I am always running around the day before people come over, but in some weird way, I think I love the madness.
The rush to clean, buy things, cook things, get things ready… I am flat off my feet, usually spent by days end and with barely no time to even sit on the couch for 20 minutes, but I do it, again and again, so either I am a sucker for punishment, or I just forget easily… 🤣
OR, I like to do this. 🥰 Also when it’s for people you love, the madness comes more easy. 💖💙
I work on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so it’s Hubbie that picks up baby girl from school.
But what I love as I sit at my desk working, is turning around to see my beautiful girl’s face as she comes home… always cheerful, happy to see me and with a big hug as she fills me in on her day.
💖🙏
I find myself frustrated a lot lately at my inability to do much of anything.
Baby boy needs to be watched, followed, monitored – he is such a curious little boy, and we wouldn’t have him any other way, yet his ways are sometimes driving me up the wall because he is so FULL ON.
But I feel like he is like this to teach me a lesson, to show me I need to in fact slow down.
So I find myself more and more often, leaning into this stage of letting go of my preconceived ideas of being productive and getting stuff done, as I watch him explore the world, learn, discover things around him, and just have a grand old time doing so.
Today after his lunchtime milk feed, we stayed on the couch doing some rough play, I was tickling him and he was rolling about, then he was taking off his sock and I was like “nooo!” but then kissing his feet, and he was laughing, and giggling, and it was OH SO SWEET.
And I thought in that moment, that this slowing down, these moments where nothing is achieved in the ‘to-do list’ scheme of things, that these are really the EVERYTHING moments. For him in this present moment, but for me to remember for always. 💞
Some of my biggest Mother’s Day wishes came true today.
First off, the most unexpected – baby boy slept through the night.
😲
Neither myself or Hubbie had to get up to tend to him overnight… bliss. And while I wonder if our slightly late night last night had something to do with it, we had an even later night last week and he still got up overnight, so go figure.
Next, Hubbie had arranged to get up and do the start of day milk for baby boy, as well as all the other morning jobs with him, while I… lay in bed.
Seriously. I have not lay leisurely in bed since before baby boy was born, for 15 months now. Since I had had a decent sleep, I couldn’t even fall asleep again, but I still lay there with my eyes closed while Hubbie and baby girl were downstairs with baby boy.
At one point I wondered if I should get up and make the bed as I waited for them to come up and get me… but again I thought, ‘no, I jump out of bed EVERY DAY with baby boy’s cries, including indefinite times overnight every night, so now I will lie here. And stretch.’
And it was a good stretch.
Then baby girl came up to tell me breakfast was ready! I came down to scrambled eggs on toast plus my weekend tea. ❤ Hubbie had made the tea, and baby girl had done the scrambled eggs on toast for me all by herself… and it was delicious!
And I even got to eat it in peace, oh my God.
Handmade presents and cards followed, and later on in the day I got to spend with my extended family, celebrating my own mum, and my sister, another inspiring mum in my life.
The weather was perfect too… and while the day was perfect in so many ways, my life is real, and I cried tears both happy and sad today, because that’s life.
I share that because I think it’s important to keep it real. But I am blessed to have been with my most loved people today, and let’s not forget –
Thank you! I am grateful 🙏
They chose not to do a Mother’s Day stall at baby girl’s primary school this year.
Initially I was like “but I like my little $5-10 presents that break easily!” 🤣
The new principal thought it was a smart idea to not contribute further to landfill with these small, wasteful items, like having one of these stalls would do, and instead get the kids to make something handmade, while enjoying an afternoon with them at school.
So that’s what today was. I was only there about half hour or so, busy running after baby boy, but baby girl gifted me this jar full of nice notes about me. It is such a precious idea, I think I will open up one per day, and I already know they will help me so much in this phase of life. 💖
She also gave me another hand-made gift, much the same premise, these held like poems and messages about me in this small gift box type thing. She said she has more to give me, but that will come on Sunday 🙏
Also in the little box was a little flower, and when I asked if it was for me, she replied she had looked around at lunchtime for a little flower for me. 🌸(Awww!)
I love these things. 😍 I’ve been thinking of Mother’s Day a lot today, and it really has gone a bit out of control. It really should just be things like this – handmade gifts, words of love from your children, your partner, really anyone in your life that appreciates what you do as a mother, and even sweet actions, like let’s say a sleep in, a home-made meal, even like breakfast in bed (hint hint, family lol!)
I really do love the jar idea though, and I know I will keep it forever.
Good job new principal. 👍
Today we all happened to be home.
A planned day off for Hubbie, and after a late night last night at a dinner dance + Orthodox Easter, baby girl was happy to stay home from school, and we happily obliged.
I was thinking along the lines of, catch up on washing, do grocery shopping for the week, chill at home, maybe a Bunnings stop…🤣
But Hubbie said “I don’t wanna spend my day off at home” and thank God we didn’t.
So we hit the road.
We drove up to the Dandenong Ranges, had lunch in a cute cafe, walked in and out of quirky shops, and then the best was left ’til last, when we went to this beautiful park in Olinda. It was peaceful, the surroundings were beautiful, there was so much to do for both big and little kids, a lot for parents to admire, and then Mother Nature was splendid and showing off in between, looking incredible as always. 😍
We came home later on in the afternoon – missing food, washing still there, but honestly, we made the best decision today.
We saw the sunshine outside, and we followed it. 🌞🍂
My everything. 🙏🙏
So we went out for dinner tonight for our anniversary.
Hubbie, me, and the two kids. 🤣🤣
I do laughing emojis because it is funny going out to a nice dinner with kids in tow.
It was a new place we picked, a bit shit of me to do honestly, you should really only do tried and true when you have fussy kids with you… but of course, me being all “I want to go somewhere nice!” we went to this new-ish place a suburb away, because it looked good.
As we drove by the place this evening, looking for parking, and I saw the dimly lit low-hanging lights inside, I went “uh-oh.”
This placed looked a bit fancy-schmanc, and we can be very loud. 🤦♀️
Anyway, we went in, avoided tipping over the table of glasses, removed the butter knife baby boy grabbed in his hands, avoided a scream fest when we first tried to put him in the high chair, and then proceeded to order and eat very, very quickly. 🤣
Look, the place was lovely… but a bit tricky for where we’re at. As we were leaving I said to Hubbie “how different things are as a family of 4!” And Hubbie replied “and I wouldn’t change it for the world!”
And how right he is. We are at a different stage of life, we would have been much better suited for a place like TGIs to be honest… noisy and without anything precious if baby boy were to go adventuring throughout. I had been looking forward to a nice dessert, but then alas ‘fancy-schmanc restaurant’ and we wanted to get out of there before baby boy lost his patience in the high chair, so I just ate an ice cream from our freezer when we got home. 🤣
Yep, life is different, but it is beautiful. You know what was the most beautiful? Coming home, placing baby boy on the lounge room floor, and him absolutely running amok in the house, so happy with himself to be home and amongst his toys.
Hmmm… maybe ‘home restaurant’ would be the best option for us right now?
🤣🤦♀️
The thing is, we’ve been married 15 years, together for 23 and a half, but it feels like I have known Hubbie for a lifetime and so much more.
We make each other’s days brighter, and there is no one I’d rather share my joy and woe with at the end of the day.
I love him, and he makes my world a better place.
As expected, the sun came out today, and reminded me of the beautiful day that we got married 15 years ago.
I am blessed. 🙏🩷😍🥰
Today was the 1st day of May, and the skies opened up to sunshine and put the last month of disarray behind us.
I always enter May feeling like things are quieting down, and they are slowly, as we enter June, but also May tends to be a busy month, full of anniversaries and birthdays and other events, even more so this year.
And although the cooler weather will be with us permanently soon, there is just something magical about this time of year.
Watching the orange/brown leaves fly up into the air as cars drive by.
Enjoying the feel of a warm cup of tea in your hands.
Cold evenings that start to freeze your face.
Those chilly but brilliantly sunny days.
Hello May. 👋🍂
carcrashgratitude 