At the Moment #3
Here are the things that we have been loving at the moment.
Showing posts with label At the Moment. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
It's been a while since I did a little update like this as recently I've just not been up to blogging and been focussing on putting one foot in front of the other. But things seem to be a bit more balanced again and the bairns have spent these last few months perfectly playing nicely with each other and I now get chunks of time to sit and type whilst the play peacefully. (Well for now they do!)
Here are the things that we have been loving at the moment.
Here are the things that we have been loving at the moment.
Monday, May 04, 2020
I am a positive person so when things are difficult, like now, I try to appreciate the little things and see the light in the darkest places. So I find writing this really cathartic and uplifting and to be able to share the things that make us happy, brings me joy.
Here are the things that we have been loving at the moment.
The last week in April sees mine and the Wee Page Turner's birthdays so we tried to make those days special! First and foremost I got it in my head that it wasn't going to be a real birthday unless we got an M&S Colin the Caterpillar cake so I set off on a mission to drive the 20mins to our neighbouring town to get one - and it was fine! They had plenty and the shop was relatively normal! Then the mission for presents, particularly for The Wee Page Turner, and I just want to take minute to say thank you to all our friends and family who went that extra mile to send a parcel in the post or ordered something to be delivered here, or gave us money to order something. It really made his day special. And I got a lovely little haul too - mostly thanks to my mum who sent some money and a Bookishly box so I've been treated to a new coat, sandals (below) and a new embroidery kit. Special mention also goes to my two favourite Jos - BookLoverJo and TheLittleLiteracySociety Jo - who both sent me some more reading material (in case I run out you understand) and they are both on the top of my to read pile! Thanks everyone too for all the lovely messages! Despite being in lockdown and not seeing anyone (except my bestie who dropped by with bubbly - thank you my favourite human and he four legged friend!) we had a great time!
BookBairn has a new book obsession! Recently she has been wanting to read more and more chapter books and just before the library closed I managed to snag 3 from the Squishy McFluff series (we had actually read two previously and I then bought her a second-hand copy of the first book online since lockdown began). And she loves them! Told completely in rhyme these are a perfect length for her and whilst they are divided into three chapters we always read them cover to cover because BookBairn would not let me away with anything else! She loves the main character Ava and her invisible cat - Squishy McFluff (another character name that BookBairn's Papa will love - he is collecting the best names in kid lit) and the mischief they get up to. The illustrations on each page bring to life the story and are lots of fun too! These are a perfect transition to chapter books and are so much fun that BookBairn carries them about everywhere with her at the moment.
This is by far one of the most interesting books that I have read! I actually read it back in March but, as it was the pick for my book group, listened to it again on audiobook which brought a whole new perspective to the book. The whole thing felt so real - the characters, their stories, the music. I wanted to listen to the band, see their album cover, watch them perform. It was so immersive and... real. Set in the 1970s it's the story of a band (in their own words) and their tumultuous relationships with each other and with sex, drugs and rock and roll. With a few little twists and clever storytelling, it's a real wonder of a book. The back of the book even features lyrics from their songs! I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Those are the things that have brought us a little happiness over the last few weeks and we would love to hear of any little favourites below which have brought you a twinkling of joy!
At the Moment #2
I am a positive person so when things are difficult, like now, I try to appreciate the little things and see the light in the darkest places. So I find writing this really cathartic and uplifting and to be able to share the things that make us happy, brings me joy.
Here are the things that we have been loving at the moment.
Sunshine
What a difference it makes to have sunshine! (It's currently grey and cloudy now that I write this - typical!) Being confined to home is hard, but a sunny day makes it seem more bearable. I wake up in a better mood, the kids play together much better outside and all those rays make me feel more relaxed and energised in equal measure. We also got a new paddling pool - last year's one got a puncture - and it's actually been warm enough to use it. In April!! So I've enjoyed putting my feet up and reading a few pages of my book as the bairns play and it's been bliss. Bring back the sun!
What a difference it makes to have sunshine! (It's currently grey and cloudy now that I write this - typical!) Being confined to home is hard, but a sunny day makes it seem more bearable. I wake up in a better mood, the kids play together much better outside and all those rays make me feel more relaxed and energised in equal measure. We also got a new paddling pool - last year's one got a puncture - and it's actually been warm enough to use it. In April!! So I've enjoyed putting my feet up and reading a few pages of my book as the bairns play and it's been bliss. Bring back the sun!
Birthdays
The last week in April sees mine and the Wee Page Turner's birthdays so we tried to make those days special! First and foremost I got it in my head that it wasn't going to be a real birthday unless we got an M&S Colin the Caterpillar cake so I set off on a mission to drive the 20mins to our neighbouring town to get one - and it was fine! They had plenty and the shop was relatively normal! Then the mission for presents, particularly for The Wee Page Turner, and I just want to take minute to say thank you to all our friends and family who went that extra mile to send a parcel in the post or ordered something to be delivered here, or gave us money to order something. It really made his day special. And I got a lovely little haul too - mostly thanks to my mum who sent some money and a Bookishly box so I've been treated to a new coat, sandals (below) and a new embroidery kit. Special mention also goes to my two favourite Jos - BookLoverJo and TheLittleLiteracySociety Jo - who both sent me some more reading material (in case I run out you understand) and they are both on the top of my to read pile! Thanks everyone too for all the lovely messages! Despite being in lockdown and not seeing anyone (except my bestie who dropped by with bubbly - thank you my favourite human and he four legged friend!) we had a great time!
Matching Sandals
Before I was a book girl I was a shoe girl. So a lovely pair of shoes will always hold a special place in my heart. And for the longest time one of my best friends has been telling me about Saltwater sandals and I decided for my birthday I would treat myself to a pair. And I couldn't resist buying BookBairn a matching pair. It makes me ludicrously happy!
Squishy McFluff
BookBairn has a new book obsession! Recently she has been wanting to read more and more chapter books and just before the library closed I managed to snag 3 from the Squishy McFluff series (we had actually read two previously and I then bought her a second-hand copy of the first book online since lockdown began). And she loves them! Told completely in rhyme these are a perfect length for her and whilst they are divided into three chapters we always read them cover to cover because BookBairn would not let me away with anything else! She loves the main character Ava and her invisible cat - Squishy McFluff (another character name that BookBairn's Papa will love - he is collecting the best names in kid lit) and the mischief they get up to. The illustrations on each page bring to life the story and are lots of fun too! These are a perfect transition to chapter books and are so much fun that BookBairn carries them about everywhere with her at the moment.
Daisy Jones and the Six
This is by far one of the most interesting books that I have read! I actually read it back in March but, as it was the pick for my book group, listened to it again on audiobook which brought a whole new perspective to the book. The whole thing felt so real - the characters, their stories, the music. I wanted to listen to the band, see their album cover, watch them perform. It was so immersive and... real. Set in the 1970s it's the story of a band (in their own words) and their tumultuous relationships with each other and with sex, drugs and rock and roll. With a few little twists and clever storytelling, it's a real wonder of a book. The back of the book even features lyrics from their songs! I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Those are the things that have brought us a little happiness over the last few weeks and we would love to hear of any little favourites below which have brought you a twinkling of joy!
Hope you're all staying safe and well,
Kim x
Disclaimer: Some books were sent from publishers but they were not sent in connection with this post. Their inclusion here is my choice. Because I really do think they are great. Please read our Review Policy if you want to know more. If you click on the image of the book below you will be sent to Amazon.co.uk using an affiliate link. This means that if you choose to purchase on Amazon.co.uk, I will receive a small sum (around 20-90p per book) from Amazon at no extra cost to you. I understand that you may not want to use an affiliate link, but if you like reading our blog post please just think of it as a small tip for a tip-off to an awesome book. And know that your support means I can buy more books! For more information check out our For Readers Section.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
I have not blogged for such a long time. And the longer I left it, the more daunting it felt to get back in front of the computer and start typing. But I've been reading lots recently about making more time for wha you love and the truth is I fell out of love with blogging. I think it's because it became more like a job and less like a hobby. So I've decided to pick up my pen again (i.e. return to the keyboard) and start writing. About things that I am passionate about. About things that inspire me. And most probably about books!
BookBairn is truly fascinated by ladybirds at the moment. It started when we had a ladybird themed week to our daily activities and we made a What the Ladybird Heard map, and then watched a drawing tutorial with Lydia Monks and BookBairn is now thrilled with her ability to draw a ladybird that she seems to be drawing them at every opportunity she gets. We also have spotted several ladybirds in the garden and the road that we live on seems to have an abundance - we counted 45 on our daily walk yesterday. We alos read up about ladybirds in two fascinating books - Bug Hotel by Libby Walden and illustrated by Clover Robin which has the most incredible cut paper illustrations and also in Slow Down by Rachel Williams and illustrated by Freya Hartas which features 50 two-page spread natures stories, one of which is all about how a ladybird takes flight and BookBairn loved it and both her and her (nearly) three year old brother can now tell you all about a ladybird's elytra. Also an American blogger friend pointed out that they call ladybirds 'ladybugs' (which I knew) but it made me wonder why they are called 'ladybirds'. So I googled it! They were originally named "our lady's bird" or "our lady's beetle" after The Virgin Mary who is often depicted in artwork wearing a red cloak in early paintings and the seven spots on a ladybird (common ladybird's have seven spots - as The Wee Page Turner can tell you) were connected to her seven joys and seven sorrows. The things you learn. Every day's a school day!
At the Moment #1
I have not blogged for such a long time. And the longer I left it, the more daunting it felt to get back in front of the computer and start typing. But I've been reading lots recently about making more time for wha you love and the truth is I fell out of love with blogging. I think it's because it became more like a job and less like a hobby. So I've decided to pick up my pen again (i.e. return to the keyboard) and start writing. About things that I am passionate about. About things that inspire me. And most probably about books!
It also feels a bit remiss to sit here and restart blogging and not to mention the current climate of lockdown, quarantine and world pandemic. But I don't want not knowing what to say about the subject to prevent me from getting back to what I enjoy doing. I have put too many other barriers in place that made me shy away from writing and I'll be damned if I make another excuse. Maybe I'll feel more collected to share my thoughts on this at some point. Maybe not. But I think that's ok.
So I thought I would start by sharing five things that we are loving at the moment!
Ladybirds
BookBairn is truly fascinated by ladybirds at the moment. It started when we had a ladybird themed week to our daily activities and we made a What the Ladybird Heard map, and then watched a drawing tutorial with Lydia Monks and BookBairn is now thrilled with her ability to draw a ladybird that she seems to be drawing them at every opportunity she gets. We also have spotted several ladybirds in the garden and the road that we live on seems to have an abundance - we counted 45 on our daily walk yesterday. We alos read up about ladybirds in two fascinating books - Bug Hotel by Libby Walden and illustrated by Clover Robin which has the most incredible cut paper illustrations and also in Slow Down by Rachel Williams and illustrated by Freya Hartas which features 50 two-page spread natures stories, one of which is all about how a ladybird takes flight and BookBairn loved it and both her and her (nearly) three year old brother can now tell you all about a ladybird's elytra. Also an American blogger friend pointed out that they call ladybirds 'ladybugs' (which I knew) but it made me wonder why they are called 'ladybirds'. So I googled it! They were originally named "our lady's bird" or "our lady's beetle" after The Virgin Mary who is often depicted in artwork wearing a red cloak in early paintings and the seven spots on a ladybird (common ladybird's have seven spots - as The Wee Page Turner can tell you) were connected to her seven joys and seven sorrows. The things you learn. Every day's a school day!
Little Brian Paint Sticks
Like a lot of people we have been decorating our window with rainbows to show our solidarity and brings a smile to passerbys faces. We actually did this before the lockdown began (and before it was trendy - not often I'm ahead of the fashion!) as BookBairn's nursery walk past our window regularly on their weekly trip to the forest and as BookBairn was on holiday (even though we had to postpone our trip for now) we wanted to leave a little artwork in the window. We always use our Little Brian Paint Sticks in the window as they are such vibrant colours but also wash off really easily. Both kids love using them and they are way less messy than actual paint. They do wash off really easily with hot soapy water or window spray but I would recommend using an old towel or cloth (or kitchen roll) to wipe it clean as the paint can stain fabric. But as the kids also quite like cleaning the windows afterwards I don't mind at all giving them an old cut up baby towel so they can clean their slate and start drawing again. It's also lovely to see people admiring our artwork.
Eating Together
One of the benefits of my husband having to work from home is that we can all eat dinner together early in the evening. Normally (and doesn't that word feel like it has new meaning!?!), I cooked and fed the kids their dinner around 5pm and then my husband would return home from work about 6.45pm, just int time for bedtime but it was often 8pm by the time we cooked and ate our grown up dinner. But now we can all eat together! At about 5.30pm. Sitting round the dining table together and it's so lovely. We talk about our favourite bits of the day, spend time together and everybody seems to eat better too. It also means that my husband and I can now sit down and relax much earlier in the evening so have more time for ourselves and to pursue our own hobbies, like reading and blogging!
Deliveries and Post
Thank goodness for continue deliveries and post. I would caveat this by saying how much I miss my daily chat with our lovely postman. He is such a nice bloke and always has a kind word to say. But now he has to stand on the drive and drop things off and it feels very strange to have an invisble barrier. However, I'm so glad he still comes to our house daily and we are still getting lots of lovely books to review as well as some other goodies like a wardrobe treat for each of us (since I never got my big American Outlet mall shopping experience!) and also It's The Wee Page Turner (and my) birthday this month so I'm glad his presents are still winging their way to us in plenty of time for his birthday!
Encyclopaedias & Anthologies
BookBairn is just fascinated by encyclopaedias and anthologies at the moment. She loves flicking through them and identifying the images as well as letting us read aloud some of the facts for her to absorb. I remember loving looking at my DK encyclopaedias as a child so I understand how much she enjoys just exploring the images by herself without actually being able to read the words. Her favourites include: Slow Down by Rachel Williams and illustrated by Freya Hartas, An Anthology of Intriguing Animals by Ben Hoare, The Wonders of Nature by Ben Hoare and Encyclopedia of Animals by Jules Howard & Jarom Vogel. Interestingly I've also had a few requests on social media for a list of encyclopaedias and I have been keeping some for BookBairn to 'grow into' in my book archive (storage boxes in our shed!) as couldn't justify the shelf space until she got a little older so think I will dig those out and get working on a blog post/list on that topic!
So that's the things we have been loving at the moment! I'm hoping to be able to get back to writing. And finding my passion and enjoyment for blogging again so it's been great to highlight our favourites of the moment. I've popped a few links below to things I've mentioned in case you want to find them yourselves. And would love to hear of any little favourites below which have brought you a twinkling of joy!
So that's the things we have been loving at the moment! I'm hoping to be able to get back to writing. And finding my passion and enjoyment for blogging again so it's been great to highlight our favourites of the moment. I've popped a few links below to things I've mentioned in case you want to find them yourselves. And would love to hear of any little favourites below which have brought you a twinkling of joy!
Hope you're all staying safe and well,
And looking forward to writing again soon!
Kim x
Disclaimer: Some books were sent from publishers but they were not sent in connection with this post. Their inclusion here is my choice. Because I really do think they are great. Please read our Review Policy if you want to know more. If you click on the image of the book below you will be sent to Amazon.co.uk using an affiliate link. This means that if you choose to purchase on Amazon.co.uk, I will receive a small sum (around 20-90p per book) from Amazon at no extra cost to you. I understand that you may not want to use an affiliate link, but if you like reading our blog post please just think of it as a small tip for a tip-off to an awesome book. And know that your support means I can buy more books! For more information check out our For Readers Section.
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