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Happenings ~ 13th January 2018

DOING: Writing this post and daydreaming about my two weeks off work at the beginning of March.  I feel like the Christmas holidays flew by at a dizzying pace, even though I tried to consciously make an effort to take things slowly and really enjoy the extra family time among catch ups with friends and other lovely "Christmas season" things.


HEARING: My January playlist, currently "Grace" by Lewis Capaldi. Such a good song. Having an iTunes subscription is one of the best investments I've ever made.  


DRINKING: How good is wine? Almost nothing makes me happier than a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. I actually feel like I need to watch myself with it a bit.  Not like, in a "serious problem" kind of way, but do I want to ensure I'm having a drink for the right reasons, you know? Like, "this wine is delicious and I'm really enjoying this glass and feeling relaxed" not "my toddler is driving me to the brink of insanity and I need a wine, stat". And that's obviously a personal choice and something I just want to be mindful of, as I feel like I could easily slip into a bit of self-medication with alcohol (again, not in a deeply serious way), but yeah, long story short - I don't want to drink too much, too often.
Coffee too. Are you surprised? 





EATING & COOKING: We have been loving barbecues with delicious salads from my brother's new gourmet grocer/butcher "TCM" (Trendy Cut Market - shameless plug).  Seriously though, the pear and pumpkin salad is life changing.  Other than that, I have been very boring and predictable in the kitchen of late. I need to get inspired I think, and also have more time in a day, that would be great.


WANTING: To get over this bit of a mental/emotional slump I seem to have found myself in over the past week or so. My patience is barely existent, I am irritable and snappy and have this horrible feeling of dread that's kind of hanging over everything at the minute.  I am trying to climb out of it, I think just entering a new year feels kind of exhausting and overwhelming right now. I have lots of goals and need to try to calm down and realise things don't just happen overnight.  I am also wanting the "why" phase to end. Isaac, I am running out of explanations about every tiny thing that happens in our day you cute, frustrating little dictator.


LOOKING: We spent the morning at the beach today, and also spent quite a lot of time there over Christmas and I'm looking forward to many more beach trips over the next couple of months. My mood instantly changes when we get there, Isaac has the best time and it's just such a grounding place to be for all three of us.





DECIDING: What things I can justify buying/not buying that fits in line with mine and Reid's savings goals for this year. We are thinking we want to build a house again (not any time soon) but in order to do that in the timeframe we want, I need to reel in the spending strings. I used to be so good at saving money, not really sure what changed over the last few years... I know that when I am struggling mentally I often buy something online to "make me feel better" - that obviously needs to stop!


READING: Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen. This book is SO good. It is basically about ways to connect, communicate and teach your kids things through the way they learn best - play.  We have already found some of the strategies really useful and it covers all ages and talks lots about gender roles, anxiety and other relevant issues as well.  I am just over halfway and am hoping this parenting style will start to come to me naturally the more we implement it.


WATCHING: Shameless. How have I not watched this already?? I am LOVING it.  I have nearly finished it and can't wait for the next season to come out.  Reid and I just started Bodyguard which has us hooked too.


WEARING: Summer dresses, mostly. Or maxi skirts and a top. Leggings and t-shirts around the house.


ENJOYING: All the time we have been spending at the beach. We have been going to Blue Lagoon (Red Ochre) beach in Dodges Ferry. It is the perfect beach for toddlers. Clear water, basically no big surf, white sand and also rocks to explore that are fairly easy to walk on.





PLAYING: Reid built Isaac an amazing mud kitchen for Christmas and he also got a paddling pool so both of these things have been on high rotation when it comes to play. Water play is Isaac's absolute favourite. He loves to get things dirty in mud or sand, then wash them off in his mud kitchen sinks and repeat.


CRAVING: Chocolate would never go astray!


SAVOURING: These warmer days with basically no limits on outside time for Isaac. He is just so happy when he can run and jump and dig and swim. He is so much more independent with his play when he is outside and I can often get away with sitting out there with a book and a coffee. Until the inevitable "Mummy, please help me!" haha.


FEELING: Um, honestly I just feel really crabby haha. Isaac's sleep hasn't been great and I think that's starting to take its toll as well. I am always feeling grateful no matter what, because I know how lucky I am. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at the state of my own emotions really. What a lovely way to put that haha, I can't really explain it at the minute.




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