Our Little Chef!

Our oldest daughter (13) absolutely loves to cook! 

So much so that she's collecting cooking books, creating her own recipes, and forever asking to be in the kitchen!

As her parents, we obviously are wanting to support her in her interest (that doesn't show any signs of changing!) and give her opportunity for growth and the chance to learn from her sometimes not so edible creations! 

We're so thankful that homeschooling allows these extra opportunities.

But ...

We seemed to be always clashing with when we were both wanting to be in the kitchen!

So my husband and I came up with this plan ...

... We would give our eager little Chef one night per week that is hers for her cooking night. (She can cook as many or as few dishes as she likes; entree, main, dessert, drink, etc.)

Thursday night works best for us all, so Thursday night it is! 

When we shared this with our daughter, she was thrilled to pieces!

There are, of course, some 'non-negotiable' rules that she has to follow ...

#1.  Plan your menu BEFORE mum goes shopping (usually Monday or Tuesday)

#2.  Write out your own list of ingredients needed when shopping 

(I use grocery money that I would normally use for that meal)

#3.  Please keep it budget friendly and healthy

(I can still 'rule-out' any meals too expensive, unhealthy, or difficult etc.)

#4.  Start with a clean kitchen, end with a clean kitchen 

#5.  Read and re-read all methods carefully BEFORE cooking

#6.  Try (as best as possible) to have the meal on the table before 6pm

#7.  Keep going, and never give up

#8.  Have fun!

We've found that this is such an easy way to support her love of cooking! 

It really works well (and I really enjoy the night off too!) 

As an extra addition to her cooking 'education', she keeps her own recipe journal as well (her own idea!) It contains recipes that she's tried and are now favourites, and recipes that she's developed herself over time. I can just see her cooking for her own family from this lovely book full of delicious meals, cakes, biscuits, desserts and everything in between! 

When time permits, I allow her to bake at other times as well, so she's not restricted to only Thursday nights.

And, as you can see ... my younger children have no problem with dressing up for the occasion and being our happy little waiters! They are sooooo cute! 

(Look at that tie and those braces, and those gloves and pearls! They melt my heart!)

The last meal that our daughter cooked, she asked if she could create her own menu too (we said yes), so that was designed and printed from Word, and placed on the table at each setting. We've also said that she can have fun with the decorating of the table, and again, the younger kids enjoy helping with this as well! 

Tonight her meal (as in pictures above) was an Asian Mince, with mashed potato (we 'judge' her meals, like she's asked us to, and all said that veggies would have been nice in it too, but it was sooo yummy!) and then mini apple pies (that she made from scratch!) with custard for dessert, delicious!

This is fast becoming a fun family night together and we're so very proud of our little Chef!

I think this quote says things quite perfectly ...

Have a truly blessed week!

Mr Doubtful

Today should have been the first day of school for our four children. We home school and are looking forward to another year of learning together. My husband and I spent hours pouring over curriculum, going to a meeting for advise (and to change schools). We're very happy with our choices, and excitedly placed the order for the new curriculum, and began the waiting game ... and so now we wait. I ordered with what I thought was enough time for the curriculum to arrive well before the first day, but, no. 

And then ... enter 'Mr Doubtful'.

Have you met him? He's the guy that makes you wonder whether or not you are actually cut-out for this homeschooling thing. You know you're only technically a day late, but Mr Doubtful gets into your ear and whispers, "you really aren't organised" ... and then there's, "do you know you're teaching a high schooler Elisha?" ... 

... On and on Mr Doubtful goes ...

 "Can you really teach your first grader to read?"

 "Are you going to be able to keep up with everything?" 

"Are you going to be able to keep your home clean, 

you do realise you're a perfectionist don't you?"

"What do other people really think of you home schooling your children?"

 "There's going to be lots of gaps in their education you know, 

you'll miss teaching them something important" ...

... one day in ladies! One day in, and Mr Doubtful is here already! 

Well I think it's time that Mr Doubtful gets told the truth, don't you?

I think my answer would go something like this ..

"Well Mr Doubtful, I see the point in all of your questions. But let me tell you something ... I am equipped to teach my children, not because of myself, but because of Him who strengthens me.  You're right, I don't have it all together. I will make mistakes this year, and every other year. But that's o.k.  There are many things I do right.

My home will possibly, more often than not, look like a scene from WW3, with dirty dishes in the sink, piles of washing sitting, sitting ... sitting, floors that need mopping, dust that multiplies seemingly by the millisecond ... but I'm not creating a castle, or a kingdom, or a display house; I'm creating a home. And a home is where life happens; so home is where mess happens.

I don't run by your 'must-do to impress' schedule, but rather I run on God's time; doing what He asks of me. I know, I know, teaching a high schooler is daunting, but it's not impossible. Teaching a child to read will be challenging, but it can and has been done. God knew we would choose to home school Mr Doubtful, and He will help us through. I will miss teaching them important things, you know why Mr Doubtful? Because I'm not super-mum, and I don't want to be. I'm mum, chosen for these children to love, nurture and enjoy, and God says I can do this. And there will always be someone who disagrees with our choices, but they're not the ones who live with them. 

At the end of the day Mr Doubtful, you are just fear talking. And perfect love casts out fear. So say what you will, but excuse me if I'm not listening to you; I'm too busy teaching my kids".

Bird Feeders - Op Shop Style!

As you all know, we really enjoy op-shopping and making things for our home. During the holidays, we saw an idea on Pinterest (where else), for making glass bird feeders with second hand glass ware. We hunted through our local op-shops for glass pieces that we thought would work well for this project, then headed home to get started. 

Our family really enjoys birds. They are such beautiful little creatures and their variety is a testimony to the creativity of our amazing God. Having more of them around our home is definitely something that all of us like the thought of!

The feeders were so simple to make. 

All we needed was ...

• the second hand glass ware
• a hot glue gun (with spare glue sticks)
• some wire
• a pair of pliers

I also found in the shed, a black wrought iron candle holder that once held a glass bowl in the top for wax melts. The glass bowl had long since shattered and so I thought that re-purposing the holder to make a bird feeder would be an excellent use for it! It gives the garden a bit of a quirky touch too, which doesn't bother me in the slightest!

As I was sifting through the shed, I also found two wire brackets that I ended up using to hang the wire hanger on as well.

We sat out on our back patio as a family, while the rain drizzled all around us, and happily made the feeders. We tried different dishes stacked on each other and chose the layouts that we were most happy with and the ones we thought our little feathered friends would most appreciate! 

They've turned out so beautifully! I am yet to fill them with seed, as it's been raining for a few days here now and it'll just be a waste to get the seed wet. But, we have seen a couple of birds already drinking from them, which is very exciting! 

All up, these four bird feeders cost us no more than $5! A very inexpensive way to provide a little refreshment for the sweet birds, and add some extra beauty to the garden.

A Christmas Delight

Turkish delight has long been among the most favourite of our Christmas treats. All of us devour the soft, rose-red, snow dusted squares with eagerness. It is so delicious. This year we decided to make two batches of this delectable sweet, using two different methods; one batch on the stove top in a saucepan, and the other in the microwave (I know, I never knew Turkish Delight could be made in the microwave either!)

We began by making the stove top recipe ...

Stirring the sugar, water and gelatin together ... 

 

We discovered that the tin was too thin only after we had let the confection set ... oh well! Thank fully it doesn't effect the taste at all! We ended up 'folding' one half over on top of the other half to give it more thickness, it turned out much thicker!

Then, we experimented with the microwave recipe ...

I found this recipe was the most convenient, in that we were able to put the ingredients together in a microwave safe bowl, then walk away while it cooked. There was no having to stay by the mixture, stirring constantly. We were all sure that this recipe was going to give us the best results and provide us with the consistency and texture that we love in Turkish delight; soft, chewy and slightly stringy.

So we began to make the microwave version ...

We deliberately made this batch slightly darker in colour so that we could tell the two batches apart ...

... again, we only realised after this was set that my son had, unthinkingly, lined the tray with freezer paper, not baking paper ... you can imagine how that ended.

Sneaky little fingers always have to stick themselves into the mixture, 'just to check'!

The final results? ...

Stove top batch ...

The microwave batch ...

Our conclusion is that, surprisingly, the stove top batch turned out a much better result. We were all thinking that the microwave one would 'win', as while we were cooking it, the consistency just seemed so much nicer. It actually ended up being more jelly-like with the stove top recipe being the texture that we love! I would probably give it just a few minutes longer boiling and stirring on the stove next time though, just so it's a bit more chewy!

As you can see, we take making Turkish Delight very seriously in this home ...

... and we may have ended up with having an icing sugar fight in the kitchen!

***

‘‘It is dull, Son of Adam, to drink without eating,’’ said the Queen presently. ‘‘What would you like best to eat?’’ 
    “Turkish Delight, please, your Majesty,” said Edmund. 
    The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle on to the snow, and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of the best Turkish Delight. Each piece was sweet and light to the very centre and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious. He was quite warm now, and very comfortable. 

***

Turkish Delight ... it reminds us of Narnia, every time.

Helping Your Children Set Goals

Well we've started the last term of the school year and I thought it would be great to start it off by setting some new goals for this term. We sat down at the school table and each thought of some goals that we would like to see ourselves accomplish by the Christmas school holidays. 

I don't believe that goals need to be something that add pressure to our lives, but rather something that gives us focus, are achievable and something that allows us to see progress with the things that we would like to develop in.

So how do you go about helping your children set some goals?

Here are my pointers ...

•  Ask them to think about what they really really want to learn about or get better at. There's no point in setting goals if it's something you're not really interested in doing. Your just setting yourself up for failure.

• Ask them to be specific in what they want to achieve. Instead of writing just 'piano', for example, ask them to write what they want to learn about the piano. Do they want to learn three new songs, practise their scales each day, etc?

• Make sure their goals are realistic and going to be achieveable. Remember if you start smaller, then they can see that they can reach their goals, and will progress to setting bigger ones in time! Reading 50 novels by the end of term, if your child is a slower reader, is probably not going to be an achievable (or fun) goal. Finishing 1-2 might suit that child better. Small goals are better than none at all.

• Write them out and have them in a place where they're easily seen. You know the saying 'out of sight, out of mind'. I find it much easier to stay focused on something if I see a visual reminder of it daily. My kids have a copy of their goals in their room, and in the school room. They're nothing fancy, just written on a piece of paper. If you want to make yours fancier, go ahead!

• Be encouraging. None of this will work or be enjoyable for your children (or you for that matter), if you don't encourage them along the way! Whether it be verbal, physical or a reward that you offer, encouragement gets results! 

• We are helping each other. My children's goals are different from each others, but we are going to help each other with them when we can. Any opportunity to teach our children to be helpful (even if it's not their interest), is good!

How do you help your kids set goals? Do you have any other suggestions to add to this list? Add them in the comments below!

People with goals succeed because they know where they're going.

 -Earl Nightingale.

I'll share with you my goals in the coming posts!

Six Things I've Learnt As A Home School Novice ... So Far!

If you're a newcomer to the home school world, and like me still finding your way, then I have some pointers for you to hopefully help steer you in the right direction! These are the things that I've found to be very helpful so far for my family and I!

#1  Begin each day with a quiet time and prayer ...

Each morning I try to rise before the kids do, which is very hard sometimes when you have two children who mostly get up at the crack of dawn. That and the fact that I'm not naturally a morning person, means that sometimes I don't get out of bed early at all! On the mornings that I can, I make myself a hot cup of coffee and sit back in bed, or at the kitchen table and pour over my Bible in the peace and quiet of the early morning home. It sets the tone for the rest of the day. I pray for His wisdom and strength, His peace and joy. I thank Him for His goodness, His love and everything else! Sometimes it helps to journal as well, especially if there's a special scripture that has really stood out to me that day. The days where I don't have this time ... I really notice it. Everything seems to be that bit more stressful and unproductive.

#2  Get yourself dressed and ready for the day ...

It sounds simple, I know. It's not like any of us would just spend the day trudging around in our nighties or anything?! As simple as this sounds, it really makes a huge difference. Showering and dressing in clothes you love, be it a dress, or a skirt and top, pants, bathers, old clothes, whatever you prefer, is a great way to make sure you are beginning the day prepared, awake and ready to be productive! Do your skincare routine if you have one, put on a bit of makeup if you like, do your hair neatly, etc. It helps me to feel good about myself.

#3  Invest in new stationary ...

It's so good to create, write and learn using brand new stationary that actually works! Our last lot of felt tip pens looked like mini chimney sweep brushes! So, I tossed out the three year old hard crayons, chimney brushes and split pencils and stocked up on new ones! They were on special too, which is a bonus! It's a great incentive for the kids to work well and they've been busy creating beautiful artworks too!

#4  Have your school space as organised as possible ...

Your school space doesn't have to be expensive or fancy if you don't want it to be. Ours is quite basic (the above pic is only a little space of our books etc.) and simple as it's also the main dining room of our home. At the end of every school day we make an effort to put things back where they belong. It makes the whole space available for other activities and family meals, and also ensures that everything that is needed for the children's school work can be easily located when needed, saving time and frustration! Having my children be responsible for their own tidy up is important for many reasons; teaching them tidiness, organisation, respect of their parents home, being productive etc.

#5  Make time for yourself each day ...

I have learnt that if I want to be the best mother I possibly can (with God's help) than I need to take some time each day to just relax. I've learnt that the amount of time in which I have to do this is irrelevant to the benefits that we all receive from it. Even just 15 minutes of lying on the lounge resting, or having a hot cup of tea outside in the cool of the garden while the kids play is a very easy way to 're-charge' for the rest of the day ahead. Looking after ourselves is not selfish when we spend each day looking after the many needs of the ones we love, it is vital if we are to look after them well.

#6  Make time for your marriage ...

I have already posted on this point and you can read about it all here. You and your husband were a family before your children became a part of your story; make sure you take the time to cherish him, hug and kiss him, and build up his self-esteem. Of course, we don't always get this right, but it's important that our men still see that we are making an effort for them and not just our children.

#7  Clean as you go ...

I start some mornings when needed, by putting on a load of washing and asking a couple of my children to put away the clean dishes if they weren't done the night before. Our floors are swept in the morning, our cats fed, and our beds made with rooms relatively tidy. I find that with these basic chores done first thing, I can then go about the day doing other odd jobs in between helping children with school work and other daily activities. We all know what it's like to get to the end of the day and have the house look like a storm's hit. Cleaning as you go really helps to minimise end of day cleanup. Do the dishes at breakfast and lunch, sweep the floor as needed, stock the bathroom with clean towels, take out the rubbish, tidy the bookshelves. You can even fill the sink up with very hot water and detergent and just pop in your dishes as you go, if that works for you! Find ways to clean as you go and you'll find you gain more time at the end of the day!

I know that as our home schooling journey continues, there will be many more lessons to learn! I know that God is leading our journey, and for this I am so thankful! 

Have a beautiful week! 

One Hour Of Bliss!

As we began our home school journey, I knew that I would be having to spread myself between four childrens' needs (and my husbands too) every day, and that this would leave me with not as much time to spend with my husband. Marriage can be like that sometimes can't it? Two adults caught up in their own worlds, sometimes passing like ships in the night? 

Marriage is a relationship, a friendship that is worth making an effort for.

 I began thinking and praying of a way that we could make sure that we still had some time together, just the two of us. In fact, as I began thinking and praying about it, I realised that I was actually quite desperate for some time with just my husband - all to myself, alone, uninterrupted, free, did I mention all to myself? Our husbands are busy men, and they loose sight of, (just like us wives can) of the importance of just being together.

God in His faithfulness, almost immediately, dropped a thought into my mind that I knew would work beautifully for us! We have no family living close by and so we can't regularly leave the home to be by ourselves. His solution is perfect (as they always are!) 

He gave me the idea of spending one whole hour together every Sunday afternoon. And so we have begun this now and have enjoyed it for three Sundays so far! It's nothing fancy at all; we make a coffee, sometimes grab a snack and give the children strict instructions not to interrupt unless it's a safety issue (they are inside watching a movie, or reading or drawing - there is NO going outside or answering the door during this time though).

I tell you - it's one whole hour of bliss! We talk, we laugh, plan, hug, smooch, and share our lives with each other. Seriously, only three weeks of this regular one hour block of time (as we do get to chat through the week too) and we have grown so much closer together already! God is so good how He provides ways to prioritise things that are so important! 

This hour is something that I know I love (and so does my man) and we both are really looking forward to this time together by the end of the week. Church, family lunch, and a whole hour together! What a great way to spend a Sunday! 

I'm so grateful that we serve a God who is a God of relationships! People are everything to Him. People are who He came and died for! 

We don't have to wait for the abundant life that He provides us until we get to Heaven, it's for here and now!

Relationships are here and now! 

And I love my God so much for His answer to this prayer in our life. He is so good!

Could you see this being something that you would enjoy in your marriage too?!  Do you already practise this, or something similar?

I really can't wait until Sunday!

Playing With Dollies ... At 33?

I'm nearly 33 ... is that too old to be playing with Dollies?! 

Well, I haven't been playing with them, more so 'making' them. Let me explain. I have been completely inspired by the work of Tasmanian artist Sonia Singh. Everything her Tree Change Dolls stand for is just beautiful. Giving these over-sexualised dolls that are mass produced by big toy companies, a more natural down-to-earth appearance. A little dolly that might look like someone a little girl actually knows! Sonia calls the process a 'make under', which is fantastic!

You can watch a bit of her story here. She also has some tutorial videos available so you can get started on creating your own! Sonia has an etsy shop too, if you'd prefer to purchase directly from her. I will not be selling mine, I'm just doing it as I think it's a much nicer way for my girls to play dollies!

My girls were given a few Barbie Dolls over the years, and I went op-shopping for some more of them (and some brats dolls, which I have strictly NEVER bought because of their sexual appearance) and I managed to find some for only a dollar each. 

Sonia not only changes the faces of her dolls, her very skilled Mother knits new clothing for them too, making them look even more innocent and adorable! I'm not the worlds best sewer, so that part of the make under won't be happening around here any time soon (I may be able to pay one of our Church ladies though ... hmmm) 

So I've just stuck with giving them new faces for now.  I've only done three so far; one I will probably take off and re-do again. She was my first one and I'm not all that happy with the end result of her. 

So, here they are! ...

This is Hope ... she likes sewing and working in the veggie garden!

And this is Claire, she loves climbing trees and baking! 

I have to be careful actually, because this could become quite addictive! 

As well as giving these two dolls a make under, I have been making 'Pocket Pals'. What are they you ask? 

I'll show you ... 

... they are cute little paddle-pop stick people (inspiration from Pinterest!) that I've decorated with washi tape clothes and drawn on their little hair-do's, legs and faces! These are perfect for putting in my handbag and taking them with me to places where my children (well my younger ones) need to play quietly. So far, they've been to the beach, the zoo and the shops! 

I love how easily portable they are and how they stir up in my children the love of innocent imaginative play! 

You may also remember that I love naming things. So, naturally, I've named these Pocket Pals too! ...

These dolls are definitely a frugal little toy! With the sticks only costing $2.00 for 80 (I even found 35 at an op-shop for $1.00), and a small amount of washi tape for their clothes, they are very inexpensive. 

The many hours spent enjoying these two different types of dollies? ... priceless.

Have you tried either of these before? Did you become addicted too?! 

I hope you're having a lovely week!

(Linking up with Amaze Me Mondays)

Too Exhausted To Think Of A Title

Crazy. This one word sums up this last week here in the Wolter household. My good intentions of delivering you a sewing tutorial blog at the end of last week got left far behind in between housework, filling out forms, trying to fix an almost had-it laptop (which in the end, didn't work anyway!), taking the children to sports and music practise, and a myriad of other 'non-normal' events for the week. I'm exhausted! 

It's been one of those weeks where I am very surprised that I actually still have hair left, that my eyes are not carrying around big black bags with them on a daily basis. Do you ever have one of those weeks where you start the week off with a list of things that you would ideally like to get accomplished, and come the end of the weekend there's not much crossed off, more things added and you find yourself wondering what on earth has happened here?! Where your brain knows that there is this much to do, this amount of time to do it in, and then ... nothing! Yep, I see all your nodding heads. 

We have had a visit this week from our home school teacher, and that was lovely. He assured us our school books are on the way, so we can begin the school year hopefully by next week. Early. Next. Week. Please. The kids are becoming restless, mummy's becoming aggravated, and we are itching to begin a new schedule with the familiarity of structure. It really is getting quite ridiculous around here! But, I guess that this can be the 'normal' for a mother!

I struggle to find something to share with you today, because as I said earlier, this week has felt like one extended stress period! Please tell me there are other Mother's who know what I mean by this?! You know, the weeks when your husband comes home from work and you find yourself saying behind gritted teeth, "please take our lovely, darling little cherub children out for a while ... NOW!"

Oh but you just have to laugh, for these things are sometimes just a part of our lives! To top it off, I haven't even been op-shopping this week, no wonder I'm stressed!! We had a lovely visit today with an elderly couple who we have come to know and see as family, and they were enjoying having a giggle at my expense when they saw the 'wild and haggard' look in my eyes. We were laughing together as I was telling them that I think there might be a market for me if I were to tape myself  saying the instructions that I regularly give my children, then all I would have to do is just press 'repeat' and viola!, same thing! Rhonda assured me, through her gorgeous giggles, that it wouldn't work. Defeated. 

I love that I can write all of this and know that you know that I actually DO love my children and family very much, as I know you all do too! 

So, all that said, hopefully next week there will be more regular posting, sleep and coffee consuming done by me, and a week of getting settled into 'normal' life again ... if there is such a thing!