Fresh Obsession!

A week ago now, my life changed...I discovered the joys of groceries delivered. Wow! Don't underestimate the delight such a simple thing could bring you. I was enlightened to this service recently by a friend and I finally got online, shopping list beside the computer. Ticked the boxes of the items I wanted as I sat in the air conditioned comfort of my home and noted the stark contrast and great benefits of this system. No children in tow to keep happy and high on biscuits. No overwhelming array of items all vying for my attention. No temptation to try the latest product and thus blow out the weekly budget (again!) no wondering down one aisle and then the next and then back again in my consistently inefficient shopping style. No waiting in line, no loading onto the conveyer belt, no carrying bags, no drive home, no unloading from the car... Really, there is no question, it just makes good sense! A day and a half after my order was placed, my home delivery arrived at my door! Three boxes of grocery goodness. This particular service specialises in fresh fruit and veg (hence the name 'fresh obsession') which is a bit hard to come by here as we don't have any local ' fruit and veg' stores. I also seem to regularly struggle to decide which veggies I want at the supermarket as few are appealing and all are so expensive. Somehow doing it online simplifies it and encourages me to 'stock up' on all these fresh and competititively priced vegies. Another great thing is that delivery is free if your order exceeds $65, which mine easily did. It is great!

Before you start celebrating with me the fact that I won't ever set foot in a supermarket again, I have to tell you that it won't completely eliminate shopping at the supermarket. The pantry items they have on offer are pretty limited and fresh milk is exorbitantly priced. But, it does mean the trips will be less frequent, shorter and I won't be burdened with as much to carry to and from. I actually kind of enjoy the shopping part of going to the supermarket; it is more the logisitics of loading and unloading, the frustration of constantly forgetting my green bags and how much time it always seemsto take that I am looking forward to saying goodbye to.

I encourage other mums everywhere to investigate similar services, it can make your life so much easier giving you more time in your week, is surprisingly economical (especially when you take out all the usual impulse buys!) as well as giving you that smugly satisfied feeling that you are a mum ahead of the game!

My Girls

We had come to find our pleasures in new ways-in spilled applesauce and tiny nose prints on window-panes and the soft symphony of bare feet padding down the hallway at dawn. Even on the worst days, we usually managed to find something to smile over, knowing by now what every parent sooner or later figures out; that these wondrous days of early parenthood-of diapered bottoms and first teeth and incomprehensible jabber-are but a brilliant, brief flash in the vastness of an otherwise ordinary lifetime. John Grogan 'Marley and me'

I recently watched the movie 'Marley and me' and found it a delightful, heartwarming and refreshingly 'family' movie. I am now reading the book the movie was based on and enjoying it equally as much. The quote above was taken from the chapter I just read. Its a lovely thing to be re-inspired about parenting, because truly it IS a wondrous thing. Last night Shane and I watched a Louie Giglio presentation where he talks about the amazing vastness of the universe but finishes with talking about the miracle of life in the womb and how incredible the journey from conception to birth is. It truly is a miracle. The wonder and awe of new life can quickly be overwhelmed by the increasing demands of parenting. It has its ups and downs, we all know that.

I am a writer. You might have noticed, but I dont' mean it in an artsy self identification kind of way. I just mean I like to write, although it really moves behind liking to a sort of compulsion. I used to write a journal. I mean- I used to WRITE EVERYDAY, for like, 15 years! I stopped journaling daily about 6 months into marriage. It would seem that my whole 'going to bed' routine got severely mucked about and I no longer had the same capacity to leave the light on for hours reading and writing. More than that, I came to a point where I felt guilty, actually guilty, if I hadn't recorded the days events. It was like I had assignments hanging over my head.

I really had a fear of forgetting life. Forgetting the things that matter, I have this desire to know how I spent each day. I hated (and still do somewhat) the idea of having no idea what I did two months ago on Wed 26th, for example. For a long time if I ever wondered; 'hmm what did i DO that day?' - I could just go and look it up. (However I didn't find that necessary very often... )Anyway, back to my point; I was feeling guilty and under compulsion and it didn't feel right. I thought it might be best to lay my pen and journalling down for a season.

So I have, and I have been ok with that, it has been quite liberating. Although, in one way I think 'gosh my life is more interesting than ever, I should be writing about it now'. But honestly I can't do that every day. There are enough things left undone at the end of each day as it is I am not about to add in another voluntary one! So perhaps the season of journaling every event of every day is over now, but I still want to write, to record things that happen that are important.

I don't want to forget the good things God has done for us. I want there to be some record. I cannot think of anything more precious and amazing to write about then my two little miracles. No, they weren't medical miracles- just the usual, run of the mill, pregnancy and birth story you could hear from anyone. But of course, there is nothing run of the mill or ordinary about a life that has God's fingerprints all over it. My girls are extraordinary, mini miracles from God. They are a gift. A gift for me and Shane to love, watch over, cherish, nurture, teach, bathe, dress, feed, discipline. It's an all absorbing life calling that is messy and exhausting and heartbreakingly beautiful. I am so grateful to be a mum.

Haunted from the grave.

Well, I thought live rats running about the house was bad, but let me tell you rooming with dead ones is far worse.

A couple of days after the little rat 'treats' went out things seemed to be going smoothly. On the second or third day after we had put them out I bumped into Mr. Rat in the kitchen, he seemed to be somewhat sluggish and didn't really run away very quickly. I went and got the broom, optimistically thinking I could just sweep him out the door and that would be that. He was still too quick for me and ended up getting into his favourite crack next to the stove. Rats! (he he he) well he obviously won't last much longer now...

The next day, a Sunday, having pretty much forgotten about this encounter, I noticed a slight odour that was not so appealing in the kitchen. It smelled somewhat like food scraps or something that might be rotting and I was in search of it. It was also Sunday morning, we were running late and I was irritable.
"WHAT is that smell?"
I demanded from Shane.
"ARGH!"
I vented my frustration.
"Let's leave and then you won't notice it anymore!"
Shaned snapped, for once he was the one trying to rush me out the door (believe me THAT doesn't happen very often!)

On the drive to church the obvious dawned on me. Having seen with my own eyes one very sluggish rat limp behind the stove the day before
"You know what? That smell is the rat. We will have to get it out after church".

I was right and we did (well when I say 'we' I really mean I got Shane to do it. I think fetching decomposing rats definitely falls in the male 'to do list' don't you?) it was fairly simple. He knew where it was and got on with it. We cleaned up behind the stove and wiped our hands of the whole messy business. Or so we thought.

Ok, I always knew there were possibly more rats out there and so a few days later I began noticing 'the smell' again.
"Grrr"
Ok, we just follow our nose and find the culprit and easy peasy its dealt with. Well, the smell got stronger and we looked for the rat and we looked. We pulled back the stove again and tipped it up and looked underneath. We unscrewed the back of the stove, as that seemed to be where the smell was coming from, pulled out all the insulation on the back of the stove and still nothing! Oh my gosh this smell is driving me insane! It hasn't been so strong that I've contemplated evacuation or anything but its just THERE. Hanging around putting me off doing the dishes, or anything in the kitchen really. In fact it is putting me off housework in general. What is the point of getting the house spick and span if it still smells disgusting? It's hard to convey just how much of an impact this odour has had on my spirits. It has really got me down, really frustrated, annoyed and discouraged. This dead creature is sure rocking my world right now.

I think the smell was the worst on Tuesday and Wednesday...It has faded significantly, but I still get whiffs of it as I am doing the dishes or putting things in cupboards and then the search starts again, the futile search that leads to more frustration!!! It has bothered me so much that I am starting to wonder if it is some satanic plot to throw me off my game just as I am finding myself in a bit of domestic bliss.... Yes, I am happy to say since we have been back in Darwin my housekeeping has reached new heights in consistency and efficiency and I have been feeling pretty pleased with myself. And then this .... this smell is threatening to throw me off my game. Well, whatever and whoever the culprit I will have it known, that this domestic goddess will not be defeated by any rats; dead or alive! SO THERE!