It’s been awhile between drinks for my news in brief editions…and I had intended this to be the April edition (or probably the March edition…or February edition…) Yet here we are: IN MAY! Holy Toledo. Five months into 2018 and I think I’m still writing 2016 as the date.
Eleanor is well and truly a kinder kid now. So big. Even though it’s just five hours a week (one day)…she’s just so damn big! Probably even more so because she’s one of only three children in the three year olds, so she mostly just hangs with the ‘big kids’ as they’re all in together. Her favourite things about kinder are painting and lunch – ha! She doesn’t come home with much to say, which is just fine, but she has slowly sorted the wheat from the chaff and made a few ‘friends’. Be still my heart…
Matt is yet again attempting to grow a jacaranda. In Thorpdale. Through blistering cold frosts and wind. I think this is his fourth attempt. Every year it gets frosted off and shrivels to a sad little stick, and then usually in Spring or Summer it sprouts again…from the rootstock. He’s got a new method of keeping it in a biggish pot on the back porch (elevated slightly) to see it through Winter. We shall see… (also known as ‘Emma not holding her breath’).
The boys have started harvesting in the paddock around our house this week – much action of tractors and trucks and bin trailers and manitou! Eleanor couldn’t really give two hoots, but it’s like all of Harriet’s Christmases have come at once. She runs from window to window, squealing about all the commotion, goes out to the back porch and puts her gumboots on (a new development, I’m sure Eleanor couldn’t put her boots on at 21 months) and stomps off to wave to every one. Bless the boys cotton socks, they’ve been appeasing her with horn toots and waves and light flashing. Got to go pretty hard now though, probably only five weeks left to get those taters out of the ground – go, go, go!
I have been trying really, really bloody hard not to completely lose my noodle at the girls lately. And (mostly) failing. Gosh, parenting small people is trying…and grey hair inducing. Does anyone know why the arsenic hours are so horrendous? I mean I obviously know it’s the end of the day and everyone is tired and going towards the slippery slope to bedtime…but is it the little people who’s minds are lost, or the parents? Or both?! I don’t know if I am asking too much of Eleanor (mainly to eat her dinner, sitting at the table, pack up her toys before bed, get into her room for pyjamas and a story in a timely manner) but my gosh it’s like I’ve asked her to summit Mount Everest. Much screaming and carry on, defiance and silliness. She well and truly loses the plot from 5pm onwards, I’m sure I’m in a big ol’ boat with many, many others…but ai yi ai! Hence: wine.
Last weekend I finally got my hedge trimmer lesson from Matt. We inherited my mum’s hedge trimmer when she moved to Melbourne (from an extensive country garden to an inner city balcony), but Matt has always trimmed our lavender and shrubs that need a chop-chop. I’ve been lamenting the fact that it’s been on the to-do list for so long, but that Matt isn’t home in daylight hours…so I needed to be able to do it! So I did. And will do from now on. No excuses for complaining about how heavy handed he was with the lavender trimming – all on my shoulders now. Although, I am now thinking that this lavender could have really been pulled out to start the whole hedge again. It’s getting awfully woody and not bouncing back with quite the same vigour. This lavender was planted in 2014, so it’s probably had it’s day, do you replace your lavender? How often? Somebody told me every seven years…
What’s going on in your neck of the words these days?
Let me know if you’ve defiant three year olds who have seemingly lost their mind, or overgrown lavender, or tractors buzzing around your house, or optimistic (read: deluded!) husbands.
Anyone? All of the above?
Prue says
Sorry as usual I am extremely behind in my blog reading!! I can’t remember if I saw that “calm the chaos” thing on yours or Elli’s instagram but keeping that in mind has helped me a LOT when the day seems to be descending into a (literal) screaming mess. They lose it, I lose it, it doesn’t help. Just reminding myself to talk to them quietly even if they’re screaming makes such a difference.
Carla says
What a beautiful farm you have. My son is 3 and has autism so routine has been very important for us. We are so used to eating at 5pm I can’t imagine eating later now, it’s so strange! I was listening to a podcast last night and the host said “it’s hard but doable” in relation to parenting young kids and I could relate to that. I think also it’s important to just not think about it all too much, just be in the present moment and know one day it will be over and they will be grown. The days are long but the years are short..
Emma says
Yes, very much hard but doable. Like, it’s not rocket science…but that doesn’t make it any less hard, y’know?
anne@gritandgiggles says
We just have arsenic days … ugh the tantrums. I’m thinking that 5pm dinner tip could be worth a try. No lavender but you should see my Thai basil! We just have palm tree issues, we are slowly getting rid of them, blinking fronds everywhere. Someone here would love the tractors too. Sounds like a busy time of year there.
Emma says
Very busy! Although it’s always busy isn’t it?! If not harvesting then sowing or shearing or irrigating…although there are a few quiet weeks in Winter after we finish harvesting.
Kathy says
ps…. also if you tell little kids to clean up their toys it’s too difficult. Make a game out of it but one toy at a time. Okay I’ll set the timer and see how fast you can pack up the train set…then they do that and you tell them how long. Okay now I’ll set the timer and see how fast you can put all the books on the shelf and come back….make a game out of it. They can only focus on one job at a time when it comes to packing up toys and I tried them all. Pick up all the block and put them in the box etc.
Emma says
Yes can definitely only focus on one task at a time, which is fine, she is only little. We always make a game out of it, I never just tell her to ‘pack up the toys in the play room’ because that would just get us nowhere! I don’t expect her to do it all by herself either, I help her, I just don’t want to be doing it by myself and her watching – I don’t think that’s very helpful for anyone!
Kathy says
My advice on the kid front at bewitching hour is this………..dinner at 4.45 pm or 5.00 pm for little people followed by bath time then books. I used to have mine eating at 6.00 pm and they are just too tired and cranky and then there’s the eating before dinner because they are hungry. My friends told me dinner at 5 pm for little ones and its the best thing I ever did. Particularly if they have had a big day at kindy. You could even do baths at 4.30 pm and dinner at 5.00 pm and just wipe their face and hands with a washer…it’s so much more calming…..reading in bed at 6.30 pm and sleep at 7.00 pm. What that means is they are not waiting up for Dad to come home…you can eat some crackers at the table with them and then eat your meal when hubby comes home. Honestly this will be life changing for you. Try it.
Emma says
This is pretty much exactly what we do…always been a 5pm (sometimes 4.45pm, sometimes 5.30pm, just depends what we are doing that day) dinner here. Often there’s no waiting up for Daddy, he rarely gets home for bedtime anyway. On a weekend if we eat all together more at 6pm though the girls behaviour is out of sight better though, so I am considering that I just need to eat with them rather than with Matt later…
Lisa says
Overgrown lavender here! It’s a hedge behind our picket fence (inherited). How do you trim?! As for arsenic hour – it’s been a rough few days 😰😴🤯
Emma says
As in what shape do I trim it into? Or what I actually trim it with? The hedge trimmer? I have other lavender in our main big garden bed which I just trim with big shears by hand. I trim our ‘hedge’ into rounded balls rather than letting them grow altogether, although along a fence I think I’d just trim off the tops and sides (not in between them) to let them grow together? I hope that makes sense! I only give them a fairly light haircut to take off the dead flowers heads.