Sleep...

Oh gentle blog, how I have neglected you. We're riding the waves of green snotty colds, teething and the crashing relentless surf of sleep deprivation. Think of how the endless wash of water gradually turns rock to sand. We were rocks. Now we are the squeaky sand at our offspring's feet, begging (squeakily) for mercy (and sleep).

I think I'll move on.

Anyway, sleep is improving. Note to self: The following food items (whether she or I eat them) will make Rosa wake up every 23 minutes screaming like a banshee. Onions, bread... Well, okay. But try eliminating onions and bread from every meal. I LOVE toast. And onions. I could live on thinly sliced raw spanish onions with lots of butter on a slab of real crusty bread.

And her sleeping habits have changed. Not that long ago, she would only sleep on her tummy (I know, I know) with a feed and lots of backrubs. Now, all of a sudden, she must be on her back... while we squeeze her feet. Why? I don't know. But the secret for getting a screaming baby to instantly make little sleepy happy gurgling noises is to, yes hold onto both feet and gently squeeze, in a comforting rhythmic way. She stops yelling, laughs and sighs happily and pops off to sleep. Until we let go. That's the only catch.

Mummy's a bit sleep deprived darling...

But I can manage a few pics.

New project online

We made it outside today, after a spell of most welcome rain. Rosa discovered the joys of the swing. And Mari was most generous regarding allotted swing 'turns'. I think she rather enjoyed being in a position of power.

Life's been busy with the girls, but the main reason you haven't heard from me in just over a week is this: http://www.mcardle-carrington.com/brian. I've been working on digitizing the 1950's and 60's works of James' father; Brian McArdle. The negatives run to the thousands, but I've made a start. The webpage is just in it's very fledgling stages. A bit of design will come with time. For now I'm just getting what I've copied online. Have a look every now and then. There's some great stuff going up every few days from now on (kids willing), including portraits of people from Dame Edna to Queen Lizzie. Here's a preview. No guessing which one it is.

Early birds

Remember when you used to go camping in the bush? You'd wake up just as the sky started to change from black, to indigo, to dark violet, just around the edges. The birds have been twittering their way into your awareness for a while now, and you finally realise you can register at least six or seven different bird calls around you. It's that special feeling that makes me love living where we do. Get up early enough here and the bird songs filter in through the windows (and your bleary consciousness) and make the stumble through the dark all worthwhile. Almost.

You might have guessed by now that I'm up ridiculously early and, yes, am still making my way through the first cup of coffee. We've been tough with Rosa's sleep routine lately. It had gotten to the point where I was feeding her at least every hour or so during the night, so we decided to take action. James has been pulling the hard yards and putting her back to sleep most of the night, until I come to the rescue at about 4am. And it was working. It IS working. Last night was an anomaly. As far as I know James was on shift from 1am til 4:30, and I've been on since then. I'm guessing this lively little button next to me got some sleep somewhere in there, but tell you what, give me a quote about hen's teeth and I'll give you a sleeping baby.

Brrr...

Well, it's Winter then. Cold, blustery, and actually a little bit damp. So what did we do? We went to the park. Mari has got the hang of her trike so we watched and cheered and took photos and shivered and went all fuzzy inside when, after James said 'Pedal like mad!', Mari said "No, I'll pedal like happy!".

PLUR...

Ever been introduced to the glow stick? Famous in the nightclub scene; symbols of peace, love, unity and respect (otherwise known as PLUR.) Really. Props in the dance also known as 'glow-sticking', said to symbolise all the virtues above, where competition doesn't exist. It's all about sharing the love. And also REALLY cool to photograph in the hands of a (nearly) three year old. What better way to get her to bed. And cheap! Did I mention they're cheap? Oh, I'm a convert. If only I'd known what I was missing out on by not getting blissed out and raving all night in an abandoned warehouse.