Summer of Love

For the first time since The Sales started Ivy and I hit the shops. I'm not much of a Sales person, I can think of nothing worse and more panic-inducing than lining up to crowd into Myer at 6am on Boxing Day *shudder* No. Thanks. Not. Ever.

But, I do enjoy slow browsing just wondering. Especially on my own. But my second favourite person to shop with is Ivy. She doesn't complain (unlike her brother), doesn't have a timeline (unlike her father), and I can go into the shops that *I* want to go into for as long as I like. There wasn't a heap of specials to be had in the places I was looking - I was wanting to top up the kids wardrobes with basics - but still managed to pick up a few things. One of which was a rainbow skirt for Ivy. It was perfect. So her. And it matches her rainbow sandals. And I'm concerned that I'll never ever ever be able to get he to wear anything else.
(Excuse the child surrounded by bras. God knows why I took the photo there. She kept looking at all the bras saying "boobies Mummy, look at all these boobies!")

On Wednesday Elliot went to his friend's house for a play and to stay for dinner. It was originally supposed to be a sleepover but Elliot decided very early on that the sleepover part would not be happening. Which confused me because he has had sleepovers with cousins and aunties and grandparents many times and even though he has the usual mini-teary at bedtime he has never once knocked one back. So this threw me a little bit. When we talked about it he said he was worried they wouldn't have jam and honey for his toast in the morning, and that he worried that he wouldn't be able to watch his cartoons when he woke up. I guess partly he also knew that Kai goes to bed a bit earlier than he does and didn't want a bar of it ;-)

So while Elliot was out being sociable, Ivy slept for over 3 hours. And I lied on the trampoline and read my book. In peace. Until the mozzies started eating me. But I lay there and enjoyed the sun on my legs and my head and book in the shade and soaked up the quiet. Except for the mozzies buzzing past my ears. Yeah, except for that.

Good god, am I sore. I feel as though I've been hit by a truck. I know it's related to my coming off my medication, and it helps a little bit to get me through, but every single morning I stumble out of bed like an old woman and limp around until my feet stop hurting and my hands loosen up. My knee is the worst though. I can't bend it without it clicking, crunching and grinding every.single.time I straighten it. Which makes it hard to get a good nights sleep which adds to the fact that I am tired beyond belief. It's a busy time of year, we've had a lot on, but Matt and I have been rotating sleep-ins so I shouldn't be feeling this rotten, I'm sure.

But regardless, we push on. Take a pill of some kind and move on.

Tuesday we had our final Christmas celebration and this time with friends. Usually we have our catch up a couple of weeks before Christmas but this year was a wee bit different because there was a teeny tiny NEW baby in out midst. Baby Henry was due mid-December but born a couple of weeks early, and life was a bit up in the air for the new parents so we waited until they were feeling more comfortable. But it was worth the wait. What a gorgeous little soul he is. So handsome and so perfect.

I admit to having twinges of cluckiness for the future. Not right now, but he did stir something in me that I thought would be dormant for a while longer. I had a vision or an idea of what life could be like with 3 kids. Matt just completely has NO desire for a third, none whatsoever. I have always wanted 3, but after Ivy I felt like I was happy to either stick with 2 or wait until Ivy was around 4 or 5 before having another. And now that Ivy is approaching 3, I feel like sometime next year we need to start discussing it further and objectively (me) and emotionally (Matt). Matt sees it as too hard: bigger car, bigger house, more financial hardship. I see it as a purely emotional decision: I want to have a larger family, more grandkids and I want large family gatherings as I age. Christmas is certainly a time that reminds me strongly how much I want a large family around me.

But for now, no decisions can be reached because we both feel so strongly on either side of the spectrum. So we cuddle Henry and we remain happy and content with what he have. Which is a lot.

After a busy couple of days and one feral child and one tired child, we spent a blissful day at home. Doing nothing. It was peaceful. It was quiet. It was just what we needed. Playing with new toys and discovering just how much the children had been given from Santa and relatives.

Ivy had been given a box of dress-ups by my Mum, and it was topped up on Boxing Day with such treasures as those revolting plastic shoes, earrings and tiaras. All the usual stuff that sends little girls wild. Ivy was happy to wear the shoes briefly and then preferred to play with the jewellery box she got instead, putting her "jewels" into and out of it repetitively. I have to admit I was quietly a teensy bit pleased that she wasn't super interested in the princess dresses or barbie outfits. And preferred to wear the shoes with her tracky pants. It's nice to have her as a baby a little bit longer. As I have no doubt that the princess phase is not far away.

Christmas mkII. A long time ago it was decided that Matt's family would have their Christmas celebrations on boxing day, not only to save everyone further stress on the 25th but also so that we can enjoy each other's company for a whole day without having to rush off anywhere. It's become particularly pertinent as the kids have grown up and adore hanging out together.So this Christmas we had a 6yo, 5yo, 3yo and 2yo. Do you think they had a fun day? Yah.

Ooh ooh, I made my first ever choc ripple cake!! I thought it was going to be hard, but when I checked the recipe online before buying the ingredients I was like "HUH?" and checked about 3 other recipes to see if I was missing anything. No wonder it's an Aussie tradition - why wouldn't it be when it seriously has 2 ingredients???? It's a lazy man's dessert. Well, less lazy than buying a cake from a shop, but more lazy than making, say, a trifle or mud cake at home. Yippee for having the reputation as the NQR cook and ending up with the easy dishes! Yippee indeed!
So there was more presents and more food and more alcohol and more cricket. Oh and apparently there was also cricket on the tv, but you know, when it got to the Aussies all out for 98 or some such hogwash I stopped paying attention. There was also some very tired and emotional kids (Ivy being one of them - foul) after such a huge day the day before. But all in all, it's so nice to catch up with the fam and just sit and chill. I love this time of year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS!!
(caution: there is a lot of photos in this post!!)

Hope Santa was kind to one and all this year. As usual my kids were spoilt even though Santa tried to show some restraint.Elliot had come into our room during the night to sleep for a couple of hours because he'd had a nightmare that Santa didn't come because he didn't fall asleep. Even though he checked that Santa had in fact been by 2am he still wanted to climb in with us. Matt dragged him back to bed around 5am and then the kids slept until 7:30! YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!

The kids were excited and even though he was champing at the bit, Elliot was a gentleman and let Ivy open all her presents before he opened his (naww).


 This is what happens when you ask Ivy to sit with Elliot for a photo:
So after presents and breakfast and a mad panic to get out the door, we then spent the rest of Christmas Day at my parents house with relos incoming and outgoing for most of the day. The was more presents (too many for the kids of course), a ton of food, beverages, good cheer and some cricket. And good old Aunty Maude brings her random lucky dip presents which has become a favourite tradition of everyone's over the last 10 or so years!
(Yes, I realise it looks as though we are playing cricket in jail. We weren't. You just have to trust me.)


There was also some quiet reminiscing and remembering of my Nan, who passed away on Christmas Eve last year. My Pop was in quite good spirits considering, and we all made sure we gave him a special little cuddle. But besides the residual sadness around the edges of the day, it really was a fantastic day all round. We got home from Mum and Dad's around 10pm, so it must've been good!!!!!!

Merry Christmas! Hope you enjoy the photos! There is only a few hundred ;-)
xox

Ahhh, the Christmas Eve manic panic. A stack of cooking required by me this year. On Christmas Eve I turned out: sugar cookies (well cooked them on the 23rd and iced them on the 24th), tomato and basil pasta salad and mini chocolate meringue tarts. YUM to all of the above.

This year besides the usual inside present division Santa decided to get the kids a trampoline so there was much banging and crashing and cursing as the thing was put together. THANKFULLY he had enlisted the help of an extra pair of hands with tools in the shape of Grandpa John, but even still it was a late night.

For some reason I didn't take any photos of the food for Santa and the reindeer this year as I usually do, I think I was just in such a rush to get the kids to bed. But Santa was left a glass of milk, some peppermint chocolate and a handful of grapes. Interesting combo. And Luna really really liked the milk. Due to supplies of carrots etc being low in our fridge the reindeer this year had to settle for oats and hand-picked grass (weeds lol) and we weren't sure if they liked to eat flowers or not so we put one of those in too.

After the kids went to bed Matt and I watched A Very Specky Christmas this year. Normally I insist on the Carols. Family tradition and all that. I have very strong and wonderful memories of watching the Carols in NSW with my cousins and thinking it was just the bees knees. It's taken me a long 20 years or so to realise they are actually very very boring. So this year we boycotted. Well, they went back on after Spicks and Specks but didn't pay much attention to it.

Made sure I also watched the Santa tracker online eagerly, and as soon as Santa hit Townsville around 12:30 or so, knew it was time to get into bed quick smart, lest the fat man decides to skip us......

Merry Christmas xox

The official start of Christmas holidays is the 23rd December. Matt gets home from work after a boozy lunch and me and the kids eagerly await him coming home. This year he was bit later because he had to help Santa with a pick-up and then I had to work at Village so it was a bit lame, but it still marked the beginning of our teensy tiny summer break.

After working on Tuesday night I came home at midnight dead tired and in desperate need for sleep. I stumbled through the house in the dark planning to go straight to bed - no checking facebook, no having a drink, no reading. Straight. To. Sleep.

Then I saw this sitting on the kitchen table, in the dark.

So of course I was intrigued as to what it was. Of course I had to turn on the light and have a sticky beak. And oh boy, what a trip I took!

It's Elliot's exit folder from child care. His last bastion of babyhood. He stopped going in about September, after he basically un-enrolled himself. He was only going once a week and that once a week was turning into a pain in the arse for both of us. He didn't want to go, he was bored, and he liked kinder better. I felt terribly guilty because all year I've been asking the teachers at child care to extend his learning as he was getting bored, and they'd just got to a place with him where they had set up an ongoing soccer style tournament and felt that they were starting to get him interested again. And then he quit. And I didn't fight it tooooo hard because, really, he's a smart boy and he knows his limits. What's the point of sending him at this stage when he's about to start school, he's getting his educational needs met at kinder, and his best friends are at kinder? It was becoming a drag. And he was getting sad and angry about going, which of course increases the mother guilt.

I quite liked having Tuesday afternoons KID FREE. Actually I more than liked it, I craved it. It was my one time a week when I had a decent stretch of alone time. I could get a heap of work done, and still have time for a nanna nap.

But I accepted his decision. He IS a smart boy, and for the most part makes good decisions, so I trusted him. I figured it would be nice also to have some one-on-one alone time before he started school. And even though I mostly still worked on Tuesday afternoons and occasionally had a nanna nap (that was the deal - he needs to deal with mummy still working/sleeping) we still hung out and did things just on our own every now and then.

And now that I've seen back through time is his chock-full folder of child care triumphs, I'm so glad that he's mine, all mine. He may have won a lot of hearts in his 4 years there, but they don't get to take him home at night and give him squishes, and tickles, and cuddles.

I'm going to miss him like air next year. But I might make sure he has a "mental health day" once a term that just happens to fall on Ivy's child care day ;-)

Because I'm slack (well, it is a busy time of year, come on) I now have no idea what I did on this day. So I'll just post a random photo instead, shall I?