Monday 30 October 2017

Oh... hi there!

Well would you look at that… it feels like forever since I’ve updated this blog. In fact… oh my, eight months or so (thank you domain registration reminder for giving me some incentive). I haven’t been completely absent, I’ve been reading other blogs and infrequently commenting, but I still remember when I wrote more regularly, so sorry about that readers! (Do I have any readers left?)

What’s been happening in my life of late?

Work
I’ve been working more hours and taking on more responsibilities. I mean, I’m technically still part time, so I’m accruing flex time at alarming rates, but I love my job and we are doing so many new and experimental things and I just want to be involved. I’m loving that I get to stretch mental muscles and have deeply intellectual conversations about concepts that don’t even exist properly yet because we haven’t built them. It give me nerdy chills! Of course, it also means I have less time to do other things, but I make time for the important stuff.

My 5 year old with attitude
Ellie starts Prep next year. It feels like just moments ago I held her for the first time in my arms, barely 2.5kg of weight. Now, she still looks tiny, dwarfed by her school uniforms which I bought big so she could grow into them (it’s the frugal Asian side of me). The one thing that isn’t tiny is her attitude and sass. She’s such a wonderful little person who can have conversations with me and looks after her little brother with equal amounts of love and exasperation. She’s so smart, and so confident and so full of pizazz and cheer. I know she's going to blow us all away one day.
My newly minted 3 year old
Jimmy turned three yesterday! Remember when he was born? I do! We had some drama with his daycare and I wasn't happy with them anymore, so I went through the (long, drawn out) process of moving him a few months ago and he seems to be settling in and thriving now. He is talking so much and becoming his own person. And just for the record in case I start getting mushy and thinking about wanting more children…. toilet training. Oh my word I hate it so much… and that says a lot because remember I’m the mama who did cloth nappies!

He loves to be carried and held close, so I still carry a wrap for those moments where he just needs to be up. One such moment happened at a shopping centre lately... he was just losing composure so a sloppy wrap job later and he was snoring onto the back of my neck. J weighs almost a third of what I do these days, so I cherish these little moments while I still can.
Extracurricular activities
Ellie started acrobatics this year and while I was signing her up I noticed an adult tap dance class. I’ve never tapped before but I’ve done dance of some sort most of my life so I was intrigued. I started with a bunch of other like minded adults and I love it. Admittedly, it’s a new style for me so I’m still messing up all the time, but it’s such fun! I go once a week and quite frankly… it’s an amazing stress buster and I get to kick the floor and take all my frustrations out on it while dancing my (unfit) heart out. Win!

I'm also continuing pottering in my kitchen garden, and the recent rains have done wonderful things for all the plants I must say! 

After work, and family and cooking and life in general, I find myself sitting down of a night and just wanting a quiet activity. I've been reading a lot lately, both Kindle and paper books as the mood strikes. There is something to be said for turning paper pages and smelling a book (is that weird?) but I also appreciate the sheer convenience of eReaders too.

Diet
As my kids get older, they get more definite with what they will and won’t eat. They have a few meals they always love (pasta, rice and stir fry, chicken nuggets, pancakes and sweets) but I long for them to love vegetables and be flexible with their food preferences. It seems that what was a favourite last week is off the menu the next. Maybe they are following in their daddy's carnivorous influence and not my healthy choices.

I find myself often cooking wonderful (meat free) meals that they’ll taste and then turn up their noses at even though they'd eaten them last week, so I portion it out and freeze it to try again another time. I have a freezer full of meals that only I seem to eat now… no matter how many time I present my lovingly prepared and often home grown creations. Kids! Still, it means that I have fabulous lunch options and no excuse for takeaway on nights when I just can’t be bothered! I'm all about the silver linings.

Fill me in on your news. What’s been happening in your life lately?

8 comments:

  1. Nice to hear from you Lisa - you sound busy but in a good way - I know the feeling of cooking dinner that is not appreciated by kids - but it is wonderful when they do like something! We've had a few good dinners when I have discussed them with Sylvia beforehand but even those can go awry. The tap dancing sounds fun - I have fond memories of my grandfather showing us how to tapdance - are you watching some of the old movies with wonderful tapdancing like Singing in the rain.

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    1. Thanks Johanna. I admit that I've read through your posts with interest in the hopes of tempting the kids into eating. I have started discussing with them more and getting them involved with the meal planning and prep processes, but it's still hit and miss. I hope school lunches next year is not too painful a process!! I have been listening to lots of Broadway shows lately actually, not so much the movies, but we all have great fun singing and dancing around (some more tunefully than others). It was a proud moment when my kids joined me in singing to some of my favourite musicals! :)

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  2. It's lovely to hear from you! The updates were great to read too.

    I'd love to know what wrap you use with Jimmy. Mini Bite is getting quite heavy now for our Ergobaby as I haven't really mastered getting her on my back solo (it's a structured carrier rather than a wrap) and on my front it's a noticeable weight. I gather wraps are better as they get bigger? Would you recommend any in particular? Baby wearing has been a life saver up until this 15mo point and I fear letting it go but also my back!

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    1. Thank you Kari. I've very much enjoyed seeing mini Bite grow in your blog updates!

      I've always used woven wraps with Jimmy. The one in the picture is a Didymos (pattern and weave is called Inka). It's a size 4 which I find the perfect size to do both front and back carries with and have minimal material leftover (I am quite petite though). We do also have a structured carrier (an Ergo Performance) which Mr Fork much prefers as it's (in his words) "less faffing around" but I find the woven is quicker and easier for me so I don't have to adjust the carrier down from his fit to mine if I want to use it. I find a wrap just easier (but I wouldn't say *better*) for me, but to be honest, there is a learning curve to using them. I suppose the advantage would be that because it's just one long piece of material, you can adjust it to suit yourself and sort of pad out any parts that need extra material. It also squishes up for easy transport.

      I admit baby wearing is a total lifesaver, but comfort is also important... I think if you could master the carrier on your back there is no real need to swap to a wrap (most carriers can take up to about 20kg) so it's worth practicing for your sanity :)

      Sorry for the essay, I could go on and on about baby wearing!!

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    2. I forgot to check back until today but thanks so much for this fantastic reply :-) I think I need to master the back carry - Mini Bite is only 11kg or so, so in theory we have lots of time to go if 20kg is manageable!

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  3. It sounds like life is going swimmingly for you. Good stuff :) apparently books have the same chemical smell as coffee and chocolate �� I guess that’s why most people like to smell them :). Cheers sherry

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    1. Today I Learned: Books and Coffee and Chocolate all scientifically proven to make me happy, so I shouldn't deprive myself :) What a great fact!!!

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