It's raining!

We haven't had that much rain lately, so it was a great novelty for the Little Prince. Not so much fun when we had to head out and collect Ginger Rose from school though!

As you can see, the gutters overflowed nicely, making lots of lovely rivers for splashing around in.

Despite the thunderous noise of rain pelting on the roof the New Baby slept happily. Once he gets to sleep he's very happy to sleep through all sorts of noises - which is fortunate as our renovations started on Monday.

The New Baby

Just a few quick photos because it's already week 3 and he's not been visible here yet!

Week 2 having some awake time on the floor.

Just new and home from hospital.

A photo from the first day or so.

First day of ballet

Ginger Rose had her first ballet lesson yesterday after begging for lessons for the last couple of years. Sadly, shopping was difficult with a new baby so she didn't have the requisite pale pink headband to keep her hair out of her face but I think she still looked gorgeous and there were plenty of other little girls in pink with assorted hairclips for the first week.

I was so sleep deprived that after the lesson (during which the Little Prince and the New Baby went for a walk to a nearby playground) I drove off leaving the baby's pusher neatly parked beside the car. Fortunately it was still there an hour later...

Small children and dog

Suki is very fond of the younger children and very gentle with them! I remember when she was just a tiny puppy, but now she more than holds her own. She is an enthusiastic participant in all sorts of games - and is currently supposed to be pretending to sleep with Ginger Rose on the couch, but the Little Prince is not so keen on pretending to sleep...

Guess what...

Somebody's getting a visit from the tooth fairy tonight!!!

Ginger Rose is pleased as punch to have lost her first tooth, and is eagerly awaiting her largesse. She literally lost it - didn't know it was gone until she looked in the mirror, but we tracked it down to the hair clip container on the bathroom bench.

Another birthday cake...

Possum turned 14 while I was away in Melbourne for a seminar, so the celebration was a little delayed. It amazes me, looking at the photographs, that my children are growing up so fast!

The Ginger Ninja is showing off his new braces.

It's a tough life...

After a particularly tiring couple of weeks, the little ones were running down - so it was ideal to have an armchair that cuddled them back as they had a pre-dinner rest in front of the TV. I'm particularly impressed with the grandparental attention to the Wiggles - above and beyond the call of duty!

The actual fifth birthday

Ginger Rose turned five the day before some of us left for a trip to Perth, so it was a bit rushed! But she still enjoyed being a princess for the day in her special tutu from Grandma E, special crown from Grandma L and special toys from Briar Rose.

Grandma L was here ready to take over the household from 5am the next morning.

We gave her an electronic globe that has been getting a really good work out ever since, but mostly from the Little Prince - who loves to hear it talking back to him! At least Ginger Rose has got Northern and Southern hemispheres all sorted now...

Ginger Rose is Five!

And her birthday party was only 3 weeks late. Oops! As you may notice, she's been hairdressing again, but thankfully only half a fringe this time!

She selected a local party room as her venue, and they had a lovely time dressing up as mermaids, painting plaster moulds, dancing the limbo and playing musical bops.

And eating cake, of course!

Siblings weren't really in the target age range for this party, but the Little Prince and Briar Rose came along to watch and take photos. It was a great party, and Ginger Rose has a large collection of Disney Princess dolls to remember it by!

Earthbox Brassicas

This is my first try with a "real" Earth Box, and I'm pretty happy with it! Grandad B donated some brassica seedlings so I planted 2 each of broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts.

There have been some grub issues - I have to remove the green catterpillars almost daily or they take over - but I've been otherwise impressed with how healthy they are.

Both broccoli plants have well established heads and secondary heads developing below. I'm not counting my chickens too early, but am quietly confident that Earth Box gardening may be the way to go for our family!

What happened to the green futon?

It was so old and grubby we knew it had to go, but it was a very sudden departure.

Ginger Rose had a cough last week so I banished Suki from the girls' bedroom. She was clearly driven crazy by her banishment and also destroyed two pairs of shoes (not pictured).

It's a little hard to see, but roomba is still my best friend - because foam couch stuffing is horribly hard to get off carpet - without roomba we'd still be working on it!

My little adventurer...

Hmmmm, wonder why the garden's always so messy and I seem wash about five sets of clothes a day for one small child?

Waking up the big brothers in the morning is one of the Little Prince's favourite jobs! He loves climbing up their ladders and surprising them. They're usually good natured about it.

There is no such thing as a childproof room now that the fine art of moving furniture has been well and truly mastered. I'm just grateful that cupboard doors open outwards, adding a degree of difficulty that *usually* means he's distracted before he gains admission.

Easter 2009

We missed the Ginger Ninja, who was away camping with friends, for this year's Easter Egg Hunt but Possum did a great job playing Easter Bunny. And the girls did a great job hunting.

The Little Prince was quite unwell over Easter, but cheered up just a little for the Easter Egg Hunt. Sadly, he escaped without his shoes and got wet socks yet again.

This was the way he spent most of Easter - snuggled up to somebody big. Grandma E doesn't look as though she minds, and fortunately we have many hands for light people so his feet barely touched the ground for a good three days.

We did one of our periodic wardrobe tidies, and the Stitch costume was finally deemed too small for anybody but Ginger Rose who looks very scary and cute in it!

Garden Soup

I decided to try making a meal out of just ingredients from the garden so pulled out some spring onions, potatoes and a couple of varieties of pumpkin.

I chopped them all up, then cheated by adding a store bought brown onion and a couple of stock cubes. After it was pureed to conceal the vegetable content, the family decided it was very edible. And it made a reappearance with a tin of coconut milk the next night to even greater acclaim.

The sheer volume of scraps from garden vegies amazes me and thrills the chooks, and is a good reminder of the wasted food we don't see at the supermarket...

Surfing Ninja

The Ginger Ninja has been mad keen to try surfing again after enjoying his first lesson on a school camp.
A trip up the coast with Dad seemed like a good opportunity.

I was initially sceptical, but apparently you can either surf or you can't. I can't. He can.

The instructor says he's a natural.

Textile and design...

This year for textile and design, Briar Rose learnt to use the sewing machine. This is her first project - a circle skirt. Grandma L provided a couple of lessons, then Briar Rose tackled the very very long hem (after attaching an elasticized waist band). The wrap around her shoulders was her own design from some fabric scraps.

Chrismas present from Great Auntie C!

Great Auntie C sent the children some money for Christmas, and we've been saving it for the right shopping moment. We decided to go to a character breakfast at the local factory outlet and shop for new linen for the girls' beds.

The girls were allowed to choose their own linen but decided they both wanted matching sheets and had no trouble choosing a pattern they both loved. I was anticipating having to conceal my winces while buying sheets covered with purple dinosaurs or Barbie, so pink roses on a blue background was a delightful choice!

Thank you very much, dearest C - and I'll update after the boys select their presents.

And in February...

Another busy month getting back into the school routine. Sorry I can't get the photos into chronological order...

Possum was invested as a House Captain, which gave us both a nice warm glow - first time I've had reserved front-row seating at a school assembly!
Suki grew faster than The Little Prince, but is still puppy enough to enjoy baby games in the sandpit. 
Ginger Rose had a "white" week at preschool, which I thought was asking for a serious parental  investment in bleach.
The Ginger Ninja finally had the cast removed from his right arm, but the plates will be in there for another six months or so. This means he SHOULD be careful with his arm...
Our favourite puppy visitor came to dinner. Hi Dufus!
I took a trip to Sydney so Briar Rose, The Little Prince and I could spend time with my mother, sister and nephew. These cousins are going to be great friends, I think!
Despite being sick, jet-lagged and teachign for a full day, Grandma E still put on a delicious dinner for us.
The Degas exhibition had a family activity room that was so wonderful we didn't bother seeing more than 50% of the actual Degas exhibition!
Even The Little Prince was encouraged to express himself artistically!
And Ginger Rose loved the opportunity to dress up as a ballerina or a jockey.
Briar and Ginger Rose started piano lessons. We're learning Suzuki and it's very slow going at the moment, but I hope once we get the knack of it we'll move a bit faster!
The Little Prince enjoyed taking Ginger Rose back to preschool. He's really very well behaved in the preschool room, and does a good job finding the puzzles that are most suitable for him.
This was the first day back at preschool. Ginger Rose was so excited to be back with her friends, and was very happy that last year's teacher was present to help them settle in for their first day with their new teacher.

So, we're up to date!

What we did in January

It's been too long between blog updates - life seems to be racing past just now! But looking back at January's photos, we really were particularly busy!

Probably the most visible change in January was to Ginger Rose's gorgeous locks. They disappeared. Dramatically. I cried.

And I was still finding the odd golden lock in the girls' bedroom weeks after. There were a lot of curls on the floor.

Briar Rose and I pulled out the sewing machine and the on-going quilt project.

We found a great new malted oat slice recipe that's perfect for lunch boxes.

Stewed and froze the garden surplus of silverbeet and tomatoes.

Played with play-dough.

Loaded five children and five instruments into the car each day for a fortnight's music camp in scorching hot weather.

And enjoyed plaster painting activities at the shopping centre while the big kids were away.
Lots more happened, but there's only so much space...

Artisan Bread

A friend sent me instructions for a fantastically quick and easy bread, based on the recipes in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

(I don't have a copy of this book, and it's not in the library, so if anybody's looking for a good birthday present for me - please feel free to check for it on Booko! )

In a large container add:

6 cups lukewarm water

3 tbs seasalt

3 tbs yeast

13 cups flour.

Mix.

And leave on the counter for a couple of hours...

While it grows...

And grows...

Until it's knocking at the top of the container and you panic and stick it into the fridge for 3

 hours.

Sprinkle some flour over the top so you can easily haul out a handful, saw it off, play with it a very little, and place on a polenta covered board.

Toss a cupful of water in a hot tray in a very hot oven, then bake until done. Takes me around 25 minutes. The bread is delicious and makes a fantastic pizza, especially when combined with tomatoes fresh from the garden!

How cute is my tea cosy?

Did I mention that I love love love the tea cosy Grandma L knitted us (on request) for Christmas? I was very distressed when it disappeared yesterday morning - but I think it looks so sweet perhaps we should ask for another one without the holes for the handle and spout?

Christmas carols 2008

Instead of singing Christmas carols this year, we played them! Grandma E was given a box of crackers with tuned whistles, so we formed an impromptu ensemble. Anybody actually recognise the carol?

Camera work by the Ginger Ninja.

Return to the garden

It's amazing how fast a garden grows in just a few days' absence. The Lemon-Tree-in-a-Barrel isn't doing too well - we had plenty of blossom, lots of fruit setting, but the lemons are all ripening at this ridiculously small size for the second year in a row. Any advice welcomed! The Barrel is also home to some rocket, coriander and strawberry plants.

Dh was keen to see if the zucchinis would keep growing while we were away - and they did. Unfortunately, they don't taste as good oversized (and I was careful not to say "I told you so" LOL). We'll still get our zucchini meal a week.

My home-made Earth Box is doing well, though I'm hoping it's not too late in the season for the zucchinis. They're planted in potting mix with additional dynamic lifter on the top, and will have plenty of water so if it's possible, they should just make it...

An overview shot of the garden, not showing the cucubit patch to the left. At this stage, most things are growing nicely though I'm late mounding the potatoes and leeks due to the garden supply store being out of cow manure for the entire season! I think we're going to have to bite the bullet and stick with some straw and chook poo.