2012 - New Beginnings......

HELLO my lovelies! How is 2012 treating you so far? I thought I better pop by lest you think I had vacated the planet or something. (I almost considered it a few times but totally decided to stay! Besides, space travel really does not fit into my budget at all).

Well, I have not been around for several reasons which I may or may not tell you about in the near future. Today I would like to talk to you about NEW beginnings.

They say all good things must come to an end and in my usual fashion of leaning towards "Miss Pollyanna" tendencies, I am preferring to try and look to the new beginnings rather than the "ending of something good". 

My emotions have been all over the place this week while I put on a happy face for the family and secretly weep at the most ridiculous times only to start once again pumping those positive thoughts through my addled brain and being and feel ok again (for a little while). 

So what's going on? What has me in this emotional roller coaster of "thinking too much", weeping, laughing and hoping all in the same few minutes? Well, my friends......

MY children are going back to school! 

YES! You heard me! Thats not a typo. They are going to go to the local High School and see what its like for all the other local kids! They are going to learn to get up in the morning and actually get dressed. Move from class room to class room and hopefully LEARN something in the process about the BIG world outside. 

So, those of you who know me well, know exactly whats going on inside me, the emotions that are making me feel physically ill at times. sparks of anger which don't last as I am not very good at "angry", the keeping to myself for the past week or so as I don't want to talk about it kind of ME. 

Those who don't know me so well may be sitting there going BUT BUT BUT????????? Yes I know my friends. I am always the first one to stand behind the whole home education cause. I BELIEVE its best for my children.....BUT my children are not mine alone. And in my pursuit of what I believe is right for them, I neglected to respect the rights of the other half of their parentage and even I think my older boy who I really do DO believe will benefit from going to school. 

So rather than go into TOO much thinking mode again. I am going to leave it there. If it does not work out for them, at least we know they tried it and its just down the road. 

And do you know the only concerns that have come up from the boys point of view were....

From Zak.....

* When will I see my friends? (After school and weekends, and you will make more friends too) 

* What about the Un-schooling Camp?  (OH We are still going! I am not missing out on that one, you will miss school for a few days) 

* Can we have chips in our lunch box? (Ummm NO, you can eat what you normally eat! But yes you can buy lunch once a week if you like) 

Adem in his usual fashion is not saying too much at all. He is merely cramming in as much extra "computer" time as he can! 

I am still eeeking and tearing up and worrying about Zak, but as we can see by his "concerns".. He is fine. They both said, they do not want to go but after being told they would have to. They accepted it really quickly and even have moments of looking quite excited at the prospect. 

As for me? Well,  I am slowly getting used to the idea and thinking of things that I can do in ALL my spare time! Would love to think of it as more crochet, knitting and even long lost Cross Stitch time but am leaning more towards more herbal studies time! I guess everything REALLY does happen for a reason now doesn't it? And gee, I may even have time to update my blog more often? Hmmmmm. 

Please send me positive thoughts my friends. I am struggling enough on my own without having the onslaught of why we should not be taking this path. You can't tell me anything I don't already think myself. And as I have always been of the opinion that SCHOOL IS good for some and NOT for others. It depends entirely on personality and learning styles.  I am hoping that this is going to be a positive thing for my boys. In my heart, I know it is right for Adem and I do believe he will do well. I am hoping Zak settles in but if he does not? Well, we all know what works for him at home now don't we? 

Love, Peace and Happiness to all. 

Hugs and Smoochies xoxoxxo

Catching Up.....with pictures......

There are so many things I would love to share with you,  so many thoughts and words in my head that want to come out, homeschooling updates that have not made it to the blog, outings and stories to tell, each would be a great post on its own. But at the risk of never catching up at all I am piking out with a quick update. The will to blog has been a little off lately.

I am weary and I just wanted to let you know we are here, we are living, learning and loving as usual. I just have not had the will to get on here and post very much. I feel like there are so many things I would love to do in the real world too but the days pass so quickly that things are left on the back burner for a little while longer.

For now please accept a few catching up pictures (to those of you who have seen them on facebook, sorry but you all know we are alive now don't you? LOL Now lets start with a happy one........

On the days when father sun has remembered that we are now in summer, there have been many trips to the beach for nippers and patrols for Zak and for the rest of us....walking, surfing, swimming, breathing, climbing and just hanging out with beautiful babies and much loved friends.....

There has been a lot of rain recently and my poor garden did not cope all so well with it. I lost quite a few plants from the absolute drowning and the several days it took for the water to recede. Some plants however did not mind too much and a still kicking....

Some began to bear fruit.......

Some really thrived on the water and even came back to life in the case of the blackberries which my man tried to kill off this year........

And some got a little over excited and got out of control......I think we may need to collect this mint before the bugs decide to..........

If any local folks are interested in some Tansy or Catnip seedlings. Please let me know, I have far too many right now. Tansy is great for under fruit trees and to help break down your compost. (Of course it is so much more than that, but for general purposes its a good one to have around.) The leaves break down in a couple of days. Cat nip is not only lovely to cats, but very nice for an upset tummy. A great plant to keep in your garden. I will be potting them hopefully this week some time when I cut back all the plants and harvest the over abundant herbs. 

There was a birthday...........with cake of course........Happy Birthday Nana.....

There were some scary times when Logie bear had to go to hospital and they tested him for meningitis (a horrible experience for anyone let alone a small baby). All Aunty K could do was cry from a great distance, and try to  send healing, not so easy when you are freaking out, I now understand why dr's should not treat their own families...it really is a hard thing to focus when someone you love is suffering.......his poor parents and especially poor little him... He is much better now. It turned out to be a horrible virus which his poor mummy caught as well. :-(

There was a pre-school graduation.........Mr Yakka is going to BIG school next year and he is very excited....... Look out St Brendans...here he comes!

And of course there has been quite a bit of knitting and crochet from my end. You will have to go to Karismas Kraft if you want to check out those pictures.

Well thats all I have time for, for now. I hope this day finds you happy and healthy.

Sweet blessings my friends.

Much love, Hugs and Smoochies

New Life......

A couple of years ago, my garden stopped growing the way it used to. Things although carefully planted, failed to thrive. Even with a live in garden helper to take the load off of me, who seemed to know a lot more about gardening than I did,  saw many of my plants dying or wilting and in the end it was left alone for a very long time.

I remember saying to my man one day. I just don't know what's wrong. Nothing wants to grow anymore. Not like that first year when everything grew so wonderfully and in abundance. I just don't know what it is that is missing. He looked at me and raised his eyebrows and said "YOU! Its missing you!"

In hindsight, I had to agree. My garden was built with great intention and loads of love. Sometimes I tended it, sometimes I did not but it was always a source of great joy when I did so. My total lack of attention by handing it over to someone else was obvious. When that someone was not there any more it became even more neglected and sad. My lemon tree in particular failed to produce lemons for years!

Now, as most of you know I have been either away galavanting or very sick for much of the past 5 months or so. So the thought of starting over was rather daunting. It took a bit of work to finally get off my butt and do something about it and now..........well now........just see for yourself........

Now just like my first garden, things are planted willy nilly, with no order as a novice gardener might plant them.......

Or as they might plant themselves......... Herbs, fruit and vegies growing together....

Complimenting each other, or just fighting for space  :-)

Somehow, working together as Mother Nature intended........

In pure ignorant bliss of how things "should be"!!!

Some potatoes choose to grow in the baskets I build them......

And some choose not to........prefering to sprawl themselves "outside the basket" if you please......

And other plants just choose to co-exist, side by side, regardless of species.....

Because, my friends......... where there is LOVE......

And where there is LIGHT........

There is LIFE........

And that lemon tree I mentioned........well, its full to the brim with lemons! Go figure! And the lemon balm, like most of my other herbs, seems to be having a growth spurt too......

Whats growing in your garden right now?

Hugs and smoochies xoxoxox

Bows are nice......don't you think?

We often hear people talking about "cutting those apron strings" one at a time. And setting ones offspring free into the big wide world out there to seek their ultimate adventures and lives. But you never here anyone talking of tying bows now do you? 

It is my belief that cutting the strings is often a little bit abrupt and final. Why not just loosen the strings a little at a time? Loosening strings allows the wearer to dive into the depths unknown always knowing that the strings will be there to save them when needed. To haul them back up to the surface into the safety of that nicely tied bow! 

Take this child for example. This child has taken many dives in the last couple of years. Diving into life a little too quickly. Thinking she wanted different things but never being quite sure. She leapt across the world to seek her independence. She dove into a world of study only to decide it was not really what she wanted. She took on a full time job with SIX hours travel a day! It was a huge leap into the unknown and it was exhausting. Her health and well being suffered. She thought she wanted a lot of things in that outside world, but then she just wanted to be home.

To do the simple things that she no longer had time for. Like hang out with her family, cook a meal or just relax at the beach.  To find the joy in little things like chopping potatoes or stirring pots even! 

Enjoying the time to actually sit down and EAT your meal as soon as you serve it, instead of re-heated and on the run..... and even have the time to present it nicely.....

We won't be cutting any apron strings in a hurry, in fact we are planning on sharing our kitchen for a very long time. :-) And each time she asks me to tie that apron string a little. I do it with a very big smile on my face! 

Because BOWS really are nice! Don't you think? 

Hugs and smoochies all xoxoxox

FOURTEEN

Sometimes words are not required.....

Hugs and smoochies xoxoxoxox

Ashlee creates........

My oldest daughter Ashlee has entered a competition online and would be most grateful if you could take the time to vote for her dress. She designed the dress herself, made the pattern and sewed it using fabrics from Spotlight who are hosting the competition. She also made the flowers for the wreath headband that she is wearing. Its a little hard to see the fabric in the picture but it is very Christmassy indeed. 

The competition is hosted on Facebook, so anyone with an account can enter and/or vote. If you would like to vote for Ashlee you just need to click the vote button and your vote will be registered. For some reason on some browsers, it won't work. In that case, click on the "like" button first and then vote. Too easy! 

Here is the link to the page.....   Spotlight competition.

We would be most grateful if you could find it in your heart to vote for our beautiful creative girl! 

Much love, hugs and smoochies 

FUN....All On A Sunday Afternoon....

FUN.... Climbing up Aunty K's body to reach the mirror on the wall. Laughing at the baby in the mirror! Blowing kisses! Bouncing! Jumping! (Hello bubby!) Waving! 

Not so FUN.....Being the human ladder! LOL Poor Arms, Poor shoulders, Poor Nose, Poor Boobies! Oh well, who needs them anyway when baby giggles are making you happy? 

FUN......Picking peaches off the tree and feeding them to the puppies! Eating lemonade iceblocks on a hot Sunday afternoon. Bouncing on the trampoline while you do it.  Iceblock melting and dripping everywhere. Sharing with the puppies. Laughing. Rejoicing in being who you are without restraint.  (giggles...more...more...up...up...me...jump)

Not  so FUN.....The icky sticky feeling as all sorts of garden goodies cling to your skin. Snot bubble monsters mixing with the sticky!  (Oh Uck Uck) Trying to pick grass and leaves off sticky skin! 

FUN.... Splashing in a refreshing bath. Throwing water all over Aunty K, laughing and playing and wowing over the very wet floor! Running naked through the house. Enjoying the freedom of fresh clean skin! Finally putting on a shirt when it suits us! Nice warm milk to top it off! (Bot Bot? Ya?) 

Not so  FUN... What do you mean we can't go back outside and play with the puppies????? (puppies puppies?)

FUN... Just kidding...ok...hahaha....You're so funny! And I am so used to getting my own way.....YES I AM.. (Ya? Ya? Cheese!!!)

FUN....  Saying Cheese. Looking at yourself in the camera and nodding approval. (Oooh Ya Ya Bubby Me Hehe Bubbles? Puppies?)

YES YES YES FUN FUN FUN 

FUN .... Wondering if they noticed the Sticky all over the trampoline? HAHAHAHAHA! AH....Now... What's a bit of sticky between cousins?  

FUN FUN FUN!!! 

So what fun did you get up to on Sunday afternoon? Hope you found the joy as much as we did!

Hugs and smoochies xoxoxox