BOOK OF QUESTIONS

One of the things that I love about Instagram is getting ideas from other parents. Sometimes these can be recipes or a beautiful item of clothing, but I always appreciate seeing something that I can translate into action for my family. About a week or so ago Andrea from Izegu Tribe shared an image of an encyclopaedia that she had created with her son. Her idea was to write down topics that he was interested in, and research them together. She has gone to a lot of detail, and it's worth looking at the entry on her feed. It is of a megalodon, an extinct species of shark, and shows the word written in three languages, includes a drawing and facts about its size and theories on why it became extinct.

This idea of personalised encyclopaedia really appealed, and over the weekend I set about creating a "book of questions" for each child. My son is often asking questions that I don't know a good answer on the spot - certainly not a detailed one enough for his enquiring mind - so to be able to write down the questions and look them up later seems like a great solution.

Of course, the girls wanted one too. And so we had fun with some drawing and questions more related to their interests.

I used a small Moleskin notebook that fits easily in my handbag and means that any question can be recorded on the spot. It is also a nice why of acknowledging a child's interests and showing them that adults don't know all of the answers to life's questions, and that research can be worthwhile and interesting.

image the indigo crew

HOMEMADE SAUSAGE ROLLS

The weather has turned wet and cold again in Sydney so it seems a good time to share our sausage roll recipe. We have made them for all of the kids birthday parties - based on a Bill Granger recipe, and they always get devoured. The girls also enjoy making them during the week too. In fact, they enjoy making anything to do with puff pastry. It's like edible play dough!

INGREDIENTS
Puff pastry, frozen
Sausage mince (or homemade stuffing, below)
1 egg yolk
Sesame seeds, optional

1. Preheat oven to 180-degrees-C. Defrost puff pastry. Squeeze the meat out of a sausage onto one end of the pastry.
2. Spread egg yolk along the length of the other end. Roll pastry, enclosing meat. 
3. Brush tops with egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).
4. Cook for about 25 minutes in the oven, or until golden.

HOMEMADE STUFFING
500g minced meat
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 grated carrot
1/4 cup shredded cabbage
1 tbsp rosemary, chopped
1 tbsp thyme, chopped 
1 egg, lightly beaten

1. Mix all the ingredients until well combined. Apply to pastry, as above.

images the indigo crew

10 QUESTIONS WITH... AMELIA FULLARTON

Amelia Fullarton has fast become a go-to photographer in the beautiful area of Byron Bay. She’s known for her portraiture work - mainly for weddings and also with children. But she’s also gaining quite a following for capturing her own sweet family - two girls Arlo and Agnes - in and around their beachside home. Amelia is originally from Sydney though. She grew up on the outskirts - in Dural. Her family had land there and she and her sister rode horses growing up, and had a real taste of country life. About seven years ago Amelia moved to Byron after travelling through Europe with some of her best friends. “We just didn’t want the holiday to be over,” she says. “Byron was the next best thing. I’d like to eventually settle in the hinterland, on some land so the girls can enjoy what I had. I love the simplicity country life has to offer.”

Because Amelia’s youngest daughter is still a newborn, she is enjoying some time out from her busy wedding photography schedule. Once Agnes is a little bigger though, she anticipates having to work a lot at night while the girls sleep. “The juggle is tough and like most working mums some days I feel really stressed,” she says. “But I’m one of those people who loves the chaos of family life; I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

1 As a child I used to wear… the same outfit every day. Well, at least I tried. Mum said I used to cry when it was getting washed then go down to the clothesline to wait and watch while it dried.

2 My bedroom was… painted more times then I can count. Now I’m a parent, looking back I love how relaxed my folks were about it all. Pink, blue, different shades of purple. It was amazing; I realise now how that creative freedom is just so great for young children.

3 When I was a teenager I used to… be trouble. Having two girls, I’m already having serious concerns about what we might be in for!

4 After high school I wanted to be… an interior designer. I studied at Enmore in Sydney, straight after high school.

5 A seminal moment was… most definitely when Arlo, my first daughter, was born or more so that first year of her life. I was finishing up a degree with a newborn and starting to apply for jobs within that field. Every interview l went to - and there were a few - l walked out feeling like absolute crap, like l knew l wasn’t going to get it. My heart wasn’t in it and if l did get a job, I’d have to work five days to earn enough to pay for daycare and miss out on watching my daughter grow up. It’s this sad reality for women that we are faced with now, to be able to live off one income is tough and we feel pressure to wear many hats. I knew l had to find what it was l loved to do. l’d take photos of Arlo on my little film cameras and these images would bring me so much joy but l couldn’t think of one person who would take some “non-cheesy” photos of my family. l thought l could do this for people; l would love to do this for people. I guess it grew from there. Thanks to her, l pushed myself out of my comfort zone. l had someone l needed to think of now that was more important to me than myself and that can make a woman do some pretty powerful stuff.  

6 I never thought I would… be the first out of my friends to have children. I fell in love with my partner when I was 21 and was pregnant with our first daughter at 23. Before I met him I never imagined this is where l would be. l loved the freedom of being single, the travelling and boozy nights. But l’ve found a great man and l’ll willingly give up all my boozy nights for breastfeeds in bed. Ha!

7 I’ve learnt to… not be too hard on myself. Well, at least I’m trying. It’s a real struggle for me to never feel like I’m doing good enough. Whether that be with work or being a mother. For my work it’s important that l be critical so I can improve but some days I think I just need to pat myself on the back and say, “hey, you’re doin' okay!”. 

8 I know… that this life is short. That we live in an incredible country where anything is possible. I hope my kids never lose perspective on just how lucky they are for those reasons alone.

9 I share because… there’s something l really enjoy about documenting life, especially the good moments. I know a lot of people say it gets a bit too much all the pretty pictures but for me not so much. I try not to take it too seriously, all you have to do is pick up a newspaper or switch on your television to see how much war and sadness there is in this world. For me, if l can share what might just be a moment of happiness in my day then it’s worth sharing. Cause we all know it aint’ always peaches and cream, behind every pretty picture is a pile of mess. 

10 If I had an unexpected morning to myself I would… read, go for a drive, take a long walk without any rush to get home, be lazy, drink champagne, go to breakfast and order pancakes - knowing they aren’t going to get eaten by someone other then myself - have a proper conversation with all of my best friends without being interrupted every five minutes. I could keep going but l might bore you.

image courtesy of amelia fullarton 

LIFE WITHOUT SCREENS

Life is a continual learning curve with children. I've learnt so much about my strengths and weaknesses, and my values. For more than 12 years we haven't had a television in our home. And even though I've had moments of questioning this decision - usually on movie nights or when the children were at the stage of dropping sleeps and tired and cranky in the afternoons - I'm glad I've persevered.

For all of our children, we've avoided screen time in the first two years of their life after reading several studies on the detrimental effect of brain development during this period. Brain Rules for Baby by John Medina is an interesting example. And following on from this age, we've tried to cap screen time to two hours maximum a day. But while we might reach this limit if we watch a film, we don't come near this on a daily basis.

When our son was younger we went through a stage of letting him watch an hour or so of children's films or programs (via ABC for Kids online) on our laptop when he stopped having a midday nap at age two. At the time it seemed like the best solution as it would pacify him for a little while otherwise he would get frustrated because he was tired and couldn't concentrate on other tasks. Also, we sometimes let him watch programs when our second child came along, and I needed to focus on settling a newborn to sleep.

However, once she got to the age that they could play together, our reliance on screens slipped away altogether. While we had never had an excessive reliance on them, it felt good that they weren't a regular part of our lives. Soon afterwards I deleted the few kids "educational" apps I had on my phone and decided that it was only a tool for my work, and not a toy. That felt good too.

Now that there are three children actively playing in our home, they hardly ever watch films or kids programs. It's been interesting to observe because each one of them has progressively watched less than the previous child to the point that the youngest actually has no interest in films when they are on. She's up and down on her seat and in and out of the room.

And the other two hardly request to watch anything either. They are usually too busy playing.

Of course, there are days when the lure of the screen appeals - usually when I'm not feeling well, or I'm tired or perhaps parenting solo, but I often realise that it's for me, not for them. And I think that's okay, too. But it's interesting to observe why we make these decisions.

Yesterday, while my husband was doing some DIY on the house, the thought crossed my mind that I might suggest a movie. However, by the time I had cleaned up after lunch all of the children were playing together upstairs. Shortly afterwards they called out to me to see what they had created. It was a "scene" for the youngest to play in. It really made me so glad that I'd given them the opportunity to find some way to occupy themselves. It was one of those beautiful moments as a parent, and one that made me realise that, for now at least, when their imagination seems to be in full flight, our life is better without screens.

image the indigo crew   

PAINTED PUMPKINS

It has been a little while since we got the paintbrushes out, and so Halloween seemed the perfect time. We bought a bunch of small pumpkins that the children could paint, and we all had fun creating our own designs. School boy wanted to create an Aboriginal dot painting inspired design while the preschooler went for something more colourful. 

It was a fun way to create focus towards Halloween while spending time together talking and painting at the kitchen table. 

And now we have something to display on our table, which helps create a sense of occasion for the impending big day.

images the indigo crew