Playing house!

We spent the afternoon sheltering from the rain at home yesterday. The children came and went, along with various friends. At one point our middle one (aged 8) was at home with two of his friends. His younger sister and older brother were both busy elsewhere.

Watching them play, it reminded me how important it is to provide a variety of play opportunities for children of all ages. Outwardly, they seem to grow up so quickly, and yet I frequently hear parents commenting to each other, 'he still likes a cuddle at bedtime' or 'she still plays with her dolls you know'. The three boys at our house yesterday, independently instigated a game of 'shops' which grew into role playing different members of a family, one of whom had their birthday. By the end of it we were all involved because they insisted on us all coming to the 'birthday party' - the cake was delicious!

I know that if I had suggested they play like this, I would have been met with fierce resistance, but given an afternoon of wet weather and some good company, they had a great time, fully engrossed in their make believe family.

I guess it just made me realise that at 8 and 9 years old, they still love to really 'play'. Give them a variety of ingredients and let their imaginations loose....I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I have just had the promised call from my daughter's pre-school (second day, I think it is worse than the 1st?!) to reassure me that she does want to stay for lunch because she is so excited about her new Skip Hop lunchies lunch bag!

I have been working hard on reducing our reliance on plastic so the fact that the Skip Hop Zoo Lunchies are BPA and phthalate free is a bonus for us.

The photo shows how pleased she is with it and I have to say, I am almost as excited! The Skip Hop Zoo lunchies and Zoo packs are just adorable and they really appeal to kids. If it makes her happy at lunchtime, I am all for it!

As I looked out of the window waiting for my eldest to get home from football last evening it struck me how, all of a sudden, the evenings are drawing in. It seems to be dark so early. This coupled with the fact that I have had trouble keeping warm the past couple of evenings, can only mean that Autumn is just around the corner.

I have to admit I am a real sun worshipper. I love the warmth of Summer, I love the beach and swimming, I love having the kids at home, the absence of school runs, not having to carry a coat everywhere and sandals are so much easier than socks and boots!

With young children we are constantly reminded of the passing of time. Every time we see someone we have not seen for a while the "Oh you've grown so big," and "Hasn't she shot up?" comments reinforce it.

So this year as they go back to school, I am trying not to wish their short childhoods away. I am trying not to mourn the loss of Summer because I don't want my children to feel negative half of the year. Let's face it, they often moan if its too hot, they don't seem to worry if they get wet in the rain, they love standing on a hill with the wind really blowing, they love kicking leaves and collecting conkers and the past couple of years they have seen more snow than they have ever seen before! I am not going to label the day as 'miserable' just because there is cloud in the sky. I am not going to let the weather stop us finding fun things to do outdoors and I am going to enjoy cuddling up by the fire.

Although I am a sun worshipper I can see that without Autumn and Winter, the Summer would not be half as appealing, so come on Autumn, do your worst!

Essential kit for making the most of the Autumn and Winter:

• sleep is essential all year round, but children can be confused by changes in sunset/sunrise times. Get them a GroClock so they know for sure when it is time to go to sleep and when to get up.

• don't let the weather force you to stay in when you want to be out! Get waterproofs and wellies and go splash in the puddles!

• make sure everyone is warm enough, especially at night. Get 2.5 tog Grobags and a GroEgg Room Thermometer to make sure your little ones are just the right temperature.

• BuggySnuggles are great for keeping them warm in the buggy and we found that they often do away with the constant on and off of a Winter coat.

• new Split Leg Babysnuggles from the makers of Buggysnuggles are great in car seats and baby carriers where the straps can get in the way of some all in ones.

Well, as I am sure you are all more than aware, the Summer hols are over for another year.

We have had a wonderful Summer and hope you have too.

As always in our house, September is a month of catch up. My husband and I both work from home as much as we can but over the holidays this obviously presents challenges!

Apologies for the scant input on the blog over the last 6 weeks but I intend to get back into the swing of it, with lots of new input over the next few weeks. I just hope all you working parents have enough spare time to read it occasionally!