New (Financial) Years Resolution

The 1st of July is the beginning of the New Financial (Tax) Year in Australia so I have been thinking about a few New Years Resolutions. I could include helping Bub learn to sleep-through (perhaps just setting myself up for failure here) or helping Junior finally relinquish the night time security nappy. Junior gave up daytime nappies six months ago but is not keen on giving up the night time one - I think it is a bit too cold for getting up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet at the moment.

However, inspired by Zooarcheologists sewing suggestions I have decided on a much more personal and outstanding task to make my New Years Resolution. It is this .... to finish the patchwork quilt I began many years ago, pre-babies when I had a life which prevented me spending much time at home where I could be doing things such as craft. Given that Junior goes to daycare a couple of days a week, so I only have Bub at home, I really have no excuse for not getting the sewing machine out and finishing it off. Preferably before I return to work or I will never get it finished.

I guess my problem is that I'm just not as gifted in the craftiness department as many of my fellow mummy bloggers and perhaps I was a bit ambitious choosing a quilt for my first patchwork project but I was enticed by the lovely fabrics and my best fiends urging that it would be very easy. My friend is an experienced quilter and obviously much more motivated as she has completed at least half a dozen full size quilts plus numerous other sewing projects in the years it has taken me to almost complete one quilt top.
So now I have shared my resolution with the blogging world I had better get the sewing machine out and get quilting ... hopefully I will be able to show you some photos of the completed quilt in the not too distant future. Wish me luck.

Everybody is doing it...

Hubby's doing it
Junior's doing it
even Bub is doing it quite a bit (if not for all that long at anyone time)

Everyone else in our house seems to be able to get enough sleep but me... sigh! On that note I think I'm off to bed - Sweet dreams.

Saturday science

Inspired by Juniors interest in our first science experiment, tonight before the bath we decided to try a sink or float experiment. Junior and I gathered a few items for around the house and discussed whether we though they would float or sink.

Then we tried them out in his bath. He was very enthusiastic about having some alternate bath toys and was able to discuss afterwards which ones sunk or floated. We might try some other "objects" another night.

Experimental procedure
Results
Discussion

Baking again

This week for our playdate visitors we tried a recipes for Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies which I found on MommyCoddles blog about baking with kids. I think the recipe could do with a few more ingredients (next time I will try brown sugar and perhaps add 1/4 cup of flour) but it is incredibly simple and Junior loves them.

Preparation
Ingredients
Results
The taste test.

Ahoy there me hearties

Last weekend I had a morning off to get my haircut and hubby entertained the boys for the morning. No housework was done and no morning tea was prepared but they all had a whale of a time playing pirates. Junior had a pirate party for his 3rd birthday last month and obviously the novelty hasn't warn off yet. There was plenty of fishing, treasure hunting and swabbing the decks. Here are few pics .....

All aboard the HMAS Aussie

Captain Bub
First Mate Junior
Defending the treasure chest

.... I think I should leave hubby to entertain them more often!

What Bub is doing at the moment

Yesterday Bub turned six months old and he is definitely a very busy boy at the moment. He is trying to do everything at once, although none of them all that successfully yet but it won't be long. He is;

enjoying solid food - especially the organic pumpkin from Grandma's garden ...
shoving absolutely everthing in his mouth - I think there are teeth on the way ...
trying to sit up and doing well until he gets distracted by a toy .....
despiritely trying to get moving but keeps going backward and ends up jammed under the sofa...
and
grabbing everything he can lay his little hand on including this camera which is in his face all the time.

Science experiments

A couple of weeks ago I was reading the Let's Explore website where the author metioned their regular "Sunday night science" sessions and, coming from a science background, I thought that would be something nice to try with Junior. Earlier this week I came across Paper and Cloth's volcano experiment and I decided this would be a good first experiment for Junior. Here are a few pics of my budding young scientist.

Materials - bicard soda, vinegar and a little dishwashing liquid

Methods - put the vinegar and dishwahsing liquid in a jar - then add bicarb

Results - lots of foaming, fizzing bubbles ....
.... which Junior seemed to enjoy

This is a little experiment I was aware of but had never thought of doing with the kids. Being a wanabe ecomum I know that the fizzy bicarb and vinigar combo also works great for cleaning bathrooms, toilet and kitchens as well so perhaps next time the "science experiment" can take the form of cleaning the bathroom! Well I can always live in hope. Its just a shame my chemistry knowledge isn't so good because I was having a hard time explaining to junior why this raction takes place.

If anyone has any other good ideas or links to similar sites please let me know. I would like to continue the "science lessons" while Junior is still keen!

It's raining again....

So we are baking again. Today it is choc chip cookies - a special request from Junior. Still warm from the oven with a glass of milk for afternoon tea. Just have to remember to save some for our playdate visitors tomorrow.
Yes they did pass the taste test!

How our house has changed in 3 short years

It amazes me how much our life and our house has changed in the three years since our first child was born. I seem to be continuously drowning in "stuff" and no matter how hard I try the house never seems to get completely tidy anymore. A friend who has two similar aged boys mentioned that "at the end of the day, once the kids are asleep, she puts the house back together" - I know exactly what she means.

This week I walked around our house to examine the kiddy impact and was amazed to discover that only one room (our bedroom) remains relativley kid stuff free although first thing in the morning it is often invaded by the kids themselves! The playroom is obviously the most overloaded, it looks a little like an explosion in a plastics factory, but it often spills over into the rest of the house as well. I'm dredding the day we discover that red, yellow, green and blue toy plastics are all highly toxic and our house will be declared a no-go zone for years to come.

The stuff isn't just restricted to the toys though - there is all the other kiddy related material that we are all told we just can't possibly do without and it keeps growing and growning. Here is a quick photo tour to show you what I mean.

The nursery

The front door (whatever happened to a nice welcome mat?)Juniors roomThe playroom (which was once a nice lounge)What was once a pleasant outdoor entertaining area

The bathroom

it goes on and on.......

Perhaps one day hubby and I may be able to reclaim our home but in the meantime I continue to battle to keep all this "stuff" in check.

Fish and Chips at the Beach

Well it is the end of yet another weekend, and despite both bub and I having a cold (don't even mention Swine Flue) which has resulted in much night waking on his part and very little sleep for both of us, I can still say it have been a very pleasant couple of days. It is officially winter here but you wouldn't have thought so during the past two days - cool at night but lovely sunny days. So much so that on Saturday evening I was relieved of my usual cooking duties and we rugged up and headed down to the beach for fish and chips in the playground and to watch the sunset.

Today hubby took Junior on the train to Fremantle (anything to do with trains is a hit with Junior at the moment) where they spent a nice morning before Bub and I caught up with them for lunch. Again some winter sunshine and the chance to get out of cooking duties was a real plus for me. Just a shame the weekend has to come to and end and it is back to the usual weekly madness again tomorrow. sigh!

Rainy day baking

Winter has finally arrived in sunny WA so this week I have been inspired to bake with the assistance of Junior cook. We made some mini muffins but he seemed to loose interest once the choc chips had gone in the mix but was happy to help me test them once they came out of the oven.

Not exactly the most healthy option but hopefully it will get him interested in cooking at an early age and the theory is he will be more likely to try food he has helped cook himself. We will wait and see.

Thanks to Kids Craft Weekly for providing the link to this yummy recipe for Coconut, Chocolate and Bannana mini muffins. Yes they were yummy.

What Junior is saying at the moment!

Recently hubby was talking to a friend about their two year old son and they were wondering if his language development was on track. They inquired what Junior was saying at two. This got both hubby and I thinking and we really couldn't remember so we dug out a video from his second birthday. My things have changed! He had quite a good vocabulary and was stringing a few good sentences together but you really have to listen to understand what he is saying.

12 months on and we can't shut him up (not even at night to get him to go to sleep). So I thought I would jot down a few of the things he is saying at the moment - just as a little reminder for me in the future. Here are a few favorite quotes at the moment ...

• "Are you alright now mummy?" usually asked a few minutes after I have told him off for something
• "Can I watch a (another) DVD" a favorite ever since hubby put a Winnie the Pooh movie on for him when he woke up too early one weekend! He has already learned the effectiveness of pester power on his father
• "Do you want to come into the cubby and have a cup of tea?" The new cubby he got for his birthday is a big favorite at the moment but he likes to share it with someone else.
• "Can I have some chocolate ..... please?" We are still recovering from Easter and Junior seems to think that chocolate is a perfectly good option for breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, supper or for a snack in-between. He must have some of my genes in him!
• "Fluff and stuff", "Cinders and ashes", "Blistering barnacles" etc.... we are trying to encourage some alternatives to "Sh*t" and "Bug**r" which he seems to have pick up from somewhere.... can't think where?
• He also says "Cool" and "Wow" a lot with much enthusiasm which I'm sure was uttered repeatedly when hubby took him to a miniature railway show yesterday!

I could go on but I think you get the idea.