Bravely done, Mariposa

We're taking things quietly here over the next few days, whilst Mariposa recovers from her operation.  She's just had her tonsils and adenoids out, and is feeling very tired. 

She handled the anxiety of the unknown so well leading up to the operation, even making a new friend in the waiting room.

This morning she admitted to the nurses that it wasn't all as scary as she thought it would be.  Now we're glad that she's home and is eating small meals well. We'll look forward to happier days ahead with few earaches and sore throats, and better nights' sleep without snoring.

An 11yr old's public speech against G.E.

This is just so inspiring, to see a young lad having the confidence to speak publicly about the sensitive issue of genetically engineered foods. Educating our children, and the future generations, is obviously so important!

Refreshing and inspiring company

Wonderful friends share their best and most difficult times. There's no doubt about it. Over a cuppa and a cuddle with the baby, you can learn a lot about each other. The children also thrive with the company of others, especially if it includes running about in clean, fresh air, patting the neighbour's calf over the fence, jumping on trampolines and climbing a hay stack. ☺

Yes, that's grass on it's nose, as it was being pushed through the fence.

I feel honoured to know many inspiring people. The family we visited yesterday was no exception. Through many of the lessons that life has handed them, they've learnt a lot. Our most recent conversations, beside homeschooling, has included how foods affect our children. It affects them in behavioural ways as well as with notable health symptoms and the rate at which they can learn.

So, after lots of discussion and having waited for the book to come in from the library, I finally have my nose in "Fed Up" by Sue Dengate. I'm only 3 chapters in, and although a lot of what I've read I kind of 'knew', so many of the examples I'm already reading are ringing true in my own family. I've been chatting with hubby about what I'm already learning and wondering how we'll go applying these lessons, but I can see that a few more discussions are going to need to take place before a firm stand on a course of action is going to be employed.

I'll give a brief summary of some things we've already endured: Maestro suffered dreadful colic as a baby, for close to two years. In recent years he has also suffered many blood noses and itchy throats. Whilst he naturally chooses to avoid milk products, there could be other reasons which are producing these symptoms also. Mariposa has also suffered, intermittently recovering on occassion, from eczema, not unlike hubby and her paternal grandmother. She also has a craving for sweets, which we try to avoid, but sometimes we notice her asking for something sweet several times a day.

On a slight tangent, another book hubby and I are working through is Food Inc. A friend with our church group has bought a copy for every family, and we'll be discussing it together over the next few weeks. I'm sure we'll have many interesting things to share. I am also hoping that anything I learn from Fed Up can be shared in these discussions as we all learn to be more aware of how we feed our bodies.

So, I'm on a learning curve and very thankful for the inspiration received from my friend for taking this journey. I'm grateful that I'll have someone to talk with when we start the changes, too.

Growing pains - my brain hurts!!

We've had growing pains happening here for a while now.  Maestro is getting long and lanky, sore bones, forever hungry and odd sleeping hours.  It's all part of becoming a teen.  Yes, he is only 11 years old, but it's been happening for a while now, starting in the latter months of being age 10.

First he started wearing the same shoe size as I do, now almost into his Dad's size shoe.  He's now taller than me too (not too hard to do) !

When children grow quickly like this, they lose their centre of gravity, so we've had moments of more clumsiness.  The poor lad has tripped a few times and gets frustrated with his awkwardness.  For those pains in his muscles and bones, he's taking some tissue salts (Magnesium/Phosphorus) which is helping, especially before bed when his irritable legs keep him awake (along with his ravenous appetite).

Sleeping hours have completely shifted to later nights and then later rising.  Yep, this is normal too. Hormonally, teens don't feel tired until around 11pm.   What's more, they then still need up to 9.5 hours of sleep, because that's when they're growing.  So, for this fact alone, I'm really grateful that we can have a more relaxed schedule as homeschoolers, allowing Maestro to sleep as his brain and body needs it.

But, what's he doing with his time if he's staying up later?  Reading!  Yep, he's aquired a nice stash of books (besides those from Sonlight) that he's working through.  Hardy Boys. Cairo Jim. In fact, his desk is covered with books and papers (he's writing his own stories too, without prompting), with a few piles stashed next to the bed also.  This boy really needs another bookshelf of his own, just for the volume he's borrowing from the library.

With a brain that's changing so much, you want to feed it with the best input.  This has been one of the prompts to direct the children's learning with good literature, discussion and healthy outdoor activity.    I really liked the advice in this article, advising parents and teachers about 'exercising' the teen's brain to help them ....

to order their thoughts, understand abstract concepts, and control their impulses are laying the neural foundations that will serve them for the rest of their lives. "This argues for doing a lot of things as a teenager," says Dr. Giedd. "You are hard-wiring your brain in adolescence. Do you want to hard-wire it for sports and playing music and doing mathematics–or for lying on the couch in front of the television?"

And we've had a bit more fascination in movies, music and computers lately. Another article here, echos the sentiments I've just quoted. Teaching moderation has been a key, as well as monitoring what's being heard and seen.  Actually, I'm impressed that Maestro still does come to us to ask about suitability on these things.  We don't have to prompt him too much.  He has been vetting what's suitable for his younger sister for a long time, and continues to do so.  Directed family movie nights has helped, which is usually Saturday or Sunday evening.  Sometimes it's just a special night with Maestro and his Papa (as he seeks more 1:1 time with his dad). One film we recently saw was the first "Hornblower" episode, where we discussed loyalty and honour; and this has now raised interest in a new series of books. :)

So, we've had more sleep, lots of eating, some moments of forgetfulness and more emotion. But we've also got him having adequate sleep, eating a good selection of whole foods, an increased interest in his dance and violin, lots of good literature and good communication with his parents.  After all, we are building them up to become independent adults, so hopefully we'll use this crucial time to our advantage.

Silver caps and Rhubarb champagne

I'm having such a busy week, blogging's taking a back seat. You see, it's that time of the year when the dance concert is looming and I help with the costume making. I had a lot of fun making these cute little hats. (Mine is the silver one, copied from the gold original).


Lots more costumes have been done, but I've been unable to photograph any as I've lost my battery recharger ... argh! Oh well, I'll get time to do a better search later.

In the meantime, I was prompted to look for a recipe for Rhubarb Champagne. Seeing as the rhubarb is growing perfusly here at the moment, I'm hoping to make some up this weekend. Here's the page I found, with lots of other recipes for children also.


Have fun cooking .. I need to get back to my sewing. :)

TOOL challenge

I'm joining in with Rhonda Jean's challenge to learn to seek out organic and local produce supplies. Whilst we do have our own chooks and fresh eggs, and some of our own fruit and vegetables, we still have a lot to learn.

This is an important education that's been lost over time. If anyone's interested, please go to Down to Earth and sign up. :)

Herbs for health

A few months ago the children helped me plant out some more herbs from seed. We have plenty of thyme, lemon verbena, rosemary and oregano. The basil is struggling with the cooler weather, even with seaweed tonic, but I'm hoping it will hold in there and we can harvest some in late spring. We also have a large bay tree in the front yard and several bushes of rose geranium and English lavender. Parsley is missing from our supplies, so we'll have to get on and plant some of that soon, too.

I'm trying to be mindful of teaching the children as much about the natural benefits of plants as I'm able. This is a huge job, especially since my own knowledge is quite limited. I recently added a copy of Walking the World in Wonder by Ellen Evert Hopman to our book collection. It's set out in seasonal sections, and a double page opens to show a photograph and description per plant. So, before unleashing this on the children, I'm going to do some more studying and see if we can find a few new herbs to discuss, or even look for in the nursery.

Around a year ago, my friend Louise told me about this great site: Herbmentor. Now, I really need to get into gear and research more of their back newsletters, especially as our seasons are reversed, and see what I can apply there on a regular basis. You can sign up for regular free newletters here. The latest newsletter has a wonderful looking Rose Elixer recipe (instructional video included) which I know the children will enjoy making. We'll just have to wait a couple months until our roses are blooming again. :)

Early morning train ride

It was a very early start today to our NoBraces dental appointment. As winter creeps closer, it's harder to make these early starts, but watching the sun come up is always lovely.

Maestro was quite content to read his book. He's currently working his way through the Hardy Boys series, proudly finishing off one book on the way into the city and beginning another.

Mariposa was happy just drinking in the view.

As we approached the city, we were being engulfed in fog, and what turned from a pleasant sky became cold and dreary.

From the NoBraces centre, we could see the fog keeping most of what was quite scenic very hidden. This is Flinders Street station, near Elizabeth Street. We usually have a view of the Yarra River and Southbank here, but not today.

Needless to say, upon returning home we've got clear blue skies and mild weather again. It's amazing the difference an hour travelling south can make.

A fun weekend: sleepovers

We had an absolutely fabulous weekend just gone. Maestro had been invited to spend the night at a friend's for a 10th birthday party. This included a trip on a seaplane, then an outing to the cinemas that night. Whilst he was away, Mariposa asked two girlfriends over to stay for a pyjama party.

At the end of their visiting/having visitors, we headed to my brother's for a housewarming luncheon and caught up on some lovely photos they took whilst travelling Europe (their honeymoon).

We're all very tired today, and now poor Maestro has conjunctivitis. I'm really hoping it all clears up soon and we can avoid the road of antibiotics. Already I'm looking to find a natural remedy, leaning more toward the camomile.

When children are unwell, do you call it a 'school free' day? I find we still do 'read-alouds', and maybe catchup on something creative/hands-on or colouring pages, but the routine of English, Maths, etc. usually gets put on hold if more rest is required. Today is looking like one of those days. So, whilst I'm boiling up a pot of chicken soup, both of the children are happiliy pottering around; Mariposa practicing her dance routines and Maestro resting. I think this may be a great opportunity for me to sit with a book!

Out in the city

Home again after an outing to the city today. The city has never been an attractive place to visit in my books, probably as I used to work there for many years, but it's where we go for the children's orthodontic work, at the NoBrace centre. I am so glad the trains are nice and comfy, so we don't have to worry about the drive in and parking.

I chose NoBrace for the early intervention for orthodontic the children's work rather than wait for their teens, and most likely extractions and braces. This was prompted by Mariposa loosing 3 teeth in place of 1 tooth (each) on her upper jaw, and her lower teeth were coming through all crooked. Her jaw was just so narrow. Within a year we've had wonderful progress, with her 2nd upper teeth just now emerging, nice and straight! (YAY!)

Was it an economical decision? ... well it is comparative to other regular orthodontic methods, but if you're asking for my recommendation, I'd say 'yes' to the lesser invasive option. Maestro had the Myobrace only as his jaw was already quite wide; just an overbite which was quickly corrected. Mariposa, on the other hand, had to go with the plates. She's been having treatment since April 2007, but we can see big differences. It's also helped a lot with her speaking (diction) and night-time snoring.

After our appointment, we went for a tram ride up to visit a newly opened Koorong Bookshop in the city. We browsed for about an hour, writing down our wishlists and making just a couple of purchases. Maestro bought himself a boxed set of the first five books in the Astrokids series.
I found an interesting book too: The Homeschoolers Book of Lists - definitely on the wishlist!