Celebrating seven

This week my baby turned seven. Oh my.   We celebrated Hugo style, by pitching a tent in the backyard and inviting a few friends over for a boys own adventure party.

There was a bonfire to cook twist stick bread, hot dogs, a campfire cake and plenty of wrestling in the tent. The boys were given little swagman bundles filled with a torch, first aid kit, magnifying glass along with a little chocolate for nourishment should those adventurers need an energy boost.  Activities included a hike through the bush, a game of soccer and quite a lot of drawing.  Both with pencils and of glow in the dark swords.

I always feel a little wistful when my children celebrate a birthday, as I remember those little babies and see how quickly they are growing up.    But any feelings of sorrow are quickly forgotten when watching the joy and enthusiasm of one not-so-small boy.

Happy birthday Hugo!

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Holiday snaps

:: making wedding cakes to help out an amazing friend

:: swimming lessons, every day for two weeks at the local pool

:: drinking peach agua fresca when it's too hot to eat - you can find the recipe on justb

:: exploring mofo - so much fun, such as....

:: watching under water drumming...tina havelock stevens was incredible!

Wish you were here!
x

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6 comments cooking, elsa, family, growing up, holiday, hugo

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Boys Annual

The annual birthday party.  Often an angst ridden affair with a last minute rush of crocheting party favours and painting papier-mâché at midnight the night before.  It's not the feeding of a hungry bunch of kids that worries me. I love cooking for children. It's keeping them amused for three hours, and the preparation it requires that frightens the bejesus out of me.

This year, thankfully, Hugo didn't want any party games, no pin the tail on the donkey, no pass the parcel and definitely no girls.   What he did want, was a bonfire and a chocolate cake, with "Hugo's Chocolate Cake" written in running writing on the top.  Too easy. Now this is a party we can do.

A handful of school buddies, building towers with kindling, tossing paper aeroplanes down the hallway and toasting mama-made marshmallows on the little campfire we made. And of course finishing with the requested chocolate cake.  That mama forgot to buy six candles for.  Luckily no one noticed. They were all too busy having fun. Even without a piñata.

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10 comments big, celebrations, good things, growing up, hugo

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Now we are six

When I was One,
I had just begun.

When I was Two,
I was nearly new.

When I was Three,
I was hardly Me.

When I was Four,
I was not much more.

When I was Five,
I was just alive.

But now I am Six, I'm as clever as clever
So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

A.A. Milne

If only...

Happy Birthday sweet Hugo

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And so it begins...

It's a bittersweet moment when your littlest baby loses his first tooth.  A significant milestone on that path to growing up.  A giant step away from infancy and towards big kidness.  Sob.

Yesterday, that first wobbly tooth fell out, while Hugo was munching on our first loaf of bread baked in the new oven, not an insignificant event either.   In anticipation of a special visit from the magic folk,  last week I helped Hugo sew a little pillow with a pocket on the front   Before bed he carefully tucked his tooth in the pocket and placed the pillow next to his head.   In the darkness this morning, I was woken by a boy showing a me a coin in one hand and a gem in the other, with a look on his face so beautiful it made this growing up caper a little sweeter for one mama to bear.

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Happy, Happy Birthday

Today we celebrated Elsa's birthday with a huge stache bash.  A moustache party. With 16 guests it was the biggest children's party I've ever organised.  Hard work but lots of fun (wow those girls eat a lot!).  Elsa is wearing her lovely Miss Haidee dress that we gave her. We set up a photo booth, even Spoon got in on the action, although I"m not sure that he was that amused by the situation.  We played pin the moustache on Bert Reynolds, ate lots of cake and decorated our beautiful Killiecrankie tree.   And we danced to the Ting Tings. Over and over again. I love a good party.  Just wish I wasn't so busy and took more snaps.

Happy Birthday my lovely girl xx

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Hugo and me

I've been writing this blog for nearly four years now, and I love looking back through old posts and reminiscing about the days when I had the peeps at home full time.   How quickly things change.  Hugo is at school three days a week, Elsa five.  When they come home they run to the neighbour's and play on the street, with nary a glance back at their mama.

This year, as things get busier for me I have to remind myself to cherish those two days at home with Hugo and to be more mindful of his needs. I find I get swept up in lists and chores or doing work stuff.  Hugo gets bored, gets whiney and then I get grumpy.

To get the balance right, I've decided that one day a week is just for Hugo.  A Hugo and me day.  We might go to a cafe ( my favourite ahem, not his) the park, the bike track, a hike.  Anything really, so long as it's us time.

 At first I thought this would be hard. To drop everything and just go, but it's not.  It's easy and lots of fun.  Today was so warm and sunny we grabbed some lunch from the Yo Yo Bakery in Cygnet and hit the beach.  There was icy water to paddle in, fallen trees to climb, rocks and shells to collect and like most Tasmanian beaches, not a soul around.  It was perfect.

How silly am I that I need constant (daily!) reminding to be present with my children.  How sad I will be when they're all grown up and flown the coop.   The lists and chores and work stuff will still be there, but they won't.

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The days are long...

...but the years are short.  

I'm indulging in some reminiscing about my baby, who starts kinder this week. He was a pretty darn cute baby don't you think?  I guess, this milestone is a significant one because it means both my children are now at school.  

I. have. school. aged. children. 

We're taking one giant step away from early childhood towards the primary school years. 

Heck that went fast.  Really fast.  And yes, it is great. It means I get time to myself during the day.  It means I can think about expanding my business, take a yoga class, do more gardening, cook more food and watch them grow.  Some more.

I am looking forward to this next stage.  I really am.  But it is sad to say good bye to those full-time stay-at-home motherhood days.  They were hard sometimes but I loved them.  I really did.

I'll just shed a wee tear, or two, then take a deep breath, hold that still chubby hand tightly and we'll take that giant step together.

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Eight!

To you we sing!

And happiness we bring!

To celebrate your birth!

An angel here on earth!

Can't believe she's eight!

photo by Hugo

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The kid's alright

Sometimes you worry about your kids meeting "developmental benchmarks." Hugo's always been a late bloomer, late to walk, late to talk, and until now, never shown much interest in drawing.

According to most development charts, children at age 4 should have been drawing stick figures since 3 and by 4, starting to form letters and numbers. Yikes! Here's Hugo recent drawing of a beach. Beautiful yes, but no stick figures or letters here. Should I be worried?

Lucky Hugo attends a school system where this age is about exploring other things about the world instead of knuckling down and learning to write. I'm glad I don't have to force him to do something he's not ready to do. But I do wonder.

And then I look at this Lego masterpiece and know I have nothing to worry about. Hugo can knock one of these up in a few minutes. Without help or directions, each side perfectly matched. All details correct. I am impressed.

Faith restored. We don't have to worry. The kid's alright.

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Milestones

It always amazes me how children can change so dramatically within a week. Last week's struggles are overcome without much ado and then it's on to conquer the next.

All year we've been trying to get Hugo to go to preschool. But he didn't want to go. He didn't like it. Didn't want to play with the other children. It was a struggle. And for me, a battle not worth fighting. We put it off until he was ready. Softly softly. An hour or two here, then maybe a whole morning. But not without me staying. He wasn't ready for me to leave him there.

Then this week something changed. Hugo asked to spend the entire day at preschool. To play with his friends. Without me. And he did. "Bye Mum" he said as he ran off to play. Such a surprise. Such a turn around. I left, exciting by this development, but also a little, well um sad.

After school to celebrate we went out for a treat. His first whole day at school. He's growing up. But we won't think about that too much. Today, we'll just savour the delicious ice cream.

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4 comments growing up, hugo, yikes

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Over in the meadow

I do like the word meadow, but it's the moniker of paddock that is the more typical Aussie vernacular. Today I took the peeps and the pup for an adventure in our neighbours' paddocks. It's so beautiful here, we're so very lucky to have this environment so close by.

We bring nothing with us except a camera. I love to sit and listen to the stories they make up. New names are adopted, a dried dam bed becomes a volcano, sticks become swords, a whole new world is created. They head off, making their way further and further away. Exploring rocks, sliding under fences, climbing fallen trees, heading over the hills and far away.

Part of me wants to hover closer by, to say don't go there, don't climb that tree, stay close. But I let them go and sit and watch. It's good for them to push boundaries, both mine and theirs. It's why we moved here, so they can get outside and explore. Over in the meadow.

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11 comments elsa, growing up, hugo, playtime

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Four!

Can you believe it? Can it really be one year since this photo? My little hero, four. Right now, at exactly four, he loves all things Lego. Loves bananas and chocolate cake. Loves his sister and Mabel. Knows everything about cars and wears some very cool pants. And he is so much fun to just hang out with. I love and treasure our days at home together.

We had a lovely party, and invited lots of friends around to celebrate. Balloons, bonfires and monster cupcakes. And for his birthday, a gift inspired (well okay copied) by Amanda, an Adventure Bag filled with cool boy stuff like walkie talkies, a compass, water bottle and a bug catcher. Hugo's all ready to set off on the adventure of being four.

Happy Birthday to our darling Hugo! We love you so very, very much. Hooray!

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He used to be small...

...but now he's tall...

and four next week. Crikey!

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Little dreams

Goals.  Elsa's been writing a list of hers.  Here they are in her own sweet spelling. Too cute to correct. There's a small box alongside each item to tick off as she achieves each one. 

macking

reeding 

sensabel 

blowing up blouns 

riting 

swiming 

back strok

An admirable list and one that I would happily take on myself.  I'd like to do more making, reading and writing, could certainly do some swimming for exercise.  Must blow up more balloons and be more sensible about money I suppose.   

I am so loving to watch this age. It so wonderful to see what she'll do next, that it almost makes up for her growing up so fast.   

Did you notice the moon rock on her desk?  Amazing huh!

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Now we are six...

...it was bound to happen sooner or later, but I would have rathered the later than the sooner. I had mixed feelings about this little tooth falling out. Delighted by her excitement at losing a tooth, but as she took one big step away from being a small child and a giant leap towards being a big kid, I felt more than a pang of nostalgia for my long gone little one.

But it did provide the opportunity to start a new family tradition, which made me happy. I sewed a little pillow, inspired by Soule Mama, with a tiny pocket for the tooth. I've also been enjoying a book by Susan Perrow, who tells a story of the tooth fairy leaving small gifts like feathers and pebbles for her children. Elsa was filled with wonder and delight at receiving a small diamante jewel from the tooth fairy. There's magic in that, from which I can also take comfort for this inevitable rite of passage.

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Tuesday 6pm

Second day back at school
Paint spots on face
Texta marks on hands
Big bowl of pasta
Big day of big fun
Asleep on the couch
Sweet dreams my sweet girl

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3 comments cute, elsa, growing up, playtime

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