Reading

My bedside is very full.  What are you reading? Read any of these? The bottom 4 are on their way to the bookshelf to store.  Currently on Raising Girls and The Light Between Oceans. 

Wednesday sometime in 2013 I think.

Oh my poor poor neglected blog.  

I miss you.  Has anybody taken a walk from that ever hungry mad time consumer we all know as facebook? It seems to be my "quick" place to update photos etc... but is it all that quick? There is SO much there in FB land.  Ads, mundane crap, etc... I would like to quit it. Have you?

Anyway...

Babe #4 our Gorgeous little Savannah also known as...

ahem...

Huskvanna (ala Baxter)

Savlova (from the rest of us...)

is big. She's 6 months old, weighs more than a ton of bricks, has adorable chubby thighs, spikey hair, 3 + 3/4's teeth, comando crawling, and is the apple of everyone's eye.  Everybody seriously seriously is smitten by her.

In other news...

Nic and I have quit sugar.

9 days clean and counting.  We're talking all sugar.

Kids are still having fruit etc. but we're working on better eating as I've let it slip a bit since having 4 children...  Never knew it would possibly be so busy.

And yet more happenings...  A meal for dinner and lunchbox winner:

Chicken Sausage rolls - with our home killed chicken sausages, kale, silverbeet, onion, carrot, parsley -- all from the garden... rolled up in bought butter pastry -- yes, that is the ungodly expensive pastry that actually uses butter at the grocery store. Worth the extra dollars in flavour and in health!  The other ones are full of marg and crap oils (*bleh*) and sprinkled with chia seeds after an egg wash.

 

Always tastes better served on a blue alien plate.

Because that's how we Sausage Roll.

I am so bleary and sleep deprived I'm a snappy yelling cow of a mother at the moment.  Not terribly proud of that.  Needs some work and I am constantly trying to remember that I am shaping these kids' childhoods. Look - I love them to bits, but coming off the back-end of school holidays I was at the END of my tether.  I keep trying to remind myself that it should get easier, but does it? 

(these are the dahlias in my garden that don't talk back, lie, hurt their brother/sister and leave their clothes everywhere. Sigh.)

I know there are mothers out there with more kids than me, but I am finding having 4 children CHALLENGING.  I do remember having 1, 2 and 3 children challenging during the early days though, so I think it's probably just sheer exhaustion.  

Probably nothing that a 4 hour stretch of sleep wouldn't cure I think.

In the meantime... we'll go gently, and try to build up more patience for these little tackers. To remember to speak kindly. To be in the moment. To not worry so much about the state of chaos in the house. To paint. To read. To cuddle.

Happy Autumn days. xx

easter 2013

Our little lady baby eventually thought that the mulch was much more interesting than these tasteless foil eggs!

A lot of crafting done on our first day of school holidays.
4 children at home is a big task at the moment.  They are all young and still need so much.  A lot of bickering, but a lot of gentle sweet moments too.  Every last one of us thinks that Savannah is the bees knees, so heaps of lovely moments with her too.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wishing you and yours a Happy Easter from all of us!
xx 

Off we go!

Gorgeous darling friend Emma took this photo today.  We are away to an impromptu mini holiday to New Zealand.  It's been 3 years and two babies since we've been. What an adventure!  Xx

Sublime Seven

what a magnificent day to turn seven. 

changing times

We have been baking for school lunches and prepping backpacks. 

This photo was of my little girl at home and mine for the last time last week.  A bit bitter and a bit sweet.  Mostly sweet as she's very excited and such a keen learner.

We savoured a lot of sisterly time...

 

and the big two plotted their days before with a few runs to the shops for shoes and babychinos with mama.

... and then the morning came.  They uniformed up and went out the door and on the bus (mama, dad, baby and little brother followed after in the car...)

She walked right up to the grade 1/2 classroom and demanded to know if it was her classroom.  Not yet, sweetie.  Prep for you this year. 

She came home and plonked on the couch and read 2 readers to me.

Keen. Very keen.

...and Baxter... when asked what happend for his first day of school replied, "not much.  Mum, when does Auskick start again?"  

 

little king-pin is left at home - busy on the farm and here pictured talking to nanny after the kids left the house.  Look at all that summer boy hair...

and mama enjoyed a halved amount of kid chaos for those 2 days last week.

Now to get some sleep organised for myself!

xx