Why I love where I live

 The beach is 5 minutes away, world class and always beautiful.

 We never tire of the view.

 We are surrounded by the beautiful,unspoilt bush.

 Our garden settles in beside the bush happily and gives us flowers,fruit and vegetables.

We have visits from Australian wildlife, daily.

What's not to love?

I'm Still Here

Well, it has been a tough month, so I haven't been around much.To top it off,Charlie knocked my laptop off the coffee table, and it is now dead! More fool me for leaving it where my baby could knock it!
It seems my hard drive is knackered and I'll be lucky to retrieve anything! It is a blow that I will lose all my photos - wish I had "backed them up", but I didn't really expect to break the laptop!

So now I am using Michael's apple mac, which I don't fully understand, so I haven't a clue how to post pictures.This is something I will have to master before too long. I'd like to get back into the blogging, so will need to do that.

This past month I have been so busy, mostly with Charlie and the family.We haven't been doing anything special, but have had most of us suffering from a cold here and there, but mostly I have been tending to Charlie's needs.

He's also had a cold, which followed an infection which required anti-biotics, which in turn gave him diarrhea, and he still hasn't cut his first tooth, despite much drooling and clamping his gums on anything (including my nipples during breastfeeding!).

So, Charlie has been irritable and very needy. I am his number one comfort, so it has meant many hours attached to each other. It has also meant I haven't much wanted to venture out.Poor Freya has been extremely tolerant and very helpful, but my lack of attention for her may have lead her to decide to go back to school next term. She assures me it isn't the case, but, naturally I feel guilty. Freya insists it is because she misses her friends and is feeling much better.

It is true that her anxiety issues have improved a great deal since homeschooling and seeing a counsellor. We will continue with the counseling - I think it really helps her to talk to someone other than family about her anxieties, and to be given some practical strategies to try.
So I'll go and see her school principal in the next couple of weeks to discuss her options. I feel a little bit sad about her going back to school, but I want what is best for her, and for her to be happy. With Charlie being so demanding lately, it is probably better for her to be at school. Freya reassures me that she gets a whole lot more attention at home than at school, even when Charlie demands my attention, but I worry that it is too easy to have Freya help me with baby, rather than doing school work. I have been reassured by other homeschooling mums that it would be fine for her to do no "schoolwork" for a time, but I feel better if she is doing something "schoolish" (that's the teacher in me talking!)

We are only two weeks away from going on holiday! It is exciting and terrifying at the same time! It will be lovely to get away, to go where it is summer (it is very cold here - 12 degrees today-very cold for us), to enjoy the company of friends, but at the same time, the worrier in me can't help but think about the amount of time spent in the car and plane with a 10 month old - argh! Who knows, perhaps he'll suddenly enjoy being strapped into his car-seat for 5 hours straight!Ha ha, I doubt it. We'll have Freya and Lily with us, so they'll earn their keep entertaining their baby brother.

I also worry about how he'll go with his sleeping.I know I shouldn't worry, that it is pointless, and that it might all be a breeze, but, unfortunately, I wasn't built that way, and have to think of all the scenarios in order to relax! It is a paradox of sorts.

Before then, we'll have a week of swimming lessons in town.If that doesn't wear me out, nothing will. Hopefully it won't be too hard on Charlie and his sleeping patterns - he tends to nod off in the car, then wakes up when we arrive home, then won't sleep in his cot and ends up overtired...but what can we do, I'd really like Freya to have the benefit of the swimming lessons, especially before we go to warmer climes where she'll enjoy swimming everyday.

On a brighter note - I have started knitting a new cardigan, a lovely Jo Sharp pattern. I haven't gotten all that far yet (just knitted one cuff!!), but already I love it!The colours are great and I love the texture too. I will try to post a photo of it when I sort out how to do it.

Here's to getting back into blogging- I hope my faithful followers are still out there in cyber space!

Another Birthday

Happy days...Charlie is loving this crawling caper,getting stuck under chairs,pulling on and chewing electrical cords,finding long lost bits of fluff to gag on! We are all enjoying his blossoming and changing.Many people comment that he is less like a baby and more like a boy now, and it does feel that way.He already wants to walk around the furniture and displaying some risk-taking behaviour! It keeps me on my toes,and I am loving every minute.

Freya seems to be enjoying homeschooling so far.The tempo is certainly cruisey, but she tells me she is doing much more than she was at school. Is this true?I don't know, but I do know that time is wasted at school. I love that she can pursue something that interests her and run with it.For example after walking on the beach and finding bluebottles,her curiosity was whetted, and when we got home she found out everything she wanted to know about them, and will write a report about them.

I also love that she can wear her fairy outfit to school and not worry about anyone teasing her about it.One of the best things about being home schooled is that Freya can be herself,she doesn't have to keep up with the rest of the pack (and,yes,some of those girls act like wolves),she doesn't have to worry about the dynamics of friendships,and it was getting very complicated - who was allowed to play with whom,when they were allowed etc.I found her tales of friendship perimeters quite disturbing.

Having said that,she is still able to maintain her important friendships, and was really chuffed to have her friend Ashlyn visit on her birthday.Freya had a lovely time,enjoying her presents and the company of friends and family. She loved her chocolate cloud cake (thank you Rosie and Nigella for the recipe) served with cream and fresh raspberries and strawberries. It is a great cake,no gluten (which is good for me), and simple to make.Let me know if you want the recipe.

Busy,busy,busy

A busy couple of weeks...As you can see, there's a new path in the garden.Michael did it over the school holidays. Any progress in the garden is a wonderful thing. I am very excited that I have finally been able to start replanting in the bed in front of the house (pics of that in a blog to come). I am hoping I'll get some time out there soon.

Freya stated homeschooling this week.So far,so good.She is a very fast worker and so eager, ready to tackle the next task as soon as she has finished the first.This means I have to keep on my toes! Sometimes Charlie makes it difficult, as he believes his needs are always to be met straight away!

We set up this corner with a desk for Freya's homeschooling. It meant taking the kitchenette out and finding a new home for all the crockery.It was a good opportunity to cull what we really don't need.The rest found a place in the pantry, which also underwent serious culling. It always feels good to cull (so why do I still have compulsions to buy more!Incurable!).

Charlie is now crawling everywhere at a great speed.He is very cute.He hit the 8 month mark on the 23rd.He still hasn't cut any teeth, but judging by his ferocious grip whilst breastfeeding (sets my teeth at edge) he isn't far off.He has also been dribbling great wet fountains this week.

His crawling style is very interesting.He tends to do all the work with his left leg while keeping the right leg bent, but not really doing any of the work.It works, he's able to get stuck under chairs and tables ALL the time!

Another milestone met this past weekend...Callum turned 18! Wow! It is amazing having a boy-adult under our roof.He's legal for drinking and other things, but it isn't really all that different to when he was 17! He is very independent - we hardly see him - he works long hours, then hangs out with friends.We really only catch up in the mornings for a few minutes.It feels a bit strange, but at least we see him more than when he was living away.

So that is why I have been really busy. It is so hard to get any time for myself,particularly with Charlie's sleeping habits, which require my nice warm body! If I get him to sleep and put him in his cot he almost ALWAYS wakes up. I honestly don't know how to deal with this problem.I don't want to leave him to cry, I just won't go there, but I worry that he'll never sleep in his cot, or that I'll never get a little break(I'd really like a little bit of time in the afternoons to sew or garden).Anyway, he's still little and I know what I signed up for, so I'll just make the best of it...

We are off to swimming lessons tomorrow(for Charlie), how exciting.I hope he enjoys it.

Cool Cat Pants and Homeschooling

They aren't the best pictures, but you get a glimpse of Charlie's little pyjama pants I made yesterday afternoon. They are "Cool Cat" pants because they have cats in the print.They are very cute on him.And nice and warm now that the temperature is dropping.

I have noticed that he often has a dummy in his mouth in photos, it makes it look like he always has one, but that isn't the case.He was pretty grumpy, he is still cutting those first teeth, and he has a cold.He woke Mike and me at 4.30 am because he wanted to suck on his dummy but his blocked nose meant he couldn't breathe! So there was much crying!Michael got up to console him, but I could still hear him and wasn't able to sleep. We were both zombies yesterday!

As for the title today, Freya has decided to take up my offer of homeschooling her.I am really pleased she wants to give it a go, but also a little scared - I want to give her the best education, and just hope I do a decent job. We have already started planning some of the projects we'll do together. One is a science project - raising seeds for the vegetable patch. I recently bought a heated propagation tray, so we'll see how the germination rates go compared to unheated. Not only interesting, but practical too, I'll have a willing helper in the garden.

We are also going to do some sewing and knitting.It will be fun.

My little one is calling, better run!