Jovigirl Designs

NEW BLOG FOR 2012!!!

2012-01-05T14:56:00.003+11:00

Keep up with Jira, the kids and I at http://dontforgetwhattheysaid.tumblr.com/Hope to see you there!

Thomas and the Wiggles

2011-12-19T12:55:00.001+11:00

After buying tickets in July, Thomas and i finally went to see the wiggles live yesterday. We went with Chris, Lauren Evelyn, Tamara, Blake and Ella. I thought it was great!!!!! Its not like i get to go to many concerts these days so i had a good old singalong! lol. I really thought Thomas would be jumping up and down like a crazy like he does to his wiggles dvds at home, but he didnt. He was scared to start with ( He isnt a fan of crowds or lots of noise), but a little smile crept across his face when Murray (his favourite) came out. And then the smile got bigger when he saw Wags the dog. He got up to dance for about 4 songs, ones that he knew and liked. Dr Knickerbocker was the big favourite along with Point your fingers and do the twist. Every time he turned around and saw the people behind us tho, he went all shy! Was lovely to spend some quality time alone with my baby boy :)

2011-12-19T09:16:00.000+11:00

Filter by Gwenn Wright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I found the first half a bit slow. Well written, and i was happy to keep reading, but nothing overly exciting happened. This could just be because i have a small baby and only got to read for 5 minutes here and there - maybe if id been able to just sit down for a few hours i would have gotten into it more. The last 30% of the book had me hooked tho. I stayed up til midnight to finish it (and that says something as sleep is very precious to me right now!). I had no idea the book would end up the way it did and the twist at the end has me dying to read the second book.
In particular, i love the characters in this book. They all seemed so "real" to me. Its also refreshing to read a romance where it isnt obvious who the lead character will end up with by the end of the book (a little frustrating too, but in a good way!)

View all my reviews

Felicity at almost 5 months. Thomas at 28 months.

2011-11-17T15:26:00.001+11:00

Felicity

Has rolled from her belly to her back about 5 times. And is very close to rolling back to belly. But mostly she is just happy chilling out on her back on the floor.
Went through a phase of really hating the bath, but we have since worked out that she just doesnt like being completely submerged suddenly. If you put her feet in, then let her sit in a sitting position for a bit THEN lay her down she copes much better.
still not a huge fan of the car.But nothing like the early days of constant screaming.
She settles herself to sleep majority of the time, except for going to bed at night. Daddy normally cuddles her to sleep at that time
Is sooooo incredibly smiley. She smiles at absolutely everything and i call her my smiley bug. Its harder to make her laugh tho.
Wearing size 00
At her 4 month check she weighed 6.2kg and was 60.5cms long. Pretty average on the growth charts.
Her thighs are so incredibly rolly. so cute.
Completely breastfed. We left her with a bottle (she'd had two previously when id had to go out) when we went to Amy and Neals wedding. We had to leave halfway thru because she refused to drink it.
Shes incredibly laid back and just watches everything going on around her. People always comment that she never cries. And she doesnt much. She really only complains if shes tired or hungry.
Thomas now calls her bubba or Fwicky (Flicky)
Bit of a mummies girl. Shes starting to cry when i leave the room or if someone she doesnt know is holding her. Her whole face lights up when she sees me and everyone comments on how much she adores me. I really do feel such love pouring from her when she stares at me. And i love her happy, excited little, arms and legs waving dances she does at 2am when i come into her room to get her for a feed.

Thomas

Has started toilet training. This is the second time weve tried. The first time he flat out refused to sit on the potty so we gave up quickly. This time he had two completely wet days before i bought a bigger potty and bribed him to sit on it. He got some in and i made such a big deal of it that he sat straight back down and did it again. He did it 7 times in a row! Since then weve been using lollies as incentive for him to go as hes still not overly keen on sitting on it. Its been just over a week of him wearing undies and id say hes probably about a 70/30 ratio - 70% of the time he gets it in.
Has just moved up to the top mothers and babies class at swimming. Is getting alot better with the water, doesnt particularly like jumping on or going under but tolerates it and doesnt really cough or splutter anymore.
loves disney movies - finding nemo, shrek, monsters inc, dinosaur and toy story are his favourites. Big fan of the wiggles. Were taking him to his first ever wiggles concert next month. cant wait.
obsessed with mowing the lawn and wippersnipping.
Talking up a storm! Love all his little mispronunciations. They make my day
will start preschool at brightstars kinderrgarten one day a week in January. I just felt he'd benefit from a day with other kids and it will give me a little one on one time with Felicity
Loves Blake. Hes his hero
Has formed a new special bond with Jiras dad. Tex has been making a huge effort to see the kids and has been coming down for dinner on a sunday night every two or three weeks. Thomas adores him.He spends alot of time playing with him and often brings him little gifts.
Has also formed quite a bond with Aunty Merindas current boyfriend Matt. Matt is wonderful with the kids. We hope theyre together a long time !
Still loves music and dancing. Marry you and the lazy song by bruno mars are faves as well as thunderstruck by acdc.

My lil people

2011-10-07T11:01:00.000+11:00

Felicity at 11-12 weeks

2011-09-13T20:19:00.007+10:00

This little girl of mine. Oh how she has confused me, and really made me throw out everything i thought i knew about parenting.

For 6 weeks she was really quite exhausting. She fed every 2-3hours, even all through the night, sometimes even more often than that. And she was soooooooooooo hard to settle! It would take minimum 1.5 hours to get her back to sleep after each feed then we'd be lucky to get an hour or two sleep before she was awake again. She was colicy and refluxy and just wanted to be held all of the time. She was lovely and beautiful and gosh we were all so in love with her, but we were also tired and frustrated.

And then came the horror week. At about 6.5 weeks she went thru a growth spurt. And i litterally did nothing but feed her and pace halls with her. For about 4 days i got about an hours sleep per night. By the Saturday i was an exhausted, emotional mess, unable to cope by myself any longer. Jira was doing his best to help but he couldnt stay home from work forever. So on the saturday morning i rang mum in tears and begged for help. She came over and took the kids and tidied my house while i slept for a few hours.

But that day seemed to mark the end of one stage and the beginning of a new one. She pretty much stopped sleeping during the day, but started sleeping well at night, going 6-10 hours between her last night feed and first morning feed.

She started taking a dummy. That has probably been the best thing to happen for her, and for us. That dummy helps so much with her windy belly and soothes her more than i expected. We had tried giving it to her from birth but she had always refused it, so we were surprised when she all of a sudden decided she liked it. But it was a welcome surprise! And now wherever Felicity is, a dummy isnt too far away just incase of a colic attack!

At 12 weeks, after barely sleeping at all during the day unless we held her, she has started napping again! and even settling herself with her dummy! Its fantastic to be able to get a few things done and spend some time with Thomas while she naps.

Memories to Scrapbook

2011-07-23T19:58:00.000+10:00

Lately, ive had so many little stories running thru my head - things i want to scrapbook but dont have the time. I want to start recording them here before i forget them.

So, in no particular order - Little memories i want to record in our scrapbooks...

Thomas loves his stuffed blue puppy. Its his comfort toy. His toy that he takes to bed, reads stories to and drags around the house. Its so adorable. I love that he has a special toy to cherish.
Thomas loves Trucks, excavators (dig digs!), cars, motorbikes, buses, trains...etc etc, you get the drift. Every wednesday morning he listens for the garbage truck (bin truck as he says) and runs to the door or window to watch. Some of the garbage truck drivers know him now and wave to him.
Since Felicity was born, he is ALL about Daddy. Which is necessary because of the amount of time im having to spend with her. But i admit, im a little jealous of how close they've become. I miss my little boy. Jira goes back to work next week, so i know things will likely return to normal once that happens, so im glad they've had these past 4 weeks together to really strengthen their bond
Thomas loves money. The little scammer cons almost everyone into handing over their loose change everytime they come over. How can u resist his sweet little face, innocently asking for "monies" for his "money...box!". Hes also realised that we use the cards in our wallets to get money. He loves to help press the buttons at atms or on eftpos machines at the shops. He takes the cards out of wallets and tries to swipe them down the sides of our laptops, then starts pressing buttons hoping some money will spit out! lol
Thomas seems to have labeled Mel "pop mow mow" after obsessively watching Mel mow the lawn with his ride on mower. He says it so much that on Thomas' second birthday card, mum wrote "love Nanna and Pop (mow mow)" Lol!
Felicity is just beyond lovely. I just cant get enough of her. At 3.5 weeks i just love her so much, and cant even remember what it was like before she was part of the family. She is the absolute definition of instant love.
Thomas calls her bubba. He likes to point at my boobs and say "bubba milk". Last night we were reading old mcdonalds farm. When we got to the page about the cows, thomas looks at me, points at my boobs and says "bubba milk". Apparently he thinks of me as a cow now! lol.

The birth of our precious baby girl, Felicity Jane.

2011-07-05T12:55:00.005+10:00

Our little girl is 10 days old today. So i want to write her birth story before i forget too many of the details.

I think its pretty safe to say, my labour probably actually began on Friday 17th June at 38 weeks. I woke up feeling fine, and as usual, drove Jira the half an hour one way trip to drop him at tafe. I started having period pain type cramps in the car and by the time we got there, was wondering if maybe today would be the day. Told Jira to keep his phone on him and that I'd call him if anything progressed.

Drove back and dropped Thomas off at Tamara's place because i had a midwife appointment at the hospital. I sat in the antenatal clinic's waiting room for around 45 minutes, feeling a little on the uncomfortable side because of the cramps. A midwife finally called me in, did all the normal blood pressure and heart rate checks and declared i was fine. I asked if the baby's head was engaged because i thought she felt low and with all the cramps, i was sure that was what was happening. She said that yep, baby's head was engaged, but of course that didnt mean labour was iminent. I told her about the cramps and that Thomas had been a 39 weeker and she said i probably wouldnt make my due date, and that she wouldnt be surprised if i had the baby in the next few days. Was very happy to hear this!

Went to pick Thomas up, and hung out with Tamara for a few hours while the kids played. The cramps had stopped at this point so after i took Thomas home, and he'd had his nap, I asked Michela to come for a walk with me to see if it got anything happening. We did a 2.7klm walk, that included a big hill and by the time we were nearly back i was having some pretty painful braxtonhicks contractions, but they stopped once i got home and rested.

By this time, it was time to pick up Jira from Tafe. Again, the car ride there and back set off the crampy feeling. We stopped at Aldi on the way home. I was walking around the shop, when all of a sudden the crampy feeling turned into contractions. These werent braxton hicks, they were real and they hurt! I kept walking around, feeling more and more panicy. As much as i'd thought i wanted to go into labour, my head really wasnt quite ready, and these contractions had taken me by surprise. They were quite close together and bad enough that i was leaning over the trolley for support and whispering to Jira that we needed to hurry the hell up and get out of there.

Back in the car, they dulled down to just painful cramps that couldnt really be timed and by the time we got home and i had a shower they'd stopped. I went to bed that night fully expecting to wake up at 3 am in full on labour.

But it didnt happen. The next morning, i did a bunch of housework and went for a big walk, fully expecting things to start up again. But they didnt. I barely even got braxton hicks contractions. And for the next week it was much the same. Nothing majorly exciting, just me doing a bunch of walking with very little result.

The next Friday (24th June) rolled around and i dropped Jira at tafe again, hoping the car ride would again start something going. It didnt. Thomas and i spent the morning at Lollipops playland with Lauren and Evelyn before spending a quiet afternoon at home. That night, at 7.40pm, i posted a message on facebook that read "come on kid, 39 weeks is long enough! Out now please!!". I went to bed around 11 with zero signs of labour.

At midnight i woke up all hot and sweaty (not unusual for me in pregnancy, even in winter) and realised that Jira wasnt in bed with me. I got up and walked to the loungeroom where he was asleep on the lounge. After waking him, and telling him to go to bed, i got back into bed myself. I'd only just laid down when i felt a big gush of water, that soaked my tracksuit pants. For a split second i thought id peed myself but quickly realised it was my waters breaking. It took me by surprise as the hospital had had to break my waters with Thomas, i truly wasnt expecting them to break naturally.

I sat up and another gush of water went all over our bed, soaking the sheets and ruining our electric blanket (glad it wasnt on, might have been zapped!). I said to Jira, "my waters just broke". He looked at me a little shocked but with a big smile and said "really? awesome!". I laughed cos i knew he was probably more excited by the fact that he was now officially on holidays! lol.

I got up and got changed, then rang the hospital for instructions. I wasnt sure whether i could stay home til contractions started or if i had to go right in. They wanted me in for observation, so we woke Michela (who is living with us at the moment) and told her to listen out for Thomas, remade our bed so she could sleep in there with him if he woke and went off on our way to hospital. On the way there, i rang mum and said i was having some very mild cramps and that she might want to meet us there.

My waters broke at 12.05am on Saturday June 25th. We got to the hospital at 1am. I was having mild period pain type cramps. Barely worth mentioning. They put me on the monitors and it wasnt long before i noticed the cramps were getting worse. And that the monitor was easily picking them up. I was getting very uncomfortable lying down, when a doctor came in to put in my canula and start me on the strep b antibiotics. By this stage is must have been around 1.40am and i was having to breathe thru the contractions. The doctor looked at me, then looked at the monitor and said "your having some pretty decent contractions there". At that point the midwife came in and the doctor repeated her previous statement. The midwife replied "yes, but she isnt feeling them yet (when she'd last checked me half an hour earlier i had only had the mild cramps). At the same time the doctor said "oh yes she is" i yelped "yes i can!".

i begged her to let me off the monitor so i could stand up. I despise labouring laying down! She wasnt too keen on letting me off, but after watching me through another contraction she agreed and said that we could move to a birthing room. I guess this was probably around 1.50am. I had planned on having a water birth, so they started the tub running while i jumped in the shower to help with the pain, which was getting extremely intense by this stage. I was hanging off Jira, moaning and carrying on, crying a little from the adrenaline. Everything was happening so fast and was so painful that i couldnt find a comfortable position or get my head in my "happy place". The midwife watched me again for a little bit and said, "i dont think you have time for the bath. We need to do an internal to see how far you are". So off i shuffled to the bed, and she pronounced me 7cm dialated. This must have been around 2.10-2.15am, because it was only a minute or two later that i started yelling that i needed to push. They said that waterbirth was definitely out as the bath was only a quarter full, and asked which position i wanted to deliver in. I said i didnt care as long as it wasnt on my back.

So i sat on a fit ball, leaning on the raised up bed for a little while i caught my breath, then mum on one side and Jira on the other dragged me up onto my feet, leaning over the bed so i could push. At first my brain was so rattled that i couldnt remember what i was supposed to be doing. The pain was just so intense that i just stood there screaming - and not my normal scream. A deep, from the gut, animal sort of scream. I remember thinking "geese, thats a funny noise!" lol. But the scream cleared my head and i suddenly thought, if i push, this will all be over quicker! I heard mum say in my ear stop screaming and put your energy into pushing.

So i did. Chin down on my chest and pushed hard. And with that one push i felt every cm as her head slid down and began crowning. And it felt good! I understand now why people say that the pushing is the best part of labour! I stopped and panted for what seemed like ages, waiting for another contraction. Tho im told it was only a few seconds. Another big push and her head was out. I heard the midwife say her head was out. Heard my mum repeat it to me. And thought "no shit sherlock!" lol. I seriously remember thinking that! (Tho i understand why they had repeated it a few times, because i hadnt known that Thomas' head was out)

The midwife, who was sitting on the floor waiting to catch the baby, apparently tugged on Jiras shorts and said, "look, her head and her hand are out". Yep, lucky me, she'd stuck her hand out at the same time! Paid for that later in stitches!

Next contraction and another push sent the shoulder and the rest of her body out. Boy was that a relief! i just stood there panting, and then heard the midwives saying "heres your baby" as they passed her up between my legs and laid her on the bed in front of me. Noone, including myself, trusted me to hold her cos my arms and legs were absolute jelly. So i just pulled her close to me, against my chest and cuddled her. They moved me onto the bed and someone helped me get her onto my chest where we just stared at her and had our skin to skin cuddles while they got the placenta out, Jira cut her cord and the doc came and stitched up my 2nd degree tear.

After a few minutes she started searching around for food so i helped her latch on. She was perfect! Big mouth, strong suck, she fed for at least an hour, before giving up and going to sleep.

Felicity Jane, born at 2.26am on Saturday June 25th, after a 1hr11 minute labour from first established contraction. 2 hours 20 minutes from waters breaking. Length 48cm, HC 33cm, Weight 3.4 kilos or 7pd 9oz.

New scrapbook layouts :-)

2011-04-30T12:27:00.002+10:00

I havent posted a scrapbook page in forever! But i got a new kit My Little Princess by Carolyn Rose Kite to play with this week and i love the pages i made with it! This is my favourite kit of hers so far!

My babies new and improved bedroom!

2011-04-18T14:50:00.010+10:00

Since Michela is living with us at the moment, Thomas will be sharing a room with his little sister for awhile (possibly even after Michela moves out. I like the idea of them sharing a room, i just dont know if it will be practical with Thomas being a very light sleeper).

We went to ikea yesterday to buy some more storage for their room - I thought they'd be ok with one chest of drawers, but i was kidding myself. The baby already has a ridiculous amount of clothes and Thomas has quite a few too! And we really needed somewhere to store all Thomas' toys.

I spent this morning organising, cleaning and kind of decorating their room. Im so happy with how it turned out, considering our very limited budget! This is just as you walk in the door. The whole far wall is the baby's side of the room. Her changetable, chest of drawers and cot are along that wall. Love that little blanket on top of the drawers that Laurens mum made to match the one she made for Thomas almost 2 years ago! Then the side wall has their window, and the beginnings of Thomas' area - His chest of drawers (with his matching little blanket on top!). His hand me down "big boy" bed is along the 3rd wall. Its the only thing in the room i dont really love....I really wanted a white bed for him, to match the rest of the room, but i didnt want to buy one and beggars cant be choosers! And the new toybox shelves we bought yesterday are the last thing on the third wall. All his junk in the drawers and few "display" toys on the top shelves. I had all intentions of putting his books on those top shelves, but they didnt fit, and they're all pretty neatly kept on the main bookshelf in our lounge room.

The only thing they need now, is some shelves up on the walls for knick knacks or toys and one day ill finish all of Thomas' name letters for the wall, and get some for bubba too! But other than that,its done and im happy with it.

29 weeks

2011-04-16T18:09:00.001+10:00

Our baby girl at 29 weeks gestation. It was hard to get a clear look at her face - she had it smushed into her placenta for most of the ultrasound, but we got to see her features in bits and pieces. She reminds me so much of Thomas already, with that nose and those Angelina Jolie lips. Her features are more petite than his tho. I think shes beautiful and im so in love with her already.

Unfortunately, she had her cord between her legs, as well as having them crossed, so we couldnt get a second confirmation on her gender, but im not too worried. It was pretty obvious at 20 weeks that she was a girl. Hopefully no boy bits have sprouted since then!

my future soccer star

2011-04-12T08:27:00.004+10:00

At 21 months, Thomas' absolute favourite thing to do is kick the ball. Every night, Thomas and Jira spend hours kicking that inflatable ball around and practicing kicking goals. We're pretty sure he's going to make us millions one day :-)

stuff

2011-03-09T19:25:00.002+11:00

Finishing: Editing photos i took of Evelyn yesterday.

Thinking about: How full i am from dinner and half a family bag of m&m's

Just discovered: That i can survive on about 5 hours sleep in three days. Thomas is teething.

Cooking: thinking about making a moussaka since i have an eggplant in my fridge.

Planning: Michela's bedroom (shes moving in for a few months while mum renovates their new house) and my baby shower.

Checking out: Most recently? New car seats for Thomas so the baby can have his old one.

Listening to: Glee and Bon Jovi.

I really must: clean this house...tomorrow

Watching: My kitchen rules

Wanting:. to have the time/money/motivation to go back to body balance at the gym

Have just finished: reading another of my favourite trashy vampire romance novels (black dagger brotherhood...think i just finished book 5)

Needing to: pay the electricity bill, before i spend the money on something else

Missing: being fit.

Hoping: That the next 16 weeks are uneventful in regards to the baby. Just stay put and healthy til your big enough to meet us lil girl!

Looking forward to: Meeting our baby girl. So very much.

19 months / 19 weeks

2011-02-08T19:35:00.002+11:00

Gawd, I havent even mentioned on here that were expecting baby #2! But we are, and I'm currently 19 weeks pregnant. Coincidentally, Thomas is 19 months this week. So heres a few bits and pieces about both my babies at 19 months and 19 weeks (pregnant)

This pregnancy has been on the rough side. In comparison to my pregnancy with Thomas anyway. I was deathly sick from 5 to 9 weeks. It wasnt a throwing up kind of sick, just an all day, severe nausea. I barely moved from the lounge. It took all my effort and energy just to feed Thomas and change his nappies. Mum came by on her way to and from work everyday and did some housework for me, and poor Nam had to pick up the rest on top of his weekday job, his weekend job and his tafe classes! It was an absolutely miserable few weeks. I felt really depressed most of the time. More than once i had the thought that i didnt want the baby.

But thankfully the nausea started to ease up around week 9. I got a little energy back, and started being able to function again. Thats when the throwing up began. I'd wake up feeling ok, have some breakfast, then all of a suddent id feel sick, throw up and then id be ok again. Its only been a handful of times, but its continued on right up til the current moment. I often feel off in the mornings now, if i dont actually throw up. But its so much better than the all day nausea!

I thought i started feeling bub move around 12 weeks. But i know for sure i could feel kicks at 15 weeks. At 19 weeks, i get a good few kicks a day, which is lovely. The baby's placenta is on the front wall of my uterus, which supposedly means ill feel less movement, but so far, i havent noticed a difference between this baby and my pregnancy with Thomas.

For most of my pregnancy so far, ive been 99% certain we were having a boy. We'd talked about calling him Olliver and in my mind, thats what id been calling him. I often said "him" outloud. We had our 19 week ultrasound on Friday, and turns out, were having a baby GIRL! Nam had been saying the whole time it was a girl, and we'd tried to gender sway but i thought our timing was off. Already having a little boy, were beyond thrilled to be having a little girl. So so excited.

Now as for our little boy!

I am AMAZED at how much he is trying to talk at the moment. He tries to copy many many words, everyday he comes out with something new. I'm the only one that understands him, but pronunciation will come with time! Some words he says somewhat clearly, and on a regular basis: Yes (yesh - so cute!), Thankyou (this is pronounced differently everytime), Raining, Windy, cheese........oh theres a bunch more, none of which i can think of right now!

He runs. Alot. He's quick.

Weve just started swimming lessons. He didnt really enjoy the first week (too much dunking under the water) but the last two weeks he's been very good. He getting so good at kicking his legs (or splashing like an elephant as i tell him).

Were back at playgroup for another year! Both of us enjoying it!

He loves the garbage truck. Every Wednesday, we listen for the truck and race to the door to watch when we hear it. Some of the garbage guys now wave or beep the horn for him. He gets so excited, its adorable.

He loves his blue puppy dog. He drags the thing around by its neck, cuddling it constantly. It's his comfort toy.

He has recently found the wiggles. And boy does he love them. We bought one dvd, that gets played on repeat most of the day (not that he watches it continually, he comes and goes between playing with his toys) He is slowly learning all the little dances and it makes me so happy watching him shake his lil butt and wave his arms around!

If you ask him about the little baby in mummy's belly, he comes over, lifts up my shirt and points to my belly button, or sometimes tickles my belly. :-)

He is all about his daddy at the moment. As soon as Nam gets home from work, hes all over him like a rash. He just wants to do or help with whatever Nam is doing, wether it be outside work, computer stuff or just putting a load of washing on. THe only time he wants me over Nam is if hes hurt, sick or when he wakes in the middle of the night. And while occasionally i would like an extra cuddle, it makes my heart happy to see the beautiful relationship that has grown between them. I know Nam was worried about the amount of time he spends at work, and how it would affect Thomas, but it just goes to show, its quality time over quantity.

Just a cute lil something...

2010-09-16T10:44:00.001+10:00

That Thomas is doing now.

He's just turned 14 months, and is MR INDEPENDENT. In a big way. His latest thing is his milk cup.

We give him his milk about 5 minutes before he goes to bed, and every now and then throughout the day, especially if hes cranky.

He walks around the house sipping on it, until i take it off him and put it back in the fridge. Well, that was causing some drama, because he would cry when i took it off him (even tho he was done drinking, he was just playing with it or deliberately spilling it around the house). SO i said to him "ok then you put your milk cup away please".

His little face lit up like it was christmas. He was so proud to toddle over to the fridge, and carefully place his cup on the shelf when i opened it for him. He even stands it back up if it falls over when he puts it down. Then he gets to carefully close the fridge door before its bedtime.

Its become his little ritual and its so cute! He just thinks he is so clever, and so do i! lol

If you read on an e reader......

2010-09-16T10:23:00.002+10:00

You have to check out this site! http://goodereader.com/

IT IS AMAZING!

One of the girls at Gingerscraps reccomended it to me, and i am in seventh heaven. Its like walking into a bookstore and the assistant saying, take whatever you want, free of charge! (ok well minimum charge)

In short, you pay a fee to become a member of the site (i paid $11.95 US for a one month membership to check it out and just upgraded to lifetime membership for $125.00 US - ridiculously cheap when you consider that in a bookstore, you'd only get about 3 books for that price) and as long as you are a member, you have access to download any of the ebooks they have on the site. And let me tell you, they have HEAPS!

Ive downloaded all my favourite books (ie-twilight series, sookie stackhouse series, the tomorrow when the war began series....and so many more) to read again, plus a ton of books ive been wanting to read forever.

They have all the new releases, plus a bunch of older books too. AND if they dont have a book you want to read, you can request it!

Seriously, i cant say enough good things about the site. If you read on an e reader (i use my iphone) you need to join this site. Let me know if you do! We can be forum friends! :-)

Ginger Scraps CT Layouts

2010-08-30T14:37:00.003+10:00

Absolutely loving the kits i got to use this month for the designers i CT for at Ginger Scraps . They have a bunch of awesome challenges also. Im hosting the Pop Culture Challenge from September. If your a scrapper, come join in!

Using Afternoon Delight Collab by Marshmella Designs and Daphadilly Art
Using Seeds of Tomorrow by Marshmella Designs

Using Little Sir by Scrappy Cocoa

mini gleek!

2010-08-27T19:55:00.003+10:00

I love that he loves to dance. Hes so stinkin cute!

To put it simply....

2010-08-27T19:46:00.002+10:00

Thomas really loves yoghurt.

Evelyn loves Thomas....

2010-08-26T20:34:00.003+10:00

Im not sure he felt the same way on this day.... lol.

Ginger Scraps CT

2010-08-11T11:02:00.005+10:00

Ive found myself on a new site CT. Fun! Loving getting to pick whatever kit i want from their store and help them promote it. Im new to the site, but so far, it seems like a bunch of really nice people. Lots of great designs in their store, lots of fun challenges. ALL GOOD!

Heres my first layout. Using Happiness Blooms by Kathy Winters and Scrapberry Designs. (image clickable for full credits)

I did this layout for the scraplift challenge .

More Thomas randomness

2010-07-24T15:08:00.002+10:00

Something seems to have clicked in the last week or two for my kiddo. He is all of a sudden understanding, and able to communicate so much better. It seems like he is doing something new everyday!

This morning, i was putting washing in the machine, and as always, put in the clothes, turned the machine on, then put in the powder. Thomas was sitting on my hip, and he starts pointing over my shoulder and saying "nuh nuh" (this is just what he says when he points to something he wants). I looked over and hes pointing at the fabric softener, which sure enough, is always my next step! I just thought he was so clever knowing that thats what went in next!

This week, hes also started to clap hands. I kinda forgot to encourage him to learn that little skill! i was so busy trying to get him to wave that i completely forgot about clapping hands! lol. So i was rather surprised when this week he just started doing it. I say "clap hands Thomas" and off he goes, clapping his chubby little hands together with the biggest smile on his face, as if to say "look how smart i am mummy!". Its so adorable.

Hes still not walking by himself, but lordy, the boy will not stop climbing on EVERYTHING! and hes too smart for his own good! Hes started pushing things up to other things in order to climb up. I quite often find him standing on a box in his bedroom, trying to get into his cot. The other day i watched him stack a box on top of a box in order to try to get higher. Yesterday he pushed Nams sports bag up to the esky in order to try to get my keys which were above the esky. Of course, with climbing comes the inevitable falling. He has multiple lumps on his head right now! But i suppose he has to learn. I just hope he learns before he breaks a bone.

A Bunch of New Pages.

2010-07-14T19:24:00.002+10:00

Its been forever since i posted some new pages. Heres a few of my favourites from the last few weeks. All using kits from Carolyn Rose Kite (CRK Designs). Original Pages with Credits/Kit links can be found in my gallery here

my baby is one!

2010-07-11T20:45:00.006+10:00

Some random thoughts, and photos from his first birthday ...

I love his baby thunder thighs and his chubby belly that hangs over his nappy. The little fat rolls on his arms.

I love the way he lets me cuddle and rock him to sleep. I love that he snuggles right into my neck and is content to just be near me.

I love the way he crawls when you say to him "im going to get you". How he spins around laughing and tries so hard to crawl quickly that he often falls over himself. He does this in his walker too.

He is becoming quite a little boy that loves to climb, and apparently has no fear.

A little boy that doesnt cling to me quite so tightly around people he knows.

A little boy who loves trucks and lego and cars
I get so excited over all the new things he is learning, and even better, he seems to be beginning to understand and communicate with us. He says "mum/muma/mummy", "dad/dada", "nan/nana "- tho this is also what he says for banana, "bub/bubba". Im not 100 percent certain, but it seems lately that he has been trying to copy words we say alot. "Khodi" for example (our dog). Sometimes he'll say "di di di" and sometimes he'll just blabber something, but it will be in the same tone we use to say her name. He points at things he wants and says "nuh". His drink especially.

He LOVES the bath, and im sure he understands the meaning of the word. Because if we mention the word bath, and then dont follow thru, there is much crying, and pointing and "nuh"-ing at the bathroom door.

He walks around the furniture with so much confidence. And will walk everywhere if you hold his hands. But let go of him for a moment and he plonks down on his bottom. Hes not ready to walk. But it wont be long.

I dont love that he has started throwing tantrums. If im not paying enough attention to him, or i do something he doesnt like, he will throw himself on the floor, kicking and yelling and hitting the floor. I do admit to finding it amusing at times, because he is so tiny and it just looks wrong, but most of the time its just frustrating.

Speaking of frustrating, if i have to pull him off the tv one more time, i might just throw it thru the window (the tv, not the baby).

Weve completely weaned him onto a cup during the day, but we still breastfeed before bed and in the night for comfort.

He's going on about 7 months of pretty unspectacular sleeping. Hes down to two naps a day (unless were going out at night), but he still doesnt sleep thru the night. He occasionally wakes about midnight and almost always at about 2am. To save my sanity, and avoid getting sick like i did at the beginning of winter, ive started bringing him into our bed to feed him. If he wakes at midnight, i put him back in his bed, but after 2am, he is very restless in his own bed - he rolls around alot and hits his head often. So we tend to co-sleep from about 2-5am which is when he normally gets up for the day. So many people tell me how terrible that is and that im digging myself a hole, but i dont care. I actually quite like having him right next to me for a few hours in the early morning. He sleeps better and i get to look at his sweet sleeping face til i fall asleep myself.

He is such a good little eater. He eats pretty much whatever we do, and isnt overly fussy. He eats most vegetables and loves the fruits ive given him - Banana and mandarins are a daily event in this house! He's also just like his muma, he loves chocolate. I actually have to hide it from him if i dont want to share it!

He still idolises Blake. Follows him around like a bad smell. lol. Love how cute they are together.

Happy first birthday, my baby boy. Couldnt love you more. xxx

If you think you had a bad day....

2010-06-28T20:45:00.003+10:00

Then read on, cos im about to make you feel a WHOLE lot better!This is how my day went....

Thomas woke up and threw a tantrum
Changed Thomas' nappy and he threw a tantrum
Took too long to make Thomas' porridge and he threw a tantrum
Got Thomas dressed and he threw a tantrum

So i threw a tantrum over all the tantrums and put him back to bed

Thomas woke up and went to his end of term playgroup party at one of those kids playlands

Took off Thomas' jumper and he threw a tantrum
Tried to get Thomas out of the ballpit and he threw a tantrum

By this time its oh, only about 11am! But he did perk up a bit after his morning tea, and when he realised that he could go back in the ballpit! You'd think the kid had never seen a bunch of coloured balls before. He has a set at home he never plays with for heavens sake!

About 12, i ordered us some lunch. A plate of hot chips. It took 40 mins to get it. You can imagine that somebody probably threw a tantrum...

Left the playland. Got home, Thomas is asleep in his car seat. Of course, he wakes up when i stop the car. It then takes me an hour to get him back to sleep, because apparently, according to Thomas, 5 minutes sleep in the car is equivalent to an afternoon nap.

Jira rings and needs to be picked up from my brother's place in an hour (they car pooled to work). But i need meat for dinner, so i decide to run down to the shopping centre to go to the butcher before i go get him.

Walk into the centre, and hear someone yelling my name. Its Michelle, a girl i used to work with when i worked for a travelling photography studio. She begs me to let them take Thomas' photo, because they only need three more customers to get their bonus for the day. I remember vividly how hard it is to get your bonuses, so i go back on my vow, to never ever photograph my child in a bucket of flowers. (ok, well, its not quite that bad. He wouldnt sit in the bucket. He did get to model a cowboy hat tho..........shame.)

Go buy meat. Go back to the carpark. Now here is the part that will beat anybody else's bad day.

I strap Thomas into his car seat, put all our bags in with him, including my handbag. He was starting to get cranky so i gave him the keys to play with, as i often do. Without thinking, I shut the door (this i dont normally do). I go to put the stroller in the back of the ute and i see the lights on the car blink twice. The sign that the car is locked. With my 11month old child inside. With the keys in his chubby little hands. Yep, he locked himself in the car.

Well, if you ever look up the definition of FREAKING OUT, there'd be a little photo of me there. Thankgod, for some reason, i'd put my phone in my pocket (its normally in my bag, which was locked in the car). I rang Jira, who was already at my brothers house, and pretty much screamed at him to get down here with his keys NOW! I then spent the next 15 minutes pulling faces and playing peekaboo through the windows at Thomas, in an attempt to keep him happy and calm until the boys got there. I must have looked like a right royal idiot, lord only knows what people thought i was doing. But it worked. He was happy as larry the whole time he was stuck in the car.

About 10 minutes later the boys arrived to spring the baby. And i burst into tears. The baby was fine, he didnt know any different, but i was just so shocked, and so relieved! Plus, Im pretty sure my brothers will tease me about this til the day i die. They already tease me about a few "blonde" moments ive had in years past, but truly, this one takes the cake.

Fortunately though, the rest of the day was less eventful!

Never discuss politics or religion...

2010-06-24T19:27:00.002+10:00

so, i wont discuss religion.

But for once, i actually do feel like i should discuss politics. Very briefly. Then that dirty word will probably never appear on my blog again.

So, Australia had its first ever female prime minister sworn in today. And then i had the displeasure of watching a full grown man (the ex prime minister K Rudd) cry on national tv. I actually felt really sorry for him.

In my mind, the only reason they turfed K Rudd out was because people didnt like him personally. Julia Gillard is supposedly, more likable. Their policies are all the same, so its really just a popularity contest.

Really, tho, i dont care who their front man... sorry, front WOMAN is, because they'll probably only be in power for a few more months anyway. Once an election is called, i think its highly like that Tony Abbott will win and Liberal will be back on top. I think Julia Gillards run as prime minister is going to be one of the shortest on record....

Eh, politics. They're all the same anyway.

Thomas at 9.5months

2010-04-29T10:43:00.002+10:00

Weighs 9 kilos. Ridiculously hard to work out his exact length as he is so wiggly, but i estimate it to be around 68cm.

Has been army crawling for almost two months. He does push himself up onto his hands and knees to sit up, or to climb over something, but doesnt ever crawl that way. He will always go back down onto his tummy to move around. And he is quick!

He is becoming such a little boy. He crawls around with a car in one hand, pushing it along the floor. Often he blows rasberries as he does it (trying to mimic a car noise maybe???)

Is eating lots of solids now. He loves almost all vegetables, but is not a fan of fruit, apart from bananas, watermelon and rock melon. He isnt a huge meat fan, but loves to feed himself bbq chicken. He likes porridge with sultanas or weetbix for breakfast. He likes to feed himself toast with vegemite.

He loves his water cup. Like ridiculously so. He gets all excited when he sees it.

He loves to go out. He gets all excited whenever we go to the front door.

He LOVES Khodi. He often sits at the backdoor for long periods of time, just watching her. If we go outside, he loves to pat her and laughs if she licks him.

He LOVES Blake (and older kids in general). We go visit Tamara at least once a week, and thomas just crawls around after Blake like his shadow. Blake is often seen beckoning thomas to "come" with him, though he doesnt always like sharing his toys with him. The 18 month age gap between the two of them is seeming smaller by the day.

Has just started taking steps when you hold his hands. Has gone from not moving his feet at all, to practically trying to run in the past two weeks.

He can pull himself up, if the object is lowish. He is beginning to try to pull himself up on the lounge, but as its cold now, and he normally has socks on, he isnt too successful on the slipperly wooden floors.

Still loves bathtime. If Daddy is home, its Daddy's job to bath him. Its their bonding time.

Still breastfed. Will be weaning him onto cows milk in a cup when he turns one.

Doesnt sleep very well. For months now, he has woken up regularly during the night, and has started wanting milk at midnight as well as 3-4am. We think it is partly to do with the heat of summer, as now that were into autumn, he is a little better. His teeth also seem to be a factor, as he normally sleeps better once he cuts a tooth.

We still wrap him to go to sleep, though it is only because it is his cue for sleep, and it seems to have become a security blanket

He has 4 teeth, the bottom two came through at 7 and 7.5months. The top two cut through just the other day, within two days of each other.

This week he was offered a position with a modelling agency, though we arent sure yet wether we will be accepting.

Quite likes having his photo taken now, which is a good thing, as we do alot of photos.

Will be starting playgroup on monday, and i am considering enrolling him in gymbaroo over the winter, when we wont have much to do.

eeek!!!!!!!!

2010-04-07T16:22:00.003+10:00

oh my, what a terrible blogger i have been! I have NEVER neglected my blog so badly! And i really regret it. Im sure ive forgotten so many little stories and moments because i didnt blog them. Sigh. Life with a baby is just soooo busy! And i spend too much time on facebook. Lets face it, thats more likely the reason my blog is so neglected!

But anyway. Lets move on shall we?

I scored myself a new CT gig! yay! Im CT'ing for Carolyn Rose Kite over at Pickleberrypop. Im super excited about it. Im loving her designs and the other ladies on the team are all sooooooooo nice! And some are even Aussie! So nice to be awake at the same time as other people! lol

Heres my first layout using CRK designs. Im loving this kit called Seasons of Change - Summer. Was perfect for the photos of Thomas and Mel at the beach in Forster.

Thats all for now. Fingers crossed ill be back more regularly with some updates on life in general!

just cos..........

2009-12-20T19:21:00.000+11:00

Thomas at 5 months

2009-12-14T22:13:00.003+11:00

Started rolling from his back to his tummy the day before he turned 5 months (Jira was actually home to see it!). Now, a week later, he does it all the time.

Still has a nap every two hours, normally for about 40 mins.

Loves music. Especially incy wincy spider and galoomp went the little green frog.

Went to his first birthday party on the weekend (blakes 2nd birthday)

Bedtime is 8pm. He normally wakes at about 4am for milk, then back to bed til 7-8am.

Settles himself during the night. Tends to fall asleep while feeding during the day. Is still rocked to sleep on occasion.

We often find him wriggling around on his tummy after his naps - normally trying to reach his stuffed toys that sit at the top of his cot.

Still loves to be wrapped though now that hes rolling we dont wrap him very tightly. We just put a muslin wrap loosely around him which he can easily get out of during the night. It seems to be becoming his security thing

Weighs 7.5 kilos at 5months +1 week

Still going to mothers group every wednesday. Hanging out with Jordyn and Erin the most.

Is about to start solid foods, tho is still fully breastfed at this point. Going to start him on some rice cereal this week.

Loves his purple buggy toy. Doesnt particularly like the bumbo seat we borrowed from chris and lauren

Smiley and happy majority of the time. Hes a very good baby.

Happy Birthday Joel!

2009-10-23T08:57:00.003+11:00

FOBTY- what sort of shopper are u?

2009-10-20T12:31:00.002+11:00

I HATE shopping. With a passion. Well, most of the time anyway. Unless i know exactly what i want and where it is, and i can be in and out in 10 minutes, i dont ever want to shop. If i possibly can get something online, i will. Clothes shopping especially, is my number one hate. Which is probably why i dont have any clothes. But its also a good thing, in that i dont waste a whole lotta money on stuff i dont need. I only shop when were completely outta food, or if we have a special event coming up that jeans and a tshirt just arent suitable for.

As for christmas shopping. blah. i always leave it til the last minute. and i hate that. I hate christmas crowds and searching around for the perfect gift that i can never find. My brothers and sister (and partners) now do Kris Kringle, which is better cos it cuts buying 8 people presents down to 1. But this year we have the two new additons to the family to buy for (Thomas, and by then, my brothers little girl will be here). Plus we have the added stress of celebrating christmas on December 12 this year because on christmas day, Mum, Mel, Greg, Laura, Melanie, Michela and Luke will all be in South Africa celebrating Laura and Gregs wedding. So that just means i have even less time to work out what presents to get everyone....

That being said, i really do love christmas, and love seeing everyone open their presents. Its going to be so much better this year, now that we have Thomas. He wont understand whats going on, but its going to be fun anyway!

FOBTY- Favourite season?

2009-10-03T13:46:00.002+10:00

Summer is by far my favourite season. Summer to me means

BBQ's with friends and family
Breakfast outside on the deck in the warm morning sun
Reading and relaxing
Warmth! Not being cold constantly!
Jira's birthday
Christmas and New Year
Swimming in the backyard pool
Beach and holidays

Summer is going to be all the more sweet this year now that we have Thomas. I cant wait to take him swimming. Take him to the beach for the first time and see how he likes the sand. Take him to get his photo taken with Santa and watch him open presents on Christmas morning. And the thing im probably most looking forward to this summer, is the arrival of our first neice!

Thomas at 12 weeks

2009-09-29T15:15:00.004+10:00

cant believe my lil man is 12 weeks today! where has that time gone? Hes not quite 3months yet, but heres what hes doing at 12 weeks

Has been smiling since 6weeks - smiling alot since about 9weeks.

In the last few days has started doing the weird yelling out thing...he'll go "argh!" then he'll either smile and laugh, or he'll start crying. Its very strange because its always out of the blue when noone is even looking at him (maybe an attention thing?) and im never sure if he does it cos hes happy or angry! its very odd. but cute.

He is still sleeping wrapped up in his miracle wrap in the basinette in our bedroom. He is almost too long for it, and i think hes beginning to get uncomfortable in it, so he'll be going into the cot in his own room in the next week or two.

He generally goes to bed about 7-8pm thru til about 6am. He normally wakes at about 3am for a quick feed.

Still completely breastfed.

Still loves to swim in the bath.

Has started taking more intrest in his toys. Has begun reaching out for the toys that dangle from his playgym.

We have been reading to him everyday. Seems to like the Thomas the tank engine book that Steves mum made for him (i think he likes the bright colours and the bold faces)

We do tummy time every day, and he is getting better. Can stay on his tummy longer and longer, tho he does tend to get annoyed after a few minutes.

Not showing any signs of wanting to roll over yet

Loves to chat with mum. I lay him on some cushions and talk to him about whatever happens to be on my mind, and he talks back in his little baby voice. He always smiles alot whenever i start saying "bub bub bub bub bub" or "mum mum mum mum mum" or "dad dad dad dad dad". They're his favourites.

We have been going to mothers group every week. He has lots of little baby friends there, and mummy actually gets some adutl conversation!

We have been going walking most mornings around the regatta centre. He normally JUST makes the 5k (1hour) walk before he starts whinging. Hes gotten alot better with sleeping in his pram from these walks so i no longer have to take him everywhere in his possum pouch.

Feeding every 2-3hours during the day and can generally stay awake for 1.5-2hours at a time before going down for a 45 min nap. He still has a 4 hour nap a few times a week.

FOBTY - Favourite sports

2009-09-16T15:44:00.002+10:00

Im not a huge sports fan. Most of it i find rather dull and I can normally find a million things i'd rather do than watch any type of sport.

Though in the last few years, ive somehow discovered a love of pro tennis. I dont know where it came from - ive never played a game in my life. But if there is a tennis game on the tv, ill quite often sit there happily for a few hours and watch.

Last week, although Thomas didnt let me sit down to watch any full matches, i got to watch quite a bit of the US open. Thomas and i sat on my bed to watch the mens final between Roger Federer and Juan Martin Del Potro......him napping and feeding, me trying to keep him happy and occupied by singing (between points) and pulling faces. Then he helped me cheer for Federer and i told Thomas all about how cranky i was with channel 9 because they cut out half the game out when their satellite crashed! boo! I wasnt exactly happy with the outcome of the match, but i suppose Federer cant win them all!

My brave little munchkin!

2009-09-06T12:29:00.003+10:00

I took Thomas for his 8 week needles on Friday. One in each leg and a syringe full of syrup. The nurse said to me not to worry - that they always cry, but not for long, and that he shouldnt have too many problems afterwards. I told her i wasnt worried about him, i was worried about me! Hes tough, but im a sook! lol

But as it turns out, i managed not to cry! I was more concerned with making him feel better than crying myself! He was a little trooper tho. He only cried for a few seconds and a cuddle and a feed once we got back to the car made everything all better.

He was extremely sleepy afterwards...i think he probably slept for about 20 of the next 24 hours and ran a low grade fever. I had my first experience of trying to give him baby panadol in a syringe...and did not succeed very well! I squirted the syringe too hard and it shot into his mouth so quick i damn near choked the poor kid! He was coughing a spluttering trying to bring it up for about half an hour afterwards! I felt like the worst mother ever! I practiced a bit when he went back to sleep and by the time he needed another dose i had it worked out. :-)

By the next morning tho, he was all smiles again. Big relief to have survived his first needles with only a minor drama!

FOBTY

2009-09-06T12:23:00.002+10:00

Challenge was to answer these 5 questions...easy!

Do you wash your own car or go to a car wash? haha i dont think ive done either in about a year! But i go to a car wash when i do wash it.

Are you wearing socks right now? Nope, slippers.

Where were you 3 hours ago? Doing the regatta 5km walk with Thomas

Do you have laundry waiting to be done? Yep, got a load in the machine and about 3 others waiting to be done

Can you pick up objects with your toes? Depends on what it is, but yes. I picked up Thomas' blanket off the floor this morning cos i had him in one arm and about a zillion bags in the other.

my lil bro, my gorgeous sis in law and my still cooking little niece

2009-09-01T21:09:00.004+10:00

more layouts

2009-08-19T17:56:00.000+10:00

so far this week

2009-08-19T16:38:00.003+10:00

Sunday:
Sunday was insanely warm for the middle of winter. 28degrees baby!

Jira was at work, but it was much too nice to stay inside. So Thomas and i went to the girls (Jaime, Ali & Amy's) soccer game. Most of the gang from Jiras team were there watching, plus my mum, Mel, Grandy and Jaimes dad Glen.

Thomas managed to get poo all over himself almost as soon as we got there, but Tracey changed him for me so that was nice! Had to feed him - always a fun thing to try to do discreetly in front of the whole boys soccer team! He was cranky in his pram so i put him in his kanga pouch cos it always keeps him quiet. Then spent the rest of the game trying to make sure he didnt get sunburnt!

Went home for awhile, then went to mums for our usual Sunday night dinner

Monday
Took Thomas to the community clinic to get him weighed. At 5weeks +6days he weighs 4.6 kilos (400g up from 2 weeks ago). Midwife is very happy with us both - me for still breastfeeding, thomas for being such a lil piglet!

Then we went to the library and did some grocery shopping. Had Thomas in his pouch again and he was happy to just look around then went to sleep. I love that pouch! Best $50 i ever spent!

Tuesday.
BIG day for Thomas! He was 6 weeks old. His birth announcement was in the local paper. AND he smiled at me for the first time! He woke up in the morning happy and i could hear him talking to himself in the bedroom. When i went in to say good morning to him, he looked right at me and gave me a big smile. I waited for some sort gas explosion to follow, but nothing! And the smile was different to his wind smiles. It was a happy smile.

Wednesday.
Drove down the street and stole all the papers of my neighbours lawns! I needed extra copies of Thomas' birth announcement for relos that dont live in the area. And most people just throw that paper in the bin since its the local freebie paper, so i figure they wont miss it.

Went to pick Michela up to go for a walk along the river. Her friend Sam wanted to come with us, so we picked her up and off we went. We walked down one side of the river, across the M4 bridge, down the other side of the river and across the bridge that runs along the railway line, then back to the car. Took two bloody hours! Tough we did have to stop to feed Thomas about 10 mins before we got back to the car. Poor kid just could not wait any longer. So now i am absolutely exhausted and sore, but i think i will try to get out and do more walking. Id really like to be able to run along that route on a regular basis...tho i badly need to get some fitness back before i start doing such things!

Thomas at just over 1 month

2009-08-14T10:48:00.003+10:00

Looking like hes going to have blue eyes

Makes the cutest little sighing noise after he sneezes....He used to do it every single time he sneezed, though he seems to be outgrowing it now....i wish i could get it on video.

Is beginning to recognise me (i think!). If hes crying in his bed, now when i go in and say hello to him, he stops. Whereas before, it was like noone was home.

Sleeps swaddled in his miracle wraps. Normally has his last feed about 11pm, then 3-4am then 6-7am.

Getting stronger with his head every day.

Loves being rocked in the rocking chair or his rocker.

Is settled almost instantly by constant noise...white noise on the radio and the hairdryer especially.

Hates being put into his car seat, but normally likes it once were moving

Hates having his nappy changed!

Does not like waiting for food! If you take him off to burp him before hes had his fill, he will scream bloody murder! Same if you take too long to start a feed once he decides hes hungy.

As long as hes been fed, he normally likes his bath and will stretch right out in the water. Hes almost too big for his baby bath (its not a very big bath tho). Bathed him in the big bath we me today. He loved it!

Not a photo fan....ive tried to do numerous newborn shoots and have given up.

At 4 weeks he weighed 4.2kilos.

new scrapbook pages.

2009-08-12T18:44:00.002+10:00

Its nice to be on maternity leave and Thomas sleeps for a good few hours in the afternoons so ive had time to do lots of scrapbooking.

Ive been doing the challenges at sweet shoppe - not only cos its good inspiration to get pages done, but i also spend too much money there and id like to get the discount this month!

First challenge was to do a page about a failure - i chose to do a page about not failing at breastfeeding. I was struggling for a few weeks there but were doing much better now!

Took a break from scrapping baby pics to do a girly page! This is my best friends and i at the race for my hens day last year. This was almost exactly a year ago...crazy how things change in a year! (my weight is not one of the good changes however! i want to be skinny again!)

Next challenge was to do a "month in review" page...dont mind the blank spot at the top..need to get my last pregnancy photo off my mum. I really like how this page turned out (it took me forever and i redid it about 30 times!)

I really liked this kit, but its not so good for scrapping boy pictures! But i thought it was nice for these photos of Jira with his god daughter at her christening. First photos of my side of the family with Thomas...i need to do a matching page for Jiras side of the family.

Thomas Michael - aka my lil lizard fetus

2009-08-12T18:40:00.000+10:00

My little lizard fetus is here! And i wanted to come here and record the story of how he made his entrance to the world!

Skipping back a bit....

At 32 weeks i went for my ultrasound to see if my placenta had moved up. It had! Was given the go ahead to have a normal birth, and also got these cute 3d pictures of our baby!

At 35 weeks pregnant, i was contacted by our hospital to see if i would take part in a study/ trial they were conducting. They were testing out a new piece of equipment called the "epi-no" - a fairly basic rubber balloon attached to a pump that is used to basically stretch out the birth canal and perenium muscles. The idea is to use it as much as possible from 37 weeks of pregnancy up to birth in the hopes of making delivery easier, avoiding an episiotomy and not completely ruining the pelvic floor muscles.

I agreed to take part in the study which also involved an ultrasound at 36 weeks and an internal exam. A midwife did my ultrasound and told me that the baby's head was very low - completely engaged. That made me very happy, as at my last midwife appointment the baby was head down, but hadnt engaged at all. When the midwife did my internal exam, she said "oh yes, definately completey engaged, and things are starting to happen in there! Your cervix is already very soft. I got a bit excited by this news (by this stage of pregnancy i was completely uncomfortable and very ready to have this baby) and asked her if that meant the baby would come early??? She laughed and said she couldnt say yes, as some people can walk around at my stage for weeks and nothing happen, but that it was all good signs.

yay.

At 37 weeks, i started telling the baby its stay was over and it needed to vacate the premises.

At 38 weeks i finished work, and the nesting bug kicked in....either that or i just cleaned alot because i had nothing else to do during the day, but lets just call it nesting. I started getting very impatient for bub to come. My bag wasnt packed but mostly everything was laid out on the lounge ready to go. I figured that once id started having a few mild contractions i would pack the rest of the "last minute" things.

I was getting rather desperate to get the baby out, so started taking lots of walks and trying all the old wives tales about how to bring on labour. Had the odd pain here and there but nothing even remotely like a contraction.

On the 7th July, at 39weeks +1day, i woke up at 3am needing to go to the bathroom. Which wasnt unusual as by this stage of pregnancy, i was up every half hour or so needing to pee. However this morning i was stuck in there for awhile with diarrhea. The thought flitted thru my head that maybe this was the beginning of something, but id had the same thing two days earlier and nothing had come of it, so i wrote off the thought.

I went back to bed, but by 3.30am i was back up, feeling very uncomfortable and couldnt get to sleep.

Over the next hour i started getting these waves of pain - some were close together and some were about 10 mins apart. I thought they might have been contractions but i wasnt getting the "tightening feeling" id been told to expect so i really wasnt too sure. Id never even had braxton hicks contractions so i really had no idea what was going on.

At 4.30am, Jiras alarm went off for him to go to work. By this stage, i was in quite a bit of pain and told Jira that i thought he should stay home for awhile cos i was scared of being by myself. I said i thought that maybe i was having contractions, but that they'd probably stop and he'd be able to go into work late.

The pain was getting worse each time, so Jira helped me into the shower. I stayed there for about an hour. Jira stayed with me, and talked to me cos i was scared of being alone.

Once i got out of the shower, it was pretty obvious that although i wasnt getting the tightening feeling, these waves of pain were definately contractions. Jira started timing them. They werent all that regular, seeming to last for around 30 seconds and generally about 5 mins apart tho some were longer, some were shorter.

I said to Jira that we'd call our mums at 7am if i was still having contractions. I made it to 6.30 before caving in and calling. I dont think mum quite believed me at first when i said i thought i was in labour. I think she was truly expecting that id go overdue, not have a baby almost a whole week early!

Mid conversation i had a contraction that i had to put the phone down for. Jira picked it up and mum said to him to call the hospital cos from the sounds of my moaning, i was further along than i thought i was.

Mum and Michela got to our place about 7.15. Id already called the hospital and they'd said to just come down when i felt like i needed to. At this stage i was in alot of pain, but it was bearable and i really didnt want to go to the hospital. i was convinced that either my contractions would stop, or that id get there and they'd tell me i was 1cm dialated and send me home.

Unfortunately i was outvoted. My mum and Jira convinced me to go to the hospital. Mum kept telling me that this was the real thing and that i was further than i thought. At this stage the contractions were around 3-5mins apart. I eventually agreed - shes had 5 babies and she knows best!

As promised, i sent a quick message to kate, tamara and taryn, letting them know we were going to the hospital.

We got there around 8-830am. I was in good spirits. Laughing and joking in between contractions. I think i had two contractions on the way to the labour ward from the car park. A midwife buzzed us in and asked me what was going on. I said i was in pain. She said tell me exactly whats happening. I said i was having contractions. She said how far apart and how long are they lasting? I gave her this list that nam and michela had writen down.

6.41am

6.45am - 45seconds

6.50am - 40seconds

6.54am - 40seconds

6.58am - 40seconds

7.02am - 40seconds

7.05am - 45seconds

7.10am - 25seconds

7.12am - 45seconds

7.15am - 55seconds

7.20am - 55seconds

7.25am - 45seconds

7.29am - 40seconds

7.34am - 15seconds

7.40am - 45seconds

7.45am - 20seconds

She showed us into the assesment room and said that either everything or nothing was happening. I could tell by the look on her face that she thought nothing was happening. Id only been in labour for 4or 5 hours and i wasnt making a big song and dance about it. She did an internal exam and said with a surprised look on her face "your 5-6cm dialated. Your definately not going home, infact i think you'll have a baby by lunch time!"

To say i was ecstatic was an understatement!

By this time, Dianne and Merinda had arrived and Dianne and my midwife (whose name was Janet) had realised they knew each other. Id been told that the girls (Michela and Merinda) would have to wait outside as i was only allowed 3 people in the delivery room, but as Janet was the Nursing unit manager and her and dianne knew each other, she let the girls stay with us.

We filled up the big corner bath in the delivery room and from about 9-11 i just lay in the bath having contractions. I was coping pretty well as long as i relaxed completely. I found the best thing was lying on my side, having Jira or mum hold my head above the water so i could just go completely limp and not drown.

Was probably about 10.30 when the midwife offered me gas. At first i said no, but then i think i started to go thru transition cos it was only a few minutes later that i asked to try it. I had two contractions sucking on the gas mouthpiece but absolutely hated it. To use it properly, u have to breathe thru your mouth, and all i wanted to do was breathe thru my nose. The pain was so much worse when i couldnt breathe thru my nose. I told them i didnt want it, but the midwife said i could use a face mask instead and that worked a bit better.

I used that for the next few contractions (maybe a total of 5 contractions) before Janet the midwife said she thought i was probably fully dialated and i needed to get out so she could examine me.

Mum told me later that Janet had also offered me pethadine but that id said i didnt need or want it. I dont remember this at all!

So at about 11am i got out of the bath, and Janet said i was fully dialated and that if she broke my waters id be able to push.

I was scared of the pain of her breaking my waters as id heard it was very painful. Janet must have seen the look on my face cos she told me to take a deep breath and calm down. She said it wouldnt hurt. So i did, and she was right. I barely felt it. All i felt was the gushing of my waters. I couldnt beleive how much fluid there was!

So then it was time to push. Jira held one leg and mum held the other. Janet and Dianne were down the business end and Michela and Merinda were up behind my head, probably completely traumatised!

Janet coached me to push with each contraction and oh my lord, i have never felt anything like it. It was the most awful experience. intense pain - way worse than the contractions. Janet, Dianne and mum all kept telling me to push! push harder! harder! and i kept screaming back that i couldnt push any harder! i swore, told them all i hated them, begged someone to help me, cried, screamed then swore some more. At one stage i even told my own mother in law to F off! (lucky she found it funny!)

The feeling of his head moving down then sliding back was awful. i absolutely hated it, and really didnt believe that id ever be able to get this baby out. At one stage, to encourage me, they held up a mirror so i could see what was happening. All i could see was this tiny little bit of a head. i cried even harder! It didnt encourage me at all! all i could think was, jesus ive done all this pushing and pain and thats it???

Just before 12, Janet said to Dianne that this baby wasnt coming out without an episiotomy. She asked if she could do one and i moaned no. So she said, ok she wont do it. Then i realised what id said and said, yes, yes please just do whatever to get him out!

She gave me some anesthetic and then made the cut. One push and his head was out! Mum said to me "look look! the heads out!" but i didnt really care! One more push and the shoulders came out and this squirmy, slimy baby was put up onto my chest.

I burst into tears - relief, exhaustion and joy that not only was the pain all over, but i had this perfect baby! It was probably about 30 seconds before i realised i didnt even know if the baby was a boy or girl! I tried to look, but the midwife was passing Jira the scissors across my chest to cut the baby's umbilical cord, and there just seemed to be arms and hands everywhere and i couldnt even see which end of the baby was up! I kept saying "is it a boy? is it a boy?" (- i was so sure he was going to be a boy that i didnt even ask if it was a girl! ) and i heard my mum say, "of course its a boy!" (she was very sure it was a boy as well! lol).

I remember asking the nurse if he had all his fingers and toes, and she said "have a look for yourself, they're all there!". I also asked about a hundred times if he was ok, and why wasnt he crying?? He had come out absolutely screaming, but had stopped after a few seconds. The nurse told me to give him a second, and then started rubbing him down with a towel and that got him yelling again!

Someone asked us what his name would be. We had a name picked out for both a boy and a girl but i had said that i was reserving a final decision until i saw the baby. We had picked Felicity Jane for a girl and Thomas Michael for a boy. I looked at Jira and said "is it going to be Thomas?" and he said yes. So that was that.

After half hour or so, the midwife said i should try to give him a feed. He latched on well, with a little assistance from my mum, and fed for the next hour.

The registrar stitched me up while i was feeding him. Boy did that hurt! they kept giving me anisthetic but it didnt seem to help much. i actually used the gas for the stitches longer than i had during contractions! They'd been stitching for about 15 minutes when the midwife said it wasnt good enough, made the woman take them out and went and got a surgeon to do it again! Geese that sucked!

After the stitches were done, mum helped me to the shower to clean up while Jira stayed with Thomas and he was weighed and measured. He weighed 3.5kilos (7pound13oz) and was 48cm long. Head circumference was 33cm. he is so gorgeous and we are both absolutely in love with him!

sweet shoppe- FOBTY challenge

2009-08-12T16:14:00.002+10:00

So this months challenge was to post a photo of a place youve been to in the last month. Heres mine.

Ok, so its a pretty crappy photo, considering theres a big truck in front of it, but this is my favourite fish and chip shop out at Windsor. I looooove this place! The fish and chips are sooo fresh and yummy. And you can either sit out on their deck or cross the road and sit in the park. On sundays, they always have live music in the park and we always stop at the icecream shop on the way back to the car. Its one of my favourite places to go to for lunch and this was the first time we took Thomas there.

My 8 week page for my pregnancy journal

2009-05-09T22:20:00.002+10:00

and a brag book page i did of Blakey boy.

sweet shoppe- FOBTY challenge

2009-05-09T20:57:00.002+10:00

You Are Spring Break

You are fun loving and celebratory. You live for good times with friends and strangers.
You like meeting and mingling. You are a social person by nature.

You like to "play hard"... even if you don't work hard.
You are able to let go of your worries and truly enjoy life.

http://blogthings.com/whatpartofspringareyouquiz/">What Part of Spring Are You?

hmmm...yea. im sitting at home, on a sat night, 31 weeks pregnant. im a total party animal! lol

my lil lizard fetus...

2009-04-21T08:37:00.005+10:00

is now a lil chubber! lol.

We had a 3d ultrasound last night. Baby was being a brat as usual - it never cooperates for ultrasounds! It squirmed all the way down to the bottom of my pelvis and was trying to hide behind my hip bone, with its arms in front of its face. The sonographer confirmed its gone head down already, which i was already pretty sure of due to all the kicks to the ribs. So hopefully it stays that way. Though it is back to front - with its back to my back so it needs to swivel around so its back is to my front, but it still has a few weeks to do that, so all good.

That there is an ear and an arm

and thats an arm, elbow and lil fingers sticking out the bottom
and thats its lil ski jump nose that looks just like mine. (and an elbow -it has its arms or elbow in every shot)
lil chubber. The sonographer said that he/she looked very healthy. They look for the chubby cheeks and a thick umbilical cord and bub has both.

Speaking of umbilical cord, the sonographer checked its cord wasnt around its neck (and its not) - was so funny, at one stage it started playing with its cord and then started chewing on it. It put its fingers in its mouth quite alot as well, but surprisingly not its thumb. i was a big thumb sucker so i thought this bub might be too. I guess we'll see in a few months!
Nose and mouth, with its arm covering its eyes. It was so cute. It was actually rubbing its eyes for awhile - so Nam pipes up "oh great, its already got your allergies!" lol
Looking very much like it has its daddy's mouth.

Less than 12 weeks to go!

26 weeks

2009-04-05T13:15:00.002+10:00

credits- everything from Sunny Spring by Shes full of Scrap, except alpha which is from shabby princess.

im having such a great weekend!

2009-04-05T07:09:00.005+10:00

too bad Jira isnt. Poor guy has to work all weekend, tho thats pretty normal for him, so not so bad. Except 3am this morning was the end of daylight savings. So we put our clocks back an hour last night, and he was all happy when he went to bed cos he was getting an extra hour sleep....

Well, big problem this morning when he realised that he'd set the alarm on his mobile phone and the phone had automatically updated the time for the end of daylight savings...but he'd already manually done it the night before....so he'd actually had an extra two hours sleep...which meant he was extremely late for work. And then he couldnt find his safety glasses...which he isnt allowed to work without...ack, it was chaos here this morning.

But now that hes gone, (and i just got a message from him so i know he didnt kill himself on the way to work, cos im sure he was driving well and truly above the speed limit) peace is restored here in the skuthorpe household and its just me and the lizard fetus having a lazy day in front of the laptop....tho i cant guarrantee i wont later move to the tv. lol. Nothin to do, but chill out and relax... aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh..

So anyway, there are other reasons im having a good weekend. Yesterday my best friend came over and did some pregnancy photos for me. Felt weird being on the other side of the camera, but i was qutie happy with the results of our lil mini shoot. Were planning a proper pregnancy shoot for when im bigger, and when Jira can be in some shots with me, but it was a fun way to spend the afternoon. After the photos we both sat in my loungeroom on our matching laptops, with a bon jovi dvd concert playing and edited photos. Well Kate edited, and i surfed the net and pointed out all my flaws for her to retouch haha.

Anyway this was the result.

and by the way, normally i woud never ever wear a top like that!Normally i wear that vest over the top of a three quarter length shirt! but you know, i think it worked pretty well with the style of the shoot and what not.

After Kate left and Jira came home from work, the two of us went out for dinner. We just went to the local steak house - nothing fancy, but it was nice to spend some time alone together. We rarely have time together these days, with his work/soccer schedule, so i always try to make sure we spend friday or saturday nite just hanging out. We got home fairly early so we watched the last three episodes of brothers and sisters. Perfect saturday nite in my opinion! lol

Last night while i was watching brothers and sisters i did a lil scrapbooking forum cruising and decided that now that im working at home, and have a bit more time for relaxing, that i really wanted to join a scrapbooking creative team. I like being on a ct as it pushes me to actually scrap instead of just cruising around forums and galleries and stores...looking at, and buying too much stuff that i never use! Im determined to get this pregnancy journal done BEFORE the baby is actually born!

So anyway, i was pleasantly surprised when i woke up this morning and one designer has asked me to do a few layouts for a single kit and another has asked me to be a part of her team for 3 months! yay. that works out so well with the baby! Once im all organised, ill post my layouts and links to their stores and what not.

So anyway, im going off to play with my new ct kits, and actually get some scrapping done. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

i need to make a list

2009-03-27T16:29:00.002+11:00

ignoring the fact that my blog has been neglected for over a month....

I keep thinking that i need to write a list of pages i want to create for my pregnancy scrapbook. I wanted to do a page per week...i have started...ive done two pages...and im nearly 25 weeks...oops.

So anyway, my list.

Week1-3 - charting

Week4 - pregnancy test and the way i told Nam

Week6 - Telling Tam/Kate

Week 8 - Ultrasound - The Lizard fetus

Week 9 -Telling Mum/Mel

Week 11-Christmas/Telling family

Week 12 - Ultrasound/down syndrome test

Week 14 - Second trimester

Week 17 -Booking in appointment at the hospital

Week 18- Ultrasound

Week 21- painting the baby's room

Week 23- putting the baby's cot together

Week 24 -starting work from home - baby is viable

And here is the page i already did of the bump at 20 weeks. The page i did at 15 weeks is in the post below

15 weeks. well, im 19 weeks now, but u know, im a slack blogger

2009-02-15T14:56:00.003+11:00

Some scrapping - I actually did this one a few weeks ago now but didnt post it. It got picked up at dso for their scraplift challenge. Was quite proud of that! lol

i think he likes it...

2009-01-11T17:14:00.001+11:00

continuing my quest to actually scrapbook this year! Blakey boy on his new swing set.

So another week begins! The weekend really needs to be longer. I cant believe i have to work another 5 days before i have a day off! im so stuggling with work at the moment. I cant wait to go on maternity leave!

I hit a milestone today. Im officially 14 weeks pregnant, which means im officially second trimester! yay! Hoping that everything is ok in there. I had to make an appointment for my booking in appointment at the hospital this week. I got lucky - there was a cancellation so i get in on the 2nd Feb - ill be about 17 weeks then. Im sure it will be totally boring, but im excited anyway. Tuesday is my bump photo day so ill be back then with an update, tho i dont think much is happening in the way of my bump lately. seems the same as at 12 weeks if you ask me. But we'll see how the photo turns out.

lookit lookit, i actually scrapped something!

2009-01-04T19:46:00.002+11:00

One of my new years resolutions...to scrap more! So this is my first page of 09! Quite proud of it too.

Back to work tomorrow after 4days off. so sad. I need to tell work about the bubba tomorrow...dont really want to, but i have to tell them sometime i guess.

Was a good lil girl and went to my body balance class at the gym today. Spoke to my instructor to see if i need to modify any moves yet. Im all good til bub starts getting in the way. Am determined to do this class at least twice a week. Always feel better after doing it, and its so good for building core strength! Will try to go to the gym a few days a week for some cardio as well.

aww look how big my lil lizard fetus got!

2009-01-04T14:31:00.002+11:00

These ultrasound pics were taken at 8weeks + 1 day (so at the beginning of December). I think the top one looks like a lizard. Apparently ultrasounds dont scan so good (does create some seriously funky colours tho!) and its not all that easy to take a decent photo of em either, so just excuse the crappy quality.

and this one was taken 4 weeks later. End of December at 12+1day.
sleepy lil bub, didnt move too much. Stubborn lil thing took ages to roll over so the sonographer could get the measurements she wanted. Took much pressing on it and in the end i had to roll onto my side to make it move. How cute are its lil feet crossed over. I think the sonographer tried to look for a hint of boy/girl bits but bubba had his/her legs crossed like this the whole time. Cant believe the change in 4 weeks!

2008 in review

2009-01-02T20:40:00.002+11:00

The year that was... I plan to scrap this later...

Nov 07 i had a miscarriage, was hospitalised for a d&c, and was later diagnosed with a molar pregnancy which carries the threat of cancer and generally means a one year wait to ttc again. So needless to say, 2007 ended pretty badly for me.

But 2008, started off in a big way.

January brought lots of tests on my hcg levels, to ensure all the molar cells were out of my body and werent regrowing. My results each week got better and better.

In late January, Bon Jovi toured Australia for the first time in like forever! I saw two sydney shows, was 5th row centre for one of them, and flew to Melbourne for the first time ever, to see them there as well.

The week after Bon Jovi, my boyfriend of seven years proposed to me! said yes of course!

Early Feb, my hcg levels got down to zero, by themselves, with no need for chemo. Big acomplishment! My ttc wait was revised to 6 months.

Jira and i decided to get Married in September and to put off ttc until after we got married.

In march we had our engagement party

Early april - had our easter celebrations with family - didnt deal too well with it, as approaching my due date. Realise (again) why i love Jira so much. Hes so supportive and just "gets me". He knows me better than anyone

May - due date comes and goes. Finally feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and that i can move on and look to the future.

June/July - frantic wedding planning! seriously planning a wedding is something i never want to do again - especially when u only have 6 months to do it in!

Got married in September, and went overseas (Vanuatu) for the first time (for both of us).

My lil brother got married in October. Unknown to me, i was 3 weeks pregnant at his wedding!

November - Found out we were expecting! Began the nervous wait for our first scan to rule out another molar preg.

Early Dec - First scan at 8 weeks reveals a healthy lil bub that looks more like a blob with arm and leg buds but most importantly, has a strong heartbeat.

Christmas Day - Am nearly 12 weeks pregnant, so decide to finally tell all our family. Makes for a very happy christmas day

Late Dec - morning sickness eases up, much to my relief! Go for my 12 week nuchal scan, and after some initial worry, am told baby is healthy as can be and has low risk of chromosome abnormalities!

Overall, whilst there was some really bad times this year, especially at the beginning, the year was one of the best of my life. So much happened. So much that im thankful for. I really hope that 2009 will continue on with what 2008 started!

results are in!

2009-01-01T20:59:00.002+11:00

and their good! my blood tests lowered the risk of downs or a chromosome abnormality to 1 in 1900. ya hoo! My mum went and picked up my results for me and rang me at work to tell me. I burst into tears in the middle of my office, i was so relieved. (and they werent pretty tears either. they were those ugly heaving sob type tears. extremely unattractive. My whole office was just staring as none of them even know im pregnant. Noone asked tho)

So now i feel like i can finally enjoy this a lil bit!

Oh and happy new year people! We spent last night hanging out with my siblings + their other halfs, plus one of my best friends. Had a pretty quiet nite - swimming, bbq and a mammoth game of trival pursuit! I made it to midnight, even tho i had a mild case of morning sickness and was pretty tired. Left about 2 mins after midnite! lol

New years resolution...
Get fitter before baby is born - want to make labour and recovery as easy as possible on myself. (and i did go to the gym for half hour today! - ate maccas for dinner tho..)

the beginnings of a bump...

2008-12-30T20:52:00.002+11:00

hehe i noticed this week that the lower half of my stomach is getting some shape. You cant notice when i have clothes on, but u can notice when im just in my underwear. So this is me at 12 weeks 2 days. My stomach is normally quite flat, definately doesnt normally look like that. So exciting. Except im kinda concerned im going to end up huge. i am so short, poor kid has nowhere to go but out!

Didnt get the results of my blood test today, so still waiting to see if we have a higher or lower risk of down syndrome. Im ok with the 1 in 285 chance, but if the chances get any higher, im going to be a bit concerned. Tho really, trying not to think about it too much. Whatever the results, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Fingers crossed for something good tho! We surely deserve just a lil luck???

is it really going to happen this time???

2008-12-29T21:57:00.000+11:00

See that there - that BFP next to my name? know what that means? That means that i did a pregnancy test and that i got a big fat positive.

I barely told anyone about my positive pregnancy test, so over the last 8 weeks ive spent alot of time hanging out at pregnancy forums. Ive copied all my posts there into this post so everyone can catch up on whats been going on since i peed on a stick.

So this is the catch up - from the beginning of november to today. Some may be a little hard to follow as the first few posts are in the trying to conceive threads, and then i double up as i move over to the pregnancy threads.

oh and to decode the abbreviations, here is a lil guide to help you out.
bfp - big fat positive
utd - up the duff
dh - dear husband
cd - cycle day
dpo - days past ovulation
af - aunt flo
hpt's - home pregnancy test

27th oct

Had a great time at my lil bros wedding on sat. was very glad to read what jaxi posted bout her doctor saying the baby wouldnt yet share the same blood in the two week wait. i hadnt planned on drinking much but there was a drama with their music which i took over because i didnt want him worry about it. Ended up so stressed i had a few wines. Kinda felt a bit guilty. My temp has gone back up this morning so happy bout that...am starting to imagine that every lil sign is a sign of being utd...cd24 today, 8dpo and beginning to want to test. Tho i know i wont before next week. hubby and i are going away with his soccer friends this weekend and i know he'll blab it to all of them if i am. And ill be bummed all weekend if im not.

31st oct.

hey girls, completely selfish post cos its so stinking hot and im starving for some dinner. i caved in and bought some hpt's today. im 13dpo tomorrow, my temp this morning was the highest on my chart, but im completely not feeling confident. Had all that af type cramping yesterday, but not much of it today. Apart from that, dont really feel like af is on its way..what do u guys think? test?

1st nov.

um guys...i have just been sitting on my bathroom floor for 10 minutes staring at the stick in my lil pee cup...and the stick has a line. Like a bfp line! It took ages to come up and at first it was so faint that i thought i must have been looking thru it or something...but theres definately a line. Holy crap. AF is technically not due til monday so i guess ill retest in a few days to be sure. But a line is a line right? So now the worrying begins. I seem to get pregnant easily but getting a healthy, sticky one seems to be my downfall...I have a higher chance of having another molar and that scares the absolute crap out of me. But i should think positive right? This already seems a bit different to last time. Last time I absolutely knew 100% i was pregnant before af was even due. i had so many symptoms and weird stuff going on with my body. This time i feel completely normal...Sorry for going on. im just freakin out and needed to tell someone. My hubby is still asleep. Im not gonna tell him before we go off to go camping with his friends today, because he has the biggest mouth around them! He'd blab it for sure. Im coming back tonight and hes not back til tomorrow so i might go buy him some sort of baby present to tell him...

(posting in the pregnancy buddies thread)

Fertility Friend says i would be due 12th July. Not going to get excited yet though. until its confirmed that its not a molar, im just going to go with the flow and pray. But i am going to try to be positive! Power of positive thinking and all that!

2 nov.

i managed not to tell dh about the bfp yesterday tho i think hes suss cos he asked me if i was "broke" yet (meaning did af show up) and when i said no, he said "well doesnt that mean your late?". I was so glad he asked in that way cos it meant i could truthfully say, nope not late until monday. lol i wouldnt have been able to lie to him if he had actually asked if i was utd. going out to buy him a present today. Still planning on testing again on monday.

3 nov.

So we went camping on sat (well i just went for the day, dh stayed sat nite while i came home- i dont do the outdoors too well lol) and i managed to keep my lil secret all to myself. THought dh was suss cos he asked me if i was "broke yet" (meaning did af show up yet) and when i said no, he said well doesnt that mean your late? i was so greatfull that he didnt actually ask if i was utd, cos i couldnt have actually lied to him. I just told him that i wasnt late until today.So when i got home i ran out to the shops and bought him a little tiny blue jumpsuit and a tiny lil pink one. I got a congratulations card and wrote on the inside "congratulations dad to be - you'll be needing one of these around july 12, 2009. Love from the stork" and i stuck the positive test to it as well. haha im corny i know. Was so funny, when he got home the present was sitting on the table and he goes "whats that?" i played dumb and said it was on the front step when i got home. I said i thought it was a late wedding present but it had his name on it, so i waited for him to get home to open. Haha he fell for it bad. lol. I think he was in shock when he opened cos he didnt say anything. I had to actually say his name and he goes "are u pregnant?" (and i was like well duh lol). And then i just got the lil smile and the big hug.

oh and i didnt test again this morning. i slept in and didnt have time. But my temp is higher again, no sign of af showing up, so i think im pretty safe. Will definately do it in the morning.

4 nov.

Well i went to do my 2nd hpt this morning. Was filling up my lil pee cup, like the directions say to. then i realised that the stupid cup had a crack in it, and of course, the entire contents ended up all over my hand and up my arm. Dh thought it was hilarious. So i still havent gotten to do my second test cos now ive run out of tests! I think im going to go to the doctor on friday and just get a blood test and be done with it. i cant be bothered with the hassel of another hpt in between. My temp was higher again this morning, so im happy with that.

(posting now in the pregnancy buddies thread)

I have only told my good mate Paul that im utd. He knows all my secrets - i swear boys are better than girls at keeping a secret! Last year, we both had the threat of cancer hanging over our heads at the same time, so its made us closer. Plus he is the one that will hound me if i dont drink and then ill have to explain to everyone why im not drinking. Plus i need him to drink my drinks, so it looks like im still drinking. Im going to tell my two best girlfriends in a week or two for the same reason. Plus i know ill need their support if anything does go wrong. Im keeping it a secret from my family until at the very least an ultrasound confirms its not another molar. Tho we said we'd try to keep it a secret til christmas. I know they'll all be really worried, and i dont want that for them. Would rather just surprise them with a 12 week piccy

5 nov

im normally a 10dd anyway, but so far my only pregnancy symptom seems to be my boobs feel huge! dh is happy. me, not so much!

7 nov

Went to the doc today. Tried to do some blood tests but it was at 7am and i hadnt had breakfast yet and my veins werent great so going back either tomorrow or next sat. Doc gave me a referal for an u/s in two weeks. Ill probably have one every two weeks or so to be sure its not another molar. Scary. But so far, no symptoms of molar, so praying it stays that way. Morning sickness hasnt started yet, so hoping that stays away too.Ive had two friends announce their pregnant this week. Their both due a week or two ahead of me. I so badly want to say, "me too!" but im just too scared.

9 nov.
So we had my youngest brothers 18th last night. i have a huge ulcer on my tongue and its really causing me pain. cant eat, cant drink, cant talk. so i was pretty miserable when i got to my mums place last night. She took one look at me, bundled me into the car and said were going to the chemist to get u some pain relief. I was freaking out cos i dont want to tell her im pregnant, but i cant be taking medicines not knowing if their ok for the baby. So when we got there she said shed wait in the car, so i thought, beauty, i can ask the pharmacist what i can/cant take and she wont even know!. Problem is he took so long working out what was ok, that my mum came in looking for me! i frantically told my mum that i needed mints and could she go to the other end of the store to get me some? she looked at me weird cos i was so insistent on these damn mints lol. but she went, and i whispered to the pharmacist that she didnt know. He laughed and said ok..but u know what? then i realised he probably thought i was some knocked up teenager (i look young for 27 - and im really short!) that was too scared to tell my mum! lol how embarrassing.

so im 5 weeks today! So far, so good on the morning sickness front. If i get up too quick i feel queasy, so i just get up slowly and its ok. I had a few waves of nausea yesterday, but nothing to write home about. But it didnt kick in until 6 weeks last time, so i guess that will be the test this time.

i got thru a whole week without telling anyone. Im going to tell kate and tamara on saturday. After everyone completely scrutinising me at joels party yesterday for not drinking, me saying that im not in the mood next week is just not gonna cut it. Kate and Paul are gonna have to drink my drinks at kates bon jovi party next weekend. Just no other way around it.

nov10

So im all booked in for a scan on the 24th (2 weeks from today). soooo nervous. i have a feeling i will be a bawling mess by then. i just have such bad memories of the last scan i had last year. praying that it will be different this time! i hear you guys on wanting a few more symptoms..tho on the other hand im really happy not to have symptoms as long as all is ok! morning sickness sucks.

nov12

Im 5 wks 3days today and im having my first ultrasound at 7 weeks1day. My gp is being really good to me. I think he feels bad he didnt pick up on it last time(tho how could he- hes just a gp, and has only ever seen one case 15 years before- i totally never blamed him). I feel better about it this time. im still not confident im going to end up with a baby at the end of it all, but at this stage, i dont feel the same as i did with the molar. Early days tho.

nov13

it is hard not to panic. Ive been feeling really relaxed about all my aches/pains/cramps/twinges etc, but if they were really bad i know id panic. I feel like im probably always going to be worried tho so im really trying to relax a lil - u know, whatever will be, will be. I know everyone says it gets easier after 12 weeks but im such a worrier, i wont be happy til bub is here safe and sound. tho then, as my husband has already pointed out, ill worry about the baby's cough, or what that cry means etc etc. He knows im just a terrible worrier. He balances me out somewhat cos he is so laid back.

had a bit of ms the last few days. I worked a 14 hour shift (office work -so nothing strenuous-just a really long day) on Tuesday and felt like absolute crap by the end of it. Then felt off most of the day yesterday. Few waves of nausea today. Seems i dont feel so hot when i get really tired. Now that ive caught up on some sleep, i feel better.

nov15

im off to do my standard early preg bloodtests and pee in a cup this morning (tried last week but it was before breakfast and they didnt think they'd be able to get enough blood from my crappy veins).

We have a big party tonight that everybody is expecting me to drink at. We had a party last week where i just said i wasnt in the mood for drinking, but unfortunately, i know that excuse wont cut it 2 weeks in a row. Why did i have to get utd in party season?? Really makes it hard to hide it! lol So im telling my two best girlfriends today, so between them and my husband and my mate paul we should be able to make it look like im drinking. im gonna go get some non alcholic wine, so as long as one of the 4 fill up my glassit should be all good. i hope. alot of my family are coming to this party and i absolutely do not want them knowing. My sis in law jaime is already suss on me just cos i didnt drink last week! she litterally gave me the third degree.

nov16

my fake alcohol worked great! Once i told my girlfriend she got really crafty and washed out an old chardonay bottle and filled it up with my fake alcohol. haha i sat there all night and drank away. I made sure i only had a few glasses and spread them out, so when i got up to drive home, noone even questioned me. I feel like ive thrown a few people off the scent. I do want to murder my male friend that knows. The moron, got himself drunk and decided the party was a good time to tell me congratulations, and ask me about my blood tests etc etc. I gave him the filthiest look imaginable and told him (very quietly) to shut his damn mouth. He is not in my good books today, even tho no harm was done really. I ended up leaving early tho. It was so hot in my friends apartment, and apparently my morning sickness (night sickness!) does not like the heat - i truly thought i was gonna throw up. Felt much better once i got outside and got some water down. Gotta say, im loving not having a hangover this morning! not much nausea today either.

nov18

i decided to push my ultrasound back a week so ill be 8 weeks. just didnt want to take the risk that the baby might be too little for a heartbeat at 7 weeks. everything seems to be ok at the moment. When i had my molar i had brown spotting from 5.5 weeks - no sign of that at the moment, so that makes me a lil more confident. Plus im nowhere near as sick as i was last time. so fingers crossed.

nov19

im still feeling pretty decent at the moment. Nausea in waves but it comes and goes, and isnt overly bad when it is around. Definately bearable. Last time i was pregnant i was pretty much bed ridden, tho i did drag myself to work as much as i could. This time it seems to be much milder which i am ridiculously thankful for. i just hope it lasts! I am pretty tired tho, so trying to get lots of sleep. the nausea is worse when im tired. oh and i am so the opposite of you guys! im starving, all the time! Partly cos it helps with nausea but im really not struggling to eat. i was looking at my tummy today thinking, hmm maybe im starting to show a little..then realised i have really just been eating too much and have prob put on a kilo or two! lol

nov 20

well after me saying i was feeling good yesterday, today i felt like crap all day. Didnt ease up until about 4, where i got a break for about 3 hours but its back again now. sigh. im really looking forward to the weekend, sleep and relaxing.

nov22

after my crap day on thursday, i felt alot better yesterday. i did take a morning sickness tablet in the morning so not sure if that had anything to do with it. i dont know wether ive put on weight or if im bloated or what, but my jeans completely do not fit. i made the mistake of wearing them to work yesterday and spent the whole day with them undone (good thing i wore a long top!). even with the zip and button undone i was still uncomfortable.

nov26

feelin pretty decent most of the day. seems to get to about 3 or 4 in the arvo and then i start feeling really off until i get home and go to bed. cant really complain tho. i hope it stays like that! Getting quite alot of pains on the sides of my belly. Not sure if its uterus stretching pain or maybe gas/constipation sorta pains, but the pain is sharp but only for a second or two........anyone else getting this? Ive read its quite common, not really worried it could be a sign of an impending miscarriage cos the pain isnt crampy and its isnt low or in the middle........but would be nice to know im not the only one with it! My scan is on monday night........im flipping between being completely excited and completely terrified.

nov27

i cant wait to tell my mum. only a few more days until my scan...im completely terrified. im too scared to get excited, just incase theres no heartbeat. im being a pessimist i know, but i just dont want to get my hopes up too much. Its in the back of my mind, hey your going to have a baby in july, but i dont think about it much. Wont feel real until we see bub is ok on the ultrasound

i feel the urge to do another test as well. i just dont feel pregnant, despite the on off nausea. i dont really have many other symptoms, boobs are bigger, and im pretty bloated but i keep thinking - well thats probably because u never stop eating and you've put on weight!i need this scan to hurry up and confirm it for me so i can get excited and actually start feeling like theres gonna be a baby in july!

nov30

sent myself home early from work on thursday but more because id slept funny and my back was hurting. THat mixed in with the on off nausea was more than i could handle at work. i think i must feel better than i look tho...i really havent had much morning sickness to complain about. compared to some im really having an easy time of it. But when i went back to work even my managing director (who is male, not very observant) said that i had looked a bit green for the whole week! if he noticed then i must really look like crap!my close friend at work (who is also a long time family friend) asked me on friday if i was pregnant cos i didnt eat my lunch. couldnt lie to her. i actually am glad she knows. i see her so often that its ridiculous trying to keep that sort of secret from her.my first scan is tomorrow. so scared of getting bad news, tho i really have no reason to expect it to be bad...i think im going to be a basket case until i know that bubs has a heartbeat...

dec1
hey gang, i am a very happy girl tonight! my scan was great. i was in tears on the way over, but our sonographer (who was a guy) was really lovely. I was too scared to look at the screen until he said "hey, it all looks great" and i nearly kissed him i was so happy! we have a lil blob, with lil arm and leg buds and a heartbeat. Measuring 8weeks 4 days which im 90 percent certain is out by 3 days cos i was charting so iknow when i ovulated, but im happy to go by that for now. due july 9 by scan, july12 by me. im so so so happy. just cant stop smiling. so makes the feeling crappy and all the sh*t we went thru for the last year worth it!

(posting in another thread after someone had asked me how i went)

yep scan was tonight, and everything is fantastic! im so happy and relieved. bub is measuring 8wks4days which i think is a bit out - i was charting so i know when i ovulated, tho i know scans can be out by up to a week so not at all concerned. Am happy to run with the 8wks 4days cos that means im 12 weeks on xmas day! bub is such a cute lil blob with its lil arm and leg buds and tiny lil heart beat. finally feels real, and that all the sh*t weve gone thru in the last year is now worth it. i think i appreciate it more than i would have..know what i mean? so just gotta stay sticky for a few more weeks and get to that 12 week scan!

dec13
afm - not too much going on. feel mainly decent, most of the time. Except for the nights, where if i dont go to bed at 830 i start feeling really awful. i just always have this lingering, slightly sick feeling that gets a bit tiresome at times. Like last night i had a breakdown and bawled my eyes out to dh. was mainly a hormonal thing i think cos ive been on the verge of tears all week for absolutely no reason, but last night id just had enough of being tired and not feeling great and i just lost it. Started laughing while crying, cos it was so stupid, but i couldnt stop. Poor dh didnt know wether to laugh at me or not. so he just hugged me instead - and then took me out for dinner to cheer me up Have my best friends sons first birthday today so hoping the rain buggers off!

i joined a belly buddies group. Its good to be able to talk to other people at the same stage, especially as we havent told our families or friends yet (well apart from my mum and two or three really close friends who guessed). I have my 12 week scan on the 29th, but we'll tell our families on christmas day. now that ive seen the heartbeat i feel ok about doing that. We'll wait til after the 12 weeks scan to tell all our friends and my work.

dec20
I went back to yoga this week. id gotten busy with my recent wedding and then wasnt feeling up to it with morning sickness (that was really more afternoon sickness). Have been reminded how much better i feel when i do yoga regularly. I was so out of shape, but now that the morning sickness is beginnning to leave, im really going to get back into it. there is just so many benefits to yoga. i keep trying to convert all my friends and family but am yet to succeed!

dec 25
told all our family today. was a nice surprise for them. my sister nearly put me thru a glass cabinet she was so enthusiastic with her hug. she did quite alot of screaming too, which my brother caught on camera. completley classic!

everyone is happy. Jiras mum seems happy. She has declared she doesnt want to know if its a boy or girl, even if we do find out.

Told our aunts and uncles today as well. Everyone is happy. Mum is still being a bit cautious. Shes nervous about the scan on monday. so am i.

dec29
had my 12 week scan today. dont seem to have much luck with em.bub physically looks fine and has a good heartbeat and everything is where its supposed to be, but my nuchal translucency results werent great. the nt was measuring 2.4mm which is still within normal range but towards the high end which means a higher risk of down syndrome. i did my blood test today so they'll know more tomorrow when they get the results. the doctor thinks that because im only 27 and because the baby has well formed nasal bones (apparently downs babies dont always have formed nasal bones- this is one of the things they look for) that my blood tests should decrease the risk further. At the moment its a 1in 285 chance. Normal is about 1 in 900. So hopefully the blood test results will make the results better, tho there is a chance they could make them worse. If it makes them worse, then they would be looking at doing amniocentisis, tho ive already pretty much decided not to do that, if thats what it comes to. Im happy to take the one in 285 chance. Im having this bub no matter what, so it really doesnt matter to me what the results say. i wouldnt want to risk doing anything that could hurt it.Funny, cos i was only thinking about it last night, wondering what id do if they told me bub had downs. And last night, i thought i would consider a termination. But after seeing that gorgeous lil thing on the screen, sucking its fingers and seeing its lil heart beating, all thoughts of a termination went straight out of my mind. and hubby feels the same. This is our bub and we'll love it unconditionally. if it has downs syndrome, then so be it. we'll deal with that when it happens.

The Posed stuff - Corrine and Craigs Wedding 29.11.08

2008-12-14T14:20:00.009+11:00

The Girls - Corrine and Craigs Wedding 29.11.08

2008-12-14T10:51:00.007+11:00

The Boys - Corrine and Craigs Wedding 29.11.08

2008-12-14T09:47:00.003+11:00

i did the photos for a friends wedding a few weeks ago. Im spending today finishing (well hopefully finishing) editing them and posting my favourites. Doing them in batches as im too lazy to resize the files and they take forever to upload. So here are a few of the boys at home.

and wes evens the score...

2008-11-03T21:17:00.001+11:00

my inner turmoil continues

The month of October in facebook status updates

2008-11-02T12:22:00.009+11:00

So lately, i have found that instead of updating my blog, i update my facebook status. Sad i know, and not a great way of recording ones life. So i thought id do a summary of my month, as recorded by facebook.

I think this comment is self explanatory. My hayfever and allergies suck in spring. Seriously, sometimes i just want to live in a bubble. An air purified bubble.

This was the day after Kate had a girls only karaoke party to raise some $$ for the cancer council. Oh my god, so much fun. But such a nasty hangover the next day. We were still singing our lungs out at 1am...aplogies the negihbours at her flat!

I spent a friday night watching "8 below", just because i love paul walker. And then got told off my nams soccer mate for being a perv. lol

Mum and i were watching idol one night in early october. An ad came on so i flicked over to dancing with the stars. They had a special act on, called burn the floor which is a dance show choreographed by jason gilkison. Now mum and i are both massive fans of jason gilkison, so we decided we'd go see the show. We just got in, the last performance was on october 18! So mum, me, Lauren (sis in law) and her mum Linda, all went to see the matinee, then we met up with the boys in sydney for dinner at the blackbird cafe. Great afternoon! The show was completely amazing. Completely blew my mind, and the guys...extemely sexy! A man that can dance...nothing better.

dinner at blackbird.

Then we had my lil bros wedding on the 25th...resulting in another nasty hangover for me (and my best friend kate). Photos in post below!
Then this was just me on a junkfood binge one day after work. lol. nothing unusual there!

The only thing that was pretty major this month, that i didnt seem to record on facebook, was me starting a new job! Same industry, same job, 10 grand a year more! woo hoo! Our old general manager got the sack a few months ago and has started his own company. He offered 5 of us payrises to come with him. so i did! Its been a bit stressful but a fun two weeks. Looking forward to when we are all organised and in a routine. i love routine. lol

So that was the highlights of my month as recorded on facebook. While i was looking thru my profile tho, i did come across these photos from my wedding. The comments just had me cracking up.

this one as well. lol

Think ill try to make this a monthly event.

i am torn

2008-10-27T21:07:00.001+11:00

between mark and wes...........Was Wes all the way until the last two weeks...This is causing me some serious inner turmoil...

my lil brother got married yesterday...

2008-10-26T20:51:00.005+11:00

and i spent today nursing a rather unpleasant hangover lol. But it did allow me to spend the whole day looking at photos. Facebook has been flooded with them lol. But here are some of mine...

Poor buggers had so much bad luck. Their wedding cars broke down so they had to make do with the replacement cars the hire company sent out, which werent as nice as what they wanted.

The groomsmens ties were handmade so didnt come pre-tied. Which was a bit of a drama when nobody actually knew how to tie a fatboy tie. After some googling and trial and error, my step dad worked it out.

Once we got to the venue, the ceremony music wouldnt play on the stereo system. My poor baby brother looked like he was going to cry, he was so stressed. So i took over (im so bossy and can be a total bitch to hired help if need be whereas the rest of my family tend to be overly nice incase they upset anyone. dont get me wrong, im nice 99 percent of the time, its just im a hothead where my family is concerned and not afraid to be forceful when its needed). So after trying the backup cd with no sucess i went to find my uncle who has a nice new car and we drove it right up to where the wedding was taking place. Stuck the cd in, opened all the car doors and cranked it up. Unfortunately, only one song on the cd was burnt correctly, so she didnt walk down the aisle to her chosen song, but it was "Iris" by the goo goo dolls so it wasnt too bad.

But after that it all went a lil more smoothly. We all had a great time at the reception. The boys drank the bar out of jim beam, then wild turkey, then jack daniels and finally ended up drinking makers mark. We had a great dinner of chicken with a pesto sauce and beef. Chocolate mousse in chocolate cups for dessert. lots more wine. Some whining to the groom about the need for some dance music resulted in a much fuller dance floor. We organised a bus to take about 13 of us back to my mums place and then my bestie tam who stayed sober drove those that werent staying home. Great time had by all!

ooooooohhhhhhhhhh ummmmmmmmmm i sack myself...

2008-10-06T18:18:00.005+11:00

yea. i am officially sacked as writer of this blog. im a bad bad blogger. im so far behind on it, that im intimidated by the huge task of catching up!

But i am jumping back on the bandwagon. i love blogging! ive missed blogging! i just have had soooooooo much on that blogging really didnt even enter my mind. But that is all about to change. Im getting back into a routine. A routine that includes at least once weekly blogging!

Now that ive psyched myself up, here is why i have been missing in action.

First there was this.

followed by a whole lotta this

then we tortured our friends with a whole lotta it as well

then we tortured a whole heap more people with our ramblings

but then we let em dance, so they forgave us.

Yea we got ourselves hitched. Was a great day. September in sydney is not generally that warm. Especially up the mountains where our reception was held. But we totally got lucky and scored an unusually hot spring day. Hot enough to be sweating! Though that could have just been me with my nerves.

There were no major dramas, everything went pretty much according to plan. Good time had by all as far as i know!

Will be attempting to post a few of my favourite photos during the week cos theres a few lil stories and stuff i want to write. But dont want to overwhelm myself with trying to do it all in one post! baby steps...lol

something about this guy

2008-08-16T13:20:00.001+10:00

that i totally dig. Not typically good lookin (to me anyway) but there is so something about him. i cant stop watching and playing this song. im obsessed.

oh and kate, check out the audience. gotta say another shining example of how aussie audiences differ to asian ones. Totally not being racist or anything, but god i will never go to a concert over there! talk about a lack of atmosphere in the crowd!

just because we hadnt done any for...oh...like a week...

2008-08-12T21:03:00.003+10:00

well no, its not quite that bad. yes i take photos of blake almost every week, but steve works 7 days a week so i really havent done family photos for them in a few months.

Steve had a rare saturday off, so we headed on out to my favourite shooting location at glenbrook lagoon. Must say, ive done so many shoots there in the last few years, i am getting a bit over it, but it really is a good spot for photos as theres so much variety in scenery all in one spot. Really must resesarch some new places tho.

anyway onto some photos of my favourite lil munchkin and his mum and dad.

haha, oh the hair kills me in this one!
and my alltime new favourite photo is the one below. how freakin cute

this photo brings back memories.

2008-08-10T20:11:00.003+10:00

This is my best friend Tamara and i unwrapping presents at my kitchen tea yesterday afternoon.

As soon as this photo downloaded onto the computer about a million memories sprung to mind. Tamara and i have been friends for over 20 years and i have so many memories of the two of us sitting on the floor like this. Unwrapping presents at each other birthday parties. Or playing games. Or as we got older, sitting around gossiping. Laughing and mucking around. Always totally comfortable with each other. Never an uneasy silence. Always something to talk about even if we'd spent the whole day together.

Even the way were sitting makes me smile. Were 26 years old now, but still sit the way we were taught to when we were 6 years old on our first day of kindergarten. Tho when we were six, it was always a competition to see who could sit up the straightest.......thats obviously not a priority any longer. lol

is it too much to expect

2008-08-01T18:32:00.002+10:00

for him to say happy anniversary? I dont know why i bother. Truly i dont. Its always like this. He doesnt mean to make me upset. Hes not doing it to be mean. Anniversarys mean nothing to him. He doesnt care about them. Fair enough. But i do. They mean something to me.

And yes we agreed not to get each other anything. We havent bought each other presents for anniversarys, birthdays or christmas for the last few years since we bought the house and our budget doesnt really stretch that far.

But why does that mean that we dont celebrate them at all? YOu dont have to spend money to celebrate an anniversary do you? He could have picked me a flower from the neighbours garden. He could have written me a little note. He could have made me dinner. He could have just said Happy anniversary BEFORE i did. He didnt forget. I know, because he mentioned it earlier in the week. He just doesnt care that much about it.

blah. boys suck sometimes. Gonna go read the post i wrote earlier in the week about how much i love him before i go pick a fight.

rock star

2008-07-29T19:16:00.002+10:00

i love him

2008-07-22T21:16:00.003+10:00

for so many reasons....but tonight i love him for having the fire already going when i got home from work. Even tho he is at soccer training all night, and wont be home to get any use out of it. He did it just so i wouldnt be cold. Just because he knew it would make me happy. Just because he looks after me. Just because he loves me.

i have the best fiance!

Not as bad as i was expecting.

2008-07-20T18:36:00.003+10:00

We're getting married at St Mathews Catholic Church later this year. It is a stunning, gorgeous, beautiful church. I adore it.

But the condition of getting married in that church is that every couple does a marriage preparation course.

oh ok....

And its gonna cost $$$

hmmm, fair enough..

And its run over a whole weekend.Including Friday night.

Blah!

So we rocked up on Friday night to the school library thats attached to the church. I was totally pissy cos i was nervous. Were standing in the line to get our names marked off, and i turned around to ask Jira something, when out of the corner of my eye, i noticed the girl behind us in line.

It was Amy, a girl i worked with for about 4 years. We were great friends back in the day, but we hadnt seen each other in years. Total spinout to see her there because she doesnt even live in the area. We got introduced to her fiance David (who is sooo nice! im so happy she scored herself such a great guy) and the four of us took up seats in the back row.

We had only been sitting there a few moments when Amy jumped up squealing and hugged a guy that had just walked in. It turned out to be a guy named Brett that she had gone to high school with. So Brett and his fiance added to our little group.

The course basically consisted of 2 couples and a priest talking about their experiences in different aspects of marriage. They'd talk for awhile, then they'd hand out question sheets, the guys would go one way and the girls would go another, and then we'd meet back in 10 mins to share our answers with our fiance.

I actually got quite alot out of the Friday and Saturday morning. Everything they covered was relevant to our relationship and it brought to the surface a few things that we need to work on, stuff i did that Jira doesnt like and vice versa. Stuff i already knew, but really needed to be reminded of.

Saturday lunch was a bbq, and oh my gosh, im sorry Kate, but your rissoles have been replaced as the best on earth. I dont know what was in these rissoles but lordy, they were amazing.

We sat with Amy and David but Brett and his fiance were a bit slow in getting to lunch so we invited another couple Paul and Nathalie to sit with us. They had been sitting in the back row with us and seemed really nice. The four of us, plus the two new comers all got on so well. We spent the whole lunch time laughing and mucking around, which continued when we went back into the course. I totally felt like the naughty kids in the back row at school.

Today, we did more of the same, plus we had a talk from the natural family planning group, which was actually really interesting. They were talking about it from a contraception point of view, but i was looking at it from a conception point of view. Considering theres only 12-20 hours a month that a woman is fertile, i want to know when that time is to make the most of it! I dont want to be waiting for years (or even months) to get pregnant after were married. Im impatient, so why not give it a go!

The day finished with a mini service in the church, where i just sat, imagining our wedding day, and thinking about how damn gorgeous the church was! We spent an extra 40 or so minutes, chatting with our new friends before wishing each other luck and going on our way!

Overall, it was a long weekend. Boring at times. Hilarious at others. Definately made more bearable by the fun people we were hanging out with.

Oh and highlight of the weekend? One of the course leaders quoting Jon Bon Jovi on marriage! FANTASTIC! lol

poser!

2008-07-17T21:13:00.002+10:00

My lovely best friend Kate. Loves to pose for me. lol. ok maybe thats stretching the truth. a bit. But i pose for her, so she poses for me. Everyone else has had jack of us. Thats life. lol.

i have a dream

2008-07-16T22:03:00.003+10:00

well actually, no. i had a dream is more accurate.

Pre-warning for any relos/family friends that may be reading, i cant help what i dream. I hope none of you think im awful for dreamin of people other than my adorable, much loved fiance. Please dont call my mum and tell her u think my marriage is on the rocks before its even begun. If she gets on the phone and asks me if im planning on running away to be a full time groupie im gonna be most annoyed and ill never share the sordid details of my dreams ever again. I mean it! You've all been warned! lol

So i woke up with the biggest smile on my face on Monday morning. Not the usual way i wake up, i can assure you! My alarm goes off at quarter past 5, so normally i wake up groaning with the pain of being awake at such an ungodly hour.

I got to work, and i was still smiling. First thing i did was email Kate to tell her that i had had the BEST dream ever and that she was in it.

It was MOnday morning, i really dont think she cared that much. But i had to tell her anyway, cos i knew it would make her smile.

So this was the content of the best dream ive ever had.

First up, Kate and i were at a Bon Jovi concert. It was at a stadium that kinda looked like the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne which is where the first Aussie concert we saw in January was held. But instead of the awesome seats that we actually had at Melbourne, we were up the top in the general admission area.

After the concert everyone started leaving, but Kate and i made our way down to the stage. Tico (their drummer) was still there and we jumped up onto the stage and spent some time chatting with him.

The rest of the band had left, and we were disappointed. But then someone told us that the whole band would be working at the local Woolworths supermarket for some charity.

So of course Kate and i ran to the Woolworths, which turned out to be the woolworths near Kates mum's place up at Maitland. (now i know i was dreaming about this woolworths cos we had gone to visit Kates mum on the saturday and we'd gone there to pick up lunch).

Sure enough, as we walked up, we could see the 4 members of the band each on a checkout. There was no one around and they looked totally bored. So we ran in and grabbed a basket. I kept saying to Kate, "we have to fill it up with all these cans of tuna, cos it will take them along time to scan them and that will give us more time to talk to them" (i think i was dreaming of tuna because that day i had done the grocery shopping and Jira had specifically asked for as many cans of Tuna we could afford. lol)

So we went thru the checkout and talked to Richie and Jon.

Now my dream could have ended here, and i still would have classed it as an awesome dream. But it got better!

The guys asked us back to some after party that they were going to. So of course, Kate and i are there with bells on!

The next thing i know, im dreaming of making out with Richie in the corner of some dark smokey club. I looked over his shoulder and saw Kate making out with Jon! We gave each other a look that said "oh my freakin god, can you believe this is happening?"

And then i woke up.

Dammit.

FIrst thing Kate said when i told her all this via email was "Thankyou for giving me Jon!" haha, no problemo matey. Richie is much more my type.

i was gonna...

2008-07-06T17:37:00.001+10:00

write a quick post, but jira is naggin at me to hurry up cos we're goin to mums for dinner. So the layout is gonna have to do for now!

im a happy girl tonight.

2008-07-01T20:26:00.001+10:00

First reason - Yesterday (while also being my best friend Kate's birthday - Happy birthday hun!) marked the end of my 6 month wait! For anyone that doesnt read my blog regularly, I had a rare molar pregnancy last November that ended in miscarriage and a barrage of blood tests on my hcg levels to ensure i didnt end up with GTD (a form of cancer with chemo as the treatment). It meant we had to wait 6 months to 1 year to try for another baby.

If my hcg level stayed at 0 for 6 months we would get the all clear and get to try again. Well, i had planned on going to get a blood test and ultrasound next week. But i couldnt wait. I havent been feeling too great in the last few weeks. Ive been quite nauseous, and that was worrrying me. It would have just been my luck to be fine for 5 months, and then in the last month of waiting have a regrowth.

So the easiest way of checking your hcg level without doing a blood test?? Do a home pregnancy test! They register hcg levels of 25 or more. So tonight, i was sick of worrying about this last lot of tests. I just wanted to know.

So i did the test. And it was negative. SO my hcg level is more likely than not still 0! Which means i should get the all clear next week. I said to nam, that this is the last time i want to see a negative pregnancy test. The next one i take had better have two lil lines show up!

So my second reason for being happy tonight, is that we had a meeting with the priest that is going to marry us. And he is lovely. Im sooooo happy we decided to get married in a church. He filled out all our forms and had to ask us some questions like "had we truly considered what marriage meant, and we were prepared to dedicate our lives to each other?". It made me so happy to say yes, and really mean it. I cant imagine being with anyone other than Jira, and i couldnt stop smiling after our talk. I know it sounds corny and daggy, but im just so excited about being married. Yea, im looking forward to the party and everything, but im just as excited to officially be a family, and have a marriage. ive waited for what seems like forever to be able to call him my husband, and now i only have 2.5months left to go!

And the last reason im happy is because there was a 20-1 countdown of the hotest celebs on channel 9. And drooling over Brad Pitt is a great way to end a day!

truly, i dont like posing

2008-06-28T21:06:00.005+10:00

But i do like taking photos. AND, i do realise the importance of at least being in SOME photos, and not always being the one behind the camera.

So when Kate and i go on our lil photography expiditions, I try to ignore the fact that i dont like posing for photos. Ive worked out over the years, that it is better to pose, and look halfway decent, than not to pose, the result being a bunch of candid, not so flattering photos. Not that candids dont have their place...I like candids. alot. But thats not what this post is about.

So Kate and i drove out to Berrima last weekend to take some "winter afternoon sunlight" photos. Of course, nobody wanted to come pose for us. Which is a shame. You'd think our fam and friends would want some lovely winter afternoon sunlight photos! But the only person who willingly poses for us these days is Blake...and to be honest, he's not all that willing alot of the time either! He's just disadvantaged by the fact he cant get up and run away.

My camera had a spack attack halfway thru and decided to stop working, so i didnt take too many. But it was a great day for a drive, and the photos we did get were quite nice. Nothing to get too excited about, but decent enough.

We were driving along, trying to find somewhere to snap a few shots when we drove past this church. No one was around, so we used it as a back drop. The light on the sandstone bricks was lovely.

This photo of Kate gives me dejavu. Ive done almost the exact same shot of her at a wedding last september. I couldnt find the original colour version, but the lighting is very similar. Does make me think that we need to be a lil more creative in our posing.

This one was still on the church grounds.

And a few below that Kate took of me.

I retouched this one up...maybe a bit too much? On a side note, I HAD to edit it because of how many wrinkles im getting! seriously, what is going on with that! Ok, really their only smile lines, but still! i retouched this more than i wanted to have to at the ripe ole age of 26!

We found this cool mural on the side of a bike shop...very tara whitney-ish (my favourite photographer) i think... Must say it really shows how short i am tho! But i like it...i like photos of me with my camera. Makes me happy...lol.

Now this photo below, is Kates favourite. Personally, i think she was on drugs when she made this decision. She calls this my "sexy" look. I think its my "what the hell?" look....If that is my sexy look, then thankgod i have Jira or i really would be headed for an eternity of singledom. tragical.

lucky i love u, cos.....

2008-06-23T20:27:00.003+10:00

So Jira and i were at the shops on the weekend.

As we were walking past a little art store, i pointed out a few lil ole ladies taking a portrait drawing class. They were sitting right in the window so it was easy to see that their drawings were really quite impressive.

I said to Jira, that maybe he should do a class. His father is a proffessional aboriginal artist, and ive seen some half finished paintings that Jira did in high school, that i would love to see him finish. He looked at me like i had three heads however, and kept on walking.

Not willing to give the subject up that easily, i started telling Jira what a great drawer i was.

I got the three head look again.

rude.

"No really Jira! i used to be really good! "

silence.....

At this point, I chose to ignore the fact he obviously didnt care about my extraordinary artistic talents, and continued to yak his ear off.

" Yea, you know, once when i was 13, i drew a portrait of the band Hanson and it was like, really good! you could tell who they were and everything!"

He looks over with a half smile, and says "Hanson?"

And i say, "yea you know the three blonde brothers that sung mmm bop? Man i was so in love with them when i was like 13. I really thought i was going to marry Taylor. He was so cute. I had all their albums, you know. I even had their christmas album, and you know what? i still really like their christmas album."

His half smile became a big smile, as he put his arm around me and said

"Its lucky i love you"

I looked at him, and asked why?

And without missing a beat, he answered

"because you are so not cool."

nothin exciting

2008-06-15T16:43:00.002+10:00

havent had much exciting to say lately! Just thought id share a few layouts. Finally scrapped a few photos from the Melbourne Bon Jovi, and finally scrapped a few from the day Blake was born.Other than that, really not too much to say! Did some wedding running around yesterday. Chose Bonboneire (im sure i spelt that wrong), chose pressies for my bridesmaids, bought a garter (a blue one as my "something blue"), bought ribbons for the cars and bubbles for people to blow as we come outta the church (confetti is not allowed at our church).

Went to the gym this morning and then spent a few hours cleaning. thrills at the Dodson/Skuthorpe household! I am thinking about going in the city to surf this year tho (big annual fun run). As in incentive to go to the gym more often and also im hoping i might be able to con a few friends/family into coming with me as fun day out. i realised the other day ive barely taken any photos this year, apart from a zillion photos of blake. Time to get out and about a lil!

not as nerdy as i thought i was

2008-06-06T20:12:00.001+10:00

for the from our blog to yours challenge at SSD. I actually kinda think of myself as a bit of a nerd, but i didnt know the answer to half the questions! Tho i guarrantee jira would have. i love my lil nerd. lol

im so proud of my ma!

2008-06-04T19:38:00.008+10:00

(im sorry about the lack of spacing in this entry...blogger is being stupid and wont put them in!)

Ive said it before on this blog, that i adore my mum and think shes awesome. But i was reminded again last week just how great she really is.

Bit of background on the situtation so the story makes more sense:

My middle brother's long term girlfriend Jaime, lives at my mums house. Shes lived there for almost as long as they've been together. She isnt overly close with her real family tho she see's them regularly.

My mum is quite big on getting to know all of us kids' partners parents, so she is friendly with both Jaimes mum (who is remarried) and also Jaimes Dad.

The story:

Around Christmas time last year, Jaime came home and announced to mum that her younger half sister Chantelle was pregnant. Jaime was not happy. Chantelle is only 15. Understandable.

She was about 4 months pregnant before she told anyone. Tho I was impressed by the fact that she had already taken herself to the doctor, had an ultrasound, and was recieving prenatal care. I think that shows alot of courage for a someone so young. She must have been so scared.

Anyway, the months progressed and all went well with her pregnancy.

A week or two before she was due, both families went out for dinner to celebrate Jaimes birthday. Mum got to talking with Jaimes mum (Angie) about the fact that Chantelle was due so soon. Angie told mum that she wasnt comfortable with being in the delivery room. Jaime was going to be her main support person.

Mum having had 5 kids of her own, realised that it might all be a bit much for Jaime, considering Jaime has no kids of her own, and no knowledge of childbirth. Plus her little sister was going to be in alot of pain and that would be hard for anyone to deal with.

So, even tho she has only met Chantelle a few times, she offered to go into the delivery room with her. Just to be a support to both Jaime and Chantelle.

When she went into labour at about midnight one night last week, mum went down to the hospital at 3am. She was there to stroke her hair, massage her back, support and encourage her. Baby Riley was born at about 10.30am that morning.

I am just so proud that my mum offered to do that for her. I cant imagine how petrified i would have been if i had been in that situation, and i know i would have been so greatful to have an adult with some knowledge of what was going on, to help and support me.

I asked mum how she liked watching somebody else give birth - better than doing all that yourself? haha. She really enjoyed the whole thing and is now impatiently waiting for us kids to start poppin a few out!

Riley James (almost 9 pounds!)

Chantelle (mum) and her new lil man

Aunty Jaime!

mum and Riley the day he came home from hospital. Poor mum still looks tired 3 days later! lol

did i really never tell this story here?

2008-05-30T20:53:00.002+10:00

So one of the challenges over at SSD was to create a layout about fear. The first thing that came to mind when i read the challenge, was how scared i was the night tam fell down my driveway and we ended up in the emergency room with a screaming newborn with his head rapidly swelling. I was just going to link this layout to the full story i THOUGHT i posted here, but when i went looking thru my archives i realised id never posted it!

So to save you squinting at the journalling, here is what happened.

Tam called me one night when blake was about 4 weeks old, said she was being driven mad by her relo's and was coming over to escape. No problemo - it was a tuesday night, Jira was at soccer training so i was home by myself and bored!.

It was pouring rain that night, so when i heard her car pull up i went out onto the steps to see if i could help her in with her stuff. She was already halfway down my driveway with Blake bundled up in her arms, sheltering his face from the rain.

I yelled out to her to be careful cos it was slippery. She yelled back she was ok. I must have jinxed her tho cos seconds later, she slipped and fell. Hard. Blakes head and tamaras arm and elbow hit the conrete with a loud thud. And then Blake started screaming.

I ran out, helped her up and helped her inside. Tam was trying to comfort Blake. We werent too sure how hard he had hit his head. We thought Tams arm had probably taken the brunt of the fall, but when Blakes head started swelling up we got worried.

I asked Tam if she wanted me to call her mum, and she said no, she didnt want to worry her. So i said i'd ring my mum and see if she thought we should take him to the doctor.

She didnt answer her phone. So we paced around for awhile, keeping an eye on the still crying Blake, before i thought to call Jiras mum who has been a nurse for the past..... i dunno 30 years?

I explained what had happened and she said "take him to emergency straight away". Thats what made me really scared. Jiras mum barely ever says things like that. Like alot of nurses, she knows that people often over react. So i truly expected her to say "He'll be fine, dont worry about it"

So we jumped in the car - i offered to drive but Tamara wanted to drive so i didnt argue. I just sat in the back seat and held Blake. I know we should have put him in his car seat but at the time, it really didnt cross my mind.

I just sat in the back, held him close and kissed his little head, the whole time thinking, god please let him be ok.

I gave him back to tamara when we got to the hospital. By that time he had settled down a bit, but his head had swollen up about 3 times the size it should have been!

We checked him in to emergency and then started the wait to see a doctor. Steve and his mum met us there. The 4 of us waited for about 2 hours before we got to see the nurse. In that time, Blake had had a feed and a sleep and was happy again and smiling at all the people in the waiting room. His head was so swollen up tho, and we were careful not to touch it.

The nurse looked him over briefly, took some details and said he should see the doctor, but it was a good thing that he had cried straight off and that he hadnt lost consciousness. The wait to see the doctor was going to be at least 4 hours and considering Blake was smiling again, Tam and Steve decided to just go around to the after hours clinic and get one of the doctors there to have a look at him.

So after another hour or so wait, they got to see the doctor. He felt his head, decided it wasnt anything to worry too much about but to just keep an eye on him.

A few days later he was more or less back to normal!

All i know, tho, was that it was such a scary night. And if i felt that scared, i cant even imagine how bad tam and steve must have felt!

And the new huggies baby is.....

2008-05-29T21:23:00.003+10:00

Seriously, dont ya think Blakey boy should be in nappy commercial? Or possibly a fabric softner advertisment? lol Im blowing that there first pic up tomorrow. I have a gorgeous wood frame i bought before he was born, and have been waiting for the perfect photo.
I took these last weekend. Got a total of about 20 shots cos someone was NOT happy! lol.See how he's grabbing toys now? I hadnt seen him do that before that day! Tam had him laying under one of those play things with the dangly toys when i first got there. Instead of just staring at them, he was actually reaching out and hitting them. Making them move around. So cool to see him growing into a real lil person with personality.

The older he gets, the more i think he looks like Tams brothers (so therefore must look like Tam), but sometimes there is just no mistaking that he is steves son. Sometimes he's just steves lil mini me.

Espcially in this shot. Something about his mouth in this photo is steve all over. Really must get a baby photo of steve and compare.

when we should be working.....

2008-05-26T16:01:00.000+10:00

Kate and i email each other constantly. Often the subject is something along the lines of.....

Kate says: Dare I say it but for once I think Richie looked better than Jon

Lani says: Richie is so hit and miss. But when hes good, hes damn good. Yummo

Whats a girl to do except oogle at the Jovi boys!

dont really have much else to say about this. Its scrap therapy.

2008-05-25T16:04:00.000+10:00

tagged - thanks vicki!

2008-05-24T15:26:00.002+10:00

So Vicki (aka digilover) tagged me.

RULES
1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Im the first one to admit that i can talk about myself until the cows come home, but i dont know if i can think of 7 things i havent already said on here! Can that i love to talk about myself be one? No? Tough, that is my number 1.

2. i hate shopping. Actually thats not true. i quite like grocery shopping, but i hate, hate, hate shopping for clothes, shoes, hand bags, accessories, anything like that i despise. I tell Jira all the time that i wish somebody would just buy all my clothes for me....I buy his clothes (grudgingly) so why cant he just go choose stuff for me??? (hes not silly enough to even try -id hate anything he came home with more likely than not and he knows it)

3. i just adopted a facebook puppy and called him Sambora. haha Bon Jovi rules my internet (and alot of my real) life. I also have a slight addiction with Facebook Flair button thingos. All of which began this week as ive never really been into facebook before.

4. I have allergies like noones business. Does that make sense? i think i just totally mis used that saying. oh well. anyway, i have allergies. I had an allergy test a few years ago and you know how they prick your arm with like 20 different common allergens (lord is that the right word? allergens? my apologies for my lack of vocabulary today!) well i was allergic to all of them. My arm swelled up nice and good. Some worse than others - grass especially, which i already knew, but also a bunch of stuff i hadnt really had a problem with. Like yeast! apparently i should not be eating bread (but i do - if it doesnt make my throat swell closed then i will eat it dammit! ). Im allergic to my dog as well, but if i wash her often enough, and dont play with her after shes been rolling in grass we get along just fine. I get hayfever and sinus problems alot as well, so im really just a constant sniffling, sneezing mess. Ive learnt to live with it.

5. I hate even numbers. I dont know why. I think i have touches of OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). Jira has been informed we must have 3 kids, cos one isnt enough, and two is an even number, so it must be 3. I wont get another dog, cos i hated having two. one is good. The first thing i said when we pulled up in front of the house we now live in was "oh good, its number 17, an odd number). Ive only once lived at an even number house (number 2) and i only lived there for about a year before i moved out. Didnt like its vibe.

6. I often wear odd coloured socks, to the amusement of my office, as i often walk around with no shoes on. (sorry, i know these are lame but im struggling!)

7. im number 1 on the footy tipping ladder at work! I cheat tho. I look up centrebet everyweek and pick all the favourites. Its really quite accurate! LOL. In my defence, i dont watch footy, but i like to be part of work social activities - and i like to win! Hey if they wanted to do a so you think you can dance, or an aussie idol, or even a survivor tipping comp i will happily do it without cheating!

ok that be 7 lame things about me. And now, because i think everyone i know has already been tagged with this, im only tagging one person, being Kate

sweet shoppe - from our blog to yours challenge

2008-05-23T19:05:00.001+10:00

didnt like this quiz. Barely understood the results, have no idea what it has to do with colours, and i dont think it was very accurate. But hey, thats internet quizzes for ya!

lani took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!

"Longs for a tender and sympathetic bond and for a ..."

Click here to read the rest of the results.

Lifehouse - You and Me

2008-05-21T20:42:00.001+10:00

and the wedding songs keep on coming....

these had me giggling.

2008-05-21T19:00:00.000+10:00

was surfing the net and came across the website that does these pics. I get these on email from time to time and they always make me laugh.

haha the litter box! lol

RUN lil duck runnnnnnn! hahahahahha

haha Khodi gives me this look when she sits on Jiras lap....evil cat....evil dog

oh hehehe so not funny. (but so is!)

oh if it wasnt so sick it would be so cute. lol

ick damn feral rats but i couldnt stop laughing at the caption!
..............................................
...........................................................................................

and my favourite

ahahhahahahahahah , oh hehehehe sooooo funny. haha lol!

he likes to cuddle small babies as well.

2008-05-20T17:04:00.001+10:00

This is Adam.

And Neal.

Adam on the left.

Neal on the right.

They are ambassadors for gay waterskiing.

Not really.

And they would be most unhappy if they knew i just wrote that.

But they dont read my blog. So its ok.

In reality, they both play on Jiras soccer team. And Adam is going to be one of Jiras groomsmen at our wedding in September.

So we were at a party on Saturday night. Its an annual traddition with Jiras soccer team that they all get together on FA cup night, cook meat, drink alot, and then scream at a tv screen until some ungodly hour. Like 3am.

One year we had it at our place. I left at 11pm and spent the night at my mums. Its just that i dont like being deafened by 25 drunk and rowdy men camped out in my living room.

Adam, like most of the guys on Jiras soccer team, is a real blokey bloke. Total westie, likes a drink and a footy game. Very typically aussie. Anyway, turns out Adam was in a bit of a chatty mood on Saturday. He came over and sat down next to me, looked at me all serious and said

"Lani, Im totally honoured. Ay" .

"What about Adam?"

" I am totally honoured that Shorty wants me to be his groomsman. Like totally stoked"

"Yea? thats great Ad. Im really glad. It means alot to him"

"No but Lani, it was so outta the blue. Like we were just running around at soccer and shorty asked me what i was doing on the 12 th of September. And i said "how the f#*k would i know?"

(i got the giggles at that)

"So then he said, im getting married that day, do you want to be one of my groomsmen? And do you know what i did?"

"No Ad, what did you do?"

"I just jumped on him and gave him the biggest cuddle (no word of a lie - he said cuddle - i couldnt hold the laugh in). And do you know what else? I had a tear in me eye. A little tear, i was just so happy. Means so much to me"

And you know, i stopped laughing then, and almost cried myself. How sweet is that? I gotta say i think it takes a real man to admit something like that. And not only admit it, but to be proud of it and be willing to tell people about it.

and yea, he was drunk, but i choose to overlook that.

our little house

2008-05-19T19:07:00.000+10:00

Not our first house together, but it is the first house we have owned. Well technically the bank owns it. I think we probably own the front door. mmm after 3 years of paying a mortgage, thats probably about all we own. sad. interest sucks.

But its ok. Cos whilst the bank owns it now, there will be a day, sometime in the next 22 years, that we will own it. And in the meantime, we get to paint it, knock down walls, remove the kitchen, punch holes in the doors if we feel the need.....whatever we like. We get to make it our own.

AND i know we will never have to move. Unless we want to. THAT is an awesome feeling. We moved 4 times in 4 years before we bought our own place. I dont reccomend it. Not fun. Not even a little bit.

anyone remember this kid?

2008-05-18T08:38:00.002+10:00

Cos i do!

Jonathan Taylor Thomas - child star and man of my dreams at age 13. or more accurately, boy of my dreams at age 13.

I used to have a shrine to JTT as he was known back in the day. One whole wall of my room was plastered with his photo. Like literally, you could not see the paint. And there were posters overlapping other posters, there were so many. Mind you that was always annoying when one fell off, because it would start an avalanche and the whole lot would come tumbling down in a heap. And then it would take me hours to make the necessary repairs to the shrine.

I still have a photo of that wall somewhere. When i finallly grew out of my JTT addiction, and decided to get rid of the posters, i actually took a photo. That wall had been my prized possession for a really long time and i was kinda heartbroken to give it up... I threw out all the posters and photos.......i kept the scrapbook tho. dont tell anyone.

I used to watch Home Improvement RELIGIOUSLY. I taped it. Every week. I had at least 12 video tapes that were soley home improvement episodes, and would wear holes in them from rewinding and watching my favourite scenes (of him) over and over and over and over and over...I wonder if this is where my obsession and addiction with watching tv on dvd came from....probably.

I remember that no one was allowed to talk during an episode or i would completely loose it. And heaven forbid if i missed taping the first few minutes due to somebody else watching a different channel and not switching it over quick enough. All hell would break loose and i would be in a funk for the rest of the night.

I think i still have some of those tapes...must go look for those later. Or, even better, i could just go buy them on DVD. Feed a new addiction with an old one.

U know, i still really enjoy that show. (tho obviously not for the perv factor anymore - i do believe thats illegal in most states) If reruns come on, i always sit and watch them. Its good value.

another layout.

2008-05-14T22:20:00.000+10:00

im on a roll this week. Lots of challenges for inspiration, plus i have lots of cool new kits. This is my friend Kate - one of the photos of from her glamour shoot we did in Feb. Scroll back thru the archives if you want to see the rest of em!

another personality quiz

2008-05-13T17:05:00.000+10:00

ok, well i did this personality quiz for the SSD from our blog to yours challenge. The one i did earlier was really quite accurate. This one...waaaay off. like total opposite of me. I think anyway. Maybe its because i dont actualy drink coffee. lol

What Your Latte Says About You

You don't treat yourself very often. You find that indulging doesn't jibe with your very disciplined life.

You are a very frivolous person. You don't take anything too seriously. Why should you?

You have a good deal of energy, but you pace yourself. You never burn out too fast.

You're addicted to caffeine. There's no denying it.

You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You're occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree.

You are deep and thoughtful, but you are never withdrawn.

What Does Your Latte Say About You?

pop rocks challenge at sweet shoppe designs

2008-05-12T16:56:00.000+10:00

So the challenge was to pick a song from the billboard charts and scrap a page. The first song i came across that i thought i could make something of was Usher's "love in this club". It immediately made me think of the night i met Jira. Well technically it was the second time i'd met him, but well...read the journalling and you'll get the gist.

Click the layout for full credits. I used a new kit from Tracey Reed that i picked up to scrap photos of Blake, but i liked how this layout turned out too!

personality quiz a ma thingy

2008-05-11T15:18:00.001+10:00

So ive been hanging out at Sweet Shoppe Designs a bit lately as im really enjoying their designs and challenges. One of their challenges is a "from our blog to yours" challenge - ie - they set the challenge and you answer it on your blog and post a link back. This lil personality quiz is the first one ive done. Quite accurate i think - tho the last line is somewhat harsh! i hope people dont really see me like that!

You Are An ISFJ

The Nurturer

You have a strong need to belong, and you very loyal.
A good listener, you excel at helping others in practical ways.
In your spare time, you enjoy engaging your senses through art, cooking, and music.
You find it easy to be devoted to one person, who you do special things for.

In love, you express your emotions through actions.
Taking care of someone is how you love them. And you do it well!

At work, you do well in a structured environment. You complete tasks well and on time.
You would make a good interior designer, chef, or child psychologist.

How you see yourself: Competent, dependable, and detail oriented

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Boring, dominant, and stuck in a rut

What's" Your Personality Type?

Random Thoughts for the weekend

2008-05-10T17:27:00.002+10:00

i booked my wedding photographer yesterday. http://www.stillphotography.com.au/ very excited bout that, and extremely happy with my decision. He is totally "my style" and gets my need for clean and simple.

i had a skin cancer check on Friday - all good, come back in 12 months or sooner if weird stuff that may kill me starts growing...

i bought a few things to make a dummy wedding invitation...totally ripped off the idea from a friend that got married a few years back. Uncreative? yes. Un original? yes. is un original a word? i think not.

I dropped Jira at the pub last night, then went back to give him jeans at about 10pm (he couldnt get into the club wearing shorts), then went back again at 4am to pick up his drunk ass....i am so the best fiance in the whole world and i think somebody should post me a medal.

my fiance spent all day in bed today nursing a hangover. haha. neener neener.

I did 4 loads of washing. Then made Jira take them off the line.Hang over and all. Teaching him a lesson. This is what he does to me almost everyweek. Does half a job then makes me finish it....and no, i dont hear you saying that i should give back my awesome finace medal.

I gave my stinky dog a bath. FYI, she actually has white patches! who would have thought it.

my eyes are killing me from looking at the laptop screen. i wish i had some eyedrops. Have resorted to wearing glasses....probably a sign i need my eyes checked again. or that i should turn down the brightness on the screen.

there, thats better.

Im absolutely hanging to go to my body balance class tomorrow. Does anyone do those Les Mills body balance classes at their local gym? i love them and thoroughly reccomend them. But only if you have an awesome instructor like Nola. She is a cack.

ps- im getting so flexy from that body balance class. my mission is to be able to do the splits by the end of the year.....or at least be able to touch my toes. (jokes - i can easily touch my toes. ive always been quite flexible - think it stems back to doing gymnastics and physie as a kid)

Its mothers day tomorrow. Im taking my ma and lil sis horse riding(tho not tomorrow - some other day that isnt as busy) as my ma's present. Mum is a good rider - well used to be. She used to work at a horse stud. Mich (lil sis) and i are somewhat scared of horses and have never ridden anything bigger than my boxer pup. I mean, she is big for a dog...but she doesnt like it when you try to harness her and ride her round the living room....(haha no didnt really harness her...just sat on her back and told her to giddy up....she ran off and i fell on a heap on the floor. Jira laughed)

Happy weekend!

My step Brother is a Lunatic

2008-05-06T19:15:00.000+10:00

No other way to put it.

It was his 30th birthday this week and his girlfriend Laura threw him a surprise party at the Manly skiffs club on Saturday night.

So we did the whole "SURPRISE!!!" thing, ate some cocktail style finger food (seafood...mmmm....sushi.....ewwww), had a few drinks and mingled with my step dads side of the family.

We were just about to leave when this figure comes barrelling thru the room at top speed, totally naked except for the 30th balloon covering his, you know, runs out the side door and threw himself over the railing and into the harbour!

It was a fair drop down into the water (i wouldnt even jump from there in daylight) but the main thing was that it was bloody freezing that night! The water must have been about 5 degrees.

The amusing thing was that his "modesty" balloon burst on impact with the water so he had to swim to the edge and climb out in his birthday suit.

Yep the guy is a lunatic.

My 6'6 stepbrother with my 5'1 mother

Those eyes

2008-05-05T21:55:00.002+10:00

Just try to tell me that this lil face doesnt make you smile...