ANZAC

I don't really have a lot to say.

This year ANZAC Day has stirred an unknown emotion within me, something that I did not think I could truly grasp until I was ready. That time is now. I am a mother, I am a wife, I am a daughter and a granddaughter. It has made me realise and understand a lot about my family, and be grateful for even more.

I can feel it deep within my heart and soul. 

great great uncle jimmy - killed age 24 world war 2

my pop, cris. passed away september 2011

great great uncle rod. killed in korea 1950

my beautiful bunga (still just as gorgeous) served as a wireless operator in the navy

bunga in the centre

just after she met my bumpa in the navy

my great great grandfather served in world war 1 - lighthorseman

my dear grandpa - bumpa - died 1985

my amazing husband receiving his OAM

 Thank you all. I love you.

x

Mornings At Organic Market

Weekends are a beautiful thing. It is my time to be me, to indulge in the pre-baby Amelia. 

:: Long lazy coffees at your favourite cafe 

:: Grown-up conversation, 

:: Catching up with old friends

:: Making new friends

:: Deciding to have another coffee

:: Deciding to stay for lunch!

:: Not sticking to a schedule

:: Taking some snaps

Wheaty Birthday

Come Wednesday evening I had had enough of the smalls. I grabbed my camera and headed to The Wheaty to celebrate dear Hadrian's birthday. 

As we sipped beers under the warm dark sky, chatted to some old pals and indulged in delicious birthday cake I thought, how lucky am I?

Full Circle Sunday

Its a full circle kind of day. Its the sort of day that you have a clear head and you can actually comprehend where you've been, where you've come and where you are going. Why can't I have more moments like these?


What exactly am I doing here? Where am I going? Where do I want to go? Who do I want to be? These are all familiar questions I ask myself, often daily. Like my mother I feel like I am searching, for something, i am not entirely sure exactly what that is but I know it is something. I am drawn to like minded people, the interest me, they inspire me, I guess they keep me in check with myself - make sure I am on the right track. I am not searching for peace, I am not searching for something greater than myself, I am just searching for life and searching for the experiences of others.

Today I am working. I said goodbye to my husband early this morning, kissed my babies and drove away. I must say that I had my windows down and the music pumping - free at last! I was desperate for Keith to experience what I experience on a daily basis, not that it is anything too extreme, I just wanted him to get it. I am blessed with two easy going, happy and independent babies but sometimes, usually by a Wednesday or Thursday, I AM OVER IT. I usually call Keith while he is at work, expressing my particular disinterest in being a parent that day, Will is giving me the shits, Olivia will not settle for a nap, I don't get any work done, the house is a crazy mess BLAH BLAH BLAH. He is very patient and supportive, he listens when I complain about absolutely nothing, on some occasions he will come home, if it is a particularly bad day. The truth is I don't have anyone else to count on. I have amazing girlfriends who literally kick me out of the house from time to time so I can have time to catch my breath and they can have their baby fix, but I don't have someone I can call if I am having a shit day and need to take the kids for an hour or two. It is pretty hard for me to actually let go of the kids - in my eyes they are my responsibility. Keith's parents are no longer around, and most of his family is interstate. My dad works a lot of the time and isn't very confident when it comes to managing two children under the age of three, so really that would be more of a stress for me than anything else.

Anyway back to my full circle moment this beautiful Sunday morning. I am sitting underneath a beautiful big oak tree, its leaves are glowing in the warm autumn sunshine, there are red lights draped over her old branches. The breeze is warm but cool, the sun is dancing over my arms and hands as I tap away on my keyboard. I am stationed up in the hills, at my old place of work. Its wooden tables are familiar, pumpkin is roasting in the oven, warm muffins are glazed and put on display. The coffee is to die for and the food is made with love. It is this kind of warmth that fills my heart, it is moments like these that I sit back and really look at the world and how far I have come. The sixteen year old school girl starting her afternoon job, to the young woman seeking some kind of direction, now I am the woman working in the garden, the old wannabe hipster. This place was my family, it was my home. I guess to some degree it still is. I am always greeted with a familiar smile and a loving embrace.  It is a place where I can come and seek refuge, a place where I can come in these sort of moments and really see where I have been and where I am going. I am so very grateful to have this family and this heart in the hills, as well as my family and heart in the city.

What do you do to recharge and what keeps you inspired?


Happy Sunday lovely people XOX

The Party

My little baby girl is no longer a little baby girl.

Her Daddy tells her that she has done one whole lap around the sun.

She had her very first party with her very own cake.

We celebrated with old friends and new friends.

Talked about old times and new times.

She also decided to take her very first solo steps too.

Easter Baby

My baby girl turns ONE today.

Happy Easter my little bunnikins

Love,

Mama

MARCH - Stuff I Loved

Here is my current list of the stuff I have loved over the past month.

Current Music
1. Genisis by Grimes
2. Broken Brights by Angus Stone
3. Met Before by Chairlift
4. Default - Django Django
5. Love Interruption by Jack White
6. Paddling Out by Miike Snow
7. Lay It Down by The Rubens
8. Embrace by Oliver Tank
9. Hollywood Forever Cemeteray  by Father John Misty
10. I Got Burned by The Bamboos ft. Tim Rogers
11. King Of The World by First Aid Kit
12. Bad Girls by M.I.A.


Favourite Albums Of The Month
Bon Iver by Bon Iver
Triple J's Hottest 100 Volume 19
4 by The Bamboos
Visions by Grimes
Happy To You by Miike Snow
Hyperparidise by Hermitude
Blues Funeral by Mike Lanegan Band
First Aid Kit

Current Books
To be totally honest, I have not even glanced at a book this month. In fact I have not even opened my Real Living and AWW subscriptions yet..I keep forgetting about them. I have indulged and bought a few excellent books that I do plan to read at some point in the next decade!

Current Colour
I am still loving the bright colours this month: yellows, oranges, reds. I am very much looking forward to this coming winter and unleashing some of these colours on my otherwise 'neutral' winter wardrobe. I have been loving Hunting For George for sometime now and have noticed that they seem to feature some of their amazing cardigans in the new season of Tangle. Also loving white linen everything and dark green everything, especially our lawn.

Current Food
Lusting after raspberry jam on thick sourdough. Filling my belly with waaaay to much Ying Chow . Gorging on too much chocolate. Inhaling a lot of lavosh bread and cheeses. Not to mention all of those hot cross buns with lashings of butter. Oh dear.


Current Drink
English Breakfast with a little cinnamon honey. The Hills Cider Co apple and pear cider, made from the delicious apples of our old hometown. Heaps of water. Far too many coffees.

Current TV Shows
I have totally and utterly fallen in love with Tangle. It's an Aussie show produced in conjunction with the Showtime channel on Foxtel. I loved The Secret Life of Us and Love My Way and this is the 'middle aged' continuation in that same style of drama. The twenty-somethings become thirty-somethings and they discover that real life can  a little bit shit. A fantastic cast including a favourite around these parts..Ms Justine Clarke.

Plus its NRL season baby. OH YEAH (says my inner rum-swilling bogan!!) GO the BRONCOS.

Current Non Mummy Activities
- Going to see Bon Iver with my closest pals
- Celebrating my 26th year in style with my loved ones (minus little people)
- Delicious dinners with my gorgeous cousins
- Art exhibitions, tram hopping, midweek dinners at 11pm with talented women
- Drinking beers with my husband at le pub
- Solo morning walks

Current Triumphs
Just one....
I have actually started something I cannot believe. I have got my little dream off the ground. I got a loan. I got an ABN. I registered a business name. I bought some new equipment. I got some advice from a wise and kind friend. But most of all... I believed in myself and my ability.

Stay tuned to the blog for more info in the coming weeks :)


Current William
This little boy is becoming just a boy, he isn't so little anymore. He is aware of everything that is going on around him, he is aware of peoples feelings and moods like you wouldn't believe. He is three going of seventy-three!! Sometimes I look into his eyes and I see a little old man, set in his ways. In fact we have started to refer to him as 'the fuddy duddy' he always has to have everything a certain way; he has to have his top sheet just right so he is able to rub his fingers along the edges as he is falling asleep, he has to have his little blue watering can NOT the little green watering can, he has to have his toast cut into triangles NOT squares, and me most certainly does NOT like it if you put the window down and the wind messes up his hair. All of that aside, this little boy melts my heart each and every day. He still does not talk but has discovered some much needed confidence and actually starting to have a go, where as in the past he would not. New words are slowly coming through, new motions and little sounds are starting to appear and for the first time in a long time I have got a glimpse of that little boy that I long to have a conversation with.

Current Olivia
Well where do I start with this little one. She is moving on from her baby years at a rate of knots. It's "mama" this and "dada" that and "Wiillllllllilll" this. She shakes her head for no, and waves hello. She eats just about everything you could imagine, I even caught her in the cat bowl yesterday. She is standing and walking solo with the assistance of her little walker cart thingy. She loves to dance to late sixties and seventies soft rock, which makes be believe that there is a lot of my Mum shining though there, especially when I caught her grooving to Jethro Tull! She loves her bath, practices her swimming every night. She loves a good cuddle and will often just want to be kissed and cuddled in bed before nap time. She loves to annoy her brother... A LOT; hair pulling, book stealing, car hijacking, squealing in his ears, stealing his food and god forbid...attempt to steal the iPad out of his hands. This girl is truly something special and I am so grateful to have her in my life.

So tell me, what have you been loving this past month?