Thankful Thursday

The past few days have been particularly hard going here. As I mentioned on Tuesday we have just celebrated the one year mark since we left home. It has brought about a lot of mixed emotions that we have all had a lot of trouble dealing with. Combined with the return to school for term three stress levels have reached an all time high.

Actually that is not completely true.

The Little Two are super happy to be back at school. They both have a love of learning and are excited to be hitting the books once more. Which is incredibly wonderful and something I am eternally thankful for. I hope that it is something that stays with them for life. More than anything I long for the girls to what to be life long learners. Having a desire to learn is the most important aspect to learning.

Lovely however is a completely different story. There is no love or even the slightest desire to learn within that child. In fact as far as she is concerned school is merely a social occasion.

Sigh.

All of that is for another post though.

Back to the thanks.

In one of my hardest days in well over a year. One that I was left feeling mentally battered and bruised from the joys of parenting a teen, I received the most lovely little golden envelope in the mail.

The most ever lovely Tasha over at Of crochet & life sent me the most gorgeous little love hearts for no reason other than she wanted to make me smile. Which it most certainly did. In a huge way in fact. I am so thankful that someone could think to do such a lovely thing for little old me.

Other thanks this week include

* Finding some awesomely cheap yet tasty wine

* Finding some cheap but very beautiful and lovely to drink from wine glasses

(yes I do notice a slight trend but if you had lived my week you would be slightly wine obsessed as well)

* A secret stash of chocolate

* A most lovely long run, that included all three of my favourite spots

* Being able to get this post written well before first thing Thursday morning. Given that school is back and I have to work trying to tap something out in the morning just probably wouldn't be a wise or feasible idea.

What about you? What are some of the things you are thankful for this week?

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Thankful Thursday - Fun and Friendship

If you follow my Facebook or Instagram feed then this week's thanks is probably not going to come as a surprise.

This week I am thankful that the girls and I were able to hang with the gorgeous Zippy Zappy Life gang for a few days. We had been fortunate enough to share Christmas last year with this amazing family and since then the girls have been constantly asking when we would be able to see them again. The school holidays seemed like the perfect opportunity.

We arrived mid Monday afternoon. The two and a half hour felt like it took a great deal longer than it did. Possibly due to the fact that I took the scenic route. And I am thankful that I did because it was incredibly scenic.

There were endless rolling hills, quaint trees and plenty of cows. I do love looking at cows in their pastures. The scenic route also lead me to ridiculously cheap fuel, a good ten cents cheaper than what I normally pay. There were also a few train tracks that we were forced to wait at while trains went by, which the girls found incredibly exciting.

When we did finally arrive it felt like we were catching up with family and I am so thankful that the girls are able to have such special friends in their lives. Watching all the kids play and interact over the two days just made my heart swell.

Our first night saw a bon fire gathering and I am thankful that the winds stayed low so we were able to enjoy the warmth and glow of the fire. The kids all delighted in toasting marshmallows and it was a real this is what childhood memories are made of moment.

The next day saw us tackle The Maze. Something we had planned to do when we were here last year only Zany hurting her ankle threw a slight spanner in the works. All is well that ends well though because we had a fabulous time exploring all the mazes this week.

Sadly though our time there had to come to an end, though not before we hit the biggest shopping centre in the west for some funky new kicks.

I am thankful that Zany has such cool taste in shoes and feels comfortable enough in herself to wear them.

There are actually a great deal many more things that I am thankful for as well but I am already running a tad late for work and Mother Dearest who I am thankful to have visiting at the moment is getting just a little pushy for me to leave.

So over to you, what are you thankful for today?

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Thankful Thursday

In a bid to be super organised for this week's Thankful Thursday post I actually sat down on Wednesday morning to try and get something out. Given that I actually missed last week one would have thought that having two weeks worth of thanks would have made for good fodder.

Apparently not.

Instead I was left with this. Which I was rather pleased to get out because I figured once that was out the way I would have been able to go on to bigger and better things.

I was wrong.

Though in all fairness to myself it wasn't entirely my fault for not getting more out. On account of it being school holidays (and my mum is visiting) it was declared screen free time and we went out and explored.

So here I am Thursday morning, not bright and early mind you because it is too darn cold bright and early to do anything except snuggle down further under the blankets.

After failing to find thanks yesterday morning, and then again last night I decided that my thankful post could wait.

I mean I did manage this list

* School holidays

* My mum coming to visit

*My health.

but it some how didn't seem worthy so I went back to thinking my post could wait.

Of course there is nothing wrong with being thankful for those three things, it was just that for well over a week now, possibly nearly two I have been thinking of sharing just how thankful I am to be healthy. Just tacking it on the bottom of a list didn't feel like it was doing it justice.

Recently I have come across two people who longed to have an adventure like #ouradventureofalifetime only various health issues meant they were unable to do so. Even while we were on our trip we came across a few families who had to alter their own adventures due to poor health. I am so thankful we had the opportunity to get out there and do what we did.

I am so thankful that I am healthy enough to be able to get out and do whatever I want. If I feel like going for a run, I can, I don't need to stop and wonder whether my body is up for it, I can just do it.

There are so many people that are held back in various ways from doing a whole range of things because of their health. There are also many that find a way to push past the boundaries of the body and health and for that I am thankful because it gives me the reminder that I need some days to get out there and just give things a go and make the most of the many blessings that I have.

Thursday happens to be my working day which means the last thing I should be doing come Thursday morning is sitting around trying to blog. Thankfully though thanks to school holidays I have a bit of extra time and could do so today.

Thanks also need to be sent to the lovely Lydia who possibly without even realising it, has an uncanny knack for encouraging me when I need it most. If you need help in facing a fear and challenging yourself then this is a must read

What about you? What are you thankful for today?

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Thankful Thursday

For a variety of reasons it is another short and sweet edition of Thankful Thursday this week. The reasons include having a sink full of dirty dishes, being incredibly tired, cold and trying hard to ignore sickly tickle in the back of my throat.

A lack of things to be thankful for however is most definitely not one of the reasons for the lack of length in my writing.

Without further ado here are just a few of the things I am thankful for this week

* Winning a double pass to the South West Mudfest. It will be the first time Mr A and I have competed in something together. I am super excited. Especially since there is a burger and beer at the end of it.

* Teapot's lovely teacher waiting behind with the girls last week when I was running late

* My mother arriving for a visit on Friday

* School holidays being just around the corner. Only one more week to go

* More family lined up for a visit in August

* Being able to get our hands on a second car at a ridiculously great price

What about you? What are you thankful for? 

Share your own post below or let me know in the comments.

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Thankful Thursday

Well this week I am not thankful that my time was the winner of the second State of Origin match. Though I guess I am thankful it was a great game of football to watch. 

Other thanks for this week include children being well enough to return to school. I can't help but feel that it is going to be a long winter full of coughs and colds. The little girls, particularly Zany, are still not the biggest fans of winter clothes. And just between you and me I don't really blame them. Initially I thought the whole wearing of jeans and long sleeves and beanies and scarves was a bit of a novelty. Now not so much. I am thankful to have them all though as they do keep me a lot warmer than if I didn't.

As I mentioned last week it was Zany's birthday. I am thankful that she had such a great day, despite not doing anything of great excitement. It was my first day of delivering my to my book round so the girls all tagged along and kept me company. I am thankful that for a first day it all went reasonably well.

On Tuesday I was able to go run. I am so so thankful that I did. It was long and hard and very slow, but it was also one of my best runs in I don't know how long. It felt so damn good.

I am thankful for kind words given to me via the blog, sometimes even from people I have not had the pleasure to meet. I am even more thankful to three beautiful women who took the time to message me in the week. The messages were all just random thoughts and feelings that they were having but I felt special to know that they had chosen me as the one they wanted to share with. Loneliness has been a strong feeling of late and without even knowing it these women eased it for me.

My final thanks for now is rediscovering one of my favourite bloggers from days gone by has started blogging again.

What about you? What are you thankful for?

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Thankful Thursday - The Zany Edition

Deciding what to write about for today’s Thankful Thursday post was pretty much a no brainer. You see nine years ago today I became a mum of two. That’s right, today is my dear little Zany’s ninth birthday.

This was taken back in March when we were in Pemberton, Zany would wake up every morning
and the first thing she wanted to do was feed the birds that hung around. She has an amazing way with
animals and at this stage says she wants to be a vet when she grows up

Over the last week or so I have found myself staring at her wondering how it is that she is actually nine. It really does only seem like yesterday that I was calling the midwife to let her know that the baby was on the way. Not any time soon mind you but definitely on the way.

It was a Sunday morning, about ten I think. The midwife, Josie, was already at the hospital and told me to take my time. Since she was already there she would get a room and set it up for me. I had been hoping to have a water birth. Though back then the public hospital would only let the birthing pools be used for pain relief, birthing, whenever possible, was to occur out of the water.

By the time Mr Awesome and I dropped Lovely off at my parents and arrived at the hospital, dear Josie had well and truly set up my room. That woman was beyond amazing and to this day I am thankful she was there for me.

We walked to a dimly lit room with candles gently glowing and the sound of Enya wafting through. It was all so perfect.

The hospital was relatively close to the ocean with the maternity ward positioned on a floor high enough to see the sea. While I may not be able to remember whether it is the sixth or eighth floor I do remember looking out the window and out across the water and being mesmerised by what looked like shimmering diamonds.

After a relatively short labor, around four hours I guess, my beautiful little Zany was earthed and in my arms. 

Now nine years later I am still blessed to be in the presence of an amazing little person. My baby has grown into a young girl who is kind, thoughtful and caring. She so often puts the needs of others before her own. Though there is always a point where she says no more and takes what she needs as well. 

She has a fabulous sense of humour and a laugh that is infectious. A radiant smile that can instantly lift me.

Of an afternoon when I pick her up from school she will break out into a run the moment she spots me. Smile on her face and arms out wide, engulfing me the moment she is within reach. It is without a doubt one of my most favourite times of the day. A blatant reminder of how blessed I am to be a part of her life.

I can only hope the next nine years are as wonderful as the last. I am so thankful that I get to call this precious soul my girl.

Other random things I am thankful for this week

• having my first unsupervised and paid day at work
• making awesome pumpkin soup
• as I crawled into bed Wednesday night remembering I had left said pumpkin soup on the stove and not yet written this post and getting up and writing this post while eating said soup
• the kindest and supportive comments over on Rhianna Writes
• a day that was just warm enough to wear shorts, the novelty of jeans has gone
• steaming hot showers

What about you? What are you thankful for this week? Join in with a blog post or just comment below

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Thankful for surprises

When I sat down to write this post I had thought I was going to say how while I am thankful to have had the opportunity to return as Thankful Thursday host it was something I was no longer going to do.

It is no secret that blogging has been a bit of a struggle for me of late. Even the creation of a new space was unable to help my words find a way out. I knew that returning to normal life would not be easy but I didn't think it would be quite like this either. Mind you I don't even know how to describe what quite like this is.

Sigh.

All of that is for another post though.

Back to being thankful.

As I procrastinated to find the right words I decided it was the perfect time to check my emails. Which took all of two micro seconds because not only do I check my emails fairly frequently I don't actually get a lot of emails in the first place. Since email checking had failed to take long enough for inspiration to hit I decided to have a quick squiz in the junk folder and then empty the trash folder.

I am so thankful I did.

As I was going through them I just happened to come across not one, not two but three notifications from last week where some beautiful bloggers had decided to come and join in with Thankful Thursday. I was so thankful it didn't even matter that one was not exactly thankful and only one linked back to me. I was just so pleased that a few fellow bloggers had taken the time to join in.

Though I must admit I was particularly thankful to read that this post had a safe ending.

the bigger than bid sand dune

I will leave deciding on the future of my Thankful Thursday hosting for yet another week. It is not something I really want to walk away from but it is also not something I want to be a chore or sound contrite about when I give my thanks.

Other things I am thankful for this week include

• having a long weekend
• discovering a rather awesome beachside camping spot only half hour from home
• being able to spend the long weekend at said camping spot with our buddies
• watching the kids climb the biggest sand dune I ever did see
• sitting around a camp fire
• the start of winter being much milder than I expected

What about you?

What are you thankful for this week?

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Thankful Thursday

The brain is a funny thing sometimes. Like how all week long as various things happen to me, my brain thinks "Oh that would be a great inclusion for Thankful Thursday this week" Then when it actually comes time to write the post it goes blank.

Completely and utterly blank. Unable to think of a single thing that could make the post readable. Which then sends me into a bit of a tizz because the reality of life is that I have an abundance of things to be thankful for.

My life is an incredibly blessed one.

I get to spend each and every day with the man of my dreams, the love of my life, my one and only. We have three amazing daughters who are beautiful inside and out. We are somehow able to survive (some would say comfortably) on only one wage in one of the most beautiful places in Australia. I could not be more happier about our decision to stop and stay in the South West for a bit.

And while all of that is something to be incredibly thankful for, and I most certainly am, it is not something that makes for great reading week in and week out.

So what else am I thankful for?

This week I am thankful that Zany did such a great job in her class performance at assembly. After just five weeks of ukulele lessons she was able to play two songs. One of which is right up there on my most favourite songs list. Mind you I can't help but wonder if Tom Dooley is really the most appropriate song for nine year olds to sing given it is all about a man who will soon be hanging from a tree. The other song, Mary Mack, made my heart swell as well as it took me straight back to my own school days.

I am thankful that this school has so many opportunities for the girls. There is a music teacher, a performing arts teacher, sports teachers, specialised language teachers, art teacher, as well as class the classroom teachers. All of whom seem to be talented, kind and caring.

Monday is a public holiday here and I am super thankful for that. Hopefully the weather will be lovely and we will get to go camping for a night or two. As freezing as it may be I love the idea of sleeping out under the stars. I do miss it so.

Last night was game one of State of Origin. I am thankful that it was shown live on free to air here, given this is quite possibly the least rugby league state in Australia I wondered whether it would be shown. Not only am I thankful it was but thankfully my team was the winner and great game was had.

My final thanks for today is for the fact that Lovely realises the importance of being a part of a team and being committed to that team. Her hockey team played last night meaning that she would miss most of the big game, much to her disappointment I might add. Despite this she still went and played.

So what about you? What are you thankful for?

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Thankful Thursday

Another Thursday is rolling round and rather than have my post already written, scheduled and live on the blog I am sitting on my couch wondering what it is I am going to be thankful for this week.

The possibilities are almost endless. It has been another rather lovely week here. Nothing overly spectacular but nothing overly awful either. Though there were are few awful moments, like when the car didn't pass it's registration inspection.

Sigh.

Thankfully though after forking out quite a few hundred dollars the mechanic was able to fix everything that was wrong and then pass it. Even more thankfully Mr Awesome's dad, who I guess could be referred to Mr Awesome Senior, kindly helped us with finding the necessary few hundred dollars.

Other good things to happen in the week include

• getting the hot water system and toilet fixed
• having plenty of crochet time
• some new watercolour pencils, though a good colouring book currently eludes me
• getting a top up on our broad band which means I can spend today continuing my How I Met Your Mother marathon
• Mr Awesome cleaning the kitchen last night so I can enjoy my marathon relatively guilt free
• scoring a blender, scales with a mixing bowl and an electric beater for $20
• getting electric blankets for our beds before winter proper arrives 

What about you?

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Thankful Thursday

Another Thursday is rolling around with the Wednesday night that preceding it finding me somewhat drained and void of coherent thought. Not really the ideal situation for someone who has a blog linky to host but thems the breaks. Since very few people have been stopping by on a Thursday (or any day for that matter) I guess it matters little.

But moving right along.

As much as my mind might be drawing blanks I have so very much to be thankful for,

like;

• Teapot getting an honour certificate for settling into school and being so enthusiastic
• The teacher calling me the day before the assembly so I could be there to watch it being presented
• Netflixs. I have been totally enjoying reliving the early seasons of How I Met Your Mother, and what has been even more enjoyable has been Third Rock From the Sun. Of course watching hysterically funny sitcoms is not conducive to blog post writing.
• A most wonderful Mother's Day. It was not flash nor fancy but it was a most pleasant day that involved a sleep in, breakfast cooked and relatively no bickering between the girls. To top it all off there was delicious pizza, roast pork and a sticky date pudding complete with caramel sauce.
• Getting my new blog up and running. It can be found here if you are interested. And there is a Facebook Page. Though there is not a lot happening on either yet as I am still trying to find my feet. All in good time though.
• Having a massage, manicure and pedicure. Complete with champers.

For now though it is way past my bed time. Thanks to HIMYM this post has taken a ridiculously long time to write and quite possibly has little of worth in it. 

I promise I will try better tomorrow. Maybe.

Please though tell me what you are thankful for this week.

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Thankful Thursday

This week my thankful post is going to be short and sweet. While as always I have much to be thankful for, time is not exactly on my side right now. Mind you I only have myself to blame.

Even as I was writing my post on Tuesday about how I felt so together, I knew that I was jinxing myself for days to come. Be that as is it may I just had to get the words out and I am glad I did. It helped me to see how thankful I am to have been able to survive all those sleepless years.

I am thankful for

• Teapot slipping into the school routine without any more tears
• Miss Cinders sharing her awesome jam drop recipe
• The possibility of having some work. Though it is only one day a week and only commission based it is flexible and better than nothing
• Being able to walk home from school with the girls and stop for a play in the park
• Children who on occasion wash their plate without being asked
• Finally beginning to understand how the whole doing a bit of housekeeping every day makes it easier in the long run
• A Facebook friend who every day shares one good thing, sometimes more. It really does warm my heart to see people stop and see what they have
• Another Facebook friend who left me this message Hi Rhianna , I thought of you today, I was shopping and passed a craft stall and there it was a beautiful tin with the wording "Butterfly Wishes" written across it and the rest was covered in butterfly's. Made me feel good. thanks.

So what about you? What are you thankful for this week?

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Thankful Thursday (of sorts)

After recent world events this week I have struggled with deciding what I am most thankful for. My heart is heavy and my mind confused and torn. Until now I have not mentioned the murderous actions of the Indonesian government. And even now I struggle to find the right words.

On the one hand they did choose to break laws in a country where they knew the penalty was death. However on the other...they are still somebody's son, brother and friend. There are hearts that have been ripped apart by this and that just doesn't seem right. What's more no one, regardless of what they have done, should have to stand in front of a firing line and have bullets rip into their bodies and then be left to just bleed to death.

So much sighing.

Back to being thankful.

I was going to write about being thankful for living in Australia. A place where there is no death penalty. A place where almost an entire nation goes into overdrive pleading for the lives of those facing the death penalty.

But somehow it just didn't feel right.

Yesterday I was speaking to a family who have recently moved to Australia from South Africa. They gave me plenty more reasons of why I was thankful to live in Australia. A place where our children are able to safely walk or ride to school. A place where you don't have live behind barred windows to keep the violence and danger outside your home.

But again it just doesn't feel right.

I mean I most certainly am thankful for all those things, but it just feels like that goes without saying, I don't need to harp on about it in a blog post.

So what am I thankful for?

The fact that it is nearly the weekend so I won't be left home alone?

Being a stay at home mum to school aged kids is not nearly as fun as people make out. No doubt though come Saturday afternoon when the girls are at each other over who gets to play with what I will quite possibly be looking forward to the solitude of Monday morning.

I was however super thankful that Monday just gone was a public holiday here. Of course come payday next week when Mr A's pay is a day less perhaps not so much.

I am thankful to have discovered the wonders of yoghurt dough. I first heard about it through the Pack My Lunchbox Facebook Page and then again through a recipe shared by Be A Fun Mum. I used it to make ham and cheese scrolls as was so impressed with how tasty it was and more importantly how easy it was to work with. Sadly the children informed me that homemade scrolls are no good at school but I guess you can't please everyone. Or somedays anyone. Thankfully Mr A thought they were quite edible though.

What about you? Have you got some thanks to share? Please do. Even if it is just in the comments

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Thankful to be connected

It was about nine thirty last night when I sat down to write today's thankful post. I got as far as opening the laptop and a new pages document. I then stared at the blank page for all of two seconds before deciding I couldn't not face the torture of trying to blog with slower than slow internet. Total first world problem I know.

My intention was to get up this morning and quickly write something up while I had my coffee before the school rush started. I got as far as saying how I wished I could be thankful for having and ADSL internet connection. Only it wasn't quite in the spirit of Thankful Thursday so I decided to be a responsible mother and get everyone sorted for school. I sure do surprise myself at times.

Upon returning home from school drop of I was beyond delighted to discover that the highly anticipated ADSL was in fact now connected. Thankful doesn't even begin to explain how I was feeling.

Once again I surprised myself though, and rather than delve into the interwebs and neglect my housewife duties I started a long awaited update on the laptop and got to getting the housework out the way. Something I am pretty thankful for right now because it means I have been able to spend all afternoon guilt free flicking between writing this and scrolling through the Bunbury Bidding Wars page to see if there are any other bargains I can score for our new home.

Other and slightly more random thanks this week includes

• reading that the lovely Miss Cinders feels a little better
• discovering all these dinner suggestions
• the girls all appearing to have settled into their new schools relatively easily, though 'twas not without a tear or two
• Lovely having a great time at hockey and soccer, doing new things among people she does not know well is something she finds a little tough sometimes (don't we all?)
• children that sleep in their own beds
• making time to exercise

Oh and how could I forget the thing I am probably the most thankful for right now? Mr Awesome started a new job on Monday!!

What about you? What are you thankful for? 

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Thankful to be back

From the moment I knew Thankful Thursday would once again be calling A Parenting Life home I started mentally going through all the things the different things I wanted to share my thanks for. Of course now that I am actually sitting down to write my post my mind is of course somewhat blank.

To say today (which is Wednesday) has been a long day is somewhat of an understatement. 

Monday saw us picking up the keys to our new home. A lovely 4x2 in a newish estate about fifteen minutes from the heart of Bunbury. Only Monday also so Mr Awesome have the opportunity for a day of casual labour, for which I am very thankful, so any moving of our things had to be done by yours truly. Thankfully Lovely is a rather strong young lass so with her assistance we were able to get a few things moved over. Mr A finished work earlier than expected which meant we were able to do another trailer load of moving.

It is crazy to think that in less than two weeks we were able to come up with enough furniture to completely furnish our house. All for an incredibly reasonable price as well I might add. I am so thankful that people are willing to sell their unwanted goods at such reasonable prices.

Tuesday saw the girls and I making a few more runs to our new house, while Mr A made the most of the opportunity to work a little. We were able to successful assemble Teapots bed. Sadly however Zany’s proved to be a little more complex. So complex that we had to take it apart and start again not once but twice and still failed to work it out. Thankfully we decided to walk away from it and wait till Mr A was around to lend a hand.

Which brings us to today. Well today for me as I am writing, but yesterday for you reading. Today (Wednesday) was all about cleaning the farm house we were house sitting and gathering the last of stuff to take to our new home.

I am so thankful we were able to spend the last week inside a house rather than in Edna because it has been all kinds of crazy wet and cold here in the South West. Of course having to clean baths and toilets and vacuum floors was not exactly the most pleasurable of activities but I guess they are all things I need to come to terms with as we return to the land of normal living.

Sigh.

Never mind though. I am sure there are women out there that would be thankful to have a house and even a bath and toilet for that matter to clean. I must admit this will be the first bath I have had in my home for nearly ten years.

Other things I am thankful for this week include

• Mr A having a job interview for more permanent work. Of course my thanks will multiply ten fold if the interview goes well.

• Beautiful friends to spend time with, who also happen to be great at catching crabs and getting marron, which just so happen to be some of my most favourite foods.

• The most gorgeous birthday present from my little brother.

This little lady was spotted flitting around our new home. A most thoughtful birthday present from my brother. #shakecreative #blackandwhite #blessediswhatiam #fairywishesandbutterdlykisses #oursouthwestadventure

A photo posted by @aparentinglife on Apr 14, 2015 at 2:25am PDT

• Having enough internet and time to regularly blog

• Generous strangers who gave us more warm wool blankets than I could hope for.

• A most wonderful daughter who this week turns fourteen.

Now you!

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Returning to a new normal

This time nine years ago Mr Awesome and I were patiently waiting for the May 8th to roll on by. For on that day we would be able to pick up the keys to our new home.

I was some seven months pregnant with Zany and we had just spent the last six months living with my parents in the hope to save enough money so we could put a deposit on a place to call our own. The thought of never having to move again excited me greatly. 

Fast forward to now mind you and I have just spent the last two hundred and seventy days essentially moving every three to four days. Oh how times change!

There is no doubt that #ouradventureofalifetime was beyond awesome. In fact my only complaint is that it didn’t go for longer. But I guess all good things must come to an end. And as the song rightly points out every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s ending. 

So while I am temporarily saying farewell to #ouradventureofalifetime I am also saying hello to #oursouthwestadventure as we settle into life in the south west of Western Australia. Which I must admit I am pretty excited about, saying that we now live in the South West has a certain ring to it that my inner cowgirl really enjoys.

Yesterday saw us pick up our keys to our new home. A small 4x2 that after living in Edna for so long actually feels like a mansion. The girls excitedly ran from room to room trying to decide who would get which room. They have never had a room to themselves before.

We will slowly move our things over in the next few days. It is crazy to think how quick we were able to accumulate stuff once we decided to stay in one spot.

Next week the girls will start school and hopefully jobs for Mr A and I will magically appear sooner rather than later. Life will slip into a new type of normal, though I hope to maintain some adventure feel to it all. Life should always be an adventure.

One of the great things about returning to normal and four walls is the return of large quantities of high speed internet. With that comes the opportunity to blog more and sharing stories on a much more regular basis.

Not only will I be able to actively rejoin #teamIBOT but I will also be back to hosting Thankful Thursday. A super big thanks to Sarah for taking care of it while I was adventuring. Please come over and share some thanks with me on Thursday.

Joining in with Jess for IBOT 

Day 63 Sept 20

Today was meant to be our leaving day, though we decided a few days ago that we would stay on for another two nights. It is hard to not stay for longer but really there is no reason to. Other than read, walk on the beach and crochet there is not a lot to be done here. Which in many ways is the beauty of it all.

We have noticed that there are quite a few long term residents here. They arrive at the start of the season (April) and stay till the end of October. There are certainly worse places to spend six months of the year. Two of those long termers, Bill and Pam are leaving tomorrow. A few weeks earlier than what they normally would due to some ill health. We have been watching them pack and sort themselves out for the last few days. In some strange way it was all a bit sad.

What wasn’t sad though was when Pam asked me if I wanted to take her little box of lettuces with us. I had said to Mr Awesome at the start of the trip that I would like to take a little herb garden with me but he said it just wasn’t possible. Fingers crossed the dirt doesn’t fall out all through Edna the first time we move.

Late yesterday afternoon we gained some new neighbours. Rather close ones given how many empty spaces were available. It always amazes me how some people think camping is done best when sites are on top of one another. It also amazes me when people want to camp in close proximity to us, because you know, we have children and are (at least to my ears) noisy. Turns out that the new neighbours had children of their own though so perhaps that was why they thought being close would be a good thing.

Their two girls were close in age to Zany and Teapot. One was a year younger than Zany and the other a year older than Teapot. They had the most wonderful time all playing together. Children just seem to be drawn to playing at our camp. Which in many ways is very lovely but today I barely wanted my own children around let alone any extras.

I didn’t exactly sleep well the night before and woke up a tad on the grumpy side of life. To make things worse I was expecting a visit from Aunty Flo and her non arrival was making slightly anxious. As late as I am with most things in life, getting my period is not usually on the list. Unless of course there is a baby growing. Having another baby is the absolute last thing I want. My baby making days are done and dusted, I am quite happy working with the ones I have rather than starting again with new additions thankyouverymuch.

In slightly happier news though yesterday, despite it's somewhat dubious start, turned out to be a bit of a cracker of a day. Once every one else had caught up on the whole getting up thing Mr Awesome and I enjoyed our coffee together and these two little fellows decided to stop by and say hello. I really do love watching birds.

Shortly after Mr A, living up to his name realised that I was not necessarily in the mood for dealing with the trials and tribulations of children and bundled the little two up and took them down the beach. 

After enough peace and quiet, when I felt able to deal with the never-ending tirade of the cries of mum that are inevitable whenever I am in the presence of children, I mustered up the energy to walk down to the sand and investigate what they had all been up too. 

As it turned out they had been up to some pretty masterful sand castle creating. Standing there, surveying the scene before me, my heart began to swell as I was once again reminded of just how incredibly awesome Mr Awesome actually is. Something tells me there are few fathers that would spend a morning creating a sand castle masterpiece such as this.

Still hanging at Barn Hill. Day 59 (Sept 16)

Today I took the opportunity today to finish reading the Hunger Games series. Still amazed that I had written it off when the rest of the world was raving about it.

While I submersed myself in my book the girls happily entertained themselves. Though by the afternoon they started to require my attention.

I loved how Lovely was so insistent on being the one
to run beside her.

Since I had not really done a lot of moving over the last few days I decided it was the perfect time to work on teaching Teapot how to ride her bike without training wheels. There was plenty of flat open ground and not a lot of people around so it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

She has such a great sense of balance and can ride a scooter incredibly well I figured it would not take much to get her biking riding. It was more about building her confidence up to try than anything else.

After a bit of convincing to just have a go she was away and before long the big sisters were in on the act of helping her get started and she was cycling like a professional.

Once the novelty of cycling wore off, or rather we got sick of helping her get started we headed down to the beach to explore in the other direction. So far most of our waking had involved walking to our left. Today we headed to our right. 

It was much like the left only completely different as well.

The rocks didn’t seem to be as red and the distance the water came up seemed to differ as well. We did however find some lovely spots to take a few selfies!

As is so often the case, the walk home so every one else out in front while I toddled on behind, snapping away at all kinds of things that took my fancy.

Including this,

Father and daughter skipping along the water's edge together

which could very well be one of my most favourite photos ever. 

Though this one also rates rather high on the list.

The perfect end to another fabulous day in paradise.

There's something I need to say

I came across this little flower today
when I stopped to watch some waves for
a bit. I love how something that is
essentially a weed still has such a
beauty to it. 

For those avidly following on my adventure tales this one might seem a out of place. Given that when last I wrote it was only day 58 and all. I promise I will get to sharing it all, just for today I wanted to share the moment.

It is funny the things that one learns about oneself when travelling on the road. And not just oneself either. Much insight can be gained about those travelling with you as well. Though I guess those that are truly astute about their inner being and the people around them may become aware of such things without the need to spend two hundred and twenty eight days moving from one spot to another. 

Yes that’s right today marks the the two hundred and twenty eighth day since we packed up and hit the road. It makes my heart race at great pace to think we actually made it to leaving. In the lead up I did have my doubts. Mr Awesome and I are both well known for being gunnas. You know gunna do this and gunna do that but more often than not nothing actually eventuates. I feared that #ouradventureofalifetime was going to pan out that way. 

Beyond thankful doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about the fact that those fears were unfounded. Waking up each day without a worry, care or concern in the world is an amazing feeling and for me it has taken this adventure to be able to do so. I had always thought of myself as a relatively stress free easy going type of soul. With the pressures and expectations of normal life removed I realise now I know what stress free living is all about. And let me tell you it is great, in fact it is better than great.

Mind you to say that I have loved and embraced every moment of the trip would not necessarily true. It has not always been rainbows and flowers. There have been days where the children have managed to reduce me to an endless flow of tears. As children a want to do I might add. However I don't think those times have been nearly as many as if we had of still been at home, doing the same thing that we have always done.

There have still been many a day where I have dreaded the onset of feeding hour. Which I do believe is worsened with all the fresh air and outside time our roadtripping lifestyle blesses us with. The continual rumbling tummies of children seem to have rumbled even more so. However a lack of choices combined with the increased rumbling has lead to emptier plates than ever before.

It saddens me to think that this lifestyle has to come to an end. Deep down I did always know that it would I just longed and hoped it would be so much later rather than sooner. As it turns out it is actually the other way.

According to our grand master plan we should still have another hundred and thirty seven days on the road. Sadly that will not be the case. 

It literally pains my heart to say that our journey will end in about twenty three days. Give or take a few. In so many ways it makes me feel like some type of failure. Which while deep down I know is ridiculous I still can’t help but feel it.

As always though, all is not lost.

For as much as #ouradventureofalifetime is temporarily being put on hold a new exciting chapter in our lives is getting ready to begin. You see when the end of the month arrives and our travelling days end we will not be pulling up stumps in sunny Darwin. Instead we are going to be in Bunbury, experiencing winter and all that comes with starting life a fresh in a new place. Which in so many ways is just a little exciting.