Sunshine!

After a rude awakening this morning to find only half the money there should have been in my bank account I got great news from a friend so the day is looking up!  Today will involve tidying up, tackling Mount Washmore which seems to have multiplied exponentially after the gastro attack, vacuuming out the old car and putting it on the side of the road for sale, going to the park, picking up a friend who is visiting from Sydney, dropping the kids at my parents house, going out to dinner with said friend and then staying the night at my parents house to save driving all the way back here and then all the way back to their house again tomorrow!
It will be a bit of an experiment with Anouke - it will be the first time I have left her with anyone at night time ever.  I think she will be ok, I'll give her a big feed before I leave and we are only having an early dinner (32 wks pregnant and single mother of 2 does not for a long evening make rofl) so she should be fine.  I think I will have more trouble with it than she will!  Ianto loves staying at my parents house so I know he will be fine.
Very unexciting really!  I didn't think my life was that busy until I tried to make time to see a friend and it was hugely difficult to find an appropriate time!

Sharing is caring

But not always!  Anouke very generously decided that she shouldn't be the only one unable to keep anything down so Ianto and I spent last night very uncomfortably.  In the end I brought a mattress out to the lounge and we all camped there.  I seem to have got off lighter than the small people - probably because I saw that water made them vomit so I avoided it.  A glass of warm water with a tsp of honey and a tsp of acv instead in tiny tiny sips seems to have helped hugely.
Ianto is still detirmined to go to visit his dad today so I'll drive up very slowly and then Anouke and I will hang out at mum and dads for the day.  Sadly today was the date of my first doula clients blessingway which I will have to miss - I'm fairly certain giving your pregnant client gastro is not a good plan!  We will catch up next week , but there is something special about a blessingway and the energy that is present that I love to share and am sad to be unable to do that.
I also have another job developing which is exciting.  Over the last few weeks I have been spending evenings editing a new online magazine - Whole Woman.  It is due for launch on Tuesday, so it has been all hands on deck to get the layout right, edit all the articles, and get it looking beautiful!  I'll post a link when it is launched - the first edition is free :D

Suicidal Wattlebirds

After a long, disgusting night cleaning up the result of Anouke getting a gastro type bug we were out of bed (I can't quite classify it as awake lol) at 4 this morning.  It was misty - we could barely see the poplar trees on the back fence!  As it got lighter I could hear the birds start to sing, magpies, a kookaburra, butcher birds and lots and lots of wattlebirds.  Three times I heard the thump of birds hitting the french doors or kitchen window.  After the third time I thought it was more than slightly strange, and looked out to wee all the birds I could hear on my back deck!  I managed to count at least 15 wattlebirds all collecting nectar from the oak tree and occasionally hitting my windows.  It felt a little like a Hitchcock movie with all the birds looking at me through the windows!
We left the house at 11 still shrouded in fog to see Nan and Dad for lunch as we usually do on Wednesdays, although Ianto is usually with his dad.  It was nice for Nan to see Ianto and he was very calm and co operative, evidence that the GaPS is working!
After picking up my new glasses on the way home we went to the park in Cygnet which is bordered by two rivulets and a bird reserve and ran into Aunt Farmer which was lovely :D  we also went for a walk along the path to drop rocks in one of the rivulets which was perfectly still.  It was a lovely end to the day.

up early again...

We have a busy day ahead of us today.  Gytha Ogg and her hubby have a monthly brunch at their house and are hosting their first Tasmanian brunch so we are heading off to that in the morning and then heading to Mum and Dads for late lunch.  I have to make some pikelets to take with us to the Ogg's and somewhere in there drop some books in to my client who is due to birth soon.  Phew!

Our favourite pikelets at the moment are banana, honey and cashew.  I'm in love with my food processor and use it so much that I never put it away at the moment and this is one of the many uses it has.  Making pikelets is as easy as throwing in 3 frozen bananas, whizzing them up a bit, adding honey, self raising flour, a couple of eggs and a handful of cashews, hitting the on button and adding milk as it whizzes until it is the right consistency.  Hey Presto!  Sadly these pikelets won't last much longer as the flour and milk in them makes them not suitable for GaPS and the flour is nearly all gone, but I'm sure I can make a substitute.

Last night Anouke fall asleep in the clothes she had been wearing all day - eg none, not even a nappy.  She was very asleep, not even wanting booby when I moved her into bed which is unusual for her so I put the waterproof sheet under her and hoped for the best - here it is 12 hours later and she is dry, my bed is dry.  she has been having dry nights for a while so I was fairly confident but it is pretty cool all the same!  I don't know if this will continue on to being able to wee in the potty this morning as up til now she has just sat on the potty without doing anything and then wee'd somewhere else, but hey, a dry bed is nothing to sneeze at!

the first frost and monster cups of tea.

Awoke this morning before the small people who are both impressively snotty to watch the mist move down the river and make my self a monster cup of tea in what my family knows as the "Dada cup".  I'm onto my second now after wandering out to the letter box and discovering evidence that this morning was officially freezing.
The plans for today did include an op shopping trip to town with Gytha Ogg and her small people but due to the huge amount of snot between the four small people that plan was aborted in favour of Staying At Home in Pyjamas.  Or if you are Ianto and Anouke Staying At Home Naked.  Thankfully this house is easy to heat so they are warm.
Anouke has had a growth spurt and suddenly grown out of her trousers and gotten too tall to walk under the kitchen table which has resulted in bumped heads and cold ankles.  Tomorrow when Ianto is at his dad's house I will make the most of it and head to the op shops to try and find some winter clothes that fit Anouke.  There is a significant enough size difference between the two of them that she has grown into Ianto's clothes from a few summers ago - not so handy when it is heading into winter!
Ianto seems to have had a growth spurt as well and is all long limbs and huge paws.  Slightly uncoordinated, but adorable at the same time.  We are slowly getting into the GaPS diet and using up the left over "illegal" food from before.  Carb cravings setting in for Ianto and I which I am attempting to curb with protein...
So today will be a day of sorting out Anouke's clothes, trying to get some washing done and generally pottering around while drinking cups of tea.  Not an exciting day, but one that will be lovely and relaxing I hope!

A year ago...

One year ago today I was preparing to head to a friends blessingway for the weekend.
One year ago today I was telling x that he had until I got back on Sunday to find somewhere else to live.
One year ago today I gathered the support of my community around me.
One year ago today I drove away from my old life and towards my new one.
One year ago today I found strength, I found courage, I found myself.

This year I have paid off debts accumulated through 2 abusive relationships. I have made errors of judgement but realised before it was too late. I have taken steps towards living my authentic life. I have started healing myself and my children. This year I look out over paddocks and the river drenched in sun, wispy white clouds in the sky and I feel that I am home. I hear the occasional car drive past, the kookaburras, my children playing happily and the peace of the country and I feel that I am home. I tidy the house and prepare lunch for friends and feel I am home. I have surrounded myself with friends and family and am supported and nourished by the solidarity of my community and the chaos that is a tribe of families with children.

One year on, I am happy and at peace for the first time in my life.

My First Mothers Day

As a single mother anyway ;)  And so far I have to say it has been the best.  I'm up before the small people so I have a few minutes quiet to my self.  In a minute I am going to have a shower and clean up the living area before my parents and grandparents come for a roast dinner.  Mum and Dad are bringing my new car with them which is exciting - and means I'll have to clean out the old car too rofl.
I chose the car on Friday, and that meant leaving the kids with a friend while I did it.  No biggie for Ianto as he has been in day care a lot, but it was only the second time I've left Anouke for more than a couple of hours.  Of course she was fine, she is very used to Mama Snowflake and the little Snowflakes and only had a small time of being upset which was fixed with cuddles.  She did welcome the boobies back with open arms though!
I'm off to have a nice hot shower before the small people wake up :)