If you are trying to get organised for Christmas, check out my 10 Week Christmas Plan. This post sees us with only 6 weeks left until Christmas!

Since the children have been at school, they have given out Christmas Cards to their class mates at the end of the year. Last year my 9 year old at the time did grumble some what about having to give out Christmas Cards, at the time I said that he should do it this year and we can talk about whether he needs to do it for next year at another point.

Well “another point” raised its head this week, when we started on the process of making the children’s Christmas Cards. I had given this issue some thought and was prepared to take his lead on this issue - I wouldn’t make him do Christmas Cards if he didn’t want to. So as he told me in a very determined way that he believed he was too old to have to do this and none of his friends gave out Christmas Cards, I think I surprised him when I said “no worries then, you don’t have to make a card if you don’t want to.”!

This was not the end of the matter though, as my year 2 son then complained as to why did he have to do them if his brother didn’t? Before I could answer the 10 year old chimed in very quickly to point out that “I sent out Christmas Cards until year 4, so you should have to.” I thought my year 2 boy would no take this at all, but he seemed to just cop it on the chin and set out about drawing a design for his card. He did however say that he didn’t want to put his card on the blog and I am cognisant of the fact that it is his right not to have his work published, so you will only see my daughters card, who was happy with her drawing being on the blog. This year’s Christmas Card process was full of more issues than I had ever imagined!

This year as we have a new printer with a scanner function, we are simply scanning the drawings and then printing them on to card. If you don’t have a scanner, check out my last year’s post on Children’s Handmade Christmas Cards for other options were we used the Paint application on their PC and for Mac users like myself you can download Tux Paint to use instead.

Here is the word document template that I inserted the picture into: Children’s Christmas Card Template. I adjusted the size so that we could print out smaller cards (four per A4 size of cardboard).

So tell me, do your children give out Christmas Cards to their friends?

The family Christmas Card has been much easier than the kids cards, with big thanks to the lovely Kate for making it that way. Kate also designed our last year’s card which was incredibly gorgeous. In the last month I have visited two homes and have seen our last year’s Christmas Card still on show! (And they weren’t actually family’s houses either!) I will just have to find time to write on all of them when they come back from the printers.

What sort of Christmas cards do you do?

Technorati Tags: children, chrismtas cards, handmade

A big thank you to my daughter’s wonderful prep teacher who put me on to the many of these sites!

1. Learn To Read

This is the first game from Starfall that I will feature. Learn To Read has 15 individual activities listed within the “Play, Book, Skills” format. The play component had children making words with similar endings eg cot, pot, hot, dot. The Book format then focuses on a sound like the “short o” and children click on individual words on the book to listen to the word and read along. The Skills format is either a video reinforcing a skill required for reading like “chunking” or practicing blends.

2. Dub Cubs

From PBS Kids, Dub Cubs focuses on rhyming words through allowing kids to make their own little rap. Complete with record scratching sounds and throwing in words like “funky” and “alright”!!

3. Three Little Plays

Another game from the fab Starfall. Three Little Plays has two components, firstly familiarising the child with the key words to be read in the play and then they read the play, by pressing on each word individually. What I like about this part is that the audio comes up slowly, so allows the child time to decode the word themselves.

4. Word Reader

Word Reader requires the child to listen to a word then click on its written form. It has a base of approx 35 words that it runs through of the easier sight words. My only issue is that the audio could be a little clearer to make it easier for the children.

5. Star Words

From BBC, Star Words requires the child to identify the shape of the sight words and match them up to the shape by either dragging the word to the shape or clicking on the shape.

6. I Can Read

I Can Read requires the child to listen to a simple sentence and the associated question. To answer the question the child will need to click on one of the high frequency words. (You need to click on listen after each time you have answered a question.)

7. Missing Letter Game

The Missing Letter Game requires the kids to fill in the missing letters of the sight word. There are a number of words listed below to help the child determine what the word is that they need to finish spelling.

8. Dinosaur Eggs

Similar to Word Reader, Dinosaur Eggs requires children to listen to the words and then click on the matching text. The words in this game are from the harder high frequency words.

9. Spellbound

Also from BBC, Spellbound displays a high frequency or sight word briefly, then scatters the letters of this word. The child then needs to click and drag the letters into their right place to spell the word.

10. Room 108 Dolch Word Games

This site breaks down the sight (dolch word) lists into 11 even lists and has the same games for each list. Children can start at list one and move along as they master the words. The games are simple and not flashy, but they are easy for the kids to use. There are three games for each list which are:

Listen and Spell: This is a game where the student is dictated a word and given a group of mixed up but correct letters and has to click the correct letters to spell the word. This game is timed and marked by the computer.

Listen and Match: This is a game where the student must flip cards to match the sound with the word. This game is set for two players to play against one another.

Jigsaw: This is a game where the student must fit a word into a groove where they can click to hear the word

Can you add any other good online games to this list?

Technorati Tags: children, dolch, literacy, magic words, online games, sight words

It was time again to do the monthly menu plan for the family and I thought I would share the menu plans and shopping lists. (The files list below are all PDFs which you can download.) For me November disappears so quickly, I find once that we pass Melbourne Cup, we are then in December in no time at all. Having the menu plans collated and printed for the month, means there is one less thing for me to worry about.

These menu plans have the following attributes:

• They all contain pretty standard family meals, majority of which were selected by the kids.
• They have one day where we have “left overs”, which gives me a break from cooking.
• As we shop for fruit and vegetables each Saturday morning at a local market, my weeks run from Saturday to Friday.
• Mondays and Tuesdays have meals which I can cook in advance (after school activities on those nights).
• Fridays are a “fun” style meal like scrambled eggs, home made pizza etc.

Monthly Menu Plan

• Family Menu Plan - Week Starting 7th Nov.
• Shopping List - Week Starting 7th Nov.




• Family Menu Plan - Week Starting 14th Nov.
• Shopping List - Week Starting 14th Nov.




• Family Menu Plan - Week Starting 21st Nov.
• Shopping List - Week Starting 21st Nov.




• Family Menu Plan - Week Starting 28th Nov.
• Shopping List - Week Starting 28th Nov.

Or if you would like to try menu planning for a month for yourself you can check out my post on how to How To Menu Plan For A Month In 35 Minutes.

The Family Menu Plan For This Week

A shortened week for us, this week as we will be driving back from Mildura on Monday and eating dinner on the way. It is going to be a very basic couple of weeks in terms of meals in our house, so I can catch up on lots of outstanding tasks!

Baking: 100s of Biscuits

Monday:Baked Penne With Bacon

Tuesday: Shepherd’s Pie

Wednesday: Left Over

Thursday: Beef Stir Fry with Asian Greens

Friday: Warm Tuna Panini

Saturday: Tacos

Sunday: Home Made Hamburgers And Salad

For more menu planning ideas head on over to Laura’s place at “I’m an Organizing Junkie“.

Technorati Tags: family, menu plan, Recipes

I was lucky enough to receive a set of ecoSTORE Baby Care Products to try out on my gorgeous baby. The timing was perfect as I was able to take them to Mildura with me when we went away last Friday. Over the four days that we were there the temperature in Mildura was 36, 38, 39 and 40 degrees celsius! Given that my parent’s house where I was staying is only partially air conditioned and that the kids insisted on still playing outside, bathing the baby before his sleep time was the best way to calm and cleanse the little fella so he could get some rest.

The Sleepytime Bath is an aromatherapy blend of lavender and geranium and it smells divine. After his bath bubs was much more composed, smelling sweet and feeling very clean. (Mildura is particularly famous for its red dirt, that he was continuously covered in.) Although I love the hot weather, when I was bathing bubs before his sleeps, I did take the opportunity to alternate soaking my hands and feet in the water to freshen myself up a little too.

ecoSTORE products are made using natural plant and mineral based ingredients and do not contain any nasty chemicals. You can check out their listing on their website to see the full list of what their products do not contain, but in brief their products do not contain toxic petrochemicals, propylene glycol, parabens, sodium lauryl sulphates (SLS), synthetic dyes or perfumes, mineral oils or paraffin.

The baby shampoo and massage oil also have a similar gentle and clean smell. I particular liked that the massage oil didn’t leave baby or I overly slippery. It gave enough lubrication to make the massage pleasant for baby, but without being too messy. I have to admit, that this massage was the first one that bubs had received in about 6 months! My three year old was fascinated by the process and then proceeded to lay down next to his brother, lining up for his turn. I wasn’t sure that he would like having the oil rubbed on him, but he loved it, telling me that next time I give the baby a massage, he would like another one too!

The Give Away!!!!

The kind folks at ecoSTORE are giving readers of Planning With Kids an opportunity to win a baby care pack. The pack includes all the following items:

• Baby Shampoo
• Baby Body Wash
• Baby Sleeptytime Bath
• Baby Soap

To enter all you need to do is simply leave a comment below. Just because you don’t have a baby doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enter! If you know someone who has had a baby recently, this would make the perfect gift. The give away is open to Australian residents and entries must be received before midday Friday 13th November 2009 AEDT. Winner will be chosen using Random.Org and announced on the blog Friday evening.

This is the start of what will be a regular monthly give away here on Planning With Kids. On the first Friday of each month, I will review a product or service and hold an associated give away. These are not paid reviews and express my honest opinion on the products. For further information on reviews on this blog, please click here.

Competition Winner

Technorati Tags: baby care, ecostore

After back to back trips to Singapore and then Mildura, I am not even close to being in a position to do that! Well I can certainly purchase the wrapping paper, but I am going to move the card making activities to next week and work on next week’s task instead which is to create Christmas present list and start shopping. Far more achievable for me this week.

As I included last year, if you click on the link below, you can download an excel spreadsheet that I use each year to keep a list of presents that I buy. I find this helpful for two reason, firstly it helps me keep track of what I buy throughout the year, so I don’t buy more than one present for each person. Secondly, it makes sure that I give a variety of gifts to people over the years, not by accident the same present in consecutive years!!!

I am intending to do a significant amount of shopping online this year and have been looking at these sites recently. (And just so you know, I do not have any affiliate links with these sites!)

1. ickle kids

ickle kids have a fantastic range of stocking fillers for under $20, including these fab toys:

Math Magic Mixer

Word Spin

Wooden Monkey Skittles

Kidz Card Tin

2. Fishpond - Children’s Books

My almost 11 year old is currently reading anything he can find my Robert Muchamore, in particular the Cherub and Henderson Boys series. You can pick up these books mew for $14.95 which is a significant saving and if you spend over $49 there is free shipping.

My 8 year old son is loving the Diary of A Wimpy Kid series and they can be bought online here cheaper too.

I have just finished reading the Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton with my 5 year old daughter and she is very much looking forward to reading more. Folk Of The Faraway Tree and other Blyton classics can be bought online here too.

Zazzle - Design A T-shirt

Zazzle allows you to design a children’s t-shirt (and pretty much anything else for that matter). I have some designs / wordings that I think they will like, I just have to do a bit of market research, to make sure that they will actually like them and wear them.

Magazine Subscription

I really like the idea of a magazine subscription for kids as it encourages reading and it lasts for more than one month! Here are a couple of subscriptions that I am checking out at the moment:

Little Angel is for girls aged 5 to 8, who love fun and aren’t in a hurry to grow up - we aim to reach the unchartered territory between girls who watch The Wiggles and girls who wear makeup and like to dress up. Little Angel is about having fun, getting involved and staying a kid while you still can!

National Geographic For Kids is based on the adult version but it is designed especially for children ages 6-14.

Just Kidding is packed full of fun, entertaining content that is designed and aimed at readers aged 6-13 years. Each 100 page edition provides the latest on music, video games, movies, toys, books, sports, pets, puzzles, celeb interviews and of course tons of competitions! Just Kidding is the only youth publication that encourages healthy living (NO JUNK FOOD CONTENT ALLOWED).

Just Kidding is also curriculum aligned! Content is constantly researched with schools across the country to assist in learning development. These features are then provided in a fun yet informative environment that kids, teachers and parents enjoy! Subscribe now and check out why Just Kidding is Australia’s highest circulating youth publication!

Wacky But True - This cool mag for kids is the BEST value for money on the market. Each issue contains short articles on history, nature and archaeology, written in a fun and entertaining way. Kids enjoy reading them so much they don’t even know they are LEARNING something. Aimed at 8-15 year olds this mag is a winner with boys and girls alike - all for the cost of just one hamburger a month!

Any hot tips for somewhere to purchase Christmas Gifts for kids online? Even if it is your own site, feel free to leave a link in the comments, I am keen to do some more online window shopping.

Technorati Tags: christmas planning, christmas presents

I love November and December, for me they are month’s full of birthdays, celebrations and lots of fun. Let’s see if I can find some time to achieve some work I need to do amongst the fun stuff!

Review of Key Tasks For October

1. Cooking Food For The Freezer

My gorgeous sister refused to let me cook for her, so I didn’t actually do this. Such a big thank you to her for taking such great care of our children while we were away. we truly appreciated it!!! xxoo

2. Finalise and Package Handmade Items For Christmas Craft Stall

Completed - yay!!!!


3. Take The Children To Refugee Camp In Your City

Unfortunately we didn’t make it to the Refugee Camp in Melbourne. With preparations for Singapore and Mr I now taking on the team manager role for Little Rascal’s cricket side, we were just too busy. I did contemplate just pushing through the busyness and taking all the kids along, but while having these thoughts I also read this excellent post on Clover Lane about Making Memories:

Now don’t get me wrong…I do think it’s nice to get out at as a family and have fun together someplace besides our back yard. Jeff drags me places and we all end up having a great time. The kids talk about it forever and it does make a great family memory, or starts a tradition we all look forward to.

But I pick and choose carefully.
I do not ever feel guilty about just staying home, saying no, and skipping out.
I do not concede to this new pressure of “memory making” …a sign of our rushed and busy lifestyles.

If I had taken the kids along, that is exactly what I would have been doing - “memory making”. I am pretty sure that it is on next year, so there will be other opportunities. Regardless of this though, the kids and I were much better off hanging out at home, than racing around just so I could tick this off my list of things to do!

4. Start 10 Week Countdown to Christmas Planning

I have started the countdown. You can check out the posts here:

• Christmas Theme Ideas
• Christmas Budget
• Making Handmade Christmas Gifts
5. Go To Singapore!!!!!!

As you have probably already read Mr I, bubs and I had a fabulous time in Singapore. I won’t repeat myself here, so if you missed out what we got up to, you can check it out here:

• Nuffnang Regional Blog Awards 2009
• Happy Snaps From Singapore

Key Tasks For November

1. Attract Advertisers For Planning With Kids

I spend roughly 14 - 16 hours a week on the blog and I have had Google Ads on the site for some time. They don’t really earn anything and the volume of visitors that I have on the blog now is at a stage where I believe that it could be mutual beneficial to have private sponsorship. (Don’t worry I won’t be placing ads all over the site! If I can attract advertisers they will simply be replacing the Google Ads.)

If you would like to advertise on Planning With Kids or know of someone who might like to, please head over to my Advertise page for more details.

2. Start and Finish My Christmas Shopping

I really like to have all my shopping completed by the start of December. I am not a fan of shopping at the best of times, throw big crowds into the equation and I like it even less. I have already made a number of gifts, but I still do need to buy significant number of presents.

3. Big Boy Birthday Party

My oldest baby will be 11 at the end of November! It is his turn to have a party this year. I am going to give him the responsibility of organising the bulk of it and just lend a helping hand where required.

4. Christmas Giving

Each year before Christmas the children and I go through their toys and find items to donate to charity. We will do this again this year, but I also want to find somewhere that my eldest child and I can donate our time to assist others during the festive season.

5. Christmas Craft Stall

Our school’s stall is Thu 26th (pm) and Fri 27th (am). I still have a number of things to co-ordinate and there are still a few things left to make and finish off before then.

Technorati Tags: family life, goals

This is a question that I have been contemplating a bit recently. Our beautiful baby number 5 will be our last and when I have mentioned to parents of older children, how I look forward to things becoming a bit easier in the years to come, a number of them have made remarks indicating that this is not the case. They suggest that it actually gets harder as the kids get older!

From where I am at the moment, I just can’t see how that could be. So firstly I would like to ask the question to readers who have older children - do you think that it doesn’t get any easier as the kids get older?

Secondly, I thought that I would note down some of the aspects of parenting a young family that I can find tough some days. I adore all five of my children and love the fun, chaos and the moments of pure joy that a large family brings. But there are days where it just seems like a lot of hard work. This list below isn’t meant to grandstand in any way about how much I do, or anything like that. I am sure most parents of young families will be able to tick of all these things and relate to these areas of family life.

However, my key objective in documenting this, is so that I can look back in 10 years time and make a judgement call myself on what was an easier stage in the parenting cycle. I am beginning to think that there possibly isn’t any “easier” stage in the parenting cycle, it is just that the stages have different requirements. I guess I will find this out in 10 years time!!

Here are some things that some days I find a little tough:

Running Errands
With the new car seat laws, I have three children who need properly fitted car seats. Due to the set up of our car, all three car seats are in one row, meaning that even the one child that uses a seat belt, isn’t able to do it up themselves because it is too squishy. To run errands where I have to visit a couple of different places, requires placing 3 kids into 3 seats, fastening 3 restraints, then doing this over and over again until we have finished. I find this exhausting, especially when after the second or third time we do this and the baby starts to arch his back, in defiance abut having to go back into the car seat again!

Showering
Bubs is crawling and pulling himself up onto everything. If I miss the opportunity to shower before Mr I goes to work, then showering can be a debacle. If I place him in the high chair so he is safe, he gets upset about having to be in there and cries. If I let him roam free, then it is a game of Russian Roulette to see how long it is until he loses his balance and crashes onto the hard tile floor and we have tears.

After School Activities
We have activities 3 out of 5 nights. The majority of the time, I will have a meal prepared for these nights, so I don’t have to start cooking at 5.30pm. But there are times when I have appointments in the morning or I just don’t get around to cooking the meal. This means, the evening can degenerate to something a little like this:

• Arrive home 5.30pm.
• Baby is tired as he was woken up at 3pm to leave for school pick up and cannot be removed from the hip without tears.
• 3 year old is hungry, wants dinner now! and is whining quite loudly to make sure that I understand this.
• Prep child is tired and sensitive, reacting incredibly well to being wound up by her older brothers.
• We eventually sit down to eat at around 6pm with everyone feeling slightly frazzled.
• After bath, there is still reading and words to be completed, baby to be breastfed and stories to be read, before I can bundle them all off to bed.

Sleep Deprivation
Although sleeping through the night, our baby is an early riser. He seems to really enjoy waking up when there is a 5 at the front of the clock display! (I have had somewhat of a reprieve since returning from holidays, but the pattern is for him to wake slightly earlier each day, so it is only time before I am up at 5.30am again.) If this is a given, then I should just go to bed earlier and I do know this, but I struggle to get into bed before 10.30pm. Throw in a sick child to the mix, with waking over night and then we have interrupted sleep as well.

Lifting, Carrying, Chasing
I keep reasonably fit, but there are still days when I have been out and about with the kids and it has involved lifting, carrying, chasing the kids, etc and I feel pretty physically exhausted.

The Squabbling
I do need to say that as far as sibling harmony goes, my kids get along very well and enjoy each other’s company. But there are still those days when it seems like no one can get along at all! Squabbling over tiny issues and being unable to resolve their own disputes with bombarding me with “she did this” and “he did that” - can really make my head hurt.

Competing Needs
There are moments when multiple children need you at the same time and it is impossible to please them all. Dealing with the emotional fall out of a preschooler who has to wait to play with me, while I test the spelling of his older brother or from being told that dad is reading bed time stories not mum, can become wearing at the end of a long day.

Finding Moments of Peace and Quiet
Thankfully once in bed for the night, my kids usually stay there, so by the time the eldest child heads off to bed at 8.30pm there is calm and peace across the house. However it is wonderful to try and have some peace and quiet in the middle of the day to regroup and refresh. To obtain this, the baby and preschooler will need to be asleep at the same time and sometimes this requires all my skills I used formerly as a project manager, to make this happen - but it is completely worth it!

With my little ones, quite often I cannot even go to the toilet for a few minutes without being followed or having some form of chaos erupt in my absence - does that happen to anyone else???

Just to reiterate - I wouldn’t change my situation for the world and I am so very grateful to have 5 healthy and beautiful children whom I love and adore, but there is no denying that it takes hard work to raise a young family. The question I want to know the answer to though is does it get easier as they get older?

Technorati Tags: family life, mother, parenting

This month’s post highlights all come from Aussie mums, who have discussed motherhood in some aspect. It is always so comforting to know that others are going through similar experiences as yourself! For my contribution on this topic, I have a post scheduled for tomorrow looking at the tough parts of life with a young family.

1. Tricky

Kate from Picklebums eloquently expresses the constant juggle a mum faces. Trying to balance the needs of the children, the house, work and your own interests - is it possible to keep all these balls in the air?

Then comes the other stuff… blogging and designing. I’m not ditching those either. That stuff is important to me… it is about me being me, not me being a mother or a wife or a cook.

2. A Juggling Act

Inspired by Kate’s post above, Cath at Squiggle Mum discusses the juggling act as well including a fantastic quote from her friend:

“I picture myself juggling a lot of balls. Sometimes, I drop a ball. In most cases, that’s not too big of a deal. But a few of the balls, like my husband and my kids, are glass balls. So I make sure I do whatever it takes not to shatter those balls.”

3. Navel Gazing

Alison at Three Time Kewl is a constant inspiration to me. The loss that she has endured I cannot even imagine, yet she has this amazing knack to self reflect and see the positives:

I may not be surrounded by my freak family and I may not be watching Zy grow up - But I AM surrounded by an amazing family of little people, and I have the absolute privilege of watching them grow up.

4. In All It’s Ugliness

Tiff at Three Ring Circus is another mother who has endured loss and is also completely inspiring with the way she approaches her family life. With her dear Ivy suffering, there are so many difficult decisions that she must make. This post gives us an insight into just how hard that can be.

I second guess everything. I stress over the decisions

but

it’s just the way it is.

It’s motherhood, really.

Everything starts with a choice and ends with one too.

It can be a hard thing to carry and I am far from perfect and I worry all the time.

5. Letting Go

Cath from Zucchini in Bikinis has three lovely girls aged 6, 4 and 6 months. In this post, Cath talks very openly about the challenge of returning to work (working from home) with a young family.

My week works out if everything goes perfectly according to plan. Any variation, no matter how minor, throws my ability to deliver for work into utter disarray. I have no margin of error here, none whatsoever.

6. Conflicting Emotions

Christie from Childhood 101 writes very honestly about how she entered pregnancy and motherhood:

I love being a Mum and I am sorry that I bought into the myth that our society has created, that there is plenty of time to have a career before having a family. For many women, that simply isn’t true. Me, I was lucky, I waited and still was blessed with a beautiful daughter.

7. Burn Brightly

Trish from Little Drummer Boys wrote a truly touching post in recognition of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day (October 15th):

Our tiny rose lent not given, to bud on Earth and bloom in Heaven.
Cradled briefly in our arms and forever our hearts. Sleep sweet baby in the Father’s arms…till we hold you again.

8. Aren’t We Smarter Than This?

Super Kawaii Mama writes a fantastic piece on how women can be too quick to judge each other:

You’d hope that we would have matured beyond that. When it comes to the big “What to Wear at the School Gate”, it is entirely up to you. Dress up, dress down – but figure out what makes you happier and WHY you are doing it……..It’s only a war if you choose to be in it.

9. Anxious

Veronica from Some Day We Will Sleep always writes so evocatively. Having recently lost someone incredibly dear to her, in this post she shares how the grief she feels makes those tough times of mothering even tougher.

I love my children dearly, but they’re very needy at the moment.

Like -

really needy.

And I’m not sure I can breathe, underneath this mountain of need they have.

***

I knew this would happen. The crash.

Nan died three months ago and for that three months I’ve been caught up in merely moving from one moment to another without thinking about myself. Just getting things done for this family of mine.

Caught up in the coping.

And apparently, the grief has caught up with me.

10. A Letter To Other Parents At School

Jen at Semantically driven gives great insight into how as a parent you can have trouble fitting in to the school crowd.

Maybe you’ve pre-judged them because their child’s always in trouble and maybe their child has called your child a ‘fat-arse’ and you think that the parent must have somehow influenced the child saying that.

Maybe you think that because their child is in trouble nearly all the time that they don’t care about this and wouldn’t be worth knowing.

Maybe if you reached out that parent might really like some support and a friendly chat.

Now grab yourself a cup of tea and click through to these fabulous posts and enjoy!

Technorati Tags: family, mothers, parenting

1. Cutting hole for Egg In The Basket, 2. Hole Made For Egg In The Basket, 3. Cooking Egg In The Basket, 4. Egg In The Basket

We have been staying at my parent’s house in Mildura and this morning they treated my kids to Egg In The Basket for breakfast. I hadn’t had once of these for years myself either. They were a massive hit with the kids. Our 3 year old ate two and then attempted to pilfer one from the plate of his big brother when he wasn’t watching!

The Family Menu Plan

A shortened week for us, this week as we will be driving back from Mildura on Monday and eating dinner on the way. It is going to be a very basic couple of weeks in terms of meals in our house, so I can catch up on lots of outstanding tasks!

Baking: White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Monday: Travelling back to Melbourne

Tuesday: Tacos

Wednesday: Sausages and Salad

Thursday: Spaghetti Bolognaise

Friday: Fried Rice

Saturday: BBQ

Sunday: Chicken Schnitzel and Salad

For more menu planning ideas head on over to Laura’s place at “I’m an Organizing Junkie“.

Technorati Tags: Menu Planning, Recipes

This was the probably the thing that stood out to me the most, even though I am a relatively small blogger, everyone was so welcoming, friendly and happy to chat - thanks guys :). I have put together some happy snaps which cover our few days in Singapore and the wonderful people that we met.

Here are some of the fabulous bloggers that I had the pleasure to meet:
Top Left: The vivacious Lady Melbourne (Phoebe), the gorgeous Girl With a Satchel (Erica) and the suave Michale Aulia.

Top Right: Lady Melbourne and her accomplice Lois Lane. Thanks for helping with bubs on the way to the airport!

Bottom Left: Lady Melbourne, the gorgeous Girl With a Satchel and the dapper Mr Gadget.

Bottom Right: Me squinting - yuk! But I wanted to include this photo to introduce the fab bloggers from Eat, Show and Tell - Howard, Qing and Teresa.

This is me with the other parenting nominees at the start of the award ceremony. Starting from the back left was Jenny who was representing her sister Toni from Wifely Steps, the lovely Leonny from Our Everyday Things, the glamorous Red Mummy and the fabulous winner of our category Christie (with daughter Immy) from Childhood 101.

Our first stop on our bloggers tour on Saturday was the MINT Museum of Toys. Quite an amazing collection of vintage toys. Photographed above is bubs having one of his many impromptu photo shoots! He was very popular in Singapore and will be appearing in many random photo albums.

Left: the ever glamorous Super Kawaii Mama in a rickshaw at China Town. Super Kawaii Mama will also be in many random photo albums across Asia as well. A very special thank you to SKM and Mr SKM for their hospitality, kindness and help that they gave myself, Mr I and bubs. You really helped make our time in Singapore very special!

Right: The stunning Violet Le Beaux. Thanks to Violet for allowing Mr I (and others) to steal hours of her partner Jame’s time and use his expertise to purchase new cameras from Sim Lim Square photographed below. I just have to work out how to use it now.

Sim Lim Square is seven floors of electronic and computer gadgets. With the help of the brilliant negotiating skills of Dave and Grace Lee we managed to get great cameras at terrific prices.

Here is our little fella sitting in front of the island wide model of Singapore at the Singapore City Gallery. With my obsession for planning, I was pretty impressed with the way Singapore plans for their constraints like height and space to cater for their country’s needs. Thanks to David Krupp, Pinky and the Melbourne Nuffnang team for the t-shirt little one is wearing.

Bubs checking out the view from the Singapore Flyer. Wonder when the Melbourne equivalent will ever work again???

Martin from Nuffnang Melbourne and Mr I indulged in a fish spa. They had a 15 minute session of the little fishies nibbling at their feet and legs!

Thanks goes also to Pringles and Uniquely Singapore for sponsoring the awards. We had a such a blast!

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