Time for a Cool Change

We survived!

Melbourne has just endured four consecutive days over 40 degrees. The temperature got up to 46 degrees in some suburbs, and the nights stayed above 30 degrees for most of the time. We only have a little thermometer inside (as part of the heating system), but it hovered between 32.5 and 35.5 for pretty much the whole stretch.

Thank goodness it is over!

Sleeping was hard for the girls, particularly Charlotte. We have a little old air conditioner in the dining room (where Neil slept one night!) and another in the back room (where he spent another night!), but only fans in the bedrooms.

Here is how we did it:

1. The sprinkler/hose/wading pool.

Grace enjoying the cold water.

Charlotte hosing down the swings.

Early in the morning, and particularly late in the afternoon, we ventured outside and into the shade. We took turns spraying each other with the hose. The girls splashed in the little wading pool (Lucinda just dived straight in!). And we ran through the sprinkler. Being wet made us the most comfortable.

2. Wearing limited clothing.

One dirty, hot and sweaty little girl!

I didn't take a lot of photos over the last few days, and I can't include a many of the ones I did take because the girls are naked! Lucinda lived in just a nappy the whole time, and Grace and Charlotte wore their undies, or nothing. Neil got around without his shirt, so it was really only me who stayed fully clothed!

3. Spray bottles.

I mentioned water above. I took the girls to the supermarket and got them an empty spray bottle each, which we filled with cold water. They sprayed themselves. They sprayed each other. They sprayed the furniture (which I pointed out was a bit unnecessary!). And they sprayed into their mouths to drink the water.

4. Water and icy treats.

Our most popular frozen treats.

We drank a lot of water. Our water bottles all contained cold water from the fridge (since the tap was running pretty warm) and ice blocks. The girls played with and sucked ice blocks. They had frozen juice, icipoles, and icecream. We went through a lot of watermelon and cold grapes. Anything cold and wet was good.

5. Air conditioned shopping centres.

In a few centres, the air conditioning wasn't able to cope with the heat and extra bodies. But we went to a supermarket or shopping centre to hang out for awhile most days, and it was definitely cooler than at home. It can end up expensive, unless you are very firm! But we saw a lot of families doing the same thing.  And a lot more elderly people than usual. Some were sitting in chairs with water bottles and the newspaper, looking like they were there for the duration. And why not?

6. No cooking.

Or at least, no oven turned on! We ate salad and fried things like patties. And, because little girls aren't big on eating salad every day, we ate at the shopping centre two nights so they could have pizza or chips. We also found a McDonalds with an indoor playground, and hung out there for awhile more than once before enjoying a 30 cent cone!

It was tough. I hate hot weather. (Have you ever noticed that hell is said to be hot, not cold?) But one of the great things about Melbourne is, the heat doesn't last. You know that, eventually, a cold change will come. And when the wind picks up and that wonderful cool air finally arrives, what a relief!

An Afternoon at Schwerkolt Cottage

Last Sunday afternoon we went to the Schwerkolt Cottage Family Day in Mitcham.

Schwerkolt cottage is an original pioneer's stone cottage built by August Schwerkolt, a German-born pioneer, in 1888. It is set in a beautiful garden. Other attractions include a museum, playground, smokehouse, barn, and a shed housing a display of the agricultural machinery that was used in the surrounding orchards.

The exterior of the cottage is very attractive:

Wisteria just starting to bloom at the front of the cottage.

Grace on the verandah on the side of the cottage.

Charlotte near the back door of the cottage.

There are three rooms set up with period furniture and models as they would have been used by the original occupants.

One of the cots in the children's bedroom.

The girls enjoyed some of the free activities, including petting farm animals, face painting, and an Australian animal show. There was also a painting booth, but unfortunately they packed up fairly early in the afternoon and we missed it.

The soft, woolly lambs were Grace's favourite animals.

Grace and Charlotte as butterflies.

We finished the afternoon with some time at the playground.

Lucinda and Daddy at the playground.

Charlotte loves swings!

Schwerkolt Cottage is a place I had driven past previously, but never actually stopped to investigate. I think we'll be back to enjoy the garden and playground again.

Story Bag - The Lost Sheep

It's taken me awhile, but here are the details of the first story bag I have put together.

The contents of the 'Lost Sheep' story bag.

The contents are:

• A 'Lost Sheep' story book.
• A green bath mat (grass).
• Some little toy sheep.
• A bag of cotton balls (for all the other sheep).
• A toy shepherd.
• A toy fence.
• A couple of plastic trees.
• Happy and sad faces (to show how the shepherd feels at different stages in the story).
• Party blowers (to celebrate when the lost sheep is found).
• A large soft toy sheep (to hold, and later play a game with).
• Heart shaped stickers (to use at the end of the game).

I still need to add a couple of pebbles (because in our story book the shepherd climbs over rocks looking for the lost sheep) and a piece of blue fabric to make a little stream (that the shepherd takes the sheep to drink from). I'm also planning to make and laminate an activity card, and sew a drawstring bag to hold it all.

The game that we play with the soft toy sheep involves one person hiding the sheep somewhere in the house, then everyone else trying to find it. When the sheep is found, we all clap and cheer. After everyone has had a turn, we all receive a heart sticker to remind us that God loves us and is very happy when we come to Him.

We've done the story quite a few times now, and the children love it. Particularly Grace, who likes to act it all out in detail using the props. At the end, she loves to give out the stickers, declaring as she goes, "God loves Mummy", "God loves Charlotte" etc. I couldn't ask for more than that!

Story Bags

I've only recently discovered the concept of the story bag and how to use it for family worship.

A story bag (also known as a story sack) is a large cloth bag which typically contains a children's story book, plus various items that are associated with the story (like soft toys or puppets). These items help the children take part in telling the story, and use visual, tactile, auditory and other stimuli to make the experience memorable and enjoyable.

The standard contents of a story bag include:

• a copy of the story book
• models of characters and objects from the story
• activities or games relating to the story
• a CD or DVD of the story
• an activity card (listing ideas for how to use the bag)

I found a great website (the National Literacy Trust in the UK) which goes a step further by also including related non fiction books. They suggest activity cards include the following ideas:

• Talk about the story and the children's favourite bits
• Ask the children questions about the characters and the plot
• Retell the story using the models
• Find out more about the people and places in the story by looking at the non-fiction books
• Draw one of the characters or model one out of play dough

I don't plan to include non fiction books in my bags, because we can always read the story in the Bible. I think I'll also try to get a good quality Bible encyclopaedia with illustrations that would be suitable for the children.

I made our first story bag last week, and it was quite a hit. I'll share it with you in my next post.

Our Weekend in Echuca Moama - Part 2

One of the highlights of our weekend away was a trip on a paddlesteamer. We chose the PS Canberra - primarily because we could get the pram on board! I was interested to see that she actually celebrated 100 years this last weekend.

The PS Canberra coming in ready for us to board.

Here are a few photos taken during our one hour cruise:

PS Emmylou chugging past.

Paddlesteamers tied up at the wharf.

An iconic scene.

The historic Echuca wharf.

Neil and Lucinda relaxing on board.

Each of the girls was given a turn at the wheel, and received a certificate to prove it!

Captain Charlotte (with help from Mum).

The weather was very hot and sunny, so enjoying an icecream was high up on the agenda.

The epitome of happiness!

The other thing we couldn't miss was the traditional evening drive to see the Christmas lights. This giant Santa was just off the road leading to our accommodation, and the girls were fascinated by it.

There was no missing this Santa!

As Christmas approaches again (believe it or not, the supermarket already has fruit mince pies for sale!) it's nice to look back on what we did last year. Perhaps we should make it a family tradition!

Our Weekend in Echuca Moama - Part 1

[This post is about 7 months old, and for some reason missed out on being uploaded. But I thought the pictures make it worth sharing even if it is late!]

Two facts you may not know:

1. My husband is quite clever sometimes.
2. Going away the weekend before Christmas has a lot of advantages.

No, I wasn't quite organised enough to have done all the shopping, so I did spend quite a bit of Christmas Eve buying last minute presents and groceries. But the holiday park we stayed at was quiet, and we could enjoy all the facilities with ease. For us, it was a great time to go away.

On our first evening, we bought some take away pizza and had a picnic by a billabong in Echuca. The girls had a lot of fun running around and expending the energy they had accumulated while sitting in the car.

Our 'perfect pizza picnic'!

Charlotte and Grace having fun chasing each other.

Two beautiful faces.

We stayed in a cabin at the Moama on Murray Resort for three nights, and found the facilities were perfect for a young family.

There was an animal nursery, where we could feed the animals each morning.

Grace feeding the chickens.

Beatrice the pig.

Rambo the sheep.

Squiggles, the indoor play centre on site, proved to be the biggest hit with our family.

Lucinda exploring the ball pit.

Grace.

Charlotte.

Lucinda playing with Daddy in the baby's area.

We also loved the lagoon style swimming pool, with a large shallow area for toddlers to paddle in, and shade sails to keep the fierce sun at bay.

Enjoying the affection of my three little girls.

A great pool for toddlers.

Daddy and Lucinda chilling out.

There are so many photos to share, I'll need to use another post to tell you about all the sights we saw around town.

2013 Teddy Bear's Picnic at Rippon Lea Estate

On Sunday, 24th February we finally did something I've wanted to do for awhile, and attended the annual Teddy Bear's Picnic at Rippon Lea House and Gardens.

This National Trust property includes a mansion built in 1868, and 14 acres of beautiful gardens. Unfortunately it was a very hot day, and the heat combined with the crowds made it not the right day to explore the estate. We'll have to go back another time to check it all out properly.

Part of the large crowd picnicking in the grounds.

We brought along a basket of 14 teddies, leaving our very large teddy at home for logistical reasons. The organisers were hoping to beat the Guinness World Record for the largest teddy bear's picnic, but fell well short of the mark. Still, it looked like a lot of people, teddies and other soft toys attended and enjoyed the day.

Grace and the teddies waiting for the Peppa Pig show.

Our teddies.

The entertainment included a Peppa Pig show, which Grace and Charlotte were excited to see. However, it was the pirate MC who captured their attention the most.

The pirate MC introducing the Peppa Pig show.

Peppa Pig.

There was a small animal nursery, rides, market stalls (I bought a couple of great bibs) and other activities to keep everyone amused. Grace and Charlotte enjoyed the craft area, where they coloured a teddy each and put them up on display.

Grace colouring in her teddy bear.

Grace's finished teddy.

Grace and Charlotte's teddies on display.

The girls seemed to enjoy eating their sandwiches, cookies and fruit, and drank lots of water and juice. But by far the greatest fun to be had was climbing all over Daddy!

Little girl's picnic food.

Climbing on Daddy.

Neil and his daughters.

We left by mid afternoon, to attend a friend's birthday party on the other side of town. But by then we'd enjoyed a great family outing.  This might become an annual tradition!

"Every teddy bear, that's been good

Is sure of a treat today

There's lots of wonderful things to eat

And wonderful games to play

Beneath the trees, where nobody sees

They'll hide and seek as long as they please

Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic"

Swing Time

For Christmas, my parents gave the girls a Hills swing set.

It was quite a collaborative effort.

Mum paid for it over the phone, Neil collected it in his ute (and picked up the pieces from Eastlink when it fell off!), and Dad assembled it while he was here the other weekend.

"It might just have us stumped."

"Grandpa has it sorted."

It has definitely been a hit, particularly with Charlotte, who is very difficult to remove from the swing when it is time to come inside!

"More, Daddy, more."

"This is fun!"

Having a great time on the swings.

Fortunately, Neil chose a reasonably shady spot for the swing set, because I think we'll be spending a lot of time there over the next few months.