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!

An Autumn Celebration

Today we had quite an autumn celebration in our home. Not really planned, the day just sort-of unfolded that way and I went with it.

Firstly we completed our eggy project which was ....... little beeswax egg-shaped candles! I had never tried candle-making before, so it was a new thing for me. Inspiration found here and tutorial found here if you wish to try it yourself!

I learnt a lot this morning - mostly that when beeswax melts the quantity tends to "shrink". Even after 3 separate wax meltings I still ended up with not quite enough wax. Which meant our candles weren't quite egg-shaped as the wax didn't reach the top of the eggshells. But that's okay! They still worked. And I would like to try them again next week.

Melting our slithers of beeswax

Using a funnel to pour it into our eggshells

Leaving to harden

We cleaned and tidied the living rooms this morning and I emptied the vase of withered roses and replaced them with these warm-coloured grasses, cut from the hedging down the side of the verandah.

The children went on an autumn nature hunt and used their discoveries to make this table centrepiece, an autumn inspired table wreath.

Saraya happily peeled away at the shells once the candles had hardened

And the table centrepiece made the perfect frame for our home made candle, which we lit at dinner time. Very special!

Saraya read us all a poem we found called "Autumn Song" - welcoming the falling leaves and cooler weather. We dined on pumpkin soup and wholemeal rolls, then apple and raspberry puff and home made vanilla ice-cream. Yum!!

It was a good, long, productive day. I am tired tonight but I know my children enjoyed this spontaneous seasonal celebration, and so did I. :)

Life with Littlies.....

bike riding

observing

creating

pasting

working together

posing :)

problem solving

drawing

making

sorting

de-sorting

and counting.

Phew! What a day!

A new page on the calendar, a new month, a new season. The leaves are turning, the rain is falling and tonight the air is noticeably cooler. Happy 1st Autumn everybody!

Warm fuzzies

After a hectic, rainy..... make that saturated and muddy morning out and about, I was busily unpacking groceries in the kitchen when I walked in to find this:

My littlest off to dreamland after his bottle, my oldest caressing and cuddling him after discarding aforementioned empty bottle.  And watching "For the Juniors" on the ABC at the same time.  She is quite the multitasker, wouldn't you say?

Yes, it's been rather chilly here this week....... loads of rain and very little sunshine.  Still, probably not really cold enough to warrant beanies and gloves just yet.  Can you tell we are from Queensland?  Slight drop in temperature and my kids (and er - yep, me too....) are reaching for the winter woolies. 

This warmed me up, anyhow.  :)

A little harvest

Late last week I harvested about 1/4 of the sweetcorn from my garden.  Its been a big hit with the children!

And these roses have the sweetest smell.  

I love the way they fragrance the house, naturally.  

Summer days are winding up, and so are my gardens.  I'm looking forward to the weeding,the composting, mulching and replanting for the Autumn/Winter crops.  Seasons and gardening - two of my favourite things!