More Time in the Garden

The weather has been so lovely lately that I just have to go outside with Charlie.He loves to play with the hose, and gets very wet, but it doesn't matter when the sun is shining.It also means I get a few minutes here and there to tackle the weeds.

I manages to plant some lettuce and tomato seedlings (thanks Katelyn) in the vege patch, weeded around the fruit trees (still a lot more to do there), also dug some clay in around the fruit trees.It is so dry and sandy already. I will have to get a load of sheep or pig manure for them.

I also planted bean and carrot seed, from Kerry's garden - she lets some of her produce go to seed to keep for the next year.I will try that too this year.I do buy many seeds and they aren't always successful.I suppose if you have a proven seed, it is worth saving.

I am hoping to get more time out there again today. I have a "Jane McGrath" rose to plant out, and I think I'll go to the nursery and see what is there.I have a few gaps that could be filled. It is always such a pleasure to visit the nursery, even if it is just to browse the plants. We have a gorgeous local nursery "Lush"(if they had a website I'd post the address, but they don't). The name is appropriate as the plants are all healthy and gorgeous, but one of the best things is the beautiful exotic home wears and garden ornaments etc.My girls love the place as much as I do, and the ladies there always remember the girls and are so kind.They give them little punnets of pansies and veges to plant. I love the place! I am not sure about taking Charlie there though! He might get into mischief!

Charlie and I have also been heading to the beach.Mostly walking, not swimming, as although the weather is lovely, the water is still cold. I am looking forward to the Luewin current which will warm it up a bit, so we won't have to have those nasty "ice cream headaches". Ouch!

I love this time of year!

Spring has Sprung

Spring is here and the garden is blooming.It is lovely to see all the flanders poppies waving their little red heads around. Charlie and I are spending many hours outside, enjoying the sunshine and a chance to pull up the multiplying weeds. They are trying to take over the vegetable patch, but I am fighting back! There's still more to do, but I am more than happy to spend time outside, especially now that Charlie is into typical toddler mode.

Charlie is toddling and running everywhere.Not only that, he is an adventurous little soul, who loves nothing better than to scale any piece of furniture that might bring him closer to the item he most desires. This is usually a computer,sewing machine,telephone, or the piece de resistance: the television remote. I think if anyone in this family is going to take up mountain climbing, it will be Charlie.He is very canny and quite skilled.It is worrying! So, whenever I can, I take him outside to explore the great outdoors: so far, not too much climbing happening out there....give him time...

Who can believe the year is drawing to a close? I can't believe how it has flown, but then again, to see how much Charlie has grown makes it all the more obvious.Although he is still very small and cute, he is no longer a baby. I realise now how easy babyhood was! Toddlerhood is proving to be quite a challenge. Apart from sleeping, there's not a lot of "stillness".Luckily for me I have willing helpers, so I do sometimes get a little break.I quite like to have a little nanna nap some afternoons.It makes for a less stressful evening.

Charlie is one!Life is busy!

It has been so long since my last post.Everything conspires against me and it just gets too hard to post on my blog.

On Sunday Charlie turned 1.On Saturday, as I drove home from town (one of the only places I get to think without interruption),I felt quite tearful,looking back on the past year.It has been wonderful.Charlie has brought so much love and joy into our family,and that first year is so full of wonder.He has changed and grown so much, I think we all have!

Part of my reflection has involved thinking about what it means to have a "large" family of five children. Yes, it is busy, but not hysterically so.I know many many people comment on how it must be "mad" and "exhausting", but really, it isn't. Some days are a bit crazy, but isn't that sometimes the way with one or two children?

I suppose it helps that my children are spread out, the older ones are a great help, but they all have their issues,needs and desires. I suppose I try not to do too much, try hard to balance things so that the priorities are things like health and happiness: e.g, it is a priority to make sure we have a healthy balanced meal almost every day. I can't remember the last time we had take-away food. Wait, actually, we did when we were on holiday in Broome(which by the way, was a wonderful holiday). My next priority is usually to make our main living/dining space as clutter free as possible,tidy and clean (though the floor could use a wash).I also try to rest every afternoon while Charlie sleeps.

That's about all I can do to be organised whilst everything else is going on around me.I also fit in the laundry, try to take a daily walk with Charlie, get out into the garden when the weather is fine and talk to each of the kids about their day.

It's true I don't have much time for myself.I hardly ever get to yoga class any more, wish I could knit without Charlie tangling up my wool, have forgotten what the sewing machine looks like, but I am really happy.

Sometimes it can all be a bit overwhelming, things can and do get on top of me, but I don't find family life too demanding,nor "mad". One thing I have learned over the years of parenthood is that it is easier and more peaceful to just let things go, relax, enjoy, because there will always be another opportunity to wash the floor, but Charlie will never be this little again.

Having a large family does involve sacrifice, having a small family does too, but in the scheme of things, when I look back on my life, if I make to the "twilight years", I will never regret having children, how could I? Travel to exotic locales is wonderful, but I'd not trade it for any one of my children! And the same goes for material things.They are nice, but you can't take them with you can you.

Enough philosophising...

Something new for me : I have a part time job.I tutor for 4 hours a week, in two sessions of 2 hours, after school hours, so Mike can have Charlie. It is great .I really enjoy it and although it means I need to be quite organised, it is a nice way to do a bit of work without impacting on the family too much.

Charlie is calling...

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!

One step forward....

Two steps back...bloody chooks! Looks like they need their wings clipped again. I planted red cabbage on Sunday only to find they had disappeared this morning, and the chooks were licking their lips (err...beaks)!

What is the point in keeping chickens when they don't even lay eggs!

Anyway, not all bad news.I am very happy to say I have finally, after a year or so, got my plants back into the garden. The photos show the little bit of progress I am making.
It feels really good to get the plants into the ground, as they were lifted out last April so that we could kill off the kikuya which had immigrated from the lawn, and pretty well taken over. And it isn't the kind of weed you can just pull out.Oh no, this stuff gets in deep(sometimes a metre deep) and strangles the root system of everything in its path, and nothing will kill it, apart from a good dose of round-up, three times! Blimey,it is tough stuff. So much for being totally organic. You just can't beat it without help from glysophate.

So my plants have been waiting patiently, and I did lose a few.But that's okay, because I have changed the design a bit, and made different choices of plants and different ways to plant them.I am hoping the garden will be a bit less "cottagey" and a bit more designed, but that remains to be seen.

I have put in a couple of dwarf nectarines and a "doughnut" peach, as well as three Chilean guavas, which have edible fruit. I like the idea of having some edible plants in the border.

This photo was taken before I started replanting:

This one is after planting, though it doesn't show alot of difference, it will look much improved in spring. Note the gorgeous colour of the Triton Maple.

And finally, something I have been hoping to do since Charlie's birth - to plant his tree, the Gingko Biloba, over the placenta which sustained him for 9 months,growing him into a strong and healthy baby.Now it can do the same for his tree.(In case you're wondering, it was in the freezer all that time!)

The Buddha statue now sits under the tree. The tree itself doesn't look that great, but it is losing its leaves for Autumn, and I am sure it will look beautiful in the future. I also planted perennial irises around the tree and Buddha.I am not sure what kind of irises they are, but they are delicate and pretty, and I think suitable for a special spot.

It feels good to be gardening regularly, to look forward to what the plants will bring : perhaps food, beauty, flowers to bring inside, a lovely place to wander, to sit in, and a chance to get my hands dirty and to connect with the earth...Ahhh, bliss!

Saturday Sewing an Mum's Day

On Saturday I was able to get some sewing done.Yay! I had received a new book on Friday,The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule (you'll see her blog on my reading list,and you can purchase the book from her), and she was saying how important (to her) it was to have some creativity everyday. Well, I realise it is pretty important to me too, because if I can't do something creative,I do feel frustrated, and when you add that to no enough sleep, I can feel unhappy.

So,I decided to try harder to fit in some creative time, and did manage it. You'll see Charlie wearing a little grey vest - I have been trying to make this one for some time - I felted an old vest of Michael's, and it worked out so well.It will certainly keep Charlie warm.

I also got to play with some of the beautiful fabrics I bought from Fabricworm,on the website Etsy (which sells hand crafted wares as well as supplies).It is such a pleasure to sew beautiful fabrics. I made a skirt for Freya using the Anna Maria Horner fabrics, and a headband for Lily.

I also made this "holdall" and plastic bag holder, for the side of the change table.It is great,it keeps everything close,just where I can easily reach.The lovely fabric is another Anna Maria Horner fabric, so pretty.

I must say I felt really satisfied after the sewing session. Which led onto a wonderful Mother's day on Sunday. Just briefly, this is what contributed to a wonderful day:

• A sleep in
• Breakfast in bed courtesy of Freya
• Three new Pandora beads for my bracelet (Oooh!)
• No chores ALL day
• A session in the garden,planting out
• Lunch at the beautiful peaceful farm with Michael's parents
• Michael cooked a yummy stir fry dinner

It was just lovely having the day with my children and husband.I am blessed.

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.