Is it worth it?

It's such a mission to go out alone with my three so unless I am visiting family and friends - I don't do it!.....with the exception of going to the library. I try to take Keira alone in the mornings to Story Time when Damo is home to look after the twins but he has been working earlier shifts so lately, I've had to take all three babies with me and when we don't make it to Story Time at 10am, we still go during the day to make returns, re-borrow and to keep up the library routine.

Getting all three kidlets and myself dressed to go out: 40 mins

Loading three kidlets in the car: 10 mins

Drive to the library: 10 mins

Unloading car including pram: 10 mins

Keira borrowing books and DVDs: 5 mins  (10 mins if I get a chance to borrow something and 30 mins if we make it to Story Time)

Re-loading car to go home: 10 mins

Drive home: 10 mins

Unloading three kidlets: 10 mins

So it takes more than 1 hour to make our weekly 10 min library outing (or 30 mins for Story Time outing) and I have asked myself "Is it worth it?" on more than one occasion.

When we get home:

Keira excitedly opens up one of her DVD's to play

Keira and sometimes the twins are entertained by the DVD for 30-60 mins. Keira is often dancing and jumping along having fun

I read the books we borrow to put Keira to sleep

A few days later, Keira is singing the tunes to the new songs and repeating new words from the books I've read to her

This is when my question is answered: Yes it is worth it!

Keira is such an expert at borrowing DVD's - she has it done in 5 mins! lol

Keira-isms: Winter sun

Keira loves to wear dresses and she loves dressing up. These Winter days, I dress her in the morning in long pants and jumpers and when I'm not looking she'll change into a dress or a tutu. She has a 'favourites' collection, which includes this dress given to her by Damien's Aunty Fou for her first birthday.

We've been lucky to have beautiful sunny Winter days which for me means doing the laundry and for Keira it's an opportunity to play in the back yard while I hang out the washing.

I've never really noticed her playing on her own before but now that I have developed an iphone camera/instagram obsession, I stopped hanging the washing and took a moment to capture her running around and playing with her shadow in the Winter sun. I love how she can entertain herself in her own little imaginary world and I hope that she will share this world with her siblings as they get older so that I can capture many more of these playful moments.

Twin-isms: Twin bond

When we were told we were having fraternal twins, the Dr told us it was like having two separate pregnancies at the one time. People like to think of twins as having a special bond because they've grown together in the womb and when they are born they need to be put together because they are so used to each other and can't be separated. Not my twins. When they were first born it was each to their own. Like most newborns they just wanted their mama and there was no indication of trying to reach out for the sibling whom they had shared a womb with for 38 weeks. Our boy Lucas, even though the youngest by a minute was more domineering and attention seeking. When Montana cried Lucas would cry louder - he always wanted to be held and he did not want to share. Even when they slept in the same cot - they still cried and preferred to sleep with me. You would think that they'll be comforted having another baby next to them. Not my two. They had their first separation when they were one week old when Lucas went to the hospital to get his cast and there was no separation anxiety at all. I remember thinking how right the Dr was - it did feel like I had two pregnancies at the same time as I saw no twin bond between them whatsoever. I was beginning to think that maybe it only applied to identical twins until one day - 11 days after they were born, I checked in on the sleeping twins and saw this:

Awwww YES they do have a bond and they ARE aware of each other. They show it in their own way. Now that they are older, I catch them looking at each other and there is an unspoken, unique communication only between the two of them. There is no denying that they have their own special twin bond. We love it when they share this with us.

Below are pictures of the twins playing around - Lucas was trying to get onto Montana's bouncer and she was kicking him off and he thought it was so funny. Too cute!

We look forward to seeing their twin bond grow, nourish and develop together and with others (as long as they don't gang up on mummy and daddy!)

Photo a Day July Part 1

Our internet has been down so I haven't been able to post on my blog lately. Here is part one of July's Photo a Day pics:

1. Self portrait - I was trying to take a self portrait but Keira kept on trying to get in the picture so in the end I included her in it :)

2. Busy - I was so busy packing my shopping that I almost forgot to take my $50 cash out. Thank goodness for the annoying computer voice reminding me to take my money!

3. Best part of my day - 2am shopping at 24 hour Kmart. No kids, no lines, no crowds and cheap prices = shopping bliss :) I go at this time when Damo gets home from work the all the kids are asleep :)

4. Fun - Keira loves bubbles and she had fun chasing them on our front lawn. It was a bit tricky trying to blow bubbles and take a picture with my phone at the same time but I'm happy with what I captured :)

5. On the floor - Twins playing and crawling around on the floor. They are moving around so much!

6. Chair - Keira was entertaining Montana in her high chair by singing Ring a Ring a Rosie and Montana was laughing at the Ah tissue part. It was sooo cute xo

7. Garden - Even in Winter my dad's backyard garden still looks lush!

8. Lunch - Baked Chilli Lime salmon with apple corn salad. It was delicious! One week of NO junk food detox down, two more to go. Healthy eating needs a little more prep but it is worth it

9. Big - Toot toot chugga chugga Big Red Car - Keira enjoyed this ride at Westfield and didn't want to get off! It looks like this car has seen better days!

10. My favourite colour - Yellow is my favourite colour but all my favourite fruits are red. I love watermelon, strawberries and cherries which are in season :)

11. Letter - M is for Missing. I found this letter in the backyard and other letters ALL over the place thanks to Miss Keira. Now my poor twins no longer have a floor mat :(

12. Texture - This is a tree from our front garden - I think it's a Mulberry tree. I took this in a rush because it was starting to rain but it turned out pretty good! :) 

13. Open - This is a boring picture of  waiting for the shopping door to open when I went grocery shopping with the kids and Dees who was over. It was the end of the day and I had totally forgot to get a picture so I took this while in a rush

14. Building - We didn't go out today so it was either this picture of Keira's doll house or my building washing basket. Damo said to go for the doll house haha Keira got it for Xmas from my sister and although she has lost most of the people and furniture she still loves playing with it

15. Finger - The best way to eat Cheesy Gobbles is on your finger haha I was lucky to get Keira to keep her hands still for this shot!

16. Sign - The twins had a bit of conjunctivitis and I found them like this when I went in to check on them. A heart melting sign of twin bonding xo

17. My addiction - I love my herbal teas which I drink 2-4 times a day. I especially love the Twinnings brand of berry flavours

18. Plate - I baked some Anzac biscuits and from the empty plate it looks like it was enjoyed by all :)

19. Pet - We don't have a pet so it was a stroke of luck that we went over to the Simpson's place today to do our tax and so I took a pic of their cute dog Terminator aka Termie

20. Eyes - Playing Peek a Boo with Montana

21. 9 o'clock - 9am and everyone is still asleep. I'm in bed editing iphone pics for my blog including this one of Lucas with Great grandma Maria. Love it xo

22. Upside down - I'm going to miss their cute little socks (and feet) when these are outgrown (which is very soon! :( 

Snap Happy Aunties

Every time we see my cousins, they whip out their mobile cameras and take heaps of photos of my three babies which they then post up on instagram and Facebook or they sms me the photos a few weeks later with an 'I miss them' message. It is really sweet that my kidlets have snap happy aunties :)

My cousin Teia took these photos of Lucas last week and I am so impressed! I love these photos of my handsome little man. I told her so and she replied that it's all him because he is so gorgeous and I couldn't argue with that! :)

My sister Flavia upgraded her SLR camera and wanted to test it out on my girls when we went to my parents place for a visit a few weeks ago. Below are some of the photos she took. Fabulous new camera + great photographer + gorgeous models = beautiful photos :)

Keira

Montana

June Highlights

June was a busy and exciting month. Here are some of the things we got up to:

We started going to Story Time at Casula Library which is on every Monday. We first went there with our church play group a few weeks ago and the library had a Science Play expo on which was fun for the kids. Keira also enjoys choosing the books and DVD's to borrow which keeps her entertained and busy at home (a little relief for me) so I've added a weekly library trip to our routine :)


Keira having fun exploring the different and fun activites at Science Play

The twins got into the action too at Science Play

A new milestone for the twins - they are now eating solids :) They started on organic baby rice cereal and are now onto their fruits and vegetables. They are great eaters and enjoy their food although the flip side is that now their poos are starting to change as well! :( 

Lucas is having a bad hair day! haha

Montana has an Islander appetite and loves her food :)

I decided to take Keira out of pre school until I go back to work in 3 months so I can spend as much time with all the kids at home. I put Keira in twice a week when the twins were born so that she could continue to have the learning and socialising of child care and so I could spend time with the twins as Keira still commands so much attention which was hard for me whilst nursing two new borns. Now the twins are older and settled and I can give Keira the attention she needs. I know I'm really going to miss being at home full time with all three babies (as chaotic as it is) so I need to make the most of it while I still can.



Keira with her teachers Miss Joanne and Miss Angela from Kids United. They only cater for children 2 years and up so I would've had to take Keira out anyway as I would prefer all three go to the same centre. We might return in 2 years time if we still live in the area :)

The saying goes that when one door closes, another one opens. My friend Kristall and her sister Jasmine have a play school for their children and we're going to join in together with our other friend Darcel and her kids. I'm excited because now that Keira is finished with child care, she will still have that weekly learning and social environment with this play school and who better than with my friends kids :) Between the four of us plus Kristall's brother's daughter - there are 13 kids under 6!! We are going to rotate a teaching and activities roster between the 4 of us mums which will start later in July. From the pictures below, it looks like the kids are having too much fun playing  but I'm sure we'll be able to get a few ABC's in there or we might be a little too ambitious with the teaching part but I guess time will tell - play school could turn into just play dates but I'm sure the kids will still have fun!

 

The last highlight of the month - Montana has just started to crawl! She is such a little adventurer  and can't stay still. Lucas is on his hands and knees and not far off from crawling either. These pics were taken by my cousin Mathilde (Tildy) while she was babysitting the twins with her mum Aunty Zinda. It's hard to believe how fast they have grown!!

  

Photo A Day June - Week 4

Day 25. Something Cute - Montana's Summer sandals that I ordered from online. This is the first time I tried them on her as I couldn't work how to put them on but when I did - they just looked so cute!

Day 26. Where you Shop - I took this when I went to our local fruit and vegetable shop. We go there at least once a week to shop for our juicer. We love this shop especially with its discount prices :)

Day 27. Bathroom - I was at the library with the kids and Keira needed to wash her hands, so she ran to this door - just as well as it's the only toilet that could fit the twin pram!

Day 28. On the Shelf - Keira's last day at preschool today until I go back to work in 3 months.

Day 29. Soft - My boy Lucas has the softest skin and is so soft and cuddly. Love him to pieces!

Day 30. Friend - Keira and Kingston playing together at play group. This was taken the day before and I couldn't choose one picture so I chose 4 out of 10! It's so lovely seeing my kids play with my friends kids and I hope they will become good friends too :)

Why Photo a Day?

I've completed another Photo a day month and I love it! I  post my photos daily on Instagram  (iphone app) and I have become an Instagram addict! Last month, 3 of my friends joined in and in July, I have 5 friends joining in! This was created by Fat Mum Slim and she recently wrote a post about 5 ways photo a day will change your life for the better.  The first four points are the reasons why I love to play along and why I'm going to continue to particpate in the Photo a Day challenge :)

1. It makes your stop and smell the roses. Or take photos of them
Photo a day makes you take a moment each day to stop, think and shoot. There were a few days earlier this year that I was doing it tough. Work was really stressful, things were happening with my health, we weren’t sure where we were going to live, it was just general stressful ‘stuff’. To stop each day and take a moment to be explore and take a photo was a real blessing. It’s great to give yourself even just that small amount of time each day to play.

2. It makes you explore your creative side
I’m a creative person, so much that it sometimes drives me a bit batty – I flit from one project to another and my brain never stops being inspired. I’ll try anything creative; painting, drawing but photo a day is simple. It doesn’t cost anything {other than the cost of the camera and your internet connection} and doesn’t make a mess. For some it might be the first time they’ve paid attention to their creative needs since painting in school. It’s a good thing!

3. It makes people come together as a community
I see friendships forming everywhere around photo a day. They’re blossoming on my Facebook page, people are forming their own private groups for sharing and others are connecting on Instagram. Last night I saw that a virtual party was being organised to celebrate the end of #photoadayjune by some lovely bloggers. I’ve made friends too. It’s a great way to connect with other people from all around the glove, around something positive and fun.

4. It makes you see beauty in the everyday
I’ve started to see photo opportunities in things that I use to walk by everyday and not really take any notice of. Things like the perfect brick wall, a garden, signs, shops, etc. It’s made me realise just how beautiful the every day can be. Once you start shooting away, you’ll soon do the same!

5. It makes the world a smaller place
Last night I took a photo of the floor at a local ice cream shop. The comments came in after I shared it on Instagram. A few people lived near it, others had visited previously and one girl even worked there. It’s a small, small world. Earlier this month I flew to North Queensland for a holiday, and on my flight back home I sat next to Pip. It changed my life that moment and I wrote about it here. The next day the pilot from my flight commented on my photo on Facebook to say sorry for the turbulence, that she was flying my plane and that she took a similar photo a day too, from up in the air. Isn’t that crazy? My pilot on that flight plays photo a day? I love those moments.