As I sit to write this I am so sad to realise it is my first ever post on this blog about our beautiful girls Matilda and Quinn.  Maybe one day I'll go back and fill in some gaps but just in case I don't it's time to make a few notes.

These crazy girls of ours sure have tipped our lives upside down.  It has been the biggest challenge of my parenting so far.  I guess it sort of goes without saying that having 2 babies at once and jumping up to a family of 6 would come with some difficulties but WOW you really couldn't even imagine.

I know this time will be over so quickly and in a flash I'll have 4 teenagers and a whole new set of parenting hurdles to overcome.  I try so hard to appreciate them and their little gorgeous faces and all of the little quirks each of them have.  I try to record it in my mind and remember it all but it's already starting to fade.

I didn't record the dates that the girls rolled over, or stood or walked or cut their first teeth.  Does it matter?  I don't think so.  It's not because their milestones mean any less to me - I have cherished them just the same.  I just do not have the time to be all things to everyone anymore.

I'm happy - really happy.  My life is full of love.  I am also tired and exhausted, so tired some days I feel like I wont be able to make it to the end of the day.   Rob works so hard too and we are often like ships in the night. We're a great team though and these kids of ours are all doing so well and we are really proud and blessed.

Today Matilda said her first 'sentence'.  As we waved rob off to work she said 'Bye Bye Dad'  it was so bloody cute it motivated me to jump on here and note it down.

Our gorgeous Quinn doesn't say much but she understands everything that we say to her so no doubt she'll start saying all sorts of words any day now.  We have a bit of a laugh because she mainly talks in grunts and growls so we sometimes call her 'Chewbaca'  (Her words are Mum, Dad, Duck, Tilda)

Matilda can say Mum, Dad, Nanna, Noah, Harpy, Goggie,  Cat, Duck, Byebye, Seeya, Flower, Plane, Shoe, Milk and makes a few animal sounds.

Off to actually spend a minute with my husband now, Hopefully talk again really soon.

Baby De Roach Blogspot Revival

Kirsty and I thought we might try to revive our babyderoach blog. We started it with banjo before Facebook was popular, now I'm sick of all the advertising on FB, but still want the best bit - storybooking our life and 4 babies!  This photo was from a crazy day exploring Avon Valley camp sites :)

 

'Me Time'

Today is my third consecutive Wednesday I have been kid free from about 9am until 3.30pm.

When I had Noah my father-in-law made a decision that he wanted to be an involved and regular fixture in his grand children's lives and he decided to semi-retire to make it happen.  As soon as it was possible he showed up and took Noah away for a special one-on-one 'Pa Day' every week.  Only 6 months later my sister-in-law added another grandson to the mix and he too got his day in the sun with Pa.  As the boys got older and easier to handle their days with Pa merged so that they were also getting some quality cousin bonding time too.  Then along came Finn's baby sister Beth and then our beautiful Harper. John certainly had his hands full now and depending on school schedules had various combinations of 2 or 3 of them and then 4 in the school holidays.

When the twins came along I never really thought much about Pa Day.  I figured 8 years later John had probably done his dash and would appreciate some free time now that he'd seen the 4 big kids through to their school years.  As the end of last year approached though the news came that once school started he would like to take Matilda and Quinn for their turn.  I was gobsmacked.  Two babies - was he mad?  I can barely cope most days and it has certainly been a daunting prospect for most people to even babysit for a couple of hours here and there - let alone committing to 9 hours every week.

But here we are week 3 and in he comes at 8am on a Wednesday morning full of enthusiasm and takes those precious girls away.  On alternate weeks he even takes Harper too.  He genuinely loves it.  Sure he's tired at the end of the day but he's always full of smiles and reports how wonderful his day has been.

It's an amazing blessing for me of course - a chance to take a moment to get some shit done or take some time out or drink a hot cup of coffee.  The best thing is John does it because he wants to, of course I benefit, but that's not what it's about.  It's a no guilt, no strings attached kid free day and I bloody love it.

This week on Facebook #2

Ok so this week started with my youngest sister Holly's 36th Birthday.  It was her first birthday as a Mama celebrating with her beautiful Tommy who is just a few days off  3 months old already.  As always a simple family dinner was enjoyed at my Mum and Dad's place followed by Cake - it's all about the cake and every kid getting a chance to blow out candles and spread their share of spit onto the cake!!

July 9th is the day our precious Angel baby Banjo was born 7 years ago.  We don't dwell - we've been blessed with 2 beautiful boys and who knows, one day maybe another sweet baby, but we pause and remember him and what an impact his short life had on ours.

This year July 9th will forever be the day I 'lost' one of our dogs for a whole day and had the whole city searching for him only to discover I had literally been sitting on him all day!  He had gotten trapped in the void space under our recliner sofa when I had closed the leg rest.  Serious stress was quickly replaced with horrific embarrassment and everyone had a great laugh at my expense!!!

Skidder after he was 'found'  - he just popped out yawning and stretching from his awesome 6 hour nap!!!

July 10th

Harper is just over 2 and a half now and is full of personality plus.  He loves to dress up and some days can involve multiple wardrobe changes.  The kid knows how to accessorise too.  It's not often you'll see him without some kind of musical instrument in hand and a pair of sunglasses - always sunglasses. He keeps us on our toes but he's such a delight we almost don't mind.

July 11th

Harper was off to hospital AGAIN for his 3rd set of grommets.  As always the happy chappy easy patient took it all in his stride.

In the car on the way bright and early

Post surgery recovery

Back home we spent the afternoon relaxing on the couch but then it was time to head to Nanny and Poppy's to pick up Noah and in true Harper style even while in convalescence he did not forget his style.

2 pairs of sunglasses for the trip there

Nanny gave the patient some new glasses so this new ensemble got thrown together for the trip home which was just perfect for a trip to the pharmacy too!!

This week on Facebook

So I swore at the start of this week I was taking a step back from FB and getting back on blogging track.  Facebook like the addictive bitch that she is lured me back so I decided instead of fighting it to embrace it, so this is the first in a weekly series of posts to be known as 'My week on Facebook'

I was pretty good the first few days and it was pretty quiet but we did go to the pop-up outdoor ice skating rink on Friday night so that was pretty awesome.

The boys and I caught the bus and the train which always starts an outing off on the right foot.

Harper enjoyed it for a little while and then preferred to just hang out on the sidelines.  Noah, our athletic,, sporty good at almost everything guy has really struggled with any form of skating but he finally got the hang of it that night and had a great time.

Out in the city on a Friday night - such a simple adventure full of fun 

Hello Old Friend

Over the weekend I said to Rob that I was going to take some time to get back to writing my blog.  He, being the IT nerd and all round geek that he is, promptly informed me that blogging is passe and blogs probably wont exist soon.  Here I am anyway.  I don't care what the current popularity or cool factor of blogging is, I used to love this little space of mine and I enjoyed keeping our family memories documented. Even if nobody else reads it I don't mind because it's just for me. Today I've looked back through old posts - so many fleeting moments of Noah's life captured and I knew for sure that I wanted to get back on here and get more of our memories down as they happen day to day.  I might even try and makeup for lost time with some retrospective posts about Harper (the forgotten but very loved second child!) There are no lovingly scribed baby albums in this house, just this space so I'm recommitted to making it current.

I blame Facebook - I really do.  I was hesitant to join Facebook for a long time - I was a relative latecomer. I was a bit smug about it.  I used to say things like 'I have friends in real life I don't need to be friends with 200 people on the computer'. (I say old lady things like 'on the computer' because I'm a bit weird and out of touch like that.)  Eventually it came to the point where I was missing out on play dates and events because they were being arranged through Facebook, so I took the leap.

Facebook has it's place - it basically did what I had been attempting to do with my blog for years. It allowed me to share photos and stories about our lives with friends and family anywhere around the world.  The trouble is FB is such a quick and easy fix that I stopped taking the time to sit and share longer stories. The instant gratification of FB is addictive.  Blogging is more of a slow boil and lots of what is written goes un-noticed but at least it's all laid out there to look back on in a pure form not lost between pictures of cats riding robot vacuums and photos of Rugby players consuming their own urine!! (True Story)

FB also steals so much more time that you ever realise as you find yourself reaching for it more and more throughout the day just to see what new tidbit has popped up in your news feed.  So I'm taking a step back from FB and focusing on quality blogging time instead.

All of this is part of a bigger picture.  I have made a vow to myself to change the way I manage my time.  I am ALWAYS busy.  I literally run from one thing to the next and I feel like no part of my life is getting the correct focus.  I know a do a good job.  Our home is clean and tidy, there are clean clothes in the drawers and a meal on the table every night.  The kids are happy, healthy beautiful kids and they get lots of love and attention.  It's me though - I'm exhausted.  Physically, mentally, emotionally. This has been a tough year there have been bigger challenges than 'normal' but when is life ever 'normal'.  Rob likes to remind me a lot that there is always something.  I can often be heard saying things like 'After X,Y,Z event is over life will calm down and I'll do that task'.  No more.

I want to get to a place where no matter what external factors are in play I don't feel like every day is one constant ball of chaos.  Rushing here and there yelling at kids to hurry, hurry, hurry.  Putting out fires all day long then getting to 7pm and collapsing in a heap with no sense of accomplishment.

One of the first things I need to do is re-instate my exercise regime.  There is a lot to be said for exercising in the morning and feeling that you've achieved something before the day has even started for most people.

I constantly over commit.  I am a YES person.  This month I am pulling back from everything that is not absolutely necessary.  I have lots of wonderful friends and I like to do the right thing and keep in touch with them all.  It's very time consuming.  Don't get me wrong time with friends adds so much value to your life but surely a month without coffee dates and outings won't kill any friendships. Not to mention I actually quite enjoy being alone and being in my own company.

There are tasks in my life that have literally been building up for 6 years that now need to be done. (Kids memorabilia boxes piled high, nothing with dates on it) I have made a start already this week and it feels great.

This post is a bit lot rambley but hey it's my blog I can ramble if I want to.

See you tomorrow