Playful Parenting

I've been reading this delightful book called Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen.

When we gaze at our children and smile fondly at their magical smiles and infectious laughter, we are reminded of their sweet innocence. Suddenly, I'm found on the floor on all fours pretending I'm a ferocious tiger or tackling her gently to the floor and blowing raspberries on her soft tummy.

Play, according to Cohen, is immensely profound.

Firstly, play is a way they try on an adult roles and skills. Secondly, it's a way to find closeness, attachment and affection.

Thirdly, and most unique to humans according to the author, is that play is used way to reconnect after a bond has been broken.

With these thoughts in my mind, I had play on the brain while I totted my camera around this weekend.

Now, if you know my daughter she's not a toy fan. This is incredibly challenging when I'm preparing meals, going out of the room for a minute or doing anything for that matter. So, out we go in search of fun and excitement.

We went to early years this morning. They had a big craft table that Z gravitated to upon entering.


She really enjoys playing with glue but hasn't got the art of pasting and gluing one item to another just yet! The craft was decorating construction paper Easter Eggs.


Later in the afternoon, we spent time with friends with a 3 and half year old and a 7 year old. Z's squeals and delights were relished by me and I could tell she was having a wonderful time "pretending" to drive a toddler car and play a firefighter.



When she hears one (and oh boy, do we hear a lot in our neighbourhood) she makes the sign for car and goes "eeeeeee!"


I often moan to anyone who listens that my daughter doesn't "play" with toys, but moments like today when she is absorbed by the smallest of details makes me feel reassured that she is finding her own niche and ways to create imaginative play.

Belly Woes

Now that our place has been conditionally sold (cheer!), I've spent my spare thoughts on (secretly) thinking of conceiving and mulling over the weight I've put on since I've had my little munchkin.

So. My belly woes - what used to be and what it is now. By the time the evening/night rolls around I just want to do some mindless nothings. I definitely don't have the luxury of going from one job site to another teaching Pilates for hours. That was the ultimate dream job for me - and it helped immensely with my pregnancy and birth.

The positive and incredible benefits of exercise is not lost upon us. We know its influence in every part of our being if we just gave it time. Right? We need that push.


So here's my gentle push! A loving nudge from one friend to another ;)

Here's a list of 10 incredibly easy things you can do to help get a fitter centre.

Ready? Here we go!

1. Breathe. It's true! Try taking a breath. A deep breath. Ballooning the sides of your waistline slowly by bringing that air through your nose and then exhaling rapidly through your mouth. Pull in your abdominals as you exhale.

2. Pelvic tilts - if you get a chance, lie on the floor or a mat (the bed lures me into sleeping!) and just gently tip your lower back to the floor and back again. Amazing exercise to start getting your abdominals going again.

3. Since you're down there, keep breathing and keep your pelvic tipped slightly and do some basic abdominal crunches by placing your hands around your head and lifting your shoulders up. Try inhaling as you lift and exhaling as you come down without bringing your head all the way down.

4. Shoulder bridge is a wonderful way of working your glutes (bonus - working glutes strengthens your back as well AND tummy). Lying on the floor lift your glutes gently off the floor, as if you were peeling a sticker off the mat, and hold it there. Your feet shouldn't be too far away from your glutes.

5. Reverse roll up This is a great way to work your abdominals. Sitting up with legs and arms outstretched, start rolling down and keep your arms long and legs touching the floor. It will be very tempting to crash when you get closer to the floor, but keep practicing. You'll notice your strength improving the more you do it.

6. Challenge more than just your abs. The reason my classes were so effective was truly because I always had three things going on in one move. For example, a squat wouldn't be just a mundane squat. I would dress it up by throwing in a fitness circle and squatting on tipping toes.

7. Throw in some props with your routine. A circle is phenomenal. A yoga block. A theraband.


8. Sloooooow it down. I've had people in my classes who would go through 10 abdominal exercises while I was just finishing two. The slower you go through your moves, the more your muscles will work.

9. Include some waistline exercises. These exercises help tone the love handles or the extra skin leftover from pregnancy. Grr

10. Just start! We all have to start somewhere. Stand tall. Breathe. Feel good about yourself. Baby steps :)

A flower can say it all

There's something so refreshing about tulips. It could be their vibrant colours peppered around the cities, indicating that Spring is officially underway. It could be that each of their colours represent a beautiful symbolism that, upon receiving a tulip, could say more than any words could reveal.




It could mean that you just want to put a smile on someone's face, but don't quite know how to do it.

We've put our condo on the market yesterday as we are moving more North and out of the busy city life of rattling trucks, shrieking sirens and bustling buses. I decided to put a flower theme for each room. Just to tell a story and give the potential buyers a chance to portray their own story.

I put the yellow tulips in our living room. I love the freshness and cheerfulness that it portrays. Our place was full of happiness as my daughter spent her first two years here. There's an overwhelming sense of attachment to this place. It's my daughter's first home and although that may not mean much to my daughter now, I do find every "first" that she has to be special. Okay, scratch that - not every first. I could go without her first reflux spell..her first cold..her first vaccination..oh. shudder.


I went with intimacy with our bedroom. I wanted to invite a coziness and sense of warmth. Roses. Roses are breathtakingly beautiful and extremely intimate. They are the ultimate indulgence of flowers. Roses are meant for the special occasions and for the words that you find yourself fumbling for. Or may be it's not the words you're looking for ..winkwinknudgenudge


Finally, I went with a lily for our TV area. I find them so irresistible and fragrant. They're so casual without being overbearingly so.


I really may just dump all the flowers in the trash if we don't sell the place by the end of the week! I'm quite low on patience, you see.......

Chasing Butterflies

I decided, late last week, I would take on the daunting, yet exciting, opportunity to make a baby shower cake for my sister in law's sister.

Now, it's been awhile. A long while since I've made a cake. Fondant? Cookie cutters? Rollers? All history from my pregnancy days! So I was really nervous. I sat, entranced, by all these wonderful videos on youtube showing seamless fondant tucked around cakes and details in figurines that looked so real to the unsuspecting eye that I just did not know where to start.

I found a beautiful cake that I wanted to match as close as I could. A simple black and white cake that I thought, "Hey, that should be a piece of cake!" Hmm....a bit naive of me to think such a thought!




Luckily I had used the last egg for my daughter's breakfast this morning, so I used it to mold my butterflies.





Would you ever think that rolling a play-doh like substance and placing it on slabs of cake would be painstakingly difficult? It took me a couple of tries for the lightbulb to turn on and that I could take the plastic I was rolling on, turn it upside down, place it on the cake and peel off the fondant! Yes. It was late. I was tired.



The cake was loved. The children at the shower were in awe of the small butterflies and flowers and asked if they could take them home. They had these little baggies with the little figures from the cake and they were so happy, bless them. It really warmed my heart. The hours cursing fondant made it all worth it - just for that moment to see the delight in their eyes.