Roadside find

For over a year now (yes, even before we left Holland), I've been trying to find the perfect kitchen set for the girls. I do not like plastic toy sets, so those are out. My aesthetics demand it be beautiful, simple, and (ideally) wood. My sense demands it not be overly pricey. I have found several online that seem to fit the bill, but of course none of those are available in Australia (or Holland, when we were there). Although I hadn't given up completely on a wood set, I've looked into making our own from reinforced cardboard, even finding some awesome plans on etsy for just that. And then yesterday, I found this on the side of the road (pictured post-repair and installation into cubby house):


It is clearly homemade with love out of MDF and bits from an old stove. It is really well-put-together, and the only thing wrong with it (a bit of rust on the metal bits) was easily remedied with a good scrubbing of a metal brush and a few coats of rust-inhibiting paint. Markus took care of that today, and so for $14 and some elbow grease, we have the perfect kitchen in the cubby house. There are lots of sturdy food containers I've saved from our family groceries over the year. Thanks to IKEA Children's Department, the play kitchen is now fully fitted out with pots, pans, a strainer, and kitchen utensils. There is even a set of plates, cups and utensils in waiting (I had purchased all of those a while ago in hopes of having a kitchen in time for Ellie's birthday, still a few weeks away).


Ellie is over the moon! Baby Stephanie might be...if Ellie would let her anywhere near the play stove. It's hard to share when something is so fun, but we're working on it.


Thank you to whomever put this old play stove by the roadside. You've made two girls (and their fussy mama) very happy!

Slow food

We have a little lemon tree in our backyard. For many months, we've been watching as its small white flowers slowly turned into this:


Did you know that it takes lemons almost a full year to grow? Lemons are so cheap and numerous at every market I've ever visited that I admit I've never given them much thought...until now. Almost a full year of work. That's worth pausing to appreciate.

Girls can be catty...

...but also oh-so-funny!
The girls at go fug yourself are generally cranky and quite often hilarious. I am not much of a person for celebrity gossip, but I head to their site for a regular fix of whatever-it-is-they-do because they crack me up! While I'm smiling my way through Tuesday lunchtime, I realize a lot of you are still stuck in Monday, and I bet that means you could benefit from this post.
Hang in there! Monday is almost over!

Warm Sunday afternoon

This afternoon, the temperature was a balmy 26 degrees (close to 80F), so we enjoyed some fun in the backyard in our bare feet! Markus started sweeping the copius amount of leaves from the patio, and I took a rake to all the jacaranda twigs in the grass. By the time we were done, the backyard looked awesome, so we couldn't resist the temptation to stay and play.


First, the girls bounced a bit on the trampoline with Papa. Then, noting the warmth in the sun, Papa brought out the baby bathtub for some waterplay. The only use this baby tub has ever seen has been as a makeshift splash-pool for baby Stephanie, so it's only logical that she assumed that would be its use today. Not bad for late winter!


After wrangling Stephanie into some dry clothes, we settled down for family art time. Ellie carefully and meticulously covered every inch of her paper in color for a lovely rainbow camouflage. Baby Stephanie wielded her paintbrush like a baby obsessed, scraping into the paint with her fingernails and rubbing her fingers across the paper to get the desired effect. Ellie studies the masters. Baby Stephanie is channeling Jackson Pollock.


Not long thereafter, the cloud cover returned and the temperature began to drop. It seemed to take only minutes for it to drop to 19 degrees (68F or so). Socks and shoes were donned. Later inside, the heater was needed during dinnertime. We enjoyed the warm spell while it lasted!

After all, she did win the "Best Hair" award in high school...

To help me combat The Crazy that descended on our house this weekend, I escaped for a haircut (peace and quiet with a magazine) on this past Saturday afternoon. Then, on Sunday, my gorgeous redhead girlfriend and I went out for girls' lunch. We always take a photo together at the end, and this time, she said she didn't want to show me. I wondered what hideous expression I must be making, so I asked her why I couldn't see it. She said, "I don't want you to be embarrassed, but with your hair looking so nice, you really look like a movie star!"


I think the only embarrassing part is the idea that such lavish sentiments might be possible more often if I were motivated to blow-dry my own hair.

Images from the morning walk

Baby Stephanie and I have done the morning walk twice this week, and it is a wonderful way to start the day. Although I've been up for a couple of hours by then, the walk allows me to wake up and clear my head, just as beneficial if not more so than the exercise. The view is fantastic, and it would be hard to beat the location. Given all the places in the world we have been and might still go, I need to take advantage this place while I can.


I've found Stephanie's maximum patience with the stroller to be around 30 minutes, which magically gets us from the carpark at Ellie's school to a wonderful cafe in Cottesloe that a friend led us to last week. I get a good 30 minute walk in either direction, and we both get a snack (or second breakfast) during the intermission. Technically, the 30 minutes will also get us to a big playground, but most mornings are so manic trying to get them out the door that I'm eager for that "second breakfast" since I often miss my first. And baby Stephanie really likes the strawberry jam at the cafe...


Most mornings this winter, I have noticed surfers all along the beach. They seem to congregate in some areas, and the best I can figure out is those areas are over reefs so there's a bit of surf. A very wee bit. I'm no surfer, but really, these waves are nothing to write home about. It often makes me giggle to watch them floating out there on their boards, eagerly scanning the horizon for what I can only assume is in hope of a tsunami or at least a storm at sea that will churn up some actual action. On Tuesday, the weather was fantastic and there seemed to be more surfers than usual. Several passed us on their run down (let's not miss the big wave!), and now we understand what it's all about: they are retirees. By and large, the surfers we see out in the mornings are in the 50+ category (though I swear I saw a Japanese man who must be at least 70). These waves must be just the right size to keep their wives and doctors placated and still give a bit of a thrill from time to time. As for the lengthy periods of floating along aimlessly, well, why not? Sounds like a good retirement plan to me!



This last shot was taken at a stoplight on the ride home. She was chatting happily to herself, and I looked back to see this:


Cutie loves hats!

Greetings from the middle of the night

Trying to apply yesterday's lesson, we went to bed early again...and here I am at 3 am. I've been awake for an hour already. When I told a friend that there wouldn't be enough hours in my day to complete all I want to do even if I didn't sleep, I wasn't looking for a test run! I have a feeling this is going to be a long week.

Four hours later...
In the interests of reporting accuracy, I will admit that it's possible I was wrong about that. From 4am - 5:30am, I scrubbed the kitchen floor, cleaned the bathroom, and washed/dried/folded two loads of laundry. Think of what I might have accomplished if I hadn't stayed in bed for that first hour from 2am - 3am hoping to fall back asleep or surfing the internet for the second hour hoping to make myself sleepy. If I never slept again (or just not until the girls were several years older), I might actually complete my unending to-do list. I admit it.
NOT THAT I WANT TO TRY IT.
Here's hopin' for a more restful night tonight. Sleep is my friend, sleep is my friend...

What a difference a day makes!

Last night, Markus and I quit while we were ahead and went to bed at 9:15. I woke up first, wide awake in a very dark room. The clock is on Markus's side, but it was blocked by a book, so I had no idea what time it was. I was afraid I was in a repeat of the night before, when I was wide awake from 3am - 5:30am (prompting my sleep-deprived post yesterday)...but then Markus woke up and got up! It was 6:30! We all slept through! Ellie woke up around 15 minutes later and baby Stephanie is still asleep, giving the big people in the house a nice easy start to the day. Hip-hip-hooray! How good quality sleep feels! What a difference a day makes!

Later...
And how fabulous to have gotten a good night's sleep, because what a day it has been! Lemme tell ya, when the crazy comes to town, it brings all its relatives!

p.s. Scroll down and revisit the "Little Talker" post. I added a video captured this morning as Stephanie was helping me clean the floor.

Acknowledging the elephant

I try not to complain here, because 1) who wants to read that and 2) this is a record of our family, so why record stuff we'd rather not give more attention. But now we're at the point when I can no longer ignore the elephant in the room, because it is sitting on my head or at least trying very hard to keep balance in my lap. We are horribly sleep-deprived, Markus most of all. Two weeks ago, he had to go to India for four days (two days of flying for two days in the office). He came back midday Saturday, and we had great fun for the rest of the weekend despite his jetlag...but he was back at work on Monday for important meetings. Last week was a very busy week for him, so he didn't get any chance to rest and recoup, and then last Thursday, Ellie got a cold. You probably know by now that when Ellie gets a cold, it is the end of the world (and certainly sleep) as we know it. It was just a little cold, mind you. No fever, nothing extreme. Just a cough and a nose and some extra tiredness...but she cannot/will not nap. Every night since last Thursday, she has woken up many times a night wailing (usually because her nose is stuffy and makes her mad), and unfortunately the wailing continues off and on throughout the days (as an example, right now she's looking out the front curtains wailing "No Mama! Papa come get me! Get me! I need a tissue!" over and over since he's already gone to work and I have committed the sin of asking her to get dressed; the full tissue box is next to her feet). It's wearing us out in a serious way, again Markus most of all because although she wakes us both, she wants Papa to soothe her back to sleep. So often I have lamented baby Stephanie sleeping in the back part of the house instead of the front with the rest of us, but during stretches like these, I'm so thankful. She is the only one who is well-rested.

Artful musings

During an extended baby Stephanie nap this morning, I had the rare opportunity to catch up on some news, and I turned to the online IHT. Skipping right past the latest global trauma (I get the overview from the invaluable BBC World News podcast twice daily), I zeroed in on this article: "At the Louvre, Many Stop to Snap but Few Stay to Focus". This article made me smile, because I am an atypical museum person. I focus on the work other people pass by. My favorite painting in the Mauritshuis in The Hague is not Vermeer's "Girl with the Pearl Earring" that everyone comes to see; rather, it's his panorama of Delft on the opposite wall that keeps my eyes and art-lovin' heart full. At the Louvre, I can give Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo a miss, but I have been in love with the Winged Victory of Samothrace for the past 13 years (she gets some well-deserved screen time in the movie "The Da Vinci Code" when the main characters run down the stairs in front of her to escape the police). Keep Notre Dame and give me St. Chapelle! You get the idea. I'm weird, I know. And I like it, so there.
If you get a chance, have a read through the article. I particularly like the concept of "slow watching." Let's hope it catches on!

Watching the clock

Each morning, Ellie springs from sound asleep to wide awake in an instant. When she wakes up, she is ready to move! Unfortunately, she decided that we must be the same, and so when she is up, we (or if I'm honest, Markus) must be up too. She seems oblivious to our zombie-like state. She generally wakes up around 6:30, but it can be much earlier and her eagerness to get us moving is no different. One of my all-time favorite Ellie Dinglish (German & English) quotes was an early morning wake-up, when Ellie was puzzled as to why we didn't want to get out of bed super-early (the sun rises before 5 in Dutch summertime). She wandered over to the window, pulled the curtains aside to reveal the first colors of dawn light and announced, "It's not hell!"...to which Markus responded by muttering into his pillow, "No, but I can see it from here."
('hell' is German for 'light'; she meant it wasn't dark)

After years of early morning starts, we have decided Ellie is old enough to stay in her room each morning until 7am. She has plenty of books, a nice little lamp and Lolo for company, so we think she'll be fine. Although I'm a big believer in teaching kids analog, we put a digital clock in her bedroom so there would be no intricate and unending negotiations about the proximity of the big hand to the 7 (top lawyers of the world, you have nothing on our almost 4 year old). The first morning (yesterday) had the expected debate about which position needed to be a 7 (the last digit was a 7 at 6:17, so hey!). This morning, she tried to forget the whole clock business and carry on as usual, taking the extreme of running down the hallway and hiding behind the kitchen table from Mama who returned her to her room as soon as she was captured. After that, I was pleasantly surprised that she fussed no further and didn't attempt to come out even after Markus went down the hall to get ready for work. I could hear her happily reading and talking to Lolo. Hooray! Day 2 is a success! I even managed to pour myself a cup of tea before she came running down the hall at 7:17, proudly grinning from ear to ear, naked as a jaybird, and shouting, "I did it! I stayed until the 7! And I did it just like Cinderella does!"

Later...
I have been asked to clarify the Cinderella comment, and really, I can't. I have no idea. I don't remember a nude scene in "Cinderella". I will try to ignore any suggestions that I am the Wicked Stepmother keeping Cinderella/Ellie in her room against her will. Besides, I really think it was more simple than that. Ellie loves to act out her favorite movies, and after she told me she "did it just like Cinderella does", she demonstrated resting her head on a pillow and then stretching up with one arm toward the open window, smiling to greet the day. Who knows where the naked came in, but it was pretty darn funny.

Little talker

Sharing another "Ellie says" reminds me that I really ought to share baby Stephanie's talking too. She has always been a very effective communicator, and her talking is ramping up big-style. While Ellie never used baby talk (she waited until she knew the word perfectly before saying it), baby Stephanie has no such reservations...and she LOVES to talk! Some examples:

"What's THAT?!!" -- no translation necessary, often said with great urgency. This was 4th in line after "no", "go", and "mama".

"Wanna show." -- I want to see. "Schau" {rhymes with cow} is German for "look", and we often say it to draw her attention to something.
also "Wanna go SEE." again with the urgency.
also "Wanna go see Will", the friend across the road. Used to be "Wanna go see Jack-dog (or Dog-Jack)", Will's golden retriever.

"Dog-dog." -- evolution from Jack-dog. applies to all dogs great and small.
"Woof-woof!" -- enthusiastic response to "What does the doggie say?"

"Ooooooooo!" (also "woooo") -- She has spotted a cow (live or image). Cows say "moo". German for cow is "kuh" {pronounced "coo"}. She meets it half-way with "ooo".

"Yie-yie-yie!" with clapping -- She's singing "Old MacDonald" to herself.

"Wanna go singing." --she wants to play on the swings at the playground.

"Tea!" -- She's thirsty. We're not sure if this comes from all the tea we drink or just the last sound in the word.

"Num-num!" -- She has a craving. Often said as we drive past a cafe where she has eaten a treat.

Single words:
baby
otter
cat
no (can mean "yes"; emphatic "no" is "nien nien nien!", always 3 times)
yeah
'kay! ("ok", usually meaning enthusiastic "yes")
go
Ellie
baby Stephanie (she says this as one word)
Mama
Baba or Papa (usually Baba)
Mimi (thank you, iChat!)

This isn't a comprehensive list, but it covers the most frequent sayings. How we love that golden girl!

Bonus:
We can no longer capture movies of baby Stephanie since she now understands she can watch on the camera screen. I tried making a movie of her cleaning the floor, but instead I caught this lovely demonstration of her phrase of choice, and the newest word addition (yes).

Two unrelated things come together

Two weekends ago, we boarded the commuter rail train with the idea of spending some time in Fremantle. It was a wintry, off-on rainy day, so before long, Ellie (our chronically underdressed child) was cold. We decided to disembark in Cottesloe and buy her some new long johns at a good outdoors store there. This led to more shopping and the purchase of much new and fancy athletic gear for Mama. I've never been one for the gym, and here that's more true than ever with such great outdoors; however, I hadn't really been taking much advantage of that either, and it was time to end excuses. Markus ensured I was fully geared up: new professionally fitted running shoes (whoa! what a difference!), super-breathable but warm exercise top and pants, and such technologically-advanced socks that they practically do the exercise for you. Seriously. When that man seeks out to destroy my excuses, he doesn't hold back. His point is that every weekday I drop Ellie off at school across from the beach, where there is a walking/cycling path that runs for miles. It isn't going to get any better than that, so off I had to go! This morning was to be my first day at it. I even wrote it on my to-do list. Jogging stroller in the car, complete with super-thermal stroller blanket for baby Stephanie (thank you, life in Holland for those two pieces of essential gear)...no more excuses.

Unrelated...
In the wee small hours of this morning, my dreams included two people from high school who I didn't like. They were a couple then, and they are now married with child(ren?). In my dream, it was them as they are (supposedly) now, including a small child who was their beautiful daughter. We were all riding together in my car, and I was so happy to see them. The dream left me a bit confunded and not a little lonely and homesick when I woke up. I think the underlying message was not about those particular people but rather I really miss familiar faces. Markus and I were recently talking about how long it's been since we were in the States, and this is the longest I've ever been away. Yes, I've moved every 2-4 years my whole life, but most of that was within one country... the country I haven't lived in for nearly 4 years now and haven't visited in over a year. Lemme tell ya, there's nothing like waking up homesick in the world's most isolated capital city to make one feel far from home.

Dejected and tense as I was, this was to be the morning for starting my new exercise routine, so I geared up and off we went after dropping Ellie off at school. As usual, Markus was right. It's hard to beat this locale:


Baby Stephanie was beautifully cooperative and was happy as a clam (as ever!) in the jogging stroller, munching away on crackers from the Snack Trap (clever little unnecessary-but-useful thing!). I walked to a small playground and back again, stopping at the playground for my little swinger.


Back home again, showered and belly full of healthy food (exercise helps motivate in that department too!), I feel so good having gotten some needed exercise and I realize that I no longer feel tense, sad or lonely. I just feel refreshed and good! And I feel even better knowing that Markus's leave has been approved for our trip back to the States in a few months' time. Next up, flight planning...

Mothers of littles are never alone

Even when I need a bathroom break, baby Stephanie is right there to help me with the toilet paper.


I thought I'd spare you an image of her stuffing little tp bits around my legs. This helpful habit of hers is very stressful to her big sister, who has been known to wail in distress, "Mama! Baby Stephanie is trying to touch my po-po!"

First puddle walk

Despite all the rain we've had, it doesn't tend to build up much due to the accompanying wind and decent drainage in our neighborhood. This has left our big puddle fan (Ellie) disappointed on many an occasion. Baby Stephanie didn't know what she had been missing, until this weekend when we opted to go for a walk in light rain, when it suddenly gave way to brilliant sunshine and fresh puddles in the road. Ellie was in with gusto, but baby Stephanie was reluctant at first, not really seeing the point. As is increasingly the case, she started mimicking Ellie, and then she really got into the action, sitting down a few times to splash with her hands in the muddy water and cutting our walk short so we could take them home and give them a warm bath.


Cute little girly raincoats and happy splashers!

Wanna go Baba!

Last Thursday was one of those devilish weather days I've moaned about in previous posts, a mix of sun and horrendous showers and gale-force winds. Of course, a clear period gave way to deluge while Markus was cycling home from work. The poor man arrived at the back door drenched and frozen, ready for a hot shower, warm dry clothes and a cup of tea. As usual, the girls lit up when they spotted him! Baby Stephanie was particularly thrilled, because we'd been home due to inclement weather, but now her go-go man was here! I swear every bit of her little body was smiling as she rushed to grab his shoes and head for the front door while chanting, "Wanna go, Baba! Wanna go OUT!" Unable to resist her charms, he knew he'd forego his tea and head out with her, but first he had to have his shower and fresh clothes. She followed him into the bathroom, his shoes in hand, and was clearly demanding an explanation for the delay in her baby Stephanie language.


It's a tough job being the go-go man, but someone has to do it.

Socks for Lolo

You know from my frequent whining that it gets quite cold in our house. Bare feet are the way forward here, but we have put a ban on them in our house because it's too darn cold. Ellie has long felt that Lolo should not be exempt from this rule, that Lolo's feet are too cold and she's going to get sick and she'll need to go to the doctor and get medicine because Lolo is sick because her feet were cold because she needs socks! So there. Apparently, it was high time this Mama got busy and knit some. I heavily adapted the math from this pattern to fit Lolo's unusual feet (very small feet, very large ankles), and even so, the socks are held on securely by two hairbands. At least the hairbands match the yarn, so Ellie is happy as can be, reassured that Lolo is now properly dressed (we don't discuss Lolo's short-sleeves...).


It's only natural that now Ellie is concerned that Lolo doesn't have shoes, and she has asked me to make her some. I tried wiggling my way out of it by saying Lolo is a baby who doesn't walk, so she doesn't need shoes. Ellie was ready for this, demonstrating that like any good mama, she will help her baby learn to walk.


I've got to figure out how to make Lolo shoes.

News on knitting

My enthusiasm for knitting continues unabated, and I am already a hopeless collector of yarn. My addiction is rather insane, but knitting is a lovely hobby if you like working with your hands and enjoy peaceful activity too. I really need to go back to the start and learn proper technique. I am such an impatient learner that I skipped right ahead to finding my own way to hold the yarn to achieve even tension (where all the stitches look the same) as a beginner, and I didn't bother learning the hard way how to hold it properly and work up to good tension. As a result, I'm usually very proud of my completed projects, but the actual work takes ages longer than it should because my movements aren't economical. I haven't made time to learn good technique because I always want to make products rather than just process. The ability to create has left me impatient with the process of creating (a common theme for me as a learner)...and I have to work on that. Until I do, I will keep churning out (slowly) new projects that hopefully will delight their new owners as much as they delight me to make them.

Since I finished Ellie's vest, I have made several pairs of handwarmers (which I gave away before photographing, alas),
a scarf for a girlfriend's birthday:


and socks for Lolo.


I loved the scarf so much that I was tempted to keep it, but it will be given. I think about the person I'm making for as I create, so that scarf feels like it's hers even though she hasn't seen it yet. The handwarmers were fun, quick knits. I'd intended to make lots more, but I want to move on to new challenges right now. Next in my sights: a soft, gorgeous wrap from the fabulous Malabrigo yarn. Ooo, that yarn is so buttery soft!
I think I need intervention.

Glimpses of natural splendor

We've had a heckuva lot of rain lately. I try not to complain because the water table sorely needs replenishing, but it does get tiresome when one has become so accustomed to the sun! The worst was a winter storm that came through with tremendous rain/hail showers and strong, gusty winds (up to 125 km/h again!). The wind just whistles through our house, where there is hardly any insulation and the doors all have gaps the size of Texas (okay, Rhode Island, but still...). All that whining I wasn't going to do aside, poor weather makes you appreciate fabulous weather all the more! Last Wednesday was a classic example of amazing weather, so beautiful you just wanted to live outside all day (or at least until the sun went down and you got too cold).

Take a look at the polka dot popcorn clouds...


the flame tree...


and our backyard fence resident kookaburras...


Beautiful!

Tickle kisses

I cannot resist baby Stephanie. Her cuteness is too much for me. This little movie was captured well after her bedtime one teething night (darn those molars!). I was tired and very much wanting to relax and knit, but there was a bundle out of bed who needed kissing. She had gotten hold of my knitting tape measure, one I really like and paid too much for because it is soft but retracts into a lovely small case with a clay dot design on it. She and Ellie are both big fans of this tape measure, and I've been nervous about losing it to their whims. Alas, this movie captures the death of the tape measure. Witness as she accidently whacks it on the floor and pops it open for the third time that night, to be repaired no more. And I can't even get mad at her. She's just too darn cute.

Name calling

I managed to offend an Aussie mum today.

When I picked up Ellie at school, her joined-at-the-hip friend was standing with her at the door, watching her own mum and I approach. She gleefully shouted, "Hi Mummy!" which Ellie echoed just as gleefully. I gave Ellie a cuddle and kiss and said something like, "Silly girl! I'm not your mummy! I'm the mama!"

Of course, a third mum was nearby and seemed shocked. Full of disapproval, she demanded to know if I'd really just told my daughter I was not her mummy. I told her, yes I had because I'm not; I'm a "mama". Mummy is an Aussie term, and I'm not Aussie. Wrong response. It increased her huffiness ten-fold, and she walked away, mumbling "it's used all over the world, not just Australia." My just-as-huffy response (which I was too dumb to keep to myself) was "Yes, in all Commonwealth countries, but I'm not British either. For the record, I don't want to be an American 'Mommy' either." She shook her head woefully and glanced sideways at me with undisguised distaste. Sigh.

I know it may seem puzzling why this even matters to me. Most people who don't understand it happily go by the most prevalent term in their culture. My home culture is American, but I've moved so often (every 2-4 years my entire life!) that there is no one term that seems obvious to me (even though my own mother was "Mommy" and now "Mom"). After four years in New Orleans (where Ellie was supposed to be born), I felt a strong affinity for Southern hospitality, and there it's always "mama." Living internationally now, the most multicultural term we've encountered is "mama". "Mama" just seems to fit me.
Really, truly NO OFFENSE MEANT! I did get riled by her huffiness and unfortunately fostered the incorrect anti-Aussie impression with my poorly-chosen responses, but I'm not anti-Australian or -British or -what-have-you. With all due respect to "mummies" (and "mommies") out there, I have fought to keep "Mama" and I'll keep fighting as needed. It's the name I prefer, and it's mine to keep. I'm just "Mama". That's who I want to be.

Hooray for First Aid!

When Markus and I took a refresher First Aid class just before baby Stephanie was born, our teacher opened with a story of two young mums she had encountered recently at a local cafe. Talking and gesturing with her hands, one of the women knocked a freshly filled hot cup of coffee off the table and into the pram with a baby. Neither of the mothers nor any of the cafe staff knew what to do to help the poor screaming infant. Thank goodness our First Aid teacher was there!
That story stuck with me. Knowing first aid and remembering it at the crucial moment are often different things, and I have worried from time to time that my memory would fail me when I needed it. Today, I got a good test, thankfully on myself and neither of the girls. I reheated a cup of tea in the microwave while chasing kiddos, and clearly, the cook time was too long! When I reached in to lift out the mug (with baby Stephanie wrapped around my leg), I immediately noticed how over-hot the mug was. Not wanting to make any sudden moves and slosh the liquid onto either of us, I as-quickly-and-carefully as possible moved the mug to the countertop...but that took enough time to sear the everlivin' crap out of my thumb. I immediately turned on the sink to ice cold water (thank you winter pipes!) and let it run over my thumb and fingers. The thumb was stiff and turned white instantly. So there I stood with the ice cold water running over my thumb, thinking, "Well, this is the moment! And I don't remember what to do! What did she tell us to do for burns? I can't remember!" After several minutes, I switched to a glass of ice water with some ice cubes floating in it so I could get a phone and call Markus to ask what he remembered. And the answer?
Submerge the burned area in cold (ideally) running water for 20 minutes.
I really didn't think I remembered what to do, but clearly I did remember. I acted instantly and, although the burned area is still white and very damaged, I probably saved my thumb from extreme nastiness, as the cold water dissipates the heat and prevents the burn from getting worse (did you know that burns continue to worsen well after the heat source is removed?). I highly recommend everyone take a basic First Aid course if you haven't recently done so.
Oh, and don't grab too-hot porcelain with your bare hands. That's a good take-home tip too.

My life as an adult

Some adults are sleeping in.
Some adults are reading a newspaper and sipping coffee.
Super husbands are watching the kids while their wives go see Harry Potter and munch popcorn at 9:30 on a Saturday morning.
Thank you, Markus!

Re-vamped playroom and new art box

Any organized parent or teacher of littles will tell you of the importance of rotating toys. Leave a minimal number of toys available at any one time, and then rotate those out on a regular basis. Rotation makes old toys new again. Too many toys out at once is just overwhelming, and ironically, it can lead to too many new toys entering the house as kids stop seeing what they actually have. While we weren't adding any, we certainly had too many out. When I sat dejected in the middle of a very messy playroom one afternoon, I took a good look around and realized that if I were a kid, dumping everything everywhere would be my first inclination too. How else could you see what there was or decide what to choose? Once something was dumped on the floor, it wasn't even obvious where it should be put back. Too much!!!

Unfortunately, knowing this didn't translate into making the time to fix it until this week, mostly because it was definitely not a task that could be completed with children watching. The other night while the girls were asleep, I went through and took it all down to a minimum level. Now, each shelf space holds one or two items at appropriate heights for their users. A cleared desk is topped with a pad of paper, a sketch book, and a tackle box/art box for Ellie (and an unplugged phone for important business calls). The room became inviting, interesting, and fun again. I expected backlash at the absence of most of their things, but there hasn't been even a hint of objection. Instead, both girls happily entertain themselves without any hesitation or deliberation, and they can easily see where toys need to be put back. Ellie is enraptured with her new art box, so much so that this morning she bypassed my sleeping body and was busily engaged with it when I woke up who knows how much later.


I plan to rotate some contents of the tackle box weekly too. Right now, it contains twist-up crayons, muffin tin rainbow crayons, feathers, goggly eyes, colorful pompoms, scissors, glue stick, beads and string, stickers, paper strips for cutting or gluing, and a small blank book I made with card stock and computer paper.

Sunshine-y girl

In the weeks leading up to Ellie's school holidays, Ellie's behavior was becoming more and more difficult to manage. Her teacher called me in for a meeting, because Ellie had become so challenging at school. She had latched on to a friend in an obsessive way, becoming teary if separated even by one friend between them at circle time. She didn't want to work anymore; she only wanted to cling to her friend...and her friend wasn't enjoying the over-attention. Ellie claimed to be "too tired" to learn, which was a red flag for me since she has always loved to learn new things (that has been her idea of a good time since she was a wee bub). She became so difficult at home that I was truly at my wit's end, even succumbing one weekend to abject misery and the desperate need to escape my life for just a few hours. It was not pretty, and I really didn't know what to do. The idea of two and a half weeks of school holiday seemed monstrous in some ways. What on earth would I do with this person who resembled my Ellie but really wasn't my Ellie anymore?

Then, school holidays started, and she has been the happiest camper from the first minute! How did I miss it? She needed a break! She was overtired, overstressed, and generally overcooked. Since she's not even four, it didn't really occur to me that she'd be needing a break from school. Before she started school, I thought five days a week from 8:30 to 1:30 would be quite a lot, but once we were doing it, it was just what we did. I forgot. It was simply getting to be too much. When she told her teacher she was too tired to learn, it's because she was too tired to learn! Hello? How did we miss that?! She needed a break. Now, she wakes up happy every day and stays that way. Yes, there are still little I'm-three-and-I'm-nuts breakdowns here and there, but nothing big enough to make me flinch. She loves her cubbyhouse and the revamped playroom, and she is happy to play on her own or with her sister or with me. We have played and played and played. We have enjoyed trips to the beach, to the animal farm, to the indoor playground, to the zoo. We have invited friends over for playdates and have been to other friend's houses for more playdates. And we have had lots and lots of downtime. It's been wonderful! My happy girl is back, and I'll be more mindful in the future.

Pink-clad little person

When Ellie was born and mountains of pink clothing were gifted to us, I hated pink. I dreaded pink. Why, oh why, did there have to be that gender-stereotype of pink? I refused to buy pink for her or for myself. There would be no pink, unless someone gifted us something unavoidably adorable. Pink was NOT going to define us! Here we are, nearly four years and two girls later, and I am a pink convert. I doubt it will ever be one of my favorite colors, but I have an appreciation for it that I never expected. Yes, pink has even found its way into my own wardrobe. Thanks to small European front loading washing machines, I wash whole loads of pink laundry. I do buy some pink clothes for Ellie (at her request), and baby Stephanie wears all of Ellie's too-small pink. And this morning, a pink-clad little person is sitting next to me.


It may never be one of my favorite colors, but sometimes pink melts my heart and steals my breath away.

A performance piece

I'm making up for a lack of consistent video posting with a payload! Here's yet another, shot today by Markus during cubbyhouse playtime, and I cannot wait to share it. Ellie love love loves Julie Andrews, most likely because of her gorgeous, crystal-clear, easy to understand voice. Her two favorite movies are (predicatably) "The Sound of Music" and "Mary Poppins", and both soundtracks get heavy use in the car. We are always listening to one or the other when Ellie is strapped into her seat, and she has worked hard at learning the lyrics. She doesn't always understand all the words (and there is no correcting her once she's decided what they are!), but her singing is downright adorable. I have never been able to get her to sing for the camera, but Markus managed it today. This little clip made me so happy that I got teary too, and I hope you will enjoy it. Here, she's singing "The Perfect Nanny" from "Mary Poppins", which is the nanny advertisement composed by the children and sung by Jane. Ellie emulates the British accent and substitutes lyrics as needed. My favorite adaptation is when they sing about not putting toads in the nanny's bed, Ellie has changed that to "dudes in your bed". Enjoy!

Blessed

I woke up this morning with another (the same?) cold, this time with all the obvious symptoms: sore throat, cough, headache, etc. Markus recognized my need to sleep in and took the girls out for a fun morning along the beach to ensure peace in the house. They came home again, smiling and happy. We enjoyed cups of tea in the sunshine and put baby Stephanie down for her nap, where she snoozes still. Markus and Ellie are playing in the cubby house. She carefully carried out her tea set and prepared him delicious tea and a birthday party. I could hear chants of "Hip hip HOORAY!" floating across the backyard. Then more trips into the house for Lolo, Lolo's crib, Lolo's favorite books...signs of a busy little girl making the cubby house her home. Markus carried out a little rocking chair, and the two (three, counting Lolo) of them sat there reading, and I sat inside smiling, listening to them until Ellie shut the door to keep out the cold breeze, and I felt how truly blessed I am with this life.

Pindle

As promised, the moderately lengthy movie of Ellie's play in the backyard, slightly modified from a private monologue to interact with her audience. Prepare yourself for a vocabulary lesson. Today's new word is "pindle."



p.s. How cute is the cubbyhouse after Markus spent last weekend painting it?! We love the cheerful yellow!

Fun Saturday out

So, what did Markus do with the girls while Jennifer was flat out in bed this past Saturday? Zoo and beach, of course! As Ellie would say, "How fun was that?!"


I often wish we had a sweet photo of the girls together, but you see above why this does not happen. They are awfully cute just keeping themselves busy, though!


And we cannot neglect a video posting. Baby Stephanie is such a dog lover, and this past Saturday she found that love reciprocated big style by an adorable yellow lab puppy:

American invasion

When we pulled into the carpark last Thursday morning before school, we peered across the ocean and saw this awesome sight:


It is the USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier normally stationed off Japan that is now docked off Cottesloe beach for a week of shore leave. There are American sailors all over the place, which is giving me freaky flashbacks to my military brat upbringing. The funniest part of this new addition to the shoreline was how it influenced school drop-off on Friday. We were tickled to note the number of dads who volunteered for drop-off and made their kids a bit late to school due to oogling the ship from the shore.

Doings

I just uploaded photos from our camera starting with the past weekend when Markus had the girls out of the house, and lemme tell ya, there's been a whole lotta cuteness goin' on! I have to admit that I was secretly dreading Ellie's winter holidays a bit. She had been so tantrum-y for the past few weeks that I didn't know where I'd find the stamina, but these first three days have been amazing! Thanks in no small part to the awesome cubby house, she has been happy as a clam, and her happy-go-lucky baby sister has been quick to follow the lead. Before I get carried away with the easy living (and hallelujah, it's been good these days!), I'll just move straight on to the photos. I'll do one day at a time so it doesn't get too confusing. Here's yesterday:

The day started with extended play in the backyard, which has been totally transformed by the presence of the cubby house. Ellie now has an entire play worked out involving Lolo, her stroller, and the cubby house as "home" after a series of errands all over the yard. I've got a movie of that to be posted soon, but it's a bit long and only for die-hard fans.

Then, we headed off to O2H to buy fruits and veg. Stephanie feels very comfortable there from our weekly trips, and she likes to do a bit of re-arranging (note the potato on the seat cushion).


Both girls enjoy the fabulous fresh produce and usually can't escape a visit without eating some onsite.

After that, we visited the local plant nursery to choose plants for the cubby house windowboxes. Ellie wanted everything, but she eventually settled on some blue lobelia and some white "fairy flowers" (they are fairy-crazy here in Oz!).


We also chose some strawberry plants for her to tend in a pot outside her cubbyhouse. She is very excited and checks them multiple times a day to see if any strawberries have appeared.

The afternoon was more play outside. Ball rolling back and forth, children rolling in the grass, bird watching, and definitely more cubby house. Papa came home early to relieve a still-recouping Mama and take the girls to the playground. What a fun day!

By the way...
I'm often asked the secret to my photo collages, and it's no skill of mine, believe me. Once again, the credit goes to my beautiful friend gail, who is not only blessedly responsible for the beginnings of my foodie ways but also should take credit for any decent blogging I do. She guided me to picnik, which is super-easy online photo editing like Photoshop for those of us without a clue. I highly recommend it!

Flat out

I spent the best part of the gloriously sunny weekend lying flat on my back in bed, sick. Yuck. I have no idea what it was (such deep exhaustion!), but I seem to have skimmed over the top of something nasty. Now the rain and clouds are back, but I'm thankful at least that if I had to miss the sun, it happened over the weekend when Markus could play with the girls. Ellie is out of school for two and a half weeks for winter holidays, so being sick before instead of during that time was helpful too. Not that it's ever fun to be sick. These are the times when you can't help but fervently wish you lived within 20 minutes of family. Having some extra help on hand would be fantabulous, but the lack of it is part and parcel of this wild expat lifestyle. Hope whatever it was/is will clear my system soon!

Happy 4th of July!

In the US, the 4th of July is a celebration of our independence, though this year we will have to add a syllable to that for my sister and her new husband! They celebrated their wedding at his family's farmhouse in marvelous country style, complete with requisite 4th of July barbeque, beer, and cupcakes! Sent off in a cascade of sparklers, we wish we'd been there to see them shine!


Happy Interdependence Day, Elizabeth and Matthew!

Anniversary prezzies

As our very first anniversary approached, I was at a loss for what to give Markus. He is ridiculously tough to buy for because he is not a stuff guy, he doesn't want much, and his needs are pretty well covered. Birthdays and Christmas drive me mad scrambling for ideas, and forget suggestions when other people ask me for help! So an anniversary gift was looking really tough. I turned to tradition. In the US, tradition dictates a specific gift for each year of marriage. I don't know anyone who follows this list anymore, but it gave me a great starting point and we've stuck to the list ever since. This year was "wood". Despite teasing on both sides, saying we'd wrap up sticks from the backyard, we both came through in style!

Markus gave me two beautiful, local art (my favorite!) gifts. One is a collection of miniature treasures (the frame is wood), and the other is an aboriginal carving on a nut from the boab tree.


I gave Markus a wood kaleidoscope, and I wish I'd made a video of him opening it. First, he unwrapped the base. He looked at it very carefully, set it gently on the table, and gave me a very polite "Thanks, honey, it's really nice wood" comment. That's not the gift, it's the base, I assured him. Oh, the look of relief! Then, he opened the main gift, carefully unwrapping to reveal a tube of wood with a glass bead on top and a small metal plate with a central hole on the bottom. There was an unmistakeable "WTF?" look on his face, which he was valiantly trying to suppress. You could see the wheels turning: "Did she give me a pepper grinder? What the hell?" Then, he lifted it to his eye and became a boy again: "WOOOOOW! WHOOOOA!!! Looooooook!" and so on for many minutes, as I lost him to the simple joy of a kaleidoscope. Thanks to the miracle of technology, I can share it with you too:


Last but not least...wouldn't you know that the cubby house fits right in to this grand scheme? Delivered and assembled on our anniversary, it is only natural that it also be a gift of wood.


Note: the music on the kaleidoscope video is "El Corazon" by Arno Elias from the Buddha Bar Nature CD

Parenting lesson #5782 (or #1): EMBRACE REALITY

At 3:30pm on the afternoon of our fifth anniversary, I was sitting on the kitchen floor, sobbing post-tantrum (mine). The day had gotten off to a very rough start. Ellie has been an unusually tough cookie to manage for almost two weeks, and she had eaten through my patience reserves before 8am. Baby Stephanie, normally so easy to please, wouldn't nap. She was too tired to eat but too hungry to sleep, so she just fussed and wanted 110% of my attention. Each time I tried to do anything I wanted to get done, one or both of them would throw a fit or cry. All I'd hoped to do was clean up the house and myself, bake a yummy dessert, and look nice when Markus came home from work for our date at home after the girls went to bed. I didn't think that was too much to expect, but clearly I needed to let go. I picked myself up off the floor, called our favorite restaurant to book for the next night, found a babysitter, and then invited the neighbors over for some craft and play time. EMBRACE REALITY. Life is seldom perfect, and even more rare are the moments that go smoothly when I really want them to. I can rail against it (i.e., cry on the kitchen floor) or I can shrug it off and accept the blessings I have along with the challenges. And you know what? Markus and I had a really nice night. No, the house wasn't clean. My eyes were puffy from my crying (I'm thinking there must be some PMS mixed in there), I was wearing pajama pants, and I hadn't brushed my hair...but it didn't matter. I made a super-quick-to-prepare and delicious dinner, we opened a bottle of wine from our trip to Cullen Vineyards, and we gave each other anniversary presents as well as shared time. It wasn't at all how I'd planned it, but it was every bit as enjoyable. Embrace reality. Here's to many more wonderful (busy, challenging, unpredictable...) years to come!

Mouse in the house

Oma affectionately dubbed her "Ellie Maus" when she was a baby, and she continues to live up to the name:

Novel idea

I have spent almost an hour catching up on seriously back-logged work on the computer (looking ahead to hours and hours more to get it done!), and I am not a popsicle. Why? This morning, baby Stephanie and I visited an electronics store and purchased a small space heater for this room. Why the heck didn't I do this before now?

A purchase to celebrate!

The deal has been finalized and a move-in date arranged. Next Wednesday, on our fifth anniversary, we will be able to move in to our first new home! It's pre-fab and very basic, but it's ours! Okay, actually, it's the girls'. We bought them a cubby house, which will be delivered next week. But we're still excited! We're going to paint it, make curtains for it, buy little furniture for it...it is still all the joy and excitement of a first home and we'll take it! Happy Anniversary to...them.

No water

On the way home, I drove through a huge puddle at the bottom of our street. It seemed to be growing by leaps and bounds as water gushed from some unseen source into the road. Well, it seems that would be the water that's supposed to be in our taps. No water at home. Nothing like the lack of something to make you appreciate it! I feel so thirsty, just knowing it's not there. I also feel incredibly wasteful, thinking of all the water I used to rinse dishes and handwash laundry this morning without saving any. It's been raining all week, but no water outside either (unless we raid the swimming pool, which is about to overflow anyway). Water. Appreciate it. Respect it.
Hopefully, ours will be back soon.

Winter Down Under

Winter has come to Australia, sort of. I say sort of because the sunny days are still glorious! The sun heats the air to a beautiful 70 degrees or so, usually with no wind or a warm breeze. Once the sun sets, temperatures plummet to around 40-50 degrees, though some nights have been even less. The real "wintry" days are the rainy ones (no sun, no warmth!) with the nasty winds coming up from the south. Think about what is south of Australia: Antarctica, and there's nothing warm about that! On those days, dropping Ellie off at school is no picnic. That gorgeous spot across from the beach means exposure to gale force winds first thing in the morning (last Friday brought gusts up to 125 kmph). Yikes! But the worst of it: it's cold inside the house. Australians forgot about seasons when they built houses. Our house is old and beautiful, with wood floors and high ceilings. No sun gets directly in the windows, which keeps it livable in summer...but ooooo the winter! No sun means no warmth, so the average temperature in the house hovers around 60 degrees. That temperature is lovely for sleeping, but not so great for waking hours. We have gas heaters in the kitchen and living room that work wonders (lovely warmth in 5 minutes or less), and the girls have space heaters in their bedrooms. We also installed a safety heater in the bathroom; it doesn't do much, but it does take the bite out. In the other rooms, you'd better grab a sweater and some thick socks. Back here in the "study", the temperature ranges from 57-64 degrees (depending on clouds or sun outside). One of the reasons blog posting has been sporadic lately is that it's just too darn cold! My hands are turning into little popsicles as I type this entry. Oh, woe to me.

I grew up with central heating. We never were one of those families that kept it so warm inside that you could wear short sleeves (too wasteful!), but I never remember being cold in the house either. This has been an adjustment. Long johns have become pajamas. I own my first requisite pair of Uggs, native to Australia and now I know why! (Thank you, Leonie, for tipping me off to their necessity!)

The trickiest part has been dressing our most incredibly determined CEO, who insists not only on dressing herself but dressing herself for summer. You couldn't pay her to wear a sweater or her pink Uggs (thought the pink would work, but NO). For the past several weeks now, she has had an outfit of choice that consists of a long sleeved t-shirt, thin cotton pants (leggings), a thin cotton summer dress, and one of my t-shirts...in that order (you can see the ensemble in the posting about mealtime). I knit her a cute little vest-like top, which I've managed to wedge into the daily assembly between the t-shirt and the cotton dress. Witness the peril of the first morning I enforced the wool layer:


You can see the other two layers clutched tightly in her hands. Forget trying to make her wear anything else, and heaven forbid one of the outer pieces is declared too dirty to wear. I have learned stealthy overnight laundering techniques.

Food and Friends

When we went to the Caversham Wildlife Park a few weekends ago, Markus took a lot of short video clips, but I just got around to watching them this weekend. This one of baby Stephanie cracked me up:


She had a fistful of kangaroo food that she'd taken from my hands, but she clearly didn't know what it was. The kangaroo did. Their interaction is pretty funny! It also reminded me of this favorite video of Ellie (shared before but new to you newcomers), a bit younger than Stephanie is now (taken back when we were in Qatar) and on the theme of (almost) sharing food with friends:

Mealtime

We make it a point to eat dinner together as a family. Everyone starts out sitting in his or her own chair, but that doesn't tend to last. Baby Stephanie must motor. She can only sit for so long before she has to get up and wander around. Often, she migrates to Papa's lap. Ellie is quick to follow. They often eat the bulk of their meals there. So, no matter how we start out, our mealtimes often end up looking like this...

Attending a Christening and 1st birthday

Today, we attended the Christening and 1st birthday party of our little friend Connor. The Christening service was apart from a full mass, but there were many families being baptized at the same time. The service lasted about half an hour, which was about 25 minutes too long for our intrepid explorer.



Ellie, much to our great pride and amazement, sat calmly, quietly and paid rapt attention to everything that was happening, even after Papa and baby Stephanie had to go play outside.

Afterwards, the family celebrated Connor's first birthday with a great party at the Subiaco Playgroup. Such a smart choice of location for kids, as there were tons of toys and lots of great playspace outside. Ellie loved the playhouse (called "cubby house" here) and the dolls in prams, but she really loved the birthday cake. She had been waiting patiently for a slice literally all day long, since Mama made Connor's birthday cake. Ellie watched me create the icing, smooth and pipe the different colors onto the cake, asking every once in a while if she could have a bit...and waiting so nicely when the answer was she had to wait for the party later (she did get to eat bits I trimmed off and squeezed icing on for a treat). Oh, was she happy when cake time finally came!



How convenient that the icing matched her dress! Maybe I should plan it that way for parties in the future...

Sneaky

This afternoon, Ellie requested we bake cookies together. She chose peanut butter cookies, and after the first batch was in the oven, we remembered to add chocolate chips to the rest of the dough. As soon as the first batch was cool enough, baby Stephanie happily wandered around the backyard munching on a cookie, but Ellie was determined to wait for one with chocolate chips. Or so she said.
When the girls wandered outside, I went into the laundry room to transfer a load of clothes to the dryer. I looked out the window just as Ellie coaxed the cookie out of baby Stephanie's little fist and took a huge bite. "Ellie! I saw that!" PITUEY! She spat that bite out before starting to chew and began looking around wildly to see where I was while trying to stuff the stolen bite and the remaining cookie back into a bewildered Stephanie's hands.
I wish I had caught that on camera!

Caversham Wildlife Park

On Sunday, we drove out to Whiteman Park to visit the kangaroos at the Caversham Wildlife Park in the Swan Valley. We'd been there once before, and the weather has been so glorious lately that we were happy to do anything outside. At the Caversham Wildlife Park, there are lots of opportunities to see and meet Australian wildlife (including adorable wombats), but the kangaroo pen is the best. You are free to walk around with the kangas, feed and pet them. The kangaroos in the park are very docile, friendly and so so soft! Baby Stephanie loves animals and has no fear, so she had a great time making new friends. On the other hand, Ellie seems to get more and more reserved around animals as she grows older.


Anything bigger than she could comfortably cuddle in her lap is too big in her book, so she didn't seem to enjoy it so much this time. She surprised us by not wanting to pet or feed them, whereas Stephanie pet them, fed them, and ate a bit of their food herself (yuck). Most of the pictures are available for your perusal in the flickr sidebar, but this picture tickles me to bits:



At one point, Stephanie sat down to have a chat with a lounging wallaby, and a large group of Asian tourists rushed over to take her picture. A few of them wanted to pose with her, which caused great distress in our wee one and consternation in the tourists themselves. Not all wildlife enjoys paparazzi.

Feminists, avert your eyes

I might as well come straight out with the worst of it: I just spent nearly an hour scrubbing the kitchen floor on my hands and knees. Not pregnant and not barefoot (it's colder inside the house than outside), but it's still a capital offense, I know. And guess what else? Yesterday I spent two hours raking the yard, gathering leaves and sticks into four huge green waste bags in time for city collection. Sunday night, I finished a knitted top for Ellie. This morning (before the kitchen scrubbing), I signed up for a sewing class. Will the insanity never end?

Okay, calm down, ladies. There's a simple explanation for all of this: I DO IT BECAUSE I LIKE IT. The raking was tremendously satisfying in the beautiful autumn weather. I wish I'd taken before and after photos to prove the accomplishment. You have already heard much about my newfound joy of knitting. The sewing has been a long time interest, one that now feels more important since clothes are ridiculously expensive here and frankly (no offense to any Aussie readers) I don't like the styles or the materials. Ellie is horribly low on cool weather clothes, and I can't bring myself to buy her pants that cost $60 (or more!) or those that are cheaper but won't last for Stephanie too. And scrubbing the kitchen floor...well, I just wanted to feel like it was really clean, and now I do. At least it will be until Stephanie wakes up from her nap and smears her snack around, but that's a story for another post entitled "Cleaning with children in the house is like shoveling snow during a blizzard."

Several months ago, I received a letter from a friend who expressed her extreme distaste for how domestic I've become. I have a Masters degree, I've traveled extensively...and yet I spent my days in a way she cannot comprehend. Essentially, she accused me of chucking my brain along with my placenta. I'm still struggling with an appropriate response. I myself cringe when I read conservative mommy blogs by women who include phrases like "serve my husband and family" (shudder shudder cringe), though when I reflect on my days, that is really what I do. The difference is in the intent. I don't stay home because it is expected of me or because there is nothing else I could do; the truth is quite the opposite. Markus and I have made deliberate choices to put our young family first. He works hard so I can stay home with them and do work that makes our downtime much more like downtime. I have a wonderful partner who respects, appreciates and supports me fully. He does not come home expecting a spotless house and a smiling, freshly made-up wife. Sometimes he comes home to a total mad house and a wife who cannot wait for him to pack the children off to the playground or anywhere for just 2 minutes of peace I tell you I need to have some peace before I go crazy...you get the idea. But I do try. Being a homemaker (not the most PC term but to the point) is my chosen profession at the moment, and (as with anything I give this much time) I want to be great at it. It involves many thankless tasks (such as scrubbing the floor) and tons of opportunity for personal growth. I don't regret a minute of it, even when I'm losing my nut. Will I do this forever? No, which is even more reason to work at it extra hard while I can. Making a home and raising a family is not about giving up (or worse, devaluing) oneself. It's about using all your talents to make it fulfilling and meaningful. I can cook delicious meals from scratch because I enjoy it and I really enjoy eating good food. I like creating with my hands, and I enjoy seeing the fruits of my labors. I'm pretty crap at spotless housekeeping, but our home is by no means unclean. My days are full of many tasks, many trials, and lots of hugs and love. It's a great life, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

All that being said, I must stress that I don't believe this is a choice that is appropriate for everyone. I'm not here to judge or say staying home is the best way to parent and I certainly don't believe it's a requirement for every woman. It's really not the best choice for everyone, but it is the right choice for our family. It's a gift, and I appreciate it as such.

Side note: By the way, for another take on the homemaking topic, this post makes a good read.

Laundry sprite

Baby Stephanie likes to help with the laundry. The front loader is a perfect height for her, and it is a sure-fire way to keep her entertained. These days, I always have to check the machine before I wash a load, because you can never be sure what she might have put in there. This weekend, I tried to capture a video of her taking care of the laundry. Alas, the clip is a bit lame since she didn't want to be filmed. You can still get an idea, and you can check out the hysterical socks she is wearing. Enjoy!

This morning

Ellie's school is across a busy road from the beach, which means 5 days a week we start the day in sight of the Indian Ocean. Its beauty never ceases to amaze me. I hope there will never come a point when I take that view for granted. This week, the weather has been patchy transitional autumn weather, meaning rainshowers on and off throughout the day (side note: the temperatures are still quite lovely (low 50s in the morning, 70s in the afternoon), and the wind has died off considerably). With so much sun in the presence of patchy rain, you get RAINBOWS! This is the view that greeted us this morning when we parked the car before school:


The rainbow seemed to enter the ocean somewhere ahead of Rottnest Island. The cargo ships you see are on their way to the port at nearby Fremantle. Ellie hoped to see a ship pass through the rainbow, convinced something amazing would happen when it did. Unfortunately, the rain over the sea stopped and the rainbow faded away before we could test her theory. At least we were treated to a magical view, even for just a few minutes.