Tuesday 16 August 2011

Mornings

I love mornings. Once I've peeled back my eyelids and resigned myself to the fact I'm not getting any more sleep, it's truly my favourite time of day. The Little Ones hop into our bed first thing for some cartoon watching (with some dozing for me) but before long they're itching to get up and start our day.
I love the bustle of our mornings. The Little Ones are happy and bubbly, rediscovering all their toys and things, because the night was ever so long don't you know, and everything is new and fresh.

It's cool in the mornings at the moment. Cool enough to sit outside with a light jacket on and enjoy a hot cuppa in the pale grey light. 
I love my mug. I found it in a homeware store for the bargain price of $5.95 and just love it. It's so cheery and happy with all its bright flowers, don't you think? It's a definite favourite of the moment, and here to stay for a while as my morning mug.

I sit in my chair and look over the backyard. We have a tall Grevillea tree in the front yard and the top of it peeks up over the fence. I get a great view of Rainbow Lorikeets playing in the top of it every morning. They arrive each morning without fail in all their beautiful noisiness, making such a racket and they're so fun to watch.



I also especially love watching the sun creep across the backyard, ever so slowly, like this 
 Also usually at some point I say hello to my little food garden and see how it's growing


 Coming along nicely, I think! I have tomatoes, pumpkin plants and mint. The Little Ones have stayed away from the tomatoes so far, but luckily they're in pots (the tomatoes, not the Little Ones) so I think I might move them out the front once they start to turn red, because I can just imagine how exciting that will be and I'm not sure they will survive (again, the tomatoes....................................yes, just the tomatoes).


At some point I have to drag myself indoors, do breakfast and all the normal morning-y things that are required of a Mummy. 
But I did enjoy sharing my mornings with you! Please come back soon x

Monday 15 August 2011

A day of perspective

We had a lovely day this weekend just gone. Found a beautiful place to sit in the warm sunshine with a cool breeze blowing. We bought treats from a nearby coffee shop and sat on the grass to enjoy them while the little ones played and danced. Here are some photos of our day.





 It was joyful and completely and utterly glorious. The little ones had a ball, and so did we. Not long after that, Miss C needed some new shoes, as her other pair were falling apart AGAIN, so we drove to the shopping centre and bought some for her. 
All in all, a wonderful day. 

Once we were home, I sat down and logged into facebook to see what my friends had been up to. This article  caught my attention. 
And it put a whole new  perspective on my day. I had been reading about the problems in Somalia, wondering like so many others why there wasn't more media coverage, feeling sad and a sense of helplessness at what I was reading, and being grateful for what my life was like. 

But this article was different for me. The raw honesty in it by the woman who travelled there really struck me. She made me see in my mind, for the first time almost, what millions of people were going through. And they were going through it at the same time that we were having our wonderful day. At first I felt like we had no right to be so happy while others were suffering so much. And maybe we don't. But as time has gone on (I've been thinking about this for a couple of days now) my knee jerk reaction has lessened somewhat. 

What I've been left with is an overwhelming sense of luck. I am one of many who won that lottery when I was born. I wasn't born into poverty, and thankfully, neither have my children. I was lucky to be born into a part of the world with few serious problems. It's not that we're any more or less deserving of happiness and safety than anyone else in the world, but we are incredibly lucky that we have it. And perhaps what we should be doing is living our lives to the fullest, because to do anything less is taking what we have for granted. 

Now you may or may not agree with me, because I'm sure everyone has their stance on world affairs, but I am never going to take for granted the life I have again. I know this, because that article and all the others will be in my memory. 
I am going to be ever so grateful that I can feed my children, that we can play in a park in the sunshine, that I can buy them new shoes, that we can walk the streets in relative safety and that our home is full of love and laughter. 

And for those millions in Somalia? I will donate to an aid organisation like UNHCR  or UNICEF  who are over there doing what they can to ease the suffering of so many. I will try to raise awareness of this crisis through my small social media world in the hope it will inspire others to donate. And every night, I will kiss my babies goodnight, and let my thoughts drift for a moment to mothers everywhere doing the same and hope that they are safe and fed as well. 
These may be small things, and it may be a vain hope, but it's all I can do. 

So I hope you all live your lives with much joy and gladness as well. Be thankful for the securities of your home, family and income. Those things allow most of us to live a life of comfort and safety. The famine in Africa is so far beyond my comprehension it's not funny. And how can I possibly understand when I've never experienced it? But we can appreciate every second of the blessed life we do live.

Friday 12 August 2011

Little Hands




Little hands have been busy at our house today. It never ceases to amaze me the flurry of activity those chubby little fingers can create. Always doing, doing, doing. Holding, poking, lifting, pushing, pulling, tickling, clapping, throwing, opening, closing...the list goes on and it's always constant. As small people explore their world touch helps them to make sense of what they see. 


Today these hands have been:


- Helping to load the washing machine and dishwasher
- Lifting fruit and vegetables from our basket to the shop counter
- Holding my hands
- Learning to use a plastic knife and cut up some play dough
- Folding some washing with me
- Reaching up for a cuddle
- Playing 'Open Shut Them'...a lot of times
- Throwing a ball as high as they can
- Cooking up a storm in the toy kitchen
and pushing toy cars along the ground, brmm brmming as they go


Have little hands been busy at your house?