Outside art

We have been trying to detox from the tv in our house lately.  While I was not feeling well, the little people became a little to accustomed to getting to have it on when ever they wanted which was pretty regularly.

The weather here in Perth is absolutely fantastic now.  Though I love summer, I was very ready for the cooler days and nights to arrive.  Autumn and Spring are my favourite times of year in Perth.  The sky is crystal clear and you want to be outside basking in it's glory whenever possible.   This kind of weather really helps with the cutting down on tv.

To encourage more creative outside time I have once again been cruising around pinterest and the web looking for projects we can make and do together.  That is when I came across this sidewalk paint.

I just love it!!!!  

It is amazingly simple to make!

1 cup corn starch (or corn flour here in Oz)

1 cup water

food colouring

It entertained the little people for a LONG time, encouraging their creativity.

It comes off the sidewalk/patio so easily, ours washed out in the rain but easy washes away with the hose.  (I don't make any promises about it coming out of clothes as the food colouring may stain.)

It is so cheap to make, contains things I always have around the kitchen, and it is non-toxic so no worries about it going in their months (which is always a concern around our home.)

 This is definitely a keeper around our house!!  Go make some up today and let the little people get a little messy :)

DIY Pallet Herb Garden

Now that I am feeling much better, we are trying to tick a few things off our to-do list.  One such thing is revamping our back patio/garden area.  I have been combing the web for a while now looking for inspirational and affordable ideas we could adapt to our outside space.   I saw beautiful outdoor areas, but most are not at all feasible for our space or our budget.

It was recently on one of our trips down to my favourite markets in Fremantle I came across an herb garden I loved and wanted to recreate for our back patio.

Ed and I both love to recycle materials, and the more 'free' things we can use the better, so this was the perfect project for us.

Gathering things you need:
-1-2 pallets (while we only used one for the herb garden I did use several boards off the second pallet to make the shelves for the herbs to sit in) Lots of businesses give these away (if you are in Australia there are always some available on gumtree)
-If you have it an a electric drill and saw would be handy (we luckily have an amazing neighbour that is stocked with handy tools and allows us to borrow them)  but if you dont have these a hand saw and hammer would work, you just might need a little more muscle behind it.
-Nails or screws
-We used burlap (of hessian) sacks to hold the herbs
-dirt mixture
-herbs of your choice


-We decided not to hang our pallet as the one we were given was HUGE and super heavy, instead we stood it up and leaned it against the wall.

- I used a crow bar to pry 2 more planks off the second pallet so that the shelves would match the rustic weathered look of the other pallet.

- measure and cut the planks to fit the cross pieces of the pallet.

-Screw these in slightly higher than the lower shelf to form more of a box

-Cut the hessian/burlap bags in half.  The bottom should be ready to hold the dirt and herbs, I used a stapler and folded the other side up a couple times and stapled it to make the top section into a bag to hold each of the herbs.

-Roll the bags down and fit them to your shelves, then fill each bag with dirt and slow release fertiliser.

-We chose a mixture of herbs that I use regularly and also a couple strawberry plants as these tend to grow well in planters here.

and. . . .

Waa Laa

A beautiful herb garden that is cheap to recreate, doesn't take up much space and gives you that rustic recycled look that is popular right now.  This could even be used for apartment goers who don't have any green space of their own to have a great way to grow a few things.

Hope you enjoy.  Go create something beautiful.

Resurrecting the blog

It's been a while to say the least.  The long and short of it is to say that during my first trimester when I was feeling so terrible, it was all I could do to get the basics done around the house and be there for the kids.  Now that things are doing better, and I am feeling more like myself again and able to get things done, I have a laundry list of to-do's that seem to take precedent over blogging.

But I am back, with the hope and desire to be a bit more regular.

First things first:

We are now 16 weeks along with our little beanie baby (as Tilly refers to it.)

We met with our doctor this week about our 12 week scans and so far everything is looking just as it should be.  The heartbeat is strong and and my blood work came back great.  

Seeing these scans bring a smile to my face every time.  It is so amazing how much happens so fast and how amazing God's creation is.  Tilly loved getting to go to this appointment and seeing how much the baby has grown and developed.  

The bump is starting to show but I haven't taken a picture of that yet :)  

I think this round we will wait to the little bub is born to find out what we are having.  I know with both Tils and Nate what they were going to be and loved knowing, but figured since we have both already, and this is all likelihood is our last, it would be fun to wait.  

So did you wait to find our what you were having, or did you find out early?  

Regrouping

Despite the overwhelming tiredness from being at camp all weekend, I am definitely feeling better in the pregnancy department.  

There are still times of nausea, and fatigue, but I at least feel like I can get up off the couch and get a few thing done around the house and with the little people.  

It's time to regroup.  

Today's focus is detoxing the kiddos from the tv, that has become to central a figure in their lives over the last few weeks, when mom wasn't willing/able to do little more that take up space.   I'm sure there will still be moments of cartoons and tv watching for the kiddos, but I am definitely wanting to cut back on the amount.  

They were allowed to watch a Dora this morning as they woke up, then the tv was turned off for the day.    

It's been a nice peaceful morning, with thankfully little whining.  

After Tilly's school time this morning, they formed the family band and have been taking turns playing the trumpet, recorder, tambourine, and drums (did I say peaceful earlier ;) They have been playing together and enjoying the down time after the craziness of camp.   They have been outside enjoying the much needed cooler weather.  They are using their brains instead of zoning out in front of the box, it's nice to see!!  

What are your strategies for keeping the tv off? 

Learning to let go. . . .

I am not a good sick person.  There I have said it.  I have said this to my husband for the past 4 weeks as well.

I get emotional and weepy when I'm sick.  It's pretty pitiful.



Many of you know we are expecting our third little bundle of joy.  Soon after hearing this GREAT news, the all day nausea and extreme (I feel like I have been tranquillised) exhaustion came on, stealing of bit of the joy I was feeling.  Don't get me wrong, I couldn't be more excited we are having another little one, but at the moment it's all I can do to get through each day.

With my other two pregnancies it was smooth sailing, a small bit of nausea in the morning, maybe a bit more tired that usual, but nothing like this.  It came on early and strong.

These last few weeks have been a humbling experience for me.  I am not a person who asks for help easily, I am a goer, a doer, active and involved.

At not even 5 weeks I was overcome with all day nausea, the kind where you know you need to eat but nothing at all sounds even the bit appetising.   Saltine crackers and rice cakes became my best friends.  This might have been manageable on it's own, but that combined with the extreme exhaustion was too much.

I was feeling so sick and so tired that even walking from the bed to the couch left me feeling terrible.

Luckily I had a wonderful sister and friends who stepped up to help.  They arranged several meals a week for us, have offered to help with the little people, and who have offered words of prayers and encouragement.  It has been so wonderful having meals during the week and not having to worry about finding the energy to get up and make them.

I sought some advice from a friend who I knew had been very sick during her pregnancy and she offered such words of encouragement.

1. This is only for a season.  I think so many time in life when we are struggling with whatever it may be, spiritual needs, physical ailments, etc that we try to maintain a certain standard for ourselves and when we can't do it all when get upset.  It's time to remember that it's only for a season.  We may have to lower our expectations of ourselves, let things go that we normally wouldn't.  Let the kids watch a movie when normally we wouldn't have the tv on, let others serve and support us.  Sometimes we have to kick it into survival mode and live through the season.

2.  Let go of the guilt.  This was a big one for me!!  Guilt in having others have to do things for me, guilt in not being as active and involved a parent as I normally am, guilt at having Ed having to pick up all the slack.  I have to let go of that.  I need to remember that this is where I am right now and it's but for a season, that this gives others a chance to love and serve, and that the little people are more resilient than I give them credit for.


There is beginning to be a light at the end of this dark tunnel.  I am feeling a bit better most days now and able to get up and do a bit more.  I couldn't have done it without all the meals and help and especially without Ed.

He has been so patient and amazing.  He's been understanding when I break down into tears 3 or 4 times a day.  Encouraged me to rest as much as possible, taken over breakfast duty which is typically when I'm feeling the worst.  He's taken over more of the household duties as well as doing all his work as well.  I couldn't ask for a better partner and encourager through all of this.

Asking for help doesn't come easily for me, which is why it was so wonderful when I was surprised by my sister organizing meals for us.  I can't even begin to express the gratitude I've felt for all of them either, it has made such a huge difference for us.  It makes me realise all the more how these small things can mean so much to someone.

So I encourage you,  look for someone around you who could use a little help and give it, it probably won't take a whole lot of energy for you but will make a huge difference for them.

Milestones

Today we celebrated another milestone as a family.  Eddie and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary.

It wasn't our most exciting anniversary ever, because of the little bean, I have been sick and totally exhausted all day every day, and he came down with a cold yesterday.

Despite those things we still had a nice evening out.  Thanks to our wonderful friends and neighbors who volunteered to keep our little people we had some time to ourselves.  We went to our favourite Thai place for some take a way and just caught the sunset over the ocean.  We had a nice, peaceful dinner watching the waves crash in and feeling the nice ocean breeze.  Then we headed off to San Churros for a wonderfully delicious chocolate milkshake even though I could only take a few sips.

I am constantly reminded at how blessed I am.  I am married to an amazing, supportive, encouraging man, who seeks to love me as God intended. 

 It has been an amazing nine years, filled with:  travel, a move across the world, two beautiful children and one on the way, lots of ups and downs and exciting times.  

It makes it all go so much smoother when you are married to your best friend.  

I remember in one of our first serious conversations that we had we both stated how we wanted to dedicate our lives to serving the Lord, little did we know then that we would be doing this but as a team together.  

I don't think either of us would have anticipated the changes and adventures that we have undergone together these last nine years, but it has all been worth the craziness.  

I love him more and more each year and thank God every day for the blessing he is in my life.  I am definitely blessed beyond measure.  

Last night as we were heading home early, I told Ed that one of the ways that I feel so blessed, is that not only do I love spending alone time with him, but I love being together as a family.  Not only has Ed given me 9 wonderful years but also two pretty amazing little people as well and he is one pretty great DAD!!

Family Poem

As this year begins we have a new little family poem to share:

One, Two, I love you

My Best Friend!!!  I can't imagine my life without him

Three, Four two kids that I adore

These two have made my life so wonderful.  They made me laugh every day!! It has been the ultimate blessing watching them grow and develop.

Five, Six  our new babies pics  

That's right our little family is growing once again.  We are so excited and it was such a wonderful relief to get to go and see that little heart beat and know that so far everything was going well.  

We are still early days, only 7 1/2 weeks but since I have been much sicker this round we have told everyone early.  It's hard to hide when you look like death most days :)  

 Matilda is so excited to have a new little one on the way (though as soon as we told her about the baby she informed us that this time she would like a little sister).  She went with us to the ultrasound and now refers to the new little bub and the beanie baby because it's small and round.  We have also started reading her the weekly what you baby looks like now so she can feel more involved with is all.  Nathan is pretty oblivious to it all though for the past several nights he has been praying for "mommy's tummy"  which I think is absolutely adorable.  

Happy Birthday little man!!!

Today, 3rd February, our little man turned 2.  He joined our little family at 4:18 am weighing 8lb 8oz, after a smooth and easy labour (except for the fact that my waters broke at our Wednesday night bible study)--a bit embarrassing.  His debut into the world should have been a sign to us of his nature, because he has been easy going ever since.  

My how these two years have flown by.  He has blessed our home and our lives in so many ways.  

He is full of so much energy and enthusiasm.  

He is so sweet and courteous.  He is always so quick with please, thank-yous, and bless you's, which I would credit to great parenting, but we still have to work with his older sister on those.  

He has such an adorable laugh and can be so silly.  He's rough and tough and often a mess.

He absolutely adores his sisters!! He worries if she is upset, always wants to know where she is,  and wants her for his constant companion. 

I can't imagine our lives without this adorable little man around.  I had always said before we found out that we were having a little boy that it didn't matter what we had, but I am so glad that God blessed us with this little man!!!  He makes me smile from the moment he wakes up asking "Mom, you have good sleep?"   until his "I love you so much" each night. He has been a blessing since day one!!

Happy Birthday my sweet little man.  God has blessed me beyond measure by giving me you.  I look forward to all the adventures, laughs, and birthday to come!!!

Finally Earning Their Keep

It doesn't seem like that long ago that we began our chicken rearing family project.  We thought it would be an interesting experience to adopt 5 little chicks and let the kiddos experience raising them.  

This is where we started.  We adopted 5 tiny week old chicks of all different breeds.  Going in we didn't know if they were going to be males or females (you can't keep roosters in our shire).  We prepared the little people that some of them may have to find a new home.  

The kiddos were wonderful with them.  Helping change their food and water, picking them up daily so they would get use to us.  Tilly picked her favourite very quickly and soon gave her the name "Pretty".  

 It would be at least 8 weeks before we new the gender of our little ones, but low and behold, they all ended up being hens.  (Too bad we didn't buy a lottery ticket that day ;)

They have changed so much and thankfully moved from a crate in our play room out to their designated area in the backyard.  They look so different than the little balls of fluff we adopted a few months ago.  

I find it so peaceful and relaxing watching them over their fence as they peck and scratch around.  We still haven't had our chicken naming party so Pretty is the only one with a name.  We must remedy that soon.  The black one in the picture is the most docile and will follow you around when you are in their pen.  

 The white one below is Pretty and still is Tilly's favourite.  Up until now we have been feeding and caring for them with no fruits to our labour but they peace they bring in watching them.  I love taking our scraps out to the wall and watching them cluck and run over as I toss them down to them.

 It was all work and no reward, that is until the other day. . .  When we discovered our first EGG!!!!! The kids were so excited they each had to have a hold of it.  Since that first day we have had at least 1 if not 2 eggs every day.  It's such a wonderful treat to walk down and find these little treasures in their box.  It gives me such a warm fuzzy feeling eating something where we know exactly where it comes from.  

There were moments when having the chooks has been a pain, like when I was cleaning all the dust out of our spare room when they finally moved out, yet it has been such a great experience for the little people to see them grow and change.  They have loved getting to see where our eggs come from and helping to collect them.  

Any recommendations for chicken names?  

This this week we will put all the names in a box and draw to see how gets named what. 

Windy Walks

One of our favourite things to do as a family is to drive down and take a walk along the coast.  It is absolutely beautiful.  You are surrounded by God's gorgeous creation, beautiful ocean, multiple coffee shops to stop at, playgrounds for the kiddos, and usually a nice breeze. 

Some days the breeze can be a little stronger than normal.

Tilly sporting the windblown look.

Here is Nate mesmerised by the big waves coming in.  We are convinced Nate is going to be a daredevil.  We walked into a bookstore the other day and he went right up to the surfing and skateboarding section and didn't want to leave.  

Nate fixated on the waves.

These are those special, yet simple, moments that mean so much to our family. Sometimes it's easy to let things like this slip in the busyness of life.  We schedule in as much as we possibly can with work, sports, kids commitments, and helping others that days can go by without sitting down and having a proper conversation together.  It can become easy to not take the time to just be together enjoying each others company without other distractions.

It's so good for the little people, and big people too, to get outside, get some of that good ole' Vitamin D that so many people are now deficient in, and let their hair down.  How often do we just sit, or walk around, and just absorb the beauty and majesty of this world God created.

Trying not to get blown away.  

The kids love the ocean, watching the waves crash in, spotting surfers, and being on the lookout for animals.  

Now you know where she gets the crazy hair.

Outings like this leave me feeling refreshed.  I don't know whether it's the nice salty air or just spending those precious moments with my favourite people but it bring my focus back to what's important and gives me that peaceful easy feeling :)

In case her hair isn't hard enough to comb out. 

 It is a great way for the whole family to get out, get some fresh air, and enjoy some exercise.  We try to make it a point to have physical activity together as a family on most days, even if it's just a walk around the neighbourhood.  

Not everyone is blessed to have such an amazing ocean so close by, but there is always some beautiful to see if you just get out there to see it.  Go have so quality time with your people, you won't regret it.

What sorts of things do you and yours like doing together?  

Quiet Time

Who doesn't need a quiet hour or two in the afternoon to get things done?

As my two little people are getting older they are starting to phrase out their nap times.  My youngest, Mr. Nate is still dependent on his afternoon sleep, but Tilly will often complain that she isn't tired and doesn't want to sleep.  I have been very blessed that they lined up their afternoon naps VERY early after Nathan was born, and I have worked hard to keep them on this same schedule.  It is the only time of day until they are asleep at night that we aren't together.

I was discussing this idea of how to keep up that quiet time with my wonderful sister-in-law last time we were home and she shared some great advice that she did with her family.  Every day all three kids would have quiet time.  They could sleep, read books, etc, but they all took this time each day to have some alone quiet time in their rooms to rest, or just relax.  

Another friend shared a similar idea on her blog:  livinglovinglaughingtogether where she discusses her technique of building independent play time with her little people.  You should check out her blog it is filled with great ideas!!

Both of these wonderful women discussed the idea a of having the little people have quiet independent time in their rooms as part of their daily routines.

Even though our weeks tend to be pretty busy, I try my hardest to have the kiddos home for their afternoon rest.  While Nathan usually blacks out as soon as he can (he runs on full steam all day and needs the rest), Tilly takes some coaxing.  I encourage Tilly to sleep, especially on nights where we will be out, but no matter what, she has that quiet alone time in her room.  

She had been up singing to her Tilly doll just 5 minute before I went in.  

This is wonderful for all of us.

She has time to look at books, use her imagination, learn how to play independently, have some space from her brother, and it also gives her time to rest if she feels she needs too.  She has to stay in her bed, but she is allowed to bring up different toys or books to look at.  It took a while to build up time.  She use to come out every few minutes when she wasn't sleeping trying to get up.  She has now learned to stay in her room and enjoy her quiet time.  Even if she doesn't sleep she will usually spend 1-2 hours playing away by herself.

This time in not only good for her, but it also gives me a couple of hours in the afternoon to get a few things done around here, to catch up on my emails, or to simply have a few quiet/uninterrupted moments to sit with a cup of tea.

Now it's time to start working on Nathan's independent play during other parts of the day.

Do you have any parenting tips on teaching independence?  or on keeping the naps alive?  Would love to hear them.

Big decisions. . . .

 In Australia children start "kindy" at 4 years old.  They attend 2-3 days a week, so our little girl would be beginning school this February.  One of the biggest decisions we have been prayerfully considering, basically since her birth, is what to do about schooling. We have been trying to decide whether we were going to send her to school or home school her.  We have gone back and forth, had many discussions with people who homeschool and with others who are opposed to home-schooling, we have looked at multiple curriculums, and above all have prayed a lot.

 This week we have made our decision.  We are going to take this year and home school her.  We aren't making a decision about the rest of her school career, we are going to take one year at a time and keep our minds open.  Neither Ed nor I feel like home schooling is the only way to go, there were big pluses and minuses to all our schooling options.  We have seen children grow and thrive in both public schools and at home and we have seen the opposite as well, we simply feel that this is what is right for our family right now.

I know there will be some ups and downs, it will take some time to get things rolling and organised.  We will make some mistakes, but we are really excited about this new adventure in our household.

Matilda is looking forward to all the things we are going to be learning together.  Our lives are typically crazy busy, filled with family, friends, our work with the church, and most importantly our little people.  We have made it a point to involve our kiddos in our work here, they visit with us, help us prep meals, and come along to anything that goes down with the group, and now we will work together in their learning experience.  

She is as smart as she is beautiful.

I know I will have to be disciplined and organised (2 traits that aren't always my strongest). My  heart tells me this is the right decision for our family.  Why did we decide to home school her?  It gives us a way to tailor her education for her needs and strengths, to build around her interest and work at her speed.  It enables us to bring God into all aspects of her education.

We also want to get involved in the home school community here in Perth.  We've already enrolled her in some classes so that we can meet some of these other families.  She'll be doing Art, Music, and Spanish with them.  We will also be keeping her active in sport.

If you have home schooled before or are doing it now, what tips do you have to keep things running smoothly?  Are there curriculums you have loved?