{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Have a wonderful weekend.
See other wonderful moments at Soule Mama.
The weekend has finally arrived. It is time for a new look here at ‘Not Working’… As I mentioned earlier in the week, on Monday I enter the potentially crazy world of workinginsideandoutsidethehome. I am shying away from saying I am going back to work, since it is abundantly clear to me…and most people who think about it for a few minutes…that there are all kinds of work done in our world – and not all are remunerated. But from Monday, I shall be remunerated for some tasks I do, and I will be remunerating someone else to do the many happy tasks I have been doing with Kazuo for the past two years.
Akira and I will be renegotiating the roles we play in keeping the home running, though we have managed to develop a fairly smooth routine, so I am hopeful that there will not be too many teething problems there. Kazuo will make perhaps the biggest adjustment – as he settles into a life of full time nursery school.
As I reflect back on what I have felt about ‘working’ over the past few years – and look forward to more time here in the blog (yayy for lunchbreaks!) I came to the conclusion that I was working hard to make us all feel at home, wherever we happened to be. So even while I return to the paid workforce, this need to feel at home…and help my family and our critters feel at home…is perhaps the guiding narrative of our life together. (See more on this on the Where I Find Myself Page.)
This weekend I have bustled about trying to get our house in order to weather the changes ahead. I finally managed to find some secondhand cubbies for the entrance hall, and managed to wrestle some control over the chaos that had developed in that little vestibule. Now the coats hang in the corner, the boots have a space, and the wee guy can sit down for wellies/shoes/slippers and not stand up caked in mud (or latterly, chicken poop – ewwww!):
We’ve planted a tiny row of garlic in our little plot – and now to wait for the spring for the other plantings:
And we installed a compost bin and made a trip to the recycling centre – showing the little one the delights of separating out our waste:
Here we are then…making ourselves at home. I hope you will too.
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Have a wonderful weekend.
See other wonderful moments at Soule Mama.
In April last year we gave Kazuo his first haircut. In reality, it was merely a trim. Since then, his abundant curly locks and long eyelashes have often garnered some of the confused and silly presumptions people make about small people’s sex/gender. I think that small people who are still growing hair and recognisable adult features mostly look pretty interchangeable in terms of gender, especially since much of their gender socialisation is still in the future. So if people think my boy, who at present is kinda on the pretty side, is a girl…so be it. But hair seems to be a real confusion for some people. So I promised to arrange for Kazuo’s next haircut to happen around his second birthday since it was getting very long and woolly.
Then Kazuo started ASKING for a haircut…since he was struggling to see out from the fringe. So, last Sunday, in the midst of dinner aftermath, Akira and I took to the scissors and gave Kazuo his first big-boy haircut:
Here are some before (top row) and after(bottom row) shots of his two haircuts. As you can see… there was much more to tame in the recent shearing. He was totally fascinated by the little packet of hair I collected for the memory box.
Funny how less hair can make for a more grown-up look. Lately he is seeming more and more like a little boy – not even a toddler any more!
Our girls survived the night and a really frosty, sleety morning. We are making constant modifications to their world and ours to accomodate them and we hope that poor little Naynaynay Number Four will last the distance, she is looking very much the bottom of the newly established pecking order.
But the big news this morning was: Eggs! Here is Kazuo proudly displaying the first one that we found after breakfast:
He’d never held an egg before, so sadly, it came to a bit of a sorry end at the close of this photo shoot.
But by the time I returned from the shopping at lunchtime, there was another warm little brown egg in the nest box. Well done girls!
Today we brought our rescued ex-battery hens home from the farm on which they spent the first few intensive-laying months of their lives. We found them through the wonderful work of the British Hen Welfare Trust.
These are their first few moments being settled into their new house Akira assembled for them a couple of weeks ago:
They are scrawny girls who have never walked anywhere in their little lives, so they will mostly stay in and around the coop for a couple of weeks while they get strong on the special feed we are giving them. Hopefully they will also re-feather fairly soon too. Although we will be away on a daily basis, we are aiming to let them learn to roam about the yard as often as possible. One poor chook is very much on the plucked-chicken side of things, and seems blind in one eye – so we hope she will manage to thrive under our novice husbandry.
Kazuo has been SOOO excited about the ‘ex-battery-clucks’ for some weeks now – so it was fantastic to give him some soon-to-be-cuddly new friends. Since dogs and cats and hamsters and gerbils are off the agenda due to allergies, these are our pets. They will be known as Mrs Cluck, Feathery Frou Frou, Henny Hen Hen and Naynaynay Number Four. Hopefully they will also reward us with a few eggy treats in the weeks to come.
Kazuo had trouble containing his enthusiasm once the chicks were in their run. It may take some time for him to realise that they are a little wary of his happy interrogations. But two brave girls ventured out of the run not long after their arrival (they were more sturdy than I expected, which was quite amazing given their previous lifestyle) and although one was soon scared back inside by Kaz, the other had a curious little exploration of the yard before bedtime.
Welcome girls, we are glad you have come!
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Have a wonderful weekend.
See other wonderful moments at Soule Mama.
After Christmas came the birthday…and this year Kazuo had it all figured out. Birthdays involved a party which consisted of friends (thankfully we could finally muster up a couple of lovely ones with whom we have recently had the joy of becoming acquainted), balloons, his birthday banner and a cake with candles:
I decided to get a little crafty. To keep it simple but still have something for the wee ones to take home I sewed up some little birdy bags and made some finger puppets a la MadebyJoel and I sewed up a playmat for Kaz that has a landscape on one side and streets on the other, you can see it in progress here (a tutorial may follow):
In the morning we had a little ceremonial unwrapping time – this year we invested in a little portable kitchen that has already become a firm fixture in the roleplaying around the house:
This time the treasures made it in the post in time – here he is exploring the finished playmat with the new matchbox cars AND messing about with the fun garden toys from Grandma and Grandpa at the same time:
Kazuo decided that he wanted an animal themed celebration…and it was down to the wire on cake preferences – giraffe and elephant ran neck and neck for days. Finally Mama realised that in the absence of the cake decorating tools (where DID they end up in the move??), it would have to be a roundy kinda elephant. This year we had some dairy/soy allergies amongst our guests, so it was a scrummy vegan chocolate cake with vegetable-fat frosting:
Sneaky Kazuo managed to help himself to cake numerous times throughout the day, and he was still gobbling it down when chatting to his Grandparents with Dada on Skype that evening.
It has been a delightful two years and it was lovely to be able to celebrate this milestone with some new friends…and in as handmade-homey way as possible. Two weeks on and we are still having happy chats about birthdays, friends and parties. Having a two year old in the house has led to lots of giggles, hugs and charming conversation. Thanks to all who helped us to celebrate these two great years!
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Have a wonderful weekend.
See other wonderful moments at Soule Mama.
Our wee guy is two today. Two lovely long years of learning (in a very ad hoc manner at times) how to be parents…and watching him go from being a bit rubbish and gurgly and endearing and sometimes a little terrifyingly needy and so so cuddly and incredible to really quite entertaining and capable and still kinda needy but wonderfully affectionate and articulate and hilarious. All those bones and muscles and neurons and just everything that makes up his unique but also commonly human arrangement of qualities have been constantly rearranging and growing and becoming in quite the most fascinating way. Of course we all think our kids are amazing and incredible…and the first ones are quite the little preoccupying experiment that keep on providing astonishment…but I have to admit that I am rather smitten still…and loving having this wee person around. Kazuo, we think you are great, happy birthday little one!
Brand New
Six Months
One Year
Eighteen Months
Two Years
