our easter lunch + an easy trifle

April 5, 2015 By 7 Comments

Well Easter is done and dusted for another year and there is chocolate everywhere.

We did the easter vigil mass last night and decided to be brave and take the whole family. And now that it’s behind me I can say it wasn’t that bad. I mean mass was beautiful but two hours sitting in a row with my 2 and 4 year old and a baby on my lap is a bit of a workout in patience, jiggling, shushing, quick exits, singing and paying attention. But we did it and that’s before my death stares and looks that say be quiet down the row to the big 3 kids who make the most of my attention being diverted elsewhere. But everyone did so well and I love the Easter vigil with the lights out, the candles, the music, the adults being baptised and the readings. And looking over at grandma who likes a quick mass not a 2 hour one. Ahhh the memories. That’s what we’re doing. Making memories.

Now Easter Sunday also happened to be the end of daylight saving but we forgot so we got up at the very reasonable 7.20am without realising clocks had gone back. It took us an hour to realise and then put the kitchen clock back and I was no longer in a rush to get the lamb into the oven for the 4 hours it takes to cook.  I really should plan special lunches around putting your clocks back because usually it’s a race against time but today was much more leisurely when I gained an hour.

I also had time to make the trifle this morning because I had no energy last night. And I  have a trifle confession. I’m not a big fan. The kids and hubby love it but not me. I’m not sure what it is that I don’t like but everyone wanted trifle for dessert so trifle it was. You don’t really need a recipe for it and could substitute what you like. Making custard in the thermomix was a breeze (if you have the new TM5 it’s on the automated recipes and I chose normal custard) and I just popped it in the freezer to cool it down and use it.

The kids set the table and love doing it including place cards (always good to have a girl who likes making things) and I’m just making the most of their enthuisiasm.

It was our little guy’s first easter and he loved it. Give him a piece of toast or a crusty bit of roll and he’s happy as anything.

Our little elodie got straight into the easter egg hunt and created her own easter egg hunts all afternoon which was fun.

and this was as close as I could get to a family photo! There’s always next time……………..

I hope you had a lovely Easter

our easter lunch + an easy trifle
 
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Prep time
Total time
 
Serves: 16
What you'll need
  • 2 packs jam rollettes
  • 500mls custard
  • 300mls thickened cream
  • 2 Tbsp icing sugar
  • 1 jelly sachet
  • 1 punnet strawberries (sliced) or whatever fruit you feel like/have
  • chocolate to grate for top (optional)
Instructions
  1. Slice each jam rollette into halves (or thirds) and lay in the bottom of a glass bowl or serving dish. I did a mixture of halves and thirds.
  2. Lay the rollette slices around the base and sides of the bowl/dish. As you make this trifle you want to layer it from side to side but also want to make it nice to look at through the glass
  3. Make jelly the night before or an hour before you need it (and pop in the freezer to speed up). You don't need the jelly totally set but you don't want it too runny. Break up jelly with a spoon and pour over the layer of cake evenly.
  4. Now you want to lay strawberries around the side of the bowl above the cake layer and I put a layer of strawberries on top of the jelly too. Think about that presentation :)
  5. Pour custard over the strawberries and spread evenly. I like a bit of custard peeping through the sides. You can use store bought custard or make it yourself and chill until you need it.
  6. Place another layer of jam rollettes across the top (and if you have enough you could have them facing out too but I lay mine flat. It really depends on the size of your glass bowl and how many rollettes you've got left.
  7. Whip cream with a tablespoon or two of icing sugar until it's nice and thick. Spread out across the trifle. Wipe any excess cream that might have stuck to the sides above your cream layer for presentation purposes (trust me, I speak from experience here with my tiramisu!)
  8. Wrap bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate to eat the same day.
  9. If you want to make this for the next day then I find adding the cream on the day you serve is best and the trifle can keep a little longer (not that you want to keep it that long).
  10. And the best part is to grate chocolate over the top of the cream (a Flake chocolate bar also does the trick or you could be healthy and slice some fruit and pop on the top)
  11. Serve and enjoy and make sure you get a bit of each layer as you plate up. The kids will love it.
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Filed Under: everything else

a happy and holy easter weekend

April 3, 2015 By 9 Comments

It’s the Easter weekend and one of my favourite times of year. I’m sure we all have memories of Easter growing up. And for some of my readers there are fond memories that include going with the family to Church but it just doesn’t happen right now. Maybe they’ve not made time for Church, gotten too busy raising a family, have good intentions but just don’t get around to it, turned their back on their faith or maybe you’re going to Church but not just getting anything out of it. It’s not relevant to you any more. Maybe you feel as a woman that you can’t participate the way you would like. Maybe you’re angry at God. Maybe it’s your husband who is the church goer and you just don’t understand what it’s all about.  And maybe life is so busy and demanding and there is always something else you could be doing.

Recently one of my friends said that we kind of come full circle. Raised in the Church we take it for granted, we go to mass or sunday services while we are growing up but then as an adult we can get busy or lose interest but then when we have our own children and we come back to our faith. And we are searching. She’s right. I receive emails and messages from mums who want to go to Church but it’s been too long or there was something that put them off or they don’t know where to start. And trust me I know that taking your kids to Church can be a big worry and something that is holding you back. But no one is looking at your kids so don’t worry. Once they’ve done a headcount of ours I know that they’re not really looking. Although it feels like the eyes are on me when someone is acting up.

So what’s my advice? It is always just to go. Don’t overthink it. Just find the service times and pack a bag, get dressed and go. Sit there. Soak it up. There is something inside of you that wants to be there and it’s God’s voice. We don’t always want to hear it but it’s there and He is calling us back. And then you’re going to go again the Sunday after that. And the next one. Faith isn’t just about going to church every sunday though. It’s about what you carry in your heart and your mind and how you live your life.

You need to pray, to listen, to read, to have friends you can talk to who can guide you and inspire you and also show you that it’s just a normal part of life. And we need to share it with our children to pass it on to them. They need it more than ever. I also love that the internet and social media can be used for good and help you find the inspiration that you need especially if you’re not finding it in the circle of friends or community that you are a part of. Sometimes you might need to find the right church for you and I don’t mean just shopping around and never finding any you like. Nothing is perfect and I don’t go to my local parish but find one where there are other families, groups that you’d like to join and a sense of community.

I also think reading good books is a wonderful way to find inspiration and help you grow in faith. I love anything from Father James Martin who is a Jesuit priest in New York. He has a way of writing for everyone and is very knowledgeable. I have to thank one of my lovely online friends Theresa for one day messaging to tell me about his books last year. Reading is also a great opportunity to take a break, turn off the tv, put your feet up and fill your mind with something good. A few of my favourites are Jesus A Pilgrimage by Father James Martin SJ, My Sisters The Saints by Colleen Carroll Campbell and The Jesuit Guide to Everything : A Spirituality for Real Life. 

So I wish you a happy and holy Easter weekend. Enjoy the time to reflect, to recommit to your faith, count your blessings, share the Easter story with your children and be amazed. Every Easter I am amazed and learn something new. I’ll be praying for those of you who want to come back to your faith and that you will give it the time and respect that it needs. If you have advice for my readers or a question then I’d love to hear it.

Filed Under: catholic, christian

easter family traditions

April 2, 2015 By 5 Comments

One of the things I love to do is go back over family photos and see how much our family has grown and changed over the years. Having a blog is just the best because I have every year in there and all of the photos with just a search of the blog.

And as our family has grown our Easters have become more focused on family. And I actually look forward to a special lunch at home over the easter weekend,  playing with the kids and just having a home day. And we love a good easter egg hunt. We had a late lunch and easter egg hunt here last year.

And here is my big girl at her very first easter egg hunt below. Ahhh the memories of being a mum of 1. I had a bit more time on my hands back then but probably didn’t know it or realise it at the time. Life felt busy but good then back then.

Then her second easter she was still waiting for some brothers and sisters so it was just the 3 of us. And I even had time to sew her an easter bunny but was still working on my camera skills.

but not to worry because double trouble was coming………just kidding! I don’t have loads of photos of the twins as babies because life was just crazy but they were a cute couple…..and a whole lot of work.

Back then we would do the royal easter show every year on Easter Sunday. We’re taking a break from the show for a while (because it gets so expensive and all the kids hassle us for a showbag once we get there – or so it seems) but we have plenty of memories…………..and photos and hope to get back one day soon. Last year was the first year we didn’t go.

Before school easter hat parades there was fun and face painting at preschool

and there’s that little thing called chocolate but I have to tell you that we buy less of it for each of the kids because chocolate eggs x 6 just gets out of control.

So this weekend  I’ve got all the ingredients ready to make Quirky Cooking’s gluten free/dairy free hot cross buns, I’ll be doing the Jamie Oliver roast lamb again, something delicious for dessert, an easter egg hunt, a little champagne (I only drink  a little glass of something nice at special occasions these days) and a quiet weekend at home with a few visits to Church as well. I’ll be back to share a few thoughts on Easter this Friday which is sure to be an emotional day for me as it is every year.

What I can tell you about family traditions is that it’s never too early to start them, you don’t need to wait until you have more kids or any kids, do something twice and it’s a tradition already, if you’re a Christian/Catholic make sure you get time for Church and prayer, it’s ok to change some things as the family grows and it’s nice to keep the magic alive too. Preschool had bunny footsteps outside the doors and down the hallways and it reminded me of growing up. Hope the easter bunny leaves some at our house too.

Love to hear your family traditions at Easter.

Filed Under: large families

first holy communion + being sentimental

March 30, 2015 By 3 Comments

Growing up we moved around every few years with my dad’s work so there was always packing and unpacking and getting rid of things. But I’m a bit of a hoarder for special things. OK maybe I’m a bit of a hoarder full stop. I don’t know how I’ve managed to keep things over the years. One of the things that I’ve kept is the little medal I received way back in 1982 for my First Holy Communion. Back then I saved it because it was jewellery and a memento but now it’s so special to give to my own little ones when they make their sacraments. I also saved my little dove pin from my Confirmation too which we used just over a year ago.

And this is finally the year that I get to bring out my Communion medal and give it to my big girl. It probably didn’t cost much back in the day, it’s not made of gold or silver but I love it so much and that I get to pass it on. It was a bit touch and go there for a while as the little kids got stuck into the jewellery box. That was at the old house but thankfully it turned up when we had moved in here. It’s hard to be precious about nice things when you have lots of little ones but I do my best to keep some things away from them.

I’m looking forward to our big girl making her First Holy Communion and even started a pinterest board with all these lovely ideas but she’s got it all figured out. She said in the car last night how much she was looking forward to making it. And I was waiting for the bit about the dress or a cake or presents. But no, she said that after all the years she’s been going up to receive a blessing when it’s time for Communion that she is so excited that she’ll be going up for Communion and receiving it from then on.

Well there you go. My work here is done. What could I say to that? Basic white dress here we come…..just kidding……..someone did ask if I’d be sewing it. I think it’s just out of my comfort zone when it comes to sewing. Zippers and fine materials and me don’t go together too well.

Filed Under: catholic, family, large families

just busy

March 26, 2015 By 8 Comments

Where has the term gone? Where is the year going? Today I had to race out and grab supplies for the easter hat parade which is is on next week. Last year my effort was hopeless as it was the craziest time for us. And by effort I mean – night before, plastic hat and cotton wool but when I arrived at school  one child had 1 cotton wool ball clinging to the plastic hat for dear life. It was not good. I sat there looking at everyone else’s creative efforts and made a promise to myself that I would do better the next year. And then the twins reminded me that it was next week, and then the email arrived and I knew I had to do better. So I basically grabbed things that worked together and will let the twins create some masterpieces. And this year I even got craft glue instead of a glue stick just to make sure we don’t have a repeat of last year.

I’ve just finished school open days and am now in school application process and it’s the paperwork you need to attach that is killing me.  Does this report that we have meet the criteria? One school has one requirement and another doesn’t.I’m just piling all the paperwork in the one spot to devote a few hours to them  plus adding a photo and  covering letter. Once they are in the post I’ll start praying and crossing everything that we get our first choice.  What I’ve now learnt is that it isn’t just about meeting criteria but having a mix of students who have different special needs  in the class together. I know it will all work out and am trying not to worry and just focus on the rest of the year.

Anyway life is always busy here but the weather has been great so we’ve been playing outside. People often ask oh do you keep any animals or what do you have in your garden? Zero animals and not much that we’ve added to the garden (oh but we have loads of limes and soon will have grapefruit coming out our ears) but we still enjoy what has been planted before. I am especially loving the native plants and put these in a jar yesterday and am so glad that one of the kids noticed the pretty flowers in the dining room. Natives are so great as they are zero maintenance and you can enjoy them and the colours are so beautiful. Meanwhile my roses are not loving me at the moment. And the hydrangeas didn’t do so well so I’ll try again with them. Crafter yes, gardener no.

There hasn’t been much knitting but I’m doing an In threes for another baby to be born and hoping that it gets finished before Easter. And most of my days are spent keeping an eye on this little guy who is moving everywhere. He makes me laugh so much.

Very expressive and funny. He also stopped sleeping through the night but we’re hopeful he’ll get back to it. It was nice while it lasted.

Are you busy at the moment too?

Filed Under: babies, baby, family, special needs

playdough isn’t just for the preschoolers

March 22, 2015 By 4 Comments

How long have I had a thermomix? Oh over 3 years now and I’ve just made playdough for the first time and it was a piece of cake. Even if I didn’t have cream of tartar but had all sorts of other baking necessities like arrowroot, rice flour, glucose syrup, different types of sugars and flours. Not a bit of cream of tartar. Not to worry it turned out wonderfully and I just added roughly another 1/4 cup of flour and was good.

Now I actually made the playdough for my little 2 and 4 year old while the big kids were out at swimming. Next morning after church the big kids asked could they get the playdough out to play with it. OK? Well they were making ‘cookies’ and ‘cakes’ and helping the littles ones while I was catching up on laundry. Loved it

and even though my big kids had fun with the playdough the best fun was really had by my littlest ones…………..I’m going to make some more colours later in the week. This is also really great as an OT activity and for kids with special needs and sensory issues. Just getting their hands in there and rolling, cutting shapes and making things with the playdough is a great experience.

I used this recipe minus the cream of tartar and just added about 1/4 cup more flour once it was out on the board and I was kneading it.

Filed Under: family, special needs, thermomix

poor old 6th baby with no photos

March 20, 2015 By 18 Comments

First baby gets all the photos, their own album and everything documented. Then the second baby comes along and standards start to slip, then the third (although we did 2 for 1 when we had our twins) and then by the 4th you realise you better start taking lots of baby photos so our little elodie has plenty of photos. Then the 5th sneaks up on you…….poor little guy was lucky to get a photo of his first Christmas it was such a busy day and that brings us to the 6th.

I realised almost all of the photos of him are stored on my phone.

Poor little man. He deserves a bit better than that. We do love him so much.

So I grabbed my camera and took a few photos after his dinner….bit of food still on him and dribble too. Well he is the 6th. No time for an outfit change or to notice those things BEFORE I took the photos. Plus this is real life at 5.30pm on a Thursday night with a 7 month old baby and 5 other kids running around too.

People have asked who he looks like and I’m proud to say there is more of me and my family this time around! Yay for that…oh and his daddy’s blue eyes. He’s a good little boy, always smiling (ok and he also frowns but not much of a crier), loves people, loves his big brothers and sisters, loves food (all of it, hasn’t been anything he doesn’t like), moves fast and has already put lego in his mouth.

 I took these photos on a proper camera (not my iPhone), my Olympus EM-5 with a 25mm lens….still my favourite.

Filed Under: babies, baby, large families

gluten free scones

March 19, 2015 By 100 Comments

I know that gluten free seems to be the current trend in eating at the moment. But for coeliacs and people with a sensitivity to gluten it’s not just a trend.

And actually I’ve decided we need to have afternoon tea on a sunday more often as we all found ourselves sitting around the table eating and talking. For a lot longer than was necessary for these photos. The kids had lemonade in their china tea cups and perfected their little pinky in the air.

And a proper afternoon tea needs scones. I’m a sucker for a warm scone with jam and cream. I can throw my entire diet out the window if I know that there will be warm scones with jam and cream.  But I haven’t made gluten free ones before. The trick to scones is not overmixing your dough and not overcooking them. Mine might look a bit light on top but they were beautifully soft and perfectly cooked inside after 13 minutes in my oven.

And of course you can’t have scones without cream. I whip mine in the kitchen aid for a couple of minutes, I also like to pop icing sugar into my cream while I’m whipping it. Be sure to check that you are using pure icing sugar as icing mixture can contain gluten.

some tips if you need to avoid gluten

work out how to make your favourite meals gluten free

gluten free pastas are delicious and most of the time no one would know it’s gluten free

always read labels

if in doubt search the internet to see if it’s safe to eat on a gluten free diet

rice is a wonderful food that is naturally gluten free and kids love sushi, fried rice and more

tamari is a great replacement for soy sauce which contains wheat

gluten free biscuits and snacks are great to keep in the pantry for when a friend comes over

keep a loaf of gluten free bread in your freezer to make it last longer and then use it as needed

 

5.0 from 5 reviews
gluten free scones
 
Print
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Recipe type: gluten free
Serves: 12
What you'll need
  • 3 cups Free From Gluten Self Raising flour
  • 1 Tablespoon caster sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon butter (room temperature)
  • 150mls cream or milk
  • 150mls water
  • thickened cream and jam to serve
Instructions
  1. Sift the flour and sugar into a bowl or place into a mixer and add in butter. Rub in the butter (or process in your mixer).
  2. Mix in the cream/milk and water and gently combine in with a knife. Don't overdo it. You want a nice sticky mixture.
  3. Tip out onto a floured mat or work surface and using your hands (covered in flour) make into a flattened round.
  4. Using a small round cup or glass or cutter you will cut out about 12 or 13 rounds and place next to each other on a baking tray lined with baking paper
  5. Brush with a little milk on the top of the scones.
  6. Bake in a 220C oven for 8-13 minutes until lightly golden on top. Don't leave them in too long as I find they are overdone.
  7. a little tip for soft scones is to have the scones resting against each other while they bake
  8. Serve with some whipped cream and strawberry jam.
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Filed Under: baking, gluten free

Patons Big Book of Big Baby

March 18, 2015 By 3 Comments

One of the things I love to do is check out the latest knitting books. You can never have too many knitting books and someone is always having a baby and I’m always looking for new baby patterns. Patons do some lovely knitting patterns and I have quite a collection of their books.

Last week while I was out picking up buttons I also came home with this book, Big Book of Big Baby, and it’s pretty cute with a bit of a vintage feel. I do try to give myself a little pep talk before I go into a store just for buttons. Don’t look at the fabric. Don’t buy anything else. You have enough. But I couldn’t resist this little hoodie.

Often Patons patterns are knit in separate pieces and joined up and there isn’t much in the way of seamless knitting. Well I think things might be changing. And I am loving this little hoodie. I’ve started at the neckline and am knitting down and it’s coming up beautifully. The body is knitted in the round and then the sleeves and hood are added on later on.

I’ve used some Bendigo Athena from the stash which is super soft and I think is much nicer than luxury. Unfortunately if you snooze you lose when it comes to Bendigo’s special releases so there isn’t that much of a range of colours left. But if you are my husband then you’ll see why I usually buy a few balls when a new release comes out just in case I miss out. And over the years I’ve missed out a few times. The Athena knits up a perfect stitch, isn’t splitty, is super soft and easy to work with and these colours work nicely together. I’m more of a red and pink person myself but thought my little lawson needed a little jumper for winter.

The Book has a few crochet and knitting patterns and although it’s not really a Big Book (there are 10 patterns all up) they are modern with a vintage feel and have a range of 4 ply and 8 ply patterns which is always nice. I don’t do much knitting in 4 ply as I prefer a faster knit.

Big Book of Big Baby is Book 1101 and you can find it online and wherever you buy your Patons books and wool from.

Filed Under: babies, baby, bendigo woollen mills, knitting, ravelry

another granny’s favourite

March 15, 2015 By 7 Comments

I love finishing a knitting project. And I mean really finish by putting the buttons on and starting my next project. Granny’s favourite by tiKKi is an easy little top down cardigan that I love.

Now when I say easy it has a lace neckline that requires some counting and concentration. Very hard to do with all the little kids running around and I usually make a few mistakes or knit one stitch over and muck up the pattern. So concentrate, do it when the kids are busy or asleep. And even with that I left off the garter stitch row at the end of the lace pattern. I realised about 6 or 8 rows later but decided it’s a design feature. Yep. Whenever you make a little mistake just call it a design feature.

The yarn is Bendigo Woollen Mills Shetland 8 ply from the back room. It’s lovely and soft and the colour is really pretty. Buttons from Lincraft.

This is going to a baby girl that is to be born next month and I just found out that the mum’s favourite colour is red. I didn’t know that but how perfect. I also picked up two little outfits for the new baby. I love shopping for girls (boys are cute too but I’m always drawn to the girls clothes) and I was only going to get one outfit but these outfits from Target were so cute and at $22 each how could I resist.

the leggings remind me of Liberty fabric.

Look how cute the cardigan looks with the chambray. Those early days are so hard with a little baby so at least the mum can have a few cute outfits that go together.

Pattern is available here, I knit the 3 month size so that it lasted a little while rather than newborn,  yarn is no longer available I’m afraid but using a lovely soft 8 ply like Luxury or Athena would work beautifully, ravelry details for this little cardigan can be found here.

And here is the last Granny’s favourite that I made.

Filed Under: babies, baby, bendigo woollen mills, knitting

structured play for toddlers & preschoolers

March 13, 2015 By 8 Comments

I was a sent a huge box of beautiful toys from Finlee & Me to review and have fun with. We got to keep the toys and it was perfect timing as this year is our last year at home and we’re really focusing on taking turns, helping speech, playing with other children and getting ready for the classroom next year. This isn’t a paid review and I’m offering some tips and other things that we do at home for structured play. I’m no expert in early education or child development but have sat in on enough OT and speech sessions to help my little girl (and am still learning) and hope that this helps some of you.

If you have a few little ones then you know that they love to play together happily without too much help. This was the story with my eldest 3 who were very happy and capable of playing together. If you have a child with special needs or perhaps a late talker, a child who can’t share or even an only child who doesn’t like to play alone – well you know that you have to get involved in playtime. So a big box of toys arrives and there are so many to choose from and the most popular one…………..this one, which is great for colours, fine motor, using left and right hands, crossing the midline (oh I hope our OT appreciates that I put that one in there as I had no idea what she was talking about).

Don’t leave the room with this one especially if you have babies around or in my case the balls got thrown around the room like tennis balls and had to be retrieved from under furniture. This is also a great one to say pick the green ball or the red one. When you are teaching colours or asking a young child or special needs child to choose it’s good to start with 2 choices not too many. So put out the red and green and ask to pick up the green one. And so on. Then you can add more colours. This was lots of fun and the kids favourite….even the big kids keep asking where it is (hidden so we keep the balls together with the game!).

Close behind was the kinetic sand but this was not my favourite but only because of the cleaning up (you will notice the paper quickly appeared once I realised it was being flung around) but the kids loved this one. All of them.

Again don’t leave the room.  A good tip is to do it outside on an outdoor table or the ground on some newspaper or a mat. This is so great for kids who have sensory issues as fear of sand can be a big one and this one is just so much fun that you want to get your hands in there. Great for fine motor and I just love the description of 98% sand and 2% magic. I’d always heard of other parents talk about kinetic sand but this really is fun. Great for kids birthday presents. You can find more sensory toys here.

Peek, seek and find bags are fun. We’ve never used one before and this one was probably a bit too old for my little girl because of her developmental age but great for 4 years and older. You can start to introduce the alphabet. Mum or Dad might ask the child to find the letter A and there is a velcro sheet of the alphabet so that you can point out the letter that you are wanting your little one to find. Definitely going to look for a girly girl one and this one is safely set aside for when we are at school and learning the alphabet. This is also a great quiet activity to take to appointments, in the car or for church.

I’ve never seen appletters before but this is such a good quality game. This one is for my older 3 and they can make words, play crosswords, divide the letters between them and play a word game. They are nice and heavy letters and a good size and the apple storage case is genius. This is one that I’ve also put aside for my little girl when she is learning the alphabet. Would make a wonderful birthday party present for a school aged child or an advanced preschooler who is learning to spell words.

My biggest tip with structured play for special needs kids is to incorporate your little one’s interests into it. For us it’s all about bright colours, princesses, super cute little puppies and cats (I love that she can say ‘cuuuuute’ and ‘oh my goooooosh’), anything crafty and did I say princesses. Yes princesses. Whether they love princesses or lego or building things work out a way to incorporate it into their play and when you are doing one on one at home.

other tips for structured play

TV off, phone away and  undivided attention

talk (oh you want the red one, that’s the red one)

pause and give plenty of time for your little one to answer (it can take them a bit longer to find the words/action)

practise taking turns

be patient

look on pinterest, play blogs and the internet for ideas and inspiration

 pick the right time of day (mornings and just after lunch work well for us, not just before dinner)

if your child has special needs remember to choose activities that are appropriate for their level

build on their strengths and what they are good at to develop a sense of confidence

Filed Under: large families, review, special needs

finding the right school for your child with special needs

March 12, 2015 By 28 Comments

If you know me then you know I’m happy go lucky. Nothing bothers me too much, the sun will always come up on a new day, no problem is too big for me to deal with and when all else fails….eat chocolate. I really just pick myself up and get on with it. Right now I am having to dig deep and stay positive at a time when I’m overwhelmed and a little depressed by the shortage of places for special needs kids when it comes time to start school. You can almost smell the stress levels from parents at open days because everyone wants a spot for their child. And why shouldn’t they but there just aren’t that many options and the best places just don’t have many spots.

Finding a school for your child is a big decision. Thankfully I’ve learnt from my older children that it doesn’t matter if you don’t get it right in the early years because you can always find a new school. But having a child with special needs is a whole new ball game. I’ve almost become a mini expert in the options nearby but that doesn’t guarantee you a spot.

And I’m still left wondering what is the best option – and what are your options? Just in case you’ve got a really little one with special needs or newly diagnosed. Well we have mainstream (so your local public school or perhaps another school in the area with a commitment to getting some funding for teachers aides) but I just don’t think the support is enough for what we need, a support class in a mainstream public school or some catholic schools offer satellite classes for children with autism, a public special school (generally for children with moderate – severe disabilities), independent special schools (not very many of them and can be hard to get into), mix of special school and mainstream school during the week and homeschooling.

Now add a girl to the mix…turns out my number one question looking at a school is what is the boy to girl ratio and it’s not always what I want to hear.

Anyway, I’m passing this one over to you. What did you do when your child with special needs needed to start school? Did you change to a different school setting later on? Is there anything you’d do differently? How did you get through the stress of finding the right school for them?

Filed Under: school, special needs

making an easy baby blanket

March 9, 2015 By 8 Comments

I always have these wonderful ideas of things to make………and then just never find the time. I also think crazy things like on a monday decide I’d like to make a playmat for Wednesday when I’m seeing someone. That sort of thing. Finding time to get in the sewing room is pretty hard, at the moment it’s just to make orders, tell a little person to get out of there or have a tidy up. But a couple of hours (spread over 3 sessions, don’t worry I don’t get that much time to myself these days) in there on the weekend and I made little playmat/blanket for a little boy. And if you can sew a straight line then you can make this too. Oh yes you can. Don’t think that you can’t.

You will need : 20 x 10 inch squares of fabric (Moda do these in a layer cake), flannelette for the backing (I used some good quality Moda flannelette) and some 100% cotton quilt batting in the middle. You join up the squares using a generous seam (about 3/4-1 inch seam, don’t do a quarter inch) and just make sure you use the same seam throughout the whole playmat/blanket.

You firstly join the squares going down so you have 4 rows of fabric pieced together and then you join across by joining the first 2 rows together, then add the 3rd and then add the 4th. Give it a good press with the iron and I like my seams to one side, you might like them flat. Do what you prefer.

Measure up the backing and batting to be a bit bigger (a few inches) than your blanket top. Place the batting on the floor, then the backing flannelette right side up, then the quilt top right side down. Smooth out any lumps and bumps and pin together with pins or safety pins from the centre out in all directions smoothing out as you go.

Sew about 3/4 inch from the outside edge all the way around the quilt except for about 7 inches which is going to be the bit we’re going to turn out and pull our quilt through. Trim your corners, pull your quilt right side out through the gap you left. Close up the gap with a close to the edge stitch on your machine or just hand stitch it up. Give the blanket a little press with the iron

Sometimes I will top stitch all around the edge of the quilt (about 1/2 inch in) this one I didn’t as I decided just to do the A’s. It’s up to you. Now we’re going to use a fun stitch on your machine to join all the layers together randomly all over the playmat/blanket. I used the little boy’s initial all over. I had a moment of panic after a couple of squares when I realised I might be doing them upside down! Thankfully not. Check first. I do love fonts on sewing machines but I just don’t use them enough. After about 3 blocks I realised this could take a while so I did it in 2 sittings and I just love it. It really makes it special AND it’s a great reason to use the fonts on your machine.

And that’s one super cute and easy personalised baby playmat or blanket. Perfect if you don’t have time or don’t know how to quilt but want to make something special for a baby or little one.

The fabric range for this little project was Daysail by Bonnie & Camille for Moda, some Moda flannelette also from Bonnie & Camille on the back and some 100% cotton quilt batting. I find it best to buy Matilda’s Own quilt batting as it’s australian and better priced than the american equivalent at Spotlight. Starting out you might like to use a poly quilt batting but I always think start with something nice and it makes a beautiful 100% cotton quilt inside and out.

to make an even easier blanket you can just one piece of lovely fabric for the top instead of piecing squares together, just go here.

Filed Under: baby, quilt, quilting, sewing

escaping the housework on a sunday

March 8, 2015 By 13 Comments

Recently I realised that I spend a lot of sunday at home. Church in the morning then it’s laundry, cleaning, more housework, some baking, catching up on jobs that didn’t get done during the week, making up orders and not much else. I don’t think that’s how I should be spending my sundays and it’s not I how enjoy my time either. And so now I’m making a big effort to get out of the house and do some of those Sunday jobs on a monday. Today we went for a drive and joined in  mass in the monastery which opens up once a year and was lovely. It was so quiet and peaceful and I’m glad we made mass because we actually pulled up and parked at the wrong church and then had to get back in the car and drive up to the correct place.

It’s always nice to take the kids to different churches and last year we enjoyed mass at the Shrine of Schoenstatt (pictured just below). If you get the chance to go up there it’s just beautiful and the view is lovely. The kids get to see that lots of people worship on a sunday and in different places than just their local church. It’s also nice to come together with other people and celebrate mass.

Today, the stained glass windows were so beautiful and we went around to look at each one. We might not be ready to take the family to the great churches of Europe but heh we can admire windows and churches here. And I found out from another lady walking around admiring the windows that one pair of the windows were previously from St Mary’s Cathedral and made in 1860 so are very special. The kids picked out things that I couldn’t see as I was juggling the baby. They had questions for me and were so well behaved and made me very proud.  So mums of little ones relax, just keep up with the church going because it does get easier and I’ve got some beautiful little church goers with me.

Now some of the littlest members of our family found it very hard to be inside when a jumping castle and sausage sizzle were outside. So we joined up with them for some fun. The fairy floss was popular with my girls and it had been a long time between fairy floss for us. After we took a few photos we were walking to the cake stall (priorities, you can’t leave a fete without checking out the cake stall) and a little girl ran past taking elodie’s fairy floss with her (it stuck to her clothes). It all happened so quickly that our little one was just like ‘what just happened, I’m holding a stick?’. And the girl who ran past was trying to get the fairy floss off her skirt. Anyway, back to get some more fairy floss and we were sorted.

Some jams and chutney, some hanging tea towels with the knitted handles (oh yes, I get all the classics when I’m at a fete) and a quick look at the white elephant then time to load everyone back into the car. I was happy, I’m not touching the washing until I need to think about ironing some shirts for tomorrow and I’m happy to have had a morning out of the house.

First thing you do at a fete? Sausage sizzle? Cake stall? Craft stall? Fairy Floss?

Filed Under: catholic, church

adagio alpaca mills

March 7, 2015 By 4 Comments

I’ve been a little quiet on the blog lately. Whenever life is busy behind the scenes it gets very quiet on the blog. And it’s very busy here. But I love that I still get to read lots of lovely emails from my readers. Recently I received an email from a lovely reader of mine Nadine. I had met Nadine at a quilting class that I had organised quite a few years ago. She was an engineer and got me some fabulous quilting gloves that I’m still using today. Anyway, Nadine was emailing  to tell me that she was setting up a woollen mill in NSW and would love some support to get the word out. Now that I can do.

I’m very excited about this and there is a wonderful story behind the business if you watch the video here.  Nadine and her husband are both engineers and had made a tree change to Orange and are now setting up their own business in the region which is just wonderful. I’m also excited to take the kids out to Orange for the day to have a look when they are up and running and maybe meet some of the alpacas too. I love alpacas. Such a cute animal.

The carder

So I hope that you’ll get behind this great aussie business, spread the word by sharing the website (especially if you know alpaca growers!), follow Adagio Alpaca Mills on Facebook (especially if you love cute photos of alpacas) and if you can put a little money in to get the washing equipment here, even better. There are some great levels of support and some little rewards at each level.

Andrew, James, Nadine and Xavier Hulme

And lots of luck to Nadine, her hubby and this wonderful business. This is an exciting venture and I can’t wait to cast something onto my needles using some Adagio Alpaca.

Filed Under: knitting
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