Back to beautiful France

The first week of our 7 -week long summet holidays is behind! We are back to beautiful Pornic, our favorite place in France. The trip was long and the holiday house had reserved some unpleasent surprises (momified pizza in the oven, insects, d-u-s-t, and no wifi), but once these were sorted out with the landlord we dove surprisingly quickly to our holiday mode à la française! For children, this means long afternoons at the beach, where the big ones can walk by themselves, catamaran stages with new friends and evening walks in the old-town prized with a gaufre à la sucre or an ice-cream at the Fraiserie. For us, it means long walks to in the old town, popping-in to art galleries, visiting markets and attending the Sunday messe. For us, the city has all we can wish for: family friendly, safety, beautiful beach and walking trails, the castle and its old church, the markets..and the friendly people. The first night our friendly neighbour came to help us with unloading the car and tonight we were invited for "an apero" at his place. Every mornibg he has popped in to check if all is ok, bring a paper or little bouquet of flowers. This elderly man truly warms our heart by his interest to us the "foreigners" and brings a welcome balance to the dynamics of the kids when the tensions rise. Thank you Jean, thank you beautiful idyylic Pornic for welcoming us back. Perhaps we will find here our holiday haven we are secretly dreaming of.

My baby turns 15!

I still have difficulties in realizing (or accepting?)that my baby girl is 15! We have just cleared the house from a bunch of beautiful, rosy and noisy (!) teen-age girls. In they came with their wonderful girl energy, setting the table full of goodies, hanging the pink guirland and 15 balloons for perfect photoshoots and indulging with the piece-of-art cake my daughter had baked her-self. We had worked on the background with my hussy husband for the success of her afternoon by doing the carefully selected shoppings, clearing the livingroom and organizing activities for the little siblings. We were both impressed by the joy and spontaneity of this international group of young women. The few Finnish girls invited seemed to be as well 😁 Looking at my girl with her friends I realized she is really more european than finnish or estonian which is reflected by her group: her friends were mostly French-speaking, a collection of intelligent and fun persons from the various school classes, swimming team and so forth. It was so wonderful to see her happy surrounded by her friends! The celebration started already last WE when I took her to a surprise pampering trip to Helsinki. We stayed at her god-mother who arranged everything a girl can hope for: from shopping to indoor skydiving and home made chocolate mousse cake! Admittedly, turning 15 festivities were spectacular and set the standards high for turning 18..Happy birthday our love!

Downhill with the little lost croackroch

I seriously should keep my "happiness highs" to myself, as every time I verbalise them it seems I am paying heavily.. 12-hours into my husband having departed for a 4-day business trip abroad the following events started to unfold: a crockrauch-like insect found in the staircase creating havoc among the sensitives (including especially myself), a clogged toilet, the babysitter whom I had interviewed carefully weeks ahead cancelled 1 h prior starting her 4day pest, ladybird invasion in the kids bedroom (what's with the insects??) and the cherry on the cake as I was almost breathing normally while showering my little ones at 8 pm..head lices (really)..!! As a result, the next 3 hours or so I was running between stairs pouring or rinsing one of the four heads (my sons were saved, but not myself) and breastfeeding the baby who of course woke up as something clearly interesting was taking place. Followed by the change of bedding of the four beds, vacuuming the ladybirds, unclogging the toilet, spraying vinagre on humid areas in the house and sterilising hair items, I started the washing marathon of bed sheets, coats, doudous.. Clearly, just "hanging out" by myself with our 5 kids including a baby with the "normal" school week routines of picnic preps, schoolbus runs, activities and doctor appointments and what not would have been utterly deadly boring. Bring it on for the spring NY business trip, mama can take it 😂

The ordinary extraordinary weekend

Just when you start questioning the concept of limitless energy, one single weekend can make a transformation. I have been poured with love and inspiration unexpected in the past 48h that I feel almost overwhelmed..My teenager unconsciously caressing my hair in the morning while waiting for the school bus, my 9-year old son waking at the dawn to prepare the family a Sunday breakfast with a special attention to Mom's seating with all my favorite trimmings, my number 2 hugging me spontaneusly of happiness as I found her lost school book or the hairdresser quoting my 6-year old for her "Favorite Princess" being Mom.. Even without the white nights, these moments bring tears to my eyes and fill my heart with joy and love beyond words. They are my fuel. Furthermore, our community, which we have perceived for so.. uninclusive, finally opened its arms.. This weekend we joined our neigbours for helping at the community garden, to plant fruit trees, bake bread, donate clothes..and I realise the shift away from the "expectant receiver" (too harsh expression but difficult to find a better one) to an "actor" makes all the dramatic difference. And without the expectation - the universe pours all back 10-fold.. I feel blessed and grateful for us being part.

September Craze

So the one concrete difference in managing life with five kids is undeniable: I have less time. Less time translates in no time for private dinners with my husband, meeting friends, starting a jogging routine not to even dream about reading or having the mind space for creative writing! This is even more evident in this particular month of September which represents new beginnings in so many forms: 1st grade primary school for nb 4, 1st secondary for nb 2, B-tests for number 1, organisation of the baptism for nb 5. Not to mention the re-launch of activities, playdates and birthdays following the long summer break. How do we manage then with my husband? New distribution of tasks. We had four parents meetings to attend during the week of preparing for the bapteme - for the first time in 12 years I delegated this honoir to my husband (and he did well!). I took on the visits to the pediatre, ONE, baby massages, coordination with support teachers, supervising homework and organising the bapteme:accomodation, menus, contacts with the church, gifts, clothes etc. And caring for the little man who is (rightly) hungry 10 times per day. Regardless of the (mind me bragging) well-established planning for the start of the school year I have been out of breath in most days without even -as mentioned earlier- glanzing over my running shoes. On the other hand, I have got to spend wonderful nights and early mornings getting to know this new wonderful person who chose to join our family. His smile enlightens all of us and brings instant joy to our days. Fortunately the children are oblivious to the above craziness of parents and are seemingly happy to find their friends, hobbies and school routines. The favorite moment of my day is to have all my kids around the table for their gouter, to hear their enthousiasm over their day reporting of any incidents during the bus trip, mishaps of friends (or teachers!) or illnesses.. If I could bottle these little exclusive moments! The baby is often present feeding during these moments, however my mind, presence and attention is with my other kids. With these early morning thoughts I leave September behind on to welcome smooth tender October 🥰

In the baby bubble

We have the first month at home with our adorable new baby boy. Sweet days and long nights❤️ How could I have forgotten the joys of congested breasts, nightly colics, but also the magic moments of admiring my new baby!!The siblings have been completely mesmerised by this little bundle and volunteering to help with the nappies change, bathing or holding him in their arms. It is heartwarming to see the proudness of my number 4 in her new role of big sister. All of them are kissing him on passing or running to get the tute on the slightest demand of the baby. My husband is assuring the functioning of the family: managing the kids drives, groceries and what not. I recognize it is tough on him, and I am greatly appreciative for his efforts. To keep him operational, I take care of the busy night shift with frequent wakes with the baby. In consequence, admittedly my biggest achievements in most days reduce to taking my shower,going for a walk, preparing lunch and snacks for the kids. And caring for the baby and napping ! I have even put away my task list for the moment. With the fifth baby I am finally gentler towards myself than in the previous post-partum periods. Prioritising rest to be fit for the family has become my guiding principle. I feel ever grateful to have yet again the opportunity to experience the uncomparable magic of motherhood 😍

Zeeland in May celebrations

Wonderful week in Zeeland😍 Only 1.5h drive and we were welcomed with sun, beaches and a cute holiday house in a quaint neighbourhood. Our previous visit to the area dated a while ago and I had not realized how child friendly the Dutch can be. Free play grounds or Provincial domaines with great facilities; restaurants had kid menus, boxes and activities to keep them busy while waiting. Every day we visited a new attraction: Mini Mundo, Tropical zoo, Marine museum..With my husband we enjoyed the visits to the capital Middebourgh, Vliessingen and beach resort Domburg all with plenty of pedestrian streets in the old center to stroll on. The kids were obviously thrilled and considered this one of the best holidays ever (auts, and only with 1/10 of our caribbean holiday budget😊 ) Today, on Mother's day, I was pampered with hand-made cards, love poems, drawings and hand-made berry pavlova cake..Mommy's heart is spilling over of gratitude ❤️