My Mini Me – mouseytong

Last 2 weeks, J and I were in isolation. A classmate of hers was or maybe still is as he is not back in school yet, is positive for Covid-19. Unless you have been living off the grid with no access to civilization or maybe on another planet, you will know that Covid-19 is not a trifle thing. The whole of 2020 can surely be remembered in the future at Covid 2020. The year the whole world was brought to their knees.

Anyway, I digress. So, since she was to be home the whole day for 2 whole weeks we set about getting some activities to do to pass our time. I have seen this particular activity but I have never done them. When M brought the first one back J couldn’t wait to start while I was dreading the possibility of the millions of coloured plastic pins all over the floor. But I managed to stop her and coax her into starting on them bright and early the next day when I had more time to organise and do it with her.

The next day we started on the first one. The first set was a set of Disney portrais of Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy. In the pictures you will see that the whole piece is made up of 4 smaller pieces put together. So we had a portrait piece if each character. When we started, it took us a while to get the rhythm going. Also, it was not that easy for J to push those little pins into the holes piercing through the paper design on top. After a while she got the hang of it. She stops once in while to rest her little hands or when she gets carried away in her thoughts while chattering away. She chatters non-stop. I had to play the ‘game of silence’ which she loses every time, just to catch a respite from her constant chatter. 😅

We finished that in 4 days. I limited it to one a day. It was actually enough cause each one took us about 2-3 hours depending on how chatty or distracted we are. You could probably guess that I did most of the work but she was just so cute!! I found this avtivity to be very relaxing and cathatic. I didn’t have to think, like in board game or a puzzle, which we also did in that 2 weeks. Just grab a pin of whatever colour we working on, from the bowls I have prepared and just stick it in wherver I see the corresponding colour. Easy peasy! We finished it in no time at all!

Then, M got this one. This set came with 2 Disney princesses and we had to choose. We could only do one. The choice was between Snow White or Rapunzel. You can safely guess which one won. 😉 This took us 4 days too. I can truly say the outcome is really beautiful! So much so that we are thinking of framing it! Though I joked to M that it would probably cost more to frame it than to actually buy it. It was €12 for this set. The frame would probably cost us at least €50. 😅😅

After we were done, i told J to hold it up as I wanted to tale a picture of her with it. She gave me a cheeky face as I took the picture. I don’t think she intended to posr like Snow White but it turned out to look like she did.

I am glad we did this. I liked it so much that I am thinking of getting another one. Something to do for when I am stressed or in need of some distraction? How about you guys? Has anyone tried this? If you haven’t, you should. Then you will know what I mean by it veing relaxing and cathartic.

Actually, now that isolation is over and i am back to work, I don’t know if I will have the time to do this again. But for now, I am glad that we are healthy and that J is back in school. Freedom!! 😆

Am off to get some alone and ‘me’ time. Till next time! Ciao and Toodeloos!!

Recently, I have decided to dedicate some time to my elder daughter. Not that I don’t already. Just more individual time with here. She and I alone without her sister. So far, we have done it twice. I swap with the babysitter and she takes care of J instead of Z for that day and I take Z out. I can do it now as the exhibition season is winding down and my own client’s shows are over and the others I only need to be in a supportive role. So I can take time off and roam the streets, so to speak, with my daughter.

Our first outing we went to have ice cream in the drizzling rain in Boccadasse and went unique rock/stone hunting on the pebble beach. Then we went to scale the rock wave breakers. She was really excited as it was her first time. She wanted to keep going from rock to rock, to the water’s edge and back. then out again. Even interrupting lovebirds wanting some alone time out on the rocks. Had to stop her and distract her to another rock or pathway. She kept pointing to them and saying that she wants to go to where they are. She has already figured out that since those guys could get there, it means we can too. 😀 Poor lovebirds…sorry we nearly ruined you evening. We kind of did, as we kept circling around them from rock to rock…

Finally go her back on shore and distracted her to go up on the rooftop balcony to look down on where we were. Had to leave after less than 5 minutes as there were a group of smoking teenagers and it was not pleasant breathing in second hand smoke while trying to enjoy the view. Z had her kids scooter with her and it was not easy navigating the old pebbled and cobbled streets in Boccadasse. The wheels were so small that it got caught in every nook and she fell so many times. It was more fun for her after, when we finally got back up to Corso Italia. Then we scooted our way to a bar so that mummy could have her coffee fix. Then we called it a day. Because it wasn’t the best of weathers that day.

The next “mummy and me” outing, I took her to the Natural Science Museum a place I have been wanting to visit for some time now. I couldn’t find the museum’s website in English but they have the official website the region for Culture in Liguria which will give you more info on it. Or this short overview of museums in Genoa here. Didn’t visit it before because I think Z wouldn’t have been able to appreciate even a fraction of it when she was younger. Not that she is much older now, but she could at least now, identify some of the animals and best part of it all, they are having a special Dinosaur exhibit. She loved the dinosaur exhibits more than anything else there. She also liked the primates and the birds. Also the butterflies but was petrified when she saw the bones of a whale hanging above us in one of the halls. She couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

The best adventure of the day was that I didn’t have any cash with me and after visiting a few banks, I still couldn’t get any cash. Have I told you how much I dislike Italian banks? I do! With a vengeance. Luckily I could pay with my ATM card at the museum but couldn’t buy any souvenirs cause since the dinosaur exhibit was a temporary exhibit, they had a different till for the temporary shop that doesn’t support debit cards or cashless payment. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise. I could tell Zoe that we didn’t have any cash to buy the useless toy that she wanted on top of the dinosaur books that I wanted to buy for her. I could go back another day to buy the books without her. 😛

Then we had ice cream for her and a coffee for me, courtesy of the coins that I had with me. Scraped together €4, okay…it wasn’t that bad. I had more than enough coins just not enough to buy 2 books. Then we ended the evening with a bicycle ride around the office area with a cousin. All in all, fun times.

Shall leave you with her squealing bicycle moments.