Where we're at lately....

There's so much going on at the moment, my time has been very consumed! So I thought I'd just do a news-filled post about what's going on right now.

First of all, Charlie. Today he is 6 weeks old. He is such a lovely little boy, and his little face is so expressive already. He's been smiling for a couple of weeks, and he really is a content little thing. He is also very strong! He loves cuddles, and is happiest when he's in somebody's arms. His sleeping patterns are driving me slightly nutty at the moment. He seems to have coordinated his awake times with Georgie's sleep times. He has trouble sleeping well at night due to colic, (I have no idea what it is that I'm eating to upset him- I think he is super sensitive!) so he doesn't go to sleep properly until around midnight most of the time, and his nights can be quite restless. Which means he likes to sleep the morning away and wake up right when Georgie goes down for her nap. Then he goes down for a huge afternoon nap just as she wakes up. Fun times. However I have a feeling once his colic settles down, he could be a ridiculously easy baby. (fingers crossed!) He also love, love, loves music.

Cuddles

Georgie is being such a great big sister. She is surprisingly gentle with Charlie, and loves to be close to him. She has taken to all this so well (much better than her parents, if truth be told!). She is amazingly cheeky, and loves people. She flirts with strangers in the supermarket constantly and has so many people convinced that she is perfect. I'm pretty sure she has decided it's time to toilet train, which honestly, I'm not that thrilled about. I was perfectly happy to wait until she was two and Charlie was a bit older. However she has been displaying lots of signals, plus she hates having a dirty nappy, and will try and remove the offending foreign matter if I don't get to it fast enough or dress her in pants.

And so we have been toilet training. I'm taking it pretty slowly, for now we're just introducing the potty, and I've been surprised at how quickly Georgie seems to have picked up the concept. At the moment it is very much a game, but I think it will come in time.She is also getting to be such a great little helper. At times she gets in the way and makes things harder, but she is learning and she tries so hard. I'm noticing her copying and mimicking me so much, which is a bit scary, but nice.

Shane and I are going okay. We're noticing how much less time we seem to have together, but I know this is just a temporary thing, and in time we will develop a new normal. Shane's work is sending him away a lot lately, which is tough. He was in the city last week, and will be again this week and next week. But they are flying him back for the weekends. Plus next week, I'm going to fly down with the kids for a week, which will be really, really nice.

The real test is going to come in March though. That's when Shane has to go to Canada for a month. I am so jealous! I desperately wish I could go too. But I know that it's not going to be all fun and games for him either. He will be doing a lot of learning and training so he can implement things back here. But still... Canada? Without me? It's going to suck having him away for so long too. It will be the longest we've ever been apart. It might not seem like a big deal to some people. But Shane and I have never done the traveling husband thing. Sure, he used to work away a lot. But he was still always (at most) four hours away.... and this is a lot more than four hours away. However, we'll just deal with it when the time comes. But I'm looking forward to having him home for a long time after he does all this training! And hopefully it will make it a lot easier for him to do his job, because it has been very full-on for him lately and he is very tired.

Worn-out Daddy

So we'll just bumble along as best we can. I'm sure I'll be needing the help of my family a lot in the near future, and I am so glad they are close. I'm hoping I can use the time while Shane is away to start developing a really good routine with Charlie, and maybe get a little further with toilet training Georgie. But I know things will come in time, and I'll just do my best.

Linking up with Jess at Diary of a SAHM for I blog on Tuesdays

A question to the Universe....

What is the difference between being held while the person holding you is standing up, to when they are sitting down? And why does every single child in the world prefer to be held while you are standing?

He's lucky he's cute!

Kindness

Life is mostly froth and bubble, two things stand like stone. Kindness in another's trouble, Courage in  your own. 

~Adam Lindsay Gordon

It has been a big week here. The town is slowly recovering, but there is still a long way to go. However this week I have just been blown away by how amazingly kind people can be. The sense of community has been fantastic.

Our town has been a bit of a disaster area, and there are many people who are just devastated. One family in particular was hit the hardest as there was a mother who lost her life in the floods. However it has been amazing to see the good come out of so much bad.

The power of social media never ceases to surprise me. There have been Facebook groups set up to help assist those affected. One group delivers baked goods to people as they are working to clean up flooded houses. Another is doing as much washing as they can for those who have been affected, and then another group has been set up to help collect, organize and distribute the practical donations. It's just so wonderful to see how good people can be at times, and it's great to see how people have just thrown themselves into helping.

I feel a bit bad, as I haven't done too much to assist in the clean up. From Friday to Sunday Shane was busy helping people move furniture out of the path of the water, and then cleaning up. But I haven't done very much, aside from a little bit of cooking. It's a bit hard with such small children- Charlie's not even six weeks old yet. Plus, Georgie and I are both sick at the moment (that's why it's taken me so long to publish this post- I've been writing it a little bit at a time!). Honestly, it's been all I can do at the moment to take care of my own family, especially when Shane has had to be in the city for work most of the week. But fortunately Charlie seems to have escaped the virus, and Georgie is getting better now, so hopefully we will be back to normal soon! I'm looking forward to going through our cupboards when I am up to it and seeing what we have that could be better used by others.

The recovery is going to take a long time, it's definitely going to be a process. But it is great to see the town come together so well, and head in the right direction. The courage and kindness that has been on display in this past week has been so wonderful.

Linking up with Kate at Kate Says stuff for Thankful Thursday.

Again and again and again...

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding~ Proverbs 3:5

Our town has flooded. We experienced terrible flooding in March 2010, and again in April 2011. Now, February 2012 will go down in local history as a time when the waters rose higher than ever before. It just keeps happening. Again and again and again.

You start to wonder, what is God doing? Is he taking a holiday, and one of the angels is up there going "Uh-oh...'? Maybe he's punishing us? Or does he just have a permanent blind spot where we are concerned?

The devastation is just tremendous. So many people, who have just been through so much. You wonder how it is possible to come back from this. Again and again and again. Surely people have had more than they can bear?

It's times like these, when you can't reason. Can't explain. Have no hope of understanding.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.~Psalm 118:1

I know it's easy for me to say this, especially when I'm sitting pretty in my nice dry house, surrounded by my family. I'm not sure how easy it would be to say this if it was my house flooded.  But I have to believe that My God is greater than circumstances, more important than stuff, and more powerful than anything the world can throw my way.

And I just have to trust Him, and Love Him. Again and again and again.

A much nicer day...

5:30am. Charlie stirs. Shane wakes up and starts getting ready for work and you reach over and attach Charlie to your side and go back to sleep. Burp him, and repeat on the other side. Then doze together until Shane pops his head in and gives you a kiss to say goodbye. Mumble 'have a good day, love you' unintelligibly and go back to sleep.

8:20am. Awake to noises of cats fighting in the driveway and kids being dropped off at school across the road. Stretch luxuriously, smiling at a sleep-in, and then get up carefully without disturbing Charlie and go get Georgie who is sitting in her cot chatting to herself.

Breakfast. Washing up. Phone call from sister Jenny to discuss going out for coffee. Decide that today you will attempt the outing. Will aim for 10:30-ish at the coffee shop. Mum will call when she gets out of the Doctor's. Make beds, empty bins, put washing on, sweep floor. Georgie empties out her toy shelf systematically, then moves onto climbing on the couch. No don't jump on Chloe. Check on Charlie... still asleep. Get ready for shower. Charlie wakes up. Damn.

Sit down to feed Charlie, but Georgie gets upset that Mummy is not paying attention to her. Wiggles. Happiness. Mum rings, 'time for coffee?' 'I haven't had a shower yet!' Jenny will come up and help us get out of the house. Aunty Jenny arrives. Happy Georgie. Shower. Thank God quietly for people. Mum arrives too. Jenny hangs out washing. Dressed, ready, finally. Time to go out Georgie?

Watch her nearly explode with happiness when we get to the coffee shop. It's the first time we've been back since Charlie was born. It used to be a weekly occurrence. She runs to the toy corner, gets her highchair. Points imperiously when the waitress brings her some morning tea. Soy latte for Mummy. Talk. Bliss.

Decide to go to The Target to get gumboots. Notice little boys clothes on sale outside. Mum and Georgie go to find gumboots. See nice looking blue striped shirt for you. Remember Shane needs some shorts, and shirts. No polo shirts in his size. Ponder the merits of a nice red and blue checked, button-up shirt. Decide he won't wear it. End up with just the shorts. Discuss a top with Jenny. It's nice, she should get it.

Mum and Georgie come back with boots. Decide to have a quick look at ladies clothes. Hurry up and go away baby weight. Decide you really need some jeans that fit. Go to try on shirt and jeans. Yes. Hear Grandma trying to distract tired-sounding Georgie outside. Grandma sounds tired too. Look at the clock, and contemplate how much money you will/can spend. Notice Charlie has piddled through his onsie onto on your shirt.  Time to go. Leave The Target, put children in the car and thank Mum. Bye Grandma!

It's been a good morning.

Like walking through thick, thick, mud

I didn't write yesterday. Yesterday was just all bad.

Yesterday was a day of grey skies, a day of 18 month vaccinations.
Yesterday was a day of trying to keep my tears back so the kids wouldn't see me cry.
Yesterday was like walking through thick, thick mud. You try and pick your feet up, but the mud sticks to your shoes and you can barely walk your feet are so heavy.
Yesterday was a day when the children didn't nap long enough and I was so tired.
Yesterday was a day of trying, trying, constantly trying. It was a day of snapping, and doing my best not to yell.
Yesterday was a day of panadol.
Yesterday was a day when the night would never come, and when it finally did, it was a night spent walking up and down the street with an unhappy baby squirming in the baby carrier.
Yesterday was a day of failure, one of those days you don't want to remember.

[Please don't take a picture]

Yesterday was just bad.



Today has been, will be... better.


Linking up with Diary of a SAHM for I blog on Tuesdays.

Why bloggers are kind of like icerbergs...

The thing about blogging, is that generally, you only see about 10% of the blogger. Bloggers are kind of like icebergs. We write what we want to write, we tell people the things we want them to know. But there is often so much more going on beneath the surface.

There are many things, that, generally I don't tend to write about. I don't write about it when I am quietly simmering in anger at my husband, or when I totally lose my temper with my toddler. I don't write about the way I feel about my fat arms, and I certainly don't write on the days when it takes me two hours to get dressed because I hate the way I look in my clothes. I don't write about my dirty ceilings which are currently driving me insane, or those days when having two children under two drives me crazy. I don't write about the desperate tears in the shower, or how I am scared that eventually when she really starts talking my daughter is going to drop an f-bomb in some totally inappropriate place, because she heard it from me.

I also don't write about the amazing time I had while worshiping God the other night, I don't blog about the hilarious thing that my husband said that had us rolling around in laughter. I don't write about how I cleaned the toilet today and I don't blog about sex. I don't write about my last trip to the Doctor's, or our recent dilemma over circumcision. I don't blog about all the time that I waste on the computer at times, and I don't blog about the last conversation I had with my sister.

It's a question many bloggers seem to struggle with, where do you draw the line between authenticity, and airing out your dirty laundry?

I don't really plan on changing the way I write. But I just wanted to get this out there, because I know many of my posts lately have been about the good things that I am grateful for. And I am grateful. I've been thinking on the good things a lot lately. But for every positive post that is written, there is a negative one that is not. That is the way I choose to write. I choose to dwell on the good most of the time and try to forget the bad. That's how I try to live life most of the time. I think there's a lot of bad that nobody needs to see. I also choose to write mostly about the good stuff because I know my audience, and many of the people who read this are people who know me in real life, and I don't want a random acquaintance to know all the dirty details about my life. Sure I share some things, but I am careful. I'm sure if I wrote anonymously, I would be much more open, and candid, but I'd probably be much more negative and nasty at times too.

But I just wanted to remind you, I'm not perfect. I am so very, very human. I am doing my best to be better, but I am still me. I may sound positive and pleasant, but I still fight with my husband, lose my temper with my kids, and struggle with keeping my head in order just like the best of them.

There is always a lot going on underneath the surface.

I'm linking this post up with Glowless for Flog Yo Blog Friday.