Loving Mums

Teepee!

2012-01-12T16:45:00.000+11:00

Yesterday's project when the kids came home from school: contruct a teepee!

This was so much fun. I bought 4 extendable shower curtain rods and 2 bright shower curtains from my local Homepro store and simply tied it altogether using some thin rope/twine.

This, of course, sparked some new imaginary games and a new play space.

It was so easy to put up that it can easily be pulled down and set up over and over again!

Fancy Nancy Party

2011-12-17T01:43:00.000+11:00

This is such a cute party theme. And one of the easiest parties I've ever prepared- seriously.
Step 1: The decorations included home-made, paper bunting (pink and purple) with pictures of Nancy stuck on. Everything else was just about making the house look "fancy". I hung a mosquito net from the roof as well as some Christmas lights and pink and purple balloons. I also attached pink ribbons to the backs of all the chairs.

Step 2: The cake. This was ridiculously simple. A large square cake on the bottom covered in fondant with a smaller square on top covered in a different colour fondant. My fondant was pretty lumpy but it didn't really matter for this cake because wherever there was a lump or imperfection, I just stuck another accessory! Perfect!

Step 3: The activities. For this 2-3 hour party, I had several different tables set up with things to do. There was a fancy play-dough table with pink cutters, cupcake papers, little baking trays, beads and jewels. Another table had Fancy Nancy coloring-in sheets with fancy pencils, glitter and glue.

A third table had everything packaged and ready to make a fancy Fruitloop necklace. And the other areas I had set up were the "restaurant" which I had roped off until it was time to go and eat (the kids loved finding their name place too) and outside I had a draped up a piece of black material and put a table full of fun and fancy accessories so the kids could have a fancy photo taken.

After eating pizza (like in the book) the children gathered in front of me on the floor and I read them the Fancy Nancy story. It was then that I explained that, although it is fun to dress up and make ourselves look pretty on the outside, that true beauty really comes from within. It's beautiful to smile and to show love, compassion, kindness and generosity.
I then went on to explain about my daughter's idea of not sending her guests home with a "goodie" bag/box but instead making something for some girls that may not often get the chance to be fancy. My friend has a small children's home and she had given me the names and ages of 9 orphaned or neglected girls.
And so, after my 6-year-old son explained to the girls what to do, they lined up, making a production line packing lipstick, talcum powder, body spray, a fancy pen, nail polish and some candy into boxes. I was so proud of these little 3-5 year old girls who unselfishly went about doing something for someone else without one word of complaint or utterance of wanting the gift for themselves!
After we had sung Happy Birthday, we then all enjoyed the "make-your-own parfait" buffet (that's just a fancy word for ice cream sundae).

After our very fancy morning had finished, it was clean-up time. Our home certainly reflected the fun that had been had!

Frog and Turtle Party

2011-10-30T19:02:00.003+11:00

Here's some of the photos from yesterday's party. I'll write more soon!

Different Can Be Great

2011-09-20T00:26:00.000+10:00

“Just as morning follows night and spring follows winter, there will be new beginnings: new people to meet, new things to do.” (Lois Rock)

The lifestyle here is quite different ... Not just the food, the language or the weather, but the way life constantly changes.

We are learning to make friends faster and say goodbye to them more often. We understand that although we don’t get to see our parents and family as frequently as before, that when we do, we hold them tightly and appreciate every minute that we share together. And we’re finding out that often, when we say goodbye, we’re not even sure when we’ll hug them "hello" again...

To read the rest click here.

Yogi Bear Picnic Party

2011-09-06T00:28:00.000+10:00

We celebrated two-weeks early for our son's 6th birthday with a Yogi Bear themed picnic in the park. It was so much fun and the kids really enjoyed playing on the playground, participating in the pass-the-parcel as well as feeding the birds and fish.

We came to the park prepared with picnic mats and balloons to stake out our spot as well as garbage bags to collect all the rubbish- this made the party clean-up so quick and easy.

To top off a wonderful day, when then went back home and watched the Yogi Bear movie munching on party food left-overs and popcorn. Yay! Happy Birthday Tobi!

The "picnic basket" cake was a real challenge for me but I am so glad I listened to my son's advice "You can do it Mum" and attempted it anyway. His face as he opened the refrigerator and exclaimed, "I knew you could it Mum" made the effort all worth it!

JUNGLE PARTY

2011-08-30T03:46:00.000+10:00

This has to go down as one of my all-time favourite parties.
It was a jungle party with a "girly" twist.
My daughter's most precious soft toy is her giraffe. It was at age two and it still is at nearly five years old.
Here's some of the ideas I used for her party:

Angel Party

2011-08-29T00:30:00.000+10:00

What better way to celebrate your little girl's birthday than to create her very own 'Angel' themed party.

I planned an angel party for our little angel, Eliana, on her first birthday and it was a lot of fun.

When planning your party, even from the beginning with your invitations, consider everything to do with your event around the angel theme including decorations, clothing, food and activities.

We started by serving our party guests "heavenly" pancakes with a big table laden with toppings, ice-cream, sprinkles and every spread imaginable. We chose to decorate in white and silver and of course dressed up as... angels for the day!

It's easy to let your imagination run wild with this theme, dress-up-as-an-angel relays, face painting, musical clouds {musical chairs}, angelic music playing in the background (do you know anyone who plays the harp?), pin the wings on the angel... the list goes on.

"I believe in angels, the kind that heaven sends. I'm surrounded by angels,

but I call them my best friends". author unknown

Terrific Tractor

2011-08-25T15:44:00.000+10:00

Check out this tractor made by my father-in-law for our three children. He was inspired to make it after watching Play School on ABC Kids one day.

The kids had so much fun pushing it around and rotating their various toys to be the driver.

This would've been great to have for the Farmyard/ Barnyard Party now that I come to think of it.

What cool things have you made for your children that have been a real hit?
Cubbies, houses, shops, lemonade stands? Do share!

My 34th Year...

2011-08-20T21:00:00.000+10:00

Check out how I spent my 34th birthday here!

Farmyard/ Barnyard Party

2011-08-17T01:15:00.018+10:00

Are you thinking about having a 'Farmyard' party theme?

There are so many great ideas that can be used and you can do as little, or as much, as your time... budget... motivation and creativity allows.

From the invites to the food table, this is a theme that is so easy to pull-off and it's perfect for young children.

Here's a BLAST from the past:

When we had our son's first birthday (he's now almost 6!) we decorated our back deck with hay bales, brought in some chickens and dressed up in our cowboy hats and flannelette checkered shirts.

Check out a few other ideas here:

invitations

http://blowoutparty.com/blog/2011/03/barnyard-birthday-bash/

saraspartyperfect.com

http://pizzazzerie.com/parties/childrens-parties/barnyard-birthday-bash

http://makecreatedo.wordpress.com/category/create/parties/page/2/

http://www.shindigz.com/party/Farm-Photo-Prop.cfm?AID=7298419&PID=1745377&comref=10

cow pinata

Tinkerbell Party

2011-08-06T00:35:00.003+10:00

My sister just sent me this collage from her daughter's Tinkerbell Party. Such a fun theme!

What little girl wouldn't LOVE this for their 3rd birthday?

Thanks Mel!

Bob The Builder Party

2011-07-30T00:40:00.000+10:00

Can We Fix It?

YES WE CAN!

A "builder" party is probably every little boy's dream. There is so much that can be done with this theme.
Whilst we kept our son's second birthday to an intimate group of family members, we still had fun decorating our house like a construction zone and dressing up in our safety work clothes.

Check out these ideas to turn your little boy's next birthday in to a work-in-progress!

Dump truck pinata

Take-home box

Humpty Dumpty Party

2011-06-30T01:13:00.003+10:00

Back in 2008, when I asked my son what cake he'd like for his third birthday, he surprised me with his answer, "A Humpty Dumpty one".
I thought he'd end up changing his mind but, as the time for his birthday grew closer, he grew more determined that this was still what he wanted.

Game/activity ideas:

Egg and spoon race
Egg jigsaw puzzle race (scrambled eggs)
Pass the parcel, basket of eggs
Pinata

Invitations

Cupcakes

Thoughts About Winter AND having a Winter Party

2011-06-25T00:04:00.000+10:00

One of my earliest posts was about a delicious hot cocoa recipe that I used to make all the time back in Australia.

With just 4 days to go until we return home for a month of cold weather in ~~Melbrrrrrne~~, I mean, Melbourne, sipping hot cocoa by the heater has been on my mind once again. Mmmmm! YUM!

What's also been on my mind is how my kids will cope with the icy temperatures back home. It's been 12 months of sunshine and heat here in Thailand- rarely a day below 30 degrees.

To my three children (5,4 and 2) winter is simply a novelty!

So much so that last year for my birthday, we had a winter themed celebration and went to the Chiangmai Snow Dome to celebrate!

My 5 year old thought it was so cool but my youngest son (just one year old at the time) was pretty much miserable for the entire 20 minute session. They did provide gumboots and jackets, but poor little Spencer looked like he went in to an instant state of shock. We couldn’t really explain to him what was happening and on top of that, he was being wrapped in a jacket 10 sizes too big, wearing gumboots that kept falling off his little feet and disappearing under a big hood that made it difficult for him to see!

I'm just saying... their reactions to the Melbourne weather will be very interesting. I'm wondering how long it will take until the excitement of feeling cold wears off... or is that just me?

Okay now on to some cute pictures to motivate and inspire you to make your "winter" themed party that bit "cooler".

I'm Soooo Looking Forward to...

2011-06-14T17:36:00.000+10:00

Soccer Party, Bubbles

2011-06-14T17:22:00.000+10:00

I just found these at my local shops the other day.

Unfortunately I didn't have them for my son's 5th birthday, soccer party because they would've been a great addition to the take-home bags.

But, anyway... here they are soccer themed bubbles.

I also found a baseball bat and basketball bubbles too!

Hanging at the Chiangmai Zoo, with my boy.

2011-06-08T16:15:00.000+10:00

My eldest finished Prep last week. To celebrate, I had a date-day with him and we headed to the Chiangmai Zoo. If you're ever in Thailand, it really is a great spot to visit.

I love this place.

As local residents, we both got in for a total of 60 baht! That's the equivalent of 2 Aussie dollars!!

I took loads more photos of animals, which I am looking forward to putting on our Faraway Photography Blog, as well as just having an absolute ball hanging out with my, now, big Grade 1 boy!

The playgrounds here in Chiangmai are a little different to back home but, this is definitely one of the nicer ones that we've found- right in the middle of the zoo!

Over at our ZOE family site this week I have written my reflections about some of the challenges and triumphs faced by my son Tobi this past year as well as some of the different roles we have as parents throughout it all.

You can read all about "Finishing Strong" here.

I can't believe it's just 22 days until we're back in Australia for a month... I am so looking forward to it.

Have a great week.

Andie

Hand Washing... harder than it looks!

2011-05-23T14:46:00.000+10:00

I wasn't planning on hand washing loads of dirty washing this week. But funnily enough, it turned out to be one of my favourite moments in a week that could only be explained as leaving me feeling utterly powerless!

Last weekend we had some friends over in the afternoon. The children were all playing nicely and so the four of us adults sat down with a coffee to catch up on each other’s lives.

It began raining outside (not unusual) and then suddenly the power went out (also not unusual). It was a stinking hot day so we laughed as we all sat around sweating with no fan to circulate the air in our lounge room (ten people in one room on a hot afternoon... you get the picture).

It was not until later when the power came back on that we realised that not all the power had returned to our house. Throughout that evening and then next morning we began to notice the extent of the problem we were faced with...

Power points not working, fridge not working plus air conditioner, fan, washing machine, air purifier, phone charger, printer... funnily enough (I like to thank God’s sense of humor for this) our coffee machine and home computer were okay!! Thankfully the power board that our home computer was plugged in to had a circuit breaker and whilst the power board now does not work, it did save our computer... and our Cross Family blog!

Our landlord has been really helpful and on Monday he had organised several electricians to come and begin surveying the damage. They spread out, soldering circuit boards on the floor in our lounge room but by the end of the day we had both air-conditioning and a fridge that worked (minus all the food we’d lost).

Our fan was taken away, our washing machine will be gone for a few weeks and we’re still not sure about our air purifier and printer.

On Tuesday night, it began raining again and AGAIN our power went out. Dave called our landlord to explain what was happening (by now we were realising that not everyone’s power was going out every time it rained- just ours!) The landlord told Dave to flick the switch on the fuse board but as he did, my laptop’s power-cord (plugged in to my laptop) blew up!

We went and checked a few other things and realised that we’d lost the use of some of the power-points and the refrigerator had gone off again... this time thankfully it still worked when we plugged it in to another point.

So on Wednesday the electricians were back again and they seem to have fixed the power points again. We have since had to buy new power-boards with circuit breakers for the computers, I got a new power cord and we are still waiting on the other items.

Which brings me to the hand washing with our kids. After school one day, I set up some buckets and we all got stuck in to it. Eli had so much fun that she suggested we did it like this every night until our washing machine came back but, truthfully, after wringing out all the towels and bulky items- I was exhausted. I have new-found gratefulness for my washing machine and its spin-dry function!! As well as for the ZOE family who do not have washing machines and wash this way every week!!

Anyway, I am doing my best to keep a joyful spirit. I still have so much to be thankful for.

I hope you have a great week,

Andie :)

Safari Party and Cake

2011-05-21T15:54:00.004+10:00

It occurred to me the other day that my littlest, Spencer, had missed out having his 2nd birthday photos posted here. His birthday was at the end of October and we had planned on going to the Chiangmai Night Safari with friends but unfortunately he had been extremely unwell in the lead up and we ended up opting for a quiet family celebration at home.

Not wanting him to miss out feeling special though, my husband and I waited for the kids to fall asleep the night before and then created our very own "Night Safari" theme in the play area. I still made goodie bags and lion cake and, in fact, our children said this was one of their favourite parties ever!

You may remember Spencer had the Rubber Duck party when he turned 1!

Well, better late than never!

Remember When...

2011-05-16T17:00:00.000+10:00

A poem for my daughter when she's older

(currently four going on fourteen!)

Remember when...

Remember when...

Your best friends were Giraffe and Teddy?

It seemed so hard to color in the lines?

The sound of a car in the driveway was met with shrieks of excitement?

Your Barbie dolls sat and listened as you taught them new things?

And choosing a movie involved deciding between Barney and The Wiggles?

Remember when...

Heavy rain meant puddles to jump in?

Getting a bonus would mean receiving an extra sticker?

And fast cars were the ones being raced along the kitchen floor?

Remember when...

Pedicures were a chance to choose the most sparkly nail polish?

The garlic press made great hair for play-dough creations?

And your biggest worry was what would be for dinner that night?

Forget not these precious moments, little one.

Love Mum x

Pinata Ideas

2011-05-11T17:26:00.002+10:00

Anyone who knows our family knows that we love children's parties and we love making pinatas.

Always on the look out for the next "theme" idea and the next pinata, I happened to come across these interesting pinata ideas recently which I thought I'd share. Which one is your favourite?

(Pictured below: Lipstick pinata, hamburger pinata, icecream pinata, pacifier pinata, crayon pinata, tooth pinata or nose pinata)

Have you got an original pinata idea that you'd like to share?

Email me at daveandandie@hotmail.com and I'll post them at a later date.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

2011-05-11T16:24:00.000+10:00

Come again another day!

We've had a very short 'hot season' here in Chiangmai and it's already well in to the wet season which is quite early for the year.

I'm not complaining, we have lovely days, mostly blue skies and in the 30 degree region followed by a huge storm and downpour at about 4pm each day- seriously, you could almost set your clock by it!

On Saturday afternoon, we had one such downpour that really bucketed down so we jumped in the car to go exploring and see what was going on in our street and neighborhood....

Here's what we saw:

Incredible... Our kids toy area got a bit flooded again but besides that, there was no water damage thankfully.

I think the houses around here are designed to cope in the wet weather pretty well.

And, of course, all our children wanted to do was to....

...go out and play in it!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T18:41:00.000+10:00

Well, all my family (including hubby) are having a Sunday "nanny nap" right now which is the reason I thought I'd jump online and wish you a happy day!

I hope you know today how special you are and just how much you're appreciated. May you find the strength to be all you were meant to be, knowing that you can make a difference in the lives of your children and be the 'mum' you were created to be.

My kids (5,4 and 2) just couldn't wait to tell me what I was getting for Mother's Day and let the secret slip on more than one occasion. This was much to my husband's disappointment (he's great at surprising me!!) Whoops!!

Have you got any funny Mother's Day stories? Please share!

Andie x

P.S. Narelle Nettelbeck over at Moments For Mum, invited me to be a guest blogger for her this week. In the short space of time since we met (online) she has been a real blessing to our family. Please pop over and check out her site. She also has books and resources available too and writes with both passion and encouragement for busy mums.

When Food is a REAL Problem

2011-05-04T16:33:00.000+10:00

Spencer eating pad thai with the ZOE kids.

Pictured here, on the right, is our youngest child Spencer. He has lived in Thailand for longer now than he did in Australia. And, strangely, he probably has no recollection of the place that he was born.

Our eldest child, Tobiah however, was 4 years old when we moved. And, for him, the past 15 months of eating the food here has been a real issue.

Tobi has always been the pickiest eater out of our three children and on top of that, we recently discovered that he also has some sensory processing difficulties, which probably makes it even more challenging for him to adjust to certain foods that he naturally wants to avoid.

So what do you do when you have a child that just WILL NOT eat certain foods? Well, I'm sorry but I don't know that I have the answer to this question. I believe that every child is so different and what "works" for one may not work for another.

But since making a choice to be over here, we knew that not eating Thai food was not an option- not in the long term anyway.

I would say that it took a good 10 or so months until we started to noticing a change in Tobi's attitude towards food. From constantly asking for, craving and talking about "western" foods to now being able to eat the same things as the rest of the family and trying new foods on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis; you can understand how happy we are that bit-by-bit he's adjusting.

We definitely haven't arrived, my son still LOVES pizza, lasagna, tacos, nachos, pasta and all the home-made baking that remind him of life in Australia, but he is also able to enjoy some of the wonderful flavors and textures of the food here too.

Below are a few dot points on what we did to encourage our son to be able to accept the food here in Thailand and cope during the times when he didn't get to eat his favourite!

Try to keep a relaxed attitude.
Repeat exposure to certain foods e.g. rice!
Introduce new foods slowly and don't attempt to change all eating habits at once.
Give lots of praise for even the smallest success.
Choose 'teaching' times carefully and do not offer alternative food options at these times.
Set a good example of healthy eating.
Share your own personal dislikes/likes and help kids to understand that, even when foods aren't our favourite, we can still eat them.
Involve children in the process of getting food ready: setting the table, peeling the carrots or helping choose a yummy dessert to celebrate successes.
AND.... never give up!

When I asked my son yesterday to tell me some of the things that helped him learn to try new foods he replied, "I looked around and saw how nicely everybody else was eating and I wanted to be like that. Also I tried a little bit at first and then each time I ate a bit more until I got used to it" and finally he said, "You know Mum, you should write and tell people that sisters and brothers should encourage one another to eat new foods- that's also what helped me!"

And there you have it!!

You know, there are still the occasional relapses, still the days where it seems that nothing will do unless it's pizza and so forth ... but on the whole, we couldn't be more proud. Our boy eats lots of different vegetables now (including greens), many fruits, rice, different types of meat, noodles etc. He's even started eating some mild curries with us just so he can share our naan bread!

And finally, remember that meal times should not be either stressful or a time to do battle. Stay calm and if it turns in to a disaster then, there's always tomorrow!

Let me reintroduce myself...

2011-05-01T17:16:00.000+10:00

Well, that’s kind-of what I feel like I need to do since I have been mainly absent from this site for so long.

Okay, it’s taken over a year but I wanna come back.

I really want to be around these “mum” parts a bit more and share with you what’s happening in our family.

I guess since moving to Thailand, in January 2010, I felt like my life went from being semi-in-control and predictable to somewhat like I was driving a car with a flat tire.

I feel like I have been clenching my hands tightly on the wheel just managing to keep it straight.

But thankfully, after a somewhat shaky first year, I have now grasped a very small understanding of some basic conversation and a routine that’s slightly more predictable and …

I have realized how much I have missed this “community” of mums online- blogging their feelings, their words of advice and their tips on how to keep kids entertained during the school holidays!

So I am going to do my very best (after being wife, and mum and the ‘official’ fundraiser for our family) to make an effort to get on over here and “chat” about the highs and lows of raising kids a bit more often.

I think there’s a lot I still need to learn (so I will continue to visit my favourite mums blogs too) and I am also hoping that I will also be able to offer some encouragement to you!

So from my home in Northern Thailand, where we eat pork skewers and sticky rice for breakfast as much as possible to the smells of Vegemite toast in Australian suburbia-

Thanks for stopping by.

The Odd One Out!

2011-04-28T16:45:00.003+10:00

When we lived in Australia, Dave and I used to laugh at how many people would say to me, “You know, you look just like my... sister/ mother/ friend/ cousin...” that I think I actually started to develop a bit of a complex about being so “common”.

Now when I think back to that, I feel myself longing for a day, or even an hour or so, to go about my business and just look “common” again.

It’s the second week of our third term school holidays here. There’s only one more term before the end of school year. This, of course, means that I get to chill out at home with my precious little ones... it also meant taking them around with me to get my errands done yesterday.

Now because of the language barrier, it always seems to take me longer to do things here but add to that mix three fair-haired, blue-eyed, pale- skinned children who also, do NOT blend in with the crowd (and are not exactly the most ‘quiet’ children either!!! ) and it makes for a very long morning out.

Every time I turned around to speak to someone or pay a bill, top up my phone etc, the three children squirmed as they were poked, touched, prodded, had their cheeks pinched and hair touched... let’s just say there was a LOT of love being shown. Even after more than a year, my children still find it a bit hard to know what to do in these situations.

I long for the day when I can speak Thai fluently so I can use these opportunities (when strangers approach us) to share with them why we choose to live in their country and find out more about their journey as well.

I want my children to see me converse as an equal (in the language department) and not have just another superficial conversation about their ages, sex and names. I want to be able to communicate with others around me so badly- it’s now a matter of applying every bit of patience, perseverance and dedicated practice time that I can muster.

I know, one day, opportunities will come but it still seems so far away that I have to fight against discouragement creeping in on me on a daily basis.

So a little word of encouragement- to anyone out there who may be reading this and be themselves in a situation where they feel different, odd or that they stand out in a crowd.

Use your noticeable uniqueness to impact people’s lives. If people are fascinated by you, for whatever reason, let this be an opportunity to share what’s special about you as well as to find out about the other person in the process. We are all different and we each long to feel accepted. That person staring at you might just be your next new friend… well that’s what I’m hoping anyway :)

Andie

Seasons

2011-04-27T00:37:00.001+10:00

One of the things that I’ve found fascinating about living in Thailand is just how different the seasons are here.

When we arrived in January 2010, it was winter, which meant blue skies and 30 degrees for the entire month! I still can’t believe how much I actually love “winter” weather now!

Moving through February and March, the weather not only starts to get hotter but the burning off season begins and the air quality is woeful. The children are coughing, we are coughing and opportunities to play can be restricted.

Just as the burning off season feels like it will never end, it does and then the temperatures soar. Last year we had 2-3 months of 38-42 degrees every day, without rain and with no relief. If we thought it was tough getting to play outside earlier we were in for a rude shock with this weather. You simply did not want to go outside because it was SO hot.

Well, last year it was just after the Thai New Year's water festival (Songkran) that we heard a strange sound and the air began feeling a little bit different... could it be? Yes! The first droplets of rain! There was so much to celebrate. I remember those first few showers of rain and how they felt hot but I didn’t care. It didn’t bring much of a cooling effect but we knew it was the sign of more to come.

After being in the Australian winter (... nothing like Thai winter I can assure you) in June last year, we welcomed the return to some warmth. Upon arriving back here, we enjoyed being right in the middle of the Thai wet season. Besides the mosquitoes, there was not much else I didn’t like about this season. It’s humid yes, but there’s variety. One minute it is really hot and then suddenly it rains like it’s never going to stop. We have seen some massive thunderstorms too. Incredible! But after the rain, out comes the sun again and there’s that feeling of ‘steam’ that lingers for a while- ahhh I love it!

But just as people speak about the seasons in the weather, there are also seasons in life- everyone’s lives- which we all find ourselves going through.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season,

and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Ecclesiastes 3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time

to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

I remember when Tobi was a new-born and people told me to cherish every minute because he would grow up so quickly. Well, in that season of my life, as much as I tried, I found that it really was hard to do that. I longed for him to crawl, walk, talk... I found it hard to cherish and wait.

It was much easier to do though when Eli and Spencer were born because I had some perspective. But with a first born it can be so hard not knowing what to expect.

When we first arrived in Thailand all of us found many aspects of moving extremely difficult. There were so many logistically things to work out and we had no idea how our children would cope day to day, minute to minute.

When we returned to Thailand in July last year though, I felt like we were finally in a new season. We had some perspective and we knew what to expect.

The first month back was a time of relocation: house, school, ZOE as well as learning new things all the time. We experienced short term teams with very few missionaries here, but we did it!

We've been in this house now since August last year and it is very much our home.

There are still times when I pine for my beautiful family, my close girlfriends and the life we gave up to move here but as I sit here now I feel really blessed.

Thank you for following me on this journey- through all the seasons.

Party Time!

2010-12-29T16:19:00.002+11:00

Oh no! I just realised how long it's been since I've been here. If you're reading this blog for the first time, I hope you can poke around for a while and find something that's useful, encouraging or amusing.

Almost a year ago my husband and I, plus our three young children, moved to Chiang Mai in Thailand to volunteer in a children's home. We help in the prevention, intervention and after care of orphans and children who are victims of human trafficking.

We blog regularly at the Cross Family Blog about our family, life and work at ZOE Children's Home so when you get the opportunity, pop on over and see what we've been up to.

Anyways, I'll try and get back here when I get the chance and maybe share some of the other aspects of being a mum with young children like... birthday parties!! Yay.

I have two collages to share today. The first one is of my niece's 4th birthday, a "Strawberry" party. My sister did an awesome job pulling this one together and the photos show just how amazing it was. Well done Mel!

The second (not quite as original) collage is of my daughter's 4th birthday- "Princess" party. You'll notice the costume change in the photos... there was a lot of that going on!!

So thanks for reading and I will attempt to get back here more regularly than of late.

Princess, Treasure Chest pinata

By the way, a belated 'Merry Christmas' to you too- the best birthday celebration of them all!!

Soccer Party!

2010-09-21T00:50:00.004+10:00

What better way to celebrate a 5th birthday than a SOCCER party!

Themed in black, white and green every last detail was carefully considered to make this party a real 'ball'!

The birthday boy and his proud parents (in costume of course!)

Chocolate, vanilla and lime ice-cream with chocolate soccer ball wedges!

Craft- design your own soccer player/ paper person.

http://www.makingfriends.com

With a few simple ideas and HEAPS of plastic blow up soccer balls to play with, this party theme was simple but so much fun!

Happy Birthday Tobi.

Can You Find Us?

2010-07-20T14:52:00.000+10:00

Where are we now?

Ten months ago we moved to live at my parent-in-law's house, six months ago we moved to live in Thailand and now in two weeks time we are moving house again. We're not going far away from where we've been the past six months but it's still another change.

We are also moving our kids from one school to another at the beginning of August and to top it off this week ZOE, the children's home where we volunteer, is moving in to a new purpose built facility as well.

"Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has changed". ~Irene Peter

Through it all though we keep reminding ourselves that "home" is the place where we are all together. The building or location doesn't matter so much anymore as long as we have each other.

Imagine that...

2010-05-13T15:47:00.001+10:00

At ZOE Children's Home last week (here in Thailand), I organised a week of "imaginative play" mornings for the younger children. They don't get to do this type of 'play' very often and it was so rewarding to see how much they enjoyed it and got in to their role-playing.

My youngest son Spencer came along too and very much enjoyed the new set-up each day.

"The importance of Imaginative play in child's development cannot be stressed enough. In our modern overly technological society a child's imagination is often paralyzed with fast-moving pictures of a television set or brightly colored 3-D worlds of computer games. Often, parents concentrate on getting their preschoolers school-ready by paying a lot of attention to learning the alphabet and numbers but forgetting how important it is to nurture their child's imagination. A number of psychological studies have shown that pretend play prepares children for life in the real world because during play children learn important life skills like taking turns, sharing responsibility, empathy and many others. So let's see what games we can come up with to foster our children's imagination". Slava Prakhiy

Check out the ideas listed below, get creative and ENJOY!

Doctor's Office

Those toy doctor's kits are excellent for pretend play but even if you don't have one you can collect some household objects to play this game. For example, a pen and pad to write out prescriptions, a plastic syringe to administer medicine or even give those ouchy shots, a small jar of jelly beans in case a patient has a headache or a belly ache and needs a pill, stretchy bandages to tape those serious wounds and band-aids for small cuts. In the absence of a toy stethoscope you can make one out of a simple empty toilet roll by cutting one open, rolling it into a thinner tube and gluing it back together - you can use it as a stethoscope or to check out the ears and the throat.

Shopping

You will need a shopping bag, a wallet with some coins in it, groceries, like a bag of pasta shapes, some apples and bananas, a can of peas and a box of cookies and a cash register made out of a shoe box or any other useful box you can find around the house. Take turns being a shopkeeper and a shopper. If you want your child to learn some math and counting along the way, you can make some pretend paper money out of paper, make sure the numbers on your pretend paper bills are large and clear. Make price labels on all the groceries in the shop and try to pay correct money for everything and give the right change. Make a shopping list so you can check things off the list when you put them in your shopping bag.

Cooking

For this fun and exciting game you will need pots, pans and other cooking utensils. Other things that might help are grains like rice, lentils or dry beans, pasta shapes and even cereal like cheerios. Put the ingredients into the pot, add salt and pepper, stir. When the meal is ready, get some plates out and invite friends for dinner.

Helping mum or dad with real cooking is also lots of fun, like beating the eggs for an omelette or tearing up lettuce for a salad.

Dress-up

Lots of old clothes is, of course, what's needed for this game - anything from skirts and shoes to hats and bags. But the best way to play is to pick a theme and dress accordingly. "Kings and Queens" is a fun theme to dress up for but you will need to make your own crowns and capes. The best thing about this game is that you can use as much dress jewellery as you have lying around the house.

Birthday Party

A pretend Birthday cake and party food can be made from play-doh and you can even use real candles with it. Invite all the stuffed furry animals and all the dolls that live at your house to your party, perhaps even some real friends can come if they are visiting at the time. To make the party more fun you can have a disco afterwards - turn some music on and dance together.

House/Cave/Camping Tent

To set up this game you will need two chairs, one big blanket and a flashlight. You can also use a table instead of the chairs.

If you are in a "Cave" or a "Tent" gather some food supplies and water and prepare for an adventure. Turn off all the lights in the room and leave the flashlight on, search the dark room with the flashlight, can you see any wild animals lurking in the woods? What can you hear? Can you hear the birds and that waterfall nearby? You can even make a pretend fire and toast some real marshmallows over it, yum!!

If you are in a "House" you can invite some friends over (furry animals, dolls), put some pillows and blankets on the floor and have a slumber party!

Car

Cut out the wheel from a cardboard box or use anything round you might find around the house. You can sit on a chair (wind the windows down, take down the roof - it's a convertible after all!) or "drive" around on foot. You can even have a race! Ask mum if she wants a ride!

Family

This game is wonderful as it allows the child to swap places with the parent and become mummy or daddy for a short while. You can play it with a doll or mum and dad can play the role of the child for a change. Notice how your child behaves during this game, it will be fascinating to hear what they say and see what they do, how they discipline or reward you - it will be like looking at yourself in the mirror because they, of course, will be mimicking what you do and how you behave on a daily basis. Great for building self-esteem and awareness of self and others.

Boat/Ship

Anything in the house can become a boat or a ship with a little bit of imagination. You can turn two chairs pushed together, a couch or even a bed into a boat or a ship. Get all the passengers on board (do they all have their tickets?) and don't forget your supplies. Take some fishing rods and a bucket with you so you can do some fishing (make fishing rods out of thin tree branches and some rope or wool thread).

If you want something different on your next trip, a boat can become a train or even an airplane.

Book Week

2010-04-30T22:50:00.000+10:00

It was Book Week or "I Love to Read" week at my children's kindergarten this week. They enjoyed many activities like pajama day where they were encouraged to snuggle down and choose a book to read. Parents were also invited to come and share a favorite book throughout the week. This was interesting because, being an international school, the children got to hear stories read in many different languages. Spencer and I joined Eli's class one morning to hear 'Little Red Riding Hood' being read in Japanese! There were also times through the week for 'Stop, Drop and Read' where the children were stopped from what they were doing and got to choose a book to read as well as many other games and arts/crafts associated with books. To finish off the week, this morning, the parents were invited to stay for a parade and carnival. The children all dressed up as a book character and then paraded in their outfits. Following this were activity centers focussed around either reading/ books or the theme of the week 'What a wonderful world'.
Children from nursery through to Grade 1 participated in science related workshops, physical games (I liked the one where 4 children lined up on their bikes and had to ride to the book table and find the book that matched the picture on the front of their bike and then ride to the finish line), horse rides, obstacle courses and lots more.
It was a wonderful morning and both Tobi and Eli now have some more lovely memories associated with reading and literature.
Can you guess who they dressed up as?

Introducing Bob the Builder and Sleeping Beauty.
(Spencer also dressed up as a mini Bob!!)

Fruit-loops!

2010-04-16T15:57:00.000+10:00

My two eldest were so excited after they'd finished carefully threading these fruit-loops on to a piece of elastic to make an edible necklace. It had taken a lot of concentration and you can see by their faces, how proud of themselves they were to be finished.
Well done Tobi and Eli, now let's see how long they last!!

Our first overseas visitors...

2010-04-05T14:42:00.000+10:00

Friendship is not created by what we give, but more by what we share. It makes a whole world of things easier to bear.
Lucy Larcom

A week seeing my mum and dad was so wonderful. I'm so glad that they could come to see our new home.

Friends

2010-04-01T14:29:00.000+11:00

"If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden" Claudia A Grandi

The new ordinary...

2010-03-10T19:06:00.007+11:00

"CULTURE SHOCK is a term used to describe the anxiety that’s experienced by almost everyone who relocates to another culture for an extended period of time. Learning to cope with confusion with the language, frustration with different ways of doing things, isolation from your friends and family, and homesickness are a part of adapting to a new culture".

(http://icenter.ucsd.edu/pdfs/adapt_to_new_culture.pdf)

I'm not sure how long it's meant to take but I'm beginning to have glimpses of the 'new ordinary'. A new routine in the morning to get ready, a supermarket that I know I can drive to at 11 pm and get just what I need, neighbors that wave when you see them and even a small sense of belonging.

It's been almost 2 months now and my emotions swing up and down on a daily basis. The minute I begin to feel that I’ve got my head around our move, I realise that actually I haven’t and there is still so much to organise, get done and learn.

There are certainly days when ‘life’ over here feels extremely overwhelming. The most simple tasks that I’ve performed millions of times back home can be so difficult, confusing and frustrating here but then other things like dropping the kids at kinder and chatting to the other parents and the teachers feels so 'normal', I can almost forget I'm in another country.

Our home is also a place of refuge. It's a safe place to rest and relax... recharge my batteries and get the strength I need to face the day- whatever it brings. Each day brings something different but I think it's the new ordinary things that are becoming the most comforting.

For more about our adventures in Chiang Mai Thailand, read our family blog at www.zoeaustralia.org

(PHOTOS: The coffee shop opposite kinder which sells good rice crackers and ice cream, kindergarten, Spencer napping in his car seat after being out and about, Tobi at the park opposite our house, Eli eating pineapple off a stick)

Pizza Party

2010-03-08T16:16:00.000+11:00

Despite the bad photography mixed with not-so-good camera, you can still get the gist about the theme ideas for this Pizza Party.

When we first moved to Thailand, I had no idea where anything was and have since discovered that "party" shops do not exist here.

I wanted a theme that could created using the Internet (I love Google), my printer and some basic disposable cups, plates etc.

Here's what I came up with:

Take-home treats

The cake!

Making our own pizzas!

A fun, simple and interactive party. I hope this gives you some good ideas!

Andie)

Thailand update... one week in!

2010-01-23T02:13:00.003+11:00

I heard it was 38 degrees in Melbourne today! It felt hot here too and kind of muggy. The locals say that the weather is cold at the moment and are frequently seen wearing jumpers and jackets (some had scarves on too) but I saw a thermometer outside someone’s house today and it was still over 30 degrees. I guess that’s winter in Thailand for you!
We decided to keep the children home from kinder today. It’s only been a week since we arrived and we didn’t want them to over do it. They enjoyed some chill-out time watching their borrowed DVDs, playing with their new ball in the yard, taking a long bath and basically just relaxing. Dave and I enjoyed the slower pace too both getting in a much-needed nanny-nap!
We managed to obtain our Thai drivers licenses yesterday… this may sound impressive and I’d like to say it was and that I’ve actually been driving but I haven’t. In fact, it did not even involve setting foot in a car! We just had to pay our money, show that we knew our colours (red, green and orange) and then have our photo taken. Apparently there can be a few other tests that they get you to do but we think Spencer’s impatient screaming may have hurried the process along somewhat! Oh well, we weren’t complaining.
After obtaining our licenses, I was excited to discover a shop that sold some “baking” ingredients. As expensive as they were, Dave let me purchase a few items to satisfy my home-cooking yearnings. I got up eagerly this morning to make some fresh scones for breakfast only to realise that, in my excitement, (and inability to read the Thai packaging) I had used plain flour instead of SR. Thankfully, the scones were still quite tasty but unfortunately that did not rise! Not a crumb was left over though so obviously Dave and the kids didn’t seem to mind.
I then set to work making some play dough for Eliana. This gave her hours of enjoyment as she set about creating pretend birthday cakes and tasty meals. We enjoyed our first home-cooked dinner tonight too (besides all the food that everyone’s been dropping off). We hadn’t seen the children eat so much in a while. Eli kept telling me how delicious it was and how much she loved me for cooking dinner! Nice!
Yesterday we promised the children a trip out to “Daddy’s new work” the ZOE Children’s Home… if they had a huge afternoon sleep. They all did so we headed out after dark (which was pretty exciting for them coming from Melbourne’s day-light’s savings). They had so much fun running about talking to everyone and playing in the younger children’s dormitory style bedroom. Eliana instantly joined in a game of elastics, Tobi found a similar aged boy with a truck and Spencer cruised around trying to dodge all the Thai children trying to pick him up and carry him.
Dave had his first Thai language lesson yesterday. It was challenging and the reality of just how much work it will take to be able to read, write and speak Thai has had him sitting with his earphones in tonight hoping it will all just sink in… the fact that I just heard a big ripper snore indicates though that not too much study is taking place as he’s actually fallen asleep! There’s always tomorrow I suppose.
Well as I sit here listening to the docile tones of a Thai karaoke bar, at a near-by restaurant, wafting through our open windows, I will wrap it up for another day. Tomorrow we will probably have another quiet-ish day but then again there is a whole new country explore!

Where am I?

2010-01-21T17:02:00.003+11:00

Well we arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand last Friday.
For all the updates on what's happening over here go to our

Cross Family Blog.

Besties!

2010-01-07T23:39:00.002+11:00

I thought I'd make this little collage to show my two eldest children tomorrow. They're born just 14 and a half months a part and they really are best friends. Through it all... the laughter and the tears, there's one thing for sure, they're going to stick together for a long time to come.
So Tobi and Eli, I know it's busy and it's crazy sometimes but I love you both so much and I adore watching your antics. You make each laugh so often (and me!) and have such great times together in each other's company.

I'm so proud to be your mum.

Puffing Billy!

2010-01-06T12:53:00.004+11:00

Ahhh there's something to be said about sitting in the open window of a train and letting your legs hang out the side with the wind blowing through your hair.

Our children had the opportunity to discover just how much fun riding on the Puffing Billy steam train through the Dandenong Ranges can be.

Despite busily preparing for our departure to Thailand, we wanted to go on a special family outing before we left and there doesn't get much better than the old Puffing Billy.

We left from Belgrave station and got off at Lakeside station to enjoy a lovely picnic at the Emerald Lake Park.

Our children we really excited to be sitting on, what they thought was, "Toby" from the Thomas the Tank Engine stories as that's also my eldest son's name. And, of course, our engine was green so it had to be Percy!

A really quick make.

2009-12-23T12:37:00.002+11:00

How quick and easy are good old 'chocolate balls'? They are a great option when having to quickly make something to take out to a Christmas celebration.
Not that I've made these for years but I've always used Marie biscuits in the past. As I didn't have any, I made these using Weet Bix which worked really well and, let's face it, is much healthier anyway.
I added some rose leaves and 4 little red balls of fondant icing and now I'm all set to go...

Marvellous Mums... the end of an era.

2009-12-22T13:55:00.005+11:00

Here's some of the Marvellous Mums I know!

Marvellous Mums had their final get together last Monday. The group began in mid 2007. Two and a half years on and it's a privilege to reflect back to that very first morning tea in my lounge room and the first ever poem I handed out to the mums present to encourage them in their role as mothers.

People came and went from this little group, some came consistently for years and others just for a season, but what's been important has been the friendships that have remained and the support that we were able to give one another over the past couple of years.

One lovely lady from the group wrote:
Just wanted to let you know that you have done a great job with Marvellous Mothers over the years. I saw it in the beginning and at the end (pity about work and missing out on the middle time). I’m sure a lot of mums have got something out of it.
You are a great mum and a very thoughtful person and I have leant a lot from you, your emails and blog.
I wish you all of the best in the future and the next ‘chapter’ in your lives.

It was so encouraging to receive those words but you know what? I got so much out of this group myself. I loved writing the newsletters and meeting other mums that came across my path. Starting a group was something I never thought I'd do but it stretched me, it taught me lots about myself and it helped me to understand more about this important task of raising our children and what a challenge it can be at times.

So thanks to all the ladies who joined me on this journey- whether you came once or twenty times I enjoyed sharing it with you. Thanks also to my own beautiful mum who supported me until the end. You can't see her in this photo (because she was taking it) but she had such a crucial role in the group- supporting me, playing with the children and helping out on many occasions to set up, pack up, make things etc. Thanks Mum, I love you so much.

This poem below still reminds me of how special you (and all of us as mums) are.

In the entire world there is no other mum like you
Since the beginning of time
There has never been another mother like you.
No other mum has your smile,
Your eyes, nose, hair, hands, or your voice.
No other mum sees the things just as you do.
In all of time there has been no mother who laughs like you, no one who cries like you,
And what makes you laugh and cry
Will never provoke identical laughter and tears from anybody else — EVER.
You are the only one created with your set of natural abilities.
There will always be somebody who is better at one of the things you are good at …
But no other mum in the universe can reach the quality of your combination of talents, ideas, natural abilities and spiritual abilities.
Through all of eternity, no other mum will look, talk, walk, think or do exactly like you.
You’re special!
You’re rare!
And as in all rarities, there is great value.
You need not attempt to imitate other mums.
Accept, and yes — CELEBRATE your differences.
You’re special.
Continue to believe that you are here for a special purpose.
Out of the billions of mums who could have been chosen to raise your children,
Only one was qualified,
Only one has the best combination of what it would take
And that is YOU.
Just as surely as every snowflake that falls has a perfect design
And no two designs are the same —
You are designed to live your life uniquely.
Your life will bring to you your own set of challenges,
Face these and live your life to the best and fullest —
Not just for your own sake but for all those around you.

What a Marvellous Mum you are!

Psalm 139:13-16

Gelli Baff

2009-12-22T13:38:00.004+11:00

Have you seen this product called Gelli Baff?
I bought a couple of boxes for Kris Kringle presents but one of the boxes got wet one day when my husband was watering the Christmas tree so I ended up using it for our kids and buying something else for the KK.

Gelli Baff is a two pack powder that turns any childrens bath or pool water into jelly like goo and back again.
Sprinkle the first powder over the kids bath water and watch as the water turns to thick, brightly coloured goo. When the fun is done, sprinkle the second powder over the goo, the goo will begin to dissolve and turn back to water.

Gelli Baff gives children a fun bath time whilst cleansing and softening the skin. Gelli Baff does not block the drains, is biodegradable and is kind on the skin.

I wish I'd captured my children's faces when I placed them in the bath, they were priceless and they just sat (not moving) for a good few minutes LOL.
This is the princess pink one... check it out!

Christmas Traditions

2009-12-07T15:16:00.004+11:00

Traditions add meaning and character to special holidays. As children my siblings and I put a pillowslip at the end of our beds on Christmas Eve for ‘stocking’ type presents.
In our home now, we each have a sack and I fill it with little 'stocking' presents. Then the BIG ones go under the tree.
The first Christmas, after I was married, my husband and I decided to give each other a stocking present (or two) on Christmas Eve and it just wouldn't feel like Christmas without a real Christmas tree chosen and cut down from the Christmas tree farm.

My sister and I started a tradition of performing a boot scooting dance to Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is You” when we were teenagers and it still brings a laugh each year on December 25th.

Whatever you choose, once you choose a family activity, do it once or twice and declare it "a new family tradition".

Here a few suggestions that you may like to adopt for your own family.
Read a Christmas story every night for the last ten days before Christmas.
Pile everyone in the car, put on some carols and drive around to see the lights.
Adopt a Christmas tradition from around the world. Learn about Christmas customs from several countries e.g learn a new name for Santa, special recipes or games.
Get the kids to help you choose a present for a local ‘wishing tree’ or fill a shoe box for Samaritan’s Purse. . . for more from this post click here:
Christmas Time

Yummy Christmas Biscuits

2009-12-01T11:44:00.003+11:00

I made these for my son's kinder friends:

Prep: 20 mins, plus 1 hr chilling.
Cooking: 8-10 mins, plus decorating time.
Makes about 48

2 cups (300g) plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
185g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (220g) sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla essence

Icing
2 cups (320g) pure icing sugar
2 tablespoons water
Food colouring (optional)
Silver cachous, to decorate

Method
1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.

2. Place butter and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 3 minutes, or until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla, then add flour mixture at low speed. Mix until just combined.

3. On a lightly floured surface, form dough into 2 balls, then flatten each into a disc. Wrap discs firmly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

4. Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper.

5. Roll out one piece of chilled dough on a lightly floured surface and use biscuit cutters to cut out shapes. Arrange on baking sheets, spaced 2.5cm apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, switching shelves halfway. Transfer biscuits to a wire rack to cool completely. Allow baking sheets to cool before baking next batch.

6. Roll out remaining scraps of dough, cut out shapes and bake 8-10 minutes.

7. For the icing, combine icing sugar and water in a bowl and stir until smooth. Add more water if necessary for an easily spreadable consistency. Stir in food colouring, if desired.

8. Spread icing over biscuits. Decorate with silver cachous and allow icing to set before serving.

Recipe Loukie Werle (Australian House & Garden)

Advent Calendars... check!

2009-12-01T11:11:00.004+11:00

Phew!! I almost ran out of time but 'no' the calendars were all finished and ready to go by this morning- much to the delight of my children.
As my sewing machine is packed to send overseas, I bought some large Christmas tea towels (already hemmed) to make these calendars. I then only had to cut the felt rectangles, glue them on and then decorate.
The best part though was finding all those little presents to fill each different sized pocket!

Ladybird Party- INVITE and DECORATIONS

2009-11-24T13:12:00.005+11:00

Ladybird Party- COSTUMES

2009-11-24T13:11:00.003+11:00

Ladybird Party- FOOD and CAKE

2009-11-24T13:08:00.002+11:00

Ladybird Party- Piñata

2009-11-24T13:00:00.000+11:00

Coming soon....

2009-11-22T22:45:00.003+11:00

We just had the cutest party ever for my daughter. A ladybird tea party.

I love having a theme. It's so easy to work with. I had been finding decorations and ideas for months so I'll be posting some more pics soon of the cake, food, craft, games, pinata and decorations that we had.

Of course I am biased, but I thought that my little ladybird looked simply divine in her costume, as did all the other little mini-beasts (and big-beasts) that came along to help us celebrate.

It's time...

2009-11-10T22:30:00.003+11:00

Time for me to get started making a "home-made" advent calendar.
If I start now I should be finished for the beginning of December.
Here's some pictures that have inspired me lately.
Ooooohhh I'm beginning to feel all Christmassy!!

Hand Puppets

2009-11-04T13:26:00.006+11:00

This morning my daughter was sick so our plans take my eldest son to kinder and her to swimming soon went out the window. But... in between cleaning up vomit (NICE!) I managed to use these new exfoliating gloves and some scraps of felt and material to make some lovely little hand puppets.

My four-year-old son and I did a great job singing and entertaining both my 1 year old and "sickie" for a few hours using our new gloves. It's amazing how many times you can sing the same songs over and over and children just never get tired of hearing them LOL.

FIVE little cakes in a baker's shop
Round and fat with a lolly on the top
Along came a boy (or use a name),
With some money one day
Bought a cake and took it away.
FOUR little cakes...

FIVE little speckled frogs
Sat on a speckled log
Eating some most delicious grubs (YUM YUM).
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Then there were four green speckled frogs.

Here is the beehive
But where are the bees?
Hidden away where no body sees
Watch and you will see them come out of their hive
1,2,3,4 and 5
Buzz, buzz, buzz...

FIVE little ducks went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK
But only four little ducks came back...

Rubber Duck Party

2009-11-02T14:29:00.018+11:00

I had been "ummming" and "ahhhing" as to whether or not to have a first birthday party for my son since we had moved out of our house and we are living at my parent-in-law's house at the moment.

I had wanted to do a rubber duck party for a long time because my son loves the bath so much but I also wanted to keep it small and simple.

Here's a few ideas that I used that made for a great day but with relatively little preparation and very little stress.

Invite:

"Rubber Ducky, you're the one,
Who'll make this party, lots of fun"

Waddle over to (address) on
31st October at 10am.

Your presence would be just ducky!
Give us a quack and let us know if you'll be able to attend.

Join us for pancakes, milkshakes and "ducky" games
to celebrate Spencer turning one.

Decorations: Lots of yellow rubber ducks (of course) plus blue and yellow balloons and streamers. I also made this lovely yellow bunting with my son's name on it and two blue ducks at each end. This was made from yellow and blue paper and took about 15 minutes to whip up!

Games: Cheap yellow ponchos ($2 each) made great dress ups for a duck relay race.

These little trophies (also from the $2 shop) were a real hit as prizes for the races. Of course all the kids got one because "every one's a winner!!" I stuck a duck sticker on each one to match the theme.

Food:
These blue jellies were also popular. Again, I used duck stickers to tie them in to the theme. We also served pancakes and milkshakes which filled everybody up and meant that the kids didn't eat too much other "party" food.

For the cake, I simply made cupcakes and decorated them with blue icing and a yellow duck candle.

Take-home bag:

I used toiletry bags as the party bags and filled the shampoo container full of jelly beans, the soap container with rice wheels/chips, the toothbrush holder with a chocolate sipper straw etc. The children loved getting these and packing and repacking their new belongings!!

Pinata:

Craft:

A simple activity like making a duck out of a paper plate, icy pole stick and some feathers gave the preschool aged children a task that involved concentrating on their cutting, pasting and construction skills. They were so proud with their finished products.

Overall it was a lovely, easy party which was enjoyed by all!

A "quacking" good time.

2009-10-31T21:57:00.003+11:00

We had a "duck" party today for my littlest man.

My beautiful baby boy turned one this week. Happy Birthday Spencer. May the year ahead be filled with joy and laughter. You bring so many smiles to our family every day and we love you x

Operation Christmas Child

2009-10-24T20:59:00.003+11:00

One of my favourite things to do at this time of year is to pack shoeboxes to donate to Operation Christmas Child. This is one of the programs that Samaritan's Purse runs.

The story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) gives a clear picture of God's desire for us to help those in desperate need wherever we find them. After describing how the Samaritan rescued a hurting man whom others had passed by, Jesus told His hearers, "Go and do likewise."

For over 35 years, Samaritan's Purse has done their utmost to follow Christ's command by going to the aid of the world's poor, sick, and suffering. They are an effective means of reaching hurting people in countries around the world with food, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ. This, in turn, earns them a hearing for the Gospel, the Good News of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Their emergency relief programs provide desperately needed assistance to victims of natural disaster, war, disease, and famine. As they offer food, water, and temporary shelter, they meet critical needs and give people a chance to rebuild their lives.

Video:
Operation Christmas Child delivers millions of gift-filled shoe boxes to needy children around the world.

Happy Birthday to you...

2009-10-14T21:35:00.003+11:00

Happy 3rd Birthday beautiful niece! Your gentle nature, love for animals and frequent cuddles are totally LOVED by me.

We helped you celebrate your birthday at a place perfectly suited to you... the farm. Thanks for the special memories and for sharing your yummy cupcakes.

Love Aunty Andie x

Fit for a PRINCESS!

2009-10-12T21:19:00.006+11:00

Today my little girl (better known as E.J. Princess) asked if she would be able to make herself a new crown after her last one, that she made at Mainly Music, fell in the toilet while we were at the shops one day.

It was a devastating experience at the time but one that I had forgotten about (as it occurred earlier on this year) however a visit to the same toilet recently managed to rekindle all those old, sad memories and it has been talked about an awful lot lately!

Well it was a very serious crown-making experience this morning to get it "just right", but in the end my little girl's hard work paid off and she produced a beautiful new crown to wear.

She just needs to remember to remove the crown before going to the bathroom this time!!!

How are you feeling today?

2009-10-05T09:27:00.002+11:00

Feeling unloved or unappreciated right now? Well you've come to the right place... lovingmums! This blog first started with the aim of encouraging mums in their 'journey' through motherhood's many ups and downs. It has since become a place that's like a home away from home for me. It's a journal come recipe book come self confidence booster. I've put some of my favourite recipes here mostly so that when I can't find what I'm looking for, I can quickly jump online. The random comments are like my way of downloading and staying sane (if I had more time, I'd write so much more LOL) and then some of my favourite quotes, links to other people's blogs and my own ramblings are so enjoyable to reflect back on as well as encourage me on the days when I need that little extra boost. I hope that you find a laugh or two amongst these posts, a quote you can memorise and an idea to take with you and try with your kids. Have a wonderful day :)

Gingerbread Man Party: The Party Unfolds...

2009-09-28T15:59:00.002+10:00

The first activity- Decorating the gingerbread people:

Gingerbread Man Party: Party Food

2009-09-27T18:04:00.004+10:00

Fairy bread, gingerbread men! These were a big hit.

I can't wait to see what my son's ideas are for his fifth birthday!!

Gingerbread Man Party: The "chocolate" gingerbread man cake!

2009-09-27T16:45:00.004+10:00

Gingerbread Man Party: The Pinata and Pass the Parcel

2009-09-27T16:34:00.006+10:00

Gingerbread Man Party : The Story

2009-09-27T16:25:00.002+10:00

My sister, a trained Early Childhood Teacher, was very animated in her rendition of The Gingerbread Man story. Following the story, all the children grabbed their baskets and went on a treasure hunt in the front yard to find their very on set of characters from the story.

Gingerbread Man Party: Treasure hunt

2009-09-27T16:22:00.006+10:00

The children at the Gingerbread Man party had to search in the garden for popsicle stick puppets of each character from the Gingerbread Man story. They collected them all in their baskets and then got to take home their very own set of puppets to re-tell the story.

Gingerbread Man Fingerplay & Chant

2009-09-24T15:01:00.002+10:00

Five little gingerbread men lying on a tray,
One jumped up and ran away.
Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can ...
I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
Four little gingerbread men lying on a tray,
One jumped up and ran away.
Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can ...
I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
Three little gingerbread men lying on a tray,
One jumped up and ran away.
Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can ...
I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
Two little gingerbread men lying on a tray,
One jumped up and ran away.
Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can ...
I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
One little gingerbread man lying on a tray,
He jumped up and ran away.
Shouting "Catch me, catch me, catch me if you can ...
I run really fast, I'm a gingerbread man!"
No more gingerbread men lying on a tray,
They all jumped up and ran away.
Oh, how I wish they had stayed with me to play.
Next time I'll eat them before they run away.

(author unknown)

Run, run.... Gingerbread Man Party

2009-09-24T13:50:00.004+10:00

I am so excited! There's only two more sleeps until my son's 4th birthday party. He's wanted a "gingerbread man" party since... well I don't know how long really, probably since his Humpty Dumpty birthday party finished last year!

Here are some quick pics I took this morning of the preparations under way.
There's the gingerbread people for the children to decorate, invitation [on the back it says "Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch Tobi or the Gingerbread Man... but you can try!"] pass the parcel, baskets (ready for a treasure hunt to find the characters of the story) and of course the take-home lolly bags.

My husband has also made a wonderful pinata that I'll post photos of next time. Better get back to it!!

Happy Birthday Tobi

2009-09-15T23:16:00.002+10:00

My eldest son is four years old tomorrow. The cupcakes are made, the presents ready, breakfast organised and a pile of balloons to blow up and scatter around his room, early in the morning, sits waiting on my bedside table.

To my dear boy. I love you so much. Most of the time I feel like I have no idea what I am doing in my job as a parent but when you look up at me adoringly with those big blue eyes, my heart melts all over, like the very first day I saw you.

You are a thinker. You are very imaginative. You have a gentle, delicate spirit so compassionate and so easily hurt. When you smile, the whole room lights up. You amaze me every day and I am glad that you're in my life. Happy 4th birthday Precious.

We got there.. wherever "there" is!

2009-09-09T23:44:00.003+10:00

I made it! Well I have moved out (but not finished cleaning my old house yet) and yay I am finally "connected" once more with the outside world. I feel like I have missed so much by not reading all my favourite blogs each day but I did just have the chance to skim read most of what was written in my absence and I will definitely be going back to reread when I have some more time (hmmm... bring it on!).

Early Birds

2009-09-09T21:11:00.007+10:00

After carting boxes and bags full of our possessions in to the garage ready to drop off at the op shop, we decided to have a garage sale. I was so excited! I've always wanted one but the closest I've ever got was a combined one at my parents-in-law's house about 4 years ago.

I'm not opposed to recycling goods and allowing them to have a second life, which is why I love op-shopping so much and the baby/kids markets. Every few months, I book at stall with my sister and we rid ourselves of some of our kid's excess clothes and toys.

You know what I discovered when planning my garage sale though? I had no idea how serious the dedicated garage sale fanatics are. When placing my ad with the Leader community newspaper and the Herald Sun, I opted to keep my description short and sweet (okay I was too tight to pay for an expensive ad!) so I neglected to write "no early birds". But you know what? I thought that meant if your sale started at 9am, people might come at 8.30am. I soon discovered that "early birds" meant so much more than that.

It began the week before. The Saturday prior the garage sale, I had a man first and then a couple arrive wanting to look through the items for sale and pretending they'd got the date wrong!!
THEN, the week leading up the sale I had another two door knockers requesting to see the goods for sale early and wanting to know what the sale included. I was so busy trying to get my house packed up and the garage sale ready that I ended up putting a sign on my front door asking that people respect that the sale started on Saturday blah blah ... and not to ask to see the items early. Despite this sign on the door I still had a cheeky customer arrive 45 minutes before the sale and ask for a sneaky peak!

Apparently this is quite common. I was still surprised though by the great crowd gathered 15 minutes before the advertised starting time bustling to get in. It was hysterical!

John Romaine from egaragesales wrote a funny article on this very topic. I had such a laugh, I thought I'd post it below.

It usually goes without saying. No matter what you do to prevent people from banging on your door at 5am when you have clearly stated an 8am start, they persist on having absolutely no regard for you, your neighbours or the specified start time displayed within your garage sale ad.

I’m talking about the dreaded early bird.

For anyone that’s held a garage sale, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. You know what time is suitable for you, you state it within your ad, and yet you wake to find people parked across your lawn, lined up on your driveway, hanging off the front gate, some at your door, and others trying to roll the garage door up 3 hours before you’re even ready or had a chance to have a peice of toast and a cuppa.

Whilst the small minority of those who welcome the early bird and see them as a means to make some quick sales and a few dollars straight up, there’s the others who just see them as outright rude, obnoxious, and impatient annoyances. I must admit, I shudder at the thought of being woken up by pesky early birds.

So what can you do to prevent early birds?

Well below are a few suggestions that may help. Whilst these suggestions are totally untested, they may just do the trick and get rid of these annoying people. Worst case scenario they dont, in which case you can always resort to throwing eggs.

The False Start Method

First is the false start method. It works by throwing out your start time marginally. Say you intend on starting at 8am. No doubt you’ll have people ringing on your door bell frantically at 6am whilst you’re still tucked in under the covers. Not good. Okay, so heres a quick thought. Instead of listing your start time as 8am list your start time as 10am. This way you’re more likely to have the early birds show up at 8am – your actual start time! Of course emphasise no early birds in your ad as well. Hey I know, its a long shot, but they may just read it!

The Double Banger Method

Another strategy that works well as a deterrent is the double banger method. Okay I made it up, but it does sound interesting doesn’t it? Well it is! What is it? It simply means that for anyone who may arrive before your start time, that they wont be turned away, but they will be charged double for prices listed on all items. This means that even if they do show up that you will be disturbed earlier than anticipated but you will make a few extra bucks. So in summary, that old toaster you originally had priced at $7 - is now priced at $14 for anyone who shows up before your start time. Cool huh?

The Fortress

My personal favourite and probably one of the most popular. The fortress method is one that can work well, depending upon the actual layout of your home. For this method to be implemented you basically need to be able to restrict access to the property entirely. In a nutshell, the fortress method basically means doing the following to prevent any potential early birds. It’s a little dramatic but can work in your favour – especially if you want to sleep in. To perform the fortress method you need to ,

Draw all curtains and blinds
Lock every possible door and window
Lock and bolt every side gate, roller door and front gate
Turn off any lighting or electrical appliances that may indicate active tenancy. Eg stereos, televisions, and interior lighting
Put a big sign out the front of the property that reads “No Early Birds – Rack Off!”
Release a number of flesh hungry dobermans or rotweilers within the front entrance or yard.
The Secret Squirrel

The secret squirrel is a little unorthodox, however I am told that it has great potential to work. I feel that this one may only be suited for shorter streets within the suburbs. I’m not quite certain that it could work on longer roads, but who knows. If you're desperate for a good sleep in, then its worth a shot, right? The trick with the secret squirrel is to basically advertise your garage sale, showing the start time and suburb, but not the actual number of the residence. This then means that you can open your garage and place your signage on the front footpath exactly when you are ready to start. The early birds can't annoy you if they don't know which house you are right? They can drive up and down the street all day long for all you care. But in the end, you get a peice of mind, and eventually they get their bargains - but when you are ready!

I know this topic makes for an interesting debate, and I'm sure that there are plenty of other ways to prevent early birds, but these are just a few that I am aware of that may just work. Give them a try. As I said, if they dont, well you can always throw eggs.

No, Im kidding....maybe.

Where have I been?

2009-08-28T13:39:00.002+10:00

PACKING, PACKING, PACKING!

We don't move to Thailand until January but we have rented out our house here already and we are going to stay with my inlaws for a few months until we go.

I'm sure this experience will help me write something really inspiring about moving overseas with children ha ha ... I'm just waiting for some inspiration.

Well there's more to go but I'll be back soon!

It will grow back!

2009-08-18T23:01:00.005+10:00

I had long hair for years until the start of 2008.

When I felt ‘normal’ again after baby number 2, I decided to get a “funky mum” hair-do (whatever that is) and get my long locks all cut off (actually I was sick of just tying my hair in a pony-tail every day). So I took the plunge and got it cut and I was really happy with the results.

While pregnant with baby number 3 though, it developed into a bit of a female mullet (I had a fairly painful pregnancy so keeping my short hair well maintained was not my first priority…surviving was! LOL) so I decided that after having baby number 3 that I’d start putting in a bit more effort again and keep it short still with regular trims.

A few months later I felt like I’d started to manage everything a bit more again and I decided I’d attempt pulling off the old ‘pixie’ hair do. I mean if the likes of Winona Ryder, Victoria Beckham and Katie Holmes could do it, surely I could too ha ha!!

This wasn’t too bad but the problem was that after I got sick of that style and asked my husband what I should do next, he replied, “You could grow it long again. I like your hair long”. Soooooo that’s fine, I started the process of growing it out but all those who have done this know that it is a very long and painful period of time. Some days are bearable but others I feel ready to take to my own hair with the scissors in frustration…

… this brings me to yesterday.

So I’m trying my best to set up an activity for my two and a half year old daughter with limited toys/resources (we are currently packing up our house) and I find this whole big box of craft things which I knew she’d love. I watched her as she started gluing this on to that, then colouring a bit, cutting using her ‘big girl’ scissors and then a bit more drawing etc.

I then proceeded in to the lounge room to check on my almost 10 month old who was happily playing with his toys (my 4 year old was at kinder) and I felt a spontaneous “ahhhhh”. All my children were occupied!
Just as quickly as that moment had come though, it disappeared. My daughter came in to the room and as she started talking to me I noticed a big clump of freshly cut hair on the floor!
"Oh no!" I exclaim. "What have you done? Did you cut your own hair?"
My daughter looked at me half proud and half guilt ridden. And then I got up and followed a trail of "hair chunks" all the way back to the craft table!

I am still a little bit too upset to be even writing about this (I start to tear-up when I speak about it) and way too upset to upload the photo I took of the big pile of hair that I found but I just have to keep reminding myself that "It will grow back!"

Mesh Fresh Food Feeder

2009-08-13T13:53:00.004+10:00

I love these mesh fresh food feeders. All my friends know this about me already because I give them out to anyone I know either when they become pregnant or have a baby.
If you haven’t got one, they are FANTASTIC. You can put so many different things inside and your baby (after they’ve started solids) holds it themselves and sucks away.
They can be great after dinner, as a snack or just when they’re teething.
I usually put pear, mandarin pieces, cantaloupe, honeydew, peach or other fruit pieces inside ours but I’ve also used frozen fruit and vegetables too. You could also just put a water ice block in it on a hot day or when your baby is getting teeth. (I don’t recommend banana in them though. It’s hard to clean out the fruit from the mesh).
This morning I pulled out some frozen watermelon that I had in the freezer and despite it being winter, all three children munched away on their cold fruit with great enthusiasm (baby included using his mesh feeder!).
If you get really adventurous you can also do a two-fruit combo! A mix of pear and peach for example!
If you’ve not seen them they are available from supermarkets and places like Baby Target, Toys R Us etc. There’s a couple of different brands out now and they retail for around $6-$8.

Stranger Danger

2009-08-12T19:56:00.009+10:00

This is a message to all the young Indian men that keep door knocking my house at around 5:20pm each night, just when it's starting to get dark.

"Please don't bother anymore... I'm REALLY not going to let you in!"

First of all it was someone asking whether they could please see my last gas bill because just by looking at my it, they could make suggestions on how it could be reduced... "Ummmmm, no!". Then the same thing with the electricity bill a few days later.

Then there's this guy that has tried to sell me his "art" a few times and on top of that; three separate Indian men, in the past fortnight, have come asking if they could come in and change all my light bulbs to energy saving ones for free (do I look like the sort of person that would open my security door and let a stranger in just because they have an energy saving lightbulb in their hand? Besides the fact I already have energy saving light bulbs fitted).

So last night when the door bell rang at 5.15, I just knew it was going to be some salesperson lurking in the shadows of my front entrance way. And again, it was an Indian man... surprise surprise... (I should just say, I have nothing against Indian people by the way- it's just all my unwanted door knockers have been this nationality so far) wanting to look at my electricity account because he thought that my meter had been read twice and that I had been charged double on my last bill.

'This is too good to be true' I thought (especially after my post a week or so ago about my high electricity bill) until the reality of 'Hang on a minute... anything too good to be true usually is' set in. After a fair bit of persistence on his part to convince me to show him my account and a fair bit of questioning on my behalf as to why he needed to see my bill and why couldn't this be done over the phone (and, in my mind I'm wondering where was his uniform, identification badge, how come he was door knocking at night time???) he finally got the message and reluctantly left- glancing back to see two preschool age children blow-fishing the window. Hmmmm nice!

Is this just happening to me? I feel like I am being targeted or something.... or are there others out there having these visitors too?

An award! Who me?

2009-08-09T21:05:00.013+10:00

Okay, so I am still getting used to the fact that a few people are actually reading my blog! Yay! And thanks!
For so long I have kept this blog going for myself as a journal really as well as to store away bits of random information (I have a really bad memory- even before having kids!) and make information available to other mums that I come across who may be searching for a particular topic e.g. potty training or something.
My lovely friend Toni from 'my little suitcase' (previously Modern Day Pioneers) has always been a follower but it's very humbling to think that people that I've never met are actually taking the time to stop by and read what I've written and NOW someone has even given me an award.
Well I definitely do not feel worthy but a huge thank you to Christie Burnett from Childhood 101 who has given me a love token/ award.. you're way too kind! Please visit Christie's site. She offers so many great tips and well researched information. I love reading her blog and I find it really honest and inspiring. As an Early Childhood Teacher, lecturer, writer, consultant AND mum, she has heaps to offer.

A condition of the award is to list seven things about myself. So here I go:

1. I have been a Christian since I was a child. I find it challenging to talk freely about my faith with people who don't believe in God but I'm not really sure why. It's an area of my life that I am constantly trying to improve. I benefit so much from the peace, joy and strength that I draw from God but I guess I get worried that people will start asking me deep theological/ scientific questions that I won't be able to answer. I wish I had answers to all the hard questions. I wish my incredibly small human mind could make sense of the indescribable creator of the universe and that it didn't stretch my faith SO much. But that's not what "faith" is I guess! It's 'the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen'.

2. My first ever job at the tender age of 14 and 9 months was as a salad bar girl at the Ferntree Gully Sizzler. I then went on to have all sorts of jobs including my "claim to fame" -being an extra on shows such as Neighbours and Blue Heelers and my biggest role, being attacked in an episode of Australia's Most Wanted!

3. I am one of 3 children. My sister is my best girlfriend and my brother I saw for the first time in 3 and a half years last Tuesday (that's another story).

4. Prior to having children my husband and I both decided to get braces on our teeth as adults. It was one of the most embarrassing stages of my life (teaching Grade 6 at the time and 80% of the class also had braces!) BUT one of the best decisions that I ever made. I'm really glad I did it.

5. I have had three c-sections. The first one was an emergency and the other two were planned. I felt a bit let down initially after having an emergency caesarian like I'd failed in the whole 'giving birth' department but then I realised just how blessed I was to have a healthy, thriving baby and I decided not to beat myself up about it any more.

6. In January next year my husband and I are moving our family to Thailand. We are going over to support the work of the ZOE Children's Home who are an international Christian organization that rescue children who are sold, or at risk of being sold, into prostitution slavery; orphaned, or victims of other heinous crimes and abuse.
I am so excited about the move and this next stage of life although I will miss our families tremendously. I can't wait to be a part of something so much bigger than myself and having the opportunity to totally turn around the direction of a small child's life. I will write more about this as the move gets closer.

7. I never watch t.v (besides the odd bit of ABC Kids with my children). I turned the television off a number of months ago now and I've never looked back. I don't even know what I'm missing anymore!! Weird I know.

Phew. So now I have to pass on some awards to 7 other bloggers. I've noticed that some of the blogs I love to read have already got awards and I'm not sure about what the rules are on giving more than one, so I'll try to choose blogs that haven't received one yet.

1.Okay so the first award goes to my little suitcase my friend Toni just renamed her blog 'my little suitcase'. Her blog is the keeper of pretty images, thoughts, crafts, recipes and ramblings. She writes from her life experiences as a mum of two, wife and craft extraordinaire.

2.Jessica Dodd As the ZOE Children's Ministry Director in Thailand, she oversees both staff and volunteers, conducts weekly services, creates programs and evangelistic outreaches to children, and coordinates special events such as camps and short term mission’s teams. This girl is truly inspirational!

3.Earth Mum, Caitlin Johnstone, is a mum and web designer from Aspendale, Vic, Australia. The EarthMums blog helps time-poor people act on climate change without being political or extreme. They are just some mums who want to save the planet for their kids.

4. The Green Living Tips blog put together by Michael Bloch gives earth friendly advice for going green, reducing costs, consumption & impact on the environment!

5. Crafting a Green World features do-it-yourself projects that incorporate reused, recycled, and natural materials. Find knitting, sewing, crocheting, and other project ideas for eco-friendly and fashionable clothes, crafts, gifts and more. Lead writer Kelly Rand is an environmentalist by day, and blogger by night. She spends her free time by pursuing crafty endeavors and volunteering for numerous causes. She is an avid knitter and fabric hoarder, whose stash of crafty material threatens to take over her tiny apartment.

6. A friend from back in my high school days has just started a blog called Bec's Cupcake Obsession. It's looking great and I wanted to wish her all the best with her upcoming endeavours! Check it out!

7. Gemma and Pip over at Craft City Melbourne have created a local directory of perfect spots to visit for crafty inspiration. It's the grass-roots low down on Melbourne Craft! Shops where you can buy handmade, craft suppliers, fabric stores, wholesalers who are open to the public, galleries, op-shops, great cafes (for crafty pit-stops!) and other points of interest for crafty people (such as workshops and resource centres). Arranged in Suburb categories, the aim is to make it a pinch to locate hard-to-find stores and crafty secret spots! It's the perfect prelude to a crafty afternoon out, and you won't miss a thing!

So there is my list, if the people above choose to play along, they will need to...

:: Post the logo of the blog love token
:: Thank and link to the person who passed it on to them
:: List seven things about themselves
:: Pass the token on to seven other bloggers (and leave comments on their blogs to let them know they have been loved).

Training Chopsticks

2009-08-09T20:58:00.004+10:00

Sandra at Mumspace posted this cool little video on kid's chopsticks.

As soon as I saw it I laughed because the previous few days my two eldest children (almost 4 and 2.5) had been arguing over whose turn it was to use our one pair of "training" chopsticks as we'd been eating my husband's wonderful homemade noodle dishes.

When my husband got home from work, I showed him the video and we "googled" to find out where to buy some.

We ended up buying some from Training Chopsticks and they arrived within 2 days in the post.

But the best bit was that they sell both left and right handed chopsticks (my son is a lefty). They have been so fantastic and the kids LOVE using them. As you can see by these pictures, even my two and a half year old daughter can manage them with ease.

When I grow up...

2009-08-07T20:00:00.005+10:00

My 2 and a half year old daughter is very much in to sentences that begin with "When I grow up..." at the moment.
Just this week she's wanted to be a doctor when she grows up, a teacher and a mum. She's also been telling me that when she grows up she is going to stay at home and look after me while my husband and son go off to work!
Another obsession is that every morning as I do anything to get ready (wax my legs, put my wet hair in a towel or apply make-up) she asks so sweetly if she can do that when she's a grown-up.
"Can I wax my legs when I'm a grown up...will you buy me the wax?"
"Can I put my hair in a towel on my head when I'm a grown up... will you buy me a towel for my hair?"
Ahhh too funny. I think my life just started feeling a whole lot more glamorous than it really is!! Oh to be a grown up, hey!

I am still getting caught out!

2009-08-07T16:30:00.009+10:00

I saw these fruit bars on special the other day and without so much as a second glance to even read the ingredients (very unlike me) I swooped down and grabbed two boxes. They looked reasonably healthy from the outside but I am so annoyed at myself because I know better than that!
As I unpacked my groceries at home, I suddenly realised my error of not checking the ingredients and quickly started reading the back of the box.
The first thing that stood out to me were the numbers 282 and 202. These are both listed as "nasty" and should be avoided at all times- especially when feeding your children. Here's an example of the effects of 282 (usually found in bread products, crumbs, wraps...muesli bars!) taken from Sue Dengate's website Fed Up

Reactions can be anything from the usual range of food intolerance symptoms: migraine and headaches; gastro-intestinal symptoms including stomach aches, irritable bowel, diarrhoea, urinary urgency, bedwetting; eczema and other itchy skin rashes; nasal congestion (stuffy or runny nose); depression, unexplained tiredness, impairment of memory and concentration, speech delay; tachycardia (fast heart beat); growing pains, loud voice (no volume control); irritability, restlessness, inattention, difficulty settling to sleep, night waking and night terrors.

Why anyone would want to eat anything remotely linked to these symptoms is beyond me. If you haven't downloaded your own wallet sized "nasty list" for your wallet go to the fed up site and look under 'Avoid these Additives'

When I started looking more in depth in to what was in our food, my shopping took me hours but now that I have some "trusted" products that I know are safe to eat, it does take less time. I know myself, when I first began cutting out certain foods that I'd thought were healthy, and then realised they weren't, I thought I'd just change the kid's diet but in time I wanted to eat right too. Now when I eat something (particularly with 220 in it) I pretty much have an asthma attack (I'm not an asthmatic) and I can tell straight away that I've eaten something "nasty". This can be slightly annoying but really in the long run it is far better for my own health not to be eating these things anyway.

For anyone wanting to go down this road and look in to what's really in our food. Here's my advice...

Before you start thinking ‘it’s just all too hard’, take a deep breath and read on...
- Take your wallet sized list of ‘nasty’ food additives with you next time you go shopping and (out of interest) look at the labels and see how many of your foods may contain these toxins.
- Find out exactly what each number stands for e.g. we know 621 is MSG however as consumers have become aware of this manufacturers have found news ways of disguising MSG in foods using other non-regulated ingredients.
- Look for alternative products that contain less or no nasties.
- Approach change gradually. When I looked at the lables in my pantry I suddenly wanted to throw everything out and start again but remember small changes are better than none at all. Start with things like bread (watch out for 282), margarine, cereal, biscuits, juice, lunch meats and cooking sauces.
- Making changes doesn’t mean not having sweets but it means you are educated to make better choices. Choosing a Chocolate Billabong over a Bubblegum Paddlepop avoids several nasty colours. Likewise, Sara Lee French Vanilla icecream has no additives whilst Signature Range Vanilla has six additives.

You can make a huge difference to your intake of additives by just 1) reading information, 2) applying your knowledge, 3) smarter shopping and 4) choosing lower additive products.

A MOTHER'S LOVE

2009-08-04T16:20:00.004+10:00

My mum is so precious to me. Thank you Mum for all you do. This poem is dedicated to you!

A Mother's love is something
that no on can explain,
It is made of deep devotion
and of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish
and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it
or take that love away . . .
It is patient and forgiving
when all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
even though the heart is breaking . . .
It believes beyond believing
when the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty
of the rarest, brightest gems . . .
It is far beyond defining,
it defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret
like the mysteries of creation . . .
A many splendoured miracle
man cannot understand
And another wondrous evidence
of God's tender guiding hand.

~Helen Steiner Rice~

Double Choc Scones

2009-08-03T23:45:00.003+10:00

Oh my goodness, I just made the most delicious double choc scones. They were a total fluke and I don't mean to boast but I think they may've even been nicer than the Baker's Delight ones!
Okay so here's what I did (it was a bit of a made-up recipe so I'm not exactly sure of the measurements- sorry)

Preheat oven (mine's fan-forced) to about 200 degrees
Put about 2 or so cups of SR flour in a bowl
Add about 1/2 to 1 cup of Cadbury drinking chocolate (you could probably use cocoa as an alternative)
About 1/3 cup of cream plus water (maybe 1/2-1 cup... not sure how much I added)
Lots of chocolate chopped up.
Mix it altogether. Flatten out on to floured surface and cut round shapes.

Bake for about 15 minutes. YUM!

Jolly little Jumper

2009-08-03T12:37:00.002+10:00

I borrowed a Jolly Jumper from a friend when I had my older two children, so when baby number 3 came along, I wasn't sure what to do but in the end I decided that it would probably be worth the $50 to buy a new one. Well I could not have been more spot on!

Every day I wonder what life after the Jolly Jumper will mean. My little boy LOVES it! Anywhere between 4.30-6pm (also known as feral hour in our house) I just pop him in and off he goes. Giggling, laughing, squealing and looking very proud of himself. I can not explain it, but it is absolutely hysterical to watch.

Yesterday when I put him in it I realised that life after the Jolly Jumper is about to begin...my nine month old's tummy is almost getting too chubby to strap in and I can't bring myself to check what the maximum weight is. I feel so sad. What will we do?

My little jolly jumper is about to have his first lesson in life about "moving on". I feel like that Jolly Jumper is almost a part of our family now. I'm just not sure how we'll survive without "jumping time" as part of our daily activities- especially since number 3 hasn't begun crawling yet! I keep telling him that sliding backwards and 360s are not classified as crawling but I'm not sure he really cares with two older siblings to bring him his toys.

I don't know how long JJ has left with us but I do know that the days are numbered. I just feel that if I don't start preparing myself for the fact that it will soon be gone, I will definitely not handle it well when it happens.

I wonder why they don't make a size 2 Jolly Jumper... now there could be a real market for that surely. Or is it that babies are usually all crawling by nine months and don't want to be hung from the door frame anymore? I can't remember feeling at such a loss when my other 2 grew out of the JJ in fact, I can't even remember them growing out of it so maybe they lost interest in it before they got too big. Hmmm!

Well anyway, I guess I will just appreciate each day we have left with the Jolly Jumper and cross my fingers that number 3 start using the muscles he's built up from all his jumping to start moving himself forwards soon!

I love planning parties!

2009-08-01T13:28:00.006+10:00

My daughter's 3rd birthday is not until December but I am excitedly planning her party already (and have been for a while).
It's going to be a ladybird themed tea party I think. Here's some of the ideas that I am finding and filing away:

And the baby's name is...

2009-07-31T13:40:00.003+10:00

My friends chose to name their baby Mabel, meaning 'lovable'. How cute! I must say it does sound nicer than Caramel Latte LOL!!

Confession time...

2009-07-31T13:34:00.004+10:00

I must admit I had become a bit addicted to using my clothes dryer lately for at least the socks and undies. With the clothes line all the way down in the cold and wet backyard, the thought of pegging out 25,000 pairs of socks and jocks every few days only to just miss the opportunity to bring them in and they get all wet again, just hasn't encouraged me to use my line during winter.

But... when I just received my electricity bill in the mail on Monday, I felt a mixture of guilt, sadness and responsibility. Guilt for the environment's sake, sadness at how high the bill was (our most expensive one EVER) and responsibility knowing that I could probably be using the clotheshorse more often.

So since Monday (I know it hasn't been very long yet) I haven't so much as touched the dryer. I have looked at it longingly many times, but I have refused to use it. Let's see if my persistent personality can stick to this one. I've made a deal with myself not to use it until the next bill comes and see what a difference it makes. It does take longer to peg all those itty bitty socks and underpants on the clotheshorse but it's a price I'm prepared to pay. I only have to remember back to how I felt when I opened up that bill!

I've also heard that clothes last much longer when they are not dried in the dryer too so that's a bonus. Apparently the dryer destroys the rubber elastic in socks and underwear, causes pilling on your clothes and all that lint in left in the dryer is the result of the fibers being rubbed thin. I guess there's also the risk of clothes shrinking too.

Can you tell I'm still trying to convince myself?

Well I guess I'd better go and start my pegging. My lounge room is starting to look like a Chinese laundry!

Naming your child

2009-07-30T16:30:00.003+10:00

My friend just had a baby which is yet to be named. This got me thinking (over my cappuccino this morning) that if I had my three kids all over, I would choose names all related to coffee. I know this sounds funny but I mean first of all how good is coffee? And second of all other people always have "themes" for their children's names like some people have all the names starting with the same first letter (Aiden, Asha, Amy) or all flower names (Jasmine, Rose, Violet) or what about names like MIlo, Apple and other such food related words?
So I think if you're reading this and you are yet to start a family and think of your children's names, you should seriously consider something original like naming them Caramel Latte, Mocha, Baby-cino or Macchiato. Not only will your child have a cool one-of-a-kind name, it will also grow up being treated like a movie star and be a constant reminder of the wonderful tasting substance known as coffee. Yum!

Creations

2009-07-30T15:53:00.004+10:00

Congratulations to my wonderful friend Sarah. Sarah popped out a beautiful 9 pound baby girl on Sunday. Your third child will be such a wonderful addition to your already delightful family Sarah. Well done!

The week before the birth, I was trying to decide on a present for the upcoming arrival and it was really difficult. My friend already has a boy and a girl so whilst new clothes are always nice to have, I wanted to think of something extra special and meaningful too. Well I am still waiting for inspiration BUT in the meantime I decided to make a homemade present for the older two children who will be going through a big adjustment having a new baby in the home and having to share their mum even more than usual.

For Sarah's daughter (almost 4) I made a pretty pink bag of bean bags to throw and catch. I thought this might be a good activity to do while she was waiting for her mum to change a nappy or finish feeding. On each beanbag I sewed a letter (from her name) so that as she learns the alphabet she can identify the letters. Then once she begins to learn how to spell, she can arrange the letters in the right order. She can also see if there are any other words that she could make with the letters of her name.

For Sarah's son (almost 2) I made some friendly little beanbag creatures... they kind of look like mice I think. I sewed a little bag to keep his new friends in and hopefully they will develop a personality of their own and even get a name!

I'm not naturally good at make things but I do so love to. I hope the children enjoy these beanbags as much as I did creating them.

Good job again Sarah. I'm looking forward to a big cuddle with your little one.