Tomorrow it will be March. Crazy right?
The weather is cooling down somewhat THANK GOODNESS!
I almost forgot to blog today, but here I am.
I’m crazy itchy and even though I’m sure it’s not serious, I am going to get some blood tests done on Thursday because oh my gosh this itch is torture.
Kids in Dadda’s boots. It never gets old, right?
It’s bed time.
I’m so freaking itchy.
Hubs registered for a course in Sydney a little while ago, and as usual, I made all of his arrangements. Not because he can’t, but because I love that kind of thing. I love booking flights (even if they are not for me), I love researching accommodation, and I don’t mind that he gets a week “off” from family life, because I know that at the end of the day, he always misses us and would rather be at home.
Then a couple of weeks ago, out of the blue, one of my friends in Sydney told me that he and his partner are moving back to the UK in May, and if I was going to be in Brisbane sometime before then, he’d love to come up to catch up.
So I did one better and, to cut a long story short, told him I’d see him in Sydney! The long story is that Hubs obviously thought it was a great idea that I come with him, and after umming and aaaaahhing about taking either one, two, or three of the kids, I decided to take none. Well, just the one. The last time I was in Sydney, I was pregnant with Darby! Has it seriously been almost 3 years??
Because I have the world’s best parents, they will be making the trip up here this Saturday, to spend a few days up here looking after the kids. Hubs and I leave on Sunday morning and I fly back Wednesday midday, while Hubs doesn’t get home until the Friday.
I have two very very dear friends in Sydney, and their wonderful partners, and even though the city doesn’t exactly do much for me (too big!!) I can’t wait to catch up for coffees and brunches and all good things. Hubs also has one of his best mates down there, so it’s going to be quite a lovely few days!
I might even sleep in a little…
It sometimes feels like the more exhausted I am, the more I can get done. It’s that a thing? It’s like I’m too tired to even try and talk myself out of doing the day to day stuff that is my life; like I’m so exhausted that I just keep going and going with one more thing before I collapse in a heap, that once I’ve finished X, Y, Z, I start right back at A, B, C. Because that’s what adulting is all about, right?
Washing? Done. Oh look! More washing!
Paperwork? Filed! Let me just flick through these papers I found on the fridge. More filing!
Bills? Paid! Let me just check the letterboxohmygoodnessyou’rekiddingmeratesagain?????
It never stops does it? And that’s okay. That’s life. 80% of the time I can totally handle it. Like tonight. This weekend has been huge. As mentioned we had a pretty big crowd over on Friday night and at 7:30am Saturday morning, our friend the carpenter turned up to start work on the ensuite frame. Not that we knew – after not getting to bed until after midnight we had put cartoons on for the kids at 7 and promptly gone back to sleep! Until 8:30! Turns out Chance let him in (he knows he very well) Ha ha. Lucky he knows how to make himself at home!
I took the kids out for the morning and lunch while the boys worked away and then there were post-work beers from 2 til 4.30pm. I hadn’t even started cleaning up from the night before, and now there was sawdust all over the kitchen and floor as well as the dozens of glasses on the deck table and dirty dishes overflowing in the sink.
Somehow we had another late night last night (watched the new Tarzan movie. Ummm I kind of LOVED IT but didn’t want to go on about it to Hubs!! Ha!) And then we spent the morning and lunch and early arvo at Yeppoon with friends. Another huge day and I still had the groceries to buy/get home/put away.
Needless to say (then why say it!??) by 7:10pm I was thrilled that the kids were in bed but the tasks ahead of me were daunting.
Clean the kitchen (I was still catching up from yesterday!), make school lunch, bring in washing (look! More washing!) And blog.
“Just one hour, Wifey. That’s all it will take.” And I was pretty spot on too. I was walking down the stairs at 8pm to get the washing off the line.
And although I’m exhausted, getting back to my original point, I’m still thinking I could get a few more things done before I crash on the couch with a tub of Pineapple Chobani yoghurt (on special again this week!) and a bit of Parks and Recreation.
I think I’ve earned it, don’t you?
Don’t wish it away; Don’t look at it, like it’s forever.
I’ve heard the song “I guess that’s why they call it the blues” a hundred times or more over the years, but isn’t it funny how you really hear lines of songs when they reflect your life?
A few months ago I was feeling like I couldn’t wait for the next phase of a particular part of parenting to begin (I can’t remember what it was specifically). Then I heard that line and it really hit me.
It won’t be like this forever. And that can be a happy and a sad thing. It’s pretty cliché for mums to say how quickly the years go by and to urge other mums to enjoy their young children. And I do feel like I make an effort to do this but every now and then things pop up and I wonder how it will be in five years time.
Like watching movies with my kids at home.
I don’t like to just put a movie on for them and leave them to it. I love watching with them. But when I do, all they do is climb all over me and ask me for food. And it’s no fun for any of us! Well not for me anyway. It’s mostly Darby (climbing over me) and Quinn (asking for food) and Chance often just wants to be as close to me as possible which I can’t really complain about. I know I’ll miss that when it stops.
So I guess I just have to keep reminding myself that in five years time, things will be completely different, as they were five years ago when all I could think about was trying to get Chance to sleep for more than two hours at a time at any time of the night or day.
So much to enjoy in this phase of our lives.
Actually I can.
The one day I wanted Darby to have a long sleep and he wakes up after an hour and 20 minutes.
Seriously! And I was asleep for 45 of those minutes. But look. It’s 11:47pm and I need to get today’s blog published before I get distracted again.
It’s been another great evening on our deck surrounded by friends and kids and food and booze (for everyone else) and I’m feeling grateful.
I may get onto the computer another day.
Most of my blog posts this year, just like this one, have been written on my phone. You can tell when I have used the laptop – the post is longer and well-edited.
Tomorrow I will have a two-three hour block where Darby will be asleep and hopefully I can sit down and write something of substance.
Until then, here is a cute photo of Quinny as a toddler.
And Chance looking at me looking at my Darby bump.
And my little cuties enjoying ice cream in our tiny stinking hot courtyard in Mount Isa
Hopefully that’s enough distraction for now. Okay maybe one more…
Gosh were they ever really that little??
FYI these photos are early 2014 for those of you playing at home ?
We really should call our kids by their actual names more. Chance is generally “noodle”, Darby is “such a clown” or Darby-doo, and Quinny, I man Quinn, is, well Quinny. Or Princess if you ask Hubs. Or Quinny-binny-boo. It must be so confusing for Darby sometimes I swear. But totally cute.
Princess indeed.
Oh that reminds me – I still haven’t blogged about Quinny’s 4th birthday party yet!
Chance has been kicking a lot of behaviour goals lately and is making us very proud, and my day-to-day life a bit easier. Most of the time. Anyway when he asked if I could build him a paper aeroplane while he was asleep tonight I was happy to say yes.
To be honest, I feel like I’ve been saying a big fat no to most of his requests lately, so it was nice to answer yes for a change. He chose which one he wanted and once the kitchen was done and the kids were asleep (usually happens between 7:15 asks 7:45pm most nights) I got to work.
This was his plane of choosing
That would hopefully end up looking something like this
Using only these
And following these instructions
I couldn’t even tell you how many of these little friggers I’ve made over the last 18 months or so. Maybe 30? Not to mention the paper trains. But they are heaps easier (and far less impressive!)
They recommend craft glue but who’s got time for that!? Super glue is where it’s at – instant bond! Granted sometimes it’s my finger instantly bonding with the paper but I’m getting better at it.
The finished product? I smashed this one out in 18 minutes.
Pretty happy with this one. The best bit will of course be when Chance wakes up and I can tell him where to find it.
Remember, it’s the little things.
Our deck I mean
Hubs and I were lazing around drinking our coffee together when I said to him “seriously what did we used to do before we built the deck!?”
We would carry our coffees downstairs like chumps and sit in the yard and look up at our house and say “we really need to get that deck built.” That’s what we used to do.
Now we sit up on our deck, looking down at our yard and say “We really need to get rid of all the crap in the yard.”
It’s never-ending.
…when you have hung out three loads of washing and the kids are upstairs playing with Hubs and you realise you could get away with sneaking a chocolate Paddlepop ice cream from the fridge downstairs and take 5 minutes to sit down and enjoy it, only to hear your daughter calling you when you’re halfway through it and she comes downstairs to find you so you have to gulp down the second half of said ice cream and give yourself a brain freeze in the process.
It’s also giggly cuddles with this guy
It’s learning how to braid hair and finally starting to get the hang of it
It’s feeling your heart burst when you watch your oldest looking out for his sister and brother
There’s absolutely nothing that can prepare you for parenting. No books, no warnings, no friendly advice. It’s not until you’ve experienced the utmost highs and the deathly lows that you really get what is it all about. Some days I just want to hide away and not deal with the kids at all. But honestly every single day I can look back at at least one joyful thing that happened. Even if it only lasted a moment.
Today’s thing was reading to the kids at the end of a huge day/weekend. Quinn took herself off to bed after the first book. Then Darby fell asleep in my arms while Chance and I read a book together. That moment with just the two of us (and a snoring Darby) was quite lovely and definitely something I soaked up.
That and the chocolate Paddlepop.
It’s the little things.