Author: Jenny

Hi, I'm Jenny! I am an Australian expat keeping extraordinarily busy with my Hubby and 3 kids in Germany.
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Best Book Series for 9 – 12 Year Old Girls To Read Now

(as Recommended by Girls!)

pin, pinterest, books for girls, book series, book recommendations, recommended reading for girls, reading, books, 9-12 year olds

Last weekend our family bit the bullet and went to another flea market (Flohmarkt, for those of you wanting to expand your German vocabulary 😉). No, not to buy anything, but to Sell! Sell! Sell! And we had definitely collected plenty of unwanted kids’ stuff to sell.

Sure we made some money. Not as much as we had fantasised about beforehand (bathtub full of banknotes, anyone?!?), but we actually did OK. Afterwards, we reloaded the car and brought the unsold stuff home again. Do you know what constituted the biggest pile of leftovers? Can you guess???

BOOKS!

I mean, we did sell quite a few, but we just had so many that the kids didn’t want anymore.

Our 3 children LOVE books. If we left the kids alone with no demands or expectations of homework, attending school, helping out with chores, speaking to another human or having a breeze of fresh air brush their sweet faces… well, I think they would probably just lie in bed and look at books all day. Do you know what the perfect word for them is? Bookworms!

The 2 girls have been begging for months to contribute towards my blog here, as a sort of “Stuff for Kids, by Kids” offering. And hey presto! I have finally got my eldest right here, helping me put together a list of highly-recommended, tried-and-tested book series. to give you some great reading ideas!

So, why wait?!? Read on to discover these compelling, page-turning, book series for girls aged 9 to 12 years, as recommended by my girl, who is (funnily enough) also aged between 9 and 12 years old 😉.

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How to Sew a Patchwork Infinity Loop Scarf

diy, diy sewing, sewing project, loop scarf, infinity scarf, patchwork infinity scarf, tutorial, how-to

Last week I was feeling fired up and feisty, what with all those totally powerful inspirational quotes! “Go get ‘em!” was the message I was pumping myself up with and bringing you along for the ride too 😉. What?!? You didn’t see it? If you feel like you need a bit of motivating to pursue your goals, then be sure to check it out here because it will really give you the kick up the butt you’re after!

And what now? Well, It’s official. The cold weather here in Germany has continued it’s march towards winter.  So while I may be energised and motivated, I am also damn cold!!! The days are getting shorter and shorter, so much so that the kids are walking to school by the light of the moon. And a flashlight. 😉 For the sunshine-y Australian girl in me lousy, grey, cold weather = time to hibernate time to find fun projects I can accomplish indoors.

If you’re into sewing like me, but also trying hard to not waste too many materials while you’re at it (Hello! #reducereuserecycle), you’ve probably got a stack of odd-shaped, leftover pieces of fabric hoarded away “for later”.

Do I have the PERFECT sewing project for you!!! (And I’m gonna show you how to do it!)

*** drumroll please… ***

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No More Being Afraid. Face Your Fears.

pin, pinterest, motivation, inspiration, face your fears

How do you feel about spiders? Hmm, not a fan? What about dentists’ drills? Eww! What about signing up for a jogging group when you’ve never run anything in your life? A little intimidated?

Everyone has got fears, ranging from freaking out over multi-legged creepy crawlies to avoiding the doctor’s reminder for your next check-up to feeling like a fool in lycra at the gym.

But is there a difference between the types of fears you feel and the level of importance you allow them to have on your life? What if there are things you wish you could try, that you dream of being able to achieve? IF ONLY you weren’t scared. IF ONLY you weren’t too nervous. IF ONLY you weren’t comparing yourself to someone else who has tried it before you.

WHAT is it you are actually afraid of? WHAT IF you faced your fears?

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Simple Plastic-Free Swaps You Can Do Now

Oh my gosh! The past week has been crazy around here. And not just because the children may or may not be recovering from their Halloween-induced sugar highs. No, mainly because I have been working my butt off behind the scenes putting some systems in place to get Everything’s Famtastic running better AND of course, trying to come up with some cool stuff for you. (Keep an eye on this site in the coming weeks or even better, you can subscribe to my newsletter to make sure you don’t miss a thing! **wink wink**)

So, it’s been a few weeks now since I interviewed my friend Birgitta about her (and her family’s) plastic-free lifestyle. You can read her story here . Personally, I’m no eco-warrior. But I’m also no climate change-denier. This planet we call home has a population focused on consuming, resulting some serious problems for which we all need to take responsibility.

In our family, we are open and honest about being NOT plastic-free… Yet. Like, I can clearly confess that the Halloween booty collected last week by the kids was 100% NOT environmentally friendly. What will all those wrappers and miniature sizes of everything. They had tons of fun collecting (and slowly eating) it all, no doubt. But the amount of plastic was, well, shameful.

Hearing Birgitta talk so passionately about why she refuses to have plastic in her house and how she makes it possible in a family of 4 really spurred me on to Do.Something.

I thought it might be helpful to you (and me!) to revisit the tips she shared with us and to check out the small steps that ANYONE can implement quickly and easily to reduce their plastic waste. Come on, let’s take a look…

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More DIY Easy Halloween Costumes Anyone Can Sew

sewing, sewing project, diy sewing, diy, diy costume, halloween, halloween costumes, pirate, bat, ninja, ninjago

Hi there! Have you been psyching up for Halloween? Or rather, are your kids getting crazy for Halloween? Let’s be honest, in the end, rambling through the neighbourhood trick-or-treating is more for their benefit than ours. Right? Nevertheless, I will admit that I am also getting a little excited.

When I prowl the neighbourhood with my kids on the 31st October, it’s not as though I’m going to have a fistful of lollies thrust my way. (*Psst!!* There are however, a couple of neighbours who like to share a quick slurp of some fiery type of liquid that is definitely NOT for the little ones! Nudge nudge, wink wink)

What I do enjoy is watching the kids each year get bolder and more adventurous and confident, relishing the thrill of dressing up and dashing so free-spirited around the neighbourhood after dark. And we bump into so many of their friends also doing the rounds, so it’s practically like a street party. 😊

I know that last week I posted here a few home-sewn DIY Halloween costumes. But guess what I also enjoy?

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DIY Wicked Halloween Costumes You Can Easily Sew

I could have sworn we just enjoyed summer holidays and now all of a sudden Halloween is upon us. For most kids, Halloween means 2 things: costumes and lollies!

And when my kids think of costumes, what they really mean is “Mama’s GOTTA sew me one!!!”. 😉

halloween, halloween costumes, costume, diy costumes, sewing costumes, sewing, sewing project

Are your kids hankering for a really cool costume? That you are apparently going to make?!? If you are a #sewingnewbie perhaps you are feeling the pressure to come up with something great, while not necessarily knowing where to start. Even if Mama doesn’t think that Halloween is a really big deal, it’s a sure bet that the kids do!

Fear not! I would recommend you go grab yourself a hot beverage (coffee is my poison!), find a comfy chair because I’ve got a bunch of creative Halloween costume ideas just for you! They won’t break your budget, won’t take too long, but they will give you that satisfying feeling of a job well done.

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How to Know Whether Your Child is Ready for Their Own Phone

Warning! Warning! We now have a young lady in her mid-tweens in the house! Our oldest “baby girl” is certainly a little girl no more. Our formerly-known-as-Miss-10 recently celebrated her 11th birthday. Yay! Happy Birthday amazing, gorgeous girl! (I know you’ll be reading this 😉).

Birthday celebrations mean birthday party planning, right?!? And boy, did she have plans. A gaggle of girlfriends stayed over to dance, chatter, play games and feast on popcorn while watching a DVD. Apparently they even managed to find time for some shut-eye.

Apart from her big birthday party though, she had one other grand plan occupying her thoughts every waking moment: a mobile phone.

pin, pinterest, kids and mobile phones, mobile phone, cell phone, parenting, tips

Mobile phone, cell phone, Handy, expensive-addictive-glowing-screen-attention-sucking-vampire. Call it what you want. But that gadget was front and centre on her birthday wish list and she was darned certain she was going to get one. From us. Her parents. Her caregivers. Her guardians. The logical left-brain to her own excitable right-brain.

But what to do? The idea of giving her her own mobile phone had me feeling incredibly nervous and concerned and a thousand other emotions that all together made me feel, well, uncertain and a little uncomfortable.

Mobile phone. Cell Phone, Handy. Looks harmless enough, right?

I mean, how are we supposed to know whether now is the right time to give her a phone? How does anyone know when “the right time” is? Read on!

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What It’s Like to Live Plastic-Free (and How You Can Do It Too!)

In case you have been living in a dark cave for a looong time, you have surely noticed the ever-increasing amount of news surrounding climate change, food production and wastage, plastics polluting the oceans and much, much more.

Now I don’t know about you, but a lot of this news scares me. And to be honest, it’s intimidating. What are we humans doing to the planet? To the environment? Why is it that so many goods are needed for our ever-increasing consumption, while at the same time landfill is stuffed with ever more food and plastic waste? And what can I, what can any of us, do about it?

Have you ever heard terms like “plastic-free” and “zero-waste” before? I am certainly aware of these concepts. Ask my whether I actually live plastic-free though, and I would probably um and ah and say how desperately I wish I did, but that I haven’t started. Yet.

I’m all for upcycling (such as in these sewing projects) and recycling (like giving new life to old toothbrushes). But still…

I needed to find some more information, something which I could latch onto and quickly implement to kick-start a plastic-free way of living. What does it even mean to live plastic-free? Would it be hard?

I decided to speak with my friend, Birgitta, as she is one of the only people I know who really does live plastic-free. And has done for a while. She would surely have some ideas for me!

Lucky for all of us, she was happy for me to share her story and some of her top tips with you! Plus, she shares one of her favourite recipes with us 😉. Read on to find out how Birgitta got started and how she successfully maintains a plastic-free household.

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The Art of Creating Special Memories

This week I am not going to dilly-dally around. I’m going to get straight into it. So… Who doesn’t believe in love? And romance? And beautiful gifts from your special someone?

This past weekend was Hubby’s and my wedding anniversary. Our 12th to be exact. Which, whether you like it or not, we are just going to pat ourselves proudly on the back. Anyone who has ever been married knows that despite loving someone with all your heart, there are times when there can be other, not-so-poetic ways, to describe your feelings for this person. Marriage can be great. But it can also be hard work.

So when another years passes by and you can honour the fact that yes, you are still together, you are still in love with each other and you still want to stick by each other, it’s worth celebrating. Am I right?!?

So when we celebrated those 12 years together, it was the most magical, romantic, memorable day of the year. Or was it?….

**cue suspenseful music**

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5 Easy Ways to Reuse Old Toothbrushes & Reduce Waste

recycling, old toothbrushes, eco-friendly, tips, how-to

Hey! Another week has gone by, so it’s time for another episode of Jenny’s Everything’s Famtastic!!! Just to help you imagine that better, that should be announced in goofy, game-show-host voice. 😉

This week has been crazy busy between still getting our school routine down pat and juggling everybody’s extracurricular activities. I am sure I have mentioned before that German school times tend not be the same each day of the week. Mondays til 11.15? Sure! And Tuesdays? Nah, let’s schedule ‘em til 1.00!. *rolls eyes*

And not forgetting, that halfway through the school year everybody gets a whole new timetable and the adjusting and juggling starts all over again. Which of course also impacts on the extracurricular activities start times! Like currently. When I foolishly thought music lessons would always and forever be on Thursday afternoon. Apparently I am just some naïve, clueless foreigner…

Can you tell I sound a little frazzled?!?

But I’m not here today to rant about the German school system, believe it or not, LOL. No, in a convoluted way, I wanted to write about trying to reduce waste in our household. A few weeks back I talked about upcycling fabrics for sewing projects. And in a couple of weeks I will be sharing some helpful tips from my friend who is well along the path to living plastic-free. I am REALLY looking forward to her insights. Watch this space!!

I myself, still have a looooong way to go on that track. But I am aware that every person should be trying to do a little more to reduce waste in this world. Me included, of course! This week, one small event reactivated my thinking about reusing a simple household item.

“Surely you don’t mean….?” you ask.

**drumroll please**

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