Monday, July 30, 2012

30th july 2012, 6.03am

i wake up with the warm breath of Isabella on my face and automatically reach out to feel her forehead, her cheek. fever gone. she has had high temps and been in and out of sleep the last couple of days so she won't be going to school today. i hear the babies chatting so slip out of bed and heat up their bottles, bump into Jett who offers to make me a cup of tea. it's freezing this morning so i take the babies their bottles and go back into bed. i lay there thinking i really need to get up and get the lunches made, feed the babies breakfast and get them dressed for the day which takes longer than i ever allow for so i roll out of bed again trying not to stir Bella and go to the babies who greet me with huge smiles and wiggles.
after changing them i bring them out to the kitchen and place them in their highchairs with a few toys while i start on the lunches. Zach makes his way to the kitchen already dressed for the day and gets himself muesli, yogurt [which he calls sour yogurt] and frozen berries. he tells me his legs are so cold they are dieing so i tell him to have breaky in the babies room [the warmest room in the house thanks to the oil heater]. Jett tells me he is so full he can't finish his breakfast- it looks like he has had none, i tell him he shouldn't of put so much in his bowl and that he will have to eat it. he finishes of most of it. he has already done his jobs so he goes back upstairs to get dressed for school. i make myself a dandelion tea as Jett forgot to make me one and i warm up fruit for the babies. i turn the TV on to hear the update on the Olympics.
Zach comes out and is about to when i remind him to do his jobs which this week is dishwasher, he groans and complies. i give the babies a rice biscuit and grab my clothes for the day and get changed in the babies room. Bella is still asleep and jasmine hasn't made a peep, she has had the flu for more than a week and just now recovering but won't be going to school today either, which makes it much quicker for getting lunches done as their is tow instead of four. i made two wraps last night form our leftover steak so all i have to do is add in some fruit, an energy ball and a boiled egg. i finish feeding babies and wonder if the boys have enough food for lunch - i add some crackers and more fruit.
i call to Jasi to come downstairs as i need to talk to her before leaving. she has been home sick for a week and is much better but i'm giving her a few extra days at home to gain her strength back. i give her the kitchen to clean up, have breakfast, vit c, manuka honey, do jobs and get dressed for the day, all to be done by the time i get back.
Bella is up and getting dressed. she has dark circles under her eyes but is cheery so I'm hopeful she take a turn for the better today. the babies are done so i clean them up and take them to their play area in the lounge while i finish off in the kitchen, making bottles and another tea. Jett yells out do i know where his jumper and sports socks are and i find his jumper in the laundry basket and tell him to look in the sock basket for his socks. he races down stairs to brush his teeth, grabs his things and goes back upstairs. Zach has gone upstairs to play with his Lego and i ask him if he has brushed his teeth i hear more groans and clicking of Lego. Jett comes down after a kerfuffle with Zach and gets his bag ready and says goodbye whilst leaning in for a kiss, i kiss him and tell him he doesn't need to leave for another 15minutes. i suggest he grabs his book and reads for a bit which he does. the babies are a bit whiny so i spend the next 10 minutes changing their nappies again and giving then the last of their bottles that they had left over. i call out its time to go and don't here anything. i call Zach specifically and he answers reluctantly but soon appears.  he is still in his slippers and hasn't brushed his teeth but this doesn't take him too long. Jett gets up, gives me another goodbye kiss, kisses both babies and Bella and heads out the door to catch the bus at the top of the driveway. i get babies in the car and turn the car on to warm it up. Bella is next to hop in the car and then comes Zach. i kiss Jasi and tell her I'll be back soon.
in the car Bella, Zach and i play i spy all the way to school and the babies sleep.

as far as mornings go around here this one went pretty smoothly.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

in the kitchen

I am :
making chicken stock and chicken soup
soaking oats for porridge in the mornings and using the leftovers for porridge pancakes.
soaking buckwheat muesli mix which i couldn't believe the kids actually ate but buckwheat is too strong a taste for me so i think ill keep it as an add in for muffins
baking with brown rice flour- experimented with some cacao brownies =
making scones with Isabella
trying to plan a seasonal menu plan that I can re-use
coming up with all sorts of baby food combinations
scouring blogs and websites for allergy-free recipes
being very inspired by this site
stocking the freezer with muffins, pikelets, power balls and more for school lunches
very much enjoying the extra time I'm spending in this space preparing good, wholesome food for my big and little ones and so thankful I finally have the energy to work and improve this hugely important area of our families life.


figs, yum!



bella loves making scones

green juice for mama

o so yum sugar-free chocolate bark

baby food ready to go in freezer

chicken soup on its way

a family favourite- baked apples

a leftovers dinner

candles make everything nicer even the crazy dinner hour

Friday, July 20, 2012

Thursday, July 19, 2012

winter warmies





one of the things i love most about moving to 'the farm' is very real and felt changing of the seasons. we actually have a winter here and it goes longer than a week unlike Brisbane where you may experience a cold snap briefly but you couldn't call it winter.
last winter, i was so sick with the twin pregnancy and home a lot on my own [Matt was commuting to Brisbane for work] that on the freezing nights i wouldn't bother with a fire as i was so tired we just all ended up going to bed earlier with books and lots of layers. i spent most of my time in shock that i was having twins, throwing up and counting down the days to i would feel normal again. winter passed me by.
this winter has been such a different experience. i feel like I'm really present in this season, i am noticing all the wintry details and enjoying it all.
right now I'm loving =
the delivery of the firewood and the stacking it all together. the fires inside and out. the toasted marshmallows. the slippers on little and big feet. the requests for hot water bottles and new covers. super amazing daddy made hot chocolates. soups and warm bread. everyone huddling into the babies room in the morning because its the warmest room in the house. old blankets strewn over the lounge. watching the trees lose their leaves. dosing up on manuka honey and vitamin c. coming up with more inside activities [other than screen]- painting, setting up a Lego room, board games, help mama with the folding [not a fav] and knitting to name a few. cosy jumpers and favourite scarves. the Camellia trees in full flower.
there is still some winter left to sqeeze out before the summer heat hits and i am going to love every cold minute.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

[winter holidays-part one]

 
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collecting wattle, jasmine made the yummiest apple teacake, wii dance, a new toy for the babies, a hot water bottle cover for zach made with his old pants, making scones, days of painting, a visit from the grandparents,  enjoying the afternoon sun

Friday, July 13, 2012

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Monday, July 9, 2012

[monday musings]



'inspiration is inspiration, whether the end result is a painted masterpiece, a soul-searching sonnet, a richly colored home-made quilt or a batch of freshly baked rock buns. we shouldn't diminish our creativity by despising the results of our inspiration, but instead celebrate and exploit the wonderful feeling of elevated energy and enthusiasm we experience when we are inspired....we can learn to sift through the the mass of stimuli we encounter everyday and to focus on what inspires us as individuals and, in doing so, create a way of seeing, a way of being receptive to inspiration.
for the one thing that sets creative people apart is that they have all acquired the habit of being receptive to inspiration, actively seeking it or even simply recognising it...the domestic artist is in the glorious position of being able to find inspiration in daily domestic life.'
the gentle art of domesticity, jane brocket

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

the daily to do list

at the moment i am living life one day at a time. 
it is so easy to get overwhelmed. 
its the big stuff like feeling inadequate as a mum and wondering what to do about a certain child's attitude and whether it's just that they haven't had enough one on one time and if so, when to fit it in.  it's also the little things like will i ever remember to send the letter that has been sitting by the phone for a week or that the children have lice which means more washing to my already behind laundry pile.
and then the lack of sleep....
when i get my head up i know that to try to for see how i am going to get through the next month or 6 months even [with ruby not sleeping and life in general racing by at a crazy pace] is not helpful and results in fear and anxiety which leads to a unhappy mama.
whereas if i just focus on doing my best tomorrow..the next moment even, then life seems more manageable.
if i keep in the forefront of my mind that these babies will soon be running around and this messy, noisy house one day will be clean and quite, that these big kids will one day be living their own adventures.
if i really open my eyes to see beyond all the things I'm not doing and behind in i may see that  despite the drain and weariness this. is. it. 
this is really living.
so if i don't get the folding done or the paper piles organized but i sing and dance with my chubby babies, kiss my bigger ones and tell them i love them,  snuggle with a book to my middle ones...then it has been the most successful of days.

yes, the daily to do list...