Ballet Overload..

*Warning* This post is a total parent pride and picture cuteness overload.  Read at your own risk :)

With all the madness of December and the looming festivities, somehow (yes I know - I don't know how either!) I forgot about posting the photos of Samantha's recent end of year ballet show.
 
We are so lucky that we discovered a hidden gem of a ballet teacher right in our local area.  When I was looking for somewhere for our little girl to do a preschool ballet class I wanted something that wasn't too serious and would foster a love of dancing as well as actually teaching them some basics.
Miss Alicia at NPA (Northern Performing Arts) has more than filled the position.   Not only is this lovely girl a very talented ballerina in her own right, but she could be the sweetest ballet teacher I have ever met.  The girls in Sam's class adore her - its actually become a lot like hero worship for Samantha in the last year if I am honest.

Anyway, Miss Alicia is the owner of the school and her and the rest of the amazing teachers put on the most extravagant shows each year.  They really go all out and there is such a lot of time and effort put into every child's role in the show.
 Samantha was bitterly disappointed last year because she missed playing a baby munchkin in The Wizard of Oz after coming down with Glandular fever.

This year the school put on a performance of Peter Pan.  And Samantha's class were the Stars that the main characters had to fly through to get to Never land.  After many months of practise and then a very full week of stage placements and rehearsals, the big day arrived.  It was beautiful.  I am not ashamed to say that I cried my eyes out watching her dance!  She was amazing!  What really shocked me was that my normally shy daughter was so sure of herself on the stage!  She did so well, and it was a joy for us to see her dance under the spotlight with her class.

We are now looking forward eagerly to next years ballet class (where Samantha informs me she will master the splits!) and hopefully a Jazz class as well. 
I am also secretly dying to see Anthony dance.  He is going to join the preschool class next year after 2 years of asking to go.  I figure after 2 years if he still wants to , I should let him at least try it :)

So here are a few of the highlights :)

Goofing around with Nana before the big performance.

Watching the big girls dancing.

Another of Sam's idols - These big girls really took the little ones under their wing.

On Stage at Prize giving.

Very proud of herself for graduating from Pre Primary and receiving a Merit on her Ballet Exam.

Done and Dusted.....'sigh'

You know that feeling where a much anticipated event comes and goes.  That's where I am now.  Christmas is officially over, presents are unwrapped and finding their places around the house and I am contemplating the big job next week of packing up the decorations for another 11 months.

Add to that the gingerbread house is nearly all gone and I have a fridge full of chocolate (that needs to be gone by new years for my sanity!).

I can't complain, Christmas was a total success in our house this year, albeit a bit of a hectic day.

Kids were up bang on 6am (I was impressed - I was totally expecting it to be earlier!), stockings and presents were ripped open with many oohs and aahs from happy children, before breakfast was shoved at them and they were thrown in the car for a car trip to our brother in laws house.

It would be safe to say that they were not at all impressed about being removed from their new things, but they had the most lovely day on the Farm with their cousins for the day.  Arriving in the Coromandel there was another session of ripping paper and oohs and aahs, before new toys were hidden in cars and kids were sent off to play.
Now my kids are city kids through and through, but boy did they have a great time on the farm.  They bounced and ran everywhere that day.  They did not stop for longer than a few minutes in the whole day.  My daughter was thrilled to take a walk with her cousins and Nana to see the pig pen.  "We saw pigs and cows Mummy, but the pigs were stinky!" she exclaimed holding her nose on her return.

After a full day, both kids were popped into another set of  new PJ's (thanks to Nana) and were asleep approximately 5 minutes after we started the 2 and a half hour drive North back to Whangaparaoa.
It wasn't until I was lying in my bed that night that I realised I didn't take any photos of our family on the Farm.   So here are a couple of highlights from our Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at home.

The gingerbread houses we made for our friends and ourselves.

Christmas Eve new Jammie's.

And my little girl got new Jammie's too.

Water and magic reindeer food put out ready.
(Reindeer food is oats mixed with glitter).

Cookies and Juice left for the big guy.

Santa and his reindeer left a big mess outside!

But left a pile of loot underneath the tree!

Stocking time!

All opened - guess what the little guys favourite present was! :)

My little girls bestest present she says.

I will end this post on my daughters words when I asked her if she had a good Christmas.

"It was great Mummy, I love my new toys - even if Santa was silly and didn't bring any of the things on my list.  He must have gotten me confused with another Samantha!  I hope she loves her new things as much as I love hers ;)

Bittersweet growing up....

You know that moment when you realise that your baby is not a baby anymore.

I have found myself recently looking for the old baby traits in my little guy.  Problem is they just aren't there anymore.
He is still very much a Mummy's boy, but not in the same way as he was.  Now its all on his terms!

What is it about turning 4 that changes so much?

Worst thing is that parts that I would love to change (like toilet training properly, and the 4 year old attitude!) are not forthcoming, but those lovely little things he used to do are gone.   I just noticed yesterday that he now says the word 'look'.  This may not seem like a big deal, but both my children have been slow in picking up the letter l.  So both of them said the word as 'mook'.  Samantha said it that way until nearly her 6th birthday.  Anthony however is already far ahead of where she was at 4 with his speech.  I guess this is what happens having an older sibling 'sigh'.

I am so proud of my big boy.  I see so much of his father in him, and pray that he grows up to be a man like his Daddy.  Someone that is brave and strong and will protect his family no matter what.
I also hope that he grows up differently to his father in some ways.   What I want for my son, is for him to grow up strong in his faith.  I know with the combination of the Lord and his father he will be an amazing man some day.

So in the meantime, I will take what I can get.  The hugs and kisses at bedtime, the sweaty cuddles when he is exhausted after running around and the job of being chief comforter when he hurts himself.
And most importantly I will try not to forget what he was like as a sweet baby, and a cheeky toddler.  As well as cherishing the moments of this age, because they too will be gone before I know it!

He is the king of funny faces - here are a few of my favourites :)

Baby - 2010

6 Mths - 2010

Toddler - Jan 2011

Little guy - Aug 2011

July 2012

October 2013 :)  My Big guy!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Those of you who know me, know that I LOVE everything about Christmas!
I am positively itching to get my Christmas Decorations up by December 1st!

There is just something about the Christmas music in shops and the cheerful decorations everywhere you look that makes my heart happy.

Thankfully I have managed to pass this excitement onto my children as I actually live with the Christmas Grinch!   Normally when couples have children the excitement of Christmas comes back, but with my hubby he worries more about how much this Christmas is costing and can't seem to find the joy in the holiday anymore :(  Plus he is a man that really hates crowds, so Christmas shopping for him is like some kind of torture!

We are trying really hard to bring our children up knowing that the excitement of getting presents from Santa is secondary to the real reason for the holiday - It being Jesus's birthday.
As a Christian I have really struggled with whether I should even let my children believe in the jolly red man, but as a parent I just want them both to have that innocence as long as possible.
In a few more years I will follow the example of a lovely friend of mine and we will tell them the real story about the original Father Christmas and how he was the reason the story of Santa exists today.
In the meantime I am getting as much mileage out of Santa as I can :)

Besides, the other day I overheard my little guy asking his big sister if Santa is real - and her answer was 'Of course he is! We know God is real and we can't see him either'. 
Love my munchkins so much!


So in celebration of the time of the year, when the weather is abnormally hot and my children are asking why it doesn't snow here at Christmas time like it does at Mickey Mouses' house.
Here are some pictures of December in our house so far this year.

And don't worry, I will get to the school stuff in another post.....

The Christmas Tree complete with our new Angel from the Op Shop :)

Anthony's Advent Calendar - Day No. 1 and its a chocolate frog :)

Samantha's Advent Calendar - same chocolate frog :)

Our Family Activity Advent calendar - we started this tradition last year, it has things like making ornaments, family movie nights and driving to see Christmas lights underneath each number :)

Early morning on the 1st. all ready for kids to wake up to in the morning :)

Even the Dining room doesn't miss out!

Off to see Santa at Smith and Caughey in Auckland City.  This is our 5th year in a row and has become one of our family Christmas traditions :)

The Enchanted forest on the way to Santa's House.

Sorry no actual Santa photo until I scan it onto the computer.  I wasn't willing to pay and extra $10 to get it emailed!

 

The store windows outside Smith and Caughey, we read the story of Grandma's Kiwi Christmas - was gorgeous :)

Home with our presents from Santa, another new ornament for the tree - we love these :)

 Sterryn xx

Crabby and hiding....

I haven't posted in a while - in case you didn't notice.

I could use every excuse under the sun, but the truth is I lost my motivation to put this journey of ours out in the public eye - just for a little bit.   I was feeling a bit judged and when that happens I am a true Cancer and I crawl into my shell and hide.

After several requests from friends and family I am sticking my little toes outside my shell and wiggling them in the fresh air. 
I feel like the first thing I need to do is tell you why I have been M.I.A.

A few months ago I had a 'friend' comment on a face book post of mine about what we had done that day with Sam.   I barely ever post, but we had been having such a lovely day.  After her book work was over we had been doing lovely things in the kitchen together as a family.
Anyway, this 'friend' pretty bluntly said that I was putting my child at a disadvantage!  That going by what I had said we had done that day, she didn't consider it to be anywhere near what her child would be doing at school on an average day.  She actually asked me if I considered it to be educational!
Firstly this really threw me!  Was I really doing a bad thing for my child by not subjecting her to a cookie cutter education?   Was I really the best person for this job?
Now, I have never doubted that the decision to home school my children is the right one.  I have worked in schools and have seen the system fail kids who don't fit the mould.  I knew early on that my kids wouldn't 'fit'.
What I have done, is doubted my ability to do the job.  It is a constant nagging doubt - you ask most home schoolers and they will have suffered through it at some stage.  Hardly surprising really, we have had it drilled into us for years that school is something we all have to suffer through.  That kids need to be bullied to learn to stick up for themselves.  That you must be taught by a qualified teacher in a school environment etc etc. 
Well this not so innocent comment brought all those doubts to the surface and made me really look at what I was doing, and how I was doing it.   
And do you know what - I should now thank that person!
That careless and somewhat catty remark made me re-evaluate what homeschooling my children meant to me, our family and mostly to them.
It made me think about what I want my children to get out of this in the short term and the future.
The result of all of this thinking?

Confidence :)

I now have total 100% confidence that this journey is right for our family and our children.
I now have total confidence that at this point in their little lives (and hopefully for their whole schooling) that the best thing for them is to be doing exactly what we are doing.
I now have total confidence that it is more important that my children are learning at a pace that suits them, in their home environment, than to be in public school.

The benefits of this have been enormous!  I no longer doubt whether I can do this, or if I am the best thing for my children. I now longer doubt that learning to bake cookies and do play dough with her little brother is just as important as reading and maths for my daughter.

Most importantly, I have learnt, that it doesn't matter what the outside world thinks about this.  I have amazing support from my husband and his family.  I have an amazing group of friends (both homeschooling and not) that offer me unlimited support, and I have the knowledge that God put this journey in my path because I AM the best teacher for my children!

So thank you ex face book 'friend' for changing my life for the better :)
I also want to add, that when that comment came onto my news feed, i actually had several friends instantly jump in and support me, so thank you - you know who you are!

And that means folks, that you should watch out for another post coming hopefully tomorrow.
Believe it or not, we have actually done some stuff since September!

S

Wordless Wednesday - Just a typical Tuesday in paradise....

10am - Reading Eggs.

Reading Lesson #43

Maths U See (We love that colored pencils and blocks are compulsory)

Charlie helping!?

Learning about dolphin colors.

Love that she always manages to squeeze in a rainbow!!

How to draw a dolphin Mummy and Baby.  They are girls  -you can tell by the eyelashes she says.

Reading Eggs - big girl style - Lesson #81 done and dusted!

Picnic lunch at the park - Spring is here!

Waiting for our friends - the moment before the little guy managed to fall in and nearly spin himself sick!

Getting Brave!

Waiting, waiting!

Some of the other home schooled kids arrive  - let the fun begin :)