While Daddy Sleeps!

David arrived home this morning.  Lucy clung onto his neck for about an hour and wouldn't be out of his sight, until she realised that he wasn't going anywhere.  A month is a long time in her little life and, she can't quite believe that he's home!  A few hours later, and the jet lag set in...so we sent him to bed.  I took my happy little people to the park, so that they could run, shout jump and play without waking the sleeping beast...

Lucy loves the slide - she made Joey take her on it at least a dozen times, clapping like a crazy thing when they reached the bottom.

.Poppy loves it too....

Little lulie, so tired after running flat out for about two hours.....she fell over and didn't have the energy to pick her little self back up again for a few minutes...

Hometime...

We walked home singing 'she'll be coming round the mountain' all the way..and Lucy feel asleep in her cheerful Bugaboo with the bright orange canopy!

Winter in Oz

She's been so poorly, with a nasty cough and cold and streaming nose.  She wants 'uppy' all the time and extra reassurance.  I don't mind.  I mean, it's not easy cooking, cleaning with a little velcro-baby, and quite often I sling her into her Ergo or her wrap and just carry her around on my back while I'm running the household.  She's happy there, and apart from the biscuit crumbs in my hair and a bit of slobber on my neck...it's pretty much perfect. 
Today though, was just for us.  No housework, no cooking, no cleaning, no kids...just me and my baba hanging out.  I kissed her cold nose, I tickled her feet,  we read books together cuddled up on the sofa, played with her babies, played silly games and giggled.......Happy Days!

Tick Tock

Is it possible that this tiny little thing is now 14 months old. Surely she can't be already. I am barely able to keep track of the months as they flip by. Such a busy little lady she is too. Not for a second, can I turn my back before she's found some mischief to delve right into. Amazingly steady on her legs now, having had months to master this skill. She runs, jumps, dances and twirls with the best of them, constantly on the go. New words are learnt every day. Words that I had no idea she knew, like little surprises when you least expect them! 'Careful' was today's new one, said shyly to me, as she stood up on my bed. It made me smile, I guess it's one that she hears a lot from this Mama!
How I love this little girl with the serious expressions, so often a mirror of my own. Time ticks on, but I'm determined not to miss a moment of it.

Posted from Blogium for iPhone

Still discovering Life.

I'm still learning about life.  I see things through new eyes constantly.  I look at the world in a different light, in new colours and I find new things to be excited about every day.  Some days, it's something so small, so tiny that you almost miss it, or you would if you weren't looking.  Other days, its discovering a new piece of technology that just blows me away...  The world never ceases to amaze me.  I'm dazzled by it, and the fact that my mind often can't quite comprehend the information that is being blasted into it.  I find myself, as never before, being excited to get out of bed in the morning, just to see what evolves.  I literally can't keep my body in bed, because my mind is already wondering....

I have a photography app on my phone that evokes these emotions and thoughts in me.  You never really know what you will produce and each picture is a new discovery, a new way to look at the world.  Using different lenses, and film, two exact places can look completely different within seconds of changing them.  Sometimes, the outcome is pretty average, but now and then, you can capture a sparkling gem of a moment. A little fragment of time, held still forever.   Here are a few of mine.
http://hipstamaticapp.com/

My Little Clown!

She is on the same path as her funny sister, but Lucy is a comedienne, a performer and a little clown.  She plays to her audience and if nobody is watching, that's fine - she just cracks herself up instead!  Even eating a snack seems to be a hilarious business, in Miss Lucy Woods world.   Stuffing her beloved grapes into her mouth, as the juice runs down her arms, and showing her hippo smile, which as you can see is quite something!

She's so full of cold this week, and even eating creates challenges. Not easy to breathe when your remaining airway is full of grapes and brownies...but nothing gets this girlie down for long..and she's happiest of all when she's making everyone else laugh.  She doesn't have to try, she's just naturally sunny and bright and my little surprise cherry on top of my family cake!

My Somewhere Special!

We all have our supports, our vices, our interests, and I wanted to share with you one of mine.  Now I know I'm kind of putting myself on the line here, and I hope that I don't come across as some sort of geeky mad lady, because, I'm pretty far from that in reality.   There is a place (yes, online, gasp), that I go to that is very special to me.  It's so much more then a forum, it's a place of sanity, a sanctuary in a way.  It was over 4 years ago that I stumbled across it, and it's been like finding an oasis in a desert.   It's a wonderful company that design and produce baby bags, and so much more.  The bags are great,  better then any I have ever used, and I won't go into that, because it's not what this post is about.  It's the Company that is so special.  When I first joined the forum years ago, I had no clue that I'd meet so many amazing people, that I would still be in touch with them years afterwards, or that I would feel as though the owners of the Company, were more like family friends.

After moving around the world so much, it's been so nice to go to the same familiar happy place, where I know  my friends are waiting to hang out, listen, laugh, cry and support eachother.  Some of these ladies, I have had the pleasure to meet and know pretty well, others, I just 'know'.  We just get eachother.  The forum is massive now.  Who knew all that time ago, when there were just a few of us? I think everyone, Joe, Kristin and Rachelle included, are amazed at where this journey has taken them.   The women who log on, range from stay at home Mums, to professionals, we are all different and we all have one thing in common.  Our love for the people who created the Company, and their products.  Honestly, we don't chat about bags all day, (as nice as they are), but it's a place where you can go to get wonderful advice about just about anything you could imagine...  I'm lucky enough to moderate on the boards, and it's been a real pleasure and a privilege.   It's my hobby, it's my little bit of 'me time' when David is away, and it's late at night, and I'm pulling my hair out over one thing or another.   They are my friends.  True friends, not virtual.  These are honest to goodness, salt of the earth, loving, sweet and real people who you know will be there for you night or day - and they often have been.  Women who rally round, who go above and beyond to make your day just that little bit lighter when you are struggling.
 So this is a section in my blog for all of you.  To my PL friends, to Joe, Kristin, and Rachelle - thank you so much.   The Pink Room has been one of the best investments of my life, time-wise, and I wouldn't trade a moment of it.

Sweet and Simple

Life isn't always about big moments, spectacular memories full of fireworks and all things sparkly.  Sometimes we come across a sweet little piece of time, a moment in the void of life that just makes us smile.  We can't help but smile.  Deep down, I feel that these moments are what make up the quilt of life.  They are little snippets of calmness, that warm your heart and make everything OK.  My snatched moments with each of my children, make me feel worthy to live in this world.  Make me feel as though I am in the right place, at exactly the right time.  For me, the fireworks, the sparkly stuff, the unicorns, fade in comparison to moments like this.  Moments like 'carrots and Joe'.  From his blonde eyelashes, dark at the tips, and the fluffy down still on his cheeks, to the complete concentration on his sweet face.  This is what ROCKS my world!

Angel Face!

Living in Oz, means that I am half a world away from my family and that's something that makes me sad.  It niggles at me every day.  My sisters text me all the time (thank goodness for iPhones), which is a help, but I want to be there...I want to be creating memories with them, watching our kids grow up together and just being with them.  So that part of my life is on hold, and there is no changing that from this distance.   So I'm posting these pictures of my gorgeous Nephew, Jack.  I have never met him in real life, despite the fact that Kate and I shared the same due date and our beautiful babies were born within 6 days of eachother.  He truly has the face of an angel and is just about one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen....no surprise really, since he looks just like his Mama!


These were taken by Piers, Jacks lovely Daddy!

I LOVE you Jack Jack! xx

 

Feeling the Pinch

David left for Madrid on Friday morning and made his merry way over there, via Singapore and London.  You would think that after  almost 13yrs of life together, I would be used to this by now, and not let it affect me too much.  I am on my own for a while, and I'm feeling the pinch, both financially and emotionally!

Well, I am used to the fact that he disappears now and then, flits in and out of our lives and earns a good crust, relatively!   But, really I know I'll never 'get used' to feeling sad when he starts counting down the week before he goes, shops for the extra items he needs when we separate (toothpaste, etc) and puts his cases on our big bed as he organizes what he needs to take and then packs them!  Then he's taking the kids aside, one by one, having 'little chats' with them when he thinks I can't hear.  Reminding them to be good, asking for their help while he's away so that I'm not stressed.  He sits with the babies for a few minutes longer then usual, telling him he loves them, trying to reassure them that it will be ok, that he'll be back, and they don't need to worry.  He makes light of it, but I can see from Poppy's face, big round saucer eyes, and trembling bottom lip, that she knows exactly what is coming.  
Then he's at the door, I smile and make some sort of joke, it's fine, it's all fine.  He knows I'll be ok, as usual, but as he walks away from me towards the car, I already feel emptier.  My best friend is leaving and I won't see him for a month.  I won't have the support that I find so vital in a large house with 7 children of all ages, and I won't see his tired face walk in at the end of the day, after missing lunch, coffee breaks because he hasn't had one second to himself...

The first few days are ok and in some ways it's nice to be able to run the house exactly as I like it, not have anybody else to answer to and just be 'still' in my own space.  It doesn't take long before I've had enough of my own space, and I'm wishing he were home, wishing I was picking up his dirty clothes from the floor where he leaves them, wishing I was holding my hand over his mouth so that I don't have to hear his dreadful singing, wishing that he was sitting beside me watching a movie and interrupting it ever few seconds with his irritating running commentary, wishing I wasn't doing this alone again....Oh well! 

My 'to do' checklist for the weekend has almost been completed, and with the help of a very special little lady, I have been able to keep organized.  My sweet Gabs goes a long way towards helping me stay sane, and I feel lucky everyday, for the help that she gives me. Something almost ethereal and unrealistic about this darling child, you'll know what I mean, if you've ever met her.

Yesterday the smaller kids and I hung out at the park, until it grew dark.  So nice to just watch them play with no cares, no worries, and to take their mind off the fact that their Daddy won't be walking in through the door tonight...

So as my first weekend without David comes to an end, I can feel relieved that we survived it without any major dramas.  I can keep feeling the pinch, and I will - but it will just hum away in the background, where I will keep it, until he comes home!