Another week, another update!

Erin:
She has just been going from strength to strength at the moment. One of the big things we have been working on is dealing with younger brothers misbehaving or taking her stuff. This is a common thing in this house and is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future! She is doing much better at asking Billy nicely and then asking Mum for help rather than bursting into hysterics and belting him with the nearest object! Funny thing is, 80% of the time, asking Billy nicely is all she needs to do! She is loving having Mum here for a visit at the moment. Mum adores Erin and it is fantastic to see them together. Mum is coping admirably with Erin's need to be always close and engaging her in conversation (and I do mean ALWAYS!). The atlas is the current obsession and she can now point out Australia (and Tasmania), Russia and China. We are slowly adding to that as time goes by. She had her un-birthday today with another lady-bug cake. It was a dismal failure and I refused to take a photo but we still had sparklers and she's happy with it!

Billy:
is begining to shake the whinging habit he had gotten into. It has taken a bit of persistence on my part! That is something I always struggle with. I have a nasty tendency to get involved in something and ignore misbehaviour or reward it (give him the thing he whinges for etc) and it is NOT good parenting! Billy has always had a sixth sense about taking advantage of those times too! My bright button has amazed us all by listening in to Erin's geography lessons. We had the Atlas out on Saturday and Erin pointed out Australia. I noticed Billy was feeling a bit left out so I held out the map and asked where Russia was. He pointed it out and said "Russia!" LOL!! Of course, it probably helps that Russia is the largest country there. He has done it a few times since. And once he even pointed out Australia! How's that for a party trick? He has also really enjoyed having Nana Julie (Dooolie) here. He is a little less "in your face" than Erin (in spite of being louder!) but he has been receiving his fair share of stories and cuddles.

Christopher:
has some how become 'broken'! He is still happy and chipper most of the time BUT he is waking several times a night and today pretty much refused to take his afternoon nap by yelling the house down! No gum swelling or any other teething symptoms, still eating fine with plenty of nappies to change, he still has eczema but is not scratching at it and it looks much calmer (baths with Bi-carb soda work fantastically!) so the only thing I can come up with is he has been completely spoilt - nobody's fault but mine! Because he's been such a happy baby I have fussed over him the minute he has become unhappy! This will have to change!

The house:
had a bit of a back slide because I got distracted by big shiny things! It shouldn't take too long to get back on track though.

The garden:
I am striking cuttings using my propagator that Jon got me for Christmas. I have also done a bit of late summer pruning and dead-heading. Most of the work has been done by Jon though. He's been out there watering and weeding most nights!

Jess

Update

WE HAVE BROADBAND! So I will probably be a lot more productive with my time on here now :D I may even get some photos up soon!

Erin:
is just an information sponge at the moment. She was talking to Jon about the letter S tonight (she was doing 'S' in her school work today) and they were discussing what begins with 'S'. Jon suggested Salamanders which led to us finding a book with Salamanders in it to look at then on a huge discussion on amphibians, frogs and reptiles that were in the book.
It strikes me every now and then that the memories we create with her now will last a lifetime. She was standing up at the bench cooking with me yesterday and she asked if she could sit on the bench. When I told her no, she started chatting about when Drew sat her up on the bench while he baked pizza. This happened last March when we came to visit the Unterbergers while they were still living here! She has also mentioned a few things that happened at the old house that I'd forgotten about.
She has a HUGE egg on her head at the moment. She smacked her head on the corner of the door while closing it for me yesterday! She was pretty tough about it though and only cried for a little bit. She was more fascinated with the blue gel in the cold pack I got for her head.

Billy:
is going for gold in the vocab stakes. His favourite thing is still cleaning up and stacking things. if I ask Erin to put something away, Billy often gets in first and does it (we need to be careful with that because she has already started to cotton on and 'delegate' tasks to him!). He has a renewed fascination with books at the moment. I was feeding Christopher the other day and I realised that the older two were very quiet. I found them cuddled up together on Erin's bed 'reading'. He sees me read often and he will grab a book and sit next to me and 'read' too. He is becoming a real star in the singing stakes at the moment too. He is remembering many words to lots of different songs and has surprised me a few times with what he joins in singing or even initiates himself. His biggest worry at the moment is his big sister constantly imploring him to submit to being "checked" with her doctor's kit!

Christopher:
is a real chatter box at the moment. He often wakes up and chatters to himself until I go and get him. He is also intent on being mobile. He doesn't know WHERE he is going, but he is going! He pushes himself along with his legs when he is on his back or on his front now. He just needs to get the arms in on the action! I am not getting too excited about the crawling bit yet, I remember both the older two looked like they were going to be early crawlers but neither of them were especially. They just faked it! He is still such a cuddly baby and a pleasure to be around. The poor lamb still battles with excema, but bi-carb soda in his bath does seem to help.

The house:
is really good at the moment! We have even been doing 'extra' cleaning like cleaning windows that weren't 'scheduled' to be cleaned yet etc. It is so nice to be in routine. It is the first time in a very long time that there hasn't been 'extra' stuff happening so we are taking full advatage of it to rest, relax and prepare for the next onslaught of life!


The Garden:
is OK. Jon pruned back a tree with a chainsaw last weekend and it has made a world of difference in the clothes line area. I want to get into the green house a bit more to do some work, but other than that, everything seems to be doing nicely.

Jess

Toy management

Christmas has come and gone and things are starting to settle down, so I thought I would do another of the ‘how do you do it?’ blogs. This one is on ‘Toy Management’

We all know the picture. The lounge room started out tidy, now you can’t see the colour of the carpet for the lego blocks, dolls hold tea parties on every chair, you’re afraid to walk through the door for fear of suffering a case of “rapid sit down” after standing on a toy car. The truth is, once you have a few children you need to plan a way to manage the onslaught of toys!

Step one:

Set the standards and audit.

What toys do you actually want for your kids? Not all toys are fun to play with or beneficial for your kids! Many toys are actually pitched as much toward appealing to the eye of the adult buying it if not more. Some toys are just boring and/or down right annoying! Flashing lights and car alarm noises are only amusing for so long! I’ve found that these types of toys most often get misused, taught how to swim, thrown across the room etc. They have very little value, even if they are very expensive to buy! Some toys are just unethical and/or immoral. Call me an old prude, but there are some dolls that just give me the heebie geebies! You need to know where you stand on toy guns, bratz dolls, barbies, make up for kids etc. For me, I like the kids toys to be fun, encourage creativity, good quality and have some educational or developmental benefit. If it is going to drive me mad, break easily or if I find them unethical, they need to go.

So look at what your kids actually have. Are there toys that never get touched? Is it because there are so many toys that your kids can’t get around to them all? How many stuffed toys do you actually NEED? Are the toys age appropriate for your kids? If they are too hard your kids will get frustrated and if they are too young they need to be put away for the next baby! Are there broken toys laying around? I have found that broken toys breed broken toys! If all their toys are in good repair, kids will learn to take care of them better. If there are broken toys lying around your kids will learn that it doesn’t matter if they break their toys or treat them carelessly. This lays a poor foundation for them learning to take good care of their things as they get older! Are there toys you just plain don’t like? You are the adult and YOU are responsible for deciding what comes into your home and into the lives of your kids.

Step two:

Pass the blessing on or bin it!

In our house we have a regular toy audit before birthdays and Christmas. I have Erin help and we go through and choose toys to give away. I find I actually have to check and put some things BACK! I also have a bit of a look when she isn’t around, but I won’t throw out her favourite behind her back. That just isn’t fair! Toys that are broken need to hit the bin, those that aren’t need to go to charity or there is always e-bay!

Step three:

Store it and develop a system

A place for everything and everything in it’s place. Most of the toys are actually in my kids reach, but very few of them are in sight when stowed. I store a lot under the bed in boxes or old baby baths. I store in categories. I find this makes the toys easier to play with because all the ‘bits’ are together and the kids don’t have to dig through other toys to find all of one toy to play with. All the Mega Blocks are together (all 150 of them!), all the soft toys, all the cars etc. The kids get out one ‘category’ and usually a blanket to go with. Why a blanket? We spread out the blanket on the floor, tip out the toys, the toys get played with then when they are finished they grab the blanket, tip the toys back in the box and we stash the box again. Easy!

Step 4:

Maintain and filter.

You are the adult, it is you who decides what comes into the home. Some of my favourites are: lego and other construction type toys, art materials, chalk board, blankets (otherwise known as caves, tents, forts, robes etc.) sand pit, balls, trampoline, toy cars, puzzles….oh the list could go on! Why waste the space on other stuff? It is worth paying for quality too. A sack full of gifts may be impressive initially at Christmas but if half of them have broken by boxing day, what’s the point?! Crayons that don’t write are just frustrating, toy cars without wheels aren’t much fun and dolls without eyes are just creepy! Before getting something that needs batteries, ask if it is really worth the bother? Erin’s current favourite is a little doll that is over 24 years old! I have a photo of ME carrying it when I was her age! No batteries, just a simple, good quality, dolly! Repair or turf broken toys immediately (or at least put then out of reach until repaired) and measure any new purchases against your standards carefully. Encourage your kids to have a giving spirit by having regular audits.

A word on gifts.

My kids are blessed to have an extended family who love and adore them. Although I am VERY grateful for this, sometimes the gifts the kids receive are not up to my standards. It is always a judgement call on how to handle it. Things that I have a moral objection to are quietly regifted or binned. At the end of the day, I am responsible for what my kids are exposed to and I take that very seriously. Toys of a lesser quality are only brought out when I can supervise the play to make sure it doesn’t get broken – especially if broken bits can injure kids. Toys that aren’t age appropriate are stored for later use or only used with adult supervision. I try and prevent the situation by talking enthusiastically about the type of toys I DO like and giving specific gift ideas if I am asked. At the end of the day though, the relationship is more important than the gifts and it IS the thought that counts.

We're still alive! Once again, life has just gotten busy. I am making an attempt to keep up with the garden at the moment and the weeds are trying to get the best of me (not to mention the cabbage moths!).

Erin:
Is so grown up you wouldn't believe it! I know I say that nearly every entry but it's true. The other day I was putting her to bed and started singing a silly song to her. She giggled, rolled her eyes at me and said "Muuuum, say prayers!" In other words "you are so immature sometimes!" LOL She has discovered a real love of school work and has been spending ages doing it. I have to pry her away to do other things! She is still a normal kid and enjoys normal kid things though. She is quite attached to her dolls and teddies at the moment and is spending a fair bit of time babying them. The one who receives the most attention is Sandy, a small doll that I used to drag around when I was 3! Her babies get fed, changed and put to bed. They have frequent visits to the Dr also - the Dr's kit is never to far from her affections!

Billy:
has an even bigger vocab and it is expanding by the day. He also has perfected the art of the hissy fit and I need to address that sooner rather than later! My tender hearted little lad is so sweet though. We were watching Charlotte's Web yesterday and he got upset when the horse, who is afraid of spiders, passed out. He burst into tears and cried out "Broken!!" He was quite upset until the horse got up again! The funniest thing is he has seen the movie a few times now and still gets upset about that. He lights up when Jon comes home and talking to Christopher is one of his favourite things (even if I do have to stop him laying on the poor baby or hugging him 'till he squeaks!) and I only have to kneel down to change Christopher and he has climbed up my back, wrapped his arms around my neck and started yelling "Hello!" at Christopher while he hugs me. He and Erin are amazing to watch. Yes, they have their moments, but for the most part they actually play together and talk together like little buddies!


Christopher:
is HUGE! He seems to be growing before my very eyes! When he is laying on his back he digs his heels in and pushes himself along. He has no idea where he is going, but he's going! He also turns himself around. Eczema is still an issue, it covers a large part of his face and head at the moment. I have gone off dairy at the moment to see if that helps (I had dairy allergies at his age) but so far I have seen little change. His belly laugh is great and is medicine for my soul when I am tired or cranky.

The house:
looks pretty good at the moment. I went through the wardrobes again yesterday and thinned out the contents. There were too many outfits that were sitting there, never being worn. It just made it harder to get the clothes we did use in and out, so the unused stuff has been passed on to bless someone else. It was a bit of a wrench a few times as there were some lovely items! But I feel better for it. I have also organised the kid's underwear and socks into little bags, so rather than folding all Erin's knickers, I toss them in a bag. Socks are also a lot easier to find now. I reorganised the linen cupboard too. All the sets of sheets are inside a pillow case for that set, so I no longer have to dig to find a matching set of sheets! This makes Monday's wash day a lot simpler. I have also culled the items that aren't being used. I have started refilling the freezer during Friday cook ups and was pleased about that when I REALLY didn't feel like cooking yesterday. I just pulled out some stuff, defrosted and heated and it was yummy!

The garden:
is growing at a rapid rate - weeds included! I have a long to-do list out there at the moment. The tomatoes need staking, the brassicas need tending to get rid of the cabbage moth grub, I need to do SOMETHING about the cherry and pear slug infesting the trees. A possum ate all the peaches that were on the tree - much to the disappointment of Jon who had faithfully watered and tended the tree! But it is all still a beautiful place to be. Jon and I went out and lay on the trampoline together after putting the kids to bed last week and the peace was tangable.

Craft:
I have started a wrap for myself as something simple to knit while reading. I also have plans to do some sewing - but how long have I been planning that for now? LOL

Jess