Dinner time torture

The dinner time table has been getting our of hand.

It seems like recently every meal time I am stressed, shouting and nearly ready to walk out the door.

What on earth is going on!!

The kids say they are hungry at 5pm and when dinner is ready at 6pm they struggle to eat it and they haven't had anything to eat since 3.30pm. I can't understand it. Are they so hungry they aren't hungry anymore? They take nearly 45 minutes then to eat and pick at their food, moving it around the plate like it's on holiday. Little Miss likes to leave the table at least three or four times, forgetting that she should be eating and B seems to find endless amusement in a pen, paperclip or rubber band that happens to be on the table to play with, instead of concentrating on his dinner. Little Miss forgets to use a fork and thinks its okay to use her fingers and B will throw anything he thinks is "disgusting" off his plate onto Little Miss's. But one of the most frustrating things is that once B is finally tucked up in bed he creeps up stairs to announce, "I'm hungry." Let me tell you his declaration is not received very well.

I have always believed that we should eat together every night as a family. It may be wrong, but I also use bribery to encourage my kids to eat their greens. They get a sweet treat, like a banana lolly or chocolate frog, if they eat some of everything on their plates. We also frequently take our kids to cafes so they 'get' the whole table manners thing. And I try to make food fun with silly food faces. But with this kind of carry on I'm considering making two meals each night so that my husband and I can actually enjoy a meal.

Out of sheer frustration I decided we should have some explicit rules for dinner time. I asked the kids what they thought the rules should be and I was completely shocked by their answers.

1. No throwing food
2. No kicking under the table (people or table)
3. No shouting at the table or arguing including 'talk back'
4. No rocking on the chairs
5. No leaving table without a reasonable excuse
6. Use cutlery (unless its finger food)
7. Keep food on your plate and eat off your plate
8. No toys or playing at the table
9. No feet on the table


Now they just need to stick to them.

Ever wondered how pencils are made?

Little Miss and B were fascinated to watch this short film to find out how pencils are made.

Thanks to my nephew for sharing.

On Show

When I was a little girl the high points of the year were Christmas, my birthday and the Royal Show. Luckily for me these anticipated events were spaced out quite nicely over the year, with never more than four months wait before the fun started again.

However the Royal Show was my absolute favourite. For some reason my birthday, my special day, grew a bit uncomfortable for me. As a child I wasn't happy in the limelight and hated that the day never really met my unrealistic expectations. I didn't really like everyone looking at me, and I was confronted with presents telling of how people didn't know me very well.

Christmas was of course fantastic, it had its own special build up, starting with a wish and a stir of Mum's Christmas pudding. The shop displays would cheer on the festivities, then the pageant would mark the arrival of Santa in the magic cave. And like the lucky children we were, there would be lots of presents, lots of family and lots of food on the day.

However the expectation or journey of Christmas, like opening the advent calendar one window at a time was often more enjoyable to my child self than the day itself. People didn't always behave like you would expect at Christmas, maybe it was the stress of it all, or the alcohol consumed, but that one day of indulgence, like the rise and fall of a roller coaster was fun, but strangely nauseating.

The Royal Show on the other hand always met my expectations. My mum would have a carefully laid out plan that lead us through the show grounds like search and rescue personnel, never missing an attraction. But the absolute best thing about the show was hearing the word "Yes". My Mum used to have some favourite sayings to ease back the pain of saying "No" to me. Her favourite was, "Not today Josephine", which I hated. To abate my thirst or hunger while out, I would hear, "When you get home" and when it came to presents, to ease my anxiety to know what they contained she would always say, "All secrets will be revealed." But at the show there were no secrets, there were plenty of pit stops at the CWA cafe and Mum used to say "Yes" all day long.

So with the Royal Show in town all I wanted to do was say, "Yes" to B and Little Miss, just like my Mum. Yes to the rides, yes to the show bags, yes to hot donuts and yes to looking at whatever they wanted to see. In lieu of big birthday parties this year the show was the carrot, and we did eat.

Little Miss watched her idol fairies perform


B fell slid from a titanic height, just for fun.

We saw and touched pigs, horses, rabbits, dogs and TV watching cows.

Ate hot donuts


Went on the Ferris wheel

Drove a fire engine


Gave out free hugs

And smiled and laughed a lot.

Until it was finally time to go home. 

I asked Little Miss what she thought of the Show and she said, "It was so awesome, I just wanted to shout hooray!"

I tried to ask B the same question but he was distracted by his Army show bag. To our horror it contained not one but four toy guns. He asked me, "Which one of these guns is more powerful?"

I said, "I don't know about guns, except that they kill people."

To which B replied, "How come you told me about snail guns then."

After I stopped laughing I managed to say, "I think you might mean slug guns."

The Royal Adelaide show is on the second week of September every year at the Wayville show grounds on Goodwood Road.

Food Face #10

Frank and Furt came over after school to play the other day. They didn't hang around long though, but they did make everyone smile.

Its okay

Its okay that he runs when I want him to walk.

Its okay that he never listens and is distracted by everything around him.

Its okay that he eats loudly and never closes his mouth.

Its okay his room is a mess and his stuff litters the house.

Its okay that he has emptied a bottle of conditioner in the bath and used three towels to dry.

Its okay that he calls Little Miss "Pisster" then pushes in front of her.

Its even okay when he says he doesn't like me anymore and that I am "Mean Mum."

And its probably even okay that he leaves urine in the toilet and sometimes number 2s.

Why?

Because he is my living, breathing, healthy, happy child and I love him unconditionally.

Baby steps

Just yesterday it seemed I was breast feeding my little baby every morning in bed with me, changing her heavy night nappy for a fresh one and facing a new day with my sleep deprived eyes. I would gently stroke her baby curls with a super fine hairbrush and she would never be more than a step away from me.

But all that has changed. That little baby girl has slowly but surely grown up. Small achievements have manifest together to shape a grown up girl. From those first independent movements rolling over, sitting up, then her style of commando crawling, Little Miss has been very busy, while we were all looking at screens she has been on a mission to become independent. Be it putting food in her own mouth to putting on her own socks and shoes to coordinating her legs to skip run and even dance...

Manipulating scissors successfully to cut, holding a pencil that can draw something we all recognise...

Very importantly now she can communicate effortlessly her demands desires and needs. Knowing herself and her mind, "I want to wear a pink dress with long selves" she tells me.

Did I turn my back and not notice these changes? No I didn't, I foolishly celebrated every milestone and was reassured by her development. Every one of her tiny achievements over years gradually brings her to independence, and then my job is done. This mothering job rudely interrupts your own life yet fulfils your heart. Slowly you get little pieces of your own life back, but that comes at the expense of letting go and your heart is liable to break.

Little Miss has started Kindergarten. Off she goes, eager to make friends and absorb whatever she can about the world. And I have to set her on her way and encourage her steps away from me.

Heart themed party

For her fourth birthday celebration Little Miss thought heart decorations would be nice. Since we plan on taking the kids to the show this year we didn't plan on having a big party, but that didn't stop Little Miss from having some big plans for her party decorations.

We agreed on pink, green and red as colours for the party since I had plenty of craft material in those colours. I initially just thought about cutting out hearts and stringing them up, but the internet provided so much inspiration and B and Little Miss were so eager to help that our decoration plans got a bit more extravagant. She wanted lots of hearts, big and small ones, all over the house and everywhere.

I found this great origami heart instructional video.

Since it was a child teaching the technique I got B making hearts for me and he did a great job.


We made hanging hearts by sewing the orgami hearts together with ribbon and weighted them down with a wooden bead.

Little Miss coloured in the paper and cut out strips so I could staple these hearts together to make a chain of hearts.



To make a garland I cut out red felt hearts and sewed them with green origami hearts and strung it up over the table. The origami hearts looked so good I also folded the table napkins into hearts as well.

Add some helium balloons, food, lots of lollies, birthday cake and family and you've got yourself a party.

Four

According to Little Miss turning four means you are a big girl.

Today that important change is occurring. I can no longer call Little Miss a little girl. She is a big brave bold four year old. Lets take a look at what she is really into right now.

Little Miss loves to dance and has a very keen ear for music. Ballet lessons are really enjoyed and we consider her to be the absolute best dancer in the class.

She loves to sing away to herself and her dolls. Little Miss can remember a song when she has heard it only once. If she has trouble getting to sleep at night, she can often be heard singing a quiet lullaby to herself. When this happens I am most pleased and very moved.

Pink, purple and rainbow are Little Miss's favourite colours. Lasagne and chocolate are her favourite foods. Lollies are not really enjoyed, but chocolate, particularly white chocolate is devoured and desired at any time.

We often enjoy a visit to a cafe and Little Miss likes to have a bubbachinno with a pink marshmallow. If ordering food "Pasta" is always chosen and very well eaten up.

Little Miss believes that fairies are real. Being real is important to her right now and I am often asked if the Wiggles, Little pony, monsters, bed bugs or unicorns are real. I can't help but get philosophical with my answers stating that if she thinks they are real then they might be, but B dosent like to think that fairies are real, unless its the tooth fairy with some money for him.

Little Miss really loves her brother. She looks up to B like no one else. B is the master of all wonders for Little Miss, he is by far her most favourite play thing. Not a day goes by when I don't hear Little Miss say "Where is Blakey? I need my Blakey."

Barbie has become a new friend to Little Miss and I hope this strong sexy female will be a good role model for my daughter. I have to admit I bought her a Doctor Barbie for her birthday, but her dress is still very short and her shoes are most uncomfortable looking.

Little Miss loves to draw. She can draw all kinds of animals and they are recognisable species. Her artistic skills may have been overshadowed in the past, by her big brother. However she is really coming into her own now and she seems most pleased with herself.

If Little Miss should get upset for any reason (but mostly as I have asked her to pack up a mess) her tears and general unhappiness can be cured by a cuddle. The cuddle cure is often needed at the most inappropriate times, like when the mess needs to be dealt with, but I am more than happy to cuddle a big girl and I hope that my cuddles will be effective for a long time yet as they also do me the world of good. At bedtime she must have "something to cuddle" and she usually picks a pink fluffy toy of some type, but she does not have a particular toy, preferring to spread the love.

Being four to Little Miss means that she will no longer have a milky at night time. A milk before bed has been a lifetime tradition for her in one shape or another from boob, bottle to sippy cup, so it is a momentous occasion for her to let go of this habit, showing great determination to grow up.

For four very short years we have been so blessed to have Little Miss as part of our family. Everyday she delights us with her antics. When I look at my big girl I can't believe that I helped create this wondrous person. It is a joy to watch her grow up and share these precious childhood days with her.

Happy 4th Birthday Little Miss.

Biscuit maths

As much as I hate to admit it, I am one of those people who takes a look at the heavily discounted items in the supermarket. You know the shelves in the back corner that have the dented cans, returned items, yesterday's bread or discontinued stock. I have rarely bought anything, but the bargain hunter in me has to have a look, just in case. Well the other day, while I was there just checking, I came across some very interesting biscuits.

These biscuits were not broken into crumbs, or past their use by date so I put them in the trolley. Best of all these treats were chocolate flavoured, reduced to $2 and were in the shape of numbers.

Yeah I thought.
Isn't amazing how the simple things in life can make you so happy.

So one day after school I broke open the pack and got B and Little Miss munching their minds on these mathematical flavoured treats.

When I opened the pack I was overjoyed to see little plus, minus  and equal symbols as well as all the numbers including zero in the pack. I decided to set up some sums with the answer hidden under a cup. The kids would be allowed to eat the biscuits if they got the sums right.

For Little Miss I made the sums easy and offered her some numbers to recognise.

For B I made the sums appropriate to his age.

B worked hard for his treats.

And really enjoyed them, all at once.


I also had some fun with these biscuits, offering up age related treats to my Dad and husband. But it would seem that men can be difficult to amuse and a little bit age sensitive.

Learning

I have this expectation that B and Little Miss are learning everyday. Its just what they do. They are naturally inquisitive and questioning like all children. They learn in lots of different ways, with play, formal lessons at school, mistakes they make, natural consequences of their actions, and also just by being the sponges they are, observing and absorbing the world around them.

But B and Little Miss are also learning through what I do, not just what I say. (This is a scary thought). So if I expect them to be always learning, shouldn't I show them that I can learn something new too?

Well yes! Of course. So what do I want to learn?




Crocheting.

Crochet might make you think of your Granny, or unreliable bathers at the beach, but I am really loving all these hand made goodies available on Etsy...


Flower embellishments from here

Blanket from here

Chicks from here

My Mum taught me how to knit a long time ago so crocheting can't be much harder than that. Can it?
With thanks to YouTube and the many generous people who have videoed themselves crocheting. I have started to learn. It is quite fiddly to begin with, but I have learned it's easier to use a large needle and thick yarn as a beginner.

I started out really wanting to make some flowers as hair ties for Little Miss. But my attempts at flowers didn't go so well, I never ended up with the right amount of petals. Then I bought a larger hook at Big W for about $2.50 and found a very simple hat pattern on YouTube. I must have watched and paused that video a hundred times. And B and Little Miss kept coming into see if I had made anything yet.

Once I got the hang of the stitches this hat was done in a couple of hours. (Thanks to B and Little Miss's Dad who gave me some child free time) I also finally mastered some flowers through lots of trial and error.

As I needed buttons for the flower centre we searched and rescued some from the bottom of our meager sewing kit. Then I had a small revelation, suddenly a button collection seemed very important to me. I can remember visiting my Granny and playing with her button collection. It was kept in an old lolly tin. I would spread out all the buttons on the floor and arrange them into colours and sizes, often loosing them in her heavily patterned carpet. So many memories, smells and sensations came flooding back to me as I watched B and Little Miss get excited and engaged by our own misplaced buttons, bought together at last to become their own collection of memory makers. Did you know that buttons really rock?

Learning something new is a wonderful path to take, opening new and old doors along the way. I love being able to make something that Little Miss can wear, it feels all very warm and fuzzy inside.

But now B wants me to crochet him something Army!