Morning!

So tired. Can't post. Except to post this, which is what I wake up to ( or should I say what wakes me up? ) every morning. Enjoy!

The A-B-C of A-M-Y .... Rehashed

I was doing a  little reading of my archives and it occurred to me just how much my life has changed since I first started this blog - so many things that I wrote about back in 2007 and 2008 really don't ring true anymore. So I decided that I might rehash a meme or two, with answers that are more 'me' now. Plus, a lot of you weren't readers back then so these memes will be kind of new to you anyway! You can find the 2008 version of the ' A B C ' meme here:
A. Attached or single?
Very much attached now - married, in fact, to Mick, my gorgeous hubby. I might be a bit attached to my kids too.
B. Best friend?
It wasn't along after I did the original meme that I had a falling out with my best friend at the time, so this is one answer that has definitely changed. I guess Mick would be my best friend now, or if we're talking about people I'm not married to I'd say K, a friend I met through mothers group.
C. Cake or pie?
This one is really hard. I like me some pie, I like me some cake, I'm just not sure these days which I like better. I think I'll go with pie.
D. Day of choice?
I like Fridays. Flynn is at daycare so I get a bit of time to myself, and then there is the promise of the weekend. I think that sometimes the weekend itself can be a bit of a letdown, but you don't know that on Friday - Friday always has that positive ' woo, its almost the weekend! ' vibe to it...
E. Essential item?
Leaving aside things like money or car keys, I'm still going to go with a pair of well fitting jeans. I live in them during the winter, and a pair of nice jeans with a white tank and gorgeous heels never fails to make me feel sexy.
F.. Favourite colour?
This one is easy ( if only because Flynn and I talk about it so much ) - its red!
G. Gummy bears or worms?
Gummy bears. Although I am partial to a sour worm or two, I prefer gummy bears, especially at the movies.
H. Hometown?
Dubbo, NSW. Also known affectionately as DubVegas ( you know, in that it is NOTHING like Las Vegas ). My family live here and we have an awesome zoo. Wana visit?
I. Indulgence?
Since having children my number one indulgence nis being able to sit by myself for am full hour and read a book, uninterrupted. Preferably in PJs and with a nice warm cup of chair latte to keep me company.
J. January or July?
Always January. Its summer, its my birthday and, quite frankly, the cold of July sucks big hairy ones.
K. Kids?
Two of - my son Flynn Charlie who turns 3 next week ( omg! ) and my daughter Tully Maree who is already 4 months old. Again - o.m.g.
L. Life isn't complete without?
My beautiful little family. Oh, and the interwebs. Major withdrawals if my internet ever goes down!
M. Marriage date?
Remember, remember the 5th of November.... The 5th of November 2011 that is.
N. Number of brothers and sisters?
Two brothers and one sister, all younger than me. I know I've mentioned it before but even though one of my brothers is deceased I still always count him. We've also told Flynn about his ' Uncle Eli ' and will take him to lay flowers on his grave on Xmas Eve.
O. Oranges or apples?
Apples to eat, orange juice to drink.
P. Phobias?
Clowns - I cannot believe I forgot to mention that in the 2008 meme! After being made to watch Stephen Kings ' It " when I was 7 I've always hated clowns. I'm really going to have to think hard about whether I ever take my kids to a circus....
Q. Quotes?
' it won't rain all the time ' - Eric Draven, " The Crow ". It was my favourite back then and is still so totally applicable now.
R. Reasons to smile?
My babies! And my husband! And when I',he made something cute and I dress Tully in it for the first time!
S. Season of choice?
Spring - it means the end of horrid old winter but its not stifling hot like summer. I like me a happy medium!
T. Tag five people?
No. You may tag yourself if you like though...
U. Unknown fact about me?
Mum... That I'm just a little but excited about going to Sydney for a few days after Christmas. I can't wait to see Flynns face when he goes on the ferry for the first time!
V. Vegetable?
Pumpkin - a really good piece of roast pumpkin is the bomb. Also, you can make it into pumpkin pie, which is dessert, and dessert is even more the bomb. Mmmm...
W. Worst habit?
Hands down its procrastination. Which is what I've started the cleaning schedule ( which is going great ) because I want to work on eliminating bad habits.
X. X-ray or ultrasound?
I've had both but I have to say I'd prefer to have an x-ray over an abdominal ultrasound. Holding in all that water is a right royal pain in the bladder!
Y. Your favourite food?
It really does depend on my mood. I mean one day I may be totally in live with a chicken dish, the next I'm salivating over cheesecake. I just cant choose a favourite and you can't make me!
Z. Zodiac sign?
Aquarius - not exactly to the letter but close enough

And there you be, the A-B-C of me. Possibly an introduction to anyone new around here, and hopefully a laugh for the rest of you!.

Dear Santa, I'd Really, Really Like...

Alright, so I'm a bit late to the party but the awesome-sauce Kylie from A Study In Contradictions has tagged me in the ' all I want for Christmas 'meme that being doing the rounds of the Australian blogosphere... So here I am, finally getting my list done for Santa!

1. An instant and non-evasive tummy tuck - yes I'm all for body loving and self-esteem and such, but if someone could just help me get rid of my post-baby pudding belly that would be awesome. Plus it would make my jeans just that more comfortable - bonus Chrissie present!

A little shack like this will do me just fine!

2. A 'forever home ' - I'm not going to be greedy and ask for a mansion or anything like that ( although hey, Universe, if you choose to smile on me then so be it ). I'd just like a beautiful family home where we can raise our kids comfortably. Preferably with four bedrooms, a big kitchen and a fairly modern bathroom. Oh and a big backyard where I can banish Flynn to when he needs to get out some energy and I need a break ....

Just for the record that's a gather and I can do those....

3. A complete working knowledge of how to sew clothes to fit myself - because I'm still pretty much a novice sewer and I don't technically know to accommodate my own bootylicious-ness. I got myself some curves and if I just knew how to drape/gather/tuck/dart to flatter the hourglass shape I'm currently rocking, I would spend all bloody day at my sewing machine. So many ideas and images of what I'd like to make, so many YouTube tutorials to watch before I know how to make them properly...

So hawt, but I bet so uncomfy...

4. Shoes, shoes, shoes, glorious shoes! - or, more specifically, insanely beautiful high heels that are actually comfortable for more than five minutes. Please.

5. Some kind of beam-me-up-Scotty, blink-and-your-there, teleportation type device - because it would make it sooooo much easier to put what little time off Mick does have to good use. That's not asking much right?

Moustache Be Gone!

We all know Movember was last month right? If you hadn't seen it all over social media, the abundance of men with patchy, scraggly mo's should have been a dead giveaway. And one of those moustachioed men was my hubby:

Oh yea - total porn star/ Chopper Reid/ motorcycle cop from the Village People. Whatever kind of moustache you think it looks like, you can't deny my fella can grow himself a good mo! Truth be told it didn't bother me all that much, but I can't say I was sorry to see at it go at the end of the month. And the end of the month - of November that is - also happens to be Micks birthday.

With the princess on his birthday.

And what does every good wife make for their husband in his birthday? Yes, of course - a birthday cake. So what better way to celebrate both a birthday and the end to stubbly, itchy, pash-rash kisses? Why with a cake like this of course!

To be quite frank, a moustache made of chocolate cake and sprinkles is the only kind I want anywhere near my mouth anytime soon!

Wine O'Clock

I mentioned a few posts ago ( at least I think I did ) that because Tully is a predictable night time sleeper I'm able to indulge an alcholic beverage or two of an evening. Not every evening of course, but of a Friday and Saturday night I've been having a little 'adult time ' with my hubby, with a cold beverage and a good chat. As a young adult I was a vodka drinker, and at the moment I'm partial to a nice cold glass of cider, but I am trying to 'grow up ' and become a wine drinker. So when the good people at WineSelectors.com.au offered to let me sample some of their range.... Well, how was I going to pass that offer up?

Of course, because I know absolutely nothing about wine I needed some help - which is where Mick came in. I didn't help navigating the site because its pretty easy to use but he did help me choose the varieties of wine we should try and when it arrived he was quite happy to help me drink them!

                                    I love getting special parcels!

I'll just come right out and say it - I am so not a fan of red wine. At all. But I thought if I was going to give the sampling thing a real shot I may aswell try a red so we got a bottle of Pfeiffer Seriously Pink Topaque a go:

The bottle was really pretty but it just wasn't my thing thing. It was far too strong for my palate, though being a rose liquer wine it taste a bit better when I mixed it with some lemonade. Mick said it was smooth and sweet though so I'll take his word for it.The next night it was another rosé, this time Yering Station Village Pinot Noir Rosé. 

I liked this one better than the first, but still.... I don't think I'd drink it again. I'm just not a 'red' girl I guess. Luckily, we still have a bottle of white and a bottle of bubbles to go, and I'm definayely a fan of .... So thanks Wine Selectors!

A Christmas Present Just For Me

Just a quick post tonight because I wanted to share the little piece of pretty that arrived for me this week. This year I thought I had been a good enough girl to warrant buying myself a little Christmas gift - something cute, but inexpensive. I knew that I would like a piece of jewellery, something that I could wear everyday but I didn't have a lot of moolah to spend ( seems us mummies tend to spend on everyone else first, right? ). So when of the very talented mums in my Facebook mums group posted that she'd starting making hand stamped stainless still pendants I knew I'd found the gift for me:

Excuse the quality of the photos - I took them on the camera on my tablet,  which ain't so great - but there I be, tired but rocking my brand new necklace. Want a close up?

Remember how I said the pendants were hand stamped? Well mine is stamped with the names of my beautiful children, and overlaid with a star ( because that's what my Bambinos are, and where they came from ). I love it - its so me. Not overly fussy, just a bit different, and very much unique. I can guarantee it will be worn everyday and Flynn loves the fact I have his name on it ( although he doesn't want me to wear it to bed... ' Mum, it will choke you!' ). And, best part, it was very affordable and totally cute!

If you are interested you can find Katie and the rest of her work at her Leo Love Designs page on Facebook. Inspired by and named after her gorgeous bubba Leo, I'm sure you can find a great gift for yourself or someone special this Christmas!

Countdown to a Clean Christmas

So after finding some inspiring stuff whilst trawling Pinterest, and motivated by the wonderful mums on my Facebook mums group, I have decided December 2012 is the month where I finally get serious about this housewifey cleaning stuff. I make no secret of the fact that I'm a bit lazy when it comes to cleaning - I'm not a slob of course, just a bit of a procrastinator. I try to keep things relatively tidy ( or as tidy as you can get with a 3 yr old ) but the actual ' get down and scrub ' cleaning ? Soooo annoying!

However, I know it must be done. Truth be told I'd like to do it more often, not because I enjoy doing it but because I enjoy the way it makes me feel when my house looks neat and tidy. And, after many years spent living in my own home and having to clean up after myself, I've come to the conclusion that I work better when I have a list I can work from, and if I treat that list like I would a list of tasks at my paid job. So.... I've made myself a cleaning schedule.

Oh yes, a schedule. A roster, if you will. The idea is that if I can do 30 minutes of cleaning every weekday I can stay on top things. So rather than look at the mess and try and decide what to tackle first, I've scheduled a particular task for a particular day so that it becomes routine.

Don't they say that it takes 21 days to establish a new habit? Well, if that's true and I can stick to it I should be living a nice clean house by Christmas! Wish me luck!

You Do Not Name Your Baby 'Hashtag ' !

.....you just don't! For anyone who missed it, there is a report doing the rounds of the interwebs that a Twitter mad American couple have named their daughter " Hashtag ". I sincerely hope I've been duped by a fake news story because, if not, I feel really, really, really bad for that little girl.....

Having just had to name a newborn, I feel like I can be just a little judgemental on this one. I mean its one thing to give your child a name that maybe isn't very common or not quite everyone's cup of tea ( like Milo or Gretchen or Rusty ).... But to give them a name that ISNT EVEN A NAME is just cruel! Of course, children will pick on each other for all kinds of reasons - maybe because they have big ears, or are a bit on the chubby side or they eat boogers - but i don't think you need to contribute to that by giving your child a wackadoo name ( I'm talking to you Jason Lee and your little Pilot Inspektor ). Also, not that anyone really cares - but I am also not a fan of "original " spellings.... Like Jaksyn or Iizak or Aymie. Don't over-complicate things prospective parents! If your child has to spend the rest of their lives saying ' no no.... Its spelt .... Blah blah blah " then you've made things too hard....

For the record, we went with " Tully Maree " because we wanted something that wasn't overly common but wasn't super weird either; we thought it went well with Flynn ( both names are of Irish origin ); I liked the meaning ( its a unisex name but the female form means ' peaceful ' ); and Maree is my mothers middle name. ( Also, as an aside, we had liked the name Tilly but after ' Underbelly: Razor ' last year we decided against it! )

So - is it just me or is naming a kid ' Hashtag ' all kinds of wrong or are you all for freedom of parental expression?

What A Pretty Girl You .... Aren't?

I read this article on Mamamia.com earlier in the week and its had me pondering the past few days. Basically the crux of the post is that the author does not want to compliment her baby nieces looks as she feels society focuses far too much on a woman's appearance and she'd rather build up her nieces other assets instead. But to never tell your niece, or your daughter, that she's pretty? I can't agree with that.

This is my pretty, beautiful, gorgeous daughter...

I understand that we, as the mothers of daughters, want to instill in our girls that they are worth more than just their looks - but to never say ' Hello there gorgeous girl! ' or ' Look at the pretty girl in her pretty dress! '. No, I don't think that's fair either. I think my job as a mum is to build self-confidence in both my children, and part of self-confidence is being comfortable with your body and having a good body image. How is a girl supposed to grow up loving her body, being confident in her appearance, if the people who love her the most won't pay her a compliment?

As a women who suffered from incredibly low self-esteem during her formative years, I can tell you a lot of that anxiety came from not feeling pretty enough.... And that was even WITH being told I was ' Daddy's beautiful girl '. I cannot imagine how much worse that 

feeling would have been had I not heard ' yes darling, you're pretty ' from my parents. Hell, even now, when my husband tells me I'm beautiful or that I look gorgeous in a particular outfit, I find it hard to believe that he could possibly be sincere.

So I will tell Tully that she's pretty. I will continue greeting her in the morning with " Good morning gorgeous girl ", just as Flynn gets a " hey handsome boy ". I will also tell them both that they are smart, funny, sweet, strong and that I love them ' so, so much ' ( as Flynn is want to say ). I make no apologies for that, and I guess only time will tell whether my ' compliments all round " approach will help or hinder my daughter when she tries to make her way in the world.

How about you? Do you hold back the physical compliments from your daughter, or do you acknowledge that her physical attributes are part of her overall make-up as a person?

OMG - My First Ever Refashion Post!

So you remember so I mentioned in my last post that I'd had a super sewing fail and in was hoping to be able to take that disaster and turn it into something else? Well - I totally did! And just because I love you guys and I actually remembered to take photos as I went along, I'm going to show you what I did! ( And please excuse the atrocious selfies! )

My original attempt was supposed to be an elastic waisted shirt dress. Pretty simple if you can shirr ( which I am yet to attempt ) or if you sew one line of thin elastic through the middle of the dress. The problem was, though, that I mis-measured the width of the dress and I couldn't stretch my elastic enough to make the dress fabric gather enough to fit me. So, after unpicking the elastic three.bloody. times. This is what I ended up with:

Yes, that is me in a giant freaking mu-mu. That's what I had made myself .... A mu-mu. But because I'm a cheapskate and I didn't want to just waste the money I had spent on the fabric ( a whopping $6 ) I decided to have a do-over. I started by chopping the mu-mu through the middle so that it was a knee length. I then took that bad boy in a good 6cms on each side because, let's face it, it was ginormous!

I then took a plain $4 tank top from Big W ....

... And cut it through just below my natural waist. I now had two halves for one new dress! Next step was to set my sewing machine to the longest stitch length and run a basting stitch the entire way around the top of my skirt. By leaving the tails of my thread long after sewing, I then pulled the top thread which gathered the fabric. The trick is to go slowly and gently until the waist of the skirt is the same width as the singlet. Then you slip the singlet inside the skirt, right sides together , waist to waist:

Then you sew together! I set my machine back to a regular sized stitch and straight stitched around the entire waist, making sure to stitch outside the line of the basting stitch, so it wouldn't show through on the front of the dress. When you've finished sewing, and you flip the skirt back down and right side out, this is what you get:

Kind of cute huh? And way better than the giant shapeless sack I'd started out with. Hell, it even looks cute with a wide belt:

And there you be, my first official refashion of a garment. Its not entirely perfect, and its not exactly what I was aiming for in the beginning, but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out in the end!

Home Alone? Really?

As we roll into the weekend, I'm feeling a little worn out. Not that I've had an overly stressful week, but it has been a bit busier than usual, and after having Flynn home with me today when he is usually at daycare I'm a bit in need of a wine and a sleep in tomorrow morning.

Home alone? What will

I do with myself?

I don't know that I can count on a sleep in, but I'm pretty sure I'll get a little time to myself tomorrow. See, Flynn and i went on a 'date' on Wednesday, out to the shops to buy Daddy name Christmas present and have a 'special lunch ' together.... And tomorrow is Daddy's turn to take him to get a present for me. Tully? Well no, she'll be staying home.... There is no WAY Daddy is ready to take two of them out all by himself! Mick hasnt even tackled the task of being at home alone with two of them, let alone out in a public place where all manner of hijinks can ensue!

But I'm okay with that - if Tully can have her usual two hour nap after lunch than I am happy to include that as Mick making an effort to give me some 'me' time. What do I plan to do with it? Well, let's just say I started a little sewing project for myself this week that turned into a bit of a sewing fail, so I'm going to salvage what I can of that little disaster and turn it into something else ( which I may or may not document later on this blog ) and then get started on a little dress for Tully to wear at Daddy's birthday BBQ next Friday night.

I also desperately need to vacuum the living areas but that can wait til 'me' time is over and done with!

Muse Wars - Round Four

 'Muse Wars' is a flash fiction/short story game that is hosted by the beautiful Lori over at RRSAHM. The object is write something inspired by the posted image. This month it was:

She was running. She may not be wearing the fancy brand name sneakers or exercise gear, but running was sure as hell what she was doing. What she always did - anytime something went wrong, someone said something that hurt her or just when life got in the way, got too hard. She thought if she could run far enough, fast enough....well, maybe it just wouldn't hurt anymore.

But she was wrong. Of course she was. She thought if she just stayed home, stayed away, then she wouldn't run into them and she could pretend she wasn't now an outsider where once she was such a vital link in the chain. She hadn't counted on the impact of social media, of being confronted by them not in person, but in words and pictures.

It was the pictures that upset her the most. When she was feeling thoroughly alone there were always the photos of them, out and about, photos of them making memories she wouldn't be a part of. Photos of them dressed to the nines, laughing, partying, playing the silly games that groups of 'best girlfriends ever! ' are want to play. Things that not only did she not get to do with them anymore, but that she did not do with anyone at all anymore. She hadn't found anyone to replace them, of course - for weren't 'best girlfriends forever ' irreplaceable?

And why? Why was she missing from those new memories, those Facebook photos and Twitter statuses that always gave her a slight pang ( not that she would admit it to anyone but herself )? Because when she should have stayed, and fought and spoke up for herself... Well, she'd run. And she'd continue to run, even though she knew where she was running to wasn't any better, any less hurtful, than where she'd run from.....

Dear Tully, 3 Months Old

My gorgeous girl,
I can't believe you are 3 months old already! I know it sounds clichéd, but I really can't believe how quickly the time has flown - it seems like only a week or two ago I was willing you out of there, and now here you are, my 3 month old chunky monkey pumpkin.

You are already such a beautiful girl... Not just pretty ( although those gorgeous long eyelashes do win you lots of compliments ) but you have a beautiful temperament. You are such a cruisy little poppet, usually quite content to lie back in your swing or on your play mat, watching the world go by. Actually, its more like people watching - you are such a people person and a MAJOR snuggle bunny. If someone is happy to have you on their lap, you are happy to snuggle in for a cuddle or a snooze.

Speaking of snoozing, you are a much better sleeper than your brother was at this age, and for that I am extremely grateful. Our feeding is going well now after a bit of a rocky start, and even though people say you don't get the same connection when bottle feeding, I really enjoy the one bottle a day you have - looking down at you and having you looking back at me. I also enjoy sewing clothes for you, and having you wear all the cute things I'm attempting to make for you!

And so - happy 3 months! I can't wait to see what you start doing next - finding your hands ( you're already fascinated with your feet ), rolling, reaching out to touch things, sitting up on your own and first words. Love you my gorgeous baby girl,

Love your Mama

The One I Hate

I'll admit it - I am not the neatest of freaks. My house is quite thoroughly lived in, and though do try and clean some part of it everyday it retains that air of ' recent tornado ' that only a 3 yr old boy can provide. So even though I do my best there one job I just hate doing.... and that's cleaning the bathroom.

Maybe if I had a bathroom like this I might enjoy cleaning it...

The problem is that the bathroom isn't one of those jobs you can put off forever. You know, like folding the washing - you can put that off until you've cultivated yourself quite a nice Mt Washing-ton and it doesn't really matter. But if you put cleaning the bathroom off for too long and you start cultivating yourself a nice batch of mould.... which is really not that nice at all is it?

So I nominated Tuesdays as ' clean the bathroom day '.... and its now Wednesday night and I haven't done it yet. ( Drafting a pattern and sewing Tully a pretty dress has been way more important ). I'm not sure exactly what it is that irks me so much about cleaning the bathroom - maybe the chemical smells, maybe the myriad of surfaces that have to be scrubbed, maybe the fact I'm the only one who does it - but I know that now that i 've already misuse my cleaning day by one day, I have to get to it tomorrow. Or Friday, at the latest.

So what about you - which domestic delight do you find less than delightful?

Back To The Future

Do any of you remember when this blog used to have some substance? And by that, I mean do you remember when I used to write about stuff, about things that were happening out in the world beyond my front door? I do... and I so want to get back to that place. Don't get me wrong - I love my kids and my husband and the particulars of my life right now, but I'm tired of writing exclusively about them. And I'm pretty sure you guys are tired of reading about them, which is why my comments have dropped in the last 6 months or so.

This blog needs a resurgence.... it needs a bit of an injection. Not so much a makeover, just more of a changed up in content. I miss things like the Polly Dolly posts ( so sad that Danimezza discontinued them, and I'm not a big enough clothing size to play along with her new blog hop ) and Flip Off Friday, memes that assured I had motivation to post.

I miss reading a news article and getting my ranty pants on on here, miss sharing links and reviewing books and films.

So I'm making a converted effort. I'm still going to write about my family of course, and I'd love to blog more about my new found love for sewing ( hell, I may even attempt a tutorial at some point! ) .... alls I know is that things need a bit of a shake up around here!

Sewing For The Boy

First off, this is so NOT a tutorial post - I will leave that to the awesome sewing bloggers I've found through Pinterest ( oh yea, I'm on Pinterest now! ). This is more of a hey! Look what I can do post, with a few pictures along the way. See, since acquiring myself a sewing machine my interest in sewing and creating has really taken off, but it occurred to me that I'd only made things for Tully, and my gorgeous boy was kind of missing out on Mummy's creative attention. One day he asked me to make him a bunting for his room, similar to the next I had done for Tully. So this is what Flynn got:

                                         

His verdict? ' Mum, that's amazing! '.... pretty high praise indeed. So I decided I wanted to make something else for him. I'd been making Tully some cute skirts and have pinned a whole heap of gorgeous dresses for her, but there isn't a lot out there for boys. But the one thing I was pretty sure I could do, and he actually need? Pyjamas! So I Googled and searched Pinterest, read some tutorials and got to it!

I traced around a pair of shorts that fit him ( folded in half ) to make a basic pattern on some newspaper. Then I pinned on my folded fabric and cut so I had four pieces. Technically the two back pieces should be slightly bigger than the front - to accommodate the booty! - but he's a toddler.... he doesn't have a big bottom, so I just made each piece the same. I was aiming to make them roomy anyway so he could be comfy while he slept. It was basically sew front to front and back to back at inner seam, new front piece to back piece at crotch and then sew up the sides, creating an elastic waistband to finish. This is what I ended up with:

I cut a rectangular patch of the same material an sewed on the front of a $3 T-shirt from Big W so that he'd have a matching top for his new jammies, then when it was bath and bedtime he got his little present from Mum. What do you think?

One Whole Year

Happy first anniversary to me and my gorgeous husband! One year ago today I was beautifying myself, playing down my nerves and then walking down the aisle to marry the love of my life and the father of my beautiful children. This was us then:

An this was us on Saturday night, when we scored a babysitting session from the grandparents and took the opportunity to go out on a " Happy Anniversary ! " date:

Aside from my hairstyle I don't think we've changed that much - or at least I don't think the being married part has changed us. Starting our business, and having a new baby might have changed us as individuals, but the being married part has only enhanced what was already a solid, supportive, loving relationship. Sometimes we argue ( and when we do its pretty much over the next day ) but it think that's healthy. What's important is that even when we are arguing, we still love each other.

So to my husband, on our first anniversary: thank you for loving me, and letting me love you. Thank you for making beautiful children with me, and supporting me as a wife and mother. Thank you for encouraging when I've needed it, and being constructively critical when I needed that too. Even though sometimes I'd like to punch you in the guts ( I think we've all been there haven't we? ) I love you with my entire heart. And, just for you honey, with all my farts.... you're ( super awesome, most wonderful, very beautiful ) wife....

That Time Of The Month

No, no, not THAT time of the month. I'm talking about my least favourite time of each month, the last day of one transitioning into the first day of the next.... which means doing the invoices/statements for our business. Booooooo!

Yes, I know they have to be done if we want to get paid, but its just so tedious. Even though I elect to print them alphabetically from our accounting software, they still come out of the printer in order of how overdue the account is; then I have to sort them back into alphabetical order; then I have to sort out the individual con-notes for each individual delivery we've done that month ( just as a reminder, we own a courier business, so every package we delivery has its own paperwork ); then I have to match them, staple them, fold them, envelope them and stamp them.

If I was lucky, I used to be ale to get all that done in two days whilst looking after Flynn. Now that I have Tully it takes twice that long because I have to breastfeed/nappy change/settle most of the day and the invoicing gets done in between. Double booooooo!

So guess what I was doing today? And will do some more of tomorrow? And hopefully finish tomorrow? You guessed it - triple booooo!

Me Sew Crazy

So I mentioned that I'd taking up sewing as a hobby, didn't I? I started out wanting to make some furnishings for Tullys room ( which I posted about here : http://www.amywellsblog.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/a-crafty-promise.html ). Then when I was finished her room my darling Flynn asked if I would make him something, so I made him a bunting to go above his bed aswell, with his name on it in nice, bright, boy-flavoured fabric. But what to do with the left overs?

I thought - hell a little baby skirt couldn't be too hard, could it? So I thought on it a while, cruised the net for some tutorials and then gave it a go.... and this is what I came up with:

That's my adorable little pumpkin modelling the very first skirt I made her! ( I hand sewed the headband too ). The fit was a little snug but only because I didn't have quite the width of fabric that would have been suitable but I was stoked with how cute it looked, and how easy it was to make. So I made another one, in a different fabric with a bit more room for those bunched up baby legs.... and I think Tully liked it:

Woo hoo, cutie petutie! It was a much better fit and got her a few compliments the day she wore it, which has given me the confidence to try a bit more. So far I've tried a " pillowcase" dress - the first one was a bit snug so I redrew my pattern a bit bigger and made another one ( photos to come on a day that's warm enough to wear it ) and have bought fabric to try a simple pinafore style dress and some PJs for Flynn.

Maybe sewing/dressmaking is a bit old fashioned - its certainly not as hipster trendy as knitting! - but for right now its fulfilling a "creative " side of me I had forgot existed....

Second Time Around

I dont want to sound boastful or anything but I'm finding this mothering gig a whole lot easier this second time around. Sure it still has its trials and a whole different set of issues that go along with having a toddler and a baby at home together.... but for the most part I'm much less stressed, more ' go with the flow ' than I was with Flynn.

Mummy's cheeky girl!

I was never one of those expectant mums who read every.single.baby manual on the shelves - in fact, I didn't read any at all. I trusted that my maternal instinct and advice from family, friends and health professionals would get me through. Long time readers of this blog would know I had major sleep issues with Flynn, but other than ( pretty damn big and important ) part he was a pretty cruisy baby. He was a big eater though, feeding pretty much every two hours all day til solids were introduced, so one thing we never really had was a routine or any type of predictable schedule.

That's where things are different this go round I think - Miss Tully and I have settled into a great little routine and I think that's what making me so much more relaxed. And what's even better is it hasn't been forced... Tully has just kind of developed her own little thing and I've just gone with it. And it works for us. Cluster feed fr a couple of hours in the morning, little nap; lunchtime feed, big nap; cluster feed in the evening and then 8 or 9 hours sleep through the night, big feed and then back to sleep until breakfast!

 Sure, sometimes she has a funny day and everything goes out of whack, but most days Tully is predictable enough that I fid I have  time....one-on-one time with Flynn, time for ( almost ) keeping my house clean, time in the evening for being with my husband. But, most importantly, I can sneak in a bit if time for myself. I've even started sewing as a hobby ( more on that later ) and find I can enjoy a quiet drink with a good book in the time between the kids bedtime and mine!

I know things are bound to change but, for new, I think this thing we have going on is pretty close to bliss....

A ( Baby ) Weight-y Issue

I think one thing all new mums struggle with is " Oh.My.God - how am i going to lose all this bloody baby weight?! ". I know, with Flynn, i was really laidback about it, i wasnt overly fussed about dropping all those excess kilos ( truth be told i didnt put on much weight really )... until i saw photos of myself when he was almost 1 year old.  I know they say that breastfeeding is supposed to make you shed all that baby weight you put on but its not entirely true - Flynn breastfeed sooooo much that i was hungry all the time, and i had actually put on more weight after his birth than i did when pregnant with him!

So this time around, i was careful with what i ate. I wasnt on a diet or anything, but i tried to moderate what i ate, instead of eating whole loaves of garlic bread for dinner. ( Yes. That really happened. My craving for garlic bread when pregnant with Flynn was so strong i would eat whole loaves for dinner. Or lunch. I must have been the worlds smelliest pregnant lady ). Anyhoo, so i tried to watch what i ate whilst pregnant and i'm trying to do the same now that Miss Tully has arrived and is breastfeeding like a champ. I am muchly proud to say that i have lost all the weight i had put on with her, and then some - however, though the numbers may be back to what they were, the body shape is not!

However, i digress - my point is, like anything to do with conceiving/being pregnant/new motherhood, its nice to have a bit of help. A few pointers on where to start. Which is what i discovered over at Karimums. I found a great little community, created by the same foundation who run Karitane clinics, which offers pregnancy and parenting advice for everybody - breastfeeding mums, formula feeding mums, mums of babies or toddlers, mums who had natural vaginal births and those who had caesars. Hell, i'm pretty sure, even though its called Kari-mums, they give advice to Kari-dads too! And what i found when exploring this great little online resource was a little infographic on pre-pregnancy nutrition. And who doesnt love an infographic, right?

[Source: Karimums. Real mums. Real expertise. Real support.]

Sure, its aimed at women trying to conceive but i think the principles are pretty sound for every woman, no matter what stage of the parenting game she's up to. I know that i've tried to take heed of its advice since i've read it and it seems to be working. Its keeping my body healthy and the community feel of the Karimum forums may just be keeping me sane and mentally healthy too!
( * Disclaimer - this post was prompted by an email from a media company. I have visited the aformentioned site/trialled aforementioned products. Any views/opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own )

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By God - I Think He's Got It!

So, after having tried on and off since his 2nd birthday back in December, i think my son may finally have got the hang of this whole " potty training " thing.

Waiting for a steam train ride with Daddy and Pop, back on Fathers Day

I'm not gonna lie - he had me soooooooooo damn frusturated. He was able to tell us when he had set or dirtied his nappy, and was always wanting to come to the bathroom with us so he could " watch " - both signs of being ready to toilet train - but he would scream bloody murder if we even tried putting him near the potty. I started out last summer putting him in undies and taking him to the potty every hour or so, but he'd just cry and scream and then wee on the floor. We gave it a month or two, let him continue in his nappies and tried again.... same thing. Cry, scream, wee in his pants. Winter set in and that was the end of potty training, i wasnt even going to bother trying in the cold weather.

Then, along came Miss Tully and with her the idea that i now had 2 kidlets in nappies. Umm.... no. No, i just wasnt going to go along with that. So, a few weeks ago, i took Flynn aside and explained to him that Tully was the baby of the house wearing nappies, and he was the big boy.... and as we all know, big boys wear underpants. Could he try wearing his underpants for me that day? He said yes he could and, the rest my friends, is toilet training heaven. He's been in undies all day, everyday, for the past 3 weeks with only half a dozen accidents. At first we took him and got him to " try " and when he did a successful wee in the potty I gave him a sticker for his chart. Within 3 days he was going into the bathroom and going on his own, telling me when he was finished, and asking for his sticker! We also let him put his pull up nappies on at 5pm as i knew he wasnt too keen on using the potty for his #2's yet. However, that has also changed in the past week - we've had successfully #2's on the potty everyday for 6 days... which means Flynn is now only wearing a pull up exclusively for night time sleep.

I couldnt be prouder - or more amazed at how he just, one day, " got it ". Everyone told me he'd come to it in his own time, that one day it would just click, but i didnt expect to literally be one. single.day. One day he was in nappies, refusing to even look at his potty, the next he was agreeing to underpants and going like a boss! Guess it just means my baby boy is growing up into a little man - sweet big brother, pedalling a tricycle instead of using his feet, on the list for preschool and finally using the potty. I swear its only a tomorrow away and he'll be in kindergarten!

Our Pretty Pumpkin

Did i mention previously that Flynn calls Tully his " pumpkin " ? Just like Daddy does? My boys are so in love with her its not funny! And why wouldnt you be? Turns out our girl, even though everyone mentions how much she looks like her brother, is quite the gorgeous girl, or at least i think so. My good friend Ann Maree from Speaking One Thousand Words Photography ( find her on Facebook! ) took some photos of Tully for us and i have to say our pumpkin does ok in the " photogenic " category....

Isnt she the cutest cross-eyed thing you've ever seen?

Loving her chubba bubba baby rolls...

This is my absolute favourite!

A pretty little flower child

Sleeping soundly - which you can tell she didnt do much of, seeing as the rest of the photos she has her eyes wide open!

A Crafty Promise

So another 3 weeks have passed since my last post. I have had inspiration to write but i wont lie - i just havent had the time. Or had the time at the right time of day, as it were - that is, when Tully is asleep during the day i've been trying to really devote some quality time to playing with Flynn, or reading with him, or even just snuggling up to watch a movie ( you know, like " The Lorax ", which we've watched 7 times in the last week ). Come night time when she's settled in the last thing i'm thinking about is my blog - its more like getting our paperwork for the evening done, a child-free chat with my husband, possibly an icecream or a chocolate biscuit and then snoozeville. But today i'm making a blog post a priority ... i dont want my little space to die, or my few regualr readers to drift away. So here i am! And here is this:

Remember a few months ago, when i still pregnant and i mentioned i was busy sewing some decorations for Tullys room? And i promised i'd show you the finished product when she was born, because it had her name on it and the name was still a super secret? No? Well, here you go anyway!

This is the bunting that is, as you can see, hanging above her cot. I wanted something to be a bit of a feature along the wall, aswell as something bright that she could look at when i need to lie her in there while i go to the bathroom/make lunch/attend to Flynn/whatever. I have to say i'm pretty pleased with it and Flynn just this week told me it looks " amazing " ( which happens to be his new favourite word ). I was pretty chuffed....

And this is the matching quilt cover. The cotton material was suitable for a blanket or even really for summer sheets so i bought a cot quilt insert from Target and knocked the cover up to fit over it. It only took me a few hours one afternoon - i mean, lets face it, its pretty much a few rectangles sewed together with a length of ribbon sewn on to cover the joins and make it look pretty. Still, it looks pretty neat to have it match the bunting ( poor old Flynn never had anything matching ... )!

I also made some " wall art " by sewing together two squares of each material in a checkerboard pattern, stitching a white love heart over very middle, and then stretching it over a canvas and frame ( picked up from Spotlight ). For some reason i musnt have taken a photo of it when i mounted it on the wall and i'm not going in to disturb Tullys nap to take one now, so you'll just have to take my word for how well it turned out and imagine it for yourself :)

And there you be: a post that i promised to make as soon as my daughter was born, and only 7 weeks late!

Four Weeks

Its hard to believe that our little Tully Bee is already four weeks old - and also to believe that i havent posted here for almost three weeks! Truth be told i have wanted to post, and have had the urge to write, but my best ideas have struck at 3am when i'm breastfeeding Tully and i just dont have the patience to type out a blog post, on a tablet device, using only one hand...

But i'm here now, and i'm happy to say that its pretty much all good. Tully is proving to be a pretty chilled out, laidback little lady, certainly in comparison to how Flynn was at the same age. For one thing, she sleeps sooooooooo much better than Flynn did - i consider a " bad night " when she wakes twice, as on average she has only been waking the once, feeding for an hour, and then drifting back to sleep whilst she finishes her feed ( which means i can pop her straight back into her cot and head back to bed myself ). She's a hungry little milk pig and if there has been anything we have struggled with its been my milk supply. Tully is being mixed fed as my supply is much lower than it was with Flynn ( probably due to the extra stress of two kids and running a business ) and though at first i was reluctant to give her a bottle or two of formula a day i figured - very quickly - that " fed is best " and now my bubba girl is gaining weight and content after a feed. The majority of feeds are still breastfeeds and i'm enjoying the moments we have together, especially the one or two night feeds when its nice and quiet and un(toddler)interrupted...

Flynn is still in love with his sister - most mornings he'll greet her with a " Good morning Tully! " or my personal favourite " Hello my beautiful pumpkin! " ( which he copied from Daddy ). He constantly wants to kiss her or hug her or touch her hair, which i admit i find incredibly cute, except of course when a hug turns into him almost squeezing her to death or a pat on the head is more like a smack. He does go a bit overboard and get a bit rough sometimes, or a bit grumpy at a lack of immediate attention and he might try and bop her one, but so far he's been caught red handed everytime and told that that kind of behaviour is just not on. Speaking of behaviour, Flynn sookiness (as a way of getting attention ) continues but we're hoping if we refuse to acknowledge demands when he's being whiney, and instead wait until he can ask in a " nice " voice he might outgrow the whingeness soon. Right?!

This raising two children gig is going pretty well though, thus far. I havent had too many meltdowns yet, and though i get frusturated by one or the other of them from to time to i've found that overwhelming feeling of love and contentment far more common. Hell, i even found myself smiling away in the dark at 4am a few days ok, completely in awe of awesome my children and my husband are... and you know that isnt the pregnancy hormones talking, 4 weeks post birth!

Learning To Fit In

Or, I should say, learning hot to fit HER in. Her as in Tully - she's 11 days old today and we've been home from hospital for just over a week. Its been 8 days of Mick, Flynn and I working out how Tully fits into our little family, of the when's and where's of how she needs to do things, and of teaching Flynn how to treat her and how to cope when he can't be put first all the time.

Chilling out in her swing....

So far, things are going pretty well. Yes, we're still in the throes of learning how to breastfeed together, so there are long periods of cluster feeding, or that point  in the early hours of the morning where I wish Mick had boobs, but that's OK. Tully is proving to already be a much better day sleeper than her brother ever was ( and fingers crossed it stays that way!) and on the days Flynn is at home he is proving to be a very handy 'big boy helper '. He's still very much besotted with his sister and loves kissing her or touching her hair every chance he gets, or getting right up close and chatting to her when she's having awake time.

Hey Mum!

Mick and I are also working on how to best share the load. Its tricky because I know, being a professional driver, he really needs his sleep for work so I try not to disturb him during the night, but he has  started getting up with Flynn in the mornings and getting him ready, and letting me catch an extra hour of sleep before he leaves for work. 

This whole new baby thing is a but if a process, but we'll make it in the end!