Here is a snapshot for what's going on with my littlies
So, cutest game that Natalie played with her daddy today: she would take him by the hand and say, "come on daddy, come on", lead him down the hall way and then start running back to the lounge room for him to chase her. Daddy would come roaring down the passage and she would squeal with excitement all the way to the farthest corner of the lounge room she could get to. Then she would take him by the hand again with, "come on daddy, come on" and the game started all over again! It's so cute seeing her initiate these little games and I was so happy to see Jonathan do it again and again, waiting for Natalie to tire of it before he stopped playing with her. He's such a good dad, and both of our girls light up when he enters the room...
Poor little Hayley hasn't been well the last few days, and although she was much better today she was still quite tired and didn't seem to know what she wanted at all. I think part of her frustration today was from not being able to move around as quickly and confidently as she'd like. She's only really just starting to crawl, and at this stage it is still a rather slow crawl, but it is lovely to see her and watch as she has a goal of reaching a particular thing and then works toward it. During Sunday School today, she was sitting on the floor and saw something that she wanted, went and got it, and then came and brought it to me - cuteness!
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
I am not an island
No man or woman is an island, nor should we try to be. Human beings are born to be in relationship with other human beings. This is easy to see when we think about babies and young children, but I think sometimes as adults we forget how important it is for us too.
I, like any of you, have had my share of things in my life that have brought with them sadness, anxiety, etc... but I have realised (especially since becoming a mother) that the times when those negative feelings endure are when I have tried to 'deal with it' all myself, have perhaps been embarrassed, and have tried to convince myself that it's stupid to tell anyone or that I'm wrong to feel that way; on the other hand, when I surround myself with people who genuinely care and want to help - I am a strong, invincible woman... because I have these amazing people around me.
Sometimes we don't realise how much we need others until we let them in to our lives and our hearts - really let them in - present not just in our lives but in our hearts! I have realised that I need these people. People who have faced the challenges I have and come out on the other side. People who haven't had those challenges, but they care anyway. People who will also share their struggles with me and allow me to help them, or just be there to listen.
Often that is all you need - someone who will listen to you ramble on about all the things that make your days seem long and weary so that in verbalising it you can put it all in to perspective and realise that there is also much in life that makes each day sweet and memorable and full of joy.
Because there really is so, so, so, so, so, so much that is sweet and blessed about every day. We just have to not try to be an island. Coz no matter how beautiful it is, a deserted island can be a very lonely place to stay.
I, like any of you, have had my share of things in my life that have brought with them sadness, anxiety, etc... but I have realised (especially since becoming a mother) that the times when those negative feelings endure are when I have tried to 'deal with it' all myself, have perhaps been embarrassed, and have tried to convince myself that it's stupid to tell anyone or that I'm wrong to feel that way; on the other hand, when I surround myself with people who genuinely care and want to help - I am a strong, invincible woman... because I have these amazing people around me.
Sometimes we don't realise how much we need others until we let them in to our lives and our hearts - really let them in - present not just in our lives but in our hearts! I have realised that I need these people. People who have faced the challenges I have and come out on the other side. People who haven't had those challenges, but they care anyway. People who will also share their struggles with me and allow me to help them, or just be there to listen.
Often that is all you need - someone who will listen to you ramble on about all the things that make your days seem long and weary so that in verbalising it you can put it all in to perspective and realise that there is also much in life that makes each day sweet and memorable and full of joy.
Because there really is so, so, so, so, so, so much that is sweet and blessed about every day. We just have to not try to be an island. Coz no matter how beautiful it is, a deserted island can be a very lonely place to stay.
Thank you to my husband and the many other people in my life who have been ever dependable and have become an integral part of who I am. <3
Monday, 12 November 2012
A good weekend
We had a busy, but wonderful weekend this weekend.
It was Jonathan's birthday on Saturday and when we had talked about what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said he wanted to have an adventure... so at the last minute I asked him if he could leave work early on Friday, I picked him up at 4pm and we spent Friday night in Avoca Dell Caravan Park in Murray Bridge - right on the murray river!
We would have liked to spend a bit of time sitting by the murray before we put the girls to bed, but they were both pretty tired (didn't sleep in the car as I had hoped) so we put them to bed and watched a movie before going to sleep ourselves.
In the morning we gave Jonathan his presents - Natalie enjoyed wrapping and hiding daddy's presents with me earlier in the week and was excited to tell him 'happy birthday person daddy." (She always adds 'person' when she is saying happy birthday to anyone. I don't know why but it's cute.)
After we had packed up the car, we did a little walk down by the Murray and after a detour in to town to load up with food for the roadtrip we drove to Milang for a picnic lunch and to see Lake Alexandria. It was really windy there as you might expect, but we quite enjoyed it ... with the possible exception of Hayley who didn't seem to be too thrilled by all that wind. Natalie was quite fascinated with the water (as she was by the Murray River) and we had to keep pulling her back from the edge.
After that we went to Strathalbyn and spent some time wandering through a park Jonathan had discovered there once when he was carpet cleaning. There was a river there too (more dragging our daughter away from the water's edge). Natalie loved to see and talk about the ducks and seagulls. We even saw a little family of ducks - the babies are so cute!
The kids both slept pretty much the whole ride from Strathalbyn to home, which was pretty well needed! Jonathan spent some time playing with the Hayley while Natalie helped me ice daddy's birthday cake and make homemade pizza for dinner.
Jonathan seemed to enjoy his day, so I label the day a success!
It was pretty cute on Sunday night - evidently Natalie was reliving the weekend and said something like, "we pick daddy up work, happy birthday daddy person, daddy birthday present, daddy birthday cake, chocolate cake". I love how Natalie is learning so much! It's really sweet. It puts all the more difficult aspects of having a toddler in the house in perspective for me. She really is a beautiful loving girl. When we got home from church I jumped out of the car to open the garage door and Jonathan tells me Natalie said, "my love my mummy. Mummy beaut-oo" ooooooo heart melt!
I love my little family <3
It was Jonathan's birthday on Saturday and when we had talked about what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said he wanted to have an adventure... so at the last minute I asked him if he could leave work early on Friday, I picked him up at 4pm and we spent Friday night in Avoca Dell Caravan Park in Murray Bridge - right on the murray river!
We would have liked to spend a bit of time sitting by the murray before we put the girls to bed, but they were both pretty tired (didn't sleep in the car as I had hoped) so we put them to bed and watched a movie before going to sleep ourselves.
In the morning we gave Jonathan his presents - Natalie enjoyed wrapping and hiding daddy's presents with me earlier in the week and was excited to tell him 'happy birthday person daddy." (She always adds 'person' when she is saying happy birthday to anyone. I don't know why but it's cute.)
After we had packed up the car, we did a little walk down by the Murray and after a detour in to town to load up with food for the roadtrip we drove to Milang for a picnic lunch and to see Lake Alexandria. It was really windy there as you might expect, but we quite enjoyed it ... with the possible exception of Hayley who didn't seem to be too thrilled by all that wind. Natalie was quite fascinated with the water (as she was by the Murray River) and we had to keep pulling her back from the edge.
After that we went to Strathalbyn and spent some time wandering through a park Jonathan had discovered there once when he was carpet cleaning. There was a river there too (more dragging our daughter away from the water's edge). Natalie loved to see and talk about the ducks and seagulls. We even saw a little family of ducks - the babies are so cute!
The kids both slept pretty much the whole ride from Strathalbyn to home, which was pretty well needed! Jonathan spent some time playing with the Hayley while Natalie helped me ice daddy's birthday cake and make homemade pizza for dinner.
Jonathan seemed to enjoy his day, so I label the day a success!
It was pretty cute on Sunday night - evidently Natalie was reliving the weekend and said something like, "we pick daddy up work, happy birthday daddy person, daddy birthday present, daddy birthday cake, chocolate cake". I love how Natalie is learning so much! It's really sweet. It puts all the more difficult aspects of having a toddler in the house in perspective for me. She really is a beautiful loving girl. When we got home from church I jumped out of the car to open the garage door and Jonathan tells me Natalie said, "my love my mummy. Mummy beaut-oo" ooooooo heart melt!
I love my little family <3
Friday, 2 November 2012
Living Intentionally
One of the blogs I love to read is finding joy. She writes often about living intentionally, and about slowing down and embracing today, and these posts always inspire me. I have a lot to learn, but I recognise a great need to be 'in the moment' with my family more often. I find I all too easily slip in to the pattern of stressing too much about spills and toys on the floor and things that need to be done and always rushing on to the next thing. I think, "I'll tidy the kitchen, and ______ and _____ .... and then I'll read some books to my girls / watch a movie with my husband / put whatever it is aside and just have fun with my family - and then I get to the end of the day and more often than not it's another day in which I haven't taken full advantage of the wonderful opportunity to just stop and enjoy the wonderful gift of family.
Even as I started this post last night, Jonathan was getting ready to go to bed and I knew that if I finished this post then, he would probably have fallen asleep by the time I got there, and I would miss the opportunity to just talk and that time we spend letting each other know about small things that happened throughout the day while Jonathan was at work or I was out at a choir rehearsal. And so this waited until today.
Those are the types of things that don't make much difference in our day-to-day living, but they make all the difference in our relationships. They're the kind of things that help us realise the joy that we are meant to have in life.
So, I am trying to identify ways in which I can be more intentional. Here is an example of my planned 'intentional moments' for today.
1. Organise a surprise for when my eldest gets home that will be meaningful for her. Enjoy with her.
2. Spend at least 20 minutes on the floor with my youngest with lots of talking and laughing (instead of working while she plays)
3. Write a gratitude list for the day.
Be intentional.
Even as I started this post last night, Jonathan was getting ready to go to bed and I knew that if I finished this post then, he would probably have fallen asleep by the time I got there, and I would miss the opportunity to just talk and that time we spend letting each other know about small things that happened throughout the day while Jonathan was at work or I was out at a choir rehearsal. And so this waited until today.
Those are the types of things that don't make much difference in our day-to-day living, but they make all the difference in our relationships. They're the kind of things that help us realise the joy that we are meant to have in life.
So, I am trying to identify ways in which I can be more intentional. Here is an example of my planned 'intentional moments' for today.
1. Organise a surprise for when my eldest gets home that will be meaningful for her. Enjoy with her.
2. Spend at least 20 minutes on the floor with my youngest with lots of talking and laughing (instead of working while she plays)
3. Write a gratitude list for the day.
Be intentional.
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Blogging about nothing
So, I'm feeling really uninspired about what to post lately, but I do want to keep up the habit of blogging so here come some random thoughts that may or may not interest you.
Hayley is on the verge.... of crawling! My little baby has grown so much in the past few weeks (although, she's still tiny). She's so cute. She pivots on her tummy and rocks on all fours - it's only a matter of time before she's off... and I'm after her babyproofing our house again to accommodate for her cleverness :P She's such a happy little soul, and is usually very patient with me when she needs something and I'm busy getting Natalie settled so that she'll (hopefully) be happy for long enough that I can take care of Hayley uninterrupted. Hayley learning to crawl will probably help with that I guess since she'll be able to entertain herself a bit more... or follow me around hoping her persistence will hurry me along :)
Natalie is also a beautiful young girl who brings a whole lot of joy in to our home. There are also a lot of challenges of course (she is two!) but hopefully I can look back in years to come and remember it as a terrific age and not a terrible one. She's definitely coming forward in leaps and bounds with her speech lately. She can copy most anything you say, (although she does say things like pita-allen when she means piano... ??) and judging by the things she says without prompting she understands a lot - often more than I would have expected! She is a very helpful Little Miss. At times I find this difficult, such as when I want to get things done that bit quicker or when I feel I'd just like my space, but generally I try to treasure the time we spend doing things together. She is beginning to understand that there are some things mummy will do, and then she will get a turn - if we're baking, I'll measure out ingredients, then she gets to tip them in to the bowl - and so she is fairly patient with the process.
Jonathan has had some changes in his work situation that are making work a much more pleasant experience. I'm happy for him! He deserves it, because he's simply fabulous :) If I say any more about my Dear One, it could become a whole new blog post :P
And me? I'm trying to be better at living in the moment - to worry less about things that have happened and to spend less time being anxious about what may (or may not) happen in the future... and instead just embrace what is happening now and to stop waiting for things to be perfect before I relax and enjoy the bounty that is around me. (I've read a few articles on the topic recently, including a blog post by my sister that inspired me.)
Hayley is on the verge.... of crawling! My little baby has grown so much in the past few weeks (although, she's still tiny). She's so cute. She pivots on her tummy and rocks on all fours - it's only a matter of time before she's off... and I'm after her babyproofing our house again to accommodate for her cleverness :P She's such a happy little soul, and is usually very patient with me when she needs something and I'm busy getting Natalie settled so that she'll (hopefully) be happy for long enough that I can take care of Hayley uninterrupted. Hayley learning to crawl will probably help with that I guess since she'll be able to entertain herself a bit more... or follow me around hoping her persistence will hurry me along :)
Natalie is also a beautiful young girl who brings a whole lot of joy in to our home. There are also a lot of challenges of course (she is two!) but hopefully I can look back in years to come and remember it as a terrific age and not a terrible one. She's definitely coming forward in leaps and bounds with her speech lately. She can copy most anything you say, (although she does say things like pita-allen when she means piano... ??) and judging by the things she says without prompting she understands a lot - often more than I would have expected! She is a very helpful Little Miss. At times I find this difficult, such as when I want to get things done that bit quicker or when I feel I'd just like my space, but generally I try to treasure the time we spend doing things together. She is beginning to understand that there are some things mummy will do, and then she will get a turn - if we're baking, I'll measure out ingredients, then she gets to tip them in to the bowl - and so she is fairly patient with the process.
Jonathan has had some changes in his work situation that are making work a much more pleasant experience. I'm happy for him! He deserves it, because he's simply fabulous :) If I say any more about my Dear One, it could become a whole new blog post :P
And me? I'm trying to be better at living in the moment - to worry less about things that have happened and to spend less time being anxious about what may (or may not) happen in the future... and instead just embrace what is happening now and to stop waiting for things to be perfect before I relax and enjoy the bounty that is around me. (I've read a few articles on the topic recently, including a blog post by my sister that inspired me.)
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Enjoying my children
Recently I have come across a blog which may be my new favourite: finding joy (thanks to my cousin Sarah).
Basically everything I've read on this blog is awesome, but some of her posts that I've read so far and enjoyed are: three mom goals for the week; 20 motherhood tips; 20 {more} motherhood tips; and how to find joy -- in motherhood; starting at the top
Some of the posts that I read got me to thinking about the time that I spend with my children... and I realised that far too much of it is spent getting ready to do the next thing... or checking on them every so often while I do house work... or with other people around who have my attention while the kids do their own thing. Don't get me wrong, we do have wonderful and sweet moments each day, but I have made a commitment to myself that I need to set time aside where my attention is wholey and solely for them.
I'm talking moments in each day where I show them that I have an interest in what their doing and that I delight in them... but also a longer period of time (a few hours) once a week where everything else gets put aside and it is time I spend just enjoying my children.
Because, frankly, relationships with your children (particularly toddlers) can be strained by mundane things like poop in the knickers for the fourth time in the same day, screaming matches over not being able to do a specific activity, or how difficult it is to teach them how to play nicely! On the flip side, I'm sure Natalie (and in time Hayley will) gets sick of hearing things like, "be careful", "are you sure you don't need the toilet","what have you got there" etc. ;) ... and so I figure that it's a good idea to invest time in our relationship that will be positive and remind each other (specifically mummy) of the love we have and that it's all worth the difficult bits in the end.
Today we went to a new playground I discovered on a website playgroundfinder.com: Heywood Park (in Unley Park). We had packed lunch with us, and as Natalie had fallen asleep on the way there I parked in the shade, wound the windows down and sat for a while, while I focused on Hayley and fed her lunch. About the time that was done Natalie woke up and we got out. Natalie decided she wanted to eat lunch first and then play, so we sat at a picnic table, looked around and chatted. Mostly Hayley sat in the pram while we followed Natalie around and helped her on the equipment when needed, but I also carried her for a while...
Anything worthwhile is worth the time spent nurturing it!
Basically everything I've read on this blog is awesome, but some of her posts that I've read so far and enjoyed are: three mom goals for the week; 20 motherhood tips; 20 {more} motherhood tips; and how to find joy -- in motherhood; starting at the top
Some of the posts that I read got me to thinking about the time that I spend with my children... and I realised that far too much of it is spent getting ready to do the next thing... or checking on them every so often while I do house work... or with other people around who have my attention while the kids do their own thing. Don't get me wrong, we do have wonderful and sweet moments each day, but I have made a commitment to myself that I need to set time aside where my attention is wholey and solely for them.
I'm talking moments in each day where I show them that I have an interest in what their doing and that I delight in them... but also a longer period of time (a few hours) once a week where everything else gets put aside and it is time I spend just enjoying my children.
Because, frankly, relationships with your children (particularly toddlers) can be strained by mundane things like poop in the knickers for the fourth time in the same day, screaming matches over not being able to do a specific activity, or how difficult it is to teach them how to play nicely! On the flip side, I'm sure Natalie (and in time Hayley will) gets sick of hearing things like, "be careful", "are you sure you don't need the toilet","what have you got there" etc. ;) ... and so I figure that it's a good idea to invest time in our relationship that will be positive and remind each other (specifically mummy) of the love we have and that it's all worth the difficult bits in the end.
Today we went to a new playground I discovered on a website playgroundfinder.com: Heywood Park (in Unley Park). We had packed lunch with us, and as Natalie had fallen asleep on the way there I parked in the shade, wound the windows down and sat for a while, while I focused on Hayley and fed her lunch. About the time that was done Natalie woke up and we got out. Natalie decided she wanted to eat lunch first and then play, so we sat at a picnic table, looked around and chatted. Mostly Hayley sat in the pram while we followed Natalie around and helped her on the equipment when needed, but I also carried her for a while...
Anything worthwhile is worth the time spent nurturing it!
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Fears
One of the greatest mummy challenges I have at the moment is dealing with my toddlers fears.
Dear Little Miss Natalie is scared, terrified, almost phobic of dogs. I don't know whether to laugh or cry when, on a 15 minute walk that should only take 5 minutes, (to the playground where she wanted to play) her constant refrain was, "My scary doggy, mummy hug me/carry me." And that started before we'd even gotten out of the house. It's almost easier to drive to the park. But that probably won't help her in the long run. My poor little bubby. (Granted from a 2 year olds perspective, that German Shepherd behind the fence IS definitely a very scary thing.)
We slowly but surely make our way there. My strategy is to stop and hug her for a while, but tell her that I can't carry her (except as we pass the house with the dog - at which time she clings to me for dear life and I couldn't put her down if I tried) as I have the stroller with Hayley in it to push as well. Sometimes distracting her works - I point out something on the path ahead that we could go and look at, etc. or she holds my hand for comfort, or perhaps helps push the stroller.
I really want Natalie to be able to have a nice walk down the street, and really discover things on our journey instead of constantly looking around, waiting for a dog to jump out at her, but at the moment that fear is holding her back from being able to enjoy herself!
By the way, if anyone has ideas on how to help Natalie be cautious but less afraid of dogs I'm listening!
On another note, all this has also got me to thinking this evening about my own fears and how the have held me back in the past, and whether they are still holding me back now... I feel fortunate to be able to say that there are fears that have held me back in the past that I have overcome. Likely there is also a share of fears that I still hold, but being aware of them helps one to overcome them too so there is hope for me yet! :P
Dear Little Miss Natalie is scared, terrified, almost phobic of dogs. I don't know whether to laugh or cry when, on a 15 minute walk that should only take 5 minutes, (to the playground where she wanted to play) her constant refrain was, "My scary doggy, mummy hug me/carry me." And that started before we'd even gotten out of the house. It's almost easier to drive to the park. But that probably won't help her in the long run. My poor little bubby. (Granted from a 2 year olds perspective, that German Shepherd behind the fence IS definitely a very scary thing.)
We slowly but surely make our way there. My strategy is to stop and hug her for a while, but tell her that I can't carry her (except as we pass the house with the dog - at which time she clings to me for dear life and I couldn't put her down if I tried) as I have the stroller with Hayley in it to push as well. Sometimes distracting her works - I point out something on the path ahead that we could go and look at, etc. or she holds my hand for comfort, or perhaps helps push the stroller.
I really want Natalie to be able to have a nice walk down the street, and really discover things on our journey instead of constantly looking around, waiting for a dog to jump out at her, but at the moment that fear is holding her back from being able to enjoy herself!
By the way, if anyone has ideas on how to help Natalie be cautious but less afraid of dogs I'm listening!
On another note, all this has also got me to thinking this evening about my own fears and how the have held me back in the past, and whether they are still holding me back now... I feel fortunate to be able to say that there are fears that have held me back in the past that I have overcome. Likely there is also a share of fears that I still hold, but being aware of them helps one to overcome them too so there is hope for me yet! :P
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