feel like blogging

Today I feel like blogging. For the past wee while I just haven't felt in the mood. Life has been really full and really wonderful and I just had no apetite for sitting in front of the computer, so sorry to everyone to whom I owe an email, they will come eventually.

We've been enjoying lots of goodness, the kids have been playing really well together. As Benny's language has developed so has his ability to enter into Rebe's games. Rebe and Benny as Julian and Dick on Kirrin Island

Much of Rebe's play is inspired by books and pictures that she sees. She is still completely in love with Enid Blyton's Famous Five. We have been reading the first book of the series as our bedtime book. A chapter a night (or if it's a really exciting bit 2)

On Sunday morning Rebe 'built' Kirrin Island in the kitchen. Benny arrived shortly after (as Dick) in George's rowing boat. Joa was delighted to climb up the rocks (the blue step) and join them on the island as Timmy (the dog). They played this game for quite a while, although they did spend most of the time arguing, but it was interesting to see how they resolved their play and their power struggles with words instead of full on fisty cuffs :-)

Joa also has begun to 'play' instead of just bimble about. He likes dressing up a lot and even crawls around on all fours pretending to be a cat sometimes. However his favourite game is still biting people's toes when they are trying to read a story on the couch ;-)

Rebe got a really wonderful (slightly belated) birthday present from my dearest, bestest friend today. It has sparked Rebe's imagination and she is forming plans and ideas that I am sure we will share with you at some later date.

Life for me of late has been full of health. I am still following an ayurvedic approach to health and living and it is just amazing.

A hearty vegetable stew with corn bread for lunch, so warming on a chilly autumn day.
I also made ghee today rather than buying it, I didn't get to focus on it as much as I would like, but I hope it'll be fine.

Craft wise things are also great, I have had 6 custom order requests for dolls. So exciting, and I am loving every second of making these dolls. I finished this one last night...

I'm so pleased with her and I am really looking forward to making the others. It does mean though that I have very little (or make that no) time for any other crafting, so I am not sure if my kids will get anything home made by me this Christmas.

But for today, and probably tomorrow much of this busy goodness has ground to a halt as this poor wee man struggles with yet another illness.

He has had a temperature all day. He has a sore head and a sore tummy, He's not eating again and not drinking as much as he usually does. All he wants to do is cuddle and read stories, which is fine with me and is all we have been doing today (well apart from trying to curl our toes up away from a biting Joa!).

Life is good here (illness aside) and I hope it is for you too

x

the big day out

Oh what a wonderful day we had yesterday. We travelled back to East Cork to spend the day with friends.
We arrived at my wonderful friend Lucy's house mid morning, just in time for home cooked pancakes and incredible coffee. We talked and talked, and the kids played and played until lunch time.
Lucy and Patrick are very lucky to be a part of and live right next door to the Ballymaloe Cookery school, so we wandered across at lunch time to partake of Saturday Pizza. Oh my was it good! We had 3 types, pepperoni, plain garlic and goats cheese and rocket.

It was so yummy, Rebe and Benny ate a full 12" pizza between them and begged for more.

There was a wonderful relaxed atmosphere.

Benny had borrowed a toy drill from Lucy's daughter Merrily and did much fixing of the place.

The cookery school grows it's own produce and also has chickens, cows and pigs. All of which we got to visit. The kids particularly loved the pigs, who gobbled up handfuls of grass they picked for them (and one even tried to nibble Rebe's coat to much giggling).


But that wasn't the end of our day. We had been invited to a very special friends 5th Birthday party at an indoor play area near by...

The kids ran and tired themselves out and ate Helen's incredible Lego cake, until I nearly had to carry them to the car.

It was a wonderful day filled with memories we'll treasure.

Today we are going to have a calm day filled with peace, and playing and baking and stories.

Hope you all had wonderful weekends too :-)

peaceful saturday

We've had a really nice day today, very relaxed and very enjoyable... Watching the lifeboat; it always goes out to practice on Saturday mornings. Rebe loves watching it go out. She still wants to be a 'lifeboat girl' when she's older.

Lots of duplo-ing. Check out this wee guy Rebe made.

Saturday too is our baking day, and what better way to bake than in pyjamas.

We made pinwheel biscuits from a recipe in this book.

They didn't come out very pinwheely, but they are scrummy!


All day I had this wee guy peeking over my shoulder...

He wants to be up and seeing what's going on, not content to be lying down or propped up anywhere for long. I'm sure it'll get easier for him when he can sit up and starts moving around.

And one of our number has been fishing...

He caught ten of these codling and needless to say was thrilled. We got a huge bag of winter garden veggies from friends of ours so we were delighted to be able to pay them back with a bag of fresh fish...a good exchange I'd say.

We've decided to go swimming tomorrow, the kids are so excited! I just went to tuck in Rebe just now and she's wearing her swimming costume under her nightie (love that girl).

Hope you had a lovely day too!

Saturday eating

I was very sleep deprived yesterday so instead of going into town to a jumble sale we decided to have a relaxing Saturday at home...
We did a bit of drawing in the morning. This is a fox that Rebe did, complete with his set and long claws for digging.

We have been expecting big storms but...

they've not arrived so we went down to the beach for a while.

Living in a fishing village we quite often come across food washed up on the beach that the fishermen have just thrown over board. One of Rebe's favourite beach games is re-planting this food. Here she is making an onion tree.Building sandcastles. Watching Benny jump in puddles.

If you get a bit peckish down on the beach there is a really great cafe...I had spaghetti with meatballs, and cherry pie, I even had a spoon to eat it with.

By the time we got home we were hungry in real life and seeing as it was Saturday our baking day we decided to make a cake.

While i was getting things ready Rebe wrote out the recipe...margarine, sugar, 2 eggs, flour and cocoa.

It was good! Before it was baked...and after!

I had suggested, in ear shot to the kids, that we eat out. However Andy didn't feel like it. Unfortunately that lead to a few tantrums, Rebe really, really wanted to eat out...so I let her...They were delighted to have a restaurant in the shed! And not to be left out Joa has been joining in with all the eating...yummy toes!!

PS feeling much better today, Joa slept well and woke only once in the night for boob and slept until 7.30am...unheard of but very refreshing :-)