Swim Lessons at the Beach $1/day

Swim lessons
At. The. Beach.

As if that isn't great enough?  They cost me only $1/lesson!  This mom happens to love the beach (in case you didn't know), and loves to swim, and requires her kids to love it too. So this perk of living on a continent surrounded by beautiful beaches may be the greatest thing I've discovered in Australia so far! Two weeks of pure bliss as far as I'm concerned!

The program is called VacSwim, and it's offered by the Department of Education here in Western Australia.  It's an amazing program started in 1919 with the premise that everyone should have access to quality swimming lessons.  Especially since pools and beaches are such a part of our lifestyle here in WA.

Programs are offered during October and Dec/January school holiday periods.

Some days the kids and I  ride our bikes to lessons.  They moan and groan a little bit, all except Hagen who gets a free ride and doesn't have to pedal.  But I just keep shouting, "pinch yourselves kids!  This is absolutely beautiful, and some day you will appreciate it!"

Here are just a few shots from our bike ride:

Beach Access

My little cuties!

My favorite kind of park!

This part of the bike path gets me every time... I live here!!!!!

Next week I'll bring my camera to the beach so you can see the kids in their cute little swim lesson caps.  

Until then,

~A

Getting Organized with Kikki.K

I'm an organized person by nature.  So why does my desk look like this?I have a million excuses, the most obvious being I would rather play with my kids than go through my pile of papers!  So when the opportunity came up for me to attend a paper organizing workshop at Kikki.K, I jumped on it.

  

In just two short hours, I learned what it would take to get my piles of papers looking like this.  

The workshop was more than just informative, it was enjoyable too.  The staff greeted me with smiles, and offered me sparkling water, orange juice, and cookies during the presentation.  The delightful workshop instructor, Carolyn, was an expert on organization. She presented the information in a clear, easy to follow manner.  She got to know a little something about each workshop attendee, and gave us tips throughout her talk that would be useful for each of our unique situations. 

Do you have one of these dreaded filing cabinets in your home? 

Our instructor, Carolyn, referred to filing cabinets as "Paper Graveyards".  Papers go in, and never come out again.  After hearing more about these "paper graveyards", I was convinced I needed to implement a new system of paper organization in our home, and get rid of our two very unattractive filing cabinets!  

To achieve this goal, I will use kikki.K's 6 station paper system, that will replace the inefficient,  time consuming, space hogging, money wasting system, we currently have in place in our home. The paper organization workshop taught me everything I need to know to get started, and to stay pile free!

 After the workshop, I browsed around the store for a while.  I had never been in Kikki.K before, and I felt like a kid in the candy shop!  There's just something about stationery items neatly organized on shelves that gets my heart beating.  Colorful notepads, books, calendars, and pens somehow make the tedious day to day tasks more fun!

This photobox is on my wishlist. What a simple way to organize and display photos.

The shop had a wide range of items to keep busy moms organized and happy.  Everything from calendars, recipe books, meal planners, to baby books.  It is a great place to go shopping for yourself, or if you are looking for the perfect gift.  

Kikki.K has other workshops too.  The next one I hope to attend is on Happiness.  The $40 workshop includes this lovely Happiness journal worth $39.95.  That means the workshop will only cost me $.05 to attend!  The one hour workshop will walk through how to use the journal to achieve Happiness.  Sounds like an hour well spent to me!

Contact Kikki.K at Karrinyup to find out more about upcoming workshops and events.  You can even drop them an email: Karrinyup@kikki-k.com

There are seven Kikki.K locations around Perth.  Click here to find your nearest location.

I am a mom, which makes me a photographer...

This morning I spent about an hour browsing through my new Mum the Photographer online photography program.  I can’t believe how much I learned in that small amount of time about photographing my children!  I happen to have three beautiful children (biased opinion), and a superb digital camera, therefore, I take hundreds if not thousands of photos per year.  In just a short time, I learned a few quick tips on how to make my photographs even better. 

The program includes 10 modules with instructions and tips on how to make your photographs worthy of displaying in your home or to give as gifts.  Modules include: lighting, posing and colour, perspective, and location.  Each module has a practice assignment and a gallery of examples, so you can get your own camera out and practice what you've learned.

The modules also have a sub heading: “Only got 5 minutes?” that highlight the most important things you can take away and learn from the module.  A quick 5 minute read through will improve your photos immensely. 

The Quick Tips section is definitely valuable with “Top 10 Tips” for taking photos and “Tips for your most frequent problems” (such as blurry or grainy photos).  This section even has information about what type of camera might be right for you, and when calling in a professional photographer is necessary.

I've been taking photos of my kids now for almost 12 years, and I have never heard of the “Rule of Thirds”.  Apparently it is a design concept dating back to the Ancient Greeks.  It ends up that putting your child's face right smack in the middle of every photo is not part of this design concept.  After reading the module on composition, and browsing through the photos in the galleries, I realize how this "rule of thirds" concept will forever change the way I photograph my children. 

Here is how I usually center my subject, in the middle of the photo.

Here is a "rule of thirds" photo I took this morning after my first tutorial.

I love the suggestion of taking photos of children playing with their day to day toys and making a story board.  Their interests change so fast, so it is important to catch the moment when you can, even if the stage seems insignificant and everlasting at the time. 

I'm most excited about the module that will teach me how to use my “advanced camera”.  My camera has more bells and whistles than I care to know about, but at least after completing the module,  I will be able to understand and use just a few of the key features.  I plan to take my time with this module and learn the basics of aperture, shutter speed, iso, exposure, and light metre.  It seems a lot less daunting to learn this at home on my own time, rather than taking a course or reading an entire book on the subject (or the entire camera manual for that matter)!

Once you've learned to take that perfect shot, Mum the Photographer program has a "polishing and presenting" module that walks you through how to display your precious photos including mini albums, story boards, framing, and photo walls.  There is also a “finishing room” service where you can submit your photos to be professionally “polished” in just three days.  There is a fee for the finishing, but the service seems affordable, and worth it for that perfect picture. 

I'm heading out now, with camera in hand, to practice some more of the things I learned this morning.   My kids may hate me now, but I know they will thank me later!

Mum the Photographer lifelong membership is only $69.95

Click here to find out more.

Review: Little Red Riding Hood Christmas Pantomime

My daughter and I were treated to unexpected laughter last night while attending the Little Red Riding Hood Christmas pantomine at the Subiaco Arts Centre.  It was our first pantomime, so we didn't quite know what to expect.

The performance began with Little Red Riding Hood's mother "setting the stage" for the evening.  A cross dresser, she had us laughing and participating from the very beginning, and gave the audience the task of looking for her "huge undies".

Next, we were introduced to Hugh, the heart-struck woodcutter's son, who led us to the forest where we eventually met Little Red Riding Hood, the cunning wolf, and his silly side kicks.  Little Red Riding Hood was not her usual sweet self, but a more adventurous  rebellious version.  Her non-interest in mathes and school may have allowed the sneaky wolf to outsmart her.

Two especially enjoyable characters were the "Bobbies" who were on the lookout for "suspicious suspects".  Their corny jokes, misuse of words, and funny song had us smiling from ear to ear.

Perhaps the most memorable song of the performance was the one sung by the Big, Bad, Wolf and his sidekicks, Slobber and Drool.  I noticed many kids in the audience hiding their eyes with fear, mixed with delight.  The lyrics about eating children were frightening, yet humorous.

The cast of four were amazing and pulled off at least 9 different characters without a hitch.  I hadn't even realized some were playing double parts until the end.

Last night after arriving home, I googled "pantomime" to find out a little about the origin.  Since moving to Australia, I've heard many people talk about pantomimes, or "pantos", especially around Christmastime.  What I found was the panto has been around since the 1800s, and is a "Christmas tradition in London; as much a part of Christmas as decorating the Christmas tree, Christmas shopping, and turkey!" Interested in what pantos are playing in London this Christmas?  Click here.

Pantos are generally based on traditional children's fairy tales and usually contain song, dance, comedy, cross dressing, innuendo riddled word play, and most importantly, audience participation.

Now I understand why Little Red Riding Hood was advertised as a "Christmas pantomime for the whole family", although it only contained one Christmas song at the end.  "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"  with a twist, including "Gangnam Style" dancing, was a terrific way for this uplifting hour of comedy to end.

Shutterfly Photo Book for Hagen

I made this photo book as a birthday gift for Hagen.  It includes all the highlights from his first three years...

I

Click here to view this photo book larger

You'll love Shutterflys award-winning photo books. Try it today.

Stirling Miniature Railway

The Stirling Miniature Railway is a well hidden treasure located on Vasto Place in Balcata.  I had passed the park many times driving my daughter to her soccer games, and never even knew it was there!

The non-profit Northern Districts Model Engineering Society, or NDMES, opens the park to the public and runs the trains on the last Sunday of every month from 10am -2 pm.  

The cost for a family (up to 6 people) is just $30, or $8 per individual. If you reserve tables for a party and leave a list at the door with your guest's names, the cost is only $5 per guest.  There is no extra cost to book a party... what a deal! 

 The charming park was the perfect setting for a birthday party. We recently celebrated Hagen's third birthday there, and it was a hit! Plenty of tables, shade, and unlimited train rides for the guests.  

The train theme was easy to pull off...

everything from table decorations to party bags were a breeze!

Reserve the gazebo for your group, just $20.

Tables and chairs were reserved in our name with plenty of shade for our guests.

Waiting in line for the train wasn't bad.  The "station" was shade covered, and it was fun to watch all the trains pass by.  My kids rode every single train several times.  Their favorite was the one with the yellow boxcars.  

The miniature railway was fun for all ages, boys and girls, moms and dads.  I highly recommend putting it on your list of activities.

Things to know:Everyone must wear covered footwear to enter the park.
There are free gas BBQ facilities available.
There is a small Kiosk that serves limited snacks, drinks and ice cream.

Christmastime Down Under

I overheard an Australian friend talking to another Aussie about the excitement she feels when the weather starts getting warmer.  She said it feels like "Christmas is in the air".  Sunshine, the salty sea breeze, seafood, and long summer days trigger the feeling of Christmas for her.  

This will be our second Christmas in Australia, and here are some of the things we discovered about Christmas Traditions Down Under:

Rather than a turkey dinner, the traditional Christmas meal is seafood.  

We still have Christmas trees, stockings, and candy canes.  

Round Christmas tree ball ornaments are called "baubles".

School children exchange Christmas cards, small gifts, and candy with one another,

similar to the way Valentine's Day cards are exchanged in America.

The shopping center is decorated with Christmas trees, lights, and Baby Jesus.  

Santa is there too.

Pretzels are easier to find at Christmastime, and are considered a Christmastime snack, 

as well as sweet, multi-colored popcorn. Yummy!

We have found, no matter where we are, Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus.  It is a special time for us to celebrate with family and friends.