crazy times!

It's all been happening!!!

Last Sunday our church took the vote to become a Satellite Church of Salt. So we now will be a campus of Salt Church. It's a good thing - resources will be shared and we will be run by people who know how to successfully run a church (as a business).
The Senior Pastor of Salt took Daz aside and asked him to be on the Salt board - and he accepted! So Daz had his first meeting this week.

Daz started his new job this week as well and so far he's settling in well. He hasn't got into the product yet so it's all early days and learning curves at this point.

We also finished building our veggie patch last weekend (FINALLY!!) and this weekend we planted it out with strawberries, spinach, thyme, rosemary, parsley, leeks, parsnips, basil and tomatoes. So I can't wait to reap the rewards of this labour in about 16 weeks time! LOL.

It's so satisfying finishing projects off - though strictly speaking it isn't finished yet, Daz needs to finish building the fence around it to keep the kids and the dog off to give the poor plants a small chance at survival.

Not sure what our next project is, maybe redo the drive way?? Who knows!?

We are planning to go away the first week of June with some friends. Daz will have a fishing friend and I won't be lonely when he goes off to catch me some squid and crabs! The friends have 3 kids too all similar ages to each other so it's going to be lots of fun for all of us.

We caught up with these friends (Robynne and Trevor) twice this weekend. They all came round for tea on Friday night, then Robynne was making a roast chook and invited us to their place tonight (Sunday night). Robynne makes THE best roast chicken I have ever tasted. It's just divine!!! So we quickly accepted that invitation. Would have rocks in our head to say no! LOL

We have a Worship Service coming up for Church next weekend and a board lunch, it's ANZAC day so we will also be working on projects as well as remembering our fallen soldiers of course.

Mop has been a right royal social butterfly - she attended a birthday party this week - the birthday girl was someone she knew from school and I didn't know the parents or anything so it was a first for us. When I got there, I felt a bit of the odd one out, because all the Mum's and kids were part of a mother's group and knew each other that way. But they quickly included me in the conversations and were so friendly. I was invited to join their group and they took my number down so they can call me to come to their next meet. How kind of them!! I definately will be going along to that. One lady who is a bit older than me, was very encouraging about me going to study. She's an Ecologist - very fascinating lady.
Mop also had her cousin over to play for most of a day last week - Emma. The girls had a wonderful time, and messed up the bedroom so they could tidy it up again.... ok WEIRD!! LOL. Apparently Emma was so worn out, she took two days to recover! LOL.

School holidays started this week and Mop misses being with her school friends. She is happy to play lots and home, but I think she gets bored when E goes down for a nap. She has been really good this last week, and has been helpful and a real joy.
E has been pure sunshine as well. Only one meltdown this week and that was because he was tired and hungry. He's so affectionate and is really warming up to people he doesn't know very well. He's a real blokey boy - he is happy around other men and will hover around them and want to do blokey things with them. This doesn't bother me in the slightest. It's natural for them to want to be around men and their influence. (Also their strong arms to lift him up to touch the roof!)
Milly is growing up so fast. She is divine. So good!! She's too good. Yesterday I was planting stuff in the veggie garden and forgot all about Milly - then I suddenly remembered, dashed inside and she was crying - she had been crying for some time. Evil Mummy moment!! I felt so guilty.
Her only imperfection is that she is not sleeping too well and wakes up from a few times a night to every half hour. I am tired and really wish I could sleep through. She refuses to sleep in her cot and will only sleep in the porta-cot in our room. I am trying to fill her cot up with my "smell" by putting worn shirts in there to stink it up. I'll keep trying. But so far it hasn't worked. She can't sleep next to me forever...

Anyway this is the latest shot I have of her.... AWWWWW



The best Bad Mother moment was when E somehow managed to get the baby Panadol from the back of the bench, get the child proof cap off and drink some. Thankfully the amount he drank was minute in the grand scheme of things and he was ok. I was so mad at him and myself - I had to put him in his room for a while because I wanted to scream at him. Poor kid - he was just being a boy. I was so mad at myself!! Well now the baby Panadol is in the top shelf where he can't possibly reach unless he has Inspector Gadget legs.

Anyway it's late and I am off to bed.

G'night!

Finally! A moment!!

Hello everybody! The Gypsy folk are home again. We had a wonderful time on our holiday, and I will copy and paste my holiday journal afterwards.

We are all well.

Milly - 4 months old now. Smiling, laughing, sits strongly and her legs are very strong. Still feeding her myself which is a huge accomplishment - there were times I thought she was finishing up with me. Thankfully I have Donna and Sue, my very own Lactation Support Network! :)

E - Having more meltdowns lately, but I figure Ehh.. he's two. He's just exercising his freedom of speech. When he isn't melting down he is so sweet and lovely. He is the president of Mum's fan club. He adores her - and he LOVES it when he is to go to Nanny's place. He is talking alot more now and singing songs. So cute!! My favourites are "Smooze me!" (Excuse me) "Good manners!" (when someone or him says please and thankyou)

Mop - back into school and getting ready to launch into a transistion program for Primary School. She loves her friends and has a best friend now. I hope she settles into PS just as well and makes friends fast. Mop has shot up and is a very tall girl with legs up to her ears! Doesn't get THAT from her Mummy!

Daz - it's his last day of work tomorrow and then he starts up with another company on Monday. I have high hopes that the new company will appreciate his skills and talents and offer him opportunities and job satisfaction.

Me - same ol. I've been tired because for 3 nights Milly has been waking up every half hour. Last night, praise be, she slept all night and I feel human again!!

I'll put pictures in later, because I only have an hour and a half until I need to pick Mop up from school and I have at least 3 days worth of housework to do.

Here's my journal!

12th March
Today we got up at ungodly hours of the morning – ok 7ish and headed off into the sunrise towards Broken Hill. It was a pretty uneventful day. The kids travelled well – enjoying their new toys and new DVD players. The caravan park in BH had a pool so we all went swimming – it was stinking hot and so it was nice to cool our hot, tired bodies. Milly wasn’t that impressed with her first swim.
E refused to go to sleep so I ended up bringing him into my bed to sleep. I pity his wife to be. He throws himself around, arms whacking me in the head and little legs being draped over my back. I ended up crawling into bed with Daz until he took pity on me and moved him into his own bed.

13th march
Today we got up again very early and headed towards Bourke. Today because of lack of sleep, E was a right royal pain in the bum. He was snotty, grotty, snarly, cranky and manky. Not fun at all. And because I had very little sleep (I had a nightmare) we were both not happy campers.
We arrived in Bourke at the most wonderful caravan park. The place was practically empty and we enjoyed the space and their lovely pool. Caitlin was very brave and moved away from the edge with her floaty on her back and started to swim. I was so proud of her. E decided that his ring wasn’t so bad afterall and chose to get into it on his own and enjoyed kicking his legs and cooling off.

14th March
Today we drove to Charleville. I used to live there about 10 years ago, so it was good to see all the changes that have happened. The town looks relatively unscathed from all the flooding that happened 2-3 months ago. It’s all lush and green – unlike home which is dry and dead. We desperately need a good rain-fall!!
We met up with Amy, a friend of mine and I introduced her to my beautiful baby girl and the kids had a blast outside climbing up and down the stairs, swinging on the gates (that Amy taught them to do!) and running around the HUGE backyard. We had a pizza dinner from the new pizza shop and then head back to the caravan park for an early night.
The kids went to sleep really quickly so all in all it was a good night.

15th March
Today we drove a whopping 800 and something kms to Brisbane. We actually made excellent time. We arrived in Brisbane early evening. The scenery on this stretch is amazing. It’s never boring because it’s so changing. Daz and I played guess the crops. The crop growing is extending further and further west, which means we had more fun trying to guess!
Our arrival in Brisbane was just wonderful. We are staying with my best friend Bec and her husband Nick. Bec’s sister Cat (my bridesmaid – and practically like a sister) so we are having lots of fun. Cat is newly engaged to marry a cute dude from Bali. They are just waiting on his fiance’s visa.

16th March
Urrgh, how much sleep can I function on?? I had a huge attack of vertigo, which means I was laying in bed and it felt like I was on a boat in the middle of a rough ocean. I got motion sickness and threw up during the night. Milly was waking up every hour for some reason too and needing resettling. In the end I woke Daz up to take over so I could sleep. I got 3 hours.
We went to church with Bec and Nick which was really nice. It is a huge church with lots of kids and families. It was nice when Mop talked at the top of her lungs – no one cared. Because all the kids were!
The afternoon was a nice relaxing afternoon, doing nothing in particular.

17th March
How delightful waking up to the rain falling! It rained today – and it was just perfect. Somewhat humid – but it was soooo fun getting caught in a torrential downpour at the Big Pineapple. I quickly covered E up with the sun shade in his pram, and Bec, Mop Daz and I huddled under our boot door. E got mildly wet the rest of us were somewhat damp for a while.
We visited the Big Pineapple and The Ginger Factory. The BP was ok, not much to look at, though Mop liked climbing to the top of the pineapple. Oh and their Parfaits were to DIE for! Caitlin was eyeing off the pineapple special, so Aunty Bec spoiled her and they bought one. We all had some, since it was soooo huge. For a photo op, I even pretended to feed some to Milly – and will sit back and watch the perfect mother’s brigade tut and carry on. Ok so I was feeling rather mischevious!
The Ginger Factory was absolutely WONDERFUL!! Their shop has so much stuff – I even found the PERFECT handbag – which I really wanted, but I didn’t want to outright ask for. You know, guilt and all that. Anyway – we went on a tour of the factory and it was so interesting! Then we had a tasting session and all I can say is YUMMMM…. Daz and I bought all the ginger products that they used in their cooking and will be attempting to make the delicious samples ourselves.
We went on a train ride around the factory through all the lush rainforesty gardens. It was sooo beautiful. It was 3:30pm by the time we got out and we headed straight home
We got home quite late, and the kids were bone tired. So it was a matter of feeding, bathing and bedding and then we had a pretty laid back evening playing games. We played Articulate. Nick, Cat and I were the winning team! *victory dance*

18th March
Today was a good day. We did some shopping in a huge mall, and then headed to the Golden Circle factory, where we stocked up on a years worth of canned pineapple and other cheap stuff produced in that factory.

19th March
Today we went to Sea World. We were there practically all day, but we still didn’t see everything. Never mind, I guess as the kids get older we will be able to do more, and move at a faster pace. I guess when they are 10-12 years old, they will want to miss the Sesame Beach!
There was a water part of Sesame Beach where Elmo’s space ship shot water out all over the place, giving the kids a safe and great place to cool off. Milly even got a few splashes in. Then Daz took Mop on a few rides. I stayed with E and Milly near Elmo’s space ship. We watched a water ski show which was pretty impressive. We gave the Sesame St show a miss because Daz checked it out before and felt that Mop and E would be bored with it – and E being bored is not a good thing for anyone!!
We all enjoyed the touching pools – which are small rock pools which give us a chance to feel various sea creatures. We touched starfish, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. Caitlin was a bit apprehensive but E got totally into it. He was surprisingly gentle and loved touching these bizarre creatures.
Then we went underground to view the shark tanks. We were there for ages. Elijah was mesmerized! I have never seen him be so quiet and in awe of anything like that. He usually gets impatient when we stay still. Caitlin kept busy referring to the fish charts and trying to find the corresponding fish. I love aquariums like that and was happy to just stay there for hours! The coral, the rays, the sharks, the colorful fish. It was just beautiful.
E had about 3 major meltdowns because he is incredibly tired. But apart from that it was a great day and we came home tired but stoked with the day.
Daz had a boys night out with Nick and they went to watch a documentary on Apollo stuff which sounds really interesting. I stayed home with Bec and Cat and put the kids to bed and watched a girlie movie and ate chocolate.

20th March
Today we decided to head to South Bank – which was a bit disappointing because the Aquativitie section wasn’t going. That was the best part of the whole place! Oh well – then it poured with rain so we headed back home.
That night Bec, Cat and I headed out for a night in the shopping center for a girlie night. I got a stack of cosmetics and a pair of new jeans. Then we headed to a coffee place for a drink and a chat. It was loads of fun. Oh and I’ve started drinking wine again which is just wonderful – after the last feed of course.

21st March
Good Friday – we decided to take the kids to the park for a play. Then we headed to Sizzlers for a late lunch. Now fellow Adelaidians, don’t get jealous… but I ate cheese bread, salads and yummy apricot and white chocolate pudding. The kids loved it.
We pulled out the PS2 – and played Buzz and Singstar. You should hear Cat belt out a tune – especially Working Class Man – she makes you laugh so hard you have tears running down your legs. 

22nd March
Today we shopped all day. For business attire for Daz since he needs it in his new job. He looks mighty fine in his new threads. Bec and Cat took Mop off my hands and they had her all day – they painted and went shopping. All kids were absolutely stuffed come bedtime – so they screamed and carried on until they were shoved into bed.

23rd March
Today was our last day in Brisbane. We spent it down at Calloundra – we swam in the public pool – well actually the kids and Daz did. It was cold and I was busy feeding Milly. The kids had a ball!! Very lovely afternoon. We went to McCafe for a coffee and let the kids play on the equipment. I was so proud of my kids. E managed to climb all the way to the top of the equipment and Daz had to climb up after him when it was time to come home. Mop handled a bully child very well and firmly. I chuckled to myself and then left them to it. No need for me to intervene.
Bec, Nick, Cat, Daz and I all talked about the possibility of going to either Bali or Samoa for next Easter together. I personally think Bali would be great because Cat’s fiance’ is from Bali and he would be a great tour guide, and know when we are being ripped off etc. And they could catch up with their family as well. Oh and for once I would love to have a relaxing holiday – no cooking, cleaning, get a massage down on the beach, shopping, temples, volcanoes, and all sorts of other things.

24th March
Today we spent the whole day driving to Musswellbrook. We arrived at gone 10pm, Nige helped us back the caravan in, a quick catch up with Leash and then we all fell into bed, exhausted.
25th March
Today we went to the Hunter Valley Gardens. I swear that place is heaven on earth! It is just divine! The kids were pretty tired from their late night, but they managed to get around the place alright. It’s too hard to describe, but believe me, it’s a beautiful place. The kids got to touch, smell and run about and enjoy the great outdoors.
That evening, we played games with Leash and Nige. I was secretly impressed with Nige – the stuff he knows!?? Amazing… We all had a great time!
26th March
Today we went shopping, then stopped into Maccas for lunch, where Nige met up with us. The kids played on the equipment while we gasbagged. Then Leash took the kids off my hands for an hour or two while Daz and I went to our favourite winery. Yum yum YUM!! I love Arrowfield Wines. Best wine EVER!!
That night Leash, Daz and I belted out some tunes on Singstar, then when Nige came home from his meeting, we played Buzz and ate an icecream cake I made.
27th March
We left Muswellbrook and headed to Canberra. We stopped in on a winery that do fruit wines. Yum!! We bought a few then headed on. I could taste the pineapple wine for ages. YUMM!!
We arrived in Canberra fairly early in the evening, and we stayed at Ann and Marc’s. They have such a lovely home. We gasbagged all night and then I had a pretty bad sleep because Milly kept waking up. I ended up bringing her into bed with me where she had a huge chat at the top of her lungs.
28th March
We spent the morning with Ann and Marc, the kids got to play with their girls and they had a good time. Then we took our caravan to the park we were staying at and headed off to see Glen and Bee (Darren’s best man). They were such gracious hosts, and gave us afternoon tea. Bee whisked the kids into the veggie garden and showed them how to pick cherry tomatoes. The kids absolutely loved their garden. Elijah picked and ate (which they didn’t mind because they had too many as it was!) I am convinced that the kids will love a veggie garden of their own, so we have bumped that project to first in line when we get home.
Then we went to Craig and Christie’s for dessert. It was lovely to catch up with them and Mop was stoked to catch up with their daughter. Craig revved Elijah up and tackled him and tickled him and I have never seen Elijah laugh so much.

29th March
Today we drove to Balranald. Nothing eventful happened. I drove through the Hay Plain… BOOOORING!! It was a nice caravan park and we ate chicken and chip dinner by the river.

30th March
Today we drove home.

So Long! Farewell!

Righto, I'm off on holiday. I won't be back until the beginning of April. Got a huge trek ahead of us. First to Brisbane, then the Hunter Valley and then Canberra - then back home again.

SOOOO looking forward to the break. I am physically and mentally shattered. It's been a busy few weeks.

Ameliah was dedicated on Sunday and then we had the immediate family over for lunch afterwards. It was very fun.

It has been really hot this last week, and there doesn't seem to be any sign of it letting up. So we are going up north to cool off!! :)

It shall be fabulous. Will tell all when I get back.

Very serious instruction.

I got a new stroller the other day. And the instructions that came with it were absolutely HILLARIOUS.

I thought I would share some of the funniest ones.

1. For your child's safety must be of good belt.
Does this mean whip em if they dare budge from their seat with a belt? :)

2. The baby more than six months old should be avoided, by the use of shoulder up.

3. Reminded not to let their children out of the courthouse or legislative seats war.
Yes I'm serious. Make em sit in there untill they confess - or launch a nuclear bomb!

4. When all children, caregivers should be conducted
Can you imagine a toddler with a baton??

5. Car is not moving, the wheel must be stopped, and to avoid a dangerous slide in.

6. Click the correct use of bicycle use, to avoid any risk of the occurence.
Does it stir up a feeling of paranoia in you? Does it?

Regular checks your baby carriages, whether screw lossening, aging parts, materials and vehicle sutures ruptured, and when necessary to timely replacement and maintenance.

7. Should avoid undue influence or strong - they affect life

8. The rotating bodies to apply to remain flexible rotation.

Now I don't know about you but ruptured sutures, influence and rotating bodies just makes me a little wary on using this stroller!! LOL

There are some gems in these instructions, but unfortunately not precious enough to keep. I'm chucking em out now.

DH said it's worth buying chinese made things just so you can laugh at the crappy instructions. I wonder how they translate? Make it up as they go along? Or try to find the most whackiest sentences just to mess with our heads?? Either way, I had a good chuckle. I hope you did to.

I've been tagged....

My ol' mate Donna just tagged me. So I am "it"...

The question is Three reasons why you blog?

Hmmmm...

1. I blog to record the happenings in this house - to record memories of when the kids were just kids. To remember when E first smiled or when Milly took her first steps. I wanted the kids to know what they were like when they were younger - and what I was like when they were younger. If anything should ever happen to me, Daz knows to print this off as a book, and to give to the kids to read all about me, and all about me as their Mummy. It's a way of preserving the memories - especially when I am old and prone to forgetting.

2. I blog so I don't have to make up fancy newsletters, and have lengthy phone calls and emails to distant friends (which I do NOT have time for!) My friends who live interstate and internationally just have to click on my blog link to see what's been going in in this household. That was one of the reasons why I started blogging in the first place - so that Kimbo could see what I was up to whenever she could get online.

3. I blog because I can type a heck of alot faster than I can write. I'm a time saver - wasted time and effort annoys me. So writing half a page in a diary would take about as much time as it takes me to type 2 x a4 pages. Do the math.



So now I have to tag 3 people. That's the deal. So I tag...

Sue, Jo and G.

Right I am outta here dudes.
Mwah.

*sigh*

Just a little post from me today.
Today I went on the college that I plan to go to, to study counselling - and discovered that they have changed the length of study from 5 years full time to 6 years full time. This is because in 5 years time the Aussie Counselling Association place thingamabob will not take members who have not done a graduate course.... hence the 6 years.

AND the cost of the course has gone up by almost a grand, so paying for it is going to be very interesting.

I won't be able to work full time on this course until Milly-Moo goes to school which is 5 years time. So I will be studying FOREVER!! :(

I'm just worried that I'll do what I quite often do - start it and not finish it. Or lose heart and pike out....
What if I don't pass the "psychologically sound" test at the end of 5 years?? :)

It's ok - I am arming myself with as much information as I can to understand and to push myself onwards, regardless that I could be a student when I am 40 years old!!

It's a bit of a leap of faith...

That's all I wanted to say..

PS: Like my new layout?? Ain't it purrddy? Daz complained that he couldn't see the "About me" part - but I figure he knows about me, so it doesn't matter. LOL If you want to know about me - read my blog. :D I personally prefer the flowers and butterflies!

So much wonderful stuff has been happening!!

It's been a fabulous week for me. I feel like I am floating!!

1. After being told for the last year that there was more than likely not going to be a mid-year intake for Reception 2008 - I got a letter in the mail on Tuesday saying that there WILL be a Reception class, and will you please confirm Mop's placement. WILL I EVER!!! That girl has been aching to get to school forever, and I have been too!!
I spoke to her pre-school teachers, and they breathed a sigh of relief.
"She is more than ready" they said and went on to explain that socially she is up there with the kids her age and intelectually she is fine. They had run out of materials for her to use. So they were as excited as I was. They are excellent teachers and I hope E gets them when he goes there in a year or two. (When he can handle being left places)

2.

This handsome couple is my brother Steve and his partner in crime - Jasmine. I got an SMS this morning saying "She said yes!" - WOOHOO!! He proposed this morning and she accepted. Jasmine is a wonderful girl and I think he has impeccable taste. She's a good friend, and so much fun to be with. She will fit into our family perfectly. She already cheeks my Dad! :) They are going on a cruise - they left for Sydney today, so I haven't seen the rock yet, but when they get back I'll have a drool.
Jasmine has a little girl from a previous relationship, and I get and instant niece. She is a delightful little girl, and Mop just loves her. They get along so well. Mop has loved her since Molly was born!! Mum is excited that she has another little girl to love as a Nanny.

3. After what seems an age of being under-appreciated and struggling to get anywhere career-wise, Daz handed his resignantion in yesterday and accepted another offer of a job in a bigger and hopefully better company. It's exciting stuff - and a bit terrifying all at once!

4. Milly-Moo, my delight, laughed at me yesterday. Her first ever laugh! She has been smiling since 6 days old, and talking not much after then. But yesterday she let out a chuckle when we were clapping hands.





She is such a delight to us. She is so easy going (unless someone's annoying her - or she's hungry, then she exhibits her Skip-like-feistiness) and she is so good-natured. She sits back and plays contentedly while the rest of the family move around her. She only cries when she is hungry or tired. She makes us all very happy.
She started sleeping right through the night a few weeks ago, so I am a very well rested Mama! :) I am SOOOOO lucky!!

PSSST... I know I said no more... but she makes me so clucky for another baby!!

5. I am continuing to lose weight. Check out my motivation poster I made myself.



I bought some new clothes today because I am sick of my pants falling down!! I am feeling good, and when I firm up my tummy and butt and legs, I'll look alot better!!

See what I mean it has been a fabulous week??


Other family news:
E is talking more and more, and hasn't screamed at all for ages. He's really different when he is on his own - when Mop is at school. He plays quietly and happily on his own, he likes his own company and potters about entertaining himself. I barely know he's here when Mop isn't making him yell by torturing him as big sisters do.
Mop is a real little Miss. I don't know whether to yell at her or laugh at her at times. She is pretty feisty and mouthy - I shake my head at times and wonder where on earth she gets it from. ;)

I've been doing a bit of scrapping and am very happy with some of the stuff I have done.











Signing off now... with a huge smile on my face.

The A-Z of me part 3

D is for

Daz
The love of my life, my sweetheart, first love, first committed relationship and other firsts which I won’t go into here.
We met while I was doing a make-up job for a musical “Two From Galilee” – he was in the chorus. I don’t really remember the first time I laid eyes on him, but I certainly remember when he caught my attention. How could I possibly not see a hunky man who stipped his costume off while wearing bright red jocks?? I mean it was like a flag for a bull. Hello honey, over here. YOOHOO!!! I saw him. I didn’t know where to look, and I felt a blush creep over me…. But that sight of him was burned into my brain for all time. Now I get that picture on a daily basis!
I can’t remember the first time we talked, all I remember is that we did talk and got on very well. From then on we were friends – for 8 long months we developed a really good friendship – both of us wanting more, but wondering if the other felt the same way. August 8th 1998 I finally had enough of wondering and outright asked. He was relieved, and he finished the job – we were an item! 2 years later we were engaged and a year later we were married.
Daz is a handsome hunk of man. Tall, dark, lean, has incredible legs and hips, oh and his shoulders – well… they are biteable.. don’t ask. When he really smiles his whole face lights up. He has a cheeky laugh which sounds a bit like Ernie’s laugh – no kidding. He has a chuckle, which I hear often and on very very rare occasions, he has a big laugh. I love his big laugh.
Daz is the most patient man I can think of – when it comes to me. The poor man probably has to put up with a great deal, yet he is so patient with me. He doesn’t fight with me – he refuses to in fact. He doesn’t think it’s necessary. So we discuss things like rational human beings when we have “issues” – I have never been in a screaming match with him. I have yelled at him, told him off, spouted off – but he doesn’t respond to that. It’s great!!
He’s also a very intelligent dude. He knows lots, and is pretty cluey about technology and all that. But when it comes to cars, repairing things around the house, plumbing etc…. he has no clue. That’s ok, we can’t all be good at everything. Besides, I am glad he is not a tinkerer in the car – I don’t have rough, huge fat stubby “work hands” with grease under the fingernails touching me. I have smooth, long slender fingers that are clean and neat. Just the way I like them.
He is my complete oppostite. He works slowly on things, I get them done quickly and efficiently. He finishes what he starts – I struggle to do so. I am firey, quick tempered, outgoing and he is cool, calm and reserved. How on earth he fell in love with me, I will never know. But he did…. SUCKER!! J

D is for Domestic Guru
I am one. I can turn a house that is cluttered, dirty and disorganised into a clean, tidy and organised home – if I am given free reign that is. I have helped lots of people get their homes and lives into gear and offer advice on my website – the things that have helped me or things I have learned.
I love to experiment with different methods of cleaning and report on them. I would love to know what works and what doesn’t. And why should everyone do these tests eh?
I am proud of my website and hope one day it will be huge – full of information that will help people spend less time cleaning and more time on the more important things in life!!
And for those who have no idea where to find it http://www.domesticguru.com

The A-Z of me.... part 2

B is for

Best Friend/Bec

Bec has been my best friend for 10 years. Before I had even met her, I had heard about her… and not such nice things either. The day I first laid eyes on her I remember it well… the sun was pouring into the church windows, giving it a yellowy glow through the curtains, and up bounced a very smiley blonde girl.. There was an immediate connection. We were such kindred spirits. We loved the same things, we had lots to talk about, we found the same things funny. We both loved Doris Day, I Love Lucy, romantic soppy movies, Anne of Green Gables and lots of other old style movies.
I ended up living with her and her family for a while before I got married. It was lots of fun living with her. We never argued – probably because she is so laid back. I would do anything for her – in fact I did. I watched Titanic 3 times in one day with her the day she got it, because she loved it so much. I don’t think I’ve watched it since! LOL
She is an awful tease. When I first met Daz and thought he was pretty hot, she paid me out so much and in front of him too! Lucky he was so vague and didn’t see it. The poor girl heard me nearly everyday wondering if he liked me or not. She used to scoff and say “Are you blind?? You should see the way he looks at you!”
She put up with me practicing my beauty therapy on her, she let me wax her, put make up on her and do all sorts of other things. She seemed to love it though, she would almost fall asleep while I did it. And I put up with her learning to play the violin (aka dying cat), trumpet (aka elephant in labour) and the oboe… OMG how bad do those instruments sound in the first few weeks.
Bec was by my side the day I was married as my Matron of Honour. She had to perform the most awful tasks and she did it most cheerfully. She held my hair back while I puked in the street from sheer nervousness. She held my hoop and dress up while I pee’d. She threw me the best kitchen tea I had ever been to! It was so much fun!! I remember my cheeks ached from laughing and smiling.
She was one of the first person I told I was pregnant with Mop. She was so excited for me!! I was given the privilege to throw Bec’s baby shower and I had loads of fun doing it! She was the first to find out I was pregnant with Milly Moo – since I was at her house when I did the test. Her whole face lit up and she was so excited for me. Even though I wasn’t very excited at the time. She was very positive about it and it helped me accept it very quickly – even though I was in disbelief for a while!
Bec is the most beautiful woman. She is so kind and so sweet. She is very intelligent and creative. She plays the flute and sings like an angel. She has an incredible smile and is so patient. She loves my kids and she is the best honorary Aunty in the whole world.
She recently moved away to Brisbane and I miss her a lot.

I have lots of friends, but Bec is different. She has my heart.

Beauty Therapist
I was one. I studied for 3 years in TAFE and then launched out into the world of beauty to work for a few years. I discovered pretty quickly that this wasn’t the career for me. I did like doing make up for weddings and working with hair dressers to turn the bride into a Princess. It was so much fun!
I ran a salon as part of a hairdressers in the city for a year but the business never really took off. Besides the salon was in a corner in a side street, no-one knew it was there. My last job was in Price Attack close to home. I enjoyed working there, then fell pregnant and was puking too much to work!


C IS FOR

Christmas
My favourite time of year! I love decorating the tree, I love baking Christmas goodies, I love making gifts and buying gifts. I love wrapping my kids stuff up and putting it under the tree. I love filling the stockings. I love being with my family on Christmas Day. I love the kids (cousins) all playing together, enjoying each other’s company, while the adults sit back, all full and content and watch them.
I love my MIL’s baked goodie platter she makes every year. It’s soooo yummy. I love Daz’s work’s Christmas Dinners. I love Christmas Carols and listening to www.xmasradio.ca every year. I like the sounds of chimes and bells filling the shopping centres. I love the Christmas decorations in the malls. I love checking out what new Christmas decorations are for sale. I love seeing our neighbours Christmas lights.
I love surprising my husband, and I love hearing his “wow!” I love making my Mum’s Christmas present – because I know that she really appreciates it and genuinely loves what I make. The more tears that fall as she inspects what I made, the more I know she loves it.
I love making Christmas Crackers for my family. I love Christmas breakfast. I love the Christmas fruits of the season.

I hate Christmas pudding and cake! LOL

Caitlin
My darling first born. She was born after a 13 hour labour. She was a drama queen the moment she was born. She was whipped into the neonatal ICU and caused a whole lot of worry and stress for the doctors, nurses and her poor ol parents! Thankfully she got better pretty quickly and after less than a week in the hospital, we took her home.
Caitlin - well she is the most funniest and most feisty little girl I have ever known. She is so much like me it’s not funny. She looks like me, acts like me, thinks like me – it is so scary at times.
She is very forthright and if she has an opinion and she has no problem in sharing it. She recently told me I have “wobbly bits” – thanks sweetie. Mummy is only stretched out all over the place from having you kids!! She talks all the time – seriously! She talks while she plays, talks at the table, talks in the car, talk talk talk. At times she drives me mental, but at other times, listening to her when she thinks no is listening is fun.
She is strong willed and stubborn. She’ll fight me if she feels strongly enough about it and flat out refuse to do what she is told. She chooses the consequences because her will is made from iron. This could be a good thing – she may one day have a faith that is so strong and she will not be easily shaken or moved. I hope her stubbornness is shaped into a strong character. She has excellent leadership skills and qualities. She is quite bubbly and outgoing. She will talk to everyone and loves to have fun. She is easily excitable, and I often find her dancing like she needs to wee, but she doesn’t she says “I’m just excited!”
She says the funniest things, and I can’t remember them all, but usually it’s pointing out the obvious or telling the truth that we find so funny. Caitlin is also very intelligent. I’m not being biased either. She was reading before her third birthday. She now can read most words an 8 year old wouldn’t be able to read. She has great understanding as well of what she reads. She is always wanting to learn and I find trying to keep her stimulated enough quite difficult. I’ve started reading to her from a huge collection of Bible stories, which are quite indepth. If you ask her today why God made the air before everything else, she will tell you why. I bet a lot of you didn’t know that if there was no air, the rain that would fall would be like machine gun bullets being fired, and would destroy the earth! She knows that. We read it last night in her Bible books.
She is eagerly looking forward to “Big School” and can’t wait to be learning more and having lots more friends. She is also a very routined girl – and quite anal about it. Everything is done in order. If you dare mess that order up, she gets quite upset about it. We have probably created that rod , since we have always had a routine for the kids, so they knew what to expect and what was coming up. This is good because we don’t have to fight her to put her to bed, she knows that after teeth, prayers, cuddles, it’s bedtime. She’ll try to lag it out like all kids do! LOL
Mop is a very lovely little girl, and a real joy to me. I enjoy her fire and her passion. I love to see her laugh, and have a wonderful time. I love to hear her sing, and read to me and herself. I love to see her pictures that she draws and the notes that she writes. I burst with pride a lot at her accomplishments and the things that she knows. I love how she is planning to go to Uni – and she is 4 ½ years old. I love how she talks about growing up and having a pink Barbie car – now that’s MY girl!!

Church
I have been going to church ever since I was born. The first place I went when I was freshly out of hospital was church. Nowadays I am taking my kids to church and wondering how on earth Mum kept us quiet for so long. It’s tough going!!
Church takes up a huge chunk of our time. We go there Sunday’s, we have music practice on Tuesdays. We are the music directors there and are responsible for our music team. Thankfully we have a wonderful team behind us who are so supportive and helpful in every way they can be.
I also preach and lead the communion at times. I haven’t for a few months, obviously because I have been heavily pregnant and a new Mum. I hope I am on the next roster, because I really enjoy doing it.
Church is a place that is filled with family. There are strange old Aunties, stinky Uncles, favourite cousins, gentle Grannies, sweet Mum’s, practical and helpful Dad’s and brother’s that you can give a noogie too and they will tolerate it. When I step into our church, I know that we are going to have a wonderful rellie bash. People I know and love will be worshiping the same God as I do. Hearing the same message I do. Going in the same direction I will be going. It’s a great place to be.

Cooking
I love to do it. Always have, always will. I love to experiment with new dishes and try new flavours. My husband never complains about that!! I love having dinner parties and entertaining so I can try out a load of new dishes on them. I love cooking magazines, cooking websites, recipe books and anything to do with cooking. I love kitchen gadgets and appliances that make life easier in the kitchen.
I am in love with my food processor. It certainly was money well spent. I use it almost daily.
I suck at making cakes though, for some reason they just don’t work as well as they should. But I make a mean cheesecake!

Cleaning
I don’t particularly enjoy all aspects of this, but I do like to find ways to help make this job a lot easier. I started a website filled with some of my knowledge (still more to come) to help other people make their home neat and clean. www.domesticguru.com
I would love to be Australia’s version of “How Clean is Your House?” If any of my blog readers ever hear of an audition for this role, let me know!! I would be very happy going into other people’s homes to re-orgnaise, clean it out and make it a place they can relax in and be proud to have visitors come through.

Caravanning
My latest enjoyment in life. Caravanning. We have one now, and I love towing our little holiday home behind us to wherever we want. Our next holiday will be to Brisbane to see Bec and Nick and I can’t wait!!!
We have been all over Australia in our caravan and it has travelled many kms. My favourite thing to do in the caravan is in the middle of Australia, in the middle of dust, dirt, heat and flies – is to make a lovely lunch for my hungry family, and eat it in there – all you can hear are the flies on the outside, the wind, and the occasional passing semi-trailer. Bliss I tell you.

Coffee
I love it. My favourite type is Harrods Columbian coffee, I also like Nescafe Gold for instant coffee. I can’t stand any other instant. I love Gloria Jeans. I just love coffee. I try not to drink lots of it. Because I have been addicted once. Never again. Have you tried coming off a coffee addiction??

The Encyclopedia of Me.... a project.

Over the next few months I will be doing an A-Z of me - a project inspired by Jo. I think it speaks for itself, so no need to explain...

So here goes...

A

.. is for Ameliah
Ameliah is my third baby and my last baby. She is currently 4 weeks old. She was a surprise baby - I'm still not quite sure how it happened, but God knows - and he knew that we would fall madly in love for the third time with this sweet angel.

... is for Ally
Ally is my black and white feline. She dribbles when you pat her, she wipes her smelly ass on you when she gets up on your lap for a cuddle, she mooches you something shocking - and she is a dear sweet cat. She also has an attitude like a freakin princess - but she is a lovely little thing. We rescued her from being put down and adopted her into the family. She saunters around like she owns the world - and she really does own the world.

... is for Asthma
I have it. Not badly, but enough to drive me mental when I have a cold and other respitory conditions.

Happy New Year!!

Christmas and the New Year have been and gone. I'll give you the last week in December in bullet points and in a nutshell.

• Had a nice Christmas Eve with the inlaws. We went out for dinner to the Midway Tavern. Ameliah projectile vommitted all over me before we left when she was pooping. LOL
• Christmas morning we had a lovely relaxed breakfast then got the kids to open their presents.
• Elijah chucked a few wobblies because he was over Christmas before it even began!! LOL
• Mop had a wonderful time and enjoyed all her new things.
• Milly-Moo slept alot.
• Christmas lunch was with my family and it was just wonderful. Everyone loved the food and the set-up.
• Mop gashed her head open on the bedside table when she was spinning on her bed. Don't ask. She came out with a huge deep gash and I totally freaked. The waiting time at the hosptial was too long so we called a locum. For about half an hour I was shaking her alot, trying to keep her awake. In the end the locum did come, her sleepiness had worn off and he slapped a bandaid on and left. :S
• For the week after Christmas we went to Marion Bay for a mini-family holiday. My parents and my younger brother were there. It was a lovely week, despite the heat, the kids refusing to sleep and more injuries Mop had. (she really is a clutz this week!!)

Daz might be going overseas for work. It's a bit scary. A week or two on my own. It's such a wonderful opportunity for him and he would be crazy not to go, but I'll miss him. I will have to take up a few projects and work like mad on them so I don't crawl into a corner, wimper and curl up in the foetal position. LOL

New Years Resolutions are:

1. Lose 10kg by my 30th birthday. (21st December)
2. Go walking at least 3 times a week (either out of the house or on my strider)
3. Become Skipper again - take off my Mummy hat for an hour or so and go spend some time with my friends. Learn to socialise with adults once again!!
4. Really get into adding more info onto Domestic Guru - aim to get that e-book written.
5. Try 2 new recipes a week
6. Get on top of debt and stay in control of our finances
7. Stay on top of our home maintenance. (it would be good to finish our started projects)
8. Socialise more as a family.

Happy New Year everyone.

My clever child......

6 days old and she is smiling!!! No it's not wind, it's a true blue, dinky -di smile!!! She kind of smirked at me when she was born, but this is a real "we have a connection" smile.

Today we put on her very first cloth nappy. A very kind friend sent me a stack of them, along with all sorts of goodies, including a sling! The nappy does make her look a little bulky - but thats coz she is a skinny chicken!

It's a girl!!! Welcome Ameliah Zara!

Well it's all over folks!! I finally had this baby!!

I am proud to introduce the latest model - Ameliah Zara.

This is how it went down.... (if you don't like birth stories - don't read!)

Monday afternoon - I laid down next to my baby - Sir E, and sang to him and cuddled him until he fell asleep for a nap, and grieved a bit. Tears fell just a tiny bit. This poor little kid was about to have his life turned upside down, and I was going to do this to him.

3pm - rocked up at the hospital a tad late - my midwife, Katie thought I might be piking because I was late. - I was admitted, checked out and the gels were inserted. It all started pretty much straight away. I was aching and felt like a period was coming on. Contractions (mild ones) started around 6pm and were about 4 minutes apart for most of the night. So you can imagine how much sleep I DIDN'T get!! LOL.

We had a few diversions. For example - to watch "Free" to air TV, we had to pay Telstra $15! LMAO!! But we also got Foxtel which was a bit of a novelty... for the first 3 minutes. Then I discovered that I was very glad I don't have Foxtel at home. There was absolutely NOTHING to watch. There was internet connection with it as well, and so I was able to talk to a few friends and give them updates of progress that night and on Tuesday morning. In the end we watched a bit of "The Wedding Crashers" that we hired on the laptop. I love that movie - pretty funny!

Sleep was pretty interrupted - every 4 minutes to be precise, and then every 4 hours I had to be monitored by the midwives. The second lot of gels were cancelled by the Registrar on that shift because "Neonatal Special Care is understaffed" - yeah I really needed that freak out at that moment. Katie wasn't happy about the cancellation - since I was booked to have this induction.

7am Tuesday morning Katie checked out how my cervix was going and she said it was going pretty well - but because I didn't have the second lot of gels, she didn't know what she could do next. So she ran it by the doctors/OBS and they had a big meeting about it. So 9am was when I finally got started. My waters were broken... hehe... I was flooding for AGES. There was sooooo much of the stuff! My drip was put in and antibiotics pumped though. Then came the oxytocin (sp?) - contractions began.

I was pleasantly surprised because bub was no longer posterior - she had turned!! And was facing the right way - so I had mainly tummy pain - not the terrible back pain. I coped relatively well for 2 hours. Daz rubbed my back and I managed my pain well. I was given another examination and my cervix had not dialated since the night before - still 2 cm dialated. I started to feel a bit down about that. All this pain and it was doing what?? Never mind... I still pushed on. The dosage of hormones were put up and up and up - and the intensity of these contractions were going up and up. I hopped in the shower on a gym ball and let the hot water beat on my body. It felt really good. But then the hospital staff came in demanding that Katie fix the monitoring system because the water proof one kept losing signal. So I had to get out the shower and a little hook monitor was inserted into bub's head. The doctor said "Hmmm... this is a big baby" - and I felt that familiar rise of terror.... oh and guess how dialated I was?? 2 cm STILL!! 4 hours and only 2cms.

I felt myself start to crumble. I burst into tears and sobbed and sobbed in the shower. I couldn't cope any longer with the pain - the contractions were very close together and were acheiving nothing. Katie suggested I start thinking about pain relief - the epidural. Progress was too slow, it was likely I was going to need a c-section. So an epidural was booked and I was shifted immediately to the labour ward. I never had any drugs with the other two, so this was going to be a new experience. I was beyond caring..

Contractions were coming thick and fast and I had to listen to the annethesist inbetween and then he began to put it in. He had to keep stopping because every 30 seconds or so I had a contraction. I had to stay perfectly still because needles were going all over the place and Katie had to talk me through them. I thought I was going to die! HURRY UP AND GET THE DRUGS WORKING!!!

Finally it was all in, and I was laying down on my back. Daz warned the man that anesthetics and me took a while to get working. He kept pumping the drugs into me, and they weren't working. Contractions were thick and fast - and the poor man was trying to discuss the next option - I felt that familiar heavy feeling down below... "I CAN'T LISTEN TO YOU RIGHT NOW!!! I need to push!!!"

Then all the action began to happen. Another midwife appeared out of nowhere and held my hand while I began pushing. The professor appeared. Daz said "I can see the head!!" There was lots of shouting and talking and 5 pushes later, I felt the familiar feeling of a body leaving mine and a crying baby was placed on my body! She was crying!!! The Professor was punching the air and grinning - ermm.. what are YOU so happy about buddy?? I'M the one that did all the hard work!! LOL - The poor anethesist who was trapped in a corner emerged and congratulated me - "you don't need me anymore!" Umm.. no thanks. 1 1/2 hours after my last examination I went from 2cm to giving birth!!

Little Ameliah was born perfect. She stayed on my belly, both of us wrapped in a warmed blanket and we had cuddles for an hour. She began to suckle and her big eyes were wide open taking me in.

4 hours later we picked up our bags, our baby and walked out that hospital, and went home! What a very busy day!!

No stitches - I swear I am made out of rubber. 8lb 1oz - smallest baby I have ever had! And a very quick recovery. In fact the sorest part of my body is the epidural site - and I didn't even get the benefits of this! LOL. This is the best labour I have ever had. Even though it was looking dismal. I am so glad it's all over and my baby girl is in my arms!!

I had so many people praying for me and for a good outcome. God came through for me yet again with a coulple of miracles.

PS: You should see my stomach!!!!!! :O 4 days ago I gave birth and I am wearing clothes that were too small for me pre-pregnancy!! YEEEHAAAA!!!

What's goin on?

Well I'll tell ya!

Today I went to see the OB to check if my cervix was "favourable". The OB was busy today, so he had one of his registrars look after me - and she was nice enough to leave the cervix inspection to my midwife. The stretch and sweep was surprisingly enough painless. I found the registrar looking for baby's heartbeat more painful. Geeze she was rough!!!

Anyway nothing has happened after the stretch and sweep so I am guessing it's not coming today.

The new plan is: IF I haven't popped by Monday, I have to go to the hospital and get some gels popped in. Then Tuesday bright and early I have to have my waters ruptured. Personally I can't wait for the waters to burst. My midwife says i have lots of amniotic fluid so it's going to be a geiser!! WOOOOHOOO!!! Gotta have something to look forward to!

When I was in the Birthing Unit central desk waiting for Katie to book us a room we bumped into Karen, the lady who was there when Elijah was born - the one who had really high blood pressure after the birth. She looked at me and said "You look familiar.." then when it all came flooding back, she said she didn't want to be around for the birth! LOL. Apparently I added 10 years to her life. She sternly told me I would be in BIG trouble if I had a birth like that again. I'll do my best.... LOL Karen is a lovely midwife, and I like her. She was also the lady that the ECN thought was my lesbian partner - because she walked in on the midwife teaching me how to milk myself! LMAO!!! OH what a hoot that was....!!

So now I am keeping myself busy - a friend of mine told me to stay busy to keep the mind off labour and delivery. Why stress myself out and start to freak myself out eh?

Katie did go through the equipment they would be monitoring me with and stuff like that. It all seems pretty harmless. Not as invasive as I thought it would be.

So in a week all this pregnancy talk will be well and truly over with. I'll be a great deal thinner and able to sleep on my stomach.... ahhh bliss!!!

Next entry will be the birth announcement. Stay tuned... it could be anytime....

Update....

Allo all!
Went to see the Professor and all is good. Bubs is small enough for me to push out at 38 weeks. So here's the plan. 28th November I am off to see Professor again so he can check up my clacker and see what's happening with my cervix. As much as I look forward to having a man looking up there and having a fiddle with my cervix............ NOT!!! Well anyway - he's going to check if my cervix is "favourable" and then give it a stretch and sweep. Wonderful. I hope I go into labour well before that.
If THAT doesn't work, the 3rd of December is the final day - I will be induced that day, and if that doesn't work out, then it's a c-section.

Good news is that I am allowed to give birth in the birthing center, I am allowed to labour in the water, and it will only be my midwife in attendance and the emergency neonatal team peoples standing at the desk while I push the munchkin out. Better than the origional plan which was the Professor in attendance and whoever he needed, my midwife, the neonatal team - it was going to be like peak hour traffic on South Rd!!
My hospital bag is packed. Mum spoiled me (again) and bought me some cute t-shirt nightees t wear plus some very yummy mango flavoured lip balm and body lotion for DH to massage into me. I am going to love that!! Not the massage part, the part where I get to smell mangoes. I LOVE mangoes.

So everything is ready for the baby.

Last week I had a very interesting experience. I was a model for a pregnancy photo-shoot. A friend, Jo, is practicing photography, and she suggested a pregnancy shoot for me - well that was a first for both of us. And the woman works miracles I tell you!!! She's going to be an excellent photographer. She made me look HOT!! I don't have the pictures just yet, but when I do, I'll show you what I mean. I haven't looked that good since my wedding photos.
Jo is also lined up to do a few family pictures of us when Munchkin arrives. If she keeps churning out such good pictures, I might have to start hiring her to do our family shots instead of Pixi (which are absolute rubbish for what you pay!!)

It was Daz's work dinner last night and I had a lovely evening. I had the sympathy card big time because of the bowling ball I have shoved up my dress. :) Every woman all looked at me sadly "Oh you must be due now" - eh yeah. I am.
"You must be so hot and uncomfortable" - Eh yeah I am.
Daz got grilled by fellow work mates about my condition and how long I have to go. I got wished lots of luck on departure which was lovely.
Daz's boss (whom I sat next to) was a lovely man. I did enjoy chatting to him - especially as he opened his trap and said that Daz was the best worker at the company and raved about his capabilities etc etc. Daz is too modest because I found out a heck of alot about my husband from this boss.... and all excellent launch pads for negotiations about promotions and pay rises! But apparently Daz is very smart (not that I didn't doubt this) and if no one else can solve a problem, they take it to Daz. He was instrumental in a huge project getting completed on time and solving an impossible problem. So there ya go....

Dinner was divine. I ate a Habouli and onion tart with a pear salad for starters, Salmon on a creamy thyme rissoto and some lovely flavoured butter on top. And for dessert a chocolate brownie - which was too rich so I passed it on to Daz. It was delicious. My own grump moment was when the wine was bought out. And the white was a Sauv Blanc, my favourite!! And Daz had a glass of it, which I didn't mind until he started raving about how nice it was. :(

The kids are doing well. I've had to start "Operation Crack Down" on Mop because she has been so argumentative of late and disobedient. She thinks she knows better and I have in the past been too tired to deal with it. Now both Daz and I are on her back and it has improved of late. She gave our baby sitter last night (Daz's cousin) a run for her money by her carry on, but thankfully she is very similar to me in approach and controlled the girl.

E has been absolutely divine. He's so much more fun and I really enjoy being with him. His tanties have almost dissapeared entirely. He whinges only when he is tired or in pain. He talks so much more and can say what he wants. "Juice" for drink "Ungy" for hungry etc etc. It makes my life so much easier. Afternoon naptimes, he likes me to lay down with him while he goes to sleep. I don't mind, it means I get a 5 minute rest too. He smothers me in kisses and cuddles me and strokes my face - then drops off because Mummy's head massage is to die for!

Christmas preps are well underway. We are mostly done for outside of the family which is good. Mop has a cd-player on layby - she is really getting into music lately - so she may as well have her own player in her room so Mummy isnt tortured at 3am hearing in her head Bear in the Blue House and I like to Sing tunes.

Website is going well, though I really need to get more stuff on there. I have lots of material but it's just a matter of having the energy and motivation to get it on there. I hope to get it bursting at the seams in the New Year. I need to be focussed on the task of giving birth, I can concentrate on other things later.

It's been really warm here these last few days and the kids have been enjoying swimming in their water pool/center thing. It's looking to get hot in the next few days so I will be hybernating in the house with the AC blasting!!

Anyway I think I have said enough. I'll sign off now and go hunt down my hubsband who is making some repairs on the xmas tree so we can put it up before this bub comes. We noticed my tummy has dropped a huge amount and it's been very quiet, so it's probably resting up for birth.

This, that and the other.

Allo all!

Well this week or so has been pretty boring. Nothing exciting happening. Nothing exciting going to happen. Just going along... putt putt putt.

E is talking more and more thank goodness, because that means his screams are getting less and less!! FINALLY he said "light" instead of pointing to the roof and saying "Moon!" because not all round light things are moons my boy! LOL. He's settled nicely in his room and sleeps well.
Thank goodness for daylight savings. He didn't wake till nearly 7:30am this morning!! Better than the waking up with the chickens he has been doing lately.

Mop is same ol. Eternally dressed up as a princess or something else equally divine!

Well on Wednesday I have my estimated fetal weight scan to see if I am going to be able to push it out or have to be butchered. On the 5th of November I find out for sure. Push or slice? Praying to push here!! It will be nice however to see the lil munchkin.

We have named our bub (I think) and I really love the name. I chose the first name (well put it on a short list and Daz liked it!) and Daz came up with the second name and together it's just great! It's lovely knowing it's name.
Baby has dropped a bit into my pelvis. My tummy is noticeably lower and I can breathe a little easier. However it has made shooting pains go through my cervix and lower tummy. I feel like I have period pain continually and lets not get started on the braxton hicks contractions!

The other day I smelled something really off under my sink. I didn't know what it was, so I just shut the door and forgot about it until I smelled it again yesterday. Daz came and got a waft of it, and worked out that the mousetrap had gone off. I didn't even know there was a trap in there!! LOL. So we had a decomposing mouse in my cuboard. Thankfully the smell is gone now! YUUUCK! I hate rodents.... almost as much as frogs and creepy things like that!

Christmas preparations are coming along nicely. I have started making up Christmas crackers and did a few Christmas photo shoots for xmas cards. Mop of course posed like a real model, and E posed for the light testing one - then refused to co-operate after that. I give up.... he can be a snotty little reindeer this year for xmas unless I can salvage my tester ones. I'll finish the shoot of course when bubs comes along. Not long now... 4 weeks (around about)

Well I am busting.... AGAIN... (I swear I should put a matress in there and a bar fridge and live in there - I almost do anyway!) .... so I best shove off. Also my feet are swelling from the fluid and going numb. :S Oh for my body to be back to normal....

4 more weeks. 4 more weeks. 4 more weeks.

*snort*

How is it possible to close the bedroom door on E so he can sleep, go in a few hours later and have lost him?? This happened last night... boy it was funny! I hunted all over his bed, under his bed etc... I eventually found him in the corner, fast asleep. *Snort* Then today at naptime, I checked to see if he was actually sleeping and low and behold he was flat out on the floor, on a book, fast asleep! Funny kid.

Today I didn't get such hot news. I'm 32 weeks - and baby is measuring at 36 weeks. OI KID! Slow down with your growing!!! I don't want to be carved up to meet you. I would rather push you out of a hole the size of a keyhole!! So fingers crossed this baby isn't a tubby one and I can go ahead and deliver normally. I guess I better prepare myself for it not going according to plan.

Brighter side is that I am healthy, my blood pressure is brilliant, I am as fit as a fiddle.

Christmas preparations have started in this house. I have a huge list of things to do and I am making good progress. I guess I better do as much as I can before this baby comes. That way I won't be burning stuff and botching up things.
My wishlist for Christmas is: (and Daz reads this blog so this is a good place as any to hint)
~ Perfume
~ A new handbag
~ Underwear
~ A cool nightee - (I have heaps of PJ's!)

I'll probably get clothes for my birthday which is 4 days before Christmas. Nothing too fabulous going on for my birthday - I'll probably lay low and just pretend it isn't happening (apart from getting presents and eating cake) this will be my last year being in my 20's. I'll become and old fart and be in my 30's next. Thankfully Daz is going there first in a few months and he'll pave the way. :)

Next year she can fill in our tax forms...

Ahhhh Mop.... what a laugh she is! She found a registration form for something or other, and decided to fill it in for me.
Some of the highlights were: if she didn't know the answer, she would make it up! We have a very interesting phone number. Did you know our postcode is the mailbox?
Mother's name: Mum
Father's name: Dad
Child's date of birth: July

LOL... ahh she's funny. So next year we will dump our tax stuff on her lap and she can fill out all the nasty tax forms. At least she will have fun. I wonder what interesting stuff she will come up with if she doesn't know the answer??

Sir E is cutting one of his 2 year old molars. Bless him - he has a temp, sore bum and isn't very well - but he's not complaining too much. He's a bit grizzly...
He's not going too well sleeping in his big boy bed. He wants to sleep in the cot. If we say "Bedtime"! He goes straight to the cot. We ask him does he want to sleep in his big boy bed, he says no. During the day he isn't so bad... but night time he doesn't want to. Thankfully a friend has offered us the use of their bassinet if E doesn't move in time. So we don't have to push him.

Mop is driving me mental. She trashes her own room, then goes into E's room and trashes in there as well. I confiscate toys she takes out of her room and into his room. I don't have the energy to keep tidying up trashed rooms. So she is banned from E's room - at least E doesn't trash his own room, making it easier to keep tidy. No matter what I say though, she does what SHE likes and then hits the roof when disciplined for it. ARRRRGGHH!! I must say being a parent is soooo frustrating at times. Is it completely necessary to pull out every single toy you own?? *sigh*
Well I binned a load of toys and got another load ready for the op-shop - then a HUGE container load to go into storage - toys she doesn't play with. We will give them away as appropriate - so now she has less toys but still manages to create havoc in there. *sigh* And if my Mum was reading this she would be laughing because I bet this is what I did. I was such a messpot as a child/teen.

Well must get going. E is crying so I guess the panadol will be starting to wear off. Poor tike.

BINGO!

Whoever thought old cooling cream for the feet would be the breakthrough that we needed?? Say what??
Mop has had issues for ever about telling us when she has been hurt or hurt herself. She goes into complete denial and even though she could be seriously hurt, she will deny she is hurt and just cry and say "NO NO! I am fine!" It's frustrating because it was like getting blood from a stone - she would not tell me what happened, what hurt and I would find the bruise/cut/graze when she got into the bath.

Yesterday while at the shops she fell over the pram and she was crying - obviously in pain. She wouldn't tell me or Mum what hurt and if she even was hurt. I had a brainwave, I got out the "Magic cream" and asked her if she would like me to put some "Magic Cream" on her ouchies. She lifted her shirt immediately to have the cream put on to reveal her graze - it took less than a minute to find out where she was hurt - instead of from 10 minutes to 3 hours!! I tried it again last night when she stubbed her foot - 10 seconds and I found out where she was hurt and what happened! This is really amazing - this morning she didn't realise the screen door was half shut and bashed into it - out came the magic cream and she immediately showed me her graze.

Now why you ask is this so important? Her teachers have had a few chats with me over the last term and expressed their concern that she denies everything and refuses to accept help. It also makes her a prime target for bullying. I have been racking my brains trying to find the solution, trying to get her to talk to us about it. (It's not like we are totally unapproachable either!) But the magic cream seems to be the answer. So I will be buying some shimmer lotion or something equally magical looking, relabel it as "Magic Cream" and give it to the teachers. I have some in my hand bag and on my dressing table. Mum will make something up too so all her places of care will know that she will talk if you have the magic cream! LOL

E went to sleep in his big boy bed today - yesterday he slept there, but didn't fall asleep in there. He was already asleep when I put him in. Today he actually fell asleep. He did really well.... so now we will be offering him a choice - the cot or the big boy bed for night times, and big boy bed only during the day.

T-minus 9 weeks and counting.....

I can't believe it! 9 Weeks until the newest munchkin makes it's grand entrance into this world. It's going by so fast and we are soooo not ready! LOL.
On the weekend we painted E's big-boy bedroom. It looks fabulous! I'll take photos and post them soon. It's a gorgeous bright royal blue! This weekend we go to Ikea and depending if Daz gets a bonus or not - we will be furnishing half or the whole thing. This week I am going to be sewing some curtains - bright red for the room. It's sad in a way that he has be become a big boy and sleep in a big boy room. He's more than happy in his cot, and doesn't even attempt to dive out like his sister did. No... he prefers to scream and squeal till someone comes in. LOL

I've started seeing a psychologist to help prepare for the birth. I am finding it very very helpful and I am feeling very positive and more ready for birth. We planned our worse case scenario last week - which is a c-section. I am feeling very calm - and believe it or not, excited about it all now.

Daz finished his insane hours last week, thank goodness! All over for now, so he is home at reasonable hours and weekends once again. He's at this moment vacuuming my floors. Oh he is such a good man!!

Mop is same ol - she finished the term at school and seems to be really going well. She started drawing PICTURES this week, instead of scribbles. It's so exciting! I have lots of lovely creations she has drawn on the art wall. My fave pic is 2 icecreams with lots of different colored icecream flavours. One is lavender apparently. Hmmm.... dunno how tasty that would be?

E - well... he is doing well. We really started cracking down on discipline this week. I am telling him off now when he screams, he gets disciplined when he tanties and it seems to be working. He has chucked 1 tantie in 48 hours. That's pretty good!

And me... well I am still pregnant, getting over the hayfever thank goodness, and just fine.

3 months until christmas! YAY! I've started collecting a few bits for bon-bons because I make my own when I host Christmas. I better start collecting the lame jokes too. :) Next week I will start making preserves for gifts and stuff like that. I also found in Spotlight some divine xmas fabrics which I will pop on top of the lids, so my jars don't look like garlic jars! (which they are!)
It will be my birthday soon too - it as it usually does falls on the Daz's work break up party. I have sulked convincingly enough that he has willingly decided to spend it with me! YAY! Last year I spent it away from family. Even Mum wasn't available. :( That's unusual for her, must ask her to check last years diary and see what she was doing!

Today I nearly killed 3 kids. I was driving back with Mum and the kids from picking up Mop from school. 100kms per hour on a major highway. 3 kids suddenly ran out from the bushes and across the road, in front of me! I slammed my breaks on and veered into the right lane (lucky it was clear) and missed them by a meter! My stomach pushed into the steering wheel and arenalin raced through my body like one thing. Idiot kids! If I wasn't being observant I would have hit them for sure. Then facing 3 kid's parents would not be fun, especially if I had killed them. Thank God for his protection because that could have been very bad!

Finally we heard some sad (sort of) news. Daz's groomsman died on Sunday night. It's very sad for his family - since he was their world. They cared for him as his health deteriorated and it must have been a hard thing to watch their son die.
I personally am ashamed to admit I feel nothing but relief. The man caused so much grief around here. Not going into the ins- and outs, he was very inappropriate and made me feel like utter crap. I also hated the way he treated Daz. He was condescending and a nasty man. When Daz set boundaries to protect our marriage and protect our family, he chucked the snots, and didn't want to be friends anymore. We haven't really had much to do with him since. Fair enough. His choice I guess. If he can't handle a man who wants to keep his marriage sacred, then he isn't much of a friend is he?
I was always scared he would rock up at the house when Daz wasn't here. I was always scared he would try and stalk me online - (he has invaded my privacy before, why not now??) so I have always been very careful etc. Now all that has fallen away, because the threat is no longer there. Relief. Sheer relief.

Ok I'll end it there.

By the way if you haven't - visit my website: www.domesticguru.com It's going so well and I am really happy with the responses I have been getting!

Ciao bellas!