My christmas anthem this year...

In which Minty is "Hung Up"...

I'm currently enduring some kind of cosmic musical punishment.  Minty's favourite artist is Madonna.  I'm not even talking about eighties Madonna with lace gloves, permed hair and oversized bows… no I mean high-cut leotard, rollerskating, air-brushed Madonna with a heavy dance beat and too much use of the synthesiser.  Meanwhile my other child is obsessed with Michael Jackson… again not cute Jackson Five Michael or even classic Thriller era Michael… no I mean mid-nineties Michael with the overuse of sound effects of things smashing and blowing up and when almost every second bar featured Michael's signature squeal.  Turi is particularly pleased if Janet makes  a cameo.

Gone are the days when my morning bread making ritual was accompanied by the sounds of Wagner, Puccini and Bizet.  The only 'Carmen' I'm allowed to listen to now is spelled with a K. Help!  If I don't seize back control of the stereo soon I may suffer permanent psychological damage.

In which I find Minty slightly disturbing...

I left Minty alone with the stereo for a few minutes this morning.  This is what she created… a homage to all her favourite artists.

In case you can't read the five-year-old handwriting - 'Duke Ellington, Eskimo Joe, Madonna, Led Zeppelin, Evanescence, Diana Krall'.  Her taste is nothing if not eclectic.

In which it snows and we play indoors...

 

There's been a fair bit of wild weather around these parts this week.  The wind is fierce and whistles and creaks around the house in a very disconcerting way.  It has been bitterly cold and this morning I awoke to find patches of snow outside my bedroom window.  All this amounts to plenty of indoor play for the kids.  I thought I'd give you a look at a few of the things I've been doing with the kids to keep them occupied and thereby stop them from killing each other.

Earlier in the week I took the kids along to a performance of the Magic Flute by Opera Australia at one of the local primary schools.  I love opera so it was a bit of a treat for me, even if it was geared at the kids!  We all adored Papageno the panpipe wielding baritone, so today we decided to make our own little panpipes out of straws.  I guess this activity was vaguely science based since we observed how the different straw lengths create different notes as the air vibrates the tubes.  Minty loved doing this since it required very minimal help from me!

 

We did venture outside at one point, when there was a gap in the rain, to stretch our legs.  Minty took along her cloth bag and I told her to collect as many different and interesting types of leaves as she could.  She had so much fun foraging even if it was bone numbingly cold.  When we got home I let her use some of my special copper coloured paint to make leaf prints.  I think these will make gorgeous wrapping paper!

 

And lastly Minty spent some time drawing faces onto balloons.  I've got a little balloon themed sewing project in the works, which I should be able to show you soon.

I hope you're all keeping warm wherever you are!

Dreaming of a white Christmas...

I've been sick again… hence the lack of posting.  I'm having a bunch of tests done blah blah boring.  Moving on to more festive subjects…

Our advent activities have been ticking along…

We let the kids stay up last night to watch 'White Christmas' on the big screen.  Minty and I loved it.  I was in costume heaven.  Turi was really a bit overtired and too little to sit through a whole movie.  But when he woke up in the morning he ran into the lounge and said, 'Movie turned off?  Again!  I lub it!'.  The Mr. on the other hand was not at all impressed pronouncing the movie 'slow'.  I am yet to convert him to a musical lover.  Who doesn't love a bit of snow?

In which Danny comes to breakfast...

My kids are wretched first thing in the morning.  Low blood sugar prior to breakfast inevitably leads to some combination of sobbing, whining and brawling, with flash points caused by disputes over who will or will not get honey drizzled on their porridge, and who will get to sit on the much coveted pink chair.  The usual scene at breakfast time, involves the two kids jostling at the  child gate to the kitchen, both chanting 'I want pink' with increasing hostility, whilst I hurriedly try to make the porridge before someone comes to blows or bites someones ear off.  By the time the breakfast is ready it is not uncommon for one or both children to be so overcome with grief that they are unable to eat a single bite.  On the very worst mornings, my solution is to invite Danny Kaye (via youTube) to breakfast.  There really isn't much Danny can't fix.  I defy anyone to start the morning with 'the best things happen while you're dancing' and not feel energised and ready to face just about anything.  Other firm favourites include the songs from Hans Christian Anderson (particularly the ugly duckling), everything is tickety-boo and of course lullaby in ragtime.  By the time breakfast is over Turi is usually tapping around the lounge swinging his best broadway arms!

arrrgh me hearties!

In thinking about Christmas and all the gifting that goes with it, I decided I really wanted to come up with a gift that the kids could give to all the people that are important to them. I really wanted it to be something they could make themselves, since giving handmade is something that's important to me. But seriously my kids are aged one and two ("would you like to shake hands with thing one and thing two?"), so it was a bit of a struggle to come up with something they could make themselves that anyone would actually want to receive or find useful. So basically I was trying to come up with the holy grail of a gift idea - kid friendly, cool, useful, creative and handmade…

And so the idea of the 'holiday mix tape' was born. Back in the 80s and 90s when tapes were all the rage, the mix tape held an iconic cultural status, often gifted as a romantic gesture. With the instantaneous possibilities that electronic playlists allow the mix tape doesn't seem to hold the same appeal it once did. So we're bringing it back (well not literally since who the heck still has a tape player?). I gave the kids complete creative discretion to create a list of their absolute favourite holiday tunes and then burned them to a CD. This does mean that there are about four different versions of Jingle Bells in the mix since this is one of the few Christmas carols Minty knows the words to.

Now by suggesting this idea I in no way mean to promote music piracy. It is perfectly possible to legally purchase the songs you wish to include - in fact itunes makes this remarkably easy. But if y'all want to don an eye patch, sport a wooden leg and create a CD mix of sea shanties that really isn't for me to police now is it?

So for your holiday enjoyment here is the playlist…

DJ Turi and Mint's Holiday Mix Tape - I'm Just Crazy 'bout Horses

Jingle Bells - Ella Fitzgerald

Baby, It's Cold Outside - Dinah Shore & Buddy Clark

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas - Gayla Peevey

Jingle Bells - Peggy Lee

It's a Marshmallow World - Brenda Lee

Rock 'N' Roll Santa - Little Joey Farr

Christmas Alphabet - Dickie Valentine

Santa Claus is Back in Town - Elvis Presley

Sleigh Ride - The Spectres

White Christmas - Elvis Presley

Jingle Bell Rock - Boby Helms

Rockin Robin - Bobby Day

Do fun stuff

I just wanted to use today's post to share with you this kids music album from Ryan at Pacing the Panic Room. Ryan's stepson was diagnosed with Smith Magenis Syndrome and he has put this album together to raise money for research. It's such a fun album and a good cause - enjoy and get behind it if you can...

Life is a cabaret old chum...

We currently have the sound track from Cabaret on repeat play. Minty is obsessed. When she wakes up in the morning before I've even had a chance to make her breakfast she says, 'Please mummy, put my money on'. I go about my daily tasks, washing the dishes as 'Beedle dee dee dee dee two ladies' pipes on in the background and Minty dances about bopping her shoulders up and down, somersaulting across the lounge room and sliding into the splits for her big finish. She calls out 'sing with me mummy!' whenever 'Tomorrow Belongs to Me' comes on the stereo which feels a little eerie given the intended subtext of German patriotism and the rise of National Socialism.

What can I say? I'm not sure this is exactly what people meant when they said they were concerned about young girls being exposed to raunch culture but I seem to have exchanged the sleaze of pop stars like Lady Gaga and The Pussy Cat Dolls for the 1931 equivalent. In my defence, I've never let MInty actually watch the film and I'm quite sure her attraction to the music is solely due to the unusual orchestration. Still I can't shake the feeling I should be trying to steer her toward some more wholesome listening before she sings 'If you happen To be rich, and you feel like a night's entertainment you can pay for a gay escapade', or some other similarly inappropriate lyrics, at our baptist playgroup.

something to make you smile...

Minty and I are loving this video. Doesn't it just make you want to wear some aqua sequins?