A Potty Adventure

Violet is potty trained! It's bittersweet. I mean, it's another skill to parade she's no longer a baby and more and more a little girl. Our little girl. It's great because an extra $12 a week usually spent on nappies can go towards something else , and I've quite enjoyed making pretty pantie purchases. We did have a  funny "Mickey Mouse" experience the other night however:

Cristian and I have started running together on the weekends, it was decided he needed legitimate running shoes to aid with shin splits and benefit poor arches. I shopped around in the market while he took Violet over the way to try on shoes and have his feet analyzed. I didn't have my phone so I missed about 4 frantic phone calls from Cristian because Violet had to go "potty" and he didn't know what to do. A lady in the store noticed his predicament, and Violet squirming around crossing her legs and pointed out the direction of the restrooms. He ran all the way to the very back of the store and into the men's room only to find no stall was available. I wandered casually into the shop when I see him sprinting like a mad man back up to the front of the store, holding Violet out in front of him like she was some kind of ticking bomb,  yelling desperately about how "She needs to go potty but there's no stalls available in the men's room! Come on! Run! You have to take her!". This caused a lot of stares as we both sprinted to the back of the store..... again; Cristian very distraught and me laughing hysterically about the whole situation.

Violet was very good to hold it till I could get her on that toilet. When we came out we had a lot of spectators who wanted to know if we'd made it in time while we ran her back and forth across the store. She also received many applause and shouts of "Good job!" and "What a big girl you are!" and "Hurray!". I think Cristian even managed to get a few of those himself. He's the best.

Hilarious.
Totally hilarious.

As a side note we did manage to purchase Cristian some new runners and our last time out for a couple miles his arches thanked him and his shin splits all but disappeared.
Running together is something I have really enjoyed. Sure he's a sprinter and I'm a distance runner so he usually beats me on our trails, but it's refreshing to do something active, outdoors, and with just us a couple of times a week. We're working really hard on being a lot more healthy, and now with the weather slowly but surely improving we are LOVING being outside in this hit and miss sunshine.

Roam Away/ Australia- Ballarat- Sunday Church+Sam's 5th Birthday Party

After catering bits of bread to the ducks and black swans with flashing red bills around the condo we readied ourselves for church.
Nothing of much signifance happened at church in Ballarat on Sunday. There was one testimony in Relief Society which did strike a cord with me however. The woman had married an inactive or non member and it had been a number of years but they were slowly working towards being sealed in the temple. It was a good reminder that I myself have been promised all the desires of my heart if I keep working on getting myself where I need to be spiritually. The more time I spend with family here the more desire is growing for my own family to be sealed to me forever. It was a nice reminder in the middle of such an intense first week.

After my parents had caught up with a few people from church we drove over to my Uncle Richard and Auntie Cheryle's house to celebrate Sam's (Jess and Michael's boy) birthday party and have a jabber with everyone (includindg my Uncle Tom who I didn't realize would be there!) before heading off to Melbourne (the next leg of our trip). We arrived and learned that morning my Auntie Cheryle had asked Sam and James what their favorite part of yesterday was-they'd both said "Violet". Those three have been having a blast together and I couldn't wish for anything more for Violet. They have been taking such amazing care of her and enjoying some good fun running around with trucks, kicking up heels with the labs Rommie and Pepper, and nibbling on chicken flavored Twisties (equivilant to cheetos). She will miss those little guys badly when we get home- so will I.

 Sam had an ice cream Octobot cake (I have no idea what that is but they were all very into it). We ate delicious roasted chicken, feta and sweet potato salad, slaw, bread and butter, then afterwards enjoyed different sponge cakes, hedgehogs (a kind of slice with chocolate and nuts) and pavlova. Over lunch I touched base with my Uncle Tom who I went to Thailand with a few years ago on a Humanitarian Aid program. We chatted about the most recent trip he went on over there which was staff only. I learned the sight managers (Jim, Peripong, Ek-a-chai, and Tai-wah) were all still there managing various well projects. My Uncle Tom is hilariously entertaining and over dessert we all told stories about different ridiculous things which have happened to us while traveling. It sounds like my Uncle Tom and I are kindred spirits in that we both seem to get lost everywhere we go. He also tells a great story about going to Japan with my cousin Matt and feeling like a Turkish bride.
We headed out around 4 o'clock past sweeping strawberry fields to see some people up in Melton (a couple who grew up with my mum and dad) before going on to the city. Violet had a fun time (again) playing with some kids there and we had a delicious Turkish dinner. Honey date chicken, chickpea salad, arugula with pomegranate and radish. It was world-class yummy I tell ya'.

We are now in an apartment next to a boisterous train station in Melbourne. Sitting here typing it's fun to listen to all the trains whistling while going by and then straining to see if any of them have woken Violet up. So far so good. I've been doing my best to find little spaces of time throughout the day for just me and her. It's normally in the morning and those are the moments where I feel most at home. Snuggled up in bed with her going through pictures of daddy, singing songs, and rubbing her tummy (she's like a cat!). The other night I lay down in bed and felt somthing squishy and wet pressing against my back. It turned out being a mushy loose grape from her morning breakfast of fresh fruit. It's little things like this which make me miss Cristian and being home.

Octobot cake with James, Billy, Jess and Michael

Giving the ducks their dinner

 



Red billed black swans

 



 

Checking out our apartment in Melbourne next to South Yarra Station

 



A Short Update

It feels as though this month is quickly wriggling by. Just a couple weeks ago was General Conference (which I'm STILL trying to catch up on), we raced through Easter and touched down on Earth Day a few days ago. Somehow in April's haste to dissolve into May we have managed to hollow out gaps of time and fill them with fresh homemade summery beverages, planting seeds and onions on the "farm", and taking time as a family to appreciate spring. The Stokes Nature Trail & Center up the canyon has become a haven of energy, cheer, exercise and fresh air for Violet and I. It's wonderful to trot along the trail discovering all the different colored rocks (we learned about the color pink our last trip up there), twigs and sticks of every size, and bugs and birds if we're lucky. We love it so much we decided to take Daddy up there for a picnic on Earth Day. We munched on pb&j sandwiches, watermelon, and fed the ducks floating in the river. Back at home we planted pansies and checked our herb garden. It was decided we need to get a pot for some rosemary. In the midst of all this we have been potty training, improving our mommy and me yoga, reading so many books (Mary Higgins Clark for me!),  sneezing so much more than usual (we have the WORST allergies this year), and planning a week vacation to Denver, Colorado.  We've been looking at homes, community summer programs to get involved in, dabbling in new recipes (all things homemade), and have begun running together (Cristian and I) at least once a week on top of our other daily workouts.

Cristian and I were talking the other night about how we're in the "waiting stage" right now. And how there is sure to be more stages like this. It's teaching us patience which isn't always easy, but through waiting for certain things we hope when we finally can do what we want it will have been worth it.

We can't wait to build or purchase a home. Acquire a second car. Get me back into school to finish my degree. Travel. It's exciting to think about and plan, and we're for the most part rolling with the punches. Happiness to you and yours from us :D

 

Treasure

 

Some pretties we found while out walking.

It's the little things ya know?

Stepping Back

We've been keeping to ourselves for the last couple of weeks, and it's been energizing. I felt like I was beginning to get knotted up in things which honestly are not worth my day book. So we skittered away from social media and spent time on doing things together as a family which were creative. We've spent lots of time with extended family, I've been dabbling in hand making birthday invites for Violet's upcoming birthday and have made a few new delicious meals. We've been working on improving Violet's motor skills, and have been spending good quality time at the parks. We've been reading books, taking long luxurious naps, and invigorating and refreshing walks around town. I think the next big thing we try and do (again), is potty training. Along with all of this we've been working thoughtfully on our summer family bucket list.

A couple of things on this list include:
:: taking Violet on her first camping trip::
:: Fishing at the fish farm::
::Tree House Museum::
::Fun summer family photos::

There's more, but that's all I'll share for now.
Hope all is well with you and yours.

Spring

little joys with springtime

::fresh buds for hand painted vases::
::spicy watermelon picco de gallo + cucumber/watermelon popsicle juice::
::playing one on one basketball in central park with Cristian::
::lemon scented polish for wood floors::
::duck feeding::
::fresh air::
::afternoon walks::
::lavender washed sheets::
::Violet's birthday::
::baby animal days::
::book club::
::writing our family summer bucket list::

Roam Away/ Australia-Skipton

SKIPTON

 Venturing out to the Devine Farm "Tundabardi" (aboriginal for "cold place", and Devine being my mother's maiden name) was a very meaningful trip for me. I don't know what it is about stepping into places where your parents hung their hats and bunked out growing up, but it has always charmed me.

 

 When I visited Australia back in 2009 my hope was to gather family stories and dip into places like this farm, but I was either to shy or to young to really assert and go through with those desires. Probably both. Having a child has somehow pulled me out of my pod and this is becoming the trek 2009 was supposed to be. My mom grew up simply in a small fort. Shed more like. Tin shed. Did I say it was small? I looked at that tiny pop top of a structure and couldn't imagine my Grandparents plus my mom and her 3 other siblings squeezing in. Somehow they managed and never felt like they didn't have enough room.

 

 The family who lives there now remember my Grandpa Rex and spoke very highly of him and the work he put into all the original structures on the farm (which are still there and in near perfect condition to this day). We were able to watch the sheep come in just as my mom would have done while she was living here and have lunch with Deb, Gary, and their daughter Vivian.Tomatoe and onion, carrot and peanut butter, and curried egg sandwhiches are apparently favorites around here and I have to say, Violet absolutely LOVED it. We dined on fizzy drinks and looked at old pictures of the family and told stories. My Grandpa loved animals and for a long time they had a little pet possum who would sleep in between the slates of the blinds and curl his tail around your finger when carried around. There's an enormous stand of gum trees on one side of the farm and maggies would come and lay eggs up high in the trees. This usually meant many baby magpies falling, resulting in broken wings. Grandpa Rex would make the rounds and fix all the broken wings and do his best to clip the babies wings until they were old enough to start making attempts to fly again. He was also the type who would let ENORMOUS Huntsman spiders crawl up one side of his arm and down the other all while calling him a "poor fella' and putting him outside to scurry away. Australia is currently in a drought going on about 5 years so we only could see the remnants of the dam where my Uncles and Mom would swim, and a little dusty road where my Auntie Susan would practice her walking (she is now totally confined to a wheelchair and has been for some time). My mum tells a story where my Auntie would be made fun of at school because of her condition. My uncles Richard and Tom would do their best to defend her but there was one day where she simply couldn't stand it anymore and punched one of those boys teasing her right in the face. This is hard for me to imagine because my Aunt is the most gentle creature on earth I'd say.

We drove by the church where mom was a brownie, the old bar where my Gramps would come and "chew the fat" with the other local farmers every Saturday morning, and went by the old watering hole where they would all go swimming. One day my mom jumped in only to find part of the bottom had been washed away and my old uncle Tom had to dive in and rescue mom from drowning.
From what I saw it looked like a pretty good place to grow up. "'Violet should only get so lucky" has been my lasting thought on Tundabardi and the little town of Skipton.

 

  The photo speaks for itself- here's home mom!

 

 The stand of gum trees I mentioned with the magpies

 

 The tin shed/fort her family lived in.

 

 The sheering shed, all of these are original structures

 

 Chicken coop, Violet couldn't get enough of this place.

 

 Violet and Pa watching the sheep come in.

 

 Billy and Violet enjoying the hot dusty wind.

 

 So many sheep. It was beautiful out here!

Violet trying to be cool like Sam. She LOVED LOVED LOVED playing with all her boy cousins. I think she really misses that about Australia, lots of family to play with, and they all took such good care of her.

 



This trip meant a lot to me, and these are memories and photos I will cherish forever. So thankful we were able to visit this glorious space with small gutbucket structures and golden fields as far as they eye could see. We'll miss you Skipton.

Transitions

The last several days I have found Violet to be notably more difficult to handle. As she makes quick tracks closer to 2 years old ( say what?), I know her determination to gain more independence and leave no stone unturned will be a new button hole in life for me to figure out. And it might have just put me through the wringer if not for a moment we had earlier today.

 

 She's examining how far she can go with disobedience and it's arduous as a mother to find the cusp of balance between remaining true to type with the p's and q's we've set and allowing her to discover effects such as gravity and/or depth perception-along with also preserving her safety and avoiding serious injury. I try to remember she's learning to know her boundaries within and outside our home, but I find myself (more often then I like) muttering things under my breath about keeping MYSELF calm in the face of this new energetic, growing, and curious little girl. There was a second today where I was stamping out a corny message on a cookie bag I was planning on taking into Cristian at work. I admit I was more then just a little irritated when Violet climbed up into my seat while I poured a glass of water out in the kitchen and smeared black ink all over her fingers, face, and clothes. I was exchanging some stern words with her when I realized how out of line I was with MY OWN behavior. She doesn't understand, but she wants to. She see's mommy doing something puzzling, and yearns to be involved. I shouldn't get upset, and instead nuzzle into the bonding and experience it could create between her and I-while also having fun. Who cares if she covers her entire body in ink? She can have a bath-another affair she thoroughly enjoys. So what if she ruins an outfit? It's just clothes. I needed to relax. I corrected my behavior and we both had a brilliant time inking up that brown paper bag to take to our man. She smiled and giggled because it was something new, interactive, and something she could do with mommy. Even the bag with my love note was more special because I'd allowed my inquisitive daughter to participate and be creative.

 

Earlier in the week, we three went on a drive out of the valley. It was a cold dreary day and I was feeling unsure about how I was doing as a mother. It's something I constantly think about, and constantly try to tweak and improve. I ponder about what I can do differently to mold Violet into the person I'd hope she would be. I struggle a lot to know how to best teach her things, and how to best help her understand what she doesn't. I try to plan our days in such a way that she is happy, safe, learning, and healthy..... and it gets to be overwhelming. I was so grateful when out of nowhere Cristian reached over, gently took my hand, and told me exactly what I needed to hear. That he felt so good, happy and proud of how I was teaching and caring for Violet. He'll never know how much I needed to hear that, or what comfort washed over me and soothed my worries for the moment. I'm so blessed to have him as my one and only and to be able to be a stay-at-home mom because of his efforts.

 

 

This week promises to be exciting. We (Violet and I) begin volunteering for Four Paws tomorrow and are excited to feed the kittens and clean cages at PetsMart. Baby animal days is also on the schedule, and I've penciled in a few swim lessons as well. We plan on welcoming spring with some gardening and a few art projects and I can't wait to tackle all of that with my girl. Meanwhile Cristian and I have been talking about taking a big step and building a home. We stay up late and talk about how dream home, and I am LOVING this place in life.

More on Australia in my next post. Cheers!