Things That Happen When It Rains for Four Days........

My Winter blanket finally gets finished (a few months too late!)

A Sleeveless Vest for our April baby gets a very decent start

Christmas wrapping paper gets made in the garage by a little girl.

Then, when the rain stopped and we could play outside again we found..........

Two ripe Strawberries in our garden!

Gently Does It....

Now that Jacinda has entered toddlerhood (and experienced a few tantrums!) we are starting to learn about Gentle Discipline.

What stood out to me about this method was the concept of looking at the underlying need of the child that caused them to misbehave and correcting the situation on that level. For instance are they bored?? curious?? tired?? hungry?? in need of some fresh air and outdoor play??

I feel like I have a long way to go yet, but here are a couple of ways we have embraced the concept of gentle discipline so far.......

Jacinda's destuctive digging in the Vegetable Garden (including our first EVER nearly-ripe strawberry getting picked off the plant!!) was caused by her wanting to join in all the fun and be just like Mama and Daddy. So, an old nail box from Junk and Disorderly for $1 has now been transformed in to her own garden. If she happens to dig up the vegetables again, all we need to do is remind her that she can do gardening too, by picking the dandelions off the lawn and 'planting' them in her own garden.

This lovely crayon drawing on our chair happened out of a genuine desire to create, not to intentionally 'disobey'. I knew this would happen one day so we purposely choose to solely allow crayons for drawing as opposed to anything else that stains. That way, we can encourage drawing on paper, but shall any accidents happen, we won't lose our temper. 

******

Discipline aside, I haven't washed this off since it happened a few days ago because.... I actually like the innocence of her artwork and it reminds me of a phrase in The Idle Parent Manifesto ....

'Happy mess is better than miserable tidiness' 

Handmade Christmas Cards

This year I have decided to make my own Christmas Cards because I feel that the homemade touch always adds a little something special. Here's How.......

For 2 Cards you will need: 

• 1x A4 sheet of cardboard 
• 2x 30 cm lengths of ribbon 
• 2x hand tied bows in a smaller ribbon 
• Pencil
• Scissors 
• Craft knife (optional) 
• Double sided tape 

How To:

1. Using the Craft knife or scissors, cut the A4 sheet of cardboard in half to make the card.
2. Zig-zag a 30 cm length of ribbon to form the Christmas tree design, while you are doing this use a pencil to mark a small cross at each turn of the ribbon.
3. Cut and place a small piece of double sided tape on each cross you have marked
4. Repeat the Zig-Zag design, this time pressing down at each turn to ensure the ribbon sticks to the cardboard.
5. Secure the small bow at the top of the design with a small piece of double sided tape

If anyone else has any Christmas Card ideas, please feel free to share.

A Life In Your Hands.

A beautiful poem to remind me that my child is a reflection of myself......

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn
If a child lives with hostility, she learns to fight 
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy
If a child lives with shame, she learns to be guilty
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient 
If a child lives with encouragement, she learns confidence 
If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate 
If a child lives with fairness, she learns justice 
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith 
If a child lives with approval, she learns to like herself 
If a children live with acceptance and friendship, they learn to find love in the world 


Dorothy Law Holte 

A Different Sort of Advent Calender

I spent a bit of time today preparing Jacinda's first ever Advent Calender for the rapidly approaching month of December.

I was delighted to find these mini stockings in a local gift shop and am excited that we can re-use them for many years to come, as well as fill them up with healthy treats that Jacinda will love.  So-far I have popped in some tasty Frooze Balls (made from dried fruit and nuts), dried pineapple and some pretty hair ties.

If anybody else has Advent Calender ideas I would love to hear them.

The November Garden

We have recently moved house, this meant we had to empty our garden boxes and start from scratch again! 

So, our new November garden now contains Tomatoes, Lettuce, Beetroot, Strawberry, Basil and Coriander.....as well as lots of Marigolds to keep the bugs away. I am particularly looking forward to growing the lettuces since we eat a lot of salads over the summer, it is such a simple pleasure to pop out to the garden and pick a few fresh leaves, and since they grow so rapidly in the warm weather I rarely need to buy more.

Also suitable for planting in November:

Spinach
Silverbeet
Capsicums
Celery
Cucumber
Eggplant
Leek
Melons
Onions
Pumpkins
Spring Onions
Zucchini

Salmon Salad, Kelp and Iodine

Well, I'm now coming up to the 20 week mark of my second pregnancy and I finally feel like the days of exhaustion and morning sickness are behind me (hence the long absence of posts on my blog!)

Over the past months my diet has consisted solely of whatever eased the nausea. Usually that meant toast, so it felt good to whip up this fresh summer salad tonight!

Here's How....

Ingredients:
Smoked Salmon
Lettuce Leaves
Avocado
Cucumber
Sugar Snap Peas
Lightly Steamed Fresh Asparagus (had to leave this out tonight as I forgot to buy it, aaargh!)
'Kelp Salt'

Method: Place all ingredients in a big bowl and toss.

  In New Zealand Iodine supplements are advised for pregnant women, however I have chosen to get my Iodine in the natural form of Kelp. This 'Kelp Salt' is a mixture of Sea Salt and Kelp Flakes and is a simple way ensure adequate Iodine.