In the Neighbourhood..

It's easy to forget the beauty of our own country when we're busy oogling the adventures of others overseas.  It's also easy to forget that excitement knows no bounds when you're just small and your own backyard is Amazingly Huge!!

And so on Sunday we took a walk....Reacquainting ourselves with our own 'backyard'.   The boys walked, and ran, they picked up sticks and looked at rocks, listened to the sounds of the river flowing and the birds calling.  They shrieked, and jumped, pointed and 'Wowwed', ate and slept and nearly photo-bombed a family photo session!!

An Awesome day all round! :)

We're already looking forward to our next adventure somewhere else in our 'backyard'!!

Ps:  Does anyone know about any slings that can be used to help hold a toddler/preschooler on your back?  We'd love to not be restricted to pushchair only walks, but realize our boys have their limits!  If you have any suggestions let us know!!

Thanks!! :)

Renee  :)

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Oh how they grow..

Today i walked home from kindy with two little lads in tow.  And when i say two little lads in tow, what i mean is that one was racing ahead yelling "nine...eweven...fiffffeeeeen" as loud as he could and  the other was marching next to me singing an alphabet song....

Ummmm, where the heck did my babies go!?

These kids.... they play cars, build towers, actually Watch movies (or at least the first half hour), eat whole meals with proper utensils, play with friends, question everything...

They try on new imaginary occupations...builder, truck driver, fireman, 'mommy', truck driver, stuntman, did i mention truck driver?

They play actual games like 'drag mums washing off the line and use it for a cape', mini golf, 'T' ball.  They go down slides alone, can work an i-pad better than me, play catch (may also catch better than me)...

They make choices without any input from me, like what they want to wear, and how they want to do things, what they want to eat... They solve their own problems too.  They sing songs and mimic their favorite cartoon characters..

They also disagree, and sometimes talk back, and have fights with each other.... real fights, with pushing and hitting, yelling and 'telling'.

They can open and raid the pantry/freezer/lower half of the fridge.  They ignore me and their daddy.  They push their boundaries on an hourly basis.

They give hugs and kisses on their own terms.  They say 'I love you' and 'I'm sorry' of their own accord.  Play together.  Take care of each other.

They are also still very much my 'babies', which translates into 'I shall continue to smother them in cuddles and snuggles until they're strong enough to escape my arms!' and even then i'll still try to catch them unawares...like when they're hanging out with their mates....just for the embarrassment factor....I'm good like that ;)

Renee  :)

Being Grateful..

I never really stopped to question the number of times in a day that I've thought how much better life would be "When"...

"When the kids are a bit older..."
"When we have a bit more disposable income...."
"When we have our own home...."
"When summer arrives..."
"When we finally get rain for the gardens...."
"When I catch up on house stuff..."

Source

Also, the "If only's..."  If only we had more of this/less of that/had done this/not done that....
The endless search for something better.  Happiness, contentment, security, adventure...I'm so guilty of this, and over the last couple of months I've heard these 'If only's and 'Whens' come out of my mouth on a more than regular basis.

"If only the boys were a bit more independent..."
"If only we had a bit more money..."
"When the weather gets warmer it'll be better..."
"When the boys are sleeping better it'll be easier..."

And instead of living in the now, I've been living for the times when things will get easier/be more fun.  Instead of embracing the current loud/high impact/full throttle days with  my two little lads, I've been dreaming of days that don't require kiddy-locks and sleepless nights.  Instead of finding adventure in our own backyard, I've been pinning pictures of beautiful, exotic holiday destinations.  Instead of doing with what we have, I've been storing up idea's on what others have, and all that we will have and do when we have more money. 

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And then a couple of weeks ago I remembered something.

I ONLY HAVE NOW

That's all that's been given to me.  Right now.  There is no guarantee that I'll still be here when the boys are older, or when more money appears, or when the weather improves. 

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I have all I need already.  I just need to learn to embrace it and celebrate it.
  
I'm not giving up on my dreams, and I'm not giving up planning for the future.  What I am giving up is the thought that I will always need something else to make life happier or easier, or to bring contentment.

So my new mission is to post once a week about what I'm grateful for.  The little things, the mundane things.  The huge things, the exciting things. 

Source

And the next time I think about when things will be better/easier/happier, I'll remember that they already are.

Renee  :)

DIY Kids Bench seat!

If you didn't gather from the last post, my house can get pretty messy from time to time all the time.  My lounge is pretty much a battle zone from 6am til 7pm, and i'm totally fine with that (ask me again after i've tripped over my third truck) but i like to have a few quick and easy clean up solutions for those occasions when i have to pretend to function. 

Toy boxes are the obvious solution, but i wanted a neat way to store them....and then i saw This and it all made sense!!  After a wee chat to Hubby and a lil' bit of shopping and rummaging we got to work!

I was given the job of making the seat part! 

I used a yoga mat cut to size for a nice cushion base, followed by a layer that i cut from an old Duvet!

I was super lucky that Spotlight had a sale on all their fabric, and i was able to get a couple of meters of this 'Construction' upholstery fabric for a steal!
Also...I got to use a gun stapler! Wahoo!...(Clearly I don't get out much)

Meanwhile, somewhere outside, Hubby was getting the storage part sorted!  We made it to fit the 2 containers that we were already using to store toys :)

And on goes the seat!!  I'm exceptionally proud of myself for getting the fabric print in the right direction! (Yes, that is something i would stuff up!)

Given that this is a seat for small children we decided that painting the outside of the box would be a good idea, to make it easier to clean.  Construction yellow seemed like a good choice!

And here is the finished product!! 
Super proud of our efforts we are!!  And the boys just LOVE it!!!

The Official Seal of Approval - Two very happy boys!
 Lachy has taken to setting up his trains on top, and Olly will happily sit and just open and close the drawers, occasionally removing a toy or putting one away :)

We did get a few more crafty bits done (Love 3 day weekends!) but that can be another post for another day! :)  Would love to know how you store your kids toys away!! 


Renee  :)

The Kid Cave...

Sometimes when i get up in the morning i seriously have to stop and question whether our house has been ransacked overnight....And then i think, with the amount of toys spread 'strategically' around the floor, we'd be facing a law suit from the intruder for injuries obtained on the job.

You see, our house isn't a home, so much as a Kid Cave (Like a 'Man Cave' but considerably more dangerous) Toys really are intentionally placed all around the house in an attempt to bring the adults to their knees (occasionally to clean, but mostly in the agony only a Lego block can inflict).  Once the adult is down, they become objects of play, a jungle gym of sorts, and fair-game for anyone under 3 foot tall.
 

Washing that hasn't been put away will be spread far and wide, or used as dress ups for the other toys.  It pays to have your underwear folded and put away immediately to avoid having them handed to your next visitor to play with.

Plastics cupboard unlocked?  You can kiss those matching Tupperware sets goodbye.  Unused ice trays will serve their purpose as snail stalls, and any container large enough to fit on a head, can and will become a construction hat/bike helmet/fireman's hard hat....or a shoe.

Sometimes in my deluded state i will consider cleaning, but then i think about the hours of imagination and creative thought that my boys have put into their day.  The Lego towers built and demolished by a two-man construction team in their 'hard hats'.  The railway station that runs smoothly around the house, under the watchful eyes of two little conductors.  The tunnels dug through the laundry in search of the 'treasure' hidden in the couch cushions. Even the minutes spent exploring a new bug/spider that's been fortunate enough to find a crumb to eat, counting its legs, setting it 'free' into the garden (whole or in bits, depends which child grabbed it).

 For now, the mess can stay.
(Burglars beware)



Renee  :)