Summer of Love

This summer project has been really good for me. On most days, I can take stock of the bad and replace it with a whole bunch of good. Yesterday I couldn't. I couldn't cope with Ivy pooing in her pants one more moment. I couldn't cope with the messy house. The washing. Putting the grocery shopping away. The children under my feet. I wanted to escape.

While I was out and about doing a bit of shopping I bought myself a new CD. It's been a long time since I bought a CD without listening to it first, but this particular group I'd heard of 3 years ago (actually I read about them for the first time in Rolling Stone magazine May 2008, just after giving birth to Ivy) and yesterday someone posted a link on Facebook that reminded me of them. So I went and bought their CD, without hearing it, without knowing what it sounded like, but knowing for certain that I would love it.

And I did.

I listened to it in the car on the way home, and was singing away fairly quickly. Then I put it away when I got home and forgot about it while I did my usual thing at home. And then things started getting on top of me again, and by the time Matt got home from work I was seriously ready to admit myself into some kind of home for the mentally unstable. And he saw my CD, and asked me to put it on. Then we ate dinner outside in the amazing night air (the mozzies feasted too) while listening to the gorgeous sounds of Zooey singing her little heart out. And  it made everything ok again.

Anyone who has sisters know what kind of special bond you have with them. You can get angry, and then laugh joyously. You can cry together. You support each other. As you grow up, the sisters you fought with tooth and nail as a teenager (yes, we did) become your very best friends and allies in all the world. They would do anything for you, any time. And you know it.

I'm lucky to have 2 sisters. And while we are different and similar at the same time, we each know for a fact that there is not a thing on this planet that can keep us apart. As much as we annoy the crap out of each other, that fierce and unrivalled love and loyalty towards each other will never, ever be broken.

My family are the centre of my universe. My sisters are like my sun, always guiding me in the right direction. I bounce ideas off them on a regular basis. I share everything with them. They are my best friends. I feel so lucky that Mum and Dad had some kind of weird girl gene thing happening. And as much as I wanted a little brother when I was growing up, there is not a damn thing in the world that make me trade any part of the family I have.

After Emma spent the night here on Monday night, both her and Elliot went home to her house for a sleepover on Tuesday. Which meant that when her mum and dad and brother came to pick them up and have dinner it was a rather lively and chaotic affair. I always start to feel a bit claustrophobic and panicky when our house is full of people, because it's quite a small living area and also quite closed off. Add to that 4 kids pulling out every toy in the house, then yes, the jitters start to set in. Where Emma is quiet and studious, her little brother is a destructro-bot, a loud bundle of energy and laughs. At one point it all got a bit too much for Ivy too, and she started throwing a tanty about something (not unusual) and pulled her standard cranky face at us. When all the other kids joined in, it was too good a photographic opportunity to pass up. So even though the photo is crap, using onboard flash etc, it's pretty much a perfect moment to me.
And that, right there, is Ivy's ANGRY FACE.

School holidays usually heralds some kind of catch up/sleepover with Elliot and Ivy's big cousin Emma. Emma is a big school girl, so often the activities that the kids engage in are a bit more grown up than what they are used to, and almost always involve "a Show" at some point. Rigorous planning goes into every detail: making tickets to sell, setting up a shop to sell flags and badges, as well as the cafe where you can buy food for the show. The one thing that is almost always unplanned is the show itself. Which means that by 7:50pm when the show went LIVE, they just ran around like goons.

One of the other games that Emma quite likes is playing school. I remember doing that as a kid too, and I wonder if it's a girl thing? Anyway, Elliot quite enjoyed it too, he was the PE teacher, teaching the kids how to kick goals ;-) and then marking them off on his sheet. Suits me down to the ground when they play schools, as it usually means they are quiet.

Yeah, the photo-a-day in January always includes a post about my birthday. Can't help it. But yes, yesterday was indeed my birthday, 11/1/11. Which is a truly awesome date, it has to be said. BUT, my niece gets an even better birthday date this year, 11/11/11. Yay to us!!

I was spoilt. And I loved it. We went out for dinner with a few friends and family. And I loved it. We ate Thai food until we almost exploded, and then forced down cheesecake for dessert. And I LOVED it. It was an ace birthday.

Thanks everyone for the wishes and love. It means more to know you were thinking of me yesterday than you'll probably ever know. I took your energy and flew high on it yesterday, and felt every loving thought. And I loved that too.

xox