{We almost missed the Big Red Car}

In about 2 weeks, my eldest boy turns 7. I have loved watching him grow up and move into a new phase in his life. His interests and passions are blooming and evolving. We are (somewhat) out of the world of 'toys'. He loves reading, playing sport, the occasional sky landers game and Star Wars fever has hit our house hard!
However, when he was the age of his little brother (3-4yrs) he was still into things like play school, wiggles and Thomas.



My (just) 4 year old often follows exactly what his big brother does. They refer to each other as best mates and have recently moved into the same room (after many requests from them both). Little bro thinks big bro is a rock star and practically worships the ground he walks on.

Sometimes I forget he is still just 4 and so I put on a play school and a wiggles episode recently to break up the monotony of being indoors from the Sydney rain. I was initially met with "its a baby show", but he didn't move the entire episode of either!


Maybe it's inevitable with the second sibling that they miss out on some of these things and are swept up with what big brother/ sister watches. Perhaps it's even more this way when siblings are the same gender?
 
Either way, it was nice to just watch my 4 year old enjoy being a preschooler and sing along to some nursery rhymes etc...

Has this happened in your house with the second child or is it just us?

Lauren x

{Where does the time go? 5th Birthday Celebrations}

I want to dedicate todays post to my first born child and my (as of today 5 year old) big boy.

The last few years of my life have been a roller coaster of emotions. This little boy has taught me so much about myself and has bought so much joy, love, laughter and adventure to this house. As many mothers can understand, that children teach you that you have so much more strength than you ever knew you had. There are times when you have had to summonse energy in order just to survive. You are constantly aware of how everything you do and say affects how these little minds will impact the world as they grow.

The first moment that motherhood really sunk in. After my first child was born, fed and he fell asleep in my arms. My heart was melted and I was forever changed!

However amoungst all the challenges and adventures, there are many moments every day that truley make this the best job in the world! Moments like when your little one grabs your cheeks and plants a big sloppy kiss on your lips, when they say "Your the best mummy in the whole world of my life" and when they finally achieve that goal after many very hard tries.

And it bought me SO much joy to fill the house with balloons and streamers in anticipation for the up and coming celebrations.

The house was filled with about 60-70 balloons and metres of streamers.....loved doing this!


God Morning birthday boy! This buzz lightyear toy has not left his side since then ;)

"Bellissamo!"

Picking the basil apart to go into the lasagna mix.

Making a traffic light swirly whirly cake (aka red, green and yellow marble cake).



After eating his birthday meal he built the racing track with his Pa and Uncles.

“There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one” - Jill Churchill

“A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.” - Cardinal Mermillod

“Every mother is like Moses. She does not enter the promised land. She prepares a world she will not see.”- Pope Paul VI

“Making the decision to have a child - It's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
- Elizabeth Stone

Lauren x

{Mid Year Toy Sales}

If your a parent (especially of a young child) you are more than likely to have heard words in the media recently like TOY SALE, TOY EXTRAVAGANZA or TOY BONANZA!!!
In true style to my personality I got the toy catalogues in the mail and armed with my sharpie marker circling things I know would make my boys 'happy'. Before I knew it I had enough things circled to fill a toy room (regardless of the fact that that there are enough toys in this house to sink a ship already).

Then In amidst it all, I remembered a blog post I put up last year entitled "{12 Days of Christmas ::: Day 10} Fighting OVERindulgence with kids at Christmas".
Suddenly, a fog lifted and it all came back to me. How I want to stop the madness of 'STUFF' at christmas, because let's be honest, there are enough gifts from grandparents etc.... to create a frenzy on the day as it is!

So, inspired by the blog post above I am buying only 5 gifts for the boys this year. They fall into 5 categories :
*Want
*Need
*Wear
*Read
I have decided to add a 5th one that wasn't in the origional post taht inspired the idea. That category is *Give. For this gift, it is something from them to another person and helping them bless someone else. You could give a gift to the kmart wish tree, a donation to a charity or buy a goat from the tear catalogue.
What we are planning on for the 'give' gift is a Compassion Child each who has the same birthday/ birthyear (or similar) to each boy. This way they have a personal and tangible way to live out their faith and understand the gravity of poverty and what they can do about it to help.

I hope this inspires you to put down the cataglogues for a moment and think about what Christmas is really about and how the choices you make help shape the values that shape your children and the grown men and women they will become.

Lauren x