Gotta Love That Learning.......

As clichéd as it is, I reckon that one of the many amazing things about parenthood is how much we learn from our children, mostly when we’re trying to teach them stuff.  Sometimes it’s a gradual feeling like a fog clearing, other times it’s like being slapped in the face with a wet flannel, but I know that I’m a much bigger and better person than I was before I had kids .  We recently had a holiday which included a visit to the snow.  We had intended to make snowmen, maybe hire a tobggan, and just generally have a fun hour or two in the snow, with a bonus being if one or other of us could sneak off for a run or two on the snowboard.  Our last visit to the snow had been with a 6 week old baby and a two-year old - I won’t go into it but many hopes were dashed that day.  This visit was quite different.

On arrival at the mountain our five-year old announced that she would like to ski, followed of course by an echo from our three-year old that she was going to ski too.  There was no dissuading them, so lift passes and equipment were obtained.  And wouldn’t you know it, away they went.  

Miss Five took a little longer to warm up due to a technical incident involving her mother cutting the circulation to her feet by doing the boots up too tight (too many memories of days as a wanna-be ski racer) and there was a grim period over lunch with an almost unrecoverable melt-down from Miss Three due to mis-timing of the provision of food.  At this point the father did comment that it looked as though it would be several years before we would be doing this again.  

However, the afternoon was magic.  They were both away, which was just amazing to watch, and were so keen on the whole thing that we went back again the next day.  I was surprised to find myself not in the slightest bit disappointed that the only contact I had had with my snowboard was to lug it from the car to the snow and back again - it was just such a buzz to watch and help the girls get the hang of it.  Miss Three did struggle with the fact that she could not actually do every single possible part of the whole game on her own.  The fact that you couldn’t actually ski uphill was difficult to accept, and we spent quite some time sitting adjacent to the lift queue, watching it gradually pass us by, while she refused all help to actually enter the queue.  

This is where some serious self-reflection was required by me.  As a child we lived for some time near the mountain, and spent a lot of time skiing.  In those days it was all about maximising run time and minimising queue time.  It took all my willpower to actually sit calmly beside the queue, doing nothing for maybe 20 minutes, until one of my interminttent offers of help was accepted.  And why not?  It was a sunny, warm day, not uncomfortable, quite pleasant in fact.  But a huge challenge to my idea of what skiing was about.  So now I’m thinking more about all those moments when I bite the inside of my cheek wanting to keep things moving along - maybe it’s more important to try to relax and enjoy that moment for what it’s really about. 

Spinach and Blue Cheese Pasta

If you like blue cheese try this on your kids - mine love it and it’s super easy. 

Ingredients:

A big bunch spinach

Chopped garlic

A packet of pasta

Blue cheese

Light sour cream

Parmesan cheese to serve

Directions: 

Cook a packet of pasta according to the directions.  While it’s cooking, melt a cup of light sour cream and 100 g of blue cheese (if you want in creamier and less strong use more sour cream) in the microwave.  Saute some chopped spinach and garlic in a frypan.  When the pasta’s cooked mix everything together in a big bowl, then serve topped with grated parmesan cheese.  

Ideas for When You Just Can't Get Out of the House

By the time you read this the school holidays will be over and we will all be rolling back into the routine of school and pre-school activities.  For our family this is a particularly poignant time as our oldest starts school and our youngest kindergarten – how time has flown!  I’m so glad that we’ve been lucky enough to share so much time as a family during these precious pre-school years.  


So although it may be a little late to be really useful, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how best to enjoy family time during these (sometimes unbearably long) winter days.  Let’s be honest, must as we love Gisborne just as it is, it’s this time of year that the grass can sometimes seem greener, the walls can close in a little, and we can find ourselves wondering if there might just be more on offer elsewhere.  But actually, I reckon there’s plenty of winter-time fun to be had Out East, so read on for my ideas for those days when you wake up with the rain hammering the roof and the wind howling through the windows and no idea of how to fill the space between breakfast and dinner time.



The mind may be willing, but the body just can’t make it out the door... sick kids, sick parents, not enough sleep, too much condensation on the insides of the windows... If you simply can’t be bothered getting organised to go out, embrace the day for what it is, and make the most of the home-body life.

Make playdough  There was a period where I refused to make playdough – a few bad experiences (too sticky, too dry, too stuck in the carpet), but I rediscovered the joys of playdough a few months ago, along with a seemingly fool-proof recipe (see opposite).  With a few implements available for rolling, cutting, chopping and serving, playdough can keep those little minds and hands busy for quite a while, and stored in an airtight container can by pulled out again and again... and again.  And actually, those squished into the carpet bits do dry out and vacuum up reasonably easily...


Get cooking  I have concluded that the secret for enjoying cooking with pre-schoolers is to allow plenty of time and have no need for the actual meal to be served any time soon.  I have had loads of fun recently making soup with my 3 year-old and stew with my nearly-5 for dinner the following night, and nearly gone nutty with offers of help when trying to cook dinner that actually needed to be ready sometime soon.  Chopping, stirring, grating, sifting, greasing pans, running Zhu-zhu pets over rising bread dough – these are all great ways to involve pre-schoolers in the kitchen.


Have a pyjama day  Just call it quits from the word go, and announce that the whole day will be spent in pyjamas.  Haul out the board games, the puzzles, the coffee and the books, and just enjoy being inside with nowhere better to be.  By 2 pm you will probably feel disgusting, so that’s the time for the DVD player and a long shower.


So next time you wake up with the rain pounding the windows and it just seems too hard to breach the threshold to the great outdoors, embrace the inside!  Watch this space next month for ideas for when you just have to get out of the house.







Playdough Recipe 


• 2 ½ cups of white flour
• ½ cup salt

• 2 tablespoons cream tartar
• 2 cups boiling water

• food colouring


Directions:  
Mix flour with salt and cream tartar in a large bowl.  Add boiling water, oil and food colouring.  Mix quickly then knead on a floured board until firm.  Add extra flour if sticky.  Store in an airtight container.


Tips from bitter experience:
Don’t be tempted to use cooking salt if you bought it by accident...  It is too coarse and just doesn’t work.
Add plenty of food colouring directly into the water – the colour needs to be strong or the playdough will be an insipid colour and adding extra colour to the dough results in a rather unattractive slightly ‘80s motley effect.
Add about ¾ of the water initially and then add the last little bit slowly until you get the right texture – I usually find that I don’t need the whole 2 cups and it’s easier than adding flour at the end to make it less sticky.

Re-use, Reduce, Recycle

At this time of year, with the dragon of rampant Christmas consumerism breathing its hot and heavy breath in our faces, it takes an iron will and a very firm plan to avoid succumbing to the excesses of the season.  I clearly remember my first Christmas of motherhood, which involved a child of not quite 6 months of age being absolutely over-whelmed with stuff - stuff from us, stuff from Santa, stuff from grandparents, aunties and uncles, great-grandparents, great-uncles, fairy-godparents and friends.....you get the picture - and, as the old but accurate cliche goes, being only really interested in the wrapping.

Every year since I have vowed that we would not go over the top - that we would just buy one thing for each child, a few stocking stuffers would be provided by Santa, and then family would complete the picture.  So how is that every year that somehow the underneath of that Christmas tree is chokka and I fully know I have only myself to blame for the vast majority of the paraphernalia that overwhelms my children on Christmas morning.


This is my fifth Christmas as a parent, so you would think I might have a few clues by now.  However, as I write this I am mentally reviewing the various things stashed in the top of my wardrobe throughout the year, adding to that the slightly OTT order that I placed via our kindergarten fundraiser, convincing myself that a worthwhile cause justified a few extra bits and pieces, and thinking that not much of that stuff is of the right size to fit inside a stocking, so therefore some more shopping on behalf of Santa will be required.  Ugh.


In the midst of all this I am also reflecting on the most long-lasting and fascinating toys to have entered our lives this year - maybe a close second to paper and pen - these particular toys arrived in the guise of a new vacuum cleaner and - you - guessed it - the rather large box encasing said vacuum cleaner.  In the blink of an eye this box became a car, and over the various weeks and now months of its existence this car has gradually been enhanced with various features (this weekend saw it sporting a large extension which apparently is a smoke stack, complete with smoke, turning it into a train).  It has been the favourite spot for reading, spelling practice, and the centre of all sorts of games.  It has had a boot added, which contains treasures of all descriptions.  Periodically it gets relegated to the garage as it (plus its smaller sibling-version) takes up a lot of room and we get a bit tired of tripping over it from time-to-time, but it always re-enters the house and is embraced with as much enthusiasm and it generated on Day 1.

So, what is to be done about the Christmas stash.  In the process of writing this I think I have come up with a plan - stick to the plan.  Sift through the stash to find the things that can be rammed into the stockings, pick one or two extra things for each child, and leave the rest in the cupboard for birthdays (our family's or others) and perhaps to be brought out at odd times when it seems like a new toy could be welcome, rather than on one crazy day when it will just be lost in the pile of wrapping paper.  Surely with Christmas now only a few weeks away I can manage to remember that plan?

Chocolate Truffles

A perfect Christmas treat - adults only!  Truffles can be made 3 days ahead, keep covered in refrigerator. Recipe unsuitable to freeze.
100g dark chocolate melted
1 ½ tablespoons dark rum
2 table spoons cream
30g butter melted
1 ¾ cups icing sugar
1 cup ground almonds 
¼ cup cocoa
Combine melted chocolate, rum, cream and butter in bowl. Stir in sifted icing sugar and almonds in 2 batches. Cover, refrigerate until firm. Shape rounded teaspoonfuls of mixture into balls, roll in cocoa, place in refrigerator until serving. Makes about 15.