rock a bye

My little men are beautiful. And full on. Like today, for example.

Today's (un)doings included:

1. Once again, Noah took every DVD off the bookshelf 3 times (you'd think we'd do something about this by now).

2. Every magazine and book in the TV room off its table, onto the floor.

3. The bottom shelf of the pantry was entirely emptied out. And he found the strawberry jelly crystals. (And let's be very glad Noah can only reach the bottom shelf.)

4. The entire contents of the crystals were emptied. Noah had ripped it open with his teeth. (Damn that they came through so early.) He was a very pretty pink boy. Yummy, crystals.

5. He's now climbing. The verandah stairs, the chairs... and today he climbed up both to get to my step-daughter's smoking pot which is full of cigarette butts. He grabbed a handful and shoved them in his mouth. Mmmm, ash.

6. Pulling out every baby wipe out of it's container. A little annoying.

Mind you, none of it tops eating the toilet brush which he did do today and yesterday... We'll just leave it there, shall we?

So, it's no wonder after a fun-filled day of playing, activities, socialising, destroying, hunting, gardening, eating, and destroying (did I say that one already?), there's a small reward for all the action.

Sleep.

No, not for me (that never happens).

For the boys.

Because when all the excitement stops... it stops. (What else were you thinking would happen?)

So, when their little bellies are full it's 'quiet time'.

Yes, that's for me. Entirely for me.

That's why I can treasure these moments...

boys in a box

At Christmas time, my eldest son received the best present ever: a pedal car. It's awesome. It's black, shiny and has police logos on the side. It has a real metal surface and can dent - just like a real car. It's been a real hit, although interest has waned slightly due to the discovery of something else.

Last week, my eldest son found the box in which the abovementioned pedal car came in. It's brown, big, and really plain. But he loves it. And if I thought about the hours he's spent in that box, it might just be more hours than on the pedal car.

One of the especially appealing things is dragging your less enthusiastic little brother into the box with you and closing the flaps. Makes for one big scary panic! (Not to mention some awesome fun for Big Brother, so he does it again and again...)

So, here are my boys playing with their 'new toy'.

2010: THE YEAR OF THE TOURIST.

We've been living in Melbourne for 3 years now, and I confess I could be living anywhere in Australia.

It could be a small country town, the outback, the hills, even overseas. I don't get out much. And if I was to be exact, everything I do is limited to a 20km radius from my home.

What prompted this sad realisation was when my step-sister was planning her family holiday to Melbourne late last year. And as part of her preparation, she did what any wise person would do: she asked a local. Little did she know that the 'local' couldn't have been more clueless.

Anyone who knows a little bit about Melbourne, knows there is much to do in this amazing place. Why, it's The Third Most Liveable City In The World. There's festivals, the outdoors, Great Ocean Road, Wineries, Festivals, the Food, Music, Penguins, Grand Prix, Trams, Shopping, Puffing Billy... the list goes on and on.

And what do I know? A small region of Melbourne's eastern suburbs.

Thrilling, I know.

Although I've lived in Melbourne before, 10 years ago does not count as Current Knowledge. And the final straw was encouraging my sister and her trusting family to catch a tram to the city to reduce parking costs when there is now Flat Rate Parking (have $5 anyone?) every Sunday. And it rained that very afternoon. Did I mention the weather is something else Melbourne is famous for?

So I've decided that this year is going to be Year Of The Tourist. Yes, I'm going to be a tourist in my own city. I'm going to seek and destroy, search and conquer, live and let live... you get my drift.

So, we've been to the Zoo (twice now), visited the Surf Coast (for a wedding I might add), done Puffing Billy, even visited the Melbourne Aquarium.

And as part of our touristy existence, we've also decided to explore the Melbourne waters.

We bought a boat.

And although it seems a little extravagant, we just love it and are already reaping the rewards.

Its Maiden Voyage was this week, and we popped over to Phillip Island. We were a little nervous at first as this was the first time we launched a boat by ourselves. And new to this boat thing, we also didn't have the right attire (you know all white, or navy stripes, goofy cap...), but it felt so good and so right.

As well as this being the Year Of The Tourist, I think the past few months has reminded me I was a person with interests other than children before, well, I had children. I use to love skiing, bungee jumping, camping, travelling and having a nightlife that didn't involve breastfeeding.

So, I'm excited about this boat because it means more skiing, and the exhilarating stuff that water sports give me. Okay, I won't be bungee jumping anytime soon, but perhaps there will be a sky dive or a hot balloon ride just waiting to happen.

Melbourne, here I come.

i love the night life

It's been weeks since I updated my blog.

Okay, it's been months.

And, like my sleep, I keep thinking I'm going to 'catch up'. You know, put up pictures from the past few months, put up a bit of writing, journal a little. But then the job gets bigger and bigger, and then I'm overwhelmed.

Hmmmm, overwhelmed. I certainly feel that a lot lately. I can't keep up with the mess mostly. The kitchen mainly. And the toys. The floors. The washing. The work I get paid to do. Okay, there is a lot of things I'm swamped with right now.

I blame it on being nocturnal. I love the night life, I love to boogey... Except I'm not boogeying. It's the kids.

Madison has been waking throughout the night since January with screaming and bad dreams. Then there's Noah who insists that 3 square meals (and 5 breastfeeds) a day just isn't enough. Then, afterwards when I'm back in bed my mind is running so fast, I can't sleep. But I try, oh I try. And then when it's almost time to wake up, I'm finally falling asleep.

But tonight I gave up on trying to sleep. After my second wake up call, I called it quits on sleeping. I decided to do something productive with my early morning. Like get on Facebook, update my blog, do the banking, look at all those websites I've been meaning to check out, clean that kitchen mess (quietly of course).

And now, here it is 6:30am and I've just had my 3rd wake up call. Except I'm already awake.

Madison needs to go to the toilet. And because he had barely any dinner last night, he's hungry. So, in the dark we sit in the kitchen eating weetbix together. And perhaps because there's not another sound about and I'm a bit slow, I actually sit and marvel at his wonderfulness. He's singing to me his newest made up song, actually two. And he's telling me something that I can't believe he's remembered.

And now I'm thinking, I'm glad I was awake. If I'd been sleeping I might have been too grumpy to actually enjoy this moment. I might have been pushing for him to go to bed the minute he'd wiped. But as I sat there, I watched his lovely face as he talked to me. His big brown eyes twinkling with laughter, his little lisp, and the way he jumbles up his words to make very, very long sentences.

Perhaps I do love the night life after all...