Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Time for reflection...

It's New Year's Eve, and whilst most people are out celebrating the end of the year and welcoming in the new year I am home while Mia is fast asleep in the next room. My little lady and I just spent an afternoon splashing in a wading pool and bouncing on a trampoline, far from my usual NYE's!!
So whilst Mia is sound asleep, oblivious to all the fuss that is NYE, I am sober and colouring in a colouring book!! It was given to me as a Christmas present, a hint to take time out of my busy life and escape, something I often find very hard to do as I'm always finding a million activities to keep me occupied. I am finding the colouring to be extremely therapeutic and has given me the chance to look back and reflect upon the year that was, and what a year it was!
I finally got to go to my first tour down under race this year in Adelaide, no bike in tow but instead with baby and pram! I returned to work and started the juggling act that is work and motherhood. At times it's been a challenge and there have certainly been some road bumps along the way but I think Mia and I have survived the year! With my promotion and Mia thriving in childcare I would say that both of us managed to kick some pretty big goals (yay for us!)
I've dusted off the cobwebs on the bike and after recently watching some track racing with dad I felt my competitive spark start to return so perhaps watch this space in the new year!!
After separating with my partner earlier in the year I've found myself on a huge emotional roller coaster, sometimes at the highest of highs and other times the lowest of lows. I've learnt a lot about myself this year, and feel like I'm finally in a good place. It's not the life I planned for but I'm happy and that's what is most important. Mia is a happy, well balanced little girl who is extremely loved and cared for by both of her parents and we both play a very important role in her life.
I survived the 1st birthday party and swore no more until at least school!! Something tells me that it won't be the case!! More importantly Mia and I both survived her first year on this earth without any major incident (other than the head first fall out of the cot)!
I got my blog back up and running properly, committing to blog once a week and delivering upon this commitment! Now to keep it up in the new year (I may need a little help from my guest blogger)! Whether anyone reads this is irrelevant to me, I write it mostly for myself, I enjoy writing and it allows me to be creative which is something I don't get to be in my accounting profession! However to those who do read it, I hope you enjoy it!
I laughed and lived more than I have have before, watching this beautiful little girl grow in front of my very own eyes. A little mini me in the making, her passion, stubbornness, problem solving skills and sheer determination are all amazing traits I see in her every day.
I've also cried more and felt more hurt than I ever have before, and at times felt the only thing getting me through was my little lady who needs me more than anyone has. The strength that I have found this year has all been because of her, she makes me want to be a better person each and every day. 
I am more confident with who I am. Mia and I dance and skip in public, we sing loudly in the car as other drivers laugh! We chase each other around at the park, and squeal loudly on the swings. She's allowed me to travel back to the joys of childhood where you have no inhibitions.
With the new year almost upon us, I'm not making any crazy New Years resolutions but I will set some goals. To be greatful for something each and every day, to find 15 mins a day to truly relax, to make exercise a priority as it really does make me a better person! To teach Mia to ride her little pink bike, to dance and laugh everyday and not rush from A to B all the time!


Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Mia's Christmas Wrap Up!!

It's been awhile since I made a guest blogger appearance and since mummy is running out of blog ideas she thought she'd invite me back to her blog. I think you'll all be pretty greatful too, as I'm far more funny than my mummy!
I'd like to share with you my Christmas wrap up! I'm still not entirely sure what Christmas is all about but I appreciated it a little more this year than last.
My first taste of Christmas was when mum put up the Christmas tree, complete with presents underneath it. Strangely enough she chose to put the tree up high out of my reach, you would think she doesn't trust me. I was very intrigued by this pretty looking tree and even more intrigued by the presents underneath it, I really hoped some were for me!
My 2nd taste of Christmas was a trip on the train into the city to see a huge Christmas tree that looked a million times better than the one mum had up at home (I hope she took some notes for next year). We waited in a line for awhile before I got plonked on some old guy in a red suits knee, needless to say I screamed, seriously isn't mum aware of stranger danger? Apparently this guy is going to bring me some new toys but I'd rather not have any new toys than let him into my house!
My mum seemed to really be getting into the spirit of Christmas this year, we went to Carols by Candlelight which I loved! The music was great, I got to dance and clap along and even stay up past my bed time. She did so much baking, our house permanently smelt like a bakery and she was even so kind as to let me eat some of those tasty star shaped biscuits!!
On Christmas Eve I made sure I left out some treats for Santa and some carrots for his reindeer, I thought you were meant to leave milk and cookies out for the big red guy but mum reckons he'd prefer wine and chocolate, I guess she knows best! On Christmas morning my mum seemed exceptionally happy, singing Christmas carols to me while I drank my milk. When I walked into the lounge room I saw a big bag of presents and a pink bike, all for me!! Maybe this scary old guy in a red suit is not so bad after all. He must know me well as he left me a baby doll, a phone, a tea set and a jigsaw puzzle. Though my favorite thing was the gift bags under the tree!
I was a very lucky little girl, I got to go to 3 family Christmas parties and spend time with all of my grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins. I got to eat so much tasty food, dance to lots of music and have lots of hugs.
Whilst I'm still a bit too young to understand Christmas all I know is that 
I enjoyed the celebrations a lot! So to good food, good fun, good friends and family we (me and mummy!) give thanks!



Friday, December 18, 2015

Greatful

With Christmas only 6 sleeps away it feels timely to slow down for a few minutes and contemplate what Christmas means to me. For me Christmas is a beautiful time of year spent over indulging in good food and wine surrounded by the people that you love the most, your friends and family. Sure it is a hectic time of year and I always manage to make it more stressful than it needs to be! Choosing to bake a million biscuits as gifts for family, the cleaner, Mia's carers and even the cafe owner around the corner! I wouldn't have it any other way though. I love giving at Christmas time, even if it is just the gift of some slightly odd looking gingerbread men! I am thankful to have all of the wonderful people in my life that I do and Christmas is the perfect time of year to show my appreciation to them.
I am thankful that I have a happy healthy little girl. There are so many people out there that aren't so fortunate to be as healthy as Mia and I, and there are many people not fortunate to have children at all. Every night as I kiss Mia goodnight I am thankful for how lucky I am.
I am thankful to be able to live in such a wonderful safe country where I have everything that I need. I am thankful that I have great job that I enjoy and allows me to provide for my family. 
I am thankful for all of my amazing friends and family who are always there for me no matter what.
Christmas is such a happy time of year for me but for many it brings more grief and pain than it does joy. Now that I have a little girl and a family of my own I've decided to start our own little family tradition. Each year at Christmas time Mia and I will donate an item for every gift we receive to those less fortunate than us. I want to raise a thoughtful and generous little girl and teach her that she is very fortunate in life and that there are plenty of others in the world that are far less fortunate than her or I. Whilst she may be too young to understand this year I will be donating some of her toys on her behalf and hopefully brighten up the lives of some small children. As she gets older I will ask her to choose toys that she would like to donate to another little child and explain to her why we are doing this.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas with their loved ones, take the time to cherish this beautiful time of year and reflect upon what you are thankful for.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Raising a little lady!

I like to think of myself as a fairly modern day woman. Career driven, independent and competitive. So when I pick Mia up from childcare each day and see her playing with baby dolls or in the toy kitchen I wonder where she learns such nurturing, domestic behaviors from?! As I stand in the kitchen today, apron on, surrounded by Christmas baking I realise that I may be a modern day woman but I still possess many of the traits of a good little domestic housewife! I love to bake and my work colleagues will surely be appreciative of me tomorrow when I arrive with carrot and apple muffins, shortbreads and fruit mince pies. Perhaps Mia has inherited these traits from me, I don't often bake when she is awake yet I still find her playing imaginary baking in the lounge surrounded by Tupperware and utensils. I love Mia seeing all of the sides of me as I hope that she grows up with balance in life. So far I feel that I'm succeeding! She is already shaping up to be very independent, yet still loves to have cuddles with mummy. She loves to play the role of mum with the baby dolls, but also likes to pretend to be a racing car driver in her little car. She likes to pretend to cook and loves to do the laundry but she also loves to be a little daredevil at the park!
Women really can have it all, they can be career driven and still a domestic goddess in the home. They can be independent yet still lean on others for support. They can be nurturing and loving but still pursue a life of their own.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

A little pink bike!

For those that know me well, you would have heard the infamous story about the pink bike. For some of you, this story has probably been heard many times. Despite the incident occurring over 25 years ago it is still very fresh in my memory! 
When I was a young girl (about 7 years old) I asked Santa for a pink bike for Christmas. When Christmas morning arrived I raced into the lounge room to see if Santa had bought me the pink bike that I so desperately wanted.  There was a bike there for me, but it was not pink! Maybe Santa was colour blind or perhaps one of his elves was dyslexic and read my letter incorrectly. Either way there was one very dissappointed little girl who had not received the pink bike that she longed for.  Of course I should have been very grateful for receiving such a wonderful gift, for there were so many other boys and girls that were far less fortunate than I was.  This was the very first bike that I learnt to ride, my dad took me down to the oval and just pushed me off and let me go, he never believed in using training wheels. Maybe that's why now in life I still often prefer to take the difficult path instead of the easy one!!
As I grew older and learnt that Santa didn't really exist, I also learnt the real reason why I received a red bike that Christmas instead of the pink one.  I have 3 younger brothers so my father decided that the bike needed to be able to be passed down to them and as its a bit hard to give a boy a pink bike, they decided to give the girl a red one instead.  I must admit, I felt a little ripped off!  Instead of my pink bike with streamers and a little basket on the front, I was riding around on a red boys bmx (it's no wonder I'm not a girly girl). When it finally came time to hand my bike down to my brother, he didn't even like the red colour and wanted a black bike, so the bike was painted!! I could have had a pink bike after all, we could have painted the pink bike black!!  When it came time for me to get another bike, I had the choice of getting a boy's mountain bike that was the right size for me and could again be passed down to my brothers or I could get the ladies mountain bike that was far too big but would at least last me until adulthood, needless to say which option was chosen!!
Some would say that I am still a little bitter about this whole red v pink bike saga and perhaps I am!! So this year I have decided to give my baby girl the pink bike that I always dreamed of! A super tiny version of a pink bike, Specialized brand nonetheless! I hope that she loves this little bike and that it becomes the first of many for her, I can't wait until she is big enough to go riding our bikes together, to explore the big wide world.  If only they made a matching bike in my size!!