30/1/12: rain! After such a dry few weeks, it was delightful to have such a huge amount of rain. The pond that had dried up has been filled to overflowing! Our garden is rejoicing with its beautiful, long drink, but the weather is not very conducive to drying the washing or enabling little children to run amok outdoors!

31/1/12: op shopping. I got this cute plate and this gorgeous, lovely coat. Just to splash a bit of lovely bright vintage in my home.

1/2/12: it’s February, and what a cool date we have today. One of my highlights was having a cup of tea with a friend. As our sons played happily, and Georgia and her friend (who had slept over) played happily, and with Elora at Childcare, we were able to have uninterrupted conversations (mostly). I felt so normal after that, being able to sit and chat, without running around so much, and enjoying the company of a truly awesome girl.

2/2/12: I had the opportunity to have a day to myself today, because Elora was at Childcare and the other two children went to play at their friends’ house. It was weird. In fact, as I drove away after saying goodbye to my children, I felt a bit ill. I just wanted to cry. My tummy was in knots and I had that horrible feeling that I had left something behind (because, of course, I had)! So after lunch with my lovely husband, and a few errands (which included picking up cupboard doors for my new cupboards and some op shopping), I had actually started to relax, and I spent some time outside on the deck, in the sunshine, drinking a hot cup of tea and wondering what that noise was (it’s called silence. Have you heard it?). Of course, Elora, as she ran up to me, squealing with delight on seeing me when i picked her up from childcare, really made my day.

3/2/12: with Elora in Childcare for the day, I had time with just Georgia and Matthew. We went into Hobart for the day, after picking up school books and school uniforms. School uniforms! Matthew’s school uniform! For a while, Matthew has been asking about going to the museum. It was wonderful to have a leisurely, relaxed explore through the museum, even if it is undergoing a lot of renovation and is partly closed. The Antarctica exhibition is brilliant: very tactile and great for young hands and minds. I loved having a picnic in the park with my two oldest children, and I loved watching them have so much fun. It was a wonderful day. A great way to spend one of the last days of their summer holiday!

4/2/12: what a great day. Saturday. Sunshine. Summer. The type of day that your children love to run around in. Washing dries quickly and smells fresh. Cupboards and chicken pen are built. Eagles soar above our heads gracefully and magnificently. I will miss them when they travel north when the weather gets warmer. Another 6m of shelving is put into the pantry, making it a spacious storage place indeed. Saturday: BBQ dinner with wonderful friends and wonderful wine; children run about happily. Fresh blueberries are squished on the boards of our new deck. Dogs happily eat leftovers. We talk and laugh, late into the night and wake the next day with a headache.

5/2/12: such a quiet day, with my firstborn spending the weekend with a friend. I spent the afternoon outside with Matt and Ella, just pottering around, picking flowers, exploring the vege garden, watching clouds, playing in the cubby house and watching the chook pen get built. It has been such a marvelous summer; I don’t want it to end.