Bounce and Rhyme

Wind the bobbin up
Wind the bobbin up
Pull, pull, clap clap clap

Wind it back again
Wind it back again
Pull, pull, clap clap clap

Point to the ceiling, point to the floor, 
Point to the window, point to the door. 
Clap your hands together, one, two, three
Put your hands upon your knee.

I started running Bounce and Rhyme classes when Boy turned 7 months. Coincidentally, I restarted them when Girl reached the same age. Once a week, on Wednesday afternoons, a small crowd of parents, babies and toddlers meet up in a corner of a local entertainment centre  and we sing nursery rhymes, play simple percussion instruments and enjoy other songs, rhymes, puppets and bubbles. The class is a drop-in, so no two weeks are the same. One week may full of busy toddlers running around and demanding their favourite song, while the next may be primarily small babies who sit and bounce on their mammy's knee and expending more energy chewing tambourines rather than hitting them.

Today was a rather smaller group than usual, maybe due to the half-term break. Despite this, there was every age group, from the smallest snoozing newborn, through sitters, crawlers and wobblers right up to the two and three year old pros, some of whom have been coming since they were really tiny.

There is Girl and her wee buddy who sit clapping, dribbling and chuckling through Horsie Horsie, a two year old who spends most of the class running round in circles, only pausing to wag his finger fiercely during Five Little Monkeys and Miss Polly Had a Dolly. Another older toddler who takes great delight in shrieking when we pretend to sleep for Sleeping Bunnies. A 9 month old who has come for her first class threatens to fall asleep during Twinkle Twinkle but soon perks up when the instruments come out. And for myself and the other Scottish mum who showed up today, there's nothing quite like hearing a room full of Irish mammies singing Ali Bali Bee and Ye Canny Shove yer Granny aff a Bus.

When the class is over, the children enjoy the ball pool while the mammies enjoy a well-earned cup of coffee. I feel sad that Boy is missing out on Bounce and Rhyme these days, but not quite sad enough to torture myself by having to mind both my babies while protecting my stash of bubbles and jumping around like a Dingle Dangle Scarecrow. Or am I?

Bounce and Rhyme for children aged 3 months to 3 years is on at City Limits, Oranmore every Wednesday at 2.30pm. No booking necessary.

The Messiest Cupboard in the World

Recently I was asked to run arts and crafts at one of the local weekly parent and toddler groups. So this morning, laden down with cereal box cut out hearts, I celebrated a quick weight watchers victory (congratulations! You're back down to the weight you were a month ago - you know, that weight goal you celebrated by eating chips for the next three weeks) and hurried off to the Parent and Toddler group.

This group is held in a soft play centre, so I was surprised when so many little faces appeared in the craft corner just minutes after I arrived. On opening the art cupboard I felt, for the first time ever, an odd sense of smug pride that someone somewhere was indeed capable of maintaining a messier cupboard than I. After raking through shelves and shelves of half finished creations, crunchy paintbrushes and a surprising number of empty crisp packets and raisin boxes (ick) I finally scraped together three Pritt sticks (two of which where completely dried up) two broken red crayons (itched to steal for my collection, but resisted), five tiny scraps of red felt and a few sheets of pink sugar paper. Good enough!

If I do say it myself, the project was a resounding success. So much so that all the decorated hearts and Valentine cards were made and taken away before I got a chance to snap them. (The one below came from Boy, made at crèche). Now let's be clear: we are talking about 2 year olds here. It was a resounding success for about 9 minutes. 11 if you count the kids who showed up after everyone else had finished. But a success nevertheless. Especially considering I was competing with a bouncy castle.

I spent the next half hour clearing out one section of the Messiest Cupboard in the World. Externally I was tutting and shaking my head as any tidy, organised Supermammy should. But inside I was beaming with pride and couldn't help thinking, "imagine if Grunny could see me now?"

Morning Stroll

Had a parcel to post today, so set out for the Post Office at 10am for what should have been the 20 minute gentle stroll there and back. This turned into a 3 hour hike - due not to any detours, but only to the incomprehensibly slow pace of Boy, who acts as if sitting in the double buggy is an admission of weakness and takes any encouragement to do so as a personal slight. After keeping Mammy and Daddy awake for most of the night, Girl passes out the second we step out the front door and stays asleep for most of the morning.

The 2km walk to the shops has its own familiar waypoints. Stage One is the tantrum that invariably occurs as we pass the first coffee shop and Boy realises we are walking straight past. Stage two is The Wall. The Wall is an excellent distractor from Stage One. Its primary reasons for being are to be walked upon or jumped off, although today it manages a hat trick, serving as train tracks for Wilson-Chugger. Chatsworth lies neglected in Boy's buggy seat. Action Chugger lies in the river, where Boy threw him during Stage Four last week.

A single early tulip has somehow appeared in someone's garden and I show Boy how to smell it. For the rest of the morning he stops and sniffs every plant, blade of grass, mossy wall and ivy covered telegraph pole, letting his breath go with a delighted "ahhh". I draw the line and the old cigarette butt he picks up to sniff.

Stage Three is the third coffee shop. By this time Girl is snoring hard, Boy is practically walking backwards he's so slow, and I am desperate for a breather."The usual?" calls the waitress as we enter, reminding me just a little too hard that we come in here just a little too often. Boy remembers his manners: "Peas", as his espresso cup of milk is set down in front of him. When the toast arrives he bawls "Mammylade! Mammylade!" but the waitress is on the ball and three little portions of marmalade appear immediately. I hide two of them, as usual.

When Girl wakes up and unabashedly steals the last of the toast it's time to leave and resume the snail's crawl to Stage Four: the river. We used to feed the ducks at the bridge regularly until one day I realised there wasn't a duck in sight and Boy was just as happy standing by the river eating stale bread. Now I just use "The Ducks!" as a way to keep him moving in the right direction. By the time we reach the river the shops are finally in view and it's a race to get to the post office before it closes for lunch.

Stage Five: just yards from the post office an escalator beckons and Boy takes the requisite tantrum. Luckily the tractor ride provides a speedy distraction. I have never yet put any money in the tractor ride, but that doesn't seem to bother Boy and finally at five minutes to 12 we reach the Post Office. The Long Walk Home follows much the same pattern, although we manage without a coffee break. Wilson-Chugger gets driven along the walls and windowsills of the opposite side of the road and by the time we reach home Boy has finally succumbed to the buggy, ready to pass out for his afternoon nap, while Girl decides this would be a splendid time to wake up, just in case Mammy got ideas above her station, like the possibility of getting some shut-eye herself. Ah the joys.

Valentine Arts

(That was a play on "hearts", did you get it?)

Decided to try a little craft project with Boy today - a straightforward Valentine's heart shaped collage suggested by http://galway.mykidstime.ie/d/things-do/art-crafts/valentine-craft-children. It took about half an hour to make, though Boy's sole contribution was a very grudging thump on one of the little bits of paper to make sure it was properly stuck down. I don't think he's really into the whole arts and crafts thing - yet - but I will persist and make a little Van Gogh out of him yet. Or someone equally artistic but with fewer tendencies towards self-mutilation. He did enjoy proudly presenting the finished product to Daddy while I swallowed back my feelings of plagiarised creative pride. Girl enjoyed scrunching up the leftover magazine pages and chewing on the cereal box cut-offs. So at least someone got some enjoyment out of it.

I will try this project again on Tuesday at the City Limits mother and toddler group in Oranmore, but will be using much smaller hearts for a quicker result. We will also only glue the collage on one side and write a little "Happy Valentine's Day" message on the other side. If they work, I'll even post a picture.

Bunratty Castle and Geocaching

We decided to test out Boy's swanky new car seat today by taking a spin down to Bunratty Castle in Co. Clare. This is a lovely day out for all ages, though to be honest we rarely set foot inside the actual castle. The best part for us - especially on a sunny day like today - is the Folk Park where 19th Century  life is recreated with cottages and a typical village street.

It is easy to spend a whole day wandering around Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, but at this time of year it is very quiet and not as much atmosphere as there is during the busier months. The cheaper entry fee reflects this. A Shannon heritage family membership is a true bargain - currently only €100, a membership includes admission and parking to all 7 Shannon Heritage sites as well as a 10% discount at the giftshops and tearooms and discounted admission for guests. Membership is valid for 12 months from date of purchase. Since we know we can come back at any time, we let Boy lead us where he wants to go (straight to the tea room, naturally, which was closed, followed by any muddy puddles he can find) and leave happily before an hour is up as he is clearly ready for a nap.

The babies enjoy looking at the animals -ducks and geese roam freely, and horses, pigs and other animals can be found round each corner. Boy is always especially enamoured by the old schoolhouse. I think it's the sound of his feet on the old wooden floorboards, and he loves to sit at the old desks. I hope he loves school this much when it is no longer optional. There is also a doctor's house, drapery, printworks and grocer among the many buildings, but most of these are closed for the winter season. In summer the shops open and you can actually buy bits and pieces in most of them (including the pub!). Halfway up the village street we bump into a friendly man taking the Bunratty Irish Wolfhounds on a stroll. These dogs are HUGE but so gentle and friendly that the babies don't bat an eyelid. The man stops to chat and gives us the lowdown on these fabulous hounds and their history. There is a lovely wooden playground too, but Boy is happy to leave before we reach it.

Somebody asked me about geocaching yesterday, and I realised we haven't been on a cache hunt for months and months. On consulting the iPhone app we discover a quick cache just a few hundred metres from the entrance to the castle, and stop to find it on our way in. I will definitely write about geocaching in more detail another day, but now I'm off to dream about Irish Wolfhounds and toddlers who don't think rolling in mud is the height of a cultural day out.

Calling Grumpy and Galway Atlantaquaria

(10th Feb, 2012 at 2:33 PM)

Started the day beautifully by making the classic mistake of mentioning Grunny to Boy. Let me set the scene: Girl in high chair munching porridge and blueberries for breakfast. Boy, having refused porridge, Shreddies, a tangerine, yoghurt and milk (and after me refusing him the meringue he asked for), happily sits colouring in some junk mail at the kitchen table. One crayon even snaps in two - whoopee! A new broken crayon for my collection! What a serene family scene. And then I make the ultimate mistake - "that's a great picture - shall we send it to Grunny?"

Three minutes later Boy is on the floor screaming, arms and legs pumping and bottom lip stuck out 3 inches. You see, In this house, if you are two, "Grunny" means Skype. Immediately. So I phone Grunny in Scotland, but she's not home. Thankfully Grumpy answers and agrees to do a quick hello on Skype. Another three minutes pass. Boy is purple in the face and sobbing and Girl is joining in the fun now too. The phone rings and Grumpy says he doesn't know the password. Aaargh. I'm not wholly convinced - it's no secret that Grumpy isn't a fan of Skype's jumpy video signal. In the end he says a few words over the speakerphone while Boy stares at it as if Grumpy's face will appear in the receiver at any moment. Finally Boy waves goodbye, which I explain to Grumpy who has become confused at the sudden silence. The tantrum is interrupted and I take the opportunity to bundle the kids into the car.

Today we are heading to Atlantaquaria in Salthill. Both kids are exhausted from all the wailing and are fast asleep by the time we get there. I take the opportunity to sit in the car for a few minutes and enjoy the peace. Soon Girl wakes up and I put her in the little pushchair and then wake up Boy. We bought an annual membership last year and it was definitely worth the money. We can pop in for a wee look any time we are in Salthill, plus I don't feel obliged to spend hours on a visit just to get my money's worth.

We meet my friend and her two kids and the boys have a great time running around together. The aquarium is very quiet so there aren't many people for them to annoy. They especially love the little submarine near the entrance, the large window where Eddie the Wreckfish and a truly giant white skate can be found, and splashing about in the starfish pool upstairs. The small babies love it too. Girl is looking all around, both at the fish and at the boys, while my friend's baby of 3 months is smiling and looking all around at the lighting. All the kids got a lot out of the visit and we all enjoy a cup of coffee in the cafe afterwards. By the time we get home both kids have passed out again, but this time it's after a morning of really good fun! Atlantaquaria is open 7 days, free for under 3s, and has fish-feeding times every day as well as special events for older children when school's out.

New Beginnings

(9 Feb 2012)
I have spent the last month trawling blogs for cool things to do with my babies. Found some very cool things, but they often don't quite work out the way I want. Like today, I saw this article about making heart-shaped rainbow crayons for valentines day, using broken crayons and heart shaped silicon baking molds: http://mollymoo.ie/2012/02/for-crayon-out-loud/

I got all excited and started emptying the cupboards looking for a heart-shaped silicon ice cube tray I bought in Ikea ages ago. No luck. I did find the formula dispenser I bought for Boy and couldn't find this time round. I also found a silicon ice cube mold for making little fishy ice cubes. That'll do I thought. So I started hunting down all the boxes of crayons scattered round the house and collecting up the broken bits. I especially look out for bright colours as the instructions suggest. An hour later I have 6 tiny bits of broken crayon. And four of them are navy. Girl is wailing to be fed. Boy has gone to bed. DH suggests I break up some whole crayons to melt down if I'm that desperate. I take the high road. I have decided to start collecting bits of broken crayon in a special tin, and make valentines' crayon fishies next year instead.

Hoping my blog will progress to become a little more inspiring.