Our driveway is lined on one side with swan plants which a few weeks ago were covered in hundreds of monarch butterflies. So many, we thought they might eat all the plants and then die. They then started to climb up the fence ready to build their chrysallis’ and some even crossed the driveway to hang on the fence on the other side. One very brave caterpillar trekked all the way to the plant outside our front door.

The boys have spent hours on the driveway watching and cataloguing the caterpillars and occasionally helping them across the driveway so they didn’t get squashed by a passing car. Last week we had little green crysallis’ hanging under every horizontal post on the fence. The interesting thing was that they hang upside down as caterpillars for almost a day before the crysallis is built. Then, before you can blink, they are covered in a green sac.

We also ended up with a few hanging inside on bulldog clips as they were accidentally relocated closer to the house by a small person (luckily without squashing them). 

Now the butterflies are starting to hatch out. Photos and video below:
The crysallis  turns a darker colour first and you can see glimpses of orange wings inside, then (when you are not watching they hatch out). Connor and I sat in the dirt for hours this morning watching a couple which looked like they might hatch, then as soon as we popped to the shops for 10 minutes, 4 hatched.

Their wings are really squashed looking when they first hatch but they slowly straighten out. The butterfly then stays put for up to an hour drying their wings before finally taking flight for the first time.

This has been an amazing experience for the kids being able to see all these stages up close. I don’t know if you can plant a swan plant and they will come but it is well worth it if they do.

Watch my Butterfly videos on YouTube below:

You all know The Hungry Caterpillar. This is the black and white version so kids can colour it in themselves.  Buy My Own Very Hungry Caterpillar Colouring Book (NZ$)

My youngest son turned 4 the other day and since he is obssessed with bugs (spends most of his waking hours checking our swan plants covered in monarch butterfly caterpillars), we decided to throw him a bug party.

The invitations asked everyone to bring a live bug with them. We got snails, slaters, a centipede and some caterpillars, all of which were admired, judged and medals awarded. We made some fake magifying glasses with clear cellophane and the kids used these to hunt for the tiny rubber ladybirds hidden in the garden. Very cute.

Of course, the cake was a spider web with a big spider on top. I covered the cake in blue icing, then made really thick red icing and rolled it up to make the spider web. My hands were stained red for 24 hours.

I’m thinking next time, we might try and find a more natural alternative to the food colouring. I may have put a bit much blue food colouring in the icing judging by the visits to the toilet the next day!�

ET and Wall-E, made 20 years apart, but both with the same cute creature from space kind of appeal for kids.

E.T Movie 

I bought a copy of ET at the local video shop a couple of weeks ago mainly because I wanted to see it again and also to see if my boys would like it as much as I did when I was a kid. The answer is yes and it’s been the number one request since I bought it home.

The boys think ET is so cute, especially when he copies the things the little boy does (they can really relate to). They get a bit scared in parts in a totally riveted, can’t even blink, need Mum or Dad to sit way. They love the happy ending and have started play-acting ET around the house. One of them walks around with a sheet over their head led by the other one.

Wall-E

Being school holidays (and raining), we took the boys to see WALL-E at the movies. We were upgraded to the Circle Lounge so spend the first little while playing with the amazing reclining seats, trying out the footrests etc. Finally realised that the reason Connor’s controls wouldn’t work was that he was too light for the chair to realise anyone was sitting in it.

Wall-E was very cute and appealing, recycling the world’s rubbish into little cubes and stacking them into huge towers of rubbish. When egg-shaped alien, Eva arrived on her spaceship and started looking around, the boys were facinated. The fact that there was no talking for the first half of the movie didn’t make any difference to them.

The scene where Wall-E and Eva dance around in space was probably my favourite. The end lost the kids a bit but will really hit home with adults everywhere. I’m seeing this one added to our dvd collection at some stage soon. 

View Wall-E movie trailer on YouTube below…

Sorry it’s been so long since my last post (sounds like a confession). We’ve been moving house so things are even more chaotic than usual. My eldest (5) always has a half hour or so of ’special time’ after my youngest(3) goes to bed each night. He usually chooses to draw pictures or make lego creations, but the other night he asked to play Monopoly.

I remember reading ages ago that many successful business people and entrepreneurs played Monopoly a lot as children and they thought it had played an important part in teaching them about the world of money and business.  Thought I’d have a quick check to see if I could find a reference to this and found this book – Everything I Know about Business I Learned from Monopoly  in which Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Donald trump and other reflect on the lessons learned from “the world’s greatest board game”.

Anyway, we played Junior Monopoly (you get to buy ticket booths at an amusement park) with Kyle managing the bank and his own finances. He did quite a bit of counting practice between throwing the dice and moving his car,  and reading ticket booth sale costs then paying out the money to buy them. He grinned everytime he bought another ticket booth and grinning even more when I landed on them and had to pay him money. The strange thing was that he didn’t just keep on buying, he got to a certain point, then said, ‘no, that one is too expensive’ and just sat on his existing properties.

Needless to say, we finished the game with Kyle a very rich young man and me with only a few dollars to my name. He loved it and I feel sure we’ll be playing again.

Buy different versions of Monopoly (NZ$)

• Junior Monopoly (For ages 5 –
• Monopoly New Zealand Edition (Ages 8 and up)
• Classic Monopoly (Ages 8 and up)
• Monopoly Town (For ages 4 and up)

There are millions of Bob movies to choose from and all are good watching but the absolute best has to be “Bob The Builder – A Christmas To Remember”. Bob’s twin brother is coming to visit from his home in the North Pole for Christmas and Bob is helping plan the Bobsville Christmas concert starring “Elton John”. The highlights for my boys are:

• The daddy reindeer getting rescued by Bob’s brother while the baby reindeer looks on
• Roley rehearsing with “John” then coming up with the stage name “Elton John”
• Everyone bopping to “Crocodile Rock”

Bob the Builder is a great positive role model and we have cited his “Can we fix it?”…”Yes we can” motto on many occasions. The dvds are short, entertaining, don’t have bad language and are all about building and fixing things (which boys love).

Buy Bob The Builder – A Christmas To Remember (approx NZ$20)

Here’s a short preview on YouTube…

A friend of ours was sent one of these Lego watches from the UK and I really want to get one for my boys for Christmas. High quality kids watches in a variety of themes and colours but the strap is made from lego. The watches are really sturdy and can easily be adjusted for different size wrists.Some of my favourite Lego Watches (see photos below) are:

• Darth Vader Watch
• Soccer Watch

 Make sure the Lego watch you choose is sold directly by Amazon as some of Amazon’s other distributors do not ship their Lego watches to New Zealand. (Thanks for alerting me to this Elaine) You can buy these watches from Amazon by clicking on the photos above…All the lego watch parts are interchangeable so you can collect them and make your own combinations. Some come with removeable themed faces to protect the watch. A selection of lego links with each watch lets you create your own colour combinations.

Every little boy wants to be a superhero and even my boys who aren’t really into dressing up love zooming around with a red cape flying over their shoulders. The Superhero Starter Kit is the coolest book. It is one of the Chicken Socks range and comes with:

• A red cape
• Different superhero masks
• Matching wristbands
• Superhero ID card
• T-shirt stickers
• Instructions on superhero dos and don’ts.

My eldest son got this book/kit for his 4th birthday and loved it. Connor is turning 4 soon and really wants the same book with cape etc so I’m sensing we’ll be getting another one. The section on how to choose your superhero Name is really funny – “The Super Amazing Mighty Flying Chicken Wing” is just one example.

You don’t hear much about Popeye these days but I often tell my boys about him and how he got so strong. He ate lots and lots and lots of spinach (and other yummy green things like silverbeet, broccolli etc). 

My way of getting the kids to eat spinach is Pesto. I’ve started making my own which is full of spinach and can be used for heaps of different meals or snacks and best of all, the kids love it.

My favourite homemade pesto recipes are:

Spinach Pesto

• 1 x Large Pack of spinach (several bunches)
• 2 handfuls of cashew nuts or 1 packet of pinenuts
• 1 small jar of sundried tomatoes
• Sprinkling of sea salt
• 3 -4 teaspoons of olive oil

Take stalks off the spinach, mulch it all up in the food processor, add more oil or salt to taste.

Parsley Pesto
This recipe is from my friend Maitland who also gave me the huge bunch of italian parsley I used for my first batch.

• Armload of Italian/flat leaf parsley
• Half cup grated parmesan cheese
• Half cup sundried tomatoes
• Sprinkling of pinenuts (optional)

Take stalks off parsley, mulch it all up in food processor, add oil or sea salt to taste.

How to Eat Your Homemade Pesto

First of all, if you make heaps, you can freeze it in small containers to thaw out at a later date. Here are some of the ways we eat it…

1. Topping on homemade pizza
2. Spread on vitawheat crackers
3. Pasta sauce (much cheaper and nicer than bought ones)
4. Dip for carrots or mini crackers
5. Spread on toast then add scrambled eggs
6. On toast or crackers topped with smoked salmon

Popeye on CGI Animated Cartoon DVD
This Popeye dvd should convince the kids if they wont take your word for it. Described as MUSCLES, SPINACH AND ADVENTURE!
Bluto, Olive Oyl, Swee’ Pea and Wimpy join Popeye to save his long-lost pappy from the evil, not to mention ugly, Sea Hag. Buy Popeye’s Voyage on DVD (NZ$)

We seem to be going to little boys birthday parties almost every week at the moment so I am always on the lookout for reasonably priced toys which boys (and their Mums) will love. The boys really enjoy making a special card for their friend and we usually make the wrapping paper too.

The best boys toys for under $10 which I have come across so far are:

Lego Racers – ZX Turbo
Just one in the lego racers series. The ZX Turbo is racing through the night! Watch its side exhaust pipes glow-in-the-dark as this touring car speeds down the city streets to victory. Just build it and race! Measures 8cm (3in) long! Contains 55 pieces. Buy now…

Lego Creator Mini Trains
Build any one of three fun train engine models: a classic steam locomotive, a modern diesel engine, and a tram. Includes instructions for all 3, and the pieces store in the portable and reusable box when you’re done! Buy now…

Lego Creator Mini Vehicles
Build any one of three speedy vehicles: a car transporter with car, an off-road 4×4, and a mini tow truck! Includes Instructions for all three. When you’re done, store the pieces in the portable and reusable box! Buy Now…

Lego Creator Mini Flyers
Rocket into adventure with these fun and exciting mini flying vehicles! With a pocket-sized carrying container full of great Lego pieces, instructions for building three air-themed models one at a time, and inspiration for many more, your imagination can take flight any time, any place! Buy now…

Best birthday presents for 5 year old boys under $20 coming next…

You know when you go to someone’s house and there are heaps of cool metal trucks and tractors which look loved but aren’t broken and are really fun to play with? Chances are that these are the New Zealand made toy vehicles from Fun-ho that your kids’ Dads used to play with when they were little boys. These toys are reall made to last!

I always assumed that if you weren’t lucky enough to have a granny who saved them for your children, then you were out of luck but… just found out that you can still buy them. They are really strong and great for sandpit play.

Click on the photos or links below to buy die-cast aluminium tractor and trailer from Funho. The bucket on the Front-end Loader lifts and tips and there is a tow hook to attach the trailer. The trailer has a tip tray so you can dump the sand without detaching from the loader.

Funho Front end Loader Tractor

Funho Tipping Trailer