Jump for joy!

 The family day care approval visit went really well so we are all jumping for joy! The lady was very nice and kept telling me how much she loved how id set everything up and that the daycare room felt so homey, just what i love to hear:)
There are a few things to change but she doesn't need to come back I can just email her photos. It wont be long until I'm approved and getting a decent amount of money for having the children again.
I feel like a ton of bricks have been lifted off my shoulders as I'd been so worried that id have someone really picky who would find all sorts of things I hadn't thought of

 Today I feel so light fresh and relaxed, i can fully take in and enjoy simple moments without my mind being taken over with 'what else do i need to do before approval visit"
This morning was such a simple and enjoyable one. I don't think there was a single moment that we were looking for something to do. It started off that I decided to move our logs over to a tree stump because I thought it would be fun for the children to jump off (which it was as is evident in the first photo) After a few jumps Cameron knocked off some bark with his shoe and discovered a treasure trove of snails. He and the others carefully placed them on the tree stump and watched them in awe for a long time as the snails slid along.

A little later it was time to feed the chickens so the children weeded my lawn for me picked them some treats. They were kept amused for such a long time hand feeding the chicken a tiny leaf at a time. Feeding chickens is one of our favourite things to do as the chickens almost never tire of picking scraps from their hands and Rhylee almost never tires of giggling at them which the others find hilarious

Another fruit picnic at our outdoor table and it was just about nap time. I'm so loving these days in our new garden.

These days

The past week seems to have disappeared in the blink of an eye and here are some photos I've taken along the way.

Ive been busy getting ready to have the house checked for safety and suitability by family day care. The big check is tomorrow and I have my fingers crossed that it goes well and I get approved. It has not been at all easy trying to get the place how it needs to be for approval. At present Benny's parents have some of their things in the shed of their new house but there is still at least one and a half houses worth of stuff in this little place which means its really tricky to find spots for everything that needs to be put away. The children's sleep room was half full of boxes which I have been working hard to distribute them over the rest of the house. I feel bad about everyone having to do things and move things around for this approval, I'm so thankful it will soon be over. Ive been stressed about it since the day we got the letter saying we had to be out of the old house straight away so it will be a huge weight off my shoulders.

 My tea leaves is coming along nicely, not much left to go. Its a bit bigger then I hoped but hopefully it will look nice when its done. At least I can fit a few layers underneath which is quite necessary at the moment

 When I go to my naturopath I go past about 10 opp shops on the way. Of course I couldn't go past without stopping in for a quick look... here's a few of my recent favourite finds.

I also got a new pot plant from one of the opp shops, what a surprise! (blogger is still not wanting to put my pics up the right way) You truly never know what will turn up at opp shops

Things have been going quite well with my naturopath and on Monday I even got brave and had some 'propper ' acupuncture rather than the laser version I had been having (I'm scared of needles)
All was well when I had it on my back but when she did my ovaries they were painful. After that I felt sick and drove straight home and went to bed. When I woke up I was talking to Benny's parents in the kitchen and I almost fainted (fell over from being light headed but didn't black out completely) I had cold sweats and went back to bed. I slept until the next morning and then felt completely fine. Has anyone else experienced these side effects from acupuncture? It makes me a bit scared to try it again

On the weekend we went to my friend Sarah's shack. We had such a nice time and the guys went fishing, leaving us on the cozy veranda to have girly chats. This place is so special to me as I've been going to this shack since it was just a foundation in the ground and even helped paint it the first time. I'm truly thankful that Sarah's family have this place and share it with us

This is the magical view, often we have a fire out the front and spot dolphins until the sun goes down. Its pure bliss

knitting, bells and rainbows

 Ive been making some progress on my tea leaves cardigan. I'm not sure if its the pattern, the yarn or the experience I've gained in knitting but this cardigan has by far been my favourite knit ever I do believe.
I'm finding it so relaxing so I take it where ever I go and knit a few rows here and there.
Today at nap time I was reading 'The Story of the Root Children' and Cameron said to me "look its you knitting!" when he saw the picture of mother earth with her yarn and knitting.
 Later in the book we decided that he and the others must be my helper ants because they always make sure my ball is perfectly wound for me:)
He was most happy with this as he is a real bug lover.

 Remember this cardigan I was working on way back here? I sure don't expect anyone to, Id forgotten about it myself!
Anyway, Ive finished the second arm (a place when many cardigan knitting halts I'm sure, that second arm gets a bit tedious)
So... hopefully I can get the button band and ends weaved in soon, although progress has halted just a tad since receiving the yarn for my tea leaves

Yesterday I dug the little table and chairs out of the shed and we are all enjoying eating all our meals and snacks outside. In fact were all having so much fun in the garden that we pretty much only come inside for nap times. Ive hardly been setting up any activities because they've all been so engrossed in exploring all the new play spots

 today we strung together some snack/lunch time bells which we will jingle when its time to cook, prepare food and eat at our little outdoor table.
 Its down at the children's level for them to take turns ringing so I think we may have a little meal times confusion until the novelty wears off

 last week we received this dolls hammock and some other rainbow goodness from my friend Alison. Its a great space saver toy as it hangs between two dining room chairs.
Funnily enough we have two wooden doll beds and I don't think either have been as high in demand as this simple little swinging bed

 At the moment we have limited space and lots of toys still packed away and I'm being reminded how powerful simplifying things is. We don't miss any toys, the children just improvise with what they have. Snails become playthings and old teapots become their homes. An old spade handle becomes a galloping hobby horse. The children have been packing up without me asking now that its not a big job. We make the train tracks slither into their basket home like snakes and the building blocks like to jump their way home. The dolls and animals get tired and run home to see their family.
I'm happy that we will soon have room to store whats not in use, I will continue having less out.

In case you were wondering who was being rocked to sleep.. about 30 wooden animals and people plus a few building blocks and trains. Sure, why not!

two of my favourite things

Lately I've been doing lots of knitting and gardening, here's a few of my recent projects

This is the beginning of a tea leaves cardigan. I was a bit nervous about how pink the yarn is when it arrived but I think I'm going to love it (hopefully!)

 My cousin Madi go a new ball winder so we had lots of fun winding my skeins. The balls are so cute and puffy! The yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh DK in fragrant colourway

Ive finished the brass and steam that my aunt made me a kit of for my birthday. It turned out beautifully and just needs blocking (as do most of my other past projects, I never get around to blocking)

 I love the subtle variations in this wool and its so soft and cozy. perfect for our cool days lately

Here's my garden update photo from today. I'm afraid there will be lots of photos of barely visible tiny little plants and twiggy trees for quite some time to come, I'm a bit obsessed with my new garden and every little thing I add is oh so exciting:)

This week we got two apple trees (we needed two because they need to cross pollinate)
We got my favourite, Fuji and Benny's favourite, gala. We decided to plant them together so that they will take up less space. It will be nice as they grow together into basically one tree. The best part about these two is that they ripen at different times so we will have a long apple season!

Ive also put in a few berry bushes and mulched all the garden beds with compost and hay. The first two beds were done with oaten hay that I had left over and the rest is done with lucern hay. The oaten looks much nicer but the lucern is packed full of nutrients.

Benny is going to be building a fire pit. It will be fun picking veggies and cooking them straight on the fire. He also put in a lemonade tree.

In the chickens area (not pictured) I put in a mulberry tree that I've had in a half barrel the last few years, some raspberry bushes I also had in pots and some lavender plants that self seeded at mums house. The chickens are still in their cage quite a lot but down the track when the plants can handle them they will be in their yard all day and free range our garden with supervision

Photos at last!

Im so happy to finally be able to share some photos! Yippe!!!

Its been killing me only being able to see my photos on the little camera screen, how did I get by before digital lol:)

So anyway, Ill show you some of my new garden. This first picture is the view from our front door. We live across from the towns football oval, Its so nice to have all that green closeby. Ive marked out my favourite cafe Salt of the Earth which is where I do my markets. Its so nice to have it just a few minutes walk away

Heres our main back yard, my veggie patch is to the right
 

my hamock chair tree! This is behind the little tool shed so its a fun little private nook. Im making a mud pie kitchen for the daycare children who love digging dirt and getting grotty in this new garden. There are lots of falen leaves and a nearby lavendar bush to cut and garnish there dishes with:) (sorry about sideways pictures)

This is the start of my veggie garden from about a week ago, its looking much more 'lived in now. Ive been reading up on permaculture so the design is based on keyhole and mandala garden beds.

The first of the seedlings are in:)

This is where ive been spending most of my time lately:)

This is our doggy friend Jasper. Yep those are my gumboots

just because I love having help sweeping and tidying

My apple tree at my parents house is finally almost dormant and ready to move! Im so excited but also nervous that it might not survive to move. If any of you have tips or experiences moving fruit trees please do share them with me.