Relief

I realised yesterday that I am not stressed about the housework; I am stressed about managing my time, and was transferring this onto the housework!

Funnily enough, realising this made me relax, so I don't feel all that stressed anymore. What a relief!

Funny sounds

I'm in the kitchen at the moment, near the baby monitor. I can hear it making funny noises - sort of like a squeaking, slapping, wet, kissy sound.

I know what it is - Hamish sucking his hand with great enthusiasm!

Three Months old!

Oscar helping me plan my week

Note to self - don't leave whiteboard lying around, or cat will helpfully erase anything written on it.

More on being busy

I guess what really struck me about the girltalk posts was the idea that if you're busy, it's really important to be deliberate about what you choose to do. That way, I control the housework - not the other way around!

Now, what does this button do...?

Playing with the webcam!

Being Busy

I've read a few posts today about dealing with busy times at home. You can find them here, here and here.

Anyone who knows me and has been to my house over the past 7 or 8 years would know that I am not exactly Martha Stewart. In our place at Leichhardt, it was a constant challenge to find somewhere to sit down because of all the mess in the way! The carpet, which started out sort of blue, was more brown and grey, not to mention hairy, by the time we moved out. And in our place now, you can walk through without touching anything and you'll still come out covered in pet hair.

Clearly I don't have a huge desire for cleanliness. But I do have a desire for order and since being home full time, my standards have risen to a perhaps unrealistic level. Being on top of the housework makes me feel like I've achieved something, and gives me a sense of being in control. Unfortunately the price I pay is exhaustion and an increase in stress.

The challenge for me, from the posts I linked to above, is to decide what's really necessary to get done, and what isn't.

The answer isn't to do nothing, because that would be unhelpful too - but to do enough so that the house runs relatively smoothly and our basic needs are met.

So my new plan of attack is to carefully consider what needs doing, and to try to get it done in the mornings, leaving the afternoons free for rest. And to not feel guilty for the things I don't get done!

New laptop

We bought a new laptop yesterday, to replace our desktop which is showing signs of passing over to the big computer network in the sky.

I love new gadgets - I'm not hugely into technology but I do have a tendency to get excited about shiny new things. This laptop is definitely shiny. Much more exciting than a desktop PC!

One of the rather useless but very exciting things about it is that it has a fingerprint reader on it. To login when I switch the laptop on, I don't have to type a password - I just swipe my finger over a little panel! This is probably old news to anyone who knows about laptops, but I hadn't seen it before and it makes me feel like I am living in "the future" (George Jetson style).

In fact, a lot of things that were futuristic in cartoons when I was a kid are now a part of everyday life. I remember in particular how the characters in Inspector Gadget had wristwatches they could communicate through - just like mobile phones today.

I do find, however, that new gadgets are a bit like hotel rooms - exciting to get to but after you've opened all the cupboards and checked out the mini-bar, there's not much to do and you sit there twiddling your thumbs! Perhaps it's the thrill of something new, which by definition must wear off sooner or later.

I'm not at the twiddling stage with this laptop yet though...

Being thankful

One of my favourite books is "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom. It's her account of life in a concentration camp during the second world war.

She tells of how they were moved to a new camp, and their living space was totally crawling with fleas. For her, it felt like the last straw in what was an already horrific experience. Her sister however was determined to trust God in the midst of it all and convinced Corrie to thank God for the fleas. So they prayed, despite Corrie's reluctance.

To her surprise, they later discovered that the reason the guards left them alone so often, was because of the fleas - they didn't want to go near them! So God blessed them in this unexpected way.

This story has been on my mind lately, as there is so much I can grumble about - getting woken up 3 times a night when I'm already exhausted, dealing with lots of poopy nappies, dogs who howl when they hear the baby monitor making noises! I've been making a conscious effort to thank God for these things, even though I'm not enjoying them at all.

I realised today that God is blessing me through these things - for example, I realised that Saffy can hear the monitor when I can't (eg if I'm outside) and so if Hamish starts crying, so will Saffy, alerting me that Hamish is awake! Without her, I could be happily hanging out the washing or something without realising Hamish needs attention.

And when he wakes up and cries, although it means more work for me, it is so reassuring to hear him and know he's alive.

Reminds me of one of my favourite bible verses: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Interruptions

This is a post very relevant to my life at the moment - it seems like one long interruption some days!

Although yesterday, for the first time in ages, I had more than say half an hour to do whatever I wanted in, and I was at a bit of a loss as to how to spend it!

Weekend away

Here we are at Adam's sister's wedding:

Hamish and the bridal party:

Our nieces, the flower girls:

And Hamish with a t-shirt on his head!

Priorities

I've been thinking more today about my priorities list - thanks for your thoughtful comments on the earlier post.

We all have priorities. Whether we work from a list or not, each day we make decisions about what to do when. It's a part of life. How we make these decisions is based on how we view the world and our place in it. Another way to look at it is to ask what is the purpose of my life? What do I want to achieve, and why do I think I'm here? Our answers to these questions shape our decisions about our priorities.

For me, as a Christian, the goal of my life is to bring glory to God. How do I do this? Not by following a list of boring rules, but by following Jesus, the amazing son of God. He's my Lord, so my aim is to follow his path.

The bible tells me how to live the way Jesus wants. The priorities list from the earlier post is based on what's in the bible, and I'm trying to wisely apply it to my life. I'm using it as a tool to help me with my goal.

So what does this look like in practice? Well, I don't get up each morning and tick the items off one by one! I try to plan my days so that the things that are higher up the list get more attention, whilst still making time for those lower on the list. For example, I try to read the bible and pray first thing in the morning, so my first thoughts are for God. I aim to get a meal on the table so Adam and I can spend quality time together each day over dinner, prioritising my husband over the tv! I do housework when Hamish is asleep, so I can spend time with him when he's awake. I'm also aiming to spend at least an hour or two during the day relaxing on my own, so I have a chance to recharge and pursue my own interests. To be able to manage all this, I need to spend plenty of time at home and make sure my schedule isn't too hectic, so a bit of planning is involved. If I don't plan, I end up exhausted and grumpy!

There's a lot of room to move within the list of priorities - I make decisions all the time about what would be best. The key thing for me is that I try to make these decisions based on what God wants for my life, rather than by making it up as I go along according to what suits me at the time.

This verse sort of sums it up for me: "Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."Luke 9:22-24

So how about you - what is your goal in life? And what are your priorities?

Trip West

We're going to Orange tomorrow, for Adam's sister's wedding. Back on Sunday.

Oscar doing what he does best

Oscar likes our bed! I think he spent around 6 or 7 hours today in this spot.

The Economics of Nappies

Every time I use a disposable nappy, the overall cost of nappies for Hamish increases.

But every time I use a cloth (reusable) nappy, the cost goes down, because I've paid a fixed price for the nappies and the more I use them, the less it costs me each time. Eg if I paid $100, and used the nappies 100 times, the cost per nappy is $1. But if I use them 200 times, the cost decreases to 50c per nappy.

Of course, I am ignoring the fact that I have to run the washing machine twice a week when I use the cloth ones, but still - I like the economics of cloth!

Destruction on the Back Deck

What a dog bed is supposed to look like:

What a dog bed looks like after Saffy gets to it in a bored moment:

Caught red handed (red pawed?):

Stupid event of the day

Today I unwittingly put two nursing pads* in the wash, so now all my clothes are covered in little spongy absorbent crystal things and fluff. Humph.

Stupid event of last Friday was that I put a cup that has a silver and gold pattern on it in the microwave. Evidently it has metal in the paint, as it started sparking like crazy, and when I opened the door and stuck my hand in to get it out, my hand felt all tingly.

Maybe it's something about Fridays....or just about me!

*For the uninitiated, nursing pads are things you wear in your bra to stop milk leaking everywhere. Noice!

No idea

Some days, I feel like I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. Today is one of those days! Oh well, perhaps I need to lower my expectations of what I can achieve in one day.

I've been thinking a lot about what my priorities should be now I'm at home with Hamish - still thinking it through with the help of a couple of books I'm reading. One (Creative Counterpart) suggests priorities should go in this order:
1. God
2. Husband
3. Children
4. Home
5. Self
6. Outside the house

I've been challenged by this - I think I tend to bump numbers 5 and 6 up the list and feel guilty when number 4 takes up my time, but perhaps I need to reassess this. More thinking and praying to be done on this one...

Random Locals

One of the things I sort of like about not having a licence is that I meet all sorts of people on public transport. I never know when I get on a bus who might start talking to me. I think people are chattier up here than they are in Sydney, plus during the day on buses you tend to get people who have various problems in their lives, mental and otherwise, and these are sometimes people more likely to talk to you. I hear all sorts of interesting things! And because it's a bus, I can always get off if it become uncomfortable.

Baby brain

I swear my brain only operates in first gear some days at the moment, especially when I'm talking to people. It can't keep up with the conversation, which gets embarrassing.

Going Local

From next Monday, Adam will be working at the Wyoming Coles. Very exciting, as this is only a few blocks away from our house. He'll save on travelling time and petrol money so it's all good.