was freezing. Winter is well and truly here. We loaded the troops into the car and as i looked back in the mirror before heading off i saw snot running down Opeie's face almost reaching his lips, ewww! it was clear that we weren't going anywhere today. We did our usual rounds and when we got home i asked Opeie what he wanted to do? "Picnic with my toys!". A boy that knows exactly what he wants, nice and easy for me.

I went hunting for our parasol that has been in the cupboard under the stairs since the warm weather upped and left, i thought I'd go for a sunny day kind of picnic, we didn't want the make believe sunshine melting our Haba cheese after all. Opeie loves role playing with his play food and he loves feeding his toys. I guess he sees me helping him all the time with things and then wants to recreate that with his favourite characters.

As always there were no shortage of guests and on the menu Haba's finest cuts of meat, fruit and vegetables and a cheese selection that was worthy of the finest imaginary crackers, all courtesy of The Toadstool. Opeie likes to be the head chef, Waiter and Host and as he served up the food he made idle chit chat with his guests.

I really love how much Opeie loves role playing and it is so good for his development. Its great for his speech and his confidence and its so nice to play with him and listen to all of the things he has picked up from us, the books he is read and the programmes he loves. His love of play food is what has been the driving force for his Christmas present this year. Since receiving these from The Toadstool they have become one of the firm favourites during play time and i cant recommend them enough. If you are stuck for something to buy your toddler then look no further than this great site that has a huge selection on offer. These are perfect as stocking fillers. Word got round about what was being served and toys were queuing around the block.

Play food isn't all about the roleplaying, as a toy and as a learning tool it can be very versatile. Finding coloured plates and then organising the food on to the correct plates by colour is a favourite game of Opeie's and with the smaller items like the cheese and meats you can make fun counting games. Its one of the great things about playing with your child, whatever you are doing they are always learning, taking everything in.

It didnt get any warmer outside but with warm food in their bellies and endless cuddles from a very loving host the toys and Opeie continued to have fun throughout the afternoon.

For a great selection of soft play food perfect for your role playing children visit thetoadstool.co.uk

'To inebriation... And beyond'

Just a quick post for Em over at snowingindoors.com. On our recent post for Thetoadstool.co.uk about our Haba picnic we were having, Em pointed out that when Buzz lightyear came over to 'chez snowingindoors' for a picnic he had a bit of bad behaviour. I didn't want to Include this picture in the post as i was ashamed but actually Mr Lightyear did act quite inappropriately. Turns out on both occasions he made it clear that alcohol is bad and should not be brought to these kind of get togethers. Tut tut!

Anyway for you Em, the picture i didn't include...

"At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talkwell but not too wisely."

If you're anything like me, you kind of dread the words 'can my friends come round for tea?' Loads of over excited children running about and generally making a racket. Are they going to destroy the house, What am i going to cook, most people don't eat like us. Luckily our first experience of Opeie's friends coming round for dinner was effortless and relaxing. A nice bunch of friendly characters who were happy to eat whatever they were given no questions asked.

Together me and Opeie lay down a blanket, sat everyone at their places and set out the plates and cutlery. It was a casual affair so no need to break out the silverware (if we even owned any) and on the menu was a selection of fine cooked meats a smorgasbord of tasty cheese, pasta, vegetables, potatoes and a grilled meat selection for the meat eaters amongst them. For dessert, freshly picked Pears, Oranges and Bananas, Our food had been carefully prepared by the culinary genius Haba using only the finest Ingredients and materials. Food that was suitable and safe to be served up by a 2 year old and he loved every moment of being the party host/chef (we're definitely going to have to buy that kitchen for christmas)

Opeie spent time lovingly slicing a loaf for his guests...

There were plenty of greens and veg for the herbivores in the party...

Everyone was having a great time, the food was enjoyed by all and the great company and surprisingly Intelligent conversation made it a perfect afternoon with friends. Buzz and woody kept us entertained with their witty humour which kept us all struggling to keep our food in our mouths due to uncontrollable laughing.

Opeie had lots of fun with his friends at lunch time and I'm sure they will be joining us again soon, everyone left with full tummies and a glow in their cheeks from all the smiling.

The Haba play food has been a fantastic addition to our play times and these role playing activities are great for Opeie's development. The soft materials used my Haba are great as it gives younger children the confidence to play how they want with it without the possibility of hurting themselves (like with some of the heavier wooden foods aimed at slightly older children).

All the food mentioned can be brought from thetoadstool.co.uk and they have a fantastic selection, I'm sure our friends will be round for tea again so we'll have to get looking what culinary delights we can serve for next time.

"All I can say is that my life is pretty plain, I like watchin' the puddles gather rain"

 The weather is really starting to get on my nerves, we all want to be out and about doing things in the sunshine but the great British weather clearly has other ideas. I was hoping we would be out having a nice picnic somewhere this weekend but sadly poor Opeie has had to settle for an indoor picnic. He doesn't seem all that concerned about it though and it does mean he gets all his toys to play with while he eats.

The garden needed tidying up yesterday and i ended up cutting the grass in the pouring rain, grim!! If it continues like this i think our plans of camping in the school holiday will be shattered but I'm going to stay positive, it cant stay like this all summer... Can it?

"Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."

I'm quite sure that over the last few days most of the UK bloggers have had a post about the sun coming out, sorry to disappoint you but I'm jumping on the ban wagon. It's so much nicer when its bright and sunny and warm. Over the winter i get really lax when it comes to tidying the garden, the shed seems to become a dumping ground and the weeds... well they just take over everything and i cant be bothered to tidy them. As soon as the sun comes out though its a different story. The grass in our back garden is finally cut making it a lot more inviting to the boys to come and play which they have been taking full advantage of.

The weeding still needs doing and there's plants that need putting in the ground but that will come with time. Right now its all about making the most of the sun (could all be gone tomorrow). The garden looks really bare since we sold our climbing frame last week so we're in need of filling it up with new toys, any recommendations?

 In the mean time we can concentrate on other garden fun like feeding the birds...

Feeding ourselves...

 And larger scale painting...

Like many of you i will have my fingers crossed for a good summer, it doesn't seem fair that its only the rabbits that get to take advantage of the garden. I'm going to make it my mission to get the garden looking pretty so we can make the most of it this year.

A very thoughtful Mrs M

We all get stressed out around the house at some point, as a stay at home dad there never seems to be enough hours in the day to get things done. My main stress causer is the fact that we seem to spend a ridiculous amount of time cleaning the house yet there is so much 'stuff' crammed into our home that it never looks tidy. Mrs M did the stay at home parent thing with Seth so she fully understands that its the little thoughtful acts around the house that make all the difference. Most children fully crave your attention which is understandable but sometimes you really need to get things done so its these 'little thoughtful acts' that i really appreciate.

On Monday mornings i go to pick up our food shopping for the week and although that doesn't seem very stressful, putting the shopping away can be. Opeie insists on holding on to my legs or trying to help unpack the shopping which although helpful can also be a little dangerous with all of the obstacles on the floor. As Mrs M leaves after us, after heading out on the school run she sets up toys in the hall to keep Opeie entertained for when we walk through the door with the shopping. simple, effective and very thoughtful.

Yesterday morning when we came back Mrs M had left us a picnic basket with a blanket, books, drinks and snacks, everything we needed for a relaxing time in the garden while the sun was out. Unfortunately it was far to cold to go out so we ended up having our book reading picnic on Seth's bedroom floor. The little thoughtful things really do matter and its these caring acts that really strengthen our relationship and keep us a happy family.

Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'

I had so much housework to do yesterday as I was a lazy bugger the night before after snuggling on the sofa with Mrs M all evening. Opeie usually doesn't mind playing alone for short amounts of time while I get things done, I try to do the jobs in short bursts broke up by playing with him. Yesterday though Opeie wanted all the batman figures out and kept coming in and saying 'daddy play!'. Needless to say those big brown eyes have some serious power over me and surprise surprise I didn't get much done.

Opeie looked so cute surrounded by batman toys. and we quickly got in to an epic game fighting the villains in Gotham's underworld.

After an hour or so of playing the game came to an end when our friendly neighbourhood Spider-man decided to take over the Batcave.

After lunch we had to drop the boss at work, the sun was out and although it was a little nippy it was to good a day to be stuck I doors. We headed over to see auntie Lotty as we hadn't seen her for a few weeks. After a nice cuppa, a chat and plenty of cuddles for Opeie we headed to the park for a little picnic as Opeie hadn't long been awake and hadn't eaten.

After the picnic and a play on the park Opeie made it clear that he wanted to take part in his new favourite past time, feeding the ducks. Thanks to Mrs M always being prepared there was a loaf of bread already on the back seat of the car so we jumped in and headed over to the lake. Opeie always looks so happy when he's feeding the ducks, I love taking him and so probably do Warburtons. I think all the MD's will be getting a nice Christmas bonus this year because of us.

Once the loaf of bread had gone Opeie instantly lost interest in being at the lake and walking, so he sat on my shoulders until he saw some steps. I don't know what it is about steps/stairs but he loves them. He counted as he was going up, well up to 14 and then started again, cute. On the way down the steps the other side he said sorry on every step??? Strange boy.

We got back to the car and I gave Opeie a list of places to go next and he said 'castle' so I drove to the abbey ruins that are not to far from us for more walking about. I was hoping I could wear him out so that Mrs M might have an easier night with him. The sun was still bright and it had got a lot warmer by this point and as we pulled up a heard of cows came to meet us at the gate which Opeie loved.

And that filled our time up to going to pick Mrs M up from work. It was such a lovely afternoon and I'm hoping the sun is going to stay out for a while now so that we can get out and about more.

"You can plan a pretty picnic but you cant predict the weather"

I'm a sucker for collecting things, its a little obsessive and and extremely compulsive i cant help it Ive always been the same. Today we decided to take the boys to Dale End Park for a picnic. We haven't done our 'big shop' this week yet so i had to pop to Asda to get supplies.

While in there i found myself venturing down the baby aisle (again) and a new drinking vessel for Opeie caught my eye. I had been in last week and brought some items from the i monster Nuby range and hadn't noticed the 'No Spill Cup' that compliments the other items, so it made itself into my basket along with the Monster cutlery Set which to be honest was a bit of an impulse buy.

I returned home and we packed our food along with the other Nuby items and off we went. Probably wasn't the best day to be going for a picnic as the ground was still pretty wet so inevitably we all ended up with a soggy bum. The new cup of Opeie's thank fully didn't leave him soggy, weve brought no spill cups before and they haven't really lived up to the hype but this one was the real deal which is what we need with Opeie as he tends to catapult things all over the place.

It was nice to spend some time together in the park and Aunty Lotty joined us too which was a lovely surprise. Had a bit of drama when our frizbee broke in half though, Seth got rather upset but we managed to calm him down by telling him that Grandad Gary could weld it back together for him. He'll have a good chuckle when he's older and reads that back.