rebecca:vavic

Mumma Mutterings #4...

Today marks the end of school holidays! It certainly will be quiet around here today, Mikaela is back to 3rd Grade and Joshua is at DayCare for his one day a week...

Ben and I will be running about to all the appointments I tend to book in on Monday's while Joshua is at DayCare. I need to start blocking at least ONE Monday per month just for Ben and I to stay home and chill out!!

This was the first two week holiday where I had all three kidlets... not all of that time by myself {a week down the coast with Nath and his parents, who were all very hands on and helpful}... then a few days by myself with all three of them. It was a very busy but fun time...

One day last week we went out to KidCity, which was great for all of us...

There are even age appropriate toys for Ben...

There was a couch, I got to sit and feed Ben... and play with him... we had some great chats before he went down for his nap. I was then able to do some shading on some "pretty girls" I had sketched and ready to go... some blog surfing on my iphone.

Mikaela and Joshua only returned to me when they were thirsty or hungry. They were all sweaty and breathless each time. Hilarious! 

Aside from the odd moments of frustration or overwhelm, I have really enjoyed getting to spend so much time with all my children at once. Well this has been the first time really since Benjamin was born.

I know I am very fortunate to be a stay-at-home Mumma and to be able to spend so much time with them.

For a few years Mikaela was in daycare and then after school care while I worked... she has no ill side effects as far as I can tell :) In fact, she occasionally she asks to go back to afters. For the most part tho, I think she enjoys being collected when the bell goes, coming home and having afternoon tea, doing her homework and chilling out for a bit. I know I do.

This term, thankfully she only has activities two nights a week... but pretty full on weekends. Saturdays will be taken up with Little Athletics in the morning followed by basketball in the afternoon. Early Sunday mornings she will have swimming lessons. And as if 8am is much of a sleepin, it is now totally out of the question :)

Life is pretty busy for us during school term, and that works for us... we all enjoy the activities we are all involved in, together, as a family as often as we can. Unfortunately we have a clash with Mikaela's little athletics and Joshua's swimming, so I wont see that for a while :( 

I do love all the things we get up to during school term...

But we sure like the holidays!! 

We enjoy just "being", all of us together.

It makes me realise and appreciate that life is very sweet indeed.

Bxo

Mumma Mutterings #3...

newspaper blackout poem, originally uploaded by Precious Roy.

No News for Me...

I am not sure about you, but I have been totally disturbed by the news lately... I don't watch or read it and I am not ashamed to admit that.

I follow world current affairs, but the rest I can do without. From kidnappings to torture and abuse... I do not need to know, or want to know about these happenings. Ignorance is bliss.

Especially when you have small children and the thought of these things happening to them {or any child} is enough to make me want to vomit after reading some of these articles.

Most disturbing is that my daughter, who is eight years old... will read over my shoulder, or hear it on the news... Mumma what is "this", what is "that"... things that I really do NOT want to explain to her at such a tender age. It is my role to protect her innocence.

For me, no news is good news!

Peace

Bxo

Mumma Mutterings #2

How do you do it all ?

Mumma, wife, artist, photographer, blogger, friend, sister, daughter...

I think while at Handmade Market recently I had lots of comments like that, or "oh my you have a new baby, oh you have three children... how do you have the time to do all this"... but I don't think that is such an amazing achievement... to be an artist and a mother. It is tough sometimes, and basically I need to let go of lots of things: expectations mainly.

When I am totally immersed in a painting... it is hard to let it go and know that the paint will dry and maybe my brush will get ruined... but I do, if my baby cries, I run to him... if my children need my time, I give it to them. If I have a deadline to meet I give myself a LOT more time that I would have before children... sometimes double. 

Also often a collection looks like it must have taken forever, and it did take a lot of time... but it was over months that I built the collection.

Much like you, I juggle... I have many balls going at once, and as I said to my sister recently... one just rolled under the couch!

I do question myself from time to time... is my art really that important, is it a part of my life I need as equally as being a wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter... the conclusion I came to is yes, yes it is, very much so... because I am also just as equally, an artist.

Each aspect of my life fuels the other. My children are my muses... they inspire me to create certain pieces and lines of art. Giving time to my art makes me a better mother and person.

My first passion was scrapbooking and it is so easy to devote time and attention to documenting our lives, to my children's development and joys.

Now I am totally into Mixed Media and what I love about it so much are these few things:

• I can work on quite a few pieces at once, sometimes up to 30.
• I am able to recycle and use up my left over pieces from scrapbooking
• The layers I work in allow me to make progressive steps with the little time I have available... an hour here and hour there and within a few days I have a number of pieces created.
• It is transportable... I can make myself a studio bag and get things sketched, or cut out when I am waiting in the car for my daughter at the end of the school day, or while I watch her at swimming (Joshua reads or draws and Ben naps)...

I also have a very supportive husband who is a very hands on Dad and knows how important it is for me to get some time for me and for my art.

Monday's Joshua goes to childcare, we call "play" and he has a great time interacting with other children. That way I get to run any errands, such as posting pieces to clients, plus I get some time to create and to spend one-on-one with Ben too.

Often I incorporate an art session with the children... while I work on a piece, they do too. Mikaela will often help Joshua, as she has been creating her very own masterpieces for some years now.

Another one of my tactics is that most mornings I take the boys to a play group, Joshua gets to run about and have a lot of fun, I get some adult time. We go home, have lunch then while the boys nap, I get an hour or so to myself. It is the best of both worlds.

Also, I don't watch that much telly... and I go to bed pretty late.

Peace

Bxo

Mumma Mutterings #1...

Hey, I thought it would be fun to try a few weekly features on my blog, general rants (such as what you are about to receive) by way of Monday Mumma Mutterings, some tutorials, on a Tuesday of course; Wednesday maybe I share my inspirations.

So today I bring you the first of my "Mumma Mutterings"... basically my thoughts and venting on anything and everything to do with being a Mumma.

 Photo taken by Penny of paj when Ben was 3 days old. I didn't ask her to, but Penny did touch up this photo of me... I am far wrinklier IRL!

Glamour Mumma?

Lately I have been thinking about the elusive (and for me, non-existent) glamour Mumma. I am not a glamour Mumma, being a Mum for me is many things, most of them very rewarding and gorgeous... non of them involve glamour. Not a one!

This morning my husband asked me if I really wanted to wear the top I had on. A 3/4 sleeve green tee shirt, that I happen to really like... bought recently and only worn about 3-4 times.

Thing is it has breast milk stains all over it. Yes breastmilk stains, it is 100% fat I think... you may as well smear some butter into your top. There are stains on the front and on the sleeves, so pretty much a tie die kind of effect happening!

Ben vomits on me constantly... bless his cotton socks. Honestly I dont really care too much cause he is a baby and he is not doing it on purpose. Asides, to be honest, I cant really blame the baby... see I am, by nature, a bit of a numpty. I often spill food, or drinks on myself. 

Plus I have what is known in the breast feeding community as a "fast flow"... the other day while traveling home from a weekend in Melbourne, sitting in the Qantas lounge (all the ingredients for a Glamour Mumma, no?) I had to check that my milk spray had not landed upon the lady sitting beside me. From time to time I even spray myself in the eye. Not very glamourous. 

I did see a Glamour Mumma while in the lounge, her bubba was just a bit smaller than Ben, she had her in a sling. She had a lovely sheepskin jacket, skinny jeans and stiletto boots on - oh and she was rake thin... I just watched her with my mouth agape {again not very Glamour Mumma esk of me}. I wear converse sneakers, or ballet slipper style shoes, jeans - and often tracky dacks... and clearly have no problem wearing baby spew tops in public. I don't even want to think of the damage I could inflict on myself and/or bubba if I were to wear a pair of stiletto's. 

Recently I went clothes shopping with my sisters. I felt quite special as they "jshusshed" me and put me together. I felt a bit more like "me" and not all Mumma. Still I felt uneasy with these purchases. I could not work out why I had this uneasy feeling. Was it because I was still a bit overweight after the birth? No, it wasnt that because I am all about embracing the now (and not thinking, I will be happy when... when I loose a bit of weight, when I go on a holiday, when schmen, NOW is the time to be happy), right so it wasnt that. I realised what the matter was when I first put some of the clothes on ... it was the breast feeding factor, did they cater for such activity? Thankfully they did/do... but I quickly realised that the very beautiful silky fabric will have breastmilk all over it within about half an hour of putting it on. Which is exactly what happened yesterday, I had to remove said gorgeous material garment to spray it with stain remover before even getting out of the house.

So I am not sure how they do it... these Glamour Mumma's, not when their bubba's are so little. When they are older, yes. I think I had it pretty much together again by the time Mikaela was 4 years old. So, I'll get back to you on this matter, and show you my Fabuloso Glamourous Mumma self in about 4+ years. LOL! 

Next week... "How do you do it?"

Oh and if you have any specific questions you would like me to answer, leave a comment, or drop me an email and I'll make a post of it.

Bxo