Exhausted

image from here

Today was day two of boot camp.
I thought I was sore already.
When I thought I couldn't run anymore he gave me a tyre to carry.
The pain has just begun.

Break... in transmission

We've been having a lovely break at home in the last week, in lieu of the break we should have been having in Mildura (which was canceled at the eleventh hour).


Once we got over the gastro that kept us home the first couple of days we embraced holiday mode, including...

Fitzroy gardens...
Ikea (not at the weekend - luxury!)...
Dinner out with the smalls at a family pizza restaurant...
The zoo...
Long day sleeps (even one for big peeps!)...
Gardening (including desperately needed weeding)...
A visit to the crafting superstore ALONE...
Some simple but satisfying sewing (a doona cover for Angus's cot)...
More weeding (oh the luxury of time!)...
Hot dogs...
Baking...
Tidying...
Throwing out some junk...
More tidying...
DVDs...
Washing, vacuuming, cleaning, sweeping...
Cooking (laksa = yuuuuuuuuuum)...
A bit too much sun...
Browsing and shopping (yippee - so long since I bought any clothes for myself)...


And now it's back to work...
And that's good too...
Otherwise it wouldn't be a holiday, would it?

NQR

Angus has been feeling a bit off all week, a bit NQR (not quite right).
And last night he vomited three times.
Three times I changed his sheets.
Three times I changed his sleep-suit.

Today is a new day and everything is drying brightly on the line...
but I'm feeling a bit queasy myself - oh no!

Caught up

A week's worth of washing, one basket for each of the boys.

Phew!

It's cold outside...

...and there's a traffic jam in here.

(click the image to see it bigger)

We're keeping ourselves busy inside by the fire on this cold Spring morning.

Wild weather

There were official warnings of extreme weather forecast for this afternoon/evening here in Melbourne. The Age reported the SES was urging city workers to head home early (3.30pm for train commuters) and Tavis's workplace complied, sending everyone home at 3.30pm.

photo credit

I work further out from the city and reasonably close to home so I wasn't concerned. The boys were being picked up by their Gran and I thought of canceling that and heading home early to pick them up myself but no-one at my work seemed too worried and the weather seemed fine, even on my drive home at 5.00pm.

Tavis was home when I got there and I suggested I call his mum and offer to pick up the boys and spare her the drive given the forecast but to be honest I wasn't in the slightest bit worried. She reluctantly agreed (trooper that she is) and I set off on what became the scariest drive of my life - everything turned out fine and no-one was harmed at all so I don't want to sound melodramatic but the way the light poles and traffic lights were swaying in the wind, the proximity of the lightning and the sudden slowing of the traffic due to poor visibility or driving through tree debris across the road, and then the sudden loss of power to all the street lights made it pretty scary, not to mention the anticipation of someone doing something really stupid at any moment.

Photo from The Age Newspaper

As I drove my senses were heightened as though I was under attack and in survival mode, it was quite surreal. I was constantly assessing the situation and whether I would stay with the boys when I got there and wait for the weather to calm down or head off immediately. When the power went out I thought it better to keep going so that I could see the road in the fading light, and the wind did seem to have calmed slightly, but I was second guessing myself the whole time, questioning whether I was being foolish to go back out there.

As it turned out the drive home was fine, just a bit of quite normal rain. Did I put the boys and myself at risk unnecessarily? Was I ever at risk in the first place or just a scaredy cat who rarely drives in less than ideal conditions? When I occasionally drive at night I notice that it is different to what I am used to and tonight I was certainly appreciating the safety aspects of our subaru for the conditions.

When I got home Tavis said he'd tried to ring me on the mobile but heard it ringing in my bag on the bench: I had left without phone or wallet - now that was foolish. And very me. Much to Tavis's well disguised despair at times.

photo credit

Needless to say I was very happy to be home, safe and dry with my precious boys at the end of the day today, I certainly wasn't expecting such drama when I set out to work this morning on a seemingly normal day.

Sunshine

What a glorious day! The sun is shining, the breeze is blowing and we just had a yummy picnic lunch outside in the backyard. The boys ate about three times as much as when we eat inside - they always do when we have our own little picnic.

Rapt...

...as in rapture.
Meaning I'm in rapture over my new converse high tops.
OK maybe rapture is a bit strong.
I heart my new converse high tops?

My projects are at a standstill, but I did get out into the garden on the weekend and did some much needed weeding. That beautiful moist rich soil is going to waste with nothing growing in it which prompted me to think about raising seeds for planting in Spring. Just thinking about it makes it feel closer, yay!

Hmmmm what should I plant this Spring?

Today I...

...danced around the house with my two boys playing music and singing and pretending to be horses and aeroplanes etc.

...enjoyed a picnic morning tea party on a blanket outside in the bright sunshine on this beautiful winter's day.

...had a quiet cup of green tea while knitting a few rows of Angus's vest and contemplated how totally awesome my trip to England was and how glad and thankful I am that I was able to go.

I've been back for a few weeks but I have been letting the experience brew within me, I haven't talked about it a lot and I haven't put any photos up. Last night I re-read my notes for the first time and was reminded of stories I had already forgotten.

The wedding was brilliant - a simple ceremony in a stately home followed by a high tea, and later a party with a steel band in a marquee. It meant so much to be there to share my friend Alison's special day. It also meant a lot to me to be back in London which is so dear to my heart, I soaked it up and filled up on it as much as I could in the short time I had.

When I got back I just stared at the boys all day, I had missed them so intensely and they seemed to have grown six months older and six inches taller in the ten days I'd been gone.

A few weeks later and the holiday doesn't feel so physically real any more, it's settled down to memories and photographs, but I am still feeling refreshed and inspired and changed by it.

Up, up and away

photo from here

You could be forgiven for thinking I have been away already with all being quiet on the blogging front of late, but no, I have just been pre-occupied with the forthcoming trip. I fly to the UK next week for ten days without Tavis and the boys, I'm going to a friend's wedding with my mum and I am excited and petrified: excited for obvious reasons - I haven't been back since we lived there in 02/03 and I can't wait to see family and friends and Old London Town; I am petrified because I've never been away from the boys for more than a night and I've never been away from Tavis for so long. I want to enjoy it, I know I should enjoy it; it will be over in a flash and who knows when I will next be back so I better enjoy it and not pine for my three boys at home on the other side of the globe!

Gratuitous photos of my gorgeous boys.

Mothers' Day Present

Tavis bought himself this totally awesome bike on Mothers' Day. Not for Mothers' Day, it was purely incidental that it was Mothers' Day and I was very happy for him because it is very cool, it's something he needed, he fully researched the best bike to buy and he got it at a good price.

I was pampered and spoilt for Mothers' Day and generally had a lovely day. Part of the justification for this particular bike at this time is that it is Tavis's treat for staying home with the kids while I jet off to the UK for ten days for a wedding! Things have been a bit quiet online for me lately while I have been preoccupied with the impending trip - I leave in two weeks.

I have never had a night away from Angus and have only had four nights away from Rohan (and two of those were in hospital while having Angus!). It's fair to say I'm a bit apprehensive - the boys and Tavis will be fine of course, I'm worried about how I will cope!

I'd rather be knitting...

...than moving all this wood.
But then if I didn't have the wood delivered today I wouldn't be able to knit with warm tootsies by the fire tonight so scratch that.

A quiet day at home

Cooking Jeffrey's delicious and simple pasta sauce which is loved by all and fortunately makes 1.5 - 2 litres so there is some for the freezer to rescue me when I am disorganised (which is often so it never seems to last very long).

Knitting with the bamboo yarn I recently bought. It felt so nice I just had to start without anything in particular in mind. Then I frogged it and started practicing some ribbing. Still not sure what I'm doing but I'm enjoying it anyway.

Reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I'm not very far in yet but already it's the best book I've read in ages. I loved it from the first page.

Soon I'll be waking the boys for music but there's just enough time for a cup of tea in front of the fire with my knitting.

Suck it up

My new red shoes gave me blisters...
...and that reminded me of a badge I once saw on etsy:

When life hands you lemons
Shut up and eat your damn lemons

Love it!
I put on a plaster and wore them again.

Welcome Autumn

photo credit

What a perfectly gorgeous day - the sky is blue and the temperature is mild with a beautiful cool breeze. I've opened up the house and the sweet smell of Autumn floats in. My washing drying on the line; I've tidied and organised my craft supplies so that the space is clear and inviting, in fact it is beckoning me; I'm wearing new red shoes (a bargain - even better); the boys are snoozing and soon it will be time to wake them and take them to music.

I had forgotten how much I adore autumn.

Victoria Burns

Victoria Burns

Saturday was the hottest Melbourne day on record, it reached 46.4 degrees (115.5 F) in the city and was hotter elsewhere in the state. Marysville has been destroyed, every building in the main street gone. Kinglake was hit hard too and there are still fires burning out of control across the state. Last night it was reported that one fire had an 80km wide front. I heard the death toll was up to 108 this afternoon but they expect that could double. My heart goes out to everyone affected by these terrible fires, it's just devastating.

And as suddenly as the heat was upon us on Saturday, just as suddenly the cool change came and without rain the temperature dropped dramatically in the evening. I have heard that in 24 hours the temperature dropped 30 degrees and that hasn't been recorded anywhere else in the world.

1. Victoria Burns, 2. Victoria Burns, 3. Victoria Burns

Change

My baby (12 months old) started daycare today. Rohan (3 yrs) has been going there since he was 13 months old and loved it from day one, he was excited this morning to be going back to 'school' and was happy to now be in the big kids' room (3-5 yrs).

So today Angus just went in for a few hours for orientation, he was an angel the whole time we were there and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I left the room for half an hour or so at a time so he got a chance to know the carers which was great. At morning tea he enjoyed sitting at the table with the other kids, in a special little chair rather than a highchair, and he fed himself chunks of fruit. At lunch he was happy to be fed by one of the carers and ate three helpings of lunch and two of dessert! Then I whisked him home and straight into bed as he usually has a morning sleep. Three hours later and he is still asleep!

I have the day off work to take Angus in for orientation so during this unheard of only-one-child-at-home-having-an-amazing-three-hour-sleep thing that's happening today I made a padded seat cover for our neeeeeeeew bike! The seat part is only half the job, I need to do a backrest as well, so I can't say I've completed my January project yet but I'm half way there. Here's the seat cover. More on the bike later.

Planning

photo credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Planning to learn new skills and setting a timeline is a brilliant idea I read on this blog and it's inspired me to come up with a plan of my own. I love structure and deadlines so although I am inclined to resist committing myself when I am already so busy (and hate the thought of setting myself up for failure) I think having a timeline will inspire me to make more of an effort. It was also one of my New Year's resolutions to make better use of my time and this is a good way to keep me on track.

Some new skills I'd like to acquire and projects I'd like to try are:

Jan - sew a padded seat cover for our new bike
Feb - make my own pasta dough
Mar - learn to crochet
April - sew an item of clothing for myself
May - knit a vest for Angus
June - make my own bread (learn how to do it and keep doing it)
July - try quilting
Aug - something to do with photography
Sept - grow some plants (food) we haven't tried growing before
Oct - plan homemade Christmas gifts and get started
Nov - make Christmas cards and gift tags with the boys
Dec - 'do' advent for the first time to make Christmas really special

Hopefully this time next year I'll be able to make a mosaic like the one above from my own images!

New year's resolutions...

I've never been the New year's resolutions type but I am interested in starting the year with freshness and better habits that have the potential to improve my (and subsequently my family's) well being, and I suppose that's what resolutions are all about. So mine are:

- more water (drink more that is)
- more exercise (I barely do any now so this should not be too difficult)
- better parenting (specifically less yelling/crossness)
- better use of time (ie more craft and photography)

It would probably be a good idea to be more specific and set some goals but let's not go too crazy on this resolutions thing.

One December

34 years ago today my Mum became a mother for the first time and I was born (that's my Dad in the pic by the way!).


7 years ago today my husband and I were married in a beautiful garden and we danced to the more I see you which remains so true.


4 years ago today we moved into our first home, not the first home we shared together but the first home either of us had bought and it was the most perfect little nest.


3 years ago today Tavis and I were celebrating our anniversary and my birthday at a gorgeous Melbourne restaurant and I was heavily pregnant with Rohan. To our surprise our Obstetrician was dining at the same restaurant so we briefly said hello and he asked how I was feeling. I was fine and was still nearly a fortnight away from my due date but little did we know as we waved goodbye that I was to go into labour the next night or that the obstetrician was off for the weekend and wouldn't be there to welcome Rohan into the world in the early hours of December the third.


1 year ago today I was heavily pregnant again but was nearly three weeks away from having Angus. We ate out at a beautiful restaurant to celebrate our anniversary and my birthday as has become our tradition.


Today is the first day of summer, and a day that has a lot of significance and good memories for me. I have been treated with lots of birthday wishes and cuddles and presents, and I am so thankful to be surrounded by this perfect little family.