Prick Me Once....

Dear YouKnowWhoYouAre ( and if you dont you ought to ),

What happened? I know what you tell me happened - you said that i " changed ", though you couldnt pinpoint where or when. You said that i became different, the sort of different that you didnt like; that i started becoming arrogant, like i was better than everyone else. Thats what you say, anyway. Truth be told, i think your husband has been in your ear - i always liked him, i thought he was a great guy, but after our little episode i now think he's not a nice person at all.

So tell me the truth - did your husband convince you of my supposed transformation, or was it a conclusion you came to yourself? And if it is something you personally witnessed, could you please let me know when, and where and how? Because even now, more than a year after you confessed how much you didnt like me anymore, every word you said still hurts because i still have no idea what your talking about. Best as i can understand is that around the time i came out of the black cloud of depression i developed more self-confidence - i wasnt just the sad clown, funny-but-single best friend anymore. I had found a little personal happiness, something i was proud of and wanted to boast about. I was overcoming my demons and i wanted to shout that to the world. I would have thought you would have been happy about this, ecstatic that i'd found some kind of inner peace - instead, i think this is the "arrogance " you ( or he ) are referring to. I wasnt just content to sit in the background and be only your personal cheerleader anymore.... i was being the leader of my own cheer squad for a change. Maybe, just maybe, this left you out of my limelight for a little while and YOU DIDNT LIKE IT. You know, not being the centre of attention.

We have a strained relationship now, and its killing me. We both have little bubbas and we had always said that our children would be like siblings. Not so much. After your outburst, which i took with a grain of salt and without airing my own grievances with you ( not that i had many, and those which i had were so insignificant when compared with what i perceived to be the depth of our friendship... ), we still catch up but only once every month or so; if we run into each other in the supermarket its polite chit-chat about our babies and how busy we are, not a " hey, lets grab a coffee! " like before; and your husband barely says hello, let alone sits and has a conversation with me like we used to do. I'm sure he looks down his nose at my fiance, because he has a better, higher paid, better educated job, because you two are married and we are not. If anyone thinks they are better than anyone else, it is, dare i say, your hypocritical husband.

This has needed saying for a while, and rather than say it to you and risk the immediate end of our friendship, i've chosen to release my hurt to the virtual universe and let our relationship run its natural course. Whether it sinks or swim may be out of our hands and in those of the Fates, all i know is i've done all that i can to help it limp along and i'll be damned if i'll let it be dragged down by more ill words. Will you do the same?

Yours - hopefully,
Your ( Former? Probably. Seems Like Thats How You Want It ) Best Friend.

An Important Victory

So - i've had a muy crappy weekend. Our roadtrip to Mick's brothers didnt go too badly, but Mick spent the majority of his time out in the yard working on his car alongside his brother, my SIL had all her housework to do, and they live in a town in the middle of nowhere ( population approximately, umm, about 35 ) - consequently i spent all of the weekend with Flynn attached to me and four other small children asking me 10 million questions and getting right up in Flynns face. Oh, and dont forget the ( continued ) stomach bug that saw me spend quality time with the toilet, the sore left boob which isnt co-operating with the whole weaning thing and feels like i have a leaking brick in my bra, and the fact that i havent had time to shave my legs for two weeks which is making me feel decidely unfeminine.

But forget all that - today is a new day, and the start of a new week! Which, after last weekends fever that saw me take Mr Flynn to the hospital ( over 39 degrees after Nurofen, diagnosed as a viral infection... ) and subsequent week of irritiability, clinginess and only going to sleep if someone was touching him ( which means he was back in our bed again ) means.... the reimplimentation of Project Sleepy-time. I'd call it OST Mach 3, but it isnt really Mach 3 - its the same thing i was doing before, i just need to get Flynn back into the rhthym of it, after his bad, bad, BAD week. And i've won an important victory - i've managed to get him to fall asleep in his own bed for his nap this morning, and it only took 2 attempts and a combined 1 hour, 10 minutes to do it! Hurray for me! I'm hoping that means his afternoon nap will be a little easier, and that he'll get the hint and sleep in his own bed tonight. Last night was so not comfortable with two small feet in my back and the aforementioned swollen,leaking, brick boob in front.

And thank you to the few of you who offered suggestions for breaking my bloggers block. I've taken them on board and will probably blog about all of them. I'll need to think for a while on a few of them ( ahem, that means the guide to Australian-ness Paula ) and there is one that is long overdue.
Yes, an update on Operation Slimdown has been a long time coming. Truth be told i've been putting it off because the whole Operation was not having much success. However, after a few weeks of Zumba class i've noticed that my pants are fitting more comfortably and hell, after the weekends stomach bug, i may just have lost a kilo or two down the toilet *....

*TMI ? Yes. True? Probably. The only postive to contracting a stomach bug? Absolutely.

Friday Flip Offs Time

Time again for Friday Flip Offs, brought to you by Gigi over at KludgyMom. Seeing as i'm not feeling to good tonight, lets make this quick:

To whatever bug i happen to have right now - my stomach is aching and is tied up in knots. I have not appreciated having to run to the toilet umpteen bloody times today, on top of only having 2 hours sleep last night with a fussy baby-child. Also, the muscle pain in my back and legs is not doing me any favours. I have to take a 3 hour roadtrip out to my brother-in-laws tomorrow so if you could see fit to bugger right off overnight ( otherwise we'll need to stop at every dodgy rest stop in every small town on the way, which would make it more like a 4 hour road trip ... ) that would be great. Take your germy, bug-gy self and FLIP OFF!

To the blonde girl in front of me at Zumba -  you're lucky i didnt grab you by your ponytail and kick you up the arse. You werent a "young " girl so you should have known better but pointing and laughing at the lady with Downs Syndrome at the front of the class is so not cool. So what if she isnt totally co-ordinated or in time with the instructor? She's there, she's having fun and she's giving the whole Zumba thing a go, so i say good on her and spit on you for being so juvenile as to make fun of her with your friend. Grow the fork up, wipe that stupid grin off your face, do the class with a semblance of maturity or FLIP OFF!

To the weather - seriously, you could fine up a bit? Three weeks of constant rain and/or cold weather is dragging me down. I cant take Flynn out for a walk, i have to run my heater all day which is costing me big monies in electricity bills and i just want to be able to get some sun on my skin. Next week is the official start of spring so take the cue and get your sunshine on. Rain, cold, wind - FLIP OFF!

Feeling So Blahhhhhh.....

I have totally been hit by bloggers block. And my timing couldnt be worse - just as Blog This! has me as a featured blogger and i've totally run out of things to say. ( If you're visiting here from Blog This! i'm not usually this dull. Please check back next week and i promise i'll have come up with something ). I mean, there are a few rant-ish type things i could say but i'm saving those for Friday Flip Offs, and a few things happening with Mr Flynn but i dont much feel like doing a Mummy post this week.

Which has left me with nada. Bubkiss. Zilch. So i'm turning it over to you - what do you want me to write about ? Are there any burning questions you want to ask me? Give me a hand here people!

Meet Me...

.... over at Blog This! Thats right, this week I am the featured blogger over at Blog This! so head on over here at check out my feature interview ( and the way cute picture of me and Flynny ).
Also, if you're an Australian blogger and you dont yet belong to Blog This! consider joining up. If you've been a follower of my blog for a while you'd have noticed that i do a Blog This! challenge almost weekly - its fun, and its an easier way to beat bloggers block. Plus, there is always the chance that your post will win in the weekly poll. Sure, you dont get any physical prize, but you get the honor of knowing that people loved what you wrote.



I'm a Blog This memberinspiring and connecting with Australian Bloggers.



So thanks for featuring me Blog This! and thanks helping make my blog what it is...

Friday Flip Offs - Again

Hello again reader people. Welcome to Friday, and therefore, Friday Flip Offs, brough to you by Gigi over at KludgyMom.

To teeth - you are just not nice. I'm not talking about to me ( i already have my teeth ) but to little Flynny. He's been teething again the last few weeks and you hadnt been too bad but today? My poor little fella had a fever, bright red puffy cheeks and went off his food. What he did eat got thrown up again. He's in bed asleep for the night now - or part of the night anyway - so you had better be nicer to him in the morning. Ideally, you should have broken through by morning or you can just FLIP OFF!

To my mattress -  i dont think i like you anymore. I used to love you - LOVE you. Being snuggled up in bed, either reading or asleep, was the best place to be on a rainy afternoon. But lately you've changed, and i'm tired of waking up with a sore back and/or sore hips. Its not cool, mattress, not cool. Tomorrow Mick are going to flip you over and hopefully that will work and you'll be my old, trusty, comfy mattress again. If you're still no good after the flip? Well you'll just have to FLIP OFF!

To the family day care carer that i called today - i rang regarding a place for Flynn to go when i got back to work. I gotta say, you didnt impress me. I didnt like your tone when you said " well, listen , i only work til 4pm " ( i need care til at least 5:15pm ) and then you said my son is going to have to conform to YOUR sleep routine? Yea, apparently babies with their only sleep routines aren't convenient to you, and he'll just have to learn to have one nap a day, starting at 12 noon, and he'll need to stay asleep for 2 hours. WTF? I thought part of the family day care philosophy was that you try and stick with the babies own routines as best you can and, aside from that, why would i risk screwing up the rest his routines annd night time sleep, just because you want to eat your lunch and do bookwork at the same time every day. Uninterrupted. Sounds to me like your in the wrong job. And, by the by, if you finish at 4pm you can do your bookwork when the kids go home. Because of our 5 minute phone call, i'm not even going to bother with a face to face interview. You're not the right carer for my son so you can just FLIP OFF!

Lamb - and Zombies?

So - i'm not sure if i've mentioned this before, but i love reading. I love being able to sit down after my dinner, after Flynn has gone to sleep, after Mick and I have caught up on each others days, and get in half an hour with a good book. When i had my time entirely to myself, i was known to be able to curl up with a book and finish it over one weekend. I'm not sure where i got this love from - my mum doesnt read much and my dad keeps professing ( tongue in cheek ) that reading and books are stupid.

All that aside, i just had to tell you about the last two books i've read - neither are remotely related, but both were entirely awesome. First up we have " The Hour I First Believed " by Wally Lamb:

I'd read Wally's two previous books - which is what recommended me to this one in the first place - but i wasnt quite prepared for the emotional shock to the system this book would have on me. Its uses the real life event of the Columbine High shootings as the cornerstone of one mans search for what is " real " in his  life - facing the lies of his past, the pain of his present and the unknown of his future. I'll admit that the last few chapters of this book had me in tears and i dont remember any other booking ever having that physical effect on me before. The weight of the themes in this book was heavy indeed, but left me feeling so much lighter for having shared the protagonists journey.

In contrast, i've just this morning finished " Pride and Prejudice and Zombies " by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.

                                                            

This was too awesome. The original " Pride and Prejudice " is the quintessential literary classic that everyone feels like they should read, or should have read, or has lied about reading ( truth be told, i've read it, own it and love it ) so when i finally got the chance to read this mash up of classic Austen and zombies, i jumped at the chance. Verdict? Its like the original " Pride and Prejuice " only blood-thirstier. Which is to say that it retains all the charm of the original story, the same witty banter between characters, the same fiesty tomboy-ish Elizabeth and same haughty Mr Darcy - only most of the characters are trained in martial arts and kill the undead in their spare time. Far from detracting from the original story, i think anyone who has attempted Austen's version and found it too " old fashioned " to get through might enjoy this zombified version, and might want to give the old version a second shot. And whats even better ? I hear its being made into a movie!

So what about you all? Are you big readers, and can you recommend any good reads?

To Boob Or Not To Boob?

That is the question. See, i think the days of sharing boobies with my beautiful, hungry bubba are coming to an end. Flynn just isnt showing much interest in boobies anymore ( unless you count the lingerie sale ad that played every ad break for like a week - his head snapped to attention every time that ad came on. Typical male ). Thats right - we're weaning here in the New Adventures household, and i think i have mixed feelings about it.

He's already got the perfect Vegemite eating technique downpat...

We started our mushy, messy adventure into solids around 3 months ago so breastfeeds have been steadily decreasing for a while. From birth, my boy had been a big lover of the boob - it was 2 hourly feeds during the day, and one or two at night, depending on whether he woke or not. That was equivalent to around 10 a day. I was firmly in dairy cow territory - it felt like a baby was permanently stuck to my breast and i was never, ever, ever going to be able to get him off or be able to go anywhere alone, ever again. Now? My little boy is having 3 meals of solids a day and usually 3-4 milk feeds. Only two of which ( on a good day ) are breastfeeds. After 6 weeks or so of trying, I've finally managed to get Flynn to take a bottle. A bottle you say? But i thought you were so pro-breastfeeding Amy? Well yes, i am, but the need to return to work ( and i mean need - if my bank account weren't hovering so close to a zero balance i would love to stay home... ) means i can't breastfeed during the day, and the decline in breastfeeding means i cant express enough booby juice - so its a formula bottle feed, twice a day at the very least. Happily, my community health nurse informs that he is now old enough to start drinking cows milk, so i dont have to buy expensive formula anymore!

So - i'm not sure how i feel about this whole weaning thing. I wanted him to start taking a bottle, needed him to do it so we didnt have any difficulties when we started daycare, but i didnt think he'd so easily drop his prior enthusiasm for booby-time. On one hand i love, love, love that it means i can have a little independence back - that i can have a morning sleep-in now that he doesnt need a breastfeed upon waking; that i could leave him with his Grandma and Poppy so i can have a haircut/eyebrow wax/go to the movies, without having to worry that my 2 hours of freedom before the next breastfeed is almost up; that i can spend the day at home with him without feeling like his own personal milk machine.

On the other hand, i'm going to miss the intimacy of breastfeeding. I love being able to look down at his fat little hand resting on my booby, his chubby little belly snuggled into me, and wondering at what Mick and I have created. I've found that i'm trying to keep that closeness while he has a bottle - i lean down and kiss his head, or stroke his arm or tickle his feet. I'm going to relish my freedom no doubt, but i'm going to mourn for that close breastfeeding bond.

So we're pretty much down to one, long, proper breastfeed a day - which happens to be in the middle of the night. When Flynn starts sleeping through again ( which i'm praying for ) that feed will be gone too. My baby is growing up! So how about you guys  ladies? How did you feel when your bubbas left the booby?

The Gift of Life?

I'm just going to put it out there : organ donation. Will you or wont you? It seems like organ donation has been a hot topic in my little sphere the last few days, and it prompted me to thinking.

So will you or wont you ? For the record, I am on the Australian Organ Donor Registry as wanting to be an organ donor in the event of my death - i'll donate everything but my corneas ( which face it, arent all that good to me, so they arent really going to be much use to anyone else). Heart, liver, lungs, kidneys... whatever i have that will help, they can take. I might save one life, or half a dozen; all i know is that i'm not going to need my organs where i'm going ( wherever that may be ) so i'd like for them to help someone else live a good life. So, my mind is pretty much made up on the subject - in regards to myself. What got me to thinking was a Facebook status update from one of my friends, saying that everyone in her family was on the Registry. She confirmed for me, yes - even her kids. Her kids? She'd already made that decision? I wondered if i could do the same.

My son is only 7 and half months old - i dont even want to entertain the idea of having to give his organs away. In truth, i dont think i could i do what my friend has done. I dont think i could make that kind of decision without being in need of HAVING to make it. And, if i'm honest, i dont know that i would be able to give the doctors a "yes" if, and when, they asked.

Its fine for me to be happy to donate my own organs, but somehow its different when considering my baby. I know that theoretically my gorgeous son would be helping to save the life of another beautiful baby, someone elses pride and joy. But i dont know whether that thought would outweigh the idea of my baby being disected, his body being desecrated in someway. That might sound drastic, but i think thats how my mind would work, in that kind of situation. However, i wont know for sure until i have to walk in those shoes. Hopefully, i never will.... unlike my parents. For those of you who are not long time readers of this blog, let me elaborate: i had a younger brother, who died Christmas Eve of 1989. He was almost 2 years old, i was almost 6. He was struck, very suddenly, by menigitis and there was just no time ( and no resources in our country town ) to do anything to save him. My parents said no to donating his organs. I do not judge them in anyway for that decision. I know that my brother could have helped save the lives of a handful of other infants, but my parents could not, in the cold light of day, face the thought of having their little boy " chopped up " ( my fathers words not mine ). So, until i face something similar, i reserve the decision of donating my sons organs ( though not Micks - he has chosen not donate ) for a later date.

I like to think that my friend there on Facebook has made a brave decision, but somewhere in the back of my mind i cant help but think, in regards to her children, it may be a little rash. So how about you? Do you intend on donating your organs, and have you made those intentions clear to your loved ones?

Damn You YouTube!

A short note - due to the fact that i told Mick that watching videos on YouTube is entirely free, but did not explain that every video of a tractor pull that you watch adds to our download limit, we are now already over said limit for the month. Why am i telling you this you ask? Firstly to warn you about the evils of YouTube ( although it is also, simultaneously, entirely awesome and thats why you get addicted to it in the first place ) but also to let you know that if i post less in the next two weeks, or comment less on your blogs, it is not because i've fallen into a black hole. No, it is only because my internet connection, having gone over its 3MB per month limit, is now subject to " slowed connection speed " which means i may lose patience with how long it is taking for your page to load and just give up.

Now, please enjoy this picture of a tractor. I may direct Mick to my page and he can stare at this picture as long as he likes, instead of watching endless video of tractor races...

Friday ( the 13th ) Flip Offs

Thank Gawd its Friday - and thank Gigi over at KludgyMom for Friday Flip Offs, that wonderful end to the week where we get to rid ourselves of all our frusturations and annoyances, just in time to enjoy the weekend!

To the cold that developed from last weeks sore throat - screw you man. I told you last week that i knew you were coming and i wasnt too impressed about it, yet you showed up anyway. Because of you i've been snuffling and sneezing and coughing all week and now Flynn is a little snotty-booger too. Oh, and we also had to miss swimming on Monday for the second week in a row. So not happy Cold. So not happy. Why don't you take your disgusting germy self and just FLIP OFF!

To the friend who sent me a text at 10:38pm last night - thanks for waking me up. Apparently you did not remember that i am the mother of a 7 and half month old that has decided it is now time to change sleep patterns and is now waking up 4 times a night - AGAIN - and that, thusly, i need to go to bed early. Also, you apparently thought i would want to see another photo of your arse. Umm, no. So not only did you manage to wake both me and Mick up but it wasnt even for anything important. And the worst part was i'd gone to bed at 9:30pm and had only just managed to get to sleep when you texted me - and then it took me another good 45 minutes to get back to sleep. So i didnt actually get to sleep til around midnight, Flynn woke briefly at 1:15am and then wanted a feed at 3:30am, and wanted to get up for the day at 5:30am. So whats that? About 5 hrs sleep? Which is more than some mums get but if it hadnt been for you, dear friend, and your fishnet clad arse ( thanks for the image by the way ... drinking before you went out, huh ? ) i could have had 6 hrs sleep. Take your stupid photo and your stupid late night text and FLIP OFF!

To the book i borrowed from the library on Wednesday - i managed to read your first 8 pages and then.....i decided you suck. Normally i'm willing to read at least the first chapter but not with you. See your cover appealed to me, and your blurb made you sound interesting, but in those first 8 pages you made so many references to various characters and concepts in your imagined mythology that i was put off by it. You get what i mean? If your going to be a fantasy story - you know, in the vein of, say , " Stardust " or " Harry Potter " you need to either ease your reader into the intricacies of your fantasy world, or write yourself a prologue that explains at least the basics. Just launching into King This, Prince That, this shadowy political entity, that ancient circle of magic blah blah blah.... its just off putting. So, i've put you down after 8 pages and its back to the library with you where you can FLIP OFF!

Frusturations out. Happy Friday the 13th people!

Moving Forward

No, this is not a post in regards to Julia Gillards favourite campaign slogan.*
Rather this is me venting frusturation on behalf of little Flynn and myself. See, my little man has never really enjoyed tummy-time - he downright hated it for a while there - but for the last two or three weeks he has regularly been launching himself onto his belly from a seated position. There he'll lie, on his stomach, legs and arms a-flailing, getting frusturated by the second because, as of yet, he can;t do much else. He can straighten his arms and push up, and he can get his bum up in the air and onto his knees....just not at the same time. I suppose its annoying for him that he can get some little stuff happening but he cant move anywhere. And that is becoming frusturating for me. Why? Because this is the face i'm seeing all throughout the day:

This face and a sad, angry, little moan ( or cry ) which i take to mean " I hate this Mum! I can't go anywhere! Can't you just come pick me up and cuddle me ? " You know, which i'm trying not to do: i'm trying to encourage him to crawl by leaving him there to cry a little, by lying down in front of him and holding my hands out, by putting a toy in front of him that will grab his attention. Nothings working yet. Or rather, nothing is making him go forward - in the past week Flynn's been able to do this little " worm " like thing but only appears to be moving him backwards - which frusturates him more, because he squirms back and back and back until he runs into furniture or a toy or something and gets stuck. I guess i'm wondering - is this normal at 7 and half months?

I've been doing a little research that says most babies start crawling between 6 and 10 months, so its not like Flynn's running late in the crawling department; however, it also says that they'll start crawling soon after learning to sit on their own, and Flynn had that down pat pretty early. He was sitting straight and unsupported at 5 months, so i was assuming that the next milestone would come a little early too. And to even further confuse me - apparently after crawling babies will start to pull themselves up on things. AFTER. Flynn apparently didnt get that memo - if i hold my hands out he'll grab them and pull himself up to standing ( he's been able to do this for a while ) and in the last week and a bit he's started pulling himself up on furniture. He's even started taking small steps towards me after he's pulled himself up, if i leave my hands outstretched. So whats up with that? Could that be a sign my little dude is going to skip crawling all together and just go straight to cruising along the furniture, and then taking those first, awkward, solo steps?

I don't know if i should be concerned, all i do know for sure is that this little fella of mine has me mighty confused about where he's at and where he's going too. Any tips? Anyone with experience similar to this? And is there anyone willing to tell me i'm fussing over nothing and i should just enjoy his immobility before he gets his little self a-moving and starts raiding my kitchen cupboards?

AND JUST A QUICK NOTE: Thanks to Lori at Random Ramblings of a SAHM for helping me with the code for my button. I suck at techy stuff and she was willing to take time out of her busy, 2-children-to-raise, schedule and help me out. Thanks muchly!

* Second note - to all those non-Aussies reading my blog, we're electing a new Prime Minister next weekend. Julia Gillard is one of the candidates ( a red-headed, female candidate - oh my! ) and " Moving Forward " has been her ( rather lame ) campaign slogan...

Sharing A Find

So - after the ranting and raving of my last post i had to find something wonderful and sunshiney to post about today. And, truth be told, i've been holding onto this one for a week or two so i feel like today is the perfect day to share one of my new bloggy finds with you all. Its a change for me - rather than great writing, this one is a great photo blog. So, without further ado, if you havent already found it yourself, i'd like to introduce you to: Mila's Daydreams.

Basically the premise of the blog is that Mila's mum waits until her bubba falls asleep and then tries to guess what her baby is dreaming about, and then creates that dream scenario in a photo ( like that one - Bookworm ). The pictures are just so freaking adorable. I only wish i was creative as this... i think thats why i love this blog so much. If i'm looking for a lift to my day, or just want to get a smile from something sweet ( and someone that isnt my own too sweet bubba... ) i've been heading over to Mila's little space. You should head over too and check out her daydreams for yourself...

Excuse Me While I Rant A While....

What in the freaking hell is wrong with people?
I have come across two news articles in the last two days that have made my blood boil, and made me vigourously shake my head at the gall, insensitivity and stupidity of some people. I'd say " of some humans " but i dont think these examples ( at least in the first story ) can be classified as human.

Why do i say that? Earlier today i was reading the daily news on http://www.ninemsn.com.au/ and read about two small children having acid splashed in their faces. Their mother was just walking them through a carpark when two " youths " just tipped an acid-like liquid off the roof and onto the children, who are now in hospital being treated for chemical burns. Its thought that this was a completely random incident, rather than a deliberate attack... so what in the hell? What kind of person just decided one day " hey, maybe i'll throw acid on someone today ? " It would be wrong enough if it was a revenge attack or something like that, but to just randomly want to throw chemicals at someone? And small children no less? That families life is changed for the negative now. I would assume there will be countless medical procedures, treatments to be kept up at home, and physical deformities that will no doubt see them stared at in public and teased at school. And for what ? So some sadistic arseholes could get their jollies? And the bit that gets me the most is that you know the justic system in Australia will fail these people. If those " youths " happen to be minors they'll cop a year or two in the juvenile system ( at the most ) and then be allowed back into society. Its more likely though they'll get a slap on the wrist, some community service, and made promise not to do it again. It.Makes.Me.Sick.

And on to scum bucket #2 - this Canadian woman who faked cancer so that she could swindle people out of charity money. Thats right, a woman who figured an easy way to make cash and be given free holidays was to fake a serious illness and prey on the sympathies of other people. Cancer is yet to touch the lives of anyone in my immediate family ( thank goodness ) but its universally known that cancer is a horrible illness, that causes much pain and suffering, both to those who are burdened with the disease and their families. Yet somehow this woman thought nothing of shaving her head, plucking her eyebrows right off and losing weight so that she could " benefit " from cancer and the generous charity it would afford her. That a human being could live in this world and know as much about cancer as we do, and STILL scam people in this way is beyond my scope of understanding. She claims she did it not for the money but for the attention, to be noticed. For fucks sake lady, dye your freaking hair! Wear a mini skirt! Do a nudie run around your local mall! Falsifying cancer is a despicable thing to do.

So i guess my basic question is why ? What has happened in society that people are not only coming up with these disgusting ideas, but acting upon them ? And if these are lines people are willing to cross, where does it all stop?

Goof Troop!

Time again for another challenge over at Blog This!. This week is a photographic challenge entitled " Goofing Around ":
Come on! We all do it! Show it, flaunt it!
So, in the spirit of all things goofy, here you go:

Thats my sister and i on our first annual Sisters Day - 2008 i believe. Yep, thats right, we invented our own holiday. We buy each other a present and spend the day together ( if we can ) to celebrate our sisterly type relationship. If you feel ripped off that you havent yet celebrated and you actually have a sister - Sisters Day is on June 15th every year. Go goof troop!

Friday Flip Offs Time

Hello there readers and hello Friday! Time again to release this weeks annoyances into the cyber world and off of my chest ( thanks to Gigi over at KludgyMom ).

To international shipping - you suck. I had the brilliant idea that i could get myself some great summer clothes from the Gap and Old Navy while they were on sale ( you know, seeing as the northern hemisphere is coming into colder weather just in time for me to get my summer clothes ) and due to our awesome echange rate it would be cheaper than buying full price clothes here in Australia. And it was - until we factored in shipping. I had $80 worth of clothes in my basket - a bit for me, a bit for Flynny - and then bam! $64 shipping?! That international shipping flushed my whole idea down the toilet so now i cant have that cute pique polo shirt dress i had my eye on. Screw you international shipping charges. Either get cheaper or FLIP OFF!

To the person who delivers the catalogues in my neighbourhood - or, i should say, the person who USED to deliver the catalogues. I'm one of these people who actually likes getting junk mail and i havent received any for the last 2 weeks. I didnt get the BigW baby sale catalogue that i knew should have been coming and i got nothing this week either. How am i supposed to flip through those flimsy pages and dream about what i would buy if i had the money if you arent going to get those flimsy pages to me. What am i going to have to do - go online? Umm no .... i want my tangible, hold-in-your-hands, mark-the-pages type of catalogue. So get yourself together, get those catalogues folded and into my mailbox or FLIP OFF!

To the sore throat that has developed out of nowhere overnight - get.lost. Seriously, a sore throat is never just a sore throat, it always develops into something else and seeing as i'm breastfeeding and the pharmacists wont let me take any cold/flu medication, i do not need the " something else " you'll develop into. You following me? I don't need you, i don't need the cold and/or flu you will inevitably become and i most certainly don't need you passing yourself onto my fiance or my son. Especially my son - babies with sore throats do not make for good sleep. So take your itchy, scratchy, yucky tasting self and FLIP OFF!

I've Been, I've Seen, I've Zumba-ed!

And yes, this time i mean Zumba, the dance fitness craze, not Adriano Zumbo.

I know you all know what i'm talking about but just in case you dont want to admit to having watched the infomercial a hundred million times here's the rub: Zumba is a Latin-inspired dance/aerobic fitness method, created by a Colombian trainer/coreographer back in the 90's. There is an infomercial for the home DVD packages on tv somewhere in the world approximately every 15 seconds ( at least, thats what it feels like ) and trainer-lead Zumba classes are popping up at gyms and town halls all over the country. Like i said, its hard to escape the Zumba infomercials and when my mother saw an ad in our local paper for a class being run at a primary school hall she thought she'd like to give it a go. Only she didnt want to go it alone - she said she would be too embarrassed to go by herself and didnt want people to laugh at her lack of co-ordination - so i said " hell, why not ? ", i'd give it a go too.

And i'm glad i did - it was fun! Sure, i wasnt exactly awesome at it ( i mean for some routines i had me some awesome rhythm, some i looked like a grasshopper on a barbecue.... ) but it didnt matter because no-one else was nailing it either. There were girls there who looked about 8 years old right up to ladies who were possibly in their 60's, and not a single person had it downpat - but neither was there a single person not laughing. Zumba does what it said it would do - it gets you moving, it gives you a workout ( as evidenced by my lack of breath and red face by the end ) and it's fun. And, happily, i havent woken up too sore this morning, so thats always a bonus. My mum said she enjoyed it too, so we're heading back next Wednesday night. I reckon if you've been curious about Zumba and tossing up whether to try it out i say go for it - worse scenario is the you run into the person next to you, fall over and sprain your ankle, and can't go to work for a few days. But hey - at least you did it with a smile on your face ( and you get a few days off work )!

So Wednesday nights are now Zumba nights - buh-bye baby belly, hello Zumba abs!

Celebrity Advice For National Breastfeeding Week ( If You Choose To Take It )

Ah celebrities - they say the darndest things. And celebrity mums say even darndier ( ok, yep, not actually a word ) things. I had planned on doing a post for National Breastfeeding Week , but after reading the news this morning, and finding this post on Holly's blog , i've decided to change my original idea up a bit. First celebrity on my chopping block? Gisele Bundchen.

Gisele has made headlines today for saying that she believes an international law should be passed decreeing that women MUST breastfeed their babies for at least 6 months. You would think this something that would be supported during Breastfeeding Week but... i gotta say, the whole notion is a bit silly ( for lack of a better word ). Let me just start by saying that i believe that what Gisele is saying comes from a good place but, in reality, its just not do-able for everybody. Not every woman is able to breastfeed, and those that are able arent always able to keep it going for 6 months.There are many complicated factors in whether a woman can or can't breastfeed, whether she chooses to or not - to then pass a law which would only make this decision all the more harder ( and then make a criminal of women who are not able to breastfeed through no fault of their own ) is just ridiculous. The last thing new mothers grappling with mastering the skill of breastfeeding need is the added pressure of worrying whether or not they're going to break the law. I admire Gisele for her passion for the good old booby juice - that was until i read the part of the article where she implies that one of  the other good reasons for passing such a law is because breastfeeding helped her keep her figure. I think her willowy, gorgeous Brazilian supermodel genes may have played a part in that too....

And the second celebrity to step up to the plate ? Jacinta Tynan, an Australian newsreader and part-time author. Ms Tynan is a columnist for one of the Sydney newspapers, and published an article this weekend entitled " The Big Easy "  , in which she writes about how easy she has found motherhood. I wont delve any further into the details of the article ( i'll let you read for yourself ), and i know i'm not the first blogger to post about Ms Tynan today, but i had to say my piece. And what i've got to say is - i didnt like it. I'm all for celebratng motherhood, and on my own blog i'd like to think i give a pretty balanced view of how my mothering experience is moving along. I love to hear stories from mums about all the great things they've done and times they've enjoyed with their bubbas but... i dont want to hear how you think the whole mothering gig isnt hard. The tone of the article, and its written in the first person so it must be representative of Ms Tynan's personal opinion, is that being a mum is not hard, and that anyone who believes otherwise is a whinger. She comes across as a quite smug and arrogant, and as if she believes that women who do find motherhood hard, regardless of their situations ( single parent, post natal depression, more than one child ...) are making a fuss. Its fine to be happy, and to love your child, and to enjoy the whole experience even when it does involve sleepless nights and crying jags, and its wonderful that you arent phased by it all - but dont dismiss the women who are. Don't dismiss the first time mum who, after 6 hrs of constant crying, is curled up on the lounge bawling her own eyes out because its HARD to listen to the child she loves suffering, knowing that she's tried everything she can think of to make him stop. Don't judge the mother who is struggling in the first few weeks of breastfeeding, crying in pain because learning to breastfeed successfully is HARD. And don't look down upon those mothers who maybe suffering PND and find everything so overwhelming that its HARD to even look at their baby.

Mothering is hard, but its also joyful and amazing - or so i've learned in my first 7 months. We need to be told about both sides of mothering, both good and bad, but we need to appreciate them both, no matter our own experience. What a pity that Gisele Bundchen and Jacinta Tynan couldnt appreciate that....

I'm A Quirky Turkey!

Its time again for another Blog This! challenge. This weeks challenge is asking:
Share with your readers three things you do every day without fail. Your little quirks.

Or focus on one. How did you come to do it/them?
Does anyone think it's funny or strange?
Do YOU love it or not?

You'd think that for someone who is self-proclaimed as " quirky " that this one should be easy for me. But the more i thought about it, the less i could come up with. Sure i have my quirks, but there isnt so much that i do religiously, obsessive-compulsively, day-to-day. The only thing that i do do every day - and if i dont do it, i feel out of sorts - is get on the internet, very first thing in the morning.

See, I HAVE to check at least my email/Facebook/blog before ( i whilst ) i eat my breakfast, otherwise the whole day just feels off to me. This habit started when i was working as an au pair in the US - i had to be up and ready to start work at 8am, but because of the time difference between New Jersey and Australia, first thing in the morning was the best time to catch my family and friends online. So i'd get up just before 7am, shower, and then eat my breakfast in front of the computer, checking to see if i'd received any good emails, or if any of my loved ones were on MSN Messenger ( yes, Messenger. How old school of me ). I didnt have Facebook back in 2005, nor a blog, but i participated in forums on a site called Bolt ( which i dont think even exists anymore ) and on Hi5. I'd check all that type of stuff and then head to the kitchen to get breakfast for the boys, make school lunches for the older two, and send them on their way.

I found its been a tough habit to break, which is why its one of my quirks now. I give Flynn a breastfeed absolute first thing, but after that his happy to sit and play on his mat for 20 minutes or so while i jump on the net. If i cant get on the net - like my provider has screwed up again ( that means you, Telstra ) or im away from home and dont have web access - i just feel a little out of sorts. Anxious even, until i get a chance to peek into my inbox, or check on blog comments. Its not like i have anything majorly important to look forward to, not like the world would end if i didnt get my pre-breakfast internet fix, but then most quirks are like that. Trivial. I guess thats what makes them quirks....

What Cheek!

Because i really want to post, but am lacking in an actual topic ( or at least an interesting one - i could blather on with a heap of crap but i wont subject you to that ) so i'll just post this:

If you look closely you'll notice not only is my son poking his tongue out at me, but he's also flipping me the bird....