September

Koa and Murphy were unstoppable. Both of them walking, leaving paths of destruction in their wake. Toys, stolen coffee grounds, and drool. My stash of tea I kept hidden in our garage. I couldn't have them spoiling such delicacies. 

Rose contented herself with watching telly and eating crackers. She held out her bowl to me and I fetched her a refill. 

Babies don't know how good they have it.

Ivy darted out behind the couch, loudly calling for her sister. As Magnolia peered out from her hiding spot, I noticed Murphy's eyes widen in excitement and he squealed enough to break fine china. She flashed her eyes in his direction and scurried away. Murphy thought that was horribly unfair and started crying which scared Ivy. 

Rose handed me her empty bowl again. Koa managed to steal more coffee grounds. They coated the floor like a sand castle. 

Unfortunately the stroller only had room for two babies. So no walk today. 

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Green buds hung from the trees. Samaras covered the wood pile beneath the maple tree. Our gum tree was thriving. The tree was planted right next to our wooden shed so I made sure to keep the hose close by in case the hot weather was too much. 

Bush fires are terrifying. I was thankful to live in New South Wales. 

Mum had planted a few things in the garden bed. Just a couple tomato plants. With spring blooming we wanted to get a head start. I hadn't started mine yet, wanting to wait until November when I knew there was a poor chance of frost. I watered everything and pulled a few weeds. Anything to leave the circus for a bit. 

Our rose bush was in good need of a trimming. I fetched some hedge clippers and got to work, carefully dislodging the thorny branches to the side. Our pug statue sat watching. "Hello, my boy." I said. "Miss you."

I watered our grass and the shrubs Mum planted around the deck. She hung up some baskets of flowers, an array of purples and yellows and whites bordering our yard. I sneezed. My allergies had been bad all year. 

Birds had begun pairing off and singing love songs every morning and night. I watched for baby birds taking flight in the coming months. A couple of scrappy male birds had taken to beating the shit out of our window thinking their reflection was a rival bird. 

I'm sure the ladies felt real flattered.

Returning to the house I kept quiet knowing the babies had been put down for a nap. Koa cried from the back bedroom and Murphy screamed from Mum's room. Rose spit her dummy and cried in her tiny swing. Mum replaced it for the tenth time only for her to spit it back out and kick her blanket off. Ivy and Magnolia cuddled on their blanket in their cage, finished with their lunch and baths. 

A nap sounded pretty damn good to me too.