January 21st-24th.

A quick recap-

Monday- a picture Miah drew for me at creche. Becoming such a little artist

Tuesday- a play at the park, and afternoon tea at the shops.

Wednesday- Photo with Mumma

 Thursday- Mothers group play.

January 20th

Well.. I nearly caught up! The days got away from me and I didnt get a chance to sit and write! (aka I actually got addicted to Sons of Anarchy and have been watching it from season 1 every spare moment I have haha)
January 20th we organised to go out for lunch for my Mother-in-law's birthday. We dont eat out very often. Usually only for birthdays, actually really only for birthdays! So Sunday lunch was a nice break. The girls didnt eat much, Lily has a crack at most everything but Miah is soooo fussy. I really hope its something she grows out of soon. WORST mistake ever was starting to hide her vegies when she went into the fussy stage around 2. I learned from that mistake with Lily.. but for Miah it was too little too late unfortunately and we still now have a daily battle to get her to eat anything resembling a vegetable. its the pits. I dread dinner time most days. Not that I fight with her, I just serve and if she eats it she eats it if she doesnt theres nothing else. BUT its the complaining that does my head in!
Anyway off track. So lunch then Lily went to sleep in the car afterward. Usually she wouldnt transfer but she has been on the verge of dropping her day sleep so she had gone a few days with minimal sleep and today obviously was going to make up for it. From the car she transfered inside and slept a good solid 2 hours!

January 19th.

It was a bit of a tough week. The 16th marked the 7th anniversary of the death of someone I loved. It was particularly fresh this year as it was the first time its fallen on the actual day he died. How I hated Wednesdays for the longest time. First the weeks, then the months, then the years. The knock on the door came in the evening, sitting around waiting for him to come home from work. Instead I got 2 police officers. It was the darkest and hardest time of my life. I struggled immensly. That grief has lost its edge now over the years, its still there but I look at the life I have now & I wonder. What would have been? I love my life now. Its hard to feel grief and be happy with the life I have now at the same time. But I wish that man was here to call, or hear about on the grapevine or Facebook stalk to see him happy with his own family. But its not to be. So that was what was on my mind most of the week. As I carried on with my day to day life, it was there at the back of my mind. I don't talk about it but it just hangs around at this time of year. Usually from the end of December when it would have been his 30th birthday to after the anniversary date of his death, and funeral.

So Saturday, it was awfully tempting to climb into a hole and just hibernate for the day with the kids. I had made plans anyway to head to the market with a couple of long time friends, and it was a struggle right up til we left to get motivated or excited! But we managed it, a bit of a drive which was lovely through the mountains (again) and to the St Andrews Market for all things hippy. Psychics, Reiki, Crystals, Yummy Yummy Food, we browsed and ate. Tried to get the girls to have a pony ride but they both chickened out!

It was a good day, spent in good company and just what I needed to bring me back to the present day.

January 14th-18th.

In an effort to catch up to real time, I have condensed a week into one post! Just the highlights :) 

Monday 14th Jan- the nightly vegetable battle.

                                              Tuesday 15th- a trip to Myuna Farm

Wednesday 16th Jan- Fun on the trampoline with the hose!

Thursday- Icecream after Playgroup.

Forgot to actually take a photo this day- except for this one of some yummy fabric that arrived in the mail. 

January 13th.

A birthday party at the park! Lots of fun, feeding ducks and eating party food. The big slide was a hit, except for Lily who continually climbed up and then would just yell for someone (aka Daddy) to come up and go down with her.

January 12th

Today we decided to take do a little drive up to Emerald Lake where Puffing Billy stops for a picnic lunch and a play at the park with some friends. It was a lovely drive through the mountain and we caught a glimpse of the train as we drove and arrived just in time to see it at the station.

It was such a good learning experience particularly for Miah, learning about steam and coal and how the train goes. The driver actually let her up into the front carraige and showed her where the coal goes and explained it all, and we got to see the train being filled with water. 

We enjoyed a picnic lunch, had a play and LOTS of walking up and down hills. (not much fun for those having to push the pram!) And there were some great trees for climbing. Miah for the first time really climbed a tree by herself and was so proud of herself! Lily cheated and was lifted up which Miah wasnt too impressed with. As you can see fun was had by all and everyone had a nice little nap on the way home! (hooray!)

January 11th

Fun on the trampoline with Dad, a favourite game of both the girls. Great balancing there Lily!

January 10th

Todays post was a capture of my eldest. At 4.5 she is growing up so quickly. She really wants a baby. "mum when im 5 i am going to have a baby" umm no.
She often thinks about having a baby, growing up, moving out, finding a daddy for said baby. And the questions that follow these train of thoughts are often quite funny. "Mumma, where will i buy one of those upside down seats for my baby? I dont know where the shops are that sell them!" "Will the builders build me a house?" "If i dont find a Daddy another Mummy who doesnt have a Daddy can give me their baby, yeah?" I had no idea where that one came from :/ Probably from reading "The Nanny Goats Kid" which is a story about a goat that cant have kids so she adopts a lion!
Also she is slightly obsessed with birth, and how the baby arrives. We have watched a few childfriendly birth videos to try and explain it a bit better, as she was under the impression that the baby a) falls out, or be just is under the blankets somehow. Ha! if only.
Her favourite things at the moment are long dresses, skirts, and all things RAINBOW. She loves a side pony or a bun in her hair. And HATES vegetables of any kind.

This term we are going to have a go at Gymnastics! Which she is super excited about. Just going to make the most of her last year before she is goes off to school!

January 9th.

Todays capture was an ode to my "widdle girl". To capture her as she is right this minute. 2 is such a amazing age. So much development happens between 2 and 3. Right now she is 3/4 of the way to 3. Probably the last major milestone we have to get to is Toilet Training. (cue villianous music here)

She insists she is a "widdle girl" - never for a minute should you think she is a BIG girl. No way. She is determined to stay little.

Her favourite food is "crunchy" apples. Which is kind of awesome really considering they are healthy, convenient and not expensive! She loves them with water to make them "extra juicy" She eats them whole, (and leaves the cores all over the house usually) and would eat a kilo a week if we let her. We went to the park the other day and she literally ate all 3 apples I had brought with me!

She sleeps every night with her sister, but during the night sneaks into our bed into the middle. She loves to snuggle, she is the most cuddly child I know! And very affectionate in words as well. She often unprompted will say "I love you Mumma" in a dreamy voice first thing in the morning with her arms wrapped around my neck. She really is a treasure. A little hilarious character all her own, but so sweet and caring, and at times quite cheeky and bossy and cranky haha. I cant wait to see what this next stage brings us in her development!

January 8th.

Our first official day off! Wooo! The free day was full of possibilities. We opted to spend our first day off visiting some fam. Including the girls only boy cousin Lachie who is 7 months old. The girls adore him. Miah especially, she just dotes on him. Loves to make him laugh, to hold him, look after him, kiss him etc etc. They both do, but Miah is just on another level. A little mother level!
And Lachlan loves them too, first sight they get a grin. And today he was in his jolly jumper and was jumping and yelling to get their attention and when it worked he was squealing with delight.

January 7th.

Our first week of the new parttime routine. Monday Wednesday Friday 7-4pm, and home Tuesday Thursdays (except the 6am-8am that i go to work whilst everyone is sleeping!) It was hot again, and once again the girls got to sleep in our bed. Knowing that they didnt have to be up early and could sleep in (ha yeah right) the next day was a relief. 

Lily- my little thumbsucker. If anyones got tips how to break that habit comment away! 

January 6th

Today we lit a candle in remembrance for baby Beau. x

If you havent heard of them before please take a moment to read about Bears Of Hope and what they do. They are a amazing not for profit organisation that helps families in the darkest of times. Run by people who have had their own darkest of times.


Other than that it was just a quiet day at home, Sunday housework day.  I put the kids outside to do some painting whilst I mopped the floors... and this is what I got back. ha. Lily had a ball painting everything BUT her paper! And was quite proud too.

January 5th

Hooray the weekend! Not a lot today, we took the scooters down to the park and had a bit of a run around. Practised flying the kite the girls got for Christmas. I think I had more fun with it than what they did. I really want to get one of those huge awesome kites that does tricks. I mean THEY want to get one of those awesome kites that do tricks! haha. Its all for the kids.. really it is!

January 4th

Pretty shockingly hot day today. Our house only has the one airconditioner, which happens to be in the master bedroom so the girls got a special treat of watching a movie in Mum & Dad's bed under the airconditioning!

Jan 3rd

Lily holding my hand in her sleep, just in case I try and slip away!

January 2nd

This is actually NOT my picture from this day, but it was fairly similiar! My kids sleep together every night. It started back when Lily was in a toddler bed. We moved her out of her room into the same room as Miah due to it being such a hot room at the front of the house, and being able to really only cool the one room. Miah used to climb into the little toddler bed with Lily and be all squished up. But they just loved it. Miah had been so looking forward to having sleep overs with Lily since she was a new born.. (note we didnt actually leave her there, it was story time!)

We bought bunk beds, so Miah was in the bottom bunk and Lily in the toddler bed. When it became apparent they were going to sleep together we turned the bunks into single beds. so they could have one each. Lily's had railings all the way around so she couldnt fall out. But then it was apparent that Lily's bed wasnt going to get used.. so we put them back to bunks and they both just sleep on the bottom bunk together.

They fight, they play, they keep each other awake. We debate about seperating them. But at the end of the day they love each other more than anything. It brings them comfort to have each others warmth. They opt to sleep close, by choice. Even sharing the same pillow at times. Its incredibly sweet!

January 1st 2013

We started the year off with a trip to Sky High. It was really quite stunning! Beautiful gardens, amazing view. And a generally superb day weather wise as well! Miah had been asking to "go up the mountain" that we can see from our house so it was especially exciting for her.

Project 365.

I know its not January 1st, this is a little late coming. But I decided at the start of this year to do Project 365. A photo a day for the entire year. Its a big undertaking! Previous attempts at Photo A Day challenges have been a failure. But this year is different.

This year I was inspired by another blogging mumma Documenting Delight. (my all time favourite blog at the moment) Last year a group of mums took part in a 365 challenge to document the delight in their lives. During the year one of the mothers was killed in a tragic accident, 33 weeks pregnant her unborn child died with her. She left behind a little girl. I cried, sobbed even when i read this story. I looked at her blog of photos of her daughter and thought what a blessing those photos would be to that little girl when she was older. A document of the delight her mother found in her every single day. A testament to how much she was loved. And its not that I think anything is going to happen to me or anything dramatic like that, just something nice to put away for my girls (I am going to turn it into a book at the end of the year).

So I started my photo collection on Jan 1st. Mostly iphoneography, some DSLR, and its become a little way to capture things in this moment with my children. Some are just day to day activities. But other photos capture something that I want to cherish. Its evolved. So to go with it I am going to try my hand at a blog to accompany the photos. Im going to write as if noone is reading, although that theory in itself is flawed as the reason I stopped writing was because I found it so hard to write without thinking about what the reader is thinking about as they read what im writing.... confused? Yes me too. I will blog from the 1st of Jan to catch up to today! But for now here is a picture of the face behind the blog, and my little family. xx