It’s amazing how many of the traditions I grew up with around this time of year are predicated upon cold weather. A couple unseasonable summer rains here helped cool things down and gave (what felt to me at least) a festive air earlier this month.

Recurring blocked ducts and an internet outage turned out to be gifts in disguise, forcing us, and me especially, to slow down. Errands, meetings, and distractions on hold, we were able to truly enjoy those simple moments that mean more to the kids at this age than anything wrapped under the tree…

• reading stories together,
• riding on mama and baba’s shoulders in the back garden,
• making funny noises and playing peek-a-boo to get David giggling,
• singing Christmas hymns over and over again,
• bush dancing around the living room,
• and counting our blessings.

Due to some end-of-the-year economizing, our children even learned to like beans this month. (But that was to be expected at some point… this recipe, via my sister, is delicious.)

David is rolling over and scooting everywhere on his back. He also sits unaided for short periods and is completely smitten with the prickly Christmas tree, velvety tree skirt, and the corkboard gingerbread man ornament Ben made when he was eight years old.

After coming out to see Nikki busking in downtown Perth, Teacher Sandra gave her a notebook full of Christmas music to start the month. Nikki impressed a dinner guest from London as well as local Christmas shoppers at a pedestrian mall with her renditions of the familiar hymns. Vi is being co-opted into Nikki’s violin school and groomed for playing the B lines in duets.

Michael continues to drum enthusiastically each day and now, thanks to his instructor, Mike, knows how to play a basic rhythm and three different fills.

As for the coming year – 2012, can you believe it?? – I would like to make some serious headway toward several items on my life list, including signing a last will and testament, getting a loft space installed so we can finally move into our house, painting at least two more rooms different colours than they were when we moved in, sewing some clothing for myself or buying some made-to-measure clothing, and learning to wear eye makeup. I would also like to read through the Bible in one year again.

To get off to the right start, my goals for January are to:

• read approximately 1/12 of the Bible
• sell and donate a few things to make space for the Christmas gifts we received (yea!)
• take advantage of the relaxed summer holiday schedule to experiment with different homeschooling rhythms
• continue trying different remedies and resting as much as possible until I am rid of the recurring blocked ducts on my left-hand side!

Getting ready to write this post, I couldn’t decide on my overall feeling for the month. But I think if I had to characterise it, I would choose the word ‘intense.’

The month began on a high note – I was very excited to be running and start feeling more energetic as a result! Then knee pain reared its ugly head and left me worse off. The weekend I had to quit running I also came down with mastitis. The inflammation seemed to clear when I rested, but as soon as I resumed normal activities I was knocked back with blocked ducts, shooting pain, and flu-like symptoms. Finally I went to see a doctor and started taking oral antibiotics. I’m still dealing with it and am hoping it clears up faster than a similar episode when Michael was 5-7 months old.

My doctor’s appointment was actually on Thanksgiving, which is a normal business day here, and I was very thankful to receive the help I needed. We also enjoyed an Aussie-adapted meal, substituting butternut squash for pumpkin (à la Jen Price) in our very tasty crustless pie, and roasting a chicken in our slow cooker to avoid over-heating our already warm kitchen.

I was over the moon to receive a dSLR camera and start learning how to use it. In the process of educating myself, I finally discovered how to access our state’s inter-library loan system! This should significantly ease my frustration with the lack of suitable choices at our local library.

We did meet with a carpenter and discussed plans for finishing the bunk beds. He is busy and won’t be back to us with a quote until the new year. That’s just fine since it will likely be several more months before David is ready to move into his own bed.

Our Christmas tree is decorated and David started rolling over this weekend… I think we’re all set for a happy, yet simple, Advent season!

My goals for December are to:

• orchestrate a family photo (this is a stretch target)
• prepare the kids for Christmas with a weekly advent activity
• celebrate Christ’s birth!

Quite a few bloggers are posting their bucket lists to raise awareness of the importance of breast cancer screening. I thought I’d take the opportunity to list a few dreams of mine.

• Visit France and Italy again (and again, and again…)
• Have in my wardrobe only clothes that make me look terrific.
• Move into a house, to the point where there’s not a single moving box.

image source: pacificislands.com

• Tour New Zealand.
• Pay off a mortgage.
• Learn how to wear eye makeup.

image source: squaremeal.co.uk

• Go sailing in a sailboat.
• Write a book that’s helpful to someone I don’t even know.
• Have a Last Will and Testament in place.

image source: inspirebohemia

• Host a neighbourhood movie night in our backyard.
• Learn to make sushi.
• Paint every room a different colour than it was when we moved in.

image source: thebooksguide.com

• Finish reading War and Peace.
• Run five kilometers without stopping.
• Live a life that draws people to Christ.

I hadn’t seen an albino spider before meeting this fingernail-sized specimen on our clothesline

Happy Halloween to those celebrating! It’s not a big holiday here at all, so it’s easy to opt out. I did my bit to contribute with the albino spider photo above.

This month was mainly spent in paperwork. We have filed our taxes and are emailing back and forth with our lawyer friends over the last few details of our wills. Soon we’ll have final documents to sign! We have also been sad to hear about divorces among people close to us, and that is our dominant memory, looking back over October.

We began some handwriting work for Nikki this month, starting gently with parallel lines and some basic shapes (plus sign, triangle, zig-zags) on dry erase surfaces. Nikki’s lines are wobbly, so we’re addressing that first before forming letters. Michael attempts the exercises as well, and Vi enjoys scribbling alongside them. I thought handwriting would be more intense than it is – perhaps I just assumed it would be unpleasant because I never enjoyed handwriting work at school.

We have a winner! Thank you to everyone who participated in the poll in last month’s goals post. From the results it was clear which bunk bed fascia design we would adapt for our needs. We haven’t yet finalised the spacing and dimensions, but we are working with the squares design, which is becoming a bit more rectangular in order to incorporate a usable ladder.

I completed the first walk/run in the C25k program Saturday morning… sort of. I crept out of bed at 5:35am, got dressed in my new running gear, popped in my earbuds, cued the first week’s training track on my MP3 player and was about ten minutes into the workout when the battery died. Without voice prompts or a watch, I turned around and guessed a few more running and walking intervals to get me back home.

A new battery made it through the full workout this morning starting at 5:50am, and it was significantly more difficult than my made-up version of Saturday. I can’t help but think of high school track while running. Coach Farley, if you are reading this, I did pick up my knees… some of the time.

My goals for November are to:

• celebrate Thanksgiving
• give detailed drawings to a carpenter so he can cut out the bunk bed fascia pieces
• continue the couch to 5k running program

Grandpa reads a book to Nikki and Michael as they recover from a cold

Looking back, I am thankful that my September goals weren’t too challenging. As it was, I barely accomplished them!

The most important goal this month was to take my parents on a FUN outing while they were here. Thankfully we succeeded, although Ben and I were pretty tired after all the DIY we did right before my parents came. (Note to self: try to rest before guests arrive!)

As soon as the month began I bought lined paper and began to practice italic handwriting. However, I discovered that I needed to order a few more materials before feeling confident about teaching handwriting. The materials are on their way and should make it to Australia in a couple weeks.

Due to the change in seasons (hello, Spring!), we caught a cold while my parents were here. We also kept passing it around the family for a couple weeks after they left.

And I almost forgot to mention that we replaced our faucet and hot water heater this month (the good part is that our plumber is also our friendly neighbour down the street). Our washing machine died as well, and we are using a loaner machine until the warranty replacement arrives from Thailand.

Thanks to free tickets from Ben’s work, Nikki and I enjoyed a girls’ night out at the symphony! This time we got to see the WAYO perform with an awesome clarinet soloist.

With all that, I only got around to designing bed rails and ladders this afternoon… drawing on my laptop while breastfeeding. So please try to look at the following designs as ideas rather than plans:

     

 

 

     

 

My goals for October are to:

• begin teaching Nikki italic handwriting
• finalise the bunk bed fascia design
• start the couch to 5k running program

August started sadly as we bid farewell to our cat, Lex, who suddenly became ill and died. Michael began the month with just one scraggly drum brush. Ben and Tony and I steadily painted and put trim on the kids’ bunk beds as we got ready to host my parents.

Things got better when my parents arrived. We were able to finish the kids’ beds enough that the lowest two bunks are useable. Still to do: attaching safety rails, ladders, and reading lights.

With MuM’s baby-holding help, I refurbished a set of bookshelves we are using to hold the kids’ clothes.

photo by Michael

In addition to the baskets for the kids’ clothes, my parents brought other fun things in their luggage, such as a new baby carrier for David and drum brushes for Michael.

We celebrated Vi’s and DaD’s birthdays with a huge amount of cuteness and what looked like a lot of candles. (Though actually there were only 13 candles spelling “happy birthday” on my dad’s cake.)

Our newly minted 2-year-old is doing better and better with toileting every day. All of her poo now goes in the toilet (or naptime potty), and her last pee accident was a couple days ago when she didn’t get to the toilet quickly enough. By her own choice she remains bare-bottomed the first few hours of the day, but she asks for pants after her first trip to the toilet and keeps those dry the rest of the day! She is required, like her older siblings, to go to the toilet before we leave the house, before nap, and before bathtime, but other than that she simply takes herself to the toilet as the need arises.

I read the teacher’s guide for italic handwriting in August, which served to help me realise that I need to buy lined paper on which to practise.

My goals for September are to:

• buy lined paper and practise italic handwriting so I can model correct letter formation for Nikki
• design bed rails and ladders for the kids’ bunk beds
• take my parents on at least one fun outing

July was an incredibly challenging yet productive month for us.

Ben went back to work mid-month, and I jumped back into babywearing. My favourite newborn carriers this time around are a Close Carrier (the stretchy wrap pictured above) and an extra wide ring sling. The extra fabric width on the ring sling is particularly nice since it enables me to use different positions with confidence that plenty of fabric is wrapped around so baby won’t fall out.

     
in July, we took the kids’ room from point c to point d

We made significant headway on the kids’ room renovation. Ben and I have been purchasing lumber and painting around the clock in order to keep our neighbour the carpenter supplied with the wood he needs to cut and assemble the bunk beds.

I enjoyed celebrating my birthday, with fun at a local park and another of Ben’s delectable cheesecakes!

David is growing well, and he and I were officially discharged from the Community Midwifery Program by our lovely midwife Vanessa.

We also began toilet training Vi last month. She had been showing signs of readiness for a while, and finally during the babymoon Ben and I were ready, too. We were surprised to encounter initial resistance… until we realised that Vi wanted nothing to do with little potties and instead skipped straight to using the toilet just like Nikki and Michael. So far we have been keeping her bare-bottomed to minimise accidents, and because it is complicated to use a step stool while maneuvering pants up and down. The only days she has accidents are the days when she wears pants (and the accidents continue the rest of the day even after she’s bare-bottomed again).

Vi is the first of our children for whom we’ve tried a sticker incentive chart to reinforce toileting success. Because Nikki and Michael were excited about it, the chart got the point across to Vi that pee and poo in the toilet is good, but Vi would have preferred having the stickers on her hand!

Nikki took and passed her preliminary violin exam on the ninth, and we went with her teacher to the West Australian Symphony Orchestra‘s performance of Peter and the Wolf on the 24th to celebrate.

Thankfully, even though we have been so busy, the enforced breaks breastfeeding provides have enabled me to sit and enjoy my kids. For instance, they love to come and show me their imaginary babies after they reenact “away in a manger” for the thousandth time. Mary (Nikki) and Joseph (Michael) and their cousin Elizabeth (Vi) each produce lots of babies – not just Jesus and John, but also many “helpers” to help them care for Jesus and John.

Thank you for your lunch ideas (in the comments section here). The kids have long enjoyed a standard weekday lunch of yogurt, which Nikki prepares with flaxseed and tahini, homemade nutbutter sandwiches, which I prepare ahead on kitchen day and freeze, and fruit afterwards if they are still hungry.

For myself I prefer a bit more variety (and unfortunately I am not fond of sandwiches, though I will eat them). To take care of me, we are keeping the fridge stocked with cooked brown rice. On the weekends we make a big batch of something (stew is a current favourite) and freeze it in individual portions. Then I simply add rice, heat, and eat!

My goals for August are to:

• continue to work with Vi on toileting, and help her embrace the goal of clean, dry pants!
• read the teacher’s guide for Nikki’s handwriting curriculum, and start practicing so I can model correct letter formation
• get the house as ready as possible before my parents visit this month (yea!!!)

     
in June, we took the kids’ room from point b to point c

June was a month of celebration! Ben’s birthday, our wedding anniversary, Nikki’s weaning feast, and, topping it all off, David’s timely arrival to make us a family of six.

I did finish the two sewing projects for the kids (a musical accessories wall hanging and a flannel board), and I returned my friend’s sewing machine shortly before giving birth. I also tried every avenue and eventually kept calling my backup hospital until they booked me for a much needed iron infusion at 39 weeks + 4 days.

So, with God’s help, I accomplished all my goals for June!

My goals for July are to:

• celebrate my birthday
• enjoy my children
• be ready to parent four on my own during the day when Ben returns to work, which includes
  • being comfortable using at least two newborn babywearing carries unassisted, and
  • preparing ahead plenty of instant or nearly-instant lunches (ideas?)

     
in May, we took the kids’ room from point a to point b

What a wild month! While Ben’s well was drilling, I finished the Roman shade for the kids’ room and loaded up our new bookshelves with books. As soon as the 24-hour operations on Ben’s well were over, we jumped into renovating the kids’ room so it will be ready to accommodate four sleepers once the new baby moves out of our bed.

Alongside the renovation project, I am also working on one of the two sewing projects that I hoped to get done in May. Now it looks like both sewing projects are pushed out to June. At this point it is largely a matter of summoning the required energy to wrangle fabric and sewing machine to do my will.

Also, while I didn’t exactly draw anything, I did find a drawing someone else had done that meets my requirements for a simple, elegant breastfeeding dress. The DOTE Noir breastfeeding dress is sold only in black, in an easy care rayon/spandex material. Perhaps I can attempt to sew a full-length version for myself (full-length on the model almost certainly means awkward-calf-length on me) in another colour around a year from now, once my weight has stabilised after this fourth pregnancy. That is, if my friend will lend me her sewing machine again…

My goals for June are to:

• celebrate Ben’s birthday and our anniversary
• finish sewing the two from-the-new-baby gifts that I didn’t complete last month
• rest and get my iron levels up
• welcome our new baby!

an April improvement: outdoor toilet with integrated sink

April was a fun and busy month! We celebrated Easter with playdough and reading all about the week leading up to Jesus’ death on the cross, as well as his miraculous resurrection three days later. Michael capped the celebration by drumming and singing Tim Hughes’ fabulous Easter song, “Oh, Happy Day!”

The kids all helped with the transition to cooler weather by trying on clothes, and we also resumed Lex’s toilet training after a brief hiatus while our leaky outdoor toilet was replaced.

Nikki and Michael continue to memorize the Shorter Catechism, at a rate of one question per week. We’re up to question 63, “What is the 5th commandment?” We have also added one passage of scripture per month, with the older kids memorizing Psalm 23 this month.

Vi has been adding to her spoken and signing vocabulary. It is very fun to hear her say “pleeesss” and “dank you.” We were struggling with what to do so she could ask nicely for something one of her older siblings was playing with. I asked Nikki if she had any ideas, and Nikki suggested that Vi could sign with her arm extended, palm up, indicating the thing for which she was asking nicely. This is working amazingly well, with much less taking or trying to take, and fewer tears all around.

Something I discovered this month, is that we use a lot of recipes. It took more work than I anticipated to get over 250 recipes stored in various formats – from handwritten through to scanned images – organised into sections, typed in, formatted nicely, and amalgamated into one large PDF cookbook for my soon-to-arrive eReader. Now that this project is complete, the recipes should be much easier to find and access in the kitchen.

I successfully navigated my backup hospital visit this month, receiving the official green light to birth at home on the government-sponsored Community Midwifery Program. I’m now at the stage of pregnancy where Midwife Vanessa will visit me at home every two weeks, rather than once a month. Getting closer to meeting the new baby in late June!

Nesting instincts are in full force, and I am very thankful a friend lent me her sewing machine, which made stitching together the Roman blind for the kids’ room much easier than the slow task of hand-stitching two panel curtains together. Of course, having a sewing machine in my house makes me think of a few other (simpler!) projects I could whip up while I wait for the hardware we will use for raising and lowering the Roman shade to arrive.

Ben put in a lot of effort measuring, cutting, planing, painting and installing bookshelves to fit in the little nook leading to the kids’ room. His offshore exploration well that he has been working on since 2009 also started drilling this month. Barring further cyclone activity near the drilling site, the well should be completed before the baby arrives.

My goals for May are to:

• finish the Roman shade for the kids’ room once the hardware arrives
• load up the new bookshelves with books
• sew two little gifts for the older kids from the new baby
• get some ideas out of my head and attempt to draw up a design on paper for a simple, elegant breastfeeding dress that doesn’t look like a breastfeeding dress. Thank you to MaryAnne for the impetus to take this first step in turning a longstanding dream into reality!