Welcome to a gorgeous baby: Millie Clare. Such a delight and joy. I am once again overcome with all those emotions that having a new life leap out of you bring and spend as much time as possible gazing in amazement.
I am also overcome by the generosity and thoughtfulness showed by friends and family - little sprigs of wattle in the front-door, a pink bow on the front gate, a container of soup, a multi-layered chocolate gateaux, and little care packages of prettiness - pre-loved and pristine.
I love getting hand-me-downs. Ever since I was a little girl I have loved these bags of goodies and am delighted when I get a bag of little loved clothes from another friend.
My mum and dad arrived for a very excited viewing of Millie. They brought all the support and love that parents are famous for, but also two more unusual gifts:
1. A lobster (fresh from dad's lobster pots that morning and cooked to perfection)2. Two chooks (live and flapping)
The lobster was lovely I must admit, but at the risk of sounding like an ungrateful and simply horrid daughter, I am just as happy with a fresh chicken and mayo sandwich as I am with a lobster one.
The chickens, on the other hand, were interesting.
We had wanted new chooks ever since a foxy loxy had taken our old ones out to a dinner-dance a few months ago. Nick had built a new 'Fort Fox' chook house within a larger free-range pen so we released the chooks into the pen and they have been quite happy, and secure, until yesterday.
Yesterday was my first real day with two kids on my own. I thought I was handling it all pretty well UNTIL the chooks escaped and were seen wandering down to the local café.
I bundled up Millie and Sammy and headed out into the freezing Canberra day. After much herding, pouncing, and bribing both child and chook with food, we managed to lure them away from the café-scene and back to the hen-house. They escaped twice more before I locked them up in their overnight Fort-Fox pen with food and water. It was more than a new mother needed and by the end of the day I understood why chooks aren't often touted as the ideal gift for a new baby.
Nick is going to hide out in camouflage tomorrow to see where they are escaping from. I am going to have another piece of that delicious multi-layered chocolate cake and start chopping up vegetables for chicken soup. Here chook chook chook...