Shh Not So Loud

I've moved!

2008-03-24T21:37:00.002+10:00

I have a new blog :D

Words!

Very catchy name hehe,could NOT think of anything better :P
So update your blogrolls :D

Needed a project

2008-03-09T08:29:00.005+10:00

So I am in the process of creating a new wordpress blog on one of my domains.
Now because of the two girls .. this may take a while hehe

Also any suggestions for a title would be fabulous! Can't guarantee I will use it but it's good to get ideas.

We went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary yesterday,which is literally five minutes up the road, it was good to get out for a couple of hours :) Didn't get many photos Miss L is impossible to photograph atm, as soon as she sees the camera she turns the other way, or she puts on her Camera Smile which looks ridiculous.

Today we are off to storytime at the library ooh and might spend my $20 myer voucher just cause I can!

Ok some photos to finish off

This fellow is a Tawny Frogmouth he was being ganged up on by about five Currawong's big bullies! He was in a tree in our neighbours backyard. Have noticed heaps of Currawong's around lately. Most odd. Had to use my zoom lense to take this photo which is HARD to use as it wobbles all over the place, so had my elbows pinned at my sides and tried to prop myself against the wall .very awkward!

Watching Miss L feed the roos (prams are good for carrying bags *lol*)

Feeding the lorikeets

Half birthdays and random things

2008-03-04T09:17:00.002+10:00

So my sweet bubba is 6 months old today! Rather in shock about how fast that has gone, before I know it she will be 1!

She is crawling like a champion, pulling herself up on things too won't be too long before she is cruising the furniture I don't think :)
No teeth yet and the closest she has come to 'solids' is sucking on Laurens apple & pear and we think eating a little chunk of damien's toast off the floor (she was gagging a bit but couldn't get in to see what it was and then she swallowed it gah!) and sucking on and gagging on (was able to get this bit out) a sliver of watermelon.
Am in no rush and this time around I am not bothering with cooking up heaps of vegies and mushing them. Will probably just cook up a carrot/sweet potato/pumpkin or something and offer her chunks while we all have dinner ie put them on the table in front of her and see what happens OR if we have something in our meal that is suitable offer her that. Most of the stuff we eat isn't suitable though as its either meat/dairy/wheat or other not quite suitable things.

I am going to cut out a lot of meat I think, I want to eat more pulses and other non-meaty proteiny things, for one meat is so damn expensive, and if we can make the meals last longer (for damien) we can save money. So I will be hitting you vegetarians *looks at Stacey* up for some of your favourite vegie meals :)

I have to cut my spending back .. a lot! So I am going to take on Stacey's non-essentials challenge for this month, need to knock of some CC debt and its not happening with all these little purchases I keep making. We *can* make do with what we have, or if we really need something I will try my hardest to buy second hand.

Ok this got rambly *lol* onto my 'random things'

Firstly ..Here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1) I was born in Kaitaia in Northland NZ. Raises in Whangaparaoa and moved to Australia at the end of highschool 1997

2) I have tendonitis in my right arm, which aches all day, and BURNS if I overuse it. Cannot write more than half a page/few paragraphs of writing using pen & paper, hurts too much.

3) I have 2 skin . things .. called Meta something or other, spontaneous scarring is the other word. They are just little areas of skin that look like bruises but aren't. THey can be quite awful in that they skin goes rock hard and it just keeps spreading, but thankfully mine aren't like that. I have one on my left upper arm, and one on my left boob up the top. The boob one only appeared just before I fell pregnant with Anya, I keep meaning to go get it checked but forget.

4) I have like 1/16 Maori blood hehe

5) When I was little I wanted to be a Police Office, Zoo Keeper or Marine Biologist

6) When I was about 8 I was staying up on my Aunty's farm (with mum) and I scratched (the tiniest scratch) my finger on a bit of rusty barbed wire, I was terrified I was going to get tetanus, I begged for a bandaid and cream but was told to not be silly and it was only a scratch. I was so so scard, I can still remember laying in bed with my hand on my heart, not wanting to fall asleep, but wanting to keep my hand on my heart so I would feel my heart stop beating if I died from tetanus.

7) I was labelled as 'hyperactive' as a child (after mum made the link of me having cheezels as a young child and going completely crazy) Mum put me on the Feingold Diet and I was fine as long as I didn't have chocolate/food colourings, going to birthday parties I wasn't allowed to eat most of the food. I had my first chocolate bar at 12 years old and it was a crunchie and the best thing I had ever tasted. Lauren is exactly like I was, she can't have chocolate or anything with the nasty additives listed here and it is going to start this year with birthday parties, I am going to have to be the 'mean' mummy and tell her 'no sorry sweetheart you can't have that', she knows she can't have chocolate and is pretty ok about it which helps :)

Ok so seven people Peta, Rach, Bec, Chrissy hrmmm that'll do hehe

Cause it needs updating

2008-02-24T20:49:00.004+10:00

Not really any news to tell!
But I am sure you are sick of Sultana Cookies ;)

Life is plodding along, still stuck on the computer room, but once its done the house will be tidy!

The playroom is SO easy to get back to tidy, love it :)

Sooo some cuteness!

Sultana Cookies

2008-02-12T21:24:00.000+10:00

These are pretty damn tasty!
Quick & easy too! (actually the title of the recipe in the magazine is 'Quick mix biscuits' but I didn't think it was descriptive enough)

80g butter, melted, cooled
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sultanas
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup self-raising flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon bicarb
150g dark chocoalte, broken into pieces

Preheat oven to 180c (I did 160c fanforced). Line 2 baking trays with baking powder

Combine butter and sugars in a bowl. Mix in egg and sultanas. Sift flours, cinnamon and bicarb over mixture. Stir until just combined. Set aside for 10-15min or until firm. (really does make mixture easier to handle)

Place small spoonsfuls (teaspoon) of mixture onto trays, allowng room for spreading. Bake for 12-15min or until golden. Cool on trays for 10minutes, then place onto cooling rack (oops didnt read this part, straight onto cooling rack lol)

Place chocolate into a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir with a metal spoon until melted and smooth. Spoon into a plastic bag. Snip a corner off, then drizzle over each biscuit. Set aside to firm. Store in an airtight jar.

Note: I didn't have any chocolate so obviously didn't add the chocolate on top and they are still tasty and no chocolate is better for Lauren anyway, but they would be extra nice with choc!

Productive

2008-02-10T21:20:00.000+10:00

WOOT :D
Its all coming together :)
Its so nice that everything in Lauren's playroom has a home.
She is getting into the tidy up thing too, and its working so far that she can have a tub or two down of toys at a time but if she wants to play with something else the stuff she has down has to be sorted into the right tubs and put back on the shelf, she is initiating it too :D

Lounge room is looking tidier with a 'bucket' for Anya's toys. Excess toys on the cleared shelves in the playroom wardrobe.

Tidied/decluttered the linen closet today 2 'garden' rubbish bags full of sheets/doona covers to go to St Vinnies, another big bag of old rubbishy stuff.

Also tidied/decluttered Laurens room looks great :) All her old Size1 & 2 clothes are now in 2 tubs that used to be in the playroom instead of the two broken spacebags that just looked messy, they are now neatly stacked in the wardrobe :)

Also tidied our bedroom, the floor was a magnet for clothes! (Anya's clothes mainly but now I dress her in the loungeroom so hopefully wont be an issue anymore)

Next room to attack is the 'computer room' now this isn't just a computer room it is actually the 'master bedroom' but we moved our bed out a while back and it has the two computers in it now, but also has our massive chest of drawers, bookshelf, hutch dresser and the wardrobe wth our clothes in it(which is an absolute shambles) this room scares me ... it is such a clutter magnet so its going to really need a going over and some storage solutions put in place ... wish me luck! I was going to be doing it today but best laid plans and all that.

Leaving you with some photo cuteness

Operation Organisation - Playroom & Dining

2008-02-07T08:20:00.000+10:00

WOOT! Both those rooms look SO much better, I have a wonderful friend to thank :) She came, she saw, she made a list, we went to Ikea, she tidied, she organised, I settled a baby, fed a baby, tried to help! I am just so very grateful to my wonderful, thoughtful, organised, generous friend! I just cannot express my gratitude enough! So big *mwahs* to you L :)

SO here are the photos!

Mind Willing - Motivation Lacking

2008-01-30T20:17:00.000+10:00

SO I have had a few chats to a super organise friend (;) ) and am so super excited about getting my place organised... but I am yet to start, crappy days and then busy days and I feel it all slipping out of my grasp.

Before I can begin to set any sort of storage/tidying system in place I need to a big sort/throw out of the wardrobes.. There are two double door built in robes in Laurens playroom, one has shelves, the other has 'space' One side has clothes in a tall boy & boxes and board games, the other side has books and umpteen boxes filled with 'stuff'. The built-in in Laurens room has a dresser with her clothes in it and a few computer towers, and up above has umpteen computer bits and pieces

The robe in the bedroom has baby clothes in it that has been outgrown by anya, and stuff she is yet to grow into.

All of these robes need organising, but one at a time ...
SO tomorrow afternoon I am going to attack the 'clothes' side of the built-ins in the playroom, give away all the clothes I have not worn in ages and am not likely to wear, and fold neatly and put away the ones I will wear in winter, also sort out the boxes that are on that side.

My super-organised friend has some great ideas and I am probably going to enlist her help to implement them (a trip to Ikea is on the cards ;)) once I have sorted both sides of that wardrobe out (and the other two) I will then work out what storage (boxes etc) I need for what is left. SO excited at the thought of everything being neat & orderly, I know it won't always look like that, but if everything has a proper easily accessible home then maintaining that *should* be easier, and if I have less stuff there is less stuff to put away!

So I am very excited, can't wait to get stuck in ... but its that first step that is evasive atm

Call me Martha?

2008-01-28T21:55:00.000+10:00

I am so tired after a big day, and I don't even know where to begin..

I am feeling very lost atm, well I don't even know if that word is the right one .. unfulfilled! There thats a better one.

I want more from my life, and I know with some perseverance I can get it.
Now I am not talking about a job, or something external from my home, I want my home to be tidy, warm, loving, I want to put good food on the table, I want to work on my sewing skills so I can sew clothes for the girls, for myself, cushion covers for the home, etc etc etc

I want to have a Martha Stewart makeover hehe

For the next however many years I am committed to raising my children, to providing a cosy, loving livable home environment for my family, being a homemaker is what I am, is what I will do till I once again seek work outside of the home. I am making the decision now to give it my all, really work hard, have pride in my home, have pride in my role as homemaker.

To achieve this is going to be hard work. I need to completely reorganise myself and my home. Need to change my approach to everything, but I can do it. Going to need a BIG kick up the bum, but I owe it to myself, to my children, to my husband to do this.

But for now .. I sleep

Blue eyes

2008-01-22T20:41:00.001+10:00

Blue eyes
Originally uploaded by Anaed

These eyes turn me into a puddle of goo regularly!

Natural Lauren

2008-01-22T20:40:00.001+10:00

Natural Lauren
Originally uploaded by Anaed

I was so stoked to get this photo for once she is not hamming it up!!

Also testing the ability to post to my blog from flickr ;)

Why do I struggle?

2008-01-14T07:45:00.000+10:00

To keep my house tidy & clean??
When other people make it look so easy, and have such tidy neat houses. Now I am not wanting my house to be magazine pristine, but tidy, clutter free. I want my house to look lived in, but not messy lived in.

So why do I find it so hard? I will be on top of things and then in the space of a day it all goes to shit again and I have to start over. My good intentions of doing the 'speedcleaning' a room a day thing did not work, I lost it after tuesday. I really do want a tidy house, but struggle in the actual doing of it... maybe I should keep my pc off until Midday? I wonder if that would help, it surely is a timesucker.

I am DETERMINED to keep this house looking good. I guess I need to put some routines in place to help with this. Hrmmmmmmm

First time on the swing

2008-01-05T17:04:00.000+10:00

She wasn't too impressed hehe
But I did get a couple of good shots :)

Forgot to share this photo

2008-01-02T13:38:00.001+10:00

*melts*

8 Things

2008-01-01T22:20:00.000+10:00

Stolen from a forum :)

8 aims I have for this year:
In no particular order

1 - Provide a clean/tidy house for my family
2 - Become more aware of my purchases/actions and how they affect the rest of the world and her people
3 - Cut down on the plastics in the kitchen replacing with glass/stainless steel/wood/bamboo products
4 - Buy more things second hand
5 - Declutter the house
6 - Read more, learn more.
7 - Work on improving my fitness and wellbeing
8 - Laugh more, love more

and some cuteness

Yoga & Sleeping

2007-12-29T07:53:00.000+10:00

So I am determined to shift this extra weight I am carrying, I have 8-13kg to move.
The last two nights I have done 20ish minutes of Yoga before going to bed, it feels GREAT! Last night I also decided to listen to a guided relaxation cd after doing the yoga. It was awesome, I have NEVER felt that relaxed when not sleeping and I was thinking just that .. and then I woke up to the sound of Anya crying .. I had fallen asleep on the lounge room floor for about 20min *lol* I was THAT relaxed ;)

I WILL shift this weight, I WILL get my body toned and I WILL feel great when doing it :)

Some toes on my yoga mat hehe

[b]

2007-12-27T23:42:00.000+10:00

[breastfeeding]
I am very passionate about breastfeeding. It amazes me how our breast can nourish our children, not only that but provide such comfort as well. Had a rough start with breastfeeding with Lauren but I persevered and was smooth sailing for years. With Anya it has been bliss from day dot, so easy, just lovely :)

[breasts]
I have big boobs, once I am done having children, and if they don't shrink back when my breastfeeding days are over, I am getting a reduction. I am slowly learning to love my breasts, but mostly they just annoy me (apart from how they feed my children)

[bras]
See above .. bra shopping is hard, well it always used to be, now I live in maternity bras hehe

[beach]
I grew up a 5-10 min walk from a beach, on a peninsula so with many beaches a short drive away. I spent a lot of time at beaches... now I can't stand the sand *lol* As a child it was always just so much fun! A thrill, now .. not so much .. geez I feel old.

[birth]
Specifically homebirth. Can not imagine doing it any other way now :) Neither can Damien, or my mother. Its just so wonderful. Nothing beats after a hard, fast, painful labour & birth hopping into your own bed surrounded by familar smells, objects and people. Trust birth!

Encyclopaedia of Dee!

2007-12-23T19:55:00.000+10:00

I am taking part in a challenge over at PBP very flexible, basically just do an A-Z of you in blog posts! SO here is A!

a [anya]
Ah my baby girl. She is such a sweet bubba, and so placid, always giving us lots and lots of smiles and laughs. She has brought such sunshine to our lives, we are so blessed to have two beautiful girls, they really are the centre of our world.

a [attachment parenting]
I hesitate to label parenting, but I strive to parent with many of the ideals of AP, most days I feel like I am doing really well, but other days GOSH its hard! Its so hard to parent this way! Maybe not with babies, AP is easy with babies, but toddlers .. especially 3 year olds... HARD! But we are getting there and as long as I can keep reminding myself why I want to parent 'this' way its all good :)

a [australia]
The land down under! I am a born & raised kiwi, moved out to Australia 10 years ago! (after I finished high school) I have grown to love this country, I do miss NZ at times, especially now that Mum has moved back. Without Australia I would not have met Damien, nor would I have my two girls. My life would be very different.

One year ago today

2007-12-23T07:29:00.000+10:00

My father passed away.
I feel surprisingly at peace. I know he wouldn't want me moping around, he would want me to celebrate his life, which is what I plan to do.
I just rang my step-mum to let her know I am thinking of her, she was so touched that I rang :)

I lit the candles on my tall-boy dresser and put a photo of Dad up there from my wedding, when he was looking so much younger and healthier. I look at it and smile :)
There is of course some sadness, but mostly joy and happiness for the time I did get to spend with him, I am so thankful that he contacted me and let me into his life, I am also so glad that I was brave enough to do the same.

I love you Dad and miss you.

Grateful Friday

2007-12-21T07:12:00.000+10:00

I think I am going to jump on the bandwagon.
I am grateful for:

Damien, although he may be a slackass when it comes to housework he is so loving towards me and the girls. He adores his girls and it shines through in his interactions with them.

Where we live, paying next to no rent in such a fabulous suburb, in a lovely house, we are so very very very lucky, I am grateful for this. To hear the birds and insects in the park, the hum of the main road, looking out the window and seeing trees and grass and in a more broad sense for being able to live comfortably, so many others do not have that. I take it for granted so much and 2008 it is my goal to become more Aware of the plight of others, of the impact my purchases and choices have on the rest of the world. It is so easy to live in our bubble but I want/need to get my head out of the sand a little.

The rocking chair, although it squeaks a LOT and Damien broke it a little last night, it enables me to get Miss A off to sleep without pacing and walking the floor. A wonderful friend has a newer chair for us, and I am also VERY grateful for that! We just need to go pick it up.

My girls they really are the sunshine of my life

Goals for the week

2007-12-17T06:47:00.000+10:00

Instead of saying I have SO much to do today, I'm going to give myself a week so I feel less pressure :) House is AWFUL at the moment and my moods are suffering for it.

So, things I need to get done by the end of the week:

~~Fold & put away all laundry~~10.48Mon (there wasnt much)
~~Tidy up 'stuff' from in computer room~~4.20ish Wed, another ongoing task, but I am happy with what I got tidied up in here
~~Tidy up clothes on floor in laurens room~~10.45 Mon
Tidy up 'stuff'' on floor in Bedroom .. move bedroom around, clean out nappy drawersHalfway through, bed & cot moved into new position, 'stuff' from bedrooom in big pile in hallway & computer room, time for break 4.55pm THurs
~~Clean out fridge~~11.35pm Tue
Clean out pantry (eeeep big job)
Tidy up Laurens play room
Attempt to empty some of the boxes mum has brought around, sort stuff out to keep/throw out/st vinnies
~~Fix hole in Damiens bike shorts and shorten hotslings pouch~~3.20pm Wed

~~Tidy lounge & vacuum~~12ishMon, 8.20amish thurs

~~Tidy kitchen~~11pm Tue, I want to keep it tidy every night before bed, I was getting so good at that but have let it slide

*phew* some biggish jobs in there, so I have a week people! Lets see if I can get it done before then!

I want to get laundry, laurens room and fridge done today.

Had an ok weekend, I was cranky bitch yesterday, tired, house getting me down. Had lunch with mum, she leaves for NZ on thursday :( Seeing her for the last time before she goes on Tuesday *sigh*

Am finding Lauren really challenging atm, the not listening, ignoring me finding it hard to keep my cool. I had a realisation that I don't always listen to her, that sometimes I fob her off so I am trying to model listening and paying attention by doing the same to her. Tis hard though when she won't do the simplest thing, need to borrow the book "how to talk so your children will listen, and listen so they will talk"

Woot!

2007-12-13T07:28:00.001+10:00

Lauren is off to the MILs today/tonight!!
I do love her very very much, but woohoo!! Its damn good to get a break :)
Felt like all I heard yesterday was 'mama come play with me', which I did try and do, but was feeling very stretched!

In the new year I am going to look into kindermusic for Lauren so that she has some interaction with someone other than just me :) She will also go back into swimming lessons and have these days with her Babka.

Poor Miss A :( She has a bit of a snotty nose and last night was awful :( I couldnt get her to stay asleep each time I put her down she would wake up crying ended up finding the FESS and clearing her nose a bit, I have never seen her this upset :( :( she was soooo tired. Eventually hopped into bed with her with me sitting upright supported by pillows, of course I can't sleep very well this way, she was very restless and kept crying out and letting out farts .. so now I think it was also wind! Gah! Around 12ish (I think) I was able to put her down beside me in the bed and I went to sleep (TG). She seems a little warm this morning and still a bit snotty, but has gone down for a nap. She is certainly happy enough though :)

Doh! Just realised I am supposed to be getting Lauren some weetbix *lol* Got distracted when MIL rang to ask to have Lauren .. best go feed the poor girl ;)

Chomp, Chomp

2007-12-11T18:25:00.000+10:00

Miss A chomping away at Daddy's hand

"I may be slipping off Daddy's lap but I am not taking my eyes off you mummy, nor am I letting go of this thumb!!"

sigh

2007-12-02T17:50:00.000+10:00

I'm going to miss my mum :(

Cup of tea on a sunday morning

2007-12-02T07:49:00.001+10:00

Ahhh, nevermind that it had to be reheated .. ahhh hehe

The last couple of days when I have been sitting rocking *squeak* rocking Anya in the rocking chair to get her to sleep, she has thrashed around a bit, so today when she wouldn't settle and was thrashing I took her to our bed and wrapped her bottom half and lay next to her, she started sucking her thumb, I stroked her head and patted her (front of nappy) and OMG she went to sleep.. I am SO not used to a baby doing that *lol* Lauren only ever did that maybe once, so lets hope Anya lets me do that every sleep! Although I also hope I can hold her sleeping still every now and then.

I *should* be tidying up right now, restacking dishwasher, cleaning up kitchen & lounge room. BUT this cup of Chai is going down quite nicely :)OH and I have 2 baskets of washing to fold (FINALLY bought another basket, not quite up to 5 though L ;))

Damien & Lauren are hunting for monsters, armed with a torch and plastic bags *lol* Lauren loves hunting for monsters with Daddy, not really sure how it started nor what happens to the monsters once they are caught??!!

Well she woke after 10 minutes.. ah well its a start lol, had to rock *squeak* rock her back to sleep in chair

Rolly rolly rolly

2007-11-29T18:35:00.000+10:00

:D
Clicky clicky for rolly rolly

Cranky

2007-11-27T06:03:00.000+10:00

Aargh cranky mummy lately, especially when being woken at 5am by a demanding cranky little girl who so obviously needs more sleep.

I have been feeling rather stretched lately, the housework has been piling up and Lauren seems very full on, wanting me to spend a lot of time for her which I can understand but I just feel way too .. overwhelmed? Thankfully MIL is taking Lauren for the day, and hopefully for the night! Will give us both a break from each other and I can focus on Anya & housework without feeling guilty about neglecting Lauren.

Finally getting Laurens playroom tidy and the big 50Lplastic container that is filled with 'stuff', getting that sorted out, throwing out the junk and sorting the rest into where its supposed to be.

Bought a second hand hutch dresser from St Vinnies on friday, I think its from the 70s hehe it is being delivered today (I think) its going in the computer room to store all the clutter that makes this room look so messy, looking forward to being able to close doors on the mess. Was a huge $50.
Got a heap of good stuff some perfect condition clothing, a handful of book (including The Monster at the End of this Book (with Grover) love this book), the board game trouble (has some pieces missing but still playable) and an awesome strap on dressup dragons/dinosaur tail, PERFECT condition I think they retail for $30ish .. I'm sure the woman at StV miscalculated, they were having a sale but .. I got all that for $6!!!

Anya is delightful, such a smiley chatty baby :) Lauren is actually behaving pretty well, she is just too much sometimes I feel like I am being smothered.

Ok some photos:

Hmmph

2007-11-14T21:56:00.000+10:00

The ONE night I want to watch something on TV (house) bedtime goes to shite, so I am with Anya till 9 and telling Lauren to please go to bed while I am feeding/rocking Anya, and then I go in with Lauren to get her off to sleep after putting A down ... GAH!!
Please tell me that she will let Damien do the bedtime thing soon .. one day .. .before she leaves home??

An ok day, got a fair bit accomplished, its amazing what I can get done when Anya sleeps for an hour in her bouncer!

Computer room floor isnt done, well its half done, but got vacuuming & mopping done! WOOT!

Lauren has a 'catch-cold' atm (her word for it) so have been giving her lots of Vit C and also got her to drink some Olive Leaf Extract in some juice today :D So hopefully she will kick this cold quicksmart!

Ok I am determined to get the computer room floor cleaned up and also do the normal kitchen/sweep stuff.

There goes another Tuesday

2007-11-13T23:04:00.000+10:00

Bit of a sucky day .. think I know why I have been so short tempered lately ... pretty sure I have started my periods today OH JOY, I had a suspicion I had them at 7 weeks post partum and that it wasnt still Lochia, and my moods the last few days and well other signs point to it returning .. darnit! They returned at 7 weeks with Lauren too. HMMPH

So another late night as its so much easier to get housework done when both kids are in bed, but I also like to have some uninterrupted me time, which leaves me doing housework starting at 10.30 as I don't put Anya into bed till about 9ish!

Lauren is getting a cold *woe* Poor love, I just knew there had to be a reason she was waking more at night, although when wearing her tinkerbell singlet to bed tonight she tried to convince me that the cold was all gone! and that she wouldnt get too cold! I think by the time lights went out though she had worked out she was cold as she finally agreed to put a long sleeved top on!

Just to remind myself that I have stuff I NEED to do tomorrow

Tidy computer room floor
~~Mop tiles~~
~~Vacumn~~

That should do it!

My sleeping beauty

I missed sunday!!

2007-11-12T21:58:00.000+10:00

Hmmmph! Oh well ;)

It was a day of battles and feeling like I was going against the current ALL day so I guess I didn't have the energy to remember to post!
Tonights post isn't going to be much either!

Was an OK day, not wonderful, not awful.

Leave you wtih some photos

Just photos

2007-11-10T20:50:00.000+10:00

I think I have blabbered on enough lately.
So a photo post today :)

Just cause I have to

2007-11-09T22:10:00.000+10:00

I have been thinking of things to blog, and now its late and I'm tired and I'm having trouble thinking of them!

We had a big day today, out all day! Visited a friend this morning, and then my mum this afternoon.
Breaks my heart when Anya cries in the car, she was asleep the way to my friends, but on the way to mums she cried for about 8mins and then fell asleep .. :( :( :( my baby gave up, I REALLY don't know how people can do this on purpose???

She was a bit upset when we left mums (she *was* asleep and woke when I put her in the car dammit, she used to transfer wonderfully ... not so much anymore it would seem) thankfully she calmed and went back to sleep, waking when we got home and getting herself really upset in the 2min it took me to get her out of the car, poor love was SO tired, she didn't nap very well today.
Hoping we have a good nights sleep. (don't we always hope this??)

Mum gave me a bag of 'stuff' that she found when cleaning up that she thought I or Lauren might like, haven't been through it yet. Things to remember her by, or that Lauren liked when she went over. *sigh* Am trying really hard not to think about what its going to be like when Mum has moved, and just flow with it, take each day as it comes. Not borrow trouble.

Gah this afternoon I really felt like I was swimming upstream, why must some evenings/nights be easy and relaxed, and others be a battle! It was a calm battle, but SO frustrating, Lauren was so tired but just did not want to stop doing stuff! I tried to be patient (and mostly succeeded) but I must have sounded so whiney.

Ok for someone who had nothing to say I sure say a lot, got some photos at mums I will have to get off her when she gets back, if she doesn't get them off her camera before she goes (she is flying to NZ on Sunday to look a houses)

Bedtime now, first something to eat, and then summon the energy from somewhere to do the dishes/cleanup kitchen & sweep!

Asleep before 7!

2007-11-08T18:54:00.000+10:00

Yup Lauren was!!
She hasn't been asleep before 7pm in MONTHS, I just put Anya into bed too (8.38pm) so ahh its nice :)
MIL was over today pulling lots of weeds, Lauren helped her, so very cute, MIL bought her some kiddy sized gardening gloves which Lauren thought were just so awesome. I am starting to accept MIL doing the gardening as a good thing, Damien & I are both useless gardeners, never weed etc etc, I used to get a bit .. antsy about MIL doing it, like it made us look bad (which I guess it does but there are more important things I like to focus my attention on rather than the garden.) so now I just accept it as help, and thank her for it.
I do know that she doesn't expect me to do it, rather that she wants Damien to step up and do it, which is just not going to happen, she finds it hard to accept that Damien is just not interested in gardening, FIL has always helped around the house, helped with the upkeep and the gardens & lawns, but hasn't passed it down to his sons, I think maybe if they had been more involved with it all at a young age it may have been better, but don't know if Damien is going to change any time soon.

Didn't really have a list of things to do today (apart from the MM (Motivated Moms) one) but I got a few things done that were annoying me so I just did them, tidied the plastics cupboard, seriously .. how do I lose lids??? and tidied and wiped down the top of the fridge, I had an empty baking paper box up there ... ??? Hoping to mop before I go to bed so it can dry over night, so before bed I just have the usual things to do, do dishes, load dishwasher/put on, wipe down benches, sweep tiles and tonight mop. Might give the bathroom sinks a wipe down as well, its one of the daily MM jobs and it really does help and feels nice to have a clean sink daily. (ETA: WOOT all done :) Heading to bed for sleepy byes now (10pm))

Ok enough rambling, some recent photos :)
These two are from today and crack me up .. poor Anya hehe

Another night away

2007-11-07T08:16:00.000+10:00

Lauren spent her second night away from us last night :) Staying with my MIL again, she had her first night away same time last week and went fine (cant't remember if I blogged about it ..)
I didn't hear anything so I'm assuming she went just as fine last night :)
Was nice to not have to be getting her off to bed last night, or being woken at 4.30 am by her, but I still miss her :) BUT it is nice to enjoy Anya cuddles guilt free, without having to divide my time btwn the two :) I think we both get a lot out of it, Lauren is always keen to go, not so keen to come home! I keep telling myself its because she is well bonded & attached to me .. right?

Can't believe the change in weather, Anya was in a wondersuit last night! Brrrr (well brrr for us in qld ;)) but this rain is gorgeous, keeps the temperature nice and cool, prefer it over hot and muggy!

SO I didn't really do much off my list yesterday, but I did accomplish a lot, thanks to Rach I am using these MotivatedMoms daily checklists, I am finding them very helpful. basically it has a list of daily tasks, and then it has a weekly list, each day of the week has different tasks and its spread over a year, so things like clean front of dishwasher, clean microwave, mop floors, etc.

I find it really good to be able to break things down like that, rather than going "i have to mop floors, vacumn, the rooms need tidying, gosh need to do the loos, and the laundry and and and" so even if the entire house isnt spotless I know that I have achieved *something*.

I think I have come to accept that I am not going to totally get on top of the house, it is never going to be completely in order all the time, but as long as I check off as many things from the list that I can, and add my own things to attempt to do, making sure that the dishes are done and dishwasher stacked,kitchen bench cleared and wiped down, tiles swept each night before I go to bed, I will feel much better. It sucks waking up to a messy kitchen.

So without further ado, my list for today (adding the things I didnt do yesterday and the things off my MotivatedMoms list)

Tidy up surfaces in computer room
~~Tidy up surfaces in Laurens room~~
~~Clean bath and showers~~Just gave quick once over with elcheapo bathroom cleaning mitt
~~Clean bathroom mirrors~~Ditto the above

Another day another ..something

2007-11-06T07:08:00.000+10:00

Woke up to rain this morning, glorious rain.
BUT that means I have to drive damien to the train station as he can't cycle to work when its like this, too dangerous. Fingers crossed Anya is ok about that.

Today's to-do

Tidy up surfaces in computer room
Tidy up surfaces in Laurens room
~~Clean microwave~~
~~Grocery shopping~~

~~Will pick up some cheap weekly dvds as its 'cheap tuesday'~~ FORGOT!

Have just taken D to train station, Anya started to get upset on way home but thankfully took the dummy! WOOT so was calm the rest of the trip.

Oh and my mum is moving back to NZ in a couple of months, maybe less :( :( :( :(
Mum and I are very close, it just breaks my heart that she is leaving, I am going to miss her sooooooo much. I am also so so sad for my girls, they are going to miss out on really knowing her, as Lauren wont remember all this time she has spent with her and well Anya is a baby and hasnt seen her much. So going from seeing her once or twice a fortnight to once or twice a year :( I keep getting myself all upset when I think about it. The main reason she is going is to get away from the heat and her rhumatoid arthrits (which is giving her a lot of pain at the moment) goes awaty when she is in NZ, so its about quality of life and i can understand that, but it hurts :(

Update

2007-11-05T23:24:00.000+10:00

Well I got it all done, albeit by 11.30pm.
I just don't get a solid block of time during the day to be able to do big clean up jobs.
But I was determined to not go to bed till I had tidied up the floor in here, folded nappies and washed dishes, tidied kitchen. And its all done, its 11.26pm and I am heading to bed :)

Feeling good that I won't wake up to a messy kitchen/computer room. The lounge needs a quick pick up but thats not too hard :)

So .. blogging

2007-11-05T08:18:00.000+10:00

I seem to be very slack at it, maybe its just that my life is so mundane that I don't want to bore you all with the details!? or maybe mylife is so super busy and exciting and full of wonder and joy that I simply don't get the time to blog? Nah its the former.

But inspired by the http://nablopomo.ning.com/ thingy, but not going to actually join it thought I would try blogging every day, maybe not awe inspiring stuff, but stuff maybe a photo or two.

I have a wriggly anya on my lap atm so I won't be blogging for long. Maybe I will come back later and do another post.

Oooh I know a housework list *lol* Thats exciting! ;)

To Do Today

Fold & put away 3 baskets of clean laundry *groan*
~~Clean up kitchen, reload dishwasher, wash handwashing dishes~~
~~Tidy up computer room floor~~

One handed typing skills

2007-10-18T08:25:00.000+10:00

So since Lauren was born I have mastered the art of one handed typing, I still make typos but usually when Im not concentrating ;) I am a touch typist and Im prettty proud of how well I can touch type using only my left hand :) Not often I say I am proud of mself for something, so it feels good to say it :)

Life is plodding along, as Anya's personality develops find myself more in love with her. Things with lauren are pretty good too, we have our moments but who doesnt!!

Still frustrated with mess and clutter, especially not having time or two hands to deal with it!
My mums friend is goingto have a go making a hammock for me woot!! (Thanks Kate for photos and instructions!!)

Just babbling now really, will leave you with a photo or two xxx

One month, one week, two days

2007-10-13T17:39:00.000+10:00

Well this title would have looked cooler if i had remembered to post it yesterday!

Blatant copy & paste from my vox blog ;)

My serious little girl gives us the BIGGEST smiles now :) Its sooo precious. Big cheesy grins, sweet little smiles, and almost laughs. LOVE it!

She also slept from 8.30-3am last night :o My left boob had leaked a lot hehe my singlet was soaked, had to change it ;)

Things are plodding along well, she feeds roughly 3 hourly I think .. I really don't know this time around! Is becoming more alert and spending more time laying on her mat nappy free just checking things out.

She isn't sleeping so well unless in arms, so is often in wrap or sling asleep. I am going to get a hammock to see if she likes that, will be very helpful if she does.

Lauren is settling, but still goes silly when I have people over, I think its a "Look at ME not the baby" thing

So on to photos!!

Shower Baby

2007-10-04T08:44:00.000+10:00

She much prefers theshower to the bath as we discovered last night :)

Going to the park

My little Buddha hehe

An update!

2007-09-27T20:27:00.000+10:00

Ok lets start with Lauren.
Hmmm .. she is struggling with sharing me. I am managing to have some one on one time with her, every night we have a shower together, and I read her stories and give her a foot massage with oil to help her off to sleep, oh and sing to her. THis is helping me as much as it helps her, I am feeling some awful guilt for being responsible for Anya taking me away from her. She begs me not to bring Anya in when she is upset, ie when I am reading a story I have to sometimes put Anya n the boob between us, once she is there Lauren is fine about it, but before hand she begs me not to, breaks my heart.
As soon as I start feeding Anya Lauren starts acting up, I can understand it but gawd its frustrating!! She loves Anya to bits but tends to smother her a bit. I am hoping that once Damien goes back to work, and things start settling back to 'normal' she may also settle down but mostly I think its time that will help. She starts off the night in her bed but usually ends up with us in the middle of the night, just climbs into the bed and zonks out. Yesterday she didnt come in till 5am though.

Apart from the Anya related stuff she is going really well :) Going to start her up in FDC soon and then 2009 put her in kindy. She just loves being around kids. MIL is spending some time down here in a new house they bought (FIL working out at amberley airforce base so he stays there during the week and BIL is livin there as well) and today Lauren went over there for the day, gives us a break and also gives Lauren a day of being centre of attention, nevermind that she comes back super grumpy lol, she often spend a day out at my mums too, she loves it at both places and never wants to leave.
She tells the funniest stories, and sings such beautiful songs (think cat with tail trod on) but she so loves to sing (la la la la la) and often gives a big bow at the end and says .. "clap!" she is a real actor and show off just like her father
Dreading a little how I am going to juggle both children once Damien goes back to work, but hoping it will all just work out. Not like she lets Damien do much for her anyway! Love her to bits but its hard work having a threenanger around!

Onto Miss Anya. Ah a delight Had a bit of an unsettled day today and yesterday, lots of boob, but think its just one of those 'growth spurts'. She sleeps so much better and easier than Lauren did. Damien actually put her to sleep a couple of times yesterday, rocking her to youtube performances of Neil Diamond & Bruce Springsteen *giggle*. Not a very smiley bub yet, quite a serious wee thing. I have had a couple of smiles, but I think she is going to reseve her smiles for when she really means it. Not entirely sure how much she weighs, bought some scales at Ikea the other day, weighed myself (need to start exercising ;)) and weighed me holding her, I *think* she is around 4kg, she was 3.45 born so assuming she lost some weight in the first few days after the birth ... she has def put on though. Not concerned of course. She looks a heap chubbier than Lauren did, I think. Will have to do some comparing of photos :) She doesn't have any unsettled periods during the night, wakes a couple of times for a feed (and a nappy change) and then I just lay back down with her and she goes off to sleep on the boob, and I usually go back to sleep too .. often waking up with my boob under her head and an nice wet patch of milk hehe, oh milk!! I actually leak on occasion when feeding, I never had that with Lauren!! Feeding is sooooo much easier this time around, she attached herself to the boob after she was born and its been soo easy since then! Been feeding her laying down since the first night, was ages before I did that with Lauren. I had a couple of grazes/blood blisters on my nipples in the first couple of days but they healed quickly and have had no issues since then! I am also doing a bit of Elimination Communication with her, catching most of her poos in Laurens toy doll potty that she never uses. SHe is still in nappies, but if I can read her signs properly can get her nappy off and her onto the potty to wee/poo. Umm can't think of anything else to update! Any questions? lol

Some photos of my chubba and more @ http://anya.thehamwoods.com

Going to update soon .. promise

2007-09-24T17:05:00.000+10:00

But for now!
Bliggity Bloggity Boo! Round #3 @ pickleberrypop!

Family of Four

2007-09-09T13:11:00.001+10:00

Well most of you probably already know the news, considering Anya is now 5 days old hehe

Life is good, things are going along well :) Could do with more sleep, but that was always on the cards.
Anya is such a placcid, laid back bubba, has taken to the breast really well, and is generally easy going :)
Lauren simply adores her sister, kisses her at every opportunity and is always asking for cuddles.

Photos are up at anya.thehamwoods.com

But here are two of Anya asleep in Damiens arms while he plays WoW hehe

Another lovely day

2007-08-29T07:40:00.000+10:00

Was such a gorgeous day yesterday wanted to head out and enjoy the sunshine.
Went over to mums and from there to a playground that is closeish to her house, fabulous playground so much for Lauren to do, and she ran us ragged running all over to try the different things. Finally convinced her that lunch was a good idea ... and maybe just maybe we had to use the lure of an ice-cream ;)

After lunch where again I ate too much, we headed over to the animal park, Lauren pretty much ran through it, barely giving us time to look at the animals or catch a breath. She was a little dissapointed that she couldnt feed or pat the kangaroos/wallabies like she can at Lone Pine. But all in all a fabulous couple of hours (we were only out there for 2 hours felt like muuuuuuch longer ;))

Went back to mums and I had a wee nap while Lauren pottered around mums house, was lovely.

and again .. a very overtired cranky little Lauren who was a real pain in the butski when it came to bedtime. But all is well.

Today is another day and a gorgeous one at that .. what can we do today .. im thinking some tidying/cleaning maybe .. ooh laundry .. its laundry day today!

Lovely morning

2007-08-27T07:27:00.000+10:00

So we had a lovely morning out yesterday :)
But then an icky evening with a very overtired Lauren & Mummy.
I fell asleep laying with Lauren to get her to sleep so then when it came to bedtime for me I couldn't get to sleep till about 2am .. FUN, at least Lauren slept in till 6.30ish

So another beautiful sunny day today, will try and make the most of it.

Starting to think bub isn't listening and/or isn't going to be ready to come till closer to due date, which is closer to Lauren's birthday, I really wanted to avoid their birthdays being too close together but *sigh* obviously nothing I can do about that :(

So taking each day as it comes, trying to ignore the prelaboury/BHs cause they never come to anything.

Edited to add:
Mum came and took Lauren for the morning for me, which is good for both of us so I dont end up snapping at her. I just got back from having my haircut and enjoying a nice leisurely lunch .. I am VERY full now though ;)
Here are some pics of my hair (taken with iSight camera so not so great

Family Outing today

2007-08-26T08:51:00.000+10:00

So we are off to the State Library, they have a kids section which sounds fun. Have had a few people recommend it, so thought hey sounds like a good place for our last outing as a family of three.

Cause even if I am still in one piece in a week+ I'm sure I wont want to be galavanting around.

So will update later with how it went, hell maybe I can do lots of walking around and get this baby out lol, all these tightenings HAVE to ramp up sooner or later! Preferably sooner :)

Bliggity Bloggity Bloo

2007-08-21T12:47:00.000+10:00

Playing along too! Blog game started by the crazy Kate over at PBP, here is the link click click click

Your fairy is called Oak Elffrost

She is a cheerful sprite.

She lives in forests of oak and lime trees.

She is only seen during the first snow of winter.

She decorates herself with leaves and berries. She has delicate green wings like a cicada.

Get your free fairy name here!

Ooh She sounds lovely :D

Yesterday got better thank goodness! We had quite a lovely afternoon :) I am feeling better emotionally too, I am ready for this bub to come, but happy to wait as well, so I can enjoy my last days with only Lauren, and with my babe safe and snug within my womb.

Give me strength

2007-08-20T07:22:00.000+10:00

The last couple of days I have ZERO patience & tolerance for Lauren.
I realise that being unwell probably plays a part, but it feels like she is constantly pushing my buttons!

I mean its only 7.23am and I feel like I have been yelling/grousing at her for hours already, as much as she has been yelling/grousing at me. I am SICK of hearing "I SAID I wanted to do it" when she said no such bloody thing, and its usually after I have done something that cannot be undone. I just want her to go away and for me to be able to do my thing.
She isnt that well either but aaaaaaarghhhhhhhhhh, I just want a little bit more patience to be able to deal with her.

The house is a fricken pigsty, Damien didnt vacumn again, and its horrible so I need to do it today. I need to have this house tidy, so today will be spent cleaning up.
Yesterday afternoon I cleaned the grouting in the shower with a toothbrush/bicarb & lots of elbow grease, surprisingly it didn't make anything hurt! I think I need a tidy house to enable me to have a better headspace.

I'm sick of stuff everywhere, and mess and *tantrum*

Edited to add some photos, to remind myself she can be sweet

Has gone to my chest

2007-08-16T07:48:00.000+10:00

Yay joy of joys!
Gab you are probably right, as nearly everyone gets sick at this stage of pregnancy! But it still sucks!
Got some nasty Olive Leaf Extract to take, and trying to rest as much as possible.
Going to try and get in to see a naturopath or homeopath as well to try and clear it.
Its normal for it to go to my chest when I get sick, had pnemonia as a baby so pretty much every cold goes straight to my chest.

Bub has to stay put for longer now, I do not want to give birth when sick. So you listening Dax? Unless of course I cough the baby out.

Damien has taken another carers day off to help out with lauren & cleaning up .. so lets see if he does!

Back to bed for me.

Now I am sick

2007-08-15T12:34:00.001+10:00

*whine*
Have a stupid headcold.
Hope it passes soon!

whiiiinge

2007-08-11T13:37:00.000+10:00

I'm sooooore.
Had roughly 2 hours of semi-regular pre-labour contractions last night, btw 5-7minutes apart. Like bad period pain.

So I didn't get to sleep till 2am.

Today I am just sooore, lower back, groin keeps grabbing, lower belly aching, and occasionally cramping. *sigh* How many more weeks of this? Mum said it reminds me of her labour with me .. which lasted 13 days of prelabour .. so JOY lol

Dax is more than welcome to come as long as its after the 15th!!

5ish Weeks to go

2007-08-02T08:17:00.000+10:00

The end is drawing closer! With Stacey & Shae just about to pop its getting so exciting.
I am getting some pre-laboury type contractions, and my pelvis/pubic bone thingy is giving me grief so the thought of 5+ more weeks of this *wahhhhhh* BUT bub needs to stay put for at least another 2 weeks, I want my homebirth dammit!

So apart from aches and pains and whinges, things are going pretty ok.
House is a pigsty, want to clean it up today, will write myself a list and just hope I don't overdo it.
We are heading up the coast on Saturday, coming back down monday as we have an appt with midwife on tuesday. Going back up wednesday and staying up there till Friday probably.

Damiens brother & SIL are coming up from melb so want to spend time with them :)
Laurens birthday party is on Sunday 12th so have heaps I need to get sorted for that too!
Have pretty much got all the things on my birth list so thats something!
Struggling at times with Laurens 3year oldness and my lack of patience, we are far too similar .. its scary.

SO blah blah blah

My list:

~~Tidy up study: put away clothing, paper that is everywhere, organise desks~~
~~Tidy Laurens room, put some of her clothes into storage~~
Tidy Lounge room
Do pick up/tidy in dining room, Laurens craft corner
Tidy kitchen do dishes

Hamburger Buns

2007-07-30T17:54:00.000+10:00

So I was in a 'can't be bothered going out and buying any' mood. So looked up a recipe for hamburger buns.
They turned out pretty yummy! As close to 'store bought' as I have ever got.

Here is the link, but I will type it out here so I have it on my records

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/belles-hamburger-buns/Detail.aspx

INGREDIENTS
1 cup milk
1 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (7g) envelope active dry yeast
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS
Combine the milk, 1 cup of water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from the heat and let stand until lukewarm. If the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour and yeast. Pour in wet ingredients and stir until the dough starts to pull together. If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook to mix for about 8 minutes. If not, knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Punch down the dough and divide into 12 portions They should be a little larger than a golf ball. Make tight balls out of the dough by pulling the dough tightly around and pinching it at the bottom. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. After the rolls sit for a minute and relax, flatten each ball with the palm of your hand until it is 3 to 4 inches wide. You may want to oil your hand first. Set rolls aside until they double in size, about 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Mix together the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water in a cup or small bowl. Brush onto the tops of the rolls. Position 2 oven racks so they are not too close to the top or bottom of the oven.
Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the rolls from the oven and return them to different shelves so each one spends a little time on the top. Continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until nicely browned on the top and bottom.

OK what I did differently. Didn't accurately measure the yeast, well kind of did, 2 teaspoons and a little bit. Didn't accurately measure the butter either, sort of just cut it up and thought 'yeah that looks like 2 tablespoons', used caster sugar. Didn't use a saucepan, I put it all in a bowl and zapped it in the microwave for 3 minutes. Then had to put it in the fridge till it cooled down.
Used 2.5 cups of plain white flour, and 3 cups of plain wholemeal.
Following someone elses advice somewhere, I put the bowl with the dough into the oven and placed an oven dish filled with HOT water on a rack underneath the bowl. Left it to rise, it ended up being 1.5hours as I had an almost-nap. The bowl was full of dough, so it may have risen a bit more than normal, not sure.
I cut it into 10 pieces not 12 so the rolls would be a bit bigger.
But yes I am very happy with this recipe and will use it again :)

34 Weeks

2007-07-25T14:05:00.000+10:00

Have a midwife appointment this afternoon.
Will edit this later.
But for now, my belly hehe

'Star' Biscuits aka Shrewsbury Biscuits that aren't

2007-07-18T14:01:00.000+10:00

Shrewsbury Biscuits - that aren't

125g butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
Skin of one orange, grated.
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Cream butter & sugar until light & fluffy.
Add egg & grated orange peel and beat well
Sift flour & baking powder together and mix into creamed mixture.
Knead well.
On a lightly floured board roll out to 4mm thickness. Cut out rounds (or stars & hearts or whatever ;))

Place on baking paper lined (or greased) trays. Bake at 180C for 10-15minutes (I bake at 160c (fan oven) for 8 minutes)

The original recipe of this had 1 tablespoon of lemon rind instead of all that orange rind. When you cut them out into the circles you would cut a 1cm hole in the centre of half of the biscuits, bake as usual. When cold spread rasberry (or whatever) jam across the half without the holes, and then press the half *with* holes on top. Does this make sense? But I did it the other way cause a) had no lemons b)had no jam lol

Food Processor Pie Dough

2 cups flour (i use wholemeal)
Approx 50-60g cold butter cut into cubes
Approx 2-3 tablespoons cold water

Put flour & butter into food processor and whiz until resembles breadcrumbs, keep whizzing and add cold water gradually until the dough starts to clump together.
Take out, knead into a ball. Wrap in cling wrap and put into fridge for 20minutes.
Cut in half and roll each half out to fit pie dish.

About time for an update!

2007-07-16T07:32:00.000+10:00

Since the last post what has happened.
I had some maternity photos taken, GORGEOUS, so happy with them, they turned out wonderfully!
Here are a couple of my favourites

I had a tummy bug on wednesday night, was horrible. Up all night with stomach cramps, barely any sleep, finally throwing up at 1am, and again at 6.30. Thursday was a write off, I was so weak and felt dreadful. Damien thankfully was able to take a 'carers' day off. By friday I was much better thankfully!
No one else got the tummy bug either, thank goodness!! But Damien now has a cold and conjunctivitis, JOY, and I am fighting off the same cold.
So we (apart from Lauren) have been/are a house of sickies!
Because of being sick I had to cancel my midwife appt on thursday, so rescheduled it for tomorrow :)

33 weeks pregnant today!! Madness, only 7 weeks to go..
Stacey only has like 2 and a bit ... give or take :P Its so exciting, babies in the air!! I cannot wait to meet all the new babies *happy gooey sigh*

I am so not ready though, mentally maybe, but there is so much 'stuff' that I need to buy/borrow/fix up/get/organise .. so really should get started on my list, I have the list but need to print it so I can actually see what needs to be done.
I'm getting sick of these braxton hicks, and they are only going to get more intense over the next 7 weeks ... noooooooo

So we are all better

2007-07-03T16:38:00.000+10:00

I didnt hear heartbeat last visit, far too faint and with background noise impossible, but I will hear it in the flesh in a couple of months :)

Going to spam up this entry with some photos and some Lauren art that I am mega mummy proud of hehe It so exciting watching her drawing evolve!
Have had a good day today :) It feels nice. We went to the park and although I am no very stiff and sore and feeling sorry for myself (back/both hips/top of thighs) it was so nice to be in the park in the middle of the day and it not be too hot, was just lovely :)
We made some choc chip cookies when we got back, YUMMMMMY, making cupcakes tomorrow. Having lamb chops and roast spuds for dinner tonight, real comfort food hehe

Ok on to the photos. I havent taken photos for weeks as my rechargables are kaput so need to buy new ones (keep forgetting) and the other set were in Laurens camera and I kept forgetting to get those out and recharge, but now that I have I have taken photos!
First off though Laurens drawing :D

Feeling heaps better today

2007-06-29T12:46:00.000+10:00

Hooray for Vit C, throat not sore and head feeling clearer :)
Lauren is still whingey/whiney prone to screaming tantrum/meltdowns as its taking her a bit to recover from being sick.

I am sooooore, my hip and back are giving me pain, one more week till I see my orthobionomist/massage therapist too *woe*

Y (my midwife) is coming around soon yay :D Hoping Bubs plays nice and doesn't sit posterior so I can hear the heartbeat clearly (Y uses a fetascope thingy)

Ook she is here! Will update later

Yay Sore Throat

2007-06-28T07:30:00.000+10:00

*sigh*
Im in a FABULOUS mood today, cranky little girl getting over being sick, cranky mummy who is getting sick. (and is tired, sore yada yada yada)

Lauren went to mums for 4 hours yesterday, but silly me didn't do any relaxing, spent some time walking around shops and doing some errands etc By the time I went to pick Lauren up I was wishing I had a nap. Lauren fell asleep on the way home from mums and I was hoping she would stay asleep (she has done before) but she woke at 5pm, so didn't go to sleep till 9.15ish, and I followed not long after, so there went my night.

*whinge complain*
I'm hoping today is not going to be shitty, but I have very low tolerance today wahhhh Need to go get some mega- vit c for me, some iron (im out of it probably contributing to shittyness), and some bits and pieces to get the fish tank up and running again. Of course I *really* feel like going out today, maybe I can crawl into a hole somewhere.

Wooohoo

2007-06-20T06:55:00.000+10:00

Going down the GC today to catch up with the lovely Stacey & Kira, and to meet the also lovely Shae & Tannah! Very exciting :D
Haven't decided what I am going to make yet .. I still have an hour or so .. lol
Hanging out for some of Stacey's Walnut Slice it sounds sooooo good.

Had a pretty busy weekend, all my half-sisters & brothers were over from NZ (or up from Melb in one case) for one of my sisters 40th birthday. She was over here (at the Gold Coast) with her partner for a holiday so it was decided everyone would join her to celebrate! So we headed down the GC friday night, Lauren had a sleep in the car, was super hyper girl all night (it was exhausting) dinner was ordered late, so we didn't get home till after 1am (Lauren fell asleep as soon as we hit the road at almost 12) Come Saturday morning we were exhausted! I felt hungover (which of course I wasn't!)

So we headed back down on Saturday (in time for lunch) had a lovely afternoon just hanging out by the pool chatting, Damien & Lauren had a blast swimming in the heated pool & spa (I have no photos as my cameras batteries are dead (need to buy new ones)) but there were so many people there, I have requested copies on CD.

So yeah, nice quiet day on sunday! (well apart from the groceries, and housework ;))

Ooh I have a LO to share too :)
Credit is here

Yay Me!

2007-06-13T12:44:00.000+10:00

So the wonderfully talented Chris Turnbull over at PBP put out a CT call a week or so again ... and I applied .. and

TADA

Very excited to be working with Chris' gorgeous stuff, yay :D Now lets hope my pregnancy scatterbrainess lets me do some decent LOs!!

Oh I have one! lol
At PBP

Check out the other lucky ladies over @ Chris' blog (in my links to the left)

White Choc & Pecan Brownies

2007-06-11T17:30:00.000+10:00

Got this recipe from MIL, I haven't made them yet, but she had .. mmmmmm good!

White Choc & Pecan Brownies

150g Butter
200g dark couverture choc (no idea what this is exactly lol)
100g caster sugar
2 lightly beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
100g white chocolate chopped (i reckon just use melts)
100g pecans chopped

Microwave butter & dark choc together in 1min bursts on medium in a microwave. Stir until smooth

Add caster sugar, lightly beaten eggs & vanilla extract, combine well.

Stir in flour, baking powder, white choc & pecans.
Spread mixture into a greased/lined 20cm baking tin.
Bake at 180 for 25min

Update on yesterdays list

2007-06-08T07:12:00.000+10:00

So didn't get as much done as I would have liked, had a shitty afternoon.
Got a phone call from mum that my Great Aunty Rhoda had passed away (mums aunt) she was like a nana to me, so I think I was repressing a lot of grief over her death so was very stressed/cranky all afternoon and it seemed like Lauren was really pushing my buttons.

Aunty Rhoda was 91 and such a firecracker, she lived in NZ so it has been a while since I have seen her, the last 6months to a year she has been suffering a lot from ill health, so although her death wasn't all that much of a surprise, its still very sad, she was the last of her generation.

I did a LO yesterday which helped me process I think :)

Ok the list:
- ~~Tidy up computer desks, file important documents, recycle/shred others, put 'stuff' away/throwout~~ Have sorted stuff into piles, everything still looks really messy as I haven't done the filing, or shredding, and Damiens desk is covered in stuff that he needs to sort out
-~~Tidy up bookcase, pack books away that don't get read, and empty box of books that is sitting on the floor on to the shelf.~~Again waiting on Damien to go through the HUGE pile of books I pulled out that he needs to decide if he wants to keep, or we give to St Vinnies
- Clean top of dresser up, put stuff away/throwout
- ~~Clean out wire baskets that are beside desk, relocate everything/throw out, put wire baskets somewhere else~~Baskets are gone, they are temporarily in our bedroom till I find somewhere better, they have nappies & newborn clothes in them atm, all the stuff that was in them is in a washing basket waiting to be relocated, the washing basket is FULL of stuff .. not looking forward to that job!
- Put ~~baby clothes/nappies~~/homebirth supplies .. somewhere :S Maybe in wire baskets.

Operation Declutter Computer Room - Again

2007-06-07T08:24:00.000+10:00

So I am SICK of the computer room being such a mess with 'stuff' so my mission over the next 2 days is to declutter it, throw out stuff, reorganise 'stuff' I think this room is what people call a 'hotspot' seems to attract .... STUFF!!

Ok so maybe being 6 months pregnant some nesting has kicked in, but I *need* this room tidy and decluttered darnit!!

So I will put a list here so I can see how I'm doing too:

- Tidy up computer desks, file important documents, recycle/shred others, put 'stuff' away/throwout
-Tidy up bookcase, pack books away that don't get read, and empty box of books that is sitting on the floor on to the shelf.
- Clean top of dresser up, put stuff away/throwout
- Clean our wire baskets that are beside desk, relocate everything/throw out, put wire baskets somewhere else
- Put baby clothes/nappies/homebirth supplies .. somewhere :S Maybe in wire baskets.

I think that will do it :S :S .. babysteps ... think I will tackle the computer desks first.

Tiiiiired

2007-06-05T18:11:00.000+10:00

*whinge complain*

My poor monkey had a temp of 39 all day yesterday, so we had a day of cuddles and lots of tv.
Which was ok, nice, quiet .. low maintenance.
She had a really unsettled night, so I am so exhausted right now. She was in with us last night so thats something, but she woke lots, needing cuddles to go back to sleep.

But today .. omg .. she is so much better, the fever (left to naturally run its course) obviously knocked whatever it was on the head, I have been giving her vit c tablets to help keep it away, well .. yesterday she had the same tablets but I am guessing she was feeling so rotten she wasn't affected by them ... today .. different story. She is sensitive to flavourings/colourings, they didn't have the usual ones we get (which she doesn't seem to react too badly too) well .. she has been hyper LOUD girl ALL day, going to take her a while to wind down for sleep tonight, I think it will probably involve a meltdown or two.

I so hope bedtime isn't a drama, I'm just too tired to have the patience to deal with it.

Cinnamon Cookies

2007-06-03T08:36:00.000+10:00

Had a hankering for cinnamon cookies so I googled and found these.
They are yummmy.

Cinnamon Cookies
2/3 cup butter (150gm)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (I used wholemeal)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Cream butter & sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg & vanilla. Sift flour with baking powder and 1 teaspoon cinnamon; add to butter mixture and blend well. Chill dough for 30 minutes.

In a wide shallow bowl (i just used a dinner plate) combine chopped nuts with 2 tablespoons cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar.
Formed chilled cinnamon cookie dough into small balls; roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar nut mixture then place onto greased/baking papered cookie trays about 2 to 3 inches apart.
Bake at 180 for about 10-12 minutes.

My Notes:

I didn't have any nuts so didn't use them
I think 2 tablespoons of cinnamon in the last bit was too much as it leaves that sort of 'dry' feeling in your mouth when you eat the cookies, so next time I am going to reduce it to one tablespoon.
Dough definitely needs chilling in the fridge to get rid of the stickyness.
The balls do not need flattening when on the tray, they sort of flop into a perfect circle when cooking.
I put my oven at 160c (fanforced) and cooked for about 11minutes.
They are light and yummy :D

Blessed but Sad

2007-05-31T16:18:00.001+10:00

Two wonderful friends of mine came over today.
One I don't see nearly enough of, I wish she was closer so that I could just pop over for a visit without having to plan it out. Even though an hour really isn't that long, it turns into a BIG day for both me & Lauren.
The other I wish I had more time to spend with as she is moving away! *woe*

Stacey & Mer and their lovely children came over today to visit with us. The kids had a ball (mostly) playing together and sharing picnic lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed just hanging out with two wonderful women, it just felt so *easy* never a stilted conversation, it was like we met every thursday for a catchup.

I'm bloody exhausted now lol, but it was a lovely lovely day, hopefully my girl is worn out enough to go to sleep easily tonight! I don't fancy picking up after the trio though lol, I think that might wait until tomorrow.

SO thank you Mer & Stacey for a wonderful day :) Wish we could do it more often and regularly.

Pizza Scones

2007-05-29T13:08:00.001+10:00

Just made these for lunch, they are quite scrummy.
I omitted a few things, and added others instead.
I reckon you could just add whatever you wanted.

1 small onion
6 slices salami
1/4 chopped green pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup grated tasty cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
25g butter
3/4 cup milk

Peel & finely chop onion. Chop salami. In a bowl combine onion, salami, green pepper and tomato paste. Stir to combine.
Sift flour & baking powder into the bowl. Add cheese, oregano and basil. Stir to combine.
Melt butter. Combine butter & milk.
Add to salami mixture and mix quickly to a soft dough with a knife. Knead lightly.
Roll or pat dough out on to a lightly floured surface to 2.5cm thickness.
Cut into 12 even sized pieces. Place on an oven tray. For a soft scone, place scones close together. For a crisper scone, set them apart.
Bake at 220c for 10-15minutes or until pale golden.

Ok so my variations were.
I didn't use any onion or salami. I used some ham and sundried tomatos. I used a red pepper (capsicum). I used wholemeal self raising flour. Ended up with 1/2 cup tasty, 1/2 cup mozarella (approx). Used a teaspoon of Italian Herbs (instead of 1/2 oregano 1/2 basil)

I put the oven (fanforced) at 200c, after 10 min turned it down to about 170c and put back in for 4min. They were slightly almost burned, ie dark brown on the edges of the outer ones. But cooked well in the middle where it counts. I ate mine with nuttlex/cheese & tomato on top, I reckon you could just have plain (or with marg) or treat them like bread and have a sandwich type thing.

Birthing Dream

2007-05-28T09:09:00.000+10:00

Its kind of blurry but the parts I can remember.
Baby girl, looked kind of like lauren but more hair I think.
born in water.
We were thinking she had taken a breath underwater (not sure why) but the clearest part of the dream was me scooping her up out of the water and cradling her to me, and she took a big gasping breath, her first, was very cool.
Oh I also just remembered that her foot was tangled in the membranes (im guessing the placenta came out with her lol)

Ah lovely.

Super Easy Self-Saucing Caramel Pudding

2007-05-27T20:33:00.001+10:00

MMM just made this tonight, probably would go wonderfully with some vanilla icecream .. but we have none ;)

Caramel Sponge Pud

1 cup self-raising flour (i used wholemeal)
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup raisins/sultanas, coarsely chopped (harded past of this entire recipe i reckon, they stick to the knife!)
25g butter melted
1/2 cup milk

Caramel Sauce
40g butter melted
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup cold water

Heat oven to 180C. Grease an ovenproof dish.
Combine flour, sugar & sultanas in a bowl and make a well in the centre.
Pour butter & milk into the well and stir to combine into a batter.
Spread this into the prepared dish.

To make the caramel sauce, place butter in a saucepan over a low heat to melt. Add sugar and water and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Pour sauce slowly and carefully (over the back of a spoon) over the batter in the dish.

Bake for 40minutes (I only put it in for 30min in a fanforced oven @ 180 and think it could have done ok at 25min) or until the mixture is firm in the centre.

Mmm warm caramel pud .. YUMMY and so easy, and hardly any ingredients!

Baking up a Storm

2007-05-26T13:03:00.000+10:00

So I made the Austrian Jam Cookies from Stacey's blog and then I made these delights .. mmmmm goood!! Found them in my folder of 'things ripped out of magazines'

Choc-coconut roughs

3/4 cup self-raising flour (i used wholemeal)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups desiccated coconut
1 cup brown sugar
125g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
1 egg, lightly beaten
150g chocolate, melted (I used dark choc buttons)

Sift flour & cocoa together into a large bowl. Stir in coconut and brown sugar, blend well.

Melt butter. Blend in golden syrup and egg. Add mixture to dry ingredients. Mix until well combined.

Drop tablespoons of mixture onto baking paper-lined baking trays

Bake in a moderate oven (180) for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown (how you can tell a chocolate biscuit is 'golden brown' I don't know) . Remove from oven. (now this always cracks me up)

Spread each biscuit with a teaspoon of melted chocolate. Top with a nut or piece of chocolate if desired (I didnt desire). Allow to cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

I have already eaten too many lol

Easier Cinnamon Scrolls

2007-05-24T07:52:00.000+10:00

So Stacey found an easier recipe ;)

Click here for recipe

I'm sure there was something else I was going to blog about .... can't remember what it was though! Maybe later :)

Chelsea Buns

2007-05-22T17:43:00.000+10:00

Here you go Kate & Stacey ;)

Chelsea Buns
4 teaspoons (14g) dry yeast
1 teaspoon caster sugar
3 3/4 cups (560g) plain flour
1 1/2 cups (375ml) warm milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
1 tablespoons caster sugar, extra
1 egg, lightly beaten
45g butter, melted
15g butter, melted, extra
2 tablespoons rasberry jam
1/2 cup (75g) dried currants
1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
1/2 cup (60g) chopped pecans, toasted (I didnt have any so substituted with sultanas, I also added in 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon)
3 teaspoons honey

1- Combine yeast, caster sugar, 1 tablespoon of the flour and milk in small bowl, whisk until yeast is dissolved. Cover, stand in warm place about 10minutes or until mixture is frothy. Combined remaining sifted flour, spices, rind & extra caster sugar in large bowl, stir in egg, butter and yeast mixture; mix to a soft dough. Turn dough onto floured surface, knead about 10 minutes or until elastic. Place dough in large greased bowl, cover, stand in warm place about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

2- Turn dough onto floured surface, knead 1 minute. Roll to a 23 x 36cm rectangle (like I measured this). Brush dough with extra butter, spread with jam. Sprinkle with combined currants, brown sugar & nuts, leaving a 2cm border.

3- Roll up dough from long side, like a swiss roll. Cut into 12 slices. Place slices, cut side up, in 2 greased 22cm round cake pans. Cover, stand in warm place about 30minutes or until dough has risen slightly. Bake in moderately hot oven 30 minutes. Cool buns in pan 10minutes, transfer to wire rack. Brush hot buns with honey, drizzle with icing.

'Forest' across the road

2007-05-20T07:46:00.001+10:00

We are fortunate enough to have a massive lot of parkland across the road from our house, part of that is a 'forest' its so tranquil and lovely in there.
Its so sad though, this stupid drought has dried up the creek that used to run through it, all that is left is a few puddles :(

From where I am standing up to where Lauren is used to be all water a few months ago.
Used to be water all around here.

Saturday

2007-05-19T18:10:00.000+10:00

Gee I am so inventive with the titles aren't I!
Im tiiiiiired, bought some Thompsons Organic Iron today so fingers crossed that will help.
Did the groceries blissfully alone today, I'm liking this new thing of doing it by myself on the weekends, although muscles were hurting in my belly (im thinking round ligament) from walking around *sigh* As I was leaving noticed I had only been there for about 45min .. DAMMIT lol

So it kind of sucks sharing Betty with Damien, means that at night I don't get to spend any uninterrupted time on her. During the day sure I get moments here & there, but its never uninterrupted, so scrapping is impossible, so is playing sims or watching TV episodes really! I used to do that stuff at night time! Once we get homeloan organised, we can get damiens new PC AND my DSLR *drool* Cannot wait!!

ok wet girl just out of the bath, time to get her dried, in pjs, teeth done, story time ... and sleeeeep
I do have a book or three to read, so thats something :)

WOre myself out!

2007-05-16T19:27:00.000+10:00

Ok so I didn't get it all done lol
I was too worn out & sore after the vacumning/mopping/cleaning track thingys

Had midwife visit this afternoon, all is good and boring hehe

Housework To-do List

2007-05-16T08:59:00.000+10:00

So to help clear my head a little I am doing a few routine houseworky tasks, as well as one not so routiney, more like nesting lol

~~Vacumn carpets & tiles~~9.56am
~~Mop tiles~~ 9.56am
Do dishes & wipe down kitchen
Put away clean laundry, put on & hang out 21 loads of laundry
Tidy Laurens room & playroom
~~Wipe down sliding door & window tracks in lounge, computer room, bedroom, laurens room, playroom, bathroom, kitchen, dining~~10.40

That'll do donkey, that'll do

Hoping to get a bit TCC and have Lauren just pottering around with me helping.

Tuesday!

2007-05-15T07:02:00.000+10:00

Had a sucky mothers day but meh over it.
Lauren's cough has pretty much disappeared, she still sounds a little snotty but is on the road to recovery. I am tired but not sick, need to get that iron supplement!
Damien had yesterday off because he was starting to feel unwell, seems ok this morning though so is off to work.

I was spoilt by a group of friends yesterday, I run a forum for them and the sent me some gorgeous flowers and pressies to show their appreciation. Came at the perfect time as I was feeling very unappreciated, so *mwah* if you are reading this, thank you so much.Lauren & I are off to mums today to give her mothers day present and just catch up. Hoping she likes the album :)
I have about 3 or 4 LOs that are work in progress at the moment. Having trouble finishing them! Possibly because the time that I would usually spend on them (at night when I am uninterupted) Damien is now using my PC as his is kaput. Oh well.

I have been a bit slack with the housework, things aren't too bad, but the kitchen needs doing over.
Ok need to take Damien to the train station, have a great week!

Thursday

2007-05-10T08:17:00.000+10:00

Am heading up to Harvey Norman to get mothers day presents printed. Will pop into the library and return unsuitable books, and get new ones, this time I will read them first.

Damien took Lauren to the library on Sunday, she picked out two books, Damien didn't read them and just got them out.. Now Lauren obviously cannot pick books for their story content, so yeah they are going back!

The slice was YUMMMMMY, I ate way too much lol

Lauren's cough still sounded icky, but it sounds like it might be breaking up a bit, so hopefully the cough syrup is doing its work :)
Must off and get ready!

Wednesday - Feels like Monday

2007-05-09T11:49:00.000+10:00

What with Monday being a public holiday, and Tuesday Damien taking as a flex day, it feels like a Monday today!

Got a few things accomplished this morning :) Just popped a Seed Slice Thingy in the oven, see Stacey's Blog for the recipe :) Will let you know how that tastes later. But it sure looks good!

I appear to be winnign the fight against the cold! WOOT!
Lauren has a nasty sounding cough, she isn't coughing much, but when she does it sounds horrid, but she is in good spirits and doesn't 'seem' sick, so I am just sticking to dosing her with Vit C and getting as much of this natural herbal cough syrup into her that I can (helps to heal not suppress)
She slept well last night, I put the vapouriser on, so that is good. The cough doesn't' seem to affect how she sleeps etc
Neither of us have snotty noses thank goodness.

Having to share my Mac with Damien at the moment as his PC died in the ass, not in a financial position to get him a new one just yet either. Kinda sucks lol

Meh

2007-05-06T17:57:00.000+10:00

Sore throat, feel crappy meh
Not really surprising though, have been so tired & run down for over a week now.
Am chugging back the VitC to hopefully knock it on the head. Lauren has developed a cough today so have dosed her up with VitC too.

Done a heap of baking today!
Orange & Poppyseed Muffins
Honey Snap Biscuits
English Muffins (these would have been a lot better if i had the corn/maize meal stuff)
and Flour Tortillas to go with our chicken wraps for dinner!

The tortillas were SO easy, I don't think I will ever buy them again!

Flour Tortillas

3 cups of flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
50gish butter
1 1/4 cup warm water

Mix dry ingredients. Cut butter in either with fingers or pastry thingy.
Slowly add warm water, mixing till you get a soft dough (I didn't use quite 1 1/4 cups) break/cut into 12 pieces, roll into little balls. ( i used less balls as I wanted big ones)
Leave to sit for 10ish minutes.
Roll out till they are quite thin and look like tortillas lol
Fry in a med-heat frying pan till it sort of bubbles, and flip, you can tell when they are done, have browned spots, once the pan is hot enough they don't take very long at all.

YUMMY! I reckon you could add herbs and yummy stuff too.

Lauren says the funniest things

2007-05-03T07:00:00.000+10:00

So she is watching Cinderella this morning.
Damien decides to goof around and is dancing around the lounge room with the blanket she has kicked off .. she says to him
"No Daddy you only dance with GIRLS!!!"

*giggle*

Monday again!

2007-04-30T08:12:00.000+10:00

MIL is coming down this afternoon to stay for a couple of nights.
Thankfully the house is in pretty good condition, got the majority of cleaning done on saturday, and last little bits of tidying up done last night.
Just need to vacumn today, and sweep up outside and I'm done! Oh and do a couple of loads of laundry and go grocery shopping lol

I love having things tidy, makes me feel good about myself, I have fallen into the trap of letting housework go for so long, I am enjoying being on top of it :) Hope it continues!!

Went through Laurens baby clothes yesterday *gush*, even if this baby is a boy I think its set for the first 3 months of life with gender neutral clothing, and even a couple of items that Lauren never wore as they were a bit too boyish.
If this baby is a girl, its set for life hehe

Was getting all gushy looking at the 0000 wondersuits *happy sigh*

Ok off to do those things!

Rotten couple of days

2007-04-28T22:07:00.000+10:00

The last 2 days I have been soooo exhausted, and have had a very short fuse. It felt like (today especially) Lauren was pushing my buttons so much. Snapped at her so many times today, felt like evil witch mummy.

Tomorrow I am having some much needed time off, going to the movies with mum, doing some window shopping, having lunch out, maybe something decadent. Some time to recharge.

So hopefully next post I will have recharged and done loads of LOs hehe

Tagged by Stacey

2007-04-25T10:27:00.000+10:00

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next three sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't dig for your favourite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.
6. Tag ~~five~~three other people to do the same.

Not until we have reliable diagnostic tests will it be possible to assess the true incidence of milk induced colic, and the true relationship between protein intolerances and sugar intolerances. Milk sugar, or lactose intolerance, is becoming more readily diagnosed since a cheap way of measuring levels of sugars in the baby's stools was developed. But lactose intolerance can be both a symptom - a result of earlier milk protein intolerance damaging the gut - or a cause of milk-protein intolerance.

Crying Baby, Sleepless Nights, How to overcome baby's sleep problems - and get some sleep yourself Sandy Jones

Ok I tag Alissa, Kate & Chris!

So proud of me

2007-04-24T22:00:00.000+10:00

I am the first to admit I am a slack housekeeper, well I am good at keeping the house messy.
But lately I have been on top of things :) It feels great.
Not unheard of in this house for dishes to be left till next day, clean dishes in dishwasher not put away, so dirty dishes pile up.

Not anymore, I am determined to make this a habit, every night stacking dishwasher putting it on, washing any dishes that can't go in the dishwasher, wiping down benches & stovetop.
Sweeping floor.
Picking up stuff from lounge and wiping dining table.
It is SUCH a nice feeling to go to bed with the house tidy, knowing that when I get up in the morning the kitchen bench is clear and I don't have to wash any dishes. Makes my head much less cluttered.

Now if only I could work out how to get laundry to fold itself and go into the right drawers, and to stop the computer room floor from attracting 'stuff'

Now its beddy bye times, cause I know my girl will be up with the lorikeets *and* I am determined to go for a walk tomorrow :)
G'night!!

Updated pregnancy blog

2007-04-23T13:54:00.001+10:00

http://tweedledee.vox.com/

:)

Monday

2007-04-23T06:38:00.000+10:00

So its monday again.
Off to HMA (Homebirth Support Group) today, which I am looking foward to :) I like connecting to other women with similar views and beliefs as me :) A friend with her 3 week old bubba is hoping to come *excited*

So Damien the slack ass didn't vacumn yesterday, so I guess I will be doing that today! Also didn't do the 'pick up', so something else I will be doing today. At least kitchen/dishes are done.

So list for today

~~Pick up 'stuff'~~
~~Do vacuuming that Damien didn't do grrrr~~
~~Mop~~
~~Bake choc chip cookies~~ all before 9am woooot!

Yay for short list ;)

Don't really have any scrapping mojo atm *sigh*

Sunday!

2007-04-22T06:25:00.000+10:00

Today we are off to something call the platypus festival Click if you are interested
So that will see us out of the house for a few hours, should be interesting :D
But of course I still have a list!

So most of yesterdays list has carried over as well as adding a few things:

~~Finish cleaning oven & racks~~THANK GOODNESS
~~Put on last load of washing, get 2 in.~~
Get Damien to vacumn
~~Put single bed up in play room and rearrange~~
Do pick up of 'stuff'

A list for Saturday

2007-04-21T08:22:00.000+10:00

So last night I started cleaning the oven lol, today going to finish it (I dont use the nasty caustic chemically stuff, so lots of elbow grease hehe)

Finish cleaning oven & racks
~~Tidy Laurens room~~
Do umpteen loads of washing and hang out 2 down, one in machine and one yet ot be washed
~~Clean bathrooms/toilets~~2.21pm
Get Damien to vacumn
~~Grocery shopping .. KID FREE!!~~

That'll do it

gasp A POST

2007-04-20T07:27:00.000+10:00

Well yes posts have been few & far between, I'm a slackass what can I say.
So all my baby type posts are here on my vox blog.

SO I need to do updates about me & Lauren.

Lauren, gosh where do I start, some days she is a normal 2.5year old and then she opens her mouth, I feel like I am having conversations with some one much older. Her vocab is amazing, and scary. She understands and can vocalise so much.
She is a firecracker, a frustrating, independent (some days, others days its 'help me')beautiful, amazing, cheeky little girl.. I love her so much, and on some days are endlessly frustrated.

She is *finally* going to sleep without booby, mainly because it was hurting too much with pregnancy. I never thought I would see the day tbh, but now we read stories, then lights go out I sing, rub her back, tell her Princess Lauren stories and she rolls over and goes to sleep its bliss, and if she wakes during the night (not often) she cuddles back to sleep as well, at first it was "booobiieeeee" but now has accepted she doesn't have any till she wakes up. When she does wake up (usually btwn 5-6) she has some then, but its not for very long.

I was feeling so terrible that the end of our breastfeeding relationship was so negative, I was HATING breastfeeding, it hurt, I had a real aversion to it. Not that I love it anymore, but I can tolerate it for a short while, I want the last feeds to be comfy not with me going "GET OFF GET OFF"

Where am I at. Pregnant! hehe Doing ok, I *was* on top of hte housework, but it takes one night of slack sleep and it has taken over again. Hopefully I can get back on top of it again. Feeling pretty good, although I have run out of MultiV's, I walked for a couple of mornings, but the last two havent happened *slack* I feel so great when I go for a morning walk.

I am scrapping again! Loving it :D
My latest:
CLICK

CLICK

List of things I should get done today:

~~Put away clean washing~~
~~Put away maternity clothes(in closet)~~
~~Put away clothes I no longer fit & summer clothes~~
~~Put shredded paper in recycle bin cause I know I wont remember to take to pet store~~
~~Pick up crap from floor of computer room~~
~~Put dishwasher on~~
~~Tidy/clean kitchen~~
Clean bathrooms
~~Change linen on beds~~

There that should do it

Should do a proper post

2007-02-02T15:23:00.000+10:00

But alll I have to offer atm is another LO :)
I tried to add words to this one but nup simple again :)

Credit: Tracy ann 'Flop' papers

Another one :o

2007-01-19T21:52:00.000+10:00

Very very simple, but I just couldnt do anything else with it.
Credit:
Flower rub on - "Winter Chick" @ the ShabbyShoppe
Sanded overlay by Christine Smith

Gah! It needs a border, will do that tomorrow, too tired tonight.

A Layout! :O

2007-01-18T21:23:00.000+10:00

OMG!

Credit:
'Winter Chic' @ the ShabbyShoppe

Its about time

2007-01-15T13:58:00.000+10:00

What with christmas, and pregnancy I just seem to not update.
I have no morning sickness, but i have alll day indigestion (no heartburn) which is mega frustrating, and the tiredness .. ohh the tiredness.

We just spent thur-sun up at the ILs, was nice, I got to relax a lot and just read (Mills & Boon lol) while the ILs or Damien entertained Lauren

Damien is back to work tomorrow, I am not looking forward to it :( I have really found it helpful having him at home to tend to Lauren (when she will let him)

I cannot wait for the 2nd trimester, surely this tiredness and crappy belly will have to ease off a bit?? Have Damien & ILs asking me when I'm going to the doctor .. what for? I say I'm not sick. I may make an appt soonish and get some blood tests just to check levels and stuff .. maybe .. and get a 12 weeks scan if I have any pointers to this being a double pregnancy. Lauren is still adamant that there are two babies in my belly.

Need to ring a midwife too *blush* Should really get moving on that.

Life is just plodding along. Nothing of excitement happening .. mores the pity!
Some recent photos of Lauren

December
January

Oh and a screenshot from Betty .. my 20inch iMac

Rest In Peace Dad

2006-12-23T21:23:00.000+10:00

I have had a rollercoaster 29 hours.

I got a phone call to say my father had passed away yesterday afternoon, after many tears and not being able to reach Damien I then got another phone call to say that he wasn't actually dead but in a drug-induced coma.

So many conflicting emotions, anger, sadness, confusion.

My uncle rang and confirmed the drug-induced coma, induced because of the intense pain Dad was in, it was only a matter of time, he suggested I ring the hospice and they could possibly put the phone up to his ear so I could tell him of my pregnancy, the fact that I hadn't yet told him had devastated me.

I rang the hospice and my cousin held the phone up to his ear, it was so very hard, but I told him of my pregnancy, that I loved him, and said goodbye.

I got a lot of closure from that phone call. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to talk to him, even though he couldn't answer, I heard his breathing change and I *know* he heard me.

I got a phone call from my uncle and Dad passed away tonight. He was in a bit of pain near the end so I *know* that he is so much better off now, and is at peace.

I feel such peace, and relief.

Love and light Dad, may you now rest in peace.

Sooooo

2006-12-20T20:07:00.000+10:00

Santa Photo

2006-12-13T12:14:00.000+10:00

At least she wasnt as freaked out as she was last year :)

Yet another very late update

2006-12-09T08:27:00.000+10:00

Trip to NZ was ok, didn't get to spend as much time with Dad as i wanted, Lauren didnt cope well with it all, the people coming & going, change etc she was a brat, I was exhausted but I did get to spend time with Dad :)

He improved so much over the time that we were there, and from speaking to him since he sounds a lot stronger which is great because it means he can enjoy the time he has left, he is a fighter so maybe he will stick around for a while to torment us ;)

We are trying to conceive #2 atm, the first three nights in NZ lauren had HEAPS of boob and I know that distrupted my cycle, so I was feeling positive until my cycle ended up with a luteal phase of only 7 days *sigh*, I am cutting Lauren back on the boob and hoping this cycle is more fruitful.

I am getting one of these *pets* 20inch iMac *drools*

Going to get it on the myer card in teh new year, maybe get it cheaper in any post xmas sales.
Cannot believe how little time there is left to xmas *panics*

Bought a few things at the oxfam store yesterday, i LOVE that store, could spend a fortune.
Got this necklace, I love her, so does Lauren :) Also got a wallet and a couple of xmas gifts.

Ok some Lauren cuteness to finish off

An Update

2006-11-16T09:37:00.000+10:00

Sorry it has been so long, living in a fog atm, and trying to recover from camping.
Not up to a big post about the camping trip, but it wasnt what I had hoped :(

So my Dad only has months, maybe up to a year to live. :( :( :(
Lauren, Mum & I fly over tomorrow morning going to make the most of the time we spend with him.

Its just so unfair. I had a big bawl up at camping when I heard the news, I think I was in a bit of shock too, like I hadn't let myself believe it was all true until I heard those words. I am so thankful I was surrounded by friends.

I am sick with a cold atm which triples the ickyness of everything.
Will update more when I get back.
xxxx