Skip to main content

Day 57

Looking back at a post from August last year, I was reminded of my own suggestion to Lose the Manual and just make the most of these formative years with our young family. I say this on the back of only just getting Ethan to sleep – how’s that for a BEDtime success but a bedTIME fail?

Turns out, as much as we Moms take whatever nap time we can get, if the nap goes into the 5pm time zone, we’re going to pay for it later!

As I lay there between my talkative five-year old and my restless two-year old, playing (reluctant) bed time Twister, I started to get anxious about when they would eventually give in to some sleep. Plus, the cooler nights now also make for a chilly bed time operation because the covers keep getting kicked off the side of the bed in all of the folly.

Earlier tonight (but still late enough to be bedtime), I walked in on Jorja spreading out a blanket on the floor – in airy arm, picnic laying movements. To her, the blanket on the floor would make for the perfect chill spot where she could enjoy some last minute TV viewing and a spot of tea. To me, she was gathering and spreading dust and leaves that only reminded me of my lack of housecleaning over the past weekend. And it was late. And she had seen this Disney show before. And she really didn’t need tea. Her fun was my fury. Her adventure was my anger.

That can’t be right.

And so – by sheer coincidence of wanting to see what was happening in our lives a year ago today – I came across the reminder to focus less on what the assumed family growing manual suggests and make the most of where we find ourselves right now. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A home-made birthday

Due to the fact that we celebrated Jorja's birthday with the Weber and Wilcox families in the UK last year - over a few days and in various styles - we were a bit out of practice. In fact, if Jorja had not brought it to my attention with just two weeks to spare, I must confess that I would not have expected it to arrive for another few more weeks! But Moms could never let that seem to be the case, so we got cracking on 5th birthday celebration arrangements... On the night before, I set out every baking ingredient, apparatus and accessory that I could find and hoped that we would make it work! Aunty Robyn and Aunty Ilana arrived just in time to help us bake off the first round of vanilla cake pops and cookies with sprinkles. At this point, there was no turning back, our kitchen was already in a state of bake! The biscuit batch baked beautifully (and bountifully) and Jorja was well pleased with her assisted effort. As she head to bed on the eve of her birthday, I popped the...

That's so amazing about Grace

Scrolling through some photos this afternoon, I came across one of our friend Tarrin-Rae and her new baby girl, Isla, born last Thursday 31 October 2013. Isla Grace Graham I struggled to contain my own emotions as I observed this special moment in Tarrin's life (and new Isla's too) and thought back to my own experiences. I immediately asked Tarrin if I may use this to share a bit more of what I some times feel as a Mom... At first glance, I see relief . She's finally here! We can see her face in real life and we can say out loud "I am a Mommy!" Like my own kids, Isla was in no hurry to be born and labour was induced. What's worse than having to wait 40 weeks to meet your newest family member?? Having to wait longer still! I must confess, that this feeling was mixed with a fair dose of disbelief  on my part too - when I sat quietly resting between visitors and feeds, I had to pinch my literal self and realise - the baby was here. Then I see comfort ....

Travel Diaries Day 1 - 4

Hi Everyone I've grouped this entry together for two reasons: 1. I have a lot of catching up to do, now that I can kind of work out what day it is and I've found a battery charger for my pc 2. The first couple of days (including 24 hours of travel) makes for quite a blur of memories and all I've got to go on are the notes that I jotted down on the piece of paper in my bag Day 1: The Departure We had a quick check in at the desk and then head to our family steak ranch for a super send off with the family. Ethan fell asleep as we arrived at the airport but woke up in time to greet everyone with one last goodbye before we went through the departure gate. As we boarded, he started whining and I went into a slight panic. The looks from the other passengers was unnerving - how much harder could a long haul flight be?? Oh, but our travelling troopers played their part well: all buckled up in their respective seats and watching Frozen (thanks Annie for the intro!) as we to...