plus one

Mothers Day this Sunday just past saw me sharing in the very essence of being a Mother...
the birth of a precious wee baby girl.
Plus one into the arms of our family fold.
Number one for my sister and her husband.

I've been wanting and trying to write this post for days,
but waiting for my beloved sister to share her news first...
and then waiting for the right words to come.
They still haven't.

Was it because it was the first birth, other than that of my own children, that I've attended?
Was it because it was my sister birthing and my niece being birthed?
Was it because of the concurrence of the day and the act?
Or just the miracle of delivering life into the world... this feeble sentimental statement being the very reason I spent so long unsuccessfully searching for the elusive right words for this post.
But whatever the reason for my awe and amazement and the complete euphoria of my experience....
the power of standing with my own mother, beside my sister and her husband as they became parents on mothers day, was palpable.
I breathed with her
and massaged her.
I encouraged her
and reassured her.
I held her
and swayed with her.
I tried to meld all my strength with her
and let my knuckles turn white with hers.
Amazingly I laughed with her
and of course I shed tears with her.
But there was only one thing aside from her pain that I wanted to take just a little bit of... and that was her strength and courage...and later pure joy. We could all do with some of that.

So welcome to motherhood my sister.
And welcome earth side little April Ruth.
We've been waiting for your plus one.
How we are going to cherish you so...
and how I am going to cherish the sweet gift of sharing in your arrival.

so far...

I love school holidays.
The slow pace...
the pyjama's until lunch time...
the baking...
and the making....

Block rockets of course for the boy...
complete with stones for fire because a rocket must have the fire coming out of it's turbo boosters...did you know?


and of course there's the extra time for the garden.
And the girl has been working on the same at school...
which has carried over to the holidays too...
makes a Mama very happy.
So far, so good.

bassinettes, beads, bellies and babes

There's a new little soul about to join our clan in just a month or so
and we've been busy trying to honour the Mama-to-be in just the right ways.
The century old bassinet has re-emerged, waiting, fluffed and filled with images for every Mama-past of this family of their own sweet newborns tucked tenderly within it... myself and my own included.
We've celebrated in her home by filling it with loving friends each supporting and connecting with her through wishes, stories, henna, maybe a few cupcakes and a precious strand of birthing beads....
and again later we've symbolically shared and extended that connectedness amongst this tight clan of ours with henna too.... even though the men folk may have found the car racing just as enticing after... the imagery of them above touches my heart in the warmest way.
Our beautiful Jen is about to join the blessed ranks of Motherhood
and she is entering it surrounded by the most amazing women friends and loved ones...
and one sister whose soul is just shining to bursting for her right now.

gathering

I've been finding myself gathering things.
Flowers seeds shells leaves feathers.... and strength.
But it's all the seeds from the garden, aside from their own abundance and beauty and purpose,
that have me thinking most.
There is something about their cycles and potential.
How much potential there is within a single one is something quite astounding.
And as I quietly gather and admire these seeds from my garden
I am also aware that to a certain extent I am gathering them for within myself as well right now
A little symbolism of life lately...
Gathering up exhaustingly for the harsh Winters of existence and hopefully awaiting the potential of a new Spring and a deep exhalation.
For like those I gather from the garden,
the seeds we gather for our souls can only attract the most beautiful things into the gardens that lie within us as well... right?

new days

a new year...

new days...

1.1.11

Those very numbers must denote a new beginning mustn't they?

I was home alone last night

not through want of celebratory invitations and phonecalls and possibility,

but through a need for quiet

and contemplation

and quietness as my babes peacefully and innocently slept around me, oh so soundly.

Contemplation of life's twists and turns and meaning.

Today is a new day...coincidentally a new year... open to me...

a crossroad

a blessing and a curse

a challenge and a reply...

a look at what was reaped and sown throughout the last...

a slow deep breath after a long swim against the tide.

I'm not usually one for new year sentimentality

and truth be told I struggle to stay awake to even see one in,

just as I did last night...

but sometimes, just sometimes

the universe throws us a new beginning we need...

a reason to be sentimental

and grateful

and strong

and vulnerable

and me.

Happy new days everyone.

May they bring all the new opportunities and peace you need also.

yule

I'm feeling this was the best Christmas in a long while
despite the persistent drenching from the heavens

and a few personal challenges prior
gifts of laughter
dear family
and a little decadence for the belly and soul
here's hoping your day was as blessed as mine

midsummer

Happy Solstice!

We're enjoying some merrymaking and preparations this week.

As well as celebrating the sun...

when it appears that is.

Happy celebrations and preparations to you too.

skoooooky

Normally I guess like most Mama's I find myself helping the little ones with their pronunciation fairly often but in the case of skooky how can I just yet? Skooky is just so much darn cuter than spooky don't you think?
So it was skooky that was said numerous times yesterday as we celebrated our Halloween with treats from awesome inspiration via here...

and with some apple bobbing...

and our own witch's broomstick making. That was fun....from dried mulberry and lomandra prunings from the garden.

And after a trip out with friends to visit a real jack-o-lantern we lit our own candles at home for those no longer here but dear to our hearts who just may be that little bit closer in spirit on this special night...

and we bunked down in our pj's with pillows and blankets and teddies on the couch to follow in our other little tradition to watch our Halloween favourite... with just maybe a little chocolate to munch.

Happy All Hallows friends.

And happy longer... or shorter days wherever you may be.

I hope the ones you miss were closer by for a time.

sugar and sunshine

It's been a while between drinks, friends.
My sweet sisters comments about not updating my blog in a while with some images and words for her to look at has found me motivated to be here again.
"I haven't even blogged in ages" I almost moaned to her last week after commenting on just how long it's been since I gave the house a good clean and nosed down into my studies properly. Exactly what have I been doing lately? Other than mothering, working, updating work training, pondering and setting some new goals for myself that is!
"Gee what's it been, almost two weeks?" I casually threw out there while we were out on a rare sister date on Friday night. (We went to see this by the way...)
"The 1st of October!" she ever so quickly replied.
The surprise must have registered on my face, so she explained her disappointment every time she clicked over here to see if I'd visited and the same date popped up in the post header.
Friday, October 1, 2010.
So it was.
Call it shaken, nudged or inspired...whatever...but here I am and that's a good thing. I've missed this space of mine... as have others it seems. Love.

Happenings around my world have been varied but mostly marred by rain. An enormous amount of rain! Gratefully received of course...the earth has been rightly soaked and the dams have been releasing water with warnings of floods along the river as a result. Quite the turnaround from when we were watching that same dam receding without a raindrop in sight not too long ago! How the worm turns and how mother nature loves to remind us who's in control. I love that.
But...I also do love the sunshine and the excitement that something we so take for granted can bring when it streams through the windows first thing in the morning after quite the long hiatus.
Thanks to the last two days of glorious sun I have made some serious progress in the redesign of the back garden and have even been planting (and nursing a little case of sunburn today...how silly...yes sunburn!) Oh yes and as quickly as a single area had been slightly finished, or in some cases half finished I found myself there on hands and knees sowing seeds and transplanting seedlings straight down into it!
My newly planted green babies include more papaya, roma tomatoes (now I know I can grow tomatoes!), pigeon pea, lettuce, coriander, basil, radish and a couple of things it's probably not the right time for like perennial leeks and broad beans...but ah I couldn't help myself. It's been so long.
I've also planted a choko vine on the chicken coop for fruit and shade as during our blitz out the back a few trees have now departed, and some sugar cane setts by the cubby which we acquired by the side of the road. Sweet sugar cane...planted not before a few sections were stripped and chewed of course.
We have also been joined by a raspberry bush and a loquat tree. Very exciting and very experimental...fingers crossed!

So amidst the mothering, working, training, pondering and goal setting, there have indeed been other things afoot. Between the rain, the sun, the digging and planting there has also been quite a bit of mulberry hunting and eating; bonding with a new *Charlotte* (we love our garden creatures here) and a new craft project for this Mama.
I guess the fact the house hasn't been cleaned in so long is not such a bad thing.
I'll take the sugar and sunshine over that any day.

three unto the moon....

This boy of ours turned three over the weekend.
Three!
And the boy loves rockets.
Let me tell you...everything in our house is either a rocket or a space ship right now!
So there was no other way to celebrate this milestone but with a rocket and space inspired celebration.
The table was adorned with the flowers of his birth.
There were rocket toys and paper and cake that bought squeals and the kind of excited smiles that could do nothing other than bring a tear of joy to a Mama's eye.
He danced along with wind up machines and then wore his safety glasses and made all the sounds a rocket could make until....
his real treat....
a wander to the park where we launched the real thing.
It's a journey to the stars with this little guy....he is still somewhere out in space and over the moon now...
even in his dreams.... how could he not be when he is still sleeping with that rocket and insisting on being called *super*!
Three unto the moon little man.
Happy Birthday my *Super Bam*.

spontaneous tuesday

It's not often that I'm too spontaneous...in the bigger kind of way.
I like my plans and I like my rhythm...I like to know what I'm doing before I do it.
I don't cope too well with surprise and the unplanned things in life...even the good stuff.

But today...today I said *to heck with it*.
I was guilt free today because yesterday I emailed an assignment, I had I admit been procrastinating on, and now excitedly I'm ready to sit the first exam for this part of my course. Yay for me and yay for feeling free to throw caution to the wind and be spontaneous today.

I brushed off the Misters initial request via phone to go for a ride with him to a small job on the coast this morning. The rush of school preparation and trying to get two little ones out of the house fed and packed and dressed, with brushed hair, cleaned teeth and washed faces is not the best time to request anything of this Mama especially something spontaneous. But I quickly reconsidered after listening carefully to that little voice that was indeed whispering *to heck with it*. And luckily so.

While the Mister finished off his small job, the boy and I wandered across the road in search of the sand. We played for an hour or two. Digging, running, befriending the gulls who I know where just hoping for food scraps, and watching the planes fly over from across the Pacific to the airport nearby.
I breathed the salty air, sifted sand through my toes and devoured the sounds of the shore before meeting up with Kyle for a lunch date with our boy. A lemonade treat by the sea for him and something hearty and bubbly for us.

I think I still like my rhythm as much as appreciating the expected...I don't think that will change in a hurry but I sure do know that the *to heck with it* days can be pretty blissful especially when they turn out to be this kind of spontaneous Tuesday. And not an ounce of guilt in sight...well maybe only because our sweet girl wasn't there.

How was your Tuesday?