I'm in love

..with this new blog I found, Pioneer Woman. It's amazing, so funny, and full of great stuff. And the writer is a city girl turned homeschooling mum of four living on a ranch. There are some great recipes too, I'm making this Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce on Friday night for dinner. You will love it, I promise.

This week I'm also loving:
- Layla's questions about robbers, God, whether we are allowed to talk on mobile phones in the car and "Mummy, how do you write dot com dot au?"
- this real life Summer Table Settings, some gorgeous inspiration in the thick of our Australian winter
- this Printable Alphabet Bunting - beautiful colours. Just click, print and cut.
- watching all the differences emerge in these three girls

- our Sunday night garden bonfire with toasted marshmallows

Hope you've got some lovin this week

xx

Weekend wrap

It was a lovely end to a long weekend (today is a public holiday in Victoria). For the first time in months, Zahara napped yesterday....for 3.5 hours! What a lovely treat that was. While she slept, we watched Mr Bean on Holiday with our two older girls. We lit the fire, ate popcorn, drank tea and snuggled together. Heavenly. Then, the older two went to a playcentre while Zahara continued to sleep. I continued to snuggle (alone) on the couch with the paper. Double heaven.

Today, Zahara went to creche and Daddy took the girls to Werribee Zoo with their cousins. The girls are always excited when Zahara is not there, as much as they love her, a 2 year old is tiring on everyone sometimes! And as you may recall, some adventures are just not made for little ones. They had a great time, played, walked and saw some animals. You know, just some lions, zebras and giraffes.

In the mean time, I tackled our study. A mess of papers, bills and crap...all gone thanks to some serious filing and a visit to Kikki K. A great shop filled with gorgeous desk organising stuff, pens and labels - especially motivating when you are organising your study! Perfect timing. I also bought this recipe journal as my old one is getting tattered from all the clippings I cut out or print online.

But the quiet, the peace, was amazing. I think it was the first time in years I have had the day ALL TO MYSELF, even if I was tidying up for most of it. And just before I started to enjoy my aloneness a little too much, a little reading of my book, The Gift of an Ordinary Day, reminded me that these years are indeed precious. As draining as it can sometimes be to be needed by little people constantly, one day we will miss it terribly. And when that day comes, we will have to let go as our little people go out into the world making their own plans, choices and judgements. And suddenly, I ached for my three little people. For their warm, chubby bodies that snuggle perfectly into mine. For their funny little teeth, little fingers and soft kisses on my lips. For their little faces, wide eyes, smatterings of freckles and squishy bums.

Once everyone regrouped at home, we actually enjoyed a lovely afternoon together(and you know I tell it like it is!). We had BBQ'd lamb cutlets for dinner, brown rice and peas, corn on the cob, salad, asparagus, artichokes and orange for dessert. We chatted. We talked. We joked. We really enjoyed our meal and most importantly, our time together as a family.

At shower/bath time, the older girls sang for Zahara while she sat back in her laundry tub that she now loves to bathe in. She joined in happily. Layla brushed Yasmin's hair while they continued singing. Am I making you sick yet? Because I was amazed at the peace, contentment and simple happiness in my kids. Thank the lord for public holidays! Here's hoping you had some peace and happy times in your weekend. 'Cause I know we used up our lot...

When you're child number 3....

...You want to do everything your sisters do. So after you watch your big sister have her teeth cleaned at the dentist, you can't wait to have your turn.

Wasn't that fun?

Happy Birthday Zahara

Today was a perfectly lovely Autumn day to spend with my newly turned 2 year old girl.

A midweek birthday breakfast, with Nutella on toast for the girls. Excitement reached fever pitch. The wearing of the birthday crown, the birthday table and to Zahara's delight, the reading of her very first, made by Mummy, birthday book. Full of pictures about a tiny baby called Zahara, she loved it.

A day pretty much devoted to her, as she liked it. Pick up new birthday scooter in the morning? Check. Gymbaroo class? Check. Hold Zahara in my arms for half the Gymbaroo class while she refused to participate? Check. Eat two sushi rolls by 10 in the morning? Check. Sing, make a poo and chatter for two hours during nap time? Check.

With my two girls spending some time at their grandmother's after school, Zahara had me all too herself in the afternoon too. Just the way this girl likes it. I tickled her endlessly, blew her bubbles and took for her a walk on my shoulders to pick some flowers.

The day ended with some more singing, choc chip muffins and the final wearing of the 'Z' birthday crown for 2010.

Hope you are enjoying these precious times now too.
xx

A little one on one time

I have never appreciated how nice and peaceful it is to have one on one time with my girls till I had my third child (now nearly two). My eldest, Yasmin, calls this 'Mummy time.' She also probably misses it the most, being at school the longest hours.

Whenever I can, I plan my days to allow some one on one time with each child, even if it's 10 minutes. The dynamics are so different with the other siblings absent; no rivalries, no competition, just some special time together. Layla, my (nearly) four old, has one day off kinder, and we spend half a day together, just the two of us. It normally culminates in going out for lunch (Cooper & Milla's is our favourite) but in between that is whatever Layla wants to play at home. Today it was Uno, Operation, and making chocolate chip oatmeal biscuits (easy, delicious and slightly healthy).

During Zahara's nap time, I decided I would read a little. (I had decided dinner would be soft boiled eggs and cut up vegies, therefore allowing myself some rest time too!) When Layla saw me reading in bed, she asked to have her 'quiet time' with me, which I agreed to as long as she would not disturb me. About 40 minutes later, I'd read some of my book and snoozed a little while this relaxed little girl read her two books quietly and beaded a wooden necklace. Beautiful. We lounged in bed a little while longer while she asked me questions burning her mind like 'Mummy, what's your favourite colour?' and 'do you still have milk in your boobies?'.

Last week, I surprised Yasmin by picking her up from school alone, with no sisters in tow. We went off to High Street and enjoyed a pedicure. You can see the look on her face and how happy she was. (The surprised look on her face is when the chair started to move and massage her back.) And don't six year old painted toes look just so darn cute?

Where does the time go?

How did we get from my own little tiny, snuggled, wrapped up third baby to a nearly two year old little girl, wrapping, cuddling and shh-shushing her own little dolly to sleep?

She is my own pudgy, nearly two year old heartbreaker. She always makes me smile, I love the way she plays with my hair, puts both her little hands on my face to get my attention and reaches to put her hand on my face when she gives me a kiss goodnight. And if I could freeze her the way she is now, delicately teetering between babyhood and toddlerhood, I would. I always take a breath when putting her to sleep, remind myself to slow down and savour those moments when, while singing our little bedtime song, she rests her head on my shoulder. I know it won't always be this way, but for now, it's sweet and pure. She makes my heart melt.