9

a few days ago we celebrated this little guy and the nine years that he has been with us. wow! nine! it's hard to believe at times, but here's the proof. we had two days of celebrations with lots of food, friends, family, bubbles, play, fun....birthdays are too good to be over in just a day. you need 2, at least, to do it properly.

as usual he ended the day in style with a bubble bath accompanied by his 2 best friends in the whole world, his little brother e and sweet friend w. oh yes, and there was a sleep over...which didn't really consist of too much sleep:)

happy birthday, beautiful boy

a wee walk about

to the yarran dheran along the mullum mullum

creekside

the tree and her secrets

fall

summer

as we are literally just days away from March 1 which marks the beginning of fall down here and since i haven't posted since, well, i don't know when, i thought i'd share some of my/our (no, really, they are mine) favorite memories from the past two months.

in january a dear little friend had a birthday (no 7) and invited us to celebrate his day at his favorite vegan eating joint in the city. we ate so much fantastic food we practically rolled out the door and down the street to our car.

birthday revellers

a few days after a not-so-fun visit to his urologist and nephrologist j told me he needed some time away with me. i knew he was still processing everything he'd heard a few days before at the hospital. i also knew exactly what he needed. i took him to our favorite nearby nature sanctuary for a little tlc/r&r.

right away he found these small beetles, very common to this time of year, and taught me a lesson in entomology i'll never forget, but that's a post for another time (soon).

beetles

the garden is beginning to wane. sunflowers old and new. a tangle of tomatoes ready to ripen red. herbs, basil, sage, rosemary, mint, parsley, some are ready to move into fall and then winter, but others will say good bye soon. but for now though, the renewing fall rain is bringing forth new growth.

sunflowers old & new

one early morning last week during the hot, dry. he and i. singing, playing, dancing from one red paver to another. he glowed in the morning sun and i was there to see it. when we finished our song he looked up, smiled and told me he loved that moment. with me. just us. and the sun.

hymn

ok, we are ready to move on now.

comiendo el coco*

my last post may have left you with the impression that things are a little bleak over here. well, not necessarily. i tend to become hyper focused on the negative and forget that, hey, there is more to any given situation than meets the eye. never judge a book by its cover because, what appears at first glance to be, well, less than optimal, could turn out to be a real page turner in the end.

but i'm a worrier and just before christmas i found myself tangled up in knots over something which i had no control. i've always been this way. it's something i'm trying to change and with a little luck will make slow (or fast) progress with this year.

now having said that, let me get to the good stuff. we had a lovely christmas and new year. it was hot and bright, sparkly and full of light. it was surreal and beautiful. i couldn't have asked for or imagined a more special time with my 3 boys. i look back on it now and smile as tears fill my eyes, the memories so sweet. i feel lucky and blessed, waves of stillness and gratitude gently washing over me. i feel full and happy.

it's been hot here since just before christmas. christmas eve day was a scorcher and found us panting in our shorts and tank tops, throwing open all the windows. below is the christmas eve butterfly that flew in one of those open windows. the boys and i were mesmerized, as it fluttered here and there landing briefly on the hearth, then a chair. it was a moment of clear and direct communication between me and the Universe. there were no misinterpretations. we eventually caught and released it back into the garden. absolutely splendid!

a few days after christmas we met up with a dear friend who andrew and i met while living in japan, but whom we haven't seen for years. it was lovely reconnecting with her, sitting together and laughing once again. the ebb and flow of life is such a marvel, isn't it. how it carries us along from one place to another and back around again. some things stay the same, only a little different. i like that.

the waterwall at the National Gallery of Victoria

Federation Square

new year's eve was quiet, a family affair. there was dinner and dessert (a group effort) here at home with my boys and then family movie night. that's it. it was more than enough.

now we spend our days in the heat, watching the garden grow...and some days wither under the bright, hot sun. the small tuber given to me by a friend back in the dead of winter is now exploding into brilliant red orange dahlias. i ask you, how could i not fall in love with that? we are tending the veg patch, picking green beans, rocket, tomatoes, herbs, applauding the arrival of the first cosmos...

water gun wars between j & e

...and of course trying our best to stay cool. super soakers to the rescue!

happy new year to you. i hope it brings you peace, good health, happiness and above all lots and lots of love.

*comiendo el coco means racking one's brain, obsessing over or brooding upon something and is a phrase my spanish friends used to say to me all the time, "there you go again, comiendo el coco," whilst shaking their head in disapproval. "brooding upon"or "obsessing over" things isn't really something the spanish do and in general is frowned upon, unless alcohol and dancing are involved;) apparently i didn't spend enough time in spain.

summer high

with insects a buzzin' and sleigh bells a ringin' i'd say christmas is near

and now we begin the descent

happy solstice

"o come all ye..."

we finally did it. one week before christmas and we finally got the decorations up. in a hurry and a flurry the boys and i suddenly got inspired and we just did it.

a couple of times during the hustle and the bustle of frantic inspiration i heard j say, with great emotion in his voice," i have a feeling it's going to be a great christmas!" now, i'll let you in on a little secret about my beautiful boys, they NEVER lack enthusiasm. EVER! they carry it with them into everything they do, everywhere they go. indefatigable it is! and not only is it one of the things i absolutely adore about them, but i'm also trying to let myself get caught up in it more and more. it is a lovely thing to be enthusiastic like a child, don't you think. nothing compares to it.

a wee christmas village by e

for various reasons we've decided to not have a tree this year. in some ways i feel like we're somehow cheating the boys by not having one, but on the other hand it's not what's most important. atleast not for me. yes, the tradition of a tree is lovely, but the time we spent together before bed and bath creating these few holiday scenes and then afterward when we sat together on the sofa, them in their pj's with a cup of warm rice milk with honey and cinnamon and me reading our selection of christmas books while taking in and admiring our meager but festive decorations, that is what truly fills me up with the Spirit of christmas. as most of you mothers out there know, that is what fills the maternal heart to burstin' with so much love and joy, the slow, happy moments together, connecting. and i wasn't the only one being "filled up". as i read, with j on one side and e on the other, i felt the boys move in closer and closer until they were snuggled down deep into me each one resting a hand on my arm. we were sated.

reindeer, doe and fawn. fawn nibbling grass "peeking" up from the snow

the reindeer scene above was a collaborative effort by j and e. they had fun imagining the two deer alone in a wood, perhaps a bit hungry as it's winter, and then suddenly finding a few small spikes of grass in a clearing(a piece of green felt courtesy of j). of course the doe let her fawn have first nibbles, as any mother would. this little scene, i suppose, is our "tree" because we've decided that here is where the presents will rest while waiting to be devoured christmas morning, in a quiet, snowy wood with two reindeer, a doe and her fawn, standing watch. very fitting. and i find it all very comforting

lights and ornaments strung across the hearth

if i seem a bit hesitant about joining in the christmas festivities this year, well, i suppose it's because i am. i still haven't gotten used to the summery christmas yet. i know, i know. boohoo!sob!wail!sniffsniff! get over it, right. we've been here 2 1/2 years! i should be over it, used to it, and willing to accept it. i'm afraid that's just not the case. you can take the girl out of the northern hemisphere, but...you'll have to do it with her kicking and screaming all the while:)

there is also the horrible economy that's putting quite a damper on things this year. for several weeks i've been hearing the same story from so many people. they fret, worry, lament and hem and haw because they can't afford to get their kids as many presents as last year. what will they do? i told myself i wouldn't be like that. i reassured myself that it's not quantity, but quality that matters and that we try to give our children a quality life. we play together, cook together, laugh, run, hike, draw, read, imagine, create....but here i am, making the list and checking it twice. is it a quality life? will they be disappointed christmas morning when they wake to find the doe and her fawn standing watch over their meager scene?

it's not winter here, but it's bare, sparse. simple yet beautiful, like a quiet, snowy wood.

several weeks worth

for two, three, maybe even 4 weeks now this is how the world around us has looked, a total blur, a flurry of hurried activity. it was a beautiful, fun whirlwind to get caught up in and carried away on, but now we are exhausted. inspite of that, we are finding it really challenging to let go and come down from that adrenaline rush. j in particular as he really loves the thrill and excitement of performing. i never imaged he would feel so comfortable being on stage in front of an audience under hot, bright lights (it would terrify and annoy me!), but after that first ballet performance back in august, he was hooked!

"circus" as performed by the Utassy Ballet School

a last minute pep talk from the teacher

(j is one of the shaggy lions)

interspersed between ballet rehearsals and performances, karate practice, a karate tournament and grading which only just finished today!, and a fantastic excursion with a local entomologist, was lots of quality time spent at home. we three are falling in love with japan again and the boys are busy fashioning ninja/samurai outfits and weaponry all because of these wonderful books. the boys have discovered the joys of making their own comic/manga "stories" and as a result are reading and writing more everyday. if i ever had any doubts in the past that unschooling couldn't/wouldn't work, they have all been laid to rest. amidst the rushrush and chaos of the past few weeks, i've watched my boys grow and expand in so many ways on so many levels. i've witnessed first hand what i've read in so much unschooling literature in the past, when you are pursuing what you love, when you are passionate about what you are doing, learning happens, spontaneously. plus, they are happy and that really means something.

cleaning his snailery and putting in fresh "vittles"

at any given time j has several terrariums "up and running" and at one point he had an aquarium with freshwater invertebrates. currently he's got a terrarium filled with snails and slugs. his love for these slimy little critters began when he was a wee toddler. the other day he found two masses of eggs glued to the side of the jar. we are looking forward to having baby slugs and/or snails sliming around the terrarium soon. he's counting the days. seriously, he's ticking them off the calender.

in another terrarium he's got several earthworms and a bush cockroach that he found on the excursion i mentioned above. he couldn't believe his luck when he found it and began showing it to everyone. as it lives in the bush, you would never find it around humans. it eats only rotting bush plants on the forest floor, so he's very careful to find only choice bits of native plants from the small creeklet behind our house. as it's nocturnal, j will often check in on it in the middle of the night. i love hearing his stories the next morning, "you won't believe what he was up to last night, mama....." wanna bet? :)

chopping celery tops for the slugs and snails

and that pretty much brings us to today, a dirty house from weeks of neglect, a garden full of weeds, and i still haven't given any thought to holiday gift giving. wish me luck!

geranium

a quick photographic study

just because it inspired me, the way it and the intense mid day sunlight flirted with one another. it was too good.

i was sitting on the sofa with a somewhat sickly boy, urging him to take just one more drink of that horribly bitter unsweetened cranberry juice that is oh so good for him right now, when during a heavy sigh of a moment, i happened to look out the large living room window to find this lovely vision.

light, color, sun, wind, it all came together so gracefully. with an "excuse me, lads, i'll be right back" i grabbed the camera, rushed out the door and got reacquainted with old friends.

i believe it was mr cummings who said "the earth laughs in flowers". i think he was on to something.

yesterday

i was inspired to go to this place by my friend T and her girls who are also homeschoolers. she wrote about a recent trip they took here on her blog a few days ago. we've been looking for a closer place to do a little rockpooling for a while now because, although we love sorrento (our usual spot), it is a long drive for two little boys who tire very easily of car travel.

at home/at peace

the boys set about immediately doing what they love to do. after doing his "ocean dance", e began running, frolicking, jumping, splashing...he's a very physical little boy and is always pushing and challenging himself with all sorts of daring and "death defying" feats.

j, well, he began seeking, exploring, discovering...he was so happy. we made it home yesterday evening feeling incredibly exhausted, but really happy and fulfilled. it was a great day!

j found this little shore crab under a large stone in one of the tidal pools

this morning when we woke up the boys and i piled into one bed, got out the field guide and began naming and discussing everything we saw yesterday. j is particularly fond of the waratah anemone (photo below) and so it was one of the top items on his "to find" list. it's one of the most common intertidal anemones so he found it almost right away. he says he likes it so much because it gives birth to well developed young. he found several waratah anemone "children" yesterday as well. as i lay there listening to him talk happily about his time spent with these little creatures i began to feel that somewhere in there is a may gibbsesque story about the little waratah anemone children and their daily (limited) comings and goings in the tidalpools all along the victorian coastline. a collaboration of course, between j and i :)

waratah anemone, named after the flowering waratah because of similarity in color

this little guy below is a plague soldier beetle. there were heaps up and down the shoreline. it feeds on the little soft bodied amphipods that shelter themselves in the rotting kelp and other organic debris that washes up on the shore. both the beetles and amphipods (along with the hoards of flies) share in the "cleaning up" duties. they process all the dead stuff and then return the nutrients to the water.

plague soldier beetle

in between the seeking, splashing, running, oooh-ing & aaaah-ing, there was lots of fun and laughter. it was a ripper of a day ;) i love so much being with my boys.

e, moving mountains...as he does

the nest

this boy of mine is growing up way too fast. go slowly, my dear, slowly.

boy/nest