merry christmas!

The christmas rush is over for the little and the lady pinwheel. It is time for this little family to get into the christmas spirit.

Our tree is decorated, pressies are ready, and The Night Before Christmas book is perched on top ready to be opened. {I love this book and cannot wait to read the magic to my little people}. We have carrots for the reindeers, and there is a beer in the fridge for Santa. The spirit of christmas is here.

We hope you have a beautiful christmas with your families, and an awesome celebration to bring in the new year.

merry christmas!

hayley, keely and taj xxx

a message from santa

The letters have been written. The letters have been posted. Even full toy catalogues were posted, with circles around each toy my little people loved..... Santa has a whole list.

me: "what would you both really like from santa?"

taj: "oh mummy I would love an airplane!"

me: "one as big as the planes in the sky. a real one?"

taj: "yes mumma! an airplane."

keely: "you cannot have one that big taj! how will santa get it in the house?"

taj: "through the chimney keely. he comes through the chimney!"

We do not have a chimney. But neither Keely or I could argue with him. It was a little cute.

keely: "mum I would like a pink skateboard."

me: "oh rock on!"

Keely is such a princess, and wishing for a skateboard, pink or not pink surprises me. She has asked for the skateboard for the past couple of months.

I have not been able to take my little people to see santa, and I feel quite sad about this. Today santa sent them both a message from the north pole. You too can have santa talk to your little people. {santa is here}. Both Keely, and Taj were delighted to see santa.

Santa said Taj will have his airplane. I sure hope that is a big chimney we have above our home.

4 sleeps to go!

all I want for christmas is my......

Taj has the wobbles. The wobbles you are meant to have when you are around six years old is happening at the ripe old age of three.

I am learning that with boys you need to go with the flow more than you do with girls. There are going to be incidences, and they will do things that will end in tears, and sometimes they will encounter more than just the tears. Taj encountered a bloody gum, which has now resulted into the wobbly tooth.

I sure hope Santa delivers those two front teeth, as this little guy might loose one, and the other we can keep as a spare for the next time Taj decides to face plant into a chair.

Counting down the sleeps until the big red man arrives. My little people are excited, and I am too!

keely's craft iphone

Little people want their own phones at such a young age. They are the thing to have. Keely asked me for one a few weeks ago, and I asked her, who would she ring. She looked at me, and shrugged her shoulders, and replied, "oh yeah!"

This morning Keely asked for paper, scissors and my pencils. Keely decided it was time for her new phone.

The phonebook.

The games page.

The game. It is a really hard game.

The photo album.

The back cover.

Talking on the phone.

I think my girl has something. She has the creative head, and I love it. I cannot believe how awesome her phone is, and how awesome she is.

A great holiday activity!

wee painting

Did you know that boys draw when they wee? Taj does. He paints a whole picture when he does a bush wee. It cracks me up.

The bush wee is a whole lot easier with a little guy, than a girl. When Keely was little I had to hold her up in the squat position and hope for the best. It was important to know what the wind was doing. Now I just have to stand behind Taj and watch Picasso at work.

Taj is a sit down on the toilet wee boy. Although, I think with a few escaping wee's out of the toilet, it is time for this little guy to stand up with the ping pong ball trick.

Do you have anymore wee tips? What age did you teach your little guy to stand up, and wee?

graduating kindy

Keely graduated today. Her first year of big school is almost over. One week to go!

A proud mum moment.

And a Bubble O Bill moment for Keely.

Congratulations Keely on your improved reading and writing. I cannot wait to rock it with you during the school holidays. x

building a body image

The body is a part of who we are. Mostly we pick it apart, until there is not much of us left. I know in the past I could have picked myself apart, until there was nothing left. Not a great roll model for when I had children.

How one conversation, and a moment for myself can change this.

This afternoon I was getting ready for hill training, and Keely watched me get dressed. She walked in on me with just a crop top on, and my 2XU short tights on. I looked in the mirror and for the first time in my life, I liked what I was looking at. (Hey there are bits I don't like, but overall I am really quite happy with my body image). I said out loud, "I like my body." Keely looked at me in the mirror and touched my belly, and said, "I love your belly mum!"

All those stretch marks, and excess skin cannot be seen. They are still there, and have not disappeared, but the acceptance of my own body image has removed the criticism I had once felt. I am not saying I won't ever look in the mirror and not have a moment, as I believe this is a female thing. But for now, and in front of my daughter, I liked what I was looking at. And it was me.

Keely did not see the bits I would have pulled apart. And that is the way I want her to look at herself, the way I see her; perfect.

*Keely recently asked me if she did not eat her dinner, would that make her skinny. I almost fell off my chair. I sucked it up really fast, and said a straight up, "NO!" I explained that you need to eat good food to grow. We eat together as a family every night. She is not the best eater. Fussy. But together we eat, so she can see what I eat, and what her brother eats. I never want my daughter to have an eating disorder, or an issue with her body image.

oh christmas tree

Today was nail it on the head day. Have a list, and work my way through it. I worked myself through the whole list, and now I can just be for the rest of the night.

I captured my beautiful girl in her new coco and ginger dress, which she will wear on christmas day, and her new orange saltwater sandals.

It is all about the christmas tree.

Now to pack the school lunch, and to put away the christmas tree pile of washing. I can just be for the night; 'a woman's work is never done.' {thanks for that saying that to me mum. I hear you}.

fighting cats & dogs

The battle of the siblings has begun and it is an all in fist fight. Pushing, punching, a few kicks and a whole lot of whinnying. And one cranky mumma.

Keely and Taj love each other. There is no denying that. But for the past few weeks it has been on. The clashing, the button pushing, and the developmental age difference has become a testing time for all three of us. The neighbours must love us. I am sure they will not be knocking on our door to borrow milk or sugar.

I have tried separating them, I have yelled, I have cried, and I have even tried hiding myself, only to be found.

On friday I decided to try a new approach. One I am sure will create a lot of laughter, and maybe a little bit of criticism. We have welcomed Humphrey, and Honey into our little family. They are brother and sister, and they love each other very much.

I am going to use their new brother and sister bunnies as their role models. I have no idea if this is going to work, but I am going to try to use Humphrey and Honey to teach them how to be kinder to each other, and also for them to understand that it is ok for them to be angry at each other, and upset with each other. And at the same time teach them that the kicking, the screaming, and the punching is not on. If it does not work I will just have to roll with the fact that no one will ever borrow milk or sugar from us. And my little people have a cute soft bunny each.

What do you do with fighting siblings? Have you done anything that has helped, or have you tried things to only be punched in the face yourself?

*Keely asked for the bunnies to stay with me on the weekend. They sat on my reading chair. Keely told me that she always wanted them to be with their mum..... I have one beautiful girl.