Going to update soon .. promise

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

Family of Four

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*whiiiinge*

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

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

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

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

'Star' Biscuits aka Shrewsbury Biscuits that aren't

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!

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

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

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

*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

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!

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

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

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 elseBaskets 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

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

*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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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 & tiles9.56am
• 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, dining10.40

That'll do donkey, that'll do

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

Tuesday!

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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 fivethree 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

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

http://tweedledee.vox.com/

:)

Monday

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!

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 & racksTHANK 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

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/toilets2.21pm
• Get Damien to vacumn
• Grocery shopping .. KID FREE!!

That'll do it

*gasp* A POST

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

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

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

OMG!

Credit:
'Winter Chic' @ the ShabbyShoppe

Its about time

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

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

Santa Photo

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

Yet another very late update

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

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

Update

Mum, Lauren & I are booked to fly over to see dad on Nov17th -25th.
A group of my friends, wonderful wonderful ladies that they are got together and raised over $600 ot help me fly over to see my dad :( *cries* I am just so in awe of them, so very lucky to have them in my life.

I rang Dad today, he sounded awful, really drugged up on the morphine. *sigh*

I am not letting myself worry or get anxious though as it was really makin gme feel sick, and not helping either of us. Will find out more after the 7th (when he has appt with encology team)

Next week (monday - saturday)I am going camping with another great group of women & kids, really looking forward to it :D

Prayers/Positive thoughts needed for my Dad

My Dad only has one kidney, lost one to cancer when he was 18. He has been having problems for the last year and just yesterday has been diagnosed with secondary cancer of the remaining kidney.

They don't know where the primary cancer is. I only found out this afternoon when my brother rang me. It isnt sounding very good, but I am trying ot think positive, as is Dad. They are unsure of what course of action they are going to take from now, so its bascially a waiting game.

So if you could please spare a thought or a prayer for my dad it would be really appreciated

ETA: Its actually his liver that the secondary cancer is in, have recently found out that tha tis bad, I didnt want to accept how bad it is, yk, I . .just dont know what to think.

*hugs*

Give the people you love a big hug today, or let them know you love them.
Just because.

Life is precious.

*big hugs to you all*

Too much TV

Of late Lauren has been watchign TOO much tv, made me feel sick. So it has stopped.
She is allowed to watch two movies, or two blocks of TV, one in the morning one in the afternoon.

I feel so much better for it, I'm getting more housework done and she is playing with her toys/books etc so much more. I just hope I can keep it up.

She is asking for tV but I am managing to distract her
For example just now she said "Watch blues clues?" I said no not until this afternoon, so straight away she asked for Booby so im guesing booby is something that she 'does' iykwim, but now she is distracted with a torch and has forgotten about both booby & blues clues.

I have cleaned up kitchen & dining room today and feel so good for it, have also just put al lthe beans back into her beanbag, had to wash the cover as it was stinky, putting beans back into a beanbag is a hell 0f a lot easier than taking them out *lol*

Ok a photo and maybe some LOs to follow, not right now as Lauren is hanging off the desk.

Friday is what friday does

So its friday again, Damien has a flex day on monday .. woot! So hopefully we can have a nice family day :) (although just realised school holidays has started by then too .. ick!)

So it looks like we will be moving early January. So I have a few months to get all packed up thank goodness, also means we will be here for xmas, surrounded by boxes, but here ;)

Lauren looked like she was going to get a doozy of a cold, she had a fever for a couple of days and a snotty sounding nose, she still has a snotty sounding nose, but heres hoping it doesn't develop, lots of booby milk, fluids and rest.

I am on a mission to get photos printed, I haven't had photos printed since our trip to NZ last christmas, and for like months before that. So I have been through January of this year and edited and got it printed. Now on to february, I am hoping to get this year done, and then go back and do last year, and the year before that .. *groans* It will be nice to have the photos where we can actually enjoy looking through them though, at the moment they are all on the PC and well barely get looked at!

I also need to get frames for the photos we had taken, I went to Target cause they have 20% off frames, but just seems like a lot of money still :( Wish I could find some decent frames for like super cheap. Maybe just get some el cheapo ones and when we get super rich, buy some nice ones.

Lauren's latest 'thing' has been "I like.." or "Lauren likes..", we made gingerbread men at the beginning of the week, she was eating one yesterday, ate his head/legs/arms/icing and then asked for another, I said to her "You only want the icing don't you?" she grinned and said "I like icing" lol! So yesterday heard lots of "I like boobies" "I love mummy I love Nana I love poohbear I love.." etc etc

She is just so aware of everything, its frightening how clever she is.

Just a couple of photos

Cause I can ;)

Not sure if I like it ..

Only time will tell :S

So..

Those who have Beta accounts cannot comment on posts of those who don't SUCKS ROYALLY
So Kristie, I sent big *big hugs* and lots of strength.

In other breaking news, looks like we won't be moving up the coast till early next year, and the plans have apparently changed (the house plans) ILs are coming down today to 'discuss' it. Love how they just ring the night before and say "we are coming down tomorrow, is that ok?" I mean it is ok, but what if it wasn't? Would I be made to feel guilty??? I felt like saying "Well no actually, Lauren & I will be out all day but feel free to come in and make tea"

STrugglign at teh moment with my stupid hormonal mood swings, and Laurens .. testing of the boundaries, I am really finding it hard to deal with, does anyone have any suggestions of things I can read to help me help her through this? My initial response to everything seems to be frustration, anger, raised voice and its helping no one.

But to finish off the post with some sunshine & light ;)
"Don't photo me!"

I scrapped!

*beams*
Yay :)


Credit:
KateF 'Country Kitchen' & Faek Oak "Mossy Meadow Alpha" both gorgeous items can be found at pickleberrypop



Credit: Shabby Princess "Olivia Collection" gorgeous kit!

Beta Bandwagon

I'm hopping on it.
May change the layout too, but not tonight I'm too sleepy.

Happy Birthday my Beautiful Lauren!

My gorgeous girl is TWO today!
Haven't got time for a big post yet as we are having the party in our house cause the weather has been so wet and murky.
Here are some photos from this morning :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STACEY!!

Hope you have a fabulous day!! :D

Internet .. thats what its called right?

I have had soo much offline time lately!! Spent a lovely 4 days up the coast :)
Have also gotten back into reading, Stacey lent me The Red Tent I couldn't put it down, spent some lovely hours reading it, really enjoyed it. Up the coast I borrowed White Gardenia from my MIL, another book I am motoring though, I am really enjoying laying on teh lounge and reading, it helps my mind wind down, and it also means spending more time in Laurens company, I can easily put down the book and give my girl cuddles, I used to read .. a LOT, all the time before I got so hooked up with this computer, so I am enjoying taking some time out. Can anyone give me a list of recommended reads, or a link to a blog or website that has that sort of thing? I like reading pretty much anything! (maybe only fiction at the moment though, an enjoying that escape)

But another OMG moment ... I scrapped!!! Yes I did, first time in what feels like forever!!!

Credit: DebF - SerendipitousDays avail @ http://www.pickleberrypop.com
- Swirly corner doodle recoloured
Font: Snowshow

Heading up the coast

My BIL & his wife are up from Melbourne at the moment, staying with my ILs.
Lauren & I are heading up the coast today to spend some time with them all, Damien is joining us on thursday night.

Will be nice, SIL adores Lauren so it will be great for them to have a fair bit of time to play and spend time :) and of course my ILs, although once we move in .. lots of time .. :S

I should get the chance to have a break also as there will be 2 more people to entertain lauren (or be entertained *by* Lauren)

Lots to do this morning, got to pack .. duh .. wash the nappies .. oh shit have to do that now..

Not much else happening in the world of Dee, hoping for a lovely 4 days :) The weather gods should be smiling on us, its been gorgeous lately. Will probably take Lauren to the beach tomorrow morning :)

So hopefully LOTS of photos when we get back :)

I've got monday on my mind

So here I sit on another monday morning!
Had apretty full on weekend, well no not really .. but ..
Went out to a big Lifeline store with mum on saturday, bought a couple of toys for Lauren, books for Damien .. nada for me *rolls eyes* isn't it the way!

On Sunday Lauren & I drove down to visit Stacey, Jake & Kira :D Was great to see them again :)
Saw Katanya & Felix as well, the kidlets had so much fun playing together :D
Got some super cute photos, I will post one up here ;)
TOday I am hoping to get out to Ikea to get the pots & pans for Lauren's birthday, its creeping up! I also need to head out and get the invites printed so I can send them! Although everyone who is coming knows about it ;)

Soon my coffee will be finished *sigh* and I need to go and do the dishes .. joy ..

Here is some cuteness to sweeten your day :D



Storyboard by Lanne @ onceuponastoryboard.typepad.com "Snow White and the Seven Storyboards" set

Long time .. again

Im such a slack blogger.
I got sick of my pretty blog too, so went for something basic lol

Gee what is happening with us.
Madness and mayhem
Nah its all pretty good actually :)
Lauren is becoming more and more toilet aware, spends all day in undies/pants, nappy for nap & nighttime. Tells us when she wants to wee/poo off we race to potty or toilet whichever is closer.

Starting to get stuck into the packing, only a month or so till we are going to be moving the bulk of our stuff into storage at Damien's grans house. Then early october we will move us and the rest up. SCARY, but also looking forward to a change :) Being near the beach etc Maybe Barb can teach me how to sew, I might pay more attention to her than my own mother lol

I have so much crap to sort through, its nuts!!

I have been a bad picklehead too, have lots the oomph for scrapping atm, hoping it comes back really soon!!

WE got some family photos taken last weekend, I LOVE them sooooo much, so thank you L!! They are so perfectly US!

http://onceuponastoryboard.typepad.com/photos/justdee/index.html

I leave you with a photo of my sleeping beauty