School holidays - the halfway point

If we mums are honest, there are two positions to take on school holidays. Position one is the mother who loves spending more time with her kids, being creative, making, baking, visiting, reading, playing, being buried in the sandpit. Position two is the mother for whom the school holidays are a mere countdown to school going back.

I have discovered that I sit neatly on the fence at this stage in my kids' lives. Master 7 as many of you know has Aspergers' Syndrome. The first few days of the holidays are thus awful for him as he adjusts to changes in his daily routine, and for greater chunks of the day allocated to unpredictability. There are only so many things I can plan to do in a day, and some days even though he sees it drawn or written down, he wants to do something else. Understandable. It's ok for him to spring something on me, just not the other way around. Miss 3 loves drawing, painting, making; the most portable of activities and easily adaptable to the plans for Master 7. Messy crafts just don't tend to go down well every day here...



We are now halfway through the ACT holidays, and the kids are flagging. They want and need some routine, and mornings provide that. Afternoons however seem to go on forever! Mr BB is away for work for a couple of weeks, and so there is no respite from Mum for the little people.

I have therefore dusted off some tried and true activities that you may want to try to get you through the next few days. As they are familiar, Master 7 is happy to try them. As they are creative, Miss 3 is all over them.

Toilet roll craft. Rattles, binoculars, didgeridoos, rockets, cars, slides, tunnels, planes; there is no end to the uses of the rolls. Try some of these web sites for additional ideas and printables to help you.

DLTK is a winner for most crafts and activities here.

Have a puppet show using the creatures from here.

If you find the idea of craft using toilet rolls eeewwww, then just use cardboard tubes from food wrap, al-foil, etc. Cut them using a bread knife, the sawing action makes it easy.

You can also add some fabric scraps to make serviette rings here.

My other tip. Don't underestimate the power of Google. Any kids' craft, craft recipe, technique etc can be found this way. Similarly the search function of YouTube. Bubble mixture, street chalk, bakers' clay, edible paint, papier mache, crystal garden, hand plaque,or even a vinegar volcano

Finally, everyone's favourite, with thanks to k3 crafts:

Uncooked Play Dough

2 cups of plain flour
4 tablespoons of 'cream of tartar'
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 cup of salt
2 cups of boiling water
food colouring

Just pop it all in a mixing bowl and mix!

It looks as though it is not going to mix well at first but hang in there and throw it onto the bench to knead, and it will come together really nicely.

We put different things in ours also such as glitter and sand. Just be careful you don't put things in like rice as they tend to go mouldy - we find glitter is really good.

Hope this helps everyone.

Cheers and Happy Play Doughing! (get into it, it is really relaxing to knead)

Yes, these are generally all messy, but they'll love them, and anyway, who vacuums daily on the holidays?!

xx

Demecull

Light on pics, heavy on words. Rant warning !!

Odd heading isn't it? It was the word verification for a comment I made on a blog this morning. It made me laugh a little as I had only just finished saying that when we move house I will need to be strict with myself, and have a little cull.

No sooner had I said that to Mr BB then I typed "demecull". Demi-cull! What a great term for packing! Anything I don't use regularly, love to death or need for practical reasons will be going to the great op-shop lottery. Knowing me I will buy a lot of stuff back - this has been known to happen...

There is an episode of the tv version of Winnie the Pooh where rabbit tidies, and as he only has one of a pair of bookends, he takes the single to the tip. Later he sees it at Piglet's and wants it as a pair for the one he just threw out. As we the viewers know, it's the same single one.

Yes, I have done this with Tupperware, fabric, teacups, linen, all manner of things. I see something such as a book, and grab it, only to flick through the pages and see my handwriting in the margin, or my kids' names on the inside cover...

We have moved more than some, less often than many more, with 5 moves in 7 years. It gets very tiring, and one becomes rather good at down-sizing. I know I have donated more than I have bought from Salvos, however as I look around my house, I realise that the next move (in the next couple of months) will require further down-sizing.

Always in the back of my head is the sad story featured on Oprah of a woman who couldn't stop buying things. Her house was FULL of bags of things. Furniture was obscured by STUFF, and it was controlling her life. I keep this picture as a reminder that her 'stuff' was collected and spread out in a warehouse. This pic shows about a third of her excess.


Friends wonder why I have so much STUFF. It's not just that I have it, but I seem to have it ALL out and ON DISPLAY! My cupboards are not utilised well, and my shelves are heaving under the strain. I have decided that this is just me and part of who I am. I have always had clutter, and have never known how others manage to live so tidily. I've also decided that this endearing trait is because I have so many interests and hobbies.

So is it only interesting people who live within clutter? Are all messy people interesting? Of course not. However I think that all the interesting people I know, love, admire, and treasure have fabric stashes, heaving bookshelves, and boxes and cupboards full of UFOs.

My dream is to have a grown-up's bedroom devoid of clutter, just dedicated to restfulness and sleeping. This I am reminded of daily as I climb out of bed and squish between the boxes and crates that double as bedside tables.

As I attempt to accept this trait within myself, why then do I get frustrated that Master 7 lives within a nest of his creations also? Why do I expect order and reason from the rooms of my off-spring when I find it so hard to achieve myself?!

So I return to the Demi-cull, the (half-arsed?) method of decluttering that I formulated in a random moment of procrastination this morning.

I will pick a shelf, a drawer, a cupboard, a shelf, and decide on the spot what isn't coming to the new house. Only things that bring joy shall be retained, unless they have an inherent usefulness I cannot ignore (there would be so much more room in the laundry without that big machine but I think it should come...) It is likely that all things will make it to the new house, however in the absence of a garage, I will be forced to make some big decisions. The trick is, that once sorted, the stuff has to GO. That's sometimes hard too. I have been known to drive around with items in the boot of my car for weeks, only to be brought back into the house at a later date.

In 2 weeks I think I will try my luck at the local weekend Trash n Treasure market. Perhaps I can fund part of the move, or failing all else, get the money for bread and milk! I do know that without trying I can fill the boot and car just from excess in the garage, let alone what's in the house!

I have tried to embrace things like Fly Lady, but they just do not work for me. There are always too many little bits of crap that creep into my life, demanding accommodation. I think an intervention a la the now defunct "Your Life on the Lawn" tv show. Any suggestions on where the hell the Demi-Cull should begin??!!

xx

Sorting things out

I seem to have lost my way a bit lately - sewjo gone, blogging seems hard. Remembering why I started and what I love about it all, and hoping that my creativity returns. Maybe playing with the buttons is in order... back soon -

xx

I had a great weekend!

Misschief Maker High Tea at Pialligo with old friend Kellie - YUM.

French and Saunders Saturday night and met a legend after the show!

I am all smiles!

J
xx

The Mother Load that PMM would LOVE!

Do you read Potty Mouth Mama? She is one of my must-reads on a daily basis. You know who your must-reads are, they're the ones who you clear first from your bloglines when you have 200 posts looming to read. They're the ones that are like old friends, and they make you laugh and smile and cry.

PMM had a brilliant time during the hard rubbish collection in her area not too long ago. We were all tuning in eagerly waiting for the next haul in the covers of darkness. The expeditions were rarely fruitless, and only once did we cringe with her:

"This is where it gets exciting. So I'm checking out what I have scored. Old t-shirts (and y-fronts?!) still in their packaging. I was pretty excited about the prospect of vintage fabrics, so I went for the suitcase that was holding this treasure. The vintage fabric...? Well it was a pair of old man pjs. Poop. No - surely this is a bag full of treasure?! I delve further.. Hmph. Not the score I was dreaming of. Another pair of pjs. And you know what else?! An enema kit. Yes, that's right. An enema kit. No sewing paraphernalia. Just an enema kit. " - from Potty Mouth Mama post here

Rachel (mother of Miss M of the shoes and bib) recently saved an old suitcase from landfill for me. Her step-mum was decluttering, and getting rid of childhood items.


Inside I found a treasure-trove of delights in hankies (most soaking at the moment). Some are still in their original boxes. There are tins aplenty, a doll, leather driving gloves, books, sewing notions, all manner of great loot!


Consumption Rebellion came over yesterday and we sorted through it all, oo-ing and ahh-ing a lot. CR loved the driving gloves, but decided that she would need goggles to go with them... Maybe also a hat E!!??

Image from here.

Hankies galore!
Old Hoadley Chocolate box filled with hankies.

Tins galore! Two of them filled with hankies!


Driving gloves - soft leather and great buttons.


Lovely little doll with blinking eyes.


Lovely boxes filled with mint condition......


Hankies! Lovely Irish Linen in lots of pastel shades.

Old Golden Books - Annie Oakley and Ginger Meggs - brilliant!

More loot than I can use so: giveaway alert!

Miss 3 came in the other day from the car helping me carry in the shopping. She was confused why I fell about when she declared: "I carried the watermelon!" (Dirty Dancing, 1987).

To enter, please tell me your favourite movie quote!

MMaM Project One!

So have you bought or borrowed The Book? Everyone is talking about and snapping up Pip's lovely creation!


My mothers' group bought one for the library and it happens to have come home with me (thanks Rachel!)

I had a go this morning of Project One - the Teeny-tiny Goody-two-shoes.


Miss M seemed to think they were ok - I think that the pink buttons I added (Miss M loves buttons!) should have been red, but not bad for a first attempt. Hoping to do 2 more pairs before the weekend for Miss S and Master C just because their feet are tiny enough to fit into them!

Only a teeny bit of swearing involved in this project, so perfect for beginners and confident seamstresses alike. Fabric was left over from obi belt of dress I made for Miss 3 for Mr BBs 40th after being inspired by Little Munchkins. Great project for re-using scraps.

Tourist in your home town

Back in April, we went to Melbourne as a family for a week,to celebrate the birthday of Mr BB. I had a morning to myself in "town" quite early one day, before most shops were open, and I wandered past some of my favourite places just to say 'hi'.

Back in the olden days, "the nineteens" (i.e. 1980s, 1990s; as Master 7 says), I went to school in the inner city. A bus, train and a tram, then a walk, and we were there. This opened up the city to us as we all travelled some distance to get there, and we spent a good deal of time in the city after and before school.

We knew lots of short-cuts and lane-ways, places to go, hideaway spots, parks, fountains, cafes, and shops. The Sportsgirl Centre was being built, as too was Southbank, McDonald's was underground, and we'd meet the guys from the boys' school Under The Clocks.


courtesy Flickr
I love reminiscing as I walk around the streets. The Hill of Content Bookshop where I bought "Joseph and His Technicolour Coat" illustrated by Quentin Blake in the mid-eighties. Pellegrini's where a glass of Fruit Cup is available at any time to go with magnificent minestrone. Where an old boyfriend got Mark Seymour's autograph for me before an underage "Hunna's" concert at the (gulp, how embarassing...) Metro...


Ancient Times' House where I discovered my love of all things Ancient and Egyptian. A mummified cat sticks in my mind. Little Lonsdale Street where Dad took me to my first Archeological dig in 1983, a dig I went on to study at uni ten years later!


Job Warehouse which has NEVER been open when I have gone past! Now For Lease - tragic end of an era. Those moths have been in the windows for DECADES.


The Manchester Unity Building - a gem of Art Deco (sorry Steve, Moderne) architecture.


The Nicholas Building where I love riding in the old-style, hand-operated lifts. Of course one must visit Button Mania...



At the end of the day though, hopping on a tram is the best reminiscence of them all. Catch a tram to This Park , which has old ones that we used to ride to school as play structures for kids. They've been a drawcard for years. Despite numerous vandal attacks however, they are restored and ready for you any time you fancy a picnic. My two thought they were brilliant!