A Few Moments in the Day With Jimmy

 Just a few little moments with my cutie through the day. 

He took time out from his busy snipping - the evidence of this new interest is all over the floor every day - to watch this super cool volcano toy, a gift from Noreen at Straddie.

 We went grocery shopping and got a big fright when a scary little monster offered us a tomato!

Later, while Kees was at tennis, we went for a stroll along the beautiful shore. Yep, Jimmy still likes that stroller! He also wants me to dress him, dry him, wipe his bum...where's my Mr Independent gone? Must be a stage.

Ahh, here's Mr Independent, back again. Jim made us a great little salad. I reckon he's not bad for a four year old! Jimmy just loves to cook and make culinary creations. Won't be long till I'm lazing in the hammock while he cooks dinner. As long as everyone's happy with sausages every night?

Love you Mr Cute Stuff. xx Mum Mum.

NZ News - Our Weekend Visit

Oh boy, it's about time I documented a few items of news from New Zealand! With all this talk of Dave's brilliance, I realised it was high time I caught up with my planned posts about our visit to NZ. My generous Mum bought me a ticket so she and I could go together to visit for the weekend. Thanks heaps, Mum.

There were cuddles with David and Esme!

And lots of reading Winnie the Pooh....

 Books in bed = a good chance for another cuddle. Sure, I'll read you another one...and another one...

 

Delicious cosy cafe food...

And the pleasure of shopping amongst gorgeous breakables, without two little boys.

A spot of baking...

And a bit more cuddling before it was time to go home.

Back home to my darlings, who I missed terribly! I had had serious misgivings about leaving them for the weekend, especially little Jimmy. Leaving them with only Matt....was that a recipe for disaster? Would they miss me and cry inconsolably all night? Here's what the authors of Sh*tty Mum have to say about it:

They are disloyal to a fault.
Within five minutes of your departure, Dad will give them ice cream and they'll be like, "Mum who?" 

Dad is their favourite.
Unless their father is the Great Santini, a week alone with Dad is spring break for kids. It's a vacation from brushing teeth and taking baths. It's M&Ms for breakfast, frosting for lunch and sugar cubes for dinner. And a 10pm bedtime.

You aren't even number two.
Not only does Dad occupy first place in their hearts, but second place goes to anyone who lets them watch T.V. As you sob in your hotel room, unable to enjoy quiet and solitude, your kid is telling the babysitter that she's prettier than Mummy.

Remember: The only thing they'll say when you get home is, "What did you get me?" 

(Lord, how I am enjoying this book! It is TOO funny.)

So, I'm not sure exactly what they got up to in three days, but the kids were certainly filthy and knackered. I think they had fun though....

And I really, really enjoyed my sleep!
 

Whoopy Putty in Hair

Why? Why?

Two Moments

Sigh.

Smile.

Postscript to "Sleep"

I felt my last post about my horrific nights co-sleeping probably needed a little bit of an amendment. I actually love sleeping with my children. Those sweet little warm cuddly bodies are the reason why I keep going. It won't be long till they're lanky, bony, smelly teenagers, so I'm enjoying them now, as much as I can, while they are still deliciously squeezable! (And PS, I can't imagine anything more torturous than actually getting up out of bed every time they woke up!)

Besides, if I wasn't sleeping with Kees, I wouldn't have heard him clearly declare in his slumber, that, "Shit is a naughty word".

And if I wasn't sleeping with Jimmy, I wouldn't get to hear him talking in his sleep. The other night he murmured, "I'm lyin on a hammer". He was lying on his back with his arm stuck under him. xx

(Wompoo Pigeon and chicks - what a lovely mother.)

Morning Cups of Tea. And About Sleep...

I would love a morning sunny kitchen, but ours is a bit gloomy first thing. (Or is that just me?) So to cheer myself up a bit after a rough night in with a wakeful child, I try to start the day off right by enjoying a sweet cup of tea in the front garden.

Birds calling, fresh fig leaf and flower frangrances, bright petals, dappled sunshine and that good, good tea. The kids are happy to scamper about out here, because normally I have to keep the front door shut to imprison our adventurous little runaway.

Aah, sleep. Before I had babies, I had absolutely no idea that it could take them so long to sleep all night. I guess I thought it was a few weeks? A couple of months? But until about a week ago, I hadn't had a full (ish) night's sleep for more than FIVE YEARS. Yes, for all that time I've been a 24hr milk bar and waking up sucked dry like a wizened husk. I know there are many of you who feel my pain, sisters!!! And brothers!

Sadly, I'm not one of those amazing, enviable souls who can just soldier on through the day after a broken night's sleep. I get tired. So tired. I wasn't even a party animal when I was young - couldn't hack the late nights! Anyway, at their worst, both my kids were waking up 8-10 times a night. I rub my eyes and shake my head just thinking about it. I would start the night with responses like, "There, there, it's all right love, go to sleep," but by around 4.00am there would be a lot of swearing, which really wasn't doing anyone any good and certainly wasn't a lovely image of attachment parenting.


I've probably made mistakes; I'm certainly no sleep whisperer, that's for sure. But I just can't bear to leave the little beggars to cry; it just doesn't feel right for me. We always intended to co-sleep and I don't regret it, although it has certainly put me off having any more children! I don't think I could go through that again! Although Mother Nature, in her kindness, does seem to have a way of making you forget after a while. Even the agony of childbirth can take on a rosy glow in retrospect...actually, no it doesn't.


I am very much enjoying the hilarious "The Idle Parent" by the eminently sensible and funny Tom Hodgkinson. I would love to be able to share with you his whole chapter on sleep, because he encapsulates my feelings perfectly. Tom speaks my truth when he says, "Sleep-deprived people lack reason. They are dark shadows of gloom. They become tetchy and irritable. Everyone seems an idiot, and the world is hostile. One friend says he gets into a sort of murderous rage, and he doesn't realize that his fury is directly caused by his lack of sleep until he finally gets some rest. Then he wakes up and feels like a different person." Here is one of his articles about sleep and napping.

So for me, a very preciously guarded time of the day is: NAP TIME. Hooray for naps! Nature's consolation for the rough night before. Tom again:

“I count it as an absolute certainty that in paradise, everyone naps. A nap is a perfect pleasure and it's useful, too. It splits the day into two halves, making each half more manageable and enjoyable. How much easier it is to work in the morning if we know we have a nap to look forward to after lunch; and how much more pleasant the late afternoon and evening become after a little sleep. If you know there is a nap to come later in the day, then you can banish forever that terrible sense of doom one feels at 9 A.M. with eight hours of straight toil ahead. "

I hold naps fully responsible for my good health and wellbeing, and moderate level of sanity. And with Jimmy now sleeping with Daddy until the birds sing...

I'm feeling a little bit brighter. Yawn.

Our Little Monkey or Why I Have So Many Grey Hairs

Jimmy is seriously into climbing and exploring (running away) at the moment. It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't get stuck half the time, because then I have to try to get him down, which is usually awkward, embarrassing, frustrating and painful. It must be funny for the neighbours though, watching me cajole and scrape my shins. The other day, when I eventually found him, he was at one of our neighbours' houses, inside, trying on her lipstick!! They weren't even home (thank goodness) - he'd climbed in through their catflap. Exactly what Kees used to do at that age. What's with that?

So, "STAY in OUR yard!!" has been my catchcry.

Then the next day, our Jim leapt over the back fence into a yard with two dogs, who started chasing and jumping up on him. The dogs were playing but Jimmy was terrified - I had to jump over to get him and then, what do you know? Of course, I couldn't get back over. Faaar out. And the guy that lives there is really grumpy. So there I was scrabbling and swearing like a fool, wishing I wasn't such a weakling and had done a few more push-ups, until I finally got a leg up. Then I had to wobble along clambering over three fences to get back in. Grrrr. There were no ice creams that day.

This post documents some of Jimmy's latest achievements, scaling the heights of our home.

Jimmy's motivation here is chocolate. It doesn't matter where I hide it; once he has located the stuff, nothing can dampen Jim's enthusiasm for the task of getting his greasy mitts on it. Here he is, loading up his shirt with a stockpile of Easter eggs I'd hidden in March and forgotten about. But this little boy never forgets where chocolate is concerned.

Then he climbed way beyond his ability up this tree. He called out to me for help: "Mum! I'm stuck!" When I commanded him to come down, the little beggar just kept climbing higher.
But this one really took the cake. I think I'm quite liberal when it comes to letting my children explore their own physical abilities, but I actually got a surprise when I saw this. I had been in the kitchen, getting our lunch boxes ready, and I could hear Mister Two prattling on about something in my bedroom; as long as he wasn't poking his finger into my lipstick or breaking my necklaces, I wasn't too worried. I could make out a few odd phrases:
"Mummy, I'm in your undies."
"Yes, dear."
"I need a ladder, Mum."
"All right, love."
"Mummy, I can touch this!"
"Mm hmm."
I never like to leave Jimmy too long without checking what he's up to (wrecking), so I went up and looked in the door and it took me a second to find him. I could hear something but it wasn't till I looked up, and up...that I found him!

Oh, Jimmy. We were lucky to get you. You lovable little devil. xx

Nits

Ahh, nits. Does the fun never end? But Jimmy looked so cute having his hair treated, I had to post his photos. He looks like one of those little trolls. I once had a pencil with a troll head on the end, and when you quickly rolled it between your hands, the hair all stood out. I loved that pencil. Anyway, thanks, Rachel, for your detection and thorough treatment! xx

Feeling Poorly

We've been feeling sick. Two bouts of gastro in two weeks - yuk. I never realised how many disgusting things you get when you have kids: school sores, headlice, ringworm, weird warty things, diarrhoea, vomiting, infected bits...it's gross!

We've been spending many days like this. Immobilised. Thank goodness we all got sick at the same time, because that way we could all just lie or sit and do nothing. (Apart from cleaning up the kids' poo. Which, I might add, is quite a task if you already felt like vomiting.) It's a bad situation when you're sick and your kids are full of beans. Bad, bad.

So when Jimmy started picking up, it was time to call in the troops: Grandpa!
Grandpa was worth his weight in gold, playing with Jimmy all day, and in the afternoon, when Kees and I emerged, Grandpa kept everyone enthralled with some good old-fashioned fire play!

Thanks heaps, Dad. I really appreciated it! Maybe I'll be sick again next Friday....

Just Tell Them I'm Busy!

This is a very embarrassing story, but I feel it is worth telling, despite the humiliation. The other morning, I was in the bathroom, minding my own business, when to my dismay I heard the screech of brakes, heavy footsteps running up to the front porch, a loud rapping of knuckles on the door and the cry of "PARCEL!" Oh no!

The kids raced to be the first one to open the door, oblivious to my urgent instructions: "Wait! Don't open it! I'll be there in a minute!"

Kees opened the door wide and confidently piped up, "Don't worry, Mum's coming, she's just DOING A POO!"

Aagghh.

So you see, you don't need to feel too sorry for him about that cake incident.

Mr Cool

Wow, check out Mr Cool. Being cool is pretty important to this four year old. "Was that cool, Mum?" "Do I look cool, Jim?" are popular refrains around here. And how on earth do they work out that wearing their hats backwards is cool? What else is cool? Motorbike shirts, definitely, the bmx jump track, for sure. I am working on the very PC: "Everyone is cool in their own way, dear. You decide if you feel cool; you don't need to ask somebody else," etc etc.
Anyway, Mr Cool really lost his cool when Mummy and Daddy doled out a little "consequence". I can't even remember what the offence was - I think doing something naughty and then lying about it - but the punishment was an indignant, "No dessert for you, young man!" Well, okay, just a tiny dessert then. I wasn't proud of this sort of on-the-spot-food-deprivation punishment, but it just came out, so then I had to follow through. Matt served it up that night; you can see the pieces up there. Oh! It still makes my eyes water with guilty laughter to remember Kees' face! Bottom lip trembling, a little devastated squeaking sound, eyes beginning to water....it was tragic. But so funny. He didn't know we were spying on him. Matt was doubled up with silent laughter. It sounds so mean, doesn't it! But sometimes, us big kids (parents) just need to get a little of our own back. To have a good cacking laugh with Matt was a real release. Judge me if you want, but don't worry, I'll be back to guilt-riddled, anxiety-laden perfection-striving again tomorrow. xx

Community Gardening

We really enjoyed this afternoon at Tamara's, pottering in the garden with friends. I loved how each person became completely absorbed in his or her own tasks: weeding, watering, making soup or collecting things. It was just a lovely afternoon.

Ever since I became a mother, I have found our modern, mainstream way of parenting could leave me feeling like there must be a better way. I have often wondered if a tribal or extended family situation is the more natural way of being. It can be so difficult for one parent to be responsible for the children all day: no-one to pass a crying baby to, no-one to watch the new baby while you have a shower, catch up on sleep, or just eat your food or drink a cup of tea while it's still hot! Or what about those days when your kids just play up all day and you feel like you can't stand it anymore? I am extremely grateful for the company and help of lovely friends and family, but often you just need someone in the moment. It's always great to go out to see friends and let the kids play, but you can't always do that: sometimes, the fact is, you just need to cook dinner, do housework or get some jobs done at home.

When I watch my children play with a group of kids of mixed ages, I really love how it just works. The big ones look after the little ones, lead the games and sort out any scuffles. Everyone just seems to find their place. They never get bored and they rarely fight. It feels right for children to play like this. It feels like the natural way for humans to be, not little families all boxed up in individual houses with big fences all around. I recently watched a documentary about the main slum in Mumbai; even though the people there were very poor, they were rich in community. I just love the idea of that freedom for children, playing, exploring, running around - I've always wanted to say to my kids in the morning, "Righto, here's your lunch, off you go and be home by dark. Have fun!" (And not just to get rid of them!)

I'm really glad our kids seem to be forming a lovely neighbourhood gang around our block. Regular afternoons are now spent riding bikes around the cul-de-sac, climbing trees, throwing grass in the duck pond and running up and down the football field singing loudly, all while us parents have a nice chat. Of course they are little now and need our supervision, but it won't be too long till they're off on adventures on their own. How exciting!

Thanks Tamara, we enjoyed helping you in the garden. And here's the recipe for that delicious Wild Rice Salad, since you were complaining that I hadn't posted it yet. ;0) xxx

Ya Can't Catch Me....

I'm the Gingerbread Man!

Gosh, how I love a good thematically-related set of activities. If I can pull my finger out and get organised for next year's "homeschooling", I'd love to do a whole bunch of themed units. Although, with K's behaviour lately, I'm thinking it's not too late to enrol him in Prep.... Anyway, baking gingerbread, reading the story and playing the game (ie, chasing the "gingerbread man" around the garden) was the theme here. And a bit of romping around, of course!

The finished product. As you can see, baking is not my forte. But I did enjoy making this rude one to hide in a friend's Christmas package. ;0)

I'm the Gingerbread Man!