We took the boys surfing today at Rainbow Haven Beach, which is so conviniently located 2km from our house. Being an avid surfer, Hubby is super keen to get the boys in the water at a young age. They can't get enough of it these days, begging and pleading to be taken to the beach for a surf or "goggling" session several times a day. "Goggling" is a term coined by Muffy, defined as any underwater swimming, sporting his much loved goggles.
So, I'm not much of a surfer girl myself! I do so love the ocean and the beach, but I'm not a strong swimmer and I'm much more content watching from the shoreline with my knitting basket by my side. My role is to provide cheering, photography services, towels and post-session cuddles to warm up icy cold little bodies.
This afternoon, Muffy and I were lying on the warm sand in an effort to shake off his shivering. There were some beautiful round and smooth beach rocks within reach, and we soon found ourselves admiring them. My sweet boy suddenly exclaimed that he had a GREAT idea! "Mommy, let's collect these rocks and use them for crafts at my birthday party! All my friends can make rock bugs!"
My sweet Muffy has had a passion for anything creepy, crawly for as long as I can remember. So, once again this year, he will have a bug-themed party. This makes 3 out of 5 years he has requested bugs to take center stage at his birthday. His special day is at the end of the month, so I have lots of time to pull things together. I really do love planning these parties for the boys! I sat down tonight to make a list of some fun plans and ideas, keeping in mind I need to keep it simple. Thanks to Muffy himself, I've got a cute, SIMPLE, eco-friendly craft already planned (:
Bugs are seriously a form of entertainment in our house. I'm not joking when I say I use "my bug supply" as a method to provide Mommy with a break. I leave the porch light on every night to ensure a plentiful "supply". Most mornings, I just send the boys out to the deck to hunt so I can enjoy a quiet cup of tea to myself. Same goes at supper-making time. Those two boys spend at least 1 to 2 hours every single day hunting for new bugs and feeding the collection of "pets" we've got visiting our science table. This week they are collecting pairs of crane flies to see if they can get them to reproduce in captivity! Chi-Chi is certain of success since he collected both male and female specimens, caught in the act! We've also got quite an extensive moth collection going on - and would you believe Chi-Chi snuck into my wool stash for food!!
Remember that painted-lady buttefly science project from the spring? Well, it's still going on. I believe we are on the fifth generation, as the butterflies continue to mate, lay eggs, hatch caterpillars....etc. It's been a very interesting life cycle study, that's for sure! I'm actually going to see how long we can keep it going. We were also excited to find a couple of "mystery" chrysalides recently, which we took home to study. Two beautiful mourning cloak butterflies finally emerged, to our delight. We observed them for a day and then realeased them.
Yes, the place is certainly buzzing these days. Even though some of the crawlies give me the creepies, I do love to see them so enthusiastic about the nature on their doorstep. I will admit that the Wool Fairy is having nightmares about the moth family residing in our living room. I can't believe they survived the household purge! What I'll do for a boy and his bugs!
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