The overwhelm of having children home for an unknown length of time is some what real, within the space of a few days I have gone from one child in year one and one in pre school - to home, full time, education my responsibility, my job on pause (albeit for a very good reason). It is a lot. They want to go see their grandparents, they want to go to the swimming pool (something we did twice a week) the library, asking for pre school and their friends. It is going to be a long few weeks/months. Whilst I cannot fill your feeds with happy little faces tucking into cake, or sleepy newborns, all squishy and new, I hope to bring you some fun activities to break up the day - educational slants so you can fill their homework books, but most importantly, you can create memories of this time together. No matter the situation, I am focusing on this time with my babies. I am being realistic though, it wont be perfect, I will no doubt shout at times, there will be tantrums and there will be tears - but there will be cuddles, and laughter, smiles, there will be activities in the garden, growing food and flowers. As I type this my son is on my lap, giving me snuggles and despairing at how unfair it is that his sister is doing school work on my iPad!!!

I have made a list of activities to try. I hope that most of them are using things around the house, so and I have avoided anything with dried pasta or rice where possible!!! :)

I would LOVE it if you can share any images of your kids doing these activities with me - I will have my camera out a lot in the new few weeks, so it would be amazing if you can grab some photos too <3

• Create a hopscotch with bits of cardboard, paper, paper plates - great for number recognition and for older children you can get them to jump to number using sums.

• Hoop toss using kitchen roll tubes and paper plates with the centre cut out. Great for motor skills, paint and decorate the ‘hoops’ for fun with colours too.

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• DIY scavenger hunt! List toys you can see on the floor, mark out a space or get a toy box for them to fill with the treasure, get them to race around and see who can complete their list first! Tidying up need not be a battle!

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• Create a dice with cardboard - give 6 exercises/instructions “Jump 5 times!”, “spin in a circle”, “flap like a bird”…great for burning a little energy!

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• Finger print art - what can you turn painty finger print into?! Bumblebees, lady birds, aliens, sweets…create a story with your little creations!

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• If you have a cardboard box, cut out arm holes, with the open side facing away from your child, get them to reach in and guess an object that you place inside! You can use toys, fruit, explore texture, cold items from the fridge, soft, hard!

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• Empty milk cartons? Excellent!! Cut the bottoms off, use them as scoops in the garden, in the bath, use it to catch balls in the garden, the possibilities are endless!

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• Spare balloons and a spatular can create a great game of tennis!

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• Create rainbows or pictures using cut up magazines and newspapers, try to get your little one to sort colours for an educational element!

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• Empty loo rolls can become skittles! So can plastic cups left over from a party!

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• Packets of chalk are brilliant! Create a hopscotch of instructions, they have to jump from instruction to instruction, “roar and stomp!” “touch your toes” You can get them to throw a beanbag if you have one!

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• Cover the end of a plastic bottle with a sock, dip in water and washing up liquid and blow for a bubble snake!

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• Use decorating tape or masking tape, create paper/card arches for the kids to roll balls through and around, get them to use wooden spoons, their feet.​

• Salt dough is an all time favourite in my house, the basic recipe can proved great entertainment, bake it and then they can paint it for an even longer activity!

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• Create magic wants with lolly sticks, stickers and craft supplies!

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• Build bridges with cups and lolly sticks for toy animals to walk along!

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• Beads and pipe cleaners can create fab counting and colour based activities! Cut out some kites and attach the pipe cleaners to the base, number them and get your child to add the correct number of beads, colour the kites and get them to thread all beads of the matching colours, write sums on the kites for older children! Make sure you don’t leave little ones alone with beads!! Pegs and a coat hanger is a fab alternative to this :)

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• ​Colour hunt! Grab some paper of different colours - or just uses pens - get your child to find objects inside or out that match!

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• Got some baking soda in the cupboard? Sprinkle a good layer into a baking tray, using food colouring in vinegar and call syringes make a fizzy colour experiment!

Don't forget to share some photos with me - please! I need to see other faces soon ;)

Stay safe, and sane... Parents, check out the self care blog I did - you need to look after yourself in all this!!!

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Being a new mum the concept of self-care might seem impossible, between the sleepless nights and a baby that seems to want nothing but you through the day finding time for yourself might be the last thing on your mind. I often have new mums come into my studio that say they barely have time for a shower or a hot drink in the first few months of motherhood. 

Self-care is a little bit of a buzz word at the moment and its often a little misunderstood. Self-care is basically just caring for yourself as you do your new baby. I've listed a few ideas below that take less than 20 minutes for you to do and will leave you feeling recharged and ready to go.

•  Try five minutes of guided meditation, there are a lot of free apps out there that  can help you if you've never done this before. Sit somewhere comfortable or lay down if you prefer and take five minutes to listen to your breath, focus on your body and calm that mind of yours.
• Make sure you're drinking enough water. This is such a simple thing to do but something that can really change how you feel – psychically and mentally. Treat yourself to a reusable water bottle and carry it with you.
•  Take some time to be outside, if you have a garden just sit in it and breathe in the fresh air. If you don't have any outside space pop your little one in buggy or sling and head to the nearest park.
•  Watch an episode of your favourite comedy, Schitts Creek on Netflix is a favourite of mine and the episode are less than 20 minutes each.
•  Before you fall asleep, quickly write down three things that happened that day that made you smile, feel happy, or you enjoyed doing. You can also write down all the things you are grateful for – it helps put things into perspective
• Pop on a face mask, this is something that can be done while the baby is napping. Lay back and just be still, although a little nap would be great sometime just being calm and still is as replenishing as a short sleep.
•  Call someone who makes you happy, it could be your mum or best friend, maybe even someone you haven't spoken to in while. Laughter really is the best medicine and if you're feeling a little under the weather a good catch up might be just what you need.

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Whether this is your first baby or your fifth, take a little time for you, you are just as important as your new addition.