Our Summer Photo Shoot

Since our family is not going on holiday this year, we have chosen to use the money we've saved for an exciting adventure - an outdoor portrait session.

Our kids aren't going to be this size for long and Autumn is almost one already. Therefore we want to capture this stage in our life with some amazing images that are going to last a lifetime, even though our kids childhoods won't! So on August 8th (please pray for sunshine), Warren and I will be packing up the kids and heading to a local nature spot where we will be having a family portrait session with the amazing Elizabeth Boyle.

Autumn and I had a portrait session with Elizabeth Boyle earlier in the year when she volunteered her time at our local toddler group just before Easter, and the photos were amazing. Extraordinary considering I had no make up on and rain-washed hair!

We have given her a HUGE list of shots we want captured during our session and she's not even batted an eyelid, despite the list being about as long as most brides photography requirements. Yes, she does weddings too!

Her packages and print prices are more than reasonable and given that she knows the local area so well, she has been able to choose a fantastic location for our shots. All we need to worry about, is what we're all going to wear - and being on time!

I had a family portrait session with Rebecca, Daisy and Ella years ago and could not afford to buy a single picture. Warren had one with Ethan and Ashley a couple of years ago and despite there being many great images, he could only get a handful. With Elizabeth Boyle, I know that is not going to be the case at all. I will be able to afford every single image and having seen her previous work, I know they are going to be amazing. She manages to turn modern photography around, to make classic images that look effortless, relaxed and fun.

The best part, is that I've seen her in action for myself, and I've seen just how easily she manages to get children to relax and engage, probably thanks to her vast experiences of photographing her own kids.

If you'd like to capture some amazing memories of your family this year, without the need of a selfie stick, then why not book your family in for a fun portrait session with Elizabeth Boyle Photography!

All images © Elizabeth Boyle Photography 2015

I Turned My Kids Beds Into A Tent!

Twinkling Stars

Yesterday, I blogged about staycations. After finishing that post, the kids were very excited about getting ready for our own staycation, so we worked hard to attack Daisy and Ella's bedroom (boy,did it need it), before using their beds in a slightly different way to make a tent.

Minecraft in the tent

Clearing out the girls bedroom was a bit of a challenge, despite me having only done it the week before! I'm sure many mothers can relate to this! Rebecca joined in and helped, given that she wanted to sleep in the tent too. Her own bedroom is too small to make a tent, and despite her insistence that she needs her own bedroom, she actually prefers to have sleepovers with her sisters!

The front cover comes down for when they want to be a
little more enclosed.

After cleaning out under the girls beds and vacuuming the bedroom, I sent Daisy and Ella downstairs to wait in the living room. I then in-listed the help of Rebecca to help me get the beds into position. We stood the frames on their ends and carefully tucked them under one of the mattresses. We then chucked a king-size throw over the top and secured it with hair toggles.

Knock knock, can I come in?

Inside the tent

After that we put the other mattress down and pushed the two together to make a large sleeping area. I then sent Rebecca off to do her own thing, so I could finish the tent alone. I wanted to surprise the girls with the finished result. I tied a duvet cover across the back of the structure, and one down each side to hide the slats. I then hung one over the front of the structure that can be pulled back out of theway when the girls want to be less enclosed. I finished off by adding fairy lights inside and by giving each of the girls a sleeping bag - no duvets on camp!

If you'd like to make your own tent, here are my top tips:

Use what you have - If you have a tent, great! Use it. If you don't, use beds, a clothes airer, chairs, sheets, duvet covers, mattresses, airbeds, piles of blankets, whatever you like.

Plenty of room for everyone

Be Creative - Try out fun ways of creating your structure, add fairy lights or bunting, throw in lots of scatter cushions, the possibilities are endless.

Make sure its safe - The very last thing you want is your tent collapsing on the kids in the middle of the night. Check that the structure is sound and check it again every morning and every night. The few minutes, you spend doing this are the difference between a fun night in the tent and a long night at the hospital!

It doesn't need to be perfectly neat, just fun.

Keep it clean - Trying to build your kids tent when you're surrounded by their chaos, is not going to end well. Get the kids to tidy up and put all of their toys, dirty washing and sweet wrappers in the correct places before you begin. And remember, you have the added bonus of a bargaining chip here! If the kids want to keep their tent up, they need to keep their bedroom tidy. After all, there probably isn't space for a mountain of toys all over the place, once you've turned their bedroom into a campsite.

Three happy campers, fast asleep!

Staycation - What Is it? How Do We Do It?

This year we opted not to go on holiday - It just seemed like too much hard work and a lot of unnecessary expense since Autumn's arrival last year. So this year, we've opted to have a "staycation" instead.

What is a staycation? 

A staycation is when you holiday without going away! You vacation, while sleeping at home! Boring, right? Wrong!!

Staycations can be fun and varied and you can do all of the various activities you would do on holiday,without the added expense of paying for accommodation.

What do you do on staycation? 

Anything you want!! That's the beauty of it. You can go anywhere and do anything during your days.

This year, we are planning a scavenger hunt at Alice Holt Forest, a picnic on the beach, swimming at our local open air swimming pool, building a Tipi, rounders (baseball) and hot dogs, and a BBQ.

How about the evenings?

If you have a tent, you could camp in your garden. If you don't you could camp in your living room or set up a camp for the kids in their bedroom. You could use your BBQ to toast marshmallows, or sit around the chiminea (if you have one) and sing campfire songs. You could play board games, card games or do karaoke.

 

How do I prepare?

Preparation is key! After all, you want your staycation time to be fun, so you don't want to spend that time doing housework if you can avoid it.

Before your staycation begins, spend a couple of days getting things in order. Get the kids to blitz their bedrooms - and not just shove it all under their beds, catch up on all of the laundry and use my school uniform system to prepare everyone's outfits for the week in advance. Stock up on quick and easy meal items (hot dogs, burgers, pasta, ingredients to make toasties, pizzas), attack the living room, kitchen and dining room, get out board games for the week ahead. Stock up on disposable plates, cups, bowls, serviettes and cutlery - after all, no one wants to be stuck doing the dishes on holiday!

Plan in advance with the kids what you would like to do each day, make a packed lunch for the next day once the kids have settled each night, so you spend less time getting ready the next morning. The earlier you leave each day for your adventure, the more time you will have there each day and the less crowded it'll be when you arrive - ideal if you want to set up base camp at the beach or your local outdoor pool.

And remember, the most important rule of all... Your staycation is supposed to be fun, you enjoy yourself. 

How We Do Mornings With Six Kids!

Warren, the kids and I at Autumn's Christening
© Rebekah Knight 2015

Firstly, a reminder...

Our oldest, Rebecca is 12
Ethan is 9
Ashley is 8
Daisy is 7
Ella is 6
Autumn is 10 months

Rebecca goes to secondary school.
Ethan and Ashley go to a different primary school to Daisy and Ella.

Mornings can be stressful... Getting the kids up and ready for school, finding time to clean your teeth, checking once, twice and thrice that the kids have everything, only for them to leave their PE kit in the hall! Yep, we've been there and done that, more times than I can count. So how did we get from stressed out to up and out?

Our uniform station allows us to
keep everything in one place.

Firstly, toward the end of the school year, our uniform supplies run low. Therefore, every night, the uniforms get washed and thrown in the tumble dryer. Then every morning I grab the clothes from the dryer and set them out for the kids.

The kids get up, clean their teeth and get dressed. Rebecca will have breakfast and pack her brunch snacks and then we'll go through the process of brushing hair, hunting for school shoes and show and tell items and then five minutes before we need to leave one of the kids will announce they need their PE kit!

Every item of uniform is labeled and
uniforms are separated into
little packages, ready for each day.

Eventually we leave ten to fifteen minutes late and it becomes a mad
rush to get the kids to school in time for breakfast at Breakfast Club and then get our oldest to school by 8:30am.

That's why from September, we'll have a new system! It is going to be a huge help - especially with the kids transferring to packed lunches instead of having school dinners. To make our system a little easier, the kids now have one uniform for every day and a spare, just in case!

So here's how our new system works...

We started off by setting up a new Uniform Station on our landing, where everything can be stored together and kept organised.
Every Sunday, all school uniforms will be washed and separated into labeled little bags, ready for the week ahead.

One uniform for each child is
placed in the "Take"
drawer, each day.

The kids will put their chosen show and tell items for the week in the show and tell box, ready for the week ahead. If they don't, they go without, simple!
Each night, packed lunches will be prepared by me for the following day.
School shoes will be kept in their own designated school shoes box, school bags will be kept on top of the uniform drawers, where they will be returned to every day.
The kids will check their school supplies/homework themselves every night.
I will move the clothes for the next day into the "Take" drawer.
Rebecca will pack her brunch snacks.

These little tasks to prepare for the next week/next day, not only make mornings run a lot more smoothly, they also teach the kids to take responsibility for their own possessions and teaches them to be more organised.

Each package is labeled with
the kids names, so they
which is theirs.

Mornings will go like this:

Rebecca gets up at 6:30am and has a shower, cleans her teeth, dries her hair and gets dressed for school, grabbing her clothes from the "Take" drawer. She will then have her breakfast as she is the only one of the kids who doesn't go to Breakfast Club.
I will take the kids lunches from the fridge and put them into their lunch bags, with an ice pack.
At 7:15am the rest of the kids get up, clean their teeth and get dressed, taking their clothes from the "Take" drawer. They will then all have a quick drink.
Autumn will have her nappy changed and have a bottle.She can have breakfast and get dressed at 9am, when we are home alone and things are quiet.
Once all the kids are dressed, I will help the girls brush their hair and then they will get their shoes on.

Homework, extra stationary, show and tell items, school shirts,
winter polo shirts and PE kits live in these boxes.
Underneath, is where we store spare socks, tights and vests.

They are then charged with grabbing their school/book bags, packed lunches, show and tell items and PE kits. I will double check the kids have their lunches, but everything else is up to them. If they forget it, they go without it! If they get in trouble at school, then they have learnt that they need to be more organised.
At 7:55am we leave for school. Warren takes the boys to school on his way to work and I take the girls. I'll park outside Daisy and Ella's school and either Rebecca or I will run them into Breakfast Club before I'll drive Rebecca to school, ready for 8:30am.

The kids school bags, book
bags, swim bags etc. all
live on top of the drawers.

There is little room for error with this system and there is little need for stress - with the exception of brushing the kids hair. However I have learnt that if I let Daisy and Ella brush their hair for themselves before I finish it off, there are a lot less tears and chasing them around the house, so it actually saves time!

The new system took a fair amount of planning, rearranging of furniture, hours upon hours of uniform labeling and lots of carrying of packages from the living room floor to the Uniform Station, but we now have a functional and practical system in place to keep our mornings organised and stress-free. Having done all of this prep in July, means that we can now enjoy summer knowing that we are ready for September. All we have left to do now is buy school shoes and packed lunch supplies, just before the kids return to school.

So, will this plan work? Will all these changes make a difference in the mornings? Of course! I'm far too stubborn to fail!

Do you have a system in place to make for a less stressed morning? If so, I'd love to hear about it!

© Stacey McSweeney-Woods 2015