Homegrown Goodness

My veggie patch has been a little neglected over the past year – being heavily pregnant and then looking after a tiny little person - I haven’t spent much time tending it. I did however, have a spare moment to plant some potato eyes a few months ago, and yesterday I reaped the rewards! Over 6kgs of yummy potatoes dug up from a few metres outside my back door. FANTASTIC! Potatoes must be the easiest vegetable to grow – as long as you have some nice friable soil, just throw in some seed potatoes, cover with soil and some straw and pray for a little rain to water them in! A few months later when the all the green tops have died down and you wonder if there is anything at all buried in the ground…dig, dig, dig and discover these little gems!

I can’t wait till Alex is old enough to be out there digging with me and discovering that real edible food grows in the ground and comes out covered in DIRT!
Give them a little wash throw in them in a pan with some olive oil and some herbs(also home grown!) and some spices, in the oven for 30 minutes and yummo, super delicious roasties to go with our Australia Day Lamb Roast! Next year I hope there will be a few more things that we can harvest for our Australia Day dinner!

The Little Things
I’ve learnt heaps since becoming a Mum. Things that you can only learn by being there and living the moment and learning every step of the way what works for you and your little newly created individual. People will give you advice and ideas, but at the end of the day it’s your instincts that get through for the most part! I just wish I had an instinct about toys. I’ve grown up in a western, consumer-orientated society. Somehow I’ve become tainted by all these bright, shiny things that are thrown in our faces day after day and I believed that babies and toddlers needed these specially-created pretty toys to be entertained. My son has taught me that the simplest things are far more entertaining most of the time.

Alex has a couple of tubs full of baby toys and yet the most exciting things, the things that he plays with the most are those things that are not specially designed for babies – the remote control is a great toy – even though he rarely even looks at the television (thankfully) – a tissue is fun to hold on to for a while and then tear into tiny little pieces; a piece of paper is great to swish across the carpet – a plastic cup makes a great sounds when you put it over your mouth and blow noises into it. But the greatest thing of all at the moment is just being outside, Alex wriggles around in my arms, shrieks and waves his arms in excitement as soon as we approach the back door and I say the magic word “outside”! He loves crawling around looking at the trees, touching the grass, hearing the birds twittering and generally discovering little things! ROCKS are the greatest – don’t give me plastic colourful blocks or balls, just give me a pile of little sandstone rocks and I’ll happily play with them…banging them on the concrete, picking up one in each hand and banging them together , making little piles and examining each one with intent curiosity!

I know it’s not just my baby either, a friends little one has a favourite toy too – an empty plastic soft drink bottle! I’ve made the mistake many times of looking at a toy and impressing my own views of entertainment onto it, forgetting that even the smallest, most insignificant everyday item can be fascinating to a 9 month old!

Which is also why you have to watch them VERY closely whilst they are discovering things!

Making Connections and Sinking Roots

We've been in Canberra over 6 years now and I think I've finally resigned myself to the fact that the "no more than 5 years" remark was a bit of a dream...we're here for the long haul. But i'm still living half my life in Brisbane and half my life in Canberra and sometimes that is really hard. There are so many times that I wish I could just pop over and see my folks and see Alex cuddle up to his Nanny or kiss a friend who just gave birth to twins.

I complained for years that it was too hard to make new friends in a new place, especially in such a transient place as Canberra is. People often remarked that it becomes easier when you have kids - well, easier it may be but I still would not say it was easy! My son, Alex, is 9 months old now and it is only with the new year of 2009 that i have made it out and about to those meetings and groups that I told myself I would do within 2 months of him being born!! But, I did it, the hardest part was walking out the door. No, not just the physical act of getting myself out the door with a 9 month old and all the baggage and organisation that goes along with an outing, but actually summoning up the courage and squishing all the excuses I'd used to stop myself before! Once I got there it was great, lovely friendly people that were fun and interesting to talk to! Of course, Alex jumped straight in there and started playing when I just wanted to cling to him and hide behind his smile! I doubt I will ever find the true, deep friendships that I have in my hometown, the ones so full of history and beautiful memories that no one could replace them. The trick is to stop trying to replace those friendships, and...well...just enjoy the moment I guess. Oh, and remember to nurture those new growing friendships as you would a tiny sapling. To create deep roots you need good nutrient rich soil, lots of water and time.

Savouring Every Moment

The little man sleeps. I used to keep a diary...a long, long time ago. My plan when my son was born in March last year was to start a new diary to give to him when he is older. I wanted him to read about all the adventures we've had because he won't remember...and I'll probably forget lots too with all the sleep I've lost over the last 9 and half months :), but i digress...
This is for him and I to remember our adventures, and maybe to inspire other mum's to enjoy every little moment, every tear, every smile, every giggle, every cuddle (even if its 2am and you would rather be curled up in bed fast asleep), every mess, every game, with your children, because time is lost to us so quickly.
My New Years resolution is to focus on the now, because the past is gone so there is no use regretting the things that we did not do (or perhaps those that we did do) and the future...well it will be here sooner than you think, with a list of even more things we have to get done! Oh, and take lots of photos, but don't get so wrapped up in getting the perfect photograph that you miss enjoying the moment too!