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.

New phone

Time to reinstate the trusty blog, methinks! Looking back at older entries there are so many memories of everyday assumptions that are no longer everyday assumptions and I realise that I may have an empty nest sooner than I think... 

Our baby is three and a half already and our family dynamic is changing fast.  There are only five children left at home and life is so much quieter than it was a year ago.

Today's photo was taken while we watched the water birds. The closest black Swan got cross about the stick waving shortly after and chased us away to the playground.

Halloween 2011

A friendly witch.

A ninja baby.

The book parade dinosaur making another appearance.

The little dinosaur got more than his fair share of goodies.

And a huge thanks to the mum who organised a Halloween get-together at the playground - plenty of happy children there for the night!

Family Time

We said good bye to Mike's grandmother recently and it was great to see the cousins catching up with each other after not seeing each other for years.

And look at that littlest cousin looking not so little anymore!

The creek was as peaceful as ever.

Earlier in Book Week...

The 3yo preschoolers had book parade earlier this week. Here is a dinosaur from How Do Dinosaurs Go To School.

Book Week 2011

Featuring Little Red Riding Hood, the Woodcutter, the Guitar Fairy and Tom Sawyer.

Breakfast

The littlest boys are always first for breakfast on the weekend.

Andy refuses to wear pyjamas to bed so breakfasts in his dressing gown. Isabelle brought him back his cap from Chicago and he wears it at every opportunity.

Lachie is determined to feed himself and does a pretty good job with a boiled egg for a 16 month old! I usually pop some egg on a spoon for him to pick up, but if I'm not quick enough he'll give it a go.

Mother's Day 2011

Sadly, the father was away and one son had to serve Mother's Day breakfasts to other mothers, but I was treated to a fantabulous morning with an impromptu trip to Uriarra Crossing.

 Organising a fire was the first priority.

 Andy was pretty excited but wasn't old enough to help collect wood.

 Jessie carried her stash from the very far end of the picnic grounds.

 I insisted on morning tea before marshmallows. How boring.

 Isabelle used her scout training to set the fire.

 Tom took Jessie and Andy for a walk down to the river while the fire was being set and we all took turns waiting for the baby to wake up.

 Mmmmm a marshmallow fire!

 Lachie joined the party late after a long sleep in the car.

I think he liked his first taste of campfire marshmallow.

Sprained ankle day!

Jessie sprained her ankle riding home from school a couple of days ago, and was exhausted after a day of hopping at school. It was decided that a quiet day at home was called for. So we went to the park.

The swans, ducks and moor hens were pleased to see us and were very friendly ... except one swan who took exception to her almost-fully-grown cygnet getting too close to the baby and growled at us!

A trip to the playground isn't complete without a good swing.

Two shades of red

Sixth babies don't get enough photos taken! I think his hair is going to be paler than his sister's. I love that they are all old enough to enjoy each other's company now.

Even if the speed taken down the hill at the other side of the garden path makes my heart skip a beat.

Off to school

This is a big brother. We're not allowed to show you his face.

This is a little sister. She's happy to smile at the camera anytime, anyplace!

I love that they walk to school together... and some days he doesn't even ask for coffee money in return for escort duties.