The role of a supportive parent

Lately I've pondered, in my philosophical sometimes-out-of-box way, what my role is as a supportive parent to my girls. Where do I start and where do I stop being supportive? In essence, what is important enough to me that I will do what I can to help my girls with it?
In all this thinking and pondering, I've come up with a few ideas, mostly to do with education. You see, I'm very taken with the idea of homeschooling, of my children learning in close contact with their families, and of my girls learning from and with me. The only snag here, that's lead to this pondering, is that Rosie likes school and wants to be there. So I needed to think about it all differently, to work out what it means for me.
So here are some of the things I'm doing and working toward doing
- supporting Rosie at school by backing up her learning processes there through our own 'homeschooling' in the evenings and weekends and holidays.
-providing an excellent environment for open-ended, self-directed projects, in a way that schools can't.
-extensive travel and learning about the world through real experiences
-providing materials and opportunity for learning things not focussed on (much) at school e.g. Sewing, cooking, blogging, daily diary, love of music.
-guidance with morals, ethics, self-love and decision-making.
-a holistic learning environment that balances schooling with all other aspects of life (for learning never ceases and is a lifelong journey).
More to come on how this is going...

China, Chickens and Challenges

With Ian away at his race in China, our little family of girls has welcomed Bernadette to our house for this week. In between walking with Bethany to help her sleep, walking Rosie to school and joining in the Mount Beauty Primary School Walkathon, Bernadette has found plenty of time to knit Bethany a vest and a matching crocheted beanie.
In addition, we've been to pick up our newest girls - three chickens - a white one called Poppy, a darker brown whom we've called Pippa and a lighter brown named Henny Penny. They have settled nicely into their temporary accommodation while a more robust and attractive coop and pen is being constructed by yours truly.
Ian's race seems to be going well, although we have had little contact from him in far away China. Race reports are being written by his team mate Serge and can be viewed at the Adventure Junkie website.
In Ian's absence our hot water tank has rusted through and we've had no hot water for three days. After many, many phone calls we now have a nice new tank sitting in a box near the back door and a nice man coming tomorrow morning to install it. sigh. This will be a shower I will remember....

Two weeks sugar-free

It's been about two weeks now and I've started feeling confident. After some obvious withdrawal symptoms like an ongoing, fuzzy headache, tiredness (yes, more than normal with two young girls) and a real slump in the afternoons, I'm feeling better. I've found myself more balanced and less reactive to anything. More level-headed and less directed by sugar. Actually, the more I remove myself from sugar the more I realise how much it has driven my life. Do you know that I would (subconsciously, sneakily) organise my day so that I could end up at the shops mid-morning and then treat myself to coffee and (of course) something sweet to go with it? I would even let Rosie get bored at home so that we would 'have to' get out and do something else, and that would almost always involve some sugar. It's been a long time now that 'special treats' haven't really been special anymore because they happen everyday, even twice a day. And as much as I've enjoyed the sugar treats everyday, I'm not enjoying my days and decisions being driven by something else. And I haven't enjoyed that underlying sense that I'm not really in control of what I'm doing.
This break from sugar is about a whole lot more than just calories, bad teeth and healthy eating - it's about doing the things I think are important with courage and personal power.
So I look forward to further clarity in my days, further decisions made with a balanced heart and mind and further adventures with my family in healthy eating.
P.s. Check out the homemade (fructose-free) choc-nut spread which is surprisingly sweet and Sarah Wilson's Coco-nutty granola, which I plan to eat with natural yoghurt tomorrow morning - yum!

Autumnal changes

It was a good weekend in town as the Mount Beauty Music Muster was in full swing. Amid the music-loving tourists, musicians and townsfolk our little family found joy in the performance of the Picton Strings band from NSW, seeing our friends play their violins, and for me a concert band performance in the community hall. The Bakery was in full swing (literally with musicians playing inside on both afternoons) and there was a general sense of happiness in the air, with delightful Autumn weather to match.
Rosie is now more firmly set on the idea of playing the violin and its my job this week to find out more about this whole violin-caper and what step to take next to help a five year old begin to play.
Bethany has certainly found her voice over this last month or so and is now a vocal member of our clan - in fact more so than Rosie sometimes.
We've made some changes in the house too, with a new big bed for Bethany, the girls now sharing a bedroom and the creation of a homeschooling space (see my Pinterest pins if you're interested in the ideas I'm looking at). I've started a quilt for Bethany too, now that she's got a bed, based on one of Soulemama's ideas.
It's nice to have made a few changes for the coming season, put the camper trailer away now that its getting cold and to move the couch back inside in preparation for evenings in front of the fire.
Change is also afoot for Ian who is travelling to China this week to compete in the Baise Leye International Outdoor Quest. Us girls will be spending time with Bernadette while he's gone, picking up our new chickens and working in the garden.

And I'm quitting sugar

Its been a partner in my life for a long time - sometimes a friend, sometimes a foe - but always there. And until now I haven't been able to imagine life without it.
But I also know its doing me more harm than good - in a hidden, seductive, long-term way. I'm not sure exactly, but I think its related to anger sometimes, it makes my hormones swing more wildly than they should. And I have a sneaky suspicion that its playing a (major) role in my post-natal depression (and hence my subsequent recovery from that).
These are somewhat vague statements I know, but its worth the experiment to see the difference. Indeed, there seems to be a growing notion about the role of sugar consumption in a range of diseases - from obvious ones like diabetes to heart disease and then to Alzheimers and even dementia. So, surprisingly for non-commital me, I've taken the plunge upon our return from Tasmania using Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar book. I read her blog every week and like her honest approach and the openness with which she describes her experiences while giving up sugar (and why she did). So I'm using some of her recipes (a great one with haloumi and apple - yum!) and focussing on other treats instead of sugar.
So now, 3 days in, I'm doing better than I thought, waiting for those bad cravings to come, waiting for withdrawal symptoms or something equally nightmarish and now not sure if they will - perhaps this will be easier than I thought?
There'll be more to come on this journey to be sure (to be sure), but for now I'm beginning to feel confident that I can do it. Cheers.

This moment

It was her birthday yesterday but maybe its just hitting me today - she's not a baby anymore. I saw a friend's two month old today and he was just so small and cute and.... well so much of a real baby. And it occurred to me, in a visceral, heavy sort of way, that my baby is well past that now, never to return.
Of course I knew all of this logically, but I haven't really felt it. She's still a two month old in part of my head.
And I feel a deep sadness for myself too, in that way you feel when you realise (again) the fragility of life and the shortness of our time here in this body. But then I feel a joy for her and I - for her growing bigger and her learning, learning, learning.
For life is really a journey isn't it? Its not so much about 'being' this or that (a certain age or stage, or career or disposition) for we are always changing, whether we notice it or not.
And so I focus on the growth I see, on the emerging character that is Bethany in this moment. And on my own growth, as a mother and person, in this moment too.

A birthday for Bethany

A year ago today we were the proud parents of a new baby daughter and little sister for Rosie. We named her Bethany because its such a lovely name and we like the shortening to Beth aswell.
The past year has gone quite quickly and Bethany has shown herself to be a resilient girl who was quickly crawling after her big sister by 7 months and walking by 10 months.
Her special day included a card and wrapping paper made by Rosie, a new birthday dress from Noni and a quick-knit vest I stitched up during our car travels in the last week (yet another Milo). With local family we celebrated with a lovely BBQ and cake of course, followed a 'birthday suit party' in the bath.
Happy Birthday little girl! We're looking forward to the next year with you :-)

Time for reflection

End-of-holiday reflection that is. Our last few days in Tassie were a mixture of beach play, exploratory walks and a big road trip to pick up Nana and Pop. It seems to me that the end of a trip, particularly a longer one, is a time of great reflection. I look back and think about the things we've done together since leaving home - the good things and the average things. And then I find myself looking forward - to the next period of time and especially to the next big trip.
Today Rosie and I plotted our next family trip around Australia onto a map - planned for next year. We look forward to desert adventures, seeing crocodiles and visiting cousin Elsa's house. I look forward to a longer trip away (at least 3 months, hopefully 5-6 months) where we can grow together more as a family. For travelling with family is such a great way to build relationships and a positive family culture of learning and exploring.
As I look back over this trip I see with joy how Rosie has become very comfortable making new friends. Over the last few days I have watched her make friends quickly and easily in new places and situations. I've seen her overcome some long-standing discomforts for the first time and seeen her writing and reading really blossom.
This is the beauty of travelling with kids for me. This is slow travel working its magic. Here's to the next trip, and the ones to come after.

The Tooth

It was the apple that made the tooth wobbly. We were just packing up after our first three days at Freycinet when Rosie ran, very excitedly, out of the car and showed me her first wobbly tooth. It was at the bottom in the middle.
Now for Rosie this was a very big deal - a first tooth like most of her friends, this means she's a 'big girl' and that the tooth fairy would visit.
She was also very keen for the tooth fairy to leave her tooth behind in the glass of water so she could show it to everyone at school - so she wrote a lovely letter to her.

Slow travel in Sleepy Bay

"Speed limited by lifestyle choice" said the sign on the large campervan we parked next to at the beautiful Sleepy Bay in Freycinet NP. It was a statement that made me curious because I've been pondering the concept of slow travel lately as we've relaxed into our camping in Tasmania.
So many people we've met on this trip and on other trips in the past seem to be in a hurry to see as much as possible in the shortest time. And it seemed to me, when I was a child and even older, that this was how holidays were. In fact I didn't really contemplate any other way of doing travel until much later.
But slow travel is my way now. When we travel slowly we become more intimate with our surroundings. And when these surroundings are natural and pristine we feel a deep connectedness to the Earth and to ourselves. Our lives align themselves with our natural rhythms. When we travel slowly we get to know people better, both locals and fellow travellers.
And when we travel slowly we get to experience the culture of the place we're visiting in a much deeper way. In a way that only grows with time. This is the real value of travelling slowly.
And so the sign on the campervan was curious - do these fellow travellers go slow in their van as a way of fitting in with their slow travelling lifestyle?
We did our own slow travelling, by kayak this time, in Sleepy Bay on the east coast of Freycinet. To say that this was the best kayaking I've done is an understatement. It was pristine. There was a gentle swell. There were dolphins and sea caves. And no one else was there. Heaven. Definitely a slow travelling day.
I like this way of thinking - it's outside the square (unless you're a grey nomad) which suits us, but it also just feels right. Hmmm...more thoughts to come here .