It all ended in tears...

We were recently blessed with what might have been the best Christmas ever. Every time my family comes together, to celebrate the end of the year and indulge in a festival of thoughtfulness and delicious food, this seems to happen. We ALWAYS say this. But this time was different.

We flew to them this time, thanks to a generous donation of tickets from Mum & Dad. And thanks to my Sis and her wonderful man's hospitality, we shared their gorgeous, but modest space for the better part of two weeks. Oh there was festive...





And there was feasting. And there was a lazy Christmas night for tired owlets with full bellies, all watching moonlight cinema in the back yard. Kiki's Flying Delivery Service with loud street parties, illegal fireworks, aerogard and bats flying overhead... There was also a rotten cold that circulated through the whole bunch of us, but didn't dampen spirits. There was cheap, wonderful food, internet friends becoming wonderful real friends, nights out alone (eep!) and there were lots of adults to share the bulk of the parenting and cleaning and cooking and fun making... And although we were away from home and in a big, bustling, stinking hot city, we actually started to feel a bit relaxed.



"I could live like this forever..." My sister sighed. And she was right. It just flowed and all those reasons why we miss living near them leapt forward.

We said goodbye one hot afternoon, after a hearty Dad-cooked BBQ and then it began...

It always starts with Huz. And the hug. 

He hugged my sister goodbye which started the explosion of tears, which began the unstoppable flood of tears from me, and the flailing. Actually, I think it was just my sister and me. I think the rest of us were relatively stoic and confused... We hugged it out, but there was nothing for it but to say goodbye quietly and hop in the car and drive away from them. And sob all the way to the airport, assessing our options and decisions along the way... And feel quiet and emotional about it all the way home.

But then this....



Home. We stepped out of the car and all we could hear were birds. All we could smell was eucalyptus and sea air. We stretched out in our comfortable and (thanks to the owlets' uber thoughtful Uncle), clean and welcoming home... The last few weeks have been full of missing and wishing and wondering, but knowing that this is where we belong. Where we can live the kind of lifestyle we love and need... So hopes and budgets and plans are afoot for more visits and travels and, although it's not perfect,  away we go....

Finding our way back...

Hello. How are things? We've been so crazy busy with everything... EVERYTHING! The last few months are a bit of a happy whirlwind blur... First there was the intense pre-christmas work period with Spiral Garden, combined with the usual crazy busy end of year stuff and all that parenting three children brings. Follow that with Christmas interstate. And then bring home a good dose of some awful cold virus that has you wiped out for the better part of three weeks...

Having a little break has helped me pause and think about what I write about and how. I've contemplated some of the feedback I've received over the past year or so and why and how it affected me... I've pondered how we communicate with each other these days and how online communication works within that. I've felt a tad self-conscious. And the thought of writing something here has become harder and harder. Like when you leave it too long to make a phone call... I almost didn't come back.


But this is our story and I can't begin to tell you how helpful it is being able to trace rhythms and patterns within our family. To remember so many happy (and sad) memories and the story behind them.  To look back on a bad day in August and realise we feel like this every year at that time. Or that this was a challenging age for the last owlet who visited it. It's helpful to look back at the things we've done so we can experience them again. Or to remember that when we feel life is moving so slowly and we feel like we haven't done much, remember that we HAVE!

So I'm here to record it and throw it all out there in my usual, unplanned stream of consciousness style and make sure it's there for us to look back on and for anyone who might still read this blog (Hi Dad!!xx ), to have a little insight to our days, if it interests you... 2014, we are finally ready for you. xo

Tiny Teeth

A little glimmer of hope for us this week... A little glimmer of hope for those we know with children who have severe tooth decay too, perhaps? Our Tiny has long had a rather alarming amount of dental decay and has been living with a painless abscess on her gum for about 9 months now. We've fretted, researched and thought so much about what to do... We've been monitoring it, cleaning and nursing it and talking with her about it this whole time. We've improved her diet as well as we could (we could possibly do better), and in turn, the decay seems to have halted, but still, the abscess was there. It grew when her immune system was working on protecting her from other things and went down when she was robust and healthy (she's always robust...).

This week it disappeared completely.

We're quietly celebrating (just a little bit). Looking hopefully at one another and doing little happy dances inside. We're holding out on the big GA just that little bit longer and watching still. Watching and hoping and waiting. And trusting that the gut instinct we've had will lead us the right way as it usually does...

Happy Friday, peeps. xx

Independence

Fiercely independent and self-sufficient, Tiny proves daily that she's quite capable of looking after herself, thank you very much. Of course, sometimes this leads to events such as the Blue Paint or Blender episodes... She's quite capable of sorting breakfast and an outfit and Peppa Pig sideways on the (now slightly broken) iPad. Our fearless third child believes she might be at least seven years old, like her bigger sister, and possibly even thirty-seven.

In fact, she is almost three and so content and assured of her place in the world, we haven't a clue what to give her for her birthday. She doesn't value "things" so much and I expect that might have something to do with sharing all her sisters' toys and hand-me-downs. She wants for nothing and when asked what she might like, she replies "nothing" or "candles". Although I suspect if there isn't a present to open on the day she'd be quite devastated.

Thing is, she's the kind of owlet who just makes-do. A practical sort who'll find a way to organise what she needs on her own if you're not able to provide it.  Sharp as a tack and the freest of spirits, we're blessed to provide her with the kind of life where freedom is valued and she'll be able to continue moving through the world so sure of her place in it. Her own sovereign person. A wonderful and frightening thought all at once, as anyone who's ever parented a three-year old can attest.

So what do you give the owlet who has everything she needs?

I'm looking forward to finding out! Ha!

Happy Tuesday. xx

unschool monday :: whole family learning

I'm constantly astonished at how this unschooling life evolves. And yet, I've always had a sense of how things would flow as we settled in and it all became second nature... And it has. So much so that I forgot about noting it here for a time and, as such, I'm not sure that Unschool Monday is a thing anymore... but hey, it's Monday and I'm writing about unschooling, so why not? Anyhow, it flows, this life. And we flow with it. And what we have created in our little nest is a group of people all working towards a common goal - to love each other, make life a little easier, and to help. We help out and take turns and communicate openly and it seems there's always someone to lend a hand if another's hands are busy. These owlets are turning into the most excellent humans, who see a need to help and (most of the time), gladly step up.

Big Owlet has become the most patient of teachers for Little Owlet, who will ask for help with spelling, writing and reading multiple times a day. What's brilliant is that there's always someone to answer Little Owlet and help her on her way. And understands there are loads of people available to help her and she's supported in her learning. When little bursts of development happen for her and she, for example, solves a maths problem in her head upon waking in the morning (this happens lots right now), she knows she's supported by more than just one of us. There's a whole gang of us cheering her on!

But it's not just Little Owlet who's benefiting here... When any of us takes on something new, we all pitch in to help them learn it. Of course, there are always basic needs like "I'm hungry, I'm tired, she hurt me, can you carry me?... Muuuuuuummmm!!!" going on. And we meet those needs. We move through it. And that takes up much of the day. But there's support too. And so we find ourselves going to pick up Huz from a run at 8.30am on a Saturday morning... Or everyone will feign interest and don the gardening gloves to help implement my permaculture design. We're in this together.

We help each other. It's good. It's what gets things done and its how these excellent humans learn to seek and create communities where everyone lives by this code. There is no competition. There are no rules to abide, or tests to pass. Only enthusiasm and help and learning and support. We are creating the kind of world we want to live in by listening and supporting and learning together. Imagine that!

How does learning look for your family right now? 
How was your Monday? 
Have a happy one! xo

Little Owlet :: Chef

Nothing brings Little Owlet more joy than cooking. When she was a baby she'd cry and cry while I cooked dinner until I put her in a rocker on the kitchen bench. She'd sit in the sling on my hip and grab the spoon from my hand. Since she could see over the bench, she's been there alongside me, asking, advising, tasting. Now she just walks up when I'm cooking, grabs the spoon and takes over. Cooking together is our thing. Cooking is her thing.




She adores making up her own recipes and collaborating on ideas. And she's super picky on presentation. Many a time I've seen her rearrange the pikelets on our afternoon tea plate on it's way to the table. When she chooses what tv show to watch together, its always a cooking show... "So I can learn to cook everything, Mama!" She loves woman chefs and cooks best. She looks for role models... Maggie Beer is her favourite - "Grammy Beer", she calls her.




It's such a delight to watch the delighted little spark inside her when she indulges her passion. Aside from all the delicious food she cooks/we eat/we discuss.... She's learning to count, to measure, to multiply, to read. She's learning to cook.

What are your owlets passionate about? 
Is it something you share? Or do they do it on their own? 
Do you like making up recipes? Or do you follow the book?

This is Little Owlet's Apple Upside Down Cake. Aside from flour, sugar and milk, we can't remember the recipe. But it was yum. 

xx

Everything and nothing...

I've been absent for the longest time in such a long time... Life has been always busy, always messy and very, very full. Full of one very busy toddler, a business and regular day-to-day life which seems to  be full of everything and nothing all at once.

 Like a Monday morning where you can't remember all the wonderful, busy, simple things you got up to on the weekend... There's nothing. I've lost the momentum and with it the words... I have so much to share about our recent days. I have the pictures too! But right now, I've got to focus on sleep. Somehow I reckon once that picks up, everything will just flow. Meanwhile, this is what everyday life is looking like at our nest these days... Lots of dreaming and planning, gardening and relaxing. Everything and yet nothing...

More soon. I promise. I have the pictures!!

How are you going? 

Getting enough sleep? 

What do your days look like? xo