Our Holiday so far in Photos :)

Time is flying by but luckily we have a few more days up our sleeves! Hooray for holidays!

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Lately...

 Phew... It has been busy busy busy round here lately! I am cheekily starting to think that my life has gotten so busy recently that I don't think I will ever be able to go back to work- how will I find the time!? You know,  when I am so busy hooking, knitting, sewing, mothering, planting, harvesting, cooking, becoming an expert sandcastle builder, making presents, baking, trying to get ready for my next half-marathon, taking advantage of the beach... All of which is essential to life of course! But more than the usual chaos the closer we get to the end of the year the more I feel like a mouse running on a wheel desperately trying to keep up.

Big L has his first Kindergarten Gala coming up this weekend and he is Oh So Excited! He will be competing in the Challenge-a-thon and has even managed to get a few sponsors :) I think it will be a great day but has added a bit of baking, making Jolly Jars and completing some 'duties' to my to do list. And so my Mousy Wheel keeps spinning...

Little S and Little L have also made the Big Move to BEDS! It has been tricky. I'm working hard to understand the way Little S works, to know how to be a good mum to her. But she is stubborn and loves to to encourage Little L in all things crazy. So the evenings here have turned into somewhat of a circus. When we were packing down the cots I had a bit of a weepy moment, last time ever a Little Body of mine will sleep in there. Even thinking about it now I feel a tad choked up. Time is just ticking by, they are only getting bigger. I enjoy them so so so very much that I get a wee bit scared at times that it will change. I'm hoping that every phase they go through will be at least as good as the last if not better. Will I still enjoy them this much when they are 10? 15? 30? The Mousy Wheel only keeps spinning...

I am also furiously working on various Christmas Projects. I want to create some sort of interactive/fun/play with nativity set. I have been making presents galore, working on funky Christmas decorations, and have plans for a knitted Christmas tree (don't laugh!)... I guess my little Mouse Wheel is not slowing down here either...

So in attempt to take time to appreciate the 'Slower Living' aspects of my life I decided to pull together some photos of the quiter moments in the past week or so...

I am ABSOLUTELY loving the warm sunny evenings! We all eat out on the deck (it is amazing how dining Al Fresco can make even the most boring family meal taste great) where there is no need for obsessive wiping down. Post dinner the Rascals generally strip down, spend a bit of time in the sprinkler and then head for the sandpit for some serious work time. Oh My we have gotten good at making castles, digging tunnels, constructing roads, creating dinosaur habitats, all while enjoying the warn evening sun.

I have had time to put in a trellis for the Sugar Snaps, which are coming along nicely :) And every evening we are enjoying salads made it our own lettuce and spinach, as well as yummy pesto!

The Rascals have helped me to clear out another part of the garden and create another nice spot for some more vege/flower growing.

Everything in the garden is thriving! It is such a pleasure to see that. I cannot wait to harvest these carrots and beets- I have such great plans for them!

 This photo is not as suspicious as it looks.... I have had my first SUCCESSFUL trail of drying herbs. Yum Yum!

 And I have completed my fist batch of Christmas Decorations! I am so please with them! I decided to hand sew them as I wanted to be able to spend time with N in the evenings or sit out on the deck and work on them. I think this weekend the Rascals and I will go about putting them up all over the house :)

I love looking back at the past few weeks and seeing that despite everything feeling crazy busy I have started learning how to carve out some Slow Living time in our lives. I really do think we are better off for it:)

I hope the feeling of crazy spiraling busyness is not mutual and that you are all taking the end of year in your stride :)

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Excercising Our Green Fingers :)

 Do you remember a 'little' while ago I shared with you N's beautifully crafted planter boxes? Over the long winter they were starting to look rather empty and sad but that has now all changed! They are filled to the brim with goodies :)

Big Tomatoes

Small Tomatoes

Strawberries

Fancy Lettuce

Spinach

Lots of Herbs 

Beets

Carrots

and.....

FLOWERS!

So far all the plants are doing well and we have high hopes of summer salads, roast veges, fresh herbs in everything, sun ripened strawberries and even better fresh strawberry daiquiris!

I really want to make and bottle some yummy pasta sauces so we planted quite a few tomato plants :) 

Also we didn't want anything too 'fancy'- so decided to stick to what we love and know will grow easily. Although being the 'forever dreamer' that I am, I can't stop thinking of things to plant- some of which are very fancy...

The chaotic sandpit/play area of the yard actually looks rather pretty now :) It has been fun noodling around and playing in my garden while the Rascals do the same in their sandpit. The Rascals helped N to set up the potting shed properly and planted the first lot of seeds that will hopefully be ready by the time we harvest the first lot of veges, but more on that another day :) My ever productive family members!

In effort to keep things nice and organic I am trying this product to keep the squidgy slugs and snails away- so far so good! Even smells like coffee! 

So what is the problem with this picture? 

We don't have a clue what we are doing...

This is some very new territory for our wee family...

All Wisdom Welcome!!!

I sure am excited though :)

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Forced Family Fun :)

 Despite really having looked forward to this past weekend when it finally arrived I found myself just a bit too tired and warn out to really enjoy it. I wanted to play with the kids but couldnt really keep up with them. I just somehow could not get myself to be a pro-active mother. So I decided to start operation 'Forced Family Fun', activities that everyone can enjoy whether they are feeling full of beans or low energy.

So on Saturday night while N swished the kids through the bath I got out a kids movie (The Pirates), made a big bed in the lounge and popped some corn :)
 

 As a special treat I decided to make caramel popcorn- YUM! As it turns out the Rascals thought it was a bit rubbish to be honest but N and I liked it plenty. The recipe's popped corn to caramel ratio was a bit off though so we had slightly achy jaws from chewing all that caramel- Nothing really to complain about :)

 The kids thought the big bed was a HUGE treat! Everyone promptly brought their blankets and snuggled down to nibble and watch. The movie was perhaps a bit over even Big L's head but the highlight for me was that during the usual 'emo' bit of the movie they played one of my favorite Flight of the Conchords songs 'Not Crying' Woohoo! The down side of the movie was that Big L now permanently speaks like a 'Pirate'- really it just sounds like a really fake american accent. Hope this one passes quickly....

However the thing that the kids enjoyed doing more than watching the Movie was building towers with the pillows and blankets and jumping on them- great energy burner! With only a few tears now and then...

I particularly liked the quite moments when the rascals would come and give me a cuddle- they really are such sweet kids :) 

The next morning the sun was shining and they day Glorious so we headed down to the beach. I love the fact that it is starting to get warmer and we are slowly needing less jackets and waterproof gear down on the beach. The Rascals dug holes, swam in the river, floated leaves, threw shells off the little bridge, explored the sea water and picked flowers. They were so wonderfully independent in their play that N and I got a chance to sit on the beach and soak in the warm sun and even chat to each other- what a treat! 

My Rascals can spend hours in this little river by the sea, I imagine that this will become a daily destination for us this summer :)

The sea allows just the perfect amount of water into the river so that it is not too intimidating to swim in for them and is a great source of water for the many pools that they build on the beach. 

Every time we go down to the beach I am in awe of the amazing landscape around us and I always wonder why it took us so long to move here. This is my home- I love it. 

And look at this delicious photo! Those squidgy little kids legs covered in sea sand, dangling in the sun as they demolish their morning tea. To me it just screams summer! I cannot wait! Come on summer we are ready! 

In the end the weekend was rescued. 

I think as a parent it is so essential to have a couple of activities up your sleeve like this, where despite your energy levels you can still enjoy your kids. 

We are lucky to live where we do

We are lucky to have each other 

I would change neither of those things... ever...

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