At our local primary school the teachers took all the toys away as an experiment and replaced them with just cardboard boxes. Apparently the children had a wonderful time creating their own fun. It made national news here in the UK.
Lovely video! Montessori methods offer terrific fundamentals, and they will pay you dividends in the future. Remember to ask your little fairy "where does this go?" or "do you remember where to put this?". When my son was about her age, I got him a small truck that he could ride on only in the house and I would load up the back of the truck with folded towels from the dryer. He would put them away. I would also put groceries in the back or pick up toys and he would make "special deliveries" to the places where these items belonged. He would back up his little truck towards me wanting more responsibilities, which built his confidence each time. He even made the beeping noise that trucks make when they are in reverse! All of this time with your fairy, is time well spent. My little delivery guy is now working on his PhD in computational engineering and applied math. Motherhood is such a precious role and a privilege to be cherished. Enjoy every moment!
Time flies! I can't believe your fairy has grown so much. It's wonderful to see how you've adjusted your daily life while sticking to your values. (and she looks already so resourceful! Those beans! I think we all fell in love with that scene ahah 😀)
😂 gotta start her working early on! I have to say I do much less now outside of the house so I can keep the routine going for her but it makes life less complicated to be honest 😁 Those beans! Just love that little scene too ☺️
That little baby with her beans just might be the cutest darned thing I’ve ever seen! Loving your channel! Really helpful and just the peaceful tone I so desperately needed! ❤
One way to get all your warm meals into your day without always having to cook each one, is to bake a loaf of bread and cook a big pot of soup on Sunday or Monday to have for your lunches for the week (or a few days if you prefer). I used to do this years ago for a lady who hated to cook. I was already there to cook supper for her every day, and I found it easy to make this extra food so she was getting a good warm lunch every day too. She loved it, and it helped her to eat healthy meals instead of just grabbing something quick that might not be so healthy. Now that I have chronic illnesses that make me have little energy, I often make extra food for myself so that I don't have to make each meal from scratch all the time. If I have leftovers from last night's supper, I can have it for lunch or supper the next day. And for breakfast, I cook a couple of days worth of scrambled eggs, so I can just heat them up on some days instead of having to cook them from scratch. I know you are eating porridge at brekkie, so I'm not sure how well that tastes leftover. Anything that can be made in larger batches to heat up quickly will make life easier!
I would walk with my two children early every morning and wed play in the park before breakfast. Children love outdoors. They had few toys and mostly toys for imaginative play and weekly trips to the library meant we didnt have too many books at once.
Hi Niamh, when I was a child I had very few toys, I'm 52 so things were different back then...no Ipads or videogames, only a couple of dolls and Lego, colouring books & sketch albums, and pencils. And I loved that! It stimulated my creativity. Like yourself, I meal prep every day for the next day and it saves me time and money as well. And I have specific days of the week for cleaning different things in the house too. Every wedsnesday it's trash bin wash for example, and so on. It's incredible how these little things can save your time and help your mental health! And of course every day I spend at least an hour outside walking in nature as it boosts my mood and increases my energy. A big hug to you and the little Fairy from Italy ❤
When I was a child, I don’t remember a house cluttered with toys. We had a toy box in our bedrooms. We also had our designated special cabinet in the kitchen which contained Tupperware, pots, pans and spoons. We had one baby doll and she made clothes for her. When the Barbie phase came in, we got a Barbie and then collected clothes for her. Barbie and her belongings were in our Barbie case. We also had plenty of crayons, coloring books and learning books as well as books to read. When my sister and I were the age of your little fairy, we could usually be found playing in our cabinet. You can make some serious music with a pot and spoon and a Tupperware bowl makes a great hat. For us, it was the use of our imagination. Also, we loved being outside. My sister was one to rotate toys with her kids.
Thank you so much for another beautiful and very calm video! I think I never commented this before, but your "Minimal Evening at home" video from 4 years ago sparked my entire cottagecore / slow living journey. It stirred something deep within me that I craved and wanted for my life. And here I am 4 years later, living in the countryside, renovating my own cottage and making my own slow living videos. I can't thank you enough for your wonderful work and for how much you have inspired me and put me on this path that gives me so much happiness. Thank you so so much! 💕
This is my first time writing a comment on RUclips but I felt the need to say thank you so much to you because your videos reflect a beautiful picture of living in the Irish countryside with so much calm, kindness, nature and simplicity, which I personally appreciate in the busy life we live today. My best wishes ❤
My kids and now my granddaughter love any big delivery boxes! Such as the 'Who gives a ****' box of bamboo toilet roll. Then the inners of the rolls themselves. She is now 7 and now trurns them into boats, houses etc using pens!
My little girl just turned 17 months and is only interested in housework, sneaking food from her helping tower and exploring outside. I feel like toys don’t bring her excitement anymore, and that’s definitely okay with me!
My mother talked about growing up with a shoe box for her doll bed and a Ballon she called her doll. Myself I loved to create villages outside in the dirt with stones and bridges of dirt. No toys required. My daughter loved her play bakery of mud pies. The generations never change at heart, toys didn't make the memory.
You daughter is adorable and so lucky to be raised with such thoughtfulness. You are showing her to be independent and allowing her to do things because up until 5 years old or so they are sponges and really absorb everything around them. I have found that children do tire of toys but they love to be involved in whatever you are doing. I do think they learn faster that way and mature better. Thanks for your lovely videos!
If I lose an hour in the morning, I will chase it all day long!! For me, getting up early and being productive in the morning is the most efficient way to stay organized and also to plan and eat healthy meals. I also love the flow of being active and productive early in the day, and then winding down as the day comes to an end. Great video today Niamh, thanks for sharing your world with us. We have unending drought and wildfires here in northern 🇨🇦 this summer, please blow some of your rain clouds over The Pond. We would welcome them with open arms. I really look forward to your monthly video upload and to hearing your news. Thanks- you so much, Ⓜary💕💦
Living aboard requires a lot of organization. Grocery shopping is a minimum of a 6hr roundtrip therefore I shop for a month at a time. The next day is washing all the produce and processing whatever proteins for the freezer. I have a small 3 cubic foot freezer now and also added a large cooler to the cockpit. We're not vegans but I do limit our meat intake. One chicken, one pork, one seafood meal a week, then a soup and 3 vegetarian meals. The cleaning up of produce goes into stock each Sunday, and I make salsa and hummus for the week. Each week, I take from the freezer those proteins and put them in my small fridge freezer and leave the actual recipe to the mood I'm in. I have a big pantry (bigger than in any house I've lived in) which allows me to create any dish I want whether French, Asian, Indian etc - the basics are there. That removes a lot of stress for me. So happy to see you back. Enjoy your little fairy as they grow so fast! Cheers from Canada!!
You are a wise momma letting your little one do for herself everything she can and for letting her follow you around as you do your daily tasks. That kind of patience and care will pay dividends. The best gift we can give children is to be patient and trustworthy while giving them the opportunity to build the healthy self-confidence they will need throughout their lifetime. You’re doing a great job! 💛
I love this kindness to our selfs. Toys are overwhelming for all littles, I kept half of the toys put away and rotated them monthly, I have 3 kids and they are all quite very smart. Even though one has autism, and one has serious hearing loss. They are all lovely adults now. Three all had music lessons of various kinds. All started on the Piano, then as time went on they chose which instrument of their choice.. that is just one for instance. Gardening and cooking and house cleaning are all important tasks and skills. My boys are very self deficient and my daughter is an awesome lovely. You have a lovely way about your self and little miss is a darling. Enjoy every minute with her. It goes all too fast!
oh, my goodness. i cannot tell you, although i've told you before, how much your voice brings me calm. thank you. great tips...i do most of those. in addition, i have a few extra things i do to help make my day go more smoothly and less cluttered: i never cook my meals for only one day, always leftovers for tomorrow. :) i also meal plan and prep, but i do it on sunday for the week, and i also make big batches of a two or three grains for the week. once, and done, and it helps me to cook those meals much more easily and quickly and i am not spending as much time in the kitchen. your little one is precious, and it is so great you are letting her do what she can...so great for her self worth and skill building! take good care and thank you for these wonderful videos despite your full day with your little fairy! much love- 💕🌻
Those little toddler fists wrapped around the beans melted my heart like butter. So sweet! My most useful habit when mine were little was to make supper in the early afternoon while they napped. Then I could just reheat and serve right at supper time. I hated cooking late in the afternoon when everyone was grouchy and hungry. That trick saved me a ton of stress!
On toys, we really didn’t have any growing up (I wanted books anyway, but we didn’t have those either). Girls were taught to keep house so there was no playtime, but I think educational toys like LEGO are essential. Toys can teach problem solving and inspire make believe and expand the mind-all good things😊
Oh I miss the little ones! Mine are 24 and 19, sigh! My children attended Montessori schools for their education and I used it at home when they were little. I was a stay home mom for the entire time they were growing up. To help spend time with her while trying to get all the meals done, give her supplies of her own (dull knife, spoons etc) to help you chop or mix part of the meals along side with you. Also if you have a slow cooker, they are heaven sent. Prepare as much as you can ahead so there’s more of just assembling and cook when it’s time. My youngest is home from college for summer so I have no idea if I am a morning or night person anymore cause I have to do both right now!😅 I can’t sleep til he gets home from work or being out and then I wake up naturally at 430, which may mean 2-3 hours of sleep. Yes, he has a curfew while he is at home. He can stay out all night when he’s away at college if he wants, lol! Lovely video!
What a great home environment you’re bringing your little fairy into! I often find myself wishing I could have a “do over” when my kids were her age. I had postpartum anxiety and depression and so badly I wish I could go back and help myself. They’re 5&7 now so still little and I suppose I can still change the “environment” of the home. I feel like your videos are a nice reminder of that! ❤
Ok gosh yes. You can change right now the It is never too late, especially to forgive yourself for your postpartum illness. We women are so hard on ourselves. Your children will feel your kindness to yourself. ❤️
@@FairylandCottage Thank you for your sweet reply! I recently learned postpartum can last up to 7(!!) years! That was a really healing thing for me to learn. I do find every year is easier and the energy shifts in our home. ❤
P.S....I remember that my grandmother, whom we lived with at the time, always had washing day, cleaning day, ironing day, etc. and on Saturday, scrubbing the floor day, because the preacher man was coming for Sunday dinner. Then, she'd spread newspapers around to keep it clean. She did have 14 people in her household and kept up a full- time job! I really don't know how she did it!
What a lovely time you are having with your fairy. My two didn’t play with allot of their toys and now looking back, I could have saved so much money! My daughter loved the Tupperware cupboard,taking things out and putting them back. My son, every type and size of ball. Now my daughter is studying architecture and my son is looking to study actuarial science. Where does the time go….
I'm a third Kid so I had the leftover Toys from my sisters plus some new ones once or twice a year. My First daughter had relatively Little Toys. Some were from our childhood still. She used to play with a cookie tin full of walnuts from 6months to 2 years old or even beyond. Also Tupperware, lids, and books were her mai interests until recently. Now puzzles and drawing Is what She needs to keep occupied. And audiobooks! Doesn't require much space.
I grew up in the 60s and 70s. We didn’t have many toys but we were given a few things at Christmas. I had a couple of dolls, some toy cars and farm animals! With 3 sisters we played mainly outside in the seasons. We collected things like dandelions for our rabbits and Guinea pigs. We went on picnics or collected conckers. We picked bluebells and primroses in the spring and tried to make corn dollies and lavender wands at harvest time with blackberries and apples. We picked elderberries shucked peas and sprouts in the summer. Your Little Fairy is so super lovely so independent and loves the outdoors. The way you are with her is so calming and supportive. What a grand job you’re doing. We used to walk a mile to the shop and a mile back most days in the holidays or before we started school. I think it was just a way for my mum to fill part of the day! On the way she used to point out all the flowers, birds and insects. How she found the time to make our clothes clean the house and cook for us heaven knows. She used to then paint the inside of the house every summer holidays!., thanks for your video I love it and missed you when you were gone. Nothing has to be perfect and super organised it’s the doing and the everyday living that you remember from childhood! What is life anyway, but memories xxx
I can't remember a single toy from my childhood. My father built us a makeshift "playground" from scraps and random bits he found in his shed and we mostly played outdoors or in creative ways with simple things. Now that I have a daughter, I see her gravitate more toward the simpler toys like her playsilks, her most basic dolls, and books. Excess toys definitely overwhelm her and the plastic ones that make noise (usually gifted to us) seem to aggravate her so badly that we've had to give them away. She much prefers helping me with what I'm doing than playing with her toys in any case❤
Your place is so magical, I hope you try your hand at children's stories, just telling the stories about the garden with your little Fairy growing would be fabulous
When I was a child my mother was able to keep a corner of our basement as a play space. I think that space helped give me a desire to keep it organized myself because I felt an 'ownership' of it. As for overwhelm, these days my grandchildren spend a lot of time at my house and rather than beat myself up about what I'm not getting done, I go with the flow of these days and tell myself that what I'm accomplishing is enough. I spent too many years as a mother completely stressed and overwhelmed to go through that again. This time, the other things can wait.
I think your little fairy is very lucky to have such a thoughtful mom. My first born was hyperactive boy, giving birth to my daughter was a godsend. I grew up with 2 older brothers who always fought. We can't choose our upbringing. But it really shows that you have purposefully brought not only a daughter into your world, but a value system and a lifestyle. Thank you.
Hey Niamh, I only just got around to watching this! One tip for you is that garlic and onions start absorbing impurities in the air as soon as you chop them. So I wouldn't pre-chop the alliums. When I was a wee thing, my mother would take my sister and I to the ravine behid our house to pick blackberries and raspberries too, for strawberries we sent to the local farm...
My congratulations on a healthy and happy baby. And a few tips. For three freshly cooked meals you need to cut and prep at least one meal in advance. I would prep for supper and lunch time. Cut veggies, store chopped garnishes and pastes as you are doing. Freeze ginger, garlic, onion, green chutneys, any other pulp into little silicone ice cube trays .. do a week’s bunch at a time. It really helps. I also block cut okra, beans, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, etc .. and store them, covered in cloth and in boxes, or fridge containers, and then fine cut them as per the day’s / recipe’s requirement.
Hey Niamh… I cannot comment on the concept of ‘toy clutter’ as I am not a parent, but as a high school sewing teacher of 36 years I can honestly say that students function better in a classroom that is organized and not cluttered with stuff. In my sewing classroom I find it takes just a bit of time, energy, and organization each day after school to clear the classroom of unnecessary clutter. It is vital for me and my students that the classroom maintains a balance of necessary supplies and tools, as well as sample projects, wall hangings, and decor that inspires my students. If there is too much stuff, students become easily overwhelmed, and they will add to the clutter with their scraps, etc. If the classroom is colourful and ready with just the necessary stuff for the day, the students will do their best to maintain the clutter-free environment. AND… most importantly my students always tell me how much they enjoy being in a “chill and nice classroom”. Thanks for allowing me to share this here in your comment space. Ⓜary🇨🇦🧵
You are a wonderful teacher. ❤ I am also not a parent, but that part of the video about keeping some toys away really resonated with me. I believe it can be applied to almost every area of our adults lives, what we eat, our objects, collections and how we work. Your comment just validated my feeling. Thank you for sharing.
Love your little girl podding the beans so cute. My kids loved baking with me and cutting out the scones. I took them in train trips to a lot of cool places and they were fascinated by all the different sights. We did gardening too and grew pumpkins and sunflowers. They loved the outdoors
Fine mother skills was always my sit and relax with them time. Out and about was a bit all over the place. I didn't have open shelves but I did have empty bottom kitchen drawers so I put a few toys in them. Yes lids and pots were always a favorite. She did great with those beans. To cute.
Very, very Hot. Getting used to do things early in the mornings and then wait until it cools done and be able to go outside again. Watering the plants so that they don't die. Thanks for your videos, they are so calm and inspiring.
When my 4 children were little (like your Little Fairy) We would all gather in the kitchen and they would help me (In ways that they could) prepare the meal. Even when they were too little we would all be in the kitchen chatting. I would tell them about what we were making for dinner, chat about the colors of the food, how they are grown etc. They loved measuring and peeling and mixing the salad. We pretended we owned a little Cafe. You are doing a great job about the rotation of Toys and keeping organized. Little Ones love helping. My children loved sorting socks and folding hand towels/face cloths etc. Outside time was and is special. I love spending time in my garden with my Grandson. Have fun! I am a morning person but love my evening time to read and have music playing
Thank you for another beautiful and inspiring video. Getting an instapot (electric pressure cooker), has been a game changer for our family. I just pop all the ingredients in for my curries and soups (don't saute or anything), set it and I'm free to play. It even has a function of keeping warm after the cooking is done, so we can set it, go play, come home and the food is ready. All lentils and beans are always evenly cooked, and it cooks super fast. I also started using organic onion and garlic powder to cut down on chopping and sauteing time. Its really been a timesaver.
One thing I do is to cook double of whatever I'm making and then freeze half of it for another meal. Or just cook several meals at once and just refrigerate or freeze the ones you aren't going to eat that day. Eventually you will build up a stash of meals you can pull out and heat up. I have been a parent for 23 years and if you don't want your daughter to pull out all her clothes and unfold them you need to train her not to touch them. My suggestion would be to put some outfits she can choose from where she can reach them so that she can still get dressed by herself but that she cannot touch the rest. Because surely you don't want to have to keep refolding her clothes... Its wonderful to see her doing things herself she has very good motor skills for her age! ❤
This reminded me of my daughter at this age. She's now 8 years old. Wonderful memories you've captured. I love your drying rack! I found making extra food and reheating it was helpful.
I used to alternate toys for my daughter. Every 6 months or so I used to pack the toys away and bring another box out that she hadn’t played with for a while and it was as if she had a load of new toys x
One thing that helped me with meal organizing was to have certain things on certain days. For example, on Monday we would have a crockpot meal, usually a roast of some sort. Then we would use the left overs for lunches the next day. Tuesday would be roasted veggies and baked potatoes. Wednesdays would be soup in the crockpot using the leftovers from the previous two days. Thursday was baked chicken and Friday we would eat out. Saturday was baking day and I would usually make a soup or casserole that could cook while I baked. And finally Sunday I didn’t cook at all, just used up all the leftovers in the fridge. I hope this helps.
Your little one is such a blessing and watching her expertly opening the beans made me smile. My little ones have long flown the nest and now have tiny babies themselves but we have a house full of animals and what with the wet weather in Guernsey, I have been putting their wet coats and towels to dry hanging up in the potting shed. Maybe you could put your cloth diapers hanging up in the poly tunnel ❤
Gosh it’s always a pleasure watching you and the lil fairy… calms me … and inspires me… do you eat three meals a day … we do but it’s getting so hot here … smoothies at lunch is best and dinner is lite fair .. not heating up the kitchen.. bedtime is 10:00 pm here and up at 6:00 am .. my dog wakes me up to go out … hehe .. Aloha from Hawaii.
Wie schön, dass Du wieder deine Videos machst. Du kannst dir kaum vorstellen, wie wichtig es ist. Ich bin Lehrerin und arbeite an einer Montessori-Schule und bin schon seit Jahren von ihrer Philosophie absolut begeistert. Bleibt ganz schön gesund! Liebe Grüße aus Deutschland ❤
Before you were talking about motor skills, I noticed how advanced she is in both gross and fine skills. Amazing. I worked with toddlers for some years and know their developmental skills. So sweet and determined are her little hands. I hope, I used the proper words, I' from Germany.
Your little one is adorable. To answer your question about my childhood toys. There were very few, however, the ones that I did have, I fondly remember to this day. I love your lifestyle, you have the right idea. xx
re cooking, maybe batch cook bigger quantities of meals for your little fairy and freeze portions to reheat on the stove as needed? I think that will be nearly as good as cooking fresh every time.
I get up very early so I can spend time in prayerful meditation, eating a healthy breakfast, and tidying up my home before I go to work. The extra time grounds me and sets a slow easy pace to my day. I appretiate walking into a tidy home at the end of the day. 🙂 so I can head outside in nature guilt free!!
When asking about meals and time for little ones, consider making a "nibbler plate" for lunch or easy dinner. Put some crackers- US like saltines or goldfish , cheese bits, fruit, raisins, and any other snack size items on the plate for an easy and quick lunch or early dinner. My children loved these
such fantastic ideas and lovely to see such a leisurely sense of time with a wee one. The one thing that's taken me almost 5 years to learn is to take ways to incorporate other people in your daily life to help with your little one. We've found it's sometimes easier to invite friends over for dinner because they'll hang out with our kiddo while we cook, and then have us over the next weekend. Or playdates where you are looking after another kid can sometimes be so much easier because their little friend is keeping them busy and you can have time to prep meals (especially when they are just a bit older). Finding ways to incorporate community really helped me as a mom.
We have 3 boys, 7, 5, and 2 1/2. We do minimal toys. They have more adventures with bugs, stick, rocks, and boxes even when we have an excess of toys. 🤷🏼♀️ So I always try to keep everything pretty minimal
Lovely video as always ❤ with regards to your question on keeping up with cooking three meals a day: I've always made planned leftovers. I.e. I cook enough for at least two meals at once, food can always be reheated or refreshed with a new quick salad or used in a slightly different way for the next meal, or popped in the freezer and then you've a meal ready to go when you're too busy or tired to cook. I'm then only really cooking once a day. I have also moved away from serving everything already portioned on plates, but rather bring everything to the table for the family to help themselves. This improves family time at the table, reduces food waste as everyone only takes what they want, and it also empowers other family members to be inventive with the meal and bring new ideas with what I've provided, and what to do with leftovers.
Here in East Tennessee, we’ve had enough rain for you, me, them, and everybody!!! It hasn’t felt like summer! My kids just started school back yesterday! So it went by so quick it literally did not feel like summer at all.
It was so good to see you back. Here in Ohio USA we had a 2 week dry spell. We finally got some rain. I stay organized by cleaning up as I go through out the day. Your daughter is so adorable and such a good job on snapping the peas.❤
I have 2 children (20 and 23) that still thankfully live with us. (I'm hoping they never leave LOL). They still have their toys from when they were toddlers and refuse to get rid of them. I think they are just sentimental and want that connection from their childhood. I still have my Strawberry Shortcake dolls from the 80's and never want to get rid of them. I still also have a lot of my childhood books which I will never part with. They give me such comfort to look at them every now and then. But I am still wanting to get rid of stuff cause I hate clutter.
Your little fairy putting on her boots and getting the beans split was just too adorable! You're doing fantastic with her! On another note, send that rain to north Carolina! 😂
What a lovely, sweet video, you are such a good mom, and so like me when I was raising my children. You were asking for ideas on warm meals? What I used to do was pick a day every other week or once a month and I called it casserole day! I would make a variety of casseroles and freeze them, and I can’t tell you how wonderful it was on busy days just to pull a casserole out of the freezer and bake it. I knew that my little ones were getting a warm nutritious meal and it saves so much time! I also recommend a crock pot! ( slow cooker)I don’t know if in Ireland you have these but it’s a electric ceramic crock and you can throw anything like meats, vegetables and let it slow cook for hours until your ready to eat. I still use mine all the time! It’s a life saver! I hope these tips are helpful! My family originated from Ireland and it’s a dream of mine to visit it someday. I live in Elkhart, Indiana on the border of Michigan here in the US and we have gotten rain ( but not enough) so our growing season is very different this year as well. Sending many blessings to you and your little fairy, and loved your video!
I’m just catching up on your videos and your little fairy is so cute. Those little curls at the nape of her neck… We have a little fairy in our family and I babysit her once a week. She is not really playing with the toys she has here a lot either, but rather playing with items I have around the house. She also likes to help me with the housework (I take the washing off the line and she takes it out of the basket and puts it on the ground 😁), it’s a work in progress. I also try to have three warm meals a day and she loves sitting at the table with me to eat. Children are such a breath of fresh air. They help you to remember it is the simple things in life that are the most precious. ❤
Food is something you need to do, so take your time with it and eating it with your little one. It's my therapist in a way now that I'm older and my two are all grown, but some of our good times together are and were around the table. My daughter now at the age of 30 decides she now likes fish. Sorry for vegetarians. It wasn't a big deal when younger and we let her figure it out, no drama around it.
I find that much time is saved when there is at least one meal premade. At the beginning of each week I try to make a big pot of stew, soup, minestrone, spaghetti sauce, curry etc. that will be the lunch or dinner for that week. All you have to do is reheat it, make fresh noodles or bread if needed, and you have a quick, delicious, and easy meal. And of course it always tastes better after the spices have sat for a few days.
I don’t remember much from my early childhood, but I vividly recall snapping peas from my grandmother’s garden and helping get the wash out on the line. It’s funny how such simple things stay with us.
When I was very young we used to have to go through our toys and choose the ones we no longer wanted to be given to charity. My father used to spend Christmas eve picking up food for hampers and bringing them along with our toys to an order of nursing sisters who distributed them. I remember the hustle and bustle of the nun’s parlor where all this was being organized and it made an indelible impression on me. It was an incredible way to learn to share, to understand not everyone was as fortunate and to thoroughly enjoy our new toys. Your fairy is a bit young for something similar but I remember participating when I was four. Thanks for your lovely videos Niamh. ❤
It is really useful to have a cleaning routine and then also combine it with a timed daily routine for specific rooms which are unexpectedly chaotic some days. Say a fifteen minute clean up for the living room though you’re actually supposed to do the bathrooms that day.
I loved seeing your little fairy! The sweet little hands picking the beans, the little feet stomping into her rain boots, and her bouncy little curls. This was a lovely video! I always love to see your lovely home and hear your thoughts. You're so inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing! Sending love from Buffalo, NY, USA!
Aghhh ❤ l could have watched your daughter shelling the beans for ages adorable thank you xxx once a month I would batch cook fish pie and a chilly then proportion it into individual containers into the freezer was a great quick go to when the children were young ❤️
I love all of your motherhood content 🥰 you inspire me to slow down with my own little toddler and to appreciate the small, simple things in life. To buy him less clothes, spend more time in nature, more time together and to live a healthy life. I would love more motherhood videos like these 🌈🌞☔️xx
Really enjoyed this video. I agree that it's important to have a routine when you have a little one, it just makes life easier and your little fairy is so happy and content. Great to spend lots of time outside as well.
Your little fairy has grown so much !I like the way you raise her up, making her enjoy nature and sharing what you do. It's the best way to make adults respectful of the planet because they have learnt to love it.
Hello, I live in the USA, I love, love your channel. I am reminded of how I grew up, each time I watch your program. I think you are doing a wonderful job with the little fairy. I like the walks,you take her on. I really like the toy rotation you do. And most of all I love the wonderful meals you make for your family. I learn many things from watching your channel. Thank you.,and keep the videos coming.
Your little daughter is adorable, I love the confidence toddlers walk with. Like the whole world is theirs to conquer, so sweet. My daughter is almost 8 and I still do the toy rotation. She gets so excited when I do it, it’s like getting new toys without spending a cent! I find she plays so much more when there is a smaller selection. I’m working at becoming more organized myself. I find making a loose menu for the week helps. I’ll choose 7 things to make and put them on for each day, but if I decide to switch days I can be flexible. Thanks for your videos, they are really thoughtful and inspiring.
What I remember about my chidhood in the 60's is very little now.. apart from my teddy, Boo Boo, my tiny tears doll, reading was my favourite thing, oh and scrapbooking! I was a quiet child who just loved being by herself (not much has changed at all!). Thank you, what a beautifully artistic, deeply soothing video. Watching li'l fairy intent on getting those beans out was so, so adorable, my heart was crumpled with the joy of it.
Awww she's really growing ! My daughter is expecting her first child in March . Time management is tough ! There's always so much to do .My advice is get up early ,early while she's still sleeping! It's amazing how fast the days go bye .It's kinda scary .Some people are so productive in a day ! These devices can really take a lot of our time and that's what's holding me up these days .There a new addiction.😢
My daughter makes a big batch of meals twice a month and puts them in the freezer. Many of them are intended for the slow cooker so in the morning she pops something in, cooks it on low all day and in the evening she just makes a side to go with it.
If I am making something for a meal that is freezer friendly I make double, sometimes more. Than I freeze it and have a meal that only needs to be warmed in the oven or heated on the stove for a relatively short time. Cook once, eat 2 or more times. It’s a really big time saver.
Responding to your query about ways to manage hot meals without losing time with your little one, I tend to cook more than we need for one meal so that I can reheat on the stovetop rather start from scratch again. Beautiful video!
We’ve been dealing with fires nearby, smoke and terrible heat. This has been how its been the last few years in southern Oregon. Would love to go away where it’s cooler, but afraid to leave with fires so near.
I am an onlychild and I grew up with a ton of toys. But I was never overwhelmed, I played with them all! 😂 Anyway, your little fairy has more chance to be out in nature than I had, so she's not going to need them much
This month for me has been hard... Moving tomorrow with only 50% things packed, working constantly, dealing with drama... Seeing this video gives me a few minutes to just relax.. thank you ❤
At our local primary school the teachers took all the toys away as an experiment and replaced them with just cardboard boxes. Apparently the children had a wonderful time creating their own fun. It made national news here in the UK.
Lovely video! Montessori methods offer terrific fundamentals, and they will pay you dividends in the future. Remember to ask your little fairy "where does this go?" or "do you remember where to put this?". When my son was about her age, I got him a small truck that he could ride on only in the house and I would load up the back of the truck with folded towels from the dryer. He would put them away. I would also put groceries in the back or pick up toys and he would make "special deliveries" to the places where these items belonged. He would back up his little truck towards me wanting more responsibilities, which built his confidence each time. He even made the beeping noise that trucks make when they are in reverse! All of this time with your fairy, is time well spent. My little delivery guy is now working on his PhD in computational engineering and applied math. Motherhood is such a precious role and a privilege to be cherished. Enjoy every moment!
Awh such a message Theresa. Thank you for sharing. I love that idea of the truck and them helping with household activities. I’m going to do that. 🥰🙏
Wow, what a great idea! Toddler truck delivery.
Awesome and thanks for sharing
😍
Your daughter is so cute. And how she very carefully picked out the beans and kept saying, "Beans, beans." So sweet.
Hehe that’s my fav bit. I just couldn’t shorten that clip 🥹🥰
I repeated that part three times..... My daughter also loves to repeat her favourite words in similar way
Time flies! I can't believe your fairy has grown so much. It's wonderful to see how you've adjusted your daily life while sticking to your values. (and she looks already so resourceful! Those beans! I think we all fell in love with that scene ahah 😀)
😂 gotta start her working early on!
I have to say I do much less now outside of the house so I can keep the routine going for her but it makes life less complicated to be honest 😁
Those beans! Just love that little scene too ☺️
The 'bean bean bean' made me chuckle!! Its so sweet.
So refreshing to see a authentic, grounded person. You are delightful
That little baby with her beans just might be the cutest darned thing I’ve ever seen! Loving your channel! Really helpful and just the peaceful tone I so desperately needed! ❤
One way to get all your warm meals into your day without always having to cook each one, is to bake a loaf of bread and cook a big pot of soup on Sunday or Monday to have for your lunches for the week (or a few days if you prefer). I used to do this years ago for a lady who hated to cook. I was already there to cook supper for her every day, and I found it easy to make this extra food so she was getting a good warm lunch every day too. She loved it, and it helped her to eat healthy meals instead of just grabbing something quick that might not be so healthy.
Now that I have chronic illnesses that make me have little energy, I often make extra food for myself so that I don't have to make each meal from scratch all the time. If I have leftovers from last night's supper, I can have it for lunch or supper the next day.
And for breakfast, I cook a couple of days worth of scrambled eggs, so I can just heat them up on some days instead of having to cook them from scratch. I know you are eating porridge at brekkie, so I'm not sure how well that tastes leftover.
Anything that can be made in larger batches to heat up quickly will make life easier!
I would walk with my two children early every morning and wed play in the park before breakfast. Children love outdoors. They had few toys and mostly toys for imaginative play and weekly trips to the library meant we didnt have too many books at once.
Watching the little one put on her boots, reminded me of when you used to put on your boots outside in earlier episodes.❤
Awh ☺️ 🧚♀️
That moment literally brought tears to my eyes! Something assimple as that, the next generation….. 🥹
Sweet comment.
I thought the same thing!!
Hi Niamh, when I was a child I had very few toys, I'm 52 so things were different back then...no Ipads or videogames, only a couple of dolls and Lego, colouring books & sketch albums, and pencils. And I loved that! It stimulated my creativity.
Like yourself, I meal prep every day for the next day and it saves me time and money as well. And I have specific days of the week for cleaning different things in the house too. Every wedsnesday it's trash bin wash for example, and so on. It's incredible how these little things can save your time and help your mental health!
And of course every day I spend at least an hour outside walking in nature as it boosts my mood and increases my energy.
A big hug to you and the little Fairy from Italy ❤
When I was a child, I don’t remember a house cluttered with toys. We had a toy box in our bedrooms. We also had our designated special cabinet in the kitchen which contained Tupperware, pots, pans and spoons. We had one baby doll and she made clothes for her. When the Barbie phase came in, we got a Barbie and then collected clothes for her. Barbie and her belongings were in our Barbie case. We also had plenty of crayons, coloring books and learning books as well as books to read. When my sister and I were the age of your little fairy, we could usually be found playing in our cabinet. You can make some serious music with a pot and spoon and a Tupperware bowl makes a great hat. For us, it was the use of our imagination. Also, we loved being outside. My sister was one to rotate toys with her kids.
Thank you so much for another beautiful and very calm video! I think I never commented this before, but your "Minimal Evening at home" video from 4 years ago sparked my entire cottagecore / slow living journey. It stirred something deep within me that I craved and wanted for my life. And here I am 4 years later, living in the countryside, renovating my own cottage and making my own slow living videos. I can't thank you enough for your wonderful work and for how much you have inspired me and put me on this path that gives me so much happiness. Thank you so so much! 💕
Awh thanks so much Liz. What a wonderful journey we are all on here on planet earth 🌏 ❤
This is my first time writing a comment on RUclips but I felt the need to say thank you so much to you because your videos reflect a beautiful picture of living in the Irish countryside with so much calm, kindness, nature and simplicity, which I personally appreciate in the busy life we live today.
My best wishes ❤
Awh thank you so much. I’m very grateful to hear that.
My best wishes to you. Thanks for your support 🍀
Yes, exactly. Fairyland Cottage videos are a combination of verbal information and visual art.
No advice, just a grandma (of 4 little ones) chiming in that you are a wonderful mother and I enjoy your sweet daughter. Look at her with those beans!
My kids and now my granddaughter love any big delivery boxes! Such as the 'Who gives a ****' box of bamboo toilet roll. Then the inners of the rolls themselves. She is now 7 and now trurns them into boats, houses etc using pens!
My little girl just turned 17 months and is only interested in housework, sneaking food from her helping tower and exploring outside. I feel like toys don’t bring her excitement anymore, and that’s definitely okay with me!
Your little girl chomping on that sweetcorn made my day 😂 she really enjoyed it
My mother talked about growing up with a shoe box for her doll bed and a Ballon she called her doll. Myself I loved to create villages outside in the dirt with stones and bridges of dirt. No toys required. My daughter loved her play bakery of mud pies. The generations never change at heart, toys didn't make the memory.
You daughter is adorable and so lucky to be raised with such thoughtfulness. You are showing her to be independent and allowing her to do things because up until 5 years old or so they are sponges and really absorb everything around them. I have found that children do tire of toys but they love to be involved in whatever you are doing. I do think they learn faster that way and mature better. Thanks for your lovely videos!
Soo true. She just wants to do what I’m doing!
If I lose an hour in the morning, I will chase it all day long!! For me, getting up early and being productive in the morning is the most efficient way to stay organized and also to plan and eat healthy meals. I also love the flow of being active and productive early in the day, and then winding down as the day comes to an end. Great video today Niamh, thanks for sharing your world with us. We have unending drought and wildfires here in northern 🇨🇦 this summer, please blow some of your rain clouds over The Pond. We would welcome them with open arms. I really look forward to your monthly video upload and to hearing your news. Thanks- you so much, Ⓜary💕💦
Living aboard requires a lot of organization. Grocery shopping is a minimum of a 6hr roundtrip therefore I shop for a month at a time. The next day is washing all the produce and processing whatever proteins for the freezer. I have a small 3 cubic foot freezer now and also added a large cooler to the cockpit. We're not vegans but I do limit our meat intake. One chicken, one pork, one seafood meal a week, then a soup and 3 vegetarian meals. The cleaning up of produce goes into stock each Sunday, and I make salsa and hummus for the week. Each week, I take from the freezer those proteins and put them in my small fridge freezer and leave the actual recipe to the mood I'm in. I have a big pantry (bigger than in any house I've lived in) which allows me to create any dish I want whether French, Asian, Indian etc - the basics are there. That removes a lot of stress for me.
So happy to see you back. Enjoy your little fairy as they grow so fast!
Cheers from Canada!!
You are a wise momma letting your little one do for herself everything she can and for letting her follow you around as you do your daily tasks. That kind of patience and care will pay dividends. The best gift we can give children is to be patient and trustworthy while giving them the opportunity to build the healthy self-confidence they will need throughout their lifetime. You’re doing a great job! 💛
❤❤❤❤❤ I always stop by your videos when I need a little calm and grounding in my life. You are wonderful, thank you for this!
I love this kindness to our selfs. Toys are overwhelming for all littles, I kept half of the toys put away and rotated them monthly, I have 3 kids and they are all quite very smart. Even though one has autism, and one has serious hearing loss. They are all lovely adults now. Three all had music lessons of various kinds. All started on the Piano, then as time went on they chose which instrument of their choice.. that is just one for instance. Gardening and cooking and house cleaning are all important tasks and skills. My boys are very self deficient and my daughter is an awesome lovely. You have a lovely way about your self and little miss is a darling. Enjoy every minute with her. It goes all too fast!
oh, my goodness. i cannot tell you, although i've told you before, how much your voice brings me calm. thank you. great tips...i do most of those. in addition, i have a few extra things i do to help make my day go more smoothly and less cluttered: i never cook my meals for only one day, always leftovers for tomorrow. :) i also meal plan and prep, but i do it on sunday for the week, and i also make big batches of a two or three grains for the week. once, and done, and it helps me to cook those meals much more easily and quickly and i am not spending as much time in the kitchen. your little one is precious, and it is so great you are letting her do what she can...so great for her self worth and skill building! take good care and thank you for these wonderful videos despite your full day with your little fairy! much love- 💕🌻
Those little toddler fists wrapped around the beans melted my heart like butter. So sweet!
My most useful habit when mine were little was to make supper in the early afternoon while they napped. Then I could just reheat and serve right at supper time. I hated cooking late in the afternoon when everyone was grouchy and hungry. That trick saved me a ton of stress!
So true! That makes sense. I cook in the morning and it use to be during nap time when she was younger. It was so helpful!!
On toys, we really didn’t have any growing up (I wanted books anyway, but we didn’t have those either). Girls were taught to keep house so there was no playtime, but I think educational toys like LEGO are essential. Toys can teach problem solving and inspire make believe and expand the mind-all good things😊
Oh I miss the little ones! Mine are 24 and 19, sigh! My children attended Montessori schools for their education and I used it at home when they were little. I was a stay home mom for the entire time they were growing up. To help spend time with her while trying to get all the meals done, give her supplies of her own (dull knife, spoons etc) to help you chop or mix part of the meals along side with you. Also if you have a slow cooker, they are heaven sent. Prepare as much as you can ahead so there’s more of just assembling and cook when it’s time. My youngest is home from college for summer so I have no idea if I am a morning or night person anymore cause I have to do both right now!😅 I can’t sleep til he gets home from work or being out and then I wake up naturally at 430, which may mean 2-3 hours of sleep. Yes, he has a curfew while he is at home. He can stay out all night when he’s away at college if he wants, lol! Lovely video!
What a great home environment you’re bringing your little fairy into!
I often find myself wishing I could have a “do over” when my kids were her age. I had postpartum anxiety and depression and so badly I wish I could go back and help myself. They’re 5&7 now so still little and I suppose I can still change the “environment” of the home. I feel like your videos are a nice reminder of that! ❤
Ok gosh yes. You can change right now the It is never too late, especially to forgive yourself for your postpartum illness. We women are so hard on ourselves. Your children will feel your kindness to yourself. ❤️
@@FairylandCottage Thank you for your sweet reply! I recently learned postpartum can last up to 7(!!) years! That was a really healing thing for me to learn. I do find every year is easier and the energy shifts in our home. ❤
@@mackenzie5716 yes I heard that recently! My gosh the toll it takes on our bodies and minds and emotions. Just shows you how much time we need eh ❤️
P.S....I remember that my grandmother, whom we lived with at the time, always had washing day, cleaning day, ironing day, etc. and on Saturday, scrubbing the floor day, because the preacher man was coming for Sunday dinner. Then, she'd spread newspapers around to keep it clean. She did have 14 people in her household and kept up a full- time job! I really don't know how she did it!
What a lovely time you are having with your fairy. My two didn’t play with allot of their toys and now looking back, I could have saved so much money! My daughter loved the Tupperware cupboard,taking things out and putting them back. My son, every type and size of ball. Now my daughter is studying architecture and my son is looking to study actuarial science. Where does the time go….
Your Little Fairy podding the peas with her little hands ❤ precious moments
I'm a third Kid so I had the leftover Toys from my sisters plus some new ones once or twice a year. My First daughter had relatively Little Toys. Some were from our childhood still. She used to play with a cookie tin full of walnuts from 6months to 2 years old or even beyond. Also Tupperware, lids, and books were her mai interests until recently. Now puzzles and drawing Is what She needs to keep occupied. And audiobooks! Doesn't require much space.
I grew up in the 60s and 70s. We didn’t have many toys but we were given a few things at Christmas. I had a couple of dolls, some toy cars and farm animals! With 3 sisters we played mainly outside in the seasons. We collected things like dandelions for our rabbits and Guinea pigs. We went on picnics or collected conckers. We picked bluebells and primroses in the spring and tried to make corn dollies and lavender wands at harvest time with blackberries and apples. We picked elderberries shucked peas and sprouts in the summer. Your Little Fairy is so super lovely so independent and loves the outdoors. The way you are with her is so calming and supportive. What a grand job you’re doing. We used to walk a mile to the shop and a mile back most days in the holidays or before we started school. I think it was just a way for my mum to fill part of the day! On the way she used to point out all the flowers, birds and insects. How she found the time to make our clothes clean the house and cook for us heaven knows. She used to then paint the inside of the house every summer holidays!., thanks for your video I love it and missed you when you were gone. Nothing has to be perfect and super organised it’s the doing and the everyday living that you remember from childhood! What is life anyway, but memories xxx
What a lovely comment. Thank you for sharing.
I can't remember a single toy from my childhood. My father built us a makeshift "playground" from scraps and random bits he found in his shed and we mostly played outdoors or in creative ways with simple things.
Now that I have a daughter, I see her gravitate more toward the simpler toys like her playsilks, her most basic dolls, and books. Excess toys definitely overwhelm her and the plastic ones that make noise (usually gifted to us) seem to aggravate her so badly that we've had to give them away. She much prefers helping me with what I'm doing than playing with her toys in any case❤
Crockpot meals are a great time saver
What a smart girl!!! She so carefully picked out all the beans!!! Such amazing motor skills!!!
Your daughter truly is a fairy baby. She is just precious and I wish her the happiest memories and childhood 🤍
Your place is so magical, I hope you try your hand at children's stories, just telling the stories about the garden with your little Fairy growing would be fabulous
When I was a child my mother was able to keep a corner of our basement as a play space. I think that space helped give me a desire to keep it organized myself because I felt an 'ownership' of it. As for overwhelm, these days my grandchildren spend a lot of time at my house and rather than beat myself up about what I'm not getting done, I go with the flow of these days and tell myself that what I'm accomplishing is enough. I spent too many years as a mother completely stressed and overwhelmed to go through that again. This time, the other things can wait.
I learned the word: As a grandmother you get a second chance". I enjoy the time with my grandchildren too, and I hope, I can enjoy the moment.
I think your little fairy is very lucky to have such a thoughtful mom. My first born was hyperactive boy, giving birth to my daughter was a godsend. I grew up with 2 older brothers who always fought. We can't choose our upbringing. But it really shows that you have purposefully brought not only a daughter into your world, but a value system and a lifestyle. Thank you.
Hey Niamh, I only just got around to watching this!
One tip for you is that garlic and onions start absorbing impurities in the air as soon as you chop them. So I wouldn't pre-chop the alliums.
When I was a wee thing, my mother would take my sister and I to the ravine behid our house to pick blackberries and raspberries too, for strawberries we sent to the local farm...
I love to hear the bird’s singing x
My congratulations on a healthy and happy baby. And a few tips. For three freshly cooked meals you need to cut and prep at least one meal in advance. I would prep for supper and lunch time. Cut veggies, store chopped garnishes and pastes as you are doing. Freeze ginger, garlic, onion, green chutneys, any other pulp into little silicone ice cube trays .. do a week’s bunch at a time. It really helps. I also block cut okra, beans, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, etc .. and store them, covered in cloth and in boxes, or fridge containers, and then fine cut them as per the day’s / recipe’s requirement.
Hey Niamh… I cannot comment on the concept of ‘toy clutter’ as I am not a parent, but as a high school sewing teacher of 36 years I can honestly say that students function better in a classroom that is organized and not cluttered with stuff. In my sewing classroom I find it takes just a bit of time, energy, and organization each day after school to clear the classroom of unnecessary clutter. It is vital for me and my students that the classroom maintains a balance of necessary supplies and tools, as well as sample projects, wall hangings, and decor that inspires my students. If there is too much stuff, students become easily overwhelmed, and they will add to the clutter with their scraps, etc. If the classroom is colourful and ready with just the necessary stuff for the day, the students will do their best to maintain the clutter-free environment. AND… most importantly my students always tell me how much they enjoy being in a “chill and nice classroom”. Thanks for allowing me to share this here in your comment space. Ⓜary🇨🇦🧵
Awh soo lovely that your students comment Mary. Shows how much your effort pays off. 🕊️🙏🐝
You are a wonderful teacher. ❤ I am also not a parent, but that part of the video about keeping some toys away really resonated with me. I believe it can be applied to almost every area of our adults lives, what we eat, our objects, collections and how we work. Your comment just validated my feeling. Thank you for sharing.
Love your little girl podding the beans so cute. My kids loved baking with me and cutting out the scones. I took them in train trips to a lot of cool places and they were fascinated by all the different sights. We did gardening too and grew pumpkins and sunflowers. They loved the outdoors
Fine mother skills was always my sit and relax with them time. Out and about was a bit all over the place. I didn't have open shelves but I did have empty bottom kitchen drawers so I put a few toys in them. Yes lids and pots were always a favorite. She did great with those beans. To cute.
Very, very Hot. Getting used to do things early in the mornings and then wait until it cools done and be able to go outside again. Watering the plants so that they don't die.
Thanks for your videos, they are so calm and inspiring.
When my 4 children were little (like your Little Fairy) We would all gather in the kitchen and they would help me (In ways that they could) prepare the meal. Even when they were too little we would all be in the kitchen chatting. I would tell them about what we were making for dinner, chat about the colors of the food, how they are grown etc. They loved measuring and peeling and mixing the salad. We pretended we owned a little Cafe.
You are doing a great job about the rotation of Toys and keeping organized. Little Ones love helping. My children loved sorting socks and folding hand towels/face cloths etc.
Outside time was and is special. I love spending time in my garden with my Grandson.
Have fun!
I am a morning person but love my evening time to read and have music playing
Awh thanks Karen. Such special memories created xxx
Thank you for another beautiful and inspiring video. Getting an instapot (electric pressure cooker), has been a game changer for our family. I just pop all the ingredients in for my curries and soups (don't saute or anything), set it and I'm free to play. It even has a function of keeping warm after the cooking is done, so we can set it, go play, come home and the food is ready. All lentils and beans are always evenly cooked, and it cooks super fast. I also started using organic onion and garlic powder to cut down on chopping and sauteing time. Its really been a timesaver.
One thing I do is to cook double of whatever I'm making and then freeze half of it for another meal. Or just cook several meals at once and just refrigerate or freeze the ones you aren't going to eat that day. Eventually you will build up a stash of meals you can pull out and heat up. I have been a parent for 23 years and if you don't want your daughter to pull out all her clothes and unfold them you need to train her not to touch them. My suggestion would be to put some outfits she can choose from where she can reach them so that she can still get dressed by herself but that she cannot touch the rest. Because surely you don't want to have to keep refolding her clothes... Its wonderful to see her doing things herself she has very good motor skills for her age! ❤
This reminded me of my daughter at this age. She's now 8 years old. Wonderful memories you've captured. I love your drying rack!
I found making extra food and reheating it was helpful.
I used to alternate toys for my daughter. Every 6 months or so I used to pack the toys away and bring another box out that she hadn’t played with for a while and it was as if she had a load of new toys x
I can’t imagine being outdoors in the summer. We have triple digits in Texas. I’m glad you can enjoy summertime outside😊
The placing of the beans in the bowl was just adorable 🥰
One thing that helped me with meal organizing was to have certain things on certain days. For example, on Monday we would have a crockpot meal, usually a roast of some sort. Then we would use the left overs for lunches the next day. Tuesday would be roasted veggies and baked potatoes. Wednesdays would be soup in the crockpot using the leftovers from the previous two days. Thursday was baked chicken and Friday we would eat out. Saturday was baking day and I would usually make a soup or casserole that could cook while I baked. And finally Sunday I didn’t cook at all, just used up all the leftovers in the fridge. I hope this helps.
Your little one is such a blessing and watching her expertly opening the beans made me smile. My little ones have long flown the nest and now have tiny babies themselves but we have a house full of animals and what with the wet weather in Guernsey, I have been putting their wet coats and towels to dry hanging up in the potting shed. Maybe you could put your cloth diapers hanging up in the poly tunnel ❤
Gosh it’s always a pleasure watching you and the lil fairy… calms me … and inspires me… do you eat three meals a day … we do but it’s getting so hot here … smoothies at lunch is best and dinner is lite fair .. not heating up the kitchen.. bedtime is 10:00 pm here and up at 6:00 am .. my dog wakes me up to go out … hehe .. Aloha from Hawaii.
It's so lovely to see you and the little fairy every time 🙏🥳💃💌💐👼🧚♀️👸
Thank you so much! 🧚♀️🦚🙏
Wie schön, dass Du wieder deine Videos machst. Du kannst dir kaum vorstellen, wie wichtig es ist. Ich bin Lehrerin und arbeite an einer Montessori-Schule und bin schon seit Jahren von ihrer Philosophie absolut begeistert.
Bleibt ganz schön gesund!
Liebe Grüße aus Deutschland ❤
Before you were talking about motor skills, I noticed how advanced she is in both gross and fine skills. Amazing. I worked with toddlers for some years and know their developmental skills. So sweet and determined are her little hands. I hope, I used the proper words, I' from Germany.
Your little one is adorable. To answer your question about my childhood toys. There were very few, however, the ones that I did have, I fondly remember to this day. I love your lifestyle, you have the right idea. xx
Oh yes I can imagine. It’s quality over quantity and therefore gets remembered. How lovely x
re cooking, maybe batch cook bigger quantities of meals for your little fairy and freeze portions to reheat on the stove as needed? I think that will be nearly as good as cooking fresh every time.
Great idea! I’ll try that. It makes sense ❤
I get up very early so I can spend time in prayerful meditation, eating a healthy breakfast, and tidying up my home before I go to work. The extra time grounds me and sets a slow easy pace to my day. I appretiate walking into a tidy home at the end of the day. 🙂 so I can head outside in nature guilt free!!
When asking about meals and time for little ones, consider making a "nibbler plate" for lunch or easy dinner. Put some crackers- US like saltines or goldfish , cheese bits, fruit, raisins, and any other snack size items on the plate for an easy and quick lunch or early dinner. My children loved these
such fantastic ideas and lovely to see such a leisurely sense of time with a wee one. The one thing that's taken me almost 5 years to learn is to take ways to incorporate other people in your daily life to help with your little one. We've found it's sometimes easier to invite friends over for dinner because they'll hang out with our kiddo while we cook, and then have us over the next weekend. Or playdates where you are looking after another kid can sometimes be so much easier because their little friend is keeping them busy and you can have time to prep meals (especially when they are just a bit older). Finding ways to incorporate community really helped me as a mom.
That’s such valuable advice! Thank you for sharing with me
We have 3 boys, 7, 5, and 2 1/2. We do minimal toys. They have more adventures with bugs, stick, rocks, and boxes even when we have an excess of toys. 🤷🏼♀️ So I always try to keep everything pretty minimal
Lovely video as always ❤ with regards to your question on keeping up with cooking three meals a day: I've always made planned leftovers. I.e. I cook enough for at least two meals at once, food can always be reheated or refreshed with a new quick salad or used in a slightly different way for the next meal, or popped in the freezer and then you've a meal ready to go when you're too busy or tired to cook. I'm then only really cooking once a day. I have also moved away from serving everything already portioned on plates, but rather bring everything to the table for the family to help themselves. This improves family time at the table, reduces food waste as everyone only takes what they want, and it also empowers other family members to be inventive with the meal and bring new ideas with what I've provided, and what to do with leftovers.
Here in East Tennessee, we’ve had enough rain for you, me, them, and everybody!!! It hasn’t felt like summer! My kids just started school back yesterday! So it went by so quick it literally did not feel like summer at all.
It was so good to see you back. Here in Ohio USA we had a 2 week dry spell. We finally got some rain. I stay organized by cleaning up as I go through out the day. Your daughter is so adorable and such a good job on snapping the peas.❤
I have 2 children (20 and 23) that still thankfully live with us. (I'm hoping they never leave LOL). They still have their toys from when they were toddlers and refuse to get rid of them. I think they are just sentimental and want that connection from their childhood. I still have my Strawberry Shortcake dolls from the 80's and never want to get rid of them. I still also have a lot of my childhood books which I will never part with. They give me such comfort to look at them every now and then. But I am still wanting to get rid of stuff cause I hate clutter.
Your little fairy putting on her boots and getting the beans split was just too adorable! You're doing fantastic with her!
On another note, send that rain to north Carolina! 😂
What a blessed life you are living and giving your daughter. I love how honest and what a beautiful soul you are. Love from Canada.
What a lovely, sweet video, you are such a good mom, and so like me when I was raising my children. You were asking for ideas on warm meals? What I used to do was pick a day every other week or once a month and I called it casserole day! I would make a variety of casseroles and freeze them, and I can’t tell you how wonderful it was on busy days just to pull a casserole out of the freezer and bake it. I knew that my little ones were getting a warm nutritious meal and it saves so much time!
I also recommend a crock pot! ( slow cooker)I don’t know if in Ireland you have these but it’s a electric ceramic crock and you can throw anything like meats, vegetables and let it slow cook for hours until your ready to eat. I still use mine all the time! It’s a life saver! I hope these tips are helpful!
My family originated from Ireland and it’s a dream of mine to visit it someday. I live in Elkhart, Indiana on the border of Michigan here in the US and we have gotten rain ( but not enough) so our growing season is very different this year as well.
Sending many blessings to you and your little fairy, and loved your video!
I’m just catching up on your videos and your little fairy is so cute. Those little curls at the nape of her neck… We have a little fairy in our family and I babysit her once a week. She is not really playing with the toys she has here a lot either, but rather playing with items I have around the house. She also likes to help me with the housework (I take the washing off the line and she takes it out of the basket and puts it on the ground 😁), it’s a work in progress. I also try to have three warm meals a day and she loves sitting at the table with me to eat. Children are such a breath of fresh air. They help you to remember it is the simple things in life that are the most precious. ❤
They truly are a breath of fresh air indeed!
Food is something you need to do, so take your time with it and eating it with your little one. It's my therapist in a way now that I'm older and my two are all grown, but some of our good times together are and were around the table. My daughter now at the age of 30 decides she now likes fish. Sorry for vegetarians. It wasn't a big deal when younger and we let her figure it out, no drama around it.
I find that much time is saved when there is at least one meal premade. At the beginning of each week I try to make a big pot of stew, soup, minestrone, spaghetti sauce, curry etc. that will be the lunch or dinner for that week. All you have to do is reheat it, make fresh noodles or bread if needed, and you have a quick, delicious, and easy meal. And of course it always tastes better after the spices have sat for a few days.
I don’t remember much from my early childhood, but I vividly recall snapping peas from my grandmother’s garden and helping get the wash out on the line. It’s funny how such simple things stay with us.
When I was very young we used to have to go through our toys and choose the ones we no longer wanted to be given to charity. My father used to spend Christmas eve picking up food for hampers and bringing them along with our toys to an order of nursing sisters who distributed them. I remember the hustle and bustle of the nun’s parlor where all this was being organized and it made an indelible impression on me. It was an incredible way to learn to share, to understand not everyone was as fortunate and to thoroughly enjoy our new toys.
Your fairy is a bit young for something similar but I remember participating when I was four.
Thanks for your lovely videos Niamh. ❤
Thanks for sharing that experience Siobhan. So nice that your father did that. It’s something I’d like to emulate. ❤
It is really useful to have a cleaning routine and then also combine it with a timed daily routine for specific rooms which are unexpectedly chaotic some days. Say a fifteen minute clean up for the living room though you’re actually supposed to do the bathrooms that day.
I loved seeing your little fairy! The sweet little hands picking the beans, the little feet stomping into her rain boots, and her bouncy little curls. This was a lovely video! I always love to see your lovely home and hear your thoughts. You're so inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing! Sending love from Buffalo, NY, USA!
Aghhh ❤ l could have watched your daughter shelling the beans for ages adorable thank you xxx once a month I would batch cook fish pie and a chilly then proportion it into individual containers into the freezer was a great quick go to when the children were young ❤️
I love all of your motherhood content 🥰 you inspire me to slow down with my own little toddler and to appreciate the small, simple things in life. To buy him less clothes, spend more time in nature, more time together and to live a healthy life. I would love more motherhood videos like these 🌈🌞☔️xx
Totally agree I always did a menu for the week, so I new what to buy , there was never any waste, xxx
Really enjoyed this video. I agree that it's important to have a routine when you have a little one, it just makes life easier and your little fairy is so happy and content. Great to spend lots of time outside as well.
Your little fairy has grown so much !I like the way you raise her up, making her enjoy nature and sharing what you do. It's the best way to make adults respectful of the planet because they have learnt to love it.
Hello, I live in the USA, I love, love your channel. I am reminded of how I grew up, each time I watch your program. I think you are doing a wonderful job with the little fairy. I like the walks,you take her on. I really like the toy rotation you do. And most of all I love the wonderful meals you make for your family. I learn many things from watching your channel. Thank you.,and keep the videos coming.
Your little daughter is adorable, I love the confidence toddlers walk with. Like the whole world is theirs to conquer, so sweet. My daughter is almost 8 and I still do the toy rotation. She gets so excited when I do it, it’s like getting new toys without spending a cent! I find she plays so much more when there is a smaller selection. I’m working at becoming more organized myself. I find making a loose menu for the week helps. I’ll choose 7 things to make and put them on for each day, but if I decide to switch days I can be flexible. Thanks for your videos, they are really thoughtful and inspiring.
These little chubby hands are so precious. Your toddler is such a sweetie. God bless and grant her health and joy.
What I remember about my chidhood in the 60's is very little now.. apart from my teddy, Boo Boo, my tiny tears doll, reading was my favourite thing, oh and scrapbooking! I was a quiet child who just loved being by herself (not much has changed at all!). Thank you, what a beautifully artistic, deeply soothing video. Watching li'l fairy intent on getting those beans out was so, so adorable, my heart was crumpled with the joy of it.
Awww she's really growing ! My daughter is expecting her first child in March .
Time management is tough ! There's always so much to do .My advice is get up early ,early while she's still sleeping! It's amazing how fast the days go bye .It's kinda scary .Some people are so productive in a day ! These devices can really take a lot of our time and that's what's holding me up these days .There a new addiction.😢
So true Tammy. The day runs by and before I know, it’s bedtime! 🥲 and yes phones are a new addiction. The days I use the least are the best
My daughter makes a big batch of meals twice a month and puts them in the freezer. Many of them are intended for the slow cooker so in the morning she pops something in, cooks it on low all day and in the evening she just makes a side to go with it.
If I am making something for a meal that is freezer friendly I make double, sometimes more. Than I freeze it and have a meal that only needs to be warmed in the oven or heated on the stove for a relatively short time. Cook once, eat 2 or more times. It’s a really big time saver.
Responding to your query about ways to manage hot meals without losing time with your little one, I tend to cook more than we need for one meal so that I can reheat on the stovetop rather start from scratch again. Beautiful video!
We’ve been dealing with fires nearby, smoke and terrible heat. This has been how its been the last few years in southern Oregon. Would love to go away where it’s cooler, but afraid to leave with fires so near.
That was something so charming about seeing her put her little feet in her boots, with such great balance.
I am an onlychild and I grew up with a ton of toys. But I was never overwhelmed, I played with them all! 😂 Anyway, your little fairy has more chance to be out in nature than I had, so she's not going to need them much
😂 I love to hear that! My husband is an only child too and he got everything and he is one of the most generous people I know!
@@FairylandCottage ☺️
This month for me has been hard... Moving tomorrow with only 50% things packed, working constantly, dealing with drama...
Seeing this video gives me a few minutes to just relax.. thank you ❤
So sorry to hear that my friend. Best of luck with the move tomorrow…. It’s one of the hardest things to do. Keep setting boundaries and delegate 🕊️
She is stinking cute! She is going up so fast! Just lovely with the beans!