There is a constant attentiveness involved with being a mother. Annabel Crabbe, when attempting to describe what kind of “work” is involved in mothering, writes about lying on the couch reading a book while the kids play. She is not doing any childcare “work” in that moment. But she also can’t nip down to the…
Last year I started keeping track of books I finished once Finley was born, in late February. So if I did finish any books in January or the first part of February, they are lost to the annals of history. Part One: My reading in 2018 In 2018 I read 20 books: Fiction: The Last…
It only took me all of 2018 and a bit of 2019 to complete! See part one. July Persuasion, Jane Austen, novel, 5/5, re-read Rated highest number of likeable characters in an Austen novel. I enjoyed the pace of the love story: slow, then exploding all at once. I love the unexpected dramatic incident, and…
Early on, I noticed that the age milestones doubled in length each time. There is the newborn phase — six weeks. Then there is the end of the fourth trimester — three months. Then there is the six month milestone. And the next milestone isn’t until 12 months. “That’s not right,” said TLO when I…
Before I was pregnant, I had heard of “birth plans”. Even though I knew very little about childbirth, the concept sounded to me like an oxymoron. How can you plan something so notoriously unpredictable? I heard many stories of women who made meticulously detailed birth plans and then ended up traumatised when the childbirth experience…
This is my first guest post on this blog, and it is by my sister, Cecelia. PART ONE When I was 17 I went to the doctor because I was concerned that I might have ADHD. When I suggested it to her she was completely dismissive and said “Oh no! If you did, it would…
There is a sexist expression “Behind every great man there has to be a great woman”, but I think the reverse applies. I used to think I was just very good at making time for projects and getting stuff done. When I was trying to see the silver lining of Matt being away, I thought,…
As I write this, it is 10:21am, and the baby is asleep. He got to sleep at 9:30, which means he has already gone through one sleep cycle and is likely to sleep until 11 (fingers crossed). If you are reading this and wondering why I just wrote a whole paragraph on sleep, I am…
When we were in Melbourne for Christmas holidays in 2016, I took my husband with me to meet up with a friend in Parkville. On the there we went through Melbourne University and I pointed out all the places that were special to me from my six years I spent there. He wasn’t that interested,…
Let me paint a picture. Say you want to get into slow living. Maybe you want to be more present. You want to declutter; live a more minimalist life. Maybe you want to live a more low-tox life. You want to shop more ethically. You want to eat more healthily. You want to have a lighter…
When I first heard about the campaign ‘Take 3 For The Sea‘ on my favourite podcast, The Slow Home Podcast, I wasn’t that impressed. The basic premise is that you pick up three pieces of rubbish when you leave the beach, or any waterway. What does three pieces of rubbish do? I thought. I also thought,…
In January 2017, I started meditating every single day. I started out doing five minutes a day and made my way up to ten minutes (1). My ritual was to meditate as soon as I got out of bed. When I got pregnant, the only change was that I had breakfast before meditating. And I…
