Unwell Child.

Our littlest lady has been unwell the last couple of days. She's the second one to fall sick this week as the husband took sick leave on Monday. The little lady had an upset stomach and nasal congestion. She's been miserable and a bit more emotional than usual. 

She was really pleased with an ice block our neighbour gave her to cheer her up.

She's missed her music playgroup and swimming lesson this week in favour of rest. I hope she bounces back soon!

Growth.

Perhaps this means I'm growing in maturity. I've liked being a "have your cake and eat it" person, someone who makes choices with mostly well-balanced outcomes. It's been an uncomfortable past few days, sitting with this new idea that I'm not always going to like the outcomes of my choices, but there's absolutely nothing I can do about it...And that's okay.

I've tried scrolling my discomfort away, distracting myself on the phone. That's not been helpful. Prayer has been a solace and I'm learning to sit with my discomfort and  befriend it. It's hard, but necessary, I think. Still working through this. 

Made pineapple tarts yesterday with the little lady and we had just over 100 by pick up time. The children brought some to their teachers today, ate more themselves and we're just down to 24; a precious 24 that have been frozen for future enjoyment. These children are pineapple tart monsters!!

Pearl of Wisdom.

At 8, our big girl seems to have made connections that took me many more years to figure out. Here's a snippet from a chat today:

Her: Friends come and go. My best friend might not be my best friend forever and ever, but I do hope she will be my best friend forever and ever.  

It was illuminating to see the depth of her understanding at her age.

And then there was also the realisation that little hands got ahold of my phone without my knowing today:

🤦🏻‍♀️

Afternoon Tea.

The little man stayed home from school today as he was feeling a little under the weather. I had a few errands to run and he tagged along.

Afternoon tea is quite important these days as the children often get home from school ravenous. We made churros today and the littlies helped roll the churros in cinnamon sugar. 

It was my first attempt and I burst a piping bag in the process (lesson learned), but it was an overall success. It's usually $8 for 3-4 larger churro sticks at the mall. These were incredibly cheap to make and the main investment was probably time and elbow grease. Squeezing the dough through the piping bag takes quite a bit of effort.

I tried sheetpan pancakes yesterday and at 15 minutes in the oven at 200°C, it was much easier and yummy too. It was good fun to get creative with the toppings.

Before and after:

I'm glad the weekend is finally here. Our littlest lady has been happy sleeping in her own bed for a few months now, sleep is so much better now that I have a bit more space to myself! 

Ladies Night Out.

"But you won't be there to give me my hug before bed."

"Who will read us stories?" (Papa did.)

"Can I come too?"

...was what I got from the children as they contemplated my night out this evening. 

Our big boy was very sweet and had this envisioned for my evening out:

"Take off your shoes, sit on the beach and watch the sunset."

We were near the beach but it was properly dark by the time we met. Two hours, a bottle of wine and some scrumptious tapas later, I was happy to be home with the husband, watching "Only Murders in the Building". 

It's been a lovely day overall and I'm very grateful.

Dentist Visits.

It's been a heavy day. Three of the children had dental checkups this afternoon. I didn't have great experiences with dentists as a child, and I think I carry an inordinate sense of responsibility for the children's dental wellness. Figuratively, it feels as if I hold my breath and exhale once the checkups are done. Thankfully, all was well and the children left none the worse for wear. They had a great time. Dentists here are lovely and dole out stickers and encouragement like candy. Wait a minute.... um yeah. You get the idea. Dentists are lovely.

It's a friend's birthday tomorrow and I've been trying my hand at making nut brittle for her. It's eye-watering how sneakily caramel burns just when you think all is going swimmingly. I also ended up with brittle that was not quite brittle enough; a result of my being overly-cautious after aforementioned experience with burnt caramel. A few friends are meeting to celebrate tomorrow evening and it should be interesting, a first time out with friends in a wee while. 

Disappointments.

Disappointments are par for the course, no matter our age. What makes the difference, though, is how we respond to them. Our youngest ones would often cry, whine, physically lash out or all of the above when faced with disappointment. Oh, the joys of parenting!

Our big boy was disappointed at not being selected for the first team for winter sports football. He was in the second team and quite down about it. Papa spent some time talking it through with him and helping him to take a different perspective. He may not be playing with the players he'd like to, but it's a good chance to step up his game and improve his skills nonetheless. Our big boy took it in his stride and came to be excited about the game. He and papa spent some time kicking a ball about after school to prepare for tomorrow's game. 

Another blow came when he found out that tomorrow's football games had been cancelled due to inclement weather and soggy fields. He was disappointed, but managed by looking on the bright side. He quickly realised he'd have his good friend with him in school and would probably still have a good time.

He's come a long way and it's a blessing to watch him grow. 

As an adult, my disappointment comes in the form of failed meals: butter cake using the wrong leavening agent, or undercooked rice-cooker chicken rice.

Papa's taken the lead on this and the children have enthusiastically followed; They'd eat it like it was still delicious and go for more. "I love your failure cake, mum!", "The broccoli is delicious!" (You know something's really wrong with the meal when the vegetables are the highlight!) These people are incredible and I've learned a bit about being kind to myself from them.

This has been the source of much headache for the last couple of nights:

A Lego baby dragon i built for our little lady. Papa made the box for her. She's asked to bring it upstairs every night and we've had to say no each time as the communal Lego lives downstairs. It's made a big scene the past two nights but we're holding our ground. Fingers crossed this passes soon.

Disappoints, hard as they are, are great for character building!

Flowers & Music.

Mother-daughter tea over the weekend was an opportunity to learn about floral arrangement. Our big girl loved creating one and was excited to bring it home to take pride of place on our dining table. 

The afternoon was also an opportunity to connect with other Catholic women and girls, and our big girl is looking forward to the next gathering.

After years in its case, the husband's guitar has joined the keyboard, creating a little music corner of sorts in our home. It's wonderful to hear the gorgeous tones from it being played again, and to hear the children having a go as well. 

The Simpler Life.

It is a blessing and a privilege for our littlest and I to be able to go where the wind takes us. Today, a bowl of hot chips was in the wind. We read a story, talked and finally settled down to a bit of colouring.

The notion of a simple life has been on my mind quite a bit lately. I can't say no to a good idea, and I've often wondered what it would be like to have a busy life with weekends full of activities and meeting friends. And then I put my feet back on the ground and realise how much I cherish the empty weekends that are all about rest, family and worship. 

Perhaps busyness is overrated. 

Fed.

It's easy to forget to eat when we're looking after little ones and on the go every day. My friend made me a quick lunch while her boys, 3 & 11mo, were hanging out with us today. It meant heaps. Plus she made it spicy so I didn't need to share! 😉

Adventures.

After mass, we went on a little adventure and walked up Mount Wellington, our local maunga (mount). They've recently improved the walking track around the crater and it's now much safer with steps replacing slippery gravel (I have a feeling that granny will be happy to know this!). The children enjoyed themselves more than we thought they would. They loved standing at the very top and spotting local shops and landmarks.

We've had a good share of games, outdoor time, gardening and rest this weekend. Onward to week 5! 

Bread & Books.

It was his first time making bread with the breadmaker. Our big boy weighed and measured the ingredients for our week's bread. 

Tasting it later, the husband and i couldn't figure out why it was sour! That is, until the husband asked if he'd used citric acid instead of salt. Our big boy nodded. Mystery solved! He'd mixed up the containers and added 1.25 tsp of citric acid. 0.25tsp is good to make soft bread, and this was heaps more than usual. He was upset but we are grateful he made it and we will eat it this week. 

This is the book I'm currently reading to the children. They're looking to watching the movie by the same name when we're done.

The littlies and I are currently working our way through this one. We read a couple of chapters before bed, just the three of us.

The bigs are at different stages in the Harry Potter series. I'm grateful that the children have picked up reading and that we've got access to more wholesome titles. Usually, this means older stories. One instance in which old is truly gold.

Happy Birthday Singapore!

Since arriving in New Zealand, National Day celebrations have been all about the food for our family. It's also one of the things we miss most. Our special dinner tonight was Roti Prata with chicken curry and steamed rainbow kueh.

prata lady aka mum.

prata telur, bawang and kosong.

The kueh is usually red, green and white but our littlest lady asked for a blue layer and well, why not. 

The children were thrilled to get ma mee monster snacks and bandung for afternoon tea. The husband and I had some local and national-day themed snacks for ourselves too.

It's been a scrumpdiddlyumptious day. 

Our little man was absolutely puzzled as to why no one in school knew it was Singapore's birthday. 😂 Poor little man. 

Cross Country.

Cross Country today. Our big boy didn't want me there to watch him today, so I popped into school to watch our big girl and little man. They gave their best and did wonderfully. So proud of them. 

Our little lady hung out with her friend this morning and they had a blast. 

Dad's Weekend.

I'm grateful for the husband who stepped out of his comfort zone for birthday party duty. He took our little man to a birthday party at Stardome, which our little man had been looking forward to all week. 

He'd also taken our bigs to the college rugby game yesterday too.

These guys got their special time with papa over the weekend.

Our play space is currently in the middle of a revamp. A brainstorm from the family produced a good Lego storage solution for us and we're liking it so far. The children say it's made it easier to find Lego bricks and building has also become more inviting.

Next up, a display space for the completed sets that they have. These pieces are currently in their waiting area:

Lunch Date.

Been feeling under the weather. Took the little man out to get a present for his friend, and he asked to have some lunch before we went home. 

Just the two of us, it was a rare opportunity to just be together. He with his colouring and I with my book. 

We were both grateful for the time.

Book Character Day.

A week or so of prep, and Book Character Day is done! The children had a great time. We had Silky the fairy and Saucepan Man from the Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton, and Harry Potter. They had a great time in school.

Another Silky from our little man's class, and she was thrilled to see Saucepan Man, who was from the same book!

Right. Time to rest. And recover.

Wand-Making Afternoon.

"I'm 80% better today," is what our big boy told me this morning after a good night's rest. He was in better spirits and looking much better too. He still had a runny nose so he stayed home. He felt energetic enough to join the little lady and I for Mainly Music and a visit to our friend's home after.

It was great having him with us. He was so pleased to tell his sister about how he helped me with parking the car as well. He hopped out and helped me with gauging distance from the car in front of me. 

He's going to Book Character Day dressed as Harry Potter. Most of the outfit has been sorted. We spent the afternoon making a wand from paper and hot glue. Everyone else also now wants a wand and is in various stages of the wand making process. I'm surprised by how well they've turned out so far.

Mine, a dark brown base with gold accents. 

Unwell.

Our big boy is unwell. He had a fever shortly after coming home from school and was quite miserable this afternoon. Our littlest ones were upset to see him unwell and stayed by his side. Our littlest lady was in tears because she couldn't convince him to walk and she wanted him to get up and walk. She didn't want to leave his side to go take a shower.

I'm not sure why our big boy being unwell seems to have affected our youngest ones so much, especially our little lady. It's quite sweet. 

He's taken paracetamol and will be resting at home tomorrow. He'll unfortunately miss his school trip tomorrow. Such is life.