Yo Shorty - It's Your Birthday...

Although I prefer to think of myself as 'fun size'.

So, today, I am 29 years old. It doesn't feel like I've been on earth for 29 years - some days it feels like I've been here a shit load longer!

I keep thinking there should be some change in me, but I think this every year - that I suddenly become more mature, or that I should now be interested in watching the stock market and read poncy newspapers over coffee. But maybe that will come next year, when I hit 30?

On reflection, I think I've done okay with my time thus far. Sure, there are things that might be nice to 'do over', but what's the point in worrying about that? There's a reason our heads can't turn 180 degrees.

This year though, I've decided I'm going to be a bit 'louder'. I've always been very reserved, and so now I want to be more confident in who I am. I'm not going to pretend I do or don't like something just because someone else feels that way. I'm going to be honest about my opinions, make choices based on how I feel and what I think.

I'm going to try and stop worrying about the rest of the world and remember that it's ok to be me.

So, for starters, I want to do something with my hair. I've already lost the length - I had it chopped from just below my butt, to my shoulders, when Miss 4 was about 6 months old. It was liberating, even if I did feel bald for ages and continued to try and brush hair that wasn't there anymore.

I call it my 'phantom hair' stage.

That really only leaves colour and texture. So my curls will go on holiday for a short while, and goodbye to the brown/red colour I've been sporting for too long. I'm going to go for the change I've been wanting for a while...

Image via Google

Yep - red and black.

I know it's not exactly your typical 'mum style', but I'm trying to break out of the 'mummy mould' I've put myself in. Who says you can't be a kick-arse parent and rock some fab locks!? Look at Miss Pink from The Mummy Autobiography - completely proves my point.

I think I've been inspired to make a change by The Man. He's on a mission to become a toned champion of the 5am run and the 5pm workout. That kind of change is so far out of my spectrum I don't even know where to begin. I can support him and make sure his workout clothes are clean, but me and my peanut M&M's will be observing from the couch.

When I die, I'll know immediately if I've gone to hell. The room will be filled with clowns and their pet spiders on exercise equipment.

I have made a promise to myself that I would try and tone up a bit, but by the time I've run up and down the front stairs a few hundred times with loads of laundry, bags of rubbish and/or a baby, cleaned the house and been on the trampoline with Miss 4, I figure I've done more than enough exercise and it didn't involve any of the equipment that features in my nightmares.

This year will be a year of experimentation and, hopefully, success. I've already navigated the process of giving birth in a car, sending Miss 4 to pre-school and resisting the urge to constantly buy cute clothes for both my girls - changing my hairstyle will be easy as! Especially when you consider that it'll be a child free experience, plus head massages, massage chairs and coffee on demand involved in the lengthy process.

And best of all - someone else has to clean up after ME!

You never know, maybe I'll take some peanut M&M's with me and make it a truly indulgent day...

2013...

Well 2012, you were a good year. Hell, you were amazing! In the grand scheme of things, there are few years that can match you. 2008, 2009 and 2012 will always be hard to beat. 2013 will have to work hard to top you - she's already being weighed down by some large facts...

1. There will be no new babies born this year (to us! The rest of the world is free to procreate)
2. The Man has put his foot down and said no more babies for us.
3. The Man said no more babies!
4. There is a part of me that agrees with him...
5. There is a part of me that doesn't...
6. The Man is booking in for a vasectomy, so there's no going back.

I suppose it's the finality of it all - there will seriously, never, ever be another child born to us, and a part of my heart is heavy for that. I'm sure every mother in the world has a small part of them that's never sure if they are 100% done with birthing babies - especially when you consider how amazing, cute, squishy and yummy smelling they are.

I'll make my peace with it, I'm sure. Probably around the time JellyBean begins eating like her sister and the weekly shop increases 1000%.

It brings the end of baby clothes and the painful experience of having to give them away/sell them, along with furniture. When that time comes I'll probably have to be sedated while The Man deals with it.

However, as much as 2013 brings the end to some phases of our lives, it does herald the beginning of others. Miss 3 will be Miss 4 in exactly 17 days time and will begin pre-school this year. She will wear a uniform, learn so many things and come home smarter than me on day 1. She will become even more independent and I will have to learn to let go. But not that much.

JellyBean will grow like a weed and I will find a corner of my bedroom to curl into the foetal position and rock back and forth each night, crippled by the fact that my girls are growing every second of every day.

It will bring further renovations and improvements to the house, more gardening and swearing at the palm-trees-from-hell in our yard that insist on spreading their dead fronds as far as the eye can see. It will see me plotting their demise in the form of a tree lopping service and a wood chipper!

I will turn...sob...29. But so will The Man.

It may see my frame shrink further - or perhaps increase - you never can tell. I'll just hope for the best and try not to spend too much time down the chocolate aisle in Coles.

It will be my first solid year as a SAHM and I plan to delve into the world of domestic goddess-ness and the culinary arts. Well, culinary arts is probably a bit ambitious - I'd settle for learning not to burn water.

I may find the time to read a book. And maybe get to see a movie at the cinema. I'll continue to forget how bitter the skins are on fresh plums and eat one.

We will watch rain storms roll in, cuddle our babies when they shy away from the flashes of lightning and cracks of thunder and let them sleep between us to feel safe. We will jump on trampolines, swim in pools, play at parks, rock babies to sleep, run baths, put little bodies in jim-jams, take a million and one photo's, laugh, cry, whinge, moan and complain about something-or-other and fall asleep at night, grateful to be able to do it every day.

2013 may not be the year of births in our home, but it certainly will be the year of awesome.

Long may it reign...

A New Beginning...

Well, here I am. Typing on my laptop from home with official sanction from my OB not to return to work.

To say a weight has been lifted off my shoulders is an understatement.

Any guilt I might have felt by going on leave so suddenly, is overshadowed by feelings of release. It's like being covered by a cloud and driving into the sunlight. It's bright, warm and wonderful. The sudden change can be blinding, but once your eyes adjust you wonder why the hell you didn't drive for the break in the clouds sooner!

It's probably a sign when you leave a place you've worked for the past 5 years, and you're not even a little bit sad for not working with those people anymore. Call me bitchy if you like, but there's one person who I won't be sad to never see again.

Her reaction when my pregnancy was announced? "Oh, poor you. Was it an accident?"

If she see's me coming, she crosses the street to avoid speaking to me or if she happens to be stuck in the tea room at the same time, she walks around me like I'm contagious. As far as she's concerned me and my life are the worst case scenario. If she woke up tomorrow as me, she would have a heart attack.

Thing is, I feel sorry for her. She'll never know the heart crushing joy of bringing your baby home for the first time, she'll never know that new baby smell, she'll never know the intense joy of your child saying their first word, taking their first steps.

But she's obviously found what she's looking for in her career and her husband, and that's awesome. A career isn't the be all and end all for me, but I've always known that.

I don't condemn her for her choice to not have children  - I didn't think it was too much to ask from her to offer me the same respect.

However, there is no need to obsess over the past - and that's exactly what all of that is, now. The past.

Now, I'm looking to the future and I'm so excited! I'm looking forward to getting the rest I need for my ribs to heal, I'm looking forward to loads of quality time with Miss 3 and I'm looking forward to welcoming the newest addition to our family in 13 weeks time.

And on the subject of the newest addition to our family - the OB whipped out her ultrasound machine and has finally given us the answer we've been dying to know.

Miss 3 is thrilled to announce that she is the proud sibling of a...

BABY GIRL!!

So it turns out Miss 3 is not psychic...she just chose the wrong 50% of the gender debate to fixate on.

The Man and I have yet to settle on a name, but when we do decide, we're going to keep it to ourselves until our littlest girl is here.

So there you go, the latest update in our lives.

And a bloody awesome life it is.

Feelin' It...

Today, I'm feeling musical.

I'm sure most people find music is able to make them feel better - and I'm no exception.

Miss 3 is going through a very clingy stage at the moment, and it makes day care drop off time painful.

You'd think I was leaving her on the side of the road and moving to Bolivia without giving her a forwarding address.

I know she can feel things changing, and she's not too sure what to think of it all. Fair enough - I'm her Mum and some days I wake up not knowing what to think of everything that's going on! But we have to keep plodding along for a little bit longer.

Everything will be okay.  It's my mantra at the moment.

So I've been spending some time today listening to music that makes me feel happy, and I thought I'd share a few of my selections with you.

You know, because I can.

So first up is a bit of Powderfinger with Lost and Running...



It more or less describes how I'm feeling at the moment - but makes me want to smile and dance.

Then we're moving on with some of The Strokes, with You Only Live Once...



I think I mostly just love the guitar rifts in this song...

And of course, Empire of the Sun. Miss 3 and I dance to this regularly...



I don't understand the video clip. Never have and most likely never will. I always consider them to be the musical version of 'The Matrix'. I didn't understand those movies either, despite the amount of time The Man dedicated to trying desperately to explain it all to me.

And lastly, one from my youth that Miss 3 loves to listen to...let's hear it Barnes-y!



How can you not smile when you hear that??

A Small Announcement...

Well, the time has come to unveil the issue that has been rattling around in my head.

It may come as as shock (or not) but I would like to tell everyone that...

I am PAINFULLY uncomfortable with the idea of Tony Abbott running the country.

Oh - and did I mention that I'm pregnant, too?

I've been a bit cautious this time around as last time ended sadly - but I can confidently say that this time feels a whole lot different. And a whole lot more permanent.

I was going to wait until next Monday when I've had my first ultrasound - but since a certain husband had a few too many corporate drinks in the corporate box at the football on Saturday and was too tipsy excited to keep the news to himself, I've decided it's my turn.

Going by 'standard' dates from my GP, I'm 8 weeks pregnant, but the ultrasound will give a better idea of actual gestation. I'm actually quite stunned that I am pregnant - my cycles have been so unreliable since Miss 3 was born that it's not unusual for a couple of months to pass between periods.

But on a whim and after a few enquiries by the mother-in-law and even Miss 3 herself, I peed on a stick last Tuesday morning and a fabulous, thick, unmistakable second line arrived.

It's an excellent result - I couldn't have asked for a better second line.

I feel like everything has worked out, and this baby has arrived at the right time. I have cut back my working hours, the Obstetrician I wanted is available and it will be a dry season baby. After being heavily pregnant in the wet season, I am thrilled to not be doing that again!

I am tired and getting lots of sleep, I feel like my pants are already getting too tight around my pelvis and I can feel things stretching. I don't have morning sickness so much as 'all the time sickness'. So much so that I was hovering over the toilet bowl at midnight last night.

Yeah - that's been fun.

But overall I'm feeling good, feeling positive and very happy.

All we need to do now is put back the wall we knocked out so we can have the 3rd bedroom back!

March Photo A Day: Day 9...

Day 9

| Red |

I love having red in the house.

Want to play along? Visit www.fatmumslim.com.au for all the details

It's All Good...

It's the end of the day. The sun is falling lower and lower in the sky, which turns orange and pink. It's been a hot day and a breeze gently pushes me forward.

It carries with it the smell of freshly cut grass, warm air and the low moan of a lawn mower a few streets away.

The smell, the warmth and the sound. That's how I know everything is all good.

It reminds me of hanging out with friends after school. It reminds me of lazy summer weekends when I was younger. It reminds me of a simpler time in my life, when bills and money and work were irrelevant. They were a million miles away in the future, and my biggest worry at that moment was that we wouldn't make it to the beach before dark.

I like to think that Big Nanna (she was tall), Little Nanna (she was shorter than Big Nanna) and Uncle Bob (my Great Uncle and Little Nanna's brother) are sitting together, hanging out and can see when I need a good breeze to come past. 

Because it always does.

And it makes my soul happy.

February Photo A Day Challenge: Day 25...

Day 25

|Green|

Well, teal anyway. These are my favourite coffee cups - I love the colour of them.

The little cup is one I found at Target - vintage inspired and the colour I love. I bought it for Miss 3 as her 'special cup' but I am going back to get a set of these because I love them!

Want to play along? Visit www.fatmumslim.com.au for all the details

February Photo A Day Challenge: Day 11...

Day 11

| Makes Me Happy |

The man I married, even when he's glued to his computer - Miss 3, regardless of the tantrums - Fresh 1000 thread count sheets still warm from the sun - The Big Bang Theory

Want to play along? Visit www.fatmumslim.com.au for all the details

Taking it Easy...

Sorry it's been a little slow around these parts - wrapping things up at work before my annual leave took a lot more of my time than I actually thought it would.

Some may say that I might not have had so much to finish off, had I blogged a little less and worked a little more. But I'm at the close of Annual Leave Day 1 - and so I don't actually care right now.

I've spent the day doing nothing, only getting dressed to go to my parents house for dinner and the most I did around the house was turn on the dishwasher. I'm not even sure the dishes in there were actually dirty - but it gave me a sense of pride so I'm not going to worry about the details.

I'm catching up on my recorded episodes of 'One Born Every Minute' and 'Dr Quinn: Medicine Woman'. Yes, I love Dr Quinn, and no I'm not ashamed. I can't hear your snorts of laughter, so it's all good.

But the main message of this is to say I'm going to be taking it easy. Since I lost my iPhone I've had a forced withdrawal from Twitter and blogging and all the other things I used too obsessively check previously, and I think it's been good for me.

So for the next 5 weeks my priority is going to be my family and doing the things together that we want to. And believe me, we have plenty to do.

I have baking to be done - and even if I didn't enjoy baking I'd be forced to, because our chickens have started laying about 6-8 eggs PER DAY. That's a shit load of egg's! I can't give them away fast enough so the only other solution I can think of is to become a the Betty Crocker of Darwin.

And when I'm not baking, I'll be tackling the tropical jungle that is our pain in the arse garden. Goodbye palm trees. Goodbye pointless, unidentifiable shrubbery. Goodbye horrible paving and hello to the garden of my dreams! Hopefully we'll also get the grass mowed and I won't have to take a cut lunch and water bag to get to the letter box.

We'll be restoring the pool to a habitable state, safe for human activity. Because if the pool pump doesn't go in this week with enough chlorine and salt to bleach the earth, I will loose my shit. $700 and endless waiting for the pool man to declare it safe only for the bloody pump to blow up and the new one not fit the existing pipelines has made me very upset. I'm sick of looking out our bedroom window only to see a cesspool. Although it does match the state of the garden. Ahem.

The chickens will be relocating to a penned area in the back yard. Because they've developed a love of roosting on the stairs. And I don't love having to wear my wellies to get down the stairs. Getting to the clothes line has become a daily game of chance - and my chances of not ending up stepping in chicken shit is getting less by the minute so they won't be as free rage as I had originally planned.

But it's not a bad thing - it's getting to the point where they're bigger than the cats. And that's fine, until I have to catch them and then I realise that the bigger they get the sooner they'll eat me in my sleep. The pen is, therefore, for my safety, too.

Otherwise it'll just be filled with shopping and visits to the park and Christmas and New Year and then a certain little girl's 3rd birthday.

I'm still slightly in denial about that. I'm not ready to have a 3 year old. Because that mean's I'll have to turn 28 shortly after. And I'll be honest - any age after 25 just wasn't in my life plan. It would mean our daughter would never be older then 13 months, but I was, and still am, totally okay with that. The older she get's, the more it reminds me of the ever growing age gap between her and the elusive second child we want.

Fertility is a bitch - she's not getting a Christmas card this year. There are lots off bloggy babies due in 2012, and I'd like ours to be one of them. But I'm finding myself getting cranky (again!) that it's not happening and I don't want to be the bitch who can't be happy for other people's wonderful news - so it's a sign that I need to take a step back and chill out.

Who knows, maybe all the things we've got going over the next 2 months will be a good distraction and we might get that 2012 baby after all.

And if not, I have an internal wall that's coming down so I'll be able to vent with a hammer.

I'll be popping in now and then to update as I feel like it, but regular programming might not return until 2012.

So to you and your families I wish all the best for a fabulous Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

Joy to the World...

No - our claim hasn't been finalised. That won't happen until the next ice age, and I'm sure I'll make my peace with that. Probably the day before I die.

Anyway, considering my 'woe is me' post yesterday, I'm feeling good today (I feel good - nah nah nah nah nah nah nah - I knew that I would, now - nah nah nah nah nah nah nah - I feeeeeeeeeel good...)

Maybe it's because I slept well, maybe it's because I'm having a good hair day...and maybe it's because I'm hopping on a flight to Alice Springs today and I'm escaping the cesspool of destruction created by my family while I was away last week.

Whatever the reason, for the first time this morning the NT News didn't look like reading it would waste 5 minutes of precious life. In fact - the front cover made my heart skip a beat and I almost screamed.

www.ntnews.com.au

It's not often the NT News deems a story worthy to replace the required Crocodile on the front page.

I feel the Myer announcement could have taken a full page, but obviously someone being attacked with an iced coffee is right up there, too.

It reaffirms my committment to only drinking Farmer's Union.

So Myer, on behalf of all the people in Darwin who have moved here from other capital cities, got off the plane and thought 'where the hell am I?' or, in my case 'What do you mean they don't have department stores!!?' I would like to say THANK YOU.

You will drag this city kicking and screaming into the new millennium - and I look forward to it.

My Designer...

is totally in the newspaper today!




Link to article here

And yes, Kevin is totally MY designer. He made my dress for the Coleman's Cup Race Day and, although the fact that I wore it was a tragedy, the dress was A.MAZ.BALLS.

Which is better than just amazing, if you were wondering.

I told anyone who would listen who made my dress, and my fascinator. I think I was on the verge of running on to the race track to make a public announcement when it was decided we had to leave.

I'd never worn anything made from silk before, other than my wedding dress. And now Kevin has me hooked. I'm addicted to the swish, the softness, the GLAMOUR! I'm not used to feeling so awesome in clothes.

My standard outfit is denim shorts and a top of some sort. It's the kind of outfit I hope hides my Mummy-tummy and makes my arse look smaller.

It's not always successful, but the more I look at clothes the more I realise clothes are containing more spandex and covering less surface area. I don't care how Yummy-Mummy-ish you are, it is NOT cool to have two sets of lips visible to the world.

Ahem.

So having a friend who is a designer means I avoid looking like I'm wearing a burlap sack, or a stripper costume, when I go out. And that's a goal that should be on every woman's list, every day.

Our next project, I hope (hint, hint), will be a cute summer dress...grecian style and long, that's soft, floaty, girly and perfect for romantic evenings or family walks on the beach. Because we all know walking on the beach with your family needs a dress that makes you feel pretty, happy and catches in the wind for that classic beach pose...

Image Credit

So, Kevin babe - here's to you and thank you for bringing fashion to Darwin and to me. God knows what we'd be wearing without you. x

http://www.kevinkishore.com/

P.s.: You should totally hire me as your publicist...just sayin'

Mother's Day...

was completely awesome.

It was quiet, I slept in until 10am, got up to fresh, caramel Gloria Jeans coffee and then this was placed in front of me:

Eggs Benedict made from scratch with fresh orange juice.

The Guru earned some serious brownie points. Some sex points too - but he wasn't allowed to cash them in on my day of relaxation.

So, to the Guru and the Toddler I say: Thank You. I love you both, and I appreciate the lack of tantrumish behaviour, the ability to have a shower uninterrupted for 30 minutes, to spend most of the day watching Ghost Whisperer on the couch and listening to me get upset at the 111 Hits Channel for re-starting Dr Quinn from the beginning when I was already up to series 4.

I promise to do my best to remember all of the above the next time either of you do something that makes me want to lock myself in the wardrobe.

Friday Fluff

My Little Chef

Pictures like this make me wish weekends lasted forever...

Polly Dolly: Love by the Seaside

Love by the Seaside by Kel001 featuring diamond jewelry

So, playing along with Danimezza today - and she's asked us to consider Valentines Day.

For me, it would be spent at the beach. The Guru proposed on the beach, and the Toddler loves to run on the sand and explore and chase the water as it ebbs in and out along the shoreline.


This outfit would be my dream outfit - the dress is perfect for floating in the breeze and to grab in my hand as I run in and out of the water with the little one while the Guru sits on the sand laughing with us.


Simple makeup, a cute hat for emphasis and some pretty jewellry to remind me of what I already know. The shoes are just a bit of bling, because I love them.


We'd have a picnic like we did that evening back in 2006 and watch the sun go down. I'd snap pictures of the Toddler and the Guru playing, building sandcastles and laughing.


The entire scenario in my mind gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling. Like something out of a movie, or really expensive perfume advertisement on telly.


Ah, the bliss of my imagination...

Playing along with Danimezza's Polly Dolly Challenge

Be-still my beating clutch - thank you Hanna & Eclu!!

When I enter competitions I never have any expectations. None. Because there are so many other entrants the odds that I'll be chosen are slim.

And that's fine - the universe always has these things under control.

So when Hanna at bouffe e bambini emailed me to say that I'd won the delicious handmade Eclu clutch I almost swallowed my face with shock!

This clutch is just so pretty and soft and wonderful. I love it!

Eclu has so many wonderful items, you have to have a look. Go on, I'll wait...

...

...

...

I know, right!? Totally fabulous and they are just pure pretty in a clutch!

So enough of the babbling - let's have a gawk! (now, these pics were taken on my phone, so I apologise for the questionable quality...)

BLISS!!

Did I mention the Guru asked me why I got a purse with a lettuce on it? Did I mention he got a slap??

Ignore pudgy fingers - Admire the owl interior! The Toddler saw the owls on the inside and screeched 'Elly's bag, mummy!'  Yeah...about that...

I am now on a mission to find an appropriate occasion to use this wonderful item.

And even if I don't, I am totally rockin' this clutch to strut down the driveway to the letterbox...

Sqeeeeeeeeeeal!!

Jacki over at More Than A Mummy has very graciously given me...drum roll...

I know, right? It's completely undeserved! Especially when you consider I've posted this picture in the past:

Stylish isn't the word I'd be using here!!

But I am incredibly flattered - and I promise to not develop a form of over-reaction...

image

And so - as a winner of this lovely award, I am committed to the following actions:

Thank and link back to the person who awarded you the award. 


Share 7 things about yourself 


Award 15 more bloggers


Contact said bloggers and tell them about the award

Righto then - let's get started with:

7 things about me...

1. We bought our first home in 2010 and ever since the first day we moved in I have been renoavting in my head...nothing has yet made it into the real world. Yet.

2. We currently have 1 baby child, who is 2 on Wednesday.

3. I am desperate to give our daughter a sibling.

4. I have suddenly become very fragile with regard to my age. Not sure where that's coming from...I am now horrified to think I am the opposite side of 25 and 30 will be knocking on my door before I know it. Sob.

5. I have a shoe fettish which I am passing on to the Toddler. The Guru (aka husband) cries over this a lot...something about 2 year olds not needing leather riding boots when she doesn't even RIDE anything. I bought them anyway.

6. I am at my biggest of my whole life - I look back on photo's of me in highschool and wonder why the hell I had body image issues - I looked fabulous!!

7. I have a very small circle of close/important/amazing/BFF/legendary friends who accept and love me for who I am and know that when I don't answer phone calls or respond to messages it just means I've lost my mobile...again. They all know how scatter-brained I am.


Well - that's done...so how about visiting these wonderful, talented people:

15 (of many, many) favourite blogs...
 
Madomi
 
Random Ramblings of a SAHM
 
WoogsWorld
 
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
 
The Mama Diaries
 
The Meanest Mom
 
Mumstrosity
 
Hyperbole and a Half
 
bouffe e bambini
 
I'm Her Mum
 
Wanderlust
 
Suger Coat It
 
Mum's the Word
 
 Ah, the possibilities!

Bad Mummy

And again, a massive thank you to Jacki at More Than A Mummy - you've made my day! x

(Shape Up Week 9) "Deck the Halls...

...with lots of parcel delivery cards, fa-la-la-la-la...la-la-la-la!"

Yeah - got a package yesterday! Wasn't the one I was expecting though - but it was still FABULOUS!

The wonderful people who Mrs Woog told HAD to send me a copy of Corrine Grant's new book 'Lessons in Letting Go: Confessions of a Hoarder' finally coughed up and my book arrived!

What made it even more wonderful was that it took care of so many of my favourite things right now...

1. Parcel Delivery Card? CHECK

2. Pleasant Surprise? CHECK

3. Reminding me that I still know how to read books other than 'Spot Goes to School'? CHECK!

So thank you Mrs Woog (oh, and the loverly people at Allen & Unwin) - you've restored my faith in the Carrier Pigeon Delivery Service of Darwin.

And so - on to Shape Up Week 9!!

This week has been a catastrophic flop. No motivation combined with festive event after festive event has meant this week was a total pffft on the shape up scale of success.

I've tried hard to not eat too many of the wrong things, but I admit I'm feeling it for not having got off my backside and gone for a walk. I feel sluggish and tired and just all 'round 'eugh'

But anyway - I remembered to bring my tape measure to work (yeah, classy huh?) so here are my measurements for this week:

Bust - 104cm (NO CHANGE from Week 7)

Waist - 95cm (2.5cm DOWN from Week 7...yeah! eat that week 7!)

Hips - 116cm (NO CHANGE from Week 7)

Arms - 38.5cm (1cm DOWN from Week 7)

Thighs - 71.5cm (3cm DOWN from Week 7)
 
Overall a surprising result! Trust me, as soon as I get my stunned eyebrows off the ceiling I will be double checking my measurements...
 
As for exercise - well, the Guru and I are making a concerted effort to make this month really 'count' in terms of TTC, so maybe that's helping?
 
Who knows...but I am hoping dearly to be able to gain weight in 2011 for all the right reasons.
 
Anyway, I better finish this up and get back to work. I am currently waiting for one of my doctors to come and collect his sacred pink stethoscope from me.
 
I'd totally steal it but the hysterical phone call today gave me the heads up he'd very much like it back.
 
Shame.

Can I get a 'Halleluja' in the house?!

So today I'm home with a sick child - although this is a whole new level of sick I didn't think I'd have to deal with.

Croup. It's as sucky as it sounds.

Suddenly I have an insight into the worry the mother of a child with asthma might have.

But when they mentioned whooping cough I think my heart nearly fell out of my backside.

Thankfully we didn't have to go down that road - and personally, I am of the opinion that croup is bad enough.

So the coughing and blocked airways mean sleep is a thing of myth around here right now...and I couldn't send her to daycare in good conscience just to go to work so I am home caring for my poor Penguin.

We're both still in our pyjamas - and yes, it is 2pm. And a very, very silly part of me thought that today would be a great day to try and clean out the tupperware cupboard and organise the toy box.

Yeah, even I'm not sure what I've been inhaling.

So when the local postie roared up our driveway and almost did a burn out on the pavers and then proceeded to further announce her arrival by sitting on her horn, it was all I could do to stop myself from flying out the door and ripping her head off before spitting down her neck. Which would have been a truly amazing sight to behold. A crazed, sleep deprived parent in pyjamas that are thinning in all the wrong places, boobs flying around as I don't have my boulder-holder on to strap them down and a face that could frighten small children, all while foaming at the mouth.

Yeah - awesome I tell ya.

It was a bloody good thing she had a fabulous surprise in her satchel...or there would have been hell to pay.

And can you believe it - I won a $20 voucher from KMart from the blogging promotion they did. You can look back on my post of magnificence here.

I seriously never win anything - so this has put me on a high that will take some time to die down...it's on the same level as getting my license and getting engaged. And I've made the most of bragging rights with the Guru.

And following this great moment in time was a phone call from the photographers who did the Toddler's photoshoot for a book a couple of months ago. And the photo's we ordered are in! Oh yeah!!

The only thing that could make today better would be for the Toddler to get some quality sleep - because this Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde act is doing my head in. I just want my everyday, tempermental Toddler back.

Another post on obsession and lack of self control.

I am a jewellery whore.

There, I said it.

I can't walk past a jewellery shop without picking out a few pieces I would like to own. I drool over the glossy catalogues that get crammed into our letterbox. I am constantly finding jewellery I'd like to own.

The only thing I would never want more than one of is my bridal set. Because the Guru did an amazing job of sorting that out all on his own - and on days when I think he has no bloody idea who I am (like when he's pointing out items he thinks I'd like for my birthday...like a new 8TBFGRT RAM fdhsjaofdhsajkldshjakglds thingy for a computer...uh - what??) I look at my left hand and realise that when he gets it right, he does a fabulous job.

But when it comes to watches, bracelets, earrings, necklaces and anything else that takes my facy - I am just a downright, dirty jewellery-a-holic.

At the moment my whoring is related to necklaces. More specifically, the type the allow me to have parts of my family embedded in them.

No, I'm not meaning an Angelia Jolie-blood-in-a-vile-type thing. I'm talking fingerprints, or perhaps even art done by the Toddler.

I discovered Tina Steinberg not long ago and I immediately fell in love. I was prepared to sell a kidney to get one of her creations. And technically I still am - but I'm discovering that money is easier to procure and send to another country.

The one from Tina I was drooling over is here:  Little Love Charmer Plus by Tina Steinberg.

And I was stunned to learn that the Guru was paying attention. And I don't mean just vaguely nodding his head and staring past me at the telly while I danced in front of him with print outs, a white board and diagrams of exchange rates, postal rates and the process involved while wiping the rabid, jewellery love foam from my face.

So I almost fell on the floor when he told me he'd found a company who does the same thing in Australia. And they have a consultant in Darwin.

Right about then I blacked out for a moment while my brain processed this joyus moment and filed it away for future reference when he tries to get me computer parts for our wedding anniversary.

Smallprint could potentially make my dreams come true this Christmas. And believe it or not they can do impressions of a drawing by your small one in a pendant. You can witness their awesomeness here: Smallprint: A Unique First Impression.

Okay, so it's not a Tina Steinberg...but it's the homegrown version and I'd reduce my carbon footprint by going local. Or something. Whatever.

So I was set with that - all excited and spending many, many hours on their website deciding what and when.

Then - I found The Vintage Pearl. And my addicitive personality kicked in and fingerprints were all but forgotten for a moment...

The Vintage Pearl - I'd be leaving a massive carbon footprint - but the US and Australian dollar are pretty much 1:1. What's a bit of carbon when fate has given me a sign that now is the best financial time to be making a great, big, muddy print on the world?? I'd be stupid to miss my chance!! (I'm also completely aware that I'm going to environment hell when I die...a place where nature will have it's revenge...)

So this is what I want...

I love you to the moon & back by The Vintage Pearl and with the whimsical font have the Guru and the Toddler's names on it. And when the time comes I can have the third and final name added to the pendant.

Then, down the track - I can get a Tina Steinberg original to add to the chain.

The other Vintage Pearl option that I love is this: Dainty Drops by The Vintage Pearl.

But my heart is set on the moon - so I am making a final choice and it's going to be my Christmas wish.

I would say that this will be the end of my jewellery whoring...but I know it probably won't. There will always be a bracelet, a watch or something to catch my eye and make me want to get a kidney ready for trade.

But maybe, just maybe - this will be the end of my necklace searching days...