Water Babies

As many of you know I detest and despise hot weather. The sweat trails. The fungal infections. The headaches. The moist pits. The heatstroke. The inability to leave the house between 8.30am and 5pm without broiling.

This is a problem living in Queensland.

I have multiple exceptions. By the sea, within the sea, during storms. Air-con. (Best. Thing. Ever. Do not even care about environmental damage as otherwise we would All Die and clog up the airways with our noxious decaying smell) And of course swimming pools.

Recently, we discovered what it takes to keep one unmedicated (for the holidays) ADHD, ASD kid from destruction and chaos for a WHOLE AFTERNOON. The constant attention of eight adults (undivided attention of two at any given time) and a swimming pool. Easy. Done. Why have we not thought of this before? Much easier then moving to Finland.

Boxing Day By Sea (sensory)

The sugar from Christmas still jiving through their veins, two of the four having drawn on their faces (tribal markings? gangster signs?) Boxing Day found us loading our wild ones into the car to take to brunch at my sis-in-laws. And... she's recently moved to the beach so the kids loaded up on some much needed Vitamin Sea. While it is true that we rarely go more than a few days without the sea - I tend to think it's more of a daily requirement.

I read blogs and see Pinterest boards about sensory play and people mucking around with rice and shaving foam and stuff that to me just says disaster (still in mourning that the Wild Boy sprayed all my colour-stay hair mousse in a box and then threw it at his sister, pie-like. It did smell and look like whipped vanilla cream... but... sigh...) Have these people not heard of the sea? Sand. Mud. Trees. And then I hear myself and realise again just how lucky we are that ten minutes gets us to the beach - albeit a mud-flat one, and thirty minutes to white sands...

 Obviously, water is made to be enjoyed. It is warm and it sparkles, and is full of sand, which Wonder-Girl still hopes will one day taste okay, although she isn't tasting quite so much anymore.

secret garden

Last year, my baby and I flew down to Melbourne to be spoilt at my parent's house for a long weekend. My Anna adored wandering in my mama's bountiful garden with the pecking chickens, the abundance of growing things, the grapes, mandarines and figs and all the little hiding places. 

It is a LOT easier to take photos when looking after only one kid, rather than four so I came home with a plentitude of photos! 

I've missed taking photos - I'm all out of practice and can't quite get what I'm looking for - but I do love playing with it! 

 My Wonder-Girl with her God-Father, my baby bro.

Three generations, my nana, my mama and my baby.

My mama, radiant in her garden.