When a parent has to be sneaky

During school holidays routine seems to go out the window.  My youngest suffered the most, since she still needs an afternoon nap.  I had to find a compromise, allowing her to sleep without the boys tearing the house down from boredom.

I let the boys play Wii, for as long as she sleeps.  They make a lot of noise and wake her, game time is obviously over.  The motivation seems to work!  (It can be fun watching their expressions while they play!)

And sleep she does.  Amazing how the tantrums go away when she gets enough rest…

When the pictures tell a story

My husband absolutely adores teasing the kids.  Sometimes it drives me nuts, but there are times when he gets the sweetest reactions.

At the beach, he buried his feet in the sand.
”Look, my feet are stuck!”

“Oh dear!”

“Mommy, his feet are stuck!”

And… then she started digging him out.

I will publish some more photos later, but today I have to pick up school clothes for the kids.

Potatoes

I love roast potatoes, but generally I don’t have the patience to make them.  I came across this recipe on the Pioneer Woman’s website and decided to try it, to prove to hubby I can sometimes make something in the kitchen! I just boiled the potatoes in the microwave instead of on the stove.  We had some sea salt and a bottle of mixed spices, so those went on top of the squashed potatoes and then they went into the oven.  (I didn’t peel the potatoes)

 

It was a big hit!  It bakes crispy enough so that the kids could eat it with their hands.

Swinging

This week’s theme at iHeartFaces is texture.  I am on a steep learning curve here with this one, since I generally don’t do much editing to my photos.  I struggled at first, then decided to try to take some photos for my own textures.  The one that ended up making all the difference was a water texture I took. 

I hope you like this one as much as I do!

My little, energetic girl who loves pink (to mom’s dismay!)

Australia Day

We took a quick trip down to Hastings for Australia Day.  The kids had a fantastic time.  There were rides and jumping castles and a climbing wall.

Lots and lots of flags!

  

Even the Westernport Band had flags all around.

  

The flag raising was really something special.  Small differences to what we are used to.

Hastings is a beautiful little town.  There is mooring for quite a few yachts. 

 

Fishing is also popular it seems, especially amongst the pelicans.  My daughter saw them and started yelling ‘Nemo!’.  No matter how hard we tried explaining that they were pelicans, she was not interested.

We really are grateful to this country for giving us a home.

Rude Awakening

In our area we have a lot of cockatoos breeding in the trees surround the farmland and in the parks.  This specific type is a Long-billed Corella.  I used to find them fascinating….

but after a few mornings of these huge flocks screeching over the house, I am not so enamoured anymore.

Today three flocks came flying into the park while the kids were playing.  Unfortunately I saw a little of the movie “Birds” as a kid.  Not a good combination.  The cockatoos are fast, like little torpedos.

They all landed in the branches, calling to each other.  They seem to be really social birds, though a bit rough and tumble at times.

Soon they will move on.  Then I can sleep late over weekends.  Oh I forgot… I guess with kids up early I will still not get to lie in!

Loving the clouds

The weather has been very changeable (ok, not something unusual for Melbourne!) bringing lots of wind and clouds our way.  I love it!  The clouds in the morning and at night make for spectacular effects.

Sometimes it helps to get up on a hill for a better vantage point.  This is Berwick (the southern part).

Pies!

We love eating pies.  In South Africa you could get them for relatively cheap and you always had a huge variety.  In Australia, well… the pies are a lot different to what we were used to.  Thankfully, you get pie makers so you can make your own!

My eldest's favourite is cheese and ham.  I used shop-bought puff pastry, added some chopped ham and grated cheese and voila!  Even the younger two approved.

The kids loved it!  A definite make-again for us.

Beating Lethargy

It is getting to the stage of the holidays where I just want to curl up in bed and sleep until noon.  The kids are getting bored with the normal distractions and the house is progressively falling into a chaotic black hole.  I made a deal with myself to make a big effort today and get all of us out of the house.  So… today I did 5 loads of washing, took the kids swimming and enrolled us at the local library.

 

My oldest especially was really grateful about going to the library, since he is a ferocious reader and he finished his Christmas books weeks ago.  He even got himself an audio book so he could listen to a story while falling asleep.  He gets his funny reading positions from me, unfortunately for him!

I turned one room into a ‘library’.  That means I put all the bookcases together in one room and placed all the extra chairs and beanbags there.  With all the books together, I realised I need more book shelves!

Thankfully we all love reading.  Even my youngest gets excited about books.