2010: A Dreamworld Year In Review

Woowee - what a year! My first as a mama and as an engaged woman, its had its share of ups and downs. And what better what to put everything in perspective, in its place ( and the crappy things to rest! ) than with my annual wrap up of the year! Oh, and reminder - anything that is my " best " of the year is my favourite; anything that is " worst " is utterly crappy in my humble opinion. Agree or disagree, but dont argue the technicalities in the comments, ok?

BEST FILMS:
1. Sherlock Holmes - ok, technically this come out in the last week of 2009 but i was stuck in hospital with a newborn and didnt watch it til 2010, so it makes the list. Also, it features Robert Downey Jnr and i think its the general consensus that he is one of the coolest dudes in the universe.
2. Eat.Pray.Love - bah to anyone who's laughing at this choice! It was my favourite book of last year, so why would it be one of my favourite films this year? A little schmaltzy, sure, but its still appealed to my love of travel, of self-exploration and the romantic in me. Javier Bardem ? Delish!
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt1 -  i only saw this on Monday but i loved it and i cant wait til the last film comes out next year. And no, i still havent read any of the books, though i want to. I think i'm gonna wait til i see the last film ( so i dont spoil the film series for myself ... ) and then read all the books...
4. Precious - oh.my.God. If you have not seen this film, go rent it now. Its certainly no light, fluffy, rom-com and it had me in tears more than once, but you need to see it for the strength of the acting alone. Its hard, and its harrowing, and its probably altogether to real for some people, but its a film that will stick with you.
5. Hot Tub Time Machine - awesome! I loved this film - this was funny in the way i was expecting " The Hangover " to be ( but it wasnt it ). Totally crude and juvenile but an easy, hilarious way to spend the afternoon, without having to think too much or make too much effort. What a cack!
Notable mentions : " Beneath Hill 60 "; " Iron Man 2 "; " Shutter Island "; " Alice In Wonderland "

AND THE WORST?
I have to go with " Cop Out ". Not that it was an awful film, only that i didnt watch a lot of new films this year, and the stuff that i did watch was pretty good ( you know, because i had to be selective with my time ). So this gets my "worst " nomination because the average/ok film out of a really good bunch. Sorry Bruce Willis.
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BEST SONGS:
1. " Whatta Want From Me? " by Adam Lambert - i love me some good pop and i think Adam Lambert has been one of the great pop finds of 2010. And he has in own thing going on without verging into total weirdo territory (  i'm talking to you Lady Gaga ).
2. " All My Life " by Thirsty Merc - i loooooooooooove this song. Its on the list to be played at my wedding. Sometimes, when i'm alone, it even makes me cry. A great Aussie band producing great Aussie music ( and it doesnt hurt that they hail from my hometown ). A beautiful love song....awww!
3. " Teenage Dream " by Katy Perry - Katy Perry annoyed me for a while when she first came out but the more i listened, the more i realised she had some really well crafted pop songs. Like this one - its sweet, it makes me feel young ( which i am, but young as in " before baby " young ) and it sums up the way i feel about my relationship with Mick. Another for the wedding dancefloor playlist.
4. " Grenade " by Bruno Mars -  this one was only released in the past month-ish but it is really damn catchy, and i l.o.v.e his voice. I also love the sentiment and the harmonies in the chorus. Oh, and the video clip. And his hair is ace. That is all.
5. " Forget You " by Cee-lo Green - waaaaaaaaah, i love this song! Its funky and upbeat ( despite the subject matter ) and hot damn it makes me wanna dance!
Notable mentions : " Love the way you lie " by Eminem ft Rihanna; " If its love " by Train; " Need You Now " by Lady Antebellum

AND THE WORST? "Only Girl In the World " by Rihanna. Sorry, but RiRi has majorly grated on my nerves this year, and everytime i heard this song come on the radio i switched stations. Too repeative for my liking and her voice is beginning to annoy me aswell. Bah! Oh, and also, anything by Ke$ha... yuck!
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BEST BOOK -  " The Hour I First Believed " by Wally Lamb which i already blogged about here. It was just an awesome, awesome read and its really stuck with me. If your a big reader and you havent already read this, get your hands on this. In fact, do yourself a favour and read anything by Wally Lamb - the man is in my top 5 favourite authors.

BEST TV SHOW - Aside from my unwavering obsession with " The Amazing Race ", i've really felt myself fall in love with  " How I Met Your Mother " this year. I've always liked this show, but the second half of this year i started to not want to miss an episode and it dawned on me that HIMYM is like the new " Friends". Ensemble cast, really funny but still poignant, and everybody seems to love it. And they especially love Barney, and even though its a bit of a bastard. Legen....what for it!....dary!

PERSONAL HIGHLIGHT - anything involving my son learning a new skill. But seeing as there are too many to choose from there, i'll go with the Tim McGraw concert back in September...good times with Mick away from our baby, dancing til our feet hurt and staying out late!

PERSONAL LOWLIGHT - breaking up with my best friend. I've already talked about it enough so i wont go into anymore details, but suffice to say it sucks arse bigtime, even more so because i really had no say in it, and even now 4ish months later i'm still bitter, and confused, and hurt.

And thats it ladies and gentleman! Tune in tomorrow ( or whenever i get around to it ) for my New Years resolutions. Wishing you all a happy New Year and hoing everyone gets to celebrate in style ( even if that means stained-tshirt, at home with the kids, eating dip and crackers with a West Coast cooler kind of style! ) tonight - pool party at the neighbours for us!

Operation Slimdown - A Day Late. Again.

My apologies for the tardiness of my usual update - i had to get the letter to my son in first! In any case, i didnt really feel like writing an update anyway because...well... my results suck, ok ? We all had a feeling that would, what with a weigh in on Christmas Day ( of all bloody days! ) but still, they sucked enough to make me cry. In front of my parents, and Mick. Wah, wah, wah...poor fat me!

Let me explain. But first, lets go to the tape:
Bust: 97.5cm - up 0.5cm
Waist 82cm - no change
Hips: 103cm - up 1.5cm
Bum: 108cm - no change
Thighs: 66.5cm - up 0.5cm
See, that doesnt really look so bad considering the fortnight of Christmas parties ( and few days of, uh, that time of the month, which of course equals mega-bloating ) but, once again, those nasty, nasty scales have brought me undone. See, i only weigh myself on a Saturday morning, once a fortnight. However, this week i was at my mum and dads house ( i dont own scales... ) on Thursday afternoon and i couldnt resist taking a sneak peek. 74.8kgs - woo hoo! That was 800g down in a fortnight! I would totally be able to hit a full 1kg loss by Saturday morning! However....
Weight 11.12.10 - 75.6kgs
Weight 25.12.10 - 75.7kgs
I burst into tears - how could i have put on 1.1kgs in ONE DAY?!? It just wasnt fair - Thursday afternoon i was ecstatic about finally having a good loss, and then one day later that loss is completely gone and has turned into a 100g gain. I was shattered. I just cant wrap my head around it. And i'm sure that if i went and weighed myself again today, the scale would have something completely different to say again ( loss? Gain? who knows? )

So i guess i just push on. Try harder. The four days of non-stop eating over Christmas are now officially over and i know i can handle New Years Eve. I'm not back at work til Tuesday 4th of Jan so i'm going to try and fit in some exercise everyday this week. Establish some new, good habits. And then, maybe next fortnight, i will have that 1kg loss to report. I hope. Because i'm thinking if that doesnt happen the only way for me to shed the weight might be to cry it out. I could get rid of a kilo through tears...couldnt i?

Dear Flynn, Aged 12 Months - Happy Birthday!

Dear Flynn,
Well you made it, my gorgeous little man - as of 5:05pm yesterday afternoon, you are now officially a one year old. ( Which means that Daddy and I are now the parents of a one year old....which is kind of weird to say ). Over the course of your first year you have grown into such a beautiful little dude - and you are a dude, a wrestling, wrecking, crazy little boy right to your very core. Yes, i've seen you play with dollies, but 99% of the time its trucks or tractors or pulling things apart ( and making a big mess while your at it ). And you weren't ever one of those androgynous-looking babies either - it was clear to every random old lady who stopped us down the street that you were a little boy. See - you're a total dude.

Chowing down on some birthday cake yesterday - it got soooooo much messier after this photo was taken

You love your food and though i try not to let you eat too much i am starting to become convinced that you do, indeed, have hollow legs. And its not just how much you eat, but what you eat - i'm so glad you're willing to try pretty much everything ( you know, like gherkins, or olives or yummy, yummy prawns .... ).However, i'm concerned that by the time you turn 15 our groceries will cost us $1000 a week, just to keep up with your appetite. So, whats happened in the three months since my last letter ?

* You've totally mastered the whole crawling thing, and have progressed to pulling yourself up on everything and anything, cruising your way along the furniture. However, despite being awesome at the whole cruising thing, and very easily able to hold onto things with one hand and stomping those little feet, you havent started walking yet. I know its not really cause for concern but, let mummy be frank here, i think your just being lazy. I've seen you stand on your own - holding something in both hands, without holding ON to anything - and once or twice you've easily taken little steps behind your cousins dolly pram.... but when Daddy and I try to get you to take those first steps, you just giggle and squat down your little bottom. I know you can do, and i'm i know you know how to do, you just wont. I know i'll regret saying this later but hurry up and get your walk on little man!
* You're turning into a real little chatterbox. Sure, a lot of it is crazy, indecipherable baby-babble, but you have picked up some really great words, like " hello! " ( which is the first thing out of your mouth of a morning, and doesnt stop until you go to bed ) " En-nen " for when Aunty Erin is hanging out with us, or just in the last week Mummy has started hearing a " ank ooh " when I ask you for a " thank you ". Too cute!
* Lastly, but most importantly.... i can finally add "champion sleeper " to the list. Yes, since our visit to Tresillian back in October, you have kept on with the 11-12 hour sleep throughs overnight, and the 1-2 naps twice a day. This has not only allowed Mummy to get her sanity back, but it has also transformed your personality. You werent ever naughty before, but you were a sooky-la-la baby a lot of the time and, in retrospect, i know its because you were overtired. Now? You're a sweet, affectionate happy little man, who is happy to play with other little people without having to be attached to my lap, and who is laughing, and smiling, and gibber-gabbering more often than you are sooking.  Halle-freaking-lujah!

Oh, how i love you, little man. Daddy and I were talking about it the other night, and we just cant imagine life without you anymore. You are our sunshine, the love of our shared life, and our " little mate ".
Love ya guts little man,

Your very proud Mama.

Merry Christmas Ever-ree-body!

 Merry Christmas from the New Adventures household! And yes, that is my beautiful, handsome little man turned into a screaming banshee for his Santa photo. Luckily, the photos were taken by a good friend of mine in her private studio where she had more than one Christmas set up, so we did get some nicer shots. Like this one, which i have been using as my screen saver at work for the last few weeks:

 Still no smile, but much more angelic. And look at all his little chinnies! I'm raising a total chubba-lubba-bubba.... i swear the kid has hollow legs, he eats that damn much. But anyhoo....yea, we tried really hard to get Flynn to crack a smile for at least one of his photos. We did get this one:

Way cute right? Unfortunately we failed in getting him to smile and sit up straight at the same time. This is probably because he's a cheeky monkey and even at his tender age does naughty,cheeky things all the time. So there you be - a photo essay of Flynns 1st visit to Santa. Look at in the next few days for a chronicle of his 1st Christmas Day and then, two days later, his 1st birthday!

Bah Bloody Humbug!

In a show of very un-Christmas-ey spirit, a co-worker of mine made another co-worker cry today. How? He admonished her very loudly, in front of the rest of us and full view of any customers that might come in, for a simple mistake she had made. And it was a very simple mistake, one that could be very easily fixed and was not a big deal at all ( and that he made himself moments later because he was too busy fuming at her to pay any attention what he was doing ). Needless to say, the rest of us in the office were quietly appalled and, after we encouraged her to go for a walk ( disguised as needing someone to go to the bank... ) we told him so. How very rude he'd been, and how over the top his reaction was and, seeing as the girl in question is still in training, its not something he'll reallly needed to jump on her for. It was a simple mistake. We all make them, even though the rest of us have been here for years. The whole display was just uncalled for.


And why has this got so much on goat? Well, aside from its being Christmas, i just really have no time for people who treat people in that way unjustifiedly. Sure, if she'd done something that was going to burn the building down or coast as millions of dollars then yea, maybe jump up and down and throw a tantrum at her. But something that cost nothing, destroyed nothing, and took one 30 second phone call to fix? There was just no need. And the worst part is that we had an ex-manager who spoke like that all the time, only her little tirades were always directed at HIM..... so i guess the proverbial( managerial) apple doesnt fall far from the tree. All those years of him getting roused on and saying how much he hated it and the first chance he gets to be in the training role and he does exactly the same thing. I had to pull him up on it - tell him he'd become the monster, so to speak - and you know what he did? He spent the next 40ish minutes hiding in the kitchen, upset, while the rest of us got on with it and did our work. How.Bloody.Frusturating.

Luckily, today was my last work day of the year so yippee for me! No more part-time office politics just sweet, sweet family time and a chance to relax for a while. But i tell you what - if i hadnt already given this guy a Christmas card, he would totally be off my Christmas list! Bah humbug to him!

20SB Blog Swap 2010!

Good morning (afternoon, evening, night... take your pick ) and welcome to the 20 Something Bloggers Blog Swap for 2010! I was crazy enough eager enough for a bit of blog-swapping action to sign up this year even though a) i had no idea who i would be swapping with and b) not a clue what we would be asked to write about! But it all worked out in the end - todays post will be brough to you by a lovely young lady named Bell, a brave 20-something who is chronicling her move to the big city ( the big city being New York! ). You can find me over at BellDuJour while Bell will be hanging out here today. What is she posting about? Read on....

“Action – What Will You Do Next Year That You’ve Been Putting Off For Too Long?”

I’ll be honest; when I signed up for the 20SB Blog Swap I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. The irony of it all is that it may be one of the first ‘actions’ I’ve taken.

I made a big, big change in my life in 2010 when I moved from a small town in Massachusetts to New York City. With one carry-on suitcase I settled onto my friend’s couch and started work here September 1st.
After a few weeks on her couch and two months in a tiny sublet I moved into an apartment in Harlem with a co-worker who has become a dear friend of mine.

Sigh of relief. With somewhere to live, I feel lighter and somehow more alive. With the boulder of worrying about finding a roommate and a home off my shoulders I can breathe easier. Being able to leave work and go somewhere that is mine, and feels like home, is indescribable, especially in comparison to living in the sublet where I was uncomfortable and unhappy.

I now have a lot more time to be myself. As I decorate according to my own tastes and watch my home come together as an extension of my own personality, I’ve found myself thinking more and more about why I’m here and what I want to accomplish in my time in this city of opportunities.

I dabble. I sing. I sew. I write. I bake. I decorate. I speak French. I’m late for everything.

Ok that last thing isn’t really a skill. It’s more of an anti-skill.

I don’t like that I dabble. I’m not a jack of all trades I’m just someone who knows a bit about a decent amount of things. What’s that going to do for me?

I want to speak French mieux, I want to learn to play guitar so I can put my words to music and play at open mic nights. I want to be able to sew all the outfits that I think of but can’t find/afford on commercial racks. I want to be a better journalist and writer. I want to learn about photography. I want to learn more about journalism, and photojournalism. I want to learn to speak Italian and Portuguese. Buongiorno! I want to explore, and experience all I can no matter where I am. I want to arrive early for things, instead of really late. I want to see a show, check out new restaurants, go to museums. Problem is, I don’t really have anyone in New York City that would want to do that with me. Or I already spend 40hours of my life with them. I want to stop being afraid of going out and doing things alone.

My roommate was confused when I told him I was scared to go out and check things out by myself.
“You moved to New York City where you didn’t know more than one person, and you’re afraid to go to the museum by yourself?” It’s funny the way he puts things in perspective for me.

The thing is, none of this will happens unless I take action. If I don’t get up and get out, I’ll always be scared of it. Steps, whatever they may be, need to be continuously taken or I’m never going to succeed at learning any of these things.

I’ve wanted to learn to play guitar for almost seven years now. For seven years I’ve been thinking and wishing and dreaming and not doing. So, what will I do next year that I’ve been putting off for too long?

Move.

My mother bought me a guitar for my birthday. Last week, I bought a guitar book.
I have a sewing machine and I’ve made clothes but I don’t know the basics at all. I signed up for a sewing class.
I want to learn about photography. I bought an SLR. Scratch that, I traveled alone all the way out to Queens to pick up an SLR I found on Craigslist (in a public place). First trip alone.
I want to write more, so I started the 30 Days of Truth List and signed up for this blog swap.
I want to be healthier, more fit. I have a gym membership - but anyone who’s made a New Year’s Resolution knows that doesn’t mean anything.

2011 will be a year of moves. I’ve laid the groundwork, now it’s up to me to keep moving. Get up, get out.
Stop talking baby, move.

Getting Crafty With My Bad Self!

So do you remember how i mentioned i wanted to make Flynn a Santa sack for Xmas? Yea, well - i've done it! I'm finished! Now bearing in mind that a) i dont own a sewing machine so i had to pain-stakingly hand sew everything, and b) i havent done that much hand-sewing since Yr 12 of high school ( which will be 10 years ago next year....crap, where has the time gone?! ) ... well, knowing all that, i think i've done a pretty good job. Judge for yourself:

There it is, the finished product. Not everything is perfectly straight, and if you had a look on the inside the stitching is pretty shithouse wonky, but hey, you know what ? I'm pretty damn proud of myself! I set myself a goal, i did something that i havent done in ages and never anything as tricky as this, and all without a sewing machine or even a pattern. Go crafty me go!

Only thing is, Mick wants one for himself now and with only 5 more sleeps til Xmas its just not going to happen. He'll just have to wait til next year!

Choppy, Choppy!

Sick and tired of my son's ultra fluffy, skater-boi shaggy, baby hair.... i took him to get his first hair cut yesterday morning.

Witness Flynn's hair before the hair cut - cute, yes, but see all those fluffy, sticky-uppy bits? He had those on the top of his head, on the back where he was growing himself a nice little mullet and occasionally it would stick out from behind his ears. It had to go!

Getting the first few snips off - he had to sit on my lap because our hairdresser doesnt have a child seat.He was a little wriggly and kept looking up at Sally ( our hairdresser ) as if to say " Who are you and what are you doing to my head? ". Oh, and you cant really see it but he has a cool dinosaur on his cape.

Cracking it right towards the end. I think the crying was less about having his haircut and more about the fact he was well and truly ready to get off my lap and crawl around. Typical boy - he doesnt like sitting still for too long!

The end product. Because sister is a) a bad photographer and b) a bit dopey, she neglected to take any photos of his beautiful face, so you'll have to make do with a view from the back. Suffice to say, my beautiful baby is now looking more like a gorgeous little boy. He was pleased to see the fluffiness go, but was a little sad to see Flynny transformed from baby to boy in the space of 15 minutes. And only 10 days til his 1st birthday...my baby is gone forever!

Operation Slimdown Tuesday

Hello again, and welcome to the results week of my sort-of fortnightly updates. First though, a word on how the week has gone - which is, to say, alright i suppose. I had two really great exercise sessions in which i sweated up a storm ( seriously, i dont think i've ever sweated as much as i did at last weeks Zumba... ) and i ate pretty healthily all week ( until Saturday nights Xmas party for Mick's work ). So yea, all was good. However, after really sweating out a Zumba i felt myself really missing the gym. I loved going to the gym - i went up to 6 days a week - and i loved pushing myself on the treadmill especially. However, i cant afford gym fees and somehow i cant find the motivation to run on the street. I think i liked the numbers game on the  treadmill - the knowing exactly how far i had run, how fast i was going, being able to set an incline or a program to run to, pushing myself to run just for one more song on my Ipod.... i cant replicate that on the street. And i feel weird jogging through my neighbourhood, especially seeing as i am waaaaaaaaaaaay unfit at the moment and can only manage the old " run to one lightpole, walk the next three " type of session. Ah well, perhaps that a goal for a later date... Anyhoodle, on to the numbers!



Bust - 97cm - up 0.5cm
Waist - 82cm - no change
Hips - 101.5cm - down 1cm
Bum - 108cm - down 0.5cm
Thighs - 66cm - down 1cm
Weight - 75.6kgs - down 200gms
So....nothing too spectacular there, but as my dad said " a loss is a loss". Well yea, but that didnt stop me pondering ( once again, silly woman ) why things are moving so slowly for me. Even when i get a good result with the measurements, the change in my actual weight is miniscule. Bah! And, somewhat oddly and crappily, my next weigh in and measurement is due on XMAS DAY. I mean, who is going to weigh themselves on Xmas Day, after two weeks worth of Xmas parties, rich food, and little exercise? Me - thats who! My goal for the next two weeks is to do enough work that i get a "loss " result on Xmas Day. Even if it is only 100 gms, i will consider that a win for this time of year. Wish me luck!

Check Out The Smoochiness!

Oh yea, thats right - i got one thing off my to do list!

I found this great little template on the Microsoft website, downloaded, added the sweet smoochy picture, changed the background and voila! - Save The Date cards. Sadly, i forgot that they were formatted to be a 5x7 size and got them printed as 6x4's ( which meant that the text at the bottom got a teeny, tiny bit skimmed off the edge... ). But, seeing as they arent actual invitations, i'm not going to worry about re-doing them and have stashed them in with the Xmas cards to be mailed tomorrow. I figure putting them in one envelope saves on paper, and on postage. Oh yea, i'm a tight arse eco-warrior!

So thats one thing ticked off. I'm halfway through Flynn's Santa sack - which i'm hand sewing because i dont have a sewing machine - and only have one Xmas present to go. Way to work Amy! Ooh, and i found a make up artist for my wedding who'll do my makeup for free . Again with the tight arse-ery. Turns out its kind of awesome when one of Mick's workmates wives is a beauty therapy teacher at TAFE and is also an awesome lady who offered to come round and do my makeup, as a favour from a friend. Your awesome Ange! And that is all...now, if i could only manage to get all the washing on the room of our floor, washed, folded and put away...

Good Golly, She's Great!

Wow - i've been lax with the posts so far this month havent i? And i have no excuse really except to say that i  havent really been inspired by anything much lately... til now. I found some inspiration, and she goes by the name of Holly.

You can find her over at Good Golly Miss Holly! and if you arent already reading her, you should. Seriously, go check her out - she's funny and candid and she's a mama who rocks! But aside from that, why is she inspiring the blogger in me? Because not only did she buck up and find the courage to lose her vlog virginity, but she decided to make her first ever vlog about post natal depression.

Lets face it - thats a tough subject to write about, let alone to sit and talk about, straight down the webcam to your loyal reader/viewers. The girl has balls ( well no, not literally, but you know what i mean... ) to choose that particular subject, which so many of us find confronting. And not only did she go with PND as a theme, but she spoke about it with such composure and grace... i would have been a blithering mess, and my brush with PND was minor compared to many others. And with that 4ish minutes of webcam honesty, i found a new inspiration and motivation to blog. Thanks Holly!

Now all i need is some tips on how to make my blog awesome-er. Is there anything you like and want to see more of? Anything you think i should be doing? Do i need a blog makeover? Make-under?

A Labour of Love?

So i was surfing over at http://www.mamamia.com.au/ yesterday and i came across an article entitled " Do Men Belong In The Labour Ward ? " And, i have to say, its gotten up my nose a bit. The gist of the article is that a respected obstetrician has implied that men get in the way during labour and shouldnt be permitted into the ward during the birthing process. Its not so much the article itself that has incensed me ( i'm sure this guy made his big statement months ago, so its kind of old news to me... ) but rather the discussion in the comments section afterwards.

The majority of the comments are overwhelming in favour of having men in the delivery ward, and i am too, thats not my problem. My problem is in the way that a lot of women in the comments have judged men who havent been present for the birth of their children. How.Bloody.Dare.They? I'm sure these same women would jump and down and scream bloody murder if anyone dare judge them on any facet of their parenting, but they feel its ok to judge the fathers who, for whatever reason, havent made it into the delivery suite with their wives/partners/mothers of their children. One woman even described blokes who dont want to be in there as " cavemen ". Others have suggested ( subtley ) that men who arent present for the birth of their children mustnt be good fathers - if they dont want to be there for the very beginning, how are they going to be with the rest of the whole parenting thing?

I have to say - those kind of comments have mad me really mad. I've already written the in depth story of my sons birth here ( feel free to have a read if you havent already ) so i wont double up on the details but Mick was NOT present in the room for my labour. And, frankly, i'm glad about it. We spoke about what would happen when i went into labour, and from the get go Mick said he would prefer not to be there. When i asked why, he explained that he's very squeamish and aside from that, he wasnt sure how he would be able to cope with seeing me in pain. He was man enough to admit that, rather than be the tower of masculine strength that society insists our men should be, he would probably crumble in the face of a difficult birth and probably vomit, pass out or both. It wasnt that he didnt WANT to be there, because he loved his unborn baby and could not wait to meet him, but rather that his physical limits would prevent him being much help. And, though i was a little shocked at first, after thinking it through, i agreed - if he was going to get whoozy, or spewy, or go silent and just sit across the room and stare at me like i was some hideous, terrifying lady-beast, what use would he be to me? He'd be more of a hindrance and a distraction, for me and the midwives, than he would be a help, so i was quite content to say " Babe - you just make sure your there to hold your bubba for the first time and thats enough for me". And it was - i had my mother there for the labour and the birth, and Mick stepped into the room as Flynn was being laid on my chest for the first time. Bliss.

So why then would some women judge my fiance, a man whom i love and who is a wonderful, amazing, loving father, labelling him a "caveman "? In my eyes, he's a real man for having the balls to admit his weaknesses. I'm sure there are a lot of men who would prefer not to be in the labour ward, but are guilted into it by the mother. Some of those men may find a reserve of strength and be awesome birthing partners; some may be completely useless and the mother may regret having him there at all. I know there are also plenty of men who cannot wait for those first contractions, so excited are they to be there for all the grunting and moaning and " YOU DID THIS TO ME!!!! ". To me, its all good either way - if he wants to be there, good; if he doesnt, no sweat. Its for each and every couple to decide....as long as the decision is made together. As so many of these women at Mamamia said, child-rearing is an equal partnership, so the decisions surrounding birth should be made together, as a compromise.

Just dont judge men like mine who werent there when they could have been.I'm fine with him being in the waiting room, dealing with all his fears and trepidations about immediate impending parenthood....so why shouldnt you be? If it worked for us, and we were happy, aint none of yo business to be judgin'!

And Update And Some News

Ah Tuesday - Operation Slimdown update day. Some weeks i cant wait for you to get around, some weeks i dread you turning up. This week ? I'm not really fussed either way. I'm thinking i may just do a fortnightly update when i do my weigh ins, because its seems a bit redundant to do an update on a week where i have no results to share. Its essentially going to be the same post over and over - either " i ate well, did my exercise " or " fell off the wagon this week! ". This past week has been a bit odd really - i ate well but i didnt get any exercise at all in because i was feeling so gross. Flynn had gotten croup and i spent three days with a small, sooky, sick baby attached to me, only wanting his mama.... and by the end of those three days i'd picked up the cold/flu portion of his illness. And i've been felling blah ever since. So Zumba was off the agenda and even though i felt up for my usual walks with my sister the constant rain ( as mentioned last post, down there ) wouldnt allow for it.  So there's the update.

The news ? Its only small but i wanted to share... that i am now part of the admin team over Blog This! I'll be doing a monthly " Blogs of Interest " post, which involves me choosing a theme for the week and finding 5ish blogs i think fit the theme and would be of interest to others. My first post will be Boxing Day ( Dec 26th ) but i'm not giving away my theme, so if your a Blog This! member watch out for it! And if your not a member - what are you waiting for?

Here Comes The Rain Again...

So i may have mentioned previously that i live in a rural town by the name of Dubbo ( yes, Dubbo - its a funny word. Have a laugh ... ). And those of you living in Australia, and especially in New South Wales, may have heard that Dubbo is currently experiencing a liiiiiiiiiiitle bit of a flood problem. Farmers in the middle of harvest have lost almost all the crops they still had in the ground, people in low-lying areas close to the river have had either there land or the homes water-logged and, most inconveniently ( read: sarcasm ), people living on the west side of town now only have one bridge to use to get home instead of two because the lower-lying bridge has gone under water. Fear not though - I and my family are safe. And not only safe, but happy.... because its looking likely that i wont have to work on Monday! Hooray! See the shopping centre where i work has had its carpark completely flooded, and because all the electricity, sewage and gas controls are in the underground carpark, all the stores need to shut down until the controls can be used again. Woo! Wana see some evidence?

The carpark of the shopping centre where i work - totally underwater!

Some rescue workers cruising their boat up the street where i usually drive...

My dad, hard at work. He might need a snorkel soon!

*Note* - all pics courtesy of the awesome Speaking OneThousandWords Photography. Look her up on Facebook!