Car Travel Games

Travelling in the car with three under 6 can be a challenge at times, but we are really grateful that our children are good travellers. 

Might have something to do with having no choice, we've always travelled, both Rod and my parents live 3 / 4 hours drive away, and other family even further.  So this is something we just do.

Sure our kids have all the mod cons, including portable DVD players and Leapfrog leapsters (game systems).  However some of the games they love to play the best include their use of thought.

Our favourite family car game is "What am I"  We take it in turns of asking the question and giving the hints, and the rest of the time you just have to try and guess.

What am I?

• I live in the sea
• I have scales
• I have a tail
• I am beautiful
• I have hair

Yes, you guessed it I am a mermaid!

These games can go on and on and on and on, I tell ya!  Seriously.  But we do love it.  It's something everyone can participate in, often ends with giggles, sometimes a few junior arguments, but all said and done this is a great way to enjoy each others company when in the car.

Cheers

I'm linking up over at Childhood 101

So What's Your Anything?

I'm still wondering what my anything is.  I mean I feel like I'm a bit of an everything kinda person, you know, finger in too many pies.

image: http://www.fromupnorth.com

But I wonder, do you have to have a go at everything to find out what your anything is?  Or does your anything just fall in your lap?

I'm a housewife, I'm a mother, I'm a team leader (in the workplace), I'm a Website Owner, I'm a Blogger, I'm a Runner (still working on this one, OK).  I'm good at many things, I sew, I craft, but what am I great at?  I'm not sure, I'm yet to find out.

I've seen many comments recently which I tend to agree with, if you try and multitask, do too many things at once you tend to be mediocre rather than great.  I tend to agree, this is often how I feel.

I'm only 35 years old, there is still plenty of time..... right?

Micheal Jordan was a baseball player at the age of 30, yet to transition into Basketball and look at him.

What's your anything?  And any tips on what my anything could be?

Cheers

Organising - Take Away Menus

I have friends who have bagged me for this initiative, and then gone home and whipped one up, less than 24 hours later!

so lets go back a step.......

I know way to many people who have a draw, beit in the kitchen or office that is chockers full of crap, they probably can't even tell you whats in it, and some of the 'stuff' in there will be take away menus.  Then when they're feeling tired and want to get take away, they have to battle the monsterous draw to find the flippin menu they're after.

So I refused to live like this, and created a 'Take Away Menu Folder'

It's not rocket science.  A simple display folder is all you need.

 
Tip:  Always collect two of each menu.  Then insert the menu so that when it's open you can see the front and back of the menu in one viewing.  Nothing worse than when you're flipping back and forth trying to work out what to have.

This folder sits amongst our recipe books, we can browse when we are not sure what we want for dinner, and we never have to shuffle amongst random rubbish to find what we are looking for!

Grateful for a getaway

This weekend we're taking a long overdue getaway.

Don't get me wrong, it's only for the weekend, but I'll take it.  The opportunity to get away from the ordinary, the routines.

Plus this getaway is about gravitating toward family.  It's my niece's Holy Communion, an opportunity to celebrate her, and a reminder of who is important in our lives.  (not that I'd forgotten or anything)

Sometimes without family by your side life can be challenging.  No one to help you coordinate getting kids to the doctors and kinder pick ups.  No one to take the kids for a sleep over every so often, just so you can remember who it is you married! 

But that is OK, that is life.

However this weekend we are celebrating, time together with loved ones, an impromptu getaway, creating memories.  Our kids have reached an age now where their cousins are very important to them, being with them is high on their agenda. 

We might be travelling 10 hours in a car with three children, but the 48 hours we get to spend with some of our favourite people in the world is absolutely worth every minute, every kilometre.

Do you like to put the kids in the car and getaway?  What's your favourite thing to do on an impromptu getaway?

Cheers

We're linking up with Maxabella's grateful linkup!

The Husband Reward Scheme

Come on Karl, 'guybuys' seriously!

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, check out this utube clip below. Karl @ the today show wants to invent a reward scheme for husbands.





Now to be honest, I know he is just stirring the pot.  But it does get you thinking.

Do men deserve to be rewarded for helping out around the home?

Are these tasks the responsiblity of the woman and a generous gesture if the man helps out?

In my home I sometimes struggle with this. We do have our unwritten contract if you like.

Rod works full time outside the home, and tends to the kids three nights a week whilst I work.

I work three nights a week outside the home, and tend to the kids on a full time basis.

But what does full time mean?

For my husband and his job, it means Monday to Friday and a few hours every other Saturday morning.

For me and my 'home maker' duties, well this is 7 days a week.

This is not really an even balanced scale. We often butt heads, who gets to sleep in? Who gets to go out?

The sleep in, that's the big one!

So I do appreciate that my husband can run the household in my absence, he does not deserve reward points for his efforts.

I know some women are not so lucky.

I know some women spend long hours each day on their own with the kids.

I guess in a way, we reward each other without a reward scheme. We accept that we both need time to ourselves, especially with this juggling act called life.

We compromise, yes we try and alternate the sleep ins, we try and allow one another to play golf, go running, go out with friends.

Does your husband help around the home and what does he expect in return? If anything?

Is this a constant battle or something that naturally falls into place?

Whilst we're there most of the time, any tips on creating a happy home are always welcomed!

Cheers

C25K - Running Update

So it's been awhile, but never fear I have been out there running, learning to run should I say.

In a battle of frustration I have enlisted the help of C25K - which stands for Couch to 5 Kilometre 9 week training program. 

I mean I can go out there and do some running, I'm not fast paced, and I'm still running in intervals, stopping to walk every now and then and it's driving me crazy.

So with C25K I am trying to learn to run consistently without needed to stop.  I have the iPhone App, and for those who don't have it, it's brilliant.  I listen to my own music and a voice over drops in and tells me when to run and when to walk.

So how am I going?

Well last week, I thought "I'm not starting at week one, I can already run some, I'll start at week 6"  almost had a heart attack, but that's ok, it was a reality check.  The whole point of this program is to work your way into running building up as you go. 

So I've taken it back a step.  I started again at week 3.  I've completed the three sessions for this week and I'm happy.  It wasn't hard, but I was puffed and know that that was the right place to start.  Next week, week 4 I anticipate to be a little harder (obviously that's the point).

Not this coming weekend but the next I'll be running in the MS Fun Run.  I'm doing 10KMS, which I know I can do (but in intervals).  Oh well, I'm still proud of myself for simply moving! lol!

What's really fun about this run is Cate from Keep Cate Busy has started up a Melbourne Bloggers Team.  So whilst we are all running / walking our own race, I'm quite excited about meeting other bloggers, having other people to reflect with. So these are my short term goals.

My big goal for 2011 is to be fit to run the City to Surf in Sydney.  I've got a leave pass from the family, I've enlisted my 'super fit friend' who did the 'Run for Kids' with me.  We'll be meeting up with my Sister In-law and a number of her friends.  It will be an awesome weekend.  It will also give me a little incentive to keep going.



I'm loving this running business.  I love being exhausted after a good run.  I love the time on my own without kids harassing me.  I love that my kids are enthusiastic for me and are very encouraging.  Running is making me happy!

Cheers

Ain't love Grand

Today is my biggest 'work' day, last week  I dropped Tom at kinder and went on my merry way. 

Fortunately for me my work is prodominately evening work, which means no day care for our kidlets.  Don't get me wrong, it has it's place, we've used occassional care from time to time, but I don't want to go to work to pay for childcare, simple as that really.  Lucky for me I have that options, others not so lucky.

Anyway, every Wednesday I take a moment from my working schedule to call my boy and digest his Kinder afternoon.

But last week it wasn't Tom that had me in stitches.  It was that girl of mine.  On speaker phone this was our conversation:

Lulu:  Hi mum

Lulu:  Hey mum, Benji's my boyfriend

Mum: How do you know that?

Lulu:  Because I love him, I'm going to marry him

Mum: Does he know this?

Lulu: No

Mum: Do you think you should tell him?

Dad: She's bolted, got all shy and did a runner!

Mum: Ok then, well best get back to it then.

Why is it that Kinder talk is all about boyfriends and girlfriends?  How does this happen?  I mean it's cute and all but seriously.  I wonder if she'll still feel this way in 1, 5, 10 years time.

How long is it till they decide boys have germs?

Cheers

Pretend Play

I love when the kids do stuff, the stuff that makes you stop and go "wow they really soaked all that in".

The other week we celebrated Mothers Day and went out for dinner.  It's not like we've never taken the kids out before, but this was a pretty flash establishment.  And Lulu noticed!

Following that night, this week she surprised up with a sitting.  With her tea towel over her arm she came to both parents and said "I going to be doing the waiting tonight OK" 

Then she presented us to our table.

Everything was in it's place, including drinks, napkins, and her Masterchef Cookbook as a menu.

It was fun to support her in her efforts and congratulate her on such creativity.  You couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

Love ya Lulu!

I feel like Dancing

Lulu had her performance concert on the weekend.  (A practice concert, pre-exam) 

Thomas was busting to come and watch, Rod and I begged him to go to the footy with dad, but there was no way he was going to miss seeing his Lulu on stage.

He wants to dance, he loves to dance, he's begging me to let him dance, has done for over a year now.  Dad, not so happy about this idea.  Especially when the dancing for his age group is ballet and tap.

So when five boys came out onto the stage to perform their hip hop routine, Tom was almost jumping off his seat.  "I want to do that, I want to do that, see mum, they're dancing I want to dance too"  my response, was "you need to talk to your father"

The performance continued for a minute, then he turned to me and said "you know what mum, I don't want to talk to dad about it, I only want to talk to you about it."  My interpretation of that was "dad's gonna say no, I'll try talk you round"

But seriously, have a look at his dance moves.  His got it going on!

Join me on Facebook....... please.

Hi, I guess in ways this is a bit of a maintenance post.

What I really wanted to share with you is this, did you know that I'm now on Facebook?

Nope?  Well now you know.  I'd love it if you'd stop on by.  It's hear I'll randomly chat about bit's and pieces.  You know the stuff that's probably not worthy of a blog post, but I just have to say all the same. And far more enjoyable if there's someone else there to join the fun! lol!

And just to spice it up a bit.  Check out this sweetpea.  Look at his teeth.  He has two top teeth and one bottom tooth.  Does anyone find that a little odd?  I know I do!

The Crap that they come out with!

Today was one of those days.  You know, bickering, hitting, you name it, boundries were pushed, until finally Thomas feel asleep..... and then there was calm.

[Tom] livi went like this {poke in side action} she killed me she did mum, she killed me!

[Olivia] You two boys are like.......... stupid..........  idiots........... head knockers!  {yeap you read right head knockers apparently}

And who knows what Zander said, but he never shuts up!

But I have to admit it, I'm grateful for the crap they come out with.  Especially on a tough day, when things are dragging you down, an innocent comment can really turn things around.

What are you grateful for?

Why not join in at Maxabella loves.  I'm also joing in the flog your blog link party over at Wheres my glow!

Cheers

Fire Station Open Days

Last weekend we took the opportunity to pop on down to the local fire station.  They had an open day, so it was the perfect opportunity for the kids to check it all out.

We got to:

• Meet Firemen 
• Sit in a Fire Truck

• Walk around the back of the Truck, checking out all the equipment

• Got to colour in and collect stickers

•  Have a free sausage in bread

•  Talk about what things we need to do to stay safe if there is a fire

We had loads of fun, Tom was especially excited when he got to turn the lights on in the truck.  

I can't tell you enough how much I love when organisations in your local community put on fun free activities for the kids.

This was another fantastic visit, and was enjoyed by people of all ages.  I'm sure we will be back again!

Kids Art - Tee

I confess, I'm a bit of a knock off kinda gal!  I see great things and rather than buy them, I have a go at making it myself.  AKA this kids art tee.  I stumbled across  A Little Bit Funky.  Crystal makes gorgeous art from kids drawings and more, through embroidery.


I loved the concept.  So I got Lulu to draw herself a picture:

Then I set out to embroider.  I needed to transfer the picture to fabric first and did so using a fabric pen that dissolves when wet.  After transferring the picture I then embroidered the image.  Lulu did help with some colour choices (she was very excited).

 

Once I finished the embroidery I ironed on some transfer paper, sorry I don't know the technical name for it, but you iron it onto your fabric and it makes it sticky, then you peel it off and iron your fabric onto the other piece of fabric.

Above: Iron on Paper, Below: Image after being ironed onto T-shirt.

Once it was fixed I used a zigzag stitch to sew around it, just to ensure it never peels off.

She's gone a little crazy, above she is trying to stand really still so you can see her fine art work.  Below she is simply showing you how cool she is!

Like I said I'm a knock off kinda girl, but if you want something like this and are not up to the challenge yourself, A Little Bit Funky do have an etsy store where you can send your art work and she'll do it for you.

Now with so much buzz in the house, my little man Tom has presented me with his drawing!  Off to buy a T-shirt, chow!

We're joining in at Drab to Fab, making a plain tee alittle more fab and Our creative spaces

Organising - Shoes and Bags

I like things to be in order

I like things to have a home

If they don't belong somewhere, I question do they belong in this house?

Shoes and Handbags, how many do you have?

For a girl, I don't have any where near enough, let me make that quite clear.

I have orthodics, makes shoe shopping rather difficult!

So, anyways..........

SHOES

Shoes I wear all the time, well they sit on the floor of my wardrobe, nothing special there! 

But for shoes I don't wear often, or those suitable only for spesh nights out, I keep in their boxes.

They live at the top of my wardrobe.

So that I can identify them easily, remind myself what I have to choose from, I've attached a photo on the end of each box.

Enter project shoe day:  I pulled  all my shoes out and took a photo of one of each shoe.  I then proceeded to go and print said shoe pictures!  I used the 'mini print' where you can add two photos to a 4 x 6 photo.

Bit of double sided tape and wella...... shoes now sit in the top of the wardrobe, I have an index of images reminding me of what I have available to wear.

HANDBAGS

It's a similar story with the handbags, except, they don't live in a box! 

I purchased a couple of those fabric zip lock bags, specific for storing hand bags. (see the blue fabric bags in the picture above).

I've probably got 3 or 4 in each bag.

Then with my photos, I've simply stuck them on the side wall of my wardrobe, easy to view whats up there without having to pull anything down.

So sometimes I might be called crazy, sometimes I might be called a little over the top.  But I'm not privy to some fancy big walk in wardrobe, so I have to make do, and this my friend is a simple organising tool which will help you stay on top of what you own and help you out when picking an outfit for that next night out.

Cheers

How to Make a Recycled Boat

Today Lulu made a boat.

She used a plastic container from a biscuit packet for the bottom, a piece of paper for the sail and a straw.  She also used some sticky tape and blue tack to hold it together.

Then of course you need some 'stuff' to decorate!

Better still, I'll let her explain.

 

  This was a five minute task that has produced loads of fun.

We're linking up with Childhood 101 - We play!

Chocolate Ripple Cake – With a twist

I know that everyone has tried Chocolate Ripple Cake!

You know the cake that is basically biscuits and cream.  But I like to mix it up a bit and once you’ve mixed it up, it’s hard to go back.

Ingredients

 

Choc Ripple Biscuits

Butterscotch Snap Biscuits - my additional ingredient = delish!

Whipped Cream

Note:  I don’t have any measurements, it’s up to you how big you want to make it, but if whipping cream, I’d at least whip up a large cream.

If you’re real lazy super busy, you can buy whipped cream in a can.  I personally don’t think it’s the same.

Method

Whip cream

Cover one side of a biscuit in cream and place another biscuit on top, continue process alternating between biscuits and cream.  

You’ll start to create a bit of a log, so to speak on your plate.  Once you’ve created the size cake you desire, cover the outside completely in cream.  You don’t want to see any biscuit.

*Season as desired – With this recipe I use crumbled flake.

Best refrigerated for several hours allowing the biscuits to soften.

Cooking with Kids

This is a great recipe for cooking with kids (OK I know, we’re not actually cooking!)  But that is the whole point.  No flames, no risk of being burnt.  

As I have more than one little master chef I like to let them make their own.  As the recipe is flexible and allows you to choose the size, you can opt to make several smaller ripple cakes. 

Rational:  No fighting, no stress relating to licking of fingers etc.

Alternative Styles

Today Lulu decided to stack up!  E.g. she went Vertical instead of the traditional horizontal.  Either way the taste is still the same.  And to make it more appealing to the junior eye she’s added a few hundreds and thousands to the mix.

 

Finally you can also make individual serves using ramekins; this is a great idea for a simple dinner party.

When does this phase end

I love you unconditionally, but seriously, when does this phase end?  

Typical Day...........

7.00 am – [Zander] wakes, has bottle, [me] Check emails, get older kids breakfast.

7.15 am – [Zander] crawl into office, tip out tub of cars, pull tub of little people off toy shelf, pull cookbooks off book shelf.

7.30 am – [Zander] eats breakfast {locked in highchair}, [me] attempt to clean up destruction in office.

7.45 am – [me] Have shower, [Zander] pull as many items from bathroom cupboard as possible.

8.00 am – [me] Tidy bathroom, [Zander] successfully pull every plastic bowl, plate and cup from kids dinnerware cupboard

8.15 am – [me] Attempt to tidy up from breakfast  including Zander’s mess and prepare lunch boxes.  [Zander] in lounge room pulling all DVD covers from Entertainment Unit Draws!

8.30 am – [me] Attempt to tidy up lounge room as I push kids out the door.

Outcome – I usually leave house in a state of disrepair to do kinder runs......aarhhh! 

Note: this routine happens usually a few times a day, insert [lunch] and [dinner] as necessary!  

So I ask when does this phase end?

Proof Below:

Family Travel Made Easy

Just wanted to share my 'other baby' with you.  http://www.family-travel-made-easy.com 

This a website I built all by myself! lol!

Family Travel Made Easy is simply that, a website about travelling with kids.  Our family is scattered all over the place, both sets of grandparents are 3 - 4 hours away, and other relatives, even further. 

I spent a fair bit of time researching ideas on ways to keep the kids entertained whilst travelling and did not find a great deal and thus the idea to build a website was born.

I've since learn't that compared to others, we do not travel much at all, something I wish I could change, but unfortunately our bank account see's things differently.

But that is ok, Information is based on our own experience as well as talking to other families who also travel with kids.

The other great thing about this website is it's interactive, so we invite visitors to join in and tell us about their experiences and share their tips and advice with other parents.

I've only had the website for 2.5 years so it's still in it's infancy. 

So why not drop by and have a look around.  Simply click here

Finally I used a product / company called SBI to support me on this adventure.  Not only do they provide you with the web hosting, they have loads of tools to help you understand how to build a website, how to get the results you are after and generally support you through the process.

If this is something that interests you, read more about how we built our website.

Cheers

Happiness Is........

I decided to participate in a HAPPINESS link up with Naomi from  Seven Cherubs

Image found via Pinterest

Here are my "happiness quotes" for the last month

April 10: I'm happy when I hear my son say "Can I sit on your knee ........ because I love you so so much"  It's a reminder to me that I'm ok and loved just for who I am!

April 11: I'm happy that my cousin is a great hairdresser and happy that she doesn't live too far from me, and happy that she does my hair for me at, like, half the price I paid at the hairdressers, and I'm extra happy that I don't have to juggle a time with my husband to get to the hairdressers.  She just comes over and does my hair amongst the hectic lifestyle that is our home, and it appears that she's pretty happy in our home too, that also makes me happy! 

April 12: Tonight we were advised by Lulu that we needed to sit in the office whilst she performed a concert for us.  She'd planned this event all arvo, even wrote her own music.  Following this she played the drums and performed a number of hits.  A cold night in, no work, spent with the ones I love the most, this most certainly makes me happy.

April 13: When I'm at work for my long shift.  A simple coke zero makes me happy.

April 14: Reflecting on the gorgeous photos I've captured today make me happy, I can never have too many.

April 15: Kisses from my littlest man make me happy, I can't help but ask for more and more.

April 16: Watching the enthusiasum as my kids swim, makes me feel proud and happy.

April 17: Today I completed my first ever fun run, I can't even begin to explain how happy that made me, over the moon, renewed, read my full post here

April 18: Today was time at home with the kids, reminded me how lucky I am and how happy I am to be in this place with these sweet kids.

April 19: I was so happy today to catch up with my gorgeous friend Jane who lives in Adelaide.  Thankfully her work brings her to Melbourne on occasion and I'd never give up the opportunity to catch up.  I'm so happy that I have friends that regardless of distance can simply chat like we'd only seen each other yesterday.

April 20: Boy am I happy when I can cross stuff off the to do list.

April 21: I love getting time out with 1 child (even though Zander was with us today) I was happy to go out and have lunch with Olivia, conversate, chill out, bit of girl time. 

April 22: Today we had some great friends over for Good Friday Lunch, that made me happy.

April 23: I am happy that today was a 'nothing' day, a stay at home day to catch up, I needed it.

April 24: I'm happy I decided to go out for a run today, must soldier on, always worth it.

April 25: I'm pretty happy for sunshine and quality time with family, a reminder that this is the life I chose. 

April 26: Tonight we sat down with the kids and refreshed their Brainastics before their class tomorrow.  It makes me happy (and proud) to see them learning.

April 27: I did it, signed up for my second fun run, I'm pretty happy about that.  (I can't believe running makes me happy)

April 28: Pretty happy today that my work are putting on a spread for dinner, this means I don't have to cook.

April 29: loved that the Royal Wedding was just perfect, it made me happy to see Olivia so excited about it.

April 30: Had a good day catching up with friends, both morning and afternoon, what a lovely way to spend a Saturday, great way to keep happy.

May 1: Happy I ran for 45 minutes today, just wished the GPS worked!  Next time.

May 2: Pretty happy one of the ladies at work won an Easter raffle and decided to share.

May 3: I'm pretty happy I was on kinder duty for Lulu today, always fun to be surrounded by innocent 4 / 5 year olds.

May 4: Had fun doing kinder duty again today, for my man Tom, I was also happy to listen to the kids perform for our Mother's day afternoon tea.

May 5: Housekeeping day, never the less it is rewarding, I'm always happy when it's done.

May 6: Happy to hang out with the ladies at work tonight, it's been a long week with bickering kids, any escape was going to make me happy tonight!

May 7: 5 people commented on my blog post today, and 2 new people started following me, that makes me happy, I'm feeling the love people! 

May 8: Mothers day, no housework, just fun with the family, we wandered around the docklands with no real agenda, relaxed and happy, that sums it up for me.

May 9: I'm pretty happy that there were left overs in the fridge, which meant I didn't have to cook, I'm even happier that Meredith bought me in some dinner at work!  Thanks Mez.

May 10: Happy for a day in, no pressure, kids playing, heater on, a hair cut planned. 

Thank you kindly Naomi for such a fun project, some days I did have to stop and think for a minute, but it was good to reflect, good to focus on what is happening right now, not next week, next month, but right now.  

Too often I get caught up in the motion of life, reaching goals and looking for new challenges instead of simply taking a step back, enjoying and appreciating the life I have been given.  This is my goal for 2011, thank you for helping me focus on this, I'm really grateful for such a lovely project.

Cheers

Also linking up with Maxabella