[lattemama]

A friend of mine lives in Connecticut and they had huge amounts of snow like well over 3′ – she was posting on Facebook.

We had a few cms here (Sweden) a few days ago and it’s still around. Personally I think it has outstayed its welcome. I want spring temps and bird chirps now.

[Tamara]

Well the only cold thing we have here at the moment is icecream and icypoles! I got the icecream maker out for the first time in about 6 years and frankly I think I know why I kept it in the cupboard for that long. I have forgotten how to use it but in my attempts to keep one budding chef happy, I tried making rocky road icecream. It didnt work but it tasted dinkum!

I might try and find the instructions and go through it again later on. But not now. Spending the whole weekend dealing with food is making me want to avoid the kitchen!

I love snow! I have some precious childhood memories of my first experiences with snow and a neighbour who made up the rules as we went along in the whole snowball fight thing. It is a nice experience to have, like it is a nice experience to have a summer in a really hot climate if you dont generally have that. I get the whole “I’m over the snow” thing though because like consecutive days of more than 40 degrees C, it can get a bit much!

We are experiencing a brief cool change and I think it is actually trying to rain. It wont last long as Feb and March can be very very hot!

Im glad hubby is taking a break from the shearing. He wants me to help in the shed to do some of ours. I told him wait for a cool spell PLEASE!

[Tamara]

Everyone must be enjoying fun things like playing with their kids, or sewing! Talking to myself….

Well, we had a letter home today regarding this new uniform. The word “compulsory” was mentioned – just don’t like that word when it comes to a public school uniform! I have managed to find the exact print of the dress fabric and I think (fingers crossed) it won’t be embroidered with the logo so if this is the case we are good to go. I just have to figure out a way of obtaining this fabric and once the dresses I have ordered actually arrive, I can draft a pattern.

I’m hoping my intense searching won’t all be in vain and that I will be able to accomplish the task I’ve set myself. Some aspects of the uniform are still beyond my comprehension – like why we have to have a separate shirt for sport and not our faction shirt. But I’m sure the knowledge will be enlightening once I “get it”.

Currently listening to D.H. playing his fox whistle – aggravating! Glad I’m not a fox!

[Tamara]

Ok stamping my feet and sulking! The dress has apparently got the logo! Surely we don’t have to have the logo?!

[Nicole]

Tamara,I make nearly all of my children’s school uniforms.

They may not be *exactly* the same but I quietly sent my children in,without any fuss,and no one has said a word.

I am quite sure once you have made them no one will object and if they do,smile sweetly and carry on.

[Tamara]

Does your school have logos and things on their tops and dresses? I had a read of the departmental policy regarding uniforms as it is compulsory in WA that government schools have a uniform and they expect children to wear them. If I comply with the style and print etc of the uniform I make then there shouldn’t be a problem. I have up until now managed to get away with the bottom half of the uniforms being made and have purchased the polos with the logo. The only thing missing on my uniforms will be the logo and if there is a problem there then surely I could get a copy of the artwork to take off to an embroiderer. I mean yes there are benefits to wearing a uniform at school but it isn’t solely the thing that gets them learning is it?

The new uniform won’t be made absolutely compulsory until 2015 so it will give me a bit of time to perfect them. The trick is to get them as identical in “knockoffability” as possible.

[needlewoman]

Dear J, you are amazing to persist so determinedly with the whole uniform thing; boy, did they make a mistake trying to tell you what to do? Well done tracking down fabric, and I’m impressed that you feel confident to draft a pattern from the purchased dress. As you say, you have some time up your sleeve, and I’m betting that by the time 2015 rolls around, the novelty of “new” “compulsory” will have worn off, and you will be able to get away with uniforms that aren’t quite ‘kosher’ (sorry, mixing metaphors, there). I’d be very interested to know how the whole business has gone down with the other parents (especially mothers).

Yes, the amount of time, attention, money,’spin’, and stress that’s devoted to school uniforms is completely out of proportion – to anything, really that concerns education crucially. 40 years ago I can remember endless lectures about the hemlines of our uniforms, which was very funny really since, at that time, our mothers’ hemlines were beginning to be higher than their daughters’ uniforms. Don’t let the silly *** get you down.

Nicole, just tried lining my first A-line drop over dress for my little clients; it really does improve the look of the outfit. Do you find that poly-cotton poplin is ok for lining? I ask because it’s colour range is so good.

[Sarvi]

It’s so funny to hear all the uniform talk — where I live they’re mostly an anti-gang measure. I remember wearing a red scarf to school one day and being gently cautioned by a soft-voiced kid that it would be wiser to find another color to wear. It was much scarier than if he’d been an obvious thug.

Thanks for all the replies about school activities — we’ve started looking into ballet (I must have the only little girl on earth who is willing to tolerate ballet if she does NOT have to wear the outfit) and tap, as she loves Gene Kelly. Mama’s girl! We bought a little mini keyboard that connects to garage band, on the advice of a composer friend, to get her comfortable with the concept. We’re lucky to have a lot of knowledgeable friends in the music field, so it’s mostly a question of what captures her interest.

One question for everyone .. is there any way to get off the peanut butter treadmill once you’re on it? I am making the best of it with homemade bread and organic almond butter yadda yadda but the fact of it is that if I send soup, rice, fish, noodles, meatballs, even any other kind of sandwich, it comes home uneaten, with a grumpy kid. She eats whatever we give her for dinner, but accursed lunch! How to break the cycle?

[meleliza]

Tamara, it sounds like an awful lot of trouble with the uniforms! Wouldn’t it be easier to just buy the ones the school wants? Or am I the only rouge on this forum who follows the “easier is better” philosophy on uniforms? Everyone else seems to make them, but i really can’t be bothered. I mean, that time I could be sewing something fun, you know? I order P’s uniforms mostly from Lands End and have them embroidered at a local sports shop. They do all the schools in the city.

[mkhs]

Sarvi, I worked as a child care provider for many years and found that it is not unusual for children to want exactly the same thing every day at lunch. My theory is that the school day is challenging enough that some kids find true comfort in a predictable lunch. If it’s nutritious, and she eats it, why not try the same thing for a while? She may want something new after after a bit, and you’ll end up with lunch cycles– two months of peanut butter, two months of turkey rollups, etc.

[cybele727]

Making them may be significantly cheaper. 🙁

While I don’t wish for a uniform, I do wish for a dress code.

[Jane]

My son has taken nearly the same lunch to school for years. I have offered lunch meat or sandwich alternatives but he never wants any of it. The most variety comes in the flavor of yogurt he chooses or if he eats an apple or an orange. Other than that it’s a PB sandwich with apple juice every day. He’s in 8th grade, he’s growing and he eats a good dinner so I don’t worry about it too much.

Jane

[Tamara]

It all depends on the cost Meleliza. If it ends up being more expensive to obtain the fabric then I won’t do it. But I am convinced it would be better for my kids to wear uniforms that are looking the same but actually fit! I have ordered some of the dresses and tops – the shirts I don’t think I’ll sew. It is worth the attempt. If others can do it, why can’t I? But yes it would be a huge tragedy if they school hierarchy kicked up a stink!

Then there is the amount of time my children will actually be at the school. Depending on a very important letter we are expecting in the next month or so, my daughter may get the chance to move on to a better high school – but she won’t be going until year 8!

I am weighing up the pros and cons. I just can’t get over how difficult they’ve.made it though for parents to source the uniforms I’m a different way. I mean who really want “custom made modesty dresses” anyway? It may come to pass that through the jumping up and down from a lot of parents my girl may get to wear dress shorts to school so making the dresses may all come to nothing. I just want to be prepared just in case.

Sarvi! Tap dancing Gene Kelly style!! My favourite! I did just this for ten years of my childhood and quit when I was 20 only because I moved to the big smoke and got tired of the favouritism. I did exams too! Only two away from going for my teachers license. It is THE BEST form of dance possible. Fun! You can get your frustrations of the day out with all the stamping (just not to hard or the feet will tingle). Shoes can be pricey though (FYI) but so very worth it for the fun! Ballet I also loved but had to pull out because who has heard of a 6 foot ballerina? I did it so I wouldn’t stoop in the shoulders. Really did help with posture.

[Nicole]

Needlewoman(Fiona,if I may)?

I use the poly cotton poplin that Spotlight sells. I always have scraps as I use it for costuming through out the year as it has all those wonderful colours and washes up well with few creases.

Tamara,we do indeed have logo’s on everything. As it is a State school,legally they can only encourage full uniform.

As my children are clean,neat and tidy I think it is just politely overlooked.

I tend to ignore unpleasantness if it is not relevant,some people just don’t have enough to do.

Sarvi,peanut butter makes an excellent sandwich. If that is what she wants,go with it.

No one will judge you and the teachers would have already sussed that she has a good varied diet by her play,drawings and discussions.

At the moment,mine take cheese and ham,as they like to toast the leftovers when they get home(or rather Hugo does).

[with love Heidi]

Is the peanut butter problem that the kids are not allowed peanut butter at school? Most of the schools and child care’s here have banned all nuts, including peanut butter. Which is a pain but given in my church/playgroup we have 3-4 kids with peanut allergies I would rather not toy with their lives.

If its just a case of “why don’t you eat something else?!” I wouldn’t worry or make a big deal, i ate cheese and vegimite sandwiches for all 12 years of schooling and probably my first 5 years out of school!