Image by sfllaw

Only 3 weeks to go now! This week’s step in the Christmas Preparation Plan is an easy task. I have found that in the lead up to Christmas, the children really do enter into the spirit of giving and are very co-operative when it comes to rationalising their toys and donating some to charity.

We have one large games/toy cupboard in the older boys room and take everything out and then sort into the standard piles:

We aim to have consensus on what we do with each item. Sometimes the older two children forget that although the game is “babyish” for them, they have 2 (and another one to come) siblings for whom it would be age appropriate.

At the boy’s school this week they have also started their “non perishables” drive. There is a challenge amongst the classes to see who can collect the most cans of food or other non perishable food to go to the Vinnie’s Christmas Appeal. It is amazing how into this challenge that the children get, I have to make sure they aren’t raiding the cupboards when I am not looking!

It is however a great time to point out to the children how lucky we are. We have a great home, a good car, plenty of food, clothing, toys and lots of love. There are others around us who have very little in comparison and we need to play a part in looking after those who are less fortunate than our selves.

Technorati Tags: charity, christmas, giving

Well our weekend didn’t quite go as planned and there was a lot of vomiting from the children and then time spent fixing issues with the blog, so we didn’t get around to making them. We did however have time today and had lots of fun making Christmas Paper Chains.

I can remember enjoying making these as a child myself and we have made them the last few years with the children. Little Rascal actually reminded me that he wanted to do them again this year in November, so they had all been looking forward to this.

They are a very simple and fun Christmas Decoration that you can make with the children. Here is how we made ours:

(1). What you will need.

(2). Cutting Up Strips

So the children could do as much as this as possible themselves, I initially cut up 25cm widths of the wrapping paper. For the younger children then I roughly marked out lines at 3.5 cm intervals on the precut widths. The older children did this themselves. These lines gave them a rough guide as to where to cut.

(3). Stapling the links

The children formed their first strip into a loop and stapled it together to make the first link in the chain. Then for the next links, the children threaded the paper strip through the existing link and then stapled the strip to make the next link in the chain.

(4). Hang them up.

We have our Christmas Tree set up in one room which is not the main family area, so we chose to hang the Children’s Christmas Paper Chains in the family area to make it look more “Christmassy”

Technorati Tags: Children's Activities, Christmas Decorations, Paper Chain

There is always so much great stuff to read in the blogoshpere. I haven’t been able to spend as much time commenting on other people’s blogs as I would have liked over the last six weeks, but I have still been reading.

Here are some of my favourites from November:

(1). Creative Activity for Families: Scavenger Hunts
A gorgeous and creative idea for the whole family to participate in!

(2). Proof There Really is Nothing Good on Kids’ TV
Discussion on a recent study that found only 13 percent of the programming labeled by the networks as “educational” was found to have real educational value.

(3). Stop Taking The Small Things for Granted
A personal reflection on how important it is to be aware of how much we really do have.

(4). It’s Not Savings Unless You Save It
A clever reminder on what it really means to save, in a time of many sales.

(5). Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah…
From someone who loves a chat and can go on a bit, a succinct post on how you can improve you communication by taking out all the “blahs”.

(6). Too Many Toys
Written by Prof Elkind (author of the fabulous The Hurried Child) this is a great post on how many toys today do not encourage imagination or creativity from children, but are simply of the “watch me” variety which are merely entertaining.

(7). Mommy Blogging: It’s not Just Unicorns and Roses
Why there’s nothing wrong with being a “mommy blogger”!

(8). Construct your own ‘Top 10 Must Follow’ List as it relates to your own Niche
A great resource (that you can add to if you want) to find people to follow on Twitter - if you are that way inclined!

(9). Be Heard. Speak Plainly.
Concise post on why “If it’s important at all, it deserves to be expressed clearly and plainly, so that anyone can understand it.”

(10). Cartoon: Partial Text RSS Feeds
A funny post on the frustrations that Partial Text RSS feeds cause some readers.

What did you enjoy in November?

Technorati Tags: blogs, November

1. Dai frutteti di Carassai, 2. Cherries, 3. Cucumbers, 4. DSC_0032.JPG

We are really enjoying the in season fruit and veg at our house at the moment. Stone fruits like apricots and cherries are not lasting very long in the fridge as the children snack on them. I am also loving the crispness of the veg for summer salads, with veg like celery, capsicum, cucumber and iceberg lettuce. Naturally the meals for this week’s menu plan contain lots of these!

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:
apricot, banana, berries - gooseberry - loganberry - raspberry - strawberry, cherry, currants - black currant - red currant, lemon, lychee, mango, melon - honeydew - rockmelon - watermelon, orange - valencia, passionfruit, pineapples - smooth - rough leaf, rambutan, starfruit.

Vegetables:
asparagus, avocado - hass, beans - green - snake, capsicum, celery, choko, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, onion - salad - spring, peas - green - snow - sugar snap, radish, squash, sweetcorn, tomato, watercress, zucchini, zucchini flowers.

Now here is family menu plan for the week:

Monday: Spaghetti Alla Matriciana

Baking: Chocolate Balls

Tuesday: Beef Stir Fry with Asian Greens

Wednesday: Sausages and Salad

Thursday: Left Overs

Friday: Baked Penne With Bacon

Saturday: Tacos

Sunday: BBQ at Kinder Christmas Party

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

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

Image by Gaetan Lee

Back in February in “Planning To Let Go, One Step At A Time” I wrote about how I was preparing myself and my eldest son for him to be able to walk to and from school on his own.

Researching the subject came up with the age of 10, to be appropriate for a child to be able to walk safely by himself.

Kids aged under 10 years are particularly vulnerable because they’re small - they don’t have the fleet-of-foot nimbleness that many older adults have and can’t get out of the way so easily if they get in trouble. They are less good at judging the distance of a car and how fast it is travelling; and their peripheral vision - the ability to ’see things out of the corner of their eye’ - isn’t as good as an adult’s. So children under the age of 10 shouldn’t be crossing the road without an adult.

Source: ABC Health and Wellbeing

Well yesterday Thinker turned 10 and as promised and prepared for, he walked home from school by himself. I was nervous and he was very eager and incredibly proud of himself when he arrived safely home.

Little Rascal was a little miffed at not being allowed to walk home with his older brother, but I feel that to have him as well would be too much responsibility at this stage. Also Thinker had to wait until he was 10 to do this, so he also needs time to have this as something that just he can do.

We will continue to walk to school together in the mornings. I actually really enjoy this time as it is a really nice part of our day together. I share the school pick ups with another family, so Rascal will still be being picked up at the end of the day and Thinker said:

“I will walk home everyday, unless I break my leg or something like that.”

Happy 10th Birthday beautiful boy and congratulations on being so independent and responsible.

Technorati Tags: children, walking to school

This week’s activity as part of the Christmas Preparation Plan is Christmas Decorations. We don’t actually put up our tree or any decorations until 1st Dec, so this week is all about me getting everything organised. In reality this means fossicking through the attic to find them!

It was very easy to make and looks so effective as a table centre piece. As we had more than one table on the day, I had this large centre piece and a couple of smaller ones for the smaller tables.

I simply found in the garden some old branches that were about a metre in length. I then waited for them to dry out thoroughly (a number of days). Once dry, I laid them on newspaper outside on the grass and sprayed them with metallic silver paint and let them dry.

I then arranged them in a large vase and added the appropriate colour themed Christmas baubles.

Image by Storeyland

This will be the first year that we have put fairy lights up around our house for Christmas. The reason it is the first year, is because I have personally found it difficult to rationalise the use of electricity, with the on flowing carbon emissions for such a purpose.

However this year we have purchased Solar Powered Fairy Lights! We bought them a couple of weeks ago on sale at ALDI. You probably can’t find them there now, but you can try:

The Environment Shop - online shopping. Scroll towards the end of the page to see their range.

Dick Smith Electronics - in store currently.

I will post later this week with some home made decorations that the children and I are working on. When do you start putting up all your Christmas decorations?

Technorati Tags: christmas planning, decorations

In November I posted a list of activities also, and I thought I would share with you a couple of the children’s activities that we participated in:

Family Classic Kids - Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
I was a little worried that my older two boys (9 & 7) would find this a little boring, but I was definitely wrong. They were thoroughly entertained for the 45 minute session. There are a couple of actors who help take the children through the different components of an orchestra and how music can tell a story.

The actors were funny and the setting is quite intimate, so the children felt quite part of the show. Apologies for the lack of detail in the photo, but photography was not permitted during the show and Mr I managed to snap this at the end for me.

Tot Spot: Outside Art - NGV International
I have only just come across this activity recently and the session we attended on Monday morning was the last for the year. Possum really enjoyed herself and we spent a lot of time over the remainder of Monday talking about what we had seen and what she and Babaganouski had made.

The plan was to tour the Sculpture Garden and then sit outside and make our own sculpture. Melbourne’s weather however was unseasonably cold and windy, so we did the tour and then went back into the Great Hall and the children made sculptures there.

The above photo shows the work of Babaganouski on the left and Possum on the right. Babaganouski would have been quite happy to have sat and cut up straws for the whole session, he loved the sound that they made when he cut them with the scissors.

During the discussion of the sculptures, the instructor always started by asking the children what they thought each one was, encouraging participation from all children. She then explained to the children what the sculptor said it was, what materials they were made of and how they were made.

Next year Tot Spot art sessions will be run on the last Monday and Thursday of every month.

What have you and the kids been up to?

Technorati Tags: Children's Activities, Melbourne

(1). NGV International - Family Day: The Cricket and the Dragon
Date: 7 December 2008
Time: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Cost: Free
Location: 180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne

To be held in the Grollo Equisit Gardens and Great Hall to celebrate The cricket and the dragon: Animals in Asian Art, a special exhibition for children. Artist Tom Ripon will be sculpting a large baby elephant from wire mesh, KITA Performing Arts Company will be on at 11am when they present Tricky Tales a performance based around three traditional stories from Korea, China and Indonesia. Children will have an opportunity to paint an animal picture and make an origami jumping frog from 12noon.

(2). Homeless World Cup
Date: 1 - 7 December 2008
Time: Lunchtime until early evening
Cost: Free
Location: Federation Square and Birrarung Marr, Melbourne

This should be amazing and it is the first time it has been held in Melbourne. If you haven’t heard of this before here is a description from their website:

The Homeless World Cup is an annual, international football tournament, uniting teams of people who are homeless and excluded to take a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country and change their lives forever. It has triggered and supports grass roots football projects in over 60 nations working with over 25,000 homeless and excluded people throughout the year.

In Melbourne across the week there will be over 400 matches, 56 international teams, each match lasts 15 minutes. There is no reserved seating, so you can just turn up and see some great street football action.

(3). Christmas in the City
Date: 1 - 30 December 2008
Time: All day
Cost: Free
Location: City Of Melbourne

The Myer Christmas Windows are part of Christmas in the City Of Melbourne. Each year the windows of this department store are decorated with a Christmas theme, which is always visually entertaining for children (and adults).

Whilst in the city you can also check out the Nativity Wall.

This striking display features a message of hope and joy in the heart of the City of Christmas, through a contemporary calligraphic interpretation of a traditional nativity scene. A blessing ceremony, held on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day, Friday 5 December at 10.15am will be marked by traditional carols sung by a choir.

(4). State Library of Victoria - Sparky Stories: Digital workshop for kids
Date: 7 & 14 December 2008
Time: 10am - 12pm
Cost: Free, but booking required.
Location: 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne

Aimed for children aged 5 to 12, each child can create a digital picture-book, complete with illustrations and their own narration.

(5). ACMI - Animated Kid’s Christmas Classics
Date: Mon 15 - Sat 20 Dec & Mon 22 - Wed 24 Dec 2008
Location: Federation Square, Melbourne

A number of movies being shown including - The Snowman & Mickey’s Christmas Carol.

(6). Art Play - Homage à Picasso
Date: 20 December 2008
Time: 1pm - 3pm
Cost: $20 and booking required.
Location: Birrarung Marr, Melbourne

Artist Edna Primoratz will teach the children about some of Picasso’s finest works before leading them through the creative process to help paint their own portrait on a plate to take home.

(7). Carols by Candlelight
Date: Various
Time: Various
Cost: Local tend to be free.
Location: Various locations around Melbourne

The link above is to the biggest Carols by Candlelight in Melbourne, we however will be going to our local and much much smaller version. Check with your local council to see when your Carols by Candlelight is on, some are very early in December.

(8). Lysterfield Park - Open Water Learning Experience
Date: 1 - 5 December 2008
Cost: $5 per child
Location: Lysterfield Park - approx 40kms east of Melbourne.

The Open Water Learning Experience (OWLE) is part of the state governments ‘Play It Safe By The Water’ campaign offering fun and educational activities that provide students with a practical approach to familiarising themselves with open water environments. With a major emphasis on water safety the program teaches and empowers students to use potentially lifesaving skills.

(9). Raspberry Picking
Raspberry picking starts in December, with the season beginning to peak late December. There are many pick your own berry farms around an hour away from Melbourne. Here are just a couple that would provide a fun family outing for the day:

(10). Wave Pool
Being summer, water activities are always a great way to enjoy time with the children. My children love wave pools and we have spent many hours in the water having fun. In Melbourne you can try the wave pools at:

Technorati Tags: Children's Activities, December, Melbourne

Image by blair christensen

Each week I aim to bake a treat for the school lunch boxes. This week I am making on request White Chocolate Chip Muffins. This is such an easy muffin recipe to make that my children can actually do it by themselves. It does help that we have been making this muffin recipe for years, but it is very simple and very tasty.

This easy muffin recipe is also very versatile and can provide a base for many other tyoes of muffins, for example:

I have also included the recipe as a word document further down in the menu plan; this makes it easier to print it out if you want to add it to your recipe collection.

White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups self raising flour
½ - ¾ cup caster sugar (I think it was actually ¾ but I always reduce it to about ½ cup)
¾ cup milk
½ cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
1 cup white choc chips (if large chips chop roughly first)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees
2. Sift flour and sugar into a bowl. Mix and make a well in the middle.
3. In a separate bowl mix the remaining ingredients (except choc chips).
4. Pour the liquid ingredients into well and mix with a wooden spoon. Muffins are best when made quickly and not over mixed.
5. Add choc chips and mix lightly through.
6. Spoon into well greased muffin pans or patty pans in muffin tray
7. Cooking time depends on the size and oven, but 12 -15 minutes is about average for the standard patty pan size.

Here is the shopping list for this week’s menu plan: 081124 Family Weekly Menu Plan Shopping List

And here is this week’s menu plan:

Monday: Pasta Bake

Baking: White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Tuesday: Left Overs

Wednesday: Pasta Carbonara

Thursday: Marinated Steak and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Friday: Sausages and Salad

Saturday: BBQ

Sunday: Chicken Schnitzel and Steamed Vegetables

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

Technorati Tags: easy muffin recipe, family friendly meals, menu plan

It is certainly an interesting time to be reading this book, given the current financial crisis. Growth Fetish was first published in 2003. The basic premise of the book is that the constant mantra of economic growth over the last few decades has not led to a better or happier society.

Clive Hamilton argues that, far from being the answer to our problems, growth fetishism and the marketing society lie at the heart of our social ills. They have corrupted our social priorities and political structures, and have created a profound sense of alienation among young and old.

This book is not an easy read, but it definitely worth the effort. I am only a quarter of the way through it and it has challenged me to think about very personal issues like “What makes me contented?” and “What choices am I making with my consumption patterns?”.

I have a Business degree, so studied economics and like subjects during my time at university. The below explanation of the working of capitalism is the best that I have read.

Modern consumer capitalism will flourish as long as what people desire out paces what they have. It is thus vital to the reproduction of the system that individuals are constantly made to feel dissatisfied with what they have. The irony of this should not be missed: while economic growth is said to be the process whereby people’s wants are satisfied so that they become happier - and economics is defined as the study of how scarce resources are best used to maximise welfare - in reality economic growth can be sustained only as long as people remain discontented. Economic growth does not create happiness: unhappiness sustains economic growth.

Now that the state of economies around the world have fallen off the growth cycle, it will be interesting to see how society changes along with the economy. Economic growth did not bring the happiness that it promised - increased obesity, increased depression and suicide rates show this. What will the economic downturn bring?

Technorati Tags: consumerism, economic growth