42/52 - sipping tea at government house // a new camera

Lily

Transitioning from little girl to somewhat-bigger-girl. A gleefully proud little owner of changing chompers. 

That sweet face of yours is transforming, just as you are and I love to see you blossom - though it kinda breaks my heart a little too. 

Eli

I mean... this boy is sweetness personified. Those eyes!

Miles

Those glorious curls get wilder every day. But I'm not going to cut them just yet!!

Mark

'Wet washing hanging on the line....'

Mark just hanging around with the kids, haha. Never afraid to get in there and play like a kid himself

Project 52: A portrait of my family, once a week, every week, in 2014.

More highlights from the week that was...

I was so blessed to receive a new camera for my birthday! I just love it. I am having fun trying it out... but of course I still have to learn to actually use it properly, so please don't expect any huge changes to my photos!! Sadly, I can no longer blame my tools for over-exposed and blurry photos.... uhoh ;) But hopefully a slow improvement over time?? :)

Washing the chalk... thanks, buddy ;)

Lily held another street art stall - this time filled with hand made kites, paper shoes, loom bands and of course paintings. The traffic was minimal but she still relished the experience :)

Little Moon Eyes

Scott and Rosie, hanging my kids out to dry ;) And they loved it!

Busy with Duplo letters, he wanted to assemble all his siblings' names... there just wasn't enough 'L's and 'I's! 

We spent a delightful morning at Government House for a fundraising morning tea. Cos, you know, if Government House is
good enough for Kate and Will to stay at, it's good enough for us ;) These two brothers, on a snap chilly day dressed in beanies and stripes and blue vests... well... they were just busy melting my heart with all their brotherly adorableness.

A gentle hand on his back, before he went in for a cuddle. Sigh... 

Miles just kept saying 'Wow wow wow' - I think he was pretty impressed with the scenery and of course the sense of occasion ;)

'Bup! Bup!'

Eli and Miles were inspecting (playing!) in the dirt and Eli was thrilled to find this worm. After a little bonding time we had to leave so I suggested he pop the worm back into the lawn. At which point, E said 'I love you, worm' and then (before I knew what was happening), kissed the worm and gently placed him back on the ground. Eek!!

So, lately as I have been learning more about the importance of gut health, I've been introducing more probiotics/fermented foods into my family's diet. My latest experiment is Water Kefir. A super easy way to make a probiotic and mineral rich drink that is actually pretty easy to drink! It has a mild gingerbeer flavour. You can also mix it with juice, add lemons or lots of other flavourings. I'm just new to it though! It's been a big hit with the kids and I like it too! Plus, soooo easy to make. Thanks heaps to my sweet friend Sally for sharing some of her water kefir grains. If you are interested in making some too, read here to find out more - or just google! And if you live locally, let me know if you want some grains once mine multiply some more :)

One of a thousand funny faces from my helper :)

Amazing - the difference between a freshly mixed batch (on the left) and a batch that has fermented for a couple of days (on the right). The kefir (yeast/bacteria) grains eat the sugar and so lightens the colour. I use Rapadura sugar, which is why it's so dark.

PS I don't think I have mentioned on here before, but I happen to have a little Facebook page running for this blog! As well as posting my blog posts and photos, I also use it to share interesting and informative articles and websites I come across, favourite blogs and FB pages, handy tips, funny stories from the kids and so on. Feel free to come join me and say hi - I'd love to 'meet' some more readers! - just click here xx