The Importance of Time

Every morning starts the same. It is a moment I adore.

The rain gently kisses the tin roof, sometimes just a sprinkle of kisses. The light creeps in, wrapping itself around the curtains and spilling over onto the bed and the floor. The air is a little crisp, the tip of my nose is a little cold. A familiar dead weight in the form of a cat, wedged between Keith and I, is soaking up all of our warmth. A little hand reaches underneath the blankets searching for mummy's.

"Morning, Mama"

I gently lift the covers and usher in my beautiful four year old boy. He snuggles in tight, wrapping his little arms around my neck. We kiss and we cuddle. That is the moment that my day starts. In that moment the switch is on.

Once the switch is flipped, I am dreaming of everything that should be tackled that day. Lists are formed within my mind. Time frames. Time lines. Time this and time that.

" I've got to get this sent straight away. I've got to make sure I do this by this time. I've got to make sure I get Olivia down for a sleep by this time, otherwise......."

In that moment the bliss and joy of the new day slowly creeps out of my vision, and reality of what I need to do, creeps in.

My old mate Jody got me thinking about the need for time.

We all wish we could have more time; time to relax, time to sleep, time to explore, time to enjoy the sunshine, or time to enjoy the rain. We wish that we could have an extra hour or two in a day. The time to take stock and refocus our mind.

It really is about the quality of our time. Enjoying that moment, completley and utterly. Shutting out all of the other little things that niggle away at our minds. Being present in that very moment is a difficult thing to accept and practice. How often do we sit and stare at the clouds? How often do we take our shoes off and feel the ground beneath our feet? How often do we get down on the floor and really play with our kids - not looking at the clock and planning what we have to get done in the next fifteen minutes? How often do we really shut our brains down from the outside world?

This is the modern age. We have the possibility to do anything and the technology to match. With the awesomeness of this technology comes the difficulty to truly disconnect ourselves and recharge our own internal batteries.

The quality of work is slipping. The little joys in life are often going unnoticed. So many of us are running on little to no inspiration.
                                                                                             
I need to sit down and take stock.

Would you like to join me?

Stuff I'm Loving :: The March / April Edition

Well then, look what we have here...

It's been a very long time between 'Stuff I'm Loving' posts, time to change that!

:: Current William ::
My boy is now well and truly a little fellow. Reading, crafting, cooking, and exploring are some of his favourite activities. His speech is improving every single minute of every single day. He isn't quite at the sentence stage of things but he certainly makes sure you understand what he is talking about. He is just such an incredible little human. He is a favourite with the preschool ladies, wooing them with his cuddles and charm. Not only is he excelling at preschool, he is is just generally excelling at everything: being a big brother, being kind and gentle, being patient, understanding (super proud mother boast)! He teaches me SO much about everything. Plus this kid totally toilet trained himself in one week - I really expected it to be a long and drawn out process with him. So chuffed.

:: Current Olivia ::
Livvy has lost her baby look. She is well and truly a two year old. Trouble is her middle name, along with cheeky and sweetness. She is chatting away all.the.time. She sings her ABC's, she sings Play School songs, she sings all.the.time. It is great to see both Will and Liv at the same stage with their speech. They are two years apart but learning this important language together, holding each others hands along the way. I will often hear them saying things to each other, a favourite is "no, THAT way". Liv still wakes up during the night. I am pretty sure she just wants to hang out. She is still in love with puppy dogs 'Hairy' and 'Harry' are her favourites. She is the sweetest smelling little darling. She certainly keeps me on my toes, that's for sure.

:: Current Music ::
You know what is awesome, I have totally been getting back into music lately. It had felt like years since I had listened to an album, or had kept up with who was 'in' or who was 'out'. FINALLY I feel like I know what is the haps in the music scene, and thank goodness - so much awesomeness out there at the moment.

Albums
Bankrupt! by Phoenix
Homosapian by PVT
Indicud by Kid Cudi
Junip by Junip
The Heist by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
vs. Head vs. Heart by Emma Louise
True by Solange
Mosquito by Yeah Yeah Yeah's
Extended Play by Fleetwood Mac
I Feel Cream by Peaches

Playlist
Get Lucky by Daft Punk
I Need Answers by Asta
Home by Austra
Your Life, Your Call by Junip
Stoned and Starving by Parquet Courts
Battleships by Bernard Fanning
Everybody Dance by Chic
Riptide by Vance Joy
Demons by The National
Hey Now by London Grammar
Family by Hanni El Khatib
Is This How You Feel by The Preatures
Alive by Empire Of The Sun

:: Current Books ::
I'll I have been doing a lot of 'business' reading. Not so much for pleasure. One that I have been reading for myself and can't put down is 12 Steps To Wellness by Melissa Ambrosini - it is brilliant and easy to read.

:: Current Movies / Television  ::
Movies are another thing that I have completely abandoned since having children. It's like I have four years of cinema to catch up on. I've had the urge to relieve some old favourites of late. Maybe it's the changing of the seasons, the woollen blankets, hot chocolates and cosy knits?! I have gone and alphabetised our DVD collection (there is a lot, trust me, it needed to be done - we actually have multiple copies of some titles because we could not find one in the mass of discs - shameful really!)
The kids are getting into the classics which is nice, Saturday night is family movie night - the kids pick one then when they go to bed we pick one. It is super lovely to have a bowl of popcorn and snuggle up with the gang.

Okay some favourites that have had a dusting off include:
Moonstruck - oh Cher I love you and your hair!
Sliding Doors - wasn't a fan when it was first released, now I love it
Baby Boom - I swear I watched this all.the.time. as a little kid - Diane Keaton has my heart forever!!!
Die Hard - I actually love this movie (i know??!!)
Terminator - obviously Kdog's choice

:: Current Food / Drink ::
Cant get enough of the food lately - and it's starting to show. With all the sickness that has been floating around our place of late, not a whole lot of exercise has been done. I am well and truly running out of room in my clothes, even my wedding ring is getting too tight - shame shame shame!!
Anyway the delicious treats that have caused the winter layering include: roasts - a lot of roasts, Mexican - a lot of Mexican and salads - whilst healthy, not enough of these have been consumed.

Fresh juices have been getting a thrashing here too - you can find out my recipe here

:: Current Triumph ::
My business is going well. I am actually blown away with the small amount of success I have had. Not only have I got the pleasure of photographing six weddings at the end of this year, I have shot a whole bunch of awesome family shoots too. The beautiful Sam from Good Mum Hunting flew me over to SYDNEY to photograph her family - I actually cried happy tears. I couldn't believe I had made it - a photographer FLYING to work!!! The following weekend I spent with the gorgeous Cat from Wouldn't It Be Loverly photographing her darling brood. Keep your eyes peeled for these shots coming real soon. Also photographing various events around Adelaide, including the opening of BLOOM-SPACE at AEAF. Super awesomeness!!!!!

:: Current Lowlight ::
See above comments under Current Food and Drink section. That is all!!

:: Current Non-Mummy Activities ::
Heaps and heaps and heaps. A few that I can remember:
Seeing Neil Young with Kdog
Pub nights with the gals
Mornings at Red Door Bakery

:: Current Autumn Loves ::
Lots of blankets and the winter doona on the bed. Long Sleeves. The rain on the roof. Hot chocolates with marshmallows. The changing leaves. The warming soups

What are YOU loving right now?
Join in and link up if you like.


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