On Tuesday when it started raining, a friend at work lamented not being at home under a blanket to watch it fall from the sky. I’m just as content to listen to the drops fall; listen to cars driving past with the water splashing all around.

Well, what do you know – I’ve been laid up in bed (under a blanket) since Thursday with some awful winter lurgy – aches and pains all over, agony to swallow, ears are full of pain and it’s pretty tough to move my head due to the golf ball size of those glands in the neck. Fun times. But, when the rain started again on Friday afternoon, I was very grateful for the opportunity to have nothing to do but listen to those drops fall.

I’ve been doing a whole lot of listening whilst in bed actually. It has been a treat to listen to my two boys giggle and play with Grimace (Friday) and their Gra (Saturday); I’ve rediscovered the magic that a four year old’s imagination presents, and the cheeky nature of a one year old. By not directly being apart of the days happenings, I could just watch, listen and take them in. It struck me how quickly they are both growing, and how I can do more to cherish them in the now.

Little Mate had a taste of freedom yesterday and started practicing his best walking skills – I’m quite sure he would have continued his “sneaky” walking and demanding my helpful hand for a lot longer – without me around, he used the opportunity to practice his best walking skills so that when I was around, he could cheekily show off. I think I’m in trouble now!

I’m going to continue my recovery, snuggled up under my blanket, watching the rain fall and listen to those cars speeding by, churning water out their tyres. 

After my previous blog post about using my best first aid skills…check out what came up in one of my social media feeds…

Hilarious! They’re always watching, right?!

In the last week (more specifically, two days in a row), I’ve found myself using my best emergency situation skills. Both incidents were fairly minor in the end, but I like to think of myself as a (super) hero, so I channelled some calm and rational thoughts to help avoid too much drama.  

On Wednesday, Giggles Magoo and I were in an appointment with a health professional when what seemed out of nowhere, the health professional started seizing/fitting, collapsing to the ground, hitting her head quite badly in the process. Pretty random and unexpected and my first aid skills definitely came into practice. I was holding a fearful Giggles Magoo whilst somehow managing to turn the poor professional into the recovery position. When I yelled for help, I did my almighty best to sound urgent, but not panicked. Turns out, I scared everybody else in the building (including a whole heap of new mummas clutching at their newborns) while yelling out for assistance. Oops – when others arrived and the time was right to leave, I quietly took Giggles Magoo out of the room and we sat for a while, him snuggled in very closely stating “I want to stay out here with you forever”. His snuggles soothed my shaky nerves and gave me the courage to talk with him about what we saw. I won’t cover the discussion, but I’m pleased to say that the conversation we had proves be is turning into a sensitive, thoughtful and caring young fella. Proud much?!
(UPDATE: Turns out the health professional is ok and has returned to work)

The very next day, I was tapping away on the keyboard at work and audible gasps were being thrown out all through my office…someone had spotted in the apartment building across from us a full clothes-horse on fire. I could see quite clearly that it was an unattended fire, so I placed a 000 call. On closer inspection, the occupier of the apartment had set up a heater underneath the clothes horse and in the epic winds that swirl the wind-tunnel street, said heater had overheated and blown flames onto the clothes. Needless to say, the firies arrived, did their thing and chaos was averted  (well, the apartment occupier came home to a clothes-horse free of clothes and a ruined heater…DISASTER!).

While having training in both experiences (I’m first aid trained and a fire warden at work), it was the first time I’ve found myself responding to a completely random situation whereby I had no direct connection to any of the parties requiring assistance…and I have to tell you, it was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. I’ve had plenty of talks with my loved ones about both situations, and it is truly amazing the topics you can cover! Think stranger danger/tricky people; what to do when you’re unwell/lost; what to do when someone you don’t know is unwell/lost; personal information; being brave; how to ring for help; where an ambulance is parked; what a uniform is etc etc.

The weekend was spent discussing a lot of these concepts with Giggles Magoo; it is just lovely to spend time discussing life from a four year old’s perspective – we spent some “spesh mum/Giggles Magoo time” riding our bikes covering all of the above:

Grimace had been away in Melbourne doing some worky-things for the back end of the week, so the three of us pounced on him the minute he touched down at the airport. Off the back of one of our discussions, he was greeted with;

“Daddy! Daddy! Did you know mum saw fireman sam?!”. Love a four year old’s thought process.

Just to finish off, thought I’d let you know the Music that has soundtracked my introduction to the week: Camp Cope . An excellent all-female band from Melbourne that Grimace took me to see a few months back; I’m not usually captivated by all-female bands, but the vox of Georgia Maq has really grabbed me – her topics are raw and beautifully backed by some strong rock/acoustic sounds. Check em out to get you through the week!

I hate the way a conversation will sometimes go…

Person: “Hi, how are you? What have you been up to?”

Me: “Hello! I’m good thank you.  Not done anything super special, I’ve just been the usual busy busy busy. How are you?”.

Don’t get me wrong; I love saying hi and enjoy hearing their stories and experiences. I relish their anecdotes or fun places they’ve been. The stories keep me open to new experiences; keep me up to date on the occurrences in the life of those I love.

What I’ve realised though, is that I quite often expect the other person not to be interested in me and my world or what I’ve been up and I quite often don’t share. But here’s the thing… most people are genuinely interested in other people and by default, that means they are interested in what I have to say – it’s just taken me a while to realise it. Sure, the old “hi, how are you?” Or “hey, how’s it going” can be just a passing thing, but, more often than not, people want to know what others have been busy with.

In a concerted effort to be more present in conversations I have with friends / family / colleagues / acquaintances, I will genuinely try to bore you with the happenings of Theverymoodyhousehold. 

I’m aware I’ve been pretty quiet on the (not very) old blog. So here goes:

I’m guessing you probably don’t  want to know about Giggles Magoo and Little Mate having their 4 year and 1 year health check ups or that swimming lessons are going well; You may be a little more interested in outings to the beach with their beautiful cousin who was in town from Switzerland. Or, the fact that I’m finally going to learn how to ride a motorbike (one can’t really be married to a family who sells motorbikes, and not be able to ride one!) Or that Grimace and I finally got around to seeing some live music together again – my ears are still ringing from A Wilhelm Scream .

The last few weeks/months have been a very fun and busy time for Theverymoodyhousehold, making lots of forever memories. We’ve missed out on some social opportunities I dearly would have loved to get to, but coupling together the normal day-to-day boring things (intensity of workload for me due to an impending nation-wide event / household chores and boring mature person things like washing, meal planning ill-health etc etc), with some extraordinary ‘play time’ have meant that life is as chaotic as its ever been.

I previously mentioned that early May was like a new Christmas day for me… my two sisters and partners along with sister in law and niece all descended in Sydneytown on the same day. After months and months of time apart, we wanted to take advantage of the time they could dedicate to me and the boys…and didn’t we just! We had so much fun filling our spare time with adventures… think beach outings, wildlife park visiting, national park visiting, delicious bar and restaurant visiting, bike riding, city visiting, birthday parties etc etc. Maybe I should let some photos do the talking:

All in all, I feel incredibly lucky to have the family that I do (immediate and all the partners/ring-ins). I miss them all dearly when they’re not around. I had written a really long blog post waxing lyrically with the things I should have said to them as they left to go back to their respective lives, but technology worked against me and deleted the post… be aware siblings, feelings and mushy intent publicly coming your way soon!

I am looking forward to settling back into the normal routine Theverymoodyhousehold has (including go-slowday Wednesday), mostly as I don’t think my mind/body can keep up with the work:play ratio March/April/May threw our way. On Sunday night I had a little overwhelmed moment that included a lot of tears in the shower (obviously the best place for it), but after a few good night’s sleep, I feel a little more like life will one day slow down (or maybe I’ve just become a little comfortable with the chaos).

So, next time you ask me how I am, be prepared for a real answer 😃😃

Happy Tuesday xx

Ps. Music that got me home today… A Wilhelm Scream, Cerebral Ballzy, Turbogeist (thank you HBO for Vinyl), The Bouncing Souls and The Bronx.

Today, the second Sunday in May, is a chance to celebrate all the mother’s in your life. All the women who work hard to help shape our future communities.

I wanted to do this post and celebrate all the loving mummas in my life, but also those in each and every mother’s community who strengthen their identity as an individual. It is one’s inner strength and knowledge of self that will go far in raising the future community members, whomever they turn out to be. Here’s to all the loving mummas; past, present and future.

Dear Mummas,
Your resilience knows no bounds.
Your patience is astounding.
Your ability to adapt is inspiring.
Your intuition is important.
You will always shine the light.
You will always know how to solve the problem.
You will always know just what to say.
You will always show the love.
You. Are. Simply. Beautiful.
Love your fellow Mumma, Theverymoodyhousehold Mumma xx

PS. I had simply the best Mothers day – a relaxing breakfast (complete with pastries and delicious, strong coffee), a game of cricket with Giggles Magoo, lots of cuddles with Little Mate, a bike ride with my beautiful sister and two lively family do’s.

PPS. I feel a million miles from the overwhelming chaos Saturday threw my way.

PPPS. I’m incredibly thankful and aware of everything Grimace does to help me be the person and Mumma I am. I am incredibly proud of our boys and our verymoodyhousehold xx

Dedicated to my own inspiring mother. Happy Mother’s Day Gra. The world is certainly a better place with you, your smile and guidance in it.

I owe my current state of whelms to three very important people:
1. My superhero mumma-best friend who took Giggles Magoo to celebrate a dear friend’s 4th birthday
2. My coffee guy Will (or kevin as we call him… he looks remarkably like Kevin Bacon) and his Large FW
3. Dan Andriano and his acoustic album: Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room- Hurricane Season (check him out through the internets or a streaming service)

Combine these three factors with a sleeping Little Mate and I was gifted a 15 minute blissful seat on my back steps in the sun. The perfect amount of time to reflect on recent activities and those coming up. I felt the chaotic pace of life slow right down, and I felt really centred again.

The last few months have seen Theverymoodyhousehold on the go. Very busy work days for both Grimace and I, a few interruptions by lurgies/infections, lots of birthdays and celebrations, throw in a few trips away, public holidays, fantastic visits from family and you’ve got a recipe for disaster (or just a change to the usual pace of life).

All of the things I listed above, with the exception of the sickness part, are things I look forward to. I love taking advantage and creating experiences and  memories, but I’ve found the trick is to intersperse some down time to keep a little balance in life. A walk in the bush. A bike ride. Some time to sit still/quietly without any interruptions (or phones on hand). These down times create space in my life and help me to keep in touch with how I’m feeling. As we’ve been so varied in our activities and pace of life recently, I’ve found it really hard to find this space. Today I was definitely feeling a little overwhelmed at the thought of fitting everything in on my day’s to-do list.

I mentioned in my last blog post that my siblings were all arriving. It has been just wonderful to spend time with each of them, but of course the time I spend with them cannot magically appear – it needs to be taken from the times where boring household things are done… cooking, washing, nappy folding, etc. It just all eventually catches up… and that was this morning. While there is no epic breakdown story to be told, there was recognition that I needed to slow down.

It was amazing how good I felt after my little breather. I felt all set to tackle what life threw at me.

Fast forward 3 hours and whilst not overwhelmed, a little underwhelmed describes my state of mind a little better…  thanks to a gastro bug, theverymoodyhousehold is now laid up at home instead of cheering on the red and white with a few favourites. And my coffee grinder is broken. Happy Saturday

Ps. I should also mention a small phone call/counselling session with Grimace also helped the perspective.

I’m feeling the excitement, the buzz you normally only have for Christmas eve. Most of my siblings have been living far, far away for a while now and for whatever reason…. they are all converging in town today – well, all except my bro (I’ll sadly miss him; although he snuck a visit a month or so ago).

The excitement is intense. I was lucky enough to sneak a coffee date with two of the special souls this morning, which has only added to the anticipation.

I’m. Actually. Going. To. See. My. Family.  Like, real actual face-to-face, not through a computer, family time. The buzz is real!

Work was insanely busy today (including a finger/staple injury to my colleague), and I am incredibly grateful to be given some time (even if it’s only an hour early mark) to spend with them. We’ll pick up Giggles Magoo and Little Mate for some Aunty/Uncle cuddle time, and tomorrow we’re planning on overcoming their European winter by visiting the beach. 

Impending adventures mean I’ll surely have another #familyfunday post to come.

Welcome home xx

7.03am governs our life, 3 days a week (this week it is 4).

Without 7.03am, I am completely sure that my life would delve further into chaos.

7.03am is the magical time that we need to be out of the house in order for the work-day ritual to play out and to provide that little sense of control I need to get by.

7.03am we pull out of the driveway in a spin; 7.05am I kiss Little Mate goodbye (with lots of smiles and blowing of kisses); 7.06am Giggles Magoo is practically bursting out of his car seat waiting for me to kiss him. Even though it is goodbye for the day, he thrives off this ritual. 7.07am I’m bounding up the stairs of the railway station in time to catch my express train to the city for work, Grimace taking the boys to care and then it’s onwards to work too.

I sometimes marvel at our ability to get two miniature humans dressed, breakfasted and out the door by 7.03am. They may be covered in toothpaste/oats/texta/whateverrandomthingthey’vetouched, BUT nonetheless, I sometimes think if I can achieve getting them out of the house, I can achieve anything and potentially take over the world. I mean, what an achievement, right?!

But then I remember, just about every parent does it all the bleeting time…which is in a way why I sorted of wanted to post this. A little reflection always helps perspective, right??

Some mornings we fly through the get up/breakfast/dressed/teeth/toilet routine, but more often than not there are tears and protestations from both boys – I get it, it is early and no one ever wants to be rushed around before you’ve had a chance to settle into your own skin for the day.

I also know that the protestations are attempts by the boys to procrastinate just a little longer and spend some more time with us. I normally try and remember they are craving our love and attention; a connection. And I always intend to remain patient. But most days, a little irritation or anger creeps in to my mindset – the ever-present “we’re going to be late” has a power like no other. And when it hits, it is seemingly impossible to block the rage and frustration you feel. I am getting better at it; and have discovered new ways to work through the feelings to prevent a situation neither family member wants. I find when I want the morning routine to work ‘right’ and be conflict free, I’m being lazy. I just want complicity as I can’t be bothered to find a ‘fun’ solution – my nearly 4 year old should just get my adult priorities. Ha ha yep – when will they invent that font for sarcasm??

I know many of you play out the same scenario on a daily basis too:

“Come on, it’s time to put your shoes on. Could you please put your shoes on”

“Put your shoes on!”

“Okay, if you won’t put your shoes on, you’ll just have to go to school without any shoes” (which we all know isn’t true; why do we say such silly things?!)

“Come here Mate, do you want me to put your shoes on? OK, You should just ask if you want my help”.

Giggles Magoo somedays just flat out refuses to get out of bed. This morning included said refusal  and my anxiety at making the train was starting to sky rocket – we were already late due to an ill-timed alarm, today was a day where I just couldn’t be late and both boys were displaying behaviour whereby they wanted a relaxing start to the day. All I could think about was the sadness of getting to the train station and not we getting to carry out our ritual goodbye moments. So I worked at it.

As 7.03am rolled around this morning (and we were all miraculously in the car yelling/tear free), I relished the goodbyes just that little extra – although we had been running late, I had found a way that resulted in laughs and complicit teethbrushing. It was great! It probably won’t work tomorrow, but that is not the point. I found a way and I felt a stronger connection with my offspring as a result. I told them I loved them and couldn’t wait for cuddles this evening.

And it’s true – I can’t!  Xx

In a bid to rid the lyrics of a certain Disney movie from my mind (see my previous post)… I’ve diligently commenced listening to some more preferential musicians:

Cheap Girls
Little Bastard
Issac Graham
The Frontbottoms
Supersuckers
Boysetsfire

I’m on irregular work duties today, so I have the luxury of listening on the commute; however for some reason my awesomely brilliant noise-canceling headphones have decided to stop working in one ear; I am also painfully listening to two university students complain about the size of their campus and how far they have to walk. Seriously, their biggest gripe about life is both having to cross a road and getting into a lift/elevator.

I think I’d prefer Frozen to be blasted!

Note to self: everyone’s struggle is real! Everyone’s struggle is real. Repeat.

“LET IT GO, LET IT GO.  THE COLD NEVER BOTHERED ME ANYWAY”.

Some of you will indeed get my reference above (and I now dare you to remove the lyrics from repeating over and over and over, stuck on a loop through your brain), and some of you will undoubtedly be thinking “what the hell is she on about”? Well, I (sort of) wish i was with you.

Our family just enjoyed a very busy, yet memory making weekend away (ANZAC Day Long Weekend – Lest we forget). We enjoyed some home time (cough cough destroy the living room time); We celebrated a dear friend’s 40th birthday at a dinner sans parenting responsibilities; 3/4’s of us cheered on the Sydney Swans as they outclassed West Coast Eagles at the SCG; we celebrated a little friend’s 4th birthday; we enjoyed some family time in Mudgee with a few singalongs on the trip out and we sampled some of Mudgee’s parks, wine and food with close friends. All in all, the weekend was one of those weekends that really makes you thankful for being alive.

 

 

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The trip to Mudgee was definitely a highlight, and has definitely restocked our depleted wine supplies. What I didn’t bargain for was the complete surprise (wait for it…) I LOVE THE FROZEN soundtrack.

 

Yes, you have read that correctly – the girl that loves her music loud and aggressive; likes her music dark and downright dirty has discovered she also loves tearing into Elsa’s (or is it Ana’s?) Let It Go, Do You Want To Build A Snowman and any of the other songs on the Frozen soundtrack.

 

I definitely did not see my life heading in this direction. Sure, I understand the recent obsession with the music from The Lion King – I watched this movie and listened to the soundtrack approximately one billion times when I was younger. The memories the music conjures are of warmth and summer, so I doubt I’ll ever be sad to revisit that time in my life.

 

I recently watched The Lion King movie with a sick Giggles Magoo (I skipped a couple of the more intense scenes) and have been inundated with requests by him to listen to the soundtrack. In fact,  Hakuna Matata and I Just Can’t Wait To Be King are currently played everyday in Theverymoodyhousehold.

 

What has surprised me completely though is Giggles Magoo’s insistence to also listen to the Frozen soundtrack. He didn’t love the movie,  but his bestie does. After discovering the music in The Lion King, he has been hooked on Frozen’s sound ever since, and maybe it was a musical awakening?

 

On our trip to Mudgee, I discovered that I actually wanted to listen Frozen too, and we did – multiple times. I’m hoping that one day in the future life of Giggles Magoo, he’ll  hear the Frozen music and is reminded of all the lovely times we have goofing off when we sing together – in the same way I may have tortured my parents in listening to The Lion King on repeat.

Initially this blog post was going to focus on the development of our family traditions and the brilliant adventures we get to go on together – getting to any swans game we can; taking the boys to the place we celebrated getting married; sharing adventures with new friends… the weekend just finished was the prefect way to highlight the highs of family life. But, as I sit on the train coming home, my mind is instead filled with Frozen song lyrics and the fun times I had belting them out; the smiles on the boy’s faces; their little belly laughs.

Maybe one day I’ll touch base on those beautiful traditions we seem to have formed, but for the time being I’m off to build a snowman. And I definitely did not see my life heading down this path xx

PS. Confession time. At one stage, for about 2 weeks I was struggling with my let-down reflex after an illness while breastfeeding Little Mate. The only way i could relax enough to allow the let-down occur (and thus feed him) was by singing Let It Go. Weirdly funny, I know.