Today I have been struck by the beauty of a Fun Family Day together and how much one might think that this happens effortlessly and easily (and to an extent it does) and yet it involves so much in terms of energy level from the parents, creative ideas, and Rascally Ones getting on board. And more than anything the thought that goes into the family that you want to create, the things you want your family life to over flow with, expose your kids to and wrap yourselves in. To get to this point today we first had to do a bit of 'Parent Loving' after a particularly rough night- Neither N nor I woke truly feeling like we wanted to spend the day with the Rascals- we just had seen too much of them in the night! So as one wise Daddy once said in
One of the Rascals Favourite Books "I know what we'll do. I've got a very good idea. We'll put on our coats and go to a cafe." And so we DID!
And MY OH MY are we lucky to have this fine gem a few minutes drive from our home :)
Humbug Cafe :) Fantastic space with a family friendly room containing HEAPS of toys surrounded by comfy couches. And to top it off the coffee and food is just as amazing :) N and I got to relax and enjoy a coffee while the Rascally Ones played/drank fluffies/devoured fries. Big up to Humbug- they set us up for a fantastic morning! If you live further away it is worth the drive :) The experience even came complete with a box for Little S to wear as a hat!
Once we emerged from the Cafe and Our Tired Haze we noticed that actually the Sun was Shining and the Rascals remarkably friendly, so off we went to make playdough! The making was fun, Big L looking great in an apron and directing the process, but the playing was even better. We headed out to the sun soaked deck and the Rascals warmed their backs as they put their little hands to work. Some fine fine creations!
While we were playing I decided to put on some music. N and I are both huge lovers of a range of music and have always wanted our house to be filled with song and sound. I'm eternally grateful to my parents for exposing me to a very wide variety of music while growing up and I aim to do the same for my kids. Over the years I have truly come to love the music of my childhood. My mother always leaned towards Hippy and Country with a healthy dose of Eighties Pop and Rock, while my father loves Classical Music- the combination of my childhood. Of course there are always differences, the heavy metal teenage years still hold a very special place in my heart, and I will perhaps never quite grow to love Lionel Richie's 'timeless' voice the way my mother does. But one artist we all adore is Leonard Cohen. I have recently blasted
The Civil Wars Dance me to the End of Love at every opportunity, but in the honor of 'Family Fun' today I went in search of the
Leonard Cohen version- and was absolutely delighted to find that the kids loved it! Traditionally in our household after evening bath we always have a 'Dance Party' and currently the Rascally Ones favourite CD is the
Soweto String Quartet. As they seem to effortlessly interchange between this and
LMFAO's Im sexy and I know it- I feel like we are definitely accomplishing what we set out to do :)
As a side note I was MOST impressed with Big L today as he was singing along to Pie Jesu and actually hitting the high notes! Yeow! Might have a fellow singer on my hands!
In the end the day was totally worth getting up for :) I am as always very grateful to have such great partners in crime- Gotta love my family :)
xxxx
