Friday, August 31, 2012

Winter bugs be gone!

I've been absent this week from blogging.  The boys all got colds and after Jayden feeling the need to basically sleep on top of my face and then cough in it of course I caught it too!

So, I've been feeling sorry for myself this week and laying low.  It's still been really cold here, so we've been rugging up and watching movies and there are tissues everywhere...however:

One more sleep until Spring! 

Hopefully with the warm suns arrival we will all get a burst of energy! 

We have a trailer ready for tomorrow to have a big clean out to the rubbish tip and I'll be taking a big load to the Op shop as well.

We really important we have a good clean up outdoors at this time of year because as soon as it warms up we will need to be on the lookout for those horrid snakes!!

Oh and we had our Friday movie night tonight!  We watched "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" we teamed it up with fish and chips and a ice cream sundae dessert. 

It was a little on the scary side for the boys but they LOVED it...it's hard to know what they'll be ok with and what they won't sometimes...here's hoping they don't have any nightmares!!

Maybe next week will be something on the lighter side!!



Monday, August 27, 2012

4 boys? Oh you poor thing...



You should have seen some of the looks I used to get when I would go shopping with all of the kids.  I would have two in the pram (normal position and toddler seat), Louis walking and Jayden in the baby sling. 

Louis was 4, Dylan 3, Ethan 1 and Jayden a couple of months...


It was amazing the amount of people that would eye off all of those kids, look at me with pity in their eyes and say, "4 boys, you poor thing", or "Are you crazy?", or even "Are they all boys? Never mind..."

I would always reply cheerfully, because as I've explained a number of times I was always certain I would have 4 boys.  I felt extremely clucky from the age of about 21.  After we were married, I let my husband know tentatively that I really wanted to have children.  At that stage we were not in our own home so very wisely he suggested we wait a year or two. I was so looking forward to becoming a mother.

I have never had such a strong feeling in my life that I would have 4 boys.  I don't think I could ever explain it, or where it came from.  I just knew.  (In saying that, my father and my husband were from families of all boys).
So as each of my first 3 boys came along I was overjoyed, it really was what I already expected would happen!

After Ethan (no.3) arrived we were struggling quite a bit, well, I was in particular!  For 3 weeks he was sleeping beautifully and I felt I had time for my other boys and to kind of manage the home (now larger after a move to accommodate our growing family!) Then, it was like a switch was flicked.  Our placid baby decided to scream and be unsettled for about 3 months! 



We both decided that it would be best to stop at 3 children.  When Ethan was about 8 months old however we were surprised to discover we were expecting. 

I really can't even explain clearly how we came to be pregnant with Jayden (aside from the obvious).  My cycle was all over the place and none of the dates seemed to add up. 

When I took the pregnancy test and it came up positive I was in shock.  I was too nervous to call Michael so I text messaged him!  Can you imagine?? Lol...


He called me straight back and was so worried - how would we cope?  4 children aged 4 and under.  Luckily as I mentioned we had just moved to a larger house (still quite small in today's standards) however we would need a new car and obviously the extra expenses of an another person in the family. 


As soon I saw the positive test I felt connected to this little baby.  How could I not after already having grown 3 amazing children already?  It was within the next few days that I had more spotting and I honestly thought that I may lose this baby. 
I remember thinking maybe it was a baby girl and that I just wasn't meant to have girls...maybe that's why I would lose it.
I also remember hoping with all of my heart and being that this baby would stay safe, would grow and be born and join our family more than anything in the world.  I remember thinking this baby would be a miracle considering that we had decided not to have more and all of the dates of my cycle really just didn't add up no matter which way I looked at it!



As it was, my baby grew and developed just as normal.  I was so blessed to give birth to a perfect little baby boy and to this day I believe Jayden was born for a lot of special reasons that I'll go into another day. 


So, back to those people who look at me with pity and compassion.  There was maybe a time when I was tired and overwhelmed and a small part of me enjoyed the "oh my goodness, how do you do it?"

However I've grown, and gained confidence in my mothering and in my ability to raise these 4 wonders.  I've lost the idea of being a perfect parent and am happy to just be the best parent that I can be!


I don't need pity or compassion anymore, I'm doing just fine - amazing actually! Yes, we have trying days like everyone else but that's normal and just means we all have to step up our level of communication and connection as a family.

I love my 4 boys more than anything, they have such unique personalities and it is such a joy to watch them grow and develop. 


Are there some things I'm missing out by not having a girl?  Yes.  That's ok though.   Just like Mums of all girls would miss something not parenting boys.  Or like families with a pigeon pair will miss out on the closeness of same gender siblings.  Our journeys will be different, we all have different lessons to learn from our children.  We will be challenged in different ways but ultimately any child we are graced with is just so special regardless of gender. 


Honestly, my heart aches when I write about this.  We must let our children know how much they are wanted and appreciated for who they are.  Not just for their gender but for all of their funny quirks and humour and cleverness!  How lucky WE are to have these babies join us in this life, how beautiful it is we get to nurture them and watch them grow.  We get to love on them and help them learn and we get to learn a lot of life's lessons through them. 




Yep, I love my boys.  I wouldn't want my family any other way...

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Severely craft challenged...


Yep, severely.  I always dreamt of being the Mum that was doing arts and craft all of the time with my kids.
In my fantasy world every time I pin an activity on Pinterest I feel like we've done it! Lol...

I realised last week when I was on kinder duty that my boys AVOID the craft tables, painting easels and scissors and glue! 
When asked about this they felt they couldn't do it "right" and they would get dirty...oh my...what a wake up call!
Has my uncertainty about crafting, painting, simply being creative also put them off it as well?  They fear as much as I do that it won't be good enough or perfect?

Time for a change!  This year has been what we call our year of "moving forward" (must post about that another day)  so it's time to move forward in this area as well!


So, Louis found a book about craft ideas for kids (that we've never made anything out of!) and asked to make egg carton caterpillars.  My initial reaction was not great however I quickly had a look at the requirements and realised we had everything to make them.


Sigh, let's go then...it was a simple straight forward craft that all the boys could have a go at with some help so a good place to start.  Cutting, painting, decorating.


Guess what?  It was FUN!  It was great to see the boys all involved and having a try and even more rewarding to see them playing with them! 


So I think from now on I will be more open to these crafting ideas! I will take a step out of my comfort zone and embrace my well hidden away creativity and hopefully inspire my boys at the same time!


Oh and I get that it was the time spent together that was important and the process of creating full stop that was the best part! No need to be perfect at all...


So, any suggestions for our next (simple) creative venture??  What kinds of artistic endeavours do you enjoy with your kids?

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Clothing disclaimer

Ok, just a little disclaimer here...


There will be no guarantee in any of the photos shown on this blog that my boys will be fully clothed. In fact, it is more than likely that they may be half naked or in pyjamas or a combination of the two.  


I'm well aware of the situation, however at this stage I deem it at a Stage 5 issue.

Stage 5 = The least of my worries. 


If you need any further clarification of this issue please do not hesitate to get in touch for further discussion in the comments section below.




Monday, August 20, 2012

My new bookworm!

Dylan is reading!



He's just so proud of himself and so are we! 

The time was obviously right because he hasn't really had to try hard at all!  It's times like these I'm really glad I kept him back to start in Prep next year.  He is so ready for school now and I think his experience will be all the better for having waited. 

So, the realisation he could read happened something like this...Louis went up to reader level "G" at school and was really excited about that.  At that point I suggested to Dylan that we get the beginner readers from his Reading Eggs books so he can have a go as well.  Well, he picked up the first one and read it without help from me!  Then the second and the third!  The look on his face was priceless! 

I'm so glad he has had such a no pressure, positive experience learning to read! 

A great program that has really helped our boys so far is Reading Eggs...it is an online subscription that is worth every $$ in my opinion and is a fun and light hearted way to learn about letters and words! We purchased the reader packs that go with them also and they are a great supplement.  In saying that, I have never pressured them to use the program, it is just so much fun they choose to play themselves.

Check out: www.readingeggs.com and on facebook: www.facebook.com/readingeggs