weekend activities

The weekend weather forecast was for rain, so I set about arranging a couple of 'play dates' for the boys to keep everyone entertained. On Saturday, son Number 1, Sam, had his friend Angus from school over for a play. When Sam invites a friend over, his two brothers also expect to be able to join in whatever activities are happening. So, to start with, all four boys spent some time playing with our toys in the lounge room. Luckily it was all very amicable, although I did hear Sam quietly comment, "you did come here to play with me you know Angus!" Luckily Angus was very adept at sharing his attention around.

Next, Angus was taken on a short expedition by our two big boys to catch tadpoles from the stream in the bush behind our house. Finally it was time to move on to bigger and better things - building a fire and lighting it using a stick rubbing method seen on Bear Grylls... Sam and Ben had been asking me for days to help them light a fire and I had been stalling by getting them to set up the rocks, collect the kindling and lay the fire. Today I couldn't think of any more reasons to stall and it seemed like a fairly safe day for it since it drizzled with rain all day. Now some of you may be gasping with horror at the fact that I was letting 5 and 7 year old boys 'play' with fire and to be honest, I was a little worried about what Angus' Mum was going to say about it. It actually seems to be quite a common pastime for families around here to light a fire and perhaps cook some marshmallows (I didn't have any) but mostly just enjoy sitting around and looking at it. When I first arrived I have to admit to thinking that it was a bit dangerous and probably not something I would allow my children to do! Of course, we're now a year and a half down the track and it suddenly feels like a very normal thing to do. Not surprisingly, the stick rubbing method was not at all successful, so bush mama here got out the firelighters and matches. Getting the fire going and building it up kept the three boys amused for at least 2 hours and it was also quite an educational experience for them - they learned how to gradually build up the size of the sticks and what types of wood and leaves burn well and not to get your hands too close to the flames. I supervised closely of course but not once did anyone do anything remotely silly or dangerous - this may change as they get older and more daring - but I hope I have given them a lesson in the respect and caution that we need to show for fire. Incidentally, Angus' Mum wasn't in the least bit worried about the fire - luckily!



On Sunday the rain was still around so we decided to ask a few neighbourhood friends over for morning tea and a play. Feeling slightly averse to (mess making) craft activities we decided to go for cupcake decorating instead. This was a big hit and really very easy to organise. The whole morning was really lovely and it meant that some down time afterwards while Teddy slept was quite justified!

Our previously mentioned Chinese friend, Lori, brought Chinese pancakes, which were also very popular. All the healthy morning tea had to be finished off before the cupcakes could be attacked.

Belonging to a close and caring community really enriches my children's lives and mine. We are very lucky.