Category: Faith

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How I hacked my kids snack for the better

My children love yogurt as a snack. They particularly like a Danone yogurt that has mini Smarties type chocolates added to it.

But… we can only find this particular yogurt at one particular store and even then stock is limited and we may not get.

So today I hacked the snack. Not only did it work out cheaper, it also worked out much healthier and my kids love it.

The original yogurt

The original contains 155g of sweetened yogurt and 25g of generic Smarties. It costs ₪4.30 on average.

Plain yogurt
Brand Smarties
Generic Smarties

The hack consists of a tub of plain yogurt. This is unsweetened, probiotic yogurt and is 200g a tub. Each tub costs ₪3.50.

Then we add a small packet of mini Brand Smarties or generic Smarties. The original Smarties come in a pack of 13 bags, each bag is 14.4g and each bag costs ₪ 1. The generic Smarties come in a pack of 10 bags and each bag is 17g and costs ₪ 1.29.

So I worked out what the cost would be per 100g for a yogurt with Smarties.

SnackCostSizeTotal sizecost per 100g
Original Yogurt₪4.30155g yogurt
and 25g
Smarties		180g₪2.39
Bio Yogurt +
Generic
Smarties		₪4.79200g yogurt
and 17g
Smarties		217g₪2.21
Bio Yogurt +
Brand
Smarties		₪4.50200g yogurt
and 14.4g
Smarties		214.4g₪2.09

Funnily enough, the Brand Smarties worked out cheaper per 100g than the generics. Who knew.

And even better than all the cost saving, is the health saving.

The hack is far healthier than the original, with an additional 45g of yogurt, that’s probiotic and not sweetened, as well as almost half the amount of Smarties.

And my kids are happy to eat it.

I’ve got to admit, I’m pretty proud of myself for not only realising I could hack their favourite snack but for getting it cheaper and healthier too.

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Its school again!

Seriously, the summer vacation just flew by and I have a blog post brewing about all the fun things we did.

But in the meantime, Faith and Aaron have gone back to school.

Faith is now in Kita Gimmel (3rd grade) and Aaron is now in Kita Hay (5th grade).

Can they slow down just a bit please?

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Your Favourite Things – Faith

TV programme:  Anything horse or unicorn related.
iPhone App: You have a number of horse games, where you raise a horse from a foal.
Meal:  Peanut butter sandwiches (this is a default because you dont like anything else).
Fruit:  Bananas.
Vegetable:  Carrots.
Breakfast:  Chocolate cereal. Duh!
Drink:  Strawberry Banana juice.
Toy:  Does the iPad count?
You love: Horses!!

 

Something that happened yesterday: We went to watch Aaron ride his new bike, you took your scooter with but spent most of the time hanging upside down off the handrail on the steps. My little monkey!

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Wooooosh!

That’s the sound of another year flying past us.

On 1st September Aaron and Faith started their new school year.

Aaron is now in Grade 4 and Faith is in Grade 2.

For Faith this means she is now part of the main school, she gets to play where ever the rest of the school plays. The Grade 1’s were restricted to their own playground that they shared with the Grade 0’s, so this is a big step for her.

It also means there is no more sandpit for her to play in which means no more sandpit coming home in her shoes and pockets. Yay for me!

She is also going to aftercare every day, where they will hopefully help her with homework since I am useless with most of it.

So far she is loving being in ‘big’ school.

Aaron, on the other hand, no longer has aftercare. He is now in Grade 4 so both the school aftercare and the private aftercare say he is big enough to look after himself in the afternoons. 

::puts head between knees, takes deep breaths::

My baby is almost 10 and is now coming home from school all on his own. Making himself something to eat. All on his own. Doing his homework. All on his own. Looking after himself until one of us gets home. All. On. His. OWN!

But I think this child will be just fine. No, I know he will. He is a smart, independent, compassionate boy.

Here’s just one of the reasons I think this child is awesome!

Yesterday when he went home, the downstairs neighbours dog was outside. He called me to ask what he should do. I told him to knock on the door and if no one answered to try open their garden gate or try pick her up and put her over the fence.

They were not home, he couldn’t open the gate and she was too heavy (and growly) for him to lift, so I told him to leave her, I was sure her humans would be home soon and its not the first time she has been out, she never strays far and waits near the door for them anyway.

He wouldn’t hear of it. Told me it was too hot and she couldn’t stay by herself. So he coaxed her into our place, gave her a bowl of water and she then proceeded to climb on my couch and lick and bite herself for an hour, leaving a big wet slobber patch and half her hair all over my couch.

But my sweet, kind hearted boy refused to leave her vulnerable. He makes my mama heart so proud.

Here’s to a new school year. May it be as awesome as my children are!

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Holiday

The summer one. The one that lasts almost 9 weeks. The one we have to find camps and childcare and things to keep the (not so) ankle biters out of trouble. For almost 9 weeks!

For the first 3 weeks the kids were at day camp at their school for the first half of the day and then at an aftercare for the second half of the day.

Then for 2 weeks they were at camp dad. Thankfully Paul was able to be with them and they went to Tel Aviv and to Haifa and visited museums and the Baha’i Gardens and went swimming and generally had a good time.

Then for 3 weeks they went to a half day camp for immigrant children arranged by the absorption department and they had an amazing time. The afternoons were spent with dad. 

And where was mom during all of this? Working. Because its 9 (!) weeks of holidays and I just couldn’t take time off (especially since I started a new position).

But I have this week off and the kids and I have some plans. Swimming, ten pin bowling, ice creams and the zoo just to name a few.

And then, on Friday, they go back to school (don’t ask, its 1st September and they go back to school on the 1st, never mind its Friday and only half a day and would make more sense to go back the next week).

Aaron will be in 4th Grade and Faith in 2nd Grade. I cant get over how big these kids are getting.

So that’s a catch up of the last 2 months and a preview of whats to come. Hopefully things will be more settled and I can blog more. 

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Your Favourite Things – Faith

TV programme:  You love She-Ra and He-Man.
iPhone App: You have a music app that you use to create songs on Abba’s iPad.
Meal:  As long as it involves chocolate its your favourite.
Fruit:  Apples and bananas.
Vegetable:  You love eating trees (broccoli) and clouds (cauliflower).
Breakfast:  Chocolate cereal. Duh!
Drink:  Strawberry juice.
Toy:  You love the new headphones we bought you. Now you can listen to the music you make without driving us nuts.
You love: Chocolate, your taggies and swimming (You cant wait for the pool to open for the summer).

 

Something that happened yesterday: We went to see the new Beauty and the Beast, you loved it but every time there was a scary part you grabbed my hand and put it over your eyes. You also have such a sensitive soul, you cried when the bad guy dies.

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Questions for kids

A friend posted these questions on FB and I grabbed them for my kids. 

Starting with Faith

  • What is your name? Faith
  • How old are you? 5 and a half
  • When is your Birthday? December
  • What is your favorite colour? I don’t know. Blue or pink
  • What is your favorite food? Sausages and chocolate ice cream and Choco (chocolate milk drink)
  • Who is your best friend? I don’t know I have a lot of friends. Noa. 
  • What is your favorite song? Something on a minecraft video and Let It Go
  • What is your favorite animal? Lions
  • What are you scared of? I don’t want to tell (whispers snakes and spiders)
  • What makes you happy? My taggies and stuffed doggy
  • Where is your favorite place to go? To the Gymboree 
  • What do you want to be when you grow up? I don’t know. I want to do everything 
  • What does love mean? That you love people. 


And now for Aaron

  • What is your name? Aaron. Jacobson. 
  • How old are you? Do I say 8 and a half or 9? Ok 8 and a half. 
  • When is your Birthday? 5 November
  • What is your favorite colour? Red
  • What is your favorite food? Pizza!
  • Who is your best friend? Noam
  • What is your favorite song? I don’t know what it’s called. It’s a Minecraft song. I think it’s called I’ll Make A Cake. 
  • What is your favorite animal? Hamster
  • What are you scared of? The internet dropping 
  • What makes you happy? That I see Noam all the time
  • Where is your favorite place to go? Uncle Matthews house
  • What do you want to be when you grow up? That’s very hard. Oh easy! Youtuber!
  • What does love mean? For me? I dunno. Nothing. 
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Oh the guilt!

Oh the guilt! The guilt is strong in me today.

momguilt

On Saturday, Faith took a tumble on the grass. She landed on her right arm (the same one she broke before). She told us it was sore, but there was no bruising or swelling and she could move it, so we figured it was just bruised.

Oh the guilt!

On Sunday it was still sore. It was also still not swollen or bruised and she could move it. So we gave her a bit of Neurofen and she was okay.

Oh the guilt!

Yesterday morning (3 days later!!) she complained to me while we were getting dressed that her arm was still sore. We finished getting dressed and I took her to school. I fully intended to mention to Paul that she was still sore and maybe we should take her to the doc but I forgot.

Oh the guilt!

By the time Paul got home last night she was really miserable, her arm was sore and she refused to use it. So he took her to casualty where they x-rayed it and yes, she has a fracture in her forearm. They gave her a temporary cast and a sling.

 

Oh the guilt!

I feel awful that we didn’t take her right away. Or at the least the next day when she was still complaining it was sore. 

Rule of thumb is that if they complain about something being sore and then forget about the pain when they wake up the next day it wasn’t something bad, if they still complain, check it out. And I didn’t check it out! Dammit! I should have checked in out!

Oh the guilt!

She is, thank heavens, fine. She was a bit concerned about going to school this morning and a bit overwhelmed by all the kids coming to check out her cast. But all in all she was happy. She picked up a marker in her left hand and just started drawing, no issues, so I don’t think she will have any problems not using her right hand.

Now if only I could let go of all the guilt!!

 

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Your Favourite Things – Faith

TV programme: Paw patrol, Peppa Pig, Avengers cartoons.
iPhone App: You enjoy Dots on the iPad and you like plating Minecraft with your brother.
Meal: Not pizza! You really dont like pizza and will eat pretty much anything other than pizza.
Fruit: Apples and grapes.
Vegetable: Sweetcorn and carrots.
Breakfast: As long as it has chocolate in it you love it. Nothing’s changed.
Drink: Juice and water.
Toy: Your brothers light saber, the little Star Wars figurines that come in the yogurt packs we buy and your Elsa doll.
You love: The park, especially the swings. You enjoy riding a bike. Your taggies, especially the pink one. Wearing dresses and skirts.

 

faith1

Something that happened yesterday: You walked into your classroom, in fact the building where your classroom is all by your self. You’ve been doing this for a few weeks now and it makes me realise just how big you are really getting.

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Bilingual Children

I’ve spoken before about how amazing my kids are in regards to learning Hebrew. How that, within the 1st few months of living in Israel, they were already able to hold a conversation with their friends, teachers and the cashiers at the supermarket.

The fact is that both kids are now fluent. They even know words in Hebrew that they don’t know the English for. Lots of dictionary looking up going on over here.

kids

One of the things that struck me this week is that Faith tends to speak Hebrew when she is playing by herself. I often listen to her playing with her dolls or other toys and speaking in Hebrew to them and making them speak in Hebrew. She very rarely speaks to her dolls in English. She also sings in Hebrew all the time.

Its interesting to me because I don’t think Aaron would do it if he still played with his dolls and action figures by himself (he tends to prefer reading when he is by himself now).

When they play together, just the two of them, they will play in English with a few random Hebrew words or phrases thrown in. When they play together and they have friends over, they speak Hebrew mostly but they switch to English when they are telling each other what to do or fighting about something. I have to keep reminding them that they must speak Hebrew even if it doesn’t involve their friends because its rude to speak English in front of people who don’t understand.

Totally fascinating how they have adjusted.