Ruth(playworkeatrepeat), Author at PLAYWORKEATREPEAT

Friday Favourites

Hey! Happy Friday everyone! Welcome to my very first Friday Favourites Post!! and on this fine Friday I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika Covid Again- Well! what can I say, we’re in lockdown here in Sydney, Australia. Initially, it was for a two-week period. But after hearing Our Prime Minister and Premier speak at a press conference this morning, I really won’t be surprised if the period is extended. Sadly we just have too many cases popping up at the moment. So….. This has been a favourite this week Words With Friends- My sweet friend and I have been playing this throughout the week. In fact, we both work at the same preschool and had been really looking forward to the end-of-term break. We had big plans to go to lunch, High Tea and maybe even a Spa day. But you know, COVID. Anyway, Words With Friends has been a fun way to keep in contact plus we’re chatting on messenger a lot. Click and Collect- As we can only go out for essential purposes. I made sure I did a big shop earlier in the week and used Woolworths Click and Collect. Click and Collect was a great way to get in and get out fast! Definitely a favourite!! I do know some Woolworths stores offer Direct to boot service but my local one doesn’t. Argan Oil Infused Brush- I found this brush a couple of weeks ago. My old brush fell apart so when I spotted this one I thought I’d give it a try plus it was half price at $8.00. It’s infused in Argan Oil. What on earth did that mean? I Immediately stopped and googled while at the shops and read that apparently, Argan oil is infused into the prongs of the brush. So it detangles, adds shine, and smooths frizz. In fact, I’m probably the last person on earth to discover this. Anyhow, If you read my post on my lifelong frizzy hair battle you’ll for sure understand how excited I was to discover this brush. Less frizz…. I was sold!! Rainbow Pencils- Aren’t these rainbow pencils the cutest? We ordered them from Amazon and the pencils were delivered to my house earlier this week. Our preschool runs an annual Treasure-Hunt-a-Thon. It’s a fun holiday project for the families and a fundraiser for our preschool! Families sponsor the use of recycled materials to make a fantastic creation during the holidays. The Children bring their projects back to preschool the first week back of Term 3. Each child receives a certificate and a small prize. This year we thought these pencils would be the prize. Win-Win!! This made me smile- Notice The Hope decoration next to the hand sanitizer. My husband (Steve) hung his sanitizer there so as not to forget it. Lastly- Steve and I did a drive through Mcdonald’s and treated ourselves! That was most definitely a highlight for me. I had really been craving a Big Mac!! and after being stuck at home all week this was a BIG favourite!! That’s it for now Friends. Thanks so much for joining me! Hope you all have a fantastic weekend

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What’s Up Wednesday!

6 Comments / Family Life

Happy Wednesday Everyone! This is my very first link up and I’m linking up with Sheaffer and Shay I’m excited to share a mixture of things from what I’ve been eating, What I’ve been reminiscing about lately and what I’ve been watching etc. So here goes…. What I’m eating… All the soups and comfort food. Yes sir! It’s winter here and SO cold! I’m not a huge fan of the cold weather but I do love the casseroles, soups, and all the carbs! Yum! What I’m reminiscing about… Up until a few weeks ago, we had zero COVID cases here in Sydney Australia. Everything felt “Normal” again. We were mask-free, going about our day-to-day, eating out at restaurants, and having family gatherings. Of course, we still maintained hand sanitizing, QR check-in, and other safe COVID practices. But then we had one COVID case which then rapidly grew to many many more and once again we are in lockdown for two weeks until 9th July. I know we have been incredibly fortunate to have been so safe here and I know that most of the rest of the world has had a terrible time and continues to do so. But it was a huge wake-up call to every single one of us. Just a week before COVID hit us all over again, my Aunty had a party to celebrate her 60th. We ate and danced so much! It was a really fun time. Then two weeks before this we were able to celebrate our beautiful Niece’s Engagement party! What I’m dreading… I’m not really dreading anything thankfully. I’m on two weeks end of term break. My friend from work and I had a list of fun things we wanted to do in the holidays. But instead, because of lockdown we’ve been playing Words With Friends and chatting on Messenger a lot. What I’m working on… This Blog! I’ve only just started and after three months of navigating the whole setup process, I think I might just be getting the hang of it. Whoever said “you can make a blog in three minutes” was clearly deluded. It’s been fun though and something I’ve wanted to do for years. I’m still learning and it’s definitely a work in progress. What I’m excited about I’m excited about being on holiday. (even though we can’t go anywhere) I love not having to rush, make school/work lunches, do the housework at 6 am so I can be free on the weekends. It’s pyjamas till 11 am around here at the moment. What I’m watching… Years ago I started watching the show “Parenthood” and I loved it. I wanted to be part of the Braverman Family, it was such a relatable show. I got to the end of season 4 and for some reason, the network that showed it at the time decided to ruin my life and changed the time slot. I completely lost track of the episodes and gave up. This was before catch_up TV etc. Now that it’s online I have been binge-watching it from the beginning and I’ve just finished the end of season 4 again today. So I am excited to finish the last two seasons (I’ll be sad when it’s over). It’s just been the best show! What I’m listening to… Hmmmmm nothing in particular other than the radio. I like listening to Jonesy and Amanda in the morning on 2WSFM they always make me laugh. Other than that I’ve just been listening to Chill Out on Spotify. My husband can’t stand Chill Out, It stresses him hahaha! He’s into Midnight Oil and Neil Diamond. What a combination! What I’m wearing… PYJAMAS at the moment and tracksuit pants! but before this, I was enjoying getting a bit dressed up. What I’m looking forward to… It’s the middle of winter but I’m already looking forward to summer or spring at least! That’s about all I think. It’s definitely, the longest post I’ve done so far. Thank you for stopping by. Hope you have a great week xxx…

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Song Lyrics I Got So Wrong

4 Comments / Home

I was in the kitchen the other day cooking and listening to music on my Google Nest Hub when Michael Jacksons’ “Billie Jean ” came on. I like that song, you know the part where he sings ” She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one, But the kid is not my son.” Well, this is what I heard and gleefully sang for many years ” She’s just a girl who claims that I am the one, the Devil woman’s son.” This song was just confusing to me because I thought he was in love with someone who went around saying nasty things about him. I mean really, why would he be in love with someone calling him a devil woman’s son. Not nice at all. It’s funny, isn’t it? When we hear something it’s so hard to unhear it! and then you find out what the lyrics actually say…..Well….. Boom! what a revelation! You know ABBAs famous song Chiquitita. I read in an article once that the bit where it says “Chiquitita tell me what’s wrong” Some had been singing “Take your teeth out, tell me what’s wrong” Well, that’s just ridiculous! they were clearly singing “Chiquitita” but the part that stumped me was when they sang “You’ll be dancing once again and the pain will end” well, this is what I sang “You’ll be dancing once again like a Pengrilen” and I just assumed that a Pengrilen was a very famous Swedish Dancer. Made sense right? I’ve also come to realize that many ’70s and 80’s songs were just…..you know…..really really explicit and I sang these songs. Out loud. Very loud. In front of my family. My mum and I absolutely loved Grease and she took me to see it twice! TWICE! We played the soundtrack over and over. So when my mums’ friends came over with their kids, we all dressed up and put on a concert for them. and sang Grease Lightning. Have you READ the lyrics? Lord knows what we sang that day? but bless our little hearts I’m sure we thankfully got the lyrics wrong. In the Eighties, I just loooved Cyndi Lauper and her song “She Bop” “She Bop, he bop, we bop, I bop, you bop, they bop” I thought she meant she loved to dance. sigh! It’s not about dancing at all. Get my drift? Fast forward to recently and when Despacito (which translates to “slowly” in Spanish) came out, again I thought it was about taking your time and you know dancing real slow so you get all the moves right. Ahem, nope. It’s not about dancing AT ALL. and you know who set me straight? My mum did. Yep, she did. I had downloaded the song for her on her iPod Shuffle and I thought she would enjoy listening to a song in her native tongue. That was a mistake. Well! There you go! So when we hear what our kids are listening to “These days” let’s not forget what we were listening to in “Our days”. And now I’m beginning to think that when I was singing along to “you can ring my bell, ring my bell” It’s not referring to a sweet boy ringing your front doorbell. Right?

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Dinosaur Small World Play

Leave a Comment / Insights Into Early Childhood Education

I’d like to show you a fun and simple Dinosaur small world play idea, but before I do let me tell you a little bit about my work as an educator in a small local preschool. I have been working with children as an educator for many years and I really enjoy it! It can be exhausting demanding, and stressful (Term one. I’m referring to you) BUT I do love it. The best part about working in a small preschool is that I have been fortunate enough to meet so many beautiful families over the years. The team I work with is fantastic and very dedicated. I am also lucky enough to call them my friends and a couple of them have even become my besties! oh yes, and did I mention I also live super close, like a three-minute drive away! My days are never dull as children say the funniest things. Over the years I have heard some hilarious stories! and a little word of warning. The kids tell us everything! I love decorating and making learning areas inviting and interesting. It’s very rewarding when the children are engaged in the activities that are set up for them. The best days at preschool are when the children are really enjoying themselves and playing well. After all, PLAY is what it’s all about isn’t it? It’s how they learn! Over time I’ll be sharing some photos of things I’ve set up for the kids. I really think it will be fun to take a peek into an everyday preschool setup. Here is a Dinosaur Small World I set up a couple of weeks ago. The laminator has become one of my best friends. I printed off some Jurassic-looking background images and laminated them. I then stuck this background around the blue trough we use for water/sand play. I also used some leftover fake grass we had from when the playground got a makeover. I grabbed some rocks we have in the playground. And pulled off some small tree branches to stick around the edges of the trough. I found some plastic lilies and mossy rocks in the cupboard. And of course the dinosaurs! There you have it! A simple Dinosaur small world play idea. It was fun to look around the preschool, find resources and put this little world together.

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Healthy Granola Recipe

1 Comment / Recipes

Today I want to share with you this absolutely delicious Healthy Granola Recipe. It has just the right amount of sweetness, crunch, and goodness. My family absolutely loves this Granola. They have it for breakfast with milk or they have it just on its own as a snack. It can be heaped on some yoghurt with a dash of honey and it can be added to steamy, creamy porridge! mmmmmmm YUM! This Granola is packed with wholesome goodness. Full of fibre, proteins, and minerals and full of nutrients we all want our families to feast on. But here’s the thing. I try super hard to avoid store-bought cereal that is full of sugar and a bunch of other stuff that is less than ideal. However realistically, I also work full time, and some weeks I just don’t quite reach my ideal goal of superwoman and I have to go with store-bought cereal. And that’s OK. But mostly I try and make this Granola because it is so worth it! This quantity will last about two weeks for the three of us. Healthy Granola Recipe Ingredients 2 Cups Rolled Oats 3 Cups Coconut Flakes 1 1/2 Cups Mixed Nuts- Chopped or Crushed 1/4 cup Pepitas 1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds 1/2 Cup Dates 1/4 cup dried cranberries 2 Tsp Cinnamon 1 Tsp Vanilla 3/4 Cup of melted Coconut Oil 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup Directions Preheat Oven to 160 C Line a big baking tray with Baking paper Mix all dry ingredients except the dates and cranberries in a bowl Add coconut oil and Maple Syrup, stirring well Spread the mixture onto the lined baking tray. Make sure to spread it out to form one layer. Place in oven for approximately 10 minutes, stir then put back in the oven for 10 minutes. Granola is ready when it is a lovely golden colour. Once the granola comes out of the oven stir in the dates and cranberries. Cool completely and then store the healthy granola in jars. These are the jars I use. Aren’t they cute? I picked them up from Kmart and I love them! I divide my Granola into two of these jars and they fit perfectly! The recipe includes Coconut Flakes and the only place where I have been able to find coconut flakes has been in Aldi. I admit I haven’t tried health food stores but I did look in Coles and Woolworths and all I could find was Desiccated coconut. While I’m sure desiccated coconut would be ok. I think that these flakes absolutely give the Granola that extra bit of crunchy texture. So there you have it. Seriously THE best Healthy Granola Recipe. Try it. You won’t be disappointed. ********* Here Is Another Healthy Recipe You Might Like To Try Healthy Banana Bread Recipe

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Forever Fighting The Frizz

1 Comment / Fashion Files

Luscious, Bouncy, shiny, sleek hair! That’s always been my goal. Growing up I had dreams of having side-swept cool hair like this. (I also wanted Belinda Carlisle’s face, lips, and earrings) but not wanting to be too greedy I would have just happily settled for her hair. I spent hours in front of the mirror with my hairdryer desperately trying to tame my wiry thick frizzy black hair. If by some miracle the weather was on my side and it was a blowy dry day, I kind of had a semi tamed style and on those days I would document this event on my calendar. Today 4th August 1987 Ruth had a good hair day. There weren’t many of these days. My reality was more like this. Sigh! When it came time for my school formal, my desperation for sleek hair hit an all-time high. How was I going to go looking like a frizz ball? I ended up going to the hairdressers and pinned all my hopes on her performing a miracle. What happened was, I came out looking like a bad version of 1984 Madonna. I ran home, washed my hair, and started all over again. I pulled out the iron and ironed it. This was before the days of hair straighteners and as it was January and summer in Australia I was fighting a losing battle. The humidity got me. Anyway fast forward many decades later and I will admit I have spent a lot of money on hair products. I blow dry my hair AND use a straightener. I have even spent a small fortune on Keratin treatment, which at first I thought was my miracle answer but soon realized that while my hair was not frizzy anymore, It was now super flat. Recently I discovered this Schwarzkopf Extra Care Normal Balance leave-in treatment. It’s about $9.00 at Chemist Warehouse. Not a bad price at all! And so far so good! I do add quite a bit, maybe double what it recommends but I must say, I’m impressed. We had a super rainy week last week and while I did not have my dream sleek look, I didn’t look too scary either. My hair was, let’s say ummmmmm what’s the word? It was ok. Yep. It was more than ok, it was pretty acceptable! So there you go. If you are fighting the frizz, maybe give this a go. It’s a better alternative than a paper bag over your head.

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PINTEREST PIN FOR BLOG POST FINDING THE RIGHT CAT FOR YOU

How to Find the Right Cat for You

2 Comments / Family Life

How to find the right cat- Adding a beautiful cat to our family was one of the best decisions we ever made. She has brought us so much love and companionship and she is such a treasured member of our family. We just love her so much! She is such a funny little thing. She loves to cozy up to us and is so friendly to anyone who visits. She can even high-five. How clever is that? Here are just a few things I found helpful when it came to finding the right cat. I hope you’ll find them helpful too. This is our girl “Sushi”. My oldest son Luke named her that because he decided she was all black and reminded him of a Sushi Roll. Isn’t she cute? How To Find The Right Cat Kitten Or Cat? Nine years ago we all had our hearts set on finding a cat to join our family. The first decision we had to make was “Should we get a kitten or a cat?”. I think that was a good place to start. We had to take into account that kittens require a lot of time and care while adult cats can provide love and companionship but with much less work. We decided on a kitten because let’s face it, they are unbelievably cute! and I had my heart set on a girl as I was the only girl in the family We were coming up to the end of the school year and into the summer holidays, this meant that because I work at a preschool I too would be home on holidays with my boys for about eight glorious weeks. This gave us a nice amount of time to focus on looking after our new kitten and litter training her. Look how small they both were. Sam is now 16 Finding The Right Breed My goodness! This was interesting. I had no idea there were so many breeds. I think I did some sort of “What Cat Breed Should I Get” test on the internet and in the end, after my head was spinning I decided on keeping things simple and go for a short-breed domestic Cat. In other words a Moggy. Moggy cats are low-maintenance, friendly, and generally pretty healthy. Plus I also read online that there were ethical considerations with some breeds as well as health issues to consider. Indoor Or Outdoor Cat This decision was easy to make. As I said before we live in a villa and part of the strata rules is that if we keep a cat it should not be allowed to roam around on the common property. (Except for my neighbours, they let their cats roam around). But anyway I like that our cat is an indoor cat as I don’t need to worry about her well-being. While some believe that letting cats outside gives them a better quality of life, keeping cats indoors is definitely a healthier choice. I also read that indoor cats live much longer than outdoor cats. So there’s that. Our girl gets the best of both worlds as she can spend time lying in the sun safe in our enclosed courtyard. She just loves to roll around in the sun Choose A Cat With A Personality You Like I know this might sound really ignorant of me but I hadn’t really considered that like humans cats have unique and interesting personalities. While doing some research this became something that we really needed to think about. We all wanted a cuddly cat. I wanted a calm cat. After being at preschool all day the last thing I wanted was a hyperactive cat! When it came time to choose our cat, I spent time watching how the kittens all interacted with each other. Honestly, it wasn’t that different from being in the classroom at work! There was the “Can’t keep their hands to themselves” kind of cat. There was the “Don’t touch/look at me/come near me” cat and there was the “Impulsive watch me jump” cat. Then thankfully there was the ” Calm well behaved” cat. Yep, I went for calm. Cat on a Hat She always tries to pack herself into the nearest available backpack Bringing Our Kitten Home Before we brought our kitten home we made sure we set up a special space for her. We got a litter box, a scratching post, a comfy bed, a feeding station, and some toys. I was a little nervous. No, I lied, I was a lot nervous. She was just so tiny! I was afraid we’d step on her. Well, we didn’t but we sure were careful and very very gentle. We had to keep in mind that she was coming into a totally unfamiliar place so we made sure that the space we made up for her would help her get comfortable and feel secure and familiar. Phew, I was relieved when she got bigger. Like I said before she really was tiny. Haha, always likes to be in the middle of everything! Well, that was fun going down memory lane, and while by no means does this post cover everything about how to find the right cat. I think I’ve been able to look at some of the things that stood out in my mind that were important when it came to finding the right cat to join our family. if you do a Google search you’ll get an incredible amount of helpful information. Just remember that having a cat will bring unconditional love to your life, companionship, and fun!

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