Living in (unreasonable) Hope

 

What does one do on the first day of school holidays?  Why, she takes her three children grocery shopping, of course.  It was not without a fair measure of frustration, but I did make some very interesting observations this time.

1. Mr Busy is the main cause of all shopping frustration.  He touches everything.  He gets in the way of both the trolley and my feet, whichever the case may be.  He requests all kinds of things that he knowing his requests will be rejected.
2. The girls are a dream to shop with.  They're even helpful!  The girls help keep Mr Busy in line and remind him that you get no joy at all when you beset your mother with a myriad of requests for special things in the first half of the first aisle.

I was reading a post at Shiny Red Houses the other day, in which Sara shared 11 easy steps to 'junking' (ie. finding great second hand goods at fabulous prices).  One of Sara's steps was to ensure you leave your children at home to go junking.  And then she made an astute observation about boys, specifically.  I think her comments are true of boys and all shopping trips.  She says:

"I have yet to meet a boy 

who will junk without being 
convinced that the junk shop 
will kill him dead on the spot. 

So just don't bring them."

She reminded me that when Mr Busy was about three or four years old, he used to cry and whine whenever I set my car in the direction of a shopping mall.  He used to beg and plead not to have to go until I promised that when he entered Preschool I would not ever taking him shopping again, if it was at all possible.  He settled down for a little while at that point.

How do you handle shopping with children?

Ye Olde Days

The main street of Sovereign Hill

We enjoyed a bit of an end of term celebration of studying 'Australia Getting Started' today.  A bit of dressing up along with damper cooked in our fire trench, homemade lemonade and kangaroo stew made the day what is was.

I adore almost all things old fashioned.  I think it is what drives my love of Amish fiction and my determined commitment to things like cooking a proper meal each night.  The fact that men and women knew what their roles were and fulfilled them to the best of their ability and with a sense of pride appeals to me.  I don't doubt for a moment that the lives of people 250 years ago was busy.  And hard.  But busy and hard in a different way to what we experience now.  Busy and hard in a way that brings satisfaction at the end of the day rather than wondering where on earth your time disappeared to.

Often over the years I have wondered if I was born in the wrong era.  Long dresses and lace call to me in a way that would be inappropriately over the top to indulge in, these days....and somewhat impractical on many occasions.  I've often wondered what my life might have looked like had I been born 250 years ago, in the early years of Australia's history.  While my great-grandmother used to tell us that "there was nothing good about the 'good ol' days, they were just jolly hard work", I'm sure there was something to recommend it.  I wonder would I have been the one who got her washing on the line first....or would I have been amongst the last?  Would I have managed to get the hang of cooking in a wood stove?  Would I have ever been wealthy enough to have travelled beyond the local township.  And even if I could have, would I have wanted to?

So many questions that will never be answered.  But I think perhaps it is possible to capture just a little olde world-ness.  What I do can still be done to the best of my ability, with pride in the doing of a good job.  I can dress in a way that feels ladylike.  Indeed I have these odd clothing rules in my head ~ like no jeans at work or church, even though it is a common choice amongst many others, and one that is perfectly OK (to me) on someone else.  And I can choose solid old-fashioned morals and values that come from a time when the Bible was the authority on how one should live.

For Sure and for Certain

I have received two very exciting pieces of news today. 

Firstly, I have received a mark of 'competent' in all my Certificate IV subjects, which is now fully complete.  My certificate is on its way :)  My lecturer was full of high praise about my RPL application, which was such a fantastic way to begin the day!

Secondly, I have received a letter of offer from my preferred University to begin a Bachelor of Education (Primary teaching) next year.  I am so excited about the prospect of 'serious' study.  The Uni is interstate and offers their degree program via external delivery so I can continue to do what I normally do with family and work.  I am equally excited about the fact that I can do this via a method that works so well for me.

Of course, this calls for celebrating over a meal enjoyed at a restaurant.

Cybersafety Causes Morning Time Warp?

There is something incredibly disappointing about waking up thinking it is the weekend, only to discover you're still part way through the week.  Imagine then, how very much more disappointing it would be to wake up thinking it is Saturday and figure out (slowly!) that it is only Tuesday.  Near the start of the week.  *sigh*  That's how I started my day.

The reason for my out-of-whack start to the day?  I'll claim two reasons.  Firstly, a jab in the arm to update my tetnus, diptheria, whooping cough immunisation.  I figured since I had no recollection of having had the last one, I was probably due to have it again, especially with whooping cough on the rise.

Secondly, an unexpected evening out to hear Dr Michael Carr-Gregg speaking about Cybersafety, thanks to an early evening phone call from the library teacher at Our School.

Dr Carr-Gregg began the evening with the quote "If you haven't upset your teenager at least three times this week, you're not trying hard enough".  Ahh...already this was my kind of guy.  His other quote was "It is not our job to be our kids' friend.  It is our job to keep them safe".  He went on to say that if sometimes that makes us unpopular, then so be it.  Yep, in other circumstances we'd be fabulous friends.

When it comes to cybersafety and cyberbullying Dr Carr-Gregg is a wealth of wise and useful information, sprinkled with his very down-to-earth brand of humour and creative discipline style.  He didn't really tell me very much I didn't know...but what I didn't know was pretty big stuff:

• As parents, we are legally responsible for what happens when our modem is in use ~ if our kids misuse our internet connection, we will be in the firing line as surely as the misuser.  
• When our kids do silly things online there is the potential for having committed a crime they didn't intend to commit and their future could be seriously affected.
• Kids under 13yo who have a Facebook account are committing fraud!
• Our kids are already creating their CV.  People have been passed over as potential employees because of opinions expressed on their Facebook pages!

Of course there was so much more discussed in the hour or so that Dr Carr-Gregg spoke.  Interestingly he does not advocate for banning our children from the internet or social networking sites.  Rather, he advocates for a very high level of parental involvement, monitoring and supervision.  There is also a social networking site called 'Togetherville.com' that he describes as 'training wheels for Facebook'.  He deemed it a safer place parents teach their children to use such sites safely and responsibly and encouraged us to take a look at it.

Monday Menu Plan: Week Beginning 13 September

I simply cannot comprehend that the end of this term is upon us and that we're about to enjoy another break.  The break is much needed and right on time according to my energy levels, but still, it feels like we've only just returned from our epic holiday journey.

Over the next few weeks I am planning to get a little bit ahead of myself and cook double batches of casseroles and pastas so that the busy nights in the coming term will be a little easier to handle.  Term 4 is always busy in all kinds of ways, with end of year festivities and the inevitable flurry of organisational tasks at school.

This week our menu is looking a bit like this right now:

Monday:  Pasta with creamy bacon & mushroom sauce
Tuesday:  Nachos
Wednesday:  Coq au Riesling (from Nigella Express)*
Thursday:  Teriyaki Chicken, rice, stir fried vegies
Friday:  Tuna & rice
Saturday:  Honey Mustard Scallopine*, vegies
Sunday:  Sloppy Joe's...well...maybe soup

* make a double batch for freezing

Lamb Shanks with Beans...without Beans

We spent a leisurely afternoon enjoying a belated Father's Day lunch with my parents.  Of course, Nigella had to be involved in inspiring the meal.  Jamie Oliver made his contribution as well, now that I think about it.

Our Menu:

Slow Roasted Lamb Roast

Roasted Potatoes

Honey Carrots

Steamed Cauliflower & Broccoli

Tomato Salad

Apricot Crumble with Cream

Our slow roasted lamb was inspired by Nigella's Lamb Shanks with Beans (p117 in Nigella Express).  I balked at the $4/shank and picked up a leg roast piece instead.  I marinated the meat overnight, as directed, and then roasted it for 3 hours at 155C (135C fan forced) and then turned the oven up to 180C/160C(FF) and uncovered the meat to let it crisp up a bit while the potatoes baked in a separate pan.  It ended up being the perfect meal for an after-church lunch.  Jamie's tomato salad was delicious, minus the chorizo.  You'll find the recipe for that here.

I think I've figured out what it is I love so much about Nigella's recipes, as well as Jamie's.  They are no-fuss, fairly simple recipes for the most part that ooze goodness and vitality and are a delight to the tastebuds as well.  They use fresh, good quality ingredients.  Where shortcuts are taken, they are in the form of canned or frozen products to replace their fresh counterpart.  Where shortcuts are absent, good planning takes over. 

I'm looking forward to 'Nigella Kitchen'.  My favourite online bookseller will have it available in about a month.  And then there's a TV series...

Pride and Prejudice Comes to Our School

Earlier this week we attended one of the Year 9 Production presentations of 'Pride and Prejudice'.  What an absolute treat in so many ways!  Firstly, the students did an incredible job of their performances.  Their costumes were exquisite!  Mr Darcy was played by the son of our Primary Art teacher, and what a dashing Mr Darcy he made too.  He carried off 'aloof' perfectly.  Lizzie was played by two different girls, each having half the play.  A good decision given the enormity of the task.  Each of those young ladies brought something of her own to the role without detracting at all from the play as a whole.

The script, I was told yesterday, was taken from the book itself and put together by the Yr9 English teacher who claims it to have been not that big a deal.  I suspect he put far more hours into the process than he lets on. 

And the joy that we've waited for now for over a year ~ we got to use the new gym/multi-purpose hall for the very first time.