Mangoes

Two years ago we planted a small mango tree in our backyard. I didn't have very high hopes or expectations for this little tree because I don't know many people who successfully grow mangoes in our area. We have dutifully protected it from frost the last two winters, and were surprised to find it setting fruit this summer.

After many weeks of waiting, today the four of us shared a delicious, sweet, enormous mango - a very exciting day! Now we are hoping that next summer will bring us a bumper crop of beautiful homegrown mangoes . Need I mention that the four of us are all mango lovers? Or did you guess?

Quick Update

Life has been speeding up around here!

Great news - Christopher's latest HbA1c was 7.6%, so his diabetes control is really fantastic.

Catherine went to an optometrist today and her eyes are in great condition (a relief).

I did two full days of chemistry workshops this week - am much more confident about that part of my course now.

Garry has finished building the deck and painting the back of the house, so it's looking so nice out there now.

International Dinner 

The Witches

Catherine's English teacher has been reading a Roald Dahl book ("The Witches") to her class. We first heard about this when Catherine complained about not being able to get to sleep one night, as she was too scared about witches. So she told us what was going on and we talked about the book maybe being a little too old for her. After all, she's still only seven.

The next morning on the way to school, I asked her what we might do about this. Catherine suggested that she should talk to her teacher about it, which is what she subsequently did. As a result, she and another girl were able to sit in a separate area and read their own books, while the rest of the class listened to the story.

I was so impressed by Catherine's solution to this situation - she was quite happy to deal with it in her own way and seems very content with the outcome. I think it was important for me to allow her to find her own way through this. It's so easy for me to feel that I should take care of both the kids by dealing with all the situations that pop up. So it was a good reminder that as they grow older, they will be able to find their own solutions.

BTW, I really like Roald Dahl's books, although his sense of humour is not everyone's cup of tea. Both the kids enjoyed "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" - book first and then movie. Catherine can decide to read this book later if she so wishes :)

Dress-Ups 

Weekly Home Blessing

As part of my journey with FLYlady, I have learned the concept of having a "Weekly Home Blessing". This involves breaking the regular weekly cleaning tasks (dusting, mopping and so on) into 10-minute blitzes that take a total of one hour (this works best if the house is basically picked up).

I have done the one-hour WHB a number of times, with great success. It really feels satisfying to have all those jobs done, and using a timer makes it fun (yes, I did say fun). It's also a wonderful work-out! However, I have really struggled to do a WHB in the heat of summer. Somehow an hour of active housekeeping begins to look more like a chore than a blessing when temperatures soar in the Australian summer.

I've finally found a way to incorporate the WHB into my routine without the mental hurdle of doing a whole hour in the heat. My new strategy? Doing one - and only one - of the WHB tasks every day except Sunday. Facing a ten-minute job is much less daunting, and each day I'm motivated by how good it felt getting the job done the previous day.

As today is Sunday, I am enjoying the peaceful feeling of having done what was needed, and knowing that I can start again tomorrow.

Text or Photos

I noticed last week that I'd been posting a lot of text-only blogs, so I followed up with a few days of photo-only blogs. I'll have to try to get the balance right one of these days....

Christopher at Oma and Opa's 

Tamara and Beau 

Three Cousins 

Happy Birthday, Opa! 

178 Kilograms

Last night we all weighed ourselves on our new scales.

Together, the four of us weigh 178 kilograms.

Catherine weighs two kilograms more than Christopher.
Garry weighs nine kilograms more than I do.
We forgot to weigh Hermione, the cat.