Missing them

This is where I missed my family the most.

By the lake in Daylesford, I imagined us laying the table with the old pink and green kilim that we picked up on travels through Turkey. Setting out our worn green tupperware containers most likely filled with 'the usual' ham and rocket quiche and wholemeal (shhhhh...) choc chip cookies. A bag of apples, uneaten because I will have forgotten the knife and 'moon chips' are the only way to go. A fight would break out between Maxi and Cappers over who gets to sit where, ending only after the Badoo elbows out the pair of them and plonks herself front and centre. You don't argue with an entire Badoo.

After brunch the Tsunamis would get busy chasing the creek behind us, climbing up and down the hill while they floated sticks and sank stones. LOML and I would gaze across the stillness of the lake, holding hands and counting our blessings.

This is where I missed my family the most.

Do you enjoy family picnics? Got a favourite spot to share?

This week I'm grateful for... books

Aunty Al and her two junior burgers have been up to stay with us this week. What a laugh we all had - especially the children as the five of them tore through the homestead, breaking everything in their path. Yep, that was pretty funny indeed. Aw, what does it matter when both the destruction and  noise levels are so high that you just know your children are writing the story of their childhood. When I was young, our cousins would come to stay and we would...

So, this week I'm grateful for...

151. Visitors - I make no secret of the fact that I'm not a big fan of routine. What better way to spice up the week than have fun (and funny) people to stay?

152. Books - Even better when my guests love books as much as I do. Al, Aunty Coo and I decided that what we needed more than a night on the tiles (sorry Woogsy) was a night perusing cheap books at the local Lifeline book fair (as you do). Open until 9pm, by the time we settled the kids, ate some dinner and found the darn place we had all of 27 minutes to snap up approximate 53 children's books each. It was a book buying frenzy, let me tell you. And I'm still recovering from the bizarreness of the Lifeline staff... but that's another post entirely.

153. Little gems - And would you believe that among my 53 snapped-up-in-seconds books was a little gem of a children's book called The It-Doesn't-Matter Suit written by Sylvia Plath and published posthumously in 1996. Sylvia Plath does children' books! How random! I do love a book fair!

So, what's making you smile today? Add your I'm Grateful For post to the list below (and please, we love you, but it really does matter that your post is a Grateful one and not just a random), add the button (grab the code from my sidebar and paste it into your post) and pretty-please add a link back to me. Then pop over to visit other bloggers who are spreading a little sunshine. 

[Image by note.worthy found on Flickr]

Mia Famiglia Italiana: Parte uno

My husband is a first-born Australian; his family is Italian. His mama is from a little village outside of Benevento (near Naples) called Ferrarisi and his father is from a Sicilian island called Lipari. Theirs is a rich, joyous history full of the Italian passion for Catholicism, la dolce vita and concrete.

When I first met LOML, he was 27 and a good Italian boy living at home with his family. At 24, I had been living out of home for over six years and thought that still being at home was... quaint. This was before Gen Y made it fashionable, of course. For the Italians, it never went out of style. "Why you need to rent something? You buy a place and you rent it out to somebody else!" That's my FIL talking there.

I met his family a couple of months after we started seeing each other - by then we were head-over-heels in love. Was every member of the extended family actually present that day? Row after row of sun-kissed Italian faces wrapped in head scarves. Neat and small with tiny sensible shoes. I towered over the room like some giant Celtic monument.

It was quickly established that my family was originally Irish. It wasn't something that I had ever given much thought to, but these things carried great weight with the Italians and it seemed very important that we focus on my Irishness. Probably the Catholic thing.

After much discussion and general checking-out, LOML's ancient Nonno (really only 78, but the booming Italian Godfatherish voice made him seem much older) decided that I was okay. "She might not be Italian," he declared. "But she has Italian hands." It was agreed by all present that this was enough. Irish with Italian hands was enough.

Since that very first day, I have always been delighted by the sheer Italianness of LOML's famiglia. They drive me absolutely bonkers on occasion, but generally we get along beautifully. There is a rhythm and pace to the way they live that is still foreign and wonderful to me after almost fifteen years. We get together, we shout at each other (why speak when you can shout?); I barely understand half of what is said (even when speaking fluent English, their accents are so thick!) but I gesture with those Italian hands as much as I possibly can and it is still, thank god, enough.

What's your heritage or your adopted family's? 

Does it mean a lot to you?

[Image found here. Translation: The important thing is not to be rich with money, necklaces, gold or jewellery. The important thing is to be rich with dreams, friends and love.]

Threedom

How many children a family has is sometimes not a decision that they get to make. Heartbreaking infertility, loss, dreams never forgotten. But often the family does have a choice to make and it's one that can be torturous and endless. How many children should we have?

How many is the right number for us?

In my experience, you know when you know. We didn't feel 'finished' after Maxi or Cappers, but after The Badoo, we were done. It was just a knowing inside that three was the right number for us and we've never waivered, never thought four could have been it. Or, whoops, two.

Three is a classic number of children. The oldest, the middle and the youngest. For anyone wondering if three is the right number for them, remember that there's always a third wheel there. Always a trike, never graduating to the big bike. We parents are outnumbered and there is always one who won't fit on the lap. Three means you might have to have your children really close together in age. Three is a little bit more chaotic than two and less neat than four. Three is sometimes being left out.

When I had a boy first and a girl second, I was pleased as punch that a third meant that one of my children would experience a same-sex sibling relationship. And overjoyed when it was sisters. Sorry, Maxi-Taxi, I have no experience of being a brother but I do know that sisters can be the key to a lifelong treasure chest.

Yes, Three is a gang. Three is balanced. Three is having a spare when a sibling relationship sours. Three is an extra person to ask for advice. Three is one to hold each hand.

Three says I. Love. You.

How many children do you have? Was it a decision you got to make? What's the best thing about your number for your family?
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This week I'm grateful for... memories

How was your Easter? Did you get a chance to put your feet up and eat way too much chocolate?

I did!

We enjoyed ourselves silly down at Gran and Pops' house in Fibrotown. We always do. Gran and Pops still live in the house I grew up in and it's always going to be 'home' to me. I love that I can tuck the Tsunamis up for the night in the very room that I used to be tucked up in. I love that they can go wild with their adored cousins in the very backyard where I went wild with mine. I love that there is a memory around every corner (mostly because my dad is one of those dads who refuse to throw anything away, but more on that some other time!).

So, this week I'm grateful for...

118. Memories - and the time to indulge in them. My memory isn't the best, but I love those flashes of certainty you get from time to time when you remember something that you thought you'd forgotten.

119. Chocolate - what would Easter be without it? But I'm especially grateful that these days chocolate is a genuine 'sometimes' treat for me rather than a 'most day's indulgence. And really, who cares if 'sometimes' I eat, like, car loads of the stuff... That's still 'sometimes', right?

120. Support - I'm still a bit choked up over the support my blog received on her (she's definitely a girl) first birthday. Sob. What an honour it is to play a little part in so many wonderful women's and Glen's blogging life.  Thank you.

So, what's making you smile today? Add your I'm Grateful For post to the list below (and please, we love you, but it really does matter that your post is a Grateful one and not just a random), add the button (grab the code from my sidebar and paste it into your post) and pretty-please add a link back to me.  Then pop over to visit other bloggers who are spreading a little sunshine. 

Happy weekend to you!

[Image by Soup and Sunday]

Nuclear Power

I had a great time meeting up with my Mum and Dad and siblings on Saturday night. Al and MultipleMum had just been to the AustBlogCon, so after a quick catch-up on who's who in the bloggy zoo, we were free to just hang out with The Rentals and my youngster brother (aka TICH). It had been years since it was just the six of us sitting around the dinner table. Just like old times, except that despite my most persuasive efforts, Mum and Dad refused to move their chairs around to the heads of the table, so it wasn't quite like the old days, but, hey, close enough.

What a privilege it was to step away from my every day responsibilities and regress, just a little. Not parent-me or wife-me or even grown-up-me. Just a sister and a daughter basking in the company that has known and loved me my whole entire life. We were silly beyond words, occasionally serious (religion! again!), always scathing of anyone who dared to hesitantly raise an opinion that differed from the gang. Ah, family.

There is something deeply comforting about my nuclear-six. My marriage is a beautiful one, my darling children aren't going anywhere, but there was a comfort-level on Saturday night that I felt cocooned by. These are my people.

They know me. They grew me.

Have you caught up with your nuclear sans new family lately? 

Do you have a good time together? What do you usually talk about?

[Image by Amanda Gilligan]

This week I'm grateful for... mundanity

When I was younger I used to shy away from routine and what I perceived to be a boring life. I would do anything to avoid conformity and frowned upon anything I considered to be 'establishment'. I'm a reckless, challenging person at the best of times but there was a patch in my life there where I felt out of control and I thought I loved it.

How wrong I was.

A quiet family life has brought me more happiness than I ever could have mustered as a young punk. My life is fun, funny, interesting, satisfying and rich. It's the same old me, but with a new level of maturity and an appreciation for what some people know from a much earlier age than I: being proud of your lot and content within it are two of the keys to great happiness.

So, this week I'm grateful for...

1. Mundanity - not the profanity I always expected it was. There is loud joy in quiet contentment.

2. Flowers - and the beautiful bearer of them.

3. Sparkle shoes - you make my youngest daughter dance.

So, what's making you smile today? Grab my I'm grateful for... button from my sidebar if you like, add your I'm Grateful For post below and please add a link back to me in your post. Then pop over to visit other bloggers who are spreading a little sunshine. Happy weekend to you!


[Image by thimble and violet]

♥ Loving holidays

Claire (Modern Family): I'm a mom traveling with my kids. This isn't a vacation; it's a business trip!

Deep down, I sorta, kinda find holidays with my young children a bit hard work.  Same shite, different location. There's never a question of 'getting away from it all' - the whining, the bickering, the 'mum can I'ing... it's all coming with us.

Still, that doesn't stop me from being euphoric at the idea of getting away from it all. The relaxing, the lack of routine, the newness of it all. Frankly, these days the thrill is in the idea of a holiday.

So, theoretically, I've already had my holiday. I've been looking forward to this week away up the coast of NSW for two months now. We're in a house on a lake (the view above is what I'll be looking at - the photo was taken the last time we were at the lake) with a darling cafe right by us. There are little tinnies for fishing and bikes for riding, a playground, a sandy beach, a BBQ, a deck with a view. Magic. And for all my moaning, I really can't wait to be with my gorgeous tsunamis and their equally yummy dad  for a whole week, uninterrupted. Gran and Pops are even joining us, so quality time for everyone - something I cherish.

While I'm gone, I've asked a few of my most favourite writers to come and write on the topic "What my children have taught me about myself". It's a topic that interests me hugely and my guest writers are all so very unique in their approach to blogging and mothering that I think we're in for a real treat.


My Friday writer is Gillian Martin, co-author of Cocktails at Naptime: the Woefully inept Guide to Early Motherhood . Gillian has generously given me two copies of her very funny, very fabulous book to give away. To be in the draw, all you have to do is leave a comment sometime during the week to show my guests some love (or WTF?, of course. We're all about honesty here in Maxabellaland!!). Every comment gives you an extra ticket in the draw.

I hope you enjoy the week! I'm sure I will... really!

This Saturday I'm grateful for... toothbrushes

Here in Maxabellaland, Saturday is traditionally a sport, shop, sort the clothes, sweep the floors, strangle the Tsunamis (insert other 's' words here - no pun intended) kinda day. But it's nice to pause to appreciate the things in your life that are positive and affirming, whatever they may be. I thought it might be nice for us all to do a Saturday Grateful post and link up for lovely bloggy visits.


This Saturday I'm grateful for...


1. My toothbrush. I left it at home when I went to Melbourne. I will never take it for granted again. The path to instant freshness.*

2. My brother in law. You ferry the tsunamis from here to there, you fill the car with petrol, you loan me your camera when mine goes belly up, you look after our house while we're away, you fill our children's worlds with motorbikes and fast cars and girls, girls, girls. We love you, Guis.

3. Murchinson-Hume "Boys Bathroom" Cleaner. Tackles the job with heavy gusto, smells lightly of sweet grapefruit. Almost makes me want to clean!

What's making you smile today? Sign up to the linky and enjoy visiting other grateful bloggers today.

* Of course I bought one in Melbourne... my goodness, the things you think of me!

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Mixing mamahood and work: a reply

Yesterday Kahli from little. lovely guest posted her 'Top 5 tips for working mums" over at Fat Mum Slim's. I started to write a comment in reply and then realised that my comment was growing and growing and, really, I should just write my own post and link on back.

So, what made my comment grow and grow?

Well, I had issues. As much as I appreciated where Kahli was coming from (and indeed, on investigation of her site, she seems more than a little lovely herself), I felt that many of her "top five tips" missed the mark for over-stretched, over-committed, over-it mummas. Here are Kahli's tips and my thoughts in reply:


1. Get organised. I’ve found the most important key to success has been organisation. The more organised I am, the less stressed I feel. Plan your weekly meals in advance, order groceries online and always organise as much as you can the night before to avoid a mad rush out the door.

100% agree with you, Kahli so, ah... moving right along.


2. Leave guilt behind. Guilt is often a working mother’s nosy neighbour, popping in when you’re busy, tired or simply feeling low. Try to leave guilt at the door. More often than not, it’s a sign you’re trying to be the best mother you can be and that’s all you – or anyone else – can ask for.

Seriously? A neighbour? Guilt is more like my permanent lodger, popping in all day, every day. I can't leave it at the door because it lives inside me. If I'm going to be a happy mumma and worker, I need to embrace the guilt and make it work hard for its keep. So if I'm feeling guilty about a particular thing, I don't ignore it, I investigate it and try to find ways to change things enough to keep guilt a happy camper.



3. Define work and play. If you’ve found yourself rocking a baby with one arm and responding to emails with another, try separating the two. When you’re working, work and when you’re mothering, mother. Otherwise you may feel you don’t either well. This might mean getting up early or working after your babies are in bed, but you’ll probably find you’re far more productive (and happier) when you do.

This one doesn't come up much for me as I mainly work away from home and when I do work from home my children are in their regular daytime places (school, preschool, with grandparents, daycare). BUT... in general I think the boundaries of 'work time is work time' and 'home time is home time' end up creating more stress than they hope to prevent. Of course they are going to blur - it's not work/life balance, it's just life. Mine changed for the better when I got a BlackBerry that meant that I can do after hours work where ever I am, if that's what I choose to do.

My advice to mums who do work from home and are stressed to the max is to question whether you really can be committed to two full-time jobs that require your attention at the same time. Look for loving childcare alternatives to help you make it work. Or ensure your work knows that you will be working from the hours of 7pm until 1am or whatever works for you. Otherwise, you're really not doing either your babies or your work a favour and it's not fair on anyone. Especially your little ones because if you're anything like me you really like the work you do and can get totally absorbed in it such that a little voice saying "Mummy can I" becomes like nails down a blackboard and it takes everything you've got not to snap bile at your little needy dearheart for interrupting your fun... Yes, I believe in the maxim "you can have it all, just not all at the same time."

As for getting up early to fit yet more stuff into your already over-burdened day, you must be joking, right?



4. Cherish your time off. We all know quality isn’t married to quantity so make your evenings and weekends sacred. Happy memories aren’t based on a catalogue of hours spent together, but rather what you did in the hours you had. The emails, washing and housework can wait.

Unfortunately, the emails, washing and housework really can't wait. If they wait they have a tendency to interbreed and create a giant overflowing inboxing, clothes wrecking, filthy mess loving beast who sucks the very life out of every household it encounters.

I don't know about Kahli, but there is no way I can just down tools and have a sacred evening or weekend as a family knowing that the beast is hungrily eating my house. So my advice here is to get the lot done as quickly as possible (cut any reasonable corner and speed a little - there are no traffic cops here) and then get out of the house for family time so that those little urchins of ours don't start feeding the monster again the second you've finished.


5. Be kind to yourself. Juggling work and the responsibilities of a family can be tough, so be kind to yourself. Take an extra long bath or buy a new magazine. And remember, it really doesn’t matter if your floors aren’t clean enough to serve dinner off. That’s what tables are for.

Be kind to yourself. Let the kids skip a bath or buy a new babysitter. And always remember that this is your actual life, not some weird dream you've found yourself in. So have a laugh whenever you can (laughing at the people with young children who are still trying to keep their floors clean would be a good place to start). That's what life is for.

Did you find Kahli's tips useful? Do you have other tips that might be helpful for over-burdened mothers?
 
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Things I learned this week including how much I love a wedding (budget)

1. Winter is the perfect time for a swim. Going with my kids don't melt theme, on the first day of August we allowed them to strip off to their undies and wade into the (it has to be said) rather icy waters at Greenwell Point on Sunday. Swinging from the mangroves, wading knee deep to catch tiny crabs, the Tsunamis and their cousin were embracing their kidhood with a relish that made my heart sing.

2. A simple car game makes the journey go-'round. We played '500 points if you spot a yellow car' and the Tsunamis were quiet and happy for at least 50kms. Hardly any fights (luckily none of them can count past about 25 so we pretty much had the floor).

3. And frankly, there just aren't enough yellow cars on the road these days. Whatever happened to colour*, folks?

4. The fabulous Dawn over at Beat Until Fluffy taught me how to make Sweet Potato Cookies. I'm yet to bake them, but any treat incorporating hidden vegetables is a treat indeed.

5. Modern Family is my new best show. It never fails to crack me up. Now, I'm a bit nervous at how much I can relate to these crazy characters, but they're entertaining just the same.

6. Models should not speak. Ever. No good can come of it. Gisele Bundchen's ode to 'it's called labor not holiday' was so irritatingly smug I just want to throw her in her Prada nappy bag and run over her with a Bugaboo Pram. And be warned: she has a new blog.

7. People are so kind and forgiving. We took an extra day on Monday so we could stay with Gran and Pops a bit longer down the coast. I let the school know, I let the daycare know... I forgot to let the after-school care people know and I also forgot about The Slowest Boy in the World who Annabelle collects from after-school care on Mondays. A frantic call from TSBITW's mum at 5pm and the sudden realisation that TSBITW was still at after-school care as dark descended, had me worried that the support chain might be compromised. I needn't have worried, they saw the funny side. How I love them.

8. I love weddings. Now, hear me out. It's not about the big frocks, it's about the big budgets. I don't care what the bride wears, but I do care what stationery she chose and I'm more interested in how she did the tables than her hair (or the groom, for that matter). Check out Snippet and Ink for lashings of creativity.

9. "If you take too long in deciding what to do with your life, you'll find you've done it." -George Bernard Shaw

10. Charlie and Lola are quite possibly the best role models for brothers and sisters everywhere. We adore them in Maxabellaland.

Did you learn anything exciting this week? Was it a good one?

PS - Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, I look like a monkey and I'm mum to another three.

* Says she of the dark grey Ford Terror.


[Image from Snippet & Ink]

This Saturday I'm grateful for... grandparents!

Here in Maxabellaland, Saturday is traditionally a sport, shop, sort the clothes, sweep the floors, strangle the Tsunamis (insert other 's' words here - no pun intended) kinda day. But on Maxabella loves... I thought it would be grounding to make Saturday my 'grateful' day.

I'm writing this post in advance (it's Monday, I'm organised!) as this weekend we are off down the coast to visit Gran and Pops. They only live about 3 hours drive away, but we haven't been down since Anzac Day (and even then G and P were actually off on holiday themselves). So, it's been since Christmas time that we've been at Gran and Pops' place while G and P were actually there. Crazy!

The Tsunamis talk the entire 3 hours drive. Maxi-Taxi, in particular, is fond of a story and will not draw breath the entire journey. I've learnt to tune them out while I drive The Terror along the freeway, but the chattering is still headache inducing and I generally arrive in a somewhat crazed state. But there's nothing like coming back to the home I grew up in and, as ever, when your mum is around you're not the main mum. She lifts the burden of parenting just by being there.  A more experienced mum than yourself, she can be relied on to be the one who knows what needs to be done. Instant relaxation!

So, this Saturday I'm grateful for...

1. Grandparents - in all their loving glory.

2. The excited cry of 'there's a cow, mummy!' from the backseat of The Terror, which, aside from being just plain cute, signals that there will finally be more interesting stuff out the window than strip malls, boring bush or freeway to distract the Tsunamis for the rest of a long journey.

3. Weekend breaks - same shite, different location, I know. But a welcome break from routine all the same.

What's making you happy today?

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The loving links in my support chain

I'll apologise in advance for the loooong post, but there's a lot to say today.

About a week ago, as she returned to work after 18 months maternity leave, MulitpleMum wrote a fantastic post about being a working mother. It inspired to me think through what helps me manage the business of combining children and career.

Aside from being the reigning Mrs Organised Universe (read my previous post on getting three young children out of the house if you dare!) there is an even more important thing that relieves the strain of being a working mum. It's a mantra that working mums need to hear and believe at all times.

It takes a village, people.

If you're going to do the mum and career thing, you need a strong support chain either paid or friended. In a way, you need a support chain that can pick up the 'mumming' bit for you when you're at work or the 'worky' thing for you when you're being a mum. It's no good not asking for or finding the help you need. It's the support chain that gets you through thinking 'I'm lucky, grateful and managing' rather than 'I'm exhausted, worried and stressed'.
Our paid support chain is linked by nanny Annabelle, preschool, daycare, school and after school care (ASC). It's backed up with the loving 'friended' help from the children's paternal grandparents and uncle and our neighbours.

Annabelle does Monday and Tuesday pick ups from after school care and preschool / daycare. She works from about 4.15pm until 6.45pm and she's the reason I'm not tearing my hair out trying to collect children from three different places before 6pm. She brings them home and heats up the dinner I've left in the fridge. After dinner she starts baths which is generally about the time either myself or LOML gets home. So easy and worth every penny for the amount of stress she relieves on these two days. She's been with us for over a year and has seen The Badoo grow from a babe in arms to the cheeky little monkey she is today.

Preschool and daycare are obviously two other links in the support chain. I am fortunate that they are in the same lovely complex about 10 minutes drive from home. Cappers goes on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays to the preschool area and The Badoo is in the daycare on Mondays and Tuesdays only.  It is such a nuturing, peaceful place (yes, it's actually peaceful at a daycare!) and they both absolutely love it.

Maxi-Taxi goes to ASC in a dedicated classroom and area at his school on Mondays and Tuesdays until 4.30pm as Annabelle isn't available to collect him at 3pm. He goes with his neighbour and friend, Sasha, and Annabelle picks up both of them and drops Sasha home on her way. Maxi-Taxi loves having an extra place at school to call his own and I enjoy knowing that the fantastic girls who run the centre are always there for him, anytime. They run a school holiday programme which Maxi-Taxi attends once a week in the holidays.

Most mornings before school, Maxi-Taxi goes to Sasha's place and Andrea, Sasha's mum, drops him at school for me. In exchange, I take Sasha to school and soccer training on Wednesdays, my home day.  You can proably guess by now that Andrea and her family are like an extension of our own family. We're so lucky we live in the same street (there's a sweet story about how we met which I'll post one day soon).

Another very important link in my support chain is LOML's family. My beautiful, family-is-everything Italian in-laws look after the children on Thursdays and Fridays. They've done this since the children were babies. Nonno collects Maxi-Taxi and Cappers from school and daycare on Thursdays and Maxi-Taxi from school on Fridays. On Friday Cappers and The Badoo are with Nonna and Nonno all day. On Thursdays when Nonna is at work (she's the much loved cook in a daycare centre four days a week)  it's just Nonno and The Badoo, gardening and cleaning together like two little peas. LOML's much younger brother, Guis, is Nonno's back up and he often steps in to do the pick ups.

The final link in my support chain is my work. I treat 'em mean, but I'm always grateful for the flexibility they offer me. Family really does come first. I don't work on Wednesdays and I work from home every other Friday (when I try to stack in all my conference call meetings so I can clean my house while I'm on mute!) I generally leave the office at a reasonable time and keep up from my Blackberry, which is a godsend. Plus I have two adorable "work husbands" (well, my gay work husband calls himself the mistress) who will step in occasionally to keep the work ship floating when the captain is offshore.

There you have it. Another complicated arrangement, I know, but it works for us as the beat of our week. And it's a rhythm that we are all happy to dance to.

Do you rely on a support chain? Have you ever found yourself with broken links that make your stress levels rise? What else do you do to manage?

[Sweet heart chain by Little Jane Street]

The June Chronicles: What's on your fridge?

On Sunday as I gave my fridge a half-hearted swipe with a wet cloth, it occurred to me that in most households, the fridge door is a very dynamic, revealing chronicler of family life. Mine changes almost daily as artworks, notices, shopping lists and snippets come and go. I thought it would be fun to record and share what's on our fridges once a month. You can do it with photos on your own blog (linky at the end of this post, open for a week - I've never done this before so I hope it works...) or by comment below. I would love to hear from you either way!

The June Chronicles

There's a cute picture of friendly teeth that Cappers drew for the dentist but I forgot to take last visit. The sweet postcard is from Ivy Designs (customised with grey Cappers 'paper sculpture') and you can get these cute little loveheart magnets from kikki k.

There's a little cartoon that I've had since Maxi-Taxi was about 3 months old. It says: 6.07am. Only 12 and a half hours until Ned's bedtime. I related then. I relate now.

There's a picture of Kingston, whose 'education' we are sponsoring in Malawi through Plan International. This is the photo we received when we started sponsoring him. He's must be at least 23 now so I assume he's in about 5th grade.

There's a print-out of the 'five minute skirt' instructions from Angry Chicken that I was going to make next weekend last April.

There's an Elk postcard that I just like.

 And there's a picture of my beautiful nephews and niece, children of MultipleMum at And then there were four (make that 'and then there were four under four'... if you've ever struggled with finding the patience for your own young 'uns, you need to read this blog!)

That's my fridge for June. What's on your fridge right now?

The three sisters

Today I'm thinking about sisters. Yesterday I borrowed the idea for my redhead post from Life in a Pink Fibro (now that I think about it, most of the people who read my blog are Al's friends, so I kinda borrowed them too). And then there's MultipleMum commenting away about Chewbacca (yeah, thanks Coo). And it all got me thinking about how especially wonderful my sisters are.

I'm on dangerous ground here. Unlike myself, my sisters have a sub-zero tolerance for anything they consider sentimental, corny or, gasp, soppy. Best they look away now

It's interesting, though. Because the word 'sister' is attached to so much about 'women's relationships' these days. 'Sisterhood' has become a symbol of belonging and girl power and I really buy into that. But what of my 'real' sisters?

Well, no one in the world can irritate me the way they can. But they've been by my side through thick and thin. Speaking of thick, they're the first people to gently tell me when I'm missing the point, getting it wrong, being generally stupid. And speaking of thin, they're the first people to not-so-gently tell me I'm getting waaaaay fatter than is strictly tolerable. Like I said, thick and thin.

I love my sisters because I spend so much time with them and yet sometimes I feel like we've barely skimmed the surface of things to talk about. I love that a raised eyebrow speaks volumes. That there are code words that remind me of a whole era of my life (Frozen Food, Al?). Sometimes it feels that if I don't tell them that something happened, it didn't really happen.

I love them because we each take a completely different route to reaching the exact same conclusion. I love them because they're very caring and very wise (and opinionated, so very opinionated).  I love them because they're witty, interesting and huge amounts of fun. They make me feel good about myself, but they wouldn't dream of letting me get away with anything. If I confessed that I'd murdered someone, they'd help me hide the body but I'd be in for a 24 hour lecture on both the moral wrongness of the whole thing plus a few pointers on how I could improve my technique.

The lecture alone would make me rethink the whole murder thing.

I wonder if I just scored a couple of really good ones or if it's something to do with being sisters? Could 'sisters' officially be the most complex and best relationship in the world?

[Image: The Three Sisters, Blue Mountains]

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I rewound this post on 19.2.2011