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?

Beginnings.

It has been a very busy couple of weeks in the O'Connor household.

::We have had good days and bad. 

::We have realised dreams. 

::We have made those dreams reality. 

::We have laughed, a lot. 

::We have cried, a lot. 

::We have caught colds, and passed them on (sorry). 

:: We have discovered a new element to our love - as a whole - as a family.

 

 

Flying Horses

Horses are amazing creatures. I am not a horsey person, I wear dirty jeans and thongs if, and when I ride. They have had a long history in our family, grandparents and parents were raised with a horse or two. I rode occasionally as a child but never really had much of an opportunity to establish a passion for the lifestyle. You can imagine my grandmothers delight when I fell in love with a man who had two of his own horses.

Benny was the older of the two horses. At 25 years of age he had long and decorated life, an ex-show horse, a beautiful dark brown body with a white star shaped blaze between his eyes. He spent most of his life locked in stables, mistreated and misunderstood. He jumped obstacles and trotted around arenas, winning show after show, title after title. Gradually becoming very nervous and wary of humans, bucking riders off and bolting at the sight of a saddle. Keith found him on a property about 12 years ago, the owners no longer wanted him and traded him for a case of beer. Keith could see that Benny needed to learn to be a horse again, he needed to learn how to interact and feed himself. The only way to teach Benny how to be a horse was to leave him alone with other horses. After six months in the bush with brumbies and cattle, the spark had returned to Benny's eyes.

I always had a special connection with dear old Benny, he was calmer around women, and I was calmer around him. He let me learn to handle a horse, he was patient and understanding. He never tried to kick or bite, always gently rubbing his head on my side, grateful to be loved and left alone. He was great listener, at times when a newborn Will was awake, I would sneak out to the paddock, babe in my arms, and go and have a chat or shed a tear with Benny.

We all knew that the day would come, sooner rather than later, when Benny would leave this earth. This time came last July, the dead of winter, a horrible grey and wet day. Sometime the night before Benny had slipped into the dam at the bottom of the paddock, trapped under the weight of his rug, he could not get out.  It was heartbreaking and sudden, well I hope it was sudden, for my own peace of mind. Not a day goes by that we don't think about him or talk about him.

I came across these beautiful horses the other day. They reminded me of Benny, and we needed something beautiful and bright to honour his memory. I had to have them. Made by Delilah Devine, an Adelaide company run by an old work friend of mine, Linda. They are made from sustainable timber and vintage wallpaper.

If you are in Adelaide this weekend (23rd to 25th of March) you can find Delilah Devine and many other amazing designers at the Bowerbird Bazaar held at the Adelaide Show grounds.

Banana Choc Berry Oat Muffins

1 cup milk
1 egg
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups of plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 cup rolled oats
1 banana, mashed
1 cup mixed berries

First: Preheat oven to 180 deg. Line 12 hole muffin tray with patty pans.

Then: Mix egg, milk and vegetable oil in a medium bowl until combined.

Next: In a separate bowl sift plain flour, baking powder, caster sugar, cocoa together.

Then: Stir in the eggy, milky, oily mix and add oats, mashed banana and berries.

Last: Spoon mix into patty pans, filling them to the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy.

Happy Birthday Husband

Today is Keith's birthday.

He does not wish to remember exactly how old he is.

We have lazed about all day, even napped in the afternoon.

For dinner we had lamb cutlets, mustard mashed potato and red wine jus.

William and I made a guitar cake.

It was a beautiful day.

Happy Birthday Schnookie Poo!

Tag. You're It

I loved doing these tag games way back when I was in high school. We would write out a list of ridiculous questions and pass it around during class time. It was fun way to get to know people, even better if you had your eye on a particular boy.


Anyhoo, the lovely Cherie over at A Baby Called Max tagged me in her 'Tag. You're It' post. What a brill way to learn a little bit about each other and revisit some old times.

Describe yourself in 7 words:
Cheeky. Loving. Perfectionist. Sometimes Chef. Sometimes Deep.


What keeps you up at night?
Apart from the wee children calling out for their over tired parents, oh and Keith's snoring. But that doesn't wake me all the time, sometimes I resort to ear plugs. Best. Sleep. Ever. 


Anyway, back on track. I am a constant worrier. Now this is not new to me, I come from a long line of worriers, my mother, my grandmother, my great grandmother, and probably my great great grandmother. We are all incredibly strong women but we worry about every little minuscule possible thing. I have had to learn to master the art of keeping the worry at bay. If I let it seep in, then it's all over red rover, I am in a pile of worry on the floor. So what do I worry about you say? Well, let's see now... Tonight it was, will Olivia sleep, what do I have to to tomorrow, will I remember to do everything I need to do, will the kids LET me do everything I need to do? I worry about not having time to relax with my husband, those precious moments after the dinner is eaten, the kitchen packed up, the kids sleeping in their beds. That hour or three that we might have, uninterrupted, chatting, drinking tea and catching up on IQ'd episodes of Home and Away. It is the only time when we are both relaxed, the only time (other than weekends) where we get to plan future activities, the only time we get to indulge in our very own hobbies - Keith plays his guitar or watches the Sci-fi channel, I like to write and edit photos. These past few months Olivia has been somewhat of a nightmare, she will wake every hour or so between 7pm and 12am. Bloody teeth!


Who would you like to be?
I don't really know who I would like to be. I am still trying to figure that out. To be honest, I wish I could be everything that I dream to be. I wish I could take bits from each and every person that I look up to and apply them to my life. I want to be the best wife and mother that I can possibly be. I want to look back on this time of my life and have no regrets, I want my children to look back on this time and have happy memories. I want to keep learning and keep improving every single day, like they say, its about the journey not the destination. 


What are you wearing right now?
It's a warm night here in Adelaide, so I have my comfy denim shorts on and a red Country Road T-shirt. 


What scares you?
That I will miss out on the great moments of my life, my worrying nature and anxiety can often get the best of me and I hate it when it consumes a beautiful day and a beautiful moment.


What are the best and worst things about blogging?  
Well I have only just started on my blogging journey but so far so good. There are so many positives and negatives involved with blogging.


Best:
First and foremost, the network I have already created. Some of you may have read my story and know that I have a pretty small support network when it comes to child minding and female support. I absolutely love each and every one of you for stopping by and reading my ramblings and even taking the time to leave me a comment or two. That seriously is the best. I am so humbled that people actually want to know about me and my little life. I feel so connected to other mothers but also other women (as individuals), sometimes I do not really know how to be a grown up woman and I need some of your guidance and advice. 


Worst:
There are only two negatives I can think of when it comes to blogging. Once you start you won't want to stop, I love the idea of blogging. I want to blog every day, I have a thousand things I want to blog about. This leads me into the other negative...time. When you are starting out, blogging can be quite time consuming and take up a large portion of thought. I have found once I let go of my own expectation, the words seem to flow. 


What was the last website you visited?
Ummm so I have something I would like to share....I love celebrity gossip. I know, it is dirty and horrible but I love it. I refuse to buy the magazines (unless it has been a particularly bad week) as they are far too expensive so the next best thing is........


perezhilton.com


What is one thing you would like to change about yourself?
OK, so as soon as I read this question the first things that popped into my head were - thighs, arms and stomach.
But as the shallowness dissolves somewhat, and look within, I really wish that I could loose my anxiety issues. They have pretty much plagued me all of my life and these past couple of years have been the worst. When I think of my very first memories they are anxious thoughts, I was an anxious kid, an anxious teen and now an anxious adult. When I fell pregnant with Olivia, I made a pact with myself, I had to get a grip on this shit. I just needed to understand how and why is operates within my psyche. I am still learning, but so very grateful that I began this journey.


Slankets – yes or no?
Definite NO.


Tell us something about the person who tagged you? 
Cherie is the most gorgeous and genuine lady. Her honesty is so very refreshing and love for her family shines through her blog. 


The fun part continues! Now I get to tag five bloggers so they in turn can share ten things about themselves. 

I tag;

Gabrielle from Neck Of The Woods

Lauren from Sunshine And Green Tea

Sam from Good Mum Hunting

Kesh from Our House On This Hill

Tamara from Tamara Erbacher