Childhood Musings

My dear Oscar, almost 20 months old

Empty, thankfully. A victim of the wind.

My clay creations, while attending a children's workshop.

The babies shelf

My view while breastfeeding

I love the way the third baby is just so at home in whatever space he occupies. He just seems so comfortable. At home, at friends houses, at the shops. He climbs up in to laps for cuddles. Chooses the most comfortable seats. Sits himself in his bed and sucks his thumb to admire his books. Last week he fell asleep sitting in a shopping trolley - arms folded, head on arms - to the delight of several older ladies! He is just as comfortable and fearless at playgrounds. Following in his sister's footsteps as if he were equal to her three years in age. I think pure joy is the look that radiates from his face as he slides down a slippery slide all by himself.

Next month Emerson turns four and she will no longer be my toddler. Instead, Oscar will well and truly assume that title when he turns two in May. Until then, he is still my 'baby'. It only hit me last week as we drove to the library that this is my last year with Emerson at home. (She's not going to kindy, just as Cohen didn't.) Next year she starts big school. Just last month it was still two years away, suddenly it's just one year away! And just as she is nearly four, all too soon she will be turning five. Oh how true the phrase - 'the days are long but the years are short'. She really is the middle child, I find myself thinking of her as one of 'the big two', when she is with her older brother, and one of 'the little two', when she is with the baby. Her moods and communication skills swing between their skill levels. One moment kind and articulate, the next frustrated and loud. With a little space though she is sweet, imaginative and loving with a slight obsession for pink and dolls.

My sweet seven year old can't wait to get back to school. He pours over his school pack as though it were a gift from Santa, and treats his first calculator like a Gameboy. He adores school. He loves being surrounded by children, playing at lunch time and all the new and interesting things each day. He has learnt so very much these holidays though - spending time in nature, exploring galleries, museums and aquariums, and reading, reading, reading. He won't leave the house without a book. Sometimes it's his favourite book about snakes, other times it's extreme weather. His seven year old obsessions are Pokemon and Lego Star Wars, and he has encyclopedias for both, which he carries with him everywhere. The names and details he can recall amazes me. 

My sweet children. I hope one day they read these little sketches about their lives and it brings back memories for them, or at least gives them a glimpse of how very much I love and adore them.

Christmas Photo Shoot

There are so many things to love about running your own business (although a guaranteed income is not always one of them) high on the list of pros is most certainly creative freedom. Only in my own business can I be a designer one moment, jeweller the next, social media marketer before lunch and a copy writer after lunch. Much like Mothering really, where one moment I am referee, next I am nurse, then I am counselor, and then cook. If I wasn't born this way, then having three children has definitely made me a multiskilled multitasker. 

I remember when I was an employee at jewellery stores, I watched with interest as photographers picked up and returned jewellery, then returned once more with product and lifestyle photos. It was all very exciting and out of the ordinary for me. Especially seeing those images in print, and having brides-to-be bring in magazines and point out our ads. I once watched on from the sidelines as a high end jewellery catalogue was produced - models and locations chosen, jewellery pieces designed and created, days spent photographing on location and in a studio while the Marketing Manager apparently sat around bored, as she was bound by insurance to wait with the jewellery. 

But now, as a multiskilled multitasking small business owner, I can create my own photo shoots for my own jewellery pieces, and have an absolute ball while doing it! There is a lot of tea and laughter involved when photographer Trudi Le Brese and I get together for a photo shoot. While Trudi specialises in portrait and family photography, she was brave enough to throw herself in the deep end with me when I proposed our first photo shoot - a product and lifestyle Look Book of my jewellery. I bribed my beautiful yoga teacher at the time, Harriet, with jewellery so that she would model for us, another friend allowed us use of her library and garden as our location, and together we stumbled our way through our first shoot and produced photos that I am still so proud of!

This time around, with a little more confidence, I decided to tackle a Christmas shoot to create content for the holiday season, and broke the rule again about working with children and animals! As Harriet had moved overseas (please note jealousy) I put myself in the firing line, together with my youngest two, with my kitchen and dining room as our location. Together we baked, decorated, faffed and styled our way through the shoot. And I think, for two self taught multiskilled multitasking Mama's we did a darn good job at creating some amazing images!

Weekending

How busy the days are in December! The most hectic month in a jewellers calendar, and a Mothers too I would argue. Between an influx of orders, school craft days, a looming seventh birthday, preparations for Christmas, and a holiday by the beach, it's a time for breathing deep when the to-do list threatens to overwhelm, A time to ensure there are scheduled time outs to enjoy life as a family and not get lost in the hustle and bustle of break up parties, school assemblies and swimming lesson blocks. And so was our adventure last weekend, as we explored the GOMA markets, APT and the museum. Amidst the visual feast. we were all taken by the carpet of flame tree flowers between the galleries, and they way their colours popped against the green of the grass.

I hope you are enjoying the season of celebrations, and finding time to explore and discover as well too! xx

Responding

My mantra this week has been, ‘respond rather than react.’ And as mantras generally are, it is much easier said than done. My twin sister’s yoga teacher training inspired my efforts, after they discussed this concept in class and she reflected upon it with me. It struck a similar chord in me as it had in her. How often do we react without thinking, when we could have paused and responded with much more calm? How often do we ‘fly off the handle’ at our partner or children, only to feel guilty later? How often do we react in traffic, at inanimate objects, at ourselves? To me it seems that 'reacting' is simply identifying the problem and struggling with it, while 'responding' incorporates problem solving.

It’s so much easier to react to a child doing the wrong thing, than to respond and ask them to explain what they should have been doing instead - encouraging and praising them to make amends. Previously my mantras have included, 'just love them', and 'be the parent you want to be.' Each day, each child, each situation, I am learning and growing. Trying my best to be the parent I want to be, meet their needs, treat them with respect, teach them by example, allow them to be children. My, what a journey it is. Challenging, frustrating, rewarding, exhausting, empowering.

I hope that when they look back on their childhoods they will always have felt loved and supported. I hope they know that everyday I kept trying to do my best, give them my best and find the best in them. And perhaps one day I will be able to encourage them and share my hard won wisdom should they have children of their own.

Here's to responding rather than reacting. With time and practice I hope it becomes so incorporated in to my way of being that I no longer need a mantra to remind me.

What's your mantra? Do you use reminders to encourage peaceful parenting?



Photo by Trudi Le Brese

Technology and Children

Wild wallabies and curious children at Daisy Hill Koala Centre

Following on from yesterdays post, I have been musing about technology and children and how navigating these murky waters can be so difficult. I have seen it often with my friends and family, and I have used their experiences as inspiration in making my own decisions regarding the consumption of technology in our household. I know my children are growing up in a technological age, but I resist the possibility of them being sucked in to a world of video games and you tube clips. We are not without technology in our house. My husband and I both have smart phones, we have one lap top and one tv. However. we have no games on our phones and no games on the laptop. We have no ipads or ipods. We do have Foxtel (as part of our internet bundle) and Netflix - which is purely a luxury. So what they do get is limited access to the television, where they can choose which programs they want to watch.

What I have found is that my children do not miss what they have never had. While many of their friends are spending hours on computers and ipads each day, they have access to neither. Last year Cohen had used Reading Eggs on my computer for Prep, but he has out grown it now, reading chapter books instead. He has occasionally asked for games like minecraft, as his friends play them, but he soon looses interest in the idea.

I don't want for my children to be technologically illiterate. I know computers will be a large part of their future. But I also see how unhealthy habits develop quite young, and how important mindful carers are to ensuring children don't shun outside play in favor of virtual worlds of their creation. I'm quite sure that computer games have their merits, and that there are important lessons that can be learnt from them. But with a six, three and one year old, I also feel there is plenty of time for that in the future.

How do you handle technology in your house? 

Does the good outweigh the bad, or vice versa?

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Pick Your Own

The Berry Patch

Berries for days

Rule breaking one year one old...

$23 well spent

We are two days in to two weeks of school holidays in these parts. Holidays that I found myself particularly looking forward to as they approached. The idea of doing nothing in particular was so appealing; the six year old and I both needing a break from the school-day-routine. Some time to do nothing in particular. Sleep ins, reading in bed, long pajama clad mornings. And so it was we approached the holidays without plans, but rather a 'potter and play' attitude. 

Our first outing was a last minute whim organised with friends over the wonder of Facebook messenger, in which one can have a conversation with several people all at once (remember when that wasn't possible?) As a result three mothers guided seven children through row upon row of strawberries, and we all delighted in the chance to 'forage' for our own berries. Furthering our delight were the strawberry ice creams for the children, and the huge $6 boxes of 'small' strawberries each Mama brought home with her.

I recounted the details of our day to my husband as I hulled and froze that box of berries, and felt rich not only in strawberries, but friends, children and simple pleasures.

Weekending

As a stay at home Mama with a breast fed baby, a toddler and a school boy, it's very rare that I go out without children. Where I go, they come. One, two, or all three of them. I had been going to yoga one night a week until the class time changed and I couldn't make it work anymore. That had been my time-out, my 'me time'. But a month or two have passed, and 'me time' just hasn't happened. 

I scheduled some time out this weekend, booking my husband in to solo-parent while I spent the day as I pleased. And it was wonderful. I felt guilty initially. But given the amount of time my husband spends surfing and playing golf, the feeling soon faded. First, I wandered a Sunday market with all it's trash and treasure. Without interruption I browsed the stalls and brought myself a couple of books and some potted herbs, all for a few gold coins. Next I wandered through Freedom Furniture and brought a new throw, a ceramic house and a vintage style light bulb to feather my nest. Most luxuriously of all, I stopped in at a cafe for brunch. eating and drinking my tea alone, before wandering through Ikea and emerging with a cushion cover, a set of wine glasses and a note book. 

Oh how I love my three babies. But how necessary it is to have a little time to ones self, to be oneself, every now and again. I was delighted to see them again, and they were delighted to rummage through my market basket and discover all that I had brought home with me.

I shall be booking in my husband again soon - there is an antique center that I have been wanting to visit.

Taking Stock : May

(Photos from my Instagram account. You can find me at @christinalowrydesigns. Come and say hello!)

Making : A striped knitted baby blanket for a friend
Baking : Banana bread - then thinking I should have made a double batch
Drinking : Loose leaf tea
Reading: 'Love and Summer' William Trevor
Wanting: A garden full of flowers
Looking: At the rainbow lorrikets that come to eat our neighbours flowers
Playing: Lego with the little ones
Deciding: To attend a whole sale or Bridal Fair next year
Wishing: My sister wasn't so far away
Enjoying: Library trips with the little ones
Waiting: For my 'Real Australians Say Welcome' poste
Liking: The #mystillsundaycompetition hashtag pretties
Loving: That my big boy is devouring chapter books.
Pondering: My little boys first birthday.
Considering: What to buy the third child, when they need nothing? 

Thinking: I would like to have his portrait sketched or painted.

Buying: Delightful, pastel, porcelain bird whistles at a market.
Watching: 'Jane Austin and her many lovers' on iview.
Marvelling: A how quickly bubba's first year has flown by.
Missing: The view of the sea and the river we had last week in Yamba.
Needing: More holidays!
Waiting: For more episodes of 'Vikings'
Wearing: A second hand swing coat I brought while we were away.: 
Noticing: How many Myna birds there are now
Getting: New postcards with images from the photo shoot. Can't wait!
Pinning: Linen kitties that make big and little girls swoon. 
Coveting: A group of creative business owners to discuss my business ideas with.
Feeling: Excited about doing the Red Hill Fair on 25th July
Hearing: Three year old Emerson 'reading' to Oscar

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Joining in with Pip.

10 Months - Oscar

For anyone keeping count, my little Oscar is actually turning one this month. But between laptops dying, the busyness of business and babies, and a holiday too, I'm a wee bit out of date with this project. In an attempt to remedy that, I present you Oscar's 10 month old post. There weren't many shots taken on this particular day, as my teething babe quickly fell out of favor with the whole idea and wanted to be held instead. Oh teeth, how difficult they can be. I often say if it wasn't for the three T's I would have had ten children - teething, tantrums and toilet training. At ten month he had three teeth, at almost twelve months he has six.

I see many more sleepless nights ahead of us yet...

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Here's Miss Emerson at 10 months.

9 Months Old - Oscar

My third baby seems like less and less of a baby everyday! Nine months old and this little darling is commando crawling after his brother and sister, pulling himself up on the furniture and pulling things out of drawers. His shirts have a permanent stain on them from where his tummy rubs along the floor, as one arm and one leg do most of the crawling work. He has a pair of go-go-Gadget arms that can reach an astonishingly long way, so that he is always surprising me with the things he manages to grab, despite my thinking they are out of his reach.

He is an avid floor-food eater, a lover of cats tails and a connoisseur of squeezey food pouches - he grabs hold of them and all but inhales them! He is still the most refluxey baby I have ever met, but it doesn't both him, and as you can see he is not underweight. He is still awaiting his first tooth, though his top right tooth is the most likely candidate and puts him in a fussy mood at times. He still feeds up to four times a night, which I like to think has something to do with the teething... Though third time around I am much more used to being awoken at night and I feel like I have had a full nights sleep if I only get woken twice.

Did I mention I could eat him all up! Those chubby thighs, that ticklish double chin, that tummy that's just made for blowing raspberries on! He is a delicious little one for sure.

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Here's Miss Emerson as a delightful 9 month old.