Your burning question: When did you have Joshua?

Ooh, we're enjoying a delightfully sunny day in winter-time Hobart today - the pixies are gadding about in shorts and T-shirts! Sun does wonders for one's mood, doesn't it? Especially when A Certain Mother has been *slightly* overdoing it with her healing hand. The result? A tingling little finger and a painful wrist. Hmm. I just phoned the surgeon and was advised to rest - quelle surprise! I know you've all been counselling me to do so but pruning our roses seemed like a good idea until my hand hurt...

Anyway, as promised, I'm continuing with this series of posts answering your burning questions posed in our survey. Now you've read about how Mr PB and I met and our time in Sydney, let's move onto our arrival on Planet Baby with Joshua's birth. Oh, and India's and Sammy's, too!

The pixies' arrivals

Nursing my first-born on Day One!

Click on this post to read about the lead-up to, and arrival of, all 3 pixies. Go on - I'll wait for you back here!

My goodness, it takes me back, seeing those old photos. Back to the newborn blur. Whenever I feel like I'm in the *trenches of motherhood*, I should look at them to remind me that we've actually come a long way ☺.

My early years of motherhood

Well, that's their births for you (I'm not one for sharing their actual birth stories). Then click here to read about those first few years of my mothering journey. It might answer some of the questions you've asked me about how I coped with having the 3 pixies in only 3½ years! 

So what are your thoughts? Did you relate to any of the hurdles to motherhood I discussed in my first post? And were you nodding at any of my feelings about the early days of motherhood? Or have your experiences been totally different? Do jump in and share - I can't wait to hear your thoughts! 

Your burning question: How did you & Mr PB meet?

Hello you lovely, encouraging Planetarians! Your kindness is pulling me through these first few painful days after my surgery. Seriously! I look forward to replying to all your recent comments when I can. I have taken my wounded wing out of its sling (I love a good rhyme, too!) to whip up this quick post. 

I received so many great questions in the survey which you'd like me to answer that I'm starting a little series called 'Your burning question'. Sound like fun? A lot of the answers can be found in my older posts so that makes my job easy. See - a win-win for us all!

So, here's the very first question - "What is Mr PB's name? How did you and Mr PB meet?" Well, that's two questions, technically, but here goes.

What is Mr PB's name?

When I first started blogging, we agreed on Mr PB's pseudonym. He's entitled to a little bit of privacy. So we're sticking with it ☺.

How Mr PB and I met

Now this is a bit of an epic story so it's staggered over a handful of posts. Maybe you should get yourself a cuppa first before settling down to catch up on our romance! Ready? Okay, let's go!

Source

Our love story starts here. This is how we met and continued our romance whilst he was overseas in the UK for a year. Go on - click through and read it. I'll wait for you back here!

Here you can see some of the love letters we sent each other whilst separated by half the globe. Are any of you sighing yet?!

This post covers my visit over to see him at the end of my university studies. Gosh, that brings back the goosebumps for me!

This one covers the continuation of our relationship back in Hobart and his proposal. He's a romantic chap, isn't he?

And then this one wraps it up with our wedding! Goodness, that seems a lifetime ago now! January 1999 - it was even last century ☺.

So, tell me, do you like this 'burning question' post idea? What are your thoughts about how we coped being apart in an age of expensive international phonecalls and prior to mobile phones, text messages and instant emails? It's not really that long ago, you know! And does our love story have your heart a-flutter? Do dive in and comment - I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Celebrating Halloween 2011 on Planet Baby

Well, a warm hello from springtime Hobart on this Halloween! I’m still ambivalent about our celebrating it here in Australia, given we don’t really have any cultural heritage of it. However, after Mr PB’s efforts last year, the pixies were determined we’d mark it again this year. They’ve been talking about it for weeks! Given it actually falls on a school day, we celebrated it last night (Sunday). This is what transpired.

The preparations

Given the fun we'd had at our old rental house for Halloween last year, we asked our old neighbours if they’d mind hosting it at their place. They were happy to oblige. Plans were hatched, food prepared, flyers created (with orange balloons attached) and then Mr PB and the pixies set forth, early on Saturday morning around our old neighbourhood. They delivered the flyers advertising our little celebration to dozens of surrounding houses with the request for those willing to participate to blow up the orange balloons and attach them to their letterboxes.

On Sunday afternoon, Mr PB, Joshua and India donned their costumes. Sammy was unwell so didn’t want to dress up and I didn’t even consider it! Here’s a family shot (with my taking it, as usual ☺).

The entertainment

To our great surprise and delight, about 4 neighbourhood families (all strangers to us!) then turned up in their outfits, ready to join in. We started with the traditional apple bobbing contest. Here’s Joshie and a friend in action.

We then had a round of ‘Oranges and lemons’ – it was fascinating to observe that so far, this young generation had never heard of it. But they soon got the gist of it!

Here’s Joshie, being caught!

Then the main event occurred – the Annual Pumpkin Rolling Competition! Remember last year’s? Well, this time Sammy took part. Everyone assembled at the starting line, their names emblazoned in texta on their chosen pumpkin.

You can see a variety of shapes and sizes there – I think Mr PB forgot a few basic physics facts when he was kitting out Sam and India! Don’t you just love the look of anticipation on their faces? Not to mention earnestness!

And then they were away!

Talk about hilarious ☺. I love the looks of concentration and joy, not to mention Sam still holding onto his as he watched the others to see how to do it!

There’s Sammy running down after his which is one of the little ones in the left hand gutter near Mr PB’s feet. It really was classic fun.

After a few more rounds, we moved to our neighbours’ house for a barbecue with plenty of scary cupcakes and cakes, pumpkin soup and the works!

Just the type of food Miss India was looking for…

The trick or treating

Finally the big moment arrived – time to roam the neighbourhood in hopeful pursuit of some lollies! What were those parents thinking to let such a ghoul supervise young Sam?

And so we set forth. In hope. It started well, raining goodies onto the throng below.

The next orange-balloon-festooned house was a fizzer. We knocked and waited.

And tried again. Still no luck. They must have ducked out to the shops. Time to move on.

Then we chanced upon a friendly granny ghoul who dispensed a plethora of treats to the youngsters, bless her.

She was even brave enough to pose for a family photo with her long-lost son.

See the family resemblance?

We then headed back to our old street where we were treated by one of the street’s great personalities who had something for everyone, the little beauty!

And then, tummies full, hair wet and simply tuckered out, we all ventured off into the twilight, Halloween done and dusted for another year. The pixies are already calling “Bring on next year!”. Mr PB is a keeper, don’t you think, my friends?

I’d love to hear whether you’ve celebrated it this year. Maybe you’re in my ambivalent camp. Or maybe it’s a highlight of your family’s year. Do share, especially any tips!

PS Don't forget to enter my giveaway...

Spring is springing!

Oh, these daffies on my desk make my heart sing

Oh my! Today was simply glorious spring weather in Hobart – just the tonic I needed to lift my spirits after recent events. It prompted us to head outdoors and spend the day pottering around in the garden. Well, actually, Mr PB did more than ‘potter’ – he spent two hours moving all the mulch from The Great Garden Chop into a huge pile in the corner of the garden, just waiting to be used. I fear he’ll be stiff and sore tomorrow, the poor fellow! Why don’t you come awandering with me around our garden? It’s changed a bit since the last time we did.

Out in the front garden, we have some pretty little freesias with their sweet scent. Miss India is enthralled.

The lavender is thriving, adding a pretty hue to our front path.

Here’s a jaunty daffodil, standing guard at the front gate.

The weeping cherry outside India’s room is looking a picture. The pixies provide a daily report on its flowering activities.

Here it is from the other side, surrounded by a (partial) circle of box hedge. We’ve added some new plants into the missing parts. The garden is looking rather sparse after all my weeding and pruning. Mr PB and I are looking forward to planning how we’d like it to look.

Here is the result of yet more of my ivy pruning  - and I’m not finished yet! See that trunk protruding in the middle? That’s my next target ☺. You should have seen me on my enormous ladder, snipping away. Mr PB wouldn’t come near it – the last time he cut it, he ended up having to take 3 days off work as his eyes all puffed up and he broke out in a rash. So, just to be sure, I wore a mask and gloves. No photo, though – a most unattractive look.

Thankfully, we should be able to hold off replacing this section of fence for a while longer now I’ve given it such a *haircut*. Oh and yes, for the eagle-eyed, that is a cat flap at the back, complete with stepping stones, left by the previous owners. It’s a source of endless fascination for the pixies!

Out the back, the forget-me-nots are growing like topsy.

We’re really intrigued to discover what this is. A prunus or an apricot tree? No idea. At least it’s in blossom, in spite of my very *enthusiastic* pruning efforts (will you just look at that top cut?!).

And we’re all waiting (not so) patiently for our *heavily-pruned-by-me*roses to bloom. At least they’re blossoming now…

So there you have it – some of our work-in-progress. Mr PB has been busily planting vegetables out the back and today our first iris bloomed. Yes, all up, it’s helping lift my mood. Is anyone else feeling this upswing like me? Apologies to the northern hemispherers ☺. Oh, and any tips for me, the novice green thumb, will be greeted eagerly!

Let the sunshine in: Planet Baby's Great Garden Chop

Oh, sweet Planetarians, all 358 of you (and a huge hello to the newbies!). I am completely knackered. Stuffed. Ready for bed. You get the picture! So this post will be a quickie. Well, you saw the ‘before’ shots of our back garden in my last post. Now let’s see the aftermath of The Great Garden Chop once our trusty hired help had spent 6 hours hard at work yesterday.

Saturday’s work

First stop was the two pittosporums outside the boys’ room. The pixies were captivated by the noise and activity below as they peered out the window, watching the men at work. There was a lot of this action. It took ages.

And here’s the moment when the sunlight burst through into the boys’ room. For the very first time!

Here are the pixies, bathing in it, joyously.

Here’s the finished result.

What a contrast to this, in my last post.

Then the action moved around to a side fence, covered with thick ivy. Emanating from our side. And trying its hardest to pull down the boundary fence. Hmm. Not to mention poking 2 metre long branches into our neighbours’ property.

That was given a good haircut, the emergency work before radical surgery will be required – the removal of the fence at some later date!

Then our game plan changed. Mr PB and I were so thrilled at what a difference removing those two trees had made, we then wandered around the garden with our gardeners, inspecting the trees one by one.

It soon became clear that most were on the boundary fences and about to shed limbs, dead or dying, in danger of splitting in half and just downright ugly and out-of-control. So we decided to cut the lot down! Save for a magnolia tree we discovered next the cubby – fancy that! We hadn’t noticed it before given all the dense foliage around it.

And here’s the end result.

We can’t *believe* the transformation. How it’s opened the whole area up! Don’t forget it looked like this on Friday.

Here are our trusty partners-in-crime, at the end of a hard day’s work. 

And then they left. Leaving behind a *little* mess.

Hmmm. Make that a *lot of mess*!

To save costs, we had agreed to remove all the waste to the local tip. Mr PB hired a trailer and a friend helped take a couple of loads to the tip before it closed.

Today’s work

This morning Mr PB hired a mulcher and set to work. It started to rain. The mulcher wouldn’t work. I heard a lot of muttering but my offers of help were rejected. So I donned my fancy new gumboots, grabbed some long-handled secateurs, gloves and my waterproof jacket and set to work.

On this monstrosity with its dense root system and thick branches. 

I did a lot of this.

And this.

There was lots of straining on my tippy-toes to reach the top branches (I’m a shortie, remember?!). I remembered I had muscles in my arms and back. Which now hurt a lot ☺.

But this end result was worth it.

As the rain bucketed down, I retreated inside. Mr PB, meanwhile, had returned the mulcher and received a refund. Which all means that we will be looking at this…

until next weekend! Hmm, as long as Mr PB clears me a path to the clothesline, I’ll manage. And the bonus? Now my washing will dry much quicker! It looks like it might be a long week for the pixies, though, cooped up inside.

And now to bed. Sunday splendour will return next week. Let’s see how stiff I am in the morning!