After my last attempt, in less than calm waters and with a few adrenaline pumping wipe-outs, I went out on the board again this week. It was beautifully calm in Lyall Bay on Sunday. Barely a ripple of a wave broke on the shore. I found my feet quickly and plunged the paddle deeply into […]
motherhood
22 things I have done since becoming a parent…
Sung’ Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ more times than I’d like to think about. Not had a lie-in past 9am for over 8 years, but had plenty of mid-day naps. Scrubbed Weet-Bix off the kitchen floor till my hands nearly bled (that stuff is like cement to shift when it has set!). Got up in the […]
I hope she’s not thinking about me as much as I am about her
My beautiful, free spirited, energetic, bright young Sophie. I love you with all my heart, as I do Charlotte and Alice. You probably won’t understand the depth of my love for you until you are much, much older. But a parent will do anything for their child’s happiness. When you started school at the beginning […]
A long road ahead
I didn’t make an active choice to ‘do’ extended breastfeeding… I just never used bottles and it was so easy to peacefully feed baby to sleep (tut, tut, no, no!), comfort baby (and then toddler), nurse my child through teething with breastfeeding (did you know sucking releases endorphins – the body’s natural painkillers?). My children […]
Children bring out our best & show us our worst
In the before children days a long, stressful stretch in the office was quickly remedied with a few drinks, a long lie in or a weekend away in the bush. Now life is a little different… Endless sleep deprivation. No chance of a lie in (in fact after eight years I’m not sure I know […]
Loving saying, ‘Goodbye winter and hello spring!’
Last night we sat around the table, adorned with daffodils and lush ferns, sipping a hearty homemade vegetable soup, to bid farewell to the last day of winter. ♥ The bright joy and hope daffodils bring. ♥ Ferns, so lush and green. My favourite plant to hide under, like a fairy, seeking shade from the […]
How to be an attachment parent without a caffeine addiction?
If you clicked through from your Google reader hoping for an answer to the above then I am sorry to disappoint you. Perhaps I should have titled this post, ‘How to be a parent without a caffeine addiction?’ – but I do know plenty of parents (incredibly!) that do manage to parent on only milk, […]
Happy Mother’s Day this Lyrical Sunday!
‘Mothers’ By Sophie, Age 5 Mothers are kind, Mothers are caring, Mothers are nice, Mothers look after you. My Mummy is very, very nice, My Mummy is very kind because – she cleans up after me! My Mother’s Hands Thank you Mum for loving me, just the way I am. Thank you too for guiding […]
You know you’re a Mum when…
you turn up at the doctor’s surgery covered in glitter and don’t blink an eye when both the receptionist and the doctor make a very obvious statement about it. ‘No,’ I replied (in a very matter of fact, this is perfectly normal tone), ‘I am not heading out for an extravagant night on the tiles […]
Here Come the Girls: The Gallery Week 30
Girls run strong in my family. I am one of two girls, just like my mother and her mother was one of SEVEN girls! My husband’s brother and sister each have three sons. We have three daughters. I would have been beheaded or divorced in Henry VIII time! Saturday at the beach after a Birthday […]
Ten reasons I LOVE my job
No one tells me what I should wear and in the summer I live in bare feet and have little people volunteer to paint my nails (usually multi-colored and badly). I love not feeling pressured to scrub up in the latest fashion. Being able to wear a bikini top instead of a bra in summer […]
Tribal Wives Wellington, New Zealand
I am bravely picking up the baton and going to give this post my best shot, where others have skillfully gone before me – inspired by the amazing mistress of words Vix of Vegemitevix blog and her ‘Tribal Wives in Britain‘ post. Here follows my offering and I’d recommend visiting ‘Moments of Whimsy‘ blog for […]
One Day in August: Hoping for change
In a room on one side of the world a mother plays on the piano, whilst her baby daughter sits smiling and shaking a rattle. She listens to the rain beating down on the metal roof of her warm home and thinks of the synchronicity of the piece she is playing, ‘Kiss the Rain’, with […]
Dear Mummy…
An imagined letter from my children to me: Dear Mummy, We’re sorry for the mess we left everywhere, but do you like the painting we did for you? The painting is of you being busy. You are always busy, but we like that you stop to give us a hug and play with us too. […]