'You've had a good day son....'

This was a good week....

Because...
... we had roast lamb for dinner.
... eventually people stopped throwing up.
... nobody threw up on a hard to clean major furniture item.
... in the end only two people ever threw up.
... we didn't run out of sheets and towels.
... we had a very quiet week at home.
... we made lots of lego and got the Lego Heroes all sorted to useability.
... because of exams Kieran was around to help a bit.
... Kieran felt like his exams went better than ok.
... I got some new bookshelves for the playroom.
... being off school recovering meant that we finally got around to getting Will's haircut.
... Les enjoyed watching Maggie Dent speak at Falls Rd.
... we were able to help Cathy out with getting around while she can't drive.
... I didn't have to go to late practice.
... no school runs or school lunches for a week.

"You've had a good day son"  is the punchline of a joke my dad used to tell about a father, his son, a bear won in a side show at a carnival and a Mini Car... it's a great joke and the one liner punchline has stayed with us for a very long time. This weekly post is about being grateful for the little and big things in our lives and celebrating success the grand and everyday kind.

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365 2015 Week 21

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Flora on Friday

On Friday...

... I made a book for each of the boys. It's a field notebook for bird watching. They have been playing a game lately called "Nature Trackers" in the backyard. It involves walking around the yard looking for creatures, birds mostly. They spot them with their 'toilet roll binoculars' and then talk endlessly about them. Will is particularly obsessed with Rainbow Lorikeets- his favourite birds.

So the book has 40 birds that we have spotted in around Perth particularly ones we might see at home.Each page has a place for the boys to note where and where they saw each bird. It also has about 10 pages for notes and sketches of birds not included in volume one. Where possible I have used my own photos of the birds.

 

End page image

 Back Cover on Will's

  Back Cover on Tama's.

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Wordless Wednesday

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This week on the web....

Sarah Hallberg's Ted Talk on reversing diabetes is interesting and well worth a listen.

I loved the look of the book Snail Mail. Julie at Notes on Paper did a review of it here.

Of all the meals that make it hard to eliminate grains and almost impossible to eliminate milk (for the sake of teenage skin) breakfast is the hardest... lots of ideas here.

Teacher Tom is talking about Name Calling. The poster in the comments who wrote about the Baby Bully blew my mind (not in a good way).

Hmmm skipping meals leads to weight gain in mice at least... something else to think about.

I'm wondering what the kids would think of Nori as a wrap?

This one is interesting too- our kids don't really eat fish at all and have only a few other sources of Omega 3.

It's pretty cool that Canadians are looking at leaving fruit juice off their healthy eating guidelines!

I was also interested to see what the connection between gut health and mental health may be... serotonin, mostly made in the gut!

An interesting perspective on the Serial story... the perspective of those behind bars.

We're pretty good about how many toys we have out, but I really wish I had read this before we even had children. 

Vellichor and Sonder? who knew... glad I do now. :-)

Cute Bookmarks.

I'm a bit sad that this blog is no longer maintained but at least I can go back and read the archives now I've discovered it because i ♥ Montessori too. Like this one about unplugging from electronic media.

I'm listening to the Mortified Podcast... funny! You can get it on iTunes.

Also funny is the exchange between Glennon and her daughter's teacher in Foldergate... the first part of the post about going off script makes me thoughtful- it was certainly something I did in Auckland, not so much here.

I also loved Glennon's post on Facebook- about responding... or not.

Wow- French supermarkets will be banned from throwing away or destroying unsold food and must instead donate it to charities or for animal feed, under a law set to crack down on food waste. I think this is awesome and would love to see it happen everywhere.

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Round-up~ May 2015

Enjoying....
Les: Thud Ridge, Game of Thrones
Gypsy: The Burning Room, The Madness of Modern Parenting, Killing Rachel, Stung,  The Crossroads of Should and Must, Greys, Survivor, Good Wife, Love Child, Game of Thrones, Undisclosed and Mortified Podcasts.
Kieran: Jasper Jones, Survivor, Game of Thrones
Merenia: The ANZAC Girls,
Will: Gemstone books, Minecraft book and book about Native Australian animals.
Tama: Library books, especially Dinosaur Books


Well that was fun...
Making plastic bag kites with Matthew and the rest of the Kindy kids.Kieran's First game with the 17's (and the subsequent ones). Will went to Roberts for a sleepover and the went roller-skating and Robert came to ours. Merenia had an excursion to Curtain University. Mental health day for Will including a trip into the city to John Oldham Park. Mother's Day afternoon tea at Kindy. Tama enjoyed painting the big box we got at Kindy in the backyard. The boys enjoyed the big box in general. Will went to Callums Karate Party and on the same day Tama went to his Callum's Birthday Party as well. The boys played a cool game called Nature Trackers. Tama had a Kindy Excursion to Stirk Park. Merenia did her Dance performance at Kalamunda. Les took the boys to Dome for dessert. Lunch at Maccas for me and T with Les. Nadya came for dinner - we got funky Icecream. Les and Merenia went to F3B for the two days of the long weekend. The boys played with Sebastian and Josh and Mitch over the long weekend.

Yum, yum, yum...
Lisa's Carrot Cupcakes (Callum's Mum). The food at the Kindy open day. Chunky chocolate chippies. Vegemite Chocolate and also the Pretzel and Peanut one too.

For you...For me?
Birthday Presents for the Callums,Simpsons Lego Mini Figs, Pj's and Socks for M, Tracksuit pants for the boys. New jeans and Distress Ink for me. A Triceratops for Tama and a Lego Hero for Will. Will got new shoes and graphites in his new shoes. Danes gear for Merenia. I scored a cool shelving unit for my scraproom from the skip bin at the Hospital. New Printer because the old one died. Photobooks for us and Glenys, plus the Nature Tracker Bird Spotting Notebooks.

Bugger!
Tama lost his toenail. Will got some sort of Gastro bug and was out for the day yesterday- poor wee guy.

Hooray!
The 17's won their game against Rockingham. The guy Kieran and I wanted to win won Survivor. I finally sorted the Hockey First Aid kits and Simon got me some Spray on Ice and proper plasters. I completed 4 photo books and a heap of digital LO's. A whole week Hockey Free over the WA day Long weekend.Will earned his silver badge (50 faction tokens since he's been at school).

Etc...
Tama had an appointment with Dr Houliston. I caught up with Salvy to talk about the kids leavers plans. Merenia did lots of Netball Umpiring including a Carnival at Midland. And Kieran has done a bit for Hockey as well. Jayme came over a couple of times and she and Merenia practised their dance. We passed our rental inspection. Tama had a massive sleep in till after 9am one morning- I got Cathy to grab Will on her way to school. I took Kieran to the Doctor as per ADF instructions- he also got his Panel date for Canberra. Will's OT came and watched him at school. Photo day at school. Tama is 101.5cm tall and 19.6kg. Tama and Will are both enjoying H2H. Pam stopped by to update us on her Kitchen Plans. I took myself to the Doctor. Merenia had Yohfest Practice.

Seen and Heard...

Les talking to Will and Tama:
"Don't touch that meat. That's Mum's meat and she's going to want it in the morning. So don't take a bite out of it and don't steal it from the fridge. Don't even think about touching it at all."
Tama whispers to Will:
"We're so going to touch it aren't we!"
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Tama: I 'weally weally' want to have a baby.
Me: I think you're a bit young to have a baby plus you'll need to get married. (I know not strictly true).
Tama: Oh no! I'm weally weally scared of getting married Mum.
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Tama came home from Hook into Hockey and said "Mum I played on the Kalamunda Team for the first time!!"
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I got a reminder on my phone when we were out watching the space station fly across our sky. I told the kids that it was the Doctor calling from the Space Station telling them to wave. Tama said after:
"My favourite part was waving to Mum's Doctor on the Space Station".

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'You've had a good day son....'

This was a good week....

Because...
... Kieran got to run with the ones- and the ones drew their game.
... I got the Hockey photos sorted.
... Pam stopped by to say hello.
... we made chocolate playdough.
... I got new books in the mail.
... I caught up with Suzanne on the phone.
... Will went to the Book Swap Shop.
... I changed the way I scrapbook.
... I made a whole pile of digital pages and am almost 'caught up' for this year.
... I finally got around to making a Doctor's appointment.
... we went to the Library.
... I made a super yummy meatloaf.
... we were offered a couch in better condition than the one we currently have.
... I made the kids some super cool Nature Tracker Notebooks and got them each a pair of binoculars.
... I made 3 more Photobooks to print during the sale.
... I caught up with Brace and Nana.
... Kieran went to Nadya's house.
... Les and Merenia went to F3B.
... Tama and Will played next door with Sebastian.
... Tama and Will got to play with Josh, Mitch and the cat when we went down there to look after them.
... lots of creating this week.

"You've had a good day son"  is the punchline of a joke my dad used to tell about a father, his son, a bear won in a side show at a carnival and a Mini Car... it's a great joke and the one liner punchline has stayed with us for a very long time. This weekly post is about being grateful for the little and big things in our lives and celebrating success the grand and everyday kind.

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365 2015 Week 20

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Flora on Friday

 

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Tama Month 47

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Wordless Wednesday

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This week on the web...

This is pretty cool- real food cut into identical cubes- there are close up shots on the original page. 

I liked this post about Childism (and Adultism too). I'm happy to say I am Childist too.

A healthy Ice-blended coffee (Frap!!) I definitely want to try this sometime soon.

Some thought provoking and funny cartoons about Smart Phones.

I may have shared this page again but it's worth reminding about because Ditch the Carbs Kids lunch and snack resources are awesome!

Teacher Tom's sharing of the concepts of living life horizontally vs. vertically was very interesting- we've been pretty horizontal around here lately... definitely need more vertical in our lives. 

Glennon is at the storyline blog with some great questions for strengthening and deepening relationships.

Huff Posts article on the impact of technology on children was interesting if somewhat extreme in the context of our family: "Technology's impact on the 21st century family is fracturing its very foundation, and causing a disintegration of core values that long ago were the fabric that held families together." It did make me consider the difference between the 'Bigs' and the 'Littles' their upbringings were significantly different and therefore it makes in interesting to think on their similarities and differences and if technology could have played some part in that.

So what is the impact of technology on the developing child? Children's developing sensory, motor, and attachment systems have biologically not evolved to accommodate this sedentary, yet frenzied and chaotic nature of today's technology. The impact of rapidly advancing technology on the developing child has seen an increase of physical, psychological and behavior disorders that the health and education systems are just beginning to detect, much less understand.

Let the kids learn through play was nothing new to me and once again left me questioning the wisdom in sending Tama to school next year.

Rebecca A. Marcon, a psychology professor at the University of North Florida, studied 343 children who had attended a preschool class that was “academically oriented,” one that encouraged “child initiated” learning, or one in between. She looked at the students’ performance several years later, in third and fourth grade, and found that by the end of the fourth grade those who had received more didactic instruction earned significantly lower grades than those who had been allowed more opportunities to learn through play. Children’s progress “may have been slowed by overly academic preschool experiences that introduced formalized learning experiences too early for most children’s developmental status,” Dr. Marcon wrote.

1000 Hours Outside is a pretty cool website for families.

I found a new Etsy shop this week Studio Armadillo is a bit out of my price range but I think these things are all very pretty and cool.....

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'You've had a good day son....'

This was a good week....

Because...

... I got to watch the 9/10's while Kieran umpired.
... Kieran went and hung out with Nadya.
... I had an early night with Vodka and Orange and Game of Thrones.
... I finished two books this week.
... the little boys played a cool made-up game called Nature Trackers.
... Tama had his first Kindy Excursion to Stirk Park.
... will was observed at school by the OT.
... we had a nice visit with Dr Houliston.
... I got some new jeans, Tama and Will new Trackies and Merenia fun socks.
... we got some Simpsons Lego Mini Figures.
... Les, Tama and I had lunch together.
... I got the distress ink pad I was missing.
... Will had a fun time playing with Robert at school after school.
... we went to the Library.
... got a new printer.
... the right person won Survivor.
... afternoon nap.
... mental health days.
... good people that do H2H.
... Robert came for a sleep over.
... lots of Hockey Photos.
... I made a scrapbook page.
... Home made chicken Pizza.
... cruising with his friends.
... Nadya for a visit.
... fun ice cream flavours.
... 8 people eating pizza in the lounge, watching Yogi bear on a Saturday night.

"You've had a good day son"  is the punchline of a joke my dad used to tell about a father, his son, a bear won in a side show at a carnival and a Mini Car... it's a great joke and the one liner punchline has stayed with us for a very long time. This weekly post is about being grateful for the little and big things in our lives and celebrating success the grand and everyday kind.

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Will Month 89

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Flora on Friday

 

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Wordless Wednesday

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...ing...

Making : a scrapbook page about a first smile.
Cooking : Cookies... eventually.
Drinking : Iced Coffee still.
Reading: Young Adult Fiction- needed something light and fast but still quality.
Wanting: A smooth path at home and hockey.
Looking: at the weeds coming up with the winter rain.
Playing: free cell in the spaces between... I have too many spaces between.
Deciding: well not really deciding, just flowing... or maybe not even that.
Wishing: for a home of our own and a new car.
Enjoying: spending more time reading, and on my own.
Waiting: for things to settle down.

Liking: watching lots of Hockey and feeling like part of a community.
Wondering: how I can do better at parenting- the lack of a routine in the day time is making a mess.
Loving: spending so much time with Kieran.
Pondering: Food options for the kids.
Considering: writing a strategic plan.
Watching: Survivor and Grey's Anatomy.
Hoping: for some washing drying weather!
Marvelling: at how the cool games Will and Tama are playing (Nature Trackers).
Needing: more balance, less conflict.
Smelling: cappuccino.
Wearing: not enough- it's a chilly 15 degrees in here right now.
Noticing: Autumn colours- I love them almost as much as spring flowers.
Knowing: that it all works out in the end.
Thinking: about Hockey way too much.
Feeling: not unreasonably angry and frustrated.
Admiring: The girls teams- they make me want to play Hockey!
Buying: things for Tama's birthday. :-) Four years... where did it go?
Getting: through some stuff- yay!
Disliking: disrespectful people.
Opening: some mail when I finish this post and go get the post. :-)

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This week on the web...

 Just a quick one from me this week I was reading books instead...

I love Karen Grunbergs pages she is one of my favourite scrapbookers and so was excited to see this article on Get it Scrapped was written by her.

Andie's spring zucchini ribbon salad looks yum- but beware the annoying noisy adverts on her site.

Healthful eating is among the best ways to protect your aging brain against slippage. Age slippage- is a pretty gross term and there's no surprises here but it's always good to be reminded.

Teacher Tom talks about how we learn and why we need some flexibility in the classroom.

This is how fast America Changes it's mind was a super interesting read- ok actually I looked at the pictures more than reading... but cool! Imagine if Americans used their power to make strides in poverty and education! The flow on effect would be good for us all too.

A couple of great posts from Teacher Tom this week: This is life itself and Within the Lines

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'You've had a good day son....'

This was a good week....

Because...
... Tama enjoyed some painting in the backyard.
... We had a nice tidy house pre-inspection.
... I finished The Burning Room... I love reading.
... Robert came over for a play.
... We were fortunate to have Cathy pick-up Will when Tama had a sleep-in.
... Game of Thrones Episode 5.
... Merenia had Yoh-fest rehersals.
... Kieran was invited to an audience with the Dalai Lama.
... We had fun at the Kindy Open day.
... Lisa's Carrot cupcakes.... OMG!
... Undisclosed Podcast!!
... got caught up with photo stuff and 365.
... Scored cool new toys including a Triceratops for Tama.
... The 17's won their game.
... Will and Tama both had Birthday Parties to attend. With Callum and Callum.
... K and I enjoyed watching the ladies games.

"You've had a good day son"  is the punchline of a joke my dad used to tell about a father, his son, a bear won in a side show at a carnival and a Mini Car... it's a great joke and the one liner punchline has stayed with us for a very long time. This weekly post is about being grateful for the little and big things in our lives and celebrating success the grand and everyday kind.

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365 2015 Week 19

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