Feminine Friday and today's lunchbox

I was about to post Saraya's lunchbox contents (it's been fun, by the way) when I remembered it is Friday. I mean, I did know it was Friday. Hooray for Friday!!! But I had forgotten once again about Feminine Friday, from lovely Kelly's Barefoot Mama blog. I actually photographed Saraya last Sunday with today in mind. Here she is.

We were about to head to church when Saraya decided she would like to wear her old-fashioned apron over the top of her old-fashioned dress. What a pretty little poppet she is. :) Would you have guessed that we are reading the Little House on the Prairie books and that they are her absolute favourites? When we have time (and I have the patience with little miss "ouch, that hurts!":() she loves to have her hair in two plaits, just like Laura.

I have to say, I love little girls looking like little girls. Saraya loves to wear dresses, so I am lucky I guess. :)

And for today's lunchbox (last one!):

An orange cut up in a container, A kiwifruit cut up in a container, A pear, A tiny box of sultanas, A piece of homemade applesauce cake, An apple juice popper, and 2 cruskits (rye crackers) with promite.

Thanks everyone for sharing! Have a beautiful weekend.

Stuart's 6 unspectacular events...

With the round of tagging that was going on asking people 6 unspectacular things about themselves, I was tagged by my friend Andrew to respond. But I feel that phase of Blogging has come and gone and therefore I missed the boat. So instead I'll mention my 6 unspectacular events in my recent life. Although some of these are quite spectacular, they all point to flaws within myself or disasters happening that have impacted me.

1. Boomerang Boy - I need to mention this first so as to excuse any errors I make while typing - as I can't actually see very well at the moment. Maybe I was trying to invent a new Olympic sport called Boomerang Eye Catch, or maybe it was just one of those bizarre accidents that I can never explain. I threw a boomerang into my eye last Sunday. Contrary to popular belief this is not due to that fact that boomerangs come back. I was trying to throw a very fast spin so that the boomerang would come back in my small backyard (in a large field you don't need such a spin). The boomerang left my hand and went straight into my eye. Forward, I need to remember to throw it forward. Anyway, as it stands right now I have very poor vision 1 week later and I'm finding out today if the damage is permanent. But why am I not worried...

2. The Backstab - Saminda and I had friends for 11 years who were closer than family. We rejoiced for each of their children born, we wept when they miscarried 2 and we felt anguish at them living on a remote property running out of water. So we bought them a house next door to us. They were going to pay for the mortgage and all related payments, but we had to finance the project because I have the income for the bank to agree to it all. DON'T EVER DO THIS! I will strongly stress again that these friends were as close as you could ever be to another family. And yet my friend, who was my best man at my wedding years earlier, abused my trust and carelessly destroyed that friendship. I even found it within myself to forgive him, but he didn't want to be forgiven. We didn't want to keep financing the house, they moved away and stopped paying for the mortgage, we were left with a lot of debt and stress and this has only just ended. This has been the most trying time of my life, and the fact that a chapter has finally closed is such a relief that I feel I don't even need an eye. Nothing else matters at the moment.

3. Pegleg Stu - Last year I was being my usual indestructible self at Jujitsu when I broke my leg in a throw. That was such a turning point for me as I felt young before that, and old after it. I'm only turning 30 this year and I'm already starting to resemble a pirate (not such a bad thing). If I can replace my leg with a stick and wear an eye patch my character will be complete.

4. Scurvy Dog - While we are talking about body parts falling apart lets talk about teeth. When I recently went to the dentist to have a tooth examined I realised that it had been 17 years since I had last been to a dentist. And I had thought that religiously brushing my teeth would be enough, but I was forgetting that our high sugar western diet doesn't like teeth. So now I'm left with holes everywhere and teeth coming out and its a real shame I didn't have ongoing examinations.

5. Across the World and Back Again - How young we were... and how naive. I had a teaching degree, all the enthusiasm in the world, money in the bank, 2 children (1 of them 10 weeks old) and a beautiful wife - off to teach in the UK. Okay, some of that sounds like it will work. But the married with 2 children thing, nope, not going to work. Teaching in the UK is a great idea for single people who can choose to not eat for a day, or sleep on someones loung chair, or work a late night shift packing shelves if they get strapped for cash. Trying to find a nice house, buy a car, make family friends and hold down a successful teaching job is really hard as a family. Add to that the fact that the job we were promised disappeared the moment we got to England and you have a disaster on your hands. Our 18 month stay very quickly turned into a 6 week stay, and then only thanks to the lovely families at Romsey Baptist Church who supported us.

6. Memories, What Memories? - Hey at least we took a ton of photos and LOTS of video footage while we were over in the UK. When we got back from our overseas trip we had no money so we stayed in Brisbane for a while to be near family. We ended up renting for a short while so that we could have Christmas in our own place. Brisbane isn't as friendly as Maryborough. Someone broke into our house, while I was still awake at the computer, and took my wallet and our video camera, from just around the corner in the kitchen. I couldn't believe someone would have the gall to do that, but a big city attracts reckless people. And in a flash all of our video footage of the UK, all kept safely in that camera bag, was gone. That was heartbreaking.

So what have I learnt? I need to take care of myself better! I don't necessarily need to stay away from sports and boomerangs, but I need to be careful.

I need to count every one of my blessings. I have 3 of them in this family of mine, and countless angels around this town who have supported me, and supported my family through hard times. My community has been tested, and they have been proven superb.

Listen to advice. If there is one thing that some friends of ours taught us, its to think for ourselves and go against the majority. RUBBISH! Sometimes the majority knows what they are talking about, and people with experience can teach you a thing or two. Don't be a rebel just for the sake of it.

And lastly that being a positive person makes a difference. How often have I wanted to visit that old friend of mine, give him a call, write him a letter to tell him what damage he caused and how foolish he is, but I won't. I am a better person than he is, and I will stand proud and tall in the way that I weathered this storm. Praise be to God for the strength to endure!

(cue "Rocky" soundtrack)

Me in front of my ship in England. The trip wasn't a complete disaster.

Victory at last

I am exhausted from an emotional couple of days, but needed to briefly post that this afternoon a family signed a contract on the house we've been trying to sell. We signed ours tonight and in 30 days time, God willing, settlement will happen and the family will move in next door. From what we saw, they have 2 young children, and apparently the little girl is a best friend from school of the little girl who lives behind us.............

God working? Yep. He is absolutely awesome, and He is leading our family on an amazing journey of faith, hope, and perseverance in prayer. What a valuable, heart-wrenching journey.
I am grateful. :)

3 months old and Thursday's lunchbox

Guess who was 3 months old on the weekend? I have to say I love roly-poly babies. :) Even if they are rather heavy to carry around. He is really "coming out of himself" this week, laughing a little more and starting to get interested in toys and things. He LOVES bathtime!!!

And today's gourmet lunchbox selection............. :)

A pear

A container with raw almonds and 4 pitted prunes

A piece of homemade banana cake
1 slice of fruit bread with margerine
2 cruskits (rye crackers) with promite
A fruit stick (Bella brand)

Wednesday's lunchbox

Today's lunchbox contained:

A container of sliced-up strawberries
A green apple
A tiny box of sultanas
A pot of Vaalia yoghurt
A small homemade chocolate brownie
Half a sandwich with tuna and mayonnaise on wholemeal bread

Hope it was yummy!!

Tuesday's lunchbox

Saraya's lunch today was:

Chopped kiwifruit and pineapple in a container
Half a promite sandwich on wholemeal bread
A little container with a handful of tiny teddy biscuits
A handful of vege chips (made on cassava, with natural herbs and spices) in a ziplock bag
An apple juice popper

Thanks Heather for playing along!

Good news at the eye doctor this morning........ Stu just needs to see him again on Friday to check the clot that is still in there. We're praying it will drain away before then and he'll be back at work on Monday.

Boomerangs and Lunchboxes

Okay, I know that's a weird title, but I've peaked your interest, haven't I?

First, the boomerang. Stuart had an accident yesterday afternoon when he headed outside to play with the children with a boomerang. They hadn't even got started with their play when Stu gave the boomerang an almighty flick out with his hand, really hard and fast. Into the sky? NO. Into his eye.
I kid you not! It sounds crazy and maybe even kind-of funny, but believe me ( or Stu anyway), at close range the edge of a plastic boomerang in your eye really hurts and actually causes a lot of damage. I knew when I ran to him (lying on the ground, crying out) and he looked up at me that he was in trouble. His eye had filled with internal blood straight away, and he just kept saying "I can't see out of my eye, I have no vision out of my eye!" It was because it was filled with blood, but I didn't want to tell him that.... it looked absolutely awful and we headed to the hospital right away. After spending 4 hours there, we were home again but only because Stu agreed to go straight to bed here rather than be admitted for the night. Today we saw an opthomologist (sp?) who has said Stu has an internal tear in his iris and is required to have a week off work and do basically nothing. There is some blood still pooled in there and we need to see if it will drain out on its own, so we see the eye doctor again tomorrow. The pressure build-up in his eye needs to have time to subside and basically any physical activity will increase the pressure and slow the healing or even cause further damage. So now I just need some heavy chains to chain him to the couch...........! He also has 3 different kinds of eyedrops going in several times a day. I feel like a nurse! 4 babies to take care of now. :) No really, I love having Stu home and the opportunity to look after him. It's just incredible how things just seem to keep hitting us at the moment. Got to look for God's meaning through it all and just try to keep positive.

Onto the lunchboxes..................
Heather's little girl Bee has just started school, and she posted about lunchbox ideas last week. This prompted some bloggy discussion, and after talking to my friend Karen I thought I would invite anyone who would like to participate to share this week what you pack in your kids lunchboxes. For me it would be a good chance to record what I'm giving Saraya to see where I can improve, and also to glean ideas from other people. If you don't have children (or they're younger than school age) please feel free to share ideas either on your blog or in the comments section here. It's one of those tricky areas for me. Saraya will eat anything I give her at home, but not at school. Anything slighty "mushy" as she calls it will come home again. So will sandwiches, and most fruits. And yet she is such a great eater at home! She is very distracted by her friends at school and doesn't eat a lot, so most of her eating still happens at breakfast and dinner. :)

So, I'm a little late starting this but here goes. Saraya's Monday lunchbox was.............

5 strawberries in a little container
1 pear
A pot of yoghurt (Vaalia)
1 strawberry fruit stick (Bella brand- they seem to have the least number of additives)
2 rice cakes (large crackers, sour cream and chive flavour)
1 piece homemade banana bread

Happy Monday everyone. Please pray for Stu's eye to heal quickly. Thankyou! :)

Feminine Friday

Kelly at The Barefoot Mama has been hosting feminine Friday for awhile now. I haven't participated the last couple of weeks due to lack of blogging time (:(), but it's Saturday morning, the fire is going, Stu is playing a game with the 2 big kids while William naps....... and I have a spare 5 minutes!! I love weekends. :)

This week I want to share how much I love old-fashioned things. I love to read books or watch movies set during any time in history, but particularly the late 1800's - early 1900's; this is seriously when I would like to have lived! Just slot me into the March family and I would be happy. :)

I love beautiful skirts and dresses, long hair, eloquent language, homemade bread, flourishing vegetable patches, horses and carriages (or just horses), petticoats, pretty china, simpler times.

And I love this old-fashioned jug and bowl, brand new made to look old.

I was shopping with my Mum a couple of years ago in one of our favourite shops, Canterbury Lace. It's full of treasures! I commented on it to Mum, and she paused then asked if I would like it for my birthday. After a slight hesitation................ "Oh yes, yes, yes!!" I had always longed for one of these. So it's recently taken pride of place in my front room and I just adore it. It's not actually used for my daily wash as these may have been in times gone by....... Sometimes it makes a nice vase for flowers, otherwise it is happy just as it is.

Computer games for tots

Well, the weeks since William was born have been been pretty quiet. We've had some out-and-about times and some quiet home times too. During those home days I have heard one thing over and over again from Elijah: "Mamma, can I play the computer?" Now, I guess I shouldn't be surprised with a husband who loves gaming and forum-reading and other computer-related activities (and a Mum who blogs :)). But I have been feeling a bit guilty about him sitting and playing. If it were up to him, he'd do it for hours on end. He absolutely loves the stories and music and games it provides. After he's had his computer time, he is happy to do other things for the rest of the day. I limit it to a maximum of 1 hour a day. Usually it falls in the morning, between morning tea and lunch. It still feels like a long time, but for him it actually goes fast and he still has a bit of a fuss when it's time to get off!

On the up side, I guess it is less passive than watching tv. And he's learning lots of things. Mouse control, left and right, using the arrow keys for directing characters around, letter / number recognition, even reading some words such as 'play', 'start', 'exit', and 'loading'. (I'll walk in and he'll say "It's just loading, Mamma"!). I guess this busy time with a newborn is a season, and playtimes together will get easier again. I still do try to have one long playtime with him each day, as well as outdoor time and of course stories, meals, cooking together, bathtime etc etc. I'm thinking "out loud" as I type. Maybe the computer gaming isn't so bad. ........ :)

If your little ones are interested in the computer, I highly recommend the Reader Rabbit software series, as well as the cbeebies website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/ which is FULL of fun activities which are easy for children to work through on their own. Always make sure you are nearby if your child is on the internet however, as they may accidentally deviate from the webpage. Also, the child should be at eye level with the screen and not too close to it either. Every 10 minutes or so, have them hop up and have a little stretch and look around the room too. And like with all fun activites, give them a 5-minute warning when their time up is coming, and have another activity such as a play outside or lunch ready to transition into.

Any other websites to recommend?

Wordless Wednesday - Princess of the sandpit

Treasures from afar...........

My Mum and Ray have recently returned from a glorious 6-week trip through the countrysides of France and Italy. (I'm not at all green about this, no, not at all........ ;)) They came to see us upon their return, and brought with them (among other things)......

For Stuart (medieval history buff)

For Elijah (our resident monkey and budding musician)

For Saraya (lover of all things "tiny"- she loves this little Pinnochio)

And me! (Carrier of nappies, wipes, changes of clothes, dummies, burping cloths, snacks, drinkbottles, oh, and my purse is in there somewhere........)

How fun to get presents!! Especially when they were specially chosen and have travelled so far to get to us.

We've had a nice Monday today. A quiet day at home, which was fitting as the weather was bleak- rainy and very very cold. I had the fireplace going all day, and the house is really toasty tonight! Elijah and I played lots of games together, made a cake, read books, did the folding, cooked tea, and he played the computer while I managed to finish "The Alchemist" (great ending). We also had 2 little friends come to play after school this afternoon which was lots of fun. Off to our toddler music group "Mainly Music" tomorrow. I'm hoping the weather is a little brighter so I feel inspired enough to walk outside! It would be nice to see the sun- cloudy days really make me appreciate it. :)

This bit is for Mum as she has asked for the recipe, though I would highly recommend it to anyone as it's my favourite cake to bake (and the one we made today!):

Applesauce Cake

Cream 1/2 cup shortening (veg oil or margerine) with 1 and a 1/2 cups of sugar. Add 2 well-beaten eggs, mix well. Mix in alternately 1 and 1/2 cups of applesauce and 2 and 1/2 cups of sifted plain flour, beating well after each addition. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dissolve 1 teaspoon bicarb soda in 2 tablespoons of hot water, add and mix well. Fold in 1 cup of currants or sultanas, plus (optional) 1/2 cup chopped nuts.

Done! Pour into a greased round cake tin and bake in 180 degree oven for about 1 hour or until skewer comes out clean. I actually find 175 is a better temperature, but my oven is quite hot.

Mmmmm, enjoy... this cake is yummy and spicey in the Winter.

More photography :)

I love Sundays. And Saturdays. Have I mentioned how much I love weekends?!! I look forward to them ALL week, and sometimes have the problem of wishing too much into them.... you know when your expectation leads to your disappointment? It's hard to know what to fit into a weekend....... house jobs, yard work, relaxing, catching up with friends, church, spending quality family time, etc, etc. Anyway, we're working on getting the balance right. I'm sure we'll work it out someday.

Once again I took loads of photos; sadly I need to return the camera tomorrow and there's been no news of when ours will be repaired. :( I've realised this week just how much I love capturing the sweet moments of life by taking pictures!

Before we went out walking yesterday afternoon to collect pinecones (great for getting the fire going at night!), I went outside to find Saraya and Elijah playing on the benchseat in the back garden. What followed? A spontaneous photo-shoot!! I really adore these pictures.

The children are both wearing their new t-shirts Mum and Ray brought back from their overseas trip. They were both purchased in France, and the children think they're pretty special! Here's Will's special outfit which Mum picked up in Paris. Ah, what a trend-setter!!

Tomorrow's post will feature a few more holiday gift pictures. Yes, we were really blessed with some lovely treasures from Mum's trip! Hope everyone has had a great weekend.

Our day in pictures!!

Don't take your camera for granted......... this is the motto of my week! Finally I had my hands on a camera yesterday, and although I had headaches and it was one of "those" days in many ways, I had so much fun taking pictures. Just bare with me here!

What a happy smiley face to wake up to!

My other smiley wonder......... I have two other beautiful smiley ones from this little photo session, but they keep loading sideways for some reason. Will ask Stu about it later.

And who exactly drove the car to school to pick up Saraya?

Before you think I'm completely mad, let me explain that Eljiah likes to climb into the front of the car and have a "drive" while we're waiting for the school bell to ring (when we're early that is, which is rare!)........

Saraya Catherine after a long hard day at school. She looks pretty happy though, don't you think?! ;) Saraya is beside me as I type, and has asked me to mention "lamby" in her arms. She always brings a toy in the morning on the way to school, who then "minds" her carseat for the day. Someone to cuddle on the way home!

William, a little more sedate as we head towards bedtime..............

The other thing I wanted to add is a fun room change-around that we did last weekend. Since we've lived in this house, our middle room has been our dining room, and our front room our playroom. Well, we felt like a change and swapped them around!! I am loving the change, and here are a couple of pics to share.

A spot for drawing (paper and pens in the big basket on the blue table), puzzles, Noah's ark, railroad track, Elijah's cars, magnodoodles, books galore, and our favourite toys ever, Little People. We're having fun in that room!

I love the way the sunlight shines in here in the afternoons. It's a bright, happy room to sit and eat in and catch up on the day.

Calling for pumpkin soup...........

My friend Jen was recently asking me if I knew a good pumpkin soup recipe. I shared mine with her, but it's kind-of a basic one. I know Renata, you mentioned an interesting one recently on your blog....... I wondered if you could add it into a comment here? Also, Cathy, you have a delicious one with roasted vegies.........

Pumpkin soup is always yummy in winter, so if you have a good recipe, please share it!

No other news for tonight as I'm really really tired. Got to go to bed! I have borrowed a camera for the day tomorrow and plan to catch up on some pictures as William has changed heaps since I last photographed him. Babies change so quickly, it's amazing. :)

Wordless Wednesday - Our Princess, 12 hours old

6 UN-Spectacular things about me......

Okay, Heather has tagged me for this meme. I read a few posts from people doing it, and it seems it's meant to be 6 not-so-great things about yourself. This could be revealing......

First, the rules......

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 5 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

Okay, here goes. 6 Un-Spectacular things about me.

* Although my hair (sometimes) looks smooth and shiny, it's only because I use a hair straightener. :( By nature it's neither straight nor curly...... just a fairly wild in-between wavy (or in humid summer weather, frizzy ;))

* I'm really really addicted to dark chocolate. I love that relaxed happy feeling I get when I eat it!! Thankfully my addiction isn't too out of hand.... I don't think about eating it all the time.....and I only usually budget in one block a week... and it's only a 100g block....... and I only really eat 1-2 pieces a day....... and yes, I'm trying to justify it.....

* I detest cleaning my oven. It's my least favourite house-worky job, and gets done very rarely. Please don't look in there Mum, you'll be quite horrified I'm sure!

* I have a habit of cutting off the end of Stuart's sentences. If he pauses even slightly, I jump in. I always think I know what he's going to say - I'm often right, but sometimes not, and he finds it frustrating. I'm trying really hard to stop!

* I write to-do lists, but often don't get through them. It's funny, because the jobs from today just keep getting pushed onto tomorrow. This means it could be a week or more before a job actually gets done. I know I have a newborn, but I'm hard on myself and find this frustrating!

* I check emails LOTS of times a day. Lots!! Too many times!! Just looking for a message from a friend or family member......... or, you guessed it, blog comments!! Stu finds this quirk funny. "Just checking emails are you Min?" he'll say. "Yep, it's been at least a minute since you did, so you'd better check again...........". Elijah will also walk in and say "Oh Mamma, are you checking emails again?"! Can anyone relate to this one?? :)

5 people to tag (play along if you want to):

1. Jen
2. Cathy
3. Theresa
4. Andrew
5. Tamra

Also, thankyou everyone for sharing what you're reading!! It was so nice to get all those comments. Let me encourage everyone to read all the comments to the Books, Books, Books post to share in the fun. :)
Have a great night, enjoy the Olympics! (Aussie, Aussie Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!)

Books, books, books

I thought it would be fun to share what books we are reading at the moment. I love to read, but don't get a lot of time to do so - usually a few pages here and there through the day. So it's great to find really really good books to read during that precious time. Often word-of-mouth is the best way, so let's share!

Right now I'm reading............

* The Five Love Languages of Children by Chapman and Campbell (this is fantastic- couldn't recommend it highly enough)

* How to Build Confidence in Your Child by Dr James Dobson (one of his older books, but still a good read- a great section on thoughful discipline)

* The Power of a Positive Mum by Karol Ladd (somehow this one keeps finding it's way to the bottom of my pile, but every time I pick it up again, I remember how good it is! A great reminder to keep things positive in the home)

And just for me....

* The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (a classic, given to me by a friend; a great read, hard to put down!! Can't wait to see how it all ends)

* I'm re-reading The Okinawa Way (fascinating study into the lives of Okinawans, the population with the most number of people who live healthily over 100yrs in the world)

I'm also re-reading The Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola (one of my most favourite books re: learning in the home/ raising a family), and working through the book of Matthew for my KYB Bible Study group.

So much to read, so little time............ :)

SO, what are you reading?

A long-term vision

I've been thinking a lot today.

We've had Stuart's sister and brother-in-law and their 3 children here last night and today (a lovely stay, btw) and it's caused me to really ponder some things. See these little poppets below?

I know this will sound crazy, but it's just hit me that they're actually going to grow up and be adolescents and then adults someday not too far away. Of course I already knew this, but it's SO easy to get caught up in the day-to-day run of chores and discipline and just getting things done around the home, that I forget the job of parenting is to raise little ones all the way up into their young adulthood. Aggghhh!!! This is freaking me out a little.

Our sister Wendy's children are 10, 13 and 15. Having them stay really opened my eyes to some of the challenges ahead as the children get bigger. Our neice and nephews are gorgeous kids, loving and quirky and full of life just like mine. :) But they're not little anymore! They're big kids, with opinions and ideas and an independence all of their own. It struck me that although the stage of parenting I'm at, with the long long days and dirty nappies and wakeful babies etc. is exhausting, it may actually be simpler in some ways than the years in front of us! This is an amazing thought. I've always assumed it would get easier......... but at least right now, the children are here, home with me most of the time. They trust me. They respect me. They think their father and I can do absolutely anything!! And that's great- I love it because it's entirely not true! :)

I think the thing I've realised most this weekend is that I yearn to have the same closeness with my kids in 10 years time that I have now. I don't know if it will happen, but I'll keep aiming for it. 15 is a hard age to be. Saraya will be 15 in 10 years! I remember being 15 and it was awful. full of challenges, every day. I want her to trust me and I want to be her confidante then, as I am now.

SO, having said all this and rambled quite enough, I'll suffice to say that in the coming weeks I'm really going to focus on my relationships with my children. I will discipline them when it's necessary, but will aim to keep the rest of the constant comments of "training" to a minimum. You know the ones......... "Please chew with your lips closed", "Don't pick Will up like that", "Guys, I've told you to play quietly when you're inside", " Sit up straight on your chair", "I wish you would just for once listen to me!!!" etc. etc. I'm going to try to say what's important, then replace the rest with some words of affirmation because I really think they need them! I'm going to aim to spend a bit of one-on-one time with each of them every day. I will hug them more, and stop and listen first before I launch into yet another talk about what's appropriate or inappropriate. They are gifts from God, and I want them to KNOW for sure and for certain how treasured they are to me!!

I'll let you know how things go. I'm excited and looking forward to a happy Sabbath tomorrow and a good week ahead. I wish you the same as you head into yours! :)

Goodbye

Ah, the sadness of saying goodbye. :(


My Mum went home today, and with her the end of a week of spending time together. The two little boys and I stood on the platform waving her off on the train, me trying to be positive and think of the next time we will see her, Elijah clinging to my leg and quietly crying little-boy tears........ and William oblivious really to what was going on. He was just drooling and looking around as always. :) We went straight to my friend Helen's house to have a cuppa and cheer up a bit. It worked, and even Elijah was smiling by the end of the day. He was really, really sad to see Mum go!! We had a lot of fun together, and she and I even got a few jobs done which have been bugging me for awhile now....... clearing out my wardrobe of maternity clothes and re-stocking it with regular ones (yes I know I should have done this weeks ago), cleaning out my linen cupboard (it looks GREAT!), and sorting through William's clothes. He has just gone up to a size 00 so needed the 000's put away. It was sad; there are so many cute 000's he no longer fits into! :( Then again, his new selection of 00's I've moved into his chest of drawers is exciting too.

Mum cooked for me while she was here, and grocery shopped for me too. I've been spoiled and have a freezer and pantry full to prove it! Mum - you are SO good to us, and we all love you very much and miss you already!


Tomorrow will be a busy day for all of us. With the opening of the Olympics tomorrow night, Stuart and his Preps are having all kinds of celebrations tomorrow. Part of the festivities includes the making of fried rice for lunch (courtesy of you-know-who), so I'll be spending much of the day with the children out at school. Always an exhausting prospect! Stuart's sister and her family all arrive tomorrow night for a Friday-night and all-day Saturday stay. We're really looking forward to catching up with them (and showing-off Stu's look-alike baby son... I think his sister will be having flashbacks to when Stuart was a baby!). So I need to get enough spare beds ready for 5 people - not sure exactly where we're going to put them, but I love a hospitality challenge!! I'm always thinking of ways to try and make my home more hospitable. I really want friends and family to feel comfortable here....... and constantly think about reasons why they wouldn't be (eg. house too small, too messy, not enough chairs, etc. etc.) I know it's silly to think like this, and that friends come to see us, not the house. Are you hard on yourself re: your ability to be a "host"?



I would love any tips or ideas on how to practice the kind of hospitality I know Jesus wants us to! It's an area I really want to improve in. In particular I want people to feel relaxed and comfortable, and to feel there's enough to do and different areas to go to if there are lots of people here. Our home is fairly small, so I'm conscious of wanting to use the space we have wisely.

Thanks in advance!! Have a great Friday everyone.

Random bits

We are having such a nice time with my Mum visiting. As I type, she is in the kitchen baking a cake for me. And I think she has done 3 loads of washing thus far this morning. :) Saraya's highlight of every day is having Nanna come along to school in the mornings! Elijah makes sure he gets a playtime with her each day too. :) I'm loving having her here, and wish we lived closer. We're going to go to my Tuesday night Bible-study together tonight which will be really special. It's at Cathy's, in front of the fireplace which is even better!

My sad news for the week is that I went to get my filling yesterday afternoon and found out that the decay is down into the nerve.... which means another extraction! :( Grrrrr....... That will hopefully be the last ever, but it will be my 7th (including wisdom teeth) tooth out since I had Saraya!! I feel like I'll be a gummy old lady at 28. :( Sad seeing as I do take good care of my teeth, and eat pretty well. Very depressing indeed. And painful! And expensive!!

BUT I just have to share that my 10 week old wonder has slept for 10 hours straight through, the last 3 nights in a row!! Yippee!!! Woohoo!!!!!! Last night was from 8pm until 6am........ absolutely shocked me when I woke up in the morning, listening to him talk to himself in his cradle, goo-ing and gah-ing happily. Of course he was VERY hungry, but I had more than enough milk to satisfy him!!

No photos this week as our camera got dropped and is away getting repaired (hopefully insurance will cover it.....) So my blog's looking very boring. Will have to rely on the photos in my archives for awhile!

One-word challenge

After a busy day I feel like posting something fun. So here goes, a one-word-answer challenge I read on Renata's blog recently.................

1. Cell phone? Yes
2. Significant other? Stuart
3. Hair? Long
4. Mother? Ros
5. Father? Geoff
6. Favorite thing? Home
7. Dream last night? Forgotten
8. Favorite drink? Tea
9. Dream/goal? Mother
10. Room I'm in? Lounge
11. Church? Community
12. Fear? Tired
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here
14. Where were you last night? Home
15. What I'm not? Outgoing
16. Muffins? Yum
17. Wish list item? Curtains
18. Where did you grow up? Brisbane
19. Last thing I did? Eat
20. What are you wearing? Tracksuit
21. TV? On
22.Pets? None
23. Computer? Blog!
24. Life? Busy
25. Mood? Tired
26. Missing someone? Yes
27. Car? Blue
28. Not wearing? Pyjamas :(
29. Favorite store? Book
30. Summer? Please
31. Love someone? Lots
32. Favorite color? Blue
33. Last time you laughed? Today
34. Last time you cried? Today
35. Who will repost? Jen

I love weekends

Don't you just love weekends? I love nothing more than having my family home and close to me!

Today we've been pretty busy.......... grocery shopping, weeding and mulching the gardens next door for an open house (keep praying, please), and helping some special friends who were moving house today. I seem to have picked up a cold of some sort, and have a stuffy nose but am otherwise okay. As long as the children (particularly Will) stay well, I don't mind!

Saraya and I just had a movie night, our "date night" for this month. The timing wasn't great as we're both really tired, but as always it was so nice to snuggle up by the fire and watch a movie together. Tonight's pick from our collection was "Fly Away Home" which is one of my favourites, so I'm glad she picked it! It's a really great full-length movie for kids about Saraya's age.

Anyway, I'm off to bed to get some sleep before another busy but exciting day tomorrow. We have some sorting out to do in our spare room to get it ready for my Mum who arrives tomorrow. Yippee!! I'm so excited to see her. She hasn't seen William since he was 3 weeks old, so he's changed HEAPS since then! I think she'll love his big smiles. :)

A funny Feminine Friday

So the big question is:

Do I look better as a blonde or with black hair?

Hehe, just thought this would give a few laughs. :) :)

I entered the Eisteddfod here a couple of years ago, singing "Just Around the Riverbend"

from Pocahontas, in the Musical Theatre section. It was fantastic fun trying to pull off dressing as a Native American with my fair colouring! :0

The wig was awesome, and some friends who came along to support me later said they saw me but didn't recognise me at all until they heard me sing. I've actually never dyed my hair in real life, so wearing the wig was great fun. I even kept it on after changing into my pyjamas that night, just to get the most out of the "black hair" experience.

What do you think? Is it a feminine look??

Have a great weekend! :)