Camping

We just spent the most enriching and inspiring camping week in NSW we have ever had as a family. Michael drove to Sydney with the camper trailer and dogs while I flew up with the children. Ambrose's god mother meet me at the airport and generously allowed us to stay with her for the night. Michael arrived the next day and after some heated last minute packing we were on our way to the Colo River, 2 hours north of Sydney.

The upper Colo Reserve was magnificent. We swam every day in the slowly receding Colo River which had better sandy stores than most beaches we have ever visited and played for hours making dams castles and miniature river systems. The baby explored nappy free for most of the week and without any limits to were he could explore he played for hours! I stopped! No phone. No iPad. No computer. No time frames. Nothing but the here and now. It took a few days to whined down but when I did I could feel my entire body relax and my patience for my family swell. Starlit nights and a fire were the catalyst for conversations with curious children about dreamtime, bipolar(!), the size of the universe, how the Easter bunny can carry so many eggs, what it is like to be born and why we must ever leave. Thank you Upper Colo we will return and cherish the memories until then.

Prep parent teacher interview Matilda

Michael and I arrange a babysitter so we can attend Matilda's first school interview. I have two concerns I want to address..... I know nothing of Matilda's feelings about how school is going or if she has made any friends. Matilda's teacher answers these questions witching moments of our interview. The next 15 minutes is a casual discussion of the prep program. As we ride to the pub for the remaining time we have together I feel so happy and confident with our kids school that I feel like I am flying and that Matilda's silence is affirmation of being in right place.

Happy Birthing Day

A year has flown past already since the happy arrival of my second son Ambrose. While Ambrose continues to master the art of walking, negotiating interactions with his siblings and socialising with his own age group I also continue to learn and develop my art of being a mother. Three is a crowd. We are now outnumbered and have to juggle time with much poise and direction but we do on a number of occasions fall in a heap. what i love about parenting with my best friend is that we complement one another. Where I might be good at organising activities and social events for my children Michael has the patience and passion to draw, sing and read to the children for hours every day. This parenting journey has deepen my love for a man I feel in love with over 13 years ago as a very young women. Michael and I sat in bed with Ambrose this morning and reminisced about that first morning we met him a year ago. knowing smiles flashed across our faces and hearts. What made the morning even more beautiful was the spontaneous happy birthday and presentation of a new tunnel for Ambrose at 6 am from Felix and Matilda. Their delight in sharing his first birthday was palpable. He is joy to us all. Ambrose has great delight in playing with both his sibling and cousin Sophie and they in him. WHat I find the most fasinating is my love seems to boil over for all three children. I though my heart was filled when I met Felix those 7.5 years ago but the human heart has the capacity beyond what I was aware. And so on this first birthday I feel inspired to tell everyone how in love I am with my children.

To school....

It is only 2 weeks until my daughter starts school and we are ready. Matilda has been ready for sometime and I marvel at her readiness. Socially she has demonstrated her ability to get on with a wide range of people and seems popular with a range of people during our prep play catch ups. Toward the end of last year I did not have any apprehension to her finishing kinder and heading to school although I did worry that she would be bullied a little as she did not stand up for what she really believed. After a few months of her knowing she is off to school that is no longer a problem....

The hope I have for Matilda is that she finds school enriching for her socially and academically. School will be a safe place for her to develop relationships with her peers and adult educators. The stuff they do at school is incidental yet knowing the schools program I know she will be challenged as well as finding success in what she does.

The "mean girl" thing is a worry. Unlike boys girls are social centric and have the vocab which is capable of hurting more than a punch or tussle. I feel that Matilda will have the self belief and confidence to deal well with this but might need some help along the way.

So I look back at the little girl I met five and a half year ago and smile for our time together has been dynamic, refreshing, challenging but most of all a pure enjoyment.

THe slow down

I honestly can't remember much of December 2011 and it was even a quiet one! Finally we have stopped and no better place than by the beach at Lake Tyres. It takes us all a few days to finally stay in our PJ till 1pm but finally today we do. The big kids have extended their adventure boundaries to include the beach by themselves although the water is still off limits. The baby now 9 1/2 months enjoys exploring the house, verandas and grass near the house. The local wombat has excavated a new hole under the shed and we wait at dusk to meet her in person. A few more days left to gel together as a family before heading back to the city to enjoy the long summer days of catching up with friends and exploring the city. Although there at many highlights such as the birth of Ambrose it has been a busy year and I look forward to leaving 2011 behind and enjoying 2012.

The baby eats Jelly……..

I am the first to admit that I am completely uninterested in food. However it is thrust upon me daily with the need and wants of a 7yr, 5yr and 9 month old. If I had just one wish it would be an inhome cook but I live in the real world so I am our cook :)

We do not make a big deal of eating or the lack there of and believe that a child knows what is good for them as long as you offer the right food over the course of a week they will take in the perfect amount of vitamins, minerals and energy.

One child is a snake who can eat tonnes then not eat for a week or two. Another loves to try everything but has slowed down their intake as their growth too has slowed down. So all in all I do not worry- they are healthy, active and I know they will starve themselves.

The baby will eat what I eat. So I eat jelly he eats jelly.

Last night I suddenly worried about this (very unlike me)

"oh no should babies eat jelly?" was quickly responded to with "well it is good for your bones". I looked at my husband with scepticism "says who?" (later we google and my scepticism is warranted no evidence easily found.)

he smiles and reminds me

"you like and eat jelly and so you must expect that baby eats jelly and likes it too!"

Goodbye Penny

I attended the funeral of a close family friend yesterday and have felt waves of grief in the past week. Penny was a close friend of my mothers and they had their eldest baby boys at the same time. I have warm, exciting memory of her from my childhood and although I have not seen her in my adult life I have heard of her life via conversations with mum. Penny died after battling cancer which she had put in remission when her first diagnosis was grim. But two weeks ago it jumped her. She died with her husband and three boys at her bedside and never stopped being a strong and loving mother wife sister and friend. It was incredibly hard to watch her sons ( only a little younger than me) say goodbye to their darling mother. I felt their grief and have found myself wondering how I will greave in the future for my grandparents and parents. I looked across to my parents during the service and saw their grief. To lose a friend is also so hard and to know you cant catch up for a chat ever again. I have made it a focus to remember to see my friends and family when ever I can so that I don't miss those incidental connections and time which can make the fabric life.