The six year, five minute flower.

When we fisrt purchased our farm I discovered some bulbs growing off our back veranda.
I weeded around them and showed Peace where they were so he wouldn't run over them with the lawn mower.
For five years I watered and weeded around my bulbs, waiting to see what they would look like when they flowered. I thought they might be a  type crocus but wasn't sure what colour flower they would have.

Every Spring just as they were about to flower they were run over by the lawn mower!

I weeded around them and marked them with rocks but Peace seemed to often forget they were there.

So I moved out from the farm without ever finding out what they looked like.

BUT before he left Peace dug up some of the bulbs and brought them to me in a pot.

Spring has sprung and at last after six years I have seen my flower.
I hadn't even been paying attention to them and walked around the corner the other day to find this...

After excitedly showing everyone I walked away and five minutes later Tui picked the flower and brought it to me with a beautiful shy smile on her face... "I picked this for you Mummy"

At least I now know what type of bulbs I have, even if it didn't last very long!

Looking forward to tending my bulbs and having a garden again oneday to plant them in.

Self-sufficiency

Yesterday morning, as soon as she woke up Tui announced that she wanted pancakes for breakfast.

I asked her to wait a little bit and then I would make them for her.

I was outside and could hear her clanging around in the kitchen. So I peeked inside.

She had pushed a chair up to the bench and gotten out the flour and eggs. A cup and a spoon.

I thanked her for getting all the things ready to make pancakes and said I would be in shortly.

I continued doing what I was doing.

When I went inside she had mixed flour and water and an egg in her cup!

She put the fry pan on the gas cooker.

She put some butter on the fry pan,

Then looked at me and said,

"you cook pancakes now?"

I love how my kids aren't afraid to help themselves because I don't try to stop them from doing things that push their abilities.

I cooked the pancakes. In her little cup she'd made just enough mixture for four small pancakes, two each, she announced. She's only just turned three and can count and divide quite naturally without being taught.

I love unschooling!

Happy Birthday Tui

Colour and impermanence

I've really been enjoying spending some one on one time with each of my kids lately. It's seems to happen more often since Peace and I split up.

This morning Tama was with Peace and Rain was happily reading so Tui and I played with some paint.

I had to take some pics because the vibrant colours of the paint were so beautiful. Our paints were limited to red, blue, yellow and white so we mixed some to make more colours.

It was awesome to watch Tuis face as she mixed the paints together and saw new colours appearing. And to hear her exclamations of "Oooh, it's making pink!!!" or orange or green.

Once the paints were suitably mixed we pressed a piece of paper on to the plate to preserve the pattern.

At this stage I relinquished all control (well, I didn't really have any agenda anyway, except to play with paint) and Tui started to really play.

She mixed and smeared and spread, getting her hands and feet into the action.

The paint felt nice and soft and smooth.

After washing her dress Tui then climbed into the tub of warm water and enjoyed a bath in the garden in the winter Sun.

All we were left with from our "Art" was a plate of brown paint with marigold flowers sprinkled over it. Even the piece of paper with the print had become a big brown smudge.

Often after doing art with the kids we have nothing to show for it. It doesn't worry me at all. The point of the exercise is to have fun, not to necessarily create something. Today Tui explored colours and the texture of paint, from which she'll have gained so much more than from a controlled Kindy craft project, made out of pre-cut shapes glued onto paper that is similar to the one every other kid in Kindy has made.

As well as the lesson in colours I think there is a big lesson for kids to learn about impermanence. The Buddhists see the beauty of this. I once watched some monks make a sand mandala that took many, many hours and then it was blown away.

It's a pity that more people don't recognise that the lesson is the learning not the results. The board of studies don't get this when they demand 'evidence' of homeschooling. It is not the paper you save with things that the kids have done that shows what they have learnt and what they know, it is their experience of the world around them. And that kind of knowledge can not be saved on paper.

Is it a wabbit???

For awhile Tui has been playing with Mr T's sock puppet, Mr Snakey, and he has been a bit possessive so I thought I'd make Tui her own puppet. I couldn't find a sock so decided to crochet one.

She really wanted a rabbit puppet but since I was not following a pattern the puppet had a mind of it's own and evolved into 'Dancing Girl'...

After the initial question..."is it a wabbit???", Tui loves her.

And Rain decided to pick me one of every flower that we have growing here...

A top for Tui too!

So when I finished my last top Tui had to try it on. And she looks at me so sweetly and says "Mummy make one me?"

How could I resist those beautiful brown eyes looking at me like that?

Here's the result, I little bikini top for Tui.

Doing her happy dance.

Admiring the new top:)

And here is the finished black, chocolate and cream top.

Getting ready to go.

Sometimes with a family of six it can take awhile to get ready to leave the house, even when we are just going to the shop 10 minutes away it can take twice as long just to get in the car:) o I usually give the kids a bit of warning so they can get ready.

Tui loves getting ready to go. I just now told her that we'd be going out to pick-up her big brother soon so straight away she said "me get ready" and ran off to get her things.

So now I'm looking at her pile of belongings by the front door, that she wants to take on the car ride.
two bags
a toy hammer
a jumper
an odd shoe
a fly swat
a sock puppet
and a hula hoop

I guess she'll be ready for any eventuallity :D

A productive night.

I couldn't sleep last night so I ended getting up and looking for crochet patterns online. I found a couple and made this little vest for Tui. It's a kind of hybrid of two patterns I found on Ravelry. I love it because it's all mae in one piece.

Tui was very pleased with it when she woke up this morning.

She was happy to pose for a photo holding her doll,

now give ME the camera...

So I can take a photo of my dolly...

in the bag...

Like alot of kids around two years old Tui has a penchant lately for squeezing into small, cosy spaces...

look what Daddy bought at the shops!

...and look what's in the tub!

She has also been practising self-portrait photography.

Happy Day Cake

It was little Tui's second birthday yesterday. She has sort of worked out what it's all about because it was her brothers birthday last week. She kept saying Tama Happy Day, me happy day.
And of course she wanted a happy day cake and some candles to blow out...over and over and over again!

Our bush camp

On the weekend Mr T wanted to make a bush camp in the yard.
First we found heaps of stick and vines and hunted around for a good spot to build.

It started to come together.

hen we got heaps of leaffy branches that P was pruning off some trees and tied them on the sides with more vines.

The finished shelter!
It turned out pretty well, just after we finished it started raining so we got to test it out for weather-proofness.

Later he did some tree climbing.

This boy just doesn't like to sit still!

And Tui is now big enough to fit in the small harness so she had a swing on the veranda too!

My how she's grown

My little Tui is 20months now. I can't believe how fast time flies.
She has begun to pose whenever I get the camera out. She tilts her head to one side and scrunches up her eyes and grins...Here she is in my lastest crocheted skirt.

Here she posing in the outfit that she chose today. I just don't have any say in what she wears. She goes to her cupboard, pulls out the clothes she fancies and brings them to me to put on. If I try to swap anything she gives me the look...the look that says "try it and I'll scream"

So even though it's the middle of Summer today she wanted to wear tights AND shorts and this wollen hat!

Her hair is getting long enough to tie back. I don't get to do it often as she runs away with the hair brush! But yesteday she sat still for five minutes and I put it in pigtails. (it only stayed in for about 3 minutes though)

And her favourite game at the moment is hiding. Then she jumps out and yells BOO!!! or alternatively she comes out growling yelling MONTER! (her version of monster) I think that one was taught to her by an certain older brother,lol.

You may notice that in these three photos Tui is on the kitchen table. That's is where she seems to spend half her time now she's learnt to climb.

I know they grow, but it always seems to surprise you on those days when all of a sudden you think "gosh, she's almost not a baby anymore...

And she definitely is growing into her nick name..Wilamena Willpower

Dancing Queen

Tui loves dancing. When any music starts to play she just can't help herslef but start to groove...

New crochet pattern

I've been thinking about making a little summery top for Tui, and today I came up with a design and had the time to sit down and try it out.

I wanted ot make it with a large mesh pannel because it's so hot here in Summer.

I think it turned out ok, but I'm yet to try it on her, she's asleep after a big day of swimming in her paddleing pool and chasing her brother arournd :)

I'll try to get it on her tomorrow but in this weather is hard to get any clothes on her, even when we go out!

There's fun to be had...

I just love it how seemingly everyday events and object for us boring old adults :) are just more opportunities for fun for our children. It always reminds me that so many of our experiences are based on perception. If you expect something to be boring it usually is. But if you are in the now and not basing your actions on past experiences you see things with fresh eyes.

Children are open to the new, they haven't 'learned' their reactions, they act in the moment. I'm blessed to have four wonderful children who are always teaching me new ways of being.

Yesterday we got a new fridge delivered.
Even the arrival of the truck was exciting for Mr T (and slightly scary for Tui!) The refrigerator was unloaded and Mr T exclaimed 'that's the biggest box ever!'

I didn't see much of him all day, he spent most of it inside the box. It became a hide out, a tunnel and then probably a lot of other things in his amazing imaginary world.

Tui loved that box too!

And the trolley used to move the fridge became a new toy.

What to me was a useful tool and an empty box became hours of entertainment and exploration for the kids.

So today I will try to remember to look at the world around me with the eyes of a child and see the potential for joy and fun in everything.

One year old already!

It was Tui's first birthday yesterday. My how time flies!!!

And she still loves her boobie!!!!! Hopefully she will for a couple more years yet.

I think her most enjoyable moment was when we all sang happy birthday. At first she just looked bemused that we were all singing together and then she started clapping along. I think we ended up singing Happy Birthday about 100 times during the day just to see her smile and clap her hands.

We went to theMapelton Lilly ponds and had a picnic and the kids had a play in the park.

And of course they all climbed some trees.