Chime Time

It is Easter Sunday and only me and the baby are awake. Actually, I think the baby may have also nodded off mid feed. Upstairs my husband is snoring. Next door my neighbour is also snoring. Audrey is still in a deep sleep due to a late night last night and spending the afternoon running around with her cousins.

The Easter eggs are wrapped up in the lounge for with notes from the Easter Bunny. I have opted for a “less is more” approach this year as Audrey gets way too much chocolate and sweets at seasonal events which I always put away in a tub and let her have a small amount at a time. It is now April and she still has sweets leftover from Halloween. She just has a smarties egg from us and I also got the kids a ball each (Audrey- foam football, Arthur- squishy, knobbly baby sensory ball), oh and the Paddington film on DVD which is really a present to me.

This three week half term without a car is proving a bit of a challenge. The first week has gone ok, partly due to having friends over to play and Mum helping me out with these two and partly due to my invention of a brand new kids game guaranteed to entertain babies, children and adults alike.

Introducing, the new family fun game (families that do not own expensive ornaments), CHIME TIME.

Here is how to play chime time,

You will need;

1., Windchimes, or something that dangles and makes noise; a bell, baby’s jangly toy etc.

2., A balloon, or several balloons, the best is a punch balloon. Buy from the party section at supermarket.

3., Something to hang jangly chimey thing from ceiling. I used a coat hanger attached to a light fitting. We had already broken the light fitting the week before so was not that precious about it.

4., Understanding neighbours.

How to play

The aim of the game is to chuck, hit, float, flap, kick etc the balloon up to hit the chimes.

Every time you make the chimes chime you win five points. You get bonus points for the following variations; double tap chime, triple tap chime (no one has yet made a quadruple tap chime), baby chime – this is when the baby is used as a bat for the balloon to hit it up to the chime, bouncing the baby up to ‘header’ the balloon (don’t worry, he loved it), team chime- when you set someone up for a chime, etc etc. you get the idea.

  

For variation try new rules, you can only sit on the floor to play, the balloon cannot touch the ground etc.

This is a fun game which always has you on the edge of your seat/ the edge of sanity due to all the excited screaming and loud chiming and the feeling that you are only one more stumble away from a trip to A and E.

Any other suggestions for games which will entertain a three year old and a baby simultaneously are most most welcome.

Other things I have been doing to prevent boredom include; decorate Audrey afternoon in which me and my friend Jo painted Audrey’s skin and nails and plaited her hair etc. She loved this.

    

We have also been to the park A LOT! Like everyday! We particularly enjoyed Faversham rec which we visited with my friend Bethan. Bethan likes playgrounds.

But as you can see from this picture she has no head. It is tragic.

Oh God! I feel the next half term week stretching ahead of me with no specific activities planned. Doooooom!

Must make a plan for each day otherwise will end up going totally insane.

I am serious about the ideas for games which involve participation from three year old and baby. There are not many things that we do all together that we all enjoy. Sometimes we just blow raspberries or sing the peanut butter jelly song for twenty minutes or so, which at least makes them both laugh, until someone cries or poohs in their pants that is.

Help!