Early Bird, Night Owl

I wake up most mornings a little bleary eyed, like most people. I have early risers - Lex is usually first up for the day anywhere between 5.30am and 6.30am. Luckily I'm a morning person - I just get that coffee into me and only then can I have a decent conversation with anyone!

Alexis is the brightest little thing first thing in the morning. She bounces out of bed and heads straight for the fridge for her customary morning juice. Then onto the pantry to grab the Rice Bubbles.

Chace is pretty bouncy too, also always up before 7am, but all hell breaks loose when breakfast is offered to him. What he'd like, is chocolate covered biscuits with a scoop of icecream and lollies sprinkled on top. What he gets, is Weetbix or Nutri Grain, maybe toast and yoghurt. And so it goes, every morning, we battle it out at the pantry - me and my boy. There's lots of foot stamping, lots of stare outs - but he suddenly gets over his morning blues, takes the bowl and eats without another word - almost. every. morning.

Now, I can already tell which one of my kids will be the colossal sleeper-in-er in the teen years...that will be my Sienna. She leaps out of bed on Christmas, first day of school, back to school after holidays, birthdays, etc. But on normal mornings, there's a lot of, "Sienna, time to get up!" Like, about four or five times before I get frustrated and carry her out to the kitchen and plonk breakfast in front of her. She'd sleep away the morning if I let her - much like her Daddy on the weekends. Except he's not allowed to either, I stand at the end of the bed nagging him about what needs to be done. Works a treat, my naggy voice is not something to be reckoned with!

So I'm a bit of an early bird. But I'm very much a night owl too. My two little ones are generally in bed by 6.30-7pm most nights (due to their early rising!) Sienna is in by 7.30pm. They eat dinner between 5pm and 5.30pm. Because when they're in bed, that's mine and hubby's time. Time to relax, unwind. Enjoy dinner together, talk like grown ups or kick back with some TV. As much as family dinners altogether can be wonderful, I just know my kids aren't up for that yet. Cody is lucky to walk in the door by 6pm most nights, their little tummies would be screaming by then. And of course add tiredness to that mix and it all turns to complete feralness. So they eat early, they're in bed early. For now, it works.

I really think I need to start going to bed earlier too, but night time is when I just find so much to do?! Washing to fold (I don't fold washing in the day, Lex is a little too helpful...), lists to write, organising for the days ahead, pack away any toys that are left out. (Cody does the dishes, it's my strictest rule, since he really can't cook!) We're planning for a holiday, so I spend hours on the iPad doing up dummy itineraries to get the budget just right. Or I stumble across a good book, or mag, or re-read a favourite book.

I'm a sucker for American drama TV shows. Love them. Parenthood is my favourite. Love a bit of Glee too.

So there goes my night. In the quietness of my house while the babies sleep soundly, I jam so much stuff into my evenings that I don't often end up going to bed until around midnight most nights. I kind of like it that way though...as long as there's coffee in the morning!

Slow down babies!

What's the go with Summer holidays?

It seems to be the time of year when kids do a whole heap of growing up right before our eyes.

Yesterday Sienna lost her fourth tooth - one of the major ones, a front top tooth. And the other is so loose, I'm guessing the tooth fairy may be back again tonight for another visit. But looking back on my own school photos, my teeth (and Boo's) didn't seem to have budged until at least mid through our Grade Two years. Sienna is just about to begin Grade One and it seems a very grown up thing to have so many gaps in her mouth already.

I've also noticed her being a lot more grown up around the house. She's always been pretty good at packing up toys and keeping her room tidy. But these holidays, she's offering to help with so much more like getting the washing in and helping me unload the dishwasher; helping her brother and sister pack up and generally helping them with little things throughout the day too.

Seven years ago, I was feeling like a whale, only halfway through my first pregnancy, eagarly awaiting our first baby, and oh my God, was it a hot Summer that year! And now, here's that little baby girl seeming ever so grown up.

Not just Sienna, Chace and Lex too.

I remember Sienna being a little unsettled before her final year of kinder began, she was just so ready for that extra stimulation and was itching to learn new things. But Chace REALLY needs to go, another week can't come fast enough for him! He's started writing his name and reading really simple words. He's in a mood a lot of days when I can just tell he's bored with the routine at home and has exhausted everything I'm teaching him. He's soooooo ready for kinder to begin!

Same with Lex, she goes off to little kinder next week as one of the younger ones. But there was no way I could hold her back another year! She's toilet trained, the baby-ness evaporated over Summer and she is such a social butterfly. Her bag is packed and ready to go. She tells me stories of what she and her best friend Abby will get up to at kinder.

I've slowly been clearing out the toy cupboard of any baby toys and last week, the last of it all went to the Salvos. It really did tug at my heart strings! I've kept a few favourite little things like Sophie the Giraffe and their favourite rattles. I do love watching them grow up and go through different stages. But I really don't have a baby in the house anymore!

I'm blaming a combination of pool water and sunshine, surely that's what's made my little ones grow up so suddenly over Summer - yes?!

A boob of an issue...

I cannot believe that in the year of 2013, we are still having the old debate of breastfeeding in public. This is one that gets my knickers in a twist!

People! We are not living in the 1950s anymore!

When it came to light last week that a Mummy in Qld was asked to stop breastfeeding at a public pool, I just felt angry for her. It is a mother's God-given right to feed her baby. It's an instinct. When our dear little ones are screaming for a feed, we feed them. Whether it be bottle or breast. And let me tell you - I have nothing against bottle feeding at all, babies need to be fed and however that may be is what works for different families.

BUT! There is no hesitation in whipping a bottle out of the nappy bag and worrying about the condescending stares about being discreet. It just doesn't happen.

I loved breastfeeding my babies. I was very lucky that my three littlies took to the boobies with gusto minutes after they were born and we never had any issues. All of them fed for around 12 months and I was so happy with that. I demand fed - when they wanted a feed, they got it.

I've never used parent feeding rooms, because quite honestly, the one here in this town always smells like poo, literally. I'd always sit down on a bench or at a cafe. I wouldn't make a big song and dance about it. Just sit down quietly to feed. I wasn't always discreet, I rarely threw a blanket over my babies' heads. I just simply DID NOT CARE what anyone thought.

Never once did anyone ever ask me to leave, or suggest a more appropriate place to feed my babies. But God help them if they had! It is a perfectly normal, healthy thing to do - and it is LEGAL! Maybe all the goody-two-shoes in the world need to concentrate more on banning and moving on the countless idiot druggies in our society these days - you know, the ones that are actually participating in something illegal.

Over the past few weeks, to read the comments from such tossers as Kochie and other social media prominents that breastfeeding in public needs to be more discreet is astounding.

Anyone notice what most teenage girls wear these days? Or just women everywhere? There's boobies being flashed everywhere! And not for the reason of breastfeeding! C'mon Kochie - I dare you to address that one!

There are bigger issues out there to be dealt with - breastfeeding in public shouldn't even be one. That simple.

Happy New Year!

This blog is something I really want to have a good crack at this year. I love writing, I've always loved writing. I've got things to say, things to record...then I get busy with something else and I forget to actually write about it...!

So it's been a busy year. We survived our first school year! And this year is shaping up to be even busier with two at kinder and our eldest starting grade one. Not to mention daycare, ballet, footy, play dates, work, housey stuff and all the rest of it. I've got a feeling I'll be in the car a lot this year!

I'm going to be working four days (school hours) in my admin job this year. I'm looking forward to the challenge! 

And as much as I adore doing photography also, something had to 'give' a bit. So this year I'm going to be scaling back on my photography commitments and only doing sessions for my regular clients and for those already booked in. Otherwise I'd just have no valuable time with my family. It's also become a bit of a disheartening 'grab' for clients here in this town and I never got into this business to compete with others. I do it simply for the love of it. 

So this year is for my family and for me. Cheers to a fantastic year ahead! (And here's hoping I can get Boo to make some appearances here too!)

- Mem x