Overflowing....

Sharing some photos with you from our beautiful weekend last weekend to celebrate the Carnival of Flowers in Toowoomba and also getting William baptised.

Looking at these photos my cup is overflowing....

Life is grand.

Rewind.Pause.Fast-forward.

Today is Macie's "school" day.  Each Friday she wakes up and literally screams "I'M GOOOOING TO DAYCARE TOOOODAY!" and then proceeds to sit at the window and wait for her Ma to come and pick her up (a little Dalli Cottage tradition for Macie & her Ma to share). 

I usually relish in the joy of having a day to spend some quality time with William but today I felt all emotional.  Every single day my little girl is growing up.  She is funny, intelligent, stubborn, cheeky, sometimes naughty and she is growing up. 

The last few weeks have been like a rollercoaster with my girl.  Tantrums are in full swing and can erupt at any given time.  The threat of crocodiles coming to bite off her toes while crying are wearing thin and to top it all off - I accidently scratched her face on Monday and now she declares - very loud and very clearly may I add - that "Mummy scratched my face" while I die of embarrassment in the corner and recite my "I promise it was an accident - and look - I cut my fingernails all off now!" speech!  If that wasn't enough, I had to go into battle with Australian Hearing regarding her delays with testing due to their short-staffing issues....and with that always brings up a tsunami of emotions for me.  My mum likens me to a Lioness protecting her cub.....and it's true - I am woman, hear me roar!

Next year will be my last 'full' year with her before she toddles off to Kindy and that kinda makes me sad.  I am notorious for wishing away the time - but today, time just slapped me in the face as I watched her hand-in-hand with her Ma, smiling and confidently walking off to daycare - with not a worry in the world. 

I know that in a blink of an eye - she will a schoolgirl, a teenager, a woman, a wife, a mother. 

And I now know why on Monday (my birthday), my mum said to me "How did my baby become a woman that is now twenty-seven years old?".....just like she says to me every.single.year. 

I used to roll my eyes every single year when she said this to me - but this year, I understood the question.  Time rolls on so quickly.  We get caught up in the mundane - the life that makes the days go quickly, and the weeks disappear and before we know it - the words "Where did that year go" come flying out of our mouths. 

As much as I wish the time away - today, I just wanted to press pause.  I wanted to kiss her delicious cheeks just one more time and tell her I loved her with more passion - so she never ever has a doubt that her Mummy will always be there for her. 

Sometimes I want to press rewind to fix the things I have done wrong or the things that I would have done differently. 

And sometimes I want to press fast-forward - in hope that our relationship is still forged on love, respect and friendship. 

But instead of wishing - I am going to ensure that I am always living in the moment.  Enjoying my delightful babies for as long as I can.  Reminding myself that my messy house will always be there and that the e-mails that need replying can wait until my babies are tucked safely into bed.

I am going to live now.  Before it's too late.

Are you? 

A snippet

Every day I sit down to write a blog post and I get distracted. 

I feel like I am juggling a million balls at the moment - and usually I get all stressy & bitchy....but I am actually loving it.  I am loving breaking the mundane - not doing what I am suppose to be doing, having coffee with friends I have been saying that I would for months, having date nights, random vino afternoons with unsuspected visitors and just generally.....living life for all it's worth!

Will is nearly seven months old now and I am slowly feeling like a normal woman again.  In all areas - physically, mentally, socially and spiritually.  Our family is complete and there is nothing more serene that watching your kids grow into fine human-beings (most of the time).  There is also nothing better than folding away the maternity clothes, baby swings, bassinettes and slowly regaining control over the house again!  There was a time that I seriously felt like we were drowing in swings, activity mats, and all that jazz!!!

More importantly....I feel like I am getting my mind back.  Did you know that I wrote the wrong mobile number on every.single.goddamn. Christening Invitation for William?  Seriously.  One or Two is excuseable....by 30 invitations?  You gotta be kidding me!

As always....here's a snippet into life at the cottage....

Miss Moo had her a buster on a lazy Sunday afternoon just after her nap.  She tripped and hit her little wooden chair - cried for a few minutes and then proceeded to tell us that the doctor needed to fix it!

She skipped into Emergency - told the nurses that they needed to fix her head and then asked them one hundred questions like "What is your name?"  "Where is your Daddy?"....etc.  I swear they thought she was concussed....but that is just our delightful girl at her best.

A few more tears while the glue stung and then she was happy with a milkshake from Sonnos (Best Milkshakes in Gundi EVER!).  She was so so so good!  I swear I was squirming more than her.  I loathe hospitals.  The smell makes me sick to my stomach - and here was Macie, skipping and having a great old time!  Crazy!

William is getting pretty frustrated that he can't trip over things and have scars like his Big Sis so he is working on this..... may I add that I'm not encouraging this!!  I love putting him somewhere and knowing that he will be still be there in a few minutes!

A common scene in our house!  SWIPER NO SWIPING!!!!! 

...and as much as I would love to add more photos and tell you more stories, Swiper has awoken with other plans! 

X

Fathers Day

Over the weekend, we also had the pleasure of celebrating Fathers Day. 

I can't begin to describe what an amazing Daddy Heath is to our children.  He is strict but loving, and he just one big kid that just wants to play!  There are some times when Macie tells him "Enough Daddy"....and I bet you don't hear that from the mouth of a three-year-old very often!

He is so loving.
He is supportive. 
He is accepting. 
He is fiercly protective.
He is loyal. 
He is funny.
He is snuggly.
He is smart.
He is a hardworker.

He.is.ours.

We love you.  To the moon & back.

Thank you for everything you do.

Forever and ever.

X

R&R

I sat down yesterday determined to write a blog post.  We had just got back from four delightful days at the beach and I finally felt rejuvinated, happy and relaxed for the first time in months.

I sat down, plugged my phone in to download photos (I really didn't want to take my fancy schmancy camera onto the beach) - and there was nothing.  I checked again...and again - and then I realised why a certain three-year-old had been unusally quiet in the backseat of the car. 

Yep - you guessed it.  Most photos are gone.  Most apps deleted and even a few contacts. 

Not.Happy.Jan.

I cried.  I cursed.  I wasted my monthly internet usage downloading programs that would apparently find my deleted photos....but then wouldn't work.  I cried some more.  Photos are a huge thing to me - but hey, I have also got the memories - and a few little beauties that I thankfully uploaded to FB during our stay. 

I was acting like I just lost every single photo I ever had.  I was cranky.  I was snappy.  I was a plain old bitch.....and then I looked at my babies - happy, smiling, healthy and....mine....and I simply told myself to get over it - so I did.

Life is sweet....and not worth focusing on the small trivial things.  The most important thing is that I have the photographs in my memory....forever and ever.

So here is a little snippet (thanks to FB) of our mini-holiday....

Be still my beating heart!

A very overtired and cranky William on Sunday!! 

The view from my bed at 5am in the morning....when both Will & Macie decide to come in for kicks cuddles!  We could see whales and dolphins....yep, it was tough. 

I don't think Heath & I realised how much we needed this little R&R holiday away.  Obviously travelling with two young children is hard work and we need to pack everything BUT the kitchen sink but it was still fun.

Now to convince Heath that we need to do it more OFTEN!!!

X