Category Archives: Our Curious Life

Accidental Ornithologist

Posted in Curious George, Our Curious Life, The List by

Wikipedia tells me that Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds… it’s a word that I would never, in my wildest dreams, thought I would identify with.  If you had told me even this time last year that I would become interested in birds… I would have scoffed in disbelief… it’s just not something that would have ever crossed my mind.  But as I sit at the peddler (taking myself out for brunch and crossing no. 68 off the list) I can tell you that so far on my little brunch expedition I have only seen one type of bird, Common Mynas… I can also tell you that they are an introduced species but that they are different from the Australian, or Noisy Mynas… because now I can tell them apart.

I’m not really sure where this interest has come from, but if I was to hazard at a guess I would say it has been a combination of things:

  • Since having Isaac, I have been walking more and generally spending more time outside.
  • I have also been told ad nauseum that you should talk to your baby because it is good for everything… so we have been talking more…
  • and as much as I hate to admit it, I have an uncontrollable need to know facts… to be a bit of a know it all.  Plus I don’t like to make things up… I have this irrational fear that Isaac will be at school sharing a fun fact and someone will tell him he is wrong and he will look like a tiny fool because mum made something up.

So while walking with Isaac I started to run out of things to talk about… and so I started to point things out.  And it turns out, when you are out walking you can find a lot of things, the most obvious being trees and birds… and while I would love to be able to identify all the plants and trees we walk by, birds seemed like a simpler option.  So I found myself googling birds… and I think it is starting to get out of hand.

There is a beautiful lake about 1km from our place which we have been walking to and around a lot.  Before Isaac was born I think we perhaps walked up there a handful of times, but now we are up there multiple times a week.  It’s very pretty and a good distance… not too far, but a far enough for a good walk… plus I have found a little 5km circuit that I can do which is fun.  Anyway, the point is we have been walking there a lot and most of the time there are the same birds… so I learnt them all… Mynas, Magpies, Gallahs, Cockatoos, Swamp Hens (or as our partially NZ home likes to call them Pukekos), Woodland Ducks, Eurasian Coots and some Spotted Doves.  Not a huge number… but enough for me to remember and talk to Isaac about as we walk.  I have also just realised that this is probably already too much bird talk… sorry guys… I told you it’s out of control… bear with me I’m almost done.

So given my new found interest, I decided that to put on my list to learn about 3 new birds, birds that I couldn’t previously identify… a very nerdy addition to the list… but it’s my list and this is who I am… So what are my new birds, well I am glad you asked…

  1. Little Wattlebird – this is a little bird that used to live in the area that I grew up and I loved the sound of it’s song… whenever I hear it, it takes me back to my childhood home… but I didn’t know what it was until this year and it turns out they are also abundant down where our beach house is.
  2. Gang Gang Cockatoo – I spotted this guy while being a Parkrun tourist at Mullum Mullum… it is a very pretty bird… I think maybe even my new fav.
  3. Royal Spoonbill – This guy has a mullet and a spoon billed beak it’s pretty impressive and I had tentatively popped this on my list of new birds when we went to the Zoo in January… but I was hoping that I would find another neat (oh man… I am getting old) bird that I could find locally to add to this little list of three… because part of my felt like a zoo bird didn’t count. But… Enter summer… and walking at some different times of day and suddenly there have been more birds at the lake… Pelicans, Intermediate Egrets, Little Black Coromants, Masked Lapwings and… none other than the Royal Spoonbill.   I was so excited about seeing the Royal Spoonbill that I went back day after day… I also stopped an old man with binoculars walking into the park to tell him about it because I assumed that the binoculars meant he would be looking for wildlife… who actually knows… he seemed quite shocked by my enthusiasm.  I told you it’s getting out of control.

So three new birds for 2019 and a new hobby it would appear… It has also branched out further than just identifying them though… Isaac now has a plush Sulfur Crested Cockatoo and our house has some new Australian wild life coasters and mugs… mostly birds.   I don’t know how long it will last… but I do know that my walks are getting longer because I keep stopping to see the birds… but that I’m not mad about it… I either need to embrace it until the phase passes… or find a new running track for when timing matters.

Our Curious Life: Week 52… Kind of.

Posted in Life, Our Curious Life, The List by

 

 

 

So, we’ve made it to the end of the year… how exactly I am not really sure, but here we are… and I’m calling it… I tried no. 27 and it just didn’t working for me… not at all, and despite my best plans, it is highly likely that I am not going to catch up on my weekly blogs… so I am not going to try anymore.  This list item seemed like a really good idea and the blogger that I pinched the idea from made it look pretty easy, but it turns out, right now, it’s actually really hard to achieve.  So in lieu of the missing weekly blogs I thought I would do an end of year list wrap up… because let’s face it, that what we all really want to know before the new list drops anyway.

So what have we crossed off this year… well lots… and like most of the updates before this, if it was lucky enough to make it into a blog of its own… well you can click the link… and if it wasn’t haven’t you can read it here… ok here we go, this could be a long one.

  1. Learn how to fold a fitted sheet – completed: 14/06/2018
  2. Learn how to make 3 different balloon animals – completed: 09/12/2018
    For my birthday this year my wonderful friend Pheebs included a balloon making kit in my birthday gift and while it took me almost all year to get around to I finally made some balloon animals.  I made an Octopus, a Giraffe, a Dog and a Fish… and to be honest they weren’t very good.  It turns out my fear of popping the balloon completely out weighed my desire to learn more.
  3. Watch the never ending story – completed: 20/07/2018
    This is pretty self explanatory… I watched it, I enjoyed most of it… it’s off the list
  4. Watch some ER… maybe a season or two – completed: 07/08/2018
    This is also pretty self explanatory, but I have to admit I found it a lot more confronting than I remembered.  Maybe its my new ‘mum hormones’ or maybe its our journey over the last couple of years, but sick people and medical emergencies are just a little to real for me and I get very involved very quickly… I have realised that I need to be a little more choosy with my television viewing.
  5. Spend a weekend in country vic – completed: 27/10/2018
    It’s probably not quite what I was imaging when I popped this on the list… I was certainly hoping for something like the wonderful weekend we had in Daylesford last year… but this year we have really only stayed in Inverloch and because we stay there fairly regularly it doesn’t really count.  We did however spend a full Saturday in Bendigo with the Big Band, we even got to go for a little drive out to Lake Eppalock between gigs and I got that same sense of returning home… there is just something magic about central Victoria.  I did a terrible job of taking photos that day… so the picutre is of Isaac during our night gig.
  6. Have some family photos taken – completed: 18/01/2018
  7. Go to a wedding – completed: 13/01/2018
  8. Get a full nights sleep – completed: 31/05/2018
  9. Go down to Inverloch – completed: 10/03/2018
  10. Go camping
  11. Remember to take Isaac’s milestone pictures – completed: 31/12/2018
    Some of these were a little delayed, but we have all photos to accompany all of the milestones we had a card for… and unsurprisingly, they are super cute!
  12. Get back to running – completed: 29/06/2018
    So this has happened a couple of times… but on the 29th I started running to train for the 10km I did in the Melbourne Marathon Festival in October… since then I have slacked off again… but I have big plans for next year so watch this space.
  13. Take Isaac to parkrun at least 5times – completed: 22/12/2018
    We have not been to parkrun anywhere near as much as we should have been this year, but Isaac came to at least 5 of the runs I attended.  We really thought he would love running with us, but it turns out he finds it a little boring… but he does enjoy the trips to the park after.
  14. Go swimming – completed: 26/01/2018
  15. Go to the zoo – completed: 14/07/2018
    I have had this on my list for years… It is something that despite being on the list I have actively avoided doing.  In previous years I have done fun runs around the zoo a couple of times, I have also stopped to have pictures taken just out the front of the zoo… but this year I actually went in!  We had a cousin fun day at the zoo and saw all the animals.  Turns out going to the zoo is better than I remembered and much much more fun with a child… I have a feeling this won’t be our last trip to the zoo.
  16. Have a play date – completed: 16/10/2018
    We’ve been getting better at play dates… but the one that crossed it of the list was a play date with Isaac’s friend Jaylen, I was so nice to watch them play together… It was also nice to catch up with Jaylen’s mum Julia and eat delicious treats, I think I am going to be a fan of play dates.
  17. Check out a mums and bubs session – completed: 05/12/2018
  18. Check out the local library – completed: 31/01/2018
  19. Have a picnic – completed: 20/12/2018
    I probably haven’t mentioned enough how great my mother’s group has been, I have loved making some new local friends and sharing my mum journey with them.  Our little group finished the year off the year with a picnic in the park and it was fun.  It’s been so nice watching the bubs grow and learn together and I am very excited to see all that they achieve next year.
  20. Wear some non maternity jeans – completed: 13/07/2018
    We had a weekend away in the city… and I thought it was time… so I wore them once… and then put them back in the cupboard and forgot about them.  A little while later my favourite pair of maternity jeans ripped… so I decided it was time… I brought some new jeans that were more comfortable than my old pre-baby ones, ones that fit my new body shape a little better… just one of the many things I didn’t really think about before having babies… just how much my body would change… but you will be please… maybe… I am please that I can now honestly say I am more often than not wearing my new and very comfy non-maternity jeans.
  21. Go without games on my phone for at least 2 months – completed: 28/02/2018
  22. Work on my mornings
  23. Cook dinner regularly – completed: 21/08/2018
    This has been a fun new addition to my life… and I have discovered the key to getting me to cook regularly is just planning… If I know what I have to do and when, I am all in… but I have also discovered the opposite is true… no plan.. no dinner, not by me anyway.
  24. Keep getting closer
  25. Work on my steps game – completed: 31/12/2018
    Look… it hasn’t been a great improve… but my daily average steps is more at the end of the year than it was at the start.  I would love to say that I am averaging over 10000, but that would be a lie… my current average is just over 8000… so not terrible, but some room for improvement next year.
  26. Embrace life with the oxygen – completed: 30/01/2018
  27. Try weekly blogging – completed: 18/12/2018
    So I talked about this at the beginning of this blog… it just didn’t work the way I thought it would… I’ll have to come up with a new plan for next year.
  28. Keep the family in good supply of Isaac updates – completed: 31/12/2018
    It turns out this is more challenging that I had imagined… it’s a fine line to walk between super annoying and just enough.  I probably could have sent more, but I did send some updates fairly regularly… especially if we hit a milestone.
  29. Have a date night once a month
  30. Give Dave some time back – completed: 31/12/2018
    Well I asked him and he said ‘yeah, sure’ so I am taking that for a yep… and crossing it off the list.
  31. Embrace my independence – completed: 31/12/2018
    I haven’t always loved it, but I have been better at just trying things, going places and making the most of my time with Isaac… so technically not ‘independent’, but definitely ‘independent’ from Dave… so off it goes.
  32. Go without TV for a week
  33. Actually wash my car regularly
  34. Get the blue Kia repaired – completed: 20/02/2018
  35. Take Dex and Isaac on a walk, solo
  36. Walk to my MCH appointments – completed: 08/11/2018
    Our Maternal Child Health Nurse operates out of a centre about 500m from our house, so it is actually easier to walk to our appointments then get into the car and drive around… despite that, driving is always tempting… but don’t fret… I walked to them all.
  37. Thank the hospital – completed: 19/04/2018
  38. Do a fun run/walk – completed: 04/03/2018
  39. Play a game of some kind – completed: 07/01/2018
  40. Let something go – completed: 31/10/2018
    This was harder than I thought, I am a bit of a perfectionist, so letting things go isn’t a strong suit of mine.  This year I have tried my hand a few new things, mostly making things.  I have made some Christmas gifts and some things for Isaac.  During this process I have had to learn how to sew and stitch things, I have made things that I haven’t tried before and they are not perfect, but they are functional, I have had to learn to let the imperfections go and be happy with the progress I have made and the end products they have resulted in… I am pretty proud of my new skills…  and I will keep working on it… both making and letting things go.
  41. Remember Joshua – completed: 18/10/2018
    Remembering Josh is something that I find bitter sweet.  It’s hard to remember sometimes because there is now more that should have been than ever before.  It’s something that I want to do, but something that still carries pain.  This year he would have been 2… and we took Isaac with us to have pink donuts and turkish delight milkshakes, we let some balloons go and stopped to be thankful for what he taught us and what we have together.
  42. Celebrate the small things – completed: 22/05/2018
  43. Live oxygen free – completed: 24/12/2018
    Well we almost didn’t make it, but on Christmas eve we handed back all the Oxygen tanks and the concentrator.  We haven’t had the machine on or used a tank since October, but we had to wait and see before we handed it back, but now it’s gone and hopefully it doesn’t come back.
  44. Walk and have a mid week brunch date with Isaac at half half – completed: 12/12/2018
    I thought this would be super easy… so I left it for later in the year, for the middle months when it was harder to do other things on my list…. but then half half shut for months… and months… but good news, it reopened and Isaac and I went.  And in some listing miracle we ate our meals at the same time and no one cried.  It was actually really wonderful and something I am going to try to keep doing with him… turns out he can be a good cafe date.
  45. Join a mother’s group – completed: 30/01/2018
  46. Drink a bottle of water everyday
  47. Keep track of the things I am supposed to be doing – completed: 31/12/2018
    I am actually terrible at this, and could have done a much better job than I did, but I tried all year… man did I try… and I think it has been worth it despite the struggle.
  48. Plan at night
  49. Take a photo everyday – completed 31/12/2018
    You may have seen some of these across the year… (January, February, March, May, June, & October) and some of them didn’t make it…. but trust me they are all there in my phone… and they look good.
  50. Visit a museum / gallery – completed: 20/11/2018
    Just like the zoo, this is way more fun with kids.  We took Isaac to the museum, starting at the children’s section which he loved, but after a play we also checked out the rest and he seemed to also like that, lots of fun things to look at and explore.  I am really looking forward to taking him back her over and over again as he gets bigger.  I hope he loves learning as much as I do.
  51. Sort out my photo storage
  52. Scan the photos in
  53. Recycle the VHS tapes – completed: 25/09/2018
    This year I have found myself morphing into a bit of environmentalist… which I am actually really enjoying.  My own little war on waste is coming along nicely… with my new compost bin, our multiple bins for different types of recycling and our new found love of ‘Who Gives a Crap’ toilet paper.  But to make it even better we also found a local place that was willing to recycle our VHS tapes.  Unfortunately for them, they had to pull them all apart manually, but I don’t mind because as much of them as can be will be recycled.
  54. Read 6 books – novels… not picture books – completed: 17/11/2018
    I really wanted to be able to say I read way more than 6 books, but like my weekly blogs, it has been hard to find time to read… but I read 6 and I am reading number 7 at the moment… this will stay on my list and hopefully I will get better at finding time to read.
  55. Cross at least one thing off the list each month – completed: 05/12/2018
    Yep… at least one a month… this is a good thing to have on my list… I like the challenge and the spread.
  56. Be deliberate about filling the house with good thinks like flowers and music – completed: 01/11/2018
    I could have been better with this, but it’s a start, and it’s nice… I am also going to try and keep doing this.
  57. Edit and finalise Isaac’s logs and maybe publish them
  58. Make a photo book of Isaac’s 1st year – completed: 30/09/2018
    Again this was not quite what I had in mind when I popped this on the list, but I did make a book of Isaac’s 1st year, but I didn’t keep it, we gave it to Dave’s grandparents when we were in New Zealand.
  59. Return of the fit pig – completed: 31/05/2018
  60. Throw things out / recycle / donate – completed: 31/12/2018
    I am all over this, recycling, reusing and donating… I hate throwing things out and I have become quite the anti waste warrior.  This will continue long after this year’s list… the world needs it.
  61. Clean out the garage – completed: 10/11/2018
    Nothing makes me happier than when everything has a place and everything is in its place… and that’s how the garage is now… and it makes me happy… far happier than it should… there are even labels on all the boxes… it’s a magical thing.
  62. Finish the scrap books
  63. Finish Isaac’s room – completed: 16/01/2018
  64. Wear a real bra – completed: 07/04/2018
  65. Figure out how to be a working mum – completed: 10/08/2018
    As you can imagine this pretty much coincided with the end of my weekly blogs… just as I got us into a routine at home… I started working from home.  I am back 2 days a week this year and hopefully a little more next year… It’s been a strange adjustment, using my brain a little more regularly on things other than parenting and having a little more interaction with other adults.  I have really enjoyed going back, but I won’t lie.. 12 months without work was also really nice.
  66. Go somewhere with out Isaac – embrace the baby sitter – completed: 28/09/2018
    I’m still not totally comfortable doing this, but I know it needs to happen… and I have done it a few times…  I am sure it will get easier as time goes on and he gets bigger… but it’s still hard right now.
  67. Make a cake for Isaac’s first birthday – completed: 01/08/2018
    Oh man, was I proud of this… a blue monster cake for Isaac’s monster party… you should really check out the picture on the right… it looks pretty great.
  68. Go overseas – completed: 02/10/2018
    This really should have had a blog all of its own.  It was a wonderful wonderful trip where we got to hang out with family and Isaac was able to meet his great grandparents.  We went exploring, fed some ducks, touched the black sand and Isaac learnt to crawl while we were there… it was really really great.
  69. Make a Lolly cake – completed: 09/11/2018
    Inspired from our trip to New Zealand we had some more lolly cake… it’s a strange cake… super sweet and fun to look at… and it was made, and I still have more ingredients so we might need to make another.
  70. Keep the pantry and fridge under control – completed: 31/12/2018
    Except for perhaps the last couple weeks over Christmas, we have been pretty good at this… Dave should take most of the credit, but I have been trying… just like the garage, everything needs a place and everything should be in it’s place.
  71. Watch a Disney movie with Isaac – completed: 16/06/2018
  72. Add Isaac’s pendant to my necklace – completed: 22/01/2018
  73. Organise the casts we had done for Isaac – completed: 01/05/2018
    You would have thought this would have been an easy task… but it turns out the Lady that did these ones was much less helpful and reliable than the lady that did Josh’s casts… but we finally got them done and they turned out really well, despite the challenge… they aren’t hanging up yet… but they are framed and ready to go.
  74. Use the go-pro more
  75. Make my language child friendly
  76. Check out ArtVo – completed: 23/06/2018
  77. Finish the bible reading plan I started last year
  78. Exercise weekly… hopefully more, but at least weekly – completed: 31/12/2018
    Here’s the thing… it wasn’t every week… but on average it was weekly… there were some great weeks and some down weeks, but some weeks I smashed it… and there were less slack weeks than there were good weeks… so we are claiming this as a win.
  79. Make a key lime pie
  80. Purée some food – completed: 20/02/2018
  81. Have a spend nothing day once a month
  82. Make the most of our delivery saver – completed: 20/12/2018
    Only just, but we did save a tiny bit of money… turns out the bigger Isaac gets the easier it is to get groceries with him.. he can go in the trolley now… I am sure that it will probably get hard again in time though.  Either way, we used the delivery saver just enough to make it worth it.
  83. Get a mani/pedi and get a colour you’ve never had before – completed: 28/11/2018
    I love the idea of this… and all year I have been looking forward to it… but then I got stuck thinking about foot fungus and other people’s feet and couldn’t bring myself to go and get it done.  So I gave myself a foot spa at home and painted my toes… and decided that I could cross this off the list.
  84. Get a massage – completed: 21/12/2018
    Seriously I know I say this every year… but I should do this more often… it is soooooo nice.  Thanks pheebs for my voucher that made this happen.
  85. Do a Mums and bubs exercise class – completed: 19/04/2018
    Isaac and I attended a mums and bubs exercise class for most of the year and we loved it.  We stopped at the beginning of term 4 because it just got too hard to make work… but it was great while it lasted.
  86. Get some kind of routine – completed: 31/12/2018
    It keeps changing, but we do have a routine of sorts… we’ve worked out meals and naps and bed time all pretty consistently… and I won’t lie… I love the structure.
  87. Contribute – completed: 31/12/2018
    I would have been pretty ashamed if I hadn’t been able to achieve this… especially given that I have spent a lot of this year at home.  I think spending so much time at home has really helped me get on and do some house work because I have to live in the mess I create… and it turns out I am pretty intolerant of my own mess.  This item on the list that is a win win for Davo.
  88. Hang up the pump – completed: 08/04/2018
  89. Update some photo wall photos – completed: 04/01/2018
  90. Get the pictures framed
  91. Hang out with my besties – completed: 08/01/2018
  92. See Coco – completed: 06/01/2018
  93. Have a meal with all of our parents and siblings (separately) – completed: 31/12/2018
    I was terrible at documenting these meals… but they happened… you’ll just have to trust me.
  94. Have an ice coffee at 3 different places – completed: 03/02/2018
  95. Touch the ocean – completed: 10/03/2018
  96. Have a fun fight
  97. Fix my computer – completed: 02/01/2018
  98. Wear something other than a black T-shirt for a whole week – completed: 20/01/2018
  99. Keep our bedroom tidy – completed: 31/12/2018
    There was some contention over whether I achieved this or not… but I have actively kept the room tidier than I did the 12months before… but maybe not as tidy as I could have.
  100. Save some money

So that was my list… not a bad effort really… 79/100… Not quite my best year… but certainly not my worst.  But how did Isaac go with his list I hear you ask… well lets take a look:

  1. Try some food – completed: 16/02/2018
  2. Ditch my oxygen – completed: 24/12/2018
    Isaac was also the beneficiary of our Christmas miracle… although he really ditched his oxygen in october, we couldn’t make it official until the tanks and machines were gone.
  3. Sit up by myself – completed: 22/06/2018
  4. Suck on my toes – completed: 30/12/2018
    And it was forced… turns out he just isn’t that interested in his toes… I thought all babies loved this, but I was wrong… maybe it was the time he spent in his brace… maybe he just doesn’t like his feet… who knows?
  5. Go to the park – completed: 07/10/2018
    We have been to a few parks this year, but the one that crossed this of the list was a special park in Whanganui, one that Dave went to as a little boy, an amazing park along the whanganui river… it is seriously epic and I think we will go back here as often as we can.
  6. Pat Dex – completed: 23/11/2018
    Dex and Isaac are still working each other out… sometimes they just want to be near each other… other times they need to be far far away.  Dex likes to visit and lick Isaac… but Dex does not like to be touched by Isaac… they’ll work it out eventually.
  7. Have a party – completed 04/08/2018
    This should have had a blog of its own too… it was an epic party with balloons and donuts, friends and family… but when your first year was a rough as Isaac’s, it’s worth celebrating!
  8. Visit my friends at Monash Children’s – completed: 10/04/2018
  9. Go on a fun run/Walk in my pram – completed: 04/03/2018
  10. Get around on my own – completed: 03/10/2018
    There is nothing that makes a parent feel more relaxed about being on holidays than a baby deciding its time to crawl the second you get off the plane… no baby proofing… no safe spaces… random hotel carpets… yep… it’s wonderful.  What makes it even more wonderful, is when the newly mobile baby also likes to lick the floor… we should just go ahead and insert a huge face palm right here.
  11. Go for a swim – completed: 27/12/2018
    We have been a bit slack with swimming lessons… we will get to it, but we haven’t yet, so instead we have had to wait until the weather warmed… after a few failed pool attempts, we finally won with a swim at the beach… he is not totally convinced… but we will get there.
  12. Try story time at the library – completed: 31/01/2018
  13. Make some baby friends – completed: 10/04/2018
    I know I have talked about Isaac’s baby friends… well my mother’s group a lot in other blogs…. but not in this context… Isaac is lucky enough to have lots of friends… and this includes the little gang of 7 we hang out with each week at mothers group.
  14. Go on an adventure with Dad – completed: 29/10/2018
    Isaac and Dave have been on a few adventures because Dave likes to run errands when he is in charge… but the adventure that crossed this off the list was a trip up the 1000steps… with Isaac in the baby bjorn…
  15. Sleep through the night – completed: 01/03/2018
  16. Get some teeth – completed: 26/11/2018
    I thought this might never happen… It feels like we have been waiting for teeth forever… but we had to wait until November for the first little tooth to pop through, now we have 3 with maybe more on the way… well hopefully a lot more… but I think another will be here very soon.
  17. Watch a Disney movie with Mum – completed: 16/06/2018
  18. Have brunch with my ladies – completed: 08/01/2018
  19. Go to the beach – completed: 10/03/2018
  20. Learn a word – completed: 23/11/2018
    About 5minutes after we left the pediatrician who would have liked him to have a least one word, Isaac said Dad in the car on the way home… he really likes to do things in his own time.
  21. Cuddle all of my grandparents and great grandparents – completed: 03/10/2018
    This was the main reason for our trip to New Zealand, for Isaac to meet his great grandparents… it was just as magical as we would have hoped.  Before we went overseas he also got cuddles with all his other grandparents… He has 11 grands and greats all up… he is a very loved little guy.
  22. Make a keepsake – completed: 11/05/2018
  23. Go on a plane – completed: 08/06/2018
  24. Try my jolly jumper – completed: 30/05/2018
  25. Grow – completed: 31/12/2018
    Lets face it, we could have crossed this off on January 2… this guy has been growing all year like a champ!

So there you go… he finished his whole list… maybe it’s beginners luck… maybe he is just better at listing than me… I guess we will find out in 2019.

Our Curious Life: Week 49

Posted in Family, Life, Our Curious Life, The List by

Far out… how is the year almost done, and how the heck am I still so behind on these blogs… these were supposed to be an easier way to keep the blog up to date… but it would appear that more often than not other things have taken my time. Anyway, somehow here we are at week 49… what have we done?

Well despite this week only starting on the 2nd of December Christmas is in full swing at the George house. This week Isaac and I attended the annual Ladies night out, Isaac was our special guest, due to the fact that he is not a lady and I sung with the Grammarian Singers Christmas Concert. This is the first year in many that I have been caroling, so to speak, and while it looks different to the caroling that I used to do it has made this December feel a lot more like Christmas.

We’ve also had some non Christmas fun, we started the week with brunch to celebrate Meg’s birthday and a stroll through the botanical gardens. We celebrated Ann’s birthday on Saturday and right in the middle of the week we had out finally Thrive group for the year. We love our thrive group and they have been such an important part of our village. We also had a follow up sleep study for Isaac and you will be please to know that this time I remembered my pillow.

Oh and in a desperate attempt to finish this years list Isaac and I went to a mums and bubs session at the movies… which was not super successful… turns out Isaac does not care to watch a big TV… he would rather just crawl around on the floor. Ideally we would have done this earlier in the year, but it has actually has been very difficult to find a cinema that shows movies that aren’t super adult at their mums and bubs sessions. If we wanted to see action flicks or 50 shades of grey we would have been set, but I just couldn’t bring myself to take a baby with me. So, if any people that run the scheduling for cinemas… maybe stick with PG movies… or chick flics… leave the others for date night.

No Photos this week… too much to do, not enough time…

Our Curious Life: Week 44

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      Guys, I am so behind on these weekly blogs, it isn’t funny… but it turns out balancing mum life, work life and something that resembles an occasional social life is harder than I imagined. I have started writing a blog several times recently but it always seems to be after I have been rushing to get other things done during Isaac’s nap, and it’s like he knows the second I start typing… because nap time is always over. Anyway, in fear of jinxing it, Dave and I have been trying to change his routine a little so that he might sleep for longer than 20min in the middle of the day… and I think it is working… maybe.

So… what have we been up to? Well it’s November… which seems a little nuts, but my calendar tells me it’s true. We started this week at the Walk for Prems a fundraiser for Life’s Little Treasures Foundation, a foundation that supports families with premature / sick babies. While Isaac was in hospital last year they helped Dave celebrate father’s day with a pretty neat lunch box, they gave Isaac a blanket to celebrate him reaching 100days of age and they provided us with information and support. The walk not only raised money, but also celebrated preemies and the families they come from and remember those babies that weren’t able to hang around. The event was full of people who had been through what Dave and I had which was a really nice reminder that we are most definitely not alone. It was also a really hopeful, seeing kids primary school aged kids wearing t-shirts that displayed them in hospital at 25weeks, 27 weeks, 30 weeks etc. It also reminded Dave and I how blessed we are given that Isaac is so healthy and developing so well.

On Wednesday we celebrated Halloween by taking Isaac to the physio! We have been taking him every couple of months to keep an eye on how he is tracking with his movement, because while he is slowly doing all the things he should be, he just takes a little bit longer to get there than the average baby. Just like last time we went Isaac wasn’t super keen in playing the games he was supposed to, but whatever the physio did because all the things we learnt were basically redundant immediately. Now that Isaac was commando crawling, the physio was keen for us to help Isaac learn how to kneel and pull himself up on things so that he could start learning how to walk… well after half an hour at the physio, since Wednesday night Isaac has been up… climbing on everything, pulling things off shelves and doing everything he was supposed to achieved between now and our next appointment practically over night. This seems to happen every time we go to the physio… I guess I can’t complain though, he is just doing things he should be and getting better at it everyday.. it does mean this weekend Dave and I need to increase our baby proofing and lower the cot.

This week Isaac crossed number 14 off his list… he went on an adventure with Davo, up the 1000 steps!

We finished the week and started our kind of long weekend celebrating my soon to be sister-in-law at high tea, where I got to make my very first flower crown.

Week 44 also brought us to the end of October… so here is what out October looked like in pictures.

And even though we have stopped using the cards… here is Isaac… 15months old… he is cheeky and loves to climb. He likes making piles of toys and balancing things on top of each other. He is also excellent at putting things in containers. He still finds sneezing funny and is working hard to talk, although so far we just get ra ra ra and golly golly with an occasional mamamamamama and a barbara.

Our Curious Life: Week 26

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The last week of June has brought the Georges another quiet week at home, which has been nice… We have been doing some more slow cooking, some more sitting and rolling practice, some more walks and some learning on how to contribute to the house and still have some balance for fun things too.

There are 4 things though that have made this week different to other weeks…

1. Delicious Brunch and New Cafes… On Saturday I was able to catch up with Rachel and Pheebs and try a new delicious cafe.

2. Tuxedo Lunches… I didn’t know this was a thing, but apparently it is and Dave and Isaac had one while I was at brunch… honestly these is nothing cuter than a baby in a tux… or more attractive than your husband in a tux.. coming home to both of these things was quite a shock… but a good one… seriously check them out…

3. Who give a crap… the George’s do… so I mentioned these guys back in week 13… which was the end of March… a long long long time ago… anyway, back in week 13, we ordered our first box of who gives a crap toilet paper… you can check them out here… and this week we ordered our second box because it has taken us almost 4months to get through… I am not sure what kind of magic is in these toilet rolls that makes them last so long, but it is really nice not to have to be buying toilet paper all the time and helping the world a little all at the same time…

4. Couch to 5k… I have started running again… Dave managed to fix our treadmill that lives in the garage so now I can go for a run without having to worry about what Isaac will do… at the moment he is too little still to run with the pram… and I can’t leave him at home while I go.  Anyway, last week I started and because I didn’t want to jinx it… I waited until now to talk about it… but these are the first runs I have done since the beginning of last year… and even then there weren’t many… It feels like a lot longer… and really there were only a couple of run runs… as in not walks… since before I was pregnant with Joshua. On Friday I even ran outside by myself… which for someone who seems to take the whole house out with her at the moment was very strange to do… just me, my iPod and that’s it… and boy did it feel good…. and it crosses no. 12 off the list…

Oh… and it turns out June is another month that finishes on a Saturday… so you will once again have to wait for Isaac’s to tick over his next month milestone and just enjoy the month of pictures…

Our Curious Life: Week 25

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Every now and then, I think I am finally getting the hang of this parenting thing… I get through a few days in a row nailing the feeds, doing some exercise and even attempting some domestic life tasks during the middle of the day nap, that I am slowly learning how to make happen… and then comes a day that completely destroys the illusion of control… there are tears from Isaac and from me… there is no routine, no order and the house looks like a small hurricane has been through it as all the of the attempts for peace… toys, food, milk are scattered through every room of the house.  That was week 25.

It has been my third week in a row without an appointment… and it is very very very strange.  I suddenly have so much more time at home… I don’t seem to be rushing from one place to another… and although there have been times where I have felt isolated and a little lonely, for the most part it has felt empowering.  I feel like I can actually get on top of some of the things I need to do.  I have time to make food for Isaac and for Dave and I, I have time to go for long walks with Isaac, I have time to sit down and blog, because I had time to do the chores, so I don’t need to feel guilty about it.  I have also realised that for me, the secret to not getting lonely when I have a day or a few days at home, is to make sure I’ve planned for it… that I know it is coming.  That I have chosen to be at home… because if I am not ready for it, I hate it and that is when things fall apart… but when I plan for it… it’s the best.

In a strange way, now that I have been at home a bit more, I am beginning to feel like I am actually on maternity leave.  I am actually able to start working out how to mum and live…  I am finally finding my feet.  Before this point, I had been waiting for something… which I guess, now that it is here, is just time… time for me to choose what to do with.  Time to enjoy Isaac and not just survive between appointments.  Time to choose who we see and actually be able to offer to do things and go places without having to work out where to fit it in… This is what I had imagined it would be like when I was still pregnant with Isaac, and even though it will be a much shorter period than I would have liked, I am glad we made it to this point before I have to go back to work.

So what have we been doing with our gift of time? Well, Dave and I cleaned out the study, so that I have my desk back, which I means I can sit here and type in a fun purpose built space just for me, rather than on the couch where I get immediately distracted.  I finally used my slow cooker.  We were given the slow cooker as a wedding present over 7 years ago… Dave has used it… but this is the first time I have… and I love it… I am a slow cooker convert.  I have even started googling the best way to tackle some condensation mold we have on some window sills.  I have also been contributing a little more with all the other household chores… and even though it’s never my first instinct.  I like the feeling of accomplishing the tasks and the clean house it leaves behind… especially now that I am spending a lot more time here.

This week we also used the last of the frozen breastmilk… I stopped expressing back in April, but thanks to a period of greater supply than demand while Isaac was in hospital, we were able to stockpile.  At one stage we had three freezers full of the liquid gold as it is often called.  But, now it has all been used.  The last bits were spread out over a number of months as Isaac only has the breastmilk when we are at home… and previously we hadn’t been home all that much… but now it’s over to solids and formula.  I am a bit sad that it is all gone.  It felt like it would last forever… but I am thankful that I was able to be able to make it and that he tolerated it… the female body is pretty gross… I mean great… it’s totally great!

We also farewelled Matt and Fee at their final service at Hobson’s Bay corps before they move.  Isaac and I caught up with my high school buddies and their kiddies, and I was reminded how blessed I am to be able to call this group of crazy strong women my friends.  We had dinner at Dave’s mum’s and I thoroughly enjoyed watching Isaac with his Grandma and Grandpa, Auntie Ness and Uncle Hugh… family is so so so good.  We practiced our sitting and rolling and I can finally say Isaac can both sit (no. 22 on his list) and roll*… (*at least in one direction).  And on Saturday morning Dave, Isaac and I tackled ArtVo at the Docklands… which is made by some supper supper clever people.  It is something that I have wanted to do for a while, thanks to all the fun photos I have seen on other peoples social media… so we finally made it out there and it didn’t disappoint… it was great and we have so many fun photos from it.  Plus it is now off the list.

So there you go… that’s week 25.

 

Our Curious Life: Week 24

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Hello week 24, and thank you! You have been just what I needed. After getting back from Brisbane on Monday, I think it is safe to say that we were all stuffed! So this week has thankfully been very low key… I have been trying not to go out too much so that Isaac can sleep in his own bed during the day and we can focus on getting our solid meals in… three of them plus his milk feeds.

It’s been really nice to be a bit of a homebody… something I didn’t really expect. When I found myself in a similar situation last week, I found it all a little disconcerting. Having nothing planned felt uncomfortable, but this week it has been refreshing and restoring. I feel a little more on top of my motherhood list… the food situation seems to be improving and I am getting the hang of a couple of regular naps and I’m trying to make the most of Isaac’s awake time rather than just spending it wondering if he should be having a nap. One of the benefits of the big weekend has been a tired little boy, so the naps have been a little longer this week which has meant I have had some time to try and catch up on some blogging, which has also been wonderful.

But we haven’t spent the whole week at home, we also did a couple of fun things. On Thursday and Friday Isaac and I checked out the updated Glen shopping centre… firstly with mother’s group and then with my mum. After mother’s group on Thursday night Isaac and I went to the brand new woollies to grab some food for dinner, I also decided that despite having a loaded up pram with Isaac and the groceries I had already gathered, I could indeed manage a slab of diet coke as well, seeing as though they were on sale. When I made it to self serve to pay I started with the coke so that I could put it down ready to carry to the car once I had organised everything else. As I swung the slab up to the scanner, the side feel out and cans went everywhere. Some busted open creating small puddles of diet coke and showering Isaac and I in a fine diet coke mist… he thought it was hilarious… I was mortified and quickly asked someone to come and help… we went back and got a more secure box and thankfully made it home without another incident… but it wasn’t quite the quick shopping experience I had expected. But as a fun side effect, now every time Dave or I make the noise of a fizzing can Isaac giggles.

We also had dinner with two lots of very good friends, one as a goodbye, and the other as a welcome home. On Friday, we had dinner with our friends Rachel and Dustin… their’s was the welcome home as they have just returned from a holiday. We had such a nice night, delicious food, great company and an open fire… perfect for a freezing cold Melbourne Friday night.  Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, we had dinner with our friends Matt and Fee before they head over to Canada for a couple of years for work. Matt and Fee have been friends of ours for a very long time. In fact, I think Fee might have been one of the first people I confessed my love of Dave to when I was still a teenager, so it seems appropriate that she was the one that conducted our Wedding a few years later. They are the type of friends that keep you accountable and check in to make sure you are spiritually on track. Every time I hang out with them I come away thinking about how intentional I am in my faith and devotions and what I need/want to be doing better in that area of my life. Every time we hang out with them there is also a lot of laughing, they are super fun. This visit was no different, and while it might be the last one we will have on this side of the world for a while, I know that the distance and the change in chapter won’t really change our friendship. We will miss them a lot, but the world doesn’t seem that small any more thanks to the power of the internet (which I still think is kind of magic).

On Saturday we used some gold class vouchers to go to the movies and because it was an unplanned adventure, we took Isaac with us. We saw Incredibles 2, which means that Isaac and I, both got to cross seeing a Disney movie with each other off our lists (no. 17 on Isaac’s list and no. 71 on mine). He was a dream, watching at least half (the beginning and then end) and having a nice nap in the middle… seriously this kid is a superstar! I also crossed no. 1 off my list this week, using my time at home to conquer folding fitted sheets… so far I have only attempted Isaac’s cot and bassinet sheets, but they are still fitted and I feel like I have done enough that I could transfer my new skills over to a real size fitted sheet!

Thanks week 24 for letting us breathe again.

Our Curious Life: Week 23

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Ok… so this blog is going up a little last because we spent the long weekend in Brisbane (which you can read about here)… and really it’s just filling in the gaps between two big weekends, the long one… and Isaac’s dedication the Sunday before (which you can read about here)… which really just leaves Monday – Thursday… So let me tell you about that.

This week has been pretty much just recovering from the dedication on Sunday and planning for heading up to Brisbane… both of which have taken much more brain power than I thought they would. But the good news is we were pretty much recovered and ready to go by the time Friday came around. Although on Friday itself, I did find myself feeling a little worked up and anxious about making it to the airport and getting on the flight with all of our stuff.

For the first time in a very long time we didn’t have much planned for the week. Which turned out to be a blessing. At the start of the week I found myself feeling a bit lost, but we used the week to work on our routine, eating solids, rolling, sitting and the dreaded tummy time. We also rugged up and did some more walking where I got to test out my new sneakers (thanks fit pig). I decided to get my home puree game back on… well at least attempt it again and we have started trying to convince Isaac his food doesn’t have to be pureed… we had limited success which improved slightly with the addition of the mesh food sucking sock thing that seem to be all the rage. We had a surprise dinner with Pa, Uncle Darcy and Auntie Grace and on Thursday I also leveled up in my motherhood skills by wearing Isaac in the Baby Bjorn while I did some grocery shopping, shopping is a lot easier when you are hands free.

So what started and ended as a big week, gave me some pretty nice down time in the middle… thanks week 23.

Our Curious Life: Week 22

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Um… May is over… and this year is flying… seriously flying… I wish there was a way to make time slow down, more so now then ever before. Of course there are some times I wish it would speed up… you know, like when Isaac is losing his mind… but on the whole getting Got to put the brakes on a just a little would be welcomed. I don’t know whether it’s having a small person… or just getting older, but I am really learning the truth of the saying ‘the days are long, but the years are short’… whoever said that is a wise wise person.

This is what May looked like at the George’s…

The last week of May and the first two days of June were spent mostly shopping… shopping for food and outfits for Isaac’s dedication, shopping for sneakers with my fit pig money and shopping for taps for our recently renovated laundry… which isn’t finished yet… hence no reveal… but it will happen… eventually… hopefully after the school holidays.

We also spent a lot of time walking… trying to get fit, but mostly trying to justify the amount of money I was about to spend on sneakers. I have very expensive and specific sneaker taste! And we practiced our selfie game… I think Isaac is getting pretty good at it.

On Friday we experienced the mother of all poopsplosions while Mum and I were at eastland and I was very very thankful to have mum there to assist in the clean up… but I guess these are just the experiences that you have to have at least once when parenting.

We finished the week with a very cold big band rehearsal ready for our weekend away next weekend… and I decided it was finally safe enough to cross no. 8 of my list… because Isaac is still sleeping though like a champion, so I think it is finally safe to admit that I am sleeping through the night.  Oh and Isaac finally tried the Jolly Jumper he got for Christmas and he loves it!

Oh and just like every other end of the month blog so far… we get to celebrate Isaac being another month older… Isaac is now 10months old and he is very cheeky. He is very tolerant of Dave and I and all of the things that we take him to, but he also knows exactly what he wants and he isn’t afraid to tell us, very very loudly. He loves to talk and sing, and we are just so very very proud of him.

 

Our Curious Life: Week 21

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Alright… I am super behind on these and I will catch up because I am a structure lover and adamant rule follower so they will all need to be there eventually… and right now I don’t even know what week we are up to, but right now I am waiting for an appointment for Isaac and he is asleep in his pram so I am blogging in the foyer. But never fear, by the time I push post I will have worked out what week we are up to, and you will already know because it will have been the title of this blog….

UPDATE: The moment I finished the above paragraph… he woke up, and while happy to entertain himself in the pram… apparently it isn’t a good look to ‘be constantly on your phone’ with your child watching… I was about to write that I am at home and he is asleep again… but that’s a lie… I gotta go again…

UPDATE 2: I am yet another week behind… because I started this blog last week… but this week I have found my diary surprisingly empty, and poor little Isaac has a cold so he is having a bonus snooze… But right now I am feeling productive because I have just whipped up 2 slice bases for the choir concert tomorrow night, ready for the chocolate later tonight which will double as a delicious dessert when I get to lick the bowl. I have made my self a coffee, popped some worship music on… and now I am tempting fate by sitting down with my computer to try and smash out at least one blog… please please please.

Right now it is Tuesday the 29th of May… so rather than me attempting to tell you about this week… while it would be on time, would also be a guess seeing as the week has only just started… so let me tell you about last week… week 21…

Week 21 (see now that I know what week it is I am going to use it all the time!) saw the return of some exercise motivation (last week was a bit of a ride off after a pretty good start the week before). To date I have been eating like I have been breastfeeding, which I am no longer doing… and I have been a little restricted on the types of exercise I can do… my body is not quite the same as it was before 2 pregnancies… but a couple of weeks ago I started a mums and bubs exercise group and I have decided that I can definitely walk… surely I can walk… so that’s what we have been doing… Well Isaac rides in comfort and I walk and this week we have walked with lots of people… my mum, my sister-in-law, my friend Rachel, Dave and Dex. I have also decided that even though I might not always feel like it, actually getting out each day for some exercise is a good example to set and a good habit for Isaac and I to have together. PLUS… the fit pig is back (no. 59)… and I desperately need new sneakers… so I have to exercise, exercise, exercise earn some extra cash and buy the sneakers… On Friday we did our first solo walk for the week and the weather was glorious! There is a lake hidden about a 1km and a bit from our house which is so beautiful and every time I walk up there I am taken back by this little slice of perfection hidden in Knox. We should walk up to the lake more often…

This week has also been full of appointments, and this week we have had some wins and some loses… well not loses, just not wins. The ‘not win’ is that the Oxygen stays for a little bit longer… but the ‘win’ is that the hip brace is off… all the time… and it is great! Although, it turns out, that without the brace on Isaac is much longer in the bassinet which means he may soon have to go into his own room, and I am not sure I am really ready for that… I have decided that I am most definitely a clingy parent… maybe even a helicopter… Anyway… to celebrate being about to leave the hip brace off Dave and I decided to reenact a clip we had both been tagged in on Facebook. The clip with the baby with helium balloons attached to their limbs having the time of its life. We got the balloons and the baby… and a small amount of enjoyment from Isaac… he didn’t really understand what the heck we were doing… but the celebration was there… kind of… in our hearts anyway.

What else happened… We also visited my Gran in hospital who, thankfully appears to be on the mend which is such an incredible miracle and answer to prayer. We fixed the blind in our bedroom so now there is artificial light AND day light! Which is such a silly small thing, but it is so nice to be able to look out the window. Oo and we went to a park party for Isaac’s Auntie Hannah where we were able to catch up with Dave’s family… all of them!

So there you go… that’s week 21…. and ironically, even though it is finished and ready to publish… the internet is down at our place… so it has to wait a little longer…