Stretch Marks

Today in the bathroom my daughter was looking at my stomach and told me that my stretch marks were really pretty. She has also told me that she likes my misshapen belly button and that it's really cute. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy at the affection she has for my body. I hold my belly lovingly when I think about the wonderful things that my body can do. I love the way that the stretch marks hug my belly as though they are holding something special, they are proof that I grew an entire person inside me. There is nothing less beautiful about women who hold scars across their bellies, my body is real. How can any woman allow her body to be photographed and Photoshoped in a way that changes what she really looks like and who she really is. That woman doesn't exist. Embrace all that you are and love the body you are in.

Yoga and a Sleeping Baby

Today is the first day of school for the year so with India at school and Dave away for a few days I found myself with some deliciously quiet free time while Mio slept. Here's a bit of the bliss I experienced.

Handstands

So, I've done 191 days of handstands and I don't have a video yet so I thought it was about time Mio and I busted out the camera.

365 Handstands- Week 27

Day 183- Sunset handstands on my birthday 

Day 184- On these oh so hot nights it's nice to practice handstands using the wall. It's also great for increasing up-side-down time and building strength.

Day 185

Day 186

Day 187

Day 188

Day 189

Saurkraut

My very first batch of saurkraut is ready to eat! I'm quite excited about making my own fermented foods, I can't wait to try other fermented vegetables and get loads of healthy bacteria into our bodies.

Next on my list in Kimchi, but for now I have purple saurkraut.

Elimination Communication Through the Night

 At home I like to practice elimination communication with Mio, I like that I can understand her when she's telling me she needs to go to the toilet. Early on in this journey I discovered that she doesn't wee in her sleep, she always wakes up when she needs to go to the toilet so on the nights when I'm not completely exhausted and I haven't stayed up too late I let Mio sleep without a nappy and have the potty beside the bed for when she needs to go through the night. I've been through nights where I've taken her to the toilet half the night and been too tired for the rest of the night. And nights where I've put a nappy on just in case I can't wake up. There's been plenty of nights when I've just been too tired to manage it and nights when she's slept naked next to me the whole night and stayed dry.

With Melbourne experiencing a heat wave at the moment it's way too hot to be sleeping with clothes on. Mio has been spending most of the day naked in front of the fan and I've been taking her to the toilet through the night so she can enjoy the beauty of being naked in this heat.

Last night she didn't get to sleep until midnight because it was just too hot. I was exhausted from being so close to another person all day in this heat so I was happy when she finally drifted off to sleep. I watched her beautiful naked sleeping little body and was so happy that we have been able to practice elimination communication together.

Hot Summer Nights

So today, my birthday, has been super hot, and now my baby is sleeping through this hot, hot night. She's such a beauty and so cute when she's sleeping.

365 Handstands- Week 26

Day 176

Day 177

Day 178

Day 179

Day 180- Always looking for new ways to build strength, flexibility and spice put my handstand practice. 

Day 181

Day 182- On the eve of my birthday.

Chaos and Organisation

By far it is India's ability to make mess that frustrates Dave and I most as parents. As children Dave and I were both clean and organised, I remember mum telling me stories of how, as a little girl, I would clean up the play room after my sisters; so I find it really difficult to understand how India manages to make so much mess.

We feel that at six years old and being very independent (she's been making her own breakfast since she was three years old) she needs to start taking responsibility for the care of her things and her space. This has been much easier said than done, she clearly struggles with organisation and packing up when she's finished something, and often has many different creative and imaginative projects on the go. While trying not to stifle her creativity we've come up with a few ways to help keep some kind of order in her bedroom and the rest of the house but keeping things clean is still a struggle. We've tried having less things in her room and having shelves for her instruments and art supplies outside her room as well as providing an art space in the lounge room and access to her sewing kit in my room.

Despite the mess and chaos that seems to be a fairly constant element in our house these days she does often surprise me with her ability to organise and decorate her space even if it doesn't stay that way for long.

Yesterday she lined up all her shells in the hallway when she was cleaning her room. When I came upstairs I couldn't help but smile at the care and effort she put into organising them and it reminded me that under all that mess and chaos that drives us crazy is an amazingly creative little girl.

365 Handstands- Week 25

Day 169- Distant handstands on New Years eve

Day 170

Day 171

Day 172- Definitely one of my favorite supported inversions.

Day 173- With way too many late nights doing art under my belt I really needed a quiet yoga session with the soothing light of my Himalayan salt lamp. Today we celebrate Mio's 7 months out of the womb.

Day 174- A very windy day in the park.

Day 175

7 Months Old

My beautiful baby is 7 months old and is growing into the most amazing, cheeky, gorgeous, chilled out little girl. She's so close to crawling now and enjoys playing with toys and sucking on food. She loves being close to me and we spend a lot of time snuggled up in her wrap together.

Dave has always been very firm on not wanting any more than two children and despite my protest I have come round to accepting that I've probably had all the babies I will have and I quite like that we have a cute little family with two beautiful girls. Last night though, while sitting on the couch together with Mio sleeping on my chest Dave said to me that if we had more time then he would love to populate the world with me. It was a beautiful moment. Our babies were made with love and I'm so happy that Dave has helped to make me a mother, without him I wouldn't be the woman that I am today, what a lucky girl I am.

Sleeping on my chest and held close with our favorite woven wrap.

Crochet Bibs

As is probably very obvious by now, I'm very keen to make as many clothes for my children as possible and with Mio beginning her adventures with food I needed to make some bibs.

I have plenty of yarn that my mum gave me recently so I figured I should put it to good use. I didn't follow a pattern, just made it up as I went.

I still need a few more for the collection but this is a good start.