I didn't realise it had been so long between posts! I look to see the last post of Henry in August, having lost his first tooth. He still hasn't lost a second, but that post did remind me that on Christmas Eve, Henry (6) told me that he didn't believe that Santa was real. He thought that I was really the person who brought the presents.
When I asked why he would think that, he said it was because he had seen me the night he lost his first tooth and knew that "I" was the tooth fairy. Wow, I really suck at being tooth fairy because Jack (8) also sprung me being tooth fairy one night! I suppose that's what you get for telling them to put their tooth under their pillow and then trying to retrieve it in the middle of the night.
I had a think and decided that seeing as he had given me good reasoning (not just, "someone in class told me"), it was time to 'fess up. I told him the truth and he, just as Jack before him (!) had to swear to secrecy. That is, I'm more than happy for them to talk about Santa or the Tooth Fairy not being real to me or to Dad, but they're not allowed to say it at school, or to older children as I know a lot of older children who do still believe and whose parents want to keep that magic going as long as possible! And obviously, not to younger children either. I know Jack's been okay with not spreading the word so hopefully Henry can keep up the charade too.
We are in the middle of school holidays now. We just spent two weeks away in Hervey Bay with my Mum & Dad, my husband's dad and cousin from England, my cousin and her family and also my brother and his partner and children.
It was such a lovely time away. A lot of people packed into one house but all was merry! We really did a lot this Christmas. We did a day tour of Fraser Island, then mostly smaller events for the children like going to a water slide, a pool with some small slides and another covered pool which kept the kids out of the hot sun, the movies, ten pin bowling, 'Wet Side' which is a water park, an indoor skate/scooter centre called 'Rock Off' in Hervey Bay, loads of beach cricket, playing in parks, BBQs, skateboarding, rollerblading, looking for crabs under rocks, fondue one night (that might not see like an event but ask my children, they'll remember it!), fire twirling (another random thing we stumbled across one night), slip'n'slide and I'm sure I've missed a few things!
We all had a great time and for me, as always when I go there, it is just wonderful to have 'the village' around. Such an old catch phrase (It takes a village to raise a child) but my life is so much easier when I have family around that it really rings true for me. The kids absolutely love having their cousins and my cousin's children around to play with and sure, my kids still fight sometimes but the majority of the time they just go and find something to do with another child and have fun! Even if it's hiding in a shed making up an impromptu dance routine that they didn't actually perform for anyone! And for the adults, just ducking out to the shops without having to take whining children (and in fact, the children aren't whining because they get to stay home instead of reluctantly shop!).
We've been back home for four days and that's been nice too. The hectic pace was wonderful but it's also really nice to slow down a bit.
I didn't see the New Year in but here's to a good one!
Ayla
x
Unfortunately my brother and his partner and children weren't there at the time, but this is at least a pic of everyone who stayed in the house at Hervey Bay (albeit two stayed in sheds outside with a key each to access the house late at night if need be!). I'm in the blue shirt with the hat on.
A photo of the children after they'd been up on their first joy flight on Fraser Island. The plane takes off and lands on the beach. I'm not a huge flying fan, particularly not of small aircraft so I have to admit that I felt a bit sick at the thought that my kids were up in a light aircraft. Probably silly but the sort of thing that goes through a head like mine is that, I have no idea about the credibility of their joy flight business, I really don't want them up there. My father-in-law was shouting my husband to go up and he's a grown man so that's his choice. Did I rather the kids stayed firmly on the ground.. absolutely! But I also know I can't let my fears control their lives, at least not all the time! The boys were really keen to go and Florence decided at the last minute that she wanted to go too. I just had to walk away from the plane as they were hopping in because I could hardly stand it. Apparently as soon as the engine started up Florence started crying and didn't let up until just before landing, which was when Henry started getting worried because of turbulence. (Henry in the front)
No comments:
Post a Comment