Luigi flew to Queensland this morning to visit his doctor. Our lives have been so crazy the last few months with having a new baby, moving across the country and starting a new job that our old life that we left back in Queensland seems like a distant memory.

Right now life is good, there is so many changes and so much happiness in our lives. It is hard to believe that two years ago we were facing a completely different path and how close we came to losing him.

Every time he left for the hospital I would spend the day glued to my phone, always praying for the best but being prepared for the worst. Everyday I found it impossible to switch my brain off, my mind was constantly filled with worry as I asked myself over and over again would the cancer come back, would we have to do it all over again.

This time however I felt different, in fact I couldn’t remember the last time that big ugly C word reared it’s ugly head and when I bid him farewell at the airport I was not met with worry, I felt calm and relaxed and free from those horrible thoughts that controlled my mind for so long.

Not wanting to waste our new found freedom today we kept ourselves busy. The little girls and I went to the shops, did the grocery shopping and even managed a play at the park. Luigi called a few hours later to tell me that he was given the all clear.

Today, I am filled with hope and I see the light at the end of a very, very long tunnel.

Today if you ran into me on the street you would find me sporting boobs like pam, a simple blue singlet from cotton on and this beautiful skirt from emerson that was actually a freebie passed down from my sister. The outfit was tied together with a few simple accessories because I’m finding that simple is best up here. Say Hello to my emily green necklace which after twelve months is still going strong and my very stylish nappy bag which I love, love, love {more on this later} from Soon Maternity. Just checked the website and my nappy bag is actually on SALE.

Isn’t post baby fashion just the most horrible thing ever. Right now I feel like I’m stuck in this big fashion vortex ripping through my wardrobe every morning and struggling to find something half decent in to make myself presentable as I race out the door.

Breastfeeding doesn’t help either, sure it’s good for baby but horrible for a fashion diva like myself, it’s so frustrating when your boobs are going up and down a cup every time the kid has a feed. Most days I throw on something baggy and unattractive to allow for growth during the day or wear something a little tighter knowing I might be at risk of exploding and ending up looking like Pam Anderson in that hot red swim suit.

AND on top of that I get the added bonus of adjusting to the weather. Which people continue to tell me is horrid for this time of the year and is the worst they have seen in years. Honestly I can deal with the heat, it doesn’t phase me at all. It’s the humidity that gets to me the most. Ten years away from the territory meant that my body had completely forgotten how intense the humidity gets up here.

I’m learning fast that less clothes is better for everyone involved. Especially when 70% of the time that we leave the house I find myself carry Abigail in the ergo.

I’m between sizes right now, my shorts are either falling off me and require a belt or a little too tight and I’m left with that teeny bit of post baby overhang sagging over my shorts, I know were keeping it sexy right here. Yesterday I purchased some new shorts. They are most definitely the shortest shorts I have ever owned but still not short enough to be trendy but any shorter and you will be getting a sneak peek of my underwear.

So tell me. What are your tricks of the trade, how did you survive the post baby fashion haze?

Were not big fans of chocolate in our house, oh wait a minute..I better re-phase that. Luigi and I are not big fans of chocolate but our kids, they LOVE the stuff and can sniff it out within seconds and it’s for this very reason that it only comes into our house on special occasions like easter and cooking projects.

For Easter this year we really didn’t want to overload our kids with chocolate so we brought a sensible amount for each of the girls and then we also brought them a new pair of pajamas and as a bonus present we wanted to buy them something that would get us out of the house and they could use all year around so we brought them a yearly pass to Crocodylus Park which we used on the day. It’s just around the corner from our house and is the perfect way to keep the kids occupied for an hour or two on the weekends and over the school holiday. The kids were totally impressed with the easter bunny and we have already been three times so it’s already paid for it’s self.

Somehow our kids were still overloaded with chocolate from friends and family so I’m so glad we didn’t go over board, they most definitely had enough to keep them going for a few weeks.

It’s school holidays at the moment and thanks to an early arrival in our family my parents just so happen to be in town for the week and we happen to think that is pretty darn exciting. Today seeing as we are new to Darwin and still finding our feet we thought we would do something totally touristy and jump aboard the crocodile and experience the city with Duck About Tours.

We cruised along the streets of Darwin at a slow and steady pace of 25km p/h weaving our way through town and slowly making our way to the harbour. Before we knew it we had transformed from a tank to a boat and were floating through Darwin harbour. It was a warm day with not much of a breeze but the views of the city beside us made it all the more bearable. 90 minutes later we found ourselves back in the middle of Darwin stepping off the tank and finding our feet again.

The kids had an absolute ball and I thought it was a fabulous {and unique} way to see the city sights around Darwin and we even discovered a few things I’d totally forgot about and will be adding to our bucket list for future adventures.

Life in the territory is hot and sticky. I remember the heat growing in Katherine the heat was something you just dealt with the best you could but you never really got use to it. My friends and I spent our days going from one place to the next on our bikes, moving from one adventure to the next and it always involved water. I don’t think we would have survived without all of those pit stops to cool off and re charge our batteries.

I honest thought it would be really hard coming back to the territory and coping with the heat, it’s such a different kind of heat to Queensland and I thought the kids would struggle big time but I’m really amazed at how well they have all adapted to life in the top end. Violet is out in the yard for most of the day and come the afternoon when the kids are home from school and running wild in the front yard we are blessed with these amazing showers.

As soon as the rain start you can hear the kids {and often the neighbours} running around the yard screaming with joy or doing laps around up and down the drive way waving their umbrellas in the air. It really is a magical sight. If Violet is inside and by some chance hasn’t notice the rain I’ll actually encourage her to go outside and play on the off chance that she might come back in clean, some nights she even remains clean all the way through dinner and doesn’t require a bath that night, were all about utilising the environmentally friendly methods around here.

We purchased a trampoline for the kids last week and it’s been worth it’s weight in gold. I really had my heart set on a spring free trampoline but we thought that having one set up in the front yard might imply I have a lot of money to throw around {which I don’t}, which might give people the impression we have lots of other fancy stuff to come in and steal so we went with a much simpler, cheaper option from our local k-mart.

I love pulling a chair up to the front of the house after the rain has settled and taking Abigail outside. I love to watch the kids running around like crazy people their faces filled with these gigantic big smiles, loving every minute of the journey.

I have sat down to write this post over two weeks ago now and since then I sit down almost daily and attempt to start again, to insert a photograph or add a few words but somehow life seems to throw something at me and the post never gets published. I guess that’s the way things are going to be from now on. We have been in the territory almost a month now and officially in our house two whole weeks. Life is busy and exciting and chaotic. I still sit here surrounded by boxes but slowly as the days go by I’m starting to see that the walls are in fact not made out of cardboard but deep within the boxes they are painted blue, who would have thought.

The kids are absolutely loving life in the territory. It’s hot and it’s sticky most of the time but honestly they don’t care. Violet spends her days pottering around the outside of the house, sticking mostly to the shade and water play..occasionally venturing inside for a snack and when the kids come home as soon as it’s cool enough they are out the front racing down the driveway and working their pelvic floor muscles on the trampoline.

We have been hanging out with family a lot since we arrived {from both sides} enjoying family get togethers, dinners out and just re-connecting again after so much time apart. Last weekend my parents flew in on their way to their new jobs, they have taken a six month stint in Gove which is just a handy 1 1/2 hour flight from here. This of course means weekend visits and free time for me.

The past few weeks has really confirmed for us just how much we needed to make this move and how right it was not just for Luigi and I but for our family. Seeing the kids play and laugh with our family and friends as well as really making an effort and getting into school and after school activities has just confirmed that we are in the right place and this is exactly where we need and want to be.