children are sleeping. ironing and folding are done! ANZAC biscuits made. D is working late and so i am having some much missed web browsing. catching up on Goodreads. i love that site! and also enjoying this little clip... except to hear it my music player needs to be turned off. (the annoying thing about having music on a blog). i love the way you can always tell that Irish singers are Irish!
work tomorrow, but a long weekend ~ whoo hoo!!!
April 23, 2009
April 22, 2009
it's been a while
at least it has been a while for me... the main reason is this:
ex⋅haus⋅tion /ɪgˈzɔstʃən/ [ig-zaws-chuhn]
1. the act or process of exhausting.
2. the state of being exhausted.
3. extreme weakness or fatigue.
4. the total consumption of something: the exhaustion of your vacation benefits for the year
(unfortunately it is not the last definition!)
i know this is a condition every woman suffers - mum's... working mums. sometimes i go to bed at night and wonder if my body will just fall apart before morning.
i think being a working mum is hard. some people may think going to work is a break, but really - what are you doing? someone else's business. and you can't just go and sit in a cafe and read a book, or shop, or have a massage. you sit at a computer for 8 hours and your break consists of a trip to the bathroom or the kitchen for hot water. then you come home and there is all your other work waiting for you there. on my work days, the alarm goes off at 6am. we struggle out of bed at 6:20. D gets dressed for work, packs his lunch and breakfast. i decide which child i am going to disrupt from their slumber first, change nappies and get blankets and teddy's ready or the car trip. i always pack the bag of clothes and food the night before, so that saves some time (and i don't think my brain could manage thinking about what the kids may need that early in the morning). these days i am like a zombie. then, on a good day, husband and children are out of the driveway by6:40am. then i come inside and have breakfast, wish that i didn't have to move from the couch. , stumble to the shower and get dressed for work. sometimes i have programmed the washing machine the night before, and i go and hang it on the line. i make all the beds and i get the bus at 7:40am. i have my ipod full of music and audio, i take out my book. i read, i nap. i am at work by 8:30 and make coffee (i never used to have coffee before 10am!).
before my computer has even been switched on my boss is asking me questions about my projects, or informing me of meetings, or updating me on other critical events. my brain grinds.
i leave work at 5pm and am at home at 5:30. i bring in the washing and begin to get dinner. i take the opportunity tohave a lie down on the couch pick up toys, clothing, papers that seem to land all over the house.
D comes home with the kids (who thankfully have been bathed by their nan) and he either takes over the cooking or tends to his own jobs outside. i feed A something that has been pre-prepared and then put her to bed at 7pm. D, N and i sit at the table and eat our dinner. D either has a shower, or depending on the whim of N reads his bedtime story. otherwise i read to N and give him a final drink, a kiss and prayers. it is now 8pm. i do the dishes and get in my pyjamas. i then decide if i will do the folding/ironing or leave it for another day. as this is really our only "our time", D and i make hot chocolate and watch a movie together (or if it is Thursday, we watch Q&A :-) ). we talk. we unwind and go to bed. usually it is 11pm. then we begin again. :-)
is it any wonder that the days i am home, i try as much as possible to put my time with my kids first? i try to get the furniture dusted and floors washed as early as i can. so if people come to my place, i make no apologies for the basket of ironing sitting by the couch, for the train tracks that you need to negotiate to move from one room to the next. or for the pieces of crepe paper and glitter that may litter the floor. i like recording all these moments, and i love to read blogs that may adhere to a life i can only dream about. this is my favourite.
yes, life is busy, yes at times i feel i've arrived at my wits end but life. is. good.
ex⋅haus⋅tion /ɪgˈzɔstʃən/ [ig-zaws-chuhn]
1. the act or process of exhausting.
2. the state of being exhausted.
3. extreme weakness or fatigue.
4. the total consumption of something: the exhaustion of your vacation benefits for the year
(unfortunately it is not the last definition!)
i know this is a condition every woman suffers - mum's... working mums. sometimes i go to bed at night and wonder if my body will just fall apart before morning.
i think being a working mum is hard. some people may think going to work is a break, but really - what are you doing? someone else's business. and you can't just go and sit in a cafe and read a book, or shop, or have a massage. you sit at a computer for 8 hours and your break consists of a trip to the bathroom or the kitchen for hot water. then you come home and there is all your other work waiting for you there. on my work days, the alarm goes off at 6am. we struggle out of bed at 6:20. D gets dressed for work, packs his lunch and breakfast. i decide which child i am going to disrupt from their slumber first, change nappies and get blankets and teddy's ready or the car trip. i always pack the bag of clothes and food the night before, so that saves some time (and i don't think my brain could manage thinking about what the kids may need that early in the morning). these days i am like a zombie. then, on a good day, husband and children are out of the driveway by6:40am. then i come inside and have breakfast, wish that i didn't have to move from the couch. , stumble to the shower and get dressed for work. sometimes i have programmed the washing machine the night before, and i go and hang it on the line. i make all the beds and i get the bus at 7:40am. i have my ipod full of music and audio, i take out my book. i read, i nap. i am at work by 8:30 and make coffee (i never used to have coffee before 10am!).
before my computer has even been switched on my boss is asking me questions about my projects, or informing me of meetings, or updating me on other critical events. my brain grinds.
i leave work at 5pm and am at home at 5:30. i bring in the washing and begin to get dinner. i take the opportunity to
D comes home with the kids (who thankfully have been bathed by their nan) and he either takes over the cooking or tends to his own jobs outside. i feed A something that has been pre-prepared and then put her to bed at 7pm. D, N and i sit at the table and eat our dinner. D either has a shower, or depending on the whim of N reads his bedtime story. otherwise i read to N and give him a final drink, a kiss and prayers. it is now 8pm. i do the dishes and get in my pyjamas. i then decide if i will do the folding/ironing or leave it for another day. as this is really our only "our time", D and i make hot chocolate and watch a movie together (or if it is Thursday, we watch Q&A :-) ). we talk. we unwind and go to bed. usually it is 11pm. then we begin again. :-)
is it any wonder that the days i am home, i try as much as possible to put my time with my kids first? i try to get the furniture dusted and floors washed as early as i can. so if people come to my place, i make no apologies for the basket of ironing sitting by the couch, for the train tracks that you need to negotiate to move from one room to the next. or for the pieces of crepe paper and glitter that may litter the floor. i like recording all these moments, and i love to read blogs that may adhere to a life i can only dream about. this is my favourite.
yes, life is busy, yes at times i feel i've arrived at my wits end but life. is. good.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
i love this girl with the wild hair.
that i have great plans to tame!
April 13, 2009
April 7, 2009
::beauty around us::
one of the rewarding things I have done with N, is to introduce him to the concept of a nature box. we just used an old shoe box and we collected a couple of things – i bought him some shells while i was in Darwin last year. we have collected a pine cone on a walk to the swimming pool. he also has a some smooth stones and leaves inside it.
now, without any encouragement, when we walk anywhere he will pick something up to take home “for my nature collection”. While not discouraging him, i try to explain that we probably won’t be able to fit any more pine cones in the shoe box!
the pleasing thing for me, is that he really does notice things. the other night we had supper at my Pastor’s house (in honour of my sister’s birthday) and we parked our car on the opposite side of the road. it was dark, and as he got out of the car, N proclaimed “look mama!” and then proceeded to walk down a the owners lawn. as D called him back, he stretched his arms as far as they could go around a large tree and he said “look how big this tree is!”
it’s these things i want to remember forever – while i see the time racing away, i imagine the lifetime of moments with my kids the future will bring.
now, without any encouragement, when we walk anywhere he will pick something up to take home “for my nature collection”. While not discouraging him, i try to explain that we probably won’t be able to fit any more pine cones in the shoe box!
the pleasing thing for me, is that he really does notice things. the other night we had supper at my Pastor’s house (in honour of my sister’s birthday) and we parked our car on the opposite side of the road. it was dark, and as he got out of the car, N proclaimed “look mama!” and then proceeded to walk down a the owners lawn. as D called him back, he stretched his arms as far as they could go around a large tree and he said “look how big this tree is!”
it’s these things i want to remember forever – while i see the time racing away, i imagine the lifetime of moments with my kids the future will bring.
April 6, 2009
projects...
although i have been time poor lately, i have still managed to achieve, or at least begin, a few crafty things.
this felt butterfly, to hold A’s hair clips. 
a start on my Ali Edwards inspired mini book – books I love… 
and I am having another spurt of inspiration to get my baby cross stitch blanket completed by the end of the year. I have decided to give myself achievable mile stones. by the end of this week, I plan to have block R completed – a sheep. one thing I have noticed is that cross-stitch is not kind on my eyes. although I am very much a beginner, using a sewing machine produces quick results. this blanket will have to be an heirloom… actually, the thing inspiring me to finish it is choosing some pretty fabric for the back and the border. when it was to be N’s blanket, the options for a boy didn’t seem to be so exciting.
so when work, family and home permit, that is what i've been up to.
March 27, 2009
my parenting philosophy III
actually that's silly 'cause really these are just things i like - but it sounds more formal this way...
i LOVE wooden toys. not because it is popular or fashionable - i just really like how they look and feel.
a couple of things i think are gorgeous:
and my kids enjoy them.
i wonder if i had so much fun with toys when i actually was a kid?!
i LOVE wooden toys. not because it is popular or fashionable - i just really like how they look and feel.
a couple of things i think are gorgeous:
and my kids enjoy them.
i wonder if i had so much fun with toys when i actually was a kid?!
March 25, 2009
heading north
we had some nice times, catching up with a friend who is currently living overseas. while he was here we looked at real estate in Denmark. i fell in love with this room for my kids to play in (i'd take the beds out and have a perfect the playroom).
and the grass there is green!
so Clara, as soon as the house is ready give us a call and we'll arrive on your doorstep with kids and bags in tow!
and the grass there is green!so Clara, as soon as the house is ready give us a call and we'll arrive on your doorstep with kids and bags in tow!
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