Tama and I went for a walk this evening he was into it as it was just past dusk so all the street lights were on- but I had to cut it short because it was just a tad windy and cold-ish for a change and the wee dude was getting all blustered when we came back up the block that we started on. When we got home he was a little hyped but I got him settled eventually and now he's tucked up in his cot.
The cot is a recent addition to the bedroom- he was just tucked in with us but then he managed to wiggle his way past the amassed pillows one daytime sleep and hit the deck below... came in to find him gone from view, kicking up his heels by the window.... talk about feel like absolute crap after that one. We were very, very, very lucky he wasn't hurt at all, especially as our bed is a little higher than average. Thing is while he goes down alright in the evening he never does during the day- if I am lucky I'll get 5 minutes before he wakes! It's driving me nuts because he spends a lot of his awake time wanting to be held because he hasn't yet learned to sit up so there's only very small windows of time to get anything done. That said the advent of the new high chair and his absolute zest for eating is giving me a few more options- provided I have something set and ready to do in the main room when I give him his tucker- so I can watch him eating. But my goodness the child is so freaking cute and charming- he could charm the pants of the pope- which would be a bit creepy, but still no mean feat. He has the sweetest face and is possibly the most smiley baby we've had- he's positively dangerous!
What else.... we had a random week last week and lots of stars aligned. The high chair I never even bothered of dreaming of came up on Gumtree (a bit like trade me only local) and we got it for an (expensive) case of beer - but still a great price and it was just up in Lesmurdie. I went to Ikea and saw a cool dining table in their 'as is' section almost half price. Then the next day Les got to knock off early and went and checked it out and brought it home- it's fantastic, black and huge with the option to be huger- would be perfect for that massive family Christmas dinner- not that we have a massive family in Perth- or even the chairs to go with. And then when I was looking for a side table so we could get all the mess that amasses on the end of our bench off of it the one we liked but was not in our price range from Ikea also came up on Gumtree- in our price range- it is so super cool and I'm in love with it- photos later or I'll never finish this post. Finally I scored an A3+ printer which we had to go down to Fremantle to pick up and that meant we scored a nice few hours checking out Freo and having Fish and Chips at South Beach along with a play on the play ground and a paddle.
In general- it's school hols so the big kiddos are home. Kieran is keen in general to stay home- though he did go to Cottesloe Beach with a friend from school last week. But generally he prefers to have a wi-fi connection and spends a lots of time attached to his iPod 'talking' to friends. Or on the Wii or PS with the iPod within reach.
Merenia would love to be off at friends everyday and does spend a bit of time with the girls across the road but other than that we have yet to meet these friends nor know where they live so it isn't an option just to let her head off into the unknown. She spends her days drawing, reading, and on the computer emailing penpals and playing horse games. Plus she recently brought herself some DVD's including National Velvet to watch. She's really growing up- puberty has hit and I totally wasn't ready for it so I don't know how she could have been- but there's no choosing with this shit, so we have to go with it- but damn I wish she had an 'aunty' to help out both her and me.
Will decided he was happy to check out another Pre-school for the duration of the hols which is cool because he drives me crazy and he drives the big kids crazy too. It changes the whole culture of our house on the two days a week he is out. Things are calm and tidy and relaxed. The issue is his constant need for companionship and direction. He's ok if I set him up with a task like 'making' or constructions or if Merenia plays huts with him or Kieran goes on the Wii with him. But we all have only a certain amount of energy for all this stuff and some days I just run out of ideas. Plus I have to be super prepared because he's just totally all gung-ho and in there before I've even finished setting up- which also has the added complication of the fact he'll end up being done about 5 minutes after I've gotten out the last item for whatever he's doing and then I'll need to clean up and tidy up or we end up with dry pasta, glue and paint from here to eternity. And all this with 7kg of baby in one arm constantly trying to get what ever is in my other hand so he can eat it! So we love pre-school days- generally one is reserved for being at home and one is run errands day.
Les is still not doing what he really came here to do and it's driving him a little batty. Because he is servicing safety equipment he needs full CASA approval for his facility which he has been setting up since we arrived... when I say setting-up I mean not just the actual buying stuff and putting it in the right place but also writing procedure and safety manuals etc. And of course the actual application to CASA. On top of that Perth is HOT and it's not really much of an option to do outside stuff after about 9/10am and before 3/4pm so he's not getting much time to play golf or go flying especially as after a day with Will everyone is pretty exhausted. :) So it's not quite the life he imagined at this stage- but with some planning and time (bring on Autumn- do they have Autumn in Perth?) he'll get there.
Me, me me.... I am enjoying being in this space- as in the house, the city, and here at home with the kids even with the craziness. I treated myself to two online scrapbooking classes at Big Picture which are both all year long. It's been a challenge finding the time to do the actual crafting side of them but the thinking side has been cool. I'm doing 'One Little Word' with Ali Edwards- which is cool because last year my word(s) Better + habit totally got lost- it was a bit of a case of life is what happens while you are making other plans. This year I am very mindful of 'Simple' thanks in part to the class but also because I really put some thought into how I can keep the word to the forefront of my mind. I think the first half of the year will be a process of getting things in place so that we can have a simpler easier life moving forward. It's been interesting talking to the kids about what they really want. I've always thought we were a bit boring stay-at-homey but apparently they like that with the odd adventure thrown in here and there. They do want to do more stuff at home- family games nights and the like so the process of simplifying our lives will open up more space and time for that sort of thing.
The other course is Cathy Zielske's Move More Eat Well. I've already learnt some interesting stuff about the way my mind works so from that perspective it's going well. But my one thing to focus on for the month is moving and that hasn't panned out all that well, as yet. A combination of poor planning, impossible heat, a little bit of illness and crap excuses has meant I've only been out walking twice- but it's early days yet I will get there and slow and steady wins the race, right?
Scrapping time is severely limited with a six month old in the house and as that's the thing that helps me retain my sanity it's making me a little crazy I feel like I am constantly in catch up mode with my 365 so I never get to doing the fun stuff, coupled with the fact I have a Wedding album to do and 4 mini albums from the same event for friends in NZ which I haven't even started on I really need to find a way to kick some scrapbooking butt- other than staying awake till the sun starts coming in the front windows of the house around 4:30am. :-)
So I think that's us in a (rather large) nutshell for now. Enjoying life, appreciating what we have, and finding ways to make it even better. Sweet.
PS If you are on Pinterest you can look me up I succumbed to temptation, that place is one huge delicious time sink!
♥
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