We have so much going on at our Facebook [Family Value & Large Families] and Twitter [Family Value & Large Families] pages and we realise not all our readers are a member of these 2 social networking avenues, nor do we expect them to be, so here it is - the week in review….

Things to do at home with the kids

• Nicole at Planning with Kids has inspired with some Christmas Themes and planning for Christmas 2011
• Catherine at Squigglemum has an awesome idea having a Backyard treasure hunt
• Childhood101 has listed Playopedia Picks : Play Ideas for BIG Kids
• Tricia from Little Eco Footprints via Childhood101 has written an inspiring article on Creating Children’s Spaces in Every Corner of Your Home
• How to make magic sand
• Lego Quest Kids is a blog dedicated to children and validating their lego creations & imagination.
• Jean has written an article for Toddler Times 11 Activities to try with your toddler
• Ohdeedoh home, design & children has presented a wonderful article on How to make ‘clean’ play slime
• Grace has a step by step guide on how to make Fizzy milk bath bombs

Recipes & Cooking

• Chicken Balls by Planning with Kids
• Nicole has suggested ‘baking days’ with the kids to fill the freezer with lunchbox snacks (yes! we have learnt muffins CAN be frozen)
• Vegie Smugglers is a new blog / website we have discovered which has lots of recipes (lunchbox stuff too!) to sneak the good stuff in!
• The Organised Housewife has a very yummy recipe for Choc Coated Oreos, Oreo Cookies & Carrot Muffins
• Childhood101 has a recipe for a different brekkie Bacon & Egg Muffins

Things to do out and about

• To spend or not to spend on school holidays……… do school holidays have to be expensive?
• Family Capers has listed a comprehensive list of zoos around Australia.  What to do this weekend - playing with animals

General issues & conversation

• Jane from My Life At Home has written a timely article 10 Things I consider in buying toys for my (young) kids
• Awesome article by Kate at Picklebums on Won’t they miss out? , discussing about our children and whether or not they need to do extra-curricular activities.
• Moving Smart has an easy explanation why You can’t run uphill indoors
• Treating worms
• WifeSwap Australia is coming soon to our TV screens, and although I won’t be applying, FYI applications are due by 15th July.  All details for applying are here
• Motherhood the Musical is currently touring, soon to be in Sydney and we have secured a very special offer especially for our readers.  For more info click here
• WIN a night out with your Mothers Group to Motherhood the Musical

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: [5 year old boy]”There’s one thing good about having lots of brothers and sisters!” [Proud Mum] “What’s that?’ [5 year old boy] “Because I get more presents!”

Today I opened a discussion on Facebook about the expense of school holidays and some of the activities that add up quickly.  Here is a list of activities that our members have been doing these holidays.  Although some may not be local to you, there are plenty of good ideas to assist in grasping the creativity to enjoy the school holidays without getting too stressed and overspending.  With a little planning and a touch of creativity, school holidays do not have to be expensive.

Here is a list of all the activities our families have been doing which will give you a rough idea of expenditure required for each activity.  ENJOY!

• $120 [6 kids - $20pp] Ten Pin Bowling at one of the Oz Tenpin Centres, for 6 children including 2 games & lunch (hot dog & fries, or nuggets & fries) it cost  $120 for 2 - 3 hours entertainment.
• FREE PJ day at home, lots of Wii ‘Just Dance’ and board games
• $25 PLUS $7.50pp Queensland Air Museum OPEN Cockpit Day & Caloundra Central Cinemas
• $22 Family Ticket at your local indoor heated pool (check your local pool for prices)
• $100 [for 4 people]  to go to the movies (cheaper alternative - each of the kids can choose a new DVD for $10 each)
• $2 if you have one locally go to the an All Abilities Adventure Playground (sometimes gold coin donation entry), cook up a bag of popcorn for $1 for snack and the day has cost just $2!
• FREE get each of the kids a TOY CATALOGUE from one of the big toy stores and they can cut & paste into their scrapbooks or on recycled paper from old school books.  Will keep them occupied for hours even if it is indulging them with their ‘wants’ (they can dream can’t they!)
• PICNIC LUNCH Museum of Brisbane & Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art [GoMA]
• $59.95  KidPix Deluxe 3D for MAC available at the Apple store keeps the kids occupied for hours on the laptop making movies and pulling lots of funny faces!
• $20 Village Cinemas Coburg Drive-In is offering $20 per carload every Monday night! (Check out your local drive in for some cool deals!)
• FREE  Locals within the shires of Townsville, Charter Towers, Burdekin, & Hinchinbrook enjoy FREE entry at the Museum of Tropical Queensland , then head on down to one of the playgrounds in the shire.
• $6 [$1 pp] Pilot’s Cottage Museum, Kiama
• FREE City Circle Tram
• $15 per family PCYC [Police Citizens Youth Club] NSW , QLD , WA , TAS , NT , ACT , SA ,VIC
• Kids FREE, Adults $8 Immigration Museum School Holiday Program July 2011
• Kids FREE, Adults $8 Melbourne Museum
• FREE State Library of Victoria

 The great outdoors

• camping
• bushwalking
• parks
• playgrounds
• beaches
• bike riding

Handy items to have on hand in an emergency to entertain

• craft stuff (don’t have to purchase, just save stuff around the house)
• science kits
• DVDs
• jigsaw puzzles
• chalk (for outside drawing) & liquid chalk (for drawing on windows)
• dress-ups (kids can practice for a concert that takes all day, then it’s only a short time the parents endure the ‘performance’)
• playdough

Family Value Article: Keeping the children entertained on school holidays without sending you broke!

Do you have any other ideas?

At Family Value we are teaming up with Motherhood the Musical, Australia to give YOUR Mothers Group the opportunity to WIN 5 Double Passes (10 tickets) for the performance on Wednesday 3rd August at 8pm at the Everest Theatre, Seymour Centre in Sydney, NSW

To be in the running to win all you need to do is tell us in 25 words or less……What do you love about your Mothers Group?

HURRY!  Comp closes on 15th July at 5pm.

CLICK HERE to ENTER

YIPPEE!!!! The Victorian Government has announced free admission for children under 16 years of age to all three of their Zoos Victoria properties on weekends, Victorian public holidays and Victorian Government school holidays from July 1 2011.

This includes Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary & Werribee Open Range Zoo 

This is awesome news for families so take the children on an adventure to the Zoos Victoria properties these holidays and enjoy “Family Entry at Family Prices”

HOT TIP:  Become a FOTZ member and kids are FREE all year with other benefits TOO!

So last night it was ‘date night’ with the hubby and today is was my ‘date’ with K5. 

As many of you whom have large families would understand, spending one on one time with each child is a difficult task.

Definately we manage odd moments during the day where we read a story or do a craft activity, but more than likely one of the other siblings will make a disturbance usually highlighting the fact that they are feeling left out at that particular time.  In the second half of last year I realised that the children were starting to grow up quickly and it was time to factor in ‘time’ with each of the children.

Hence, the Family Value ‘Time’ Plan has been devised!

THE PLAN

Each year Ian & I are to spend time with each of the children individually doing whatever they choose (within reason).  This means 12 days in a year are taken up for ‘date time with the children’.

When I explained this idea to the children they responded extremely positively and are constantly dreaming about the ‘dates’ they are going to have with each of their parents.

The plan kicked off last year with Ian taking K5 to BEN 10 LIVE, Me taking K5 to The Pancake Parlour for breakfast & Build-a-Bear Workshop, and Ian taking B1 to dinner and to see Hairspray The Musical.   So, this year L2 has been to see MSO Disney in Concert  & ACMI Disney’s Dreams Come True exhibition . 

And today……. K5 & I went to see the Yogi Bear Movie & went shopping at the Chapel Street Bazaar in search of a retro Yogi Bear item, which we found - check out the tin lunch box!

Advantages

• The children don’t get jealous of each others outings
• It takes out the obligatory factor of purchasing a ticket for everyone, hence sending you broke!
• Most importantly, allows for the one on one time you need to spend with your child
• Allows each child to express their individuality reflected in their choices

AND before you think we’re playing favourites with ‘K5′, the children whom didn’t get a chance last half of last year make up for it this year, then in 2012 we’ll be up to date!

So, what do you think?

Would this be beneficial in your family?

Costco Australia

Discounts at Docklands in Melbourne as Costco Opens

How Costco Will Change Australian Retail

US retail giant Costco opens Docklands store

Costco opens at Docklands

I wouldn’t even have KNOWN about Costco if it wasn’t for the media hype!  However, I believe the media did their job well because when there is something new & exciting happening, I don’t want to miss out!  So it was, within 1 week of Costco opening I signed up with this Giant Warehouse for $60 online and lured my husband and 6 children into Docklands at 4.30pm on Saturday afternoon.  The parking was easy!  Straight into a car park, but then we walk up the stairs in the direction of the Costco entrance and we become overwhelmed with giant trolleys, lots of people, a large lift and an extensive queue for people to gain entrance.  Ian & I just look at each other, take a deep breath and continue on our journey.  We spot a Costco worker and ask him what we should do.  He suggests we go and find a trolley then we can gain entry via a ‘one day only’ coupon, as although I have signed up membership online I haven’t received any form of membership card.  We feel very important as we gain entrance in the shorter queue.  There are hundreds of people lined up in the ‘long’ queue waiting to sign up for membership!

On entry into the store we feel extremely overwhelmed.  The baby is strapped in the baby bjorn and B4 & K5 fit nicely into the ‘trolley seats’.  B1, L2 & C3 walk alongside the trolley but I think they are also overwhelmed and a little ‘freaked out’ that they walk very close to the trolley and have several ‘run ins’ with us, each other and the trolley!

So our Costco adventure begins.  We pass mixmasters, cooking appliances & accessories, jewellery, storage boxes, and car accessories - seemingly everything but the car!, The first item I throw into the trolley is a bulk box of freezer storage ’snap lock’ bags!  I LOVE my snap lock bags - I almost feel I’m in snap lock heaven!!!  Batteries, basketball rings, clothing - K6 strikes it lucky with a very cute (and extremely affordable) Osh Kosh B’Gosh tracksuit and bodysuits!  Crocs are $24.99, Diesel Jeans are $129.99, Huggies Box of 185 is $67.99 (Bargain!).  The children get very excited when they spot large gumball machines, bulk jars of bubblegum, a tin of 1000 Chupa Chups, boxes of twisties, twin packs of Nutella & Honey.  And the up and coming ‘mini-chef’ of our family, B1, is very excited when we find a 1.5kg block of Western Star butter.  I was extremely excited when I found a large bag of Baking Soda - I LOVE Baking Soda for cooking and CLEANING!  It’s the BEST!  We load up the trolley with canned tomatoes (12 tins), tomato paste (12 tubs), peanut butter (very large jar), burritos (twin packs), pizza bases (twin pack), dishwashing detergent and a massive bulk lot of 60 rolls of Kleenex toilet paper!  The list goes on….and…….on………..and………..on………and……..on.  The children ‘want’ a lot of things.  DVDs, Nintendo DS games, books, lollies, cubby houses, Diego cars and so much more.  I ‘want’ a lot of things including bulk camembert & brie.  I managed to sneak a bucket of basil pesto into the trolley and abstained from putting a jar of Kez’s cookies in my trolley - wouldn’t last long in our household.  My mind begins to ‘wander’ as I dream of hosting dinner parties and I even spot the outdoor BBQ & stainless steel ‘outdoor kitchen’ for just over $3000!  This place has everything!

We had to give much of the ‘freezer section’ a miss as we didn’t come prepared with eskys to keep our purchases frozen for the trip home.  We also abstained from stocking up on Flour, Rice & Sugar as we would also need to invest in some ‘big buckets’ to store the bulk amounts in.

Eventually we make it through to ‘checkout’ with the final ‘bill’ totalling to just over $500.  Not bad for a family of 8 and we’ve stocked up on lots of things!!!!

We then look forward to having Costco HotDogs and unlimited refills for ‘dinner’.  A cheap meal that should total less than $20 for our whole family!  We were disappointed to find out that the ‘eatery’ closes at 6pm, the same time as the store.  Pity, because there are still hundreds of shoppers to leave the store.  Would have been great if they were open a little longer than the store. 

Overall, a great place to shop for a large family.  In years to come I can envision Costco becoming a valuable asset to us as our family ‘grows up’ and so do their appetites!  Costco stocks many of brand name items we have learned to trust.

Family Value Advice

• Go with a list
• Go on a full stomach
• Go when you are in a happy mood
• DON’T impulse buy 
• Know Your Prices
• Take some eskys or cool bags
• DON’T  go by yourself if you plan to stock up - another person to help stack the car is always handy!
• Look out for discount coupons
• Leave the children at home if possible
• If taking children, ensure they go to the toilet before entering store!

Overall, a favourable, happy experience!  Our pantry is now full!  I do think that perhaps our local supermarkets are going to ’suffer’ because of Costco, however, with a family of 8 we need to shop where we are getting value for money.

From where we live, the travel is 40 minutes.  Is it worth the trip?  Absolutely!

Been to Costco?  Don’t like Costco?  Tossing up whether to sign up for Costco membership?  I would love to hear your opinions & questions.

Our ‘little boy’ has just turned 9!  That’s right! L2 celebrated his 9th birthday today in a very busy and stylish fashion!

The day started with the traditional unveiling and giving of birthday presents in Mum & Dad’s room.  L2 was extremely impressed with his ipod touch!  WOW!  The things 9 year olds get nowadays…..  L2 does love his technology! - not quite sure whom he might take after.  ;-). 

So it is, the usual Saturday morning sports - basketball, netball - then off to the movies with a very dear friend of Lachlan’s to see Coraline with 3 big buckets of popcorn!  I have reviewed Coraline at Family Value here. 

Then, off to the Pancake Parlour where Blue Heavens and Alice’s Pancake Surprise are served all round.  After having a giggle at the ‘distorted mirrors’ and watching the ‘ball sideshow’ at Northland for many, many minutes, it’s time to go!

But, not before all jumping on the merry go round - 8 people riding for $2 bucks.  BARGAIN!  I’m not sure whether it was legal but we took great care of the horses and felt it was a great ‘off the cuff’ kind of thing to do.  This is what memories are made of!  You can view the footage on YouTube here.

So, another birthday over, our son is another year older.   Oh how life is passing us by but we are loving watching our children grow up.  We’re very proud of them and enjoying each and every stage.

Anyone else got a new 9 year old in the house?

So I did the hard yards and lined up for the new iphone on Friday.  It’s only been 6 days and already the iphone ‘freezes’!!!Grrrrrrrrrrr………. sometimes technology can be your best friend at other times extremely frustrating!  So, there is good and bad….. lucky I have the laptop on holidays - a simple search for ‘latest iphone troubleshooting’ and ‘voila’, I discover the information I am required thanks to Sam Costello’s article on How to Reset or Reboot iphone .  Just the info I wanted and it worked!  “Reset the iPhone by holding the sleep/wake button at the top right of the device and the home button at the bottom center of the face at the same time. Hold them both until you see the screen go black and the white Apple logo appear. When this happens, you can let go - the iPhone is rebooting.  Resetting the iPhone should not remove or delete any data or settings.” 

Hoping this info will be helpful to someone else one day!

I wanted to make a yummy easy slice within half an hour.  So it was, I recalled the wonderful recipe I found at Sadie and Lance back in 2008.

 It worked a treat!  But this time I added hundreds and thousands on top!  YUMMMMMMMMMM-EEEEEE!

Brownie Recipe

Have you got some never fail favourites to share?

WOW!  What a day!

Firstly, I got creative with the children - thanks to SquiggleMum and made some Salt Pictures!  What a great idea!  B4 & K5 loved this activity.  Whilst a little messy as far as ‘grainy salt’ on the kitchen floor this was a fantastic, creative activity that kept my 5 year old & 3 year old occupied for at least an hour.

NB: The aprons in the picture below were given as a gift by my friend Claire at Matching Pegs.  Here is a closer look at K5’s apron.

Then, I received a call from the school librarian.  Immediately my thoughts turned to the ‘worst’.  What have my children done!?  What books have they ruined, how many books do we have lost or overdue and what sort of bank loan will I need to get to pay out the library fines!?  Why do us mothers always think the worst?  It was great news!  I had won first prize in the Mothers Day raffle and the prize was 12 months membership to our local Contours!!!!! Woo Hoo!  I was so excited….look out, I’m not just Stronger than Captain Underpants and Smarter than a fifth grader, I am going to have contours set to rival ‘The Body’ herself.  Well……. I can dream anyway.

And finally, I’ve got a NEW CAR!  After 5 and half months in the ‘pipeline’ my new car has arrived and we can now officially commute as a family unit!  My new VW Caravelle is a 9 seater people mover and there will be no mistaking when the Family Value family is on the road.  Look out world.  Here we come!  I love it!  Automatic sliding doors is my most favourite feature of this car and the fact that we can fit one extra body.  I am yet to study all the features but I am sure there are lots more features I can get excited about!  We’re certainly looking forward to our first major journey in the car to Canberra.

.  Are you in the market for a people mover? Do you have any questions about the VW Caravelle?  I’m happy to answer them.  Also we just sold our 7 seater Chrysler Voyager so if you are in the market for one of them too I’m more than willing to answer any questions you may have.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences.