June 6th - From below

 

This beautiful hibiscus flower is on one of the trees up the side of the house, above the chook pen.  I had planned on taking some photos of the chooks from down low, but didn't realise how hard that would be to execute.  After unsuccessfully getting low enough to the ground  to get an "up" photo of Henny, whilst avoiding the chook poo, I gave up and went searching for pretties instead.  We have a very tropical garden with the only flowers around being these hibiscus and frangipanis.  When time and money permits, I'm actually planning on filling in all the empty pocket in the garden with colourful flowers.  Maybe then we won't have to raid the next door neighbours for fresh flowers for the table!

June 5th - From above

~~From above~~

It wasn't until the end of the afternoon that I remembered about today's photo for the challenge.  In between cooking a roast, as Duane's parents were coming over for dinner, and making all the snacks for the week, I grabbed Grace and we went outside for a quick photo shoot.  It's not very imaginative and certainly didn't involve any circus tricks to get high angles as requested, but it's technically from above.

Miss Grace is so easy to photograph (not like my other child who is a camera hater!) and so it didn't take long to snap a few photos from above.  I've also put 2 more of my favourites from the shoot in.

Whilst I'm here and I've got my beautiful daughters picture as inspiration, I thought I might give a quick update on Grace.  She is amazing and an absolute sweetheart and such a pleasure to mother.  She is loving school and we still haven't had a day where she's even hinted that she doesn't want to go.  She told me tonight that Kyran (who is one of the boys she's thinking about marrying - she has options!) kissed her - On.The.Lips.  She giggled and said that she didn't like it, but once questioned about if it really happened - she wasn't quite sure. and when  I asked whether I could ask Kyran about it, she made me promise that I wouldn't.  Man, isn't it to early to be dealing with this?

Apart from kissing boys, she's loving all the fun stuff at school and is busy knitting a scarf for her doll Marabella.  Each child has there own little basket of stationary and she was so excited last week to show me that she had been awarded her own pair of scissors and explained all the safety aspects of being a "scissor" owner.  They have 3 lessons per week of Italian, so she's been teaching us at home some words and songs.  Xav is her model student and is picking up the words easily, always wanting to know more about what she does at school and envious that he can't go too.

I was telling her yesterday how much I love her hair, especially since it's so silky straight and the colour is stunning.  Especially beside my frizzy mop that I can't seem to do anything with at the moment!  She did suggest I take her into the hairdressers and tell them I want my hair exactly the same.  If only it was that easy!

Pottering and the park

Today was a lovely, lazy Saturday - a perfect way to wind down after a very busy week.  I've been crazy busy this week, fitting in appointments all over town and trying to study for these damn exams I have coming up.  I'd decided to take today off school work, which was much needed.  Duane worked this morning, so unfortunately no sleep-ins for me, unless you consider the 6am wake-up that my little cherubs decided was wake time!

We spent the morning pottering around the house in our Pj's, something I relish now that our weekday mornings are so rushed and hurried.  I scrubbed out the oven with some Norwex cloths that I bought at a party-play thingy - I'm so in love with this product, they actually make cleaning fun!  The kids amused them self washing dolls in a plastic tub of water and then making playdough farm animals.

Then this afternoon we met up with the usual gang at the beautiful botanical gardens.  Trude wanted some photos of Jasper, so we spent quite a lot of time chasing the poor kid around poking a camera in his face!  He was the perfect little baby model though, although played very hard to get sometimes - such a quick little boy!
We got some very cute photos (not hard with such a cutie though!)

 

 ~~Cute Miss Lucie~~

June 4th - Green

 

The photo challenge today was of something green.  This beautiful tree, at one of our favourite parks, looked absolutely glorious is the setting afternoon sun.  It's not a perfectly composed shot, but as I can't bear to take of my 50mm lens, there are limitations with how much I can fit in the frame!  

June 3rd - Clouds

Today was a beautiful crisp Gold Coast day - absolutely perfect!  Too perfect in fact, as when I went out this morning to take cloud photo for today's challenge, there wasn't one to be seen anywhere!  Just a light blue sky.  It wasn't until this afternoon when I ventured out from under a stack of textbooks, that I saw the clouds starting to hover.  It was still a perfect afternoon, but a scattering of wisps clouds scattered around gave me some material.

The photo below is the view looking out from the side of our house, into the Hinterland and beautiful Mt Tamborine

And as I couldn't decide which photo, here is another.  Of a dying tree that's over our back fence.  I love how by changing the photo to black and white, it completely changes the feel of the sky - all stormy and broody.

# 2 - What you wore today.

Today was a rarity for me.  I had no kids and no appointments to attend, so it was a day to stay home and study.  I only had to go out in the morning for school and pre-school drop off, something I could easily get away with in a t-shirt, jeans and my beloved birks.  These birks are the most comfortable shoes that my feet have had the pleasure of touching - little bits of heaven!  I know some say birks are ugly and old lady shoes - but I say try before you bag!  Isn't that right Miss Beck?  Funny that after the right royal bagging I got at a Mothers group dinner about the "ugly plank" shoes - most of the culprits went and ordered there own!  Ha! 

Anyway, so this was part of what I wore today whilst sitting outside in the winter sun, trying to understand the theory behind Pharmacokinetics  - really, really interesting.

1st June Photo Challenge - Self Portrait

The first day of the challenge is a self portrait.  I'm normally the one behind the lens, so it is a little out of my comfort zone to be on the other side.  I only had a few minutes this morning before leaving for the day, so I had a play working out settings, then gave the camera to Xav and said "shoot away".   So this is me - straight out of the shower (well, after getting dressed!).  Me in all my "bags under the eyes, uneven skin tone, dry lips and in the middle of a cold" glory!  I've never really been interested in make-up, but as I get older I'm thinking I might take it up!

30 day Photography Challenge

I on a blog stealing splurge at the moment!  All the cool kids are doing this, and I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon too - it looks like fun!  I probably don't have the time to be doing this, although it does appeal to my procrastinating side right now!

12th January

The rain was still bucketing down last night and today, which meant that the bridge to Duane's work went under water - Yay!  Daddy has the day off!!!

We spent the morning at Robina mall, escaping the rain and buying the last few school supplies for Grace (Eeek - only 3 and a bit weeks to go!)  Whilst we were there I ran into a playgroup Mum who is an optometrist, and she just happened to also have an opening within the hour.  I'd been wanting to get Grace's eyes tested before school, so this was a perfect opportunity.

Grace has a few friends now that have glasses, so she was actually hoping that she could get some too.  She was a bit shy with Kate at first, but did all the tests wonderfully (Kate even commented that she was doing things that most 5 y/o's can't normally do).  She is mostly fine, but is a bit long-sighted (like me), but it could just be something that she grows out of or she will need glasses for in the future.  We are just going to keep an eye on her, watching our for eye strain headaches or bringing things very close to read, then reassess.

We made it home in just in time for Malia to come over for a play.  Chelsea and Noah were off to get a haircut, and my 2 love playing with Malia, so it made sense to drop her over.  The kids played dress-ups, games, chased each other, played in the sand and pretty much went from room to room wreaking havoc!  Here they are having a picnic and watching "The great lawnmower race", with the only participant being Duane.  

Another sleeping child photo, but I just adore blissed out sleepy photos of my kids.  Xav doesn't generally sleep during the day, but if he is really tired he will just lay on the lounge room floor and have a nap.  The thing I love most about this photo, are his little fingernails full of boy-dirt.  The thing I dislike the most, is the lack of toddler chubb - he's thinning out and growing up way too fast.

11th January

Cassie came over for a play date today.  She doesn't start school until next week, so Jen needed somewhere for her to hang out whilst she worked.  The 3 kids played well together, leaving me to watch the flood disaster unfold on a Tv in the bedroom.  I was so drawn to watching it, and although I didn't let the kids see anything - I spent nearly all day glued to the screen. 

It's always fine by me to have Cass, she's such a wonderful friend to both Grace and Xav.  Grace and Cass are born a day apart and have known each other since they were a few months old.  They have very similar personalities, and were always drawn to each other when we met for Mothers Group.  As they have grown, their friendship has blossomed beautifully.  They both went to the same pre-school together, which was the security blanket they both needed as they gained confidence.  They have spent lots of time with each other over the last 5 years - playgroup, dancing, mothers group, camping, picnics and playing.  I doubt there has been a few days passed that they haven't seen each other.  Grace is sad that they are not going to the same school now, but she knows that we will still catch up.

Cass and Xav have a special relationship too, just like he does with all Grace's friends.  They all seem to accept him as one of the group, the only 3 y/o always hanging out and getting birthday invites from the 5 y.o girls.  Xav loves Cass, and is tossing up whether to marry her, Leah or Saraiyah. 

I hope that they all can continue their beautiful friendships for a long time yet, even with all the changes about to happen, and different friends that will be made.



10th January

This has been the colour of our skies for the last month or so.  We are the lucky ones though, rain that's drained away fine is nothing compared to what's happening to 75% of the state - with more to come.

The photos above are taken from our back yard, looking back to Mt Tamborine.  It is normally blocked by an extra tall money tree and palm fronds, however my husband decided to hack it all down on the weekend.  I quite enjoyed the shade the foliage brought, he apparently likes the view.  I suggested that the view, although nice, was predominately house roof tops.  He replied with "You just don't get it"  I still don't.

I'm guessing it was just to back up his argument, but my darling husband apparently enjoys watching the view whilst sitting out under the patio enjoying an afternoon beer shandy. 

He loves quiche too.

9th January

Today was a lazy day at home, mostly pottering around the garden.  Duane used the fairly clear weather to mow the long lawn, something that we haven't been able to do for a while with all the rain.  We then did some weeding and cleared out all the dead palms in the front yard.  In the front garden, nestled under some lomandra plants the kids and I came across these unusually shaped mushrooms.  Xavier thought they looked like little flowers and Grace was just excited that there might be a fairy family living underneath.

The kids decided to have a "frond" fight, using the dead palm fronds that were piled up on the lawn.

First, you shake hands with your opponent.

Then you pretty much just whack each other. 

Which, apparently is a lot of fun, according to my 2.

After lunch and a midday nap for Duane and Xavier, the rest of the day was spent playing games and trains inside, as the rain (once again) came down outside.

The heavy downpour meant the sandpit was like a make-shift pool, perfect for an afternoon splash!



8th January

A very busy day today, with barely a rest in between exciting adventures!

The morning started off with adding our new worms to the worm farm.  A lot of our worms died off last summer in the heat, so this year we have put them in more shade and will keep an extra eye on them.  The kids love playing in the worm farm, naming them all and working out who is the "Mum" worm and then finding babies for her.

Next up, was our first family walk/ride leaving from our house.  The kids have been nagging to take their bikes for a ride from our house ever since they got them.  Now, considering we live on a hill, it's not the easiest of things to be doing.  We decided to give it a go, and take the dogs, cause we like the challenge!  The kids walked their bikes up the hill, and we had a few wobbly incidences when they got speed up going  down the hill, but for the most part they were perfect and loved it.  We went for about an hour, and we all came home covered in sweat.

We came home, had a shower and then headed of the the next activity.  I met up with some of my friends and their kids, and we took them all to see Tangled, the Rapunzel movie.  The 5 kids were lined up in their seats, my kids enjoying their home-cooked popcorn (to avoid both the crap in movie popcorn and the $$).  They were all wonderful and barely took their eyes of the screen for a second.  Xav was getting a bit tired towards the end and asked a few times when it would be over.  It was a really good movie though, plenty of excitement for the kids, yet still entertaining for the parents.

Then tonight, the kids were exhausted and in bed at 6pm, so Duane and I decided to call up our babysitter (the wonderful Mil) and see if she'd come watch them.  Lucky us then got to double date (and crash their anniversary date!) with The Dews.  We headed to Anand Sagar first, which is our absolute favourite Indian restaurant, then we had a little hiccup before heading to see the new Fockers movie.  The hiccup was that we had Duane's parents car (Wendy didn't want to leave it out the front of our house, so said we should take it), and when we parked for Indian, Duane decided to put the steering lock on.  So, then when we tried to leave, we couldn't get it off.  Anyway, after a very funny and frustrating half hour it was finally worked out that we were using the wrong key and then it came off.  All the non-drivers had enjoyed a few beverages over dinner and so some smart alec comments were being made, which combined with the a frustrated "driver" made him mention some "F" words, something that very rarely comes out of my husbands mouth.  This just made us laugh and giggle even more.

All was good though, we made it to the movie with plenty of time to spare.  Could have quite easily missed it though, it certainly wasn't anything to rave about.  I think all the laughs had been used up in the first movie.  It was still a good night out with great friends though!

I just want to end on this photo I took of Xav today.  I was trying very hard to get his profile in focus, but being the non-cooperative child that he his, wouldn't stand still. I really love it though, not because of anything technically "correct", just because it captures his sweet little profile.  Ski-jump nose, lovely lashes and he has yet to loose his toddler cheeks.  But, the thing I love the most is his little half-smile/smirk - it's just so him.

7th January

Today was another stay at home day.  The weather has been terrible, and normally my kids go crazy being cooped up for so long, but they are having so much fun!  I'm on an organising bender, so I'm happy to potter about.  The kids are just happy to play with all their new Christmas stuff and are being ridiculously well behaved with each other - I'm hoping that keeps up!  They've always played well together, but nothing like now.  Sometimes, I barely interact with them for hours.  Ok, I know that kinda sounds neglectful, but what I mean is they are so engrossed with each other and their games - I'm left out.  I'm just the one they come to with that wonderfully whiny voice saying "I'm hungry, what can we eat"  But after loading them up with picnic plates for their latest camping/birthday party/sleepover game, I'm redundant again.  Suits me though, means I'm getting lots of organising done and catching up on whatever I want. 

It's kind of sad now though, knowing that this incredible little twosome is about to be split 5 days a week. 

This afternoon the kids and Duane had a hair appointment, mainly to de-shag Xav and Duane and just to give Grace a "heading to school" trim up.  Man, I can't believe how much the boys have to get their hair cut, they  easily spend more money/time getting their locks tidied than Grace and I.  Xav's hair seems to grow in time with the grass, and with all the rain we've had lately both are growing rapidly!

It's a fight between the kids who gets to go first.  Xav absolutely loves someone playing with his hair, it sends him into a trance and he nearly falls asleep.  I usually place myself within catching distance, as there have been a few time's he's nodded off and slipped.   Back when he had his first hair cut, I was all for keeping "length" and his curls, but now I just tell her to go short as she can without looking prison-like. 

Gracie on the other hand, has only had 3 haircuts in her life.  It's something she's a but bummed about, being the girly-girl that she is, getting your "hair done" is a necessity.  She just had a little trim, getting rid of the fine, wispy ends.  Grace has the most gorgeous coloured hair, it's the exact colour I'd love my hair if I could be bothered keeping up with the maintenance of dyeing.

 

Our hairdressers cat had kittens 5 weeks ago, which could quite possible be some of the cutest things I've ever seen.  Xav took a real liking to one little kitten, and judging by the way he sat with Xav the whole time, the feeling was mutual! I don't think the kids have patted or played with little kittens before, so there was lots of begging and pleading to take 1 home.  Duane's not a cat person at all, so that is never going to happen.  We do have chickens and dogs, so I guess he has a point.

Speaking of chickens.  Ours have been very sporadic with their laying over the last week or so.  Last Monday I spent the morning pacing up and down out side the laying boxes, waiting for another 2  eggs to add to the pavlova I was making.  Not one came through with the goods.  Then today, we saw a random egg up the side of the chook-house.  After closer inspection, we stumbled across a muddy pile of stashed eggs - 19 all up!   Damn chooks had found a preferable place to lay.   On the upside, I've got a ton of eggs to make yummy omeletes and maybe even a big pavlova!

And, just another cute photo to end on.  Xav has become a big lover of mango sorbet.  I bought a tub the other day, but he couldn't eat any as it stung his mouth.  So now he is catching up on all the sorbet he missed out on!  Lucky the tubs only small and won't be replaced for a while.

6th January

Thursday's are fun days!  It's the day that Duane gets to come home from work still in the morning time - 11am!  It's probably not that fun a day for him, considering he's left the house at 4am and probably would prefer to come home and rest.  Sometimes we do this, or we make the most of family time and head out.  Today, with Xav still suspiciously contagious after his mouth ulcer incident, we stayed home!

Thursday's are also fantastic as it's the day we pick up our wonderful fruit and vegetable box from Food connect.  The kids and I always have a fabulous time unpacking this weeks produce, of course taste testing a bit on the way is mandatory!  We chat about what each fruit/vegie is and how we use it.  There's always something unusual in the box that requires a little extra researching, but it's great for the kids to be introduced to such variety.  They were a bit upset that this week there were no apples, but that took us on to the topic of "seasonal" produce and how some things don't grow in certain weather.  We always get a newsletter in our box, all about the different farms that the produce come from and any problems they've had this week.  This week the farmers were all badly affected by the torrential rain and flooding we have had around this area.  A lot of crops were damaged, with produce not fairing very well at all.  Some of ours stuff had a bit of water damage, but nothing bad - plus, it's nice to know that the farmers are still getting paid for their crops.  Unlike the hoops the farmers have to jump through for the major supermarkets to take slightly blemished stock. 

Anyway, as were were unpacking the corn a little caterpillar crawled out from inside.  Grace and Xav were over the moon and immediately set up a plastic container house for their new pet, which they had lovingly named "Marco."  I've got absolutely no idea where that came from.

So Marco spent a few hours being traumatised cared for, by 2 eager little pre-schoolers.  He was fed blades of grass and they got some leaves to make a toilet and kitchen in his house.  Xav told us all about caterpillars turning into cock-oons (that sounded slightly hilarious!), then turning into butterfly's, and he was eager to get the show on the road.  So, Marco was set free in the fairy garden, where he crawled off into the basil bush, under watchful little eyes who were expecting something more exciting to happen.  After barely saying his goodbyes, Xav started screaming that "He didn't turn into a cock-oon, why didn't he Mum"  The child was mightily annoyed that he didn't get to witness the dramatic transformation immediately!  Lots of discussions later and he settled, and was happy that it would happen eventually - just not whilst we were watching!

 

It was a rainy old day, the only kind we have here at the moment, so perfect for a movie and rest.  Both kids fell asleep on the lounge room floor, cuddled up under Grace's blanket.  Gosh, my kids are so adorable xx

*I just want to point out that yes my kids do have clothes!  It's just we have had a few "home" days over the last week, mainly because Xav may have been contagious, but also because we haven't been able to have "Pj" days for ages - so I'm getting out quota in! 

**Also, how cute is Xav's singlet!  It's one he tye-dyed himself at pre-school!  Yay for Hippy schooling!

4th January

~~Summery, water fun!~~

Today was a lazy day at home, except with an extra little person joining us.  Jasper was hanging out with us for the day, however he wasn't his usual cruisy self.  Trude said when she dropped him off that he had a bit of nappy rash, I then checked his hands and feet (as I had my suspicions about a rash on Ruby the night before) and was 99% sure that he had hand, foot and mouth.  His little hands and feet were beginning to develop the tell tale blisters.  I figured my kids had already been exposed over the last week (it's mostly contagious before the blisters appear) so didn't mind looking after him still.  Trude had insisted that I call her if he was too upset and she'd take the day off, but I remembered from Xav's first day of having the spots that he'd slept a fair bit so was hoping Jasper would do the same.  He did end up sleeping for a good while, but the times he was up were a little "challenging".  He constantly wanted to be on my hip, and if he wasn't he was very grizzly.  He also struggled to eat anything, which is understandable considering he would of had a mouth full of ulcers, but enjoyed some ice and banana smoothies that we made. 

My kids were fantastic and helped out so much with Jasper.  They spent the whole day playing together and not getting up to too much mischief.  There was a fair bit of body painting happening though when they were left unsupervised with the paints whilst I was attending to a sad little baby.  After the main heat of the day had left, I set up their outdoor sink and lots of water fun was had.  There was also sprinkler play as well as a hose/dish washing liquid set-up on the slide, which proved to be a hit although it did turn the grass at the bottom into a giant mud puddle!

5th January

Today was spent comforting a sick little boy who has a mouthful of ulcers.  We all had a horrible night last night as Xav spent the majority of it miserable, crying and writhing around in frustration at the pain in his mouth.  I was woken at 5.30am to the sounds of him vomiting, and lucky there was a towel in close reach otherwise I would have been wearing it.  I'm hoping that the ulcers are the extent of the illness and it doesn't develop into hand, foot and mouth that is being currently shared around our group of friends.  Xav had it about 18 months ago, and I was under the impression that you normally only got it the once, but google has since told me otherwise.

Grace and I have been playing nurse all day, whilst Xav has layed on the couch alternating between watching play school and napping.  He's managed to fit in a few bowls of jelly and custard, (nutritional no?) but was rather peeved when his favourite mango sorbet irritated his mouth and so he couldn't eat it.  Grace has been refreshing a cold washer for his head, making sure he is drinking lots of water and playing with Xav's hair, on his request.

Grace has spent the day amusing herself whilst I did all the washing (nothing better than getting all your washing done, dried and put away on the same day) cleaned out our room, finished organising the study and a general clean up.  She does have a slight obsession with board games at the moment, so the day was scattered with games of trouble and guess who.  We also made a beautiful crusty loaf of bread to accompany the mostly organic roast pumpkin soup we made for dinner.  It was beautiful, and the bread was even more delicious as it was topped with butter that the kids and I made yesterday - Yum!

Xav perked up towards the end of the day, even venturing outside for a play.  His appetite never really returned though, but he was happy to suck on ice so must be on the mend.  Tomorrow will be another quiet day at home, which I am actually really enjoying.

~~The ulcer on one side of Xav's tongue and another under his top lip~~

1st January

I've decided to give the "January Photo a Day " challenge a go for the 3rd year.  Photos's won't always be great quality as I'll be taking them with whatever camera I have on hand, but I'm aiming for a pictorial story of January 2011.

First up....



Grace playing with part of the Christmas nativity scene and some of her own little dolls.  The yellow one is her "Star Child" that her pre-school teacher made and gave to her for her 5th birthday, and the orange and blue angels are ones the kids made at their Christmas party.  Grace spent ages making up little stories for all the dolls with, of course, the baby in the manger being the main attraction. 

Watching and listening to her imagination at work is beautiful. 

Pictorial update

I've got a bunch of photo's to add, so this post is going to be very image heavy!

A few weeks ago we went along to the local councils Big Machinery day. I wasn't expecting anything too fantastic, but figured the kids would get a kick out of seeing all the equipment. Well, I was completely blown away by how well it was organised and how much fun we had! All the machinery was on display and kids were encouraged to hop in, climb around and blow the horns as often and as loud as they wanted! There were 4 wheelers, tractors, dump trucks, cement mixers and excavators - my children were in heaven. The council boat was even set up, and taking kids for a quick trip up the river. We will definintely be marking the date on next years calender, fantastic AND free!

~~What better way to end the day - Ice-cream!~~

On the 30th May was Wendy's birthday, so the kids and I spend the afternoon baking her a very special birthday cake. It was a banana, honey and walnut loaf and it was absolutely delicious.

~~spitting blowing the candles out~~

I've been inspired by fellow blogger Penny to dedicate 1 night a week to an extra special dinner. Our night is going to be Saturday night and our tradition was started last weekend. We debuted with a cross between sukiyaki and Chinese steamboat, and it was a huge hit. As a family we busily prepared the stock and then the kids helped chop up the meat and vegetables. The stock was made up of ginger, garlic, soy, spring onion and shitake mushrooms. Once it had been cooking for an hour or so, we transferred it to the table and onto our gas camper cooker so it would keep boiling. We each had a little wire basket and filled it with vegetables and either thinly sliced meat, chicken or salmon. The basket then goes into the boiling stock for a minute or so until it's cooked and then gobbled up. Hokkien noodles were also cooked in the stock, and were the kids favourite. It was so yummy and so much fun to do, so it'll definitely be on the menu again soon!