Water

I know this is obvious but sometimes I need a little reminder - drinking enough water makes me feel good. I drink lots of water because I'm currently nursing Baby Boy and also - I just like water!

When we were driving to Lewis we had a day where we drank more soda that we should have. The next day we had no soda but plenty of water. Although I didn't feel bad the first evening, on the second (water day) evening, I felt great.

The Value of a Pound....Part II

This is an update on my previous post about Big Boy learning about the value of a pound (linked here:  http://janiceljlj.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-value-of-poundpart-i.html).  

After Big Boy asked about the book sale, I sent him off to school with some of his saved-up pocket money.  He chose to take £10 of his pocket money (rather a lot, I thought) to purchase the book that he wanted.  He came home with 3 books and no money left.

When I asked about what happened, he explained that he went to the sale and showed the saleslady how much money he had and she helped him by showing him that he could get 3 books for his money....pretty slick sales job....

Anyways, Big Boy feels empowered by his purchases but he was sad that some of his pocket money was gone.  He loves the books he bought and in his mind they were worth what he spent on them.  With regards to a pocket money purchase, that's about all you can ask for!

As the next stage to our "Value of a Pound" project, my husband plans to take Big Boy and show him what you can buy for £10 in terms of other toys or food for the family.  He is planning a combination of showing him in store and on line - just building it into our regular family activities.  I will keep everyone posted on how that goes.

My First Jelly Roll (Swiss Roll Flavoured)....or Roulade if you will...

Yesterday I made my first jelly roll (called "jelly roll" and home and "roulade" here).  I used a new pan from Lakeland (the silicone roulade pan) and a recipe from their website.  I was very pleased with the results - it was delicious and it looked great.  It wasn't too difficult but there were a few parts of the process that required my full attention (difficult with the kids around).  The roll is entirely without flour.

As a part of this baking project, I also made my first "real" whipped cream.  I whipped double cream using a hand mixture and I added granulated sugar, vanilla and a bit of cream of tartare.

I will definitely make this again soon.  Here are some pictures of the results: 

The Football Goal....Part II

A while ago I wrote about football goals that had been erected in our green space, and here is the post if you want to read it:  http://janiceljlj.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-football-goal.html

Since I wrote that post, the goals disappeared.  I noticed they were gone, but I haven't heard any "chatter" on our street about it, so when my husband asked why when he came home from his business trip I didn't know.

But I do now...in today's post I got a letter forwarded from our landlord's management company.  It seems that the company that maintains the green space sent out a demand letter requiring that the goals be removed by the owners (not us, thank goodness, as this letter was dated 5 days ago) within 48 hours or there would be various costs to either the owners of the goal or everyone who resides within our terrace (could they really do this?  unlikely...).

Anyways, the goals are gone and there are fewer children playing football out front in the evenings....I guess that will save the green space from wear and tear.

Daddy's Home!

My husband has been away for quite a while (12 days) and he came home yesterday.  The homecoming is always interesting.  After the presents are given and the treats eaten, it is always time to get back to regular life.  

The kids have to get used to 2 parents in the house and we parents have to overcome jet lag and get everyone back on a regular eating and sleeping schedule.  This always takes about a week.

Flat Stanley

Recently, Big Boy used his birthday Book Token to purchase a treasury of Flat Stanley stories (thank you, Auntie, Uncle and Cousin).  We have all been reading a bit of the book together at night before bed and I am very impressed.  The stories are easy for Big Boy and Little Boy to comprehend and Big Boy is able to read some parts by himself.  The illustratons are  pleasant and add to the story but don't prevent the children from using their imagination.

I am actually looking forward to story time again!  What a lovely change from Road Dahl.  (Sorry, but I'm not a fan.)

The Value of a Pound....Part I

I've been wanting to teach Big Boy about the value of money.  As in the "buying power" of money, because he does not have a clue.  Once I asked him how much he thought the groceries in my basket (milk, apples and bread) should cost and he said "I dunno, a hundred dollars?" The groceries were worth less than $5.

The perfect opportunity fell into my lap this week.  There is a travelling book fair at his school and he fancies a book.  He saw it and looked at it but doesn't know how much it costs.  I think it is probably between £2 and £4.  He asked me if I could pick him up at school one day so he could show it to me.  This is his code for "and then buy it...."

I told him that this week I probably would not be picking him up, but if he wanted, he could take some of his saved-up pocket money and buy the book.  He never spends any pocket money, so he has quite a bit saved up from birthdays, Christmas and the tooth fairy.  He was very hesitant at this suggestion so I asked him why.  He said that he did not know how much pocket money he would have left if he bought the book.  Because I don't know the price of the book I could not answer that, so I told him he could ask after the price and then decide.  He was still hesitant.  So I asked him if the issue was that he wanted me to spend my pocket money on the book so he could save his.  He said "Yes!  Exactly!  That would be good."

So I explained how he would have to decide if he valued the book enough to use his own pocket money for it.  We shall see how it turns out, he's giving it a think tonight.