Fire Station Visit

Our homeschooling playgroup went to a fire station yesterday. It was fantastic! Very interesting and we even got to see a real call-out! About 5 minutes into our tour the alarm went off - just a digital beeping noise, not a huge clanging bell! So we all had to move out of the way and off they went, sirens blaring. We thought the tour was over then and started making plans. We'd just decided to head to a local park, when the fire truck pulled back in to the station. It was a false alarm so we got to check out the truck a bit more and everyone got to get in too. The kids were crawling all through the cabin and sitting up on the drivers seat playing with the steering wheel. I even jumped in with Ewan - it was great - very comfortable!

Afterwards we all went to the park for lunch and the boys (we have about 6 boys aged between 2 and 4 that come!) were all excited and going crazy! They had a great time though once they settled down!

Liam The Creator

Liam is always busy creating things. Give him a roll of sticky tape, some toilet rolls, old boxes, any bits of rubbish really - and he's in heaven! He wakes at around 4:30/5am every morning and gets straight into it. He's been making some interesting things lately.

Here's his space helmet:



And his oxygen tank:

Afternoon Entertainment: Cardboard Boxes and A Hill

This is the boys' favourite afternoon entertainment! It's just out the front of our house - we have an extremely steep front yard - perfect for sliding down! Certainly puts all our packing boxes to good use!

Ewan's Vehicle of Choice:




Crash!




Liam Rolling Down:

Visit to Pop's House

We went up to see Pop and Heather's new house. It's not finished yet but they have certainly come a long way - it's looking great and we all loved it!

Heather's grandchildren, Candice and Memphis, were visiting too so the kids had a great time playing and exploring together. They also got to help decorate the Christmas Tree!

Sleeping Buddies

Ben was out last night so I put the boys to sleep in my bed. I lay in between them until they went to sleep. Later when we went to go to bed the boys were all snuggled up together.

Chef Liam

We had lunch at Nonna Lucy's house today. Chef Liam decided to create his own recipe. He was very proud of it and we all had to have a taste. He told Nonna Lucy that now she knew how to make it, she could cook it for dinner!

Here's the recipe -

Bread Pasta

Ingredients:
Cooked Pasta
Bread Rolls


Method:

1. Pull bread roll apart making lots of bread crumbs.

2. Mix bread crumbs through pasta.

3. Enjoy!

My Big Boy is Growing Up

This is Liam's 2nd night away from us. He went home with Nonna and Dida on Wednesday afternoon to stay with them for a few days on the farm. He was very excited and couldn't wait to go. I was nervous and didn't want to let go.

On Tuesday night, we had a bit of a talk - had some making up to do after a few angry episodes from both of us.

I said to Liam - "I'm going to miss you so much when you go to Nonna's." (I started crying)

Liam, very matter of fact - "I'll call you mum. You'll get to talk to me on the phone you know."

Me - Sobbing and laughing at the same time

He just sounded so grown up. Something you think of a teenager saying - not your 4 year old!

So Wednesday came and we spent most of the day together. It was really nice. Ewan conveniently went to sleep early, so Liam and I had some special time together doing craft and having morning tea. I made sure I talked to him and really listened to him. My heart was so full of love. Sometimes you forget how much you love them when they get older and so much more assertive. You have to look harder for the warm wonderful side when there have been days of being grumpy and both of us wanting different things. Liam and I are very much alike - both stubborn and like things a particular way - certainly makes life interesting! But he is also wonderfully warm and caring. Creative and funny. Clever and innovative - the things he can make out of a toilet roll and a cereal box amaze me!!

Saying goodbye was hard. I tried to hold back the tears but I couldn't. I told him how much I loved him and said goodbye. He said "I love you mummy" in his sweet, sincere little voice.

The house is so quiet without Liam. I knew that he talks a lot but it's only now without his constant questions that I realise just how much! Ewan asks about Liam a lot and has been saying things like "Here's a balloon for Lee (that's how he says Liam!)" forgetting that he's not here. He is enjoying it though and is getting in as much talk as he can while he has the chance! Ewan's been running around and loving the freedom to do what he wants instead of what Liam wants.

We've talked to Liam and he is having a great time too. Keeping busy with all the action of the farm work - lots of tractors and driving in trucks - all things he loves. I'm sure we'll be hearing about it for weeks afterwards!

We are going to pick him up tomorrow night. I can't wait to see him!

Melbourne Cup Luncheon!

We have our Homeschool Playgroup every fortnight and today was a playgroup day. So to celebrate the Melbourne Cup we had our own luncheon complete with hat making and our very own stick horse race!

It was a great day and everyone had a ball.

How 'Bout Nonna!

How 'bout Nonna - has become a common phrase around here thanks to Ewan.

Goes something like this........

Me: Who's bed do you want to sleep in?

Ewan: Nonna's bed. Me like sleeping with Nonna.

Me: What about Mummy?

Ewan: How 'bout Nonna.


or


Me: Guess who loves you? (meaning me!)

Ewan: Nonna!

Me: What about Mummy?

Ewan: How 'bout Nonna.


He knows how funny I think it is now so he says it all the time. Cheeky monkey!

Don't Lose Weight Mum!

Liam was up before 5am again this morning. I played with him for a little bit while Ben slept. Just after 5:30 though I decided to go for a walk.

I woke up Ben and asked him to get up so I could go. He was a bit eager with his yes and I jokingly said "Oh so you think I need to lose weight!".

Liam heard this and said "Don't lose weight mum! You'll be too short if you lose weight".

A New House

Well here we are in our new house and with life back to normal.

We found a house in a nearby suburb - not exactly where we wanted to be - but we didn't have much choice! We only found this place a week or so before we needed to move out of the old place!

It is working out great though and must have been meant to be! It's a great place with 4 bedrooms, seperate lounge and dining, all on one level, and with a nice size yard. We've already started our garden and have lots of herbs and a few tomato plants in - with more to come! The boys are loving it and it really feels like home.

The move went well though with being sick in the weeks leading up - first with gastro and then head colds - it was pretty full on. We got there though as always and have been here for almost a month now! Time flies - especially at this time of year! Can't believe it's getting close to Christmas already!!