:(

i am sick with the flu that has gone through all of us, but after having a bit of down time yesterday as a mum you just have to keep going. the boys had swimming lessons this afternoon and when i got home i found a warm 3 course dinner on my door step.... pumpkin soup, chicken casserole and rice pudding. dear friends knew i was poorly and i was touched by this, i don't think anyone has ever done something like that for me. it was appreciated.

the lurgy

i am sick
i cant remember the last time i have been bed ridden. i am not enjoying it at all.
Hugo is much better but the quiet days have been good for him and he had busied himself with drawing, making things and yesterday i taught him to finger knit so he is on a misson to make the longest string ever !!!!
arch is stighly better today so this afternoon when i couldn't hold my head up any more i remembered that at Christmas time last year the Lego advent calender that i ordered arrived too late for us to use and i had kept it for a rainy day... well that day was today and it gave me a couple of hours sleep.

the other post

the photo above shows what Hugo and Archie and I spent yesterday afternoon doing. Enjoying time together and playing games that are age appropriate.
today.... well that's a different story
Hugo was invited to a friends birthday party at this place. it was a laser tag party. (due to my naivety i was unsure what this meant on the invitation.) when we got to the venue all the children were taken into a room and given laser guns. they then spent the next 2 hours running around playing "laser gun games" as a solo or team effort. the children had to shoot each others laser gun to score points. i have a real problem with 10 little 6 year olds running around a darkened room shooting each other. apparently many of the boys had been to a party like this before.

we have a no gun rule in our house, and i think they are an unnecessary toy for children to use. there are enough opportunities for imaginative play with their own hands and sticks in the garden to play out goody/baddy cops and robbers type games. but to set your kids up with their own laser guns as a fun way to fill in time, how can this be appropriate for any child?

i was so out of my comfort zone, but then watching my son look utterly confused when he was handed a laser gun and explained how to use it was a hard moment for me. he looked at me for approval and as i nodded i thought.... have i sheltered him too much? am i wrapping him in cotton wool? if i teach him the right values what does it matter as he will understand that this is just a game and not real life? but as i sat and waited for the end of the party i decided that i am doing wha'ts best for us as a family. He is 6. 6 is little, 6 is dirt, mud, role and imaginative play, magic, joy and wonder, its exploring and discovering new experiences and the wonder of the world around them. its not about shooting down friends to win points in a game. we will leave this experience for a later stage in our journey, at the moment i am happy with my children being 6 and 3... children with wide open eyes full of wonder for the rich experiences in the world around them.

house bound

its not often that we managed to be home all day with out having to go somewhere. But yesterday was one of those days. Hugo was home sick for the second day with tonsillitis so there was no where we needed to be. the boys were in their pyjamas all day. as you saw in my last post i finished my destroyed cowl. i then started to surf the Internet looking for a new project but i kept coming back to my first knitting project i started last year when we formed our knitting group. maybe it was my new found confidence in myself that i had just completed something so of course i can finish off my wrap..... any way i did. i sat down with you tube and sorted out what i didn't understand and as it aways is i had it finished in next to no time.
today i am watching this little button sick and miserable and i am on the hunt for a new project.

being housebound again i whipped up a bag for one of Hugo's friends. It was his party this morning (that's another post...)and we gave him as well as other things, some marbles. instead of gifting them in their shop bag i made this draw string bag for the marbles. quick, simple and the desired effect

the wrap cardigan that eluded me for sooo long and now its finished i don't know why.

so as much as i hate having sick kids and feel for them as they fight through their winter illness i am reveling in it as i am getting things done

destroyed cowl

after our weekend away when i purchased yarn from the mill i started this cowl.
it seems to have taken me a long time, only due to the fact that i have been struggling to find time... between work, sick kids, and day to day life.
Hugo is home sick today with tonsillitis and i sat down in front of the fire with him curled up in our bean bag and finished it. Hooray.
i am really happy with it and am looking forward to wearing it.

33

This afternoon at Kinder Archie's class were making Veggie Soup. Each child had to bring in a vegetable.
the vegetables were washed by the children and then with the help of a parent (me) the children peeled and cut them up.
we put them in the pot and while the children were at play the soil bubbled away cooking on the stove. at the end of the session the children sat down and shared the soup.
it was great spending time with Arch and watching him play and interact.

32

there is a saying ...... "one man's trash is another man's treasure"
i am not one to normally find treasure in others cast offs, but when we were away recently, with our friends, they were going to leave this table out in the weather to rot. i decided that we would give it a home and after a very surprised/shocked look from john we took it home. originally i thought we would use it out on the back deck, but over the weekend decided that the boys could have it in their play room. its the size of an average kitchen table, so there is plenty of room to draw, paint, and explore many books, and craft activities. its been a huge success.

31

Rhubarb Crumble Slice

another recipe from this issue of Donna Hay's magazine.

super easy and yummy

30

drawing and painting together.

Jam coconut slice

with the wet cold weather we have been drawing, sewing, playing games and baking.
after reading through my new Donna Hay magazine i decided on Raspberry Jam coconut slice. it was super easy and yummy.

29

reading this book :: 1001 children's books you must read before you grow up

remembering books i read as a child and smiling as i remember

finding books that we read nearly every day

and finding new ones that i would like to read the boys

a first

a first for us today.....
a trip to the movies to see Shrek 4.
I'm not sure if they loved the experience.....
3d was a first for me as well and it was good. i didn't love this movie and i don't think Hugo thought that much of it either....
(the original shrek is still the best ..... )
i think my instincts have been right... movies at this stage of my boys lives and interest can wait ....
the best fun they had today judging by the laughter and excitement was outside in the sandpit.

star of the week

each week, the group that Hugo is in at Auskick, has a trophy that goes to the player of the week.
today is was Hugo's turn.
he was quietly proud.
well done little man.

28

freshly squeezed orange juice

27

on the hunt for bunnies.

yesterday on the chair lift we saw lots of different things from the chair lift :: people walking and skiing, tracks in the new snow, foot prints, Kat tracks as well as an animal foot prints. After much discussion and many chair lift rides the boys thought that the foot prints would be from a bunny.
this morning when were out playing in the snow they remembered what they had seen and so we were off...................bunny hunting.
no actual bunnies, but tracks...... and to the delight of the boys a pile of bunny poo and a trail of wee in the snow !!!!!!!!................. they thought this was the funniest thing ever.
mission accomplished !!!!!!

opening weeeknd 2010

The Queens Birthday long weekend is the start of the Australian ski season. its almost as big as Christmas in our house.
normally there is no snow but we have been blessed this year and Mount Hotham had 3 lifts turning for the start of the season.
the boys were like ducks to water. Hugo had/has been really ill with gastro and i still couldn't keep him off his skis on Saturday morning, till his body had other ideas. !!! Archie just wants to be like Hugo and doesn't need any help apparently !!!!
but today he was almost back to normal and the 4 of us spent the day together skiing in perfect blue sky weather.