Clean Fridge!

This is a very random blog post but as I was sitting here on my computer looking at various websites and feeling up to date with most nagging things I looked over at my fridge(which is next to my laptop) and smiled.

Do you know why I smiled? Because it was clean!

This morning my in laws were over for morning tea and my MIL put the milk away in the fridge and made a very innocent comment that your fridge will last longer if you keep it clean. I am trying not to giggle here..... It is probably true and to her defense and my honesty my fridge was very overdue for a clean. Not high on my priority list of things to do lately.

I  sweep, do the dishes, make the beds, wash the clothes and do general tidying everyday BUT these types of jobs go in the "I wait till it really bugs me" basket. After my in laws left, funnily enough my fridge started to bug me. It was probably a good time to clean it too as we are going away and it is nearly empty.

It only took me half an hour but its still not a fun job and especially not when the toddler(the very cute toddler) comes over with a sponge thinking she is helping but she is actually not.

Now I have a clean fridge to fill when we get back from holidays : )

Usually these types of "so not fun to do " jobs are also very satisfying when complete.....hmmmm strange.

Day 10 of the 10 days that was....

Horse Riding! Like I said "are my kids blessed or what?"

Day 10, I had organised for our home school group a 1/2 day horse riding experience. We had been to Nel's Horse riding School before, for R's birthday, however J had never been before. I was very impressed from previous experience with Janelle and how she organises the day and her manner with the kids.

We started the day with having our good friends over for a play and to share some lunch with before we went for the afternoon session. We had a lovely morning playing, chatting and sharing food. It's great to have friends at your home.

So....did they have a good time? do they want to do it again?

The photos will speak for themselves....

Day 9 in the 10 days that was.....GOMA

On day 9 we headed off to the city for the day mainly to visit the gallery of Modern Art, we were lucky enough to have another homeschooling family come along with us. Between us we had 6 children, that's enough for an excursion.

We are aiming to visit GOMA each time the exhibition changes, as it has proved in the past to be good value(its free unless you want to go into the separate exhibition-but always check if its suitable for little ones). Its a great educational and hands on cultural experience for the children and just a lovely relaxing day out for all. The last time we went it was the 21st century and this time it is Surrealism.
J and R always get excited when we say we are going to the "city". We are by no means country people but they still class the big smoke as an exciting adventure and big day out! I love this.

We started off in the children's area where there were quite a few tables/activity centres set up with lots for the kids to do. We started each activity by reading about the history of the art and the concept behind it, followed by the directions of what to do.

 

These were fun. They started with paper that had 2 ink blobs on them. They had to turn the page around till they could see something or think of something they could create from it. We talked about how you can also do this looking at clouds.

C loved this one. They had an A3 size blank paper and lots of small card. They could rip the pieces and glue them to make their own piece of art.

We didn't take any art home as the kids just wanted to hang their art up on the wall. They loved seeing their art on display for all to see and appreciate.

This one was fun. The children picked a landscape and then had lots of different cut outs of various objects/animals that they could glue on.

J's

R's

 Building Sculptures!!!

Once we finished all the hands on activities, we stopped for a snack by the river. The kids had a quick run around.



Then we wandered the gallery, appreciating the different art works.

We finished the day with a walk to southbank for afternoon tea and a play!

Thats a BIG day for a 19month old!

Day 8 of the 10 days that was...

Ooooh we are back to Mondays!

Well as I explained back at day 1. We have LUCky Monday with our homeschool group. It is always loads of fun, although this week J was a bit disappointed as his Martial Arts teacher was sick and their class was cancelled.

R did a nice sea landscape with raised turtle picture in art and both J and R spent their spanish lesson preparing for next weeks presentation.

I forgot to mention for a segment of the day we also do a singing session with the under 5's, which C got very involved in this week. Lots of nursery rhymes and movement, loads of fun.

We headed over to our local christian bookstore, which again we met with some lovely mummies and their kiddies. Very uplifting conversation with like minded mummies. The children all played nicely too.

J had tennis and when Daddy came home from work we spent some time in the garden.

There goes another busy but fun day in our lives......

Day 7 of the 10 days that was....

Father Day!!!

Happy Fathers Day to my wonderful husband and to the BEST Dad in the world. He truly is.

My children are blessed to have him as Dad and I feel privileged to have him as father of my children.

Ways to spoil Dad on Father Day

• BIG Brekky-scrambled egg with bacon. Mushrooms, grilled tomato and toast, juice, croissants and tea.
• Presents-spoiled with his favourite Lindt Chocolates and a book that he has been wanting.
• Fathers Day Morning at Church. Our church, Hillsong knows how to honour fathers! A lovely, encouraging service at church. The kids spoiled him by making fathers day ties, which he proudly wore around his neck saying " Worlds Greatest Dad "
• Fish and Chips on the deck at our place with a Beer
• Play time with kids on trampoline....lots of giggles!
• Family walk/ride to the local Mc Cafe for afternoon tea. Mocha Frappe(dad's fav) and caramel slice.
• A simple dinner followed by stories, kisses and cuddles before bed

Sorry no pics. All memories will be in our hearts and now in this blog : )

We love you xx

Day 5 and 6 of the 10 days that was....

These 2 days are combined as we were away camping for 2 days.

It is so nice to wake up on my own terms, I woke at 8am Friday morning.

Once we were packed, we headed off for the 1 hour drive to our campsite at Mount Barney. We stopped in Beaudesert on the way for a bight to eat and enjoyed a nice long chat on the way while the kids watched a movie. The last bit of technology for the next 2 days.

I love it, when we arrive I instantly feel like I am relaxed and our little set up(Which is actually quite a decent tent) has really become a home away from home. It is so cosy, that after I set up our beds, I lay for a while in mine reading some magazines. Another rare treat to enjoy without a toddler around!

We spent time down by the creek, the kids exploring the creek by scrambling on rocks, wading in the (very cold) water and even swinging on a rope that has been tied to one of the trees. I sit in the sun on a warm rock enjoying watching them have fun and play so innocently, finding sweetness in doing nothing(a quote from a movie I watched recently)

This is another challenge I am putting to myself for the remainder of the year "finding sweetness in doing nothing". I need to be able to just sit, or just shower or just lay and not do or think of anything else or what else I could be doing. Easier said than done. I will blog about this again and let you know how I go.

Back to our camping trip.....

We ate some very yummy food, pre dinner nibbles are a popular thing for us to have while we are camping. The kids helped Daddy collect the wood and get the fire going and I prepared a "Tapas" plate complete with quince, garlic nibbles, sun dried tomato, Camembert cheese, basil and Parmesan dip-all the good stuff!!!

Hubby and I enjoy a glass of red and we all sit and talk and eat by the fire....soooooo relaxing and definitely one of my favourite things to do.

R and I did some drawing together with her "how to draw horses book" while J and Dad played Frisbee.

I bought a camp oven about a month ago and have made damper in it, which was a success(yummo). This time I bought a roast lamb and veges to make in it for dinner. We waited patiently for it to cook and could actually smell it after about 20 minutes in the oven....after 45minutes it was cooked perfectly! We enjoyed the rest of our red and a yummy dinner by the fire.

The kids retired by 8pm, Jacob in his own little tent for the first time by himself. It was lovely to sit by the fire with hubby looking at the stars and enjoying doing "nothing".
We had a good night sleep and when we woke at 7 we felt well rested. WE had a slow relaxing morning and went to the creek again, had some yummy ham and salad rolls for lunch and then packed up and get set to go home.

Hubby likes going for drives so we went the long way home(or as he would call it the more scenic way) and drove thru Mt Tamborine and stopped for afternoon tea and a browse at Gallery Walk.

We really enjoy our little camping trips which so far have only been short ones, but time does seem longer and I come back feeling energised and ready to face the world again!

Cant wait to go out again.....

Day 4 in the 10 days that was.....

This week although exciting and lots happening, I am very proud of the amount of "school" we have done this week. We started day 4 once again with some school work, focusing on reading today. It is so lovely having the different ages and all sitting on the couch together enjoying a story. J(8) often reads to his sisters(7 and 1).

We also spent some of our morning packing for our little camping trip and getting the house organised and tidy. I like leaving the house in order before I go away.

I took the kids out for lunch and a play before we headed off to Meme's house(my mum-meme which means grandma in french) to drop C off. She was having a sleep over at Meme's while we go camping with the older 2. It is lovely to have that option to leave her with Meme(whom she loves) if we need a break and to spend some quality time with J and R. We are looking forward to this.

We had some afternoon tea at Mum's(Meme) and some old friends popped in who we haven't seen for a while but have kept in touch with via good ol facebook, was nice to catch up.

After saying goodbye to C and Meme we headed to the shops to buy Daddy a fathers day pressie and get some food for our camping trip........

We spent the evening packing and enjoying some family time and some "me" quiet time with no toddler in the house :)

Day 3 of the 10 Days that was....

Another "simple" yet beautiful day with my family.

Today started much the same as yesterday with daily chores, brekky and school work.

Lately my toddler, C has been getting in on the action. If she is not napping whilst we do school, she wants to be up and in the action. Thank God for "spare worksheets" she thinks she is doing school too. Which she is really. She also loves using the flash cards and pointing at the pictures and trying to say new words. I have noticed she can say some sounds, "a", "b", she is starting to count "1", "2", "3", she loves to colour and draw and I see she is starting to hold the pencil correctly already.

I now need to plan for 3 and add "toddler school" to my daily plan, complete with play dough, puzzles, drawing, collage, water paint and anything else that comes to my mind.

J and R were very motivated today as they knew we were meeting friends at the park after lunch. It was a lovely afternoon to be outside in the fresh air. The kids enjoyed riding their bikes and scooters playing with their friends. It was nice to relax and chat while the kids played.

When daddy came home we decided to do a walk(which we do quite often), this time we thought we would walk to the local shopping centre and have subway for dinner, score for me!!!! Night off from cooking again : ) 2 nights in a row!

Another wonderful day in the life of our family....

Day 2 of the 10 days that was.....

Now day 2, not so "exciting" and different from a usual day in our week however it still deserves a mention. One of my favourite things this year to teach myself and my children is a simple yet profound saying from my mum... "enjoy the moment'"
So each time the children say, "what's next?" or "whats happening tomorrow" or "what's for dessert?" I reply "enjoy the moment"
This is easier said than done I know but it's a simple thing to follow to help one de clutter ones mind and to really be in the moment and take in everything each day and each moment of life has to offer.

So day 2 was spent doing just that!

We started the day with brekky, followed by chores. Me doing washing, sweeping and cleaning the kitchen. The kids empty the clean dishes from dishwasher from night before, put away clean clothes, make beds, brush teeth and get dressed for the day.

Then whilst the girls watched play school and J played LEGO I prepared "school work" for the day. We decided to do school on the dining table, which is quite large and definitely one of our favourite "working" spaces these days.

The children went through their school work that I had set. Helping each other along the way and J even asking for "extra" maths! He must be talking with his friends about where they are up to on Math U See and he doesn't want to "lag" behind. J does well with Maths and it is definitely one of his strong areas. He was learning how to add and say number that are in the thousands and hundreds of thousands this day. His first few sums were slow and took a while to spit the number out but after that he flew threw 6 pages of worksheets.

Our focus with R at the moment is phonics and reading practise. We have started on a new set of early readers from Usborne, which are beautiful books and I am so happy to have our first FULL set of readers for our book shelves. R is doing well, slow and steady is R's motto when it comes to school work but she is making progress and that makes me happy. When I can see R has had enough or her attention is lacking I will mix it up and we will play a game, read a story or do some colouring in, which she loves! So this day we did just that, she loves it when we can colour in together.



I put these pics in the right way but it keeps putting them in sideways! *odd*



C had been napping while we were doing school work and when she woke I cuddled her on the couch and she fell right back to sleep on me. So I used this as another "enjoy the moment" time and put my feet up and stared at my beautiful 19 month old baby girl.

When C woke we went downstairs to meet the kids who were playing happily outside and R excitedly tells me she can now ride her bike! with training wheels....but this is progress!!! she has struggled with peddling for some time so this is progress! The smile on her face was priceless : ) So the children enjoyed some time outside and I had a cuppa, once again "enjoying the moment" .

Later in the afternoon we got ready to take R to dance class. She does Jazz and has been going to classes for nearly 3 terms now!  Dance has really helped her confidence and she has really come out of her shell. For her to be looking forward to end of year concert is a big deal ! It will be a very proud moment for daddy and I to see her on stage performing.

To end that day I had a homeschool group committee meeting and lovely dinner with friends and got a night off cooking while daddy had quality time with the cherubs.

Action packed or what? Even "home" days are BIG!

Day 1 of the 10 days that was....

Our homeschool group organises a day of classes on a Monday which we call LUCky Mondays. The children usually have 4 to 5 classes each term they can choose from to fill their day.
For term 3 we decided we would let the children choose 2 classes each. J chose spanish and martial arts and R chose spanish and art. They love these days and so do I. The classes cover subjects that are more difficult to cover at home and they get to interact with another adult and other children in a "class" situation(with between 8 to 12 children) and like most children at school they also like "break" time as they get to have a snack and play with their friends.

They are both doing well in spanish, we should probably spend a bit more time on practising between classes at home, but of recent with an active toddler in the house I am happy to be covering Maths and English most days. They can say greetings in spanish, count to 20, sing some songs, name some objects amongst other things. At the moment they are working towards a presentation and fiesta , which is happening next week. It will be nice to see what they have learnt as they present a little skit in pairs for the parents.



 Art Class with a qualified art teacher. Each term there is a theme, this term it is landscapes. They have done some lovely work, last week Daddy was very impressed with R's piece he has it hanging up.

J has been asking to do some sort of Martial Arts for a while now. I have reasons for not wanting him to do it but an awesome opportunity came up for us on LUCky days as a christian homeschooling dad is a martial arts teacher and is doing a trial run of classes for us. J is loving it and learning lots of moves, self discipline, self defence and respect.

The past couple of weeks we have finished our LUCky Mondays with a browse, coffee and chat at a local christian bookstore with a couple of other families. This has been lovely and I have had some good chats, a much needed coffee (after a busy day of classes) and browse at some resources(trying not to spend too much)
Last week it was so nice to see the kids interact and walk through the store recommending books they had read and DVD's they had seen.

To finish the day J has tennis at the local tennis club. J has been doing tennis now for 3 years with the same coach and is doing very well and really enjoying it.

Yes, that is just 1 day! and I forgot to mention in between that we had lunch with my mum and ran a few errands.

Do my kids have a good life or what? a reflection of the past 10 days...

Instead of the week that was, the next 10 posts will be the 10 days that was!

I was going to blog about it all in one blog but decided each one needs its own....as some days I have great pics for and as my main purpose for blogging is to record keep for our family I would like to separate them.

Hubby and I were talking last night about our kids and how blessed they are to have the life they do, which is always fun and exciting but of late has been particularly. He is an awesome father and provider. He says it makes him feel happy knowing that I am at home with our children, knowing they are safe and that they are out having such wonderful experiences, having such a full and well rounded education and learning from life. I feel blessed that he feels this way and sees value in what we are doing and our choice to home educate. We often say our investment is our children.

I hope you enjoy reading the 10 days that was....