The start of our veggie garden and some lemony baked goodness

I'm very excited to say that my veggie garden is officially under way. It's been a long four years in the making, although most of that four years has admittedly been procrastination on my behalf. At one point last year I got excited and started to dig it, only to find half of my backyard has buried cement in it (which, according to my neighbours, was a swimming pool a few years before we moved in. Thanks for filling that in, previous owner, it's not like I would love a pool or anything!), so because of that, our only option has been raised garden beds. So on Tuesday afternoon we went and got our first garden bed. How excitement. Until we realised we'll need another modular bed to go on top of it to make it deep enough, but that's okay, because in the meantime we can leave some bunny litter on the top to rot down a little.

Hooray for our fur children for contributing!

Cairne and Ellie playing. Rei pretending to work.

Excitement!

My child, displaying her building skills! Ikea flat packs, here we come!

Now to leave this for a couple of weeks. I'm so impatient!

Strawberries! Can't wait for these. Neither can my Strawberry Monster, Ellie.

One has a pink flower. This is new and exciting to me!

Apparently Rei can't wait either.

Lending a hand by putting the tags in.

When we first moved in, my cousin and her friends got us a lemon tree as a housewarming gift. It has fruit all year round, and while pottering in the backyard, I decided it was time to harvest some. And by some I mean copious amounts. Guess who's making lots of lemon stuff!

Making lemon tea cake. Recipe here.

So the finished product doesn't look very attractive, but it was damn delicious!

On the lemon baking list this week we have the lemon cupcakes the Julie made in the first season of Masterchef and some lemon curd. Mmmm, delish! I'll be sure to share some recipes. And hey, if you need some lemons, I know someone who has a bunch, haha.

To Sydney and back again!

Road trip! I love road trips so much! 
Hubby is a Sydney boy originally, so this means we try to make a trip back at least once a year.
It's always been a fun thing to do, but it's even more special now we get to take Ellie to spend some time with her YeYe and NaiNai. She is their first grandchild, being as Rei is an only child, and although we video call them every Sunday, they do miss out on a lot of seeing her grow up. So it's always a special time seeing them together in person. I absolutely adore my in-laws, which helps. I can't imagine what it must be like for people who don't get along with their in-laws.

Reading a bedtime story with NaiNai

Come on YeYe, let's go outside!

As well as Rei's parents, a trip to Sydney also means seeing Rei's school friends, who are absolute barrels full of awesome.

Ellie with Aunty Minyi and Uncle John (who is one of her Godfathers)

What do parents do when they get to catch up with friends sans child? MINI GOLF!

Rei and John.

High Tea. Hooray!

Cheers!

And I get to catch up with my cousin and her little family, who are obviously amazing because they're related to me. This time we visited the aquarium!

My lovely cousin and I.

Look Mama, fish!

I'd like this in my house.

Touching all the shells. Very exciting stuff.

 

I also got to meet a wonderful group of ladies and babies from the Sydney region that I met via the Huggies website when I was pregnant with Ellie. I've already caught up with the Melbourne girls and bubs twice since having Ellie, so it was nice to meet some others. The group has been an amazing source of advice and support for me and we've all become quite close via our Facebook chats.

Us and our July 2011 bubs at Olympic Park

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Weeeee, horsie!

We also got to enjoy some sunshine while away, which was nice after Melbourne's artic winter this year. Although I must admit, Melbourne weather has lifted it's game upon our return. Perhaps it's worried we'll leave it for a sunnier city?

And we had to do something touristy on the way home and visit The Dog on the Tuckerbox. Rei and I stopped there back when we were making our very first trip to Sydney together in 2008 for me to meet Rei's parents for the first time.

Rei back in 2008

Rei and Ellie 2012

How times have changed!

Time flies when you're having fun, and now I must reflect about it

I officially have a walker now. She started walking a few weeks back and hasn't looked back since. 
It feels like not that long ago I had this little bundle:

And now, all of a sudden I have this for a shadow:

I won't pretend that I'm not enjoying the stage she is at now though. She interacts with me so much now, which can be somewhat difficult while I'm cooking, or cleaning, or using the little Mama's room. Still, we have a lot of fun. She LOVES being outdoors too, which means I now have a legitimate reason for blowing bubbles - hooray! 
I really think I was put here to be a Mum. I love it so much. Every morning when I wake up I feel at peace, and it's such a lovely feeling.

That being said, lately I've been struggling with a bit of an identity crisis of sorts. I feel like I've become a housewife and Mother and that there is little more to me. Not that I have a problem with that personally, but when someone asks me what I do I get that "...oh" response when I tell them. That or "Don't you get bored?!" - um, yeah, I have the time to be bored when? Before Ellie I was the gamer, the geek and the animal carer. "That crazy bunny lady" or "that geeky chick". Now all of a sudden I don't have the time for video games and I'm no longer working, so now I'm just "Rei's wife" and "Ellie's Mama". I feel that I've lost a little of who I was in peoples eyes. Is that what growing is? I'm not sure really. I love being who I am now, but I loved who I was before, and I still feel I am the person I was pre-baby, but maybe that part of me is lying a little dormant for now.

The most amazing thing about motherhood for me is the awesome friends I've made since becoming a Mum. I always heard that people became less social after a baby, and I worried that if that were true then I was pretty much going to be a total recluse afterward, considering how socially inept I was before Ellie. It's actually been the total opposite for me. I joined a mothers group and I have become friends with the most wonderful group of women and their bubs. We're all so diverse, but we just seem to mesh so well together. 

I am very happy with how life has changed for me in the last 14 months in general. Life is very wonderful, and I am very blessed to be where I am.