Look, what's growing in my garden

Isn't it a beauty?????

And another one

And that's the boys eating one...

....not the one from the garden though... it'll still take ages for them to be ripe.... sigh :o)))

And that's another thing growing in our garden:



(It's an eggplant if you can't recognize it) and eggplant plants have really pretty blossoms... I never knew.



Talking about blossoms.... our fruit trees are weird fruit trees. That or they think they are European. It is late summer here, almost autumn , BUT my former stick-lookalikes decided to blossom.



And can you find the capsicums???? Well, they rather accidentally decided to grow next to our compost bin... but who am I to complain, if you're not a weed and you wanna grow in our garden you're most welcome.



And that's a couple of our millions of cherry tomatoes. The bushes start to look a bit dead, but they still produce tomatoes... a lot of tomatoes.



And we're also flooded with cucumbers. Unfortunately Ben doesn't like cucumbers.... uhm, next year I need to think a bit better before I plant something.



And these little beauties... back in October I blogged how much I was excited of finding an elder tree in blossom so I was able to make elderflower syrup which is just soooo yummmm (in my opinion). Well, I also planted two tiny little mini elder bushes in our garden when we first moved in. They've grown like mad and whereas in Germany they blossom for only maybe a month here they blossom already for the last three months and I made tons of my magic potion.



And what should I do with these hot beauties???? I don't really cook with chillies!

One of those days

Do you have some of those days as well???

Last night just at bed time, Ced poured out his water bottle all over his bed, so mum had to change the entire bed. This morning  Ned pours out his water bottle all over his bed, so mum has to change another entire bed. Ned hits Ced, Ced bites Ned, Ned grabs Ced's papers, Ned snatches Ced's toy, Ced snatches Ned's toy, Ced screams because Ned hit him, Ned screams because Ced banged him with a (plastic) shovel, mum gets very cross with both of them at various times during the day and mum gets cross with husband who is on crutches and not so very useful at present in some aspects (don't get me wrong, he is still very useful and I won't get rid of him, but running after two whirlwinds on crutches is a bit of a challenge). The day ended in blood, as Ced slipped on the wet bathroom floor (none of Ned's doing this time... okay he wasn't suppose to splash the bath water all over the bathroom floor, but Ced helped him in peeing on it). So, at the end of the day, mum's kind of VERY relieved to finally stick offspring into their designated beds and to get out of their room as quickly as possible.
But well, we have this bedtime routine. I cuddle with Ned in his bed (and if you cuddle with a little boy most of your crossness starts melting away already... nothing as good as a good cuddle) and we sing songs together... more often than not it is him requesting and me singing, but hey, lets just call it "singing together". His favourite is still the "Bagger"-song, which is about an excavator and nothing offensive whatsoever, but there are many other songs like "elephants have wrinkles" or "Galump went the little green frog" besides many German kids songs, and of course his all time favourite "plinkle, plinkle  little star" (also known as "twinkle, twinkle little star"). But today he wanted to sing "Jesus loves me" and it wasn't only me singing but he joined in and actually knew most of the lyrics. Definitely a tear up moment and reality check.
For Jesus does love me... and him... no matter how often he hits his baby brother or pulls his leg or snatches toys away, Jesus continues to love him, to love us.... as well as our neighbours who are having a loud party with lots of boom boom music... sigh.

Precious

I won't say it too loud but I think we've finally outgrown "real" tantrums... and with "real" I mean, you know, those 2 hours of screaming... there is the occasional screaming fit (okay at least once a day) but hey, what's 5min between friends???
Today was a looooong day though. First full day at kindy. Ned was SO excited to go and eat his lunch there, although when I dropped him off he was a bit reluctant letting me go. After kindy he was picked up by grammy (that's grandma for normal people) to spend the rest of the day at grammy and grandbags (that's grandad for normal people).
I was outside watering the garden when he was returned just before bedtime. I heard him before I saw him, a high pitched squeal. He calmed down quickly though, just to totally freak out again when he had to change into his PJs . He was most upset that we didn't give him fresh socks to wear in bed, in fact he wasn't even allowed to wear the old, dirty socks to bed. It was so illogical and unreasonable, but logic and reason isn't the best sides of three-year-olds in general and Ned in particular. He was most displeased and didn't shy away to let us know!!!
I just wrapped my arms around him (and legs that is) and forced-cuddled with him in bed, him screaming, me singing .Luckily I didn't have a stressful day with lots of tantrums, so I was very relaxed and happy to have my  little boy back, just feeling sorry for my little guy who wasn't able to tell me in any other way, that it might have been a bit much for him today.
So he screamed and I sang. And while we lay there like that I was reminded how God loves us, and continues to love us even though we scream at him because of something as ridiculous as not being allowed wearing socks in bed in a warm summer night.
Finally I sang "Twinkle twinkle little star" (which is a number one favourite around here, sigh) and all of a sudden he calmed down and we sang it a couple hundred more times and changed from force-cuddling to real, genuine wrap-his-little-arms-around-me-kind-of-cuddles.
Sometimes in the midst of the chaos two little boys can bring, I loose sight of how truly precious those little rascals are. God has entrusted them into our care and I am eternally grateful. Ned might throw a tantrum here or there and Cedric might bite his way through all his friends like a great white shark (his count is 4 out of 5 friends visiting us being bitten by him) but nonetheless they are precious in His sight and they are precious to me.

Learning

So!
Ned is a bit behind with his language development. I'm okay with it, I'm not super freaked out or anything, I know he is learning, and it just takes time.
So we are practising speaking whole sentences. Often I totally understand what he means and forget about correcting him, though I try to drill it into his brain to speak German with mum and English with dad (and everyone else as a matter of fact). And most of the times he gets that right.
But well, speaking in whole, complete, correct sentences.... hmmmm.... weeeellll... not really.

So. Today before rest time I practiced whole sentences with him (it was all in German which is a bit more complex than English, but you'll get the picture).
ME: "What is the bird doing?" pointing to a flying bird in a book
Ned: "Bird doing??"
Me: " No, Ned! Don't repeat what I say, it is a question, you have to answer me.
         What is the bird doing?"
Ned:" Bird doing?"
Me: "Ned, you need to ANSWER me. It is a question.
        What IS the bird DOING?"
(It goes back and forth like that for a while, but finally Ned is flapping his arms indicating that the bird is indeed flying)
Me: "Ned, use your words"
Ned: "Flying"
Me: "The bird is flying"
Ned: "bird flying"
Me: "THE bird IS flying"
(We do it word by word and his pronunciation is perfect)
Me: "So, what is the bird doing?"
Ned: "bird flying"
(I'm REALLY not a very patient person, so my patience is wearing a bit thin, but I just sigh internally)
Me: "Okay, again, word by word:
         " The      bird      is    flying"
Ned:        "The       bird    is        flying"
Me: "Ned, what is the bird doing?"
Ned: "Swimming"
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH

Well, our training session in speaking whole sentences ended in an uproar of laughter.....

First day of kindergarten

I wanted to write this post since, well, the first day of kindergarten which was on Wednesday, BUT presently our internet connection is almost even worse than the internet on  the ship and I wasn't really able to log in...

You might think: "So! What's the big deal with starting kindergarten???" Well, if you are the parent of a child who is in kindy you know what I talking about, right??? Letting your baby go out into the big world all by themselves and being swallowed into the school-system. I mean, you know, if we stayed here in Australia Ned will wear school uniform for the next 14 years or so, which is somehow a bit scary (being German I'm still not used to school uniforms). He did not fancy the uniform though. When we first picked it up and tried it on he wanted to get out of it as fast as possible, which made me a bit, uhm, apprehensive of the first day at kindy. And on Wednesday morning, he didn't really want to put it on again. Luckily his friend Charli is also starting kindy. So I told him that Charli would wear the same and he was mollified. He really likes Charli... she's the standard of womanhood for him (besides myself of course, but I'm beyond perfect) and she's blonde... he likes blonde girls :o).

Once at kindy he couldn't get rid of me quick enough (sigh) and almost didn't wanna come home with me afterwards. When I told him today at bed time, that it is kindy again tomorrow (it's only twice a week), he almost bounced out of bed to put his uniform on (which I laid out on the floor for him)... seems like he enjoys it, eh??

(Goof-ball Ned)

(Do you know the movie "Tangled"??? Doesn't Ned's look here look like that one "look" of the "hero" in Tangled"??? If you know the movie you know what I mean, right???)

I've tried to be a little busy bee the last couple of weeks. I mean, I also read a lot of books to relax, but I also tried to be productive and creative. I added a couple of red highlights around the house... did I mention before, I REALLY like red  a LOT!!! And it is so much fun to transform a house into a home... I should take a couple of pictures to show  you.. well, I like it at least.
I also had the opportunity to do a little photoshoot with my friends three gorgeous kids (I'm a sucker for big, blue eyes).

It felt really weird to try to take some nice pictures.. well, on purpose, not just snapshots which turn out great but actually going to a bdirge and riverside with the soul purpose to try to take a couple of nice photographs. I still have to learn SO much, BUT it was so much fun, also editing the photos afterwards. It's nice to take pictures of someone different than your own offspring, making the parents happy in doing so, which in return makes me really happy, useful and creative.

I haven't been doing so well myself the last couple of months. I have to confess, I'm struggling with addiction. Someone really smart once said:

 "If you are a dry alcoholic it's like putting a tiger in a cage!".

...or something along that line. Don't worry, I can't stand booz... I don't drink alcohol because I really don't like it. For me I have to change that comparison slightly:

"It's like putting a tiger in a cage and taking him for a walk at least 3 times a day!".

I think it is fair to call it "food addiction". I feel aweful about it, I mean, addicts are people who can't get a grip of life, right?? They are just too slack to get things right, they are loosers.
Since arriving in Australia it has been a struggle for me,... what do I say, it was even before coming here, but getting totally out of my normally routines and habits just totally messed me up again. It has been a fight. And too many times I was defeated, laying face-down in the mud way to lazy to get up again, and besides indulging in chocolate while you feel sorry for yourself is quite nice.
Parts of me just wanted to do exactly that, whereas the other parts felt so repulsed about what I was doing. Nothing is safe in one of those "loose-cannon-totally-out-of-control-and-eat-everything-which-crosses-my-way-or-everything-that-is-nice-and-lived-in-our-pantry-that-is-as-a-matter-of-fact". Someone said that the "binge"-tiger is a bit stupid and forgets things easily so you just have to distract him long enough and he forgets that he wanted to eat half of your pantry's content, but my "binge"-tiger is pretty witty and determined. The other day the thought of chocolate entered my thoughts during a sermon at church (horrible, I know) and nothing could stop me thinking only about that chocolate I'd bought when I felt victorious and safe. Once back home and husband safely out of the way there was no way of stopping that tiger that chased me into that pantry and made me devour the entire package. I felt like it really wasn't me who did it, I almost felt possessed and driven and afterwards (and in afterwards I don't mean only after the chocolate, but after the chocolate, and the ice cream and the salami bread and whatever else) I felt like a looser with a capital L.
It frightens me.
There aren't any triggers to loosing control. I'm not stressed. I'm not angry. I'm not whatever... It just happened out of the blue. I don't like loosing control. And it certainly doesn't feel like God is in control either, which is even more frightening.

I'm doing really good now though. I had quite a few victories the last week, which is so encouraging. With the "binge"-tiger controlling me everything else spirals out of control and down as well... bible reading, praying, patience with naughty children or husband, exercise, being productive....
Maybe it is an area I will have to struggle and fight with for the rest of my life... maybe it is a way how God keeps me humble and dependant on Him... which I'm not very good in doing. But when I was face down in the mud I thought, (and maybe God was saying it to me??) "Hmm, it's not really useful or fulfilling  to just lay around here in the mud. Come on get up and give it another go, there will be defeats in the future, BUT there will also be many more victories, because my God is a God of power, and He is the defeater and HE won the victory against the evil one for me already."
So here I am, totting along, wiping the mud of and going on ahead.
And I can't believe I'm saying this, but a friend of mine mentioned she's thinking about signing up to run a 10k race and after lots of thoughts and many "NO, I don't WANT to!!!!" I told her that I'm joining her IF my knees permit it. And somehow... it gives me motivation to go running again and to do other sports, and to be healthy.

So! I shall go to bed now like the good and healthy-living girl that I am... please don't judge me... writing this all down jsut helped me getting it all out of my system.

And by the way, I'm a sucker for big brown eyes too... wouldn't you agree????

I hate saying Good Bye...

... and I suck at it!!
With the life we lived we had to say good bye so many times to so many dear people already. One should think with that much practice I should be good at it, but that isn't the case. I can't express what I feel, just wanna get it over and done with and maybe the person leaving might think I don't care.

My mum and dad and big bro left yesterday from Albany. They drove up to Perth themselves so the good bye was short and sweet, no tears, no whatever... but the house is empty without them, I wander around expecting to bump into one of them, I wonder where they are, how they are doing and when will I see them again.

And in the meantime, life just goes on tickin', no consideration of how we're feeling or doing, tick tock, life goes on with its demands and joys. There were many things that irritated me while they were here (how they stacked the dishwasher for example) but now I miss it. I keep on thinking: "Ou, we should have shown them this" or "We forgot doing that" and I get sad when I look into "their" room and it's all empty and I washed the sheets, folded them and put them back on for the next visitors. Somehow it hurt somewhere really deep inside, but we'll go on with our lives and all that stays are memories, good memories.

But I don't wanna end on this rather sad note... our garden starts to really produce now... I think at the end of the season I might not want to eat another tomato ever again, but so far we enjoy picking thousands of tomatoes each day (okay, not quite, but close to). We also harvest other things.... but somehow something must have gone wrong with these parsnips, they look rather like something out of STAR WARS than something ateable...

The nice kind of busy

You know, I've written this nice, LONG blogpost about our doings for Christmas and New Years... and then it just vanished.. poof... gone!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! And to be honest, I just can't make myself re-write it again, so I give you a quick wrap up of the last couple weeks... we were BUSY, but the nice kind of busy.... my family is here for a visit.

Ned and I went up to Perth to pick them up from the airport... and as there was some time to kill we had a quick visit to the zoo.

Ned liked the elephants best...

...just after the zoo-train-ride that is....

...and the ride on an antique carousel (why did we go to the zoo again?? Ah! For the rides of course!)

It is so great to be able to show the beauty of my new home to my family. Luckily (thank you GOD that is) Albany weather was on it's best behaviour,

We had a fantastic time for Christmas. Developing ones own "traditions" for Christmas with a true meaning is actually quite fun, especially if you're a cross-cultural family... and to be honest... I loves both sides of Christmas, celebrating the birth of our Saviour as well as giving and receiving presents (sigh.. call me superficial, but I love presents).

Being German we just HAD to have a Christmas Eve celebration which we did with lots of food, fun and chats. After dinner the entire herd went out for a little walk. Just a couple roads around the corner there is this Albany Christmas atraction. People all over Albany hop in their cars after dark and drive past these houses.

Houses of almost an entire street are covered in funky Christmas lights and all of Albany drives past it with their cars. The owners hand out lollies and collect some donations for a hospice... luckily we live in walking distance (but NOT too close, I'd go gaga!!!)

Ned loved the singing Santa

When my family herded off to see the Christmas lights I stayed behind a couple minutes to put most of our presents under the tree and then ran after them.

When he saw the presents Ned WAS excited, BUT....

...he had to wait a little longer, for Ben read the Christmas story to us, for it isn't about presents (as much I like them), but about Christ (or it would have been call Presentmas, instead of Christmas, right??)

But after that there was no stopping them... and yes, Cedric did get a  pink little doll pusher (my doing) AND he loves it, sigh.

Being an Australian German family definitely has it's benefits: there was even more unwrapping on Christmas Day.

And I must say, it is much easier to take photos of the unwrapping on Christmas Day than Christmas Eve. 

It might not look it, but Ned was actually the sick person in our middst...

...well, Ben was a bit sick too, but I don't know if he liked Ned's therapy: he likes fixing things with a hammer lately.

After church we did the true "Aussie" thing and went for a BBQ at the beach (even though my Australian family has never ever done that before, but there is always a first, right?)

While we relaxed in the shade the men did the hard work of cooking the "barbie" (looks like haaard word, eh?)

Well, seems like we did have a white Christmas after all, don't you think??