Update

A stolen moment to Blog! I should be heading to bed now, but I just wanted to take a quick moment. The depression I have been struggling with for a while is all but gone. The major reasons for this are Prayer, My lovely Mum coming down and giving me some much needed rest by taking the kids for walks and doing my laundry and Beloved is finally HOME! Rid of other commitments that had been soaking up any 'spare' time he is now at home with us and I finally feel like we are making progress in making this house our home. The other major reason is Garden Therapy. I highly recommend shifting wheelbarrow loads of garbage, rocks etc. to help get the brain chemistry sorted out!

Erin:
has discovered a deep facination with Slaters - other wise known as pill beetles! We have been having lots of mini-science lessons as we find things under various rocks etc. in the yard and slaters have captured her interest. She collects them, puts them in her little wheel barrow and wheels them around the yard. She talks to them and 'feeds' them and calls them her "jumping snail bugs" - snail because of their shape when curled up, no idea where the jumping comes into it.

Billy:
rides his bike with nobody pushing all the way to the post office and back, almost 1.5Km. No mean feat for a 2 year old on a tricycle! His current obsession is counting things - most of the time he makes it up to five without getting too confused. He is in pig heaven at the moment because I have been letting him help me move bricks and chunks of concrete in his little wagon.

Christopher:
has narrowly avoided the nickname "Emperor Chins" because Daddy has suggested it may not be as cute in later life! I started calling him this because of his extra chins and when I tickle them and call him Emperor it makes us both laugh! When the other kids started calling him this also Beloved suggested it may be best to let that one go. Apparently what is adorable at 1 year isn't so much at 30!

The New Baby:
has started kicking back with a vengance when the older kids are too exuberant with their pokes and prods! Especially when Christopher digs in a knee or elbow. I have prepared clothes to be washed (I have enough boys clothes for triplets), set up the basinette and cleaned the carseat ready to go into the car. I've realised I need cotton basinette sheets as I only have Flannelette, all my other babies being cold weather babies! My back gets quite sore if I don't get out and moving (2 rainy days last week made things VERY uncomfortable) and first thing in the morning or last thing at night are not great times for me. I need to get to my osteopath and have it fixed.

The home:
now has a FULL bathroom floor! I am told that a SHOWER by the end of the month is a real possibility! This is a big step up from the gigantic hole that WAS in the bathroom floor. Progress is happening. Blue wrens have darted in where the floor has rotted away near the door twice in the last week. It will almost be a shame to get that fixed. The blue wrens don't panic, they just sit on the kitchen bench waiting for me to open the door to let them out looking a little peeved that I haven't got food for them! Home management for my part is still crawling its way back but has been majorly helped by Mum pitching in for a few days.

The Garden:
is starting to take shape. All the rubbish etc. is out of the back yard and I have started digging the bricks out of the front yard. I limit myself to three barrow loads a day so I don't get caught up and spend all day every day out there (easy to do!) and in deference to all those who get on the "don't over do it, you're pregnant you know" band wagon (interesting these people rarely get worried about me carrying both the boys around or cleaning the kitchen when I am dead on my feet, but the minute I pick up a shovel....). I have set ideas in my head and it would be easy just to throw myself into gardening to the detriment of the rest of my responsibilities. I have sat down and set myself goals and chunked the tasks into bite sized jobs. There are days when I have to force myself to stop because I have finished the allotted jobs for the day but I am always glad I do because if I take time to maintain everything else, it keeps my gardening time guilt free!

Exercise:
is a thousand times easier with the warmer weather. I have hit my goal of 3 barrow loads in the garden 4 times a week and 4 walks this week easily. Of course I am not loosing weight at the moment (really really not!) but I am feeling fitter and my back complains the minute I stop. I am hoping I won't be completely horrified by post-birth pictures of myself like I was when I had Christopher! I have found it much easier to control my diet now I am feeling more on top of things emotionally. When I am depressed, it is very hard not to pop over to the supermarket accross the road for a chocolate hit at every opportunity. I am actually feeling confident enough to commit to not buying 'treats' more than once a week. Yes, I know that is still a lot and far more than I need, but I know me. If I try and go cold turkey my inner rebel takes over and I gorge myself. I am not proud of it, but it's true! Now to stop Beloved from getting me yummy treats in the shopping (OK, it is possible that he got them for him, but I like to think of it as his generosity rather than my theft!)

Jess