Hearth & Health
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St Patrick’s Day Celebration
Happy St Patrick’s Day to all:) I have a great love for St Patrick, nurtured as a child in a Parish that had only ever know Irish missionary priests. St Patrick’s Day in our Parish began with Mass where each year “Hail Glorious St Patrick, Dear Saint of Our Isle.” was sung, and every child in my class turned to stare at me during the chorus, “When Erin’s green valley’s bestowed a sweet smile.” The whole day was a celebration of Ireland’s greatest Saint, culminating with a St Paddy’s Day Fete in the evening, concluding with Danny boy sung to our sweet Irish priest, whose name was ‘Danny.’ Reflecting now on these amazing…
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A Bibliophile’s Dream
My birthday gift is complete, tidied and organised to my satisfaction. Come with me on a tour around the library. The view from the door facing towards the south-west. The open space and the bean bags are so inviting, it is rare to find the room empty now:) Standing in the far south-east corner looking towards the north-west. The picture book bins will eventually be replaced with a cube bookcase on the inner wall. The short wall will display books in rain gutters. Facing back towards the door from the south-west corner brings us the full circuit around the room. I know we are so blessed to have this space…
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Indulging a Bibliophile Wife
I have long been wanting bookshelves that reach to the ceiling in the library and travel the perimeter of the room. On the weekend PC began making this dream come true. Upon close inspection of the bookcase up the centre of the room, he came to the conclusion it could easily be unscrewed and then the shelves could be re-screwed straight into the wall studs. This now gives plenty of space in the centre of the room, and the books look so nice reaching from floor to ceiling. For now I’m placing bean bags in the centre but am planning on acquiring a couple of armchairs to create a cosy…
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A Playground Addition
For Christmas we bought the younger children a playground with a slide It was an ‘ebay special’ so wasn’t in perfect condition PC has been too busy to make improvements until now but he managed to fix it after work a couple of nights this week. The children were so excited and could hardly wait to begin playing. For the under 6s set really Lots of fun moments ahead:) Thanks Dad:)
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Old Fashioned Nightgowns for my Girls
My younger girls have long been begging me to purchase a long nightie for them. However they are impossible to find in the stores unless I was willing to pay $100+ online. I bought a very pretty Sheridan doona cover from the op-shop and with the aid of this peasant dress tutorial and these shiring tutorials, I have some very happy girls:)
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Large Family Logistical Tips
At times I feel that running a large household is similar to being at the helm of a large corporation, or a major in the military. Over the years we have devised strategies or gleaned ideas to aid in running a smoother household.I have shared in detail previously how we shop monthly but thought I’d share a few random tips we have learnt that work for us. Appliances 1. Buy ‘daily use’ appliances of semi-industrial strength. ie. Washing Machine, Dishwasher, Stove. You will save $ in the long run. Laundry 2. Designate each child a towel colour. Our children each have two towels of their colour, ie. red for one,…
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Christmas Hit – Dune Buggy
PC and I were really committed for Christmas presents to be outside items this year. The boys have been begging for motorbikes, but we weren’t keen. We researched and decided a double off road go-kart/dune buggy would better serve our purposes. We made a number of phone calls and were assured us that a 150cc Twister was the best quality. In an effort to reduce cost we purchased one that needed much work on ebay. We managed to smuggle it home on the trailer under a tarp all the way back from our Sydney trip. For some reason;) the boys thought it was an item for the playground for the…
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Paleo and Experimentation
Our 30 Day Elimination period came to an end a fortnight ago, teen with moderate acne’s inflammation was greatly reduced and skin was looking great, the best it has looked in two years. As an added bonus we were all experiencing improved health. We decided to re-introduce potatoes first and this appeared to be successful, although we continue to limit the amount of potatoes in our diet. Next trial; our teens were longing mostly for a hot cereal breakfast, after much thought teen at the most risk trialled with rice flakes and goat’s milk. The gusto and enthusiasm was a joy to behold. A few days later we also trialled…
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Nearing End of Paleo Elmination Diet
The children are in countdown mode, we have only a week to go until the end of our Elimination Diet. What they are fully failing to comprehend is we won’t be going back to our previous diet, we shall just be making some modifications to the Paleo lifestyle. Actually the 30 Day period hasn’t turned out as ‘strict’ as we would have liked. Last week we attended my brother’s 21st so that threw a major curve, we tried to limit the amount of foods introduced but it was hard, and one child broke out in a rash of pimples within hours, they had been doing so well:( Also our swimmer’s…
