Maaaarrrrvellous

I am having a maaarrrvellous weekend...beginning on Friday where the kids and I had a fantastic scream-free (and that was just me!), thoroughly fun day together. We made collages for Daddy, played schools on the trampoline, read lots of books and generally enjoyed each other.

To top it all off O5 wrote me a message on the sketcher.
It reads "Mummy, I love you, a rose, you are 33"
Warm fuzzies!

My folks were due to come for dinner but had to postpone so Jand I took the opportunity to rent "The Prestige" and eat Peanut M&M's and Big-Uns (kinda like Cheese curls..but much nicer!) What a fantastic movie...you must all rent it...TONIGHT!

J thinks he might add it to his DVD collection which has grown by a few more today as he spent ALL of his birthday money on the complete set of Fawlty Towers (plus a copy of Reservoir Dogs which he'll be having to watch all by himself!)

Today I fed my babe at the usual unearthly hour of 5am...then promptly drifted back to sleep. J took the other kiddos to soccer and I fed E again and then lay in bed to read the paper. When the hordes returned I went for a long walk to do my weekly weigh in...and I lost 1.4 kg...yee-ha...have finally hit the post baby goal weight.

On the way home I just *had* to detour past the local Salvation Army Op Shop and I scored some cool little bargains...

Kids knitting patterns for 5c each.

Some cute little bag handles...and they had many more there but fortunately for J I only had a small amount of cash and had left my plastic at home.

A gorgeous green scarf that I have yet to decide what to do with. I will refashion it into something for either myself or Miss A.

When I got home the trusty postie delivered to me a package from Greenbeans, containing some scrummy BKT for nappies, a pair of little Addi turbo circulars to complete my collection and a surprise pressie for a friend...shhhh.

But wait, there is more...My Nativity Knit book arrived...Yes I AM going to knit our family a Nativity scene for next Christmas...watch out you scoffers and titterers...If I get really keen I might just have to kit up extra sets to send your way.

All in all...Bliss. My wonderful man gave me almost the whole day off today as he disappeared with the kiddos again after lunch, Baby E had a 3 hour sleep and I knitted while watching "Shakespeare in Love".

Days like these refresh the soul and rejuvenate the mind and body.

Quotable

Being a mother is worth fighting for,

Worth calling a career

And worth the dignity of the hard work that it requires

Edith Schaeffer

Hush-A-Bye

Awww. Isn't he just gorgeous?

I was busily cooking dinner one evening a few weeks back and Bubba E was having an absolute ball jumping in the Jolly Jumper (whoever invented that thing deserves a medal from mothers everywhere). I noticed the springing, churckling and occasional thump had stopped so I had a wee look and found one very fast asleep, and uber-cute baby.

I must say that I am so thankful every day that J was able to be convinced to go there again after the terrible twosome...although at 3am I am not quite so ecstatic about having a wee one!

We are really enjoying E. With O we were typical first time parents...overanxious, overzealous and quite a few more "overs". We had just got our heads around this parenting lark when lo and behold we heard the words, "And just how many babies are in there?" at our twenty week ultrasound and just like that we were joining the ranks of parents of multiples.

I had purposed to be a lot more responsive and flexible when we planned no 2...I even thought I *might* use a sling...now and then...but the reality of two and three arriving within three minutes of one another made our lives chaotic, exhausting and quite frankly hellish for a number of months. I grieved a bit for the lost opportunity to really nurture a baby, as with A and C we were in pure survival mode.

We decided that since we had three why not add a fourth baby to our family... and so along came our precious boy E. He has been the most contented and relaxed baby, happy and calm, jubbly and spunky. The older children all adore him, even A who is mummy's princess will usually willingly share my lap with Bubba. I carry E most places... not in a sling, but an ergo...gotta love it. He is my only baby still breastfed at 9 months old, we don't stress out if he doesn't want to nap at "the right time" during the day and we all look after him together.

This is all a bit of a rambly mess...I am typing as I shovel veges into E's mouth.

Kindred Spirits

I am blessed to have a fantastic friend in Jess from Oh My. We get togther most weeks and are building a close relationship between ourselves and our whole families. Jess' is in many ways my opposite...she is bubbly and extroverted, a little bit messy and hugely fun. Despite being a mummy of four under four...and being exhausted most of the time Jess has a happy, joyful spirit.

Last week on Anzac Day our wonderful hubbies took most of our kids to the zoo for the day and Jess and I hung out watching Sense and Sensibility and The Office (Whaddaya mean? Of course they go together!!!), talking, eating and crafting. Our baby boys, three weeks apart in age, rumbled, laughed and generally looked incredibly cute.

Here is Jess busy on the sewing machine trialling a bootie pattern that she has since realised was flawed fom the outset and needs a major Jess revamp.

The coffee table...usually clear of clutter when the kids are all around.

A cutesy elephant T that I appliqued...I loves it...and I am soooo not a pink girl!

Our beautiful babies...E and J

The Penelope Tree

I just have to share an amazing, beautiful and heartwrenching blog with you...
I have met Rebecca once a long time ago...when her babies were just that and the world of Autism was barely a shadow on the horizon.

http://jpsagemama.blogspot.com/

Reasons to Have Kids #1 and #2

Free Labour...then again if it wasn't for the kids there wouldn't be food, playdoh, crayon and more smeared all over everything.


To read stories to the younger siblings so mummy can update the blog.

Holland

We once were travellers...back when we were recently married, had two incomes and no kiddos in tow. Now I have to live vicariously through my memories and my future dreams to once again roam.

We were fortunate to be able to travel through Holland with my parents as part of a large overseas trip. This as very special to me as I had always wanted to experience some of my Dutch Heritage.

I have chosen just a few photos to show you how beautiful it was in Holland in the winter.

Amsterdam at night...we LOVED Amsterdam..despite what you hear about the drugs and the Red Light district it really is a very picturesque city and we felt completely safe walking at night to get an icecream or some pancakes or just to wander around the vibrant streets. That is J and I walking ahead of the photographer (Thanks JEB!)

The view from the window of our hotel...I do love canal houses...charming and crooked, narrow because the buildings were taxed on their frontage...with the hooks and pulleys to haul furniture into the higher storeys.

Wherever I go I HAVE to visit art Galleries...much to J's horror. And when you have the chance to see Rembrandts Nightwatch in all its glory at the Rijksmuseum you don't pass it up! We traveled up to Friesland to stay with relatives and awoke the next morning to an amazing snowy scene. Breathtaking!

One of my dreams is to one day take our children to see where their Opa was born and to travel by bicycle and canal boat through Northern Holland...lotto ticket anyone?

Expressionism

You Are Expressionism

Moody, emotional, and even a bit angsty... you certainly know how to express your emotions. At times, you tend to lack perspective on your life, probably as a result of looking inward too much. This introspection does give you a flair for the dramatic. And it's even maybe made you cultivate some artistic talents! You have a true artist's temperament... which is a blessing and a curse.

What Art Movement Are You?

I love quizzes...I did the muppet quiz and found out I was Scooter and then I went and wasted some time and found this one...and it is me to a T...I even got an A in Expressionism in Stage 2 Uni Art History!

I now pronounce my Postarama over...and I will endeavour to post at least twice a week from now on!

Baby Shower

Now I love Babies...I love making Baby gifts...but I really DON'T like making gender neutral stuff...anyway...I am off to a Baby Shower tomorrow so spent most of this evening (in between my postarama!) making this gifty for the new baby...

All packaged prettily in one of my many gift boxes I have kept to re-use. Somebody once told me I was cheap for doing that...but I reckon it is a) environmentally friendly and good stewardship and b) means I can spend more on the gift!

I had this fabulous idea of using old books which were beyond mending for cards...so here is a pic from an Enid Blyton book that I coloured with my kids trusty colouring pencils...and glued to a metallic purple card.

I already had some wipes made up in my gift-stash (I always have wipes ready...they are so handy for a quick and useful Baby pressie...don'tcha think? ) and I thought the little green giraffe was super cute so I copied him and made a wee apliqued and embroidered T which I hope is okay for a girl or boy.

The giraffe is a piece of terryfleece, hand embroidered with red,gold and aqua spots and appliqued it onto the T. I then added aqua antlers, tail and a fringey mane...now my only question is...Do giraffes have manes?

P.S. Did you like how I tied in the card with the whole theme of the gift? Now I only hope the recipient likes it...you never can tell. When you have put your heart into creating something it is of more consequence whether they like it...well it is to people-pleasing-everyone has to be happywith me-me

Welcome to our Mobile Library

So what do three young'uns do while mummy and daddy clean out the shed? Why, turn the dashboard of the car into a display for some of their favourites books of course!

We have a stash of books in the car all of the time...all of the children love to read in the car.

O5 usually picks Tintin...and we often hear exclamations such as "Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles" eminating from the rear of the van.
C2 has moved on from his well-loved and very tatty Richard Scarry's 'Cars, Trucks and Things that Go' to 'Curious George'.
A2 often chooses 'Treasure Hunt' or 'The Baby's Catcalogue' by Allan Ahlberg...she also has a penchant for "meowmeow book" otherwise known as 'Slinki Malinki'.
E8 months has to be satisfied with a rattly toy and the occasional glance at a page thrust into his face by a sibling eager to share his/her favourite story with Bubba.

The Grand Masters at Work

My little lovelies A2 and C2 have FINALLY got past chewing on everything and now can be trusted to actually draw with coloured pencils rather than create an interesting salad meal with them! The two of them just adore O5 and clambered up to the table as soon as O got out his Narnia activities.O loves Mazes, Wordsearches and Dot to Dots. He is super quick at completing all of these things...he has a real gift for anything that involves spatial skills or patterning.

C and A were very excited when mummy showed them how to draw around their hands on the paper...and mummy was ecstatic when they both recognised their own names written onto the paper. It satisfies the ex-schoolteacher in me when we all sit up at the table and "do work" together...the cool thing is that my children don't distinguish between learning and playing as many kids at school do from an early age.

In our house reading, drawing, learning to count and add and subtract, doing puzzles and writing letters to friends is all as much fun as jumping on the trampoline, going to the park or making a construction site in the sandpit...learning is fun and playing is learning.

I AM a Nana!

Who would ever think I would be excited enough to take pictures of knitting, sewing and worst of all an old tablecloth I picked up at a secondhand store? I admit it...I am a craftaholic...I spend far too much time poring over craftblogs and I have to stop myself buying more wool and fabric everytime I go out!


I have almost finished these longies for E8months...I LOVE the wool...it is Tekapo variegated in lovely muted autumn colours...perfect for my redheaded baby boy.



I have to show off a wonderful gifty I got from a friend...we have only met IRL once, but she knows what I like so well...Look at the gorgeous wee bag ...fully lined...the sparklies are knitting stitch markers and they go in the bag...and the wool is my absolute most favourite wool ever and I put it next to the gifties to show you how perfectly Sharon has chosen the colours I love.

I once started a country quilt...each square was a basket...needless to say I have moved on from the early nineties and no longer have folkart stuff around everywhere...so what to do with the blocks I had completed...aha...perfect pincushions...complete with flowerheaded pins.

I have made four and have about 6 more blocks left to do...can you see I lost the urge to make the quilt pretty quickly?.

I don't think I have shared my fabulous felted kntting bag...there is a Martha pattern somewhere...but I can't find it on the web anymore...anyway...basically I semifelted a big old man's sweater, cut it up, sewed it into a bag shape and then felted the heck out of it...and now it holds a small portion of my wool stash in a little spot on my bookshelf next to the chair where I *would* knit if the downlight wasn't broken.

I was inspired to make this after Rach made about a million trillion bags. See her collection here.

And my old tablecloth...I got it for $5 and it is a huge circular tablecloth with only a few teensy stains..it is destined to make a summer dress for my A2 and with the scraps I plan to Beebeemod some T's shirts for gifties.

Postarama

I have so many pics to post...but am not feeling the blog love very often at the moment...typical! I tend to get really excited about things and start with a hiss and a roar, then something else catches my eye!

I have a trillion ideas for projects running around in my head, plus a desire to continue to dejunkify our eating even more, a craving to look for "the perfect house" on the online real estate sites and other random things...oh yeah, and I have four little children who want lots of mummy cuddles and stories, puzzles and games.

And don't even get me started on all of the housework I am neglecting. I DID read that this generation of children are in danger of being immunocompromised because we over sterilise their environment...so I am doing my bit to ensure my children's future health by not vacuuming the crumbs of the floor more than once a week (okay maybe twice...but I used to do it EVERY day at least)..waiting until the clothes are really grubby before throwing them in the wash (see I'm saving the environment too by not wasting electricty and water!)...and leaving the dust on the furniture to avoid everyone breathing in all of the dustmites that get disturbed when I try to dust. I have forgottne what my mop looks like...in fact I am not sure where it is even.

So while I am in the mood I am going to post all of the things I have been meaning to for the last week...

So keep your ears on Enis...new posts coming throughout the day!

High Ideals and Sanity

As I sit down to write this three of my children are snuggled on the couch watching Curious George on DVD. it is almost 3pm and we have already been to visit a sick friend, stopped in for lunch at our bestest buddies, played in the backyard, had a tea party in the pop up tent house and read Bible Stories on the couch for half an hour... not to mention hung the washing, made all of the beds, countelss trips to and almost to the toilet and scraping porridge off all manner of surfaces after breakfats...but yet I feel guilty for taking some time for me, especially on the computer!

Mama is all kiddoed out and so on goes the mindless distraction. I have this continual struggle between my high ideals and my sanity. I have read the research and seen the effects of too much media on kids young minds and I endeavour to limit how much screen time my kids have and we are definitely discriminating in the content of what they watch...but sometimes it just is easier...and I am trying to get my head around that it is ok!

In an ideal world when mama needs her quiet time the children would all sit quietly involved in their own pursuits, reading, playing snakes and ladders, drawing ...and they do do all of that, but a 5 year old and 2x 2 year olds plus a super crawling 8 month old need a lot of supervision to avoid the tears,screams and random wall drawings.

I wonder what did mothers of preschoolers and only just turned five year olds do to remain sane in the "olden days"? Are we just too used to having an easy option in media, fancy toys, car travel to friends/parks/museums/zoos? How did Carolyn Ingalls keep her sweet demeanour in that tiny little prairie home (I know ...rose coloured glasses and tv dramatisation!). Am I just being self-indulgent and not sacrificial enough or should I be thankful that I have the option of technology and modern amusement to use wisely?

All I know is that when Mama aint happy, aint nobody happy...and if it means a DVD three or four days a week to help me remain functional the rest of the time, maybe it is a trade off I am willing to make at this stage of our lives.

So... tell me, what are the must haves for our children's DVD collection?
Our favourites at the moment include:
Curious George
Cars
Clifford
The Railway Children
Monsters Inc
Little House
Anne of Green Gables
Jungle Book
The Wind in the Willows
Babe
Hairy Maclary
The Berenstain Bears (or Berkenstain Bears according to O5)

Easter

Over the last four days we have done the obligatory thing and eaten a LOT of chocolate and Daddy has been home from work for the long weekend.

We have also indulged in the good old Kiwi tradition of DIY on Holiday weekends. Our bedroom is now stopped, sanded and painted, rearranged and de-cluttered...and hopefully it will remain that way for, oh at least a day or two before the odds and ends start sneaking their way back into every available corner.

As a family we have begun to focus more on what the Easter holiday means to us. We have read the Easter story in the week leading up to Good Friday and then again during the weekend, munching on Hot Cross Buns and reminding each other of the significance of the cross. I had planned on making Easter resurrection cookies on Saturday night to eat on Sunday morning...perhaps next year, when J and I aren't sleeping on the lounge floor and everyone is sleeping through the night (we averaged about a dozen night wakenings, equally spread between our youngest three kiddos, ever night over the long weekend...phew!!!!).

O5 has shown his understanding of the significance of Jesus death on the cross in his comment about sin..."Mummy, Jesus died on the cross so we don't have to be in trouble for our sins eh?""Yes, O." "OK, sin is when I don't listen to you and do what you say, eh Mummy?"...

Ah, from the mouth of babes...I'm glad that my little guy has such a simple concept of sin...albeit true, and doesn't know the evil that pervades around this earth...my prayer is that as he grows and sees the good, the bad and the ugly of life that he would remember that there is victory...that sin and death were defeated and that Jesus rose from the dead and intercedes for us at the right hand of God.

One last thought...should I be a teensy bit creeped out that O was playing at being Jesus while supposedly reading sories on the couch and organising his little siblings, A2 and C2, to be the robbers? Fortunately he didn't have his hammer and nails handy!

More Beach Pics

O5 and his good friend Z4
Beautiful Princess A2 and her Daddy
Boys on the Beach
Lovin' the Harbourside
Trees were made for climbing.

And there ends our holiday at the beach...we hope to make it an annual event and to share the memories of the kids all growing up together, enjoying the creation and each other in a special corner of the world.

Banana Slide

Isn't this just the most fantastic artwork???? I LOVE it soo much. Mike came and visited me during the blog party and I have fallen in love with his blog. he sells his original images...and for us over the other side of the world you can buy the jpeg file rather than have to wait for a hard copy...too cool.

Wouldn't this make such a groovy little T for a kiddo?

Beach Pics

More beach pics...now that my broadband is back up to speed!
Hanging out with everybody at the Estuary...such a great spot for the kids to wade and splash.

Even at the beach you just sometimes need to craft...right? Bubba E had an absolute ball crawling around and looking cute...in fact he got blisters on his feet from crawling so much on the wooden floors.I LOVE this pic so much, C had so much fun with his Friend E...don't they look gorgeous? If you can't tell, they are running off down to the beach holding hands.
A and C learnt to share the big car and found out that working together is great fun.

Lazy Days at the Beach

We have just returned home from a lazy week at the beach with good friends. Well, perhaps lazy is not the best word. Four adults and eight kids aged 6 months to 5 years!!! We went to Whangamata, quite possibly the coolest place to be...except at New Year's when seeminglyevery teenager in the country converges for a drunken fest and the police set up temporary holding cells in the carpark.

The kids had a ball, playing in the estuary, riding bikes on flat roads with practically non-existent traffic, eating treats almost every day, meeting new friends, drawing, playing games and relaxing as kids do...at full throttle!

The adults spent a lot of time organising said children, managing squabbles over toys, nursing owies and trying to keep everyone quiet through the night in the tiny three bedroom bach.

We did get to spend some time with old friends who made the move from Auckland to the BOP a few years ago and have now moved on to reside at the beach....the lucky things.

The guys went fishing, J caught his first fish...two legal snapper! We ate smoked kahawai and fresh bread for lunch one day and fresh pan fried fish with lemon and pepper another. Mmmmmmm!!!

The girls went out for a coffee and caught up on the latest with old girlfriends, and also scoured the opshops looking for and finding thrifty treasure...vintage fabric, woollen blankets to mend and embellish for the kids beds, knitting needles and kids books... I finally found the Bobbsey Twins. (Yes,I am on an Enid Blyton collecting spree at the moment... Lashings of ginger beer anyone?) Bliss! I will be updating with my thrifty refashions later.

After a lovely week away our hearts sank and both J and I audibly sighed as we came over the Bombay Hills and back into Auckland traffic, noise and concrete. We have both solidified our desire to move out of the Big Smoke for a quiet life, where we have time to think and live slowly...and get a puppy!

Wild Week

I have had the wildest week...and haven't had any energy to blog at all...but we are off to Whangamata (awesome surf beach) for a week with our bestest mates...so I should be up and running again soon.

Have a fantastic week
K
xxx

Shows and Shops

Today we took the kids to the annual Kumeu Show. We took the camera but forgot to take any pics and anyway it was the SLR (we are slowly being dragged into the digi age...but we will always love "real" photos) so wouldn't have had any to show yet...

Anyway we figured we'd see 20 people we knew...and we did! The kids loved looking at all of the animals, and O5 was intrigued by the woodchopping. J tried to encourage O to climb up the huge wall on the bouncy castle that O really wanted to go on and I of course wanted to check out all of the artsy, crafty, thrifty stalls to glean ideas and fondle lovingly handmade pickles, baby cardies and jewellry

I was very self-controlled and only picked up a sweet wee Turkish purse for my stitch holders...I would have posted a pic but our digi camera sucks the juice out of the batteries so fast that I am always charging them. (note to self...buy TWO sets of re-chargeables!!!) I joked to Jamie that he should be thankful for my friend who is aiming to boycott sweatshop-china-junky-cheapo goods, cos after talking to her I just CAN'T contemplate buying said stuff at the moment. He is unconvinced about the philosophical side of it, but is happy to have more dollars in the wallet.

After two hours of wandering around in the hot, hot, sun...scrounging some sunscreen for the kiddos off a friend we happened to bump into...eating ultra salty hot chips and yummy organic grapes and watching an amazing guy play his flutes/panpipes etc from around the world, we headed off.

We made a quick detour past the mall so I could pick up something I needed...I do so dislike the mall which is strange because even a couple of years back I used to regularly go to the mall just for something to do. Now it feels like I am entering a huge cavernous wasteland. The abundance of articfical lighting and no windows least one gets distrated by the real world without and the myriad of people spending a beautiful sunny day shopping for things they most likely don't need and won't use is quite depressing really. I couldn't wait to get back out again and breathe.

Again...I think J is quietly pleased...isn't an anticonsumeristic, shopaphobic wife just a dream come true for a bloke??? On the other hand...get me within cooee of a yarnstor or a bookstore and all my above rhetoric goes out of the window.

I love my husband...
Let me tell you why...
He folds the washing almost every night
He willingly gets up in the night to attend to C2 who only wants Daddy...and usually has a smelly present waiting for J in his nappy!
He lets me lie in almost every Saturday morning with the paper while he wrangles the hungry hordes
He listens to me when I am having a rotten day and ring him at work to cry...and doesn't tell me to harden up...even when he is thinking it
He encourages me in all of my crazy ideas
He loves me unconditionally...and didn't leave when I was a screaming hellwitch for months after the twins were born
He works hard every day...leaving before dawn to provide for us, and very seldom complains.
He reads to the children every night at the dinner table and at bedtime and inbetween...he taught them to dance to Where the Wild Things Are
He encourages me to go out and relax and spend time with my friends...even though we talk about making undies and threaten to knit ipod covers
He comforts me when I am sad or overwhelmed and doesn't always try to "fix it"...just listens and loves

I know you will read this honey...thank-you for being such a fantastic husband, and an amazing Daddy...we love you sooooooo much and we appreciate you!
xxxx

Crafty Goodness

Okay, so I stole the title from somebody else...not sure who...there are Sooooooooo many fantastic craft blogs out there!

Here are just a FEW of my favs
http://www.rosylittlethings.typepad.com/
http://www.worstedwitch.com/
http://www.jesshutch.com/

So in celebration of craftI am sharing a few pics of things I've made. I tend to knit a lot, and I definitely only make practical things...I just don't have time for little trinkety stuff.

So here are some things I've made lately... Hand embroidered T and soaker made with
hand-dyed wool...this was sent to Australia for a little girl...I hope she liked it!

Lovely, lovely, lovely wool from http://thewoolcompany.com... longies made in gems wool...just scrummy!
I'm on a dishcloth making binge at the moment. I have made a whole heap out of thrifted cotton. I crochet them because it is superfast. They work so well and are so bright and cheerful...much better than the synthetic shop bought cloths.
Another little set..more yummy woolcompany wool...this time my absolute favourite watermelon....mmmmm!
Shhhh...don't tell my niece...this little tiki singlet is off to America for her birthday. Sorry the pic is not so good, but I embroidered and appliqued this tiki for her to remind her of her kiwi heritage. He has cute little vintage button eyes and a red felt tongue.
I always have lots of crafts on the go...so will add more pics now and then to spur me on to actaully finishing projects!

RIP Fizzy

I meant to post this yesterday...but y'know how it is...

Yesterday we had a bunny funeral, so no celebrating...well J may have been secretly glad because we have been waiting for "Bunny Heaven" ever since we got the things!

O5 blogged it, so check out the link

http://ollieblogmunter.blogspot.com

Now we are hoping that our other bunny doesn't end up stiff as a board too...we have NO idea what prompted the death of the first bunny.

On the bright side the bunny was ceremoniously buried in the vege garden, and will provide fantastic fertiliser for our winter crops. Now would a vegetarian eat veges grown with bunny nutrients?

And...a big cheer for J who came home from work to bury the bunny and console O5...I am such a wuss...no touching dead stuff for me baby!

Words of Wisdom

I have just edited my blog-to-date to preserve a bit more privacy for our family. Somebody older and wiser than me (okay, it was my Dad) offered me some advice that perhaps I was being just a bit too open by posting my children's names and so forth. Well, as much as I hate to admit it...I think he is right.

I am by nature an open person, but when it comes to the actual and potential safety of my kids I will go out of my way to ensure they are not exposed.

So...if you are new to my blog you'll have to imagine the names of my family...it could be lots of fun...my hubby J could be Jasper or Jehosophat or even Jorge. My eldest boy has his own blog...so it won't be hard to figure out his name, what about the twins... Princess A for Araminta, Aretha or Abigail...Master C? How about Coltrane, Cletus or Cyril...and my precious Baby Ecould be Engelbert, Ebenezer or Ezekiel...maybe I could change their names in each post even.

Any great names to offer peeps?

Addled

Addled...okay I have JUST looked it up in the dictionary...and now I find that it not only, or even usually, means confused as I thought, but ROTTEN... as in rotten, non-fertile egg!!!!!!!!

So now, do I change my blog title because, although my mind is frequently confused, I don't think it is rotten...or just leave well-enough alone???

Sundays in our Family

As a family Sunday is our day to get together with other Christians and worship our God. The children have their Sunday clothes and we have just bought O5 his own Bible to take with him to Sunday School. On the way to Church today I asked O why we went to church. He replied that he didn't know, so I asked him what we did at church and he thought and said, "We sing and pray and go to Sunday School"...and on went the discussion. It is so exciting having the opportunity to share why we do what we do with our boy...he is growing up so fast.

Church for us is potentially quite stressful, but we persevere...we choose to makethe worship service a part of our lives when it would be so much easier to stay home. We want our children to grow up knowing that God is important in our lives everyday...and that we are able to have a special celebration on Sundays as well. So today we celebrate Sunday...we celebrate God...we celebrate the freedom to worship together as a family...and we even celebrate God's goodness in making raisins...because without raisins our precious two year old twins would struggle to "make it through" the worship service until creche begins.

We also are very thankful for wonderful people who love our children and also impact into their lives in our Christian family...Mr E who teaches O5's Sunday School class and has already won a fan, the 12 year old girls who willingly cuddle babies, read books and play with the little ones in the creche, the lovely older lady who genuinely thinks my fiery red-headed daughter is beautiful and offers a word of encouragement when I have to walk out of the worship service carrying a very loudly screaming princess, and the many others who show God's love for our family.

So roll on next Sunday when we can celebrate in this special way again.

Party,Party,Party

We love to Party!!!
Come on in and join the party!!!
Welcome to our world...this week we are gonna celebrate each day something special in our family...
So join us and celebrate and check out the ultimate party blog for more party fever!

Edited to tell you a bit about me...I am a sahm of four fabulous kids...O5, A2, C2 and E 7 months. They keep me busy. I have a fantastic hubby, J, who keeps me sane and holds our family together...I love God and seek to live intentionally for His purposes in my life and the lives of my family. In a former life I was a Primary (Elementary ) School teacher..but now I teach my children at home and we are having a ball!

First Pleasures

Here is E7months having his very first swing on the deck. He was quite pleased with himself and sniggered away at Daddy as he swung back and forth.

If we could remember the first experiences of our lives what would we feel?

I wonder that as I watch my sweet baby exploring new sights, sounds, tastes and more everyday.

As we get older it is so easy to lose the wonder at the magic and mystery that sourrounds us... the warmth of the sun as it breaks through the clouds...the intricacies of a beetle...the simple delight at splashing in a mud puddle, or making a sandcastle or finding a smooth pebble in the garden.

I think we can learn so much from watching our children's firsts... as their eyes are opened to new and amazing things.

Oh, the eagerness and freshness of youth! How the boy enjoys his food, his sleep, his sports, his companions, his truant days! His life is an adventure, he is widening his outlook, he is extending his dominion, he is conquering his kingdom. How cheap are his pleasures, how ready his enthusiasms! In boyhood I have had more delight on a haymow with two companions and a big dog-delight that came nearer intoxication- than I have ever had in all the subsequent holidays in my life. - John Burroughs