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OK, I just have to confess that I love the convenience of 'spray & wipe' type products for the kitchen.  I have for a while been testing out various environmentally friendly ones and looking for 'the one' that matches the quality of the non-enviro-friendly ones.  The search is over, I have finally found it!

I am just LOVING Enviro Clean's Vigor All Purpose Cleaner which I purchased from Gardners Direct.  It is so easy to use and really works well.  I purchased the 1L bottle because I was a little sceptical, to date I have been very disappointed with other enviro-friendly 'spray & wipes' on the market.  They have left nasty residues or just not cleaned at all.  This stuff is different and truly packs a punch!

I took one of my old 'spray & wipe' bottles and put in 1 cap full of Vigor and topped up with water then gave it a shake to make sure it was diluted properly then I attacked my stove top.  I had deliberately left it for several days without cleaning because I wanted to give this new product a true test.  It worked wonders.  I sprayed on, left on whilst I wiped down the table and bench tops and when I returned I simply wiped off the stove top and EVERYTHING came off.   I was stunned and amazed, infact I called Russell into the kitchen to check it out.

Since that moment I have been using it on everything and have never been disappointed.  Truly I can't recommend this product highly enough, it is wonderful even on the toughest stuff. 

(Please note I have no financial interest in Enviro Clean or Gardeners Direct, simply providing a review of a product I love.)

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This is a really common question for us so I thought I would share our experience.

I took Ethany for her 3 year old check up with our Child Health Nurse.  Living in a small community we knew the CHN and she was a lovely, welcoming person.  Ethany did well with all of the instructions given, BUT she failed the eye test from a distance.  We thought she must have been distracted as I had Xavier with me and he is a busy boy.  We made another time to retest the following fortnight.

The next clinic day I arranged a friend to mind Xavier and took Ethany along.  She failed yet again which resulted in our CHN recommended we see our GP to get a referral to an Opthamologist as she had failed quite badly :-(  We were all quite upset and arranged to see a GP in a nearby town the following day.  To make matters worse Russell came home with a horror story from a guy he works with whose little girl lost an an eye recently with a similar thing, had a 3yo check up, had a problem with vision test, had eye removed due to tumor.  We were horrified at what might happen.

The GP we saw referred us on to a Pediatric Opthamologist  in Perth.  I rang and made an appointment then we waited.

Russell took Ethany along to the appointment where she had to have eye drops put in so the Dr could look inside her eye.  This was not pleasant!  His conclusion was that should would need glasses of +5.50 for both eyes and as her left eye was weak she would also need to wear a patch for about 3 hours per day.  We were gutted by pleased that there was no tumor or other nasty.

I took Ethany to the optical disperser and let her pick out her own frames hoping this would give her some ownership over her glasses.  Over the next week whilst waiting for the glasses to be made we prepared her for what was ahead.  We made pirate patches and had a pirate party to help make her feel OK about the patch.

We collected the glasses from the optical dispenser and I made a big mistake!  No one said to me her script is really strong wait till she is home to put them on or anything like that.  We were in a shopping centre, I said you need to wear glasses now so pop them on and off we went.  She was completely overwhelmed!!  She had been looking at everything really small all her life.  All of a sudden everything was really big.  She complained like mad!

Since that moment we have good and bad times about glasses.  She regularly says I hope at the  next visit to the Dr they say I don't have to wear glasses anymore.  Getting her to wear the patch is a struggle because she really can not see properly with it on so it frustrates her.  She walks into things, can't read or look at picture books, can't draw, it really effects her.

After 18m seeing the same Dr we have requested a second opinion from a new Dr to see if there is anything we can do differently as the patching has not made any difference to the sight in the weak eye so far.

My darling daughter, her patch glasses and her Daddy.

 This was taken a few days after she got her glasses.  'Percy' is now the right way up.

We had no idea that Ethany had any problems with her eyes.  If it wasn't for our CHN visit we would still be clueless and probably wondering why she had really poor fine motor skills.  I would urge everyone, please see your CHN for the 3yo check up.  Even if you don't like your CHN or agree with anything they say your child deserves to see and hear and this 3yo screening can provide invaluable early intervention!!

Amber 

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Yet another busy week at our place!  Our best friends (the kids and mine) are visiting Perth and as we don't see them very often we are making the most of it.  We had them down for the day so no school work that day.

Our nature finds for the week -

Libelluidae Blue Skimmer Dragonfly

 First off let me say we didn't hurt this little guy his tail was bent when we found him.  According to my field guide these guys normally hang around water courses.  I'm not sure how he found his way to our place!  We don't have any lakes or streams in our immediate area.  I found this guy on the washing.

Armadillidiidae Introduced Rolling Slater

We have these little guys all over our yard.  They especially love the wood pile.  They are a crustacean and not an insect.  As his name suggests when he is threatened he rolls himself into a ball using his segmented outer as a protective shell.

I took the kids on a field trip this week to have a ride on the ferris wheel which is visiting Perth.  It was wonderful!!  The kids loved it.  They enjoyed looking down on the people and cars.  It gave them a completely different perspective.  It wasn't cheap, but it was fun!

 The nature we encountered on the way -

Rock Dove

 I grew up calling these guys pigeons.  They were introduced to Australia and are scavengers.  Some councils now have signs making it illegal to feed the birds because they are such a nuisance.

Silver Gull

 I have always called them Sea Gulls because they are always at the beach, lol.  These ones were having a dip in the Swan.  They are very common here and can be as bad as those 'pigeons' with their scavenging.  Don't leave your food unattended at the beach, they will sneak up and pinch it!

Ethany's reading is really taking off!!  I tested her 2 weeks ago and she was reading a a solid Grade 2 level, in only 2 weeks i think it closer to a Grade 3 level now.  Over this last week we have buddy read (she reads a page, I read a page) the entire collection of First Fairy Tales which we borrowed from the library.

All 3 of the kids started swimming lessons this week.  Xavier has been petrified of the water for a long while, wont take a shower, wont go under the hose, wont get his face wet at the beach etc.  But surprisingly he has done really well.  Ethany and Imogen are both water lovers so no worries there!

I have decided to take a slightly different tack with Five in a Row this year.  Last year I found I was trying to do too much and we skimmed over stuff and didn't stop to smell the roses so to speak so this is what we are doing.  I have dropped Before Five in a Row for now although i will pick it back up soon.  I am putting more into planning Five in a Row and letting Xavier just come for the ride.  I am getting the manual and looking at all the activities then choosing what I want and fleshing it out.  Then I work out how much will be reasonable for a day and work out how many days we are going to work on that book.  We have started The Story of Ping and plan to work on it over 6 days.  If we miss a day, no big deal we will just pick up tomorrow so we will still achieve everything I planned but not on set days if that makes sense.  It is working sooooo much better already!

Take care

Amber 

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This list will not include the myriad of picture books that are brought to me daily to read-a-loud  simply because there are just toooo many!!!  I will keep it to books we read over a period of time.

The Enchanted Wood - Enid Blyton completed

The Magic Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton completed 

Winnie-The-Pooh - AA Milne completed

Peter Pan  - JM Barrie completed

 The Velveteen Rabbit - Margery Williams completed

Charlotte's Web - EB White now reading

The Wishing Chair Again - Enid Blyton

The House at Pooh Corner - AA Milne

Brer Rabbit Book - Enid Blyton

I try not to plan too far ahead with our selections (so i will update often!) because I like to own the books we read as read-a-louds with the hope that the kids will pick them up and read again when they are able, having fond memories of what was read to them when they were little.  Well that's the plan anyway :-)  Also i like to hunt in the second hand bookshops and you can't always find what you want!

Amber

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This week has seen us out and about a little more than usual which has been nice.  We have still had plenty of time to observe the nature at the backdoor though.

We have loads of these tiny insects at our place.  I have no idea what they are and so far have been unable to identify them in any of our field guides.  We are dubbing them UB (unidentified bug), lol.  Do you know what they are?  If you do please drop us a line!

This guy ...

Bobtail

 ... gave me such a fright on the way to the rubbish bin this week.  I came round the corner loaded with rubbish bags and he was right there waiting for me.  By the time I popped the rubbish in the bin and grabbed the camera he had scurried around the side of the house next to our fence.  You would think that I would be used to these guys after living in the country and relocating 20 from our place over that time, but no, they still get you when you least expect it!

 Ethany began her very first chapter book this week.  Of her own free will she chose The Princess and the Unicorn by Wendy Blaxland (Aussie Nibbles book) from the library.  It is way above her reading level but she is determined to read it and we are taking it slowly!  To mark the momentous occasion we made bookmarks.  Giggling gurty couldn't control herself for the photo, lol.

Whilst at the library this week Imogen picked out a CD and was determined to bring it home.  That is unusual for her, so we got it out.  We had popcorn (afternoon tea) and a dance to The Ultimate Fairy Album.  It is wonderful classical music.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed it.  Perhaps i will have to include more of the classics in our day to day life :-)

I have also been making a tough curriculum decision this week.  Ethany has almost finished Explode the Code Book 1 and she really has not enjoyed working through it.  It has moved very slowly for her.  She is quite a visual kid and has not enjoyed the black & white pages either.  I think I have finally made a decision.  I have looked at Spaldings' The Writing Road to Reading, Spell to Write and Read, All About Spelling, LEM phonics, Spectrum phonics, MCP Plaid phonics, and loads of others I can't even remember the names of.  Can you tell I am dizzy!  I liked The Writing Road to Reading and how they approach phonics, but I also wanted something that would complement Websters Speller that we have been using for reading practice and learning the syllables.

I have decided to go with LEM phonics.  I quite like the Spalding method of teaching all of the phonograms but i don't like the lack of structure that The Writing Road to Reading offers, I got lost just trying to read the book.  LEM phonics is strong on phonograms providing something very similar to The Writing Road to Reading but also has a strong emphasis on syllable division so seems like the perfect fit.

Language Arts is not my strong suit, I much prefer math, science, social studies, infact almost anything else so I need something with all the rules and reasons laid out clearly and preferably in a workbook type format.  LEM phonics ticks all the boxes for me so that's the purchase I will make this week coming.  It basically follows The Writing Road to Reading but in a workbook format, heavy on syllables, all with an Aussie slant.  You can find more information about it here

https://www.lem.com.au/welcome.html

Hopefully I will have a chance to review after using for a few weeks.

I am hopeful that Xavier will catch on using this method too.  Ethany learnt to read using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.  Xavier is a totally different kid and he is keen to start reading too, but not keen to sit and learn to read as Ethany did.  So hopefully teaching him the phonograms in some fun and interesting ways will help him on his mission to read just like Ethany.

Take care

Amber 

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Imogen has finally weaned.  I knew this was coming for the last 8 weeks or so.  She has gradually cut down how much she is nursing and this past week has seen her wean completely.  She had cut down to only nursing in the morning and this past week she has refused to nurse instead getting out of bed and searching for her sippy cup of water.  She has not not nursed at all for 5 days.

The fact that both Xavier and Imogen self weaned, Xavier was completely weaned at 13 months having cut down from 10 months and Imogen completely weaned at 15 1/2  months having cut down from 13 months led me on a search of the net for articles about weaning.  I wanted something positive to share with you.

I found this article  http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/babyselfwean.html  and was shocked to say the least! 

On reading this article it implied that I didn't do enough to nurse my children.  I must have some how encouraged them to eat more and drink from alternative sources and that secretly I must have wanted to wean my babies because it is unusual for babies to self wean before 18 to 24 months.  HOW RUDE!!

I have to say I am glad that I am thick skinned because some people out there would be devastated after reading an article like that.  Having thought they had done the right thing for their baby they are suddenly faced with the theory that they didn't do enough.  Should we not be supportive of one another???

I will freely admit that Ethany was weaned to a bottle at 4 months because she was lactose intolerant and refluxing.  The formula she was put on made the world of difference and I don't not regret that one bit.  It was the best thing for her.

Xavier only ever had a bottle when i wasn't available to feed him and in his bottle he had expressed milk.  This was only when he was little and was not very often.  When he weaned he weaned to a cup of his own free will.  I will not force my children to nurse.  When he refused and wanted a cup who am I to say no you are not old enough to make that decision for yourself.  He was never unhappy or miserable about not nursing I did not push him in anyway.  He has great attachment and still, at 3 hops in our bed for a cuddle in the mornings.

Imogen NEVER had a bottle!  She was the most unsettled of all 3, she nursed the most of all 3 and personally I thought I would be feeding her until she was 3, maybe older.  But, in the last 8 weeks she has started walking, become more verbal and decided that she doesn't want to nurse anymore.  That's OK with me.  We fought through 4 bouts of mastitis and nursing loads at night because she wasn't putting on any weight.  She loves her cuddles, has not been grumpy or looking to nurse and also has excellent attachment.

To end a long ramble I just want to say some babies will self wean earlier than others and clearly it can have nothing to do with the mother!  Personally I consider myself having breastfed full term, that is, as long as my children wanted to nurse I nursed them.  I applaud all nursing mothers no matter what length of time, one feed, one week, one month, one year, great job!!  Don't let others out there get you down!

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