It's good to be back... an update

Hello! Is there anyone still out there? I have been MIA, I understand if you've all gone AWOL.

Things have been rolling along since Richie's birth. He is 10 weeks today! I can't believe how time has flown! It's certainly gone a lot faster than the last few weeks of my pregnancy!

I've decided to do an update using sub-headings as my brain is full of thoughts and I don't want to forget anything...

Family

Richie Jack has settled right into life in our little brood and Molly (despite the expected adjustment issues) absolutely loves having a little brother. She loves him hard. In fact, much of the time I am trying to stop her from smothering him with her affection. I am truly in love with my son. He is the sweetest little boy and is so chilled out, only really crying when he needs a feed, sleep or nappy change.

Our household is in the midst of change right now as our lovely housemate is moving out as she is marrying her love in 6 weeks time. I'm so happy for her but will miss her so much. We interviewed a prospective new housey but decided after meeting him that we would like to have some time as a family unit. It was nothing to do with him. He was a lovely guy who would have fitted in nicely however it just wasn't sitting right. We can't really afford the rent on our own without using some of our savings however it really feels like the right thing to do so we are just going to have to make it happen somehow. Our lease is up in February next year so we would have to spend about $3000 extra if we were to stay here in our own until the end of the lease. If we did that, we would then find something smaller (a 2 bed unit or something) in the new year or find a new housemate to move in with us. I figure we will know what the right thing is at the time. Until then, we are going to be focusing on frugality and thriftiness in  big way. Stay tuned for more frugal living posts! I welcome any ideas for interesting ways of bringing some more income into the household.

I am meeting my half brother for the first time soon! This is extremely full on as he has been estranged from my father for as long as I have been alive. He's about 20 years older than me.

Home

With our housemate moving out comes the exciting prospect of playing "house tetris" and re-arranging our space!! Molly will be moving into our housemate's bedroom (with floor to ceiling wardrobes! Storage!!!), Molly's old room will be becoming our study, the front room will probably be a play room/guest room/second living room, we are getting a smaller fridge and dining table for the kitchen area as we have not had an indoor dining table since we have moved in! The place is going to feel so much better. I am also planning to get into the garden, grow some veggies and just generally make it feel a little bit nicer. Ahh! Home! :)

Parenting

I am trying to be more proactive with my every day engagement with Molly. During the end of my pregnancy it became the norm for Molly to watch a lot more TV than I am really comfortable with. I felt bad about this however I didn't feel it was fair to ask her to turn it off considering I was not really prepared to or capable of helping her find activities to fill her time. But now I am and I'm trying to make up for lost time :).. I have bought some craft books and we are choosing a few things to do each week. I'll post some photos of our creations as we complete them. This week's first activity is making a mini worm farm!

Friends

I have also decided to be more intentional about connecting with people in our community. I have started going to the gym and walking with a kinder mum and I've been making coffee dates with some of the other parents. I have met a lovely woman who has really similar values around social justice/environmental issues/community connection etc and we are having a cuppa tomorrow morning. Her house is amazing. Her family are renters but have a great relationship with their landlord and negotiated a secure long term lease in exchange for their family purchasing rain water tanks and solar panels for the house. It's a great deal for both parties. They also have an amazing veggie garden, chooks and they pretty much never buy anything new. I've also put our family on the waiting list for the Western Organic Collective. I don't know how long it will take to get in but I am really excited.

Health and Fitness

I've got some work to do!

This area needs a lot of work. I have fallen into bad eating habits. It's not my main meals- I still eat loads of veggies, yummy alternative grains, lean meats, fruit etc.. it's the extra bits and pieces. The chocolate, baked treats, ice cream etc that have crept back in and are stopping me from losing the weight I put on during pregnancy. I have about 20kg to lose. I hope to lose it by the end of the year. I think that is a realistic goal.

I have started working out again. I am gradually building up my weekly sessions. At the moment I am doing a circuit class at the gym on Tuesdays, Walking with my friend on Wednesdays, trying to get to the gym on thursdays to do my program and walking around the tan with my mum on Sundays. I would like to build this up to doing something every day eventually consisting mostly of running and weights as I know these activities make me feel really good and give me a really nice shape.

Craft

Molly learning to sew

Crafting is my new outlet. I have taught myself to crochet and am in the process of learning to sew. I get so much pleasure from reading craft books and perusing blogs for ideas. Stay tuned for pics of my creations! I am thinking of doing some giveaways. Anyone want a pressie??

If you're still reading, thank you! I love knowing that there are a few of you out there supporting me. Please drop me a comment and say hi! 

Much love!

xox