Neither child was very cooperative and these were the best we got :)
Monday, March 12, 2012
Mum and Kids
Chris finally kindly took some photos of me and the kids last week. I usually take the photos, so it was quite nice to be in front of it for once!
Neither child was very cooperative and these were the best we got :)
Neither child was very cooperative and these were the best we got :)
Knock Knock
A group of people within our Church organised a coffee social and called it Knock Knock. You had to register your interest in either guesting or hosting. Guests would be randomly allocated to hosts, with the hosts only being told how many to expected, but not Who!
Since Lucas usually goes down for a sleep soon after coming home from Church (creché) we decided it would be better and easier for us to host. However, we have a small house, so we requested only a smaller group.
The week before the scheduled coffee social we received a notice saying we could expect 6 adults and 2 children at house. Each guest was also asked to bring along a drink and/or savouries.
On the Saturday before the social, Chris and I got the house ready and planned out what to serve. We debated what cake/sweet to serve with drinks. We considered making a caramel slice or a lemon meringue pie or a lemon tart, all of which Chris has made plenty of times and are always well received!! However, we wanted to be a little different and settled on making scones. We also decided to serve crackers, dip, cheese and meat.
After Church on Sunday, we eagerly waiting for our first guests to arrive. Everything was ready and the scones looked great :) We didn't have to wait long before the first knock at the door - Mr & Mrs B who brought along their granddaughter. A few minutes later there was another knock at the door, this time is was P&M T, who have 2 children of similar ages to our kids. Last to arrive was P&S, an engaged couple.
Our guests were very generous with the food and drink they took along. In addition to our food we had prepared, we ended up with a salad platter, dip, crackers, corn chips & dip, salmon, specialty cheese, juice and coke!!
It was a very different and eclectic mix of people, but we enjoyed a lovely morning together, getting to know each other on more than a "Hi" basis.
We are already looking forward to the next one :)
Sorry there are no photos, was too busy talking and eating!
Since Lucas usually goes down for a sleep soon after coming home from Church (creché) we decided it would be better and easier for us to host. However, we have a small house, so we requested only a smaller group.
The week before the scheduled coffee social we received a notice saying we could expect 6 adults and 2 children at house. Each guest was also asked to bring along a drink and/or savouries.
On the Saturday before the social, Chris and I got the house ready and planned out what to serve. We debated what cake/sweet to serve with drinks. We considered making a caramel slice or a lemon meringue pie or a lemon tart, all of which Chris has made plenty of times and are always well received!! However, we wanted to be a little different and settled on making scones. We also decided to serve crackers, dip, cheese and meat.
After Church on Sunday, we eagerly waiting for our first guests to arrive. Everything was ready and the scones looked great :) We didn't have to wait long before the first knock at the door - Mr & Mrs B who brought along their granddaughter. A few minutes later there was another knock at the door, this time is was P&M T, who have 2 children of similar ages to our kids. Last to arrive was P&S, an engaged couple.
Our guests were very generous with the food and drink they took along. In addition to our food we had prepared, we ended up with a salad platter, dip, crackers, corn chips & dip, salmon, specialty cheese, juice and coke!!
It was a very different and eclectic mix of people, but we enjoyed a lovely morning together, getting to know each other on more than a "Hi" basis.
We are already looking forward to the next one :)
Sorry there are no photos, was too busy talking and eating!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Podcast Review: Surviving a Strong Willed Child
Those readers who are pretty familiar with the blog will know that we are currently struggling with Lucas. He disobeys on purpose, he doesn't listen to us, he frustrates us because of all this and some days its hard to be in the same house with him. Its a sad fact, but true nonetheless. We love him to pieces, all the way to the sky and down, but boy do we struggle!!!
Often parental struggles can be a taboo subject! We always want to be the best parent, the best mum/dad, the coolest, the most "with it" and we will only tell the stories about our kids when we want to. In other words, we don't quickly say to someone that we are struggling, unless we are after advice. And even then, I think we has humans down play the real life scenario.
Therefore, it was very applicable to listen to a podcast on the drive down to Bunbury. Chris had previously downloaded a few from FOCUS ON THE FAMILY, which is a Christian ministry. This particular podcast featured an excerpt of a speech given by an author of a book about surviving the strong willed child.
The author, Cynthia Tobias, began the speech with a few examples of parental struggles. One struggle was with an 18 year old daughter and the other with a 17 month old son. These particular parents had reached the stage where they felt nothing was working and they were so frustrated/disgusted/angry with their child that they didn't want to be in the same room as them. All because they were considered to be a strong willed child (SWC).
Cynthia goes on to say that every one is different, which is why we annoy each other in families, even though you try hard to get along. Think about that statement ... we have different personalities, different characteristics, all of which make us US. And a SWC can drive a wedge between a family, and make others in the family dislike each other.
BUT, a SW should not be viewed as negatively. SW is not rebellion, its not defiance, its not disobedience. SW is being determined and the key is to teach a SWC to bring glory and honour to God by respecting them, loving them and understanding them.
If you are nodding and agreeing with everything I have paraphrased, then you are just like us. This described some of our struggles with Lucas. And if we were being truly honest, some of the struggles we have with each other.
The speaker went on to ask 12 statements and the listeners had to keep track of the ones that applied to them. The statements were almost like a list of characteristics of SW people. Cynthia then have you a chart that determined how strong willed you are.
>3 yes answers - you are easy to get along with and don't use SW much
4-7 - you use SW when you need to, but not on a daily basis
8-10 - you are getting into the trouble maker category (she didn't actually mean you are a trouble maker, just that you have strong SW)
11-12 - you are definitely a trouble maker and don't leave home without your SW.
Going by this chart, Chris and I determined that we are in the top two categories. (one point for working out which one of us was in the top category). We have always known that both of us are strong willed, and the answers to these questions proved that! Again, we could recognise that Lucas also showed many of these characteristics.
Cynthia ended the little statement activity by saying that SW people are successful, kind and compassionate. SW is an asset, not a liability.
What I have paraphrased for you above was all said in the first 12 minutes of the podcast, which is a total length of nearly 30 minutes. I could go on and on about the things that were said, but I believe if you are interested, then you should download it yourself. It was very interesting and provided much food for thought. It was so interesting and so accurate for us, that we are looking into buying her book. Unfortunately neither Koorong or Word have it in stock at the moment, so we may need to purchase it from a site like Amazon.
And a few last thoughts, because I cant resist ... the presenter went on to talk a lot about strong willed children and what they do. For example, I am sure we can all associate with the saying (either as parent or child) "clean your room or else". the strong willed child will more than likely take the consequence as expressed in the or else. And this is frustrating for parents. There are many many examples in the podcast, and it was extremely interesting to listen to. Personally I saw many of things I did as a child being reflected in the things that Lucas does. Lucas is also extremely strong willed.
The only negative I had with the podcast was that it didn't offer many solutions/strategies on how to deal with a strong willed child. I can only assume that Cynthia Tobias' book contains this.
I cant work out how to link the podcast straight onto the blog, however we downloaded it via iTunes and I have been able to download it to Window's Media Player from the Internet (but it wont let me upload here). If you are interested look it up: Surviving the Strong Willed Child through Focus on the Family. And while I am busy recommending the podcast, check out the other FOTF podcast available. Some are short and some are longer, like the subject of this blog post. Some are applicable, others are not.
You are welcome to leave a comment/question/advice/criticism here after you have listened to the podcast.
(p.s. friends have also recommended "The Strong Willed Child" by Dr James Dobson and "Being Child Wise" by Garry Ezzo. I havent read these books or heard much about them, but am always open to new books)
Often parental struggles can be a taboo subject! We always want to be the best parent, the best mum/dad, the coolest, the most "with it" and we will only tell the stories about our kids when we want to. In other words, we don't quickly say to someone that we are struggling, unless we are after advice. And even then, I think we has humans down play the real life scenario.
Therefore, it was very applicable to listen to a podcast on the drive down to Bunbury. Chris had previously downloaded a few from FOCUS ON THE FAMILY, which is a Christian ministry. This particular podcast featured an excerpt of a speech given by an author of a book about surviving the strong willed child.
The author, Cynthia Tobias, began the speech with a few examples of parental struggles. One struggle was with an 18 year old daughter and the other with a 17 month old son. These particular parents had reached the stage where they felt nothing was working and they were so frustrated/disgusted/angry with their child that they didn't want to be in the same room as them. All because they were considered to be a strong willed child (SWC).
Cynthia goes on to say that every one is different, which is why we annoy each other in families, even though you try hard to get along. Think about that statement ... we have different personalities, different characteristics, all of which make us US. And a SWC can drive a wedge between a family, and make others in the family dislike each other.
BUT, a SW should not be viewed as negatively. SW is not rebellion, its not defiance, its not disobedience. SW is being determined and the key is to teach a SWC to bring glory and honour to God by respecting them, loving them and understanding them.
If you are nodding and agreeing with everything I have paraphrased, then you are just like us. This described some of our struggles with Lucas. And if we were being truly honest, some of the struggles we have with each other.
The speaker went on to ask 12 statements and the listeners had to keep track of the ones that applied to them. The statements were almost like a list of characteristics of SW people. Cynthia then have you a chart that determined how strong willed you are.
>3 yes answers - you are easy to get along with and don't use SW much
4-7 - you use SW when you need to, but not on a daily basis
8-10 - you are getting into the trouble maker category (she didn't actually mean you are a trouble maker, just that you have strong SW)
11-12 - you are definitely a trouble maker and don't leave home without your SW.
Going by this chart, Chris and I determined that we are in the top two categories. (one point for working out which one of us was in the top category). We have always known that both of us are strong willed, and the answers to these questions proved that! Again, we could recognise that Lucas also showed many of these characteristics.
Cynthia ended the little statement activity by saying that SW people are successful, kind and compassionate. SW is an asset, not a liability.
What I have paraphrased for you above was all said in the first 12 minutes of the podcast, which is a total length of nearly 30 minutes. I could go on and on about the things that were said, but I believe if you are interested, then you should download it yourself. It was very interesting and provided much food for thought. It was so interesting and so accurate for us, that we are looking into buying her book. Unfortunately neither Koorong or Word have it in stock at the moment, so we may need to purchase it from a site like Amazon.
And a few last thoughts, because I cant resist ... the presenter went on to talk a lot about strong willed children and what they do. For example, I am sure we can all associate with the saying (either as parent or child) "clean your room or else". the strong willed child will more than likely take the consequence as expressed in the or else. And this is frustrating for parents. There are many many examples in the podcast, and it was extremely interesting to listen to. Personally I saw many of things I did as a child being reflected in the things that Lucas does. Lucas is also extremely strong willed.
The only negative I had with the podcast was that it didn't offer many solutions/strategies on how to deal with a strong willed child. I can only assume that Cynthia Tobias' book contains this.
I cant work out how to link the podcast straight onto the blog, however we downloaded it via iTunes and I have been able to download it to Window's Media Player from the Internet (but it wont let me upload here). If you are interested look it up: Surviving the Strong Willed Child through Focus on the Family. And while I am busy recommending the podcast, check out the other FOTF podcast available. Some are short and some are longer, like the subject of this blog post. Some are applicable, others are not.
You are welcome to leave a comment/question/advice/criticism here after you have listened to the podcast.
(p.s. friends have also recommended "The Strong Willed Child" by Dr James Dobson and "Being Child Wise" by Garry Ezzo. I havent read these books or heard much about them, but am always open to new books)
Bunbury - Long Weekend in WA
Six Years Ago
Around six years ago, a few weeks after Chris and started dating, I was invited to join him, his family and his uncle & aunty and their family at their bi-annual camping trip. That year it was in Bunbury. So this Present day
Fast forward six and a bit years ... would you believe that Chris and I just came from a weekend of camping, on an UNpowered site, with only a few of the luxuries of home?? And we all enjoyed it :)A few weeks ago we decided it would be good to get away for the long weekend, and thought it would be great to go camping in Bunbury, at a caravan park only a 5 minute drive to our family, T&K, that we have down there.
Chris had arranged with work to finish early on the Friday, but on the Thursday his boss gave him the option of not coming in and making it an extra long weekend. Chris said yes, thank you! So instead of me having a stressful Thursday night and Friday morning, trying to clean the house and pack, we were able to do it all together. We also had a little helper who insisted on carrying things out to the trailer.
We pulled out of our driveway just before midday and the trip down was pretty uneventful. Lucas was absorbed in watching a dvd, and only slept for an hour (the whole day!). Tahnee, who had just been fed before we left, slept almost the whole way down, woke up 20 minutes before Bunbury, and was happy to play with her hands and feet, until we were 5 minutes away, and then she screamed to let us know she was bored and hungry!!
After checking in, we drove around to our site. In the caravan park we stayed in, all the unpowered sites have a camp kitchen between them, with bbq's, microwave, fridge, freezer, kettle and toaster and sink. The sites aren't huge, especially compared to the ones in Esperance.
When we drove up to the site, we unloaded the kids and gave them something to eat and drink, before starting to set up. We began with the tent, and then had to decide if we could set up our oz trail gazebo we bought with birthday money. It was a tight squeeze, and we also still needed to park our trailer and car on the site. We decided to just wait and see, and continued setting up the tent. When we were only half way through setting it up, Tahnee decided she was well and truly hungry, so I ended up feeding her in the car while Chris plodded on. Just after I finished feeding, K and the kids arrived to take Lucas with them. They ended up staying to help us unload the trailer and convinced Chris that the oz trail would fit.
And this was our set up, with trailer, car, tent and gazebo. It was the best site, as we had a tree for shade, but it was on the side. Some sites had a tree in the middle!! We also had shade cloth down to reduce the sand and dirt. The wooden poles on the LHS was the edge of the site, and the oz trail was literally on the other edge. The rear boundary of the site was just behind the tent. I think we used almost all of the space available :)
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| Kitchen and Sitting Area under the Oz Trail |
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| Storage Area in the Tent Annex |
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| Our room |
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| Tahnee's Room |
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| Lucas' Room |
Thanks to the help of K and the kids we had the unloading down very quickly. They then headed home and we followed them. Immediately K and I headed out to do a small grocery shop and ice run. We were borrowing T&K's esky, so hadn't bought any cold food and drinks along.
The next morning the kids woke us up around 6am and we sat down to a breakfast of toast and cereal. We then prepared for a morning out, visiting the Donneybrook Apple Fun Park, a huge, enclosed playground that caters for kids of all ages, and even has exercise equipment for adults!
After the playground, T&K headed home and we headed back towards our camp. We stopped past to get a few things at the shop and some lunch. Thankfully our kids both fell asleep within a few minutes of leaving the playground, and we managed to transfer them to their beds where they kept sleeping. It allowed both of us to get an afternoon nap in too :)
When Lucas woke up, we spent time with him, reading and painting.
That night we again had dinner with T&K - lamb, steak, sausages and salad. Yummy and easy! Earlier that day, K had asked if I wanted to go and see a movie. However, since I still feed Tahnee, our plans all hinged on her. Luckily she fed earlier than expected and we were able to go. It was great having a girls night out, no kids :) We went and saw the movie "The Vow", which is definitely one I would watch again.
The next day was Sunday and in Bunbury church starts at 10am. Since Tahnee would be due for a feed around then, Chris went with Lucas in the morning. T&K and their also went and let me and Tahnee stay at their house. Tahnee sleep the whole time!! It was a little strange having the house to myself and having peace and quiet. Usually at home their is always something that needs doing, but this morning I could sit back, read, do my nails, finish my hair - all without kids
When the rest of the group came back from church, we enjoyed a yummy lunch, and then Lucas, S and Tahnee all went for sleeps. As I was going to church in the afternoon I also laid down for an hour, before feeding Tahnee before I left.
The afternoon was a special service. We could witness the baptism of a cute, little baby, the ordination of a deacon and have the service led by a new minister, who used to be one of my teachers back in Albany! After the service we went to congratulate the new parents and Bryce commented that the baby "was smaller than Tahnee". Yes she was, but I don't think she will be for much longer judging by comments her parents have made :)
When we arrived back home after church, we were again treated to dinner at T&K's, this time pizza! While we were waiting for the pizza's to cook, I was able to take some photos of the kids ... and of Miss A's drink bottled!! She insisted on the bottle being in the photos and even went to the extent of trying to sneak it in!! All with a cheeky grin on her face :)
After dinner the kids spoke for a few minutes with Opa, Oma and Uncle K via skype, something Lucas has never done before! They then had a story read to them by Chris before going down to sleep. The adults sat down to play a game.
The next morning was our last morning in Bunbury. We had a cooked breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs and toast. The decision to have a hot breaky put us behind a bit, so we had to rush to get cleaned up and packed up in time for the 10am check out. It took us longer than expected, but we pulled out of the caravan park at 1030am.
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| How we found Lucas sleeping - must have been cold! |
We headed to T&K's to leave the trailer behind, and then went into the City to the markets we had heard about. These markets were a little boring, so we got back in the car and went for lunch and drinks at the Dome. After this we headed back to T&K's and made the decision to head home. However, since Lucas had extremely bad nappy rash (reasons unknown), we had to wake him up to change him. Then we realised Tahnee needed a feed within the hour, so I fed her early and let Lucas play with the kids for a while longer.
On the way home we realised it was a mistake to wake Lucas up, as he refused to sleep until 10minutes before home!!! Along the drive home he was pretty whingy and cried a lot. On the other hand, Tahnee was great and slept most of the way :)
After arriving home, we put Lucas down for a sleep, unloaded the trailer, unpacked everything and sat down for dinner and time to relax and reflect on the great weekend we just had.
Thanks to T&K for making us welcome, providing us with dinners and lunch and taking us out and about. We had a great weekend and look forward to doing it all again, hopefully sometime this year :)
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