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Monday, December 16, 2013

December thoughts

We are more than half way through Advent and in my enthusiasm in the beginning of it, I had lost sight of a few important things I had really hoped to do this year like giving just small insignificant presents.

Why you might ask?

Because I'd rather my kids remember Christmas as the day the Lord was born than a day were they will get loads of presents which will over whelm them.  So I bought our presents small- things I know they will like but nothing spectacular, however, when our parents asked us to buy the kids presents on their behalf I forgot all about this and got them some big stuff.  I feel bummed about it and frustrated with myself.  I thought to exchange them as birthday presents but the kids saw the presents under the tree and both can read their names so its not like I can somehow find an excuse like these are not yours.... so for this year my original intention went slightly out of the window.  Even Advent didn't go exactly as per programme because while doing our Advent activities I realised some things are not what my kids actually would love to do and had to cross them of the list.

So anyway while this was the first "programmed" Advent & Christmas, I have already learned loads of stuff and look forward to implement them next year :)

On a different note, I continue to see so many new things in my son.  When we read the ABC Bible Verses and do the activities related to them, there are quite a few moments where he is uncomfortable or when I remind him of them and it shows me that he does understand right from wrong but still isn't much in control of himself (neither am I so well I can't blame him!).  There are also those moments where he doesn't see me and he asks for help from other people whom he doesn't know or when asked questions which he answers without any qualms on a microphone which shows me how much he is becoming more social, vocal and confident and I can't give credit to me - apart for the fact that I never forced him into these things.  But I do give credit to his current school teacher and his sports teacher and sports in itself which is something he enjoys without any strings attached.

These last 8 days of Advent we have some thought provoking activities in store and I wonder how he will react to them.

As for me I have my new year resolution ready.  Its a resolution that will benefit my family and look forward to the challenge.  Its a challenge I've been struggling with since Gregory turned 1 and demanding while I was preggo with Maya and it bugged me always did and while I see how much things are improving I finally decided to take the bull by the horns and I made a vow that as of 1 January I will not shout to my kids or anyone else for a year and if I do it for a year well I will just carry on into the next and next and next.  It is going to be very difficult I know because its not the first time I see me going in that dark place but am incapable of stopping myself but I've already started practising and sometimes when I know I can not not shout I got shout at the Christmas tree or whatever is near at hand :)  I look forward to give you updates on this challenge of mine because I know I can do it and I have decided I will definitely do it!

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Towards Advent

Advent and Christmas are practically round the corner and I honestly have no idea how another year has passed!

As always I am thrilled to get to this season.  And seeing that the kids are finally tuning in to the meaning of it all and the beauty of it all, I am even more excited and I have been planning a lot of stuff for this lovely season.

Advent, starting Sunday 1 December is the new year of the liturgical calendar.  Most importantly, Advent is the preparation for the coming and birth of the Lord. Christians observe this season as a season of prayer, fasting & repentance followed by anticipation, hope & joy.




Each year I do an Advent wreath.  Every Sunday we light a candle in remembrance of hope, preparation, joy and love.

We also do an Advent calendar.  however, we do not use the traditional sweet calendar because I want to teach and give to my kids the real meaning of this lovely season.  This year, our Advent calendar was bought from a local crafter and I love it.



Than what I did was put little papers in each pocket with scripture readings which I got from here but I translated them in Maltese.



Than I added little family things we are to do together for every Advent day.
The list:

putting up the Christmas decorations
having a family photo in front of the Christmas tree
watching a Christmas film together
doing cookies together
going out to Valletta to see the lights and go around the train
visit a crib
visit the live crib in Xaghra, Gozo
do a kindness Advent tree
go out to eat
write a letter to Jesus  to give thanks for all he has given us during this year
write a family letter
do a Christmas craft
do a snow globe
plant Christmas wheat grass
read the book of the first Christmas
read the book 'Twas the night before Christmas
singing Christmas carols
Buying food for those in need and giving them to the Paris Priest to pass them on
donate a toy
searching for little gifts around the house
go ice-skating
write Christmas cards

In addition, I bought the kids Advent colouring books to help understand more the meaning of this season of preparation.

And in preparation myself, I will be reading more scripture, contemplating more on my role in this beautiful house and doing a small fast.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Hike at ziguzajg in Dingli Cliffs

the view

Greg showing us rabbit holes


lovely viewing window



Widnet il-Bahar Malta's national plant



fossils




Monday, October 7, 2013

October

I love the month of October.

Life seems to start settling again in a rhythm and the craziness of Summer subsides to the quietness of Winter.

Its a time when I take a look at my kids and wonder - when did they become so different?

Gregory still isn't one that shares easily or to wait patiently.  however the love he is showing us is mind blowing.  They way he thinks is astounding.  The confidence that he gained is incredible.  and expressing his emotions and trying to release them in an appropriate way inspiring.

He is also showing reading readiness and courage and tiny bit more of tenacity and not giving up in frustration as quickly as he used to. And his imagination is wonderful! I admit that while I am enjoying having Maya alone at home for a good chunk of the day, I am also looking forward to teaching more to my son and am super excited with the curriculum I have come up with for both kids.

Maya is still very much in tantrum state and not  giving leeways on anything.  It is tiring to hear her cry or whine and not letting you console her.  I am hoping to learn a new way to calm her down now I can focus my attention on her.  She is also very incredible and intelligent for her age.  She is very good at using scissors already and is able to control her drawing much better than last Winter/Spring.  she is also very eager to learn her letters and numbers and of course reading is still her major hobby.  She loves stories and would invent a story for herself while eating.  She knows the colours, how to count and the alphabet and is starting to recognise them.  She loves singing and rhyming  and using paints.

My babies are growing and I am enjoying the changes they are bringing with each month that passes.

discovering catacombs

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

We've started hiking & exploring

So now the weather is not so hot any more, we started hiking and exploring our little island.  Last Sunday we went to Bingemma.  There near the chapel are the Victoria Lines bridge and a myriad of catacombs to explore.  The kids had so much clambering rocks, seeing new insects and having a real picnic finally.













this here is a very tiny praying mantis.  Greg spotted it while going up some rocks.





And after all that exersize, food and more play, we walked back to the car and Maya fell exhausted to sleep.  Gregory was all hyped up and didn't sleep a wink!


Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Leaving summer behind

We are at the last drops of Summer.

We are tired of Summer.  Don't get me wrong we truly had fun and did a lot of things and there were much more which we did not do either.

But now, we are all looking forward to the change of seasons with every fibre in our body.  So much so that we have decided to start going to the field and do some useful work there.  The beach isn't as appealing any more.  We have stated decorating our nature table for Autumn and packed away our Summer nature table.  we have rotated the books in our school room/ play room.  We are thinking of picnics and hikes and watching out for birds and insects and plants.

It's exciting somehow the change from Summer to Autumn.  When the weather gets cooler, the nights get longer.  When school starts and new home school routines happen.

Its beautiful and fulfilling and we danced and sang manically when the first thunder storm and rain happened a couple of weeks ago.

Loving the moment.

Loving the anticipation.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

So Many things

This morning I woke up feeling like a truck had run over me and thinking I. AM. SO. DONE. WITH. SUMMER!!

Seriously, I have enjoyed a full month with both kids at home but now half way through Summer with the August heat on everyone was getting whiny and I was frazzled and tired all the time.

Than 3 things happened that gave me a boost of so much needed energy....

  1. the weather went from super hot to cold wind and cloudy and while I do not like the dust that is managing to come inside my home, I welcomed the change with open arms and the feeling that Autumn is near hugged my heart and my senses.
  2. A friend posted a quote from Mother Theresa stating that the Lord never gives us more than we can handle but I wish he didn't trust me so much and felt like this is so true at this moment in time in my life
  3. I received confirmation that I am now officially a breastfeeding counsellor
All those helped me focus more and a few minutes ago while the kids were falling down to sleep it occurred to me that while it was being a tad more difficult right now to parent them, I was controlling myself more.  I was seeing when I was going to loose it and change the situation in a way that we all end up laughing.

And that quote from earlier made more sense and it brought me much more joy and I felt relieved because finally I was showing and teaching my kids how to go about controlling their feelings :)

Friday, August 2, 2013

Outing at Hagar qim

Today we did an outing with some friends and while I forgot the camera half the time, here is what I remember the capture:


Greg building a temple back view


front view


The boys running in front - the girl tagging along at the back

Mnajdra Temple



There is a lot at the information centre for children to learn from and ours had great fun trying it all out!

We did fairies

Yes that is what we did.  Now we need to do them some houses but tat will be another day!  We got the idea from Nuturestore than scrambled it a bit.  

What we used:



toilet paper carton & egg cartons for body and head


yarn for hair


we cut half the toilet paper carton and a piece of the egg carton

and stuck them on with PVA glue



added the hair and drew in the face than added a piece of clothe for the dress



we than cut fairy wings and painted them

we added glitters and flowers to them


than stuck them on




And because they have no houses yet we have placed them in the nature table :)

Monday, December 16, 2013

December thoughts

We are more than half way through Advent and in my enthusiasm in the beginning of it, I had lost sight of a few important things I had really hoped to do this year like giving just small insignificant presents.

Why you might ask?

Because I'd rather my kids remember Christmas as the day the Lord was born than a day were they will get loads of presents which will over whelm them.  So I bought our presents small- things I know they will like but nothing spectacular, however, when our parents asked us to buy the kids presents on their behalf I forgot all about this and got them some big stuff.  I feel bummed about it and frustrated with myself.  I thought to exchange them as birthday presents but the kids saw the presents under the tree and both can read their names so its not like I can somehow find an excuse like these are not yours.... so for this year my original intention went slightly out of the window.  Even Advent didn't go exactly as per programme because while doing our Advent activities I realised some things are not what my kids actually would love to do and had to cross them of the list.

So anyway while this was the first "programmed" Advent & Christmas, I have already learned loads of stuff and look forward to implement them next year :)

On a different note, I continue to see so many new things in my son.  When we read the ABC Bible Verses and do the activities related to them, there are quite a few moments where he is uncomfortable or when I remind him of them and it shows me that he does understand right from wrong but still isn't much in control of himself (neither am I so well I can't blame him!).  There are also those moments where he doesn't see me and he asks for help from other people whom he doesn't know or when asked questions which he answers without any qualms on a microphone which shows me how much he is becoming more social, vocal and confident and I can't give credit to me - apart for the fact that I never forced him into these things.  But I do give credit to his current school teacher and his sports teacher and sports in itself which is something he enjoys without any strings attached.

These last 8 days of Advent we have some thought provoking activities in store and I wonder how he will react to them.

As for me I have my new year resolution ready.  Its a resolution that will benefit my family and look forward to the challenge.  Its a challenge I've been struggling with since Gregory turned 1 and demanding while I was preggo with Maya and it bugged me always did and while I see how much things are improving I finally decided to take the bull by the horns and I made a vow that as of 1 January I will not shout to my kids or anyone else for a year and if I do it for a year well I will just carry on into the next and next and next.  It is going to be very difficult I know because its not the first time I see me going in that dark place but am incapable of stopping myself but I've already started practising and sometimes when I know I can not not shout I got shout at the Christmas tree or whatever is near at hand :)  I look forward to give you updates on this challenge of mine because I know I can do it and I have decided I will definitely do it!

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Towards Advent

Advent and Christmas are practically round the corner and I honestly have no idea how another year has passed!

As always I am thrilled to get to this season.  And seeing that the kids are finally tuning in to the meaning of it all and the beauty of it all, I am even more excited and I have been planning a lot of stuff for this lovely season.

Advent, starting Sunday 1 December is the new year of the liturgical calendar.  Most importantly, Advent is the preparation for the coming and birth of the Lord. Christians observe this season as a season of prayer, fasting & repentance followed by anticipation, hope & joy.




Each year I do an Advent wreath.  Every Sunday we light a candle in remembrance of hope, preparation, joy and love.

We also do an Advent calendar.  however, we do not use the traditional sweet calendar because I want to teach and give to my kids the real meaning of this lovely season.  This year, our Advent calendar was bought from a local crafter and I love it.



Than what I did was put little papers in each pocket with scripture readings which I got from here but I translated them in Maltese.



Than I added little family things we are to do together for every Advent day.
The list:

putting up the Christmas decorations
having a family photo in front of the Christmas tree
watching a Christmas film together
doing cookies together
going out to Valletta to see the lights and go around the train
visit a crib
visit the live crib in Xaghra, Gozo
do a kindness Advent tree
go out to eat
write a letter to Jesus  to give thanks for all he has given us during this year
write a family letter
do a Christmas craft
do a snow globe
plant Christmas wheat grass
read the book of the first Christmas
read the book 'Twas the night before Christmas
singing Christmas carols
Buying food for those in need and giving them to the Paris Priest to pass them on
donate a toy
searching for little gifts around the house
go ice-skating
write Christmas cards

In addition, I bought the kids Advent colouring books to help understand more the meaning of this season of preparation.

And in preparation myself, I will be reading more scripture, contemplating more on my role in this beautiful house and doing a small fast.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Hike at ziguzajg in Dingli Cliffs

the view

Greg showing us rabbit holes


lovely viewing window



Widnet il-Bahar Malta's national plant



fossils




Monday, October 7, 2013

October

I love the month of October.

Life seems to start settling again in a rhythm and the craziness of Summer subsides to the quietness of Winter.

Its a time when I take a look at my kids and wonder - when did they become so different?

Gregory still isn't one that shares easily or to wait patiently.  however the love he is showing us is mind blowing.  They way he thinks is astounding.  The confidence that he gained is incredible.  and expressing his emotions and trying to release them in an appropriate way inspiring.

He is also showing reading readiness and courage and tiny bit more of tenacity and not giving up in frustration as quickly as he used to. And his imagination is wonderful! I admit that while I am enjoying having Maya alone at home for a good chunk of the day, I am also looking forward to teaching more to my son and am super excited with the curriculum I have come up with for both kids.

Maya is still very much in tantrum state and not  giving leeways on anything.  It is tiring to hear her cry or whine and not letting you console her.  I am hoping to learn a new way to calm her down now I can focus my attention on her.  She is also very incredible and intelligent for her age.  She is very good at using scissors already and is able to control her drawing much better than last Winter/Spring.  she is also very eager to learn her letters and numbers and of course reading is still her major hobby.  She loves stories and would invent a story for herself while eating.  She knows the colours, how to count and the alphabet and is starting to recognise them.  She loves singing and rhyming  and using paints.

My babies are growing and I am enjoying the changes they are bringing with each month that passes.

discovering catacombs

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

We've started hiking & exploring

So now the weather is not so hot any more, we started hiking and exploring our little island.  Last Sunday we went to Bingemma.  There near the chapel are the Victoria Lines bridge and a myriad of catacombs to explore.  The kids had so much clambering rocks, seeing new insects and having a real picnic finally.













this here is a very tiny praying mantis.  Greg spotted it while going up some rocks.





And after all that exersize, food and more play, we walked back to the car and Maya fell exhausted to sleep.  Gregory was all hyped up and didn't sleep a wink!


Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Leaving summer behind

We are at the last drops of Summer.

We are tired of Summer.  Don't get me wrong we truly had fun and did a lot of things and there were much more which we did not do either.

But now, we are all looking forward to the change of seasons with every fibre in our body.  So much so that we have decided to start going to the field and do some useful work there.  The beach isn't as appealing any more.  We have stated decorating our nature table for Autumn and packed away our Summer nature table.  we have rotated the books in our school room/ play room.  We are thinking of picnics and hikes and watching out for birds and insects and plants.

It's exciting somehow the change from Summer to Autumn.  When the weather gets cooler, the nights get longer.  When school starts and new home school routines happen.

Its beautiful and fulfilling and we danced and sang manically when the first thunder storm and rain happened a couple of weeks ago.

Loving the moment.

Loving the anticipation.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

So Many things

This morning I woke up feeling like a truck had run over me and thinking I. AM. SO. DONE. WITH. SUMMER!!

Seriously, I have enjoyed a full month with both kids at home but now half way through Summer with the August heat on everyone was getting whiny and I was frazzled and tired all the time.

Than 3 things happened that gave me a boost of so much needed energy....

  1. the weather went from super hot to cold wind and cloudy and while I do not like the dust that is managing to come inside my home, I welcomed the change with open arms and the feeling that Autumn is near hugged my heart and my senses.
  2. A friend posted a quote from Mother Theresa stating that the Lord never gives us more than we can handle but I wish he didn't trust me so much and felt like this is so true at this moment in time in my life
  3. I received confirmation that I am now officially a breastfeeding counsellor
All those helped me focus more and a few minutes ago while the kids were falling down to sleep it occurred to me that while it was being a tad more difficult right now to parent them, I was controlling myself more.  I was seeing when I was going to loose it and change the situation in a way that we all end up laughing.

And that quote from earlier made more sense and it brought me much more joy and I felt relieved because finally I was showing and teaching my kids how to go about controlling their feelings :)

Friday, August 2, 2013

Outing at Hagar qim

Today we did an outing with some friends and while I forgot the camera half the time, here is what I remember the capture:


Greg building a temple back view


front view


The boys running in front - the girl tagging along at the back

Mnajdra Temple



There is a lot at the information centre for children to learn from and ours had great fun trying it all out!

We did fairies

Yes that is what we did.  Now we need to do them some houses but tat will be another day!  We got the idea from Nuturestore than scrambled it a bit.  

What we used:



toilet paper carton & egg cartons for body and head


yarn for hair


we cut half the toilet paper carton and a piece of the egg carton

and stuck them on with PVA glue



added the hair and drew in the face than added a piece of clothe for the dress



we than cut fairy wings and painted them

we added glitters and flowers to them


than stuck them on




And because they have no houses yet we have placed them in the nature table :)