So...snack time

I've decided to do a snack time post once a week for now to try inspire myself to keep up looking for new ideas for snacks!

So this weeks is a yogurt, a naartjie, some biltong pieces and some sesame pretzel sticks...and of course water in our trusty camelbaks!

So...creativity and what sparks it!

What is it that sparks our creativity
The flame that kindles it
The food that nourishes it
?

I always wanted to go to art school
I don't regret not going, my life wouldn't be what it is if I had
But when I saw this postsecret the other day it made me do a double take
I always felt like I lost a little something by not going
Like I could have been so much more "artistic" & "creative" if I had gone

All the while wanting to unschool my kids

The school certainly runs deep in me

So...snack time

I've decided snack time has to become more of a permanent fixture in our house, because the almost constant requests for "something" to eat were driving the Dad and me to distraction!
So now the kids get breakfast and a reminder that they can help themselves to certain things but there will be nothing else offered until snack time later int he morning.

So far it's actually been a wonderful success, the requests for food have diminished, kids love it and are excited to see what's on offer for the day.  Some days we bake and some days I rummage through the cupboards and fridge to find something to offer.  I am finding it a bit of a challenge to come up with new ideas so if you have any favourite snack items please let me know!

Today's snack time - a digestive, some granadilla, a dried guava roll, 2 blocks of cheese, and of course our favourite water bottles filled with our yummy filtered water.

So...making memories on the play mat!

 So #Bang is starting to hang out on the playmat, or at least as much as he can before his brother and sister squish him.

This blanket/play mat holds many dear memories.  It started life as a wall hanging my mom made for me when I was a baby, and when I had Bear she passed it back to me, but instead of keeping it as a wall hanging she put some nice padding and a backing to it so I could use it as a blanket/play mat instead.  All 3 of my babies have spent happy hours learning to turnover, sit and crawl on this mat, and it's in many of our photos.  Now it's #Bang's turn!

And we also recetly had his caul framed, he framer did a lovely job and it's turned out quite interesting, although hard to photograph due to the transparency of it.

So...one old bird

So the other day the kids were playing outside and came to tell me they had found a bird.  I briefly wondered about the kids intense excitement over the news before cringing at the thought of picking up a dead bird the cat had left behind yet again.
With a sigh I grabbed a plastic packet to inter the poor birdie in and wandered outside.

But lo and behold  the birdie was still very much alive so I exchanged the packet for a camera instead to snap the kids joy over their discovery.

And I just love the faces in this photo, they make me laugh every time I see it!

Trying to get a closer look without frightening the poor bird.

Well as the bird didn't appear to be going anywhere fast I thought I'd better save it from my kid's increasing attentions as well as the cat's claws, so I gathered it up into a washing basket, put down some food & water and made sure it was as safe as could be for the time being while we worked out what to do with it.  So it spent the afternoon eating, drinking and flapping up to perch on the edge of the basket.

I had assumed it must be a juvenile, but when The Dad got home  it turns out it was in fact just an old and tired birdie.  So he and the kids took it home to the big trees down at our local park and set it free. 

Bye bye birdie and I hope you weren't too traumatised by my children's close inspection!

Oh, little bright cup of sun

Shelter in winter that day

a storm coming, but in the lee

of an island in a cover with friends

oh, little bright cup of sun

- William Stafford 

 

I caught the littles lapping up some of the winter sun on the island that is our coffee table

So...Joining in!

Our littlest person is growing at a fast rate and already joining in with everyone else.  Just this last week he joined us all with a lovely head cold and couldn't be put down for 4 days straight without his nose completely blocking up and ensuing yelling following.  Poor little guy, the good news is that it never got any worse than a blocked nose and he's well on the up and up...bad news is mom feels old after nights spent trying to sleep upright on the couch :)

Sleeping sitting up on the couch so we can breathe.

But when he's not feeling too poorly he already enjoys sitting with the older two and getting books read to him.

And at dinner time he gets most upset if he isn't sitting at the table with us, so we manage with a little improvisation.

Finally at night when the older two are in bed he can get a little bit of tummy time in without being squashed to death.  And our other family member appears to also approve of the latest addition and likes to join him in the cozy spot in front of the fire, rub up against him, give him head buts and lots of purrs

11 short weeks and it already feels like things were never any different :)

Isn't our ability to adapt amazing, and our capacity for more love breathtaking!!!

So...Baby Photos

A few weeks ago the lovely Celeste from Celeste Walker Photography came over to take some photos of little #Bang, but of course the older two monsters couldn't stay out of the way and she kindly snapped a bunch of photos with them too.

I hope our household wasn't too overwhelming for her, but she was very kind, gracious and humored all of us as she calmly snapped away.

The photos turned out really lovely, I'm so happy to have some photos of me with #Bang too as I'm usually the one with a camera in hand.

Thank you Celeste for the gift of memories you've given us!

So...No hands & getting things done

So I keep getting asked how I get anything done with my hands full so I thought I'd give you guys a quick peek at how...just prepare yourselves for a full on cheesy photo...

Look, no hands...or is that 2 hands???

 

And then the kids wanted some photos

The earthbabies ring slings are a life saver for me, no baby of mine has been able to resist the power of the sling to put them to sleep.  Plus they are great for going out, baby is safe and I still have 2 hands available to keep other little people safe and close to me, while still being able to push a trolley around the grocery store!