:A Frosty Celebration::

This is such a magical thing to do with children, the night before you are expecting a visit from Jack Frost.
All you need is some muffing tins or a round cake tin. Fill them with a little water then add some leaves and flowers. Drape string over the water in the muffin tins or around the edge of the cake tin and create a loop for hanging at the top. Then go out in the dark and put them in a frosty spot.
Next morning its so exciting to rush out and see what has happened. Ours made such pretty decorations, hung on the bare wintry branches of our favourite tree. Then you can watch them sparkle as the sun rises. So simple...but so very lovely!

::Fire::

Nature is such a gift for children. We spent a day playing in creeks and cooking food on a campfire.
Simple things and yet so rich. A chance for me to breathe out and reflect, while adventures were being had. Something wintry and lovely about the whole thing. And kind of nice to go for a walk in the dark with torches, then pile into the car and head home to our own warm beds....although I still entertain dreams of spending the night in swags by the campfire!

::On the trail::

We did a bit of walking, while we were away camping. Along

the Heysen Trail. I love the sight of both of my children

meandering along a forest trail. I have found that walking

is helped by little breaks. To sit and be in the beautiful

spaces that we find ourselves in. Sometimes I will have

little paper treasure bags, for collecting things or these

little sticky cards. To make patterns on with natural finds.

They are simply made, double sided sticky tape,stuck on a

piece of corrugated card. Easy to have in your back pack

for a moment when little quiet rest is called for.

::In the forest::

We went to the forest to camp, this past week. It is

no small undertaking, to go camping alone with two

little boys, but it has its rewards. I think that somehow

we all gained something in the beauty of that forest and

there were stresses that we were able to leave behind

too.

My boys spent ages doing the simple things that come

from being surrounded by nature. And I was afforded

the luxury to lay on a rug and look at the trees and sky.

A lot of reflecting happened on that rug and and lots

of breathing out.

::Easter-ish things::

A few little snippets of our Easter. The Easter tree, in all its

splendour. Beautiful needle felted Easter rabbit scenes care

of my friend Briali(or was it the Easter Bunny?!)

And origami Easter rabbits, which mark

my first foray into origami tutorials on You-Tube. Its worth

having a look at Origami on You-tube....thank you Anita!

For the first time this Easter I sincerely wondered how much

longer the Easter Bunny will call at our house, for my oldest

boy at least. *Sigh*.

Apples

Apple picking is such a lovely annual event. We have

been going for years, picking loads of apples that are

swiftly eaten by two perpetually hungry little boys.

Sometimes the apples make it into a crumble or we bake

them, but mostly they are just eaten and enjoyed.

I love the smell that a basket of freshly picked apples

gives to the house. And the lovely Autumn-ish feeling

of abundance and gathering in that they bring.

::A Birthday::

We celebrated a birthday last week and had a little

party. My oldest boy turned 9, which seems just a

hairs breadth from 10 really. How can this be??!

He is such a fabulous mix of growing maturity and

knowing, together with the freedom still of being a

child.

I wish I could show you photos of the merriment

at his birthday party. Of jovial little boys having fun.

We did such simple things, like bobbing for apples and

eating donuts on strings and luckily it was fun and

joyful and enough with out being too much. I must

admit to being a little relieved that it is all over for

another year!

Every year we seem to some how refine the whole

birthday celebration just a little. In the last little

while I have started leaving a trail of rose petals

leading to the birthday table. And also, to my

delight started wrapping the presents in pastel

play cloths instead of paper. Why didn't I do this

before??!

::5 Minutes Peace::

Just imagine a device that can at any given moment produce

three healthy ice-blocks in under 10 minutes. If this leads to

five minutes of peace, whilst these ice-blocks are consumed

you would consider it a worthy school holiday investment

really wouldn't you?!

We have had such fun with our ice-block maker these holidays.

Combinations we have tried have included: Strawberries with

vanilla yogurt (pictured), orange juice, with a slither of orange,

chocolate milk, with little cookies, fruit salad, various yoghurts

etc etc.

Because the ice-blocks freeze so quickly, there is no separation

of ingredients like you get with conventional ice-block making.

A worthy investment and perfect for us because it makes

three at a time!

:: One afternoon ::

Once in a while, an afternoon comes along that repays me for
a whole lot of slightly less lovely afternoons. The kind of
afternoon where I relax on my bed reading, as my children play
harmoniously. The kind of afternoon where, in between
chapters of my book, I watch a sunflower through my
window gradually unfold. Its the sort of afternoon I should
really make note of-in case I dont get another one in
the immediate future!

Baking

Sometimes when I bake with children, I want an edible result
in minutes. But other times, I am in the mood for a bit of
a process. These cheesy biscuits are great for that. You could
use any cheese biscuit recipe really, but one that retains its
shape during baking would be good. First you mix and roll and
cut out, then the fun begins. Paint each biscuit with egg yolk,
then provide a variety of seeds for decoration (I used sesame,
poppy, sunflower and pepita.) Little fingers love decorating
things...especially if they can be eaten later!

New Beginnings

You know, over the past few months, I wondered at
times if I was going to blog again. For various reasons I
wondered if blogging wasn't connected to a phase of my life
that might almost be over. But do you know what? I am not
totally ready to let it go. I need to draw my energy
back into my home and mothering for a while. And blogging
is sooo good for this. So very good. So here I am.