Breakfast Which Is Always Ready or How a New Mummy Can Manage to Have Breakfast

That's it - always ready! As both the mother who has a little baby and the mother who is "packing" her child for school and hurrying to work do not have time for cutting, boiling and frying! But malnutrition, as we all know, is not good for our health.

Natalie and I have worked out a list of products (with no semi-finished products!), which can provide a good breakfast being used together or separately:

* Oatmeal. Natalie's method: put rolled oats into the dish, cover it with boiling water and eat the dish in 3 minutes. Anastasia's method: put rolled oats into the dish, cover it with cold water, put the dish into the steam cooker together with the vegetables for the baby, add raisins and eat. The method of Anastasia's husband: put the oats into the dish, add cold water, put the dish into the micro-wave and add mashed banana - then you can eat it.

* Boiled buckwheat. Anastasia's method: put buckwheat into the saucepan, add cold water, leave it on fire for 10 minutes. Natalie's method: Read the rest of this entry »

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How to Thank for a Present?

The wardrobe of our newly-born Sonya was being filled up, basically, due to the presents of our relatives and friends. Everybody wanted to see the baby, to smile at her but how one can come without a "present"!

We, in our turn, wanted to thank the generous guests for the beautiful clothes (from crawlers to dresses) and entertaining toys (from rattles to construction sets).

Tea with sweet things was an ever-present attribute of the meetings. Of course, I had neither strength nor time for a substantial "feast" but why not have some tea?

And we also found the way how to express our gratitude for the present to each guest in such a manner that Read the rest of this entry »

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Developing Games on Trays or How to organize the Baby’s Space

Our Arseny and Soniya are only 1 year old but we are already studying developing games to play with them in the future. We are sharing a marvelous idea with you from the field of "early-childhood development", the idea of a mother of almost 3 kids already, Karisa.

"First, WHY Trays?

• Let me begin by saying that I am in NO way saying that my beliefs are right, they are just MY beliefs. I share openly about what I believe when it comes to educating young children, and yes I do have a college degree, but that in no way makes me any smarter than others out there. I just share what I believe!
• The TRAY itself: I believe the tray itself provides a sense of space for a young child. When all items are contained on a tray (or a mat, or something similar), it is easier for the child to visualize all involved with the activity and also how to CLEAN it up! Cleaning up is a huge part of this method for me.

• 

• The ACTIVITIES: I believe in providing simple, yet engaging activities that sometimes expose a skill and sometimes are just fun! I love the discussion times these trays provide. I love the concentration required. I love that Krash is developing perseverance, focus, and determination to accomplish tasks. I love the vocabulary alone that stems from the tray activities, it really is endless. I love that I can change up the activities easily without a ton of work each evening. I love that most of the items on the trays aren't *toys* so they are refreshing for Krash and engaging.
• The ENVIRONMENT: Trays provide Read the rest of this entry »

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Back to the Past or Mother’s Diary for Her Daughter

Starting from the age of 7, I used to look through the album with the pictures of me as a baby and my "sayings" which my mother had made. I studied how I had been changing while growing, how "wise" my comments were when I was 3,4,5 years old. I remember the album to make me joyous when I was not allowed to leave my bed because of a cold or flu:

"A TV set is working in a dark room.
- Mummy, I like this light so much. And I can say that this light is state*!" (4 yrs. old)

* "state" here means "belongs to the state"

"-Mummy, let's start keeping a dog.
- When we have a bigger apartment, then we will get ourselves a dog.
- When I am a grown-up, let's start keeping a dog?
- OK!
- What is OK, mummy?
- We'll start keeping.
- Who will we start keeping?" (4 yrs.old)

«-Anastasia, how long will it continue?**
- I do not know. Think yourself, long or not.
- And what do you think?
- I do not think. I have a day-off». (5 yrs. old)

** about my misbehaviour

When a daughter arrived in our family, I wanted to make something similar for her.

And at that time, Natalie, whose son Arseny was born only 3 months before our Soniya, suggested an idea. She turned out to have bought a thick writing pad and to be writing down some notes about the development of their baby by hand there. And, the main thing, she was drawing sketches there. Moreover, she also had photos and video. It was she who told me about scrapbooking.

But my approach to making the book differed from Natalie's one. I decided Read the rest of this entry »

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Mother’s Diary or What to Present the Baby with?

A baby arrived in the family… He has not turned 1 yet but you are already thinking what he will be in 5, 10, 15…

Would you like to know right now what to present your little one with for his future full age (which seems so far now) ? The most touching and unforgettable present for the grown-up "baby" is your book with the recollections about him during his first (second, third…) year of life.

No, I do not encourage you to buy a thick notebook and writ? down something in it daily (especially during the first months of your baby's life ).

If you've got a little one and you are reading this article now, it means, most probably, YOU ALREADY HAVE SUCH A BOOK! Read the rest of this entry »

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Rocking Chair – the Best Friend of Parents

I picked up this idea from the book "The Baby Book" by W. and M. Sears when I even was not pregnant yet. Rocking chair! It was mentioned in the book a couple of times as a good means helping worn-out parents and overexcited children to relax.

At that time, the idea of the rocking chair was put by somewhere at the periphery of my consciousness and came to life again in some months when baby-twins arrived in the family of my sister. Exhausted by constant rocking, the parents decided to try a rocking chair and immediately bought two. "It was the best investment for all the period of my fatherhood", later said Paskal, a Swiss husband of my sister.

So, the idea was tested. But when our son was born, we did not use it at once. First, Read the rest of this entry »

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How to Master a Foreign Language in Unconventional Circumstances?

The first year of the baby's life is a great opportunity for his mummy to do what she has always wanted but never had time for. For example, it can be creative work and/or mastering of a foreign language. Not possible? Just the opposite! Natalie and I have shared our experience where to find time for it on the pages of this blog. But besides time, one should be able to accommodate him/herself to the circumstances. How? I will explain it by giving an example. The language being learnt could be any language.

Have you paid attention that there is also a little one in the picture?

How to master a foreign language when you have a baby?

When one of my acquaintances had returned after her visit to Italy, she had a dream - to learn Italian. In a year, a daughter arrived in their family. It was then when she bought an Italian textbook, audio-tapes being a very useful supplement to it. Walking for hours along the embankment with her daughter sleeping in the pram, my friend was learning the language (keeping the Walkman in her pocket). Taking into consideration that a little baby should walk every day month after month, she has really moved forward in learning that Romanic language.

One of my students decided that she should learn English when her baby-son was 2 months old. It was September which was very close to October already (zero degrees Celsius). Her tutor (me) agreed Read the rest of this entry »

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Handmade Visual Aids for babies of 8-36 months old. Tips from our Readers

How to make developing toys from the things at hand for a small baby? A reader of our blog has shared her ideas with us:

What to Do with Diapers?

The pictures on the diapers are very bright. You can make a game using them. To do it, cut the picture out from the diaper, collect two pictures of each type, stick them on (colour) cardboard, laminate the cardboard (or cover it with sticky tape) and cut it into pieces. The game is ready! So far, with a tot of 18-24 months old, we are just looking for the pair pictures. You can also gradually add more pairs of pictures into the game and when the child is older you can already follow Read the rest of this entry »

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Where to Find Time for Creative Work (a mother’s experience) - 2. Continuation

How to become more organized? How to have time for everything if you care for a little baby? Where to find time for everything besides household chores? Several ideas from a mother of a 1-year-old tot. (Continuation. The beginning is here.)

Feasible Tasks with a Floating Date

The best way for me to secure the accomplishment of some task is to set a deadline. It can be next week or the following weekend, or the two hours when my hubby or mother are ready to spend time with our son.

But if I failed to fulfill what I started doing during that time, I am glad that at least a part of it is done (after all, I am an extremely busy mother ). In such a way, an arrival of the baby freed me from the illusion that I should have time to do tons of things and accomplish everything quickly. Now I just enjoy the process not worrying that the process can be dragged out . As a result, I manage to do more!

To do more not getting tired it is also useful:

• to divide large work into many parts;
• to work for 10-20 mins (or until you are tired) at some task and then move to another one;
• to do what your soul desires (a certain part of large work) at each certain moment;
• to try to restrain your perfectionism, i.e. to enjoy any, even the tiniest, results and not to long for reaching an unreachable ideal.

*

Not the most favourite activity, to tell you the truth…

«To Turn the World Upside Down»

One more secret of high productivity and good mood is to always do only Read the rest of this entry »

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Where to Find Time for Creative Work (a mother’s experience) - 2

After I had read the article "Where to Find Time for Creative Work" by Anastasia, I was full of admiration and - I was surprised by myself.

Full of admiration - because I would fail to live in such a way. I am not so organized and disciplined to keep such a rhythm. It is fine for the one who has got self-discipline in his blood. But a clear-cut plan scares me and a rhythmical lifestyle makes me desire to break it. As if I were imprisoned by myself.

*

Of course, not everything is so bad…

And what? Does it mean I always have lack of time to do everything? And what about huge plans? What about the renovation of our apartment? What about our project "Parents' Ideas"? Quite surprising but already for a year (since the birth of our son) I have been successfully combining all that. How?

Desire - That is What Matters Most

As we all know, one wants what he/she does not have. As soon as the baby comes to this world, he starts absorbing all his mummy's time. It seems she does not have time for anything else. But her desires are still there! To entertain oneself a bit, to read favourite blogs and to do something, creative, with that old granny's chandelier… There are tons of ideas but minimum time. And the less time you have the more things you want to do. And the surprising thing is that you really manage to do it - just have a desire…

Listen to Yourself

To feel good and manage to do many things one should not forget to listen to himself. Everybody has periods of high capacity for work. The secret is Read the rest of this entry »

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A Hat and a Pillow – Two in One, or What to Do with Seams

Babies who have not turned 1 often sleep in the pram while being outside, especially during the cold season. However, the producers of warm hats do not always pay attention to this fact.

For our daughter Sophiya, we bought a woolen hat for winter. For the first time, the hat was put on her in October when she was 5 months old. It was not comfortable for her to lie in it at all - the little started "shaking" her head several times before she finally fell asleep.

I understood the cause of it only when I saw a bright pink trace - the trace of the seam on the back of her head. What could be done? Our granny was about to run to the store and buy one more hat.

At the family council (where the granny was also taking part) we decided

Read the rest of this entry »

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What to Do if There Is No Space for a Changing Table?

It has so happened that there is almost no free space in the room where we live. This room serves as a bedroom, a study, a photostudio, a music hall, a meditation hall, a canteen (sometimes) and since we've got a shower cabin in the corner - a shower room :). Have you imagined? But, anyway, we had to find the answer to the question where we would change diapers to our future baby.

All the changing tables, plastic and wooden, which are offered at stores should be placed somewhere: on the floor or on the wall. To dress the baby on a writing desk is not a good idea as the desk is occupied by the computer.

By the time when I had left for the maternity hospital, the idea that we should make the table ourselves was only being born. When, in 5 days, I returned home with Sophiya, the changing table

Read the rest of this entry »

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Top 5 Creative Ideas on How to Decorate the Child’s Room

«The space we live in influences us…»
Alexei Karpov

1. The world-known mathematician of the 19-th century Sophiya Kovalevskaya writes in her memories that the passion for this science awoke in her in a great part because of the walls in her room when a child: for the lack of money there were pages from the maths book instead of wallpaper on the walls. She was very much interested in the unknown signs on the walls and she was studying them for much time.

2. Once, when I was 20, I was painting a picture in oil in an American college. Unexpectedly, my hand depicted Read the rest of this entry »

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How to Make a Holiday for Your Wife/Husband?

My husband and I have a very nice approach to holidays: the holiday should be not only on holiday days but - every day (at least, one should strive for it). Frankly speaking, I adopted such an approach years ago from my future husband when we had just got acquainted. In practice, it turned out that it really works! First, when you are unexpectedly given a present you know for sure that it is from the bottom of your dearest's heart and not because it is a holiday and one HAS TO give presents. On the other hand, we exchange pleasant surprises on holidays as well.

Here are several ideas for husbands on how to make wives happy (and also for wives - on how to make husbands happy) - both on holiday and on working days`:

- Once Valery, my hubby, went to Read the rest of this entry »

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Where to Find Time for Creative Work? (a young mother’s experience)

The baby has arrived and… the world almost turned upside down! Sometimes you don't have time for brushing your teeth and eating. Do-it-yourself things - what are you talking about!

Strange it may seem but after the birth of our daughter my desire for creative work even doubled!

Someone may say that if the baby is calm then why not make art and create things? I would not say that our daughter was very calm. During the first six months of her life, Sonya slept 4-5 times a day for only 30 minutes and she asked for milk every 1,5 hour during the night. What I really can say is that she has always been a cheerful child! And cheerfulness comes to the baby when his mother is cheerful and in harmony with herself and the world around. Moreover, not having his own life experience, each baby is developing through imitating and the first person he imitates is his mum.

So, where a mum can find time?

Set the Rythm

When I was a teenager, my parents, in addition to the secondary school, signed me up for music school, art school and a swimming pool - quite a rich variety of activities which was widened by mountain skiing at weekends. I remember quite clearly that between the last lesson at school and the solfeggio at the music school I had only half an hour. And it was enough for me to drop in at home (not by car but on foot!) to have dinner and change my books and run into the music class on time (sometimes I even managed to eat an ice-cream on the way to the music school). In a word, I had time for everything. And when I had graduated from the music school and stopped visiting the swimming pool and the art school, I felt I had less time "for myself". The secret Read the rest of this entry »

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