Random things I say every.single.day

~ Shut the door (Obvious one right?) ~ If you don't like her biting you keep your fingers out of her mouth! (Seriously, I know right?) ~ We eat food in the kitchen people! ~ Please don't run on the couch ~ I already asked you to not run the couch ~ Stop running on the freakin couch! ~ Oh yes, jumping from the top bunk into a bean bag is sooo much better ~ Yes I LOVE your bionicle, it looks awesome! (Hmm, looks exactly like the last 50 you showed me, but dammit I will love them all ) ~ Lego! (Always followed by scampering feet trying to get to me before I get to the bin) ~ Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bionicles bite (For my 4 year old. It cracks him up every time, which makes me laugh) ~ TTB! (Anyone else grow up with this? Teeth, Toilet, Bed) ~ Sorry, remind me, who is the parent? ~ I really don't think Daddy would like you taking that apart just to see how it works inside (Toaster, Computer, mobile phone, dvd player. Take your pic) ~ Gee, you're not close enough to the TV hun (Said to all of them, except the baby, who is not interested in TV, for now) ~ Shhh I just put the baby to bed. ~ I have no idea how life would be if.............................. there were only women, we all had super powers, you ran the world, we all had bionicle robots, we lived under the sea, the sun exploded, (and my personal favourite) You were the only child we had (This is always asked when we are dishing out dessert or talking presents. ~ Club Penguin is the best I agree! ~ Yes, we do have the most adorable baby in the world. (We are not biased at all) ~ No, I love Ben Ten more! ~ Daddy's Home!

Token Baby photo

Alseep at the dinner table.

Quote of the Day

"I remember the good old days, when it was just me and big brother. "

Said the 8 year old. Said in relation to the fighting going on over who would sit next to Poppy.


"Hera Mummy, for you" (From the 3 year old)

"What is that? Oh yuck honey, what is that?"

"From my ear-a. I got it out"

"It's earwax hun, get a tissue"



"Is that a bit of hamburger the baby is eating?"

"Yeah"

"As in, hamburger we ate LAST night for tea?"

"Yeah, it's ok, it's still good"

Ok! Looks like the 15 second rule has been stretched out to the 14 hour rule at our house. This could save me a fair amount on the shopping bill.

Yay, another dot point post, what fun!

Meh, it's Monday, I'm lazy. A few things you may not know about me.

1~ I am lazy. Well you have probably figured that one out already actually. I am the worst kind of lazy. The kind who every now and then gets a burst of motivation and goodness help everyone else who is not as energetic, excited and ready to pop like me.

2~ I am extremely good at short cuts. If there is a short cut with running a large family, housework or anything else I have to do again and again you can bet I have fine tuned it to still get the same quality in a lot less time.

3~ Sometimes I give the kids sandwiches for tea, and sometimes for breaky too.

4~ My all time favourite movie is My Friend Flicka, the original, from 1943. I adore the characters, the horses, love it. I have always loved the Mother in this movie. In once scene she is in a dress cooking up breakfast, and in a later scene she is wearing 'mens clothes' riding a horse and hops off and has a conversation with her husband and another man, holding her own and being respected. I love that the director included these scenes, that were not very contemporary for the time.

5~ I wear tracksuit pants far too much, but they are comfy damn it!

6~ Since cutting out and down on non nutritional food I have lost over 14 kgs. I walk a few times a week to the park or shops but nothing hardcore. This is very telling to me about the size my body is meant to be.
I feel soo much better for it! My energy level is higher, I hardly get a headache anymore, I can get up out of my bed and chair with ease, I can run around with the kids, play ball and push them on their bikes without huffing and puffing, and best of all I can breathe so much easier, it's fantastic.

7~ I don't think I love my children more because we are Home Edders. Really. I am flatter some people think that I think a lot about this, but really, I don't.
So long as others care and love their children with respect and compassion, they're good with me.
My oldest sons best friends go to school, and they get along wonderfully, and have done so for 6 years. I too get along just as well with their Mum who is a very dear friend to me and my family.

8~ I don't have a favourite child. Hand on my heart honest. I have read elsewhere about Mums who do have a favourite, and they believe mothers who say they don't have a favourite are lying and just trying to be nice to all their kids.
I honestly do not. I can't imagine picking one child out of the six. Every child is so different and all of them have their own little ways that make me laugh, or fill my heart with joy and pride.

9~ I do not believe in one size fits all learning philosophies. To say one is the way to go for all children is to discount just how unique our children, and also us as adults learning, are.
The best way of learning is what suits the individual child.
One learning philosophy is not better or superior than another.

10~ One of my favourite memories as a child was laying on the floor in the cool mornings. Watching the Early morning TV and cartoons as the sun shone through the window warming me up. Mr Ed, Leave it to Beaver, Worzel Gummidge and of course The Smurfs!

Honest Motherhood

We all have intentions as mothers.
Intentions to be good role models for our children.
Intentions to yell less.
Intentions to not sweat the small stuff.
Intentions to cook wholesome meals for or family.
Intentions to listen attentively to our children's questions and wanderings.
Intentions to make the most of every moment with our children.
Intentions to not brush our children off when they say 'Hey Mummy....' for the 243rd time that day.
Intentions to put down what we are doing and go look at the newest, and greatest Mega Lego creation.
Intentions to be the best Mother we can be.

What happens?
Reality? Laziness? Tiredness? The need for time to just sit, alone, with no one asking questions, wanting something, needing us? Things piling up, causing stresses and headaches which in turn leaves us with less patience?

All of the above and more? I'd say yes.

Lately I have felt overwhelmed. Not all the time, but enough for me to sit down at the end of the day, children and hub all asleep, the house quiet, and let out my frustration.
I vent, whinge, sook, let it out.
Then I think about what is happening, why, how, and most importantly if it is not working this way, what can I change? Another just as important question is, could the change need to come from me?

One thing on my mind is yelling. I hate it. I hate how it makes me feel. I hate how I know it makes the children feel, and Hub too.
Usually it is over the floor. Pencils, food, toys, shoes, clothes, staples, sticky tape, blu-tak, books, cups, cutlery, paper, pillows, substances now unrecognisable.
It really drives me nuts, or really I allow it to drive me nuts. I have 6 children, hello? of course there is going to be crap all over the place.

Lately I have made a few tweaks and reminded myself to breathe deeply when I see stuff all over the floor, rooms and stairs.
It's not easy, I'm still getting there, and no doubt will always be working on it.
I am finding more ways for everything to have it's own home. This is what works best for us so far. Slowly over time we have added furniture, boxes, corner nooks, little tables and tubs for all our stuff.
The kids are able to see something on the floor and know where it lives when it is not being used.

Then there is working on me. I don't think I will every be truly zen. Are any mothers?
I actually don't want to even try.
Of course I don't want my kids to see a raving lunatic mother yelling over a Mr Potato Head moustache like it was the end of the earth, but I also don't want them seeing me as something I am not.
I want them to see my emotions. I want them to know emotions are good and healthy. But an emotion that can be frightful or scary, for both Mumma and child is not good. Yelling, and feeling out of control is not good.
This is mine to sort through and work on.

When I have yelled or lost control and become frustrated I quickly recognise it and stop, feeling horrible. Take a deep breath, and say sorry to my kids for losing it. Telling them that it's ok to get frustrated and angry and upset, but not ok to take it out on others.
A parent apologising to their child is important. For the child and the parent.

I adore my children, and have a love for them I never knew was possible. I know that when I am angry or frustrated it is not about them. I am the parent, the adult. It is about me and trying to work out the tools I need to help me.

As well as being more organised with our stuff another thing I have added in is going out once a month with some of women friends. Just a few hours to go to dinner or a movie, talking, laughing, venting and supporting each other.
I appreciate being able to do this, and feel much better after my night out.


Being more organised, having time for me and adding more rhythm to our house and the running of it is helping.
Baby steps.

Three

The first time you looked into my eyes. I was saying hello to you and you opened your eyes wider and looked into mine. A moment etched into my memory like it was yesterday.
This photo is so very special to me. Our wonderful Doula took it while Daddy and all your siblings leaned beside us looking at you, so excited to meet you.



Here you are at 6 months wearing a 'royal crown' made by your older siblings. They were having a wonderful time this day making hats and crowns. You, as usual, smiled the whole time.


Sisters. Here you are with your big sister. You can get along like a house on fire, but also can fight like crazy on the odd occasion. You love playing with together making cubbies, dressing up and playing with your babies. The kind of games the older boys are not really into anymore. Although they will amuse you and sit in your cubby made with the table and lots of blankets, which is cute to see.
I do hope so much that you and your sisters will be close as you all grow up together. It is such a special bond.


On your 3rd birthday you wanted to go to the library and the park. So it was! We go to the library every week and you love it. Piling up the books on the seat beside me and handing them one at a time for me to read to you. Some times you will stop half way through and hand me another book.
Only those close to us know the true fire cracker you can be. You are the little mouse that roared. You don't care how big anyone is, if you have a problem with them you let them know!
This can be frustrating, as you can scream, squeal or shout very loud. Not so good when you are sitting right behind me while I am driving.

You love telling people who bought you what. "Daddy bought this for me" "Mummy bought tis for me" and at times "I bought this for me" to which I will act surprised and say "You bought it? wow, did you go to the shops?" and you will say "Yes, I did" and raise your eyebrows as you do. It is so cute. You have such animated expressions, it often makes us laugh. Your eldest brother can never be mad at you as you make him laugh when you are yelling at him. He thinks you are adorable.

Another cute quirk you do at the moment is to say "I can't" I will ask you to pick up something, or put some rubbish in the bin, put your thongies on, shut the sliding door, basically anything you can do. But you will slump your body and pull a face and exclaim "I can't!"
You also throw in a reason at times, such as your legs are broken, or your leg hurts, or that you just can't move.
When you 'can't move' you will put your arms in the air and say "Carry Me" which we all usually do, your older brothers included. They just laugh at you and will pick you up, or give you a piggy back.

You have only been 3 for a few weeks, yet somehow it is like switch has be turned on, ramping up your quirks a bit more. You have been squealing and screaming louder and more often. Crying and being very upset very easily and over such little things, such as someone else walking in the door first. But these are clearly big things to you, so we take a deep breath and try to talk to you, or cuddle you, whatever helps at the time.

You are an absolute joy and we are all so glad to have you in our fun and crazy family.
I'm looking forward to the next year and watching you grow.

12

A lot happens in the first 12 months of a child's life. From snuggled against our chests, to crawling and for some even walking by the 1st birthday. In my opinion you can never take enough photographs, nor have enough cuddles and kisses.

We make a big deal about birthdays in our house. Of course we love and adore our children year round, but we love that we all have a special day, the day we were born and changed the world forever. With several children it also means the other children get excited too, for their own birthdays but also for their siblings, which I love to see. Sneaking into the birthday persons room early in the morning and waking them up by yelling Happy Birthday at them, and of course the obligatory gently jumping on them.
The day is spent as a family, at various places, depending on the weather and where the birthday child would like to go. We also have a special dinner and cake, again what the birthday person wants, within reason of course. For example I love that they have confidence in my level of baking skills, but some of the cakes they want, wow!

The last birthday in our family is our youngest member. You love it when I talk in cliches so I will indulge you again. In so many ways it feels like yesterday, but also feels like she has been here forever.
Her birth was as unique as she is. Proving to me that I did not know it all about labour and birth thank you very much, and that babes can and do turn right before being born.
She was so welcomed and loved the moment she was born.


My precious dark haired, chubba bubba. Locking eyes on eachother for the first time, after knowing eachother for a long time.


One week old with her namesake, my Grandmother. A woman I adore, admire and look up to in so many ways. A woman who raised young children before television, play dates, modern speedy appliances and a washing machine. I love hearing her talk about raising a family, and life 'back then'
I love that when I told her I was having another baby she laughed and said "Oh Clare, you're catching up to me, how wonderful. Are you having this baby at home too? It's so lovely to be at home isn't it?"



6 months old and where she still loves to be, on Mumma's back. I so love baby wearing, and how much easier it makes mothering several children. I especially love it in winter, babe and Mumma keeping eachother warm.


On her 1st Birthday. We took her to an animal sanctuary and she had a wonderful time, we all did. Here she is hamming it up for the camera. It never ceases to amaze me how she knows what a camera is, and how she pulls faces and laughs as soon as I grab it.

We visit our library every week, it is quaint and lovely. The librarians know ua by name and make an effort to get to know all the children. We all enjoy going. On our recent visit I noticed the book 'Hello Baby' on the shelf beside the table. I laughed when the older children pointed it out and thought it was marvelous that our library had it.
As I always do I put Bub down and looked at the Junior section with the older children. When I turned around I saw she had not only climbed up into the chair, but had grabbed the book and had it in front of her. So of course what a great photo opportunity!


I am still totally besotted with this little being. She is so close to walking. Her brothers and sisters all love watching and encouraging her, clapping and laughing with glee as she stands up and takes a few wobbly steps. She will fall on her bum and whack her hand against her forehead and laugh.

She is quite demanding about food now, and wiggles and reaches her hands up beside her seat reminding us to not forget about her. It is so cute having her sit at the table and nibble away on food.

She is growing up so fast, which I love, but also wish she would slow down. I tell her there is no rush, no need to walk and talk in a hurry. She just pokes my eyes or nose and laughs.