Forcing the Language!

I am no expect at teaching and I am no child psychologist but so far we have been having some great result with the way Tullula is evolving with the French Language!
So I started to wonder if it was good or not to actually force it upon them was mentioned to me!

I have quite a few multi-lingual families around me. And the children that are in one language house holds really seem to take to their mother tongue so much more..I envy it, yet understand why!
I have one German couple, and naturally their little girl speaks a lot of German, sure she mixes both languages as well, and she even makes up her own words that are half German hand English, but being that when she is at home both her father and mother speak in German, she does too!

Then I know a French couple, their little one is only starting to talk, but its pretty clear that he favors French! Despite the fact that he too goes to day care a few days a weeks, he still is showing sings of talking more French!

Where did she get such long eye lashes from?

I must say, I find it adorable to see these little people taking their native language in Australia, it just adds  another dimension to the word cute!

That's when I was told that maybe I should just tell Tullula that i did not understand her when she spoke to me in English, in order to force he to speak to me in French!
I must say I did do it a little, especially when she would say "Good Night" I would make her say in in French, and she did! Then I would also make her repeat things in French when she wanted something, and she would do it when she wanted what ever it was bad enough!
But then there have been other times where she would just not want to, I know she understood what I wanted from her, but somehow she just did not want to do it!

Like tonight I said "Bonne Nuit" (good night in French) and that's one of the few things she actually was doing, repeating it in French to me...But lately she has not been, and I would just leave it at that and walk out of her room..Tonight I did not, I repeated myself, and waited for an answer...It eventually came...In English!
I told her to say it in French, and she just shrugged her shoulders, making it clear to me that she had no desire to do so!
So I left it at that...

I don't know, should I force it on her, at the risk of her hating French altogether because it was such a burden on her? I don't want to do that...Yet I am stepping on little stones here as reality is I have no idea how its done to raise a bilingual child!!!
And I think reality is there is no wrong or right way, as every child is different in their ability and willingness to do things!

I think for now I will leave it this way and just be happy that she still is understand EVERYTHING I say to her in French, and be happy to hear the few words that she does say in French and hope that this upcoming Europe trip will change the way she does use the language!
I hope, because I really long to hear her talk to me in my mother tongue someday!

Anyone got any ideas on the topic?

My Audience?

Sometimes I wonder, who is reading my blog?

I mean I know my family is since I wrote their email address in the "Follow by email" link!

But who else?? We all know that thease things have stats and all, and like every one, I think, I have a look to see who and how many readers I have, thease days there seem to be heaps from Russia!

So are there? Are the Russians reading my blog? 

Sounds funny now I know, but I am serious, who is reading this Post?

Please leave a comment below and tell me about yourself, what do you want to read more about?

what do you like about my blog and most importantly is there anything I should change?

I say this as I have been wondering if I should maybe split my blog into two, not such a great idea when time is limited and all, but I sometimes wonder if maybe I would get a better audience if I had one Crafty Blog and one Momy Blog?!

Or having both in the one is ok?

Please do let me know...

Happy reading!

Photo Collage

Tullula truly loves to paint, colour, draw and it mostly starts of nice and clean but the temptation of getting it all over her fingers is too great to resist! 

And this time she was also very happy to get a bath as well as show off her very dirty hands!

What fun children have!

TuesDay Tullula

Enjoying a game of Dominoes with me!

and willing to pose...

New Ojo!

The new Ojo I finally got all finished and got a photo of in day light! I say this because every time I thought of taking its photo it was too late and night time thus not good enough light!

I really am happy with the colours of this one, and I have started to make them with thicker dowel, as I was having too many of them breack on me!
Like the big 1m one I was about to finish and it broke, to disappointing to let that happen to many times!

I have also started to make some even smaller ones, about 20cm in diameter, and they are actually going to be some sort of Dream Catcher!
I am about to finish the 1st one...Will have to remember to get photo done!

I did try to organise a workshop at my local Library, but I did not get any responses to that did not work for me! I would really like to teach poeple how to make these so will try to organise another workshop sometime! I have sold 2 D.I.Y kits and have been happy to hear that the instructions were clear and materials were enough!

 

What colour should I do next?

 

Flying Dreams!

Maybe I really should be saying flying night mares, but I hate saying it, because I hate nightmares!
I had so many growing up, and a lot that were repeating ones, even went through a patch where I would wake up every night and my mother would have to take me back to bed, tuck me in and the magic thing was the kiss she would give me!
I wonder if she can remember that??

Well this time it was not me, it was Tullula...
But to get woken up by such sadness in her voice really hurt me to a level I did not imagine possible!
That little body, waking up in the middle of the night with tear, crying for me.

She woke up and I went to her, and she said;
"momy you fly away and you lost me"
when she said that I fly away she had her arms wide open like and airplane.

I took her in my arms,and joked that I had found her again, but that did not console her.
So I just acknowledged her sadness, and how scared she must of been...

Sure its not much of a night mare, and the whole dilemma did not last long...but the real sadness is that in that first year and a half when I was deep down in my dark hole, many a time did I think of doing just that...packing a bag and flying away, leaving every one behind! I would even go out for walks at night, not knowing where I was going, but just hoping I would walk, walk and never stop, never look back...
Stephen would let me go, I guess not knowing what to do about it, not able to do much with a sleeping baby in the house and I think trying to respect my space, but I am sure he was scared, scared I would not come back...Truth is I never got very far...I am scared in the dark alone after my trauma!!!
Yet I did think it...And today to see how sad she would be to loose me hurt me to know that I even was able to have that slight thought of walking away and leaving her!
Now all I want to do is hold her tight and never let her go....

So that's what I did, sitting in the dark on her little bed in the bus, holding her tight and knowing that I will never be able to leave her, that I hope to always be right her for her when she has a horrible dream. to let her know that I am not going anywhere without her!

Ten On Ten

One Photo, every Hour for Ten Hours and see my day happen in Images!

 Its a rainy day out there!

 Girl in my Plant!

 I am at work today!

Shoe shopping.

 But Lunch is needed before the afternoon shift!

 My day is done, but the salt lamp stays on!

 I have to drop by the library to print some documents.

I am tired and cant be bothered with anything, so Tullula is having some pancakes for dinner!

what a terrible mother I am.

But a happy child she it...Hmmm!

I dont like it when Ten on Ten falls on one of my working days, its soo hard to get a photo every hour and boring too, as reality is I am stuck in a little room!

But I got 8 this time, so its ok!

Enjoy!

Tutorial- Ruffle Top!

I did write about this little top I had made for Tullula a while ago now, and since I am constantly doing 10 things at the same time, some things just take soo much longer to get done/finished!
But its finally here, the Ruffle Top Tutorial!

• Tutorial

• PDF Pattern
  

 I was going to put it here on this Blog Post, but since a created a PDF File it not going to upload, so just hit the links and print out the Tutorial!

A lot easer and clearer for all to use!

TuesDay Tullula

Little does she know what really in her Apple Juice!

Meeting Manu Chao....

To see Manu Chao in Consent was one of the main reasons why we went down to the Byron Blues Festival!
So after his show, I had to go and hassle the security guard to go get him for me!
I had become one of those annoying drunken fans, but I did not care, i had to try, i had to say hello to Manu Chao...
I knew he was a cool guy, see I had met him once in Barcelona, and gotten him to autograph a Post Card for my Brother Morgan! What made me realise that he was a cool guy was that as we were (my friend and I) leaving the Cafe on our bicycle, not paying attention to Manu, he is the one that yelled out "Chao"...

But I was to be blown away even more....

So after standing there for a while with the security guard, and even getting other people back stage involved in "YOU MUST GO GET MANU FOR ME TO SAY HELLO"....We eventually got kicked out!!!

I tried...I was not leaving disappointed!

The next day, was spent at the beach...In a really relaxed manner on a quit beach...
4 or 5 men came down, and Stephen and I started the Classic, is that Manu Chao, not its not, yes it it, No, Yes, No and yes its him!!!
Passing right in front of us! As they had passed us Stephen says "Go Manu" and I scream (because they are further away by then) "the consent last night was great" (in French)!

We sat there in amazement for a minute until we realised that we had let him pass and go with out a photo, an autograph....Nothing!
Stephen tells me I have to go run after him, as they might make the loop and go back the other way, thus miss another opportunity...So I get up to see where they are??
Its ok, they are coming back and seem to have found a stop not too far, so i sit down...I want to appear cool about it all....
But I notice that Manu Chao has not stopped and is coming back this way, our way...I am behind Stephen, Stephen his back to him...
But MY OH MY, Manu Chao is coming STRAIGHT TO US!!!!

He just came to say hello, asked us where we were from, where in France I was from, casual banal conversation that did not last long, but long enough to get the photo of a lifetime and to tell him that After Bob Marley he was the one person I most wanted to see in concert!
That he had no idea how much memories I had with his music, how much travels I had done listening to those tunes....
He was humble, he was so easy and once again he has shown me that he is real to himself, a human a man with talent but close to the world and those around him!

Thank you Manu Chao!
That photo is going on my wall of Fame!

My Name is Not Darling!

That's what Tullula has been telling her Father....

"My name is not Darling its Tullula"

In a very cuet way that he cant help himself but say it again, and yes gets the same responce, but this time with some annoyance in her voice!
She has character this little one! Just like her Mom I can add!

Stephen then tries to explain that we say such things to the poeple we care about, the ones we love, that its a nice thing to say...That he says it to me and I to him...

Well the next day we are at the Petrol station at a high way stop, on our way South to the Byron Blues Festival, and we all got something special to drink, Stephen a lemon soda, I a coke and Tullula a fizzy water (as she calls it, she used to say spiky water, just like daddy's face!)

We are all standing at the counter, Stephen is paying...Tullula pulls me down to her level, and softly says in my ear-
"Mommy, that lady say Sweetheart to my Daddy"

Yes I smiled, wanting to laugh really as we walked away....
How funny!
I guess its not that special after all....