A Reasonable Life

I am reading an inspiring and challenging book at the moment...may I whet your appetite and tell you all about it when I have had time to complete reading it and mulling over all it contains?

Here is an excerpt...

We condemn our children to conformity the moment they leave the womb. And we do so not from unkindness, but because we have thoughtlessly built ourselves a media-propelled society that for the last forty years has bludgeoned us every minute, telling us to forget that we are humans who need to laugh and cry, care and be cared for, love and be loved. It tells us instead that our needs can be fulfilled with storebought goods; that having video games is as good as having friends, that the comfort of your car can replace the comfort of your lover, that caring for a yacht is like caring for your mother, and that new shoes can substitute for a shoulder to cry on.

So we created a scoiety that bloomed economically the farther it pushed us apart, because the lonelier we got the more we shopped to forget our loneliness; a society that reached its apex once it convinced us that bells and whistles, car phones and nintendos can make up for the loss of a passionate human life.

This of course should come as no surprise, since we are a society named not after something noble or humane, but an abstract vulgarity called Capital. We have become conditoned to ignore the growth of the human spirit, or human joy, or at least to practice them in our spare time, and concentrate our efforts on the growth of money. It is somehow thought (if it is thought at all) that happiness, fulfillment, love and laughter will burst upon us as soon as we are adequately awash in a sea of greenbacks.

Mate, Ference (1997) A Reasonable Life pg 142-143
Albatross publishing House

Getting Cosy

I have all but broken a former Trade Me trawling addiction but I just couldn't resist an auction for two hand knitted tea cosies, plus some extra bits and pieces...I bought the lot for $2 just to get this...

Super cool fairisle cosy in my colours...orange, brown, turqoise and a hint of burgundy.

Now I just need to get a wee little teapot to put inside it... tea anyone?

My Gorgy Boy

Just had to share some more pics of my oh so delicius baby E... he is such a spunky litttle guy.

Mother's Day

So yesterday was Mother's Day.

I have a bit of an issue with market-driven, spendy-spendy, pseudo holidays and celebrations but when you get treated like a Queen princiles tend to get put aside...for just a moment.

After feeding Baby E at his usual 5am I was instructed to stay in bed, no matter what noises emanated from the other end of the house...so being a very dutiful and submissive wife I did just that.

J bought in the morning paper which I read in almost all of its entirety rather than snatching tidbits here and there and then wiping porridge spills from the lifestyle section later in the day.

J also bought me in some waffles with banana, maple syrup and icecream...mmmmm....waffles!

The kids were suspiciously quiet, but then they all bounded in holding lovingly drawn pictures. O5 drew a picture of the family watching Berenstains Bears and Daddy fixing the TV cord (What the????). C2 had an amzing Pollockesque picture of some animals and A2's masterpiece was untitled. O also gave me a wonderful gifty from everyone...Little House on the Prairie to add to my collection and Little Women.

I believe that my career as a Mother is so much more valuable and important than anything else I could do. I was really encouraged a couple of weeks agao when a dear inspiring woman shared about her complete assurance that her primary purpose, ministry and mission was to raise her children. Me too! It was so exciting to hear somebody else confidently articulate that, unashamedly in today's society when Motherhood is denigrated and seen as a temporary endurance until you "get your life back"

I love being a Mother...most of the time... and on my "bad Mummy" days I am invaribly encouraged by my fantastic hubby that our children are in the best place being home with me, learning through life and love, joy and sorrow, triumphs and failings.

I am exhausted much of the time, I have huge self-doubt and worry about how well I am doing, I raise my voice too often and I am guilty of feeding everybody baked beans on toast reasonably frequently. Yet, I love my children with a passion, I am learning from my mistakes and I daily I am rewarded with new victories and growth in my own life and those of the fabulous foursome.

I am thankful for small things...some lavender treats from my lovely second mum...given to let me know that she believes in me and the job I am doing with my family or a timely phonecall from my sister who calmly and gently reminds and encourages me that one day I will realise that noone has peed on the floor for a week or two.

Right now my Baby is napping, O5 is reading Tintin out loud and with amazing expression(skiting, proud mummy here...Did I mention O is not yet five and a half?), and A and C are playing quietly and peacefullywith the toy cars...ahhhh...I take hold of this scene and commit it to memory for the next time that it all turns pearshaped.

Maaaarrrrvellous

I am having a maaarrrvellous weekend...beginning on Friday where the kids and I had a fantastic scream-free (and that was just me!), thoroughly fun day together. We made collages for Daddy, played schools on the trampoline, read lots of books and generally enjoyed each other.

To top it all off O5 wrote me a message on the sketcher.
It reads "Mummy, I love you, a rose, you are 33"
Warm fuzzies!

My folks were due to come for dinner but had to postpone so Jand I took the opportunity to rent "The Prestige" and eat Peanut M&M's and Big-Uns (kinda like Cheese curls..but much nicer!) What a fantastic movie...you must all rent it...TONIGHT!

J thinks he might add it to his DVD collection which has grown by a few more today as he spent ALL of his birthday money on the complete set of Fawlty Towers (plus a copy of Reservoir Dogs which he'll be having to watch all by himself!)

Today I fed my babe at the usual unearthly hour of 5am...then promptly drifted back to sleep. J took the other kiddos to soccer and I fed E again and then lay in bed to read the paper. When the hordes returned I went for a long walk to do my weekly weigh in...and I lost 1.4 kg...yee-ha...have finally hit the post baby goal weight.

On the way home I just *had* to detour past the local Salvation Army Op Shop and I scored some cool little bargains...

Kids knitting patterns for 5c each.

Some cute little bag handles...and they had many more there but fortunately for J I only had a small amount of cash and had left my plastic at home.

A gorgeous green scarf that I have yet to decide what to do with. I will refashion it into something for either myself or Miss A.

When I got home the trusty postie delivered to me a package from Greenbeans, containing some scrummy BKT for nappies, a pair of little Addi turbo circulars to complete my collection and a surprise pressie for a friend...shhhh.

But wait, there is more...My Nativity Knit book arrived...Yes I AM going to knit our family a Nativity scene for next Christmas...watch out you scoffers and titterers...If I get really keen I might just have to kit up extra sets to send your way.

All in all...Bliss. My wonderful man gave me almost the whole day off today as he disappeared with the kiddos again after lunch, Baby E had a 3 hour sleep and I knitted while watching "Shakespeare in Love".

Days like these refresh the soul and rejuvenate the mind and body.

Quotable

Being a mother is worth fighting for,

Worth calling a career

And worth the dignity of the hard work that it requires

Edith Schaeffer

Hush-A-Bye

Awww. Isn't he just gorgeous?

I was busily cooking dinner one evening a few weeks back and Bubba E was having an absolute ball jumping in the Jolly Jumper (whoever invented that thing deserves a medal from mothers everywhere). I noticed the springing, churckling and occasional thump had stopped so I had a wee look and found one very fast asleep, and uber-cute baby.

I must say that I am so thankful every day that J was able to be convinced to go there again after the terrible twosome...although at 3am I am not quite so ecstatic about having a wee one!

We are really enjoying E. With O we were typical first time parents...overanxious, overzealous and quite a few more "overs". We had just got our heads around this parenting lark when lo and behold we heard the words, "And just how many babies are in there?" at our twenty week ultrasound and just like that we were joining the ranks of parents of multiples.

I had purposed to be a lot more responsive and flexible when we planned no 2...I even thought I *might* use a sling...now and then...but the reality of two and three arriving within three minutes of one another made our lives chaotic, exhausting and quite frankly hellish for a number of months. I grieved a bit for the lost opportunity to really nurture a baby, as with A and C we were in pure survival mode.

We decided that since we had three why not add a fourth baby to our family... and so along came our precious boy E. He has been the most contented and relaxed baby, happy and calm, jubbly and spunky. The older children all adore him, even A who is mummy's princess will usually willingly share my lap with Bubba. I carry E most places... not in a sling, but an ergo...gotta love it. He is my only baby still breastfed at 9 months old, we don't stress out if he doesn't want to nap at "the right time" during the day and we all look after him together.

This is all a bit of a rambly mess...I am typing as I shovel veges into E's mouth.