Hot blood and cold nights
We’ve had two frosty nights in a row and I’ve had two of my best sleeps in weeks. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.
I must be hot blooded or I have a hot body (puns galore) because I regularly overheat during the night.
By that I mean I can feel my body heat rising. If it gets too much I wake up and need a drink of water and sometimes I have trouble getting back to sleep.
I like to sleep liberated, without fabric intrusions close to my person (yep, in the birthday suit). I find it’s better for the body clock to fumble for the electric blanket on a cold morning than to wake up hot and thirsty.
Furniture has arrived
Our furniture arrived today. They didn’t finish unloading until late this afternoon, so we’ve got lots of unpacking to do and most things are still in boxes.
At least we’re all sleeping in our own beds tonight.
We nearly didn’t have it delivered today because I had to fax back a quarantine form declaring we had no fruit or vegetables in the container, and I only got back from a meeting before the deadline.
They’re very strick about quarantine regulations in WA, much more so than South Australia, where I crossed the border without fuss. At Eucla they searched my car and confiscated an apple box.
Tamed by a toddler
I had some quality time yesterday with my two-year-old daughter Margaret. Juliet and I don’t get to spend much individual time with either of the twins, for obvious reasons.
The exception was caused by Juliet travelling to Yarra Glen to pick up Kathleen and Dude from my father, who was meeting her part of the way from Moe.
Margaret gets terribly car sick, so we decided she should stay at home with me. (more…)
Christmas mayhem
Tis the season to be jolly and all that, but Christmas morning for parents is madness. We managed a seven o’clock sleep-in this year, only because the big kids were under orders to wait until the toddlers woke up. James was the last to rise.
We then opened presents, which in proportion to the time it takes to buy and wrap them, represents a ratio of about one to a million.
It takes longer to pick up and dispose of the wrapping paper. (more…)
Sleepy-time milestone
Juliet fears losing her “baby” now that James is sleeping in a bed. He switched successfully from a cot to a single bed last night. He actually seemed rather pleased with himself.
The catalyst was Kathleen wanting to separate the bunk bed in her room to a single, with half being transferred to the nursery for James.
Meanwhile, Maggie still starts in a cot, wakes up after a few hours and snuggles up to Mum for the rest of the night.
The other toddler milestone is their increasing use of the potty, but that doesn’t seem such a reader-friendly topic to write about.
First day of our local summer
I generally say that summer in North East Victoria runs from November 1 to Dude’s birthday (March 21). As if on cue, the mercury nudged 30 degrees today for the first time since April and the chirping cicada choir arrived.
The blowflies are buzzing, mozzies are menacing and multiple bugs of all shapes and sizes are enjoying the warm and wet conditions.
As you can gather it’s not so pleasant at the moment. Weather at this time of year is still changeable and more humid than it will be from mid December.
I’ve come to like the hot dry days of January and February, as our nights generally cool down enough for a good sleep.

