Eden

We're visiting Eden for a few days and anticipate touring the local playgrounds. The first one is excellent with a sandy Bay Beach and some new to us play equipment.

Crochet blanket for a tall child

I thought I'd make a nice little lap rug for a small boy. Unfortunately I miscalculated my initial row, and now seem to be crocheting a rather large blanket for a king single bed. Both the teenage boys are in excess of six feet tall, so I suppose I can look on an extra long blanket as some sort of hope the smaller boys will also grow nice and tall some day.

I've been buying a ball of wool (Lincraft Cosy Wool) at a time, and have taken so long with this project that they're changing the colours so it won't match if I don't work faster!

I find the thought of having to sew up a project so unappealing that I am swayed to all-in-one patterns, but having to lug around this blanket may persuade me to consider reconsidering the value of a small piece of work!

We're away for a few nights this week, and I have high hopes of knuckling down and returning with a finished product.

Questacon

We haven't been using our Questacon membership nearly enough this year, but it just hasn't been the same without the side show alley.

 This may be the last time Lachie is able to fit in the baby seats for water play. He was tired after playing hard in the first gallery so really appreciated the chance to sit quietly and experiment. As always, he was pretty damp despite the smock.

 Jessie thinks she's getting too big to fit through the activity centre.

 Andy really enjoyed playing vet.

As always, the morning tea break in the members lounge was very popular!

Visiting Grandparents

We are often lucky enough to get a visit from Grandma E in school holidays. This time, the only possible visit time meant that Grandma E and Grandad D overlapped, so Grandma E stayed in Isabelle's room.

The children loved having her right there in the house when they woke up!

 The little boys are so snuggly still.

 Jessie learnt how to make plunger coffee. We even ground the beans fresh in the Thermomix.

It's not often the children have both of my parents visiting together!

Traveling in 2013

Another thing that's changing so fast in our family is the way we travel. Last year:

• I had six children in the car, this year I have two teenagers who drive their own cars 
• I had a full car, this year I have full driveways
• the boot always had a stroller, this year I only walk as far as the baby can walk
• I had a baby in a reverse facing Swedish carseat, a preschooler in a car seat and a school girl in a booster seat, this year that baby is in a carseat, the preschooler has graduated to a booster seat and the school girl sits in any seat but the front!

 Andy's first road trip in a booster seat - demonstrating the need to double check that it's properly positioned - he's not wearing the anti-submarine clip AND the belt isn't through the guide! We fixed that at the first stop! You can see the top of Jessie's head in the back seat, and Isabelle is riding shotgun.

Lachie's first trip forward facing last year. There's a full car but Jessie is too low to see over the back seats!

 Last year roadside stops filled a picnic table nicely.

This year, a whole table seems empty.

I did a return trip to the Central Coast this weekend to take Isabelle for a visit. There were five of us driving down and only four driving back - the car felt empty! Andy and Lachie spend most of their car time chatting and sometimes watching an iPad, mostly listening to children's music on the car stereo. Jessie spent her entire trip curled up in a nest in the very back of the car reading Harry Potter. Isabelle texted.

Visiting Grandma L

We had a very quick trip to visit Grandma L and leave behind a 14yo visitor. I love how easy it is to toss children into an attic. It's cosy and we don't feel as though we're underfoot.

It's amazing how easily five of us fit in with the little boys and I sleeping in the end bedroom, and the girls sleeping in the main room.

The big difference between Canberra and the Central Coast is how fast it warms up in the morning. It was perfectly comfortable going for a walk by the river at about 9am.

 The Central Coast is so lush and green compared with Canberra. It's all so soft underfoot!

 Isabelle needs to practice fire lighting for her next scout badge, so we convinced her to light a small marshmallow fire for morning tea.

Beating the rash!

Another day of recording food intake,  and I'm seeing significant improvement with the rash!  Today I've tried adding healthier food not just keeping away from unhealthy food and it seems to be working.

With any luck convincing him to drink a scant small mug of chicken bone broth will take less than the entire morning tomorrow!

What he ate

The little guy has been rash ridden so I'm trying to record his food to see if it's something he's reading.  My new phone lets me keep a kind of photo journal. 

We also went to a playground.

Vegetable wash

I've taken to washing the fruit and veggies in a vinegar rinse as I do the shopping. It seems to keep things fresher and I'm not worried about children forgetting to wash the fruit before they eat it.

On a school holiday note, the three year old accompanied me to work for a while. It wasn't as good as a playground.

Another day, another playground...

First Monday of the holidays and we drove to Berrima to catch up with cousins. Fabulous weather and a fabulous day.