whatchya doin'?

I saw this on grown together and thought I play along

watching: one born every minute on my laptop. I always cry when I watch this - aren't my hormones supposed to be flat-lining by now?   
eating:  tuna, cream cheese and rocket on a cruskit (this is what s will be having for lunch today)

drinking:  Diet coke (yes I am addicted)


wearing: country road top and jeans - both covered in baby goop that I'm about to sponge off (the days where I would change have gone...I don't know who I am anymore:)

avoiding: cleaning the house

feeling: knackered....not sure why but all of the mama girls I know are exhausted at the moment

missing:  my nephew Leo - he lives in Melbourne, is almost two and I would love to be more a part of his daily life:(

thankful: for our new Christmas tree and my sleeping baby!

weather: massive thunderstorm last night so lots of puddles and greyness outside - bit weird considering we were at the beach on the weekend

praying: N/A

needing:  would love to have a bit more self-discipline and be a bit more vigilant about getting fit

thinking: about my dad too  - he had some minor heart surgery yesterday. Amazing that now a doctor can log into his computer and check how my dad's heart is going no matter where he is in the world.

loving: this age with little s. She is starting to dance by wriggling her shoulders and tapping her feet and is becoming so much more confident - love it!

link up if you like and tell me whatchya doin'

PS - random photo of s from Melbourne Cup - $5 peony clip from Spotlight equals instant baby fascinator  and she didn't pull it off once!

 

Spilled (breast) Milk

For Sammie

Heartbreaking when it occurs but so many of us understand!

"When are you...

having your next baby? " is a question I am getting asked a lot lately. Maybe it is because Sienna is almost 10 months. She often looks a little older as she has a full head of hair, is very tall (100th percentile) and prefers to stand rather than crawl.  So many changes in the last few months has me wondering where my "baby" has gone and asking who this little girl is?
I've always wanted to have kids close in age but the thought of going through pregnancy again is a little off putting. I had symphysis pubis dysfunction ( and still have a bit of it now) with miss s and my ob has wanted me that it is likely to get worse with each pregnancy and that I might end up in a walker.  My loooong labour was not painful at all compared to how much my hips hurt. When I had to have a epidural for the c-section, there was such relief to finally not have pain in that area. So you can probably guess I am a little hesitant about getting pregnant again as I know the ability not to walk will majorly disrupt our little family.  To that end, I am trying to get as fit as I possibly can in the hope that I can delay some of the symptoms for as long as possible.

I do love the idea of miss s having a little brother or sister though and to have my heart expand again will be awesome. There are 20 months between my brother and I and we were close growing up.  However in the news recently, there were reports about how beneficial it is to be the eldest child because of the level of attention and focus in those important early year etc etc.

What will be, will be however but I am wondering what other people's ideas are about the age gaps between their kids.

Eating my words

So after my last post, I had to go shopping again! I've had my eyes on this beautiful shop and blog for a while. Little Cotton Rabbits are so coveted that she sometimes run a lottery just to purchase one of her amazing creations. No wonder as they are little works of art.  I was lucky enough to jag one this afternoon - the beautiful Felicia (foxy lady in green). 12 months ago I never would have thought I'd be posting excitedly about a stuffed animal! How life has changed.    Julie's blog is beautiful and she has a giveaway for one of her lovely rabbits. Felicia is beautiful to look at and I love the thought that she will  be passed along to my future grandchildren (yes, I do think that way even though I've just had my first baby:)

stuff

Although I like the idea of the "Universe", spirits, fate, karma, horoscopes, god and kismet, I can't quite shake the belief that we are actually alone and that our life course is up to us to determine. This probably comes from having migraines as usually a couple of weeks before I get one, my brain starts to splinter a bit and I get constants feelings of deja-vu and the most explosive, full colour, premonition dreams.  A neurologist explained that my brain starts to act a little fried and my reactions are a little delayed which explains the sense of deja-vu. One of my besties since childhood is very au fait with horoscopes so she has always kept me up to date about what is in my chart - amazing how "right" is can seem tho'.

Anyhoo...  I do believe in continuing the efforts to try and educate myself in all aspects of life, including moral and ethical choices so Buddhism appeals to me. I've been going to meditation class one night a week for a while now. The class consists of a lecture and then a guided meditation. I find it very restful and intellectually stimulating at the same time plus I need to commit to a class otherwise I sit on the couch and would never do anything!

I got to thinking after one of the lectures and I decided I would try to consume less this holiday season. To spend a bit more time thinking about what would make my family happy. To really think about what to give rather than do that last minute buying up big to try and ensure I've got something for them that they'll like - which is what I've done most years:)  I purchased a number of items from Etsy and I was pleased that I was buying things that would last, that it was being purchased directly from a crafts person and I was confident that they were going to be very well loved by the receiver.  Despite my earlier decision to try and buy less, I still ended up buying a bit and ignoring my own adage (very typical of me).

I waited for the packages, and waited and waited. I got pissed off. Where was the bloody stuff? 


Stay with me, I'm getting there. We have a little piece of daily joy in our street, he is an 8 year old  boy and he does a bit of a round each day, visiting all the neighbours and keeping us all connected. He has Aspergers which means many of us take particular care in ensuring that we chat to him, connect with him, go out of our way to be available to him as our daily conversations are so transparently important to him. We treat him the way we should all treat each other really.  

This gorgeous 8 year old - B - has been collecting our mail with his dad as we have moved out a couple of times when we had some stuff done on the house. Unbeknownst to his dad however was that B kept doing this job. You know what is coming don't you? A stockpile (in his cubby house, unopened, he is a very sweet boy!) was found and returned to us. It was great to finally get all the posted items but the funny thing was that I had already gotten over the loss of these items and was past being annoyed with myself about buying. I was just over it, past it.

It was strange to open these packets and parcels that I had put so much energy into. All the buying, the anticipated waiting, trying to find where they were, feeling really annoyed about it all and then forgetting! It confirmed my resolve to consume less.

Plus my bestie got the chance to tell me again that the "Universe" was continuing to teach me a lesson.

xx

hand made goodness

Check out the beautiful work of Jodi at Tickle & Hide She is running a little competition on her blog at the moment to win one of her gorgeous play mats. I bought one a couple of weeks ago and they are such a clever idea. You can pop all bubby's toys in the middle and draw up the strap and it becomes a great little bag. Great for the park. The workmanship and the colours are really stunning. Sienna is fascinated by all the colours and has spent a bit of time stroking the seams.

In other news the advent calender kit (also ordered off Etsy) is a complete disappointment. Cheap and nasty but it has given me some good ideas. Must say, I love buying off Etsy but so disappointing when it obviously isn't hand made.

Jinxing and diy

It turns out that I did jinx myself on the sleeping front.  Just days after I last posted miss s got a little cold and her sleeping habits got all crazy.  We're back to normal programming now and bed time has become less of a battlefield.

With a little sleep, my head has become a little clearer and I am looking forward to experiencing my first Christmas with my girl. Of course I've gone a bit nuts and am planning all sorts of things which are completely beyond my abilities.

We are going to do a few things that blend both mr k's and mine traditional family history but I also want to start something new, something that is uniquely us.

So I'm making an Advent calendar.

I'm not religious, did not have one when I was growing up, I don't sew but it appeals to me.  In working with teenagers and children, one of the things I have noted time and time again is the importance of family rituals. 

I found this kit on Etsy.  The colours appeal to me and I love that it is a kit - any help is good.   I think miss s will love pulling things out of the little pockets. I'd love to have a few more little traditions....any suggestions?