1. Strawberries, 2. Mangoes, 3. grapefruit, 4. Abacaxi, piña, pineapple

As we head further into spring some of my children’s favourite fruits are starting to come into season - strawberries and mangoes. The mangoes are still on the more expensive end at the market, so it will be a few weeks before we start buying them in multiple amounts.

The following fruits and vegetables listed below are at their best and cheapest this month. These lists are for Australia, but if you live in the UK you can see what’s in season at Eat the Seasons UK and for North America Eat the Seasons US.

Fruits:
berries - strawberry, cumquat, grapefruit - pink - yellow, lemon, loquat, mango, orange - valencia, papaya, pawpaw, Pineapples - smooth - rough leaf, starfruit.

Vegetables:
artichoke, asian greens - bok choy - choy sum - gai laan - wonga bok, asparagus -green - white - purple, avocados - fuerte - hass - sharwill, beans - broad - green, broccoli, choko, cucumber, garlic, lettuce, onions - salad - spring, peas, silverbeet, spinach, watercress.

Now on to the plan!

Monday: Chicken Stir Fry With Seasonal Vegetables

Baking: Chocolate Balls

Tuesday: Fried Rice

Wednesday: Chicken Lasagne

Thursday: Grilled Fish with Asian Greens

Friday: Left Overs

Saturday: Marinated Chicken Wings with Baked Potatoes and Corn

Sunday: Sausages and Salad

For more menu planning ideas head on over to Laura’s place at “I’m an Organizing Junkie“.

Technorati Tags: family friendly food, menu plans, Recipes

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Growing up as a child in the 70s and 80s, traditional dinner fare consisted of meat and three veg. The only pasta we ate was spaghetti bolognaise and there was not a risotto or stir fry in sight.

This week’s menu plan could easily have been one from my own childhood. The children chose all the meals and these are definitely some of their favourites. As I reminisce with my friends about eating meat and three veg as a staple, I often think that my kids in the future will be saying the same of pasta and stir fries!

I would love to hear what was traditional fare in your house growing up!

Here is the family menu plan for the week:

Monday: Tuna Mornay

Tuesday: Chicken Schnitzel and Vegetables

Wednesday: Fried Rice

Thursday: Spaghetti Bolognaise

Friday: Left Overs

Saturday: Porcupine Meatballs

Sunday: Sausage and Vegetables

For more menu planning ideas head on over to Laura’s place at “I’m an Organizing Junkie“.

Technorati Tags: family freindly meals, menu plan, Recipes

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We have two week school holidays now, which both myself and the children have been looking forward to. As such I am planning on enjoying the slower pace and will be keeping the food simple, choosing meals which require minimum effort!

Monday: Baked Penne With Bacon

Baking: 100s Of Biscuits
Fantastic recipe which I picked up from Kate at Picklebums. Baking these with the kids also doubles as a great school holiday activity as well.

Tuesday: Beef Stir Fry with Asian Greens

Wednesday: Grilled Fish and Steamed Vegetables

Thursday: Spicy Chutney Chicken with Mixed Rice

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Saturday: Mexibake

Sunday: Lamb Chops and Salad

For more menu planning ideas head on over to Laura’s place at “I’m an Organizing Junkie“.

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My toddler (Babaganouski) is now showing all the signs of being ready for toilet training. The signs that I have picked up are:

Comes and asks me to change me his nappy when it is wet or soiled.

Can put his own pants on and off.

Tells me he has done a wee or poo.

Wants to stand and do a wee at the toilet with his brothers.

My other three children have all starting using a toilet at different ages, ranging from 2 years old to just before 3 years old. I have waited for not only the child to be ready, but for the timing to be right for me as well.

I have a pretty simple toilet training process that I have used with the other children that I will use again for my toddler. I also go into the toilet training with a flexible attitude - if I have judged the timing wrong, then I will be prepared to pull back if it looks like it is not working.

The toilet training process that I follow is like this:

- Give the toddler some warning that we are going to stop wearing nappies soon and use a toilet.

- Allow the toddler to have some time sitting on the toilet (we have one of those seats with steps that sits on the toilet) when they want to, so they can get used to how it feels.

- Start the first day wearing underpants and only use nappies for sleep time from that point on.

- Ensure that we have a few consecutive days when we are at home a lot or in an environment where it will be okay if there are accidents.

- Ask the toddler regularly if they need to wee or poo.

- Keep a closer eye on toddler, looking for signs that they need to use the toilet.

- Endure a number of days of cleaning up wee and poo mishaps until it comes together for them.

Using this toilet training process I have found success within the week. Of course there is occasional accidents (especially when they are engrossed in an interesting activity) and times I will still need to remind the toddler to go to the toilet, but I have found they once they are free of nappies, they tend to get the process relatively quickly.

I am waiting until we start school holidays (Friday) before I start toilet training our toddler. Knowing that I was going to be revisiting this process, it was with great interest that I read an extract from Professor Joshua Gans new book “Parentonomics: An Economist Dad’s Parenting Experience“. The extract from Jans was published in the Sunday Life magazine from The Sunday Age. It detailed his experience of toilet training his little girl.

When Gans and his partner started the toilet training process, they immediately used jelly beans as “incentives. One for “number ones” and two for “number twos”. This worked for a while but eventually they needed to increase the incentive to chocolate frogs. Once this had happened they then found that their daughter had worked out how to manipulate the system (lots of frequent small toilet sessions) to increase her incentive intake. In the end they ceased using rewards and Gans concluded:

“the management process was painful and I can’t prove whether this wouldn’t have all happened of its own accord anyway, without rewards.”

I do have a business background in both theory and practice (which all seems so very long ago now!) and found it interesting that a Professor of Economics would overlook the importance of intrinsic vs extrinsic motivators in human behaviour.

When Mr I was completing his Masters in Business, he studied in detail concepts of motivating behaviour. When I starting to read about intrinsic motivation in parenting articles, we found it amusing how we were effectively studying the same aspects of human behaviour, just on very different age scales. I think using extrinsic motivators on any age group can be detrimental to the original aim and needs to be considered carefully before being initiated.

What has been your experience with toilet training your toddler and do you have any tips for success?

Postscript: I have just proof read this post and can’t quite believe that I have written a post that contains the words poo and wee so many times!

Technorati Tags: rewards, toddler, toilet training

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Over numerous years of birthdays and other occasions that require a cake as part of the celebration, I have noticed how much cake children waste. My children (mainly the younger ones), will often do no more than lick the icing and then hand the cake to me! I do love cake, but there is only so much that I can eat.

One year I tried out serving an ice cream cake in cones instead of a traditional cake, and found that there was far less wastage and my children loved it. As such an ice cream cake of some description has become the most requested cake for family celebrations.

The first time I made an ice cream cake, I originally made it per the instructions I found in a magazine, for a dinner party. The key ingredients were ice cream, Maltesers and frozen raspberries. The cake was absolutely delicious, but not maximum kid friendly. I have since used honeycomb, freckles, clinkers instead to combine in the ice cream and they all go down a treat with the kids. But the universal winner with both adults and kids is the honeycomb ice cream cake.

Ingredients:

2 litres good quality ice cream (Home brands etc tend not to refreeze as well, or you could be completely conscientious and make your own ice cream! I use Cadbury Full Cream Vanilla.)

2 x 250 grams Chocolate coated honeycomb. (I do use home brand for this and have found it to taste just as good in the cake.)

Cling Wrap

20cm or 25cm Spring form cake tin

Instructions:

(1). Remove ice cream from freezer and place into a large bowl. Cut up into chunks, to aid mixing. I like to rinse the container and keep it to store any leftover cake that there maybe airtight back in the freezer.

(2). Place approx 300grams of the honeycomb (you can vary this depending on how much flavour you want in the cake and how many chunks you would like on top of the cake.)

(3). Using a rolling pin or like item, crush the honey comb into small chunks.

(4). Cut remaining honeycomb into half and set aside.

(5). Line the spring form tin with cling wrap. Make sure that the entire inside of the tin is lined with cling wrap, to allow for the cake to be easily removed. I have made the cake in both a 20cm tin and 25cm tin and both work well. The cake in these photos was made in a 25cm tin.

(6). Add crushed honeycomb to ice cream and mix thoroughly.

(7). Pour ice cream mixture into lined spring form tin and smooth out.

(8). Decorate the top of the cake with remaining honeycomb.

(9). Carefully cover all of the cake with cling wrap to ensure that ice doesn’t form on top of the cake when it refreezes.

(10). Place tin in the freezer for at least four hours. I generally make this one day or more in advance, which is another reason why I love this cake. It can be in the freezer a number of days before you need it and still taste great.

(11). Remove from freezer when cake is required, undo spring form and peel back cling wrap. The 20cm will be a little harder to serve than the 25cm because of its thickness, so if you are wanting to cut the 20cm cake into nice slices, then remove it 10 minutes (weather dependent of course!) or so before you wish to cut it.

(12). Enjoy your cake! For children’s parties I generally serve in ice cream cones, but it can easily be cut into slices and served on plates/bowls.

Technorati Tags: children's cake, honeycomb, ice cream cake, Recipes

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As I mentioned in my last monthly review in order to achieve everything I want to before Christmas, I needed to create a short term plan.

Below is the top 10 things that I want to achieve before Christmas. There is actually a secondary list with things like taking the family raspberry picking, jam making, reorganising the children’s artwork, cleaning the venetian blinds and so on.

I made the decision to limit myself to 10 key tasks because I think any more and I will never achieve my goal of getting to bed by 10.30pm. I prioritised the tasks based on their necessity (and my desire to do them!), so in a rough order this what I hope to complete in the next few months.

(1). Wardrobe Reshuffles
That is out with the winter clothes (most of them) and any clothes too small and in with any of the clothes from last year’s summer that still fit.

(2). Clothing Purchases
Thinker will definitely need new clothes for the warmer weather. I have bought some clothes at sales earlier this year for Possum, so I think she will be okay. I will go through the clothes in storage to see if there are any gaps in summer wear for Babaganouski and Little Rascal.

(3). Toy Reshuffle
I rotate the children’s toys that we have on display every few months and it is time that this was done again. It will be helpful also to have a clean up and donate session before the new birthday/Christmas presents are upon us.

(4). Children’s Bed Reorganisation
Babaganouski is way overdue for moving out of his cot and into a bed. With the baby coming along we will need to assess how we will set up the rooms and what extra requirements we have.

(5). Christmas Cards
I like to make my own Christmas Cards using a photo of the children as the main artwork. My aim is to have these made by early November this year, as opposed to mid December which has been the case for the last couple of years.

(6). Plan Thinker’s Birthday Celebration
The children only have a “party” every second year and it is a non party year for the Thinker. (For more info on how we decided to celebrate birthdays check out my post on Birthday Party Strategy.) He is still allowed a small celebration with two friends, so he will need to start thinking about how he would like to do this, so I will know how to cater for it.

(7). Plan Possum’s Birthday Party
Possum will have a birthday party this year and as it is so close to Christmas, we need to make sure we organise it well in advance so at least some of her friends will be able to make it during this busy time.

(8). Finalise Christmas Presents
I have been making some hand made gifts and have also purchased a few gifts already for Christmas Presents. My goal is to have my Christmas Shopping completed by the end of November.

(9). Baby Preparation
All the baby clothes, blankets and accessories are in storage in the attic. I will need to collate all the required items and wash up the clothes and blankets, ready for our lovely arrival.

(10). Plan My Contribution To Christmas Day
Christmas this year will be spent with my family in Mildura and for the first time in five years, everyone will be together and which I am really excited about. I want to make sure that I contribute to the day to help make it a special and memorable Christmas for everyone.

Change of seasons is a great time to take stock and establish a plan for the new season. What are you going to be up to?

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We (me and the kids) will only be at home for dinner from Thursday this week. I have taken the children to Mildura for a few days so that we can help celebrate their cousin’s 2nd birthday.

I have created a menu plan for only the days that we are back home. I have supplies for Mr I to cook himself some meals, but the pizza shop on the way home from the train station is sometimes to tempting after a long day at the office!

Here is our short and very basic week:

Thursday: Sausage and Vegetables
The children request this all of the time and I have really gone off sausages during pregnancy. But if I ask for their input, I have to accept what they give me.

Friday: Beef Stir Fry with Asian Greens

Saturday: Chicken Schnitzel and Vegetables
Another request from the children. “We haven’t had that yummy chicken for ages!”

Sunday: Lamb Chops with Potato Au Gratin and Steamed Vegetables

For more menu planning ideas head on over to Laura’s place at “I’m an Organizing Junkie“.

Technorati Tags: family meals, Menu Planning, Recipes

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We had a fair for Possum’s kinder on the week end. There was lots of fun activities for the kids and some great stalls to buy from.

Families were asked to contribute something for the cake stall and Possum wanting to make Tea Cup Biscuits and help me do it. So we spent an hour together on Friday night making these lovely little treats. I have listed below the ingredients and instructions on how to put these together.

Ingredients:

1 packet Tic Toc Biscuits
250 grams Marshmallows
1 packet Freckles
2 packets of Musk Lifesavers
1 cup icing sugar
water

Makes 26 Tea Cups.

Step 1

Mix icing sugar and a small amount of water to make a thick paste like texture. Using a small spoon or knife, spread icing on the smallest end of the marshmallow.

Step 2

Place marshmallow in the middle of the biscuit and press down lightly.

Step 3

Spread icing on to the flat side of the freckle.

Step 4

Place freckle on top of marshmallow and press lightly.

Step 5

Cut a life saver in half. I find it easiest to use a small knife and start with one side only. (I also go through and do the full packets at once.)

Step 6

Spread icing on each end of the halved life saver.

Step 7

Place handle on to the side of the marshmallow. (Sometimes you need to hold it for little to bit to make sure it adheres properly.)

Step 8

You then have your finished product!

Tip: I make a bit of a process of it and go through and do each step for the entire batch, for example, stick all the marshmallows on, then all the freckles and so on. We actually made nearly two packets worth this time.

Technorati Tags: Children's Activities, fair, tea cup biscuits

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I am in week three into the 30 Day Challenge now and feeling a little tired. This combined with having visitors staying for Mon and Tue night (family of six) means that I will be keeping things very simple this week to try and make my life a little less busy.

Monday: Fettuccine Carbonara, Baked Penne With Bacon and Spaghetti Bolognaise.
As well as our visitors, we are having another family for dinner as well. I will be able to make most of these fully or wholly in advance, so hopefully I will enjoy some of the dinner myself.

Baking: White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Tuesday: Fried Rice and Chicken Wings

Wednesday:Beef Curry

Thursday: Porcupine Meatballs (Carried over from last week.)

Friday: Left Overs

Saturday: Nachos

Sunday: Sausage and Seasonal Vegetables

For more menu planning ideas head on over to Laura’s place at “I’m an Organizing Junkie“.

Technorati Tags: family friendly food, Menu Planning, Recipes

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It is the start of a new month, so time to receive some inspiration for meals by which vegetables and fruit are in season.

The following fruits and vegetables listed below are at their best and cheapest this month. These lists are for Australia, but if you live in the UK you can see what’s in season at Eat the Seasons UK and for North America Eat the Seasons US.

Fruits:
pples - fuji - lady williams - sundowner, cumquat, custard apple, grapefruit - yellow - pink, lemons, limes, mandarins - ellendale - imperial - murcot, nashi, oranges - blood - navel, pawpaw, pineapple - smooth leaf, pomelo, rhubarb, tangelo.

Vegetables:
asian greens - bok choy - choy sum - gai laan - wonga bok, avocados - fuerte - hass - sharwill, beetroot, broccoli, brussels sprout, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, fennel, garlic, ginger, horseradish, jerusalem artichoke, kohlrabi, leeks, okra, olives, onions, parsnip, potato, pumpkin, shallot, silverbeet, spinach, swede, sweet potato, turnip, witlof.

Now on to the plan!

Monday: Spaghetti alla Matriciana

Baking: Pikelets

Tuesday: Risotto Napoletana

Wednesday:Beef Stir Fry with Asian Greens

Thursday: Left Overs

Friday: Home Made Fish and Chips

Saturday: Chicken Schnitzel and Seasonal Vegetables

Sunday: Beef Stroganoff

For more menu planning ideas head on over to Laura’s place at “I’m an Organizing Junkie“.

Technorati Tags: family food, Menu Planning, Recipes, seasonal fruit, seasonal vegetables

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