One of the joys of the last couple of months has been visits from friends who have yet to spend time on our new farm. The adults are complimentary, which is always enjoyed, but it is the reactions of the children that really enchant me. They collect eggs like each one is made of gold, a special treasure to discover and show off, they are right of course. They realise the pigs are much bigger and dirtier than perhaps they…
On Saturday we celebrated Huwyl’s seventh turn around the sun. My boy, my little lightening strike is growing up for sure. He requested a Harry Potter themed birthday party and I was happy to oblige. We had a wand care class, charms class (making bead bracelets and necklaces), a potions class (this was really popular and Huwyl has repeated it several times!), a transfiguration class (mask making) and of course a visit to Honeydukes. Stephen hand carved wands for each child…
All you north american readers probably won’t believe this, but the night sounds of crickets, frogs and neekerbreekers, night birds and other buzzy insects isn’t one you hear at night in England. It just way too damp and besides, the countryside and its creatures have long since learnt to hush up or risk being shot by a nobleman or built on. Consequently, the deafening noise of Canada at night constantly takes me by surprise. At best as a kid I…
Over the last couple of weeks our neighbour has been cutting, tedding and baling our hay. This weekend the bottom field was baled and the rest of the fields were cut. It was beautiful. The sun began to go down, tinting everything with a soft glow, the world couldn’t have looked more harmonious. Walking our land, clear of high growth for the first time since we bought it (for the first time in many years actually), we began again…
Is it me or is it hot? Anyone else notice this? It’s a bit like, how can I put it, being on the surface of the sun while opening the oven on a hot day. Yup. I know I’m not the only one suffering right now but I don’t handle high heat well. No running, no chores and definitely no cooking. Luckily this is the perfect season for fruit, for breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner! I’m really pleased to have…
What do you do on a boiling hot afternoon (37C with humidity) when you can’t head to the pool because one of your number has a poorly tummy? You make a double batch of cloud sand and stay in the shade of course! For something so incredibly simple (flour and oil, that’s it) this was a real hit. The boys played with their trays of sand for the best part of an hour, giving Mummy the chance to sit down…
Despite my best efforts and homeschooling know how our days at the moment vacillate between high bliss and high pitched screaming. Not all of it from the children. The usual bickering, wailing and gnashing of siblings goes on as it does in all homes all over the world. It can be easy to feel that our lives are dominated by these moments but I know it isn’t true so I’m trying to refocus and remind myself of the highlights. Picking a basket…
This morning Neirin disappeared. We couldn’t find him. We searched and searched, at first with irritation and then with growing panic. Huwyl and I called, looked in every room and called some more. I looked outside, I ran to the pond my heart pounding, he was no where. We searched the house again and again, I looked in his cupboard, under the beds, in every nook and cranny I could think of. It took about 30 seconds. I called his…
Joining Amanda today to celebrate the beauty of the everyday. This boy, this three year old, who tells me very seriously about how eyebrows are stuck on with glue, how he wants to drink milk so that he can grow big like me and draw pictures whenever he likes (even after bedtime). This boy who calls me ‘Princess’ and tells he will guard me from monsters, who is in turn a puppy, kitty cat and robot. Sometimes all at the…
Since Neirin finished preschool I’ve been conscious of trying to create more activities with him in mind. I’ve been pinning lots of different ideas for sensory activities that I can use with both boys and so far this week it has been going really well. The first try, boxes of soapy water, was a resounding success and had the happy by product of clean toys! I love how something so simple can be so soothing and entertaining at the same…