pass the baby

Hope you're having a lovely Friday too... x

our creative space...

Our little play area is complete. It's a space we hope will inspire a little creativity in the owlets. Particularly little owlet who is a little afraid of spending time outside. If we did school, this would be her kindergarten year, so we were a little mindful of that when thinking of what elements we'd like for the garden. Combined with the new sand pit and fairy log ring, the whole project cost us about $50. We're hoping to do a major removal of weeds and spiky plants, but for now it's functional.



The banging wall is a big hit (pun intended). Perhaps not so much with the neighbors... thanks to Soulemama for the idea.



The mud pie kitchen - brilliant. Perfect for cooking for the mud cafe.



Balancing beam in place - perfect for lining up mud pies in the sun and walking the plank.



Mud. That's my little bug and dirt-phobe there...



Knee-deep in mud. Loving it.

More creative spaces at Kootoyoo

unschool monday :: science is cool!

Big owlet made an announcement late last week: "Science is cool! I'm a scientist!" I love that she doesn't say when I grow up. She just is. She's a scientist now.



A little further reading led her to discover that at the moment she's an entomologist. Right now she's studying ants. Good thing there's plenty about. Anyone who has spent a little time in my neighbourhood knows she'll never run out of specimens. What I love about living in a smallish town is that everyone knows everyone. It makes it easier to find someone who can help the owlets with what they need. Huz went to the bush with a colleague last week who is going to help big owlet study a rare butterfly. She can count the shelters it makes, collect data and hopefully help save it. Cool indeed. Also helpful that Huz is into that stuff too - and brings her things like dung beetles as gifts.



Of course, she can just as easily change disciplines. Maybe astronomy, or just checking up on the neighbours... She's also particularly interested in baby development right now. Good thing we have access to one of those too ;)

no more tears

Big owlet had a haircut today. I cut it for her. We haven't been to a hairdresser since moving to this island five years ago... Anyhow, today she asked for short hair and the scissors were in my hand. Her hair had been knotty, again, and we'd had some tears last time she asked me to tie it up for her. So we cut it. She said she wanted "to look goofier". Not sure she knows what that means, but she feels more like herself now. She's all grown up and so little all at once. She loves it. Obviously.

She wears her heart on her sleeve, big owlet. You always know exactly where you stand with her. Communicating her emotions has never been as difficult for her as understanding the emotions of others. She laughs and bubbles with enthusiasm at the slightest thing. She also cries easily. Anyone who knows her can attest to this. The other day we were at a cafe with a lovely new friend. The owlets had eaten ice creams and big owlet was getting bored, so she asked for a milkshake. I was planning to leave soon, was running low on cash and thought the milk may not do her chesty cough any favours. I said no. Overflowing with the frustration of someone big enough to know what she wanted, but not big enough to go buy the milkshake for herself, she cried. It's understandable. She's powerless in the situation. It's frustrating for her. She wears her heart on her sleeve, so she cries.

A woman at the next table loudly said to big owlet "oh you're too big to cry! I'm shocked!" My friend and I disagreed, in a friendly way - as friendly as we could anyhow - saying you can never be too big. Then the woman went on to tell us how amaaaaazing her grandson is. "He never cries. Unless he hurts himself badly.... Spoilt." "Um... pardon?" I asked. "I'm a spoilt grandmother". She said, smiling like a cheshire cat. Hmmmm.... I hugged my beautiful, big hearted girl. So thankful that she feels safe enough to tell us how she feels. To let us know when things upset her. One day she'll be able to explain her feelings with words. I'll be listening to her then, just as I listen now. Even if I can't fix the situation for her, she'll be heard. I'll be listening when she's bubbling over with joy too. Just glad she's sharing a little of her happiness with me.

my creative space... start your engines

I can feel a return to crafting happening. With me, everything is slow and steady. I've been waiting for the urge to strike and the stars to align before I return to making things with my busy hands. I'm very keen to try out the new overlocker. My mind is also bubbling with loads of new ideas for owlets, both mine and other people's. It's just occurred to me that I've never made any baby clothes for my own owlets before and I'm excited to indulge my tiny one. The bigger ones seem to have grown too, so some new clothing is in order. I'm looking at all things Ballets Russes and wishing I could get up to the exhibition before it closes... but the book will probably suffice. I'm thinking I might make a proper start with crochet too. See if it suits these shakey hands more than the knitting needles.

Play along at Kirsty's

connection

I'm sure I'm not alone in finding four a difficult age. It's also wonderful for all the independence it brings. That's just the thing, isn't it? The constant battle between wanting to grow up and stay little all at once? A beautiful friend wrote about time in with her little one. He's the same age as little owlet - we met via a pregnancy forum all those years ago. She reminded me of the importance of holding them close. Nurturing the little one that they are rather than getting angry at the big kid they are trying to be. Some concentrated time with each of my owlets seems to keep things running smoothly. Usually if little owlet's having a rough day, we head for the kitchen, whip up some pikelets and that makes everything better... especially if there's a guitar spatula involved and you can rock out between flips ;)

growing - part two

In my wanderings around blogland, looking for inspiration, I spied Tricia's fairy seating ring via Jenny's blog. I mentioned it to Huz and he remembered a large pile of logs around the corner from our home. Remember the post about our favourite tree? The one we could see from our lounge room? The one we watched being cut down while the owlets cried? Well Huz wandered around with big owlet and asked if he might be able to have a few logs for our garden. It turns out the owner of the tree was just as sad as we were about the loss of the tree. She loved our idea and was so happy that the tree would continue to be loved and remembered by some neighbourhood owlets. So now we have a log ring. Perfect for balancing or sitting at while eating garden soup or mud pies...



Big owlet has been loving pulling off the bark and looking for bugs and sanding the tops. Little owlet likes it as a cafe and tiny owlet is watching it all, excited for when she can join in I'm sure...