At the farm

6:14pm on friday afternoon and Tim walked through the door.  I picked up Ella and some last minute things to put in the car and we were out of there!

It was such a cold day and as we drove towards the mountains we could instantly feel it getting cooler.  We watched the temperature gauge on the car creep further and further down.  The wind was howling outside and there was so much debris on the road.  So the weekend didn't look very promising in terms of outdoors activities, but we were both still so happy to be leaving for the country and some down time.

By the time we arrived at the farm it was only 2 degrees C.  The fire was burning inside though when we arrived and you would never have known what the weather was like outside.

Ella woke early in the morning and it wasn't long before Poppy came in and scooped her up to take her to their bed so that Tim and I could have a bit of a sleep in.  I am so grateful for my mum and dad.  We found out later that their bed was full - Ella, my two nephews, plus the three dogs were in bed with nanny and poppy reading stories and playing.  I hope these are the things that Ella remembers about her nanny and poppy when she is older.  My nephews are 10 and 7 and they still love getting in bed with them in the mornings to snuggle when they have a sleep over which I think is so lovely.

By the time I woke up breakfast was ready and as we looked out the window it started to snow.  Unfortunately it wasn't very thick but there were definite flakes floating through the air.  Blake and Josh had never seen the snow so they were very excited.

It was freezing cold outside so there wasn't much to do on saturday.  Most of our time was spent playing Upwords, eating and just lazing around by the fire.  We did brave the elements and go for a really short walk down to the creek.  We quickly threw a fishing line in and we caught a small trout which Blake ate for dinner.  The boys went for a ride on their motorbikes and came across a huge tree which had been blown over the track in the heavy winds so we sawed that up as quickly as possible before heading back to the fire inside.

                                                      
                     
                     
                     

Dad made a delicious slow cooked Moroccan lamb dish for dinner which was absolutely beautiful.  Finished off with melted marshmallows by the fire squished between choc wheaton biscuits and that was saturday done.

Sunday was not nearly as cold but it was still cloudy.  Tim, Ella and I rugged up and went for a walk through the paddocks. Ella's squeals echoed through the air.  I'm not sure if she was excited to be out and about or if she was just shocked by the cold air!

    

To most this probably sounds like a really boring weekend but to me it was pure bliss.  My perfect weekend.  I don't know what it is about that place but it always helps me relax and forget about all the little trivial things that fly around in my head.  No television, no phone, no Facebook, just peace and quiet.




Tim and I always talk about one day owning a small piece of land.  Maybe not now, but definitely at some stage of our lives this is something we'd like to do and going out there always reminds us of this dream.  Sometimes the pace of city life just gets too much.  So when we got home we looked online at the prices of land and saw pictures of beautiful homesteads and swooned.

One day...

On the road...

Lots of warm clothes - check
Toothbrush - check
Undies - check
Ella's paraphernalia consisting of about a million items just for two days away - check
Dog - check
More warm clothes - check

I am counting down the minutes until Tim comes home because when he does we are hitting the road for a little weekend getaway and I couldn't be more excited.  We are off to the farm at Oberon (aka the coldest place in the state) with mum and dad as well as my brother and his family.

I hate the cold weather and it always makes me feel melancholy so lately I have been in one big funk.  The only time I like the cold is when I'm at the farm with my family cosying up near the fire and eating lots of mum and dad's cooking.  I have the fondest memories of that place.  It's the first time that Ella has been and according to the weather report it may even snow which is very exciting also!

In between busily packing the car with all our gear I have been finishing off a cake for a 1st birthday party.  It's for a girl I met through my mother's group.  Her little boy is a few months older than Ella but I was so pleased when she asked me to make the cake for him and was even happier when she requested a Hoot cake.  Ella is a massive fan of Giggle and Hoot and I was toying with the idea of throwing her a Hoot Party for her birthday also.

I showed her the cake and she started bopping up and down in excitement - so cute!

Here's to a great weekend!

My first Mother's Day

I have a really strong bond with my mum which just seems to grow stronger as I get older.  I am proud of this bond and hope that Ella and I develop the same sort of relationship as the years go on.

I took mum out for lunch to celebrate Mother's Day on saturday with Ella in tow and we enjoyed a really nice meal and catch up and we laughed at Ella's antics as she entertained everyone in the restaurant with her singing and laughing.

Since becoming a mama I have a new found respect for my mum, all mum's actually.  It's not an easy gig and nothing like I expected it to be.  Things were different when I was a baby.  Father's rarely got involved in looking after the children, they went to work every day and all responsibility of the 'home' kind rested on the mother.  My grandmother (mum's mum) lived in Mauritius so she didn't have support from her.  I don't know how she did it.  I have all the support in the world from my mum, from my mother in law and help from Tim and I still struggled.  This woman is definitely stronger than she appears!

Mum is always there for me whenever I need her.  She demands that I make an appointment at the hairdresser to treat myself every couple of months and will look after Ella because she understands the importance of having time for yourself.  She cooks for me, washes for me and still folds my underwear!  She looks after Ella 3 days a week so that I can work and earn money to help pay our mortgage.  There is nothing that this woman wouldn't do for me or my brother and I am so truly blessed to have her as a role model.

The words thank you just aren't enough.

***

Today we jumped in the car after Ella woke from her morning nap and Tim took us out to celebrate Mother's Day.  He confessed that he was hoping to surprise me with a picnic at Manly where we would order pizza and lay on a blanket near the water, the same way we did when we celebrated our 2nd Valentine's Day together when we first moved to Manly.  A night I reminisce about a lot.

But the day was freezing cold and it was blowing a gale so we headed down to Manly anyway but decided against a picnic.  Instead we ate at a Mexican Restaurant - stuffed japalenos (HOT!), pulled pork tacos, followed by churros and warm chocolate sauce.  This is my idea of perfection.  Plus I had my two favourite companions with me.

Ella was so good the whole time that we were at the restaurant.  She gets bored really easily, like most bubba's her age so sometimes going to a restaurant and keeping her entertained can be difficult and most of the time we just scoff our food down so we can high tail it out of the restaurant before she starts with the whinging.  But today Ella was a perfect little angel. She sat there as we talked, eating sultanas, playing with dolly, looking super cute and I was so proud to be her mama, celebrating my first mother's day.

And while mother's day is about begin thankful for a mama, the words thank you are not enough for my little Ella.  Thank you for the up's, thank you for the down's, the big smiles, the even bigger tantrums, for changing me so much since I had you and teaching me more about myself than I would have ever learned if you hadn't entered my world.  

33 years and 9 months

It was my birthday the other day.   I turned 33.  And while I have never been the type of person who worries about age or getting old as such, I have to admit that I did have a little moment and thought to myself "wow...33... how did I all of a sudden become 33 years old?"  It really made me stop and think...and I'm not sure how I felt about it.  A little uneasy?

Am I where I thought I would be at 33?  I don't really know.  I'm not really someone who makes serious long term goals, but I can say with authority that I am happy where I am right now, whether it was planned or thought out this way or not.

Tim had to go away for a work conference at the Hunter Valley so he was actually away on my birthday which felt strange.  I woke up to an empty bed, but soon Ella started cooing and we snuggled in the newly laid flannelette sheets (it's turned really cold all of a sudden!).

I got a phone call early in the morning from Tim.  I was feeding Ella her breakfast at the time but he sent me on a hunt around the house to find cards and presents that he had hidden around the house for me before he left.  He made me smile (particularly when I opened a card and found a voucher for a fancy day spa - can't wait to book that baby in!).

Since Tim was away mum and dad invited me over for dinner so I wouldn't be by myself.  Dad had taken some time off work and left early so that he could prepare a feast for me which was so nice.  Mum cooked a chicken curry, dad cooked a fish curry as well as some home made roti and sambal prawns.  Perfect comfort food for the cool weather.  I felt spoiled and loved.

Ella turned 9 months old on the day of my birthday also.  She's changed so much in the last few weeks.  She has now been crawling (proper crawling) for about two weeks.  Prior to this she was doing a kind of commando crawl thing where she would drag herself with her forearms on the ground and kick her legs madly like she was trying to swim.  It did the trick and got her where she wanted to go but now she has mastered crawling she's off!! 

She has also learned how to pull herself up onto furniture and is scooting around the place.  I really need to start baby proofing because she is grabbing at everything except her toys!  Television remotes, cushions, books on the book shelf, keys, my handbag.  Nothing is safe!   She is getting more adventurous by the day.  She has discovered that there is more to the house than just the living room where she normally plays and now wonders around into the kitchen and laundry downstairs exploring all the little nooks and crannies with her little tongue poking out in concentration.  (Note to self - must clean floors...her little pants are filthy from dirt and dust on the floor!)

She's been saying dada for quite some time now and makes lots of other noises and sounds but had not said mama, but I am pleased to say that she now says mama too!  I'm not sure she really understands who mama is though - I can ask her where dada is and she will look straight at Tim, I can ask where Archie is and she'll look straight at him, but when Tim asks her where mama is - she just looks blankly...Oh well, we'll get there.

Ella is so independent now.  She loves doing things for herself and often gets frustrated if I try to do too much for her.  She loves to feed herself (messy but cute) and gets very frustrated if she can't do something like open her favourite book (Buddy and the Rabbits) on her own.  She amazes me every day as I watch her character unfold and see her learning new skills so rapidly.

Oh yeah, and she now has two top front teeth.  We went through a bad phase with teething. Her gums were so swollen and she got an ulcer where one of them came through the gums which was nasty.  Poor little thing.  It wasn't fun for any of us, least of all her.

Ella is sleeping at the moment and it's cold outside.  I've done a little house work and ticked a lot of things off my to do list.  Think I'll go and snuggle up on the couch with a hot cup of tea right now.