#837 Kitchen moments

I don’t know what YOU think, and what the general consensus, if any, out there is of me… but this gratitude thing doesn’t always come super-easy.

Sure, I am able to find happiness in smaller things, and that I attribute to being so self-aware. I am aware that outside of our square worlds, there are lost lives; damaged lives; sad lives; sick lives – and so the littlest things, the smallest joy, the slightest thing to put a smile on my face – well that makes me happy.

It isn’t always so easy to find new and novel things though. Come the colder months. The day to day. It all rolls from one to the next – in fact, is there anything discerning from one 24 hours, to the other? Unless you make a concerted effort to find an event to focus on, that’s all your days will amount to… one long 168 hour week.

Monday. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. There’s appointments. Classes. Kinder. Buy groceries. Make lunches. Wash dishes (repeat by a trillion).

The monotony has my mind asking me several times a day… “what will I write about today?”

Think of what to make for dinner.

That’s it.

Dinner time prep.

I started on dinner tonight. And I found gratitude for a moment of it. A moment that truly represented where I am in my life right now.

Chopping vegies. Baby girl was nearby colouring in, her textas and pencils and crayons spreading out to the greenery that was going to go in the steamer soon.

I had Ricky Martin’s self-titled album on. One of my faves, and yet I haven’t listened to it in yonks. And then, you know that moment, when a song you love, and yet have forgotten about, comes on, and just BLOWS YOUR MIND?

Be Careful (Cuidado Con Mi Corazon) – Ricky Martin and Madonna.

It was never released as a single, but the music and lyrics of this amazing medley by two of my most favourite-st of artists, is just… magical. It’s haunting, romantic and dark, a truly unique collaboration. I started to sing along as I cut my cucumbers, with baby girl in the background telling me about the plot in Beauty and The Beast.

“If I could reach out to you…”

“Mama! Old lady comes to Beast’s house…”

“Yes sweetheart… take your head, in my hands – “

“Me not scared of old lady. Me fine! Old lady make prince into beast!”

“Yes honey… kiss your eyes, sing you to sleep – “

“Why Gaston want to kill Beast?”

Sigh. “Because Gaston is upset that Belle loves the Beast. But Gaston wants to marry Belle. It’s not nice that Gaston wants to hurt the beast… Here’s my heart to keep- “

“Yes, very cheeky.”

“Please be careful…”

I actually found it funny rather than frustrating. And it’s all about perspective and gratitude.

 

 

#836 What she said no. 5

She comes out with some beauties when I have been at work. Moments after I walked through the door this afternoon:

“Mama why you take so long? Me waiting and waiting! So long!” 

Such exaggeration!

Then later…

“Mama, you’re my Mama!”

Such insight!

And then the clincher –

“Mama me want to keep you. Love you sooo much!”

Such L♥VE.

Ditto my girl. Ditto. ♥♥♥♥♥

#835 4 year-old kinder progress

There were a lot of notes I made in my head today. All while watching baby girl.

Firstly, I love it the most when she doesn’t know I am watching her – this is for anything. Whether it’s playing with her toys at home, or playing at kinder, I gain so much by watching her nature and character unfold when she doesn’t know I’m there.

Today I watched her interact with others. As I walked towards the kinder gates, I watched her learn in the yard as she dug in the garden. I watched her run around and bolt from kid to kid, even more excitedly so since there was a visiting choir from a nearby primary school come to show off their talents, and let’s face it, try to gain more enrolments from our kinder kids in the process.

I watched amused, as she put up her hand with few others to volunteer and play some instruments – this is a room of primarily grade 1 to grade 3s – I was impressed. My girl, not intimidated? Wanting to go up there and give it a go?

I watched as she later found a friend, and they wrapped their legs around each other in a hug so that they were swaying back and forth on the swing together. I hung back, smiling, as it reminded me of my own neighbours and I at that age, swinging at our local park.

I watched with OCD-pride, as she found a toy in the sandpit, and promptly took it to its correct location at the dollhouse table.

And then as I was leaving with her for the day, I threw in a casual line to one of the teachers: “How is she going?” We were alone in the foyer. There was no one to distract her from answering.

“She’s excellent.”

Phew. Sure, she paints more than she cuts up bits of paper she said… but that’s a fun thing I’m sure we can work on together 🙂

A day where I was made grateful for my daughter’s  progress. In confidence, in learning, in playing… and in Life.

(This post comes a day late due to technical difficulties posting it from home 😉 )

 

#834 Hubbie’s good vibes

You know that really lovely and positive saying… the one about how you can’t depend on others to lift you up? You can’t rely on loved ones – family, friends, colleagues – to make you happy?

“You are responsible for your own happiness. If you expect others to make you happy, you will always be disappointed.” – Unknown.

So, yeah. Both yeah…

And Nah.

Sure, it is important that you rely on yourself to lift yourself up. Depending on others for your well-being and self-worth is a dangerous game – when you rely solely on what others give you, say to you or how they make you feel, you are giving them all the power and leaving yourself none. What happens when they aren’t around? What will you do when you are alone? How will you cope in your own head when things take a downward turn?

You are meant to be Master of your Universe – and that includes your head too. The thoughts, emotions and actions that came from it.

But I am going to turn all of this on its head and go… sometimes, nah.

NAH.

I was feeling off for a few reasons today, one of them being sleep-deprived and the other being flatter-than-a-pancake vibes. I was feeling lowly and down, and then Hubbie came home for lunch…

He was smiley. Encouraging. Happy. Upbeat. Just having him around made me feel better. I whinged about what was bugging me, got it off my chest, he said some words to make me feel better…

And just like that… better. Because of him. And it reminded me of another quote. One that said that the important thing about relationships, was that when one was down, the other could swoop in and lift them up. It is called balance.

Balance. Lifting each other up. Making each other better people.

#833 The Craft Table

What do parents want most from their kids when they are out at a function/party/catch-up?

To behave? Well yes that is to be expected…

To not go psycho/over-dramatic/warped in a tantrum-throwing way? Duh.

To eat their food so as not to be left irritated, flat and needy? Hell yes.

To not overdose on the sweets and be high as a kite for hours afterwards? (We want this but try avoid sweets with clever kids around).

But let’s really think. What would make parents the MOST happiest at a function with their kids?

…

…

…

Why, something to keep their curious hands BUSY.

There is possibly no greater sigh of relief (other than the closely-contested exhale we do when we see kid-friendly chips, chicken and pizza on the party menu) than when we see our children will be kept happy, entertained and BUSY, for an infinite amount of time.

Because it means us as parents get to chill out too.

Today at one such function, it was just the basics: play doh; colouring in; and stickers. Nothing fancy, all old-school.

And yet it kept my girl entertained for the ENTIRE time.

All together now… EXHALE.

#832 Park…Beach no. 2

From a park visit…

To a beach one…

And then a picnic back at home

Makes for a pretty cruisy day 🙂

#831 Friday night friend fun

You don’t need cocktails.

You don’t need food.

You don’t need a happening hotspot.

Nor do you need lights, crowds, people and ambience to fill the scene.

All you need are your friends…

And now I’m going to eat my words (along with tonight’s not-so-mild curry) and say that I had ALL of these tonight!

But seriously, I might as well have been eating fish and chips from a dodgy booth somewhere for all I cared. Sure the surroundings were cool, and I love heading out to different and new places… but when you are in certain company, and you realise that where you are doesn’t really matter, just THEY do…

That’s a good sign. 🙂

 

 

#830 Kinder kid cuddles

As she was walking down the path out of her kindergarten today next to me, there were shout-outs from behind her.

“Bye bye (boy name!)”

Baby girl turned, and despite her name not being called (instead it was the boy in front of us) she yelled back “bye bye!”

I laughed at baby girl’s selective hearing, and then was even more amused when the girl who had called out yelled –

“Wait baby girl, I need to give you cuddles!”

I watched, smiling, as the girl ran to baby girl and enveloped her in a hug from behind, almost lifting her in the process. The tallest in her class, baby girl stood there smiling, not moving or responding to the hug… but just enjoying the moment of being loved.

Her classmate ran back to her Mum, and baby girl spotted another boy classmate of hers – she ran up to him and hugged him from behind just as she had been, giving him a tight bear hug.

“Bye (insert boy name!)”

Oh man. Hilarious yet slight embarrassment. She’s starting young. But then again so did I (I didn’t say that… 😉 )

I’m really loving these kids 🙂

#829 Follow the yellow brick road…

There’s nothing better than sharing a special evening with the people you love the most.

Tonight was something magical.

I don’t go to musicals all that often, and the last one I went to was to The Lion King a few years ago.

I guess when you go, you go to something big and great and monumental, right?

But with musicals, they are ALL like that. Night after night, with sometimes day performances too, these amazing professionals get up in front of a full theatre, and they perform – singing, dancing, creating – a fantasy and imaginative world in front of our very eyes.

And each time they do it, it is done with such enthusiasm, energy and gusto, that you would be forgiven in thinking it was the first time they were doing it, for YOU.

Well tonight, we got to witness just that. We headed on over to the Regent theatre, both sister, nephew and I, and along with witnessing some amazing performers acting out a classic movie on stage, we walked around the city streets, grabbed some fine dinner, and in doing so created some wonderful memories to cherish together forever.

That mojito in the middle there that we had during dinner was the BOMB. It was the BEST MOJITO EVER, that I have EVER tried. There was a special sugary syrup which masked any alcohol that was in the drink…. dangerous.

The Wizard of Oz was superb. Very true to the original movie with a few little differences here and there, just to keep it modern and fresh and inventive. And the contribution of the special effects ramped up the production and key components of the story in a whole other way, positively so.

I didn’t realise how much I loved the following song…

“The house began to pitch, the kitchen took a slitch

It landed on the Wicked Witch in the middle of a ditch,

Which was not a healthy situation, for the Wicked Witch!”

… until it was in front of me, LIVE! Oh, how that catchy tune I had heard so many times in my childhood, grew on me as the performance by Dorothy, the munchkins and Glinda the good witch was performed.

There are too many amazing parts to mention, so really, you should just go and watch it yourself if it is playing in a city near you.

And then as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman and Lion got to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard of Oz, with the sheets of green background, green dancers, green sequins, green lights, and green set just emanating out to the audience, all I could think of was –

Mint…

Lime…

The mojito. That bloody brilliant mojito had gone to my head. Damn.

I was a sook as is typical and teared up at the end, even though I know the ending and have seen it before… but not like this. A sign of a great show. Or just a super softie, you decide. But the Universal message and underlying thread of the story is something that is so true, so real to all of us – there is no place like home.

Sure we often think the grass is greener on the other side. We look at the world through rose-coloured glasses, with our Instagram filters on when observing outside things, but looking through the microscope when dissecting the little annoyances of our own lives.

When something upsetting happens, it is a reminder that the support and comfort of home, is all you really need.

At the end of the show Glinda is telling Dorothy how to get home. She tells her to tap her shoes three times and say

Glinda: “There is no place –

Dorothy: ” – like home.”

Dorothy finishes the statement for her. It is not a question either. She knew it in her heart all along. ♥

And at the end of the night, after the pivotal after-the-show discussion, catch-up, and coffee, I headed home too…

Because as we all know, there is no other place like it ♥♥♥

 

#828 Bath time

Last week at the end of a particularly crappy day, I was sitting at the side of the tub where baby girl bathed, when I had an idea.

She was just there doing what normal 4 year-olds do: splashing about, playing with her toys… turning here; and then suddenly, turning there, quickly like a fish. And as I observed this, her carefree nature and relaxed attitude, the water enveloping her in a warm hug, I realised I needed something.

I needed a bath.

I mean, as a grown women, shower, sure. But bath? How often do we do it?

I can say with certainty I have not had one in years. I can’t even remember the last time I had one, and it definitely hasn’t been in this house…

So tonight…

BATH TIME.

Can I say ladies – HAVE A BATH.

Get your Hubbie to look after the kids. lock the door. If you don’t have kids, get your partner the hell out of there and make sure he knows this is vital for your wellbeing… and well, if you don’t have kids or a partner… what the hell are you waiting for? You should have a home spa!

It was, absolutely unreal. I locked the door. Lit a candle. Poured some wine. Made sure the water was hot. And let myself sink into relaxation for a good half an hour.

I need to do this at least once a month. The calm and peace that followed me afterwards was crucial in the recovery and growth of my soul.

But a word of warning ladies… watch out if you are combining hot water and red wine…

#dizzyspells #holdontight #ifyouhavelowbloodpressurelikeme

😉