Hello Autumn!

This week we have said goodbye to summer, and hello to autumn. How I love welcoming in this cooler season! There is a crispness in the air in the early mornings and the evenings. The days are still warm, but I know jumpers will be pulled out soon enough.

Yesterday afternoon the children packed up little bags and headed out into the cool garden for some creative play.

The sky over our heads at about 5 o'clock. The seasonal change is something you can literally feel all around you, isn't it?! Amazing.

Molly is always close by the children - she is like a puppy the way she follows them around!

My chatterbox William. He literally never stops talking to me about what's on his mind.

Elijah is back at school now, though still not quite 100%. Soon after I took this photo he came inside and asked me for a warm bath. I put lavender oil in it, and lit a candle for him. I also played one of his favourite sleepy cd's. :) He stayed in the warm water for a long time, and after pyjamas were on and dinner eaten, he was off to bed. He is feeling much better today.

Saraya and William stayed out until dusk. They put on some warmer clothes and told me they were off on "an adventure" - all the way up to the letter box. ;)

These two children are great mates. I was given a much-needed night off rehearsing last night, so things were much slower paced here. It was bliss just to watch the children play and appreciate the simple things.

Today is cleaning day and William and I have just changed all the beds and put on the feather doonas with fresh covers. It is a nice feeling to be cosy-ing up the house. Autumn will bring more soups and stews, lap blankets at night, earlier dinners and (hopefully, God willing) more sleep-ins from the little people in the house.

Hello Autumn!

Cleaning Day

I don't know about you, but I love cleaning day. For me, it used to be Fridays. Recently I have made the shift to Wednesdays. William and I both look forward to working hard together, cleansing and beautifying our home! We took a little break at midday today, and took our lunch to the park. First we walked our usual 40 minute lap around the Lagoon, then we picnicked and had a swing. :) Then we came home to finish the cleaning!

Today we cleaned the front entryway, the bathrooms, the floors, the dusting, the kitchen, and a big tidy and clean in both the children's bedrooms. Nothing more wonderful than looking around and seeing and smelling the freshness around you!

Welcome to the boys' adventure play and retreat area :) :

This is William's permanent set-up. Barn, tractors, farmers, animals = little boy bliss.

Cheeky helper.

Reading station.

Will sleeps on the lower bunk and Elijah on the top. Will always wants his blue playsilk hanging above his bed!

And Welcome to my princess' dreamland and personal art gallery:

Raggedy Ann and Andy are here to greet you at the door!

Her favourite pieces of art work adorn her walls. Her beautiful patchwork quilt was a gift from her Grandad last Christmas.

Double layers of books... :)

Whenever I do a full clean of our home I always cut fresh flowers to put in my favourite vase. You've no idea how *dead* the flowers were in this very vase this morning...... ahem. Let's just say it was time to replace them with some fresh ones. ;)

I love blessing my children by making their bedrooms shine from time to time. Keeping them tidy is the children's responsibility, but every now and then each room needs a Mama's touch, right?

The after-school reunion is sweet, each and every day.

What is your favourite household chore? Do you have a specific cleaning day or do you spread the cleaning out through the week? I'd love to hear from you.

A Glimpse of My Morning

Just a few photos to share of our morning at home today. The autumn sky is glorious! The weather is so divine. Chilly nights and warm days. The garden is thriving after yet more rain last night. Winter woollies have been washed today for William. :) So nice to pull out all Elijah's old size 2 winter clothes and handle them again. I baked bread rolls for lunch and Saraya made her own little loaf. The children put on a spontaneous play for me this morning - the story of Peter Rabbit! Complete with audience seating, dressed-up bunnies for Peter and Benjamin, a cat, Mr Macgregor and Mrs Macgregor (dolls), Old Mrs Rabbit, and a stick scarecrow on which to hang Peter's blue jacket! Saraya made a fine ticket-maker and usher, and she and Elijah shared the narration / acting of the story with the toys. So cute!!

We've been for a walk and I've managed to wash bed sheets and clean the bathrooms. We've finished schooling for the day. Now to tackle the dishes and the vacuuming!! And the mountain of folding...

Nice to sit here first though. And nice to be popping in to my blog mid-week. :)

On my To-do List today.....

Updated at 4:20pm ..........

* Clean the kitchen - check

* Vacuum the floor - check

* Sweep the front verandah - check

* Do 3 loads of washing (I'm a bit behind...) - check

* Make vanilla ice-cream - check

* Dispose of insect remains / leaves etc. from the containers all over the house - check

* Do Saraya's lessons with her (for today it's literacy, maths, ancient history and reading) - check

* Bake a slice - check

* Make chicken korma curry for dinner - about to start

* Make up the guest bed for a mystery visitor... :) - check

* Move Will's cot into our bedroom - check

* Get the kids to help me tidy their rooms thoroughly - check

* Clean both toilets and bathroom sinks - check

* Dusting - check

* Cut and arrange flowers for mystery visitor's bedroom, and for the dining table - check

* Be done by 4:30pm in time for the arrival of our wonderful mystery visitor! (who I promise to reveal to you sometime soon :)) Any guesses?

Happy Wednesday everyone! xo

Update ----- We're ready for my Mum to arrive!! It's nearly 4:30pm and she's going to be a half hour late. Which gives me time to get dinner going and do something with these very over-excited children!!!!

Reflecting on the week

What have we been up to in our little homeschool this week?

We have explored a Times Table Grid - I'll put up more details next week; it's been a hit!

We have been reading lots and lots and lots of books together and separately. I estimate that I read to the children an hour a day, Stuart reads to them half an hour, they read to themselves about half and hour, and I read my own books about the same. Saraya's reading has absolutely taken off since she has been homeschooling- and really, all I've done is read to her and have her read to me- all the time.

We have poured over cookbooks, made meal plans, shopping lists, and shopped together.

We have spent time at the park, in the garden, at friends' homes, and of course, at our home.

We have cooked and baked more meals and bread and juiced more fruit than I care to remember.

We have cleaned and tidied and beautified our home all the while.

We have enjoyed the sudden warmer weather (though I hear it will be cold again tonight, and I'm excited- this could be the last cold snap and the last chance to use the fireplace!). The children have had the chance to play in the sandpit in their underwear this week, with the hose on- more than once.

We have sung and made music and danced and dressed-up (well, the children have).

We have learnt about Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic - and made art about it.

We have licked many spoons. Today was mixture for Chocolate Chip Cookies and Crisp Coconut Cookies. About 4 dozen of each. :) Not all for us, though!!

We have allowed the children a bit of time after dinner before bed to pour over reference books - they love them, and tonight it was "The Atlas of World Wildlife", a childhood book of Stuart's!

We have made use of our Little People toys, the Mega Blocks, the baby dolls, and the Box of Lentils with the tiny cars to drive through.

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And today, Laura and Almanzo got married.

It was very exciting - the bridal outfits were arranged and adorned while I was busy inside; then there was music and singing and vows before a congregation of two. :)

Home-made rings.

The insisted-upon first kiss! Complete with lots of giggling. :0)

And the farewells as they departed for their Honeymoon....... to New Zealand.

In the Horse-drawn Wagon.

And, Sunday.

We decided to skip church service this morning (again...) and enjoy some togetherness and the peace of home instead. Time at home when we're all together is rare and precious and we've all been a bit down with *something* this week so the extra rest did us all good.

My day began with my tea and my bible.

And cuddles and stories with the little ones. Playtime and general pottering. Making Dinosaur Land with the Mega-blocks was on the agenda for some of the family.

I found this little green gingham bag in a drawer and decided it would make a perfect egg-collecting bag, now that the chickens are laying such quantities of eggs! It can be hard for little hands to carry 5 (or more) eggs successfully at once.

Hoping that hanging it by the door here will remind Saraya to grab it as she heads outside.

Lunch was pumpkin soup. Naptime followed.

I don't normally do such work on a Sunday, but enthusiasm to attack my long-neglected and shameful laundry came from somewhere...... so I seized it!!

Just an hour or so later, some help from Stuart and Saraya, and jackpot! It's a nice place to be once more. Delightfully clean and tidy, and smelling sweetly of lavender and lemon oils. Peeling paint off the concrete floor means it doesn't exactly look clean, but it is.

Half-way through cleaning the windows Saraya said, "It's looking marvellous Mama! Can I please do the sweeping bit yet? And the mopping?" Really, she did! This girl has inherited my love of getting dirty areas clean again.

Old-fashioned nightie for Saraya courtesy of Mum. :) She LOVES to wear this nightdress!

And Elijah loves to wear this medievil piece from the dress-up basket. And pretend to be an Animal Warrior, saving the koalas in our backyard.

Left-over pizza from last night with scrambled eggs and tomato slices for tea. And custard with bananas. :) Oh, we also put a pineapple, some ginger, a grapefruit and about 10 oranges through the juicer to make some juice to have with our tea. Anything to keep us healthy through these final weeks of winter. It's the second time we've used the juicer this week.

Stuart and I are about to finish watching "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", then it's off to bed for me and into a brand new week tomorrow.

It's Friday........

............... Which means that I am tidying and vacuuming floors, changing bed sheets, cleaning toilets and baths, washing etc. This remains one of my favourite days of the week! Today Stuart agreed to take the children with him to Prep for a couple of hours (he's been going in every day this week- sorting, purging, planning and so on; the children LOVE to play out there while he works!), and I have been making the most of the time I've been given. :) So nice to just work away without interruption. Second load of washing about to be hung on the line. Gingerbread cookies about to be mixed! We are expecting company for lunch and the afternoon/ evening so I'm busy getting organised. I'm taking a 5 minute break to have a drink and an apple......... and to post too. :)

I just wanted to put up some photos for my friend Theresa, who recently moved to South Australia and wanted to see our kitchen renovations! Here you are........

The new island bench, complete with 3 barstools for little people. (or big :)). We also had a second-hand dishwasher installed- and it has been such a blessing to me already! Interestingly, the kitchen actually feels bigger than it did before the island went in. So good to have that extra bench space.

We also put up curtains in the living room after 3 years of no curtains! It has been great for keeping out the hot/glary afternoon sun, and for keeping the house warmer at night. The curtains are thick and really keep the room insulated when we have the fire going. So nice!

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Last little thing to share. Rebecca and I have been emailing one another this week, and she has blessed me so richly with her knowledge and wisdom as a homeschooling mother. I just had to share this important point she shared with me earlier in the week. I hope you don't mind, Rebecca. :) It is truly shaping the way I am thinking about teaching my children.

"Saminda, while it is easy to become overwhelmed, just as Peter did when he looked at the waves around him, we must keep our eyes on Jesus. He has given each of these little ones to you and your husband and He has made no mistake in doing so. You are giving them the very best. You are giving them the gift of you. Remember to bring all things back into a Biblical perspective. We teach them to read so they can read His Word and hunger after Him. We teach them Math so that they can marvel at God and his order. If we compare ourselves among ourselves we are not wise (1 Corinthians 10:12). Focus on progress as your goal, not another family."

I hope this blesses you as it has me! Have a wonderful Friday, friends. :)