Mothers Day 2009

I was hoping that this Mothers Day would be an extra special one and I would be witnessing my very first birth, but the stubborn little Miss has better ideas.

Anyway, it was still a fantastic day & I was spoilt rotten by my 2 little munchkins.

The morning started off with Grace creeping in with her pillow under her arm at some ungodly early hour. It was kinda nice though to have her to snuggle up to - she's a great cuddler! Xav woke about 7.30am, so Duane and Grace got up to go get him and sort out the morning fun.

A luke-warm cup of tea was bought up to me to enjoy in bed, I was told that cold toast could also be served up, or we could go out for a lovely breakfast. As appealing as it was to have toast crumbs scattered through my flannelette sheets, I decided on the eating out option.

The kids then excitedly presented me with all my special presents. First there was a colourful macaroni necklace that they had hand painted at playgroup, which also had a great big diamond sparkler taking pride of place in the centre.

~~Taking pride of place hanging on the rear vision mirror~~

Next was a red felt heart that Grace had hand sewn at pre-school, also on it were some beads that she had threaded and sewn on. She had great pleasure in describing how she had made it and that she hadn't done it all by herself, the teachers had helped. With the felt heart there was also another necklace. This one was some autumn leaves that she had collected and threaded into some twine. There was also a card that both kids had made together, with some lovely words written by Daddy.

The last gift at first glance looked like a fold up chair (I was gearing up to act excited), but then after a few moments I realised it wasn't a crappy chair it was in fact a Tripod!! Yippee, I have wanted one for a while. not really sure what to do with it, but I'll definitely look the part!

After presents we headed up to the Grand for breakfast. We had the whole place to our self, so the kids had a ball running amok in the restaurant - sliding down the bannister's and swinging off the rails. Cheeky little monkeys!

I had a decadent breakfast of French toast and caramelised bananas - Yummo! The kids pigged out on poached eggs and way too many babycinno's.

After breakfast we picked up 2 carts and went for a drive around the course. The kids love going to see the cows in the back paddock and also the kangaroos that hang around the bushes.

It was a lovely Mothers Day, the presents were perfect - Of course just being with my beautiful family was the best present ever!

Waiting patiently....

I'm so excited!

One of my best friends is 40 weeks pregnant today and anytime now she is going to meet her baby girl. Her first birth was a caeserian for a low lying placenta, but this one will be a much longed for VBAC and I"M GOING TO BE THERE!!!!!!!

I can't explain how privileged, honoured and excited I am about seeing my very first birth (apart from my own and virtually the whole library on u-tube!)

She is looking gloriously radiant and feeling fantastic, ready for the exhilarating journey of birth and meeting her baby. A vbac is a struggle, but she has fought hard for what she believes is best for her and her baby and I know that she can achieve it. She has changed care providers, from one Ob/hospital who would not "let" (cause yeah, its his body to decide) her even attempt a vbac, to a hospital that does them all the time and is fully supportive. One hospital does what is best for the ob's (convenience, more $$ etc) and the other wants what is best for the Mum and Bub, using evidence based practice not scare mongering.

The anticipation of labour commencing must be strange for her though, her first child was born at 38 weeks with not one hint of labour. She is eagerly waiting for her first sign that the birth dance has started, and I am permanently attached to my mobile waiting for the call! My bags are packed and the MIL is on high alert to come when called to look after the kids.

I'm wishing for her a beautiful, empowering birth, where hopefully the baby comes out the natural exit. A vbac does have a risk of repeat c/s, but the hospital has a great c/s policy. I know that Nicole desperately wants a Vbac, and the thought of another c/s motivates that more, but if it was necessary and she has control in how it was handled she will be ok.

I'll be making sure that if there is a choice to how things are done, they are done for the better of Nicole - not to make any one else's job easier. I'll do everything I can to make keep her birth space protected and making sure that everything that happens is done out of informed consent.

What everyone should have hey!

Best piece of advice I could ever give to anyone to gain correct information:

BRAN - remember it.

B - What are the benefits?
R - What are the risks?
A - What are the alternatives?
N - What if we do nothing?

By using the above you are given the whole picture. It's your right to make an informed choice, but sometimes all the options aren't given. By keeping the above in mind, it's easier to remember what to ask and to make a choice based on everything.

Anzac weekend

What a fantastic long weekend we have had. Even though today wasn't officially a public holiday, Duane's work offered all the employees the option of taking Friday or Monday off. He wasn't going to choose the Monday as that's the day that Grace goes to Pre-school, but as luck would have it, her school day has changed to a Tuesday. I always wanted her to go of a Tuesday (Mondays = a gazillion public holidays), so it worked out perfectly in the end.

Saturday morning we had a lovely breakfast outside of pancakes and cereal. We then headed to one of the local schools as they were having a car boot sale. I picked up a few bargains - a set of Tupperware icy-pole makers and also a set of walkie talkie for the kids. The kids have had so much fun with them already, although coordinating pressing the buttons and talking at the same time may take a while to master!

We then headed over to the Anzac day March and service in Nerang. I was hoping to get to a Dawn service this year, but the thought of waking the kids so early and then having them cranky all day was enough to squash that idea, so a 10am service was the compromise. Maybe next year we'll aim for the service on the beach at Currumbin.

The kids released some energy at the playground as we waited for the march to begin. Once we realised it was about to start we headed up the road to get a good vantage point. I found the most perfect spot. It was elevated, shaded and plenty of room for the kids to run around without annoying anyone. For a while it was just us, until EVERYONE else realised what prime position we had found. We watched as everyone marched, the kids clapping and waving their Australia flags high and proud. I wiped away a few tears as I thought about what a lot of them had been through and also thought about all the stories my dear old Pop had told me.

I don't believe in war at all, but I still want my children to understand about our history and how so many people were sacrificed doing what they thought was best for our country. Its a part of the worlds history, and unfortunately in some parts of the world its still going on. I hope one day that there will be no diggers left to march, but I highly doubt it. War will always go on and we will keep loosing precious husbands, wives, children and friends.

After the march we headed down to the RSL for the service. The kids were fantastic for most of it, only starting to get ratty towards the end. Xav did yell out "Oh, Uh" very loudly during the last post, but apart from that they were perfect. We headed off towards the end of the service, hoping to avoid the stampede back to the cars.

We headed home for a rest and then spent the afternoon pottering around the garden. We had bought some eco-wood on Friday for our veggie gardens. I had searched everywhere for treated timber sleepers that weren't treated with the nasty arsenic. Finally I found some available at the treatment plant, and the best bit was they were only $10 each! Perfect, so we bought 6! Duane nailed them all together and then levelled out the ground to put them on. So now I have 3 nice raised garden beds ready for my veggie crops to go in.

Sunday was a lazy morning. We finished off the veggie gardens and tidied up the front yard. In the afternoon we headed up to Duane's work so the kids could see all the animals that come out of an afternoon. It was nice and peaceful up there, so we took 2 golf carts out on the course and went looking fro wildlife. We found lots of kangaroos, ducks, wallabies and rabbits. The kids love sitting on our knees pretending to drive the carts, and having races with each other.

Easter 2009

Well Easter is over and done with and thankfully there weren't too many sugar induced tantrums or meltdowns.

The day started with a little girl stumbling into our room at some ungodly hour in the morning and a little boy staggering in about 7am.

Duane's parents were coming up at 7.30am for breakfast, so we all huddled in our bedroom so that none of the Easter surprises were revealed too early. Once the Il's had arrived, I did a double check to make sure that Easter Bunny had put everything in the right place and had taken a bite of the carrot that they kids had excitedly left out. Everything was good to go so we released the children.

Grace was overwhelmed with excitement, desperately wanting to go back into her room to check if Easter Bunny had been. We had been using him as a bribe for the last few weeks. Telling her that he was coming every night to check if she was in her bed or not, if she didn't stay in her bed he wouldn't know that she was here and wouldn't leave anything for her on Easter morning. She did suggest that he could just look in our room and see her there, so then we had to explain that the Easter Bunny doesn't go into Mummy & Daddies room because they are adults and he doesn't leave presents for them. It worked most of the time, not sure what bribe to use once the whole Easter incentive is over though!!

The kids hurried into Grace's room and found a letter from Easter Bunny telling them to grab there baskets (we had made them at playgroup that week) as they were going on a hunt! There were clues leading all over the backyard and inside the house. Grace hunted away, eagerly searching for the next written clue. Xav was keeping up the rear, still not really sure what was happening but excited to be involved.

They were directed from the kitchen to the bedrooms, out the front and out the back. The last clue lead them out to the letter box where Eater Bunny had left the big finale. 4 hollow eggs for each of the kids and a new toothbrush each (conscientious Bunny that he is!) and strict instructions to brush after any chocolate consumption. Mum and Dad weren't left out either, they each were left a Lindt Bunny - Yum!


The kids also received a Lindt Bunny from the grandparents and some socks from Nanny in Tas. Happiness all round.


The kids were over the moon with their loot and eager to rip off the bright shiny packaging and devour the white chocolaty goodness. Easter Bunny had just been reading about the ethics of the cocoa trade and therefore was only leaving White chocolate this year.

Damn Internet and it's information.

After stuffing their faces with chocolate, we all headed out the back for a great big pancake breakfast.



The rest of the morning was spent relaxing and then a nice big afternoon snooze. The afternoon and evening were spent at the Dews with the Truets, enjoying a nice dinner together. The kids had a few more Easter treats and had fun playing together, then it was time to head home and crash after such a fun filled day. Also time for Mummy and Daddy to enjoy their special treat from the Easter bunny.

Xav is 21 months

~~After his 2nd ever haircut - a little prison like?~~

Holy Crapola, my sweet little baby boy is 21 months and you know what that means? We don't have much longer talking in "months", soon he will be 2 and then it's all about the years. I am finding it really hard to believe that I have a 3 y/o and a nearly 2 y/o - No babies in the house is just strange! Well until cluckiness overcomes me and I MUST.HAVE.ONE. Hopefully that's not for a few years though, I'm really enjoying having 2 older kids.

Anyway, Back to Xav.

He's such a cheeky little ratbag, who makes me laugh all day long. I am so in love with this little boy and all his mischievous ways, he is just trouble wrapped up in a cute little package.

He loves his food, driving us all batty with his constant requests for more. If he wants some thing to eat now he comes and drags me by the hand to the pantry or fridge asking "Mum, more" He is such a great eater and eagerly gobbles up most things that we give him. He has inherited his big sisters connoisseur tastes and enjoys olives straight from the jar, feta, seaweed sheets and frozen peas and corn (straight from the freezer!) The kids still think that sushi is a treat and they both love getting their special avocado sushi whenever we go shopping.

Xav is going great guns at feeding himself and is a master at the spoon and fork. He's just starting using his knife but still finding it a bit hard to cut things himself. He insists on trying though and WILL NOT let us cut any of his food up for him until he has given it a good shot, then defeated, asks us to cut it up. He has a few funny quirks in regards to food which sometimes makes life interesting. He insists on peeling his own bananas, which is fine EXCEPT he will then not eat it if it is broken. DO you know how hard it is for a 1 y/o to peel a banana and for it not to snap? Consequently I am handed lots of broken bananas to eat!

Toilet training is still going great. Xav always tells us if he needs to poo, but not always remembering when he needs to wee. He generally has a wee accident every second day, usually when I have forgotten to take him or if he is engrossed in playing. I'm not fussed about that though, he'll eventually not have any. He sometime wakes of a night and asks to go to the toilet, which is amazing. The next morning he'll wake with a dry nappy, but I find it a little crazy to think that he wants to night train so I'll keep the nappies on! We did have our first wee accident out last week. Poor little Xav was excitedly looking at the matchbox cars in Coles, picking out one for his Daddy to buy. Must have been a bit much for him though, cause then he looked down and a puddle started forming at his feet. I was in the aisle over getting my magazine fix when Duane yelled out for me to come over. Duane was horrified and as he was too embarrassed to tell the staff he sent me to go organise a mop and bucket. I just laughed, I'm sure they get it all the time.

Xav loves pretend play. He's constantly emptying out boxes or dragging out my washing baskets and pretending that they are cars. I'll often hear him chatting away to himself and then realise that he has made a pretend pool and is "splashing" in the water. He is always making food and drinks for me in the kitchen, rushing over with cups of tea or plates of toast or cake.

He loves jumping and often sets up the lounge room into a big jumping arena! Climbing up on the top of the couch and launching himself into a pile of cushions is one of his favourite pass times. He has recently discovered the joy of match box cars, something that his Daddy is very excited and proud of. Duane LOVED his cars as a child and has kept a few of his favorites to pass on to his son. Xav has a small suitcase of cars already and loves zooming them around everywhere. He pushes them around the floor, over the couch, up the windows and over the top of my computer moniter. His favourite though is to drive his cars up our legs and through our hair or over my back.

Xav is starting to put lots of words together, there is still a little pause between them, but I'm sure he's not too far away from bigger sentences. He is very interested in letters and constantly points out the letter A and B when he sees them. He can repeat back most of the alphabet, and can spell BABY, DADDY and CAR with a little help. He loves reading books and if given the chance will sit on the toilet for ages flicking through one. I often find him sitting near the book shelf deeply engrossed in a favourite book. He can point out everything in the picture books, except of course if Trudy is around. For some strange reason when she is around he plays dumb and will not say anything apart from "DA". Funny little boy her is!

Xav has been relatively easy as a toddler but I think that's soon to end. I forgot about the problems that occur on the way to turning 2, but he has given me a few reminders. I forgot about the tantrums, the frustration and the 2 y/o ego.

A 2y/o doesn't scare me though - I've got a 3 y/o!

Little boys are just delicious!

Why, oh why didn't somebody tell me this ages ago? Could have saved a lot of drama in the car on the way home from my 20 week scan when I was pregnant with Xav.

I'd just found out that my baby was a boy, but I was so upset as I desperately wanted another little girl. I wanted Grace to have the sister that I never had - instead of being surrounded by "stinky" boys I wanted my own little clan of sweet girls. In my selfishness it was all about the gorgeous girl clothes that would remain at the bottom of Grace's wardrobe - boys clothes were so b.o.r.i.n.g!

It took me a few weeks to embrace the idea of having a little boy, I mean the deed was done there was no other option. Still I grieved the idea of my baby girl but slowly started to get nervous and excited about my baby boy.

Now, I couldn't think of anything better. Little boys are just so scrumptious, especially my little munchkin.

He is a perfect mix of softness and exuberance. I love nothing more than listening to his adoring voice as he calls out to me, "Mum-ma, Mum-ma", he yells as he scans the room looking for me. My heart fills when he runs up asking for a "cuggle" (he's latest adorable work for cuddle!!) and then wraps his soft, warm arms around me lovingly. He rests his head on my shoulder, tapping my back tenderly as we embrace.

His beautiful dark eyelashes that fall and flutter on to the most delicate, pale white skin. His perfect little cherry red lips as they kiss me lightly on the cheek or pucker up to give his beloved big sister a big slobbery wet one.

Ever since he weaned he has spent every night in his bed, but I crave the warm overnight cuddles with my youngest baby. He's been in a toddler bed for the last week and he's settled into it nicely, but the first few nights he woke up, which was perfect for me as he got to spend the rest of the night snuggled up to his Mummy. It was only a temporary arrangement though as he got comfortable sleeping in the big bed and hasn't woke since. It was a lovely reminder of his baby days though, where he spent most of the night curled under my arm.

I love, love, love this age though. Xav is so much fun and such a joy to be around. I treasure the rare moments that we get alone, it's not often enough. He loves being nestled on my knee and reading his favourite books or having chats whilst lazing around on our bed. He has a brilliant imagination and loves pretending to do so many things. He loves turning boxes into cars, playing shops with his big sister and cranking up the stereo and crazy dancing.

He is such a precious easy going little soul - something that I could never have imagined back in his first year. He wasn't the easiest baby but has grown into such a delightful toddler.

Will he ever understand how captivated I am with him? Will I ever be able to explain the love I have for him?

Xav, your my sweet little baby boy and I adore you.

2009 Beach Holiday

Well we are all home safe (just!) from our week long sojourn to the beautiful Brunswick Heads. We hired a large beach house with a quiet surf beach to the front, river out the back and little kids swimming bay a short stroll away. It was a perfect location, with plenty to occupy everyone.
The house was large enough to fit everyone in comfortably, a huge deck for the kids to run amok on and all the modern day mod-cons so we weren't "roughing" it. Perfect.

Out of the 7 days we had only nice beach weather for 4 of them. The other 3 were very dreary and rain filled. There was constant news updates about possible flash flooding and heavy rain fall, meaning lots of calls from the mil to see if we needed "rescuing" or not (she's a little over dramatic!) Those days SUCKED though, being stuck in a house with limited resources to amuse the kids.

The first few days were spent at the beach having an awesome time. There was lots of paddling in the clear shallow water and plenty of extravegant sand castle building. I'm sure that some of them would have passed strict council approval - they were THAT awesome. The kids wore them self out, allowing everyone to head back to the house for lunch and afternoon sleeps. The afternoons were once again spent at the beach, with sweet little kids running around naked or in their undies. We figured that since it was after 4pm and all swimming gear was still wet and sandy from the morning session, we'd let the kidlets gets their daily dose of Vitamin D. So cute to watch the kids frolick about al nudie rudie! Plenty of bare bottoms to get my daily smack quota!

On the first day of rain the women made an executive decision to leave the men in charge of the offspring whilst we headed in for a lesuirly day at Byron Bay. Sounds nice hey? Well Byron isn't all that pretty on a grey, dull pissing down with rain day. There is no where to go except dodging in and out of very cool shops or sitting around sipping organic skinny chai lattes. Well after getting absolutely saturated with option 1, we decided to join the high flying cafe society and do a bit of cafe hopping.

A beautiful waft of Indian Curry was in the air, but as much as we tried to hunt down where it was coming from, it couldn't be found. We settled on an old favourite where we knew we wouldn't be disappointed. We chatted whilst stuffing our faces on over-sized vegie quiches, gigantic BLT's and huge servings of toasted turkish bread. It was all so yummy and had us groaning from being so full. After that we headed for a stroll around, but soon enough the pregnancy moaning started. "My feet hurt"......"The baaaabbbbyyyy wants desert" "Blah, blah blah" I'm kidding and anyway, I barely needed any convincing that dessert was a good and viable option!

We found a beautiful little cafe, with a very arrogant French waiter, right on the main beach at Byron. Pity the weather was so bad that we couldn't even enjoy the view, let alone see the water through all the rainfall. So again we sat and chatted, this time over chai Latte's, sticky date pudding and the most boring muffin in the history of muffins.

So by now we were completely soaked, but not uncomfortable enough to actually want to return to the husbands and kids. Hell no, there were better things to do. So we headed to the movies - sandy mexican rug and all. We watched Slumdog millionaire, which was a little depressing at times but overall a good watch. Could have done without the frequent wafts of the smelly chemist shoes though. Trudy was on to it and offered some spray deodorant, which after pissing ourself laughing for ages, we got to enjoy the chemical & synthetic aroma. (Ok, we didn't just tell some random that she smelt, it was a "had to be there joke!")

It seems that the boys coped quite well being cooped up in the house with the kids. Apparently the adults had fun playing indoor cricket whilst the kids watched. Kids amusing kids.

The next day was just a little overcast, not enough to keep us from the beach. The kids all had a blast paddling in the shallow water and taking turns on being dragged through the white wash on the body board. I decided to revisit my youth and have a try again at surfing. Last time I tried I took out my front tooth on a dirty great big malibu board, I was hoping this time would be less dramatic. Loic pushed me on to a few waves, I never got to stand but it was still a blast. Came out of it teeth intact, so that's a bonus.

Chelse came down for the day with her kidlets,and also Amanda, Emily and Julie. We had a big lunch of calamari and hand-cut chips. It would have to be the best fish and chips that I have ever had, hence the reason we had it about 5 times on the whole trip. Cholesteral or kidney problems anyone?? Sorry kids for the lack of nutrition, but we NEEDED it. Next week it will be back to healthy food options.

Wednesday was also a fine day, so the Dad's got some more bonding time with the kids whilst Nicole and I headed off to her Ob appt. By the afternoon the weather warnings were starting to come and you could feel it in the air that things were about to change. After the kids were in bed, the adults retreated to the deck for a few drinkies and some adult conversation. About this time my bottom right molars started aching. It got progressively worse, so I took some panadol washed down with some of Loic's special cocktail mix. The pain was numbed a little, and a mixture of the panadol, alcohol and tiredness allowed me to fall asleep.

The next day I was till in so much pain, so my lovely husband pulled a few strings and got me into a Dentist golfer friend that he has in Byron Bay. A quick look at it, then a few x-rays and we had a diagnosis. Seems that I have a large cyst under the molars, which potentially has been there since I had all the trouble with my wisdom tooth. Apparently the cyst would have been growing under my wisdom tooth (hence all the pain at the time) and should have been removed at the same time. Instead it has stayed there, flared up a few times and then made it's painful appearance again this week. This all explains the long lasting of the pain even after the wisdom tooth was removed, the sensitivity in my jaw for ages and most likely why the anaesthetic didn't take the first time. The Dentist also thinks that the cyst has caused some nerve damage and I am most likely looking at 2 root canals if I want to avoid further pain and keep the 2 molars. Other option is to have 1 ripped out then see how it goes and maybe have the other one out too. I'm most likely going to go with option b, root canals are expensive (around $7000 for the 2 and we have no private insurance) and also I've had a root canal before and they are not the most enjoyable way to spend your day. I have a referral for a jaw person on the coast, but I can't get anything done until the antibiotics are finished and the infection has cleared up. Hopefully I can get 1 of the teeth pulled next week.

Oh, and after visiting the dentist on the Thursday the pain was becoming unbearable. I tolerated it all day, alternating between ipuprofen and panadol. Come night time though I was ready to wack myself over the head with a bat of nails. I dosed myself up on prodeine (panadol and a small amount of codeine) and tried to sleep. Little bit hard though with a jaw that feels like its being slowly split open with a blunt knife. The pain was going with my heartbeat, and none of the drugs were even taking the edge off. I tried everything. I just needed to sleep, hoping that if I got into a deep enough sleep I would be fine. I tried to mentally switch off the pain, then I tried visualising the tooth being extracted and all the infection being sucked out. Nothing worked and the pain seems to be getting worse, radiating up my jaw and into my ears. In desperation I took another lot of pain killers and waited for half hour, but still there was no relief. I was in tears by this stage and didn't think that there was anyway I would make it through the night. I called 13Health and after explaining everything to the nurse she suggested that I went to emergency to get something stronger, so at 11.30pm Duane & I headed off to Mullumbimby Hospital to GET.THE.DRUGS.

It's a small hospital, not much happening - so I was lucky to not have to wait and got straight in. The first nurse that saw me was an absolute cow, telling me that there is nothing that can be done and shoved us into a room with barely a grunt. By this stage the effects of the painkillers were starting to kick in, not helping my tooth at all but making me very tired and my whole body feel cotton-woolly and hazy. I filled out the forms, then the Dr came to check me out. My jaw had started to swell and all my gums were red and inflamed. He acknowledged that it would have been very painful and that hopefully the a/b's would kick in soon. He gave me some topical anaesthetic (which was BRILLIANT!), some stronger anti-inflammatory and some panadeine Forte. Now I don't normally handle codeine very well, but be damned if that was going to stop me downing these one. I was desperate for the pain to dull.

So after strict instruction not to take any of the panadeine for 4 hours, we were sent on out merry way. One of the nurses walked us to the door, then turned to me and said, "We have a great birthing suite here, you know" It was a strange thing to say considering she knew from going through all the questions with me that I wasn't pregnant and that I had 2 young children. I said to her that I had both my children at the Gold Coast Hospital, 1 at the Birth Centre. She then said, "But here you could have a waterbirth" I told her that I actually did have one for my son, then asked her if she was a midwife. She said she was, then I said that I was hopefully starting school next year to become one. She smiled then said, "Good, we need more midwives". It was just a funny moment, and so random that she even mentioned the birthing suite. It's certainly somewhere that I could imagine myself living, so maybe in the big scheme of things she was there to plant the seed for me? Maybe later on in life I will be working at the Mullumbimby Hospital?

So the rest of the trip was me drugged up to the eyeballs. The weather remained being crappy, which meant that we had to amuse the kids inside. We ended up packing up and heading home 1 night earlier than we planned.

It was a great holiday though. Nice to get away with some great friends and enjoy our families together. The kids all had a ball playing together and the parents all had a relaxing break.

I have heaps of pic's of the trip, but realised that most of the ones I took the kiddies are nudie. I'll try to find some modest ones:

~~I don't want my photo taken AGAIN!!!~~