A glass half full

In the spirit of this blog I will not dwell on the fact that I was up two and a half hours with Missy last night. I will not dwell on the fact that, while sitting on the floor of her room, I added up the hours spent on said floor in the past week and arrived at 24. Yep. 24 hours. A whole day. Sitting. On. The. Floor. Of. Her. Room. Many of you may think that I'm crazy, but my focus is just to keep her quiet so that our little Rooster does not rise before the break of dawn.

Instead I will focus on the 6 hours of sleep that I had. Six hours is tons. Many nights I've had much less. I have to thank bad television because last night I went to bed early and snuck in 4 hours before my call up.

Two and a half hours goes surprising quickly when you are up and down between floor and spare bed. About two hours in, I began to think of all the things I could have done in this time frame. Driven to the city and back, watched a movie at the cinema, power walked the City to Surf (well almost!), got half way through a great chick lit book. All very useful things. Shushing my Missy, although being a means to an end, did not seem very useful. Ahh....it could have been worse, much, much worse.

What we needed today was a home day. A day to stay in jammies till 11 and potter around the house at our own pace. I ironed and the Rooster discovered a new way to play with with his marble run. We read books and played on the climbing frame in the sunshine. We ate lunch on the deck and made a stack of birthday cards for the parties we have coming up this weekend.

In the afternoon we headed off for a walk. 15 minutes in and too far to turn back, I discovered that today was a hot day. Really too hot to be walking up hills pushing in excess of 30kgs. I stopped for a breather and a gulp of water and the Rooster says "Come on Mummy. You can do it. Keep on going. I'll tell you when we get to the top". Has the Rooster been sneaking in episodes of The Biggest Loser and modelling his rah rahing on the style of Shannon?

We've had a calm day after the storm that had been this past week. To top it off my little fella showed me just how clever he is becoming. He was signing his name at the bottom of each card as we made them and at the third he remembered that Missy needed to be included. I told him I had added her name on the other cards but he insisted that he could do it for this last one. This is what he came up with, with not a bit of help from his mama.

I know that this blog is not usually a vehicle for bragging about my kids but I couldn't help but show this one off (the Rooster's Uncle and Aunt in Canada who read this blog will be equally impressed) .

So all in all a good day. Fingers crossed for an easy(ish) night. I have work tomorrow.

Vampire Challenge

It has been amazing to witness how Australians have responded to the Victorian fires. Monetary donations, shopping at Coles on Friday the 13th, volunteering time and skills where ever needed, sales and auctions with proceeds going to charities, Handmade Help....the list goes on. There is one other really important way that most people can help out the survivors of the fires and that is by donating blood. Blood plays a vital role in a burn victim's recovery. They need blood to survive and then to begin the healing process. The Red Cross needs your donations.

I was humbled today when I escorted 6 of my students to the blood bank to make their donations. Staff at the blood bank said that donations have doubled in the past week since putting out their request for blood and plasma donations. If you can give, please do. It takes half an hour, you get a ton of great munchies (including tim tams!) a milkshake of your choice and a warm fuzzy feeling that in doing so you have saved 3 lives. Most people are eligible, but stop by here and to see if you fit the bill. Simple!

6th folder, 6th photo

Everyone is playing this game and it got me thinking what was the 6th photo in my 6th folder. I was aghast to discover it was a series of (unflattering) photos of Tools and the Rooster in the bath when the Rooster was 5 weeks old. I cannot, in good conscience, subject complete strangers to my beloved in a state of undress so I clicked a couple of times attempting to rearrange the icons but to no avail. Cheating just a little, I shifted to the 7th photo, 7th folder and found this sweet shot.
This is the Rooster at 6 weeks. Coincidently, it was the photo that went out with our thank you cards for all those wonderful gifts that you receive when you have a bub. Strangely, I can't remember where it was taken. I am thinking our back deck, but I do know that the Rooster hated that bouncer and screamed almost everytime he was put down in it. Not long after we ditched this rocker for what has to be the worlds ugliest rocker but boy it does the trick!

It's not popular these days but I love...

Chinese food. Not chinese food with a fusion twist of something else. Just your run of the mill, mongolian lamb, satay chicken, honey chicken, long soup and spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce kind of chinese. Fortunately, we have an excellent local chinese and not much of anything else up here, so if we want a night out close to home, then chinese it is.

Thanks to Cindy who is doing a million and one things at the moment as well as Eyespy Sunday and to Just needs salt for this weeks Secret (food) Shame.

A Day in my Life

Another 14th of the month has rolled on and this one I have really been looking to. My gorgeous baby girl Ellie is one today. And although this post is an account of the day in my life that was today, I couldn't help but think about the day that was last year.

My incredibly long labour and the hours Tools spent rubbing my aching back. The rain dripping down the window of my labour room (much like it was today) and the sweet relief when it was finally over and I nuzzled and feed my sweet little girl. Watching the Rooster's face the first time he clapped eyes on this new creature that was to inhabit his world and call his sister. The changes have occurred in all of us since this photo was taken are enormous. So many tiny memories wrapped up in one very big event. I fear that the smaller details will get lost over time leaving my with just a feeling about the day.

Our Missy shares a birthday with another special girl. Her name is Sofia and is the daughter of one of my oldest friends. Sofia is two today and we spent the morning eating cake and watching our littlies play and dance.

Tonight was just the night for a huge pot of soup and Tools outdoes himself when it comes to Minestrone. Soup in February....almost unheard of, but with a fridge full of vegetables from our fruit and vege co-op, the temperature around 13 degrees (was it really 45 last Saturday?) and a house full of people coming tomorrow it was just what we needed to fill ourselves.

I did lots of baking for tomorrow, cookies, friands and some relish to use up a bag of tomatoes. Oh yeah...and the birthday cake. We love the time late at night creating a special cake for our children.

Ellie loves our cat. She and Timmy play a lovely game of hide and seek in the tent. She is going to love this cake tomorrow at her party.

Late evening and a nostalgic DVD. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I remember dancing to twist and shout in the cinemas when I was 14. We put this movie on last week at school and not one of the kids had seen it. Am hoping this cult movie will seep its way into the hearts of the kids I teach so that when I say "Anyone? Anyone?" It not just me that gets the joke.

Am tired tonight after a week of disruptive nights with our girl. Maybe now she is one she will magically be a better sleeper. I can hope can't I?

Nearly One

Missy is one on Saturday. A Valentine baby. She will always be special on that overly commercial, overly sentimental day even if she never gets a card or a single red rose from some spotty boy during her adolescence.

Tomorrow she is at childcare and having her first hip hip hooray experience (I am feeling a pang just knowing I will be missing it) and I have just finished putting this together.

I showed Tools my creation, as he has made all over the Rooster's cakes in previous years (I tell you, he is the man when it comes to icing. Stay tuned for what he will come up with on the weekend) and was a pleased as punch when he said it was a basket of flowers, just as I intended.

I remember choosing this cake for my 10th birthday after pouring over the AWW Birthday Cake book . It's a lovely coincidence that Missy will celebrate her first with this cake.

Something Delicious

I am a self confessed foodie. Sweet or savoury. I'll take either by the plate load. I often find it difficult to make a decision when ordering because so many things jump out at me "pick me! pick me!". This makes the decision of a single choice for this weeks Eyespy Sunday rather tricky.

Rather than dither about I thought I'd head in another direction. The sweetest most delicious smell is on Friday evenings. After childcare and after baths, the littlies are all squeaky clean and their heads....ahhh.... the smell of babies.

I love story time on those evenings, silky soft hair brushing against my chin, breathing in that baby smell. I often wonder, at what age do they loose that smell?

Thanks Handmaiden for this weeks topic.

Darkest Day

Like the rest of Australia I am in shock witnessing the aftermath of the Victorian fires. We had bush fires lapping at our property line about 8 years ago but that pales in comparison to the fire storm that has devastated our neighbours down south. My heart swells when I hear the stories of people who made it out but have lost everything, and my tears well when I hear those reunion stories.

We choose to live on the edge of the bush. We are aware of the dangers and each summer we are acutely aware of what threatens to destroy us. A disaster of this magnitude is unimaginable. I simply can't comprehend the number of lives that have been lost in Victoria and my prayers go out to those poor souls who have lost those that they loved and who are enduring the saddest of sad times.

The Rooster must be hearing a little of what is going on. This afternoon as we were waiting on the front veranda for Daddy to get home, he said "Its raining. We really need it, Mummy". I hope the heat predicted for Victoria on the weekend does not eventuate and that sweet rain drenches our thirsty, burning land.

Small Things

The Crafty Librarian picked a tough one for this weeks eyespy and I have to admit I really struggled. Other than the two small objects that I fondly refer to as my children, and the colonies of ants that set up home in every crevice and corner of my home and car I kid you not about the car), there is not much small around here. Thought that I would have to give this one a miss, but finally got a bit of inspiration from Flossy-p and her travel treasures.

These have been stashed in a drawer awaiting the return of some shelves that are getting a spruce up from my Dad.

Prague's Old Town Square with its famous astronomical clock

Like every good holiday momento they come with a good story. We were in Prague on Christmas Eve in 1998 (gosh, that seems like an eon ago!). I spotted this little group of buildings at the Christmas market that was set up in the main square and fell in love with them immeadiately. Tools, who is more of a practical person and a man to boot, vetoed their purchase and I left Prague sad and empty handed. The next day was of course Christmas Day and we were a long way from Prague, up in Northern Czech skiing. To my utter delight my much coveted little buildings were sitting under our little tree.

They remind me of a magical city, an amazing holiday with one of my best girlfriends and to never underestimate my husband. He knows that the little things in life count and has taught me not to sweat the small stuff.