The Every Day

a fifo wife {fifo life: you go back to work when…}

Posted on by debbie / 2 Comments

Hmmmm….FIFO husband has been home four weeks theoretically he should be going back to work 24 of May but last week the office called he is not due to start his new swing until the first week of June….they think…hmmm that is approaching the most amount of time ever spent together. This could present a couple of problems. My brain and my heart is on one hand excited…FIFO husband home for six whole weeks…yeah ha but then the fear of being together that long..well gosh..we might just start to fight and then there is the fact my secret life of keeping appearances will be harder to maintain.

Damn you Indian ocean.

We don’t fight we bicker, then he sulks and ignores me and that that drives me freaking insane. I hate it. All that moody quietness in this big old house. The kids don’t know we keep it from them and then that makes it worse. Drives me nuts. Because all I want to say to them when the say where is daddy..all I want to say is your daddy is a jerk. But you cant. I cant. Its frustrating. Then after its all said and done there is no apology even after we have sat down and chatted about the bickering, sulking and eventually me loosing the plot over the sulking and ignoring. Perhaps actually I know I make it worse after all I’m a seeker.

The most time we have spent together is ummm…eight or twelve weeks I’m not sure. I’m sure though it was bliss infact I know it great and I’m sure that this will be bliss.

I’m sure..I will start to panic come first week of June and he still here…panic only because well how can I sneak to and from the beautician when he is here? Im due to go end of the week. There are tell tale signs of having been there…redness and swelling…secrets will be revealed..damn it.

Perhaps I can fake an accident..?

No seriously its bliss and Im loving every moment of it.

XX Deb

The Every Day

a fifo wife {orgainsing: winter cupboards}

Posted on by debbie / 0 Comment

Winter is on its way that is for sure. Which means over the weekend I spent most of it pulling out the winter stuff and running it through the wash. Going through hand me downs for B2 and B3 and either restoring for next year or giving to the salvos (which is a generic term in my house for which ever charity bin comes first when I finally remember to drop off the bag).

Its was a fun day because I decided to do this when it was raining but then it has been for the last week and well I spent most the day cursing my stupidity.

Our winters are really mild. Its only the morning and nights that are especially cold. The days usually warm up to something reasonable and tolerable and so shorts are still a possibility. So I went through the everyone’s cupboards pulling what we wont be wearing again until next spring/summer and have stored them in those big plastic vacuum bags. I then put them inside old suitcases so they look a bit more ‘pretty’ instead of the big plastic bins, which are really more practical but you cant have both can you?

I do this so I’m not having to plough through the mess that is the boys cupboards. I store stuff away because we don’t have big built ins we have single cupboards and the boys having to share a room have a single cupboard with a set individual draws. Its becoming increasingly hard to keep it this minimal but I think its a good way to teach them to share, respect and how to stay tidy (which is easier said than done). It also keeps clutter to a minimal and helps with dress decision time..more for myself than anyone else.

I do this for myself as well. I have a single cupboard. It has limited space. Its old impractical for the amount of clothing I have but she is beautiful to look at and cupboards like her remind me of the Lion the witch and the wardrobe one of my favourite books as a kid. If only some days when I got inside her (because I do..to play hide and seek as apposed to just hide away from the children) she would really take me to another land.

Anyway because of my limited space for storage its essential for me that things are stored when not being used. I learnt this trick when I was pregnant and have used this ever since. When I was pregnant I packed away all my non pregnant clothes when I couldn’t fit them any more.

So now in summer a pack away all long sleeved shirts, track pants, coats and jumpers. In winter I pack up my short dresses, shorts, singlets and light T’s. Shoes like sandals and thongs go into storage too and my boots are pulled and polished.

I do it for the linen also. Blankets, quilts and donas get pulled every summer and winter and stored. It just keeps everything so organised and neat. However the best part is it keeps the clothes and linen fresh for years.

So that my friends was the excitment that was my weekend. How about you? What was yours?

xx Deb

The Every Day

a fifo wife {whats for dinner :Roasted chicken with carrots, olives and lemon..plus some garlic}

Posted on by debbie / 0 Comment

I only just tried this recipe monday night. Its a new one to the rotation. Its quick easy one pot, it uses the oven hence it warms up my house and it used up the carrots that where in the vege bin. Winner all round.

  • 1 chicken, cut into 10 pieces
  • 5 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces (halved lengthwise if thick)
  • 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • the recipe doesnt call for it but I added garlic

How to:

  • Heat oven to 220 degrees. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the chicken, carrots, olives, bay leaves, lemon, oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Arrange in a single layer and sprinkle the chicken with the paprika.
  • Roast, tossing the vegetables once, until the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are tender, 45 to 50 minutes.

Serve with mashed poatotes..yum.

The Every Day

a fifo wife {whats for dinner: potatoe rosti}

Posted on by debbie / 0 Comment

I tried these last week they were a hit with the kids so we are having them again tonight. A little messy but whats a little mess in the kitchen.

Potatoe Rosti

What you will need:

  • 6 medium potatoes – desiree, coliban or a similar waxy  variety
  • Vegetable or canola oil for shallow frying
  • tablespoon of butter melted
  •  Sea salt and pepper, to taste

How to:

Peel the potatoes and grate or slice using the “shredding”  attachment on a mandolin.  Place onto a  tea towel and twist to wring out all the moisture. Place into a bowl add salt pepper and melted butter mix to combin.
Heat oil in a large frying pan, about half a centimetre  deep, over a medium heat.  The oil should  be hot enough to produce a crisp golden shell without burning, while allowing  the inside to cook.
Drop small handfuls of potato mix in three piles in the  frying pan.  Use a spatula or egg flipper  to flatten the potato into a disc.  Fry  for 3-4 minutes each side until golden brown and crispy.
Drain on paper towels and repeat until all  the mixture has been used.  Sprinkle with  a little extra sea salt and pepper while still hot.

Serve with meat and a salad? Weare having ours with steak and cauliflower bake.

xx Deb

 

 

The Every Day

a fifo wife {me: inconsiderate husbands and pink pyjamas}

Posted on by debbie / 4 Comments

This post this post is a whinge post I warn you now. If you want something happy and chirpy head on over to etymologie for a little ray of sunshine for sunshine it is not here today.

I have had a horrible horrible night sleep. I know it was horrible because I actually got up and moved beds. When I move beds its because I have had a crap night sleepand I dont want to wake anyone else. Im considerate like that. I woke at 1232am to take B3 to the toilet because he was doing the rouge grasshopper in bed next to me and that was it. My brain went into overdrive. So my night was crap because well I’m worried I have stuffed up. Worried that something I did will be incorrectly published and that I will look terrible. It would be okay if it was confined to my local yo cal but its not its national. Nation wide. Yet its out of my hands so I will just have to ride it and allow it to be. Crap. I hate being out of control and in someone else. Argh.

So with husband knowing I have had a crap night sleep, you would think that he would creep out into the kitchen with the boys feed them place them in front of the TV until the bear had woken from her slumber. NO. No he did not. Instead he proceeded to play tickles with B2 and B3 with them shrieking with laughter at 630am. This would normally fill my heart with joy…if I had had a good night sleep. If I had not wrestlessed with worries all night, thinking, thinking and crap thinking all the more. I slam the door to the spare room. Nothing. The shrieking continues. FIFO husband I yell. Nothing the shrieking gets louder with muffled laughter from my ever so considerate husband and then the elephants start running down the hall and I know that I have lost the battle.

Its funny though (but Im not laughing) because I would do it for him. I would take the kids out ear shot. Appease them any way I could just so he could have a few extra minutes or hours what ever he needed. I would draw the curtains of the room and make sure it was the right tempeture. I would sneak. I would be quite. I would. I know I would. Yet thats me and I guess that’s well him? Can I say that its because he is a man? Because usually he is that thoughtful man. Usually. Today he is not today he is that man.

So I shuffle down the hall. B3 saying sorry continuously in his sweet three year old tone but I will not be broken from my crankiness with his innocent sweetness.

I plonk in front of the Tv with my coffee and well here we are. Its 824am I’m still in my pink poodle pyjamas savouring every cranky moment.

Have a fantastic Friday my lovelies,

xxDeb