Boy, It's a Responsibility!

 

 Elliot's morning job list. Archie also gets in and gets his jobs done too!

As the Mum of boys, I have an awareness of my responsibility to raise them to be good men. Men that treat women well, men that will make good partners and husbands, men that pull their weight around the house. While that is all years and years away I strongly believe in planting the seeds of this responsibility early. Children are much more capable than many people give them credit for. If you scaffold and guide them, if you make it possible for them to succeed then they will generally rise to the challenge.

 El's self-made bed, complete with pj's under his pillow and baby asleep and tucked in.

A few months before Kindy was due to start this year I started to talk to Elliot about jobs that he needed to do in the mornings to get ready to go out. Together we came up with a list. At first he needed help with everything on the list. Luckily for me he's a lover of a routine so it took him oh, about a day to remember everything on the list! Over time the list has been added to, amended and changed to suit our changing circumstances. Elliot has also changed in that he now completes the list independently (apart from cleaning his teeth, I have a turn after he's had a turn). He even makes his bed and Archie's bed, usually as part of a surprise for me which also involves choosing clothes and getting himself dressed.

Archie's bed after Elliot has made it. Sideways quilt, rumpled blankets and all!

Sure, he often has his clothes inside out, back to front or completely mismatching. The beds are always rumpled and lumpy but I wouldn't have it any other way. He's showing me he's capable and responsible. He's proud of his success in doing these 'grown up' tasks.

Puzzle-Mania

Don't forget to head over to check out more Wordless Wednesdays here.

Through the Eyes of Babes

Elliot is loving taking pics with my phone lately and he just had to get a snap of his cereal at breaky the other morning. He was so excited, there was an E in his cereal!!!!

Another almost Wordless Wednesday

My No Rubbish Lunchbox Challenge

With Elliot going to Kindy this year 5 days a fortnight I spent a lot of the Christmas holidays searching for a suitable lunchbox for him. The Kindy handbook said that lunchboxes could go in the fridge but insulated bags needed to stay in their lockers for the day with an ice brick. I wanted his lunch in the fridge, summer here is just too hot to have food out for hours and hours. I struggled to find a lunchbox that would fit with our 'no rubbish' beliefs. I finally found the perfect lunchbox and I love it! And Elliot being a fan of everything having a place, he loves it too!

Unlike most Mum's I don't have the school food dilemma, Elliot will gladly eat the same thing everyday and likes that the 'right' thing goes in the 'right' part of his lunchbox.

So he everyday he takes a container of natural yoghurt with some frozen blueberries and passionfruit 

and another container of dried fruit.

In the big part of his lunchbox he takes a sandwich 

(this week he went all out and took some leftover zucchini slice!!!) 

and on top some green beans or carrot sticks and a packaged cheese, which is the only packaged/processed food that we buy

In the last compartment are another couple of pieces of fruit and a mini muffin from the freezer.

The only thing I don't like is that there is nowhere big enough for a whole banana so he just takes half a banana one day and half the next day. Not that that is really a problem with the way banana prices are likely to go soon!

So there we have it! A cheap ($11) and easy to replace if it gets lost (we got it from the grocery shop) lunchbox that means no rubbish going into landfill, no commercial or processed food muddling his little mind and body, and a Mama that can sleep at night knowing her little man may be away from her through the day but at least he's still eating good food!

Oh, this is the 4th week of Kindy and we've already had to have a discussion about Coke! I just have to share this little story, it just shows how innocent and wonderful children are (when we let them be). Elliot came home from Kindy and our conversation around the dinner table went like this:

Elliot: "My friend xxxxx said his Daddy drinks Coke"
Mummy: "Oh, do you know what Coke is?"
Elliot: "Nope"
Daddy: "It's a sometimes drink that you have when you're older, like, 20"
Elliot: "Ok Daddy"
Mummy: "What did you say to xxxxx?"
Elliot: "I said, 'My Daddy drinks water'"

I do so love my beautiful little man!

It Found Me!

As a Thank You for looking after their two dogs for a month while they were tripping around India my parents gave us two lovely chairs for the verandah. They are ever so comfy and a new favourite spot to have a quiet (or not so quiet) read in the afternoons. The only problem is that there are only two and the boys often claim them before I get a chance!

I've been scouring second hand, collectable and op shops for a suitable table to go with these chairs for a few weeks now (read this post) and finally the right piece found it's way home! We were driving through town, not planning to stop and it grabbed my eye in the window of a second hand shop! I quickly found a car park and got the boys out and into the shop to find it had a 'Sold' sticker on it. I was so disappointed, so bought myself a new marble rolling pin for my collection! :)

We continued wandering through the shop and as we were leaving I said to Elliot how disappointed I was that the little table was sold. We talked about the sticker and the word SOLD and he looked at it and said "No Mummy, it starts with a 'H'!" so I had another look and lo and behold it said "Hold"!!!!! I just glanced at it on the way past and misread it! So back to the lady we went and Elliot gave her our phone number so if the people changed their mind she could give us a ring. Later that afternoon she called and said they had changed their mind! Yay for us!

 A lovely place to while away the afternoon!

I'm so grateful for my little man and his fantastic pre-reading skills!

We Survived!

First day of Kindy done! No tears shed by either of us (I'm so glad I didn't make a scene!) and while the day was not 'wave goodbye to Mummy at the door, come at pick me up later' it was not as terrible as I was expecting.

All Elliot wanted to do was explore the fort and outdoor play area and then get stuck into the collage table. He wasn't such a fan of mat time and just wanted me to sit with him. He also sat as close to the edge of the mat as possible! He was hesitant about joining in, but once Mummy was a flippy floppy scarecrow he was fine! Archie and I left during Morning Tea time and came back about an hour or so later to see him playing on the fort (yet again!) with a couple of other little guys, chatting away, so that was heartwarming.

 Another half-day today and then a few days off until proper hours start next week.

My Safe Little World

This Friday marks the end of my safe little world of having my boys home with me. Next week Elliot enters the big wide world of Kindy. Here in Queensland, that is the year before full-time school. A part-time, non-compulsory year at a private or community Kindy.

He will be doing a five day fortnight from 9 - 2:30. This is his first time away from me without being in the care of a close family member or friend and I'm a little nervous. I'm not nervous about the care he will receive while at Kindy. His teacher is amazing, her ideals are very much in line with mine when it comes to Early Childhood Education, she runs a fully play-based curriculum, completely child-led and child-centred. She is passionate and dedicated and just a warm, caring personality.

I'm nervous for all the things he'll be exposed to that will be out of my control. Things the other kids will say, things the other kids will do. I'm nervous about him needing me and me not being there. I'm nervous about his sweet little innocent personality being walked over by more dominant children. I'm nervous about other people not getting his funny little quirks that are just par for the course around our house.

Despite my well-hidden reservations, he is so excited. I know he'll relish the routine of Kindy, he's already practiced packing his bag and he's picked out his clothes for his first day. He's practiced telling his teacher that "I have special suncream in my bag that is just for me because the other suncream might make my face go funny" (he's allergic to regular suncream and his face comes out in hives!)

So Monday is going to be a big day in our house. I'm hoping I'll be brave, but I can't promise anything!

Natural Learning

Elliot reached a massive milestone at the end of last week, he wrote his name for the first time ever! And it is legible! He wrote it completely from memory. See what you think!

I'm really not a big pusher when it comes to the boys' "education" for want of a better word. Being a teacher I've seen many kids being pushed into doing things before they're ready and it just ends in disaster. Better to just let them embrace each new thing when they're interested and go from there. We are very lucky that Elliot just seems to have a real interest in numbers and letters (numbers in particular) and he has a great memory. He loves jigsaw puzzles and things that have method and order. Anything sporty on the other hand, good luck! :)

So after he wrote his name he then went on to write Archie, Daddy, Matt and all the numbers from 1 to 20. I wrote them and then he copied them. He did want to write Mummy and Vicki too but I could see he was getting to his limit so suggested he go and have a play and come back in a few minutes. So in typical Elliot style he went and read some books!

I am so proud of him. I know he'll do brilliantly at Kindy next year but I am going to miss him. :(

Edit: Thanks to Helen who reminded me that El actually goes to kindy this year. In two weeks! Argh!!! But that is a whole post of it's own :(

Making Do With What You've Got

Elliot has been really interested in playing shops lately. We take turns going shopping in the play room buying books and puzzles and train engines. The boys have a little cash register that Archie received for his first birthday that came with a few coins, so Elliot 'beeps' the purchases past that and then packs the shopping in the bag for me to take on my merry way. Or, as he once said "No Mummy, you pack your own bags at this shop!". Righto then!

Making money while munching on a sourdough pancake, yum!

I've been meaning to get some proper play money for him to use, so that he can understand all those early money concepts, each coin has it's own value that stays the same, you need to use different types of coins to equal the correct amount, if you give the shop keeper too much money they'll give you some back etc etc.

Then I saw all these offcuts from the chicken coop Matt is building and I thought they'd make great play money! We got a texta and wrote on the dollar amounts and then he was off! Setting up the shop for me to go shopping! We then spent an age working out how much money we'd need to buy things at the shop, using our fingers to count on.

 Searching for a $2 to make $12 ....

 .... found it!!!!

He does so love his numbers, my beautiful wee man!

A Simple Reminder

In a Wordless Wednesday post a couple of weeks ago I posted a picture of the house that will hopefully be ours in a month or so once it settles. Conditions of the settlement are the usual building and pest and finance and also an extra condition of the settlement of our property in Brisbane. Everything had been going swimmingly until a chance conversation with a lovely friend and old neighbour yesterday put everything in a spin.

As a result I spent all yesterday afternoon on the phone with the real estate agent and property manager, and most of the day today on the phone, again with the property manager, but also the agency principal, our solicitors, the Department of Fair Trading and the REIQ, the professional body for real estate agents here in Queensland. In between all these emotional, difficult and tiring phone calls was one lovely phone call to a dear friend who listened to my moaning and groaning with not a word of complaint! Thanks Helen! Thanks also to my wonderful Mum who listened and dealt with my tears in the way only a Mother can!

Today I was also spoilt by both the boys, each in their own special way.

Archie again had a night of optional sleep, so Matt and I were both up until after 1, then I was up again at 2ish, 5 and actually had a sleep in until 7! As a result he was soooo tired today he slept from 12 to 2:30 with a quick feed back to sleep in the middle. What a treat!

Elliot is a boy who likes to be with people he loves all the time so phone calls can be hard. I've gotten very good at being able to carry on two conversations at once, although I'm sure the person I'm on the phone with doesn't always appreciate it! He must have sensed today that the phone calls were different. Between calls I'd play a quick game of snap, or do a quick puzzle with him but for the most part he was on his own. During one phone call I looked over to see what he was up to and saw this:

He had lined up and ordered his Thomas the Tank Engine number cards in the correct order all by himself! We did it together for the first time yesterday, and I knew he'd enjoy it because it combines his loves of numbers and lining things up!

In this one simple act I saw his pride in completing this activity of his own choosing, I was so thankful for his patience during my phone calls and I was immediately reminded that in this crazy world it is the little things that matter, being at home with the people I love.

A Downward Turn

Elliot is going through a funny phase at the moment of wanting to do craft/messy things, but then changing his mind about 30 seconds after we start. More often than not his changing his mind has to do with the messiness of the task. He's going through a "I don't want to get messy/sticky/dirty" patch. He likes the idea of playdough and painting and digging in the garden, but once we start he's had enough "my hands are dirty, I wash my hands now". So then everything gets packed up.

He also is not big into craft that needs him to create something from his imagination. He is very visual and has a fantastic memory, so once he sees something done one way, that is the way to do it.

For his birthday recently he received a great Thomas the Tank Engine Make and Do craft book. I'm not really into craft books, I'm more of a "lets just do it and see how it turns out" kind of girl. But it was right up his alley because all the ideas were there, along with stickers, scissors, textas etc. and a picture of what it needed to look like.

As has been the case lately, I set up all the paint and he did one brush stroke and had had enough. So I was left painting the box! The main thing he wanted to do (and kept asking to do) was the crunchy crepe paper bushes on top. I set him up with scissors, glue and crepe paper and left him to it. He had a wow of a time! This is a boy who loves cutting and gluing!

We're still not finished the tunnel, but we're on to the fun bit, more cutting and crunching and gluing bushes on the top!

I'm going to try and do some sort of craft everyday in an attempt to get him used to the messiness of it. I probably won't have much luck, but I'll have fun trying! In the mean time I can see lots of collage being made!

Planning the week

One of my favourite 'jobs' for the week is planning our menu. I sit down with a couple of cook books (I try to alternate) and my notebook and pen. I generally plan the week on Sunday evening when we're having dinner, or if I'm not so organised, on Monday morning over breakfast. Everyone gets to choose a meal or two (Elliot always suggests sausages or pizza), I choose a couple of things from the books, plus a few things from our regular list that I know the boys will eat. Luckily for me both the boys are big vegetable eaters but this means that we can't have too many meals where the vegies are hidden ie pasta sauce, quiche, soup etc. We've even had a few tantrums and tears because Elliot couldn't see his vegies! Because of this I normally do a few steamed veg to have on the side, just to keep the peace!


I write everything down in a notebook that I then take to the shops. We also have a blackboard in the kitchen that I write the menu on for the week. On the left-hand side of the page I list the days and what meal we'll have, on the right-hand side is the shopping list taking into account what we'll need for all the different meals and general grocery items. I also have an 'extras' section for all the baking, and extra things that need to be done, ice cream, stock, any cheese or yoghurt etc. Below the general grocery list I have two other sections, one for what we'll get from the dairy and one for the butcher. I normally get enough fruit and veg to tide us over until we go to the town markets on Thursday morning.

Elliot helping with the shopping. He loves to hold the list, count out what we need, choose the fruit and veg, help push trolley and pack the bags when we're finished. He's a great helper!

I absolutely feel lost without my menu plan, I get to 4 o'clock and freak out cause there is nothing out for dinner. I also wander aimlessly around the grocery and get a thousand things we don't need and forget the important things like cheese and chocolate!

Friday Night Games

We are a big board game family but our Games Nights look a bit different than they used to. Gone are the nights of games stretching into the wee hours (Monopoly anyone?), gone are the raucous arguments during Scattergories (this one may be controversial but I put it down anyway ...), gone are the wine and cheese. To be fair, when we're staying with my parents and have a family dinner we do get the games out when the boys have gone to bed. It doesn't happen as much as I'd like it to though.

Thankfully our adult Games Nights have been replaced with something else, not quite the same but lovely none the less.

Elliot is at that stage where he is a big boy and big boys don't have sleeps. After all, he will be three next week! He does however, need a sleep. And to get him to have a sleep we have resorted to all sorts of measures, no sleep = no dessert, no sleep = only one book before bed etc etc. His response is generally 'I don't want dessert' and my favourite 'one book is fine Mummy'. Such a male. The one thing he really misses when he doesn't have a sleep is games! So if he has a sleep he gets to stay up late and play lots of games with Mummy and Daddy once Archie is in bed. So far we don't have an extensive games list. Uno, memory, snap, Alphabet Bus and a hybrid snap/fish game that he has invented.

Elliot counting his pairs at the end of his snap/fish hybrid game.

I love that he is having fun and I love that Matt and I get to spend some time with him doing something that feels so grown up. I also love that he is learning so much without even realising it. He is using his knowledge of number, counting, colour and shape in a practical way. He is reinforcing this knowledge and expanding on it every time we play. He can now play a game of Uno with little intervention or prompting from us and he can now deal out a game of cards properly (shuffling is still interesting though!).

Dealing out a game of Uno

He is also practising important social and life skills. He keeps a track of whose turn it is, which way the game is going, who dealt last time and whose turn it is next. He offers to move someones counter if they can't reach. He is learning to be a gracious winner and a good loser.

I love that we've passed on the board game gene and can't wait to add to our collection of games! I'd love to hear your suggestions of good board/card games for kids!