Travel

Duane won a carton of Corona through some sort of boy bet.  I'm not sure of specifics, but it had something to do with "my football team being better than your", a typical pissing contest between men/boys.

I've had my  years days of beer drinking and haven't had one for a long time, but decided it might be a nice complement to the seafood marinara pasta that I'd made for dinner.  Duane served it up with the obligatory wedge of lime shoved in the neck.  I took a sip........and that's when it hit me.

I NEED TO TRAVEL

One taste of that sweet cerveza and I was immediately reminiscent of my travelling days.  Sipping corona's on the beach of Mexico, walking through a late night summer thunderstorm after a night out at the nightclubs of Cabo San Lucas, jumping out of a plane in Canada, standing at the top of the Canadian Rockies, visiting a million temples in Japan, walking down the cobblestone street of Old Montreal, dancing in the street as I enjoyed my very first snow fall in Banff.  The world is such a wondrous and amazing place and I want to discover as much of it as I can.

I want to spend chunks of time really exploring a country/place, not just quick little touristy visits.  I'm also toying with the idea of spending a year in another country.  Once I'm a fully registered Midwife (OMG, I can't believe that I'm on the way to that!!!), there are many countries that I can work in.  Canada being one.  Duane and I have talked about spending a year there.  I spent a year back in my youth (gosh, now I feel old - I have youth), and have a wonderful friend living there.  It would be a great base for lots of travel, and would give the kids a taste of another country without the daunting task of learning another language. 

I love my life right now.  I just know that once the kids are older, I can't wait to take them around the world and open there eyes to the amazing planet we live on.  Money is the only thing that will stop us, but even for that we have a plan.  Duane and I have worked out that we can pay our home loan off in 5 years.   So, by the time Grace is 10, which we agree is a perfect age to travel, we should be mortgage free!  It means we have to somehow come up with an extra $300 per week to do it, which sounds doable - I think.  I know that we wont be able to start immediately, but I'm hoping that next year I can maybe get an assistant nursing position and maybe fit in a few shifts every week.  I'm also thinking maybe over the holidays I can pick up some work, then just dump all that on the mortgage. 

So, next year we have decided to start the project.  It will probably take longer, but that's our plan for now.  We want to be paying the last payment on our mortgage by the end of 2016.  I can't imagine how that will feel.  Imagine not having to pay a mortgage EVER AGAIN!!!  Being able to save all that money instead and use it on much better things than just interest!   The hardest bit in all this will be refraining from wanting to get a bigger and better house.  Duane and I often talk about our "dream" home, complete with acreage and ensuite.  However, we both have agreed that to be in our house and mortgage free would make us happier than extra land and a bigger/newer house.

One thing that may have to be sacrificed though is another baby.  Having a 3rd would mean me out of the workforce longer and not being able to pay the house off as fast as we want to.  I may be ok with it too.  Unless I think of tiny little wondersuits - then I'm a mess.  But right now, I'm thinking about making the best life for the family I have here.  If I am blessed with another, we'll work around it and everything will be fine too.

The best years

Just lately, I've started to get a bit nostalgic about the last 4 years.

It was November 2005 that I stopped work in the Hydrodog business that Duane & I had, and was waiting excitedly for our little girl to arrive. Well that little blessing came on the 27th November, she made me a Mother and for the last 4 years I have been a stay at home Mum with the both kids.

I think about the last 4 years, and I can honestly say that it has been the most enjoyable of my life. Have I cherished every moment? Well, yes I think I have - but not the crappy ones. I wanted them to be over and done with quick smart, but I think I have made the absolute most of my time with the kids. I do feel very lucky that I have been able to stay at home this long, it has been tough at times financially, but Duane & I both agreed that it was far more important for me to be at home than getting ahead financially. We've managed fine, it's just we haven't been able to save much and it's meant we have had to be extra frugal. Definitely worth it though.

As I fill out University applications for next year and think about childcare arrangements, I have realised how much I am going to miss being with the kids all the time and I am scared that this time has slipped by too quickly and I'll never get it again. My dream was to create a happy, magical and fun childhood for them. Have I achieved that? I hope I have.

I love our lazy mornings, waking and chatting in my bed for an hour or so - will that still happen next year? Or will I be off and out the door before the kids even open their eyes? I treasure our lazy morning breakfasts together and getting ready for what the day brings. Every day we have something on, and I really enjoy all of them. Monday is whatever day, usually a visit to the park, housework and maybe a play date. Tuesday is my Grace free day, so X and I usually head to the op-shops, do groceries or go visiting. Wednesday is Mothers group. Thursday morning is playgroup and afternoon is the Silkwood playgroup. Friday is my other Mothers group which usually goes all day. Our days are easy and relaxed.

We get to have Pj's days if we want or spend the whole day doing whatever we want. There is a lovely balance between schedule and spontaneity.

I have enjoyed being an at home Mum so much and I can't imagine life getting better. I really believe that I will look back on these years as the best of my life, and soon they are going to end.

Next year is going to be a juggling act between studying, working and parenting and I'm hoping that I can keep all 3 balls in the air.

Santa came early.....

Well I must have been very good this year as Santa has come nice and early and been very, very generous.

I am now the very proud owner of a fancy new camera. Not just any camera either, a Canon 400D - digital SLR.

I have the old film version and used to love playing with it. However since the introduction of point and shoot digital cameras, I haven't used it. Now I dont trust myself with a film camera, I'd waste too much money on film and processing for crappy photos. No excuse now though, well except that I am still to work out what all the buttons do!

I got it at a super bargain too. After checking it out in every single shop on the coast the cheapest I could get it for was $939, which was mates rates from Duane's cousin. I was happy with that price, but me being the tight bum that I am was hoping to get it for cheaper. I called Myer, as I had a $200 gift voucher to use there so thought that would bring the $$ down a bit. It must have been my lucky day because they only had 1 left, and it was on clearance for $745!!!!!!

After clearing it with the husband I sped in to pick it up! It is absolutely gorgeous, all shiny and black and full of promise of beautiful photos. It comes with 2 lenses, one everyday one and the other which is paparazzi style. I also got a bonus camera bag for it, but that will take a few weeks to get. My old lenses also fit it, so that's also a bonus.

I have had a play and taken a few good pic's already. I know that I have to learn how to use it in full manual to take advantage of how brilliant it is. Dependant on what I do next year (I find out on the 15th January yay or nay) I want to do a photography course. Grace is a perfect subject, Xav is not. She will sit there for ages, posing and playing up to the camera. Xav on the other hand has to be shot in "action" mode, the whirlwind just does not sit still.

Eeek...I've applied for Uni!

I've bitten the bullet and applied to uni for next year. I'm still not 100% sure I'll even go ahead with it if I get in, maybe I'll defer it for a year. Either way, all things going to my plan, I will be at Uni within the next 2 years. Wow, scary AND exciting!

I've applied for Bachelor of Midwifery at Australian Catholic University, sounds religious and all but they promise me it's not! If I do get accepted I am going to negotiate going part time, which would mean 2 or 3 days on campus in Brisbane. Not completely happy with having to travel up there, but I'm sure it's doable. I'll just have to get my bum into gear and get some organisation happening.

I'm not even going to think about the logistics of it at the moment, the thought of putting the kids into care makes my stomach tumble. Grace would be fine, she's quite happy going off to school now, but my little boy just seems way to young to be offloaded to someone else. I was hoping to avoid this until he was 2, like I did was Grace. Oh well, we will see what happens. I have to be accepted first.

As I said it's not my first choice. I really want to get into the Bach of Mid at Griffith, but that course is still only a maybe for starting in 2010. So maybe I will defer ACU, then apply for Griffith in 2010 (if it goes ahead).

I really can't wait to get started though. This is what I definitely want to do, it has become my passion. The thought of eventually being a midwife and being able to share the experience of birth and babies with other families just makes me giddy with excitement. I imagine myself older, wiser and still catching babies.

Oh gosh, I am so excited about learning and fully immersing myself in midwifery. I haven't studied for ages so I know that it will be hard, but surely because it is something that I am passionate about I will be able to fumble my way through.

Becoming a midwife is what I have been dreaming about over the last few years, more since Xav's birth. A big influence on this has been Tracey, my amazing midwife. To hear her speak about midwifery with such passion is just contagious. I want to be helping women through their pregnancies, births and those first precious few weeks with their newborns.

So I guess now I just wait until January and see if they want me or not. It's a very competitive course to get into, so probably should prepare myself for not even getting in. Nah, I think I will just be blissfully naive, maybe even forgetting that I have applied and be pleasantly surprised when I get the call in January!