Duck Tales.

We had a feathered visitor early this morning. A duck waddled up to our yard and perked up when the children opened the door to say hello. We fed it some rice and corn kernels, along with a side of water in a puddle. It enjoyed the meal thoroughly and continued to feast even after we left for school. Sparrows and pigeons joined her too. A special start to the morning!

Night Market.

We were out and about running a few errands and made plans to have dinner at a nearby Night Market. Fun! It was held in an underground carpark. Each child got $20 to spend on dinner. The two older ones combined their money and went around together, buying their food.

We were early and the public seating was not laid out yet, so we ate in the car boot and went back and forth to get more food. 

Our tiny little man knocked back a cup of hot chips and a large char siu bun on his first trip, then asked for a corn dog on trip #2. Trip #3 was a request for fruit ice cream. He made it halfway through the ice cream before he needed to go poop to clear space for all the food he'd eaten. His lesson from the evening? "Don't overeat," he said. 

Our big boy, in a moment of folly, bought a packet of Pokémon cards for $2. He was deeply disappointed when he realised they were fakes. His lesson? "Don't buy Pokémon cards that are less than $5 because they're probably fake." 

Our big girl learned that things that look yummy in the photos don't always live up to expectations, as in the case of fried cheese balls that didn't taste as good as they had looked. All that glitters is not gold.

It was quite a special evening out. It's been years since we last visited the night markets and it's a breeze now that our older two are now old enough to spend their money independently and look out for each other. 

AMDG.

Me: what's that thing we use to cut grass?

Little man: Mawnlower!

I love these little learning blips that the children make as they grow. It almost seems to a pity to correct a perfectly adorable rendition of an otherwise boring word so...mawnlower it is!!

We went to kick a ball around after mass today and these guys were just hanging around:

The weekend has been productive. We are slowly preparing for Advent and Christmas. St Nicholas Day stocking gifts are almost done, Christmas decorations are slowly coming together, Christmas presents are getting wrapped early this year and our summer backyard pool... That's something the children are looking forward to. 

We've been following a drawing program on Formed entitled "Drawing Closer to God" for Advent. I love that everyone joins in and participates fully. This week, we drew the Annunciation, where the Angel Gabriel appears to Mary to tell her that she has been chosen to carry Jesus in her womb. 

Our little lady ran out of space to add the angel in front of, and facing Mary, so she drew Gabriel behind Mary and announced, "the angel is hiding from Mary." (Top row, middle drawing) We all had a good laugh. 

The sessions start with prayer and we have learned to sign off our drawings with AMDG, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, All For the Glory of God. 

Shredder.

We're now the happy owners of a garden silent shredder. It's a contraption that chews garden cuttings into smaller chunks for easy composting. We took advantage of the sunny weather and set it up in our backyard. 

Our big girl happily skipped TV time to shred branches with her old man. Two hours later, the backyard was clear of the recently-pruned branches. An overall satisfying afternoon. 

Garden-ing.

There was warmth on the breeze today, no more chill in the bones when the wind blew. The sun was out and it was so lovely. Summer is sooooo close! 

Our plants are loving it and we are watching the fruit slowly but surely taking shape.

Baby grapes

Passionfruit 

Blueberries

We're already enjoying some early season strawberries, picked a few large ones today from our strawberry patch.

Our neighbour has a Chinese Privet tree that's overgrown a fair bit into our backyard. The flowers smell lovely this time of year, but we needed to cut it back. Popped a message to a friend and he came by mere hours later, this evening, with a chainsaw to chop the branches back. He said it was the easiest 6-pack beer he's gotten, but we're very thankful for the help. Now to the problem of getting rid of the green waste (branches). The husband has had his eye on a silent (garden) shredder for months, this might be the time we get just that.

Christmas Beers.

The husband was thoroughly surprised to receive a beer Advent calendar from Dom this afternoon, as a delayed birthday present. A beer a day in December, and he's all sorted for Christmas drinks! A very cool idea and super thoughtful of him.

Garden Greens.

Lunch this afternoon. Chicken and prosciutto with salad greens in a homemade flour tortilla. 

It was easy, delicious and satisfying, and our little lady asked to have one as well next time as she enjoyed the crunchy veggies. I've never thought of us as a salad-eating family, but that seems to be changing. The husband grows a variety of greens, such as rocket, mizuna and baby spinach, and more I can't spell. It's been easy to harvest a bag a couple of times a week to include with lunch or a side for dinner. It's definitely encouraging the children to eat more greens and learn to enjoy them as well.

Playground romps.

We got our tyres changed this morning and spent some time at the playground after. 

It's been an interesting day of many unexpected conversations, many stories shared. I was wondering why, and what to do with the stories. I think I'll pray for the people who shared the stories with me, and for their journeys. God be with them and be the light unto their path. 

Post It.

Our dear friend Val began her postulancy a few months ago and is now Sr Val. Our only communication these days is via written letters. It definitely feels like a step back in time, especially given how instantaneous communication can be these days. I received a letter from her today, her second one to us. 

I surprised myself by sitting down to write my reply this evening, and it evoked a nostalgia of days gone when my schoolmates and I exchanged letters frequently, despite already meeting every day in school. In this instance, though, there was an unfamiliar but real sense of not knowing if the letter would reach it's recipient. It's heartening to know our friendship transcends the physical and that we are always united in prayer and spirit. 

Teacher Only Day. No School!

The older children were up at 6am, eagerly anticipating the day ahead. They'd been looking forward to a visit to Timezone, the games arcade, for weeks. We got there at opening time, and they were glad to be the only ones there, as most other children were at school today.

she discovered a piano game. A new favourite!

Strike!!

Lunch at Taco Bell was another treat in the bag for them, on top of all the candy they redeemed at the arcade. 

It was an interesting afternoon as the children ended up being invited to impromptu playdates with their friends. Our 2nd and 3rd children spent the afternoon with the Drake siblings and our 1st and 4th children spent some time with the McVey siblings. 

I was properly tired by the end of it, and so grateful that we'd prepared dinner before we left in the morning. I was glad to have all the children back together again, though, and so was our little lady, who missed her brother and sister immensely while they were away.

At dinner, our big girl commented that it feels like a Sunday..boy am I glad that the weekend has only just begun!

Child's Play.

Our littlest and I planted ginger this morning. To that end, we drilled holes into the bottom of an unused (Council-issued food scraps) bin, filled it with compost and planted our ginger. She marked out positions for the holes with little x-es, and handled the drill (with help). She loved wearing the safety gear and working the drill. Hopefully we'll be rewarded with some ginger in a few months.

I was grumpy this evening, my ears ringing and my energy gone from the ruckus of four arguing children. Funny enough, the children are unfazed and don't instinctively steer clear of a bad mood. Our big girl almost always asks how I'm feeling and why I'm grumpy. Our boys do it in a more roundabout way... By putting a blanket on me when I'm resting on the couch, or this time, they also prepared a "guard of honour" at the top of the stairs to welcome me with a salute and a lullaby (played from their sister's music box). It was impossible not to laugh at their clumsy and wholly sincere attempt to cheer me up. These children are abominable, incorrigible but so incredibly sweet. 

Baking Day.

It was a baking day today, as we made some treats for a long day, as the husband had back to back tutoring at home after work.

The little lady and I made cookie-cutter honey/cinnamon crackers, chocolate buns and roast garlic/cheese/chive scones for the husband's weekday morning teas. 

We'd recently given our flourishing chives a "haircut" and had a heaping lot of chives to use.

It's been a sunny week so far and a welcome change from the rain we had last week.

This picture of our little man cracked us up.

Flu Bug.

The little lady and I have been nursing the flu for the past week. We're recovering but it's been pretty slow. The hardest part is probably having to power through the day in spite of the symptoms. But God gives the grace needed. We took it slow today and stayed home and did little jobs around the house. More sleep has also been on the cards. Perhaps one more stay home day tomorrow and we will be all right. 

The children listened to their father read The Lord of the Rings tonight, in darkness save for the glow of the little book light we have. It was tricky for our little man to follow along, but bless, by the end of it, he was fast asleep. Such a huge blessing considering how he takes a long time to fall asleep nights, and few better ways to fall asleep than to the lull of a great book being read to you. 

All Saints' Day.

For the first time, the children's school held an All Saints' Day dress up, and the children went to school dressed as Saints. St Michael, St Bernadette and St George:

The sewing machine proved useful again and we created the costumes for under $10, using mostly material we had at home. The husband's creative touch was a huge help and he played a big part in the boys' costumes and made St Michael's sword. 

We spent the morning with friends making All Saints' Day cupcakes. Dinner was homemade pizza and ice cream to celebrate the feast day, and more specifically, our big girl's namesake's feast day. 

We ended the day with a beautiful hymn:

For all the saints who from their labors rest,

who Thee by faith before the world confessed;

Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.

Alleluia, Alleluia!