All Hallows Eve

We met up with some friends after school to do All Hallows Eve a little differently. We had a lolly hunt, of course, and an Irish friend of ours introduced us to some games she played as a child in Ireland at Halloween. One of those games was bobbing for apples and our big boy very sportingly snagged one apple for himself! 

We also had a little Squirtle in the house this evening. Lots of candy, minus the stranger danger of knocking on unfamiliar doors to ask for candy. Our All Hallows Eve was so much richer for it, looking at the day through different lens. 

Shopping Trip.

The littlies and I went on a shopping trip this afternoon to pick up some summer wear for them. It was our little lady's first trip to choose her own clothing and they were both thrilled. They each picked out what they liked and had a grand time trying everything on in the fitting room.

Our little lady picked out a playsuit and swimming togs. When she spied herself in the mirror, she flashed a shy smile and buried her face in my arms before telling me she wanted to take that home with her. It was the sweetest thing to watch.

This is what they each picked out:

It was interesting to see how our littlest lady's taste in clothing differs from her older sister's. Also interesting was how the little man went straight for the licenced merchandise (Pokemon, Bluey) instead of the generic designs.

I managed to get their new PJs washed and dry in time for them to wear to bed:

It's good to know these guys are prepared for the fast-warming spring.

The husband received a parting gift from a few of his Year 13 boys today. The level has left school for study leave but these boys returned today to present him (in front of his homeroom class, no less) with a bottle of rum and a photo mug. A very thoughtful gift that he enjoyed after the children were in bed this evening. 

Hello, weekend :) 

Term 4, Week 2.

The bigs have been praying a decade of the Rosary in school daily this October, and our big boy brings three rosaries to school with him; one for himself and two for friends who don't have their own. It's a really thoughtful gesture, and perhaps a small way of bringing Christ to his class. 

Our little man is down with a bit of a bug. This evening, he came downstairs after I'd tucked him in:

Him: Mum, my tummy doesn't feel so good.

Me: What do you mean? Can you tell me a bit more about how your tummy is feeling?

Him: If you were me, you'd get it.

Where he gets these lines from, I'll never know! 😅 For his tummy troubles, he got some "Batman Juice"... Charcoal powder mixed with fruit juice, warmed up, because he wanted it warm. Not sure if it made a difference but he drank it all and seems to be sleeping soundly now. 🤞

One of my favourite things about spring has got to be watching the garden wake up after its winter slumber. Bare trees sprout new leaves, flower buds burst into colour, and new growth appears on plants everywhere. Our feijoa tree is looking especially pretty this week:

Labour Weekend.

Val is back! She took a trip to the States a few works ago and arrived early this morning. It was lovely to have her join us for dinner this evening.

Our first meal outdoors this spring. We're grateful for the Labour Day long weekend. 

Corn & Apples.

Last night, big girl told us about a corn (bump of thickened skin) she has had on her foot for awhile. We went to the GP this afternoon and got it swiftly treated with liquid nitrogen. She was extremely brave and we were proud of her got handling the discomfort well. 

Friends came to play this morning while their dad prepared for an urgent family trip. Busy morning, but the littlies loved it. 

I'm glad it's midweek; the week feels like it has been crawling by. 

The children are currently crazy about stewed apples and everything cooked-apple... They had stewed apple in their lunchboxes today and are hankering for more, so that's exactly what's cooking tonight while we prep lunchboxes. And to think I didn't eat cooked apple pre-children..... The irony of it all. I now eat it, cook it in copious amounts, and watch it disappear in less time than it took for me to make it! 

Back To School.

Back to school was good, for the most part. Getting up and back into routine was hard work and it's times like this that I truly admire the husband's ability to do things simply because they need to be done. 

The littlies and I spent a good amount of time kicking a ball around outside today; our little man was keen to try his big brother's football boots on. 

They were glad to see their siblings at the end of the school day. 

Sweetening up back-to-school Monday with apple pie for dessert.

Term 4 Starts Tomorrow

Our friend Michelle left yesterday morning. It was a blessing to have had her with us for a few days. 

While she was here, she took the bigs skating and they had a great time with her. 

at the starting line for a race

I organised a trip to The Bee Lady with a few other families in our big girl's year group. They'd been learning about minibeasts all term so I thought this would be a great way to extend the learning. 

The children got to hear all about bees, taste honey, don veils to get up close with the bees and the hive, and make a beeswax candle to take home. 

The children had some new experiences this term break, so all in all, it's been quite a fruitful one. 

Two weeks have positively flown by, though, and term four begins tomorrow. As a last hurrah, we treated ourselves to ramen for dinner.

Let's do this 💪🏻

Rosary.

We've settled into a good system with praying the Rosary together. We pray a decade each weekday night in October and May, the months of the rosary. Weekends are reserved for a Marian hymn to keep things different and allow space to introduce new material. 

With the rosary, we present three options to engage with the prayer. It's interesting to see how the children have each found a method that suits them best. It's starting to look like the youngest ones start off here:

progress to:

And finally:

The older children's godma gave them a set of beautiful rosary beads each on her last visit. Our big boy only just started using these and he says they help him to focus better. That's exactly where we want them to land. So glad to see this. 

Adventure Is Out There!

The week has been an action-packed one. We took the ferry to Devonport on Monday and spent the day there. 

Great views from the top of Mt Victoria 

Tuesday saw us hosting lunch for the children of the lane:

Today's adventure involved driving out West to go sand duning. We got bitten by sand flies which was not so great. Climbing up the steep sand dune was hard work, but it was good fun. The children probably loved playing in the stream best of all. 

It's been a spectacular day. Our friend, Michelle, is staying with us on her travels from Singapore and we are enjoying having her with us.

Onward to tomorrow's adventure! 

Skateland.

At the end of Friday, it feels like I've given everything I can give and am ready to curl up in a ball and sleep the weekend away. 

We met the Mcveys at Skateland and whiled away the next two hours on the rink. The little man did heaps better his second time on wheels. He was way more stable and grew confident enough to tell me he wanted to skate the large rink on his own. He managed maybe about 5 metres on his own before he ran out of pluck, but still, a win. 

In the beginner's rink. 

Our littlest was proud to walk beside her brother as he skated. She's currently at a stage where she won't let me out of her sight and seems to need me close all the time. It's theoretically very sweet, but takes a toll maybe the tenth time in a day that she chases me down, crying because I left her and went elsewhere. This too, shall pass. 

And because two hours of skating was nothing on the old figurative fuel tank, I let the children loose on the playground after lunch. Lunch was four large pizzas: the littlest two and I shared one, the girls shared one, and the boys ate one each. Our big boy regretted it after, but has proudly earned bragging rights thanks to his gluttony. 

The children got home and got to transplant their seedings into the raised bed Papa made for them. 

Bedtime. And happy birthday, littlest bro of mine! 

Wind, Rain, Hail... and Sunshine.

Today's adventure was meant to be a walk to the village. On the way, we encountered a patch of simultaneous wind, rain and hail, followed by sunshine immediately after, all in a span of 10 minutes. Only in Auckland! It was still blustery, and our big girl, when given a choice between walking the rest of the way and taking the bus, quickly opted for the bus.

The bus took us into the village where we visited the library for new holiday reads and stopped by maccas for soft serve and *gasp* hot chips. They were suspicious at first but loved the combination of the two after first bite. "Why didn't you tell us about this earlier, mum?!" 

I think the bus rides to and back home again were the favourite part of their journey today.

Exploring Our Own Backyard

Our morning adventure took us on a long walk around the neighbourhood. The children took turns to make decisions about the route ...i think it helped their morale and gave them a stake in the journey...or at the very least gave a good laugh("but that's a dead end, mum!"). 

True to Auckland's funny weather, we experienced a passing shower on our walk, but we were prepared!

1.5 hours later, we were home and ready to settle down for some TV. 

Lunch was a make-your-own sandwich affair. 

The husband has one more day of teaching to go... We're almost there!

One Big Playdate.

I now remember why we do big playdates just once a term..I'm knackered! 

The food's been eaten, the children finally herded home and into their beds.

It was a pretty good day. The weather played ball so the children spent a good amount of time outside or at the neighbour's. 

Five boys on our Nintendo Switch generated so much excitement and chaos I shut the sliding doors (to spare our next door neighbours) and left the house to escape their cheering. Fun times, best enjoyed from a distance!

The husband came back equally exhausted from teaching at his holiday program, but fulfilled. He shared that one of his teaching assistants turned out to be a previous student at that same holiday program, now an undergraduate himself and back to help out. The husband said it felt like things have come full circle, and it's certainly a moment he's looked forward to.

Me: Noo I forgot to get leafy greens from the supermarket.

Him: I can get some.

He disappears into the garden and comes back with a handful of silverbeet. Carrots were harvested earlier, also from the garden. Yum. 

Cake done. We got dessert today!

It's been a day with much to be grateful for. It's been lovely having so many friends with us today.