From last summer’s beachy highlights … this summer’s highlight was sunset crabbing parties. We found a couple of families who were happy to be our crabbing partners. There’s something very satisfying about spotting a crab and scooping it up quickly in one swift motion (before it gets a chance to scuttle off or nip your toes). Even more so when the scene is framed against a backdrop of beautifully golden and ombre sunsets. We started a bit later in the season than most folks, so it took some patience to track down bigger sized crabs that meet the minimum size. But on one of the evenings, we hit a sweet spot and managed to catch decent haul to share between each family. Just enough for everyone to enjoy a light supper. Freshly steamed crab for supper. So. Good. Can’t wait for next summer.

So, now that we’re well under way into 2017, time to roll up my sleeves and get back to play work. Here are some snapshots and notes on some of the things we’ve been doing so far over the past month…   Rainy days and rainbows Rainy weather is back now that summer is over. Making drip art rain picture: We used a pipette to drop paint onto paper then slowly tilted paper forward to make paint drip/roll down across paper (children were fascinated observing the paint drip down slowly, and exploring tilting paper in various directions to observe trajectory of the paint dribbling down). Making a rainbow picture: Colour exploration painting with cards (we dolloped on some paint onto paper and used some old plastic cards to mix and scrape the paint across the paper). We read a story about a rainbow and talked about the specific colours of the rainbow as well as the number and order of the colours. The children had a go at colouring in a rainbow picture. The activity focused on obse...

I promised myself I had to write something about Gracie. Before this magical place between toddler and schoolie passes al too quickly. I always thought that as children get older, I would have more time to blog and write and collect my thoughts. But this is sadly not the case. It’s hard to explain why. Probably it has something to do with juggling between my regular mum role and my daycare mum role , plus having a school aged child bringing back homework and getting piano lessons from his mum. But back to Gracie… My darling squishilicious, droll little monkey princess. Here is my attempt to put together some notes to describe you as you are right now. Nightly bed buddies: Momo monkey* Teddy Bao Bao Mini hoot-hoot Mini monkey (*who has a occasional exasperating habit of getting lost under the covers at night and you have to drag poor mummy out of bed in the middle of the night to go hunt for it) Favourite foods: Peaches, plums , apricots, nectarines, fresh prunes (pretty much AN...

One of the best ways to learn about others is to have a peek into some of the books on their recent reads list. Early last year I discovered that I had access to a massive online library of eBooks through my local library. So I’ve been chomping down a good variety of all sorts of books over the past year. Here’s a peek into some of noteworthy reads I’ve enjoyed lately. It might also give you an idea on some of the thoughts and ideas that I have been reflecting and chewing on as well.   When Breath Becomes Air What makes life worth living in the face of death by Paul Kalanithi (Cried buckets of tears over this one… a very raw and real reflection on death)   Being Mortal Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande (More bucket loads of tears shed over this one… especially at the end. And the author also raises a lot of thought-provoking questions on preparing for living out the closing chapters of our lives)   Blood The Stuff of Life by Lawrence Hill...