27 May 2012

sunday snippets

Please listen to some funky James Brown whilst viewing this photo. Feel the funk y'all.
It's a secret. #sunrise #secret #nofilter
Oh please save me from this cuteness overload! #newkittens #toomuchcute
3 Sisters. #boathouse #tasmania
Cuteness. #sisters #beanie #beach
Hakea laurina is my wife's floral emblem. #hakea #pincushion #flower
Shore Boat. #boat #beach
Little Nugget. #daughter #fearless #gorgeous

{sunday snippets} A collection of photos from your week.  No need for words.  Let the picture tell your story. Joining in with {tinniegirl} 


*All photos taken by our weekend photographer, Huz. Find him on instagram @berondi.

26 May 2012

oh! kittens!

Hard at work. Researching. Poster making... Uh-oh @berondi #bigowletwantsakitten #kitten #poster #unschooling

Big Owlet has been wishing and hoping for a kitten for a number of years now. It's been her number three wish, next to flying or meeting a real live faerie. We've mostly been against the idea. We have an old cat who is lovely and gentle, but very independent. She hunts and brings home gifts for us, and although she seems to have an inbuilt sense of what's ok to bring home and what isn't, another cat may not be similarly inclined... The idea was wisely ruled out in favour of local wildlife... But then there is a bit of a rat and mouse problem in our neighbourhood... A cat is always going to be useful, even if I do have a mild allergy...

But a visit to the local cat shelter with her Grandmother, and a subsequent play with kittens there, was all Big Owlet needed to rekindle the flame. She worked on proving how responsible whe was around the house. Set to assisting Tiny Owlet with toilet learning, wiped up spills, remembered to feed the dog. She set about finding out everything she could about kittens and how to look after them. It was pretty cute... We were pretty much powerless in the events that followed...

Oops... #kittens #owlets

Well we couldn't very well get one and leave his tiny sister there! She was the runt of the litter and Little Owlet fell in love with her at first sight. And we are making memories here, peeps!

Tiny kitten in a tiny basket.. #kitten #love #tiny #mew

So mini! No wonder she's smitten...

She just curled up on his shoulder... #awww #kitten #love

She's not the only one...

Kittens in the dollhouse #kittens #mew #supercute

Named Storm and Petal, the kittens have settled in comfortably, despite all the colour and movement and noise in the nest. They are played with all day and cradled and carted around like rag dolls or precious babies. They are so loved.

Contented daughter, Contented kitty. #newkitten #sleeping

And one very patient, determined and responsible owlet has found contentment. It's going to be a lovely, snuggly, memorable winter for this owlet. I look forward to watching those memories unfold.



22 May 2012

late autumn wandering...

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I'm loving the chance to wander through quiet parks while the owlets run in the sunshine, catching leaves, watching the people walk briskly past on their way to work... "We're free!" They shout, as they run with arms outstretched. They relish the space and the time they have to wander and go at their own pace. They relish meeting with friends and exploring the world around them. They relish art exhibitions and hands on spaces and the time to enjoy them together and alone, making art in their own time... We're all relishing life on these crisp, sunny Autumn days...

Junk mandala made by Big Owlet  #mandala #play #unschooling

And still seeing and making mandalas everywhere...

21 May 2012

mondayitis

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Today was one of those days... I'm getting so much better at coping with them. The trick is to know what they look like upon waking, so they don't sneak up on you. This morning, I woke to tired owlets who'd been to bed too late the night before. Big Owlet stayed up reading a whole chapter book in a night while the others partied 'til they dropped. That'd be ok if they slept in. But they don't. Little Owlet is trying very hard to have her voice heard at the moment and so everything is coming out as a demand. Tiny Owlet is cutting new teeth and just doing her thing in her own rambunctious way...

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Usually nude.

Drive time... #play #owlets #cars

So today, we cancelled all plans and slowed right down. We stayed home from gym class, decided not to walk or drive or shop or go out. We kept pyjamas on for as long as possible, ignored the toddler tornado debris and stopped to play for a bit. We turned a blanket into a street scape and played with cars. We shut the curtains and the owlets danced a nude ballet... well, what else do you do on a home day? There was watching and fighting and biting and the usual wintry indoor day frustrations... but there was also magic....

Big Owlet is becoming quite the the baker #cookies #baking #yum #owlets

And a happy Big Owlet who baked cookies for her third solo effort today. Jam drops, baked following a recipe all on her own. Just the odd bit of advice, but mostly her own work and play... She has learnt so much about measurement, fractions, temperature, time, volume, chemistry and the written word through the simple act of following a recipe. And gained so much confidence and understanding of food. Exciting, wholesome, fulfilling stuff. Worth staying home for.

How was your Monday? xx



PS. Last week's Samhain/Halloween post, you know, that wiccan/pagan-loving night of fun... That was post #666! Hilarious and eerie all at once!

16 May 2012

celebrating the seasons :: samhain

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We're rather drawn to the odd celtic or pagan feast around here. Not only do they follow the seasons, but they explain the origins of many other seasonal traditions. It becomes a little complex when we celebrate northern hemisphere traditions at times that seem all wrong down here in the southern hemisphere, so it helps us put it all into place when we celebrate twice, with pagan celebrations and their connection to the elements at the correct times of the year. We celebrate Yule in midwinter, Christmas in midsummer as well as Summer Solstice. In spring we have Beltane, while Autumn brings us Easter and Samhain, or in modern terms, Halloween...

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Samhain marks the celtic new year and the beginning of the dark half of the year. It's a time of celebration of the end of harvest. It's a time for remembering, reflecting and letting go...

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This year, for us, it was a time for celebrating and welcoming friends to our table. We carved pumpkins, cut pomegranates, mulled wine and gathered symbolic herbs from our garden.

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We bobbed for apples.

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And got a little wet in the process.

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We wandered the garden by lantern light, looking for faeries...

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And we roasted a chook and our best Autumn veg, with the smells of harvest and home, as we dined by the fire. Owlets played and chattered and we filled our already full bellies with apple crumble and cream, thankful for the warmth and good company that will sustain us through the bleak months of the winter that are almost upon us...


14 May 2012

look at them learning...

Spontaneous maths while the pasta cooks #unschooling #maths #lunch #owlets

Actually, this is a particularly schoolish photo, don't you think? The owlets decided to sit down and work on a page or two of some maths problems while we were waiting for the pasta to cook on Saturday. And it's possibly the only photo I have of them looking like they are doing anything related to "learning" in the traditional sense, even though they are all learning so much...

On this particular occasion, Big Owlet learnt to add numbers with double digits, which she later said was "kind of fun", despite her general feeling that "maths is boring". Big Owlet is going through a patch of not reading much at all. She reads to her sisters lots, and very well, but she's paused the novel reading for a little while for some reason... She's all about cooking. Today she baked her first solo cake. Thanks to baking, she now understands measurement, time and temperature so much better, as well as a bit of chemistry, watching solids and liquids mix, which she's backed up with a bit of playing with gloop...

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She's learning the fine art of checkers and thinking strategically. Actually, we've been playing lots of games, learning much along the way.

Big Owlet is big #giant #owlet

Little Owlet, who doesn't like games all that much, is learning the basics. Self care is an important one for her. I'm modeling it as best I can and showing her by nurturing her LOTS. She forgets to eat, she's so wrapped up in play. Forgets so many things... She's branching out lots on her own, finding independence, wanting to spend all day with friends...

They played in this box all day... #mates #owlet #play

Little Owlet is also asking for lots of time with me, in that tug-of-war that goes on until that independence is upon them... I'm making time to read to her at the end of each day. It's important to her. Unlike her sisters, she never much cared for books, as a toddler. But we're making up for it now. She's reading some words. And listening to so much that I'm saying to her, showing her. She's a little sponge right now. A happy, social little sponge and it's so exciting to watch.

Hanging out in her own little spot... Keeping an eye on her sisters while they play #lunch #owlet

Tiny Owlet is a sponge too. She's observing everything and learning by osmosis. She's all about mothering.

Babywearing babe #supercute #love #toddler #babywearing

She carries her baby everywhere. She breastfeeds, co-sleeps... actually we all breastfeed her baby, but that's a story for another day... She calls most of us "mama" when she needs something or wants to be heard...

Tiny walking with Dada and her baby #toddler #love #loveher #supercute #walking @berondi

She is working so hard on talking, despite being perfectly comprehensible in grunts. Her days are about caring and copying and climbing and clowning. And they are so full. All of our days are full. Full of learning and loving and just living.

12 May 2012

Saturday night...

Saturday night...

Where did that week go? We've been lost in a haze of plotting and planning, chatting and chewing things over...  Not mnuch has gone on, but we've faced some interesting hurdles and found an exciting new direction with fewer limits... All will be revealed in the fullness of time, but for now things are bubbling along excitingly and happily. This weekend is super chilly in our little part of the world. There's snow on the mountain! We're snuggling in, lighting the fire and pottering around...

eating:: pumpkin a million ways... pumpkin gnocchi, spicy pumpkin soup, pumpkin pizza... using up every last scrap. I've been working on eating lots more protein and super yummy foods for me. With all the breast feeding going on around here, it's vital that I get lots of the good stuff. There's also lots of apple crumble, broad beans fresh from the pod and green smoothies to use up all the kale in the garden.

reading:: Not much, but when I can, I'm catching up on some magazines, flicking through all the recipe books and I'm reading Bedtime Peekaboo five times a day to Tiny Owlet.

sewing:: pyjama pants for the bigger owlets. The fabric has been sitting on the shelf for a few years, waiting... tonight I whipped up pants while they were in the bath. Must remember to grab those snippets of time more often.

ignoring:: the mess. While I have a tiny destructor following me everywhere, I'll never beat it. I'm doing what I can and turning a blind eye too. I'm planning a big de-clutter sometime soon, but for now, It's livable, lovable, happy mess...

playing:: twister, puzzles, snap, memory, lego, matchbox cars, fuzzy felt... It's been a week for board games and sitting on the floor, hanging 'round, having fun. I've been loving playing everyday with the owlets. It's made for such connected time with them and it has helped me to lighten up tenfold.

loving:: my new-ish shoes, walking with the owlets every day... Sundays at the farmer's market and in the kitchen... Spending more time and planning and working with Huz... Chatting with Tiny. Her vocabulary mostly consists of grunts right now, but the words in between and the little signs she uses means we have quite lengthy chats about all sorts of things and I'm loving that. Especially her sense of humor. She adds so much laughter to our nest everyday.

What have you been up to this week?



6 May 2012

sunday snippets

Like Father Like Daughter(s). My little barefoot buddies. #barefeet
Flava Flav. #bling #flavaflav
Girls
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{sunday snippets}: a collection of photos from your week.  No need for words.  Let the pictures tell your story. Playing along with {tinniegirl}

4 May 2012

book loving :: part two

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It was so lovely to read about everyone's favourite books last week. Some of our favourites were listed too. Among our faves are Alison Lester's books like Magic Beach, Imagine and Our Farm and Jeannie Baker's books like Window and Where the Forest Meets the Sea... We love Dr Seuss, Winnie the Pooh, Fancy Nancy, Eloise, Harry Potter, Audrey of the Outback, Cuddle Time, Winter Awake, My Dad, Hello Baby, The Magical Place, Murgatroyd's Garden, M. Sasek's Australia and New York... We love our very extensive Golden Book collection, Little House and Hairy Maclary, The Hobbit and The Very Hungry Caterpillar which, as I mentioned last Friday, we now also own in French! Oui!

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Huge thanks to Glottogon for giving readers here the opportunity to win a $50 gift code on their fab website bursting with books in a bunch of languages, including their lovely range of books for little ones... I'm so excited for our winner.... who I'm thrilled to announce, thanks to Random. org is... Cybele! Pass on your details, lovely and I'll make sure that gets to you soon.

Happy Friday! We're camping in the lounge room, having a slumber party. How about you? xx