"You can find poetry in your everyday life, your memory, in what people say on the bus, in the news, or just what's in your heart."

A couple of weeks ago we were having one of those relaxing weekends where we had nothing to do but play and take it easy. I was pottering about tidying up and I could hear Opeie and Mrs M chatting excitedly so I went to have a look what they were up to. They had come up with the idea of writing their own newspaper. They were using Opeie's toys and making up news stories like 'Mr Broccoli wins strong man competition'. Mrs M had bought us a Polaroid Pogo printer a few years back which was coming in really handy for printing out stickers for their paper and she was writing the words in pencil for Opeie to go over, to practice his writing. I loved watching how excited he was so as with everything in our house 'if they love it, we embrace it'.

 Since that afternoon me and Opeie have continued to write the first edition of his new monthly paper 'Happy Times', documenting some of the things that we get up to, which has been so much fun. Opeie likes to think of it as his own blog which I think is adorable. We scrapped the drawing over penciled letters though and have changed it to me writing the words, explaining the sounds and structure of the sentence and then him copying it in his very best handwriting. The outcome has turned in to an insight in to the things that Opeie loves, If only all papers were this happy.

I have found this new way of learning for Opeie fascinating and it has made me realise even more that home education was the right thing for us to do. Most days Opeie is motivated and really excited by what he is doing but every now and again he really isn't in the mood and really who can blame him. One afternoon he wrote the letter 'C' wrong and got really worked up about it and was adamant that he was incapable of ever writing it. We stopped writing, put on our helmets and went out scooting and he was fine, when we got home we wrote the word 'confidence' and I explained what it means (he didn't even mention the two 'C's').  We all have off days, but in state education if a child has one of these days, in many cases they are branded the naughty child and made an example of through lack of awards or special time at the end of the day to do their own thing.

I love that we have effortlessly managed to create this in a few weeks despite all the other things we do throughout our days, but then with no distractions and fun 1 to 1 learning I guess its no surprise.  So many people have commented over the years at how switched on Opeie is for a 4 year old and it is clear to see the impact mine and Mrs M's way of educating is having on his development, especially his emotional development.

The great thing about the newspaper aside from the literacy and numeracy side of things is the confidence that is building up and the pride he has in his work. Opeie is so excited about what he has achieved that he wants to show everyone that visits the house. Which has now got me thinking about an extension for this fun activity, so watch this space.

As we finished off our final page (the sports section) a few days back, I was so proud of Opeie's sentence 'we did exercise at the park' the letters were clear, the same size and he wrote confidently in a straight line. It was a great end to the first edition of Happy times...

and now our excited mini journalist is eager to get the ball rolling on issue 2, stay tuned!

"The colors live a remarkable life of their own after they have been applied to the canvas."

Last Christmas I wrote a post about a present I had received that really touched me. I met my friend Steve last year in Smyths while toy shopping and we got talking, LEGO of course. It turned out we were both huge LEGO enthusiasts and our friendship blossomed from there. I love that the boys are in to LEGO as much as i am but every now and again its great to talk shop with other nerds and Steve has been a fountain of brick information for me.

When I opened his Christmas gift to us, much to his disappointment (Steve's a mans man), it bought a tear to my eye as I'd never had anyone make a gift quite like it, it was one of a kind.

I loved the personal custom LEGO kit and it meant so much to me that when were contacted by wallcreate.com And asked to review one of their canvas' I knew straight away that it had to be a LEGO print for the house and what better than a LEGO image of my beautiful family, created by a great friend. 

Moving into a brand new house in December left us with literally a blank canvas. Getting prints up and personalising the space where you spend most of your time is very exciting. I had never had a canvas printed before so I was blown away by the quality of the print that Wallcreate Sent back, especially as the original photo was taken from my phone. 

I was desperate to get the print up on the wall but I am yet to put it up still as I know exactly where it's going to go but I am awaiting the arrival of something else (none canvas related) to compliment it, so stay tuned for a future LEGO related post and you'll be sure to see this lovely print hanging proudly next to it.

Wallcreate have kindly included a 15% discount also (Code - giftsfromthepirates). So go and fill that empty space on your wall with something beautiful, we've all got one. This great canvas has got me looking at all the other spaces that need a little customising too and has given me lots of inspiration.

"Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose."

Although sometimes I may not notice Polly much around the house as she sleeps a lot and she's not an overly affectionate cat, she has become an amazing addition to our family. I've said many times before I am not a pet person but Polly puts a smile on everyone's face and i couldn't imagine her not being around.

I don't tend to use Facebook much but over the last few months when I have popped on there to check messages etc I have been greeted with some adorable paintings of cats looking rather dapper.

My friend Genna is definitely somewhere on the crazy cat lady spectrum. I mean if you are a cat owner that spends your free time painting pictures of cats there's got to be an element of crazy in there somewhere, right? She doesn't stop at cats though, Genna spends much of her spare time  painting pictures of peoples much loved four legged friends.

Queen of h'Arts has become a great little hobby/business venture for Genna, immortalising your furry family members on to mugs and beautiful custom prints. Each Kitsch print can be painted in a colour scheme of your choice and includes a cute accessory which is Genna's personal touch making each painting that little more interesting.

Clearly it was imperative that Polly was to own a print of herself painted by this very talented yet slightly unhinged crazy cat lady. I mean if you own a cat and your friend paints pictures of cats its a must. If you're a pet lover and you want a print of your four legged friend that's a little more interesting I definitely recommend checking out Genna's site http://www.queenofharts.org.uk.

Meeeeooow!!!

"The fingers must be educated, the thumb is born knowing."

The boys are always being given nice things by family members and friends, it's lovely to know that people are thinking about them when they are out and about and spot things they might like. Our friend Michelle had found a very cute gift that made her think of the boys and when Chris came down to see us on Monday he brought it with him. I'm a little disappointed with myself for not thinking of this simple yet very fun idea myself.

The set is a thumb print card making kit and yesterday afternoon we decided to have a craft session and give them a try. It was a great set for all of us and opeie loved getting his fingers dirty and making a mess.

Seth really got into the card making which was great as it gave us something nice to sit down and do together. Innevitably as with all craft activities Opeie lost interest after about 20 minutes but I'm sure as he gets older he will get in to designing things a little more.

After making the most of the cards and the stickers provided we decided to freestyle our own cards and while Opeie's recent new hobby is to copy everything his big brother does, Seths is still to copy me (which i think is adorable). Its very cliche for me i know but i decided to use my thumb prints to make the Avengers...

In great Seth style though he out shone me all the way with his amazing drawings. I'll never get bored of seeing the little characters that he creates. An excellent mini craft session and a great way to spend an hour or so, thanks Michelle. xx