In the blink of an eye...

I cannot believe my dear little Elke will be 1 year old in less than a week! It has gone in a flash! She is the sweetest little thing and whenever I look at her I just want to cover her in kisses and cuggle her to death! LOL Still so terribly clucky about her.

Elke and her daddy! I love this photo. This was taken on a day when we were all home sick - the kids, Rob and myself all had a tummy upset which was super fun! :\

Elke has also discovered books. She has a few in her little toy box that she flips through and points at the pictures. In her room she has her night time bottle in the rocking chair. When she is being burped she points at the little book shelf, wanting to have a couple of books read to her at bedtime. Good girl!
Bridget is a great little helper. She gave Elke her bottle one night. Notice the little hand supporting Elke's neck. Notice also the casual relaxed attitude - watching the TV while she is doing it! Such a pro! LOL
Cute little tushie!

She has discovered the plastics drawer. Bridget was banging on about Elke making a mess when I was drying my hair one morning. When I dashed to the kitchen she had bowls and cups out all over the floor having a fantastic time of it. I reminded Bridget that she used to do the same thing, in fact at one stage it was her favourite thing to do. She just looked at me like I was nuts, wondering, I think, why the hell anyone would think it was fun to empty a plastics drawer! Hah
This photo was taken this morning just before we were about to leave for a Christening. Her hair looked pretty with the clip in for about, hmm....5 minutes! LOL It has only been the last few weeks that Elke has started crawling properly on her hands and knees after months of doing a great job at impersonating a fur seal pup. She pulls herself up and plays with things but does not cruise yet. I think she is a long way off walking. But, I have noticed she is ahead of what Bridget was with her verbal skills for the same age. Funny how two kids can be so different given they are brought up in the same house/ conditions.

We are having a little tea party for Elke's birthday with Mother's group friends to help celebrate. I'm looking forward tio catching up with all of the mums :)

Next blog update will be about my gorgeous Bridget xox

The Big Catch-up!

Last school holidays we took a trip up to Port Macquarie to visit some dear friends. They had moved up to this lovely spot back in January and this holiday with them was much anticipated, especially by Bridget who missed her little friend Molly. On the first morning we took the girls to a local play centre because we thought they would enjoy some fairy time. I love this photo (thanks Leah and Nigel)

Port Macqaurie is such a great place to take the family for a holiday! Who knew?? We didn't! Now we do. We loved it and had a great time. Wish we could have stayed longer.
For those of you who haven't been there; there are some great walks you can take along the water and also in bushland close to the coast. The above photo shows Bridget and Rob sitting along the rock wall on the Port. For what seems like kilometres are these large rocks at the top of the Port wall beside the cement path and they have all been painted. Some by individuals. Some by families. Some are commemorative, some celebrating love. Bridget had her first decent bike ride on her new bike which was wonderful...except for when she fell off and then refused to get back on again. Granted she was very tired but still I wish she was a little less......fragile. *sigh* but anyway.

It was also the holiday where Bridget got to go to the beach for the first time. The evening before this photo was taken, I think when we were on our way back from the rack wall walk, we decided to just pop down to one of the beaches for a look. Bridget was SO excited. She thought the waves coming in were awesome and managed to get herself totally wet (picture two 3 year olds running around the car park starkers) so I was pretty keen to get her down to the beach the next day in her swimmers proper. The above two photos are of Bridget and Molly sharing a quiet moment building a sand castle. They spent a bit of time collecting shells and trying to see the little crabs that were sunning themselves on rocks.

We also visited the Billabong Wildlife Park. It was fantastic for little kids! The girls loved it. There were great displays of reptiles and snakes, birds and little mammals. At the back of the park is a big open area where kangaroos and wallabies hop free and can interact with humans. The bigger kangaroos were enclosed but there were a lot of juvenile kangaroos and wallabies that were eating the grass or having a snooze. At the front desk you are able to buy a cup of food for them to be fed. I thought Bridget would balk at that but after seeing Molly having a go she dived right in. She loved it! I was so proud of her.

She also got to pat a koala!

We went on an evening cruise around the Port to watch dolphins. It was amazing and fun! We saw plenty of dolphins, drank wine and ate chips. The two big girls had a great time mucking about and eating cheezels. On the way back to the marina the pilot had to speed up quite a bit to allow a waiting ferry to come across. Bridget, Molly, Leah and I were up the very front on the prow holding on for dear life! The wind was whipping our faces and hair, we were catching a bit of water spray and Bridget was laughing and whooping her head off the whole time. She thought it was crazy! Little thrill seeker!

Elke had a great time too! The highlight of her trip was the cheezels LOL Afterwards we had fish and chips in the park near the marina and listened to the parrots chattering away, and watching the fruit bats fly out to feed for the night. It was lovely. Below is a picture of the two big girls having a swing. On a BIG swing! Molly was yelling "Higher higher" and Bridget was yelling "Stop stop!" hehe. So much for being a thrill seeker.

Little Elke didn't feature much in the photos but she had a fun holiday too. As always she was her happy self and was very easy going during the whole trip. Below is a photo of the happy traveller.

We will definitely be heading back to Port for another holiday next year, if Leah and Nigel will have us.

Cheers x

Blog catch up #2

We spent Australia Day in Cook Park again with hundreds of others. Really must try to get there extra early next time to beat the queues. It is a lovely event though and the council etc do a great job pulling it together.

Bridget's highlights are illustrated in the photo story below. Enjoy!

A soft serve icecream all to herself!

Drawing/ painting #1

Followed closely by drawing/ painting#2

= satisfaction!

Bridget loves drawing, colouring and painting. Craft of any kind. All of the art and craft gear is out permanently for her to dabble with at whim. She has had a perfect pincer grip right from a very young age (left-handed mind you - not sure where that came from) and she finds it very calming. She takes after her father in that respect. Rob has always got a drawing or painting on the go that he comes back to during quiet times. It's something he does to relax as well as something that provides a necessary creative outlet.

Backlog Blog!!

I have all these blog posts planned out in my head and just don't get around to actually posting them. I plan to catch up in the next few days.

This post is an important one - one I keep thinking about and feeling guilty about. Shortly after New Year, a good friend of mine, her man and little Molly moved up to Port Macquarie. I was sooo sad about them moving away from us. Little Molly was, and still is, Bridget's best friend. They have been together as little best buds since they were tiny little things. My friend and I had grown close and found in each other someone to confide in and someone to just call up and arrange to meet for a coffee, play date, shopping, whatever, no fuss no muss. I miss her! - and I know Bridget misses Molly - a little friend that can just come over and have a play with and vice versa.

Below is a pic of them taken about 3 years ago today.

This picture is one of my favourites. I remember the pair of them giggling their little heads off together about the mess they were making of themselves with the cupcakes. The photo was taken just after Elke was born, so they were about 2.5 years of age.

The next photo of them together was taken at Molly's early birthday party and their farewell. They left for Port Mac the next day.

We talk on Skype every now and then and at first Bridget mentioned Molly's name a lot. That has slowed down now which I suppose is to be expected - she is only 3 after all and her memory is no as formed as an adult's. I do my best to keep Molly's memory there though.

What is exciting though is that we are all going up to Port Mac next week to visit them!! Bridget and Molly will reconnect, I can catch up with my good friend and my two girls will have their first visit to the beach!

I am looking forward to a relaxing time in Port Mac. Not interested in shopping at all - just want to do kid/ family friendly things, take walks to the beach and around parkland and just take some time out.

Fish

Decade in Review

I got this idea from a favourite blogger of mine. It was great for making me look back and take stock at just how much I have achieved in 10 years and how far I have come.

2000 - Separated from the man I married at the age of 22, that I had been with from the age of 17. I was almost 30 years of age and had changed into a completely different person to the girl I was in 1992. Started a relationship with the love of my life :)
2001 - Turned 30. Bought a unit "alone" and lived alone for the first time in my whole life. Was a huge learning curve but it made me the woman I am today.
2002 - Rob moved in and we started our life together.
2003 - Concentrated on life love and work.
2004 - Rob and I bought a block of land together. Started our TTC (trying to concieve) journey.
2005 - Started building our "dream house with a budget", started ART (artificial reproductive therapy), completed study and attained formal qualifications as a Teacher-Librarian, sold the unit and moved into house. Lost my much loved grandfather. Everybody I know is pregnant!! A tough year emotionally.
2006 - First and last IVF cycle - we concieved Bridget! Rollercoaster!
2007 - Gave birth to Bridget in February. Huge change in our life! Developed really great friendships via Mother's Group.
2008 - Lost a baby early this year. Was the beginning of a mentally challenging time for me. A lot of mixed emotions about it ranging from not wanting a baby at that time and feeling guilt about the relief I felt when I had tried so hard to have Bridget in the first place and how could my body betray me yet also provide me with a gift!!!!!!????? Concieved Elke in October.
2009 - Elke born in July. Feel like my life is filled with everything I want/ need.

How is that for a decade????
My hopes for the next decade. Well I turn 40 next January so my current aim is to look as fabulous as I possibly can for the partay!!! After that, what everybody else hopes for - health and happiness!! So I will be doing things to stay healthy and happy :) Family and friends and time for me.

How was your decade? Have a look back and see just how far you have come!

Is it 2010 already???

Hello everyone - sorry it has been a while. Xmas preparations and time away has meant a very busy time for us!

We had a lovely Christmas but it is all a bit of a blur now. We did two Christmas dinners the weekend before Christmas - if that makes sense. The first one was for my dad, step-mum Robyn and Aunty Lyn. The second was for Rob's parents and sister Emma. I'm a bit over cooking roast lunches now and am ready to consider the seafood lunch for next Christmas LOL!

We then had Xmas drinks for friends on the Tuesday which was a load of fun. We got to give the new backyard a workout with kids playing and adults lounging in chairs in the outdoor area.

We then headed down to mum's at The Rock on Christmas Eve. Phew. Sounds busy, was busy but, I like busy.

Here are a few photos from the first two family gatherings.

Bridget on her new bike!

Bridget helping me open a present.

Elke in the festive spirit!

Elke not sure what all the fuss is about.

Bridget gave her dummies to Santa! That was all going beautifully until sometime on Christmas morning when she ran into the hot iron at mum's. It got her on her top lip and would have been really painful. She was awfully brave and didn't cry. We had her hold an icy cold wet washer to it for most of the day. It came up in a yucky scab overnight and it was lucky we were able to access medical advice at a chemist on Boxing Day. It's amazing how fast kids heal. All there is now is a pale pink mark which I am putting Bio Oil onto as much as possible.

Anyway, back to the dummies. A combination of the burn, not having a dummy to self-settle for day sleeps and thus being very tired, and lots of new people to get to know as they popped in and out of mum and Doug's place meant that she was an anxious, whiney, clingy mess for 95% of the time we were away. It was hard work for Rob and I. At one point on Boxing Day night we were ready to pack the car and come home, but we ploughed on. Mum loved having both girls with her for a whole week though and it was lovely to see her enjoying them.

Below are some photos taken from our time in Wagga (The Rock).

Bridget and her new sunglasses!

Elke's book from Santa!

The present Santa left for Bridget in exchange for her dummies.

Note the empty plate and glass on the coffee table - Bridget was very excited

to see that Santa enjoyed the cake and milk!!

Bridget in the festive spirit.

The two girls at Wagga Indoor Aquatic Centre!
Note poor Bridgie's lip - the swimming did it wonders though.

Happy New Year everyone!

It's beginning to look a lot like.... ?

Well it's been a while since the last blog update. Lots has been happening, but not a lot if you know what I mean.

Rob is on holidays now till late January and has been in full throttle backyard blitz mode. He is almost finished - just a bit more river stone and some more garden blocks and we are done.

First job off the rank though was one I had been wanting for a good 12 months. The al fresco area. We got Bridget on the job to seal the concrete, earning her board and keep.

I'm kidding - she was just "helping" dad. Rob then painted it a dark charcoal. Looks sooooo much better! We plan to put a couple of 3 seater garden seats in there and some pot plants. I am looking forward to getting back out there at night once the kids are in bed, enjoying a glass of wine and a chat.

Rob has shovelled and barrowed about 10m cubed of mulch, granite base and river stone from the front yard into the back yard. We are drought proofing our yard and I think it looks pretty good! I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel with our backyard - after 4 years of weeds and dirt! Once summer is over we will start the long process of planting it out.

Having trouble finding a good tree that will not grow too big, has great autumn leaves and good shade for summer. I really love the Manchurian pear - but it can get pretty big I think - unless we are good about pruning it. We will have to pay a visit to a few specialist nurseries.

Bridget is doing great. I honestly cannot believe how fast she is growing up. It's exciting but also sad. It's becoming a whole new world both for her, and us, her parents. She will transition into the older room in daycare in the middle of next year. Just listening to the carers/ teachers talk about literacy and numeracy during the orientation blew my mind. It's usually me standiung in front of parents talking about curriculum, yet here I was on the other side of it. Weird. My girl can't be that old!! Yet she is. We also have an interview for enrolment into pre-prep in 2011!! It's getting serious people!!!

This is a photo of Bridget dressed up for her first birthday party outside of her MG friends. Her special little friend turned 3 and had a Fairy party.

Sorry about the weird grin. She has a funny way of grimacing when I ask her to smile for the camera. But, I'm not whinging - 6 months ago I was flat out getting her to look at the camera let alone pull a face for it.

Here she is helping me make gingerbread cookies.

Elke is doing wonderfully. She is such a happy little girl. I just want to eat her up. She smiles and giggles and gives me cuddles - it just makes my heart melt. I hope she stays this way once I return to work. She is rolling over and I cannot wait till she works out how to return from her tummy onto her back LOL. Mums reading this will know what I mean. She is also having to odd day of the grizzles because her teeth are moving around in her gums. Her cheeks get red and hot. I must confess to giving in and dosing her with baby panadol or nurofen.

Here she is all dressed up ready to go to the daycare Xmas party last night.

And, here she is sitting in a"beebo" type seat that a lovely friend lent us. She think she is just IT when she is sitting up at the table with us.

Christmas is going to be flat chat for us all - especially me. I have been out every night this week so far and at this stage won't have a night at home till Friday. Then Saturday and Sunday we are hosting Christmas dinners for various "sides" of the family. Monday is free - no doubt spent cleaning as we are hosting Xmas drinks here on Tuesday afternoon (really looking forward to this one). Wednesday spent cleaning and packing ready to head off to Wagga on Xmas Eve.

I am really looking forward to getting down there and having a few quiet days at mum's. She hasn't seen Elke since she was about 5 weeks old. I wish she didn't live so far away.

Merry Christmas everyone! :)

Just some recent shots of my gorgeous girls. All things are going well. Feeling a bit sad about having to go back to work soon. Hopefully I will win Lotto soon and not have to! :p

Elke is almost rolling - she is 4 months 2 weeks old. Bridget is doing great and is very excited about receiving her first birthday party invitation outside of her Mothers Group friendship circle - a little friend of her's in daycare is having a fairy party for her 3rd birthday! How fun! Better get the wings out and track down the wand...or better still it's a good excuse to buy a new pair! :)

Have a good week everyone!

Some inspiration...something old!

This evening I became a member of Blog This. I was after some inspiration and thought it would be fun. The challenge this week is something old. I'm coming a bit late into this challenge but many things in my house spring to mind when I think of "old". I have some lovely old pieces passed down from my grandparents; one of Grandma's old pinnies, a pair of her gloves, a hand embroidered table cloth, pieces of china, a wartime letter sent to my grandmother by my grandfather when they were courting, war medals etc. All of these things have significant meaning to me.

But, no I wanted to find something reaaaaaallllly old :p And, beautiful. Please excuse the shocking picture quality. I covet an SLR. My little digital just doesn't cut it with macro shots.

So here it is!



This fossil of a marine creature has been cut in half to reveal the amazing inside pattern and crystallisation. Rob actually owns it and it is displayed on one of our many bookcases. Surprisingly, Bridget has not fiddled with it (ie; broken it!) and it has survived almost three years in a toddler's house! Well, you would think so wouldn't you - having survived for millenia.

What is it? No idea!
Is it rare? No
Is it old? Most definitely.

It's November already....?

We received some sad news late last week. My grandfather - Pop - passed away after being unwell and uncomfortable for a long time. He was 3 weeks away from his 91st birthday!!!! That means both my grandfathers lived to be 90! I doubt if I will live that long. I spent pretty much all of my school holidays on my grandparents' farm from the age of 6 till about 14. I have fond memories of waking up in the morning to the sound of Pop jogging the trotting horses around the track in the home paddock. I would lie in the big double bed in the *outside room* - the room off the front verandah - listening to the jog-jog-jog sound approach then fade, approach then fade. I also have fond memories of Pop sitting in *his* chair in the loungeroom, with Uncle Edgar in his chair on the other side of the couch. Old, worn brimmed hats and king gee work pants, morning tea, afternoon tea and supper and the shearing shed. Rest in peace, Norman Alexander.

The girls are going great - growing up too fast though. I think they are going to get up to a lot of mischief together before long.

This photo is one of the only recent ones I have of Bridget standing by herself smiling *for* the camera. I got her dressed and did her hair all ready for the day at Nana and Pop's and told her she looked very pretty. I asked if I could take her photo and she said Yes!! I took full opportunity but still took a lot of the back of her head when she decided to get coy.

Bridget likes to give Elke a cuddle and lke generally likes Bridget giving her one. Elke's head looks huge in these two photos but I am sure it is just foreshortening from the angle I was taking them. Poor little chicken looks huge!

I love the one of Bridget laughing! :)

In the red and running on empty!

The title of this post says it all really.

I am feeling very flat and empty at the moment. Nothing serious, I will get over it. Chin up and soldier on and all that. See that is the problem with me. I am an action person. I see a problem and I solve it. I deal with things and I cope.

I am also a great friend. I listen and I listen and I give support and advice and I laugh with them and cry for them, I worry about them and I spend a lot of time thinking about how I can help them with their problems in order to get them happy again.

I do this also with my partner and with my kids.

When I am at work I do this for the staff and for the kids I teach.

It's crazy!!

I am pretty much in deficit emotionally at the moment. Too many withdrawals and not enough deposits. I'm feeling really jaded about doing all of the above and getting stuff all in return from some of them. A lot of the problem is my own fault. I very rarely ever show my underbelly. I don't often ask for help. I am fiercely independent and stubborn but also resourceful in a good way. I solve my own problems. So, friends wouldn't in fact know that I needed support unless I straight out said, for example "I am a bit sad about xyz".

I did this the other day and got something else entirely in return. Normally I would switch modes and say "Oh really tell me all about that" and listen and support and blah blah blah, but this time I bit down on it. Hard. I was so pissed off. Once I got over that I was left feeling very flat and empty. Who supports me??? When's my turn to sit and have a whinge and have someone listen and solve my problems for me??

Pffft! See. Here's the thing. I can't stand doing that. This whole post is not something that I like to do and I will wish that I didn't do it and try to delete it tomorrow.

But, there is a side of me that is starting to rebel and say "No, hold on a minute! Stuff it! You have a whinge and a cry! Bugger what anyone else thinks!"

So I will leave it there and see what happens. Feel better already.

Going for green!

We have spent the last week getting a garden bed started out the back in our very bare and boring yard. It's been so long coming due to many circumstances - primarily money and climate. We are on Level 5 water restrictions which means no watering systems to be used, no hoses, only bucketing and watering cans. We have kept the garden out the front alive and thriving using bucketed bath water.

Don't let the "cool climate" tag for Orange fool you - it's cold AND dry here! We have been planting drought tolerant plants like flax, protea, irises, aggies, silverbush etc. My one consolation is a dogwood and a magnolia tree.

So, out the back we are going to have most of it done in mulched native garden and only one small area of grass. We hope that will be enough for our two girls to play on. Besides, we are very close to the Botanic Gardens and other green parklands. Below is a picture of the area that will eventually be grassed. We will probably seed it next year - or we may bite the bullet and turf it. Depends on the weather and how the water restrictions go.

Below are photos showing the first of our backyard garden beds. The whole lot of the yard apart from the grassed area and some pebbled paths will be mulched and planted out with natives.
Below is a gorgeous white protea I just had to have - we have to wait for it to stop flowering before we can plant it. It will eventually grow quite large (hopefully)

I look forward to the day when our backyard is shady and a little haven for native birds and the occasional lizard. Our aim is to create something that is welcoming, low maintenance and drought friendly. We estimate it will take us a good 5 years to get there and even longer for tress to get up but, we'll get there. The big question is will we still be in the house to see the garden at it's best? By then we could have outgrown the house and moved on, or may have followed work to another town, who knows.