It’s been a big week already here at SSG Manor. And Tuesday’s only half cooked.
Toddler SSG started daycare on Monday but preparations have been weeks in the making with the official ironing on of his clothing labels. The sets that
tinyme make are the best life hack for first time day care mums. All you need to do is iron on the sticky labels through a sheet of baking paper. No needles, no thread and no embarrassing risk of your best printing in Sharpie being ranked as illegible by daycare staff.
Labelling the fancy stuff was overkill because none of it will be going to daycare on a regular basis (just on photo and concert days, I’m thinking) but it was fun and satisfying (!!) ironing all the same.
I’ve made a start on the ‘All about me …’ poster that each child at the centre needs. The idea is to fill an A3 page with photographs of Toddler SSG’s favourite people and places. The posters are laminated at day care and used as a visual comforter during the year. Then they become covers for each child’s yearbook which is a record written by the carers. I think it’s a beautiful idea and am looking forward to reading that first book at the end of this year.
We’ve done two half days so far and while the drop offs have been traumatic for us both, I’m reassured that everyone’s going through the same tears and emotions and also that the staff have been so kind and gentle with each child that by lunchtime, everyone in the room has been calm enough to nap on their own.
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| A post Centrelink celebratory coffee courtesy of Oliver Brown. |
Another win for the week has been a positive experience at the Department of Human Services service centre aka Centrelink. One of the many stressful things about entering day care is registering for the various benefits and rebates (at last, at last, I’m acutally elegibile for something other than paying tax) working families are entitled to. The website is 11/10 frustrating which is really saying something considering how net savvy I thought I was…..
Armed with all the downloads and numbers I managed to work out online, I took myself to a real person at Centrelink this morning and got resolution! In less than half an hour. Mind you, I did wait in line for 45 minutes for the centre to open. But hey, a win is a win.
A stinking hot weekend in Sydney wouldn’t be complete without making the trek to the air conditioned calm of your local Ikea and spending half an hour with the rest of Sydney trying to find a parking space. My perseverance with the parking paid off because I managed to buy the last crocodile non slip bath mat in the children’s section.
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| Our old crocodile ($7.99 for Ikea family members, $9.99 full price) before the mould took hold… They’re great for long bath tubs and don’t look as grubby as quickly as the clear versions I’ve seen at other stores. |
They’ve been out of stock for months now and I’ve been in need of a replacement of our current one which has been eaten alive by mildew that wont’ wash out.
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| Mala water colour set – $9.99 at Ikea, The extra brushes were $4.99 for the six brush set. |
I also bought some water colours and stamp pens to bring home for something quiet to do under the blast of the air conditioner.
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| Mala stamp pens, $7.99 a set (6 pens). |
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| You know how I find toddler art a very therapeutic thing to do myself… |
I painted and stamped.
While Toddler SSG stirred and poured. The old beach towel under the table is a handy trick to know. If you have slightly damp towel (say from after your mid morning swim for example), it’ll make quick work of any rogue slashes of paint on body parts and furniture.
I found this silicone ice cube maker for 49 cents at Ikea too. I’m going to see how it works as a dish for poster paints when we’re ready to move to a new medium. The tray is quite heavy and non slip. It also looks easy to wash.
Artistic expression released for the day, it was time to wash up and think about dinner….
You know how I was idly chatting about making a potato gem casserole the other day? Well, it’s happened thanks to
this recipe.
Considering that all the chicken and vegies were cooked in a couple of cans of cream of mushroom soup, it all ended up tasting like a Chinese dish. I have no idea why.
Cheese and a fried potato product topped off the casserole. How could Toddler SSG possibly refuse?
On balance, I’d rate this as a toddler cuisine success.
All the potato gems and cheese went (no surprises there) but I do believe some broccoli and a pea or two were eaten with the chicken.
And that, my friends, is where things are at with us right now. Not sure when I’ll next be checking in but I hope it will be soon. So much change to our daily routine right now.
