together we ski

the ski season has started.
the boys had a great weekend with lots of friends and managed to have a ski on the small amount of snow that there was

great friends

one of my closest friends and her family spent the weekend with us at the snow. our boys had so much fun together in the snow and hanging out and so did we.
it was lots of fun

old books

a friend of mine went op shop shopping and found this old reader dated around the 1920/30's her daughter that is in prep with Hugo loved it. all the words are phonetically based and She was able to independently read. it was a light bulb moment for her and she all of a sudden "got" reading. so now i am on the hunt for some old classic readers. maybe a little bit of old will help the newness of our reading here at home.

making do

arch had had enough of watching Hugo at Auskick, so he took himself over to all the balls lined them up and then was jumping his toy motor bike over them. "look mummy its a monster truck."

swimming

for the next 9 days Hugo is doing an intensive swimming program with his school. hes doing a great job and loves the water.

300

wow i have just blogged 300 posts.
i am so glad i started this blog, in 300 posts a lot has happened.
::i spend time each week being able to reflect on our life and what we do.
::i have become more creative
::i have meet new people
::gained many many ideas and inspiration from others
::felt normal after reading many blogs with women that are at the same stage in their lives that i am :: mum:: kids and all that goes with it
so thank you for reading
and i look forward to blogging another 300 and more

slowly

we had run out of milk this morning, so instead of zooming down to get some in the car, we all went for a walk/ride down to the local supermarket. it was great :: Hugo rode his bike, Archie concentrated on steering his !! it took as ages but the fact that we all slowed down a bit and enjoyed the moment we were in was worth it. we explored a new pipe that workmen had dug in the road during the week. the hole was deep and we could see one end of the pipe but where was the other end ? all of a sudden a loud "there it is" as we found it on the other side of the road !!!! we stood and talked to some neighbours that i usually just wave at as i pass by and the kids got to have a play together and we supported our local community by stopping at the coffee shop and having a "chino"

saturday

a day of errands and jobs, that resulted in some treats for the boys.

after Auskick, we went to the shops, a new ski helmet for Archie, Motorbike gloves for Hugo, bathers for Hugo as he starts a swimming program at school next week, car cleaner for my car and a box of marbles.

after googling "marbles" i discovered how to play and Hugo and i spent a few hours happily engaged in the school yard game of marbles.

lamb on the Weber for dinner followed by my favourite camping dessert: bananas with choc chips and marshmallows rapt in foil cooked in the fire ( this case the Weber) Yum.

a shower before bed, always ends with cars somehow in there as well.

finally

its funny how your mind works, Monday and Tuesday i obviously was not in the right head space to unravel yarn, as i only managed to untangle small bits and it was incredibly frustrating.
last night i sat and methodically unwound the whole lot, only taking a few hours to unravel the tangled mess. it was therapeutic and relaxing as well as incredibly satisfying that it all became a beautiful ball of yarn ready to knit with. i sat and thought many thoughts with a clear relaxed mind; i guess i was in a good place last night. lets hope i stay there.

Bread

enjoying the bread we cooked last night for breakfast.

the simple life

a simple step in slowing down.

making our own bread.

years ago when they were all the rage, i got a bread machine adamant that i would use it all the time and that it wasn't going to be just a passing phase, but alas it was buried deep in the back of a cupboard for years until the other day Hugo was asking about where things come from and he asked about bread. " can we make some?"

that was all i needed for a prompt in the right direction, so i dragged out the machine and we made our first loaf tonight.

there is something quite satisfying about baking your own bread, and the fact that my boys can mix it, cook it and then eat it, is a great way to start simplifying our life a little and becoming more sustainable.

my creative space

not me today but Hugo and Archie.
Hugo created his house at school and archie did these paintings at play group this morning.
my creative energy hopefully might happen tonight after 7 when my boys are in bed !!!

double trouble

when i got home tonight i found these two asleep like this. Archie had climbed out of his cot and gone to sleep with Hugo. they slept the whole night like this.

wasting time or therapeutic or just plain frustrating ??

this morning i sat down to roll a skein of yarn into a ball, so i could start on my next knitting project :: a pair of socks.
due to the fact that in this house i only ever manage to sit down for around 2 minutes before something happens between the boys that i have to go and mediate, or i am asked to find something, do something.... i guess that's my mum hat on.
anyway i sat down this morning and started rolling the ball, only to have to go and rescue a precious Lego building. i thought i had carefully put the skein down, but alas when i started again it was in the HUGEST MESS you have ever seen.....
i thought that this would have taken me a little while this morning and then i had planned to start knitting this afternoon in front of the fire on this cold wet Melbourne day.but no...... a girlfriend and her kids came over and she spent all afternoon in a therapeutic state of bliss by the fire unravelling the yarn for me. john looks at it and shakes his head as it frustrates him, he doesn't get the whole process, journey, satisfaction thing, although at 10pm last night i was starting to agree with him.....

beanie number 2

for you my hugo
a hat of your own
made with all my love
.....for a little boy that doesn't really like wearing hats, i think he thinks that it draws attention to him and he doesn't blend as well ( a bit like his mum really !!) he looked excited during the day yesterday when i was nearing finishing and as he tumbled into bed last night he asked that when i finished if i could put it next to him when he was sleeping. he woke up happy as he found it next to him this morning.

thank you to Michelle from twoandsix for posting her beehive beanie pattern on her blog.

first outing

i finished Hugo's beanie last night, just in the nick of time. when we woke this morning it was snowing. both boys were straight outside, beanies on to enjoy the snow falling on their faces.

its that time again...

another ski season starts this weekend. we came to Mt Baw Baw for the night. today was cold but no snow, they are predicting it to fall tomorrow. fingers crossed. we had fun walking exploring and enjoying the tranquility.