Piano Recital

Elizabeth had her Winter piano recital on Saturday night.    These are the pieces she played.   This first one is called Planetarium.

The second one is an excerpt from Grieg's Morning Music.

Mum Glasses

Elizabeth loves to cook.    However, after cooking, the kitchen is a mess.   Ben was talking with her the other week and told her how when he was her age he would clean the kitchen but his mum would tell him it was still messy.    In his mind, it was clean so he thought it was strange that she would say that it wasn't clean.

Elizabeth did some more cooking yesterday, and I was reminded of this conversation.   She had cleaned up in a typical nine year old style.   The counter was wiped down and instead of the batter being wiped away, it was smeared over the counter in a thin layer.   Some things were put away, but the flour and sprinkles were still on the counter.

So I said to her "Thanks for cleaning up Lizzy.   You've obviously tried hard but there is still some more to be done.   How about you put on Mom glasses.   What would the kitchen look like if I had cleaned up?"  

She looked around and said "It would be perfect".   

I had to smile at that:  my kitchen is far from perfect but I do have counters that are clean.    However to a nine year old, I have a perfectly clean kitchen.

Whose Present?

Kai has a book which he likes called "Whose Present".   Each page has a description of somebody who is getting a present and a picture of their wrapped present.   He then has to guess who and what.

At the end there is a question for him "What sort of present would you like?"    He always says "A Car!"    I expanded it the other day and asked him about each family member.   These were our presents:

Mum:   A new camera
Dad:  A new coffee cup
Isaac:   A new book
Elizabeth:   A new bed

I think he nailed us all pretty well, although I'm not sure where Elizabeth's new bed came from.

A Picture That Captures Who You Are

Once in a while, you manage to capture "that" picture.    Ben managed do it the other day when he took this picture of Isaac at a book store on Saturday and I love it because it captures the personality of Isaac.  

Christmas Presents

Mail from Australia is unpredictable.   Sometimes it takes a week to arrive.   Sometimes it takes much longer.   About a week ago, we received some Thanksgiving cards from Mum - I could see they were posted in the middle of November but they arrived about a month and a half later.

Today, we received a Christmas card and some Christmas presents.    It was a nice extension to Christmas.   

Our presents have already been well loved.   We got a lovely calendar with lots of family photos.   Isaac has a book, which he didn't put down all afternoon and it is now finished.   Kai has stuck stickers from his book over me.    Elizabeth has already made cupcakes.    Mel - you know my family well.   Thank you!  

Fake Snow

If you have ever wondered if I love my kids, the proof is here before you.   They are playing with "Snow in Seconds" in the kitchen.   I have vacuumed the floor 4 times in the past two days!

Language

Every child goes through stages where what they want to say doesn't come out right.   Kai's classic happened this morning, as he was calling out for the cat.

"Cleo, Piss, Piss, Piss!  Cleo".

Kai's Preschool Concert

On Thursday night, Kai's preschool had their Christmas concert.

He was excited to go, as he was going to sing a song with a truck in it.   Although I have no idea where the truck came into the songs.   As Ben said "He didn't sing though, so perhaps the truck song wasn't sung".

Sunday School Christmas Performance

Yes.   It's that time of year, when all the kids are involved in Christmas concerts.   On Sunday it was their Sunday School performance.   Isaac did great - you can hear him singing unashamedly out of tune.   Kai was typically a cute three year old.   He was willing to go on stage for the first performance but refused to sing.   He refused to go up for the second performance, until he saw everyone on stage.   He still refused to sing but at least he got up.   However, afterwards he told me "I didn't want to go up!"    Poor Elizabeth had a hard time though.   She was to be a "wise man".   In her 9 year old knowledge, she knew there were 3 wise men.   However when everyone was in costume, there were 5 children who were dressed in wise men costumes.   This was a terrible occurance, and resulted in so many tears that she was unable to perform.    Between the two performances, the kids went to Sunday School, where she managed to get hit in the face and now has a black eye.   She bravely went on stage despite the burgeoning black eye, and played her part.

As a result, I have 3 videos for you.  The first video is just the preschool class.  Kai is the youngest in his class, so maybe next year he'll join in!   Kai is 4th from the left - directly behind the manager.

The next video has Isaac & Kai.   This is Isaac & Kai's best performance, but of course Liz is missing because she's feeling too upset.    Isaac is the cow, in the back left.   Kais is an angel down the front, in the middle.

And last of all, the final performance with all 3 children.   However, it's pretty obvious that Kai doesn't want to be there, but it's Liz's only appearance.    Isaac is still the cow, in the back.   Liz is a wiseman, and enters during the song.    Kai is an angel down the front, playing with the microphone.

Bikes and Dreams

Kai has just learnt how to ride a "big boy" bike.   I took this video today, in which he stopped and told me about a dream he had about bikes.   This is such a cute age.

A Christmas Concert

Tonight was Isaac's Christmas concert for Orchestra.    I know that you would have loved to have come along, but as it was just a touch too far to travel I thought I'd bring a song to you!

 

New Doors

I've been spending Ben's money again!   This time we have been replacing the old 70's look doors throughout the house.   The new doors are swing doors,  so we have easier access to the cupboards.  We are also adding a door between our bedroom and the master bathroom.

 

 

This first picture is the pantry doors in the kitchen.   They still need handles and trim down the left side.    That should be done by the end of the week!

 

This one is the doorway into the master bathroom.   The white doors are sliding doors into our cupboard, as they are 3 paneled doors.    The door will swing towards the cupboard door.

 

And last of all, this is Isaac's room demonstrating the swing doors.

 

 

Hopefully everything will be finished by Friday.

Sleep

Both boys have been sick over the last few days. It has thrown out their sleep schedule.

Last night, around 10.30, Ben and I suddenly hear a loud voice calling out from the top of the stairs. "Dad, I'm done with sleeping".

Let's just say Kai was rather disappointed to be put back into bed.

Hair

Kai has inherited some strong Armstrong genes.    One of them is the gene that causes him to mess up my hair every time I'm helping him get dressed.  

Time Lines

Kai hasn't quite mastered time yet.    Some of today's quotes:

"I don't want to brush my teeth this week"  and when asked to use the toilet "But I already went last week"

"This week" or "this morning" is really irrelevant, isn't it?

Kisses

Kai and I were at Kindermusik today.    Kindermusik always follows a pattern where the children arrive with a parent and play with toys.   After about 5 minutes it's kissing time - when all parents leave and children are left with their teacher.

Kai knew this was coming, and kept on giving me lots kisses (which are actually more blows than kisses right now).    After about 10 kisses he said "I love you lots, so I'm kissing you lots".   

I think he's been forgiven for any naughty behavior over the last few days.

Musical Memories

Today I went looking for some sheet music at our local music shop.   I never did find what I wanted, but I came home with something better.

As I browsed, I suddenly spotted a book that looked familiar.   It was Bach Eight Little Preludes and Fugues for Organ.  It looked just the same, however the one I remember is much more faded, tatty and yellowed inside.    For a moment, I doubted that it could be the same book but I quickly flicked through the pages and found one of my favorite pieces from my childhood, the Prelude and Fugue in F Major.   I then flicked to the front and sure enough, this book was first published in 1912 and then in 1940.    It really was Mum's book, albeit a new copy.    I have happy memories of listening to Mum play this piece and then attempting to play it myself as I got older.

I came home and fiddled on the piano, only to hear Elizabeth comment "I love that piece".     I wonder if, in 30 years time, she'll wander into a music shop, find her own copy and have wonderful memories too.   I'd like to think so.

Italian Prune Jam

Today I made jam for the first time.   I remember Mum making jam when I was younger, but I have never done it myself.   However, our Italian Prune tree is laden with fruit and there are only so many fresh prunes that you can eat fresh.

 

The kids picked two large containers of prunes, and then my work began.

 

First I had to pit the fruit, and then chop it into quarters.   When I was done I had 7 pints of chopped Italian prunes, with about 1/2 a container of fresh fruit left over.

 

 

 

My recipe called for 2 quarts of italian prunes, 6 cups of sugar, 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups of water.   I increased it to allow for my larger amount of prunes.    It took almost an hour for my jam to reach it's setting point (it was supposed to be 220F, but I only bought it to 215F because I was doubtful on the accuracy of my thermometer and it passed the "setting" test of putting a small amount on a cold plate).  

Elizabeth was fascinated with how the color changed from yellow to a deep red.

 

The final step was processing my jam.   I filled my warm jars with hot jam,  and then put them in a water bath for 5 minutes.    Some websites recommended completely covering the jars, while others said to only cover 1-2 inches.   I went with the second option, although I have since read that this is no longer recommended.   The purpose of a water bath is to remove the oxygen remaining in the jars and to kill any bacteria which may be in the food.    If you want further information about water baths, here is a good site:   http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/348/348-594/348-594.html

And finally, I have 12 jars of Italian prune jam.     Tomorrow will be the true test though, as that's when we get to try it.

In case you ever have a tree full of Italian prunes, or come across some at the markets - here is the recipe I used  http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_07/plum_jam.html

Photo Book

Each time we go on a vacation, I create a photo book.    I just noticed that I'm actually able to share my photo books on my blog.   So if you'd like to take a sneeky peek into my favorite holiday photos, here it is:

Click here to view this photo book larger

The new way to make a photo album: photo books by Shutterfly.

Readjusting

These days I have no problems switching between driving on the left and right side of the road,   except in one area.    I keep on turning on the windscreen wipers instead of the indicators.    I do it in Australia and then do it again when I return to America.