Fever, books and roses

My girl had fever yesterday and the day before. She has always been incredibly healthy and since she weaned this was the first time around she had fever. She must have had fever only a couple of times in the past but those times consisted more or less of a sleepless night -for me- with a high temperature and nursing a lot. Because she has so seldom been sick, I can see the significance of this fever.
Last week she slept rather little and we all experienced some uneasy moments. She refused to nap and went to bed desperately late. She cried a lot as well. We could see she was undergoing some important changes and tried hard to help her, to no avail. Towards the end of the week, I decided that I was no longer actively going to put her to sleep during the daytime and told her so. I explained how important it is to be well rested and that anytime she felt tired it would be awesome for her to go to sleep for a while. After a rather rough couple of days -Wednesday and Thursday-, at noon on Friday she decided to go to bed and napped for one and a half hours. That was nice! I promise I had despaired and felt my whole way of raising her was a failure. It was nice to realize that she is indeed able to recognize she is tired and go to rest.
Then came the weekend and weekends are never good in terms of consolidating new routines. On Sunday eve she fell ill with a fever and has slept a lot ever since. Today she was not completely recovered but I've been able to see the new girl emerging after the bout of fever. She is taller and thinner and looks grown in general. She has even used some new expressions and words that she would use her own way have switched to the right word. She sounds so grown up. The activities I had prepared for the week and which remained completely untouched yesterday because she spent all day napping on the couch have been approached today and she has even told her father that she wanted to finish "all this activity" before having supper.
Oh. How much I love my girl. If only I had words to express it the way it deserves. But I don't want to try any clumsy attempts.
It was Sant Jordi here today and we've gone for a stroll, the kids and me, to see the stands full of roses and books and although I fear it has become a commercial strategy that makes both books and roses less valuable, I still like it the way I used to when I was a girl and books were my truest love. I do love books and flowers so even if I didn't intend to buy nor the first neither the latter, we've set out to feel the festive atmosphere. The smell of Mediterranean broom on a spring morning, which hasn't changed since my teenage years recall me of this love. Books were a door to new worlds, to knowledge of new things, something I truly cherished. And, I believe I have passed this on to my daughter.
I had indeed gotten a new book (Montessori letter work by Bobby and June George) for her today but it came via mail and we have given it to her this afternoon. I have the feeling we are going to enter a new sensitive period for letters very soon.

Homemade and costless glue

I am very excited to share the latest recipe I've tried out to make homemade non-toxic art materials. I really love seeing children experiment with paint, play dough, glue and other doughs but I am also concerned about the amount of toxic ingredients in these materials. Bear in mind that my eldest is 2,4 years old.
I have already mentioned somewhere that I try to make materials with edible ingredients. Just in case. We all know that toddlers like to taste things. We've tried several types of homemade paint and regularly make play dough and salt dough but I had never ever thought of making glue.
It is as simple as:
You boil a cup of water.
Mix 3 tablespoons of flour (I used the cheapest all-purpose) with 2 tablespoons of cold water
You mix everything in a pot and heat until mixture thickens
Add 1 tablespoon of sugar
Stir and let mixture overnight in the refrigerator.
We used it yesterday and paper sticked to cardboard even better than with regular glue sticks!!

Play dough or cómo hacer pastelina casera

Para quienes me han pedido cómo se hace la pastelina que usamos en casa: aquí va la receta:

2 tazas de harina (idealmente, para una pasta fina y maleable, harina de arroz)
1/2 taza de sal
2 cucharadas de aceite
2 cucharadas de cremor tártaro
1 taza de agua hirviendo
colorante alimenticio (opcional)
esencias, especies o aceite esencial (opcional)

También podéis añadir purpurina pero entonces esta masa comestible 100 % deja de serlo. Con comestible me refiero a que los peques que siempre lo prueban pueden probarla sin problema no a que se puede comer como si de un pastel se tratase...

M concentrated on decorating the play dough with marbles, pipe cleaners and string

Many people ask me how to make play dough so I have decided to share our recipe once again. Since the people who ask me are Spanish and might not read English, I am going to re-share this old post of mine and translate the recipe.


It's been some time now since we first started making our own play dough. At the beginning, about half a year ago, M was not interested at all and the dough would remain in a basket on the shelves until it dried out. However, I decided to give it a go before Halloween and this time it has certainly been a success. We made it for a weekly play date and the other girl enjoyed it very much as well.
Something that has surprised me this time around is that the dough gets better and better the more used it is. M asks to play with it everyday and it has become soft and resilient at the same time that it's kept the cinnamon flavor. We are very happy about the recipe we are using, so I've thought I would share it.

That's the 2 of us making the dough

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of salt
2 tablespoons of oil
2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
1 cup of boiling water
food coloring for color
essence, spices, or essential oils for flavor

We mix all the ingredients in this order and then knead until the dough looks all right.

We could make some balls to give as play-date favors out of this batch

This recipe contained a little bit of orange food coloring for color and cinnamon to give it a scent that would evoke the season. Another batch we've made had a little red coloring to make it pink and strawberry scent.

Just the three of us

Today has been the third day I've spent with both children on my own from dawn till dusk, at what time I've left the house to go to one of my book club meetings. Exhausting.
It's been exhausting but also amazing, empowering, fulfilling.
Amazing because both children prove that they cooperate in whatever situation they find themselves in. A week ago M seemed to need her father all day long. Little A was quite demanding, seldom comforted at the breast and rarely accepting being put down. I really thought the husband's first week back at work would be a tough one and I was prepared. They have surprised me greatly and in the best possible way. M complained the first morning about her father having left without her. Although we had informed her repeatedly that he would go to work the following morning. Then, she asked for him once or twice during the morning and that was it. The second and third days she complained a bit after waking up and was quite happy the rest of the day. A bit of crying on the first day and it was about all. We have been mostly spending a nice time the three of us.
Empowering because the days when my dear girl was rejecting me seemed to have ended. This time together has reinforced the bonding in a way I was highly in need for.
Fulfilling because despite the -nearly total- lack of -me-time I keep thinking this is what I want to do.
I've been trying to have the best age-appropriate activities out on our shelves, which has meant hard work after hours to have materials ready. We have all been very busy to have meals beforehand in the refrigerator and a reasonable schedule to go by. But apart from logistics management, the kids have helped a great deal. Baby A has accepted napping on his tommy on a little mattress even in the garden. He has actually slept for longer stretches of time on the mattress than in the wrap (it might be due to the fact that I may be requested to do things like playing table tennis on the floor while he is sleeping). He has peed and pooped in his potty each and every time I've put him over it, which has made the whole diaper issue much simpler. M has engaged in most of the suggested activities and even if she needs my focused attention most of the time also understands that the baby needs me and accepts, even encourages my attending him at the first whimper. It is not unusual to hear her telling me "give him milk" (= nurse him) or "he wants you to hold him". She is of the most delightful kind, my girl.

Not-so-little baby catching hold of cushions

On the first day I was making up some story and saying "this wonder, that wonder" to refer to them both and M looked at me first and at A then and told him "AND this wonder" referring to me. Oh, she made my heart melt. That same day, when her father came back home in the evening she told him "papalou I do love you" semi-quoting from a book we have called "Koala Lou" where the koala's mother tells him all the time "Koala Lou I do love you". It also touches my heart when I see her taking care of one of her teddies. She nurses them, helps them go to the toilet, asks them many times if they need milk or how do they feel, and now even tells them "oh, I will hug you, I will kiss you, I will caress you".
One of the things I definitely have to improve is the timing of naps. Except for the first day, when M napped for two and a half hours following a fall from her swing, any time there has been a window of opportunity to get her to nap, I've had to do something else. I know it is important that she gets some rest but yesterday and today I was unable to make her wind down. I hope I will be able to change this. Something else is the kind of activities I know she is ready for which I can't provide for lack of materials. I am going to place an order this weekend and I truly look forward to starting using some Montessori materials with her.

The most successful suggested activity this week: pouring colored water with a funnel

I will take the opportunity to mention that we have finally decided to homeschool -following mostly the Montessori method- next year. Totally or partially we aren't yet sure but our idea is to refurbish our basement, tidy and improve our garden, convert the shed for garden tools into a play house, and get Montessori materials. We might open our house to other children but even if there are no families interested, we will carry on with the project. I am very happy we have finally decided that even if M prefers to go to school, even if no other families join in our project, the expenses will be an investment for we see the Montessori method  really works for us. M thrives when offered the right kind of activities and I am sure she will do so when we have access to real first class materials.
Well, that's more or less what our last three days have looked like. I could ramble on for hours but going beyond midnight can be a bit too much. Good night!!

A year ago...

I didn't mention it before but I have been having a hard time as of late. My "absolute rose" and most favorite girl was rejecting me in many occasions and this is something I don't deal well with. I recall when she weaned that she underwent a stage when she would say "mama no" and she preferred her father over me. I also had a hard time then, being pregnant and feeling rather sick. This time around it has been worse. She doesn't nurse anymore, although she tried to after A was born. I can't exactly figure it out but I think she had forgotten the technique for she tried several times but never nursed again. If I may compare our situation to those mums who tandem nurse, I believe being able to nurse the toddler can be of help. How many times have I wished I could offer her milk and bond again the way we used to. Besides, her father has been unemployed for some months, which has been of great help having two little ones to care for, but this has meant her turning to him for most things and explicitly rejecting me. I have been suffering quite a lot and only because I have hopes this stage is finishing, I can now speak out.

Today I was re-reading what we were up to last year and a wave of nostalgia has invaded me. I want to share it, if only because I no longer write such accurate updates http://labambinafelice.blogspot.com.es/2012/04/whats-new-total-autonomy-mopping-and.html. I also expect to improve that once my little baby is a bit less dependent, although I honestly fear two will always be more work than one used to be.

Well, little baby and "absolute rose" really like each other, which is wonderful. The babe smiles broadly every time he sees her. But I will write about this on another post. Good night!