Experiment - are you willing?

It's FRIDAY!! The end of a long, hot week. Hopefully for all of you today signals the beginning of a couple of days of lovely, well-earned rest.

To kick off the weekend I thought I'd do an experiment. I really enjoy Mia Freedman's best and worst bits of the week segment. It's always really theraputic to look back through the week and remember the greatest times and the moments you could do without. What do you think? Shall we give it a go? If it goes well, I'll do it each Friday..

Here's mine (but I really want to hear yours)

Best part of the week: Realising that if I buy or make smaller santa sacks (as opposed to our current massive, pillow slip sized ones), they will be filled much more quickly! And realising - again - that Christmas really is all about family and God's love so simple presents are the way to go.

Worst part of the week: We're going to a funeral today :o( A lovely family friend passed away last week. She had a wonderful life and has left an amazing legacy but she will be missed.

How was your week?

I L.I.K.E you better when you are N.O.T around

I, along with most of the population, am totally in love with Kate Miller-Heidke and her music. Her new album has practically melded itself to the CD player in our car. The kids LOVE it. I usually listen to Hope 103.2 (they make sure their music is always suitable for little ears - no censorship needed there!) but I've found that Kate's album - Curiouser - is not only a great listen, but it's helped cement some of the things the kids have been learning about lately.

Two songs in particular have made an impact on the girls.

Caught in the Crowd is Kate's heart felt apology to a boy - James - who she befriended then betrayed in high school. She tells the story of how they used to race home from school on their bikes and slowly built a friendship. James didn't have many friends at school and oneday when some of the kids were pushing him around, he saw Kate and called out her name... and she turned and walked away.

Everytime I hear this my insides turn to mush. Not because I was bullied at school - I was painfully quiet so got off pretty much scott-free - but because this is such a sad reality for so many people. Something that's really important to Matt and I is that our children grow up with an awareness of other people's feelings and needs - not just their own.

The girls have dubbed this song The Sorry Song and talk about how sad James was when Kate walked away from him. They've learned how important it is to stick by our friends and that to refuse to be someones friend will hurt them deeply. They ask to listen to it over and over again and I'm happy to oblige - the lesson they're learning is so important.



Song number 2 on my plug list is I Like You Better When You Are Not Around. Startling title but awesome message. See for yourself:

(This isn't the entire song, I've cut out a few verses... )

Long, long ago in the years BC
The women used to gossip while they made their tea
It's been our method of survival, right from the start
But girl you've really gone and turned it into an art

After I see you I feel dirty as hell
Like you've contaminated me with that peculiar smell
That comes from dishing up the dirt on all your closest friends
"I mean like what the hell is with her, I mean, no offence"

So please don't take it to heart
When I say can we start to spend time apart
But frankly my dear
This friendship is toxic
Like a fox and a hound

I like you better when you're not around

Don't wanna hear about your bitchy scene
And I don't really care who gave who what disease
As if don't even know you say just the same about me
Do you really think I'm that naïve?

Great lyrics hey. You should hear it, the tune is even better!

At first I didn't play this song around the kids but then I realised the gem it actually is. I explained to them that people don't actually want to be friends with mean people. When we talk about others and say nasty things about them, people often think to themselves, "I wonder if they say mean things about me. I don't really want to be their friend anymore". It really got them thinking.



What do you think? Do you use music to teach your children about life? Would you let them listen to these songs?

Happy hour

Our neighbours probably think we have a dog. GB5 seems to be sensitive to dairy and every few weeks we get slack and give her milk, after which she barks and barks and barks. Day and night. I don't know why we keep being so remiss - we seem to talk ourselves into believing that she's not really sensitive - maybe she had a cold last time?

Anyway. GB5 is very dilligent about making sure that she doesn't drink milk or eat milk products. She's just that kind of child. You know, the type that doesn't miss anything.

A few weeks ago we had Beef Stew. This is a bit of a favourite in our house but this time GB5 had a very worried expression on her face as I served her meal. "No!" she exclaimed, to my surprise. "I can't eat beef Mum, it's dairy!"

Told you she didn't miss anything :o)

PS - The photo is thanks to The UK Sun. I just had to use it - check out the eyes on that thing!

3 fun (& FREE!) things to make

With the recent sweltering weather, we've all been spending a lot of time inside. TV gets old pretty quickly so here are three boredom busters we invented last week, which didn't bust the bank. Each activity was best suited to one of the three GruBers. GB5 loved making the paperbark letters, GB4 was right into the robot thing and GB2 had a ball making cakes.

Paperbark letters:

I found some beautiful pieces of paperbark on the medium strip and bought them home for the kids. While the two littlies weren't all that excited, GB5 got out her pens straight away and scribbled away for ages. The result is quite effective - don't you think?! Instead of coloured pens you could use crayons, paint, soft pencils.. You could use anything really, as long as your little artists don't have to press too hard -this may break the bark. GB5 quite enjoyed the different textures of the bark too, which also helps in giving them an appreciation of nature. How quaint ;o)

Materials:
Paperbark = $0
Pens/pencils/crayons/paint from around the house = $0
Total: FREE

Robot man:

GB4 was asking to make a robot all morning so we had a look through the craft area (which is just a pile of old wrapping paper, ribbon and containers) and found some bits and pieces. We glued them all together with wood glue and the resulting character is quite charming I think :o) GB4 really enjoyed the project because she was able to make it however she liked. It all felt very PlaySchool!

Materials:
Old packaging and boxes = $0
Glue/tape from around the house = $0
Old gift wrap/ribbon = $0
Total: ZIP

Cake:

This little invention actually emerged while GB4 and I were making the robot. GB2 was getting bored and fidgety so I passed him a couple of the bits and pieces we weren't using. After lining up the patty pans and 'counting' them again and again, he shoved them all into the old lettuce container and started calling it cake! It does look quite similar to store bought muffins, don't you think? He really enjoyed the whole thing and was still playing with them the next day. If you don't have any old (squashed and unusable) patty pans lying around, just a circle cut out of paper would do the trick nicely.

Materials:
Old container = $0
Patty pans or paper rounds = $0
Total: NADA

Enjoy!

Mulberry trees and garden wees - Kate Wattus

My Child magazine has just finished their 2009 My Life writing competition. If you like, skip over and read some of the final entries.

I loved so many of them but this one gave me a giggle so I wanted to share.

MULBERRY TREES AND GARDEN WEES by Kate Wattus

Before becoming a mum I lived in a fantasy world of manners and mores, where children ate their meals in the seated position at a table. Where children said ‘please’and ‘thank you’. Where children replied when others spoke to them. Where children took their shoes off at the door. And last but by no means least, where children relieved themselves atop a piece of plumbed porcelain.

My game plan was pretty simple; spend enough time nurturing the Big Five, and things
would just fall into place. After all, apart from the small matter of my half-finished
education degree, I had all the time in the world to spend with my firstborn. And kids
just do what you tell them, right? Stop laughing please.

My eldest daughter’s manners were impeccable from day one. She always removed her
shoes at the front door. She would not only answer when spoken to, but engage the
speaker in a detailed discussion on any number of topics. And I could have taken her for
a slab of Wagyu at The Hilton, safe in the knowledge she wouldn’t drop her knickers and
do a wee on the clipped lawn if she felt that way inclined. Which is more than I can say
for Paris.

I must confess that the sight of a male, even a small one, thinking it was ok to urinate
in my back yard, just because he could, was unacceptable. It offended my feminine
sensibilities. I was very Jane Austen about the whole thing.

Fast forward nine years, and you could say I’ve loosened up a little. Not only do I have a
child who wees in the backyard, I have a female child who wees in the backyard. And
the front yard. And the neighbours’ yard. And the courtyard at her big sister’s violin
recital.

My youngests penchant for alfresco urination came about after a run of toilet training
mishaps.

‘Do you need to wee, Annouk?’ I’d ask, as that unmistakable expression came over her
face.

‘Yeah!’ she’d say as she scrambled to the edge of the trampoline mat, struggling to
remove her Tinkerbell undies.

Deciding enough was enough, and assuming that Noo would share her older sister’s
conservative views on the public wizz, I came up with a plan.

I gave the practice a name that sounded exciting and non-threatening (the Garden
Wee), and added just a dash of romance and discretion by suggesting she have her own
special location; under our beautiful mulberry tree. It was private. It was shady. And if
the neighbours were having a BBQ on the deck, Noo wouldn’t be providing the live
entertainment.

Not surprisingly, she took to it like a duck to water. We had no more wayward wee
wees. The trampoline stayed dry. And it gave the chickens something to look at if it was
a slow day in the coop.

Pretty soon, Noo decided to do away with the mulberry tree location. The Garden Wee
became the Grass Wee, and pretty soon the Just About Anywhere Wee. Once, while
chatting to our elderly neighbours on their front lawn, Annouk started to lift her skirt.
‘Noo?!’ I hissed, ‘What are you doing?!’

‘I need to do a wee, Mum,’ replied my little one, matter-of-factly.

Despite the fact that Betty and Roy displayed a saintly patience when it came to our
wandering children and chickens, I wasn’t about to force this upon them.

I hurried our polite goodbyes, and managed to get Annouk as far as our own front lawn.
Which brings me to the violin recital. As Britt stood silently poised, and prepared to
execute a perfect rendition of Twinkle Twinkle, Annouk announced that she needed to
perform a twinkle of her own. My spring into action occurred just as Britt’s bow touched
the strings, hence providing the appropriately frantic musical accompaniment for our
dash to deliverance.

‘I really need to go, Mum,’ she called as we dashed, hand in hand, searching for the loo.
I pulled her around the corner of the hall and into the grassy courtyard.

‘Just do it here,’ I whispered, bending to help her disrobe.

As I looked up to stare at the sky while she finished, I saw the Ladies sign just a handful
of metres away on the opposite side of the courtyard.

And that was the moment it all seemed so absurd. I crouched there on the grass beside
my beautiful little girl, and laughed at my Farcical Five; at myself. And I’m happy to say
that Noo joined in.

And now, just a few months down the track, she’s over her Just About Anywhere Wee. I
still see her near the mulberry tree, occasionally indulging. But I don’t think I’ll be
asking her to refrain from hitching up her graduation gown on the university lawn, as I
once had feared. Time has gently taken care of things, as it always does.

And I felt more than just a hint of disappointment when, at the beach just this week,
Noo asked to be taken to the toilets rather than squatting in the white wash.

After all, whether or not kids remove their shoes or remember to say thanks is not what
precious memories of childhood are made of. It’s the sweetness of mulberry trees and
garden wees that I’ll remember when they’re grown, and will forever make me glow.

Photo credit.

Kwun kwitty toodle..

I love listening to my children chatting away, mispronouncing all their words and expecting whoever's listening to understand exactly what they're saying. I really wanted to capture that stage of their lives so with each of them I quickly jotted down some of their pronunciations - as a keep sake. Even now, only six months after writing GB4's list, reading through I can see how far she's advanced.

I loved this idea because it literally took only a few minutes. So many memory-saving projects take hours, weeks, months, sometimes years! I just get totally overwhelmed and usually fail dismally. But this was so much fun!

Here are some of GB4's three year old pronunciations:

Mismas – christmas

Toodles – noodles

Gwudda – brother

Sissa – sister

Buzzy bar – muesli bar

Bolloll – bottle

Kwun – one

I doe big so – I don’t think so

Gwek – work

Gwimmipool – swimming pool

Kwitty - pretty

How cute! What do you do to preserve memories of your children's language?

Housework hints

On my quest to enjoying motherhood, I've discovered that organisation is key. Life's not all that much fun when chaos reigns (even if you're sitting doing puzzles with the kids).

One aspect of organisation is housework. Mess stresses me out pretty quickly so I find that having the house in a semi-organised state really helps me enjoy time with my kids and husband more easily. My house certainly isn't organised, or clean, or tidy. The bedrooms are usually messy, the carpet barely vaccuumed and the dishes often piled high. But I find that if I'm able to get a little bit of housework done each day, things don't become overwhelming. I guess I aim for a general state of 'a little bit messy but pretty organised' consistently.

Here's how I made my housework routine work for me. I hope it gives you some ideas!

1. I do one biggish job each day eg. tidy a bedroom, clean a bathroom, vaccuum.

2. I cycle one load of washing most days. I make sure I fold and put away the washing on the day it has dried - otherwise there's trouble. I've been known to have a washing pile two metres high, just waiting to be folded!

3. I write job charts for the two older kids. I find that from the age of three, the thought of having their own jobs and a chart that they can tick off with a texta, is very exciting for them - and very helpful for me! As an example of age appropriate chores, this is what my girls are doing at the moment:

GB4 (Daily jobs: make bed, open blinds in the morning) Mon: Tidy bedroom, tidy kiddie bookshelf/ Tues: Put away her folded washing, empty preschool bag/ Wed: Tidy bedroom, tidy kiddie bookshelf/ Thurs: Put away her folded washing/ Friday: Tidy bedroom, tidy kiddie bookshelf

GB5 (Daily jobs: make bed, homework and school readers, empty school bag, put away clean dishes) Mon: Put away folded washing Tues: Tidy bedroom Wed: Put away folded washing Thursday: Tidy bedroom Fri: Put away folded washing

This may seem like a lot but I've been doing this with them for about a year and have built it up slowly. I started them on one or two jobs a day. I think GB5 started out making her bed and tidying the kiddie bookshelf (when she was three) and GB4 started out by opening the blinds and making her bed (she also started at three). Once they got into the swing of it, I was quite amazed by how helpful it was, not having to worry about doing a lot of those annoying little jobs!

4. The most important thing I've learnt lately about housework is to let myself off the hook. Life goes on and is just as happy if the house is dirty and the bedrooms messy. We all have off days when we can't pull it together and great days when we get heaps done. It's just part of life :o)

What's your housework routine? How do you make it work for you and your family?

How cute is the housewife photo! It's by Theresa Thompson http://www.flickr.com/photos/theresasthompson/