Love, bubs and life on our little farm

This has been the view from my apartment for the last week. Tough hey?! I have been in Hobart for the annual national Microbiology Conference. Fascinating and inspiring, sometimes daunting and discouraging but a great meeting of the minds and very useful for networking. I have more meetings, potential collaborations and possible research students now than I will ever have time to balance!

It was my first time to Hobart and I loved it. I spent seven years in Canberra so I am some what accustomed to cold (but still detest it). But it couldn't have been a colder time to be there according to the locals and as you can see by the snow, we really got to see the town at its most wintery. However, the devine stone restaurants harbouring log fires and live music and perfect wine and food were made so much the nicer for the fierce snow winds outside.

I enjoyed my time away from my little ones - there was no washing to do, no cleaning of yoghurt off hands and floors, no rushing them out the door before 7am and the ability to have a few glasses of wine and "sleep in" until 7.30am in the morning! Bliss! But of course I was moping and missing them by the end and gazing longingly at sweet toddling babies and cute little girls by the time I was waiting at the airport. The big cuddles and huge smiles and giggles I got when I picked them up from daycare was one of the best parts of the whole week.

And now.... I am trying to get my head around our next couple of weeks. Jase is acting in his bosses position, which without much detail as he won't like that ;) is pretty umm *cough* high up and the type of role where you are required 24/7 - I won't be getting any help with the kids for the next few weeks, let alone seeing him much as he will pretty much be coming home to just grab 6 hours sleep and get up and go again. So proud of him but at the same time - uurggh! Add in the fact that my parents are still overseas so I am still minding their horses and cat on top of all our animals, that my job is only getting more and more demanding with work trips/research students/lecturing and a lot of stress with deadlines, that Bronte has a heap of medical appointments that I have to take time off for (including a CT scan under general anaesthetic that I am DREADING) and I have a number of horse comps with my new competition horse who is totally green coming up the next few weekends.... well I can't shake that uneasy feeling that this month is not going to be very fun... am hoping to be proven wrong.

Oh how I can't wait until my parents return and they shower me with gifts from America ;) and offer to take the girls for a weekend so Jase and I can have a few precious moments. That is my light at the end of the tunnel at the moment...