When they make you proud

You have got to love it when you find out your children are trying very hard at school.  Of course I expect it of them but to be acknowledged is another thing.  The end of the school term is here and both McKenzie and Andre made great achievements.I am proud because they have been trying their hardest.  What more can a parent ask for?

Andre was acknowledged for his achievements at the schools activeathon. (No wonder all he could do that evening was lie on the floor and watch TV)

McKenzies award was for being studen of the term in her year group.

Monday Menu 27 June

Monday   meatloaf, baked potatoe and salad

Tuesday   curried chickpea and potato patties with salad

Wednesday   fajita

Thursday   crock pot - apricot chicken (my own recipe)

Friday   pizza

Saturday   Italian beef and lentil soup

Sunday   leftovers

Puppets

Still on the theme of those gloves I have a new idea for you....Finger puppets.

You will need:
one pen or marker
one glove
scissors

Now cut the fingers off the glove

Then do what comes naturally, draw on the fingers.

and finally the puppet modelled not by my key target, Hayden but McKenzie because he was too busy chasing cats outside.

I find this really useful for entertainment naturally but also talking about the things that are going to happen or have been happening to Hayden.  He loves it when he is control of a puppet or two and I have one too.  He tries to tell how the puppet is feeling this way giving me a little insight to how things are looking from his point of view.

In Costume for School

My children found out on Tuesday that they needed to come dressed to school in historical costume.  That is not easy for me as I am not so good with this kind of idea.

Andre was easy...a pirate.  Infact most of the boys in class came dressed with the same idea so.  We looked up the names of  a famous pirate and off Black Beard went to school very happy.

As for McKenzie this was a far greater challenge.  Luckily we had the leftovers of a white sheet, gold fabric bags that the curtains came in when they were made in Hong Kong and black tights to work with.

So I dragged this out of the tall cupboard down the hallway. ( I have tested the black and white function on the camera).

This antique works and probably is almost as old as me (and I am not an antique).  Oh and yes I can use it.

Anyway after working all week and finally getting the idea together in my head I got to making a Knights outfit.  Very basic with no pattern.

I sewed around the children having dinner at the table

(Note to self....lucky I had hair cut and coloured just the evening before)

So here is the Knight.  Not very creative but one very happy daughter.

My post would not be complete without a photo of the pirate.

Next week I need to create a Grecian Girl.  Wish me luck.

Wordless Wednesday 23 June

An active photo for todays shot.

Jokes

I have been encouraging laughter in our house by telling jokes.   I like the whole idea that laugher releases all the positive endorphins.  So I actively went out and encoraged my two able children to tell jokes daily....in fact right at the end of the day before they went to bed.  I supplied each of them a little cheap joke book I found and now each day they spend time telling these jokes to me and even trying to make up their own.  The breakfast table is a time to make up jokes their own jokes.

Anyway to cut a long story short Hayden suddenly pipes up at the Breakfast table on Sunday with joke with the pregnant pause and all.  We all had a great laugh.  Now we have started something new where jokes are happening at the breakfast table and everyone is waiting for Hayden to tell his one joke and then what new retort that he has come up with.

Haydens joke...

Hayden....Why did the chicken cross the road?

Me ....Why did the chicken cross the road Hayden?

Hayden.....Because he wanted to play.......

This is the page I made about just this topic.

The credits can be found  here at Weeds and Wildflowers

Monday Menu 22 June

I am tired so the next two weeks are going to be meals very easy to achieve.

Monday  Spaghetti Bolignaise

Tuesday Noodly Dinner

Wednesday  Pumpkin Soup  I dont use parsnip in the recipe

Thursday  Frozen crockpot meal

Friday  Homemade Hamburgers

Saturday meatloaf, baked potato and salad

Sunday  Leftovers

The Latex Glove

I write thinking how lucky I have been this week because it was a close call as to whether Hayden needed to go to hospital as he has been vomiting every morning since Monday.  Vomiting for Hayden leads easily and quickly to deyhdration and then hospital because IV fluids are needed for rehydration in the volume he would have required.  Thankfully today he seemed over It, (whatever It might have been) and we have moved beyond the alert.

So I am prompted to start simple. in my hosipital entertainment posts.  I sure might have needed these few ideas had Hayden not shown improvement.

The first resources you need are nothing less that the latex gloves that every hospital ward has and a permanent marker.  I keep one in my ready packed hospital bag.

Then you do what comes naturally with these two items.  Draw.  This one I quickly did when we were in at another of the many Consultants appointments at Starship Hospital, that Hayden has.

Hayden loves these.  Sometimes we make birds or monsters.  Sometimes he has the sole control, which an be a little dangerous as permanent markers are water resistent.

Of course the trusty glove can be used for other things.  I am well known for making a cricket ball out of gloves.  This can be so much fun but be warned,  it takes a lot of energy on my part to keep it going if it is a popular choice.

Here is the trusty cricketball.  It is about the size of a tennis ball and hard as concret but way too dangerous for any hospital ward.  My version is much more fun. 

Take your glove and put a little water in it.  Now this is not an exact science but if you put enough water to fill the fingers up to the knuckles and tie a water tight knot you will be ready to have fun.  The water gives the glove ball direction and unpredictabiliy. 

Now here is what to do:

1.  Give it a spin.  Look at that stretch and then the delight on your childs face.

2.  Bowl it.  It works just fine.

3.  If you tie the knots in the fingers and thumb then it looks great when it is thrown.  You might even need to stand the corridor to bowl that ball.

All in all this can be very infectious especially on those days when your child is bed ridden but feeling a little better and acting twice as bad as when they were at their worst.

I will try and take some more photos tomorrow to add to this.

In the mean time I hope that you don't need these ideas anytime soon. 

Project 365

I was not sure if this year I would be able to commit to this project.  Unfortunately my computer failed in January and I thought that I had lost everything especially as my EHD failed at the same time.  So I diligently started taking my photos again so that I would have a year in record.

Luckily my computer was fixed everything was recovered and I still had all my photos.  So a simplified my process and carried on.  Not having posted any of my this years project anywhere necessarily I thought I would back track a little, start with the month of May a give you all a little peek at what we have been up to this year.

All the products come from SS 5 kit  from Weeds and Wildflowers and the templates were also from there.

I did learn somethings last year from completing the process of taking the photos and making the pages. 

1.  My photography improved because I learnt how to use my camera

2.  The little things are worth recording as well as the big events.

3.  The whole family loved seeing the photos and even took the odd photo for me.

4.  The little bits of journalling are vital to the whole story

5.  Not all photos need to be people.

6.  It was fun (and heavy) carrying my camera everywhere. 

I am excitedly looking forward to the printing of my last year pages.  I can't wait to show them all off to everyone.

So I will be back to put up the rest of the months that I have done in the weeks to come.

Wordless Wednesday 16 June

Happy Wordless Wednesday

This is the first view when my sons class when on a trip to the Howick Historical Village.