A Furry Intruder

It was Saturday morning. It seemed like a normal enough, lovely weekend day to me. Dan had left very early for a short morning flight, and I looked forward to taking him out for his birthday later in the afternoon. The girls and I had breakky at the table... nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

It wasn't until Dan got home at about 10am, that I found out there had been a noisy, theiving creature clambouring about our kitchen in the night!
The conversation went something like this:
A: Did you sleep well last night? Did you wake up both times Annika woke up? (Yes, I often ask my husband too many questions to answer at once. It's not meant to be an interrogation. It's more of a - choose your own conversation starter!)
D: Yeah, alright. No, Annika didn't wake me up. But the possum did.
A: what, on the roof?
D: No, in our kitchen! Bangin' around... didn't  you hear it?

I did not.

The moral of the story is, Dad sleeps through baby crying, but is out of bed and on his sleepy feet the moment there's a sound like someone (or something) who doesn't belong in the house. While Mum hears every noise the baby makes, but sleeps desperately through everything else! It's as if my subconscious shouts at me: If we don't have to feed it, it's not worth waking up for!

Apparently, someone had left the laundry window open while the dryer was running , and at that blissful moment of bedtime, had forgotten to shut said window. Thus the window was a doorway through the laundry and into our kitchen, for small and hungry beasts.

It was stealthy, I'll give it that. It took an apple. Nothing else on the table was out of place - and there was a lot, in piles, on the table! There were a lot of apples in the fruit bowl. The little critter couldn't be bothered with the banana or the avocado - too much work! No claw marks in anything else either, just knew exactly what it wanted and sat there in the bowl munching on it. Until Dan came along and chased it away, with the rest of its unfinished treat clenched firmly in teeth. Back out the window.
I laughed :)
Yes, we are much more careful now (again!) to check every window is closed before sleeping.

And on a completely different note - the rest of the day was wonderful. yes, we enjoyed the planetarium very much - nerds that we are! Dan loved it, and though I'm not a very smart nerd when it comes to science, I thouroughly enjoy being awed and amazed by the wonders of our universe, and being made just a little bit dizzy thinking about all the things I don't understand. But most of all, it was just wonderful to be on a date- hand in hand, chatting and whispering and laughing....just like the young kids in love we were 10 years ago...only completely different.

Ponies and pretty girls

Last weekend, Sophie went to a friends' birthday party, where she got to ride ponies. She was a bit nervous at first, but overcame her fear. She was brave and made new pony friends. Happy day :)

 This pony is Louise. Sophie wanted to ride her first - she was smaller. Turns out she was also quick and a bit feisty. Sophie wanted a go on the bigger pony the next time around.

This pony is Cuddles. Sophie fell in love with cuddles. She even wanted to feed her carrots and apples after the ride (but, she ended up needing some extra help and encouragement for that!)

 Annkia enjoyed the day too!

Blogging again!

Good morning. I am back.
For me, we are coming up to the new year. This year, January first just didn't really do it for me. It was just another day. Time has split itself for me, into before and after 30 April 2010. It's a sad reason to have your whole sense of life and time rearranged so absolutely, and really, I don't mean for my first blog back to be a complete downer. So I'll try to pick it up soon! But just so you can orient yourself to my life, this is where I am - at the end of the year when my sister died. In May, it will be a new year for my family, in a way. Year 2. So in a way, I take a deep breath, and I hope for better. I try to be better. I decide to breathe and grow, and to write, more.

This morning my 2 beautiful daughters are fast asleep at 7:30, and so is my dear husband. It's Friday - it's a daddy day. Very soon, they will be having a bleary-eyed breakfast together, and I will be rushing off to work. Equally as bleary-eyed.
Annika is nearly 8 months old. Though it's so hard to believe that, or even to see it. Adjusted age, she is 6 and 1/2 months old, and that is how I think of her. She sleeps 5 hours at the most before waking to need a feed. Is this right? This can't be right! Somenight she needs to learn to sleep longer than that, surely? The articles I've read say... oh wait, right, she doesn't read those. She does her own thing.
There's so much more to say.... and I will try to say it.

I want to write about my kids - their language! All the wonderful things they say! All the ways they learn. If you know me at all, you know I am passionate about language, and about education, so I want to tell you stories about how that happens in my home. I'm so curious about how it happens everywhere.
I want to write about food. About what I cook, and learn. I cook gluten free dinners, and I do it nearly every night, and most nights, I really enjoy it. I am also (to quote my beloved sister Brittany) a foodie at heart.
I want to write about the things I enjoy reading, watching, and listening to...to explore those things that still bring me joy, as my own person. Do you ever feel like you lose yourself, being a mom? I have been getting a little lost lately! Here's to exploring just where I might be found. Oh yes, and there's also that - the spiritual journey. I might want to write about the ups and downs of that. We'll see.

And now I've just about finished my cuppa - down to the very last little bit of cold tea left in the bottom. Which means it's time to rush about and get to work now. :)

Conversations with Sophie

Lately talking to Sophie is more and more like talking to a 3-year-old. Conversations and monologues can be... confusing, imaginative, thought-provoking, and hilarious! I'm not sure if I'm ready for this yet, but here we go! She is my delight.

Tonight...
Sophie - Dad, will you marry me?
Dan - Sophie I can't marry you, I'm already married to Mama.
S - Oh, but you love me.
D - Yes, I love you very much, but I'm not going to marry you. I'm just married to Mama.
S - (*sigh*) I guess I'll marry Mama then.
Alicia - Sophie, people don't marry their Mummies & Daddies. Mummy is just your Mummy and I love you, and Daddy is just your daddy and he loves you.
S - Oh, ok. (Thinks about this) Daddy is married to Mama...
D - Yes..
S -... and Jeremy is married to Bec...
D - That's right!
S -... but Sophie and Ryan are not married yet!!

Sometimes, Dan and I just have to try so hard not to laugh!
and I wonder if maybe she's been watching too much Cinderella, a little too early?!

There have been a lot of golden moments lately... oh, here's a great one!
After picking Sophie up from daycare one day,
A- Sophie, your teacher said you went to the toilet 3 times today! You're becoming such a big girl and I'm so proud of you! You must be proud of you too.
S - Yes! (Thinks awhile?) Mama, did you go to the toilet at school today too? I'm so PROUD of you Mama! Good job!

Or here was the conversatoin/ story we got after dinner tonight, as bedtime was fast approaching...

A - Sophie, it's time to start getting ready for bed. Do you want to drink your milk now, or go to the toilet first?
S - No, Mama. Tonight, I'm gonna put to you to bed. You get in your bed and I tell you a story, ok? Then I give you a kiss and I close the door and I go talk to to Daddy on the couch, ok? Then I go to bed later, when I'm reee (really) tired.

And to that I just think, yeah, fat chance kid, keep dreaming! But of course, I don't say it like that!

I'll try to think of some more gems for you. These are busy, crazy, beautiful days.
Hugs from all of us,
Alicia, Danny & Sophie