The Important Work

They say to never apologise for not-blogging. To not start a well overdue blog post with an ‘I’m sorry, where have I been?!’ So, I won’t do that. And honestly? I’m not sorry.

After my last blog post (almost six months ago!) I decided to step back, to close the laptop and not feel pressure to churn out a few blog posts a week, or at all. Harriet, and Eleanor, have consumed my whole being these past six months, and so they should. They are the important work, the most important. As much as blogging and sharing our everyday has been my normal for the past eight years (!!!) my girls have needed a very present mummy, mothering them over the early toddler and baby days has taken my whole focus. I’m glad I stepped back, but I’ve missed my little online space here. Of course Mothering is my most important role, but to be a better mummy I need to do things for myself too. Blogging is that self-project for me, so now we’re entering a new phase of our family – growing girls and hopefully some more sleep – I want to recapture one of my first loves in this virtual community I’ve created and nurtured over many years. It’s important work too.

So…what have we been up to?! Well, I’ve kept Instagramming the heck out of life as usual so I’m sure you haven’t entirely missed out on our adventures, but over the past six months we’ve crammed a lot in! Our Harriet has finally finally started to bloom and grow, feeding like a champion six weeks after her tongue and lip tie laser procedure. In her first 3-4 months of life she did a lot of screaming. I did a fair bit of crying myself. But we got there…

Amongst all of THAT…we renovated two of our three bedrooms in our tiny farmhouse. With a screaming newborn. And a boisterous toddler. And a husband who works an awful lot. Yup. It was weeks of plaster dust and musical furniture madness, but having all three bedrooms now with built-in wardrobes and fresh paint and new carpet, well it’s just the bees bloody knees. More to come on Eleanor’s new big girl room, and Harriet’s re-vamped nursery (ahem…still not finished really…)

Just a week after Harriet’s ties were released we hit the road on a three week adventure, camping and driving holiday to outback central-west Queensland and back! Because: yes, we’re quite mad! I still can’t believe we did that. Harriet was very much still in her screaming all day every day zone, and would only sleep after I fed and fed and fed her for upwards of an hour, simply because she couldn’t feed properly or transfer milk through those damn nipple shields. But, we did it. Somehow?! I figured Harriet was screaming at home, with me rocking in a corner with a toddler to wrangle, she might as well scream in the car on the road and I’d have Matt’s help to wrangle the toddler at least! The time away just the four of us was just what the doctor ordered though. Matt’s time with Eleanor was lovely, they have spent so much more time together since Harriet’s arrival which has been an unexpected blessing. Our resilient blossom bounced along outback station tracks, wide open western NSW highways and windy coastal roads, sleeping, reading, playing and singing – not a screen in sight for over 3,000km. Somewhere along that road I celebrated 30 turns around the sun, ‘celebrated’ with zero fanfare or fuss, a simple breakfast by the sea whilst camping with my babes and tall man.

We’ve also been enjoying some farm adventures through Spring and Summer. Around our little farmhouse this year are potatoes! No more sheepy friends, but lots of tractor action going around and around, planting and moulding and now irrigators galore. The constant drone of motorbikes past the farmhouse and the ‘ch-ch-ch’ of an irrigator of a warm evening, the smell of dam water on our tin roof, the sounds and smells of my childhood are now the sounds of Eleanor and Harriet’s. We also got to wander through a poppy crop this year – a new experience for us all! So beautiful but also very fleeting, the poppies are now being harvested after blooming just before Christmas. Cue photographer mummy’s click frenzy…

Christmas this year was a new chapter for our family, with Grandi no longer in our family home here in Thorpy we celebrated at my sister’s house in Melbourne. Eleanor was well and truly into Christmas this year, I wasn’t sure if she would be yet but it was game on! So much fun with all her big cousins, Santa sacks laid out, carrots for the reindeer, Christmas Eve nativity mass and our epic Christmas lunch spread as per usual. Harriet’s first Christmas had us feeling very blessed with our girls (all seven of them!) and very full of ham, turkey, pudding and champagne! As per usual we retreated down to our home-away-from-home by the sea to Matt’s parents at Inverloch – more cousins, more food, more love. My very favourite time of year when we get to slow down a bit, walks on the beach, meals prepared and shared, casual comings and goings of extended family. Then we snuck in a trip to our besties in the southern Mallee, another second-home for us. Seeing our families grow together is something else – once upon a time we were all uni students in Melbourne, now we’re juggling toddlers and babies and farming and life (and gastro…!)

Now, somehow it’s almost the end of January?! This year is going to bring so much to our family – Harriet will grow into a big baby and toddler, somehow I’ve just filled out kinder enrollments for Eleanor so this is her last year at home full time with mummy (wasn’t she just born?!) As always it’s bittersweet – grow big little ones, stay small, all at once somehow. We’re never happy. The balance and juggle is ongoing.

Happy belated New Year to you and yours, what adventures will 2017 bring you?