Something old, something new...

I've never been a fan of school holidays.  Even before I had school aged children, I didn't like the fact that other families would crowd out all the interesting places for weeks on end...  Once my boys started going to school, I have to admit I dreaded the holidays.  Homeschooling all the time was one thing, you got into a rhythm and have a pace which is comfortable and predictable.  Once they were at school, the holidays turned all of that on it's head.  The boys would be all too excited to begin with, then they'd realise that unlike their friends families, we WEREN'T going anywhere exciting every other day and they'd get narky with us and one another, and then there was the impact on the younger children (poor Bryn and Ari who do so well playing on their own all day long were thrust into a world of over-stimulation by having two bored big brothers up in their stuff all the time)...

But somehow the past couple of holidays haven't been so bad.  In fact, it's been so alright these holiday it actually took FIVE WEEKS for my boys to get on each others nerves enough to warrant some fisty-cuffs.  On the day of "the big fight" I counted back and realised they had actually been out ONCE in five weeks (to do an activity other than grocery shopping or running errands for Nanna)!  So, really, they've done tremendously well considering other kids have been on roadtrips, and holidays, and to the movies and on picnics and to the beach...

This last week or so has been a bit more stimulating for them, thank goodness!  They've had a couple of play dates, and today we went to the Melbourne Museum.

Going to the Museum made me a somewhat nostalgic.  As I crossed the quadrangle to the front door in the summer heat with the three big boys running ahead and Ari in the pram, I couldn't help but see myself as I've entered the museum over the past ten years:

1. with Erik in the pram and Luey in the sling
2. with Erik running ahead and Luey on my back in the sling
3. with Erik running ahead, Luey in the stroller and me waddling along with Bryn in my belly
4. with Erik running ahead, Luey in the stroller and Bryn in the sling
5. with Erik and Luey running ahead and Bryn on my back in the Ergo
6. with Erik and Luey running ahead, Bryn in the stroller and me waddling along with Ari in my belly
7. with Erik and Luey running ahead, Bryn in the stroller and Ari in the sling

And then today's combo, Erik, Luey and Bryn running ahead and Ari in the pram.  Maybe next summer it'll be all four boys running ahead!

Even today Erik, Luey and Bryn were all wearing red shirts that had once belonged to Erik (because we always love to dress Erik in red!)...

Ari is also growing so much!  He loved the museum today, he bustled about with the other boys, touching - or rather hitting - everything within reach!  He's such a character, so self-assured and so much "just one of the boys".

In other news, to entertain myself, I've taken up painting!

I've dabbled a teensy-tiny bit in the past, but have lacked confidence.

This time, I've decided to set aside my lack of confidence, and just do it anyway.  I figure I'll never get better at it until I've gotten through the stage of being crap at it!  There is something so immediately satisfying about dabbing paint on a canvas!  I'm sticking with abstract because at least that way I can pretend I meant to do even the dodgy looking stuff...

I love the art of Thaneeya McArdle so am mimicking her style (though I'll be the first to admit my stuff looks nothing like her stuff, but you have to start somewhere, right)...