Our home made Advent calendar and other stuff…
OMG How did it get to 1st of December and I missed a month of posting? Life just gets so busy this time of year. In our house it is total chaos as only a house with 4 kids can be….
We are busy getting ready for a big move & lifestyle change, moving to the country, 4 1/2 hours drive from where we live now. 
I am madly trying to pack while supervising two little ones who NEVER sleep at the same time. My youngest Selene is now crawling and pulling up on everything, which is great fun in a house full of packing boxes. On the plus side I am sure she is getting lots of stimulation from her constantly changing environment – the trick being to keep her safe, as Darling Son 3 broke the playpen by climbing on it as though it was a ladder 
My eldest is graduating from primary school, which is a big deal here. They have a special ceremony and dinner, and other special activities which make the next few weeks a busy time. Add to that, silly me volunteered to chair the Parent Committee for the Graduation (what was I thinking) so it’s busy, busy, busy! And yesterday Johan and I went with Caelan & his class on the STS Leeuwin and got very seasick in rough seas, but it was still fun.
And then there is all the joy of moving…boxes to pack of course, organising truck and getting permission from Darling Son 2′s dad for him to actually move with us…which is proving a little problematic!! With only 18 days til the lease is up, to say we are panicking would be an understatement.
So yesterday I look at the calendar and realise that November is gone! Panic!!! The Christmas tree is packed long ago, and I don’t want the drama of trying to move a decorated one. We will be staying in a caravan for a time, so the big one is out anyway. I usually love Christmas and decorate everything in sight. I have always done Advent Calendars with my kids and wanted this year to be no exception…so here is what I have come up with…with a little help from my eldest son. The big boys also have really nice ones from a card party I went to.
Here is the one we made….
We made pockets from Christmas paper. I also included a note for each day (this is for the big boys) with lots of fun activities and a small treat for Conor (aged 2) – a challenge this year, since we no longer eat food containing sugar!! What do you put in your kids Advent calendars?
Blessings
Larissa
Useful links
- Printable-finger-puppets-for-christmas A sugar free Advent surprise
- A gorgeous home made effort Well worth checking out just to see how pretty it is!
- Homemade Advent Calendars (gallantandjonesblog.com)
- Printable Advent Calendar (bedifferentactnormal.com)
- CHRISTMAS :: 5 Advent Calendar Ideas (oaxacaborn.com)
Our No Sugar Challenge – 16 weeks later!
16 weeks in to the no sugar challenge and we have made real lifestyle changes. The bigger kids still whinge & moan, but they probably would whatever we did! Johan and I have both noticed some big weight losses – 8 kg for him and a whopping 17 kg for me – way to lose baby weight! I am not sure if the breastfeeding helps…but I certainly didn’t lose much through breastfeeding with my other two children.
The nice part is I am fitting into clothes I haven’t worn since before I had my eldest son 11 years ago, so that is a big plus for me.
It hasn’t been easy and I have definitely had times where I really wanted food with sugar in (particularly when menstruating), but remembering how much I have lost weight wise has been a big motivator. A few times when I have actually broken and eaten sugar-rich foods, it tasted dreadful. This was particularly disappointing when it came to ice-cream – a huge weakness of mine in the past. I have learned to make a great substitute using dextrose & when you make it yourself you don’t eat it as often because it takes a while to make 
Another interesting thing has been in starting my little one on solid foods…she has not been so keen on the sweeter foods like banana and apple, which my other two loved.
Overall it has been a huge success for our family and a chang we will stick to….I even ignored the dessert at a family barbecue last night & didn’t feel deprived.
Please let me know if your family are trying the challenge too, as it is great to hear how other people are coping.
Blessings
Larissa
Helpful Articles
Related articles
- How to Reduce your Sugar Intake (healthybodylife.com) recommends fruit…but I think if you have cut out all other processed sugar this ok so long as you limit to two serves a day!
- Strange Psychological Response to Sugary Food (belmarrahealth.com)
- A Sweet Treat (kimskitchenblogdotcom.wordpress.com)
- Sugar vs. Cocaine: Which is More Addictive? (zazenlife.com)
- Sneaky Places Sugar is Hiding (belmarrahealth.com)
Cool Kids Craft Idea
– Thank you Kate for this great idea.
20 Day Challenge to clean your home….progress from Day 1
I knew this would be hard but I had no idea how difficult it would be. I had high hopes…I had done all the pre-challenge stuff…I was ready.
But I started late They were on Day 20 and I was still struggling to complete Day 1, but I guess it’s small steps so I started with our IKEA Expedit shelves and emptied baskets and removed clutter. I was really inspired by the organised housewife’s photo of her toy cupboard.
But life got in the way…in the form of a gorgeous 7 month old who despite starting solids has missed the memo re needing to nurse less, and continues to sleep very little. We also had many visits to the Family Court….which proved extremely time-consuming.
And now we are moving 4 1/2 hours south in less than 10 weeks time….so all my careful decluttering has been overshadowed by a need to pack boxes. Hmmm! Maybe this is my big chance to chuck stuff out!!!!
I hope you manage better than I did…..now I am off to find me a blog about packing up to move lol
Blessings
Larissa
Why I DON’T vaccinate my kids
There is a lot of stuff out there about vaccinations and as parents we often worry…should we, shouldn’t we? We all want the best for our children. Having had children 10 years apart I really noticed the increase in the number of immunisations scheduled for children under two.
Just had to share this from A Sheep No More via Facebook
Something to think about.
Blessings
Larissa
20 Days to organise and clean my home…is that even possible?
Cleaning…I hate it!!!! Before I had four kids and a husband who grew up with servants (yes he really did!!) I hated it but I could stay on top of it. True, Kieran and I lived in a small two bedroom and I worked so the house stayed tidier, but it was manageable.
Now my place is 100% out of control…the kids leave stuff everywhere, we are always tripping over toys and baby stuff, and my gorgeous husband who, it must be said has many admirable qualities, leaves dirty coffee cups and socks in all manner of odd locations!! So when I found The Organised House Wife and her 20 Day Challenge to Organise and Clean my Home I was intrigued.
I am starting the challenge tomorrow and will post my progress here.
If you would like to join me please click the link below
Blessings
Larissa
Father’s Day…what if they don’t deserve to be a dad?
I think Father’s Day is a great time to reflect on the impact of a father on a child’s life. Today the media will tell us about lots of dads who do a terrific job, but I think it’s also a time to think about those who don’t.
What about the abusers…the ones who tear down their child’s self esteem, for whom nothing will ever be good enough, who are constantly trying to discredit their child’s mother, to hurt her, to make her & by extension her child’s life hell. Do these men stop and think about the effect this has on their children and most importantly their sons? I think not.
Please share this post if you agree with me or if you know other mothers who need to take a stand for their kids xx
- Family Court – Did you know they have a Duty Lawyer who can advise you on what to do? I didn’t.
- Women’s Council For Domestic & Family Violence Services (WA) - If you are in danger call the Police on 000. If you are considering changing your circumstances this website has great links and advice.
- Midland Women’s Healthcare Place – Offering a wide range of services, these guys are great and I have personally used their services on a number of occasions in different capacities
- Women’s Refuges
World Breastfeeding Week – 5 things I love about breastfeeding and 5 I hate!
BREASTFEEDING! Seems like we either love it or hate it or anything in between given the day, hour or temperaments of our children. For me..today…breastfeeding is great…but it is not always as easy as people make it seem. We wonder….how do I know if my baby is getting enough breastmilk? And what about attachment? And breastfeeding positions? And how often do I feed my breastfed baby? Is my baby gaining enough weight? Is my baby too fat? What do I do about cracked nipples?These can be issues we all struggle with…
I have breastfed three children with varying degrees of success & am still feeding my daughter. My first son had huge difficulties with attachment, dropping below his birth weight at 7 weeks…I then expressed milk for him until 5 months. With my other two I have breastfed exclusively with few problems and mostly find it fairly convenient…but not at 3 in the morning lol! Although it is a lot easier than bottle feeding at that hour.
One mother I read about said….
At 10 months with my third I’m rapidly getting to the stage of not enjoying feeding very much at all. he has 11 teeth (including 3 molars), chews me like I’m a teething toy, refuses to feed for more than a couple of minutes at a time unless it’s after midnight, in which case he refuses to feed for less than half an hour.
We’re at the all-kinds-of-messed-up stage, and I’m very close to done. I’ll persist until 12 months (something of a personal milestone) but I’m very much over it. “Dangle” on Kidspot Social Forum
And I would have to agree that sometimes I also feel that I am VERY MUCH over it, but other times I love the connectedness of it all and the convenience. So I have decided to post my top 5 faves and hates about breastfeeding.
Faves
1. It is totally convenient, portable and ready whenever baby is…a plus in the wee hours of the morning.
Our no fruit sugar challenge Week #5 – Nothing sweet about life without sugar
Well here we are on Week #5 of quitting our sugar addiction FOREVER. And for me there is nothing SWEET about life without sugar! It seemed easy to start with…clean out pantry, stop eating processed foods wherever possible and substitute fructose for dextrose when desperate!
OMG – if I had known it would be so hard I might not have done it, although this in itself is confronting as I feel it is evidence of just how addicted to sugar I am.
The physical side is easy…gradually my tastes are changing and when I have actually broken down and had food that contains sugar it has seemed overly sweet and not enjoyable. Energy-wise I feel great, and my 12-year-old has noticed he is full quicker, so not overeating. Also on the plus side I have lost 6 kilos since I started.
The psychological part is not so easy…everywhere I turn it feels like food is calling to me and that everything has sugar in it. Going out for coffee is no longer so much fun…no more chai latte…no more mud cake. No more will I take the kids out for an ice-cream as a reward. I am finding out ALL about the amount of comfort eating I am doing and that like any ADDICTION you must break the habits (coffee etc) associated with the addiction.
I have, however been strong and keep thinking of the health benefits long-term. It is difficult but worth it I think. I will be forever grateful to David Gillespie for writing his book – Sweet Poison.
If you are considering giving up sugar – you should check out this radio interview…it’s well worth listening to.
Nothing-sweet-about-life-without-sugar
And….if you like us have been brave enough to take on this HUGE lifestyle change please share your comments below, I would love to hear what is working (or not working) for you.
Blessings
Larissa
Licensed Kindermusik Educator – finally – Woohoo!
Great news – this week I completed the teaching section of my Kindermusik course and I am now officially a Licensed Kindermusik Educator! I will commencing teaching the Family Time curriculum next week for a local business owner. I find I am really excited, even though I have been a Kindergarten teacher for over 15 years.
So what is Kindermusik I hear you ask?
Kindermusik is an interactive, adult-participatory, “whole child” development program that uses music and body movement classes and a carefully crafted At-Home Materials Kit to build a strong foundation in the six core areas of early learning: cognitive, language, social, emotional, physical, and musical.
In Kindermusik classes, licensed educators lead parents or caregivers and their children through joyful, carefully designed, one-on-one activities, using music and movement tailored to each child’s developmental level. Through weekly class activities you can see your child progress in music learning, problem solving, self-esteem, imagination, socialization, language, and the delight of learning.
Each class involves parent-child interaction while singing, dancing, playing instruments, listening attentively, and reading literature at the appropriate level.
It is quite exciting to begin teaching it as each course is research based to provide really great educational outcomes for both parents and children. The best part for me is that it is just FUN! Check out my Facebook page – Kindermusik with Larissa for great links about children’s music.
I hope you had a great week….
Blessings
Larissa
You can also find classes near you @ www.kindermusik.com
