Why I haven't been blogging...

 

I'm having some technical difficulties getting my photos from my flash card onto the computer.  I know, sounds like it should be super simple right?  But for some reason I'm getting all these error messages when I try and transfer them from the server to my laptop and tech support (aka the Mr.) has been working and skiing and hasn't been around to sort out my drama.  I feel a bit naked blogging without pictures. (I took these photos a couple of weeks ago when we visited my little niece)

We have no TV at our new house.  The valley we live in is some kind of media dead zone, which means we would need a 4 meter aerial to get reception.  The Mr. feels this would be a grossly unsightly addition to our abode, so I am forgoing Grey's Anatomy and The Shire in favour of architectural aesthetics.  Oddly, despite being a self confessed raging television addict, I haven't missed it in the slightest.  And since giving up TV cold turkey I no longer feel like listening to popular top 40 style radio stations.  I am living a vaguely puritanical existence in which I only listen to ABC classic FM and go to bed at around 8pm.  As you can see my life is endlessly exciting!

I have been busy in the kitchen, so when I finally manage to sort out my photographic issues I'll share some more exciting things.  I've been making lots of wintery treats like rainbow chard pies, beetroot pesto and Irish beer bread.  Turi and I have even been experimenting trying to recreate Far Away Tree pop biscuits!

In which I don't win parent of the year...

When I first became a parent I had visions of creating a childhood bubble free from the trappings of our consumer culture.  My house wasn't going to be full of plastic crap, my kids weren't going to watch TV, the words 'control' and 'crying' were never going to be used adjacently in a sentence coming out of my mouth and I certainly had no intentions of bribing my children.   I guess it's easy to be idealistic in theory.  Reality is somewhat more difficult.

I can count the number of times I've slept through the night in the past twelve months on one hand.  More often than not I (or Mr) spend several hours in the middle of the night tending to wakeful children.  When it comes to sleep Minty operates by the motto, 'outwit, outplay, outlast'.  In fact come to think of it Minty would probably make the ultimate survivor contestant.  She eats virtually nothing, would happily go for weeks without bathing, loves to go to the toilet outside and has more stamina and determination than anyone else I've ever met (adults included).  

Anyway, I digress.  Frankly it's difficult to keep high parental standards when you're extremely sleep deprived.  I've already broken my commitment for Lent.  The past couple of days we've watched more TV than I care to admit.  If I was going to make excuses I'd tell you it was because everyone has been sick, we've been cooped up in the house and I've been having trouble even keeping my eyes open let alone coming up with meaningful activities to keep the kids occupied all day.  But no one really likes excuses, least of all me.  So all I can do is wake up tomorrow and try again.  Try not to resort to ABC for kids, try not to operate on a short fuse, and try not to be that parent who garners scornful looks from strangers for her out of control children.

Pictures on our way to the doctor.  I thought I was being a responsible parent seeing as the kids have been sick for 3 weeks.  The doctor on the other hand seemed to think I was this lady.

shrove tuesday...

Pancake day today - one of my favourite days of the year!  Sadly it also marks the beginning of lent, 40 days of abstinence.  This year I am planning to give up TV.  No I don't mean that I will give up watching TV (are you people crazy??), I mean that I am not going to let the kids watch TV.  Those of you who are parents will know that this is a bigger sacrifice for me than for the kids.  Turi doesn't even really like TV, and though Minty often asks (read nags) to watch something in reality she would rather go to the park or spend time painting.  I think I'll still let them watch one movie a week, because I'm not sure I can go all week without some alone time - I'm not a saint after all.  It's going to be a long few weeks… I'll let you know how it goes.

Today's pictures are a peek at some photos I took for a friend last week.  This is little baby Maggie and her big brother Thomas.  Very sweet little kids and good fun to photograph!