Goals for Week 1 of the holidays...

Today we're all feeling heaps better, and launched ourselves into the day by getting busy!!
I was out mowing the lawn at 8:30am so that was a good start. :) I did get a call from the doctor's clinic today though, saying they had more of my tests back (didn't know they were waiting on any) and the doctor needs to discuss them with me. So I need to go in Wednesday. Hoping everything is ok.
I've been thinking about what else I want to achieve this week and thought I'd do one of my most favourite (and Stu's least favourite) things......... Writing a list. :)

Goals for this week.......

* Learn how to use the new camera and take lots and lots of photos for my blog! Yay!!!!
* Continue with our "sort and purge" on all rooms, especially the children's room and what will become Saraya's new room
* Clean the whole house from top to bottom
* Weed out 1 vegie patch
* Plant seeds in that patch when done
* Bake a batch of something
* Run errands in town tomorrow
* Grocery shopping later in the week
* Go to Lincraft to look at curtain fabric for Saraya's room
* Change the children's bedsheets
* Stu to put up the cot for William as he has outgrown the cradle (so sad! :() Pack the cradle away.
* Have friends Chloe and Declan for the day on the weekend to give their Mummy and Daddy a "grown-ups day" (our turn next month!)....... and do lots of fun things with them.....
* Post some important mail including letters to our sponsor children... I'm really overdue to do this
* Hopefully finish the room change-around to get Saraya into her new room by next week. And maybe put Will in with Elijah. I'm not sure whether to do this or leave the cot in our room....... anyone have opinions on this one? He's 4 months now and the boys will eventually share, but I'm not sure whether he's too young as yet....... My other babies were in with us much longer.

There might be other things to plan for this week. I'm sure there are, but I feel tired just thinking about the above ones. :)

Menu plan for the rest of this week:

Tuesday: Italian sausages and vegies

Wednesday: Salmon patties and salad

Thursday: Vegetable risotto and breadrolls

Friday: Tuna curry on rice

Saturday: Roast chicken with roast potatoes and broccoli......

plus a past dish of some sort. and dessert. Friends for tea! :)

Happy holidays fellow Queenslanders!!

(and thankyou for this idea Tamra :))

Sundays when sick.............

are relaxing.

A slow, easy start......................

Eggs for breakfast, stories on the rug, colouring in, listening to the psalms on CD.

A long morning nap for William.

Another cup of tea for me.

Sandpit play for the children.

And, for the first time since Will's birth..... I sat and played my piano. My fingers remembered what to do and soon it was as though no time had past since I last played. I was so happy I nearly cried! Will seemed perplexed as his little eyes watched me. Elijah was quick to appear at my side and ask what I was playing.

A walk in the park this afternoon.

Homemade pizza for tea.

Things are looking up. :)

My moment of insanity.......

So apparently migraines make you do crazy things. At least, that's my excuse for my moment of insanity today.

No pictures as our camera is still out of action (I think we're getting a new one soon though, thanks to insurance!); I can see how I'd do this post if I could put pictures in it.

Anyway, I digress.......

Today I had washed my hair, and after working through the morning doing various jobs I decided to straighten it. Will was napping so I knew I had a little while. But I just started thinking to myself...... if only I could have a hair cut. it's been so long. at least 11 months. (really, it has). if my hair was shorter, Will wouldn't grab at it all the time. it would take less time to straighten too. and I'd really like a change. As you can tell, by this time I had decided I wanted a hair cut. But this is where the migraine made me make a very insane decision..
I wanted my hair cut RIGHT THEN!!!! Could I wait until next week when I could actually make an appointment to see a hairdresser?? NO, of course not. William would only sleep another 15 minutes or so, and I wanted to straighten it. And I wanted it cut. Now.

So, I did the unthinkable. I stood in front of my bathroom mirror, and little by little, I cut my hair. Yes Mum, I know you're now having heart palpatations, you cannot believe you would produce a daughter who would do such a ridiculously spontaneous thing.
But I did it.
The bathroom floor was covered in hair, and my little boy was just gaping at me. What on earth?........... After visiting our wonderful friend Nev this afternoon to um..... "tweak it" a bit (ie. straighten out the crocked bits- it's really hard to cut your own hair! probably why no-one does it; thankyou Nev for your help :))....... it's looking good. I mean, I really really like it!! I haven't ever worn my hair this short. It's just under my shoulders, has a few little layers in it and will be so much cooler for Summer. Today was hot, so I already had a chance to feel the difference!

It seems to be going down ok with the family....... and aside from Elijah's comment "oh, you're a boy now Mamma!" (it's really not that short), I'm happy with it.

Even if it was a little spontaneous.
Hope this mirgraine goes away soon. Who knows what other crazy things I might do.....

(Photo to come, I promise).

Feminine Friday - Tiny Tea Parties

Saraya and I love tea parties. Especially tiny tea parties. Little teapots, teacups, and tiny things to eat- anything tiny you can summon up with your imagination.

Saraya's "Aunty" Cathy, and her daughter Chloe love them too.
I am learning from Cathy. She is the master of tiny teas!!



This one was for a school friend earlier in the year. It was beautiful!

A certain little girl of mine is having a birthday next month. She will reach the grand age of six. Hmmmm............. an excuse for a tea party? We are thinking so.

A glimpse of the rainbow.....

Things to be thankful for:

* As of 5pm yesterday, the contract on the house went unconditional!!!!!!!!!
This is an answer to prayer (much prayer!) and we are all so so so thankful.

* My blood tests came back normal. I am low in iron (yes, this may be triggering the migraine, we shall see) so I am now on an iron supplement. I also need to take an aspirin a day for the next 6 months, to help keep my blood thin and my vessels open. Plus a low dose of a migraine-prevention medication. I really don't like taking things, so this is a hard one for me. But hopefully soon the spots in my vision will go away, as the migraine clears. I still feel a big weak and woosey in general. (We have always taken care with our diet, exercise etc. so this is frustrating!!! I feel really old at the moment. A bout of mastitis last night isn't helping...)

* Today is the last day of term!! Hip, hooray!! 2 weeks holiday together. We have lots to accomplish, so all need to get better quickly.

* Saraya has stayed perfectly well despite all our coughs and sniffles and fevers. She has an iron constitution, and an immune system of gold, that girl! Praise God.

* After settling off to sleep the other night, Elijah slept for 13 hours straight, sweated out his fever, and woke up WELL!!! Praise God for this too. Today he seems to be struggling a bit with the fever again; he has just had panadol and a nap and seems brighter now. We'll be praying that he'll recover quickly again.

There's always a rainbow after every storm, right?! I need to remember this. :)
Stu is still home sick, though recovering slowly but surely. He has rested a lot this week which has been good for him. We all are in desperate need for sleep............. Hope some is coming around the corner!!

Trust

Psalm 125

Those who trust in the Lord,

they will be like Mount Zion;

Which can never be shaken,

but will endure forevermore.

As the hills surround Zion,

so the Lord He surrounds us;

And it will be forevermore,

Yes it will be forevermore.

Today I am trusting, and waiting on God to deliver us.

For the contract on the house to become unconditional.

For William's chestcold to heal quickly.

For Stuart's flu to pass and for him to return to full health. For God to place His hand of love and protection on him.

For Elijah's flu to pass quickly too. He has just come down with the high fever.

And for me to keep trusting, and to endure all that is coming before me. Today after an eye examination and having multiple blood tests, it was discovered that I've been having a migraine for the past few days...... and have been having them on and off for many years. I never knew that was what was happening when I had these headaches and "flashing lights" in my vision. My Dad who has had 2 strokes (both under the age of 50) may have had a blood condition which I too may possibly have, causing the blood vessels in the body to tightly constrict. I'll know more tomorrow at the follow-up appointment.

I don't often worry, but tonight I feel overwhelmed with life and will just have to keep speaking Psalm 125 over and over in my head.

I feel like it's just one thing after another in this house lately................... Do we have a target on our heads or what??

Holidays (and my 100th POST!!!)

Holidays

The holiest of all holidays are those

Kept by ourselves in silence and apart;

The secret anniversaries of the heart,

When the full river of feeling overflows;-

The happy days unclouded to their close;

The sudden joys that out of darkness start

As flames from ashes; swift desres that dart

Like swallows singing down each wind that blows!

White as the gleam of a receding sail,

White as a cloud that floats and fades in air,

White as the whitest lily on the stream,

These tender memories are;- a Fairy Tale

Of some enchanted land we know not where,

But lovely as a landscape in a dream.

Longfellow

Yes, we have just had 2 wonderful days away visiting my family at the Sunshine Coast, and Stuart's family in Brisbane. Walks on the beach, a birthday lunch feast (wow, what food!!), an afternoon concert staring the children's Grandpa up in the mountains...........
Lots of hours driving, but what wonderful little travellers we have!

I love my family, I adore holidays....... and I'm oh so thankful our car made it there and home again. ;)

Wordless Wednesday - Who says we're theatrical?

Lunchtime conversation

I was sitting out under the trees today, waiting for my big number 3 boy to come outside for lunch. He appeared, and after glancing at his plate of sandwiches, checking inside for the contents (promite), and eyeing off his bowl of baked beans straight from the can, he exclaimed, " Well, Mamma!! A high 5 to you!!" .... followed by a 5 five in the air. :) His way of sharing his approval, and appreciation! It brings me so much joy to feed my family - especially when they show gratitude like this!

After finishing off his lunch, he told me he was still hungry and could he please have something else. I suggested some crackers with honey or jam. "Oh no, Mamma." he said. "I'm not fond of those. I'm thinking of something sweet. Maybe lollies?" with this he turned his head on the side and gave me a cheeky, hopeful smile.
It didn't work, and we decided on another half a promite sandwich. :)

It's been a good day so far. Looking forward to the rest of the family returning home. I'm cooking a roast chicken (thankyou Mum), with mashed potatoes and broccoli from the garden. If I have time I'll make an apple cobbler to please Saraya, my dessert princess.

A verse for today

Psalm 103: 8-15

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

He will not always accuse,

nor will he harbour his anger for ever;

he does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,

so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

for he knows how we are formed,

he remembers that we are dust.

Random ramblings of a busy Saturday....

It's been a long, long day. A pretty happy day nonetheless. Saraya has just headed to bed. We had our "date night" for this month, and once again she chose to watch an episode of "Little House on the Prairie" together. It was fun. :) Both little boys are asleep, and Stuart is out at a men's night at our church to celebrate Father's Day. Not quite sure what they are doing, but it did involve pizza. ;)

So, I have a rare very quiet house, basically all to myself. A few bits to share:

* I was about to leave the house this morning for my Saturday morning walk around the lagoon in town (a short drive to the lagoon, followed by a half hour brisk walk, perfect really; I do it at 6:30 on Sat morning's with 3 friends and it's so lovely)...... when I discovered a problem. Our car wasn't here. Stu had swapped it late yesterday for a friend's, borrowing their car and trailer as ours doesn't have a towbar. I couldn't take theirs, so needed to think up an alternative quickly!! It was 6:25am.
Stu came up with a great plan.............. I could drive his scooter! After much deliberating, and a rushed "how-to" lesson, I decided to be brave and give it a go. Let me emphasise that this is Stuart's scooter - his beautiful, big, manly, bright yellow scooter. I have never ever gotten close to driving it before. But if you were in town early this morning, you would have seen me carefully cruising along on this beauty:





(photo from last december, when Stu first bought it as a fuel efficient, to and from work vehicle. He hasn't looked back!)

It was exciting, slightly scary but sheer freedom at it's best......... I think I'm hooked!!

* Saraya lost both her top front teeth in the last 24 hours - see post below. It's hurting me not being able to take any photos at the moment.......... still waiting on the insurance claim on our camera. Grr...

* After the advice of many people, and further investigating, we decided to opt for a new washing machine rather than have our broken one looked at next week. Apparently, newish electrical machines have a realistic life of about 5 years. Ours is 9 years old, and according to someone I spoke to is "old". Old?!! Apparently once they start to do what ours did, it's a downhill slide and you can quickly pay out hundreds of dollars in service fees and repair. Thankfuly, the store did a great deal for us and because it's a 4-star water saving machine the government also gives us $200 back on it. And it fitted into our car so we didn't need to pay for delivery. So we were pretty happy about it. And I caught up on the washing!! (well, nearly). It's fancy and lovely. It's a Samsung, and I am calling it Sam. :)

* Our family tried tofu last night for the first time. I put it into a stir-fry with loads of vegies, served with rice. I just made my usual chilli-soy and peanut sauce (a good store-bought chilli-soy sauce, and a big dollop of peanut butter- easy and yum!). Stu and I loved it, Saraya thought the tofu tasted a bit like scrambled egg and labeled it "delicious" (she's always been a gourmet), and although Eli wasn't quite sure at first he then proceded to eat his whole little bowlful. So I guess tofu will make an appearance again soon!

* My friends (well, it all started with Cathy) have renamed Father's Day "King Daddy Day". We are all looking forward to the festivities tomorrow! I really want to bless Stuart - he is such a wonderful husband and father. He is patient, kind, loving, very giving, great fun, and such a blessing to everyone who knows him, especially to our family. The kids have been busy today with little projects, and I have a breakfast planned for him for tomorrow. And maybe a dinner too. :) Mmm, shall I anticipate "Queen Mummy Day" for next year??

Happy King Daddy Day everyone!!!

Saraya's lost tooth

Just a quick post at Saraya's request (no photo yet)........

she has, at long last, lost her very wiggly front tooth!!! The other one is not far behind. :)

She is absolutely gorgeous!

Editor's update at 4pm: She just lost the other one!! Stuart knocked it out while they were having a wrestle........ must have been ready to come. :) She now has that classic grade one gappy smile. I can't believe how fast she is growing up.

Feminine Friday - A quote

For this week, a quote. I saw this on someone else's blog recently, and I haven't forgotten it. Stuart and I were just talking about it, and we both think it's really quite true. Something to think about..............

"A lady is a woman who makes a man behave like a gentleman". - Russell Lynes

For other Feminine Friday thoughts, visit Kelly at The Barefoot Mama.

Enjoy the washing.............

If you have washing to do today, consider yourself lucky if you're able to do it.
As I have discovered this week, it is one thing to have to do the washing...... and another thing altogether to not be able to do it. That's right folks, my washing machine decided to freeze mid-cycle earlier this week. Um, excuse me? The washing machine. Extremely important appliance, very very necessary to the smooth running of the household. The washing machine!! No, no, no!!!

So I called about 4 "fix-it" places the following morning, and the earliest anyone can come look at it is next Wednesday. That's a whole week without a washing machine. The lady on the phone casually commented "Well, you might need to do a bit of hand washing in the meantime...." Hmmm, this lady obviously has no idea how much washing I have! At least 1-2 loads a day. And after the experience of hauling all the half-washed clothes sitting in my machine up to my bathroom, rinsing them in the bathtub, wringing by hand and hanging them sopping wet on the line, I won't be in a hurry to do much more by hand.

Thankfully I have some wonderful friends with working machines who are helping me out. Where would we be without friends?

So if you are washing today, praise God for the ability to do so. I'll never take my machine for granted again! Hope it's fixable. This is not the time to be purchasing a new one......

Thanks Renata!!!

Well, this week we have been enjoying a very large pot of the yummiest pumpkin soup ever!!

I want to thank Renata for sharing her recipe with me. Quote Saraya (really, I am not making this up)........ "Mmmmmmm, this is the nicest pumpkin soup recipe ever. (pause) ... And made by the best cook ever." :) I don't know about that, but wow this soup is good. I'll re-post the recipe here for you. This quantity made enough for our family for two meals, plus two mugs for lunches for me, and one lunch for Stu.

Pumpkin Soup:
Ing: 3/4 pumpkin; 2 potatoes; 1/2 large sweet potato; 2 onions; 1 carrot; 4 rashers bacon; chicken stock powder; 250 mls cream; salt & pepper;
Method: * Cut up all vegetables & bacon & put into large saucepan. Add water & boil with 1 tsp chicken stock til soft.
* Blend up until nice consistency (if you want it thick drain away some of the liquid before blending -this is how I like it). Add cream. Add salt & pepper & chicken stock powder to taste. Enjoy!
To change the taste you can use sour cream in place of the cream or even natural yoghurt for a low fat variety!

Stu just walked by and asked me to mention that this is not our wagon, and not our pumpkins either. I would have thought this self-explanatory, but I'll mention it anyway. :) I did search for a photo of Elijah harvesting ours this year, but I can't find it. I liked this one!

Wordless Wednesday - Off to sleep

Another new look :)

Okay, I've had feedback and the general consensus is that my readers prefer the old, cosy look. As I said to my friend Helen last night at Bible Study (and sent her into fits of hysterical laughter- mocking laughter perhaps? :), "I need to give my fans what they want"!

So I've freshened up the old template with a few new colours, and I think I like the result.

A new look

So, what do you think of this new blog look? I am feeling a bit inspired to do all sorts of Spring-cleaning with this warmer weather we've been having.......... and I couldn't leave my blog out. This look is fresher, less "cosy" I guess. I'm not sure what I think though.

Please leave a comment and tell me what you think!!

Finding the balance

My life is busy. Full of chores, opportunities, interests, things to do, places to go, people to see.

How do I find the balance?

This has been a constant question for me lately. Lately being over the last 6 and a half years, since I got married. But especially since having my number 3 baby. So many days just seem to slip by, and often the only real thoughts that go through my mind are to do with house chores- what I need to get done, and how to get those things done.

Pretty sad really.

When my Mum was up visiting recently, we were discussing this. I was feeling overwhelmed by the duties of running the house, and just feeling snowed under in general. And she said something to me which really impressed upon me. She said "Try not to be overwhelmed by ALL the things you need to get done. Concentrate on one things at a time, and feel satisfied with your efforts when you achieve something. When you are hanging the washing, try to enjoy the moment. Think about the fact that you are getting the washing hung.......... not that you also need to do the dishes, clean the floors, and cook dinner (whilst caring for the children!)." I have really been trying to do this, and it works!! As soon as I start to stress, and do the mental to-do list thing, I stop myself and just concentrate on the task at hand. One thing at a time. I feel less stressed, and am taking more time to complete each task and feeling the satisfaction of doing so.

We also talked about prioritising. It's something I find really difficult to do. As I move about my house, there are so many little things to be done that I can get constantly distracted from what I'm supposed to be doing......... and nothing ever gets completed. I hate that feeling!! You can end the day feeling like you've achieved nothing.

SO, I've been trying hard to prioritise, and also to commend myself on achieving little things.

I've worked out that:

Each day I need to prepare meals for my family, pack lunches, keep the dishes up to date, drive Saraya to and from school, keep the house generally tidy, and do one to two loads of laundry (wash, fold and put away). That is it!

They are the basics, and I can actually do these things each day and feel like I am achieving my basics list. Cleaning can happen once each week, as I find the time. Baking can happen once a week, particularly if I have a bit of a session in the kitchen and bake double-batches of things while I'm at it. Hooray for the freezer! Wrapping individual pieces of cake or slice in cling-wrap and freezing them makes packing lunch-boxes through the week easier. General tidying happens throughout each day. Watering the garden? While the children are playing outside. Cleaning out cupboards, sorting stuff........ all those kinds of things are good to plan for weekends when there's an extra set of adult hands around! Planning a big job like this probably means leftovers for tea too, so I try to think about this before starting something. These extra jobs are harder to plan for, but the opportunities always present themselves sometime and I just have to seize the moments! Since deciding on my basics list, I am less hard on myself since I don't feel I need to do every single thing every single day. Just the basics.

With this little guy still only 3 months old, I need to relax and spend time enjoying him. He is growing up incredibly fast, and I know that soon I'll be free to do more housework and gardening and other stuff I want to do on a regular basis. For now, I'm happy to keep things simple and as peaceful as is possible around here.

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.