The warm winter sun across the Tasman

Well we are now back in our wee house on hill after 10 days in a rather balmy Gold Coast, even in the rain, and all I can say is ....... BRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!  I read today about a woman who holidays in Winter only in places that are colder than her home location so that when she returns home always feels Spring like in comparison.  Reading that 2 weeks ago I would have thought 'Nutter!!!' Now though I can completely see her logic. 

Making a snowman on the way over to Christchurch on the day we left.

Having a swim at Burleigh Heads.

The contrast in Winter temperatures is amazing - their overnight lows are our daytime highs. Having warm Winter days was a great tonic and herself in particular loved being in skirts/dresses and sandals.  You could tell the visitors to the Gold Coast by their 'Summery' attire and the Queenslanders by their jackets, scarves and long trousers ;)  Despite 3 of us getting sick in the second week we still enjoyed the time together as a family and having a break from lighting fires and wrapping up constantly.  It was lovely to catch up with friends and family which we haven't seen for a while too.

Some of our regular visitors which invited themselves to lunch and stole a piece of chicken off the plate!

Home will always be home though and as nice as a visit is we are all glad to be back in Aotearoa where I don't have to worry about kids investigating hidden spots for fear of snakes or being in the bush for fear of ticks!!! 

Feeding the kangaroos at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.

Hope this finds you in the perfect climate for you.

Arohanui
Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz

Mid winter Christmas and New Year

Wow - didn't realise how long it had been since I last updated!!!  Hei aha.  I'm here now and will try to be a bit more diligent over recording our happenings and keeping you all in the know.  We are all good, snuggled up by the fire with the rain coming down more days than it isn't although some of us have a few less teeth than last time (herself junior) and some of us have more injuries and bandages (himself junior).  Anyway on with the show ..........

Just in time for Matariki (Maori New Year) the kids have decided that it is time to celebrate Christmas as well.  I mean what is New Year without Christmas!!  While having a pre-Matariki clear out and de-clutter Jasmine found a magazine she was given at Christmas, a magazine which I had actually forgotten she had as it was hidden away in her secret box. Well opening the pages and seeing snowy stories, recipes and glittery pictures was more than any child, let alone two, could stand and so begin the June Christmas mania.

Herself giving a face paint to Himself.  Pleased not all face painters work this way!!


We began with getting out the Christmas box of things to recover 2 books - one for Daniel on Thomas' snowy Christmas adventure and a Christmas Carol one for Jasmine, complete with CD.  Cue music and singing for days on end ;).  We had to listen to it multiple times, sing it at reading time and then look lovingly at the pictures in between times.  Next Jasmine found a recipe for meringue snowmen and since it was Monday, and we should be baking and we have lots of eggs, we created our fat little men for the children to decorate.  Jasmine was very pleased with hers and devoured it as quick as look at it.  Daniel was happy just to pick the crunchy stuff off but didn't want any of the squishy bits thanks.

The kid's meringue men.

Now you may ask what is Christmas without a tree and present?  Fear not Jasmine had that covered too.  She spent a busy morning selecting and collecting presents from around the house (since Mummy wasn't going to agree with her idea of going out to buy things for her to wrap), secretly wrapping and placing them under the tree.  We all got to open presents (sorry Liam you missed out while at work) and battle with cellotape before singing more songs and reading more Christmas tales of trains on snowy tracks.

The June Christmas tree

Matariki arrived on a clear starry morning and Jasmine was all ready at 5am to greet it.  Sadly though either the Alps or my lack of astronomical knowledge meant that we could not see it.  I assured her that it was in the sky for more than one morning, which eased her mind only a little, and so we agreed to look when at Nan's on the East Coast. Fingers crossed I know where to find it and what to look for by then.  We did managed to do some Matariki based activities though during the week, the favourite of which was baking gingerbread Matariki stars to decorate.  Strange how baking always wins out in this house although Jasmine was ever so slightly miffed at the fact she was only allowed one gingerbread star at a time to eat instead of the 7 Matariki stars that there should be!!

See there is fruit to accompany all that baking.

Hope this finds you all dry, warm and happy
Arohanui Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz

Fair?

Just had to post this on here!!  It is an old image I know but still just as relevant today - maybe even more so as NZ begins to follow models of education that have already failed so many in other countries.  Things like this remind me of some of the reasons we home educate.

We are all good.  The rain has set in for the evening and the mornings are beginning to get colder.  We have had a great time last weekend catching up with friends and family in Christchurch.  One highlight in particular was going to 'clip and climb'.  Herself has really taken a liking to rock climbing after trying out a friend's home wall and all inspired she has come home to begin re-creating her own climbing swing.  A few modifications needed after a wee miscalculation of length of rope and position of the ground and she had a nice swing for both kids to enjoy.

Herself with homemade harness

Himself trying out the rope ladder at Clip and Climb

Our other news is that after much wibbling, wobbling, wriggling and jiggling Jasmine's tooth has finally decided to leave her mouth!!!  Tooth fairy was well organised and exchange of tooth for coins completed.

Herself, the gap and tooth

Arohanui

Y

Sheila's Big Adventure

No........ I'm not the sheila in question.  No big adventures here at the moment ;)  Just wanted to share a book that my friend has written and published. 

Available at: www.xlibris.com.au/ Bookstore Phone 1-800-618-969 (in Australia) or International Orders: orders@xlibris.com.au.  Also online at Barnes & Noble website or Amazon.

 

Arohanui

Y

Clearing the blocks

I have just been listening to a free week of talks via the Internet on EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and business.  They have really inspired me along with clearing a few of my own blocks so I wanted to share it on here. 

As a lot of you know I believe that all of our health and well-being, yes all, comes down to our emotions.  This is why I use Bach Flower Remedies as a primary healing source and also why EFT interests me so much.  Tapping (another name for EFT) works by tapping on meridian points to clear emotional blocks within your system while saying statements about the issue - both positive and negative.  It is connected with Acupuncture in this way however with EFT there is no need to have any of the physical pain that can come with Acupuncture or the costly bills.  I have been using EFT on and off since 2006 and find that I achieve much more and feel much more centred after tapping. 

This series of talks came a great time for me as I was questioning where I was going with the business that I created, how I could combine all my interests and how I could achieve changes when I didn't have any money in the business to pay for it!  As stated in previous posts - I am an ideas person!  The trouble with this is that I often don't have time to see projects through fully before the next 'great' idea comes bounding into my head. I have a stack of folders with finished, nearly-finished, half way finished, just started and barely started 'projects' that I have got stuck on.  They all seemed like a fantastic idea when I got them and then something got in the way - the self doubt, the chatter-box in my head or someones comment that I took to heart.  I push them so far then stop. 

Dealing with issues such as self sabotage, procrastination, blocks to earning and finding your passion these free talks by leading EFT practitioners, focused on helping you to clear in order to achieve your goals in business.  Clearing blocks so the projects can come to full fruition. They couldn't have come to me at a better time or at a better price ;)  They were informative, helpful and great for getting me to move forward.  The issues though that hold most of us back and hinder us in business relate to all areas of life so the talks are great even if you don't have, or aspire to have, a business. 

The most interesting part for me was finding out that our sub-conscience dictates the majority of our behaviour.  It is operating without us knowing and creating 'realities' to fit with what it believes rather than what our conscious minds are aiming for.  Many of these 'realities' that the sub-conscience hold were formed in the first 7 years of life. What the sub-conscience holds often does not even apply anymore however it still uses these 'realities' to hold us in a certain place, allowing us to only reach a certain level, a level and place that is comfortable. 

While the talks have finished now I would like to share a few of the speakers and their websites for those interested in growing, clearing and achieving all that they were born to do.

Carol Look  www.attractingabundance.com
Kate Beeders  www.successcoachingwithkate.com
Lindsay Kenny www.proeft.com
Brad Yates www.taptofeelgood.com
Tania Prince www.eft-courses.co.uk
Mary Ayers http://www.tapintoaction.com/
Leanna Fredrich  http://www.amazingmondays.com/

Arohanui
Y
www.becominghealthy.co.nz

Sometimes it pays to have it in writing .....

Fiddling around on here tonight I decided to look at some old blogs that I wrote when we first came to New Zealand, while avoiding the long list of to-do jobs I have.  Goodness - did I really used to make all those foods from scratch?  Was that me writing in such an honest way? Did I really keep finding ways to save more money - well actually I believe that one as I always have been a bit tight ;)  For the most part though if it was there in black and white I really won't have believed it.

This act of procrastination has made me realise the importance of documenting our lives and the changes in it.  The mind can quickly lay aside the past as it moves forward and the memory is not always that accurate an account.  While pen and paper would have achieved the same result, here is where technology can be given every credit of enabling us to access knowledge quickly and easily.  Whether it be from the 'experts' out there or the 'expert' within us.

Herself working towards expert level hula hooping at Shantytown

Home educating as we are, often planned and more often not, I am constantly recording what we do in our diary.  It is a great record for the kids and I to see what we have been up to, changes we have made, jog our memories of good games/places/times and also to show that we are learning - all of us.  My teacher head daily wakes and thinks of what is planned for the day, my Mama heart then takes stock and listens to where I can fit the learning into the day. 

This week Daniel and Jasmine have been crafting up a storm.  Daniel in particular has been eager to sew after us finding a book on making felt toys. I guess some of the family genes are showing up from himself as Daniel has been making careful stitches towards completing the chosen 'friend'.  Of course my family genes are there too - more in the 'can this be finished now' and 'can you help me sew up this part' aspects than the sewing skills though. 

 

Carefully sewing up rabbits ears.

The main thing is that he wanted to do it so much that he persevered and sat with me the whole time when I was helping him.  His 'thank you' when each one was finished was enough to know it was worth the change in my planned day and it is great watching them fully engaged in an activity.  Days are definitely lower maintenance when I can work reading, measurement, hand/eye co-ordination, fine motor skills, sorting, matching (colours, not buttons, as evidenced below) and numeracy into craft.

Two finished and more friends to join the dance.

Hope this finds you all jotting down what a great day you are having.

Arohanui
Y
www.becominghealthy.co.nz

Excellence is only an attitude

Lately I have been having the same message appear in front of me from all different directions and people and I'm beginning to wonder if someone is trying to tell me some thing.  The message?  That attitude dictates all of life, that success and excellence is all about attitude as are failure and mediocrity.

My attitude to life is very much a 'keep the lid on' one.  I worry about showing too much emotion or sharing too much information for fear of being judged and 'found out'. Our homeschool journey so far has lead me down a path of improving my attitude (very slowly, mind) as I am reminded that I am an example to our kids of how to live life.  My desires for them to reach for the stars and pursue whatever they set their hearts on despite nay-sayers is hardly going to be achieved if I am constantly sheltering myself from any negative experience.  I am working on putting myself out there more, beginning to see life's problems as a possiblity for great things (after a moan, a bit of foot stamping and tears that is) and slowly letting more people in.  It terrifies the hell out of me most days and yet after the event I wonder what all the fuss was about.

I remember talking to a friend after the death of a colleague and her saying that she was an 'emotional cripple' - unable to share in her times of need and not sure of what to say or do in other's times of need.  That is me all over - to scared to share and show the vulernabiltiy I have and useless at face to face support of others.  Thankfully I have such a great group of friends - both near and far - that are leading the way and showing me how to live life its fullest - warts, hugs and all.  Yet I wonder if I have ever shown them how wonderful they are by trusting them fully with my worries, questions and insecurities.

Even as I write, or struggle to write this, I am receiving messages to change my attitude. "Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand."  ~ Emily Kimbrough.  So thanks to all of you that have been there for me in times of doubt, need and joy.  Even if I don't say it - and I probably haven't face to face - you mean so much to me and I'm glad that we have found each other to stumble along.

Arohanui
Y
www.becominghealthy.co.nz