I am so blessed

After I was thinking aloud on here about domain names and trying to figure out what direction I want to head, it became clear to me that it was getting more complicated than it should be. So I'm simplifying and am going to focus on Free Spirit Life...it's already a part of me and it incorporates everything I love...being a free spirit - we may not be moving around at the moment, but I do feel a great sense of freedom by not being attached to a whole lot of material 'stuff'; the way I / my family thinks outside of the box, we do our own research and live our lives the way that best suits us, not 'the system'; the way we support natural learning in our children, and also in ourselves. To me, being a free spirit also encompasses all of the natural things we do - natural, homemade cleaners and body products, growing our own veges, cutting our own hair, riding our bikes more and using the car less (we are currently using 1/4 tank of petrol per week), using a push lawnmower and as few electrical appliances as possible, being aware of how our choices affect the earth.
And to me, it is also about peacefulness, joy and spirituality.

I do have a grand plan for FSL that has been building in me for 20 years. I would love to own / run a retreat center on a farm that would incorporate all of the above and more - yoga, natural healing, full moon drumming, homeschooling weeks, families welcome, holding classes and creating a community that encourages and empowers all to shine their natural light by being their true selves. Enormous vege garden, fruit trees, herbs, animal, buildings built in harmony with the earth .... one day!

.....

This day so far has been magnificent - I went for a 30 minute power walk this morning pushing Nicholas in the stroller. Came home, stretched, had some fruit and then we all went out for a bike ride for an hour. Around past the creek and past the beach. Oh my golly - the colour of the water was the most beautiful blue-green that is usually seen in the more tropical waters further north. So clear and clean you could easily see the little fish swimming. We stopped for a while near the end of the breakwall with the entrance to the creek on one side of us and the crashing waves and beach on the other side of us. Wonder-full! I did not want to be anywhere else in the world. We all spoke about how much we love it here and how lucky and blessed we feel to be here. We were in no hurry to go home so we kept riding around enjoying the perfect weather and the sights and each other.

It's just been one of those magical days where everything just flows beautifully. We went out to get a few things, (some new garden clippers and a strawberry plant - could not find seeds for that in the past few months), and everything has just been really joyful.

My soul feels so full and contented right now!

sunday pt 2

I don't know why I can't get a line space in between paragraphs in my previous post. This blogger has a mind of its own sometimes.

The rest of our Sunday....I mowed the back lawn in between playing with the kids, getting Nicholas down for a nap, getting the clothes off the line, etc. Had a shower and we went out to our Sunday night Spiritual Gathering group. Did some chanting and chatting and noshing on yummy vegetarian food. On the way home we stopped at the beach, played in the water's edge and danced on the sand under the beautiful full moon, admiring its shimmering trail over the ocean. Came home and gathered on the couch and finished watching 'Around the World in 80 days'. I fell asleep in about 2 seconds after all that. A very happy day.

simply natural..

These photos of our container gardens were taken about 10 days ago. In that time, the tomatoes have grown a lot more and are now growing small fruit. We also have other containers growing with different herbs and carrots. The lettuce we've grown has been delicious - so crisp too. The kids love helping out with our garden. The main reasons we're doing container gardening is so we can take these with us if / when we move; they're easy to move around depending on needs for rain and sunlight; the present garden is already pretty full with other trees and plants. Mostly 'pretty' plants. If we weren't renting, I'd love to pull out a whole lot of those and fill it with fruit and vege plants and plants that attract beneficial bugs.

My morning so far: read a 'Magic Tree House' book with the boys. We've been working our way through the series and are currently up to number 25; did 3 loads of laundry and hung them out on the line; prepared a new broccoli box and, with the kids we planted more lettuce seeds; rearranged our excess food supplies after a big shop yesterday; enjoyed cuddles with Cary and the kids; drank a very large green smoothie (water, baby spinach, 4 bananas, coconut oil, & pineapple); tended to some nasty ant bites on Nicholas' feet using just white vinegar on a cloth (these black/green ants are a problem, anyone know of a natural, humane way to get rid of them?); put away the dishes that were left to drain after last nights delicious dinner of a huge salad and home cooked refried beans. Sure, I did some other things like get Nicholas 4 pieces of jam toast (that boy can eat! He's also had some of Cary's bacon and eggs and a bowl of cereal!), and help AJ work through a major upset he was experiencing in his mind just by being a calm presence for him. AJ so rarely gets upset. Cary was a wonderful calm presence for him as well and was able to make him feel better with some humour.

Right now, I am watching Summer and Nicholas play on a maths program on the computer next to me while AJ is sitting on the bed behind me talking about making a banana smoothie. Outside, I can hear Cary using the push mower on the lawn.

Our life is fairly simple and natural and joyful. For years I've owned several domain names, with the intention of starting web sites for different things. I did build a couple of web sites but by the time I went to launch them, the host no longer accepted that software. I would like to work on a website project but find that I get so into it that I then feel I'm neglecting the family and then I feel like I can't keep up with the project and start wondering what's the point of that anyway? Two names that I've had for years are freespiritlife.com and simplynaturallife.com. I'm feeling more inspired to do something with the snl one, but feel more connected to the fsl one after having this blog. Who am I kidding? I can hardly get a moments peace to finish a blog post let along a web site. But I would like to incorporate more 'simply natural life' info into this blog so that's my compromise for now.

My turn to go and have a workout with the pushmower!

surfin' for peace

A couple of nights of insufficient sleep...days spent being busy with three busy, noisy children....trying to quieten my mind - it used to be so easy, what happened? I think my mind has gotten so used to being surrounded by chatter and interruptions that that's what I get even when I wake up in the middle of the night. Several days ago it all led to a build up of frustration. We all went to the beach with me in a bit of a grey mood despite the brilliant sunshine. As we were walking there, the smells of frangipani's filled the air and I started feeling better.

The ocean was rough - dumping waves and a strong rip. The water was so clean and clear and a perfect temperature. We swam where the lifeguards were and oh boy oh boy was that ever what I needed to clear my head! There is nothing like a good body bash in the waves! What a fantastic workout. We stayed in pretty close to shore, away from the waves breaking after Summer and AJ both got dumped. Ah the power of Mother Nature! Walking through the water, against the rip was a great leg workout. The whole thing was really. The next day when we went to the beach, the ocean was back to being more gentle with easy breaking waves and no rip.

I just love being so close to the ocean! Being in the ocean, and being on the shore looking at the ocean, it's so easy for me to just BE, the chatter slows right down and calm comes to me, even when I'm right in the middle of a breaking wave - that's pure joy to me!

Link to video on how to tie a sarong / pareo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PMkc1XDtKU&feature=related

The add video button is not working at the moment, so please try this link. You Tube has other vids on sarong / pareo tying too. You can fast forward through the first 1:55 of this vid to get to the actual tying info.

more sarongs

Take a look at these unique sarongs...
These are for sale for US$11.95 + $4.95 shipping / AU $13.95 + $3.95 shipping. Sizes are indicated under each photo.

Green tie dye with Sun: 45" x 59" / 115cm x 150cm

Yin Yang: 47" x 60" / 120cm x 152cm

Green embroidered with sequins: 45" x 57" / 115cm x 145cm

white & purple hibiscus: 44" x 67" / 112cm x 179cm

Yellow / orange with swirl: 44" x 65" / 112cm x 165cm

Bright tie dye: 44" x 65" / 112cm x 165cm

If you're interested, send an email to simplynaturallife@gmail.com or leave a comment on here if you know I have your contact details. Thanks!

Sarongs for sale!

Last week we came across a small home-based business that was selling off a bunch of their stock as they were getting ready to have a baby. We purchased some lovely sarongs - beautiful, bright, batik from Bali! The colours are so vibrant, I hope that comes through in these photos. We thought we'd try selling a few and see if it leads anywhere. You lucky blog readers get first choice!

Check out these beautiful sarongs. These are quite large: 45" x 67" / 115cm x 170cm. If you click on the actual photo, you should get a larger picture.

The sarongs are fantastic for skirts, dresses, wall hangings, table cloths, play cloths, shawls, over a chair or couch, on a bed, as a sheet on a hot summer night and...what else can you think of? Perhaps in the middle of the winter, you could turn up the heat, put on a sarong and a bikini top and blast some reggae music to help get over those winter blues by getting in a summer frame of mind for a little while. Could be fun.

We will sell these for US $13.95 + $4.95 postage / AU $19.95 + $3.95 postage.

If you're interested, please email me at simplynaturallife@gmail.com

I'll post more sarongs later today. We also have some huge wall hangings of Buddha and some Hindu Deities, and some beautiful Bali jewelry that I will get on here asap.

Reflecting..

Christmas morning....

About 10 days later....

In the quiet of the early morning, while everyone else slept, I took down our Christmas tree. I felt a tinge of sadness in doing so as our Christmas season together was just lovely. After some initial concerns over the whole season, it took on a delightful energy around us and we enjoyed doing simple, seasonal things together.

We had our Christmas tree on Nicholas' train table in front of a window. With warm, humid days now, we like having all of the windows open to take advantage of the lovely coastal breezes we get here. So, it was time for the tree to come down. If I'd moved it anywhere else, it would have just been in the way. With it staying there, it blocked the breeze.

So now we have a new year. The last one will be remembered fondly for many adventures and much personal growth. I'm excited to step into this next one, already wonderful things have been happening!

May 2009 be a year of many happy moments for you and may you know an abundance of love, peace and joy.

Happy Holidays!

Many blessings to you all for a joyful festive season and a new year filled with peace, love and joy.

We are enjoying the summer weather with lots of swimming and crafts and reading. AJ is happy that we have some extra guests in our house at the moment - baby geckos! They must have been in the roof and we've seen several in our bathroom so they are probably coming down through the heat lamp / light / fan. We recently had a baby blue tongue lizard in our back yard. It obviously wasn't well, but AJ cared for that critter for several days until it was still, and then buried him. We recently found a dead bat on the side of the road. It hadn't been there long as there were no bugs on it so we explored it for some time, felt it's thin leathery wings and the claws, stroked it's soft fur and felt a great tenderness for this mysterious creature of the night. So much so that we brought it home and buried it. AJ is such has such a sensitive side, he feels deeply for all animals and was very sad at the bat burial and the passing of his lizard friend.

Nicholas is more rough and tumble and into the smorgasbord of life, a joyful fellow who loves to do whatever AJ is doing or whatever else seems to be a good idea at the time.

Summer loves swimming and looking through cookbooks, playing her DS and singing. Last Sunday night she performed in the choir at a large Christmas celebration we went to with our regular Spiritual Gathering group. She's made a very nice friend through that group who lives just a few blocks away, and also homeschools.

All is well here.

celebrations

Cary arrived home on Thursday. The heat and humidity were a bit of a shock for him, but he's adjusting. We enjoyed a belated birthday celebration on thursday for him and the day after we celebrated Summer's 11th birthday. After some sunny days, it chose to rain all day on her birthday. As she had the magical birthday power to choose our outing for the day, we went to the movies and saw 'High School Musical 3'. Cute and fun in a candy kind of way. Then out for some pizza for lunch and a relaxing afternoon. Saw some friends in the evening and overall, I think she enjoyed her day.

I have been thinking about Christmas and the meaning it has for me and how it can be more meaningful for my family. I've also been on a mission to decrease even more material things. But how to do that within a homeschooling family that needs 'stuff'? So I didn't want Christmas to get out of control with excess decorations, presents, food etc. But I also remember being a child and how those things helped add to the anticipation that was all part of the excitement. I've also been concerned about my children being disappointed on christmas because they won't have a hundred gifts under the tree. - I was thinking they'd get the idea about this from speaking to other kids and watching some christmas movies where it shows a floor filled with gifts under a huge tree on christmas morning.

So I realised that I had several conflicting thoughts and that I was creating most of them in my own head. If I thought my kids might be disappointed, they probably would be. If I changed that to the joy they'll get from the few things they'll get, then we'll all be blessed.

We were driving to the mall the other day and I was starting to dread facing the crowds. Instead, I released that feeling and focused on the joy of anticipation, seeing the decorations and feeling the excitement instead of focusing on the materialistic side and complaining about that. I want my children to remember happy christmases, filled with fun and joy no matter where we are or what we are doing. That's really the main gift I want to give them.

blah blah

a quick little post...kind of crazy at the moment. Cary is still in the usa. He had his birthday last week and what did we give him? A phone call. Summer will turn 11 in 6 days. And I am just not ready for anything to do with Christmas. Though after Nicholas' pleading, I did give in a buy a cheap tree which he adores. We went to a mall last week that I usually avoid and I could not wait to get out of there. Too much 'stuff'! people rushing around with no smiles but big bags filled with stuff. Where is the meaning??????

Last week we happened to catch some filming of a kids show "H2O" about three teenaged girls who turn into mermaids when they get wet. It's usually filmed at the local Warner Bros. studio, but they were on location at 'our' headland. So we stopped and watched for a while. AJ got a bit bored as each scene took sooooo long to film and they did it over and over from different angles. Summer was excited and had "a million questions". If we'd had our camera, the kids could have had their pic taken with the girls, but of course I didn't.

Some travelling homeschool friends that we met when we were on the road are back in town. They have 3 kids and one of their sons and AJ are best friends. All the kids get on well together so it's lots of fun when we get together.

Just got off the phone from Cary who said he'll be home on thursday. Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blue Beauty

Click on this for some amazing satellite photos of the earth.
http://www.greatdanepro.com/Blue%20Bueaty/index.htm

Drama & Music ~ Summer

Summer has now finished her homeschoolers music and drama classes for the year and enjoyed the end of year concert. In the photo above, the girls in the class did a mime where Summer played a ballet teacher, the rest of the girls were her students. She left the room for a moment and while she was gone, the girls put on some rock n roll music and danced around crazily. She came back in, appeared to be horrified and sent them out of the room. When they were gone, she put the rock music back on and let loose. funny.

This photo above was taken during the music section. The kids were so good, I wished they had done a longer performance.

Happy girls at the end of the show.

Summer played a witch, and had the largest role, during the main play which was a send up of Sleeping Beauty.

The morning of the concert, I was not sure if we would make it as the car was playing up again. However, it decided to behave in the afternoon after I had spent an hour looking into rental cars or taking the bus and train. I've had two mechanics look at the car and they couldn't figure it out. AJ just has two more weeks of gymnastics and then we really don't have anywhere we have to be and can use our bikes for most of the trips we need to make, except when it's raining which it has been doing a lot lately. Our garden is loving it!

Creek time

Once again, blogger is putting my pics on in reverse order. oh well, I'll have to start loading them in reverse order.
...

We've been getting a lot of rain showers lately. Not every day, but most days have at least a little shower. Nicholas was excited to go to the creek to try out his new rash shirt ('rashie' as they are called here). He had chosen it himself and thought the pirate skull & crossbones was much better than the other options of crocodile, shark or nothing. So yesterday, in between showers, we drove to the creek. The car seems to be doing ok on short distances only. As we couldn't ride, and I thought it too far too walk, especially if it started to pour down, so we drove. We pretty much had the creek to ourselves. The beach had a lot of debris on it from the wind and rain knocking leaves and twigs out of the trees. And the sand seemed darker than usual. But we had a lot of fun, as usual.

The boys making drippy sand castles.

The creek is right next to the caravan park that we used to live in. That's Summer sitting under the green and white umbrella on the sand and you can see some caravans behind her. We often go for a wander through the caravan park and reminisce.

It's such a peaceful spot. Unless it's the weekend and there are boats out skiing on the creek.

Our Summer girl.

Playing next to or in the water is the thing the kids love doing together the most.

Our little pirate....

evolution

We've been spending a lot of time at home lately. Firstly with the chickenpox, and now with a car that's playing up. We still have our bikes, right? Well not since Sunday when Summer's bike broke. The frame just snapped. Next - strong legs and an excellent bus system.

It's like we're meant to spend more time here though. So we're making the most of it. I don't think it's just the things we are doing here, it's the mindset shift it's creating as I think about how we can be more efficient and self-sufficient.

I've been thinking a lot about food - diet - nutrition lately. So many 'experts' claim to have found the best diet, suitable for everyone. I recently tried eating only raw foods again, eating low fat and simply. I started out feeling great, but didn't stay that way. So at the moment I'm eating fresh foods throughout the day and often have something cooked vegan at dinner time with a large salad. I'm reading a lot about human evolution specifically regarding diet. I'll have more to say on this in another post, but right now, it's time to put my mommy hat back on and tend to my tribe.

Christmas without Santa

My kids have been very curious about the 'truth' about Santa for quite a while. Last Christmas, Summer was starting to question the whole Santa concept, but for the sake of the boys, I explained that Santa is the spirit of Christmas and spoke about that rather than the guy living in the North Pole with the sweatshop..oops, workshop of elves making toys. AJ was so into the whole Santa thing last year, and his excitement was contagious. However, he was a bit disappointed on Christmas morning when he didn't get the things he had asked for. I think he felt a bit ripped off by the man in the red suit who had said he would "see what he could do" about getting AJ a Nintendo Wii system, among other things.

But recently AJ decided to give him another chance and wrote out a huge long list of things that he wanted. Oh gee I thought, he's really going to be disappointed this year. But he was also questioning the whole concept. He wanted to believe but was listening to Summer and her doubt. I mentioned the whole spirit of Christmas theme again, but they weren't really buying it. AJ was hanging onto his belief in an effort to hang on to some of that childhood magic, but at the same time, wanted to be in on a secret that he was sensing was being kept from him.

I couldn't take it any more. As AJ's list was getting longer, the questions were coming faster. I had to weigh up major disappointment on Christmas morning after a big build up to the day in his mind, or bursting a bubble right here and now. When he asked me again "is Santa real?", I just knew that it was time. I took hold of his big balloon bubble and let the air out as slowly as I could. Summer was fine, just glad to finally know what was going on and her suspicions had been confirmed. AJ looked a little sad, but we all had a magical discussion about the spirit of Christmas. I shared stories of some of my childhood Christmas celebrations. We spoke about making Christmas more meaningful and how we could (now) focus on other aspects of Christmas besides presents. We spoke about keeping Christmas magical in other ways. The conversation turned around and we were discussing advertising and marketing strategies and how we can look at ads and see behind the glitz. Nicholas had been sitting quietly (a rather rare thing when he's awake) throughout most of the conversation and then added a rather involved comment on babies being given dummies/pacifiers and wondered why he had never had one. (?Don't know where that came from.) But we were able to turn that one back around to the Christmas discussion somehow. When I was speaking, Summer and AJ listened with such interest and respect. They did not interrupt me, or fight with each other and they gave each other the same courtesy when they were speaking. It's as though we all knew it was a significant moment.

Sitting there, watching my two older kids grow up just a bit more, was a very special time. I feel a mixture of sadness and relief and happiness that we can change the direction of our Christmas celebration to one that I think will bring a lot more meaning. It was a moment that I wanted to go on and on, but the children were getting tired and decided to go to bed. It will always be in my heart.

Beach Bike & a lesson

I forgot to mention, when we went to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, it started out a beautiful, warm sunny day. Half way through we were sitting down to watch a bird show and got poured on. It turned quite chilly too. Luckily I keep a change of clothes in the car for the kids so they were able to get dry and warm up a bit. The next day it rained most of the day and it felt like winter. I even made vegetable soup for dinner. But the day after...absolutely glorious beach weather so that's what we did. With our handy dandy beach bike trailer all set to go, we had a great time. Everything that we need (including the yellow dump truck!) we are able to get in the box or strapped on the trailer. I still get several admiring comments every time we go out.

After my recent episode of 'losing it' that I posted about, I spent some time trying to figure out why that happened. I certainly would not have acted like that if I had friends here. Is the fact that I felt alone part of the frustration? I realised that I may not have a physical friend here, but that God is always here. So I made a couple of little signs that say "God is here", and put one in the office area and one in the kitchen. They remind me that I am not alone, and that I do have a friend here so I can relax and perhaps even think twice about my own behaviour and the example I want to set. It's working well for me.

Wild Things

Why did all of the photos I just put in come on in reverse order to what I did them? Oh well.

We had a 50% off coupon to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. I am not a fan of places with animals in captivity, but for the sake of education, especially for AJ who just loves animals and birds, I decided it was too good a deal to pass up. We looked out the window on tuesday morning. It was a beautiful day (though I should have checked the weather channel). So off we went.

The kids and a new friend. They loved the large kangaroo area as they could pat lots of roos. Unlike the wild roos we had living near us 2 years ago who would bound away if we got too close.

The kids got to hold a baby croc. I did too and was so surprised that it was so soft! Now I understand the attraction to its skin for shoes and other fashion accessories. (I certainly do not agree with it though.) It was just beautiful to hold. The kids also got to hold a snake and a possum but those photos did not come out very well. I could have purchased the photos their on site photographer had taken for $12.50 each ..cough cough. I don't think so. I'll stick to our blurry pics. I felt kinda bad for the animals that everyone was holding and what they must be feeling. Were they scared? Were they used to it and therefore ok with it? I don't know, but my kids now have a better knowledge of those critters.

This is a mama and joey. It is the same pair as in the next photo. Check out how squished in that joey is in the pouch. It's face and feet are hanging out, upside down. Comfy!?

This little train went around the park. It had about 7 carriages behind it that each carried 10 people. Of course we had to ride it quite a few times.

Kids pretending to be crocodile hunters.

During the eel feeding, many of these long eels came to shore to feed on day old male chicks from a hatchery. Which is what the guy is holding in the tongs. I almost threw up. The guy doing the presenting said several times "we get the chicks for free!!". Barf.

During the pelican feeding, we learned that the male pelicans get 'coloured up' at mating time. They get the blue stipe along their beak and some other blue bits and their feet and legs go blue as well.

We have these flowers growing on a tree in our backyard. They start out white and the colour changes to this dark pink and sometimes goes white again before going pink again. We did an experiment and put some blue food colouring in the water to see if that would change the colour of the petals, but it only went up the stem. Maybe if we'd left it in longer it would have gone further, but the flower started wilting.

good example... not

Tonight I showed my kids how NOT to deal with frustration. And boy oh boy do I feel lousy about that. But, they were very understanding and forgiving. It was a few minutes of me ranting and raving and included some throwing of cushions just for some extra dramatic effect. Yeah. Real good example mum.
...

Yesterday (Friday) we went out in public for the first time in over a week. We did go out in the car on Monday to take the kids to their classes, but I didn't get to socialise as I had to stay with Nicholas and his chickenpox. We're used to being able to go out whenever we want so the forced isolation was a bit challenging. I felt trapped for a while until I realised that if I made it a choice - that we were choosing to stay home rather than we HAD to stay home - it could be so much nicer for my head. And it was. But we were excited to go out again. When I got on the road, I felt crowded by all the other traffic. We went to a mall to get a few supplies and I realised it was fairly quiet compared to usual, but it still felt like too many people there.



I want to connect with others. But I don't want crowds.

I want to live simply. But I don't want to live alone, or too far from others, or some of the conveniences of a town.

I want to be a part of a community in real life. I am greatly appreciating some online connections, but it would be nice to connect face-to-face too.



We went out again today. First we went to some yard sales. My favourite purchase was a carpet sweeper. Works well too and saves plugging in the vacuum. Plus, the kids think it's "fun"!!! I'm looking for a push mower. Most people I'm talking to about them say "oh they're too much hard work". Unbelievable. We've become a rather lazy society. I can't stand the smell of a petrol mower - or the noise. I want a push mower for a kinder effect on the earth and I think it would be a good workout. And my kids will probably think it's fun too!

Nicholas' favourite purchase today was a kids size Spiderman fold out foam couch. He has dragged that thing around with him everywhere in the house this afternoon. And now, he's sleeping on it.

After the yard sales, we went to a health food store that was having some raw food demos going on. I was excited to go and sample some goodies and meet some folk that I'd been chatting with online. We got there and there were lots of people in a small space. I didn't get to chat much because I got overwhelmed and my kids were also feeling that I think because they started fighting and Summer was saying 'but it's RAW food mum...we hate that". I explained that it's something that interests me and I have been looking forward to connecting with some new friends. It just wasn't the place to do that though so we left, though I felt the first niggling of frustration as the social interaction I'd been needing and looking forward to, didn't really happen. The kids did not like the gourmet foods, but they all loved the raw ice-cream.

Late in the arvo I made a big salad and sat down for the first time that day, to enjoy some quiet (the kids were busy) and eat. 30 seconds after I sat down, the boys both found me and "mum....question / comment....mum. question etc..mum...". I started getting a little agitated, but let it go and thought about something a beautiful friend sent me. Something about motherhood being about self-sacrifice and from that comes grace and from that comes true beauty or something like that. I gave the boys some attention and then they went off again. After that, lots of little things piled up on top of each other. The place was a mess, the kids had been fighting, there was washing to fold, dinner to get, etc...I had to let my frustrations out. Then I apologised and rearranged the furniture a bit. The energy just wasn't flowing the way things were and I think that was bothering me too. It feels sooooo much better now. The kids didn't want the vege sausages I cooked them for dinner. They usually love them. They wanted fruit (raw food!) instead. go figure!

So now my angels are sleeping. And tomorrow is a new day, and we're planning on making it a very happy one. Hope yours is too.

Nicholas - chickenpox

We haven't been out much lately, here's the reason why:

Even so, he's trying to put on a happy face:

Dear little man, he's had the spots in all kinds of uncomfortable places. He even had six in one of his ears.
I think we're almost in the clear and can join the world again. I did take Summer and AJ to their classes on Monday, but kept Nicholas in the car by going for a drive or reading or playing.

At home, we've been baking and playing lots of Uno and Set and other card games and board games. We're going to work on making our own board games today. And we've been watching the vege seeds sprout and watching shows about gardening and other fun shows as well.

Halloween is coming and I am not ready at all. I heard that one of the big grocery stores is selling American pumpkins - for carving - for $20! Nah, I don't think so. If Nicholas is better then, we're going to go out for the whole day somewhere fun. The kids want to go trick or treating, but they just don't do that here. Marketing money hungry folk are trying to encourage more of an event around Halloween, but I just don't see it happening. Summer and AJ have been watching some kids Halloween movies on tv and are looking forward to the start of 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' later this week. It's a Doctor Who spin-off and we all enjoy the Doctor.

Still no sign of chickenpox on Summer. Perhaps the mild dose she had when she was 2 was enough. Sure hope so.