Porridge....

This morning Goofy was not happy with me. She wanted porridge from the small packet and I said to wait until we knew if Daddy was having porridge. She opened it anyway. She was having this porridge.

No Porridge then Goofy.

And the tears did flow. The wailing began.

You can go to your room to make that noise if you  like.

She was quiet and sidled up to U2, opinion shopping and ignoring me in the process.

Still no porridge, and so it began again.

Eventually she gave up and was quiet. She calming came to me and asked politely if she could have porridge.

What to do? Stick to my guns about the no porridge to teach that you don't get what you want by acting like a pork chop or teach that if you use your manners and act calmly you get a much better response and maybe even what you were after.

I went for the latter, partly as I didn't want world war three again and because I think she had learnt something. So porridge was made.

Then I hear ....

Mummy, I don't want any more porridge.

I turn and look at her, Pardon? She looks genuinely cranky.

Then a smile cracks.

Because I have eaten it all.

Ah, Goofy, you make me laugh and cry!!

Made it Monday .... bread

A friend taught me how to make a part sourdough bread a few weeks ago so the waft of fresh bread has been a regular scent in our house.

Warm bread straight out of the oven with butter and golden syrup on a rainy Queen's birthday. Yumo.

What are you up to this rainy long weekend?

Too true MiniMe....

School project ... the MiniMe express

First of all I am very excited to have figured out how to get photos back on my blog!! Yipee!

MiniMe was given a project for this term to fit in with their topic of how toys are made, it was to make a boat. Definitely seemed to require parent help and from most of the Mums at school, a project for Dad to help with. This is what MiniMe and U2 came up with - the MiniMe express. Complete with propeller propulsion! A few weeks later we saw the same design of boat for sale in a toy shop for $10 - maybe they should go into business!?!

To fit in with the topic, our friend who designs toys came in to talk to Jessica's grade about the toys he has made, Sleep monkeys. Check them out! They now have a homework project to invent a new toy and let him know about it and he will give them a commission for the idea!! Got a good idea I can pass on?!

Exciting sales this week...

During various stages of our girls baby years we have used cloth nappies.

Part if my thinking for going cloth was that we saved money in not buying lots of disposable nappies (i used both, not totally hard core!), good for the environment and one day I could sell them and make it an even cheaper proposition.

Then I discovered you couldn't sell them on ebay so I thought I would just be donating them, but even that proved difficult as most of my friends are getting past the baby years now.

Then I found Gumtree and usednappies.com.au.

I have $110 extra in my pocket this week from selling various nappies!! Very happy.

No TV for a week...

When the TV is on our girls are like their father watching the rugby - they are in the zone, the rest of the world disappears, you can have whole conversations that are not remembered.

Last weekend, when telling MiniMe for the 100th time to put her Netta uniform on and nothing was happening I declared that the following week would be one without TV. JJ was allowed to watch when they were at school (for my sanity) but other than that it was gone.

I thought we would have screams, fights but they have accepted their lot for the week.

We have had a couple of friends for plays in the afternoon which has helped distract but last night at the in-laws for dinner the TV went on so we could have dinner in peace. I thought the girls would be hooked back in but they happily went downstairs and played with their cousins.

And today, Goofy is home and has only requested the TV once but now is very involved in a make believe game with JJ. They have a house in the toy room, they are going on picnics and other excursions around the house.

They are happy.

I am contemplating making TV a permanent exclusion from our weekdays. They (and I) have managed fine without it.

Is can only be good for them right?

Beyond Green Beyond Clean...

As noted yesterday JJ has left the unpleasant smell of vomit lingering at our friend's house.

Yesterday I was at a friends whose house smelt of Pine Tarsal - the chimney had been cleared but something went wrong and the good dining room got covered with ash instead!

This is when I was reminded about a product called Beyond Green Beyond Clean.

It eats mould and odours and is all environmentally friendly as it uses an enzyme to eat the yucky stuff!

Might need to take some round and try it out on the vomit infested dining room table!