Together Tuesday

I pulled this image to write a post a couple of weeks into this years Hockey season I was out of my depth and had made at least one unintentional mistake. This mantra seemed like a good one to follow to get myself out of the hole.... onward and upward. I never wrote the post I was too busy doing Hockey stuff.

Fast forward to a few months later and I have done a lot of good shit- hours and hours and hours of good shit. I was at a point when I was nervously optimistic that it was going to be a pretty awesome last Hockey season hanging out with Kieran at the games and watching him play. 

As of today it's been a rough couple of weeks on the Hockey front- I have been relieved of one post and am planning on stepping down from the rest. I'm disappointed in the community that I had come to value highly. Don't get me wrong the vast majority of the people in the club are lovely, awesome people. But the politics, back-door, underhanded, boys club stuff overwhelms and undermines the good work and the good feelings you get from the rest of it.

For me Be Honest and Do Good Shit has turned into stay home and let other people deal with the shit. I'm sad and angry and frustrated.

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This week on the web....

An interesting comparison of independent research and industry funded research.

This is good news for the boys school and kindy which have significant green spaces around them.

A great article about why obedience shouldn't be the goal of parenting.

Me and the boys are most definitely sugar-burners right now- it is driving me nuts!

I liked the perspective offered in this article about how to think about people, all people as whole people to be respected. 

From James Clear.... what to do when you don't want to do.

A fantastic article on Breastfeeding to the timetable of the baby- not some mysterious clock. 

Awesome build a Fairy Den House Booklet!!

Research reveals negative effects of academic preschools and kindergartens.

This article is intended to challenge you to rethink your entire approach to life.

Legislated morality, civil rights, and the Christian response to marriage equality.

Some grain and sugar free breakfast foods here to try.

A blog I used to read all the time and still enjoy occasionally is The Black Apple- Emily Martin's art is just lovely and I'm hoping to get my hands on a copy of her new picture book eventually.

This weeks etsy finds.... 

Costume Party by Emily at the Black Apple.

 

How cute is this mini scooter necklace!

 Super cool play house made to co on a card table.

 Anatomical Heart Necklace.

 Fun Tulip ring.

 Helen Dardik is one of my fave artists... how cool is this Lion!?

Love this for my scrapbook room!

 Sweet little house bud vase.

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'You've had a good day son....'

This was a good week....

Because...
... I scored some good stuff in the Scrapbooking on Farrall Sale.
... Les got a new model.
... Merenia's friends came over.
... The brown couches moved on.
... We watched the final few episodes of Game of Thrones... finally!
... Tidied up some stuff in the backyard.
... Kieran spent some time playing Poker with friends.
... Tama turned four.
... The boys loved the new woodworking table.
... had a catch-up with Danny.
... yummy cake for Tama's birthday.
... lots of great playing with the new woodwork table and bird books.
... Tama got a cool present from Clare and Robert.

"You've had a good day son"  is the punchline of a joke my dad used to tell about a father, his son, a bear won in a side show at a carnival and a Mini Car... it's a great joke and the one liner punchline has stayed with us for a very long time. This weekly post is about being grateful for the little and big things in our lives and celebrating success the grand and everyday kind.

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Tama Month 48

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Flora on Friday

   

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365 2015 Week 24

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Wordless Wednesday

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This week on the web....

I was really interested to read that breastfed babies are naturally in Ketosis- this is a big deal considering all the bad press that Low Carb High Fat diets are getting from dietician associations and others around the place.

It's always good to read a story talking about the importance of normal baby development.

An interesting article on stress and health.

Summer Tomato is one of the few blogs I subscribe to via email so it was interesting to read this bit about it's author Darya Rose.

I like the concept of being a mad scientist conducting an experiment of one.

Play helps build a better brain... no surprises there.

And it's helps build emotional intelligence and learn natural consequences too!

Some cool ideas for scraplifting in this article on Get it scrapped.

Quite possibly one of the most important posts Teacher Tom has written this year: Your Child Is Not Falling Behind.

Tama is getting a woodworking table for his birthday- I think some wooden beads and such would be great to incorporate into his construction work.

Etsy picks of the week.....

Crochet play sushi!!

OMFG Tree House.

Style-y Toy Camera

How funky are these mermaid in a jar kits??

Tama would choose the Triceratops.

Playhouse for the more discerning child....and for less than $10,000 holy cow! 

Delicious Felt Burger

 Jack the Rabbit.... I'd want the bike as well. :-)

 Not sure where I'd use these stamps... but who cares right?

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Will Month 90

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'You've had a good day son....'

This was a good week....

Because...
... Les and the boys had fun at Lake Jualbup.
... Then they came and watched the ones beat their, top of the table, opponents.
... Kieran got to hear the Dalai Lama speak.
... I finally learned to spell Dalai Lama.
... The Dalai Lama said that Maori were setting the example for indigenous cultures around the world- providing a blueprint for figuring out how to retain culture and language.
... the tree in our drive that I can see from here at the computer has stunning autumn colours on.
... the big kids were happy to get multiple rides to school.
... I'm sure someone was happy about all the rain.
... I completed a week-in-the-life of photos and words.
... I caught up with Wendy on the phone.
... I finished sorting the playroom and Making table. And I tidied the scrapbooking room.
... Christy rang with her super amazing news.
... we finished paying off Tamas Birthday Present.
... 3 new pairs of jeans.
... Birthday shopping done.
... Book swap shop.
... Les got rid of the extra couches.
... awesome day in Rockingham- the Twos won their game!!

"You've had a good day son"  is the punchline of a joke my dad used to tell about a father, his son, a bear won in a side show at a carnival and a Mini Car... it's a great joke and the one liner punchline has stayed with us for a very long time. This weekly post is about being grateful for the little and big things in our lives and celebrating success the grand and everyday kind.

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365 2015 Week 23

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Flora on Friday

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365 2015 Week 22

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Wordless Wednesday

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This week on the web....

I don't get to vote in Australia and I know nothing about the various parties. But I do like a party that has a policy for good quality free play.

I love Charley Harper's artwork so this Pinterest board was like a treasure trove.

I liked the perspective in Gretchen Rubin from The Happiness Project's Favourite post.

Teacher Tom's post on natural teachers was quite good. In particular I loved this quote:

"...a natural teacher, I think, is someone who knows that she is teaching fully formed human beings. I will not be your master, nor will I be your servant. Perhaps at times I will be your guide, just as there will be times when you are mine. It's a stance that says, you are competent and respected; that you have the same rights and, indeed, responsibilities as the rest of us."

Did you read the article about chocolate helping you lose weight? Then perhaps you need to read this one about tricky journalists and junk science.


Ideas for lunches for the kiddos and Les.

Glennon's husband Craig picked some books I already love- so I'm keen to bookmark his list and try some of the ones that are new to me.

Free Range kids is a cool blog- I enjoyed this post I read recently.


Hobo Dinners look like they could be fun to try- thanks to Lisa for sharing this one.

And that's me for the week.... which I guess was pretty busy.

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'You've had a good day son....'

This was a good week....

Because...
... Kieran spent the day with Nadya on Sunday... 'studying'.
... It was Saskia's 16th Birthday.
... Kieran didn't have an exam on Saskia's Birthday.
... I had all the hockey photos sorted by Sunday night.
... we had yummy food for Saskia's birthday- including Dome, Chinese Takeaway, and Passionfruit Cheesecake.
... I got the lego sorting finished.
... we played some games together.
... we went to Book Swap Shop for the first time in ages.
... Kieran finished his exams.
... we got permission to dog sit.
... Pugsley came for a visit.
... I got Merenia's room tidied and vaccumed.
... Kieran and Nadya spent the day together and went into town.
... Kieran came for late practice.
... Everybody went back to school and kindy.
... Kieran went op shopping for the day with Kyle and Michael.
... I went to the scrapbook store.
... I got some new jeans- yay!
... I got to see all the junior teams play at Hockey.
... we got Pretzels from Melville.
... the twos drew their game.
... all my photo books came back.
... Pugsley came for a trial sleep over.
.. we played Cards Against Humanity and ate chocolate.

"You've had a good day son"  is the punchline of a joke my dad used to tell about a father, his son, a bear won in a side show at a carnival and a Mini Car... it's a great joke and the one liner punchline has stayed with us for a very long time. This weekly post is about being grateful for the little and big things in our lives and celebrating success the grand and everyday kind.

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Flora on Friday

 

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Wordless Wednesday

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This week on the web...

I've been making a bird spotting guide for the boys and this website has some very cool guides for Perth and surrounds.

Teacher Tom wrote a great post about mental illness.

I want to see if we can sneak these grain free soft tortillas past the kids. :-)

Game of Thrones + Ikea = LOL

And then I read this....Sick? Try the BRAT diet because we have had a lot of sickness this week in our house. Which pretty much curtailed the rest of my reading week.

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'You've had a good day son....'

This was a good week....

Because...
... we had roast lamb for dinner.
... eventually people stopped throwing up.
... nobody threw up on a hard to clean major furniture item.
... in the end only two people ever threw up.
... we didn't run out of sheets and towels.
... we had a very quiet week at home.
... we made lots of lego and got the Lego Heroes all sorted to useability.
... because of exams Kieran was around to help a bit.
... Kieran felt like his exams went better than ok.
... I got some new bookshelves for the playroom.
... being off school recovering meant that we finally got around to getting Will's haircut.
... Les enjoyed watching Maggie Dent speak at Falls Rd.
... we were able to help Cathy out with getting around while she can't drive.
... I didn't have to go to late practice.
... no school runs or school lunches for a week.

"You've had a good day son"  is the punchline of a joke my dad used to tell about a father, his son, a bear won in a side show at a carnival and a Mini Car... it's a great joke and the one liner punchline has stayed with us for a very long time. This weekly post is about being grateful for the little and big things in our lives and celebrating success the grand and everyday kind.

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365 2015 Week 21

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Flora on Friday

On Friday...

... I made a book for each of the boys. It's a field notebook for bird watching. They have been playing a game lately called "Nature Trackers" in the backyard. It involves walking around the yard looking for creatures, birds mostly. They spot them with their 'toilet roll binoculars' and then talk endlessly about them. Will is particularly obsessed with Rainbow Lorikeets- his favourite birds.

So the book has 40 birds that we have spotted in around Perth particularly ones we might see at home.Each page has a place for the boys to note where and where they saw each bird. It also has about 10 pages for notes and sketches of birds not included in volume one. Where possible I have used my own photos of the birds.

 

End page image

 Back Cover on Will's

  Back Cover on Tama's.

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