What to do with a 2 year old with all this rain?

What to do with a 2 year old when the rain keeps pouring down and there's no sign of any reprieve?  Simple, grab your umbrella, put on a raincoat and gum boots and get out there!

Miss Ava Mae is completely obsessed with Peppa Pig. And anyone familiar with Peppa Pig will know that Peppa's favourite pastime is jumping in muddy puddles. So when the rain hit this weekend we decided if you can't beat them, join them!!

Little kids truly live in the present, something we should all try to do every now and then. The pure joy on Ava's face as she splashed muddy water everywhere, including all over me, was priceless.  I have to admit, I really enjoyed jumping up and down in the filthy water. After last week's heat, the rain and cooler weather was quite refreshing.

And in saying that, we are lucky that the rain here is enough to be annoying but has not caused havoc like it has in far Norther NSW and Queensland. My heart goes out to the many people affected and we will be doing our bit by donating to the Red Cross Flood appeal.

What do you do to keep the kids entertained when the weather turns to crap? 

Nudie in the garden

42c here yesterday, so what better way to cool off than watering the garden.

This is summer in Oz

There's nothing quite like the rare sight of a sprinkler to bring back childhood memories of long, hot summer days! Running under the spray of cool water, the hot sun beating down on our bare skin, this is what summer in Oz was all about before water restrictions and slip slop slap were invented.

My grandfather used to set up the hose, a sprinkler and plastic sheeting in the back yard as a makeshift water slide and obstacle course. The hose and sprinkler would run for hours while Grandpa squirted washing detergent onto the plastic. We'd all take turns flinging ourselves headfirst down the plastic, slipping off halfway or making it all the way down only to tumble into the garden at the bottom. Then we'd run through the sprinkler to remove some dirt and detergent, back up the garden to do it all again and again! There was the occasional bruise or grass burn after a particularly fast slippery slide, but there was always laughter and squeals for more bubbles please Grandpa!

Fast forward 30 something years... This water baby is now a city dwelling, water tight-ass with a mere square meter of grass where my girl can nude up for some time limited sprinkler action. I am a bit of a greenie, and want to instill my love of our planet in Ava. I want her to know how precious our resources are and how important it is to appreciate and conserve what Mother Nature has created. But most of all I am a Mum who was once a kid too.

I may be a try hard environmentalist, but I'm not the fun police!!! I want Ava to enjoy life's simple pleasures, like running naked through the sprinkler on a hot day. Have you or your little ones run under the sprinkler lately?