Is that Cinderella I see?

My cousin had told me about how she had put her 'little girls' to work, one day over the holidays. She gave them each a bucket of soapy water and set them to work; washing little dirty fingerprints from her freshly painted walls. She had been shocked at what a wonderful time that they had all had.

After a particularly trying day, near the end of our holidays, I thought I would do the same. With some basic housework on the to do list and some ratty kids that needed direction, I too, gave each of them a task. As I cleaned the bathroom, toilet and laundry, I gave them each bucket and asked them to wipe down the walls and skirting boards (one of my least favourite jobs). Guess what - it was pretty fun! I loved that we were all working together to make our home clean and tidy. There was a real sense of purpose and bonding, that I did not expect. It was time well spent.

Miss Moo Moo, went on to clean almost all of the skirting boards in the house, without having to be asked, however Spunky Monkey abandoned his bucket, five minutes in. He preferred instead to give orders. He wandered in and out of the house doing his own thing, occasionally coming up to one of us and saying: 

"Chop, Chop, lets get the job done!"

Miss Moo Moo had been saying how fun cleaning skirting boards was, however, after about an hour she said this:

"Cleaning skirting boards is fun. The first time you do it, it is really fun, the second time you do it, it is kinda of fun, the third time you do it, it is a bit boring and the fourth time you do it, it is a nightmare!"

I'm not sure how much cleaning/bonding time we will be having in the future!

She did not need much

Surely this is all anyone needs. Can life be that simple?

Pinned this this morning when I was suppose to be on-line paying the bills. Oh, Pinterest, what at lovely distraction you are!

Back to school

The days certainly have flown by this school holidays, it just seems like yesterday when I took this photo on the last day of school. We stayed fairly close to home over the break, keeping busy with playdates, sleepovers and plenty of family/cousin time. Dare I say it? I think that my kids are going back to school more exhausted than when they left, and that's saying something. I really love the relaxed pace of holidays: sleep-ins and late and lingering breakfasts, but I am grateful for the return to routine today. This morning, the toys were packed away and beds made, all by 7 am. Instead of 'grazing' all day long, well balanced meals have been eaten. It's bath time now, and dinner will be on the table by 6 tonight. If I'm lucky, I might even get to bed at a reasonable hour myself.

Yes, holidays are good, but I think that routines might just suit our family better.

This weekend - Australia Day

We spent a quiet Australia Day with Poppy and Tiya Ning at our place. Due to work commitments, we did not see them at Christmas time, a day like this was long overdue. Sunday was a relaxing day, slow, with plenty of time to catch-up and linger. A yummy barbecue, a few glasses of chilled white wine, a quick chocolate pudding*, some dancing, some stitching, lots of bouncing, quiet a bit of lazing about and to end, an early evening walk/ride by the lake.

Happy belated Australia Day to you all.

*I woke at 6am to make the 'must have' pavlova only to discover that I had only 2 eggs! With other things already planned for the morning, the best I could do was a quick chocolate pudding. Topped with fresh raspberries, no one complained.

Last weekend - Chinatown

Last Sunday, we took a day trip to Brisbane. Why? to eat, of course.

Yum Cha was the only thing on our agenda, it had been way too long since our last visit and we were not disappointed. These dishes, are not called YUM Cha for nothing. We all went crazy for the food, enjoying our old favourites and discovering some new ones as well. As always, the desserts were the biggest hit with the children, and the adults alike. And as always, we (I) ate way to much food.

We spend most of the day in Chinatown, wasting hours wandering around the supermarkets. Touching, smelling, listening; so much of it foreign to us. We did not expect the day to feel like a real mini holiday. The kids absolutely loved it.

Leaving at about 3 o'clock, we visited another favourite place, Newfarm Park. It was just the right amount of busy and the children, climbed, ran, played, hid and climbed some more, for just the right amount of time. Mr Moo and I sat with a coffee and some Chinatown treats, enjoying the late afternoon: the cool breeze and the happy sounds from the playground. Just as I was going to give the kids "5 more minutes" they came to say they were ready to go.

There is something to be said about sometimes, just not having a plan. This day was lovely because we resisted the urge to schedule in too much. We let the day, our surroundings and our children guide us. The park was an after thought, a whim, but it was the perfect end to our day. We all though so. Most of our school holidays have been spent rushing about, having to be somewhere at a certain time. This is not so relaxing. Sometimes it is good to throw the rule book out the window, to do just one thing instead of four things in one day.

And sometimes it is good to get away... even if for a day... even for a half a day... get lost in the backstreets of a different suburb... go to a different beach... try shopping at a different market. I can totally recommend it.

Finding the beauty and joy

Yesterday was one of those days.

You know the ones, when nothing seems to go right...

Like going to this beautiful place and leaving Spunky Monkeys boards shorts at home! And things went down hill from there.

Then, last night, I looked at the photos that I had randomly taken throughout the day. I saw the beauty of that crappy day, captured, when I hadn't even realised it.

I'm glad I have returned to blogging, if not I probably wouldn't have taken my camera to the beach at all and I know that these moments would be lost forever.