Delightful dribbling #1

I just had the most wholesome weekend. I'm throwing it out there, it was great. If I wrote down an itemised list of all I did it wouldn't seem like much and some of it not fulfilling at all, but I can definitely say my cup was full by the end of it. Before I elaborate a few things to note about me; I am an introvert that leans towards the homebody life with a splash of social interaction, I LOVE food and especially beautifully nourishing food, and quality time is my main love language.

So on the outside I guess it started less than ideal. My husband was working Saturday and I woke to my daughter (Miss L) having gastro with her nappy half hanging off and poo throughout her sleep suit that was leeching through to the linen. We're in the middle of toilet training but we have yet to toilet train under the delightful conditions that gastro presents. The first couple of hours of the day involved constant trips to the toilet for her leaky bum, attempting to wrangle my 11 month old (Mr J) and keep him away from the toilet paper roll because it's so much fun to play with, doing a few loads of washing to get toys, clothes and bedding clean, and trying to get breakfast ready for the troops.

Calm then ensued and despite the gastro we had some beautiful time to connect throughout the day. A full day purely at home. I put the housework behind me and did the bare minimum so I could be present and actually in the moment with the kids. I'm a big believer that kids need opportunities to be in a slow environment to recharge and regulate, and for this to be in a safe and connected environment. My two have just jumped to two days at daycare each (Miss L was once per week, Mr J has only just commenced), so for them it was even more important to me that they had this opportunity.

We had some extra TV time while cosying up to the teddies, rolling on the floor time, crawling on the floor playing chasey time, and soaked up some sunshine outside for some water play. The weather has been very hot but also humid, and our air conditioner is an evaporative one which isn't quite as effective in the humidity, so being outside with a few tubs of water is the cooler place to be. One of my favourite moments was using the hose to quickly spray water into a cup so it would propel itself out the top and overflow, and Mr J giggling the most cutest baby giggle so much so he loses his balance while sitting and falls backwards onto the grass. We brush him off and continue to spray water into the cup because what baby doesn't like repetition and what human doesn't like the sound of baby giggles?! Those small moments are ones to cherish.

I can certainly say that breastfeeding has impacted my sense of independence at times but on this rare occasion, and after the bedtime feed, I was foot loose and fancy free in the city with four of my closest friends. It's the time of the annual Fringe Festival here in Perth, an exhibition of the most amazingly wild entertainment that extends from comedy to circus, cabaret and music. All of us are mums and I think we are averaging a proper, uninterrupted catch up once every couple of months so this was a real treat to be able to head out for dinner and drinks. The show we saw was called 'Off Chops' and it was the most hilarious 45 minutes I've experienced in a long time. True belly laugh material. It seems so simple as the show pays homage to a rowdy night out with sticky dance floors, too many shots, and the 3am walk home, but I would happily see this show over and over again. After the show we went for a couple more drinks, a bus ride back to one of the ladies' houses, a quick lie on the back lawn staring up at the sun talking smack, and then home time. Bliss.

I'm still up relatively early to breastfeed and Sunday was no exception, although Tom was supportive of me having a little extra sleep after I had finished. This was another day at home with no planned activities. We played loud music and danced as a family, we rolled on the floor a little more, we made and ate some delicious food together and we spent some time out the back. At one point we were all sitting in the cubby singing happy birthday to each other with the toy wooden cake (Miss L asked for a birthday cake from Santa and boy did Santa produce the goods. The cake is segmented into pieces and joined together by velcro, and it even has candles on top!). Of course there were still the relentless tasks of making constant snacks and cleaning up but with snippets of fun and laughter in between it seemed so much easier.

When my husband and I are having days where we feel content, or even an activity where we feel content, we look at each other and joke saying 'ahhh... these are the days'. This weekend was one of those days.