Things I'm loving

Life is full.

All around me there is so much I'm thankful for.  In fact I think I can even justify...bullet points. heehee.  So here goes...this week I'm loving LOTS.

• having a student nanny (for free!) for three weeks.  I might just need counselling when she finishes, she is absolutely AMAZING.  So amazing I've been trying to figure out how we can afford to follow her to Dunedin next year so we can hire her...

• my baby boy.  He is just delicious.  I just love breathing in his sweet baby smell as I nuzzle into his soft cheeks when I'm trying to burp him in the night... and as he sneaks a cheeky smile up at me even in the half-dark.

• church.  We are having the kids dedicated this week.  Its a wonderful feeling being amongst such an awesome bunch of families and feeling accepted as we are, and for our kids to get to know some great kids each week in such a loving Kids Church environment.

• my responsible and gentle girls.  They make me proud to be their mum.  (although we won't mention bedtime shenanagans).  I love the way they look after each other, and absolutely adore their new baby brother.

• the lush green in our back yard.  It has turned into a wild cottage-garden type yard.  Needless to say the kids are loving getting 'lost' in it and also doing this.

• my mum.  This is her cuddling my baby boy.  This photo is so precious for so many reasons.

• and lastly...loving the 'hoist up the baby in the nappy' technique that midwives sometimes use to weigh babies.  Its just so cool.

Linking up with PaisleyJade this week at

http://www.paisleyjade.com/search/label/things%20i%27m%20loving

Arms Wide Open

Discovered this song tonight... not the sort of tune I'd normally listen to but its totally 'got' me.  I was looking for something else and instead it found me.

"Love's definition was looking at me.  

Looking at Him, hanging on a tree.

I began to weep and weep and weep and weep

This is how I know what love is..."

WOW. is all I can say.

Its a boy :-)

This post is 5 weeks late.  But life's rather busy since my little boy arrived.

A week late, he was born at home on 7 October and weighed a whopping 11 pounds 1 oz.  I kid you not...you read that right.  Thats just over 5 kilo.  At birth!!

Amazingly, no stitches, pain relief or intervention, and I was only in labour 1.5hours exactly, the same amount of time as my labour the 2nd time around.

He feeds ALOT, feels like he has growth spurt days at least once a week (2 hourly feeds rather than 3), but is very chilled out and happy 99% of the time.

We are overwhelmingly blessed...

Lyn

Things I'm loving

This week I'm counting down.  4 weeks til my due date.  I have been early with both my girls (a week, and 4 days) so am reeeeeally hoping not to reach due date this time either.  You know when you hit that point all a sudden when you're just so ready for bubs to pop out?  Yep, we're there all right.  

Bending down? 

- Near impossible without doing a 3-point turn maneouvre.  

Shaving my legs?  (Actually, even reaching my legs to shave them?)  

- Near impossible.

Nevertheless, as I sit here in peace and quiet for the first time all day in a kidless house...I am thankful for quite a few things.  Not least of all that my hubby has come home from his bike ride and then unexpected client meeting and taken the kids out to the playground so I can have some 'me time'!!

So as Kristy so rightly points out...

I wholeheartedly believe that no matter what is happening in your life, there is always something that you can be thankful for... no matter how simple it is. 

Here are some of the things I'm most thankful for this week.

1.  the fact we are no longer cat-sitting 2 cats.  That's a whole 'nother post but suffice to say, in hindsight...it was not my cleverest idea getting two cats (did I mention, inside toileting, scared witless, long-haired cats) in a final trimester of pregnancy.  It would've been fine if they actually used the kitty litter, but no.  The fact that they were free, and stunningly gorgeous only gave them a total of 10 days here before it was all over rover.  Don't worry they are enjoying their new homes and alls well that ends well.  Will post about that later.

cute but high maintenance!!

2.  the way my kids make me laugh.out.loud.  

LOVE the way they enjoy each other's company.  This week new footpaths went down in our street.  That meant pink chairs were requested to be brought out, so they could watch in comfort while the roadworks guys laid the concrete and smoothed out the paths.  One of the guys even came and told the girls "after we've gone you can come and put your name in it if you like ok girls".  Awesome!!

3.  'sleeping in'.  Both girls slept until almost 10am this morning... unheard of!!  Gotta love it though.  Especially when you have a new comfy bed after 10 years of sore backs and aches and pains in the old one.  Total bliss.

4.  stumbling across thought-provoking blogs like this one There is a Time.  And how it brought me to tears within the first few lines because every word resonates with where I'm at myself.  I love how God uses the vastness of the internet to bring a word in season right to my laptop screen the moment I need it.  Seemingly out of nowhere but so obviously not out of nowhere.  If you know what I mean.

5.  hubbies that come home from weekend client meetings with these for their heavily pregnant wife.

6.  kids that are just plain cute even when they don't want their photo taken.  

7.  bargain $5 photo frames on clearance, exactly what I was looking for for that DIY-while-heavily-pregnant-because-must-be-done-before-baby-arrives project.  

posting the 'before' shot because it WILL motivate the 'after' shot into being!

8.  the fact that I managed to upload over 400 photos to be printed online so I can get them into albums.  Another DIY project along lines of #7 above.  And grateful that I have albums at the ready for when the photos come back printed....speeding up the process.  Can't believe I let the last 3 years go by without printing one.single.photo.  Anybody else do that??

9.  borrowing baby stuff from generous friends, to save me precious dollars.  This bassinette was kindly loaned to me for the first few months when baby arrives and is in our room.  It was set up ready for a newborn.  It has been taken over temporarily by dolls but thats ok.

10.  this book, which I bought at a recent womens conference held by our church.  

The sort of book you lend to all your Christian friends as soon as you've finished, because its just.so.good.  So much to challenge, yet so encouraging in the process.

Linking up with Paisley Jade with Things I'm loving this week.

Things I'm loving

This week has been filled with awesomeness.  Time has slowed right down now that I've finished work and there are finally hours in the day to just BE, instead of rush everywhere like a mad woman.  I've had 2 kid-free days, random goodness in the form of meeting other mums in our new street, coffees with long-neglected friends, and a husband that seems to have recovered quickly from a yucky viral fever/infection thing.


In between all of this I managed to grab photos of a few other lovely moments during the week... 

thoughtful daughters that pick mum flowers while I'm napping on a Saturday afternoon

creative uses for a computer mouse!

new obsessions with climbing trees

3-year-olds with the cheeky factor!

weekends spent in PJs and gumboots

the excitement of checking for these each day

weekends spent making mud stew with the neighbours kids who asked to come over and play.
Instant friendships blossoming right at a time when my big girl is in need of them.

Linking back to PaisleyJade for Things I'm loving this week.

To homeschool...or not?

Just putting this out to the blogosphere as I'm really interested in hearing from other mums before I make a decision with my kids one way or another!

• Have you ever tried homeschooling?  If so, what do you think the main challenges are?  
• If you would kinda like to but never have, what puts you off?
• If you homeschool, what are the BEST things about it and what great tips would you give me starting out?
• Can you recommend any good websites I could check out for either:
• great lesson plans or educational venues/places to visit in and around Auckland
• other homeschool groups or organisations in the Auckland area
• good homeschool blogs for inspiration and practical insights/ideas

The thing is, I've been thinking about this whole thing, on and off the past few months.  Mainly because my 6-year-old has a fairly quiet temperament and over most of 2011 has had repetitive meltdowns about going to school.  Considering she's a fairly happy-go-lucky kid normally, its quite unsettling watching her lose the plot about something like this on a regular basis.  When I ask her why she doesn't want to go, its either because she's "bored" or "doesn't have people to play with at lunchtime".  Being a teacher myself (and having worked at the same school she goes to for the past year, until recently when I left on maternity leave), I have tried several strategies to deal with both of these issues and still we don't seem to be making any headway.  Its becoming a major mission just motivating her at the end of every weekend as she turns on the tears when the uniform comes out ready for school the next morning.

It all feels a bit strange to be considering homeschooling at this point, mainly because I never envisaged ever doing it with my kids.  I am a trained teacher and I just always imagined my kids would settle into school and be happy as larry there.

In weighing up my options, I figure on the one hand, I will be home anyway for the next couple of years at least (with bubs and preschooler), so it wouldn't be a huge stretch to have my eldest (and most responsible and self-managing) child at home with the other 2 kids.   She is not a difficult child to teach, and is very compliant and focussed when it comes to her learning.  I know what she needs to know, have loads of resources to teach from, and feel reasonably confident she won't go backwards with 'mum' as her teacher.  I've looked at a few websites as well, to get some ideas on making it a fun environment while still having structure and routine.

My 3-year-old is a pretty cruisy kid, currently going to kindy 2.5 days a week and at home with me the rest of the week.  I'm not sure but I'll probably keep her in kindy at least the 2 days a week to begin with if I do go down the homeschooling path, just to have a bit of breathing space with Miss 6 since I will also have a new baby to look after.

Initially my thought was to wait until after Christmas to start (if I do), but now I am thinking... maybe I'm  better to just start now and get us all into a routine before baby arrives in next 8 weeks or so.

Love to hear what any of you out there think on all of this?!  Am I insane?  It doesn't really phase me, in all honesty, I just don't want to regret taking her out of school in 6 months time.  And I'm a little concerned about what close family and friends will think.  And, although I do know a small number of other families homeschooling with great success, its fair to say I also know some who have given it a go and really struggled, even as a short-term thing.

So... if you have something to say to help me make a decision on this, feel free to comment :-)

Lyn

Loving: The good life...

Still can't quite believe this is OUR new back yard... actually what you see here is roughly a third of it.  I will post a better photo next time.

We have become caretakers of 4 chooks...

two huge vege gardens...

a lemon tree that is literally bursting with lemons...

two trampolines...(long story)

loads of fruit trees, exotic herb garden, a climbing frame for the kids, and a swingset and slides at the bottom of the garden (left there by previous people).

Remind me to show you the view from my kitchen window... I honestly have to pinch myself as it really DOESN'T feel like the suburbs where we are, but.... IT IS.  

Got the kids some gumboots today, but couldn't find any funky grown-up ones at TWH so will have to keep looking.  Kinda interesting shopping for gumboots with 4 girls under 6.  What was I thinking??  Especially when they fall in love with EVERY pair and only 2 pairs were needed as the other 2 already had some.

Collected the first 4 eggs today from the coop (since we've moved in, that is).  Great excitement for my 2 girls and my 2 nieces who were visiting - neither of the kids are used to seeing chickens, let alone collecting eggs!  One in particular was most disgusted that 1 of the eggs had gotten a little muddy.  We let the chickens out for a wander round the garden and they had fun shoo-ing them back in the coop afterwards.

Loving the amazing sense of space this new place has.  Never before have we had soooo much grass.  It's taking me a bit of getting used to, but the kids are. absolutely. loving. it.
Like pigs in mud. 

Can't wait to get out in the garden and see whats actually growing.  Its a bit wild and overgrown by the looks of it, nothing is really labelled in there, so I'm about to get reading some gardening books and read them before I start 'weeding' things that aren't actually weeds :-)

Hope you're having a great weekend so far!

Lyn

Linking up with PaisleyJade for Things I'm Loving this week 

Unemployed and loving it

Its Day 3 of school holidays.  And of NOT being a full-time teacher.  Loving it so far...

Day 1 we spent packing up our house ready to move in a few days time (well truth be told, my amazing mum did most of the work.  In the same amount of time it took me to clean out my large and small utensils drawer!!) 

Day 2 was spent in bed, where I slept, and slept, and SLEPT.  I blame the utensils drawers, but it could've just been something to do with finishing up at work on Friday, about to move house this week or being 29 weeks pregnant with child number 3.  Who knows.

And now, it's only 3 more sleeps until we move out of our little home:

*  the first and only house we've owned

*  the place I birthed not one but 2 of our children (not planned that way the first time round!)

*  the only home our kids have ever known.

Stackloads of memories.  Yet weirdly 'easy' to move on from.  I am just ready, and acutely aware that
its just a house.  Wherever we go, wherever we are, will be home.

I've spent a bit of time lately reflecting on what I thought I needed in my next home.

This would do me fine...seriously.

I think we took a photo of this lovely place on a recent holiday.  We do that often when we go away somewhere.  Its nice to dream  : )

Needless to say this is NOT a photo of the new house, and I'm totally cool with that.  Honestly.  I have had to scrub a few 'must haves' off the wishlist for the next house, realising they don't come with the budget we set for ourselves while back on one income, but it didn't hurt as much as I thought.  Having a dishwasher in the next house eased alot of the pain.  Soooo grateful to be having me a dishwasher for the first time ever! Yeah baby!

I'm just honestly so grateful that we have been blessed to find a house we can afford, at a time when rentals are ridiculously expensive in our area.  One that came available for us at the EXACT time we needed it, and ticked all the boxes for our little family.  A God thing for sure.   So grateful.

Lyn

Little girls crafting

Yesterday I stumbled across an awesome blog Creating Childhood Memories, with a fantastic idea for using fabric scraps to make paper dolls - check it out here.

So yesterday while decluttering the kids clothes and bagging up all the summer ones (yes, I've only just got round to that job!), I decided to go through all their preloved and outgrown clothes in another wardrobe, to gather up fabric they could use for crafting - sparkly bits, embroidered flowers, hearts, words, buttons, emblems, gathered trim for 'flouncy skirts', smocking for bodices, and an assortment of trim/ribbon that I thought could be good for belts or making striped patterns.  Too easy.  And too cheap!!

Today I nipped out to buy some craft/fabric glue from TWH (about $3 ea) and also grabbed two $5 storage containers to store everything neatly in.

And boy oh boy did the girls have a ball...

For hours...and hours...and hours.

Two little fashion designers excitedly cutting, gluing, designing the afternoon away.

What I love about this craft idea is its so open-ended.  Next time we might turn the paper dolls into puppets by cutting them out afterward and attaching 'chopstick' handles to the back of them.  Or they could even draw their own characters from favourite storybooks, design the outfits for them, and create their own version of the book for reading at home.  So many ways you could go with it.

Lyn

Things I'm thankful for

Its been a pretty tough school holidays.  We got hit by the tummy bug from hell, and it has one-by-one ploughed its way through all four of us.  As I write this, Miss 5 has her 2nd round of it and both girls are laid low watching DVDs for about the 8th day running.

However!!  It could be worse.  I could be having to have time off work and paying for daycare that I'm not even using.  Instead, I am home anyway and the only thing we're missing out on really, are playdates and spending money on kids entertainment : )

I am NOT:

*  feeling my usual self right now.  

I AM:  

*  doing more than my usual share of sleeping; 

*  doing less than my usual share of cooking/washing/cleaning.

But there are LOTS of things I'm thankful for this week. 

So, in no particular order...here's my top 11 (just to be different... lol).

1.  lovely mums who drop round with assortments of DVDs from their house, for my kids to watch.

2.  mums who offer to bring round home-cooked dinners to save me cooking.

3.  hubbies who clean up the puke in the middle of the night, so I don't have to. And toilets.  He is awesome.  

4.  the total absence of kids fighting that comes with them both being comatose most of the day.  Instead the kids have been teaching themselves games on dad's phone and taking all sorts of cool pics of each other.

Miss 2 the barbie fairy

Daddy the barbie fairy

5.  not worrying about cooking anything fancy for dinner because everybody just wants toast.  LOVIN that.  And lovin that my fruit bowl has healthy fruit in it at least.  We need to get some of that great Vit C into us, and some probiotics for that matter.

6.  getting away with a messy house and unfolded washing for days on end.  

7.  being able to sleep pretty much any time of day because hubby is working from home.

8.  having lots of time to visit some much-missed blogs!!!!!!!!!!

9.  the fact that miraculously nobody has wanted to look through our house (on the market) since we've been sick, so we haven't had to tidy up and go out in a big hurry.  Such a blessing.

10. money saved on school holiday entertainment - home-made huts have been the order of the day.

11.  the fact that God is actually speaking to me about future plans for our family, because I am not too busy 'doing' or 'working' to hear Him right now.  Awesome, awesome, awesome.

And because of that...I have a peace in my heart that 'things can only get BETTER'........   (* insert corny video clip *)

Lyn

PS Linking up with PaisleyJade here http://www.paisleyjade.com/search/label/things%20i'm%20loving

Back to the blogosphere!

Its been absolutely months since I've had the time or inclination to blog.  Blame going back to work full-time for that one.  Who knew full-time teaching was such a time-zapper.  

our local beach at dusk...AWESOMEness

But with school holidays has come some much-needed downtime, and a resolve to do some things for me, rather than pour countless hours into my humungous to-do list.  As it is, I am already spending 3 days of my precious holidays off on a course for work.  I know teachers get lots of holidays...yep, not complaining about that.  Its just that...well...I guess its just the word 'holiday' that irks me.  It really does imply (to me, at least) a period of time where one don't actually have to go INTO work, DO work, and definitely not PLAN work for weeks in advance. They should just call it 'flexi-time' or something flash.  I mean, then I'd have no reason to whinge about it on my blog.  I'd just suck it up and get on with it  :-)

my lovely girls posing as girls do best

And in other news...it seems there was one more little kidlet hiding in this mumma's tummy desperate to get out at some point (who knew?).  He/she is planning a grand entrance sometime around the end of September and that, it seems, is that.  I was sure the 2 blue lines meant 'not pregnant' but after several recurring results of this nature, was reassured by the local doctor that actually, it did not.  And I thought teaching 5-year-olds full-time was 'it' for 2011. No... I get to waddle around all day, hoist my ever-expanding behind into and out of plastic kid-size chairs with a giant heave-ho swan-like grace several dozen times a day.  Its all good though.  If I ever get stuck, I figure I'll just discreetly turn it into a class tug-o-war game.  They'll never know.  

face-painting fun at church

Truthfully?  I've no idea how well I'll cope being a SAHM again after a 
year of full-time work, but I do know one of the upsides will be having some flexibility back in my day. I've loved being back at work the past few months, feeling like I'm part of a work 'team' again, after almost 9 years of studying and/or working part-time.

me n hubby on recent family weekend up north

So many things you miss out on working full-time - 'chill out' time at home with the kids on rainy days, kindy trips, deciding last minute what dinner will be, having some gas in the tank at the end of the day for my own kids, even the constant juggling of after-school activities v dinner v homework v tired meltdowns.  Not to mention having time to blog!

me and my girls - last night of daylight savings

It'll be great actually.  I reckon it makes for one crazy day-to-day life when both parents work full-time, and while I will miss the extra income, I won't miss trying to juggle so many balls at once.

I just have to try not to bake eat too much of this when I'm home all day...

Lyn


PS A million apologies for the randomness of the photos.  Blame the long blogging drought and preggy brain there ;-)