Lunch Lady Magazine Issue 29

brave & able I’m so proud to have created a beautiful learning tool that is genuinely supporting both neurotypical and neurodiverse children and their families to improve their overall wellbeing. We know that slow, deep breathing has the ability to reduce anxiety, increase confidence and memory, and even grow new brain cells, and with Beyond Blue reporting that one in seven Australian children experience mental health issues, I’m proud to be able to contribute to tackling this challenge in a small way. The positive feedback and real-life stories that I’m receiving from families are so motivating and rewarding. Zara McDonald Founder days & daze We make great Australian Pét Nat, Rosé, Shiraz and Pinot Gris ... so far. We are here to make thoughtful and delicious wines approachable for everyone (over 18, of course).…

anisa maclean writing 160-161 anna jones recipes 108-117 beci orpin craft 042-047, 127, 128 edith young photograph 122 issy croker photographs 103-117 jacinta moore photographs + styling 010, 042-047, 127, 128 josh robenstone photograph 141-146 kindah khalidy photography, patterns + art 123-126, 130-136 lorelei vashti writing 154-158 mandy nolan writing 152-153 misty adoniou writing 082-089 nicole lutze writing 050-058, 064-069, 092-099, 102-107, 124-125 patti andrews recipes, styling + photographs 064-077 prue aja photographs 092, 096 sakuya higuchi illustrations 050, 053, 057, 083, 086, 089 sam drummond writing 140-147 shay + fran @imagenfotografi photographs, art direction + styling 028-039 + cover kirli saunders cultural consultant 108-117 : Excerpt from One Pot, Pan, Planet by Anna Jones. Published by 4th Estate, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, 2021. Photographed by Issy Croker. 140-147 : Excerpt from We've Got This: Stories by Disabled Parents. Edited by Eliza Hull. Published by Black Inc Books (Copyright 2022). + special thanks meredith forrester michael critchley tess :) Acknowledgement of Country. Lunch Lady acknowledges the Aboriginal and…

Hi, Shay and Fran–tell us about yourselves! Fran: I’m twenty-seven and Shay is twenty-nine. We had our first kid when I was turning seventeen and she was eighteen. We were pretty much children when we met. But as soon as we had our first child, we moved from Virginia to Tennessee, and everything changed. Shay: Having kids forced us to become adults while still trying to figure ourselves out as human beings. Fran: We never had parents who taught us anything. Shay: My mother ran away when I was three. My dad’s an alcoholic and my grandmother adopted me. Mothering was something brand new to me. I had never seen or had a genuine love with a mother besides my grandmother. Just being a mum was difficult—learning to love a human who’s yours while…

To start you will need: wooden blocks* sandpaper, if required pencil acrylic paint paintbrushes eraser wood varnish Step 1. Use sandpaper to smooth off the blocks or to remove any existing varnish, if necessary. If the blocks and varnish are quite old you may be able to paint over it, if you don’t mind an already worn-in look. Step 2. Pencil out your ideas—draw the rough shapes of your blocks and have a play with different patterns and faces within the shapes. Think about colours and have a play around with the paints you have chosen. *Wooden blocks can be recycled or offcut pieces (try your local hardware store) or you could buy a new or old set of children’s wooden blocks (preferably natural wood, not painted). These blocks were found on an online marketplace. If you are handy with a jig…

Tell us about yourself. I started working as an early-childhood educator in the early ’90s, and within a decade, it was clear to me that kids didn’t seem very resilient. And not long into my career, I had some changes in my personal life that got me thinking a lot about the power of positivity. My nephew, Mitchell, was born in 1994, and his mum passed away when he was about five-and-a-half years old. My brother fell apart, so my husband and I helped pick up that situation and started caring for Mitchell. We learnt a lot about how optimism can help a family navigate tough times, and I’ve also been involved with Camp Quality since about the age of sixteen. Camp Quality is for children with cancer. I’ve learnt a lot…

Tell us about yourself. I’m the Creative Director at Future Women—a business supporting Australian women to connect, learn and lead. Recently, we’ve been working hard to help women get back into the workforce after the pandemic. A rewarding project I worked on for them recently was the artwork for a podcast they made called There’s No Place Like Home. It talks about family violence from the victim-survivor perspective, which is very heavy but rewarding. In my spare time, I work freelance illustrating, creating branding and running an Instagram account called Pizza Night, where I share recipes and things about our family and adventures. I started Pizza Night because I needed a creative outlet when I was off work after having kids. The recipes focus on whole-food cooking that isn’t daunting. There are…