A Recap, Valentines Style

So i promised that i would make a quick recap post of what happened on my Valentines Day. To be quite honest, there isnt anything overly exciting to recap - thats not to say that i didnt enjoy the day, only that there was nothing incredibly adventurous or parade-worthy to make note of.

Mick and I exchanged gifts at 6am when Flynn woke for a feed. I had bought him a dog tag style pendant to go on a chain he already owns, and had it engraved - " With Love, Amy. 14.02.10 ". I know, i'm too sweet. What did Mick get me ?

This gorgeous little charm to go on the Pandora bracelet that he had bought for my birthday. Pretty, right ? And what was also lovely was that he told me it wasnt a charm - he was giving me a piece of his heart. Awwwwww.....

I made pancakes with banana and honey for breakfast; we took turns reading the Sunday papers while i fed the baby; we just lolled around the house and took it easy until mid afternoon, when it came time for me to start gettng ready for dinner. I specify " me " because i had to spread the whole " getting ready " thing out over an hour or two: i had to shower, shave my legs,blow dry and straighten my hair and do my makeup. Which is not too bad except that i had to have a half hour break somewhere in there to breastfeed Flynn, before he got too cranky at Daddy for not having any boobies. But i got prettified ( unfortunately we werent clever enough to take any photos ) and i must say it felt great to get all dolled up again without having to contend with a huge belly.

We dropped Flynn off at my parents place and Mick and I had a nice dinner at a semi-fancy resturant. I got the chicken, stuffed with cheese and bacon, wrapped in filo pastry; he had the nutcrusted barramundi; and we both indulged in dessert. We werent out long - Mick, especially, missed his " little mate " - but it was nice to have an hour and half to be a couple again, not just " parents ".

I know its kind of late, but i hope the rest of you had a great Valentines Day, whether you were coupled up for the day or not!

Comfort Food, Come Full Circle

So i've joined an exclusively Australian blog community called " Blog This! ", which is all about finding and sharing great Aussie blogs - and participating in blog post challenges. Basically an idea for a blog post is issued as a " challenge " and once you've completed your post on the topic hand, you link back to yourself on the Blog This! site and after an extensive find/read/vote, a winner is chosen. So good luck me! This weeks challenge reads thusly:



'Blog about your comfort food. What is it? Do you make it? How did you stumble upon it? Is it at your favourite restaurant? How does it make you feel ? Share a recipe, restaurant review or about the last time you ate it!'



To be quite honest with you, i didnt know that the concept of a " comfort " food existed until i became a regular viewer of reality tv. That is, it wasnt until every second episode of " Oprah " or " Dr Phil " mentioned comfort eating, or that " The Biggest Loser " exploded onto our screens with its cast of comfort eaters and comfort eating combatants ... well, before all that i just thought food was divided into foods you did like, and foods you didnt; foods you craved more than others and foods you wouldnt eat in a pink fit. But once the whole " comfort eating " concept, for better or worse, had been drummed into me i realised i've had a love affair with more than one comfort food throughout my life. Never more than one comfort food at a time though - that would be like cheating on your partner or lying to your Dad.



So where did i start ? Peanut butter. Or, more specifically, smooth peanut butter on white toast. It couldnt be the crunchy variety, and it couldnt be brown bread. Hell, it couldnt even be just 'bread ' - it had to be toasted. It happened in my teens - in the throes of a deep rooted depression ( which i had diagnosed yet, but thats another a story ) i would turn to the sweet, nutty, stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth goodness of humble peanut butter to make me feel better. To feel normal. I would come in from school and go straight to the bread bin, make me up some toast and slather it in peanut butter. I'd eat 5 or 6 pieces in one sitting and it would never fail to make me feel okay. Or full....

Fast forward a few years. I've finished high school, started medication, and am now working in a part-time retail job. I've given the humble peanut butter the flick. What's comforting me now? Tuna, avocado and lettuce sandwiches. I've upgraded from white bread to the far more complex multigrain, and have discovered the exotic, creamy delight that is avocado. I'd always enjoyed tuna sandwiches - but no brine, ok? - but the avocado just gave it that little something extra. I'd eat this same thing for lunch everyday, day in, day out. It was there when those pesky custmers were giving me hell and it was there when i was just so bored/tired/lazy i couldnt be bothered to make anything else. Tuna and avocado gave me that same sense of order and normalcy that peanut butter did - just in a so uch more grown up way.

A new adventure - now i'm living in the United States, working as an au pair. I'm on the opposite side of the world to everyone i know and love, and i've left the tuna sandwiches behind along with that stubborn depression. Where do i turn for comfort this time? This great little deli in the town where i live ( very originally called Towne Deli ) and their amazing chicken salad sandwiches. I eat so many of them that i no longer need to order them specifically, i just need to turn up and Roberto or Nathan or whomever i was behind the counter would say " The usual ? ". Yep - a chicken salad sandwich, lettuce, and tomato on a Portuguese roll. The chicken salad was comprised of diced chicken, finely chopped cucumber and this delicious mayonnaise who's ingredients were never revealed to me. It wasnt like anything i could get at home so i'm not quite sure how eased my homesickness, but somehow this chicken salad just " got " me. Thats what we all really want, right ?

Rewind to last year and a situation that practically guarantees i'm going to find a new food affair - i'm pregnant! I'm expecting to crave the cliche pickles-and-icecream combo but no - no crazy, far out, weird pregnancy cravings for me. Nope, just, well... devon. I'm kind of ashamed to admit that ( lets face it, devon is not exactly the rockstar of the deli meat world). I also had the tendency to exhale whole loaves of garlic bread in one go, but devon was the easiest, yummiest, bestest on the go snack during my pregnancy. A midwife tells me that craving salty, savoury foods like these mean i'm having a boy - and i do!

And now? My Flynn is 7 weeks old and where am i at? I'm back with my first real love - peanut butter. Its still the smooth kind only this time it has to be on multi grain toast. Its my breakfast staple and if i cant my beautiful boy to sleep or i'm pushed for time or he just wont for the love of God stop crying! - well sometimes its my lunch aswell.

My life my have changed forever, certain people and things may have come and gone, but i think peanut butter is here to stay.....

Thinking Happy, Week 3 - Happy Valentines Day!

Ok, so its actually the day before Valentines Day but i'm getting in early while i have both my children ( the baby-child AND the man-child ) asleep . Once again, i'm joining in Good Golly Miss Holly!'s " Operation Think Happy " by making a list of 7 things that have made me happy or put a smile on my face this week - feel free to join if you like!

1. Being healthy - both Flynn and I had our 6 week post-natal check ups this week and i'm happy to say we're both healthy and problem free!

2. Having time to myself - I left Flynn at Grandma and Poppy's house ( thats my mum and dad ) while i went to get a haircut. Its the first time i've had in 7 weeks to get and out and about by myself - it was so nice just to have an hour and half just doing something for me. Of course i wondered what Flynn was doing and went straight to him and smothered him with kisses when i got back.... but in the moment, it made me happy to have that little ounce of freedom.

3. An early morning snuggle - with everybody! Now before you let your imagination run away with you, i'm taking me, Mick and Flynn, all curled up together this morning. I had Flynn curled into my chest trying to get him back to sleep and then Mick rolled over and hugged me into him. It was just a blissful little moment where i realised what a beautiful little family we've made....

4. Blog posts - not mine: yours! I've read so many interesting posts this week.... keep up the good work people!

5. My haircut - ok so i've already mentioned that being able to get out and go for a haircut made me happy, but the haircut itself has put a smile on my face too. I've had about 6cm/2 inches-ish taken off so i now have a shoulder length bob type thing happening. I have a natural wave in my hair which, with the new length, looks much more bouncy and less weighty. Noice!

6. A full nights sleep - Flynn had one night of what is called ' sleeping through ' - that is, he slept from 10:30pm til 6:30am, which means Mummy got almost a full 8 hrs. Might not sound like much but it made my day!

7. Facebook friend requests - i had one from a blog buddy ( hey Paula! ) and one from a girl i went to high school with. She still lives here in town but - as you do - we lost touch, so it was nice to get a friend request and be able to catch up a bit. I've also realised that there are at least 5 girls from my class ( including me ) who still live here who have babies 1 yr old or younger. Maybe i should try and start a mummas group with them?

So there you be - with Valentines Day up tomorrow hopefully i will have some more highlights for next weeks list.... and a specific Valentines Day recap post for you aswell!

At Last - The Unmasking...

Well, doesnt that sound mysterious - " The Unmasking ". You know who usually gets unmasked? Superheroes - and the villains at the end of every episode of " Scooby Doo " thats ever been made. Not that i'm a superhero or anything ( so you can quit it with your Amy-as-Wonderwoman fantasies ) nor is the person i'm about to introduce you to. No - he's someone that you're all very familiar with but till this very momentous occasion you've never seen his face. Who could i possibly be talking about?

Mr Gil.

Or Michael, as his mother named him. Or Mick, as he prefers to be called. Thats us right there - me and my fiance, the man i have formerly hidden behind the mantle of Mr Gil and who will now be referred to in this blog as Mick.

Why unmask him now, after all this time? Well i figure i use my own name and because i cant help but gush over my gorgeous boy i've used my son's real name and plastered his photo all over this site; plus if you're my friend on Facebook ( which you can be, if you wanna.... just let me know ) you'd be able to see Mick's page via the " Amy Wells is engaged to " link anyway. And this way when I have any cute pictures of Flynn with his daddy or both of his parents i can post them without having to blur Micks face or crop him out. Its just going to make things so much easier!

So there you have it. I dont know if any of you were curious to see what " Mr Gil " looked like but if you were i hope your curiousity has been satisfied. And now onto the rest of my day - Flynn is ( thankfully ) having a nap so i get some lunch in before i take him for his 6 week check up - and needles - this afternoon....

Thinking Happy, Week 2

Welcome back to " Operation Think Happy ", as so dubbed by Holly at ( the newly re-named ) " Good Golly Miss Holly! To remind you, the operation involves a weekly post of 7 things that have made you happy the past week. So:

1. Finding my son a girlfriend - or my best friend P had her baby this week and i've decided that she and Flynn will day get married. Welcome little E.C!

2. Spending time with my sister - i dont always get along with my sister, but it was nice just hanging out watching some movies with her one rainy afternoon. Also, it meant i could eat my lunch/go to the toilet/fold some washing uninterrupted because i had someone to help me with Flynn.

3. Cashew marsala - i literally only ate this meal half an hour ago but it was sooooo delicious. Chicken and rice and sweetness and creaminess and - yum.

4. Singing - i used to give awesome concerts whilst cruising around in my car; now bouncing around the loungeroom singing my son to sleep makes me happy. Today i gave a particularly tuneful rendition of " Love Me Like The World Is Ending " by Ben Lee, yesterday it was " Gravity " by Allison Krauss...

5. Afternoon naps - i've been lucky enough to fit in some afternoon naps while Flynn has been sleeping. I've always been a fan but now that i have a baby and sleep is not as abundant as it used to to be, a really good nap makes me very hapy indeed.

6. My neice B's smile - she's just tunred one and she has the cutest little smile. Not all her teeth have come in yet so its all gappy, which only makes it cuter. She also likes to accompany it with her favourite word - " Hello! " - over and over. Too sweet!

7. Mr Gil - admittedly he was kind of reading this list over my shoulder and wanted to know why he hadnt been included yet. So i've kept the best for last - of course he makes me happy! Sometimes unbelivably so.....

Why Are People of My Generation So Stupid?

Not all of us of course - I mean i dont think I'M stupid, or any of the wonderful Gen-Y bloggers that read. Nope, i'm talking about the apparent majority of people who participated in the survey reported on here: " Breastfeeding embarrasses Gen Y ".

They are kidding right ? Apparently, aswell as finding that the majority of respondents have no idea about the benefits of breastfeeding, according to a survey conducted by the Queensland University of Technology :

More than 50 per cent of women believed it would be uncomfortable to breastfeed in public, and a majority of men and women did not want their child to be breastfed in public for fear of embarrassment.

Why - why should breastfeeding be embarrassing ? And are we talking its embarrassing for the women who is feeding or for the people around who may be able to see her ? It just exasperates me that these people of my generation, aged 19 - 29, who if they dont already have kids may be having them sometimes in the near future..... it just frusturates me that they would respond that way.

Breastfeeding is literally the most natural thing in the world - a womans body is genetically engineered for it. Nature intended for a woman to breastfeed, and for a baby to get the best nutritional benefit from being fed this way, so why is somehing so natural and so good for us considered " embarrassing " ? I can understand perhaps if you were an overly shy woman you might feel a little strange getting your breasts out in public, or a modest bystander may blush a little seeing a woman with a breast out. But lets face it - we're not talking " Girls Gone Wild " exhibitionism here: we're talking a display of flesh so slight you may aswell not see anything at all. It takes maybe 20 seconds to slip your shirt strap and bra down and once thats done the babies head is in the way of anything titillating.

So maybe i can understand how breastfeeding could be embarrassing for a mother ( i still fail to see how its embarrassing so much for bystanders ). What i cant not, and will not ever, be able to wrap my head around is how it can possible be found offensive ( NOTE: offensive is never mentioned in the article; its just a bug bear of mine ). I was listening to talk back radio the other night - at 4am whilst breastfeeding - and some old woman had called in to say that she finds it offensive to see women breastfeeding in public. Its indecent, she said. Seriously, i wanted to either call the radio station and berate this lady or find the old bird and give a good hard bitch slap. How can it possibly be offensive to feed a child the best way possible? Nobody is at the mall just flopping their boobs out for all and sundry to see; none of us breastfeeding ladies is doing it for some pervy, kinky reason, or see how many people we can upset by flashing a bit of nipple as we lift the baby to our breast. Nope, breastfeeding is simply about nutrition and bonding with your child, i dont know how you can find anything offensive about that.

Its people with the same attitude as crazy radio lady that make it embarrassing for some women to feed their children in public. So what do you guys think - embarrassing ? Offensive? Or just plain natural?

A Photo Update

My gorgeous little man smiles now! Granted, thats only really a smirk, but the cheeky little dude wont burst into into a full blown smile when Mummy has the camera in his face. But i gotta say, as annoying as it is that he wont co-operate so i can share his smiles with the world, when he does bless me with a big toothless grin its the most heart-meltingly beautiful thing in the world...

He's beginning to really like his seahorse - see, he's giving it hugs! Flynn's seahorse lights up and plays music and just in the last few days Flynn has started taking a real liking to it. This is handy, because if he wont fall asleep i can put him in his bassinette, turn the seahorse on, and i know i have exactly 5 minutes of music ( and thus, amusement ) to have a shower!


And this one is not so much an update as it is a backdate - thats me and my little dude straight after his birth. As haggard as i look, i'm not ashamed to share this one. I'm allowed to look tired - i've just accomplished something amazing!