What's On My Mind

Things going through my head at the moment...

Peak Oil...when? How severe? How will we fare in small town NZ?

Will the kids EVER get better...it has been three weeks of fevers and snot and coughing and puking, and night waking!

What can I grow in a short term vege garden while we are renting?

Just shut up and start exercising already or you'll never fit your jeans without a muffin roll hanging over the top.

How will A and C cope when they start kindy next month...Will A throw huge screaming tantrums every time? Will she do the silent statue? Will she show her displeasure by weeing in the middle of mat-time? Will she totally astound me and be an angel who just delights in heading off to kindy with a "Bye-bye mummy, see ya later"? Will C run off and have the time of his life in the sandpit? Will he want a "cuggle" but not know who to ask and just get sadder and sadder? Will he be able to get to the toilet in time? Will the teacher's just want to smush him up like I do?

ETA: J thought I should clarify that smush=smooch, snuggle, kiss all over... rather than a typo of smash as he first read it.

Is O really truly as sad as he seems when he asks if his old best friend J could move close to our new house?

Is it possible to reinvent oneself in her thirties? Or is it just a bit lame? Can I really get away with wearing the kinda clothes I want to wear...bright, slightly boho and eclectic...kinda op-shop student with a bit less grunge and a bit more mummy thrown in? Shall I stick to the safe jeans and T's I've been wearing for the last five years cos then I blend better?

Isn't it amazing how friendly and welcoming people have been since we moved to this cool little town? Why am I surprised? I wonder if they will still talk to me next time after two of my children screamed and screamed while I was trying to make converstaion?

I really *should* blog more...but then again...it is all a bit narcissistic...but I've started it so I should continue...never give up...don't be a failure girl...

Often I'd really like to be uncomplicated, face value, spontaneous and unfailingly positive...but then I'd be a Sanguine and my wonderful J wouldn't have married me...so I guess being Melancholy me is not so bad after all.

Cinematic Gems

We are a movie household. I have tried to go the no screen thing route...and we have got as far as virtually no commerical tv for the kiddoes. J and I still watch too much crap. Confession time...I LOVE ANTM and I really like Project Runway and Top Chef...and I actually was sad when my Baby E stopped waking at 3:30am 6 months back cos I never found out who won My Restaurant Rules...but then I gave myself a quick slap and snapped out of it.

Anyway...since we have been trying to cut down on the TV our DVD collection has expanded exponentially...and I justify the epense because renting them costs almost as much as buying them (okay occasionally) and this way I can lend them to trusted people and have a range handy for those times when I have torn/stained my Supermummy costume and need a wee break.

I have chilled out since I wrote this post...a smidgeon...so here goes...my fav movies...WIP...

For a Girl's night In or curled up by myself with a block of choccy:
Amelie
A Very Long Engagement
The Sound of Music
Pride and Prejudice (BBC thank you very much....mmmm...Colin Firth as Mr Darcy)
One Fine Day
Little Women
Some Kind of Wonderful
Sense and Sensibility
The Princess Bride
Grease
My Fair Lady
Roman Holiday
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Gone With the Wind

For curling up with the Kid's and a Big Bowl of Popcorn:
Stuart Little
Curious George
Mary Poppins
Little House Season One (Season Two is a bit more adult for my under fives!)
The Railway Children
Heidi
Anne of Green Gables...okay the kids get bored but I LOVE Megan Follows as Anne.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

For Watching with J:
Monty Python...especially The Life of Brian and The Holy Grail.
Blackadder...okay it is TV...but oh so funny...my favourite is Series Three with Hugh Laurie as the Prince.
Life is Beautiful
Citizen Kane
Grosse Point Blank
Hi Fidelity...heck anything with John Cusack
School of Rock
Oh Brother Where Art Thou
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Pirates of the Carribean
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow...heck I love Johnny Depp too..ever since 21 Jump Street!
LOTR...of course
The Great Escape
Lethal Weaponsss...okay they are dumb but who can resist "We're back, We're bad, He's Black, I'm mad!"

Okay...there are heaps more...I'll keep thinking...so what are your must sees? No docos allowed...unless they are Mockumentaries!!!! Gotta love Best in Show.

Tagged!!

I have actually been tagged a number of times...but I just have been super-slack/uninspired and haven't ever done anything about it...but Sarah tagged me and then Sharon hassled me...so here goes...

8 things you didn't know about me...or wish you didn't as the case may be...

1. I LOVE cheese...mmmm...Cumin Gouda, Brie, Camembert, Halloumi, Feta, Cheddar, Plastic processed crapola...you name it I love it...except for the full on Blue mouldy yucko ones and any that have more alcohol than a 21st in them!

2. I am turning rather quickly from a neat-freak...as in totally obsessive... to a pretty messy housekeeper...still not sure what I think about that one...part of me minds...the other half just can't be bothered caring!

3. About 80% of the time my entire outift (sans underwear and socks) is either gifted or thrifted to me...I like being this way...cheap and not exploiting slave labour!

4. I have an amazing husband who I don't appreciate enough...He likes to cook and bake...he often lets me sleep in on his days off...he willingly takes his share of the parenting...and he has always been chief pooey nappy changer. What a guy.

5. I only shower twice a week...unless I have been engaged in strenous exercise (snort!) Why? Cos I don't have time and don't wanna get up early and cos I feel guilty about water wastage and so forth...I'd much rather have a long hot shower less often than lots of quick ones.

6. I never once went to PE in Fifth Form...but still got an okay report which said that I had "partcipated in all activities"...thus proving that Secondary School teachers have no clues!

7. I really hanker to travel. I would love to take all of the kids and the hubby on a cycle tour through Holland...then ditch the kids and go to Italy and everywhere else just with my man.

8. The last movie I watched on the big Screen was Transformers...cos sometimes you just need to watch a big, dumb movie. One day soon I'll blog my all time fav movies for your perusal...okay Sharon??

Picfest

We have finally gone to the Dark Side after our trusty SLR bit the big one...yes we have a new improved Digi camera that takes more than 6 shots without running out of memory or battery power.

I STILL don't like the whole digital delay issue...even though J swears that the delay on our camera is infinitesimal...I still seem to get lots of just darting out of the frame shots of the kids.

Anyway...I got all arty the other day and lay on the grass...yes I was that dedicated and took a whole heap of shots of the kiddoes on our lawn. I am quite proud of myself.

Happy Birthday Big Guy!

My beautiful baby E-man is one! He is just so smoochable.


Facts and fun about Baby E...



He got his first tooth the day after his first birthday.



He has learnt to climb.



He throws a ball almost as well as O5.



He likes to sidle up to anybody who is sitting on the floor, reverse into your side and lie down on you for a snuggle.



He really enojys pushing buttons on the dvd player...while the other kids are watching something. Failing that turning the volume right up on the stereo is high on his list of new skills.

He really enjoys taking big slurps of water and the n blowing HUGE raspberries and guffawing at his incredible comedic ability.

He did super well out of turning one and got THREE separate parties and cakes!



Happy Birthday my lovely boy...for last week. You are a true blessing and we are so thankful that you are part of our family.

Parenting 101

After a bad mummy evening... I decided to jot down my thoughts on parenting my kiddos as of now! I have given up with big and deep philosophies, plans and systems...because they set me up for immediate failure and stress.

So this is my parenting primer for August 2007...

Help is Help...offer and give help when it is needed/requested as much as we are able.

They are just little and learning. We want to model to them the fruit of the Spirit rather than bash them over the head with a million rules and regulations they can't possible achieve.

Serve one another in love. Seek to serve the children...not in an indulgent "Your whim is my pleasure" kinda way but in a firm/kind/nurturing/modelling way.

Err on the side of grace and kindness. Be prepared to give up control over that which isn’t important and be prepared to dig in to uphold that which is important.

Mealtimes are for family togetherness...don’t turn them into battlegrounds.

Hug A2 lots.

Read C2 lots of stories and play cars with him.

Play board games with O5 and listen properly to all of his stories and thoughts and jokes.

Spend time with E11months, showing him books and making towers with him and rolling a ball around.

Let the kids get dirty.

Expect everyone to help where they are able.

Sing and dance and play together.

Pray for and with the children and share the Bible with them.

Get out into God’s creation and really explore and enjoy it.

Relax and let them be and don’t over correct or talk too much.

Re-entering the Blogland Abyss

I have been back online for a while since our move to the Mighty Waikato...but I am enjoying being relatively freed of my internet addiction. Sure...it makes it easy to stay off the net when the computer is in our bedroom and I have to kneel on the floor...but all the same I am enjoying getting more actual real life happening.

So here's a quick update on my world.

• Settled the house and OMG is it freaky to get bank statements with oddles of cash in the account...note to self...STOP SPENDING THE HOUSE MONEY!!!
• Spent a wonderful two weeks with the in-laws...yes, that's right, wonderful. MIL was a Hero...she even looked the other way, albeit with a noticeable tick when C2 weed all over her flash new black leather couch. What a woman! FIL was very gracious at having his rugby watching continually interrupted by the hordes of marauding vultures intent on clambering all over him and scrounging whatever he happened to be eating at the time.
• I enjoyed the most fantastic weekend with some friends from all round the North Island. Some I'd only met online until that point. We had a MARVELLOUS time, knitting, dyeing wool, shopping, talking, eating and more. Check out Sarah's and Rachael's blogs for their accounts of the weekend. I have had my social fix for a few months now....bliss.
• We trundled down to our new house and have spent the best part of a week unpacking, settling, exploring, and spening loads of petty cash getting stuff we didn't need at our old house but have to have here...what is with that? All houses should be made the same so your furniture and other bits and pieces work wherever you go. Actually mostly it is cos we are renting and can't just bung up shelving and put holes in the walls so we have to buy cupboards etc.
• I have almost finished A2's jersey...she will even get some wear out of it this winter.
• I have sent my first completed soaker and longies order with offical invoice even...back in business baby. I will be focussing on making some truly unique sewn garments for Patootie next...watch this space.
• J is off work for another 10 days...boy oh boy will we miss him when he goes back to work...C2 adores Daddy and will be a very sad boy for a few days and I will have to get up do the whole breakfast/morning routine rather than laze in bed reading or updating my blog!

Moving seems to be the best time to make as many life changes as I can. thic way I can get all of my edginess out in one big hit...so here is what is on my agenda...

• Start swimming again...off to check out the local pools today. Twitching cos it involves getting up at 5:30am.
• Get back onto the healthy eating wagon again. Moving/Living at Inlaws/Schleping up and down country often has resulted in TOO MUCH CRAP FOOD!! However, I did feel slightly better when my uberhealthy and very disciplined friend Rach confessed that she had slipped also.
• Declutter heaps of our extra stuff...mainly clothes and toys and even dare I say it BOOKS...well the book declutter is actually to make room for the $300 worth of new books coming my way as we speak from Amazon...I just had to buy up before the dollar dived and it was too expensive again.
• *Consider* organising kindy for A2 and C2...in two minds about this one. I know I would LOVE having a wee break from the terrific twosome...but then again...I LOVE having everyone around most of the time...hmmm...still pondering this one.
• Organise my worm farm/Bokashi Buckets/Temporary vege garden. I am feeling like it is not worth it while we are renting...but that is just lazy talk. Gotta get my butt in gear to get the soil prepared for Spring planting.
• Keep dreaming about our acreage in the wops and how we can possibly manage to afford it next year. I am trying to work out if we could manage to squeeze into a two beddy cottage ...hence the motivation for the decluttering above! I feel the neeed to go visit Sarah in her little place to see what compact living is really like!
• Make some new friends so that I can link to more than two people in my blog! Tee-hee! Luff you girls!

Okay...enough from me...must go and rescue J from the kids, get dressed and start acting like a mummy again to ease myself back into real life mode after the holiday I have been having.

Patootie Designs

I have been playing around with T'shirt design applique since falling in love with beebeemod.

Once we have moved I am going to open up a little etsy shop or something with T's and matching soakers/longies...plus I have another couple of ideas up my sleeve...

Here are a few I prepared earlier...if you like any of them, flick me an email... jkonic at slingshot dot co dot nz or post a comment and you can swap me something you make...

Tiny House- Size 1 blue cotton skivvy (that's a turtleneck for non-kiwis/aussies!)

Garden Elephant - Size 3-6 months white cotton envelope neck T with matching Seaweed utiku wool longies
Funky Fish - Size 3-6 months dip dyed cottonenvelope neck T

Lavender Butterfly -Size6-9 months lace hemmed white cotton envelope neck T

Flower Power - Size 3-6 months white cotton envelope neck T

Birthday Bliss

It's my birthday and my kids were well behaved all day...

need I say more!!!!!

Teach Your Own

A while ago a friend asked why some of us homeschool...and I've been pondering it ever since and reading what Rach and Sharon have to say about their journeys.

I have been reding John Holt and have been nodding in agreement and inwardly saying "Yes! Yes!" all the way through...so I thought I'd leave you with an excerpt.

Even in supposedly "free" or "alternative" schools, too many people still do what conventional schools have always done. They take children out of and away from the great richness and variety of the world, and in its place give them school subjects, the curriculum. They may jazz it up with chickenbones, Cuisenaire rods, and all sorts of other goodies. But the fact remains that instead of letting children have contact with more and more people, places, tools and experiences, the schools are busy cutting the world up into little bits and giving it to the children according to some expert's theory about what they need or can stand.

What children need is not new and better curricula but access to more and more of the real world; plenty of time and space to think over their experiences, and to use fantasy and play to make meaning out of them; and advice, roadmaps, guidebooks, to make it easier for them to get to where they want to go (not where we think they ought to go), and to find out what they want to find out.

We are loving having O5.5 at home... and out and about in the real world. As we make our big move we are excited about all of the new oportunities our family will have to live and grow together....cos Home Ed is all about the whole family rather than, "Now they are 5 we better start schooling them" approach...life is learning and learning is for life...no matter what your age is!

Go visit Thebeanbag

Okay...I know that dooce is famous for her blog...which supports her whole family nonetheless...but have you met Sarah? Her blog is, in my not so humble opinion, way better...especially when you are a kiwi!!!

So go visit Sarah at thebeanbag.

Because you Matter...mata!

Well...I can finally update with our plans...it is a wild ride...and I have been screaming to get off at times while feeling the rush of exhiliration at others...

We are off to Matamata. Yes...Hobbiton

J has accepted a job offer at Totara Springs Christian Camp. He will be a client host. This involves looking after the groups that come in for camps/conferences and the like...making sure they have all they need, the facilities are up to scratch and so forth. He will also be able to get involved in a bit of outdoor instruction...y'know kayaking, abseiling, rockclimbing, and sports galore. I will be at home settling the kids in and hopefully we will move to a job share type situation once we are settled.

We have a lovely brand new (gulp!) home to rent while we find our feet and we are full swing into packing and organising moving...who knew it would cost soooooooo much? So J has secunded a friend to do a couple of long drives with him with a HUGE trailer on the van...close to 400km in a day? No problem??????????!!!!!!!!!!!

I am fluctuating between excitement and terror...and I amust admit that the constant rain, the two year old rascals and the organisation of the whole deal have seen me meltodwn on more than one occasion in the last fortnight.

However, we are glad to be moving out of our comfort zone and moving towards our long term family goals. J will be able to pick up a lot of handyman type skills on the job, and we are going to be on the lookout for some land to buy and slowly build on/develop in a few years time.

We took a step of faith and put the house on the market and God has pushed us out of the aeroplane and shown us that he controls the parachute...it has all come together incredibly...we are looking forward to new adventures and a change of pace.

AND...more importantly...we are will be coming round to visit a whole heap of people we haven't seen for yonks, and hopefully getting house guests from our friends in Auckland too.

So...that is our news...I am not naturally very intrepid...and this would be a tiny leap for many people...but for me it is MASSIVE...

saddle up your horses....we've got a trail to blaze...through the wild blue yonder of God's amazing grace...we'll follow our leader into the glorious unknown...this is the great adventure.

What Are We Up To?

Just a quick add on post...we have sold our house...yeeha!

We are currently exploring an opportunity to work at a Christian Camp in the Waikato which we are very excited about.

I am trying to pack...but we don't have a lot of unused stuff so I have packed the bookcase and the pictures on the walls...most other stuff is in daily use...and even then I have left out lots of books cos the kids read about a million-trillion every day.

So apologies for not posting much...

And I leave you with lots of pics of my beautiful kiddos...

O5 enjoying his new puzzle books from Gran'ma

O5 LURVES Tintin

A2, mummy and C2 (don'tcha reckon C2 has an Anthony Kiedis thing goin' on?)

A2 cooking with the playdough

E11months just looking super spunky as always

Eco consumers

I have been thinking alot about ecology, peak oil, carbon footprints...cos y'know green is the new black.

Anyway...I was reading this months issue of Next...the eco issue...has Petra Bagust on the cover talking about her eco choices...home birthin', cloth nappying,composting, natural cosmetics and so forth. I got thinking about the eco friendly products that are popping up everywhere...and the buy a carbon credit schemes for those who need a salve on their conscience...and I thought it all seemed a bit eco-consumery...not in the positive sense either.

Let me explain... I use cloth nappies...fantastic things...and so super cute...but it is so tempting to buy them for the looks much as one would buy an extra sweater or pair of jeans even when the stash I have is more than enough for E11months, A2 and C2. Just cos they are much better for the environment than disposables...if I purchase more than I need, I am still consuming resources unnecessarily.

In the same way, I enjoy shopping at the local Salvation Army Thrift store...however I have to discipline myself to only buy what we need or might reasonably need in the near future...not just because it is a bargain and not exploiting slave labour in China

I am pleased that there is alot of media exposure for environmental issuescurrently...however I am a bit wary of one type of consumer driven society being replaced by another. A real change needs to be made at a deeper philosophical level if the world is going to avoid a major climactic, economic and social catastrophe in the near future.

I am trying to make small steps in our family to

Economise
Do we need it? Can we share with somebody else? Can we fix it? Can we do without it?
Localise
Where was it made? grown? Shipped from? We are aiming to buy only local produce (except for bananas...just can't give them up with four small kiddies), source New Zeland made goods wherever possible and minimise overseas purchases, buying wisely when we do (Amazon does call often...but I resist more frequently these days!)
Produce
We have a vege patch, I sew and knit, we try and mend rather than buy. One of our aims when we move from the big smoke in a couple of months is to produce more...I really must read The Permaculture Home Garden.

Very Uncharacteristic Foody Post

Now I am not a foody in any sense of the word. Our usual family fare is very simple, regular and quite frankly boring. We eat healthy food that doesn't cost much...end of story.

However I have just been introduced to the wonderful world of the Chai latte....Oh my...I have been missing out. Divine...now how do I go about making my own? The chai tea I can buy or concoct...but that frothy, aerated, soft and warm milk...how do I capture that at home?...must do some research.

Life here is going to be mad, mad I tell you over the next five weeks as we pack up our worldly belongings, find somewhere to live, find someone to give us the money to pay our bills and unpack at the other end of a two hour drive...I'll pop in and keep ya posted...in between trying to source the perfect chai latte.

Big Changes

We have been soooooo busy over the last week or so...

Firstly cleaning and decluttering the house to take pics to list it privately (no paying $12000 to a Real Estate agent-yeeha!).

Fielding a huge number of calls and viewers...we have had over 750 hits to our ad and a dozen people through since Monday and it is looking like it will be sold by next week...can't say too much!

Looking at houses down the line (we like this one in Te Aroha) and tossing up whether to buy a small business or keep on working for "The Man"...self-employment is winning the battle.

Finding out that J's work is going to be making major changes which confirms his decision to resign.

And of course...lotsa crafting...I'm hoping to put up some stuff in an etsy store later sometime in the next couple of weeks...and I am pondering setting up a wee e-commerce site of my own...
or maybe not...I don't do well with selling stuff...I prefer to gift...however I would love to have my own boutique of sorts...watch this space.

A Reasonable Life

I am reading an inspiring and challenging book at the moment...may I whet your appetite and tell you all about it when I have had time to complete reading it and mulling over all it contains?

Here is an excerpt...

We condemn our children to conformity the moment they leave the womb. And we do so not from unkindness, but because we have thoughtlessly built ourselves a media-propelled society that for the last forty years has bludgeoned us every minute, telling us to forget that we are humans who need to laugh and cry, care and be cared for, love and be loved. It tells us instead that our needs can be fulfilled with storebought goods; that having video games is as good as having friends, that the comfort of your car can replace the comfort of your lover, that caring for a yacht is like caring for your mother, and that new shoes can substitute for a shoulder to cry on.

So we created a scoiety that bloomed economically the farther it pushed us apart, because the lonelier we got the more we shopped to forget our loneliness; a society that reached its apex once it convinced us that bells and whistles, car phones and nintendos can make up for the loss of a passionate human life.

This of course should come as no surprise, since we are a society named not after something noble or humane, but an abstract vulgarity called Capital. We have become conditoned to ignore the growth of the human spirit, or human joy, or at least to practice them in our spare time, and concentrate our efforts on the growth of money. It is somehow thought (if it is thought at all) that happiness, fulfillment, love and laughter will burst upon us as soon as we are adequately awash in a sea of greenbacks.

Mate, Ference (1997) A Reasonable Life pg 142-143
Albatross publishing House

Getting Cosy

I have all but broken a former Trade Me trawling addiction but I just couldn't resist an auction for two hand knitted tea cosies, plus some extra bits and pieces...I bought the lot for $2 just to get this...

Super cool fairisle cosy in my colours...orange, brown, turqoise and a hint of burgundy.

Now I just need to get a wee little teapot to put inside it... tea anyone?

My Gorgy Boy

Just had to share some more pics of my oh so delicius baby E... he is such a spunky litttle guy.

Mother's Day

So yesterday was Mother's Day.

I have a bit of an issue with market-driven, spendy-spendy, pseudo holidays and celebrations but when you get treated like a Queen princiles tend to get put aside...for just a moment.

After feeding Baby E at his usual 5am I was instructed to stay in bed, no matter what noises emanated from the other end of the house...so being a very dutiful and submissive wife I did just that.

J bought in the morning paper which I read in almost all of its entirety rather than snatching tidbits here and there and then wiping porridge spills from the lifestyle section later in the day.

J also bought me in some waffles with banana, maple syrup and icecream...mmmmm....waffles!

The kids were suspiciously quiet, but then they all bounded in holding lovingly drawn pictures. O5 drew a picture of the family watching Berenstains Bears and Daddy fixing the TV cord (What the????). C2 had an amzing Pollockesque picture of some animals and A2's masterpiece was untitled. O also gave me a wonderful gifty from everyone...Little House on the Prairie to add to my collection and Little Women.

I believe that my career as a Mother is so much more valuable and important than anything else I could do. I was really encouraged a couple of weeks agao when a dear inspiring woman shared about her complete assurance that her primary purpose, ministry and mission was to raise her children. Me too! It was so exciting to hear somebody else confidently articulate that, unashamedly in today's society when Motherhood is denigrated and seen as a temporary endurance until you "get your life back"

I love being a Mother...most of the time... and on my "bad Mummy" days I am invaribly encouraged by my fantastic hubby that our children are in the best place being home with me, learning through life and love, joy and sorrow, triumphs and failings.

I am exhausted much of the time, I have huge self-doubt and worry about how well I am doing, I raise my voice too often and I am guilty of feeding everybody baked beans on toast reasonably frequently. Yet, I love my children with a passion, I am learning from my mistakes and I daily I am rewarded with new victories and growth in my own life and those of the fabulous foursome.

I am thankful for small things...some lavender treats from my lovely second mum...given to let me know that she believes in me and the job I am doing with my family or a timely phonecall from my sister who calmly and gently reminds and encourages me that one day I will realise that noone has peed on the floor for a week or two.

Right now my Baby is napping, O5 is reading Tintin out loud and with amazing expression(skiting, proud mummy here...Did I mention O is not yet five and a half?), and A and C are playing quietly and peacefullywith the toy cars...ahhhh...I take hold of this scene and commit it to memory for the next time that it all turns pearshaped.