#2574 Sharing paradise

I love going to my favourite place with my favourite people.

And so was the case today when my sister met up with baby girl and me at our local beach.

We spent 4 blissful hours there… 4 hours! Because we are so close, we generally don’t spend that much time at the beach – we don’t have to. But to be honest, I think a part of it is Mum guilt… feeling like we shouldn’t spend that much time there, because there is always something TO DO.

As I was saying to sis today, we need to forget about all of that! Replenish our mental and emotional stores. There will ALWAYS be some job to do, so if we wait until we have none, the time for ourselves will never come.

So, just have the fun, do the ‘me time,’ NOW.

The entire day was beautiful, mainly locals about, the sun not too hot but hot enough, the water clear and rippling and mild in parts… but I do have a favourite part of the day. I was sitting in my sister’s beach tent, as she and baby girl beckoned for me to follow them from where they were in the water.

So I did. I got up, and started walking over. And as I got closer and closer, all I could hear was…

GIGGLES. They were mucking about and playing games, trying not to laugh, but then they would crack themselves up and be laughing silly at nothing in particular. Laughing, just because.

And then I was laughing, just because too.

And that is a beautiful place to be. Laughing in the water with loved ones. Just because. 🥰🌅

#2572 The pregnancy photo shoot

I never got to take special pregnancy photos when I was pregnant with baby girl.

It’s not that I wouldn’t have loved to. But it was a different time, place, and very different situation. Apart from our first baby arriving in the world, we were dealing with quite sad and traumatic events relating to Hubbie’s family.

A pregnancy photo shoot did not even cross our minds.

But today, one of my pregnancy dreams finally came true. 🙏

I got to have a photo shoot with a professional photographer in our happy place, our local beach, surrounded by the sun, sand and sea.

You probably want to know who took such stunning shots? Well it was none other than my sister. ❤

Photography is her calling, always has, always will be. I hope after today she’s realised that. 🙏

We are thrilled to bits with the hundreds of photos taken, and we haven’t even had a chance to preview them all.

But one thing I know, is as I said… this pregnancy dream of mine has been fulfilled.

Tick. ✅ Thanks sis. 😘

#2567 My beachside celebration

So when I said a while back that shit’s getting real, well now shit is really getting REAL.

So, apart from our little ‘babymoon’ now over…

Apart from my half-packed hospital bag…

Apart from the one adjustment the baby room needs (happening Friday)…

Today, I finished work.

😲😲😲😲

Another big thing, DONE!

It just keeps going on. Tick, tick, tick. Things are happening, finishing, progressing, completing, and it’s all bringing me closer to meeting baby. 🥰🥰

I like to use the beach as celebration, and just as I took baby girl on her last day of school in December, so too did we go again this afternoon as my little celebration.

My fave thing to do at the moment? Because it’s a bay beach and there are plenty of shallow waters, I like to sit in the shallow water and just relax, with the belly I have, lounging around like a beached whale because that is most comfortable to me right now. 🤣

The countdown is most definitely on! If only I knew what number to start at… 😬🤔

#2566 Home after holidays

Ahhh. It’s good to be back.

Like every time we go away, we’ve made some more realisations post-holiday.

As much as it’s exciting and fun to go away, as you’re seeing new things and going to new places…

We are people of routine, Hubbie especially so.

He is SOOO happy to be back. Back to routine. Back to his food. Back to his bed. And as much as his homebody comments have annoyed me ever-so-slightly today, I also feel like, I don’t know… I kinda agree.

I also, like routine. I also, LOVE my bed. I also like eating well, and I love the set-up of our house, where baby girl sleeps, where we sleep…

I love our town. I love our beach. I love our main strip, in fact it quite frankly smashes other coastal town strips…

And that’s when I realised. We find it hard to enjoy being away fully, because where we live is SO DAMN GOOD.

We live in an area where people travel and holiday to, and we’ve become so used to it, we don’t realise how good it is until we leave!

Also, we are setting up our lifestyle, our house, to be an everyday holiday house. Sure, we still work, we still do the groceries, we still do chores, and all the other day-to-day monotony that drives us insane at times.

But we love our spot. We love where we live. 🥰🌅

We don’t really need a holiday from here. We just need to mix it up at times.

We get to see beautiful water views in the morning when we wake, and watch the sunset glowing over the water at night. I drive baby girl home from school the scenic way, past the water. We visit the beach on Wednesdays when she is at school (when the wind is absent!) after we’ve been to one of the many incredible cafes on our main strip.

We’re trying to live a holiday life already, and we are comfortable in our home doing it.

We WILL still go away. There’s no doubt about that. But the fact that we’re going to be a lot more home-bound in the period after baby arrives, it doesn’t upset me in the slightest.

Home is good. This town, is good. We like it a lot.

In fact, we love it. Which is why we moved here in the first place. 🙏💖

#2552 Simple beach ’30’

There are many types of beach visits, and you learn all of them once you start to fully embrace and live the beach life.

There is the ‘bring everything including the kitchen sink’ beach visit, where you have the beach trolley, umbrellas, chairs, the tent, boogie boards, sand castle accessories, towels and food and drinks and basically, most of your house.

This is when you’re going to enjoy most of the day there, and go through at least 2 meal sessions. 🤣

Then there is the ‘in-between’ visit. You’ll probably be there a few hours, and you probably won’t bring the beach trolley, but you’ll still have some chairs, some beach toy accessories, and then of course snacks and water because you still need to be hydrated and all that jazz.

Then there is the quick, ‘dip in/dip out,’ or talk a walk along the beach visit.

These are timed, and involved the bare minimum to aid in the ease and simplicity of getting there and back.

We did this, the latter today.

Sure it was a hot day, but we were still getting over last night’s New Year’s Eve. Also, the thought of taking many things to the beach (even an ‘in-between’ visit) felt hard, especially when it was over 30.

So I struck a deal with a tired Hubbie.

(I gotta admit, the deal suited me too because this pregnancy is making me really S-L-O-W).

I said “let’s head down, everyone carries their own minimal stuff, go in, 30 minutes, go out.”

🤝

And so it was. Here’s how you do a simple, timed, quick and refreshing beach visit.

Bikinis on at home, dresses on top (for Hubbie shorts and singlet).

Sunscreen is applied at home too.

Everyone carries their own towel, hat, and sunnies. Water bottles remain in the car (sip before you leave!) And personal belongings, phones and keys, are in the tiniest little carry bag.

Drive to the beach. Drop stuff on the sand nearest water (belongings hidden in towel).

And go! 30 minutes begins!

30 minutes go by so quick though. Don’t be surprised if you want more. 🙏

Despite how busy today was at our local, we sat in the shallow waters and found so much peace in just watching the water wash over our legs, splashing against our bodies.

Go home, shower… and then order takeaway, because nobody got time for cooking when humidity is killing you in the house. 🤣

#2550 Beach Days no. 4

Today was one of those great beach days.

It wasn’t just great because of the beach itself… that is plenty of reason to be happy, all on its ownsome.

Timing and temperature played a big part.

We got there late morning, while it was still heating up… low 20s. But of course, being holiday time, there were plenty of people about.

We stayed several hours, way into the mid 20s (where it sometimes felt like high 20s), and then came home before 3pm.

It was the best. IDEAL. We had spent a good chunk of the day at the beach, but were home early enough to chill, do some stuff, play some Nintendo (🤭) and enjoy the rest of the day.

It just felt perfect.

You don’t get a lot of those perfectly timed days.

Why, it must be the season. It must be summer. 🌞😎

#2540 End of school year tradition

Start of the day, versus end of the day:

The in between? Why, the last day of grade 3 for baby girl! And what a terrific tradition we have gotten into these last couple of years, of heading to the beach on the last day of the school year. 💞

All we need now is for Melbourne weather to fall into the tradition of giving us summer weather… in summer. 🤣🌞😎🌅

#2498 First beach day of the ’22 season

It finally happened!

Look, a bit disappointingly late, I might add. Last year we had our first beach day for the spring/summer season on September 28th…

This year, November 8th!

Sooo late.

But that’s ok. It only means we will spend more time making up for lost time over the next few months.

Actually, I need to spend all my days at the beach, because then when baby comes, my summer solitude will temporarily be halted. 😆

And here’s baby girl, saluting the sunset tonight after our post-dinner walk.

I just love this time of year. 🥰😍🌅🌞

#2473 6 years of the bay

Exactly 6 years ago, on October 14th, also a Friday, we moved our lives to the other side of this city.

It somehow feels like a lot of time has passed, while in some ways it feels like it’s flown by.

There has been a lot of growth though.

We have grown. All of us. Baby girl has grown up here. She’s established her friendships and school life here, and that is something we’ve always wanted.

We finally know the secret back streets, best places that do coffee (priority) have our favourite and then our experimental beaches, as well as our reliable local grocery spots where we seem to spend so much time at.

Our house has changed. We have done a lot to it, renovations and face lifts and improvements, and yet, there is still much more to go.

But, baby steps.

Lastly, our home has grown in love. Years ago we welcomed a feline friend, saved from the local shelter no less, and the love is happily growing even more… we are making way for a new member of the family to make their arrival in about 4 months time.

Yes, things have changed. They are meant to. But our resolve to make a better life for ourself, our child/ren, our pets! has not wavered, and I think we are doing alright.

It’s a forever work in progress, a project I am happily committed to.

To many more years of beach-bum-loving folk. 💗🌅

#2319 Where my feet lead me

I had the day to myself today, and I totally needed it.

All my days are so structured. Work, school drop-off and pick-up, after-school activity chauffeuring, then there’s the groceries, odd jobs and appointments, cleaning, cooking, washing… 🤯

So when I dropped off baby girl at school today, I was honestly a little lost. I had a decent to-do list, but I was awaiting a tradie to come and give us a quote, but didn’t know what time he’d be over, so I literally started driving… with no clear place to go.

Slowly, a plan formed. I would get some presents I needed to get while in the area…

But of course, the places I needed to look at weren’t open yet, so…

I found my feet leading me down the Main Street. I kinda knew where I was headed, before I KNEW where I was headed, if you know what I mean. 😆

Within 10 minutes, I had an egg and bacon toastie, a coffee, and I was sitting in front of this view:

I spent a good half hour there, eating, drinking, watching. Breathing too, that is important.

I love my town. I love it most when it is quiet actually. It’s often hard to imagine it as still as it was this morning, especially if you see it come peak period on hot days and over Summer.

But after school drop-off, you know there are only locals around. A handful of people walking their dogs on the beach, a few I exchanged good mornings with. A massive sea bird flew low over the water, its huge wings flapping slowly and deliberately, but with great strength.

It was all so grey, but so peaceful. It was beautiful.

These are the things I love to be still for, to witness.

I still got to do all my jobs, but in this short span of time that occupied the morning, I loved the freedom of letting my feet do the decision-making, of letting it lead me to where it needed to go. 🙏💖