March Break

March Break Day 1: while I work (boo) the children have friends over and spend the entire day outside leaving their father free to catch up around the garden. Fabulous weather - as long as you don't mind a bit of mud. But that's what wellies are for.

If only they made wellies for dogs! (Actually they probably do, and for the record I would never ever buy wellies for my dog.)

March Break Day 2: while I work (boo hoo) the children have friends over and....is there a pattern here?

The big yay for the day was from Anna who beat a poodle at checkers (webkinz - see post) on the new computer (whereby the kids discover that newer models have sound aka speakers that work!!!)

The dog was happy too because I bought a couple of new toys for her. And because she gets to chase the kids around all day in the mud, and nothing is happier than a tired, muddy, befriended labrador.

World of Webkinz

I bought the girls webkinz pets for March Break.

Boy was that a ticket to a whole new world.

For the uninitiated, these are pets with a secret code you use to log into the internet and create an entire webkinz universe.

You can decorate your home, play, dress up, visit other webkinz, go to the gym, learn new stuff...once we learned the basic navigation tools the girls had a great time.

What I liked is that they start off with 2000 in Kinzcash, which they of course spend on furniture, clothes, food etc. To earn more they have to go to "work" (answering quiz questions on the arts, sciences, math - all age-specific). Anna in 7-year old frustration said, It takes much longer to earn the money than to spend it.

Hmmm. Welcome to reality.

Overall, I started out sceptical and pretty much got converted. There are some great games and interactive areas where they can talk to other kinz pets (in a carefully scripted environment). They can send each other mail, and gifts (all for webkinz cash that they have to earn), and they can adopt other webkinz pets along the way.

The girls love it. I guess they are now officially Webkinz Girlz.

Signs of Spring

The kids were outside without their jackets all weekend. The girls even went so far as to wear capris, which seemed more than a little optimistic to me.

We have a beautiful wood framed play structure in the back, but do you think that's what they played on?

Of course not. Not when they had Hay Bales.

Like this...

Lords of the Hay Bales...

Leaping across the chasms...

(Hey, how come I can't get up there...?)

Time for a well-earned rest...

Silver Sunrise

One benefit of turning back the clocks on the weekend is the view in the morning...

...once I've had that 3rd cup of coffee and my blurry eyes are able to focus, that is.

A Little Down Time

Sometimes when the world is rushing by, we forget the importance of just sitting down with our feet up and hanging out together with nothing on the agenda.
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The importance of sipping a hot mug of tea. Of solving a puzzle. Of reading books - each member of the family lost in their own worlds but fortifed by each other's presence.

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The importance of conversation that isn't about anything in particular. Just thoughts, voices, observations.

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We could all do with a little chillin', a little down time.
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Grab it while you can.

Get Up & Go

One thing I'm loving about my Ipod is that I can set playlists. Music to run to. Music to study to. Music to cook to. But my favourite by far is the one I created last week: 8 songs that have made my life better, my mornings less chaotic, and my days more organized.

It's pretty hectic in the mornings at our place. Andrew is out by 5 some mornings, and I'm left to make sure the kids are dressed, have had breakfast, have packed lunches and homework and notes in their bookbags, have fed the dog and cats, and somehow get to the end of the lane to meet the school bus at 07:30 am.

And some days - okay, many days - it sounds something like this:

No time to dawdle. Finish your breakfast. Have you put the milk away? Don't forget your homework. Where did you put your mittens. The bus will be here in 5 minutes. Let's GO!

Until this week, when I put my brilliant Get Up & Go playlist into action. 8 upbeat songs over 30 minutes. When the first notes of Who Let The Dogs Out start blaring at 0650, they know they need to be getting dressed. Green Day and Coldplay songs are good for eating breakfast, and by the time Blackie and the Rodeo Kings roll around, the bowls are being loaded into the dishwasher. Three more songs to go - lots of time to load up bags and run back upstairs for whatever it is we've forgotten. The rule is that when Great Big Sea begin to belt out End of The World, you'd better be wrapping up whatever else you're doing because when the song is done, it's time to put on coats and boots. With a 10 minute post-playlist window, we have time to find that missing mitten, grab the recycling box, rebraid messy hair, toss in a load of laundry... and still make it to the car and down the lane with minutes to spare.

I confess I get tired of the same songs in the same order every morning. But the kids love it. They thrive on it. And it works. The best part is that I don't have to say anything at all - the songs set the pace, and mornings have become a lot easier.

Secret Ingredient

I make banana bread (or muffins) about once a month or so - using up a pile of over-ripe banana's that the kids refuse to touch. That roughly equates to a dozen or more loaves a year times 8 or 9 years - for the sake of argument let's say I've made around 100 loaves.

So how come I've only just discovered the secret ingredient that takes it that one step futher up the yummy scale?

With thanks to Nigella Lawson, I have to say that the addition of rum-soaked raisins adds a whole level of sophistication to the humble Banana Bread.

The recipe couldn't be easier.

Simply bring 1/4 cup rum to a boil; add raisins and simmer 10 mins; remove from heat and let sit until they have absorbed most of the liquid. Add to your favourite Banana Bread Recipe.

Delicious.