Weekend fun

The weather in Brisbane right now is hot, hot, hot! With storms, humidity and a bright sun, sometimes going outside to play is not an option. So this morning we headed to the 10 pin bowling alley with my brother and his family. The kids really enjoyed it. After nap time however, the clouds parted and the tide ran out leaving a lovely, big canvas for exploring and play. There really is something lovely about the feeling of wet sand on your feet, in looking for sea creatures and wading through the tidal pools. Ahhhhhhh...this is why we are here.

And then to come home, with the smell of the BBQ, the kids riding their scooters and me, my feet up with a good book just drinking it all in.

Raggamuffin 2009

Our wonderful friends Hubert and Michelle invited us to go to the Raggamuffin concert on Friday night. It was such a fun night catching up with old friends, dancing and singing. After scanning the crowd, I felt such pride that Brisbane has become such a diverse place. I really don't remember it being that way when I grew up. It was awesome to see all different nations represented and everyone was there to share a common love - music.

My boys

The days have seemed so much quieter lately....no constant 5 year old questions, the "mummy, can we build a machine out of blocks that makes a cage to trap a tiger?, Where is the North Pole? Why do they need a South Pole? Is Steve Irwin happy in heaven?"........ I miss his quirky little grin and the constant "just trickin' mum". There is however, if I listen carefully, a new sound emerging. It started out ever so quietly and is getting louder each day. Master Sam, quiet, two word Sam, is using full sentences and noticing a whole new world around him. It is so wonderful! He is starting to see the benefit of having my complete attention. Well, until 3pm when a whole new order of questions begin!!

First day of School

Harry had his first day of Aussie school yesterday. He was very excited and thought nothing of it, when I said time to sit on the carpet and mummy and daddy will see you later. Quick kiss and he was gone! Sam is finding adjusting a little harder but they were both in bed asleep by 6pm last night...ahhhhhh.

Weekend update

Saturday was a busy day for us visiting family and friends. In the morning we caught up with my two best friends from Mt Samson Primary School, Emma and Jodie. It is so wonderful that after all these years, we are still close and still share a special bond. Even though we walk in different circles and live in different places, we still are the same 3 friends of years past.

In the afternoon we tried to escape the gastly humidity with a swim in Dads pool. My brother and the kids had the same idea, turning the afternoon into nice family time.

Kevin and I were able to spend Sunday night together in celebration of our 8th wedding anniversary (2 days early I know but you have to take the baby sitting opportunites when they arrise!) We had a lovely evening starting with 10 pin bowling and then a movie. All in all, a great way to spend the night with the man I love and to take time out to appreciate the past 8 years and to look forward to many more wonderful years to come.

Today, of course, is Australia Day. We were invited to my big brother Paul's annual Australia Day Bash. He had it on his back dam and did it in true Aussie style. There was snags on the BBQ for the kids, a half a rack of lamb roasting on the spit and salads galore. The kids, both big and small, were enjoying the boat and water. Kevin was a little grossed out by the dam water, but that is how us country kids went swimming! No crystal clear, galcier fed water to be seen!!!!

A great day. Happy Australia Day!

Library bags

Ta da.... here are the library bags. Mum very patiently sat with me and taught me the basics. It is surprisingly easy, once you get the hang of the machine, the bobbin, the stitches, the cutting,the pinning........hmmmmmmmm.......Seriously though, I had a lot of fun and even decided to make some p.j. bags with the left over material.








To fill you in on the past few days, yesterday I had a very special morning with my friend Paulina at her Massage studio. What better way to start the day then with great company and an amazing massage experience!! She reminded me how important it is to breathe and slow down, to enjoy the process.

I was all set to go to yoga on Tuesday night but turns out I had the schedule all mucked up so we went for a family bike ride instead. It turned out to be the perfect way to spend the evening. Sam was a champion and made it all the way from mums house to the Shorncliffe jetty and playground. Once we got there though we realised he wouldn't be able to make it home!!! Hahaha...we really have to laugh at ourselves sometimes. So Kevin rode home to get the car, we had dinner at the Brighton Hotel and mum and I rode home with very full and content tummies!! I was kicking myself the whole time that I had left the camera at home though.

Tuesday morning the boys had their swimming lessons again and Mum and I almost peed our pants laughing. Sam is so joyous about the whole process, even when going under the water he has a huge grin from ear to ear. Harry has come such a long way in such a short time. He is already swimming across the small learning pool and loving it.

Please make sure you guys make some comments and let me know what is happening with all of you! Happy Wednesday to you.

Crochet hat

Oh my gosh........I did it!!! I finished my hat!!! It is not exactly like it is supposed to be, but lets not get picky people.........I was able to crochet something!!!!!!!!!!!! I am thinking I might try it again and see if I can get it like the picture. Or maybe not! If anyone is interested the free pattern came from here at Threadbanger.com - awesome site.

We had a lovely afternoon yesterday. Mama June took the boys into the back garden and ran them silly. They were doing laps of the house, playing in the sandpit building volcanoes and playing in the hose....good quality fun. I could hear the squeals of delight from the kitchen window and I couldn't help laughing myself. It really was a joyful experience. And guess what? Master Sam, the child who won't eat anything, especially not without a Master performance, ate his entire meal AND QUIETLY!!!!!!!!! You know what will be happening this afternoon again, don't you?!

Speaking of dinner, we had a massive plate of salad topped off with marinated chicken and calamari. It was so nice, I thought I would share with you!! The boys had a salad plate as well, carrot sticks, capsicum (red pepper), tomatoes, almonds, pepitas, and chicken skewers. Great finger food after a great afternoon!

Thrifting

Harrison and I were able to share a wonderful hour together yesterday while Master Sam and Daddy had an afternoon nap. We went to town and bought some very funky dinosaur material to make the boys some library bags. Harry needs one for the start of prep next week and well, Sam will need one for our weekly library visit. All I need now is to start sewing....oh yeah...and learn how to sew!! Should be a breeze.....right?!?!?

Then Harry and I headed to the many downtown thrift stores. I was pulled to the material and crafting section and Harry, straight to the books! He found a lovely adult book on fishes and aquariums. He was delighted by all the pictures of the fish and was so excited when he proudly carried the book from the store. He patiently read as I wandered through all the little treasures these stores can hold. I found some material to practice sewing on, a funky apron and a nice scarfe. I also got some old decorating magazines as I would like to start looking at how to renovate our house when we get back to Canada. All in all, it was a lovely, relaxing hour. It always brings me such pleasure when Harry finds a book he loves, especially a pre-loved book. I remember being a 'difficult' child and not even wanting to enter a thrift store when I was his age (I didn't like the smell!!!).

I will keep you posted on the library bags....fingers crossed it all goes well!

Crochet and swimming lessons

Kevins time in hospital meant long days sitting beside his bed watching him sleep. From fear of feeling useless and to distract myself from thinking too much, I decided to teach myself how to crochet. My friend Leah had tried to show me back in Canada last year but I really didn't get it!! Perhaps the complete and utter devotion of just sitting there and concentrating (something novel for most of us mums!) I started to get it! I saw a cute hat on Threadbanger and decided to try it. I didn't have the correct size hook but thought I could wing it. I was wrong, as when I was finished, it was huge!! That is ok though as by this time Kevin was feeling better and was awake alot more. He helped me unpull it and wind the wool back up so I could start again. I haven't yet picked it up again but, I know I will. I will keep you posted!

The boys also had their first swimming lessons on Tuesday. They loved it and the teacher was brilliant with them. Sam has asked about 4 or 5 times everyday since them if we can go back to swimming lessons, so fingers crossed that keeps up!!

Here's to Wellness

Oh the exhaustion of the past few days. My darling husband became very sick, late last week and ended up in hospital. He returned home yesterday afternoon to the very open and eager arms of his excited boys. Scares like this make me appreciate even more the amazing blessing I already have in my life. How easy it is to become obsessed with all other, seemingly unimportant things. For a world filled with such intelligent people, it is so easy to be distracted from our truth. I hope you all can slow down, even if only for a minute, look at the beauty in your life and concentrate on that. So many of us have so much, if only we realised!

Knitting for Grandma

My beautiful Grandma will turn 90 years old this year. She is a beautiful, joyful lady who has recently had vision issues. She is now classified as vision impaired and the one thing that she enjoyed immensely in life, knitting and crochet, she can no longer do. She finds it hard to watch the TV and reading is out. She is incredibly bored and I am looking for projects to amuse her. I thought perhaps knitting an old style string bag, as they require large needles thus large stitches. She already has a very large magnifying glass but she still finds regular knitting too challenging. It is such a shame to let such a talent for knitting go to waste and also to let her brilliant mind sit so unused, merely because of her eyes. My boys just love her and jump and clap in excitement if we talk of visiting her. I would love to give her this gift, so any help or suggestions for other projects would be greatly appreciated.

Our trip to Wooli, NSW

Happy New Year!!! Isn't it glorious to have another wonderful year ahead of us! We certainly enjoyed our end to last year and start to this one. We went camping in Northern NSW with my brothers and their families and my mum. It was great to see the little cousins all running around playing together. It brought back memories of special holidays with my own cousins. The camp ground was pretty basic but a lovely spot with the river on one side and the beach the other. We did have a couple of bright, sunny days but mainly overcast ones. It was still lovely. My brothers have certainly put a new spin on 'camping' for me. They usually do things all out or not at all, and camping is no exception. We drove onto the beach and made day camps, had toys, bikes, motorised cars and even a jumping castle....yes, a bloody jumping castle!!! The kids had a ball together. Kevin even got to try his hand at deap sea fishing with my brother Grant and managed to catch some too!

I will let the following images explain the rest to you and hope that you have all had an exciting start to your year. If not, remember that there is still a whole year to go to fill with wonderful, exciting moments. I will hopefully go back to daily posts, maybe every couple of days if we get too boring. I hope you Canadians are enjoying the snow for me - I am really missing winter this year!