Mathilda's Market

For those of you living in Perth, you may like to know that I will again be having a stall at Mathilda's Market.

Mathilda's Market gives me an opportunity to show off some of my funky, beautiful & unique clothing discoveries, in 'real life'

& gives you a chance to grab hold of some items that you wouldn't otherwise find in other stores.

Many of the lines I carry are either exclusive to me, or limited to only a handful of retailers throughout Australia,
so you can be sure to find something a little unique!

Come & see me at the next Mathilda's Market-

finding funky kid's clothes has never been so easy!

check this out, what a cool competition from Itch Design

getting kids to eat

complaints at dinnertime...

fussy eaters...

it seems to be an ongoing issue in many, many homes.

I must say we're pretty lucky. Our three are really great eaters.

Of course there are a few things that are 'sticking points', (like broccoli for the 9 yr old)
but for the most part I think they have a really healthy attitude towards food.

Whilst I do think that a certain amount just comes down to being fortunate,
I also believe that there are a few things that we have 'got right' that have led to our smalls being un-fussy eaters.

I think one of the best things we have done is to follow this rule *idea*

the parent is in charge of providing the food,

the child is in charge of deciding what to eat.

yes, it means giving up on 'total control' but really, who has total control anyway! (it's all an illusion)

 remember, the idea is, that if you only provide nutritious, healthy meals,

then your child will eat nutritious, healthy meals.

we have never subscribed to the idea of making special meals just for the kids, they are quite familiar with us saying
ok, you eat what you like, that's fine, but that's dinner.

occasionally this has been tested, but for the most part, they understand.

part of our approach to raising our children is to maintain a healthy respect for them as individuals.

this means that we do respect that they have different tastes & preferences,
but we also expect them to develop a healthy respect for other's tastes & preferences too.

whenever possible, we plan our meals for the week as a family.

everyone chooses a meal they particularly enjoy & then mum hehehe :) chooses the rest to balance out the rest of the week.

the kids (well the big ones) are then expected to help make their chosen dish.

This is working really well in our home for a few reasons.

the kids get to feel like they have a say, that they are respected, & they get to choose a meal that they love.

they get to see that other people may not enjoy their choice so much, but that to make it fair to everyone, we all take turns.

the responsibility of helping make the meal means that they have a greater appreciation of the time & energy involved in feeding our family

& of course they're learning some great skills as they go.

my son (age 9) now has around 10 meals that he can make with minimal assistance...

& we're not just talking boiled eggs & soldiers.

apart from making meal times a whole lot less stressful, we love that our kids really enjoy food.

That they are not scared to try new things, (blue cheese, snails in Paris!)

they love olives & anchovies, sushimi & curry, & they eat spicy food.

& now, rarely complain at mealtimes.

Swimwear for Summer

Living in Sunny Perth, in a suburb quite close to the coast (not quite walking distance... well, ok, a longish walk) we tend to spend quite a bit of time at the beach. In order to make sure the kids can all swim well & confidently, & of course for our own fitness, we also spend a fair amount of time at the pool. So it's fair to say that for us, swimwear becomes a Summer fashion staple.

I've been looking for  a while for a swimwear range that was gorgeous, well made, practical & child-appropriate.  

something that I feel would withstand the demands that my family would throw at it & yet look fun & funky. 

well... I've found it!

on it's way to us at ele-ahbaant as we speak is a gorgeous range of swimwear from Stella Cove.
a fresh take on swimwear, with simple clean lines & beautiful fabric designs.

A boys range is coming very soon also, don't worry, we'll be snapping that up as soon as we can too! but for now, here's a sneak peek of some of the girl's range on it's way

 

Twirly, Whirly, Dusky Rose Pettiskirts

More from Alejandra Kearl, these divine Dusky Rose Pettiskirts just seem to encourage dancing, twirling, whirling & much giggling.

Made popular (read; created a world-wide craze) by Dakota Fanning at the

Teen Choice Awards, Pettiskirts have now been elevated to a 'must-have' status.

Gorgeous for dressing up, for getting dressed up,

for special events & so, so popular for portrait photography-

who wouldn't look cute in one of these?

these pictures say it all really

Book Week

Book Week is the longest running children's festival in Australia,

celebrating its 64th birthday in 2009.

I feel very fortunate to have been born into a 'bookish' family.

My sister & I have always read, my parents read, & my grandmother read.

I remember holidays spent at grandma's house in the country where we (my cousins, my sister & I) would raid the bookshelves & settle down on the patchwork picnic blanket out on the sprawling front lawn to read,

or the early, early mornings when we would all pile into grandma's bed (yes, all of us!) for her to read to us while she sipped her English breakfast cup of tea...

no tea bags, a pot, of course!

As a child, I was a prolific reader & always had at least one book on the go, sometimes 2 or 3!

I still enjoy reading, very much, time seems to be my main barrier.

I love to see that my children find great joy in books & that the older 2 are already in possession of very strong literacy skills ~ the youngest is showing signs of being the same- she loves books, & will quite happily sit down to 'read them' to us.

My teaching background has made me acutely aware, that a positive, 'book-enriched' environment creates a positive foundation, leading to strong literacy skills.

so... more books, more books, more books!

Read to them, Read with them, listen to them Read to you & treat Reading with wonder...

you know, it can even be fun :)

in the words of Dr Seuss:

"The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you'll go"

To support & encourage literacy in Australia, we at ele-ahbaant are giving away a

free book with every purchase made between the 22nd & 28th August 09.

enjoy!