Term 1, 2024

School starts tomorrow. We are as prepared as we're going to be, going into the new school year with year 2, 4 and 6 children.

My silly billies. 

I feel slightly relieved that household spending will fall back into a more predictable pattern as the children settle back into routine. I'm also looking forward to the year ahead with my now four year old little lady. One more year with her before she goes to primary school, so precious. 

We had a little evening "feast" (tea, cheese, crackers, fruit and maybe some special candy) and talked about our holiday memories. Our road trip featured high on their list of memorable moments. I'm glad we did that. 

Finishing this book, finally, after maybe 2-3 years, was my summer goal, and I accomplished that. 

The husband and I made it through the entire Fast and Furious series, all 10 movies, over the summer. I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed it. Ride or Die! 

And our garden, our garden is flourishing. We're loving the fresh produce and summer colours. We brought some kang kong and tomatoes to our happy neighbours this evening.

God bless the school year ahead, God bless our children and their teachers.

Back to Reality.

After approximately 8 glorious weeks of summer holiday, it's finally time for the husband to dip his feet back into the real world. He starts work again tomorrow, easing in with a teacher-only day. The full strength of the school year descends the following day when the students return as well.

It will be a slow day for the rest of us; I'm recovering from the flu, and so is our big girl. We're certainly considering the flu vaccine this year as it's always a struggle to have the flu bug cycle through the family one by one. 

I'm grateful for the rest time that having the husband home has allowed. We've got a couple more days before school starts for the children. 

Our big boy enjoyed a prata treat with the husband yesterday. One for the road!

A Rich Harvest.

Our littlest lady harvested her first tomato today! She planted the seeds in spring and watered it until it grew. Unfortunately, she doesn't like eating tomatoes but I'm sure this will cook well into a dish she enjoys. 

The husband harvested all his onions yesterday, red and yellow ones in various sizes. Now to cure them so they can be stored and used slowly.

Baby Bookworm.

I'd just come back downstairs from putting our little lady to bed; I was about to suggest making some Russian fudge with the children when I heard a soft,clear voice reading. It was our little man, reading Green Eggs and Ham aloud to himself. His brow was furrowed in concentration, and he only had eyes for the words in front of him. The fudge could wait, we sat and listened. He'd pulled this book out himself to read. Dr Seuss is great for budding readers.

Anyone who's read the book would agree that it's not a short book. Yet, he persevered. Almost as soon as he read the last sentence, a yawn escaped his lips. Just in time for bed. Goodnight, little man!

Carpet-Cleaning Day.

It was a sunny day and carpet cleaning day in our household. The first order of business: shifting our things into the garage, turning it into a temporary rumpus room. 

A year's worth of dust and dirt was flushed from our carpets thanks to the Rug Doctor and the husband. 

We got a fire going outside; lunch was sausage sizzle, freshly-picked corn and marshmallows. 

The corn, fresh off the stalk (pictured above, in the background) and straight onto the grill, was simply delicious. 

When it was all over and as we waited for the carpet to dry before shifting everything back in, I spied the husband settled down in the garage with a beer. Much deserved. Next up, curtains, tomorrow!

Nighttime Snack.

Cheese and crackers with the older three tonight. Our little man turns to me and says, "it feels like we're having a feast, mum!" Perhaps the fact that it was after hours lent a thrill to the moment, and it was a special time to spend with them. We went for a stroll on the lane to enjoy the chilly night air and finished the evening praying the rosary together. 

Emptying the dishwasher is a novelty our big boy is embracing at the moment, so he got to stay up a little later to put away the dishes with Papa. 

We saved some blue cheese for our little lady to have tomorrow so she wouldn't miss out. 😉

Passionfruit. We've been enjoying some tasty ones off our vine this summer.

Dates With Mum & Dad.

My friend and I are reclined in deck chairs, enjoying the summer breeze and lazily watching our children running energetically and speeding belly-first down the water slip n' slide in their backyard. She turns to me and asks, "Do your children still want to go out on dates with you and J?" Having fielded questions from the children about plans for our parent/child dates just this afternoon, my reply is an emphatic "yes"! I hear from her that her children, at 8 and 10, don't want to go on cafe dates with her anymore. I also recently heard something similar from a friend whose child is turning 10. 

Our children love the parent/child dates and I'm grateful, as I'm aware that this won't necessarily be the case forever. After we dropped our older children at their friends', the husband and I took the opportunity to have a little one-on-one time with our younger children. The husband and the little lady made a trip to the dairy for snacks and walked home after. The little man and I went to Carls Jr (a second trip in two days for me), to have fries and a milkshake. Going to see if we can make sure all the children get their parent/child dates before school starts in a week. 

she picked up a box of candy to share with her siblings.

What about husband/wife dates? Today, I announced to the children that I'd be taking dad out for breakfast and leaving them home on their own. The oldest ones got it immediately, and as I balanced a tray of sandwiches and coffee and walked out the front door, I heard our big boy telling his siblings that they'd get grilled cheese if they stayed inside and let mum + dad have breakfast in the front yard by ourselves. Breakfast was lovely. 

Big Boy's Day.

This morning, our big boy decided to help me with folding the laundry. He challenged me to a competition to see who could fold the most laundry. We folded two baskets of laundry and he won both times. He was elated! 

I might have lost the competition but I sure feel like I've emerged the winner here. 🤫

After breakfast, we went out to get a new pair of sandals for school and popped into Carls Jr for a bite after. The children relish the dates with us every now and then, because of the one-on-one time and also because there's usually a treat involved.

We stopped by the library on the way home to pick up some books we had on hold. It was a nice change to be able to stay in the car waiting for him to check the books out himself. He was saving his milkshake to share with Papa but also encouraged me to have some of it while waiting.

Thanks, son.

Happy 4th Birthday!

Our littlest lady turns four today! She requested waffles for breakfast, and "Old MacDonald" (think Happy Meal) for dinner

She was excited to go shopping to spend some money her uncle and Popo had sent. She came home the happy owner of a new scooter and swimming togs. She's very blessed.

She asked to try on her togs even before she reached home and was out and about on her scooter, and in the pool several times today. 

We're grateful for the gift of our straight- talking, fiery girl who loves so fiercely. May she continue to grow to be salt and light of the world. 

Growing Bigs.

Our bigs learned to unload the dishwasher this afternoon; we did a small load of dishes and I showed them how to put the dishes away. This evening, while I put the littlies to bed and papa took a shower, the bigs tidied the living room and emptied the dishwasher.

They wanted us to come down to a tidy space, and that's exactly what happened. It was lovely, especially since it meant that we had fewer things to do after the children went to bed. 

We're observing these two starting to find joy in making little sacrifices for the family and it's such a blessing to witness.

Birthday Celebration.

We organised a special morning tea to celebrate our littlest lady's 4th birthday, ahead of the actual day on Saturday. She invited four friends from our lane. The bigs, the husband and I organised games and some food. 

It took one early arrival at 10am, the others looking out their doors and following suit... And BOOM, the party's here half an hour early. 😅 These guys are familiar faces and often over. It was 6pm by the time the last ones headed home, a day well spent.

Our little lady received some activity books, a handmade card and homemade cookies. The girls who made the cookies woke up extra early this morning to bake them. 

We're grateful for the day and for the friends who made time to celebrate with us today. 

The husband and I were knackered by evening and ordered KFC, a nice break from cooking in a long while.

Venus Fly Trap.

Today, I found out that our littlest and her friend have been "feeding" our three venus fly trap plants in the garden. I found thyme flowers and bits of bark clamped between the jaws of the traps. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Testing the reflexes of the flytraps, no doubt. What they'll come up with next, I wonder. 

Rainy Days.

Summer has hit a snag and we've got a few rainy days lined up. The gardener husband's not complaining as the plants get a drink and the water tanks get a refill.

At night prayer:

Big boy: Thank you for rainy days so we remember how important sunny days are. 

In the same vein, bumpy nights make me more appreciative of the restful ones. The past three nights have been rough, tending to a sick child. Thankfully tonight's shaping up to be much smoother and our little man is finally on the mend. We're very grateful for everyone who's been praying for him. 

New Hobby.

The older children have picked up a new skill this summer: needle felting. It seems to be quite a niche hobby that involves using a barbed needle to poke repeatedly at felted wool so that it weaves into itself and takes shape. After suffering a few jabs from the needle, they learned pretty quick to keep their fingers out of the way!

Our big boy made a sheep, "Baba", for me.

Our big girl crafted an owl for her friend:

And to think all this began with the Hedgehog felting kit her big brother bought her as a Secret Santa gift. 

Summer Bug.

Our little man fell sick with a cough on the last day of our trip; it's developed into a nasty bug that's had him miserable the last few days. We're getting there, slowly. It's just been emotionally and physically exhausting. One day at a time.

Back Again.

It's been a wonderful trip, but it feels amazing to be back home. Showering in our own bathrooms and back in our own beds. Yessssss. 

The children rushed straight outside as soon as they got home. They'd missed their friends and were eager to see them. Lots of catching up and playing to do. 

Between exploring our hosts' petting farm and taking a trip through the glow worm cave, Waitomo was an incredible experience. 

We're happy to be home and are thankful for the rest of the summer hols that lies ahead of us. 

Waitomo.

Hello from Waitomo!

Upon reflection, a couple of things have been different about this trip:

We've all been sleeping earlier and waking up early, at about 7-7.30am. It's meant that we've been able to arrive at attractions at opening time, before the summer crowd descends. It's also meant that we can enjoy busy activities in the morning and rest from mid-afternoon onwards. A good balance of activities and rest is my idea of a good holiday.

We also cooked and froze several meals before we left. These were our dinners, packed into a cooler bag on journeys and popped straight into the freezer upon arrival. They stayed frozen until we needed them. It's meant minimal prep time for a homemade meal on our road trip. It's a lesson learned from our camping days and something I'd like to do more of moving forward. Fried rice, hoisin mince beef noodles, spaghetti bolognese, and Japanese curry noodles were a few meals we had on this trip. 

Second last day of our road trip. Homeward bound tomorrow!

Taupō.

We've spent a wonderful past couple of days in Taupō. We visited the Huka Prawn Park to learn about how prawns are farmed and enjoyed the various activities at the park. We stopped by to give the children a view of the mighty Huka Falls.

We started our second day at the Taupō Debretts hot pools. The children had been hankering after a good soak in hot pools and we obliged. It was pretty busy by 10.30am (we arrived at 8.30am) so we hopped out and went to explore the geothermal walk, Craters of the Moon. 

It's been a good balance of activities and rest this trip, and in the afternoon, the children watched Sonic 2 on Netflix, and spent the next hour reading or drawing quietly. 

We're moving on today, to our last stop. Thanks for a lovely time, Taupō!

Rotorua.

Hello from Rotorua! We've spent the last couple of days here and are driving on tomorrow. 

We visited Hamurana Springs Reserve, an easy bush walk (#4 didn't think so!) among towering 100 year-old Redwood trees. We admired a pristine fresh water spring and gazed down to its source, a 15m deep, dark crevice in the ground.

We found ourselves in line for the Skyline Luge at opening time. The air was still cool and the queue short. The children had a great time and I'm glad we avoided the eventual 2-hour queues and heat of midday.

After a full day and a big buffet lunch (the children's first buffet experience), we had a simple fried rice with an optional sunny side up. The eggs were laid by our Air BnB hosts' chooks, yum! And our big boy learned to fry eggs tonight and proudly cooked them for the family.

Summer Road Trip: Hamilton.

With the Marañon family in Hamilton on the first day of our summer road trip.