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Who would be interested in being the WOTW (wife of the week)? The goal would be to get to know each other better. One wife would post about herself each week and the rest of us would get the chance to ask her questions. The format would be like this....
Monday - Pre-baby life: your childhood, hobbies, education, etc
Tuesday - Love story: How you met your DH, and tell us all about your DH
Wednesday - Motherhood: tell us all about your kid(s),
Thursday/Friday - Q&A
Pics are optional but highly encouraged!
If you are interested, please tell me when would be a good week.
I want to see if there's enough interest first and we'll go from there.
Pre-baby life: your childhood, hobbies, education, etc
Well, I was born in the... very early 70's (not too far away from the 60's, which makes me feel very old) I was an only child and we lived in Melbourne's inner east, which, at the time wasnt considered "inner" at all, its amazing to see how far out the city has spread, my grandmother used to say that we lived "out in the sticks" I now live a further hour's drive away from there, so she still says the same thing.
I was always very close to my grandmother, still am, and used to spend a lot of time with her.
My father was a carpenter, my mother was a stay at home wife, I went to an all girls Catholic school all the way from grade 1 to form 4, or year 10 in todays words, I wasnt chosen to do forms 5 and 6, back then you were only allowed to do it if the nuns saw your potential to go to university, otherwise you had to drop out and learn a trade, and I worked as a seamstress, which I hated.
I always loved cooking, I used to go to my grandmother's house and she would teach me how to bake cakes, scones, slices, patty cakes, biscuits, all those wonderful, very English treats. I still have the book she made for me when I was little with all her "special recipes". Then together we would try all the "Australian treats" and we would usually butcher them, but I can say that now I make pretty good lamingtons, and I can attribute that to exploding jam in my grandmother's oven so many times when I was little (who would have known that the jam goes in after you bake the sponge cake...)
I will get to the questions in a while, im actually on my way out to go to work
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Cybele, wife to Ash and mummy to 5, Anindita (18), Azriel (15), Sundance (12), Lux (10), Sasha (4)
Mummy to 4 feline furbabies, Clio, Kitra, Rupert and Tess
Name a few jobs you've held in the past. Did you like them?
Can you provide one of your favourite recipes?
What did you used to do other than baking in your spare time?
What were you like as a child?
I was a real smart ***, no ifs and buts about it
What is your favorite childhood memory?
Going to Luna Park with a cousin who ive only met a handful of times. My parents were very strict and quite dull, but suddenly this crazy aunt shows up with a son my age (7 or 8, I cant remember exactly) and took us to this theme park and we had a ball. I only saw them once or twice after that though. I dont even remember their names.
Name a few jobs you've held in the past. Did you like them?
My first job was as a seamstress, I despised it with every fibre of my being.
After that I worked in a bakery and that was okay, I wasnt too keen on the early starts though.
After that I got my floristry qualifications and ive been a wedding florist ever since.
Can you provide one of your favourite recipes?
Mixed Berry Muffins:
Makes 8
200g mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
300g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bi carb soda
125g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
100g melted margarine
1 egg, beaten
250ml buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix together dry ingredients, make a well in the centre, then add wet ingredients and mix through.
Divide into patty pans, top with a light sprinkling of brown sugar (optional, but awesome) and bake 180celsius (no idea what that is in fahrenheit) for 20 mins.
I change up the berries we use, depending on what we have, but my favourite combination is blueberries and chopped strawberries.
What did you used to do other than baking in your spare time?
For a while in my childhood I wanted to be a writer, so I used to write a lot, reading, drawing. The usual kid stuff.
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Cybele, wife to Ash and mummy to 5, Anindita (18), Azriel (15), Sundance (12), Lux (10), Sasha (4)
Mummy to 4 feline furbabies, Clio, Kitra, Rupert and Tess
Tuesday - Love story: How you met your DH, and tell us all about your DH
I met Ash through a friend when I was 20 (he was 18), he really helped me come into my own, I wasnt feeling like I was being the 'right person' for who I am, I had my name legally changed the year prior, yet hadnt told my parents out of fear, I had two sets of clothing, my "home clothes' and my secret "outside clothes" I wasnt happy and I didnt know how to change that, and he really helped. We dated for a couple of years and got married when I was 22 and he was 20.
Our wedding was a morning ceremony in a National Park, and we had a breakfast reception at a place called Miss Marples Teahouse, which isnt normally open for breakfasts, so they didnt have a breakfast 'menu' per se, but they served platters on each table of scones, muffins, frittatas, quiches, toasts and things. Its still running (honestly, I dont think it will ever go anywhere, it is a landmark of Sassafras, weve takent he kids there for lunch a few times and we always make a point to them that it was our wedding 'reception'
Our wedding was a very hot day, which worked out well with the morning ceremony, we got married in the National Rhododendron Gardens, which was in full bloom at the time
I dont have any photos to post, we are talking pre-digital here, HAHA, so we have an album of physical photos, but I dont own a scanner, plus im normally a little iffy about posting photos online (old lady trait ) my dress was quite plain, just a plain a-line tea length dress with thin straps, and I wore a semi-sheer floor length 3/4 sleeve robe over the top, and a daisy chain around my head, and I had a bouquet of sunflowers. Ash more a plain white shirt, grey vest and grey pants. We had Ash's best friend as best man, and his younger sister as maid of honour, and his niece, who was 2 at the time as a flowergirl.
(I should probably add in, even though it is my only sad memory of the day, that my parents did not attend as they did not (and really, still do not, not that I care anymore) approve of Ash)
Ash is very much his "own person" he is a branch manager for two library branches, and has always announced the fact that he is a librarian with pride, despite the odd looks and snide comments some choose to make regarding it (because god forbid there is a male librarian running around ) he's quite short (no idea where Dita gets her height from, she's taller than both of us) and his hair does change quite often, but he is naturally blonde, but at the moment his hair is quite long, with a few dreadlocks here and there, a few braids, and its mostly blue and purple with a lot of beads. He wears glasses, his vision is absolutely terrible. He has beautiful grey eyes, and is very softly spoken, quiet and shy.
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Cybele, wife to Ash and mummy to 5, Anindita (18), Azriel (15), Sundance (12), Lux (10), Sasha (4)
Mummy to 4 feline furbabies, Clio, Kitra, Rupert and Tess
What is the one thing you love best about dh?
He is very rational, whereas im very hot headed, and he is very good at calming me down and talking me through things without being condescending. And he has a very wicked sense of humor.
He also makes very good french toast, which is a plus, HAHAHAHA.
What does he do that annoys the heck out of you?
HE IS A TEASPOON THIEF! You cannot trust him with teaspoons, he will never put them in the sink or dishwasher after he's done with them, he puts coffee-stained teaspoons in stupid places, like his desk drawer, or his bedside table, or he will leave them outside. It drives me nuts because I can never find any. He wont even leave them in the kitchen after he has made his coffee, he takes it with him in the mug, he returns the mugs, but not the spoons.
Was it love at first sight?
I always say it was intrigue at first sight. I was raised in a very sheltered environment, and my father was a very hard man who believed in mens work and womens work and men should look and dress a certain way, and when I met him he was studying literature at university, working at a library to get his accreditation as a library technician, had long, blonde, gorgeous hair, played guitar, sang, and didnt speak down to me. Even though it was the 80's and the women's movement was really considered to be somewhat done and dusted, I was still yet to ever meet a man that treated his girlfriend, fiance, wife, whatever, as an equal, rather than a maid to be bossed around (that was my parent's relationship, my father's nickname for my mother was "my adorable little housekeeper" and all my friends parents had similar relationships) and the first conversation I ever had with Ash he asked my opinion on some political issue that was going on at the time and he actually listened to me and took what I said on board, and that bowled me over.
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Cybele, wife to Ash and mummy to 5, Anindita (18), Azriel (15), Sundance (12), Lux (10), Sasha (4)
Mummy to 4 feline furbabies, Clio, Kitra, Rupert and Tess
- Is there anything you'd change about your wedding day?
- Do you think he helped you become your own individual person?
- Is he the type of person you saw yourself marrying?
- Plans for any more children?
Wednesday - Motherhood: tell us all about your kid(s)
I have 5 children,
Anindita Sage is my oldest, she is 17 (18 in a few months) she is in her last year of high school. She's currently in the applying to university process, she is applying to a few schools (her school sets a minimum of 4 courses applied to, in Australia you apply to courses not schools, so you can apply to the same school up to 16 times for different courses) she most wants to get into a culinary academy in the city though, a 4 year culinary business course with a different cooking module each year, last I heard the ones modules she wanted to do were confectionary development, pattisserie and baking, she still torn between a few on the last one, she wont have to choose that for a while though. Her 'dream' is to be a chocolatier.
At the moment she works at the local vet clinic after school and one weekends, feeding animals, cleaning cages, exercising and playing with them. She gloats to her friends, who all work in supermarkets and have to deal with customers, that she gets paid to play with kittens and puppies. Her and two of her friends go to yoga classes every wednesday night together, dont knwo where that came from to be honest, she just announced it one day and they have been going for about 3 years now. She is also in a long term relationship and her partner lives with us, so its sort of like I have 6 kids, haha.
Azriel Sanxi is second, he is 15, he lives for all things music. He plays cello, piano, guitar and sings, and as of next term he will be doing music at school with the year level above his, because his current music teacher thinks the work she is setting is way too easy for him. He wants to join the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra one day.
He works at a music store, turns out that if you frequent a store enough, one day the owner will just offer you a job, haha, and he absolutely loves working there.
He used to play basketball, but he dosent anymore, he does compete on the school's cross country team during the athletics season though, he's very good at that. He is also a very avid reader, he gets that from his father.
Sundance Adonia (Sunny) is 12, I dont think anyone ever calls her Sundance except for herself. She is your typical girly girl, jewellery, make up, dresses and skirts, shoes, pink, glitter, nailpolish, you name it, she loves it. She does gymnastics and is currently nagging to go to circus school on saturdays, but were still looking into the logistics of that.
She is very hot headed, I think she's most like me, personality wise, when she's fired up I usually have to let DH handle her, because if the two of us get into an argument its like some kind of crazy whirlwind of hot-headedness.
She is the only child of the 5 who physically takes after DH, the other four look like me, she has long, blonde hair, grey eyes and a small, pixie-like face, whereas the others have dark brown hair, brown eyes and a longer face like me, so she always gets picked as the 'friend' when were out without DH, which really annoyes her, it used to upset her, but she has gotten past it. Her and Lux are the best of friends.
Lux Guinevere is 10. She is horse mad. Horses horses horses horses. She rides horses, she's pretty good at cross country and jumping. She loves watching The Saddle Club, reads The Saddle Club books, and Bella Sara, and the Thoroughbred series, and any other books on horses that exists.
She is a real tomboy, I dont think ive seen her in a skirt since she was 2, as soon as she's been old enough to vocalise her dislike of skirts and dresses, she has made it heard. Sunny constantly torments her by chasing ehr anound the house with lipgloss and nailpolish, but she wont have a bar of it. Honestly, getting her to brush her hair is enough of a chore for me (she insists on having hair down to her hips, despite her hatred for brushing it) its our morning struggle "Lux, brush your hair before you tie it up" "No, its fine" "No it isnt" "Yes it is"
Other than that she's a really good kid, she's my quiet one.
Sasha Ambrose is 4, he's my little baby. He is also a little troublemaker, but when you have 6 people to make trouble for, I think its a given honestly. He is always getting stuck up trees, getting into small places where he shouldnt be, putting bugs in his pockets for me to find when I go through them before putting them in the washing machine. Rocks is his current thing, he keeps bringing rocks home and lining them up on the headboard of his bed, I have no idea why, but they all have names.
He takes swimming lessons, thats something I have gotten ll my kids to do when theyre younger, my thinking behind it is that its kind of unreasonable to think that in Australia, with such a huge beach and water culture that they wont be invited to pool parties or beach parties, and I want them to be as prepared as possible to be in the water.
Sasha takes messy to a whole new level, its not just because he's the youngest that I see it more, he is more messy than any of my other kids have been. He manages to make a mess while reading a book. I dont know how, but mess that appears around him.
He is also very sweet and has to give every single person in the house a kiss before he goes to bed.
So thats my kids, I will answer the quesitons after work again
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Cybele, wife to Ash and mummy to 5, Anindita (18), Azriel (15), Sundance (12), Lux (10), Sasha (4)
Mummy to 4 feline furbabies, Clio, Kitra, Rupert and Tess
What is your ideal date with DH?
We like to go hiking together.
what are some of your fave hobbies?
Cooking, listening to music and reading
do you own pets?
We have 4 cats, Clio, Tess, Rupert and Kitra
do you remember your first kiss?
I try not to... ick.
- Is there anything you'd change about your wedding day?
No actually, it happened the way it happened and nothing terrible occured, I am a big believer in no regrets though.
- Do you think he helped you become your own individual person?
Yeah, he showed me that it was okay to stand up and be myself, and that everyone who matters wouldnt put me down for it.
- Is he the type of person you saw yourself marrying?
No, but he is the type of person I wanted to marry. If that makes any sense, like, he was the "dream kind of guy" but I assumed id end up with someone like my Dad. Very grateful to the powers that be that it didnt work out that way.
- Plans for any more children?
NOOOOOOO! Haha. Im in my 40's now, time to start being an old lady. That said, it was a big "NO MORE KIDS" after Azriel, then after Sunny, then after Lux, so...
If you had an all expense paid vacation where would you go?
Italy. Ive always wanted to go, its mine and DH's "once all the kids are out of the house" dream holiday.
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Cybele, wife to Ash and mummy to 5, Anindita (18), Azriel (15), Sundance (12), Lux (10), Sasha (4)
Mummy to 4 feline furbabies, Clio, Kitra, Rupert and Tess
How did you come up with thier names? Do any of the name have signigicant meaning for you?
All of their middle names are family names from DH's side, Sage is my MIL's name, Ambrose my FIL's name, Adonia is his maternal grandmother's name, Guinevere is his paternal grandmother's name and Sanxi is his maternal grandfather's name. The first names we just picked because we liked them.
Are you and DH on the same page as far as parenting?
Pretty much, we havent had any major disagreements.
Are you more a traditional parent or attachment?
I dont know really. I never looked into the terminology, they didnt really exist in the way they do now when my older ones were born, its only something ive heard thrown around since Sasha was born (my maternal health nurse was going on about them one day, and I was sitting there scratching my head going "Umm, I have no clue what youre on about, but I have 4 other kids and they seem all fine and dandy with whatever im doing so... cool bananas?" )
So, to answer, I dont know, I am a take it as it comes, each child is different and needs different things and responds to different things kind of parent.
__________________
Cybele, wife to Ash and mummy to 5, Anindita (18), Azriel (15), Sundance (12), Lux (10), Sasha (4)
Mummy to 4 feline furbabies, Clio, Kitra, Rupert and Tess
[
) my dress was quite plain, just a plain a-line tea length dress with thin straps, and I wore a semi-sheer floor length 3/4 sleeve robe over the top, and a daisy chain around my head, and I had a bouquet of sunflowers. Ash more a plain white shirt, grey vest and grey pants. We had Ash's best friend as best man, and his younger sister as maid of honour, and his niece, who was 2 at the time as a flowergirl. 
) he's quite short (no idea where Dita gets her height from, she's taller than both of us) and his hair does change quite often, but he is naturally blonde, but at the moment his hair is quite long, with a few dreadlocks here and there, a few braids, and its mostly blue and purple with a lot of beads. He wears glasses, his vision is absolutely terrible. He has beautiful grey eyes, and is very softly spoken, quiet and shy.
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