No serious injuries here - just the usual bumps, bruises and (for me) ringing ears! :) My boys adore their romp with Daddy and my husband is very good at gauging how far to go. If someone gets a serious injury then they may be on the sidelines for a few weeks but the romp will go on. I think it is a very valuable formation as it teaches kids (especially boys) how to get all excited and het up but to still retain control. If my eldest goes too far the romp stops. I have really seen him grow in his self-control, especially when angry or upset. It also teaches them how to turn off that excitement and settle down.

NZ is nuclear-free too. I voted hydroelectric, but our cooking and hotwater is gas.

IMHO this is just rude and pushy. You can choose to be offended and tell them that you find their gift distasteful. Or you can choose to laugh it off and pass the book on to someone who WILL appreciate it. I would generally tend to opt for the later and just see it as a quirk in that person and not really worth getting steamed about. I hope they don't spend too much money on these books!

We sort by size. Little pieces in one box, middle sized pieces in another and big pieces in a third. Every now and then I go and dismantle the creations - but more often my two year old beats me to it. Our sets are completely mixed up and we have tens of thousands of pieces. I would have prefered to keep them seperate but was overruled by DH who is the one who spends hours sitting with Mr7 making stuff.

I actually find these threads really motivating and empowering. Just as we learn from other people's successes, so too can we learn from their mistakes. I always read these threads and end up with a list of points to consider - humbly and without defensiveness. How can I do better? Are any of these things traps that I am inclined to fall into? What things should I put in place to ensure I do the best for my kids?

I must point out that I had never me her before. She was a random stranger in the supermaket. I'm guessing that either she had been at the Christmas sherry a bit early or her cheese had slid off her cracker. At least I don't have to sit down to Christmas dinner with her and make polite conversation. I forgot to mention - she then followed us round the supermarket muttering and giving us the squinty eyed evils. Thank heavens for my husband! He hussled us through and kept me from ambushing her at the end of the bakery aisle with a french stick. :lol:

That bit did make me giggle later. I was still reeling at that point from her telling my son he would much prefer to be in school with his friends like a real boy and not at home being a namby pamby mummy's boy. I'm going to ruin his character, don't you know.

Your kids been naughty this year? :tongue_smilie:

for clocking the demented old hag who when she asked my son what school he went to today proceeded to berate me for being lazy and giving up on his education by choosing to homeschool him. Apparently it wasn't good enough to withdraw him from a school that wasn't meeting his needs. I should have looked harder for another school or worked more with his teachers. Parents have to take some responsibility for their kids education too! :confused: Unfortunately I am recovering from having major surgery last Tuesday and my blood alcohol is unfestively low right now so I was just getting ready to clock the cow when my husband rejoined us and hussled me away. Now back home and more rested I have regained my sense of humour and have thought of all the things that I might have said. Witty and scathing things. The kind of things that I probably would have had to confess. As it was I stood there like a guppy and turned red with barely repressed indignation. I do so hope our paths cross again! :lol:

I did quite a bit of mine online this year. And I am particularly pleased with myself for getting my nieces and nephews presents online, giftwrapped and sent straight to them - eliminating the need for me to queue at the Post Shop with three kids and pay an extra lot of postage.

My seven year old complains a lot less of being bored now than he did when he was at school. I figured its because when he was at school I often relied on the TV and his toys to entertain him. Now I have cupboards and shelves full of books and activities. Plus he is reading independently now which makes a HUGE difference. His favourite activity at the moment is to read through a book called '101 TV-free activities for kids' and pick something for us to do together - sometimes a recipe, sometimes a craft or a game.

I love the Jawa nativity:

EDIT: Somehow managed to post this twice! Sorry

Positive: Love is in the details - my parents spent time doing stuff with us that made us feel loved. One of my formative memories as a child is getting to school and opening my new exercise book (which had to have a line ruled down the side and across the top) to find that my Dad had ruled each line in the book in a different colour. I remember grinning and thinking "Wow! My Daddy really loves me to have sat and done this for me!" As an adult I told him how precious this memory is and he doesn't even remember it. This teaches me that love is in the details. I may not think that what I am doig is a big deal but it may mean a huge amount to my child. Negative: Don't say you will do something that you won't carry out. My parents are great planners but lousy implementers. There was always a reason but I got sick of being disappointed in yet another exciting plan that never got off the ground. They really enjoyed the planning stage and never realised how much it upset me that things didn't happen. Now I always tell my kids whether I am not sure if we can actually do something and if I say we can then I carry it out.

Simple answer: Good = things that draw us to God; Evil = things that draw us away from God. There is nothing that is neutral but there can easily be a lack of thought or appreciation of the nature of something on our part. For example you could argue that a sunrise has no moral value but you can look at the sunrise and be filled with wonder for God's creation and drawn to Him. By this argument, the contents of my toddler's nappies are inherently evil. :lol: