Swimming Strong!

Our little man reached a milestone in swimming lessons today! He went for the lesson all on his own, without needing me to get into the pool with him. A first! 

Look at that happy little chap! It's taken him 7 weeks to get here, and the journey has felt much longer for sure. From crying for the entirety of the lesson and refusing to participate, to THIS. Well done, little man! It's been a huge lesson for me in learning when to give a little push and when to step back and let him be. I'm overjoyed by how we've done this together.

We were so happy that we went to the dairy after and spent $12 on cotton candy to celebrate! (His request.) One bag for each child and they probably had it coming out of their ears by the end of the day, which was exactly how long that blasted candy lasted. Celebrate the little victories, right? 

The husband and I have ongoing conversations about parenting, children and the roles we play in raising our family. Recently, the concept of servant leadership came up, inspired by Saint Joseph. As possibly the least holy member of the Holy Family, how did he live out his role as earthly father of Jesus? What does a father's servant leadership look like? Questions we are mulling over at the moment. The Litany of St Joseph is a beautiful prayer we are getting into praying as a couple on weekends. St  Joseph, Terror of demons, pray for us! 

A blurry picture that captures one of the husband's jobs as Chief Splinter Extractor, a role called upon too often by our barefoot babies. Service comes in many forms.

This evening, our big girl waited in bed for me to get out of the bathroom, so she could give me this:

"Mum's Weather Box", containing cut-outs for me to stick up, corresponding to the weather for the day. A rainy day is on the cards tomorrow, it seems. The ideas that come out of her head continously amaze me. 

Milo & Pikelets.

Our little monkey discovered the Original monkey bars outside the library this morning.

We spent the morning at the library and left with 60+ new books to read. Our bookshelf is bursting at the seams and there is barely room to fit them all. As we left, the librarian remarked that the children have practically grown up at the library and are so big now. We visit the library every few weeks and it's good to know that after all these years, we have a place to go to where we are seen, recognised and welcomed. 

The warm afternoon meant that the air conditioning came on. We had the McVey children with us and our little man had his friends here while our little lady spent some time at the neighbour's. While it's not an everyday occurrence, I loved the sight of children coming and going, mugs of milo being made and pikelets being served up for tea. Food connects people and it's such a blessing to be able to feed people we care about.

I was going a little bonkers last week with the length of the school term getting to me. I met a friend at the school gates earlier this week and we are having tea tomorrow. I am probably a little too excited at the prospect of it!

I've made some mini-muffins to bring for tea... They're incredibly quick to make and the variations are endless once you have a decent base recipe. They're dessert in a bite and bake in just 12 minutes...don't think we will go back to regular muffins any time soon. 

Littlies in the Kitchen.

We made rose syrup mini-muffins this afternoon. Not sure how much of the batter actually made it into the oven though! Just as much seemed to be going into our little lady's mouth too. 😂

Lots of baking happened today and I'm happy to say we are all set for the week. 

The Best Thing About Autumn.

One of the best things about autumn is... Feijoas! Val has been providing a steady supply of feijoas from her neighbour's tree that overhangs onto her property. We are very grateful, not least because feijoas at the supermarket cost anywhere between $7.99-$12.99/kg.

She brought a massive bag over for us today. The two girls, the little man and I all love feijoas so this was fantastic! This will be gone before the weekend is over. 

We're looking forward to our two young trees bearing more fruit in years to come. Oh, if you haven't tried them.. Feijoas taste like guava and similarly gritty flesh, but are a softer and juicier version. Here's a random picture off Google, of what a feijoa cross-section looks like. You scoop the inside out with a spoon and enjoy. K, shall stop waxing lyrical now. 

The end of week 8, yessss. Hello, weekend! 

Water Babies.

Our little man now loves his swimming lessons and proudly points out his swim school whenever we drive past.

In a recent development, he's started volunteering to accompany our big girl to her weekly swimming lessons. He keeps an eye on what she's doing at her lessons. He loves watching her practising kicks with the kickboard and swimming to retrieve the sinking water rings her teacher tosses.

Here are my weekly companions to swim classes; they're glad to be poolside even though they can't jump in. Although given half a chance........they'd be in there before you can say go. 

Parenting Conversations.

The husband and I had that conversation, the one about our big boy and his disdain for formal sports training.

We took a step back and realised that it's been 3 years, 3 long years of endeavouring to find a sport that our big boy liked. We'd done swimming, football (more than a year) and most recently, badminton. All, dead ends. 

Drawing on both our personal experiences, we came to the conclusion that continuing to push him into a sport would run the risk of backfiring and killing any interest he has, for life. 

He's currently active in school and plays a range of sports at break times: basketball, touch rugby, football, among others. He loves it. As far as exposure goes, he is getting that. He's perfectly happy the way that things are, to play a sport for the sake of the sport itself, not because he has to. 

It therefore makes sense for us to give him that space to enjoy sports on his own terms. No more classes for him. It's taken us awhile to get there, but this is us meeting him where he is and parenting based on the specific needs of this one child. Not exactly what I'd wanted (I'm making my peace with that), but it's what he needs. 

Growing Pains.

Our big girl is growing her first set of permanent molars and her gums are quite achey. She stayed home today and accompanied us on our morning adventures.

To Sylvia Park to buy new bedsheets for the children and a new swimsuit for our big girl. No visit there is complete without a stop at the playground, apparently! 

We made fruit smoothies and yoghurt ice blocks at home to soothe her gums. That being said, today was much more bearable a day than yesterday was. No blood and no visits to the after-hours clinic is a definite win in my books. Phew. 

I might need to consider a leash for our youngest son, though. Turn my head for a second and I catch him preparing to run up the "down" escalator, or trying to climb a random pole on the sidewalk. I'm making a note right now to sign him up for rock-climbing lessons as soon as he's old enough to. I'm convinced that the first thought to cross his mind in a new place is, "How can I climb that?" 

Like when he saw this at our last trip to the museum:

The current topic up for discussion with our big boy is (yet again) why it's important for him to pursue a sport outside of school. He seemed to enjoy his badminton trial but turned green at the gills when he heard that training is a two-term commitment. He loves the rallies but dislikes the running exercises. For this one, perhaps it is less a matter of finding the perfect sport and more about having the tenacity to commit to working hard to become good at something. It's a conversation we will need to have in the next few days.

Signing out. 

The Day It Rained Cats & Dogs.

It's been a tough and crazy day, to say the least. Torrential rain in the morning, which cleared to blue skies and bright shining sun by afternoon. That's typical Auckland, for you. 

This morning, the rain was so heavy it was not safe to drive in, so we headed home after school drop off. Probably the best idea, I realise, after I saw the pictures of flooded roads in the news. 

Then, an accident in the afternoon. 

Our big boy had gone for his first Badminton training session, a trial. I was home with the other children, playing on our playground. Our little man had gone into the garage and tried to bring down his bicycle that was mounted on a wall rack. It fell on him and nicked his head. A minor injury, but the sight of blood dripping onto the floor was terrible. 

Our neighbours lent me their car to take him to the after hours doctor while our big girl stayed with them. Thankfully and gratefully, he was fine, alert and his usual self by the time we got to the clinic. We didn't even need to see the doctor because the nurse cleaned his wound and revealed a tiny puncture mark. Unbelievable how a tiny head wound can cause so much blood flow. Will keep an eye out for concussion symptoms but so far he seems his usual self. His guardian angel sure has his work cut out for him, everyday. 

The husband and I are simply relieved to be done with the day. And I'm grateful for our neighbours who jumped into action to help us dress the wound and were so available for us in our time of need.

I don't deal well with the sight of blood. The husband says that if he had been the woman and given birth four times, I would have fainted four times. A little bit of an exaggeration, I'm sure, but he's not too far from the truth. Yikes! 

An Unexpected Saturday.

Weekends are often a busy time to prepare for the week ahead. I'd planned to sort the children's winter/summer clothes and fold laundry today. Didn't do any of it.

Instead, we had a splashing good time at the pool in the afternoon. The children were buzzing with energy and I figured it would be a great way to put the energy to good use. Our big boy, for all his disdain for formal swimming lessons, was practising freestyle in the pool and asking me for tips. Our girls love the water; our big girl was just happy to be in the water outside of lessons, and our little lady was throwing herself off the side of the pool for me to catch her. Our little man was inspired by his little sister and jumped in too. It took all my energy to supervise and guide each one to their skill levels, but it was so much fun.

Today's bumper harvest of kumara, salad greens and daikon. Not pictured: Large bowl of kumara leaves. 

We came home to a delicious meal by the husband. He'd made a meal using veggies from the garden and it was so satisfying. Val had spent the day with us and enjoyed the spoils of the garden too. 

Fancy some marshmallows for dessert, anyone? 

We dreamed up the crazy idea of re-purposing an old pot and turning it into a fire pit. It worked!!

Yay for roasted marshmallows on a cold evening. The day was nothing like I'd planned but turned out the better for it. 

Seedlings and Rainy Nights.

The husband enjoyed his trip to the garden centre after school:

His latest batch of seedlings are doing well and he seems pretty pleased with them so far. He's hoping the weather will be favourable for sowing and possibly transplanting. 

The weather has taken a rainy turn and it looks set to be a wet and cold weekend over here. We've taken out the winter PJs and the children are warm and cosy in them this cold night. I miss the summer warmth already! 

Growing Greens.

Vegetable prices are set to increase further due to hikes in petrol prices. NZ is facing a cost-of-living crisis in a perfect storm of factors including Omicron, the Ukraine-Russia war and inflation. 

We are blessed to be comfortable in the circumstances. Yet, spending $8 on a head of cabbage or cauliflower does seem quite exorbitant. We are looking into ways of growing more vegetables for subsistence. No pressure, husband. :) 

For starters, the thriving kumara/sweet potato vine was handy to harvest leaves for dinner tonight. The kumara will be harvested any day now, so I'm able to harvest leaves freely. All it took was a cutting off a kumara we bought from the supermarket, and voilà, this happened! 

The husband is looking forward to getting more seeds tomorrow. He plans to plant chye sim and other Chinese greens, as these grow fairly quickly. Silverbeet/chard is also on the cards as an addition to our garden farm. 

We did make it to the museum this week. 

Plasticine play kept them busy this afternoon, along with other loose bits and pieces we had at home.

At 2 years 2 months, this little one has decided she's done with naps. Milestone! Some days though, she still needs a power nap during school pick up. 

Experimentation.

The little man was a man on a mission at bathtime this evening; he gathered his water-type pokemon and asked for a tray. He was doing an "experiment" in the shower, he said. He wanted to investigate which water-type pokemon would sink and which ones would float. He was in there for a good half hour. So lovely. I had time to sit with our big girl while she did her homework.

He eventually emerged from the shower and shared his findings with the family: Wartortle was the only pokemon that floated, and the rest sank.

I love the mind that dreamed up that investigation. That same mind wants to visit the museum soon, specifically to see toys in the shop and ride on the elevator. 🤦‍♀️

Messy play session #1: More volcano play. 

Messy play session #2: After school

Shaving foam kept these guys busy today. They coloured it with eye droppers, piped it out of zip lock bags, and just got right into it.

In the kitchen, more play was happening: bread was baking! The breadmaker still kneads the dough, but I've recently started experimenting with shaping my loaves and baking them in loaf tins. We get two loaves. Freeze one, eat one.

We also made our first attempt at canning. Our garden has given us an abundance of tomatoes this summer, so I decided to can our extras. Sterilise the bottles, cut off tomato ends and blanch for 60 secs. Peel when cool and squish into jars. Cap jars and simmer in water bath for 60-85 mins. So satisfying to hear the pop of the seal on the cap as the bottles cooled. 

It's been a day of experimentation and learning. We're grateful.

At bedtime, I ask the children what they're thankful for.

Big boy: Dinner! And an easy maths and reading routine today.

(Papa made a delicious meal for us)

The little man points to everyone in the room as his mouth is full of water at that point: I love my family!

Motor Tics.

Our big boy recently developed a motor tic, one that involves vigorously shaking his head. We consulted a paediatrician and are working on behavioural strategies with him, involving daily relaxation meditation and some form of habit reversal training.

This morning, it dawned on us that this could be a side effect of the covid vaccination. Both our older ones took it just before school started. Our big boy complained of headaches after and had a minor motor tic going. We didn't make the link then, but the timeline adds up.

Our big ones are due for their second covid vaccination this week but we have decided to hold off the second dose.

We're not entirely certain of the link between the tic and the vaccination. Yet, after all is said and done, it really doesn't matter. The most important thing is what we do in the here and now. We are now focusing on managing the tics and helping him to overcome them. There is grace to be found in the way he is his usual happy self and has friends on our street who are supportive. 

Last week was heavygoing as I worked through my thoughts and learned to find a balance between caring for him and allowing him to make his own journey with the motor tics. It felt like a heavy cross to carry at times but the load feels more manageable now, going into a new week.

Learning Through Play.

Lessons at home with the little man are having spillover benefits for the other siblings. 

I've been exploring more interactive ways to learn and using more sensory mediums for play. 

I brought home a small bucket of sand from our last trip to the beach, and picked up a bag of glass nuggets from Bunnings: 

     Getting acquainted with the Letter C

Beach scene by our big girl and her friend. 

The little lady busies herself too and has been very interested in drawing "love hearts" lately. 

This afternoon, we made slime. Our first time working with borax and we discovered that adding more borax results in a less malleable, more dense slime. 

Hours of fun for the older three! We made a small batch of taste-safe marshmallow slime for our little lady to play with separately. 

I learn along with these guys too, which is a bonus. The two cheap gray trays I bought on a whim (inspired by the Ikea Flisat table) have taken play to a new level for us.

A Winner of A Swim & E-Pacs.

This is the gleeful face of the boy who conquered swimming class! In the car before class, he was reluctant to go, but agreed to do just one task in the class. He said he would do the "dragon wings" task, but nothing else. Funny enough, he exceeded his own expectations and ended up participating in every.single.task! The lesson went by in a flash and I was surprised when it was over.

I had been dreading class today, thinking I'd be going through the same old motions of dragging a baby donkey to the water. WWHD..."What Would the Husband Do?", I asked myself. The husband would show up and do it anyway. That gave me the mettle I needed to stick with the difficult feelings and support him.

It was our fourth class and another breakthrough. Definitely a little victory today.

Val came by at lunchtime and we went to check out E-Pacs, a wholesaler that specialises in vegetarian food (mock meats and the like) but also stocks lots of Singapore/Malaysia food. They have frozen fish paste, otak, yong tau foo, chwee kueh, and even packs of frozen durian flesh. Familiar brands like Brands essence of chicken, Old Town coffee, Yeo's and Ayam brand lined the shelves. There was assam laksa paste, rose syrup, and heong piah. I left with a packet of frozen Bergadil, two packs of sugary gem biscuits and a packet of Kopi O Kosong. 

Definitely nostalgic food and while it took me 5 years to finally visit this place, I'm glad I made it here! They run a cafe on weekends that's apparently very popular and has the best nasi lemak. Perhaps worth a trip here one Saturday morning. 

Bicycling Boy.

Our little man has been practising riding his two-wheel bicycle on our cul de sac. We went to Glover Park this morning to ride for the first time. He stopped several times to rest, but managed the entire loop on his own. He's was pretty happy with his efforts. 

Sensory play with a bag of unused oats kept the little ones busy while I hung out the laundry this afternoon.

Filling his volcano. 

Our little lady asked to help with vacuuming the stray oats up. :) 

Cutting practice and revising shapes and the letter B while his sister napped. 

It's been a fruitful day, and also funnily enough, a day where both younger ones were asking for papa more than usual while he was at work. We made do with leaving him voice messages during the day. Now to find the energy to conquer tomorrow. 💪🏻

Sacrifices Made Good.

With the sacrifice jar that we've set up for Lent, the children have been wonderful. They've helped around the house without being asked, they help their siblings and give up things so others can have it.

Our big boy brought down the bag of dirty laundry for me this evening without being asked. That's never happened before.

Our little man offered his big brother a taste of his chicken katsu lunch even though he didn't have to.

The bigs read stories to their younger siblings and help them more than they usually do.

They let their siblings go ahead of them when waiting their turns to use the tap in the bathroom. 

At the end of each day, we have night prayer and give them a chance to reflect on their day and put in any final beans for good deeds/sacrifices they might have missed during the day.

This afternoon, the husband asked, "Can we keep the sacrifice jar going even after Lent?" 😂

That's how fruitful it's been (or is it "bean"?). No more threats or cajoling or nagging....a parent's dream, truly.

I think the beans have put a spotlight on kindness for the children and definitely given them incentive to find creative ways to be kind throughout the day. They have a tangible reason to think about someone other than themselves. For now, it's been a huge blessing and a joy to witness.

When they've done something good, we remind them to pop a bean into the jar. In turn, we've also had them say, "Mum (or dad), I really think you should put a bean in the jar today." These cuties.

We're at a point in life where we are enjoying the company and conversations we have with our children. We are incredibly blessed. 

Bullet Dodged.

Last Sunday, I woke up with a scratchy throat and dashed out to get a RAT (Rapid Antigen Test). After a 40 minute wait in the car to get the test (they weren't readily available yet, as they are now) and a 15 minute wait to get the results... Negative! Phew. Unfortunately, we'd also missed Sunday mass. I was disappointed at not being able to attend mass that day.

This evening, we received an email informing us that a Covid-positive individual attended the same mass we would have been at last Sunday, had I not been delayed by the wait for the covid test. What a relief and such grace to have been spared that potentially tricky situation.

Hummus today didn't turn out so well. I didn't balance the flavours well and bombed with my time management. The only plus? I figured out that real hummus is smooth, not grainy like the ones I get at the supermarket. The smoothness comes from soaking dry chickpeas in water with baking soda added. Ah well. It was worth a try. Pita pockets turned out all right, it was fascinating to see them puff up on the pan. Val contributed a halloumi veggie bake which was pretty delicious. First Friday of Lent, done. 

The littlies and I visited the Otahuhu Pools this morning. The toddler pool was worth the 20 minute drive and our little lady was SO happy to be in the water! Our girls are both such water babies. 

This:

vs

Our little lady's conversational skills are growing:

"Mummy, look me!"

"Mama, come me."

"I want pool." 

"Bird eat food"

Meanwhile, our 3 year old:

"Hello, poop face!" 💩 

🤦‍♀️ If this isn't regression, I don't know what is. 

Messy Play Day

It's a little out of character, but I've not been feeling like being out and about this week. As a result, we spent the day at home. We dabbled in some paint/messy play; we dipped some marbles in paint, put some paper on a tray and dropped the marbles in.

The marbles made lovely tracks across the paper as the children manipulated the tray this way and that. 

We extended the play and eventually switched to toy cars on paper... And the paper evolved to using the slide as our canvas.

You can probably guess that clean up took awhile. I filled the tray with water, added a little dish soap and gave the children an old toothbrush each to play "car wash".

The washable paint washed out easily with a hose and a wet towel. Our little man loves that pikachu tee so fingers crossed the paint washes out of it too.

I'm soaking some dried chickpeas in a bowl overnight to make hummus for dinner tomorrow. We plan to cobble together some pita bread to go with it too. Working up to more creative ideas for meatless Fridays.