Ah Lovelies, it's been another full and turbulent week on Planet Baby as we adjust to our *new normal* since the bombshell dropped. After 7 long weeks of school and daycare holidays, the troops are a *bit restless* (understatement of the year!). They don't start until Wednesday 15 February, if you can believe it!
Miss India is *itching* to start Kindy. On Wednesday we bought her uniform and my heart swelled to see my baby girl all decked out in her tunic, hat, socks and black Mary Jane shoes. The realisation that she's ready to start this next phase of her life is dawning on me ever so slowly. Her enthusiasm is truly heartwarming. She can't wait to start learning. She's already taught herself how to write her name without any prompting. I'm flummoxed. Her drawings are now so lifelike whereas it seems only yesterday they were very abstract works of art.
Here's her birthday card for Nanna. I just adore the way they get their 'b' and 'd' confused at this age! And everything has to be signed off with dozens of kisses and hugs, of course.
Here's another labour of love - she combined about 4 different sets of felt to make this one (guess who will have to do all the sorting back to their homes?!). She's also been parading about in her new school shoes for a fortnight, just to make sure they're 'worn in' for the big day.
Joshie, meanwhile, has lost that second tooth (and yes, the Tooth Fairy deposited another $2 coin in his little pillbox!) and can't wait to get back to school to see his friends and start learning again. I watch in utter astonishment as he takes himself off to read Dr Seuss books aloud. Just to himself. Because he can. And he does it so well! Yet another heart-swelling moment for A Certain Mother who discovered a love of reading at the same age. I only hope we can foster his love of reading so it brings him as much pleasure as it does me.
And he's growing up in front of my eyes, following my absolute passion for cricket. Here he is with Mr PB having a 'boys' time' at the cricket, watching the Hobart Hurricanes in action!
And Sammy, keen not to be left out, has started proclaiming how excited he is about returning to daycare to see his carer, 'Sawy', or Sally as her mother knows her! His language skills are developing apace as he wants to join in with the others. I chuckle every time I hear him talk ever so seriously about the Star Wars characters, just as his big brother does. And he's the first to appear from their bedroom, brandishing a light sabre aloft and ready for battle, notwithstanding our family rule about only aiming towards each other's feet!
He feels part of the *team* as you can see here, hands in pockets, just like the others!
He's also been very taken by dressing up as Spiderman lately, wearing his mask, cape and gloves which make spider-web-releasing sounds as well as "Kapow!" when he clenches them. He really has no idea as to what it's all about - not like Mr PB and I did when growing up in the 1970s! But he watches Joshie and that's enough to satisfy him.
So that's the pixies covered. Life has taken on a whole new rhythm for Mr PB - no early morning dashes out the door to work. He still rises early with the pixies but his days seem to start a lot slower than they normally would on weekends. It's so hard to keep yourself going when there aren't many jobs on the market at the moment. The pixies have relished having him at home and he cherishes this extra time with us.
When all his paperwork is complete and all the day's phone calls made, lately he's been turning to tasks around the home which have been on the 'to do' list since we moved. At least he can feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of them. That's just so vital in keeping his spirits up. It's also fun working on projects together, making our own stamp on PB HQ.
As for me, it has made an enormous difference having him around to share the load in looking after the pixies and freed me up to do some chores which would have otherwise required a lot of babysitting arrangements to be made. It's also wonderful to have him witness all of life's little moments you can have with littlies - the things he misses when he's at work. We help each other with job applications and try to bolster each other's spirits.
It's hard going but we just have to trust that things will work out in the end. It's just the waiting part which is a little tedious - but only if we let it. We are trying hard to see this as a time when we can draw together as a little family unit and take comfort from each other whilst also looking out to see what opportunities may be around the corner. Wish us luck something presents itself soon!
