Easter!

Jesus Christ is risen, Alleluia!

The joy of Easter was well and truly felt in our home. The children found that their jar of sacrifice beans had turned into skittles overnight (some of the children don't like jelly beans). 

At mass, the choir squeezed as many Alleluias into mass as they could, which was music to my ears after 40 days of not using the word "Alleluia!". 

We had our in-house annual easter egg hunt, sponsored by Popo. I appreciate that the older children looked out for the younger ones and made sure our littlest had enough chocolates. 

We had a lamb leg roast for lunch and meatball pasta for dinner, topped off with a decadent salted caramel chocolate cake. All in all a very blessed day!

Saturday Adventure.

Papa took us on an adventure at lowtide. We walked on what would usually be the seabed. We heard seashells crunch under our feet and felt the squelch of soggy ground on our shoes as we walked along.

We cast long shadows on the beach at sunset...that was us striking a superhero pose!

Holy Saturday...a time of waiting. Eagerly anticipating Easter tomorrow!

Holy Week.

We're slowly working our way through Holy Week. Through listening to Gregorian chants in the mornings on the way to school, and with our holy week story eggs, we're making this week a little different from all other weeks of the year.

Today, it's spy Wednesday, the day we associate with the day Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

I had the help of small hands this afternoon, and they helped me paint some cardboard circles silver.

These "silver coins" were hidden around the house this evening for our children to stumble upon as they went about their evening routine.

The triduum begins tomorrow.

Time with Friends.

We visited our friends in their new neighbourhood this afternoon. Lunch at the Beer Spot followed by the grand tour around their home. 

The weekend has flown by in the blink of an eye and we're heading into Holy Week. May it be a meaningful one for us.

Crazy Socks.

Our little man in crazy socks for Crazy Sock Day at school... Raising awareness for Down Syndrome on World Down Syndrome Day. Extra special because our big girl has a classmate with Down Syndrome.

Playing With Food.

This morning, we told our children that we'd be having a special dinner to celebrate the Feast day of St Joseph. 

As dinner was being prepared, they took turns sauntering into the kitchen to check out what we were having for dinner. They surveyed the sausages, steak and potatoes cooking.

"We have potatoes all the time."

"I thought you said we were having a special dinner?"

After grace was said, we told them. "St Joseph was a carpenter, and worked with his hands everyday. We are having dinner without cutlery tonight and eating with our hands."

Realisation dawned on their faces and they got excited when they noted that the potatoes had been cut into cubes, courtesy of Papa. They had just been given permission to play with their food. 

Village.

   Our meat boy.

"This is going to be a memorable meal."

Saint Joseph is close to our hearts as we placed our family under the care of St Joseph a couple of years ago. He's also a saint whose strength lies in his quiet faithfulness, a quality we can do with more of. 

St Joseph, Pray for us!

Bunnies!

I taught the children to make craft bunnies this afternoon. I made Flopsy, the children made Mr Nibbles, Bun Bun and Fluffey. Their ideas took flight and soon there were carrots, radishes and lettuce for the bunnies, all crafted from paper. 

I went out for a run and came back to a bunny picnic and bath all laid out and the bunnies tucked in bed. 

All in a Weekend's Work..

Two loads of laundry washed, last week's laundry folded, ironed and put away, food prepared for the week...and we're ready to jump into week 8. 

The children loved the cinnamon scrolls we had for afternoon tea last Thursday. They asked to bring some to school for morning tea on Monday. I made a batch of cinnamon scrolls this afternoon and whaddya know.. they've already gone out of fashion. Nobody wanted to take them to school tomorrow despite hankering after more just days ago.🤦🏻‍♀️ Children and their fickle tastebuds..ah well. More for me! 

Saturday Walk & A Lego Band.

Life has felt quite full, lately. Our big boy is in the middle of college application (he's got his entrance interview soon), and our big girl is embarking on an orthodontic journey... She's getting orthodontic plates made to make space for her adult teeth to grow in. 

The children had a bit of a break on Friday (Teacher only day) and we had a good time visiting the library and resting together.

Today's walk had the whole family coming along, which was really nice. We explored the bush walk that we discovered last weekend and found that it leads to the Tahuna Torea Reserve near home. 

We stopped by the playground on the way back. 

This evening, the children created a Lego band (The Droidekas) and made a little music video to go along with it. Highly entertaining!

Earlier this morning, I had a chat with our little man, who had a slightly wobbly tooth. I asked if he thought the tooth fairy would come to take his tooth and leave money in its place. He said yes, but quickly followed it up with "I know you're the tooth fairy!". Apparently he remembered a particular incident when the tooth fairy was late. That apparently was enough to convince him of the tooth fairy's real identity. 🤔 Quite an astute observation. 

Loving the time with these children. No day is like the other when it comes to the things these children dream up!

Saturday Walks.

Saturday evenings, after dinner, some of the children and I go out for a walk. It's an open invitation and there's usually one or three who come along. 

It's a lovely time as we get out and explore, and we never quite know what we'll find. One time, we got into rock pools on the beach and discovered shrimp and featherduster worms. Another time, we spotted some starfish and a little crab burrowing under scattered shells.

This evening, we spied a pair of black swans getting ready for bed near the mangrove. The children rolled down grassy slopes and laughed about rolling off course. We discovered a flight of steps leading down to a bush walk that we haven't yet explored.

The exploration also happens with the children, as they reveal little surprises too along the way.

Our big girl goes with us in the hopes that she'll get a chance to have a bit of time with me. It took a bit of persuasion today for her to come along even though the littlies were coming too, but she seemed glad she did at the end of it all. I need to be mindful in giving her my attention even as the younger ones clamour for it.

These walks have also recently revealed that our little lady enjoys running. She takes off on her own and goes a fair distance, at a good pace before she needs to stop. This motivates the others to follow suit and we go at a merry pace for a bit and it's still good fun for everyone. Coming from a girl who loves being carried and has so often complained about walks being too long, this is big. Long may this running streak continue and grow! 

Milestones.

Our big boy had a great experience at his first school camp. His siblings (and us) were glad to have him back the next day. 

This morning, our little man told me he would walk into school on his own, and didn't need me to accompany him to his classroom. It was a first, and testimony to how far he's come since the school year began.

He spent all day looking forward to a play date with his new friends. We cycled out to meet them this afternoon and the five boys had a grand time playing at the playground and on the beach. Unsurprisingly, they all ended up in the water and soaking wet with no extra clothing! 

It was lovely getting to know the mothers as well. I look forward to seeing how this friendship develops.

First School Camp.

Our big boy is at a school camp, his first night away from home. He was very excited and seems to be having a great time. His siblings miss him, and are looking forward to having him back tomorrow evening. 

Also, there are dinosaur toys everywhere upstairs tonight; our little man decided to create "dinosaur islands" this afternoon and hasn't quite tidied them away. There's also an orca in our bathtub. 😅

Mushrooms.

4am.

Our littlest is in our bed after some pretty hearty coughing. Papa has moved into another room. 

She's asleep and starts crying softly.

I reach out to cuddle her. She wakes and I hear a smile in her voice.

Her: I had a dream. 

Me: You had a dream? What was it about?

Her: I dreamt I was crying.

Me: No wonder I heard you crying.

Her: I was crying because I didn't want to eat mushrooms.

Her disdain for the delicious fungi runs deep!

Musings of a Preschooler.

In the car this morning, it was just the little lady and I: 

Her: Sad, you won't have anyone to play with when I go to school next year.

Me: Oh yeah. What do you think I should do?

Her: Maybe you can watch some TV!

😂

That sweetie! Yes, I'll miss her when she's at school for sure. That's a new chapter of parenthood waiting for me then. 

Can you spot her under the laundry basket? She's pretending to be a turtle. Pretty good, eh. This kept her busy for a good while as I made a huge batch of naans this afternoon.