Finally!!

Finally the promised after photos (refering to post about post natal depression)... it has been so long I thought I really should put the before photo in again:)

Before:

After:

I would really like this to be the during photo - hoping to get some more decent veggies growing, though I cannot claim to be much of a gardener... oh well, can just try my best... and just to prove that some things grow in our garden (besides weeds) ...

Bok Choy (which looks like I should pick before the bugs eat any more)

Tom Thumbs

beans

And my favourite - figs. Lucious, yummy Biblical figs! I almost cursed our fig tree after the insects got to it but have been amazed at how the figs have coped and found another one this morning - soft and delicious...

Nice when you actually have enough from the garden to put on a plate:)

we're a funny lot!

We have enjoyed some company recently with rellies -

spiderman Caleb:

... and a neighbour

Joshua decided to dress up our very polite and obliging neighbour:)

We have really enjoyed lots of visits from our neighbour. She has even taught Joshua some maths (quick little tricks to multiplying by 19) and recently brought over her newly learned skills and taught Joshua some first aid. Having just done the Red Cross first Aid course she had Josh practising with bandages and pretending that some item had pierced the skin and was protruding from the arm (now, why, oh why is this Joshua's favourite part?)

Yesterday she joined our family and Grandma for a swim at the local pool. She has joined us for games of Uno, four-in-a-row and even bedtime Bible stories with the children. Friendships like this really enrich our lives and we thank the Lord for Aparna.

What a blessing to have others join us in homeschooling, too!

The water cyle - fun style!

For any out there who are tackling the Water Cycle in Science this is a fun way to learn

A rather humourous, catchy song. Unfortunately I couldn't find the lyrics on internet so we just paused it in small steps and wrote it out... can type it up if any are wanting it...

Youtube has been a great help with various lessons (I always view ahead of time as there can be some rubbish out there too...) there are lessons on parts of speech, explanations of the digestive system, fun recipes... you name it. Nice to have a little variety in our day - and lesson comes from someone other than Mum - sometimes others explain things in a different/more helpful way...

Enjoy

ps - not sure why there are little comments that come up on screen while viewing it... seems odd...

Sago

Here is a simple, dairy free, and fun, filling, gooey dessert.

I simply used the recipe from the back of the packet (minus sugar - thought golden syrup was enough - I also roughly multiplied quantities):



Lemon Sago pudding

• 1 packet of sago


• juice of 2/3 lemons


• lemon rind, grated
  
• golden syrup to taste


• 7-8 cups of water

Place sago and water into saucepan. Cook over medium heat and boil until translucent, stirring occasionally. Somtimes when looks almost transparent I turn off heat and just cover saucepan with lid

Remove from stove and add lemon juice, rind & golden syrup

Pour into glass dish

Refrigerate

Ta Dah!


and best of all it seems to go down well (in our house) fills the tum and I think the packet of sago was a bit under $2.00! Recipe made a wopping bowl and still had enough to fill a smaller bowl too...

** would make a fun party food for a science theme - could be coloured blue or green and served in something that looks a little like a test tube ;) Think it would be a hit with those that like wacky!

More bits and bobs

Here are some more recent bits and pieces:

1. David and I would highly recommend this African restaurant for any who are in the vicinity...

I must admit the thought of going to an African restaurant somehow made me feel the evening would be noisy, the food a little unusual to my taste buds... I was pleasantly surprised at how the food tasted (very yummy - the cooking actually had an Italian influence as Eritrea's history tells of an Italian invasion...) and of the atmosphere of the place. Admittedly we were sitting outside the restaurant which probably made it a little quieter (though it was no noisier than any other restaurant) and there were a number of groups coming after us...

Interesting how the restaurant began, too but I'll let you read all that if you wish at the link above

2. This is what I did to decorate the gifts I made below.... kind of got carried away with the alphabet stamps, didn't I?

3. And just a little snapshot from our weekend. For some reason, Owen just loves finding beanies around the house and popping them on. It doesn't seem to matter that we had a very hot, muggy weekend... just likes his beanie!

Poor Brutus died and was buried. For any who don't recall - we kind of ended up with a pet blue tongue after it was attacked a little by the dog we are looking after. Josh made it his dear pet, but alas the wound must have become infected or it was all just too much for poor Brutus...

I smiled this morning when I went to water the garden to see this little tombstone(sorry it is a bit fuzzy)... my guess is the little mark you see on Brutus in the picture is the wound that ultimately lead to his death. Poor fellow!

on a positive note:

We also made some yummy frozen banana ice cream (only ingredient being bananas and a tiny bit of lemon juice) Just froze some sliced up bananas (to which we added a tiny bit of lemon juice) then put them through our juicer. We popped it back in the freezer and - wa-lah! banana ice-cream. The kids loved it. Would post a picture except that the ice-cream vanished before I remembered to take a photo. Guess we'll just have to make some more ;)

Thankyou Lord for precious ones around me!

Crafty things for those so inclined

A couple of crafty projects...

Little toiletry bags for neighbour twins... I used an alphabet stamp set and permanant ink to make names. Bags were filled with mini shampoo/conditioner (found little travel packs of these), hair ties, lip gloss and choc. bar

This next one is a project I did a while back - thought I'd share. I found a lovely piece of crochet work (possibly a table runner or small tablecloth) at a second hand shop. I soaked it (Napisan) to whiten it, lay to dry then placed it over contrasting colour (dusty pink) and stitched around square as for normal cushion. I simply made the back of two half sized pieces and sewed ribbons onto each half (three sets of ribbons) and tied three bows at the back. Hmm... I'm not very good at explaining these things so please ask for clarification if needed...

Makes an inexpensive girly pillow (and nice for little fingers to pull/poke at:)

...oh, and I haven't forgotten to put the "after" photo from the fences we repaired and gardens we added. We did get a nasty lot of hot weather (wilted plants) and are minding a dog (who has dug a few holes in my garden...) but will try and get a photo anyway... certainly an improvement on the original...

The portrait of a boy

And who is this handsome fellow?? Well Josh himself, of course! He enjoyed being traced around ("that tickles, Mum!") but admittedly balked at the idea of drawing the detailed pattern of his shorts... I thought he did a smashing job once he got past the hurdle of thinking he couldn't !

Labels

Labels... I guess we all get labelled in life. I guess I label too, usually just plain unintentionally -... or even just remember some distinguishing mark that sticks in my mind...

the man with tattoos all over his body

the boy who walks kind of funny
the cute little girl with a lisp....

Well when you have a special needs child labelling just kind of happens... you just kind of ignore it or try to overlook it or sometimes let it get to you... and then feel teary all over again... or you sometimes even appreciate some of it's implications ... kind of hard for me to explain what I mean here... just that sometimes II (Intellectually Impaired) kids have a way of just taking life at a slower pace - just appreciating simple things more...

Anyway Owen has just been labelled as HI (for those not familiar with the modern labelling process that is Hearing Impaired). He's been wearing hearing aides for a while but now it is on paper... I was told by a school staff member, in a way that made it sound exciting. I guess it means that sometime in future there is more help available to him as a result... You know it is funny, but despite the help that can be had - labels just kind of make me sad... make me realise more concretely that one other part of his body isn't functioning the way I wish it would - the way that would make it easier for him... sometimes I wish I could take the hearing impairment on myself if only it would cut out one more struggle/barrier/difficulty...

Well there you have it - labels - II (Intellectually Impaired) and now HI (Hearing Impaired), I guess he is a tiny bit VI (visually impaired) ... and maybe there is something about that pacemaker (Cardiologically Impaired?) ... "now, now", you say...

Anyway, to us he is just Owen. Owen, Owie or just O.

Nature Journalling

We've started doing some nature journalling on alternate Friday mornings. On the other Friday we go for a big walk/get the heart pumping and enjoy the scenery down by the lake.

Today it was nature journalling with friends. I must say with boys, the water and little fish that can be caught with a net are the big attraction. Nature journalling itself kind of fell by the wayside a little... but what focus they had on the little critters, the water and all the fascination beneath... we observed hundreds of tiny little fish, darting to and fro, swamp hens ducking their heads below the surface and even a turtle surfacing it's skinny head.

Here's a book I have found helpful:

Trying to keep a focus on the insects/fish/plants rather than the overwhelmingness (if indeed that is a word) of the many adventures to be had, is always our challenge... but as I think about it I am pleased, not that we didn't get so much achieved as we had planned... but just that there is still a fascination for all God's creation - a "whoa... did you see that?" "why is the duck doing that?" and "look at all the sea weed... it's stringy and goey..." etc. etc...

... now, if only we could get all that onto paper!

Valentines

Valentines is a significant day for us for a few reasons. David and I had our engagement party on Valentines Day 11 years ago - would you believe?? Now there's for feeling like an oldie! At the close of our engagement party, held in Mum living room, David's brother Peter announced that he and Jennifer were to be married. Double special finish to our special day.

And of course, though I am sure the origin of Valentines Day is not so significant to us, the cause - to remember our love to eachother, is...

Here's a few things we did.

Joshua baked some chocolate chip cookies which we made into paddle-pop cookies. Yes, he followed the recipe and prepared the dough from start to finish! We soaked the paddle-pop sticks in water (so they wouldn't burn in the oven)

and just stuck them in our regular choc-chip dough.

Then baked them

Wrapped them

... and of course a few were munched

before we celebrated the evening together with Peter and Jennifer, Matthias and Mum. After putting the little ones to bed we watched a nice romantic film together.

Happy Valentines Day Mum! XOX