A bit of creative fun

Recently I came across a great, cheap crafty idea that I thought my little girls particularly would enjoy. Of course, since the big girls have seen it, they are also keen to give it a go. It used common kitchen ingredients and required very little set up. So, the next time I was babysitting, I thought I would give it a test run with the kids. Let's just say it was a huge success. Master 4, Miss 2 and of course, Josie-rabbit, had a ball. Check it out for yourself.

Ingredients required: bicarb soda, vinegar and food colouring. You will also need a reasonable size dish (I used glass), a medicine dropper (I purchased a couple of small droppers at the chemist for about $3 each) and a few dishes for different coloured vinegars (I used ramekins).

Pour a layer of bicarb soda in the bottom of the dish. Add food colouring to several small dishes of vinegar. Use the medicine dropper to draw up the vinegar and then squirt it on to the soda to form patterns. The soda will bubble up when the vinegar is dropped onto it which is fun for the kids to watch too.

Suffice to say, the kids enjoyed this activity and it kept them occupied for ages. Great for their fine motor skills and colour recognition too. We also talked about what colours you can make when you mix the colours together. And as for the clean up, wash it down the sink with a jug of boiling water and you can clean your drains at the same time. Nothing like multi-tasking!

Sponge Cake with Sprinkles

This is a family favourite. My mum made this for my sister and I when we were growing up. My girls (and David) love it too. Quick to make and delicious, my recommendation is that you double the mix and make a large cake (use a lamington tray) because you will find that it disappears very quickly. (This one went so fast that I didn't get a chance to snap a picture before they started eating it!)

SPONGE CAKE WITH SPRINKLES
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
vanilla essence
1/2 cup milk
4oz margarine

Melt butter. Mix all ingredients and then add melted butter. Cook at 180'C for about 40 minutes.

To make icing: melt 1 tablespoon of butter (or margarine) in 2 tablespoons of boiling water. Add to 1 cup of icing sugar. Then add sprinkles.

Rebecca proclaimed "I'm in cake heaven" as she was enjoying her cake when I made it just a few days ago. I hope your family likes it just as much.

Keeping the kids entertained when you're out

I decided to have the night off last night … from cooking that is. We took the girls out to La Porchetta’s for dinner. And even better than having the night off from cooking, is having the night off from doing the dishes!

But taking our 4 girls out to dinner requires some preparation in the entertainment department. We learnt very early on in our parenting journey that a meal out is a much more pleasant experience when the girls are entertained while they are waiting for their meals to arrive (or waiting for the adults to finish). So for years we have toted along colouring and activity books and pencil cases to keep them distracted. Tonight, however, we, or rather I (David sometimes takes a bit of convincing) had a brilliant idea and it took up a whole lot less room in my handbag.

While we waited for our meals to arrive, instead of distracting the girls, we spent time talking to them but with a bit of help from some great little cards … conversation starters. These help you to chat about more than just “how was your day?” but ask questions that make you think or laugh  and are just a bit of fun … and the kids love them. Tonight we chatted about the most beautiful place we had ever visited, what we keep under our beds (Spiders was Rebecca’s surprising answer!), our favourite food, the best present you could ever receive (animals featured heavily – there was mention of puppies and ponies!) and nicknames we have had. Not only did it give us a few giggles while we were passing the time, but everyone was able to contribute including Josie who is only 2 ½.

I have recently come across this great website that has lists of conversation starters you can download. http://debbiehodge.com/2012/03/keep-a-5-year-journal-progress-to-date-and-prompts-for-april/  Who knows, you may just find out something you didn’t know and you are bound to at least get a few laughs.

Gaining back control

Life is crazy busy and sometimes that means that things get more out of control than I would like. It is usually a combination of factors that contribute and this time, it was having a weekend away, feeling a little under the weather (probably due to lack of sleep), various appointments and lots of projects with deadlines that made me feel like my head was spinning and my house look like a medium size tornado had just gone through. I am never productive when everything is in such a mess so I needed some serious intervention. Just so you know I am not over-exaggerating, here is the evidence of my disarray.

I'm sure you recognise my messes ... overflowing laundry hamper, dirty dishes, heaps of clean washing to be folded and sorted, paper piles and assorted clutter on my kitchen bench. I am a little alarmed about actually sharing these photos with you but this is what real life looks like sometimes for our family of six.

So, here are my best tips for righting my house and alleviating the stress that this kind of mess causes me.

Tip #1: Put on my runners. That might seem like an odd first step but it does really help. It was a tip I picked up from www.FlyLady.net . (This is a fabulous website with great tips for streamlining your home and your life.) It helps me to focus on working rather than being distracted with other things.

Tip #2: Start with the kitchen ... a clean sink without dirty dishes makes me smile (and looks better if you have unexpected company)

Tip #3: Tackle the washing and laundry. I have a secret ... I love doing the washing. It is one of those jobs that gives a large return for a small investment of time. And even more so now that I have my new super-sized washing machine. I can catch up in just a couple of loads.

Tip #4: Beat the timer. I love a deadline to spur me on so I set my timer for 10 or 15 minutes per room and then try to beat it. (Works for kids too who are reluctant to spend time cleaning their rooms or tidying up common areas).

So after a busy few hours (including Bejewelled breaks - you need a reward when you are working hard), my house it back to rights and I have a clear head to tackle the next project. It's all good.

M & Ms Cookies

OK, after several requests, here is my recipe for M & Ms Cookies. It's another quick and easy one (my favourites these days) and it makes 4 dozen cookies. Enjoy!

1 1/4 cups brown sugar
185gm butter
1 tspn vanilla essence
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups plain flour
180gm M & Ms
1 tspn baking soda

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease baking trays. Cream together butter and sugar until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in sifted flour and soda. Add M & Ms. Roll into balls by teaspoon mixture. Bake until light brown (approx 10 - 12 minutes).

Note: I'm a big fan of cooking in bulk and cookies are no exception. Most cookie doughs freeze really well, so make one batch and freeze a second, ready for easy cookies another day (great for mornings when you realise you have nothing to put in the kids lunchboxes!)

Everyday displays of love

I had the luxury of a weekend away with the girls scrapbooking just last week. There were 60 of us and we had a fabulous time creating and relaxing. One of the projects that I worked on was creating these everyday displays of love for my girls. I like to leave post-it notes around the house for them. The girls love to find these notes and they keep them for ages. The difficulty is knowing where to leave them so they won't be overlooked. Well, this is my solution. The plan is to display these little boards in the hallway where they will see them all the time. The boards have a peg where I can pin up notes for each of them. It might be a quick note or an inspiring quote or even a drawing - whatever I can fit on a post-it note. Just another way to say "I love you" really.

Pen Pals

I am always looking for new ways to connect with my girls. When you have a big family it can be difficult to always give each of your children the one on one time and attention they crave. I recently came across a great idea for my big girls ... we are going to be pen pals. I can't begin to tell you how excited my girls are about this; they were literally squealing with excitment when I introduced the idea to them. It was an idea that came from www.mama-jenn.blogspot.com/2010/11/mama-me-journal.html. I bought each of the girls a gorgeous hardcover notebook and then I wrote them a letter (the letter was a copy of the one I found on this site).

Both of them received the same letter which said ...

Dear Megan/Alison, Would you like to be my pen pal? Instead of mailing letters to each other, we can keep them here in this notebook. Does that sound like fun? I will write to you and then leave the notebook on your bed. Then, when you want to write back, you can begin writing on the next page and leave the notebook on my bed when you are done. You can write about anything! It can be funny or serious. Just write about whatever is on your mind. I am so excited and I hope that you are too! This is going to be fun. Something special just for the two of us to share. Love Mum xxx PS Write back soon.

I took the girls out to Gloria Jean's together for our favourite beverage ... white hot chocolate. (If you haven't tried it, do yourself a favour. It is so much better than regular hot chocolate.) Then I gave them their notebooks and I watched the smiles spread all the way across their faces to their sparkling eyes. Ali asked if I had a pen then and there to reply! I convinced them to wait until they got home to write me back. They did make one additional request ... that we hide the journals under each others pillows rather than just put them on the bed. This will avoid drawing the little girls attention to them (especially our youngest artist!) and it makes it a bit more secretive which appeals to them both.

Later that night, I found my first two letters. I won't share them here because they are just between us but the girls did give me permission to share a little of what they wrote.

Megan ... "This is going to be the best thing ever.....This way I can tell you things that I won't tell other people."

Alison ... "I love having a diary just between you and me. This is going to be great ... Write back soon."

And now I must go because I have two letters to write to my beautiful girls. Xx