Its beginning to look a lot like Xmas...

Hasn't the year flown by? Ours sure has - with school for the older two and our little man becoming more and more independent as each day passes. I find it hard to imagine a time in which every waking thought wasn't about snacks for lunchboxes, healthy meals and readers, even though it was only a few years ago.

Mitch & Harry are loving school, although we are all looking forward to school holidays at the moment. We should find out what classes they are in tomorrow and their final school report should come home too. They love reading (especially Mitch) and they have made lots of friends too.

Jack is cruising the furniture, but hasn't tried walking yet. There are too many things for him to do and he needs to beat his big brothers to the toys! He LOVES food, but has taken to spitting anything out he doesn't fancy, which often causes shouts of dismay as he sprays Kev or I with food. He is a fruit fiend and wants bananas all of the time. He loves his big brothers and they adore him back.

We are still on the hunt for a house. It is draining, but hopefully we will find something soon. Its not that we are particularly fussy, its just that we need room for a games/ craft room and so that is limiting our choices somewhat. Apart from that life is busy, but happy.

Well, I better go and write some more cards... seems the list grows each year :-)

Wishing everyone the best of the festive season,

Lisa xx

Hello again...

Okay okay - so every few months I tentatively venture back to this blog and make myslef a promise that I will try to update it more often... and then life happens! So here I am again (a bit embarrassed) and I am hoping to be a bit more conscientious.

This is a quick update as I have a load of things to do whilst Master Jackson sleeps. Jack is now 14 months old and is crusing the furniture, babbling away and loving nearly every food group. He is a good sleeper - usually one long nap a day and then off to bed by 7pm and awake at 6.30am. He adores his big brothers and loves to destroy their lego creations.

Mitch is doing well at school. He is reading well and is still charming nearly everyone he meets. He has lots of friends and has enjoyed a few classmates' birthday parties in the past few months. He loves drawing and invariably brings home 10 drawings which all must be put on the fridge.

Harry is also enjoying school. He finds reading a bit harder, but is doing well with Maths and Spelling. He has been slower to make friends, but has some strong friendships with some boys in his class and has been to lots of parties. He is still computer obsessed and longs for the day when a Nintendo DS will be finally a reality.

Kev is still working at Air Movements as well as doing Reserve work. He has packed up most of his games in the hope that we may find a house to move into (6 long moths and still looking). He is due to head OS next year with work.

I have just returned from a lovely girls' weekend away and it is back to the grind (grin).

So that's about it in our little neck of the woods. Hope this finds our friends and family well.
AND hope to be back soon :-)

Lisa xx

Jackson turns one...

It is hard to believe that our beautiful Jackson Kevin Reid is now 12 months old! In so many ways it just seems a moment ago that he arrived and in other ways he has been in our lives for so very long. We are so blessed to have him in our lives.

As is the usual practice in our family there isn't simply one celebration for his birthday... there are three! Firstly he has a picnic lunch at the local park. He loved sitting on the picnic rug and indulging in all kids of yummy things. He also got his first taste of cupcakes (thanks Mandy) which he loved. Then this past weekend we all travelled to my Dad's place at the beach and had a family birthday. It wasa great to connect with our extended family and spend time with Adam, Kelly and Liam, as well as Dad. The boys love going to Grandad's place and especially like spending time with their cousin Liam. It reminds me a lot of when I was a child and we used to go to my Nana and Grandad's home and we would get to play with our cousins while the adults caught up. The boys were sad to leave, but enjoyed a brief catch up with Greg, Kelly, Kylee and Mark and their children at the playground for fish and chips. AND then this Saturday the birthday boy is having a little morning tea at another playground...

So after all those celebrations it will be almost time for the big boys to head back to school and for Jack and Mummy to get back into their routine. I love school holidays - the sleep ins (well when Harry doesn't climb into my bed at 5am), the jarmie days and the days at the park. I just hope when my little men look back they love them as much as I did :-)

Love to all,

Lisa xx

Okay - so I am very slack!

Okay - so I am very slack - it has been almost 2 months since I last posted a message. Not that imagine people have been waiting breathlessly for an update. BUT on the off chance that anyone does read this or actually care about what I have written I should probably try and explain (grin).

The past 2 months have been hectic. We have had the stupendous occasion of Mitch & Harry's 6th birthday celebrations which culminated with a bowling party at the local bowling alley. Mitch won which he endlessly announced in the car on the ride home and which caused Harry to burst into a flood of tears.

And then we made the difficult decision to look for a new home. We love our house, but it is simply bursting at the seams with the five of us, so we decided a change was needed. That is easier said than done. Anyone who has shopped for a new home would realise just how misleading the ads and pictures of the properties often can be. Seriously, real estate agents must go to a special class to learn how to sail so close to the edge when it comes to honesty. A three bedroom home with a closet - becomes "a spacious 4 bedroom home" - if one of your children is happy to sleep standing up. A tiny block becomes "great for children" - if they remained the size of four year old forever. And a home with a dated kitchen becomes a "delightful centre of the home" - if you are happy to endure the lime laminex and orange wall paper. So sufficed to say we are STILL looking. Will keep you posted.

Apart from that we are preparing for Jack's first birthday. He is such a happy baby and adores his brothers. His latest trick is clapping hands and chattering away. Mummy has been very mean and made the dummy (pacifier) just for sleep time, so he has discovered his voice. Even though you can't understand what he is saying, he has such a conversational tone that it makes me think he really knows what he is talking about. He also loves swimming and when you count to three he closes his eyes in preparation for going under the water which he does with ease.

Well better fly as we are heading out for some more house inspections.

Will try and get back to post some pictures very soon,

Love to all,

Lisa xx

Just had to share this photo

I couldn't resist sharing this photo...

Just one of those moments when you grab the camera and everything comes together :-)

Hugs,

Lisa xx

School Holidays...

I LOVE school holidays - no early morning rush, lots of jarmie time and time to create special memories with my beautiful boys. I remember my Mum telling me how much she enjoyed holidays too and now I understand why. The first four days of our holidays were a write off as poor Mitch was diagnosed with Slap Cheek and so just to be on the safe side we stayed at home. I have a sneaking suspicion that Jack probably had it first, but at the time I just thought he had red cheeks from the cold. I thought Mitch's heart may break in two when I explained to him that we couldn't go out for 4 days and that meant not seeing his friends. BUT he bravely coped and then ended up really enjoying himself.

We have had lots of free time. I don't know about anyone else but my boys love the opportunity to kick back and watch a DVD or just muck about with their toys. I try to make sure we have lots of downtime, but sometimes in a effort to fit it all in we end up rushing about. So this holidays I actually scheduled days at home (I know that probably sounds strange) so that we could ensure time at home and lots of rest. It has worked really well and I think I will do that on our next school holidays.

Probably the highlight for the older boys was going to see Toy Story 3 with their Dad. Jack and I went to the gym and then did some errands while waiting for them. Then we all went out for lunch. As luck would have it the hotel had free face painting and so a very tired, but happy Spiderman and Pirate came home with us.

This holidays has also marked our fourth year without Mum. In some ways it is hard to believe it has been so long, but in other ways it seems far longer. Mum would have loved the holiday times - I still have very clear memories of trips to the Parklands with Mum to meet up with friends for a play date and I suppose that is one of the reasons I enjoy doing the same kind of things with my boys. My Mum loved being a mum - yes, I know that many mums do, but she really did and would often tell us how being a mum was her favourite thing in the entire world. I only hope I can be half the mum she was and create such loving warm memories for my own dear boys.

Apart from that we have been trying to get a bit of maintenance done around the house and are in the throes of looking at getting an extension built. Since it was never in our plans (or dreams) that we would have 3 children we now find ourselves a bit squeezed for space. So we are weighing up between building up and increasing our living space or moving altogether. Our main concern is that we don't want to be weighed down with a large mortgage which requires me returning to work. Anyway, watch this space...

Hugs,
Lisa xx

Success...

Just a quick post to follow up on Harry's behaviour at home and school. Since we stopped him using the computer for 30 mins each day his behaviour has markedly improved - so much so that I fell a bit ashamed that we didn't connect the dots before now! Each day I make a point of seeing Harry's teacher at the end of the day and in front of him we discuss his behaviour and tonight he came home with a smiley stamp for doing an "excellent job in class today". He was ecstatic and was so proud of the additional chart he received on his star chart at home. I have also noticed that now he is wanting to spend more time playing with Mitch and initiates games with all of us. In particular his desire to play with Jack is most remarkable. He was always a doting brother, but now he gets out Jack's toys and then plays with Jack for long periods of time. The other day he called out "Mum, Jack is doing something incredible!" and I was made to come in and see how Jack was playing with one of his toys. Of course the downside of the reduction in computer time is that he needs more help in occupying himself, but this is improving too.

Small steps but important ones. Most encouraging of all is that he has happily coped with the chage in the coimputer usage and it is rare he asks to go on the computer. Most amazing of all last weekend during his allotted time he actually turned the computer off so he could come and play a game of Trouble with Mitch and I :-)

Hugs to all,
Lisa xx

Some good news...

Just had to post that since we limited his computer usage Harry seems to be doing better in class and has suddenly become very keen to practice his reading. I had to listen to him read his reader 3 times this morning. His teachers have commented that he is trying very hard whicxh is wonderful. And he has gone up a level in his readers and sight words.

Just small steps - but steps forward which is the most important thing of all...

Hugs to all,
Lisa

Reading and all things school...

As most of you know Mitch and Harry started school this year and are in reception (prep). We decided for them to be in different classes and this has been a good decision for them and us. Any time they are together Harry tends to get worried about what Mitch is doing and then he gets in trouble. An example - once a week they are dropped off at the drop off/ pick up zone and they walk a small distance into their classes. The rest of the week I take then to their classrooms and get them settled for the day. This week we were running a bit late and long story short they arrived just before the bell. Apparently Mitch wanted to dawdle (why am I not surprised) and Harry became frantic trying to get him into class. So much so it took him ages to settle when his lessons started, because he was still worried about Mitch. Anyway, this is all part of the big learning curve of school. And despite their age I want them to become confident with dealing with getting to class without Mummy always being there. It often surprises me when I see other children who are for want of a better term "babied" by their parents at school time. These little ones have their bags unpacked for them, everything put away and all the while they just wait for it to be done for them. Sometimes it is exhausting trying to get the boys to do things for themselves, but I hope this will mean they are self sufficient and confident in the future.

They both enjoy school - but are so different in so many ways. Mitch is a social butterfly and chats with all the "big kids" on the way through the school yard. Everyone seems to know him and it is nothing for three or four kids to stop him for a chat. I can understand why, because he is such a happy little chap and clearly enjoys the company of others. He even has older girls take him out to play with them during the breaks. He is also popular in his class and the other week when he was sick I had several of his classmates ask me with a lot of concern when he would be back. He is loving reading and has just hit that delightful stage where he has realised he can read!

Harry is less confident and struggles to understand why some of the boys in his class won't be his friend. He told me the other day that he asks one little boy every day to be his friend - it was heartbreaking to hear and yet I can understand why other kids sometimes find him too much hard work. However he is extremely loyal and has made friends with several children who are prone to getting picked on and he just doesn't seem to notice their differences. He is finding the class work more difficult and we are working through assessments with a psychologist to see if there are any underlying problems. Currently he is being tested for Autism and ADHD - and to be honest it would not surprise me if a diagnosis was made. BUT that won't change my beautiful Harry-Koala who is such a loving boy and who really wants to do the right thing (if only he could work out what that is).

School has been both wonderful and difficult but I am extremely grateful that at this stage both boys seem to enjoy going there and that their teachers are so perceptive and kind. And I remind myself that not so long ago the thought of them ever reaching school felt impossible...

Well back to my boys,
Hope everyone has a lovely day,
Lisa xx

Not drowning... waving...

Just a quick post to let you know that despite appearances I have not fallen off the face of the earth and that hopefully today I will get back to post the latest update :-)

Hugs,
Lisa xx