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  • Guest Post: How To Keep Children Entertained When Travelling

    Guest Post: How To Keep Children Entertained When Travelling

    travelling with kids

    (Image: kidstravel2.com)

    Sponsored guest post

    For many, embarking on a family holiday is an exciting time. You and your partner are looking forward to a break away from the daily strains of work and the kids can’t wait to splash around in the hotel pool and make sandcastles on the beach.

    But there’s often one part of the big family adventure that many of us parents dread: the car journey. Why? Because, no matter whether you’ve only got a short drive to the airport or opted for the choice of rental cars to give you more freedom to explore at your destination, you know there’ll be the constant echoing of “are we nearly there yet?!” ringing in your ears with every journey you make.

    So, with the kids being less than sympathetic to your need for concentration and wanting the fun to start right there, right now, you’ll need to come up with some ingenious ideas to save your sanity.

    Well, to help you, here’s my top 5, tried and tested ways to keep the children entertained for the next time you embark on your family travels:

    1. Give Them a Simple Map of The Journey

    Since they’re always asking “are we nearly there yet?”, why not give them their own little map so they can find out the answer for themselves! Before each journey, print off a small simple map of the route you’re going to take and let them track where they think they may be.

    If your children are a little older, and if the map includes any symbols of landmarks they may recognise, give them a little key of what each symbol means so they can keep an eye out for the landmarks as you drive past them. Or, if your children are a little younger, let them draw their own landmarks onto their maps they may spot on the journey.

    This pastime activity is a great way to teach them about what’s around them, will let them be creative and will keep them quiet – all at the same time!

    2. Connect The Dots

    If you’ve got several children, a great way to keep them all entertained at the same time is with the ‘Connect the Dots’ game. Simply draw on a piece of paper lots of rows of dots adjacent to each other in a big square, and give each child a different colour felt tip pen or crayon. Each child then takes it in turns to draw a single line between the dots with the aim of trying to make a ‘box’. The person who makes the most boxes once the whole square has been filled in, wins!

    3. Scavenger Hunt

    Before you set out on a car journey, jot down a list of items that your children have to try and spot whilst you’re driving around – simple things, such as ‘a red car’, ‘a field of cows’, or ‘a church’ are a great way to keep them captivated and quiet!

    4. Duck

    This game can be tied in with ‘scavenger hunt’ and has proven successful with many children I know. If you’ve written out a list of items for your children to spot throughout the duration of the journey, you can make the game more exciting by them not only ticking these off their list, but also ducking and shouting ‘duck’ when they see the item. The quickest person to spot the item and duck, wins!

    5. Next-door Neighbour Game

    If you’re stuck in a traffic jam and the children are starting to get a little fidgety and agitated, then playing the ‘Next-door Neighbour Game’ is a great way to keep them entertained when traffic is at a stand-still. Take a sneak peek at the person in the car alongside (or behind!) you and get your children to imagine what kind of person they are. Make up a name, job, what hobbies they have or what their favourite dinner is. Get the children to be as inventive as possible and you’re all bound to have great fun trying to guess what that person may be like!

    What games do you play in the car?

    Experienced freelance writer, Lara Anderson, wrote this article. Lara specialises in providing travel advice for families!

     

  • Aussie Giveaway Linkup #88: Highlights of an average life

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup #88: Highlights of an average life

    camel dishI thought today I’d give you some highlights from our day:

    • This afternoon we bought a Dyson Animal handheld vacuum, because I was tired of dragging out the big vacuum to clean under the dining table after dinner each night. OK, I lie. I let it pile up and then vacuum it on Saturdays. If the doorbell rings on a Friday, I just refuse to let them in. Now, at least, you’ll be able to visit me any day you wish!
    • During our shopping expedition, we also purchased a new Philips iron. Well, Julian purchased a new Philips iron. I told him there was no point in me choosing it. I don’t use it enough! He posted something to that affect on Facebook and a host of men put their hands up to being “chief iron man” in their household too.
    • We went out for dinner at our favourite restaurant tonight and on the specials menu was braised camel scotch. I’m not really sure where in Tasmania you get camels (and whose responsible for feeding them scotch!), but I can tell you, I definitely wasn’t about to try it. I assume – like seagulls, snake and pigeon – it tastes like chicken? Julian went the beef scotch fillet instead. Wise choice.

    scotch fillet

    What about you? Have you tried camel? Or something even more… interesting?

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup instructions:

    If you’re a blogger or business wanting to take part in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup:

    1. Only link directly to the giveaway post/s and include the prize and end date in the linky tool below. Link each giveaway separately. If you need to delete it, hover over your link, wait until the red “x’’ appears and click.
    2. Giveaways must be open to Australian residents and be run by Australian-based bloggers or businesses.
    3. Grab the button below to add to your post.
    4. A new list is added each Sunday so bloggers need to add their links weekly.
    5. Start entering the giveaways! Entry is at your own risk. We do not take responsibility for unfulfilled prizes or a blogger/business not abiding by their own terms and conditions.

     



    Aussie Giveaway Linky
    Hosted by Three Lil Princesses



  • How to remove pen from leather lounge suite

    How to remove pen from leather lounge suite

    Last night I posted this photo on Facebook of Texta all over our good leather lounge suite.

    How to get pen off a leather lounge suite

    and 200-odd comments later we had this…

    how to get pen off of leather

    After trying a host of things (eucalyptus oil, baby wipes, eye makeup remover…), guess what it was that took the Texta – also known as marker or pen for those outside Australia – off the leather lounge suite?

    For us, it was hairspray – and a fair bit of elbow grease. And not just any hairspray. It had to be decent hairspray. L’Oreal hairspray in fact, as the cheaper brand did nothing to get rid of the marker.

     L'Oreal hairspray

    Although, after half a bottle you wouldn’t want to have lit a match in the lounge room! Boy, oh boy!

    Here are some of the most popular answers from readers (you may want to try a small inconspicuous area first):

    • WD40
    • Hairspray
    • Chux Magic Eraser
    • Toothpaste
    • Jif
    • Windex
    • Enjo Fabric Glove
    • Baby wipes
    • Eucalyptus oil
    • Gumpton
    • Milk or hot milk
    • Bi carb made into a paste
    • Perfume

    Thanks for all the suggestions, including new kids, just pretending it’s not there, buying a new couch, colouring in the rest of the couch with a Texta and pushing the couch up against the wall…..

    And by the way, the culprit was a rather cheeky two year old who simply couldn’t resist drawing a Van Gough on that amazingly white canvas!

    HollySmile

    WANT THE HAIRSPRAY? CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW

    What have you used to remove pen, marker or Texta from leather and which one worked best?

    *NB: Some links in this post are affiliate links. I only recommend those products I use myself.

  • How to successfully balance work, parenting and love life

    How to successfully balance work, parenting and love life

    With Valentine’s Day today and the fact many of you have spoken to us through the blog and Facebook about being a single parent, eHarmony Australia has written a great post for us on how to better balance work, parenting and your love life. Enjoy! x

    Guest post sponsored by eHarmony Australia

    For single working parents, life can start to feel like one giant juggling act. Many parents struggle to strike a happy balance between their titles as mum, dad and colleague. In the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life, the role that usually gets sacrificed first is their search for love as a single man or woman.

    The good news is that successfully juggling work, parenting and romance doesn’t have to be a superhuman feat. Here’s a look at some tips and ideas for making it all seem more achievable.

    Relationships

    Photo credit

    Let go of the guilt

    The first step to feeling better about your lifestyle as a single working parent is to let go of the anxiety and guilt about things not being perfect. At the end of the day, very few people’s lives are actually ideal. From a historic perspective, single working parents are a relatively new group in society, and institutions like welfare, daycare and maternity leave haven’t quite caught up yet.

    The key is to stop searching for perfection and let go of the super-woman working mum image we so often see in the media. Once you do that, you’ll feel a lot less pressure about how your family life ought to look and function.

    Set clear boundaries

    Your different roles as a parent and a work colleague will often compete for your time and your attention. It’s important to draw clear boundaries to make sure you’re committing your full attention and care to each part of your life. That means things like switching off the work mobile phone when you’re bathing your kids and setting clear guidelines about not being contacted by the office on weekends.

    It’s important to think about when the most important times are to be around in your children’s lives, whether it’s when they wake up, when they come home from school or having a family dinner together.

    Relationship

    Photo credit

    Use your support network

    Being a single parent doesn’t have to mean doing everything on your own. Make the most of the support networks in your life, like your family and friends. Always ask your workplace to consider new incentives to make your life easier, like an office crèche or flexible start and finish hours.

    Finding a network of other single parents in your area is a great way to find like-minded people and gain advice on the best way for handling tricky situations. For instance any singles in Perth looking to meet people with a similar lifestyle, parenting groups often meet at South Beach for a swim or coffee at the Fig Café in Freemantle.

    Don’t sacrifice your love life

    Being a mum and a worker shouldn’t mean the end of your love life. You might not have the time to head out on blind dates, but there are plenty of other ways to meet eligible singles. Online dating for instance is an easy and convenient option that locates like-minded people in your area.

    Best of all, with the option to tailor your matches, online dating sites make it easy to find singles who share your love for children, as well as your other core values and attitudes.

    What are your tips for successfully managing work, parenting and love life?

  • Aussie Giveaway Linkup #87: Adding to the controversy

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup #87: Adding to the controversy

    Essendon Football Club

    For all you AFL lovers, here’s something we saw on a fence at Turners Beach here in Tassie today that’s sure to give you a giggle. Unless you’re an Essendon supporter.

    Go the Blues!

    OK, let’s get into some much less controversial competitions.

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup instructions:

    If you’re a blogger or business wanting to take part in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup:
    1. Only link directly to the giveaway post/s and include the prize and end date in the linky tool below. Link each giveaway separately. If you need to delete it, hover over your link, wait until the red “x’’ appears and click.
    2. Giveaways must be open to Australian residents and be run by Australian-based bloggers or businesses.
    3. Grab the button below to add to your post.
    4. A new list is added each Sunday so bloggers need to add their links weekly.
    5. Start entering the giveaways! Entry is at your own risk. We do not take responsibility for unfulfilled prizes or a blogger/business not abiding by their own terms and conditions.

     



    Aussie Giveaway Linky
    Hosted by Three Lil Princesses



  • 12 Valentine’s Day ideas to date your husband all year round

    12 Valentine’s Day ideas to date your husband all year round

    Valentine's Day ideas

    The last couple of years have seen The Bloke in the Shed and I a little lean on the dating front. There’s usually wine and chocolates, but there’s also a TV, two laptops and a mound of work to catch up on. Valentine’s Day, birthdays and Christmases roll around and we’re reminded we probably should be more romantic.

    This year we’ve decided we’re going to make more of an effort for regular “date nights’’. Especially now Holly is a little older and able to be left with other people.

    Here are traditionally good ideas for Valentine’s Day that we’ll be aiming to use throughout the year instead.

    1. Masterchef at home. Spend some time in the kitchen preparing your favourite dishes and eat together – alone – afterwards, just like you’re in a fancy restaurant. It’s a true Valentine’s Day ideas that even calls for surprise roses beforehand, don’t you think? (I have been known to buy Julian flowers. It’s true! It was a really dark coloured rose back in our early days. I don’t think flower buying should just be for the men).

    2. Go stargazing in the backyard. Take out a blanket, spread it on the ground and lie down while looking at the night sky. Even just sitting in the outdoor area with a wine. The beauty of this one is it costs you nothing. Except for the wine.

    3. Tourist in your own town. I’m ashamed to say, but there are things here in our own town we haven’t done. You know, those touristy things? We’re always so driving somewhere else.

    4. See a live event. Back in the day, we used to attend concerts and shows all the time. We’ve often remarked that “oh, so and so is in town. They’d be great to see’’. But we never go. We may even travel interstate for a show. Maybe…

    5. Watch a movie at home. Prepare your popcorn and drinks and snuggle up on the couch together to watch your favourite romantic movie. Dim the lights for added effect.

    6. Eat out at a new restaurant. There’s something about food and romance. They just go so well together. This year we’d like to try somewhere new.

    7. Go on a road trip. Head out to a new destination. The time on the road will be perfect to talk and bond.

    8. Climb a mountain. This is the ideal date idea for people with adventurous spirits. That’s not necessarily me. Although, one of my greatest memories is climbing to the Wineglass Bay lookout on Tasmania’s East Coast with Julian. It was worth all the effort.

    9. Gourmet picnic at the park. It’s such a simple activity, but thoroughly relaxing. Unless it’s infested with tantrum-throwing two year olds. We’ll be leaving ours at home! Pack some cheese, dips, smoked salmon, cured meats, olives, crackers, fruit and nuts.

    10. Head to the beach. I’m not a beach person. As I’ve said before – I hate the sand. However, there is something about walking along the beach together. (I say this after Julian took me to Boat Harbour to propose 13 years ago and I refused to step out onto the sand, so he had to propose in the car. If only I’d known!).

    11. Find a hobby. Sometimes we get to a point where our lives boil down to work and kids. It’s nice to have something you can do together. Even if doing arts and crafts is a one-off activity, it all helps to create new memories.

    12. I need ideas for No. 12. What would you suggest? Do you have regular date nights? What sort of things do you do?

    DISCLOSURE: I received vouchers in exchange for my time and blog space with thanks to Roses Only. All opinions are my own.