| ‘If there’s time to lean,there’s time to clean!’ 2 Minute Jobs: - Load dishwasher
- Wash a sink
- Sweep a floor
- Tickle ceiling corners with a feather duster
- Wipe a toilet
- Empty wastepaper baskets
- Load washing machine
- Polish a mirror/picture
- Find a few things to donate to the charity shop (toys,clothes,unwanted gifts)
- Empty car of toys &rubbish
5 Minute Jobs: - Unload dishwasher
- Organise food in fridge
- Vacuum a room
- Wash the bath/shower
- Put bread making ingredients into breadmaker
- Water plants
- Hang washing on a line
- Write a postcard or email to someone
- Put folded laundry away
- Paint fingernails (but allow a bit of drying time!)
10 Minute Jobs: - Check online bank statements and download latest figures
- Gather washing from the line
- Meal planning
- Iron some clothes
- Vacuum car
- Cut grass
Popularity:2% [?] Why has no-one ever pointed out to me the importance of stripping the bed AND IMMEDIATELY making the bed up with fresh bed linen during the same 10 minutes?! Perhaps I’m part of a small slovenly minority who didn’t know why whisking the dirty bed linen away to the washing machine without taking the time to replace the linen with fresh is a Bad Habit (I’ve been doing it this way since leaving home aged 17). This morning I changed the bed in our bedroom and congratulated myself for having the energy and time to take off last weeks sheets and put on fresh. I felt midly relieved that I wouldn’t have the shock of realising that they needed sheets and duvet covers to be put on just when I least wanted to. This afterternoon while out with the kids I started feeling really poorly which turned into a migraine. Luckily Darren was home and able to drop what he was doing to bath the children and put them to bed while I fell shivering into our bed with a splitting headache and feeling really nauseous. I was so thankful that I’d spent the extra time (no more than 3 minutes) to pop the fitted sheet,duvet cover and pillow cases on during my morning houswork session that I vowed to myself that myself I would always do a complete change of each bed from now on instead of my previous habit of taking the sheets off and waiting until I’m next upstairs to install the new linen. I also promised myself that I would pass on this top tip to my kids so they don’t spend half their life being irritated by beds which are not ready to be slept in. Popularity:2% [?] We have lots of carrots given to us from our neighbour’s vegetable plot. I searched for the best way to freeze them and found this http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf949346.tip.html Selecting High-Quality Carrots: Fresh carrots may lose some of their crisp texture during freezing but will still be good for cooking. Select young,tender,medium length carrots free from cracks and dryness. Small carrots are usually the most tender. When harvesting,leave them in the garden until you’re are ready to process them,but do not let them become too oversized or woody. Preparing for Freezing: Remove the tops,wash and peel. Leave small carrots whole. Cut others into thin slices,1/4-inch cubes,lengthwise strips or julienne them with a food processor. A 1-quart jar will hold approximately 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of slice or diced carrots. Approximately 12 medium carrots = 1 pint of puree. Blanching Time: Water-blanch small whole carrots 5 minutes,diced or sliced pieces or lengthwise strips for 2 minutes. Steam-blanch for 7 and 3 minutes respectively. Cool promptly and drain. Best Freezing Method(s): - Boilable Bags: Place desired amounts sliced or julienne carrots into boiling bags,add desired seasoning,press out air and seal. Blanch in boiling water (4 bags at a time for 8 to 10 minutes),cool bags in ice water,pat dry and freeze. Leave 1/2 inch of headspace.
- Tray Packs: Clean and prepare whole leaves or wedges and either blanch or leave them unblanched. Lay in a single layer on cookie sheets and place them in the freezer. When fully frozen (12 to 24 hours),portion them into suitable containers and freeze. Leave 1/2 inch of headspace.
Suitable Packaging: Freezer containers should be moisture and vapor resistant and should not be prone to cracking or breaking at low temperatures. Containers should protect food from absorbing flavors or odors and should be easy to label. Suitable packaging includes freezer-grade plastic bags,rigid plastic or glass containers or heavy-duty aluminum foil.Maximum Storage Time: 10 to 12 months at 0ºF.Thawing: Add directly to cooking dishes without thawing.Tips &Shortcuts: Whole carrots are the least likely to freeze well,so you are better off freezing slices,pieces or strips. Whole carrots can be left in the ground during the winter if you cover them heavily with mulch,however early spring thaws followed by refreezing may compromise quality and accessing them in winter can be difficult.Refrigerating Carrots: Wrap carrots in paper towels and store in plastic bags for 1 to 3 months.
Popularity:4% [?] It is not a widely advertised fact that in the UK children who are over five do not have to attend a school to be educated. The law states that kids should be educated either in a school ‘or otherwise’. 
The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable – (a) to his age,ability and aptitude,and (b) to any special educational needs he may have,either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. Education Act 1996,section 7 (emphasis added)
When we lived in London we considered home education for our children as we both felt that we could offer the two of them a more interesting and fulfilling education than spending 30+ hours a week in a classroom with 30+ other children sharing the teachers attention and energy. Since moving to the countryside to downshift and lead a more family orientated life it has not been discussed between Darren and myself. I think we both presumed that now we have the option of sending the kids to the local village primary school we would do so. Since they started the pre-school unit at the same school two weeks ago my mind has revisited the option of home schooling for a number of reasons: - I’m missing the freedom of few time constraints we had before they were due at pre-school at 12.30 each afteroon
- I realise that we will be constrained to take our family holidays during the allocated school holidays –we are trying to save up for a motorhome and love the idea of roaming around the UK or Europe for long holidays. Holidaying during school holidays means higher prices and more crowds
- I have been watching the children play during lunchtime while I take the kids in and the smaller children seem so very small. I’m not convinced that I want to cut the ties to my apron strings so soon in their lives.
- The kids themselves tell me ‘No pre-school is boring’and beg for me not to take them (despite the classroom always having apint to use which I have a bit of an aversion to)
- I realise that I could provide such a great range of interesting activites for them if I set my mind to it –loads more visits to interesting places and loads more exercise than their peers in school will be getting.
Now I feel in a bit of a quandry about how to make the decision to home educate or not. I realise that it would be a radical and potentially isolated path to take. One friend pointed out that it is at school that kids begin to enjoy a bit of private independence from their parents which I thought was a very valid reason to send them to school. Sending kids to school obviously leaves me their mother with lots of potentially productive hours each week while the children are at school. Meeting other children seems to be other peoples main reason for my children to school but I argue back that we already have lots of friends with kids a similar age and I think also that it is nice to spend time with people who aren’t the same age. Hmmm it’s going to be a tricky one and I will start with investigating other people’s findings. Popularity:1% [?] I seem to have conquered my fear of making a terrible mess when the kids cook with me and am now a lot more relaxed each time we attempt to make something together. They really enjoy being in the kitchen and seeing how things miraculously transform themselves from being raw,seperate foodstuffs to wonderful cakes,sauces and the like.
I’ve learnt that - being very organised with lots of cloths &towels to hand from the start
- always insisting on everyone wearing an apron and long hair chefs tying hair back
- being firm about ‘this part is for a grown up to do’(obviously for using the stove but also handy for when you just want to keep splatters of cake batter to a minimum and want to get the mixing done quickly)
all help to take the anxiety out of the experience. Incidently I often use the promise of a baking session with the kids as a Special Treat. I’m always trying to think of new lovely things to reward the kids with which doesn’t involve spending any money or coming home with new toys. So far a trip to a great playground or making cakes and icing them are top of the list of lovely things to do together. The best session we had last week was when we rented a copy of Anabel Karmel’s ‘Children’s First Cookbook‘from the local library and tried to find something nice to take to our visit to friends in Somerset. We chose to make farmyard cakes as an appropriate gift for people holidaying on a farm and started by shopping for the ingredients we didn’t have (marshmallows,smarties,chocolate buttons and icing pens). 
The results were fabulous and we all enjoyed overdosing on sugar! Popularity:1% [?] Yet another reason for leaving my full time office job in London to be full time mother to our young twins was due to the fact that despite feeling tired all the time I was leading an incredibly sedentary existance and I wanted to build more physical activity into my life. Since we moved at the begining of July 2006 (about 10 weeks ago now) my day to day routine involves a lot more movement as I am constantly chasing after the children,hanging out washing,sweeping,mopping,lifting etc. but I feel just as unfit. Now that the children have started a few sessions at the local preschool I am blessed with 2 child-free hours each day which could have some exercise built into them. The plan is as follows:The preschool is a reasonable distance to our house along an incredibly busy main road with a very narrow footpath. I’m not able to walk with the children to the school due to the high risk of at least one of use being flattened by a lorry but instead I am going to leave the car in the village once I have taken them to school,jog back to our house,do some work and then a little later jog back to fetch the kids home in the car. I’m also excited by the prospect of two local classes I have seen advertised this weeks –yoga and tae kwon do. Popularity:1% [?] I bought two great Christmas presents this weekend from a charity shop in Bristol while I took the kids to visit their grandparents. I can’t write about the first gift as my very good friend Rach may read this but the other is safe as it was for my 3 year old son. On one of the Disney films he loves there is an advert for Muppet Treasure Island which he watches over and over again (his bloke genes have suddenly sprung into action and he loves all things scary,noisy,fast and bashy) as it has scary pirates in. As we walked into the shop he spotted the video of this film from the threshold and spent a good 20 minutes looking at the case. When he put it down for a second to play with the other toys I snuck it over to the til and paid the princely sum of 50p for it. When he asked where it had gone I told him that I had just seen a mother buy it for her little boy. It will probably be his only Christmas present from us as we tend not to ramp up the consumerism during the festive season. Popularity:1% [?] This list is expected to grow as I discover very quick things to whip together when everyone is whinging due to being to far gone with the hunger pangs (husband included) –criteria is cheap &nutritious but not too many ‘bits’as my son has an aversion to bitty things. - Tortilla with grated cheese,finely chopped tomato,spring onion on top warmed in a dry frying pan and topped with another tortilla
- Jacket potatoes with a variety of toppings (grated cheese,baked beans,ham,houmous)
- Cauliflower (or broccoli) cheese with bacon
- Pancakes with sweet or savoury fillings
- Omlette with cold potato,ham/bacon,red peppers,onion,mushroom and cheese (or any combination of these)
- Tuna and sweetcorn pasta bake
- Macaroni cheese with bacon
Popularity:2% [?] Little boys love sticks. They have their caveman ancestors right with them as they find yet another and declare ‘Look,a stick!’and then bash,whack and twirl. Apparently according to my new friend Janet who seems to know everything about everything the first thing to do when attempting to do a rural walk with small child is to find them a good stick and make them the leader. Janet also says that one should always carry a stick when walking footpaths and bridleways as “All animals respect a stick”and you can wave it at them and say “SHOVE OFF!”which works. Apparently you are doing your fellow walkers a disfavour if you ever offer food to or pet the animals (horses,cows,sheep) on your walk as the next people to come along the same route will be pestered by the animals wanting more. Janet is the president of the local footpath association so she should know. (For more of Janet’s wisdom see ‘Keeping bees to have fresh honey’,‘Tips from a professional gardener’and ‘How to rear great children from a parent of five grown up ones’) Popularity:1% [?] I don’t know if this miracle cure will work in every household but my new best friend is a manual timer (we call it The Pinger). Each child is allowed to have a 5 minute turn with the toy causing the dispute while the other(s) set the timer. As if by magic small child who is playing toy gives up the toy with a ‘There you are your turn now’when the pinger goes off. The Miracle Pinger I call it. Popularity:1% [?] Page 23 of 25«First«...10...2122232425 | |
