Nesting

I am nesting (and I am lucky enough to have my husband helping me)  Phew! At this moment I have this intense need for my bedroom to be a peaceful sanctuary of cleanliness and freshness. I imagine fresh white chiffon curtains billowing and the sweet calming scent of lavendar wafting through out.  I close my eyes and I can almost feel the crisp, line-dried-in-the-sun cotton sheets on the bed. Perhaps something like this...

But alas my bedroom is FAR from this!  In all honestly I could never do white, off white, near white or cream in my bedroom because it wouldn't be that way for very long.  Not when you have five kids that use your bed as a tackling arena, sneak in your bed in the middle of the night and are expecting a newborn who will probably spend most of its time in there.  sigh  Oneday maybe but probably not, then there will be grandkiddies

Two-ish or so weeks, maybe more maybe less to go until we meet this sweet and precious blessing.  We wonder what he or she will look like, how he or she will fit into this precious, crazy, noisy, totally awesome family we have.  Sometimes I can't imagine our family being any better than it already is but I KNOW that this wee bundle can only enhance what we have.  For this I am excited and thankful.  No one can ever tell me that babies/children aren't a gift from our Lord, they are true treasures. It makes me sad that not everyone sees them like that but more of a hinderance, costly (in more ways than one) or even a mistake.  So sad!

I am definately not one to want, expect or try to go into labour early.  God has ordained an appointed time for this blessing to be born, my job is to be prepared.  If I am completely honest with you these last few weeks have been hmmmmmm long, tiring, emotional (I am finding it hard to put my feelings into words)  As I said above my NEED for peace and tranquility has sky-rocketed and as you can imagine that is not entirely easy to get when ones entire family is home all day.  Now don't get me wrong I would not have that any other way and I am ever so thankful that Jamie is home with us.  I laugh as I called this post 'Nesting' when in all actual fact I have a list (you know the one - where all the things on it NEED to be done BEFORE you have a baby because you couldn't possible have a baby until everything on it is complete)  So I was saying, I have the list and Jamie has been ticking jobs off it for me.  So in effect he has been nesting for me. Bless him!!

So I am working on getting in to the right head space for this momentous occasion before us, not entirely sure how one does that BUT I am sure I will get into the zone!!  The kids are VERY excited and we all have taken a guess at when this baby will be born and put it on the calendar.  So far the dates range from the 15th Nov and the 28th Nov. (actual due date is 23rd)  Winner may get a cake of chocolate or the like!

So anyway lets take a look at what we have been up to these past few weeks...

 

Have I introduced you to our second latest member of our family,

'Thor'

I really wanted to call him Carlos but was severely out-voted!

 

My mid-morning treat, a cup of De-Caf Coffee with

a splash of cream!

 

Check out this wee Diva! 

 Yes, she is wearing her swimsuit OVER a long sleeve top!

 

And then there was this face,

the 'you-caught-me-playing-with-make up-face' !

 

Creativeness with food.  Not entirely sure what prompted these creations but

I thought they looked cool and kept them entertained for a long while...

 

Co-parenting at its most basic.

Seems as though this chicken decided to keep this 'mama duck' company and help with the

incubation of a dozen or so eggs.

A week tomorrow we should have some ducklings!

 

 

Operation Baby!

Kaitlyn giving her Dad a hand with one of those tasks on MY list!

 

My boys have been looking for ways and means to make money....

here is one, they had picked the last remaining oranges off the tree and tried juicing them...in the kitchen whizz.  Through much trial and error, twas decided it wasn't going to make the cut!

 

Taste - testers!!

 

A pretty 'new' dress was cause for a spot of tea (or milk in this case)



 

Another one of the boys business ventures...

Painted Rocks!

Good for door stops and looking great in the garden!

...and painted blocks of wood!

I have to admit I was highly embarassed that they were doing this but was quickly told by Jamie that they were fine.   Through out their time of business, a number of people stopped by and I think they made a total of $9 !!

Thank you to all the obiliging people!

 



 

and finally the latest member of our family,

'Stella'

A three week old orphan kitten that was found on the side of the road and brought to us.

Three hourly feeding through an eye dropper plus other motherly duties!

Fortunately we have her sleeping through the night now,  thank goodness for that!

 

Oh....someone needs to hide the face paints!

I thought Kaitlyn did a particularly good job of her tiger face, don't you?

 

Sophie...um yeah well...she said she was a wild dog.

Yeah I can see the resemblance!

 

Enjoy your week!!

And I will keep you updated...promise!

 

Books of Substance

One of my pet peeves, is the lack of good quality children's books.  I mean books with substance and depth!  And they are getting really hard to find!   If I am going to read my kids a story be it at bed-time or at any other time during the day then I want it to be engaging and encourage imagination.  I have almost given up taking the kids to the library because if I am not careful I end up bringing home a bag full of books that are mostly rubbish stories, they look at them once (if I am lucky) and that's the end of that and they sit there for 3 weeks until I have to return them. I have found that I need to go by myself and where I can take my time looking at and reading each book and then carefully making my choice before they can come home with me.

I do not like books based on TV characters, as the reader has already been told among other things, what to think of the character.  I know I know you are probably thinking "Gee man lighten up, they are just books"  but I believe that they are more than that.  We all have been told that reading to your children is very beneficial and encourages a life long love of books and learning.   But not only that it has numerous other benefits including better communication skills and mastery of language. It also increases their ability to grasp abstract concepts, think logically, and learn about cause and effect. It helps them to learn empathy and insight and utilize good judgment.   All these can not be learnt by watching TV/DVDs nor by reading poorly written and illustrated children's books.

My apologies for my ramblings, but I did say it was one of my 'pet peeves'! And don't even get me started on books for eight year olds and older!!

Quality books that are available to buy in your local bookshops can be over-priced and make them out of reach for the average parent/grandparent to buy.  So in order to help me over-haul the children's bookshelf I have been turning to the online book stores. Their books are usually cheaper and sometimes you can get free postage.

Our latest purchase was an oldie but a goodie.  Does anyone remember this one?

 

My girls looooove this story and its already been read over and over again, even though the illustration is all in black and white!

 

 

and much to the excitement of them, look what we found in the paddock next door to our house yesterday?

 

  Our very own

"Ferdinand"

 

Isn't he awesome!

 

That morning we saw a similar sight out our bedroom window but very far away and Sophie asked me if it was a 'cork' tree that he was sitting under!

I had to tell her that even though I didn't know what tree it was, I certainly knew it wasn't a 'cork' tree!

 

That book cost me $5.00 postage included.

You can't really go wrong with that, can you?

 

Also this week...

As we enter just the second month of Spring, my children have taken it upon themselves to 'officially' start the swimming season now that our pool is finally clean and full.

 

 But judging by the look on Kaitlyns face it is still flippin cold!

 

This isn't the best photo but Kaitlyn and her friend Rico had climbed this tree and had been decorating the high-rise home of a spider.  I am not entirely sure that 'Miss Spider' wanted or needed her home decorated with buttercups and daisies BUT it looked really cool.

 

Can you see the yellow buttercups that look to be floating in mid-air?

 

Thomas and Sophie had been begging me to make play-doh.

Purple for Sophie and Orange for Thomas.

  Here is some of their creations!

Thomas got these play-doh toys for a birthday years ago. I just love them!  They create their own unique characters all the time.   Kaitlyn is at the stage where she has to mother everything and anything.  The bottom left was a creation of hers and it became a personality and he went everything with her for the next few hours, even out to the trampoline for a bounce.

 

 

Our chickens are really friendly around here. 

 You just need to walk up to them and they sit down for a pat!

 

 

Dressing up is STILL a big thing in our house.  

 You never know who might turn up in the kitchen!

If you hadn't noticed I love taking photos of what goes on in our daily living.  Looking for photo opportunities forces me to look for beauty and uniqueness all the time.  It makes me cherish the precious moments that happen every day. It reminds me that days and moments are but fleeting and that they are indeed a gift.



We indeed are very blessed to have 'Ferdinand' bulls next door, chickens to pat, trees to climb, water to have fun with, time and space to create and play.

Very very blessed indeed!

 

 

 

 

 

Breathe

I don't know about you but sometimes I feel like I forget to breathe!  Does that sound weird?  At times I feel so overwhelmed about all the things I need to do think I need to do, BELIEVE I need to do, that at times I catch myself holding my breath!

Someone please tell me that I am not the only one.

I have a lot to cram into my day and somedays I feel like the only one in the world that has as much to do as I do. (although realistically I know I am not)  I get frustrated.  I don't want to feel like this. I don't want to miss the small things because most of the time they are the most beautiful, the most important AND its usually the stuff that teaches you the most....if you let it.  I don't want to miss out on these beautiful moments just because I am battling with the things that I THINK I NEED to be doing.  Who says these things anyway?

I have to remind myself that being a home schooling Mama is more or less the equilivant to having a outside-of-the-house job of some sort.  Working Mamas still have washing to hang, fold and put away, still have bathrooms to clean and floors to vacuum, as do I.   Having 'Number 6' on the way has got me looking for ways to streamline, normal everyday household jobs...like folding washing.  And if you know anything about me you already know that I HATE folding washing!!!

Like having a Family "Life Skills" Lesson in folding washing!

I just know that one day someone is going to thank me for this!

I have to keep myself in check and even though it is cliche I have to remind myself and if I forget to do that, Jamie will happily remind me

"Don't sweat the small stuff"

It really doesn't matter that the kids have breakfast cereal for dinner every now and then.

It really doesn't matter if I buy a packet of biscuits to take somewhere because I just can't (or don't want to) squeeze baking in to my day.

It really doesn't matter if the dishes remain unwashed overnight and the floors don't get vacuumed that day (or if I am totally honest - a few days)

 

Can I hear gasps of horror?

Everything always gets done eventually!

 

I think children have a lot to teach us. 

 How to make something beautiful out of nothing.

 

 

How to amuse oneself by creating and having fun out of simple things.

 

Take one box of firewood and two little girls imagination and determination...do you know how many times it fell down!

 

 





 But...dare I say this, while all this creating, building and imagining is going on...sometimes I just need some peace and tranquility.  Two things that are a little (a lot) hard to come by in my house.   But even now and then, just once in a while I would like not to be living in a flippin kindergarten/school/art room/science lab/sports arena/wrestling ring!! Just sometimes I would like to be able to function without ducking rubber bullets, standing on lego, little fingers eating the biscuit dough,finding my baking utensils in the bedroom and plastic animals in my kitchen drawers!

 

Breathe Sharni, just breathe.

 

Its the "I love you Mummy" moments that make it all worth while.

Like....

Snuggles in bed,

"Mummy, you are the best" declarations,

Flowers picked especially for me,

The 11 year olds random hugs,

The 7 year old saving me the 'black and red' lollies cos he knows I like them.

"I just love the dress you are wearing" comments.

and all those other special things that children do for you.

 

No mountain of washing or un-vacuumed floors should deter us from basking in these small delights!

 

 

In school......

The Ragcoat by Lauren Mills

and

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson

 

One raining Monday morning, 'school' was replaced by making 'quilt pictures'!

We had a lot of fun, especially if you don't count the fights over the two pairs of sharp scissors. (I should of expected it really, 5 kids and 2 pairs of decent scissors)

 

 

 

Sophie looking decidingly cute as she takes it upon herself to check up the days school work! 

 

"Don't sweat the small stuff"

"Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest"

Proverbs 14:4

 

 

 

 

 

Delighting....

Winter for me is my least favourite season.  Everything is asleep, dormant, and lying low.  I like to  lie low too.

Home is where I like to be, hibernating.  Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) one has to venture out at some stage even if its to the grocery store.

Winter is all about...

Mud....this is in the paddock next door to us.  Three boys + mud + oodles of energy = mountains of washing!!!  Need I say anymore!  (You can feel sorry for me if you like)

 

Cows, cows and more cows... its calving season round these parts....

 

 

 

Gumboots...winters uniform!

Essential for winter sport watching!

 

 

 

Gods abundant supply of a winter remedy!

 

I just love how God has everything all worked out, right down to the abundant supply of fruit that has all the essential goodness that we need during the winter months!

 

But to see me through these winter months I love to find things that I can delight in, small things that provide me with a smiling ray of sun (even when its crappy weather outside)

 

Delightful things like...

 

Small people and playdoh...

 

 

 

 

my three pet puddle ducks, Jasper, Jemimah and Jillian...

 

 

 

the first of springs gifts, flowers from a friend...

 

Springs first flowers for me is like a sign of hope, that winter that WILL come to an end.

 

The rare day when washing can be dried on the line in th elate winters sun.  You can almost smell summer on the clothes if you burying your nose deep into the washing and sniff....ooo this ones a goodie!

 

 

 

This one warms my heart.  Big brother Casey (11) made his wee sisters a 'Tinkerbell' house!

 

 

 

 But the thing that is delighting my soul the most at the moment is....

 

a good old pot of tea!

 

 

Tea ALWAYS tastes better out of a teapot and even better if its in a cup with a saucer!

This is relaxing and peaceful no matter when or where you drink it.

 Conversations with a friend, the early morning wake-up cuppa, the post lunch cuppa or the 4pm cuppa when you are trying to ward off the urge to raid the marshmallow or chocolate chip container!  Yes I do do that! 

 Desperate times makes for desperate measures I tell you!!

 

I have noticed that the things that warm my heart the most are the little things, each days little touches.  Moments, that if you let them, go un-noticed.

But I encourage you

NOTICE!!