Lunch date with Ethan

So I have a little list of fun things that I like to do with the kids, some as a 1 one 1 and some as a family event.  It mixes things up and the kids never know when it will be their turn for something fun!

Last week it was time for Ethan and I to have a lunch date!   I picked him up from school (at lunch time) and we had his choice of Subway.  He was beyond excited that they have a kids meal promotion going with the latest Pixar movie "Inside Out". 

He ate every last morsel of sandwich, fruit puree thing, juice and cookie!  He was so happy!

We talked and laughed and played a little game of memory (that came with his lunch).  It was so nice to just be one on one as usually if I take all 4 out for lunch it is a little chaotic and wild and I'm forever making sure everyone is behaving rather than actually being able to connect with them properly.

So much fun to hang out with my boy and be able to really listen to what he has to say without any interruptions!

(This is not a sponsored post, my boys just really like Subway probably because it's the closest thing we have to Fast food in town!)

These boys are a growin'

Excuse the lighting and tired faces but we got carried away taking photos the other night.  These boys are growing so fast we thought we'd document it.  The rate their eating and growing we need to hurry up and get some gardens growing at the block!

Jayden, 5yo, was our biggest born but must take after his Mummy and is a little shorty.  This guy makes up for it in spunk and energy though, that's for sure!

Ethan, 6yo, is another little ball of energy and has both Mum and Dads smarts combined.  Such a clever little thing.  He also has a great sense of humour (and a pretty good temper as well!)

Dylan, 8yo is maybe a little more sensitive than my other boys.  He is so kind and thoughtful and is such a social butterfly.  This boy has a great heart that's for sure. 

Louis, 9yo is fast approaching double digits and doesn't look that far off catching me in height!  This kid is very witty and far more mature than his years.  Perhaps that's a trait of oldest children? He is so bright and very nurturing. 
 

They all have a way to go to catch up with their Dad!  I'm looking forward to watching them grow and see if anyone overtakes the other!

Love these boys so much.  They have such different personalities and are all teaching me big lessons as a mother and a person.  I'm so lucky I tell you! (In case anyone reads this and thinks we live in a perfect household we most certainly do not.  I lose my patience mostly around dinner and bedtime every night and that is why I often blog when my boys are at school or are asleep.  This way I feel all warm and fuzzy instead of overwhelmed and frustrated! Haha).

Life's looking awesome...

and busy and productive and tiring and exciting and mundane!

Looking after my family and going to work I quickly realised there needs to be a concerted effort to include fun in our days as well.

It's so easy to be worn out and run down and just go through the motions, when we sometimes need to wake up and remember that we only get one life to live.

While it's unrealistic to think life is without challenges, I think it is more than possible to not only look for all of the good that is out there as well as create some of it ourselves.

I guess it's a balance really, of work and every day jobs, the really fun and exciting stuff and quiet, calm and beautiful moments.

Is that too much to ask?  Haha. Forever a work in progress perhaps!

Anyhow...here's few bits and pieces from the last couple of weeks...

The boys are still loving the kinetic sand:

Ethan left his doggy at Pa's house when were in Melbourne the other week for my birthday.  They were reacquainted after Pa sent him in the mail.  Ethan was beyond happy to see him...

The boys love the Wiz Khalifa song "See you again" and printed the lyrics out and put the music clip on and sung their little hearts out.  I love that they love music...

It's such a beautiful song...

It's winter...

I'm not a huge fan of the cold weather, but I do enjoy winter walks, hot baths, flanny pj's, and freshly baked bread with a good soup.

Oh and there's the snow to consider.  The ski season kicks off this weekend and Mt Buller is off to a great start.   Here's hoping we can take the kids up soon!  

School photos 2015

My handsome boys.  They are so grown up.  It's scary and sometimes I miss my babies but I also love these big boys.   It's completely different and challenging having these unique personalities with their own thoughts, idea, feelings and emotions. Voices.  They're not afraid to share their opinions and while it can push me to my limits at times, I'm glad that they have them and are comfortable enough to express them.

Louis, Grade 4, 9 years old

Dylan, Grade 2, 8 years old

 Ethan, Grade 1, 6 years old

It's now that they're older it really feels like we're raising men.  It's a huge job to try and encourage good values, love and kindness while also pushing them just that little bit out of their comfort zones at times to help develop character.  Making sure it's ok to try and make mistakes.   That it's ok to take well though out risks.  It's ok to be themselves.  It's ok to share their hearts.  It's ok to lead, fairly and consider others. 

Friends are starting to become a lot more important and there seems to be a lot of drama that goes along with that.  I really don't remember that so much when I was a kid.  There is much fighting and friends one day, enemies the next that it's hard to keep up.  It's a new phase that's for sure.  

At the end of the day as long as they know that as a family we'll stick together and always be there for them I think we'll all do alright.  

Cub scouts bike hike

Louis and Dylan went on a huge bike ride with Cub scouts on Saturday.  They road from Yarck to Yea which is about 27-30km!

They were nervous and a little unsure if they could do it, which was reasonable considering they'd never done such a big ride before.  They only started riding bikes just before Christmas last year. 

We drove back to Yea later in the afternoon and were told they were still going.  They were going to make it!

Jayden and Ethan had a heap of fun at the playground...

Here they come!

They were tired, worn out and had grins from ear to ear.  I was so proud of them and they were proud of themselves.   Dylan had a few tears at some points throughout but he kept going.  They are learning that challenges like this can be tough, you want to give up, but it if you just keep going there is often success and victory on the other side. 

They are learning powerful life lessons by facing up to fears and realising that just because their first thought is "I can't do it" doesn't actually mean that they can't do it.

Also, they know that the important part was that they gave it a go.  If they hadn't been able to finish the ride, I would have been just as proud of them for trying.   Huge stuff.

One of the best parts for me was hearing Dylan say to Louis he couldn't do something (something pretty small) and Louis replying "Dude, you just rode 30km, of course you can do it" and of course he could.

What we achieve in life is mostly about mindset and attitude, something I'm still learning and working on.  Don't you love how much we learn from being parents?