Dear Gift Buying Family

Dear family members who may like to buy me a birthday gift,

Thanks for thinking of me! As you know my 29th birthday is coming up and I thought I could give you guys a hand by making you a quick little list of things I might like to be gifted this year. And no, its not a crazy hypothetical list like the one I did for Santa - these are real time, real place, things I actually would like to unwrap after some wicked indulgent birthday cake.( Wickedly indulgent birthday cake is NOT part of the list ).

First of all, I wouldn't mind getting a cute, comfy, set of PJs. This was actually prompted by a conversation I had with Flynn whereon he told me that's what he would like to get for me, but the more I thought on it, the more I thought it was a good idea. I like PJs, I like sleeping in PJs, I early morning cuddles with my babies in PJs, and I happen to currently be wearing two mismatched pairs, so a cute new set would be entirely wanted AND appropriate.

Next, the ' A Song of Ice and Fire ' series of books by George R. Martin - also known as the ' A Game of Thrones ' series. They were on my Christmas list but were one of the items that didn't quite make the Christmas cut. I'm kind of dying to watch the ' A Game of Thrones ' TV series but I refuse to watch it before I've read the books. If I don't receive the series for my birthday, I will be forced to buy them for myself, instead of spending more money on fabric at Spotlight. Mama does not want to lose her Spotlight money!

Lastly on the list - perhaps a voucher for a beauty treatment or a massage would be nice. Actually, how bout you combine those ideas and get me a pedicure and lower leg massage. Apparently Aquarians are supposed to suffer from ankle and lower leg ailments and I am so feeling that lately! Maybe its a leftover symptom from all the crappy circulation you have as a pregnant lady but my feet and ankles are killing me! You get me that pedicure/massage and jot only will I get some pain relief but I'll get pretty little toes-ies are aswell. May be with some sparkle?

And that be all. Of course I will accept gifts that are not on the list, this letter is simply to give you some direction. ( But not One Direction, because I'm not turning 12 and they kind of make me vomit in my mouth a little ).
Thanks a bunch,
The Impending Birthday Girl

Dear Flynn, Aged 3 Years - Happy Birthday!

Dear Flynn,
A week and a bit ago you turned 3 years old - Mummy can hardly believe that you've only been around for 3 years because it seems like you've been with us forever! Even though 3 years is such a relatively short time, I'm amazed at how much bigger and older you seem to have grown in the year since your last birthday.

We started out the year with a visit from the Dummy Fairy - getting rid of those dummies was just one step of many you took this year changing from toddler to ' big boy '. You started preferring showers to baths ( after Daddy convinced you that a shower is really just an upside down sprinkler ), you can drink from a normal cup like a big kid ( even though you still spill a little and  prefer a sippy cup most of the time ) and the big one - you mastered potty training! It was a bloody long and frustrating process but you now wear your big boy undies all day and you use the toilet - oh yes, TOILET, not potty! - all by yourself. We haven't quite started night training yet but I'm sure you'll take to it with ease.

You also became a big brother this year, which has been quite the game changer for you. You went through an a period of adjustment of course, one where you personified the word ' sook ', and a few times you've driven Mummy and Daddy completely up the wall, but mostly you've been awesome. You are a great big brother and your little sister adores you. Every morning you tell Tully that she's a great sister, or a beautiful princess, or that she is your little puddin' ' and she looks for you when you aren't here. The way you love her, and the way you help me look after her, makes Mummy and Daddy so proud.

Just as a quick aside - those little cogs in your head have been turning lately, and I think you've realised you can push peoples buttons to get a reaction. I know its natural to explore those boundaries but STOP DOING IT. I love your guts but if you keep up with the ratbag behaviour you may not make it to 4 years old! ( Kidding. Of course you will. You just might have to move in with Grandma and Poppy though ).
Love your guts little man, so so sooooo stinking much!
Your Mama

Today I'm linking up for the first time ever with I Blog On Tuesdays, the Linky party hosted every week by EssentiallyJess

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!

Let Them Eat Cake

So between the chaos of Christmas and New Years, in our house there is Flynns birthday. Oh yea, poor boy had the misfortune of being born in that no-mans land week between parties, which means he pretty much gets all his presents in one big go and is devoid of the pleasure of unwrapping for the rest of the year.
However, though the presents might be the important part to him ( even just turning 2 he already knows the excitement of " ooh - presents!! " ), the important part of the day for me as mama is the cake.

Or, should i say cakes - this year Flynn daycare " mum " ( he goes to family daycare, and i dont like just calling her a "carer " or babysitter... ) asked if they could have a little birthday bash for him on the last of care for the year ( Dec 23rd ) so i had the pleasure of making two lots of birthday cakey goodness this year. And i say pleasure because although i did stress a bit about how they would turn out, i actually enjoyed thinking of a cute idea and then making and decorating the cakes

I decided for daycare it would be nicer to do cupcakes, that way each little kid on their own piece, all the same size, no arguments. But i didnt want them to plain old cupcakes, i wanted some kind of theme, something Flynn would like. So i thought a bit and came up with " ooh- Sesame Street! The boy loves Sesame Street! " So for daycare Flynn got these:

Can you tell that theyre supposed to be Cookie Monster? Vanilla cupcakes with blue coconut icing, mini marshmallows for eyes and mini choc-chip cookies jammed in where his mouth would be ( because what else would Cookie Monster have hanging out his face ? )
And for the official day i had to do a proper birthday cake. One that caused me a bit of anxiety as to how to make it. One like this:

ELLLLLLLLLLLLLMOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! This was the stressful one - how do i make the eyes? How do i make the nose? What shape should his mouth be? In the end i went with the semi-circle mouth carved into the cake, eyes made of chocolate biscuits, the nose from a Monte Carlo and everything iced the appropriate colour. I need not have stressed though - Flynn was amazed by the whole Elmo cake but he didnt actually eat any! ( he was too busy playing... )

So how do you think i went? And are you a home-made or a store-bought kind of person?

Dear Flynn, Aged 2 Years - Happy Birthday!

To my dear Flynn,

You crazy little fluffy-nut - happy birthday! Mama ( yep, just lately you almost always call me " Mama " instead of " Mummy " ) can't believe you turned 2 yesterday and you can NOT be called a baby anymore. As Daddy and I keep telling you, you are most definately a big boy now - a funny, (mostly) well-tempered, smart little boy who loves being outside, wrestling with his dad and pretty much anything with wheels.

When you're not being all rough and tumble, you  do enjoy reading a book or five. This is something i really love about you. I love that you've taken an interest in books and even if Daddy or I can't sit and read to you, you are more than happy to sit on your bed with CharlieBear and Hoot and your teddy bear Bruce and flip through the book yourself. You also love music and ask me to put your music on for you in your room at least once a day ( Justine Clark and the Wiggles are you favourites ). And then you dance and sing and a few times i've even caught you just lying back on your bed listening, just like a teenager would. That kind of made me smile even though it kind of reminded me of how fast your growing up...

You've conquered so much this year - you started walking just after your first birthday, then running, and then climbing up anything you could get to. You talk constantly and your speech is developing rapidly ( methinks this is because you know a lot of children older than yourself, and you spend a lot of time chitty-chatting with them ) and you've even starting counting to 10 ( although apparently the number 6 doesnt exist.... ).

That binky you have in your face there is going this year too....

This coming year i've got one major thing on your to-do list, little man - potty training. Mama would love for you to learn to go to the " potty " so that we can throw away the nappies. We've already started - slowly - and though we had one morning where you successfully went in the potty most times when i ask if you need to go you shake your head and say " No mama no! Dont want it! ". No matter - slow and steady and i'm sure by this time next year we can say you're nappy free!

I know i say it all the time but - Mama loves you! I'm so proud of the way your are growing, the personality you are developing, the little person you are turning into. I love that you use your manners 99% of the time, that your pretty fast and loose with your kisses and "huggles" and that you love to laugh. Daddy and I couldnt love you anymore if we tried!
Keep up the awesome sleeping and you're pretty much the perfect kid,
Love you millions,
Mama

Happy Birthday!

....to my very handsome, kind of crazy, but insanely loveable husband Mick!

Unfortunately its a weekday which means he has to work, but i'm looking forward to having him home tonight and sharing birthday dinner and dessert with him. I'm doing a pork and pear tray bake ( pork rashers and pears in a maple syrup marinade, oven baked ) and a dessert i'm calling a Layered Dessert Brownie ( chopped up brownies layered in a tall glass with raspberries, homemade custard , chocolate sauce and coconut ). There is no birthday cake because, again unfortunately, poor Mick has to work later than normal on his birthday, so we are inviting the family around on Sunday morning to do a belated birthday celebration.

I was also hoping to suprise both my boys by putting up our Christmas tree while Flynn had his nap this afternoon - however, after going out to the shed (in the rain! ) to bring all the Christmas stuff back inside i discovered we are missing half our tree! Methinks my stupid wonderful husband may have accidentally thrown some of it out when he did a clean up earlier this year... bah humbug to that!

Ah well - hopefully my hubby is enjoying his birthday at work as much as he can, and i can do the tree tomorrow while Flynn sleeps. After all, its bad luck to put it up before December 1st anyway, isnt it?

Polly Dolly - Birthday Babe

You read it right - its another Polly Dolly. I'm running a little late on this one... partly because i work Fridays and partly because Polyvore was being a pain in my arse and it took me forever to get this set finished. But never mind that! This week the lovely Dani from Danimezza would like to see our cutest outfit for a .....

My little Flynn will be turning 2 on December 27th - the perfect time of year for a cute summer-y outfit. I found these great denim shorts ( which arent too long, but arent shorty shorts either! ) and paired them with this sweet ruffle top, in the perfect mauve/purple shade. Throw on a pair of gorgeous wedges for a bit of height, and some wooden bangles to tie in with the brown in the shoes. A pair of sunnies are mandatory for a summer party and then all thats left is the party! A " Sesame Street " theme would actually really suit my Elmo/Cookie/Ernie mad son so that great cake and some colourful balloons will be all we need!

Birthday Blues

Firstly – yes, i know i haven’t posted for a week. Its uncharacteristic. Truth be told, i have no excuse except the fact that i couldn’t really be bothered. I have been reading, and commenting, on other peoples blogs, i just haven’t been enthused enough to write anything on mine. But i digress....


For those of you have been paying attention the past few weeks, this past Saturday was my 27th birthday. I had big plans to go to the zoo with Mick and Flynn but the stinking hot weather put an end to that ( too hot for us, and too hot for the animals to even bother coming out of their shade or shelters ). No matter – i thought my boys could take me to lunch, and then i could have birthday cake with my family. All good.

But it wasn’t – it wasn’t all good at all. My mind, and my heart, wouldn’t let it be. I wanted so much to really enjoy my birthday, to enjoy the time with my family, but i just couldn’t. Somewhere in the back of my mind, in the depths of my heart....there she was. There it was – the shadow of my lost friendship, hanging like a black cloud over everything. Even though i was surrounded by family, i felt like something ( or someone ) was missing. The first birthday with no “ happy birthday! “ text, no card, no shared cake. And even though i had loving family around me i felt strangely, mind-numbingly, alone.

I had lunch with Mick ( Flynns teeth were playing up and i didn’t fancy having a squirmy, sooky toddler with me at the restaurant), then we had birthday cake at home, an d then i went for dinner at my parents ( which i didn’t eat, because i didn’t feel hungry ). The first chance i got i snuck off and sobbed my heart out, the kind of sobbing that makes you dry heave and makes your head ache. My dad came and found me and i poured my heart out to him – he’s always really good with advice and gave me a few words of wisdom, and confirmed that i am NOT, in fact, a horrible person. So i swallowed my tears and went down to the loungeroom to watch “ Toy Story 3 “.

And thats my birthday – drowned in a sea of lonliness and bitterness and hurt, and seemingly controlled by someone who wasn’t even there. Bring on my 28th!

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.

I Needs Some Good Ideas!

Hello there, and welcome to another ( and long overdue ) Blog This! challenge. Its not that i havent been regularly participating, but rather that the sites admin was going through a little bit of a change up and there were no challenges posted. However, challenges are back and this week:
Do you have a problem or is there something you're struggling with? Small or big, something that just won't go away? No matter where you look you can't find the solution?

This week's challenge is to share a struggle or problem you're currently facing and ask other Blog This members for advice and suggestions!

So, mine isnt exactly a huge problem, and its not exactly a struggle ( i've already blogged the whole sleep issue thing to death, and Operation Slimdown is its own kettle of fish ) but here' what i want to put to you guys: my gorgeous Flynn is now 9 and half months old, which means his first birthday is slowly creeping up on me, and no doubt time will fly in the lead up to Christmas. I'm already starting to think about his first birthday party which i'd love to be a small, simple, fun affair for everyone involved. Bearing in mind the majority of guests will be adults and family ( i'm going to invite a few of his little friends from mothers group though ) i'm thinking a barbecue at Grandma and Poppys place is the best way to go. However, their is still the matter of the most important part ( for me ) of the whole shebang -
What in the hell crap am i going to make for his first birthday cake?!?
I want something thats going to be cute and look good in photos, so we can look back and say " Look at that cool cake Mummy made you when you turned one! ". I have a few ideas - maybe i could do a caterpillar, cutting five "rounds " from some larger cakes and spell out his name on the body using Smarties; maybe i could make a puppy dog face because he really likes his " Woof Woof! " book; Maybe i could just make something yummy and stick Elmo's face on it. But thats all i got people - i needs some suggestions!
Things to bear in mind - he's turning one; his birthday is December 27th so he's pretty much a Christmas baby; he's good with motor skills and Sesame Street seems to be his favourite tv show.

So go to it ladies and (possible ) gents - do you have any suggestions for a cute 1st birthday cake?

O.M.G - Brangelina Are Breaking Up!

I know - how shocking? If i werent already happily attached this may have given me the perfect chance to get together with Brad and we could raise a rainbow family of our own ( but only if he shaves off that hideous beard - he looks like a lumberjack ).

Now that i have that very important news out of the way - the rest of my birthday turned out very well. I had a couple of spare hours up my sleeve alone with Flynn before Mr Gil got home and my family turned up, so we watched " Rent " on DVD. Despite the fact that some critics said the movie version is not all that good, " Rent " is my favourite musical and i really like the film. I threw it on and sung all the songs to Flynn ( in between feeds ) and danced him around the loungeroom when he got a little grizzly. So what if the musical subject matter includes such baby friendly topics as AIDS and drug addiction ? Its essentially a story about love and besides that singing to your child ( whether its nursery ryhmes or Top 40 stuff ) is engaging for them. I loved it!

I got quite a few nice presents ( DVD's , a book, a new wallet and some chocolates included... ) and my birthday dinner was fantastic. Mr Gil ended up making me butter chicken and it was just the right mix of saucy and spicy and yum... so yum that i ended up eating the leftovers for my lunch the next day. So i'm officially 26 now. One of my loyal readers ( you know, of the 3 of you... ) asked if i felt any older - i'm going to go with yes, but no.

How do i get yes, but no? Well i do feel older but i dont think it has all that much to do with having a birthday, and i dont necessarily think its older but rather i feel more mature. I think this whole " I actually feel like a proper grown up now " feeling has rather less to do with hitting age that is closer to 30 than it is to 20 and more to do with becoming a mother. You know - i'm partnered up, i have a small, wrinkly, but entirely gorgeous small person who relies on me for everything, i have a mortgage and a car loan and when my annual leave pay runs out we'll only have one income and few government benefits to live off until i go back to work. I mean, those are grown up concerns right?

If they dont qualify me as being almost entirely adult now, i shudder to think what you have to do to join the club.....

Happy Birthday - To Me!

Oh yea, thats right - go Amy, its your birthday.....

* Note * This is not my actual birthday cake - i just thought it was cute!

My 26th birthday to be precise, and my first as a mumma. So far its going well.... Mr Gil gave me my birthday present at 4am when Flynn woke up for a feed ( I gotta say it was a nice suprise to be spoilt in the middle of the night! ) and i'm a very lucky girl - my boys got me a Pandora bracelet! I dont know if Pandora is a big thing overseas but its pretty popular here. Basically its a completely personalised charm bracelet system, where you start off buying the base "snake chain " bracelet and then add on which ever charms you so desire. Mr Gil has bought me the silver version ( very cleverly knowing that i dont wear gold jewellery ) and had included two charms - an " M " bead ( for his first name... ) and an " F " bead for Flynn. Aww, my boys are two cute!

Flynn also decided to spoil me by going (almost) straight back to sleep after his 4am feed and then sleeping another 3 and half hours - which means i got around 7 hrs sleep over night ( score! ) and got to eat my breakfast and take a quick shower uninterrupted. Mr Gil claims this is because he had a little father-to-son chat with Flynn and told him he had to be good on mummys birthday. Which he has - he's only just fallen asleep after 4 and half hours awake, but it was relatively calm awake time, so i truely am getting a good little boy today.

The rest of my immediate family are coming around for birthday cake this afternoon after Mr Gil gets home from work. Its only going to be a small gathering but i'm looking forward to it - i mean yes i'll be getting cake and birthday presents but its nice to have visitors when i've been spending the majority of my days with just a little person for company ( note that by " little person " i mean my baby. I havent recently acquired my own dwarfed person ). And then Mr Gil is cooking me some Indian food for dinner and doing the dishes to boot - what a guy!

I guess we'll find out tomorrow how the rest of my 26th ended up....

An Anniversary

" Happy Birthday to me, I'm one hundred and three.... "

Well, no, not exactly. It IS my birthday, but didnt turn 103. I'm only one quarter of the way there - today is my 25th birthday. Yay for me! Its been a good day ( yes, despite the fact that i had to go to work ... ), although now that its winding down the weather has decided to turn all hot and sticky, which wont make for a good nights sleep.

But hey, I had a couple of belly laughs today ( at J's expense... ), two- count 'em, two! - birthday cakes ( one at work and one at home with my family ) and got approximately 5 birthday hugs ( the best one from my neice H, she's my favourite hugger ). I didnt get a whole swag of presents, but at 25 its not really the point - but what i did get was nice ( especially the " Happy " by Clinique that I had hinted about to my sister. Good listening sis! ).

And that is all. I didnt do anything spectacularly interesting so i'll make this a short post. Hope everyone else had a good day too!

Short and Sweet - Its Been On My Mind

Dear Dr S - Anaethetist,

What is up with you charging me so damn much for your services ? If I knew you were going to make me pay through the nose, I would have drunk myself into a stupor and knocked myself out. But i suppose its the old supply vs demand thing isnt it ?I needed the needle and you could supply that; however you dont need the money ( which i dont exactly have to supply ). Therefore, I'm going to pay you in installments - let you sweat on it a little.
How do you like them apples ?
Amy
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Dear She Who Feels So Hard Done By,

You're joking, right? I hate to tell you, but you reap what you sow. How you could expect love after giving no affection, respect after years of thinly velied insults, and admiration without innovation is beyond me. Perhaps if you'd made all these efforts ten or fifteen years ago, the end result might have been different. As it stands, your probably better off cultivating relationships with the new little people in your life.
Better luck the second time around,
Amy
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Dear P,

So glad you had a happy birthday! Thankyou for indulging my need to go out for brunch; sorry we got sunburnt. Also, thanks for taking me to see your neice - she is too gorgeous! I get so carried away in m own two neices, I forget how cute other peoples kids can be. My fingers are crossed that you have your own cute little kidlets by the end of this year.
I'll get back to you about my birthday wish list,
Amy
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Dear Chadwick,

So good to hear from you! The best emails are the ones that come completely out of the blue - or the white, as it were, seeing as you've told me your snowed under up there in Canada. You need to get your arse down here to Australia and get yourself a tan. Although, as the public service ads here warn us " Tanning is skin cells in trauma ". I swear that ad makes me want tot throw up. But forget all that - we have to save some money and get our respective selves on another holiday. Seriously, you were the best travel buddy of the bunch.
Wanna hit up Morrocco ?
Amy
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( Thanks to this post by Andy for the " short letters " idea ).